Everton opened their Premier League season with a 3-0 loss to Brighton.
Kaoru Mitoma opened the scoring midway through the second half against the run of play by slotting home Yankuba Minteh’s cross to the far post.
The Seagulls doubled their lead after an errant back-pass from Idrissa Gueye allowed them to make inroads as Danny Welbeck swept home a second.
Things went from bad to worse for Sean Dyche’s side as they were reduced to ten men when Ashley Young was sent off for a last-ditch foul on Mitoma.
Simon Adingra added a final indignity for the Blues by squeezing his strike from the edge of the penalty area past Jordan Pickford in the closing stages.
Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:
Abject Blues dust off the classics
Goodison’s final season in operation will be a time for reminiscing, and its hosts did their utmost to dust off some of the old hits on Saturday afternoon.
Yet it was not a vintage from the glory days of Dixie Dean, the Holy Trinity or even Joe Royle’s ‘Dogs of War’ which played out during the visit of Brighton.
Instead, Everton produced a medley of recent seasons that began with a repeat of last year’s opener by failing to make early dominance count.
That was followed by another classic with an errant Idrissa Gueye back-pass, last seen against the same opponents 18 months prior, culminating in a goal.
If that were not enough for long-suffering devotees, they were later treated to an Ashley Young sending off for the crime of appearing all of his 39 years.
The veteran spent all afternoon chasing shadows before Kaoru Mitoma condemned him to the same fate as Luis Diaz did in last year’s Anfield derby.
Sean Dyche’s logic that Michael Keane represented a better option in defence than Jake O’Brien, similarly, lent itself to the ignominy almanac.
Evertonians could be forgiven for already dreading what the next dose of nostalgia will bring in the remaining 18 league games at their spiritual home.
New boys must be trusted more
Dyche’s post-match argument about the much-maligned Keane formed part of a wider theme as he extolled the value of Premier League experience.
He claimed that while Everton’s summer intake could affect things in key areas, they still lacked the necessary grounding to be thrown into his line-up.
There is, however, historical precedent for a rethink of that time-honoured view.
It was a year ago that fans clamoured for Jarrad Branthwaite to be entrusted with a starring role after returning from a loan at PSV Eindhoven.
Dyche eventually relented and handed the towering centre-back game time; reaping the reward of him becoming the club’s Young Player of the Year.
A similar school of thought should now exist around the likes of Iliman Ndiaye and Jesper Lindstrom after several teammates flattered to deceive.
Dwight McNeil was another ex-Burnley lieutenant who lacked meaningful impact while Abdoulaye Doucoure proved ineffectual in the no.10 position.
Although Ndiaye received a late second-half runout, Dyche would win over some disillusioned supporters by allowing the new boys the chance to shine.
Will Dyche stick with superstition?
A different way of working became a buzzword for Everton as they secured their lengthy Premier League status at the tail end of the previous campaign.
Mixing things up had a desired effect on Dyche’s charges with even the manager embracing change by switching up his trademark touchline attire.
Five home wins on the bounce, during which the former defender inspired a long overdue Merseyside derby victory, vindicated that shift in personal style.
Dyche has never shied away from exploring with new ideas in order to unlock marginal gains that could benefit his side at the close of play on May 25.
‘Trackie Dyche’ could now be consigned to the wardrobe after Goodison’s farewell season began with a third abject opening-day defeat on the spin.
It would be too simplistic to suggest that the 53-year-old adopting a more relaxed look of training wear is a bellwether of his team’s on-field output.
But desperate times often call for desperate measures and Dyche may feel abandoning the superstition is a necessary evil in efforts to revive standards.