THREE games in six days.

Ten goals conceded in three games. No win in five matches.

Fourteenth place in the league. Out of one cup.

They are pretty damning statistics, and the only real mitigating number is 11: which represents the amount of senior players unavailable to David Moyes during a week where a season that’s been waiting to kick into life has instead ground to a shuddering halt.

Arsenal was down to Joleon Lescott, Burnley was a blip, we never win at Fulham, and we just never took our chances against the negative Stoke and Wolves.

That was how we’ve been trying to reassure ourselves anyway.

The truth is though, Everton have had as easy a Premier League start as anyone could reasonably expect and they have blown it.

Amidst the rubble of this past week, that is the real worry.

After all, it will only take a win at home against BATE to secure qualification to the next round of the Europa League, something even this shellshocked Everton should be capable of, and a Carling Cup tie at White Hart Lane always had ‘knocked out’ written all over it.