Evertonians probably expected that it wouldn't happen but, lo and behold, Sam Allardyce actually gave them what they wished for last Saturday.
Forgotten man Nikola Vlasic hadn't kicked a ball in anger on the pitch for the Premier League side since mid-January when he was hauled off in the drab 1-1 draw at Goodison Park with relegation-threatened West Brom.
It seemed that the Croatia international, a £10m summer signing from Hajduk Split, had run out of opportunities to impress Allardyce and his staff, with Theo Walcott and Yannick Bolasie preferred on the wings over the past month.