“A different David Moyes joining a different Everton.”
So ran the opening pitch when the former manager made his emotional return to Goodison Park in January, with the club one point above the relegation zone having scored in only two of their preceding 10 fixtures.
“Maybe I’m not having to fight the world all the time now, which when you first come in you feel as if you need to,” Moyes would later elaborate.
“But don’t take my calmness as meaning I’m not passionate.”
That caveat will resonate with the Gwladys Street because for all the slight tweaks – not least to the popular fans chant which has replaced the reference about Moyes’ red hair to grey – a reassuring familiarity lies at the heart of a revival which Everton hope will absorb a Merseyside derby victory on Wednesday night.