The time for talking is over at Everton

Had Everton been able to parade even just one big-money capture, then the club could have anticipated a healthy crowd for their now traditional season curtain-raiser, organised in association with the Former Players' Foundation.

As it was, only 10,816 were tempted to turn up for perhaps the most low-key of all the seven warm-up games played by David Moyes's side.

The atmosphere was muted throughout - the lack of any signs of protest from the stands suggesting a mixture of resignation and understanding at the club's current predicament - lifting only when Mikel Arteta's 85th-minute penalty spared an unhelpful home defeat.

So why are Everton now left racing around once again to bolster squad numbers having had all summer to do so?

Moyes has every right to refuse to lower his standards when recruiting, but it has meant the manager's options have grown limited with each missed transfer target.

Questions, too, must be asked of the board, and in particular Bill Kenwright.
If the funds have already been there, surely there is no sense in leaving everything until the last minute.

You'd have thought Everton would have learned from previous last-minute scrambles.

Factor in the sudden exit of chief executive Keith Wyness, the ongoing saga with the proposed move to Kirkby and the failure of manager Moyes to as yet put pen to paper on a new contract, then it's easy to see why supporters have began pressing the panic button.

Patience, though, was the watchword from Kenwright in his statement to the club's followers 10 days ago, and now at least it appears the wheels are now finally whirring in motion, the light appearing at the end of the tunnel.

After all, the sight of Robert Earl sat alongside the chairman in the directors' box indicates something is imminent.

There is a growing confidence that CSKA Moscow's Brazilian striker Vagner Love, Cameroon midfielder Stephane M'bia and Newcastle United's Alan Smith will all be signed by the weekend.

However, Moyes has already intimated no newcomers could realistically be considered ready to start the opening game against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

And with Tim Cahill, Tony Hibbert and Victor Anichebe unavailable and James Vaughan possibly suspended, the manager must initially make do with the players who were at his disposal at the weekend.

The team that started the second half against PSV, with Phil Jagielka partnering Jack Rodwell in central midfield, is likely to be that which takes to the field for the Premier League opener.

The last time PSV visited Goodison for a friendly nine years ago, the home side prevailed by the odd goal in seven.

There was to be no such excitement this time.

The Dutch champions for the last four years started slowly but gradually warmed to their task and went ahead with a splendid strike on 33 minutes, an advancing Nordin Amrabat shrugging off the attentions of Leon Osman before striking a left-footed beauty into the top corner beyond Tim Howard from just inside the area.

The 27 away fans that had made the journey from Holland were delighted.

It meant Everton managed to keep only one clean sheet during their seven-game warm-up programme.

With the back four having generally been at full strength, it perhaps underlines the value of the sadly departed Lee Carsley's sterling work in front of the defence.

Rodwell has assumed that role - and Carsley's squad number - with great aplomb during pre- season with a series of mature, composed displays that belied his tender years.

But although the 17-year-old showed flashes of his talent, particularly when forcing a save from PSV's former Manchester City goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson from a Mikel Arteta corner, he found the going tougher against a higher standard opposition. Nevertheless, there should be no concerns if Rodwell starts on Saturday.

Dan Gosling, another teenager to have been handed a chance this summer by the threadbare squad, struggled to make an impact and was replaced at half-time, and can expect to begin the season on the bench.

The major positive for Moyes was the form of Arteta. The Spaniard, having admitted to still carrying psychological scars from his battle against the groin and abdominal problems that hampered his previous campaign, was Everton's best player, lasting the 90 minutes and growing in confidence as the game progressed.

It was when pushed out wide following the introduction of exuberant 16-year-old Jose Baxter that Arteta began pulling the strings and Everton finally threatened an equaliser.

Yakubu shot wide and Jagielka thrashed off target before, of all people, defender Joseph Yobo cleverly found space inside the box before being upended by Stijn Wuytens, and Arteta beat Isaksson from the spot to follow his strike against Colorado Rapids.

The otherwise unemployed Howard was required to turn over a late free-kick from PSV substitute Balasz Dzsudzsak, but the draw was a fair result.

Matters might have been different had Yakubu converted a clear second-minute chance, denied by the outstretched leg of Isaksson after the ball had fallen to him following Steven Pienaar's forceful run into the area.

That miss aside, the Nigerian appeared livelier and has gained some of the sharpness that was lacking during the games in the United States.

The same could be said for a number of other Everton players. But the time for talking is over.
Actions, both on and off the field, will now determine the success or otherwise of the coming season.