Burnley 1, Everton 0: New men needed to end nightmare

With the Joleon Lescott saga in its final throes, at least Everton will soon be spared the distraction of the tiresome speculation surrounding the wantaway defender's future that has overshadowed their efforts during the opening week.

Much will now depend on how Moyes spreads the expected £24million windfall Lescott's departure will generate.

Quite rightly, the Goodison manager is unhappy at being faced with a race against time to splash the cash.

But it's patently clear another mad scramble before deadline day is required to ensure a fighting chance of maintaining the Premier League progress of recent years.

Having shipped six last week in the opening-day humiliation against Arsenal, one goal was all that was required to see off Everton yesterday, Wade Elliott's deflected strike 11 minutes before half-time proving decisive.

Everton will point to the 75th-minute missed penalty from Louis Saha but, while Moyes suggested otherwise, few could grumble at the final outcome.

Indeed, but for some smart goalkeeping by Tim Howard, the visitors would not have had the opportunity of making a late surge during the final quarter.

Saha, who has started the season in impressive goal-scoring fashion, should not shoulder the blame for this setback.

Instead, this was a collective failure, the defence understandably unsettled by absentees and Everton worryingly outplayed in the centre of the park by a Burnley midfield marshalled superbly by veteran Graham Alexander.

Moyes may also question his decision to start with Saha as the lone forward.

While a system that has served the Goodison manager well, it was only when Jo was introduced as a second striker for the ineffectual Marouane Fellaini that Everton began to consistently threaten.

That Moyes did not make another change as the visitors chased an equaliser underlined the paucity of options available at present, particularly when inspiration is required from the bench.

And the at times unconvincing performance of Joseph Yobo highlighted the pressing need for at least two new centre-backs.

As Moyes later admitted, Phil Neville, despite his trademark application and professionalism, is not the long-term answer.

Everton have made beating Premier League newcomers an art form in recent years, having won 14 and drawn four of their previous 18 games against promoted sides.

But as Manchester United have already discovered, Turf Moor is not the most accommodating of grounds for visiting teams.

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And Everton did not help themselves with a sloppy, indecisive display far removed from the enterprise and enthusiasm shown during the final hour of their 4-0 win over Sigma Olomouc on Thursday evening.

Like Moyes, Burnley manager Owen Coyle is a Scot who has made his name guiding a Lancashire team up through the lower leagues.

Coyle is revered as a god around these parts, and it's easy to see why.

With minimal resources, Burnley play a game that is both easy on the eye and robust enough to withstand the unique physical demands of the Premier League.

No doubt buoyed by that famous win over United in midweek, the Clarets almost caught Everton cold in the opening moments when they exploded out of the blocks, a momentum that ensured they remained in the ascendancy throughout the first half.

Less than a minute in, a driven cross from Chris McCann was nodded on to the crossbar by Martin Paterson and Steven Fletcher struck the rebound against Howard's legs.

Two minutes later, more slack marking from the visitors allowed Elliott the time to arc in a cross that the unmarked Paterson glanced wastefully wide from six yards out.

It took Everton until half an hour before offering an effort on target, Burnley goalkeeper Brian Jensen comfortably fielding Jack Rodwell's header from a Leighton Baines corner.

And although Saha was not far from connecting with a teasing Tony Hibbert cross from the right, the home side moved into a deserved lead on 34 minutes.

There was more than a hint of good fortune about the goal, however.

Elliott failed to connect properly when taking a swipe at Robbie Blake's deflected cross from the left but, after Fletcher retrieved possession, the ball was fed back to the Burnley midfielder whose curling effort from 15 yards took a significant nick off Neville's boot and looped over Howard before dropping into the net.

With Alexander, the 37-year-old veteran who prospered at Preston under Moyes, influential as a deep-lying midfielder, Everton struggled to build up a head of steam.

Tim Cahill saw a deflected shot bobble wide, but Howard was called upon to make a smart save from a hooked McCann effort after an Alexander shot had fallen into the path of the Burnley midfielder.

Once Jo was introduced midway through the second half, Everton at last began to make inroads.

None more so than in the 75th minute, when referee Phil Dowd pointed to the spot when Tony Hibbert went to ground under the weight of McCann's challenge.

In truth, it was a questionable award, so Burnley will claim justice was done when Saha blasted the spot-kick wide of Jensen's left post. Jo had a goalbound effort blocked by Andre Bikey, Saha thrashed a shot just wide from range and Elliott cleared a Rodwell shot after Jensen had gone walkabout, but the home side stood firm.

So the dream goes on for Burnley. But the Premier League is proving a nightmare so far this season for Moyes and his Everton team.