Goodison Park moment showed Frank Lampard has something four recent Everton managers lacked

Frank Lampard is only one game into his reign as Everton manager but already he’s ahead of most of his recent predecessors in one key respect.

Only once since September had the Blues tasted victory at Goodison Park before Saturday and on that occasion, they’d had to come from behind and not gone ahead against Arsenal until two minutes into stoppage time.

As glorious as that isolated Premier League highlight of the previous four months had been for Everton, it had not been a night they could enjoy until the very end.

Lampard’s bow against Brentford in the FA Cup was different though.

Ahead just after the half-hour mark – just the third time after August that the Blues had drawn first blood in a game – they also enjoyed the luxury of a two-goal cushion for almost the last half an hour before substitute Andros Townsend’s stoppage time effort added increased gloss.

Heady days indeed but this isn’t the factor that marks Lampard out from the others.

He may have made history in terms of the margin of victory – the biggest for an Everton manager from his first game in charge – but getting off to a positive start has become de rigueur for a generation now.

Not since Attilio Lombardo put Crystal Palace on their way to a 2-1 win at Goodison Park back on August 9, 1997, to spoil Howard Kendall’s return for a third spell as Blues boss – a chilling portent to how that season would envelop for the club who would end up requiring a second final day ‘Great Escape’ in four years to avoid relegation on goal difference – has an Everton manager lost the first fixture of his tenure.

Indeed, after that, David Moyes, Sam Allardyce, Carlo Ancelotti and even Rafa Benitez all enjoyed home wins; Walter Smith and Ronald Koeman had 0-0 and