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We're not usually inclined to nod in agreement at the words of Jamie Redknapp but his description of Everton as a "team of men" was magnificently apt, summing up a side seemingly catapulted from a time when football teams were full of hairy men rather than barely pubescent boys. There's a reason why Everton and Stoke are the only two Premier League teams who fully embrace Movember: Because they can.
Watch an English football match from 30 years ago as a modern-day viewer and you'll be struck by the number of big, hairy buggers playing the game. Even the little fellas look like battle-hardened grown-ups rather than pretty young things.
Now take a look at Everton in 2013. Look at Leighton Baines' glorious sideburns, the sheer size of Marouane Fellaini and Sylvain Distin, the 'hassled dad' that is Phil Neville and the gentleman thief persona of Leon Osman (more convincing with the 'tache, admittedly). This is truly a team of men.
The average age of the side that beat Newcastle on Wednesday night was 30. That's not the kind of demographic that gets pundits purring about the future. It's not the kind of demographic that convinces anyone that Everton have any kind of long-term plan. But it's a demographic that suggests a team with nous and resilience - as evidenced at St. James' Park where Everton came from behind once again to make it 20 points rescued from losing positions so far this season.
The youngest member of this Everton first XI is Fellaini at 25, and nobody can accuse the Belgian of showing any of the frailties of youth. Then there's Steven Naismith, who looks at least a decade older than his 26 years (see fellow Scotsmen Charlie Adam and Steven Fletcher). Even the 'promising' players at Everton - Seamus Coleman and Victor Anichebe - are now 24. That's a year older than the average age of the Villa side that drew with Swansea on Tuesday.
That Villa are flirting with a relegation battle and Everton are now in fifth makes a compelling case for experience over promise. This is a side unfazed by going behind because they have collectively gone behind hundreds of times before. This is a side unfazed by intimidating away trips because - between them - they have played at just about every ground in the Football League.
Is being 'men' enough to win a battle for Champions League places against teams blessed with more talented boys? One thing's for certain - they'll win if it's decided by beard-off.
Sarah Winterburn
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