Whether by accident or design, Thierno Barry is the face of the new Everton

Everton have a gleaming £800m stadium but they can be the proof money isn’t everything. In a division of conspicuous consumption, they were a club who struggled to spend. With their transfer-market profit, they finished low down the spending charts. But they are now fifth in the actual table, three points off the top, after an unbeaten start.

If the question is whether that has come by accident or design, the same may be said of Thierno Barry’s winner against Ipswich. An impressive start may have come in spite of some of the powerbrokers at Hill Dickinson Stadium, but because of David Moyes. On days such as this, his virtues and values can feel timeless. His capacity to outperform relatively modest resources and galvanise relatively small squads has been proven time and again. If Everton were written off, they are scripting their own underdog story. “We have tried to turn it into a positive,” said Moyes.

While others confused themselves with spending sprees, Everton are making the most of what they have. After their deadline-day mishaps, Everton only have one striker. For now, anyway, it is all they need as, somehow, Barry scored his fifth goal of the season. Inelegant but effective, Barry may personify Everton.

He ended a four-game drought in unorthodox fashion, and not merely because it featured the rarity of a James Tarkowski volley from 25 yards. It struck Barry in the chest, wrong-footed Christian Walton and rolled in. Was Barry trying to get out of the way or reacting to turn it in? “The goal is fairly unfortunate to go in off the guy’s midriff,” lamented Ipswich manager Gary O’Neil.

Deliberate or not, it will not win Everton’s goal-of-the-season contest, though Ainsley Maitland-Niles may already have that sewn up. A second seemed to follow, Barry glancing a header in from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s corner. A VAR check later and the presence of the offside Brennan Johnson in front of Walton meant it was ruled out. “It is offside,” said O’Neil. “The goalkeeper would not have saved the header,” noted Moyes.

Barry also headed wide from Maitland-Niles’ cross. “He should have scored his header,” said Moyes. But it is an encouraging sign that Barry gets in plenty of goalscoring positions. It is encouraging, too, that even after selling Iliman Ndiaye, Everton are fashioning opportunities. “Statistically we have been making much more chances,” added Moyes. “Today we had 21 shots and only two on target so that is not any good. But the 21 shots is good.” It is a reason why he deems the start to the season better than expected. “I would have to say yes in a lot of cases,” Moyes concurred. “We have done pretty well.”

Money can form the backdrop to Everton. Ipswich spent almost £200m – albeit from the lower base of being in the Championship last season – and had one of their purchases, Abdul Fatawu, dismissed for diving. Already booked, he invited further punishment by going to ground when not challenged by James Garner. “You can see he is anticipating some contact,” said a forgiving O’Neil. It never came.

Everton found it no easier against 10 than 11 but they held on. There is a defiance, perhaps summed up by Jarrad Branthwaite’s injury-time block to deny Issa Diop an equaliser. “You have to dig in, that’s the Everton way,” said Jordan Pickford. Everton’s unbeaten start to the season speaks to their determination.

“The clean sheets is something to be pleased about and build on if we can,” Moyes said. They have five in all competitions, three of them in the last eight days, indicates the solidity that underpins many a Moyes side. Even when they are more open in midfield than some of the Scot’s sides – a trade-off from having Harrison Armstrong’s creativity and while the summer signing Christian Norgaard remains sidelined – Everton are hard to breach. That, in turn, is an indication that virtually everything Everton have accomplished in recent years has required the excellence of Pickford. This was no exception.

A terrific early save from Emersonn was followed by further stops from Fatawu and, 30 seconds into the second half, Julio Enciso. Without Pickford, Everton probably would not have made it through the traumatic years when they flirted with relegation and administration before they reached the sanctuary of Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Everton have fewer existential concerns but there was unrest when the hierarchy considered selling Armstrong to Nottingham Forest; Moyes, the players and the fans all wanted to keep the teenager and they got a glimpse of his quality when he released Johnson with a defence-splitting pass, only for the winger to roll a shot wide.

Dewsbury-Hall also headed wide after an inviting cross from the substitute Tyler Dibling. “I am ratting them, why are we not scoring more?” added Moyes. “That is one of the things we are missing from being a half-decent side.” Whether or not Everton are half-decent, though, they are fifth