Everton's second pre-season friendly, against Bolton at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, has a familiar feel because of who is in the home dugout. Steven Schumacher and Richie Kyle both have Everton links, and Bolton are treating it as useful Championship preparation as much as a reunion.

Schumacher and Kyle’s Everton links

Richie Kyle said he first heard rumours around February and pushed for the game to happen. He was blunt about why it felt different from a routine summer run-out: “But to play against Everton at Bolton, us being Evertonians, it will be a great occasion, and I know it is only a friendly, but it will be great.”

Kyle also laid out how many connections Bolton have to David Moyes. “We are buzzing and we have all come across David in different ways. Mark played under David. Schu has come across him as well, and I've come across him in a coaching capacity when he was at West Ham.”

That makes the fixture feel personal for Bolton. Schumacher, an Everton Academy graduate, has kept in touch with Moyes over the years and said the last time he saw him was at the Scotland-Ivory Coast game. He also described Moyes as “somebody you can only wish to emulate because the amount of games at the top level that he's coached.”

Why the game still matters on the pitch

The sentiment around the fixture is one thing, but the football point is clear enough. Schumacher said it will be “a really good game” and “a tough test against top Premier League opposition who will test us in all departments.” He also warned that Bolton will be punished if they repeat the sort of errors they made at Oldham.

That is the practical side of the evening. Bolton are preparing for life in the Sky Bet Championship after securing promotion in the League One play-offs last season, so a meeting with Everton gives them a proper check on where they are.

Everton's own backdrop is more steady than spectacular. They finished 13th in the Premier League with 49 points, and their recent league run was LLDDL. Bolton's last five competitive results were LWLLW, which is about as mixed as it sounds, and another reason the test is useful before the Championship starts.

Schumacher also said he is “inundated with ticket requests”, from both Wanderers and Everton fans. That is usually a sign a friendly has found the right setting, and this one has enough personal history to make the game feel bigger than the label on the fixture list.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →