The chorus of boos erupted as soon as Morgan Schneiderlin stepped on to the touchline at Goodison Park and, as he winced at the crescendo of catcalls, he knew that he had a choice to make. The midfielder was about to be introduced ten minutes from time to shore up Everton’s 3-1 victory over Crystal Palace in February last season and, while some later insisted that the acerbic soundtrack which had accompanied the raising of his number was born more of frustration at Sam Allardyce’s overcautious outlook, Schneiderlin always sensed that the issue ran deeper.

“I knew straight away,” he said. “I knew it was for me because of some notifications [on Twitter]. I am not paying too much attention to that, but I got