James Garner strides into a side room at Finch Farm, Evertons training ground, full of smiles because hes in the form of his life, doing what he loves, playing football.
Even when I've got days off, I hate it, Garner says. I'd rather be here. I'd rather be kicking a football around. I wish I had a big back garden so I can put a pitch in. Unfortunately, I don't!
Whether at right-back or central midfield, the versatile 24-year-old has become an important player for David Moyes, ranked at no.10 in FourFourTwo's list of the best Premier League managers ever, who has been talking Garner up for England recognition.
Merseyside via Manchester
He hails from the Wirral, was developed at Manchester Uniteds academy and briefly their first team, grew further on loan at Watford and especially at Nottingham Forest, starred for England Under-21s in their 2023 European victory and continues to blossom at Everton.
Time in Garners company on Tuesday reveals a professional footballer with a passion for the sport and a deep thinker about it.
Six games short of 200 appearances for Everton, Garner talks about Moyes, Jack Grealish, the Peoples Club and whether hes had any contract discussions yet. He thinks about England, United and comparisons with Michael Carrick. He discusses Forest and Sean Dyche. He enthuses about MMA, NBA and darts.
Garner begins by reflecting that he never had another player as an inspiration growing up. Inspiration flowed from within. I always knew what I wanted. It was always to play football. I've worked hard to do it. The fact that it doesn't feel like a job shows that I'm doing it right. I come to work every single day, and it doesn't feel like work. For some, it might just feel like work, but for me, I just love playing football.
He also loves learning more about how to acquire more elite habits. When he is home from Finch Farm or Hill Dickinson Stadium, Garner often watches sporting documentaries like Michael Jordans The Last Dance or LeBron James in Starting 5, seeking insight into what drives the greats. I do look at legends and icons, like in basketball. I look at their mindset and work ethic. I listen to how they approach the game.
LeBron is obviously one of the greatest ever. People say he might be the best ever. His work ethic is why he's still in shape at 40 (and still playing with the LA Lakers). He gets to a game like four hours before everyone else, he's training before anyone's even there, then he comes back into the changing rooms, does his treatment, does gym and then he's back out on the floor again, training. It's no coincidence he's still the best.
He studies James closely. It definitely helps you change your mindset, thinking, there's no reason why I shouldn't be doing it if I'm an elite-level athlete. Obviously, it's different circumstances and a different game, so we can't get to Hill Dickinson Stadium and start taking free-kicks on the pitch! But definitely taking care of your body, seeing how people approach the game and how demanding they are of others, helps change your mindset.
He watches other sports. I enjoy any type of combat sport, boxing, MMA, I watch all of it. I like going to the events. UFC is finally getting the recognition it deserves. It's highly skilled, highly brave athletes. Youve got to be some brave fella to put yourself in an octagon where you can knee, kick, do pretty much everything but bite and head-butt. Theyre really good wrestlers, really good strikers and boxers. It's tactical. It's not just I'm bigger than you, I'm going to beat you.
Garner bounds into the room having been involved in a rather less combative sport. Hes just spent a lively 90 minutes with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall playing darts with local kids. The pair were excused first-team post-training weights session in the adjacent gym to help out an Everton In The Community (EitC) event. All of Moyes players are involved regularly during the season and willingly. They know the clubs award-winning charitable wing does so much good.
It really is the People's Club, Garner adds. That's what sets Everton Football Club apart from the others. The fanbase is, I feel, very Liverpool-based, really local and very passionate. It's such a family club. I've just come here from an hour and a half with kids who are in Everton In The Community. We do that really often. They're just happy to be in and around us, doing activities with us. We were just playing darts.
It was arrows with a specific aim. EitC introduced darts as a fun and creative way to support participants numeracy and maths skills. The scheme is part of the Premier League Kicks programme, which uses sport to engage hard-to-reach young people, steering them away from potential gang involvement and crime by encouraging participation in positive activities. The programme combines sports sessions with workshops on healthy lifestyles, employability and the dangers of gang violence, drugs and alcohol.
At the end of the session, Garner and Dewsbury-Hall were challenged by one of the kids and Joe The Rockstar Cullen, the PDC world-ranked No.31, was present at Finch Farm, giving expert tips. We did a 60-second me and Kiernan alternate shots, get as many scores as you can, and he (Rockstar) was with one of the kids. We won that one, then the next one was 501, which they won, and then the last one was first to a bullseye. And I hit it didn't I?!
I was on fire! I'm thinking if football doesn't work, I may as well put a few pounds on and try my luck at darts! I dont know what my walk-on music would be! Your dart one's got to be fun and bouncy, hasn't it? I went to Manchester to one of the Premier League dart games, sat in the Gods and really enjoyed it. The atmosphere was brilliant.
Nothing beats Everton home games, though. I was born in Birkenhead and grew up in the Wirral. (From) Eastham Ferry, you can see over into Liverpool. Its amazing to see the stadium now. It's definitely up there with the best stadiums in the league, if not the best.
When you go to big stadiums like Old Trafford, you're like, wow, this is really iconic. Or you go to new ones like Tottenham's and feel this is it now, this is a modern stadium, this is how it should be. We've got that now. Weve got the modern feel, it's so big, you stand outside and youre right on the (water) front. It's just the positioning of the stadium and how it's built, and especially when the fans are in there, it's amazing. The fans are extraordinary, aren't they? They are the 12th man. We've not been beaten at home this season and that's a good reason why.
Garner especially feels the crowd when playing right-back. Yes, and I take a lot of set-pieces as well, which is the only time the game slows down and you can really hear. It's always, come on, Jimmy lad. Just normal shouts. When you're in the game, youre so focused, so zoned in, I don't care what anybody says it can be 200,000 fans in there and you don't hear anything other than the 10 other players on the pitch with you, which is crazy. Believe me or not, thats Gods honest truth. Sometimes you don't even hear the manager because you're so zoned in.
Moyes has been so important to Garner. He's been really good since he's come in, he's given me more of a licence to express myself and get on the ball. The last few seasons, I've not really had the licence to show my qualities. That's just how the team was playing (poorly). With this manager now, we play a little bit more football and there's a lot more chance for me to get on the ball and try and make something happen.
A sixth of his 300+ passes this season have been aimed at Grealish. When he gets the ball, something happens. He's been one of the best players in the league so far this season. He always wants the ball; he's always there to help. He's come into the group and settled right in, like he's been here for years. That's definitely helped him coming into the team. He's very lively!
Garner is waiting for the question about his future, and is relaxed when it comes. He nods at mention of Everton sorting out the contracts of James Tarkowski and then Jordan Pickford. All I know at the moment [is] nothing's going [on]. There's been no talks. I know, obviously, my contracts up in the summer but from my side, I've heard nothing. But he loves it at Everton? I'm enjoying my football, of course. It's been a great start to the season for the club, and I've started quite well myself. I just need to keep on improving, keep on winning games and add a little bit more.
Working hard has always been part of Garners mindset, whether in training or matches. In any walk of life, whether it's just a regular, standard job or Premier League footballer, work ethic is a given. Talent is only enough to get you to certain places. If youre willing to put the graft in that can get you even further.
Graft was instilled in him in Uniteds academy, which he joined at 12. When Garner broke into the England Under-17s, a member of the FA staff told me that he had to be a strong character to represent United with such a strong Liverpool accent. It was (testing) as a younger kid because my accent was a lot thicker. I was like the stand-out just by my accent. I was viewed as completely different to everybody else, which is completely fine. Its all about character-building. You can either go in your shell or just be yourself.
Garner was himself, undaunted. I never got called Jimmy when I was at home. And then as soon as we went up to Manchester, all the Manchester lads called me Jimmy, which was a Manc thing, so that was Im one of the lads now. It's never bothered me.
He excelled in the academy and, at 17, was given his first-team debut by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Crystal Palace. As he went on, Garner was given a hug by a smiling Carrick and a pat on the back from Mike Phelan. Clearly, very popular.
I was one of the better ones coming through the Academy, even just how I approached training and the lad I am, I'm so willing to learn, and I give everything. The coaching staff and the players were really happy for me because it was like I deserved it. It wasn't a given that he's going to make his debut. No, you've earned it, you deserve it, you've trained with us for over a year now, and you work hard in training and you're a good player. That's why everyone was so happy and delighted for me when I finally did make my debut.
Garner joined Paul Pogba in midfield. Especially coming through at United, there were a lot of players who played in my position who people look at now and think they were arguably some of the best midfield players in the Premier League. (Paul) Scholes, Carrick, Pogba. Solskjaer said afterwards that Jimmy Garner - hes a Michael Carrick but 20 years younger. Its a precious memory for Garner. It was nice to be recognised as a similar player to those types of players.
I feel like my best position is in midfield. But I am very versatile. I've got good game understanding. That helps me play in pretty much any position I'm asked to. I know what my strengths are, and what I'm not good at, so I'm not going to put myself in predicaments where I know I'm not the best at. So, for example, playing full-back, I'm not going to get myself into dribbling positions because that's not my game. My game is to get a little bit of space, play some passes.
He's obviously considered the versatility question and whether it counts against him. If you're asking someone who's going to look at it negatively, then yes, it does count against me. Some people might say, hes good at a lot of positions but not very good at one. If youre looking at someone who's going to look at it in a positive light, then, no, versatility doesnt count against me. People get injured, and I can pretty much slot in anywhere that you need me to.
It could help him get in the England squad. Garner was in the UEFA Team of the Tournament when England won the Under-21s in 2023. Seven of that squad have now represented the seniors (and Emile Smith Rowe had already been capped). It's definitely a target for me, Garner says of his England ambitions. I feel I've got the quality to play in the team. I just need to show it on a more regular basis. Today's game, unfortunately, is all about statistics. I need to go out there and get some stats to myself, goals, assists. That's only going to help me.
Garner looks at Elliot Andersons effortless progress from this summers Under-21s success into the seniors. He definitely more than deserves the chance that he got. He more than took the chance. He's played really well. At the same time, it helps that he was in a team last season that was winning games. Forest ended up seventh. That doesn't go unnoticed. That's what you want going into tournament football, you want winners. You don't want players playing in the bottom half of the league. It's just facts.
Everton are currently 12th. Its not hindered Jordan Pickford, whos fought relegation while earning stellar status as one of Englands greatest keeper. I've not spoken much to Jordan about England, Garner adds. I'm not really too focused on it because Im very realistic. I'm not frustrated or annoyed that I've not had a chance. I'm still only 24 so I just need to keep on playing well on weekends.
Garner comes up against Anderson and Dyches Forest in early December. He played for Forest on 69 occasions, and also played under Dyche, Moyes predecessor at Everton. He definitely brings something different than the previous two managers (Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou). They (Forest) will be a lot more direct. It'll be tough for the team to adapt again now to a new style of play. But we're all Premier League footballers, so we need to adapt to whatever's put in front of us. I'm pretty sure they'll be able to do that. At least Dyches style is more similar to Nunos.
Anyway, Garners focus is solely on Everton, who face Tottenham Hotspur at home on Sunday when hell be back doing what he loves most kicking a football around.
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