Up to the middle of September, Everton fans’ hopes were high. Everton had one of their best ever league starts and it appeared that the Martinez era quickly became a thing of the past. However, since their shock League Cup defeat to Norwich, it has all gone downhill. Everton have won just once in their last 9 games in all competitions. Here are the key reasons that could explain their severe drop in form.
Slow starters
Everton have an abysmal first half record. In the Premier League season, they have scored 6 goals in the first half – 1 against Tottenham, 1 against West Brom (in added time), 3 against Middlesbrough (1 in added time) and 1 against Crystal Palace. Therefore, they haven’t scored in the first half in 9 out of 13 Premier League games this season. And this is not new. They have failed to score in 11 out of their last 13 Premier League games away from home, and in that same run, they ended up winning only twice. It gets worse. The two away games they did score in the first half came in added time.
Everton, for some reason, just can’t seem to score in the first half. Why is that? Poor finishing? Poor teamwork? Here are Everton’s first half stats.
As you can see, there are some stark contrasts, particularly with shots. In Everton’s first 5 games this season, half of their shots in the first half was on target. Since then, around a quarter have been on target. Also, it is fair to say that scoring just one goal out of 43 shots is shambolic.
It is evident that Everton’s poor first half is costing them dearly. Severely poor finishing has meant that other teams took advantage with good teamwork and taught Everton how it should be done.
The defence
It isn’t just poor attacking, it’s poor defending as well. Everton have given away 4 penalties this season, which is already more than or equal to the number of penalties they conceded in 8 of the previous 10 seasons. 3 of those penalties were given away by captain Phil Jagielka. It’s surprising how quickly the Everton defence have deteriorated. The defence had a very strong start and were almost faultless. But in the previous 8 games, the exact opposite happened.
The average shots on target figure has doubled, the average amount of touches in Everton’s penalty area has increased by nearly 60% and Everton have allowed 7 more crosses per game in the previous 8 games. As you can see, Everton have become more and more exposed defensively. Everton have also kept only 3 out of 13 clean sheets in the Premier League this season and conceded the first goal of the game 7 times (including 4 of their last 5 games). It isn’t any wonder that the club is in very poor form with stats like these.
Lack of young blood
One solution fans have offered was playing youngsters. Mason Holgate has already made a huge impact at the club. Despite playing only 3 games, he has 1 assist to his name and won every single tackle. His performances have been widely acclaimed but he hasn’t played a single minute since Seamus Coleman returned from injury. Holgate can play centre-back as well as right-back, so he can replace heavily-criticised Phil Jagielka.
Tom Davies is another acclaimed youngster. He has only made a few substitute appearances this season, so he made little contribution. But he’s only 18; those substitute appearances will have helped him grow as a footballer because of the first-team experience. Him partnering Idrissa Gueye could be ideal for Everton.
Another youngster is Kieran Dowell. The 19-year-old hasn’t played yet this season, however he has already played 3 times for the club and started in last season’s 3-0 win over Norwich, giving him more taste of Premier League football. He could be a good replacement for out-of-form Ross Barkley.
It isn’t just the three aforementioned players Ronald Koeman could play. Everton U23 are top of the Premier League 2, winning 7 out of their 11 games and losing only twice. They have also scored more than 2 goals per game and have conceded only 9. Other honourable mentions are summer signing Dominic Calvert-Lewin (who has scored 4 goals in 8 PL2 games), Jonjoe Kenny (the U23 captain) and Liam Walsh.
If need be, one or two U18s could have a go. Particularly Fraser Hornby, who has scored 10 goals in 10 games, including 4 against Stoke U18.
It’s fair to say that it’s far too soon for Hornby, but if he gets a chance in the reserves and he impresses, who’s to say he won’t be a first-team player sooner rather than later?
The manager?
It’s nearly December and fans already want Ronald Koeman to be sacked. Is there any justifiable reason? He has inherited a team that has been very low in morale and adapted to terrible tactics. It was always going to be a mammoth task for Koeman to transform the team and make them a club others hate to play against again. He has only been in charge of Everton for 13 games in the Premier League this season, earning 19 points. By comparison, he has earned one point more than Howard Kendall after his first 13 Everton games in the league, and two points fewer than Harry Catterick. So an average start doesn’t always mean impending doom.
One criticism of Koeman would be not giving youth a chance. But all in all, is his managerial performance so far sackable? It’s highly doubtful. A top 8 finish is still possible, but it’s the players who have to put more of an effort in and turn Everton’s fortunes around. Because Koeman has very limited options (until January at least).