In his third article for Prince Rupert’s Tower, guest columnist Matt Townsend examines the wreckage after Everton suffer a disappointing 1-0 loss to Burnley.
Did I say in my last article that it felt like Everton were taking two steps forward and then one back?! After Sunday’s dismal display and defeat, they’re right back to the drawing board again.
This was in some ways an even worse loss than the thrashings by Tottenham and Manchester United. After raising the fans’ hopes just a little last weekend with a creditable come from behind win against Bournemouth, the Blues have dashed them again.
Had Everton overcome Burnley and got three points, you could put Thursday’s error-strewn display in the Europa League down to the inevitable ups and downs of a side working itself into some decent form. However, now that would seem a highly optimistic view to take.
I have to say I was relieved looking at the team ahead of the match. Ronald Koeman finally decided to give Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Oumar Niasse and Nikola Vlasic all a game from the start and had dropped Wayne Rooney.
In the opening 10 minutes or so it looked like it might just work. Calvert-Lewin looked lively and held the ball up well, Niasse looked threatening and Vlasic was prepared to run at the Burnley defence to try and make something happen.
But then Burnley scored a well-crafted counter-attacking goal and the wind just went right out of Everton’s sails. It was almost as if someone just flicked a switch and that was it!
After the goal, Everton hardly created anything of note and Burnley looked embarrassingly comfortable in defence, while the best player for the home side was once again Jordan Pickford in goal. At least he is used to playing behind a poor team lacking in confidence and leaking sloppy goals week in week out!
I’m a big fan of Sean Dyche. He is a very grounded and competent coach, and his teams always look so well-drilled and focused.
But surely Everton, having spent so many millions on attacking talent this summer, should have the wit and craft to break a team like Dyche’s down? Apparently not on the evidence of Sunday’s game, even though it was not as if Burnley’s tactics were a surprise!
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It was highly likely the Clarets would come and look to be tight, deny the Blues space and seek that breakaway goal. They actually played a near perfect Premier League away game and Everton had no answers.
Of course, it doesn’t take any great insight to see something is fundamentally wrong with this team at the moment. Too many key players are out of form and the manager doesn’t appear to have a clue as to how to turn things around.
So, is this season already turning into a relegation fight and should we hit the panic button? I don’t think we can jettison Koeman at the moment and hope to find someone else to inspire his team. (These are, after all, mainly his signings.)
The 54-year-old has a responsibility to do everything he can to change the mood and feel around Goodison Park. The stadium is more and more resembling a morgue on matchday.
Koeman surely needs a bit more time, however difficult that is to deal with. After all, most of us — myself included — lauded his appointment a year ago and frankly at the moment, who is there to replace him??
Next: Koeman faces biggest challenge of managerial career
What’s your analysis of the season so far? How much longer do you believe Koeman will — or more to the point should — get, to turn things around? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.