In his latest article, guest columnist Matt Townsend gives his take on the 1-1 draw between Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion, while wondering about Ronald Koeman’s future.
A new week, the return of the Premier League and another underwhelming performance from Everton – nothing changes then!
Against Brighton & Hove Albion the saga continued, as once again the Blues were off-key and lacklustre. In truth, they barely deserved anything from the match.
I hoped that playing away might actually help the players. Sometimes when things are going badly, Goodison Park can seem a difficult place, with the crowd subdued and anxious, in turn being transmitted to the team.
Again Ronald Koeman started with both Wayne Rooney and Gylfi Sigurdsson. Although Rooney did score the equaliser, it still seems to me that it’s a combination that doesn’t work.
As with the previous match against Burnley, Everton began quite brightly and had the better of the early passages of play. However, again it quickly faded and the team seemed to retreat into its shell, with Brighton defending well and growing in confidence.
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In the second half, the Blues looked less likely to make a breakthrough the longer the half went on and it was Brighton now looking much more likely to win the match. After they finally scored with seven minutes remaining, Everton’s goose looked cooked; it was only a moment of madness from a Brighton defender that allowed the Blues back into the game.
Koeman tried to emphasise the positives after the match. The way he talked, coming away with a point at Brighton now seemed like a major achievement!
With all due respect to the South Coast side, after spending almost £150 million on new players in the summer, the Blues really should be beating sides like them, home or away. At the moment, supporters can only be glad there are a couple of teams in even worse form than Everton, otherwise they’d surely be stuck right in the relegation zone.
Next: Blues preparing bid for Portuguese internationl
Now we have another round of matches in the mixed blessing that is the Europa League. Thursday’s game seems to have taken on added importance, especially given Everton are at home.
You have to think if the Toffees draw or lose, that would be it in terms of their participation in Europe this season. It would also prompt the board to consider making a change. Roll on Thursday…