Where do Everton need to improve after first four games?

With the first four matches of the Premier League season over and the first international break this weekend, it seems a good time to ask where do Everton need to up their game in order to improve results?

Despite some frustration with their early season matches Everton are at least unbeaten so far. The only other teams with that record at the moment are the current top four sides in the league.

But the Blues have dropped a number of points, especially from winning positions and there are certainly areas for improvement that will need to be addressed if the Toffees are to be really competitive this campaign.

So let’s have a closer look at the teams’ strengths and weaknesses that we’ve seen as the early season unfolds.

There’s no doubt Everton have improved significantly in the quality and consistency of their attacking play.

The Blues have been playing with pace, purpose and energy going forward, all things that were conspicuously lacking last season.

The Toffees are also better at converting the chances they do create. At the moment they are averaging almost 2 goals from just over 10 shots per game. That’s a conversion rate of roughly 20%, which is not bad. These statistics also represent an important improvement on last season.

In addition the team are keeping the ball better than they were last time round, although they need to improve their passing accuracy. Again this is significant as it means of course Everton are spending less time in a game without the ball and therefore defending or trying to win it back.

The pressing game that the Blues are employing under manager Marco Silva is making the team a much greater threat in attack.

However the converse of that improved attacking mentality and approach, is that Everton are more open defensively when they do lose the ball.

But ironically it’s not generally from open play that the Blues have been conceding, rather it’s at set-pieces where the team have been weakest. Last weekend’s disappointing draw at Goodison Park against Huddersfield underlined this problem.

It’s perhaps the one thing that Everton need to address most urgently. Set pieces are becoming increasingly important in the Premier League and no team that cannot effectively defend them is likely to be successful, long-term.

We’ve discussed the tactic of zonal marking Everton are employing, along with nearly everyone else! But whatever system is used only constant work on the training ground and better decision-making by players on the pitch, will likely improve this situation.

Let’s hope the international break will give the Blues coaching staff a bit more time to address this issue.

The other area the team must work to improve is their discipline. As everyone knows Everton have already had two players sent off in controversial circumstances, but the team have also picked up lots of yellow cards as well.

While its impossible to totally account for refereeing decisions and inconsistencies, the team needs to do more to try to avoid giving those ref’s the opportunity to take such action.

It’s early days yet but the Toffees might be gaining a reputation for indiscipline, which could hurt them especially given how card-happy some officials seem to be.

Blues midfielder almost back in training.

In other news midfielder James McCarthy is almost fit again and ready to return to the Everton first team.

With the international break coming up this weekend there’s not been a lot of going on as far as Everton are concerned, but one piece of good news is that long-term absentee James McCarthy is almost fit.

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The Irish international has been out since suffering an injury last season but it appears he might be ready to return by the end of the month.

McCarthy’s absence this time is especially unfortunate as he’d only just come back from a previous long-term injury when he was hurt yet again. He must hope that he’s had all his bad luck, as far as injuries are concerned anyway.

The midfielders’ return is welcome given the number of players Everton have out at the moment in that area of the team. The Blues are short of both numbers and experience there and so McCarthy’s return will certainly help improve Marco Silva’s options.

He’s absence is all the more frustrating because before his injury problems, McCarthy was one of the Blues better and more consistent players. Hopefully he can now put his problems behind him and focus on his Everton career.