More on Everton defeat at Villa
Everton were soundly beaten by Aston Villa on Friday night and that defeat starkly underlined the problems that the Blues have to solve if they want to compete for honours or the top six.
The sobering loss at Villa, has probably shaken whatever hesitant optimism any Everton fans might have harboured of making a real impact on this Premier League season.
On the face of it an 0-2 defeat away from home, at a newly promoted side desperate for points and with the second decisive goal scored in the dying moments of added time, might not seem such a terrible result.
But it was the manner of the loss that should really disturb Blues fans. The Toffees started brightly and made the early running but as soon as Villa got their first goal the way the Blues momentum dissolved was very worrying.
Everton seem to have so little real confidence on their travels that if they don’t get an early breakthrough they lose all heart and momentum. This fragile mental state is really concerning.
It seems that any initial pace and energy to the Toffees play, collapses at the first sign of adversity or pressure.
Critical to sustaining that dynamism is the strength and quality of the Blues midfield. And in this respect I’ve long been of the view that Everton should consider reverting to a kind of 4-3-3 formation.
Switching to that system would give a greater balance and strength to the Toffees side. Having three players in the middle would give superior protection to the Everton defence and greater control of the pace and tempo of a match.
As I mentioned in the match report, I think the Blues should consider pairing Jean-Philipe Gbamin (when he’s fit) and Fabian Delph with Andre Gomes but allowing the Portuguese to play in a more advanced and freer role.
Whenever Gomes is forced to defend when the Blues are struggling to get control of a game, (as happened on Friday), he tends to get into trouble making badly timed tackles and getting himself in hot water with the ref.
Allowing him to focus on his attacking play would be a much better use of his talents. That was the role he played so effectively in Spain with Valencia before his former big money move to Barcelona.
Hopefully such a change might enable Everton to get the best out of a player who could prove vital to the team’s fortunes.
Gbamin and Delph would hopefully provide a very effective shield for the Blues centre-backs and also give greater freedom for the full-backs too.
As an aside to the defensive questions, I think Djibril Sidibe should get a chance soon at right-back. Although Seamus Coleman has been solid enough and is captain, I’m still not convinced he can contribute enough going forward.
That then leaves us with the question of who should be the front three in this revised formation?
I would be inclined to give Alex Iwobi and Moise Kean a chance to play in a three with Bernard. Nominally the Brazilian would be on the left to continue his productive relationship with Lucas Digne, with Iwobi on the right and Kean through the middle.
Although in practice I would see them able to interchange and switch positions with each other, as all three players are capable of playing anywhere across the attack.
That seems important to me as one of the problems with the Blues frontline is that it tends to be a bit too static and predictable. But again most of all whoever plays up front has to show more clinical ability in front of goal.
This new look side leaves Gylfi Sigurdsson, Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin out of the team.
The Icelanic playmaker has struggled for form for some time now and needs a spell out of the side. I also think that his style of play doesn’t really suit how Everton operate at their best as he lacks the pace and movement needed for that kind of high-tempo, pressing game.
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Richarlison has also looked a shadow of his former self since the beginning of the season. Apart from one early speculative shot, he basically had no impact on the match on Friday night.
As I’ve said before I suspect he might still be recovering from his bout of measles contracted this summer. Again I think he might benefit from a little period out of the limelight to regain his full health and fitness.
Well that’s my opinion of a revised new-look Toffees side, which might deliver new impetus to Everton’s season.