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Yet again Everton fail away test

By Matt Townsend

BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 15: Bernard and Lucas Digne of Everton look on after the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Everton FC at Vitality Stadium on September 15, 2019 in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. (Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images)
BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 15: Bernard and Lucas Digne of Everton look on after the Premier League match between AFC Bournemouth and Everton FC at Vitality Stadium on September 15, 2019 in Bournemouth, United Kingdom. (Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images) /
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Predictably it has happened again as Everton slipped to yet another depressing away defeat as they went down 3-1 at Bournemouth this afternoon.

What is it with this Everton team!? Will they ever manage to perform properly and win another Premier League game away from home!!

I wrote recently that I thought there were some tentative signs that the Blues were improving slowly since last season. I think I might have to revise that opinion after this result at Bournemouth.

In my match preview before today’s game, I also suggested that games like today’s were crucial as a barometer of whether the Toffees were in any shape to make a stab at finishing in the top six this season.

And yet again Everton have failed that test. Once more the team provided another example of what we’ve seen so many times before; the Toffees are the perfect opponent if you’re struggling for form and points.

Had Everton won this game they had the chance to move into third place. Instead the team have now slumped to 11th. Another great opportunity for the team to progress up the table has been passed up.

I honestly don’t think the Blues have any chance of finishing in that top six this term, and this result has in my mind raised renewed questions about whether Marco Silva is the right man for the job going forward.

The problems with this team are the same we see over and over again and yet despite that there doesn’t seem to be any urgency to tackle them.

The football was too laboured and as always too many players were once more badly out of sorts on their travels.

We do need to make the point that the Blues did have several good early chances and kept Cherries keeper Aaron Ramsdale busy during the game on several occasions.

Perhaps if one or more of those chances had gone in the match might have turned out a bit differently. However the problem is that once again on their travels, the Toffees can’t get the job done.

It’s like all the Blues players leave their shooting boots hanging up in the Goodison Park dressing room whenever they travel away!

And yet again Everton’s defending, especially at set-pieces, was weak and contributed to the Bournemouth goals. This problem, which plagued the side this time last season, returned in the Blues last game at home to Wolves before the international break and continued today.

Why are we still having this debate one year on after so many problems of this kind last season? Once again if the Toffees can’t sort this out it will certainly sabotage the team’s chances during this campaign.

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Silva decided to bench Moise Kean and went with Dominic Calvert-Lewin up front again despite the quality of Everton’s attacking play with Kean in the side against Wolves.

I was baffled by this decision and although Calvert-Lewin did score Everton’s consolation goal, he also missed an earlier chance as well before hand.

Anyway I really don’t have much more I want to say. I don’t know how the Blues can move forward. There are no other players to turn to and this is going to be simply the latest lost groundhog day season if we’re not careful.