Everton should learn from Leicester City
After the events of last weekend and the horrific injury to Andre Gomes, thoughts now turn to this Saturday’s upcoming match at Southampton, another massive one for Everton.
The Everton players will hopefully be even more motivated by Gomes injury as they start preparing for the game against the Saints with three crucial points on offer.
Not that they should need any extra motivation frankly. The fact that the Blues could find themselves in the relegation zone next weekend if they lose and other results go against them, should surely be enough!
Looking at the Toffees predicament has got me thinking of how differently this season has gone for another club that like Everton has been trying to break into the top six and Champions League places recently; Leicester City.
I’ve said before that I don’t think the Foxes have a more talented squad of players than Everton, yet they sit fourth in the Premier League while the Blues languish fourth from bottom!
So what is so different about their approach?
After the mad and still almost unbelievable title-winning season of 2015-16, Leicester inevitably struggled to sustain the momentum they had generated during that fairytale campaign.
Despite wining the title, Claudio Ranieri didn’t last much longer and Leicester moved on to Frenchman Claude Puel as they struggled to find some consistency and re-establish themselves again. It looked like that title win really was a one-off.
Last season the Foxes campaign was heading once again toward mid-table mediocrity under the guidance of Puel.
His cautious, defensive approach wasn’t going down well with the fans or getting the best out of Leicester’s key players like Jamie Vardy.
In fact Leicester City away was one of the few games Everton won on their travels last season. Gylfi Sigurdsson’s trademark long-range strike gave the Blues a 2-1 win.
So with their season floundering, the club hierarchy took decisive steps once more and sacked Puel in order to bring in Celtic boss Brendan Rogers.
Although he was though renowned for playing progressive, attacking football and for having a knack for getting the best out of his players, the ex-Swansea and Liverpool manager hadn’t won anything in England. However the Reds finished second in 2013-14 under him.
And north of the border, Rogers had won successive domestic trebles while his Celtic team was utterly dominating Scottish football.
So the Northern Irishman had an established track record of success, albeit in a league which isn’t as competitive as it once was. That though was good enough for Leicester to move for him.
Fast forward to today and the impact of Rogers is plain for all to see. Leicester didn’t spend big in the summer and in fact their largest transfer deal involved a player moving on as Harry Maguire left to sign for Manchester United.
But despite losing the talismanic England defender, Rogers has molded a mainly youthful team into a very competitive side that combines defensive solidity with real attacking flair.
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Young players like James Maddison and Yuri Tielemens are excelling while remaining veterans like Jonny Evans and Vardy are also looking re-born under his tutelage. How different from the Toffee’s situation!
Everton continue to flounder with indifferent performances and results and a team full of players struggling to find their best form and any consistency.
And Marco Silva is still the Blues boss despite the dreadful start his side have made to this season.
Meanwhile the board at Goodison Park seem to be in no hurry to make any moves to change this stagnant situation.