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Everton quarterly review: Blues still struggling in central defence

By Matt Townsend

Everton's English defender Michael Keane (L) challenges Newcastle United's English striker Callum Wilson (R) during the English Premier League football match between Newcastle United and Everton at St James' Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north east England on November 1, 2020. (Photo by Owen Humphreys / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by OWEN HUMPHREYS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Everton's English defender Michael Keane (L) challenges Newcastle United's English striker Callum Wilson (R) during the English Premier League football match between Newcastle United and Everton at St James' Park in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, north east England on November 1, 2020. (Photo by Owen Humphreys / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by OWEN HUMPHREYS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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We continue our quarterly review of the season so far with a look at the centre of the Everton defence and the ongoing problems there.

Previously the focus of our review was on the Everton full-backs who have been a mixture of good, bad and injured. Now lets take a closer look at how the team’s central defensive players have performed so far this season.

Centre-back has been a problem position for quite a while now and last season the Toffees were often woeful defensively. They went into the 2019-20 campaign with only three recognised senior centre-halves having failed to replace Kurt Zouma who returned to Chelsea after a season on loan.

That broke up a promising partnership with Micheal Keane, which had looked like it was good enough to finally iron out those constant central defensive problems.

One other major issue was the use of zonal marking under Marco Silva, which the Everton central defenders were struggling to adapt to. In fact the Blues conceded more set-piece goals than any other Premier League side.

The team’s defensive problems seemed to be temporarily alleviated when Carlo Ancelotti took over and the new manager continued with a 4-4-2 formation and a safety-first approach, initially adopted by Duncan Ferguson. In addition, Mason Holgate emerged during the season to become a regular starter for the team.

For a while then it looked as though the Blues were making progress, but when the season resumed after suspension, the old frailties returned and the Toffees started leaking goals again.

Before the start of this season Everton had four established centre-halves with Holgate alongside Keane, Yerry Mina and another young January addition Jarrad Branthwaite who had impressed on a few limited starts at the end of the previous campaign.

Then Holgate got injured in a pre-season friendly and so the Toffees were forced to go back into the transfer market for another defender and eventually signed Ben Godfrey from Nowich City.

By then Ancelotti had moved to a 4-3-3 and Keane and Mina were his first and only choice of central defenders, when Branthwaite also picked up an injury playing in the Carabao Cup.

Keane and Mina have similar strengths and weaknesses. Both are big and powerful defenders who block and clear the ball well and generally excel in the air. In fact Mina is statistically the third best defender in the country in that respect.

But both also lack out-and-out pace and neither are the most confident and assured on the ball, although Keane has been much improved this season. As a result they are particularly vulnerable to forwards with pace and movement and don’t allow the Toffees to confidently play a high line, push up and squeeze the opposition consistently.

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The other major problem is individual errors. Too often Blues defenders make unforced errors of judgement, which cost the team goals. It’s something successive managers have been unable to sort out. So because of all this, Everton continually concede goals and are now averaging almost two a match this season. That’s unsustainable.

This together with the injury problems and suspensions suffered by the forwards, have combined to critically undermine the Blues great start to the season.

Holgate returned to the first-team against Manchester United straight after recovering from his latest injury, but he was off the pace and in fact the Toffees conceded more goals in that game than they have in any other single match this season.

Holgate has had a succession of injury problems and so he can’t be relied upon to be available week-in-week-out and there are questions about whether he is suited to playing in a two-man partnership. Keane and Mina don’t look the right combination and Branthwaite is still young and inexperienced. Perhaps Godfrey can step up if given a chance?

dark. Next. Another Everton player is injury doubt

Everton need to find a stable and consistent partnership in the middle of the defence, whoever that is or look at alternative formations. If they don’t manage to stem the relentless tide of goals being conceded, it will undermine the new-look attack and the team’s chances of success.