2. Individual errors are still costing Everton
Mason Holgate’s sending off was, along with the contentious penalty decision, the most irritating thing about yesterday’s game.
The defender’s challenge was a reckless one and while there might be an argument that his follow-through shouldn’t have merited a straight red card, it was still another mistake that has cost the Toffees.
He will now be unavailable when the league returns and this has created another selection headache for manager Rafa Benitez who is already struggling with so many injuries, in particular to arguably his best centre-back Yerry Mina.
Of course referee Chris Kavanagh eccentrically changed his mind and decided his initial decision to give Holgate a yellow card wasn’t correct and changed it to a red.
But, the Englishman’s error follows on from a series of mistakes that he has made in the recent past. Last season these led to a goal conceded against Aston Villa for example, one of those Goodison defeats that cost the Blues so much last term.
It is also the latest in a series of individual errors from players that have proved costly already this season and while players will always make mistakes it’s something the team must try and improve on.
One example of how this can be done is Jordan Pickford. The England goalkeeper was renowned for his inconsistent and immensely frustrating performances over the last few years. These tendancies to unprovoked errors have also cost the team dearly at times and raised questions about whether he had a long-term future at Everton.
Pickford has made a strong effort to solve this problem and from the later half of last season and through this campaign so far, he has been much more solid and consistent for the Toffees’. We’ve hardly spoken of Pickford recently and that’s largely because he’s been solid and pretty much blameless even when the Blues’ collpased and conceded five goals against Watford.
Other players like Holgate must learn to do this and cut out unforced errors if they want to have any future at Everton as Benitez looks to reshape his squad.