What an awful afternoon, once again, and Everton fall to yet another defeat today at Brentford as the season continues to unravel.
Everton were beaten 1-0 by a Bees’ side also in terrible form going into the match that offered very little themselves and looked a team as poor as the Blues’ themselves are. That’s how far this club has fallen and how much work has to be done.
I felt that the Toffees’ simply had to win this game or at the very least get point given the hugely difficult fixtures coming up and so once again where on earth do things go from here?
Can Rafa Benitez survive if as probably all Evertonians expect, the team get soundly beaten by Liverpool on Wednesday night?
The manager went with the predictable line-up again today and as we all probably expected he picked Salomon Rondon with Alex Iwobi behind him.
And, both his central midfielders came through fitness tests so Allan lined up alongside Abdoulaye Doucoure. Playing them both was a potential risk and Doucoure particularly looked rusty, although he at least had some commitment and tried to make things happen.
Iwobi and Rondon up front were dreadful again and offered nothing as the Toffees’ attack was toothless and were virtually a none-existing threat.
Why couldn’t Benitez have shown a bit of imagination and maybe try something different against an opponent who were also desperate for points and low in confidence? And, when they were still only one goal behind why not go for it and bring on all his attacking resources and try to salvage something from the game?
Brentford had scored a first-half penalty which Ivan Toney despatched and that always looked like it would be enough as Everton didn’t look like they were ever going to get back into the match.
The home team then basically just sat back and let the Blues’ have lots of possession in the certain knowledge that this Everton team wouldn’t be able to do anything to break them down.
That’s of course exactly what happened. One thing that you can always depend on is that Everton FC are exactly the side you want to play of you’re struggling and need an easy win.
The Toffees; had their own penalty shout which should have been given but of course when you’re this club and struggling, you never get a break.
Its aleays hard ro be objective at this time after another defeat, but I honestly feel like giving up, I feel so deflated with this club and team and I have no idea how we get out of this treadmill of failure and frustration. I think the only possible thing that can be done is the same short-term thing that always happens and that’s change the manager.
Bringing in Benitez was a massive gamble of course and while he seemed like the only one who was prepared to take this toxic job on, it was always going to be on a knife edge as to which way it was going.
He needed absolutely everything to go perfectly from the off if this appointment was to have any chance of working out.
At first pretty much everything did go according to plan as both of Benitez’s attacking signings Andros Townsend and Demerai Gray got off to a flyer.
He also had a kind set of opening fixtures and won four and drew two of the first seven matches. But since then the familiar Everton injury curse has hit and exposed again the manifest failings of this squad of players.
And that’s the rub, whoever manages this group of ill-fitting and underachieving footballers they always let them down and find a way to fail. I mean even a coach of the reputation and supposed calibre of Carlo Ancelotti couldn’t get a consistent tune out of these players.
However, Benitez’s team selection today was poor although he didn’t have a lot of other choices. But he didn’t make any substiutions other than Gray to try and get something from the game. Why didn’t Cenk Tosun and or Ellis Simms come on especially when Gray was showing some urgency and put in some excellent crosses?
Up to this point I’ve been prepared to give Benitez the benefit of the doubt as he’s come in with a shoestring budget to spend and a collection of ordinary footballers that he didn’t sign.
But, this afternoon I think he used up whatever residual goodwill there was left. In addition, his body language at Manchester City and today seems to indicate he is less and less interested in sticking this out anyway.
I wouldn’t want to be him on Wednesday night and I can’t imagine how toxic that atmosphere could be at the Grand Old Lady with all those kopites singing his name.