Everton: 3 things we learned from toothless 1-0 loss to Brentford

Are Everton in a Relegation Battle?

People may think this a bit premature, a loss to Brentford doesn’t mean that Everton could possibly suffer their first relegation during the Premier League era, but the Toffees’ seven-game winless run could easily extend into double digits, the possible sacking of Rafa Benitez, and for the club to fall into total free fall leading to relegation.

This situation isn’t impossible, it has happened to plenty of clubs and Everton are currently on that track, wasting a lot of money, which eventually leads to trouble with FFP and eventually relegation, but it is also avoidable.

Everton needs to improve how the club is run in a footballing perspective, whether that is by putting more trust in Marcel Brands and letting him put his vision onto the club, or by replacing Brands with a different Director of Football, but whatever Everton do they need to do it quickly because the Toffees are very quickly being left behind by other clubs.

There’s no clear strategy at Everton and that is the problem, clubs need to have a strategy in place to make sure they aren’t left behind, it’s how the team that just beat Everton were able to make their way into the Premier League for the first time, and that team could possibly finish above Everton, along with other sides like Crystal Palace and Brighton who have a set vision for their club.

Rafa, if backed by the owners, needs to weed out the deadwood on huge wages, and bring in a group of players who fit his philosophy, the youth teams have only just started to incorporate Rafa’s system, something clubs like Manchester City have been doing for years, which has allowed them to bleed talent like Phil Foden and Cole Palmer into the first team with relative ease.

If these changes are made quickly, then maybe, if the club is lucky, these changes can start to be seen next season, when it becomes much easier for Rafa to funnel in players from Everton’s youth academy like Lewis Dobbin, Ellis Simms and Tyler Onyango. They also need a transfer strategy, whether that’s bringing in the best of the Championship or players from across Europe that don’t receive enough recognition, either way, Everton need hard-working players who will fit the motto:

Nil Satis Nisi Optimum.

Can the Toffees bounce back?