It was a difficult 90 minutes for Everton fans this weekend. Rafa Benitez’s Everton went down with a whimper as they were defeated 1-0 by Brentford at the Brentford Community Stadium in a spineless display from the Toffees.
In a must-win game, Everton extended their winless run to seven and dropped down to 14th in the Premier League table with only 15 points from 13 games, the Toffees worst run at this point in the season since the 2017/18 season. It also doesn’t look like things are getting better for Benitez, as Everton face Liverpool on Wednesday in the first Merseyside Derby, followed up by Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Leicester, a run that could easily see Rafa lose his job if he doesn’t lose it after the Derby.
Rafa will be under a lot of pressure going into these next few games and will be desperate for results, but realistically the Royal Blues should have picked up points against a Brentford side that seemed very shaky on the ball and were quite error-prone throughout the game, especially in that second half.
Three things learned from Everton vs Brentford:
Salomon Rondon’s continuously poor performances since joining Everton
This one is difficult because Salomon Rondon has become almost like a scapegoat for Everton’s abysmal performances recently, but in this game, the Venezuelan forward should’ve scored his first goal for the Toffees, but after multiple missed chances Rondon has left fans frustrated with the 32-year olds ability to lead the line is questionable.
Even if Rondon was signed as a third option striker, he still can’t perform to a high enough standard even when given limited game time, to the point where young players like Ellis Simms or Lewis Dobbin should probably be given a chance, as they will provide a lot more energy and pace than Rondon, and would probably produce better results in front of goal too.
Rondon had four shots, with two being on target and two being off, and even though that tally is good for a striker, with all four shots being located inside of the penalty box, the two shots on target shots were aimed right at Brentford goalkeeper Álvaro Fernàndez. Besides those two shots, Rondon, who is supposed to be a physical striker, lost nine duels, only winning three as he was easily handled by the Brentford defence.
It’s safe to say fans are already reaching their limit with Rondon.
Everton manager Rafa Benitez’s Poor Game Management
To clarify, poor game management applies to this game, and it also doesn’t mean Rafa is a bad manager, but in the Brentford match, he had an atrocious time at the dugout. Rafa only used one sub, replacing Andros Townsend with Demarai Gray, a good substitute, but arguably the wrong player left the pitch as Townsend has proven to have a big impact on Everton’s counter-attacks, and him and Gray play very well when paired together, he also offers a lot more end product than Iwobi, who has proven during his time at Everton that he is an extremely frustrating player.
The main issue with Rafa’s game management is his constant persistence with previously mentioned Rondon when he had Cenk Tosun, Simms and Dobbin on the bench, who all would have probably had more of an impact than Rondon, it also was a perfect opportunity for the two academy players to prove themselves with a breakout performance to rescue a point or even a win for the Toffees.
The Merseysiders also seemed to only really get into the game during the second half, something that has happened consistently with the Toffees this season, with Rafa telling the team to turn things up during the second half, but with almost all of Everton’s attack either injured or on the bench returning from injury, Rafa should have told the team to try to get into the game as early as possible, instead of just expecting another comeback from the side.
Rafa will need to try to keep the mistakes to a minimum if he plans on keeping his job at Everton during this gauntlet of tough fixtures.
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?