Everton boss Ronald Koeman has a lot of issues to sort out on Merseyside
On Monday night Liverpool recorded a 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park in the Merseyside derby.
In truth, it was a game lacking in quality and looked to be heading towards a goalless draw until the 94th minute when Sadio Mane scrambled home the winner.
As a neutral, it must have been awful to watch. As an Everton fan, it was even worse.
Down the years the hurt of a derby defeat has sadly been diluted out of sheer necessity. Everton fans are usually quite good at detaching our emotions and assessing our team’s flaws.
The derby was not a one-off performance. A lot of the same problems have dogged the Blues and probably will until boss Ronald Koeman can bring in some higher quality players.
Everton need to play with tempo and aggression
Although Everton are a club with a rich and glorious history, in recent years the club have not been very well backed financially. Hopefully, that will change with the arrival of Farhad Moshiri.
A lack of investment in quality players meant that previous bosses were not able to play a very expansive game. They had to find a way of winning by other means with players of a lesser standard. The more successful Everton teams of David Moyes were at their best when playing at tempo with aggression.
When I say aggression I do not mean going in stupidly hard on players like Ross Barkley. I am talking about winning the ball and making it hard for teams to retain possession.
Everton produced a good 25 minutes against Liverpool, a bit like the last 75 against Arsenal. They played with a good tempo and aggression. However, they failed to create anything like a real attempt on goal and the tempo disappeared.
Once that tempo was gone Liverpool slowly edged into the game. After half-time, it seemed to be backs to the wall defending. Koeman’s side failed to retain the ball and offered very little attacking threat.
The enforced substitution of the energetic James McCarthy at the break may have played a part in that the tide turning. In the second half, only one team looked like scoring and unfortunately it was not the men in royal blue.
Romelu Lukaku looked isolated
Following that initial rally from Everton, Toffees striker Romelu Lukaku looked isolated up front. When the home side had the ball more often than not they would attempt to find the striker with hopeless punts up front. There is nothing essentially wrong with that tactic.
It may not be total football, but it can be successful if employed in the right manner. However, for the tactic to work there needs to be some support for the lone target man. Men running from midfield, wide or from the number ten position.
Any support is vital for it to work. Lukaku is a player that needs support. He is not in the habit of picking the ball up 60 yards out and beating five defenders. It’s just not his game. He is just not getting any support at the moment.
The derby was not the first time this has happened. It has been happening a lot this season. Lukaku has scored nine goals, but many of those were created by the injured Yannick Bolasie.
The Toffees record signing will unfortunately not be in Koeman’s plans for a while, so the Dutchman needs to find a way to get support to the striker and get him firing again.
Koeman lacks wide options
The comparison between Everton and Liverpool’s squads was quite staggering last night. The fact Jurgen Klopp’s side could bring on a proven striker like Daniel Sturridge, while Everton brought on a 19-year-old forward Dominic Calvin-Lewin, who had made just one appearance in the top-flight said a lot about the Blues squad.
Koeman may have made an error in not bringing on Belgian star Kevin Mirallas instead of the youngster. The Belgian star is inconsistent, but he has more experience and he may have been able to get his team further up the pitch. The substitution proved that Ronald Koeman’s wide options at the moment are woeful, though.
Enner Valencia is all pace and no end product. His touch is also woeful. Aaron Lennon on the other wing was non-existent, although he can produce better displays than his one in the derby.
However, Koeman’s tactic of attempting to utilise their pace was obviously, even if the pair lack any other sort of attribute. As inconsistent as Bolasie is, at least he represents a threat and occasionally comes up with a moment of magic.
Spanish star Gerard Deulofeu has struggled to produce anything other than disappointment this season. Hence the reason he stayed on the bench.
Everton boss Koeman has already stated that he expects to replace Bolasie in the January transfer window. One player that has been linked with the Toffees is Manchester United’s Memphis Depay, who quite frankly could not be any worse than Valencia.
The sad truth is that Ronald Koeman has a major rebuilding job on his hands at Everton. The Toffees are currently odds of 1/6 to make the top of the Premier League this season.
The way the team has played and with the lack of quality in the squad I would gladly take a top-ten finish and then hope that Koeman can further strengthen in the summer. If Everton do not start to strengthen then Farhad Moshiri’s vision of bringing the glory days back to the club will be a million miles away.
Where do Everton’s main problems lie at the moment?
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