Everton a complete and utter shambles (again)

As an Evertonian, I can say I have seen some rotten performances in supporting the Toffees for the last 30 years. However, last night’s performance in a 5-1 home hammering by Atalanta in the Europa League maybe the worst of the lot.

The defeat was Everton’s biggest European defeat at Goodison Park. Unfortunately, though the display summed up the Toffees season so far.

Interim boss David Unsworth did rotate his team. However, in all honesty, it is hard to know who the first choice players at Everton are these days, as most of the players have been atrocious.

Farhad Moshiri needs to prove himself

When majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri arrived at the club, he reportedly had big plans for the club. Supposedly, the British-Iranian billionaire was the big investor the club had desperately needed for years.

Many are now questioning whether Moshiri’s arrival has really benefitted the club. People will say that he gave former boss Ronald Koeman £150million to spend in the summer.

My answer to that would be, no he did not. The Toffees sold Romelu Lukaku for £75million plus add-ons, while Tom Cleverley and Gerard Deulofeu departed for transfer fees of over £10million.

Given that Everton also received major payments from the Premier League television deal, what has Moshiri really spent?

However, the biggest question marks are now not about Moshiri’s actually investment in the club. The biggest questions marks are about his ability to make the big decisions.

This boils down to the fact that the Toffees have been managerless for over a month after sacking Koeman. The club has delayed the appointment of a new boss and Moshiri has played a big part in that decision.

There has been talk of Marco Silva and Diego Simeone, who are obviously not available. Sam Allardyce was offered a short-term deal to keep the Toffees in the league, but rejected it, as he wanted a longer deal.

However, should Everton not have had a replacement lined-up before sacking Koeman? Everton was a stable but antiquated club before Moshiri arrived. All of a sudden, we are in a complete mess.

Chairman Bill Kenwright should share some of the blame too. However, my criticism of Kenwright is best left for another day and article.

Summer signings have not worked out

Last season Everton looked as if we had a good squad and it was only going to get better this summer, without the obvious exit of Romelu Lukaku. The signings of Davy Klaassen, Sandro Ramirez, Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane looked like good ones.

Unfortunately, it has not turned out that way for the Blues. Klaassen and Ramirez impressed at Ajax and Malaga respectively last season. Both were key players at their clubs.

However, at Everton, they look useless. Neither player looks like they have any confidence. It would not be a surprise to see them leave the club in January.

Both are decent players. In an Everton team short of quality, they have struggled to adapt, though. Keane and Pickford were signed from teams accustomed to relegation battles.

Keane has struggled badly alongside the ageing pair of Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka at different periods this season. Pickford has arguably been Everton’s best player this season, but his habit of parrying the ball away has cost the team badly of late.

Then there is Gylfi Sigurdsson. The Icelandic playmaker was always overpriced at £45million. He has done little to repay the faith shown in him. The former Swansea player has struggled to make an impact.

To be fair to the playmaker his teammates have not helped him in that respect either. He needs the right sort of players around him to thrive.

Then there is the alleged footballer that is Cuco Martina. Only Ronald Koeman could sign this lad twice. I have never seen a full-back at Everton that defends so badly and is out of position so many times, and I have seen a lot of bad full-backs.

In a very real relegation battle

Evertonian’s tend to be a pessimistic bunch because of the absolute dross that we have had to put up with over the last three decades. However, the reality has dawned on the majority of Toffees fans that we are in major trouble this season.

From potential top-four challengers to a relegation battle in less than six months, only Everton could do that. The Toffees are now odds of 10/1 to suffer relegation this season.

I am worried about the club I love. The club needs to act quickly and appoint a new permanent boss. There are good bosses out there and Everton needs to appoint one or all the announcements about new stadiums will mean nothing, as we will be playing the Championship next season.

Who can get Everton out of their current mess?