This season’s been a bit of a poisoned chalice for anyone wanting to form coherent arguments about teams. On one hand, there’s plenty to talk about, but it’s also near-impossible to actually know what’s going on. An accurate description would be that the usual favourites have dropped the ball, and that outsiders have capitalised.
Leicester’s astronomical rise has been well-documented, likewise the fact that Tottenham are their nearest rivals, and West Ham are keeping teams honest. Amidst the unlikely title race and Aston Villa’s implosion, one team’s underachievements have shied away from focus. That is Everton’s dour season.
The Toffees currently sit in 14th place in the Premiership, albeit with a game in hand to their rivals, but this is still unacceptable for a team of such calibre. As things stand, Everton are on course for their worst season since 2004 when they finished 17th, and for some nice nostalgic context, this was with a squad featuring the likes of Wayne Rooney, Duncan Ferguson and Thomas Gravesen. Since 2006 they’d strode consistently, fighting for European spots before last season’s disappointing 11th.
Many have used manager Roberto Martinez as a scapegoat for their supposed failings, despite guiding the club to their best finish in five years in his first season at the club. This won over a few fans, but the following season’s 11th place finish brought an about-turn in the opinions of some supporters, and this year’s struggles have only added further fuel to the fire. Add to this the new shareholder Farhad Moshiri coming in, and adequacy is no longer acceptable.
Back to this season, a season so topsy-turvy it’s only possible to say anything with confidence when all’s been said and done. But I’ll do my best regardless. With Chelsea flopping unfathomably, Manchester United again failing to convince and Arsenal and Manchester City being inconsistent at best, it’s been the year of opportunity for the European fringe teams. And Leicester. Tottenham have made the most of this chance, West Ham have kept the pressure on the top four all season, whilst Southampton and Stoke have been unplayable on their day. But Everton, always the bridesmaid, never the bride, haven’t even been invited to the wedding this time.
So where has it all gone wrong? They’ve only won consecutive matches once this season (against Newcastle and Stoke), and four times this season have they went three or more games without a win. Inconsistency doesn’t begin to explain it, especially when you consider some of the matches they’ve played. There are four games that sum up Everton’s season, that are draws with Bournemouth and Chelsea, and losses to Stoke and West Ham.
Draws away from home against Bournemouth and Chelsea would probably be considered good results on paper. But when you consider that in both games the Toffees were 2-0 and 3-2 ahead at stages in the match, before squandering the points courtesy of a 98th minute equaliser, you realise the difficulty it is to take any positives from these encounters. Likewise at home to Stoke and West Ham, Everton led 3-2 and 2-0 respectively going into the final 12 minutes of the match. Another six points evaporated in front of the Goodison faithful.
A stat for Everton fans to anguish about is that almost a third of their goals conceded this season have been in the final 15.
These are the cases where things have gone wrong, but the more important question is why. And to some extent, it’s also a difficult question. After all, only the top four teams have scored more goals than Everton, so one can’t argue that a lack of firepower is what has extinguished their season. Or at least it’s perhaps not their biggest problem.
Romelu Lukaku has 18 league goals, and a fairly clinical shot conversion rate of 25%, only notably bettered by Riyad Mahrez and Jermain Defoe. However there have been games where you wonder how he does not have more goals to his name, with the 1-1 draw with Norwich being the guiltiest of many culprits.
So we should turn our attention to the defence, and consider the fact that only the defensive sieves of Bournemouth, Norwich, Sunderland, Newcastle and Villa have leaked more goals this season.
That’s ultimately the double-edged sword of being such an attacking side, as great as it is for the neutrals (those four aforementioned games have been some of the best this year), vulnerability in front of your own net is a risk.
It’s quite surprising to see that Everton have such a shaky defence, since the main four are accomplished professionals. Both Seamus Coleman and Phil Jagielka have numerous international caps, Ramiro Funes Mori is breaking into the Argentina squad, and John Stones is frequently heralded as one of England’s brightest young stars. So how have this quartet shipped so many goals? It’s not that they’re hapless players. Coleman made the PFA team of the year in 2014, and Stones isn’t supposedly worth in excess of £20 million for nothing.
Perhaps it’s tactical naivety that’s the issue. Martinez has always preferred an attacking side, which although must be praised for its entertainment value, is counter-intuitive if the back-four are so prone to errors. The cost this season has been too many dropped points, the last of which was the recent uninspiring draw with Watford, having conceded only minutes after they scored due to a simple inability to clear their lines. Why must Martinez insist on playing from the back when sometimes a good hoof away is required?
I personally find it difficult to dislike the Spaniard, probably due to the fairytale story he oversaw at Wigan. But it’s becoming difficult to ignore the facts, and Wigan are a vastly different team with smaller expectations than Everton. Martinez’s faith in goalkeeper Joel Robles is also a curious one, as his compatriot has never really proven himself to be of top quality.
There is also one section of the field so far overlooked, that is the midfield. Premiership stalwart Gareth Barry is on his last legs, and young Bosnian Muhamed Besic hasn’t proven himself as a replacement for the holding midfielder just yet, mainly down to injuries. Tom Cleverley and James McCarthy have been solid, nothing more, but ordinariness doesn’t win matches. Gerard Deulofeu and Aaron Lennon are supposedly Everton’s tricky wingers, and although both have shown flashes of brilliance, they only seem to perform when the whole team is on fire. If their colleagues are underperforming, neither seem to be able to carry their team over the line.
Everton had no European commitments this year, often an excuse taken from The Big Book of Managerial Excuses (available at all good retailers) for underperforming. So what is their excuse? Leighton Baines was forced into an embarrassing backtrack after apparently accusing the side of lacking chemistry, but this lack of morale could be a key factor. Ultimately failure will always fall on the top dog’s head, in this case Martinez. I don’t want to advocate the sacking of managers, especially with squads brimming with the potential Everton have, but you fear that if things don’t change quick, his tenure on Merseyside could be over by May.
Bar an unbelievable winning streak to salvage some pride, Everton have one shot left at success. They reached the semi-finals of the League Cup only to lose out to Manchester City (despite 3-1 ahead on aggregate at one stage), and have another important semi-final in the FA Cup against either the other Manchester club, or West Ham. With the winners facing either Watford or Crystal Palace, you can’t help but see the trophy being easily up for the grabs by Martinez’s men, and the bookies agree.
When Chelsea faced Everton in the quarter-final, an interesting question floated around regarding who the cup was more vital to this season. In my opinion, it was a no-brainer. Chelsea will bounce back next season, and they have the players and finances to do so. This year was a blip for them. But Everton? This would be two underwhelming seasons in a row, with no guarantee of things changing, and the club would loosen their grip on Lukaku, Barkley and Stones. In short, FA Cup success is the only silver lining to the grey cloud that has engulfed their season.