If it is true that is it not goals but defensive solidity that keeps you in the Premier League, Sunday’s 4-0 defeat at Manchester United really does not bode well for Sean Dyche and Everton.
Dyche has made the argument in recent weeks that his goal-shy side, who have now failed to score in a league-high seven games this term, have been building a solid defensive platform ahead of a troublesome December schedule — and that he is best placed to ensure bottom lines are met.
And heading into the weekend, only two teams — Liverpool and Sunday’s opponents Manchester United — had managed more clean sheets, with the return of key man Jarrad Branthwaite and improved displays from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford yielding something of a defensive resurgence.
The conversation between staff and players in mid-week, as revealed by Dwight McNeil to the club’s official website, was about turning draws into wins. A blunt edge is a perennial problem for Dyche and his teams, but Sunday showed they have a fragile core.
Recent history shows Everton rarely come away from Old Trafford unscathed. It is now just one win in 32 trips to their north-west rivals, the sole success in that run coming in December 2013. This time, it was the manner of Sunday’s defeat against a pale imitation of the great former Manchester United teams that should prompt real concern.
Dyche failed to recognise it as such afterwards, but Everton’s performance was a capitulation. Until Marcus Rashford’s opener on 34 minutes, they had been well in the game and may have even had the better of it. From that moment on, though, they looked all at sea — a shadow of what they had been in the early stages.
Afterwards, the Everton manager bemoaned individual errors. His team, he said, had made more mistakes than should ever be expected in a single game. That may be true, but United exploited structural problems in Everton’s system too. It is also his job to ensure those mistakes do not happen in the first place.
Rashford’s opener showed the hosts had done their homework on Dyche’s defensive setup.
Everton have attempted to shore up on defensive set pieces by adding a player between the near post and the middle of the six-yard box. They cram the area, also placing men on both posts, but lack ‘blockers’ in their predominantly zonal system and are susceptible around the edge of the box. Rashford was free to strike at goal, even if his effort was diverted in by the unfortunate Branthwaite.
It was the kind of moment that tends to go against a side when it is down on its luck. The problem for Everton is that it only served to highlight their mental fragility. Rather than dust themselves down and go again at a susceptible United team, they collapsed.
Goals two and four were carbon copies; Amad tackling Branthwaite and James Tarkowski after under-hit passes from first Abdoulaye Doucoure and then Vitalii Mykolenko. To concede such a goal once is careless, to do so twice in the same game is unforgivable.
Left-back Mykolenko had a torrid time against Amad, even if he was not the only one. He was part of an AWOL backline that had ventured too high up the pitch as Rashford struck again just 20 seconds into the second half. Dyche said they had been higher and narrower than they should have been, another symptom of the defensive confusion. The reality was that they gifted quick attackers like Rashford and Amad far too much space in behind.
Worryingly, the life had long sapped out of Everton. They ceased resembling a functioning team after the concession of the opener, creaked before half-time, and looked like 11 lost souls waiting for the inevitable after the break. Dyche could not make an impact.
Not for the first time, there were boos for some of Dyche’s substitutions from those who had remained in Old Trafford’s away end rather than heading for an early exit. By the end, the Everton section was nearly empty, a symbol of the apathy and frustration that has set in among the fanbase.
Right now, it feels like Everton are drifting into dangerous territory. They have to be careful not to alienate loyal, long-suffering fans and should not take their support for granted. Hope has started to ebb away and the upcoming double-header at Goodison Park this week against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Liverpool feels significant. Defining, even.
Sunday was an embarrassment that should have been avoided, and Everton have their lowest points total — 11 from 13 games — since the 1994-95 season (seven points). This, it should be remembered, is a side that earned 48 points prior to deductions last time around. The drop-off is stark, even if Dyche again failed to acknowledge afterwards there indeed has been one.
The fact is, he is now running out of excuses. Everyone knows money has been an issue at Everton and offensive quality can be in short supply, even if some would have hoped to see him making inroads in this area nearly two years into his tenure. In the early part of the season, Branthwaite’s absence through injury was also notable.
Dyche’s USP is — or has been — his ability to shore up teams and see them to safety. He compromised attacking intent after a leaky start to the season which yielded some defensive improvement, but Sunday was a lapse back into bad old habits.
He is backing himself to turn it around again, pointing to his track record both at Burnley and Everton, but Sunday showed there is work to do. Without defensive solidity, there are few other crumbs of comfort.
The excuses are starting to wear thin.
(Top photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
