Everton’s season of misery hit a new low as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to a West Ham United side who had also been waiting since mid-October for a Premier League win and – unlike seven days earlier against Southampton – their board of directors watched on en masse alongside Farhad Moshiri.
The Blues’ under-fire Monaco-based owner has not attended a match at Goodison Park for 15 months but this game provided him with a close-up view of just how bad a team he has spent over half a billion pounds on assembling has become and will beg the question whether, despite the recent public backing of his sixth managerial appointment in as many years, he will now make another change.
READ MORE: Frank Lampard has shown his best quality again as wider Everton scrutiny builds
READ MORE: Everton player ratings vs West Ham as James Tarkowski awful and eight more poor
Much of the pre-match talk in London had surrounded the possibility of Hammers boss David Moyes being sacked if his side were to lose but instead it’s Frank Lampard whose position will now come under increasing scrutiny after an 11th defeat in 14 matches, a wretched run that has included just a single victory.
Despite both sides clearly being low on confidence due to their recent struggles, from the moment that Jarrod Bowen broke the deadlock on 34 minutes, poking home from close range after James Tarkowski and Conor Coady had been beaten in the air by Kurt Zouma, there only looked like one winner.
Seven minutes later, Bowen doubled the hosts’ advantage after Michail Antonio left Tarkowski in his wake by the right hand touchline and he got between Amadou Onana and Yerry Mina to fire into the roof of the net as it appeared that Moyes’ men wanted it more.
The Scot had presided over what had been the joint-lowest Everton points total halfway through a season up until this point (17 in 2005/06) but that came on the back of a fourth place finish the previous year and he was able to rally his side to 11th position come May whereas Lampard has only seen his team go backwards after narrowly avoiding relegation and with each passing game, the prospect of the Blues going down for the first time in 72 years becomes ever more likely.
READ NEXT:
- ‘Right club, wrong time’ - Everton record signing made spectacular start but ended up playing against his window cleaner for reserves
- Arnaut Danjuma to Everton: 'Full agreement' reached over transfer as 'medical set'
- 'That's a tough one' - Frank Lampard gives honest answer on his position as Everton manager
- Harry Redknapp reveals Frank Lampard transfer focus as blunt Everton verdict delivered
- David Moyes explains what he 'never saw' at Everton ahead of West Ham showdown
