Everton must hope their trip to Australia can help provide the spark required to ignite their flagging season into life because they cannot afford to be heading ‘Down Under’ again in May and dropping into the Championship. After the traumas of last season when the Blues came disgustingly close to what would have been their first relegation in 71 years, Everton’s loyal but long-suffering supporters helped drag their under-achieving team over the line in a nerve-jangling battle against the drop with safety finally achieved – despite what proved to be the joint lowest equivalent points total in the club’s history – through a dramatic 3-2 comeback win against Crystal Palace in their final home game.
It should go without saying that NOBODY connected with the club wants to – or should have to – go through all that again in the months ahead but the fact remains that when the music stopped and the Premier League party came to an abrupt winter World Cup-induced six-week halt, the Blues found themselves just a single point and position above the relegation zone. As a response to shipping 66 goals last term, manager Frank Lampard prioritised an improvement in defensive solidity this summer and while that had largely been a feature of the current campaign to date, the wheels fell off spectacularly in a calamitous final week of action before the break for Qatar.
To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, when it comes the importance of being earnest (about Everton’s need to remain in the top flight, which is arguably greater than ever as their magnificent new stadium rises before our eyes on the banks of the Mersey): “To lose one game against an opponent who leapfrogs you in the table may be regarded as a misfortune, to lose both looks like carelessness.” Indeed, as frustrating and flat as the Blues’ 2-0 defeat in their Goodison Park send off against Leicester City was, it paled in comparison to the double capitulation at Bournemouth.
