A point gained or two points dropped? Even those involved couldn’t make up their minds but given where Everton almost found themselves going into the break at the King Power Stadium – staring into the abyss had they gone 3-1 down despite a first 45 minutes that they’d dominated for long periods – then at least a share of the spoils keeps them within touching distance of their rivals for Premier League survival.
As opposition manager Dean Smith stated, had Leicester City won one and lost one of their last two games rather than draw them both then they’d be a point better off but it’s unclear whether they’d actually be in a more favourable position given that either Everton or Leeds United would have won. Such are the fine margins right now in the battle at the bottom but following a weekend in which those immediately above them failed to pull further clear, this was a ‘must-not-lose’ for the Blues to prevent the Foxes from opening up a four point cushion on them.
It was another admirable comeback from Everton to add to the 2-2 draw at Chelsea and 1-1 draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur but if they’re going to survive then at some point soon these share of the spoils must turn into victories. A new manager bounce saw Sean Dyche pick up three wins from his first seven matches – the same total that predecessor Frank Lampard had achieved in 20 matches before him this season – but the stark truth is right now that the Blues have now only beaten an opponent once in their last 11 games, when they took the lead against Brentford within the first minute and clung on for the 90 plus that followed.
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Given Everton’s poor form on the road – their current run of 15 fixtures without victory is their longest sequence for almost 43 years when they went 24 matches without triumphing between September 1979-September 1980 – any points picked up on their travels, especially when you’d been trailing and came within a hair’s breadth of being two goals behind, must be gratefully received in these troubling time. But if the Blues are to avoid the drop then there needs to be a change between now and the end of the month.
Dyche keeps pointing out that he inherited a long-standing issue with Everton’s travel sickness, which is correct given that their paltry three away wins since crowds came back en masse at the start of 2021/22 and just one this term at rock bottom Southampton is by far the lowest total of the 17 Premier League clubs to have competed in the competition over both subsequent seasons (less than half the figure of next worse Leeds United and Southampton) but he’s only achieved one away win in 21 matches himself over the same period.
Along with the 2-1 comeback at St Mary’s back in October, one of those aforementioned trio of away successes for the Blues came in their 2-1 win in the corresponding fixture with Leicester City last season but the third? We have to go back to August 28, 2021 when goals from Demarai Gray and a Dominic Calvert-Lewin penalty secured a 2-0 success at Brighton & Hove Albion for Rafael Benitez’s side. Not only is a trip to the Seagulls next up for Everton, they’re also that only opponent Dyche has beaten on the road over this time, a 3-0 romp with Burnley on the Sussex coast back on February 19 last year.
Looking ahead to the trip to Leicester City, Dyche admitted that the stakes were high but also acknowledged that they should be at a club like Everton and this is where things differ from the manager and various players in the squad who have experienced relegation at previous clubs, of which there were seven in the starting line-up in the previous match against Newcastle United. Having worked well on a shoestring with the Clarets for almost a decade, the 51-year-old will believe he deserves this chance to work on a bigger stage but he’ll also now realise that expectation levels are quite rightly much higher at Goodison Park than at Turf Moor.
At the start of last season, one of those such players, Ben Godfrey, who joined the Blues from Norwich City, said: “I think coming to Everton, playing under expectation changed for me.
“I don’t want to be disrespectful to my past clubs but when I think you get promoted from the Championship and you’re in the Premier League, there’s not that massive expectation on you to perform and win games but when I came to Everton, I realised we better win today. We need to win here, and we’re expected to. It’s nice to have that to be honest.”
Right now there’s not much that’s very nice at all about Everton’s situation but while there were encouraging signs from the performance to take from their trip to the East Midlands, that need to start winning is greater than ever.
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