Sean Dyche has eight blunt questions to answer as…

Sean Dyche has eight blunt questions to answer as Everton pay the price for chaotic policy

Paul McParlan - A bench full of centre-backs

Surely nobody in their right mind expected Everton to come away with anything at Arsenal where their most recent visit resulted in a crushing 5-1 defeat.

Everton have now conceded six goals in their last two games without scoring a single one in reply. The optimism created by two recent home wins appears to have been diminished.

Sean Dyche may be many things, but he is not a miracle worker, and he has taken charge of the most unbalanced squad in the league. There are currently six centre backs in the Blues' 25-man squad, Conor Coady, James Tarkowski, Mason Holgate, Ben Godfrey, Yerry Mina and Michael Keane.

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This chaotic recruitment policy means that in most games, Everton have some highly experienced defenders sitting on the bench, whilst desperately lacking quality and depth in other areas. This lack of choices means that Sean Dyche has limited options at his disposal.

Against Aston Villa and Arsenal , of the nine substitutes chosen, four were centre backs. The only central midfielder available was Tom Davies and the sole striking option was Ellis Simms.

No wonder Everton struggle to bring on game-changing replacements who make an impact. This only served to emphasise what a poisoned chalice the 'Ginger Mourinho' inherited. When you are relying on Tom Davies to change the game in your favour, you really do have problems.

Although we keep being told that Everton’s recruitment policy is in safe hands – how have we allowed this imbalance in key areas of the team to happen?

Even more worrying is that Idrissa Gueye, who was brought back to add defensive solidity, has become a liability and Neal Maupay, who was signed to score goals, has delivered just one!

Where can changes be made? Is a fully fit James Garner going to make an impact when he returns? Will Nathan Patterson add more structure to the defence ? What chance is there of Andros Townsend reappearing? And how bad must Ruben Vinagre be if he never features?

If Dominic Calvert-Lewin is not going to be fit, then surely Ellis Simms must be given a chance ? He has scored at every level he has played and given a run of games might yet prove that bringing him back from his loan at Sunderland was the right decision.

Or should Dyche be bold and experiment with two players up front? Simms and Demarai Gray possibly?

Sunday’s trip to Nottingham Forest is an opportunity to grab a rare away win. It must be taken. Unless Everton can start to score goals and pick up points on their travels then the outlook is bleak .

And if Sean Dyche can somehow keep this squad of centre-backs in the Premier League he will be a candidate for manager of the season!

Tony Scott - Blunt problem clear for all to see

If we go ahead in a match, we’ve got something to defend. If we don’t, Everton may as well get straight back on the team coach.

Dyche has been dealt a bad hand, as we all know, the same hand Rafa Benitez, Frank Lampard etc were all handed.

At Arsenal in midweek, Everton had five defenders on the pitch with another four frozen stiff on the bench while we played aimless balls up front to a 5'7 striker with one goal in 18 matches.

You really don't need a UEFA coaching license to see where Everton's problems lie. Sean Dyche now has to think outside the box.

Yerry Mina is our best defender. Demarai Gray is our best attacker and leading goalscorer and they've both been sitting on the bench while we play the first goal. It's pointless.

We'll be down before the Easter bunny arrives at this rate. Dyche needs to pull one out of the hat himself!

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