Sean Dyche has a huge Abdoulaye Doucoure-shaped hole to fill in Everton’s side as they face Manchester United. But how does he fill the void?
Following his sending off for raising his hands to Harry Kane in Monday night’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at Goodison Park, Doucoure starts a three-match ban which will also force him to sit out the home game against Fulham on April 15 and trip to Crystal Palace on April 22. Given that the 30-year-old has played a pivotal role since Dyche was appointed, the big question is who exactly might replace him.
Under previous manager Frank Lampard, Doucoure hadn’t started a Premier League match since going off 35 minutes into the 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa in August in Everton’s first away fixture of the season, and dropped out of the squad completely by the end after a reported dressing room row. However, a change in the dugout provided a fresh start for a player whose contract the club have an option on for next season.
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Doucoure has come in from the cold to start all nine Blues games so far under Dyche and to date is the only player to have scored more than once during his tenure with headed goals at Nottingham Forest and Chelsea. As well as providing an additional scoring threat for a team who have averaged less than a goal a game this season – substitute Ellis Simms at Stamford Bridge remains the only striker to have found the net from open play under the new manager – the former Watford man has been pivotal to the team’s increased solidity in the engine room.
Whereas Lampard had deployed Idrissa Gueye, Amadou Onana and Alex Iwobi as a central midfield trio for most of the campaign, Dyche’s decision to bring back Doucoure and move the Nigerian international back out to the wing provided a greater degree of steel. Given that the manager had primarily set-up with a 4-4-2 formation for the greater part of his nine-and-a-half years in his previous post at Burnley, it initially came as a surprise when he switched to 4-5-1 for his opening match with Everton. But after inflicting a first Premier League defeat on leaders Arsenal since September, it has been used in all subsequent games.
So as the Blues go to Old Trafford, does Dyche simply swap one midfielder for another and bring in either Tom Davies or James Garner or go with a new shape all together? It’s clear that in terms of their respective games, neither of the aforementioned duo are ‘like-for-like’ replacements though.
Doucoure is able to cover more ground rapidly with his long strides and as already stated, he brings a distinct aerial threat that opponents seem to fear with Everton now – Tottenham caretaker boss Cristian Stellini said after their last outing: “We knew very well the strongest skill of this team: long ball, second balls and set-pieces” – but in fairness there is also silk as well as steel to his game as proven by his intelligent assist to pick out Dwight McNeil for his winning goal against Brentford just 45 seconds into that encounter.
Comparisonator’s Me2Others tool shows that Doucoure is more potent going forward with 1.46 successful attacking actions per 90 minutes than both Davies (0.8) or Garner (0.51). His 8.03 successful defensive actions are less than Garner’s 12.64 or Davies’ 9.75, though, and such out of possession work might be a valuable asset against Manchester United away.
When it comes to distribution, Doucoure averages fewer successful passes (25.97) than Davies (26.38) with Garner on 36.4. His successful passes in the final third (8.28) are more than Davies’ 7.03 but fewer than Garner’s 10.11, but whereas the former Manchester United player hasn’t made any successful key passes, Doucoure averages 0.24 and Davies 0.32.
Of course, given the varying skill-sets of the midfield trio, Dyche may well decide to add an extra body in another area of the pitch. He has a surfeit of centre-backs at his disposal and while Michael Keane – along with Doucoure, the player to have arguably benefitted the most from his appointment – was the penalty villain turned hero against Spurs, thanks to his spectacular 90th-minute equaliser, there are plenty of other options if Everton decide to go five at the back.
Conor Coady, who had hardly missed a game for over five years until being dropped for last month’s trip to the Emirates could slot back in and is well-versed to operating in a three centre-back system, while Yerry Mina and Mason Holgate – who could also be something of a wildcard option to play central midfield – offer further alternatives. While Dyche never went five at the back during his final three seasons at Turf Moor, he has played that way in the past. with transfermarkt listing the last occasion being an FA Cup fourth- round tie at Manchester City, although the Clarets’ 5-0 thrashing that day may be a reason behind his reticence to deploy it since.
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It’s often said that attack is the best form of defence, though, and in preparation of a home game against Fulham the following week that, despite the Cottagers’ impressive season under former Blues boss Marco Silva, Everton would be expected to win, maybe a return to his bread and butter of 4-4-2 might appeal to the 51-year-old? Simms has looked lively coming off the bench as his goal at Chelsea showed while Neal Maupay has been labouring all season as a lone frontman having been used to having a strike partner at Brighton & Hove Albion, so perhaps pairing him up could get more out of the Frenchman. But regardless of which way he ultimately decides to go, this is why Dyche is paid the big money to make such crucial calls.
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