With 15 games of the Premier League season gone and a six-week break ahead, now feels as good a time as any to reflect on the campaign so far.
From the highs of Southampton and Crystal Palace to the lows of Newcastle United and that miserable final week before this break, there is plenty to look back on as our writers attempt to assess what they have seen. They also have their say on what needs to happen during the coming weeks as Frank Lampard and those around him look to drag Everton away from a relegation battle.
So here, Chris Beesley, Matt Jones and Joe Thomas take a look at everything that has happened since the campaign began in the early August sunshine, and share their thoughts.
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Thoughts on the season so far:
CB: I thought it was negligent to go into the season without a striker – they’d sold Richarlison and unfortunately given his injury problems, it was always a risk expecting Dominic Calvert-Lewin to stay fit – but things had been ticking along as expected until the Leicester City game. The concern over where the goals will come from remains but I’d predicted a 13th place finish for Everton before a ball was kicked and had been hopeful that slow progress was being made to get there or thereabouts after the trauma of the previous campaign.
MJ: Sadly, the familiar pangs of terror that underscored the end of last season are beginning to return. Everton have clearly made minor progress in some areas - there is seemingly more heart in this team and defensively they’ve been able to adopt a ‘bend but don’t break’ approach. But there have been some worrying trends throughout the season. Ultimately this is a team that concedes lots of chances, is still lacking balance in midfield and can’t create chances. Performances against those trends are the anomalies as things stand and that must change to prevent this downward slide.
JT: If the first part of the season had ended 180 league minutes earlier then everything could look so different. Maybe it’s best it didn’t as the Premier League defeats to Leicester City and Bournemouth, and the Carabao Cup loss, offered a shock that at least means no-one can have any doubt improvement is needed. Signs of progress have been visible and the table is tight. But it’s hard not to worry after that catastrophic final seven days and a shame this break is one of sleepless nights and reflection when it could so easily have been six weeks in which Blues fans were looking up the table with excitement rather than down at the familiar threat of a relegation battle.
Moment of the season so far:
CB: The comeback victory at Southampton. Only a second three points on the road in over 13 months and (we hoped) a turning point that showed that Everton were now more resolute and it wasn’t just game over whenever they fell behind. Unfortunately it remains the exception rather than the rule as while the Blues have looked decent when they’re defending a lead or it’s nil-nil, they still don’t seem to have many answers when opponents get their noses in front, annoyingly often coming from unforced errors.
MJ: Southampton. The away record has been so bad that getting any kind of win on the road should be cherished. So coming from behind and seeing the players and fans have that moment at full-time was fantastic. Everton clung on for dear life towards the end of that game though and perhaps a top-half - or even top-15 team - would have made them pay. As much as we were all revelling in having the ‘division’s best defence’ at that point, warning signs have been there - even in the good moments.
JT: In terms of split second feeling it was Alex Iwobi’s stunning goal in the opening minutes against Manchester United. His form had been so good and Lampard had challenged him to add goals to his haul of assists and he produced that wonderful strike. Amadou Onana had dispossessed Casemiro in the build-up and with Everton having won the previous two games it felt like they had crossed a real threshold. It may have gone wrong soon after but while it stayed at 1-0, it looked as though the Blues were unstoppable. Beyond that, the Palace win was sensational and again highlighted how this squad can perform under Lampard when the pieces fall into place.
Lowest point of the season so far:
CB: Going down to the Vitality Stadium for the first of two trips in four days, totalling over a thousand miles of travelling, and seeing the Carabao Cup tie teamsheet showing that Frank Lampard had changed the entire team. It was an insult to Everton’s integrity, gave a Bournemouth side who had lost their previous four games a chance to build momentum and set the tone for the Premier League game on Saturday and was also totally unnecessary (as proven by the thrashing for the second part of the double header). Another self-inflicted wound. Let’s pray it doesn’t prove fatal.
MJ: The final whistle at Bournemouth - it was the antithesis of everything that has been good about Lampard’s tenure. Given the deficiencies in the squad, there needs to be a sense of togetherness and cohesion among the fans, staff and players. The scenes at the final whistle could not have been further away from that. Without that synergy this is a below average group of players being steered by a manager still finding his feet and ‘improved’ by a hierarchy and board that has a questionable recruitment record, to be kind. Lampard needs to quickly find a way of getting everyone onside and united behind a vision and improved performances. When everyone is on the same page, this club can produce wonderful things, but it’s seemingly a balance than can only be struck by the prospect of success - it’s been a while - good form or imminent peril. Let’s hope a run can start in early 2023 to rekindle a feel-good factor. Fans don’t want to be stocking up on blue flares in the January sales.
JT: Leicester. Leicester have a good side and were better than their league position throughout the first part of the season. But it was Goodison under the lights and there was so much optimism of a win launching the Blues into the top half. The game followed the emphatic win over Palace and a respectable draw at Fulham. I thought Everton might face a battle but at least compete. Instead I think they were taught a lesson that evening. Lampard has suggested the Blues were unlucky, and two good chances were missed at key moments. But I thought Everton were comprehensively outplayed. It was a game that showed again how Everton struggle once they are behind and it set the tone for a terrible week.
What one thing should the focus be on leading up to Wolves:
CB: Finally trying to get Calvert-Lewin fit and firing once and for all and getting those around him to start providing a proper supply line. The final third has been woeful so far and the wide players need to create more chances whether they have a target man to aim for or Neal Maupay, because he offers a very different kind of threat but his talents have been largely wasted so far by a system that isn’t utilising him properly.
MJ: Recruitment. Kevin Thelwell has long known where the issues in this squad are and Everton’s recruitment team should have been exploring every possible corner of world football to find solutions. Finances permitting, the club need to get better value and better quality for their buck. Taking the easy option and signing unwanted lads from teams in or recently relegated from the Premier League clearly hasn’t worked so far. It’s not an easy task, but Everton simply need to start doing more with less.
JT: Goals, goals, and goals and until the January window opens, they will need to come from the current squad. That means getting Calvert-Lewin fit and getting more creativity and end product from the wide men. I do believe they have the ability to improve when the season returns.
Reason to be optimistic
CB: The one crumb of comfort has to be that surely Everton cannot be as bad as they were in their last week before the break for the five months of Premier League fixtures after the World Cup because if they are, they’re in deep trouble. After conceding 66 goals last season, Lampard focused on tightening up at the back and while that’s had an impact at the other end of the pitch, the introduction of James Tarkowski and Conor Coady had – until the Leicester game – brought big improvements in that area. Surely additions like Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gueye also improve the midfield compared to what they had last term.
MJ: There are some malleable young talents there to be encouraged by. Patterson and Mykolenko have bundles of energy and aggression on their respective flanks, while Amadou Onana has meshed poise and power brilliantly on occasion this season - largely when he’s played deeper, which has bizarrely been abandoned as of late. Hopefully the break does Anthony Gordon good too. He looks like the brutal reality of modern-day football has chewed him up and spat him out in recent months. He needs to rest, refresh and refocus to vindicate Everton’s decision to dig their heels in during the summer.
JT: There have been signs of progress and if this first period of the season had finished seven days earlier, before Leicester, spirits would have been much higher heading into the break. It didn’t, and no-one can be naive about the problems Lampard and those around him face. Everton have to be active in January but will need to be savvy in their dealings. I take heart from the business that secured Conor Coady’s move. That was a deal that was too good to be true and it suggests Thelwell is capable of finding a bargain. He will need to do the same again but at least, this window, he will know what resources he has at his disposal well in advance.
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