Perhaps it is time for Sean Dyche to admit he needs help. Everton went into December with a lot on their plate; they were in poor form, and the defeat against Manchester United felt like a low point in an already difficult season. In fairness, Dyche and his players have handled that challenge admirably, becoming difficult to beat and winning impressive results against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester City.
Even after falling behind at City and appearing to have lost the game, they fought back and achieved a respectable draw thanks to Iliman Ndiaye’s spectacular goal. They could have won it in the end, and they had chances against Chelsea and early on at Arsenal. They did not take them, however, and their fight in front of the goal has been one of the campaign’s most frustrating recurring stories. That was evident again against Nottingham Forest on Sunday, when it took 80 minutes before the team even got a shot on goal.
I thought they started the game well, but they suddenly ran out of ideas, began to drop back, and you could tell Forest were going to damage us – Chris Wood had two chances before scoring his third. That goal, and both goals, were terrible to surrender, with individual errors compounding the larger faults shown in each move.
However, for me, the attack is where the work is required. Dyche has already stated this season that he does not believe he requires specialist instructors to assist with the front line. I do not understand why. Suggesting that they are unnecessary is equivalent to claiming that the manager, their assistants, and their backstage crew of dieticians, physiotherapists, and analysts serve no practical purpose. They’re all working hard to locate those extra percentage points that can change a team’s fortunes over 90 minutes and a season.
The offense is now underperforming, as it has been for some time, and budgetary constraints limit what the club can do to rectify the problem in January. So why not seek further expertise? Forest’s second goal came from an attack in which their attackers were initially outnumbered 4 to 2. However, they scored. Everton enjoyed a four-on-two advantage in stoppage time against City on Boxing Day but failed to capitalize.
The forward line is making football look more difficult than it needs to be right now. They are having difficulty creating opportunities, and when they do, they are not taking advantage of them. Work needs to be done to help Everton become more effective in attack, and outside assistance could provide a solution.
Another option would be to change Everton’s strategy. They needed to be resilient at the back against Arsenal, Chelsea, and City, but against the rest of the league, they must show greater ambition. That is what frustrates fans. The football is negative and conservative; wide players are being instructed to focus on the defensive part of their game, leaving the striker alone in Dyche’s 4-5-1.
Armando Broja had his first genuine experience with it against Forest, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been dealing with it for quite some time. You could have the best attackers in the world up there, such as Erling Haaland currently or Brazilian Ronaldo in his day, and they would still struggle if they didn’t have players around them. Forest are in good form, and Everton will face more challenges, but unless they find a way to take the initiative in some of these games, they will continue to struggle.
Everton need points and wins, and they need more ingenuity to get them. Supporters are tired of watching this team struggle as it is, and that was another poor performance to conclude 2024 at Goodison Park. The worst part is that it was so predictable, and although the players must accept some blame for their performance, so does the manager for an attitude that has resulted in only three wins in 18 league games.
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