Sean Dyche’s most bewildering Everton decision has been completely exposed
Our Everton jury have returned to have their say on what is going at Goodison Park
Everton once again came from a goal down to claim a point against West Ham United on Saturday afternoon. The Blues were trailing to Tomas Soucek’s opener, but Jake O’Brien struck in the first minute of stoppage time to rescue his side a point.
The draw at Goodison Park not only extended the Blues’ unbeaten run in the Premier League to nine games, but also moved them a huge 17 points clear of the relegation zone.
David Moyes’ are not back in action until Wednesday, April 2, due to the international and the FA Cup quarter-finals, but our Everton jury have returned to have their say on the draw with the Hammers at the weekend.
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Paul McParlan – The comeback kings
Last Saturday was another example of the resilience that David Moyes has installed into Everton. After going a goal behind to West Ham United on 69 minutes, it seemed that the club’s unbeaten run was coming to an undistinguished end.
Changes were needed and the manager responded by bringing on three substitutes with just over ten minutes remaining. Failure to make game-changing substitutions was one of the reasons why fans had lost faith in Sean Dyche.
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The arrival of Youssef Chermiti, Tim Iroegbunam and Armando Broja sparked a response, and a previously relatively quiet home crowd suddenly woke up and urged the team forward. The move that led to Everton’s equaliser on 91 minutes was simply stunning.
Charlie Alcaraz, who once again was our most skilful player, produced a superb cross field ball to find Idrissa Gana Gueye whose first time cross found Jake O’Brien in the penalty area. The Irish defender bulleted a powerful header into the net to earn his team a draw.
The outcome could have been even better if Alcaraz’s shot had not drifted agonisingly wide of the post in the final seconds. It was some turnaround by Everton and stretched the unbeaten run to nine matches.
The upturn in form has placed the Blues closer on points to the top four than the bottom three. Not even the most optimistic fan could have envisaged this at the start of January. Jake O’Brien was a revelation again and is quickly becoming a crowd favourite. His non-stop running, his aerial strength and ability have added a new dimension to both Everton’s attack and defence.
How on earth Sean Dyche judged that he was not ‘Premier League ready’ is bewildering. His arrival has meant that the problematic right-back position now appears solved. And with two goals in three games, his towering 6ft 6 presence is a constant threat to opposition defences.
In contrast, Jack Harrison delivered another underwhelming performance with his consistent failure to produce effective crosses or passes and giving away possession cheaply.
The international break is always a worrying time, and with Everton’s threadbare squad, we cannot afford to lose any players to injury. On the other hand, Iliman Ndiaye might be close to full fitness, and perhaps Dwight McNeil may be ready to play again soon.
In two of the last three games at Goodison, Everton have come back to grab a point with a stoppage-time equaliser. Under the Moyesiah, the team refuses to accept defeat and have shown the resilience to keep pushing for a result right up to the final whistle.
Resilience is such a key quality in football and is making Everton a team to be feared again! The Blues are no longer a soft touch!
Alex McMonnies – It’s been said a thousand times
Saturday’s 1-1 draw marked the third Everton match in a row to end in such a result. Different narratives can be drawn from the Blues’ run of form depending on your perspective.
On the one hand, David Moyes’ side remain unbeaten in their last nine league matches, but on the other, they have only won one of their last six. For me, it’s definitely a positive that the Toffees have become much tougher to beat since the Scotsman returned to the club and it must be recognised that on another day, almost all of those draws could very feasibly have been converted into wins, with Everton frequently having the better chances during each game.
The newly discovered general feeling that the Blues could nick all three points even if their performance isn’t at their best is undeniably an improvement. Saturday’s draw with West Ham is a prime example, as, after lacklustre displays from both sides, the Toffees were still able to force their way back into the game in added time through Jake O’Brien’s header, and they so nearly won it right at the death with Charly Alcaraz firing just wide.
It’s been a very stop-start schedule for the Blues in recent weeks, with Saturday’s fixture against the Hammers marking their second and final match of March, but the games will come thick and fast in April, with some exceedingly tough opponents on the horizon, starting with the league’s top two in the shape of a midweek Merseyside derby on April 2 and then a lunchtime kick-off against Arsenal just three days later.
It would be a miracle if Everton’s unbeaten run is still intact once the month of April is over and there shouldn’t be any sort of moral panic should the Toffees dip in the form guide. Despite the turnaround in fortunes in recent weeks, we are still a long way off competing with those teams in the upper echelons of the table at the current time.
It’s been said a thousand times already, but while Moyes has done a very impressive job so far in his second stint at Everton, it will be next season that the 61-year-old will get to show what he’s really made of.
