Everton would be in “deep trouble” if not for Jordan Pickford given their lack of quality in the final third, Gary Lineker has said.
Speaking on Match of the Day (4 January), Lineker admitted that his former side were “hard to watch” in their 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth, having been held scoreless for the eighth time in their last 10 matches.
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Pickford made several saves to keep the Toffees in the game at 0-0, and with little happening at the other end, Lineker gave his honest assessment on their prospects without the England number one.
He said: “Everton though, boy… Their last 10 games – they’ve failed to score in eight of them, and to be perfectly honest, but for Jordan Pickford, they’d be in deep trouble.
“I mean I love Everton, I really do, but boy oh boy, they’re hard to watch at the moment.”
Gary Lineker spot on with ‘hard to watch’ Everton assessment
It’s hardly surprising that given they’ve drawn blanks in eight of the last 10, the Toffees are the Premier League’s second-lowest scorers this season, only behind a Southampton side rooted to the bottom.
That includes failing to score in four of their last five matches since thumping fellow strugglers Wolves 4-0 at Goodison Park, a result which is looking more and more like a freak outlier with every passing week.
Jordan Pickford, Everton
Jordan Pickford’s performances have kept the Toffees out of the relegation zone so far [Credit: Imago]
Sean Dyche gambling on Armando Broja ahead of Dominic Calvert-Lewin up front failed to pay off, with the Albanian forced off injured just 3-2 minutes into the contests on the south coast.
Calvert-Lewin will likely come straight back into the side for the Blues’ next league match on 15 January, but with just two goals all season, that provides about as much optimism as his contractual sitaution.
This month’s transfer window may provide solace in the form of much-needed attacking reinforcements, but given just how poor the Blues have been in front of goal, it’s clear wholesale change is long overdue.
In other Everton news, one Toffees player was the subject of a pre-match gaffe as the team-sheets were listed at Bournemouth.
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