Diabolical defence: Time for change at Everton?
Article by Tim LloydFollow e-Everton on Twitter!
For the past ten years or so, Everton have had a very strong and reliable back four which is a must for any team to be successful; the old mantra being ‘if you do not concede goals you are more likely to win games.’ This was always the key when under the management of David Moyes who built his team around a strong defence; as a result Everton were often winning games by the odd goal after grinding down the opposition, and, as a consequence, found at the end of the season they were up in and around the European places in the Premier League thanks to hard work more than individual flair. When Moyes left, the defence carried on the good work put in place by the Scot as Roberto Martinez’s first season in charge saw them have the third best in defence in the league behind ‘Champions elect’ Manchester City and Chelsea.
However, the start of this season has left many loyal Blues worried, with just 3 games played and Everton yet to record a victory. This could be a hangover from the World Cup or early season nerves, but the worrying part is that the 2 points we have picked up this season have been from games where, up until the last 10 minutes, we have been leading. The less said about the FIFA-esque score line against Chelsea the better, however it perfectly illustrates the current problems about the defence as you can’t concede 6 goals in the Premier League and have serious hopes of gate-crashing the ‘top four’. So, what is going wrong at ‘Fortress Goodison’?
The main issue is, of course, the defence. In 3 games, we have conceded 10 goals which is relegation form, never mind Champions League form! In Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin, the centre of Everton’s defence has a lot of experience playing in the Premier League, but with experience comes age, and with a combined age old enough to get a senior citizen’s bus pass and Antolin Alcaraz seemingly being out of favour at Goodison after a horror show towards the end of last season, is it time to give youth a chance?
Alan Hansen famously said ‘You can't win anything with kids’ about an inexperienced Manchester United side who subsequently went on to win the league. Roy Hodgson has had to rebuild the national team with a focus on youth after experience failed so miserably in Brazil. I think it's about time that this is put into practice at Everton. The answer lies in John Stones, the next ‘great hope’ for English defending as shown with his assured performances against Switzerland and Norway (despite playing out of his natural position). Stones’ game is a mixture of being a unique defender who is comfortable in possession, strong in the tackle and at 6ft he is a towering presence as a defender. He still has a lot to master to be a ‘world class’ centre half, most notably growing into the defensive leader that every back four needs, however this will come with experience. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jagielka dropped after his Chelsea disaster (as he was by Hodgson) and Stones given a run in the team, particularly after his strong showing last season in Jagielka’s absence. With Distin rapidly approaching retirement, Everton (and England) could do with Jagielka and Stones building a strong partnership and fast.
Another defensive option for Everton is Tyias Browning who has been a regular in Everton’s under 21 team. Browning offers pace, strength and is a tough tackler who is highly thought of at the club (so much so that he is nicknamed ‘mini Sylvain’!). Over the summer, Martinez also signed the highly-rated Brendan Galloway from MK Dons who, at just 18, is already being christened the next Rio Ferdinand by many in the know. It is unlikely that Browning and Galloway will break into the first team this season, but they may get game time during the domestic cups and Europe League and will hopefully provide Martinez with further options should the defence continue to leak.
Whatever Martinez decides, what is for sure is that Everton need to get their defensive frailties sorted as quickly as possible otherwise it could be a tricky second season for Martinez and co. Moyes had an abundance of young talent at Everton and was reluctant to use it, so if Martinez bucks the trend and starts giving the younger players in his squad a chance, like John Stones’ breakthrough last season, he can only start seeing a positive upturn in results. For the last thirty minutes of the Euro 2016 qualifier against Switzerland, three of the four defenders played their club football for Everton; all three played well as England ground out a hard-fought win. They will need to do the same again for Everton, starting this weekend at West Brom, to get the season back on track.
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What needs to be accomplished is that the defence decides whether it is going to carry on using flying wing backs.If they are then a back three would be preferable to leaving Jagielka and Distin struggling with successive attacks in the later stages of matches.
ReplyDeleteDistin is looking as though the years have caught up with him and Jagielka looks like he is still trying to get over his injury from last season. I think they do need a change quickly, otherwise Everton will struggle this season. From a non Everton fan.
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