Before we get into the current Everton team, what went wrong for former boss Carlo Ancelotti this weekend in the 4-0 Clasico loss to Barcelona? A bad day in a good season?
The answer is half to do with Barcelona and half to do with Real Madrid. The former are hitting serious form having been revitalised by Xavi Hernandez, who’s transformed the team he inherited from former Everton coach Ronald Koeman. He’s built a collective that’s playing progressive football while maintaining order, discipline and defensive structure.
Madrid have also been in good form and obviously secured that incredible comeback victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League this month. But they were missing both Ferland Mendy and Karim Benzema for El Clasico, two key players. They simply didn’t play at the correct intensity and Carlo Ancelotti’s decision-making both before and after the game was abysmal. He’s feeling the heat in a big way this week.
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On to the Toffees... Were you surprised by how poor the performance was against Crystal Palace on Sunday after the morale-boosting win over Newcastle?
I was shocked. Like many Evertonians I had hoped and assumed that the nature of the victory over Newcastle United would have proven a turning point and propelled Everton on to a run of form that would have gotten us to safety as well to Wembley courtesy of a run in the FA Cup. But aside from a positive first ten minutes, where I thought Everton played with real intensity and aggression, it was an absolute disaster.
Frank Lampard set the team up in a three-man defence and seems to like utilising that system. Is it one you'd like him to stick with or abandon?
I generally don’t like teams playing with three at the back and prefer a flat four with a sitting midfielder capable of dropping between the centre-backs when needed to free flying full-backs. I think Frank Lampard is going for a three-at-the-back system out of fear and I don’t think he trusts the individuals operating the system to work as a two, nor does he have a sitting midfielder of the profile needed for that dropping role. I think he could rectify that in the summer and switch then, but is looking for emergency options right now.
The manager also questioned the players' character after the game. Is that a smart move for this squad given the predicament they are in?
I think that the biggest problem with Everton at the moment is a lack of character amongst our players. Too often do they crumble when it really counts; they can produce stirring performances under the lights at Goodison Park against Arsenal, Manchester City or Newcastle United, but when they go on the road for a game that could help them really progress and take the next step they fall apart.
So I don’t have a problem with Frank Lampard doing that; I think it must be hard for a guy who was as competitive an animal as he was to work with players so far below him in terms of intrinsic motivation and fight. The inability to broach that chasm proved beyond Roy Keane; I wonder will Frank be the same.
Are there any players in particular you would like to see given opportunities on the other side of the international break?
To be honest I think that if they’re not good enough to make it onto the pitch at the moment then they’re not good enough full stop. I don’t think any fringe player is going to make the difference in helping Everton stay up this season. If that’s to happen the big players need to step up to the plate and drag the team over the line to safety; Seamus Coleman needs to take control of that defence, Abdoulaye Doucoure needs to get back to his best in midfield and both Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin need to start scoring goals.
There is a tricky run of fixtures on the horizon, starting with the away double-header with West Ham and Burnley. Are you confident the team can eventually pull clear of relegation trouble in the coming weeks?
I’m not confident. I still think that it’s more likely that Everton avoid relegation than suffer relegation, but to say that I’m confident about that would be a dramatic overstatement. I think the pressure placed upon the players by a raucous Goodison Park will be the thing that ultimately drags this team over the line coupled with a couple of good away results. It’s going to be a real fight, though, and I’m praying to God they manage to make it through.
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