Tony Scott - Is Frank Lampard the right manager for Everton?
As Evertonians left Goodison Park on Boxing Day, and headed for the County Road pubs, the same one question was being asked.
Is Frank Lampard the right manager for Everton? I have found Evertonians split. One thing I'm sure we can all agree on is this team needs help in January or it will go down regardless of who's in the dugout.
This squad is a mishmash of six Everton managers with some players dating back to the David Moyes and Roberto Martinez era.
READ MORE: Everton coach explains Walton Hall Park plan as Frank Lampard first-team claim made
CONNOR O'NEILL: Everton's dressing room leaders are already well aware of what needs to happen to turn season around
Wolves had the luxury of bringing on three attackers to win the game and still left Raul Jiminez on the bench (who would walk into our first XI). We were screaming for a 19-year-old untried teenager to win a game in the Premier League!
Everton should have had the game out of sight by half-time but they can't finish their Christmas dinner at the moment! One assist between Demarai Gray, Anthony Gordon and Dwight McNeill speaks volumes.
If you're struggling to score goals against bottom of the league then you're in for a relegation scrap and that's what Everton will find themselves in if they don't sign a minimum of two attackers in January.
Paul McParlan - A depressing performance
Everton contrived to gift three points at home to a side that started the day bottom of the Premier League.
It was a depressing performance that was rightly greeted with a chorus of boos on the final whistle. Anybody anticipating an improvement in Everton’s fortunes after the World Cup left dejected and despondent.
Everton’s lack of creativity and imagination in key areas has been a concern all season. The inability to break down a defensive line, the failure to use the wings effectively and the absence of a goal scoring threat upfront continues to frustrate supporters.
The ineffectual displays of Neal Maupay, Dwight McNeil and Amadou Onana only served to illustrate how the fee received for Richarlison has not been deployed to best effect.
In the modern game, a team needs pace to turn defence into counterattack. Everton are often ponderous and pedestrian in possession, failing to recycle the ball quickly enough to create a threat to the opposition defence.
The burst of speed shown by the substitute Adama Traore for the winning goal, leaving Alex Iwobi and Vitalii Mykolenko trailing in his wake, only served to emphasise this.
It also highlighted that Frank Lampard rarely seems to make the right substitutions at the right time. His counterpart Julen Lopetegui made bold changes that won the match for his team.
You can only play Russian roulette with relegation so many times . Without the arrival of both a recognized goalscorer, and a playmaker, the prospect of the final season at Goodison Park hosting Championship football is starting to look a perturbing possibility.
Ben Crawford - A real sliding doors moment
Everton's late 2-1 defeat by Wolves felt like a real sliding doors moment and to stick or twist is now the question.
Do the Blues give Frank Lampard the time he would desire? Or do we cut our losses and allow a new gaffer to drink from the poison chalice that is Everton Football Club?
A difficult decision and one that cannot be taken lightly - it has me firmly sat on the fence. The argument for me is that I am not sure if I believe that a better manager is available and would want to come to us.
Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Tuchel and such would all stay well clear of Goodison Park as better opportunities will surely appear on the horizon. So where do we go from here? Roberto Martinez? Sean Dyche? Wayne Rooney?
Hardly inspiring appointments! My only hope is that Lampard gets points on the board soon, is allowed to sign players this month and keeps us in the Premier League once again.
Shocking as it is to wonder how Everton are in this position, it's even more frightening with the fact we travel to the Etihad on New Year's Eve. Strap in everyone, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
READ NEXT
-
Frank Lampard not immune from Bill Kenwright warning as transfer need urgent
-
Everton suffer Mykhailo Mudryk transfer blow as Arsenal 'make £45m bid' for Shakhtar Donetsk star
-
Frank Lampard sends message over 'edginess' of Everton fans inside Goodison Park
-
Everton player ratings as Yerry Mina makes impact but three stars poor vs Wolve
