Everton 1-2 Southampton – Everton Player Ratings
Unfortunately the current playing squad isn’t good enough to be competing for Europe, so another few years of mid-table obscurity is exactly where we’ll be. It’s a shame, because there are real bright sparks in our side that are being let down by the leftovers of pre-Marco Silva eras. The manager is not to blame, and he will be the one to fix it with time. Marcel Brands will ship out the garbage that has plagued the club, and Marco is the man to take us forward.
However, as complimentary as I am towards Mr Silva, he needs to make some serious changes going forward into next season. Use the rest of the season to experiment with different personal and formations, identify the needs in the transfer market (And there are plenty) and then kick on.
Marco’s death on the 4-2-3-1 hill would be a real waste of a promising manager, and the same goes for his persistence on being a reactive rather than proactive manager. If we aren’t losing, there will be absolutely no changes, and that mentality needs to be scrapped entirely.
Another season has been wasted, but if anything, we expected this one, so it doesn’t hurt as much.
Just like getting shot in the foot hurts less than getting shot in the head.
Jordan Pickford - 7
A much better showing from Jordan who tried his damndest to keep us in this one, with some important saves from Danny Ings early in the first half.
And if there is one very small positive from today, it’s that Danny Ings didn’t score.
Séamus Coleman - 3
Hesitant going forward and ineffectual defensively. A player who is solely in the side on name alone is what is holding modern Everton back, and has been since Martinez’ arrival. He is not good enough, at all, and is really risking going the same way Tim Howard did.
Kurt Zouma - 2
Conceding two against Southampton isn’t going to merit high scores.
Slow and absent all day.
Michael Keane - 3
Only a point on Zouma due to some successful passes forward, but that isn’t anything to gloat about.
Lucas Digne - 3
A freak own goal isn’t going to take away from his rating, but awful defensive work will.
Southampton carved up the entire defense all day
Idrissa Gana Gueye - 1
He isn’t good enough. Get rid and forget about him. Take half of whatever PSG offered and send him on his way. Sloppy, awful on the ball and stupid decision making.
André Gomes - 2
Gomes’ worst game yet. His distribution was nearly as bad as Gana’s and he didn’t have more than two seconds on the ball at any time.
Gylfi Sigurdsson - 2
Gylfi Sigurdsson isn’t the playmaker to take us forward any longer. As a matter of fact, he is a maestro at taking the team backwards, as every ball that he stumbles his way onto is only ever going to go one way.
Besides the occasional good goal, he does nothing for this team, and with his sluggedness, actively detriments us more often than not.
Bernard - 3
Could not create anything today, as Southampton’s quick pressure got the best of him.
Bernard will be a player for next season and beyond, when there are players around him who are on the same level.
Ademola Lookman - 5
A determined performance from Lookman ultimately resulted in nothing, as many Everton displays have.
However I do fear that he will be the choice to scapegoat for the manager going forward, and if he is dropped next week, then serious criticisms of Marco Silva need to be put forward.
Richarlison - 2
Perhaps Richarlison simply isn’t as good as first thought.
I don’t mean particularly as a striker either, but he is going missing in far too many games for him to be considered a real star and there must be more scrutiny on his performances from here on out.
He needs to step his game up very quickly, lest he makes both himself and Marco Silva look inept.
Subs -
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 5
Did as well as he normally does off the bench, but needs to be the starting striker going forward.
Cenk Tosun – 4
He has never been impactful off the bench, as he takes time to get up to the speed of the game.
Theo Walcott – N/A
