Award-winning journalist Alyson Rudd of The Times has issued a bold ultimatum to Carlo Ancelotti regarding his Everton team selection.
The Liverpool-born writer insisted that fielding Gylfi Sigurdsson and James Rodriguez together in the same line-up has been exposing structural flaws in Everton’s team.
The 2-0 defeat at the hands of Fulham on Sunday was the first time the Toffees have lost at home to the Cottagers in what made for uninspired viewing for frustrated Everton fans.
Despite holding a self-professed affection for the experienced Iceland international, Rudd felt that rethinking a combination with Rodriguez could prove decisive in future fixtures. Describing the pair as being “slightly painful” to watch together, she wrote in The Times [via Liverpool Echo] that Sigurdsson necessitates being “in charge on the pitch”.
She claimed: “His pirouette followed by a lofted pass to Bernard for the winning goal [against Spurs] was all the more beautiful for its sheer effortlessness. Sigurdsson was in charge, Rodriguez was not in the squad, and it worked.”
Everton have won every game in which Sigurdsson has scored and/or assisted a goal in a compelling nugget of information which may hint at the scale of the Scandinavian star’s dynamism and influence.
Commenting on whether Everton can still achieve their lofty ambitions, Rudd left little to ambiguity:
Everton can push for a top four finish and even win the FA Cup if they hand the keys to Sigurdsson, who not only reads the game with precision but works hard too.
Ancelotti has a choice to make – one that is not, I would argue, all that difficult.
Read Everton Verdict
Even for a short time, Rudd’s desired implementation could be an experiment worth trying for Ancelotti.
Accounting for a tendency for Rodriguez to be exploited defensively, deploying either player exclusively to one another as an attacking midfielder could lead to greater robustness at Everton.
