A frustrating 90 minutes where Marco Silva is to blame. We could see that changes needed to be made after 30 minutes and the manager, who tonight died on the ‘philosophy hill’ of refusing to make his changes before the 60 minute mark, decided to stick it out. It was a real shame, as it was a real chance to show our intent this season but instead we backed into our ever-too-familiar shells.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin needed a huge game to alleviate worries from fans about seeing his name on the teamsheet but instead it was a meek display that included a shocking missed chance that may have just sealed his fate with the Everton fans for good. We haven’t got the creativity in the squad to supply him with the ample chances he clearly needs in order to bury a single one of them, so until that conversion rate is rectified, he cannot be in the starting XI anymore.
On the note of creativity, there is nothing remotely creative about 30 short passes in dangerous areas, which we seem to be all too fond of.
Character was quite clearly needed tonight, and too many players retreated into safe harbour instead of being at all adventurous and taking the game into their own hands.
I am not one to be overly dramatic, but with a starting trio of fixtures being Crystal Palace, Watford and Aston Villa, we needed at least 7 points if we wanted to make a real push at anything this season. Instead we end the period with 4, and with it, our hopes of a successful season perhaps die too.
