Rwell, where were we? Police and stewards had formed a cordon to separate angry supporters from angry players, Jordan Pickford was pulled away from a confrontation, Alex Iwobi gave a supporter his shirt and threw it back at him and Frank Lampard was raised their hands to apologize after a second anemic defeat at Bournemouth within five days. We resume with Everton struggling again.
Six weeks is a long time to ruminate on events on the south coast, where Everton’s collapsing form was met with an ugly display of collapsing support for Lampard’s side. One of the major advantages of the Everton The manager’s 11-month reign has been the reconnection between crowd and players after Rafael Benítez’s divisive days and the disillusionment that had set in before his ridiculous appointment.
The union was essential for the club Premier League survival last season. Seeing it unfold at the Vitality Stadium was confirmation that goodwill has limits and that Lampard must correct his form quickly to avoid another campaign fraught with relegation dangers. The visit of the Wolves from the bottom of the table on Boxing Day is loaded with significance ahead of the trip to Manchester City on New Year’s Eve.
“I never thought this couldn’t happen at a football club like ours,” the Everton manager said of Bournemouth’s revolt. “When you come to a club with passionate fans, you as a player, or me as a manager, have to take on your shoulders the ability to cope with the big team – which tells me how important that is. unbelievable that 45,000 fans showed up and contributed to the performance against Chelsea last season – or the fans who mean Bournemouth weren’t good enough.
“I agree. It wasn’t good enough. There’s somewhere in the middle where we have to find a better balance because we need each other if we’re going to be successful. I think it’s to the responsibility of the players to play at a higher level of energy and intensity in particular, because that is always the first request, and the fans will follow them. I have no doubt about that. They have already shown. We have a responsibility there.
Lampard has never hidden his conviction that this season will be problematic or that it will take more than one transfer window to correct the many errors of the Farhad Moshiri era (this is not his point, admittedly). Likewise, Evertonian’s patience didn’t stop just because of two poor results at Bournemouth, where Lampard’s 11 substitutions for a Carabao Cup draw backfired in a 4-1 loss before the match. 3-0 defeat in the Premier League.
“It’s Everton and we don’t represent that as a team at the moment,” said a desperate Conor Coady, who is ineligible to face his parent club on Boxing Day. Fans who have completed two round trips totaling more than 1,000 miles in five days would agree. Everton are one place and one point above the relegation zone following five defeats in seven league games ahead of the World Cup. They haven’t scored in five of those matches, which should come as no surprise to a club that sold last season’s top scorer, Richarlison, believed too much in Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s recovery from injury and didn’t added only Neal Maupay to his striking options. in summer.
There is, however, recognition from the top that the manager needs support in January and a new striker – or two – is the priority. But it won’t be easy. Atlético Madrid’s Matheus Cunha was under consideration before Wolves blew Everton out of the water with a loan deal with an obligation to buy for over £40m next summer. Mohammed Kudus has been wanted since the summer but attempting to sell Ajax a player who has since boosted his Champions League and World Cup reputation will require a considerable sum.
“We were very aware of the player,” said Lampard of Cunha. “He’s a really interesting player but the numbers are important and Wolves, to be fair, made the decision to go with him. Everyone has to work in different settings and that wasn’t a setting for us.
“It’s not easy but it’s our job and it’s the job of scouting to find the right players to help us now. Do we need help up the pitch? Yes. We are fully aware of that. But it’s not easy to do because it’s a tough market in January I think we can do loans and buys – we’ll look at both – but I want players to improve us now, not just for come in and be team players. They have to come and help us.