Everton have lost their way says Danny Higginbotham.
Former Sunderland player-turned-pundit Danny Higginbotham has said that Everton have “lost their way” this season.
The Toffees have made a poor start to their 2017/18 campaign, and find themselves at 16th in the Premier League table with only seven points on board from seven games.
Ronald Koeman’s side have won just once in their last seven Premier League games, and head into the international break after losing 1-0 to Burnley at home.
Higginbotham noted that Everton have good players in the no. 10 position, but what they are lacking is that they don’t have enough players who can run behind the defence.
The former Manchester United man said that the opposition teams are aware of this weakness, and that is why they are pressing Everton up, and squeezing them in their own half.
He pointed out Everton’s latest defeat to Burnley as a case study, where Koeman’s side had 63 percent of ball possession, and yet they couldn’t capitalize on it.
The popular opinion among the pundits is that Everton have made a huge mistake by not signing a replacement of Romelu Lukaku, who left the club to join Manchester United this summer.
Everton are lacking width as well. They usually play in a 3-4-2-1 system, but could Koeman try the diamond formation so as to get the best out of the full-backs?
“Everton have plenty of good players, especially in the No 10 role. But they have lost their way recently,” wrote Higginbotham for The Sun.
“They don’t have enough players who are stretching the opposition or running in behind the defence. Too many of their players are coming towards the ball. Everything is so compact.
“Teams, in their preparations, know that nobody will run behind them, so they can press up and squeeze Everton in their own half.”
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