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Why have The Toffees come unstuck this season?

By on March 10, 2015

This time last year Everton were in a battle for a place in the Barclays Premier League top four; this season, they are in a relegation battle. Why have the Toffees have come so drastically unstuck in the past twelve months?

There is always the disadvantage of expectation: Everton over achieved last campaign by finishing fifth, and with the very top sides in the Premier League perennially investing in new signings during the summer, they were bound to resurge.

For instance, Everton spent a large proportion of their transfer budget turning Romelu Lukaku’s loan move from Chelsea into a permanent one as they splashed out a club record £28 million to make sure the Belgian remained at Goodison Park. However, Lukaku has failed to regain his form and has struggled to consistently score for the Toffees in the league this season. Is he faltering to the pressure of his price tag? Certainly, his league form is in vast comparison with his UEFA Europa League form, where at times he has looked unplayable. A heavy price tag is known to add extra pressure to put the ball into the back of the net, and at very least expectation. Angel Di Maria (see my previous article) has struggled with filling the weight of his summer transfer fee at Manchester United, but he is Everton’s main goal threat up front alongside fellow Belgian Kevin Miralles. Everton manager Roberto Martinez brought in the experience of Samuel Eto’o at the beginning of the season, but he has since swanned off to Italy and joined Sampdoria.

At the other end of the pitch lies another concern for Roberto Martinez this campaign — their defensive issues can be traced right back to August 2014 when they lost 6-3 at home to now Capital One Cup winners Chelsea. Injuries have plagued them here; future England prospect of John Stones has suffered from his injuries this season, while Antolin Alcarez has also been sidelined for lengthy periods having suffered a dislocated shoulder in November. The club’s older and more experienced defenders of Sylvain Distin, Phil Jagielka, and Tony Hibbert have all had nagging injuries this season. This has also meant Leighton Baines has sacrificed some of his strength going forward, and Seamus Coleman as potent up front, either.

Ross Barkley has missed a lot of playing time this year with an injury, too. James McCarthey has impressed when on the pitch, alongside Gareth Barry, but we all know that Barry is not the quickest (the island probably moves faster than him!) after he was ripped to pieces by Mesut Ozil and the other Germans in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Roberto Martinez has the impressive (when he is not missing penalties) Kevin Miralles at his disposal on the wing, yet he has been linked with a move away from the club. Aaron Lennon was brought in on loan from Tottenham in January, and though ineligible in the Europa League, he doesn’t seem to have the blistering pace he used at White Hart Lane, five years ago.

Even when the Everton defense is on point, the bearded Tim Howard has also been failing to replicate the performances which made him famous at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Having been sidelined for a few weeks with an injury in December on the back if making multiple costly mistakes, Howard has even been dropped for backup Joel Robles. Howard won’t be reaching his end in the near future, but Martinez might have to regretfully begin the search for a replacement.

Finally, the under-pressure and the previously calm and composed Everton manager Roberto Martinez has finally admitted that the club are in a relegation battle. Martinez’s side is only six points above the relegation zone after winning just one of their last dozen Premier League games. Everton has twenty-eight points from twenty-eight games, which is their lowest total at this stage of a season in the Premier League era.

“Any team that hasn’t got forty points in the final third of the season is in a relegation fight. The big advantage I have is that I’ve been through that every season [at Wigan]”, the Spaniard Martinez told the Sunday Telegraph. Everton is almost undoubtedly too good to go down, though a 2-0 loss to Stoke City in their last league fixture proved that more has gone wrong than simply failing to reach high expectations. Without doubt, injury has been one factor while travel — with a long trip to the war torn Ukraine against Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League to come — may be another. Tactically, Martinez’s fluid possession football has also looked brittle compared to last season. Perhaps, someone shut the bathroom stall in the locker room.

Photo credit: Jon Candy on Flickr

About Richard Lewis

Richard Lewis can relate almost anything to football and quite often does! You may have seen Richard's previous ideas and work in the BBC Match of the Day Magazine, from 2011 to present. He is a Manchester United and England fan, but has gone to see Leyton Orient play with his O's season ticket in the 2013/14 campaign. Aside from football, Richard has written articles on Doctor Who and studies English Language and Linguistics at the University of Westminster. Aspiring sports journalist.