Are Everton this season’s biggest Premier League disappointment?

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This Premier League season has been defined by an aspirant middle class emerging to challenge the aristocracy. West Ham United, Southampton, Crystal Palace (for a few months at least), and most notably Leicester City, have all amounted to more than the sum of their parts. Tottenham Hotspur have also exceeded expectations, though they have broken the glass ceiling of the top four in the past. Something of a perfect storm has erupted to allow these names to push towards the top of the league; increased revenue from broadcasting deals, astute recruitment policies, excellent coaching but also the collective failings of the league’s more illustrious names. Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea have all underperformed this season to varying degrees and for a multitude of reasons. In the midst of this ‘World Turned Upside Down’ atmosphere, Everton seem to have been left behind. Though there are a few contenders for this title, they could well be this season’s biggest disappointment.

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For many years, Bill Kenwright’s stable but austere regime stacked the odds against Everton. Throughout the Moyers era and Roberto Martinez’s first season, they consistently finished above where their wage bill suggested they should, and that is a credit to the club. However, following last year’s disappointing second season under Martinez, circumstances for once seemed in their favour. They had stability on the pitch and in the dugout, no European football to distract them and the big names who have traditionally occupied the top four falling away. Crucially, they also have no shortage of quality.

Everton’s spine is one of the most eye-catching in the division – namely John Stones, James McCarthy, Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku. In terms of individual quality, one could argue that those four names are better than any player Leicester or West Ham possess in those positions. Everton may even possess a better core of individuals than Spurs, thought that claim is perhaps more contentious. When you add the likes of Leighton Baines, Seamus Coleman, Gerard Deulofeu and Kevin Mirallas to that list, Martinez has an enviable crop of talent. Older heads Phil Jagielka and Gareth Barry are also still reliable performers who should add some much-needed experience. So, what has gone wrong?

The answer to that question is no great secret – Everton concede too many goals and let too many leads slip. They have lost 14 points from winning positions, while Spurs have recovered 19 points from losing positions. Everton have conceded 42 league goals – only Bournemouth and the clubs in the bottom four have conceded more. Crucially, they have let in 28 of those goals at Goodison Park where they have won only four of 16 home matches. You would expect Everton to win around 10 of 16 games at home. If you were to add those six theoretical extra wins, Everton would sit two points clear of Man City in fourth. Simply, their home form has been the crux of the problem.

Occasionally, it is the case that a team is poor defensively because it has defenders who are not up to standard. More often than not however, poor defensive records are caused by tactical issues, individual lapses or a negligent mental approach. For example, West Bromwich Albion kept the most Premier League clean sheets of any side in 2015. Do they have the best group of defenders in the league? Of course not. They do however, set up in a way that accentuates their defenders’ strengths and masks their weaknesses. This is not something you can say for every team, particularly those such as Everton who are more forward thinking.

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Everton’s very decent defensive record on the road; just 14 conceded, shows that the problem is not the calibre of player at their disposal. They have players in the back-line who are capable of defending properly. The issue seems to be one of tactical emphasis. When Everton expect to do a lot of defending; primarily away from home against better sides, they have shown they can defend quite resolutely. It also helps that they play a fraction deeper as a unit. At home when they expect to have more of the ball, there seems to be a lack of urgency when the ball is lost. This is exacerbated by the fact that when they have more of ball in their home games, their back four is further up the pitch and more vulnerable to counter attacks.

Accusations of defensive narcolepsy have dogged Martinez’s teams since his time at Wigan Athletic. Pundits were split on whether to credit Martinez for dragging Wigan out of trouble every spring, or blame him for being there in the first place. The move to Everton in 2013 was surely one of the most vertiginous job promotions ever handed to a relegated manager. There was logic behind Everton’s appointment however. The Spaniard had worked well on a small budget, won the FA Cup with a win over Manchester City in the final and played consistently attractive football based on tactical flexibility. Not many coaches battling in the relegation zone opt for a 3-4-3 formation away at Arsenal and win, as he did in May 2012.

His first season on the blue half of Merseyside was a success; a fifth placed finish ensuring Evertonians did not lose any sleep over the departed David Moyes. The first signs of trouble began to surface last season, however. Just 12 wins in 38 games led to an 11th placed finish, characterised by games in which Everton would monopolise possession without laying a glove on the opposition. They often looked very laboured on the ball, with Lukaku in particular being far too static and looked gormless when linking up play. With the likes of Barry and Samuel Et’o also in the team, they lacked the vibrancy that you expect of a Martinez team.

They appeared to have remedied this at the beginning of the season, with Deulofeu and Arouna Kone providing far more thrust. Lukaku looked a different player when surrounded by perpetual motion. Crucially, they carried a threat on the counter attack, exemplified by a 3-0 win away at Southampton. That result has proved to be a false dawn. This is another facet of the game that Everton have wrestled with this season, and another reason why they are a better team on their travels. Like many other teams, they are far more dangerous and have attacking players who suit playing on the break. Much of Martinez’s philosophy was built upon the examples of Spain and Barcelona; a possession-based style, where players were encouraged to patiently probe in front of opposition defences before waiting to pounce. This style is by no means dead, but the very best teams have developed it to include much more pace and direct counter-attacking.

It is impossible to bookmark these eras exactly, but I think there was a sea change after Real Madrid dismantled Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich in the 2014 Champions League semi-final. Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale completely overwhelmed Bayern, who left them plenty of green grass to exploit. Spain’s elimination from the 2014 World Cup at the group stages could be viewed as another watershed moment. This stylistic change can be seen clearly among the European elite. Guardiola added Kingsley Coman and Douglas Costa to the Bayern team last summer to add penetration and give them direct, counter-attacking threats. Through the likes of Luis Saurez and Neymar, Barcelona have the ability to go from defence to attack far quicker than they used to; their first goal at the Emirates against Arsenal in February is testament to this.

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The trend has permeated the Premier League this season as well. After 16 games of this season, 37.5% of matches ended in a home win while 33.75% ended in an away win. To put that in context, the average percentage of home wins over the previous decade was 46.9%. As Jonathan Wilson writes in the article linked above, ‘it feels that football has moved into a new age, one in which not having the ball is preferable to having it’.

Roberto Martinez needs to push Everton into this ‘new age’. As evident in their away results, when Everton are explosive, direct and focus on turning defence into attack very quickly, they are a force to be reckoned with. When they play the ‘Spain lite’ style of football that Martinez’s teams have been known for they look very ordinary. They average 54% possession in league games at Goodison Park yet find wins difficult to come by. Teams are now too fit and too well organised; you cannot expect to pass them to death and wear them down eventually. Typically considered an innovative coach, Martinez needs to realise this.

Do you agree with the reasons behind Everton’s results falling below par this season? Should another side deserve the title of ‘greatest under-achievers’ this campaign? Let us know in the comments section below.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Aleksandr Osipov