How did things become so bad so quickly?

[Isaiah]

Apologies if you think this could have gone in an existing thread rather than being given its own, but rather than have this discussion spread across the Koeman, Unsworth, Missing Players, and other threads, I want to hone in on the topic here. 

Firstly, in the title I wrote "so quickly", and I guess I'm talking about the difference between how we play now and how we played about a year and a half ago. Perhaps then we were no world beaters, but we still gave everyone a game, we scored goals, our defense was relatively solid, and there was a spirit about the team. No team looked forward to playing us.  Now though?

Here's the thing - we have not only become worse, we have become almost unbelievably awful. As in, head-scratchingly terrible. I've looked at a few other clubs' forums tonight, and nobody can quite believe how bad Everton have become in such a comparatively short space of time. So why has it happened? The players who are injured now were injured for most of last season too, and we were not this crap. Our starters have become older, yes, but they haven't suddenly become pensioners. You would still expect them to perform better than this. We don't have a proper striker, obviously that's a problem, but at least 5 other teams in the Premier League have that issue now, and they don't have a bunch of capped internationals in their teams, and they are still above us in the league. We seem to have no leadership on the field, yet most of the players we bought had been captains or vice captains at their previous teams. 

What has happened? I'm interested in your thoughts. Obviously there is no one reason, it's a bunch of things which have, unfortunately (or maybe not - should this have been foreseen?), all happened to converge at once and mess us up royally. But if you were tasked by the board with explaining why it has all gone to shit, what would you say to them? And, more importantly, what steps can be taken to put it right?  

[MikeO]

Good thread/post.

But I have no answer, it's just crazy. I'm at a loss.

[Matt]

Radical change too quickly

[Btay]

29 minutes ago, Matt said:

Radical change too quickly

Combined with old players declining rapidly. Think Gary Neville - it happens over the off season, Baines, Jags andWilliams are all done in my opinion with Rooney not far behind. Throw in Coleman/ Funes Mori ( temporary because of injury ), we've needed a new back 4 and we brought in Keane and Cuco.

Kenny and Holgate are struggling and don't look PL level.

we entered squads without a recognised back up Lb.

new players bar Gylfi are adapting.

we haven't a striker, DCL has shown that he could complement a recognised striker ( giroud, costa, lacazzette all targeted but didn't come - but we could have gotten someone in surely ). 

 

[Btay]

I actually believe the moment we went backwards was when we signed Aaron Lennon - at not fault of his because he gives 100% every time. 

 

He doesnt win you games and is a mid table squad table, he didn't make Spurs team who now beat Madrid 3-0 but can make ours.

[Newty82]

A combination of things...

- Not so much too many transfers too quickly but more too many players bought for the same positions. We needed to buy in players. We had too much dead wood. Plus an ageing squad (this has been an issue creeping up on us over several seasons...at some point, huge changes would be needed quite quickly!). One issue is too many central midfield players...and not enough elsewhere. The result? No proven striker. And a backline that is clearly too old. Several good players who all occupy the same central area of the pitch, give or take a few yards.

- Injuries. Not just any old injuries but injuries to players who would be key right now. Coleman. Mori. Bolasie. Those players would be pivotal for us just now.

- Constant changing. The constant changing of formations and players, and positions for those players has made it clearly difficult to find any rhythm or fluidity in our play.

- Fixtures. Lower down the list but ultimately a contributor. At a time when we were trying to find our way, the fixtres kicked the shit out of us and confidence drained quicker than shit out of a horse.

Could go on...it can be sorted though. But everyone needs to pull together.

[Vranny]

We’ve effectively lost our two clear best attacking players in Barkley and Lukaku and replaced them either with gamble signings, or players that don’t even play in the same positions.

Plus throw in an aging backline and a general lack of confidence in the team. But the main issue is we pretty much know we’re going to lose after we concede because we haven’t got a natural goal scorer with preditory instincts in the squad. 

[pete0]

Weak arse middle in Gana and Schneiderlin, is their a worse duo in the prem? For Everton you have to go back to Walter Smith's reign to find a less talented duo Pembridge and Gemmill, but at least they made up for it with intelligence and spirit. We should have stuck with Barry and Davies. 

Leggy defense not addressed Jags/Williams and Baines. Should've bought better than Cuco and Keane. We needed a pacey centre half yet bought the slowest in the league, also we needed to consider a left sided to replace Williams. Why bring in Martina if he's deemed surplus at Soton? 

Managers tactics. If you plan to play without any wide players you need a great reader of the game with a decent pass on the middle, a Pirlo. We have Schneiderlin/Gana.. Plus you need wing backs with the stamina to get up and down the flank all game, which is definitely not Baines' forte any more. 

[Riscon]

I think its simple, we did not replace Lukaku, you absolutely cannot lose a 20+ goals a season striker and not replace him. What is really concerning is that we are already in a relegation battle the likes of which I have not seen since the "dogs of war" days.

Personally I would grab Sam Allardyce until end of the season, stabilise the ship and go all out for the best striker we can get in the transfer window. Then in the summer we can go all out for a top class manager.

[Bailey]

I think it comes down to a shocking handful of transfer windows when you look at what we needed and what we got. We bought the exact type of player we didn't need and neglected the threadbare areas which needed to be urgently addressed. 

A lot of the young lads have stepped up and shown they have talent but you only want to have to rely on them for a handful of games until they are ready, not every week alongside another youngster. Look at Spurs. Walker was sold, they had a young lad, they had a look at him decided he wasn't ready for the amount of games he was likely to get and then they signed a big name right back to compete. What do we do? We sign Cuco fucking Martina, realise he is shite and then have to rely on the kids to play more games than they should. We should have bought a top right back, a top left back and another new defender (like the fella Hoedt Soton have bought). 

We should have saved the money on Sigurdsson & Rooney and got those defenders in along with an experienced striker that suits our needs. 

Under Koeman we were unbalanced, some players were relied upon to heavily and some weren't used enough and now they are devoid of confidence and the big name players are the ones sulking instead of leading the team. Williams and Schneiderlin are the two that spring to mind. 

It's times like these when you can see who stands up to be counted and bar Rooney, Siggy(ish), Lennon and Mirallas, I can't think of another senior player who has shown that level of fight required. 

Now Unsworth is left with a group of players I am sure he would have swerved. Paceless, heartless and over the hill.

[Chach]

Only one thing has changed.

Moshiri.

[rubecula]

the buying policy in the transfer window was not good, but combined with the selling or getting rid of players made it worse.

 

we need a manager not a head coach and a football director.  It may work elsewhere but for gods sake we are Everton, not a european club.

[Paddock]

Numerous factors-

too many new players too soon

no cover for Coleman (who has a long term injury)

no cover for Baines (who is finished)

no new centre half with 2 of the 3 finished

not replacing Lukaku

no width or pace in the side

too many similar players being shoe horned into a side all at once

a manager who had lost the players

no new signings hitting the ground running.

all equals recipe for utter disaster which is what we’re witnessing.

[nogs]

You have to look at recruitment, starting with the appointments of Koeman and Walsh. The club did that arse over tit - surely you appoint a DoF first, then let them have a say on who you bring in as manager? Instead it seems Walsh and Koeman never really saw eye to eye, hence the complete cluster fuck of a transfer policy we've had for the last 18 months.

As things stand, I think Walsh carries a massive, massive weight of blame for what we are seeing. Since he has been here, we have sold the likes of Lukaku, Stones, Barry, Deulofeu. Out of the close to £200m we've spent, I would consider only Pickford and DCL to be successes. Several, such as Schneiderlin, Klaasen and Williams, I'd categorize as absolute disasters. Koeman lost his job, and rightfully so. Seems wrong to me that Walsh should not only keep his, but is now a key figure in deciding who takes over as manager (and reports suggest he's keen on Fat Sam). Let's remember, Walsh was a head scout at Leicester, not DoF - has Moshiri fucked up big time handing him so much power at our club? Just because you're good at spotting young talent doesn't mean you have the strategic vision to build a successful club. At this present time, given the obvious and gaping holes in our playing squad, I'd suggest Walsh is no where near qualified for that level of responsibility.

 

[Newty82]

....and yet, if we are honest, most of us were excited by Walsh, Koeman, most of the transfers (cue the not me brigade...I said most, not all!).

And I'd say the majority did not see this happening. Just shows the power of hindsight!!!

[nogs]

7 minutes ago, Newty82 said:

....and yet, if we are honest, most of us were excited by Walsh, Koeman, most of the transfers (cue the not me brigade...I said most, not all!).

And I'd say the majority did not see this happening. Just shows the power of hindsight!!!

Yes true. But we're fans, not professionals. Someone like Moshiri should understand the importance of due diligence to ensure these things don't happen. 

[Newty82]

1 minute ago, nogs said:

Yes true. But we're fans, not professionals. Someone like Moshiri should understand the importance of due diligence to ensure these things don't happen. 

Ha....That's a very fan thing to say!!!

[nogs]

17 minutes ago, Newty82 said:

Ha....That's a very fan thing to say!!!

Maybe. But that's why we pay to watch, while these people get rich from the game. Walsh took plenty of plaudits when Leicester won the title. 18 months into his tenure here, he has to carry the can equally for how bad things are looking, as do Moshiri and the board above him. 

[milesey05]

Expectations were obviously high after the summer spending, but our failure to sign a 20 goal a season striker after Lukaku was sold was a catastrophic failure. Fergie tried buying a team in his early days which failed. Buying success can work. look at Chelsea and Man City.

The difference being they went out shopping at M&S were as Koeman went shopping at Aldi. The best players don't win football matches, the best teams do ( Leicester prem title ). Unfortunately we have neither at the moment. Out of all of our signings Pickford has been ok but IMO Vlasic stands out to be a bargain. What has happened to the rest i just don't know.

Morale within a team is so important off the pitch, and i think Koeman nullified spirits, confidence and basically any morale from every player. Players need to trust and have belief that their manager knows what he's doing in training and match days. I don't believe for one minute the players were happy with Koemans tactics this season. If us fans can see the side has no balance then the players can see this too. The performances speak for themselves.

So up step David Unsworth. I really wanted him to do well, he bleeds blue etc etc. 3 games 3 losses GF 1 GA 7. Made Williams captain and a line up last night that baffled me. Not one fan on here expected a win or even a draw at that. Do you think the players expected to win? No. Another clear indication where the players went out hoping to snatch a draw at the very best. 

Team spirit doesn't win football matches i know that. At this very moment our players shoulders are hunched, mainly down to Koeman. If David Unsworth keeps playing silly buggers with the starting line up then shoulders will remain hunched.

 

Time to go back to basics and get out of the bottom 3. If it means going back to the 90's Dogs Of War then so be it. At least every player was scrapping for their lives on the pitch. 

[chalkpie]

Sad that we have become a "Big Sam' club just to keep us up.....I'm in shock honestly. I can't even imaging living in this city at the moment. Still, always a bluenose, and we will get through this, trust me. At the moment though it feels hopeless. 

[EFC-Paul]

Total mismanagement 

We've been fucked over by the above big time and it will take a transfer window or two with lots of re-jigging and taking big losses on a few players that we've not long brought in 

Lost for words on how dire we are tbh it's a big mess that will take some sorting 

[Hafnia]

5 hours ago, Paddock said:

Numerous factors-

too many new players too soon

no cover for Coleman (who has a long term injury)

no cover for Baines (who is finished)

no new centre half with 2 of the 3 finished

not replacing Lukaku

no width or pace in the side

too many similar players being shoe horned into a side all at once

a manager who had lost the players

no new signings hitting the ground running.

all equals recipe for utter disaster which is what we’re witnessing.

All wrapped into one phrase:-

"A complete mismanagement of the squad and funds" - the manager 

[Hafnia]

4 hours ago, nogs said:

You have to look at recruitment, starting with the appointments of Koeman and Walsh. The club did that arse over tit - surely you appoint a DoF first, then let them have a say on who you bring in as manager? Instead it seems Walsh and Koeman never really saw eye to eye, hence the complete cluster fuck of a transfer policy we've had for the last 18 months.

As things stand, I think Walsh carries a massive, massive weight of blame for what we are seeing. Since he has been here, we have sold the likes of Lukaku, Stones, Barry, Deulofeu. Out of the close to £200m we've spent, I would consider only Pickford and DCL to be successes. Several, such as Schneiderlin, Klaasen and Williams, I'd categorize as absolute disasters. Koeman lost his job, and rightfully so. Seems wrong to me that Walsh should not only keep his, but is now a key figure in deciding who takes over as manager (and reports suggest he's keen on Fat Sam). Let's remember, Walsh was a head scout at Leicester, not DoF - has Moshiri fucked up big time handing him so much power at our club? Just because you're good at spotting young talent doesn't mean you have the strategic vision to build a successful club. At this present time, given the obvious and gaping holes in our playing squad, I'd suggest Walsh is no where near qualified for that level of responsibility.

 

Walsh has more than likely been treated like a head scout but paid DOF wages ...

Can anyone please tell me that the man behind Leicester's key signings all of a sudden decided to buy slow players???

I'm not having it. 

Klassen, cuco, Rooney and sigurdson have koeman written all over them. 

[Paddock]

1 hour ago, hafnia said:

All wrapped into one phrase:-

"A complete mismanagement of the squad and funds" - the manager 

You can’t put the players not coming in on him- I’m 100% certain he will of asked for all the players listed- that’s down to the board. The rest- fair enough.

[Chach]

5 hours ago, Newty82 said:

And I'd say the majority did not see this happening. 

I'd challenge anyone to find a single person on the thinking Evertonians forum to have called it.

Some clowns are still trying to lay the the blame on one person.

[Hafnia]

11 minutes ago, Chach said:

I'd challenge anyone to find a single person on the thinking Evertonians forum to have called it.

Some clowns are still trying to lay the the blame on one person.

how is moshiri to blame? 

 

[Chach]

2 minutes ago, hafnia said:

how is moshiri to blame? 

 

Hrmmm I dont know, how is Moshiri to blame?

[johnh]

8 hours ago, Paddock said:

Numerous factors-

too many new players too soon

no cover for Coleman (who has a long term injury)

no cover for Baines (who is finished)

no new centre half with 2 of the 3 finished

not replacing Lukaku

no width or pace in the side

too many similar players being shoe horned into a side all at once

a manager who had lost the players

no new signings hitting the ground running.

all equals recipe for utter disaster which is what we’re witnessing.

This.

Plus a squad of players who are totally demoralised (for whatever reason,  mainly Koeman).  There are not many of them who are earning their wages right now.

[captainbeaker]

We don't know if Moshiri has influence on the signings, I suspect he may have been involved in getting Rooney back to raise the profile.

Walsh would be reposnbile for scouting players and taking names to the manager, but I'm sure Koeman had the main say on who was uliimately signed.

In the end we overpaid for some decent but not good enough players and they are not settling in straight away, it could be pressure of being record signing like Sigi, being played in wrong positions or just adapting to the league.

Sandro proved he could score for a poor team in La Liga Klaasen not only looked good at Ajax but taking team through to Europa league.

There are many things that have gone wrong, but a difficult start and a lot of pressure and expectation from the ~£150m of signings are the main factors in my opinion, which has resulted in a team low in confidence and struggling.

I can see imrpovements in the way the team are now playing so hopefully the results will start to come.

[Quinn31]

30 minutes ago, captainbeaker said:

We don't know if Moshiri has influence on the signings, I suspect he may have been involved in getting Rooney back to raise the profile.\

Rooney has produced our best moments of the season, though so much in between those moments has been detrimental to the team and he has shown his age... Would be great to use him as a rotation player/super sub, but right now we are quite dependent on him

Walsh would be reposnbile for scouting players and taking names to the manager, but I'm sure Koeman had the main say on who was uliimately signed.

In the end we overpaid for some decent but not good enough players and they are not settling in straight away, it could be pressure of being record signing like Sigi, being played in wrong positions or just adapting to the league.

He'll come good

Sandro proved he could score for a poor team in La Liga Klaasen not only looked good at Ajax but taking team through to Europa league.

Verdict is far from out for these two. It would be interesting to see how they'd mesh into a team that was playing well and confidently. Sandro clearly isn't the big target man, and probably needs to play alongside a bigger forward. Both will have very good careers, though it may be on the continent rather than the more physical PL

There are many things that have gone wrong, but a difficult start and a lot of pressure and expectation from the ~£150m of signings are the main factors in my opinion, which has resulted in a team low in confidence and struggling.

I can see imrpovements in the way the team are now playing so hopefully the results will start to come.