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Tag: Everton

  • Wilson’s goals and Isak magic for Newcastle push Everton closer to drop

    Wilson’s goals and Isak magic for Newcastle push Everton closer to drop

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    “One very famous football club said to me two or three days ago: ‘Whenever we have a problem we say ‘What would the Everton board do, because they always get it right?’” Bill Kenwright, 2021.

    Anyone of sound mind would do the exact opposite of what Everton’s delusional chairman and abject board have overseen during the seven years of Farhad Moshiri’s near-ruinous ownership.

    Those appointed to run Newcastle’s football operation, for example. Newcastle again showed the wisdom of their £255m investment in new talent since the Saudi takeover in October 2021, along with the astute management of Eddie Howe, as they edged closer to Champions League qualification and pushed Everton towards the Championship with a second emphatic Premier League victory in five days.

    Unlike the swift destruction of Tottenham at St James’ Park, Newcastle had to bide their time before delivering another incisive exhibition at Goodison Park. A seventh win in eight outings could have equalled Sunday’s scoreline but for the interventions of Jordan Pickford and VAR. Everton’s strong start was a distant memory by the time Callum Wilson, Joelinton and Alexander Isak were swatting aside the home defence with ease and exposing the chasm in quality between the respective forward lines.

    Wilson struck twice, Joelinton once and Jacob Murphy was also on the scoresheet following a mesmerising run from fellow substitute Isak that took him beyond four blue shirts.

    Howe shuffled his pack from Sunday but Newcastle’s penetration and winning mentally remained unchanged, victory taking them eight points clear of fifth-placed Spurs with a game in hand.

    “We handled the occasion really well,” the Newcastle manager said. “It was a hostile environment and the first goal was always going to be crucial. Our confidence was evident in the second half. Maybe the edge of the game had gone but we had to earn the right to get to that point.”

    Three of Newcastle’s goals came down Everton’s right flank where Ben Godfrey had a torrid night. The defender’s inclusion over Nathan Patterson at full back, where he also toiled in the damaging home defeat by Fulham, was a mystifying choice by Sean Dyche, who may have improved Everton’s aggression and physicality but not their prospects of avoiding a first relegation since 1951.

    Everton collapsed following Newcastle’s second goal, just as they did against Fulham in the previous home game. With five games remaining to save the club’s top flight status, the first away at Leicester on Monday, the character on display is as alarming as the league table for Evertonians.

    Alexander Isak leads the everton players a merry dance during a mesmerisng dribble that set up the fourth goal for Jacob Murphy.
    Alexander Isak leaves Everton players in his wake during a mesmerising dribble that set up the fourth goal for Jacob Murphy. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

    Dyche said: “In the first half we did everything I wanted them to do against a team that is flying, apart from conceding, but as soon as the second goal goes in the game gets away from us too quickly. The same thing happened against Fulham. We have to correct that very quickly.”

    Goodison Road was filled with noise and blue smoke before kick off as thousands of Evertonians waited to greet the team coach. There was even a sustained fireworks display from behind the Gwladys Street and Bullens Road stands when the teams emerged.

    It was some reception from a fanbase being put through the wringer once again and Dyche’s team initially responded, controlling proceedings up until the point Joelinton broke away to create Newcastle’s opener.

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    The visitors switched play through Matt Targett, who released the Brazilian down the left with a fine first touch. Joelinton gathered speed as he approached the area and cut back inside Godfrey before unleashing a venomous shot. Pickford parried well but the ball struck James Tarkowski and dropped perfectly for Wilson. The striker, one of three changes from the Spurs’ rout, made no mistake.

    Everton fans are fearing the worst
    Everton fans are fearing the worst after a drubbing by Newcastle. Photograph: Carl Recine/Reuters

    Dominic Calvert-Lewin had what would have been an exquisite equaliser disallowed for offside in first half stoppage time. He also forced Nick Pope to save early in the second half following good work from Alex Iwobi.

    Pickford produced a magnificent save to deny the increasingly prominent Joe Willock when, unmarked on the corner of the area at a Newcastle corner, he curled a volley towards the far corner. The Everton keeper’s finger-tipped intervention was in vain. Seconds later Bruno Guimarães found Willock, who beat Godfrey to the byline too easily and chipped a perfect cross into the six-yard box where Joelinton scored with a textbook header.

    It was soon three when Guimarães found Wilson lurking on the edge of the area. The striker was given time and space to pick his spot and chose the top left hand corner of Pickford’s goal. Dwight McNeil reduced the arrears when scoring directly from a corner but only for a matter of seconds. Isak weaved his way through anaemic challenges from Godfrey, Michael Keane and Idrissa Gueye before shooting across goal. Murphy tapped in at the back post.

    There was still time for Howe to rub salt into Everton wounds by introducing Anthony Gordon to predictable boos against his boyhood club. Fabian Schär seemed to have applied more when scoring from distance but his fine effort was disallowed for offside by VAR. The two clubs are heading in very different directions.

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    #Wilsons #goals #Isak #magic #Newcastle #push #Everton #closer #drop
    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

  • Frank Lampard vows to ‘dig in’ after Everton loss leaves him clinging to job

    Frank Lampard vows to ‘dig in’ after Everton loss leaves him clinging to job

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    Frank Lampard vowed to “dig in” after a damaging defeat by West Ham in a crucial clash at the bottom of the table left Everton’s manager clinging to his job.

    In a potentially significant development Everton’s majority shareholder, Farhad Moshiri, was at the London Stadium to watch Lampard’s side slip deeper into relegation trouble. Moshiri had not attended an Everton game since October 2021 and he could decide that it is time for a change of manager.

    Asked about Lampard’s future after the game, Moshiri said that it is not his decision to make. It was later clarified that any move would be agreed with the rest of Everton’s board. Having stayed away from Goodison Park before last weekend’s defeat by Southampton, the rest of Everton’s directors joined Moshiri at the London Stadium.

    They would have seen Everton’s fans hold up banners decrying “a board full of liars” and the team deliver another poor display. West Ham climbed out of the bottom three after two goals from Jarrod Bowen, potentially saving David Moyes from being fired, and left Everton in 19th place after a run of 11 defeats in 14 games in all competitions. It would come as little surprise if Lampard is fired.

    Lampard, who hopes to improve his squad before the transfer window shuts, vowed to fight on after being asked about his future. “Those things are not my choice, it is my job to work, focus and keep my head down,” he said. “I know there’s things going on at the club but it’s never been a consequence for me whether a chairman or board member is at the game.

    “I was at Chelsea for 18 months and the owner didn’t come to one competitive game. It’s not for me to guess what he thought about the game. We stayed up by the skin of our teeth last year and were five points shy of safety with not many games to go.

    “I’ve said that we might stay where we are, and was questioned whether that is competitive enough talk. But if you are in a club where the club has moved downwards with serious investment, the conditions now are that we don’t have that investment and we are trying to rebuild. That doesn’t mean straight away you start climbing stairs. It means you have to dig in as a club and I’m prepared to dig in.”

    Kenwright refused to discuss whether Lampard is at risk of being sacked. “It’s been a bad run of results for us all, and for Frank, but I would never say that to you,” he said. “We’ve just got to start winning, haven’t we?”

    West Ham’s first league win since 24 October was a huge boost for Moyes, who has been backed by his board. “I think it’s a relief to the club itself,” West Ham’s manager said. “I really hope Everton stick with Frank. He is a top bloke but I have to think about my position because winning one game doesn’t mean everything is fine.”

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    #Frank #Lampard #vows #dig #Everton #loss #leaves #clinging #job
    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

  • Jarrod Bowen double boosts West Ham and turns up heat on Lampard’s Everton

    Jarrod Bowen double boosts West Ham and turns up heat on Lampard’s Everton

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    Perhaps Farhad Moshiri thought that turning up to watch his team in the flesh for the first time since October 2021 would inspire Everton. Or maybe he just wanted to set his expert gaze over proceedings and judge for himself where Frank Lampard’s team are going wrong.

    Either way Everton have spiralled out of control under Moshiri’s abysmal ownership and, for all that the immediate blame for yet another sorry defeat will fall at Lampard’s feet, anyone with any perspective will know that a change of manager is not all it will take to halt this damaged club’s decline.

    The chants of “sack the board” that emanated from the away end during the dying stages were a good indication of the mood. Can anything save Everton? Only goal difference is keeping them off the foot of the table and nothing about their performance during this limp defeat to West Ham, whose first league win since 24 October lifted them out of the bottom three, suggested that they will be a Premier League team next season.

    At times it seemed Everton were trying to do David Moyes a favour. Their former manager was under extreme pressure and probably would have been sacked if West Ham had lost again. Everton could have made Moyes sweat. The problem was that their failure to defend or attack with any conviction meant that the game was over as a contest by half-time.

    This was Moshiri’s first chance to study Lampard team and what he saw was Everton collapse as soon as West Ham lifted their level. Rarely can a team scrapping for survival have defended with such little heart. It was not enough for Lampard to argue that his team had offered some encouraging flashes with some neat approach play. Everton were blunt in the final third and when the blows arrived in a blistering seven-minute spell, Jarrod Bowen twice punishing awful defending, what really stood out was how easy it had been for the hosts.

    Frank Lampard watches Everton struggle at West Ham
    Frank Lampard watches Everton struggle at West Ham. Photograph: Tony Obrien/Reuters

    It was not a flawless display from West Ham. Tougher tests lie in wait, though Moyes was entitled to feel positive. The afternoon had started with an emotional tribute to the late David Gold and Moyes would speak afterwards about the support he has received from his bosses. It was about keeping things in perspective. West Ham are still in the FA Cup, have reached the last 16 of the Europa Conference League and have given Moyes funds to build.

    Then again, there is nothing quite like 90 minutes in the company of Everton to lift the mood. The visitors, who matched West Ham’s 3-4-2-1 system, started well. Everton had control early on and West Ham’s inability to seize the initiative had risked irritating the home support, who would even aim a few boos at their team after 25 minutes of sterile football.

    Briefly, it was tempting to wonder if Everton’s civil war was ending. After staying away from Goodison Park when Everton lost to Southampton last weekend, Moshiri, Bill Kenwright and their fellow directors were at the London Stadium and would witness a mildly encouraging display at first.

    Yet familiar failings plagued Everton, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin isolated and Demarai Gray ineffective. Their best chance fell to Yerry Mina, who scooped over when the game was goalless, and they were shaky as soon after West Ham responded to the crowd’s demands for more urgency.

    Saïd Benrahma was soon extending Jordan Pickford. West Ham were making their physicality count and they led when a cross from their left wing-back, Emerson Palmieri, exposed the weaknesses in Everton’s defending.

    Kurt Zouma, back from injury and impressing alongside Nayef Aguerd and Angelo Ogbonna at the back, wanted it more than James Tarkowski and Conor Coady. It was too easy for Zouma to flick the ball on and there was too much space for Bowen, who rushed in to guide a simple finish over Pickford.

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    West Ham are always more dangerous when Bowen, who had not scored a league goal since 9 October, is on song. Also influential was Michail Antonio, who made the second goal when he rumbled past a soft tackle from Tarkowksi. Everton had fallen apart and, with Mina and Amadou Onana standing still, Bowen turned in Antonio’s cross.

    The second half was a non-event. Emerson hit the bar, Declan Rice shot just wide and West Ham gave their fans a glimpse of their new signing, Danny Ings. For Lampard, it was another blow. What he would give to have a striker like Ings. He is working with very little. The question now is whether Everton decide to hand the job to someone else.

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    #Jarrod #Bowen #double #boosts #West #Ham #turns #heat #Lampards #Everton
    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )

  • Everton are engulfed in a civil war that could have a catastrophic end | Andy Hunter

    Everton are engulfed in a civil war that could have a catastrophic end | Andy Hunter

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    It is too charitable to describe Everton as a club in crisis. A crisis can be solved with the right people in charge. Everton are engulfed in a civil war, the consequences could be catastrophic, and it is a measure of the turmoil that the potential endgame for a manager with the worst win ratio bar the hapless Mike Walker is not dominating their agenda before the trip to West Ham.

    Frank Lampard returns to his first club on Saturday having presided over 10 defeats in 13 matches and Everton’s descent to joint bottom of the Premier League. Awaiting him is David Moyes, who also hasn’t won a league game since late October, who has also collected 15 points and whose job is also on the line before a fortnight’s break in the league. It is not fantasy to suggest the Scot could resurface back at Goodison Park should West Ham part company.

    And yet, even now, the prospect of fresh managerial upheaval is not all-consuming for Evertonians.

    In just over a week they have been accused of dictating managerial policy by Farhad Moshiri, the erratic owner who thought Sam Allardyce and Rafael Benítez were a good idea, and of threatening, violent and misogynistic behaviour towards members of the board by their own club. The serious allegations were made on the day thousands of fans staged a peaceful sit-in protest against the Everton board. The chairman Bill Kenwright, chief executive Denise Barrett-Baxendale – the main targets of the protest along with Moshiri – chief finance officer Grant Ingles and nonexecutive director Graeme Sharp, a club legend, missed the defeat by last-placed Southampton and the planned protest on the advice of the club’s security staff.

    No threats or offences were reported to Merseyside police, whose statement confirming they were liaising with Everton over the allegations contained a rebuke to the club. They were in contact, said the police, “to ensure that any future reports are received through existing channels”. A day after the police statement, and one from Everton saying they would not comment on “specific historic incidents”, an article appeared in the Athletic in which a club source doubled down on accusations that Barrett-Baxendale had been put in a headlock at an unspecified game. The claim remains unsubstantiated almost a week on. The only evidence of Everton fans crossing the line of late is footage of Anthony Gordon being abused and Yerry Mina being confronted as they drove away from Goodison last Saturday.

    The Everton doom loop continues. NSNOW, organisers of the protest, stated: “We are appalled by the Everton board’s recent statements and actions, including the use of unattributed leaks to the media, that have resulted in considerable damage to the good name of the club and especially the fans. For the board there is no recovery from this.” The Everton Shareholders’ Association, hardly a hotbed of revolutionary fervour in the past, said relations between the owner, board and fanbase were “at an all-time low”. The association, also angered by the removal of AGMs, has launched an online petition calling for a vote of no confidence in the board. It attracted almost 11,000 signatures in the first 24 hours.

    Frank Lampard after Everton’s defeat by Southampton at Goodison Park
    Frank Lampard after Everton’s defeat by Southampton left the club joint bottom of the league. Photograph: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

    The upshot of this counterproductive debacle is that Everton have made their own manager’s job – and, by extension, their own prospects of avoiding relegation – more difficult. They have also exposed how Everton are run, and why there is such a clamour for Moshiri to sell up or impose the changes that were needed at the top when he bought into the club. Everton’s decline has accelerated under the British-Iranian billionaire, but it did not start with him. The club was lagging behind its Premier League peers commercially and had three failed stadium projects to its name when Kenwright, indebted to Moyes for keeping Everton competitive on a shoestring for 11 years, finally found a much-needed investor and invited Moshiri on board in February 2016.

    Moshiri has at least found a solution to Everton’s stadium problem with construction well under way on an impressive arena at Bramley-Moore Dock. He is yet to secure the additional investment required to complete the project, however, and that search would not be easier with the club in the Championship. Relegation would entail a fire sale of assets from the squad and raise the spectre of administration for a club that posted combined losses of £372.6m in its past three available set of accounts. About £700m has been spent on more than 50 players in the Moshiri era, with just over £400m recouped in sales. Lucrative commercial ties with companies owned by the oligarch Alisher Usmanov, Moshiri’s former business associate, have been cut since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

    By allowing Kenwright to remain an influential chairman Moshiri preserved the status quo when Everton needed a reset. Kenwright’s supporters would argue his influence has been vital in curbing the worst excesses of an impressionable owner who has no strategy or plan and has frequently followed the poor advice of a few friendly agents.

    Moshiri has not failed on his own terms. The same is true of Lampard, a dignified figure who has refused to blame the Everton circus for results he knows spell trouble. Nine league wins in 12 months and three league wins this season represent dreadful records. But, should the axe fall after West Ham, how accurately can his performance at Everton be judged? Lampard has spent the vast majority of the season without a recognised goalscorer who could have turned draws into victories and narrow defeats into draws when his rebuilt defence and midfield offered a foundation earlier in the campaign.

    Everton have known since 1 July last year that Richarlison’s goals needed replacing. Three weeks into the January window and still no signings have arrived. Meanwhile Southampton, West Ham, Bournemouth, Wolves, Leeds, Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa have strengthened. Danny Ings, now of Saturday’s opponents, Kevin Schade, Brentford’s new striker, and Georginio Rutter, Leeds’s record signing, were on Lampard’s wishlist.

    Last season Everton had the unity that Lampard fostered between the fanbase and a struggling team to “push them over the line” – his words – in an impassioned fight against relegation. That crutch has gone, kicked away by his club.

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    #Everton #engulfed #civil #war #catastrophic #Andy #Hunter
    ( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )