Durban - Everton are in crisis on the field, and relegation looks like a genuine prospect this season. Along with the big guns of the English top flight, the Toffees are one of the teams to have never been relegated in the Premier League era.
When Rafa Benitez was sacked by the Merseysiders in January, Everton were six points clear of the relegation zone. Under Frank Lampard, there have been no clear signs of improvement so far. They head into their game against Newcastle United today only just above the drop zone on goal difference.
Was it a mistake by Everton to appoint Lampard? It remains to be seen. Lampard is still a young manager who lacks experience. His only previous stints were with Derby County in the Championship and with his beloved Chelsea.
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At Derby, Lampard showed promise even though he did not guide the Rams to Premier League promotion. His stint at Chelsea had its positives as he appeared to work well with young players. However, his lack of effective manmanagement skills began to surface towards the end before he was sacked and replaced by Thomas Tuchel.
Lampard has no previous experience in fighting relegation, which is an art on its own. One just feels that the club’s fans would have been more confident had Benitez still been in charge. Granted, Benitez did not do well. However, he does have experience navigating the drop zone as he previously kept Newcastle in the top flight despite being poorly backed by the Magpies’ former owner Mike Ashley.
Benitez was criticised for boring tactics and the results were not coming, but he does play a high defensive line and one just has to fancy that he would have done what it takes to keep the club up.
Lampard cannot be totally blamed for what is happening. Everton have been underachieving for years. They’ve been investing heavily in squad development with a view to qualifying for Europe, but have fallen short. The last time they were in Europe was when Ronald Koeman led them to the Europa League in the 2017-18 season.
For years, the signs of an Everton collapse have been showing. During the 2017-18 season, they also flirted with relegation before calling upon the services of renowned relegation avoidance specialist Sam Allardyce who saved them.
A lack of character, chemistry and spirit from the Everton team showed in their 5-0 drubbing at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur last week. They were disjointed and played like a team that could be considered relegation fodder.
Whether or not Everton do get relegated, they will need to stick with Lampard. The current situation is not Lampard’s doing, but rather several years of misguided decisions.
Things will get interesting if the Toffees get the chop from the Premier League. They are not a club that would have prepared clauses in their players’ contracts in the case that relegation occurred as would the likes of Leeds United, Brentford and Burnley who all would certainly have been making a plan of action in the event of a drop to the Championship.
@EshlinV