Everton’s display in their 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth was analysed by former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher who described manager Sean Dyche’s direct approach as a “throwback” to the 1990s
Former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher has described Sean Dyche’s Everton to a “throwback” from 1990s football because of their direct approach and described some of their play as they were beaten 1-0 at Bournemouth as “awful.” Analysing the Blues’ loss at the Vitality Stadium that left them with just 17 points halfway through their Premier League season, Carragher said on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football: “If you think of a Sean Dyche team, you think they rely on set-pieces a lot, they do. What Everton are, they’re a throwback.
“They’re an outlier in some ways, in the modern game. That’s not a criticism, I actually like the fact that there are teams in the league who don’t all play the same way.
“So they’re very direct. It’s like watching a team from the 1990s.
“That’s what it feels like. The mid 90s, a Premier League team, very direct.
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“The Everton fans have always had, I would say, a respect, rather than a love, for Sean Dyche for the job that he’s done in terms of keeping Everton up after Frank Lampard. Last season, without the points deduction, they’d have finished above Brighton (they’d have actually been level on points with them but below them on goal difference).
“But this has been a real drop off. Sean Dyche mentioned something after the game that there was almost this big excitement around Everton going into this season, that they’d had this great window.
“I’ve got friends and family who are Evertonians and I don’t think there was ever that feeling. There was almost an excitement and a feeling of ‘let’s go out with a really good season with it being the last one at Goodison.’
“There was no feeling that Everton had had a great window and it was going to be some unbelievable season. They just didn’t want to be fighting around the relegation zone, not far away from Ipswich.
“If you look at Ipswich’s team, a lot of those players were in League One a couple of years ago. I think Everton supporters just want a little bit more than that.”
Carragher then proceeded to show footage of Everton attacks repeatedly breaking down during their defeat in Dorset. He said: “I want to look at a clip from the weekend. The fact that they lost at Bournemouth and they didn’t have a shot on target.
“I want to look at the reasons why Everton have problems in open play. This free kick we see a lot and we’ve highlighted a lot.
“Everton have had real joy from Jordan Pickford in these situations and Tarkowski winning the ball and then picking the second balls up. But when it drops into free play and this ball comes to Ashley Young, straight away you’ve got players who are actually thinking ‘put it back in the box.’
“This is what I’m talking about when I say it’s a throwback, maybe going back to the 90s, that’s the first thought. It’s not about can you play a ball in here, into the pockets, into someone’s feet – no – everyone is just thinking ‘get the ball in the box.’
“So they’re on the right side, there’s no one looking into these little pockets here. We talk about overload and people having a box in midfield, that’s not really the way Sean Dyche goes about it.
“Ndiaye on that side (the left wing) has been fantastic for them, but look at Branthwaite, he stays up, and he’s wanting that ball to come in. But there’s no one looking to play little combinations in these areas and again, it’s not their style of football.
“So we’ve started off on the right hand side, they’ve now gone onto the left hand side and they can’t play because they don’t look to play and get on the ball in those positions. So it goes back to the goalkeeper and again, you don’t see that (Pickford punts it long) so much with teams now.
“It’s really direct, a turnover again, and it now drops at the centre-back Tarkowski’s feet. Now again, can you get the ball in here (pass to feet from the central defensive position to Idrissa Gueye in central midfield), get turned and then can we get here out wide to Ndiaye?
“No, they don’t look for that. You look up here now (the Everton players in attack), Doucoure and I think it’s Broja, he’s got his arm out (Doucoure, pointing to the channels) saying I want the ball in there.”
The 46-year-old who grew up as an Evertonian but went on to make 737 appearances for Liverpool in a one-club career, added: “Again, it’s not what we see with many teams, if any, except Everton, in the Premier League. Maybe one of them can drop in here (a pocket of space between midfield and attack), maybe one of them can go long?
“That’s what you expect. But again, you don’t ever see them trying to get into these pockets to actually build up patterns of play, to create chances in open play.
“Tarkowski again goes direct, and gives the ball away. That sums Everton up, they’re really direct, there’s no real quality.
“We’re talking about Sean Dyche and how he sets his teams up and how he likes to play but that is awful. There’s a real lack of quality when you see them on the ball.
“It’s probably not helped by maybe the style of Sean Dyche. When you think of Sean Dyche teams, defensively they’re fantastic, they keep clean sheets and that’s how he’ll try and keep Everton in the Premier League, as he has done in the last two years.
“But when you defend deep, your attacking threat a lot of the time is counter-attack. Everton are one of two teams who haven’t scored a goal on a counter-attack this season.
“Here’s one of the reasons why. Again this comes back to a lack of quality.
“This is early in the game away at West Ham that they draw nil-nil – another nil-nil for Everton in the season. But you look at the position that they find themselves in with Doucoure and it’s brilliant from Summerville (of West Ham, making a block) you have to say that, but they have to make more of these situations.”
