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Everton are paralyzed with fear as things turn sour at Goodison Park following the dismal loss to Southampton… with Frank Lampard’s men heading for the fall after securing just one win in their last 13 games in all matches. competitions.
- Everton’s loss to Southampton was followed by fan protests at Goodison Park.
- The toxicity in the club is now a distraction and the team is paralyzed by fear
- Frank Lampard’s side head for relegation after another demoralizing defeat
- His current point tally of 15 is his lowest at this stage of a season.
The most revealing moment came with the final whistle. For a few moments, the fury towards the board stopped and the players were redirected.
You are in no condition to wear the T-shirt! Gwladys Street roared. Few stands in football get angry with the same fierceness as the Evertonians and there was no brake. Arms waved, faces contorted, and repeatedly let Frank Lampard’s team know the depth of his feelings.
Deserved winners Southampton remain at the foot of the Premier League but this was the day Everton seemed to have hit rock bottom. The force of the forced landing makes you wonder if the situation is salvageable.
Everton fans took their frustrations out at Goodison Park after another defeat at the weekend.
It’s a challenge to know where to start with this demoralizing story. Never before has this club issued a statement explaining that directors have been told to stay away for fear of their safety, never before has there been an episode where CEO Denise Barrett-Baxendale was said to have been pushed by a male fan at a recent game.
There are so many fights erupting that toxicity becomes a distraction. Every focus, surely, must be in the team now and realize that unless something changes, Everton will be relegated.
That’s what happens when you get worse year after year. Sunday marked six years since Pep Guardiola first arrived at Goodison and saw Manchester City beaten 4-0. One look at Everton’s starting line-up that day certainly makes you think.
Frank Lampard’s team were at a loss for what to do as fans chanted ‘you’re not fit to wear the jersey’
Ronald Koeman played a 3-5-2, as Lampard did against Southampton. But Koeman had Leighton Baines as one of his full-backs, Ross Barkley and Gareth Barry in midfield and Romelu Lukaku up front. A youthfully exuberant Tom Davies ran over Yaya Toure. It was the kind of win that made you believe Everton were going to be a force to come, but the mismanagement that followed leaves them teetering on the precipice, with the odds falling on them.
They held up with 39 points last season, reaching that mark after picking up 20 points in the second half of the campaign, picked up after Lampard joined on January 31. His current tally of 15 is his lowest yet.
Would you support them to get 24 points between now and May? No way. The horrible mix of not being able to keep a clean sheet and not scoring goals has sent them into a vortex, and Lampard will know that his position is increasingly vulnerable as a result.
There were empty seats in the directors box during the game after security concerns were raised.
Too many of his summer signings have yet to pay dividends and that has been true of the managers who came before him as well. Too many new faces have arrived and there have been no improvements to the ones they replaced.
This is a moment for character and resolve, but as those chants rained down, it was impossible not to detect how startled those in blue were. Many did not know what to do, or looked at the ground or cringed, not wanting to face criticism.
Things turned sour later, with several players being chased by fans in their cars. Videos surfaced of Anthony Gordon, whose silly foul allowed James Ward-Prowse to score his second goal, being insulted and Yerry Mina, the defender who remained on the bench, being confronted.
None of this will have made the prospect of playing at Goodison more palatable to those who cannot cope with the intensity and expectations placed on them. It’s hard to see how he will suddenly transform ahead of Arsenal’s visit early next month.
Lampard’s team is now 19th in the Premier League and headed for relegation
“Any negativity we feel we can take advantage of,” Southampton manager Nathan Jones said, savoring a week in which three wins have changed the landscape for his club. “We got a goal right after half time and we felt like that was the turning point.”
It absolutely was, Ward-Prowse’s deft footwork canceling out Amadou Onana’s towering header. Everton collapsed, paralyzed with fear, and Southampton withstood an aerial bombardment.
Afterwards, Saints owner Dragan Solak was in the tunnel, congratulating his players and staff. There is still a long way to go but they felt united and that, more than anything, is what it will take to get out of trouble.
When Solak saw Lampard, the pair exchanged polite words, Solak telling him “it’s a brutal sport.” Without a doubt, this is a brutal situation for Everton, one that seems entirely of their own making.