Dyche must drop 5/10 Everton problem

It’s been a brutal start to the Premier League season for Everton this year.

Sean Dyche’s side have lost four from four, they’ve conceded 13 goals, scored just four of their own, and seem utterly incapable of holding on for a win after blowing a 2-0 lead for the second time in as many games yesterday.

While the Toffees did take the lead during the game at Villa Park and at one point looked on course for a first win of the campaign, there were several notably poor performers, including one who’s becoming a real problem for the Merseysiders and ended up taking fewer touches than Jordan Pickford in goal.

Pickford’s performance in numbers

Now, the first thing to clarify is that Pickford has proven over the years that he is a great keeper, one more than capable of playing for a Premier League side pushing for Europe, but following a 3-2 loss, it’s rather difficult to shower a shot-stopper with praise, even if his performance wasn’t too bad.

For example, the Liverpool Echo’s Chris Beesly gave the Englishman a 6/10 on the day for his all-round display, but was sympathetic when it came to his involvement in the three goals, claiming that there’s ‘little you can do’ about a goal like Jhon Durán’s and that ‘he could do nothing about Watkins’ finish for the equaliser.’

So, while the former Sunderland ace cannot be entirely blamed for the three goals, the 6/10 rating seems fair, especially as his individual statistics from the match aren’t particularly impressive either.

For example, in his 96 minutes of action, he made four saves but produced a prevented goals figure of -0.64, succeeded in his two runs out, punched one ball, took 42 touches, was accurate in only 71% of his passes, and completed just 12 of 21 long balls and made one clearance.

In all, while he conceded three goals, Pickford was let down by his defence, and while he wasn’t great, he also wasn’t as bad as the scoreline would suggest, which is something that cannot be said about one of his teammates who took fewer touches than he did.

Ashley Young’s performance in numbers

Yes, likely to no one’s surprise, veteran full-back Ashley Young is the problem player Dyche must consider dropping from the starting XI.

The former England international has buckets of experience, both in defence and on the wing, but it would be fair to say that for part of last season and so far this season, he has caused more problems for the Toffees than he has solved, and his display at Villa Park yesterday was another underwhelming one – to put it diplomatically.

The former Villa man was given a 5/10 by the Echo’s Beesly after the game, who wrote that it was simply ‘more pain for him back at the Villa’ and that he was ‘targeted in the right-back berth early on’.

That might sound like a harsh rating to give the 39-year-old, but based on his statistics from the match, it’s more than fair.

In his 96 minutes of action, the Stevenage-born ace took just 40 touches, lost possession five times, produced an expected assist figure of just 0.01, was accurate in just four of seven long balls, didn’t attempt a single cross or dribble, committed one foul, maintained a passing accuracy of just 83%, made five clearances and three tackles and won four of five ground duels.

Ultimately, while it wasn’t Young’s worst performance in an Everton shirt, it was another one in which he wasn’t particularly sound at the back and offered little to nothing going forward.

If Dyche wants to ensure the Toffees’ survival and lead them back to where they belong, he should look to drop the Englishman going forward.