Tag: Everton

Toff times – Everton Women need resilience after a sticky start to season

Bottom of the table and winless in the Women’s Super League this season, Everton Women are enduring one of their most challenging starts in recent memory. Under the cloud of an impending takeover and plagued by injuries, the Toffees have struggled to keep pace with their rivals.

Yet despite the adversity, manager Brian Sorensen remains defiant, pointing to his team’s character and resilience as they battle against both their opponents and the difficult circumstances surrounding the club.

Speaking after their 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace on Sunday, Sorensen reflected on a performance that highlighted Everton’s resilience, even if it fell short of the three points they crave.

“We started really bad,” he admitted, referencing the early complacency that led to Palace’s opener after just 24 seconds. 

“The plan was to be more positive, try to get in behind, but in the first couple of minutes we played backwards, gave the ball away, and they scored. So it was a super tough start.”

The shaky opening encapsulated Everton’s season so far – a team playing under pressure, scrambling for points while grappling with injuries and a lack of depth. 

Sorensen’s tactical shift in the second half, where Everton adopted a more direct approach, eventually paid off, allowing them to create more chances and ultimately find an equaliser through Honoka Hayashi. 

“When we finally got it in, it was good,” he said. His emotive reaction on the sideline spoke volumes about the relief of a positive moment amidst a difficult campaign.

Injuries have been a constant thorn in Everton’s side this season, limiting Sorensen’s options and leaving the squad stretched thin. Key players have been sidelined, including long-term injuries to Aurora Galli, Elise Stenevik, and summer signing Inma Gabarro. 

Sorensen added, “Inma is our magic player who we rely on to create a lot for us, so it is really tough.

“Morale amongst the girls is good, but of course, when we are losing key players week after week, it’s tough.”

The mounting injury list not only affected Everton’s results but also highlighted the squad’s depth issues, a recurring topic among fans who have criticised the club’s lack of investment in recent years.

With limited resources, Everton are struggling to compete financially with the league’s top sides, but there is hope that prospective new owners, The Friedkin Group, will invest more into the women’s side as they have done at their other club, Roma.

“You can always start blaming everything else, but we need to look inside and think about the things we can control, which is our performance, and we did that in the second half, I feel,” Sorensen reflected after the Palace game.

For Sorensen, the struggles on the field are compounded by what he describes as unnecessary ‘noise’ in the media about the team’s position.

“I don’t know why there is so much noise about us at the minute. We have played three of the usual top four teams in our opening six games, so it hasn’t been ‘bad’ bad,” he said, defending his players’ efforts. 

“Performance wise, we have been okay, but we just haven’t had the results that we maybe deserve.”

The takeover saga has undoubtedly impacted the squad’s morale and depth. As fans and players await The Friedkin Group’s investment to officially transfer control of the club, Everton’s women’s team faces a spending crunch that limits their options in the transfer market. 

But there might be a need for immediate investment in recruitment in order for the team to strengthen in the January window if they are to avoid relegation.

Sorensen has spoken previously about losing out on key transfers in the Japanese market due to competition from wealthier clubs, and the sale of highly rated Sweden midfielder Hanna Bennison to Juventus all serve as reminders of the clubs ongoing financial struggles. Even a pre-season trip to Australia was scrapped over logistics.

While off-field struggles continue, Sorensen’s challenge is to make the most of his current squad. He has had to rely on young players out of position and academy players being promoted into the first team. 

Sorensen’s emphasis on resilience may not be a complete solution, but it is a source of pride as the squad deals with adversity. Although as the saying goes, when it rains, it pours, and problems were compounded by short-term absentees at the weekend.

“Yeah, the girls have shown great strength of character, especially after losing Lucy Hope to fever yesterday and just before the game, and had to change things up again,” Sorensen remarked. “Not ideal, but that is how football is and we just have to deal with it.”

Looking ahead, there are reasons for Everton fans to hold onto hope. The Friedkin Group’s takeover is expected to conclude by the end of the year, and with it, there are plans to allow the women’s team to play some matches at the soon to be finished Bramley-Moore Dock stadium.

While Sorensen knows that improved investment is crucial, he remains focused on getting the best out of his players under difficult circumstances.

“We need to get more points,” Sorensen admitted. A simple goal that remains elusive yet within reach if the resilience of his players translates into results on the pitch.

Another year, another terrible start for Everton – Dyche has a lot to answer for

‘Sean Dyche 2’ by Ronnie Macdonald is licensed under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

For Everton fans, question marks are already being raised over Sean Dyche’s shortcomings at this early stage, and it’s understandable. Winless, no points, and perhaps most worryingly, 13 goals conceded. A sword that doesn’t cut is just a piece of metal is a saying that comes to mind when a Dyche team starts leaking goals. While calls for Dyche to be given his marching orders are surely premature, some of his decisions are maddening.

In the 2023-24 season, it took Everton until their 5th game to pick up a win. It must be said, they have faced stiffer tests this time around, with tough fixtures against Brighton, Spurs, and Villa – always challenging opponents for Everton in their current state. This time last year, Evertonians were rolling their eyes, thinking, Here we go again. 12 months later, it’s the same story.

Misery and misfortune are here today for Evertonians, but I’m confident they’ll be gone tomorrow. After their awful start last year, they went on to pick up impressive form, winning four games on the bounce in December. That run helped them climb resiliently up the table after their points deduction, serving as proof that this group of players can perform at this level.

A big part of that positive form was the individual performances of Jarrad Branthwaite, who was outstanding for Everton last season. Composed, quick, and aggressive, his partnership with James Tarkowski flew well under the radar. His injury is hurting Everton badly at present, and it will continue to do so. Compare his presence with the jittery, panicked, and frankly hopeless performances of Michael Keane, then Everton’s form begins to make sense. Since August 2022, Everton have won only three Premier League games in which Keane has started. This is where the real frustrations lie.

Everton signed a £17 million centre-half from Lyon this summer. The 23-year-old Jake O’Brien has bags of potential and featured prominently for a strong Lyon side in the 2023/24 campaign. He’s the ideal player for Dyche, and Toffees fans must be screaming inside, questioning why he hasn’t been given a chance ahead of Keane. If you do what you’ve always done, you get what you’ve always got – Michael Keane is not going to change, so surely the new signing is worth a go?

Dyche might cite protecting the player and preparing O’Brien for Premier League football, but that’s a nonsense excuse. Granted, we don’t see performances in training, but in these circumstances, the excuse for not starting players must be beyond frustrating. If O’Brien isn’t better than Keane, then why on earth did they buy him? Not to mention, leaving the new signing on the bench only adds pressure on him to perform when he eventually does get a run in the team.

New signing Iliman Ndiaye has already demonstrated that players need the freedom to play. He started Everton’s first two matches on the bench, but after a good performance against Doncaster in the cup, he’s arguably been the only shining light for the team. If only Dyche would learn a lesson from this.

Ultimately, as frustrating as it is, this kind of pragmatism is what Everton will hope Dyche can instil into the team to save them from another relegation scrap. However, modernising his attitude towards embedding new players could be a good way to show Evertonians that he is prepared to change his ways and take the risks necessary to help the team.