Everton badge, Sean Dyche
Sean Dyche is feeling the heat at Everton. (Credit: Imago)
Jonathan Burnett
Tue 3 December 2024 21:40, UK
Everton should impose a new bonus system to give Sean Dyche’s squad “fire in their bellies”, Michael Ball has said.
Writing in the Liverpool Echo (3 December), Ball argued that he couldn’t see any other way for the Blues to address their ailing Premier League form, which has seen them fail to score for four games in a row.
Dyche’s side are also winless in five games following a 4-0 drubbing by Manchester United, and Ball accepted that while it would be hugely unpopular, a bonus system may help to turn their form around.
He said: “The only way around this in my eyes – the fans might not like it, and I don’t like it – is to offer the players bonuses.
“They should have fire in their bellies anyway, but unfortunately they don’t seem to.
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“It’s not a nice solution, but I’m wondering what it’s going to take for these players to start showing some accountability and the desire that the fans demand every week.”
Everton player bonus suggestion is embarrassing
It’s unclear just which, if any, bonuses are in place in the current crop of player contracts, but if Dominic Calvert-Lewin for example has a goals bonus, he’s on track to fall far short of it this season.
Implementing such a system for the likes of Calvert-Lewin and Beto – who have just three league goals between them this season – could lead to an uptick in form, but it’s surely out of the question at present.
Everton buyer Dan Friedkin
Everton are a club currently in stasis as they wait for Dan Friedkin’s takeover to finally be completed
Few clubs in the Premier League are more cash-strapped than the Toffees at the moment, as Dyche’s slide continues to be hamstrung by years of reckless spending finally catching up with Farhad Moshiri.
Dan Friedkin’s takeover, expected to be completed in the coming weeks [Alan Myers, 20 November], will give a boost which has been sorely lacking and could be the springboard needed to turn things around on the pitch.
Should this uptick in form – spurred on by Friedkin’s arrival and anticipation of a busy January transfer window – come to pass, the bonus system suggested by Ball may not be needed after all.
In other Everton news, an update concerning A-CAP and 777 Partners could have ‘major implications’ for Dan Friedkin’s takeover.
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