The ECHO's Everton writers consider how they would line up in north London
Tyrique George during the Premier League match between Everton and Liverpool at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
Tyrique George during the Premier League match between Everton and Liverpool at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
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Everton end their season with a trip to relegation-threatened Tottenham Hotspur.
The eyes of the football world will be on north London, with the danger of Spurs dropping to the Championship the biggest storyline left of the Premier League campaign.
Everton's quest for Europe may be over but they should be more than bit-part players in the drama on Sunday - they have good reasons to push for a win and this is how ECHO Everton writers Joe Thomas and Chris Beesley would seek to achieve that.
Joe Thomas
I want Everton to win at Spurs and I want them to do for the Blues, not for any reasons around the relegation battle. A victory today will not undo the damage of the last six results but will give the supporters another big win on the road and end the campaign on better terms than those caused by the collapse against Sunderland.
While a win, or at least the intent to try and get one, is important, so too is learning what lessons are still available before a big summer. There are still some of those. First, Jake O’Brien appears to be David Moyes’ fourth choice centre back. I think he is the best fit option in that position and I have long held the view a partnership of O’Brien and Jarrad Branthwaite is something the club should be working towards.
Branthwaite is injured but O’Brien should slot alongside James Tarkowski so they can have another game together and Moyes can take a look at whether the pair have the type of natural chemistry and on-the-pitch attributes that suggests they could work together next season if there are any issues with Branthwaite.
At right back I would bring in Nathan Patterson. Everton have needed a specialist right back for years and, while it looks increasingly unlikely he will be part of that solution, employing him in his natural position will give the team more cohesion and allow me to test things elsewhere.
That is because I like the idea of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall dropping deeper. He sees himself as an 8 and I do too. I really think Everton need to buy a 6 who can genuinely anchor the midfield next season - they have been overrun physically and positionally in that slot too many times and I think James Garner could do with having someone alongside him to allow him to be more expansive. I am intrigued to see how they do as a central midfield partnership though and I would start Carlos Alcaraz as the advanced option. He is capable of dropping back to do the dirty work but also has more magic than is suggested by his lack of minutes this season. He was also quite good at threading balls through to Beto last season and I would have him in today for that as well.
Out wide, Moyes told me last week that it was money that would decide whether Everton decide to trigger the option to make Tyrique George’s move from Chelsea permanent, not the impression he has made, which has been largely positive. I want more evidence on what he can do though and would start him on the left to see if he can produce the type of display that suggests keeping him would be a no-brainer. He has not done that yet, though his opportunities have been limited. Ndiaye would start out right.
My team: (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, O’Brien, Mykolenko; Dewsbury-Hall, Garner; Ndiaye, Alcaraz, George; Beto
Chris Beesley
Everton’s defence that has traditionally been so solid under David Moyes has shipped 14 goals in the last six games and when you combine that with the team’s most creative duo Iliman Ndiaye and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall both struggling for form, it’s no wonder that the Blues have failed to win over this period and no missed out on a place in Europe.
While qualifying for continental competition was always going to be a tall order, Moyes’ men were well-placed after the 3-0 win over Chelsea on March 21 and just three points off a Champions League spot. However, their collapse during the run-in, combined with this being an off-year for the aforementioned Stamford Bridge outfit, Newcastle United and Sunday’s opponents Tottenham Hotspur have combined to leave loyal but long-suffering Evertonians feel like this has been a significant missed opportunity.
Although their hopes have been dashed, the Blues shouldn’t just be going into this game duty bound to do their best merely for Moyes’ previous employers West Ham United who are relying on the visitors to north London to do them a huge favour by recording a first away win at Spurs in front of fans for almost 18 years. There is now a realistic chance that despite not being in relegation danger themselves all season and spending considerable periods in the top-half, Everton could finish the campaign lower than last year’s 13th place and that would not be good for optics.
So, with temperatures in the capital on Sunday forecast to be over 30 degrees, the Blues need to stop the rot and ensure they don’t wilt in the heat as there will be no room for widespread experimentation with their line-up. Until a new right-back – surely priority number one this summer arrives – I’d now end the Jake O’Brien experiment out wide.
The 6ft 6in player really struggled in that role against Sunderland and I would restore him to his natural centre-back position for this clash at the expense of Michael Keane and hopefully the Republic of Ireland international can excel there while raising the game of captain James Tarkowski. In his place, I’d move player of the season James Garner to right-back to fill the void for hopefully one last time before a specialist can be signed.
That frees up a space in the engine room where I’d stick Merlin Rohl alongside Tim Iroegbunam – rather than bringing Idrissa Gueye back in from the cold – but I’d be bold with the German’s replacement out wide. Iliman Ndiaye has really struggled of late, and I’d move him back to the right wing and put Tyrique George in on the left for just his second start in what will be his last opportunity to impress on loan from Chelsea.
My team (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Garner, Tarkowski, O’Brien, Mykolenko; Iroegbunam, Rohl; Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, George; Beto.