Everton were held to a 2-2 draw against Hull City, and it summed up the issues from the summer transfer window.
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It was the 86th minute in the game, and Everton were looking to find a winner after Hull City had equalised.
David Moyes is looking to the bench for inspiration, with Thierno Barry suffering with what appeared to be a cramp.
Everton needed a little spark in the final third. Tyler Dibling was called upon, and rightly so. He looked bright when he came on, but Everton couldn’t find that winner.
Barry needed to be substituted, and it was time for Charly Alcaraz to enter the field.
Nothing strange. Nothing out of the ordinary, but it was a substitution that put Everton in a position that completely summed up the club’s failings in the summer transfer window.
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The 86th minute
On the 86th minute, Everton were closing in on finishing the game against Hull without a natural left-back, right-back, or centre-forward on the pitch.
Those with limited knowledge of Everton must be thinking, ‘Oh wow, their injury situation must be horrendous’. Nope, not really.
Jarrad Branthwaite was tasked with playing at left-back for the Toffees due to the fact that Vitalii Mykolenko suffered an injury during the international break. Naturally, a backup left-back would come in to replace him, but Everton don’t have one.
In the second half, Moyes wanted to make a change at right-back. Ainsley Maitland-Niles was struggling, and Everton needed some fresh legs. He turned to Jake O’Brien, a centre-back by trade, due to there being no natural backup right-back in the squad.
With Barry struggling with cramp, Everton needed to make a change in the striker position. On comes Alcaraz, an attacking or central midfielder, due to the fact that Everton don’t have another centre-forward in the squad.
Everton ended the game in a situation that wouldn’t have surprised fans. This wasn’t a major shock to see the substitutions lead to the situations just mentioned.
Right now, it’s the reality. It’s the reality of where Everton’s squad is at due to how poor the summer transfer window was. This comes just days after The Friedkin Group confirmed they were looking to sell the club, and just over a month after the club failed to replace a host of squad and even starting players.
Who is truly to blame for the poor window? It’s either TFG or the recruitment team. Either way, it was unacceptable. If any of them looked at the end of the game, seeing three players having to play out of position, and still thought the window was acceptable, then there’s your issue.
Those final few minutes summed up the window to a T, and it’s not going to be the only time that happens this season.