Everton aren’t exactly known for being an attack-minded football team at the moment, and the team’s shots per 90 metric is concerning.
Going into tomorrow night’s game with Manchester United, BBC Sport have released some intriguing statistics.
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A custom image showing Everton's recent results against Manchester United.
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And one that is as alarming as it is intriguing, is that Everton are averaging just 3.3 shots on target per 90 in the Premier League at the moment.
This is their second-lowest on record (since 1997/98) in a single campaign after managing 3.2 on target per 90 in the 2017/18 season.
Statistic is a poor reflection on David Moyes
David Moyes claps fans.
Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images
To be averaging just 3.3 shots on target per 90 to give the second-lowest figure since 1997/98 is a concern, and a poor reflection on David Moyes.
We all know that Moyes is, by and large, a pragmatist. He is very good at setting his teams up to become hard to break down and beat,
But this can come at the expense of attacking quality.
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And we are clearly seeing that this season, with Everton players evidently struggling to work the opposition goalkeeper.
And that’s frustrating, because Everton do have some quality attacking players on paper such as Iliman Ndiaye, Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. This trio are also very creative and, in theory, should be supplying the forwards with good chances to produce shots on target.
The manager does need more from his strikers. But it can also be argued that Moyes’ tactics right now are stifling the players.
Patience will wear thin unless Moyes finds attacking edge
Moyes has done a tremendous job in his second spell at Everton. There is no denying that.
Eventually though, Everton will need to try and push on to the next level, and in order to do that, the team have to become more ruthless and score more goals.
As well as having just 3.3 shots on target per 90 so far, Everton have scored 29 goals in their 26 Premier League games.
Only Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Wolves have scored fewer.
Is it time for Everton to start thinking about a change? 👋
One year left on his deal as things stand…
Everton manager David Moyes folding his arms.
Credit: Getty Images/Darren Staples / AFP
Moyes has stabilised the club by turning the team into an outfit that’s difficult to beat. Given where the club were, that’s exactly what he needed to do.
But unless Moyes can soon get this team to have more of an attacking edge, we may well see a similar situation to what happened with Moyes at West Ham, where fans grew tired of the brand of football.
And with Oliver Glasner potentially on the market soon, there’s even more of a need for the Scot to improve Everton up top.
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