![]() ![]() ![]() That would be the sum total of Everton’s early efforts and it was Bournemouth who emerged as the more dangerous side as the first half progressed. Maupay would have a torrid afternoon before being replaced by youngster Tom Cannon with 15 minutes to go but he had an early chance to make his mark when a cross from the left arrived at his feet but after swivelling to get a shot away, he could only watch it fly narrowly wide of the angle of crossbar and post. Having made 11 changes to his team for the cup tie, Lampard restored nine of his starting XI to the line-up, with only Nathan Patterson and Neal Maupay keeping their places, the latter deployed up front with Dominic Calvert-Lewin ruled out through injury. Refereeing incompetence and a failure to do the simple thing of playing to the whistle combined to hand Bournemouth a second goal before 25 minutes had elapsed and by the time the third went in with 21 minutes to go, this match was well beyond Everton’s reach. So it was especially galling that Jordan Pickford, arguably the Toffees’ best player, practically threw one in after 17 minutes and gave the visitors a mountain to climb. Though they had lost their last four games, Bournemouth have shown a propensity to score so it was imperative that Everton remained tight and disciplined at the back today if only because their lack of threat at the other end would make coming away with anything that much harder if they conceded. Which results in games like this, Everton’s sixth defeat in their last eight fixtures in all competitions and the club sitting uncomfortably in 17th position while they prepare for the visit of the bottom club, Wolves, on Boxing Day. The midfield, briefly hailed by some fans as being the most balanced in a long time, has become a chasm once more through which opposition teams are playing with abandon at times and from which almost no attacking threat is coming. Today they conceded three, two following set-pieces, including the first headed goal they have let in so far in the League. Worse, though, in the context of Lampard’s hopes of at least replicating the feat at Fulham and coming away from the south coast with a point, is that the defensive solidity for which Everton were being lauded a few weeks ago has evaporated. ![]() Apart from Alex Iwobi’s inconsequential opener against Manchester United last month, the Blues haven’t scored a Premier League goal in seven games and on the evidence at Vitality Stadium today, they could have played for another 90 minutes and not managed to find the net. The oasis in a scoring drought that the win over Crystal Palace three weeks ago represented seems like a mirage now. Nevertheless, the buck always ultimately stops with the manager and if, as seems likely, he survives the World Cup break with his job intact, Lampard will be under enormous pressure to use the next six weeks to solve some of the glaring issues within the team he currently has while Kevin Thelwell hopefully plots moves in the transfer market on which Everton’s top-flight survival appear to hinge. That day, at Brentford on 28th November, saw an openly hostile reaction from supporters on whom it was dawning just how much trouble lay ahead and much of the toxicity was aimed at the deeply unpopular Rafael Benitez.įrank Lampard avoided being the target of vitriol from those Evertonians who had made the long trek down to Bournemouth this afternoon, many of them for the second time in the space of four days to witness two horrendous performances, but that might only be down to the currency he has built up through his affinity with the fans, some of the positives he has overseen since taking charge and the realisation, perhaps, that the problems at the club run a lot deeper than just the head coach. It was almost a year ago that Everton’s players first had to face the ire of their frustrated and anguished travelling fans after a desperately poor away performance. ![]()
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