A Crisis on Merseyside

No, not Liverpool; everything’s coming up roses for Rafa since his Sunday Revival. No… we’re talking about the OTHER club along the banks of the Mersey. The Blue one. The home of Alan Ball, Neville Southall, and Dixie Deane. The club that was supposed to be challenging for that fourth place this season. As it is, they are slowly drifting into the mid-table abyss where - like the tagline from some horror movie - no one… no one… can hear you scream.

We’ve always held a pleasant indifference towards Everton. A decent executive team that stays out of the headlines and lets the manager get on with his job. A likeable gaffer in David Moyes, who has a knack for developing good English talent. The club is frequently knocking on the door of the Big Four. But this year, when Liverpool and Arsenal have shown signs of leaving that door ajar, Everton are nowhere to be seen.

It started with a 6-1 demolition by Arsenal on the opening weekend, and things haven’t improved much since. Burnley helped themselves to three points. Stoke and Wolves came away with draws at Goodison Park. Benefica absolutely hammered them last week in the Europa Cup. And, maybe most dispiritingly of all, Bolton snatched a late victory over the weekend after an encouraging Everton fightback.

Make no mistake: These are the sort of teams Everton must be beating if they are going to keep pace with the Premiership’s lead pack. Admittedly, they’ve been suffering from a rash of long term injuries, notably Phil Jagielka, Phil Neville and Mikel Arteta. But every team has injuries. We also refuse to accept the club is still reeling from this summer’s departure of Joleon Lescott. He’s not that good, no matter what Mark Hughes thinks.

The truth of the matter is that David Moyes has helped the club punch above its weight for many a season. But now the jig may be up. The bulk of clubs in the league have improved this season, while Everton has regressed. The only thing that can save their season is if Moyes can resurrect the side’s confidence – and to do so quickly. After all, this week sees a Carling Cup match against Tottenham and a league match against Aston Villa, the latter being the perfect opportunity to get things back on track.

Everton’s backs are against the wall, but they only need to look to their Merseyside rivals for inspiration.

Hands on hips time - An all too familiar scene for Everton's defence