Everton were defeated heavily by Manchester United at the weekend.
Everton supporters and players expressed their desire to come together and generate an excellent atmosphere against Manchester United, but the performance didn’t reflect that.
There has been suggestions that the points deduction could have a negative impact on the players.
Journalist Paul Brown believes there wasn’t enough passion from the players as he discussed the impact of the protests from the fans.
Everton suffered a heavy defeat at home to Manchester United at Goodison Park at the weekend, and journalist Paul Brown has explained to GIVEMESPORT how he was expecting to see a little more passion from the players.
The Toffees have endured a difficult November off the pitch, with the Premier League officially confirming that the club would have 10 points deducted from them, plunging them into the relegation zone. The sanction is the biggest in the history of the competition, and the game against Erik ten Hag’s United was a chance for the players and fans to send a message to the authorities.
Some of the Everton squad had spoken out before the game about the fanbase and the players becoming united as they fight to stay in the Premier League despite the excessive points deduction, but the Toffees were defeated 3-0 at Goodison Park.
The Everton fans and players are united
In the build-up to the game against United, all the talk was surrounding the points deduction and protests from the Everton fans, with multiple players speaking to the media about the whole situation around the club. The supporters raised over £40,000 to help with their protests which took place before and during the game.
There was hope from the fanbase that the noise they generated and the atmosphere they created could galvanise the players. However, a third-minute wonder goal from Alejandro Garnacho meant it was an uphill task for Sean Dyche’s men for the rest of the game. James Tarkowski was one of the players to speak publicly before the match, with the former Burnley defender insisting that the recent news has brought everyone together…
“Since I’ve been here, there has at times felt a separation between players, fans and club but this news has definitely brought everyone together. Maybe that’s the silver lining. The off-the-pitch stuff has happened, but as a football team we are in a good place. We’ll crack on. It isn’t an ideal circumstance and we’d rather have those points back. However, our job as players is to put more on the board.”
Everton conceded three at home to Manchester United, and although they created a reasonable amount of chances, there was a lack of intensity to get back into the game, especially in the second half. Whether the atmosphere had a negative or positive impact is unanswerable, but the supporters at Goodison Park would have undoubtedly expected more from the players.
Paul Brown verdict
Brown has suggested that he didn’t see a lot of passion that Dyche and some of his players had been talking about all week in the build-up to their defeat to United. The journalist adds that he saw that some people were trying to claim that the points deduction had negatively affected the players, but he believes the opposite would have been said had the Toffees picked up the three points.
“Yeah, so I saw some people trying to suggest maybe that the points deduction has affected the players and that it’s a mental blow that’s hurt their performances at a time when they were playing quite well. I’m pretty sure that had Everton won the game, the opposite would also have been said. Maybe the points deduction galvanised them. They certainly spent all week talking about how they built up a siege mentality and how it was going to be dogs of war and that this was going to spur them on. It didn’t happen, really. They didn’t play too badly. They created chances but I didn’t see a lot of the passion that Sean Dyche and some of his players had been talking about all week.”
Sean Dyche’s men have a tricky run
Everton will need to bounce back immediately in order to begin their efforts to climb out of the relegation zone. The Toffees travel to Nottingham Forest on Saturday as they enter a difficult December. Steve Cooper’s side have been in impressive form at home this season.
The Merseyside club then face Newcastle United at home during the week, before hosting Chelsea just a few days later. Dyche’s men then have a slightly more favourable fixture away to fellow strugglers Burnley, but then continue their participation in the Carabao Cup against Fulham. Everton end the pre-Christmas fixtures with a trip to Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur.
