19 games in, and despite how grim we've been - there's only 2 points between 20th and 14th.
Talk of certain/inevitable relegation at this stage feels premature, but I thought I'd share a nice thread to cheer everyone on why I think we'll be relegated this season.
- Everton survive 2021/22 by the skin of our teeth.
- Everton end last season 19/20 for big chances created, 20/20 for chances created. [May] [June] [July] [August]
- Everton have a Director of Marketing and a Manager who have no credentials of navigating transfer markets. [June]
- Everton sell their 'talisman' in Richarlison - a player responsible for scoring/providing over a third of our goals [September].
- Everton perhaps aren't 'replacing' Richarlison, but Everton desperately needed to mitigate that loss. Everton try it through signing Dwight '1 assist 0 goal in previous season' McNeil, and Neal Maupay - the least 'number 9' in this Everton team you'll ever find. [September] [September]
- Everton start 2022/23 with a team less effective than they did 2021/22. [September]
- Everton play the first 6 (I think 6 could be wrong?) games without a recognised striker. Everton stay up by the skin of their teeth, months later they start a season vs Chelsea with Anthony Gordon upfront ducking out of aerial challenges with Koulibaly an Silva.
- Any manager has this Everton team in a relegation scrap. It's relegation fodder [July]. Frank Lampard has no credentials at all to suggest he's at least reducing the odds of relegation. Other managers have staved off relegation with teams worse than ours.
- Everton unnecessarily delay the sacking of Frank Lampard. I mean, c'mon, this was weeks ago;
- Everton's board in self preservation mode/horrendous communication strategy/board creating civil war with their own fans.
I provided links as hindsight is a wonderful thing, but it's so bloody obvious and all those reasons are why I think we're going down.
As it is right now - I don't think there's 3 worse teams than us. I don't think there's 1 - Bournemouth battered us, and Southampton just beat us and making positive moves.
It's not a blip, this is the points per game for calendar year 2022.
View attachment 201231
Nothing has changed.
Sure, the margins are tight at the bottom, and it wouldn't take much to change things but we haven't. We're comfortably bottom three, and other teams are fighting, we're meekly hoping with a board in self preservation mode.
I think Everton appointing Sean Dyche after Bournemouth spank us 7-1 over 2 games, or even after Wolves on boxing day, along with a few signings early January - Chris Wood/Danny Ings... even Arnautović type, most likely keep this side up. That's the margins. The base of the team is decent enough to keep us up, we just needed nous, pragmatism, a sprinkle of belief (all coming in the form of a new manager) and crucially, some attacking ability. Everton neglected the chance.
