The "Thin Squad" Myth

Recent bizarre team selections by Walter Smith are "forced" – so we are told –
by virtue of a small squad and no money to buy more players

One of the myths surrounding the current Everton squad is that it is "thin".  There is supposedly little or no cover for key positions, and with no money available for Walter Smith to go out and buy the players he supposedly needs, the core first-team line-up of 16 favourites must be relied upon and played out of position if necessary.

But the facts suggest this is not true. The number of players at the club with first-team experience who should constitute a solid mid-table Premier League squad is actually higher than many people realise:

Goalkeepers: - Gerrard, Simonsen, Myhre

Left Backs: - Pistone, Naysmith, Unsworth

Centre-Backs: - Xavier, Weir, Stubbs, Clarke

Right Backs: - Watson, Hibbert, Cleland

Left Midfielders: - Tal, McLeod

Centre Midfielders: - Pembridge, Gascoigne, Gravesen, Gemmill

Right Midfielders: - Alexandersson, Cadamarteri

Attacking Midfielders: - Moore

Strikers: - Ferguson, Campbell, Radzinski, Chadwick

That makes 26 first-team players.  With that many players available, we should be able to play a decent system and stick to it.  We have enough cover in every position to play and stick to a 4-4-2 system every week.  We should be using our training sessions to improve the understanding and fine tune the style.

This is one area where Walter Smith and Archie Knox fail to perform to the standard required at Everton, and it has the effect of exacerbating any injury problems we do encounter.  Smith and Knox should be able to structure and motivate a consistent line-up without continually having players out of position.

At Ipswich, the players took 30 minutes to work out where they were playing, only to be moved around again for the second half following a half-time shuffle.  Ipswich were very poor; a more organised outfit would have beaten them 4-0.

Based on original work by Paul Collyer

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