Match Report

Another "six-pointer". Another chance to turn a tide threatening to wash away the Toffees' proud 69-year unbroken membership of the top flight in a league where, theoretically any team can beat another on its day... any team, it seems, except this Everton one.

There are mitigating circumstances that have prevented Lampard from building on a sequence of results that helped keep the Blues up last season – the loss of Richarlison, the fact the club effectively threw away the first five games without a striker and the shackles imposed on the ability to spend this month by FFP and the need to fund the construction of Bramley-Moore Dock – but there are still no signs that the manager is remotely able to get a tune out of this squad anymore.

Lampard spoke afterwards of his desire to dig in and repeated what has become his mantra – that a year ago he took over a struggling team that was in a relegation battle and that improvement would take time. But while Newcastle United turned their form around from a similar situation even before their serious investment arrived and the likes of Aston Villa are now righting their ship, Everton have regressed in quite alarming fashion since that misleading performance against Crystal Palace in October.

That was the last time the Blues won a game in any competition and, based on all the evidence since the World Cup break, it’s hard to see how and when they will win a game again under the current manager, even with the anticipated introduction of at least one new attacking face in the form of Arnaut Danjuma – assuming he doesn't turn tail and head for the hills! – between now and the transfer window.

A proactive ownership would have replaced Lampard during the break for the World Cup after it was clear that his tenure was failing following three successive defeats, two of them alarming reverses against a Bournemouth side that hadn’t won for six weeks prior and haven’t tasted victory since.

A responsible Board of Directors would have made the obvious change after the 4-1 shellacking by Brighton three weeks ago. A hierarchy that doesn’t give him the bullet now is derelict in its duty and will effectively have accepted relegation to the Championship.

It is, to use their own words once more, profoundly sad.

This was a performance by a side crippled by a lack of self-belief, overseen by a manager who looks incapable of instilling any confidence in them or changing a game to rescue a losing situation.

Today, he made some positive moves in withdrawing Seamus Coleman and Vitalii Mykolenko (who now looks hopelessly out of his depth in this defensive system) in favour of deploying Dwight McNeil and Alex Iwobi as wing-backs but, inexplicably, left the atrocious Idrissa Gueye on the field alongside substitute and fellow defensive-midfielder Tom Davies without introducing any of his strikers in the closing stages.

Whether that was a veiled acknowledgement that Neal Maupay, the man ostensibly brought in by Director of Football, Kevin Thelwell, to replace Richarlison isn’t up to the task and a tacit admission that Ellis Simms isn’t ready, it meant that the Toffees remained toothless in a game that wasn’t beyond salvation given West Ham’s own fragilities. One goal could have changed things considerably even at 2-0 down but, in truth, they didn’t really come close to scoring one in the second half.

Frustratingly, if Everton had started the game with the relative tempo they showed in the second period, they might have been able to have preyed on the tangible nervousness among the West Ham faithful in the opening stages. Both teams appeared frightened by their own shadows but the visitors were at least looking fairly comfortable on the ball.

But that dominance of possession lacked any urgency, with Amadou Onana, so effective and purposeful at times last week against Southampton, disappointingly hesitant to drive forward alongside Gueye who with each passing week is making a mockery of the fact that he was once signed by Paris Saint-Germain for what felt at the time like a cut-price £28m.

Iwobi was industrious but sloppy with his distribution while there was no connection between Demarai Gray and Dominic Calvert-Lewin in forward areas, while the former wasted two corners in the first 15 minutes by floating his deliveries over all the taller bodies that had made their way up from the back.

Everton might have had a penalty when Angelo Ogbonna appeared to handle a cross from Gray with a quarter of an hour gone but neither the referee nor Video Assistant Referee, Andre Marriner felt it was worthy of being penalised as an infringement.

However, the Hammers got the encouragement they needed to come out of their shells as the half-hour mark approached when a poor pass by Gueye was intercepted and Jordan Pickford was forced to make an excellent one-handed save to push Said Benrahma’s dipping effort over his crossbar.

The opening goal came just eight minutes later, though, when the ball was chipped back into the Everton box following a West Ham corner, Yerry Mina and Conor Coady got in each other’s way and Jarrod Bowen was on hand and fractionally onside to knock Kurt Zouma’s flick-on past the keeper from close range.

1-0 became 2-0 three minutes before half-time when an attempted pass by Iwobi was cut out, the Hammers countered and Michail Antonio skipped past James Tarkowski’s ill-advised lunge on the touchline. The burly striker centred past Coady and Bowen arrived to thump it home and claim his second goal of the afternoon.

Iwobi went very close to giving the visitors hope heading into the interval but his low drive took a decisive deflection off Declan Rice skidded wide off the outside of the post.

Needing to change things up, Lampard made his half-time substitutions and there was a perceptible change in Everton’s posture for the first 15 minutes or so.

Iwobi almost connected with Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s put-stretched leg with a clever slide-rule pass and Gueye’s shot from 25 yards was tipped behind by Lukas Fabianski but it was West Ham who came closer to adding to the scoreline.

Pickford had to do superbly again to turn Emerson’s shot onto the crossbar in the 65th minute and Nayef Aguerd headed over from the subsequent corner before Rice was inches away from making it 3-0 following a run down the left flank and a shot that just missed the far post.

Aston Villa’s win at Southampton kept Everton from dropping to rock bottom in the division but without a win since October, no sign of one coming under the present manager, and Lampard having now overseen the worst points return from the first 20 games of a season in Everton's history, his continuing employment at the club seems inconceivable at this point.

Everton, as a club seemingly gripped by apathy at the top and agony and frustration among a helpless fanbase but with things still so compressed at the bottom of the table, it is still not an irretrievable situation if the Board act decisively and give a new appointment time ahead of the visit of Arsenal to bed in and help on the recruitment side over the next 10 days.

The inevitable question at times like these is “who could do a better job than Lampard?” Sadly, with a run of results that is now represent the worst record after 20 matches in the club’s entire history, it’s become more a case of could anyone do any worse?

This Everton team looks bereft of everything apart from in goal — poorly coached with no confidence, no belief, no cohesion and no direction… except down.

Lyndon Lloyd

Matchday Updates

Another massive test was failed by Frank Lampard and his motley crew of Everton players, still unstrengthened despite the impending arrival of Arnaut Danjuma on loan, as they huffed and puffed to a miserable defeat at the London Stadium and the home of an equally challenged West Ham United side under David Moyes.

The media is swamped with testimony of a broken club in crisis, with Board and fans in civil war over who is responsible for the unerringly bad direction the club is heading in.

Ben Godfrey is a notable absence, with Lampard stating: "Ben got a small sprain in his knee in the Southampton game. He got through the match but it rules him out of this one."

And a big media play of the Everton Board and Owner Moshiri all being in attendance in the relative safety of the London Stadium. 

Demarai Gray got Everton going, all in yellow, the ball punted out of play. It was cagey from the Hammers who got forward eventually, a through-ball to Paqueta overhit before that ridiculous playing out at the back by Everton almost let Antonio in.

Everton had some faltering possession that initially went nowhere, on 5 minutes they made their first venture forward over the half-way line until Iwobi's pass found a defender. 

Everton forced a turnover and actually passed it around quite well until it broke down with a questionable Iwobi handball off his chest. Calvert-Lewin almost played in Gray with a flick-on from a Pickford punt, but really it was very poor quality and ineffective scrappy ugly football for the first 10 minutes, as might be expected. 

Something approaching a break through the middle ended with Mykolenko's backpass and the Yellows stuttered and stalled until Gana scooped a crossfield pass out of play. 

Iwobi tried to get Mykolenko to overlap but his cross was sent behind by Zouma for the first corner that was initially cleared, then Mina mishit the recycled ball well over while claiming handball. All far too slow and unconvincing. 

Everton broke down the left through Gray, Zouma putting the ball behind again but the corner was cleared. At the other end, a rare Hammers ball in almost found Antonio before Gray galloped after the long clearance but couldn't get in a clear shot. 

Everton were now in the ascendancy and finally playing balls into the West Ham area but they just weren't sticking, with Calvert-Lewin's jumping still way off. 

Everton went through another spell of pretty meaningless possession, as the back five honed their seriously limited inter-passing skills until Coleman finally booted one forward to see if Calvert-Lewin was still awake. What utterly facile football. 

A terrible clearance by Gana gifted a free hit to Benrahma who stung Pickford's glove as the Hammers looked to have a spell of decent possession, Paqueta's shot blocked. An absolutely criminal vignette saw Gana and Onana do a dreadful me-too-you-to-me routine until Onana passes it straight to a Hammer player. Utterly pitiful. 

More Hammers pressure and Bowen won West Ham,'s first corner off Tarkowski that seemed wasted but the ball came back in and Bowen scored from close range. It looked seriously offside; however, the VAR did not rule it out. 

Everton were wide open for a cross to Antonio with Bowen coming in but it was put behind for another corner that was cleared. Everton tried again to advance with their ponderous plodding play, Mykolenko finally getting a cross in but then it broke down again and West Ham were instantly up the other end, Antionio crossing for Bowen to score, two Hammers outwitting four pathetic yellow statues. 

Everton won a corner at the other end, Iwobi's goalbound shot deflected onto the post and behind, with Calvert-Lewin straying a fraction offside for the second phase off the ensuing corner. Calvert-Lewin for once got the best of his marker on a long ball and the cross looked like it could have been converted but it was driven out by the defender for a corner that was cleared. 

And so ended another absolutely abysmal half of football from this dreadful Everton team under the increasingly incompetent Frank Lampard. 

Two almost unprecedented changes at half-time from the Everton manager... but what difference would it make?

A big difference judging by the first moments, a McNeilcross going through both Calvert-Lewin and TD, before Iwobi put it back in the mix and Davies set up Gana for what should have been a killer shot… but wasn't. McNeil's next cross, however, was back to normal service – grossly overhit. 

Another spell of seemingly promising Everton possession again went absolutely nowhere, but this time ending in an Everton free-kick that was swung out toward Calvert-Lewin and ultimately wasted.  

More Everton possession tortuously exected until the ball was gifted to West Ham who advanced at pace – the contrast was stark. Davies and Iwobi then worked it well to lay the ball on a plate for Iwobi only he was a yard off the pace and could not convert at the far post. 

Gana got into space and finally had a pop, it drifting wide. But from the corner, good work by Iwobi looked to create another real chance but Fabianski gobbled it up. However they were stretched in attack and West Ham were very very quick to get to the Everton penalty area, the danger snuffed out this time. 

Davies and McNeil had made some difference, but it was only marginal, and it was still taking an age for the ball to get forward. A Gray free-kick was looped in but was more of a lottery than a cleverly constructed move.  And the next one won a corner but again no-one picking the ball out to power it home. 

Davies played another good forward ball that Calvert-Lewin played onto Ogbonna for another corner but they were completely impotent deliveries. Meanwhile, Emerson got loose, cut in well and fired at Pickford who pawed it up onto the bar and out for a corner and a lesson in How to send one in and cause chaos from Bowen. 

Bowen then sucked in Tarkowski for a desperate foul, yellow card, and free-kick... thankfully wasted. That was until Everton gave it away again playing out from the back. Every sign now that, after a decent 20 mins, they were determined to give up a third goal. 

Rice was given a fine running opportunity down the left and shot across Pickford, inches past the far post. Another great ball forward from Davies looked to play in Gray who was floored but apparently no foul by Aguerd. 

McNeil's deep free-kick looped onto Mina's head and from there looped into Fabianski's hands; they really showed fewer and fewer signs of even threatening the Hammers' goal. 

Iwobi's cross did not reach Calvert-Lewin and then Bowen was chasing down a long ball and it required a tremendous block from Coady to deny his hat-trick goal. 

Everton resumed the general farting around that passes for possession football at Finch Farm while only threatening their own goal on each turnover to release a counter-attack. Davies again tried a strong cross but it was just cleared and turned into another West Ham attack. 

The match fizzled out with a few more lame crosses that failed to reach a man in a yellow shirt and Everton still tried the utter nonsense of playing it out from the back before the ref's whistle condemned us to yet more incomprehensible misery. 

West Ham Utd: Fabianski, Zouma, Aguerd, Ogbonna, Coufal, Rice, Paqueta [Y:50'] (70' Soucek), Emerson (82' Johnson), Bowen, Benrahma (82' Downes), Antonio: (72' Ings).
Subs not Used:  Cresswell, Fornals, Lanzini, Areola, Kehrer,

Everton: Pickford, Coleman (46' Davies), Mina, Coady, Tarkowski [Y:67'],  Mykolenko (46' McNeil), Onana, Iwobi, Gana, Gray Calvert-Lewin.
Subs not Used: Begovic, Holgate, Vinagre, Price, Gordon, Maupay, Simms.

Michael Kenrick

Match Preview

Crisis-stricken Everton travel to East London on Saturday seeking a victory that would end a three-month stretch without a win and significantly ease concerns over a desperate struggle to avoid relegation this season.

The Blues have picked up all three points in only three Premier League games all season, one of them against this weekend’s opponents, West Ham, in the reverse fixture back in September but since beating Crystal Palace 3-0 the following month, Frank Lampard’s side have gone nine games in all competitions without a win.

That horrendous run, the worst sequence of form in the division and similar to that which lost Rafael Benitez his job a little over a year ago, has seen Everton drop to joint-bottom of the table but Lampard remains in his post so far and takes his charges south to face not only his former club but the Toffees’ ex-manager in the form of David Moyes.

Moyes comes into the weekend under just as much pressure, with some reports suggesting that the West Ham board will sack him if he loses the game to Everton. And not only that, they’re lining Benitez up as his replacement! The Hammers are on the same number of points as the Blues but have won one more match in the League and, on paper, arguably have the more rounded squad.

Furthermore, Moyes’s team has been bolstered by the arrival this week of striker Danny Ings in an initial £12m deal from Aston Villa. Like Everton, West Ham have struggled to score goals all season, registering just 15 in 19 games and the Scot is hoping that Ings, who has scored goals against the Toffees for four different clubs now — and must surely be odds-on to make it five! — will provide him the cutting edge up front he has been missing.

The 30-year-old will provide immediate cover for Maxwel Cornet and Gianluca Scamacca, two summer signings who are ruled out this weekend through injury together with back-up goalkeeper, Alphonse Areola.

Everton, however, were working on an attacking signing of their own at the time of writing, with a medical believed to have been lined up for Arnaut Danjuma ahead of the completion of a proposed loan move to Goodison Park from Villarreal.

The Blues are reportedly favourites to land him but whether that deal goes through in time for him to be registered and eligible for this weekend’s game remains to be seen, as does his match fitness after not training with his current club for the past week.

His arrival should provide a boost regardless to a team low on morale and wracked by rancour off the pitch as supporters protest against the hierarchy’s running of the club and for wholesale change.

Lampard was asked about the crisis engulfing the club and how he is trying to keep his players focused on the task at hand, particularly as some were confronted by upset fans outside the ground after last Saturday’s home defeat to Southampton.

“It’s challenging,” the manager admitted. “Not all of those things fall under my responsibility. My priority is the football side of things. In a tough run, it’s about how I can lift the players. I’m aware of the noise and it is my job is to push that to the side.

“I’ve spoken to some of the players. This is not just an Everton situation but this club has a unique passion. Sometimes, passion can overspill in a good way, and maybe in minority cases [in a bad way]. The majority just want this team to do well.

“[The fans have] got an absolute right to voice an opinion but of course we don’t want fans going up to players. It’s a minority who have spoken to them. We don’t want that and I’d love to not see that again. But I understand they’re passionate fans.”

As far as matters on the pitch are concerned, Lampard admitted that he had spoken some home truths after the Saints loss.

“If the players in the dressing room are disappointed we lost then that's good,” he explained. “If they want to fight and be a good teammate, not think about themselves, think about the team and try to get the result the next week and train great intensity, whether they are starting or not, that is all I want.

“They have to think about what is the way out of difficult moments. I've been in many in my career and the only way is work; the only way is focus and the only way is being unselfish about it, putting yourself to the limit and that is exactly where we are.”

Given that it is an away game, Lampard is expected to set his team up with a five-man back line, at least from the beginning, with the same starting XI that started against Southampton.

A win for Everton could lift them back out of the bottom three and, perhaps, as high as 14th place depending on how results go elsewhere but everyone connected with the club would simply be happy to end this long winless run.

Kick-off: 3pm, Saturday 21 January, 2023
Referee: Stuart Attwell
VAR: Andre Marriner
Last Time: West Ham United 2 - 1 Everton

Predicted Line-up: Pickford, Coleman, Godfrey, Coady, Tarkowski, Mykolenko, Gueye, Onana, Iwobi, Gray, Calvert-Lewin

Lyndon Lloyd

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