Not the worst thing

Everton 1 - 2 Luton Town

It’s interesting the path we all take to become Evertonians. My son, who is now 7, has always shown a placid interest in Everton, but has never really been incredibly interested. Over the last year or so he started playing for a football team, and I’d get frustrated as he would often lark around with one or two of the other lads, and not pay attention or get involved with the game, and wasn’t really improving like some of the other lads. I was actually wanting him to tell me “Daddy, I don’t want to play anymore,” so he could do something more of interest, and perhaps what he was more suited to doing. But when asked, he would reply the opposite. He really wanted to carry on.

I’m no coach or expert but having watched football for a heck of a long time now, I was at least able to guide him on a few things that could benefit the team, and get him more involved. Hard work being one. He would never get the weekly Man of the Match award, though by putting in the hard yards, and at least running hard, making it difficult for the opposition and retaining possession, he became more involved in the team and has since won that coveted trophy a few times.

Simultaneously, his interest in Everton has blossomed significantly, and whereas when there used to be an opportunity for him to come to the game, he would often decline, now he can’t wait to go. He’s forever asking questions. As many of you will understand, it’s a very proud thing seeing your children develop that interest in the team and the game we have grown to love, and I was very proud to take him to the game yesterday, and for the first time, have him recognise players and comment on their capabilities... or there lack of. “Why does Beto get into the box a lot but never shoot?” was one that made me chuckle, as he stood on his seat next to me in the Gwladys Street.

Obviously it’s a shame he didn’t get to see a good Everton performance this time out. Luton Town certainly seem our bogey team this season, though I have optimism we’ll give them what we owe them at Kenilworth Road come May. While I applaud how well they work with what they’ve got, and have made an amazing effort at staying in the league with what they have at their disposal, their limited ability when up against established Premier League opposition is clear for all to see. And while we have been poor in both games we’ve played against them at Goodison Park this season, we very easily could have drawn or won both, and definitely shouldn’t have lost either. How we’ve managed to concede four goals against them, all from set-pieces, is criminal really and is certainly something to work on. But a few general observations from the game…

Formation. Well, 4-4-2 doesn’t work. The players seem lost in shape and struggled to affect the game, particularly from the flanks. Though one player who I thought got clear benefit from the system was Dominic Calvert-Lewin. It’s another game without a goal for Dominic of course, though with more support in attack and more space to operate in, he was on the ball more and seemed to play with more freedom. We don’t have the luxury of giving him that extra body up there permanently of course, the rest of the midfield suffers way too much, and this only emphasises how crucial Abdoulaye Doucoure is to this team. Sods Law isn’t it that he neglected the opportunity to play at the African Cup of Nations… though then spends the time he would have spent there on the treatment table.

Injuries. A big factor and with such a small squad and a manager who only seemingly trusts a certain number of them, it perhaps shouldn’t be a surprise that we have struggled without some important players. The absence of Abdoulaye Doucoure, Idrissa Gueye, Seamus Coleman, Ashley Young, and to a lesser extent purely because of long-term lack of availability – Dele Alli (even if just for six games) and Andre Gomes makes life difficult and options limited. Plus Dwight McNeil may still be struggling with what looked a very serious injury at the time. Our lack of squad depth compared to almost everyone else in the league is clear for all to see.

Luck. Not that this was the biggest hard luck story of the season, there’s been a few more of them, though I can scarcely remember a game when every bounce of the ball seemed to drop in favour of the opposition – it even happened for their winning goal. Couple that with tough calls on a few decisions, and the game could have been a different story. Sometimes you can not be at your best, especially at home, but come away with this win. It’d be nice to do that once in a while. Luton Town’s first goal shouldn’t have stood. It was strange while it happened as everyone seemed to stop afterwards. Luton Town celebrated – and this may be because it was an own goal – sheepishly, and Everton appeared very confident that it would be overturned on review.

Compare it with say, the goal we had taken off us at Tottenham Hotspur, and you can understand the frustration. Having now seen it back, I can’t quite fathom why it wasn’t overturned – it’s a clear two-handed push on Dominic which impacts his ability to clear the ball. Quite ridiculous actually. Factor in also, Dwight McNeil played in on goal but a flag going up for a non-offside (inconsistent calls are my biggest VAR frustratiion, by the way), and Beto pushed and held inside the box and not given a penalty, but then given a free kick once he steps out of the box, particularly as we still await a penalty this season, I couldn’t help but feel we could have done with a slice of luck here or there. Again, sometimes you're not at your best but you have enough. We don’t get a lot of that these days.

Composure. It comes with confidence I guess. When you’re going well things go in, when you’re not, they don’t. Sean Dyche alluded to as much in his post-match comments. And it’s important to note that Luton Town had other chances too, but good first-half chances for Dwight McNeil, and second-half ones for Jack Harrison and Beto, did go begging. The fine margins in sports are so interesting I find, on another day, we’re leaving buoyant, the goals scored at the right time mask an average performance and everyone is buzzing. It’s all about being clinical with opportunities, I suppose, and if you have a limited squad, it’s more difficult to have that because the quality isn’t always there.

It's not the worst thing. I wanted to go through to the Fifth Round, no doubt. Though in the final 10 minutes or so, with Luton Town having made five substitutions with their midweek game against Brighton their focus, they had given up. They were in the mindset of – well, we either lose, or we win it on the counter-attack. I don’t think they wanted the replay and nor did I. So while I would have welcomed a win on the day, I didn’t want a replay at Kenilworth Road a few days before we have to play Manchester City away. Our limited squad could do without that game.

I’d rather have lost yesterday than have a replay. As sad as it is, let’s face it, winning the FA Cup would have been highly unlikely. Other than the Sky favourites, only Everton, Portsmouth, Wigan Athletic and Leicester City (and that during Covid) have won it once each since 1988. It’s become a near impossibility frankly. With the best will in the world, this season was unlikely to be our year. Getting the points to stay in the league has to be the priority.

And as we slowly trudged off through the crowd, an older gentleman rubbed my son on his head and said “Never mind lad, you’ll see better days”. My son turned to me and said “Daddy. When you’re old, I will take you to the game when I’m playing for Everton.”

Dream big, my boy.

Player ratings

Joao Virginia: He made a couple of good saves but surrendered possession often with poor kicking. Still, it’s been helpful to see Joao play a few games in the FA Cup, it’s good to know we have a reliable deputy should Jordan get an injury or suspension. 6

Vitalii Mykolenko: Not at his best. Began poorly with a mis-control that nearly allowed Luton Town in, and suffered an own goal of course, albeit one that should have been disallowed. 5

Jarrad Branthwaite: Also not at his best, hopefully just a rare blemish and he’s raring to go for important upcoming league games. 5

James Tarkowski: Was up for the challenge of Carlton Morris and distributed well. One ball out to Dwight McNeil for a first-half chance that was cleared just short of the line was brilliant. I don’t know how he conceded the corner for their winning goal, that should have been put into the Luton Town fans though I suppose he was trying to keep us going for the win. Overall, pretty average, I’d say. 6

Nathan Patterson: He had a relatively good game, though it was poor positioning with letting the ball go over his head from the throw-in in which led to their corner kick. A relatively minor complaint though as it still should have been dealt with. Overall, I thought he had an alright game. 6

Amadou Onana: He grew into the game and towards the end was really driving us forward. He, and James Garner, were asked to do a lot in a 4-4-2 and both didn’t do badly, though the system certainly highlighted how much more you get out of them both with an extra midfielder in there. 6

James Garner: I find that James really grows into games and his desire to win, especially in games in the balance, is clear to see. I love his tenacity and he showed more intent and ability than most to drag us over the line. A shame we couldn’t do it. 6

Dwight McNeil: Also suffered from not having another body in midfield, I think, and perhaps he’s still not quite fully fit either but he kept on going. Will rue his missed first-half opportunities. 5

Jack Harrison: Well, he scored, and you can’t fault his effort, but there was a high number of misplaced passes and he lost possession countless times. 5

Dominic Calvert-Lewin: He was very effective knitting together midfield and I think he enjoyed the freedom of having someone up there with him, even if it didn’t suit the midfield. We can’t get Abdoulaye Doucoure back to support him soon enough. My Man of the Match. 7

Beto: He did well with the goal set up, and his effort isn’t in question, though he does frustrate. He should have a crack at goal more when given half a yard I think. When he clumsily tries to take a player on in the penalty area, he gets a bit panicky, and the end result is seldom pretty. But we are where we are. If we can’t spend any money, this is what we’ll get, so we have to make do, and at least he puts the effort in. 6

Arnaut Danjuma: Couldn’t really affect the game and was a bit unlucky with their winning goal. 5

Youseff Chermiti: Not a bad cameo and he got on the end of a few things, though you can see he still has plenty of development ahead of him. I like how he stood up for himself amidst all the pushing and shoving. 6

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