What have we learned from the Euros?

What have we learned from the Euros?

With the Euros having come to a predictably disappointing finale, I thought I’d have a look at what learning points there are for Everton.  Here’s a top 10 in no particular order.

1. Tournaments are not the place to judge transfer targets

Based on performances at the tournament alone, you’d take Mikautadze of Georgia ahead of lumbering Harry Kane any day. Stars like Mbappe and Musiala haven’t really shone. We shouldn’t be put off the likes of Broja just because he was a bit anonymous against Italy (did okay against Spain though). Nor should we be buying Mikautadze either, by the way.

The only exception would be things like the U20 World Cup - and more routine U21 (and younger) international games.  There are pretty much no hidden gems these days.  They are all hiding in plain sight for the France U-19 side etc etc.

2. Older players can still cut it

Modric, Giroud, Pepe, Navas, Ronaldo – and to some extent 34-year-old pace-merchant Kyle Walker have all shown remarkable longevity. There’s hope for old man Ashley Young yet if he drinks plenty of green tea and squeezes in an afternoon nap.  It doesn’t hurt to have veterans in the squad especially if they are a good influence on the squad.

That said, Portugal would probably have fared much better with Jota or Ramos up front instead of the world’s most self-orientated footballer (Ronaldo).  So they need to be used appropriately.

3. Everton can afford talented players

The best players all have to start somewhere. Here’s a short (and by no means comprehensive) list of cracking players at the Euros who, at the time of sale, were within our reach and would not have been far-fetched signings:

·       Rafael Leao: £17m Sporting to Lille (2018)

·       Eze: £15m QPR to Palace (2020)

·       Zirkzee: £7m Bayern Munich to Bologna (2022)

·       Jota: £12m Atletico Madrid to Wolves (2018)

·       Kvaratskhelia: £11m Dinamo Batumi to Napoli (2022)

·       Cucurella: £2m Barcelona to Eibar (2019) and £11m Barcelona to Getafe (2020)

·       Hjulmand: £2m Admira Wacker to Lecce (2021)

·       Hojlund: £1.5m Copenhagen to Sturm Graz (2022)

·       Frimpong: £300k Man City to Celtic (2019)

·       Muani: Free transfer Nantes to Eintracht Frankfurt (2022)

Hard though it is to find such players, you definitely won’t find them if you don’t shop in the right markets.  The right markets are generally (a) rich club reserves / academies; (b) The Championship; (c) cheaper leagues around Europe and beyond. Also, don't spend more than about £20m on a player... (there will almost always be a cheaper one just as good).

4. 4-4-2 (or 4-4-1-1) still works

This is true (see Slovenia’s decent showing) but it primarily works for a particular purpose – closing down passing lanes against a superior outfit.  However, it is poor for other purposes and chances tend to be forced rather than created in open play – with set-pieces providing other opportunities.

Pretty much none of the world’s best attacking players of the past 25 years would fit into a conventional 4-4-2 and none of the world's best teams have played that way in the same period. Not a coincidence.  However, with us currently having the 16th best (or 5th worst) squad in the Premier League, we generally will be playing superior opposition each week – hence it’s not a bad Plan A.

5. Nothing wrong with a bit of direct play

Playing out from the back is great if you have the technique and structures to find passing lanes against the opposition.  However, it’s very high risk if you’re not good at it.  Direct or long play is haphazard but lower risk and forces the opposition to defend.  Few teams are genuinely good at defending unless in a compact low block so, you will force chances – again, as per a couple of breakaways by Sesko for Slovenia against an exposed Pepe.  I actually thought we looked quite dangerous against Spain when we forced the game to be more chaotic.  

Similarly, fairly straightforward crosses into the box cause problems and make the opposition defend – especially if you get players up in support. Fullkrug, a very traditional centre-forward, looked very dangerous this tournament as he did in the Champions League Final. But you have to support a player like that.

7. English Football has become more tactical

At the highest level, football is about passing lanes. When in possession, you need to create passing lanes to break the opposition’s defensive structure.  This is done through a combination of relentless movement, technique and creative genius.  Without the ball, you need to block the passing lanes available to the opposition. 

However, I’m not sure this transition to increasingly tactical football is particularly well received.  In fact, I think Dyche is often labelled clueless because he does take such a tactical approach (which can make it look like we’re very passive in games when actually we're working hard to close down space). I think many fans (not just of Everton) would rather watch a more aggressive or chaotic "up and at 'em" type of approach.  We might just reserve that for an annual ding-dong against Newcastle Utd.

8. Football generally has become more athletic

I am probably a bit rose-tinted about this – but go back to Euro 96 for example and there were many excellent technicians of much more limited athleticism such as Gascoigne, Bergkamp, Stoichkov, Djorkaeff, Zidane, Hagi, Del Piero, Zola, Prosinecki, Sukur, Laudrup, Figo and Rui Costa.

Although there are some brilliant players in this tournament, the emphasis seems to be on relentless movement rather than true genius.  Spain have been exceptional at this and Portugal were good too.  I don’t think I can single out a particular player – except possibly Yamal – who has approached games like some of those old throwbacks.  Most others have been part of an efficient and athletic team – eg, Witz, Musiala, Foden.  Really effective players have included sprinters like Rafael Leao and some of the French forwards.

Although we are now a very fit side, our movement on the ball is not great (we work much harder without the ball) and we are just so slow (some parallels to the England side there – although shame on Southgate for dragging such a high quality group down in this way).  Hopefully we add more pace on the flanks and in the final third (England too!).

8. Boring central defensive midfielders are all the rage

For those of you still wondering what the fuss is about Onana, take a look at the unspectacular (but effective) performances of players like Danilo, Palhinha and Tchouameni.  Even brilliant Rodri in the final had a quiet half before being withdrawn through (I think) injury.

Many of these players are really centre-backs positioned in front of the defence to accommodate the fact that full-back in higher quality sides is now a midfield position (and the back-pass rule has eradicated the traditional sweeper). However, this only really works if the central defensive midfielder is surrounded by quality attacking talent.  Hence it’s probably no big deal that we’ve sold Onana since a lesser player may even give us more.

9. Calvert-Lewin does a cracking job

Watching Harry Kane (an exceptional striker in exceptional form) toil fruitlessly up front in a slow side with poor wing play, shows what a difficult job Calvert-Lewin does for us.  Unlike the ineffective Kane, Dom creates a lot of space for the attacking midfielder – hence the good showing from limited Doucoure.  Kane and Bellingham had no such chemistry despite being far better footballers.  Dom also defends so much more effectively from the front.  I do hope both England and Everton improve their wing play from here (especially Everton's abysmal right flank).

10. Set pieces make a massive difference

In previous recent tournaments, the presence of Maguire has made England a threat at every set-piece.  In this tournament, we seem to have almost no aerial threat at set-pieces (which Branthwaite could have provided).  Which is a shame given the quality of our set-piece takers.  Even from a defensive point of view, whilst Guehi and Konsa have been good (possibly better than the often uncertain looking Stones) they would both benefit (as Stones does) alongside a defender who is really dominant in the air.

Fortunately, Dyche does not need educating on the benefits of good set pieces.

Reader Comments (3)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer ()

How to get rid of these ads and support TW