Fintan O’Toole
THE Merseyside football malaise is not just the preserve of the denizens of Anfield. After their abject defeat against relegation-threatened Wolves on Wednesday night, Liverpool find themselves this morning jostling for mid-table mediocrity with their Goodison Park neighbours.
Only one goal separates Everton in 11th from Liverpool in 12th as the duo enter into the second half of a campaign which promised much but has delivered little. Liverpool’s inability to mount a sustained title challenge has commanded the headlines but Everton have been equally below-par in failing to match the grand ambitions that were held for them at the start of the season.
Arsenal’s powerful 3-1 victory over Chelsea on Monday night followed by their frustrating 2-2 draw with Wigan in midweek has seen them once more struggle to shake off their maddening inconsistency. It’s a condition that Everton are familiar with. A gutsy 2-1 win over Manchester City at Eastlands should have been the launchpad for a strong Christmas surge but instead it preceded a stuttering 1-1 draw against West Ham on Tuesday night.
That result encapsulated the two problems that have been at the core of Everton’s difficulties this season. Firstly they are drawing far too many games. They may have lost the same number of matches this year as title hopefuls Arsenal and Chelsea but being one of the league’s draw specialists with 10 results of parity this season has stalled their climb up the table. The second problem is inherently linked to the first – a staggering lack of goals from their front men.
With 2011 fast approaching, Louis Saha, Jermaine Beckford, Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Victor Anichebe can reflect on the pitiful total of three league goals between them so far this season. Saha and Anichebe have yet to contribute to that paltry figure and Yakubu’s sole strike was in the 1-0 win over Stoke at the end of October.
Beckford may have grabbed crucial late equalisers against Bolton and Chelsea but his adaptation to the Premier League has not been a smooth one as evidenced by the gilt-edged opportunities he spurned against Sunderland, West Brom and Wigan.
With strikers failing at every turn, David Moyes has been forced to resort to his one shining light in the goalscoring department this season. Tim Cahill’s tally of nine goals illustrates how reliant the team has become on him to hit the net but that impressive record has stemmed from his ability to thrive as an offensive midfielder operating just off a striker.
On Tuesday night Moyes installed Cahill up front on his own and did not field any recognised striker but the move backfired. Cahill is at his best when ghosting into the box late in an attack, breaking free from defenders and more often than not despatching another pinpoint Leighton Baines cross to the net. At Upton Park, Cahill was isolated and struggled without a striker to work off.
Regardless of that, Everton will soon have to adjust to life without Cahill. He jets off next week to Qatar for the Asian Cup and their squad will be robbed of their most bountiful source of goals. Moyes pursuit of a replacement is hampered by cash constraints and he knows unless a wealthy Russian oligarch fetches up at Goodison Park and likes the look of the place, he must resort to wheeling and dealing in the loan market.
The names being bandied about as possible signings include Manchester City duo Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz, and Arsenal frontman Nicklas Bendtner. But there are question marks over the attitude and temperament of Adebayor and Bendtner, while it’s questionable that Santa Cruz can recapture the form that made him such a hit during his stint with Blackburn.
One potential solution is Robbie Keane. On a football level it makes sense as Keane’s first-team opportunities are limited at White Hart Lane at present. In addition Everton do not suffer from a lack of creative talents to service a player up front whether it be Fellaini’s prowess in the air, Arteta and Pienaar’s promptings on the surface, or Baines deliveries from the wings. Keane’s last spell with a club on Merseyside was a disastrous one but he does have a decent record for grabbing goals.
And that’s what Everton have a pressing need for right now.
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