Chris Beesley – Harrison fills Doucoure role with Danjuma wide
For Everton’s trip to Fulham I’ll go with the team that Sean Dyche should have arguably picked against Luton Town on Saturday.
This correspondent is old enough to remember when the Blues and indeed most of their opponents played 4-4-2 and it’s the formation that I was brought up on. It’s also the tactic used predominantly by Dyche during his nine-and-a-half year stint in charge of Burnley but the FA Cup exit against the Hatters showed why he has seldom used it at Everton and instead favoured a 4-5-1.
Some Evertonians have been curious to see what it would be like to have Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Beto paired together, if their previous half an hour against Luton back in September had not been enough evidence. However, after another four months of the strikers getting acquainted with each others’ games, it unfortunately didn’t seem to have improved much in terms of the team’s effectiveness, especially against a newly-promoted outfit whose meat and drink is dealing with a couple of big lads up front in opposition.
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Many of us have fretted that the Blues’ season might get derailed by an unfortunate injury to either Calvert-Lewin or goalkeeper Jordan Pickford but in fact it seems, a year into his reign, that the key to have Dyche’s side plays is Abdoulaye Doucoure, who remains sidelined with a fresh hamstring injury.
Given the continued absence of Everton’s top scorer, I would revert to the usual shape but bring Jack Harrison in from the wing as the central support for Calvert-Lewin and stick Arnaut Danjuma out wide.
My team (4-5-1): Pickford; Patterson, Mykolenko, Tarkowski, Branthwaite; Garner, Gueye, McNeil, Danjuma, Harrison; Calvert-Lewin
Joe Thomas – Scrap the front two
Well, no-one is suggesting he starts Beto and Calvert-Lewin up top are they?
I’m not, just to be clear. I’m not sure Sean Dyche will either, given his apparent acknowledgement the approach had struggled against Luton Town.
For me, there is an obvious pathway for tonight – at least unless there are any further injury issues. I say that because Dyche highlighted that Amadou Onana had a knock after the Luton game and was due to be assessed.
Not wanting to countenance the prospect of Everton being down to one senior central midfielder, I revert back to the 4-5-1 that has served Dyche well. I keep Calvert-Lewin up front. A goal is coming, he just needs to know he is being backed. I move Jack Harrison into the middle to play behind Calvert-Lewin. This is a tactic that has enjoyed some success – think Newcastle United at home and Crystal Palace away in the FA Cup, both games during which he slipped forwards through with cute balls that were not followed up with a finish.
And that brings me to Arnaut Danjuma coming in on the left. I cannot fathom why he has not started during the recent injury issues and if he does not start today then what on earth can we make of his standing with Dyche and within the squad. Danjuma is on the left for me as it is a preferred position of his and it means Dwight McNeil can help offer some protection to Nathan Patterson against Willian, who has caused Everton no end of issues recently.
My team (4-5-1) Pickford; Mykolenko, Branthwaite, Tarkowski, Patterson; Danjuma, Onana, Harrison, Garner, McNeil, Calvert-Lewin
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
