Our regular Everton fan jury talk at length about the issues of the week at Goodison Park
Everton’s inconsistent start to the season continued on Saturday when they were beaten by Luton Town at Goodison Park.
Two encouraging away wins in five days suggested Everton had turned a corner heading into the Premier League clash; however, Sean Dyche’s side immediately reverted to type on home soil, suffering a disappointing 2-1 defeat to the Hatters.
The Blues’ loss to Rob Edwards’ team dropped them to 16th place in the standings, just outside the danger zone on goal differential. The team Dyche’s side will play next at home is Bournemouth, who they defeated on the final day of the previous season to keep their place in the top division.
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Luke Davies – The disappointment was too familiar
The Luton game seemed like the perfect game to play after such a successful week. But as we all know, this is not a normal football club. This was not a normal result, but it was all too normal for Everton fans.
The disappointment was too familiar for the Toffees; it has become a common theme for promoted sides to get a result at Goodison. My mind instantly pans to the 5-2 defeat at the hands of Watford in 2021; a 2-0 loss against Norwich in 2019; a 2-0 defeat to Sheffield United in 2020/21 – I could go on.
In terms of the performance, it was just bizarre, almost like the players lacked confidence before they stepped foot onto the turf, which was very strange after two emphatic victories on the road. So who is to blame? No player in particular stood out as having a dismal performance; the group as a whole just lacked cohesion in every aspect of play, but defensively, we looked weak. You could argue Jarred Branthwaite was ‘old-manned’ by Luton, but I’m not going to criticise a young man with such potential after one poor performance. The first goal stands out as embarrassing, but the second concerns me the most: how did Carlton Morris find himself in acres of space directly from a set-piece?
On a positive note (if there can be any), on another day Dwight McNeil’s volley goes in, James Garner’s header smashes into the net, and Beto has his shooting boots on.
Moving forward, I am crying out for the strike partnership of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Beto. Why not? I wouldn’t change much else in terms of personnel, apart from introducing Danjuma to add that bit of spice to the side. I think it’s best to just write Luton off and go again against Bournemouth, a winnable game, a must-win game. COME ON, EVERTON!
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