Having got so much right against Nottingham Forest, it’s fair to say that David Moyes got a lot wrong against Brentford on Sunday.
The Bees were rampant in a 4-2 victory at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Igor Thiago scoring a hat-trick and, to put it bluntly, bullying Everton’s defence all game long.
Michael Keane was back for Everton, having missed out against Nottingham Forest due to illness. But that was arguably Moyes’ first, and potentially biggest, mistake.
Jake O’Brien — as he had done against Bournemouth last month — had performed excellently at centre-back against Forest, combining well with James Tarkowski and keeping yet another clean sheet. But with Keane back available, Moyes reverted to type, and for no real reason.
Nathan Patterson was by no means excellent against Forest, and the Scotland international is not longed to be an Everton player, but he does — as a natural right-back — provide balance. O’Brien, meanwhile, provides recovery pace in the middle, complementing Tarkowski.
Keane has earned plaudits for his performances this season, but it is clear that Everton’s defence is simply weaker when he is in there paired with Tarkowski. There is a clear lack of balance — they do not work, and have never really worked, as a pairing, unless the plan is to sit deep and soak up pressure.
With Keane and Tarkowski playing together, especially in home matches, Everton are becoming increasingly easy to be picked apart. Neither of them possesses the pace required to step up without leaving huge gaps, which were exposed time and time again by the likes of Kevin Schade and Thiago on Sunday.
In possession, both of them are prone to switching off, as demonstrated by Brentford’s first goal, with Tarkowski needlessly giving the ball away before Keane lost Thiago in the centre of the area. If Everton have to chase matches, then the issue becomes even clearer.
It is notable that Everton have only come from behind to gain points on one occasion this season — in that 2-1 win over Crystal Palace back in October. What has perhaps not been noted is that the comeback only came after Keane, who sustained an injury in the second half, had been replaced in the middle by O’Brien, with James Garner switching to right-back.
Everton’s full-back issues have been well documented, and there is no excuse for the club not to act in that regard this month. But even without a new right-back coming in through the door, Moyes cannot continue to ignore the evidence in front of him: This centre-back pairing cannot continue to play together.
Jarrad Branthwaite cannot come back from injury quickly enough, but at the same time, Everton cannot afford to rush him. He is due to return later this month, but has to be managed carefully.
It is probably beyond make-or-break time for Patterson, but he is now fit and he is an out-and-out right-back. O’Brien needs more minutes playing at centre-back. Tarkowski performs much better next to O’Brien than he does Keane, so as solid as some of Keane’s displays have been, it is time to cut the cord.
Keane stayed on last summer as fourth-choice centre-back; he simply cannot be commanding a starting spot, and especially not when he is now playing as part of a defensive duo that is leaking chances.
When Branthwaite does return, then there is also a fair case to make that Tarkowski’s position should be coming under increased scrutiny, albeit while Moyes is in place, it is difficult to imagine him dropping his captain.
Facing bottom club Wolves on Wednesday provides Moyes and the players with a chance to put things right. A good start would be for Moyes to move away from a centre-back pairing that simply does not cut it.