It was only the second defeat of the season, but Saturday’s loss at Arsenal arguably felt worse than it “should” do.
Not that any defeat should ever feel good, but there’s a way to lose games, even against teams or at grounds when you go into it as underdogs.
And Evertonians are simply used to the Toffees rocking up at the Emirates, or the Etihad, or Stamford Bridge, or Old Trafford, or Anfield… And rolling over.
Last season’s 2-0 defeat at Arsenal in March came with some hope; Everton played well, they attacked. They still fell short. This time around, it was meek. They conceded early and never really looked likely to get back level, despite an initially bright response.
And what’s worse is it was all expected. It all turned out just as Evertonians thought it would. The away fans still travelled down to a wet and blustery north London in their droves, of course — there’s always hope, isn’t there.
But the upshot was what usually happens, and it’s fair to ask, what’s the point?
What are Everton? They just exist. They have owners who no longer care — some will ask if they ever did care — and now want out. They have an inept leadership team, and a poor recruitment structure under CEO Angus Kinnear.
And in David Moyes, they have a manager who is a safe pair of hands but who is now, like his predecessor Sean Dyche, seemingly unable to get out of his own way.
Everton have won just two Premier League games in 15. Whatever the tactical plan is, it’s either not good enough or the players aren’t executing it well. Either way, it’s a problem.
Not that Moyes has ever really had much joy against the traditional Premier league powerhouses, especially away from home.
In fact, Saturday’s loss was his 400th as a manager across all of his clubs. Of those defeats, 31 have come against Arsenal, which is more times than he has lost to any other club.
At Everton, Moyes’s record in away games against the Premier League’s ‘big six’ stands at just nine wins from 78 games. He has lost 47 of those matches.
But it isn’t just a Moyes problem. We’ve seen Everton teams under Carlo Ancelotti feebly give up the ghost. We’ve seen managers and players come and go, and still the issue persists. However, Moyes at the moment just isn’t helping.
Everton set up defensively, yet they concede chances with ease. Moyes says he is trying to find a way to improve the attack, but there are so few patterns of play — everything seems to be left to the individual, and Everton’s individuals, on the whole, just aren’t good enough.
Moyes then compounds the issue. He keeps starting Brennan Johnson, who is totally ineffective, while Tyler Dibling sits on his hands on the bench. Tyrique George blows hot and cold, as would be expected of a 20-year-old winger, but why is he not just seen as Everton’s starting right winger when Jack Grealish is fit and available?
Thierno Barry’s hold-up play isn’t good enough. He is working on it, but then can’t Moyes come up with something a bit different that means the weaknesses of Everton’s only out-and-out striker are not exposed?
Everton remain in limbo. The Friedkin Group take their portion of the blame, but ultimately this manager has to, too. Where is Moyes’s impetus to move forward? Where is the drive that he showed at the start of his second spell in charge, when he consistently talked Everton up?
The worry is, people just can’t bring themselves to care, or to be worried. That’s certainly the case for this writer.
The apathy is setting in, and that’s a dangerous place to be in so early in a season that already feels like it has dragged on and on.
Everton now have a huge run coming up. They play Newcastle United twice in the space of four days, and then take on Coventry City. Three games in eight days will test Everton’s already stretched squad.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that it was time for Everton and Moyes to step up. Instead, they’ve arguably stepped down.
It’s not good enough, and we should all be fed up of Everton merely existing.
Read more – What we learned: Arsenal 2-0 Everton