Everton's Ndiaye Problem

The article goes on to reflect a range of ideas that our readers have already suggested on a number of current threads.

Let’s see what Moyes and his coaching staff come up with for the Palace game when they forced to replace the absent Dewsbury Hall who also goes missing quite often in the games he’s played up to now, is he being played in the wrong position?

Have Moyes’s coaches got a voice between them to let Moyes know what they think? Lots of questions there—I hope they come up with some answers!

Grealish and Nidiaye occupy same position on the left.

One of Grealish or Ndiaye could move inside but it forces KDH back (where he’s not so good) or out of the side altogether.

Neither Grealish nor Ndiaye are good on the right. Dibling is.

The side will have better balance if we drop one of Grealish, Ndiaye or KDH - and use Dibling at RW.

The alternative is to play Ndiaye as a striker as some have suggested - which would allow us to play him, Grealish, Dibling and KDH together. I have my doubts because teams which do this successfully tend to have flying attacking full backs and more pace.

We don’t have a single player in the whole squad who can go on the outside with pace and put in a cross. That is seriously hindering our attacking play - and will hinder us whatever the formation and personnel

That’s why so many lose their jobs. Their stubbornness is their downfall.

I hope Moyes sees the need for tactical tweaks as since the Aston Villa game we’ve become a bit stale and recent results are reflecting this.

Its linked to right footers playing on the left and vice versa. They nearly all come inside naturally. Having overlapping full backs would help, as you say, but even then crossing from wide is less common than it was.

Maybe it'll make a comeback as the fashion seems to be for teams to be more direct?

I don't think it would matter if we put crosses in atm. By the time we get to the opposition box, there are that many defenders in there and so few of ours that it would be pointless.

It was telling that our goal on Monday came from a cross after a corner, when we had bodies in the box.

Another observation is that neither Grealish nor Ndiaye (has he ever put a cross in?) regularly put deliveries in the box. They both chew it, which allows the defence to regroup and mark tightly, and limits any overlapping space anyway.

I'm in the minority camp that actually feels sorry for Beto and Barry (although admittedly neither are top class) as they are constantly double or triple marked and never get good delivery from out wide.

Everyone wants to copy the “big boys” but if you don’t have the players/squad to do that then play to your players strengths. You can’t make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

My U18 team asked me last week who should lie on the floor when we conceded a free kick. I just shook my head and told them to bloody defend properly.