Chelsea loss a reminder of Everton's full-back failings

David Moyes was arguably one of the pioneers of utilising attacking full-backs in the Premier League.

Leighton Baines and, later on, Seamus Coleman, helped transform Everton in the latter days of Moyes’s first spell in charge into a slick attacking unit that the Scotsman never at times got the credit for.

Yet fast-forward over a decade, and Everton’s full-backs are, from an attacking perspective, well behind those of most other teams they are competing against. And for fresh evidence, look no further than Saturday’s 2-0 defeat to Chelsea.

Everton went to Stamford Bridge full of confidence. They had claimed victories at Old Trafford and the Vitality Stadium in their last two away games, ending long winless runs at both of those grounds.

They had bounced Nottingham Forest, and former boss Sean Dyche, 3-0 at Hill Dickinson Stadium, and Chelsea were winless in four games in all competitions.

Everton knew a win would have taken them as high as 4th place; instead, the wait for a first league win at Stamford Bridge since 1994 will roll on.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, the driving force of Everton’s strong run, went off injured within the opening 15 minutes but, despite missing their key midfielder, it was instead Everton’s full-back issues that were shown up once again.

Vitalii Mykolenko has now been a Premier League regular for well over three seasons, but his attacking limitations are clear. 

However, Jarrad Branthwaite’s absence this campaign has also hinted that, without that recovery pace in the centre of defence, Mykolenko is beginning to struggle in one-v-one situations; scenarios that, previously, the Ukrainian had stood up well in.

Yet against Chelsea, Mykolenko was at least partially at fault for both of their goals. He did not follow Cole Palmer’s run for Chelsea’s opener, and was then unable to deal with Pedro Neto’s quick feet and rapid turn of pace for Malo Gusto’s goal. 

Mykolenko did, in fairness, look to get beyond both Jack Grealish and, later Iliman Ndiaye, as Everton pressed to get back into the contest, and at one stage he made a surging run into Chelsea’s area and found Carlos Alcaraz, whose shot was blocked by Trevoh Chalobah.

The issue is, though, opposition defences know that Mykolenko is no real threat. He is not likely to deliver a killer cross or precise cutback. After all, this is a player with just two Premier League assists in 123 appearances.

But it is not just Mykolenko who is becoming a problem. 

Everton’s failure to bring in a right-back has become a running joke among the fanbase, and fairly so. It was bizarre that they failed to address such a clear issue in the last transfer window, especially given they were close to making Kenny Tete their first signing of the summer until he elected to sign a new deal at Fulham instead.

Jake O’Brien filled in admirably in the role last term, and it was a testament to Moyes’s management that he found a way to fit the Irish international into the team. But O’Brien is no right-back. He is a centre-back, as demonstrated by his excellent performance in that position at Bournemouth a couple of weeks ago.

O’Brien makes positive runs, he does look to get forward. But his deliveries, as would be expected for a six-foot-six centre-back playing out of position, are inconsistent. 

There is a time and a place for O’Brien to slot in at right-back, but he should not be asked to do it week-in & week-out.

While O’Brien and Mykolenko toiled, on the flip side, Chelsea right-back Gusto demonstrated all the qualities that a full-back should be offering — he scored and assisted and floated infield. On the other side, Marc Cucurella largely locked down Ndiaye.

It is a shame that, due to injuries, suspensions and the departure of Idrissa Gueye to the Africa Cup of Nations, Moyes has not been able to continue giving more minutes to James Garner at right-back.

Garner has looked the most natural fit there. His use of the ball is excellent, his ability to drift infield naturally can create overloads in the centre of the park, and he has a crossing prowess that worries opposition defences. 

But even that is not the ideal fix — Garner is, at the end of the day, a midfielder, and a very capable one at that.

The January transfer window will soon be on us and, while Everton will not be able to get everything they need, strengthening the full-back area is a must, even if just on a temporary basis.

Adam Aznou needs patience, and probably a loan — he is further behind in his development than first thought. Nathan Patterson’s race is run at Everton and the Scotland international should have been allowed to leave in the summer. Seamus Coleman’s body cannot keep up with the rigours of Premier League football.

And while Everton look well placed to be safely clear of danger this season, they have put themselves into a position that they should now be looking to build on in a season that is wide open, due to the congested nature of the Premier League table.

A new full-back, even just one to offer balance to either side, really could make all the difference.

 

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