Sona
Player Valuation: £8m
Ball Possession, Pressing, Productivity
Three Koeman buzzwords that allude to his preferred style of play, yet none of which we have seen Everton excel in this season.
So why isn't it working? Let's look at each in turn.
* Ball Possession
Rarely a post-match interview goes by without Koeman giving his assessment on how we did in this aspect of play. But what exactly is "Ball Possession"? We can safely assume that he means the way in which Everton both keep and use the ball.
Rather than being wasteful and trying percentage passes, Koeman likes his teams to keep possession of the ball and play forward with a purpose.
However, all too often this season, we have seen the ball advanced towards the middle third before being moved back to Keane, who then has no options in front of him but to knock a long ball into the channel or towards the striker.
Why is this happening? Two reasons:
1. When the ball reaches the midfield, there is no space for the attacking players to operate in. Why is that? Because:
2. There is no one running beyond the opposition backline to stretch them, which would create that pocket of space in front of the back four. Instead, the opposition backline can squeeze up and reduce any space for our attacking midfielders to operate in.
So far too often do we see: Pickford to Keane to Schneiderlin to Gueye, back to Schneiderlin back to Keane then long towards Rooney.
There is no threat in behind the opposition.
How do we address this? Personnel. Play a striker in the central position who will run beyond (e.g. Calvert-Lewin or Niasse), or, wingers who will stay high and wide playing on the shoulders of the opposition full backs (e.g. Mirallas, Lennon, Lookman).
Currently, our wide players are coming inside and our central striker is dropping deep. In other words, they are all occupying the same space.
* Pressing
Again, another feature of play that Koeman mentions frequently is how he likes his teams to press from the front.
So what does this mean? It means that, upon losing possession in the final third, the forward players force the opposition defenders into "traps" where they can then attempt to win the ball back high up the pitch, or force a percentage/ long ball to nowhere in particular.
However, ask yourself the question; how many times have you seen us win the ball back in the opposition half this season? Very rarely would be my answer.
So why isn't it working? Two reasons:
1. Personnel (again). Rooney playing as a centre forward, Sigurdsson playing on the left, etc. These players are not blessed with pace/ acceleration when it comes to closing down that first man. By the time they get there, the opposition player has had time to get his head up and pick a pass.
2. Our defensive line. It's all well and good telling the forwards to press the ball when we lose it, but look at how deep our defence is! This leaves an absolute ocean of space either between our defence and our midfield or between our midfield and our attack, again allowing the opposition to bypass our slow press by passing to someone in space in the middle third.
So how do we solve these problems?
- Change the personnel (use players who can press quickly and effectively) and play a higher line. This in turn has an impact on selection at the back too; we should use our fastest defenders and also instruct Pickford to set his starting position outside his area to sweep up longer balls over the top.
* Productivity
What does it mean? Creating clear cut chances and taking those clear cut chances.
We have scored a rather embarrassing 5 league goals this season. Man City scored 7 in one game last week and 29 overall. Leicester (bottom three) have doubled ours scoring 10, whilst Stoke (also below us in the table) have scored 9.
Ironically, this is very closely linked to the first two points; if we sort out our "Ball Possession" and "Pressing" issues then the "Productivity" would naturally follow.
* The Future Plan
It is not all doom and gloom. We certainly have a versatile squad and some tweaks to the team and tactics should see some vast improvement.
Although they may not be our best players, the manager should perhaps be looking at Calvert-Lewin, Mirallas, Lookman and Lennon to provide us with that pace, width and willingness to run beyond. Then look to upgrade these positions in January.
Three Koeman buzzwords that allude to his preferred style of play, yet none of which we have seen Everton excel in this season.
So why isn't it working? Let's look at each in turn.
* Ball Possession
Rarely a post-match interview goes by without Koeman giving his assessment on how we did in this aspect of play. But what exactly is "Ball Possession"? We can safely assume that he means the way in which Everton both keep and use the ball.
Rather than being wasteful and trying percentage passes, Koeman likes his teams to keep possession of the ball and play forward with a purpose.
However, all too often this season, we have seen the ball advanced towards the middle third before being moved back to Keane, who then has no options in front of him but to knock a long ball into the channel or towards the striker.
Why is this happening? Two reasons:
1. When the ball reaches the midfield, there is no space for the attacking players to operate in. Why is that? Because:
2. There is no one running beyond the opposition backline to stretch them, which would create that pocket of space in front of the back four. Instead, the opposition backline can squeeze up and reduce any space for our attacking midfielders to operate in.
So far too often do we see: Pickford to Keane to Schneiderlin to Gueye, back to Schneiderlin back to Keane then long towards Rooney.
There is no threat in behind the opposition.
How do we address this? Personnel. Play a striker in the central position who will run beyond (e.g. Calvert-Lewin or Niasse), or, wingers who will stay high and wide playing on the shoulders of the opposition full backs (e.g. Mirallas, Lennon, Lookman).
Currently, our wide players are coming inside and our central striker is dropping deep. In other words, they are all occupying the same space.
* Pressing
Again, another feature of play that Koeman mentions frequently is how he likes his teams to press from the front.
So what does this mean? It means that, upon losing possession in the final third, the forward players force the opposition defenders into "traps" where they can then attempt to win the ball back high up the pitch, or force a percentage/ long ball to nowhere in particular.
However, ask yourself the question; how many times have you seen us win the ball back in the opposition half this season? Very rarely would be my answer.
So why isn't it working? Two reasons:
1. Personnel (again). Rooney playing as a centre forward, Sigurdsson playing on the left, etc. These players are not blessed with pace/ acceleration when it comes to closing down that first man. By the time they get there, the opposition player has had time to get his head up and pick a pass.
2. Our defensive line. It's all well and good telling the forwards to press the ball when we lose it, but look at how deep our defence is! This leaves an absolute ocean of space either between our defence and our midfield or between our midfield and our attack, again allowing the opposition to bypass our slow press by passing to someone in space in the middle third.
So how do we solve these problems?
- Change the personnel (use players who can press quickly and effectively) and play a higher line. This in turn has an impact on selection at the back too; we should use our fastest defenders and also instruct Pickford to set his starting position outside his area to sweep up longer balls over the top.
* Productivity
What does it mean? Creating clear cut chances and taking those clear cut chances.
We have scored a rather embarrassing 5 league goals this season. Man City scored 7 in one game last week and 29 overall. Leicester (bottom three) have doubled ours scoring 10, whilst Stoke (also below us in the table) have scored 9.
Ironically, this is very closely linked to the first two points; if we sort out our "Ball Possession" and "Pressing" issues then the "Productivity" would naturally follow.
* The Future Plan
It is not all doom and gloom. We certainly have a versatile squad and some tweaks to the team and tactics should see some vast improvement.
Although they may not be our best players, the manager should perhaps be looking at Calvert-Lewin, Mirallas, Lookman and Lennon to provide us with that pace, width and willingness to run beyond. Then look to upgrade these positions in January.
