Following your logic from the Benitez period, the first and easiest thing to solve is no longer the manager, therefore we have to focus attention on what can lead to the most improvement in performance and in my eyes that is now firmly the attitude of the players. They’ve shown they can perform when they want to and execute Lampard’s tactics, so rather than us get into the same old habit of going ‘yeah the players are rubbish but the manager really needs to be playing x formation, x player, set them up to defend or attack’, I’d rather us be saying ‘the players really need to turn up today’. If the tactics or subs are wrong after that then fine, but if we saw the levels we saw agaisnt Leeds, City, and the second half of the Newcastle game, then there’s an opportunity for the right tactics to work.
If the players aren’t in the right frame of mind to do the basics of football, then Lampard’s tactics are irrelevant, we’ll lose every single game until they decide they’re interested in fighting for this club.
Under Benitez we had the excuse that he’d shorn them of their confidence, negative tactics etc. What’s the excuse under Lampard? He’s done everything to get them in a positive mood, having them press on the front foot, keep the ball but get it forward. He’s done nothing but shield the players until now and they’ve still just downed tools on multiple occasions when it’s suited them.
So yeah I get your principle mate, I’m sure there’s a lot of things Lampard could do better, at the moment I just see zero point in focusing on them because until we have players interested in playing football for Everton then his performance is largely irrelevant.
