Ball says Goodison could turn toxic if Ancelotti does one thing v Brighton
It’s hard to think of a more dispiriting Everton performance in recent years than the one offered up against Liverpool on Sunday.
With FA Cup progression on the line and the chance to end a long-standing Anfield hoodoo, and faced with a Reds team littered with unproven teenagers, the Toffees were well-beaten 1-0 by a Curtis Jones wonder strike.
That’s despite manager Carlo Ancelotti fielding an almost full strength team. Yet they were beaten by a bunch of kids. It really was an embarrassing effort.
Now, former Blues left back Michael Ball has warned that things could get frosty at Goodison Park if Ancelotti does one thing against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
“Carlo Ancelotti has a real chance now to feed the kids in. If I was in the U23s now, I’d be knocking on that door and wanting an opportunity,” he wrote in his Liverpool Echo column.
“The players that we’ve got at the minute aren’t doing it on a consistent basis, and these kids deserve a chance to prove to the boss and their teammates that they’re hungry. That’s what Everton fans want, and there’s not many of those right now.
“The Evertonians like youngsters coming through, and against Brighton I’d give a few their Premier League debuts.
“If Ancelotti plays that same 11 again there’s the danger of Goodison turning toxic, not against the manager but against the players. They’ve failed week in, week out. To get a bit of belief, I would look to the youngsters. Hopefully, the Everton fans might be able to see a hero.”
Goodison News’ View
Ball is right to call for an infusion of youth into the Everton team. It doesn’t need to be an entire XI of kids, but a sprinkling of academy products would do the fans and the team itself a whole lot of good.
He has the players to do it, as well. The likes of Anthony Gordon, Beni Baningime, Lewis Gibson and Dennis Adeniran have been knocking on the door for a while now.
You could argue that some of them should have been used on Sunday. However, changes are sorely needed against Brighton, so why not throw them in?
In other Everton news, the Toffees are reported to have failed with an approach for a Chelsea defender.