View: Everton fans blast Andre Gomes but he is not the only one who deserves criticism
Everton fans are fuming after Sunday’s defeat to Fulham and Andre Gomes has accidentally put his foot in it.
The whole team deserves criticism for yet another inept home performance and questions should be asked of Carlo Ancelotti too.
He made the dreadful decision to start without a recognised natural striker and in truth we never looked like scoring.
There were other reasons for that, though, as our midfield was a weak point.
The trio of Gomes, Tom Davies and Abdoulaye Doucoure lack creativity so were always going to struggle to unlock a stubborn and organised Fulham side.
However, to lose out on possession, with 49%, is unacceptable and Gomes was partly to blame for that as he gave away the ball 14 times, per SofaScore.
Only Lucas Digne and Mason Holgate conceded possession more times, but Gomes is facing the most backlash.
It is a little unfair, too, as it has been sparked by the midfielder showing the character to sympathise with fans on social media.
As supporters, we should want our players to take responsibility and recognise when they have underperformed.
But if they receive criticism in response then they’ll be less inclined to do that in future – nobody wins in this situation.
Yes, the manner of the defeat is disappointing but jumping on players will not change the result.
Ancelotti must take a look at his set-up at home now.
Defeats against the likes of Leeds, Newcastle and now Fulham have not only been embarrassing, but costly.
Against Newcastle the boss wrongly blamed the players for not showing the right attitude in the game, suggesting the team’s mentality led to defeat.
That does not explain why we achieved good results in our games before and after that fixture (Leicester and Leeds), so there must be another cause.
We believe it is our lack of creativity which leads to an inability to break down defensive teams.
We lacked a plan B without Dominic Calvert-Lewin against Fulham, while there was also a notable lack of pace.
Bringing Josh King into the starting line-up should solve the latter.
Our next match against Manchester City is a bit of a free hit, too, so we should give the new signing a chance from the start.
In other Everton news, Many Toffees fans react to Mason Holgate performance in 2-0 defeat v Fulham.