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Campbell says there is 'no quality' up top for Everton v Brighton
Kevin Campbell was furious with Everton’s performance in their 0-0 draw with Brighton at the Amex Stadium on Monday night.
In the first half, Everton didn’t register a single attempt on target and rarely got into the opposition area. It simply isn’t good enough for a side that are supposed to be pushing for the top four.
Substitute Alex Iwobi flashed an effort over the bar in injury time, but it would have been an unjust result had he scored. The season is appearing to stall at the worst possible time. We can no longer break into the European places if we win our game in hand.
Speaking on Sky Sports at half-time, Campbell didn’t hold back, saying Everton lacked quality up top.
“They’ve been a bit of a disappointment, to be honest,” said Campbell.
“Defended pretty well, but as an attacking force, there’s nothing to write home about.
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“I look at Everton going in at half time, Carlo Ancelotti’s got to say them ‘look lads, we’ve got to improve, add some energy to our play, and most importantly at the attacking end there’s got to be some quality’ – there’s no quality at the moment.
“They’re good players, just give me a little bit more.”
Very concerning
To echo Campbell, the lack of quality up top has been shocking. When you consider we have a £50million Brazilian in Richalison and a multiple-time Champions League winner in James Rodriguez, it is rather concerning.
Things didn’t get much better in the second half either. We managed just one attempt on target across the entire 90 minutes of action. Overall, we’ve won just 25% of matches without Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the XI (BBC).
It gets worse the more you think about it. In our last five Premier League matches, we’ve scored just four goals. These came against Burnley, Southampton, West Brom and Crystal Palace – just one goal against each of these sides.
Those are the sort of teams you need to get getting the goal difference up against if you’re to push for the top four. We failed to score against Chelsea who are a direct competitor for the top spots.
By comparison of their last five games, West Ham have scored 11 and are currently occupying the last Champions League spot. That is the sort of fire-power you need if you’re to mount a serious challenge.
We still have to go there on May 8th. After they won at Goodison, they’ll feel very confident hosting us. It’s turning into a massive game – we also need to win our game in hand to stay in the hunt. As Campbell says, though, the quality up-top must improve.
In other Everton news, the Toffees have set their sights on this ‘extraordinary’ Italian forward.