View: Ancelotti sub choices fail to inspire as Everton fail to beat Aston Villa
Carlo Ancelotti has undeniably improved Everton since he succeeded Marco Silva in the Goodison Park hot-seat back in December 2019.
The Italian brought with him managerial calibre and a wealth of experience, not to mention the fact that he immediately elevated the club’s worldwide platform.
However, while some may claim criticism of the coach to be sacrilege, Ancelotti’s use of substitutions still leaves a lot to be desired.
Everton were held to a goalless stalemate against Aston Villa on Thursday in a game where neither side were able to carve out a clear-cut chance.
Villa have little to play for in their remaining games save for a desire to finish in the top half of the Premier League table, while the Blues had one eye on European football.
With just three games remaining after facing Villa, one of which will see the Toffees face newly crowned champions Manchester City, the club needed a crucial victory over the Villans.
Despite this however Ancelotti only made two substitutions, leaving versatile forward Josh King on the bench.
Those two substitutions in themselves were uninspiring, with Andre Gomes and Alex Iwobi having both received their fair share of criticism over the course of the current campaign.
Leaving King on the bench felt particularly egregious though, with the Norwegian eager to impress and with Everton needing a goal. King was unfairly denied against West Ham and so likely would have been even more determined to bag his first for the club.
Ancelotti has rarely been proactive in his usage of substitutions this season – they often feel passively made and without true purpose. Unfortunately with Everton’s lack of squad depth, the club need subs to be made with clear intent and direction.
Bringing on Gomes served little purpose against Villa while King, a forward with 48 Premier League goals to his name, was left on the bench twiddling his thumbs.
Ancelotti is unmistakably the right man to lead Everton forward, but that doesn’t mean he should be immune to criticism, and it’s clear that his ability to turn to the bench needs work.
In other Everton news, a Sky Sports pundit blasted this out of control Blues player in the draw against Villa.
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