Phil McNulty slams Ancelotti as Everton lose to Sheffield United
BBC pundit and chief football writer Phil McNulty has slammed Carlo Ancelotti as Everton fell to a shock 1-0 defeat against Sheffield United.
The Toffees have been considered outsiders for the top four for a few months, and there was a feeling that they could capitalise on points dropped by teams around them to mount a realistic challenge for the Champions League spots.
However, given how the results have transpired, the Sheffield United defeat more so than the others, the Toffees are unlikely to even get Europa League football and finish outside the top eight.
Their wretched home form can be seen as one of the reasons while manager Ancelotti should not be free from any criticism as his side have failed to break down some of the weakest Premier League defences.
McNulty, who has covered football on various platforms for the BBC over the last two decades did not mince his words after full-time.
He took to Twitter to say, “Everton have produced some inexcusable performance at home this season but that was the lowest of the low.
“And Carlo Ancelotti cannot escape scrutiny because the same awful displays have happened time and again without even looking like being corrected.”
Even before the full-time whistle, he wasn’t impressed by what he saw from the Toffees.
Our own worst enemies
We’ve had several chances to take advantage of every side dropping points and then we end up putting in the performances like we did against Sheffield United.
It may have been our worst showing under Ancelotti, but not by too much. These are the games, against teams in the bottom half, which should be gimmes but we treat them like we’re facing off against Champions League sides.
Against the Blades, we may have created the better chances and there were no excuses from either Dominic Calvert-Lewin or Richarlison for not scoring in the 40th minute, but as a team, our performances were a grade below what we need to be at to win three points in a league as competitive as this one.
After every defeat or poor performance, we feel that this will be where we things around, but that just hasn’t happened.
Sacking Ancelotti may not be the answer, but yes he’s got plenty to do to prove himself and the jury continues to be out on the Italian.
In other Everton news, ‘Speaking to people at the club’: Everton insider shares who Brands is looking to sign in summer
Be sure to follow Goodison News on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on Everton and more exclusive interviews with Kevin Campbell.