View: Lack of clear Everton identity is hampering Ancelotti tenure
In many ways Everton losing to Sheffield United was a shock result on Sunday evening, though at the same time it wasn’t completely surprising.
The Toffees have suffered a turbulent season, emerging victorious from thrilling encounters against top teams like Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool while also slumping to defeat against teams like Newcastle, Burnley and Fulham.
Injuries have certainly played their part, with the majority of the squad available to Carlo Ancelotti having gone missing at some point of the season because of fitness issues, but there’s also a larger problem at play.
Ancelotti is a prestigious coach with a storied past, having won league titles in four different countries as well as having three Champions League titles to his name, however he has yet to hit his stride with Everton.
Admittedly the Toffees are still made up of players not signed during the current regime, but the club should still have seen marked improvement over their previous performance levels, and we haven’t seen that on a consistent basis.
Ancelotti’s lack of success with this Everton team boils down to one crucial problem – a complete and total lack of style and identity.
Ancelotti has rarely demonstrated at Goodison Park that he is able to work pragmatically. Everton stick to their game plan regardless of opposition, with the club never attempting to outwork an opponent.
Because Everton always revert to type they lack a distinct style and they aren’t able to find a route to success when times get tough. Mentality issues plague the squad, but there is also a lack of top-down leadership from Ancelotti.
The Italian coach is a highly respected manager for good reason, but this season we haven’t seen him actually manage Everton so much as we’ve seen him name a line-up and hope that they’re up to the task.
Ancelotti must explore the transfer market in order to sign talented players who have the right personalities this summer, but he also must focus on attempting to build his own identity at Goodison Park.
In other Everton news, the Blues are in the hunt to sign proven Premier League centre-forward valued at £30million.
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