Michael Ball goes beserk at Frank Lampard over approach at Everton
Former Everton defender Michael Ball has lashed out at manager Frank Lampard for trying implement his philosophy during a relegation battle and told him to forget it.
The Toffees opened up a three point gap above the relegation zone with a 99th minute winner against Newcastle last week, before crashing out of the FA Cup in a 4-0 thumping by Crystal Palace days later.
Now Ball, writing in his Liverpool ECHO column, has questioned why the boss is trying to implement a style on his team right now and told him to stop and focus on getting points on the board to keep them safe.
“I think we’re in a very, very difficult situation,” he said.
“Rather than being nice, I think Frank needs to be straight to the point and tell them to look at the league table and the results. The realisation among the players needs to be about themselves, not Everton Football Club.
“They’ve proven time and time again they’re not good enough. Do they want to play in the Championship next year? Do they want relegation on their CVs? That’s the question they need to be asking themselves when they look in the mirror.
“His football philosophy? Forget it! Frank, I don’t care about your philosophy. That’s for next season – start pre-season early.
“The players can’t do it, just stay safe, that’s your job. Don’t take chances, don’t leave the door open for the opposition. Just get points on the board.
“You’ve just got to figure out a system for this group of players to remain tight, defend the goal and start creating opportunities.”
Safety first
Ignore the fancy passing patterns and the swagger that comes with playing good football, Everton need points and desperately.
With so many tough games in their run-in to come, now is not the time for Lampard to try and implement his philosophy.
Come the summer time, whether Everton are in the Premier League or Championship, that’s when the manager can look to put his footprint on the team properly.
Fresh slate, a transfer window to bring in what’s needed and get rid of what isn’t, and a whole season ahead where the pressure resets. Now the smallest of errors could be the difference between survival and relegation.
That means players can’t be brave, fans are on edge and results are far too important to be experimenting. Get it in the bin and focus on being better in defence and better in front of goal with this set of players. Do the rest later.
In other Everton news, UFC star calls for talks with Everton squad on social media after recent poor performances