Kevin Campbell: Everton players should be able to play different formations, haven’t been
We’re delighted to welcome former Everton striker Kevin Campbell as our exclusive columnist. Each week the former Toffees captain will be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Goodison Park…
Frank Lampard’s preference for switching formations game to game is no excuse for underperforming Everton players says Kevin Campbell.
The manager has jumped between a back four and a central three with wing backs on multiple occasions across a fairly dismal run of form, with players like Jonjoe Kenny asked to play various different roles.
Injuries have dictated the changes at times but with the defence in particular struggling in games against the likes of Tottenham and Crystal Palace in recent weeks a chance to stick to the familiar might have helped, but the former striker disagrees.
Speaking exclusively to Goodison News about whether a settled system would help he said: “Not necessarily because I think you’ve got to look for the best formation for the players available to you to try and win games.
“Now the fact of the matter is, you changed the formation against Newcastle and you won. That doesn’t necessarily mean that formation is going to be best against Crystal Palace, because of the personnel.
“And the FA Cup was a one-off game so you want to give yourself as best a chance as you can.
“We could talk about formations until we’re blue in the face, it’s not the formation, it’s the players.
“The players have to be able to play whatever formation the manager wants, and do it properly.
“They know how to play football.
“So people who talk about changing the formation, nonsense. They know how to play both formations [four or five at the back].
“They just haven’t been good enough.”
Premier League players should of course be adaptable enough to slot into a number of different systems.
But at a time when confidence is unsurprisingly very low, and with no room for error, repeating one formation to a level where it becomes second nature has its benefits.
The Toffees boss has chosen to go in a different direction, either by choice or necessity, and on the whole it hasn’t paid off.
In other Everton news, Campbell dismissed the idea of a selection controversy because other players are so “weak” it’s irrelevant.
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