Michael Ball tells Everton stars to take responsibility in relegation fight
Michael Ball wants Everton players to take responsibility in their relegation battle, as Frank Lampard persists with a back three formation.
The Toffees sit three points above the relegation zone with 12 games remaining but have a super tough run of fixtures and just got thrashed 4-0 by Crystal Palace in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
But former defender ball, writing in his Liverpool ECHO column, believes there is evidence that the team can be solid defensively but the players need to take responsibility to come through this tough period and survive the drop.
“We’ve been playing three at the back, which Frank seems to favour, and I really enjoyed it as a player,” he said. “But I can also see that some of the players aren’t used to it because they’re not taking responsibility and letting other people deal with situations.
“These are the scenarios that Frank Lampard will be working on with the players.
“When we work hard together as a team, we’re difficult to break down, as we showed against Manchester City. When we work together – but when we go off-script, we leave ourselves wide open.
“At least we’ve got this breather in the season. Frank’s been here a while now, he’ll understand the players a lot more than when he joined. He’ll understand how to get the best out of them but also what style and formation we’re going to play.
“We’ve got 11 cup finals coming up and the fans will be there in huge numbers. The fans will give everything they can to support the players – but when the going gets tough, you want to see the mentality of the players be stronger and roll their sleeves up. It could be scruffy but that’s what leaders do.”
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Everton have struggled all season with consistency in their performances and the arrival of Lampard hasn’t really helped to solve that issue.
But as we approach the final run-in, the team have managed to give themselves a small cushion in the battle and need to make the most of it.
They will lose games between now and the rest of the season, that’s almost a guarantee, but the fans will accept some defeats so long as the performances are strong and there is progression.
The squad has more than enough quality to beat the teams in and around them, but they must perform to their abilities and as Ball says they need to take responsibility.
Whether it’s a back three or a back four, Lampard is selecting these players to start and play for a reason and they’re not justifying it. They need to be better and Lampard must be braver.
In other Everton news, ace to step up recovery at Finch Farm this week, edging closer to return according to report.
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