Trevor Sinclair destroys ‘liability’ Michael Keane after Everton loss v West Ham
Trevor Sinclair has blasted Everton defender Michael Keane and called him a ‘liability’ after his red card in the defeat to West Ham on Sunday.
The Toffees fell to a sixth defeat in eight games under Frank Lampard to sit three points above the relegation zone ahead of a huge clash with Burnley in midweek.
But Sinclair, who was appearing on the talkSPORT’s breakfast show [8:25, April 4th], said the blues need players to take responsibility while also questioning Alex Iwobi and Vitaly Mykolenko.
“They’ve got to be brave when you’re in relegation battles and you need men to take responsibility when they’re on the pitch,” he said. “You need to take responsibility.
“You get players who are a little bit flakey when the going gets tough, they’ll go missing, and you see it in training. You know the players that you can rely on.
“The problem is when you look through the side, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been out for the majority of the season, Mykolenko I’ve not really seen enough from him about where his heads at and if he’s ready for this fight, going forward Iwobi.
“Keane, just a liability, what are you doing? You can’t afford to get sent off.
“These are all the ingredients you need to make up real characters that have got the cojones to get through a relegation battle.
“I’m not sure that I’m seeing enough from these Everton players to do that. And Frank has questioned them already, many times since he’s been in the job but six losses in the last eight.
“This game against Burnley, we know what Burnley are all about. They have got men who take responsibility.
“Listen they’ve not got as much charisma, as much creativity, as much star quality in their team but when you think about this game I know which team I’d rather be managing because I know that every one of them players in the Burnley team is going to be up for the fight.”
Home truths
It seems as though Lampard has tried to change his tact in public by praising their performance despite defeat, but Sinclair wasn’t holding back.
It’s about time that someone called out Keane for his awful performances in public, especially considering he’s seen as a senior player and one of the leaders having been given the armband for the game.
The comments on Mykolenko are a bit harsh, considering the current circumstances in the world and the fact he only joined the club in January under a different manager.
But the overall message from Sinclair is the right one. While Lampard is absolutely not without fault in this mess that the club are in, it’s time for the players to step up.
The game against Burnley is an absolute must-win to create distance between themselves and the bottom three, so it’s time for someone to step up.
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