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Michael Ball tells Everton to keep tactics vs Liverpool until end of season
Michael Ball has told Everton that ‘desire isn’t enough’ in their relegation battle and says they should use similar tactics against Chelsea as they did against Liverpool.
The Toffees fell into the relegation zone for the first time this season after a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield, in a game filled with controversial decisions.
Now Ball, writing in his Liverpool ECHO column, believes that the team have showed they have the ability to defend well and with some added quality they can get results, starting with Chelsea at the weekend.
“Everton could go into their next match against Chelsea with very similar tactics they utilised against Liverpool, despite being at home,” he said.
“If they can improve their quality at both ends of the pitch, with a home crowd behind them, it could be effective.
“A lot of supporters wouldn’t be too disappointed for that game plan to become a reality again.
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“The Blues showed a lot of fight in the face of real adversity on Sunday afternoon, even if it was proven to them that pure desire isn’t enough – you do needed added quality as well.”
Points
Ball is spot on. Everton fans couldn’t care less about how they get their points between now and the end of the season, so long as they get them and stay in the Premier League.
They have six games remaining in their season, one more than closest rivals Burnley, and with Leeds facing a tough run of fixtures next they have a chance to close the gap.
But they need to build on their performance at Anfield in spite of the defeat and that starts with sticking with the same approach that worked so well for much of the game.
Being at home may tempt Lampard to play in a more open and expansive way, but against the quality that Chelsea have that is just asking for trouble in the situation they’re in.
He’s absolutely correct that desire isn’t enough, they need performances and quality but most importantly they need results. However they come, the fans won’t care, but they need to come.
In other Everton news, Sam Allardyce lays blame for Everton relegation woes, defends Farhad Moshiri
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