Abdoulaye Doucoure has been shockingly poor in Watford v Everton

Everton looked flat throughout the first half against Watford.

Apart from Anthony Gordon and Alex Iwobi, not a single player showed any desire to move forward.

The Toffees looked composed at the back, but the five-man defence wasn’t needed against a side that are already relegated.

everton

One player who was shockingly poor was Abdoulaye Doucoure.

He was the one under Rafa Benitez who was making those intelligent buccaneering runs into the box.

In this case, he was hardly seen.

Adam Jones of the Liverpool Echo rightly points out that the Toffees haven’t done enough.

The midfielder made fewer touches, and allowed Fabian Delph to do the passing most of the times.

Doucoure’s main strength lies in link up play and box-to-box movements.

However, he has terribly lethargic in this game. There was no desire from him to get into the final third.

With the Toffees playing a five-man defence, the midfielders are required to cover a lot of areas.

everton

However, that was not the case.

Delph is not a runner. He loves to sit back and spray passes.

It was Doucoure’s job to do the link up play. Watford have hardly posed a threat, and yet Everton looked nervous throughout the first half.

Frank Lampard needs to take him off, and bring Andre Gomes, a more creative player to influence the game.

In other Everton news, an American broadcaster filled three minutes of airtime with footage of Evertonians at Leicester.

Be sure to follow Goodison News on Facebook for 24/7 updates on Everton plus more exclusive interviews with Kevin Campbell.