Everton ‘warrior’ James Tarkowski has to fit Frank Lampard tactic – Lee Johnson
Everton manager Frank Lampard has been urged to play a system that helps latest recruit James Tarkowski by one of his former managers.
The 29-year-old is currently the only new signing made by the Toffees this summer after arriving on a free transfer from recently relegated Burnley to bolster the defensive unit at Goodison Park.
Well-travelled manager Lee Johnson, currently at Hibernian, was the first senior manager of Tarkowski’s during his time at Oldham Athletic and knows how to get the best out of the England international.
“Having the right attitude as well as the ability is huge. If you look at where he’s come from and where he’s got to, he’s earned every bit of that,” Johnson said to the Liverpool Echo.
“Everton is a great move for him and everyone who knows him is really excited for him. It’s obviously on a Bosman so I’m sure he’s getting a good contract and given that there’s not a lot of top centre-halves around, he gets to go again with potentially better players, at a bigger club and in a different environment.
“Personally I think he’ll kick on again. He’s a leader and a warrior, I just hope that the formation and the system that Frank Lampard plays will suit his attributes.”
Keep it simple
It can be very tempting to come up with a revolutionary new tactic for the start of a new season but it will always end up being the wrong one for the squad wherever you go.
After a year where Everton really struggled and only just stayed away from relegation, there is more need now than ever before to keep everything as basic as possible and re-solidify our position in the Premier League.
Lampard saw first-hand last season how a 4-4-2 can be highly effective even at the top level while being able to switch to other systems seamlessly to suit the match scenario.
That is where Tarkowski is most comfortable having done exactly that at Burnley for six seasons so we would be making a big mistake by trying to force him into something like a 5-3-2.
A simple, well-known tactic would also allow the other defenders to create a proper unit that becomes difficult to beat which was a big problem for us last season.