Garth Crooks: Anything less than top six will see Frank Lampard fighting Everton future
BBC Sport pundit Garth Crook believes Frank Lampard will be fighting to keep his job unless Everton finish in the top-six of the Premier League.
Everton have enjoyed a solid start to their 2022/23 campaign and currently sit in 11th place with the best defensive record in the league.
Despite the positive start, Crooks feels that Lampard is still inexperienced and that talk of him getting the England job is “premature”.
“Everton are still some way from becoming a top-six side but anything less will see Lampard fighting to retain his job,” said Crooks [BBC Sport column, 2 October]
“Talk of the Everton manager taking over from England boss Gareth Southgate at the end of the World Cup may not be without foundation but is premature. Lampard is hugely likeable but widely inexperienced.”
Wow
There have been some bad takes over the years, and this one from Crooks is certainly up there. 99 and of 100 Evertonians would say that a mid-table finish would be excellent progress this season and not even consider a top-six finish.
The Toffees only just avoided relegation and have a number of new players who are still settling into proceedings at Goodison Park. Fans will be delighted with how Lampard has approached the new season with there being a real focus on the defence and being solid.
The Everton boss how shown that he can set up a team to be hard to beat and well-disciplined as a priority, with the attacking side of the game slowly clicking into gear as the season progresses.
All Evertonians would be ecstatic with a top-half finish this season and if that is achieved, it would’ve been a superb job done by Lampard considering the issues from the 2021/22 season. One thing is certain, Lampard’s job won’t be under threat if a top-six finish isn’t achieved.