Sam Stone

Wed 9 November 2022 18:10, UK

Jason Cundy believes Everton should have been good enough to beat Bournemouth in the League Cup despite playing a second-string team.

Frank Lampard’s side went down 4-1 on the South Coast in what was a damaging night for the Everton boss and his under-fire players.

Cundy engaged in a talkSPORT debate with an Everton fan who was questioning Lampard’s team selection in the defeat at the Vitality Stadium.

The caller said (talkSPORT, 3:40, 8 November): “Am I part of the Lampard out brigade, no not all, but at the same time, why has he done that tonight?

“He’s already under a bit of pressure after the Leicester game, and he’s now doubled that pressure after what he’s done tonight.”

Cundy interrupted: “Like I said [interrupting Jamie O’Hara] Lampard picking that team, you could flip it around and say that team should be good enough to go and put in a performance.

“So if the squad’s not good enough, where do you go from there?”

On Lampard

The defeat against Gary O’Neil’s side is completely on Lampard after his daft team selection ahead of the fixture. Unfortunately, the Toffees don’t have the strength in depth compared to the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool, so Lampard didn’t really have the luxury of ringing the changes. This summer was the start of an overhaul for Everton and there was good work done, however, there is still plenty of additions which need to be made.

Cover defensively is an absolute must for Lampard, with his backup defenders clearly not up to the standard required after their lacklustre performances in the South Coast. Another midfielder would also not go a miss, with James Garner and Tom Davies failing to take the chance given to them.

Obviously, Everton’s goalscoring problems have been well-documented and Neal Maupay’s display against Bournemouth shows that investing in a new striker should be a priority for Lampard. Hopefully, Lampard learns from this defeat, because right now, he cannot chop and change as much as he did.