Simon Jordan brands Everton lucky for Arsenal win live on talkSPORT and predicts tough times lie ahead
Simon Jordan has launched a scathing review of Everton, branding them not good enough and claiming they were lucky to pick up a win against Arsenal, live on talkSPORT.
Dyche tasted defeat for the first time since taking to the Goodison Park dugout as Everton lost 2-0 to bitter rivals, Liverpool, in the Merseyside Derby.
Goals from Mo Salah and Cody Gakpo sent Everton fans crashing back to earth after previously picking up a brilliant win against league-leaders Arsenal, and pundit Jordan suggested that the club faces an uphill struggle in the coming months.
Speaking live on talkSPORT on Tuesday morning (14 February), he said: “You can’t turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse, and without a doubt, those Everton players aren’t good enough to operate at a high level.
“They’ve just got to go with application, motivation and determination. I’m not sure they lacked that yesterday, they just weren’t very good.
“They got remarkably lucky because they caught Arsenal in a situation where they weren’t prepared for the intensity of the performance from Everton, they weren’t prepared for the environment they were playing in, and they were poor themselves.
“So all of that provided a perfect storm for Everton. Everton were magnificent in their response.
“The problem with teams like Everton is they are magnificent one week, but that does not translate to them being magnificent every week, and tragically for them they are going to have to have an element of that to get themselves out of the hole they have dug themselves into.”
Unity needed
Jordan is a little harsh in his assessment of Everton’s win against Arsenal. Yes, the Gunners weren’t at their best, but the Toffees forced them into mistakes and thoroughly deserved the three points.
From the very first whistle, Everton wanted to win every 50/50 challenge and got up in the faces of Arsenal’s start-studded team – something which clearly didn’t take well to.
Despite defeat on Monday night, all isn’t doom and gloom for the Toffees. Matches such as the clash against Liverpool won’t determine their season, and a loss isn’t going to be the pivotal reason if the club get relegated this season.
Upcoming matches against Leeds United, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, however, will be. Dyche must rally his troops after struggling to impose themselves at Anfield and look to bounce back in front of what will be a sell-out Goodison Park crowd against the Whites.
With Leeds still managerless and struggling to score goals at the moment, there couldn’t be a better time to face them.