Everton: Sean Dyche must keep the faith with Ellis Simms v Fulham
Everton welcome Fulham to Goodison Park on Saturday [15 April] in what will be a big day for the Toffees’ survival hopes and Sean Dyche must keep the faith with Ellis Simms up front.
It was a day to forget for the Toffees last time out as they succumbed to a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Manchester United last weekend and if not for Jordan Pickford’s heroics, the result could have been much worse.
The result left Everton just outside the drop zone on goal difference with Nottingham Forest breathing down their necks in the Premier League table.
It has been 10 games now since Sean Dyche replaced Frank Lampard in the Goodison Park hot seat with that period yielding 12 points and with some crucial games coming up, results and performances must improve if they are to steer clear of the drop zone.
And that could well force the former Burnley boss to ring the changes against Fulham and given Simms’ struggles at Old Trafford last weekend, the rising Goodison Park forward could become an unfortunate victim of Dyche’s potential decisions.
The 22-year-old missed a guilt-edged chance against Erik ten Hag’s men with the scores still at 0-0. The youngster was found in the Manchester United box with a clear sight of goal but only managed to drag his shot wide, a shadow of the finish he showed when scoring at Stamford Bridge just a couple of weeks prior.
And the stats showed it was also a day that Simms will quickly want to forget as he completed just 11 of his 18 passes, was wayward with his shooting registering two shots wide of the target and lost possession seven times, as per SofaScore.
However, it is clear Simms needs match rhythm in his legs if he is to hit top form in the coming weeks, especially with leading striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin still lacking match fitness despite his return to training.
The Toffees desperately need an attacking presence up top as they seek to improve on their dreadful goalscoring return of just 23 goals – the current lowest tally in the division.
And for that to happen, Everton will need to keep the faith in Simms as he could still provide the tools needed to fire the club out of the mire as he showed during his short loan stint with Sunderland where he notched seven goals from 17 Championship games, starting against Fulham on Saturday [15 April].
It won’t do any good for Simms’ confidence if Dyche was to ditch the Goodison Park academy graduate so soon after last weekend’s disappointment, and it will set a good precedent to the rest of Everton’s youth stars that the club will continue to keep the faith in its players despite recent struggles.