Sean Dyche persistence with Michael Keane hurts Everton survival chances, he should finally be dropped
Everton missed the chance to move out of the relegation zone after an entertaining 2-2 draw with Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Monday night [1 May].
The two relegation-threatened clubs started the game in the bottom three but a point was enough to drag Leicester out of the drop zone on goal difference, while Everton stay 19th, one point behind 17th-placed Leeds.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Everton ahead from the penalty spot, but the Foxes fought back with goals from Caglar Soyuncu and Jamie Vardy before Alex Iwobi ensured the Toffees went home with a point to their name.
It is now eight games without a Premier League win for Sean Dyche’s men and just one win in their last eleven which leaves them still rooted to the relegation spots with just four games left of their disastrous season to go.
While much has been made about the lack of goals Everton have endured this season – currently the worst in the division with just 27 goals scored from 34 games – it is their defending which will have pragmatic coach Dyche increasingly worried as they look to claim another unlikely safety miracle come to the end of the month.
Everton have conceded a whopping 15 goals from their last nine Premier League games leaving many to question why the former Burnley boss is still persisting in starting his former Turf Moor defender Michael Keane over Conor Coady alongside James Tarkowski.
Against Leicester on Monday night [1 May], Keane proved just why he’s become the problem to the leaky Everton defence issue rather than the solution.
As well as giving away a soft penalty which James Maddison failed to convert, the former Burnley centre-back, as per SofaScore picked up a poor average rating of 5.6/10, lost possession of the ball 16 times, successfully completed just 70% of his passes, was dribbled past two times and won just two of his ground duels on another dreadful night for the 30-year-old defender.
Before the match, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher revealed a graph showing just how fatal Dyche’s decision to start Keane over the tried and trusted Coady has been at Everton since his appointment in late January, and the stats have been quite damning.
In nine starts under his former Burnley coach, Keane has had a hand in 19 goals conceded – just over two goals per game, while Coady has conceded just four times under Dyche’s stewardship.
This certainly sends a clear message to Dyche that he desperately needs to sever his loyalties to Keane and finally drop him for Coady in the Toffees’ four crucial remaining Premier League games. The future of Everton football club could certainly rest on this pivotal decision.