Everton: Alan Brazil rages live on talkSPORT after what Sean Dyche told media
Alan Brazil has raged live on air at what Everton manager Sean Dyche said about his side’s expected goals (xG) this season.
The Toffees boss revealed in his pre-match press conference on Thursday (19 October) ahead of the Merseyside Derby against Liverpool on Saturday (21 October) that his side’s xG is the “highest it’s been for eight years”.
Speaking on talkSPORT on Friday (20 October), the host was baffled as to what xG stats were after Dyche’s comments and referred to it as a “load of tosh”.
“Sean Dyche’s Everton are fifth in the league table if it was done on xG stats, not on actual stats,” said Brazil. “Ray (Parlour), tell me what’s xG stats? “They, in fact, sit one place above Liverpool in the xG table. What is this xG table? Expected goals, really? Crikey, what a load of tosh.
“Everton boss Sean Dyche had this to say about his side’s ‘exceptional’ xG stats ‘the xG is very high, it’s the highest it’s been for eight years’. He thinks it’s a load of tosh as well. ‘It’s a pretty attacking format we use, we played well, we dominated’.
“I’m not even going there, xG stats.”
Goals matter
It isn’t great that the presenter of one of the biggest sports shows in the country doesn’t really know what xG stats are and how much they are talked about in terms of analytics.
But perhaps too much is being made about Everton’s expected goals because they haven’t scored anywhere near enough this season and that’s why it’s become such a big thing.
The Toffees have actually had a few favourable games this season, where they created a number of chances and couldn’t find the back of the net.
The Blues now have a trickier set of fixtures ahead of them – meaning their xG is likely to drop – and they are going to have to start putting their opportunities away if they want to pick up results.
That starts this weekend when they head to Anfield to face Liverpool, where Dyche will be driving home to his players the importance of remaining compact but also finding the back of the net when the chances come their way.
In other Everton news, the Blues may be set to receive a boost as Liverpool could be without another first-team star for the Merseyside Derby.