Michael Ball calls on Everton players to step up and help Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Michael Ball has called upon the Everton players to continue to step up and help Dominic Calvert-Lewin after his recent struggles against Crystal Palace.
The England international has scored three Premier League goals in nine matches this season but was marked out of the game at Selhurst Park on Saturday (11 November) as he failed to register a single shot against the Eagles.
Luckily for the Toffees, they managed to find three important goals from elsewhere and Ball believes that the other Everton players have finally begun to step up and support their number nine as they begin to perform like a team under Sean Dyche.
Writing for the Liverpool Echo (14 November) he said: “We’ve been talking about the importance of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and how much of a difference he makes to this Everton side but like all players, you can’t be 10 out of 10 every week.
“When that’s the case, can someone else step up and get the goals? Can Abdoulaye Doucoure get more involved? Can the other midfielders, the wingers or even Vitalii Mykolenko as we’ve seen of late?
“They’ve stepped up to the plate and it’s good to see the confidence from them. They’re not being passive, they’re being confident that they’ll get a shot on goal.
“We’re playing more as a team. We’re not performing as individuals where maybe one or two step up to the plate like Alex Iwobi raising his game under Frank Lampard but the rest weren’t.”
More of a team
Far too often in recent seasons, Everton have been relying on the goals of Calvert-Lewin to win matches and when he has been sidelined with injury they have looked devoid of confidence in the final third and unlikely to even test the opposition.
That couldn’t have been further from the case on Saturday as everybody around the 26-year-old thrived while he struggled to get involved in proceedings. No player lost more duels in the game than the Toffees’ forward who lost 16 battles in the match.
But goals from Doucoure, Mykolenko and Idrissa Gueye ensured that Everton came away with all three points. Earlier this season and for most of last season, it would have been impossible to imagine the Toffees scoring three times in a game, especially without Calvert-Lewin finding the net.
When the striker returns to form in front of goal, he will be one of a number of players providing a threat, rather than being relied upon to find the net. Everton are a much more complete team under Dyche currently than we have seen at Goodison in several years.
In other Everton news, Amadou Onana’s agent has provided an update on his fitness after his early exit against Crystal Palace