Everton: Journalist shares ‘horrendous’ verdict after what happened in 1-1 draw v Brighton
Everton are stronger now than they were at this stage of the past two seasons, according to the Liverpool Echo’s Joe Thomas.
The verdict comes after the Toffees drew 1-1 away to Brighton on Saturday (24 February) to move to 17th place in the table.
It is the club’s second such result in a row, having drawn 1-1 with Crystal Palace at Goodison Park on Monday (19 February).
“For reasons far outside Dyche and his players’ control, the league table, for now at least, shows 21 points,” Thomas wrote for the Liverpool Echo (24 February). “Both results this week contain frustration.
“But this team is stronger than the ones at this stage in both of the past two horrendous seasons. The points tally may not show it but the eight wins and sevens draws show progress is being made. The result against Brighton, in particular, might feel like two points lost. But it is still a good point.
“The result against Palace might have felt like two points lost. But it was one point more than previous versions of this side would have won. It might be nine league games without a win. But five of those were drawn. This is no time for celebration or complacency. But it is also not a time of lost hope.”
Are Everton the strongest they have been in years?
The Goodison Park club have been struggling in recent times, with Dyche’s players seemingly unable to get over the line in matches.
They are clearly putting the effort in on the training pitch, but when it comes to matchday, they are not picking up the wins needed to push them away from the dreaded relegation zone.
Toffees need to go back to mid-January to celebrate their last win, when they defeated Palace 1-0 in an FA Cup third round replay on Merseyside.
That will really worry the Goodison Park faithful, who will be getting more and more worried if the lack of victories continue.
A 1-1 draw at the Amex Stadium is a great result on paper, but the hosts netted a 95th-minute goal with 10 men on the pitch, having had Billy Gilmour sent off in the 81st minute.
They now have the chance to finally turn their misery around when they host West Ham on Saturday (2 March), with the Hammers also struggling for points at this moment in time.
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