Erling Haaland claim made amid Everton frustration Dyche is causing
Erling Haaland would struggle to score goals for Everton under Sean Dyche, says Michael Ball.
The Toffees have utilised a compact 5-4-1 formation in recent weeks which has worked to help secure positive points against Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Results haven’t been so positive against less attack-minded opposition, though, after falling to defeat against Nottingham Forest and Southampton proving frustrating.
In a column for the Liverpool Echo (31 December), ex-Toffees defender Ball has shared his belief that this tactical approach would struggle even with some of the best strikers in the world, and said Dyche’s approach in these games is frustrating for supporters.
He wrote: “The forward line is making football look harder than it needs to be right now. Work needs to be done to help Everton become more effective in attack and outside help may offer a solution.
“Another solution would be to alter Everton’s approach. They needed to be resilient at the back against the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and City but it is against the rest of the league where they have to show more ambition.
“That is what is so frustrating to supporters. The football is negative and cautious – wide players are being asked to concentrate on the defensive side of their game and that is leaving the striker isolated in Dyche’s 4-5-1.
“Armando Broja got his first real experience of that against Forest but it is a problem Dominic Calvert-Lewin has had for some time. You could have the best strikers in the world up there – Erling Haaland now, or the Brazilian Ronaldo in his day, and they would still struggle without having players up and around them.”
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A recognised striker hasn’t scored a goal for the Toffees since Beto netted a late equaliser against Fulham in October, nine games ago.
This just proves the issues that the Toffees are facing and ultimately the blame has to lie at Dyche’s door for his tactical approach.
Despite having attacking midfield options like Abdoulaye Doucoure, Iliman Ndiaye and Dwight McNeil, the ex-Burnley boss has a main focus on defending.
This almost always leaves the number nine in his side isolated while also having a lack of chances which also results in a lack of goals.
This would even leave the likes of Haaland or Ronaldo frustrated which says a lot about the negative football that the Goodison faithful are being subjected to at times this season.
There is no doubt that there are positive attacking options available to Dyche but there appears to be a lack of trust to allow these players to win games rather than relying on defending for 90 minutes every week.
In other Everton news, a BBC pundit slams Neal Maupay after his social media jibe.
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