Chris Sutton shares relegation verdict as Everton shot to pieces
Chris Sutton believes that the Everton attacking line is “shot to pieces” despite the arrival of Armando Broja in the summer.
The Toffees are 16th in the Premier League and have struggled with getting the ball into the back of the net since the start of the 2024/25 campaign.
Each of Broja, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Beto are all to blame for that with the trio only scoring three goals between them this season – albeit the former has been sidelined for most of the campaign.
Speaking on the BBC’s Football Daily Podcast in quotes relayed by the BBC Sport website (7 January), Sutton and Everton legend Leon Osman shared their thoughts on the Toffees’ season thus far.
“He’s [Dyche] thinking about the best way to keep Everton in the Premier League, they’re not going to become gung-ho and free-flowing,” Sutton said.
“He knows they are a team in forward areas that are just shot to pieces – when you’re a striker and you hesitate, which is what the Everton strikers look like and they’re on the back foot.
“Broja is trying to get up to speed but there’s an expectation that he has to score goals quickly – it’s been the story of Everton’s season.
“It’s not going to be easy to change and get out of. Dyche is going into games hoping the team score rather than actually knowing they will score – there’s a massive difference with that”.
Later in the podcast, the topic of relegation was shared with Osman saying the following: “You have to give him [Sean Dyche] full credit for the last two years but I didn’t expect us to be wrestling with relegation again this season.
“Trying to keep clean sheets has come at the detriment of scoring goals. If Everton had a top-quality striker who converted every chance then they would be fine because they are still creating chances.
“Dominic Calvert-Lewin is making the runs and leading the line but it has been highlighted through Dwight McNeil’s injury absence that he is their one creative player”.
Everton are on the cusp of Premier League relegation once again
Last season was arguably one of the toughest campaigns in the Toffees’ history, the Merseyside outfit received two point deductions due to two separate breaches of the Premier League’s PSR rules and they did a wonderful job in safely staving off relegation.
However, against all odds, Dyche managed to pull his team out of the battle and retained their Premier League status once again.
Now, as Everton currently finds themselves just one point adrift of the bottom three spots, there has been some speculation about where the future of the 53-year-old lies.
Just yesterday, it seemed like Graham Potter could be the man to come in and take over the Merseyside outfit but after the latest developments on Wednesday (8 January), it seems that the former Chelsea boss is set to take the reins at West Ham United.
While Potter would have been an interesting appointment, now that he’s not part of the picture anymore, it feels like The Friedkin Group should give Dyche a couple more weeks or until a manager of Potter’s calibre becomes available for them to swoop up.
In other Everton news, Kevin Thelwell’s stance on the potential arrival of Jaden Philogene has been shared.
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