Major David Moyes gamble has clearly failed as Everton are exposed vs West Ham
Everton once again failed to pick up a victory as they drew 1-1 with West Ham.
It was a match the Toffees were expected to win. However, they could have easily lost, with the Hammers putting in a superb second-half display.
This now means that Everton have gone the entire month without a win as their early-season form diminishes.
While many Everton players played well against West Ham, it was no doubt two points were dropped against a side that will likely be fighting relegation this season.
However, David Moyes has no one to blame but himself for the result.
Jake O’Brien was poor vs West Ham
One of the most puzzling aspects of the transfer window was Everton’s failure to sign a right-back.
Everton did pursue Kenny Tete, however, the full-back chose to stay at Fulham, with the Toffees unable to sign an alternative.
As a result, Jake O’Brien has been utilised as a right-back during this time despite the defender being a natural centre-half.
Now, this weakness has been exposed, with the Republic of Ireland having a shocking match against West Ham.
- Everton chose not to sign a right-back in the summer
- Instead O’Brien has been used in this position and this continued against West Ham
- However, this went poorly for the defender and Everton
Playing as a right-back, Crysencio Summerville consistently had the beating of O’Brien, which was a big factor in the defeat.
Therefore, it is clear that Moyes’ gamble of not signing another right-back is not going to pay off.
O’Brien is clearly not able to play as a right-back at the level required, with Summerville not exactly one of the best wingers in the league.
Therefore, the Scotsman has to sign a new right-back in January to finally solve this issue once and for all.
How bad was O’Brien vs West Ham?
According to Sofascore on 29 September, O’Brien heavily struggled against West Ham.
The defender lost half of his duels and failed to see a single cross hit an Everton man.
While O’Brien has proved to be reliable in the past for the Toffees, it is clearly time to end this experiment.
With Crystal Palace up next weekend, Moyes should consider bringing Nathan Patterson back into the team.
As a natural right-back, the Scotsman may perform better than O’Brien.
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