Romelu Lukaku's Champions League comments highlight problems at Everton
Saturday 2 April 2016 18:06, UK
With Romelu Lukaku eyeing a move to a Champions League club, Roberto Martinez and underachieving Everton have problems...
Lukaku has made plenty of headlines this season. But his well-publicised quotes about wanting to play in the Champions League next season won't have pleased Everton boss Martinez during the international break.
Lukaku is unlikely to feature in Europe's elite club competition with Everton any time soon. Martinez's side are down in the bottom half of the Premier League table, 13 points off fourth.
A late-season surge towards European qualification doesn't seem to be on the cards, either - they've managed just four wins in their last 16 league games.
That points towards a Lukaku exit from Goodison, which would be a painful blow to the club.
With a run to the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup under their belt and a final-four clash in the FA Cup to come, the season has been far from a failure.
But Everton's worrying league form raises questions over whether the squad and Martinez should be doing better, given the talent they have at their disposal.
"In the league they're underachieving," says former Everton striker Tony Cottee. "They should be where West Ham and Manchester United are, looking to push into the top four.
"For Everton to finish in the bottom half of the Premier League - especially when it has been such an open division this season, with all of the big guns misfiring - would be more than disappointing.
You can't keep saying 'oh well, we'll get it right next year'. They need to start getting it right now.
"It's a serious problem. You can't keep saying 'oh well, we'll get it right next year'. They need to start getting it right now."
It's a view held by current players, too. At the start of 2016, ahead of a 1-1 draw with Tottenham, Lukaku said: "We shouldn't be in this situation. As a team we know we should be higher but at the moment it's not going the way we want."
Three months on and 12th-placed Everton are actually one spot lower in the league than they were then, albeit with game in hand on the two teams immediately above them.
So what's going wrong?
Goal-scoring certainly isn't the problem. Only three Premier League teams have found the net more often and, in Lukaku, Everton have the third-top scorer in the division.
It's at the other end where the problems lie. Only five teams have conceded more than Everton this term - and nowhere have their defensive problems been more apparent than at Goodison Park. Everton have conceded more goals at home than any other Premier League team.
This has led to one of the worst home records in the division. Everton have won just four out of their 16 fixtures in front of their own fans, and only Crystal Palace (14) and Aston Villa (10) have taken fewer than the 16 points Martinez's men have managed at home.
In short, Everton's defensive problems are detracting from their good work in attack. They've dropped 14 points from winning positions this season - more than enough to place them in the Champions League spots.
"This group of very talented players have got to find a way of keeping more clean sheets and give themselves a chance to win more games," said Cottee.
"I wouldn't say they're a long way off. With Lukaku, Ross Barkley and John Stones, the spine of the team is very strong. But defensively they've been vulnerable, particularly at Goodison, where they've conceded far too many.
"They will need to add to their squad defensively in the summer. They'll need a goalkeeper, with Tim Howard leaving, maybe another centre-back to bolster that position and perhaps another holding midfielder.
"Obviously something's not quite working because of the number of goals they've conceded."
Cottee says Martinez must find a way to balance Everton's attacking play with a need to tighten up at the back. However, he concedes it may not be easy for the forward-thinking Spaniard to mute his attacking instincts.
"I've followed Martinez's career closely and I think he did an excellent job when he was at Wigan. Going forward they were fantastic - but they were always vulnerable defensively," said Cottee.
"It's hard to say from the outside because I don't know how much time he spends working on the defence, but it's something he needs to look at. We all love free-flowing football, but you have to get it right at the back.
"Martinez needs to look at himself as a manager and also his team to see how he can correct that. He can only do so much himself - the players need to step up, too. But if you keep conceding poor goals it doesn't give you a chance."
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Captain Phil Jagielka has spoken out in defence of his manager previously, saying the players must also share the blame.
But, with new, substantial investment being made in the club, Farhad Moshiri, who has taken a 49.9 per cent stake in the club, will be keen to see improvement soon.
A win at Manchester United on Super Sunday would help. But Everton must address their underachievement throughout the remainder of the season - or Lukaku won't be the only player considering whether his future ambitions can be fulfilled at the club.
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