If on Saturday Draw at Manchester City brought renewed optimism to Everton supporters, Tuesday’s narrow defeat to Brighton left them facing a heartbreaking second successive battle against relegation – and raised further questions about the future of the manager Frank Lampard.
After falling behind Kaoru Mitoma’s first-half goal at Goodison Park, Everton alarmingly collapsed in the second as the Seagulls scored three goals in the space of just six minutes, with Demarai Gray’s late penalty nothing more than a consolation for the home side.
Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson has told BBC Radio 5 Live that the Toffees now have a ‘very big decision to make’ over the future of Lampard, whose side were booed at half-time and after the final whistle.
Lampard himself said he “understands the reaction of the fans” and vowed to “keep working” as he tries to lead his team away from the bottom three.
But can the 44-year-old survive this latest damaging defeat?
“We have to fight for consistency”
Everton actually started well against Roberto de Zerbi’s side, coming close to breaking the deadlock through Alex Iwobi after just five minutes.
But the Toffees’ confidence appeared to be drained once Mitoma put the visitors ahead with a calm finish, before folding weakly in an astonishing six-minute second-half stretch in which Evan Ferguson, Solly March and Pascal Gross have rubbed salt on Everton’s wounds.
The few boos that greeted the half-time whistle had increased tenfold to full-time, with home fans also chanting “sack the board” towards the directors’ seats.
The defeat – Lampard’s 19th in 36 league appearances in charge of Everton – leaves the Toffees just a point clear of the bottom three after a desperate run of just one win from 10 top-flight matches.
If the results go against them on Wednesday, they’ll slip into the bottom three.
Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Lampard blamed the defeat on “individual errors and collective defensive issues”.
“We’re all in this together, it’s not about anger,” added the Everton boss. “We are all disappointed, we all want to win games.
“I won’t go into what was said in the dressing room afterwards,” Lampard said in a separate interview with BBC Sport. “It’s up to us to do well. Manchester United [in the FA Cup] comes in a few days.
“We have to fight for consistency, that’s for sure.”
“Disarticulated and out of ideas”
Robinson was quick to criticize the Toffees, describing Tuesday’s performance as “embarrassing” and “one of Everton’s worst performances” under Lampard.
“They didn’t have a clear structure or plan. Defensively they were so easy to break. It’s the worst I’ve seen at Everton this season,” he said.
“It leaves them in a world of trouble. Everton have been caught napping in so many areas. They look like a scrappy, out of ideas team.
“Managers have a shelf life. You have to see if you give the manager time or pick a new manager and give him a chance in a transfer window.”
Everton legend Neville Southall, who played 601 times for the club between 1981 and 1998, suggested the blame lies with the club’s hierarchy and players, adding he wants Lampard to stay.
“If the board fires Lampard, it’s another failure on their part,” said the former goalkeeper. “If they support him, give him a chance to buy some quality. Personally, I would prefer him to stay.
“He may be responsible for the players, but at the end of the day they have to play. Personal responsibility is paramount.”
In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live, Matt Jones of the Blue Room podcast described Tuesday’s loss as “the biggest slap we could have”.
“Brighton did everything perfectly, while Everton did absolutely everything wrong,” he said. “A Brighton team that spent very little to beat an Everton team that spent a lot.
“Here we are again at the point of crisis.”
Should Lampard stay or go? Social networks react
Ste, Merseyside: Lampard has been in charge for 12 months. He has no excuses for losing 4-1 at home to Brighton now.
David to Ayr: Frank Lampard has finished at Everton. The team is mediocre but should do much better. This team is going down. No fighting, no flair, no organization. Horrible.
Eilah, London: To the people who say fire Lampard: what will that solve? When you’ve been going down for 10 years, why get rid of the person who’s only been there for 1 year?
UpperGwladysBlue: So many nonsense written about Frank Lampard. Many of the problems he faces at Everton are years ahead of him. He has a net spend eight times lower than David Moyes and West Ham below him! Deserves time to do it right.
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