• 7 months ago
A huge month or so for Everton.
Transcript
00:00 Well, on Everton, this running now is absolutely massive for their Premier League survival.
00:06 You've mentioned the fixtures and some winnable games.
00:10 Do you need the players, though, to start stepping up?
00:12 Who do you think could be that man for Everton in the running that makes the huge difference
00:19 and can ultimately keep them in the Premier League?
00:22 Well, for me, I'd really like to see Amadou Oana really, in these final ten games, grab it by the scruff of the neck
00:31 and show everyone how good he is.
00:34 I think Everton fans have seen glimpses of him, how good he can be.
00:37 I mean, you think that first game with Sean Dyson, Charts against Arsenal, he was absolutely immense in that game.
00:43 And he has, you know, he's got a lot of battling qualities, but there's just some matches where you just want him to do that a little bit more,
00:50 to, as you say, dominate in midfield, because there's quite clearly a top player in there.
00:56 And yes, we forget how young he is, but you look at his performance against England the other night,
01:01 he was absolutely superb against an England midfielder that is pretty strong, let's be honest.
01:08 Amadou Oana is, what, 22, and he's shown he's capable.
01:12 But Everton fans want to see it now on a consistent basis.
01:15 You know, if this is a player who is coveted by Arsenal, say, supposedly, and Man Utd and Barcelona,
01:25 then Everton fans want to see this player.
01:27 OK, maybe he will be that, you know, a lot better when he's playing in a better team.
01:34 But, you know, I think it's time for Oana to really come to the fore.
01:41 And I think Abdoulaye Zakaoui, if Everton can get him back to his form he's shown us in the early part of the season,
01:49 because he's had those two hamstring injuries and he just hasn't quite looked himself since he came back,
01:54 probably needs to build that little bit of momentum.
01:58 Maybe the three-week break's helped him do that as well.
02:01 And if Everton can get him firing again, because he was a real potent weapon in the first half of the season,
02:07 his running ability caused plenty of teams problems.
02:11 And if Everton can get him back to doing that, then they've got a real goal-scorer back on the hands again.
02:17 Because we know all of Everton's problems, scoring goals and its movement and its pace brings other players into play.
02:25 And then you've got the likes of Dwight McNeil, maybe he's freed up a little bit more.
02:29 Jack Harrison, Tom McAlbert-Lewd as well, who of course hasn't scored since the end of October.
02:35 So, you're talking what, five months now? So, he needs to maybe do a little bit more.
02:40 Maybe Abdoulaye Tikore hitting his best form will help Tom McAlbert-Lewd in that front.
02:46 You mentioned some players there.
02:49 Do you feel like there's been moments where these players have underwhelmed this season?
02:54 The likes of Tikore Onana, maybe Pickford at times.
02:58 What's your thoughts been from Everton players as a whole?
03:02 I just think it's the attacking players, they just haven't put the ball in the back of their net pretty much.
03:08 Defensively, they've been good. I'd say Pickford's made that mistake for England,
03:13 but I can't really remember him making a mistake for Everton this season, to be honest with you.
03:18 Centre-back have been superb. Right-back's been a little bit of a problem position.
03:23 Nathan Paterson hasn't really had a look in.
03:26 Ashley Young's been maybe shown his age a little bit.
03:30 Maybe played too much, rather than being a squad player.
03:33 Vitaly Mikhalkov's done well on the left.
03:35 But yeah, it's been scoring goals, hasn't it? They start off well enough, Everton.
03:39 But probably fatigue's just set in.
03:41 The lack of rotation, they've been unable to utilise because of the thin squads.
03:48 That's ultimately been a bit of a downfall.

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