Sean Dyche repeats Howard Kendall trick as Everton pair get rude awakening

Sean Dyche repeats Howard Kendall trick as Everton pair get rude awakening

Chris Beesley analysis of Everton's 1-1 Premier League draw with Fulham at Goodison Park

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Marco Silva might never have tried it when he had Michael Keane as Everton manager. But while the Fulham boss bemoaned the late tactic to push a centre-half up front, the move was a real Blues throwback to yesteryear.

Back in the 1970s, it used to be Big Mick Lyons who would often venture forward and even Everton’s greatest-ever side in the 1980s would deploy the strategy when required as Howard Kendall would give Derek Mountfield the nod, and now it was ‘Big Mick’ Keane.

Michael Keane’s finishing ability has long been recognised and, after netting his second goal of the season with an outrageous left-foot finish at Ipswich Town, his potential ability to play up front again came to the fore. However, he remained modest about his credentials, remarking: “In terms of being a striker myself, not really, no. It sounds good and I feel like I’d enjoy it, but in reality I’m not sure I could do that role.

“It’s a really hard role to play and putting chances away is only one part of it. You look at all the work Dom (Dominic Calvert-Lewin) does, there’s no way I could do that.”

Well, like in politics, a week can be a long time in football, and for short bursts at least, Sean Dyche had enough faith to send his defender forwards.

The 4-4-2 formation was Dyche's default setting for the best part of his near decade in charge at Burnley but he’s only used it sparingly as Blues boss.

When Everton have gone that way, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Beto have looked laboured together. Perhaps it was just the wrong combination as Keane and Beto has already borne fruit.

Muddle in the middle

Talking of swift changes, having looked perfectly-balanced in the engine room against Ipswich Town, the Idrissa Gueye-Abdoulaye Doucoure partnership that had dovetailed so effectively at Portman Road, received a rude awakening here against Fulham’s pass masters.

A big part of the success in Suffolk was based around Gueye putting a shift in and he finished joint top among his Premier League peers over the weekend with nine ball recoveries, double his seasonal average.

That might be enough to get the better of one of the division’s new boys but in recent years, Fulham under Silva, have matured into an altogether more accomplished outfit. It was artisans against artists here and Everton needed more than huffing and puffing to get by in the engine room against a different level of opponent than seven days earlier.

The visitors’ goal was a case in point as a purposeful runner with a dash of quality like Emile Smith Rowe was able to cut his way through the Blues’ midfield like a knife through butter.

For all that large elements of this team still pick themselves, striking the right balance in the centre of the park remains one of those areas which remains up for debate.

Brushed off

Another fluctuation in fortunes came for Dwight McNeil, whose delightful turn in the Ipswich penalty area and weighted pass to Keane picked out the defender for Everton’s second goal at Portman Road. There were precious few strokes of quality from the left foot wand dubbed ‘the paintbrush’ on this occasion, though.

Dyche remains eager to deploy the Rochdale-born player, who has spent most of his career on the wing, in a central number 10 role and, with Iliman Ndiaye’s prowess on the left flank, it remains an experiment that could continue for a while longer yet. But this was a tough day at the office for Everton’s number seven.

He did get on the end of one decent chance, late in the first half, when a Vitalii Mykolenko cross came his way, however, his header was too close to Bernd Leno.

Like team-mates Ashley Young and Gueye, McNeil didn’t cover himself in glory in the build up to Fulham’s goal but he always works hard for the cause and this team is weaker without him.

Therefore, it was concerning to see McNeil forced out of the action late on through injury as – like Ndiaye – his presence in the side always offers a creative breakthrough.

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