Everton supporters have been drowning their sorrows in the Transfer Tavern this week after seeing the Toffees lose 5-2 at home to Arsenal on Sunday, a result which plunged the Merseyside club into the bottom three, and brought about the end of manager Ronald Koeman.
The Dutchman took over at Goodison Park back in the summer of 2016 after impressing at Southampton, and led the side to a seventh place finish in the Premier League last season, eventually ending up just nine points adrift of sixth place Manchester United. And expectations were high around the club after a summer which saw them spend over £100 million on new players, but things just haven’t worked for the Toffees so far this season, and Koeman has subsequently paid for that with his job following his confirmed departure on Monday.
And it all came about following a 5-2 loss to Arsene Wenger’s Gunners at the weekend, a game in which the hosts took the lead through Wayne Rooney, but were completely swept aside after that with strikes from Nacho Monreal, Mesut Ozil, Alexandre Lacazette, and Aaron Ramsey giving Arsenal a 4-1 lead, only for Oumar Niasse to pull one back late on, before Alexis Sanchez made it five in the last minute.
And that defeat seriously frustrated and angered several of our resident Evertonians, as their side fell into the bottom three in the Premier League having picked up just eight points from their opening nine matches.
And following Koeman’s departure, here are the THREE games that ultimately cost the Dutchman his job at Everton…
Everton 0-3 Tottenham
Much was made about Everton’s tricky start to the season, what with Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United, and Arsenal all to come in their opening nine games.
But their home clash with Mauricio Pochettino’s side on September 9 was their first against any of the top six at Goodison Park, and as such gave them a good chance to really prove their credentials.
But they didn’t turn up.
Yes, Tottenham were very good and Harry Kane in particular was outstanding, but Koeman’s side showed little going forward and were ineffective when they did, while conceding three goals at home against any side suggests that they could have had a better day at the back.
Although they had already drawn at City and lost at Chelsea, this was the biggest indicator of the lot that the Toffees were still some way short of the top six, and had arguably gone backwards since the end of last season.
Everton 0-1 Burnley
Everton faced Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Manchester United in their opening five games, and much was made about how they would get on against the so-called lesser sides in the weeks that followed.
And although they edged past Bournemouth the week before, the 1-0 home defeat to Burnley was a clear signifier that things weren’t at all well at Goodison Park, with Koeman’s side lacking urgency and desire in the final third.
Sean Dyche’s Clarets deserve credit for their gameplan, but truth be told they weren’t overly tested defensively by the Toffees, who posed very few questions in the second half as they chased an equaliser.
While Koeman could be forgiven for losing against the top six, losing at home to Burnley, regardless of how well they were playing at the time, is simply not good enough, and accelerated Koeman’s demise to his eventual departure.
Everton 2-5 Arsenal
Everton arguably played better against Arsenal than they have done in other games this season, but they still succumbed and that ultimately brought about the end of Koeman.
They took the lead against the run of play, and as soon as the Gunners equalised, it was one-way traffic and the result was inevitable.
The Toffees could do little to contain the likes of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, but lacked any sort of conviction when they did get out, and ultimately were never likely to get anything from the encounter.
And several boos were heard around Goodison Park, even though many had already left, at the full time whistle to all but signal the end for Koeman, who was subsequently sacked 24 hours later.
