Journalist Tony Scott has insisted on the All Together Now podcast that Seamus Coleman is finished as a player at Everton.
The Lowdown: Everton need a squad overhaul
It’s not just the sheer number of managers that Toffees owner Farhad Moshiri has seen in and out of the door during his time at the club, but also the raft of players that have been lingering around Goodison Park for so long.
Players such as Coleman, Jordan Pickford, Yerry Mina, Michael Keane, Mason Holgate and Tom Davies have all been in and around the first team for a long period of time, and that’s coincided with the Toffees’ steady decline down the league table.
Therefore, it would have made sense last month for Everton to recruit at least one or two new faces to ensure Sean Dyche could phase out some of the old guard and players that have overseen the team’s decline.
The Latest: Coleman’s time is up
Scott ripped into Coleman after his Merseyside derby display and believes that the 34-year-old should no longer be starting for Everton given his age and lack of pace.
He said: “We’ll speak about Seamus Coleman. Lad, brilliant servant to Everton [but] here we go again, rewind these podcasts back from the last three years – he shouldn’t be in the team.
“It’s not his fault, he’s done. He should be playing 10 games a season, he should be cover. But again, he was just getting ripped apart yesterday [Monday] when young lads were flying past him. He couldn’t even foul them on the halfway line, he was that far behind them.”
The Verdict: The squad needs freshening up
The fact that Everton are embroiled in their second successive relegation battle shows how desperate their squad is for investment, and while they splashed out over £50m last summer, that was largely funded by the sale of Richarlison.
Therefore, Moshiri is yet to dip into his own pockets this season, so he can have no complaints if the Toffees end up being relegated and the value of the club drops like a stone, as it’s been under his watch and down to his failings.
Since the start of last season, Coleman has started 41 games in the Premier League alone, which is simply unacceptable for someone of his age, and is a sign of a club that is resting on its laurels and looking to do the bare minimum just to survive.
However, the performances of more recent times shouldn’t detract from how good and reliable Coleman has been for Everton, racking up 400 appearances for the Toffees and just last year was still being tipped to play a role for the Republic of Ireland due to him having an ‘enormous amount to contribute‘.
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