Time For Moyes To Mix It Up
Five things David Moyes should consider before the season is out.
By Patric Ridge
It has been clear for a while, but Everton are now mathematically safe.
David Moyes has urged a cautious approach, but an opportunity has now arisen for the Everton boss to cast an eye to next season.
Here, we look at a few ways Moyes could change it up.
MOVE JAKE O’BRIEN TO CENTRE-BACK
An untimely — and rare — injury to James Tarkowski is far from ideal. Despite struggling for form earlier in the campaign, Tarkowski has remained a bedrock of the side all season, and when he went off against Manchester City on Saturday, Everton’s defence crumbled.
A fair part of that was down to the decision to replace Tarkowski with Michael Keane, who has proven beyond all doubt that he is simply not cut out for it anymore.
An inability to look past Keane, or see the flaws in his game, was one of Sean Dyche’s big failings, and Moyes must avoid the same mistake.
Moyes did hint after the Man City defeat that he had learned a lesson when it came to his defensive structure minus one of Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite or Jordan Pickford, and with Keane set to leave at the expiration of his contract in June, then there is no valid reason to play him.
Jake O’Brien has been a huge success story under Moyes, coming in from the cold to play at right-back. But he is a centre-back by trade, and Everton’s manager has said previously that is the position he sees the Irishman playing down the line.
If Tarkowski is to be out for the next couple of matches, or even the rest of the season, then Keane is not the answer, and it is the perfect chance to deploy O’Brien in his natural position.
Branthwaite’s future is not clear — Everton are likely to demand a high fee, but there is a possibility he goes in the summer, and Moyes has to use the final few weeks of the season to get O’Brien some minutes in the centre.
This would also move nicely onto the next step…
GIVE NATHAN PATTERSON A RUN
It has been a miserable season for Nathan Patterson.
The Scotland international has featured just eight times in the league, for a grand total of 197 minutes. His only start came out of position at left-back, and he performed relatively well in the role, against Arsenal on April 5.
As has often been the case with Patterson, injuries have not helped his cause, but it is now a clear trend over his Everton career — managers simply do not seem to trust him. The one that did, Frank Lampard, seemed to be onto something in the first couple of months of the 2022-23 season, but then an injury on international duty stemmed Patterson’s progress then, too.
At 23, Patterson is at an age where he needs to be playing regularly. This writer can’t help but look back to January 2022, when Everton paid a reported £12million to Rangers, and ask, ‘Just what were they thinking?’.
That is not even with the benefit of hindsight. Patterson had such limited experience, yet Everton thought it prudent to splash a huge portion of their budget on a full-back who would need time to develop.
Now, though, there isn’t really a case not to at least see if Patterson can show he has a future on Merseyside.
Moyes will learn nothing new about 39-year-old Ashley Young, or club captain Seamus Coleman — the latter seems to be being saved for the final matches, or even match, at Goodison Park.
So, Moyes should use this time to gauge Patterson in his natural position.
Unlike Dyche, Moyes is not afraid for at least one of his full-backs to bomb forward and provide an option in attack. This has tended to be Vitalii Mykolenko’s role, but in theory, Patterson would fit this mould nicely.
It is stick or twist time for Patterson and Everton. The summer, in this writer’s opinion, is a good chance to cash in and move on, but Moyes needs to at least give the kid a chance.
START CARLOS ALCARAZ
It is perfectly understandable — and sensible — for Everton not to activate the obligation in Carlos Alcaraz’s contract if Moyes is not 100% certain the Argentine is what is required moving forward.
Nine Premier League starts would activate a reported £15m buy clause, and Alcaraz would be an Everton player.
However, with just five games remaining, Alcaraz could start all but one of those fixtures and Everton would still have room to negotiate with Flamengo should they wish to keep the 22-year-old.
Alcaraz started strongly, assisting and then scoring the winner on his full league debut against Crystal Palace in February, but he has not registered a goal contribution since, although he was heavily involved in O’Brien’s last-gasp equaliser against West Ham in March.
His numbers are by no means bad, though. He averages 4.44 shot-creating actions per 90, which ranks behind only Dwight McNeil (4.75) in Everton’s squad.
And this is with only two starts in what you would call his natural position as a number 10, came against Brentford at the end of February. His other two starts have seen him play on the left, against West Ham and Liverpool respectively.
Alcaraz is not a winger, and has often looked lost in the role, though when given the freedom to get on the ball on the counter, has nevertheless looked dangerous. There is a lot to like about him, but he needs a shot at establishing himself in the team.
Moyes also has to be smart here. As it stands, Abdoulaye Doucoure has not been offered fresh terms and will be leaving on a free transfer at the end of the season.
While Everton would be sensible to at least see if Doucoure is willing to accept a new deal on a lower salary, they also need to stop being so reliant on a 32-year-old who is often limited and erratic in possession.
Home matches against Ipswich Town and Southampton, and at least one of the remaining three away games, should be used to give Alcaraz a go from the off.
TIME FOR NDIAYE TO PLAY CENTRALLY
At the risk of contradicting what I’ve just written above, could Moyes also use these final matches to deploy Iliman Ndiaye in what is probably his preferred position, down the middle?
While not a natural playmaker, Ndiaye’s creativity comes from his wonderful ball-carrying ability, and that is something Everton badly lack in the centre of the park, though Alcaraz has that skill in his locker, too.
Ndiaye’s dribbling is top tier. The Senegal international unsurprisingly leads Everton’s squad for attempted take-ons (132) and successful take-ons (61). To put that into perspective, no other Toffees player has completed more than 23 take-ons, while only Dominic Calvert-Lewin (82) has registered more touches in the opposition’s area than Ndiaye’s 74.
It might not have to be from the start, but surely there could be scope in some of these matches for Ndiaye to occupy the spot behind the striker, and perhaps be flanked by Jack Harrison and the fit-again McNeil, whose set-piece prowess has been badly missed.
Ndiaye has registered 58 shot-creating actions this season, second only to McNeil (61), and also offers plenty defensively. He has won a respectable 25 of his 47 tackles, and never shies away from tracking back.
It is certainly worth considering.
CHERMITI TO GET A GO
In truth, Youssef Chermiti was a strange signing.
Yes, Everton were able to spend little to no money on him up front, but he will still eat into around £15m of the club’s budget over the length of his contract, without counting wages.
He has started just one Premier League game in his two years at the club, although he has shown flashes of quality in the minutes he has played.
This season has been one derailed by injuries, so it is hard to fully judge where he is at. However, he did turn in a great cameo against West Ham in March, but has been used fleetingly since then and was not even in the matchday squad last weekend.
Chermiti was due to go out on loan this season, so he has missed pretty much an entire campaign of his development. But Everton may need between two and three centre-forwards next season, so Moyes has to use this time wisely.
He has used the last couple of matches to look at Armando Broja — it seems clear to this writer that Moyes wants to see if Broja is worth a punt again on loan, or a very cheap deal, next season.
But Broja cannot play against his parent club Chelsea, and with Calvert-Lewin still out injured, Chermiti should at least get a chance to feature off the bench, with Beto likely to start.
These final five matches are an opportunity for Moyes to give Chermiti some minutes and to see what is required for the summer.
A loan, to make up for lost time this year? Or could he be good enough for the squad, as a back-up forward? Or, do Everton make themselves open for a deal as they look to freshen things up?
There is plenty for Moyes to ponder in the coming weeks, and as good a job as he has done, this is a chance to show he is looking forward.
That does not mean Everton can treat these matches lightly, of course. There is still prize money to be won — the difference between finishing 13th and 16th is around £10m, and that extra cash could prove vital in the Toffees’ recruitment plans over the summer.
But the above suggestions have more merit than just giving youngsters or fringe players a go — they also, at least on the face of it, could provide solutions to some pretty obvious problems Everton still have to address.
Over to you, Dave.
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