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Everton were comfortably beaten by Wolves on Saturday in a truly shambolic showing from the Toffees, and one statistical trend shows Marco Silva may not have what it takes to turn it all around.
On the chalkboard
Everton fans were delighted when Silva arrived this summer, as after months of watching turgid football with no chances at either end of the pitch, they suddenly had a young manager eager to excite the fans with attacking football.
The boss hasn’t quite delivered on that promise yet though, despite the occasional glimpse of quality play.
What’s worse is his team have completely capitulated at the other end of the pitch, and not for the first time in his career.
Raul Jimenez’s header to put Wolves 2-1 up on Saturday was not only the easiest goal the Mexican international will ever score, it was also the 11th set piece goal Everton have conceded this season, the most in the league, and that continues a very worrying trend.
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A worrying trend
Silva’s defensive deficiencies were the subject of much conversation in the summer, as plenty of pundits and fans felt hiring a manager who has yet to show he can organise a back four was a huge risk.
Those concerns have proved well and truly justified, and the underlying stats behind Silva’s set piece troubles beg the question if he even knows how to fix his mistakes.
Aforementioned, Everton are leading the way in set piece goals conceded this season, tied with West Ham on 11, but Whoscored’s stats show both of Silva’s last two English clubs suffered from the exact same problem.
Watford were second in the league for set piece goals conceded last season, letting 17 in, and Hull City led the way in the 2016-17 season, conceding a frankly ridiculous 21 goals from set plays.
It should be noted that Silva was only in charge for half of the respective seasons with Watford and Hull, but this must still be a huge worry for the Everton hierarchy.
Plenty of teams go through phases of struggling to defend set pieces, even Sean Dyche’s extremely physical Burnley side, but three consecutive years of the exact same problem suggests Silva has absolutely no clue how to cure the plague spreading through his ranks.
So, Everton fans, can Silva turn it around? Are you Silva in or Silva out? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
