Dismal Everton laid bare again
NO MANAGER, NO PASSION ... AND NO FANS!
THE scoreline was embarrassing, but it wasn’t even the worst thing about last night. Nothing was riding on the result.
What really mattered was this bewildering situation. The flagging spirits, the inertia and the plight of a proud club that appears to be drifting like a ship without a rudder, lurching further and further off course and into the teeth of a storm.
Everton sacked Ronald Koeman 32 days ago and their failure to appoint a permanent successor is really beginning to tell.
Farhad Moshiri, the club’s major shareholder, will be accused of gross negligence if his mind has not been focused by this situation.
For the record, Everton were thrashed by Atalanta.
There is nothing shocking about that statement because they have been beaten with ease most weeks.
This was the eleventh defeat in their last 17 matches, the 12th consecutive fixture in which they have failed to keep a clean sheet. No blame can be handed to David Unsworth, the caretaker manager, for a mess left behind by significant others. But he is not being helped by Moshiri’s lack of decisiveness and if it continues Everton’s plight will become all the more perilous.
If ever a scene reflected the current mood of a club this was it. Goodison Park was empty, rafts and rafts of blue seats indicated how switched off the fan base has become.
That Atalanta were the opposition was, in some ways, fitting. It was in September, when the Italians stripped Everton bare — 3-0 defeat in the opening Group E game left the alarm bells clanging about the situation that was threatening to unfold.
Everton have not recovered from that chastening evening. Unsworth may have urged the squad to restore some pride and provide some encouragement to those who had ventured out on a filthy evening. It was also a chance for those who have struggled for confidence to lift themselves from the doldrums.
But what did he get? Nothing. Just the same dross on a different day. No matter how many times Unsworth throws the squad names up in the air, no matter how many ways he tinkers with the line-up, the lack of pace and belief continues to betray them.
Don’t be fooled that Atalanta are an emerging force in Serie A. They are 12th, a group of inconsistent journeymen, but their athleticism and determination were too much for Everton to handle.
Within 12 minutes, they had the lead. It was well executed, Timothy Castagne scuttling down the right flank and jinking away from Cuco Martina before crossing into the centre. Ashley Williams tried to clear but he only found Bryan Cristante, who thumped his finish beyond Joel Robles.
A closer examination of the move, however, magnified many faults.
What has happened to Michael Keane? He was hoodwinked far too easily by the marauding Castagne. Where was the desire to throw a body in the way? The midfield simply let him drift into a position to inflict damage.
There was no booing, no murmuring. Just acceptance. Everton had some chances before the interval and could have gone in with parity.
Sandro Ramirez had the best chance before the interval, horribly slicing over the bar after good work by Kevin Mirallas, while Tom Davies saw a left-footed volley headed off the line by Rafael Toloi.
After the break, it could have been even worse as Alejandro Gomez saw a penalty saved by Robles after Cristante was chopped down by Williams.
Cristante deservedly doubled Atalanta’s advantage in the 64th minute, sneaking in between Williams and Davies to glance a header into the Park End net, before Sandro drilled in his first goal since his £5million arrival from Malaga. Scant consolation.
Everton did what Everton do and collapsed in the dying moments, allowing substitutes Robin Gosens and Andreas Cornelius to score in the 86th and 88th minutes. Cornelius added a fifth in stoppage time.
It was an embarrassment to a club that prides itself on fighting. Yet the fight is no longer there and the onus,