ROO CAN’T DO IT ALL ALONE

ON the face of it, Everton seemed to smash the summer transfer window. Early business, plenty of it and plumb signings in returning hero Wayne Rooney (above), then Gylfi Sigurdsson, just before the window shut, had Evertonians buzzing. Owner Farhad Moshiri sanctioned a £130million outlay and the mood at Goodison on the eve of the season was optimistic. But Ronald Koeman’s biggest problem was how to replace goals scored for fun by Romelu Lukaku. His £75m departure to Manchester United and its timing gave Koeman time to find a replacement. He didn’t come close. And, in the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia, Koeman’s powder-puff attack was crying out for the kind of aggressive presence Lukaku once gave them. For, while a worrying defeat by Atalanta – Everton’s third straight loss – will rightly be highlighted as a defensive disaster for Koeman, the back line can’t shoulder all the blame. Defending starts from the front. And, while there are mitigating circumstances for both frontmen Dominic Calvert-lewin, a youngster learning his trade, and new Croatian attacker Nikola Vlasic, playing only his second game for the club, Koeman must take a look at his own role. Rooney may have been leading goalscorer for United and England, but it’s wrong to expect him to be a miracle man at this stage of his career. For a while, in his pomp, Rooney (above) propped up United. But asking him to have that kind of influence on an Everton side inferior to his former teams is a step too far. He would have thrived if Koeman had spent the Lukaku cash on a real top-quality striker. Olivier Giroud, we know, was a target. That didn’t happen and, instead, the Dutch boss spent £15m on Sandro Ramirez and Vlasic. With no goals in their last three games and eight against, it doesn’t look such a great window. Roll on January.