Has Sam been lumbered with another misfit?
HOW could I? Sam Allardyce scrunched up his face as he posed the question, having just been asked why Cenk Tosun had remained on the bench.
Surely the circumstances were right: 80 minutes gone, a three-goal lead over Crystal Palace and, for once, a game in relatively safe-keeping. But rather than giving last month’s £ 27million signing a chance to stretch his legs and boost his confidence, Everton’s manager sent on Morgan Schneiderlin.
The level of booing that greeted Allardyce’s decision was remarkable and even he had admitted to being surprised. Schneiderlin’s insipid efforts this season mean he is anything but a crowd favourite and the hope at Goodison Park was that they would be given a glimpse of Tosun.
‘We had two players injured in the first half then another injury (to Idrissa Gueye) so we had to put Morgan on,’ Allardyce said. ‘Had we not had injuries we’d have put attacking players on, particularly when 3-0 up. But injuries made it impossible for me to consider.’
His explanation was fair. It does not stop Tosun being an issue for Everton, however. He arrived from Besiktas on January 5 and left behind a Champions League campaign, but he has made three appearances, amounting to 143 minutes. He is yet to have a shot on target.
Those who have watched him in training say his finishing is exemplary but that is a world away from the Premier League. The Turkey international was brought in to be Everton’s main striker but he isn’t even a support act at present.
Now the locals are beginning to fear that Tosun will turn out to be like a number of the expensive, underwhelming purchases that have been made on the watch of Steve Walsh, the under-pressure director of football.
To listen to Allardyce, it was impossible not to conclude that concerns lurk behind the scenes.
‘He is struggling with the pace,’ he said. ‘That happens to more players than it doesn’t when they come in in January. There are more who struggle than succeed.
‘As time goes on and the more we get closer to our safety the more we can release and see what he’s got. There is no doubting his goalscoring ability but you have to have the capabilities to get in those positions to score, and that is the hard bit.
‘We have to try to be patient as the team are winning without him.’
His reference to ‘winning’ would suggest Everton are in a groove but the reality is different. They took advantage of Palace’s defensive lapses, but although goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson, Oumar Niasse and Tom Davies were welcome, it was hardly a joyous affair.
Everton won for just the second time in 10 games but had Christian Benteke been sharper with his finishing, the outcome might have been different. With Wilfried Zaha sidelined for a month, Palace’s record signing must improve his figures of two goals in 19 Premier League matches.
‘We have to keep battling away,’ said Roy Hodgson, the Palace boss. ‘He has to try to make certain that if the goals aren’t coming, he is doing something else to help the team get results and points. He just needs that ball to drop for him.’