If Lampard wants to keep his job he must forget about fantasy football and make Everton the Dogs of War 2022 edition STAN COLLYMORE
FRANK LAMPARD needs to turn Everton into Dogs of War – if not, he’ll be heading out to the World Cup as a pundit.
There’s a pretty stark choice facing the Toffees chief after yet more misery out in the States this week.
Being on the end of a four-goal pasting from average MLS side Minnesota United wouldn’t usually be a cause for concern.
Last week, it wasn’t a problem for Liverpool to lose to Manchester United by the same score.
Implosion
But the Reds are in a different place. They didn’t survive by the skin of their teeth in the Premier League and then sell their top goalscorer.
Even without that hiccup, there’s a huge possibility that Lampard will win this season’s sack race – and that could signal an implosion.
If Everton are in and around the relegation zone again, the owners will be under enormous pressure to wield the axe.
The World Cup, in November, is the obvious time to do it, giving the decision-makers at Goodison Park a month to sort out their latest mess.
So how does Lampard keep himself in a job?
If he is to make any sense of the carnage currently going on all around him, the former Chelsea boss needs to ditch any ideas about playing fantasy football.
He needs to milk the emotion of last season and start this campaign harnessing what they had – be ugly, be aggressive.
Even with Richarlison, Everton weren’t playing teams off the park.
They do have a few better-thanaverage players, but they aren’t going to pop it around with carefree abandon.
They have to find another way. They have a big physical profile, they are also difficult to beat at Goodison Park.
They need to go back to strikers holding the ball up and playing the ball into channels, putting crosses into the box. Sometimes, you have to go back to basics.
Dominic Calvertlewin is a strong lad. Get it into him, get runners off him.
There are big centrebacks in Yerry Mina and James Tarkowski and a decent keeper in Jordan Pickford. Those are decent building blocks.
In the past couple of seasons, I’ve witnessed both Manchester City and
Liverpool being troubled by teams putting the ball in behind their defenders.
Both teams like to defend high. So, why not try it?
Everton got the best out of Calvert-lewin when they did exactly that. Now, it’s so much about technical play.
Horrible
Lampard needs to start this campaign harnessing what they had – be ugly, be aggressive
Every coach wants to ‘play through the lines’.
It’s modern bulls**t that everyone trots out. There’s nothing wrong, absolutely nothing, about Everton being Dogs of War – 2022 edition.
The club need to find trusted lieutenants, those capable of doing the horrible stuff.
On the pitch, it’s not going to be pretty – but the scoreline might be.
Lampard knows the game. He knows it’s more than just about the
Premier League. He’s been on loan at Swansea, started at West Ham.
It hasn’t always been sweetness and light.
His uncle Harry Redknapp can break it down for him if he wants.
But if he thinks what happened last season has bought him time, he needs to think again.
Progressive
If he thinks an easy-on-the-eye progressive style is the way forward, he’s going to come a cropper.
There is obvious potential for him to win the sack race.
Mark my words, they’ll be reaching for the axe in November if it all heads south again.
Then, he’ll be swapping the hot-seat at Goodison Park for a comfy settee in Qatar, working for the BBC.
And Everton will be circling the plughole again – and this time they might not be so lucky.