How to fix Everton (part 3) - attackers
In parts 1 and 2 I looked at the current midfield and tried to find a blend of players that would work in a 4-3-3 system favoured by both Brands and Silva in their career to date.
I stress again these articles aren't about criticising the manager or players but looking for how we might transition to a team that plays that style of football well.
I am going to call this method of putting a squad together attribute based scouting because what is a blog without a grandiose term for common sense?
Forwards
From Marco Silva's time at Olympiakos we can see that a lot of their goals in his record breaking season in charge came from fast breaks using the full width of the pitch.
The attributes we are therefore after in our forward players are pace, quick feet and goalscoring ability. They need to be comfortable enough to start wide and cut inside and should have the awareness to make good goalscoring runs. There probably isn't much point in playing a centre forward if they can't keep up with the quick breaks, or a pacey player if they can't finish a chance.
So let's look at the options from the current squad:
Richarlison - he ticks all the boxes for what we are looking for in an Everton forward now, he is fast, strong, skillful, and can finish with feet or head.
Lookman - we considered him yesterday as an advanced midfielder but longer term I can see him playing further forward. He has the technique and vision to go with his pace.
Bernard - he has the technique and vision we need, reasonably fast too. He has proven ability in a 4-2-3-1 with Shakhtar. I have seen him in a 4-3-3 for Brazil, playing on the right hand side so he can cut in on his left.
Calvert-Lewin - another player I am happy to see around the first team. He has the attributes that would work well in the system, he is strong in the air and has pace. His finishing, whilst not hugely reliable, is decent enough for now.
Theo Walcott - this time last year we were welcoming the arrival of Walcott. I said at the time it was a good short term deal but a poor long term deal. I stand by that, he has the attributes we need in a 4-3-3, and is right sided which helps but I think pace reliant 30 year olds aren't good business and we have another 2.5 years on the contract when he should be phased out.
Cenk Tosun - doesn't have the pace for the system, nor the all round game. Always a strange signing to bring in a 27 year old from a dominant team in a weak league. He isn't a bad player just another example of what can go wrong when clubs don't plan properly.
Sandro Ramirez - the forgotten man at Everton, he has played well in a 4-3-3 before, both in his good season at Malaga and in Barcelona. Seems to have lost his confidence altogether but I don't write him off completely.
Kevin Mirallas - the other forgotten man at Everton. Under contract for another 18 more months. Might be best for all parties if he moved on, seems to be doing OK at Fiorentina.
Yannick Bolasie - the other, other, forgotten man at Everton. Ah the summer of 2016 when Everton decided £25m for a 28 year old winger with a 1 in 10 scoring record was a good move. Wouldn't work in a 4-3-3 as he simply doesn't offer goals. Decent enough as a winger in a 4-4-2 though and Villa fans have been very positive about him in recent months.
Henry Onyekuru - the other, other, other, forgotten man at Everton. Promising player, did very well in Belgium and has shown flashes for Galatasary and Nigeria. His amount of game involvement (touches, build up play) is very low, another case of the need to improve our choice of loan club as I'm not sure the Turkish league offers much development.
Oumar Niasse -the other, other, other, other forgotten man at Everton. So forgotten I forgot to include him in this article. Thrives on chaos but can't see a way he fits in to a functioning attack. Remains one of the strangest signings in this clubs history.
With 11 forwards plus some promising youngsters on the books I don't think we should prioritise the signing of another forward until at least 4 of the above (Mirallas, Bolasie, Sandro, Tosun) are off the books. Whilst it would be lovely to do so we need to consider the finances.
However if we could add one or two additional players the ones I feel would suit us best are:
Samuel Chukwueze - you occasionally get a player you can just tell is going to be a star after a few glances, and for me that is the case for Chukueze. His quick feet and close control are coupled with blistering pace and clever decision making. He is right sided too which is where we are weakest.
Callum Hudson Odoi would be another great option, the only downside with that is he is predominantly left sided and we have several players already biased to that side.
I stress again these articles aren't about criticising the manager or players but looking for how we might transition to a team that plays that style of football well.
I am going to call this method of putting a squad together attribute based scouting because what is a blog without a grandiose term for common sense?
Forwards
From Marco Silva's time at Olympiakos we can see that a lot of their goals in his record breaking season in charge came from fast breaks using the full width of the pitch.
The attributes we are therefore after in our forward players are pace, quick feet and goalscoring ability. They need to be comfortable enough to start wide and cut inside and should have the awareness to make good goalscoring runs. There probably isn't much point in playing a centre forward if they can't keep up with the quick breaks, or a pacey player if they can't finish a chance.
So let's look at the options from the current squad:
Richarlison - he ticks all the boxes for what we are looking for in an Everton forward now, he is fast, strong, skillful, and can finish with feet or head.
Lookman - we considered him yesterday as an advanced midfielder but longer term I can see him playing further forward. He has the technique and vision to go with his pace.
Bernard - he has the technique and vision we need, reasonably fast too. He has proven ability in a 4-2-3-1 with Shakhtar. I have seen him in a 4-3-3 for Brazil, playing on the right hand side so he can cut in on his left.
Calvert-Lewin - another player I am happy to see around the first team. He has the attributes that would work well in the system, he is strong in the air and has pace. His finishing, whilst not hugely reliable, is decent enough for now.
Theo Walcott - this time last year we were welcoming the arrival of Walcott. I said at the time it was a good short term deal but a poor long term deal. I stand by that, he has the attributes we need in a 4-3-3, and is right sided which helps but I think pace reliant 30 year olds aren't good business and we have another 2.5 years on the contract when he should be phased out.
Cenk Tosun - doesn't have the pace for the system, nor the all round game. Always a strange signing to bring in a 27 year old from a dominant team in a weak league. He isn't a bad player just another example of what can go wrong when clubs don't plan properly.
Sandro Ramirez - the forgotten man at Everton, he has played well in a 4-3-3 before, both in his good season at Malaga and in Barcelona. Seems to have lost his confidence altogether but I don't write him off completely.
Kevin Mirallas - the other forgotten man at Everton. Under contract for another 18 more months. Might be best for all parties if he moved on, seems to be doing OK at Fiorentina.
Yannick Bolasie - the other, other, forgotten man at Everton. Ah the summer of 2016 when Everton decided £25m for a 28 year old winger with a 1 in 10 scoring record was a good move. Wouldn't work in a 4-3-3 as he simply doesn't offer goals. Decent enough as a winger in a 4-4-2 though and Villa fans have been very positive about him in recent months.
Henry Onyekuru - the other, other, other, forgotten man at Everton. Promising player, did very well in Belgium and has shown flashes for Galatasary and Nigeria. His amount of game involvement (touches, build up play) is very low, another case of the need to improve our choice of loan club as I'm not sure the Turkish league offers much development.
Oumar Niasse -the other, other, other, other forgotten man at Everton. So forgotten I forgot to include him in this article. Thrives on chaos but can't see a way he fits in to a functioning attack. Remains one of the strangest signings in this clubs history.
With 11 forwards plus some promising youngsters on the books I don't think we should prioritise the signing of another forward until at least 4 of the above (Mirallas, Bolasie, Sandro, Tosun) are off the books. Whilst it would be lovely to do so we need to consider the finances.
However if we could add one or two additional players the ones I feel would suit us best are:
Samuel Chukwueze - you occasionally get a player you can just tell is going to be a star after a few glances, and for me that is the case for Chukueze. His quick feet and close control are coupled with blistering pace and clever decision making. He is right sided too which is where we are weakest.
Callum Hudson Odoi would be another great option, the only downside with that is he is predominantly left sided and we have several players already biased to that side.
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