How to fix Everton (Part 1) - midfield blend

I actually have a good deal of confidence that Mr Moshiri resolved the main problem with Everton  - awful squad building post Moyes - with the appointment of Marcel Brands in the summer.

Since then the recruitment has followed the pattern I would endorse, young players with high potential filling the problem areas of the squad.

The transition from the squad he inherited to the squad we'd need to compete was always going to be difficult. It is going to take at least 3 years to rebuild, getting some of the expensive older players off the books will be almost impossible and major losses will have to be taken.

What I don't still have is a clear idea of what a Marco Silva team will play like. When I was researching him in the summer I looked at footage of his Sporting and Olympiakos teams. The problem is he was there for such short periods of time it was hard to tell if they were his teams playing his football or if they were in transition.

If I accept the premise that they were his teams then the Olympiakos team is probably a good place to look. Looking at video footage of goals from his time in charge it seemed they played extremely fast counter attacking football in a 4-3-3 formation and created a large number of chances from wide areas.

This is similar to the system Brands built up at PSV with wide attackers, a balanced midfield and attacking fullbacks.

So I'll make the assumption that this is the style they want to bring in at Everton and suggest how they might go about it.

Midfield blend

For me the main problem area to resolve, which would lessen the problems up front and at the back, is centre midfield.

The blend isn't right yet.

Gana, Gomes, and Gylfi don't work as a combination.

In a 4-3-3 I like to have a combination of players who can cover defensively, spread the ball around and progress forward (through passes and ball carrying).

It doesn't matter who does these tasks, just that the blend is right, and at the moment it isn't. Teams have realised that crowding Gomes cuts off the supply to the forwards as Gana doesn't pass forward well and Gylfi doesn't have the skillset to play deeper and progress the ball up the pitch.

In fact all the combinations of players lack something.

You can play Gana and Gomes as two of the three if your third player is going to drop deep and be involved in build up play, plus can drive forwards with the ball.

You can play Gomes and Gylfi if your Gana replacement can provide accurate forward passing along with ball recovery.

You can play Gana and Glyfi if your third midfielder is superhuman.

I've talked before about "spikey" profiled players, players who are really good at one thing but lack a rounded game. And at the moment I think we have two of those, Gana (for ball recovery) and Gylfi (for large chance and shot creation on minimal touches) in the midfield.

So my recommended players will have to be able to blend with Gomes and one of the other two midfielders.

I'm trying to keep suggestions realistic, these aren't the best players in the world but ones who should be gettable for a Premier League team on a huge budget. I'm also going to name different types of players for the same position. I'm a huge fan of the fact there are more than one way to play the game and that a 5ft 5 passer and a 6ft 5 wrecking ball can do the same job in a different style.

Gana replacements

Santiago Ascacibar
In looking for a Gana upgrade I needed a player who could match the brilliant ball winning skills but also add the ability to hurt the opposition with forward passes.
I don't see a great deal of live Bundesliga games, I found Ascacibar on Wyscout but on googling see he is very highly rated with a lot of big club interest now. He seems to have the skillset I'm looking for.

Ibrahima Sangare
With a completely different physical build to Ascacibar, but adding to the midfield blend with his ability to dribble from deep we could consider Sangare from Toulouse. If paired with Gomes we would offer an alternative to progressing the ball through midfield with his ability to drive forwards with the ball. He seems a good passer too.

Marc Roca
A final option would be a deep lying playmaker. Someone to ensure that increased possession would lead to fewer turnovers and less need for a ball winner. I've liked what I've seen of Marc Roca of Espanyol. He seems to have great awareness and a ability to pick out forward passes. With him alongside Gomes it should mean that Everton's front 4 can receive better quality passes.

Other less attainable players I like are Franck Keisse and Amadou Diawara.

Youngsters I need to see more of to judge are Hamid Junior and Chieck Doucoure.

The next part will consider Gylfi replacements and how the front 3 could work.







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