David Moyes has admitted Everton need “to go again” in the transfer market after their European charge ended in miserable fashion against Sunderland.
The Blues lost 3-1 at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Three goals in the final 30 minutes. The ground almost empty at full time. A positive campaign ending in disappointment.
Six matches without a win. A terrible run that has cost Everton the chance of European nights. And Moyes knows where the problem lies.
‘They’ve just dried up’
The Everton boss didn’t name names at first. Then he did.
“I think those players were so good for us in the early part of the season,” Moyes said. “I think in the second half of the year we’ve looked as if we’ve just run out of goals, mainly from the likes of Ili [Ndiaye], and Kiernan [Dewsbury Hall] a little bit as well.
“Ili, especially, has a big opportunity in a few of the games which in the past we’ve seen him score. He scored a great goal against Chelsea here, but since then we’ve had quite a lot of opportunities and we’ve not been able to take them to win the games.
“We have needed them because, as we know, we’ve not been overly generous with our centre forward goals. So it’s been Kiernan and Ili who have been required to step up. And they’ve both sort of just dried up in the last month or so.”
That’s the brutal truth. Everton’s goals have dried up. And their European hopes have dried with them.
The numbers that hurt
Everton have conceded a league leading 11 goals in the final 15 minutes since February 28. Five games in a row they’ve failed to hold onto a positive result.
Asked what that’s down to, Moyes said: “I don’t think there’s any one reason for it. Today’s was a pure mistake. The other games? We’re just off the back of two or three of the worst decisions for us, which have made our results look far worse than they are.
“We’ve actually, in truth, played pretty well. Maybe not so much today, but in the other games we’ve played pretty well. We’ve lost out on a couple of penalty kick decisions which would have got us points.”
But today? No excuses. Sunderland don’t score many. Everton made them look like world beaters.
‘We need to go again’
Moyes was asked what the side needs to build on this season. His answer was telling.
“I think we need to go again. Let’s be fair, we’ve tried to build something which is going to be good as time goes on.
“We’ve put ourselves in a decent position most of the season to talk well about the team. I don’t feel like talking well about them today because that was a big moment for us and we weren’t able to take it.
“We need to try and find a way of improving that, and that mainly always means that we’re going to have to bring in other players and try and see if we can step up again.”
The bottom line
Everton need goals. From somewhere. Anywhere.
Ndiaye and Dewsbury Hall have dried up. The centre forwards haven’t delivered. And a promising season has ended with a whimper.
Moyes knows what’s required. New players. Fresh faces. Less reliance on a handful of performers.
But that’s for the summer. Right now, he’s left to reflect on what might have been.
Six games without a win. Eleven goals conceded in the final 15 minutes. A European dream dead.
And two players who stopped scoring at exactly the wrong time.
