James Garner explains what has been really ‘tough’ for Everton recently

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James Garner has admitted that things really haven’t been going Everton’s way recently.

Everton head into the weekend’s clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers off the back of consecutive defeats to Man City and Tottenham, as well as a penalty shoot-out loss in the Carabao Cup quarter-final tie with Fulham.

While the Toffees put on solid performances against both Man City and Spurs, there was a strong feeling that they had been harshly treated during both matches.

Sean Dyche’s side found themselves 2-0 down inside 20 minutes against Tottenham last week, but they looked to be mounting an attempt at a comeback when Dominic Calvert-Lewin pulled one back early in the second half.

However, Andre Gomes was penalised for a foul on Emerson Royal in the build-up and the goal was disallowed – potentially costing them a chance at bringing it level.

There was plenty of criticism for the decision, with former referee Mike Dean claiming it was ‘very soft’.

The questionable decisions continued against Man City, when the visitors took the lead through a Julian Alvarez penalty on the hour mark. Amadou Onana was punished for a handball in the box, with another former referee Keith Hackett claiming it was a ‘poor decision’.

Back-to-back defeats has left Everton only one point above the relegation zone, while James Garner has admitted it has been ‘tough’.

Speaking to the official club website, the midfielder said: “Calls are just not going our way at the moment, but that is just football.

“Especially against the opposition we are playing, Tottenham [Hotspur], who are one of the best teams, and [Manchester] City, who are arguably the best team in the world at the moment.

“It was a tough result [to take on Wednesday] considering I felt we played really well in the first-half.

“I thought we were in the game for large amounts of it, and when decisions don’t quite go in your favour, it is a tough one.

“I am not sure what happened in the second-half, whether we came away from our game plan or they just upped the ante a little bit. It is a disappointing result.

“The penalty was the penalty, and the other two goals were goals we should have never conceded.

“The third one was an error, and the second one was one we worked on the training ground yesterday, and we knew that was coming so that was a bit sloppy from us.”

How costly have these decisions been for Everton so far?

Everton fans will feel very harshly treated by the officials in recent games, especially after their ten-point deduction that has already forced them into a relegation scrap.

Unfortunately though, there is not a lot the team can do about it. These mistakes do happen with what feels like every match in the Premier League these days, but all you can really do is pick up extra points so those decisions aren’t as detrimental.

As per LondonWorld, Everton would still be sat in 16th place right now if it wasn’t for VAR – just with one extra point. So take that however you like…