Everton have started to falter at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
After a bright start following the move from Goodison Park, Everton are now on a five-game winless run at home.
The transition to Bramley-Moore Dock was perhaps never going to be totally smooth. But fans are wondering what is behind the recent struggles, having started well.
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Some have pointed to a lack of an intimidation factor at the new stadium.
At Goodison Park, fans were in very close proximity to the players, which could throw them off. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink suggested he always struggled at Goodison for this reason.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has acknowledged the club’s home form – and believes there are a couple of things he and his teammates can do to help fix the situation.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall explains how Everton can bring Hill Dickinson Stadium to life
Dewsbury-Hall made his return to action on Monday against Leeds, much to the delight of the Everton fans. And it was an effective return, with Leeds’ James Justin praising Dewsbury-Hall for his impact.
Dewsbury-Hall was in fine fettle before his injury, and his return is timely given the injury to Jack Grealish.
After the draw with Leeds he spoke to the club’s media team about the current situation of struggling at home, and feels he and his teammates upping their intensity will help to create a better atmosphere.
He said (via Everton official): “I just thought we were more aggressive, more on the front foot [vs Leeds]. [The lads were] getting closer to players, pressing players, and you’ve seen what happens to the crowd and the atmosphere when we do that.
“It just comes alive and we feed off that. And then, yeah, I thought we were pretty dominant in the second half.
“It doesn’t take a lot for it to become loud and for fans to get off their feet. It might only take one tackle, one press. And I think us lads just need to remember that in the back of our head.
“We don’t need to be playing silky football or completely dominating teams, it’s being in people’s faces, getting aggressive, getting the crowd up and then playing football and showing what we’re about.
“So, yes, I think if we start doing that more in the next couple of home games, we’re going to pick up better results.”
Dewsbury-Hall gets it
Given the construction of the Hill Dickinson Stadium, it was always likely to play quite differently to Goodison Park.
That close proximity is no more, and the atmosphere perhaps isn’t quite as intimidating.
But Dewsbury-Hall is clearly looking to help address this though performance on the pitch, which perhaps has been a factor in the atmosphere being flat at times.
The crowd always respond well to relentlessness – so hopefully we see a lot this from the players moving forward.
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