Everton’s recent form has simply not been good enough.
At present, they have just one Premier League win to their name since mid-December, having overtaken the club’s worst-ever winless run during this period.
It has been tough for the players to push through, but even harder for the fans to keep supporting.
And yet, they always do, as an unrelenting bunch who dedicate their lives to this club.
The least the team could do is try and repay them, starting with asking questions of those making the decisions.
Michael Ball encourages Everton players to challenge Sean Dyche
Writing in his column for the Liverpool ECHO, Michael Ball offers his verdict on Toffees’ form and their big problems.
He noted: ‘There’s no fear factor because even if they don’t perform, they’re not getting dropped. There’s no fear factor for the manager because who is going to sack him? They can’t afford to!
‘We sort of just floating by, hoping that the teams below us don’t pick us points. We’re sleeping right now and drifting back towards the danger zone.
‘Not every player likes their manager. The starting first 11 probably does but it will be like that at Manchester City, it will be like that at every club I’ve been at – you’re not going to like a manager who isn’t playing you.
‘When you get the opportunity when you’re fit and ready. If you’re on the bench when your team are struggling, what are you doing to get into the team? You’ve got to step up to the plate to force the issue.
‘If you’re one of those senior players and you don’t like what’s happening, stand up to the manager and ask questions. We don’t want to be sitting here at the end of the season, asking ‘what could we have done?’
‘If I was a player, I’d say that I didn’t like it. Have that debate – you’re grown men, not kids.
Let’s have a debate and get it all out in the open.’
Sean Dyche has deserved challenging for Everton’s form
It is crazy to think that at least one of the senior players hasn’t stood up to Dyche by now.
After all, despite his methods seeming like the smart thing to do for a side battling the drop, they just haven’t been working.
And the worry is that, with Nottingham Forest, Luton Town, Brentford and Sheffield United all to play, that form will not fix itself when it really matters.
There has to be a certain degree of loyalty in the dressing room, but when you endure a record-breaking run as bad as theirs, questions must be asked.
Hopefully, after what was a truly embarrassing performance at Chelsea, there has been a significant reshuffle that will spark this side back to life.
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