Opinion

Sean Dyche now must drop 28-touch player who lost 83% of his duels after he let Everton down vs Fulham

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Saturday marked one of the worst performances that Everton have put in for a long while, and the fanbase has reacted in kind.

Sean Dyche is lucky that Beto managed to salvage a point somehow at the death, as the scrutiny is not half as bad as it would have been had they lost, as they deserved to.

They were passive, lazy and offered next to no attacking threat, eventually undone by Alex Iwobi, who scored on his return to Goodison Park.

A searing indictment of how the club has been run, and how they have been forced to offload their best players just to balance the books, it was sad to see one of their former stars haunt them.

Everton FC v Fulham FC - Premier League
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Alex Iwobi sent an emotional message to Everton fans following the match to underline his respect. However, frustration has boiled over following the full-time whistle.

Everton were awful from minute one vs Fulham

It was blatantly clear after just ten minutes that this was not going to be a high-quality affair, but few expected it to persist throughout the entire match.

Normally, if there is a slow start, the Toffees get in at half time and the Everton manager gives them a dressing down. They then at least come out with a bit more fight in the second half.

However, there was no such reaction on Saturday, with the vast majority of the team failing to show up and staying invisible.

It’s genuinely a miracle that they salvaged a point, having forged just one big chance all game, amassing a mere 0.79 expected goals to Fulham’s 1.26.

Dwight McNeil disappointed before his injury, as did Vitaliy Mykolenko at full-back. However, one man stood out as a particularly poor performer.

How did Jack Harrison play vs Fulham?

Jack Harrison started his seventh Premier League game of the season on Saturday, having become a real mainstay under Dyche’s leadership.

He values his unrelenting work rate and ability to deliver a cross, so his consistent inclusion is justified.

However, it can no longer be that way after his most recent performance, which saw him handed the worst Sofascore rating of any player on the pitch.

His abysmal underlying numbers back that 6/10 figure up too, having managed just 28 touches all game, completing a mere seven passes.

He would only deliver a single completed cross too, which is what he is put in the team to do, whilst managing a sole defensive interaction all afternoon.

Everton FC v Fulham FC - Premier League
Photo by Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images

If he is not working hard, and not delivering crosses, there is little point in Harrison being in the team.

The fact that he won just one of the six duels he competed in, at an 83% failure rate, typifies his performance.

He cannot start at Southampton. Dyche has to make wholesale changes next weekend.