Allardyce fails final home test

This match held no real significance for Everton. Their place in the table is basically set and they have no European competition to play for. The one things this match have going for it, was it was Sam Allardyce’s final attempt this season to win over the Goodsion faithful and show he could lead their club. It went about as well as you would have expected.

For 94 and a half minutes, Everton played the same dull, lifeless football they have played since Allardyce took over. There was no beautiful passing, nor was there a blistering counter-attack. Instead were were treated to slow, overly-defensive and boring football. This team is no Manchester City, but there are enough offensive weapons on this squad to put forth a better offensive performance than the one we saw today.

Allardyce should not be the manager of this team next season. If this team truly has ambition, then a manager who will get us no higher than 8th should not be leading this club. While the coaching carousel at Everton over the last few seasons has been frustrating, this is not an excuse to settle for a sub-par manager.

Coleman and Niasse put in the effort

I guess one can understand why some players may take it easy in a meaningless game such as this. They want to go into next season healthy and ready to perform at their highest level. I don’t like it, but I guess it can be understood. However Everton had two players who had no interest in calling it a season early, Seamus Coleman and Oumar Niasse.

What else can be said about Coleman at this point? Simply put, he is the heart and soul of Everton. He will give the team a hard fought 90+ minutes regardless of the score or situation. Even when Everton were struggling in this match, he was hustling up and down the right flank, pumping crosses into the box and making himself available for passes.

Niasse also gets an A for effort in this match. After coming on in the second half, the striker seemed determined, along with Coleman, to single-handedly win this match for Everton. It should be mentioned that I don’t particularly like Niasse as a football player. He doesn’t really do anything particularly well, and should never be a first option for this team. But Niasse has found a place on this squad as a hard working substitute who can run at tired defenses late into the second half.

Expect a similar performance next week

At this point, there is nothing to suggest that next week’s match against West Ham United will be any better than this one. The players don’t seem to care, and the supporters don’t seem to care. Honestly, there is little reason for any one to care about next week’s match.

In seasons past there was usually something to look forward to as the season wore down. Whether it was watching a young player develop further, or seeing a great player add more goals or assists to their totals. I honestly can’t think of a single thing to get me excited for the final match.

I, like many others are just waiting for this season to end and hoping that Everton can do something to really change the culture at Goodison.