5 Telling Stats from Everton’s 1-2 Home Defeat to Villa

Ah, good old familiarity.

We’ve seen this before, right?

There’s No Place Like Home

Worst home record in the club’s 143-year history

…but the best away record in the club’s history.

This is a bonkers stat. Everton have averaged just 1.12 points per game at home this season which, as it stands, will break the previous record low of 1.14 the Blues managed back in 1957/58.

By contrast, Everton have picked up a whopping 2.06 per game on the road this season – the most in our history by some distance – even the nine occasions we’ve won the league. The current record stands at 1.95, when Harry Catterick led the Blues to the title as Joe Royle ended the season on 23 goals.

If Everton want to avoid securing the worst home form in the club’s history, they need to pick up at least 3 points in the final two home games against Sheffield United and Wolves… surely they will, right!?

At the other end of the record books, Everton need five points from their final three away games to secure the club’s best ever away record.

Fading Force

Everton haven’t won a game at home all season that was level at half-time

Since the Marco Silva days, Everton have looked good if they bag a goal in the opening 30 minutes, while looking completely hopeless if they head into half-time level or behind.

Indeed, of the meagre five home wins Everton have picked up this season, the Blues were already ahead in each of those. That means whenever the Blues have gone in level at Goodison this season (which has happened nine times), they’ve not won a single one.

Holgate Horrorshow

Big error and completed just 69.6% of his passes

Ollie Watkins proved a constant thorn in Everton’s side and it was his hustling that forced Mason Holgate into a costly error in the first-half, but it was a night to forget for the defender.

Holgate also completed just 69.6% of his passes – with only DCL upfront completing less. He was also the only outfield (aside from Sigurdsson) in the starting XI not to complete a single tackle or interception.

After making massive progress last season, it seems that Holgate is regressing to his error-prone form. There’s definitely a player there, but at 24, the excuses of youthful exuberance are wearing thin.

Pickford Outstanding

Has conceded less goals than expected this season (32.3 v 33)

And if Mason Holgate needs a perfect example of how to stop the rot at Everton, he need just look back at the man behind him, Jordan Pickford.

Pickford has been excellent since his inspired display in the Derby, and here he kept Everton in the game in the first-half single-handedly.

Not for the first time in recent weeks, Pickford bettered his Post-Shot Expected Goals (PSxG) form, conceding just twice compared to the 3.0 that was expected.

Indeed, despite his struggles at the start of the season, this performance moved him back into “credit” for his expected conceded goals for the season. He has been expected to concede 32.3 goals (post-shot expected goals) this season, but has conceded 32 (not counting an own goal by Ben Godfrey), leaving him in credit by 0.3.

Photo by Alex Livesey - Danehouse/Getty Images

Work in Progress

Starting XI featured players signed by 5 different managers

Everton have had four “permanent” managers in the space of the last five years, during which they’ve signed 41 players – which is nearly a full XI every season.

Marcel Brands has spent much of his three years as head of football trying to clear the squad of the expensive mistakes that the previous regime and this summer that task will (almost) be complete as Mo Besic, Yannick Bolasie and Theo Walcott’s contracts come to an end.

The thing Everton need now is stability.

Against Villa, Everton’s starting XI consisted of players signed by five different Everton managers. By contrast, all bar one of Villa’s XI were signed by Dean Smith, who’s been in charge for 2.5 years (credit to Matthew for this stat).

After nearly 18 months in charge of Everton, the Goodison groan is starting to creep upon Carlo Ancelotti. Everton need to resist this chop-and-change culture and give one of the world’s most successful ever managers the time he needs to get Everton moving forward again.