5 Telling Stats from Everton’s Embarrassing Defeat to Brighton

Buckle up, folks. Today’s edition of 5 Telling Stats does not make for pleasant reading.

Fatal Form

Coming out of the World Cup break, Everton were hoping to turn their fortunes around after suffering a dreadful drop in form directly before the Premier League was adjourned. However, the Toffees have picked up just 1 point in the first 3 games back, and it came from the most difficult fixture among them funnily enough. However, that means Everton have picked up just 5 points from the last 11 games, and what was once a seemingly rock solid defense has been conceding for fun. This is the definition of relegation form.

Soaring Seagulls

Despite losing Graham Potter to Chelsea just a few weeks into the season, Brighton have climbed all the way up to 8th place in the Premier League (ahead of the Stamford Bridge outfit) after running riot at Goodison Park. Roberto De Zerbi did not even field his first choice team against the Toffees, with Belgian international Leandro Trossard as well as World Cup Winner Alexis MacAllister both starting on the bench on Tuesday, yet his side cut through Everton like a hot knife through butter. It was a historic away performance for Brighton, whose meteoric rise has been even more spectacular than Everton’s dramatic fall.

Record Rock-Bottom

This stat speaks for itself. Everton have slumped into a level of inadequacy not seen for decades. The Toffees have won just 14 games from the last 56 in the Premier League. That’s one win out of every four across a season and a half. Simply dreadful. This season makes for even worse reading, as Lampard’s men have won just 3 out of 18. Simply disgraceful.

Intelligent Investment...

... or, in Everton’s case, a lack thereof. Everton’s starting XI on Tuesday night was purchased for roughly €122 million, and when you look at the difference in the ‘price to performance ratio’ of that ratio compared to Brighton’s, it’s clear to see what separates these two clubs at the moment. Everton have spent large sums very unwisely, while Brighton have spent small sums very wisely. In fact the entire Seagulls starting XI cost less than one Alex Iwobi. When those trends continue for years on end, what you end up with is a historic 4-1 win for Brighton at Goodison Park and Everton staring relegation in the face.

Frank’s Failure

There’s no doubting that Frank Lampard inherited a very difficult situation when he was appointed Everton manager just under a year ago, but he achieved his most crucial goal for the back-half of the 2021/22 Premier League season: keep Everton up. However, there was a clear need for improvement and stabilization in order to ensure that the Toffees did not fight themselves in the middle of the relegation scrap again, but the opposite has occurred. This season it seems to be even worse and now, after Wednesday’s results, Everton have dropped down to 19th place.

With the loss to Brighton, Lampard’s points-per-game ratio dropped below that of his much maligned predecessor Rafa Benitez, and is now the second worst in the history of the club. In my opinion, now is the time for Kevin Thelwell to pull the plug on the Frank Lampard-era. I really hoped he’d be the guy, but not only is he failing to get the best out of this squad, but he seems to be achieving quite the opposite. I believe his dismissal is necessary in order for Everton to turn this season around, but the decision MUST be Thelwell’s, along with the appointment of Lampard’s replacement. Farhad Moshiri has ruined this club enough as it is.