Premier League: Are the Toffees coming unstuck?

 

As the business end of the season approaches, Romilly Evans wonders if David Moyes can get Everton back into the race for fourth...

 

All sporting stories - be they of greatness, deficiency or simple mediocrity - are defined by their ifs and buts. If that sounds trite, I apologise. But it's true. And in the race for fourth place in the Premier League this season, Everton will have penned more conditional clauses than most.

 

For the Toffees have already dropped 19 points from winning positions this campaign. If they had those concessions back, they'd be in third place. But they're not. They're now languishing in sixth and fast-losing touch with the three London clubs above them. They have also taken drawing to the level of a martial art, registering 12 ties this season, with seven of those coming against teams placed in the bottom half of the table. In short, their boss, David Moyes, is becoming a black belt in missed opportunities.

 

Of course, in football as in life, you're never going to take all your chances. However, it's always less painful to file such experiences under Just As Well, as opposed to What Might've Been. Sadly for Everton fans this year, too many results have arrived in the latter category. And Saturday's late loss to Norwich provided another galling case in point.

 

Playing a Canaries outfit low on quality and confidence (without a win in nine league games), Everton dominated the first half and took a deserved lead when Leon Osman finished off a neat interchange between Steven Pienaar and Leighton Baines to expertly head home the opener. The Merseysiders ramped up the pressure after half-time but couldn't find the second goal that would've applied the coup de grâce. And as time wore on, particularly after Norwich's introduction of Kei Kamara, their stranglehold loosened and the Canaries were able to stage their late show.

 

So just when Moyes thought he had secured a much-needed victory, he fell victim to another daylight mugging. And when he checked his pockets, all three points had been pilfered. Small wonder he confronted the referee at the final whistle to demand why Norwich's winner had arrived in the fourth minute of injury time when only three had been allotted. If the stoppage-time board had been adhered to, Everton would've escaped with a draw. But it wasn't.

 

In his post-match reaction, Moyes pre-empted his inquisitors with his own take on the ifs-and-buts routine.  "If we are ambitious, we have to be winning those games," conceded the Scot. "But I felt we started trying to protect what we had too soon - it's difficult to take."

 

For all his native nous and managerial accolades, Moyes is surely to blame in this specific dimension. Too many times this term have Everton tried to shut up shop when their till was ringing with the promise of more net gains. Too many times have they let one more customer into the shop before closing, only to discover that it was actually a stick-up.

 

Late tactical substitutions have defined Everton's failure to seal the deal against Newcastle, Fulham, Reading, Oldham (in the FA Cup) and now Norwich twice. Each time, Moyes has opted for discretion as the better part of valour with negative switches. And Saturday was no exception with the influential Pienaar replaced by Bryan Oviedo, while Nikica Jelavic (arguably Everton's one genuine striker) had already donned his tracksuit on the bench.

 

This tendency towards caution is clearly costing Moyes' men. And the only side that won't sympathise are Tottenham, perhaps their main challengers for that coveted fourth spot. Spurs themselves fell victims to a rare rally from Everton in December, as the Toffees found two stoppage-time goals in a dramatic reversal of fortune. It was the nadir of a poor run which saw Spurs lose 10 goals and 14 points in the last 15 minutes of their games before Christmas. Otherwise, they could even be challenging United for the title.

 

So while Moyes has been a little unlucky, he is not alone. Instead, it's a time for facing up to some harsh realities. The fact that the Toffees have now won only once in their last six league games speaks volumes for the mountain lying ahead of him, if Everton are to climb back into the Champions League race.

 

Moyes reckons this is the best squad he has assembled in his 11 years at Goodison Park. But with his continued tenure at the club up for discussion this summer, he needs to produce a sustained spell of excellence if Everton are to mix it with the giants of Europe next season.

 

Even the Blues' age-old preoccupation with beating the Reds of Liverpool has returned as a distraction (a mere three points now separate the two Merseyside monoliths). However, after a strong start to the current campaign, it had seemed just a matter of when Everton would secure a Top Six finish and outperform Liverpool on the league ladder.

 

Now it's now no longer a question of when, but if.

 

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