‘They’re WEAK and soft. The lack of athleticism is FRIGHTENING’: Jamie Carragher lays into his boyhood club Everton after 5-0 rout at Tottenham, insisting their midfield ‘can’t run’ and they have a ‘Championship back four’
- Everton slipped to a humiliating 5-0 defeat against Tottenham on Monday night
- Everton’s defenders had a very difficult evening as Spurs ran riot in both halves
- Jamie Carragher thinks the side’s backline aren’t good enough for the top-flight
- He added that Everton are in real danger of relegation to the Championship
- Carragher was a boyhood Everton fan despite going on to play for Liverpool
Jamie Carragher says Everton are in danger of being relegated to the Championship after their 5-0 defeat against Tottenham on Monday.
The Toffees booked their place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup last week by seeing off Boreham Wood, but their league form under new manager Frank Lampard has been concerning.
Everton have now lost four of their opening five top-flight matches since the former Chelsea midfielder took over, and they were torn apart by Spurs, leading to Carragher delivering a damning assessment of his boyhood team.
Michael Keane (L) had a chastening evening on Monday as he scored a first half own goal
It was a night to forget for Everton in general as they were thrashed 5-0 at Tottenham Hotspur
Frank Lampard has seen his Everton side lose four of their five Premier League games with him
He said: ‘Whenever you see teams who are worst in the league away from home, the first thing that comes to mind is they’re weak and soft. That can never be Everton.
‘I said that back four is Championship level but for Everton not to be physical, aggressive, making it tough. That’s what Everton have always been even when they’ve not been at the best.
‘Fundamentally this group of players at this club is so weak now. The lack of athleticism in that Everton team is frightening.
‘Allan can’t run, Donny van de Beek can’t run. Harry Kane for one of the goals runs past Michael Keane. Harry Kane is not sprint champion. People just running off [Seamus] Coleman. They’re weak physically which is a problem for them right now.’
One positive for Everton is that eight of their remaining 13 games are at Goodison Park.
Carragher, though fears Everton are in danger of being relegated if they don’t win their next two games at home against Wolves and Newcastle.
Jamie Carragher fears Everton could get relegated if they don’t win their next two games
Jamie Carragher thinks Everton’s defence is not good enough for the Premier League right now
He said: ‘If their next two home games don’t go well they’ve got massive problems.
‘With what’s going on behind the scenes, what’s going on with the stadium, teetering around financial fair play which was why they couldn’t bring in new players last summer.
‘Frank said he’s looking forward to the next two games. If they don’t win them I think they’ve got a massive problem in terms of going down.’
Tottenham were 3-0 up at half time and during the break Carragher ripped into Everton’s defence.
He said: ‘They started okay in the first ten minutes and were putting pressure on Spurs but when you talk about a team being too good to go down, that is because you maybe look at Everton’s strikers, but this back four is a Championship back four, there is no doubt about it.’
Carragher then singled out Coleman, who has been at Everton since 2009, and hinted that the club captain has been off the pace for a while.
‘Seamus Coleman, I actually feel sorry for. He has been a great servant for Everton but people are getting in behind him far too much, and that comes down to Everton’s recruitment,’ he added.
Carragher believes Seamus Coleman is struggling badly for Everton at the moment
Coleman is in discussion with Pickford after his side concede a fourth at Spurs on Monday
Monday’s trip to north London was a humbling experience for Everton as Michael Keane put the ball into his own net inside 14 minutes, and the game was effectively over by half time when Heung-min Son and Harry Kane extended Tottenham’s lead.
Sergio Reguilon then scored from the bench, and Kane netted his second of the night to complete a dominant win for Spurs.
Everton remain one point above the relegation zone, and have 13 games left to secure their Premier League status for another season.
They have two more league games before the international break, both of which are at Goodison Park.
Lampard’s side return to action against Wolves on Sunday, before entertaining Newcastle four days later.