What’s going wrong at Goodison? Five reasons why Everton are bottom of the Premier League

Everton suffered their fifth defeat of the season after losing on penalties to Southampton in the Carabao Cup, once again throwing away a lead for the third successive game.

The Toffees have lost two games this season after taking a 2-0 lead, including their capitulation against Bournemouth where they threw away the victory in injury time.

With a massive game against Leicester this weekend, it is not easy to see a way back for manager Sean Dyche if Everton lose this game.

Sports News Blitz’s Jon Shea looks at five reasons why Everton finds themselves in dead last in the Premier League after a torrid start to the 2024/25 season.

Jarrad Branthwaite’s groin injury

Jarrad Branthwaite was part of an Everton defence that was the fourth-best in the Premier League last season in terms of conceding the least amount of goals, however the 22-year-old has missed all fixtures this season due to an injury he picked up in pre-season.

The Blues' defence has missed his presence and quality as the Toffees have leaked goals for fun at the start of this season.

Once he is back to full fitness it would be expected that he would come straight back into the side, alongside James Tarkowksi or Jake O’Brien.

Michael Keane's record for Sean Dyche's side last season was appalling, only winning one of the four games he started in the Premier League.

The void of Branthwaite is clear for all to see, but hopefully he will return to action soon.

The problems with the full-backs

Everton’s reluctance to improve the full-back positions has come back to bite them year after year.

The club’s only fit senior full-back is 39-year-old Ashley Young as Nathan Patterson, Seamus Coleman and Vitalii Mykolenko are all currently injured.

The Everton boss has given 19-year-old Roman Dixon a couple of starts this season due to all of the injuries they have suffered so far.

With no investment into a position they lack depth and quality in, it is no wonder why Everton fans are fearing the worst.

Sean Dyche’s in-game tactics

Everton boss Sean Dyche is coming under some intense scrutiny for possibly the first time in his tenure.

Dyche was appointed in February 2023 and has drifted the club to safety twice in his two seasons in charge.

However this season has a different feel to it, and with it being the last year at the historic Goodison Park and the club have not won one game in the league yet – the pressure will continue to build for the 53-year-old.

He has thrown away games with his in-game tactics, often making some baffling substitutions.

It has cost Everton this season in certain games and it has to be rectified by him otherwise it may cost him his job.

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Throwing away leads

As mentioned before, Everton have lost their last three matches despite being ahead in all of them.

They threw a 2-0 lead away against Bournemouth and Aston Villa in consecutive games and in their recent Carabao Cup match against Southampton, they blew a one-goal lead.

Everton cannot afford to keep throwing away victories, as it has already dampened the belief of the fans and destroyed the players’ confidence.

Every Evertonian had the same thought when Ollie Watkins made it 2-1 on Saturday - “Here we go again”.

Everton have to start putting the game to bed instead of letting teams back into the game and ultimately blowing it.

Ongoing uncertainty

The recurring theme of Everton in the last few seasons has been the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the ownership of the club.

Farhad Moshiri is currently the majority stakeholder of the club and ultimately the decision maker, but he is actively selling the club to American businessman John Textor.

Everton just need the takeover to get over the line and to be done with.

Textor has said that the deal is over 90% done to acquire the club, but with Everton, the fans know that there have been two previous attempts to buy the club but they collapsed, so they will not be satisfied until the official announcement arrives.

Everton are desperately waiting for a spark to ignite their season into life, hopefully starting this weekend away to Leicester, but at the moment the misery continues to pile on at Goodison Park.

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