With a three-week gap in fixtures, Everton have embarked on a mid-season training camp in Portugal this week but what positives would you like to see the Blues take from their trip?
Members of the ECHO sportsdesk have their say…
Chris Beesley – A change can be as good as a rest for Dyche’s hard-working side
It’s often said that a change is as good as a rest and let’s hope that’s the case for Everton on what manager Sean Dyche refers to as their “working trip.”
Back in the autumn the Blues, who had been wretched on the road for the previous couple of season, were happy travellers, securing a hat-trick of victories in London and then – despite being stung by their initial 10-point deduction which at the time was the biggest sporting sanction in 135 years of English top flight football – they rattled off four consecutive wins in December. Although Everton have since been given four of those points back through their appeal, on the pitch the shine has worn off what was a bright start to the campaign.
While the current 11-game run without a Premier League success does not bring the kind of ‘end of days’ feel that saw the Blues plunge towards relegation trouble under Rafael Benitez and Frank Lampard, namely because the team has remained competitive – drawing five of those fixtures – and their earlier results would place them 10 points clear of the drop zone right now based on their on-pitch performances, it’s obvious that as the team go into their final 10 matches, they need to rediscover that winning touch.
Dyche said in his pre-match press conference for the visit to Manchester United that he “couldn’t be more pleased” with his squad and that “people can go under in these circumstances” given all drama around the club but this change of scenery can help rejuvenate some tired bodies and minds within the group. When this correspondent was the only member of the UK media to attend Everton’s first pre-season friendly under Dyche last July, a 2-1 win over Swiss second tier side Stade Nyonnais, James Tarkowski told the ECHO: “We want to be the fittest team in the league going into this season, that’s certainly a title that the manager wants for us and something that we want for ourselves.”
The Blues have certainly worked hard for their gaffer in that respect this term but with a manager who relies on players he trusts and is reticent to make changes for the sake of it, a small squad has looked fatigued of late. Former Everton player Michael Ball extolled the virtues of these kind team-bonding ‘breaks’ in his ECHO column this week and such excursions away from their normal working environment at Finch Farm can help forge a collective spirit and all being well will freshen up the troops for the run-in
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