Everton 4-0 Leicester: Three Foxes Talking Points | OneFootball

An abject display

The return of Mads Hermansen in goal was the only change to the Foxes team that took the field for the club’s last visit to Goodison Park before Everton move next season to their swanky new stadium. It was an afternoon to forget. Unbelievably, twice in the opening five minutes, and the first after no less than ten seconds, a long through ball evaded Leicester’s lumbering centre backs giving first Abdoulaye Doucure then Beto easy chances which they converted with aplomb. And then, just before half time, Wout Faes and Jannik Vestergaard showed they had learnt nothing when another through ball found its way to Beto. 3-0 down at half time and game effectively over.

A fourth goal in added time at the end of the game, after more calamitous defending, completed the rout. Leicester offered very little in response, the build up play far too slow and ponderous. Patson Daka’s tame effort towards the end was the Foxes only shot on target.

It is difficult to see a way back from here. With Wolves beating Villa, Leicester have slipped back into the relegation zone. They may well stay there.

Disillusionment at a new level

For a while now, the Foxes’ travelling fans have expressed their displeasure at the club. At Goodison, familiar chants of ‘Rudkin out’, ‘sack the board’ and ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’ made an early appearance. This time, though, the utter contempt that the Blue Army had for the team and the club’s hierarchy was unparalleled.

Chants of ‘this is embarrassing’ were coupled with the ultimate put down: chants in celebration of long-departed Leicester players such as Wes Morgan, Estaban Cambiasso, Lloyd Dyer and even, believe it not, Vincent Iborra., as if none of the City players on the pitch were worthy of the fans’ attention. Cruel but accurate, at least today.

Still a good appointment?

The debate about the wisdom of sacking Steve Cooper after only a few games is likely to rage on in the light of poor performances under the new boss. Most Leicester fans I suspect would still say it was the right decision but, even so, it is worthwhile assessing van Nistelrooy’s reign so far.

The former Manchester United striker has certainly had a different outlook on personnel. Caleb Okoli has been a casualty of this, the Dutch man preferring the experience of Coady and Vestergaard at the back although Faess has come back into the reckoning in the last couple of games. In midfield, Boubakary Soumare has cemented his place in the side as has Bilal El Khannouss at the expense of Facundo Buonanotte. Jordan Ayew and Bobby DeCordova-Reid have also had more game time.

There has also been a change to the style of play, as Rob Tanner of The Athletic points out, with more passes and fewer longer balls than under Cooper.

Of course, football management is a result-driven business and here Cooper’s points tally was better than the Dutchman’s. The former boss  picked up 10 points in 13 league games at an average of 0.8 points a game whereas van Nistelrooy’s  charges have picked up seven point from 11 league games at an average of 0.6.

The current Leicester boss can, though, only work with the players he is given and in hindsight it is difficult to justify the decision made in the summer to pick up players - Jordan Ayew, DeCordova Reid, Oliver Skipp and Odsonne Edouard - not deemed good enough by their selling clubs to start in the Premier League. On the other hand, the Dutchman persists picking two of the them as starters, despite the, arguably stronger, claims of Buonanotte and Stephy Mavididi.

One significant reason for the lack of points is the paucity of chances created. The Dutchman hasn’t been able to increase goalscoring opportunities, the Foxes remaining close to the bottom of the league according to that metric. Survival, one thinks, will be dependent upon a major improvement in this area which, in turn, will necessitate bringing another forward player into the club prior to the end of the transfer window on Monday. It seems that moving players on will be required to make this a reality and some manoeuvring might, as FoL reported, already be in train.

In reality, though, the evidence from the Everton game is that the defence needs significant strengthening too. It could well be a long season for Foxes’ fans.