Everton: Ronald Koeman cannot change much before January - Kevin Kilbane

Match of the Day 2 analysisImage source, BBC Sport

There is a lot of negativity towards Ronald Koeman from Everton fans at the moment, and I can understand why he is under so much pressure.

Koeman's side fought back for a point at Brighton on Sunday but they put in another very poor performance, and they have not played well all season.

Normally, I would say it is too early to get rid of the manager and you could argue Koeman just needs time for some of his summer signings to adjust and also that if he tweaks a couple of things, they will improve.

But the problem for Koeman is that I don't see anything changing with the way Everton are playing under him until they can sign players in January.

Image source, BBC Sport

The team's confidence is clearly low, which is something the manager can address, but their other big issue is a lack of creativity - and I don't know where that will come from at present.

A lot of Koeman's attacking players are very similar so, whoever comes into the side, they are not going to produce anything dramatically different to what they are doing at present.

The situation will only change when the transfer window opens and they add to their squad, but the question is whether Koeman can hang on to his job for that long.

Watching Everton - fifth bottom of the league with eight points from eight games - is disappointing at the moment and some fans have already made it clear they think his time is up.

If performances stay the same and Everton find themselves deeper in relegation trouble then, given they spent £140m over the summer, their struggles will not be tolerated at board level either.

Koeman tries to find some positives

Media caption,

Everton needed a bit of luck - Koeman

Koeman felt Everton could have, or even should have, got a late winner against the Seagulls - and they did have a couple of late chances.

But overall it was not a performance that deserved victory. The only reason they got a point against a very workmanlike side was because they were totally gifted a penalty.

Getting a draw does not disguise the fact that, until the last few minutes, Everton were poor on the ball, offered very little forward movement and lacked energy in the team.

Anyone who has seen them lately would agree things have been like that all season.

Koeman felt his side showed "commitment" and "aggression" at the Amex Stadium and, late on, perhaps he was right - but I did not see that from his players for most of the game.

Yes, it does take a bit of character to get something out of a game when you are not playing well, and Everton did that.

And I am not saying they are not playing for Koeman any longer, because that is something you only know for sure if you are inside the dressing room yourself.

But the pressure on Koeman is largely down to the way the team is playing, as well as their underwhelming results.

So, despite his attempts to find some positives, Sunday's game did not do much to help his cause.

Everton lacking in defence and attack

Image source, BBC Sport
Image caption,

Koeman made three changes from the side that lost at home to Burnley for the trip to the Amex Stadium. At the back, Phil Jagielka and Mason Holgate came in for Ashley Williams and Cuco Martina, while Wayne Rooney replaced Oumar Niasse up front

When Koeman took charge in 2016, he quickly addressed the problem Everton had of conceding too many goals under their previous manager Roberto Martinez.

But now they are losing goals again, and are not scoring enough or creating chances either - so it is hardly any wonder Koeman is being questioned.

It is obvious Everton need a centre-forward, but their failure to replace Romelu Lukaku is far from their only issue.

Phil Jagielka has long been their go-to defender but he has had injury problems and I am not sure how much longer they can rely on him to be the man to hold their backline together.

When they attack they lack ball-carriers, particularly in the wide positions, that could help them be more incisive in possession. At the moment they are far too pedestrian.

Kevin Mirallas came off the bench and did well in those areas against Brighton, including his part in the equaliser - he won the free-kick that led to Bruno's moment of madness - but I would not pin all my hopes on him making a huge difference if he was given a regular starting role.

From watching the Belgian in the five years since he joined Everton, he has not been consistently good when he has started games - he has always had a bigger impact as a substitute.

Ross Barkley and Aaron Lennon are injured, so Tom Davies is probably the player of that ilk who I would like to see get a bit more game-time.

Davies always looks to drive forward, with his passing or his runs and he could bring a bit of energy to a team that, by and large, has been quite lifeless.

Will we see something different against Arsenal?

Media caption,

Seriously need to look at DNA of Arsenal - Keown

Everton have not won an away league game since 21 January, and I do not see that changing any time soon.

They do not have pace or any real threat on the counter-attack that you need as a way out when you are soaking up a lot of pressure in those games.

But their home form remains strong, despite the defeat to Burnley in their last match at Goodison Park.

I was at that game and there was a negative feeling around the stadium from quite early on. Understandably, the fans got frustrated, because their team's shortcomings were there for us all to see.

On paper, Everton's next league game at home to Arsenal next Sunday is the perfect game to put things right.

The Gunners are a big club who are on the ropes a bit at the moment and are struggling away from home.

Media caption,

Son not happy I beat his beloved Arsenal - Deeney

Everton beat them 2-1 under the floodlights at Goodison last season when there was a great atmosphere and in the past I would be looking at this game and thinking it is possible for the Toffees to get at Arsene Wenger's side.

We saw it happen when Arsenal went to Watford on Saturday and the Hornets used a mixture of Andre Gray's pace and Troy Deeney's physicality to open them up and rattle them a little.

But where are the Everton players that can do that? Other than Mirallas or Davies, I don't think they really have any.

I just don't get the feeling this is going to be that sort of big performance, or occasion, that Koeman badly needs.

Instead it will probably be more of the same.

Kevin Kilbane was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan.

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