'Everton kept making the same basic mistakes'published at 09:25 3 September
09:25 3 September
Media caption,
Former England captain Steph Houghton says Everton's loss to Bournemouth "was very unlike a Sean Dyche team," as they threw away a two-goal lead to lose in the space of less than 10 minutes.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, Houghton said Dyche's side forgot the basics and continued to make the same mistakes - in a game she thought the Toffees could have turned around their poor early-season form.
Gossip: Toffees rejected Calvert-Lewin swap dealpublished at 07:36 3 September
07:36 3 September
Everton turned down the opportunity to sign 26-year-old France defender Axel Disasi and Ivory Coast forward David Datro Fofana, 21, from Chelsea in a swap deal for striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin. (Givemesport), external
'A lack of character, guts and strength of mind'published at 16:42 2 September
16:42 2 September
BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions.
Joe asked: Hi Phil, before the Bournemouth game I was not too concerned for Everton. We don't have squad depth but our best XI is a lower mid-table team, so won't get relegated. However, outside of that XI is a very poor side which will get relegated. Before Saturday, I believed that when we get ahead we can see out games and when we get players back we'll be fine. I've lost all confidence in Everton since Saturday. What is going wrong now at Goodison?
Phil replied: Hello, Joe. I tipped Everton to finish 12th and that looks very generous on what we have seen so far.
I was actually more disturbed by what happened on Saturday than by, say, the 4-0 loss at Spurs.
This can happen when you play superior sides but to control a game for 87 minutes then collapse completely in the manner Everton did merely because the Cherries pulled a goal back hints at something rotten in the team, a lack of character, guts and strength of mind – as well as all the playing flaws.
Bournemouth’s winner came right at the end but Everton keeper Jordan Pickford had already had to make two fine saves at 2-2. It was totally calamitous from Everton and a serious worry.
'Dyche's start as manager has been as poor as his team's'published at 15:53 2 September
15:53 2 September
BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions.
@JoeJonesEverton on 'X' asked: I would like your views on Dyche being relieved of his duties immediately, and if so who could come in? Moyes is available. Dyche 100% has to go now but the question is who should replace him?
Phil answered: You've made your views on Sean Dyche very clear but I do not think he should be relieved of his duties immediately, even though his start as manager has been as poor as his team's this season.
I do certainly feel he will come under real pressure if Everton lose their next two games but there are lots of questions around who would succeed Dyche if he was to leave? Who takes that decision? Who appoints a new manager? Would someone be prepared to risk taking it on knowing there might be a new owner in a couple of months who might fancy someone else?
Moyes, as you say, is available and we do not have to outline his connections to the club – but even if the situation arose he would want an awful lot of questions answered before he would consider it.
Ben: Everton FC - finding new and interesting ways to make the lives of their fans a misery. On the positive, for 86 minutess it was good. Really good in fact. But to lose like that is the kind of gut punch none of us needed. It’s a miserable time being an Everton fan and this loss just compounded that feeling.
Tony: This type of result has been going on for far too long - managing to grab defeat from victory in the final minutes, whether managed by Roberto Martinez, Rafa Benitez or Marco Silva. There have been so many of these debacles at Goodison and I’m afraid it’s looking increasing likely we are going to crash out of the top flight in the Old Lady’s final season.
Mary: Sean Dyche once again was tactically inept. I have always been a supporter of him but he got it wrong today with his substitutions. When he took our most creative forward off, he should have put Jake O'Brien on to shore up the defence. But he is so set in his 'I know best' attitude that he brought on Abdoulaye Doucoure, who has been awful for the past two seasons. Time for him to go.
Neil: Utter joke. You absolutely cannot switch off at 2-0 against any team and expect to come out on top. This one has to be shouldered by the defence. Why is O’Brien not playing?
Bournemouth fans
Chas: It was about small measures, passes given away and players out of sorts. Key players trying too hard. Then, 10 minutes of sheer delight. Passes, movement and the will to win. Loved it.
Rob: A match we deserved nothing from! As soon as we scored our first you could see Everton coming apart at the seams. Absolute limbs in the away end when Sinisterra scored the winner. Unbelievable!
Mat: Truly exceptional comeback from a team that collectively never gave up. Should really have nine points and three straight wins. Vindication for two horrendous third-party decisions. Onwards and upwards from now on.
Simon: We didn’t play well in the first 70 minutes. We could barely string a pass together and we seemed disorganised in midfield. However, that performance was indicative of the Cherries brand…excellent substitutions, never-give-up and breaking hearts in the dying moments. Up The Cherries!
'We saw the fragility' - Stubbspublished at 12:18 2 September
12:18 2 September
Image source, Getty Images
Former Everton defender Alan Stubbs spoke to BBC Radio Merseyside about the 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth: "[The first 82 minutes] that was the most positive I've seen from Everton in a long time. We just didn't see the game out.
"We saw the fragility, we saw the opposition score and we couldn't resist the slide and that was so obvious. The more experienced players, they should know how to win games and they didn't do that.
"I think [the blame] is a collective. There was a number of decisions and reasons why we lost the game and it's not just because of the substitutions.
"For 82 minutes there was nothing to change, so I think the substitutions was Dyche trying to give them a bit more energy. They just didn't have the impact we wanted to see."
'Alarm bells are ringing'published at 09:27 2 September
09:27 2 September
Image source, Getty Images
What happened to Everton on Saturday?
"I haven’t seen a collapse like that for a while and when you see a collapse like that, you have to be worried," said former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker on the BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily Podcast.
"I did say I was concerned for Everton this season, but you can’t be 2-0 up at home in the Premier League and lose 3-2. Especially when it looked like Sean Dyche had finally got a reaction from the players with a really good performance
"But by losing they lose all composure, everything. It’s a worrying sign.
"I’ve never seen anything like that. It seemed like the players gave up and that is one thing you never expect from a player under Dyche.
"Alarm bells are ringing."
Three opening defeats mirrors last season's start for the Toffees, but Dyche called it the most “frustrating” loss in his 13 years as a manager.
"You can read the stats from last season but they were not winning 2-0 in the 86th minute to go and concede three," added ex-Premier League striker Charlie Austin.
"You have you look at your senior players when there is such a collapse. They should be pulling players in the by the scruff of the neck to say 'we are not losing this game.'"
Everton collapse 'a lack of leadership' - Murphypublished at 08:55 2 September
08:55 2 September
Image source, Getty Images
Former Premier League midfielder Danny Murphy says Everton "completely lost themselves" in Saturday's late collapse against Bournemouth.
The Toffees looked set to secure their first three points of the season with goals from Michael Keane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin putting them 2-0 up but conceded three times in nine chaotic minutes to remain bottom after three games.
"There's a lot involved in that," Murphy told Sports Report on 5 Live. "You lose belief and start doubting what you're doing and doubting each other - but it's also a lack of leadership.
"It's a shock to me because they've got experienced players on the pitch: Michael Keane, James Tarkowski, Seamus Coleman. You have to get close to each other, be organised, narrow up and be hard to beat. They've done that - they showed that last season when they got out of trouble.
"Against Bournemouth they were in disarray and completely lost themselves. It's a really harsh lesson for them because for the majority of the game they did some really good things.
"Very rarely do Everton have the comfort of a two goal lead with five minutes to go - it's just trying to learn from it."
Cherries' incredible U-turnpublished at 08:33 2 September
08:33 2 September
Chris Collinson BBC Sport statistician
Here's a stat pack Bournemouth fans won't tire of seeing.
Saturday's remarkable Goodison Park turnaround was scarcely believable.
The Cherries had just one shot on target in the first 86 minutes…and that was in the 82nd minute. But they had an incredible six shots on target in the final 12 minutes (final four minutes of normal time plus eight mins of injury-time).
Catch up on the Premier League actionpublished at 11:00 1 September
11:00 1 September
Watch all the highlights and analysis from Saturday's seven Premier League fixtures with Gary and the team.
Everton 2-3 Bournemouth – Calvert-Lewin & Ndiaye star before capitulationpublished at 19:23 31 August
19:23 31 August
Steven Sutcliffe BBC Sport Journalist
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Everton lost despite leading by two goals until the 87th minute
For 86 minutes it appeared as though Sean Dyche and his Everton players had got everything right.
A vibrant and exciting display had brought a two-goal reward and there was a significant improvement on their abject showings in defeats to Brighton and Tottenham.
At the heart of that Dominic Calvert-Lewin and summer signing Iliman Ndiaye stole the show and there was a celebratory feel to Goodison Park.
Centre-forward Calvert-Lewin, who is out of contract next summer, set up Everton's opener with an excellent lay off before scoring their second and his overall contribution delivered a reminder of why he has been capped by England on 11 occasions.
Ndiaye's ability to create and carry Everton up the pitch also provided valuable attacking impetus, with only his finishing slightly out of kilter in performance of real promise from the former Sheffield United and Marseille midfielder.
However, while they were only withdrawn late on, Everton's attacking thrust suddenly disappeared and exposed other frailties as Bournemouth capitalised in stunning fashion.
Everton 2-3 Bournemouth: Did you know?published at 17:55 31 August
17:55 31 August
Image source, Getty Images
Everton were leading by two goals until the 87th minute – the latest a team has ever been two or more goals ahead in a game they have gone on to lose in Premier League history.
Everton 2-3 Bournemouth: What Dyche saidpublished at 17:26 31 August
17:26 31 August
Image source, Getty Images
Everton boss Sean Dyche, speaking to MOTD: "We did so much right until they scored their first goal. I think they had one shot on target before then. The game should have been out of sight. We conceded one and then threw it away. I can't put my finger on it right now.
"They kept raining it forward and got their reward in the end. The Premier League you have to play to the last breath of the game and we simply didn't but they did. They were playing it forward and crossing it into the box and we didn't deal with it. Simple stuff but we threw it away. It is the third game we have thrown away this season.
"You have to kill teams off at every level, but particularly at this level. Everyone was looking at someone else to deal with things and that is when there is trouble. You could see the body language change.
"You have to see games through and we have enough experience to do that, but today we didn't."
Everton 2-3 Bournemouth: Send us your thoughtspublished at 17:00 31 August
Sutton's predictions: Everton v Bournemouthpublished at 11:01 31 August
11:01 31 August
Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.
For week three, he takes on MOBO Award-winning drum & bass legend and producer Adam F.
Sutton's prediction: 1-1
This is massive for Sean Dyche. They've not scored, conceded seven and the Everton fans are pretty underwhelmed.
I think Everton will stay in the Premier League this season. They could do with a goal against Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth who came on leaps and bounds last season.
Adam F's prediction: 1-1
Everton lost at home to Brighton on the first day of the season. I know this is their last season at Goodison but it hasn't been much of a fortress for them recently
