Everton's comeback from 2-0 down to beat Crystal Palace in the final home game of the 2021/22 season was supposed to be the beginning of something.
The delirium of that day at Goodison Park wasn't just about ensuring a survival that had felt unlikely – that's not something for a club of this size to celebrate – but about drawing a line under a catastrophic campaign and beginning afresh.
That optimism has already drained. Everton have lost Richarlison and managed to add just three new names, none of which are particularly exciting, and it now seems more likely they will endure another relegation battle than move back towards the top.
Based on resources and recent expenditure Everton ought to be comfortably in the top ten and pushing for European places. But gross mismanagement over the last few years has seen them topple down the table, and while the chances of relegation in 2022/23 is slim it looks set to be another hugely disappointing year for the Toffees – primarily because nothing has changed.
Everton's main problem has been erratically hiring managers with no tactical similarities and then giving them control of incoming transfers, creating a squad formed on competing visions and a churn – of players and managers – that has left them rudderless. Judging on the evidence so far, Frank Lampard is just the next in line.
Lampard's tactical abyss
The main issue is that Lampard seemingly has no idea how to organise a team to play the high-pressing, possession-centric tactics he would like to deploy. Throughout his two years at Chelsea, and now at Everton, he seems to manage in buzzwords; knowing vaguely what he wants, but without any of the technical and tactical know-how to enact it.
If that seems harsh, note how Chelsea and Everton have looked so aimless under Lampard, making constant errors and generally lolling around the pitch in a decompressed, zig-zag formation – with huge gaps appearing vertically and horizontally. It has always been remarkably easy to work around and walk through a Lampard team.
Again in keeping with his spell as Chelsea manager, Everton have only looked capable when forced to sit deep and defend in rigid banks of four, as they did in the crucial 1-0s win over Arsenal and Chelsea towards the end of last season. Sitting back and absorbing pressure is the simplest way to play, and therefore it is only in this shape that Lampard's tactical incoherence does not affect the players.
New season, old problems
A relegation battle allowed him to adopt this approach, but for the start of 2022/23 he will return to the stretched-out and maddeningly chaotic system of attacking football. Unless Lampard has spent the summer studying – which seems unlikely, since he didn't appear to during his year off – Everton will not be turning a new leaf next month.
And although it is always a mistake to read too much into friendlies, Everton's performances in the recent 2-0 friendly defeat to Arsenal and 4-0 defeat to Minnesota were alarming. As ever, the Toffees were wide open through central midfield, easily beaten in the transition by a dominant Arsenal. As ever, Everton made lots of casual defensive mistakes that spoke to a lack of detailed instruction. As ever, they looked hopelessly disorganised at set-pieces.
Nobody in the Premier League conceded more set-piece goals last season than Everton's 19, which was just another sign that there isn't anywhere near enough actual coaching going on. And if that wasn't bad enough, Everton's moves in the transfer window have been just as problematic.
The wrong signings
“A lot of the work we're doing right now in terms of bringing in players will be pivotal in the season we're going to have, because we fought against relegation and lost a huge player for us this window," Lampard said recently, in reference to the sale of Richarlison to Tottenham. “We're working hard in different areas to improve the squad."
Well, so far that 'hard work' is not exactly paying off. None of their three signings to date are worth celebrating.
James Tarkowski, like Michael Keane before him, is completely untested in a high-line system like Everton's and investing in the former Burnley centre-back represents quite the risk. Playing in a well-coached defensive shape, with fellow defenders close by and the team often camped on the edge of their own area, means Tarkowski inevitably looked good on paper: racking up blocks, headers, and clearances.
It is true of every Burnley defender, hence why they have always found it so easy to replace a lost centre-back. But like Keane, who is very error-prone at Everton, Tarkowski lacks the pace to work in a more expressive and decompressed team. But he is, at least, more suitable than Ruben Vinagre, whose loan signing from Sporting – after a previous disappointing time at Wolves – speaks to Lampard's desperation to get bodies through the door.
The most recent addition, Dwight McNeil, isn't really any better. McNeil was once a very promising winger but the 22-year-old just hasn't pushed on since first exploding onto the scene. Last season he managed just one assist and no goals in 38 Premier League appearances, and more alarming still, even in advanced metrics – shot-creating actions, carries - he has stagnated over the last three years. In fact, McNeil's total number of touches and crosses have declined year on year. He is hardly a bargain at £20 million.
It is fitting that Lampard should make three signings who last looked decent several years ago. This is not a modern manager, not tactically speaking or otherwise, and indeed Lampard might just be digging his own grave at Goodison Park; signing two Burnley players while free agent Sean Dyche waits in the wings may hasten Lampard's own demise. Relegation is unlikely. But it would be a huge surprise if Everton haven't changed manager by the time the World Cup starts in November.