Liverpool and Everton lock horns in a vital Merseyside derby on Wednesday night, but just how grim is life for the Blues right now?
Jurgen Klopp‘s side got back to winning ways in the Premier League at Fulham, but only three more points on the road will do in midweek.
Standing in their way will be a determined Everton team still scrapping at the bottom of the table, however, and they would love to rain on the Reds’ title ambitions.
Ahead of the game, Henry Jackson spoke to Blues fan and writer Sam Whyte (@SamWhyte) to get her thoughts on the season to date, Wednesday’s huge game and much more.
How grim has this season been, all things considered?
Oh, pretty much as grim as it’s possible to be without being mathematically relegated.
An early-season surge was negated by the points deduction and has given way to late-1990s, Walter Smith-era form.
It’s been at the point where you have to immerse yourself in gallows humour otherwise football will simply make your life worse.
We’ve eeked out some results recently, most recently against a truly dire and disjointed-looking Forest, and that’s all that matters at this stage.
The focus is on staying up and regrouping in the summer.
Are you confident that better times lie ahead?
The takeover by 777 Partners is a marriage of convenience, not a planned or astute business decision; we owe them a great deal of money and if the Premier League waves it through it’s purely a means of avoiding administration.
Their track record with ownership leaves a lot to be desired, but any port in a storm.
If we can retain our Premier League status, the new stadium could be brilliant.
A fancy new ground has been mooted for as long as I can remember and consolidates Everton financially, even though the interest of the building costs have hobbled us this season.
I’ve heard a lot of opposition fans quietly hoping we’ll stay up as they’re keen to have the away day. Certainly strolling past it and seeing it taking shape is a huge boost.
NB: Pub quiz host, get your question in about Edgeley Park being the closest stadium to the Mersey in before it’s finished!
Who have been Everton’s best and worst players this season?
I’m reluctant to call out the worst players because they tend to be either those who slog their guts out but can’t quite capitalise or late-career signings that should probably have never been made (this has become something of a habit).
For all the tiny-arm jibe, Jordan Pickford has been superb, and if we stay up it will be in no small part due to his heroics.
His reactions are lightning quick combined with tremendous footwork and being a glorious wind-up merchant (I do consider this a unique and underappreciated skill).
Honourable mention to Dwight McNeil – a player I wasn’t sure about when we signed him (the “shows what I know” list grows ever longer).
He has looked composed and consistent in a side that’s been anything but that, and his goals, along with those of Abdoulaye Doucoure, have been invaluable.
Would you stick with Sean Dyche?
I very much saw Sean Dyche as a supply teacher called in to get us over the line and that continues to hold true.
Everton don’t currently have the goalscorers for low-possession direct play and it’s become such an unfashionable style that recruiting on that basis would be difficult.
I have to give him credit for the defensive solidity he’s managed to foster, but Dycheball is not a long-term strategy.
This is the problem with non-football actors making football decisions, it’s short-termist and based on name recognition.
My personal views on the best replacement are too divisive to commit to print.
How do you assess Liverpool’s title hopes?
Being reliant on Arsenal bottling an otherwise winnable streak of fixtures bodes very well for you.
I’d offer the fact I’ve got money on Liverpool to win it up as proof, but in truth, this has been true every season since 2014 as an emotional hedge bet.
Of course, Man City could still render all this meaningless, and I don’t know what accounts for their occasional off days – I see little evidence of Pep’s overthinking this season.
I think you’ve got every chance and I’m sorry, but I hope I’m wrong*.
* She was not sorry!
What’s your favourite and worst derby memory?
My favourite is probably Andrei Kanchelskis’s brace at Anfield, in part because football is never more fun than when you’re under 12, in part because he might be the most technically gifted player I’ve ever seen at Everton.
I’ve never felt more despondent after a derby than after Origi nodding home in the 96th minute.
When he came on for Forest on Sunday some terrible derby day memories came flooding back.
As for Wednesday, where will the key battles take place?
In keeping with tradition this promises to be a very unlovely watch; a strikerless Everton and a nervy Liverpool will probably see a scrappy, attritional game reliant on a few big moments.
I expect a lot of crunching James Tarkowski tackles to be crucial, and whether Darwin Nunez can be coaxed into actually converting his chances.
If you could only have one Liverpool player at Everton, who would it be?
Much as I privately admire certain Liverpool players from a technical perspective, no player has honourably crossed the park this way since Gary Ablett, and I firmly believe it should stay that way.
Finally, what’s your prediction?
I never make derby predictions and remain open to negotiations with any skilled witch or wizard who can guarantee me a streak of 0-0s from now until the end of time!
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