It has been a very disappointing start to the season for Everton and having played 10 games in the Premier League they find themselves in 16th place.
The Toffees have just 10 points to their name, which leaves them only 2 points outside the relegation zone. For a club who were expected to challenge in the top half of the table this season and push for at least a Europa League place, current form is simply not good enough.
Following a poor defeat at Burnley, it seemed as though manager Marco Silva had turned the corner thanks to the convincing home win over West Ham United. However, that victory was soon forgotten last weekend as Everton suffered another loss, this time away to Brighton and Hove Albion. Everton took the lead in the match but could not hold on and conceded a 94th minute own goal to lose the game.
A defeat in the League Cup at home against former club Watford, could possibly spell the end of Silva’s time in charge at Goodison Park. If not, the home Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur followed by an away trip to struggling Southampton will be key if the Portuguese manager is to keep his job at the club.
It is not as if Silva has not had the backing of the board in the transfer market during his time at Everton. He has added players including Richarlison, Lucas Digne, Yerry Mina, Alex Iwobi, Moise Kean, Andre Gomes, Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Fabian Delph for a combined fee of over £170 million. One could argue that only Richarlison and Digne have proved value for money, with the other players yet to establish themselves at Goodison Park.
Everton are currently enduring their longest spell without winning a trophy in the history of the club. Silva was brought in as the man to end their drought but as things stand, he could be leaving the club without having added any silverware to the cabinet.
With clubs including Leicester City and Crystal Palace occupying spaces in the top half of the Premier League table and enjoying a good start to the season, the hierarchy at Everton will be looking at those teams and wondering why they are not up there with them.
Only the bottom 3 clubs in the Premier League have conceded more goals than Everton this season and their defensive performance late in the game at Brighton was awful. In addition to their problems at the back, Everton have only scored 10 goals in the Premier League this season, With Newcastle United, Southampton and Sheffield United the only 3 teams to have scored fewer.
So, it is clear Everton are having trouble at both ends of the pitch and that is not easy to fix. Will Silva be given the time to solve the problem himself or will Everton look to bring in a new manager in the hope it will see them move up the Premier League?