Can Frank Lampard Keep Everton in the Premier League?

Frank Lampard took charge of Everton in January 2022 with The Toffees in 16th place in the Premier League. With 25 points after 27 games, Everton look to their final 11 games to pull enough points together to prevent their first relegation since 1951.

40 points is generally considered to be the magic number for avoiding relegation in the Premier League - with 36 points being enough to steer clear of relegation in the most recent seasons. But with a particularly hard run-in - will The Toffees be able to stay up?

Everton faces five of the top seven in the remaining 11 games, including a Chelsea reunion for Frank Lampard - his first since being sacked by The Blues.

West Ham away next, where The Hammers will be flying high after their Europa League triumph and recent Premier League win over Aston Villa. Lampard’s team need to pick up a win on the road - where they’ve been noticeably lacking this season - in order to expand their three-point gap to Watford.

Other notable fixtures include a Merseyside Derby against Liverpool at Anfield and a closing-day clash against an Arsenal team with Champions League football in their sights.

The trip to Anfield, though usually anticipated due to the fierce rivalry between the two Liverpool clubs, will raise some concerns for Everton’s survival chances. The Toffees have only won once at Anfield since 1999 - when Carlo Ancelotti’s side beat Liverpool 2 - 0 in early 2021.

Despite the tough run-in, there are must-win games between the top seven clashes.

Everton faces Burnley at Turf Moor after West Ham and host Brentford at Goodison Park in the penultimate game of the Premier League season. With both of the teams being very much in the fray of the relegation struggle, a win against both would greatly impact Everton’s chances of staying in the top flight for another year.

Everton’s top scorer for the season is summer signing Demarai Gray, with only five goals. Fellow striker Richarlison has four to his name and Dominic Calvert-Lewin and youngster Anthony Gordon have three goals each.

The five goals Gray has managed to register places him as the top scorer with the lowest tally of goals in the Premier League.

The front line have been more than disappointing this Premier League campaign, only registering 29 goals, with an average of 1.07 a game. These statistics rank them at 16th in the league.

Loanee signing Donny van de Beek from Manchester United has also failed to hit the ground running at Everton. So far the Dutchman has made six appearances and hasn’t contributed a single goal or assist. As one of the statement signings of The Toffee’s January transfer window, Lampard and Everton would’ve hoped for a bigger impact.

This sentiment also applies to fellow January transfer Dele Alli. The former Tottenham midfielder and two-time PFA Young Player of the Year winner has also played six times for Everton, but has no goal or assist to his name.

The inconsistency in the front line and lack of a top striker doesn’t allow The Toffees to overturn the deficit of the high volume of goals conceded. Everton also lacks the ability to kill off games, failing to score over three goals in any Premier League match this season.

The Everton defence has also been a consistent source of weakness this season. The back four of Ben Godfrey, Michael Keane, Yerry Mina, Seamus Coleman and goalkeeper Jordan Pickford rank 16th in the Premier League for clean sheets with just five, only two more than worst offenders Leeds. The Toffees also lead for more own goals (4) and errors leading to goals (8).

The Toffees also find themselves ranked in 16th place for goals conceded (47) and average points per game (1.74) in the Premier League. These statistics are even worse when compared to the away form of the defence.

However, the entire team, but particularly the defence, perform better at Goodison Park rather than any away alternative. When just considering home games, Everton rank 12th for goals conceded (19), average points per game (1.36) and clean sheets (4).

The poor showing at the back this season could be a defining aspect of Everton’s potential relegation. But with five home games in the final 11, the small improvements found at Goodison Park could give them the needed lifeline.

Frank Lampard has proven that he can produce results in the past. His promotion effort with Derby and his FA Cup campaign with Chelsea showed he can progress far in fierce competition.

A main facet of Lampard’s management style is his continued focus on youth development. As seen with his young Derby team and his Chelsea team that drew from the youth set up after the transfer ban. This can been seen once again with increasing game time for Anthony Gordon.

However, both of his teams stumbled at the final hurdle. The Toffees will hope that this season doesn’t follow this trend.

But, the last gasp winner against Newcastle should restore some faith in fans, that despite an unwanted result in the FA Cup against Crystal Palace, there is still life in their Premier League hopes.