After another defeat in the Premier League, Everton full back Leighton Baines has admitted that the players “lack chemistry right now.

This is not the first honest assessment of the Blues performances this season from Baines. After the 3-3 draw away at Chelsea, he admitted there were defensive problems.

Those problems have yet to be rectified. 

Speaking to the Liverpool Echo, Baines said that Everton’s season now comes down to their performance in the FA Cup and that no player has “their name penciled in” to play at Wembley.

Players should use that as “motivation” says Baines and they will have to get on the same page before the April 23rd tie with Manchester United or West Ham United

Everton heavily reliant on certain players

Baines admitted that the players seem to be “leaning heavily on certain players” and for them to “come up with something.” Everton would be much worse off this season without the performances of Gareth Barry and the goals of Romelu Lukaku.

Baines says it’s all down to chemistry.

Look at the teams who are having success this year,” he said, “you’d say they have chemistry.Leicester City are top of the Premier League and now look likely to capture the title; they’ve played with chemistry all season, fighting for each other until the final whistle. 

The full back can not put his finger on why there is no chemistry between his own team though.

The Blues went to Dubai for a training camp where manager Roberto Martinez hoped they would get closer as a team, but that looks like it has had no effect on view of some disjointed performances against teams Everton have been favoured to beat.

We’ve not won enough games to make excuses,” said Baines. The Toffees have only won three home Premier League games, less than the number of home cup wins this season. For Baines and the fans, that is not good enough. 

The Blues have relied on goals from Romelu Lukaku this season. Photo: PFA

The players are all accountable

While Roberto Martinez picks the team and sends them out to play whoever is put in front of them, the Blues have not played to their standards.

You get judged at the end of the season,” said Baines. “We’re getting near the end and we’re not near a position we should be in given what we’ve got.” 

The Toffees have the players to pull themselves out of a run in the Premier League where they have not won since the beginning of March. They sit 12th in the league table, way below the fan expectation of European positions. 

The players are “all accountable” for Baines and they need to put it right if the Blues want to end their run without silverware this season. To achieve that and get the fans back on side, they’re going to need to find chemistry and fast.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Connor Bennett
Everton editor for VAVEL UK - contributing since 2015. Premier League accredited journalist. Journalism graduate from Liverpool. Writing about Football, eSports and the NFL. Email: [email protected] | Twitter: ConnorBennett14