The last time Frank Lampard was in the relegation zone in the second half of a season, he was a teenager trying to break through at West Ham in the 1990s. If his first fortnight as Everton manager could end with them in the bottom three, Lampard tried to deflect suggestions Tuesday's trip to Newcastle and Saturday’s meeting with Leeds are six-pointers that could define their campaign.
“We have to stay calm,” he said. “There is a long way to go, 18 games. To put everything on these two games would be wrong.” Everton’s plight is not Lampard’s fault but he argued that as a newcomer, he is not worn down by a run of 10 defeats in 13 league games.
“We are 16th and there are reasons for that,” he said. “The good thing with being a new manager is you don’t feel the strain and pressure of it. The most important thing for me is to have a clean slate in my head. I understand the severity of the game that but also walking in fresh is hopefully something I can bring to the table.”
Lampard’s first game brought inklings of an immediate impact. He wants Everton to have more of the ball and a side who average 40 percent of possession in the Premier League had 55 percent in beating Brentford 4-1 in the FA Cup. It was the first time for almost a year Everton scored more than three goals, they were able to operate higher up the pitch and a side given a new 3-4-3 formation were receptive to his ideas.
Dele Alli and other notable January transfers
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Dele Alli - Tottenham to Everton (No initial fee but up to £30m in potential add-ons). PA -
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Arsenal to Barcelona (free). PA -
Donny van de Beek - Manchester United to Everton (loan). PA -
Jony - Lazio to Sporting Gijon (loan). Getty Images -
Kevin Paredes - DC United to Wolfsburg (£5.2 million). Reuters -
Billal Brahimi - Angers to Nice (£5.8 million). AFP -
Neco Williams - Liverpool to Fulham (loan). Reuters -
Jeff Hendrick - Newcastle United to QPR (loan). Getty Images -
Mamadou Sylla - Alaves to Rayo Vallecano (loan). Getty Images -
Ibrahima Kone - Sarpsborg to Lorient (£3.3 million). AFP -
Dan Burn - Brighton & Hove Albion's to Newcastle United (£12.5 million). PA -
Lucas Perez - Elche to Cadiz (undisclosed fee). Getty Images -
Islam Slimani - Lyon to Sporting (free). Getty -
Jean-Philippe Mateta - Mainz to Crystal Palace (£10 million). PA -
Aaron Ramsey - Juventus to Rangers (loan). PA -
Deniz Undav - Union St-Gilloise to Brighton (£6 million). Getty Images -
Goran Pandev - Genoa to Parma (undisclosed fee). Getty Images -
Giovani Lo Celso - Tottenham to Villarreal (loan). PA -
Matt Targett - Aston Villa to Newcastle (loan). PA -
Bryan Gil - Tottenham to Valencia (loan). PA -
Rodrigo Bentancur - Juventus to Tottenham (£15.9 million). AFP -
Dejan Kulusevski - Juventus to Tottenham (loan). AFP -
Nat Phillips - Liverpool to Bournemouth (loan). Getty Images -
Denis Zakaria - Borussia Moenchengladbach to Juventus (£4.2 million). Getty Images -
Tanguy Ndombele - Tottenham to Lyon (loan). PA -
Christian Eriksen - Brentford (free agent). PA -
Julián Álvarez - River Plate to Manchester City (£14 million; loaned back to River Plate). Getty Images -
Wout Weghorst - Wolfsburg to Burnley (£12 million). Getty Images -
Martín Cáceres - Cagliari to Levante (free). Getty Images -
Max Kruse - Union Berlin to Wolfsburg (undisclosed fee). Getty Images -
Bruno Guimaraes - Lyon to Newcastle (£33.3 million). Getty Images -
Luis Diaz - Porto to Liverpool (£33.3 million). Getty Images -
Adama Traore - Wolverhampton Wanderers to Barcelona (loan). Getty Images -
Felipe Caicedo - Genoa to Inter Milan (loan). Getty Images -
Federico Fazio - Roma to Salernitana (free). Getty -
Dusan Vlahovic - Fiorentina to Juventus (£62.5 million). AP -
Ilaix Moriba - RB Leipzig to Valencia (loan). AFP -
Daniel Wass - Valencia to Atletico Madrid (£2.1 million). EPA -
Calum Chambers - Arsenal to Aston Villa (undisclosed fee). PA -
Robin Gosens - Atalanta to Inter Milan (loan). Reuters -
Amad Diallo - Manchester United to Rangers (loan). PA -
Samuel Kalu - Bordeaux to Watford (£3 million). AFP -
Anthony Martial - Manchester United to Sevilla (loan). EPA -
Hatem Ben Arfa - joins Lille as a free agent. AFP -
Jeremie Boga - Sassuolo to Atalanta (£18.5 million). AP -
Dario Benedetto - Marseille to Boca Junior (£3 million). Getty Images -
Wilson Isidor - Monaco to Lokomotiv Moscow (£2.5 million). AP Photo -
Ivan Saponjic - Atletico Madrid to Slovan Bratislava (free). EPA -
Patrick Roberts - Manchester City to Sunderland (undisclosed fee). Getty Images -
Sardar Azmoun - Zenit to Bayer Leverkusen (free). EPA -
Eliaquim Mangala - joins Saint-Etienne as a free agent. AP Photo -
Oussama Idrissi Sevilla to Cadiz (loan). Getty Images -
Sergio Rico - PSG to Real Mallorca (loan). Getty Images -
Leonardo Campana - Wolves to Inter Miami (loan). AFP -
Pablo Mari - Arsenal to Udinese (loan). PA -
Tommy Doyle - Manchester City to Cardiff City (loan). PA -
Sead Kolasinac - Arsenal to Marseille (free). Reuters -
Nani - Orlando City to Venezia (free). Getty Images -
Jordan Lukaku - Lazio to Vicenza (loan). PA -
Sergio Oliveira - Porto to Roma (loan). Getty Images -
Diego Godin - Cagliari to Atlético Mineiro (released). Getty Images -
Borja Mayoral - Roma to Getafe (loan). EPA -
Anwar El Ghazi - Aston Villa to Everton (loan). AFP -
Luke Matheson - Wolves to Scunthorpe United (loan). Reuters -
Jesus Manuel Corona - Porto to Sevilla (£2.9 million). Getty Images -
Cristiano Piccini - Valencia to Red Star (free). EPA -
Edon Zhegrova - Basel to Lille (£5.8 million). AP Photo -
Patrik Gunnarsson - Brentford to Viking FK (undisclosed fee). AP photo -
Chiquinho - Estoril to Wolves (£2.9 million). AFP -
Robin Olsen - Roma to Aston Villa (loan). Reuters -
Philippe Coutinho - Barcelona to Aston Villa (loan). AFP -
Chris Wood - Burnley to Newcastle United (£25 million). AFP -
Lucas Digne - Everton to Aston Villa (£25 million). EPA -
Folarin Balogun - Arsenal to Middlesbrough (loan). PA -
Jan Zamburek - Brentford to Viborg (undisclosed fee). PA -
Taylor Harwood-Bellis - Manchester City to Stoke City (loan). Getty Images -
Andrea Conti - AC Milan to Sampdoria (undisclosed fee). Getty Images -
Krzysztof Piatek - Hertha Berlin to Fiorentina (loan). EPA -
Axel Tuanzebe - Manchester United to Napoli (loan). AP Photo -
Kieran Trippier - Atletico Madrid to Newcastle United (£12 million). PA -
Ainsley Maitland-Niles - Arsenal to Roma (loan). Reuters -
Jurgen Locadia - Brighton & Hove Albion to Bochum (released). PA -
Samir - Udinese to Watford (undisclosed fee). AP -
Nathan Patterson - Rangers to Everton (£12 million). PA -
Teden Mengi - Manchester United to Birmingham City (loan). AP Photo -
Hassane Kamara - Nice to Watford (£4 million). Reuters -
Ferran Torres - Manchester City to Barcelona (£46.3 million). Getty Images -
Aaron Connolly - Brighton & Hove Albion to Middlesbrough (loan). PA -
Vitaliy Mykolenko - Dynamo Kiev to Everton (£17.6 million). Reuters -
Rafinha - PSG to Real Sociedad (loan). AFP
“In terms of the style and the basics, that was a nice step in the right direction,” he said. “I have seen a hard-working, humble group. They were ready to listen, maybe lacking in confidence but that is natural. I can’t fault a player in the squad but we have big challenges ahead and it won’t always be an easy road.”
He has more players at his disposal now with Dominic Calvert-Lewin fit again. The striker tormented Lampard’s Chelsea when they lost at Goodison Park in 2019 and he said: “I love the talent and attributes he has. I am really excited to work with him.”
His loan signings Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek were cup-tied on Saturday and are eligible for debuts now. Former England manager Glenn Hoddle criticised Alli for his outfit in the crowd at the weekend, saying he looked “dragged off the street.” Lampard defended Alli as he argued two new attacking midfielders can play together.
“I don't care what car he drives and what clothes he wears, as long as players have the right behaviour when it comes to football, I have no worries,” he said. “Maybe Donny wears an overcoat that is longer than Dele wears, and he has a different type of jacket, but it doesn't bother me. As long as they produce on the pitch then I'm very happy. I wouldn’t bring them in if I didn’t think they could complement each other.”
