Even by EvertonBy standards, it was something else.

Only 25 seconds passed between Béto make the crossbar shake a few meters away and SouthamptonSaturday’s winning goal, scored by Adam Armstrong. Adding insult to injury, Guinea-Bissau international Beto then saw a late equalizer ruled out by VAR for offside.

It is on these fine margins that Saturday’s match would be played. And just like that, Southampton secured their first win since promotion to Premier Leaguethus ending a run of 22 games without a win in the top flight.

If ever there was an example of “Everton it” – the expression fans use to describe the inescapable feeling that whatever can go wrong, will go wrong for their team – this is it. .

This is a club that aspires to the next chapter. The need for something, Nothing boosting morale has been evident for some time and still persists.

A new dawn may indeed be upon us due to the proposed takeover of the Friedkin Group and the impending move this summer to a new state-of-the-art stadium on Liverpool’s waterfront, but the plan only works if the targets remain met.

In this sense, the current problem is not the future but the present.

On the pitch, Everton and their manager Sean Dyche continue to make life difficult for themselves. Every time they seem on the verge of breaking free, they return to trouble, sometimes inexplicably.

(Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)

Against the league’s bottom team, the opportunity was wasted to move seven points clear of relegation ahead of a perilous December schedule. Instead, the gap is four points. Five to Saturday’s hosts, 20th-placed Southampton.

Dyche spent most of his post-match press conference referring to Everton’s expected goal total of 1.6 and the decision not to send off the Southampton defender. Jan Bednarek for illegally stopping Beto’s run in the area at 0-0.

The latter in particular seemed like an unnecessary distraction.

Everton created chances, but it was another largely inconsistent and incomplete display. Only against another promoted, Ipswich Towndid they really click for 90 minutes this season.

Part of this may be staffing. Dyche believes Michael Keane And James Tarkowski deserved to stay in the team, but the decision to leave the in-form defender Jarrad Branthwaite on the bench did not prove popular. There have also been calls for fringe players like Beto, Jesper Lindstrom And Nathan Patterson to have more minutes.

Everton are clearly not good enough to leave a player of Branthwaite’s quality on the bench. But overall, it seems more like a question of balance – or lack of balance.

While the experience with Dwight McNeil The No. 10 has brought a new dynamic in attack, but it now seems to be hurting the team. Off the ball, the former Burnley the man is incapable of stepping in and becoming a third central midfielder – a defensive comfort blanket – like his former starter Abdoulaye Doucouré.

In possession, McNeil tends to drift to the right and leave space in the middle. There is also a feeling that using him centrally makes it more difficult for the star striker Iliman Ndiaye to impact the game from the left wing.

Everton does not sufficiently exploit the talents of the Senegalese. Too often he finds himself on the periphery, far from the goal, and trailing runners when he would be better served using his game-changing ability in short, sharp bursts.

Ndiaye had just 27 touches in just over an hour before being sent off with a dead leg.

Everton’s attack remains clumsy and ineffective, as it has been for much of Dyche’s tenure.

Most of their chances at St Mary’s came from possession near the Southampton goal, but they were foiled by St Mary’s excellent goalkeeping Aaron Ramsdale and poor decision-making. It is telling that things improved after Jack Harrison came in at number 10 and McNeil moved back to the wing.

The downside to high pressing was that defenders Keane and Tarkowski were often caught too high up the pitch and exposed. In this kind of setup, Branthwaite’s extra pace would have been invaluable.

There is also the question of ambition or, at the risk of repeating myself, the lack of it.

Dyche’s plan against Fulham A week ago it was about coughing up the ball and looking to frustrate, but Everton and Goodison never got going. Saturday’s game plan was more ambitious against weaker opponents, but once again Everton allowed their hosts – previously winless – to gain a foothold.

Ceding the initiative leaves the team more vulnerable to punches than most, as Armstrong’s late goal showed.

Everton thought they had equalized – but it was overturned by VAR (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)

“(It feels) shit,” Lindstrom said afterward. “When the game is like that, it’s not good enough, especially in the first half. We are a much better team than we showed. The second half was a little better: people were running more, fighting more, creating chances.

“We deserved at least a point because of all the chances, but on the other hand I don’t think we deserved it because I know we can play much better than we did. We must demand more from each other and keep going.

In more ways than one, everything still seems tricky when it comes to Everton. Fragile.

Even during the five-game unbeaten run, which ended on Saturday, fans complained about the style and substitutions. Those groans will be louder after the Southampton defeat.

For now, the goal this season is just to stay afloat. In the absence of leadership at the top, decisive change – if it comes – will most likely have to wait until after the takeover.

Everyone is waiting for what’s next at Everton, seemingly wishing this season was over and almost expecting the ship to sail out of rough waters.

Saturday was another reminder that things are unlikely to go well for them or their manager.

This seems increasingly difficult to convince supporters ready to put an end to the years of gloom.

(Header photo: Steve Bardens/Getty Images)