Everton have been notoriously profligate all season, as an outstanding issue that is arguably the greatest reason for their struggles.
And whilst Sean Dyche has done all he can to mould a team capable of creating plenty of chances, a lack of quality and confidence continues to let them down at the final hurdle.
That is a failure owed to the bulk of the squad, but unsurprisingly the front line are the worst perpetrators.
Dyche now has a message for them…
Sean Dyche implores forward players to make the difference
Speaking at his pre-match press conference ahead of the Newcastle United clash tomorrow night, relayed by the Liverpool ECHO, Dyche actually issued a challenge to his players for a change.
Instead of merely pointing to statistics which suggest the side is moving in the right direction, despite having failed to win in the Premier League since December, the former Burnley boss took aim at his forwards, who have been misfiring all campaign.
After all, having swiftly forged a pretty rock-solid backline, it has been their inability to score that has plagued them.
Dyche is hoping that will change, as he noted: ‘To be honest I don’t need a reaction in a sense of effort, it is details. The stats and facts of our performances, slightly less so today with creation of chances, but generally it is all there for us to build on. But you can’t make mistakes. It is as simple as that.
‘At both ends by the way, it is not fair to just question defensive moments, you have got to question finishing. We have had chance after chance and we have not capitalised, so we have got to change at both ends of the pitch.’
Everton are one of the worst finishers in the Premier League
Not only is Dominic Calvert-Lewin statistically the worst finisher in the entire division, but Everton as a whole are underperforming their expected goals more than any other side.
Having only found the net on 30 occasions across their 29 games played thus far, it has been a terribly profligate season thus far.
And this notion is exemplified given underlying figures suggest the Toffees should instead have scored 49.88, a 19.88 underperformance.
The next worst is Brentford, with a 10.18 underperformance.
Dyche is right to point to his attackers as the area causing the most issues, but surely more can be done in training to iron out these outstanding issues which would certainly secure their safety.