Every so often in football, a player experiences a dip in form so stark that questions are raised as to whether he is able to continue performing at the top level of the game at all. A brief glance through the history books shows that even greats such as former Everton and Wales goalkeeper Neville Southall have seen their fortunes rapidly fade as they approached the twilight of their careers.
Following Monday night's World Cup qualifier between Wales and Ireland, Southall's fellow countryman Ashley Williams may well be another to add to the list. With the winner-takes-all game between the two neighbours evenly poised at 0-0 after 57 minutes, the 33-year-old contrived to lose possession on the left wing. It was a mistake that immediately conjured images of a similar error made by Williams in Everton's recent 2-2 draw at home to Europa League minnows Apollon Limassol. There, as in Cardiff, the veteran defender compounded a sloppy pass with a poor reaction that ultimately led to a vital opposition goal.
On both occasions, decisive action could still have been taken by the former Swansea man to alleviate the danger. Close down the player in possession, block the cross and lax passing would have been forgiven. Yet instead of taking steps to rectify the misdemeanour, Williams back-peddled nervously, allowing Jeff Hendrick the time and space needed to deliver a quality cross into the box. Ireland's hero on the night, James McClean, made no mistake to send his team through to the play-offs at the expense of their hosts.
A day later, and Williams' error-strewn display in the Welsh capital remains a hot topic of discussion across both the airwaves and social media alike. Was this the nadir in an early-season blip or just the start of a continued decline that could yet plummet to new depths?
Placed in the context of several hugely disappointing displays for club and country, there has been a suggestion that it is simply a case of the centre-back's legs 'having gone'. Without the pace to recover, the Everton defender has little-to-no margin for error in and out of possession- or so the theory goes. Poor attitude, too, has been mooted as a potential factor, even if such talk is purely conjecture at this stage.
Both responses may have some basis in fact, however, taking into account that fact that Williams' recent displays have been, above all, categorised by a desire to drop way too deep- see Burnley's winner earlier this month at Goodison Park - it appears to be the case that the defender himself recognises the need to deprive opponents of space in behind. Moreover, for a player who has made a name based on sound defensive instincts, the goals against Apollon and Ireland hint at a palpable concern over being caught for pace down the flanks.
Add slow reaction times to deep defending and sloppy distribution and the end result has been a run of form that has been comfortably the 33-year-old's worst in a blue shirt since his arrival in the summer of 2016. Signed for a fee of around £10m after a stellar World Cup for Wales, Williams had ironically been identified by Everton scouts as the player to add steel to a creaking backline that had suffered under the negligent tutelage of Roberto Martinez. A fairly competent first campaign in blue ensued as Ronald Koeman's Everton finished a respectable seventh in the Premier League. Sure, there were some clumsy performances along the way, but on the whole the former Swan had at least started to justify his big-money move.
Fast forward 12 months, and it no longer appears the case that Everton can rely upon their £10million man. Calls are growing on Merseyside for Williams to be replaced by club captain Phil Jagielka for the visit to Brighton on Sunday, with summer signing Michael Keane comfortably first-choice on the right side of defence. What has most surprised supporters of a blue persuasion has been the way Williams, a colossus for Wales in France, has failed to take on the same leadership role at Goodison Park. Instead of thriving under pressure, he and others have wilted alarmingly.
Putting aside Koeman's desire to stick with a select group of certain individuals- of which the Welshman is most definitely a part- it seems unlikely that Williams will have the mental fortitude to recover from a catalogue of setbacks in such quick succession. And so the smart decision would be to take the veteran out of the firing line at the Amex Stadium. Time should be taken to allow him to recharge his batteries and then attempt to fight his way back into the side. Such a scenario could well benefit all parties.
Beyond that, whether an upturn in fortunes is even remotely possible remains to be seen. Either way, Williams faces a real struggle to overcome the questions that are plaguing his season. Both club and player will hope that parallels with the likes of Southall quickly fade into obscurity.
