There was a time in the not-too-distant-past when Everton's full-backs were among the best in the Premier League. In Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines, the Blues not only had two players able to drive them on from deep, but also create chances, score goals and play a significant role in transition.
The duo arguably reached the height of their powers in Roberto Martinez's first season in charge. The Catalan was much-maligned towards the end of his Goodison Park tenure, but must at least be given credit for tailoring a team to fit the needs of key men Baines and Coleman. Understanding that space in the centre of the park was increasingly at a premium in the modern game, Martinez's 4-2-3-1 system deployed Gareth Barry and James McCarthy as a defensive midfield shield, granting his side's full-backs greater attacking license. The end result was a system in which Coleman and Baines served as auxiliary playmakers- circumnavigating three-man midfields that attempted to stifle teams at Goodison in particular.
This tendency towards what could loosely be termed 'playmaking full-backs' has continued into the present day. Over the summer, Manchester City invested in excess of £100m in Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy, while elsewhere the likes of PSG's Dani Alves and Real Madrid's Marcelo have taken on talismanic status at their respective sides. It says a lot that in a team as gifted in the attacking third as Real, the absence of Marcelo often brings about a palpable slump in form. Against teams that defend in a low block, the modern full-back has become a potent weapon in any club's attacking arsenal.
But while Messrs Guardiola and Zidane have privileged the full-back positions, under Ronald Koeman, Everton have seen their influence dwindle alarmingly to the point where little width at all is evident in the Blues' play. Where once Coleman and Baines roamed the Goodison Park flanks at their peak, Everton are now reliant on journeyman Cuco Martina and an ageing Baines for the bulk of their width.
Baines, formerly one of the best crossers of a ball in the league, is now showing signs of wear and tear. A series of niggling injuries have taken their toll to such an extent that the 32-year-old is now unable to chip in with any sort of regularity from set-pieces. Gone, too, are the surging runs forward over the course of 90 minutes that worked so well while Steven Pienaar was still at the club. Shorn of the energy to play such a role, and a partner with whom to link, the former England left-back can no longer be relied upon to deliver match-winning performances week in, week out.
Coleman, for his part, is still recovering from an horrific leg break sustained on international duty- a serious blow for club and manager alike. The Ireland captain's absence could be seen as a mitigating factor for Koeman as the under-fire Dutchman strives to halt a poor run of form on the pitch, but at the time of writing, no discernible changes in system have been made to compensate for his loss.
Indeed, the two formations used most by Everton this season- 4-2-3-1 and 3-5-2 have both placed a considerable burden on full-backs- or wing-backs- to provide width. With Gylfi Sigurdsson, Wayne Rooney and Davy Klaassen all favouring central roles, and wingers such as Ademola Lookman and Kevin Mirallas used sparingly, Baines and Martina have handed a task for which they seem incredibly ill-suited.
In the aftermath of Sunday's hugely disappointing 1-0 home defeat against Burnley, it was no surprise to see Match of the Day 2 analysts focus on the lack of wide play in Everton's game. Footage was damning.
In both of the stills above, Everton are attempting to break down a Burnley side with just about every player behind the ball. Image one shows a narrow three-man midfield with two static strikers. No full-backs are in the picture, making the move particularly easy to defend for the Clarets. Image two, if anything, is even worse from a tactical perspective. The man in possession, Martina, has no option down the line, and only one player to whom to pass in the centre. There is little width to the Toffees, with several players again grouped around the edge of the box. Nobody is even attempting to break the lines. Such a scenario is highly unlikely to result in a goal and it also lays bare the struggles of Everton's full-backs, who have been given a near-impossible task.
Something has to change.
As the international break draws into focus, providing welcome respite for downtrodden supporters, attention on the blue half of Merseyside will now turn to finding solutions to the multitude of problems witnessed in L4 over the first two months of the campaign. One of the most attractive in this regard, despite being neglected by Koeman up to this point, lies in potential selection of Under 20 World Cup winner Jonjoe Kenny, who comes closest to replicating Coleman's indefatigable style in the opposition half. If the Dutchman is to persist in playing a narrow midfield consisting of several Number 10s, then he must elicit more from his full-backs. Simply put, Kenny would do that job markedly better than Martina or fellow youngster Mason Holgate.
That, though, should be just the first of several steps taken. With Everton no longer a danger in behind or on the counter, Koeman would be wise to look to Ademola Lookman and Nikola Vlasic to stretch the game and thus free up more space for players like Sigurdsson in the centre. It is only with a dual threat- one that is varied so as to cause a range of issues for opposition defenders- that the Blues will improve their goal threat. There are still clear deficiencies in the Blues' squad, yet internal solutions can at least go some way to rectifying imbalance in certain areas. Koeman has compounded the problem up to now by choosing the wrong players in the wrong setup.
Coleman's expected return before Christmas, alongside that of winger Yannick Bolasie, could help- but it remains to be seen just how well the pair have recovered from reconstructive surgery. In the case of Bolasie, in particular, it seems unlikely that he'll still have the same pace and dynamism as before following two operations. So for now, the pair should be excluded from discussion and alternative methods found.
And so the case for width at Goodison continues. Koeman will need to be bold if he is to even get half-way to replicating the success of Baines and Coleman at their peak.
