Everton have changed under Frank Lampard but stark truth emerges over how they must improve

Unlike his predecessor, former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez, Frank Lampard proved to be an instant hit with Everton fans but just how much has changed on the pitch throughout his tenure so far? During Lampard’s first game in charge – a 4-1 win at home to Brentford in the FA Cup fourth round that proved to be the biggest-ever margin of victory for a Blues boss in his debut match – the 43-year-old was given the accolade of being only the second of owner Farhad Moshiri’s six choices in the dugout to have his name sung (positively) by the Everton crowd.

Previously, only Lampard’s ex-Chelsea gaffer Carlo Ancelotti had received such an honour and the reaction demonstrated the unifying force that the Londoner brought to a disgruntled fanbase still reeling by the most-controversial appointment in the history of England’s most-passionate football city and the awful sequence of results the Spaniard had presided over.

Two months on though, with the Blues having gone into the current international break on the back of a humiliating 4-0 thrashing at Crystal Palace in the FA Cup quarter-finals and now preparing for the run-in as they look to avoid their first relegation in 71 years, what kind of changes has Lampard brought to their play? In terms of Premier League results, while there could hardly be anything truly resembling a ‘new boss bounce’, he has secured two victories from seven games. Benitez required 14 matches to pick up his last couple of wins.

The former Derby County and Chelsea manager is trying to implement a more possession-based style of play but it’s seems evident that there have been teething problems so far. Comparisonator highlights the major issues that Everton – who have netted just one goal, some nine minutes