The NSNO Everton Forums

I just hope we don't do what Everton usually do and reward this slight upturn in form with a new, improved 5 year deal and forget everything that's gone before. He's doing ok, but he's just ok as a defender, and that's what he's paid to do

Article from The Athletic

Michael Keane is offering Everton a timely reminder of what he can do - in attack and defence
Football is funny sometimes.

Even a couple of weeks ago, it would have been hard to imagine Michael Keane being serenaded by a jubilant away end at Portman Road to chants of “Keano, Keano” after Everton had won 2-0 to make it four games unbeaten.
The start of the season was tough, both collectively and individually. But here we are.
Roughly an hour earlier there had been more chants of “Keano, Keano” as Everton won a free kick in a dangerous position just outside the area. Tellingly, those calls were probably only half in jest.

At this stage, there is an almost mythical quality to the big central defender’s prowess in the final third, which has led many — including former Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti — to call him the best finisher at the club.
There was the elegant left-footed swish against Crystal Palace in May 2022 that helped Everton complete their great escape from relegation, and the thunderous late strike from range 11 months later to rescue a point at home to Tottenham Hotspur.
To those, we can now add Saturday’s effort — arrowed into the roof of the net with his weaker foot. It was a chance that registered just 0.04 in expected goals (xG), making it a four-in-100 shot. Keane’s 13 Premier League goals for Everton have now come from an xG of just 10.
“All the players know what a good finisher Keano is,” their current manager, Sean Dyche, said afterwards. “There’s a calmness to him and we see it all the time.”

Keane honed his technique as a goalscoring midfielder in Manchester United’s academy before being converted to a central defender. On more than one occasion, Dyche and his coaching staff have spoken about using him as an auxiliary forward when they have needed a goal. It is easy to see why.
“I’m not sure about best finisher at the club, but I’d say I’m up there,” Keane said on Saturday. “There’s a few who can strike the ball really well and luckily I managed to do that (against Ipswich). It was a tough angle but I knew I could get a good strike on it, and I focused on trying to hit the roof of the net because I think that’s hard for ’keepers from that angle.
“A lot of it is probably just technique from growing up, coming through and working on all different kinds of finishes — right foot, left foot. When you get in those positions, you’ve got to be calm. I focus on getting a good strike on the ball. It’s important to set yourself and make sure you connect well.”

Keane’s twin brother, Will, actually plays as a striker for Preston North End in the Championship — English football’s second tier. But Michael has never thought of emulating him with a positional change. “It’s a really hard role to play and putting chances away is only one part of it. You look at all the work Dom (Everton’s No 1 centre-forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin) does— there’s no way I could do that.”
Saturday’s strike, and the subsequent win, were fitting recompense for Keane’s perseverance in the opening months of the season.
With Jarrad Branthwaite, a first-choice at centre-back for the club last term, on the sidelines since the summer because of a groin injury, he was part of a leaky defence that conceded 13 goals as Everton lost the opening four league games. Keane, signed by Dyche for Burnley in 2014 and reunited with him at Goodison in January last year, then played through a dead leg in the draw against Leicester City but lost his place when Branthwaite returned for the recent win against Crystal Palace a week later.
There has been frustration among some fans at Dyche’s reluctance to play summer signing Jake O’Brien ahead of him, yet Keane has retained the faith of his manager since those days together at Burnley. Branthwaite’s current thigh problem has given him a second chance to stake a claim and performances have steadily improved.
“Keano has had a lot of question marks over him,” Dyche said. “Haven’t we all? But he’s out there every day, plays through all the question marks — like at Leicester where he had a dead leg and other players might not have made it. He deserved to stay in the team. Jarrad is close to being fit and possibly could have played, but I felt he needed another week to be sure his body is right. Keano delivered a very good performance and an excellent goal.”

Alongside the goal, Keane and centre-back partner James Tarkowski managed to subdue in-form Ipswich striker Liam Delap, and dominated their penalty area. Keane alone made six clearances, four of them with his head. Ipswich had chances, particularly early on through Jack Clarke, but Everton deserved to ride their luck.
This could well be Keane’s eighth and final season at Everton, with his lucrative contract due to expire next June when he will be 32. So far, there has been no indication as to whether he will be awarded a new one and, as things stand, he can sign a pre-contract with foreign clubs for a free-agent move in the summer from that start of January.
For now, at least, he remains an important component in the eyes of his manager. With Branthwaite likely to be back soon, Dyche sees renewed competition for the centre-back slots as a positive.
“I said when he (Keane) went away in the summer, ‘Look, it’s not a done deal that centre-backs play every game’. I said, ‘Of course I’ve been loyal to the centre-backs from last season because they were excellent, but come back fit’. He did that. Came back as fit as I remember him. He worked really hard in pre-season and was a solid performer. (He has) Hardly missed a game. And he’s earning the right to play, which is all you can ask of players.

“It’s a conundrum at times, picking a team, but you want them all fit and that competitive element. That often adds to the power of a group and their performances. We want that across the squad, not just at centre-back. But we’ve got four very good ones at centre-back.”
Still time left, then, for some more bangers from Keane and songs in his honour from the Everton fans.
How quickly the tables can turn.
(Top photo: Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images)

Do we drop tarkowski when Brathwaite is back?

TheRam wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2024 9:20 am Do we drop tarkowski when Brathwaite is back?

Not easy to say… Tarkowski is usually quite solid although he has looked off it lately. Keane can be anything from a total disaster to what we saw on Saturday in the space of two games.

Think Branthwaite has to come back whatever though

If for no other reason to try and get rid of his little niggle that may not be the worst suggestion in the world. Defo not long term as both of them need an organiser like Tarks next to them

The criticism's always been way over the top for him, it's great to see him doing well as the "pile on" has been terrible this season, right from the team announcement for the first game of the season. Technically he's always been a decent player but he's been prone to lapses in concentration, I've never bought in to the "the whole team is nervous when he plays" nonsense, you can see when he scores how much the other players think of him. He's become a scapegoat for people who're always looking to blame him, typified but the amount of times people say he'll score an own goal when he's only done it three times in his whole career, it's such a false narrative that people have bought into.

Probably been our best defender this season, he's been better than Tarkowski and looked after O'Brien on the couple of occasions they played together. Give him and Branthwaite a game or two together and see how they get on. For now we'll just enjoy this little purple patch before it's all forgotten and he's being called a League One defender again.

He's a confidence player, when his confidence is up, which it is now he's a very good player. But lets have it right, for most of his time with us his confidence has been low and he has at times been horrific

bigmanbob wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2024 9:46 am He's a confidence player, when his confidence is up, which it is now he's a very good player. But lets have it right, for most of his time with us his confidence has been low and he has at times been horrific

This just proves my point, "most" is nonsense, he's been an average PL defender, not great, not terrible but with periods of dips in form, trouble is as your post shows most people just remember the bad bits and think that's his whole career. He's played 200+ games for us, saying most of it's "been horrific" is rubbish and far from "having it right".

TheRam wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2024 9:20 am Do we drop tarkowski when Brathwaite is back?

No Keane drops 100%

brap2 wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2024 11:59 am No Keane drops 100%

I think maybe tark needs a bit of time out to fully recover?

Gash wrote: ↑Mon Oct 21, 2024 10:01 am This just proves my point, "most" is nonsense, he's been an average PL defender, not great, not terrible but with periods of dips in form, trouble is as your post shows most people just remember the bad bits and think that's his whole career. He's played 200+ games for us, saying most of it's "been horrific" is rubbish and far from "having it right".

I'd say, to equal out the argument, the majority of his time has been horrific, rather than most but the point still stands, his confidence drops and so does his consistency and he makes goal conceding mistakes

Dychey is a creature of habit. He'll keep Tark in the team at all costs.

i have nothing against Keane as a person but as a footballer he fills me with dread

i will praise him when he does well and scores a brilliant goal for us and the last few matches he has performed well

but if things go wrong Keane is usually one of the first to bottle it, maybe some of this is just feelings but it does seem to be when we completely bottle it Keane is involved somehow he has mistakes and bad judgement at times and in those moments you don't remember the 85 mins of being solid its the 5 mins of brain fart that sticks in your mind

its the same with young he does his job and 95% he is fine but when he fucks up it costs us

Keane hasn't always been bad he was pretty decent when he first came but something changed and i don't hold much confidence in him when things don't go to plan

i am glad he is doing well atm tho

I think his reading of the game, concentration and decision making on the defensive side of things is poor for a player at PL level. Defensively he is slow to recognise threats and when they might develop, and then is also slow on what action to take. He always seems to be a bit behind the curve. And he doesn't have the pace to make up for these shortfalls.

He has some really good attributes - his long passing, heading, finishing, tackling, are all pretty decent. However, they don't make up for the parts of his game that are lacking.

Tarkowski isnt in as good form so he would make way for me. Keane is Keane, excellent when he's on form, crap when he's not. I believe he's been a decent player for us but I realise I'm in the minority and when he's poor he's very poor.

When he's in good form though I do like watching him. He'll randomly spray a boss pass or put in a great tackle you don't think he is capable of.