Several Everton fans have reacted to an interesting stat concerning Carlo Ancelotti’s short tenure as boss so far.
The Italian succeeded Marco Silva as Everton manager after the Portuguese coach was sacked in early December, with Ancelotti being appointed as his replacement on December 21st.
Since his arrival, Ancelotti has won 17 points in eight games, compared to Everton’s 14 points haul from their 15 games under Silva this season (Transfermarkt).
That isn’t the only interesting statistic though, with football writer David Alexander Hughes revealing another on-field improvement for Everton under Ancelotti.
According to Hughes, Everton are averaging 144.13 vertical passes per game since Ancelotti took charge, while they were only averaging 88.11 per game before the Italian joined the club.
Hughes also pointed out that Ancelotti had previously specifically mentioned Everton’s lack of vertical passing, claiming that there were too many back passes occurring.
Several Everton fans reacted to this information on social media, throwing into question what Marco Silva was doing during his time in charge.
Twitter: @DAHughes_ It seems so fundamental that you wonder what on earth Silva was doing (@ricardofodol)
Twitter: @DAHughes_ And it’s been extremely apparent on the pitch too! He’s playing individuals to their strengths while ins… https://t.co/zqwWpI3GuX (@DaAlexJohnson)
Twitter: @DAHughes_ Almost every single stat/metric coming out of the side now compared to Silva’s shows a lot of improvement. Good signs. (@efcfootbalI)
Twitter: @DAHughes_ @TheRobVera Great stuff, although I’d never heard of a ‘vertical pass’ until about 6 weeks a go! (@chayter_2000)
