Strikers are Judged on Goals but Dominic Calvert-Lewin was Never That Guy

Strikers are judged on goals. It’s all about the goals and that’s why Dominic Calvert-Lewin was so often misunderstood.

The player announced on Sunday that he is moving on to pastures new and it feels like the right time. Right for him and right for Everton. This season, fans have grown more and more restless as DCL spurned chance after chance. Too often, he hit the goalkeeper when it seemed easier to score. There was a general malaise as he ran in on goal, both in how he shaped to shoot and the feeling among the crowd.

Now that’s not a slant on Dominic Calvert-Lewin but, after lengthy spells on the sidelines due to troublesome injuries, a picture certainly emerged where he lacked confidence and the pressure grew with each missed opportunity. Desperate to score and to see the jubilation in the Everton end, failing to hit the net can weigh heavy and ensure the next shot is somehow more impossible in your head. The more eager you are, the more you snatch at it.

However, judging Calvert-Lewin on goals is to misjudge him as a player and what he brought to the table.

It was May 2023 and Everton swept Brighton & Hove Albion aside with a stunning away performance and a 5-1 win. Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s name was nowhere to be seen on the scoresheet, and yet, his role as the centre forward and foil was key to the victory. Everything went through him that day.

That is what Dominic Calvert-Lewin was about.

His record since the summer of 2022 will read that he scored twelve times in his last 76 Premier League outings for Everton. It’s a paltry amount. What the stats won’t show is that one of those goals came in the last Merseyside derby win at Goodison, a game in which the Toffees targetman was unplayable.

DCL took charge that night, pinning Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate and expertly controlling balls as they rained down on the Liverpool defence. Barging in front, he’d chest the ball down and spin or take it on his toe and run the channel. It was his job to make the ball stick, get the team up the pitch and win fouls. Boy, did he do it well.

Then, the moment came as he climbed high to head the ball home and Goodison erupted. That display and that goal helped Everton to an iconic 2-0 win. Those picture perfect moments though, the ones that instantly stick in the memory, were too few for him to be considered an ‘icon’.

Nobody really remembers who got an assist, never mind the fella who took the ball down to get the move going. It’s all about the goalscorer. The one who booted it into the net. It’s for that reason any kudos given to DCL for his all-round play would be followed by a ‘but’ and an insistence on the need to score.

I’ve massive respect for how the player developed his game after signing from Sheffield United in a £1.5million deal back in 2016. Arriving as a raw, wiry forward, he worked hard with the help of his coaches to learn the role of the targetman and became a strong and effective focal point.

Calvert-Lewin always recognised the importance of the Everton number nine shirt and would comment on understanding the responsibility bestowed on his shoulders. However, in the pantheon of those who wore the shirt, he was more of a Duncan Ferguson, whose work depended on the runs and contributions of those buzzing around him. DCL brought others in. He was never a frontman like Bob Latchford who gained hero status by sticking the ball in the back of the net every week or a Graeme Sharp who could hold the ball up and score for fun.

In saying that, DCL didn’t have Dave Thomas, Trevor Steven or Kevin Sheedy whipping in crosses for him. Even if he did though, you’d more often find him out of the box and with his back to goal. That’s how he played. That was his role for the team.

While he could make the ball fall perfectly for his team-mates as he fought off a defender, things ultimately didn’t land for him in the end. Injuries so soon after his top-scoring season, when Carlo Ancelotti told him to stick within the lines of the six-yard box and he netted 21 times in all competitions, curtailed his progress. Then came a lack of form as he fluffed chances during comeback cameos. The composure he showed with a defender jumping on his back seemingly wasn’t there when facing the goal.

While the player always appeared supremely focused, struggles for fitness meant the situation never truly settled for him to go on a run. DCL scored a great goal on David Moyes’ return as Everton beat Tottenham 3-2 in January but he picked up an injury a week later and missed the next 13 matches. It’s a shame his final six months summed up the previous four years . Good moments were followed by setbacks in a never-ending cycle which strengthened a skewed narrative.

What’s more, Everton’s failure to adequately replace Romelu Lukaku with an out-and-out goalscorer, further added to the weight of expectation DCL was never going to meet. He was never a regular goalscorer. That wasn’t his quality. Had he had a player alongside him to work with, his stock and standing would likely be higher. However, all of the emphasis was on him and no matter how many aerial duels he won or how many attacks he got going, a squandered effort was the story of the day.

During the relegation battles, I think he had a thankless task. Everton didn’t even play route one. It was hopeful punts with no cohesion. He would be stood in acres of space with so much to do and so little support. The diving header against Crystal Palace to complete an incredible comeback at least cemented his name in Toffees folklore.

Sure, Calvert-Lewin had weaknesses to his game, but he has been an important player for the Blues and may have thrived and been more appreciated in an Everton side playing under different circumstances. It’s sad to think his entire spell at Goodison coincided with the Farhad Moshiri era of upheaval, madness and strife.

The forward has missed too much football, that he himself likely won’t be missed as much as his contribution deserved. Some fans will have mustered a shrug of the shoulders when reading DCL’s leaving announcement. Others will be sad it has ended this way. One senses that Everton, the player and supporters will move on quickly though.

Was Dominic Calvert-Lewin a clinical goalscoring striker? No. Did he grow into an brilliant centre forward? Absolutely. He was up to the job, just not the job of a top goalscorer.

An Everton season ticket holder and football writer, you can subscribe to all of Ell Bretland's work at https://ellbretland.substack.com