Moyes brands Everton's set-pieces as "rubbish"

David Moyes was pulling no punches when he was asked to comment on Everton’s recent performance from dead-ball situations.

Once a staple of the Blues’ play under Moyes’s predecessor, Sean Dyche, the team has struggled to make chances and score goals from corners and free-kicks in recent weeks.

While Iliman Ndiaye has scored twice from the spot, Everton have only scored once from a set-piece since the Scot took over as manager in January and that came indirectly from a corner when Beto opened the scoring against Manchester United in February.

James Tarkowski almost broke the sequence against Manchester City a fortnight ago but watched in dismay as his header came back off the woodwork while his defensive partner Jarrad Branthwaite was foiled by Stefan Ortega’s reflex save off a free-kick in the same game.

The topic came up in Moyes’s press conference ahead of the visit of Ipswich Town this weekend and he didn’t mince words when giving his assessment of the Blues’ set-piece delivery in the last few games.

“It’s been rubbish and I’d be the first to say it,” he said candidly. “So whatever discussion anyone’s had, I’d be the first one to join in and clap my hands with them as well.”

Asked what he would put it down to, the manager replied: “Delivery. Probably mainly delivery at the moment.

“You’ll get the ball to where we’re planning to go up to and do something [and] you need the quality of delivery to be much better.

“The delivery has been really, really poor.”

Moyes made specific mention recently of the threat from dead balls that Dwight McNeil can offer but he was deprived of the winger’s services for the first few weeks after arriving in mid-January and he has only recently introduced him off the bench in matches as he rebuilds his fitness following a knee injury.

In his stead, James Garner and Jack Harrison have been responsible for the bulk of Everton’s set-pieces and have generally been found wanting.