Disgraceful Everton Summarizes Season Woes in 4-1 Loss To West Brom

Shameful.

That is the only word that comes to mind when considering Everton's season so far.

By now, it could certainly be safe to say that any preseason hopes of a top-four climb have thoroughly been obliterated by consistently poor performances in the past month. It may even be overly optimistic to expect a mid-table finish for the boys in blue come May.

As in previous home matches against Newcastle United and Arsenal, David Moyes' men were both outscored and outplayed this afternoon by another promoted side and finished 4-1 losers, leaving supporters at Goodison Park dumbfounded and in absolute frustration.

Except for Tim Cahill, the entire team continues to underwhelm. Once again, the likes of Yakubu, Louis Saha and Jermaine Beckford, arguably the most disappointing player of this season, have fired blanks in front of goal.

It is true that many decisions have gone against Everton. Lee Mason's imbecilic dismissal of Mikel Arteta for a stomp on Gonzalo Jara that the Chilean defender did not even seem to notice left the Toffees a man down early on in the second half. Nevertheless, there can really be no decent excuse for another loss in front of home supporters, and the type of clueless play that has defined the previous 14 encounters, barring perhaps the 2-0 win to local rivals Liverpool.

With a visit to Chelsea upcoming, David Moyes and his men must only be expecting the worst. If Everton have not been good enough to overcome all three sides to have come up from the Championship, as well as relegation contenders Wolverhampton Wanderers and League One side Brentford in the Carling Cup, then there could be no reasonable explanation as to hope for even a point against the potential champions at Stamford Bridge.

Only the influx of new signings in January might be enough to turn around Everton's season. Unless David Moyes can find a way to either start with two out-and-out strikers or get Saha, probably the best of his current crop of forwards, to begin scoring, then who knows what the Blues will have to deal with as the season progresses. Perhaps a home loss to Blackpool? Or a battering at the hands of the equally clueless West Ham?

The only thing that remains certain is that for the second season in a row, Everton have failed to live up to their hype and lie at the bottom half of the table, fighting for scraps. And this time there are no injury woes to excuse them of this shamefulness.