Everton are in crisis and play static football like Manchester United under Louis van Gaal, says Martin Keown

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Everton players are suffering a crisis of confidence and Ronald Koeman is facing a big decision with two of his biggest summer signings, claims Martin Keown.

The Toffees were tipped to challenge for a place in the top six after lavishing over £100million in the summer transfer window, but have had a disastrous start to the season.

A 1-1 draw with Brighton and Hove Albion was the latest in a string of poor results, placing Koeman's future in doubt and leaving Sportsmail columnist Keown comparing them to the stale Manchester United side under Louis van Gaal.

Ronald Koeman has lead Everton into a crisis of confidence and only he can fix it

Martin Keown believes a bout of fear has spread through the Everton dressing room

He also says there is a clear imbalance in midfield with record signing Gylfi Sigurdsson and former England captain Wayne Rooney, claiming a decision needs to be made on whether to drop one of them. 

Speaking of Everton on Match of the Day 2, Keown said: 'There is absolutely no confidence. All the players are like statues, they're static. It's almost like watching Manchester United under Louis van Gaal.

'I think there is an imbalance in the team with [Gylfi] Sigurdsson and [Wayne] Rooney playing in the team together. Maybe there's a big decision coming up to make a change there.'

Wayne Rooney scored the equaliser against Brighton but did little else to affect the game

Record signing Gylfi Sigurdsson has struggled to settle in Everton's midfield this season

With just eight points to show from their opening eight games, Everton find themselves sitting in the midst of relegation candidates. Keown believes their troubles are not down to a lack of talent, but the spread of fear.

He is also adamant that the decline can not be blamed solely on the departure of Romelu Lukaku, who has enjoyed a good start to life at Manchester United following a summer move.

Keown continued: 'There is a fear in the players. Usually it's the manager who changes that state of mind, but there's been an international break, they've come back and its stayed the same. It's a crisis.

'It's not enough to just say that Lukaku is not there. He's had a massive impact on the Premier League and it's detrimental to Everton but every one of them has to do more.'

Asked if Everton need to consider sacking Koeman, he finished: 'It’s not just a change of manager but a change of attitude from the current manager. Something isn’t quite right there, but I would stick with Koeman.'

Everton have taken just eight points from their first eight Premier League games this season