FairWooney

I'd agree, i'm pretty non plussed about signing another keeper who won't play and i'm sure he won't be on huge wages but given he's not exactly stacked with top experience surely one of the current young keepers can be up to the job of sitting on the bench in reserve for the couple of games that Begovic will play.

in a 5 year career at Leicester he's played 2 games! prior to that he was at Hull for 5 years, loaning him out to Leyton Orient for a season where even they only used him for 13 games! He played for Hull 38 times. Must be amazing to be a serial 3rd choice goalkeeper, get paid to keep fit at a top football club and hone your goalkeeping skills then get a decent free ticket to the match every week! He did score a goal for Grasshoppers once so he could always go up front if Maupay and DCL aren't fit!

I don’t think it’ll be on

I've no complaints at the extra prep time and fitness time for our players. If it's 2 weeks rather than just one then it will really tighten the schedule at some point. With DCL back in full training hopefully he'll be available for the next game.

The funeral is due next Sunday or Monday, if it's Sunday then I'd say weekend games will definitely be off. If Monday it'll probably be their call. If both weeks are cancelled then he might not miss any Premier league games and DCL could be back for the next game! The league could ill afford 2 games being pushed back though.

Have we just offered Tazbonspoor everyone that we no longer want? Are they preparing to bring in Rafa as manager so preempting his future transfers?

Good interview, where's this from? What I like is that I can see all of those things in our signings and it is clear when you see all signings what the strategy is. The point about expecting to get where you want to be just by spending a load of money as we have done previously is very true. Though spending money lots of money will certainly help you get where you want to be you need to spend it on the right players, players that match how you want to play and the attitude you want in the squad. We have all complained in the past about how the team looked a bit gutless and not up for a fight, that we looked a bit soft on the pitch etc. I can see how that has been addressed to bring in strong characters and leaders on the field who will help as he says to push his message and to drive the team on, both off and on the field. I really hope that we do well enough that he continues to get the backing of the fans and owners so that he can keep progressing his vision for the club. He's still got a lot to learn tactically, particularly with in game management but he's getting the important things right for the club and I think he will quickly learn those finer points.

Shame it took the Gueye transfer so long to complete as it’s meant less match fitness and no time to train with the team, otherwise he’d have been starting fingers crossed we’ll be leading in the second half and he can come on to help sure things up!

I think on the whole we've done a good job. As mentioned above, got some high wages off the books, if not with sales then with loans which will have to do. We are still a bit short attack wise and there aren't a lot of options off the bench but hopefully DCL can get and stay fit and we'll have Maupay and one of the other attackers on the bench with him to provide backup and options. Lampard clearly saw freshening up the midfield as a clear area and he's done a good job on that. Onana and Garnder are really positive young signings whilst we know what Gueye can give us which should hopefully allow those midfielders in front of him to get more time on the ball. The defence has seen 2 experienced leaders come in and settle in well straight away. They will both be good for Holgate and Godfrey who can learn from them and be marshalled by them in game. Whilst we still don't have a massively strong squad we have a stronger more balanced 11 with a bit of good backup and younger additions who will be on less pay and have future potential both in the team and sell on value. We may still struggle for goals at times but I think with the improvements in defence and midfield we will hopefully be able to get more of a grip on games and therefore offer more going forward.

I thought we just wanted to loan him till January. I'd have preferred that as though he's a way off the team at the moment it would still only need a couple of injuries for him to be required at least on the bench. Hopefully, there's a clause to recall him if required though there usually isn't in season-long loans. Step up for him from last season though a championship side would have been better in terms of level but with another solid season of competitive games I reckon he'll be pushing for a spot on the side next season

Another "job for the boys" https://www.evertonfc.com/news/2775520/vaughan-appointed-everton-loans-pathway-manager Good to have someone to look after that area though if they feel it needs someone dedicated. We have plenty of promising players that go on loans, which are important steps for their development but require a good bit of contact from someone to ensure they are doing ok, often away from home for the first time, that they are getting the support at their loan club and keeping track of how they are developing as a player.

It's been mentioned before but i'm loving that most of the players he's brought in are known for great attitudes and strong leadership qualities. Both centre backs are good leaders on the field and have plenty of experience. Gana has a great attitude always giving everything on the pitch and top experience both as a former Everton player and stepping up to a Champions League club with some of the best players in the world. Onana is only young but you can already see he has great leadership qualities, with loads of confidence to show authority on the pitch. This makes a massive difference, especially if things aren't going as you want all the time. These players won't shy away from the action, they'll work hard and push the rest of the team to do the same.

Good interview from him, while they always say similar things it's clear he enjoyed his time at Everton and is happy to come back. I know amongst the 4k+ posts on here he got slated a fair bit as "not being a good footballer" and just charging around etc but whilst he had his limitations he did a tremendous amount of work that the rest of the team would appreciate and will help to give the defence that final bit of solidity that it's been missing. It should also help us improve our possession, he did a great job at not only winning the ball back but finding a player once he'd done it. With Onana and Iwobi looking good together in the middle he can hopefully bring them quickly into the game and allow them to take the ball forward. With his attitude and experience, he will also be beneficial for the younger players like Garner and Onana (fellow Senegalese).

I think for the match this weekend you're right and probably for away at Arsenal as well but maybe not for other games. Gray gives us a good option coming off the bench though.

Great stats for him matching up to Patterson, which shows just how much Leeds put down their left hand side. He was according to stats also the only player to put in an accurate cross. I would drop him for Maupay against Liverpool but based on that strong defensive display Lampard may fancy dropping Gray, allowing him to keep Gordon more towards the left where he played mostly against Leeds and having McNeil to provide some defensive support.

With 4 of the last 5 games at home being draws and 3 of them 0-0 it will be no surprise for us to push for another hard fought draw but a first win of the season, especially in this fixture would be huge. Defensively we've looked pretty decent so far though we have managed to concede a goal every game. Against Leeds we were well pushed at the back and I'd expect Liverpool to do similar except with more quality up front. I'd expect we go with the 4-3-3 again and with Gueye coming in to the squad I'd expect him to slot straight in ahead of Davies providing much better cover for the defence and giving Onana and Iwobi a bit more confidence to push forward at times. Maupay needs to start in place of McNeil. McNeil in fairness did a good job helping out Patterson against Leeds but I think we'd be foolish to not play a recognised striker when we have one there. To show how well McNeil did against Leeds Pickford Patterson Tarkowski Coady Mykolenko Gueye Iwobi Onana Gordon Maupay Gray I'm going with an optimistic 2-1 win Gordon to get a 3rd in a row and Onana with a late winning header. I'll give Salah their goal after his 9-0 fail last week!

I'd imagine he'll be cover for Gueye at the moment but will get some game time and maybe get starts once bedded in on games where we'd expect to dominate more as he can from the sound of it offer more than Gueye in terms of all round play. Wonder how Warrington feels about this as he may have hoped to have been closer to getting game time but this surely pushes him back a bit. Not too worried as he's only 19 but then Garner is only 21.

If all else fails there’s always a Turkish side ready to take your reject! hopefully manages to pass a medical!

Pickford Patterson Tarkowski Coady Holage Mykolenko/Vinagre Onana Iwobi Gordon Rondon Gray Not ideal to have Iwobi in there alongside Onana but that's the best we have at the moment. Where he was sent on to make something happen last time, starting he needs to have the discipline to stay more around the middle and know when to push forward. McNeil looks like he's struggled a bit so far so i'd go with Gray and if Gordon isn't busy searching for houses in London then he should start along with Rondon who can be a good focal point and give their defence some problems and looking to get one whatever the wing backs throw in. Fingers cross we get it right and take 3 much needed points.

definitely not. He won't command much of a fee and he's a solid backup keeper in a position we don't need to worry about.

Ross Barkley...NO He was a frustrating player when he played for us and besides a few glimpses for Villa he's not anything to show he's really improved. Has always lacked the intelligence to prove out his potential and I don't see why we'd want to take on a 28 year old in his position. I'd rather we took on someone coming through with potential than someone that has failed for long to reach it.

It's the Chelsea way though isn't it, transfer policy obviously not changed under new owners. They've often bought players who have looked good at "lesser" teams in the league after a successful season, sit them on the bench or loan them out for a few years then sell them off again. From a footballing point of view it surely wouldn't take much for Gordon to see that right now he's much better off at Everton. He will get regular game time, is considered a key member of the squad and is loved by fans so is afforded errors and sometimes lack of end product that Chelsea having paid 40+ million for him wouldn't appreciate. If he is good enough then he'll get that Champions League team move soon enough but the experience he will gain from playing every week for Everton is much better than what he'll get as a bit part player in a top team. If he isn't pushing for the move however and it's just down to an acceptable price then that's different. I think it would be a shame to lose him, we haven't had a player come through the academy and be a real success for some time and it would be a shame to lose Gordon before he's really done much but has shown great potential and a passion to put the shirt on. Sadly football comes so much down to finances and if they offer us a good enough deal then we have to take it. I wouldn't accept less than 50m. How many quality players will you bring in for 40m, 1 maybe 2. An extra 10m doesn't change that much but is substantial enough that it covers wages and boosts our financial position generally.

Shame Ant hasn’t learnt his lesson after getting tagged a diver last season. The way he grabbed his face after Mings brushed his face was very Richarlison and not the kind of thing I like to see. won’t benefit him with refs going forward that’s for sure

Pickford Patterson Tarkowski Holgate Coady Mykolenko Iwobi Doucoure Gordon Rondon McNeil Unless Onana majorly impresses in training early on I don't see him starting. From what I saw and read it seems Iwobi and Doucoure played well together in the first game so I'd be inclined to stick with them and bring Onana on for one of them in the second half. With 2 CB's out I'd give Coady his debut ahead of keane and use Holgate who had good reports from his appearance. I think with 2 good leaders next to him Holgate could flourish. Rondon has to start for me, I think although he struggled to score he did improve towards the end of last season and when fully fit he can give the defenders some trouble and hold the ball up well. Even if he doesn't score we'll make their defense work more if we have a natural forward on their backs. Tough game this, I was surprised to see Villa turned over at the weekend, they have some decent attacking threats that we need to be weary of but I think we can win this one. Lets hope we can avoid the nightmare away form we saw last season and get up and running with a win.

seems pretty pacey and not afraid to run forward outpacing defenders with the ball. Got to say, dog shite goalkeeping for some of those goals! Based on that I'm not surprised Mitrovic scored 400 goals or however many it was last season! He'd fit in pretty well with our fast counter attacking that we've been successful when actioned right over the last couple of years but only 1 header in there and not much set up utilising wing backs which seems to be more where we're going at the moment.