Bailey

@Cornish Steve As I keep missing games as my schedule is all over the place at the moment, I don't suppose you could put me down for a default 0-0 "none" if I fail to post before kick off? I appreciate that probably pushes the boundary with the spirit of the rules but otherwise I get the feeling Ill be going backwards quickly with the minus points!

Everton 2 - 0 Luton Doucoure

We must win this. Our problem last season was that we lost these games against the fodder around us when it mattered. It doesn't matter too much at the moment, but we can't drop 3 or even 2 points to one of the worst sides to have been promoted into the league. This will be a test of how we can break down a side, which has so far been problematic for us but at least we will have players in the squad that can take their chances now.

Honestly I do! I bet they see it as a positive and probably just the pitfalls of football ownership rather than it being due to their ownership.

No and I have never said it was. I am not sure how you read that from my post.

I would be amazed if they didn't get approval. The league don't give a shit about their past history with other clubs. In fact, I imagine they will see that experience as a positive.

I know you all love xG but this will hopefully add a little bit more context. We are 10th in xG and we should have scored 5.75 more goals that we have based on the quality of the chances we have created. We are 12th in xGA and we should have conceded 0.18 more goals that we have based on the quality of the chances we have conceded. We are performing like a midtable club, which compared to previous seasons, is fucking fantastic!

Firstly I think it is still early days for Jarrad. Let's give him some time to grow and develop and see how he gets on. So much was said about how good Holgate could be and countless others before him. We will know a lot more by the end of the season but there is no reason to rush into a new contract after a handful of good performances. The contract Holgate received was always a joke, but Keane and Gomes had proven themselves. Keane was a big part of Burnley's success and Gomes had been a star at Valencia and earned a move to Barcelona. They had earned their contracts away from Everton. I think your last bit touches on why this has happened in the past, especially when you look at someone like Holgate. He hadn't earned his stripes and shown the level of consistency needed to be Premier League performer. We offered him a contract because we thought he was elite and didn't want to piss him off. Now look at him, fucking up in he Championship. If we go and offer him a big contract, we will only be showing that we haven't learned our lessons from the past.

I would add that it is probably the type of progress you would expect from Dyche (and Thelwell). He came in on the back of the side losing some really easy games and then faced a really tough run which included wins against top of the league Arsenal and a buoyant Brighton. There has been a clear improvement in performances under Dyche compared to what came before him. A majority of the players have also improved under him. McNeil and Doucoure are the obvious ones, where it has been like watching a different player, and a key thing for me is that those crap players in the squad that will make mistakes are making less of them and it is leading to fewer goals against. I think there will always be a limit to where Dyche can take a club but he provide structure and stability which is absolutely key for us at the moment. It feels like him and Thelwell are on the same page too which is really positive for the future. There is still a very long way to go and there will be a lot of bumps in the road but I am just hoping for a nice boring season of 40+ points.

Football fans are so funny. Bad couple of games, sack the manager, put the player in the reserves. Good couple of games, glory times are coming, player is back and sign him up to a long term contract.

Yeh it was a great pass, not sure he did much cross wise from open play. Its the rest of the 90 minutes where he was relatively quiet. Tidy enough, and I thought he was tactically very good on the right but Id worry that if plays through the middle you will lose a little bit of energy and bite. That's not to say he isnt afraid to get stuck in but I just feel we are a bit more passive defensively with him compared to the others. If we had the ball more in midfield then his technical ability would outweigh that. It's not a strong opinion, just a feeling I see him in there. Long term and with the right partner, it will definitely be his position.

Regardless of the cause Dele hadn't been at a decent level for Spurs for a long time before we signed him. You didn't need to know he was on tablets to know that. I think Lampard thought he could put an arm around him and make things better and the club probably saw the deal as a risk worth taking. I imagine he wasn't fully scouted at all and he only came on our radar because of signing Lampard at the last second. I don't expect him to play for us again and if he does, I don't expect him to really contribute too much. If he does its a bonus but I suspect that ship has long sailed.

McNeil!? He bears no responsibility whatsoever and I have no idea how you could even get that.

I think he probably just calmed them down and reset them as we went back to playing how we did at the start of the first half. Everyone just seemed to get a bit panicky for the goal. I think it was Young that started it off with a dodgy clearance, Gana and Myko got sucked into challenges without winning the ball, Branthwaite was too deep, Myko switches off completely, Branthwaite with a dodgy clearance, then I think he does the right think by going towards the ball but Tarkowski doesnt read the danger and cover him and drops far too deep. If one player in that mix could have just shown a little bit of composure they wouldnt have scored or it would have made it a lot more difficult. That head wobble continued for most of the rest of the half.

He gave us a lot of control in that inside right position. I didnt think he did too much of note, but he just made a lot of good decisions on and off the ball that others in the position wouldn't have. I'm still not sure how much I would want him as a holding midfielder though. He will need someone a lot more physical and/or aggressive alongside him.

I thought Mykolenko was quite poor. He was our worst defender, his first touch pretty much derailed any forward attacking movement we had and his passing had a similar effect. His energy and commitment can never be questioned but he is a championship level full back at best. I also agree with the positive comments about Young. I'd be very worried if he was up against a speedy winger 1 v 1 but he is our best full back, which says a lot about the other two.

Really good performance on the whole, couple of dodgy individual performances in parts of the game and we only really looked in any trouble when a few players lost their head for their goal and just after it. Big performances from Onana, Branthwaite and Doucoure. Honourable mentions to McNeil, Garner and Tarkowski. Good to see Dom score too (even if a better keeper saves it). Roll on the next game!

Aside from a bit of naivety in the run up to their goal, I think Branthwaite has had a really strong game.

Get in!! Fantastic ball from Garner!

Fwiw I think it was the right decision from Dyche. The balance is really good, they arent getting a sniff. Go two up, bring Danjuma on etc and that balance shifts and plays into Brentford's hands. They want to counter attack.

Onana has been really good today. Him and Doucoure have been a constant problem for Brentford. McNeil is showing glimpses but looks short of match fitness. Get in!!!

Its just been our decision making that has let us down really. We have done a really good job on Brentford, they have been really well controlled but certain players in key moments are making things worse. I would definitely consider taking Gana off but I might wait a little longer yet as I don't like the other options and how they will impact the balance of the team.

Fucking hell Gana. Tarkowski does enough to stop them going ahead.

Up until that effort, Beto has been really good. He has done really well at winning headers against those centre halves. Most importantly he doesnt just win them but he directs them well.

Gana and Mykolenko have been really bad so far. Gana is like a knat to a light and Id be surprised if Mykolenko has taken a touch or made a pass that he actually intended.