Goodison Glory

Agree with everything you said other than Brathwaite being a top prospect. Needs to kick on if you ask me. He's only had a few chances but he is making lots of mistakes.

Haf - I don't believe we will have a "few quid" to spend even with the wages coming off the books. The reason being that year that is rolling off for FPP was one of our better years....so we are actually in more trouble (when it comes to FPP) this summer than we were last summer that is even with 400k of wages per week coming off the books. I think the article someone shared from the Esk laid it out nicely.

and there was me thinking we were moving on......

Agreed. My answer was based on we had to sell one of them....if we can keep both and do what we need to elsewhere. Happy days.

I wonder if Coleman is moving into a coaching role. They way Lampard praised him in the dressing room (what a man etc) and then on the pitch after palace posing with his daughters. Now Kenny getting a contract.

I think we should sell Dom. Both he and Richie have high work rate but I honestly don't think Dom can play in the system that Frank will ultimately want aim for. That said, I have not seen us linked with too many replacements and I don't think the others mentioned (Simms etc) are up to the task (it would be good to give them some prem game time though)

You'll have to narrow down which manager you are talking about

I think we are just lost now that the season is over and we need something to debate (I'm joking of course). Did Dom mostly play shite when he played this season - Yes Could that have been because he was not physically fit - Yes Could it also have been because he was not mentally fit - Yes Could it be that his off field activities have portrayed him in a negative light given that at the time of the release he was not playing and/or under performing - Yes (he was under performing at the time the photos were released therefore it impacted public perception. Doesn't mean the photos were taken at the same time) Could it be that those off field activities helped him work through his inner demons - Yes Could it be that everyone has a valid point of view and we just move on - YES PLS.

According to Sportrac he is only on 20k a week...I find that incredible...by today's standards and Man City's. If we get him on that I say "hell yes"

Going forward or next season. Still a lot of mid talent to fit in or sell.

Think he is on a 100k per week. Any "known" name is going to be difficult for us as clubs like Newcastle will just outbid us.

I do agree with Haf on this point though. The higher your public image the better you need to be at your job in order to not attract criticism (whether it be fair or unfair criticism). Elon Musk runs the risk (and doesn't care) of attracting more public criticism than other high profile CEOs who are not as media hungry. not saying Dom is a bad person or made bad choices. Just highlighting how human nature is in our digital era.

the analysis here is about 1 inch deep but sharing anyway. Doesn't consider who the opponents were for example. However it shows there is not a consistent trend of under performance after a magazine shoot (some have been affected, some haven't) https://kickoffghana.com/does-appearing-in-gq-impact-footballers-form/?amp=1

Excellent article. Not excellent reading but well written given how ambiguous some of the underlying data can be.

It's easy to comment with hindsight of course but some of the posts in this thread haven't aged well "why do we need 2 CBs etc"

I'd keep hold of Godfrey. He looked a world beater not so long back. He's young enough to get that back with the right coaching and supporting cast. His stock hit rock bottom with his gaffe against Burnley!!

I sympathise a little bit with the French. I understand cities normally get 18 months to prepare for a CL final but they were given 3 months. I am sure things could've gone better with greater investment and better planning but seems to me like it was asking for trouble (but they couldn't keep the final in St Petersburg!)

My first try at wordle!

Frank may not have a proven pedigree but what he has shown he can do (which multiple managers with long CVS didn't) is to unite the club. From shared adversity comes strength. If all we/he does next year is avoid a relegation battle, but keeps the club United and Instill the consistent playing style through all levels I'll be happy. i don't think we saw Frank the tactician last season. I think he tried, realized we didn't have the personnel and then just relied on motivation to get us over the line. a full pre season, sort out the set piece crap and reduce the wage bill.

How depressing reading the first post that Steve Walsh could've signed him for 1M.

I would like to think any deal offered by us would have a lower wage but higher appearance fee (same net wages, but slanted towards playing time only). he prob wouldn't sign that type of deal so we should wish him well.

Good write up on the Athletic about the "Strategic Review" looks we are headed in the right direction with having a unified playing style across all age groups. Intent is one thing of course, let's see how we execute the idea. "Crucially, the under-23s will be led by a head coach, not a manager, and that person will take direction from Thelwell after consultation with Lampard on the playing side. The aim will be to finally implement something Brands had pushed for — a unified style of play across all teams. One of the key tasks for the club’s new coach educator Kevin Nicholson is to play a pivotal role in liaising with all age-group coaches to ensure those joined-up systems and style of play are instilled. Another suggestion has been that Thelwell will look to appoint a loans manager, a position scrapped under his predecessor Brands"

If we decided to sell him and hope someone like Gbamin or Davis steps up….then yes we are weaker. However if we replace him then we can’t really know whether we would be worse/better until see we know who with. IMO, he does need replacing…perhaps not the most pressing need as there are multiple worse midfielders/defenders to replace first.

Is that really when Dom header went in? ball seems too high to me. That said, I think someone said it in the match thread the reason Gallagher didn't play from the start was possibly his loyalties to Frank.

Love all the plurals in those accusations to make them more dramatic. One player threw one flare, we were outside on hotel room before one match...as for feigning injuries and time wasting...we are just catching up to the rest of league who've been doing these things for years.