Elston Gunnn

Already this sexond half, a poor pass, and being outmuscled.

Basic stuff, basic flaws. We are a poor passing team, neither crisp nor accurate. We are a slow team. We are not an alert team. Atalanta are alert, aggressive, 2 steps ahead, relentless. We are passive, being outmuscled (and foolishly waiting for the ref to reward our lack of physicality), emotionally unprepared.

Thanks to MJB for detailed scouting report. Atalanta won their match yesterday, home to a weaker Serie A team. This match begins a very crowded 6 matches in 18 days for Everton. Thurs Sept 14 - @ Atalanta Sun Sept 17 - @ Man U Wed Sept 20 - Sunderland (Carabao Cup) Sat Sept 23 - Bournemouth Thurs Sept 28 - Apollon Sun Oct 1 - Burnley We're all anxious for a much better performance Thursday, as we can't expect more than a point at Man U. (Probaby can't even "expect" that.) Good news is the last 4 of this crowded 6 matches are home, and only 1, the first, involves travel. I'll guess (wildly)......... Pickford Holgate Keane Jagielka Baines Gana Schneiderlin Sigurdsson Rooney Mirallas DCL PS to American Evertonians - Atalanta match is on Fox Sports 2 (1 pm EDT), and there's reason to believe we'll get all our EL matches on either FS 1 or 2.

I'm guessing Sunderland, Carabao Cup. Koeman will probably stick with Sandro and DCL for Atalanta and Man U. But with 6 matches in 18 days, it gives Koeman a logical reason to use Niasse v. Sunderland.

This is surely the issue. Granted that Spurs may have gotten confident after that first unlikely goal, but it's probably foolish to imagine that this is simply "one of those days." Rather, this is Everton v. the top 6. Compared to talented teams, we don't measure up in basic areas: crisp passing, relentless movement, accurate shotmaking.

They are aggressive, we are passive, hopeful at best. Their passing is crisp and accurate, ours is too frequently maddeningly off-target, so we give the ball away. They press, we sit back. As many have pointed out, Martina is good going forward, poor as a defender. I prefer Jagielka to Williams. It appears that even if our players were "committed" enough to try to pressure them, our players are not talented enough. This first half, we are either not committed enough, not talented enough, or not set up properly. A poor showing all around. If this is Everton 2017-18, we're no threat to top 6, nor a threat to advance far in any of the other 3 competitions.

Hafnia's post from last week still sums up the issue for me. I hope to see Everton's relentless - relentless - commitment to being more active than Spurs, to pushing them rather than being pressed back by them.

Hope to see him start v. Sunderland, Carabao Cup, comes in middle of 6 matches in 18 days.

Open play. Both were pretty mundane, fairly easy. But ... he was in the right place, in the box, looking to score.

Sigurdsson with 2 goals so far today against Ukraine.

https://www.si.com/soccer/2017/09/04/everton-winger-kevin-mirallas-left-feeling-really-sad-after-toffees-block-olympiakos-return

Sorry nyblue23, didn't mean to red card you, lazy pinky finger. Mods, remove tihe red card, if possible. Again, sorry.

Carabao Cup, at the very least that.

Conceding that whistling-past-the-graveyard-humour is arguably a psychologically appropriate response to desperation, I accept defeat at the hands - or right foot - of you and Matt, the Whimsy Twins.

Happy to see the whimsy, but .... Do we have the same desperate replacement options for LWB as for LB: Martina, Besic, Davies? Lennon?

Although depending on Connolly as LB backup would have made us (all?) nervous, having no logical backup whatsoever seems unusually shortsighted. Are these our desperate options: Martina, Besic, Davies? Someone has to play LB in Carabao Cup, maybe FA Cup. Help.

I, too, agree with this and assume there might be nearly unanimous agreement. But I wonder whether there's any consensus, much less unanimity, on what this actually means specifically. Namely, what (1) "set up" (= formation, right?) and what (2) "team" (= starters, right?) would signal that Koeman "intends on doing them some damage"?

I doubt either Gana or Sandro is fully fit. Sub Besic for (yellow card) Gana, and DCL for Sandro. Neither Williams nor Holgate seem to be able to kick the ball into space inbounds, but have to save one sub for later.

I didn't expect to see any of Gana, Sandro, Besic. Either Koeman played his cards very close to the vest, or he's taking big chances with Sandro and Gana. The former, I'll assume

Yeah, this makes sense. So maybe the last straw was being taken off in the Split match, even though he did start and played 75 min.

I wonder whether we have even 2 DCMs healthy. And the only healthy one - Davies - has been playing all over the place this season. But the scenario you present is, yes, a real possibility. I'll still guess (wildly) that it will be more like a 3-3-3-1. Which would mean 6 predominantly defensive players, rather than the 7 in your scenario.

Wouldn't surprise me, but we've had several signals over past week that Gana has a real knock and is doubtful. I hope he doesn't play. I'd rather lose a point today than lose Gana for several weeks. We have 6 matches in 18 days in last half of September.

He looked angry when substituted out at 75' in first Split match. Tore off some wrist tape, something, stormed down tunnel, or maybe to bench. Maybe he and Koeman went at it in the dressing room or later privately.

I'm not entirely sure what you mean here. I might guess, but would prefer you say a bit more, so the slower among us can catch your drift. I myself - one of the slow ones - don't see that Koeman has much choice other than to circle the wagons for this (one) match. For, it appears to me that 6 or 8 possible "regulars" are unavailable today. I concede that it might be ugly for Everton today. But as this is (1) the 4th match in 11 days, coming at the (2) very early (EL) beginning of the season and (3) pretty quickly after travel, with (4) numerous first-choice players unavailable, I'm not much inclined to blame Koeman for whatever wagon-circling he organizes for this specific match. I don't know that we'll be able to tell much about Koeman's approach to this season from this specific weird-circumstances match. But I infer you disagree, and so want to hear more. Seriously.

The news that Mirallas isn't in today's squad and may be going out on loan (or sold??) discourages me. Good heavens, with all our injuries and the Besic situation, surely we very much need him today. I think I recall when he was substituted out of the first Hajduk Split match around the 75' mark, he looked angry. Wonder whether he and Koeman exchanged harsh words after that match. I like Mirallas, do find his inconsistency - and maybe immaturity (?) - frustrating. I thought a few weeks back that until Bolasie returns, Mirallas and Lookman would compete for major minutes on the wing. This situation is frustrating, I guess for all concerned. As Davies looks certain to play DCM today, our attacking options appear to be Rooney, Sigurdsson, DCL, Lookman, and Lennon.