AlbanyNYToffee

I absolutely hate the early Saturday kickoff. When we lose it puts a stain on all the other games. Gimme the Sunday evening games so the other 9 games can be consumed first. that said when we win it’s my favorite

Haha I'm as surprised as you are. I absolutely love Ben Godfrey - he might be my 2nd favorite player behind Seamus already and its been what 3 months? That said i think it's important Digne play LB in this game and because Godfrey has limited experience with us at CB I don't want him to replace Mina (yet). I also want James in the midfield 3 to control possession (Newcastle midfield is horrible) so in order to make that happen I wanted to go more defensive with Davies rather than Siggy/Gomes. Iwobi comes in on the right with James in CM. I never ever thought I'd put Iwobi in a lineup but to be fair to him he's been playing well lately.

Everton 2 - 0 Newcastle Richarlison

Well said. My brother supports Newcastle so I watch most of their games as well...they are dreadful. Certainly look the 3rd worst team in the league and it wouldn't shock me to see Brighton and Fulham get by them if they don't turn things around quickly. I'd even argue Sheffield are better at this point. No game is easy in the premier league if you don't come in with the right mindset but anything less than a win here would be massively disappointing. Olsen Coleman Mina Keane Digne Davies Doucoure James Iwobi DCL Richy

Ndidi accumulating fouls, would be nice to get him a yellow before halftime.

Speechless. What class.

in the minority by the looks of it but I think Davies is doing ok. Couple of interceptions, tackles and good passes.

Everton 1 - 0 Leicester DCL

Haha no chance but it felt good to type. Just upping the Xanax dose.

It's a real shame. If we had either of them, forget both, I'd fancy us to win. As it is I'd begrudgingly take a draw. Pickford Godfrey Mina Keane Digne Davies Holgate Siggy James DCL Richy I don't know what the solution is so I threw Holgate in there. I'll probably avoid the game altogether if the lineup has any combo of Davies Gomes Siggy as the holding mids.

"The other players are in good condition and are ready to play this game and to compete. This competition is really important for us." Sounds like a man going full strength. Olsen Coleman Mina Keane Godfrey Davies Doucoure Siggy James DCL Richarlison

Haha well done, came here to post the same thing. The absolute earliest this could be made up (assuming no random COVID rearranging like what happened to Spurs the other week) is February 16/17. KDB probably still out then so City will overpower the premier league to make sure it doesn't happen.

Sorry @markjazzbassist to jump in here but it was just announced Vardy is out with a hernia. This is a massive game and that is a massive injury. If Allan is back to shut down Maddison I feel really good about our chances.

The agony/ecstasy we're subjected to over the 90 mins pales in comparison to the long gaps between games where it's just you and your thoughts about what might be possible.

I could be wrong on this but I think Brands meant permanent signings. I'd expect us to be active in the loan market. Plenty of talent available there and less risk.

I see your point @Zoo 2.0 but I'd like to see us go a little stronger than that. Two things we know for sure is Doucoure has to start (suspended against Leciester midweek) and Branthwaite leaving on loan. I'd also argue we need to get DCL back out there to try to regain some form. Pickford Coleman Mina Keane Godfrey Davies Doucoure Gomes Iwobi DCL Richarlison That lineup above comes from what i hope to be full strength (other than Doucoure) against Leicester: Pickford Godfrey Holgate Keane Digne Davies Allan Siggy James DCL Richarlison

This is what makes all of this so difficult. I think Villa should be 'punished' if you will because it is their fault they haven't controlled the outbreak. It is very difficult to keep players/staff from getting COVID but it is not difficult to control an outbreak. Positive test, contact trace, everyone stays away from the facility, 10 days later you're back in business. City and Newcastle got it right. Villa clearly is not.

Across the pond all we have are twitter rumors - anyone closer to the action have better info on whether this will be played or not? It seems harsh on Villa to only have one day of training but at the same time teams continue to find ways to postpone matches and the season will be difficult to finish as a result. I'd think you should play as long as you have enough COVID-free bodies - regardless of the amount of preparation you were able to have.

Ben Godfrey is an animal. What a signing.

Wolves 1 - 1 Everton Siggy

LOL is so overused. That said I actually laughed out loud at this.

Direct from Carlo. No "Richarlison, Kenny, Calvert-Lewin, Allan, Delph, Gbamin and Pickford. Players available: James, Digne, Iwobi are back." Seems obvious without DCL but he also said Tosun will play. I'd HATE to see Digne risked here. Olsen Holgate Mina Keane Niels Davies Doucoure Gomes Iwobi Tosun Bernard Hopefully we can get Doucoure off at halftime for Godfrey (and play him or Holgate at DM) I hate to put the cart before the horse in thinking we're going to win this but I'm surprised and very nervous to hear no Richarlison or DCL. That's new and hopefully not a sign of anything other than rest.

I don't know enough about Eriksen specifically to say yes or no, but I feel very strongly that this position, that 3rd CM, is the biggest priority right now. Replacing Siggy/Gomes/Davies with someone of real quality to form a partnership with Allan and Doucoure and we should expect to compete for top 4 the rest of the way. We can deal with RB and other squad depth in the summer. In American pro sports every league has a trade deadline which is usually about 2/3 of the way into the season. I've always looked at the January window in a similar manner to those deadlines. It's a chance for teams that are chasing something special to go out and show some intent by trading away unproven talent for proven talent. In this case, that's teams chasing Europe and trying to prevent relegation. The 'Big 6' aren't likely to do much, we need to make this hugely important signing in midfield...whoever it is.

Agreed. Hope/think it’s only a matter of time before Holgate takes Mina’s place. Harsh on Mina as he’s been playing well but you never know what you’re gonna get from him.

Everton 2 - 0 West Ham Richarlison