brisbaneblue

Honestly I think he would be a perfect fit at Sunderland. Anichebe is injured for 3 months and they have 24 hours to sign another striker otherwise they have no backup for Defore for the rest of the season. Kone is unwanted and cheap - fits the Sunderland motto perfectly. But surely, that board is not going to approve the signing of another former Everton player.

haha you do sound like you know me mate. not trying to mock the brits but bloody hell I reckon i'm spoilt coming from Australia - the rent is cheaper, the wages are higher and the weather is better. Going to have to get used to not having all that for a while

Ok thanks I'll look into it. What's reasonable for rent per week or month?

Ok great thanks for that information. How do they get to Goodison? by train? petrol is bloody expensive

Ok thanks again! Here's hoping Koeman signs some decent players for next season then..

Cheers mate you're a legend. It seems like a fair few home games this season have sold out, do you think it's likely that I'd be able to resell a ticket for game if I miss one? what's the most popular websites to use to look for accommodation in the UK? and for job hunting as well I guess?

G'day guys, been on here for a while now but haven't properly introduced myself as of yet. I'm Dan and I'm from Brisbane, Australia. I work in software engineering, specifically data analysis. I like crunching numbers and working with my own spreadsheets so you'll probably see me on here quoting a lot of stats. I'm currently thinking about moving to Liverpool for 6-12 months (or possibly longer) from around June this year, and becoming an Everton season member if possible. I stayed there this time last year and went to a few games at Goodison so I think I have a reasonable understanding of the place but have a few specific questions if any Liverpudlians can help: 1. Do season memberships sell out (quickly)? I read this statement in one of the clubs recent press releases "Non-Season Ticket holders will have the opportunity to register their interest online from 16 January. Applications will be processed on a first-come-first-served basis following the Guarantee Your Seat deadline on 6 April, with Foreverton members who register an interest taking priority." Does this mean that I need to pay for the Foreverton membership first and then apply for a season membership on Jan 16th, and then if approved pay for it after the 6th of April? 2. How does stub hub work with selling tickets for games you can't make? Do you have to sell the ticket for the average ticket price (i.e. to ensure you can't make a profit on your ticket)? 3. I see that a new ticket category has opened up for fans aged 22 to 24 which I would fall under. If I get this category of membership, and say I had to return to Australia before the end of the season am I able to individually resell the tickets for each remaining game of the season via stub hub? and would I have to sell it to someone else also in that age category? 4. Best/cheapest/safest suburbs or towns to live in? I like places with good pubs and decent food options. 5. Any other advice for living in Liverpool? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers mates!

Despite the win, I don't think the 5-2-3 really worked well against Leicester. I'm intrigued to see if Koeman will persist with the formation or revert back to a 4-2-3-1. I expect Barry to be rested/demoted to the bench because of the short turnaround and because of Davies' performance in the last game. Stek looks about a 70-30 chance of being available but personally i'd stick with Joel. I thought the Leicester game proved that Lennon is a winger and is not capable of consistently playing the inside forward role, so I think Valencia deserves a recall there. Joel Holgate Williams Funes Mori Coleman Baines Gueye Davies Valencia Mirallas Lukaku Bench: Stek, Jags, Barry, Barkley, Deulofeu, Lennon, Calvert-Lewin (can't seem to find out whether he's been picked in the squad for the u-23's against Portsmouth if anyone is willing to help).

Stek should be available again for the game against Hull but I think Joel has earned the no. 1 spot for a probationary period.

Very dull game to watch. Five at the back isn't working. No linkage play between defence and Lukaku. Funes Mori has overhit three diagonal long balls by my count which sums up why this formation doesn't suit us. Our centre backs aren't particularly good crossers or long ball specialists. Should take off one of the CBs and put on Valencia who can run the channels and provide support to Lukaku. Also need another body in the centre of the pitch who can receive shorter passes and build up play through the wingers or direct to the front a la Davies, Barkley or Cleverley.

Happy to wait 8-9 months to see whether my predictions pan out.. Willing to admit defeat if i'm wrong

Mate you are the one who is a goose. You didn't listen/read to what was said above. I'm saying he will be sold, not that I want him to be sold.. and I have outlined all the points with justification as to why he will be sold before Jags or Williams above... IF it's Virgil Van Dijk (a 25 year old, Dutch international who has been one of the top 5 CBs in the league this season), and it's relegating Jags to the bench then I don't see how that is a clueless move.

We've brought in four or more new first team players every season for the past six seasons - we are going to bring in new players regardless of what you say. Mirallas and Funes Mori are the only ones I argue that will be sold in the next 9 months and I've laid out the reasons why above. Unless you're saying that Koeman won't sign a new CB, then you can't fit a new CB, Williams, Jagielka, Funes Mori into two centre back positions (not even taking into account Holgate and Galloway). We've signed a new first team CB every season for the last five years (counting backwards: Williams, Funes Mori, Alcaraz, Stones,

I guarantee Funes Mori will leave in the off-season barring some miracle patch of form. Here are my predictions of what will happen and why: 1. Koeman will sign a new starting CB to pair with Williams in either January or in the summer - why? because he knows we desperately need one. I'm hoping this will be Virgil van Dijk. 2. Jagielka will stay on as backup CB occupying a bench spot - why? because he's 34 years old and has 18 months on his contact so he is not going anywhere. 3. Either Galloway or Oviedo will be sold in the summer - why? two doesn't go into one. Galloway is the better player and has more potential but perhaps Oviedo is the one more willing to play second fiddle to Baines. 4. Holgate will continue to occupy a bench spot next season - why? Koeman selects two defenders on the bench every game (one specialist CB and one fullback). Jags will be the former, and Holgate the later. 5. Either Connolly or Pennington will be loaned out but not both (unless Unsworth buys a new CB for the U-23s) - why? both are contracted for next season and we need further depth in defence. 6. Funes Mori won't accept not starting and will be sold for £12 million+ (probably to some mid-table La Liga side) why? he's not willing to lose his spot in Argentina starting XI in the season leading up the 2018 world cup. Leaving our defensive depth to look something like this for next season: RB: Coleman, Holgate, Connolly/Pennington CB: NEW CB, Williams, Jagielka, Holgate, Galloway?, Connolly/Pennington LB: Baines, Galloway/Oviedo, Connolly

We were definitely the better team in the first half - Gueye and McCarthy were on top in midfield but all of our attacks broke down early with Lukaku and Barkley (and Lennon and Valencia to a lesser extent). We really needed to grab a goal in the first half while we were dominant because it was always going to be tough to keep up that press for the full 90. We got some luck with Barkley getting away with what should have been a red, but we were also unlucky with the two forced substitutions and the fortuitous goal. I don't think you can deal too much blame for the goal to anyone in particular, Robles was positioned where he should be for the initial shot from Sturridge and even at full stretch with a 2 metre wingspan the ball was beyond his reach. Perhaps Funes Mori and Williams could have better anticipated a possible rebound to beat Mane to the ball. Overall you have to say that the performance was much improved from most of what we've seen over the past two months. I would stick to the same starting XI as much as possible against Leicester.

Jags should step back into the team. Looked like Stek suffered a grade 1 or grade 2 dead leg so a very rough guess is that he is out for 7 to 12 days. Less sure about the severity of McCarthy's hamstring injury but I'll assume he'll miss at least one game for it. Robles Coleman Williams Jags Baines Gueye Barry Lennon Barkley Valencia Lukaku 6 day break before this one so don't see too many changes coming until the hull game - then I would expect Koeman to rotate Deulofeu, Funes Mori, Mirallas and McCarthy (if he's fit) into the starting lineup.. Hopefully reinforcements are on their way in very early January.

Didn't think it was a pen but I reckon it could have been easily given - even the commentators were split. Luckily the ref's view was obstructed by Cech running back. Thought Mirallas should have just cleared it right away and/or looked over his shoulder before his first touch. Calvert-Lewin made an absolute meal of the first clearance as well.

He has been ineffective since the early part of the season. Image below shows his average rating (out of 10) for each match using player ratings posted by the Liverpool Echo, Sky Sports, Toffee TV and numerous other sources. Need to sell him before he turns 30 next October.

Almost cost our team a penalty at the death tonight.

We didn't play particularly good against Arsenal - if they had more conviction in the final third they could have had 2 or 3 by half time. The goals we scored were soft uncontested headers too, so I am not so sure that our defensive and attacking problems still don't exist. Hopefully though, the result will kick the team (and the fans) into gear. Looks like Liverpool might be hitting a bit of a lull after 2 bad results in the league, so I think the game will be more competitive than it looked a couple weeks ago. I'd be tempted to bring in Joel, Holgate and Deulofeu to fix the pre-existing problems but I think Koeman will stick to what's worked tonight (with Funes Mori replacing suspended Jags), and I wouldn't blame him: Stekelenberg Coleman Williams Funes Mori Baines Gana McCarthy Lennon Barkley Valencia Lukaku

We had a poor first half despite the late goal - Enner Valencia was the only one who showed any quality in the first 40mins. He started to drop off the pace before he was substituted but toiled hard to beat his man and make good runs. I didn't think Baines played too bad either. Barkley was dreadful early, put in a great corner for the winner, and then screwed up the easiest of goals at the end - I think he's getting a bit too much praise for this game. Coleman and Williams were both poor defensively but chipped in goals.

Barry should come in for McCarthy next week. Think Jags deserves another turn on the bench, Funes Mori or Holgate should come in. The RW position is still up for grabs - Lennon was okay but nothing special, Miralas has had too many chances and hasn't impressed, and Deulofeu hasn't produced much in his cameos so far this season (he's doing that move where he dribbles the ball forward, then cuts outside and crosses far far too much, the LBs are always expecting it now). I'd actually give Valencia a start at RW next weekend, where him and bolasie play more as inside forwards as part of a front three so they can run into the channels.

Thought Koeman got the balance wrong. McCarthy can't play the traditional DM/CM role that Barry plays - his distribution/passing is one of the weakest parts of his game. The only position that suits him is the ball winning midfielder role that Gueye plays. Unless Barkley drops back more, there is no point playing two of the same style DMs in the center of the park.

The Liverpool Echo is a joke. In his match ratings, Greg O'Keefe gave Gueye a 6 - which is the same rating he gave Stek, Williams and Lennon. And then he gives Barkley an 8.. It's like this guy didn't even watch the game.

I was trying to give you a more detailed breakdown of why he's shite than "he hasn't scored that many goals or made many assists". We're looking at per 90 mins stats here, you can't make an argument that his stats are low because he didn't play as many games as others last season - if anything his stats should be higher because when he came off the bench he was playing against defenders who had already been on the pitch for 65+ mins. If you want a oversimplified fact on why Kevin Mirallas is not our most creative and clinical midfielder, then here - "Yannick Bolasie made the same amount of assists in his first 9 games (665 mins) for Everton this season than Kevin Mirallas' has in his last 65 games (3,275 minutes)"... Even ignoring the past, the much more important conversation here is that Mirallas' output has been poor so far this season, and he's been given almost every chance possible..