nyblue23

If there’s any truth to the rumors that Lampard really wanted him, he can’t be as bad as Klassen. You have to think one of the best premier league midfielders of all time would have a little better eye for midfield talent than whoever was responsible for signing Davy.

Agreed. The third was a damn good goal. If we do have to see him in an Everton shirt again, hopefully that goal is indicative of him taking some confidence from this one. But the first two goals were down to having an absolutely shit keeper. It was a solid header for the first, but a keeper should never be beat near side like that. The second was an absolute joke. The keeper didn’t even react to a relatively slow rolling shot.

I don’t think it’s that bold to think he could get more than Mourinho or Nuno by any means. Mourinho is notorious for bad relationships with players and Nuno isn’t great. Might be bold to think he could get more out of him than Conte, but sometimes players do just need a change of scenery. I think Dier is more in the wrong here. Alli isn’t blaming anyone. He’s just expressing frustration. I’d be more worried if he was smiling or nonchalant. He’s clearly passionate about winning and hates losing. That’s the kind of player I want to play for Everton.

I especially like the dig at Benitez about throwing criticism around. Like most, I’m cautiously optimistic. Funny that I met him at a bar I was working at in New York about 8 years ago when he was about to sign for NYCFC, talked to him about Everton, and now he’s our manager.

I met Lampard once and he was very nice for what it’s worth. Bummer that he’s a Tory but can’t win them all.

With the football we were playing and Rafa’s stubbornness in playing a useless blob up top every match, I don’t think I was exaggerating. The only reason we’re above the relegation zone is the first five matches of the season. We also downgraded significantly at left back (at least temporarily) thanks to a clash of egos, one of which was Rafa’s. We just lost three of our last four matches to Palace, Brighton, and Norwich, and we’ve lost to all 3 newly promoted teams. Five of our last eight matches are against clubs in the top seven, and a sixth is against a solid Leicester squad that realistically could finish in the top 7 still. We didn’t have a chance.

Relegation under Benitez was basically assured.

Whoops that was a typo. Edit: just thought about it and it wasn’t a typo. Was referring to Godfrey. Just wasn’t very clear with the antecedent. My bad.

Literally anyone would be and would have been better from the start.

Mina and Branthwaite next game. Put Godfrey at one of the fullback positions. If Patterson is ready for a go, put him at LB; if not, Godfrey at RB and Mykolenko at LB and hope for the best.

Agreed, but he truly doesn’t look up to it at this point in time. I’m not saying he’s a bad player or he won’t get there. But his passing has been pedestrian at best and every attempted cross so far has been awful. Neither of those are contingent on having organization. The calming influence I get, and I recognize he’s probably trying to do too much at the moment. But he needs time to settle before destroying his confidence the way these last two matches are likely to have done.

Whoever comes into needs to play a back four of Patterson to see if he's ready (and unfortunately still Coleman if not), Mina, Branthwaite, and Godfrey at LB. It won't be pretty but I don't see how it could be any worse than what we're working with at the moment. For one, we've said for years that Keane is a confidence player and I'm afraid it's shot forever at this point. Mykolenko is clearly not ready to be playing in the PL. I don't know how long he needs, but these last two performances are not it. And Holgate is not up to it either. Godfrey at LB is less than ideal but at least he's pacy and strong and knows the PL. At least the four mentioned at the beginning have all the reason to prove themselves and would consistently put in a full shift regardless of performance.

Genuinely can't think of a more contentious appointment. Maybe Gerrard or Rodgers? Not even sure those two would have ruffled as many feathers as Rafa. I agree that no one will have a problem breathing a collective sigh of relief to support whoever comes in.

Now somebody sell Rondon for a candy bar before it's too late.

Not what I hoped to celebrate today.

Whoever was fault for Digne leaving, it’s not good. Mykolenko doesn’t seem to be ready yet.

The insistence on playing Rondon every match says it all for me. No fault of Rondon’s, but we’d be better off playing just about any other striker in our squad. Shit, we might as well play Begovic up top. It makes no sense. Complete obstinacy.

That’s the problem. The season doesn’t end now and we have a single win in the last 12, about to be 13.

Right. My point is that we have some fellow supporters who are denying reality.

That’s how much faith Pickford has in the back line. Has to come out over halfway to the center line to defend himself. We are dreadful.

It brings me no joy to ask this, but watching this, can you really claim we’re in no danger of relegation?

And they won 3-1 with the headline “Subs rescue Spurs from FA Cup humiliation.” Also, possession was 79%-21%. Tottenham dominated - just couldn’t score. We were out-possessed by a League One-caliber side.

The point is that we should be striving for the best. Not mediocrity. It’s our club’s motto for fuck’s sake. Yes, I’ve seen our squad. It’s not great. But we shouldn’t be satisfied until we’re in a similar position to those clubs. I know we’re hampered by relatively late investment, but I mean ffs, Moyes might take West Ham to a top 6 finish two years in a row with a squad barely more impressive than ours. I’m not saying we should all be throwing realism out the window, but we need to be constantly demanding more, never accepting the danger of turning into a perpetually-mediocre has-been club.

Of course we’re happy to win. But we should be winning handily like the Chelseas and Citys of the world who won their matchups by a combined score of 9-2… not scraping it out in extra time like Brighton or Southampton. NSNO or no? Edit: I’m aware City’s and Chelsea’s matchups were against lower-tier sides, but Hull is almost definitely going down. They’re basically a League One side.

Not sure how you made it appear that I said that, but that was not my quotation.