Shy_Talk

It's a man's game lad.

War is? Trenches for goalposts, heads and volleys with a stray grenade, thin red line of the offside call, barrage from the left of me wingers on the right here I am stuck in the razor wire with you.

The problem is if he needs everybody to love him before he puts in a performance he shouldn't be in the game. It's a game for men not a game for crying little boys, pull yourself together lad and earn your money.

 

Not the sort of bloke I'd like beside me in the trenches.

Oh jesus, not back on a military downer again are we.

The lad is given a ridiculously bad time.

 

I don't like lukaku.... that's a fact but I would see my arse if fans treated him the same way as barkley.

 

There is something inherently wrong with the way barkley gets treated.

 

I think it a comes down to what he looks like and where he comes from. The fans see a 6ft 3 scouser with legs and chest like a gorilla play like a ballerina.... they want him to be this snappy cross between gerrard, Keane, viera and Zidane. When they see this big kid be a bit lightweight it brings thd bully out of them.... they sniff the weakness like some urchin serving a life term in Walton.

 

Out of all of those players the closest he is to - is Zidane. The first 3 would give their left bollock for Barkley's ability.

He aint 6'3'', hes barely touching 6 foot, I know as i've met him and stood along side him. Trust me on this one. (Does have very thick legs though!)

Barkley hasn't been helped by Osman and Hibbert retiring, the boo crew cant focus all their ire on Cleverly when he isn't playing.....

Also the standards he set when he broke through were very high, this has meant heightened expectation and that opposition sides know to mark him that bit closer.

With a monster to run at and pick up the second ball from both Barkley and Lukaku will be in their element....Both of them.

I wonder what deficiencies in our midfield and striker areas are exposed all the more due to a significant reduction in composure on the ball and ability to pass out of CB now Stones has moved on.

We do work much quicker from one flank to another (much less of the clown-shoes inspired holding the ball in the centre of the pitch inviting being closed down) so the hard work and overlapping especially on our right side has been a solid improvement by comparrison. Cahill or Ferguson to hit would give us a real threat.

They huffed and puffed against City today and Mbokani looked good first half, but the second they conceded it's as though they'd been completely drained of blood and we're slowly keeling over dead meat. Worked hard to begin with so hopefully the effort will still be missing in their legs on Friday.

So far as we go, we could've been a lot more incisive today and it'd be great for Gueye to finally get off the mark, any chance a sight of goal falls as close as today but on his right foot please.

Was happy with the use of subs as well, three sets of fresh legs on just like that in the lead and they took to the game instantly. Hopefully a sign of things to come.

I thought he actually made the right subs at the right time today.

Davies ran like a whippet and closed down and Ross just grabbed the ball and look s forward.

Close control, ball at feet versus tired opposition, just dragged easy fouls out of them whilst they looked for a bingo shot, knocked the wind out of them over and over. Very disheartening being on the end of it, nice not to be for once.

Heavens, thought Mori and Robles had no nonsense, job done from start to finish, games and were right on the money. Cool calm and collected. Kudos.

Calm and composed.

Granted a lot easier in a side thats leading and looking to see the 90 out...

If Depay is brought in (unlikely methinks) is it the end of the line for Mirallas or Deulofeu or maybe even both?

Can't believe Vardys ban what has the game come to?

Its because both feet were thrown in (uncontrolled although not together ala Naismith attack) and the foot used to challenge for the ball was studs showing, so the red in my book was upheld for potentially dangerous and out of control challenge. He'd have been better off allowing himself to be bundled over and throwing a couple of klinsman rolls into the mix and make the ref make a choice instead. But thats 20 20 hindsight kicking in.

It took clown-shoes 80ish % of a season to undo the defensive solidity and confidence Moyes had instilled in the side, granted the philosophy of working the ball around tippy tappy style vexxed most of the league that year and with Lukaku finishing well we had a decent season finishing fifth (pissing fourth away)

Koeman will be a miracle worker to turn the damage clown-shoes is responsible for around in one full season, some players have moved on, some are due to throw the towel in but it is the younger players of that regime that carry the hurt and damage the longest and might not be able to shake it. Sadly some of the players we attached our hopes too might have to move on to pastures new to rid themselves of the stench of martinez (clown-shoes!) and the idiocy he infected the side with.

Although Koeman is far from endearing so far as his media obligations and soundbites through the club go, at least he isn't telling us lies and believing them along with his own hype like the tit that was our last manager did.

Rom to bag a brace today (leicester away).

Hardly odd mate, I was comparing the fact Lukaku contributes more with his goals yet gets slaughtered yet Barkley gets a free pass a lot of the time because he's a blue.

For me they both are getting a lot of flack, as though there is a competition to pull apart every bit of each of their games and dissect the flaws to then concoct a solution. The 'he doesn't care' shouts along with allegations of laziness or lacking the strength do get tedious though.

I blame it on the boogie might as well everything else has been blamed.

aint no sunshine when hes gone...

We don't have a good record with signing former Eastern Bloc types.

 

 

I think he means we hit the ball long so we need a target man striker like Gomez.

Mince pie for this man.

I thought he was solid last year. Just feel he needs to be told he isn't a ball playing CB. Win the ball and move it quickly, stands on it too long.

Clown-shoes philosophy.

We've just sold our ball playing CB, what is required is some muscle that'll win battles further forward to make that a viable option and some hard fighting skill in the middle tomake the easy ball on the deck viable.

Mori aint Lescott, and neither are Stones on the ball but both did/do have that extra strength and heading capability, cut our cloth accordingly.

Mario Gomez target man please.

 

It comes down to context and player personality. I don't see why every young player should be carefully shoehorned in over several months. Some thrive on being thrown in the deep end.

Roll call time....

Just what we need, a performance from a youth product against a flatlining leicester side so we can herald him the next saviour of the club. Lets get him built up as quickly as we can so the fall is all the harder eh.

Ah well, Calvert-Lewis next......

I'm still shiney and new so this is news to me, theres no ignore option on here?

 

what Haf said. its a very strange reaction to have as a manager, like Haf said most would tout that new contract as they'd locked him up and we're keeping him for life, etc. instead he's saying new contracts don't mean anything today, he could be gone whenever. kinda a dour way to announce a new signing because Walsh might have said we're just doing this to get more cash out of the sale, he's not staying.

And so by association is any other player under contract.

Reading between the lines it seems we're on for signing some players from other premiership sides. #JanuaryPlunder

I think that, for all his intelligence and positioning, Barry had his shortcomings brutally exposed against Liverpool. An on song McCarthy will be a big miss for any game and it's not fair on Gana to effectively have him do the sprinting for himself and Barry.

 

Factor in an unsettled back four, questions over which dodgy 'keeper will play, our only game changing winger long term crocked and a centre forward who can trap the ball further than I can kick it - and we could be onto a spanking.

 

That said, it would be just like Everton to click for one game and win 0-4.

An on song anyone is a miss, we aint had that much out of McCarthy to claim him on song anytime/place. Gueye has been a revelation but no side is a one man team, if we are going to boot it out ofdefence and hope it sticks further forward then lukaku needs some velcro boots and valencia needs a velcro lid.

Lets mix it up a little...

Hewelt

Williams Barry Mori

Coleman Baines

McCarthy Barkley Gueye

Lukaku

Kone

If Leicester see this coming they are much more cunning foxes than I gave them credit for, and lets be honest, now one of our players is on £100k+ weekly theres something for a few others to start striving towards........

Was about to link up Saints beating Arsenal last boxing day 4-0 as proof that Lukaku needs a Pelle so he (Rom) can be that games MotM winner Shane Long via their link up play, but Pelle didn't play so it's back to the drawing board for me....

Can anyone name a midfielder we've had on the books in the past 20 years that you'd like Barkley's game to evolve into.

It's a heck of a situation, because when Lukaku isn't in form apparently that's why we aren't scoring goals and winning games, then when Gueye is out thats why midfield can't cope and we're overrun, then when Barry is out we have no composure to move the ball forwards, then because Barkley is out of sorts we're effectively playing with ten men, and now (NOW?) the fortunes of Everton FC falls squarely on a player we haven't had a full 90 out of in how many months (McCarthy).

Lets say he's back next game, will the current malais suddenly revolve around Stek being out injured or playing through a knock?

I know it's grim, I've clutched at straws myself, perhaps we need to accept the idea that our best starting eleven (whatever that is) just isn't up to the standard of the league that we all hope and expect it to be, that our problems extend beyond a player or two being injured or out of form. I believe what we are all hoping for is that our manager can knit a unit together and have them performing above the sum of the parts assembled (ala Moyes) and not dejected and hiding from the ball and the support (ala clown-shoes).

It's been a difficult time losing Bolassie, we're carrying constant sick-notes on the bench already, lets be thankful we have two quality backs, a host of youth players on the brink of more regular appearances, and get our heads around the fact that we are a side in transition and that transition will take time and money and encounter hurdles before we get to a standard where performances will catch up with our expectations.