SpartyBlue

9 hours ago, Wiggytop said:

I think there’s more to come, he was very good for Burnley the season before last, not so    last one, he’s lacking confidence, which he showed lots of in his breakout season, hopefully the goal will be the spark he needs.

He did also play a sublime ball in for Gray late that he couldn’t convert. Really does have a bit of magic dust on that left foot.

12 hours ago, Btay said:

He’s done a fantastic job. The difference in the team from last season when he took over to now is massive.

We’ve all seen the glimpses of good football and I believe we are going to get better. It’s been a long, long time since I have felt we can hold out a lead & defend set pieces. Great job.

Pretty clear process going on. Strengthen the spine and make us harder to score on, which all but guarantees we won’t be in a relegation fight. Now look to add some more firepower at the top end.

14 hours ago, Romey 1878 said:

Definitely thought I was responding to the Coleman thread with this.

Should have realised with TT that you should always check where you are!

I think overall we won’t miss Patterson too much. They are on about the same level for me in this moment in time. Two ships passing in the night as Seamus winds down his career at this level and Nathan ascends. You’d always want to play the kid so he can develop but for this season we have solid cover there. I assume you look for a solid RB in the summer. Obviously this is why we wanted to keep Kenny, though I don’t blame him for declining.

6 hours ago, Matt said:

Cracking knockdown for Coadys goal, very selfless. 

His willingness to get into the box has been nice to see. Can’t help but look 2-3 years into the future to the player he could become.

6 hours ago, Matt said:

Wasn't his best game yesterday. Was it him that gave the ball away for their goal?

Was mixed. He had a couple of mistakes but was otherwise his normal tackling self. 

4 hours ago, RPG said:

I agree.

A couple of his corners were very good. Certainly better than anything Gray or Gordon can deliver.

He has a great left foot. Unfortunately that’s about all he seems to have as far as being a top player.

3 hours ago, Palfy said:

Great finish, but will struggle to stay in this team, unfortunately he’s just not good enough and I can’t see him improving enough to become a an average player in the PL, to many elements of his game are below par. Yet he will be a good player to have on the bench because when he comes on he gives his all, and with his finishing he always has the ability to get an important goal. 

I agree that we will likely be better off with players like Gray and McNeil on the bench. I also agree it’s great to have some match winners to sub on. I’m not sure we have another player who would have finished that chance.

Our squad will be a lot better when guys like Gray and McNeil aren’t starting. They have the ability to win a match but are too anonymous too often. 
 

Gray in particular was very poor yesterday. Too often there is a simple pass that would further our attack and he instead tries to do a trick or beat two men. He strikes me as a player who is trying to be a star rather than just playing good, effective football and letting those moments of individual skill happen more naturally.

45 minutes ago, Bailey said:

A quick look at the fixture list and that gets him up to the Bournemouth double before the World Cup - 7 games.

I thought his second opinion was Tuesday?

6 hours ago, Isaiah said:

Not sure how I feel about that. He still has 2 years to go and while he's been fantastic so far this season, there are many examples of players being rewarded with a new contract following a brief purple patch only for their form to then drop back off. I'd rather they started thinking about this at least midway through the season, not after 7 games. 

It's been a lot longer than that. He was better for at least the last 10-15 games of last season as well. That he picked right back up in the new season and that his rise in form coincided with Frank's arrival strongly suggests it's not temporary.

18 minutes ago, Zoo 2.0 said:

I doubt it would happen, but I'd like to see two up top when DCL is fit. The latter poaching in the box with Maupay doing all the gritty work.

Always thought DCL would be better in a front 2 where they can’t just bracket him so much, particularly with a striker like Maupay who can play a pass. No idea how that would look as far a formation though. Can’t see us going to a back 3. Maybe in a specific spot where we are chasing a game or something. 

34 minutes ago, Bailey said:

What a finish that was as well. Quality goal from nowhere.

That’s a goal DCL doesn’t score imo. They are two sides of a coin. One needs it to his feet. Crafty and technical with a good shot and an eye for a pass. The other is a leaper, very athletic and a fox in the box but not a player who is very good with the ball at his feet. We should look into the viability of fusing two human beings for footballing purposes. 

48 minutes ago, Palfy said:

Iwobi for being the best player on the pitch, others are starting to catch up with his performances but haven’t quite got there just yet. Big shout for Maupay and Patterson. 

Patterson is going to be a superstar if his judgement improves. He has it all but he’s raw as you’d expect from a player with so little experience at this level. Same with Onana. They just need to take their lumps and learn. In 2-3 years they can be incredible.

Iwobi, Gray, Maupay, Gueye all had good games. Iwobi nudges it for me for how smart he was those final minutes and for continually looking to play forward balls. Gueye is always going to be a little underrated but his ability to break up play and provide a willing outlet for the back 4 is immense for us. A player who really understands his role and does it well.

1 hour ago, Bailey said:

He did come from playing at Juventus so I don't think it was quite the same situation!

Right, it gave him the idea that he was going to walk in here and start.

21 hours ago, Bailey said:

Yeh very good point, its hard trying to sign back ups because when they are almost resigned to being number 2. 

That is part of the reason why I say you can see the logic behind it. It makes sense and hopefully it works out that way. 

I think the one piece we are missing is that promising striker in the ranks coming through and trying to make a name for themselves. It could be Simms/Dobbin in a seasons time so again would signing someone else now make sense? 

Overall it shows how important Richarlison was as he could cover two positions.

Kean was an attempt at this but he came with the idea he’d walk into bring #1 it seemed and through a fit when he wasn’t. Another advantage of the biggest clubs is young talents are happy to come to sit on their benches.

1 hour ago, dunlopp9987 said:

Unless he all of a sudden lights up the league/CL and we're priced out. Which seems a very real possibility

Yea the concern is once the genie is out of the bottle he has better offers than Everton. Or Ajax just keeps him longterm. 

7 hours ago, Bailey said:

I think you have to take some of those numbers with a pinch of salt putting him into this side, compared to Brighton. 

One side struggles to create and the other created plenty.

The other thing about the Naismith comparison, which is a good one, is that we had Lukaku banging 15+ and then others like Ross, Geri etc chipping in here and there. 

If Dom comes back, stays fit and in form and does score a good amount of goals then great, Maupay can chip in. If he doesn't Maupay is going to need to score 10-15 this season and he only score 10 in his best season down South at a more attacking club. 

I think this is a signing that if all goes to plan, can work out really well as a different option and again, I think you can see the logic.

If it doesn't go to plan, i.e. Dom doesn't stay fit, we could be left wondering where the next goal is coming from. 

I agree with most of your points here. I guess what I’m asking is who could we get to come here and be #2 this window who would provide more? Diaz isn’t clearly better as someone with far less experience. As mentioned, Maupay scored 25 at that level before they came up. I just don’t see how we would sell Everton to someone above Maupay’s level. Would have to be a younger player we take a bit of a gamble on who develops into better. 

5 minutes ago, Formby said:

I hope so! But, as my OP made clear, I worry about DCL staying fit, which puts the load on our 'second option' forward. I think it's a gamble. 

Why is it a gamble? He’s been a solid striker in the league for years and is a good age. It’s less of a gamble than anyone since Naismith.

9 minutes ago, Formby said:

Because he doesn't score enough goals. The last three seasons, he scored 8, 8 and 10. We need more. 

Who could we get to come to us and be a backup that would score more? Per 90 he’s somewhere around 1 in 3 with decent assist numbers. The only realistic option we seemed to have is Diaz who has zero experience in the league. Looks a decent prospect after scoring 22 in the championship. Guess what, Maupay scored 25 down there. 
It’s been a long time since we’ve had a second option better than Maupay. I would say he’s comparable to Naismith. 

10 minutes ago, StevO said:

We do have another target man. Unfortunately that man is Rondon. 

Indeed. It’s hard to see someone coming to be our 3rd who isn’t a young player at this point (like Diaz). No 10+ goal premier league striker is coming to us to be a 2/3 in my opinion. 

12 minutes ago, Matt said:

1 wonder if we'll see him in a 352/532 when DCL is back. He's not come here to sit on the bench and he offers a very different element up top, which I'm still sure will compliment DCL greatly. At the moment though, based on the last few performances, I'm not sure who I'd drop to accommodate both which is a very pleasant headache to have. 

We do have some issues there now once players come back. Are Mina and Godfrey just riding the pine? Docoure? 

On 03/09/2022 at 04:19, Formby said:

Hopefully so, but I have my doubts about DCL staying fit and Maupay filling in. Not getting a bona fide CF in is a massive gamble. 

I’m not sure why you say that. He’s got very good CF experience in the league at 26 and has been solid. He’s just a different type of striker. We don’t have another target man if that’s what you mean but not so long to January if we decide that’s needed. 

18 minutes ago, Brazil Banks said:

This 100%. Sort the frontline out (wouldn't be surprised to see a 'hang the daft prices' January purchase of a striker) and we'll have balance and depth across the pitch.

This season will be fraught but enjoyable. 

Frank is the man.

I would say 45 points is a decent target given the slow start and the development that still needs to happen. We can do better than that but should mean surviving comfortably and then pushing on. For me, the next couple windows will be about our attack. Winger, 3rd striker (very likely a young talent) and then a creative midfielder like we tried to get in Kudus. Iwobi is solid as a creater but I see him as more box to box. It would be nice to have an option that can really pull the strings and play the right passes in the key moments. After next summer Frank should basically have the sort of team he wants and I we should rightfully be able to raise our expectations.

8 hours ago, Wiggytop said:

It looks and feels like Franks plan is starting to come together, far more solid at the back and mobility in midfield, we threaten up front also, still plenty of work to do of course.

Im back to being able to look forward to games rather than dreading them, we need to accept any hiccups along the way, I’m sure we will be ok this season.

We are in full “Trust the Process” mode as Frank has mentioned. In some ways we started from scratch. Will take time but it’s nice to see a clear plan and to see that plan starting to take shape on the field. The overwhelming sense under Frank for me is that, Win or lose, we are a team rather than a collection of individuals. The commitment has been noticeable.