Zoo 2.0

3 minutes ago, Finn balor said:

If Carlo wants 4-4-2 I seriously can’t see him fitting in. I don’t think he has the engine to play that way 

Ancelotti's dissertation at University was based around the 4-4-2 formation which tells you everything you need to know about his views on it. I wouldn't be surprised to see it used going forward, especially considering our best performances under Ferguson came with it. 

Mentioning Ferguson's win percentage is farcical when you consider that he has managed us against Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and a high flying Leicester midweek who are 2nd in the table. A much more fitting and true stat is that we are unbeaten in the league when it looked for all the money in the world that we would be sitting with zero points from three games and firmly in the relegation zone. Having even an ounce of criticism for Duncan considering what has been achieved is completely naive. 

As for the game, we just didn't have enough to break them down really. Iwobi going off messed up the formation as it forced Davies out wide where he doesn't belong. We didn't have the pace to get around them and didn't have the quality to play inbetween the lines. Instead we hoofed the ball and recycled possession without any killer instinct. We looked good at the back (Mina, Sidibe and Holgate impressing) but in the final third were lacking.

40 minutes ago, Palfy said:

Thank you Big Dunc got us right out the shit top man

Amen. 

17 minutes ago, MikeO said:

Looks very much like a Marco Silva team that although it will be interesting to see how the formation evolves in real time post KO. Perhaps Delph is the holding midfielder with Tom Davies now free to roam box-to-box alongside Sigurdsson (in effect giving us two players behind the striker). No doubt Richarlison and Iwobi will be drifting into the box with Digne and Sidibe overlapping. It's a flat formation on paper but could be anything but once the ball starts rolling. 

Plus, Carlo Ancelotti. Nothing could upset me today, we've got Ancelotti

37 minutes ago, markjazzbassist said:

is the keeper positioned incorrectly and baines saw it and nipped it in?  or was it just a gamble and he succeded?  Beautiful goal.  just lovely to watch.

The 'keeper is positioned just fine but his view is blocked by the defender and attacker in the way, meaning that he sees the shot late which, coupled with the fact that it was hit at serious pace means that he never really stood a chance. 

When you watch the goal back the ball hits the very corner of the net so even with an outstretched arm and a big dive the ball was always going to go in. A wonderful strike that you just have to applaud really and something that Leighton has always had in his locker. 

57 minutes ago, Aidan said:

Pienaar is a good shout too. 

Is this the same Pienaar that left for Spurs only to come back six months later, tail between his legs to do the square root of not much in his second stint? 

One of the best players I've seen in his first chapter with us however it's never sat well with me how he left/rejoined the club. You've got to admit that he was fantastic because of his telepathic relationship with Leighton Baines who many are voting as their player of the decade, not in the conversation is Steven for me. 

4 hours ago, MikeO said:

IIRC you were/are a goalkeeper though Zoo so as part of the "union" you're biased

Indeed mate! Was a goalkeeper at grassroots/academy level but now coach, for the purpose of this thread, "no comment" however !

4 hours ago, Sibdane said:

Good shout 

If you're talking about the whole decade then Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka are the only options really as everyone else either hadn't arrived or left before the decade was done. 

Tim Howard will always get my vote in polls like this though, absolutely "got" what it was to represent Everton and was criminally underrated for most of his time here. Would have loved eleven Tim's on the pitch for his passion and attitude alone. Reading his autobiography just made me in awe of him even more too, a true inspiration. 

On 19/10/2018 at 18:46, MikeO said:

If they renamed it "Sports Narcissist of the Year" Hamilton would walk it every time. 

Amazing how Lewis lives rent free in your head. 

We go the game for days like that Unbelievable atmosphere at Goodison today that would have given us the advantage over any team, it makes sitting in the cold and seeing us lose to the likes of Norwich worth it to be a part of that crowd. All praise must go to Ferguson for getting the team that fired up and for ensuring that the crowd didn't stay quiet - the levels of grit, determination and passion carried us through that performance, especially when we could have crumbled at 2-1. 

1 hour ago, barryj said:

Strangest sub?

We were starting to really tire and Chelsea were growing more and more into the game. Having two tired strikers would have ended in tears really so it made sense to take one of them off (Charlie the best option as he was on a yellow) and tighten up the midfield with an extra man. 

32 minutes ago, Finn balor said:

Fucking sky are doing a report on silva and  are accusing our fans of singing during the Norwich game your getting sacked in the morning 

They did mate. 

It was toxic, like the last days of Roberto Martinez. People were singing "sacked in the morning" which caused a bit of fuss as half the fans were defending Silva, with the others joining in and for the last five minutes whenever we won possession the team was booed. 

I've seen managers get stick, but for the home team to be booed every time they touched the ball was something special. A horrible night from start to finish really, atrocious football and a poisonous atmosphere. 

19 hours ago, badaids said:

Forget all this nonsense about Gallardo, or another 'up and coming manager'.  We need someone with a track record of organising a team, tactically astute, and motivating players.  We need Benitez.  We need him in next week.  Moshiri, Brands, go and sort it fucks sake.

Not saying that we wouldn't pay it, but it's been reported that Benitez has a £20m buyout clause in his contract with Yifang so just getting him out of there, without taking into account sign on fees, wages etc would be an astonishing fee that I doubt the board would entertain. 

Like others have said, it'll be Moyes probably. No fee to pay as he's out of a job and Kenwright clearly loves him. I just hope he's good enough to get us 17th or higher because that's literally the target at the moment. 

10 hours ago, TallPaul1878 said:

Moshiri comes across as very reactionary. This is his first time being the top dog at a football club and he appears to look anxious in his decision making. Additionally I think he has his own ideas of what he wants to spend his money on. He wants a marquee signing to make a statement but he is slow in learning that the top players aren't going to come here until we can offer Champs League football.

How many board meetings have you attended to come to that conclusion? 

How many times have you spoken with Moshiri on the phone/via email to conclude this?

Can you advise why he needs a "marquee" signing, despite signing a Director of Football to handle first team and youth transfers?

As someone who doesn't know Moshiri or work with him on a daily basis I'm unable to determine what he's like or what plans he has for the football club. Given that he has funded the team in every window, successfully put plans in place for us to move to a much needed new stadium and made good moves at board level I'd say he was doing rather well, albeit with some concerns surrounding his managerial choices.

Amazing how people cried and cried about Bill Kenwright and as soon as he's replaced, the successor is subjected to the same rubbish from people who have never met, worked or spoken with the bloke. 

1 hour ago, Gwlad all over said:

Anyone know if he's given any post match interviews?

He's gone, just waiting for the announcement. 

Moshiri, Kenwright and Barrett-Baxendale had a meeting after the final whistle which I can assure you wasn't for cocktails and a discussion about lawn darts. 

Silva has also said in his press conference that "the club must come first" which is almost as if admitting that the end is near. 

That was toxic at the end, felt like the last days of Roberto Martinez all over again. I've always tried to find the positives in Silva, but I said I'd personally give him the Southampton and Norwich games and we've taken three points which isn't enough. It wasn't particularly the defeat (although it's unacceptable) but the manner of it. Playing two defensive midfielders against a team set up for a draw with 4-5-1 is laughable and it showed as we created the square root of fuck all until the last 20 minutes when we swapped Schneiderlin for Iwobi. 

The squad is good enough to beat most in this league but a managerial team of Marco Silva and Luis Boa Morte just isn't working, it's time for change. Unfortunately, Benitez is on massive bucks in China so I don't know why he would swap a holiday in Asia for an absolute shambles at Goodison. People in the stands asking for Pochettino need to give their head a wobble, will get a Steven Gerrard tattoo if it happens. 

Feel a right mug being a ST holder.

Voted Gomes, probably wasn't the best player on the pitch but has been an inspired signing since moving from Barcelona, won't play again this season, probably won't be the same player when he does.

Totally, totally distraught for him so yeah, voting Andrè to show my support - as silly and insignificant as that is.

Unfortunately, that's the last we will see of Andrè Gomes, it's going to take him the rest of the season at least to be fit for playing football and even then the psychological damage is enormous. Few players come back from injuries of that caliber and it's one of the worst breaks I've seen - his foot was completely pointing sideways. Gutted too because I love Andrè, wish him all the luck in the world but that's just horrendous, ten times worse than Coleman and Digne's injuries. 

19 hours ago, Haiku said:

Is it official? I'm surprised that a club with such a high stature doesn't recognise better options within their reserve/youth setup?! Shocking!

18 hours ago, markjazzbassist said:

We did it with Hitzlsperger, more common than u think

It happened more prominently with Anthony Gardner back in the Moyes era. He never really played for Tottenham due to injuries but was loaned by us as back-up due to the AFCON (if I remember correctly, although might have been due to injuries too). He never actually played for us but was just there if we needed him.

Whilst there are young kids in the academy, they're totally unproven at professional level so most managers would look to more experienced heads, regardless of what they have done in their career - I'd argue that until a player sets foot on a professional pitch they're always going to be inexperienced, but that's a completely different topic for another day - ask Ajax that question!

On 19/09/2019 at 16:52, Bill said:

3 England caps and deemed to be a star of the future, where the hell did he go wrong to end up scratching round for a club. Even Blackburn didn't want him ffs.

He was absolutely gash when he was at Everton, people just saw him as a diamond because he came through the club's academy. I was absolutely made up when Manchester City took him off us, totally out of his depth playing top flight football - hence why he never made it there and couldn't get a look in at Sunderland nor Blackburn, despite the injuries.

He will only play a handful of games for Roma too (if any). They're having a crisis which is why he's being signed, they can only sign free agents as it's October/November now so Rodwell is the best of what will be a bad bunch. As soon as January comes around they'll sign an actual footballer if need be.

20 hours ago, Palfy said:

Hamilton only needs 4 points to take the driver’s title, good luck to him he’s had a fantastic season, it’s refreshing to see a Brit dominating his sport for years. 

He's been incredible this season, he normally has a so-so first half before absolutely smashing it in the second. Even at circuits that he's not expected to do well (Singapore last season, Mexico this) he pulls it out of the bag and delivers. Consistency is the key and this season he hasn't put a foot wrong, four points will seal it this weekend and make him champion again. Great to see a British driver dominating and clearly someone who will go down in F1 folklore. 

Just by breathing he rattles to likes of Mike too which is brilliant. Makes you want to support him even more. 

21 hours ago, Gwlad all over said:

Mexican grand prix. Yawn

Wasn't the best, thought that Verstappen was unlucky to get a puncture from his move on Bottas which in the end put an end to any podium hopes he had. Did well to recover though and finish alongside Albon. 

Have to feel sorry for Lando Norris, DNF'ing through no fault of his own. 

Currently on holiday in Croatia so could only follow the game via the Twitter page, the beer tastes so much better after three points . Just looking at the stats it sounded as if we really attacked them and didn't really give a sniff, the only moment of panic was when Ogbonna forced Pickford into a save. 

For all the criticism that Marco has had (mostly justified) it's worth praising him for today. Dropped Sigurdsson and mixed things up, including dropping all of our strikers and playing Richie up top. Plan B's, C's and D's are what we need, especially when up against it. 

Time to build a little run together, considering how tight the league is still it only takes three to six points to suddenly be fighting for Europe again. 

10 minutes ago, dunlopp9987 said:

Anyone else worried that Gylfi's goal will convince Marco to start him against Brighton?

Never heard "worried" and "goal" in the same sentence before. I really couldn't care less who scored. If Sigurdsson plays next week then surely he has earned it, coming off the bench and scoring is all we could have asked?

21 hours ago, StevO said:

Isn’t everything rosey again in Madrid now? I’m sure I read they were top of the league by a few points. Surely they won’t sack Zidane while they are top of the league. Even they can’t be that irrational! Can they? 

To win is not enough at Barcelona and Real Madrid. It's the reason that Guardiola took a sabbatical and why Valverde, despite winning two La Liga titles in two seasons is on the brink of going because he's doesn't play with "Barca DNA" and has struggled in the Champions League since joining. 

Real are top of the league, but they have been a shell of themselves. Barcelona are struggling so aren't putting too much pressure on, plus Club Brugge drew 2-2 with them in the Champions League at the Bernebeu with it being 2-0 to the Belgians until very late. 

Perez has been elected until 2021, but will want to start his 2020 campaign with the fans on side - most of them want Mourinho over Zidane for the reasons above and more. The sticking point is that it'll cost around €70-80m to sack him, which could be afforded but not alongside the transfer of Neymar (who they tried relentlessly to sign in the summer) or Mbappe,  a player who had his name sang for the entirety of Eden Hazard's reveal. 

It's always a circus at Real.

40 minutes ago, Sir McGiven said:

https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/oct/10/jose-mourinho-rejects-lyon-chosen-another-club

 

everton? ac milan? any other clubs?

It's Real Madrid. 

The fans there idolise him and were even seen on camera in their thousands both inside and outside the Bernabeu singing his name, even when other coaches (Benitez, Solari and Zidane) were in power. 

Florentino Perez (President of Real Madrid) is still on really good terms with Josè and the whispers for some time havs been that he would appoint him again should the ship start to rock with Zinedine - which it has. 

There has been a power struggle all summer between Gareth Bale (who Perez idolises) and the management (Zidane and the fans). The transfer of Bale to China was all signed and ready to go only for the President to block it at the eleventh hour, which was the reason that Zidane resigned in the first place. This added to the rocky start to La Liga has called Zidane's tenure into question.

This has turned into a bit of a tangent about Real Madrid, so I'll leave it there. But yeah, don't get your hopes up mate. 

West Ham are shit, but one of those hard-working teams that get results against others that aren't up for the fight. I fear that with Hallier in form they'll battle through to three points with a goal or two, I just don't think that we're mentally ready for a game of this ilk although obviously happy to be proven wrong. 

If Silva was going to be sacked he would probably have gone by now, the post match debrief with the Directors would have taken place today so unless they're spending the night sleeping on it would have expected him gone this afternoon. No doubt the feelers are out (and probably have been for some time) on a replacement. 

On 04/10/2019 at 13:35, MikeO said:

Are you in England Peter? What's the cheapest travel option? I'm pretty keen to visit one of the Scandinavian countries after discovering a hefty part of my DNA originates there.

Norway is my favourite place on Earth, go there if you can. Can't recommend it enough.

Estonia is really nice too if you're wanting to spend time in Scandinavia. I'd put them above Denmark/Finland/Sweden although don't think you'd go wrong spending time there either.