The Phoenix

Condolences to the family and friends of our chairman Bill Kenwright. Football pales into insignificance during these moments, now is the time to remember him and honour him. He was a product of Liverpool and it’s values, he loved our city, its people and our club. May he rest in peace

A point and our first (premier league) goals of the season. It was hard to single one player out but I went for Pickford, his heroics late on finally got us off the mark

Same, I have the fear whenever it’s the lead up to a match. We’ve been riding our luck for so long that I get night sweats and palpitations at the mere thoughts of a ball being kicked. Hopefully we can perform another miracle, if not let’s hope the other results go our way

We need to be honest and forthright about how well Frank is doing. Yes he managed to create a synergy between our boys on the pitch and us which helped last season. For that we’re forever indebted to him but in all seriousness should we be focusing on the shitness of other teams giving him breathing space to get things right eventually. We’re 2 games in to season of unknown challenges thanks to the World Cup. Results are important now, the confidence of the team and the mental health of us supporters need it

Let’s not spend time bickering amongst ourselves over what we say/how we say things. As sure as night follows day Kenwright is full of shite, he’s more into massaging his ego than doing what is right for the club. We need unity with all factions, we need to cut the head off the poisonous snake. If this wankstain continues to be involved we don’t need to worry about the championship next year cause we’ll be in league 1 the year after.

I’ve never been so deflated going into a new season lads. Last year was a fucking slog, 9 months of absolute torture, a shit show on every level. Fuck, I thought football was supposed to be fun. If we’re brutally honest with ourselves the end of season high was more down to the shitness of others than the greatness of our boys. I decided to take a mental break from all things Everton for a while and when I come back the carnage continues. We’re constrained by our financial problems, we sell our best player who’s also our biggest threat and can’t reinvest his fee, potential buyers titillate and tease us only to then disappear into the great beyond, preseason promise disappears into the abyss as we lose to Arsenal then get battered by Minnesota United. If this continues I really do fear for our great club, our competitors appear to have done good business bringing in players whilst we’re just treading water, doing nothing. I need some positivity to lift me from the feeling of doom and gloom

The first team/academy shouldn’t be seen as separate entities but as cogs in the same machine. Our problem is that for far to long we’ve lacked consistency in both. We’ve had 7 managers since Moyes left in 2013. That’s seven different playing styles, they’ve brought in their “type” of player, implemented their tactics/patterns of play etc etc. I haven’t a Scooby Doo how the first team squad would know what to do at any given time let alone the academy players. For us to have long term success from the youth ranks we need them to be playing the same brand of football from the age of 7 up. That way players will be able to transition from the under 23 side into the first team without a massive effect on the shape of the team and hopefully performance. As a club we need to draw a line in the sand and start being proactive instead of reactive

I feel that this is a “seen to be doing” charge by the FA. Coming onto the pitch after the game finishes is one thing but coming on during a game opens us up to player safety issues. Also factor in what happened when players were attacked at other grounds and you get this kinda stuff. City should also get charged especially because of the goal posts being broken (that could do serious damage).

That seems like a positive step. Look at how other clubs like Chelsea, the red shite and City recruit to their academies in this league as do clubs on the continent. If we invest in youth, give them a pathway into our first team or into becoming professional footballers at a different club matching their abilities it can either a) save us millions in transfers or b) be a lucrative investment stream we’re missing out on. As much as it may sicken us we need to look across the park and adopt some of their proven practices cause currently we’re a club marooned in the 20th century in regards to maximising our income streams and marketing strategies

We need them in 2 weeks ago not in the next 2 weeks. This season scares me because of the unknown factor of having a World Cup in November. Games will come thick and fast so how much time will the coaching staff have to work on tactics etc etc. Doshiri needs to strengthen us asap because if a deal takes time we won’t have a transfer window left to work in

Agreed, if we can box off the midfield we’ll be more solid defensively which I turn will give us more confidence going forward.

Fuck me that’s a depressing read. The ineptitude of “the powers that be” who make decisions for our club knows no bounds. We make up one half of a vibrant, inclusive, energised city and as per usual the dumb fucks in charge neglect to take any opportunity to place our club front and centre. I travel regularly through John Lennon Airport (as I live away) and never realised there was no Everton merch on sale (I buy online or when I come home). It’s a absolute disgrace in this modern age

I’ll start by saying I’m sorry for being negative but here goes. I am grateful that Frank has come in and pulled us back from falling into oblivion but as far as I am concerned the jury is still out. I understand he came in late and inherited a squad after the transfer window closed which was no easy task. He’ll have a full pre season to plan now so I have questions. 1: Does Frank have a clear idea about what our football identity will be? We’ve been disjointed and confused for far to long following the manager merry go round. We need focus, direction 2: Which of our existing players fit into that identify and can we keep them? 3: What will his recruitment approach be to fit his vision but also work with in the budget we have (I am worried FFP will be a stick to beat us with and the FA will be sniffing around) 4: Will he make the hard decisions and move on players who just aren’t good enough or are to old? This is not the time for sentiment 5: Will he have the tenacity to stand up to the owners when the decide to interfere as usual Like I said sorry for being negative but I for one will feels a little more trusting when these things are answered

I get you, I’m just getting tired of all the shite talk that’s going on and us not going full tilt at the real problem. We’ve been riding our luck as a club for far to long now and it’s coming home to roost. Bad decisions aren’t helping our fight for safety but these fuckers in charge have been incompetent since day one. Luck shouldn’t be that big of an influence and the fact that it is says it all. We should be top 6 with what they’ve spent but instead were wallowing in mediocrity, relegation threatened and financially fucked

You keep on telling yourself things like that dude if it helps you to deal with the situation we’re currently in as a club. Oliver and his cronies aren’t responsible for years of mismanagement at the highest level within our club. Nor are they for underperforming, overpaid players who have quite frankly been an embarrassment week in week out. Was he the deciding vote in the appointment of Benitez? We wouldn’t be in this position if we had better leadership in place and an actual plan for success instead of this slap dash approach. We can bury our heads in the sand and blame someone who is independent of the club or we can face up to the sad reality, we’re the fucking punchline of the shittest joke in football and until we get rid of the current regime we will struggle to get mid table never mind back into contention for Europe/trophies

Sounds like someone’s blowing smoke up your arse dude. If he felt any of that stuff you can guarantee he wouldn’t be saying that to anyone. He’s partial to an occasional mistake but he’s one of the only decent ones out there. Plus it’s a World Cup year so he’s not going to risk his chances with a fuck up like that

The worrying thing now is that after their horror showing tonight some players are playing for their futures.

All of the incidents you listed just go to prove the point that referees are shit and the wankers in VAR are shit. It doesn’t prove a conspiracy helping the big boys cause you listed (and stated) shite teams have benefited as well. I don’t believe we are victims of a conspiracy I believe we are suffering because the current system is awful, the referees running the show are substandard and the powers that be don’t actually care enough to fix it because the unpredictable nature it creates drama to the whole show. That drama then adds to the interest which in turn puts money in their pockets

Everton 1-1 Crystal Palace Gordon

Nb. And if it’s independently run by people with no skin in the game we’d not be in the situation we’re in

I agree with you both that VAR is ruining the game. The level of dumbfuckery exhibited by the bollox in the booth is severely fucking up our season. I don’t however believe that it’s a contrived decision by the powers that be to fuck us over, creating a title race/relegation battle in the process. VAR isn’t fit for purpose, all 20 teams have an axe to grind with it, decisions seem to be made depending if some frustrated middle aged fucker got his end away last night or not. What’s needed is an independent VAR set up to interpret the rules correctly as opposed to the current set up of drinking buddies protect their own knowing they’ll be “paid back” next time they fuck it up.

People wrote us off against Chelsea and look what we did in that game, United as well. Arsenal could turn up and play amazing football or they could stink their gaff out. It’s a coin toss but if we bring our A game we could be to much for them

The board need to be held accountable for the shit show that’s happened under their watch. Dumbfuck decisions year on year, spending freely (and stupidly) with no concrete plan in place. Where we go from here is anybodies guess but we just need to get these fuckers to be honest and transparent when facing questions. You can guarantee if their other business interests were run this way heads would roll

WTF lads, I thought we’d done the hard yards over the last few games. Today was a nightmare, I hope we can pull it together now, totally deflated, it’s still so tight, can see Leeds turning up against Brentford and wouldn’t put it past that koppite wanker to roll over for Burnley in the week

Who’d have thought it would’ve been this straightforward after we played the red shite. Now I’m wondering what all the fuss was about, this relegation battle malarkey ain’t that hard. If we’d have had this type of form from our last 4-5 games from the get go we’d be pushing for Europe (I know we started well under the fucking koppite wank-stain before you correct me)