nogs

1 hour ago, Bailey said:

Defending him? He played well, not for the first time this season either. I have made it clear that I don't particularly like him as a footballer as I too think he has limitations, and ones that dont really suit our style of play, but he played very well in a tough game. He broke up the game, he passed the ball well and did the job Silva would have expected from him. I could name better midfielders in our side too, but unfortunately they are injured and that is why he is playing.

I completely agree that it is the issue with playing Siggy in that position. In the second half there was a passage of play where Siggy won the ball about 30-40 yards out, turned and was able to feed DCL into the channel where he was able to beat Otamendi and win the freekick and get the City player booked. That should be the space he occupies and not 20 yards further forward IMO. I also think that it would then be easier for a single pivot DM to cover where the opponent attack dictates rather than the two we have being pulled apart as they are being overrun. It would also mean that the fullbacks have to be a little more responsible and read the game situation better and in turn the wingers will need to stay wider for longer in order to keep our width in attack but I consider that to be a positive.

My frustration with Sigurdsson - and Schneiderlin for that matter - is we're seeing exactly the same problems in midfield we saw two years ago under Koeman. It was crap then and its crap now. How have we not moved on, tactically and in terms of personnel, two managers later? 

2 hours ago, Bailey said:

I am amazed to see some people still slagging off Schneiderlin.

I'm amazed to see anyone defending him. He's a glaring weak link. Slow, doesn't dominate the middle of the park defensively/physically, offers next to nothing creatively or defensively. Our win ratio with him starting is appalling. I reckon I could name a better midfield player ar every other Premier league club. 

You mention Silva leaving Delph and Schneiderlin out to dry in midfield. Well that's the issue with playing Sigurdsson. You say he did his defensive duties well, but he plays too high up the pitch. I just don't think the 4-2-3-1 we tend to play works when most teams play three a genuine three in midfield. We need an extra body dropping back, that has to be Sigurdsson or someone better suited to doing it. 

29 minutes ago, Keith B said:

I think he has through the Anfield derby to turn it around. Away to Burnley, home with West Ham, away to Brighton, home to Spurs, away to Soton, home for Norwich, and away to LCFC. There are lots of points on offer there. I think 12 out of 18 is reasonable.  If he hasn't picked up a load of points, his last match will be a loss away in the Derby on December 4th. Of course, no matter the results, a win away at Anfield and he's safe for awhile.

So what would you think about 2 points from the next 9? His problem isn't today. Its the fact we've already lost to Villa, Bournemouth and Sheff Utd. 

Cornish Steve - does the fact that Keane gets picked for his country somehow disguise the fact he is prone to bad errors? For club and country? Mina - overhyped too young? I keep saying it, we're signing the wrong type of player and we're suffering coz of it. 

1 minute ago, Cornish Steve said:

Oh yes we can. The defence is terrible. I'm not sure how to fix it other than bring in a specialist defensive coach. Yes, several players put in a good shift - Coleman, DC-L, Iwobi in particular - but we were always second best. Whenever City attacked, I had the feeling they could score.

Why start Walcott? Why ever play Schneiderlin? Sigurdsson is out of place in this team. Play DC-L and Kean upfront with Iwobi and Richarlison behind/outside them. And please: sort out the defensive mess. Our positioning is awful, and we seem to leave so many opposition forwards unmarked.

We've been a mess defensively since Koeman. Only conclusion I can make is the CBs we keep signing aren't good enough. 

Good first half, then the inevitable. Silva's got 3 games for me. I know there are injuries in midfield but keeping Schneiderlin as a starter is unacceptable. And he has a big decision to make about Sigurdsson too. Just not good enough atm. 

Wow. We played reasonably well there. 

Do we have to have another 45?

Just now, Finn balor said:

Why did gilfi not head it?????

He's woefully out of form

Well that's that then. All hope Silva might grow a pair out the window. Schneiderlin plays, we lose. And how fucking shit does Sigurdsson have to be before he gets dropped? 

I'm with all the posts questioning why Silva keeps getting it in the neck for players underperforming in a blue shirt. I completely agree Silva has a lot to prove still and a bad month ahead will put him in a very difficult position, but come on - how long do we have to suffer £50m Sigurdsson being fucking useless  before we start questioning his commitment and desire? I cringe every time I see Schneiderlin on the team sheet, same with Tosun - just not good enough. People on here defend Keane to the hilt but he's a mistake waiting to happen. 

Yeah Silva has to take responsibility for picking underperforming players, and yeah part of a coach's job is to make players better. But instead of believing we can wave a magic wand, bring a new manager in and suddenly find ourselves in the top 4, I think we have to face facts - we still have a lot of players on our books who are either not good enough for where we want to be or who are apparently not that arsed. 

DCL must be loving this as a Blade - making a point for not getting a kick against his boyhood club on Saturday? 

Shit thay DCL, should have started Tosun. 

16 hours ago, Sir McGiven said:

From what I've seen so far, neither DCL nor Cenk and even Kean doesn't fit his tactics. He doesn't want the striker to score but open spaces for attacking midfielder(s) and wingers, a goal from the striker is a bonus but not the main objective of his tactical approach. Maybe Kean can adapt to this but I don't DCL or Cenk will ever adapt.
So, in my opinion, I don't think it will be a long term deal for him. Eventually, supporters will be looking to the score than the game on the pitch. (or prospect) I still do not understand why Kean is not a starter already or Cenk deserves another chance as a starter if Kean is not ready. Well, I don't think Cenk will turn another chance into gold but still... DCL is not the answer after scoring a header weeks later.

From my perspective, a good manager should know what he has and make plans accordingly. Has he ever tried to play good old 4-4-2? Nope. Like it or not, Cenk is still an asset and maybe not the whole season but in some games, it can be a solution and can save points. Even DCL-Kean duo can worth to try... When the wingers or Siggy is not able to score, there is less chance for Everton to win the game and he has no other plans. I don't like his substitutions either...

Agree with some of this, disagree with some of it. Wanting your wide forwards to score plenty doesn't mean you have to play like Liverpool with Firmino as a false 9. Look at City, their front 3 all bang them in. I do agree about adjusting to the players you have, though. Which brings me to a point about DCL - if Silva wanted to play the withdrawn 9 card and get Richarlison/Bernard scoring, why the hell did we spend all of Saturday launching high crosses into the box against three big, rugged CBs without our best target man on the pitch? It was embarrassingly naive, even worse when he brought Tosun on (who just isn't remotely good enough, I'm afraid). 

I am with you, though. I'd like to see him at least try a 4-4-2, I think it's the only way we'll get a tune out of Sigurdsson. I worry about centre mid especially without Gomes and Digne and Coleman would have to play as traditional full backs, but it's worth a go. 

Give him more but I think the next month is crucial. Expect a beating from City next week so forget that. But Burnley, West Ham, Brighton... Far from easy games, if we ended up not winning any of those or winning one and losing two, I think he'd be under huge pressure. 

Yesterday surprised me tbh, after the run we had back end of last season I was shocked to see us look so badly inept. Ive said this for two years now but Schneiderlin being anywhere near our first team, never mind starting, is a huge problem. Sigurdsson is now a huge problem, he was garbage yesterday and I think the only way you ever get a tune out of him is playing off the striker in a 4-4-2. Keane is a problem and I fully expected him to look shit again after his mistake for England. Not having a striker who can score regularly is obviously still a huge problem but fuck me Tosun is not the answer. 

16 minutes ago, markjazzbassist said:

I really like Howe but like Martinez he hasn’t learned how to defend or build a defense.  Also his recruitment is bad (although brands would negate that).  Arteta has no body of work so I would say it’s a tough call because you just don’t know.

 

there aren’t good options (bar marcelino) now or in January.  Summer is always the best time.

Howe has made some excellent signings at Bournemouth. 

1 hour ago, MikeO said:

Senior moment; though in fact as you're using the US definition of a billion (a thousand million) and I was thinking of the UK definition (a million million which is why I thought the figure was inaccurate) you could also be described as having a transatlantic junior moment.

We're all subjects of US linguistic (and mathematical) tyranny these days! I did think the difference in quantity was with a trillion though? Maybe not, but I've always thought of a billion as 1000 million. 

14 hours ago, MikeO said:

Half a million, bit different.

Erm, no. Half a billion. Half a million is Schneiderlin's monthly wages. 

17 hours ago, pete0 said:

He won the Europa in 2017 and also got a very poor squad second in 2018.

Both of which are counted as under achievement at Man Utd. Every club he has been successful at, he has walked into dressing rooms full of big players, big personalities. He has been very successful on the psychology of getting top players performing well... Until Utd with Pogba, Sanchez et al. He has never taken a young team and improved them through the quality of his coaching. That's what we need. 

37 minutes ago, Keith B said:

On paper, you'd say this was the easiest match we'll have all year. A promoted side at home. But we lost it and never looked particularly in it. I think the players are sufficiently good enough to keep us out of relegation territory but that is an awfully low bar for a club that's spent so freely in the market. 

I think sadly we've gone into the game expecting it to be easy. Which is criminal. I watch a fair bit of Sheff Utd, all the rubbish about them going straight back down with single digit points was utter bollocks from people who clearly haven't watched them under Wilder. I'd love a manager like him in charge of us. I'd love some of his players. 

That said, they didn't even have to play well to beat us today. 

46 minutes ago, Aidan said:

Not relegation candidates, no. But Silva has to be very careful now. He's had plenty of time and numerous windows to be getting to where he wants the squad to be at.

'Time to click' wasnt an excuse today, because 9 of the 11 that started were here last season.

How long will the board be willing to accept these kinds of results? Especially if Morinho is spoken to whilst Silva is still in charge and is said to be willing to come - if that would be an option for the board. Not something I would personally like to see, but the board are ambitions, seeing a manager of his stature and history will be tempting.

 

Thankfully he'll be going back to Real Madrid to sort out that ponderous, imbalanced, goal-shy problem. 

2 minutes ago, Zoo 2.0 said:

 

 

Not in trouble at all, jumping the gun if ever I saw it. Did nobody see that Watford lost 8-0 today? Does nobody see Wolves in freefall? Newcastle? Brighton? Over 38 games we won't be in any trouble at all, mid table perhaps but nowhere near the bottom three. 

We don't have to be a relegation risk for fans to question wtf is going on. We've spent half a billion on players since Moshiri came in. Mid table is outrageous failure on those terms alone. 

Well played Sheff Utd. Proper manager, proper recruitment policy, proper team ethic and clarity about what they're trying to do. 

I tried to get tickets today as my missus is a Sheff Utd fan but left it too late. I'm angry enough I wasted an hour and a half watching it on a dodgy stream. That was just embarrassing. Why do we have a team full of £20m plus players who can't pass, dribble or shoot? How did Sigurdsson and Richarlison's agents con us into believing they are £50m footballers?? Man City paid that for Kevin de Bruyne!! And why are Schneiderlin, Tosun and Walcott still getting paid a wage at this club?? 

I know it's easy to jerk knees after a performance like that but we just look like a team going absolutely nowhere. Groundhog Day all over again. 

6 hours ago, Aidan said:

Cheers nogs do you have any more Everton players in your FPL? 

Only Digne but he's doing pretty decent anyway! 

I'm taking credit for his two goals yesterday. Hooked him from my fantasy team, guaranteed way to get one of ours scoring! 

7 minutes ago, MikeO said:

These bloody polls are everywhere nowadays.

Send the ballots back!