FairWooney

Football is as much about playing football that people enjoy watching as it is about winning trophies.
 Dislike that as much as you like but very few teams will walk away with a trophy in a season but tens of thousands will turn out every week to revel in the action of their team.  We all hope for a top 4 spot or a cup victory but know that it will be tough to achieve.  The least we could want should be to watch games where we enjoy the football being played, feel excitement from what we see and some hope that we can challenge for those goals.
in the last few months that’s how I’ve felt about our team and the finishing position didn’t really matter to me in the end.  I’d seen exciting positive football with some memorable victories and can look forward to the next season with some hope that there will be many more of those moments.

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/everton-identity-crisis-prompted-david-15853422.amp
Moyes no
Would Mikel be up for it and do we have any idea if he'd be any good?
He's worked under 2 great managers but never been in charge himself.
I agree that we need to give Silva more time but would be interested in Arteta if he was interested and could impress in interview.  

Watching him today his class there for all to see.  So calm and composed on the ball.  Rarely does his pass not find its target and he's always available for the ball.  He's also pushed forward with the ball a few times beating (all be it league 2) players with ease. He's exactly what we need to control the middleof the park while Bernard, Lookman and Richarlison are putting in the running up top.
Sure there's a limit to what he's worth but definitely worth more than 20 million 

Watching him today his class there for all to see.  So calm and composed on the ball.  Rarely does his pass not find its target and he's always available for the ball.  He's also pushed forward with the ball a few times beating (all be it league 2) players with ease. He's exactly what we need to control the middleof the park while Bernard, Lookman and Richarlison are putting in the running up top.
Sure there's a limit to what he's worth but definitely worth more than 20 million 

My first game of the season so hoping for a relatively strong side.  Hopefully Lookman is fit to play and rest Walcott.  I'd give DCL and Tosun game time as well.
Is Kenny fit and available? If so him ahead of Coleman. 100% Baines plays

how many number 10's could Koeman invest in with the money?

7th place isn't good enough but breaking into that top 6 isn't a forgone conclusion for any manager. The teams above us all have quality squads, managers and have plenty of money behind them.
 
The best we can do to any of those things is match it in those terms.
 
We obviously want to establish ourselves like Spurs have but with the level that the teams above us are at or can get to at least (in terms of man utd for example who didn't really achieve last season) we do have to accept that we could end up finishing 7th again, all be it with more points, improved performances and more competetive against the top 6. Would that be disapointing, yes it would but it wouldn't necessarily make Koeman a failure.

Thought he was quality today especially later on in the game.
 
I’ve noticed he’s a lot fitter than he was a couple of years ago, not sure how much that’s improved under Koeman from Martinez but he’s certainly not struggling at the end of games like he was and he was looking like he could easily get another goal or two towards the end. West Ham looked pretty weak defensively but he go made the most of it and played others in well. The assist for Barkley’s goal was quality, great ball from Barkley and with no one in the box Lukaku held it up brilliantly with a few defenders in front of him. The ball to Barkley was just perfect.
 
I don’t think we’ll see him ever do the kind of chasing around the Koeman would like but if it means he can play 90 minutes well and score goals consistently then I don’t mind that!

Thought he was quality today especially later on in the game.
 
I’ve noticed he’s a lot fitter than he was a couple of years ago, not sure how much that’s improved under Koeman from Martinez but he’s certainly not struggling at the end of games like he was and he was looking like he could easily get another goal or two towards the end. West Ham looked pretty weak defensively but he go made the most of it and played others in well. The assist for Barkley’s goal was quality, great ball from Barkley and with no one in the box Lukaku held it up brilliantly with a few defenders in front of him. The ball to Barkley was just perfect.
 
I don’t think we’ll see him ever do the kind of chasing around the Koeman would like but if it means he can play 90 minutes well and score goals consistently then I don’t mind that!

Good that he's doing well and Unsworth is happy to have him.
 
He won't play for us until January at least as he's not in the squad from what I recall so can't be added to the squad until January.
 
I'd be happy for him to return and prove himself but probably more chance he gets a transfer than a first team game.

A bit surprised at what i've read over the last couple of pages as I feel I've been watching a different game to everyone else.
 
I'd agree on some points but totally disagree on others.
 
This was the first full match I'd seen this season, though I'd seen quite a bit of others it was the first time I'd been able to sit down and watch a match fully.
 
From early on it was clear that Koeman had given them a kick up the arse with regard to starting better. They came out quickly, pressing, moving the ball forward quickly with Barkley (all be it making errors), Bolassi and Lukaku looking to move forward quickly and trying to make things happen. Palace for the most part defended pretty solidly and thwarted any efforts. Palace slowly got themselves into the game and started to look better as the half went on.
 
The second half they came out much better and got more control, their crosses were a constant threat and they defended our attacks very well.
 
Overall the difference from Martinez time were very clear to see. We attacked fast with players looking to quickly move things forward, the fact that we ended up not creating a shot was more down to good defending than players arsing about ala martinez time. Yes you can say they need to be more creative but I felt the efforts were ok if a little disappointing that they didn't produce enough chances.
 
I found the game so much more entertaining to watch than anything over the last season from Martinez, they pushed forward fast with some crisp moves that weren't quite coming off, Bolassi was a highlight for me, skillful and quick but also strong and works very hard too, the only thing he seems to lack really is an eye for goal. A couple of times he got in positions where others might choose to shoot but would look to get it across to Lukaku. Defensively we coped pretty well with them most of the time, obviously Benteke wasn't covered by the centre backs for the goal but for the most part they had him covered well and though crosses came in and were dangerous they got dealt with.
 
I don't think you could say we didn't press them or that we didn't look to attack them at pace. We didn't plod around with lots of side to side passes.
 
It's a disappointing result, especially after the last 2 games but I felt Palace posed a tough challenge and would have given most sides a very hard game with the way they played. We do need to work harder and getting chances and as someone said a few more shots from outside the box (something better than Barkley's awful 35 yard conversion!) wouldn't go a miss.
 
--
 
On the note of "based on that City will smash us" attitude.
 
Last time I watched City they weren't spending most of their time to hoof the ball into a big centre forward. In fact Crystal Palace have had more crosses than any other team in the league (7.9pg) while Man City are 15th with just 3.9pg.
 
With that in mind I take little relevance to the defensive troubles we had against Palace, our defensive were generally solid against them on the ground. Palace had 10 shots but we blocked 6 of them. They actually only got 1 non headed shot past our defensive, which was wide by a mile.
 
Attack wise I think we are well capable of posing a threat to City, I think they will probably score against us but certainly think we can cope with their attack in the most part.
 
Enough of the doom and gloom.

A bit surprised at what i've read over the last couple of pages as I feel I've been watching a different game to everyone else.
 
I'd agree on some points but totally disagree on others.
 
This was the first full match I'd seen this season, though I'd seen quite a bit of others it was the first time I'd been able to sit down and watch a match fully.
 
From early on it was clear that Koeman had given them a kick up the arse with regard to starting better. They came out quickly, pressing, moving the ball forward quickly with Barkley (all be it making errors), Bolassi and Lukaku looking to move forward quickly and trying to make things happen. Palace for the most part defended pretty solidly and thwarted any efforts. Palace slowly got themselves into the game and started to look better as the half went on.
 
The second half they came out much better and got more control, their crosses were a constant threat and they defended our attacks very well.
 
Overall the difference from Martinez time were very clear to see. We attacked fast with players looking to quickly move things forward, the fact that we ended up not creating a shot was more down to good defending than players arsing about ala martinez time. Yes you can say they need to be more creative but I felt the efforts were ok if a little disappointing that they didn't produce enough chances.
 
I found the game so much more entertaining to watch than anything over the last season from Martinez, they pushed forward fast with some crisp moves that weren't quite coming off, Bolassi was a highlight for me, skillful and quick but also strong and works very hard too, the only thing he seems to lack really is an eye for goal. A couple of times he got in positions where others might choose to shoot but would look to get it across to Lukaku. Defensively we coped pretty well with them most of the time, obviously Benteke wasn't covered by the centre backs for the goal but for the most part they had him covered well and though crosses came in and were dangerous they got dealt with.
 
I don't think you could say we didn't press them or that we didn't look to attack them at pace. We didn't plod around with lots of side to side passes.
 
It's a disappointing result, especially after the last 2 games but I felt Palace posed a tough challenge and would have given most sides a very hard game with the way they played. We do need to work harder and getting chances and as someone said a few more shots from outside the box (something better than Barkley's awful 35 yard conversion!) wouldn't go a miss.
 
--
 
On the note of "based on that City will smash us" attitude.
 
Last time I watched City they weren't spending most of their time to hoof the ball into a big centre forward. In fact Crystal Palace have had more crosses than any other team in the league (7.9pg) while Man City are 15th with just 3.9pg.
 
With that in mind I take little relevance to the defensive troubles we had against Palace, our defensive were generally solid against them on the ground. Palace had 10 shots but we blocked 6 of them. They actually only got 1 non headed shot past our defensive, which was wide by a mile.
 
Attack wise I think we are well capable of posing a threat to City, I think they will probably score against us but certainly think we can cope with their attack in the most part.
 
Enough of the doom and gloom.

TW - 5/10
TDD - 2/10
 
the deadline day wouldn't bother me if we'd done enough decent business before hand!
 
Defense
 
Stones going was disappointing but he wanted to leave and the fee was great very good so a decent deal.
Replacement in Williams is a good one, an experienced quality centre back with great leadership qualities.
 
I'm happy enough with what we have at centre back for now, an extra one might have been good but they would likely have been cover or rotation. I expect we'll be on the look out for someone to bring in January though.
 
Right back - I'd seen we were after a Southampton right back. I definitely think a new right back was much needed. We don't have any real cover there though I guess the emergence of Holgate as a competent stand in lessened the worry. Another position I think we have to add cover in thought.
 
Midfield
 
McGeady (loan), Osman and Pienaar gone, 2 have had their time, the other never proved much cop so no worries there.
Gana looks an excellent signing, solid, hard working, fast and good tackler who can also pass. Hopefully he continues to prove a real good value buy.
Bolasie, i'm not convinced by, he was pretty expensive for a player that doesn't have great scoring or assist stats but his pace and power can hopefully make him a good addition. Hopefully can prove a decent signing who can improve his goal and assist contribution in our side.
 
Did we need more? I'm happy enough with the wings, Duelofeu, Mirallas and Bolasie are good attacking options while Lennon can provide backup. Barkley is looking good in the central role and if he's out the others are all well capable of stepping into that position.
 
The one position I'd have liked to have seen upgraded would be a central midfielder who can create things, I guess a replacement for Barry. Holding but with some attacking impetus and ability to make things happen and fine the front players. Sissoko would have taken that position but given his awful season at Newcastle and high price tag I'm not too disapointed we missed out on him!
 
It's a shame the other deals didn't come through there.
 
Striker
 
We really needed a decent backup striker, I'd imagine that whether we went for Bony or not he would have picked Stoke as he will get to play where as we would have wanted him as backup which would rightfully not be in his interest. Enner Valencia has played a fair bit and managed 4 goals a season for 2 seasons in England. He's hardly set the Premiership alight. Maybe he can prove himself but I'm not convinced.
 
Ultimately we could have really done with backup and if Lukaku gets injured then we are really lacking goal scoring pedigree up front.
 
--
 
Not too impresed with our work really, maybe we went for the wrong targets and no matter what money you have barring paying silly wages players will want to go to top clubs and generally clubs that are in Europe. That isn't us right now so we can only sell ambition. You have to be realistic as to who you can get. I don't like the last minute stuff either, Berhami, Sissoko and Gabbiadini were all rumoured for days if not weeks and surely could have been crossed off before the final day if they weren't likely to happen.
 
I didn't expect mega money to be spent, Moshiri never said he was giving us loads of money for transfers and the constantly touted "moshiri's millions" was a load of shite that was never said by anyone but media and fans. He will stabilise our financial position and help us get a new stadium but I don't see him waving blank cheque books around. That said every team had a large amount of TV money available if nothing else and with Stones going out for 45m we've really pretty much spent nothing. I would have expected at least 20m more spent than we did.
 
I'm not too worried though, the team are playing well, growing into Koeman's style and the new signings are settling in ok. Hopefully we'll be working on reinforcements for January and ideally getting them in early having had time to work on it.

TW - 5/10
TDD - 2/10
 
the deadline day wouldn't bother me if we'd done enough decent business before hand!
 
Defense
 
Stones going was disappointing but he wanted to leave and the fee was great very good so a decent deal.
Replacement in Williams is a good one, an experienced quality centre back with great leadership qualities.
 
I'm happy enough with what we have at centre back for now, an extra one might have been good but they would likely have been cover or rotation. I expect we'll be on the look out for someone to bring in January though.
 
Right back - I'd seen we were after a Southampton right back. I definitely think a new right back was much needed. We don't have any real cover there though I guess the emergence of Holgate as a competent stand in lessened the worry. Another position I think we have to add cover in thought.
 
Midfield
 
McGeady (loan), Osman and Pienaar gone, 2 have had their time, the other never proved much cop so no worries there.
Gana looks an excellent signing, solid, hard working, fast and good tackler who can also pass. Hopefully he continues to prove a real good value buy.
Bolasie, i'm not convinced by, he was pretty expensive for a player that doesn't have great scoring or assist stats but his pace and power can hopefully make him a good addition. Hopefully can prove a decent signing who can improve his goal and assist contribution in our side.
 
Did we need more? I'm happy enough with the wings, Duelofeu, Mirallas and Bolasie are good attacking options while Lennon can provide backup. Barkley is looking good in the central role and if he's out the others are all well capable of stepping into that position.
 
The one position I'd have liked to have seen upgraded would be a central midfielder who can create things, I guess a replacement for Barry. Holding but with some attacking impetus and ability to make things happen and fine the front players. Sissoko would have taken that position but given his awful season at Newcastle and high price tag I'm not too disapointed we missed out on him!
 
It's a shame the other deals didn't come through there.
 
Striker
 
We really needed a decent backup striker, I'd imagine that whether we went for Bony or not he would have picked Stoke as he will get to play where as we would have wanted him as backup which would rightfully not be in his interest. Enner Valencia has played a fair bit and managed 4 goals a season for 2 seasons in England. He's hardly set the Premiership alight. Maybe he can prove himself but I'm not convinced.
 
Ultimately we could have really done with backup and if Lukaku gets injured then we are really lacking goal scoring pedigree up front.
 
--
 
Not too impresed with our work really, maybe we went for the wrong targets and no matter what money you have barring paying silly wages players will want to go to top clubs and generally clubs that are in Europe. That isn't us right now so we can only sell ambition. You have to be realistic as to who you can get. I don't like the last minute stuff either, Berhami, Sissoko and Gabbiadini were all rumoured for days if not weeks and surely could have been crossed off before the final day if they weren't likely to happen.
 
I didn't expect mega money to be spent, Moshiri never said he was giving us loads of money for transfers and the constantly touted "moshiri's millions" was a load of shite that was never said by anyone but media and fans. He will stabilise our financial position and help us get a new stadium but I don't see him waving blank cheque books around. That said every team had a large amount of TV money available if nothing else and with Stones going out for 45m we've really pretty much spent nothing. I would have expected at least 20m more spent than we did.
 
I'm not too worried though, the team are playing well, growing into Koeman's style and the new signings are settling in ok. Hopefully we'll be working on reinforcements for January and ideally getting them in early having had time to work on it.

We were probably at 70% fitness last season all season anyway!
 
The difference is that under Martinez we were strolling around passing side to side and not pushing anywhere near as hard when we didn't have the ball. Koeman wants us pressing high with all players looking to press to win the ball back, that takes a lot of fitness, especially if you haven't got the ball a lot which from the stats it looks like we weren't on top possession wise. Barcelona press like that but they also have the ball 60% of the time at least so get more of a break.
 
Hopefully we can pick up at least 4 (ideally 6) in the next 2 games before the international break then will have a bit of time for the non internationals to put in a few extra fitness sessions to finish off the fitness process that they'll have been working on between now and then.
 
Can't complain at a draw against last season's 3rd place finishers who were league contenders all the way through the season. We might always have pretty close games with them anyway but it's a decent result considering it's in theory the hardest team we'll play until October.

Seriously doubt we get Draxler.

Seriously doubt we get Draxler.

The problem as mentioned is big names don't want to come.
 
Witsel clearly doesn't want to come.
Mata didn't want to come.
Koulibaly obviously isn't that keen either.
 
Why would they be? You can throw big wages at them but so can most teams who are in Europe and challenging for titles.
 
If those players don't want to join I don't want us to waste our time trying to force them in.
 
I fancy Lukaku won't leave, he's one of those players (and agents) who like to promote themselves for a transfer every window, if we accepted the offers that came in he'd leave but I think he'll be happy enough to get on with it if not. I don't see him making a formal transfer request. I really fancy Lukaku will do well under Koeman, he would certainly have to work a bit harder but he's always excelled when we've got the ball forward to him quickly and given him a chance to take on the defense at the half way line. From the sound of it this is something Koeman is keen on with quick balls forward from the full backs. Hopefully we get to see it.
 
For me the main position we need is another central midfielder who can hold position but create things. Having both Barry and McCarthy didn't really give us that. It's fine to have 2 midfielders who get stuck in and hold position and cover full backs to an extent but in a lot of cases last season they were a little redundant while we had a lot of possession. 1 of those players needs to have more about them to push forward, look for smart passes and open things up. Besic has a bit of that ability but I feel that's a position we need quality in. I'm guessing that was why we after Witsel but from what I've read I didn't get the impression he was someone that would do the great passing and opening things up kind of side of things. I may be wrong though.
 
Surprised to see Garbutt hasn't got a squad number, not sure how he did out on loan after his injury but I thought he looked very good the season before when he came in for Baines.

The problem as mentioned is big names don't want to come.
 
Witsel clearly doesn't want to come.
Mata didn't want to come.
Koulibaly obviously isn't that keen either.
 
Why would they be? You can throw big wages at them but so can most teams who are in Europe and challenging for titles.
 
If those players don't want to join I don't want us to waste our time trying to force them in.
 
I fancy Lukaku won't leave, he's one of those players (and agents) who like to promote themselves for a transfer every window, if we accepted the offers that came in he'd leave but I think he'll be happy enough to get on with it if not. I don't see him making a formal transfer request. I really fancy Lukaku will do well under Koeman, he would certainly have to work a bit harder but he's always excelled when we've got the ball forward to him quickly and given him a chance to take on the defense at the half way line. From the sound of it this is something Koeman is keen on with quick balls forward from the full backs. Hopefully we get to see it.
 
For me the main position we need is another central midfielder who can hold position but create things. Having both Barry and McCarthy didn't really give us that. It's fine to have 2 midfielders who get stuck in and hold position and cover full backs to an extent but in a lot of cases last season they were a little redundant while we had a lot of possession. 1 of those players needs to have more about them to push forward, look for smart passes and open things up. Besic has a bit of that ability but I feel that's a position we need quality in. I'm guessing that was why we after Witsel but from what I've read I didn't get the impression he was someone that would do the great passing and opening things up kind of side of things. I may be wrong though.
 
Surprised to see Garbutt hasn't got a squad number, not sure how he did out on loan after his injury but I thought he looked very good the season before when he came in for Baines.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/romelu-lukaku-could-stay-everton-8242463
 
His agent is like the Don King of the football world, constantly bigging up his man and putting down everyone else!
 
Serie A is no place for his super star but now Everton have a bit of money they might be worth his time.
 
We're more of a project than feckin PSG you idiot!

is that a pole dancer in the tower?!

is that a pole dancer in the tower?!

is that a pole dancer in the tower?!

I'd love to have him, solid keeper and I like him as a character, with us having 3 defenders who have played with him for England I'd like to think they'd have good trust and communication with him.
 
However the money is ridiculous, particularly the wages.
 
Also....why on earth would he want to leave league contenders City with their Champions league football and Pep Guardiola to go to managerless bottom half finishers, no matter how good a game Moshi and BK can talk up ambition to him!
 
There's plenty of quality keepers just in the Premiership that we could get at better price, let alone anywhere else.

sign and come to us on loan seeing as he can't play for them under their transfer embargo rules?!