Bailey

Ah thanks Newts, you so totally understand me ? On a more serious note though, you're probably right about the last bit too!

Yeh good post... you can win this thread

Maybe I am on that point, might have been getting my wires crossed. I have googled it and there was a training ground bust up and not dropped, albeit it appears Mane and Wanyama were both dropped for other reasons. But again the point still remains and it still shows the likely personality clash with Costa who is far worse than any of the above.

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That would be a decent loan signing but if we bring him in we need pace elsewhere.

I think that was just the loan signing wasn't it? They are a bit easier to get through the door. I will have my fingers crossed though!

Your missing the point lads. You will both be surprised to know that I did know that they made up and he joined Everton, but that's because Schneiderlin is (almost) a model pro. If you comparing his tantrum to a Costa tantrum then you need to have a rethink. The point is, Koeman has a history or dropping eggs when they start going bad, which as I have even said on this thread isnt a bad thing. If Costa comes here, I cant see what his motivation will be and therefore there is a good chance his attitude will stink before he even walks through the door. Koeman is going to take kindly to that, and as history suggests, Koeman's way of dealing with situations like that is to drop the player completely until they kiss and make up, which I doubt Costa will do. So going back to my first point, if Koeman is having problems dealing with Mirallas, who isnt an angel, but isnt the biggest dick in the world, then how is he going to deal with Costa. Its a personality clash waiting to happen. I can see where any of that is unfair to Koeman, I am mainly taking a pop at Costa but you read what you will.

I just said this in the other thread about the defending. Isnt it bloody awful! Technically he seems sound but like you say doesn't seem that pacey, maybe Mirallas level, which I suppose is a start. I would be very surprised if he would be coming here to play in the U21s.

Sorry, what I mean is, the Youtube videos dont show much about him. Decent enough feet, but the defending in the Croatian leagues is fecking terrible!

I dont think Llorente would be a bad buy, he is a decent player with an excellent goal scoring record but he is slow, probably slower than anyone else we have, and Im not sure we need another one.

I was thinking about this formation last night with Siggy and Rooney narrow behind DCL. We don't have wingers so there is no point playing wide, but we do have attacking full backs and an abundance of defensive midfielders so the FBs can get forward and should be covered. The question comes defensively, as who should pick up the opposition full backs. Chelsea used Willian and Pedro to do it but they have the mobility and pace to turn defence into attack. I don't know if it would work unless we had lots of possession and if we had lots of possession the centre of the pitch is likely to be overcrowded anyway. I think ultimately we have too many of the same players.

1. I think 5 at the back has to be ditched and that we need to see players in their correct positions. 2. We need to get at them, press high and aggressive whilst injecting pace into our own attacking play. We won't dominate Spurs but we need to go toe to toe with them in terms of chances.

This. You can see a couple of flashes but clearly not up to pace. He isn't going to be a superstar but I think he will be a solid and reliable player for us.

Hopefully he is fit for Spurs!

Maybe you are right and hopefully you are but don't forget he also shut Schneiderlin out at Soton when he copped it. The impression I get is that he doesn't deal with insubordination, it's his way or no way. I don't have a problem with that, I think that sometimes it's needed. What I am saying is that it's a personality clash waiting to happen. He barely made it a season with Conte and that was cos he had an incentive to win the league and get a move away. He has no incentive with us. If he comes here and wants to prove people wrong and Koeman gets his head right then great but I think there is also a fair amount of risk. As our player on a full contract I would love him here but I would have big doubts about his motivation.

Please quote me where I said they were great! Can't wait to see it. I would have Can and Matip here, Karius not yet but he is young and keepers take time. Can would be back up but Matic would start alongside Keane. I just say it how I see it. I could tell you exactly where Liverpool will struggle and the failings of Klopp as well if you want me to, but Id rather talk about Everton. If you don't like it, block me.

I think it was Oscar? I think he had a falling out with someone else as well, not sure if it was just Conte?

I don't remember him at all. Youtube doesn't show much of him either.

Didn't he have a fight with one of his team mates last season or the season before?

Yes they did go through managers at the time but he was trying to rid difficult players. I recall he did a similar thing with Ibra at Ajax, leaving him out because of his attitude. When he left Ajax he said the dressing room was full of "prima donnas" in his leaving speach. At Valencia he is also dropped Albelda and Canizares from the squad indefinitely as well as the other quote above. He doesn't like the type of players that Costa is and if he has problems keeping Mirallas onside, he will struggle keeping get Costa sweet especially if he doesn't play every week or if Costa doesn't give two shits about the club.

No probably not but imo putting up plenty of money is a good reason to have plans in place. Just to make sure my arguments aren't taken too far one way, as I appreciate I am only stating one side of the argument, but Koeman does deserve more time to prove himself, but he does have a lot to prove. I genuinely hope he succeeds.

To be fair i expect most clubs will be keeping their eye out. I remember them talking about it at Soton once, they essentially scout managers like players. They understand that at some point it will have to happen. I don't think there are too many great ones knocking about but if you aren't completely happy then you have a look at who is potentially going to be available in the future.

I think the most realistic target for us is to close the gap between us and the teams that finished above us last season (whilst not being overtaken). Every side has brought in players, had some leave and made changes. I would expect that we would develop from last season and start closing that gap on those above us. City are very beatable, Chelsea less so but I think even Koeman would have expected that after 14 or so months of being in charge, he would have developed a team that would cause those sides more problems. Might not have got more pointso, but were more in control. We were swatted aside by Chelsea, and the only difference with City was that they missed their chances and we didn't miss our one, otherwise I expect that if they had gone ahead, we wouldn't have pegged them back. Koeman is a competitor and he knows full well that we got lucky in both games. The doubt I have is that I don't think he knows what to do about it. His solution is to play 5 at the back and hang on. It's probably not what he sets out to achieve, he probably expects more control but he isn't going to get it. The Spurs game is massive. He must surely go 433 again and take it to them. They are a very good side but they are a little fragile now as they will also feel the pressure to win. If he goes for 5 and we get rolled over again it will almost prove that he doesn't know what to do anymore.

Costa is a far better player but he will want his own way, history has shown that. Here is a quick extract - I was reading up about him during the summer so I could find more about him and there are a couple more instances but not sure where they came from now: "Nor is it just the tactics. Koeman lost much of a divided dressing room when he lacked the personality to stand up to Juan Soler's demands to sack the Valencia Three, ending up in court and with Vicente, Silva and Villa looking for a way to leave. He lost Joaquín when he dropped him from the squad for arriving two minutes late to a team-talk, even though he had included Ever Banega, who'd been picked up by the police for drink-driving, prompting the winger to snipe: "Maybe next time I'll get pissed and run a red light instead." And he lost Iván Helguera and more when he publicly berated the players for not being good enough, prompting Helguera to bemoan a "lack of respect". "I don't know if I have the squad behind me," shrugged Koeman, "but I reckon four or five of them are on my side.""

This will be a big test for us. We are at home, we have to put in a performance.