2022-2023 season - Preparation

[Romey 1878]

Just now, SpartyBlue said:

So let’s say we sell Richie. I’ll be generous and say Ali gets his shot. Gray, DCL, Gordon, Ali/Iwobi. Which position would you prioritize bringing into our attack as a starting 11 player? 

They were all here last season and it didn't change that it was 5 at the back and defensive. Hence me saying it'll be a continuation of the defensive football we played last season. In fact, it may even be more defensive after losing Richarlison.

Richarlison going will be the sacrifice we make to tighten us up defensively as well - bringing in that true DM we're craving.

We weren't great defensively or attacking last season and it's great that we look like we're making an effort in terms of defence, but I want both. Still plenty of time to do that so I'm not going to do dwell on it too much, but I remember being worried about Townsend being signed as a first choice winger last summer and that turned out to be exactly the case. 

[SpartyBlue]

7 minutes ago, Romey 1878 said:

They were all here last season and it didn't change that it was 5 at the back and defensive. Hence me saying it'll be a continuation of the defensive football we played last season. In fact, it may even be more defensive after losing Richarlison.

Richarlison going will be the sacrifice we make to tighten us up defensively as well - bringing in that true DM we're craving.

We weren't great defensively or attacking last season and it's great that we look like we're making an effort in terms of defence, but I want both. Still plenty of time to do that so I'm not going to do dwell on it too much, but I remember being worried about Townsend being signed as a first choice winger last summer and that turned out to be exactly the case. 

Some of that will change on its own though. A healthy DCL helps improve us. Gordon maturing some. Gray as well. Ali and Iwobi with more time under Lampard. I’ll be curious if we see how Frank actually wants to play or if it is again “this is what we have” for now. 
 

My question was more about how specially would you look to improve our attack? It’s not obvious to me in a limited budget what we will try to do there other than a backup striker and I suppose a winger option. I actually like Townsend as a bench guy. Decent player to bring on chasing a goal or using his experience to see out a game. 

[Romey 1878]

5 minutes ago, SpartyBlue said:

Some of that will change on its own though. A healthy DCL helps improve us. Gordon maturing some. Gray as well. Ali and Iwobi with more time under Lampard. I’ll be curious if we see how Frank actually wants to play or if it is again “this is what we have” for now. 
 

My question was more about how specially would you look to improve our attack? It’s not obvious to me in a limited budget what we will try to do there other than a backup striker and I suppose a winger option. I actually like Townsend as a bench guy. Decent player to bring on chasing a goal or using his experience to see out a game. 

I hope it does and having DCL back will make a huge difference (if he can stay fit and healthy). Like I've said, I'm not going to dwell on it too much now because there isn't much point at this moment in time, but it is in the back of my mind.

A wide player that's different to the ones we have is a must. Gray, Iwobi, Townsend, Richarlison, Gordon are all much the same. They're all get the ball and run without getting their head up and more often than not they go down a blind alley. A player that is markedly different to them is needed in my opinion.

I don't mind Townsend as a squad player either, but my point is that I kept getting told last summer that he would be nothing more than a squad player rather than the first choice player I was worried he'd be. I don't want to be right in my thinking this summer, albeit about a different subject this time around.

I'm not asking for us to go and splash the cash or anything, and I'm not expecting us to be in a radically different finishing league position this season but I do expect progress. That's all.

[SpartyBlue]

5 minutes ago, Romey 1878 said:

I hope it does and having DCL back will make a huge difference (if he can stay fit and healthy). Like I've said, I'm not going to dwell on it too much now because there isn't much point at this moment in time, but it is in the back of my mind.

A wide player that's different to the ones we have is a must. Gray, Iwobi, Townsend, Richarlison, Gordon are all much the same. They're all get the ball and run without getting their head up and more often than not they go down a blind alley. A player that is markedly different to them is needed in my opinion.

I don't mind Townsend as a squad player either, but my point is that I kept getting told last summer that he would be nothing more than a squad player rather than the first choice player I was worried he'd be. I don't want to be right in my thinking this summer, albeit about a different subject this time around.

I'm not asking for us to go and splash the cash or anything, and I'm not expecting us to be in a radically different finishing league position this season but I do expect progress. That's all.

We desperately need a crosser of the ball. No Digne, an aging Seamus and two wingers who prefer to play more directly does no favors to DCL. Gordon is going to be potentially very frustrating as we move forward as he’s rapid and dangerous but can be headless as you’ve alluded to. He’s a bit of a Richarlison clone for good or for bad. Hopefully he can take that next step and spends the summer working on his crossing and his finishing every day. Of course then we will have to sell him to Man U but that’s an issue for a different day. 
 

I’m very curious what the preferred midfield will be. I strongly believe he’s going to give Ali his shot. Wasn’t the time to work him in much in a relegation fight but he’s our best current option for a guy who can pull the strings. But who does that leave. Doucoure one assumes..Iwobi has earned his look. I’m not high on Allan given his aging legs but removing him and Delph leaves us without a true defense mid in there. Davies could be in the mix if he comes back well. I’d also assume we bring at least one in. I just really don’t have a good handle on the ideal situation there other than to say if we lose Richie I think you have to give Dele a chance as we will need the creativity 

[Bailey]

2 hours ago, SpartyBlue said:

So let’s say we sell Richie. I’ll be generous and say Ali gets his shot. Gray, DCL, Gordon, Ali/Iwobi. Which position would you prioritize bringing into our attack as a starting 11 player? 

I'd say of all of those Dom has the least to prove but the rest are very wasteful.

If you could bring in a quality player in that position, like when we were linked with Diaz last summer, then it would massively improve the side.

1 hour ago, SpartyBlue said:

I’m very curious what the preferred midfield will be. I strongly believe he’s going to give Ali his shot. Wasn’t the time to work him in much in a relegation fight but he’s our best current option for a guy who can pull the strings. But who does that leave. Doucoure one assumes..Iwobi has earned his look. I’m not high on Allan given his aging legs but removing him and Delph leaves us without a true defense mid in there. Davies could be in the mix if he comes back well. I’d also assume we bring at least one in. I just really don’t have a good handle on the ideal situation there other than to say if we lose Richie I think you have to give Dele a chance as we will need the creativity 

When Alli played, he mainly played from the left in an attacking 3. It was only the Palace game when it had all but gone that he played more centrally. Im not sure he could be trusted to play in that role regularly unless Lampard managed to get his tail up.

As for the rest of that midfield, I am not sure how they would fit into how Lampard wants to play. Most arent very athletic and the ones that are, arent very technical. The one that has a bit about him, based on the end of the season, is Iwobi.

I think Lampard will be desperate for a couple of technically minded midfielders to come in and start a lot of games next season. I don't see us playing how I expect he will want us to play (based on how he has in the past), with the midfielders we have at the moment.

[Hafnia]

5 hours ago, Romey 1878 said:

I'm extremely sceptical that that would be the way it would work. Unless we show some ambition in the transfer market with attacking signings, then I'll change my mind,

But if it doesn't then I'm not expecting the acceptable progress I was hoping for next season. We'll be flirting with relegation again, just maybe not the desperate position we found ourselves in last season.

We scored one goal more than Brighton but conceded 22 more than them.  Basically our defence put pressure on us - we couldn’t break teams down who scored then defended leads. Which was an issue without question. 
 

we will no doubt invest in the attacking department which is why getting tarkowski on a free is a no brainer. 

[Bailey]

25 minutes ago, Hafnia said:

We scored one goal more than Brighton but conceded 22 more than them.  Basically our defence put pressure on us - we couldn’t break teams down who scored then defended leads. Which was an issue without question. 
 

we will no doubt invest in the attacking department which is why getting tarkowski on a free is a no brainer. 

That is a bit of cherry picking... They were one of the best defensive teams and worst attacking in that area of the table (similar to Wolves. Bar Wolves only the bottom 3 scored less than Brighton and only the top 4 conceded less than them.

We only conceded 7 more than Leicester (8th) and 9 more than United (6th) but we scored 19 less than Leicester and 14 less than United. 

As much as you are no doubt correct that conceding first is a problem, so is not being able to create many good chances or put them away.

The issue is we conceded more than we scored and that both areas need big improvements. 

[Hafnia]

17 minutes ago, Bailey said:

That is a bit of cherry picking... They were one of the best defensive teams and worst attacking in that area of the table (similar to Wolves. Bar Wolves only the bottom 3 scored less than Brighton and only the top 4 conceded less than them.

We only conceded 7 more than Leicester (8th) and 9 more than United (6th) but we scored 19 less than Leicester and 14 less than United. 

As much as you are no doubt correct that conceding first is a problem, so is not being able to create many good chances or put them away.

The issue is we conceded more than we scored and that both areas need big improvements. 

It’s an example as to how costly our defence was. You are forgetting that our goals conceded stats are including the games under Rafa where we literally tried to defend but still lost, we had full backs ordered not to go past the half way line and  we still leaked.  

[Romey 1878]

56 minutes ago, Hafnia said:

We scored one goal more than Brighton but conceded 22 more than them.  Basically our defence put pressure on us - we couldn’t break teams down who scored then defended leads. Which was an issue without question. 
 

we will no doubt invest in the attacking department which is why getting tarkowski on a free is a no brainer. 

My issue is signing both him and Coady. That’s overkill on shoring us up defensively and will go too far that way. I also don’t like the thought of paying any sort of money for Coady tbh, he’s not that good a defender at all and it ties us to the shitty 5 at the back which, again, screams defensive football all season.

Like I’ve said, I’m not going to worry about it just now but if we don’t bring in attacking players as well then I don’t hold out much hope for this season at all. It’ll be a slog again.

[Goodison Glory]

I think we were top 5 in points gained from losing positions, unfortunately we conceded first in a staggering 25 games!!! so breaking teams down with the resources we have was not the main problem. The defence was a major liability.

[patto]

8 hours ago, Romey 1878 said:

My issue is signing both him and Coady. That’s overkill on shoring us up defensively and will go too far that way. I also don’t like the thought of paying any sort of money for Coady tbh, he’s not that good a defender at all and it ties us to the shitty 5 at the back which, again, screams defensive football all season.

Like I’ve said, I’m not going to worry about it just now but if we don’t bring in attacking players as well then I don’t hold out much hope for this season at all. It’ll be a slog again.

Agree can’t stand Coady and he’s not that good either. 

[SpartyBlue]

17 hours ago, Bailey said:

I'd say of all of those Dom has the least to prove but the rest are very wasteful.

If you could bring in a quality player in that position, like when we were linked with Diaz last summer, then it would massively improve the side.

When Alli played, he mainly played from the left in an attacking 3. It was only the Palace game when it had all but gone that he played more centrally. Im not sure he could be trusted to play in that role regularly unless Lampard managed to get his tail up.

As for the rest of that midfield, I am not sure how they would fit into how Lampard wants to play. Most arent very athletic and the ones that are, arent very technical. The one that has a bit about him, based on the end of the season, is Iwobi.

I think Lampard will be desperate for a couple of technically minded midfielders to come in and start a lot of games next season. I don't see us playing how I expect he will want us to play (based on how he has in the past), with the midfielders we have at the moment.

Worth noting that Dele’s best appearance for us was in that Palace game. I think Frank has alluded to him being in his plans so I’d be surprised if he’s not given that opportunity. It’s all very up in the air in the midfield.
 

 

[Palfy]

Not sure if this has been put else where, but our first 5 games are Bournemouth h, Fulham a, Leeds h, Brentford a, and Palace h, then we have a trip away to Arsenal away for the 6 game. I would expect a minimum 11 points from the first 5 games, easiest start to a season you could wish for. 

[patto]

2 minutes ago, Palfy said:

Not sure if this has been put else where, but our first 5 games are Bournemouth h, Fulham a, Leeds h, Brentford a, and Palace h, then we have a trip away to Arsenal away for the 6 game. I would expect a minimum 11 points from the first 5 games, easiest start to a season you could wish for. 

Fake fixtures ?

[Romey 1878]

2 minutes ago, Palfy said:

Not sure if this has been put else where, but our first 5 games are Bournemouth h, Fulham a, Leeds h, Brentford a, and Palace h, then we have a trip away to Arsenal away for the 6 game. I would expect a minimum 11 points from the first 5 games, easiest start to a season you could wish for. 

 

Just now, patto said:

Fake fixtures ?

There are always leaked fixtures and they're always fake. Not sure why anyone believes them anymore.

[Palfy]

1 minute ago, patto said:

Fake fixtures ?

 

1 minute ago, Romey 1878 said:

 

There are always leaked fixtures and they're always fake. Not sure why anyone believes them anymore.

I’m easily misled, why the fuck do people post shit like that wtf do they get out of it. 

[Goodison Glory]

10 minutes ago, Palfy said:

Not sure if this has been put else where, but our first 5 games are Bournemouth h, Fulham a, Leeds h, Brentford a, and Palace h, then we have a trip away to Arsenal away for the 6 game. I would expect a minimum 11 points from the first 5 games, easiest start to a season you could wish for. 

Let's get Rafa back...he does well with that type of fixture list :  ) 

 

[Romey 1878]

4 minutes ago, Palfy said:

 

I’m easily misled, why the fuck do people post shit like that wtf do they get out of it. 

Attention. It's sad.

[SpartyBlue]

56 minutes ago, Goodison Glory said:

Let's get Rafa back...he does well with that type of fixture list :  ) 

 

So a minimum of 3 wins and two ties. Glad to see our expectations our back to normal after a near relegation season.

[Goodison Glory]

1 hour ago, SpartyBlue said:

So a minimum of 3 wins and two ties. Glad to see our expectations our back to normal after a near relegation season.

You know it was a joke right???

[Bailey]

7 hours ago, SpartyBlue said:

Worth noting that Dele’s best appearance for us was in that Palace game. I think Frank has alluded to him being in his plans so I’d be surprised if he’s not given that opportunity. It’s all very up in the air in the midfield.
 

 

But that was out of desperation. I don't see the same intent from Lampard to play him from the start in that position, which is presumably why he barely started any games and we only saw him in central midfield once.

I hardly doubt Lampard would say he wasn't in his plans but yeh I do think there is a lot up in the air at the moment.

[Palfy]

9 minutes ago, Bailey said:

But that was out of desperation. I don't see the same intent from Lampard to play him from the start in that position, which is presumably why he barely started any games and we only saw him in central midfield once.

I hardly doubt Lampard would say he wasn't in his plans but yeh I do think there is a lot up in the air at the moment.

I agree he’s shown very very little in the appearances he’s made, and because he’s made so few that tells me he isn’t performing or standing out in training neither. He wasn’t injured when he came to us he had a preseason at Spurs played a few games and trained for half the season, so I very much doubt it was a fitness issue why he hardly played for 20 plus games league and cup, but more a shitness issue. 

[SpartyBlue]

41 minutes ago, Palfy said:

I agree he’s shown very very little in the appearances he’s made, and because he’s made so few that tells me he isn’t performing or standing out in training neither. He wasn’t injured when he came to us he had a preseason at Spurs played a few games and trained for half the season, so I very much doubt it was a fitness issue why he hardly played for 20 plus games league and cup, but more a shitness issue. 

I tend to take a different view. Given how we set up for most of our games down the stretch a creative attacker wasn’t really what we needed. On top of that who would we have taken out? Richie? Gordon? Iwobi on the best form of his Everton career? I don’t think that was the time to get creative with our lineups and work someone into the team. Frank has said Dele knows what he thinks of him. I expect they’ve had conversations about his future role and I’d be quite surprised if a famous midfielder brought in someone of Dele’s upside to just play him 20 min every third game. He’s going to get his chance here in my opinion to sink or swim. We could do worse than being a place where big talents get their second chance. 

[SpartyBlue]

1 hour ago, Goodison Glory said:

You know it was a joke right???

Yes. Mine was a bit tongue in cheek as well. I might prefer we start slower as we came out flying the last two seasons.

[Gwlad]

Be interesting after fixtures come of on Thursday.

[duncanmckenzieismagic]

Very convenient for Mackey Kaminski if the takeover does go through that we just happen to be playing a preseason tournament in Minneapolis this summer

[Romey 1878]

Let’s hope that this is sorted one way or another quickly because while it’s up in the air our transfer business (in and out) is going to suffer.

[Goodison Glory]

[Bailey]

I didnt realise Pickford only had 2 years left. Hopefully the extension is already in the pipeline!

[DownUnderToff]

Geez the Bundesliga get some bargains.  Gravenberch for 19m Euros