Match Thread Everton v Crystal Palace - Match Report and MotM Poll

Everton Man of the Match


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We dont deserve European football because we havent been good enough
And we dont work hard enough. We are a bit of a soft team with a lack of killer instinct needed to challenge the top teams. That , a lack of quality in squad and some very strange management decisions at goodison all season will leave us closer to 10th position which is a real shame as we were gifted a real opportunity to grab a top 6 place due to the poor form of others like liverpool and arsenal. Those 2 wont for example will not make same mistakes next season and so the same opportunity wont be there.
 
These players have failed under a variety of managers over a period of time. Ancelotti is a serial winner and I think he may be struggling to come up with a game plan that suits our limited ability and limited commitment squad.
We have to face facts and take a realistic look at the club we support, we are serial losers. We haven’t won anything in almost a generation, we have settled for our plucky loser status for years. We haven’t put our players under enough pressure to achieve. Look at the deadwood we had to clear out over the last couple of windows, we weren’t a challenging football cub we were a rest home for the lame, the sick and the lazy.
If anyone thinks the mess we are in and have been in for 20 years can be turned around in 18 months then they are deluding themselves.
The good news is the club are now starting to address the problems, the new ground is a catalyst for a change in attitude, no longer will we provide an easy life for players who feel they only need to preform intermittently but we need to weed out all those who aren’t interested in giving of their best for Everton and that will take time and money.
If you haven’t the patience to wait on the changes to go through and you need someone to blame for insipid performances blame the right people, the players who are under preforming week in week out.
 
These players have failed under a variety of managers over a period of time. Ancelotti is a serial winner and I think he may be struggling to come up with a game plan that suits our limited ability and limited commitment squad.
We have to face facts and take a realistic look at the club we support, we are serial losers. We haven’t won anything in almost a generation, we have settled for our plucky loser status for years. We haven’t put our players under enough pressure to achieve. Look at the deadwood we had to clear out over the last couple of windows, we weren’t a challenging football cub we were a rest home for the lame, the sick and the lazy.
If anyone thinks the mess we are in and have been in for 20 years can be turned around in 18 months then they are deluding themselves.
The good news is the club are now starting to address the problems, the new ground is a catalyst for a change in attitude, no longer will we provide an easy life for players who feel they only need to preform intermittently but we need to weed out all those who aren’t interested in giving of their best for Everton and that will take time and money.
If you haven’t the patience to wait on the changes to go through and you need someone to blame for insipid performances blame the right people, the players who are under preforming week in week out.


I'm trying to always judge it on the fact that there are fewer players in the squad who have been part of a losing mediocre team in the past. Coleman has been in all the good and bad times but everyone else is new in the squad and untouched by his losing, small club mentality. But i suppose the problem is not so much that there's no Everton-mediocrity left in the squad, but the fact that there are no real winners here apart from James now. Even our current best players - Richy, DCL, Doucoure, Allan, Digne, Keane have not actually won anything have they or really experienced success? Godfrey is great but new, Holgate, Davies are inconsistent, but have something there that's worth nurturing, and would improve with more winners. Mina, Coleman, Pickford (for england) have played in squads or teams that have been better and are worth keeping and that's my squad of players I'd actually keep. Nkonkou, Gordon, Ellis Simms , couple of others, maybe Virginia...16 players there only worth keeping, and that includes 6 players who cannot play regularly - 4 youngsters, Coleman & James. To my mind, that means we are 5 serious players away from real improvement. So we're back to the transfers we need to do - 2 attackers, 2 midfielders, 1 RB - and amongst those, I would take the unusual step of naming a new player as captain and bringing in a fresh mentality. Definitely need to focus on mental toughness and leadership in our next transfers.
 
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The performance leads directly to the result in a percentage of games that is so mathematically close to 100% that it is not useful to say otherwise.

We may have created several chances last night, but that is only part of the overall performance... other parts include:

Converting chances into goals
Tackling in midfield
Pressing opposition defenders to win the ball from them
Competing for headers arising from long balls
Winning second balls
Disrupting opposition passing moves
Running

Far too many of the above behaviours were neglected last night by far too many players. Keane and Mina seem to lack the confidence to do anything other than sit on the edge of the 18yd box making desperate clearances, Davies is apparently incapable of moving upfield, Gomes is simply incapable of moving... There's a reason Rodriguez was dropping deeper and deeper to get the ball as the game progressed: without Allan and Doucoure we cannot put a functioning midfield on the pitch.

The performance was not good I'm afraid. There was a lot of CBA on display, although to be fair that accusation can't be made against Coleman, Richarlison, Rodriguez and DCL.
I disagree with that premise strongly.
 

Crystal Palace had no desire, fight, and little technical ability. They looked like a club with 10 of their players not knowing where they'll be playing next season, with nothing to play for, under an aging, uninspiring manager...and we couldn't beat them. I don't think we'll get easier opposition for the remainder of the season.

I fully expect the 'formidable' Brighton to be too good for us next Monday, they will football us to death.
 
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Crystal Palace had no desire, fight, and little technical ability. They looked like a club with 10 of their players not knowing where they'll be playing next season, with nothing to play for, under an aging, uninspiring manager...and we couldn't beat them. I don't think we'll get easier opposition for the remainder of the season.

I fully expect the 'formidable' Brighton to be too good for us next Monday, they will football us to death.
I thought Graham Potter was a good call when we were going for Koeman or Silva, but it was too risky for our current owners...needed a 5 year Moyes-style investment. Still the point is they are really good on their day and good out-fight us
 
Very disappointing.

Should have put the game to bed by 60 mins really, some very poor finishing from both Richy and DCL. Can't fault our build up play at the moment,

Could see why we took Jameth off - he was a passenger off the ball - but it was a signal to the side that we were content with the one goal lead and were going to sit back. Which in actual fact was probably the only way we were going to let Palace back in to the game. IMHO against a side like Palace you win that game 1-0 by taking hold of the ball and knocking it about, and we needed Jameth on for that, surely?

I'm getting a bit fed up with the pattern of play at the moment - last until 60-70 mins and then stick 11 men behind the ball and cantenaccio the game to death in the hope we don't get concede. Would like us to be more ballsy... especially at home. Probably my first proper whine at the management all season.

Jameth was class, some lovely touches.
Tom Davies was near flawless, another great performance from him.

Mikky Keane worst Everton player on the pitch. Some meltdowns in the centre of the park, couple of headers he aimlessly cleared to the feet of their midfield, and a crucial bit of mis-positioning for their goal. Been too many times this season he has got away with errors like that and was punished today.
'Tom Davies was near flawless, another great performance from him'.

You have to be off your rocker, he was as bad as he always is.
Can't you see why he is captain of the England U21's, he's garbage!
 
'Tom Davies was near flawless, another great performance from him'.

You have to be off your rocker, he was as bad as he always is.
Can't you see why he is captain of the England U21's, he's garbage!
So true.Tom davis spent most if the match being bullied around the place spending most of the match clashing with the opposition and ending up on the ground. Look he is fine as a squad player. Maybe number 23.
 

to be fair, I think it's a little 'pot/kettle' an Evertonian poking the borax at your team; what's the old proverb?...'physician heal thyself'
We have a reputation, partly deserved, of being not much in the way of fabulous. In fairness to the poster he was drawing a comparison to where he feels we are at the moment to last nights Everton performance. I think he was off the mark, particularly in the middle of the park, but his opinion is as good as anyones and it is an Everton forum after all.
 
We have a reputation, partly deserved, of being not much in the way of fabulous. In fairness to the poster he was drawing a comparison to where he feels we are at the moment to last nights Everton performance. I think he was off the mark, particularly in the middle of the park, but his opinion is as good as anyones and it is an Everton forum after all.
You are always welcome, 6 points from your last 5, that's your lot safe for another season, isn't it?
 
I am still detecting a little rancour regarding our brave lionhearts' showing against Palace, so i am going to offer salve by way of just two words; two words which will immediately focus us Evertonians' minds on what makes our team so great, so successful...and so loved, and so admired. Those two words?...



...Blue Chrimbo



...only 8 and a bit months away lads!!


NSNO
 

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