2021/22 Ben Godfrey

[The Sorting Hat]

Hung out to dry at Left Back today, and was struggling dealing with two Wolves players on his own with no cover from Iwobi in the first half, was a bit better when Grey was switched over.
He's a Centre Back for Christs sake, why is Benitez expecting him to be overlapping the winger in the final third and banging crosses in?

Screwed up the back pass for their second goal, but then again Holgate should have some sort of situation awareness and tidied it up without much bother.

 

[Harryflashman]

I don’t know the reasons , covid or something else but wow this fall from grace has been biblical.

 

[bluebud]

I noticed this but didnt think anything of it at the time, it was like paper lungs Del, but that dosent excuse his brain not working

It does though, brain function requires oxygen

 

[brownmola]

Not good enough. Cant defend properly

I think that’s the main problem, right now, he is not a great defender. A highlight type of slide tackle or a barnstorming 50 yard run every other game does not make up for how poor he is in the air or his positioning.

If we want to get anything out of him this season, he needs to take a long break from the team. I’m sure Covid has taken it’s toll on him and I would like to see him get back to full fitness before completely writing him off but some of these defensive concerns were present last year as well, although not nearly so nakedly apparent or frequent.

 

[gorgeousgeorgeEFC]

Ben Godfrey is clearly struggling with the after effects of Covid-19. Very sad to see how much he has deteriorated.

It goes without saying but we are desperately missing our best midfielder Doucoure and our leading goalscorer DCL.

As Evertonians we are known for our patience and our ability to be logical and reasonable in the face of adversity, so I don’t think many blues will be calling for Benitez’s head when we’re still in the top 10. Even Carlo Ancelotti, the most decorated manager in history, could only get us 10th.

I wasn’t surprised by last night’s defeat away to the most in-form team in the country. What worries me is that we are struggling to win our home games, sometimes against mediocre opposition like Watford. If you can’t win at home against Watford when you’ve got all the fans right behind you then where can you win? Certainly not at Man City, where we play in a couple of weeks.

Another worrying thing to note is that our players seem to be giving their absolute all, which is all we as fans can ask of them. The bottom line is that they simply aren’t good enough. That’s frightening really. The likes of Koeman and Silva wasted a lot of money and made a lot of poor decisions.

 

[Carlito]

New meaning to the phrase 'covid pass' there for that second goal.

And I thought the one that you put on your phone was bad.

 

[billyblue80]

Didn't play well but to be honest he is badly out of form and physically and mentally looks a shell of last season, understandable given the covid. But he can't get a rest because he is also the back up at both full back positions it's the madness of our squad without adequate back up.

 

[bring back the catt]

I don’t know the reasons , covid or something else but wow this fall from grace has been biblical.

As a professional athlete he will be anxious to compete in every game. However, as a sufferer from a fairly bad sounding bout of Covid, as a human being he will probably not want to be anywhere near a football field. Especially with countless thousands of viewers criticising every move while he probably feeling pretty damn grim.
I actually feel sorry for the lad, but less so for those who think being a high earner makes you fair game for criticism.
Truth is, total mis-management has made it essential he has to be selected, irrespective of whether he is fit, or indeed where he is being asked to play is suited to him.
Now, who was it who shipped our cover left back out on a season long loan without a recall clause?
Answers on a postcard please. No, that clown gats a contract extension.

 

[Zatara]

@Zatara ?

With the clocks going back to 8 hours i didnt fancy staying awake 4am-6am to watch another Benitez tactical masterclass.

Saw the highlights which didnt show much other than us being peppered and Iwobi not missing an open goal for once.

Included was a snip as the ball left Godfreys foot, Jiminez outpacing Holgate to the ball and slotting.

Saw reports saying he had no one showing for him so knocked it back but the pass / option was poor.

Tbh it looks to me (having not seen the game) that the players have given up on Benitez.

 

[little elfin]

Typical Everton English defender
Always back pass without looking or thinking

 

[Gareth Gibson]

As others have said he was forced to play out of position due to the absence of our best full-back Lucas Digne. He also seems fatigued - is he still possibly feeling the effects of Covid?

It’s not all doom and gloom. We are still in the top 10 and we have just two fewer points than we had at this stage last season - and we had the most decorated manager in history at the helm then!

Benitez spent just £2million in the summer and he has had extraordinary luck with injuries. We have missed DCL and Doucoure particularly acutely in recent weeks. Even the likes of Man City wouldn’t thrive if they were without their top goalscorer and their best midfielder for weeks.

If R.A.F.A. can’t arrest this slide within the next 5 or 6 weeks and it looks like we will be at risk of relegation then of course we will have to consider a change, but I can’t see that being the case.
This is a long-term project. Only rich clubs like Chelsea can get away with changing their managers every other season.

 

[JLW]

Can we stop blaming Covid for his performances, his fitness maybe but not winning headers, putting in half hearted tackles, wrong positioning, poor decision making.

If he's still feeling the effects of Covid then don't make yourself available to play.

 

[gonetomorrow]

He showed some of the old determination in the last quarter of the game. They all did. He was out of position. If he and Coleman had swapped over it might have been better.

 

[james_v02]

Something is definitely off with him. And he was drenched but barely did any running at that 20 min mark. Covid does nasty things to your lungs and some of these after-effects might linger around. His recovery journey would've been better and longer if we have enough cover for LB, RB and CB.

 

[PhilM]

Can we stop blaming Covid for his performances, his fitness maybe but not winning headers, putting in half hearted tackles, wrong positioning, poor decision making.

If he's still feeling the effects of Covid then don't make yourself available to play.

In that case, who else plays? Circumstances mean that even if we wanted to let him rest and regenerate, there’s currently little flexibility in our paper thin squad.

We’ve got to be careful not to attribute this solely to COVID - it may not be the case at all - yet he himself has said he hasn’t felt like he’s in his own body.

Over compensating for your body not performing and being jaded (mental and physical fatigue) will lead to poor decision making, but right now what other options are there?