Everton Summer Transfer Thread - 2022

[Neiler]

It's a really tough one, and that's me being honest.

How rugged is Zinchenko? How much defensive work could Doucoure get through in an 8? Will Alli contribute anything defensively if he gets a run? They are all open questions that could gave a positive answer, but if I was a betting man I'd say we would be quite open.

That being said, Gordon is very good defensively as a wide man, and Gray does ok defensively now too.

I think protection of the back four through midfield has changed fundamentally in the last five years, we all remember the classic 6 and 8, , then the double pivot and playmaker, Chelsea then added the three, now City have decided instead of having any 6 really, to go with deep technical players and just play on through. arguably Mordor too. They are that good anyway they just push teams back beyond the half line out of fear and teams just surrender pocession.

I think broadly a problem for us and I mean this generally about how we set up as a team is identity. We don’t have one and haven’t in a long time. We don’t know what we want to be. For example, take last season and (probably the ones before that). We say to ourselves we are Everton - we are at home we have to go after say a Watford and we get caught in the counter, we struggle to break teams down. Then we play bigger clubs sit back and do well, we ossalate between to and lack identity and frankly confidence - we don’t know what we are it’s a mid table vacuum in terms of approach and philosphey, other clubs don’t do that, like WHU, Leicester, Brighton now Newcastle - they tweak but stick in the main week in week out, we don’t - remember under Moyes, you’d know exactly what we’d be from one week to the next, these days I’d have no idea how we’d approach say a Wolves, Spurs or Leicester game at home

The midfield discussion is a microcosm of that at that at the moment, we say - we want creativity, goal threat technique, then say oh wel, the back four will be very exposed, think we constantly lack an indenty or philosophy . Even a mismash of midfielders we have at the moment are remnents of trying to address one problem or other and that lack of cohesion or identity. You look at the change in two similar clubs to us, once they’ve nailed that identity peice and philosophey - WHU and Newcastle.

So for me we need to pick an identity of what we are going to do as a club but also midfield and stick to it, is it going to be a structured defensive/offensive bridge or are we going technical, are we going to flood it with a 3 etc.

We may have to accept some casualties, because despite needing central midfielders, we have a lot of them.

 

[TheBigIguana]

I would probably go along with that. Or ask him to run very quickly forward with the ball through the middle third anyway!

There was some of that for sure.

I'm being serious though, those first few weeks went well because Doucoure just went up into the box when we had the ball and went all the way back to the edge of our box when we didn't. No need to pass or read the game.

That's obviously not sustainable.

 

[evertony]

I like Kelleher though. He seems like a GK who can keep his focus when not called on for long spells in the game. Looks uncomplicated and calm.

A good reason not to get him then - he be rather busy playing for us.

 

[Goat]

I think protection of the back four through midfield has changed fundamentally in the last five years, we all remember the classic 6 and 8, , then the double pivot and playmaker, Chelsea then added the three, now City have decided instead of having any 6 really, to go with deep technical players and just play on through. arguably Mordor too.

I think broadly a problem for us and I mean this generally about how we set up as a team is identity. We don’t have one and haven’t in a long time. We don’t know what we want to be. For example, take last season and (probably the ones before that. We say to ourselves we are Everton - we are at home we have to go after say a Watford and we get caught in the counter, we struggle to break teams down. Then we play bigger clubs sit back and do well, we ossvilate between to and lack identity.

The midfield discussion is a microcosm of that at that at the moment, we say - we want creativity, goal threat technique, then say oh wel, the back four will be very exposed, think we constantly lack an indenting. Even a mismash of midfielders we have at the moment are remnents if al, trying to address one problem or other and that lack of cohesion or identity. You look at the change in two similar clubs to us, once they’ve nailed that identity peice and philosophey - WHU and Newcastle.

So for me we need to pick an identity of what we are going to do as a club but also midfield and stick to it, is it going to be a structured defensive/offensive bridge or are we going technical, are we going to flood it with a 3 etc.

We may have to accept some casualties, because despite needing central midfielders, we have a lot of them.

City play Rodri and Fernadinho, Liverpool play Fabinho.

I wouldnt say teams dont play a 6.

 

[bluejohn66]

The best way to use Doucoure is by asking him to do nothing in the middle third. This is genuinely what Rafael did. You can see why it is a problematic approach I think.

To Stay At Home On Match days !!

 

[RomanReigns]

I’ve never heard of nayef aguerd surely he’s not better than Mina or keane which West Ham could have easily got for less than 30 mil

 

[matty1878]

To summarise today's chat for anyone who is just checking in, it's predominantly people arguing about who would be a worse signing Cornet, Dennis or McNeill, which reserve team or recently relegated goalkeeper should replace Pickford even though most of the same people seem to agree that Pickford won't be sold, a weak link to Choudhury at Leicester and a fresh link to Zinchenko.

Save yourself the 10 pages or so.

cheers

 

[TheBigIguana]

City play Rodri and Fernadinho, Liverpool play Fabinho.

I wouldnt say teams dont play a 6.

Even some of the teams that play a two still have a player capable of doing that should they choose. Rice, Hojbjerg and Kante for example.

 

[Goat]

. Rice, Hojbjerg and Kante for example.

We not calling those 6s now?

Cos for me they are all 6s.

I mean the modern 6 is Declan Rice, the old 6 is the likes of say Gana, Makelele, the position changes in time, like Full back.

 

[TheBigIguana]

We not calling those 6s now?

Cos for me they are all 6s.

I mean the modern 6 is Declan Rice, the old 6 is the likes of say Gana, Makelele, the position changes in time, like Full back.

I'm saying they are, just that the system is usually having them play next to the other midfielders and not so much behind them.

 

[Goat]

I'm saying they are, just that the system is usually having them play next to the other midfielders and not so much behind them.

Maybe yes, its a 3 rather than 1 2, but I still consider them a 6.

I mean Peter Reid was a 6 for me, but in a 2 the role was vastly different.

 

[Neiler]

Even some of the teams that play a two still have a player capable of doing that should they choose. Rice, Hojbjerg and Kante for example.

Think Rice has gone on to be far more than a 6 to be honest. Maybe everyone has there own interpretation, maybe it’s age, say Peter Reid was a 6 or Carsely, Roy Keane - though Keane could flip from 6 to 8 in the same game, depending on the phase- Rice is very similar.

We we’re coached that a real six, never plays ahead of the ball or even so many meters behind with space and positions coverd, even covering for centre or full back, you needed to be physical and combative.

But the role has morphed for me depending on your team identity, approach and philosophy, I think we lack that. I don’t really see any of the City midfielders or Mordor ones for that matter as combative 6’s, more technical base players or athletes in Mordors case.

 

[billyblue80]

Whether Zinchenko would play as a 6 or a 8 I believe we need another midfielder too...

 

[Curtis]

Its a fact mate, we should be doing better, but all we do is sign players that Agents give us.

Scouts these days have every tool they need, they can watch DVDs of full games the players have played, they can track their stats, they can even look at their social media and see what kind of person they are. But no, why bother with any of that? Just get on the phone and buy the rubbish that some Agent wants a signing on fee for.

I mean we signed Tarks, a player our Manager wanted.

Kinda shows that we arent learning from our mistakes and im all for signing Tarks, but its not the way we should be doing it.

I completely concur we opt for convenience over thorough analysis and it's been a complete detriment to our recruitment process. Even when we had a top scout masquerading as a DOF we were just engaging in odd targeting of players like Vlasic who was signed on the basis of a europa league game.

 

[Curtis]

We dont look, as I said above, we sign players our managers want and the others we do deals with Agents for players they want a payday on.

So we kinda agree, you think we should look overseas more, whereas I just want us to actually look.

Brands had the right idea with the Vlasic and Lookman deals.

I still firmly believe if he was given free rein he would have made us vastly better, instead he was penis blocked at every chance.

Vlasic was a Walsh and koeman signing