Match Thread Burnley V Everton preview thread/match day thread

[Caolam]

If we had been offered 6th place being 5 points behind the league leaders after 9 games at the start of this season we would have taken it. A win against the not so happy hammers next week and we are back in business.
This is progress, limited progress but progress.

 

[Khalekan]

Really hate it when people say this. In fact, I hate setting for anything in life.

You da man, Kith

 

[John Osters Love Child]

What has happened to the pressing game we saw the first 5 games of this season? Burnley, Palace and Bournemouth have been allowed to basically walk the ball from the centre circle to our box almost unchallenged. We don't stop crosses! we invite shots and we don't win second balls.

 

[froggyted]

My concern at the moment with Everton is that, despite the style of football being played, I'm sensing it is starting to get the "same old" feeling to it over the last month.
Can't keep a clean sheet. Comical goals conceded or headed goals from pressureless crosses. Even scoring one goal looks to be our lot, forget two or more, regardless of how bad the opposition is. Can't buy a win to save us.
Clean sheets get points. Can't be conceding 2 goals to poor teams like the one on the weekend.
A win with a clean sheet against West Ham please...

Most people are of the opinion that we were unlucky not to get at least a point from this one though. You will get a few games like this throughout any season. I can't understand the expectations on here that we would suddenly be transformed beyond recognition in the course of a few months with a new manager and a few new players. I agree regarding the lack of firepower, i think many feared this would be an issue when we failed to secure a top quality striker during the window, and hopefully this will be addressed in January. Maybe Valencia should be given a lot more game time, starting a game or two even, so his quality can be accurately assessed before the window; maybe this would have been a good game to have done this. It does also frustrate me that we sometimes play the ball about too much in the final third and don't get enough shots in, Barkley is one of the worst culprits here, but there are signs that this is being addressed by the manager. Imo we are improved from last year, but to get where both fans and management want is going to take time. I will reserve judgement on Koeman until the end of the season, but i think there is adequate ground to be hopeful.

 

[degsy]

Up to now Koeman has 'Talked' a fair pragmatic / 'Spade a spade' game now he has to put his money where his mouth is and actually make pragmatic decisions, like pull out Jags and give a couple of fringe (up to now) players a go...two max, can't go whole sale League Cup changes.

Funes Mori or Holgate / Lennon or Davies and one other on the bench in case by HT another need the hook - plus the usual cover players

Actions and form not reputations.

 

[Toffeelover]

Ah, but so many on here think they know better than the manager, and he's hardly had time to warm his seat up.

I do not know better but along with a few other (thousand) fans, I can see something is not working. You were happy with defeat, because RK is the manager and knows?

 

[froggyted]

I do not know better but along with a few other (thousand) fans, I can see something is not working. You were happy with defeat, because RK is the manager and knows?

Of course i'm not happy with the defeat, but these things happen to the best of teams, and i accept that Koeman has had nowhere near enough time to make the necessary improvements. At the end of, say, a couple more transfer windows, and the experience of a complete campaign, there will be far less leeway for excuses.

As an aside, but relevant nonetheless, look at what Moyes achieved for us after a couple of campaigns, and then look at where Sunderland are now.

 

[Toffeelover]

Of course i'm not happy with the defeat, but these things happen to the best of teams, and i accept that Koeman has had nowhere near enough time to make the necessary improvements. At the end of, say, a couple more transfer windows, and the experience of a complete campaign, there will be far less leeway for excuses.

Don't get me wrong, I support RK but I stand by my comment to him - get it sorted! We are 6th but another couple of defeats and we could easily be on a downward spiral. AS I said possession does not win games, goals win games so why are we not scoring??????????

 

[froggyted]

Don't get me wrong, I support RK but I stand by my comment to him - get it sorted! We are 6th but another couple of defeats and we could easily be on a downward spiral. AS I said possession does not win games, goals win games so why are we not scoring??????????

We certainly need more firepower, and hopefully this will be addressed in the next window; additionally, as i mentioned in another post, i think players have too much of a tendency to pass the ball around when a shot is on, Barkley being one of the worst offenders here. This is something inherited from the Martinez era. Perhaps this is partly down to not breaking out quickly enough (again, too many passes rather than lack of pace), allowing the opposition to pack the defence. Scoring goals is partly a numbers game, and the less shots on goal the less goals are likely to be scored.

 

[bignev23]

Some time in the last 5 years our fan base really has turned into proper whinging plebs, the type I used to laugh my tits at. Like when Villa fans where phoning every radio station that would listen whinging about coming 6th for three seasons on the bounce under O'Neil '' But we're Villa we demand better than this and I demand he's sacked cos he can't take us to the next level... Blah blah blah'' It's embarrassing now our fans have become them, lets hope the team doesn't follow suit.

 

[The Esk]

First time I've had a chance to watch the highlights, so qualified with the fact I didn't see the game, nor have read all comments it looks like we created a hat full of chances, conceded a poor first and hit by a sucker punch at the end?

Obviously results matter, and this is a match we should be expecting to win to progress but dare I say it we looked a lot better than I had feared hearing the result and the bits I've picked up here.

 

[roydo]

First time I've had a chance to watch the highlights, so qualified with the fact I didn't see the game, nor have read all comments it looks like we created a hat full of chances, conceded a poor first and hit by a sucker punch at the end?

Obviously results matter, and this is a match we should be expecting to win to progress but dare I say it we looked a lot better than I had feared hearing the result and the bits I've picked up here.

As ever mate, we played far better than the thread suggests. That being said, the MOTD highlights made us look a bit better than we were for the full 90.

 

[Khalekan]

If we had been offered 6th place being 5 points behind the league leaders after 9 games at the start of this season we would have taken it.

After five games we were sitting in second place, one point behind the league leaders.

At that stage, I would suggest very few of us would have settled for sitting in 6th place, five points behind the leaders after nine games.

Especially given the opposition we were facing in three of those four further games.

It is not where we are on October 24th......it is the manner we have arrived here given where we were sitting on September 17th.

That has got to be a big disappointment given the logjam at the top

It certainly is to me.

 

[AndyC]

After five games we were sitting in second place, one point behind the league leaders.

At that stage, I would suggest very few of us would have settled for sitting in 6th place, five points behind the leaders after nine games.

Especially given the opposition we were facing in three of those four further games.

It is not where we are on October 24th......it is the manner we have arrived here given where we were sitting on September 17th.

That has got to be a big disappointment given the logjam at the top

It certainly is to me.

Absolutely this !!

 

[Caolam]

After five games we were sitting in second place, one point behind the league leaders.

At that stage, I would suggest very few of us would have settled for sitting in 6th place, five points behind the leaders after nine games.

Especially given the opposition we were facing in three of those four further games.

It is not where we are on October 24th......it is the manner we have arrived here given where we were sitting on September 17th.

That has got to be a big disappointment given the logjam at the top

It certainly is to me.

If you thought Everton were going to continue in second place given where we have come from when I think you were being unrealistic. Indeed to complain about being 6th after 25% of the games is being disengenerous, no matter who we have played.
I want Everton to be challenging at the very top as much as anyone on here, do I think we will be in the final shake, no I don't. I do believe we are getting better but we have a way to go.