Match Thread Everton 0-1 Manchester United - Monday 23rd February 20:00

[EFC_FRANCIS]

Pickford
Garner
Tarks
Keane
Branthwaite
Tim
Gana
Armstrong
KDH
Ndiaye
Barry

That's tonights starting 11

I'm going to become the joker

 

[PeregrineT]

A bit spicy in here this afternoon. I shudder to think what it looks like after we lose 2 straight...

 

[DanB90]

I find the whole "pick a random team thousands of miles away from you" approach a little peculiar. I'm not having a go at anyone, before I get lambasted on here, I'm delighted that people choose Everton rather than the usual Real Madrid, PSG, Man City nonsense but what is the process of choosing us? I'm sure we got a bunch of American fans after Tim Howard and Landon Donovan played for us and maybe a few other players drag in a few casual fans but that can't be the whole answer. I can't really imagine supporting a team that I've never seen in the flesh and likely never will (other than in a meaningless friendly tournament). I guess we're lucky that we live in a country that has both high quality top flight football (with one of those clubs being within an hour of 95+% of the populace) and a reasonably healthy ten tier football pyramid offering loads of local opportunities to see footie.

It’s the ones who chose us, knowing what we are as a club, then expect us to be something completely different that gets me.

I will say though, the vast majority, on here at least, seem to get it.

 

[Simon Buttle]

I always like these “you won’t ever be happy” posts about the team that is hopelessly mediocre. Maybe I’d be happy if they weren’t that!

That's just it though, Everton are NEVER going to be what the likes of you and Zat want us to be, we are not that club and don't have that mentality. It's a very traditional, local club that does things a certain way. We are NEVER going to abandon an entire season just to focus on player development like you have suggested in the past, that's how you get relegated mate. Its a nice idea but the margins in the PL mean one false move and we would/could be in the bottom 3 easily. Tbh we are never going to be what id like us to be but I'm stuck with us tbh as on my mums side of the family we can trace back Everton links right back to the beginning almost. You might find one of the Euro clubs would meet your needs a bit better cause I don't think we ever will.

 

[MikeH72]

It’s the ones who chose us, knowing what we are as a club, then expect us to be something completely different that gets me.

I’m pretty sure Big Oil started supporting us in 2014 because Obama called Tim Howard the Secretary of Defence.

 

[Paul Rideout]

Pickford
Garner
Tarks
Keane
Branthwaite
Tim
Gana
Armstrong
KDH
Ndiaye
Barry

That's tonights starting 11

There is a self-schadenfreude part of me that hopes this is true just so I can enjoy my own fume.

 

[DanB90]

I’m pretty sure Big Oil started supporting us in 2014 because Obama called Tim Howard the Secretary of Defence.

So I take it he never saw Captain Starjump for what we had to endure for years?

 

[davek]

But its not the best option because it just creates a problem in midfield then. The difference between Moyes and a smart manager is that the smart manager is going 3 at the back to get around the FB issue, or better still just stand firm with Moyes and tell him the club is buying a RB rather than let him dither about insisting on them being 6ft+ and an absolute yard dog.

I fully agree mate. My responses to you are given with the Moyes-effect baked into them.

I'd rather see us go with a different shape and deal with the RB issue that way too.

 

[Swartzy]

Brighton at home where we were pretty average but did win
Villa at home where we absolutely battered them but couldn't finish
Fulham at home where we were v good and did win

That might be it?

Allows Gana to do what he's best at now, which is the role he played at Afcon too, controlling the tempo and playing the ball forward (this is Garner's role now too which is why I think they're a bad pairing now!)

While Tim tackles everything that moves, which used to be Gana's role but he can't really do it anymore

If you remember the Fulham game though both Gana and KDH dropped in to cover each time Garner came in centrally.
Look when O'brien got sent off, Garner got put Rb but he was still all over the field, still being the biggest influence.

It's all difference of opinions though, and it gets me to worked up on..

We have a great player and people take it for granted.
The same people that spent the last 3yrs writing him off.

3pts is all I care for, not more arguments over this..

 

[MikeH72]

So I take it he never saw Captain Starjump for what we had to endure for years?

I don’t think he saw him try to pogo over Demba Ba’s head, no.

 

[MikeH72]

I wonder is the plan to transition to3 at the back with Garner and Armstong or Ndiaye playing as Wingbacks when attacking?

Rather than a solid back 4

No mate it’s going to be 4-2-3-1 with loads of players out of position.

 

[hetion]

If you remember the Fulham game though both Gana and KDH dropped in to cover each time Garner came in centrally.
Look when O'brien got sent off, Garner got put Rb but he was still all over the field, still being the biggest influence.

It's all difference of opinions though, and it gets me to worked up on..

We have a great player and people take it for granted.
The same people that spent the last 3yrs writing him off.

3pts is all I care for, not more arguments over this..

Yeah definitely, agreed on all that, and it worked!

Lots of high level teams these days have 'right backs' that are essentially hybrid midfielders who are an incredibly important part of the team, I don't think sticking Garner at RB is diminishing his role or anything like that

Kimmich
Trent
Basically every RB Pep has used for a decade
Zinchenko when he was good at Arsenal
Lahm obviously

These are all world class hybrid midfielders/fullbacks around whom the teams tactics hinged to a large degree, I just don't think it's a disservice if a manager uses Garner like that too

 

[EFC_FRANCIS]

Surely we could've rolled out Captain Coleman for his 10 mins a season

 

[TheBigIguana]

That's just it though, Everton are NEVER going to be what the likes of you and Zat want us to be, we are not that club and don't have that mentality. It's a very traditional, local club that does things a certain way. We are NEVER going to abandon an entire season just to focus on player development like you have suggested in the past, that's how you get relegated mate. Its a nice idea but the margins in the PL mean one false move and we would/could be in the bottom 3 easily. Tbh we are never going to be what id like us to be but I'm stuck with us tbh as on my mums side of the family we can trace back Everton links right back to the beginning almost. You might find one of the Euro clubs would meet your needs a bit better cause I don't think we ever will.

What people are missing when they say this, at least in my opinion, is that if we don’t adapt we’re going to make the same missteps into relegation that you think we’re being smart and avoiding currently. There are 7 clubs with vastly greater spending power than us and there are at least a handful more that are consistently smarter in how they recruit players and build a team. Can you see how the numbers start to get problematic pretty quickly? And that’s without even including teams like Villa or Forest in the count who there are definitely very strong cases to be made for.

Relentless short termism is how you get relegated. It’s how we almost did get relegated. And if we’re not careful we will be back there again.

 

[TheBigIguana]

I’m pretty sure Big Oil started supporting us in 2014 because Obama called Tim Howard the Secretary of Defence.

Tim Howard is one of my least favorite American players of note tbh