Match Thread Everton v Arsenal - Monday December 6th. 8pm

[Yorkie89]

Does anyone have the post match interviews?

 

[Runub]

And in the right type of game...but keep him the 'k away from our box, he's a free kick waiting to happen.

Funnily enough I was going to add that. You are right, most definitely needs to be the right opposition

 

[Johnnytotal]

Does anyone have the post match interviews?

Both teams normally

 

[hallamblue]

As I said if you press onto Arsenal they're not great. It took us an hour to do it, but we got there in the end. As I said earlier in the season when we came from behind do you praise Benitez for sticking Gomes on and moving Doucoure forward,or criticise him for not starting with that formation? Tonight I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, but he really needs to start more positively, especially at Goodison. If you saw his interview, he knows they need the crowd's energy, so use it from the first minutes.

 

[Noisy noise annoys]

Pickford 5
Godfrey 6
Keane 7
Mina 5/Holgate 5
Coleman 4
Allan 6
Doucoure 7
Gordon 7/Iwobi 3
Townsend 5/Gomes 8
Gray 8
Richarlison 10

Seems harsh?!
5 Pickford?
5 holgate
4 Coleman
Doucoure 7

A bit drab, mate

 

[RomanReigns]

My annoyance with this everton team is why they dont work this hard every week esp v the lower table sides. It wont always win you mat hes but it definately increases your chances. What a goal bu gray. A real find of a player. Gomes did well from the bench and he usually does. Richarldson was outstanding. Worked his socks off and was really unlucky not to have a hat trick. 3 excellent world class finishes.

Because we are a reactive team with very little ambition

We only react when we have to

When it’s all cushty and luvvy duvvy the effort is non existent and the players are in coast mode

 

[Daz1878]

Thoroughly enjoyed that... well, not all of it, but certainly the equaliser and the winner. Almost brought back memories of Rooney's last gasp winner against them in 2002, in a game where we'd also trailed 0-1.

Their endless gamesmanship and dying swan routines don't look like such a great idea now, do they?

 

[anton66]

AFTV want Arteta sacked for losing to us.

Seems reasonable

Well they’ve lost to us on their last 3 visits.

 

[Kev50]

As I said if you press onto Arsenal they're not great. It took us an hour to do it, but we got there in the end. As I said earlier in the season when we came from behind do you praise Benitez for sticking Gomes on and moving Doucoure forward,or criticise him for not starting with that formation? Tonight I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, but he really needs to start more positively, especially at Goodison. If you saw his interview, he knows they need the crowd's energy, so use it from the first minutes.

it's much more effective if he moves to his best formation when the game is moving into the last phase. There's no point in playing them off the pitch in the first half an hour, and allowing the opposing manager half time to neutralise it.

 

[BlueToff]

As I said if you press onto Arsenal they're not great. It took us an hour to do it, but we got there in the end. As I said earlier in the season when we came from behind do you praise Benitez for sticking Gomes on and moving Doucoure forward,or criticise him for not starting with that formation? Tonight I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, but he really needs to start more positively, especially at Goodison. If you saw his interview, he knows they need the crowd's energy, so use it from the first minutes.

I can understand not starting Gomes, he's not fit and he's usually tosh when he does start. he's actually a very good impact sub

But he could have started Delph. He could try Gbamin (because the lad has not been given a fair chance at all) in a 3-man midfield to start games. There are options. Delph would be my pick for now in the 6. And he should have started the last 3 games in that role.

It's not defensive to play a holding player and two CMs at all. It's actually offensive because it means you can have three forwards and your full-backs can get forward. It also means you aren't outnumbered in a key area of the pitch.

I thought Allan was shot at the end and he'd have been off around 85 in my book to bring Delph in but I can understand taking Gordon off.

Any team in this league can be got at when you press them right.

 

[PhilM]

UTFT! Atmosphere coming today was on par with the Chelsea game in Martinez’s first season, which turned everything around.

 

[BlueToff]

it's much more effective if he moves to his best formation when the game is moving into the last phase. There's no point in playing them off the pitch in the first half an hour, and allowing the opposing manager half time to neutralise it.

I mean we wouldn't have played them off the pitch. It's about just getting a platform not to concede.

A sitting player in a midfield three is on top of Odegaard for their opener.

 

[Johnnytotal]

Am I the only person who thinks the VAR decisions were correct?...technically

 

[miami]

Now can we please show the same effort for the rest of the season please lads. Let this be the start of a run we can put together starting with the palace game. We can beat Leicester and with luck and hard work maybe nick a point against the southern softies.

 

[Tree13]

Nah for me what they showed is that they're always trying [1] and that they just aren't that good. I've also reached that conclusion awhile ago. But I think tonight shows that if your feeling is they can't handle pressure and adversity well they can and you're wrong[2].

1 - So what conclusion can we draw from other games this season where they clearly HAVEN'T been trying, like against Brentford, Villa, West Ham or Wolves?

2 - And what conclusion can we draw from other games where they have failed to handle adversity / pressure, like against Liverpool, Man City and Watford?

Looking at the body of work as a whole, many of this squad are miles off the required character. They can occasionally turn on and deliver a committed, gutsy performance, but it isn't an automatic non-negotiable for them. You're getting swept up in the giddiness of this result and convincing yourself that none of the ongoing problems, so clearly evident for so many games this season and last, even exist. Pretty fundamentally delusional.

Great result, yes. And perfectly timed. But we need these players to deliver three or four more entire matches, in succession, where they perform like they did in the second half this evening. We are languishing where we are in the table precisely because far too few of the squad can be relied upon with any consistency.