Match Thread Everton v Manchester United. 1st Jan. 2018. 17.30

[ToffeeTim]

We were relegation standard vs Saints. And Unsworth - deserving of his time in charge - was shaking his head on the touchlines. Most fans would've grabbed the points BFS has bagged, but it's disappointing that we started well and have 'appeared' to decline these last 4 games. The WBA game has got us in the wrong mindset, but all teams have blips.

I agree that Sam is probably not the long-term manager for us, but his record in the window is above decent and he needs that to really have a go at building something that is his own, not only fire-fighting the Koeman/Walsh carnage.

Keep the faith brother.

He's not an everton manager. Any of our fans who think he is acceptable are deluded. I'v never had any faith in the man, I never will, so I won't be keeping any faith no offence.

 

[smileychap]

It must be awful for our players to play in front of our home fans at times.

For the first 5 minutes of the game we were all over United , playing good stuff and had them on the back foot. Then Rooney hit a cross field ball from the main stand side of the pitch towards Bolasie, could have been a good ball but it was slightly overhit.

Mata jumped on and intercepted, and the entire bullens road started hysterically shrieking at Rooney and you physically saw his shoulders drop.

It was the same under Martinez to the point John Stones was actively telling the park end to pack it in , and it happened at the start of the season this season and the players just seemed to down tools. See Ashley Williams celebrating a goal by just staring into the Gwladys.

These players are mostly in their 20’s with a few more experience players having been club captains elsewhere , are we blinkered enough to be thinking that they’re looking at themselves and saying we should be playing better for this people?

I would bet every penny I have to my name that this squad of players talk between themselves and hate playing in front of our fans, genuinely. I know for a fact if I was playing football and getting screamed at and hysterically wailed at then I would think the same.

It didn’t happen so much under Moyes but even then there was incidents of Moyes himself telling the street end to do one when we scored after we had been booing his subs.

The last time this club was regularly winning trophies was in the 80’s and even then it’s not like we were the dominant team in the U.K. This divine right of the “everton way” needs to stop. We’ve been crap my whole life and I’m 27, what’s the Everton way for me? Surviving relegation on the last day? Finishing 4th with ugly football?

Why weren’t we screaming at our own players that season? That wasn’t the Everton way was it. It’s embarassing

If true, well said. Doesn't help the players at all if the abuse is that forthcoming. Watched the game on telly myself and it doesn't come across but as you say these are young lads who we need to encourage.

 

[Khalekan]

We ballsed it up by not beating West Brom or Bournemouth,surely our players must realise we don't trouble the big clubs anymore.

This.

With bells on.

We can't attack the good teams.

We won't attack the bad teams.

Next up we are at Spurs.

Write that one off right here and right now.

If we keep on playing against the lower teams like we did versus Baggies and Bournemouth we are going to drift back down to that drop zone.

I never remember feeling as depressed at Everton's prospects as I do right now.

 

[navidson]

This.

With bells on.

We can't attack the good teams.

We won't attack the bad teams.

Next up we are at Spurs.

Write that one off right here and right now.

If we keep on playing against the lower teams like we did versus Baggies and Bournemouth we are going to drift back down to that drop zone.

I never remember feeling as depressed at Everton's prospects as I do right now.

Southampton 4 Everton 1?

 

[Khalekan]

God only knows what happened at half time. We weren't bad in first half - came out after the break absolutely fast asleep.

I will have a guess as to what happened.

Jose gave his team a kick up their collective ass and told them to buck up their ideas.

Sam told our boys they were doing great and just keep it tight second half and go for the point.

That is what I think happened

 

[CRIMHEAD]

Think some of you are being a bit harsh. We were every bit as good as they were in the first half. But wow did we come out in the second half really poorly. I'd have to go back and watch, perhaps it was tactical, but I actually think they dropped back a bit to control the ball a bit more and pulled us out. They did finally get themselves wide and we didn't really go after them, nor did we clog up the middle effectively. Just couldn't adjust and a couple of our guys were gassed at that point. 15 minutes and wham, we were down 1-0 and completely exhausted.

I do think there is some hope, though. We have a couple missing that could be impactful on this team. We have some young talent that doesn't look out of place. We are going to get a CF and LB, but man, it better be quick. Bolaisse will be fit. Coleman will be back.

 

[Khalekan]

Southampton 4 Everton 1?

Well, it is a culmination of the downspin over this entire season.

If you want to take games in isolation, then the Glenn Keeley would be the absolute nadir for me.

Or any of those tankings we have had at The Pit since the night Moyes sent out the reserve team and Slippy scored a hat trick.

But at the moment the desolation rampant in Evertonia is the result of a season long inertia which is sucking the life out of the fans.....and has finally infected ol' Khal, normally the most optimistic of Blues.

The dead cat bounce we had when Sam came on the scene is well and truly over by the look of things innit.

And a visit to The Pit set to ruin the weekend before it even starts

 

[PeregrineT]

A bit like playing a winger who has 30 assists in his entire 10 year career, and expecting him to assist goalscorers that don't score goals.

Exactly, its not rocket science, Its painfully obvious why it wont work yet they keep playing the same players.

 

[Frank Butcher]

We were absolutely dreadful in that second half bar a ten minute period at 0-1.
We were grinding out results when BFS came in despite playing poorly for the vast majority of games now we are lamely playing for draws against crap like Bournemouth and West Brom. A striker is priority but the problems appear to be all over the park. We are bang average.

 

[Grant jay]

United were huge 2nd half great team

 

[jceverton]

..if he wasn’t here there is a very good chance we’d be detached at the bottom by now. I can’t think of anybody who’d have got the same points return with this group of players.

You’re normally fairly balanced with your posts but I think you’re exaggerating the situation. Unsworth averaged 1.4 ppg when he was in charge and Allardyce is averaging 1.5ppg. On that basis we’d be a point worse off than we are now.

 

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

Matched them first half, sat too deep in the second half, then 1-0 down and Allardyce makes the weirdest sub ever, chasing the game and he brings on a defensive player for an attacking one, it's almost as if he said to himself "these are getting on top, first priority, keep the score down, I'm happy with it to end 1-0"

 

[smileychap]

You’re normally fairly balanced with your posts but I think you’re exaggerating the situation. Unsworth averaged 1.4 ppg when he was in charge and Allardyce is averaging 1.5ppg. On that basis we’d be a point worse off than we are now.

Hm, interesting.

Ignores League cup /Europa games but point taken.

I think Sam will buy wisely and we'll be in the mix with Burnley and Leicester for a Europa spot. Top 6 are pretty well detached this season, unfortunately (and though I'd love us to catch 'em I wouldn't be sorry to see one of the other two above get in the mix).

 

[jceverton]

Hm, interesting.

Ignores League cup /Europa games but point taken.

I think Sam will buy wisely and we'll be in the mix with Burnley and Leicester for a Europa spot. Top 6 are pretty well detached this season, unfortunately (and though I'd love us to catch 'em I wouldn't be sorry to see one of the other two above get in the mix).

Allardyce averages 1.2ppg over his career, I think he’ll end up somewhere nearer to that than his current 1.5ppg. I don’t think he’s bought particularly great in his career and I can’t see that changing. He’s just a bang average manager who plays poor football.

 

[Wat Tyler]

Did I say that. There goals were quality. We lack that. That's the difference between winning and losing games.

They were quality strikes, I agree. But why are these lads having a chance to crack a ball 18 yards out. Pish defending