Everton v QPR. 15th Dec at 20.00.

[Great Dane]

This was a frustrating game to watch. Luckily QPR were very bad, so they could not punish us. It makes me so mad when seasoned pros like Jags and Distin panic with the ball, and constantly get into troublesome positions. This is what you can expect from young players, who are still learning the game, but not from the two oldest players in the team.

And how bad are we at set pieces. It's like we don't know what to do. Only when the set piece is within shooting distance of goal do we take a shot at goal, for corners and other freekicks we have no clue.

Other thoughts:
With the style that RM wants us to play, we really need to have better CBs who don't panic.
McGeady is so short of confidence that I think a mouse would scare him.
Pienaar looks like he is unable to run anymore
Lukaku for a big guy really does not win many headers. When is the training with Big Dunc gonna start to rub off on him.

 

[Prevenger17]

See i saw him lose the ball quite a bit last night as well. He wasn't the only one so i wont hold that against him, but for a winger he needs to be contributing more and not getting outshone on the right by coleman. Coleman should only be overlapping when he creates the space, last night he was actively just bouncing off McGeady to get behind him which a better manager would spot that from a mile away. Every time he laid it off for him to run on to, it should be him making those runs.

PERHAPS if we started more free flowing attack like we should with 3 behind the striker and on the counter then he could prove to be better. He clearly has pace and he isnt bad at crossing / passing so he is a step up from Naimsith there. In a system where our winger seem to start standing still he cant make any impact i dont think.

I felt he played well enough, and I thought we fell apart when Pienaar came on. He doesn't do particularly outstanding things like Mirallas, which is where I think a lot of the criticism comes from. But from what I've seen in the Europa League (where he's played most of our games) and in the PL (where he hasn't), we look a better side with him in it. Just a general betterness regardless of whether he makes an assist or not.

 

[Tubey]

It hasn't been mentioned, but both our full backs were really disappointing yet again last night too. No drive whatsoever.

It feels that our defensive frailty early in the season has really effected Martinez's gameplan to the point where we're terrified of being out of position at any stage of play.

 

[Prevenger17]

It hasn't been mentioned, but both our full backs were really disappointing yet again last night too. No drive whatsoever.

It feels that our defensive frailty early in the season has really effected Martinez's gameplan to the point where we're terrified of being out of position at any stage of play.

Aye, they weren't great. Our entire performance basically hinged on Besic, Barkley, Mirallas and Naismith, everyone else was pretty peripheral.

 

[micknick]

Just worth mentioning how far Naismith has come- from the boo boy to a bit of a cult hero.

Because he isnt a fashionable player if he has a run of bad form he will be slated again though.

 

[Toffeelover]

Gary Neville is a proper pundit. Every undercover kopite on sky so far has tried to take it away "oh it was a deflection" "oh it was going wide" and when they try and set it up on a plate for him he's having none of it and actually looks at the football. Top guy

ERM, Next manager?????????

 

[Toffeelover]

jagielka was way worse than distin tonight and tbh, he actually has been all season. distin isn't the same player he was last season but i think jagielka has been twice as bad as him. one of them needs the chop for soton and i reckon they will. considering they had nothing to, that was an utterly abysmal performance from the pair - everything about it was - they're ruining the way we play atm, they don't breed any confidence and create more chances for the oppo than the opposition do themselves.

How about dropping both and playing Stones with Browning alongside or is that too forward thinking?

 

[vagant59]

I don't know if your watching the season review of last year but there has been a noticeable change this year where Kev stays up front waiting for the break. Have a look where he is for the QPR goal, standing on the half way line with his hand in the air.

I was stood in the street tonight and there were a number of occasions when Distin had the ball and there was space in behind the QPR defence for Rom and Kev to run into. Where did the ball go, across the park. Not giving Rom any service all night made him look poor however he needs to be more aggressive when challenging for high balls, he didn't win a header all night where as naisy won most of his ariel battles.

 

[Professor Toffee]

This was a frustrating game to watch. Luckily QPR were very bad, so they could not punish us. It makes me so mad when seasoned pros like Jags and Distin panic with the ball, and constantly get into troublesome positions. This is what you can expect from young players, who are still learning the game, but not from the two oldest players in the team.

And how bad are we at set pieces. It's like we don't know what to do. Only when the set piece is within shooting distance of goal do we take a shot at goal, for corners and other freekicks we have no clue.

Other thoughts:
With the style that RM wants us to play, we really need to have better CBs who don't panic.
McGeady is so short of confidence that I think a mouse would scare him.
Pienaar looks like he is unable to run anymore
Lukaku for a big guy really does not win many headers. When is the training with Big Dunc gonna start to rub off on him.

I think the corners and free kicks (those that aren't a direct shot) issue are becoming a major problem. Some of the free kicks in the opponents half last night were frankly embarrassing for a professional football team. That's tactics not player confidence. The mantra is clearly retain the ball but we can't at the moment, our players are not Barcelona players who were rainsed on tippy tappy

 

[technojoe]

Went last night on a spare season ticket. made a total blurt of myself by putting the card in the slot instead waving it in front of the machine thingy anyway..... thought the linesman and ref where a bloody joke. Where the heck did they learn to officiate? QPRs goal was down to their absolute idiocy. You know something is up when Jags is shouting at the ref......

Barkleys goal was uber boss! nice one lad!! Not into the booing of us passing it about though. Get behind the team not on their backs when we're 3 to the good.

Anyway nice cameo from the swimming trunk guy who was just to my right (weird).

 

[Jeff Jones]

Yes.

What was the last good thing he done in a game for us?

McGeady gets past defenders and puts good crosses into the box. Not every time, but often enough to make him worth his spot in the squad.

 

[Jeff Jones]

How about dropping both and playing Stones with Browning alongside or is that too forward thinking?

Probably a bit risky, but what a great and long partnership it would be if it worked. Not going to happen anytime soon, though, I
don't think.

 

[Joey66]

Not first team is it?

No he was Captain and was to blame for our goal as well as our poor reserve Goalkeeper - overall I thought he looked well off the pace he seems to have lost 3 yards of it!

 

[royalblue66]

What's happened to Baines ? Not a patch on last season.

 

[bluemangroup]

No he was Captain and was to blame for our goal as well as our poor reserve Goalkeeper - overall I thought he looked well off the pace he seems to have lost 3 yards of it!

It was his first game back in a team of reserves in a game against fairly handy opposition. Yeah he could have done better for the goal but the defenders letting a man run in behind shouldn't be absolved of blame. It's absurd to write his entire career off on the back of one performance.