Match Thread Everton v West Ham Utd; Preview, Match Report and MotM Poll.

Everton Man of the Match


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I don't disagree with any of that

But I can still blame the manager when things like a style of play (which is crap/one-dimensional) and set-pieces are crap.

Like I can say he's done a fair few good things too.

The issue is, and I'm sick of fans buying into it en mass like we always do, is that we once again look like we only have one way of playing. Any time we've been required to step out of that, we can't do it.

I know we need better players but I just don't get this collective amnesia Everton fans manage to have just cause we got to celebrate a friggin draw at Old Trafford.

We can't control games at all, in any sense. Our entire strategy is to go direct, which is fine when it works but there's going to be a lot of incidents when it doesn't work and that's why we need more than one way of playing. It's why I keep saying that, IMO, the level of performances have been pretty consistent in our home games this season. Bang average, 6/10 displays but we've fortunately played teams where we've had that bit more quality to go and get the game won in 5/10-min spells. Today we didn't have that and West Ham are far more balanced than us and it shows.

Yes, injuries haven't helped, but we're Everton, we always have injuries. That's on the club to sort out like you say but they've shown no signs of doing it. The control seems to be with Benitez now so if it's not good enough then he needs to sort it doesn't he - i.e. demand we get new people in.

It’s no surprise to me that almost every manager we have had since Martinez’s first season has us playing the same way. They nearly all fall into a 4231, a direct style of play not based on possession, sometimes reverting to 5 at the back, and very little flexibility of style.

The core reason is the same. The options available to the manager in the squad cannot support any other style of play. We don’t have centre backs who are comfortable on the ball or a right back who can look after it properly so building up from the back is a challenge. When you add in that Docuoure doesn’t have a particularly good first touch then we struggle to keep possession under pressure. The first ten minutes today were an absolute shambles. It spreads to everything though, we’ve struggled to take throw ins properly for ages because ultimately the players don’t trust each other’s touch and aren’t confident taking the ball.

Then consider that we can’t play 442 effectively because we never have the pace in the midfield or out wide to cover ground effectively when we don’t have the ball. So every manager ends up going with a 3 in the middle to compensate.

We don’t ever have enough creativity in the midfield so every manager consistently turns to trying to play Digne in high up the pitch to try and put crosses in. This exposes the lack of pace if Keane or Mina are playing as they get stretched covering for Digne and massively exposed. So one by one each manager then looks to move to a back 5 so that we’re not caught out by the transition.

They then all come across the problem that to play a back 5 effectively you need good footballers along the back 5 and the midfield which we don’t have. So we end up back at the one style we can play to an ok standard, sitting deep playing directly on the counter. It’s worked a bit better this season as we actually have some pace out wide whereas we normally don’t.

Every manager we’ve had since Martinez just goes round and round this never ending loop until they all arrive at the same ineffective solution which eventually also fails when we get a load of injuries and then they get fired.

The only answer is giving the managers decent player in the first 11 and in the squad which means managers can choose ideal formations for different games but then also change the game from the bench if they need to. The flexibility the likes of Guardiola and Tuchel have is unbelievable compared to what Everton managers have.

I can’t put it any more bluntly than this. We don’t have players in the squad to allow an Everton manager to even play 442, the most basic football formation possible.

It’s just a complete failure in football operation from top to bottom.
 
We have played a lot worse and won. We never laid a glove on them last season at home. I felt the game could have gone either way but it didn’t and we move on. By the way the stick today for Iwobi is uncalled for.
 
Eh?

Kane + Son both scored and one had the assist in the 3rd.

No way they win that game with both out.

Haha! You realise that’s not how football works don’t you? They will have 2 different players on the pitch. You can’t just chalk off their goals and say that would be the result!

They dominated all game and bossed the midfield. They beat Man City without Kane. Son’s good but he’s not Maradona.
 

Haha! You realise that’s not how football works don’t you? They will have 2 different players on the pitch. You can’t just chalk off their goals and say that would be the result!

They dominated all game and bossed the midfield. They beat Man City without Kane. Son’s good but he’s not Maradona.

2 lesser players who dont score anywhere near as many goals.

Same as what we've had to deal with.

Look at Liverpool last season compared to this one now they haven't half their defence out injured.
 
2 lesser players who dont score anywhere near as many goals.

Same as what we've had to deal with.

Look at Liverpool last season compared to this one now they haven't half their defence out injured.

Yes they wouldn’t be as good but to state as a fact that Newcastle would have beat them is just nonsense and not based on anything I’ve seen from either team all season.
 
Yes they wouldn’t be as good but to state as a fact that Newcastle would have beat them is just nonsense and not based on anything I’ve seen from either team all season.

But my point is you cant just look at results like this and Villa without looking at the context.

Take Doucoure and Allan out of our CM and we got over ran in the middle by QPR.

The manager can only do so much pal with the squad he's been given.
 

But my point is you cant just look at results like this and Villa without looking at the context.

Take Doucoure and Allan out of our CM and we got over ran in the middle by QPR.

The manager can only do so much pal with the squad he's been given.
The manager could have tried picking Allan and Doucoure in the QPR game for a start.

He's had an average start. 4 wins from 8 and out of the cup to lower league opposition. Hadly setting the world alight.
 
We have played a lot worse and won. We never laid a glove on them last season at home. I felt the game could have gone either way but it didn’t and we move on. By the way the stick today for Iwobi is uncalled for.
Mate, Iwobi is lucky that Rondon is out there trying to run in his yellow deep sea diver’s boots. If he hadn’t been so bad, Iwobi would have got a lot more stick than he did.
 
The manager could have tried picking Allan and Doucoure in the QPR game for a start.

He's had an average start. 4 wins from 8 and out of the cup to lower league opposition. Hadly setting the world alight.

But thats my point injuries to one same area and we are knackered.

I would rather for example Richarlison and Allan be out than either DCL/Richarlison or Doucoure/Allan because you still have a functioning player in both areas of the pitch.

Thats been our problem the last few games we have nothing up top but some dont want to acknowledge the context.

We ain't Man City we cant win games with no good CF.
 
The manager could have tried picking Allan and Doucoure in the QPR game for a start.

He's had an average start. 4 wins from 8 and out of the cup to lower league opposition. Hadly setting the world alight.
He’s not going to set the world alight having footballers like Iwobi and Rondon in the starting XI.

We will be safe this season, there are worse sides than Everton, going to be one long dreary season though and a few serious beatings on the way against the top sides.
 

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