Fixtures up till February

[Eggs]

From late February until the end of April we have 5 home games in that period mate, City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, United.

...and we should look forward to them in a position of comfort. I guarantee none of those teams will be relishing their visit to Goodison if we maintain the current progression.

One game at a time, though. 25 points at Christmas is a very healthy position if we can hit that target.

 

[Saint Domingo]

With the run of home games we have at one point this season mate, we'll need to start learning how to win away from home

Exactly, it’s the next step for this team but as of yet we don’t know if they’re capable of making it. They shot themselves in the foot at Bournemouth and Wolves and didn’t come out the right side at United Arsenal and Chelsea. Performances have been good but coupled with the West Ham/Huddersfield doubleheader fiasco we’re somehow in 9th despite playing arguably better football than United Watford etc.

 

[Stephenlloyd]

After Cardiff this weekend, the next 12 games (middle third of the season) 'on paper' at least look an amazing chance for a team that now seems like it's got to grips with the new system, to really show that it's not just happy to make up the numbers and finish 7th a mile off the rest.

Nov-
Cardiff (home)

December -
Liverpool (away)
Newcastle (home)
Watford (home)
City (away)
Spurs (home)
Burnley (away)
Brighton (away)

January -
Leicester (home)
Bournemouth (home)
Saints (away)
Huddersfield (away)

February -
Wolves (home)
Watford (away)

Only three games in that fourteen game spell that on current form you wouldn't strongly fancy us to get three points in.

City away looks the toughest - although we have a decent record up there, the Derby is the Derby, but getting them right after they have a midweek must win gives us a great chance and spurs at home is always a tough fixture

Right now though, we are the standout team in the league in the distance we are covering per game, fitness levels such a change over past years, and in a congested period of games that fitness level will be a massive boost.

Kind of been overlooked so far, but of the "top 6" - by Christmas we will have played 5 of those six away and only one at home, means that second half of the season, we will only face a trip away to spurs as a "tough" away day.

The 2nd half of the season could be very good for us, you would expect, Mina, Gomes and Bernard to be match sharp by then, with the team getting better every week and no European football. A bit of luck with injuries and who knows.

Like you’ve mentioned about playing 5 of the sky 6 away. Add Wolves, Leicester and Bournemouth. Basically we could have all the top teams at home and the bottom teams away in the 2nd half of the season. May be worth splashing out on the top striker in January.

 

[bluestevon]

And in 3 of those 4 away wins the opposition had someone sent off. We've made positive strides this season, and we look like a pretty decent outfit, but I think people are getting way ahead of themselves. We were effectively the width of a post from the Chelsea game being a Moyes special, and some people are making out like it was a seismic shift of a performance. There's nothing wrong with being hopeful and positive, but let's try and keep a bit of realism here. I just did a quick totting up of what I think we might get from those games and came out without about 22 points. That sort of form will keep us firmly in the realms of 7th, which is fine for me for the moment. I hope people don't start to get frustrated and turn on them if we don't go on the sort of amazing run some seem to be expecting.

I don't 'expect' an amazing run of form mate, but on the other hand I think this team us capable of putting together a 8-10 game run of very good results also.

Unlike for a long time as well, we are actually playing very well away from home this season, removing any bias, the only game we can think slightly Fortunate would be the Chelsea one, united and arsenal we deserved so etching out of on balance, both other draws we should have really gotten three points in and with the current team would have I believe

 

[Jimishorts]

Reckon we’ll win a few, lose a few, draw a couple and secure the magnificent 7th (6th if we’re lucky/avoid injuries)

 

[ijjysmith]

Let's just wait and see hey?!

We drew at home to Huddersfield.

 

[Buckers]

A lot of those top 6 are playing each other over this period too mate, united in my eyes are a couple of results away from doing a Chelsea last season under mourinho, top 5 do seem a step above right atm though, due as you say to winning all those games they should do.

It would be a big boost to take advantage of this period and put the likes of Manure under some pressure. If we can do that things may start to look up, plus as you say we get to play almost all of them at home now so you never know.......

 

[bluestevon]

Let's just wait and see hey?!

We drew at home to Huddersfield.

Holgate, Davies, Schneiderlin, Tosun, DCL all started that game mate.

 

[ijjysmith]

Holgate, Davies, Schneiderlin, Tosun, DCL all started that game mate.

That's not my fault Stevo.

But it does show that a few injuries and they'll be starting again.

 

[bluestevon]

The 2nd half of the season could be very good for us, you would expect, Mina, Gomes and Bernard to be match sharp by then, with the team getting better every week and no European football. A bit of luck with injuries and who knows.

Like you’ve mentioned about playing 5 of the sky 6 away. Add Wolves, Leicester and Bournemouth. Basically we could have all the top teams at home and the bottom teams away in the 2nd half of the season. May be worth splashing out on the top striker in January.

As I just said to ijjy mate, 5 of the starting 11from the Huddersfield game at the start of September aren't longer in the first 11, 2 aren't even making the bench, the manager now has his preferred starting 11 allfit and getting match sharp.

 

[leslad]

There's two things I want: for us to keep playing the good football we have been playing, and for us to ruin their season.

 

[Lanolin]

I don't 'expect' an amazing run of form mate, but on the other hand I think this team us capable of putting together a 8-10 game run of very good results also.

Unlike for a long time as well, we are actually playing very well away from home this season, removing any bias, the only game we can think slightly Fortunate would be the Chelsea one, united and arsenal we deserved so etching out of on balance, both other draws we should have really gotten three points in and with the current team would have I believe

I think that is being biased really though. You certainly couldn't say we didn't deserve more at Bournemouth or Wolves, but they weren't exactly daylight robbery. I would imagine their fans also think that they could have won those games, which suggests a draw was probably fair. By the same token Palace would argue that they were unlucky against us at home, and even Fulham would probably think if they hadn't hit the bar and had gone in 1-0 up at half time they'd have been in with a shout of getting something.

Personally I think the points we have at the moment are a pretty good reflection of our performances. I agree that we look capable of putting a good run together, but I have to say I wouldn't be hugely surprised if we had a bit of a bad run either. Either way, anything above 7th this season would be a fantastic effort I think.

 

[catcherintherye]

And in 3 of those 4 away wins the opposition had someone sent off. We've made positive strides this season, and we look like a pretty decent outfit, but I think people are getting way ahead of themselves. We were effectively the width of a post from the Chelsea game being a Moyes special, and some people are making out like it was a seismic shift of a performance. There's nothing wrong with being hopeful and positive, but let's try and keep a bit of realism here. I just did a quick totting up of what I think we might get from those games and came out without about 22 points. That sort of form will keep us firmly in the realms of 7th, which is fine for me for the moment. I hope people don't start to get frustrated and turn on them if we don't go on the sort of amazing run some seem to be expecting.

In fairness to this season 2 of the games we played about an hour with 10 men and the other away games we've not won have been Arsenal, Chelsea & united (with some very dubious refereeing decisions it has to be said).

It's a fair point re Chelsea but the big difference I see in this side compared to Moyes teams is a mentality. Presently watching this side it looks to me like we play with a mixture of expectation and control that I rarely remember seeing from Moyes's teams away from home. In fact I never remember seeing those skills from Moyes's Everton teams away from Goodison. At Chelsea in particular Silva seemed a calm man, confident his side could carry out his instructions, I think that filtered down to the players.

Yes we were the width of the post away but I can't think of many clear chances we have away. The players seemed to believe they could win to me.

Ultimately we will; found out how far we have come in the 2nd half of the season. Lots of winnable away games that need winning. I sense we will do very well and be quite suited to playing away from home.

As for the 22 points, that would give us 70 points. Last season 7th place got it with 54 points. If we are anywhere near that mark I strongly suspect we will breach the top 6 and have every possibility of breaking the top 4.

I also think we will get stronger as the season goes on and the new signings get more used to the league and one another.

 

[Lanolin]

In fairness to this season 2 of the games we played about an hour with 10 men and the other away games we've not won have been Arsenal, Chelsea & united (with some very dubious refereeing decisions it has to be said).

It's a fair point re Chelsea but the big difference I see in this side compared to Moyes teams is a mentality. Presently watching this side it looks to me like we play with a mixture of expectation and control that I rarely remember seeing from Moyes's teams away from home. In fact I never remember seeing those skills from Moyes's Everton teams away from Goodison. At Chelsea in particular Silva seemed a calm man, confident his side could carry out his instructions, I think that filtered down to the players.

Yes we were the width of the post away but I can't think of many clear chances we have away. The players seemed to believe they could win to me.

Ultimately we will; found out how far we have come in the 2nd half of the season. Lots of winnable away games that need winning. I sense we will do very well and be quite suited to playing away from home.

As for the 22 points, that would give us 70 points. Last season 7th place got it with 54 points. If we are anywhere near that mark I strongly suspect we will breach the top 6 and have every possibility of breaking the top 4.

I also think we will get stronger as the season goes on and the new signings get more used to the league and one another.

Yes, i'm not trying to say we've been poor or lucky or anything, I'm just saying I think some people are getting a little overexcited just at the moment. We've played well away at the top teams before and suggesting otherwise is dreadful revisionism. Moyes's record at the old top 4 was awful but there were many, many times where we came away feeling hard done by that we didn't win either because of a late goal, a poor refereeing decision or whatever, and obviously we actually did win at the likes of City and Spurs. Same under Martinez and even Koeman. If we carry on like this for the next 5 or 6 games i'll start to get excited, but it's a little bit early to tell just how far we've come yet.

You've taken the 22 points thing a little bit out of context too. I was suggesting that was pretty much the most I could see us getting, and if we do then Arsenal in 5th would only need to get 17 points from 12 games to stay ahead of us. As they've got 24 points from their first 12 you'd have to assume they would manage that quite easily, and so we would be looking at being around 7th like I said.

 

[efcjames]

7th, we'll Everton it