So would you say it's Ancelotti who's not doing a good job then?
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That’s literally not true all.
It’s utterly amazing how these bang average players all of a sudden magically develop these mysterious skill sets that were never present
Iwobi was a gift from god after the Fulham game
At times, yes. I also never said Brands has done an amazing job but I sure as Hell wouldn't swap this squad for the "similarly levelled" 2017/18 side.
I'm not arguing we were somehow great with Walcott etc. I'm just saying it gave us different options to be crap.
As said, I'm not arguing the squad isn't better now; it's just not the transformation some would say because the balance is still off. That said, as long as we don't 'do a Walsh' and by 10 attacking mids at once in the summer, it's fixable. We need pace, urgently. A right back, wide forward, goalkeeper, striker.
In terms of Brands' new contract... personally I don't like the way he doesn't work Januarys, and I think he missed a golden opportunity this year with the league the way it is, but for the sake of continuity then fine I guess. If there's no tangible improvement on the pitch in the next 18-24 months or so I think he'd be sacked anyway, contract or not.
The key difference is, that squad scraped it's way to 48 points, which really was a high water mark. It was hammered multiple times (i'm not going to look it up) but off the top of my head, Arsenal, Spurs x 2, Atalanta x 2, Southampton, United, City, Lyon etc. Allardyce squeezed everytihng outof the squad, to get 48 points.
Whatever happens this season, we will be a long way ahead of that. I mean arguably we should be too.
grandjoeblue
Player Valuation: £35m
I judge a team by league position and results. I don't really care if Delph is supposedly better than McCarthy or Gbamin is better than Schneiderlin.
Results are all that matters. At best Brands has therefore done a decent job. An amazing job by a director of football would have us in the top 4 and challenging for cups.
Saint Domingo
Player Valuation: £90m
Bingo. When will the penny drop for some? Siggurdson and Davies might have the odd decent game on the ball now and then but they cannot compete with premier league midfielders. Why did Silva go out and buy Gbamin Gomes and Delph, and then Ancelotti feel the need to buy Docuoure and Allan and his targets since have been rumoured to be Khedira Rabiot Isco. That’s almost a whole squad of midfielders to try and replace the insipid ones we have. These managers aren’t stupid, they know what the problem is but there’s been an injury curse hanging over Everton for about 5 years where if anyone comes close to taking Davies or Siggurdson’s spot they get crocked.
In an ideal world Ancelotti is rotating midfields to suit the game between a three containing Allan Docuoure Gbamin, or a two with Allan Docuoure and James at 10. A fully fit Andre Gomes is first sub in the first scenario, and Gbamin and Gomes are subs in the second scenario. If there was an injury then Delph is the final fall back option. Davies and Siggurdson wouldn’t even be in the match day squads let alone starting every single game.
We are plagued though. McCarthy, Besic, Gomes, Gbamin, Allan, Delph. All have been largely unavailable more than they’ve been available since they joined, or completely ruined by injury.
People can keep moaning about managers but until they have some midfield options they don’t have many choices. Docuoure has played almost every single game this season. In an ideal world Carlo wouldn’t want that but the cupboard is bare.
Midfield is the heart of the team. If all our options were fit we’d have decent strength in there. If we’re going out with Siggurdson and Davies playing three games in a week then it’s not a shock that overall performances are slow and sluggish. No other premier league team would take these midfielders.
It's not solely down to a DoF how we perform on the pitch though is it?
No i'm not trying to put words in your mouth or anything, i'm being genuine. I just think if the squad is vastly superior to the one when he took over then results and performances should reflect it, and I don't think they do. I think the squad looks better on paper but I think it's difficult to say it is much better unless the results back it up. I've said all along, if we finish 8th or lower again this season then something has gone badly wrong somewhere because that would mean we've shown absolutely no improvement in results (in real terms) over 3 years. If that's the case then either the DoF or the manager is definitely failing, they can't possibly both be doing a good job if we're not getting any better.
grandjoeblue
Player Valuation: £35m
Wait, so you think Brands is doing a good job and Carlo is doing a bad job?
I haven't seen that take before. Surprising.
No and I agree this season 8th is the minimum for us. There are some games we've won this season I'd never thought we would under previous managers but also some games we've lost (Newcastle etc.) where I've been gobsmacked at the lineup and tactics used. I'll never question a serial winner like Ancelotti but I also wouldn't shoehorn Sig into every lineup, constantly mess with the keepers and player super defensive against crap teams like Fulham.
To me the squad still needs real work but the way we play also needs sorting out. We're awful to watch and thankfully I've beeb numb to defeats for years.
Did you think Carlo did a good job against Newcastle and Fulham?
In all honesty the January thing has never really bothered me, for a couple of reasons. We’ve seen some awful signings because it puts the selling club at a massive advantage, secondly sometimes it feels like teams are giving up the number 1 summer targets for a quick fix.
I think his main priority needs to be, along with still improving the first team, getting that academy producing first team players. That’s why I’m happy for his contract extension. I personally want to see how he develops that, spending money ain’t going to last forever, the clubs needs to be able to find and develop talent
Indeed the midfield still is a major issue and I can see why Ancelotti set up against Fulham the way he did. IMO he expected the midfield 3 to push Fulham right up the pitch, allowing people like Digne and Coleman to push up.
It failed massively, so I ask myself; is this Ancelotti trying to implement a system on the training ground that he knows may or may not work in a game; but he wants it drilled into the players so when the quality is there, players can adapt.
Or has he too much faith and loyalty, because he’s such a good man manager he builds that relationship.
Either way, a component midfield win that game easily, they control West Ham and Leeds and allow people like Rodriguez the freedom because they resort to dropping deep.
Whilst there’s many flaws with how we’re playing and things being tried, I’m more than happy to see out the 3 years because I guarantee we’ll be a much more consistent team by then
grandjoeblue
Player Valuation: £35m
The squad is unbalanced with various obvious holes.
No manager would do better with this squad because Brands has left us with 1 striker for large parts of the season and various weaknesses across the midfield.
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