Progress

[Eggs]

Question for me - and it's a bit 'left field'

Is Koeman playing players he knows aren't good enough (since we effectively have been assured of 7th and Europe for a whilst in reality) in order to put pressure on the board to back him to the extent he wants?

Maybe that's wishful thinking, because the alternate is much more worrying if he believes the likes of DCL and Jagielka/Williams are good enough

..I always thought Williams was short-term, the manager said he brought him in as much for his character as ability. Jagielka has been out of the side but has done well since being brought back. I'm not sure there's a better defensive partnership available to him at the moment unless you think Holgate would improve things.

I can see no advantage in playing D C-L as a wide midfielder. It doesn't say a lot for any of our more conventional wide players if he's playing there instead of them. Saying that, surely he's not doing this to prove a point but perhaps I'm being naive.

 

[banno]

Progress. No doubt about it. Looking forward to summer incomings. Think Koeman will be ruthless this summer and we will see a few surprise outgoings IMO.

 

[davek]

..I don't think I was 'gilding the lily', Dave. It's by no means wonderful but it's progress, we are going in the right direction. This summer will be a real challenge though, especially if both Barkley and Lukaku leave. They are regular starters and key players so it will be difficult to replace them and maintain the forward momentum.

If both leave and we improve again next season it will be an achievement.

My idea of progress is going from nothing to something, as it were. When all the BS is stripped away about this season we've gone from "nothing to not significantly better."

Many people are satisfied with Everton getting back their media conferred best-of-the-rest pat on the head.

It means f.a. to me.

Win a cup or get a CL place. The rest is just rummaging around in the ruins and declaring what's found 'valuable'. It isn't.

 

[Eggs]

My idea of progress is going from nothing to something, as it were. When all the BS is stripped away about this season we've gone from "nothing to not significantly better."

Many people are satisfied with Everton getting back their media conferred best-of-the-rest pat on the head.

It means f.a. to me.

Win a cup or get a CL place. The rest is just rummaging around in the ruins and declaring what's found 'valuable'. It isn't.

..I think you have to consider the direction we were moving in before RK arrived. In my opinion we were going in the wrong direction. RK has arrested that situation.

 

[BigBlueConk]

To add to the other points, we were stinking the place out between mid September and into December.
Let us not forget just how bad we were. We seem to be finishing the season the same way.
This poor performance and many games against so called poorer teams, shows that 7th place is actually quite good!

Our back 4 and keeper are almost relegation standard. Massive overhaul needed.

We started the pre-season talking about a kid called Tom Davies who needed to be given a chance as we had so little faith in the senior players.
Thank goodness for the emergence of Tom Davies. We would not have gained the points we have without him.
Which takes me back that we can not progress much further with this set of players.

RK openly admits we are a PROJECT in which he is trying to deliver Champions League by 2019.
Best be quick then.

There are only 3 players from the starting line up yesterday that I would expect to see in an Everton shirt in 2019. Holgate, Davies and Idris.
The rest will be gone because of ambition, age or they are not good enough.
Conversely, RK does not want to add too many. Can not have it both ways Ronald.

Steks, Jags, Williams, Barry, Kev, Rom, even Baines are NOT the future of this club. For whatever reason.
So this PROJECT to deliver Champions League by 2019 has some way to go.

The balance of the side...we were talking on the forum during the long run of poor form about the balance and set up of the team. A general view was that this group of players are not best suited to the system.
Yesterday again demonstrated this all too painfully.
Is is any wonder DCL is showing little when he is being tightly marked by his own team mates!!

Unless something amazing happens, we may just have watched RK's best season.
However, it defo was progress!

 

[davek]

..I think you have to consider the direction we were moving in before RK arrived. In my opinion we were going in the wrong direction. RK has arrested that situation.

We'd plateaued at midtable. It had to end. The only way of endng it was by getting rid of the manager that the players wouldn't play for any longer.

Now we are where we are...not much further on with that core of players plus a new manager and the players he brought in.

I honestly dont think there's anything more to it than that.

Stylistically we've become harder working and tougher to beat; but that could be argued to have been off-set by saying we are, by and large, a dull as ditchwater team to watch now, despite the glut of Lukaku home goals.

 

[lancs blue]

if barkeley goes will it be such a big thing? too inconsistent. if he put a shift in each game he would be different class

 

[Eggs]

We'd plateaued at midtable. It had to end. The only way of endng it was by getting rid of the manager that the players wouldn't play for any longer.

Now we are where we are...not much further on with that core of players plus a new manager and the players he brought in.

I honestly dont think there's anything more to it than that.

Stylistically we've become harder working and tougher to beat; but that could be argued to have been off-set by saying we are, by and large, a dull as ditchwater team to watch now, despite the glut of Lukaku home goals.

...I fear where we would've gone had Martinez not left.

 

[davek]

To add to the other points, we were stinking the place out between mid September and into December.
Let us not forget just how bad we were. We seem to be finishing the season the same way.
This poor performance and many games against so called poorer teams, shows that 7th place is actually quite good!

Our back 4 and keeper are almost relegation standard. Massive overhaul needed.

We started the pre-season talking about a kid called Tom Davies who needed to be given a chance as we had so little faith in the senior players.
Thank goodness for the emergence of Tom Davies. We would not have gained the points we have without him.
Which takes me back that we can not progress much further with this set of players.

RK openly admits we are a PROJECT in which he is trying to deliver Champions League by 2019.
Best be quick then.

There are only 3 players from the starting line up yesterday that I would expect to see in an Everton shirt in 2019. Holgate, Davies and Idris.
The rest will be gone because of ambition, age or they are not good enough.
Conversely, RK does not want to add too many. Can not have it both ways Ronald.

Steks, Jags, Williams, Barry, Kev, Rom, even Baines are NOT the future of this club. For whatever reason.
So this PROJECT to deliver Champions League by 2019 has some way to go.

The balance of the side...we were talking on the forum during the long run of poor form about the balance and set up of the team. A general view was that this group of players are not best suited to the system.
Yesterday again demonstrated this all too painfully.
Is is any wonder DCL is showing little when he is being tightly marked by his own team mates!!

Unless something amazing happens, we may just have watched RK's best season.
However, it defo was progress!

View attachment 36640

That mess we get into (graphic) is typical of when Koeman tries to get cute and cut loose on tactical change. He sometimes matches the opposition up through adopting their shape because he sees them having one or two successful games with it. He did it again yesterday by trying to emulate a relegation outfit and their diamond shape in midfield.

 

[davek]

...I fear where we would've gone had Martinez not left.

Mid-table again with those cowards. Let's not get carried away.

 

[JLW]

One things for sure, there simply are no excuses this summer regardless of who stays and who goes. The honeymoon period is over regarding the manager and owner. They both will know exactly whats needed to improve.

 

[BigBlueConk]

That mess we get into (graphic) is typical of when Koeman tries to get cute and cut loose on tactical change. He sometimes matches the opposition up through adopting their shape because he sees them having one or two successful games with it. He did it again yesterday by trying to emulate a relegation outfit and their diamond shape in midfield.

Not many get beat by Swansea this season.
We managed it quite comfortably.
I do think we have a wider problem that will bite us next season unless we get the required improvement.
This squad can not compete in the league, cups and Europe and have any success.

Yes. This season is better than RM achieved at the end.
However, a comfortable 7th might be as much as this current squad can offer and I don't see them improving next year without some serious additions of quality.

 

[GwladysBlue]

Definitely progress, but the away form is very worrying.

 

[Saint Domingo]

I do remember some people worrying about us being dragged into it at some points during the last two seasons - especially last season - but always thought that was a bit over the top myself.

It was utterly dire. If he'd continued, we were headed for it though - I'd say.

At one point in 14/15 Tim Sherwoods Aston Villa picked up a surprise win and we were 3 points off the relegation zone in the 2nd half of the season. A lot of people were rightly getting nervous then. Hindsight is wonderful for everyone to start calling others bed wetters but at the time we were probably playing the worst football in the league, we had Europe, the teams below us started to rally. It was worrying.

 

[hktoffee]

Mid-table again with those cowards. Let's not get carried away.

It does not make sense. Literally the same core that got your magically 5th place AND finishing 11th and 13th.

If the clown had stayed this season, it won't be even midtable. Something like 15th.