Relegation 2022/23

[ForeverEverton]

Next round of fixtures...

We won`t get anything from City
We need Brentford to do us a favour v West ham to keep them in it, West Ham are at home though.
We need Palace to beat Bournemouth to stop them cutting us adrift.
I dont think Wolves will get anything v Utd
Fulham will hopefully have too much for Southampton
Then hopefully Chelsea take all 3 from Forest...

This is what it has become, we are 2 points off the bottom and just 1 point off the other 2 relegation places..... ?

 

[luuk_deventer]

This all hinges on January.

If we can sign at least 2 players who go straight into the first team and improve it (preferably attacking players) then we have a fighting chance.

If we don’t sign anyone or only sign “competition” for the current team (players of the same level as Maupay, McNeill, Onana) then we’ll probably go down.

 

[billyblue80]

Take one look at our run in and tell em you aren't worried. We must beat Brighton and Saints or I fear the worst

 

[knowing your history]

I could be wrong but I think we still have most of the bottom half teams still to come to Goodison second half of the season, we saw last season what difference being at home makes in the run in.

For that reason I’m not overly worrying just yet. If we get to Feb/March and we’re in the bottom 3 then I’ll start to panic.

From the current bottom half already played:

Forest
West Ham
Wolves
Leicester
Palace

That said there isn't much in the mid table section. Based on recent history I'd say Brentford in 10th is a more winnable game than Villa in 12th which has been a jinx fixture since they came back up in 2019.

Even with 3-4 wins over the remaining strugglers still going to need a win or two against teams in the top 6 and trying to find a win or two on the road.

When you score so few goals it looks a tall order at present.

 

[knowing your history]

Take one look at our run in and tell em you aren't worried. We must beat Brighton and Saints or I fear the worst

To not be close to 20 points at the halfway stage is a very bad sign. People keep saying it's just like last season but pretty sure team hit 20 points after beating Arsenal in early December and then just hovered around that tally until FSW got sacked. Lampard came in, beat Leeds in first game and team were in mid 20s and reasonably comfortable until losing at Burnley and then panic stations set in. But there was always an o.k buffer from bottom 3 until late on in the season so this is a very different dynamic and team really dosen't have enough quality in final third to compensate this time unless things change next month.

 

[luuk_deventer]

When you score so few goals it looks a tall order at present.

This is the problem. We have no attacking threat at all. Even with a huge budget that would be a difficult problem to solve in one window, let alone a mid season window where no club wants to let their top players leave so we’ll need to pay a premium.

We need to be shrewd and may even need to sell Gordon and maybe Pickford too to raise the funds necessary to move up the table. Giving the current hierarchy another £80-100m to try and fix the problems they created does not fill me with confidence.

 

[ForeverEverton]

We`ve got 14 points from 16 games, if we continue in that vein we will finish the season with 33 points... we have got to play Arsenal twice, City twice and Chelsea, Utd, Spurs and Liverpool once more. So count those 8 games out too....

Really worrying, I think this season is going to be even closer! I hope to god I`m wrong but we just can`t score or win....

 

[ForeverEverton]

Last season v this season comparison?

Frank is lagging 4 points behind Rafael, 5 points after the next game...

 

[knowing your history]

Forest won't get out of this, they concede too many, look at that goal difference

They were getting things together at home before the break, beat Palace and RS and drew with Brentford and Villa so that's a decent foundation for them. Interested what they do v a mediocre Chelsea on NYD.

I agree Southampton are going down, their team is too young, don't score many goals and Nathan Jones not really an appointment that suggests they're even desperate to stay up.

 

[Lob]

Strong possibility we will be in the relegation zone before the end of the weekend which will be a great way to start the new year off. I would never have thought it was possible for things to be even worse after getting rid of the Spanish waiter but here we are. One thing i have learned from Moshiri's Everton is that no matter how bad you think things are at a given time, you never have to wait very long for things to get even worse.

 

[john jako]

Southampton and Forest are down for me. After that it’s between us, wolves, Leeds and Bournemouth. West Ham will turn it around. Wolves got a new manager bounce now and will sign some players in January that could help them. Haven’t a clue about Leeds. Bournemouth worry me as I though they would be dead and buried already with the squad they have. They also got new owners and could spunk some money.

 

[luuk_deventer]

Southampton and Forest are down for me. After that it’s between us, wolves, Leeds and Bournemouth. West Ham will turn it around. Wolves got a new manager bounce now and will sign some players in January that could help them. Haven’t a clue about Leeds. Bournemouth worry me as I though they would be dead and buried already with the squad they have. They also got new owners and could spunk some money

I can’t see Forest or us staying up because collectively and individually, it’s two very poor squads. If we went down, only Pickford would be sought after. The rest would probably stick with us, which is an even more terrifying thought. We are also limited on what we can spend.

Southampton look poor but I suspect they will have a fighting chance with Ward-Prowse and some decent young players. Bournemouth could get dragged into it but, as you say, they really play like a team under O’Neill and produce results better than the sum of their parts. Leeds, West Ham and Wolves will have too much in the long run, they have too much individual quality.

 

[Swartzy]

That result yesterday would of demoralised the players, not just us supporters.
And with what could potentially happen at city on the wkend ( which I dread to think of ) .
Means we will be heading into the Brighton/Saints/West Ham games so Absolutely shot of any remote confidence and a dressing room like a Mortuary. It bloody scares me that these could be the games that define our season.

 

[EuroTexan]

I can’t see Forest or us staying up because collectively and individually, it’s two very poor squads. If we went down, only Pickford would be sought after. The rest would probably stick with us, which is an even more terrifying thought. We are also limited on what we can spend.

Southampton look poor but I suspect they will have a fighting chance with Ward-Prowse and some decent young players. Bournemouth could get dragged into it but, as you say, they really play like a team under O’Neill and produce results better than the sum of their parts. Leeds, West Ham and Wolves will have too much in the long run, they have too much individual quality.

I think a lot will come down to the January window. Wolves have the ability to spend big as needed as they've shown with Cunha. Forest might do better if they don't spend anything so that the squad getting to know each other doesn't have to start all over again, but given their owner, it wouldn't surprise me if they signed another 5 players, and about only 2 of them will be given a chance to play. Southampton nobody really knows, they're owned by the richest man in Serbia, but who knows if he's willing to spend, or if he'll just spring some serbian players out of nowhere. Bournemouth with new owners might be tempted into making a splash, but I can't see them being able to sign anyone significant. West Ham will probably sign a few too and so will Leeds, but I'd doubt Leeds especially have much to spend.

Personally I think we'll likely be ok as long as the spine of Pickford, Tarkowski, Coady, Gana and Onana stay injury and suspension free. Better to be defensively strong and offensively weak as you'll often nick the odd goal, than be free scoring, but garbage at the back, as strikers form dips and troughs throughout the season, and teams figure out how to stop your system from scoring. It might be tight, but as long as things are kept steady as we go we'll be fine

 

[spectateur]

Take one look at our run in and tell em you aren't worried. We must beat Brighton and Saints or I fear the worst

Considering the way we let wolves beat us, I'm fearing the worst right now.