We have good players, not a good squad. (the pundits can eat a poodle)

[CairnsToffee]

We need a motivating, driving and hard captain, Pip Neville is the last captain we had and he wasn’t a footballer.

It’s not this position or that position, it’s a captain!

 

[MKS]

The three players you mention are no longer regular starters for their current teams.

Yes and we are so much better off without them hey.

 

[Steve Wigan]

Yes and we are so much better off without them hey.

If they were still at Everton.....Lukaku would be strolling around the pitch completely disinterested,like he has done for periods at United. Barkley still wouldn't be playing for us, Stones I would take back for about £20 million,because he's better that what we've got. I'd hazard a guess that none of the three will be at their current clubs two years from now,or maybe even sooner.

 

[BlueToff]

They don’t.

Baffles me this.

I said last week that we'd be lucky to get 4-5 players in their starting XI.

 

[MikeH72]

Baffles me this.

I said last week that we'd be lucky to get 4-5 players in their starting XI.

Extremely lucky. I struggled to think of any players from Saturday that would’ve got in their team. Digne would, then maybe Richarlison?

 

[BlueToff]

Extremely lucky. I struggled to think of any players from Saturday that would’ve got in their team. Digne would, then maybe Richarlison?

Aye, Digne probably, purely because their LWB is actually a RWB, and their RWB isn't as good as Digne.

I'd argue one of our CBs may - may - get in over Bennett. Coady is a good organiser. It's a bit tricky obviously cause they play a different system.

Gomes I actually think played well the other day. I'm sure he'd get a start for them. Richarlison, probably. Jota is a great little player though.

 

[Papa Shango]

Pretty much every top flight team has "good" players. The difference is how they work as a team and how intelligent they are. Ours suffer in both those areas which results in the dross we churn out week after week.

 

[terraloon]

When RA opened his cheque book at Chelsea, when SM did likewise at Man City or come to that when any club spent money many suggested or perhaps thought that with money it was easy.
When FM rocked up at Goodson and flashed the cash it appeared top six beckoned indeed the expectations of some wasn’t limited to top six and talk albeit limited was about breaking into the top 4
There’s no doubt that clubs are going to get it wrong in a fair % of transfers in but at Everton what we are witnessing is not just a scattergun approach to signings but there doesn’t appear to be any plan in terms of building a squad or come to that a team it seems to be buy a bunch of players and get on with it.
Worse still players coming in with potential don’t seem to be receiving specific coaching and the performances from the likes of Pickford and Richarlison are not improving far from it
Everton have not improved in the last few windows that for me is a fact. The claims that there are some good players is one thing but where as in the past top 4 clubs would be interested in Everton players I doubt that any club in the top 8 would be looking to raid unless they were looking for squad players.
I know that’s brutal but for me all Everton are now an expensive functional mid table PL team who won’t go down nor will they challenge for any of the main competitions.
What’s worse for me is that to move forward there needs to be fundamental changes and that starts at the top followed by a complete rebuild of the squad ,in what now is a super inflated market, make the sums already spent seem like small change

 

[SupaStake]

Burning the deadwood is the hardest part :'(

 

[SerenityNigh]

Quite simply, the sum is less than the parts.

It’s either a locker room issue (no drive and leadership, no one to grab the game by the scruff of the neck) or a training ground issue (individual errors due to lack of training on situational play)* or a lack of trust in the manager’s tactics, but the players seem to “know” that no matter what they do, either someone else will make a dreadful mistake or, if they make a mistake, there won’t be anyone there to help them out. And even if they play well enough for 20, 30, or 40 minutes, the mistake(s) will arrive soon enough.

*could be each and all of these issues

 

[SerenityNigh]

We blew the chance to kick on big time when Koeman was hired. That squad had Stones, Lukaku and Barkley if we had Appointed the right manager and supported our young stars with more ambitious recruiting I think things would be so much better.

None of these players have been replaced properly

Well, Barkley has, if by properly you mean someone at the same level.