Match Day Thread Everton v Southampton 02/01/17 3pm

We were being outplayed for the 20-25 minutes before the sending off against Spurs. Yes the 10 men worked hard against a far superior team, but if that is to blame for the 2 lacklustre performances since, then maybe we should have eased of and took a 2-1 loss and saved some legs for the busy period, just as palace did at Arsenal last night. That is tongue in cheek FLT.

 

we're pretty rubbish at the moment aren't we?

 

The Bundes League would be perfect for Southampton. Maybe we could swap with Bayern for a few seasons.

 

I agree, although imagine if it lost

 

Some striker of a ball though

 

I feel Sheffield United will be the next club to get back to back promotions and as they are a similar sized club to Southampton, I do not think Chris Wilder will want to leave the Blades at the moment as you sense there is a lovely momentum building at Bramhall Lane.

 

Yes but that was very much the exception to the rule. This season has been played in a cautious and basically dull manner. It's boring football.

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Well, after my "Claude doesn't do Christmas wobbles" bollocks I'm a wee bit nervous. 2 cup games next - I wouldn't play the ultimate 11 because they won't. Then it's Burnley and Leicester, 2 teams within 3 points of us, that's when we need the best 11. Bad enough losing the last 3, lose 2 more and it's squeaky bum time!

 

As mentioned by FLT before, IF saints were to get rid of Puel, or Puel were to resign etc, the board would be incredibly ballsy to go for a lower league manager, no matter how well they are doing.

 

Have we offered 20m for Snodgrass yet?

 

Not sure what to make of today's match.
We've played worse football and scraped wins, but today's loss was a combination of many things.
First half, their keeper palms out a cross shot from a JRod and the ball falls safely and is cleared.
Second half, Fraser makes a good stop with his foot, the ball ricochets perfectly into the path of Valencia to slot home.
Sometimes we just don't get the rub of the green. Not saying it's all down to luck (although if it wasn't for bad luck, we'd have no luck at all ), because the 2nd and 3rd goals were due to schoolboy errors, by Yoshida and Fonte.
Add in our own inept shooting and the frequency with which we concede possession just as the back four are pushing up, leaving us wide open to quick counters, we are looking very fragile.
I am of the opinion that Claude's style of football requires quicker and more athletic midfielders than we currently possess. The sitting back and hitting on the break style, looks exciting when we get a breakaway, but so often peters out owing to not getting enough players forward in support. If we don't bring in at least one player, that fits that mould, during the January window, then I will start thinking that Claude is on borrowed time, and the board aren't prepared to back him.
Before the season he was being quoted as saying that he would look at the squad, before deciding if he would bring in any players. Well he's had 5/6 months to do this, and I would hope that he recognises the need to bring in players that make his style of football work, or play a system that fits the players he has.

 

A decent win today and we would be going into the cup fixtures in 7th.

As it happens we are 10th. 10th in the best league in the world.

A few years back we supported the 68th best team in England. We seemed to be happier and more optimistic then than we do now.

Success breeds success and we want more and more. That's fine and its also fine to be disappointed after 3 defeats on the trot.

Let's not over react. There are supporters of other premier league clubs who would like to be in our position. Supporters of teams like Ipswich who languish mid table in the championship or supporters of Coventry who are deep in trouble at the bottom of league 1.

Football should be fun, it doesn't always feel like that but just as if a family member is going through a tough time we give them more support.

At the moment our club needs support. I applaud all those fans that made it to Everton today as well as week in, week out. Now is not the time to boo individual players or call for the managers head.

Keep believing and we are only upset because we care.

RWMOK. Supporter of the 10th best club in England.

 

Yeah I think we were still(slightly squinting) in the game against Spurs,but as you say then with 10 men it was a no no. I think not replacing Mane as caused us many problems(not because he was absolutely fantastic) but because of his unpredictability,we are very predictable,ball goes sideways hell of a lot,we're not direct enough for me(that doesn't mean ball up in the air)but getting it forward quicker,the ball doesn't move fast enough,it's all too pedestrianised,and for me I don't see Puel lifting the players.

 

Agree with this St Badger. Back him in the transfer window or it will show a lack of faith from the board. Think we need a big physical domineering CM, and an out and out striker. I feel a little sorry for a Puel as Les Reed has a bit to answer for. When Puel came in he was making comments about pushing for consistent top 6 finishes, and they we had the best pool of midfielders in the premier league etc etc. Should have kept quiet let Puel get his feet under the table and play down unrealistic expectations. Though he does seem to have gone very quiet the last several months? Nice to see Ralph though giving his motivational speeches to the players before today's game?

 

I am puzzled by this result. I followed the match on the BBC final score/five live. All I heard was two teams equally poor, then Saints are in control of this match, only one side looking for the win. Then 3 goals in 20 minutes. Did Saints really just collapse? The least I expected was 0-0, at best 0-1. Is it just confidence? WBA have a squad comparable to ours but they are flying.

 

West Brom are flying .... in the position we were one week ago.

 

Yes, almost the same as I heard listening to Solent, with the diagnosis of us losing the game due to an ineffective Lennon being replaced by a considerably more effective Valencia. If I heard that once, I must have heard it ten to fifteen times. Rocket science at its best., and yet we seemed a little oblivious to dealing with that change. But then Mr K may have thought, Ah yes, I remember most of these players....

 

I didn't mean league position, but just the way they are playing. Going behind to Hull annoyed them enough to score 3. We took the lead against Hull and lost. Not looking for an argument but just confused by our mental frailties. We have a team with experienced internationals, where is the determination that other teams have.

 

It's my fault. Our collapse in form started when I decided to go to a rare away game ar Selhurst Park. In fact I have been to 3 away games this season and seen us score a total of no goals. And I'm going to Liverpool on the 25th.

 

Speaking for myself I'm concerned that this is the start of our true form. We have squeaked in with close wins and draws that have belied our performances we have not been good all season. Squeaky bums have got us to 10thand we are currently in the midst of a serious collapse of confidence.

We cannot score and our defense is unsettled and out of sorts. Pretty obvious to everyone that that is a recepie for relegation. Not that I think that would be the end of the world. Perhaps we need to go down again so that the higher ups get a wake up call and realize the obvious, that if you sell your star players every season you are left with a team of supporting artists. In my opinion that's all we have now.

With the exception of VVD and Bertrand there isn't a player in the team I would be sad to see leave. Everyone else could be easily replaced and that is tragic to say after the last 5 years.

When you also lose two solid to exceptional managers over the same period the long term view suddenly looks a bit ****.