This is spot on for me. I thought Davis was excellent and so was Dier to be fair when he came on. I also might also be developing a serious man crush on the keeper. What a find...
In the case of Emerson his actual defensive stats from the game were actually pretty damn good especially as he was playing on his weaker foot - but that same weaker foot is why his attempts at playing out of the back (as well as some of his clearances) left something to be desired That's the thing about the eyeball test: it picks up on the same things that highlight reels pick out, but it doesn't necessarily pick out things that coaches look for - hence we thought Ndombele was going to be a baller, as opposed to the bucket of badger balls that he actually is
Disagree tbh... thought he and Emerson did OK. Been reading a lot of posts and tbh with three key midfielders missing (Maddison, Bissouma and Bentencur) plus 2 wingers (Peresic and Solomon) a weakened defence (no VDV or Udogie plus Romero going off injured) puts addition pressure of back up defenders. Both played a key part in our attacks, particularly in the first half, which ultimately won us the game. As for the VAR decision, it was a foul. Not sure how anyone can say otherwise... VAR intervened cos the ref and assistant ref missed the Everton player going through the back of Royal. Think people are being way to harsh on the team's second half performance... we were without 5 definite starters, 2 squad player, Romero went off at ht and Richarlison was playing with a back injury...yet we played some great football and won.
Couldn't agree more. What Ange has achieved given the circumstances is nothing short of remarkable. We all saw what an established Spurs side under a very established manager looked like once we'd lost multiple players to injury and it is night and day from what Ange is producing on a weekly basis. Spurs under Poch in the second half of 2018/19 were atrocious most weeks, scraping results and generally painful to watch. The CL run papered over the fact that our league form was in free fall, all because 3 or 4 first team players were injured. Ange has had to cope with losing his best player permanently and as many as 5 or 6 first team regulars to injury or suspension at a go - but the football is still generally of a very high quality and the results are generally as good as or better than expected. For me, his only major blemish so far was the way he approached the Carabao. Everything else is seriously minor when viewed in the wider context of things.
Completely agree CK, it’s really exciting thinking what we could be when we actually get the squad together that Ange actually wants
I'm paranoid, I guess understandably, that Levy is thinking at the back of his mind "this is excellent - I could give this guy a Ryan Nelsen, Louis Saha and Frazier Campbell transfer window and he'll make a purse out of a pig's arse". Our managers have too often been victims of their own success. And too often as a result we have failed to strengthen from a position of strength, instead dallying until everything's going to **** all around us before panic buying expensive duds.
The major issue is pretty much every time we take a step forward, or even believe we've taken a step forward, the club falls into a trap of thinking that means we should spend big instead of spending smart Spending big on a potentially transformative player like Modric, Dembele, Romero or Porro absolutely makes sense - but spending big because we can spend big makes no sense if it's on players we don't even need like Bentley or Barren Dent, or if we're paying a premium on potential like with Gil
Great result, but another slightly dodgy performance. Richarlison scoring again is a good sign. Looks a different player since his operation. Seemed to be holding his back as he went off, though. We came out of the blocks quickly and could've been out of sight in the first 25 minutes. The Gueye injury killed our momentum though and Gomes coming on changed them. Their team balance was better and we struggled to get out a lot of the time. I think that Postecoglou will have to make a couple of changes for Thursday. Lo Celso showed some quality when he came on, so I think he'll be one of them. I hope that we don't have to suffer another enforced Romero absence as part of it.
Highlights: Dyche is very upset that VAR got a decision right. He's a good manager, but he's got some **** takes. I don't know if they showed it on TV, but it was nice to see Richarlison at the end of the game. Went around with our players, then showed his appreciation for the Everton fans. It doesn't take much to show a bit of respect, but it's still good that some people do it.
Hopefully Richy didn’t aggravate his back by playing. Ange said he was feeling it in training on Friday but wanted to play. Romero has said he hopes to be back for the next game but that’s just the player speaking, hopefully the physios agree.
I agree with RCL and CK the football Ange has created is quite amazing. Our squad is depleted by injury and suspension with major players not available. I think we are are going to struggle but Ange gets them playing fantastic football. Even in the games against Villa and West Ham we played great football. I think Ange is strong enough to make sure he gets some of the players he needs in January. Surely Levy realises what a find this manager is and the need to keep him sweet. Hopefully also we will maintain ties with Paratichi who has proved his worth in the transfer market.
Morning RCL - Merry Xmas! What has been achieved in 4 months by Ange and the team is nothing short of remarkable, despite an horrendous injury and suspension maelstrom. We have over-acheived massively and some of the football we are playing - especially in the first half yesterday - has been sublime. I also fully acknowledge that there is a lot of pressure being put on 'support' players. But....and there is always a but... It's still possible to identify specific areas of concern and some unnecessary individual errors. I'm a massive fan of Ben Davies and he has been excellent the last few games. Yesterday though he was getting caught in possession and lost the ball several times in dangerous positions (before Cuti went off). He seemed to be having difficulty finding an outlet and as the significant change was Emerson for Udogie it's not unreasonable to suggest that may have been the problem. Emerson worked hard and did link the attacking play really well, but defensively we know he's vulnerable and himself gets caught in possession. (He also plays for fouls, going down easily, and there are times when refs don't blow and we were exposed.) The prospect of a full, fit squad from early next year is really exciting - the most positive I have been about the club's direction for 5 or 6 years. January is going to be difficult though and a top 6 finish would still be an achievement. Just enjoying the football played is such a change! If Ange gets supported in the transfer market then the future is bright indeed.
Yeah agree, that was one of Davies’ poorest performances for a long while. Couple sloppy passes, especially one that led to a dangerous attack and his defending didn’t feel as safe as it usually is either. Emerson's technical ability just straight up annoys me. I don’t understand how a (Brazilian!) professional footballer has that level of poor on the ball ability. Defensively he done well enough but the lack of ball ability just invites the opposition onto us. Porro was also sloppy in possession at times too, he’d been my POTS for us so far though so he’s owed a below par performance. Romero for me was the only defender that done his job well yesterday, so of course he goes off with an injury . Vicario though… He’s doing Prime Lloris proud at the moment, some genuinely elite tier saves yet again, we lose or draw that yesterday if it weren’t for him - and that backs up the points of saying most of the defence didn’t play well. I’d say he’s now overtaken Porro for POTS so far as he’s just been so consistent. We’ve found some excellent value in Serie A the last couple years; Romero, Kulu, Bentancur, Udogie and him. Long live Don Fabio Paratici.
Totally agree with this, my son and I said the same thing. Nice to see the Everton fans staying and responding back positively as well...
Watching their disallowed goal back and Dier is just so slow to get across to block the shot. He is totally unaware of his surroundings, assuming there is an attacker making a run off his blind shoulder which is why he hesitates. You can even see him gesturing to other players to take 'his' man so that he can shift across to block. But there is no one there. He doesn't know this because he hasn't looked. A better defender gets across to make the block and spares the risk of having to rely on VAR. Agricultural defender who I hope is gone before the end of Jan and replaced with a significant upgrade.
It was funny when he scored, straight into celebration and then remembered it was Everton and stopped.
Vic has established himself as a a top keeper already. He he continues to develop and gets a settled, top CB partnership in front of him, then I can see him being one of the best keepers in the world And is is just me, or does he have incredibly looooong arms??
Yeah he definitely does, the still from his save yesterday shows how gangly they are lol. Ironically Pickford in the other end must have some of the shortest arms for a keeper. He’s like a human T-Rex.
