Aidan

7 minutes ago, Zoo 2.0 said:

You do get the feeling that our opportunities will be few and far between, so we'll need to take our chance(s) as and when they come. One of those nights where we need to be ruthless, and tight at the back. 

Early days, but pleased so far though. Not a terrible opening 15 minutes.

Yeah I see your point. Those opportunities seem to be coming almost immediately after Villa get one on the counter.

Need more of the ball to stump the crowd a little bit.

Rondon looks sharp

17 hours ago, Bailey said:

He did well against Burnley, but I still thought the old Gomes was lurking in the shadows.

I don't mind his little cameo appearances as a third midfielder but I wouldn't be as comfortable with him playing in the same way Allan and Doucoure are at the moment.

This is the issue with Gomes. He may have a good game or a good appearance off the bench, and this leads to a lot of fans hoping for Gomes to hit a run of form because we all know how talented he actually is. The only issue is he never seems to actually be able to do it for 3 or 4 games in a row. 

9 hours ago, London Blue said:

His game is not a defesive midfielder who can anticipate danger and snuff it out like Alan, nor does he have the physicality or attacking power of Doucoure. What he does very well is use his passing and positional sense to help control midfield move the ball into attacking positions further up the pitch. Which now he has his confidence back and is in a balanced midfield he does very well, just like he did before his injury.

I would be very happy to see a midfield 3 of Gomes, Doucoure and Alan.

His game isn't focused on the defensive side of things like you said, but he still needs to be able to defend. That's not to say he doesn't try, because he does, he just isn't very good at it and the amount of times I've seen players carry the ball past him leading to dangerous attacks is worrying. As Bailey suggested, probably one better suited to coming off the bench to try a change the style of play when we are lacking control in midfield.

Doucoure and Allan look great in that double pivot, and with DCL in the team and runners around him we often don't need a player like Gomes on the pitch. I think the problem with Burnley was much to do with Richarlison being bullied by Tarkowski and Mee. We seemed to have no outlet for large portions of the game. 

Certainly seems to be enjoying himself at the moment. I don't think he can keep up the form he is in now but he's certainly a useful player to have. Strange Palace let him go (presuming it was their choice).

Wanted to go for Gray purely for how happy he looked during his celebration it really meant a lot to him. Couldn't look past Townsend though for the ball in for Keane and the absolute thunderbolt that was his goal. Doucoure also massively improved for that last half an hour or so.

This game is fucked

Oh dear Someone said he could hit them

Useless is that Keane

Think we need Rondon on. Everytime we get into a good position the box is void of our players.

Can't think of many more frustrating games than this.

Refs losing control of this.

Mess of a first half but it's mainly down to poor decision making and even poorer conviction. I really can't see Rafa going to a back 4 he clearly has no confidence in any of our two centre halves competing with Barnes and Wood.

Maybe Iwobi can spark it into life, but I can see the same team coming back out after a kick up the arse.

Doucoure, Allan & Digne's passing have all been abysmal, Keane has looked nervous from minute one and Richarlison is (obviously) having zero luck on his own against Tarkowski and Mee. The only good thing I can say about that half is that Pickford's distribution has looked good.

Doucoure and Allan have been dreadful in possession. Every pass they make is awful. Doucoure doesn't even look match fit.

Right back might give Davies a new lease of life at Everton.

It probably won't... but it might.

Either way, he can't be much worse than Kenny there.

3 minutes ago, Hafnia said:

He will put some serious pressure on DCL.  Not that DCL needs motivation but all players need competition.

I honestly really liked him for WBA and Newcastle.  Proper old fashioned brute.

Let's hope he's still got it then. His attitude alone in the dressing room & training should give us a boost, despite what happens on the pitch. A common theme in the singings we have made. A dissapointing window in terms of overall quality - but a really good one in terms of the mentality of the players we have brought in. Maybe that's what we needed.

He seems to have made things simpler. Watching his press confrences he seems to be a very likeable person and always remains composed. I'm surprised at how a lot of the fans have already changed their tune from when he was announced. I'm still struggling to see how we finish in the top 8 this season with the lack of recruitment, however I'm actually enjoying the football we have been playing. I've got a sneaky feeling we are going to give some of the big boys a really tough game this season.

On his day he's a player. The only problem is his day doesn't come around too often. It seems he's always an excuse away from being consistent and I'm afraid we will just never see consistency in his game. Like @patto mentioned he may look fitter which is a good thing as I'm not sure we've had a manager in recent years that takes fitness too seriously. My biggest issue with him is when he is out of possession he offers very little to the team. I've never seen a player get dribbled passed so much.

On 02/09/2021 at 23:35, Hafnia said:

 

Rondon: “When I go away with the national team, I’ll always say to the players, ‘I don’t care if you miss a pass or score an own goal, but I do care if you don’t put your foot in. And if you don’t put your foot in then you’ll have to fight me in the dressing-room. Win that first ball in the air.’ This is my attitude.

"The career of a footballer is too short. You have to give everything to football because football gives you everything" 

 

I like that alot. 

Just seen this but if this sums up his attitude I'm very pleased we got him in. Class.

It will be interesting to see how much he features & if he will play from time to time in a 2 with DCL.

6 minutes ago, RuffRob said:

https://www.footballfancast.com/everton-fc-news/sky-sports-reporter-hints-at-everton-move-for-tottenhams-matt-doherty

a late runner for right back. 

At this point I'd be happy if we resigned Tony Hibbert

Probably his level.

16 minutes ago, Zoo 2.0 said:

Diallo was set to join Feyernoord on loan, but was injured in training this week so will now stay. 

I wouldn't be going anywhere near Dan James either, he's only decent when in acres of space because he can use his pace, against a low block or organised defences he's completely wasted. The only good games he's had in a Manchester United shirt have been against Leeds, simply because he's had space to run into and attack. For me, we just wouldn't be able to play to his strengths enough.

Ironically, I think the best place for him would be Leeds United.

Granted we've only had 3 games so far this season but we've clearly set up to exploit space with pace and by taking as few as passes as possible. In those games where we get increased space a player like James could be very valuable to us. Like I said before a loan deal could be beneficial for us.

I know his end product can be questionable, however I think he'd fit right into Rafa's system and also give us pace off the bench. A loan would be perfect.

If they are required to sign him after the loan, id imagine we would have generated more money for him than if we sold him outright.

If not, it'll be very frustrating.