Aidan

I recall him playing well at RWB early in the season (or late last?) and having a good run of form around then. 

I don't think he is going to improve much, but maybe Carlo wants to work with him. In fact, i think Carlo realises he has to work with a lot of players, because there's a lot of dross which isn't going to be shifted all at once. 

1 hour ago, markjazzbassist said:

my take is bernard is very weak, pushed off the ball, not a premier player.  he might be more skilled but Carlo knows a couple shoves and he's out of the match (we've seen it before, he gets intimidated and then is a ghost).  With Iwobi he's big and strong enough to hang with the pace and strength of the league, he just doesn't have the technical abilities.  I think it's the lesser of 2 evils for Carlo.  I imagine both would be moved on if given the choice and reinforcements.

I think Iwobi is technically good. It's his decision making and tunnel vision that make him frustrating. His crossing is not great but his passing i don't think is bad, I've witnessed him make a few decent killer balls. 

Cant believe so many went with Siggy after his recent form. Wouldn't be a bad squad player if we did bring in someone for his position IMO. Also wouldn't want to sell him to bring in a different player for depth if we did get a shiny new player to start. 

9 hours ago, Cornish Steve said:

The big surprise on the totals list is Digne - near the bottom.

Yes didn't even notice that! He hasn't been as effective this season but also set a standard which fans expect so I'd imagine thats why he's so low. 

5 hours ago, Palfy said:

Our front line has improved which is highlighted by the amount of goals scored compared to last season, it’s already higher with 5 games to play, we have seen an improvement in the defence generally although injuries are making it hard to maintain a consistent back 4, the MF for me is where we’ve shown the least amount of improvement although we have improved the personnel mainly for me with the inclusion of Allan and Doucoure yet we don’t seem to be able dominate good possession in the middle of the pitch, the manager knows that so I can see a new addition to the MF coming in the summer who will add a different dimension and leadership we desperately need in that area of the pitch. So not all doom and gloom some important but still a lot to come. 

We have improved our performances against "better" teams and our form away from home (although a lot of teams have). Like you mentioned I agree we seem to stuggle when there is expectation on our midfield to run the game. Depth is certainly needed in this area and I'd like to see someone come in who is able to create and another player who is able to score goals from midfield. Not easy players to find. We can't keep going into games with Gomes and Sigurdsson our most creative players from central midfield.

Just looked at the tally of the season and it looks like JP is possibly going to take our most MOTM votes for this season.

He's still struggled a lot of times this season but he does look in a better place mentally. Seems to have cut some of the hot-headedness out of his game.

7 hours ago, Romey 1878 said:

I don't want to see Holgate and Godfrey as a partnership regularly, if at all to be honest. Yes, Holgate was bad but Godfrey wasn't far behind him either.

I think Carlo wanted to play with Holgate and Godfrey a little higher up the pitch and instructed the team to play out from the back. We didn't look comfortable doing either of those things.

7 hours ago, Sibdane said:

Just thinking about Villa’s second goal, the build-up was result of losing possession after DCL skewered his shot well wide. Obviously, it’s not directly his fault but sometimes it’s not just about the ball going in the net. On target can force a save, rebound attempt, cause defense to get out of position, etc. 

There were a lot to blame yesterday for individual errors and misplaced passes. Gomes and Iwobi were all at it ang Holgate made my arse twitch every time he got on the ball.

We as Evertonians should have seen it coming. A chance to push for a top 5 spot seems mentally out of reach for the players we have.

2 minutes ago, Sibdane said:

You can think it’s not important for a striker to get shots on target all you want. 

No I agree with you, it's very important for strikers to get shots on target. I never said it wasn't. 

6 minutes ago, Sibdane said:

I’m just telling you my opinion based on what I see when I watch him. Most of his goals are right in front of the net. The fact that he can’t hit it on target from much further out with some time on the ball is alarming to me. 
 

Yeah, he went on a hot streak at the beginning of the season but that form needs to carry for a striker playing for a team with greater ambitions than mid-table mediocrity. 

We've had a lot of crucial injuries lately. The creativity in our squad is awful when James is missing. The squad is desperate for a goal threat and added creativity in midfield. If we get those two things this window and DCL is still doing what he is doing we will have such a dangerous squad and I have no doubt your opinion will change. 

13 minutes ago, Sibdane said:

He got a goal a goal today, but I’m still disappointed in him. He’s not a striker that offers much unless he’s in the box, in my opinion. I’m still not convinced he can take us to the next level as much as I want him to be the one to do so. 

That's a bold view. 

His all round game is very good of a striker his age and it will only get better. 

One of his main weaknesses is attempts from range and he's got plenty of time to improve in that and he will be well aware of this.

He's just scored his 15th goal of the season, only 3 players have more. Let's have a bit of common sense about it.

I wonder how many 24 year olds have 28 Premier League goals in the past 2 campaigns. 

The first 5 minutes you could see the game plan and intent. Unfortunately all that went out of the window the following 85. 

James out of the line up for Iwobi, injury in the warm up. 

Starting to believe James is becoming a bit of a pointless signing. He has all the ability in the world but if he's never fit he's wasting a wage. Really disappointed again. 

We need to aim to play at the highest level we can achieve. The EL can be a hinderence with the amount of games there are, but it could be a ticket to a CL spot if we fail to reach it through the league position. 

3 hours ago, pete0 said:

“I don’t think we have to talk about the [Coleman’s] contract,” Ancelotti told evertontv.

“The contract that Seamus has with the Club and this team is forever.

“It doesn’t mean one-year long or two years long.

“Seamus’ contract with Everton is forever.” 

https://www.evertonfc.com/news/2119451/ancelotti-reveals-captain-colemans-everton-contract

Cast back to when Carlo said Seamus is one of the best Captains he has worked with. His importance is clearly seen by Carlo. 

On 26/04/2021 at 14:22, AlbanyNYToffee said:

Now let's play well at home and get 3 more from Villa. COYB

Woah, woah, slow down there. 

50 minutes ago, Romey 1878 said:

Drinking on a school night rarely works out well. 

I try to stay grounded but every game I just convince myself even more. 

It's not very often you find such an athletic defender who has a great deal of intelligence to match it, its normally one or the other. 

I think other clubs will already be looking at him.

I think he's en route to being one of the best centre halves in the world and that not only excites me, but it also scares me. 

5 hours ago, Bailey said:

I think we should be trying to get Buendia in at the same time. 

Hes a cracking player wanted us to go for him last summer. Amazing nobody snapped him up. 

Next two games are huge for us.

Villa at home and West ham away. If we win both of those fixtures we then go into a game against an awful Sheffield United team we will be in a strong position going into the last few games. 

With a team returning to full strength after injuries I've no doubt we will start to create more chances. Will it be the absence of the ever present Doucoure in midfield that will mean we just miss out on a spot? 

13 hours ago, Bill said:

Pickford played well and made a couple of crucial saves,  but I put Godfrey on camera watch whenever  I watch the match. He's a top top player and he will be a star with us for years to come. I would put him and Doucoure joint favourites to be our next Captain.  

Hes a really special player isn't he bill?

10 hours ago, Palfy said:

Unfortunately we are seeing the DCL of 1 and 2 years ago, even before his injury he was well off the pace, a striker is a must even if Ancelotti kids on it’s not. 

I have no doubt he has what it takes to hit another run of form. If not this season early next. Competition will be healthy though. A Mitrovic would be nice, or I'll probably get slammed for this but I like the mould of Neil Maupay. 

1 hour ago, Hafnia said:

So glad we never got Arteta as a manager. What a prick. Whinging over the penalty that should have been a yellow card to their player.

We need a few players moved on and some pace brought in. DCL looked way off. 

 

The first 15 minutes I thought he looked really up for it. He got himself about the pitch and was involved quite a bit. After that he hardly did anything though, although he was very isolated that second half. 

Second half was really poor yesterday and a win is a very kind result for us, one which breaks us away from Arsenal. 

We are crying out for someone who can replace Gomes, who is able to turn a player and make a threatening pass. 

Tell you what we've not half witnessed some boring games this season. Really hope Carlo can give us something more entertaining to watch next season.