Aidan

Hopefully we revert back to 433. The only drama with that though is the inexperience in the full back positions. I know Carlo is reluctant to play Kenny and Neils but I can't see a better option.

Pickford

Kenny Mina Keane Neils

James Allan Doucoure

Iwobi DCL Richarlison

In the past 4 or 5 games we've had key players out with no adequate cover for them. 

Richarlison is the drive in the squad, Digne is the creativity, Coleman is the leader. 

We need all our best attacking players fit in order to compensate for the shambles of a defence we have. I think Carlo appricates it's not going to be easy to get into Europe and can't afford to gamble on Gordon and Neils. A lot of people I saw on twitter really weren't happy with it but Leeds are a very threatening team and Neils would have been under a lot of pressure, maybe carlo is protecting him as well. 

The defence minus Allan is rotton and deeply inconsistent, from pickford to all our centre backs. 

We need a new goalkeeper and a solid leader in centre half who can bring whoever is playing along side him up. In hindsight Thiago Silva probably would have really improved this squad. 

It seems not one position in the squad can be adequately covered in the event of injury, minus in net where I doubt there's much in it. 

Another player not benefiting from the change of formation. 

Having Digne out doesn't help him. He may not be suited to this system the most either. 

Allan or pickford. Went for the latter. 

The quality of depth has stung us, but even so I would have expected to beat Leeds at home. Disappointing. 

Part of me wants us to go to a back 4 then the other part of me realises why we cant. 

Just now, Palfy said:

3 CBs Holgate in the centre and Keane moved to the left, Davies playing as left wing back is an interesting one but I trust the Don and he will have good reasons for his selections. 

Injuries

               Pickford 

   Godfrey Holgate Keane

Iwobi Doucoure Allan Davies

    James DCL Richarlison 

That's my guess

Interesting to see Holgate get the armband. Not that i disagree with it. 

Agree with your formation @Btay, looks like we will be forced to play it and probably with the players you mentioned.

It's time for Nkounkou to swim or sink. Leeds probably isnt going to be the worse game for him to start of with offensively, but defensively i worry!

We never know, carlo might choose to put Iwobi, Bernard, Davies or even Richarlison there. 

Wouldnt it be beautiful if Baines was signed on a short term deal and his last game at Goodison actually had fans present this time? 

53 minutes ago, Shukes said:

This is the reason I voted him MoM. The last ten minutes of the game was the Dom show.... we were going to concede again until he decided to stop the game and control it.

Throughout the game his link up play was brilliant. Looks like a very confident player at the minute doesnt he? 

10 hours ago, pete0 said:

I was thinking of using Sigurdsson as an example. Don't see him most the match but the goals and assists help cover up the lack of contribution across the rest of the 90. Without the goals going in Sigurdsson has now really come under the spotlight with most of us wanting rid. 

 

If i dont see a player much but he manages to get 10 goals and 10 assists over the course of a season I wouldn't really care, he can carry on hiding

When is his contract up? If someone is willing to buy in January then I'd be happy if we sold him, as long as a replacement is avaliable. 

49 minutes ago, pete0 said:

Alli is a match of the day player. Too often makes the wrong decision and often goes missing for large chunks of the game. 

He tries hard but often he's over exerting himself as he's poor positional. Technical ability is above average but apart from that he's a championship player.

Thats a bit harsh for a player who got 42 goal contributions in the league alone over the course of two seasons. I understand he hasn't quite replicated this the past two years but injuries have been part to blame. 

He's miles ahead of any player we have sat on our bench, and would fit in the Gomes/Sigurdsson role perfectly and also do a better job. 

Just now, pete0 said:

All day. 

What makes you think that? 

I mean, to compare them making our bench isn't really fair as for a start ones a central player the other is a wide player. Alli does however comfortably get ahead of Davies and Delph on our bench IMO. 

56 minutes ago, pete0 said:

Why would we want them when they'd not even make the bench?

Iwobi >Alli

Davies > Winks

Are you saying you think iwobi is a better player than Ali Pete? 

Chance for this 16 year old to step up bayern we're interested in?! 

In all seriousness this is a huge blow and it worries me. 

What a player he was when he broke through. If he came here and replicated half of his return from his first two seasons it would be incredible. 

If not, he's still miles better than the depth we have now. Everton could be a perfect fit for him. 

Everton 1  - 0 Leeds

Richarlison

As for this window, if Isco is avaliable then great, but I don't want us to go out and buy a RB or even a CB unless it's the right player for the right price. I'd much rather us utilise what we have and try again this summer. It's clear our defense needs strengthening, but it will develop throughout the season and with Holgate coming back we will improve slightly in that area. 

The midfield and goalkeeper are at times as much to blame for us conceding as much as the defense. 

2 hours ago, Bailey said:

Whilst I don't necessarily agree with that, even if it was correct, you would still expect to see Kenny on the bench to cover Iwobi struggling or having to go to 4 at the back. 

Maybe the plan was to move Godfrey into RB in that scenario, or if iwobi got injured to put a more attacking player into RWB such as Davies. 

Kenny hasn't had a fair run of games, but every time I see him play I dont see a certain area of strength. He's not great at whipping a ball in or beating a man, nor is he an exceptional defender. I believe he will grow into a good defender, possibly at this level in this league, but not one we can either afford to wait to develop or who will be good enough to push us forward. 

It pains me to say it as he is a blue and I do like him. 

23 hours ago, Btay said:

It’s the containing part it seems myself and almost everyone else is worried about. Right now we are heavily reliant on out scoring teams to get points.

Yeah agreed, especially with us not knowing what our best pairing at centre half is. 

I still see containing them the best way to approach the game, but it's much easier said than done. 

52 minutes ago, Btay said:

There’s going to be goals in it. Hopefully for us aswell. There’s every chance we can pick them off as they rush forward.

I'm hoping we contain them, frustrate them and hit them on the counter rather than try to outscore them. 

Let them have the ball and limit the space. That's where they've struggled this season, Leicester, Wolves and Palace have shown this. 

I think carlo will know this and therefore I'll be surprised if it is a high scoring game, unless one team completely implodes. 

They're a good team, and will stay up, but nowhere near the team everyone seems to be making them out to be. 

If imagine he knows it doesn't suit us, which just shows how much faith he has in any of our centre half pairings.