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Danny Broderick
1 Posted 05/12/2016 at 01:23:35
I agree with most of your ratings Paul. I would have given Gueye a '9' though, and possibly even a '10'. I thought he was outstanding, he protected the back 4 all game and won our pen. His passing was good, and he had a few good shots also.

One player I just can't decide on is Funes Mori. He is certainly unorthodox, but I honestly never know if he has had a good game or a bad game. He seems to get in bad positions, then when your heart is in your mouth, he saves the day with a slide tackle! I thought we defended well today though as a unit, so I would have awarded the defenders higher marks also.

David Tennant
2 Posted 05/12/2016 at 01:47:59
I actually thought Funes Mori did okay. He was good in the air, something we've missed recently, and recovered well with one particular last-ditch tackle against Herrera (I think) standing out. One or two dodgy moments in possession (I do remember him passing it to Ibrahimovic) aside, he did fine and was actually ushering Ibrahimovic away from the goal until Stekelenberg conspired to open up another avenue to the net for them to score.
Jim Hardin
4 Posted 05/12/2016 at 03:45:18
Good read as always. Thank you, Paul. However, Funes Mori a 5? He battled Zlatan and was better than Williams, for whom he was forced to cover a couple of times and was far better than the goalkeeper who received the same rating.

I can only wonder at the pass that Stek gets from most posters who would literally have slaughtered our goalkeeper from last season for even one of this season's miSteks. At this point, Robles cannot do worse, so play him and build his value to sell him on.

Still, a point is a point and we are halfway to safety.

Peter Fearon
5 Posted 05/12/2016 at 03:58:19
I like Funes Mori but if he had not eased up thinking that chip was going in he could have reached it before he went over the line. As it was, he was only a second late... but it was a second he had already wasted.
Eamonn Long
6 Posted 05/12/2016 at 04:46:41
I thought Funes Mori had played well too. There were some iffy passes alright, but he's got the speed to get himself (and others) out of trouble and showed it today at times.
Peter Barry
7 Posted 05/12/2016 at 04:57:22
The best that can be said about the game last night is HOW PREDICTABLE.
David Pearl
8 Posted 05/12/2016 at 06:20:48
Yeah, for the most part I agree with your ratings Paul. I was going to start with a story about my oven but deleted that bit.

Also I absolutely can't stand to hear ironically cheering a player that's being substituted. He has played only a handful of games. Same with Funes Mori. <>It's hard to come new into a team low on confidence and struggling to implement the managers instructions. Cleverley, I thought, was trying too hard. And that at least merited applause. Mirallas also put in a shift for once. He's been shit all season.

However all 3 were lacking that bit of magic to add to the effort. The players were obviously instructed to push high onto the Man Utd backline. Unfortunately this meant that it created a straight line of 4 players with none of them dropping deep to collect the ball; movement creates openings etc. Is that 2 games straight no shots for Lukaku? Koeman, I hope you know what you want... Other than more running.

Holgate again was very impressive. Deulofeu really looks uncomfortable. Barry made a few misplaced passes but improved. Baines has nobody to link with so he isn't getting into positions to cross from and with the space needed. Gana had his best game for a while too.

Valencia deserves a start now. Let's see what he can do. Stek??? Hmm. One on one, great keeper. long reach but no authority when he claims the ball. And as we have seen against Burnley and Man Utd he can just make bizarre decisions which makes everyone quickly forget the points he has actually saved us. However Robles deserves a shot again.

Awful stat, that's only the second time this season we have out-ran our opponents. Wtf? Koeman has some job on his hands.

Finally!! Yes finally, it was great to see Goodison rise again. I've missed that.

Christopher Timmins
10 Posted 05/12/2016 at 12:59:12
Paul, a great read as always. However, the events leading up to the game were more entertaining than the game itself.

The one positive I took from the game was the willingness of the team to keep going even when things were not going well.

Steve Hogan
11 Posted 05/12/2016 at 14:01:39
I too, don't like to hear ironic cheers when an Everton player is being subbed, Paul, but Cleverley stunk the place out the whole afternoon; I think a five was a generous mark.

How he warrants a starting place over Barkley in the manager's eyes is remarkable. Without Barkley in the side yesterday (as frustrating as he can be), we had no-one to carry any threat forward to Man Utd, particularly in the first half.

Still, it's all about opinions.

Matt Williams
12 Posted 05/12/2016 at 14:12:17
I can't agree with your rating of Cleverley. 5 is exceedingly generous for one the poorest individual performances I've seen in recent years, even by his own low standards. He makes McCarthy look like Zidane.
John Charles
13 Posted 05/12/2016 at 14:46:44
I thought Funes Mori was okay and at least as good as Williams who seems absolutely clueless in possession and not the rock we thought.

Cheering a player off is a bit weird but Cleverly was atrocious. As was Bolasie.

It would be good to see Koeman go for a 4-4-2 with Valencia supporting Lukaku but somehow I don't think it will happen.

Geoff Evans
14 Posted 05/12/2016 at 15:43:30
To cheer the substitution of one of our own was unforgivable.

Whoever you are, you're a disgrace.

Otto Sani
15 Posted 05/12/2016 at 15:50:28
Our boiler broke down today. €300 for a two-hour job + €200 for the parts. And the bastard told me he will have to come back, because he could not get it done properly.

Cleverly should leave in January and he probably will. Barkley seems to have way too much on his shoulders. I refuse to believe that he just ain't good enough. Could he play as a striker with Lukaku in 4-4-2? Has he ever played as a striker?

Then again, I refused to believe that the boiler would need maintenance every single year.

Roger Trenwith
16 Posted 05/12/2016 at 15:58:38
Funes Mori had a good game for him, but his problem is maddening inconsistency, not just game to game but sometimes within the same 5 minutes. They guy is not good for my blood pressure.

I agree completely with your comments about Stekelenburg. Koeman has his work cut out sorting this mess out. There's only three players in yesterday's team I see any future for beyond a couple of seasons – Holgate, Gueye and Lukaku – and he will probably be sold in the summer anyway.

47 years an Everton fan and it doesn't get any easier!

Paul Montgomery
17 Posted 05/12/2016 at 16:24:06
Geoff (#14) – we are moving from the post-truth era to the post-support era. Heckle the team, undermine its collective confidence, boo them off at every opportunity, and criticize all players but some (eg, Cleverley) mercilessly. It's not the team's performances that are spoiling my Saturdays, but the negative attitude of a significant number of supporters around me.

These players are top sportsmen, who have got to the top in a highly competitive situation by trying their socks off. Like most sports, football is to a large extent played between the ears. They are trying every week, but confidence is low and being further drained by negativity – poor performances are a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Oh, and as well as Cleverley ,I blame Kenwright, Osman... and that Moshiri better buck his ideas up before the honeymoon is over too.

Franny Porter
18 Posted 05/12/2016 at 16:29:30
The keeper is awful in my opinion but then again I don't rate Robles too highly.

I prefer Funes Mori to Jagielka on current form but the bloke is an accident waiting to happen, he deserves a run though.

Poor Gareth Barry, it looks like time has finally caught with him. The game against Chelsea the other week reminded of when England played Germany in the Euros a few years back and he had Ozil and Khedira tearing him apart whilst he had a turning circle like the 14C. Time to take him out the firing line I think, surely McCarthy or Barkley could do a better job (or Besic in time).

Valencia, I think he's done enough to warrant a start. Whether he's good enough or not remains to be seen but with both him and Lukaku up front that eases the burden on both. I always thought Kone looked "half-decent" when he played in a two.

Steve Hogan
19 Posted 05/12/2016 at 16:46:45
Franny (18), as a regular user of both the 14C and D, I think your comments are in bad taste. They got me home to Croxteth in the late sixties without too much fuss. However, like many of our current players, they did lack pace.

On occasion though, I was forced to get the no 19 bus along the East Lancs Rd and get off at the English Electric factory, now if you ever got that bus route home, you'd have cause to moan.

Eugene Ruane
20 Posted 05/12/2016 at 16:59:26
Franny #18 - Agree with all of that.

I'd also say that a goal for Gana (who seems a shy/quiet/decent lad and imo, is our player of the season so far) would be great.

Supporters seem to like him well enough, but something (er..not sure what) makes me think that a couple of goals from him (or a winner in a big game etc) could be like a vitamin shot for him and all of us.

I think he's a terrific player and believe everyone (mainly him) would benefit hugely from him banging in and celebrating a couple of goals.

At the moment, there's a 'supporting role' feel about him and his performances (to me) should say 'Starring...'

Brian Porter
22 Posted 06/12/2016 at 06:47:32
I too thought Funes Mori did okay and even one of the match commentators made the point that "Everton at least have a defender who can head the ball out of defence, now."

For the goal, he had the situation under control until Stekelenburg had his moment of madness and possibly froze for a vital second from the sheer shock at suddenly seeing his goalkeeper bearing down on him miles out of his box. It wasn't his fault that Stek committed virtual suicide and the blame fir the goal was purely on the keeper's shoulders.

For the rest of the game he virtually had Ibrahamovic in his pocket and the big Swede didn't like it as you could see if you bothered to look at the way he kept staring at Ramiro. A vast improvement on Jagielka and a couple of important blocks and one particularly vital sliding tackle in the box. Needs a run in the team to get his game fully up to scratch but was miles better than a poor Williams too.

Geoff Evans
23 Posted 06/12/2016 at 10:26:37
Funes Mori is one of the players we can build a successful team around.

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