Pickford heroics can't hold back red tide at Old Trafford

I thought we should have tried to frustrate United by defending deep, and staying compact, before then trying to hit them on the counter attack, or with balls down the Chanels, trying to use the pace of both Grey and Simms, to exploit McGuire, but we never did.

I couldn't understand it because it went against everything that it looks like Dyche, has been trying to instill into us, even if the gulf in quality was absolutely massive today.

On those writing off some teams based on current positions, there are 86 matches to be played and the bottom nine clubs encounter each other in 18 of them, Everton have to play four Bournemouth, Palace, Leicester and Wolves, so there's plenty of twists and turns to go before any team can be ruled out or in.

I didn't mind the starting 11 just didn't get why we had to play so high up the pitch. Every long ball was a threat.

I just can't understand those tactics against a good counter attacking side.

Godfrey had to come off at half time. Getting caught continually with the ball over his head showed a real lack of positioning as a pro footballer.

2nd half we had a better shape but lesser threat. Coleman's mistake effectively ending the game as a contest.

It wasn't a mauling thanks to an inspired performance from Pickford. We are still in the mix. Roll the sleeves up and move on.

I'd probably pick the same side next week but not be so high or open, win the midfield battle and try to play. No Mitrovich is a bonus.

I've seen Michael Oliver give penalties against Jagielka, for a lot less than the one McGuire, got away with today when he body checked Demari Gray, but the best way to exploit McGuire, is with pace down the sides and over the top, and I think we would have had more opportunities of doing this, by defending deep and trying to hit United quickly on the counter attack?

I thought United were very good today though, and they impressed me with some of their little reverse switches, so I think maybe even defending deep might have also been a problem today.

I don't know what punishment the Premier League will give us but a transfer embargo would be equally as killing to us as a points deduction (obviously not if it sends us down).

But this team is crying out for goals in it, genuine attacking creative players that look like scoring goals.

I'd actually trust Dyche to get the right type of characters in too, so it would be a massive shame if he's not allowed that this summer because I doubt this squad would survive another season anyway.

The whole thing is maddening because even Rondon could have been an option. I'm not saying anything new here but the clowns running the club have totally screwed us over. It's hard to imagine a more difficult assignment than ‘Keep Everton up'.

It's mad that our players make so many unforced errors when passing the ball. It's really does make one wonder how they made it as professionals.

Just have to hope Dyche can make a silk purse from a sow's ear.

Look at the facts: nine games played mostly against sides competing for Europe, with only two against fellow strugglers and he has 'amassed' a dozen points, compare that with the measly 15 points that Frank gained after 21 matches played.

If we can get ten to a dozen points from the final eight games, we'll probably survive, if only just.

Come on Blues there's plenty to play for.

As it stood when Dyche took over, all the teams involved at the bottom had played 20 save Leeds who had played 19. Palace were 9 points ahead of Everton, Forest 6, Leicester and West Ham 3 ahead, whilst Wolves and Bournemouth were 2 points ahead with Southampton level with Everton on 15 points.

Since Dyche arrived, the teams at the foot have added the following points total:

Wolves 14.
Bournemouth 13
Everton 12
Leeds Utd 11
Southampton 8
West Ham Utd 7
Leicester City 7
Nottingham Forest 6
Crystal Palace 6

If we'd sat back, Man Utd have enough quality in their midfield to play through us. Unfortunately, individual errors and lapses in concentration meant that they didn't need to be particularly good – old fashioned Sunday league "launch it behind the full-backs" was more than enough to undo us. I was pleased to see Dyche drag Godfrey – his effort and concentration was completely unacceptable.

Pickford and some good fortune kept the score down and maybe if we'd managed to snag a goal at that point, things could have been different. Simms should have done better, and we had a lot of set piece opportunities that we didn't do much with. Not sure why we went back to Gray whipping balls over when McNeil's hanging deliveries have brought so much joy recently.

Just a weird game. Forget it. Move on.

If somehow these incompetent muppets actually appointed Jesus H Christ himself as our manager, it'd only take one season before they decided to crucify him rather than take themselves into accountability.

Hope is dead under Moshiri and Kenwright.

Their White Elephant Stadium, and our future, is hopeless whilst they're in charge.

I sort of see your point, but yesterday's game has actually caused me some pause for thought: What if Jordan hadn't have kept the score down? We might have suffered a really confidence-sapping heavy defeat, not to mention inflicted a goal deficit that might have been crippling to our future in the Premier League.

Everybody knows that Man Utd are a pacy outfit when given oceans of space to play into and, for me, Dyche's tactics were suicidal in nature. I think the commentators said the first half produced 26 chances for the home team – a record number in any game this season. I stand to be corrected on that information if I misheard him.

I haven't seen such a game since Martinez was in charge, and I can't, for the life of me, understand why Dyche opted for the open game plan. The only thing I can think of is that he knew energy levels were way down and it was his way of combating the impact of that?

It could have been catastrophic, but we got away with it, albeit we ended pointless.

Don, have another sherry mate and calm down.

United starting 11.
Goalie: 𧷤k per week
Right-back: 㿞M
Left-back: 㿊M
Centre-backs: 㿷M & 㿣M
Right-midfield: 㿷M
Left-midfield: 䀋M
Centre-midfield: 㿞M
Centre-midfield: On loan
Centre-midfield: Academy
Striker: Academy

Subs: 㿞M, 㿏M, centre-back a World Cup winner.
Suspended centre-midfielder on 𧹈k per week.

Man Utd are almost ٟB in debt and can continue to spend.

We haven't broken our 㿙M transfer record in 5 years.
Have a wealthy owner who can't invest in the team, restricted due to Financial Fair Play!

Financial fair play for who? Is it to protect ourselves from over-spending or is it to protect the elite?

I actually doubt this, because he completely went away from a system that has had his players protecting each other by staying close together, and making his team hard to play against, and this definitely wasn't the case yesterday?

Ben@13, says the most sensible thing, when he says that it's hard to imagine a more difficult assignment than keeping Everton up, so if Sean Dyche achieves this, he will have done an extraordinary job imo, and hopefully he can be the man who will bring stability back into Everton Football Club. (Even if we get relegated, I'd keep Dyche, because I believe he his what we have needed for years)

Barry if your energy levels are down, you want your mate next to you and not 15/20 yards away. I would anyway but I couldn't run!

Overall though, Dyche is doing a very good job for us. We've been outclassed just twice since he took over - yesterday and the RS game.

In each case the opposition had far superior players and played well. Unfortunately we cannot live with that.

Unfortunately we were never going to race up the table to safety but the remaining games - with Dyche at the helm - give us a good chance of staying up.

Do we look more resilient and competitive?

In most games yes, away to Arsenal, Liverpool and United no, we've turned up and been beaten before the game started really.

I can see what Dyche is attempting, and at least they look a bit more mentally stronger.

Compared to Lampard and his first 10 games I'm not sure the points total is much greater?

Lampard beat Chelsea, Leeds, Man United, Newcastle so I think it's about the same?

He has done really well to put us in a position where we may survive, given his starting point. If he manages to lift us out or not, he has to stay.

However, he did get in wrong on Saturday switching to a midfield two. He should put Garner into a midfield 3 and hopefully get DCL onto the bench at home to Fulham. They have lost their 4 four league games by the way.

Lost their last 4 you say, do they also have a striker that has not scored yet this season?

Nailed on cert 1-0 to Fulham with that striker scoring the winner.

Everton that.

The thing that has been disappointing with Onana all season has been not so much his ability but his lack of nuisance factor and his lazy demeanour.

Being young means there will always be a greenness, yes, but at his age, he should be busting a gut most games and the size of him, he should be a threat aerially but he plays games like he's watching from the sidelines.

I'd take him out when Doucouré is back and start going with Garner and Gana next to Doucouré and see if we can start grabbing control of some games.

There was even an episode of Ted Lasso where Richmond FC had been on a terrible run until they visited Goodisin Park.

I tend to be a pessimistic Blue but I think we might have too much to do to stay up. Any scenario would surely need wins against Fulham and Bournemouth: sounds easy but I fear if we go a goal down in those games.

Newcastle at home looks really difficult the way they are playing. Man City are likely to beat us. We're then looking at away games and I never fancy us away from home. I know we tend to find a way but this is agonising looking at other fixtures, especially given the few options we have up front.

It's sad that we are in the same position as last season with a weaker squad. I was all for giving Lampard time but I think it might well have cost us not getting rid of him sooner.

Sean Dyche then chose to abandon it and revert to a high press style that's already had disastrous consequences for his predecessor and be shown to be totally unsuited to the personnel at his disposal, and in none other fixture than an away game at Man Utd.

It beggars belief and harks back to some of the insanity under his predecessor, and it was only the heroic's of Pickford and a lot of good fortune, that we weren't 3 or 4 down by half time.

We were continually undone in the first half by a stream of simple balls over the top into the acre's of space behind, and the improvements we've seen in recent performances with a low block was a thing of the past.

The likes of Michael Keane's lack of pace was badly exposed as he reverted to the hapless, pedestrian, reactive excuse of a defender that we'd previously become accustomed, and as for Ben Godfrey, his performance defied description.

Pragmatism was something that was in short supply under his predecessor, ultimately to his cost, and until Saturday it appeared it was something his replacement had in spades.

In simple terms if it works exploit it, and that's been a low block, keeping it tight & exploiting either breakaways or set pieces, which has paid some dividends. It may not have the hallmark of the “school of science”, but that's well and truly consigned to the annals of history, and if our recent style works and can keep us up, then we need to revert to it as a matter of urgency.