Foxes edge Bangkok friendly

Tyias started as a centre half but got into England Under-21s at RB where he looked exceptionally good............ in the mould of John Stones when he first came to us so either could deputise at RB.

Barry is already in the bag – as is Henin and Bosic. Add Gibson and Kone and all these young kids and we already have a ’new’ squad.

Don’t get bloody greedy!!!

On the football front, I know very little about tactics. 442 and all that business. I’m not really interested in technical skills because a high level of skill is now quite commonplace. My enjoyment comes from unlikely places. Watching Barry closing down, appreciating the intelligence of Oscar and watching how he so cleverly pinches the ball. I even enjoy how Suarez goes through the eye of a needle.

We are now linked with Itsu. Now there’s a boy to watch. OK, he can run, dribble, centre and shoot. So can many others. What I like about this little skinny fella is his attitude. Getting the ball off him is a bit like taking a bone off a pitbull terrier. In one particular game I was completely mesmerized by the way he retained the ball after he appeared to have lost it. It was amazing. It must have happened half a dozen times. The defender thought he had won the ball but at the very last second a quick little foot would come out and Itsu would have the ball again. A bit like a magic trick.

So don’t be kidded,. My football knowledge is very limited but, hopefully, my posts contain snippets of interest.

The greatest joy, of course, comes from watching Roberto Martinez transform our wonderful club.

Perhaps he has not signed any extension to his original contract with Brugge and now wants to try ’the road not taken’?

DonÂ’t know why Brugge are trying to offload him and have no idea how his value soared. I think heÂ’d go for a lot less. Being Belgium and playing on the wing, theyÂ’ll try to tout him as another Hazard but he ainÂ’t. Not yet anyway.

Left footed, quick and tricky, heÂ’s a decent player but have I seen anything about him that set him apart? Without a doubt, yes. Apart from being an intelligent footballer, he has the ability to hold his head high and look all around whilst in possession and moving fast or slow. Try it sometime. ItÂ’s not easy. Most of our lads look at the ground.

DonÂ’t know where this is going but I like a good rumour and this one came from the EFC site.

He should stick to being a centre-half. He did absolutely nothing for England U21s or against Tranmere as a RB. Move forward, pass backwards, occasionally cross to nobody. Nowhere near the level of Garbutt let alone Coleman.

As you say I am hardly in the minority in that regard which is why I am always encouraging my five-a-side team-mates to help each other (me!) by keeping up the (constructive) verbal communication. It is amazing how many of them seem to have taken a vow of silence and then look disgusted when the ball doesnÂ’t miraculously end up at their feet.

Talking of 5-a-side, I presume a ToffeeWeb team has been assembled and are well prepared for the imminent competition! Good luck lads (and ladies???)!

I know nothing about Besic – wish we’d sign him so he could actually play.

Switch to Wolfsburg guy who declares an interest.

Spoke to a few Thai Evertonians and a farang Leicester supporter who it turns out will be sitting right behind me!

Game is a sell out, no tickets available on the door. Storm clouds are looming and thereÂ’s a bit of rain at the moment so with any luck itÂ’ll blow over before kick off.

DidnÂ’t see it harold but thatÂ’s a horses mouth right there. Unusual for Robbie to be so publicly revealing about such a hot topic. Was it a rushed answer, from the hip? Did he think it was off air? Would be very happy if it were true.

"Calling him Itsu instead of Atsu. Sorry mate." Bless you. Harold.

Joel, Hibbert, Distin, Duffy, Garbutt, McCarthy, Barry, McGeady, Naismith, Osman, Pienaar.

Subs: Stones, Alcaraz, Gibson, McAleny, Long, Browning, Kennedy, Hope, Lundstram, Stanek.

4 defenders, 2 defensive midfielders and 4 attacking midfielders is what is effectively a 4-6-0 formation - almost enough to bring me out in a cold sweat thinking Martinez has all been a dream and we're still stuck with Moyes!

Many players to come back from holiday and also to be signed, I know......but still sends a shudder down my spine.

These games are of little consequence as we know what most of these players can do except it will give opportunities to some of the younger players to show what they have.

I'm not really worried about missing target men at this stage as the result doesn't matter as long as things fall into place when it matters in 3 weeks.

Garbutt looked good and should have played the whole match. What's the point of seeing Hibbo play left wing back? Chris Long didn't do much but looked a decent player all the same; he's got something. Browning defended pretty well but looked uncomfortable getting the ball beyond the halfway line. McAleny did precisely nowt and Hope and Lundstram even less. Robles showed us that the young Czech keeper has a chance of becoming our number two keeper this season. Naismith was OK and looked like he wanted to make things happen, unlike the majority of his team mates.

Perhaps we were watching hibbert at LB because Garbutt was knackered or had some minor injury? Preseason is not the time for taking unnecessary risks. I'm sure Martinez isn't actually planning to use Hibbert there.

Either way, we've still got Kone, Mirallas, Baines, Jags, Howard, Coleman, Barkley, Oviedo, Besic and hopefully Lukaku + 2 other attacking players to come in. Thats virtually an entire team containing our best, most creative players, who will be required to break down teams like Leicester who defend deep and get all their players behind the ball.

What I think we learned was that a few of the younger players do have first team potential(Garbutt specifically, but Browning also looked good defensively)....and some are probably not of the required standard yet. Martinez also tried some different formations which will have impacted our performance.

I saw today 8 players who need to be kicked out of my beloved Goodison Palace. Sorry guys, the kids are just not good enough.

I genuinely despise the Barry and McCarthy partnership and off the two thought Barry was twice the player. We massively overpaid for James! He's no better than Carsley was and he cost ٟ.9 mill not 㾹 mil.

It's so depressing trotting around the globe with no new players and no strikers bringing the Everton brand to new audiences. We certainly gained no extra fans today.

That is the stupidest comment I think I’ve ever seen on ToffeeWeb. Did you watch any games last season?

I don’t think any Everton fan would argue that McCarthy was in our top 5 best players last season. Talking tripe pal.

If we do not get Lukaku, then we have no striker to start the season. Kone has not played a competitive game for ages and cannot be expected to play 90 minutes of Premier League football at the moment. Traore is another Â’maybeÂ’ player who has not shown enough IMO to really excite the fans. We are edging towards the start of the season and so far we have made no Â’properÂ’ signings. I do not consider Barry in that category.

Other teams have substantially strengthened and we are in danger of having a poor start to the season judging by present form.

McCarthy was one of our rocks last season

A) McCarthey and Barry were really very good last season.

B) You ruined a very good bag of crisps.

You Sir, are a scoundrel of the highest order.

Never mind the dress rehearsals let’s see what happens from August 16th onwards.

But I would agree that the ponderous nature of our build-up play has to be addressed and the sooner the better, being patient to create chances is one thing but being over-cautious is another. Hopefully we get the striker in that we are so sadly lacking and for all of Naismith’s qualities he is not a lone centre-forward by any stretch of the imagination.

We have to have the full first-team squad available from the get-go and we need to have a more cutting edge to our play – but today is not really the day to judge the team and I will wait to see how we perform in the remaining friendlies but I fear we still haven’t yet gained that killer instinct or desire to take the game by the scruff of the neck – Rome wasn’t built in a day but we do need to be showing a great deal more than we did today.

Robles continues to scare the shit out of me and I think Bobby’s confidence in him is misplaced.

Our World Cup boys seem to be having a much longer holiday than those at the Top Four clubs, so here’s hoping they can hit the ground running on just a couple of week’s match practice.

But as everyone tells me, our manager is a genius beyond all others, so I guess he knows better than his peers.

There was nothing at stake, there was no points or cups to be won yet a lot of people are talking as if we are in a relegation battle. Chill out!!!

I think we will give them more of a game when the season starts but Leicester will be at home and will be full of confidence and determined to get off to a good start. If we don’t buy a couple of strikers soon be prepared for the same sort of start that we suffered last season.

What World Cup players at what top 4 clubs are you talking about?

It was a PR exercise, nothing more. It canÂ’t even be considered good for fitness, given that the players that went have had to do so much travelling in such a short space of time.

Forget about it.

A similar fixture arranged closer to home would have provided much better preparation. The only reason for playing so far, far away can only be obligatory to satisfy commercial interests and respect for distant fans.

Hopefully, we will now start preparing in earnest!

If we turn up and look impressive, the bond with our sponsors is strengthened, Chang’s own profile is raised and unaffiliated Thai fans – of whom I imagine there are quite a few – decide to follow us, increasing the presence of our "brand" in that part of the world, which will bring us extra prestige and casheroonie. It was effectively an exhibition game.

It was never likely that Hibbo would run the length of the pitch balancing the ball on the end of his nose, to the delight of the crowd, but a slightly less dismal performance would have seen our stock rise.

I wont go into the negetives as there were too many to mention, but IÂ’m certain theyÂ’ve all been covered by now!!!

Nothing but a PR exercise, as has been said, and a way for the lad to get some match practice, before shaking hands with those ladyboys - whatever they are.

If our Billy dosnt get his wallet out and give Roberto the transfer funds he needs, start worrying. Its a disgrace that at the moment Everton donÂ’t have a recognised striker.

However, Everton FC fulfilled their duties to the sponsors and will I am sure have impressed the locals with their friendliness and approachability but it was never going to be a match that would attract a whole new group of fans to Everton FC. It seemed like a hastily arranged game for non footballing reasons.

I donÂ’t think Everton FC have ever gone in for impressing the locals in any of their overseas sojourns even when Everton FC were at their pomp, maybe it is a fault rather than a virtue but it is as far as I know the way we have always been during the build-up to a new season.

That is their job, the reason they are paid huge amounts of money.

DonÂ’t think the rest of us would have a job for long if we werenÂ’t willing and able to put ourselves through the mill every now and then.

After the game there were around 200 local fans waiting to applaud our lads getting on the coach and gets pics and autographs, only about 20 at the Leicester coach.

So all in all a good pr exercise that the locals appreciated.

As for saying that weÂ’ve never gone in for impressing the locals, IÂ’ve simply no idea what you mean. If it were true (which I rather doubt) then it would be a self defeating attitude to take. In fact, from what I can tell from the OS, we did a fair amount of pressing the flesh, etc. ItÂ’s just that we didnÂ’t really turn up for the game of football at the centre of our visit!

It was a good PR exercise Eric no doubt. Shame there wasnÂ’t any decent football for the locals to watch. Really dire match

Despises Barry/McCarthy partnership.

Rates McCarthy the same as Carsley.

Next heÂ’ll be telling is that Baines canÂ’t hit a free kick, and Coleman is simply not fit enough for professional football!!!

First half was ok and I thought Barry and Garbutt stood out. Second half was very disappointing in which almost every one was poor, the main problem being that players werenÂ’t finding space and making themselves available, with the result that we were passing backwards and sideways but going nowhere.

So what to make of it, ok lots of our 1st team didnÂ’t play but I have to say my confidence is slightly dented!

On the plus side, Garbutt and Long showed plenty of promise, the squad is getting fitter, the World Cup lads will soon be back, Besic is now with us, Henen and Galloway will join the U21s and 2 or 3 useful loan signings are packing their bags. As for Lukaku. We certainly need the big fella but till he arrives, IÂ’m saying nothing.

IÂ’m also saying nothing about the painfully slow buildup with too many passes. Roberto knows exactly what he wants and will eventually sort things out.

I’m surprised Leicester had such a following – and suspect that most of their "fans" were there cos the tickets were free on condition of attendance. Their lack of football knowledge epitomised by the screamers near the commentary mic every time the Foxes crossed the half way line – that’s not how Thais watch football.

The cynic in me suspects with such screaming prowess those ladies normally hang out in the entertainment district, where tickets were being handed out like confetti.

Also bear in mind although we have a Thai sponsor, this was a King Power-promoted event. I didnÂ’t see Chang branding anywhere, although no doubt we had to provide the opposition to make it an all Thai affair, corporately.

I meant from a purely footballing point of view that Everton teams of the past werenÂ’t particularly interested in impressing the locals in pre-season friendlies and I acknowledged that the club and the players would have been accommodating as regards PR etc.

I’m not a great follower of pre-season in general but I can’t remember any time when the Blues have gone on tour and have blown away the locals with their footballing abilities – if I’m wrong, I apologize but that doesn’t mean it was an excuse for a poor showing.

Last yearÂ’s trip to the USA was memorable but only because of the quality of the teams involved and I donÂ’t think we would have gained that many supporters from those games based on purely footballing merit.

I wonder what the Leicester City sponsors thought of their team’s performance today – not a lot I bet.

Either something about our pre-season regime has us lagging behind (perhaps aiming to peak for start of the season?) or alot of our reserve players are just very average.

Anyway, it doesnÂ’t really matter though we could all do with a confidence boost or two given the relatively inactive transfer incomings. Certainly we are crying out for returning/new blood in the goal creating/scoring departments as we look very pedestrian there at the moment.

Pity, as the lad was doing well. IÂ’d like to see some more of him. Likewise Chris Long, who looked dangerous. He didnÂ’t achieve anything, but looking dangerous is a good start.

Meanwhile back to the overseas transfer targets.

In all seriousness, we played the second half with youth team players like Long, McAleny, Lundstram and Hope in the top half of the pitch. People shouldnÂ’t be surprised that we struggled to break down an experienced Leicester side and generally looked a bit crap. I donÂ’t think it was lack of effort, simply lack of ability and experience.

If we manage to get Lukaku, with Barkley in behind and Mirallas and Pienaar on the wings, I think weÂ’ll see a different performance and outcome.

Putting those kids in the front line will destroy them as well as reduce our European experience to a bad dream.

ItÂ’s not as though too many of our lot featured in the final stages,is it? Jags, Bainsy and Mirallas hardly enhanced their reputations and although Tim and Barks got rave reviews, I canÂ’t believe they are knackered by their efforts.

Put it this way, when have you ever cared or even thought about pre-season once the season starts? I never have. It doesn’t mean a damn thing, a game like today’s – and it was Leicesters game anyway – all arranged by them, for them – it was even promoted by their sponsor, not ours. We were the away team, hence the black kit.

Forget about it – it was a run-out for some of our bit-part players. Ross was only there for PR for example, he didn’t ever play. Meaningless. The Porto game will be much better and we’ll have our first team back soon. Relax.

OK?

The second consideration when watching a game in Thailand, is to appreciate the climate. Having played last month in Sa Keow on the Cambodian border it feels like your head is going to explode after you make a sprint. You are downing endless amounts of re-hydration fluids and water and wearing ice vests when you come off. Bangkok's humidity for players with no acclimatisation will have been horrendous.

It's business off the pitch that is important pre-season, and that's a different story.

McCarthy, Barry, Baines and Coleman fit the bill - the rest don't have the will, or arrogance that's required just yet.

Bobby needs to change the mindset as much as the footballing style - easier said than done.

Too many of you still view Everton as a dogged team who need to grind out results by first prioritising defense and then sneaking goals. We have 4 players now in the defensive mid role and we should only be playing one against most teams in the prem. Against Man City away play two fair enough, but our football is so pedestrian with Barry and McCarthy in there. They slow the ball down and so our only fast way of moving the ball from defence to attack is with our fullbacks. We have fantastic fullbacks who are very adept at doing this but when teams set up purely to nullify this threat we have no Plan B as we cannot attack through the middle with those two in there.

What exactly does McCarthy offer for 㾹M that Carsley didn't for less than 2?

I don't understand the schadenfreude derived from the collapse of the Remy deal, especially when, as other posters have pointed out, Liverpool will merely go in for someone else who may well be more effective (Rodriguez? Bony?). But, as Trevor as pointed out and as I've argued in other threads, Lukaku will not go to Liverpool. Mourinho will not sell to a title rival, and Chelski will not risk another Sturridge-esq calamity.

We also should not worry too much about this result. We are not as sharp as Leicester, because we had more World Cup players. Anyone looking at this team and expecting a top four finish next season is completely out of sync with reality in my opinion, but that said, I expect a good season because we have very good players.

Having watched the game, I think the first half was by far the better of the two, while I know that it is about competitive game fitness, I could also not comprehend just how casual some of the participants appeared to be (I know conditions, etc) but these are supposed to be giving the Manager and coaching staff a chance to elevate them to the Senior Squad, on such performances, or have I got that wrong?

Up to now, I could only say that Luke Garbutt, seems to be the only candidate, to be able to make that transition.

As for the goalkeeper, I have said this also on previous threads, Tim Howard (quite rightly No 1) cannot be expected to play every game on all four fronts; Robles frightens the life out of me with his lack of positional sense. I can't help but think that we really slipped up by not getting Pantilimon on a free from Man City. This lad Stanek has gone all the way to Bangkok, as understudy to Robles... why, when changes were made for the second half, did he not have a chance?

Let's hope so !

Just sayin'.

Apart from Garbutt, the youngsters have talent but lack experience and mental maturity. Fear of getting things wrong dominated their actions and led to mistakes. Not quite so much for Long who has a bit of cockiness about him and it was easy to see why Stubbsy rated him so highly. Of course, Roberto was hoping one or two of these lads would strengthen us in the weaker areas. How he sees things after 2 pre-season games, I haven't a clue but he will now have a better idea of the kind of players we need to bring in.

Cue, Luke Garbage or would that be Look Garbage or Look Garbutt!!! It is a dilemma! :-)