Everton announce MK Dons friendly

These type of frendlies really annoy me. We're not in League 1, so why play a League 1 side? Play some top opposition for goodness sake.

Play a heavily youth based side, plus good fitness for everyone involved...

Maybe not the level we should be playing against - but a good warm up, for hopefully more intense pre-season games.

From a purely selfish point of view this is fantastic news, I live 10 miles from Milton Keynes so this is a great opportunity for me take my lads 10 &12 to see Everton play, even if its the youth team plus a couple of first teamers. COYB.

These type of friendlies are exactly what we want. Not money spinners. Against english football league opposition. Chance to blood youngsters. Against a team hopefully who it matters to and want to win. What I don't want is travelling thousands of miles for money or marketing opportunities against 'big names' who are doing the same and offer no real example of the type of team or football we are going to be facing next season as we are not in Europe! Our new money is hopefully giving us a temporary break from this, allowing pre-season to be PURELY for football reasons and to start strong. Top by november. Draws and scrappy wins in december. Marquis signing in January. Consistent run that keeps us top by easter. Evertonian support taking us over the line as champions in may. Heard it here first folks. Love it!

Tony Rio that's the spirit!

All the way in 2016-17

COYB.

Good point Stephen, my niece and nephew, 7&4, are in Hitchen and despite never seeing any PL football are talking about Arsenal and Chelsea... because that's who others at school like.

Time to make them Blue!

Finally. I've Been waiting for this for 9 years since I moved here and they built the stadium as a 15 minute walk from my home. I'm going to buy every kind of dual named scarf there is :P

Absolutely agree with Tony Rio (up to the top by November bit!)

Pre-season friendlies should be a steady build up involving stronger opposition as you go along. In this way fitness and adaption to playing styles can be assessed as well as the readiness of less experienced players.
Does anyone know when players involved in the Euros are expected back given that they are entitled to a break from football altogether for, I think, three weeks.

Let's go out there to win every friendly match we play, and show that Everton are winners. I don't want to hear that a defeat to a team from a lower division was a worthwhile exercise because we 'blooded' some youngsters. Kids in Milton Keynes will grow up thinking that Everton are crap if we lose to them, even if it is only a friendly. It's time we set about rebuilding our reputation.

Carlisle would be a great day out.

Wonder if big ginger Ron could sort us out a friendly against Feyenoord in Rotterdam for old times sake.

I fully agree, Chris. We should aim to win every match!

OK.......
which Dons player are we after?

These type of friendlies aren't what we want, we've been playing crap like this for decades and haven't won a thing, they're good for nothing.

I agree with Chris Owens. we have to rebuild our reputation, it's been dragged through the mud and belittled, even by our "chairman" Kenwright for his own personal gain so that any phoney achievement like last 16 in the Europa League can be trumpeted as a triumph and reflect well on him.

The papers swallowed Kenwright's "little Everton" spiel and so did some of our fans to their eternal shame. Time to step up the quality expectation levels in all aspects of the club – and that includes pre-season friendlies.

Paul, has or did Kenwright ever referred to us as "little Everton"? I see it on here every now and again but I don't recall it actually being said by him? (I'm not a Kenwright apologist by the way).

Just interested to know.

Nick E, 6, Lets hope your nephews see Everton in our Royal Blue gear. Not like the final of last years pre season in Singapore.The game was shown live to an Asian TV audience of billions.
Arsenal wearing its world famous uniform was greeted by half of a huge crowd dressed in Red and White colours. Our team looked dismal in a shite outfit that bore not a trace of our Royal Blue.
Friends at the game were also dismayed that pre game stalls did a roaring trade in Arsenal replicas while not one Everton outlet could be found.

Of course not Pete. Just look at the rest of Paul's post, nasty vitriolic and entirely presumptive. Another one of a significant contingent of TWers whose Modus Operandi seems to be that if they fill their posts with enough bile then no-one will dare disagree with them. They repeat their made up narrative to themselves and each other often enough that they start to believe it above all else. He even implies that to not hate Kenwright is somehow shameful.

As a general rule there are certain phrases that if they appear in someone's post, it's best to just ignore them, as they're not the type to thrive on any kind of reasonable discussion. They're the football fan version of extremists. No disagreement from the sacred narrative can be tolerated, you must express your fervent support of it at all times. It adds nothing to any discussion is frankly just boring.

This thread is about a pre-season friendly, but somehow that becomes an opportunity to bash Kenwright and claim that he's only interested in self-promotion. Utter nonsense, and unpleasant nonsense at that.