Magic but erratic — Deulofeu's departure invokes mixed emotions

His last regular appearances were last season, a very disappointing season as a whole for everyone. We've got a new manager, and we all know it's taking time to get the players acclimatised to his demands for pressing. So much so that, until the Man City game, a lot of posts on TW were saying we needed a complete overhaul, that the existing squad could not, or would not, meet Koeman's demands. Well, it looks, based on the last two games, that we're finally turning a corner, with more organisation being apparent, the players pressing well on the back of that organisation, and the team gelling much better, with visibly better team spirit.

But Delboy hasn't been involved. He hasn't been given a sustained chance. Like the youngsters, Holgate and Davies, they weren't involved until very recently, but look what the outcome is since. When the team gels, there's less pressure on individual players, they 'flow' more, they want the ball, they work for each other. Look at Barkley and Mirallas for example, very effective of late, and enjoying their games.

I don't know if Delboy would respond in a similar way, obviously you could never know unless you try. But we're not going to get the chance to see. I would have liked to see Delboy getting some consistent playing time at the moment, in a team that's visibly gelling. Players like that can produce real magic when the team is gelling like that, just as Tom Davies produced that magic against City.

The irony is that, for the pressing game, with its high intensity, sustaining 90 minute performance for a full season is a challenge, perhaps for most players, and using the full resources of a squad, with impact substitutions, comes into its own. In this sense, it may not matter so much that Delboy might not have the stamina for 90 min, because someone of his talents can turn a game as an impact sub. Or be in the starting line-up, and be subbed depending on how a game is going.

A trouble with dispensing with players of this natural ability is, you don't know what you've got till it's gone, by which time it might be too difficult to replace.

Remember Rush struggling to get games despite his goals cause his all around work rate wasn't good enough? Tevez flourished there cause he busts his arse. Portuguese league would be a better fit for Geri.

I think he's more suited to continental football, but I guess we'll see. Give us an interest in Italian football anyway.

Carry on Ronald...

I think we can safely say that if GD was really as good as some people like to make out, he wouldn't be going on loan and wouldn't now be at a 5th club (I'm counting us twice as there was a gap in between) in as many years would he? Is he just another Mario Balotelli in terms of his potential not actually turning into reality?

He's only recently given Holgate and Davies a chance – apparently they weren't ready before, despite turning in decent 1st team performances. All-in-all, if Koeman has a master plan, by and large it's lost on me, so I am puzzled by the way he's handled Geri.

Still, this a loan move. Let's hope the experience of building confidence and skill in a less intense arena than the PL will also make him reflect on where he got it wrong here. He's still young enough to maybe learn where he went wrong in the PL, and then come back as a better PL player than he is at the moment. If not, he may impress enough in Italy that we'll get a decent return on our expenditure, hopefully...

The biggest advantage that Koeman has on us all, is that he sees the players every single day of the week, we might not always agree with him or his selections and tactics but we have to believe that he means what he says in relation to him doing what is best for the club first and individual players second.

Coleman says that nobody is guaranteed a start in the team and that means that only those who are willing to put in the hard yards in training and on a matchday will be selected to play, which is how it should be - even if it means we might at times be more functional than entertaining.

I'm sure the entertainment factor will re-surface once the confidence is at a suitable level, which is beginning to happen, and the players feel more comfortable with the managers tactics, which again is beginning to happen. We'll have a few more setbacks during the rest of the season, but we look more likely to earn more points than we did six or seven weeks ago and therefore the manager deserves to make the calls as he sees fit - even if we don't always like those calls.

Koeman has carried out his assessments on the players. Those he feels may not be up to the methods he is implementing will be moved on. The board at the end of the season should extend koeman and his back room staff with five year contracts. Why? Koeman is building a squad capable of winning trophies. Continuity is crucial if we are to be successful both on and off the field.

He doesn't strike me as a player characterised by 'when the going gets tough, the tough get going', but he might be the type of player to add that bit of magic that makes even more of a difference when we're playing well. The type of player who might have come on at 80 min in the Palace game, and made a difference then (I know it's academic because we won anyway, but if we hadn't won, or had lost, it's a question we might have been asking.

A 'luxury' player in a sense, yes, but I would say that it's the teams at the top, playing well, who can use those players most effectively, the game changers. Less useful when things aren't going well, more useful when they are. Some players are like that and worth keeping, it's just a fact of life. I believe the 'pressing' game is largely an idea of the moment, which has some merits, but is not something to replace football brains and flair. Look at Liverpool, there's an awful lot of running around like headless chickens, and whether their pressing game is sustainable is yet to be confirmed.

We look more likely to earn points than we did six or seven weeks ago, because the penny - or pennies - are finally dropping with Koeman.

I am, have been, a great admirer of Phil Jagielka, but, he's gone, he's been gone for a while, we could all see it. We were never gong to get out of the crap run while he was marshalling the defence . .yet Koeman persisted game after fucking game.

We all knew Steklenberg was costing us points, but again it took an injury for Koeman to stop banging his head against that particular wall too.

We despaired when He told us Davies and Holgate were not ready. They clearly were . .to anyone who understands the game.

Its not the truth we resent, its the fact that we have known his truths for fucking years . . . and its not the changes to the team he has made we don't like, its the fact that he has taken so long to make them.

Hopefully our season is turning and we can build something good for next year. I just wish Koeman wasn't so far behind the rest of us in his thinking. He will probably realise Deulofeu offered something different to anything else we have, but it`ll be a few weeks before he realises it

He will get more time on the ball over there but I predict he will come back to us with his tail between his legs spouting how he's going to knuckle down and make it difficult for the manager etc etc.

Koeman has now had half a season to reflect on what he has and I am sure knows who he wants to keep and those he will allow to go.

Deulofeu hasn't impressed as much as we all would have liked this season and with Mirallas doing better and Lennon a better option in wingback play perhaps Delboy would be better elsewhere but it's not hard to see why Barca and Seville didn't really rate him.

Everton seem to have more strength in depth now with Schneiderlin, Gana, McCarthy and Besic ready to replace the likes of Baines and Barry.

Assuming Davies and Barkley continue their progress then the remainder of the season should be worth watching given the competition for places and the new found team confidence which seemed so lacking a few weeks ago.

They have realised that he isn't messing them around and he means what he says unlike the last fella who pampered and pandered to them for a few years, massaging their egos and telling them they were world-beaters whilst finishing 11th and sending them out week after week in the same formation playing exactly the same way, too often to the same losing end?

Could it be that Davies and Holgate were ready when he put them in and not when you think they were because you somehow 'know the game' more than Ronald Koeman does? Afterall, he saw them day in and day out in training and maybe they embraced his methods and ideas and developed to the extent that they were ready for a sustained run in the team, which he is now giving them?

Could it be that he didn't trust Joel and Joel wasn't actually that good but that Joel was determined to prove him wrong and actually applied himself and improved under the guidance of Koeman's goalkeeping coach. He got a chance and took it and Koeman has now stuck with him?

Deulofeu had marvellous feet, but not the lungs or the will to play in the English league. It's a pity. We desperately need a central defender and possibly another striker.

Interesting times. Three results and we're a different site, not to mention a different team.

In the other corner an Everton fan who posts on ToffeeWeb.

One doesn't understand the management game as well as the other.

You could not make it up.

He may be a decent lad but if he had been a product of our Academy he would have been released years ago and be plying his trade in League One at best. It will be amazing if he cuts the mustard in Milan.

I think Ronald Koeman probably is a better judge of a player than most of us, he has not decided on a whim that he doesn't like Gerry, he sees him day after day in training and has obviously seen things he doesn't like.

I'll miss Gerry, he had magic in his boots, but he was probably a luxury we could not afford.

Time is the key, he hasn't got much of it, a three year contract to be exact and he wants Europe within that three years, I am sure that's the objective he has been set.

So there is no time for those with even a small question mark against their ability. They are moved on.. expect more.

I can see us making Europe, maybe even this year, but there is no room for sentiment, no room for 80%.. Barry, Lennon, Jags, Gibson, will be gone, that's football.

The king is dead, long live the king..

Darren @16 - "I just wish Koeman was not so far behind the rest of us in his thinking" -

"We despaired when He told us Davies and Holgate were not ready. They clearly were... to anyone who understands the game"

You seriously think you "understand the game" better than Koeman or that ToffeeWebbers are somehow ahead of Koeman in our thinking. Unlike real football managers (but like pundits) we ToffeeWebbers are not measured by actual real results so we never actually make mistakes – but our views are still total tosh at least half the time on average... and some posters have higher tosh average tosh quotient than others .

Quality post that! Hopefully, now that Koeman understands the game as well as you, we are on the right track!

There are 2 types of muscle, A & B; they only combine one way...you 'can' with work, put stamina on sprint but not the other way around. There have been plenty of middle distance runners who can throw in lap after lap of (say) 63 seconds only to be left for dead on the back straight by the sprinters who acquired the stamina to just sit on their shoulder, then turn on the afterburner... Body type does help as well, so there is a slight excuse for Rom and Ross.

They wont of course try to counter the points – they too read them as they were raised – but like Koeman , they dismissed them . . . long before the penny dropped.

"You seriously think you understand the game better than Koeman or that ToffeeWebers are ahead of Koeman in our thinking."

I may not know as much about the game, but know for a fact that these mere ToffeeWebbers were calling for the changes which have brought Koeman success, long before it actually dawned on him.

The man had one major flaw in his game, he was very slow. Now if we are going to equate his abilities as a player to his abilities as a coach then yes... He is slower, but hopefully he will get there.

Cue the start of an appalling run of results with Jags giving away penalties, (2 in one game), like early Christmas presents. A minor injury saw Jags out and Funes Mori back for the West Ham game, a 2-0 win and a clean sheet. Back came Jags the next week and it all went to pot again. I think Koeman knew the writing was on the wall for Jags by then and the final straw was the needless second booking and sending off that gave Funes Mori his chance again and Jags has been marginalised ever since. Perhaps Koeman knew even earlier than some of us that Jagielka had lost that yard of pace, as far back as the game in which he gave away two penalties. But, he was fair in giving the club captain the chance to regain his form, which sadly didn't happen

End result? We have two younger, faster defenders in Funes Mori, a regular in the Argentine starting line-up, and Holgate, with the one wise older head m, Williams forming a quite formidable partnership at the back. Clean sheets are mounting up and we are looking hard to beat.

Perhaps we need to realise that Koeman is by no means a sentimental manager, but he does give his squad a fair chance to prove themselves, whether it's on the playing pitch or on the training ground. We'll never be privy to what went on between Geri and Koeman in training but for whatever reasons I think it's safe to assume that Koeman gave Geri a fair chance to prove he could adapt to what he was asking for and that Geri simply couldn't produce the goods.

I wish Geri luck at Milan and hope if he does come back to us, he will be a more complete player, but of course, only time will tell. For now, I agree with those who think we should get behind Koeman and his 'quiet revolution' as he seems to be putting together a pretty decent team at present with a fair mixture of youth and experience and is definitely getting something extra from players like Barkley and Mirallas. Again, time will tell, but it's beginning to look good.

But ToffeeWebbers demanded all sorts of things - its like throwing darts at a dart board – some of them land, some of them miss but if you throw enough of them and don't count (or forget) the misses you'll eventually get 180. It's not indicative of some superior superpower wisdom or ability.

I don't think you can rightfully accuse any on here of blindingly following Koeman (or our previous two managers). Managers like all of us are not unbiased neutrals – they have a message they want to get across and have their own agenda, so it's important to sift through what they say and not accept it at face value.

Martinez was a master at "alternative facts". And at times they start to talk total nonsense or stick to their world view despite all the evidence to the contrary - but I don't think that is a fair criticism of Koeman so far.

Firstly,compliments on your patience in not posting your regular slagging of the manager until the joy of the Palace win had died down.

Do you think you know the players and their capabilities better than Koeman? He works with them 6 days a week,you watch them for 90 minutes once a fortnight.

Do you think it possible that the manager thought Holgate and Davies were not ready at the time you were clamouring for their selection. That given a couple more months of training with Koeman and taking in his requirements they would then be ready? It would appear, given the performances of Tom and Mason, he has handled their development perfectly.

Your dislike for Koeman aside and your hope that he would walk out of the club, do you genuinely believe you "understand the game" more than Koeman?

Clutching at straws for you to say people blindly follow Koeman because he was a top (although slow) player.

It's obvious to anyone reading ToffeeWeb you don't like the manager,you have recently stated you want him out. Your choice but you are in a tiny minority.

I don't remember Koeman as being particularly slow as a player. If he was, it didn't seem to hold him back. Awareness of the game and positional sense as a player is as important as speed .

I am sure he is a very 'aware' manager. Aware of the history of the club, expectations of fans, aware of the current financial situation, what's possible or not and by now definitely aware of players abilities. Although he has only been with us half a season, he's been in England long enough to get to know the players in our squad and to be aware of who can do what...

My only gripe with Koeman so far has been what seemed to be a lack of any kind of plan during matches.

Also, as someone on TW mentioned a few weeks back, isn't pressing just another variation on closing down...

Good luck to Geri. I will welcome him back to help us in the Champions League play-offs after we have finished in Top 4.

Anyway, some of the points put forward above do strike me as odd. They appear to amount to, 'You can't really question Koeman's decisions, because he's an expert whilst we're not, we're just punters who post on TW, AND he scored a goal in a World Cup final'.

That's a not a very convincing position, the devil being in the detail and all that. Anyway, I'll continue to back Koeman subject to my review of his performance, as a pontificator on TW.

Nobody, certainly not me anyway, is saying he is above criticism. And nobody bar none is right every single time.

My point is the timing of selection re the young players. He works with them day in day out,he will know better than someone who watches them once a fortnight or on tv when they are ready. That is logical.

What World Cup Final was that, Stan?

We have since seen a list of his colleagues score emphatically from similar positions. He needs to be more than potential now if he wants to climb the queue to the first team. Quick but needs too much time and space.

ToffeeWeb has a large number of different and contradictory views – at any one time some of them will be spot on – this is the law of averages at work.

Koeman on the other hand can only implement one decision at a time and then as its a real decision we get to see how it plays out. If he puts in youth too early he may lose his job – he's bound to be a bit more cautious than an armchair fan who has no personal downside. And as this is a counter-factual we don't know if we would have done better had he played the young players earlier. My point is this is not "obvious".

Added to this some other issues, like some things said that seemed (perhaps) at odds with Everton's best interests, and an apparent lack of organisation on the pitch, then you can see why there's some wariness, even criticism of him. I myself started out last June thinking, great, this guy is just what we need, disciplinarian, leader of men, great footballer, and I was saying 'give him time'. Well, I'm still saying that, but I'd be daft to ignore what's happened since then.

So in Geri's case, I can't avoid being surprised at what's happened, despite the valid points made about Geri's shortcomings. The thread has turned to Koeman to some extent, but it's because of what's happened with Geri.

Unfortunately there are a few posters who are currently adopting the "Koeman lucked out" argument to explain our upturn in performances.

There is another discussion ongoing about the significant impact that the manager and his staff have had on Ross's recent performances – or perhaps, in the alternative world of some contributors, Koeman just got lucky again...

Last autumn / early winter he was on fire supplying the bullets for Lukaku. The quality of his crossing was sublime. Then he lost his place and his form (same as the rest of the squad) and this season he's not had much opportunity.

I really hope this is just a loan and that he's back here in the summer firing on all cylinders.

Did the same apply with Martinez? Moyes? What do you think about going to Watford with no attacking players supporting a striker who can't hold the ball up?

As supporters we have the advantage of having watched every minute of these players for seasons. Our opinions are valid. Koeman has made some very obvious mistakes. All managers do.

Deulofeu is never going to be consistent.

Pick out any player that makes a team tick, and he'll be consistent performer. The most important element of the top players is this facet of their make-up.

Everton in recent times have consistently bought inconsistent players - this is the one trend we need to buck beyond all others.

Deulofeu was never going anywhere under Koeman, and I'll lay money his career never really does much due to his inability to be consistently any use.

Johnny Morrisey would be a perfect Koeman player. He seems to have come up with the same conclusions about Geri that every other coach that has worked with him has... just not good enough.

Then his inconsistency and lack of match winning performances, lack of goals and lack of fitness / stamina means he will end up on the bench with everyone wondering how good he might have been.

In short we need to let it go and move on he is not and never will be what we desire him to be.

So frustrating because he has great natural gifts but unless he changes there is no way he will make it anywhere.

If some of the "Koeman is always right" crew had their way, the alehouses would be like libraries. Football forums like this would die a death. The manager who played at a decent level would ALWAYS be right. If top class players automatically make top managers how come so many of them fall flat on the faces?

By claiming that Koeman automatically knows best, you are merely waiving your right to think for yourself. The man has made several howlers, yet you fall over yourselves to excuse them.

Take this little gem: "Do you think its possible that the manager thought Holgate and Davies were not ready at the time you were clamouring for their selection. That given a couple more months of training with Koeman and taking in his requirements, they would be ready."

What Pap, what utter, utter Pap. A perfect example of somebody who blindly follows the manager, without giving any thought or opinion to the situation himself.

These kids did not spend months under Koeman's beady eyed tutelage. Rhino was looking after them and they did not wait months. It was a question of days (not months) before injuries, poor form and African tournament (all things we had taken into consideration), forced Koeman into was doing his now famous U-turn. Within a fortnight of saying these lads were not yet good enough, Three of them were playing and they were making complete nonsense of his "world class" assessment.

Evertonians who called Koeman out because they knew he was wrong, and because they were capable of thinking for themselves, had been vindicated.

Koeman told us the Red Shite had a great chance of winning the title and all his soldiers rallied around telling us "you can't face the truth" .Yeah of course we can't... If the Red Shite win the league this season, proving Koeman's wasn't talking out of his rear end, I will show my arse in every window on County Road... but he was... so I won't have to.

There you go; Koeman's world class assessment against the thoughts of a silly old ToffeeWeber...

When Koeman said Liverpool could win the league and we couldn't, I thought, oh, I thought he was our manager. I thought, actually, we can in principle win the league (however unlikely we might assess that possibility), and I thought (and said so in a number of posts on TW) that I considered our squad at least as strong as Liverpool's, in fact I said I considered we had more talented players, like Barkley. (Some replied that Barkley was on his way out, would never fulfil his potential, but that's another story).

I said the job of a good manager is to utilise the tools at his disposal, not complain about those tools, the classic sign of a bad workman. Hopefully, Koeman is now using the tools at his disposal more effectively, but I say 'hopefully' because only time will tell.

Being practical, I could never see the point in telling your own team that they could not possibly win a competition, that people would think you crazy (I think that's the word Koeman used) if you said they could. Good man management, strong and effective leadership of men? Who am I to say? But let's see how it all pans out.

You set your stall out early and made it clear you weren't a fan of Koeman. Now things are looking up and those that wrote him off early are looking a bit foolish. Most of us agreed that it would always take time. He was plucked from Southampton without knowing anything about the squad. He had planned a pre-season for a different team and was always going to take a while to assess what he had. He didn't know anything about Davies and Holgate until he arrived, and he was never going to put them into the team as regular starters until he had given the senior players a chance to adapt to his ways, and also until he was absolutely sure that the kids could cut it.

Why continue to criticise and question his ability when he has clearly turned the team around? Nobody is saying that a world class player necessarily makes a world class manager, but it's fair to assume that he is in a better position than us fans to assess the players. Seeing as he has been around top class players throughout his career and watches the squad in training every day.

Koeman has luckily found a way of using the young players that he was markedly reluctant to play, despite the evidence we could all see. He seems to finally be getting his message across to the players and perhaps they're realising that if they're going to achieve anything here, they need to get their heads down and graft.

Koeman probably doesn't know what to do with Deulofeu, like his other managers and is simply taking the opportunity to get him out of the way pending permanent departure and concentrating on the players he trusts/knows what to do with.

Koeman was asked whether Liverpool could win the league at a time when they were top of the league. He said yes, but other teams could also win the league. I was comfortable with what for me was a perfectly reasonable answer. Of course they could win the league and of course other teams can – a bland, dull response for anyone other than those who want Everton's representatives to slag off LFC at all times.

Koeman. at a time when many on here were saying we were doing well 'because we were only beating 'small' teams', was asked whether we could challenge for the title. He said we couldn't. For me, any other response would have been the kind of patronising nonsense that many criticised Martinez for.

This is a squad of good players that have yet to prove they can deliver when expectations rise and when we start to demand a bit of consistency. Stan is right, Koeman appears to be working out how to get the best out of them, but I'm yet to be convinced that they can deliver consistently, which is why I want the team strengthening, especially if we end up in the Europa League, when the way Koeman wants to play demands a larger squad.

I think Koeman's doing OK. I resent the idea that I have to join camps and love/hate him. He's changing the culture in the dressing room, which will take time, just like Moshiri is changing the culture of the business, which will take time. Both are combatting vested interests who are comfortable with mediocrity.

I don't need a manager telling me the kids aren't ready when they are, just as much as I don't need one that tells me this team can win the league when it has consistently lacked the mental resilience to win anything, or even finish top four when it was ready for them. I certainly don't need to be told that when a manager changes the team for a league cup tie he crushed the morale of the players. The team that beat us changed their players around – if anything that strengthens my view that our players lack resilience.

I'm seeing signs of improvement. I'll think about getting excited when we put a proper winning run together, when we buy some genuine attacking quality.

A refreshing change to see someone who has consistently called for more time acknowledge there have been mistakes.

Back on thread; I do see Deulofeu being one of those players who will go through a string of managers before eventually finding a guy who "gets" him

Shame it won't be us.

It wasn't instant at Man City, even with their bottomless funds. I've worked in and with businesses trying to change culture – it takes them two or three years minimum to genuinely achieve it.

Still means we need to cut Koeman some slack, while highlighting his mistakes and qualities.

For me, Geri is a player we want to be good, but just doesn't show it enough. He epitomises our lack of strength and resilience. I've seen smaller wingers than him get lumps kicked out of them back in the day, and show infinitely better resilience and results than he has.

"Here's a thought; perhaps Koeman does not know what to do with Deulofeu. perhaps its gonna take somebody special to get the young Spaniard playing and Koeman ain't the man

We've all witnessed moments of sheer brilliance from Deulofeu, but what have we seen from Koeman since he got here?"

Here's an alternative thought –maybe Deulofeu isn't actually good enough for the vast majority of the time and those moments are exactly that, just moments?

In fact, I'm going to go further than say it is just a thought and I'm going to say that it is actually based on facts which are of his overall minutes on the pitch for Everton, he has been gash for more than he has been 'special'.

And in terms of "Wwhat have we seen from Koeman since he got here?" Where you asleep for the Man City game?

As for Koeman, I'd have him over Moyes and Martinez any day of the week. He demands a team ethic and is not afraid to drop players. You need a manager who says "you were shite today, next time you're dropped".

He's turning us around slowly and, if he's properly backed, we'll be winners,

You fabricate anything to try to prove your point. Name one ToffeeWeb poster who has said "Koeman is always right"? You won't be able to because its a fabrication.

"These kids did not spend months under Koeman's beady eye. Rhino was looking after them." – Fabrication. They did not train with the first team squad before playing in the Premier League? They came straight from the Under-23s into the first team?

"It was injuries, poor form and Afcon that forced Koeman into doing his U-turn."

Make your mind up. Two weeks ago you said the Sky commentators and media forced Koeman into playing them.

It's laughable your desperate attempts to be right.

Koeman doesn't know what to do with Deulofeu. Nor did the managers of Barcelona or Seville. Maybe they should have consulted Coach Hind.

If the kid can roll up his sleeves and learn a bit of the dirty side of the game, he can be anything he wants, otherwise he will keep drifting. I hope the penny drops simply because the lad has got loads of ability, but if it's not in somebody, sometimes it's easier to blame others/anything rather than it is to "Work harder".

I hope I'm wrong because on talent alone, I'm sure he could play for most teams?

These kids WERE with Rhino. Koeman DID say they were not ready ... and poor form, injuries and AFCON were all contributory factors in Koeman doing a complete Uee within days of his daft statement... Oh and the kids DID prove he was wrong by performing comfortably at this level.

That's not a desperation to be right . .it's what happened. I had nothing to do with it.

Deulofeu has been inconsistent, but he has shown he can produce moments of sheer brilliance. This isn't Chelsea or Manchester – managers don't get sacked for poor starts. Koeman had a better opportunity than most to work on the consistency Deulofeu has been unable to find.

He hasn't just let the most inconsistent and frustrating player we have go, he's also let one of the most talented players he has ever managed slip through his fingers.

Why did he not just give him one of his famous boots up the arse? You know, the one that makes players who are "clearly not up scratch" suddenly become the dogs bollocks?

Perhaps he's right... perhaps he is better to keep hold of the likes of Macca and Lennon and let the young Spaniard go. I suspect however, that next time we are chasing a game and we need something different to unlock a stubborn defence, He will look around for Gerri and think "DOH"....

There is more than one bar in the Springy.

Darren, I honestly think people don't always read your first posts properly, because I sometimes think you are misunderstood, or maybe you have got a bit of Ronald Koeman, in your good-self mate, and can come across has being too blunt!

I remember when Koeman, got off to a good start, and reading you saying, that some Evertonians, were too quick to give the manager praise, and let's see him get into the job properly, before earning such plaudits. I had to agree, but I'm just about old enough to remember what our motto really stands for.

So Koeman said "the kids are not ready" then WITHIN DAYS said they were? Plums; all plums.

Look, looking at the hours you post you would appear to be a shift worker. Let's say you had a young kid start with you, he did well at the job and the area manager who visits once a fortnight considered the kid for a bump up to a more demanding under pressure job. Would you think the area manager was in a better position to judge or would you be better having worked nights, afternoons, split shifts etc, alongside the kid for 50 hours a week?

Tony, I would have liked to see Deulofeu in a central position behind a forward. I think we have both said that for quite a while. He never had the stamina required of the modern day wide player. A lot of ability, sees a pass, can beat a man on both sides and got a goal in him. I think in the system Koeman wants to play and, given the strength in central midfield, it would come down to a choice between Ross and Geri for that position.

Until some weeks back, many posters were making the same similarly worded, very definite statements about Barkley. He's had much more game time than Geri, and the result means few could credibly say the same of Ross now.

Of course there are many more variables and behind the scenes unknowns that might render my comparison a little simplistic. Doesn't take away the fact that anyone that implied Barkley was finished, was wrong.

Lucky that Barkley got the time, I guess.

What, with the curtains open?

I'm not denying that he has a lot of talent, he scores for fun when he plays for Spain U23s, but I don't think the Premier League is the place for him.

That said he is only out on loan and therefore may yet improve and come back to be the superstar we all hoped he would be.

The manager however has to make decisions about making the first team a winning team and he has to decide which players play a part in that. Deulofeu is not part of those plans at the moment and I would rather look to see who else we are getting in to improve the team.

Since Koeman has gone 3-5-2 or 3-5-1-1, I think his chances diminished.

As for Koeman and "the kids" I think you have to at least consider the possibility that his statements are made to be heard by different levels of listenerV at one level the public, at another level he's telling the board that the squad needs investment and at yet another level's telling the kids that they need to push harder and commit to his methods.

I would paraphrase what Kaiser Wihelm once pointed out: If you love Everton and Sausage, never look at either of them being made. It's not always a nice process.

Before Koeman made his claim that the youngsters were not ready. Rhino's team had played 12 games and Davies was involved in every one of them.

"I don't believe its now because they are still not ready" –Ronald Koeman 3 December 2017 . .Holgate was called to first team action days later (might have even been the next day)... despite suffering that mythical "dip in form"

Calvert-Lewin was in action for the first team the next game ... and the game after that, unfortunately he was injured the game after a few games but he had been involved in eight of the 12 games Rhino's team had played.

Perhaps the area manager had a word in Koeman's shell-like and changed his mind...

Ronald was under the misapprehension that they weren't ready but happened upon ToffeeWeb one night, read your posts about them actually being ready and, hey presto – they are in the side.

You are right and Koeman was wrong.

Mystery solved, now we can all move on to arguing about something else.

Fuck me, Darren I know you are a man of unlimited talents but you can see into the future now?

Any chance of posting the winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup 2017?

Word has it that Koeman reckons Thistlecrack is nowhere near ready...

Nailed-on!!!

Anyone??

Manager also stated Delboy goes straight into the side his weekend.

Don't care what Koeman thinks, they're all gonna win!

Wow, Mike! I had Koeman pegged as simply a football manager and never realized he was such an accomplished PR practitioner.

A good debate on the merits of whatever is going on at our club is part of the 24 hr a day lifetime commitment we have being obsessed supporters.

Personally though I really do think given the smoking wreckage that Koeman inherited and increasing rays of sunshine that warm us today very few people on our tiny blue planet could have achieved so much in such a short period of time.

As for Delboy being compared with Barkley and the perception that they should both being gotten rid of. They were both being marginalized basically because both were totally neglecting their defensive duties. The difference was (I think) that whilst Barkley, who as a youngster was a complete player, seemed to to be pulling out and avoiding physical contact, probably as a result of the horrendous career threatening injury he suffered whilst just on the cusp of making the first team.

Deulofeu, as entertaining as he can be, is IMHO one of the softest players I have ever seen. Barkley seemed to change it around when he was at his lowest point against Arsenal with one bone crunching tackle and he really hasn't looked back since. Or if he has, maybe he's noticing there's no monkey there anymore. I think we can thank Koeman for that.

So long as Ross is playing well, and we're winning, I don't suppose it matters how we get there.

Luckily I flipped channels in time to see Shane Long whack it in before the kop had stopped screaming for another phony claim, all in all a nice evenings viewing.

I like the way Koeman doesn't bullshit about. He's in a hurry to further his career (and needs to do well with us to do so) so either the board backs him or he'll be off – no fannying around. As opposed to Martinez, who was and is a joke, and enough said about 'lower expectations/play it safe' Davey, who wouldn't leave until he'd run down his £80k/week contract.

Btw, Koeman hasn't 'only recently' given the kids a chance. Holgate started the first 4 games of the season and Davies made a couple of appearances off the bench back then. Imo he's eased the 'kids' in very well so far and is doing a decent job of overhauling the squad and getting the few decent players we have to step it up.

Here's wishing well for his future as he seems a nice lad even if he didn't quite fit in here. We are not all cut out to be Evertonians.

But I guess that just means it'd probably be good fun to watch a match with them.