Which way forward for the team?

A year in and, other than 1 up top and a Number 10 I am not seeing anything else in the Koeman philosophy.

We don't move the ball quickly enough in the final 3rd and have a single source of goals, both things have to change if we are to improve.

Let's hope Walsh earns his money in the summer and we sign some gems, hungry young players who want to win.

As far as formation is concerned I think that is dictated by the players available. Rom can't play anywhere other than upfront as we don't have any other strikers, Barclay has to have a free role as he can't track back though both players are effective and have to be included, for now anyhow.

Excellent article and well observed. You brightened up my day with the mention of my all time favorite "non Everton" player... Gunter Netzer.

What a player, he could hit those 30-yard passes with unerring accuracy but also drove his teams forward with great skill and verve. I remember him always demanding the ball in midfield and dominating possession. Fantastic player in my view.

Let's hope for a win today, regardless of what that will mean to Liverpool.

First of all, Baines is in decline and doesn't look half the player he was 18 months ago, maybe longer than that. Robles is no more than a solid back-up keeper.

As for Rooney, don't even get me started on that subject!! Lots of work to be done in the next transfer window, I feel (hope!!) of which at least one new player should be a left back.

I do agree with your Mirallas comments though...

There will be tons of posts over the next three months about dozens of players, the vast majority of which the club will have no interest in, so I'd welcome comments on how we ought to play, given that most of the team will already be at the club, and the kind of player, with a name attached, who we have a realistic chance of signing.

After today's match, he all but shouted that this is the problem for the club and him to sort by way of numerous new signings of players.

He didn't say it but I trust he'll make sure none of those signed will have no interest in letting defenders have all the time they want when they've taken the ball off you, no interest in failing to control the ball when it's delivered to you, no interest in being scared to get hurt, and no interest in fannying around with contract offers or publicly bigging themselves up at the expense of the team that puts them on a pedestal in the first place.

Well, I can dream can't I?

Winning at Goodison is great but it has to be backed up with more points from our away fixtures, otherwise we'll stay in and around 7th in the league at best.

The current team, unless all eleven are firing on all cylinders, is mostly ponderous, and lacking in many key areas. Until the club stop treating performances like today's as acceptable we will continue to tread water whilst other clubs march onwards and upwards.

Many fans believed that last summer was key, but this close season is without doubt even more important; a new ground won't be filled regularly, regardless of its capacity if the board don't invest some proper money and the manager doesn't demand a higher level of work-rate and desire.

Spurs have just won two away games on the spin in emphatic style, we have managed a last minute away win at Crystal Palace in January, in four months. There lies the problem, we don't as fans expect Everton to win away from home and are usually happy enough if we haven't taken a hiding at the homes of the big-hitters.

I'm not concerned about which current players stay at the club or which players arrive in the summer, but this pitiful away form and the attitude of the players towards some games is unacceptable and has to be addressed – the fact that many of the hierarchy refer to this season being a success is also testament to how much work needs to be done if we are to see Everton challenge the big boys in the near future.

Gana, Schneiderlin and Davies have given our midfield a new look but we are still shakey at the back and look a bit weak up front.

A new keeper is essential.

I have no idea what Koeman's Everton will look like and what style we'll play. I think finally (or hopefully) we have a manager who can see we need better quality than what we have and with the correct signings could move us up to the next level.

If Barkley leaves it's a sad day.

If he won't go out on loan, consign him to the Under-23s. This whole business with Barkley and also Lukaku, who looks like he will definitely be sold, has ruined team spirit within the club.

Koeman hasn't exactly been inspiring, and if, after bringing in new signings in the summer, we are as equally inept away from home as we have been this season, his time will also be up I think.

Koeman is interviewed and says: 'The players are crap and don't produce anything'.

Storm of criticism, for the manager, 'not taking responsibility' etc. Hasn't he simply told, a rather painful truth? ... And doesn't he have form, for telling the painful truth?!

There's an announcement being made regarding Barkley tomorrow.

Jags has been playing on the right ever since he returned. Mirallas has only averaged 4 goals per season in 5 seasons with us and this season has mostly played centrally and again has 4 goals, none since early March. He's 30 next season and will never start scoring in the Premier League. He is in decline. Valencia would have been a better option.

Our style of play next season will be determined by the players we sign IMO. The system has to fit the players, not the other way round. That was something Moyes never understood and was his downfall. I am expecting 5 to 7 new faces so it will be a new team and a new system.

The first step to that is buying the top-draw players. At the moment, Everton are still buying from the bracket below that class.

And Don, please stop calling Koeman "Ronko" – it's pathetic.

To do list:

Barkley, if staying, then 100% every game. Or, time to move on.

Lukaku, I seriously believe that, IF the new blood arriving grabs his attention, then we may get a season out of him. Win a trophy and he could even want more.

Silverware, no arsing about next season, there are three pots we must contest with conviction. We're in them so let's win them.

Attitude, let's fully revert to"Nil Satis Nisi Optimum", I don't ever recall there being a Blue Referendum on us adopting "Not Bad Will Have To Do".

Just add up the points lost against the likes of Burnley, Hull, Watford and others and we could have been in that fourth Champions League place easily!

"I'm not concerned about which current players stay at the club or which players arrive in the summer, but this pitiful away form and the attitude of the players towards some games is unacceptable and has to be addressed."

I can't see how to address the "attitude" aspect without ridding the team of the players, who have the "attitude". With this in mind, I am concerned as to who goes and who comes in.

The art and science, I suppose, is for the management team to have worked out who are the ones that need to be gone (surely they must have worked this out already??) and to bring in decent players who have the right attitude.

I have only recently found out that he had/has been coaching for Bradford City.

I appreciate that Ron & Ernie have their own crew, but surely Nigel would make a great addition somewhere in our wider team of coaches.?

Somehow, I think it ain't gonna happen!

I didn't see yesterday's game, but have seen enough over the last few games to imagine what it was like.

There is no one in the team that can or even try to arouse the other players out of their sleepwalking through games, so one of the first signings has to be a player with real captain's qualities, and plenty of fans have asked for this type of player in the last THREE seasons.

After signing this player Koeman should have well thought out where the next positions need rectifying and along with Walsh get on with the job of signing these players.

The result yesterday tells anyone who wasn't sure how bad the team are how pathetic Everton play away from home, the performances have stunk and belittled the efforts of the thousands of fans who make the effort to get to these games.

Mr Moshiri, you gave me faith when you arrived that our fortunes were changing, I haven't given up on you, but action is needed to prove that the old ways under Kenwright, have changed; it doesn't look that way at the moment with regards to the signings of players. This summer will prove a lot to many supporters, I hope you provide the right response.

We have lacked real quality players for a long time, just ask how many of our players would get in the top 6. I am not sure apart from maybe Lukaku, but he is not in the class of Costa, Kane or Aguero.

And therein lies the problem: How do you attract the quality players without being able to offer Champions league football. Unless Moshiri gets Usmanov on board and they ignore FFP for a season or two, then sadly I think we might be destined to be the best outside the top 6.

Summing this current Everton team up, I'd say on a bad day we are really really bad, on one of our better days we can look pretty good but never great.

Our truly good days this season have been few and far between, apart from Manchester City and Arsenal at home nearly all of other good performances have been solely down to Romelu Lukaku, think Bournemouth, Sunderland etc.

I do believe now to move forward we need at least four new attacking players to go straight into the first team, we need pace, if ever have I seen an Everton side struggle to get behind opponents this is the worst I've seen since Moyes early years of square pegs in round holes.

We need to pension off the likes of Jagielka, Barry, we need to face the fact that Baines best years are gone now; sad that is to say about what has been a fantastic left back.

We need a right back, as again not meaning to sound cruel on Coleman but he's facing nearly a year out and may not be the same again.

We need a better goalkeeper that's obvious.

We need better than Barkley behind the striker, that again has proved obvious in every big game this season.

Whilst young Tom Davies is a breath of fresh air,I'm not sure he's quite ready for the burden of every game, and if we had a bigger squad he possibly would be blooded-in less frequently.

I don't think there's even really a discussion on if we can move forward with this squad, it's reached its limitations at 7th.

The one area you didn't mention was central defence. We need a tall, experienced 26- or 27-year-old who is mobile and knows how to defend.

I'd say we need:

1 Goalkeeper
2 Center-Halves
1 Left-Back
1 Right-Back
1 Central Attacking Midfielder
2 Wide Pacy Wingers (Left and Right)
2 Strikers

Bloody hell... That's 10 new players.

Before these issues can be resolved though, we need to know what is happening with Barkley and Lukaku, because where they are come late July will impact what the management team can/can't do to cure these many ills.

Personally, get shot of both of them if they don't want to stay and build a team, not a collection of individuals.

A goalie is a must maybe even two. I would love to see Jonjoe Kenny given his chance at right back then, if Coleman gets back to his normal self, we would have two good right-backs.

I'm not confident in any of the centre backs, Williams needs to step up, need to bring at least one in and then hopefully one of the youngsters coming through will step up. We need to at least look for cover for Baines and maybe a replacement. Davis, Schneiderlin and Gueye and maybe one other for the centre of midfield.

It's further forward where we have struggled most even with Lukaku's goals. Bolasie and Mirallas have a few good games in them but not consistent enough, a few of the youngster should get a few more games especially with being in Europe, but we really do need some power, speed and skill which usually frightens the life out of defenders. I would hope for at least 5 or 6 new signings; if not, then it could be another very frustrating season.

http://www.evertonfc.com/news/2017/05/22/blues-to-face-sevilla-at-goodison

Please don't rewrite, reinterpret or précis my words for me. Not needed.

Write your own material, that would be my constructive advice.

My view is that interim measures are the only option and I am therefore going to do a complete back flip on what I have posted previously.

We are desperately short of leadership and guile and to fill that void, next season I would put a dual bid in for Rooney and Mata.

I also humbly admit that we have to keep Lukaku at all costs – either that or replace him with a proven goal scorer.

Rooney and Mata would bring leadership and guile to the team. I also think they would bring the best out of Lukaku and Mirallas.

Then we have to find a tall, left-footed centre-half – perhaps the the biggest challenge Koeman faces.

A graduate in Economics at Plymouth University Reeves is very grateful to Rovers and pledged to help improve what Everton do on and off the pitch.

Let's hope thar some of the data they utilise relates to some of the psychological aspects of the players, like the will to win, the desire to please the travelling supporters and all the rest of the shortcomings they have shown over the last few years. Solve some of those issues and we might be on to something.

More Stat Men

If Seamus Coleman, Mo Besic and James McCarthy had been fully fit at the start of the season now complete how many games would they have started?

A. 0
B. 0
C. 0
D. 1

For spoiling tactics the Leeds United of the seventies could have taught them nothing. Not pretty, but they won 3-2. All the goals came from set plays.

Stekelenburg and Robles have shared the goal keeping bu,t while both have had some good games, neither has been able to sustain a consistent high level for longer than a few games. Stekelenburg seems injury prone so of the two I would keep Robles.

The lack of pace throughout the team must be addressed, but first and foremost in central defence. We must sign a top quality centre-back who will allow us to close up the space between defence and midfield.

We must sign at least a couple of attacking midfield/forward players who have pace, can spot a pass and get into the box to score goals. They come at a premium.

As regards signings, generally I would like to see them span the age ranges. If they are all 27-year-olds we are storing up problems for three to four years down the line, when they will need to be replaced.