Koeman at a loss to explain poor starts

We played poorly but only have one finisher and that's a fact...

He claims everyone works hard at Finch Farm yet I query his definition of 'hard'. We read about other clubs in the doldrums calling players in for extra training but not Everton. Is there a limit on training hours specified in their lucrative contracts?

Perhaps more time with a ball might hinder their visits to tattoo parlours. Any day now,we can expect them fly off to the sunshine for their annual mid winter break.

That's my rant for the day yet I bet it barely reflects what I and thousands are thinking.

If, like us, you have players who are mediocre at best your only chance is to get them properly fit, organised and motivated, which obviously isn't happening.

Who or what is to blame?

Tactics? Fear? Hiding? Wrong players?

He's a manager, not a miracle worker.

Have a look down the table and imagine for a second if we'd re-hired Moyes instead.

Seriously, get some patience. Unbelievable.

Someone hits a bad pass over the top and he waves at them in acknowledgment, even though the pass was awful, and he should be fuming at them. Only reason I can think of, is that he's glad they are trying to play to his strengths, instead of asking him to constantly do something that he's just not very good at?

Jagielka's legs have gone, and Williams is not much better on the turn. Neither of those two are commanding in the air. Every corner and cross was a problem. Baines looked past it today also.

I mean it seemed for all to see that Martinez praised the players, no matter what, so they became complacent and in a state (knowingly or not) of not being bothered.

Now, with Koeman, he appears to be the polar opposite and would bollock anyone who even dared leave the bog seat up which has probably shocked a lot of players and has made them somehow nervous, affecting their performance.

Big clear-out needed, like we didn't know already... interesting times ahead.

Shelve the lot of them, and give the U-23s a go. Can't possibly do worse.

He's on record stating his love for Barcelona, and has said some foolish things in the media recently. That's all okay when you're winning most weeks, but when you start losing regularly, then people start to question your desire, and after today it's not looking too good for him.

He wasn't great at Southampton. He's not great here.

Question: are we going backwards under Koeman and his white-suited, polished teeth, tanned backroom staff? I notice they're rather quiet on Twitter now. They were commenting every fart when they joined...

Anyone want my ticket against Arsenal?

On his arrival, Koeman said the players needed to be a lot fitter, he also said he wanted to play a high tempo pressing game. Great that is exactly what we want and this is the style that Chelsea, Man City and the other lot play, which is entertaining to watch.

He has also said many times of late that we start to slowly, so I thought today if we did nothing else we would start quickly and play at a high tempo – especially as our opponents had played away on Thursday in the Europa league. Obviously with them scoring in the first minute set us back but, for the rest of the half, no high tempo, no pressing game. We played the same slow tempo that we did under our previous manager, and created absolutely nothing, in fact I was pleased to just go in 1 down.

Now I have said that Koeman will need and be given time, but I cant see us being able to play a high tempo pressing game with Lukaku and Barkley in the front 4. They don't seem to have any concept of when or how they are to press defenders and you can see the midfield thinking I cant push forward and press if the front 2 aren't otherwise there will be gaps all over the show.

This is a team devoid of goals and I bring this up in every post, I am even getting sick of saying it myself. But Bolasie, Barkley and Lennon or Mirallas are not natural goalscorers. Lukaku is good if he gets the ball on his left foot in the box, but his contribution to our overall build-up is poor.

I would hope come the January window the remit is to find forwards who score on a regular basis. I thought Bolasie would be a great addition; yes, his goal record is poor but whenever we played Palace he was always a threat. But rather than play the ball in front of him to use his pace and strength, we seem obsessed with chipping the ball to him in the air. But with tough home games coming up we need to start to up our game.

Koeman, nobody expects miracles but we expect to see the very beginning of the green shoots of the style you want to play. So, whatever it takes, make sure that against Man Utd,who will have a tough game in midweek, that we start on the front foot and look to get at them please.

Does he do tactics, set-pieces, different formations, include some of the U23s in training? To me, at the moment, he looks clueless. Even the bench today didn't have one U23 on it. I ask the question: Why not?

What I don't like his perceived inability to blood the youngsters time will tell.

Another thing I get fed up of reading is we don't play to his strengths... what fucking strengths? A top-class striker like Diego Costa will always make their own chances and be a complete nightmare for opposing defences; this big lump is a dream to play against – he's so fucking lazy and useless. Get him out of our club, Ronald.

I will make a prediction here and now: Once he is gone, we will be a far better team and the likes of woof woof or anyone else can call me out on that if that doesn't happen... I mean, how can it be much worse?

Now witness the likes of Klopp and Conte who look like they're going to cry their eyes out when their teams concede a goal... the passion they show is infectious and rubs off on their players who look like they'd die for them. Ranieri was the same last season and is in the Champions League this season.

No, Koeman just sits on his arse, staring at his shoes when we concede and looks to me like he'd rather be elsewhere. His man-management skills are zero and he's got the personality of an asthmatic slug.

To say we played well in the 2nd half today is an insult to every Evertonian who went or watched that today It was shit from 1 to 90. And folks, believe me when I tell you, it's about to get a whole lot worse.

Not so much Man Utd their shite as well... No, I'm talking about Arsenal, Watford and Liverpool, who we can't even beat when they're poor.

I really thought Koeman would have well laid down a marker by now in terms of the playing style. No, it seems we've gone backwards. Now just remind me... how much is he being paid? Oh, and by the way... has anyone ever seen Ronnie boy smile? Cos I sure as hell haven't.

It was clear after 20 minutes that the team were performing no better than against Swansea. I kept waiting for changes which didn't come for far too long. When we went with Mirallas and Deulofeu we looked much more positive and (for short periods) Southampton were rocking.

All of this said, I won't be judging too harshly until after January. It could get worse before it gets better; not just because of our upcoming fixtures but because Gana and Bolasie are out for 6 weeks in January at the ANC. January is a big window for Koeman.

Jesus H.
Seriously; the guy is playing with the cards he's been dealt. Throw in the kids? Yep, I'd like to see some of that but there's few managers that play the youngsters when the team's in poor form.

Here's the reality check: He is going to need the Summer transfer window! Just like Mr Kloop got, that all the biters on here apparently love.

It is also disingenuous to suggest that the second half was in any way acceptable just because it was better than the totally appalling first half.

In fact, I'm not sure if we lost 20 derbies in a season, the club would care too much, but should we by some chance, win, they'll be rushing out DVDs for Christmas –that's the real problem, not the actual result of the game itself.

Barkley needs a complete break from the game he has lost his way bring in Davies he couldn't do any worse.

Bolasie couldn't make crystal palaces first team and yet we payed 30+ million you cant say we don't have a player in the U/23 who could do just as good.

The way we are going, there is no way we will finish in a European place this season so why not blood the young players and, instead of buying another heap of 28-32 players for 㿀 to 30 million, sell the heap we already have in the January window.?

Then at the end of the season, spend big money on say the spine of the team: goalkeeper, central defender who can build from the back, central midfield playmaker, striker who scores regular and works hard for the team and wants to play for Everton.

And the manager watches on as if we're paying him a fortune to critique the team! Martinez got pelters for performances that were far better than this tripe, so here goes.

Koeman out. The guy has shown absolutely nothing. His judgement has involved bringing in a keeper who's not good enough, and spending 㿔 million on two players who aren't good enough to play for Everton.

Now he thinks that Aaron Lennon should start because he runs around a lot, and that Funes Mori shouldn't start because Jagielka and Williams used to be better defenders than him several years ago. It's crap, crap, crap, crap, crap.

He talks about pressing the opposition – this lot couldn't press a shirt and they clearly don't give a damn about the manager or the club. You're a fraud, Koeman, on your way.

The bobby bullshit about the great players we have: Barkley, Niasse, Barry, Cleverley, you know the spiel, was utter bollocks, and we had to pay the fraud 㾶 million in compensation and he got the Belgium job, ffs!

It's going to take Koeman time because of the shit players he has inherited; give him a break.

What we are expecting is Ronald to inspire our players when we go a goal down or give them a major bollocking in the the changing room at half-time when, once again, we've under-performed

Which we have of late... Or have you been living on the fucking moon???

Now I don't know what goes on behind closed doors but I do know that Koeman keeps on going on about how we need to start games quicker, press higher, fight for every ball etc... But what happens on match day? We start slowly, we don't get anywhere near the opposition and we couldn't fight ourselves out of a wet paper bag right now.

Koeman is a cold fish but that's his way I suppose and I won't criticise him for his demeanour on the touchline (I prefer that to clowns like Conte and Klopp) but he could show at least something, anything. I mean we've had the Glasgow stare, the Spanish chew, can't we have a Dutch grin at least?

Far from being one of the best performers, Bolasie is currently one of the worst. Stekelenburg is not convincing, Williams is too slow, Gueye incapable of hitting the target from twelve yards and Valencia is spending most of his time warming the bench.

Someone needs to have a word in Mr Koeman's ear that if he cannot drive out better performances than this, we won't be able to attract any worthwhile signings in January. Presently we are going backwards even from the dire level we saw in the closing months of last season.

The goal showed again that whenever the ball is in the air Jagielka is two yards away from the scorer. Why was he playing anyway?... How bad do you have to be lose your place?

Where are the promising young players we keep reading about? How much longer do we have to put up with Barkley who is too slow and half asleep. Lukaku who just does not get involved and loses the ball the minute it goes to him... and Bolasie who runs every where without the ball and loses it as soon as he gets it.

The shooting was really crap most of them don't even know how to kick a ball properly. I am afraid the future is not bright at all... we have no midfield to talk about and too much playing in our own half on our own. Sideways, sideways, sideways... absolute crap.

We had 5 players that Koeman has brought in playing today. Our youngsters don't get a look-in, and yet the best youngster playing was a Southampton player.

Clearly evident that our midfield does not have much creative quality. Defenders not overlapping and too cautious... in fact, the players look like they are being told not to try anything too creative.

Koeman is a manager that is too defensive; this is now costing us going forward.

Is he trying to to implement this style and the players are unequipped or is he unequipped at getting the players to play the style?

My hope is that last season Southampton went through a similar bad patch and went on to finish the season in excellent form.

Is Koeman totally detached from bringing young players through? He obviously knew nothing about the lad.

I'm starting to worry that maybe he cannot be bothered to coach youngsters, there must be a reason he doesn't give our youngsters any game time.

The team has been shite this season so far, I think we can all agree on that, but the fact is, like it or not, Koeman's signings (apart from Valencia) have been our best performers, and to actually have the balls to slag off Gueye who has been by far our best player, WTF?

Manager bashing has become a sport for some people. We aren't playing well, the manager takes much of the blame for that, but where will it end? – Koeman won't buy from local shops shocker, he won't even live on Merseyside horror... etc etc.

We need more players like these to improve us? This is what worries me come the next transfer window. If we get 3 players the quality of Gueye then we will be okay.

Stekelenburg: 2 decent stops second half but...
Coleman: One of our very few decent performers. As always.
Jagielka: Decent game but not aggressive enough. Needs to pass the armband.
Williams: Decent game but not vocal enough. Needs to be given the armband.
Baines: Where's the confidence gone? Needs to grow a pair and tell Lukaku to fuck off the free kicks. Feel for him and Coleman because they have fuck all in front of them.
Lennon: Anonymous.
Barry: Right off it today. Can't fault the effort though.
Gueye: Still putting in a great shift but where has the form from the first 6 games gone?
Barkley: OK in the last quarter of the pitch. Shocking everywhere else. Lazy brain, lazy body.
Bolasie: Not even close to justifying his transfer fee. Poor again.
Lukaku: Lazy, cheating, bastard. Doesn't play for the badge, the club, his team mates or the fans. Like a whore who lies there and does fuck all for the money. Horrible twat.
Subs: Jesus! Is that what we have! God help us. A couple of the youngsters have surely got to be given a chance? Tom Davies in particular?

Roll on January. Mr Koeman and Mr Moshiri, please spend some money – that is assuming you can convince any decent players to join us.

The Swansea game may have come a day too early as the squad only had one day to train together after the international break. I might give him the benefit of the doubt but he's had a week to work on things and now it appears our defence is falling apart, our midfield has disappeared, and our forwards have forgotten how to score goals.

It's his job to prepare the team tactically, physically and mentally but we seem to be totally void and inept in all areas. At least under Martinez we could play (sometimes brilliantly) for 45 minutes and then collapse. Now we seem to gift the opposition the first hour or so before we try some insipid reaction.

I thought this Dutch crew would at least instill some discipline and backbone into this lot but it's looking more and more like the tail-end of last season when the players simply stopped playing for the manager, club and fans. This is outrageous and it's the manager's responsibility to fix this, transfer window or not.

Added to that Lukaku was totally isolated often surrounded by 3 Southampton players and not a blue shirt could be seen with a telescope,.

Pressing game? They couldn't press their shorts from what I saw today. The only blessing was Southampton's poor finishing or it could have been another five in the back of our net.

Appalling today and Ronald has a massive clear out and replacement job on his hands. I would love to see Holgate and Davies been given a chance.

I cannot see much changing either unless we sign something special in January.

I understand that's his sole job here so fair to assume he did no more at Southampton. That's why he'd never heard of young Sims.

Koeman was manager of Southampton, so correct if I'm wrong – isn't it his job to oversee the whole thing and not just first-team affairs?

Of course, at Everton, he's got Unsy et al telling him what's going on at Under-23 level but, my god, he's being paid a fortune to manage... and, from where I'm sitting, he's not doing a very good job, is he?

I'll wager he doesn't even know who the likes of Walsh, Kenny and Dowell are... because he's that fucking arrogant, he doesn't think he has to!

This had been absolutely non existent since then, and the only trend I can see in each game is the amount of hoofball we play.

Jags and Baines are finished, Williams is not far behind. Bolasie doesn't even bring the flair that we expected. Funnily enough, in the first half I thought it was only Ross and Rom that seemed bothered, despite what other posters thought. It's beginning to look like one of them situations where it just isn't the right fit for the club and the managers.

My point is that some people are already calling for his head, and that's embarrassing. So much for the loyal fanbase we make ourselves out to be – his first season isn't even three months old.

I must love Everton too much I suppose, and being a Blue throughout the last 5 decades, I know a useless manager after suffering so many.

A doctor is paid a minute fraction of what that Dutch fraud gets, but could you imagine the media if a consultant told a patient he doesn't know what's wrong, and couldn't diagnose the problem? If he just sat there for an hour or more saying and doing nothing to assist the patient?

I just hope Koeman does one decent thing and resigns, saving the club more compensation; that one match under Unsy was the best we've played in about 2 years, so to blame the players for not looking fit, not playing to any obvious system, and being picked week-in & week-out though massively out of form, is down to the boss.

And to all those of you who are commendably pleading for him to be given time – which I cannot disagree with – and are advocating the January transfer window as some sort of salvation, I would advise you to get real.

We are buying no-one of any significance unless we sell Lukaku. All we did before the start of the season was spend the Stones money.

And if Stekelenburg, Williams and Bolasie (plus Valencia, who appears just marginally ahead of Niasse in our new manager's plans), are anything to go by, world-beaters, born leaders, playmakers and team-changers will not be posing with a blue shirt for the media.

A third of the season already gone and we have not had one good 90 minutes yet, nor seen a shred of new strategy on the pitch.

Sometimes you just get a feeling that things are not going to work out and that is being magnified with every nondescript, passionless, embarrassing game we put 11 on the pitch for.

So I make no apology for being a pessimist for once. Tolerating what we have seen so far is unacceptable and we need to make that clear.

If we just shrug our shoulders and keep making excuses like this, we get the team, the club and the ethos we deserve. This has been appalling so far and the players and manager are ambling their way through it.

If this 'straight-talking' Dutchman is all people say he is – time he started to prove it. Do some straight talking with the players Mr Koeman and change the system. For god's sake, do something different, because your plan A isn't working

Give Valencia a game up front with Lukaku and try the revolutionary concept of two, yes TWO strikers. Play the youngsters instead of constantly shuffling the pack and hoping one day that everything will just gel by chance or through the probability of repetition.

Stop this ridiculous predilection with two defensive midfielders. It stopped working with Martinez two years ago and we're sick of it.

Get the players at it from the kick-off, into tackles, chasing the ball, harrying opponents, moving it forward quickly and get men in the box.

Right now, watching Everton is like watching England: eleven allegedly-talented players who don't appear to know each other, what they are supposed to be doing and lack any form of belief, confidence and will to win.

The fans know what is going to happen every time though and the players can consistently be relied upon to prove them right within minutes – or 44 seconds in today's case.

We can see what needs doing. Why can't Koeman?

Perhaps, Bill Kenwright has been right all along: hire a hungry young manager with fresh ideas and an appetite to do well and that leads to enthusiasm from the players and supporters and at a fraction of the cost too. However, that only worked up to a certain point and didn't bring the honours that we all wanted.

Hire an experienced, seen it all, done it all (at least as a player) type manager with no fresh ideas with a world weary demeanour and suddenly the team who had much room for improvement based on the last two years, now become even more lethargic and downtrodden than they ought to and the supporters feel as if they are watching a box-set of previous games, week-in & week-out.

If you were to ask me [blue-tinted glasses removed] who would best suit Everton FC at this moment I would have to say that Howe would be my choice – could he be successful at Everton FC? I don't know... but I preferred watching his team today than I did my own.

Right now, he is playing with bog-average shite, biggest culprit being that lump of over-hyped crap up front. He will come good once the garbage is moved on.

By the time I was 10, I knew that to be a player I had to be able to control a pass to me, then pass to a team-mate, and then run into a position to give him an option to pass to me. At that age, I knew nowt about offside or anything else but the shower of shite now turning out for us look like they're in denial of even these basics, and to me that spells mutiny.

Koeman has been signed on by Moshiri. Moshiri has promised great things. Moshiri now needs to act to make his/our club even slightly attractive to any player/s at all who are deemed necessary to make good on his investment and, by the way, the enjoyment of the fans who will make or break his enterprise.

I think he will be sold in the summer, but not for anything more than about 㿔 million. That can be spent on two average players to fit in with the rest of the squad. Happy Days...

In the meantime by all means bring on Holgate but replace the Aaron, Kevin and Gerry twits with Coleman.

Put Davis on the bench instead of Cleverley. And make a statement and take the captain's armband from Phil and give it to Coleman or Williams.

Champions League?! Can't even turn it on against Swansea and Southampton. This bunch of losers have had enough opportunities. Please give the young players like Davies a chance. At least they care.

So we know performances are going to be erratic. Koeman has been open and clear who he doesn't rate and this has totally backfired. The players rightly lambasted on these pages have decided they will do nothing to either prove Koeman wrong or get themselves a move.

We are a mid table side with a manager who is happy to rub everyone up the wrong way. I totally get that, but Ron lad, you need to win games. You ain't; 1 in 9 is abject. Koeman perhaps needs to assess his own performance as brutally as he has others.

As per my other posts, 7th minimum, Europe a must or move on.

Have to say my heart is being slowly broken by Everton, piece by piece. Unrecognisable in those royal blue shirts.

Every other team in the Premier League has a positive but I struggle to find one positive in this team. Bright sparks from the U23 side are overlooked every single week. How long will it be before they go onto better things outside of this club? The manager, such as he is, should be on a final written warning of termination without compensation. That's what would happen in the real world. Its shocking that considering our "history" we still have to suffer sitting through unmotivated players and an inept continental has been who thinks he can be a manager.

Anyone who brings their family into a business is clearly not in their right mind. And the owners that let him do that are more culpable. I don't see brother Klopp across the park. I never thought I would agree with my wife on football matters but she is (as usual) correct. She supports Liverpool.

Thank you, Koeman and Co, for undermining the little bit of respect I had. The wife makes better Yorkshire puddings than me and she is Indonesian. I can live with that slap in the face but to watch that shite last night was really too much.

We used to criticise Martinez for playing favourites, Koeman is no better. It's significant that our god early season run, and our last win (and clean sheet), came with Funes Mori in the team in place of Jagielka who now looks more of a has-been in every game.

People are quick to knock Valencia who hasn't had a decent run of games to show what he can do, despite a good scoring record at international level. Koeman does the same things over and again, makes no effort to inspire or cajole his players from the touchline and refuses to think about adding a touch of youth to the team.

Inter got rid of Frank de Bier after 85 days, so I disagree that it's too early to talk about getting rid of Koeman if it becomes clear he's not the man for us. We have players who can score goals as they proved under Martinez. It was our defending that was shambolic back then. Now, we're just a shambles everywhere and who is in charge of that shambles? Koeman of course.

Plain ordinary League 1 & 2 managers can motivate their teams to play above themselves in matches against Premier League opposition so why can't Koeman motivate a team of proven internationals?

Something isn't right and Koeman has to take the blame. After all, he's happy to take the money the club is paying him. Time to try earning it, or walk away, Ronald.

I suspect Koeman moved for the players he did, as they were already settled in the UK, rather than grabbing a load of unknowns from abroad.

For all the hot air on this site, we are still 7th

Deulofeu, Barkley, Miracles, Jaglieka, Baines, were all lauded by a lot of ToffeWebbers, and were shown plenty of patience and time to prove they are all shite!

He can hardly be blamed for their shite performances. He didn't play! I'm pretty sure if he wanted to slip into a kit, he would have put a better shift in!

Give him time. A couple of transfer windows at least

As the lads on Toffeetv so rightly pointed out, it does seem like many players seem disinterested. This could be as a result of Koeman's man-management style...

When he took over, Liverpool produced some abject displays, and were booed off by their own supporters. He did his nut about the difficulty players had adapting to his system, and said it would take time, but that the players would achieve it because "they are young professional footballers".

Well, looks like they're now getting results. Also, they rely a lot on Coutinho, but who a year ago was crap and couldn't last more than an hour. So, how times change.

In other words, let's give Koeman a similar chance that Klopp was given, instead of doing drama queen impressions.

This is the same wonderful squad, with a couple of exceptions, we had last season that downed tools that Koeman has to work with. Has anybody considered that the players are not up to it?

Surely if this manager and the previous manager can't get results with this squad then maybe the squad is to blame. Whether that is they are playing to their full abilities and are just not good enough, or are incapable of carrying out the managers instructions.

I have never seen such a static Everton team in the final third. Nobody moves off the ball.

Koeman's motto may as well be "Now let's not get excited". Contrast that with the palpable, infectious passion Conte and Klopp show during every game.

1. We have run the 4th lowest kms in the league;

2. In only one match have we out run the opposition – Sunderland.

This squad is reverting to its bad habits from last season.

I then noticed how much play is slowed down and held up in the final third when Barkley and Lukaku had possession yesterday. Lennon was unable to beat his full-back, whilst Bolasie only started to get to the by line until after Barkley went off.

Lukaku meanwhile got in the way and just had a terrible game. Whether he has lost confidence, form or can't be arsed... who knows?

Koeman is stuck with this group of under-achievers for at least two more windows.
He has made some bad decisions but he is likely to remain manager for the near term as he is Moshiri's man.

I say cut him some slack. The squad has a problem and Lukaku and Barkley are contributing to the malaise.

He does however need to take action on the back 4 which is far too open. I am not in favour of dropping Jags. He played badly again but in my book Funes Mori is simply unreliable – the Anfield derby still comes to mind.

If he is to change the back 4, bring Holgate in push Coleman up in place of Lennon so we get some aggression and strength down the right.

Time to bench Barkley and go 4-4-2, many have been calling for the kid from the U23s and I say, Why not? With an off colour Barkley benched, this should mean Bolasie gets the ball quicker down the left so he can charge at the full back and give us width.

As for Lukaku, he should be given a couple of games on the bench. Valencia was surprisingly good in the air and it would be absurd not to give a couple of starts in the Premier League.

Yes, Koeman has inherited a squad which does not put a shift in. Yes, he deserves more time. But it's time he made some big decisions and used his famous honesty to leave out the under-performers. That includes Lukaku.

Firstly – an Arteta (in his pomp). We've never replaced him.

Secondly – a Cahill. Somebody to get in the faces of the opposition, support Rom & throw themselves at a header occasionally. We've nobody who does that.

The voice of reason, abject display yesterday, but the hotheads want the manager fired 30 minutes after the game had finished.

Let's judge him in 12 months time, not after four months, a lot of those players yesterday simply won't be around after next summer.

Not pleasant to watch at the moment, but getting rid of Koeman, and bring in who?

Exactly.

It's a bit premature to criticise Koeman's relatively sober style. If we were winning, it would be a great style, and if Chelsea or Liverpool were struggling then their managers' styles would be a pain in the arse.

You're just doing a bit of back-fitting to explain bad results, but it's too early.

You say "How old was the kid when Koeman was managing Southampton Clive?"

Doesn't matter how old he was, Koeman didn't bother watching the youth teams anyway. And that comes from the Saints web pages I've been haunting for a while now to gauge their reaction/opinion etc. of Koeman both before we got him and afterwards. I've said before and I'll carry on saying that Saints fans were pissed off with his indifference to the Academy down there.

I read a couple of weeks ago that Koeman has only watched our Under-23s once this season. Once. Walsh apparently watches every game that's played. (This is the Koeman that fucks off from Finch Farm bang on time every afternoon, no hanging about watching Davies etc. for him.)

This guy needs to abandon the Dad's Army shower and inject a bit of youth, passion, energy AND the skill that some of our young players possess.

Jags has been a wonderful servant to this club but his days are surely numbered now. I don't want his lasting impressions of this club to be the abuse and hounding he'll get from the terraces if he's being played for much longer.

If there's one thing Goodison is good at, it's slagging off our former heroes once their star has faded.

Fuck me, 2 + 2 = 652 straw clutching.

So basically dance about on the line like a fucking pot-herb = success. ("That's not what I'm saying." – yes, it is).

If you want to see 'palpable, infectious passion', take a look at 97% of number 2 cropped, sheepie-wearing Sunday league side managers.

'Winners' is not the first (or 2 millionth) word that'll go through your head as you watch them shriek, dance like monkeys, and turn various shades of purple.

If Chelsea or Liverpool win trophies with these managers, it'll be because they have good players, good coaches and good game-plans/tactics etc. And if you can put those things together and get results, I don't believe supporters give a shite what the manager's demeanour is.

And I guaran-fucking-tee, results-wise, should the shit hit the fan for the lovable Reds, they will turn on Bingo SO fucking fast and all that 'infectious passion' will become "He's makin' a fucking twat of the club, actin' like a nob 'ead like.." etc.

Link

A third of the season gone and we are still waiting for something to happen; no direction and little or no enthusiasm from many of the players; token or no challenges for headers or 50/50s. I didn't expect us to get a result from every game but I thought like many other Blues that we would at least be competitive.

Just another Blue moaning? Maybe so... but what a let-down.

OK, it's got fuck all to do with the thread but the depression and suicidal demeanour of some lads needs help in lifting. Might raise a smile.

With all due respect, I think Ross Barkley is part of the problem, and should be moved on... maybe Moysie will take him to Sunderland?

He would not get a sniff into a top 5 outfit. How many top clubs came clamouring for his signature, and how many still are?

In order to sell him for 㿊 million, we would have to throw in Mirallas and Deulofeu as a job lot... of failures!

What I would criticize Koeman for is criticizing players in the press; by all means rip them apart but do it at Finch Farm – not via the media. As I can't see any mileage in this approach, and it may have caused some rifts within the team.

I think it's all well and good saying you want to play a high tempo passing game, but the question is do we have the players to play that system. Klopp got rid of Benteke because he realized that Benteke was incapable of playing that way. He also wanted forwards who could inter change and were good on the ball.

For me, neither Lukaku or Barkley can play that high tempo passing game, so Koeman has to change his style slightly or replace these two with players that can play that system. Now Lukaku has been a very good goal scorer but gives us very little outside the box and his poor control prevents him playing clever passes in and around the box.

But as fans, yes, express your views as strongly as you like on ToffeeWeb and other outlets but we need to stay strong inside Goodison. Otherwise we could find that opponents will use any negativity from the crowd to our players to help themselves.

Yes, we are all disappointed, but the manager will be given time, so let's give him time to turn things around. Now if he hasn't into the middle of next season with 2 transfer windows behind him then he may not be able to ask for patience.

Moussa Sissoko: Tottenham expected more – Mauricio Pochettino

We don't need players only looking for a pay-day and a stepping stone (which I know most are). We need genuine desire to win football matches and I don't mean to just win trophies. I mean to go play an away game when your team is midtable with nothing to play for and still put your body on the line to win a game of football. That is what we lack.

Williams and Gueye have both shown signs of that at least, so these players are out there. We're never gonna get that from Rom, Kev, Del, Yan, Tom, Aru or Enn.

Stekelenburg;
Holgate, Williams, Funes Mori;
Coleman, Baines;
Gueye, Davies, Barry;
Dowell;
Lukaku.

Alright to do it in the pub but not in the public domain. And calling for the Dutchman's dismissal should invoke a lifetime ban.

After all, isn't it time all Evertonians learned to be PATIENT? We can't expect to be winning trophies EVERY year, can we?

I love this football club and it is a massive part of my life but I'm reaching the end of how much I can take now. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

A billionaire owner, a world-class manager, a striker who can net 20 goals a season, a successful youth system, one of the best scouts in the game. We lose a cup tie against Norwich and the wheels fall off spectacularly. I'm still amazed that we sit in 7th place.

I can see what needs to be done but why can't our management and coaching staff? I'm sick of repeating myself because what does it achieve sounding off on ToffeeWeb apart from feeling like you've got something off your chest?

The crux of our problem is that we are so desperate for success that we big up the players during the close-season. We get a couple of decent results and then we're going to "get top 4" or "even win it".

In reality, I'd like someone to tell me who are the genuinely class footballers at Everton. How many of them would get in Chelsea's team or in the RS side? I think "none" is the answer and that's the main issue.

Ross Barkley – too slow. Puts his foot on the ball too much and slows the game down. Has no brain. Get shut whilst he would still command a decent sum.
Gareth Barry – good servant but way too slow.
Lukaku – when he isn't scoring, which isn't often now, he contributes nothing. I honestly think Kone or even Niasse would have offered more than Rom yesterday. At least they would have wanted it.
Williams, Jagielka, Baines – Well past it. Living off former glories.
Coleman – Nowhere near as effective as he used to be but he tries.
Idrissa Gueye – One of the rare plusses but another player who cannot keep a ball down and thinks he needs to break the back of the net to score, when a side foot would result in a goal.
McCarthy, Besic, Gibson – Not good enough. No attacking capability. We need a Coutinho – not a workhorse who just runs around.
Mirallas, Deulofeu, Bolasie – Glorified Aiden McGeadys. Can do the hard bits but not the critical aspects which win games. How many players do Everton get like this? Deulofeu needs to stop losing the ball and throwing his arms up in the air. It's becoming one of the most annoying Everton cliches.
Funes Mori – should have been offloaded after the Anfield debacle but I'd prefer him over Jagielka.
Stekelenburg – Has acquitted himself well.

What we need:

Lose the sentiment and get shut of the deadwood;
World-class goalkeeper
Leadership and strength at the back;
Creativity and goal threat from midfield;
Intelligent wide players;
Forward players who can get 20+ goals and can finish;

What we'll get:

Another demoralising Christmas, a few token signings in January, more false hope and then we can do it all again over the summer.

The issues we have IMO, are a number of first team players, whose best days are long behind them, players bought in by our previous manager who are not up to scratch, a squad, who before Koeman came in were tactically and physically not up to it, so he already had an uphill challenge.

Then there's the disastrous summer transfer window, which left us with one first choice striker, no new number 10/creative central midfielder , issues in the defence and no number one goalkeeper.

Like others on here I'm getting very concerned why Koeman doesn't seem to be considering some of our Under-23s, Davies & Dowell, being the main players I would like to see more of. I was optimistic at the start of the season when Holgate was playing, that other players from the Under-23s would be introduced.

I personally would be very surprised if we are able to get a number of players in who will improve us in January. There's no doubt we need a massive clearout and a complete overhaul of the first team, I can't see that happening quickly.

Koeman is going to have to prove his worth over this season, so we'll see how good a manager he is.

I was expecting changes after both Chelsea and Swansea. Nothing happened so I'm expecting a similar line up against Man Utd.

And what was that old saying about repeating the same actions and expecting a different result??

God help us.

The tone is set by the "great in the dressing room" boy up top, Lukaku. Too good to be here, does it when he feels like it, rarely provides an outlet, is crap at playing loan striker and all in all is a "1 performance in 4" player, if we're lucky.

Same with all the attacking players. Have you seen Ross Barkleys stats away from home. He's invisible. Bolasie is more of the same as Deulofeu and Mirallas, inconsistent, no product and, in his case specifically, shockingly overpriced with little product and a teenage level of showboating which is ridiculous for a 27-year-old. Lukaku and him get on like a house on fire apparently. No surprise there.

These players need dealing out.

Lukaku and his ego needs to be shipped out in the summer. He sets the tone up top and he gives nowhere near enough on a consistent basis. He is a dressing room cancer and I would much rather have someone like Austin (and I did say get him in as cover to derision) or Long (I don't mean sign them them specifically) that will work, run the channels and give an actual fuck.

On a side note I do think Lukaku has been isolated this season but I've seen lads play lone isolated and make it work. He isn't prepared to and it's the mentality and lack of ethic and big time "doing you a favour being here" that is all wrong.

Standards have dropped at Everton, and there's no characters in the dressing room enforcing them. The dressing room is weak, soft, and needs challenging as there are some players blatantly taking the piss.

Koeman has a battle on.

Never in my life have I been so dismayed by fans getting "conned" by goal stats. He's like a travelling salesman who decides to have a good few days, get his sales up and then sit back and chill for a bit till its time to get a few more in the bag to avoid getting the nudge.

Seriously, what must his team mates think of him? His movement and energy – like it or not – sets the tone for our attacking play. I'm not asking him to get the ball and beat 3 men and smash it to the top corner; however, I do expect him to try and contain the play in the opposition half. I do expect him to lead by example – not just trot around waiting for the magical through ball that may make him actually run with intention.

Bolassie had a go yesterday – so did the much slated Valencia. But we have a lazy lump up front who thinks he's too good for us and has conned some of the fans into thinking it too.

As for Koeman, pack your bags; you don't get us and therefore we will never get you.

Martinez was (correctly) criticised for massively underachieving in his last two seasons. All the rhetoric was how our best squad since the 80s was being wasted by awful management.

Now we've got Ronald Koeman serving up as bad or worse than anything we've seen for 20 years, and all of a sudden, it's the players – it was the players all along... Well, I'm just not having it.

The squad is packed with internationals in every position – compare it to the squads of Bournemouth, Burnley, Palace, Swansea and Southampton we've performed so abysmally against for 2½ months now with no end in sight.

A lot of people, quite simply, are just not yet ready to admit to themselves that we've got another dud in charge. How many good player's careers are going to have to suffer and stall until they do?

We've had to endure the same downing of tools and capitulations for the past 3 years and the lack of cohesion and collective team spirit is alarming.

Koeman will need time although to arrest the current demise here and now is an imperative given that we are in free fall seemingly without any sign of a parachute. He has to try something different ð change the personnel, adopt a different formation, blood some of the young players.

We are a busted flush, too many players over the hill or lacking the desire to make a difference regardless of their perceived talent. To do nothing to arrest the current malaise in my opinion is negligible. Actions speak louder than words and only Koeman has the power to effect change.

Baines is not the player he used to be. Jagielka is both too slow and his decision making is poor. Williams, I can't comment on too much but may be better paired with a younger partner.

Midfield, we're lacking flair and control. Ignoring the two wings, the centre pairing have to be consistent and control the game. We don't have that.

Going forwards, the top strikers are able to have that one chance and put it in the back of the net. That's it. ONE chance is all they need.

It's not good enough from the players.

I think he's lost the dressing room with his managerial style and stupid words to the media about Lukaku not fulfilling his career if he stays at us. I don't think he wanted to come here and was only interested in the money.

I don't believe he was Moshiri's first choice since it took ages to hire him and we supposedly talked to Emery beforehand.

We have no style of play and I hate the new craze "pressing game" which is being coined about a lot. Pressing just means closing down which should be a bare minimum of a Premier League team.

None of the youngsters are being given a chance when so many of our so called stars having been playing shite for the last 2 years.

I hate 4-2-3-1 because it's too negative and our front four don't suit it and we have no deep-lying playmaker in midfield.

So many players need to be cleared: Mirallas, Lennon, Cleverley, Besic, Kone, Niasse, Jagielka, Oviedo, Robles, Gibson and probably Lukaku need to go.

The reason why I didn't say McCarthy because I think he has more to offer and is better in a 1 defensive midfielder formation.

I would try Barkley with Gana, McCarthy and Barry in a 2 man midfield since Barkley is not a Number 10.

Our left side is a joke, we have no left midfielder/winger, Baines is past it, Galloway is a centre-half while Oviedo and Garbutt are dirt.

We need two creative centre midfielders and 1 proper Number 10. A commanding, quick no nonsense nasty centre half, a Fox in the box striker with good feet and a good workrate.

If we pick up no points from our next 5 which is highly likely it's gonna be a relegation battle.

I'm sick of this every fucking year, we sign duds from shite Premier League sides and lose the same type of games all the time.

This all goes back to when Martinez said he needed 6 or 7 New players but got none and that's largely why we are where we are.

The thing is if Koeman gets sacked or leaves who will we get. Howe maybe, no decent Italian apart from Mancini, maybe Pellegrini if he really wants to leave his cushy job in China.

People say Klopp was given time; true. But he didn't have a whole summer transfer window to start off with and he was new to the league.

Moshri needs to invest in the team now – never mind the much talked about new stadium. Our new bilionaire has shown us sweet FA in terms of putting his money where his mouth is as far as I am concerned.

I dismissed Eddie How when his name was linked after Martinez was sacked, but in reflection I reckon he may have been a good fit for us. Lots to prove and a fan of the club.

These so-called professional footballers (and I use the term lightly) should be ashamed of themselves the way they are performing at the moment. Man Utd, Arsenal and the Red Shite all coming up. With the attitude and effort they are showing at the moment, God help us.

80% of this squad need replacing ASAP. They are not even Championship standard. A long hard season ahead, folks... Think we've heard that said before.

Martinez did far more damage than most people will admit. We have a long way to go to get back to top 6 never mind top 4.

Money will have to be given to Koeman to prove himself.

Ronaldo regularly puts his body on the line for the team. Whilst he's a unique individual, he fully represents a creative player who is willing to do anything to win. We lack players with that mentality.

Great servant that he has been, now at 34 Jagielka's best years are behind him. Ashley Williams at 32 will be okay for a few more years... but who else?

Funes-Mori is not a premier league player. Next up: Mason Holgate, great potential but only 18. Hopefully Koeman will look for a few centre-backs in the January window...

I agree and for that surely Duncan Ferguson is culpable. I cannot see what else 'big Dunc' can contribute to this lethargic shambles we are enduring other than pride and passion and he is also failing miserably.

If he is being employed to coach pinball Rom how to head that is also failing. Get the kids in and ditch these mercenaries, and make them refund all our magnificent travelling away fans for that spineless effort!

Result? They won 3-0.

The opposition? Everton FC.

Sometimes managers get lucky when circumstances force them to make changes they would otherwise have been reluctant to make. We can but hope circumstances force him to do something similar with us.

After the strict rule of Moyes, it seemed that it was a free for all under Martinez. Things got slack, and players weren't held accountable for their mistakes.

Barkley is a prime example, as it seemed Martinez encouraged him to learn from his mistakes, creating a culture of no blame.

With the tough run coming up, I can't see any of our youngsters getting a game.

We are a bit of a mess at the moment but with a run of differcult games coming up Koeman needs to mix things up and take a risk or two.

1) Drop Jags he is struggling also with him and Williams at the heart of the defence our distribution from the back is piss poor (yes, in this respect we do miss Stones) pair Williams with Funes Mori.

2) Barry also needs to be benched, what stuck me about yesterday's game is the amount of time and space Southampton had in the middle of the park and Guaye often doing the work of two men as Barry simply does not have the legs and so Tom Davies or Macca to partner Guaye .

3) Barkley is no No 10 he wants so much time on the ball and doesn't read the game very well, I personally would give Deulofeu a shot in that particular position he can pick a pass and many times when playing on the wing he loses the ball by trying to take men on and then delivering the cross... Why you may ask? Because there is normally no one to cross to and so has to pass back or take the man on!

4) Lukaku is very slow at anticipating crosses and passes and he loses the ball far too often, in the formation we play where he has to play a lone striker he has to work the channels and also hold the ball up wait for support. The problem is these are not his strengths and so we either change the formation to 4-4-2 or sell Lukaku for the best possible price!

5) Koeman was not my choice as manager as I said the time he was not a good fit for Everton however we have to keep the faith for now hope he can turn things around but he has to take chances, he strikes me as being one not to gamble on players and likes to play mature established players unless injuries dictate circumstances. However he has to do something to stop the rot, I fully expect changes over the next few games because if he persists with the same set of players we could find ourselves getting a few hidings and dropping like a stone down the table.

We are just a few defeats from the bottom half of the table and we have a fixture list from hell from now on, Koeman has to start earning that six-figure salary or we could be in big trouble come January and no player wants to join a struggling side.

Even without any new signings, the current lot of slackers (there are a few players who clearly do not give a fuck for our club) need replacing by the youngsters. They cannot do any worse for Christ's sake!

Bite the bullet, Mr Koeman, and show us that these performances are as unbearable for you as they are for us tortured fans. All eyes are now on you – and will be until January when we expect some action.

Honest Ronnie is telling us he has not got a Scooby.

I'm tying to ease off and let him get on with it, but how do you do that?

٤m a year and the best he can come up with is "fuck knows".

Spare a thought for those world class fans who'd have travelled for 4-5 hours to get there, some of them will have still been queuing to get in when the match was lost .

Still, the reasonable and the patient will make them feel much better with more promises of jam tomorrow.

Come on, FFS, against Swansea we were awful, so he puts out an identical team away to Southampton!

A few things have become depressingly obvious:

1. We have far too many shit players.

2. Despite the fact we have shit players, the manager has to work with what he has; it's easily as good as what he had at Southampton, yet he can't get nothing out of them.

3. Despite the run of 1 win in 8, we aren't seeing a change in formation, we aren't seeing any fresh new players.

4. It looks like were reliving the Tim Howard situation all over again, this time with Jags. Jags looks lost, as Howard did, yet the manager leaves him in the firing line.

We need to mix it up desperately, we have to introduce some new blood into the team, and onto the bench too, as our subs don't make enough of an impact to get us the points.

We need to start including Dowell and Davis from the start of games, we need Bolasie back on the right hand side instead of on the left, we need Funes Mori in for Jags and someone has to try getting Galloway back asap to go back to left back.

Some of the players we would need to leave out are hard men to replace, but if you look at our last 50-odd games we simply have not been good enough and at least two of these players have played most of the time. (Jags and Barry out is my thinking.)

1. Stekelenburg
2. Coleman
3. Galloway
4. Funes Mori or Holgate
5. Williams
6. Gana
7. Bolasie
8. Davies
9. Lukaku
10. Barkley
11. Dowell

I love Jags, he's been a terrific servant to the club; I really rate Barry too, but feel we have to add to the team if were ever to kick on.

If the above doesn't work, we can address it in January.

Answer: Unsworth and Royle.

And then put the much derided ( most unfairly) Leon Osman in charge of the Academy.

After all, he is the only player of late who could read a gam, and deliver a killer pass to a player in his own team.

True Blues for True Blues!

What if he doesn't react as you suggest?

For these types of footballers it was not just a stroll in the park. It was a Blue battle every time!

It needs someone like Duncan Ferguson to sit the entire squad down and say "WHAT'S THE FUCKING PROBLEM" and the answer will be, if they were truthful "We don't like Koeman speaking openly and frankly to all and sundry about us, we don't like being criticised and we are therefore all sulking until he gives us all a hug."

They are a bunch of fannies and needed some tough love after the Bobby Brown shoes regime but to quote a well known film "they can't handle the truth".They are all running scared from the big bad boss.

They all need to grow a pair.

In an oxymoronic way, you have agreed with those wanting him sacked, because you admit he's not showing us he is doing what is necessary to move things forward: ie, sorting out the mess he is paid mindbending lottery winning amounts of cash to do.

Before he arrived, in one game, Unsworth seemed to have sorted out the mess, and got a side full of internationals looking like a team again. We could see the players fighting and doing all the things the (temporary) boss had asked of them. We don't see that now, even with additional players being recruited. What we see is a group of disjointed, unfit and in the main, ageing men going through the motions, and the younger ones doing even less.

I don't think Koeman is the answer to Everton's problem but I know he's here for a few years yet, so I just hope (it's been my life support for 20+ years) that he proves me wrong, and gets this rudderless gravy train back on its tracks

My anger is starting to subside, meaning that, after 40 years, I'm beginning to lose affection for my club.

1) Treat everyone as an individual – Respect that every player has different needs "Every incentive doesn't necessarily motivate each individual", Be Flexible to their needs, Should an individual player have ambitions to play at a higher level, tell him not to waste his time at your club.

2) Praise good work and offer feedback – Publicly praise those players who have managed to find a team-mate with a pass or throw-in.

3) Lead by example: "Don't leave work the moment the clock strikes going home time, make time for your players. Be excited by new challenges, show real enthusiasm for projects and demonstrate your love of the job. Positivity breeds positivity.”

4) Encourage people to take a break – particularly in the opening half of games, there'll be plenty of time for the players to turn it around in the second period.

5) Offer benefits that boost morale (but don't break the bank) i.e. don't impinge on the directors personal wealth as that could lead to major problems. A gesture as simple as having fruit delivered to the training ground each week can show the players that you care.

6) Give ownership to your team, While new players need clear instructions and guidance, once they are on the right track, let go of the reins. Leave them to be led by their own initiative and congratulate them for doing so. Allow them to work well and without much input.

7) Run a ‘no blame' culture – When something goes wrong don't blame the players; analyse the reasons and change whatever actually caused the issue in the first place – learn and improve.

8) Communication is key – By keeping open lines of communication with players and listening to their ideas, they will feel more connected to the progression of the club and thus more motivated to contribute to its future. However, don't publicly lambast them or belittle them in front of their spouses.

9) Be flexible – Whilst all companies need employment agreements in place to set standards, be prepared to be flexible to reasonable requests for additional leave. Respect that your players have personal lives to balance with their work commitments and don't put additional pressure on them when, for example, they have to pick up their children, take care of a sick relative or leave early for a Lamborghini to be delivered. To avoid completely forfeiting their labour, be generous to them and they'll reward you with increased productivity.

10) Get the little things right – You need not spend a vast sum of money improving your staff morale. A few Ales and a meal in Chinatown can be enough to cement team spirit.

I hope the man getting paid £6m a year has got a bit more idea than me.

I honestly didn't take umbrage at your post at all and I, like you, hope that Koeman can come up with solutions to our present dilemma.

I think your list of excellent ideas could be summed up as Koeman lacks man management skills. Maybe its the Dutch style as many have commented there is also an air of aloofness when I see him being interviewed.

I don't hear the passion in his voice, he talks of Everton not 'us' or 'we', he says its a project. Well, Ronald, to a lot of us, it has been a lifetime's work of passion and love.

The reds are on a good run which makes it worse but I for one do not want us to turn into a hire and fire club. He needs to be judged on a full season at least and the club needs to learn from the mistakes of the summer window.

A few poor results won't ruin our season. Those that thought we were going to be a top four side this season were day dreaming. It's got to be turned around and quickly to keep in touch with the teams above but guys reign it in seriously.

ps: Some may talk about passion and caring as their reasons for negative posts but just because I'm realistic and patient doesn't mean I'm any less passionate. Bring on the comments

The team is full of old men – no wonder our players cover less ground than almost all other sides. You can have one or maybe two in a team but not as many as we have. And the younger ones have been here so long they seem stale and complacent.

Football is so fast these days, you are getting past it by your late twenties. We need a big clear-out to make way for a younger generation, preferably including some of our own.

The only half of football that offered any real hope that this season may be better than the previous two, was in the opening game against Spurs. Since we beat Boro on 17th September – three months ago, we have looked like a team that has mostly lost the plot.

Given our current form, general malaise and upcoming fixtures we could easily face Southampton at Goodison on 2nd January still awaiting our seventh victory of the season. That might of course be a pessimistic view, but it's more likely than not, particularly if nothing changes in relation to Koeman's tactics, formation, or the personell he chooses to utilise.

We all wanted to believe that the club would ride on a crest of enthusiasm but it's failed to take advantage of any feel good factor that was around at the start of the campaign. Many of us can be accused of being deluded and over optimistic until events showed us all that little has changed and we are once again writing a campaign off for another year.

I do hope that Ronald is the right man to take the club forward and that he at least lays good foundations for the future, but it's really difficult to point to any single thing and say that's what Koeman's trying to achieve at Everton FC – or maybe I missed something?

Our U23 team is flying, we have good young players on the books and none of them look the least bit likely to get given a chance.

Liverpool are the complete opposite. Although we shouldn't be judging ourselves on the enemy, you can't help but look across the park and see what's going on. They look easy to watch, have bags of goals in them, attack at will.

They have a manager who seems more than willing to throw the kids into the mix. Both the manager and the team itself aren't one bit over reliant on any one player.

We just look like we've possibly made a huge mistake in getting Keoman in. Hopefully not, hopefully he can fix our broken team, hopefully its all in transition and it won't take long now, but I can't see it.

I can't work out his style of play, his philosophy per say. He claims to like a high pressing, high tempo game, but I don't miss a minute of Everton's football, and I don't see any thing of the sorts.

Under Martinez I was far from happy, but his idea was clear; flawed to fuck, but clear.

I don't see a growing identity at the blues and I really want to. The minimum requirement is fitness, I've heard that RK claimed we were as unfit a side he'd ever witnessed, but he doesn't seem yo have fixed that.

Rick Hatton used to go from Ricky Fatton to abbed up machine in 6-8 weeks, Koeman has had double. I'll be honest, im starting to worry.

Over the last few weeks, we have seen Everton as bad as they have been at any point over the last 10 years. Saturday's performance was an all time low. One shot on target and in injury time against a team that had played on Thursday in the Czech Republic and should have been at least a little mentally tired, but their people had them up for the game from the off and basically kept going right to the end.

One goal in three games is awful considering the money spent on Lukaku and Bolassie who by the way has been a dud since coming in to help take the weight off Lukaku.

Koeman just doesn't seem to be able to inspire his players at this stage and they have shown no glimpses of form that may be interpreted as ''improvement''.

It really is a scary prognosis and with Manure coming up along with RS, something needs to be done quickly as they can easily find themselves in the lower half given the lack of points gained lately.

If he makes some changes for the next game how hopeful can we be if it is the same old bench players who also have been under a cloud regarding output.

I think Koeman has to be brave and drop some big names who are underachieving to allow some youngsters in and although it may not produce victories overnight it will send a strong message to the big wages guys that what they have done so far is totally unacceptable. In any event, the youngsters may just be a pleasant surprise and kick-start a revival.

There is some unsubstantiated, pure speculation about the relationship between coach and squad. I doubt, though, that the inept frauds who are shaming the shirt, will force this coach out. He is here for a while yet and I expect a turnaround soon.

Yours truly and a few other brave souls stuck our heads above the parapet last season and suggested maybe the players and not just the manager might be to blame for our lack of success.

At the risk of repeating myself, if we want to be taken seriously as a club again, the owners need to spend some of their own money for a change because they haven't done yet on a level that will raise us from mediocrity.

Until they do, we will continue to be disappointed.

A top manager would make big changes such as 5 or 6 dropped or a change of formation - look what Conte did at Chelsea. This would show players what is expected. A lot of the players know they will be picked whatever their performance. That is not good enough.

The last really positive game was against Norwich at the end of last season when the kids were given a go and there was more than one change. Yes we have won a few matches this season but for long periods of each we have looked poor and the results could have been different.

A tough month ahead with games against the big teams. It needs sorting fast.

I don't care what Koeman says, this guy needs a chance to play some more games for the first team. We signed him for a reason and I'm not convinced he is as crap as Koeman says he is.

They don't seem to know how to press. Lennon running his socks off pressing is useless if he does it on his own. Every team in the league and 3 leagues below will just pass the ball around one man pressing. It has to be in twos and threes.

It's alright saying that Costa runs more than Lukaku but if Costa was playing for us he'd soon learn that it's not worth the energy.

What stinks about Lukaku is that he gave up on asking the other to press and what stinks about the manager is that he can't get even 30 mins of high energy pressing out of so-called international players.

And former Saints star Le Tissier said: 'I thought it was a brilliant debut, I was really impressed with him.

'Had Ronald Koeman still been at the club he probably wouldn't have had that chance, because Ronald wasn't overly keen on getting the youngsters involved.

Some of us see the writing on the wall long before most and some can't even see the wall and continue supporting a FAILED manager to the bitter end – and some even beyond the end.

As for the suggestion that Lukaku is making Barkley look a bad player So that's why he can't pass to a team mate, or tackle, or head a ball, or track back, or make a decision with the ball at his feet. The very idea that he'd shine in a 'top 5' side is just laughable.

I said at the start of the season he'd be at a West Brom or Stoke or Sunderland within 3 years. Well I'm revising my view and saying he'll be at that type of club next season. Those who say sell him for 㿊m just imagine if we bought someone for that price who offered as little as Barkley does week after week. Oh, hang on – we did. Bolaise!!! Another one trick pony to add to the list!!!

Before the clamour to sack the manager gets out of hand look at yesterday's team and ask yourself if you were a fan of another team how many of Everton's squad would you like to see sign for you. Not many i'll guess. And there's a reason for that. We have a squad of bang average players mixed with over-the-hill 30-somethings.

A massive clear out is needed. And quickly

You are making the classic error of thinking everyone who disagrees with you has the same opinion. They don't.

Those who claimed Koeman was a the answer are not the same people who are now saying he is "shit" and has "no ideas".

While some saw his already fabled "Dutch candour" as what you describe as "a breath of fresh air", others (myself included) saw it as responsibility shirking, finger pointing bullshit... I think you'll find we said so at the time.

That's not to say there are only two camps here – although it does look as though the trenches are already starting to be dug – there are many different groups with differing opinions, all equally entitled to voice them without being told to "reign it in".

I'm often puzzled by people who think that criticising a manager whose team is serving up pug ugly ineffective shite, should be deemed "negative"... yet supporting said pug ugly shite is deemed realistic as err... positive? A pissed logic if you ask me.

It doesn't seem much more than a year ago (probably because it wasn't) when the patient and the realistic were lining up to be all outraged and upset about "constant negativity" directed towards the last guy... How justified that negativity turned out to be. You see, not everyone believes you should wait until your house has been reduced to ashes before you call the fire brigade.

I'm also sick of the realistic and the patient saying the players are not good enough. The squad is choc full of internationals, all of whom have repeatedly proved they are better than this. The managers of Norwich, Burnley. Bournemouth, Swansea and Southampton would swap their squads for Koeman's in a heartbeat.

A manager's primary job is to get the best out of his players, to get them to buy in to his ideas, He needs them all on board. The one thing he must not do, is to alienate them by criticising them in public whilst exonerating himself of all blame.

Dutch candour? Criticising individuals in public whilst distancing yourself from blame is about as negative (and dishonest) as it gets for a manager. Chelsea gave ample evidence of that last season.

We are not going to get a change of manager, but we can demand a change of attitude.

What hasn't escaped my attention, for the last 12 months of Bobbies reign we had players who "downed tools". We left early many times.

Those players are still at our club. Don't forget that. It's in their nature if they get pissed with the hierarchy.

This transfer window is just as important in getting rid of the bad seeds as it is getting good players in. Has to be root and branch.

I watch us and and I'm at a loss to see what the plan is, what is he trying to achieve? It's awful to watch and I'd imagine its awful to play.

The gloss has rapidly disappeared from Koeman. His ambitions of being a future Barca coach seem laughable. He fits firmly into the category of legendary players who can't make the grade as great coaches.

The decades of woe being an Everton fan show no signs of ending any time soon. We fit firmly into the category of 4th best team in the North West.

If you're disagreeing with my comments, feel free but it's all there to see.

If you're saying the players need more balls then I fully agree!!!

I believe that some of his utterances have simply been unprofessional, not consistent with what we expect of any professional manager. He needs to change on that front, and become more professional. Less chatter, more action. Otherwise, it is nigh on impossible to lead by example.

I also disagree with his use, or rather non-use, of our younger players. I am gobsmacked as to why Under-23s who have proven themselves already in the 1st team, cannot get a place given the appalling performances from established regulars.

I am not expecting miracles or even rapid massive change, but I would like to see evidence of less stubbornness in his management, and I would like to see it quickly.

Why has it taken so long for him to wake up when everyone else could see what was happening.

I just have a bad feeling about this, as he seems to say one thing and actually do another. He has stated that he will pull players who do not perform yet he carries on with Jags who just hasn't got the legs anymore.

He should give some of the Under-23s a start against Man Utd as we need points or we will be in the bottom half of the league very soon.

I feel for the people who went all that way last week to be served up with that rubbish!

I think the dressing room is rotten. Standards have been allowed to drop and there seems to be no one in there enforcing them. By that I mean a senior pro. There are players quite blatantly taking the piss and the dressing room needs challenging. That, however, is high risk.

There's going to be a big turnover of players, I guess, as there are some who are clearly not having Koeman, and plenty he doesn't rate. The wedge and faith he has had placed in him mean its likely the board will back him as far as they can, unless we end up in real bother.

What about explaining the poor middle and the poor ends because it's not as if we improve "greatly" as the game goes on.

Has it not dawned on him that the WHOLE game performances have been very poor?

Not sure if he's now showing "decorum" as to not offend the fickle (my opinion, of course).

He must know, surely. Just keeping his cards close to his very opinionated chest.

I give up trying to work it out, it gives me migraines, but one thing I know is we are shite. He's in charge, he should sort it out.

Lack of leadership in the squad, senior pros in decline, low intensity and lack of application on the pitch, a team who are hard-wired to play a game-plan that is the opposite of the current tactics, refusal to promote emerging talent, generally poor standards on and off the pitch for years, up to ten players who know they'll be gone soon, a collapse in confidence and moral, and finally a manager who seems to think doing the same things with the same players will get different results.

I'm all for patience and not suggesting he gets the sack, but if we don't start winning games soon we'll plummet down that league and December looks a real twat of a month.

It was reported today that Soton want 㿔m for Van Dijk. Give em that in January and get him in. Spend another 㿊m or more on a playmaker. Spend another 㿊m or more on a second striker to play WITH Lukaku and not instead of.

I'd also look to bring in at least three loanees for the rest of the season, including Schweinstieger (consummate professional with a better footballing brain than the rest of our squad put together)

Extreme? Yes, but can anyone see any of the present players getting us out of this slump? I didn't expect top four in Koemams first season, but I didn't expect what we're seeing now either. Act soon, Ron, before it's too fucking late!!!

Is Koeman good enough? I'm not sure. But if he's to prove he's the boss, and he really means business, then he's got to change either his methods or his team or quite possibly both, before things get even more out of hand.

It really does look that bad at the minute, watching a manager talking about one thing, and his players out on the pitch doing another?

Link

What are you talking about? The people who were annoyed at Martinez for blowing smoke up the players' arses, would hardly be the same people who are now criticising Koeman for his finger-pointing.

How can they only be described as "double-standard" comments if they are made by different people?

What is double-standard is applauding Koeman for "telling it like it is" then rounding on fans who give him a taste of his own.

As you say, and I agree, it is nonsensical to slate Martinez for not telling it as it is and slate Koeman for telling it as it is when it comes to certain players' performances.

For example, he criticised Lukaku's and Barkley's performances vs Southampton. Was that an unfair assessment of the way the two of them played?

I have no problem with a manager telling it as it is. Players are mollycoddled and protected far too much in my opinion. They are well paid, overpaid in a lot of cases. If they can't accept criticism, that just backs my case up.

For others to be critical is balmy, too many giving Koeman faith and trust on credit instead of him earning that right.

To date he has earnt neither, almost no progress, although our defensive record is improving, so should be on the tightest of reins.

A poor December may even convince me that he doesn't warrant the transfer funds to change things. That being said, we are a touch desperate at the moment.

If Koeman cannot get us Europe then, for me, it's time to jog on.

I can see that many would consider the treatment of Niasse as 'brutal' but for all we know there might be good reason for this, which may have nothing to do with matters on the football pitch.

If publicly stating that Ross has to produce more often or that Jagielka has to improve on his recent performances, is now considered 'brutal', I'm at a loss to know what is or isn't acceptable from the manager of Everton FC.

I really don't care if he is the coldest of people and the most brutal manager in the history of the game if he turns things around and Everton FC start winning more games than they don't. If he doesn't turn it around pretty damn sharpish, he will, like others before him, be replaced by somebody else.

Some of his utterances appear unprofessional, in appearing not to be in Everton's best interests, which he has a duty to promote (and certainly not to do the opposite). This has to stop.

Perhaps we need less chit chat from him. We certainly appear to need more action.

Whilst openly slating members of his team, it strikes me that maybe it is just a deflection to distract from his own accountability. This might also be a drum-banging ploy to ensure he gets the funds he wants in January.

It has clearly had an effect on squad players who are to be moved on. They both can't execute his game plan and after being verbally trashed have decided not to even try.

Do we really think he's gonna turn it around? My gut says not.

First, teams like Southampton, Swansea, Burnley and Bournemouth have all proved this season that what they have is better than what we have. I'd be amazed if there's one single manager who doesn't feel genuine relish when he sees his next match is against us, just like last season. Koeman and the few he's brought in must be aghast at what they've found behind the scenes.

Second, not one of our internationals is playing for a country likely to win anything soon so them playing bog standard football for a bog standard national team sadly means nowt to me, even if it gives our shyster players the occasional chance to wear a shirt they actually respect.

That is utterly ridiculous. None of our internationals are playing for a country likely to win anything, really?

Funes Mori starts for Argentina. Lukaku starts for Belgium, with Mirallas also in the squad. Williams just went to the semis of the Euros with Wales. Coleman captains the Irish, who are getting stronger every year.

And just how many national teams have a chance to "win anything"? Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Spain, France? Italy is down, so I guess having an Italian wouldn't rank with any managers. Belgium are fancied to be contenders for years.

And since when does a player's worth and quality depend on the quality of his national team? Didn't see clubs running away from Zlatan and Larrson because Sweden weren't dominant. I could just see the Real Madrid board arguing against Gareth Bale because Wales were garbage at the time.

We have a squad of talented footballers. I didn't see Leicester City winning the league last season with a team full of German and Spanish internationals.

Those teams you mention don't have superior players to us. What they had was a team that was set out with better tactics and beat us on the day. Meanwhile our manager persists with the same formation of two defensive midfielders that offer zero goal threat or ability to dictate play with the ball, and an isolated lone striker up top.

Liverpool have for the most part the same players in their team that were garbage under Rodgers, below us in the table last season, who are now lighting up the league with their new manager. He's had an immediate impact, guiding them to two cup finals in his first half season.

Our manager sadly seems clueless and hasn't had a noticeable impact on a single player or the method of our play, other than resorting to a ton of hoofball to a solitary striker.

This is not based on any facts or evidence... it's purely an instinct; but something tells me that he's not the man for us.

"Teams like Southampton, Swansea, Burnley and Bournemouth have all proved this season that they have better than what we have."

Are you sure? Only despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of Evertonians are complaining bitterly about under performing players and manager... we are still comfortably above every single one of those teams.

I'll give you one thing though, the players who play for England do indeed play for a bog standard national team.

Give Big Dunc and Unsy a couple of matches to get the passion and hunger back as they want to prove themselves.

As we give Goodison a makeover in the run-up to the new stadium, can we ask that a revolving door is fitted to the manager's office?

If the new stadium takes 4 years, we will have appointed 12 new managers. A surefire way to achieve success.

Quite a few posts are saying how good Liverpool are, and how our midfield players can't compete with the likes of Coutinho. Well, my opinion is that our squad last season, and could still be this season, was as good or better than Liverpool's.

The derby debacle was frustrating and angering not because Liverpool were that good, they weren't, but because our players failed to turn up, to perform in any acceptable way. For me, this is the main point, that we do have the players who can perform. We've seen them do it in the past. So they can do it again.

As such, instead of focusing on transfer windows and mythical future signings, we should be seeing incremental improvements with the current squad, with future signings adding to this. The emphasis being on adding to it, not instead of it.

I believe if we keep focusing on future transfer windows, then we're letting the current crop, players and manager alike, off the hook. I want to see improvements, significant ones, with the current squad, sooner rather than later. Future signings are there to enhance such improvements further.

And I'm not interested whether the manager has an emotional attachment to Everton. He's a paid professional, with a job to improve us on the pitch. That's it. Anything he does or says has to be consistent with this.

The only people with emotional attachment to Everton are, so far as I can see, us supporters.

That's Iceland, the only team with a preponderance of players who have actual real-world jobs rather than the gold plated Rollers and life-style given to the shirkers we have masquerading as professional footballers.

How to overcome this situation? Either recruit players that can play both the roles of attack and defence in midfield (rare) or sign a dominant footballing central defender who can bring the ball forward and pass the ball (rare – Stones was part of this player but he could not be described as dominant), playing with one defensive midfielder allowing more attacking/creative players into the team.

At the moment we have two central defenders who are in reality 'stoppers' – traditional centre half's with very limited footballing skills and zero distribution ability. We also have two defensive midfielders one who is coming to the end of his career and the other who is very good.

We should scrap this set up and bring in:

1. A dominant footballing centre back with good distribution.

2. Try Barkley in a deep lying creative midfield role or bring in this type of player.

Obviously other positions need to be addressed but these are the main priorities for January. We need to spend big to get the best available. With the right people, the impact would be massive. In the meantime, the team should be adjusted to play this way using our current crop of players.

TC Again!

So I think the next couple of seasons will be very interesting, can he get this club virtually guaranteed Europa League football and challenging for the top 4 during his time.To do that he will need a massive transfer kitty if he ever hopes to challenge for a top 4 place.

Now I know some will say Leicester won the league without spending a fortune, yes they did but this was a once-in-a-100-year chance. The top 4 places oof teh Premier League are usually occupied by clubs who spend vast amounts on players.

So as much as this a question over Koemans ability it will also show if Mr Moshiri is prepared to invest the vast sums that are needed to make this happen. Plus there is also a new ground to pay for so it wont be easy.

I think provided we are not dragged into a relegation battle then Koeman will be given time. But wherever we finish this season the fans will be looking for an improvement in style as well as where we finish in the league.

Most of the present squad are Internationals and should be performing at a level far above recent games. It's sheer nonsense to write them all off whilst we wait for half a dozen windows to provide Koeman with 'his' players – many of whom will be no more talented than the ones we have.

He was hired 'to make a difference' – so far his impact has been modest. Were we a so-called 'top' club, he would already be under pressure whilst here, we are just told 'to be patient'.

As you post on numerous occasions you say we are a 7th to 11th finishing club. So yes, you are right to say the manager should be making a difference, but if we spend about what teams who finish mid table, why expect a different outcome?

That's why a lot of us are saying after the next 2 windows it will give us a better idea of Koeman's ability and Moshiri's financial backing.

Spend the money to bolster and improve the squad by all means but only if the club / individual can afford it – we have to be very careful of a Peter Johnson Mark II situation arising. If Moshiri had have come in three or four years ago, his money may have made a huge difference; now we need the money to retain any hope of having a top ten team. That I think is why many fans are asking Ronald to produce more from the players he has inherited.

To me, that is the limit of our aspiration. The Sky Six are now so far ahead in virtually every aspect that we will rarely be able to challenge them regardless of the owner's investment because the new legislation is designed to keep 'pretenders' at bay.

Who knows, occasionally we may be able to break through that glass ceiling to worry 'the elite' but, in the main, we shall have to be satisfied with 'best of the rest' and the occasional cup.

Not too much to ask, is it?

Moshiri has already said that a new ground is his priority and finding new revenue streams is also high on his agenda. We sadly have fallen so far behind the other top clubs in respect of revenues from gate receipts, sponsorship and other revenue streams that it will take time to put right.

The one thing that every manager asks for and fans hate to hear is time to put things right. But, as I said in an earlier post, the next 2 transfer windows will give us a greater idea of Koeman's and Walsh's ability and just how much backing they will get from Moshiri.

Didn't take long – in 1992-93 Man Utd won it with 84 points from 42 games. We won it with 86 from 42 in 1986-87.

I must have some other stat that invlolved Everton and Leicester but off the top of my head I can't think what it was. I had that stuck in my head for some reason but thanks for keeping me honest.

That's the problem with trying to combine work and TW, it isn't the best time to make 'bold' statements.

When he was manager, Howard Kendall had a simple tactic from the kick off of launching the ball diagonally into the opposition's half for Sharp to compete in the air by the touchline. Worst scenario was the opposition gained a throw in deep in their own half. That way you don't concede early possession in your own half and don't concede a goal after 42 seconds.

Focusing on some simple stuff and demanding the players do the simple stuff well is surely not beyond Koeman's, or his players' capability.

Sack the fraud! Get Unsy in!

Every time we don't get a result we have the spin within 48 hours – either more news about the proposed new stadium or a player we are interested in, or a new sign and lick of paint at Goodison. It is all so predictable just like the way the team are playing.

There are at least 6 players at Everton not good enough in my opinion and another 4 who need replacing sooner rather than later – that's 10 in total.

For the first time in a long time I can honestly say I am not looking forward to the derby at our place. Koeman bigging up our fiercest rivals is for me like hanging out a white flag already. This is not Koemans team I keep saying but he needs to start to show us all he knows what he's at.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2016/11/29/southampton-glowing-proving-point-ronald-koeman-proud-put-talent/

As a Premier League manager, Koeman must have seen videos and reports of Everton's players and tactics over previous seasons, and have been aware of their weaknesses. He had time and if we are led to believe the finances to improve the squad prior to the start of the season and before the window closed. He has a full squad of first team players plus numerous youth players to choose from but it his decision who he plays, and who he trains all week prior to playing whoever are his opponents.

As far as who he signed there is imo only Gueye that is an improvement to what we had. There are a couple of Premier League teams who supporters consider their playing staff not as good as ours but when you watch some of the lower teams their manager still has seemed to install a fighting attitude with a definite plan. Everton have no identity on the playing field, their game plan seems predictable with no Plan B.

This is Koeman's team; he picks the players, he oversees the training, and he lays out the tactics. He is not the only manager to take over another team and a successful manager should be able to manage with what he has, and not be given excuses of "it is not his team" for poor performances.

We are ALL in the dark regards if there is money to buy players or not because to date Moshiri has failed to put his hands in his pockets for players. He has been all talk up to now.

It is rumoured that Bolasie was brought in to keep Lukaku happy as they are big buddies off the pitch. So he has bought the goalkeeper in reality.

"Yes" this is not a squad that he has assembled, but the point I was trying to make was, there was no mention of this "not" being his team when we were winning games, but seems to be used as an excuse now we are going through a rough patch.

As far as Bolasie goes, there was one comment i read that seems to sum him up and that was, "He has lots of speed going down the wings, but it seems he needs a map to find the goal".

To say 'It will take time to get them playing as we wish' as he tends to, may be true but to say it publicly for those players to hear really just gives them an in-built 'excuse' not to fully commit to the cause or leastways to take responsibility when they let us down again (in whatever phase of the game).

Still, its preferable to saying how great we're really playing despite the clear and opposite result(s) as per Martinez. A clear out and a kick-start in the offing, I hope!

As for comparisons in personality with a twat like Klopp, I'll take our man's genuinely 'serious business, this' demeanour every time over a patently false and way OTT 'look at me laughing, crying, being super-serious, jovial' attention-seeker over the way, there. His words to the media like-wise. Klopp is a caricature of apparent fit-for-the-occasion emotion..

Sod Herr Klopp and his Liverpool pretenders.. they're doing good now, but we've seen that all before recent times.. so for how long again? Fuck em!!!

I'm remaining hopeful and still trusting our man to get it right..coyt!!!

The man is a fuckin genius to have noticed the above!!!

Things would only have been worse for this clown if he had been successful signing Sissoko.

Taxi for Koeman... Unsy et al to run this debacle of a club.

Regarding the 'pressing game', I increasingly get the impression that this is just bullshit, in-vogue terminology for what has always been the case, ie, players have to be fit to do the job.

The way Klopp and some others are treating it, they seem to be making players into long-distance runners, in place of having a football brain. The physical stresses might not be sustainable over a season. Maybe that's why his lot are accumulating injuries.