Tosun extolls the benefits of Middle East trip

Please.

If we continue to see the side messed about and going away from home with a defensive attitude then he may as well have stayed in the sunshine. We have the quality to beat the teams around and below us. And with a striker like this we should be able to turn chances into goals.

My fingers are crossed that the management now know what they have at their disposal and will try to win back some long-suffering fans by playing on the front foot.

Niasse, while looking awkward at times, scored regularly while out on loan.

Sandro was good enough to face Man Utd in the Champions League but didn't even get a chance for our U23 team.

I am starting to believe the players were not the problem.

Man Utd werelucky to come away with the draw last night. Other than that, he did a lot of running about for 15 minutes.

Surely the board only purchase players identified by the manager, director of football, or both.

If anyone has struggled to integrate with his team mates and make a worthwhile contribution it is the player Mourinho clocked as soon as he got to Manchester United.

It doesn't look like he is coming back, but I hope he does and Everton play a more open and attacking game if he does.

Again, I am not saying he is a star striker but to ignore him completely while he was here (he wasn't the only attacking player getting ignored in the past 2 years) is difficult to understand. We didn't even try to keep him in game shape by playing him in the U23.

Incidentally there is a freezing easterly wind with snow in the air and it's on its way to the UK; it will hit Hertfordshire circa 5pm on Saturday. It's a damn good job you spent a week in Dubai acclimatising, particularly the 'resting in the afternoon' bit.

Sandro came on around the 81st minute. In a congested box, the ball fell to him with his back to goal. He made a nice job of controlling it, spinning and banging it with is right foot. Pretty neat. Shot bounced off a defender's leg to outside the box. That was it attacking-wise. Can't recall him touching it again.

Other thing I noticed was him chasing back after a Man Utd player, running up the pitch with the ball at his feet. Sandro is, um, not fast.

Also, I can't recall seeing a player wearing the #99 shirt. So, there was that.

If he's good enough for that side then he should've been given more minutes at Everton.

At least his attitude is good!

If Sandro was a dead loss, then a club like Seville wouldn't be interested in him. If Klaassen didn't come up to scratch, then he wouldn't captain a team to the final of the Europa League.

The problem at Everton is expectations and motivation. Practically non-existent for 30 years.

The management do not have high enough standards and neither do the board. They are happy to accept that we will lose to the top 6. For me that is unacceptable.

My thoughts exactly, we hear these comments from players and as you say it's usually followed by another poor performance. Let's hope the trip to Dubai was beneficial.

I see Allardyce is on TalkSport tomorrow morning, funny the only time you hear the top managers is at press conferences were Allardyce will appear anywhere for money. No doubt he will be telling us how much he has improved the team and what he plans for next season... can't wait!

My prediction is we will start the Watford game with the same overly cautious defensive approach as we do every away game, Tosun will start on the bench and probably not get on at all and within 20 minutes we will fall behind to a sloppy goal, Groundhog Day that we have seen time and again.

I get the distinct feeling that these days Everton travel to away matches to just not lose the game now – what is it, 8 points picked up on the road all season?

Why are the players failing due to expectation and motivation?

If they can't match expectations then get rid. Sandro is rubbish. No speed, strength or balance – the guy spent more time falling over than anything else. He's awful

Tosun – way too early to judge. But your comment in the context of players failing due to expectations and motivation is bizarre. What do you mean?

We want to be a top 4 club. Hence why Bobby Martinez was sacked and then Koeman. They weren't delivering.

Sandro ain't top 4 quality. Klaassen I'm not sure yet... but none of Koeman, Unsworth or Allardyce think he's there yet. So he doesn't match their expectations of what's required of an Everton player at the moment. Are you suggesting our expectations should be LOWER?!?!

As for motivation: go have a word with yourself. If you need an external voice to motivate you for upwards of 㿊k a week, upwards of 30,000 fans a week and knowing your career will likely be 10 years at best, then you don't deserve to be a player.

I don't understand your post, mate.

Forget the Gulf, this is a shitty February afternoon in Watford, for the kind of game that defines seasons.

It's simple. People who succeed have high standards. They are highly motivated and expect the best from their work colleagues. If the organisation isn't run by people with these drivers, the organisation will fail.

I watch teams in lower divisions and their players are more highly motivated than ours. Why? Because they have an ambitious board and an equally ambitious manager.

The world, life is all about motivation. It's what gets us out of bed in the morning.

Why are our red neighbours more successful than us? It's because they have had managers who are highly motivated and expect high standards. That's why they fly out of the blocks when they play us in the derby.

Footballers need motivation. Most of them cannot motivate themselves, believe it or not. This is why top managers are so prized... Surely you can understand?

"Sandro was good enough to face Man Utd in the Champions League."

Actually no he wasn't which is why he came on in the 85th minute, and when he got a chance he couldn't take it.

I felt in the game against Spurs, he showed some decent touches on the very few occasions the ball was passed to him.

Hopefully somebody can put me straight here: it is my belief that Schneiderlin didn't travel with the squad to Dubai, is that correct?

So presumably he will not be involved against Watford.

Nice work if you can get it though.

With the few minutes he has played, how does he know for sure? In training sessions with his teammates? By watching from the bench or videos?

Either way, I hope he gets to play sooner rather than later, as he can only know the pace and the physicality of the Premier League when he plays more.

Or just a reminder that we went to Dubai because we are not in the FA Cup? After all this positive spin, no scratch that, I just expect the same team to go to Watford, injuries not withstanding.

But as Jim pointed out, we will just set up like always under Allardyce and have zero threat going forward. So have no way into or back from the goal we concede from setting up so negatively.

As for Tosun, Niasse hardly deserves stopping... so sorry, mate, you just have to wait.

The last time they tried training in Iceland, three of them got stuck in the pizza aisle and four fell in the choc-ice freezer.

Oh, so training every day at Finch Farm with your team-mates is no good for bonding or getting to know each other, and being payed a fortune to do the job you were bought for, which so far you are not capable of doing, doesn't help either?

Why do we always fuck up with transfers? Could it be because Kenwright and Walsh are fucking idiots?

I'm sorry Tosun but I'm long past caring for over-paid, under-performing, over-priced duds. When you are actually playing and scoring for Everton, then I'll give you my support, but enough already with the ready-made excuses, you're supposed to be a professional footballer, get on with it!

Now, I will freely admit I am (and probably already have) fell out of love with football, but follow Everton from some weird loyalty and a belief that we are different to other clubs (deluded? possibly). But football players for me are constantly whining or making excuses about things. Settling in, I get it! I have lived in 7 different countries (alone) in the last 16 years, with a little bit of support. These guys are put in top hotels, eased into things, and are then making excuses about settling into their massive houses and dealing with expectations. I do get it, I do understand that the Premier League is different, but come on chaps, man up a bit! You have no issues with money etc. The average man has a million more pressures than you do, but they just don't get it reported in the papers, they don't have your platform! I am currently in Saigon awaiting a flight to China, enjoying it and appreciating it!

This weekend I watched my favourite sport, boxing. I watched Groves and Eubank give it their all. Cut, bloodied, some excuses, but very little and dignity too. I went over to Japan and my first bout on the unlicensed scene was against a top middleweight, I drew. Did I moan like a big excuse maker that the ring was smaller than expected, or that he was a home fighter, or that I was having problems with the culture!!?? Nah, I just loved and appreciated the experience and did it many times after.

Point. Players are losing perspective massively. There is nothing truly wrong with what players say quite often, but it reeks of another world of privilege, where failure is rewarded with big contracts and signing-on fees. Yes, I am just about hanging in there with Everton! And yes, I do realise I sound like a judgemental arsehole, we all have our faults!

Like Cool Hand Luke, we won't give in though. We'll keep on getting up and fighting back. We have a tungsten nugget of belief welded to our blue hearts. This unwavering faith is what keeps us going. We know things are going to get better, it's just a matter of time.

I would like to be around to see it though, if at all possible.

As for Tosun I hope he has developed himself the tactical savvy to pick up the lose ball, out-muscle opponents, and run into good forward positions. He sure as hell can't depend on Big Sam's tactics. If not, he will get cameo roles when Big Sam is stuck and may continue his time in the wilderness.

The top goal scorers in the Premier League last season are players who have been around the league for quite a while. So it will still be a risk paying out huge sums for strikers directly from abroad.

Saying that, the last time Everton produced a striker who score a goal every 2 games for quite a few seasons was Joe Royle, and that was 52 years ago. So, Everton are failing to identify strikers from an early age.

"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars" – Oscar Wilde.

The comments that Sandro should have been given more time, because he played 5 mins against Man Utd last night.

Klaassen played the full game against Man Utd in the Europa League Final, and I couldn't understand why we paid 㿆m for him after that performance.

We need more players with his and Niasse‘s attitude in the squad who are prepared to fight all the way for their place. Good luck, Tosun.

Let's hope he gets an opportunity to get some time on the pitch in a two-up-top formation with Niasse on Saturday.

I'll get me coat...

He will or he won't. We'll see. But he certainly sounds like he expects to.

Fingers crossed.

He will or he won't. We'll see. But he certainly sounds like he expects to.

Fingers crossed.

Madness.

Always poor at transfers we are told. A forty mill profit on Lukaku, those on Stones, Arteta, etc. The purchases of Jags, Coleman, Baines, Cahill, Gravesen, etc etc.

The "board" are a part of that or they are not.

Players in lower leagues are motivated by an ambitious board. Really?

Sandro, 10 minutes and too slow to react to the one chance he gets, should have been given a chance. He was, he didn't produce and unlike us three managers saw him in training and thought "Nah, not first team quality", a bit like the manager of Seville.

Every Premier League squad does warm weather training, EFC goes and " They should be off to Iceland".

"Attack, attack, attack, it's only Watford", The team assembled by the (for many posters) latest, now departed, foreign Messiah / King over the water is obviously shit when the same people thought they outplayed us at Goodison.

Donald Trump makes more sense and is more consistent.

I'm glad that's all been cleared up, cheers.

Can't play, won't play, his knackers will need the blow torch treatment after the experience.

What is the point in warm, hot, weather training in the Dubai desert when you come back to play in a freezing February in England?

Of course, how naive of me. Sam and his extended crew of lackeys and delusionists need to keep the gravy train rolling. All aboard!!

Peter Reid, on the other hand, once asked the kitman to shorten his already tiny shorts on a freezing match day in February, so his knackers turned the same colour blue as his shirt, as a sign of his dedication to the cause. Those were the days.

A bowl of icicles optional.

Of course it isn't all "hunky dory", but at least be arsed enough to do what the rest of the Jeremiahs have done and justify your negativity.

Do you go/ watch the game? If so why?

Which is more fool me.

Some SAS training on the Brecon Beacons may have been more advantageous.

However, If we beat Watford and play well take ‘em somewhere sunny every week.

Mauritius on Monday?