Chelsea v Everton – A tactical analysis

It has been great to watch our performance in all three away games against the Sky 6 teams. I think we have had a very good shape in all three matches and our high pressing is excellent.

First goal means a lot in these matches and I think we were not lucky against Arsenal and Man Utd. Against Chelsea although they obviously had most possession I too liked the fact that we were not overrun the last 15 minutes. This is far different than just sitting deep and hope for one counter.

To make the next step resultwise we need to score on set pieces. I think we are really poor and I don't know our stats but I think we only scored once on the magical combination against Southampton. But none from headers and we are not even a threat.

I think we need to have much more aggressive running and attacking the ball on set pieces. Maybe they could ask Duncan for advice. If we play like we do, get sorted out on defensive set pieces and actually scores on our own set-pieces, we will get close to 6th.

Trying not to be biased, Jorginho's lunge was a straight Red and it was a Sky 6 decision; but in saying that Bernard is off if the Ref see's that (even though Rudiger makes too much of it) as it was not too dis-similar to Richarlison at Bournemouth. He shouldn't put the ref in a position to have to make that call.

Mina had a great game, but for me that's a penalty as he's not looking at the ball; but Morata should've been booked early for his diving antics which would have made him stay on his feet more later in the game.

Great to see the side taking the game to these opponents. Okay, 1 point from 3 away games doesn't seem great on paper; but it doesn't tell or reflect the true story and wouldn't it be special if he breaks his duck in two weeks time with a three-pointer?

It really looks like you have a good grasp of what Silva thinks. That being the case, do you feel the current squad is good enough for your 5th/6th finish prediction or do you think Silva will be looking to add to the squad in January?

It's a very positive transformation of the team by M&M, and it's fantastic to see Everton playing with genuine belief and guts and style and manner.

Long may it last.

Marco Silva's away record in the Premier League is not great, but he has improved upon it this season with a point per game so far, which is respectable. We are creating a few chances, gaining corners, and winning free kicks 35 m from goal – we need to be more ruthless and capitalise on these situations.

Defensively we are looking safer, and far better than I expected to be honest. I am even liking the occasional move to 3 centre-backs, something which used to strike terror into my heart when David Moyes would bring on an extra centre-half in the last few minutes which usually created chaos, especially when defending corners.

A work in progress, but the picture is developing. Hope to see you in a couple of weeks time, Steve.

Of course, to be able to do that successfully requires the right players who can do it at the highest level against the best teams, and a massive part of this must be the ability to follow instructions and to have faith in the man giving you those instructions, and a firm belief that those instructions will work.

Yes, at bottom, it's a simple game... but the ingredients required to make it the beautiful game for Everton Football Club are far from simple, as the last 30+ years have demonstrated.

Thanks for that, Steve.

You got the piss taken out of you early in the season, Steve. Suffice to say nearly everything you said would happen has happened.

As you say, there were some tasty debates in the summer on Silva, but there weren't only 'some very ignorant arguments against Silva' as your write, but a lot – a LOT! – of well-balanced counters to (for example) your own blind sycophancy of our manager.

I recall on more than one occasion you bristling with resentment at any sort of challenge to your trumpeting of Silva, whilst you yourself attempted to airbrush out of history provable FACTS that countered (some) exaggerated claims you made.

Plenty – and I mean PLENTY! – whilst having reservations about his appointment, were happy to give Silva time to get into his stride. And plenty of those 'plenties' are delighted at the direction the club is currently going and the style of football being played.

It has been an exceedingly small minority – as in one digit of one hand – claiming on TW Silva would be gone by November.

Even when 'things were not going well' initially at the start (as you yourself write), there were plenty of the 'plenties' countering the more extreme doomsayers, acknowledging that the style and tactics – even with the disappointing results – were markedly improved on last season.

The manager and the team deservedly got criticised for poor performances against Huddersfield, West Ham and Suthampton. The League Cup exit particularly grated on me because that was largely down to the manager playing Russian Roulette with his selection in a competition we should be targeting to win outright.

Having addressed your own opening comments regarding the summer Silva debate, let's now turn to broader tactical analysis.

More than a year ago, you wrote a lengthy tactical analysis of why Schneiderlin was under-performing when you considered he should be a key player for the team. Curiously, you kinda concluded it was all Ashley Wiiliams's fault.

You continued canvassing for Schneiderlin this summer and early season, being totally dismissive of Gana Gueye – describing him as being incapable of playing in a Silva team and expected him to be sold – whilst simultaneously campaigning hard to see William Carvalho arrive from the disintegrating Sporting.

Plenty of TWers took issue with you on your reading of all three players. I have long believed playing Schneiderlin with Gueye hugely diminished the effectiveness of the latter to the detriment of the player and the team.

You expressed bemusement as to where Gomes would fit into the team, because you didn't believe he could play the role filled by Schneiderlin, that he needed to be played further forward, which for you meant he was in direct competition for one place with Sigurdsson.

Given how Gueye is playing this season (sans Schneiderlin) – and for me, Gana is right up there with Keane as our standout players thus far – and given how Gomes has slipped in seamlessly alongside him (and Gomes is still not fully up to speed), can you acknowledge Steve that you called it wrong about all three players? Make that four, if you want to throw in Carvalho also, who – like many I'm sure – I feel was a bullet well dodged, if Silva was ever as keen on him as you promoted.

As for your analysis of the Chelsea game, for me it was further evidence that the work at Finch Farm is beginning to bear fruit. What I like is – home or away, against any opposition – Silva is setting the team up to primarily play our game, rather than compromise and primarily set up to nullify the opposition's game as has been the 'Everton Way' for too long under successive managers.

Martinez achieved this in his first season, but couldn't maintain it. It's still too premature to say whether Silva can continue in this same vein for longer than a single season, but the signs are there that he is a more balanced coach than Martinez, and thus, better able to tweak and adjust things than the single ideology of Roberto.

In all of this, we should not overlook the role of Brands who did sterling work in moving on so much deadwood, whilst recruiting quality in their stead for Silva to work with – not one of which you could consider a 'failure'.

People who use it should check the definition of the word.

I think, though, we might we wiser to be a little less bullish about our manager. He may have improved our play from last season – a low hurdle – but the odds are against him being the messiah.

If he gets 6th or especially 5th, he will certainly have over-achieved this season, but Moyes used to do this regularly on a fraction of the budget and even Martinez managed it once, and we all know what happened to him.

It certainly helps to have some talent as a manager, and Silva appears to have some, but that usually isn't enough to save them. You need plentiful luck, not least with player form and injuries, some momentum and more patience from your board than is likely to be available nowadays. It's a pretty thankless task, made easier by the massive salaries.

As for winning the Premier League, he'll need more than luck, the chances of that happening are, sadly, vanishingly small. He'd need Champions League qualification first, across a few years, so we have the money and status to bid for talent not currently open to us. And much more likely is that, at some point before the above happening, he runs out of luck, goes on a run of bad results, and gets the bullet.

In my view, he'd be better off trying to win us some silverware first; I know the League Cup and even the FA Cup are not what they once were in terms of status, but winning either of them would certainly buy him a lot of goodwill with the fans. Shame he started on the wrong foot on that.

I'd agree with Jay @14 that Brands has made a very good start, maybe actually even better than our manager who had a few horror games early on. Based on what we've seen so far, we appear to have managed to acquire no complete duds, which makes a pleasant change, even if it remains to be seen how they all kick on.

I was puzzled to what "advantage" with Silva you thought Steve could gain.

I've noticed that Walcott and Bernard don't do a lot of switching flanks, they seem well drilled and the whole team are obviously paying attention in class.

I saw it as us set up as 4-2-4, without the ball in the first half, with Sigurdsson and Richarlison next to each other and with Walcott and Bernard in a line which really limited any Chelsea movement. The way the team moved, especially in midfield, was excellent to watch.

We now really need more composure going forward and that will go a long way in our attempts to make the next step. I think we are watching the start of something. Silva has all his signings fit now and he can fine-tune things and prepare for different situations. Excellent from Silva; he's impressing.

Is this a team gelling?

Maybe a brilliant centre-forward but rest of team seems to becoming just that – a team

Keep 'em coming.

Only by someone with a particular mindset.

I really enjoyed your pictures, Steve, especially the ones that show us setting up defensively. I think we are still too open, but these pictures tend to show a different view.

Nine and ten defenders, in some of those pictures, defensive shape, no big gaps, players on both sides of the ball, it takes me back to “Kendall's Everton” and the famous team that always used to hunt in packs.

It's still early days, we looked more organised because we were playing one of the top sides? But it's a very long time since I looked at my team, thinking that there is still loads of improvement to come from this squad, which is both exciting and intriguing for us very long-suffering Blues!

Firstly, the 'gone by November' comment was made in complete isolation by someone clearly venting after a bad result and was, I recall, subsequently retracted.

Secondly, I was not alone in countering your early dismissal of Gueye as not good enough for Silva, and whilst it is nice of you to praise him as he deserves, he has not 'upped his game this season' so much as returned to the level of his first season with us. I think statistically he is better than the much-celebrated Kante at the moment, as I also believe he was that first season.

I appreciate the tone of your analysis was not a 'told you so' but Jay is correct to call you on your support of Schneiderlin over Gueye.

I'm not trying to have a pop because I enjoy these articles but, in the interest of putting forward my own tuppence, I am with Jay on this one.

Two points: I'm not sure about Walcott and Bernard in this formation. I'd prefer Lookman and Richarlison wide and Tucson or possibly Calvert-Lewin in the middle. Lookman has a better footballing nous than Walcott and Bernard is lightweight.

By that, I don't mean he's small (think Bobby Collins, or Alan Ball), but that he does clever cameos, but generally is not totally involved.

Bernard could come on for the final third of a game when teams are tiring.

I'm impressed with Mina and Keane is again looking an England defender, now he has players who can play on the left of the central defence.

Thank you, Steve, for the article.

If Walcott finds a bit of touch he will be on the end of some goals for us. Clearly Walcott buys into the system and style, and has the energy and cleverness to be a regular. Hopefully he'll step up. Zouma, Keane and Mina... a selection headache from now on!

I find these things can be quite boring, but I honestly thought that you had done a good job on a subject that is not easy.... and then people start going on about something you have previously said?

This must have taken you hours to do, it's obviously one of your passions, so talk about all the other stuff you wrote on another thread mate, and don't let people spoil what you have written about here, because it's full of detail, even if some of it goes over my head.

Once again, Steve, if a picture can speak a thousand words, then I've learnt quite a lot with some of the ones you have used in this article, and just because I also never agreed with you about Schneiderlin, doesn't take away from the work you have done on this thread.

This analysis by Steve expands well beyond the Chelsea game to touch upon what it means to be 'Silva's Everton', as indeed it should. That being the case, why should we not explore earlier comments and opinions to see how the analysis has changed? All in the interest of knowledgeable debate hopefully.

Too early to judge Silva but it seems he's doing a good job. Get a win at Anfield with a good performance that would be a sign of improving...

There you go, Steve, let's hear your views about Klopp's men's strengths and weaknesses... and how you think Silva will set up against our biggest rivals?

Attention to detail is massive but I personally reckon that it has got to be 90% on the individual and 10% to the team... simply because, if something is going to break down, then it's usually because one individual is not doing his job properly.

Maybe I'm old-fashioned but two of Kendall's greatest “team-talks” were both about the fans. Nothing tactical about Stoke in the FA Cup, or Munich on my favourite ever Goodison night!

Hopefully, this is going to happen again because it looks like most Evertonians are really coming round to Marco Silva and his players; once a good Everton team really gets the fans behind them, then anything is possible — with “Real Belief” being the key for me.

I think loads of Liverpudlians are hoping they are just cantering along because they don't look as good so far this season.

Klopp's teams are usually about intensity, good players who play the game at real speed, which really engages “the crowd”. They give the ball away as much as most teams, but it's high up the pitch, closer to their opponent's goal, and when they win it back, they have got the players to punish you.

A similar set-up to Chelsea, I think. Frustrate them with our discipline, and then hopefully hurt them with our skill and pace, with real belief being the key!!

You are 100% correct: Michael asked Steve for a tactical analysis on the Chelsea game. Every single poster responding to the opening post, bar none, opens their own post by complimenting Steve on his analysis. His efforts have been universally acknowledged and praised by all.

However, Steve doesn't only offer a tactical analysis of the Chelsea game, does he? Steve chose in his pre-amble to write 4-5 paragraphs about the summer debate and early-season comments about Silva's appointment. So it was Steve himself who first referenced 'something that was previously said'.

His opening words gave the impression that there was more hostility towards Silva than was the case, saying as he did that in the 'tasty debates... a lot of people put forward some very ignorant arguments against Silva... very dismissive' of some of his work at his previous clubs'.

Steve further added about Silva's start at Everton that 'some sharpened the knives and the I-told-you-so's were starting to be whispered. Gone by November some said.'

In my own reply @ 14 I make no apology for addressing the two issues Steve references in his opening post: the wider debate on Silva's appointment and his tactical analysis of the Chelsea game.

On the first, I legitimately pointed out that Steve - by his own admission - drove the bandwaggon in the campaign to see Silva appointed, whilst many others were not out-and-out hostile or 'ignorant' to use Steve's own turn of phrase about appointing him, but rather, expressed some justifiable reservations.

From memory, there were three recurring concerns about Silva:

1) his defensive record in the Premier League. Both his Hull and Watford teams conceded a LOT of goals.

2) his ability to win away from home. He couldn't buy an away win with Hull.

3) his capacity to perform under duress. He did well to give Hull a sporting chance of avoiding relegation, but they fell away badly at the death. He totally switched off at Watford, having been denied the chance to take up the Everton job.

Steve's promotion of Silva on TW in the summer reached epic, voluminous proportions. Whilst talking up every aspect of Silva, he resented and railed against any and every legitimate doubting or criticism of his Chosen One. An example of that is point one above. Steve complained about people 'only focussing on the negative about Silva's defensive record', effectively denying it was a legitimate concern to express in evaluating our future manager.

Steve, I'm sorry to say, also out and out lied about Silva's achievement. He kept repeating that Silva is the only Sporting manager in recent years to have won them a trophy. When I pointed out to him that Sporting won the Portuguese League Cup in February of this very year, he continued to argue (in his opinion) it was not a 'major trophy' so therefore could be discounted. As I pointed out at that time, he had made a very good case for Silva. Why the need to out-and-out lie about some of his claims in support of his man when it was of no consequence to the debate whatsover?

In summary, none of the three primary concerns expressed eloquently by many in the Silva appointment debate constitutes 'ignorant' opinion as Steve labelled it in the preamble of his opening post in this thread.

As I said @14, plenty of 'plenties' were willing to give Silva time in the job, and plenty of them have acknowledged a marked improvement in the tactics and style in comparison to recent seasons and can 'see' a plan in place.

Tony, I like Steve and the tactical insight he evidently enjoys presenting. Steve himself will confirm during the summer he asked me to translate a series of tactical YouTube videos in Portuguese on Silva's coaching style, which I happily did for him, taking up a few hours of my time. This when we were not in total harmony on Silva's credentials.

Like Steve, I believed there was talent at the club being badly coached and managed. Like Steve, I wanted a hands-on coach at Finch Farm. Like Steve, I wanted an inspirational coach to drive our young 'uns to the next level. Unlike Steve, I had reservations about some aspects of Silva's CV.

I was not alone in defending Silva early season following some iffy performances. Only the Southampton League Cup exit really pissed me off. Silva got that one very badly wrong on many levels.

I continue to be delighted at the progress we are evidently making this season. Also, I am genuinely interested to hear if Steve has changed his take on some of our players as I referenced.

And finally, on a point of TW order: just because someone takes pains to write ANY piece should not, IMO, make it sacrosanct and free from any challenges. TW would become a very sterile site if that were ever the case.

I do not know how much time you spend in Portugal, but clearly not enough if you think anyone takes it seriously enough. The competition has been binned off and brought back. The new way to gather interest is in a "race to the Algarve". They have a new interesting concept whereby they play the quarters at the weekend, the semis midweek, and the final the following week. It takes place at either the unused Algarve Stadium or most recently up in Braga.

They struggle to fill the ground by 75% for the final. No one wants to go and see it, no cares about it; no-one thinks it's a major trophy. I am recently back from Portugal and discussed this very topic, and was told once again how no one cares about this trophy. The fans vote with their feet season after season.

You misunderstand by pre-amble to my article. It's not an I told you so, it's a thank god for that, or a about frigging time. I was trying, and obviously failed regards yourself, to explain how I was obviously under pressure having said Silva was a good defensive manager and then he turned up and we were shipping goals. You will not get an I told you so off me, we're all supposed to be on the same side here, so why stick it to your fellow fans?

I don't know why you repeatedly want to rehash old ground, it smacks of point scoring of your own. Schneiderlin could be a decent player, but seems to have imploded mentally, and that was before his father died. This won't help, and for me, it's gotten harder not easier in the time that's passed. Especially having to go to Portugal and pack up his apartment and bring everything home.

Silva said repeatedly, before a ball was kicked that he wanted to play 4-3-3. I pointed out he mostly used 4-2-3-1. This surprised me. He himself talked up Schniederlin and his ability to be the anchor in the midfield 3. Gueye cannot be an anchor, he lacks the discipline and the passing ability, whilst it chops his legs off and stops him doing what he is best at.

Gomes is an 8. In a 4-2-3-1 like we use, he needs to be a 6 or a 10. I mainly saw Gomes for Benfica, as a young man. He was a lot more attacking in those days. I have since mainly seen him for Portugal, as a quasi Portuguese fan. I asked my Portuguese friends, do you think he can play as a 6 in the Schniederlin role. I thought with his excellent passing that he could, but with his defensive frailties, I had doubts. My friends, to a man, all laughed at the notion of Gomes playing deep and getting the tackles in.

If you look early season, Silva played a defensive box. That is two centre-backs and immediately in front of them, Schneiderlin and Gueye. They were a good distance apart (Schneiderlin and Gueye). Gomes is actually playing a different position. He has assumed some of the Schneiderlin duties but not all. He drops deep, gets the ball off the defence and drives us forwards, like Schneiderlin was meant to. However, he then moves much further up the pitch.

Gomes and Gueye play a lot closer together, narrower on the pitch. This is because instead of Gueye being in the right half of the pitch, he is all over the pitch. He does more defensive work than Gomes. When he was with Schneiderlin they shared it.

So Jay, Gomes is not playing the Schneiderlin position. But if you want me to say I was wrong that he couldn't play that deep, then sure, why not? But I said a few times how surprised I was with how deep he played and how well he's played the position. A lot of that goes down to Gueye.

Gueye is someone who has been brilliant for us in the last month or more. Silva has adjusted his position and let him loose. Gueye is a seek-and-destroy type midfielder. He is not a defensive midfielder in the truest sense because he cannot sit in front of the back four, very static, and hold position. He's not very big and he's not very strong, even if he is brave and fearless.

If Silva went with a 4-3-3, then Gueye could not anchor the midfield. He could also not play as an 8. He lacks the ball skills. So if we wanted to play a proper 4-3-3, then Gueye has to go.

Silva instead has gone with his good old 4-2-3-1. This is the formation that suits the side; it suits Sigurdsson, it suits Gueye, and it also suits Digne and Coleman. Silva uses the same shape but not the same tactics and the 4-2-3-1 changes from game to game, depending on how deep the midfield is. Against Chelsea, the defensive line was slightly, but not much, deeper. The midfield though, was a lot deeper, sat on top of the defence.

Michael Keane, I said, could be Silva's John Terry. Darren Hinds, hope you come back mate, pilloried me for it. I thought yeah, got a bit carried away with that one. I like to be positive about things and have things sunny side up, which is why you won't see me noting every word you say, Jay, taking it out of context and using it to lambast you. Life's too short, mate. Be positive about things and enjoy them.

And finally, Everton sit 9th, we're below Allardyce's 8th. Silva has done nothing yet. He's got a very long way to go. I'm not, and will not anyway, be claiming any victory. He's doing what I hoped he would do. And Jay forgets that, at the time Silva was appointed, I said I wanted Sarri ahead of him. I'd also have taken a number of other managers, who were all unrealistic. The whole point with my championing of Silva was that we needed a coach. A proper training ground coach. It did not have to be Silva; I'd have been happy with Howe, truth be told, but we needed someone to coach this side in a way we haven't seen for years.

I must admit to not being impressed with the appointment of Silva at first but he has won me over, we now just need him to pull off a couple of big results to prove he can take us to the Champions League spots eventually.

Upsetting the likes of Liverpool would be a good sign, ahem!

Anyways with regards to Jay he is right in what he says.

I also remember you pushing for Schneiderlin over Gana which, in my book, did a massive disservice to Gana and what he brings to the team.

As for Schneiderlin, it wouldn't bother me in the slightest if he quietly disappeared in the January transfer window.

In Brands and Silva we could be on to something good!

COYB.

First, because you question it, my Portugal credentials. Since 1991, I have definitively lived in Portugal for 17 of the past 27 years. I learned Portuguese there. Conceived a 22-year-old son there (who still lives and studies in Portugal). I have business interests there. I speak daily, by phone, email and social media, in Portuguese, to family, friends and business associates in Portugal. I visit at least once a year. As a Sporting fan, I attended live games at both the old and new Sporting Alvalade stadium – probably more than some Blues posting on TW have attended live games at Goodison Park.

Quite reasonable then that I can claim to ‘know' Portugal pretty well.

As to your claim about Sporting under Silva and their trophy winning in recent years, you know full well how that exchange at the time went and how you (unnecessarily) concealed the fact that they won a trophy in February of this very year to inflate the ‘value' of Siva. You know full well I agreed with you that, like the English League Cup, it is the least considered of the 3 domestic trophies available to Portuguese clubs and that similarly to the English version, clubs put out weakened teams and that low attendances are commonplace.

However, as I also told you, the cup win in February was celebrated nationwide in every village, town and city where Sporting fans live and for sure, they would be sticking it to their Benfica rivals. I have no doubts at all, should Everton win the League Cup, our fans would be doing the same to our pinkie neighbours.

Next, where I have labelled your pre-amble as an ‘I told you so' piece? Not true. YOU used the phrase towards fellow TWers, not me. If your intention was to explain how you were ‘obviously under pressure having said Silva was a good defensive manager' as you claim, then your pre-amble completely fails to project that notion. (And why you should feel ‘pressurised' for merely expressing an opinion on a fans' forum is itself a very curious sentiment to feel. It really isn't that important.)

To throw your own words back at you, Steve, ‘we're all supposed to be on the same side here, so why stick it to your fellow fans?' So why include your pre-amble, calling contrary opinions to your own ‘ignorant, dismissive, sharpening their knives, I-told-you-sos'???

As also already pointed out, YOU chose to include the preamble to your tactical analysis of the Chelsea game which, possibly unnecessarily, ‘rehashed old ground.'

So, apparently it's legitimate for you to ‘stick it to fellow fans', but not legitimate, as I attempted, to offer a more balanced view of the summer and early season debate on Silva to counter your own starker view.

Okay. Got it.

As for the tactical stuff, the Gueye - Gomes axis is very different from the Gueye - Schneiderlin axis of last season. You clearly – even in your last post to me – continue to denigrate Gueye and what he is capable of. Neither Gueye nor Gomes are playing a fixed anchor role. It is more flexible than that and both are showing great discipline in making it work as it is.

Gueye has not 'stepped up his game' as you claim. He is performing again at levels he demonstrated when he first arrived (as others besides myself have pointed out to you), that have been stifled in playing alongside Schniederlin.

If that axis sat a lot deeper against Chelsea, as you claim, it was only when Chelsea were in possession. For the most part, both Gueye and Gomes – and the back four – squeeze up far more than last season.

Finally Steve, please don't lecture me on the need to be ‘positive about things and enjoy them'. I am most definitely in the optimistic and positive sphere about all things Everton (and life in general), here on TW or wider society – ALWAYS. You are well wide of the mark on that call.

As always, I am happy to take full responsibility for the consequences of the opinions I express on TW and how they are perceived. I suggest you start doing likewise, Steve, and stop seeing bogeyman where none exist.

However, I don't think this can be put down to Silva in isolation. My man of the season so far is split between him and Brands – they've brought in some top quality players, and as Jay says above got rid of a lot of deadwood, and it's the signings as much as any tactical switch that has made the difference. Gomes is a totally different beast to anything we had before, as is Richarlison. Digne is the left back we've been crying out for for a couple of years now, and Mina looks like he might be another top class signing.

Many of us, last season, were prepared to mitigate any criticism of Allardyce and Unsworth by pointing out that it was a particularly poor squad. We were often shouted down by those who said it wasn't the players it was the manager. Perhaps we were all right – shit managers, shit players. Looks like we might have balanced both sides of the equation, though let's not get carried away after a dozen games, with us in mid-table...

The big thing Gomes is starting to give us, which Schneiderlin could not, is some forward momentum, rather than lots of sidewise crabbing. I think it was actually easier to forward press Gueye & Scheiderlin because there never seem much risk of us going anywhere.

I'd also agree with Steve that Sigurdsson provides an extra defensive cover that wasn't happening when we marooned him on the left wing. He actually defends quite astutely for a forward player.

A debate in the finest tradition of ToffeeWeb.

I was on board from the start too with wanting Silva, albeit from a more uninformed viewpoint. As important as he is, the appointment of Marcel Brands is of equal importance. There is without doubt a class off-field set-up now at Everton. The conditions to sow long-term success are in place.

What do you think the defence line-up will be vs Cardiff. Back 4 with Zouma dropped to the bench? I can't see Mina being left out, or Keane for that matter. Zouma has done nothing wrong but, after Chelsea, it is now up to Keane and Mina to stake their claims to be first choices.

I don't want to see a formation change to accommodate 3 centre-backs; the way we are playing now, the team has just the right balance. Solid at the back, Gomes - Gana - Sigurdsson, a great centre midfield complimenting trio, pace and dangerous players when attacking.

By the way, I realised Sporting Lisbon won their League Cup this year. It's on the web. That said, as our resident Brazilian anger-management counselor points out, it made diddly-squat of an impression on anyone but their own fans. Everton have to be aiming higher than that.

If we win on Saturday, I will be looking forward to the derby for the first time in a decade. We can get a result at our old ground, no question about it.

When defending a corner, for example, this tactic takes advantage of both the pace we have and the attacking nous of our keeper and, for good measure, it occupies opposition minds.

Tony #43 – the Zouma question has been on my mind also. I think Mina will get the nod over Zouma which, though probably the right call, is in my mind a bit tough on the lad as he has been playing well for us.

Like you, I don't and really can't see Silva going 3 at the back – we seem to have a system which the whole squad understands. I think we will see the same starting line-up for the Cardiff game.

I suppose it is the kind of conundrum Silva wants. Who would have thought we would be discussing such a thing at the end of last season?

This time last season, most of us were very worried... but not no more – I'm genuinely intrigued and excited to see what Silva goes with on Saturday, even if I'm going to have to wait until the teams run out before I find out.

We never win when I know the team, and although Silva seems like a 'same again' type of manager, I can't wait to find out!!!

I'd have made Sigurdson my MotM. That work rate with that injury did it for me. And your subtle valedictory tone is fine by me!

Still very early days for me. We've seen some good football, some average football and some very poor performances from Everton this season. So 9th is probably a fair reflection of where we currently stand.

We had a great summer for transfer activity but failed to secure anyone in the key position for me which is a Number 9; that I fear will be the reason why we will finish outside of the top 6 this season.

Thoroughly enjoyed your analysis, Steve. Thanks for a great read. Whatever else people disagree with on here, I think we all can see that EFC are moving in the right direction and there are a lot of very positive signs for the future.

I'm just about to put a double on us winning on Sunday and Tyson Fury to win a little earlier in the day.