Silva 'needs time'? Will it make any difference?

People are clouding their judgement with a hatred of Big Sam if they really think this football is much improved right now, it isn't. I simply don't see enough variety or flexibility in Marco Silva to suggest that next season will be any different than this.

He believes he only has 13 players to play with and stubbornly refuses to try alternatives. Gomes should have been taken out of the side six weeks ago as it's been clear as day he's been offering nothing since Christmas time.

Baines has been grossly underused and yesterday's match was perfect for him to come in for Digne. Why was McCarthy not considered if he's “ready”?

Why is the striker situation allowed to fester? Silva should be banging on Brands and Moshiri's door saying “you are responsible for this mess up front ever since Lukaku left. Why aren't you willing to solve it?”

I just have major concerns now that Silva isn't going to be the man big enough to drag this club and its limp, half-hearted players out of the doldrums.

The lack of fight and aggression from a number of Everton players yesterday was criminal and, without sounding alarmist, I do wonder if he has 'lost' the dressing room already?

The players perform with little or no confidence, and performances have tailed off gradually since the derby defeat. I'm not sure he can do a Kendall (Mark 1) and turn things around; it very rarely happens. The new Huddersfield manager must have seen that game yesterday and noted the fragility of our defence from set-pieces.

I believe what will happen that the board will let Silva stay until the end of the season, providing we don't get dragged into the relegation mire, and review the situation then, based on the availability of alternative candidates as manager.

I can't see Moshiri or Brands making any more money available to this guy after the performance yesterday.

A brain that can actually form a game-plan, develop tactics and coach players.

Somebody find the Yellow-Brick Road and send him to the Wizard. Failing that, maybe he can just sod off to Oz.

The only time he's getting, baring an Ole Gunnar run of wins (Ha!), rightly or wrongly, is borrowed time.

I was surprised but pleased that we put out the side we did. I assumed it would be a tough match against Millwall, so it seemed we were taking it seriously.

I watched the game on TV with the same detachment that the players showed. Was half-expecting us to lose, so wasn't surprised at the result. Laughed at the BBC commentary when they indicated that this wasn't the kind of game for Bernard to play in. Understand the reasoning behind the comment but players should be equipped for all types of matches, whoever and however physical the opposition maybe.

Think someone suggested in an earlier thread, the time has come to get to relative safety asap then blood some of the youngsters and give them a run in the side, perhaps restore some belief and pride in the shirt without too much ptessure. Doubt that will happen as Managers live and die by the results.

Interesting times ahead.

Martinez's downfall was that he had zero flexibility in the way his team played, and Silva appears to be the same.

I was massively against his appointment, and I haven't changed my mind on that – he looks out of his depth. Zonal marking does not work either and he appears to be having a major problem motivating the players.

A manager has 2 things to do on a basic level – motivate the players and pick a system that suits them. Silva is doing neither in my view.

The problem Everton has is a big one – can we keep chopping and changing managers every year or two? Stability is key when it comes to success in football, something we have not had since Moyes left 5 or 6 years ago.

We've been in this dire position many times before and the only way out is to appoint a manager who is shrewd enough to have a winning game plan and strong enough mentally to get the best out of the players available. Silva is neither.

Kendall was the ultimate man manager and a shrewd tactician, Moyes also had good qualities but not in the same class as Kendall; good enough though to put an excellent game plan into play with very limited resources.

Unfortunately the problem lies with the owner of the club who, thus far, has seemingly taken no advice when selecting his managers, despite pouring millions into the club, for which he can only be commended. Hopefully Brands is shrewd enough to pick a winner, that's our only hope of salvation at the moment.

We can't keep getting it wrong though or we will end up like Aston Villa. As fans, sadly we have absolutely no say in which manager will be picked.

I've said it before – adopt the Leinster bottom-up model, get a real load of scouse talent and give them first-class coaching, real fitness training – not health and safety or Everton in the Community... but we need to get rid of Kenwright, Barrett-Baxendale et al.

Cut our losses and beg for Benitez or Jose to sort the mess out top to bottom!

We had 7 shots according to Sky's stats, as you say 3 were on target (2 obviously goals). Surely a decent striker would convert more of these shots?

Then there are 3 good crosses that come to mind that didn't result in shots. 2 in the first half drilled low to the penalty spot from Coleman. Richarlison scuffed the first, Calvert Lewin took too many touches with the second and got tackled. The 3rd cross came from Digne and Lookman took a poor touch. Would a decent striker get shots away on these chances?

To my frustration we also put a lot of high balls into the box which I don't think suits our front 3. Would a decent striker be better aerially?

I'll provide a counter to the main thrust of your piece:

‘You give somebody time when you see that things are progressing and simply need to develop further. You give somebody time when you believe they're doing the right things but perhaps need more resources.'

They have progressed massively. The job of identifying the correct players to remain and who were persona non grata was THE critical one for the first phase of this ‘project' and it was handled in a business like fashion with good communications from Silva throughout. The work he (technically and diplomatically) and Brands (on the commercial front) is nothing short of breathtaking. Yes we would like to have seen more sold instead of loaned but that criticism can only be levelled at Brands.

Second, the players identified by Silva as those to take Everton to the next level and subsequently brought in (Richarlison, Bernard, Gomes, Digne) were, in my opinion, immeasurably better than those identified by either of his predecessors. Furthermore, Silva's ethos and personality was attractive enough to a high calibre of player for them to want to work with Everton.

Those two things would be enough for me in season one. Anything else would be a bonus. Things were so messed up that he's at that difficult time now where he needs to cut again, even though the players he will cut are decent but they just don't quite blend. He has to do this with the backdrop of the spending which has already occurred and fundraising for a new stadium. He has also identified he needs a striker but is remaining diplomatic. The pressure is now back on Brands to create the funds.

Silva needs at least two more windows, probably more, to get his squad to where it needs to be but it's going in the right direction and we have to temper our expectations while this rebuild occurs.

If results don't go our way in the meantime I'd rather have us mid-table and working towards a long term plan, removing dead wood and bringing in quality than the short termism showed by a replacement coach trying to save his own skin a la Allardyce and Koeman.

He should have said something along the lines of “we cannot give away cheap free kicks and then fail to defend those free kicks. Our lack of discipline has cost us dear and although the second goal was handball we should not have put ourselves in that position. We only have ourselves to blame and I am desperately disappointed with our performance”.

Until Silva grows some balls and admits to our problems I cannot see how we will progress. It is a bit like having an addiction in so much as you have to accept you have a problem before the root cause can be addressed.

I cannot see any real point in sacking Silva now but I would like to think that Brands is already putting together a short list of potential replacements in the summer dhoukdvit come to that. In the meantime I agree that we need to get to the safe number of points ASAP and then give some of young players an opportunity to show what they can do.

Love him or hate him, big Sam inherited an inferior squad and made it work, he got a tune out of Tosun and Walcott who look pale shadows of the players they were last season.

This team has no energy, no tactics, zonal marking and players playing at their worst. Remember 𧴜 mill was spent in the summer. Behind the scenes we may be better, but surely that is down to Brands and not Silva.

This is probably the lowest I have felt as an Evertonian. I'm sorry but it all lands at the manager's door!

It should not take 7 months to get a bunch of Premier League players (haha) working their bollocks off for the shirt, even Southampton's new manager has them doing the basics right in a matter of weeks.

Why do our players run, no sorry, trot, around the pitch looking completely disinterested and like they would rather be anywhere in the world but playing in an Everton shirt because that's exactly how it comes across watching it. They haven't the stomach for a fight and it was sadly predicted by myself and many others on here after we lost at Southampton meekly, that we would simply not be up for the battle at Millwall and they proved us right.

Last night needed to first be won mentally and then we should have been making the gulf in class tell but neither happened. It's a disgrace but am I shocked, am I really surprised, am I even that hurt by it? No, because I quite simply seen it coming a mile off — and clearly the BBC did as well.

He has to use this time to completely change his idealist beliefs.
He has to change the system to suit the players at his disposal and not try and shoehorn players that can't get his system, into it.
He has to drop players who are underperforming and play possibly lesser players who will at least give 100%

Silva is obviously stubborn and refuses to compromise his beliefs. If he doesn't change then he will be out, simple as that. For sure he will totally lose not only the players and support but also senior management.

Anyway, like you, I think it's about time Arteta took over the mantle of a premier league team. I sometimes think a person new to management needs to start at a lower league team, but as I've said, he must have learned an awful lot from Pep. If memory serves me correctly, Pep even let Arteta take charge in a few games, such is the confidence Pep has in him.

Also, while we're at it, bring Tim Cahill in as his number two. Like most though, I can't see any managerial changes taking place until at least this summer.

Stek (until someone better comes along)
Coleman, Keane, Zouma, Digne.
Bernard, Gana, Gomes/Sig, Richarlison.
Tosun/DCL, Lookman/Walcott

A straight forward 4-4-2. Something we and the players can understand until we get a top class striker. Then we can consider different formations. Personally I doubt Silva will make any changes at all and will sacked eventually. He'll call it sticking to his principles but it will be obstinacy.

The team needs a high class striker which will make a massive difference to confidence and cohesion and I have no doubt we will get one in the summer. We may get a decent loan this month but I would give Tosun a run. That feller has guts and a desire to play for us. I also thought that Seamus had his best game for us going forward for quite a while, for what that's worth amid the wreckage.

I say all of the above as one who strongly thought and argued that we should have kept Allardyce. Much of what has happened has proved me right on that, but there is another way for us and I think this manager may find it, contrary to my initial views of him. There are big problems, but I also think there is a golden chance.

It's hard to see in his demeanor and personality anything that can turn this around and methinks he is a phony who is nowhere ready for the Premiership.

Brands may have been right in denying more funding for new players in this window as they may too, have been a waste of time under Silva.

Sadly we may not know the answer to that situation and so we are left with a shambles of a set-up that may continue to the end of the season.

Only Everton could score a go-ahead goal with 20 minutes left against a much weakened, relegation threatened lower league team and then blow it all away.

As I have said for sometime Everton do not have a leader both on and off the pitch and they are crying out for someone like Peter Reid.

We need a Kevin Campbell type signing, someone to inspire a team that's dead and flat as a pancake right now.

I'd be looking at the loan option of someone like Austin for example, someone who'll at least put themselves on the line and not scared of doing the dirty work.

If Silva let's Tosun leave then we are stuck with Calvert-Lewin, it's unacceptable.

Silva has just lost it. Managers sometimes need a turning point. (Ala Kendall and Oxford) When will Silvas be? It won't be in the cup. Maybe it could be the derby but by then if we don't pick up some results he won't be here.

The shape is all wrong, it just doesn't work. Gomes has lost his spark. The confident display against the RS is a distant memory. And Pickford is also a shadow of himself. We kept Stek and let Robles go.

We are in a mess at the moment, on the field... and of course having a whole team of loanees we can't get shut of. If we could offload them in the summer we can dust down and start again. We also need a marquee signing, oh and better pies. Fucking Everton

I'm no great football strategist but this ponderous slow passing out from the back isn't working. We don't have skilled enough midfielders who can either get past a couple of opposition players or thread through some great balls to the front line.

We do reasonably down the wings as we have Coleman, Bernard and Digne but many times the build-up is so slow that there are tons of opposition players in the box against maybe a couple of ours. That purple patch we had in November employed this method but we passed and ran exponentially quicker - which you can only surmise has a lot to do with confidence.

Look at the amount of passes we make that go sideways or backwards – I think the players are scared of making a mistake so they always go for the 'easy' or 'safe' pass.

Should Silva go? – well, you have to think that, if he was there next season, would you expect anything to be different? And, would you trust him with him a pile of money, say 𧵎M, to go out an buy the players he wants.

But, above all, we are sooooo boring to watch, it's painful!! I don't enjoy it; I watch out of a sense of loyalty and little else with the hope that we can eke out a victory. My hopes are usually trashed in the first 60 mins. COYB

We have no cohesive defence starting from an erratic goalkeeper who is believing his own hype. Defenders who are coached to attack, which is okay so long as you have a solid mobile and aggressive midfield who can hold the fort while they are attacking. We have none of these in the playing squad and attackers who create movement for the midfielders to create a pass/chance. Funnily, I do see Calvert-Lewin and even Tosun trying to do that but our passing rate is so slow that even slow defenders are able to track and recover the moves.

EVERYTHING IS SO SLOW!!!

Embarrassing really

Assuming that we get deeper into trouble over the next few weeks and are in danger of not getting the 10 points we need for safety then what are our options for a manager?

Benetiz would seem to be the safest pair of hands as he is becoming increasingly frustrated at Newcastle and has proven experience in managing at the highest level.

Arteta (who I thought was in consideration after the sacking of Koeman as he did attend some of Unsworth's games) is untried, but also may learn from Pep but don't forget he is used to dealing with a much higher quality of player and I'm not sure whether he could cope and motivate our lot. Maybe... Maybe Not.

It was said in one of the earlier threads is that we need a mean bastard and bully as a boss to get some result from the current squad. At the risk of being inundated with typical TW abuse, one person springs to mind who has recently become availabe, has experience in the premier league and is a non-nonsense demanding manager who expects nothing less than full-blooded commitment from his players: Roy Keane.

(I am now ducking behind my keyboard...) Drastic circumstances require drastic measures.

Also, as has been discussed before on this forum, we still play passes behind the player which immediately slows the whole process down.

It's one of the first things any basic training teaches, and another basic skill that appears to be missing at Finch Farm!

What the hell goes on there?

Each player at this club is viewed as a good player. Digne, Zouma, Mina, Coleman, Keane are all international defenders. Pickford is England No 1. Defending a corner against a lower level Championship team should not be an issue.

Gueye, Sigurdsson, Gomes are international midfielders with values of 㿊+ million each. Davies is widely regarded as one of the top young midfielders in England. But Silva can't get a tune out of any, the midfield neither presses and win the ball, nor create and hold possession.

Walcott, Richarilson, Calvert-Lewin, Tosun, Bernard, Lookman – you can scream all day about not having the perfect no9, but many a manager would dream of those options. Yet under Silva, they are impotent, static and predictable.

For me he has 4 games to save his job, Huddersfield, Wolves, Watford, Cardiff (Man City a write off already). Any defeats in these 4, and anything less than 8 points, and he needs to go. Get Unsworth until the end of the season, maybe at least a bit of fire in time for the derby. And start a fully researched, detailed search for a new manager. Look at the German, Italian, and Spanish leagues.

A manager has 2 things to do on a basic level – motivate the players and pick a system that suits them. Silva is doing neither in my view.

Nothing else needs to be said.

Last one out, please kill the lights.

Kendall's team had nous, tactical acumen and loved the club so much they'd run through a brick wall for him each other and us.

Royle's initial team was imposing, incisive and desperate to win.

Walker's team was quiet, scared and clueless.

Koeman's team was thoroughly confused and looked like they didn't want to be here.

Silva's team is quiet, reflective, dull, downbeat, slow to react and uninspiring.

Are there any managers out there with some tactical acumen and the big personality to grab hold of this club, slap it, love it, and make it believe it can be successful?

Hope Brands has told Moshiri that he's looking for one, on his own!

Unless that changes, and the players actually start enjoying the game and believing they can win, nothing will change, no matter how hard they try.

He's been here all along. The panic merchants did not give him a chance because he didn't turn Koeman's Zombies into world beaters in a month.

He'll be back

Any of the posters on here would have seen the same thing and, if in charge, would have come up with a plan to combat it. Blackburn did it, coming away with a clean sheet, with Jack Rodwell at centre half. But our manager did not.

My concern with this manager, as with Allardyce, Koeman and Martinez, is that it is not in their personal interests to be successful. They are actually incentivised to fail. They pick up their ٣M per season, get sacked, pick up their compensation, then some other mugs give them a job.

I fear that, until a highly incentivised contract is offered to someone, we will continue this miserable cycle.

I do think he should be given time: HMP Walton.

Allardyce's job of "saving us", was basically done for him, and once he beat Huddersfield at home, we were into the top half, momentum had shifted, the narrative set in stone, and Allardyce was on easy street. I think if Allardyce had had Unsworth's games, things would have been different.

A good Number 9 would have made little difference to the 12 or 13 goals we have conceded from dead-ball deliveries into the box.

Our centre-forward was not responsible for giving away ludicrous free kicks near the box.

The whole club is a shambles. Kenwright and his hangers-on from yesteryear still have too much influence. Managers seem powerless and clueless to sort things out.

The players won't even look at each other such has been the alarming collapse of the team spirit Moyes painstakingly built up around the whole club.

I will put my tin hat on after this but Koeman is the only decent manager we have had since Moyes but he got pissed off with the politics and sought refuge on the golf course instead of doing his job.

And on another note... what the fuck is Denise Barrett-Baxendale (another Bill acolyte) doing as CEO of a major football club??? For god's sake – running a worthy charitable organisation gets you the hotseat at Goodison Park!! No wonder we are a basket case.

Unlike Garry and others, I don't agree that things were not going well up to and including the derby game.

Even here on TW, there was a majority 'good feel' factor about how we were playing.

The team was keeping clean sheets.

The opposition were struggling to create scoring chances against us.

The midfield and forward line was interchanging and functioning well.

We were compact out of possession, using a 'non-contact' press high up the pitch, challenging sides to pass through us.

There was composed, confident and slick play in possession, even when pressed tight.

All the summer signings were contributing.

What we weren't doing well was taking our chances and putting games to bed when we were on top, but the signs were there that Silva was possibly on a good path.

However, since the 96th minute of the game at Anfield – other than the 5-1 win at Burnley – all of the above has completely unravelled.

I don't intend to analyse that here, but rather, look at the wider implications for the club that are starting to concern me.

It is 3 years since Farhad Moshiri effectively took command of the club. The model he is following is very different from anything under the stagnant years of Bill Kenwright.

He is not afraid to dismiss the manager.

He has underwritten unprecedented transfer fees for Everton.

He appears serious about moving Everton to a new iconical stadium.

He has put in place a more professional management structure.

Only, his appointments and purchases haven't really worked, have they?

He gave a warning shot over Silva's bow publicly at the AGM.

Arguably, our season is already a failure with two early eliminations in the cup competitions that we need to target.

Moshiri is an accountant. He needs Everton to succeed to see a return on his investment. However, he is not an Evertonian in the truest sense of the word. He is not as emotionally invested in the club as a 'born, not bred' Everton fan is.

TW posters are increasingly referencing the likes of Lerner at Aston Villa, the debacle of Leeds, and the sinking of Sunderland, as a possible path Everton are following:

* Continual changing of the manager

* Inflated fees and long-term contracts for mediocre players you then can't get off your books

* Long stretches of games with a low points return

* Little or no sign that things are improving

As a third consecutive season under his stewardship falters, before he ploughs any more money in, Moshiri the accountant and emotionally uninvested 'Evertonian' may run the numbers and think: "Do I need this? Pouring my money into a holed bucket..?"

Now Moshiri for me is as culpable as anyone at the club. All 3 full-time managers – Koeman, Allardyce and Silva - were very much his call. But because of the way things have gone on his watch and because first and foremost he is an accountant and businessman, rather than continue with his 'vision' for Everton, he could equally be contemplating to cut his losses now and walk away.

And if he does, where does that leave Everton in this 'Brave New World'...?

I have always felt the result was unrepresentative of the match. It's true that we did not play well, we went 2-0 down, pulled one back, and the players went hell for leather to get an equaliser. We conceded a third on the break 10 minutes from time, then the wheels fell off.

I would love to see the same effort the players put into trying to score that equaliser for their manager in a dead rubber from this current team.

He has so much invested in EFC I cant see him just walking away. If he is the astute businessman we suspect and not just a lucky accountant he will be questioning the hierarchy in detail and they will and should come up with a plan to rectify things before relegation threatens again.

Even if he does "walk away", he will want to recoup his investment and sell to a very rich consortium that may well be more capable of running a football club.

My concern is that, in the short term he will refuse to finance more acquisitions, which is what we desperately need.

At the moment, we have a squad of bottlers being run by a manager who is a bottler – with the world's "best" Evertonian still having a major influence on the club.

Jay Harris, but Randy Lerner was very good at what he did, was he not? He invested a load and then just pulled the plug? Aren't these successful billionaire business ruthless enough to just pull plugs and cut the investment off?

Likewise on the pitch there's no-one rallying the troops, no shouting from the captain. Other teams like Spurs, Millwall yesterday have half a team of leaders!

One of the problems is communication I have heard they don't understand each other apparently?! That's what happens when you have a team of mercenaries...

His were he only matches for a long time where we played with passion, and he wasn't afraid of outing players who weren't putting in the effort – ie, the Mirallas and Schneiderlin incident.

He also should receive praise for what he's doing with the Under-23s again. Top of the league and without the star players of 2 years ago. He has them playing for each other as a team – one of the key things missing from the first team at the moment.

We panicked getting rid of him. If we'd have kept him in charge, we'd have a far better idea whether a lot of the youngsters would be up to scratch and we'd have saved ourselves 㿞 million on Tosun and Walcott.

As you say, we won't be getting relegated, so do we go for stability and see if Silva turns things round, or do we cut our losses right now?

It all depends on who we could bring in and how we work with them. Would a top-notch manager want to work with this squad and budgetary restrictions?

That lot over the park sacked a manager who got them 2nd because they knew who they wanted and how he operated. They made the right choice.

Sacking managers is easy and cheaper than buying few players. Getting the right one for the right reasons is the hard bit. That'll be Brands's job soon enough.

I think Lerner was a very different case.

He was new to English football and Villa flirted with relegation for about 5 or 6 years before falling.

I can't see Moshiri being that patient. He is at least decisive and will take action when he feels necessary – sometimes ill-advised but at least it's action whereas Lerner sat back while the club crumbled.

My worry is that we cannot afford our wage bill, and if Moshiri walks, then it'll cause us to go into a meltdown that could see us go the way of Sunderland.

I also disagree with your view that we are not in danger of relegation. If we can't beat a poor injury-ravaged Millwall team where do the next 10 points come from.

We are 11 points off relegation with 15 games to go and our current form would suggest we are averaging 0.75 points a game.

I am not panicking and would hope we have enough in the tank not to get embroiled in a dogfight but Silva seems to have lost the majority of the support and that does nothing to encourage better results.

Just like O'Leary at Leeds. The good managers get more out of better quality players. We're the latest in a line of clubs to prove that, when you upgrade your budget, you need to upgrade the quality of your manager.

Disgruntled voices sure, but when do Evertonians ever accept a defeat? Not heard any calls to sack him. Not heard anyone doing anything other than voice displeasure after the fact.

As for Silva, he still has my backing. For now. He'll get the rest of the season to see if he can turn it around and I really hope he can as I don't want our 6th manager in 3 years.

Many will disagree no doubt but for me there were signs of progress pre-derby and we were on course, points per game wise, for one of our best finishes in years. Since then the trains gone off the tracks, big time. It's down to Silva to get back on course; otherwise, he'll be gone this summer.

Being our 6th manager in 3 years should not be a reason not to sack him.

Silva coming up with a change of plan and executing it successfully is a reason not to sack him.

I think Moshiri thinks there is a small opportunity, a couple of those clubs are in a downward cycle. Man Utd, Arsenal, Chelsea sans Hazard and Tottenham without Kane look vulnerable.

I don't think with the stadium on the horizon Moshiri can afford not to feed the club. It will hurt him too much. And, if he's sick of it, I think he has enough contacts to share the burden.

I might proffer he has changed manager, frequently, in order to find the guy that can bridge that gap. I think he will change again in order to find the manager who can handle the expectations of produce results, that gives him time to imbue their style and finish 7th or higher.

Anything less leaves Everton vulnerable to their better players being poached and many might wonder why stay?

I think that changing now gives you no up side, in fact turmoil and doubt, even though I'm sick to death of Silva's inability to stabilize the slide. I think he will get binned at the end of the season or when 7th is mathematically out of reach.

Options: I think the club will consider Rafa, and timing fits too, his contract expires this season. Brands may look to market he knows and go Dutch (gulp) or German.

I have to say Rafa May well be considered; after the last manager, anything is possible.

However, are we so devoid of ambition that Unsy or Arteta, neither with any senior management experience, could be suggested as serious contenders to be our next manager? Would anyone consider Arteta if he'd never played for us?

As for the thought of Moyes returning, quite unbelievable.

I agree that I don't see any more money being spent unless we offload Tosun or Bolasie and we bring in Batshuayi. Silva needs to get a tune out of the players we have. In all honesty, I don't see that happening.

Zonal marking can work. Pep's done okay using it, as have a lot of other top clubs. Up to now, it hasn't worked for Silva though, so unless there's a dramatic upturn he's gonna have to go.

Conte would be a good choice. Whether he'd want to manage us is another matter. Jardine is available and Moshiri resides in Monaco so he could be in contention if Silva goes. I hope Silva can turn it around but, at this point, it's more like 'when' rather than 'if' he goes...

Look, we need to be honest about how good we really are. No leaders, no bollocking each other, no-one organising. How can we win anything with a squad that has not one trophy between them?

Look at Tottenham Hotspur. All that great football, top four but the cleaning lady never bothers with the trophy cabinet. They are getting closer to a final but fail. How many players have won trophies in their squad?

It's difficult to win a trophy when two are available and the top clubs take them as serious as we do. The owner wants success but we have an old ground and a squad lacking real quality. I include leadership in that.

Look at what we have spent? Nothing really over 10 years. Liverpool, Manchester City, Chelsea, and Man Utd have spent big but have installed successful managers to coach the talent.

I fear changes are coming to quickly. Board room level, and four managers in as many years. I fear change to quickly is damaging us. Silva must be given to the end of the season. At present we need stability.

Do we panic? It's the end of January. No further transfers. A new manager has what he has. Let's give Silva time. Sadly our season is over but staying as high above the relegation zone is a must.

Both Koeman and Allardyce had similar poor runs. Koeman had one win in 10 before finishing 7th. Fat Sam won 2 in 12 this time last year. It's been said Allardyce wouldn't have conceded 3 yesterday... probably not, but I doubt we would have had 3 shots on target.

Silva's preferred system is 4-3-3. Perhaps it's time to move Sigurdsson to the bench. We saw the best of Tom Davies in a midfield 3.

Another factor, confidence, is not helped by all Sam's cronies in the media taking every opportunity to slag us off. Some on social media are guilty of that too.

Finally, when was the last time anything near 40 points was needed to stay up?

We need a manager that inspires the players that they look up to and has some tactical nous. Silva doesn't seem to fit. The next 4 games will decide his future.

I'm all for getting Jose. Even he will need time. Don't think he will get it on here.

So, if Everton take the money from PSG for Gana, will they spend it on a replacement quickly. Very unlikely.

One assumes that they have known about the weaknesses in the team and there are many so would they have done some homework just in case Gana was to go as PSG have been interested for a while according to the media.

Still, once again it may appear that, at this late stage, Everton will stick and not twist.

Our worst fears were realised on Saturday and it was made worse by the circumstances after getting the go-ahead goal they like so many other occasions don't know how to hang on even against the likes of Millwall.

Losing this game and also at Southampton and Brighton is an absolute embarrassment which may only get worse against Huddersfield as the team is so disorganised.

After last season's debacle with 3 different managers at the helm, one would have hoped that all the fuss to get Silva would pay off but it's been proved so far that he has nothing special to offer and, in adversity, nothing at all.

Silva is in a position now that he can't solve and his body language shows that but it is up to the whole management of the club to stand up and be counted. The problem is that we have a massive squad of square pegs in round holes, over-valued, over-paid and a magnificent academy that can't seem to bridge the gap between U23 and First team at the right quality level.

I believe that Brands has to earn his money now. 4 of the absolute dross that we excel in out and one quality player in. No more than 2 in, in any window because more can't be assimilated easily.

If it wasn't impossible I'd set a club mandate of 2 U23 players into the first team squad every season to cover 2 of the dross that we throw out and if they fail given time then they are also culled not loaned.

How do I define dross? Schneiderlin and Sigurdsson. How would that be for a start?