Draw ugly

I would agree that Coleman may need a little time off. It will be good for him. Kenny offers solid defending and, from what I have seen of him, has drive and is very vocal. What he brings in this regard may help drive the team forward.

It shows you were we would have been if we never made those additions during the transfer window though, the new players we have seen all look good, so hopefully the other new ones can have a similar impact once they put on the shirt.

Agree with you about Sigurdsson, he did a lot of donkey work for the team, but once he was replaced I couldn't understand why we never just went 4-4-2, and pushed Niasse right up alongside Tosun. Sometimes when you are not playing well, isn't it just better to get the ball forward, and try to engage the crowd?

The defence has been sorted out in the personnel selected, though Coleman isn't playing well. I hope this hasn't been done by accident due to suspension and injuries.

The injured players we bought need to come into the side urgently. Quite frankly, there are some suspended and injured players I hope to never see again. . .

Everton need to bring in more players in certain positions, since there are players who are holding Everton back and are frankly not good enough. The players who have been loaned out are not the answer to Everton's problems either.

Our defence is in its infancy, it is fair to say, transitioning to new players, new approaches with a big lad yet to come in who may yet be the leader... but, until the team can rely on them, there will be hesitation and we lose that vital 1% extra that wins these games. Conversely, the defence may feel under too much pressure if they feel one mistake will lead to a goal that we will struggle to recover from.

Confidence in the manager and the team needs to grow from within. If it is lost, we will repeat the last 2-3 years. If it is gained, then the only way is up. Fine margins. Picking out individuals at this stage is foolhardy.

Pickford (6) — Had little to do but his distribution has been a little off this season and sometimes dives at things in an erratic manner but not really tested yesterday.

Coleman (4) — Defensively fragile at times yesterday as he has been all season and his crossing has been woeful for a long time. I don't want to say it but he hasn't looked the same since that injury; hope he gets better.

Zouma (7) — Pretty much what we expected, big strong and quick and he'll eventually form a partnership with Yerry Mina you would imagine as time goes on. The closest thing we have had to Sylvain Distin since his departure.

Holgate (5) — I still believe he's too flimsy and needs to bulk up, bullied too many times and aerial wise he's always found wanting. His distribution at times is as bad as Ashley Williams was. I'm still not sure Holgate will make it as a long-term centre-half, maybe an eventual switch to full-back.

Digne (6) — Did okay with what he needed, not helped by Calvert-Lewin in front of him though who kept cutting inside.

Schnederlin (5) — Did okay, does what he does, is that enough really though?

Davies (3) — Just offers nothing, no real pace about his game or urgency and those who say he offers energy really must not watch him closely, he's not quick enough to offer energy and the game passes him by. Doesn't shoot, can't pass or head a ball and too often loses out in the tackles due to being lightweight. Should have been out on loan this season; another wasted season coming up for Davies one feels.

Sigurdsson (4) —Worked hard at pressing but again, for 㿙 million, doesn't do enough to justify that price. Doesn't orchestrate enough and we have not really seen the set-piece king that he was at Swansea. Must do better.

Walcott (5) — Didn't get himself involved anywhere near enough and I still think over the course of the season he will be more productive as an away day player when teams are pushing on us. Hopefully that injury isn't too bad.

Calvert-Lewin (5) — And that's only for the goal because he was pretty anonymous for the best part of the game but why on Earth was he on the wing? When has he ever been a winger?

Tosun (4) — Piss poor, to be honest. Works hard enough in areas where we don't need him, Silva needs to drive home that he's a lone striker and he needs to be a penalty box player. Doesn't possess the pace or power to really affect the game enough and I still think centre-forward is a weak area for us. He needs to start scoring very soon as, going back to last season, it's now 1 goal in 11 matches — not good enough.

Subs.

Niasse (5) — Ran a bit but that's it.

Baines (5) — What was the point unless Digne was that bladdered?

Lookman (5) — One great cross which nobody got on the end of but did nothing to give the manager a selection headache.

We are all looking for those 3-0 or 4-0 wins but sometimes you have to win ugly, especially against ugly teams.

Ugly, Paul? You bet it was.

Pickford
Coleman Mina Zouma Digne
Gomes Gueye Sigurdsson
Lookman Bernard Richarlison

Your ratings were the most accurate. Disappointed today. We need a centre-forward urgently; however, easier said than done.

Time to look at the positive – except for the ridiculous "space, no space" marking for their goal our defence looked completely composed today. Silva – back to the drawing board regarding the zonal shit, please!!!!

Schneiderlin put in a good performance. Digne, other than the accuracy of his crosses, put in a good performance. Tosun worked his bollocks off!

Otherwise, in mid-field and up-front we didn't have a clue!!!

So, IMO, out goes Davies, replaced by Bernard. Out goes a wide Calvert-Lewin, replaced by naughty Richie. Keep Tosun or Calvert-Lewin central maybe (I think Tosun because he adds a vibe that Calvert-Lewin doesn't have).

Secret that seems to be missing is the speed of transition from defence to attack! Now there's a question!!!

The thing that got me more than anything else yesterday was the lack of urgency. We played okay to a point but never showed that urgency needed to force the game apart from when Huddersfield had just scored. We went down the field, equalised then sat off again, very frustrating.

I thought Schneiderlin played well yesterday. It seems that a lot of people just don't get the role he is being asked to play. Essentially he's being asked to sit just in front of the centre-backs giving us a back 3 and it is allowing the full backs carte blanche to go raiding up the wings.

Tom Davis seems to be playing in the playmaker role, a role that doesn't really suit him. Yesterday, he had a bad day. He never stopped trying, to be fair, but he's not a playmaker and he was very slow around the pitch; maybe Wednesday taking its toll. He should have made way in the subs yesterday, not Siggy.

I didn't understand Digne sub either, thought he had a decent game too. Seamus is struggling badly in attack and defence, he seems to have lost several yards of pace and maybe it's time for a rest as he's offering nothing at the moment. As much as I love Seamus, nobody should be immune from the axe.

The zonal marking, well I read an article by Silva the other day explaining his theory. I get what he is trying to say. Effectively, he's saying that it's no different to man-marking except you're marking space, not the man. The players aren't marking the space, which is no surprise because none of the players are watching the ball, they all watch the man. How on earth anybody can attack the ball and head away when they don't watch the ball is anybody's guess.

It's a modern philosophy of players that for set-pieces they watch the man. Obviously you have to know where the opposition are but, if you don't attack the ball, then 90% of the time you will get beat to the ball because the opposition are attacking it and have better trajectory. The RS had all these issues when Klopp first came so it's just letting the players get used to it, that and getting a proper leader into the back 4 to organise. There is no-one putting their hand up to lead. A problem we have had for quite a while.

Yesterday was a set-back, that's all. I too listened to Radio Merseyside on the way home and it was amazing to listen to some of the rubbish spouted. 5 games and they want Silva out. It's ridiculous. 'Patience' is a word a lot of people don't like but we need it in spades. It's not going to be perfect straight away. It's going to take time no matter how much people rant and swear about it. We are going in the right direction. We had a lot of injuries and we haven't got the strength in depth to cope with them and still be a force so until we can then we need to tolerate it.

Calvert-Lewin is definitely not a wide man so maybe he should be given a few games as central striker. Tosun isn't bad but he just doesn't do it for me. Niasse will never be a starter and he showed why on Wednesday, let alone yesterday. Not sure Calvert-Lewin is all that but his goals over the last couple of games have shown a striker's instinct so worth giving a go. We need to bring in another striker as soon as though.

But this is not a 'trying' league. This is a 'get it done' league.

Davies is simply not good enough. He is barely good enough for Sunderland based on his performances in the past 12 months.