Everton players return for pre-season training

Feel its been all downhill since 2009 squad, can't get any worse can it... tin hat!

COYB

The bigger problem being, how to offload many of these ordinary players, most on over-flated wages and long contracts.

I also hope some of the rumours, are exactly that, like swapping 25-year-old Klaassen plus €10M, for Vida, 29, of Besiktas. Who joined on a free incidentally, and has demonstrated in this World Cup, he is about as effective as a glass hammer at centre-back.

I don't believe it is all doom and gloom, as there are a few players we have, that would form the nucleus of a decent side.

It's just being able to add a few catalysts to achieve an effective balance, and a side capable of challenging all and sundry, without fear of being outplayed.

Lookman and DCL both had good seasons last year too for young lads. The experience and another year older will have brought both of them on a notch I would hope. More food for thought for Silva.

Evertonians will be hoping that these four could be top quality and dare I say it top four level players in the making. It will be very interesting to see what Silva makes of them and whether he has confidence that they are ready to perform at the level required.

Hope I'm wrong but as always ToffeeWeb will keep me entertained more than the team did last season.

No sign of any new players coming in and not enough dross moved out or looking like being moved out any time soon.

Typical Everton, make do and mend and attempt to polish a turd and think it's going to be shiny and new.

Pessimism = Looking forward to failure so that I can say I told you so and moan about the money I have spent watching failure.

I'd rather be an optimist than a pessimist unless of course I was the owner of a suicide clinic in Switzerland.

Presuming Banigime steps up to either first team or a loan away then Markelo should make that DMC spot his own in the U23s and may prove why he was so highly rated.

That's all YOU have?

Strange turn of phrase when referring to fellow Evertonians.

Certainly we need to offload a few, but I expect to see Silva building that new team from the remaining squad of players with very few additions, perhaps only 2 or 3 new players. I think Moshiri will be expecting Silva to prove his worth as a coach, working with the established players we already have in the squad & the youngsters looking to elbow their way in.

The club has addressed the mistake of appointing Sam Allardyce, brought in what looks like a potentially great management team and appears to be taking a far more considered approach.

What's the point in being a supporter if you don't support? Let's get behind them from the start!
Coyb

So to those asking why we haven't moved more out and brought more in I think thats the reason. So I guess a lot of horse trading to be done in the coming weeks, but surely the lesson is buy quality that will be here for 4/5 years, not expensive journeymen as we have of late.

Hi Mark [4] and Alan [7] I'm afraid that you'll have to stick with it 'lads', remember, "You weren't manufactured, you were chosen."

Agree with what others are saying getting rid of the dead wood is going to be a difficult task which will take a couple of transfer windows at best.

I'd anticipate only a couple of quality additions coming in to strengthen the 1st team in the spine of the team.

I look forward to seeing what Lookman will bring to the side.
I look forward to seeing the development and improvement of Davies after his "second season slump".
I look forward to seeing a fully fit Coleman in his prime charging down the right with Walcott in front.
I look forward to seeing a confident England no1 (after a quality World Cup campaign) further develop as best keeper in the league (while quietly giggling at Liverpool's bumbling keepers).
I look forward to Gueye playing in his real position without Schneiderlin getting in the way.
I look forward to the development of Holgate, Baningime, Calvert-Lewin, Dowell, Kenny and many other young players and their incorporation into our squad.
Principally, I look forwards to enjoying Saturdays once again.

The ambiguity of the English language gives rise to at least two interpretations, firstly the approach taken above, Mark suggesting that the optimists have nothing better in their lives so are optimistic.

Being an optimist myself, I'm going to say Mark meant something different. That Evertonians only have hope. Mark is saying that we Evertonians have little else to cling to (except maybe our glorious and distant history) and so can only have hope.

I'm sure Mark didn't mean to belittle fellow Evertonians. At least, I hope not.

Most of the problems (IMO) were due to a disjointed transfer policy combined with very poor man-management of Koeman meant no team spirit. I believe anybody would have been an improvement to the toxic team spirit which Koeman left.

At a minimum, we need three players, one centre-half, one left-back and one high octane attacking midfielder.

If Brands and Silva can at least get back a united (sic) team spirit, they will be well on the way to success.

Another years development of Kenny, Holgate, Robinson, Baningime, Davies, Dowell, Lookman, Vlasic, Calvert-Lewin and even Connelly (kept Davies out of the U21's) could be the making of a very good hungry squad.

I think we might have to accept some shockers this season while they develop and don't get on their backs too much.

I don't think it's wrong to say we may be no better than last season, but for myself I'm expecting some improvement that won't be too difficult will it.
Its the gap in class between our squad and the usual top 6 that is proving our achilles heel. I'd like to say that I fancy us to bridge the gap but I'm struggling to be positive.

Who knows though, we may sign a gem or two who are badly needed, all you can do is hope for the best.

What I will say is that there are probably 13 other sets of supporters in the Premier League that envy us as a club.

Please save us from the self-proclaimed optimists. Their self-image of "positivity" will be the death of this club. The only thing they have shown in recent seasons is exceptionally poor judgement.

FFS lets keep it real this time around. Last year the place was awash with misguided ill-informed Optimism... How did that go?

Twitter makes interesting reading at this time of the season, many players give a short statement of being ready for the season, and lack of such can also be interesting. Sadly for those of us willing to see the back of Morgan Schneiderlin, it seems he is keen to stay:

"Back to the UK after a much needed break. It wasn't all relaxing though. Thanks to Fabien for putting me through some tough sessions. Read for pre season with Everton tomorrow! #BigAmbition #Hungry #Ready"

There's also a video montage of all the training he's been doing, complete with Cristiano Ronaldo shorts. He looks very thin, so a lot of cardio has been done.

Obviously this was written yesterday. It shows a guy keen to stay, and after Silva's comments on him, I would not be expecting Carvalho, unless Schniederlin stinks out training. Let's hope that the player is indeed Hungry, Ready and has Big Ambition. Perhaps he can be better than he has ever been.

He was posting clips of his extra training sessions when with Man Utd to ensure tip-top conditioning.

Pity it seems that he leaves all that enthusiasm on the training ground... or in his missus – oh err!!

I've not seen any pics of Sandro

Tin. Hat.

I don't see any expectations for top-4 finishes, nor any dramatic relegation battles. The otimists seem to be more excited to the changes that appear to be coming - emphasis on youth, decluttering the squad, offer of attacking football, a couple of new signings from our 2 new leaders.

The pessimists, on the other hand, lament the slow pace of change (just 3 out and 0 in), doubt the real effects of the 2 new men in charge and are concerned there is not enough time.

Both are legitimate, however as football is for entertainment purposes, I prefer to look for the positives as to why I hope to enjoy this coming season after 38 games of absolute misery last time around.

Jamie, no he hasn't "earnt it", but on his wages, we have little choice but to give it to him.

Wayne, yes, there's pictures of Sandro. Go to the Everton website and have a look at their "blog".

I think I'll wait a tad before making any meek or bold predictions about how the season is going to pan out.

But does he deserve another chance? Well as Steve Ferns said, it depends on his desire, because he's the only fellar I know who's lasted longer than Bobby Sands on a hunger strike!

Link

It appears to be updating with new images as the day progresses.

I love Tom Davies' blonde Jim Morrison look and Ashley Williams all-in Rastafarian beading! AW certainly doesn't look as 'heavy' as when he returned for pre-season last year.

As Steve Ferns states, in the images you can see pretty much all the first team and a good number of youth players: Feeney, Davies, Holgate, Calvert-Lewin, Kenny, Vadic, Walcott, Keane, Baines, Besic, Bolasie, Mirallas, Tosun, Schneiderlin, Jagielka, Pennington, Dowell, Klaassen, Martina, Lookman, Coleman, Sandro... anyone I missed from the photos available..?

Look at the link I sent. Surely, above the big picture of Coleman, on the right of the 3 photos above, that is Sandro on his back...?

There's a lot of players looking ready for action. Perhaps we could say that about our Wales Captain if he'd shaved his hairdo off, and looked like he did 2 years ago.

I wonder if in the absence of McCarthy that Mo Besic may get a chance in one of the box to box roles? Perhaps one of Galloway, Browning or Pennington might get a chance to shore up what was a leaky defense last year. It seems fair that he gets to have a decent look at and chat with them this week before starting the cull proper.

Fresh starts all around. At this point anything is possible.

Seems like they will have a lot of culling to do and hopefully that will whittle the squad down to a group that will be more competitive.

Everyone has their own ideas about who should be kept and who should let go but in any event I hope some of the talented youngsters will create pressure on some senior players who need a kick up the backside.

The offensive players of Tosun, Niasse, Walcott, Bolassi and DCL need to be front and centre from the off unless new men are brought in.

The limitations in that area were there for all to see and as the World cup is proving, impotency up front is costly. Just ask Spain.

Len Hawkins #9, absolutely spot on.

Darren #28, what optimists are you referring to? Is anyone who derides pointless pissing and moaning to be considered an optimist? There's nothing wrong with doing what Fran Mitchell #20 says and looking forward to the season for perfectly legitimate reasons. And it's not like you've seen the phrase "challenging for the top 4" mentioned here like we did a few times last August.

Jay #41, thanks for posting that link. Truly never expected to see Mirallas in that set.

Steve #44, I wouldn't care if he wore a Fellaini do if something could make him play like he did two years ago. But I have great sympathy for him at the moment, having cracked my own ribs last weekend.

If Morgan stays, he absolutely deserves another chance.

The main rumored replacement in Carvalho is a worse option in my opinion. I've watched him closely in the World Cup and haven't been impressed.

Schneids played under the worst coach I've seen, in a team that was at best chaotic and at worst a train wreck.

For the role he needs to play in a Silva system, if Steve Ferns analysis of said system is accurate as that's the source of my information, Schneids can play that holding role very well. My only worry is his ability to play the longer balls forward quickly. The shorter passes he already does very well.

But I say, despite a lack of love for him, he deserves another chance under a new coach. There's a player there.

Besides, the Carvalho alternative? If Scheiderlin drove you crazy with a lack of effort, watch Carvalho stroll around the pitch! You'll go batshit crazy!

Carvalho has quicker feet than Morgan and can shift the ball a lot quicker. He's also more accurate. That's a massive difference to me.

I cannot see people moaning about Carvalho's languid style if he's hitting 50 yard passes within seconds of Gueye winning the ball and releasing Walcott to gallop down the wing. The criticism will come when we're losing and he's not able to get the passes off as teams mark Walcott too closely, or Lookman constantly runs into trouble, and then Carvalho runs back slowly and we concede.

Judging by Silva's comments on Schnieds, Morgan's own comments, and the fact that Man Utd (really?) are in pole position for Carvalho, I wouldn't expect us to be in for him now. Let's just hope that Morgan can get some confidence and get the ball out of his feet quick enough to launch those long passes Silva's sides rely on.

Mike, I think you and I seem to be the hardest for Morgan to convince, maybe it's because we were one of the last to give up defending him last season?

I did not say that optimism was responsible, for the failure of our team. You just made that up.

What I am saying is that nobody has the right to chastise others who express genuine worries and that the baseless optimism expressed by so many last year was not worth a blow on a rag-man's bugle.
I'll tell you what else I'm saying; Some of those self-proclaimed optimists have never figured out the difference from being positive and being wrong.

Tony A

Nothing wrong with Dave's positivity, or anyone else's for that matter, it does them credit... it's the people who act all superior and happy clap everything and try to shout down others who disagree that make me laugh. It's not that they have any sort of track record for being on the money themselves.

This coming season I am more optimistic than the previous couple because of the management team we have in place. I have no crystal ball but initial thoughts are that Brands comes across as very professional and he is willing to put his reputation on the line. I like his "the buck stops with me" attitude. I believe he has done his homework on Silva and come to an understanding on how they will work. I will be very surprised if Silva doesn't know exactly what is expected of him and what the situation on transfers are.

It's very early days regarding the squad and I expect it to change before the start of the season. I also expect a better attitude from the players from last season and would hope that Silva & Brands won't tolerate a lack of effort.

So new management team who look like they want to be here, a board reshuffle and hopefully Kenwright being given the push come August, I am very optimistic for the new season, can't wait for 11th August.

As for giving Schneiderlin another chance – I suppose that any new management team should demonstrate that everyone has a chance to prove himself worthy of a place in the squad. But the first sign of a lack of commitment or a bad attitude gets you out the door pronto. I'd have booted out both Schneiderlin and Mirallas last season after the training ground incident.

And big step forwards re ground.

I do think we may have some great moments from 2018-19 season though.

These players? Have absolutely no idea!

Link

The likes of Robinson and Baningime feature.

Again I say, we can all dream of cups and Champions League but therein lies permanent disappointment!

If we don't have optimism or hope at the beginning of the season then what's the point of following a team? It just becomes an idle interest. Something to occasionally watch on tv. Grounds would be empty, no passion, no singing, no joy when we score.

And when we reach a final, the fans so excited, the absolute joy when you win, you just can't buy that kind of feeling. That's why I have optimism at the beginning of a season.

Yes it will most likely end in disappointment, but that one time when it doesn't and you go home with silverware, well for me, that's what makes all the disappointment all worthwhile.

Not all the good players are at the World cup (one only has to look at the England squad), so surely Mr Silva has some irons in the fire? (Or not!)

It's good to see Macca improving well as I believe he is a much better player than Schneiderlin but he does get injured too much.

Hopefully changes to the squad will happen by the end of the month when Silva will have a better understanding of some of the crap he has inherited.

Getting rolled over easily without having a plan and being organised is not acceptable, lets look to the World Cup games where there has been shocks and unusual results aplenty.

"I don't expect to finish top 6 but I do expect every team from that top 6 to have to fight, work hard and play some great football if not give blood to get 3 points at Goodison regardless of who the 11 starters are in the mighty Everton team."

Couldn't have said it better!

Did you actually see Schneiderlin play last season! He shouldn't be allowed to play for Everton again. Absolute turd.

1. All teams are incredibly fit – no fading in the 75th minute in 30 C temperatures despite high pace;
2. Successful teams are highly mobile, keep possession with pass and move and support, which is quick, although many of these players do not play at Premier League level and yet they can do this, or support it;
3. Playing through the centre is nearly dead – too crowded;
4. Everyone is looking for width and break at pace and crosses;
5. Dead-ball set-pieces are back;
6. Superstars tend to go out, super teams stay in;
7. Goals!
8. Diving and bear hugs in the box are over;

How much of that did we all see at Goodison last season? Not much but then after the first 10 games we were chasing points using a variety of very limiting tactics to get them.

We have players that can do this. Coach the team to pass and move, younger legs at the back, stronger legs in the middle and balance then results will come. If the players believe Silva can do this then we are halfway there.

If you was at any coaching session, all you would hear from the man-in-charge would usually be, "Come out, play across the pitch" or "Stop going back-in, we have just come from there" but this is exactly what some of the best teams in the world are constantly doing.

Sometimes it must be better not to over-coach or, even better, simply just leave it up to the players.

Looks alright from the limited footage on view. Silva seen speaking with Sandro a couple of times. There's some drills being done, with an emphasis on snapping a short pass into feet and then the longer pass. Obviously trying to get the players to tune into the counter-attacking side of the game he intends utilise.

More tomorrow hopefully.

Preparations For 2018-19 Continue At USM Finch Farm

So far the schedule has been:
Monday - physical testing
Tuesday - ball work and drills
Wednesday - unknown
Thursday - ball work and drills

You can't read much into the glimpses that Silva has allowed the club to film and upload onto the club's Twitter and YouTube sites. I'm no expert, but the Monday stuff seems pretty standard, and was explained by the chief physio and made sense. The players set a baseline for data that can be compared against for the rest of the season.

For the Tuesday and Thursday sessions, all we can really say is that they had the balls out and were using them. Compare back to week one of the Martinez regime, when Jagielka expressed his shock and delight that Martinez had the balls out in the first week of training, which led me to conclude that Moyes would just have them running right now.

Hopefully Silva can combine Moyes' level fitness with Martinez level ball work, and then Moyes standard defending with Martinez standard of attacking play. We all want the best of both of those worlds (although we may disagree with each other as to what the best actually was).

Also, there's an interview up with Williams. He's talking up the new season. Doesn't sound like a man being shown the door. It really wouldn't surprise me if we only bring in Tierney at the back and solider on with what we have and look for someone next summer.

https://youtu.be/qCDJ6_DqA70?t=5m

They offer no deep insight into Silva's training methods or reveal anything about how Everton will play next season.

All very superficial and unremarkable. Bog standard pre-season training sessions.

I also saw the extremely warm greeting exchanged between Davies and Niasse late last night and intended to share the link today to dispell the reported bollocks of a couple of months ago of how disruptive an influence Niasse was. So thanks for saving me the trouble.

I recall a few swallowing the story hook, line and sinker. I also recall a few challenging the bollocks. It appears the latter called it right.