Silva challenges Everton players to step up

I'll tell you what doesn't make sense... Not being able to beat what is on paper a far inferior team.

Even worse, not looking like being able to beat a far inferior team, piss-poor defending, lacklustre attacking play, and a weak midfield.

There you go, Marco, that just about IMO sums us up — and I haven't even started on your tactical acumen.

An away game at the Den is never pretty; we made a game of it... and, bar some terrible refereeing, we would be through.

He's not perfect, but needs time and support. Let's get behind him. At least he is saying the right things! COYB

I can't believe we pay this lot millions to do a job which is drilled into kids from the very start. We had such a great chance in this competition and the team blew it.

Bunch of tosspots.

Marco, you're blaming members of your squad for not stepping up (to their responsibilities) and to a degree you're correct, many of them have gone missing for periods during games and some just missing period! You need to blow torch them back into action, there has to be a change of attitude.

Marco, you have to take some of the blame yourself: against Millwall, your tactics were woeful and you showed no understanding of your opponents or the conditions the game was played in.

You persist with these tactics that reap the same results time after time; I can only advise you to take a few deep breaths and an introspective, talk to whoever you need to, inside or outside the club, and come back with a Plan B.

We do want you to succeed, really we do.

While we may have paid over the odds for a couple, those same players don't just become inept in a matter of weeks. They have not only lost confidence in themselves, but in the system, which clearly is neither suited or liked by them.

Where does motivation come from? As if it should be needed, but I was under the impression the manager not only coached them but encouraged that self-belief; it is clear that he has no faith in himself, so how can he instill it others?

So we get rid of Silva and then what? Get another manager only to suffer once again because he hasn't had a chance to build his own team? Let's just give the guy some time, for God's sake. This team is in no way shape or form a quick fix – like Man Utd with Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer.

I believe he will come good with time and support.

It's the proverbial stick or twist, the grass is greener on the other side?

Some of the names mentioned on here we can forget, Simeone and there's David Moyes for another reason altogether. Even if we got rid of Silva, we're probably chasing another one just like him (whoever that may be)?

The fat Spanish waiter is the only one I can think of with a proven record of winning things and has proven himself over time, he wouldn't be as expensive as Jose, Pep and Plop etc.

I've only just joined this site and will probably find myself barred for even contemplating the above.

He and Brands will need this and next season minimum to begin to sort us out as competitors for Europe, as well as gigantic good fortune in disposing of the micro-lite chancer "characters" in the squad. And that's before we get to new signings.

I really believe that on the despicable "Planet Football" populated by grabbing "professionals", all seeking to screw the fans to the max, we, Everton, have long since been seen as the best possible destination for players who in their hearts and minds consider themselves to be inadequate for trophy-winning success.

It's painful to watch, it's painful to hear what footy fans say of us, it's painful to see how dismissive the media are of us but at least we can all rejoice in the knowledge that our self-styled greatest ever fan has profited to the tune of tens of millions of pounds as we flounder on decades after he took control.

Trebles all round, Bill! (but not in a football trophy-winning sense, obviously).

Moyes won't come back, Fat Sam won't come back, I even doubt Unsy would put his good work and reputation on the line again. Seriously who do we think we are???

We're stuck with this lot, the owners, the board, the management and the players!

I have been a blue for 40 years!

Get behind them!!!!!!

Please recruit him as a defense coach! Immediately!!!!

Or Radcliffe or Mountfield? Snowdin too??? We need you!!!

Blue Bill listen, et all. Spread the word.

We're in this together. All blues!!!

He should stand up and admit that he is, at least, part of the problem. That might then be construed as "character".

You said in your first one "we made a game of it". I can't even comprehend the relevance of those words and how they relate to a match involving Everton FC playing Millwall.

You follow that with "Who do we think we are?" You're off the chart mate, get off an Everton site and return to your asylum, I'm having enough trouble getting me head around what happened Saturday without this nonsense.

The time for the players to “step up” was two or three months back. I don't think Silva has lost the dressing room. The players all like him, they just realize that, if they play like crap, there won't be any consequences.

This season is history and quite possibly your time at Everton, as well.

The days of us being a big club on and off the field are long gone. Wake up! Stop dreaming! Face reality!

The point I am trying to make is collectively get off our management's back. We only have Paul Lambert and Chris Coleman waiting in the wings. We're not as big as we used to be!

He comes across as having nothing much to him, genuine character-wise, as he proved at Watford when they went to shite!! Richarlison probably gave away what he's ultimately, push-come-to-shove, all about there too!!!

I can't see either of them suddenly turning it around here, now the EFC 'novelty' has worn off, either!!! Hope I'm very wrong... but all the evidence, signs so far...???

For older Evertonians, it is difficult to accept that we are not considered as a big club. However we should remember that History can also be forgotten. I still find it hard to realise that we are behind the likes of Watford and others of a similar Ilk.

We don't automatically have the right to always be respected for our history. There are other teams who could be recognised as "big" clubs. Sunderland, Sheff Wed, Derby, Nottm Forest just to mention a few should all be in the Premier if it was only past glories that mattered.

However, I consider Everton to be far better than all those teams based on our history. But there is no doubt that the fans of many clubs feel that their team should be in the top division and they are just as frustrated as Evertonians are at the present time.

In fact, with over 60 years of uninterrupted top level football we still have a lot to be grateful for. I know that that is not sufficient for any Evertonian, me included.

I do feel for the younger Blues supporters who have never seen a Top Everton team. However we do always have to have hope. Money has put a damper on Football today and it is hard to stay positive, particularly after that crass display on Saturday. Despite this I will always continue to give my support to the team that has always meant so much to me... despite the idiots that are either managing or playing for us.

I fully expect us to win our next two games against Huddersfield and Wolves. And talking about history, both of those teams have a history which has long been forgotten about.

I often wish that I could be programmed to completely forget about being an Evertonian. I am sure it would benefit those around me who have to put up with me when we lose, particularly my wife. However, it is in my blood and in my mind and I don't know what I would do if Everton vanished from my life. Please don't tell me to "Get a Life"!

I'm getting worried he is just another ‘phenomenon moments' merchant. I would like us try something different and for years I have advocated playing two up top. I know the options are underwhelming at present but all the more reason to at least try as Calvert-Lewin is not the answer and Richarlison is more effective as a winger cutting in.

I don't remember ever seeing Tosun play with a partner other than when we were behind. Too often we get overrun in midfield and I wish we could just get back to basics: not the Allardyce defend and then hoof over in that general direction but getting the most out of the players we have, and I think that means keeping it simple.

This seasons over so why not try 4-4-2, Walcott has always said he wants be a striker so let's see what he's like. Some people are offended that v isn't Cavani so give him a try with a partner. <0>Regarding Pickford, I feel he is little more than a shot stopper and his aerial weakness and inability to command, never mind the area his 6-yard box, means we will always be vulnerable to crosses and set pieces.

When Joe Royle sold us Darren Bent he said, ‘There will be days when you think I've robbed you and days when you'll think you've robbed me." I think the same applies to Pickford but his errors leave deeper wounds and the defenders can't ever feel confident that he has their backs.

He's stuck in a small team and town at Bournemouth. He's also a blues fan from his youth, what's not to like about him?

Come on Moshiri, you know it makes sense.

We aren't a big club currently. We are a mid-table team who got a chunk of money and spent it poorly. Our squad is decent but not significantly better than that of Leicester, West Ham or Wolves etc. Like all of those teams, we will have good runs and bad runs. Currently, we are on a very bad run which it is up to the manager and players to arrest.

Those who believe we should always be winning matches like Huddersfield away or Watford at home will be disappointed. We're just not good enough to expect to win easily. And it will take a lot of hard work and time before we are.

All I want to see is signs of progress. I think there were some before the derby but, since then, they have vanished into thin air. Silva will get to till the end of the season to bring them back.

However, Mr.Silva, you equally are accountable and woefully underperforming in all aspects of the game.

You more than anyone needs to step up and prove to the management and support that you are fit to manage our Club — starting tomorrow at Huddersfield.

What is becoming crystal clear is that there is not a cock amongst these players, they are largely the same ones who piled in so noticeably under his predecessors. The likes of Digne are class, no matter his ill luck of late, but the team needs wholesale changes to air out the stink of inadequacy.

A lot has been said about Moyes over the last few days but generally speaking, he had the ability to make his Everton a team. We've not seen it since. That's what worries me about Marco, the players don't seem to respect him enough.

Having said that, he's worked miracles at Bournemouth getting them to where they are.

The players need to stand up and start being counted. I'm sick of hearing that these tossers are “international footballers “. Well maybe you just don't need to really be that good to be an international footballer these days.

They should be hanging their heads in shame after some of the dross they have served up the last few weeks it's been frankly shambolic and embarrassing and the persistent fouling by Lucas Digne in danger zones on Saturday evening was the stuff you'd see a petulant 10-year-old brat do when playing for Under-11s.

I get embarrassed when I see players at the likes of Crystal Palace busting a gut and willing to sweat blood and tears for the fuckin Eagle on the front of their shirt, and then I contrast that to our half-arsed players.

Defenders that don't like defending. Midfielders that are scared to tackle, scared to run, basically can't run! The likes of Lookman trotting around with a face like a smacked arse all the time.

Calvert-Lewin skipping around the pitch never getting his kit dirty, for God's sake you are a big athlete, lad – make yourself seen and heard!

Richarlison hitting the deck, bitching and feigning injury, it's just shit.

My final advice to our whole squad? Stand up, you bastards, and start earning the right to wear that once famous blue shirt.

Players will step up when they see the manager leading the way and when his plans and tactics bring about results.

Start by man-marking runners, have men on the posts, get the keeper to come for crosses, and leave at least one player up the pitch.

Perhaps give a couple of our supposedly promising U23s a run out? It's difficult to think they'll produce anything worse than the dross served up so far this season and they may even be motivated to try hard (what a novelty that would be!!).

It would also be nice to see one of the defenders being brave enough to take the law into their own hands, abandon zonal marketing, and go man-to-man instead. You suspect that, had they still been playing, the likes of Southall, Watson or Ratcliffe would have done this by now.

Mr Silva, it is up to you to change your demeanour with these under-performing players and also change your tactics: both are not working. As an Evertonian, I honestly wish the very best of luck to you.

Silva has not got to grips with this shocking defending. He needs to change tactics and improve his coaching or he is sleepwalking his way out of a job.

Just one simple change would help, lose the zonal marking on set-pieces. Only a fool or an arrogant idiot would still be trying to make it work when it clearly isn't happening.

If he refuses to use man-to-man marking on set pieces we will continue to concede and seeing as we're useless at creating scoring chances we're screwed at both ends.

I'd sack him now if there was a decent replacement available; sadly, we'd only get another shite manager, again.

Translation...

"Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaase stop being shit, dumb and a bunch of tarts. Please stop overhitting every final fucking ball. Please win the occasional 2nd ball. Please press their back four they way they press our back four. Please stop being nudged off the ball like you're a 3-stone fucking child. Please control the occasional ball in under 4 touches. Please don't hit the deck like a sack of shite because someone looks at you. Please don't act like Mutey McDumb and let your teammates there's a fucking "MAAAAN ON!!!" Please...oh wait, this is all down to me isn't it. Bollocks."

Javier Gracia who replaced Silva at Watford is doing an excellent job, so there are plenty of good coaches out there.

He must have done his homework on Silva's stats, defensive and otherwise. Moshiri did say he took a big gamble on him. Well, it has backfired and it's obvious Silva will be replaced in the summer, baring a miracle.

And our fans are happy to sell one because our tiny wage bill is too high? we are overly critical of the other outfield international who has been the best club servant we've had in recent years. But, on the other hand, we love the keeper who has played worse than any regular keeper we've had in living memory.

I'm not saying it's wrong or right to want Gana gone to bring in a better replacement or to criticise Coleman. And it's good to get behind Pickford. We should get behind every player.

Some other players in the team do have caps but would not start first choice in an important game for their countries. Except Tosun who doesn't start for us.

Yes, we need to get players off the wage bill because they aren't even in the squad (Mirallas, Sandro, Williams etc) but we don't have too big a wage bill. Not if we want to challenge for top 6 and Trophies.

But the infatuation with all things brands and Moshiri has allowed the club to get away with selling the likes of Rooney because of wages. And now it's sell to buy because of wages even though we don't have a striker.

We have enough potential now. Enough clever signings of Barca rejects that may get better. So surely the next three or four signings have to be mid 20-year-old, fast, powerful, aggressive, regular international starters on 𧴜-200k a week.

Failing that, all these articles, threads, opinions, comments are just a waste of time. The same things will be getting said in 5 years time, like they have been for the last 10 years.

I'd also suggest that anyone currently good enough to start games for us now, will be good enough to remain in the squad of 25 if and when new signings do arrive.

But Moshiri already has the support for selling Gana, even with no replacement! I think it's a big problem of football nowadays, that fans are more concerned about club accounts than players on the pitch. Which is strange because we won't ever win anything anyway so, why not enjoy watching Gana until May as opposed to Schneiderlin?

This summer just gone for example, why not back our local leading scorer staying on a high Everton wage (but tiny wage in the world superstar ranks), and have the enjoyment of a local player scoring the odd goal from the half-way line?

Nah, worry about the clubs finances which need absolutely no worrying about. We are the 17th richest club in the world and we haven't got a striker on a 100k a week when good ones earn 𧶀k a week! And then we expect to challenge the top 6 whilst reducing the wage bill at the same time. But the liver birds are blue so it's sound. 😂

You can't have your cake and eat it. We have to accept giving players we might not like 𧵄k to 200k a week. Maybe even 𧶀k for the next Barkley, the next Lukaku, or we just accept being shit.

You can't moan about results and then the next day want to sell one of the only three outfield internationals starters we have, because our wage bill is too high. Surely that's a contradiction?

And what's Gana on? 㿨k/wk? A drop in the ocean.

With the risk of sounding like Cathy Newman:

"So what your saying is... It's a catastrophe we've gone out the cup yesterday but the best way forward is to reduce the wage bill, by selling a starter who is on a relatively low wage because we don't have enough international quality players. So selling one of the only three international starters we have is the best way to move forward?"

Actions speak louder than words but maybe we shouldn't put it on the players because they seem such a very fragile bunch?

People talk about Moyes who was given the one thing that nobody seems to want to give anymore and that thing is time.

I'm not saying 11 years, please no... but Silva needs more time because he inherited such a weak squad with absolutely no backbone. If he his to get more time, then his actions, have got to start speaking – a lot more than his quiet words.

A few people have said we need to get behind the team and I agree, as I have said this over previous seasons. Other supporters, including across the park, get behind the team singing and shouting encouragement.

They may be over-paid and over-hyped but let's do our bit and hope that can raise them to raise their game and starting winning.

Behind the scenes, the club will know the likelihood of Gomes or Zouma wanting to stay. If the soundings are negative then we should stick them on the bench and play our own players.

The only caveat to that might be wait until we are safe from relegation to do it.

Sad to say but tomorrow a draw will be a result.

So we are made up with Moshiri coming on board because if we get the manager right and have a good Director if Football, we can get back to our level under Moyes?

We chased Allardyce to get the Moyes glory days back?

I remember we were critical of Kenwright and Moyes for not kicking on. Now we have a billionaire on board, Moyes footy is the ambition?

Garcia is doing okay but it's very early days for him (as it is for Silva at Everton really). Any other manager out there is a gamble in some way or other and, though I back Brands to get it right, there's no easy fix. My worry is that, if we keep hiring and firing, we are more likely to go the way of Villa than Liverpool.

Is it any of the things mentioned above or is it all of them?

My take is that I think it's a load of our backroom staff (who, let's be honest, were shit and had terrible mental capitulation issues) who are un-wittingly influencing our club behind the scenes.

I also think of Jagielka. I mean, every time that guy is interviewed, he sounds terrified. Captain of the club is essentially mentally weak. Backroom staff are mentally weak.

I'm not talking about bullying someone here either. Early in the season Richarlison, was running his ass off, getting kicked all over the place, not letting it phase him. Now he's rolling all over the floor, letting games pass him by as he has caught the Everton disease so there must be something behind the scenes that is causing the new players to turn to shite just like the old ones.

Maybe it's the "People's Club" moniker. You know, the "I care more than you which makes me a better person despite my lack of achievement."

Time to shift on the old guard and get in some new guard.

I still think Silva was a sensible choice at the time. He had a record of improving the points-per-game for every club he had been at. It's not worked out so far but retrospect makes us all wise men.

"Other supporters, including across the park, get behind the team, singing and shouting encouragement."

If we put in half as much effort in to our game as the RS do, we would out-sing and out-shout anybody. But what can you expect with the dross we are served up every game?

Both he and the team need one of those giant step ladders from Towering Inferno to get anywhere near the height they need to.

Do you really think Moshiri will tolerate Silva any longer than the summer especially if we get humiliated when we play Man City, Chelsea and RS at Goodison.

Everyone wanted Silva to succeed but, as Watford have proved, if it's not working out you have to move quickly in this league, or risk everything.

Until December, it seemed that Silva thought we could beat anyone, and it looked like the players believed it too. Quite a few of us supporters believed it. In other words, we seemed to be developing a winning mentality, something we had lacked for a long time.

We still had clear issues, like making daft mistakes, lacking punch in front of goal, plus witnessing bad refereeing decisions going against us. But at least we seemed to have a better mentality, which is essential to progress.

Since the derby, that winning mentality seems to have disappeared. In principle, it doesn't have to just disappear, something can be done about it, it's within our own control.

The person with most control is, I believe, the manager. It's his job to set the best tactics, to use players to best advantage, and to motivate them, especially motivating them with respect to a winning mentality.

I don't think he should be criticising the players in public, or saying that we need new signings, or anything which can detract from developing good team spirit and mentality. He started off not criticising the players, so it's disappointing to see him do it now. It's what Koeman did, and it never works, it destroys team spirit and motivation.

But it's done now, and it can't be undone. It's now difficult to see how this situation can be rectified.

Is it a case of good players and a bad manager as it was at Man Utd or t'other way round?

But speak it quietly, are the lot of them shite?

Poor league form coupled with an alarming decline in win rate will have the owner twitching once again with the panic button. As the season is all but over, the only way I would back the panic button being pressed is if it's for somebody like Mourinho.

So, as a starting point for the journey, how about becoming so hard to beat that Nobody Likes Us! If our opponents can't score against us, then they can't beat us. We should be more compact, have a midfield that is difficult to break through and a back line that is resolute.

We should be in the face of our opponents, try to avoid red cards and play like gladiators, get about them, stop them from playing their game. In short, apply the lessons we were taught last Saturday evening when we were knocked out of the FA Cup.

Back to basics, boys, get some positive results and build some momentum and a feelgood factor for all involved with the club, especially we long-suffering fans.
COYB

As Sugar said, for some reason, all his business acumen went out the window when he became Spurs Chairman. I can only assume that Moshiri is going through the same process.

I mean the man is a top accountant looking after companies worth billions. So how has he allowed different managers and the DoF to put us in such a poor state?

The list of players who haven't kicked a ball for us all season and who are out on loan is ridiculous, these players wages total around 𧺬,000 per week.

Catterick had Bally and Morrissey, Kendall had Reid and Gray, Royal had Watson, Horne and Parkinson – all players who added steel to the quality we had. No-one bullied the successful Everton sides, all of whom could play but could also meet fire with fire if and when required. These managers actively recruited players with a winning mentality or could instill that will to win in their sides.

What I think we've seen for too long at Goodison Park is managers who lack the ability to motivate and/or players who lack these basic competitive qualities. I sympathise with many Evertonians who comment about how frail and brittle our players appear to be, both physically and mentally, when they have a setback. Hence the 'we always have a chronic run of form after a derby defeat' lament. Sound familiar?

The current situation Everton find themselves in is basically as a result of a lack of judgement at the highest level in the recruitment of managers and players for many years – arguably since Joe Royle was allowed to leave the club or even earlier.

Marco Silva and the current playing squad have to take their share of the criticism for this season's results and performances but the situation has been developing for some years.

The manager may come good given more time, we may strengthen in the summer window. However, unless we are able to bring the athleticism, hunger and mental strength to the side that we so clearly lack, we may well be looking for yet another candidate for the Everton hot seat before the year is out.

Please go in the changes and do tomorrow night's team talk with a few expletives. I'm with you – now is the time to man-up, get stuck in, play football, and earn that shirt! NSNO ffs!!!!

Though Watford have improved under Garcia, there are also clubs who went down because they changed manager too often or too quickly, with Villa being a good example.

I'm not saying we should have the same manager whatever but change does not always bring improvement. As we found with Moyes!

I have no idea what 'ppg' means. Nor do I care. I do actually think brands will get it right because its not hard to find a manager. I think you could pick a good one. So I'm not all hail brands. What was Allardyce's ppg?

Were I think people go wrong, is by imagining football is a rocket science. And the latest handsome Iberian with an iPad, who can talk five languages and has ridiculously complicated coaching methods is, the next great manager.

Now someone has pointed out that at least silva has won something. Well I'd just like to say that every year a Portugese coach wins something. Their league and Cup gets played for every season, I assume? So every season or couple of seasons at least, a new Portuguese coach must be better than any Englishman or ex Everton player because they've won a cup? Despite their experience, cultural differences and affection towards us?

BS! I'm not buying it. Everything we think we know about football in this country is backwards or wrong. Or is Portuguese IQ on average 30 points higher than an Englishman? The odds given population sizes etc.. That four or five Portuguese coaches would land in the prem is fucking astronomical!

As if Moyes DoF and Arteta or Cahill as manager couldn't get us into seventh. Allardyce would have pissed seventh. But we are spending millions on the latest fad manager, latest fad DoF and saying we "are going about it the right way" and "it will take time".

Not one poster on here ever expects Brands once he "gets it right" or has time, will have us in the top four anyway. And we've sacrificed Rooney and Barkley, both Evertonians to do it.

Fuck that. I accept we are shit. Because it's all relative to wages. Nothing else. Moyes who everyone looks on favourable now, used to always say you finish relative to your wage bill.

Brands has no magic formula trust me. He has a much chance as me or you of finding a good manager. Maybe less chance if he over thinks it! Using a complicated set of parameters to decide.

I hope our next manager is an ex-player with an emotional investment in the club. Or failing that, a British guy who can only speak English, quite poorly in a regional accent!

We could give him til Christmas I suppose, but unless we get a load of easy fixtures to start the season, I doubt if he will make it to January. His record in England speaks for itself – usually a decent start, then it all falls apart.

And talking of Allardyce, it would have been horrible to watch, the atmosphere would have been even worse than it is now, but I have absolutely no doubt that we would have more points and probably still be in the FA Cup with him in charge. Thank fuck he's not, but let's not fool ourselves about where we are. We need a manager who puts defence first if we're ever to take on the top six.

As for foreign managers (or players) versus English ones I couldn't really care less where they come from. Moyes was my favourite manager since I started supporting the club (in 1997) and Allardyce was my least favourite. I couldn't care less where a manager comes from so long as he gets the team playing well.

I think there are some decent British coaches out there, like Howe, and I think there are lots who regurgitate the same football at club after club to stave off relegation and maybe reach mid-table.

As for ex-players, again I couldn't really care less. Plenty of ex-players have made woeful managers. Would you be happy with Mark Hughes or Roy Keane?

If a manager has a history of improving the clubs that he has been to, then that's a decent start for me. If he has experience of winning stuff with teams who aren't used to winning stuff, then I think that bodes well too. Wherever it is.

Solksjaer took over a team with Premier League and World Cup winners that had fallen out with their previous manager. So far easier to turn round a team that is filled with that sort of quality.

After the debacles of Koeman and Allardyce, I would expect that Moshiri & Brands have been cute enough to offer a contract with watertight expectations, KPIs, target achievements, benchmarks (call them what you want) that allows them to pull the plug on any manager they employ who is not hitting the marks.

I would expect number one target would be Premier League position so nowt would be done until end of season unless they have a "threatening relegation" clause and the trap door opens for Silva as it does for EFC.

Sure, a contact like this will never be accepted by the "Hollywood" managers but, as Moshiri admitted at the AGM, Silva was a 'big bet".

The question is now do Brands & Moshiri "cash out"?

Silva took over a team that had already had tens of millions of pounds invested under the previous manager, was allowed to choose a further group of players costing tens of millions of pounds including three from Barcelona, and had an entire pre-season to drill them into his way of playing.

So, far easier to turn round than a manager coming in mid-season with no opportunity to buy his own choices and having a matter of days to influence the playing style?

Only 3 clubs have conceded more goals than Bournemouth in the Premier League this season and they've had one more clean sheet than us. Go look at last season's table and you'll see the same.

So you couldn't care less were someone comes from and neither do I. But you will go out of your way to dislike Allardyce I'm guessing because of media perceptions of his style of play?

And if it's about liking a club employee that's important, then I suggest again an ex-player like Arteta.

And you believe footy is a complicated science? Akin to stock market investors.

Hardly any investment managers ever outperform a simple tracker fund.

At the moment this look like a bad punt by Moshiri. Saturday was a disgraceful performance. The players aren't helping Silva though.

He has no control over Digne giving away stupid free-kicks, in dangerous areas at critical times. He must have felt like strangling him (I know I did). We should, however, be capable of defending them far better.

What a mess... again!

So it depends on what you want - I would personally rather have my teeth pulled without anaesthetic than watch Everton managed by anyone like Allardyce ever again.

It is hard to find a manager who can succeed in the Premier League, otherwise the turnover wouldn't be so high. Silva is seriously under-performing, but if the answer is Moyes as DoF and Arteta or Cahill as the management dream team then we as fans have frankly no idea of what it takes to make this club successful.

As for the idea that you need a British manager to be successful, then the top 6 had better sack Guardiola, Klopp, Solskjaer, Sarri, Pottecchino and Emery. But fear not – Pardew, Allardyce, Moyes, Sherwood, Hughes et al are all ready to bring their trophy-winning tactical genius to bear.

They were 7th with Ole took over, are still 7th and are beating teams that they are expected to beat. The Arsenal game was his first big test.

It's funny listening to all the fans telling us how shite all our players are, "not Premier League quality" etc and then fuming because we are not beating everyone.

We are an inconsistent, mid-table side whose players are definitely letting the manager down, but the manager isn't helping by sticking with zonal marking that clearly doesn't fucking work!!!

Our back four are shitting themselves too, as Pickford has been having a stinker for a month or two now.

Sacking Silva now would be a disaster. Sacking Silva at the end of the season without the best possible replacement lined up would be a disaster.

I am not in any way defending the manager, as we all know his flaws as a manager. The players I will criticise though as a lot of these guys have shown now under 2-4 managers that they have no bottle.

For me, at the end of the season, the best possible replacement for Silva, with the players we currently have, is Benitez. He would get the defenders defending – probably even get Coleman back to being effective – and have the midfield influencing matches like they're supposed to.

For anyone doing the job though, a striker who isn't still learning the trade is a must.

I can see nobody else to blame for current form other than the manager. I hope he turns it around with performances and results, and can be given another chance next season, but that will be up to Moshri to decide.

Obviously there is the language and culture to be overcome, which are a massive issue in themselves, but those things added to our own specific expectations can be quite an eye-opener for an overseas coach.

Foreigners seem to be flavour of the month recently, especially Latin, Iberian, Portuguese in origin, especially if their surname ends in a vowel!

Obviously there are exceptions, as mentioned here and other threads, such as Benitez. This guy has managed at the highest level and for many years in the UK but his RS connection and the fact he called us a little club – was he wrong? – mitigate many people accepting him.

Then again, Benitez is not a young man and posters have criticized older coaches as being irrelevant in today's modern game, not that I agree.

So are we looking for a hungry, relatively young British manager that has something to prove? After all we have previous with this type: Catterick, Kendall even Moyes.

Are we excluding anyone that doesn't have a past affiliation to Everton? If we want a young manager and are prepared to take a gamble like Kendall and Moyes then there's two knocking about at present. One at Derby and one at Rangers, both doing a fairly decent job so far.

Oh and before the posts about one of them start, remember we've had Morrissey, Harper, Sheedy, Reid, Ablett, Watson, Beardsley, Osman and Hutchison to name a few, with red affiliations. They all put a decent shift in for us.

If we do decide to ditch Silva at the end of the season or whenever, then everyone should be open for consideration regardless of race, creed, colour, nationality or past.

We have no leaders, maybe Baines, like Jags but a fairly lame captain. We need to rebuild from the bottom to the top.

You say you couldn't care less where the manager comes from and yet: “Or failing that a British guy who can only speak English, quite poorly in a regional accent!”

I disliked Allardyce for a number of reasons. None of them were about where he came from or media perception. But style of play was definitely a factor.

Moyes was defensively minded but I still found our football under him interesting and entertaining at times. Not true of Allardyce. I also disliked Koeman quite a lot if that makes you feel any better.

We have no self-respect as a club or he would have been sacked. Would that lot across the park put up with these kind of performances? Of course not because they operate in an ambitious manner.

You've misrepresented everything I've said and also grossly exaggerated Allardyce style of play.

I said we might as well have an ex-player as manager because success is a direct link to wage bill.

Klopp is having success this season because he needed a goalkeeper and centre-back. So bought the best, most expensive two on the market.

The team suffers very similar issues it had after Lukaku left and we've still not got a replacement. There's no 20-goals-a-season striker. There's not even a 15-goals-a-season striker. All the forwards are attacking midfield players other than Calvert-Lewin who is not good enough.

The whole team needs to play as a unit. At the moment, it's not.

Just what are you snorting?

Silva could relieve a lot of pressure right now by him and Brands public ally stating that we are going to trust in the younger players to show what they can do for the rest of the season. Lower expectations, then they might spring a few surprises.

Extended runs for Kenny, Davies, Baningime, Lookman and Calvert-Lewin.

At the very least, we can confidently say at the end of the season if they're good enough to persist with or not.

The biggest problem with Everton players is their inability to make decisive passes in the last third. Time after time, moves have broken down in good positions because of poor passing. That's before fans can look at attacking options, of which there are few.

Yes, people will say "who says we can win 2 games?" but let us not underestimate the crapness of our opponents. West Ham, Leicester, Watford and Bournemouth like us are prone to having a few decent results followed by a disaster.

So my point is that Silva has a period of relatively stress-free games coming up. Nothing make or break on the line in terms of Europe, winning silverware, getting relegated.

So he has the chance to operate outside of the national microscope if not the local one. Will he succeed? I doubt it but I imagine Moshiri will give him that time at least to see if he is capable of the job.

Silva is very much dispensable.

I find it challenging, to say the least, to get behind players who can't be bothered, in the last competition to finally bring this Club some silverware, to put in an effort because it's cold and wet outside.

While some of our supporters are slashed with knives and beaten, no less.

If they don't respond "appropriately" tomorrow, none of them are worthy to wear the shirt.

And our manager needs to stop sitting underneath the overhang to stay dry.

Did you see the opposition manager? Soaked to the bone, on the touchline, screaming and willing his players on. Silva sat dry for the majority of the game saying and doing nothing, while his assistant tucked his face into his jacket to stay nice and cozy warm. Not exactly sending a message of effort and fight through the elements.

Tough to get behind any of that. I'm a forgiving soul. Come out tomorrow and say you're sorry to the fans by putting in an effort that makes us proud.

If you don't, shame on you.

Well, if we don't back the players, then what's the alternative?

Also, as far as I could see, Silva spent as much time getting soaked on the touchline as the Millwall manager. Silva was still soaking wet when he was giving his comments after the game, so how you perceive he spent the game undercover, I don't know.

But seems the BBC were obsessed about showing their manager – even when the ball was in play, they focused on him rather than the game. You may also have noticed their manager screaming at his own people for showing the handball goal by shouting "Get that off the fucking screen".

I don't believe our players didn't put as much effort in as the Millwall players, but on the day, our inability to deal with crosses and a poor refereeing decision cost us the game.

I took the undercover thing from a shot on the ESPN Stream about 20 minutes into the game (?). Silva was sitting under cover on the bench, while his assistant was tucking his cold face into his jacket. They then panned to the opposition coach, out on the touchline barking and encouraging his players. It was earlier in the game, and Silva did indeed, when he realized the shit just might hit the fan, emerge into the elements.

I take your point of backing the players because if we don't, then what? However, the level of frustration at those same players for an effort clearly subpar in my opinion, is certainly understandable and justified. I'd suggest that every fan tomorrow night come out and scream their heads off in support, demanding a performance worthy of our fans, the Club, and overall viewing. I think the atmosphere should be the proverbial "bear-pit", willing our players on and letting them know we demand effort.

If the players don't give that effort, I'd not blame a single fan for voicing their displeasure. Why? It's unacceptable.

When your kid is bad, do you yell at them, spank them, tell them their behavior is unacceptable? Everton is to the point of receiving the Penny Crowley (Mum, God rest) wooden spoon treatment! Bare bottom justice Brian!

I did see the Millwall manager screaming at the media folk up in the box to take the replay off the screen. He knew he'd gotten away with one. I can understand his reaction of, "what the fuck are you doing up there? Take that shit down it's damning evidence!" I don't condone it, but I can see why he'd do it!

The poor refereeing decision, to me, is a cop-out. That sounds harsh and I don't intend it that way, I simply can't think presently of another way to describe it. We committed absolutely brain-dead fouls - Digne particularly guilty. If we do our part, there's no hand ball, no set piece in a dangerous position to defend.

The refereeing decision was poor. But that does not excuse our effort or decision making, and it most certainly is not why we lost that game.

Surmising what can only be defined as a diarrheal post, we need to demand better. The performance and effort was diarrhea!

It was used only when really deserved - maybe 6 times my entire life. I actually look back on those whoopins with affection. It taught me to "be a man."

When Mum would take down your drawers, and whale at your bare ass with the wooden spoon, your initial reaction was to cover your bare ass with your hands. Basic reaction I'd argue.

My Mom would simply just whack away at my hands while I tried to avoid the spoon on my ass, all the while saying, "move your hands", with each whack in cadence.

WHACK! "Move your hands." WHACK! "Move your hands."

So you inevitably had to move your hands, and just take it like a man.

Nowadays that's "unacceptable."

But I think Marco needs to stroll around the ground and at Finch Farm with a wooden spoon these days.

Make of that what you will.

IMO there is only one person who can do anything about this situation and his track record in that regard is not good.

The players, the club, the supporters all need a rallying call not a "The players need to do better" statement to the media.

The supporters need something to lift them and get them going.

MARCO YOU NEED TO PROVIDE INSPIRATION.

And for gods sake work on that zonal marking system because everyone and his dog knows we are a soft touch from crosses.

Beef up the MF so we actually win the ball further up the pitch than Pickford and earn the right to play football.

Like:

Do we actually train at defending set pieces? Very much?

Is your ego too big to adapt to reality???

Are you able to recognize a player who totally sucks and as such needs to rest for a few games?

I'm really confused here! The British media are known around the world for being rabidly, and stupidly so, aggressive and confrontational. They are the trash of the literate world, but they can't actually ask meaningful questions when provided with an opportunity like this?

Huh!

Silva will remain because he could still save us from relegation. Further Moshiri courted him for so long (sacking a would be better defensive, motivational and passionate manager in Sam Allardyce) that it would make Moshiri look foolish to get rid now.

Did you know that Roberto Martinez is the most successful Everton manager (points wise of 72 - 2013-14) since we last won the title in 1987. His brand of football wasn't bad to start with and his signings were pretty good too, but in his following year he was poor and had to go. Do you believe that Martinez should have been given another season?

Marco has had more money at his disposal than any manager in Everton history. He's not expected to win the Premier League but to show everyone an indication that a master plan is in place to progress the club. So far I haven't seen anything to illustrate this. Actually, bar slightly quicker, less direct football, we look worse than under Big Sam.

As for the Moyes comparison. Moyes had such a huge debt over him that the arrival of loans, rejects, freebies or lower division players were perceived initially as big summer signings.

Moyes worked miracles to prevent certain relegation and managed to get us Champions League qualification, and multiple European spots.

There were no excuses about strikers as Anichebe, James Vaughan, and even makeshift striker Cahill busted a gut for him.

All I am asking is for the basics. Motivate the players, get them to play for something other than money. Teach them how to defend and show some pride in the shirt.

We supporters can help by being vocally loud, proud and encouraging the team to keep going, stay strong and encourage them to play forward and attack with confidence and more impetus.