Not your average Emirates defeat

Mike, well done on beating Jim B to first on this thread. Must be some kind of record.

I take a few positives from that one: Gomes, Bernard, Baines, Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison all did well but it was poor positional play (twice) that set up their goals. I suspect the midfield and defence will see some changes for our next game.

Fundamental problems lie elsewhere in our team. They have been well chronicled. It will be a surprise if they are not addressed, at least in part, in the summer.

Gomes and Delph could be the combination that does it, perhaps with Mason Holgate as a defensive midfielder. We don't want pretty, we need functional.

We could be very close to finding a great side from the players we have in the squad and coming through the system. We must as supporters stop being irrationally negative, this is a project and the club is doing all of the right things.

I agree regarding Holgate; Everton need someone who is prepared to challenge in defensive midfield.

Ancelotti can try to teach them but, if it's not in them, it's not in them... and especially when fatigue takes over.

In our defence, Leighton was the only one of them had his positioning correct. Sadly, he's now lacking the pace needed at this level.

I fully expect Ancelotti to buy a couple of defensive-minded defenders this summer rather than the hybrid types who raid up the pitch.

At least I hope he does.

Any of the following would be nice: Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos or Paolo Maldini (out of retirement).

I like Ancelotti and Brands but I think we look as far away as ever from being serious contenders.

I seem to write this every 3 months for the last god knows how many seasons now... With Everton, there's Always more questions than answers.

Over the years, we have often wondered how opponents with basic moves can score while we find it very difficult. Look again at the move between Luiz and Aubameyang that led to an Arsenal goal.

You will note that our backline was momentarily in a flat back 4 position, leaving a clear undefended space behind. That was compounded by the fact that our nearest defenders must be among the slowest in the league.

It is using a flat back four when, ages ago, it was rumbled by the rest of the football world. The last time Everton successfully employed a flat back four was when we had exceptionally fast Mountfield and Ratcliffe in the back line.

While using a flat back four, we enjoyed a very successful period. As with most innovative systems, once its weaknesses became known, it was binned. In the FA Cup Final against Liverpool, they made a few tactical changes that ripped us apart and that was the end of the flat back four... but not, it seems, by Everton.

Ratcliffe and Mountfield were like a pair of Porsche 911s in defense and they could defend. At this time, I'd be happy with a Golf GTI.

Everton see the door open against an average Arsenal side that had just been in a hostile environment in Greece on Thursday night but failed to seize the moment, as usual.

To put into context: Brighton won at Arsenal a few weeks ago; Bournemouth won at Chelsea, so did West Ham.

We still can't get over that mental hurdle and, in my opinion, we need a damn witch doctor to get into the minds of all that reside at Everton Football Club and see why there's such a major problem playing these clubs away from Goodison Park.

● No win home or away against Liverpool since 2010.

● No win at Anfield this century.

● No win at Arsenal since 1996.

● No win at Chelsea since 1994.

● No win home or away to Spurs since 2012.

● No win at Spurs since 2008.

● No win at Man City since 2010.

● One single solitary win at Old Trafford since 1992.

That's too many bogey records for a club like Everton to harbour and it's gone beyond a sick joke now. Let's be brutally honest, it's embarrassing and we will never be taken seriously, Carlo Ancelotti or no Carlo Ancelotti, until we get these hoodoos banished into the distant past.

It's not about players, as I said, even clubs like Brighton, Bournemouth, West Ham, Crystal Palace can frequently go to these venues and win at ease.

It's a pure mental thing holding Everton back now, and only Roberto Martinez touched the tip of the iceberg in trying to crack this curse. (He won at Old Trafford and was robbed of a win at Chelsea.)

Ancelotti has already had three trips to these venues and lost all; he really needs to halt that if he's going to succeed any better than say Koeman did.

We need to seriously end this at Chelsea; we know we won't, but for the sanity and natural progression of being classed a serious club, we need to do it.

Only 5 wins in the last 50 years or so there and we have lost our last seven competitive matches at the Emirates. In fact, emerging victorious at the home of Arsenal usually signals that Everton are doing very well.

Arsenal may not be the same powerhouse that they have been but they are still difficult to play against on their own patch. If Arsenal are 'average' Everton must be way below average, given we were in the bottom three prior to Christmas.

I think we'd also find that in the last 50 years against most of the 'Big Six' our record at their grounds is just as poor, unfortunately it's not isolated to the Premier League era. When or if we do start winning at these grounds, we will be very happy because it usually means we are challenging for honours.

I read somewhere that the 'Big Six' in the last three seasons have only lost at home to teams outside of that elite group on a handful of occasions, Somewhere around 5% of their home games have resulted in defeats against clubs which were not members of the 'Big Six'.

Regardless of all those stats about the big six not losing at home regularly to sides “outside the big six”.

That doesn't hide the fact that the likes of Burnley, Palace, Bournemouth, West Ham, Newcastle, Cardiff, Southampton, have all won more recently away to the big six since Everton have.

As a I say, fundamentally there are major mental problems at this club and until we can get over them, we will never be able to move this team onto the next level.

Arsenal were below us in the league prior to Sunday, shouldn't we have been able to drive that opportunity?

What do we expect next season?

Yet another season of transition and another season as soon as January comes everyone writing it off again?

To be honest, I think we are all sick of being patient at this club now.

I have just related the fact that, for over half a century, we have achieved very little at Arsenal. Yes, we went into the game hoping that we would win, but we have to put things into perspective and the fact is, unless Everton go to Arsenal as a very good side, we don't very often win there. We should have come away with a point at least on Sunday but we didn't – that's football.

How does a club have a mental problem, regardless of who owns and runs it? Only the people out on the pitch have any bearing on any result. If the players make too many mistakes or don't perform well enough, then Everton don't win.

We all want Everton to be the best that they can be, but we are in danger of dwelling on what we aren't rather than what we actually are. The team in its various guises has been below average for over five years, there are signs that we are slowly improving but, like it or not, we need better players in some key positions if we are to see sustained improvement. It's not an accident that Everton's average finishing league position throughout its history is circa 11th.

All that we can hope for is that, in the next few years, we all see an Everton team that is capable of challenging for honours. If we want to watch a team that wins most weeks against all opponents at all venues, then perhaps we shouldn't be following Everton.

The important thing about the game was that the midfield of Delph, Sigurdsson and Scheiderlin is simply too slow. Of course we all already know this and now, hopefully Carlo does too.

Gomes brought much more dynaism ad vision to our play, releasing Richarlison several times, his passing accurate and imaginative.

Sigurdsson, is a player that I have defended many times on here but it has been clear all season that he is simply too slow for this league. Indeed Schniederlin or Delph are better suited to the holding role. Gylfi lacks pace, is lacking agility and his confidence must be low because he rarely even takes the free-kicks these days. His wayward passing blew a couple of good moves down the right.

To go there and score two goals is very good. We dominated the second half. I can't recall Pickford making any saves. Alas, Calvert-Lewin missed that late chance which would have made us all feel so much better. We really can't afford to play those three in midfield again, it's asking for trouble and exposing our brittle defence.

One other worry is Pickford's positioning. When the shot came in that hit the bar, I was recalling the Liverpool goal in the Cup. Pickford too far off his line had no chance despite his customary Hollywood dive.

I can't lay blame for the goals at his door, but I don't see him pull off those saves that no-one expects the keeper to make – they are the ones that gain unlikely points and deflate the opposition.

This current team, since the end of the Silva area, is showing some promise, but there are huge issues. Amazingly, with the improvement in Calvert-Lewin and with Richarlison fulfilling his potential, we have a strike force to be feared.

However, midfield is an unbalanced mess. Delph and Schneiderlin are limited and also players towards the end of their careers; Sigurdsson simply does not have the engine for an attacking midfielder, which leaves Gomes and Davies, backed up by Bernard and Iwobi. It's no-one's idea of the midfield of a top-six team.

Similarly in defence, Holgate has been a revelation, his pace and reading of the game have improved immeasurably, but Mina and Keane are ponderously slow and are not great readers of the game which slower defenders, like Bobby Moore had in their locker to disguise the lack of pace. Digne is better as an attacker than a defender and Sidibe manages to show ability, but has a propensity for mistakes.

Enough has been said about Pickford, his instinctive brilliance, coupled with a tendency to panic. I feel panic every time I watch Pickford, Mina, Sidibe etc playing around at the back. With such players, Ferguson got it right: an old-fashioned long ball is the option nine times out of ten.

Ancelotti and his team will know these problems; the question is whether they can improve the current squad, or whether the resources are available to improve the squad in the summer.

To be optimistic, I feel better about Everton now than at any time in the current century, they have a manager who knows what he is doing and they have a strike force. There's something to build on over the next couple of years.

We need to move on about six of that team that started on Sunday, including SIgurdsson, Delph, Schneiderlin, Iwobi (can't see where he's ever fitting in with this formation anyway).

The right back area is a worry, Sidibe is a winger, Coleman is no longer a upper echelon player and Kenny is not good enough to move us further up that league and challenge top sides.

Mina is still hit and miss and for me too often he plays like he's auditioning for Bambi on Ice.

Holgate better passing forward than he is at defending.

Pickford seems to find stupid mistakes funny and just shrugs his shoulders, never will have the mentality to be at the top end of the Premier League, forget the England situation, it's Everton that I'm arsed about.

Left back, Digne not good enough defensively, when he's on his game he's good going forward but is that really enough?

Out wide we still lack the ability to get behind teams because we don't really possess naturally quick wingers/wide men.

Once Walcott goes we are left with Bernard (again his better work is coming inside) and Richarlison who is more a forward than wide player anyway.

Moise Kean, I think is a huge problem, it's hard to see how three months fannying about in preseason sun will enhance his first team chances next season, he still looks erratic every time I see him and like he thinks the goal is 50ft wide.

We probably need three world class signings plus a couple of heart on sleeve players in defensive areas for me to believe much will change next season.

We harbour too many flakey mentalities at present and too many players who make it look like they are doing a decent job but don't actually impact the games that matter.

The front two were consistently threatening and really very unlucky not to score more. Calvert-Lewin's header at the end was really close. Gomes had an excellent 30 minutes and Bernard's energy also improved the team when he came one.

Baines didn't look out of place despite the long absence and, as ever, he captained the team well – something that is missing when either he or Coleman are absent.

Holgate has an emerging authority and can hopefully grow into this role. It is notable that he always acknowledges the travelling support at the end of the game – something that attracted comment from those around me on Sunday.

The problems were primarily on the right-hand side where Sidibe had a poor game, Iwobi was ineffective and the midfield of Sigurdsson, Schneiderlein, and Delph failed to provide cover for the right side of defence. The former had little impact on the game.

After the enforced substitution, Arsenal seemed to strengthen and take advantage of our weakness. Hopefully Kenny will come back to the first team next season but we need younger, more authoritative midfield players and a sustained threat on the wings. Perhaps Iwobi will come through – he is still young, after all.

No doubt though, this team is heading in the right direction, so we have reasons to be optimistic. Encouraging to see so many comments here making similar points.

The squad has potential but the defence and midfield need a lot of work. Kenny will sort out the right-back problem- don't judge him on last season as he has improved a lot in Germany.

Mina has a lot to prove in the remaining games whilst I sense Carlo has made up his mind about Keane who will be sold. Digne will be fine if he gets back to last seasons level and if he doesn't then he will be sold at a decent profit. We could do worse than buy back Robinson from Wigan!

We have to buy an aggressive and athletic centre-midfield player to go alongside Andre and both flanks are up for grabs with our players inconsistent to put it nicely. Surely Gordon must be given the opportunity to stake a claim before the cheque book comes out?
Up front we are going well. Dom will continue to improve and will be capped for England to stuff the words down his critics throat. Moise is potential, not the finished article but I think he will come on quickly once he gets a decent team around him – we cannot expect a young lad from a foreign country who couldn't speak English and had little experience to play well in such a mess of a team. Get a solid defence and a creative midfield and watch him go!
A lot of work to do but it will be a season notable for the emergence of two internationals in Dom and Mason, whose values must have rocketed.

What worries me more is that Sidibe and Mina combination is a disaster zone. Individually their positional play is poor, but put them together and there is a gap wider than the Mersey Tunnel to drive through.

Even worse, they don't seem to actually talk together and there is a serious lack of pace on the turn. If Mina plays then Coleman has to play (but he can't put a decent cross in, whereas Sidibe does) or try Holgate as the right hand side centre half to work with Sidibe.

Last point: where does Iwobi feature in this team, he's not a winger who can also cover back, as you could see on Sunday. His best position could be as a No 10, but with a 4-4-2 we don't have a No 10! Hopefully he's not going to be another 㿀M-odd misfit.

Our neighbours are a classical example of having 3 combative and mobile midfield, who also weigh in with goals. They aren't the most creative midfield but they win the ball back and feed their front 3, who are probably the best front 3 in the Premier League.

We have 2 goal-scoring forwards in Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin, so buy another goalscoring forward to play with them, and buy the likes of Doucoure and another to play either side of Gomes, then this not winning away at top 6 grounds will change very quickly.

Come on guys. It's good to have lofty ambitions but please remember where we were in Nov. We just could not do anything. There were problems all over the pitch.

Now we atleast have 3 youngsters who could fetch us over 50 million each, we have Gomes back & we can look forward to Don & Dunc sorting few more of those in the next couple of months and hope for some Marcel Magic to play out.

Don Carlo's only objective till the end of this season should be to bring in a bit of composure to DCL n Richie to make them more deadly, cut out the silly school boyish errors while defending, and try to improve Pickford's command over the 6 years box.

I will start with midfield first.

I would strongly recommend going with a diamond in the midfield with Holgate at the base, Gomes on the right, Delph on the left , Bernard/Iwobi as the furthest, just behind our Fab 2. I seriously believe this midfield ( with an upgrade on Delph) would be pretty dangerous coz they can spray balls all over the pitch, play through balls while also having the ability to bring the full backs into play as they are our best crossers.

In defence, I hope our gaffer gets rid of this high line shambles and reverts to play 2 old school center halves Keane and Mina, with Digne & Sidibe to provide the width. This is because we now have a very forward thinking midfield & we need not worry that defence will be pretty deep.

In this formation, we will not actually need a right sided attacker that Marcel Brands spoke about. We have Walcott, Iwobi, Bernie and Gordon coming through to provide width when needed.

If Don & Dunc measure that this is the way forward, it will be over to our DoF to bring in necessary upgrades ( preferably 3 or more) & hope kids like Gibson, Gordon, Beni save us a lot of money and be able to make us challenge at the top.

PS : I don't see many comments on how we have imported our attacking set plays since it was not long ago, I remember we were the only team that did not score from set pieces for a season or something like that!!

This is the worst Arsenal team for 25 years but they have a striker who scores from chances that Calvert-Lewin can't.

Performances have picked up but the same issues remain. We have a terrible midfield lacking pace, quality, fight and desire to win games.

We all know we are carrying players, hopefully Ancelotti has been giving game time to certain players to see if they cut it.

There is only Gomes and Gbamin who I would keep from the existing midfield. The rest can stroll around Miami seeing out their contracts.

If it's the latter then I'd guess with an average finish of 11 there won't be many above us (though if it includes final placing when there were only a handful of clubs in the league then it might exaggerate our comparative standing).

And if they don't have that positional sense now, they'll never have it. No matter how good we are further up the field, the floor is always about to collapse underneath us.

We have a centre-forward pairing that could go on to greatness. They could also be the key to keeping each other at the club!

We always give Man Utd a good run at Goodison. Let's hope Fernandes isn't allowed to run the game.

Using our finishing position since we returned to the top flight in 1954, Everton remain consistent in that the average finish is 9th. Everton have ended the season in the top 10 on 38 occasions, with top 4 finishes occurring on 14 occasions since the club returned to the top flight, 66 seasons including the current one.

As an aside, Everton currently lie joint 5th with Manchester United on 57 points from their last 38 league games, five points behind 4th-placed Chelsea (62). Man City (90) and Leicester City (70) occupy 2nd and 3rd places, respectively. Unfortunately, the other lot have nearly twice as many points (110) as us from their fixtures.

Obviously Everton had a decent run of form in the last 11 matches of last season and we have to hope we can do the same or better this season.

As each season moves into its final stage, we are always discounting it as just preparation for next time. 'Si modi' (If only) should be inserted in our motto as looking for 'the best' has become a pointless (irony) exercise. The last 4 years have proved we do no better 'with money' than without it and, as an example of wanton profligacy, only Aston Villa count as our rivals. How ridiculous the game (not just Everton) has become is demonstrated by the likes of 'Paul the Esk' taking up columns on how we can justify or get round Financial Fair Play regulations just so the club can waste more money unhindered!

Well into my 9th decade, Everton these days just annoys me. There is rarely any joy – just the hopes of 'next bloody season' to keep us interested. As if.

"...Coleman is no longer a upper echelon player..."

Wilfred Zaha would like to have a word with you.

Sorry to break it to you, but John is not far wrong.

Since the formation of the football league in 1888, Everton has played 120 completed seasons, only three of them outside the top flight.

Our average finishing position up to and including last season is 9.68.

Liverpool has five less season than ourselves and has completed 115 seasons.

Year on year, our average finishing position was always better than Liverpool's until their cluster of title wins in the 1970s and 1980s finally tipped the balance in their favour.

That is to say, for 84 seasons our average finishing position up to and including the 1982-83 season was better than the 'bours. In that season our average was 9.98 against their 10.01.

They marginally went ahead of us on this metric in the 1983-84 for the first time. Our average was 9.94, theirs 9.90.

In the 36 completed seasons since then, we have never regained the superior average finishing position over them. We have 'flatlined' and remained, at best, between 9.42 (1989-90) and worst 10.03 (2003-04) since then.

'Their' average finishing position has relentlessly risen from that 'tipping season' in 1984-85 - 9.90 - to 8.11 last season.

In only 5 out of the last 36 seasons (and this season will make it 37 seasons) have we finished ahead of them.

I won't depress you further by detailing how in that same period our superior win record over them has been totally torpedoed and they are now streets ahead of us in head-to-head games on every criteria, home-away-league-cups.

It's carnival week in Brazil, one big joyous party. And I've just depressed the hell out of myself for researching and writing the above!

“Haven't had a decent midfield since Reid” etc.

I thought Pienaar, Cahill, Arteta etc were pretty damn good. They'd walk all over the present frauds.

Barry, McCarthy and Barkley did a job, too. The midfield of the best points total we've had in my time, and the most exciting and enjoyable team to watch in my time, too.

Imagine what this team could do with a player like Garreth Barry holding?!

Some of my best times watching the Blues was when Liverpool spent eight years in limbo in the Fifties while we were in the top flight.

Some of Moyes's teams mixed big characters like Carsley, Gravesen, Cahill with skill and work ethic of Pienaar or Arteta or the gangly unpredictability of Marouane Fellaini.

Martinez had a good blend of pacy wingers and Barry, McCarthy and Barkley, that was hardly poor.

This current midfield, Bernard aside (who probably needs a bit more consistency to be rated higher) is shocking.

Gomes when he's bang on form is immense but prior to his injury let's not completely be ignorant that many games also passed him by.

We need some athleticism and some guile.

Carlo will want to instill that Italian defensive meanness too, as a priority. It was like a dagger to the heart for him seeing those goals conceded. He will want to tighten the defence up whatever it takes, by one or two changes in personnel in midfield and defence.

I would like to see some shrewd business in the summer, Sigurdsson, Delph sold or traded for Doucoure or another more dynamic midfielder. Sam Hoare will have a decent shortlist.

Iwobi is yet to convince me but I feel he needs more time and breathing space to be given a proper chance to establish himself.

Keane traded for a meaner, class defender. Money needs to be spent but Brands may be able to offset a fair bit of it – and probably needs to with all the FFP suits snapping at our accounts.

The midfield rotation that appears to be gnawing at posters is part audition, part tactical and part who the else have we got to play midfield? Every combination we have is limited.

However, Carlo has had a very positive effect on the team. Whilst he's not exactly made us harder to beat, he has made harder to defend against. We are scoring and creating strong opportunities to score on a consistent basis.

It's hard to argue any other team has two attackers in better form? Carlo's persistence with Sidibé will clearly drive people nuts, especially my man JaC, but his attacking qualities and assist record enhance the pair up front, little attention has been paid to the right midfield who gives such an attacking outlet zero cover.

All out offense has to be the goal for the remainder of the season, with the emphasis on the attack I think will cut the draws out and get us European football. Which flavour I don't know. But I wasn't in the least bit concerned with this latest defeat at Arsenal. Carlo is the man.

The ‘08 not only had cadence as a unit, it also allowed a vertical rhythm, at its best was two play makers from wide, pre-injury when Arteta played from the right. It's such a shame they didn't have a top top striker to supply.

But ultimately let's not mess around the ‘85 vintage are peerless. They could all pass, they had power and were hard as nails. The finesse was there from the left and goals from the Steven were a regular thing, not to be underestimated how good he was. I think over time my appreciation for him has grown massively, oddly never a big fan of tricky Trev at the time. Maybe as a less demonstrative personality he went under the radar?

But I return to the original point, rarely do you have four superstars in the midfield, there's always room for John Ebbrell!

I think Ancelotti and Duncan realised fairly quickly that Everton's midfield and defence were unlikely to keep many clean sheets and if they did, the goals at the other end would dry up. So both men decided that improving our attacking play, was the best way to eek out some points to steady the ship.

We probably won't see a 'sound' defensive unit until the start of next season and only then, if we recruit or promote proper defenders.

The Midfield requires a player who can captain the side and lead by example – I don't think there is any player who could do that within the current squad and finding such a player won't be easy or cheap.

Given Ancelotti's facial expressions after conceding on Sunday, I'm sure he won't hang about in finding players who can do the job he wants them to do, whether we can afford them or are able to sign them is another matter.

Spot on with the balance. Think of the 87 side and at times it was Power, Harper, Langley, Snodin, some or all playing out of position but disciplined in their roles with tactics to build on our strengths and minimize our weaknesses. In contrast, I remember West Ham being relegated with an all-star team of Lampard, Cole, Di Canio, Futre etc who were individually better than the aforementioned but collectively didn't function as a unit.

I agree that you do need balance in a midfield and they have to compliment each other. I also don't forget that Harper and Richardson played important roles in the title-winning team. But you have to have quality not in just 1 or 2 midfield positions to win leagues, and as I said in my original post we haven't had a midfield good enough to compete at the top level since that 1985 midfield.

Your comments appear to have prompted Jay [40] to say that our best finishing position overall is 9.68 and our worst 10.3 with fluctuating figures for periods in between. Regular readers will be aware that I have no love of stats in any form, but to introduce the decimal point in deciding League placings is stretching things a bit too far. I think that your postings are excellent and, as your Uncle, I trust that nobody will mistake them to be mine.

The midfield of ‘85 Sheedy, Reid, Bracewell and Steven were irreplaceable.

Anyway, as I've said on other posts, we're not that far away from something very good. It only takes one or two very classy signings to lift a team. They don't need to cost the earth either.

I was there through the good times and bloody marvelous it was too, but back then it was so much easier to build a winning team more quickly.

The mess we are might mean it takes another 3-4 years before we see any silverware, meanwhile that lot across the park win everything for the next 5 years.

It can't be underestimated the damage done by the Moshiri - Walsh - Koeman threesome.

Thanks for your very generous response. I would think that fellow ToffeeWeb's could easily identify that your unique style and eloquence not to mention knowledge of all things Everton is of a far higher standard than of my own scribbled posts. I hope you are keeping well and who knows we may share a drop or two, at a future TW meet up.

The old bugger is just basking in your reflected glory. hee hee, Meanwhile regarding the comments about Calvert-Lewin who could have / should have etc, ad infinitum I can only repeat an earlier post that what the lad lacks is a goal scorers instinct.

No doubt his physical attributes and motivation will see him hold down a strikers position but until the kind of instinct that puts him in the right place at the right time kicks in I'm afraid he will always be an almost centre forward.

To prove my point take a look at the best strikers in the game and ask yourself what came first. Were they natural born goal scorers or did it take many years of practice.

We have Coleman who positionally is better, has a goal in him and, in my opinion, is quicker than Sidibe. We have Jonjoe Kenny lighting up the Bundesliga, why would he not get at least a mention?

For the remainder of this season, we could play Mina and Keane in the middle Coleman and Digne at fullbacks, Holgate and Delph, Gomes and Bernard, with Calvert-Lewin & Richarlison up-front.

Finals ain't played at Goodison, folks!

Both these teams have new managers and both have a lot of sorting out still to do. I hope Everton don't afford the kind of room to Martial next Sunday as they did to Aubameyang.

Whilst Calvert-Lewin is grabbing a goal or two, he is not a top-notch finisher and is average at best, no different than Tosun and Niasse, and I cannot see him being a long-term starter to compliment Richarlison.

Here's hoping Gomes can bring some creativity back to the midfield and that Gbamin can be a real winner when he comes in for next season. Other than that, I don't see much changing in the rest of the season with probably only another 3 or 4 wins.

Gomes looks like a class act but, so far, he's had too many games that he's been anonymous in, he's yet to fulfil expectations. I'm not expecting too much from him and especially with his ankle, he'll be off the pace.

Carlo Ancelotti has had time now to see the problems are in more than just a few positions, this could take a good few transfer windows to sort out. I think we all have to moderate our expectations of what's possible (and especially this season).

Calvert-Lewin is 12 goals different to Tosun and Niasse. He's a one-in-two centre-forward this season.

Very unfair comments from yourself regarding a rapidly improving player, mate.