Silva vows to keep Schneiderlin at Everton this month

I sincerely hope he proves me wrong, but I strongly doubt it, he has no Gana to cover for his mistakes and lethargy, God Help Us.

A net spend of £28m this window. And we could still rake in a few bob on Niasse. That spend of £28m is derisory given the obvious need for a CB. But Brands has his instructions and stuck to them while still managing to allow us to expect more but for bad luck. A well played hand. I'm not knocking him, that's his job and he's bought wisely, overall.

Unfortunately, Tosun's dad won't let him leave. Think he'll be here till the end of time too.

If McCarthy went for £3M-£8M then Schnides has to be priced the same.

If he can't see Schnides floors than he must be too busy climbing the ceiling.

I'd rather Mirrallis or Martina start instead if him.

Schnides must have failed his driving test because he's a constant passenger. For those who thought he was playing well at the end of last season must have low expectations.

A couple of interceptions and backwards passes is all I saw. A wall could do the same.

I did check and it seems the other article I had read where Silva was on about him still leaving after the window was taken from comments before the window, so clearly Silva was expecting another signing, perhaps that Sanson, although they seem different players.

Very interesting to note his comments. Schneiderlin will compete with Gbamin. He does not see Delph, Gomes, or Davies as being able to play that role.

I hope he switches from the double pivot (two defensive midfielders) to the single pivot (one defensive midfielder). This will all depend on Gbamin and how good he is. Also to play a single pivot Sigurdsson needs to drop deeper or drop out the side. Gomes and Sigurdsson seem a bit too slow for a high energy pressing game, so Gomes and Delph or Davies is more likely.

I would expect us to line up with the double pivot until Sigurdsson gets injured, needs a rest or has a very bad spell. It's easier for Silva to use Gbamin and Gomes deep with Sigurdsson ahead, and then Richarlison right and Bernard left, with Calvert-Lewin as the lone striker, and Kean coming off the bench against tiring legs and the same with Iwobi.

He has known there was little chance of getting Zouma (realistically) with Chelsea's Ban etc, he has also known Gana would leave at some point since January, so why are we now in the position of only having Schneiderlin and Gbamin as our DM's? Same applies to CB!

I really do wonder what is going on to be honest? Brands is blameless in all of this and although he has a degree of influence, he is not calling the tune, or he might as well be Coach, Manager, DoF and Board Member too.

He couldn't hide his disappointment about the centre back cock up especially and didn't shy from letting his feelings be known.

I think this also had an effect on Schniederlins situation for those of you that want him gone. Marco only referred to the three centre backs which means that fourth choice will have to be Gbamin and not young Gibson.

If that's the case Morgan will be needed and will probably play a similar amount to last year. I think Delph has been bought for tactical flexibility Ie a 3, and not as someone who can do that job.

For example, Silva could say he wants a quick defensive midfielder who can tackle, covers a lot of ground, but holds position and can pass. With a view to initiating attacks. Brands then goes away and comes back with a few players, including Gbamin. Silva would look at some tape and tell Brands his preference and Brands would sign the player. Or perhaps, Brands looked at the first choice and it was decided by Silva that he was too expensive and that money was better spent elsewhere, and so to go with a second choice.

We have a balanced side. Our centre back pairings towards the end of last season wasn't just Keane and Zouma. It worked (even with Jagielka) because the shape was right and the team had a desire to match it.

So let's keep that shape and desire and hope we have been working on creating chances and putting the ball in the net. If we have, then we will win tomorrow, gain confidence and crack on.

See the old 'derisory net spend' snoozefest is coming back. God forbid that as a multi-million-pound business we seek to shift players surplus to requirements for cash and reduce the wage bill, just so we can have a big net spend and satisfy the masses. We even doubled our money on some who hardly got game time. Whatever next?!!

I seem to recall another article mentioned someone else getting some ban for the same earlier.

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/evertons-yerry-mina-hit-fa-16639652

The problems begin with his wages. 𧴰k a week for a squad player is excessive but unfortunately, in this market, that is the minimum wage for anyone who has ever played for a top-six team.

The second issue is the "Rolls-Royce" midfielder hype from Koeman. At the time, we were crying out for a Roy of the Rovers midfielder. A lot of people took Koeman's comments as meaning Schneiderlin was that man.

In reality, a Rolls-Royce is a heavy, slow, vehicle designed to comfortably cart people from A to B. In that respect, Schneiderlin is a Rolls-Royce. But what we were wanting was more along the lines of a Lamborghini or a Ferrari.

If we had signed him straight from Southampton on say $35k a week, and if Koeman had likened him to a Transit van, then we would probably be quite happy with the lad.

Lev #19, yes, Sturridge just got suspended for 6, but it was for a vastly different offense -- sharing insider information with relatives who placed bets on it.

Personally, I reckon that, if any club was to offer 㾻m or more, then Morgan will be sent on his way.

Regarding the net spend, people need to cast their minds back a couple of summers and remember the amount of overpriced rubbish we added to the squad. The improvement in the squad in just 3 transfer windows is vast. Mr Brands has worked wonders and I hope that Silva can do the same. COYB

Top 6 is still up for grabs but will be a harder ask without Zaha, there was much hullabalu on the forums when some "pundit" on Sky shrugged us off saying why would Zaha go to Everton they arent even a Top 6 club, well once again we proved to be always the bridegroom never the bride etc etc

Hopefully we are not just looking for Silva linings with Iwobi and himself and Kean hit the ground running, but we targeted a player who would walk into any Top 6 side and ended up with a lad that is surplus at Arsenal also handing them most of the funds to now buy Zaha in January

If we fall short again to breaking the Top 6 for sake of 20-30mill will be a crying shame, Some statement Moshiri, hanging around Blue Bill too long I would suggest

COYB

Re: net spend, people get fixated on it, because they fear a low net spend = the club being skint, or adopting a sell-to-buy model, but it's clear this past window was simply a case of disciplined and savvy transfer dealings. I mean, if we'd thrown 40-million at Barcelona for Gomes the second the window opened, would that somehow be better?

All this angst over... Zaha??

Oh my.

Pray you are wrong mate

That was the vibe I got from him, I believe he used the phrase "have to work with what we have" but it's all in the eye of the beholder, I suppose.

Mike,

I am sure you would be feeling a lot better about our prospects of Top 6 had we signed him yesterday, no? For me, it was more the process: he, from what I could see was our "statement" signing and we failed to land him. In its own way, it sends out another statement, that we fall short again and are not serious about making that step. To be honest, 㿠mil for a player like him is derisory; no wonder Crystal Palalce slammed down the phone.

Unfortunately, there is a direct correlation between net spend and league position. I wish it wasnt so but it tends to be.

Dermot,

Why is it, anytime anybody on this site posts something that is deemend negative, it gets called out and shot down? I am sure you are aware we haven't won fuck all in 30 years when I started supporting the club.,There are two reasons why in my opinion:

1. Incompetant management (can't blame Heysel for everytthing);

2. Apathatetic support who take every kick in the teeth in their stride and accept 6th best.

This why Bill Kenwright has lasted so long in our once-great club, peddling lies and delivering mediocrity. Now, if you find that negative post "tiresome" (?) – avert your gaze... simple. But the stats don't lie my friend: we have been shit for decades now, so sorry if I post some negative thoughts on the subject but I am sick to the teeth watching the RS clean up while we languish, so I will call out negative things when i see them. I am sorry if you find that 'tiresome' – that is how I feel and I am not on here to cheer you up.

I hope I get proved wrong and we do a Leicester but I have my doubts. I will be 100% behind the club, like I have been since 1984.

COYB

The window has been a good one, when viewed objectively, for Everton. Deadline day was rather anti-climactic but it is for most clubs.

At his best, he is a decent player... then so is Walcott... but generally they have more poor games than good ones. Zaha has a lot of skill but Palace undeniably wanted too much and that's why Arsenal dropped out of the bidding. I don't think Everton ever offered Macca and Tosun as part of this deal.

Hopefully he is still sulking tomorrow and doesn't get to hurt Everton if he plays, and Macca for that matter.

It will be another tough ask for the Blues to get three points, as was the opening game against Wolves last season, especially as the goalscoring was a big problem in pre-season. Maybe that is something that won't factor tomorrow in the real thing.

He didn't try and sugarcoat anything. Answered honestly and directly on the question of not landing another centre back. I thought it was more a shrug of the shoulders than out and out disappointment as Jer suggests.

He talked positively about how he improved Zouma and Keane last season in the position and how he intends to do the same this with Keane, Mina and Holgate.

He gave me the air of a man in change, knowing what he wants to do.

All in the eye of each individual beholder as you say, Jer.

The advert was in his home country and it's a ridiculous rule anyway. How can a player be told he can't advertise a betting firm personally, but he can wear a team shirt advertising a betting firm?

I'm confident that, if he apologises and pleads ignorance to the rules, that he'll get off with a fine.

He has talent but not sure he has been putting it all in, he probably realizes if he doesn't he will be shipped out sooner or later.

Let's hope he has a great season like the rest of the team.

Love him or hate him we need the depth in this area due to a lack of centre backs.

The team did not report back until July, but Silva had been in the job for a few days, and was ready to talk about his new players. He singled Schneiderlin out when talking about his preference to play 4-3-3:

"Depending the profile of my No6, I can play one (Defensive Midfielder) and two (box-to-box midfielders) or I can play two (defensive midfielders) and one behind the striker depending on the profile of our number six. If we play Schneiderlin he is a player who likes to play more alone which gives more freedom to the other two midfielders and this is the system I use more."

So here it is in black and white. Silva wants to play one defensive midfielder and two box-to-box midfielders. Schneiderlin was believed to be such a defensive midfielder who could play alone and give others freedom.

But that did not happen. We did not play that way. Come December Silva said this about Schneiderlin's struggles:

"I can see, I have to be honest It has been, until now, one of the biggest challenges I have when you talk about individual players. As you know, I like him as a football player and my profile of the No6, as I already told you, he has very, very good skills for that position. We are here to help him play in the starting XI in all our matches if he deserves that. We have quality in that position with Gana and Andre and other players."

Yet all season long we played two defensive midfielders and not just one. When we did see Schneiderlin, it was not as a single defensive midfielder, as advertised, but as part of a double act.

Now you could argue that Idrissa Gueye needed an Andre Gomes to double with him, both covering for the others flaws and maximising their skills, and Schneiderlin's form meant that Silva had to play Gueye as his first choice and then pick someone to compliment him, and the reality is that Schneiderlin and Gueye never really played that well together. Schneiderlin's real purple patch, the "Rolls Royce" period was during the time Gueye was away with the African Cup of Nations in January 2017, and on his return to the bench as Schneiderlin excelled with Tom Davies alongside him.

Silva said the right things about Schneiderlin. He massaged his ego, he tried to talk him up and get him playing well in Pre-Season, but it was pretty evident that Silva was not going to go with him as a single defensive midfielder. In doing so, Silva was abandoning the tactic he told us he wanted to use. He was effectively telling us that Schneiderlin was not good enough to play on his own, and that he did not give the other players more freedom. Whilst William Carvalho will never have mobility listed as one of his best attributes, he gets about the pitch well, he covers a lot of ground, and he gives freedom to others. Yes Freedom, Silva's word. Schneiderlin required others, be it Tom Davies or Idrissa Gueye to bring energy and buzz about around him. The best he brought was stability and security.

Go back to the first game of last season, I did a tactical analysis of that game. Silva had Schneiderlin and Gueye sit deep on the defence and play a box formation ahead of the two centre-backs. You could shade in that box and Wolves could not get through the Everton middle. This was classic Schniederlin as Everton were exceptionally Solid. Yes we conceded two, a dodgy set piece (zonal marking) and a positional error in the back four allowing the offside trap to be breached. The next game Schneiderlin's season was over after he limped off after 24 minutes. But not before he played a significant part (an assist) in that exquisite training ground goal that Walcott scored. Schneiderlin's Dad had an illness and died. He tried to play the West Ham game in his father's honour but it was a disaster and it was not long before Gomes got into the side and formed a partnership with Gueye, and after that Schneiderlin barely got a look in. I actually thought that in the first game and a bit and the second half of the season, he played well. He was defensively solid. His positioning was excellent. His passing was not at his best, and he was very unadventurous with the ball, which I took to mean low on confidence, but he was far better than most on here would have you believe.

The key thing was that Silva did not do what he said he was going to do. Morgan Schneiderlin was singled out to be the man to give the attack freedom and yet he needed the help of another, Gueye, and so took a player away from the attack. Now, the first chance Silva has something to do about it, he has replaced him. Gbamin is the replacement.

We will know if Gbamin is the man Silva hopes for, because he will play "alone" and he will be trusted to give "freedom" to the other midfielders (to get forwards).

As for Schneiderlin from here until the end of his contract, he is a quality backup. if he sorts his head out and plays for his future. Schneiderlin and Gbamin or Delph or even Davies should be able to replicate that box formation from the Wolves game. They can use that against the best sides to prevent the opposition from getting through the middle and then by having such solidity they can use the pace of our forwards to hit the opposition on the counter attack. We just need Schneiderlin to move the ball much more quickly, and in a much more adventurous manner. He still has a role here and something to offer the side, but clearly Silva no longer sees him in the way he did before he coached him for the first time.

(sorry Lyndon, you were asking for articles and I really should have submitted this as an article!)

Macca put a message on Instagram, he's gonna miss the club, teammates, and amazing fans.

Is he interested though? We'll see. He won't be the first player to "find" form in his last contracted season after all, will he?

Dave Abrahams was dismayed at his lack of motivation and that will do for me. However, this is his chance. He has been a good player, let's see him to it again.

They know nothing.

You say Schneiderlin had struggled before Silva came here, Steve he never struggled, that would have been too much effort for him, he never tried, had never tried for a long period.

I keep hearing fans say he had a great period in the last few games of the season, don't agree, never saw that, good in the Burnley game, and even then did as little as possible, giving the ball to the nearest man to him, as he did in all the other games he played in that period, never broke sweat.

For the money they are on, all of them at every club on far too much, they should be playing for ninety minutes every game, not a small portion of the game, as Schneiderlin does, he has taken the piss out of his managers, team mates and us, the fans.

Ironically one poster, a very good one usually said Schneiderlin gets a bum deal off Everton fans then in his next sentence mentions he is on £120,000 per week, I knew what he meant but it made me smile nevertheless.

I can never tolerate wasters and phonies like this supposedly professional footballer, he's conned Everton out of £millions in wages he never worked for.

As for having another chance, I think not. Sure he will get an opportunity, but I expect Gbamin to start tomorrow. I expect cover from Schniederlin and at some point he will get on the pitch as there will be injuries.

My points were about how Silva saw him as "the single pivot" before coaching him, and that once he did, we only ever saw him as a "double pivot", meaning Silva has clearly revised his opinion. Now, let's wait and see if he has such confidence in Gbamin. I predict it will be 4-2-3-1 for at least the first few weeks, but we may see a change if Gbamin starts well, plays well, and Everton play well. It also depends on Sigurdsson's ability to play a deeper role and Silva's confidence in him to do so.

Schneiderlin, like Carvalho, has a languid style. He sits and he holds position. If I was Gueye's manager, I'd have been going mad at him, week in, week out. For me, he vacates position far too much. I want my defensive midfielder to sit in, hold position and protect the back four, shielding it, whilst also being able to initiate attacks and transition from defence to attack in the blink of an eye. Schniederlin can do all of this. He is pretty much perfect for it. But for whatever reason, he lost his way in a major fashion. I don't sympathise with him, I find it infuriating. But that does not mean I lambast him and say he cannot pass or he cannot tackle. He can. He's just not doing it.

As above, the point of my post was that Silva saw him in one way, but used him in another. He clearly had a proper look at him in training and changed his mind. The two main words Silva used about him where "Freedom" and "alone". He was not played alone, he was always played in a duo, and so he could not give the other midfielders the freedom to get forwards.

A player like Silva thought Schneiderlin was is worth two players, as it means you can have an extra attacker. And this was always my problem with Gueye. Gueye could not play deep in Schniederlin's position and so we always needed an extra defensive player on the pitch. My hope is that Gbamin can be such a player and can mean we have an extra attacking player on the pitch. Albeit for me, this would be Gomes further up the pitch.

New season and it will be interesting to see who starts and is on the bench.

I hope we win and get some momentum going early doors, this season.

We all are entitled to our views on all the players: Schneiderlin can infuriate and appear lazy and hides and can't be arsed, but some many others did too mid last season.

MS, did based on results loose his way, but rode the storm and came back. Schneiderlin also done well in the last third of the season.

Fresh start, and hope so let's get behind the th squad that starts, and judge on merit over the first 5 games.

I'm taking us tomorrow for a 1-3, win. I'm sober tonight, and saving, for a few beers tomorrow.

Hopefully they will be enjoyed.

Steve you know better than me, because you study the game and love football, that skill is never ever enough and if any player is skilful but wastes that skill through lack of effort then he not only lets himself down but everyone around him.

Schneiderlin has had ample time to show he is an all round footballer at Everton, he has wasted much of that time with his complete lack of effort.

I don't think it's a lack of effort Dave. I don't think there's many footballers who cannot be arsed. They become professionals because whilst they have talent, they work hard. I do not doubt that Morgan works hard. I just see him as a mentally fragile player. He's someone who needs confidence and can be got at by the opposition and knocked off his game and when he's in a rut, he lacks the strength of character like Roy Keane to just will himself back to form.

Schneiderlin is lacking pretty much all of the essential qualities needed to be the defensive midfielder on his own. He goes missing, he lacks any intensity whatsoever in his pressing and tackling. He lacks aggression. And as for him being able to initiate attacks or putting a 50 yard pass into the path of our wingers?! WTF? He once did it for Walcott with a ball I would guess was about 30 yards down the line. I don't think he has ever kicked the ball 50 yards in his entire Everton career.

One thing Schneiderlin does is occupy a central space. But that is about it. He never gets above 3rd gear in that central space. He's not brave with or without the ball.

You also said that he is quality back up. No he's not. If he was, someone would have come in for him, like McCarthy who has just gone. Even Besic. No one will touch Schneiderlin. We are lumbered with him.

Let's not try to re-write history, or pretend he's something he is not. Even on a good day, Schneiderlin will always need someone like Gueye holding his hand in midfield.

We want to break into the top 6. We don‘t need passengers like Schneiderlin. The sooner he goes, the better.

So are you telling me that Schneiderlin at his best is not a quality backup?

As for his passing, not my fault if you cannot recall his passing in the first 6 months of his career here. He also did a few in the last few games of last season. He did it regularly for Southampton.

People took to Besic because he's cheap. Schniederlin is on 𧴰,000 per week. That's ٤m a year. And Everton want a fee on top. To loan Schneiderlin you are paying at least ٤m a year, probably ٦m. I would say that no one wants Besic. Sure he went on loan, but all of the Everton managers from Koeman to Silva would rather play Schneiderlin than Besic, whilst they let Besic go out on loan to get shut of him. Besic is the worst defensive midfielder I have ever seen play for Everton, he has the positional awareness of a 5-year-old.

And he's been here long enough, since January 2017, to sort his head out, and didn't give a shit about his future, just the 𧴰k per week.

At the end of the season, whilst not vintage Schneiderlin, he was functional and showed signs that he could rediscover his best form. Clearly, by trying to flog him, Silva was not interested in investing more time in Schneiderlin, but the point is now that he has to.

The main point of what I wrote in the first place was very simple, Silva thought he could be a defensive midfielder who could play on his own, and yet has never done so, and therefore has clearly revised his opinion of him. I think that's significant.

Trust me, it pains me greatly to think Schneiderlin has earned more this week then I will earn this whole year. I was rather hoping that Joe Williams would step up so we could offload Schneid and his fat pay packet but since that didn't happen he is the best option we have as of this weekend.

Just admit you were wrong about Schneiderlin. He cannot be the defensive pivot you have suggested he can be in the past. You'll save yourself a lot of energy. He's stunk the place out after his first 6 months when he played well (although he wasn't spraying 50 yard passes, he was neat and tidy in possession, nothing more).

It says something when he has been booed coming onto the pitch, and we have never even had an enquiry for him as far as I recall? Lots of other high earners have gone out on loan - Bolasie and Sandro from our club alone, and countless others across the Prem. Why is it that no one has taken a chance on Schneiderlin if he is potentially as good as you suggest?

Come on mate, Marco Silva is only talking him up because he has to! You don't have to!!

No doubt we'll be looking for him again tomorrow if he is on the team sheet!

Also, Schneiderlin has not been available for transfer until this summer and Everton received a number of enquiries but choose to keep him. Schneiderlin is on far more than either of Sandro (£65k a week) or Bolasie (£70k a week), in fact he almost earns as mush as both of them combined. And that's the issue, he's not value for money for prospective buyers.

Come on mate, admit it - Schneiderlin's shite and we are lumbered with him.

Christy, point is he is weak mentally. Keane was so strong mentally. Opposite ends of the spectrum.

I have to say though, I fear that his inclusion will lead to us being overrun in midfield, even against a poor team like Palace...

Still, maybe this season he'll put a shift in to get a new contract.

Don, he needs to get himself a move in the summer. He turns 30 soon. He only has one more contract. He knows that even if he plays well, he's getting a pay cut to stay here. So he will want to impress and get a bigger contract elsewhere, which will be the last major contract of his career. Let's hope that motivates him.

It certainly is in my case, I watch him intervene a pass then has loads of space in front of him, but stops and turns round passing it backwards and, if he feels energetic, sideways and to him that's his job done and you see him relax completely, never moves to get involved again. He does this repeatedly throughout the game.

I've used more energy writing this post than Morgan does in lots of games.

Carry on defending him, Steve, but truly he is not worth your defence of him.

Spent 6 months in the Turkish side of Cyprus being bandied from pillars to posts trying to register a vehicle there..paid (bunged) every fuckin official from the chief of police downwards and STILL didnt get anywhere...in the end gave in and lost thousands £'s to a blecch dealer.

Give them Nothing.

Just look at the difference between him and the guy he was brought in to replace, Gareth Barry. One was a first-rate pro, the other... Morgan Schneiderlin. Christ, Darren Gibson was much better than him.

We're just stuck with this stiff for this season and next. There isn't a scenario where he's going to come good.

I suspect you have a preference for two strikers. Imagine you become Everton manager and talk about how you will play two strikers before a ball is kicked, and then you spent the whole season with just one up front.

Well that's what Silva did. He talked about one defensive midfielder. He used two and never went with one. Why? Morgan Schneiderlin. He was not what Silva thought he was.*

So on to the present. Gbamin is another who is supposed to be capable of being the lone Defensive Midfielder. So will Silva change the tactics and finally go with his actual preferred formation?

*over simplification, as another factor is Sigurdsson.

Both Schneiderlin an Gueye struggle when they don't have at least 2 other midfielders around them. In Schneiderlin's case, it's 2 players to do the donkey work while he (very effectively) holds his position, breaks up play with his positional sense and gets the ball moving (whether it be sideways or not). When he plays with just one other midfielder, they are overrun.

Gueye was similar, he needed 2 around him for when he wandered off. One to hold a position (Gomes in the latter part of the year) and one to fill an advanced gap in a central role (either Bernard or Richarlison in the latter part of the year).

It's no coincidence that Schneiderlin's best form came largely in a midfield 3 of Barry, him and Davies, while he didn't look out of place when Bernard and Richarlison were defending as midfielders. It's also no coincidence that he looked out of his depth when we effectively played with 2 central midfielders and four attacking players. He simply can't cover enough ground to flourish in this formation.

He's a very good player, but because of his limitations, he's a mid table premiership player.

I think Schneiderlin has been given far more chances than he has deserved.

The frustrating thing is that he clearly does have ability. He came in last season and did well in patches. Hopefully he has got his head right and can get back to his best...because his worst is truly awful.

It's interesting that Silva has pointed out that only Gbamin and Schneiderlin can play Gueye's role in the team. Surely Baningime could have slotted in. And I don't know what role Delph and Davies have in the team.

You look across the Park and they have 3 forwards who can play anywhere up front. They have midfielders who can play anywhere in midfield. Meanwhile every one of our centre mids is a niche player who cannot budge out of their preferred position.

When any player at any club starts showing that "can't be arsed" attitude, then I'm done. They can have all the talent in the world, and I couldn't care less about their "brilliance", sod 'em, and for Me, Schneiderlin is a failure. Plain and simple. He actually has everything and fails to use it for some petulant reason.

Contrast Gareth Barry when he arrived, he delivered.

Barry was well past his prime, then week in and out he regularly has many of us TW's saying "Shame he never joined us years ago".

I couldn't care less about Schneiderlin and more importantly, neither can he.

He's a crucifying example over "Overpaid, under achiever".
Give him away, pay half his wage for the remaining contract. Get shut. We need hungry, ambitious players, not comfortable leeches.

Since player performance can ebb and flow, I'm open to changing my opinion.

How about this? Regarding skill, vision, fitness, determination, and clear and obvious professionalism, Gareth Barry was the opposite of shit. Schneiderlin was and remains the opposite of Barry.

When he goes, not one Evertonian will lament his departure.

Hahaha, well done. It's only massive limitations, is it? And here I was thinking him shit.

He frequently loses the play and jogs back behind the player he was supposed to be marking as they slide the ball into the net and he very rarely plays a forward pass. He dwells on the ball that long that all his options are closed so he has to turn and pass the ball back and usually not that accurately.

I am sure he has qualities but I just don't see them and he has never been fit to lace Gana's boots.

A strong start, a bit of momentum and hopefully some luck with the fitness of Mina and Keane can get us through to January in a strong position. Liverpool got VVD in a January window and look what he's done for them, there's nothing to stop us doing the same if we've got the money and are sitting around the top four.

I think that we're getting to that position now where we'll only need 1 or 2 real quality purchases each window.

I wish Jonjoe had had the same amount of opportunities that Morgan has had to impress, one of those players loves the club and is far from limited, the other loves himself.

At the end of the day Sandra it's all about opinions, mine is you might get somewhere with a player who gives his all, you will get nowhere with a player who doesn't.

It was your apparent defence of Morgan that got me a little agitated, see you on the 17th at The Excelsior, which has now been confirmed by the manager Peter, I put a post on that thread yesterday.

Like you say, all about opinions but mine is that MS is far from shit and will be an important part of the squad.

I was making the point the Gueye also had big limitations, he however excelled at what he did best more than Schneiderlin.

Because of Schneiderlin's inability to function in a 2 Man midfield (big mobility limitation) he looks shit in this formation.

Gueye also didn't impress as much in this formation and the team as a whole suffered.

Most players have limitations in one form or another, there's no point pretending that Gueye didn't. That doesn't necessarily mean that they are shit. Pickford doesn't command his area, Coleman can't cross, Digne is suspect to giving silly fouls away, Keane is slow turning etc.

Schneiderlin is not a bad player as long as he is played in a midfield with plenty of cover around him. He is also not a player we should be playing regularly if we want to break into the top 4/6.