Lössl a doubt for League Cup trip to Lincoln

It is a vital game and a tricky game at the same time.

Lose this, and make no mistake if we turn up half cocked, we will lose it, then already our season is hitting the doldrums before we even enter September.

Lincoln gave us a tough match in January at Goodison, they'll do the same again at Sincil Bank so we need to go there with our strongest team and get the job done ASAP.

There is absolutely no reason nor justification to replace Pickford with a keeper of less ability. Nor should the changes in outfield players be anything other than to strengthen/improve after Friday's dismal display. We want to see our team win comfortably on Wed and, ideally, to hammer them. Why compromise?

Considering Silva is allegedly a Manager that pays attention to detail and believes in intensive training methods, how do we have so many injuries early on?

Many of those injuries are to players who have not even kicked a ball yet in the Premier League.

This represents virtually our only chance of silverware now, the FA Cup is becoming a closed shop for the big six so I'm really hoping we go hell for leather in the League Cup this season.

Especially in the Cup Competitions, where it is a lot down to the luck of the draw, but with the right attitude and a matter of 7 or 8 games, it can be done.

I agree with you.

When you are a club outside the top six the one thing you really do need to display on a Cup run is a bit of steel, some guts and some leadership, something we had in abundance in 1995.

I do worry that there are still far too many flakey characters in the Everton team.

So don't expect the strongest side on Wednesday. Mind you, it's difficult to pick a strongest side these days.

Might I suggest silva actually starts giving a damn about the Cups and tries to bring this club some kind of silverware.

We had a manager in Moyes for 11 years that was only interested in league placings on his CV but to be fair to Moyes, more often than not money was tighter than a ducks arse.

There's no longer any kind of excuses financially at Everton now as to why we can't compete on all fronts, this club has spent too lavishly in recent years to just be happy with 7th or 8th place finishes anymore.

Play strongest defence, they need time and practice together because I simply don't think they are good enough.

Gomes and Siggy rest to prevent needless injuries, tell Schnides and DCL its their final chance to impress, I personally hope it will be Schnides last ever game for us.

Play Baines or Davies for Gomes and Iwobi for Siggy swapping with Bernard to play left.

Hopefully win and plan for Sunday. Wolves will be a really tough test and we need to prove ourselves and hopefully the shooting practice will pay off.

I hope Pat's wrong and Silva, is not another Moyes, because at the end of the day a serious manager should be more interested in winning a cup, than coming 6th, even in this present “all about the money climate”

But before a ball has been kicked, the I told you so's on different threads are already about to write off another season, which has already got me listening to Peter Gabriel, In the Humdrum, just hoping that Silva can get us cooking like an hard boiled egg.

Seriously, we need to target this Cup, go as far as we can. You are right, with the money awarded to clubs for each finishing position it is influencing team selections in the cups. Nonsense. We need a trophy. A day out at Wembley for the kids who loyally follow home and away.

On another note Tony, and from previous posts a kid who plays the position you played. If this McNeill kid at Burnley does not go all the way I will be very surprised. 19 years of age. One for the January window perhaps?

DCL has worked hard for 2 years up front but he's limited in terms of what we desperately need and that's a forward that can instantly cause havoc and create fear and worry into defences, also someone who can score some goals.

Moise Kean came on and instantly started worrying Villa's defence and his good work put the ball on a plate to Walcott, who's finish was woeful.

As much as we may now loathe Romelu Lukaku, he was another one who when on his game could create major worry for opposing teams, we had a striker then who teams feared, he scored loads of goals, he scared teams with pace and power and probably for his last two seasons here was mainly unplayable, we were just let down back then by a shocking defence.

Anyway the point being is not about telling anyone it's their last chance, nobody is that harsh or ruthless, DCL as I say has worked hard but his numbers are atrocious let's not avoid that fact.

He's scored three goals since December last year and has not netted since the first week of March, no matter how hard you work, as number 9 that's a damning return of goals.

Moise Kean must start on Wednesday, so too Iwobi, these two players almost rescued a joke performance on Friday night.

Delph, if he plays, won't be match fit, nor Davies. Richie looks like he needs a rest and DCL is getting nowhere, so we may see Walcott and Tosun. Coleman and Digne may also be rested in favour of Baines and Sid, assuming they're 'ready'. You can see Silva's dilemma. He can't afford to be too bothered about the Cup, as we've already seen.

This is Col Lössl.

If Silva plays Lössl or Stekelenburg, and they let a soft one in and we are KO'd by Lincoln City?

Don't want to even think about it.

I can imagine if Lincoln score first then we'll all be dreading it going to a penalty shootout at best, and that's a pure lottery.

In all seriousness we do not look fit enough to give the same XI two matches in the same week. Some of them barely look fit enough to finish one!

Do we prioritise Lincoln or Wolves?

I'd be interested to try this team vs Lincoln

Pickford
Sidibe Keane Mina Digne
Iwobi Schneiderlin Gomes
Richarlison Calvert-Lewin Kean

Partly that's one of our tallest and fastest teams but also that should give us goals. I expect Kean to play CF mainly for us but putting him on the LW should give a chance to get on the ball more and run at the defence. Plus him and Richarlison can run past DCL and hopefully get onto any flick-ons.

Iwobi in the middle gives us someone who can effectively carry the ball forward and help us progress up the pitch. He's a creator more than a scorer and should be able to link well with forwards.

I sincerely hope that this year could be our year, and this is the Competition we have the most chance in, anyway none of us are the Manager, but collectively I think we could strategize better, prove me (us) wrong Marco!

Yes, I'm not sure if Delph is fit yet. If he is then I'd probably play him instead of Gomes who seems to me like he's still a bit injured and was far worse than Schneiderlin in the Villa match.

Regarding Wednesday, l wouldn't be surprised to see the front 4 that ended the game on Friday start it. Plus of course possible starts for Sidibe, Baines and Davies. I wouldn't mind a change of formation... but won't hold my breath.

I expect Burnley to have a good season by there standards, because they have a sensible manager who plays with-in their means, and they also have a lot of stability in their club because of this.

Mad what people see when watching football, because I don't feel like I'm blinkered, but maybe I am blinkered in my sheer contempt for Sniderlin, because if I ever played with a footballer like him in midfield, the first thing I would tell him is to stop passing the fucking buck.

I'm glad you enjoyed Cameron, Andy, but I bet you enjoyed June's breakfast more, but maybe if we leave without a deal, mate, Liverpool might just find it's on the right side of the country (I fuckin despise Boris Johnson) and a trade deal with the equally horrible idiotic Trump, might just help Our city really prosper again?

Andy I would love to return to Belfast mate, because although I've done quite a lot of travelling, I've never been to many places where you can instantly feel a soul, and this is how I remember Belfast, from my early teenage years, so of course I'd love to go again and see if it's still the same, now that time has really moved on.

Pickford is our best keeper, so pick him.

I will never understand the reasoning behind playing your weaker keeper for the cups, especially when managing a club like Everton who quite simply have no chance of winning the league. What I mean is why would any keeper want to be treated for one of only 2 competitions we can actually win.

If you play your 2nd keeper and get all the way do you stick with him ?

If so wouldn't Jordan feel as though he will literally never win a trophy with the blues ?

For me now I'd go with 90% of my preferred players, with 2 or 3 positions freshened up to give lads a route to the first team.

Davies should be in now due to poor form and injury throughout the midfield.

Baines is still quality and will easily have enough to rest Digne.

Holgate could easily fill in to save Colemans legs for a game, and Iwobi could be used to free up Sigurdsson as he is a big player for us despite his poor start to the season.

My team;

Pickford, Holgate, Keane, Mina, Baines.
Schneiderlin, Davies, Bernard
Richalison, DCL /Kean, Iwobi

DCL needs a goal and he done well against Lincon last season, same could be said for Kean and Richalison in terms of needing a goal also.

This should be plenty good enough to put on a show and maybe build up confidence.

Gomes since his initial purple patch has been gash imo. He gets caught on the ball far too often and gives free-kicks away in dangerous positions.

I would advocate really going at them getting 2 or three up (hopefully) and then giving some players a rest second half.

Lössl or Stekelenburg
Sidibe Keane Holgate Baines
Davies Delph Gomes
Kean Calvert-Lewin Iwobi

Subs: Pickford, Coleman, Mina, Tosun, Richarlison, Sigurdsson, Schneiderlin

I strongly doubt they're as frightened of this game as we are.

As for should we field our strongest side? If we can't tweak the team to either try something different or give some of our EPL squad a run out against lower league opposition then we really are in for, at least, a disappointing season.

Strongest 11 should play in my opinion, it's ridiculous that a club the size of Everton have never won this trophy even if it has been seen as inferior over the years.

Yes, it's nice to win all games and yes, Everton have never won it but they have been basically a non-entity over the years.

There will be changes for the Lincoln game and no doubt it will be another ''tough'' game for whatever eleven Silva starts with.

I don't think it matters who starts in goal.

We are far better than them and need to show up for once

The FA Cup game at Millwall was disgraceful and we don't need that bollocks again.

DCL would make a really good midfield player, he could learn a new role and graft his arse off because it's fair to say he is struggling up front. I want him to succeed but it wont be as a striker. In front of the back four with his height and work rate is a place that he could make his own

Just an idea

That though worryingly leaves us pretty short for options up front, especially if Tosun and Niasse leave before the Euro Window closure.

Richarlison can obviously fill that role as too could Iwobi, so as to alleviate any undue pressure and expectation on Moise Kean, however I always felt that Richie was more effective on the right. (but not recently)

For fear of beating an old drum again ideally we should be getting goals from all departments and not, as we have done of late been relying on an out of position non-striker.

If I remember correctly even a Moyes Everton lost to Shrewsbury the year they got relegated to the conference.

Apparently Tosun has turned down a loan to a German club as he prefers to stay at Goodison.