Burnley vs Everton

Having Delph and Schneiderlin, two holding midfielders, is not working for Silva, and offers nothing as a unit going forward.

Burnley won't have the off-day like Boxing Day, so no surrender and let's see some fighting spirit and passion on the park, and we win.

That's what we need, and Gomes is so important to us. When he's fit, I'd go with Davies, Delph and Gomes for a good 6/7 games to see if they can develop a style together. Sigurdsson on the bench. I would also like to see Adeniran given a chance on the bench or in Davies's place.

Also, I would hope young Gordon gets a place on the bench ahead of Walcott.

In other news, Theo Walcott is fit for selection.

We must take this game by the scruff of the neck. Another timid defeat would be intolerable.

Against the lesser lights of the Premier League this matters less because we enjoy so much possession so I wouldn't necessarily concern myself with this issue tomorrow if I were the manager however what must be fixed is our behaviour in the final third and our propensity to waste final ball.

The top 6 have to contend with the low block but they have the guile to unlock it and we do not.

I don't think it's a formation or personnel issue particularly more one of training and tactics.

We have to cycle the ball around the opponents penalty area and get our players into position in the final phase of play, intent on only letting the players who can do the damage complete the killer pass or shot.

If I have to sit through another afternoon of floaty crosses to no one from Coleman I will go spare. Digne, Sigurdsson and Ewobi must be worked to the edge of the area where they can shoot or play a killer final pass as others provide plenty of movement to receive. If it doesn't work we build it again not float one in because it's good enough to have created a chance.

Jesus, I read we've created more goal scoring chances than any other team since the start of last season, the issue is the majority are half/hard chances.

The best teams create tap-ins by having a plan, lots of well drilled movement and the confidence to retain ball until it bears fruit - I think Everton is much closer than everyone thinks, Silva just needs to drill this in to the players on the training ground - but has he analysed the situation? His in game substitutions cause me to doubt his ability to analyse what's happening in front of him.

Unfortunately although I don't think the Mina/Keane combo is working so far I see no alternative to playing them both.
Based on performances this season I do not think Sigi is worth a place.

I would go with only one holding player in a 4-1-4-1 with the 2 wide midfielders given licence to roam when we have the ball

Pickford
Coleman Mina Keane Digne
Delph
Kean Gomes Davies Richie
DCL

Lose by all means, it's the reaction that counts. At no point during his tenures in England has he had teams which pick themselves off the floor, despite getting better playing staff with each appointment.

Can you see him turning this around and going on a monster run? No. His win ratios are almost exactly the same from the three clubs in England.

So whether it's this international break or at the end of the season the fella goose is cooked.

Anyone agree?

I can't see the game at Burnley will be any better than previous away performances under this manager, unless we get lucky and score 2 early goals, highly unlikely.

Barnes and Woods are a right handful, but their lack of mobility may suit Keane and Mina – I'll be more concerned when they swap brawn for brain and introduce Rodrigues.

Sigurdsson is our most talented player, but If ever a player needed a boot up the arse...

Pickford
Coleman Keane Mina Digne
Richarlison Davies Gomes Delph Bernard
Calvert-Lewin

I think our midfield will be more effective with Gomes calling the shots and having Delph and Davies shielding and biting tackles around him to give him that moment of space he needs to function.

The inclusion of Davies (or maybe Schneiderlin) to do this means no place for Sigurdsson.

I can't make my mind up between Bernard and Iwobi who starts.

Great to see Gomes back, I would also like to see the energy of Davies in there too.

We will need to keep close shackles on Chris Wood as he is a really underrated and old-style centre-forward who could cause us real problems from set-pieces.

Everton 3-1.

However, I have been hopeful of a turnaround in our away form so many times that I simply can't see us bucking the trend up at Turf Moor.

A draw would be acceptable but another limp away performance will put question marks on the manager who needs his payers to really implement his instructions.

That's how we should be commenting at this point of the season with the team we have. However, as we all know things haven't gone to plan.
A good 3 or 4 nil win may just give us the confidence to push on. We need two or three wins on the bounce to gain momentum have faith blues

Burnley will try and have a go at first and Schneiderlin offers good cover positionally for the centre backs. As long as we don't make any silly mistakes then they will play into our hands if we're set up like last week with Sigurdsson and Calvert-Lewin pressing from the front.

As the game wears on and (providing we don't concede) Burnley retreat, that's when the likes of Gomes, Iwobi and Kean should be introduced to break Burnley down.

If we do score early, Burnley will have to come at us more and this will play into our hands even more.

I am hoping he is a bit less predictable with his team selection, but won't hold my breath. Anything less than a win will surely signal that Silva's days are numbered.

Many want to drop Sigurdsson and I can see why, but he is one of the few players in our teams creating chances. He's actually third in the league currently for chances created behind De Bruyne and Alexander-Arnold. He's capable of the cute little ball he played through for DCL against City that he almost managed to lift over Ederson. He also put in a couple of great corners that Mina should have scored from. Don't get me wrong I think he's played below himself this year and i'm not his biggest fan but in a team short on creativity he's one of our only reliable outlets.

I'm hoping Gomes and Delph will give our midfield a bit more balance and in theory Wood and Barnes should be the sort of opponents Mina and Kean thrive against. Calvert-Lewin surely starts and must be feeling as confident as he has in a long time and I think Richie is due a goal. The big choice for me is probably Iwobi or Bernard? Set pieces will continue to be the worry and I just hope we move the ball quicker and can be more clinical with any chances that fall our way.

Imagine the scenario, we will have lots of the ball and Burnley will shut everything down, so it's back to the sideways probing passing most despise. Sigurdsson is usually in or around the edge of the area and so heavily marked.

If you took him out of the side, you could have an extra guy in a deeper position. This means that two of those three central midfielders could be looking to make a lot run which is harder for Burnley to pick up, it's also means we would be able use our players a bit deeper to try and pull Burnley out of position with clever runs. It gives us options to create space. It also means we can have 3 strikers, if you will, rather than 1 centre-forward and 2 wingers. These wider forwards can pull the fullbacks out of position (with runs into the box). This then means the fullbacks can move into space wide, unmarked, unless the Burnley wingers are switched on and get back.

I think Sigurdsson has a nasty habit of getting himself marked out of the game instead of trying to dominate it. I don't know why he doesn't demand the ball more, or drop deeper to try and get on the ball more. It's not the manager preventing him as he's been this way under 3 different managers for us.

Lossl
Sidibe Keane Mina Digne
Gomes Delph
Gordon Bernard Richarlison
Calvert-Lewin

We need to put our best left-sided attacker back where he belongs, make Siggy know he's in a battle for his place with Bernard & Iwobi, make Pickford know he has to battle too, and start bringing through the young stars like Chelsea and others are doing.

Bench of Pickford, Holgate, Davies, Iwobi, Kean, Siggy and give one more of youngsters some experience (Evans, Simms, Gibson, Baningime, etc.) instead of the tried (and failed plenty) deadwood like Walcott, Tosun and Schneiderlin.

I'd also be a fan of trying Iwobi there. Having a 10 who can beat his man might help you open up space certainly.

But another part of me feels that an inspired cross or set-piece could be one of our best hopes and again Siggy is one of our best executors of such skills.

I'm not sure Silva is brave enough to drop his best creator in a team that desperately needs more goals. It's a little bit like the Ozil conundrum at Arsenal!

Last season in this fixture Silva opted to play three at the back, Zouma, Keane and Mina, to combat Burnley's aerial bombardment. It worked. He does not have three tall defenders this season, so that option is ruled out. It is vital therefore we control the midfield and have solid cover in front of the full-backs to reduce the amount of crosses into the area.

There will be an important role for our wide attacking players to close down when Burnley have possession as well as being ready to break forward quickly when we win possession. For that reason, we may see all four of Bernard, Richarlison, Iwobi and Walcott feature at some stage in the game.

A win would be a welcome surprise. A draw would give us something to build on. A defeat would set the alarm bells ringing.

The problem is the second part, because we get so few bodies forward, that once our one player, “two at most” are picked up, it leaves the opposition with too many defenders to just concentrate on where the ball is going to go.

I think Barnes and Wood will bully Keane, because one thing Burnley do best is that they try and play to their strengths. Hopefully Everton can start to do the same, and starting from tomorrow would be welcome.

My thoughts exactly, well said.

Swapping Sigurdsson for Davies effectively gives us an extra midfielder and also offers energy and willingness to attack from midfield.

I like Sigurdsson but positionally it is not working for him or for the team at the moment. It is not a dig on him but an attempt to find a better functioning midfield system defensively. It suits our preferred set up much better with Richarlison and Bernard or Iwobi providing some width and pace.

I think we will win this, don't ask me for a rundown of why – we don't know the team yet but I feel someone is going to get a hiding from us shortly and this might be the game.

I see Delph has an England call up because he's getting regular playing time. I would give him the captaincy instead of Coleman, he's where most of the play is.

The fact that he did very little else in that game, or for most of the other matches this season won't change Silva's very stubborn mind.

As for the other positions, Pickford will remain in goal, Keane and Mina will stay at centre-back and Richarlison will play again.

I hope Silva makes some surprise changes, not just to make a fool out of me, but to surprise Everton fans all over the place.

Iowbi needs to play, but Walcott could be selected. These will be the critical selection topics and there may be even an unexpected selection as well. Lyndon's predicted line-up may not be the line-up.

However, against the Big 6, he kind of gets a free pass as long as we push them close, although I concede it's been the one shining light of his reign for me a vast improvement in performance and results against Top 6 teams; unfortunately, there are only of 6 of them!!

If we concede first, we lose. If we score first, we have a chance. It's about tactics and faith in our forwards. Silva is a scared manager. He needs to go so we can save our season. Unless we lose and Silva then uses this international break to ignite our season like he did last year. Then we can look forward to the same old next season too after we spend another 𧴜m+!!!

If we score first? We're like a boxer with a glass jaw and it tends to shatter the first punch we take, we need to be 2-0 up to feel any kind of comfort.

With Silva being SO cautious, gotta be a draw that leaves us all feeling like we lost to a team we really should be beating.

I liked the Digne and Bernard partnership last season and, for some reason, Silva has tinkered with it this season – probably to accommodate Iwobi and Kean – but it has not worked. I would like to see the 'Dignard' partnership restored. Davies and Coleman may offer similar energy and solidity on the right. Hopefully Delph and Gomes develop into a solid central midfield partnership.

Sigurdsson, Iwobi and Kean to come on and provide more attacking options (to replace Gomes, Bernard and Richarlison).

Pickford
Coleman Keane Mina Digne
Davies Delph Gomes Bernard
Richarlison Calvert-Lewin.

Subs: Lössl, Holgate, Schneiderlin, Sigurdsson, Kean, Iwobi, Tosun.

I expect the odd short winning run interspersed with depressing defeats between now and the end of the season, at which point Moshiri will sack Silva. Sure, we're going through managers like a dose of salts but, as Trevor says @13, you give a manager long enough to improve the team (which Silva will have had by May) and if it isn't working, you try again until you find the right fit.

Link

It comes with a caveat, however. Silva says: “He is really close [to a first-team call], I will tell you, unfortunately for him maybe it is the position on the pitch where we have most quality, where competition is hardest.”

The win last time was when Burnley were in the malaise of the Europa League. No such distractions this time for them. If Villa, Sheff Utd and Bournemouth can turn us over so convincingly, god knows what Burnley will do to us.

I want to be proved wrong but my gut says it's another away day defeat for Marco. Lose this and we will be in the mire and Moshiri's trigger finger will start to itch.

I could see the lad pushing for a move to Germany if we don't promote him soon though.

Pickford
Coleman Keane Mina Digne
Davies Delph
Iwobe Bernard Richarlison
Calvert-Lewin

Bench: Kean Sigurdsson, Gomes, Holgate, some other player pick 'em.

The above lineup will never happen, but I'm never giving up the dream of seeing that tricky Bernard play the 10.

Three games in October. I truly believe if Marco fails to get any points this month, he'll be gone.

Burnley, West Ham, and Brighton. If we don't beat any of them, and are on 7 points heading into November, the Board won't have a choice. They'll have to swing the axe.

Burnley will be tricky. West Ham difficult. Brighton should be three points with our eyes closed, but then I thought the same about Palace, Villa, Bournemouth, and Shef Wed.

Surely the pressure is mounting on Marco.

We need a win, it needs a big change. Delph, Sigurdsson & Gomes in midfield. Use their passing range to hit the channels and shift the Burnley centre-backs trolls from under their bridge.

By blocking the midfield centrally you force the full-backs wider and ensure they have to cross/punt from a deeper position, that's your turn over opportunity for Mina & Keane and then transition down the sides for Bernard & Richarlison.

If Silva goes for possession in this game we'll get picked off. If I'm a player and get presented with the same picks and tactical approach for the ‘n-th' time, I dial out because why would it work this time?

According to some, we already play a false nine.

I'd go with that approach but I still think you'd play Calvert-Lewin in that false 9 role as he has the pace to go over the top to but also is good enough in the air to win flick-ons.

We've just not been playing direct and central enough this season. Everything has been about getting the ball to full-backs who then cross in usually for only one or two of our players in the box.

Burnley will play a lot of balls straight up to Woods and Barnes and I've a horrible feeling it will work!

This is a really interesting thread with fans and critics of Sigurdsson seemingly crossing over to the other side of the house. He is a conundrum.

Having read all the points I think I side with Dave A. He is trying to put himself in Silva's shoes (wish he could) rather than give his own take.

Regardless of what we say on here, Silva will almost certainly play him in the hope that one (or two) of those dead-ball deliveries end up in the back of the net.

It's about using Burnley's greatest strength against them. Accept those high balls will come, however, make them do it from weaker position and have more men deeper around the ball by sitting back.

If we go 4-2-3-1 and play the same way those balls will be higher up the pitch, and we will have less men to pick up the pieces.

I wouldn't go with Calvert-Lewin because the temptation will be to hit him. Perhaps Kean instead of Iwobi? Those three up top have to be in the channels and receive it on the floor.

I absolutely agree we need to be more varied and go down the middle, but that is their strength and not sure we should play to it.

Sigurdsson, Schneiderlin, Delph

I'd probably go for Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin and Iwobi in front of them. Iwobi over Bernard for his strength and size.

If it's not working, I hope to see Kean come on to play with Calvert-Lewin. The lad isn't ready to play up front on his own yet, but he might just get us a goal playing in a free role off Calvert-Lewin. Let's face it, Sigurdsson playing behind Calvert-Lewin doesn't work, so we have to change something...

To be honest, Silva just ain't good enough at anything. Prove me wrong, Everton, win (draw not good enough) and I will have a permanent smile on my face until our next game.

Silva has a reluctance to change anything, and that includes giving the lads a chance, it might just work and save the club millions on an untried at Premier League level goal scorer. All these so-called superstars have had to start off somewhere, but we'll never know if they don't get given an opportunity.

The Iceland coach says he plays Sigurdsson as a number 8 in a 4-4-2 which I found quite interesting. Because we get pushed out wide by defensive teams it means he becomes less effective.

Saw a stat that says we're worst in the Premier League for losing the ball with poor control and second worst (behind Man Utd) for being dispossessed.

Midfield and defense needs to be firm, mobile and resolute so I would go with Delph and Gomes who do seem to work better together. Back 4 picks itself.

Subs bench: Holgate, Davies, Iwobi, Kean and Lössl.

Jamie funny you mentioning the pressure on Silva.

I said last season we should give him 10 games in this season before commenting. However, when I looked at the fixture list I thought there would be no way Silva's job would be up for grabs as on paper I thought we'd be right up there.

Now, after the abysmal preseason and first 7 games. The fact we are still seeing the same mistakes, the same boring dour tactics, you may have a point in that the pressure will really be on at the end of October if we fall to those three lumps!

As mentioned so often, losing, like winning, becomes a habit.

He could start by changing the keeper. Not many voices advocating that but just what has Pickford done this season to make his inclusion a given? Certainly not catching a cross!!

Surprise us all, Marco.

Yeah right!!!

I love the spirit of what you're saying, but the reality is different. It's bad planning from Everton that none of our promising young players get decent loan spells with good footballing sides.

The Chelsea lads Mount and Abraham are full of confidence because of good seasons in the Championship, scoring goals, challenging for and getting promotion. You can't just fabricate this confidence.

Tom Davies and Dominic Calvert-Lewin should have had at least one season in the Championship, and it's criminal that they haven't. It partly explains their timidity and nervousness on the pitch.

Go and play and make mistakes and learn and gain confidence in the Championship, you come back mentally stronger if the loan goes well.
Gordon should definitely go to Leeds or Swansea, just don't send him somewhere that plays attritional football because he'll get nothing out of it.

There are plenty of examples where this doesn't work out, Kieran Dowell for example, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be tried.

I think Dowell was unlucky when Karanka (one of the worst managers around) came into Nottm Forest though.

You obviously need to send the player to a side playing progressive, fast football.

If they come in, play well, and keep getting played, that's al the momentum you need. But if they have one bad game, then get dropped for the next 10 because they're not trusted, it's pointless.

Why Koeman never kept playing Lookman and Davies for the next 15-20 games in a row after that 4-0 Man City game, I'll never know. Look at the difference in the careers of Jadon Sancho and Phil Foden.

You've got to play regularly between 18 - 21 yrs old, in first-team football. At the moment, considering he's not on loan, I don't see why Gordon shouldn't be on the bench ahead of Theo ‘offers nothing' Walcott. The collective groan when everyone sees Walcott is coming on is something none of us need in our lives.

It's a matter of individual readiness and ability. Abraham, Tomori and Mount are ready to play in the Chelsea first team now. 12 months ago they were deemed not ready, and Chelsea's hand has been forced by their transfer ban. Their fellow Chelsea player Lewis Baker is 24 and on his 7th loan in five seasons. Tens of other Chelsea's youth players have also had loan spells and never got anywhere near the Chelsea first team. Callum Hudson-Odoi broke into the first team at 17 without ever going on loan. Every individual is different.

One player quietly progressing very nicely is Burnley's Dwight McNeil. He never went out on loan, and instead got opportunities in their first team at the age of 18. He took his chance and now is a very established part of their first team and is an England Under 21 regular. I think - and it's always a risk and a punt - that Anthony Gordon has the potential to follow that same trajectory.

Errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrm, I don't know?

Not sure.

He hasn't had many touches so far, but I'll tell ya, the guy has spent a lot of the intervening years in the gym. The skinny kid we remember is quite the physical specimen now.

What's the point of sending our good youngsters out on loan to teams playing "progressive, fast football"???

They'd be ruined coming back to Silva's stuff.

Play Sigurdsson, but drop Morgan. Or, Play Morgan but drop Siggy. Our central defence isn't quick enough to compensate for the two of them...

I don't think we'll win, but I live in hope for a surprise...

When TW is over-confident, we lose.

When TW is at the "torch the whole village" point, we win.

1-0 Everton, in a game about as exciting as watching paint dry.

We also have to stop expecting that we're a new manager away from glory or, indeed, from significant improvement. This is a long road and we have to walk it.

As for Gordon, he looks very promising and will get his chance.

Ah, that made me laugh. As some of the more sensible people on here have said, remove Sigurdsson and Schneiderlin from the first XI and the speed of play increases by at least two-fold.

Other than the fact that we all cling to, in that Silva is one hell of a very streaky manager, what makes you think he'll turn it around?

Balls played down the side, very little play in the middle, very few shots on goal, Morgan playing and messing up any attacking chemistry, Aston Villa, Sheffield Wednesday, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, etc.

I truly want to share your positive outlook. I just don't see any signs of positive change!

I turned 50 in late August. I swear to God since that time I've become so negative! Show me the light!

How about a consistently good manager? That's Silva's job. If he can't do it, time to start searching for his replacement.

I just thought, "Maybe I'm being too hard on Morgan. I wonder how we've done when he's played?"

So I went to the Premier League site.

5 appearances, no wins, 4 loses.

Is that correct??

But, above all, I am concerned that we are becoming a bit of a toxic fan-base. We are reflexively critical and damning of our own: Goodison is, despite the siren, a morgue and we are in danger of collapsing in on ourselves and masochistically relishing our weaknesses.

Of course, if we keep losing and surrendering away from home, in particular, then Silva must go — but we were playing very well at the end of last season (yes, I know about Fulham) and that has been brushed aside on here as though it didn't really happen or didn't matter.

We should take a look at ourselves, as well as at the manager and players.

Any other players played in all the same games?

I've said for a few years that we might have to go through a few managers before we get the right one. I'm struggling to see how Silva can be that right one, but I hope he proves me wrong.

If the fanbase is toxic, surely there's an argument to be made that justifies this current atmosphere?

I'm sorry mate (English word used by an American, always dicey...), but we're losing far, far too many games that we should win. We should expect more.

We're in the "easy" portion of our schedule, and should be accumulating points like a 21 year old on his birthday accumulates shots in the bars over here! It's wholly substandard, and just unacceptable. Especially considering the amount of money we've tossed at the squad.

Injuries are definitely "a thing". But with Gomes and Gbamin hurt, surely we still have enough talent to see victory against the Mighty Villa, Sheffield United (I keep saying Wednesday, with apologies to those good people!), Bournemouth, and Palace!

The game last week was better. If our play continues down that path, fine. But if we lose to Burnley, I mean seriously, what are we? 15th at best based upon our results this season?

One word: crap. I don't know how you slice it any other way.

Sun's out. I'm happy. Thought that was worth mentioning!

I don't know. I'm not even sure I'm reading the stat correctly? Which is why I asked, "Is that correct?"

I'll bet dimes to doughnuts our record is poor with Morgan Schneiderlin in the line-up.

It's 11 players on the pitch. They're all have to take responsibility.

I just see us not getting the ball forward quick enough with Morgan out there, among other things.

Cheers. Leaving work. Let's hope my morning tomorrow is full of attacking football, and laying my wife's team to the sword. I hope we crush them.

Last season, he started only 8 games. We were undefeated -- won three, drew five.

Make of that what you will.

Talking about legendary fighters...

Any team has to turn up ready for an almighty fight. An almighty midfield battle and earn the right to win. Without that indefatigable fighting spirit more often than not quality gets snuffed out.

More so, and almost without exception, away from home.

A voice of reason!

We should have had some better results, but at the same time, we have no divine right to beat Villa, Bournemouth and Palace away. We've had a few injuries and we have a new team gelling. Hopefully it will gel sooner rather than later, so let's keep the faith. If we keep changing managers, the job is going to become toxic like you say.

Hopefully the turnaround starts tomorrow after last week's good showing...

It's the minimum tomorrow as a bad display and the wrong result will make this a very tough journey ahead for this season and Marco Silva. There's no excuses tomorrow, for lack of effort.

I'll be pleasantly surprised if we win but it won't change my opinion of Silva. With the players at his disposal, 15th in the table is unacceptable. Most of the dropped points have been the result of his flawed selections and set-ups and his inexplicable, chaotic substitutions.

I'm not sure why people associate Tom Davies with biting tackles; all in all I don't see him as a particularly good defensive midfielder. To me, he is a busy and committed player but not a shield in front of the defence. Still think he lacks the power and pace to make the most of his natural abilities.

We all want better than the languid Morgan but Tom Davies isn't a panacea. Silva must be desperate for Gbamin to get fit and come good.

I know we haven't yet been much good at breaking down massed defences but it is still the way we have to look to play if we are ever going to really progress. Simply looking to hold out and hitting Burnley on the counter could get a result but would it develop our players at all?

We are failing to get the best out of the squad and simply it's a combined effort but ultimately the manager and coaches pay the price.

An extreme example being if all our forward players were injured I'm not confident Silva would be able to adjust and get the best out of the remaining squad instead trying to play similar football.

He's doesn't seem to want or expect to use a plan B, never mind C or D no matter what is happening on the pitch.

When we keep loosing change is required. I'm hoping Silva and/or the players learn to adapt quickly.

A few things City and Burnley have in common is getting the ball and players forward into dangerous areas, whipping in dangerous crosses in and around the box and working hard to close down the opposition.

It will be interesting to see how we set up to counter them and get the most from our own players. I understand sticking to principles but there needs to be flexibility in such a fluid sport.

Where have all of our songs gone? Never say die till the final whistle. Home support in some of the Premier League's no-hope clubs is far superior and a raucous Goodison bear-pit is a beautiful thing and gets the extra 10% out of the team.

First trip to Turf Moor for me despite me only being half-hour train ride away so looking forward to it. Got a Calvert-Lewin hat-trick feeling today – don't know why just think his tail is up and his confidence is growing. Think we might surprise them today and batter them.

Today it's a battle. Dyche is no fool and will have his team drilled to get at us. I don't care if burnley have 80% of the ball and we score in the 94th minute with a deflection off a burnley players backside. Today is about 3 points. Wins breed confidence, no matter how they come!

It makes for depressing reading, showing us ending the season one place above the relegation three. The sad thing is that unless Silva changes his tactics, team selections, and at times, unfathomable substitutions, I could see this prediction coming true.

I firmly believe that Silva is the wrong man for the job, and always was.

Whatever, that won't make us win a game that's going to have to be fought for, Burnley might not be the most skilled but are tough and direct.

I still think we will win this fixture, it's time our best players showed their abilities and I think they will today.

Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Mina, Digne, Delph, Gomes, Bernard, Iwobi, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin.

Am going for 1-1 or a 1-0 loss.

Either way, Silva won't last the season.

At some point even the Kenwrights will appreciate that yes man Silva was a disastrous choice.

Just to remind you all, we start the day in 15th.

I must leave off that cheese last thing at night.

That's my pick too! Pace, skill and much more energy without Morgan and Siggy. We still have two starters who are 30 years old which is enough for me. We need a team with youth, energy and vibrancy and say goodbye to the slow sideways and backwards passing game we have seen so far this season.

It's so important we win today both for our league position and for Silvas future.

2-0 to us provided he plays something very close to this team.

Unfortunately, our coaching and tactical genius will instead likely go with Schneiderlin and Sigurdsson, plus the raw finishing power of Walcott off the bench. The Burnley keeper's busiest moment in this scenario will be when he gets his deckchair out to watch the match.

I can't see Brands putting up with Silva for much longer.

He has given Silva some really talented players who we can all see are not being used properly.

Lose today and I think he will be gone.

Seriously he does look a decent prospect if he develops what looks like decent potential.

Brian @148, I think we've all had similar nightmares recently, and not just specifically about Walcott, and that is with, or without cheese!

Klopp has done wonders turning good players into European Champions. Silva's philosophy might work at Estoril or Real Madrid, in leagues that reward technical dominance, but in the unforgiving Premier League, Blitzkrieg is the way to close the gap on the elite teams.

We need an unrelenting midfield to complement our wide players, who are pretty decent to be fair, and we need a manager that isn't swallowed up his own arse by a high-brow philosophy.

Silva will stick with the same formation but Morgan will be inspired as Mina will be armed with a tazer and given a shoot to maim instruction if Morgan passes sideways or back. COYB

I think we'll scrap for a point today. Maybe 0-0 or 1- 1...Will be looking to stream the game as usual, and looking forward to it actually despite my predicted gloom.

They probably know something that we don't!

spuds are now 2-0 down, man utd are crap =, we could have
capitalized--- BUT as you say 6 goals in 7 games.

Did your wife/partner ask you why you were screaming and in a cold sweat when you woke up?

I must admit though 1-0 down from a Burnley corner ...20 mins to go ...Marco gives Theo the nod to get his big coat off........

As soon as that vision enters the subconscious it's hardly the recipe for a sound sleep.

Anthony Jones:

Klopp has done wonders turning good players into European Champions. Silva's philosophy might work at Estoril or Real Madrid, in leagues that reward technical dominance, but in the unforgiving Premier League, Blitzkrieg is the way to close the gap on the elite teams.

This sums up exactly what I want to see Everton do. Exactly.

I couldn't agree more, that's a genius comment.

Your way (and dare I say mine?) also provides real viewing entertainment and a brand of football to be proud of.

Someday... Blitzkrieg.

I managed to contain my scream Tony, but I did twiddle my bottom lip for a while with a couple of head wobbles thrown in, for good measure.

Seeing Walcott on the touchline is up there with the bin men heading off into the distance, when it hits you that you forgot to put it out.

While we are on the subject of the Mrs, why do we never complain, when they leave the toilet seat down.

The build up play is like watching a tennis match, if you are sat behind either goal, to me to you, left right, left right and fall back.

They were 3rd tier in Sweden before he took over and got them into Europe and 4th in their premiership.

Just makes you even more depressed. This really was the season to take advantage with Chelsea and Manu also struggling. Before we can think of anything like a high league finish we need to start getting results on the road. Our away form isn't even top half, never mind top 6.

Big game for Silva this - team news out soon.

The start of the new Everton, the day when we go on a multiple wining run that takes us into the top 4 and the semi-final of the Carryboo Cup by Christmas.

...hopefully