Kean bags two for Italy U21s

Start him. Every game please, Marco.

I'm backing myself into a corner and going all "TEAM KEAN". From this point forward, I'm a cheerleader, and nothing I say in support of Moise Kean should be taken seriously ever again. Fanatical Fan of Moise (FFoM for short).

Somewhere, someone is doing a copy and paste of the above. When it's reintroduced, I will chuckle.

Is he ready? I dunno, play him up top for 4-5 games straight and let's find the hell out!

Jamie Crowley
FFoM

Link

"Kean - M'man.
Start him. Every game please, Marco.

I'm backing myself into a corner and going all "TEAM KEAN". From this point forward, I'm a cheerleader, and nothing I say in support of Moise Kean should be taken seriously ever again. Fanatical Fan of Moise (FFoM for short).

Somewhere, someone is doing a copy and paste of the above. When it's reintroduced, I will chuckle.

Is he ready? I dunno, play him up top for 4-5 games straight and let's find the hell out!"

Copied. Pasted. ;-)

Mark Guglielmo
Co-chair, FFoM

p.s. Did anyone notice that Kean started at RW? At TRUE RW, meaning as the right lined-up forward in a 4-3-3 (not as a wide right midfielder with a lone striker *rolls eyes*). Though both goals as noted above were from dead center of the park; one a breakaway, the other a banged in sitter from a rebound.

So maybe just maybe it's not that Kean can't play wide right, it's that we need to move to a 4-3-3. What a unique and shocking observation (this last part was sarcasm to the 1,000,000th degree).

Pochettino could maybe possibly be an option... but not yet. Probably needs to recharge a couple months.

Also, we're not getting Pochettino, ever. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, lol.

It's not like we are scoring for fun...

Just for you.

Link

Wonder what the Easter bunny is up to? Hope he doesn't have an American accent too. This isn't Star Trek. Universal translator turns everyone American. Awful future we have. At least it turned Picard from French to English. Sorry to show myself up as a ‘nerd'.

Sorry but Elves has left the Farm.

Has anyone seen our next five games before I get rinsed?!!!!

We are going nowhere with this clown in charge.

Seems funny when we are struggling for goals, that most of our players manage to score when on International Duty, yet either struggle to score if picked, and some don't even make the bench.

Too much mamsy pamsy management in modern-day football (soccer! er!). Give the lad a go, no reservations!

Once opinions are made, the rest don't matter, I even read a report that 51% of people thought Boris Johnson, won the debate with Corbyn the other night, but maybe I feel this way because I find Boris, a bit like the statement that caused me to post, absolutely astounding.

The talk of selling, sending him back to Italy, is not why we bought him. I notice for example Gnabry is knocking them in for fun in Germany and is becoming a real handful, but he did little at Arsenal. With reason time and patience, Kean could be another Mbappe but only time will tell.

So anyone writing Kean off already, well, maybe you should cut him some slack.

Same goes for Calvert-Lewin. Cut all the “Championship at best “ crap.

I hope Kean starts playing, and only gets subbed for a standing ovation, because that will only mean one thing to me, but dammed if you do, is the phrase that's ringing round in my head regards the kid and Silva right now.

At 71 years old. I look at the world and say "WTF?"

I would love to see Kean and Calvert-Lewin start together. I think they could be a well suited combo as Calvert-Lewin wins a lot of headers and Kean can run in behind. If Kean gets his first goal, it could really help settle him and give him the confidence to go and get a few more. But he's really not a target man and needs the ball played to feet or preferably into space.

Whatever happened to the "imaginative" of putting a team together, in which the players' skills work together to produce a real team (squad) together with the coach? Players who understand the need to 'rotate' for the good of the team and aren't so up themselves that they react visually in a negative way when they are subbed?

Shit, it cannot be that difficult. Just look across the park!

Sorry if I appear to be overly exasperated on this subject!

Silva blurrs the lines when it comes to game management, players tend to get sucked out of position, the team can then look shapeless. Silva also lacks motivational skills especially when the team goes a goal down, proof he can't inspire the players to respond to adversity.

No chance of that under Silva sadly. I fear that Kean will just move on in January to a team that will play him.

Would mean Walcott, Iwobi and Sigurdsson dropped, however we should then mix and match depending on the opposition.

All this done at a net spend of 85 million. Silva has already spent more. Koeman spent more. Even allardyce had 50% of his net spend in just 6 months.

What Poch achieved was remarkable, and just the fact that he didn't win the league in that time (against an imperious Manchester City). Or just cause he didn't win a FA Cup (Martinez won a FA cup - doesn't mean much really) doesn't mean he didn't achieve anything.

Poch will get the job at Bayern or Man Utd. We don't have a chance - but if it was possible, he's 10x the manager Silva is.

He says it's a different league in England, but his immediate goals are to adapt and get into Everton's team, So Good luck Moise mate!

Time will tell now that Mourinho is there. Personally I think that Mourinho is poor in the transfer market and works best when he walks into a good squad of players. The sides he inherited at Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid were already made for him and he got the best out of the players. If he does that now at Spurs you will have to question whether Poch is just a very good manager, or whether he is up there with the best.

To put into context your questioning of Pochettino achievements at Spurs, consider this:

He was appointed in May 2014 after that season ended. Spurs had finished 6th, Everton 5th (Martinez's 1st season), Arsenal 4th. We were their betters.

In all season's since then the 3 clubs finishing positions reads as follows:

Spurs Arsenal Everton
5 3 11 (Martinez, 2014-15)
3 2 11 (Martinez, 2015-16)
2 5 7 (Koeman, 2016-17)
3 6 8 (Dog's Dinner, 2017-18)
4 5 8 (Silva, 2018-19)

In his 5 full seasons at Spurs his AWAY WINS ONLY record reads (from earliest to last season) 9, 9, 9, 10, 11. I won't embarrass Everton by putting up our own away record in the same time frame.

Given his net spend in his 5 years against the mega-bucks of City, Chelsea and United and the quality at the top end of the league, I cannot see how anyone can fail to be impressed by his achievements, playing the free-flowing, high-scoring football his teams display.

This form contributed to ending Arsenal's record breaking 19 consecutive seasons of qualifying for the CL. He restored supporters' pride in their team who were no longer mocked by Arsenal fans on 'St Totteringham Day' - the day when Arsenal fans celebrated the fact that Tottenham could no longer catch Arsenal in the League.

His biggest outlay on a player was €40 million (note euros, not pounds) on Sanchez from Ajax. Other very good signings include Son, Moura, Alderweireld, Dele Alli, Dier, Trippier, Sissoko, Aurier, as well as promoting a lot of in-house talent from the Spurs academy.

Did Spurs land any silverware on his watch? No.
Should that be the only criteria on which to judge him? IMO, no.

As I wrote above, at the time of his appointment, we were their superiors in the league. Compare our squad and our style of football to them since and tell me whose is the better?

If we could appoint a manager who could achieve similar performances, results AND usurp our more successful neighbours by finishing above them every season thus denying them a CL place in the next five years, I would take that now.

And I fancy a few more Evertonians might be similarly inclined.

20 games he lost last season and the most horrific thing he done in my eyes was the schoolboy error of leaving Moura on the bench v Liverpool.

Imagine ToffeeWeb had Silva done that. Total meltdown. Imagine any Everton manager done that.

Leaving a bang in form, skilful speed merchant out for Kane who had been out 2 months was dreadful and turned out dreadful.

Just read it and wouldn't disagree with a word. count me in.

I am pretty sure I used the words "last season" in the post too. Is this just pick a line to debate on?

You have all seen how well Silva done with a very good 11 last season. I think anyone who doubts he could do better with better players must be obsessed.

You are falsely presuming anyone speaking positively about Pochettino is by default:

1) anti-Silva
2) actively lobbying for Pochettino to replace Silva

Your (self-anointed) superior logic is so warped and trips over itself in so many ways there is no need to expose it as you do that yourself by with every submission you make.

I'd rather have a younger manager with no failures to his name or a hugely successful manager.

Your labelling him as a 'failure' is questionable at best.

Your derogatory labelling and presumptions about fellow Evertonians views on Pochettino whilst promoting your own view as superior is gibberish.

Clear enough for your 'open mind'?

It's funny. Why? Because he's never coming to Everton. Next up, does the Loch Ness Monster exist, and can he play striker?!

Okay, sorry you are offended, Jay.

I will put it like this, are those who are calling for Pochettino (which, like Mark says, won't happen most likely) prepared to give him time? Will he be hounded out when we sell his best player and results are not great? Will we be calling for Nagelsmaan or some other fancy name after 12 months?

I just don't kid myself. I read comment after comment refusing to give Silva time, Koeman only got just over a year and I am afraid Pochettino's time at Spurs was a failure.

Tell me what he won? Did he quit or wait for his compensation? To call his time there a success is not the worst shout either, Jay, but he has left after 12 months of failing to do what he wanted, mate. With a hell of a squad.

We get someone like him and don't get the level of players he has worked with for 3 years, it's pointless.

I'll start, he's only won stuff when he's had Messi, Lewandowski, or De Bruyne. He won't win anything with a team built around Gylfi Sigurdsson!

This exact same debate could have been, and probably was, had about Jose. Just change the manager, exact same debate.

This is a thread about Kean! Let's talk about him! :-)

I have to point out the very obvious flaw to your twice repeated claim now that "most managers could have got a team challenging the top 6 with Kane in the side." The Harry Kane you see today is not the Harry Kane Pochettino inherited.

Pochettino's first season with Spurs was 2014-15. In the previous season 2013-14, Kane scored 8 goals in 8 games...for Spurs U-21 team. He got just 10 PL games in that season, scoring 3. He had 7 Europa League appearances, 0 goals.

Prolific goalscorer at the highest level, or even a 1st team regular he most certainly was not.

In Pochettino's 1st season, Kane blossomed under the manager. 21 goals in 34 PL games. 7 goals in 9 EL games. 3 goals in 6 league cup games.

Kane's a fine player, but to attempt as you do to diminish Pochettino's contribution in improving his number 9 and setting the team up to maximize the returns from his main man ignores where Kane and Spurs were before the Spaniard took up the reins at the club, IMO.

I don't remember any clubs making an offer for him. Did I miss something? Were there offers for him?

In very recent history, Newcastle - a team in the relegation zone at the time, a team with far lesser history and pedigree than Everton, recruited a serial European trophy winner who started that very same season as Real Madrid manager.

Rafa Benitez.

They were relegated to the Championship. He stayed with them, won them promotion and stuck around for another couple of seasons in the PL.

That is a clear example contrary to your belief that a club of Everton's profile cannot attract such high quality managers.

Then we have the example of the last five years at Spurs. As I point out in my post @ 43, in the season before Pochettino was appointed Everton finished above them.

Five years on and yesterday they appointed one of the highest profile managers in world football in the last 20 years.

By your rationale, that should not happen. It isn't plausible. But Spurs have just gone out and done it. And landed him for a reported £8 million a year, a third of the £25 million salary Steve Ferns kept repeating it would cost any club to hire Mourinho.

The Everton club motto is Nil Satis Nisi Optimum - Nothing But the Best Satisfies.

The Spurs club motto is Audere est Facere - To Dare is To Do.

Five years ago we were their betters in the PL.

Five years on, who do you think has best lived up to their club motto?

He has 2 years to run on his present contract by next summer, so the next two windows would be the ideal time to cash in on him and invest the money in someone younger. Hopefully someone who can score10 goals a season

Regarding the year Spurs went out to get Poch, and them being below us in the table. This is the spin the narrative aspect of your comment. You're going to hang your hat on the ONE year we finished above them (5th for us; 6th for them)? Why are you omitting the next 5 years? Or Champions League qualification, let alone performance? Anyone can cherry pick a single example. It doesn't make it a good argument.

If you genuinely think a manager like Poch, coming off finishes of 6th, 5th, 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 3 CL appearances, and a CL finals last year, would essentially want to be demoted to our Club, well ok then. That's certainly your right to do so. Lots of people dreamt of Mourinho coming here too.

When Poch does sign with a United, or a Bayern, or a R.Madrid, I won't even say "told you so." I won't need to.

Of course they put their heads together, but it's the Director of Football who makes the ultimate decision.

I agree that if a decent offer for Siggy was made then we should cash in on him. I like the guy but he hasn't reached the heights that he did at Swansea, then again, maybe we should study Swansea's style and see where we got it wrong!

Always play a player in the correct position and, as a team and individuals, play to your strengths. Royle did it with his Dogs of War... Successfully.

Silva's first number 10 was the Brazilian Evandro. He was fast and could carry the ball, good passer and chipped in with goals. At Sporting, they played 4-3-3, but Joao Mario was the closest to the No 10 and did play there in Europe when Silva played on the counter with a 4-2-3-1, or I think Nani (Man Utd) might have played there once or twice. But again these two were pacey and good ball carriers.

At Olympiacos, he had the rapid Kostas Fortounis. At Hull, he brought Evandro in, but he was out of his depth in the Premier League and Hull played with more of a 4-1-3-2. I think Cleverly played there for Watford, and he is less mobile, but again, Silva didn't sign him.

I see Anthony Gordon as being someone Silva would love, but at 18 he is a long way off starting there. Meanwhile, Alex Iwobi has a lot of qualities Silva likes in a Number 10. The main issue is he misses too many chances. His xG is terrible.

You've completely failed to grasp the points I've made. In addition, you mistakenly attribute to me that I am campaigning for Pochettino to be appointed as Everton manager. I'm not. I'm simply recognizing his achievements.

Rafa Benitez is a top level manager. He has proven that across Europe wherever he has worked. You accuse me of 'spinning a narrative' and then state "all he did was get Newcastle promoted from the Championship and stick around for a couple years in the bottom half of the table" as if that was ALL he has ever achieved in his career.

Not content with that, you extrapolate that isolated claim and attribute it to the wider Everton community by asking "is that all we expect from a top manager?"

You wed two fallacies together and present it as broad accepted consensus amongst Evertonians. A complete falsehood on all counts.

As for the (very reasonable, IMO) reference to the season in the time range before Pochettino joined Spurs when we finished above them (reasonable, because I'm making a direct comparison between how the respective clubs have performed in many aspects in the 5 years since from essentially the same starting point), in answering the question you put to me you are simply reaffirming the very point I'm making.

They've progressed. We haven't. But because they've 'Dared to Do' they now have in situ a manager who, I repeat, based on your own oft-repeated rationale, would not be interested in and never accept the manager's job at Spurs.

And to reiterate yet again, you have absolutely no basis to claim that I am saying that I "genuinely think a manager like Poch...would essentially want to be demoted to our Club." None.

That is YOUR fabrication, Mark.

I would also add I'm not impressed by you stating that any player or manager would view a move to Everton as 'demotion'. I hold my club in higher regard than that.

Try paying attention to what posters actually write, Mark, before making so many false assumptions.

When Moshiri came here, and particularly when he appointed Koeman on a ٥M/year salary, a fair portion of the media were commenting that we were aiming to recover our former status as (in their words) 'football aristocrats'.

I'm not sure that the world of football, and the media, would raise any eyebrows if someone like Mourinho joined us, and certainly not if Pochettino did so. In contrast, I think eyebrows would be raised if such managers joined the likes of, say, West Ham or Leicester, simply because such clubs lack our pedigree of trophies won and time consistently spent in the top flight.

Stan @81, a bit harsh on Leicester. Our pedigree of trophies as you refer to ended many years ago. And as for our Champions League record, well, eerrmm... oh dear.

But then you finish it up with saying you're not even advocating that he become manager, so what, you're just arguing for argument's sake? Don't answer that, it was rhetorical.

It was you who brought up Benitez at Newcastle, not me. If you wanted to talk about his Chelsea win, or his success from 2004, then say so. You can keep saying Pochettino took Spurs from 6th to 5th, 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, 4th as proof of what he can do, but it doesn't matter in the least. I'm not debating that.

You use Jose as an example of Spurs having "just gone out and done it." Well, Jose was unemployed, no one was knocking down his door, his Man Utd tenure was not good, so using that same recent history, why wouldn't Spurs be a good destination for him? They just finished 4th and made it to the Champions League Finals. Maybe he's just the guy to turn them around and do it again, or even better. That's hardly the same thing.

My point remains as to why would a manager of his stature and merits come to Everton? The point of a career is to progress, not go sideways, or even regress. Your opinion of Everton is irrelevant. We're a midtable Club who hasn't won anything in forever. If you think that's a good stepping stone for someone like Pochettino, well, I have some beachfront property in Florida for sale that you may be interested in.

Feel free to use a lot of words to tell me I'm wrong, I don't really mind either way. It was you that sidetracked the conversation off my one and only point. Someone like Pochettino would not come here. Fin.

Oh, and Stan @81, look I understand, those of you who've been supporting Everton longer than I, which is all of you (lol), have a hard time admitting where the Club is and has been for 25+ years. I'm not weighed down by those sentiments, and can only form my opinion based on the 5 or so years of global football I'm most familiar with. We may spend like a big club, no doubt there (I believe it's 17th most in the 5 top flights), so that could surely be an allure, but you have to agree that, if not money, then any top level manager wants Europe, or to challenge to win leagues. We are not (yet) that Club and history supports that. As much as I want that to change, presumably like we all do, it just hasn't yet.

We have a Director of Football that has a lot of input into all our signings.

Do you honestly believe he wanted to lose Gana and bring in a cheaper midfielder from a slower league that couldn't speak a word of English?

I couldn't stand Koeman but I wouldn't be so obsessed with it that I left Walsh out of Koeman's failure.

He wanted Witsel, Depay, Giroud. How many of them did we sign? Do you think he said "Okay, we will take Bolasie then, and work with Calvert-Lewin"?

How stupid of us to even consider going after Pochettino or Mourhino... we should know our place and stick with the also-ran managers.

My friends in Portugal had sadly never heard of us when I first started going there in the late 90s. Their dads had, but the younger lads hadn't. They only knew Man Utd, Liverpool and Arsenal. Fast-forward to now and it seems like everyone in Portugal knows all the teams in the Championship, never mind the Premier League. This is more to do with the marketing power of the league than the reputation of individual clubs.

I also remember going to Germany on an exchange in the '90s and the lad never heard of us, but his dad was a Bayern fan and had seen us in Munich. He had fond memories of our great team.

I think a lot depends on age. For example, the most successful team in France is St Etienne. Those of us who saw their great side in Europe (playing Liverpool for example) will consider them a massive club. An English youngster would consider them a minor French team as they have been in the doldrums for sometime. Whereas PSG, who were a nothing club until the oil money, are now the biggest club in France, when it's always traditionally been Marseilles.

Now what would have been better for Everton's future?

If everyone is truly all about wanting and targeting the best available then where was the shouts for Mourinho even when Silva was doing ok?

I try to stick with what I wish for all the time so affection for anyone is out of the window. If a better left-back than Digne is available I want him in the side, and I love Digne's game.

Last year if you suggested buying a number 10 to replace Sigurdsson you were insane to the masses. Its bizarre to me and I can't understand the affection when Sigurdsson would bail like a theif if Man Utd came in for him.

I would bet my life that while Everton do business the way we do and fail to replace the players we lose, we will never be the Champions league side or title winners I want us to be under any manager.

Certainly not in the style Moshiri has said he wants. Only Moyes-like scouting and buys with defence based football could give us an outside chance.

Leicester have kept Vardy how long? Spurs were behind us 8 years ago and kept Kane for how long? That has kept both of them clubs with a chance of Champions League football.

Fucking Leicester... My heart bleeds.

Let me deal with your 'dissing' first, then I'll get back to what you seem to struggle with: the actual debate.

It's not particularly wise of you to engage in ad hominem attacks with another false claim that I wrote a 'short story' reply (340 words - thank you Word doc count), only for you to post an even longer reply (483 words - 42% more).

In truth, there is not an awful lot to engage with in your latest post because it's a complete misportrayal of everything I've written on this thread, but I'll give it a stab.

Like (thankfully a very few) other posters on TW, you seem to wish to dictate the terms of engagement in when and how people respond to your posts. Check out this beaut of an example:

"It was you that sidetracked the conversation off my one and only point. Someone like Poch would not come here. Fin."

Gotcha! YOU can make a claim. (In this case, your belief that no manager of standing could be contracted by a club of Everton's standing). But others cannot contest it, or offer concrete examples that undermine such a claim.

Nah! Ain't gonna happen on TW. Your word is not final nor sacrosanct.

Your petulant exception to two very clear counter examples I offer you, Benitez at Newcastle, Mourinho now at Spurs, doesn't make for a convincing counter, as much as you try to obfuscate things with a lot of garbled words and further falsehoods.

Like I said, most managers with a talent like Kane could have done well. Poch might be a great coach, but until he proves himself elsewhere he might also be a fortunate benefactor of inheriting a player about to embark on becoming world class.

Like I said - time will tell.

I've had many a surprising Everton-related encounter on my travels.

I was once well off the beaten track in northeast Thailand in the mid-80s around the time of our glory years, staying in a Buddhist monastery.

Naturally, I was a 'farang' that generated great curiosity, so I often sat down with 15-20 monks looking intensely at me.

Now this was at a time that English football did not have as great a global reach as today, so I was pleased that with my few words of Thai and the monks even fewer words of English that some of them knew of Everton.

What I wasn't prepared for was one of them – shaven-headed, wrapped in an orange robe – uttering his only two words of English and naming an Everton player.

Neville Southall?
Kevin Ratcliffe?
Peter Reid?
Andy Gray?
Graham Sharpe?

None of them!

The name he came up with?

Derek Mountfield!

It remains a mystery to me to this day.

What about the manager's transfer funds? Where does this come from. Does Moshiri come up with another 𧶀M+ to back the new manager?

Can't Moshiri sit back and say "I've thrown a load of money at it, I'm going to build a stadium, we're not getting relegated so I'll see how this plays out"?

Moshiri can obviously do what he wants – it's his money.

If that's his view that we are not getting relegated so let's just leave it as it is then that's great for him and people like yourself if you're happy with that.

Remember, this is the guy who thought big Sam was a good choice and thinks in silva (a manager who has lost more league games than he has won) he has got a good manager. So I don't think he's got the best track record of choosing a manager.

I personally don't want to settle for just avoiding relegation. I want a team that is going to progress and hopefully look like it's building a future where, in time, it can compete with its former peers.

If you asked me now would I prefer to have a Poch or Mourinho in charge and pay them big bucks rather than paying bang average players that we seem to keep buying 80 to 100 thousand a week then I would certainly go for that.

We are never going to be successful again without a top manager and the likes of Silva aren't good enough.

However, maybe I'm wrong and you're right and it will suddenly click and Silva will show me why you think he is such a fantastic manager and we will suddenly go shooting up the league and start threatening the top four, year-in & year-out.

I won't hold my breath, though.

The reason I've said what I've said @81 is not because of any notions on my part, but because of habitually hearing comments from non-Evertonians, plus comments from the media from time to time. I realise there will be kids who've hardly or never heard of Everton, and that we've basically been 'shite' for nearly three decades. I say 'shite' in inverted commas, because an awful lot of folks outside of Everton don't consider us shite as such. Many consider us a 'sleeping giant', and I've heard that term so many times when I haven't even mentioned how good we were in the past.

I understand that the likes of Mourin ake up. I've heard it so many times. It surprised me at first, but I expect it now.

That said, it's really dependent on money, lots of it. That was the basis of our success in the 60s, and it's the same now, but on a grander scale. Man City's success is based on it, but they're nevertheless viewed grudgingly by many people as 'new money'.

We were once called the 'cheque book team' in the 60s because of our rise based on money. But the legacy of that rise exists in the image of Everton, not for all, especially kids, but for many. What marked us out is 'quality', the sheer quality of football we played, being ahead of our time in playing through midfield when others were booting from defence to attack. Because we had the money to get the best players, and the manager to organise them.

It's all history, ancient history for youngsters, but it's there, and apparently has made an impact on people. That's why, if and when we finally gel, put results together consistently, and really compete, there will be no surprises. It won't be like Leicester.

For the record, you can argue the case positively and negatively for pretty much any manager out there.

Personally, I think Pochettino has shown enough in the last 6 years to suggest he would be a massive upgrade on Silva.

Agree to disagree by all means, but maintain a healthy respect for each other.

TW is a social site for Evertonians to chew the cud, reminisce over experiences and various anecdotes.

I did post a similar post on the previous Kean thread (@98) to no avail.

I for one am getting rather tired of certain TWers constantly griping at each other.

I can do the obvious, but would rather remain a member of a group who despite their differences of opinion, remain polite even in adversity.

This is some weak shit.

This is a discussion board. There can't be more than 15-20 posters in here who are genuinely interesting reads. Sometimes I agree with what they post, sometimes I don't. Where I do agree regarding all of them is that they post in their own interesting, thought-provoking way. Jay Wood is one.

You're not.

And lay off the use of "we". You're the spokesperson for exactly one individual. Try improving o how he presents himself in here.

That said, the bloke has acknowledged many of us think of him as an arrogant, boorish bore (his words, and no Jay, I haven't got your admission to hand) but he also makes it clear he doesn't give a damn.

You can usually identify which of the two Jay's is posting within the first paragraph, and move on accordingly.

So hey fellas, what about that Kean, huh? You know, the topic of this thread? haha. Won't hold my breath but hopefully he gets some real minutes on Saturday. I swear this has been the longest international break ever, and probably doing its part to contribute to the crankiness of some, myself included. We need football!

We're all deeply unhappy with being where we are in the table, whether or not we wish to be patient or not. We all want Everton to win stuff and to do it soon. If we can navigate this very difficult run of games and get a number of points on the board, and climb the table, then I think tensions on TW will ease.

Football is a funny business: when you are losing everything is wrong, and when you are winning, everything is right. Sometimes, you can be great off the pitch and it just takes time for that to manifest onto the pitch.

I enjoy healthy banter, and agreeing to disagree as and when. That's where the line should be drawn.

I really enjoy your posts, probably because I seem to agree with most of them. I know I'm generalising here and expect some disagreement (it's ToffeeWeb after all!) but it seems like we fall into 2 groups on the site – those who have seen us winning things and those who haven't.

The former group are obviously the older ones, who not only saw glory but to whom names like Dixie and Tommy Lawton were a reality. I never saw Dixie play but I remember seeing him on the pitch at his testimonial and being in complete awe.

My point is, in those days we were football royalty who were naturally part of the game's elite. That was the natural order of things and why people like me find it so difficult to accept the mediocrity of the last God knows how many years. Call me deluded, I realise why.

But we'll never get back among the elite if we continue to think that top class managers and players are out of our reach. As someone pointed out earlier Benitez went to Newcastle, and their last trophy was 1969. So to those who haven't seen us as a force in the game, take heart. Stan is right to call us a sleeping giant and our stock within the game may be higher than you think.

I've worn Everton tops quite a bit on holiday in the US and you'd be surprised how often they've been recognised by the locals in many different states. In fact one of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball players threw me a ball shouting ‘that's for the Everton guy'. (I know our American contributors won't be impressed with the Rays but there you are.)

I know it may come across as condescending and that's certainly not my intention but I can understand why our ‘younger' group appear more resigned to the lesser ambition shown by the club as they have nothing to measure it against. I haven't expressed that very well but I'm just trying to make a point, please don't anybody feel offended.

Everton is a way of life for all of us and, for dreamers (some may say dinosaurs) like me, we should always aim to be up there with the best. Otherwise, mediocrity will become our standard for years to come. It's been far too long as it is.

To fall out on here is actually a bit uneducated when on another topic you could fully agree tomorrow with the person you disagreed and argued with yesterday.

On another note, Big Dunc's interview on Toffeetv is fantastic. Both parts. Or was for me anyway.

I cannot foresee how Everton win the league with the present conditions unless we catch a manager who can do what Mourinho did with Porto. Even Pochettino, for everything he did, has now ultimately come up short.

You may well think, but I just named Mourinho so get Mourinho. Even if we could, and I don't we can afford him either in terms or wages, transfer fees, or clean up costs after he's left, I still don't think this Mourinho is capable of doing what the young Mourinho did. We need a manager on the upswing, not the downswing.

Have Everton ever had a big name manager who delivered? Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't Catterick something of a gamble? Kendall was appointed from a second-tier Blackburn, wasn't he? Royle hadn't really done anything before. The only manager I recall with lots of trophies in the bank was the (to use his own favourite word) “disappointing” Walter Smith.

I think Brands is here for the long haul and I think, if Silva is not the man to do it, he will hire another one and another one until he gets the right one who will take us up the table, and put trophies in the cabinet. And by 'hire another Silva', I mean a Pochettino type, a young manager with potential and something about him who can get us up the table and challenging for the title.

When that happens consistently, hopefully very soon, Kean will likely then have a big effect. Without the team working as a machine, it's just very difficult for the younger players.

I don't believe Catterick was a gamble when he was appointed, as much as any manager can be!

He'd done really well with Sheffield Wednesday if I recall in the couple of years or so he was there. Sure they'd finished above us each season?

I think Carey going the way he did and a few days later Catterick appearing threw a few. Carey did appear to be slowly sorting us out but obviously Moores wasn't happy with him.

No, I'm sure Catterick was well thought of when we got him.

How many trophies had he won though?

I'm not sure, to be honest. I think none when he came to us. I'm sure he brought Wednesday up from the 2nd Division and, I might be wrong here, but sure he came 2nd to the great Spurs team that won the league in '61 and '62.

And they were a great team, by the way. Double winners.

Regarding Shankly, apparently the Liverpool chairman T V Williams went to a Huddersfield game, and approached Shankly after the game. He said to him, "How would you like to manage the best club in England?" Shankly replied,"Why, has Matt Busby resigned?"

Spurs may well have only won it in 61 but sure they got the double and regardless I do remember they were a great team then.

Stan, yes, I heard that. Just goes to prove it's the right man at the right time at the right club. Never mind previous honours... well, unless your name's Pep!

And yes, Walter Smith may have won a shed full but in an inferior league so no guarantee of success there. Silva could be said to be in the same category of course in Portugal and Greece.

But Busby and the rest clearly showed something to someone which marked them out as wanted men, Catterick the same. And they all delivered.

Now I'm not saying Silva won't but his record so far in the Premier League doesn't inspire me with as much confidence as it does yourself. It's all opinion of course. It'd be great if in 20 years we could say that he'd eclipsed The Catt and Howard, time will tell. I'm not being snarky here, all of us want success and if it comes through Marco then I'd gladly say I got it wrong as I'm dancing - well shuffling hopelessly - down Queens Drive as the open-topped bus goes by.

And I'm with you on Mourinho, by the way. He's a busted flush and will suck the life out of Spurs before his usual tantrums start in Year 2 when he starts his payoff strategy.

I fully expect it all to end in tears, as the ego will eventually destroy all the good things he creates! For me, it's going to give Spurs a short term boost which will propel them up into the top 6.

Who else could walk in there and front-up all of the big names? Certainly not Eddie Howe or Chris Houghton. You need a big-headed know-all with a proven track record... for me, they missed a trick – they should have got Benitez.

Kevin, you weren't snarky at all. What you said makes perfect sense. It's just a question of perspective. You've got a different one to me and I fully accept that.

A bit like us as and when BMD becomes a reality.

Gulp.

We are in a turnaround phase as a club and a business. The focus has to be on capability, standards and ambition - NSNO. As Jay Wood rightly says, if we don't think like a big club and act with limited ambition, then we won't become one. Of course, it is also practicalities - under FFP rules we need to lose the salaries of Schneiderlin, Walcott, Sigurdsson and Tosun to allow us invest in our squad to the next level. It is also about finding values in players early in their careers. Brands is doing really well on both these fronts.

But if we as fans claim that we cannot attract a certain category of manager due to our low profile, then I don't think we can accuse the club hierarchy of lacking ambition or settling for mediocrity. Because, the truth is that in football as in any business, money and ambition will get you talent.

He is a 19 year old in a foreign league, with an under pressure manager who is making mistakes and team mates who are a mix of immature young talent and senior pros with low standards. He could be a real star of the future, provided we don't bungle it as per usual.

I realise that it was just a U-21 match, but his sense of position, his availability in attack and his ability to be in a place where a rebound or a good cross was going to reach him were all superb.

If that extended clip was anything like the real Kean when he's allowed to play as a striker, then we have got a potentially 30 a year forward.

It looks like another "brilliant playing for his country, crap when playing to Silva's instructions."

We are all heading for "old git" status. It is merely a matter of time. I saw us in the glory days, so you can guess where I sit.

I picked up your throwaway line about booting the ball from defence to attack. Basically that is what accounts for the success of the RS, although I have to admit their speedy strikers are absolutely suited to that game.

When you were brought up on a midfield of Ball, Kendall and Harvey, the constant use of the long ball game is a pretty appalling watch. For all his faults (and I remain unconvinced that SIlva is the one to bring the glory days back) at least he does seem to encourage good football.