Sidibe: We cannot wait to take on Liverpool

Every game should be approached the same way despite who we are playing.
Put into action your words then... Because this team has been stealing a living all season.

Bad luck. NO, it's karma. Accept responsibility and then the good karma will follow

Martin @2 Turn this week to do what? He didn't focus on Silva, or how he has the team's full support, or any of that other nonsense. He casually included the manager/coaching staff in his comment about confidence, but otherwise, he only talked about the upcoming match. God forbid one of our Blues steps up and says they don't fear an opponent, least of all Liverpool. When was the last time someone did that? What an arsehole.

Instead he's treated like the dog who only wants to please his owner but gets a rolled-up newspaper across the snout. If anything he should be pissed at Monaco for loaning him to us. Perhaps you'd prefer if he said that.

JFC.

We all know what will happen there tomorrow and in January.

I actually thought Sidibé's words struck a really good tone. Our players should be gee'd up for these big occasion games; I'd rather that than them soiling their kecks.

The result may as well be as predictable as we all fear but I'm not going to begrudge the guy who was our best player at Leicester getting excited ahead of his first Merseyside derby. Hopefully he cracks home a 90th minute winner from 30 yards and becomes an instant Everton hero!

Paul that's fine, but why Sidibe? I've also noticed you defend Silva, a lot.

It's my 40th birthday tomorrow. A result at Castle Greyskull would be the best present ever

Or maybe he grabbed a reporter and said - quick, talk to me, I want to sound game and everyone will think I am doing it for Marco.

I'm so excited to face a team that we haven't beaten since 2010, 25 matches ago or whatever it is now, and so long ago that Davie Moyes still had red hair and the Yak was up front.

I'm even more excited that we face them at Anfield where we haven't won since before the computers all crashed when the Millennium arrived!

Put the talk into actions lads.

I have only ever been in Anfield once - in 1964. The “scabbyheads”, as my dear dad used to call them, won the league that year.

I remember on the way to that horrible place feeling very pessimistic about our chances of getting anything from the game. We were missing, West, Vernon, and Kay if my memory serves me correctly and our midfield include a novice Colin Harvey.

We had just taken the lead when our goalie Andy Rankin, pulled off the greatest save I have ever seen, right in front of the kop, from Roger Hunt. I was behind the Anfield Rd goal and had a perfect view of it.

Game over. We went on to tonk them 0-4.

They are not Arsene Wenger invincibles. Somebody has got to beat them and I want it to be us.

Start Kean - he will give that horrible big Centre Half of theirs the run around.

Sick of this crap. They must think we are idiots. These guys are champions league winners and soon to be premier league winners. Week in week out decisions go for them and even when they play poorly, they win.

We, week in week out, play poorly and decisions go against us and we get beat.

I would honestly right now somebody came out and said ‘Liverpool Wednesday night... yeah we are going to get stuffed' at least I would appreciate their honesty. I'm not even watching tomorrow night. Same as their champs league final. Phone is off and I'm going to bed, no doubt turning my phone on after the game to see Liverpool awarded a penalty via VAR, red card to Everton and Pickford error.

I'm also leaning towards the starting selection of Moise Kean.

It might give them something new and unexpected to deal with.

DCL for me is just far too nice, he doesn't give defenders enough movement to worry about when he hasn't got the ball.

For me its Richarlison or Moise Kean.

We need a horrible centre forward, maybe the lad Kean has got a bit of a nasty streak in him.

We are already on our longest winless run in Merseyside derby history, terrible time to be an Evertonian let face it.

We have to end this horror record one day.

Could this be on?

SIlva always sets up well against them.

Prepare to dream

Did anyone notice that he was back in our box just after Leicester had scored the winner, to take the ball of Vardy's toes for what would have been another certain goal.

He hadn't and doesn't give up.

Mark, my posts are not to favour Silva, I don't savour love for any manager that would leave us for Man U. I point out where I feel he has been short changed by the club because I don't want the new manager left in the same situation.

Daniel Johno above should play, he is brave enough to say Silva sets up well against the shite which is true, just watch out for the comeback tackles Daniel. 😂

It will be, how can he Daaaaaaniel. He hasn't got a clue about tactics, we have. 👍

Bloody bored of it mate. We're a joke of a team right now. Morishi comes and we all think Europe and Champions league, lets have it right, it's been a disaster.

There is always a malaise that seem to affect at least one or two players, sometimes more, which overall has a knock-on effect on the performance.

He now exudes a sense of hopelessness, which has to transfer itself to the players.

I'm not saying Klipperty is no good by the way, because he certainly is an excellent manager. I again refer everyone to Klipperty doing his thing for Dortmund in his final season when they were still in the bottom three in February. Didn't help them then, did it?

That routine is purely for the fans. Makes no difference to the players. Whenever I had a bad game, which was most of the time, I would never look to the touchline, I didn't want to get the hook!

I also think that evertonfc would have found most players reluctant to put their head above the parparpet. Not Sidide though , he is confident he can put in a performance against Liverpool or any Premiership team. He probably now, having got settled in, experienced the Premier League and adaptable his preparation to what he knows is required, is probably looking forward to playing. A lot are starting to recognise his quality after his performance in the Leicester game.

I believe that Sidibe is genuine in what he says and actually believes it and is preparing accordingly for the Liverpool game. Seamus is finding he is up against real competition now.

Someone wrote a book years ago entitled something like, The fish rots from the head

The best football managers always seem to have a sense of purpose, not look like they feel they shouldn't be there.

And are you are suggesting that managers make no contribution from the technical area? We could innovate the managerless team concept I suppose. Oh wait, we are almost there.

I just hope Sidibe, is speaking for the whole team, because it won't take us long to find out if he's not, and agree withJerome, when he talks about the players fitness levels.

You seem to think that the players are all looking to the manager like expectant puppies hanging on his every word before he goes out. All the work is done on the training ground and in the class rooms. The players all have their headphones in on the team bus, walking into the dressing room, and if Everton are like Man City, Sunderland, Juventus and any of these other teams in the fly on the wall documentaries, the players all stare at the floor and pay little attention to any rousing Churchillian type speeches. Times have changed and footballers are not the same people as they once were.

If we show no optimism, why even bother?

When we talk about things we don't have a clue about, like Silva giving a team briefing, (hands up all those that have sat through a Silva Briefing). It just becomes assumptions and nonsense.

Klopps cheer leading has gone to heads it seems.

To pick up another of your points, it's not Churchillian speeches that are wanted or even needed. It is rather something along the lines of sorting things out so that everyone knows their role when the opposition get a corner.

One sad part of the inevitable departure of someone who does seem to be a nice guy, is that I suspect he is very good in the one-on-one aspects of the role, being supportive to an individual player, for instance.

Fck sake. Have you not paid any attention for the last 3 decades?

I'll go there expecting to lose, hoping for another draw and ever so slightly and briefly allow myself to dream a little.

But let's be real, there is no reason for any optimism at all.

Pep Guardiola described Ronald Koeman as a tactical genius. He wasn't the last to do so. Koeman often switched things several times per game to try and adapt. So he was able to get his message across and make changes. It did not help in his second season though. And slumped against a post in the Watford dugout, seemingly unbothered by what was happening in front of him, whilst Walter Mazzarri was going nuts in the Watford dugout. Mazzarri's antics didn't help him at Watford either. Conte is as animated as anyone on the touchline, and it looks great when as he wins things, but didn't do anything as he struggled with Chelsea before he got sacked, or the two times he got relegated.

The main thing is Silva gets the confidence high in training and works on what was going wrong. We are still creating chances, we are still stopping chances at the other end. If we can keep creating far more chances than we concede then things will change in terms of results.

If Silva can get to the opening of the window and get a faster centre-back in who can help stop these suicidal mistakes the players are making where every chance we cough up is a certain goal, and preferably also get in a serious upgrade on Schneiderlin, and lo and behold a goalscoring forward, then results certainly will change.

I agree.

What happens between the training ground and classrooms, and kick-off time?

If what happens during the game – for the past 18 months – and what he coaches, is the same, we really are in the shit.

Leicester are a good side and for 70 minutes we looked better than them at their own ground, and with a raft of injuries. We were able to get forwards well and that was with a number of players not even playing well when we were in the ascendancy. For example, Iwobi was blowing hot and cold, giving the ball away one minute making a long fantastic pass the next.

The manager can set the teams up to play a certain way, he can coach them to do it, show them what the opposition will do, and tell them how to counter it, work on it some more in training, but at the end of the day, it's up to the players once they cross that white line.

When we play away and a team takes the lead against us they too sit back, meaning we cannot play a fast counter-attacking game against them.

That's two pretty big reasons why we are not winning many games.

I expect when everyone complains about "no plan B" what they mean is precisely that if the home (or away) team don't attack, you cannot play fast counter attacking football and that any manager, worthy of the name, will have am alternative strategy up his sleeve and will have trained with the team to change formation and strategy in such an event.

This is probably why we are getting beaten, home and away insofar as other managers now know what to expect and plan accordingly.

I think Silva could potentially be a good manager and a good appointment for us - but he has to be more flexible in his playing structure -otherwise he is heading for an avoidable downfall.

It starts with Pickford who with his kick outs repeatedly places the ball in no man's land. A example in the Leicester match was the kick out prior to the second goal. The opposition repeatedly has regained possession this way. In the defence it consists of poor clearing of their lines by Mina and Keane. Holgate is actually a improvement on them. The midfield is too static and is often caught and pressurised in possession and often loses it as a result. Everton have one of the worse pass completion stats in the Premiership in the final third , this has been apparent since the start of last season. Poor pass completion equates to lost possession and a breakdown in any attacking options.

Once Everton loses possession, they have a poor record of recovering it. It's was Gueye making the abnormal amount of 20 tackles a game covered over this. It was only when he was supported by Zouma that Everton got advantage from this. Now there is a soft centre throught the heart of the midfield and heart of the defence. Any opposition that regains possession in the midfield can build up momentum easily in an attack. Everton have lost game after game because of this. Silva high press is made redundant as a result of poor possession play.

At the start these weaknesses were covered up by Richar!ison in running from deep, but opposition teams soon copped on by winding him up, tackling him more ( often obligingly lay down on contact ) and channelled his play, knowing he had a weak final pass.

These weaknesses where therd from the start of Silvas tenure, what has happened is that Silva never addressed them and opposition team became more adapt taking advantage.

On top of this nothing changed at Finch Farm in attitude and motivation. It has often been reported how popular he was at Finch Farm. When Silva is gone he will be forgotten there by the next morning.

Going forward these unaddressed weakness will result in the inevitable, as we are experiencing week after week.

The rest of what you said simply highlights how the board have not recruited to give him the tools he needs. Had Everton signed Zouma, Doucoure and a decent striker, then I doubt we'd be struggling right now.

We create lots of chances, we concede few chances, but we cannot convert the chances and we cannot prevent goals from the few chances we concede. A lot of that is down to the inadequacy of the players, not just the failings of the manager.

You just never know.

I also like Sidibes attitude, on and off the pitch. And the man can cross a ball - would love to see him link up with Tosun from the start tomorrow.

I absolutely disagree. This is no where near a bottom 4 team.

Zouma & Gana were part of a team that lost 8 out of 12 (?) last season. Horrific runs are de rigueur in Silva's managerial record.

Zouma & Gana were part of a team that never won after conceding first

Zouma & Gana were part of a team that shipped the most number of goals.

A manager who cannot win after losing the first goal is likely to lose many games. Therein lies the problem: Silva has a dreadful number of losses chalked up.

This BS that without 3 players we are bottom 4 material is nonsensical. The manager has a clear blind spot.

Manager ???Of course we have sold, lost a couple,e few long term injuries but if we had a bunch of defenders instead of Tosun,Niasse,?cost.Its horrendous who we bought in the last four years.

Bielsa,Howe,Sam, but Marco has to go now.

When Silva does go, hopefully, and I do so hope, we do get a resurgence and get away from the dreadful position you mention.

Maybe we will be back here again Steve, but what is the alternative.
If we do not shake off this nonsensical lethargic football we are being inflicted upon by Silva with no sign off getting out of we well may find ourselves totally forgetting Brands 4-5 year plan. Unless that plan is to reclaim our PL status.

There will come a point Steve when even you will have to acknowledge he's a hopeless cause. Hopefully by that time it's not too late

I will say thought John, if Silva lost the next two games, even with a performance like against Leicester, and I was Moshiri I'd reluctantly sack him. I foolishly said I wouldn't sack him if he lost the next five games, but he's lost two of them already, and if he loses the fourth of them, I think you reach the point where you need a shock to the system to get a result.

The sad thing is the spell under Silva against Arsenal, Chelsea, and Man Utd could have been what we deliver game after game. I just hope the next man has the potential to get us to that level.

You are talking in terms of the high press, which I agree has been partly successful, but if you lose possession again high up the pitch this does away with any good resulting from it.

The opposition defence just take the percentage position of pushing up, knowing that any Everton passes will not be completed and will end up going side ways. This gives them the added advantage of compressing and pressuring midfield.

A successful high press should result in more scoring opportunities and definitely not a successful counteracting opposition. Everton are poor at defending against a high press, again they give away possession and are poor retrieving it.

Often Silvas high press becomes irrelevant in the second half of most games, not helped by substitutions.

I am actually beginning to think that both Silva and Koeman both latched onto the buzz word of a high pressing team, but did not know how to implement or support it in the context of a overall team performance.

I agree with you regarding results when Zouma and Gueye played, but they where instrumental in signs of improvement near the end of last season , though Silvas weaknesses still where there.

It is worse now without them though.

We had a weakened team and I was so fearful of that game I switched the radio off and told my dad I didnt want to know the score and went out so after the game someone in the street said the score was 4-0 and I said I knew those Red b. s were going to tonk us. He said 4-0 to Everton.

I didnt believe him till I got home and saw the Pink echo.

That is the one hope I have for Wednesday.

Now the Premiership has some of the best managers and players in the world and the tier of managers just below that acknowledge it and find other ways to win.

Moyes initial success came from motivation, organisation and high energy at a time when the most skillful players were just coasting.

Nowadays even the most skillful players are required to work hard and for 90 minutes.

I see 2 problems at Everton.

One is the players seem incapable or unwilling to play at their best level for 90 minutes let alone game to game.

Two Marco Silva's record in the premiership is consistent enough to suggest he is not capable of managing a club with top 6 aspirations.

What does Silva spend his time endlessly drumming into the players heads when the basics are so badly neglected ? maybe he over coaches the simple things out of the players, because that's where we fall down everytime and it's embarrassing.

There are other failings too, the players don't seem to use thier own individual judgement in attacking situations to gain the best results, they look frightened to use thier own initiative. All signs of poor management, he fills thier heads with nonsense, when sometimes the simple pass is the best pass.

Surely by your take on the situation that Brands is only a man who signed players for a big team in a small league?

Silvas weakness' were not there during our good run either, I think that is a pre concieved idea of what you want to hold against him.

Steve gets some stick for persistance at times but he tries to construct his view with points we can all work relate too.

Saying he picked Davies because he had to, (like many have said) and he showed weakness in the good form last season sounds like agendas to me.

The team showed weakness in transition, a coaches first season where 11 good players carried out their jobs pretty well overall.

Its best to not admire any manager that will leave if he wants to so I keep an open mind on all of them.

Opposition teams are able to manage Silvas high press, knowing its predictablity, with no alternatives. . High press on its own will not win games in the Premiership. I disagree that Silva used different ways to play against different teams in the Premiership.

Silva has been given more than enough opportunities since the start of the season that he can present a team with a winning formula or his version of such a formula.

I disagree. The statistics show this to be untrue. We are winning the ball back and stopping sides getting at our defence. We have also pressed less high up the pitch, due to the opposition we have faced. When we have pressed high, because teams have played out from the back, we have had a lot of success. I can't count them off the top of my head, but I think we've played a high press in perhaps 3 games with season, and that's what about 20% of the games played?

Our big struggles have been that we make individual mistakes usually caused by getting caught on the counter, and yes Silva could do something about that by being less committed in attack. This usually happens late in games when we try to win games rather than sit back and take a point.

Marco Silva has NEVER won a PL game for us after going behind. We have a terrible record from conceding from set pieces.

This was true with Zouma & Gana in the side and also without.

So Steve Ferns laying the blame on our bottom 4 position at the Board because we did not sign Zouma, Gana and Doucoure?

I respectfully disagree.

I want to see a smile on Silva's face tomorrow night, even better would be to see him running all round the fucking place come full-time. Kean or Richarlison to score and win it for us.

COYB - We are due one!!

That night we battered them..and lost 0-1, and we signed him, and he scored for us in a derby against Liverpool, when we beat them at Goodison Park, in the title run in 1985.

Tomorrow if we can clone Sidibe's spirit and skill we have a chance.

Hopefully they have an off night and start with Moise to rough up the Liverpool defence. They are not playing well, even Liverpool supporters, are saying they are poor in defence.

Can we upset the odds? There's nothing to lose tomorrow, 100% effort from start to finish and no early Chrimbo presents to them.

A lot are pressurised mistakes and they happen often. Everton need to start retaining possession and playing in the final third to get actual results, by scoring goals.

I know the importance of sticking to a plan with the same Manager and don't look forward to another Manager starting and trying to process it.

But there comes a time when enough is enough and Silva is held accountable for Everton's performance and Premier League position.

I feel a lot better about waving goodbye to Silva, knowing the club might appoint someone like Gallardo rather than Moyes. Marcelino seems more likely to go to Arsenal, but he would be another one I could get well behind. The others were giving up on ever breaking into the top 6 for me.

If Gallardo is serious, and it's this, rather than the paper talk, driving the odds crashing down from nowhere, then maybe the players can dig one out for Silva and give us a derby win at long last. What will be, will be. The world's always a better place when we beat that shower though.

They were reportedly talking to Moyes, but abandoned talks, because of fan opposition. Moyes was reportedly surprised at the fans' attitude, so things have moved on from that era at least.

Like you, I would like them to see a Manager who could take Everton forward, because there are signs of progress; unfortunately, Silva seems not able to fulfil his potential and Everton's current situation is not all his fault, though he will pay for it.

I also think Brands and Moshiri would prefer continuing with Silva and the original plan, but the cards are stacked against him. Out of frustration and despair, both transient things, a man is reborn with new words and new powers.

When you say wave goodbye, do you mean you're going down to Finch Farm to actually wave? Or is that just an expression?

Steve (Stevie?) - my guess is you're not waving but drowning - in our sea of disaster.

Of course I've paid attention these last three decades, alas. I'm not a glory hunter, I'm an Evertonian. Sometimes I feel sorry for the match goers, the football is that poor, never mind the results.

Last sunday, I really thought we could get a result, once again I was proved wrong. Probably fighting spirit is a better word than optimism, the players do need to show both, no matter what happens.

Deluded fool!