Ancelotti loving his introduction to the Blues

We just need to trust our affable, professional, hugely successful manager.

Either that or put our beer down long enough to tell ToffeeWeb how it _should_ be done.

I think we now need to enter a period of stability. Give this man a chance to build something properly. There will be rocks in the road as they say, it might be bumpy at times, but keep the faith, Evertonians. This fella is the real deal.

Onward and upward but remembering the adage "Rome wasn't built in a day"

COYB and NSNO

Only Everton could possibly mess this up

They know we have Ancellotti, they know how good he his, they will privately be a little bit cautious because of this, quite possibly starting those little whispers, that say only Everton could fuck this up.

Carlo, Carlo, Carlo, is what we should all be drumming into ourselves right now, especially when the man says it's not going to be a quick fix, because “we” more than anyone should know this, and with Usmanov lurking in the shadows, we should all become more positive after hopefully hitting rock bottom at the beginning of 2020.

Carlos CV suggests he knows what he's doing.

This is a wise old head who knows exactly how big the challenge is, and he won't thrown by the inevitable setbacks -- or by our panicky reaction to them.

His history as a player and manager means players and staff will look up to him, respect him and his decisions. We will be more of a unified force because of Carlo's appointment.

When it comes to transfers Moshiri and Brands have to listen and back Carlo. Nobody is in a better position to make the final call.

Which I'm going to take that we have to give a man of Carlo's class time to build his Rome here at Everton, because it takes a hell of a lot less time to panic and burn something down than to build something great.

This man has forgotten more about winning football matches than ANY OF US will ever know.

Ifs and buts my arse. If me auntie had balls she'd be my uncle.

It's absolutely hilarious that people are questioning his substitutions already.

Full support Carlo.
Onward Evertonians 💙

I think people are in a negative space about the club and rightly so, but this guy KNOWS WHAT HE'S DOING. That's the difference between him and some of our other recent managers. Allardyce would have done something similar - playing percentages but giving strong information to those coming on of what to do to see the game out. It comes with knowledge. People need to just take a breath, shut up a wee bit and let this guy work his magic.

It is perfectly feasible to be fully supportive and totally in favour of Carlo Ancelotti's appointment (as I am) but questioning of his tactics and substitutions (as I was against Brighton).

That is not to elevate me as having superior football knowledge than Ancelotti. That is plainly ridiculous.

That doesn't make me a 'TW moaner'.

I cannot deny the evidence of my own eyes. The substitutions and tactical tweaks Carlo made v Brighton progressively stopped us playing our football in their half, forced our defence deeper and had us playing on the back foot with little or no out ball as our play became compacted in our own half.

It was the single most sustained period of attacking football Brighton had in the entire game and they carved out very good equalising opportunities as a result.

I understand the need of subbing out tiring players or those carrying a knock. I understand throwing Mina into the mix to counter Brighton's own substitution and the aerial threat of Glen Murray. I understand the idea of 'protect what we hold'.

But the final 20 minutes of that game were a lot nervier than they needed to be and Carlo Ancelotti's substitutions contributed to that.

It's a perfectly fair and legitimate observation to make.

To express that view most certainly does not make me (or others) ambivalent about having Carlo Ancelotti as our manager, tactically superior to him or a TW moaner, ta very much.

Can this be pasted next to the TW logo in the banner at the top of every page on this site?

I seriously love this man.

Overall the Brighton game, we fully deserved to win and was a good performance overall particularly in light of mood going into the game. Credit to Ancelotti (and his team) for that and so far so good with Ancelotti (aside from Derby) but no matter how good he is, it will take him an age to get us right and for him to understand our players. He's only been here 4 weeks and as I say he's no miracle worker and he's not the messiah.

If the opinion that he got lucky with his subs on Saturday make me a TW moaner so be it!

Moyes - dour and not adventurous - fans appreciative but not happy

Martinez - possession and didn't defend well enough - fans wanted out

Sam Allardyce - boring - fans didn't want in the first place. Cue vitriol.

Silva - Not enough attacking intent, not good enough defending, tactically naive. Nice man, needed to go

Carlo Ancelotti - knows how to attack (more shots in the League than any other team since he took over), not afraid to shut up shop and defend when warranted, understands and knows the balance of the game - Everton fans are the most intelligent on earth, they appreciate that balance more than any other fanbase.

We have our fit. It's time to let the man do his work.

He wont be successful if he has to make do with second rate players.

Another quote was the players must be made up that Carlo has taken over the reins of the club, how many of them set out to show their mettle to the new manager in the game versus Liverpool? Four? Three? Or even less.

Carlo Ancelotti has been a great manager and I'm delighted we have got him to oversee our future and of course it is early days, he doesn't know the players like we do, yet, I'm confident he will get to know them, find them out very quickly and sort them out, in the meantime, in the game versus Brighton last Saturday, to me, the changes he made looked like costing Everton two points, that they didn't was more by a very good save by Pickford and a poor miss by Murray. Until the subs started Brighton had hardly been in the game, apart from a very good effort that hit the bar.

I think we all want Carlo Ancelotti to take us we're we want to be, but will not be blinded by what we saw and comment on it, whether it pleases people or not.

Link

All very positive. Laughs at the fact that he has his own fans' song already, that he needs to learn it, that he likes to sing, but only when he wins trophies. And he hopes that will be soon with Everton!

But the criticism he got was hugely disproportionate to his decisions and I summarised some of the comments I saw on TW in my post @ 21. I think we are so conditioned to seeing mediocre managers make stupid selection and substitution decisions that we are over reacting to every thing we see on the pitch. Carlo will make some wrong decisions, but he will make far more right ones.

Ancelotti is well aware of the problems at Everton before he started and probably is even more aware now. He does have the experience and certain high standards, which will mean he will address problems or
roadblocks on his performance head on, unlike previous Managers. Who where not capable, who did not try and got away with it or did not feel that they could.

Koeman - forgotten. Fans wanted to move on. Shite incomings, shite tactics, shite.

Ray @ 34 - I don't entirely agree with that, and it depends on your definition of success. I personally want to see us more economically sound. Ergo, 1-2 players in and before Carlo's contract is up, a Top 4 finish. I think that's absolutely attainable, especially if Gbamin is half as good as my initial impressions, and Gomes comes back even 90% of the player he was.

Dave Abrahams @35 - I'm convinced Carlo is going to see games out. I truly believe he's thinking "get a point minimally". With where we are in the table, and yes now we are thankfully looking up, we still need to grab as many points as possible. With our current squad and the way this season has gone, I'd rather see us take a point trying to protect, usually getting three full points, than walk away with zero. And the fact I'm saying that as it's completely counter to my DNA, says a lot for me. I've no right preaching to a Blue with your pedigree, but I think, internet mate, you're going to have to live with it for a while.

Koeman - red Christmas Tree. Fans - Goodbye, sir.

I also understand the poor squad Ancelotti has inherited, especially in midfield, which at the moment is practically non existent, Jamie I'm just criticising the last twenty minutes of one game, I don't expect things to change from what they have been up to Silva leaving, in a few weeks. It will be judged one game as a time as far as I'm concerned. Mr. Ancelotti got plenty of praise for his first two games in charge and rightly so, they were not perfect in those games but gained us six vital points and he will be judged, fairly, on all future games, same as he was judged on the Brighton game.

Jamieas for you and me as Everton fans, I read all your posts, learn from them, laugh with them, disagree with some but you are totally entitled to put your opinions on ToffeeWeb as anyone, we are all equal on here, years supporting the Blues have no entitlement over fans who are younger and have less time as a Bluenose, Jamie I've never met you, hope to in the future, but we are mates.

Not such a bad thing however given that there may not be any real class players available just yet.

A good speech does not make a good manager. I believe Carlo Ancelotti is a good manager, provided he has a half-decent team to work with. Unfortunately Everton are not a half-decent team.

An indication of our performances can be measured on how other teams get on against our recent opposition. Watch out for Aston Villa away at Brighton. I believe they will win there – like they did at Goodison.

Not a moaner – just a realist.

I've seen this phrase appear about goon after goon. Turns out all that trust was totally misplaced because none of them were up to it

Lets be very clear here. Fawning all over Ancelotti and trying to shout down criticism of his mistakes serves no purpose. Its simply an effort to stifle debate. An exercise in "mustn't grumble".

Winning trophy's in different countries is highly commendable and we have ourselves a deeply knowledgeable football man. . . but he doesnt know EVERYTHING !
Yeah. He does know more than anyone who posts on here. He knows more than most of his peers but you'd need to be a bleeding idiot to believe he doesnt still have much to learn. He's proved that on a few occasions already. He has made errors that people on here would not have made.

I've got no problem with people blindly supporting him, denying his every error, but please. Dont try to shout down others with the daft theory that he is always right and they are always wrong. Dont expect others to applaud when he does well and stay silent when he doesnt. That way lies the death of football debate.

Those who are claiming we should not judge him until he has had 4-5 windows are perfectly at liberty to refrain from doing so themselves, but they can not tell others when to form their opinion. You will not get many people logging off for a couple of years in order to come back to give their measured, considered opinion. He is getting the big bucks NOW! and he will be judged now

Get a counter argument or get used to it, This "He knows more than you" argument doesnt cut it. Never has

Unless I'm mistaken I wasn't referring to a comment you had made before my first post. In fact re-reading this thread I don't think you posted before me so I wasn't aware of your opinions on Carlo‘s subs.

At no point during the game on Saturday -including after the substitutions - did I feel like we were going to concede. Quite strange really as I am usually a bag of nerves at the match.

The immediate priority therefore is to continue the process of offloading the surpluses and thereby increase the scope to bring in quality players in the summer who will improve the squad.

Brands also made the point we need to move from signing around half a dozen players in the summer window to bringing in two or three. For me that confirmed we will not see the scattergun approach repeated this year.

Disagreement, by you or anyone else, is not "shouting down". (Unless it's in all caps.)

Nobody is trying to stifle debate.

And maybe I missed something, but who claimed "we should not judge him until he has had 4-5 windows" and thus we need to wait years to express an opinion? Guess I overlooked those posts.

Chill, mate.

You start the game with 1 point, goals can get you more, but you need your defense to keep them, and I believe we have the rite manager to do it.
I often believed that if Martinez and Silva had brought in a top defensive Italian coach, who seem defensive as soon as they are born, they would have done better. But with their demise we have benefited in getting one of (THE) premier managers in Europe, who has a difficult job in bringing Everton FC, back to the top and will answer his critics in short time.

I agree with Darren Hinds and Jay Wood. If we're not allowed to voice concerns about our triple champions league winning manager why not disable comments and just add a like button, instead change the thumbs up to a clapping symbol.

Edit: No. Carlo left in the summer of ‘92 as Savicevic came in.

He has not only played and won at the highest level, he has managed and won at the highest level.

I will never criticise a man with a record like his, why would I? I have never managed at any level, I have played at a decent amature level but that's about it.

Give him 2-3 years and we will be winners again, of that I have no doubt whatsoever.

Carlo is warming to us and the club, once it's in his blood he will be truly be one of us. Let's rejoice in the fact that we have a manager that actually knows what it takes to make us successful once again.

We've waited long enough FFs.

There will be twists and turns along the way, setbacks and some rude awakenings as we witnessed against Liverpool. Ancelotti is communicating with the fans, yes he's being rewarded hansomoly but he's saying the right things. Something Koeman never did, with him it was the pay cheque only that was important.

My feeling, judge him after 3/4 transfer windows, Moshiri has got his man and finally I truly feel we are heading in the right direction.

There is a difference between slagging off and opinionated, constructive criticism. The latter is healthy.

However there should be some limits. I never see the necessity to hurl verbal often personal obscenities at any player or the manager. Unfortunately there are also those pessimists who are eagerly waiting for the manager to do something that they don't like so they can join the, "I told you so brigade". Up to now Ancelotti along with Dunc has been a breath of fresh air in a previouslt stagnant atmosphere. However he still will need time to make his mark Give him that time.

"Complaining about the use of substitutes in a game you won, it is beyond believe [sic]."

A number of people made the perfectly legitimate OBSERVATION that Carlo's substitutions v Brighton changed the dynamic so that instead of playing mostly in Brighton's half as we did for 70 minutes of the game, with each substitution we progressively started playing deeper.

The team became more compacted in our half and we had no out ball through midfield to Richarlison and DCL. This clearly resulted in Brighton gaining the ascendency for the one and only time in the game, as demonstrated by the good opportunities they had to score an equaliser.

To label such observation as 'complaining' or 'negative' against the manager is to be a wee bit loose and free with the lexicon.

Plenty, such as myself, fully understood the need to replace fatigued players (Bernard off for Delph on 72 minutes), make tactrical changes (Walcott off for Coleman on 74 minutes), or a possible combination of replacing a player carrying a knock plus a tactical change (Digne off for Mina on 85 minutes).

Each in their own way perfectly legitimate substitutions to make. But unlike yourself and apparently others, I will not be in denial as to the collective consequence of those three substitutions.

I am fully supportive and hugely delighted Carlo Ancelotti is our manager. I believe only good on the playing side will come from his appointment.

Nor do I claim, and nor have I seen anyone claiming, that they know more about football than Carlo.

I am ALWAYS delighted that we kept a clean sheet. But again, I won't be in denial and say as Jay Evans claims @ 51 that "At no point during the game on Saturday -including after the substitutions - did I feel like we were going to concede."

The last 20 minutes of a game we had dominated until then were far more nervy than necessary as, in my and others' opinions, we most certainly did look like we could concede. And the overriding reason for that was a direct result of the substitutions and tactical tweaks that invited Brighton onto us more than at any other time in the game.

I did not, have not criticised the substitutions at Brighton. but I understand why people did. The reasons were screamingly obvious.

In the very first paragraph on this thread those who did were referred to as "Melons"
Then we were given the latest score "serial winner 1. ToffeeWeb moaners 0"
then we were told "its hilarious that people are questioning his substitutions already"
Then we have the claim that people were calling for him to be "sacked after two games" another claim that people are calling him a "fraud" I havent seen either of these claims. Have you ?

I wont pull up every post but there are clearly some who think criticism of Ancelotti isn't acceptable. Thats just a shame for them, because he will get it anyway.

In my opinion Those who DID criticise the substitutions against Brighton are spot on. Just as those who criticised the decision to try to play out of defence using two bollards in midfield against the worlds most aggressive press at Mordor.

This was no classic Italian shut out. it was a series of poor substitutions which turned the faithful into a collective nervous wreck because they completely surrendered the initiative to a team who had offered nothing all afternoon.
The substitutions didnt win us the game. The crossbar and poor finishing by Brighton got us off the hook.

I'd rather We/the club criticise and talk about errors and hope we learn from them. I have never been a fan of sweeping them under the carpet and denying they happened.- They have a nasty habit of resurfacing and repeating themselves when you do that.

The comment on waiting for several transfers was a general response to numerous calls for us to do just that.

This manager will be given less time by the public BECAUSE he is Carlo Ancelotti. Not more

The only thing I'd add, not like I know better, but rather just something to chew on:

Carlo is going to experiment. I didn't see near as much of the playing it out of the back with Brighton as I did with Man City. He saw it didn't work and tweaked that.

Maybe he realized what a heart attack the defensive subs ended up being in the Brighton game, and now he'll tweak that moving forward? Just like he tweaked the playing out of the back after the Man City game. Who knows.

The calls for patience, for me at any rate, are a recognition of this man's depth of knowledge and approach. He needs to go down a much longer experimentation checklist before he has something that he thinks will work. And it will always, with Carlo I believe, be an elastic, ever-changing situation.

And that, for me again, is why I love the guy. There's going to be a lot of bumps in the road, but I believe, more than any Everton Manager I've seen, he will get it right in the end.

I made a comment, and I think I may have posted this before, about who I'd personally want as a manager. My single most important barometer is this:

Does the manager have a system, or does he develop a system with the players at his disposal?

Carlo is the latter. And that will make all the difference.

He's not above reproach or criticism, but when the criticism becomes caustic and full of vitriol, it's not doing anyone any good. Especially Everton at this exact point in time. We need to be more forgiving, and let Carlo do what Carlo does. And give him the time to do it, and the leeway to tinker while he figures it all out.

I didn't like the subs at Brighton at all. But honestly, and you'll not like this, Carlo can basically do whatever the hell he wants right now as far as I'm concerned. Play that Toffee Lady at striker for all I care. I'll forgive him as he explores, tries things, see what works and what doesn't, give players chances in different positions and situations, all of it.

Why? Dude has pedigree. Dude is smart. Dude's a winner. Dude is a stud.

What is wrong with that? This is what we do. Should Ancelotti have a beyond criticism period?

I was one of the 16% who voted against Ancelotti's appointment in the ToffeeWeb poll. That %age has since been derided as wanting Moyes. In fact, I leant towards Arteta and had a slight concern that Carlo's heart might not be in it once he recognised the scale of the work ahead of him.

He's not beyond criticism but he does deserve our full support in the medium term at the very least.

Nothing wrong with legitimate criticism, we as fans have always done it and thats never going to change. But I think some think the guy has hardly had to many training sessions and we are critical already. But I think most are absolutely delighted in his appointment, you will always get the ones who criticize regardless, just so they can come on and say I was right if it doesn't work out. All I would say if this doesnt work out where we go from here as a club I don't know.

And although Peter at #60 just did make a liar out of me by saying he feels Ancelotti shouldn't be judged until "3/4 transfer windows", nothing in his post constituted shouting or stifling either.

Nobody can shut down debate here. You're setting up straw men. Just because somebody disagrees with your opinion doesn't mean they're trying to prevent you from expressing it -- and I should know, because hey, who has disagreed with you more times over these many years than I have?

And in case you were wondering, I too disagreed with a couple of Carlo's actions so far, but in my view he's not going to judge his players by previous performance under other managers -- he's going to run them out there and see for himself, sometimes in lineups or situations we expect to go badly because we've seen them before (Schneiderlin!!!). As Jamie says, he's going to experiment. But long term I do expect him to create great success here. So I guess I'm a happy clapper too.

Enjoy the debate -- and please don't accuse people of trying to stifle it. Ain't happening.

In fairness Daz then did his level best to un-nail his colours immediately CA was appointed but, if prior form is to be a guide, our Daz has but one opinion of our present manager and, if Dazza's correct, we should all have been worried before his reign actually began.

I don't think Dazza's correct, yet, and as a fan I hope he never is.

I'm way more worried about Moshiri being able, or not, to provide CA with the few players minimum needed to get us to the top six and, never mind for this season at least, top four.

You don't appoint a gourmet chef and then give him just beans and bananas to get to Michelin star standards after all.

The most optimistic Times since Howard's Way, let's hope Carlo, can bring back the good days and success.

Turning over West Ham, is a good match to start a winning run.

Hopefully, one or two signings this month, and let's see.

Peter didnt make a liar out of you, he simply illustrated that you have missed a lot of posts from People saying the same thing.

There are people on here who clearly have a problem with criticism of Ancelotti. You don't even need to leave this thread to see that. Its ok to praise him before he has done anything but those offering legitimate crticism are told to reserve judgement.
Football doesnt work that way. A manager doesnt get a half term report. he gets half hourly ones. He gets judged on everything he does from the moment he signs on the dotted.

I also see a few people making nasty claims that their are negative people waiting to say I-told-you-so. Its bollocks. The only people who worry about others saying I told you so are those who are desperate to say it themselves.

Don Alexander

I love that you follow my posts so studiously, I love that you labled me not a true fan,after reading my article, but most of all, I love that you try to sneak onside with the entire article in your last two paragraphs. I dont think its me trying to unail my colours . .do you ?

Unfortunately he has to work with, and use, what he has been left with
No doubt there will be times when his substitutions backfire and the I told you so brigade will be out in force

At present he's doing OK, league wise, with what he has. There will, for sure, be step backs along the way but as long as we see some sort of improvement this season surely that's enough.
It could be worse, Silva could still be here!!!

EFC are always knackered entering the last 15 minutes - or the last 90 minutes when at Mordor. Fresh legs were needed. He put them on and we won. Yes it got squeaky but we won.

If it gets squeaky again v WHU and we win GREAT ! and if it gets squeaky next time we play the RS and we win - FANTASTIC !!

And -- as usual in my debates with you -- I'm right. 😉😛

Carletto has been here 27 days, his contract is for FOUR and a HALF YEARS!!! Do the maths! That is less than 2% of his contract time. of that he has inherited a squad, that we all now recognise is abject, with possibly several exceptions, though I doubt more than two, or three at a push.

Brands and Carletto have (probably) decided rather than trying to buy in new talent, of the correct quality, to get to the summer transfer window; I'll hazard a guess that they think the return of Gomes, Gbamin and Iwobi will give them 'options', and will be like three new signings. Unfortunately, the quality will be unknown until they return to playing again. I.e. Will the injuries hamper their playing ability, or will they be as good (or the same) as before?

Re The thread and posts; I agree that constructive criticism is healthy, I agree that 'artificial harmony' also stifles creative and productive debate, as does a toxic environment. So be happy to agree to disagree without insults and put downs, or even an air of superiority. We're all desiring the same thing after all. Success on and off the pitch for Everton. Challenge decisions, selecion, tactics whatever by all means, but remember we all have the same Love of the same club, so go easy on each other.

Personally, I rate Carletto's appointment as the best thing since Moshiri took over, and before that, the Kendall years. The FA cup win, just made me pine more for the Kendall years...

As long as we keep gaining points and closing in on 6th/7th position, and we offload more debt (I.e. Players) off our books the better.

The AGM didn't fill me with joy due to the financial implications and also the insipid level of inspiration the Chairman and CEO gave me. However, it did at least in part, Brands and Carletto together make me hope for a more successful football team. Yet, as I say 'hope' we'll have more success, but that relationship will take at least a year to come to full fruition I think.

The overriding problem with EFC, in my humble opinion, is the infrastructure, and the existing financial mess we find ourselves in, which needs to be sorted, before we even think about sitting at the top table again.

The players are what we have, it will take time to coach, train, improve, or remove them.
It will take financial room we haven't got as of yet, to bring in Europa/Champions league quality players. Lets not just buy for buyings sake, a mistake previous mangers have made.

BMD should be online for the start of the 23/24 season, if approved. Yet, EFC need to be far more creative and demanding in their commercial workings. Increasing our revenue streams and income is key to going forward, and even relying on European football would be foolish. Yet achieving that goal would be a kick start to the above.

All in all, until the start of next season, we won't have any other driver than to just win as many games as possible or gain as many points as possible and get that 6th place.

It's going to be hard fo the rest of the season, so we need to unite behind the team (every player!) and try and 'push us' up the table. NOTHING else matters this season. Pick up your baton, bang your drum we are Everton! Support the team.

I have faith in Carletto, I have faith in Brands. However, I also believe they will both make mistakes, it is how they deal with them, and what they cost that will matter. BUT not for a while yet for me...

What subs?

I thought Carletto made his subs when required and in the best fashion possible.

The 'hit and hope' strike from Trossard would have been a wonder goal (and I still think JP had enough to stop it, if it was more accurate)

As for Murray, well if Sidibe, Delph AND Mina had actually closed down and tried to tackle Maupay; or even why did Delph and or Sidibe actually not bother to close Maupay down for 20-25 metres..? I guess that was Carletto's plan or instruction to his players.

The simple fact is, yet again, the players were gassed out for the last 15 minutes...

‘The 'hit and hope' strike from Trossard'

That's a bit unfair mate. It was a cracking strike that had Pickford beaten all ends up.

You seem to give Everton the rub of the green in every scenario you itemise. We should have had two pens and we had one legitimate goal. Brighton had two fantastic chances to score also. Let's not pretend we were robbed of a 5-0 romp.

You are right. It did provoke debate. Looking back. There was no criticism of Ancelotti on this thread until people started to attack it. It appears some posters are getting their defence in first.

Lets concentrate on the West ham game. Its going to be more difficult than some will make out, but definitely winnable

These three men are now dots in the rearview mirror of the accelerated modern game. None of them will be offered the very biggest jobs from the top end of the table, anymore.
That's why Ancelotti is here. That's why Mourinho is at Spurs, another club that never wins anything.

The profile of Coach/Manager we need is someone more like Ralph Hasenhuttl (just in case you were wondering).

Ancelotti is full of professional pride, and I'm sure he's excited and up for it.
But this job will break him. It's definitely a younger man's game, trying to make Everton decent again.
If he signs Lewandowski then I will eat my fedora.

What we need is 12 players out - 6 or 7 in. Massive wages, rebuilding a team from scratch. It's going be tough.
The amount of money is what makes me not trust this whole situation.
The way his deal has been setup, with supposed bonuses for avoiding relegation, the length of the contract.
Him and his team aren't taking any chances. It's huge money all round, whether he brings success or failure.
If we were a serious club, he'd be on a two year deal. Show us how good you are, and then you'll get the two year extension.
But no, it's four and a half years!
When it goes wrong here, and he's sacked, his reputation won't be tarnished too much, you know, because Everton is a difficult club to manage etc etc

He can retire to Vancouver, go skiing, chill out. It might slightly annoy him that it didn't go better at Everton, but it's not really going to effect him that much, he's still one of the most successful managers of all time either way.

We land Carlo Ancellotti and have some fans moaning we didn't get David Moyes or Ralph Hasenhuttl.

It's all about opinions, I guess... Crazy opinions.

In that logic — Is there a manager out there good enough?

There are undoubtedly some negative posters that could benefit from a happy pill or two though.

Naming no names.

A new owner buys the building company and invests a lot of money. This in turn encourages a top, top tradesman to come in and manage the company. Everyone knows the new manager is in the top ten all time managers list.

The new manager knows it will take time to turn the company around as he is expected to work with the surplus, below standard materials.

Should the manager be judged on the standard of building while using the sub standard building materials? Or is it fair to wait to judge him when he has top class building materials on site?

I spat my drink out!!!

Napoli are in free-fall.