Doucouré sidelined until early April at least

Knowing us that roughly translates that probably the rest of the season.

Huge loss, as seen last night, absolutely zero energy in that midfield.

Big miss.

Any idea when Delph might be fit again? If ever? Seems too soon to ask Onyango to step in unless its just minutes at the end of games.

I completely forgot all about Fabian Delph, suppose that pretty much tells you about his Everton career, huge mistake and the self-styled leader-gobshite that Ashley Williams was for us.

What you notice when someone like Doucoure is there is that we lack a central midfielder with energy that can carry the ball forward, ok the Duke isn't really Kevin de Bruyne going forward but still we lack that ability to travel with the ball.

For me we will challenge the top four when we improve our right side (fullback included) and sign a midfielder capable of running with the ball and hurting teams.

I'd replace Doucoure with Davies who brings energy, versatility and commitment. The bench will be young for rest of season and I guess some of them will get time on the pitch if circumstances allow.

Be doing well to qualify for Europe but less frequent fixtures may help if squad is stretched. Have to take 3 points from games against low lying teams, and those Newcastle defeats really haunt us

Not being negative, just realistic.

Doucoure's absence is significant but the combination of Allen/Davies/Sigurdsson/Gomes and even Coleman can make do and mend in most games.

Sadly we can forget Delph and Gbamin, with the latter being potentially never again at this level after 2 career-threatening injuries.

That doesn't mean we can down tools, it's up to Allan and Tom Davies to take more responsibility rise to the challenge. Gomesh, Sigurdsson and Iwobi will have to work harder. And who knows, Fabian Delph may be given an opportunity to earn his wages.

Nkounkou is more realistic, but I'd be more inclined to play him ahead of Digne at LW. Even then, it's a throw of the dice which may not pay off.

We will miss him more if Davies and Allan can't stay fit. I hope Coleman comes back soon too as l feel he has been our biggest miss. How we left ourselves so short, well.

We all know what we need in the summer. Iwobi has been found out playing on the right. In fact a lot of us on here wanted to see lwobi tried in the middle when Siggy wasn't on form... then again if he comes inside we have nothing else on the right side.

The shite have had injury problems of course (haha) but we haven't had a settled side OR formation for more than 4 games at a time.

The thing is that unlike a few years back the young players aren't playing well for the u23. JJK, Dowell etc did everything they could at U23 so deserved a chance. The current group have yet to master that level so why would we drop them in the first team?

From now until further notice the midfield will be a diamond consisting of Allan, Davies, Gomes and Sigurdsson with Iwobi and/or Bernard coming off the bench.

Problem is, when you have multiple weaknesses, you can't cover them all up. It's like you get one BandAid and if you have multiple wounds, one of them is going to bleed.

Doucoure out is a massive loss. He's a silkier James McCarthy - covers all the ground and does all the dirty work. He will be missed immensely.

Add to that the fact that Holgate has failed to impress and we miss Seamus, and it all starts to look a bit negative.

We freaking need JRod in the lineup now, and for the rest of the season. His quality can literally snatch a victory from a shite display. With Doucoure out, I feel like we miss James even more.

And this chat about Delph? Just no.

Do we have an imaginative Press Officer or could it be done by the Chairman's imaginative Accountant?

The best, head and shoulders above the rest, young player we have is Antony Gordon.

Whenever he played in the u23s, he was miles ahead of the rest. Earlier in the season, I was among many who thought he should be playing more regularly.

Then he did play and it was clear that he was far from ready.

He's playing for Preston and doing well, sometimes he's affecting games, but he's inconsistent. He regularly get's subbed, and the manager has talked of his ability, but also that he needs to improve in his awareness, decision making etc. And he's the best of the lot.

So we can't really be expecting any of the lads on the bench to offer anything more than bodies to warm the bench, at this current time.

Hopefully they'll all improve from the experience, but ultimately, they are not the answer to our questions. They answer to our current needs will cost about 200 million.

The youngsters literally could not have less impact than Iwobi, Bernard and perhaps Gomes. Holgate looks less and less like a full back with every game.

I'm thinking that under the present regime Rooney might have been on loan at Shrewsbury until he was 25.

Doucoure will be a big miss, I read a post on another site that said he has been the 'lungs of the team' and that just about sums it up for me.

The longer a player has left us the better he becomes in the eyes of the Everton fans.

Young Foden at City is in my book head and shoulders above Mount, Grealish and Maddison, yet he with all his talent isn't a regular starter, admittedly he is playing for the best team in the Premier league. We have had too many players feature in our U23 side who are 21/22 and hardly ever have been involved in the first team squad. Chelsea have used the loan system to perfection they bring in highly talented youngsters then farm them out on loan. Then they decide who they will take back and who they will sell on and its been very lucrative for them, I think we are starting to do that at a much smaller scale. These young players on loan to Championship clubs are playing against better players than they will face at U23 level so its easier to asses whether they will make the grade by loaning them out.

When fit and appropriate James or Siggy can slot in in place of one of the MF.

What's more how many knives would be out for Carlo?

I think he's right - nobody in the U23s is outstanding. It's clutching at straws.

He has pace, can carry the ball forward and works hard defensively or Iwobi?

Is Gbamin even training at all - even by himself?

The reason some of our reinforcements are on loan is the very necessary measure to control the wage bill. Failing to control the wage bill hampers our recruitment drive this summer.

4th this year would be way ahead of schedule and reliant on a lot of luck. Our spending levels seem more obviously designed to keep us competitive with the rich 6 until our stadium is built.

I do think there's a good chance in the cups though under Ancelotti - and the distinct possibility of sneaking top 4 next season in spite of restrained spending (by Rich 6 standards) and squad limitations.

I agree with Brian #37 in relation to loaning out the younger players.

Carlo and Brands are on a 2/3 year team building project.

Tom Davies? Has been given more experience in 1st team and starting to fulfil his promise now. The receding Hibbo/Osman barometer for Tom on ToffeeWeb in recent weeks would confirm that.

Gordon, Branthwaite and Kenny got limited time, not totally convincing, some promise, so now loaned out to get experience at a good level to see if they have a first team future here.

Kean? Jury out. Didn't look good with us, so loan rather than sell. Looks good with PSG. Hard to know.

Delph? Experienced international player with injury record, so we signed him cheap for 8m. Didn't work out. Was worth the wager. Could have been a Barry.

Gbamin ? No previous injury record, just bad luck. Similar to our luck with Konè.

Walcott ? Most will agree, he didn't play well enough, so loan deal took his salary off the books.

Holgate? Doesn't look like a solution at right back. Maybe he could be tried in the Doucoure position. Don't know if he has the speed and endurance ?

Godfrey? Signing of the season for me. Would prefer he is kept at centre back rather than left back or midfield. His pace a huge plus.

Iwobi? Has been disappointing mostly. Not as quick as I expected, but has had his moments.

And so the rebuild goes on. Hopefully it's complete before the stadium. Onwards and Upwards

Einstein said that 'insanity was doing the same thing again and again and expecting to get different results' that is exactly what we do with Iwobi. He starts, plays dreadfully, can't cross a ball to save his life, is absolutely pilloried on here, gets taken off after an hour to be replaced by our invisible Brazilian. Maybe the kids won't work out but how the hell do we know.

Making a bad error in the first 5 mins of his EFC career didn't seem to affect Branthwaite's confidence.
Play them and find out.

Couple of things. Iwobi doesn't do the same thing over and over again. He was man of the match versus Wolves. Sometimes he is good, sometimes he is crap. Branthwaite is of no relevance to Iwobi because he is a central defender and is out on loan. Moreover he is an example of Carlo giving game time to a youngster who seems like he is or might be good enough, even though his loan spell has shown that he has room for improvement. If we are talking about an alternate to Iwobi we'd be looking at Nathan Broadhead. The soon-to-be 23 year old was made available for transfer last summer but based on his form for Everton u23, and Burton, there were no takers. There were no takers in January either. If he couldn't find a club in the lower leagues thinking he was worth a punt, it's not surprising that Carlo hasn't played him. Presumably he isn't at the level of even the "pilloried" Iwobi.

Are you kidding about Gbamin?

I realize his own injury wasn't his own fault but after two years out injured he needs to create out some good will. Recover the long lost Arteta money, negotiate a buyer for Besic, but injuring Docuore? Is this guy just cursed with bad luck or what?

Relevant to our discussion here on bringing young players through, in that Carlo Ancelotti was manager at PSG for some of Ongenda's spell. A couple of interesting quotes.

"Ancelotti was paying a lot of attention to young players. He always wanted you to find a better solution, to learn continuously."

"I thought I wasn't playing enough at PSG. I went to the coach and he said I was going to play more and more. I asked: 'What is more?' He was honest and told me he couldn't know in advance. That's why I went to Bastia. Unfortunately, Makelele was out by November."

My takeaway from this is that Ancelotti has an interest in young players but crucially has the experience and judgement to know which of them are ready to learn and grow as players, physically, technically and mentally.

Hopefully Gordon, Branthwaite, Onyango, Small and Gibson along with a few others can contribute to our first team in the future.

No, he said, it never came from him, but the rumour going round is that Gbamin, caught him in training! The new rumour is a hairline fracture, so maybe not as bad as first feared, if true?

The best thing about the conversation though was when we got talking about Ancellotti. I said I didn't think Moshiri, was the man in charge, because he's “only” worth about £1.2 Billion, has already spent around £500 million, and said he didn't want Everton, to be taking up as much of his time, as it has so far, and yet he's already invested half of his fortune into the club. He was smiling and said when Ancellotti, spoke to Everton, he never spoke to Moshiri, he spoke to the main man. It's gonna be okay eventually Kieran!!!

Frank, good posts at #51 and #63. Godfrey is a great example of a young player whom Carlo considered ready, and he plugged him right in.

Phil #56, agreed that neither Holgate nor Godfrey is a likely plug-in to Duke's role. The five you mentioned plus Bernard should cover the midfield.

Hopefully the "main man" gets his checkbook out again this summer. There's an old bike shed near Finch Farm that needs naming rights. I'd value it at a cool 100 million -- for first option to get naming rights.

Strange that Gbamin isn't even in the conversation. Maybe he wont recover to the required standard.

Good old Northern comedy, if you like the film Kes, this is for you.

IMO Rabiot is a box to box midfielder. He's in between a Gomes and Doucoure, left footed and tall. Average pace, good energy, good passer and runner with the ball.

Right now he's an upgrade on Gomes, Davies and possibly Doucoure. Sounds good but not a big upgrade. Not wanting to be greedy but I would want better, someone who can score a few goals.

Rashford vs Ric.. Rashford in an attacking sense. Pace, dribbling, shooting. Ric does so much defending for the team. He's frustrating at times but he is incredibly hard working. That's a great trate for a young forward.

I think why not give Ric a rest and start King. But then I realise what the team lacks without him.

Brian #82, thanks for that. My diary fairly empty on a 5k no visits lockdown in Ireland.

Justin and Frank, a hearty "NO" from this Juve supporter to Rabiot. He's immensely talented. Also totally unproductive. Today's meaningless goal was only his third of the season. He has zero assists. Zero. And he's the clown in the wall who jumped up and let the free kick scoot under him to get Juve knocked out today. Better than Gomes? Certainly. Worth his ridiculous price? No, no, no.

I was thinking the same thing. We've already deployed the lad in three positions I don't think it does his development any good to turn him into Alan Harper just yet

The rumours about Gbamin being involved in injuring Doucouré are surely the mischievous imaginings of someone who believe's a bit too readily in the law of Mr Murphy. Has Gbamin even started training with the rest of the first team yet? I assumed he was still doing his own rehabilitation programme.

How do you measure fitness if not against a performance level, and in what aspects will he fall short?

Would they even let him ‘mix it' with the first-team squad in training if it looked like he was still miles away from playing?

By 'performance level', I mean speed, quickness -- whether he'll still have enough of those to be a Premier League footballer. Athletes suffering these injuries tend to lose a certain degree of explosiveness. Like Yakubu. And Beckham.

Pace was one of the few things missing from his game in fact.

Now that you mention that song, it's very appropriate in these troubled times. 'No New Year's Day to celebrate'. 'No wedding Saturday in the month of June', 'No Halloween', 'No Christmas cheer'. We could add 'No Goodison trips'.

Didn't Stevie say he was glad Everton never went to Kirkby, after they lost the case? I'd love to know why he was hellbent on taking us there if he didn't even want us to go there Frank?

I assume you'll be phoning Dave and singing him the song. Hopefully we can meet up post game after the madness and sing a song for Dave, probably not 'My Boy Bill' lol

Later in the day I watched a favourite black and white film of mine “ Detective Story” with Kirk Douglas, William Bendix, Eleanor Parker and Horace McMahon, saw it on “ The Kings” in London Road over sixty years ago, most probably bunked in to see it!!

Wasn't bad Dave but to me Eddie Flanagan closely followed by George Roper took some beating.

"Oink" Peters ring any bells.

What puzzles me is the number of ''deadbeats'' still on the books such as Besic and Bolasie etc. who seem to be out of contention for a first team game every week and yet other such as Bernard and Iwobi at least make the bench but very rarely contribute anything.

Perhaps there will be finally a clear out come the end of the season by the manager to make room for one or two first class replacements.

I get a no fed up with people bashing “deadbeat” Bolasie. He isn't even here he's out on loan and out of contract in three months. Coleman said he “didn't deserve” to be left out of the squad based on his efforts. He had a terrible injury, he did his best to come back. He's not a deadbeat. He's a good lad who worked his way up the ladder from the bottom.

He reminds me of our James.

And, to some extent, that's a compliment Senor Rodriguez.

Be nice if you could outdo him though.

We need to make sure this summer that we have another fantastic transfer window, we can't afford to rest on our laurels even if we do get top six.

We need more dynamic going forward, there can't be any dispute that we need to start adding more goals to our team.

We ain't ready for top 4 this season. How can we overtake Chelsea and Spurs with Kane, Son and Bale? With our lack of goals and limp midfield. Carlo has done great steps with what he has, but he ain't a miracle worker.

He's still the best player by a mile. So if we can get 20-25 games a season from him, that's gonna help us.

But it also reiterates the need to have a bigger squad.

While.Siggy can sub for James, in reality Siggy just isn't talented enough to warrant playing free role no10, we'd be better off with a more conventional right wide-forward

I don't think Carlo or Brands expected us to be up there with a shot of 4th. Maybe they also expected James to be available for more games. I like Richarlison in the middle but tomorrow l would move him back left and try to get DCL scoring again.

Big stakes, big hearts and desire to go the extra 5 miles every game now.

Forget about the rest, reputations are as good as the last result, noes the time to rally.

Massive game and to beat Burnley in a must-win game. One hell of a Sri tonight so Everton must be ready for Burnley and the elements.