Premier League — Matchweek 28 & FA Cup

And the games that won't be on UK TV tonight are:

Brighton & Hove Albion vs Crystal Palace

Southampton vs Brentford

Probably worth keeping an eye on as I see a couple of names there who are in the mix!

C'mon, Bees!

Circle the drain, Saints!

Just now noticed that jideous Hollywood logo on the Brentford kit. Ghastly!

Brighton 1-0 CP. yay!

Palace absolutely battering Brighton, and could have been 2 up, but with their first real meaningful attack, Brighton score.

Southampton don't look like they have many ideas v Brentford. They'll need a bit of luck. The color commentary on this match is brilliant though, I have to look him up.

David Connolly

Brentford 1-0. Toney.

Good now I can peak at the RS go down. Damn it Benzena should have scored

Palace should be down to ten men. Doucoure, already booked, takes a Brighton player clean out. Free kick given but no yellow, then red card. Apparently it wasn't a straight red card, so the VAR can't intervene. What a load of shite.

Watching the Brighton game and another poor ref decision.

They give a yellow card for a strong tackle but refuse to give the second for a dangerous tackle. Palace should be down to 10 men

Doucoure again, takes out Veltman, but again no second yellow. What the fuck is this referee doing? It's a nap Vieira will now sub Doucoure.

Bill, it's beyond belief. How is Doucoure still on the pitch? Well at the moment he's not cos it's half time, and I doubt we will see him in the second half.

Going our way so far. Where refereeing is going lately, I don't know.

Rob,

If the Palace manager doesn't sub Doucoure, they deserve to get beat. Doucoure reminds me of the monopoly game with 2 Get Out of Jail Free cards.

Madrid should have been 2 up by now!

Doucoure subbed. What a surprise!

Power cut at Brighton. Some lights have gone out, scoreboard gone off, and officials have no communication. Game now suspended.

Game back on. 👍👍👍

Rob

Malaysian betting syndicates probably cashing in right now

More like Toney, Kieran. He had a bet on a power cut!

Rob LMAO too true

I think the commentary is from Gary Birtles, not David Connolly, btw.

The Asthmaticos don't seem to have what it takes.

Not the wheeze they hoped it might be, Dale.

Gopd to see you Brent. Hope things are going well for you and your better half.

Coming along nicely, Dale. Thanks, mate.

Hopefully Dyche will get to take Everton to Turf Moor next season – it would be great to see how Everton do.

Kompany, however, may be a wanted man?

Turned over to watch the Southampton game; the only difference is the standard of refereeing is worse than the Brighton game!

Brentford 2 up!!!

Yessss. It's all going swimmingly.

Brighton hold on.

Bill, no wonder Saints fans are furious about Tella's loan. He's got another hat-trick.

Really good set of results tonight.

Keep positive, Blues!

Two good results for us, I think we will need more like that with our next three games coming up.

Great stuff. Palace go to Arsenal on Sunday. I can see us going past them in the next few weeks.

Southampton have to go to Spurs too.

I'm starting to believe.

Excellent results, plenty of twists and turns to come though, every point is going to count.

Jay,

Southampton are at home to Spurs, where they have been absolute gash.

That gets Palace looking over their shoulder…

Good results tonight favouring Everton, and now for Saturday v Chelsea.

UTFTs!

Benzeeeeeeemaaaaaa.

Carlo does the RS again, lol.

Woohoo!!!

Get in, Carlo!!!

Carlo really has got the measure of Klopp, that ghastly FA Cup game aside.

Carlo is a class act.

Battered that shower yet again.

I just realised this lad Nathan Tella who is banging them in for Burnley – they are surely going u – is on loan from Southampton – who are surely going down!

Funny old game!

Aye, Allen – Saints supporters aren't too chuffed about it, apparently.

The old, has-been dinasour somehow manages to win again.

Carlo Magnifico.

They played that song.

Feel sick.

Some results in our favor today (not to mentIon the RS).

Keeps things close enough with a difficult game at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Just reading a clip that says Everton are 14th in the division for net spend over the last 5 years. Wolves, Villa, West Ham, Newcastle and even Forest have spent more according to this tweet?

Chelsea, Spurs and Man Utd. Anyone actually think we are getting any points from that lot? I don't.

An old fella told me after Everton's game on Saturday that David Raya, the Brentford goalkeeper, started his career as an 18-year-old with Southport before he was signed by Blackburn Rovers. I wonder what the Everton scouts were doing at the time – not to mention the Liverpool ones.

Those figures are skewed, Tony, imo.

We stopped spending about 2 years ago now – while quite a few other clubs have spent really big in that time.

And many promoted clubs sort of need to get that net spend up to catch up with more established Premier League clubs. We never really needed to do that.

It's good that we've stabilised our net spend though, because we might have gone bust otherwise (or been docked points or relegated).

But because it's been forced on us, we've done it at the expense of the first-team squad which has really deteriorated in quality.

So net spend was a big problem. Now the problem is a poor squad and no money to improve it.

Paul (51)

Give you your due, you're very consistent. Keep it up – you'll cry us home into safety!!

To think he was our manager. We were blessed.

Dave, Paul has recently had us down as getting beat at home to Arsenal and Brentford, and also losing at Forest.

We will get a minimum of four points from these next three games. Will beat Spurs at home and get a point at Man Utd.

Yes, Robert, it just highlights our mismanagement, but I'm sure we are not alone. It's the wages that seem to be our biggest problem, even though, like you say, we now have a limited squad.

Rob (56),

Give me an optimistic fan like yourself any day, rather than voice a depressing opinion week after week. I won't be surprised if we get a point at Chelsea on Saturday and possibly do even better…

As long as I keep predicting we lose, but we don't. I will be well happy.

Paul, why the white flag ? We're are more organised, harder to beat and seem capable of poaching a goal one way or another these last few weeks. Chelsea are inconsistent and have injuries, Man Utd have lost the influential Casemiro, there is flux and inconsistency within Spurs, Conte will be gone soon.

You may well be right but fuck that for a starting point, get stuck right into them, give them nothing and fight. This is Everton, a proud professional football club with the best support in the land. We can, and are proving to be, competitive under Dyche. We deservedly beat the clear top team only three weeks ago, so why not take a few points off these three lower teams?

COYBLUES ! Fight for every point no matter what the opponent.

Tony I'm a pessimist I admit. But that's what 43 year a blue does for you.

And in those 43 years, Paul, Everton have never been relegated, so what's your point?

Granted we have come very close on three occasions; however, the support at the Grand Old Lady and those magnificent away supporters have dragged us over the line. I fully expect the same again, so as others have said, we're happy for you to carry on being negative or pessimistic.

Tthe rest of us are happy for Dyche and the team to keep proving you wrong while we concentrate on supporting and dragging them over the line, once again.

Three great results today for all of us.

The Top 10 are all playing for European places and the Bottom 9 all fighting relegation.

Only Villa who look like they'll have fuck-all to play for, just mad that.

None of us have anything to be pessimistic about, when you watch what this young Evertonian has already been through in his short life. As usual the Everton players did him proud on his visit to Finch Farm.

Harry and Jordan

Barry, agreed & yes those players led by England's number one were great with the young lad & did our club proud.

Paul Hewitt, I absolutely get it. I bow to no one in glass-emptiness and Everton wrecked my nerves last season and are doing it again.

Honest to God, checking every result, every point, every team's remaining games, every negative post on this site, every positive post, has fucked my mental health. Yes, it's totally unreasonable, over the top and mental.

But Everton remaining in the Premier League is essential, vital. We will not be relegated.

Following the full time whistle, the speakers at the Bernabeu played Liverpool's iconic anthem You'll Never Walk Alone. Although he didn't know for certain, Ancelotti hinted at the club's reason for doing this.

“I didn't know (why it was played), but it's very good. Liverpool is a gentlemen's club, and they helped us remember Amancio in the first leg. It was a very nice gesture from them.”

I don't suppose the phrase "gentleman's club" has the same meaning in Italian as it does here?

Barry @ 65, I watched that video and it almost wiped me out.

What that young lad has had to endure, and how he has overcome it! We should all moan less (me included).

It's all about momentum and improvement now.

Palace looked 100% safe, but they have not won in their last 11 games and scored 4 goals since the New Year.

We are not great but Dyche has them organised, so hopefully we can keep grinding out results. The bottom 3 might be a bit of a surprise at the end of the season.

I don't think the 3,000 or so travelling to Stamford Bridge on Saturday are going with the expectation of not picking something up. We will go with belief and get right behind that team of ours.

I don't think any of us go to or watch the match expecting to lose.

We can get points from these upcoming matches. It may not be pretty. It may give me breathless moments. But we can and we will.

We can absolutely pick up a point on Saturday. If the Forest result goes our way, that could be massive.

Paul Hewitt, go and sit in a dark room with a hot towel around your head. It's therapeutic. Then watch Howard's Way. It might cure you and give you optimism.

At 43, I'm assuming you maybe just missed out on the 80s triumphs?? Or just about remember them?? Not sure, I'm guessing.

My poor youngest brother (34) vaguely remembers the 1995 FA Cup. My son (28) was only 5 months old. Those poor dedicated Evertonians who have been season ticket holders and followed Everton all around the country and Europe over the years. They often look at me as if I'm a madman with my ramblings. But they don't stop believing, even I am considered a lunatic who is living in the 1980s!!

I made reference recently to one of my favourite films, Kelly's Heroes. I don't know if you've seen it, but if I use the characters, you are Moriarty and I am Oddball. You keep hitting us with the negative waves and vibes. Try, just try, to be more positive.

Our team is now fighting. Others are dropping. We are in this fight together and marching down the Fulham Road with pride, chests beating and songs singing on Saturday.

Join in and be part of it. Whether that is in the ground or screaming at the TV, along with those around the globe tuning in at ridiculous hours of the day and night.!

Come on, Paul. Come on, Everton. We can do this. We will do this.

Danny, last night's results just show how vital our win on Saturday actually was.

Whatever about the fans walking down the Fulham Road, you can be sure that Sean Dyche with captain Coleman and his men will be heading to Stamford Bridge expecting something from the game.

We have kept 3 clean sheets since the manager took over and there is every reason to believe that Number 4 will be notched up on Saturday.

Danny # 73

You should know… “A leopard never changes its spots”!

Keep moaning, Paul, I even tried it the other week myself mate, because when I see an optimistic ToffeeWeb, it seems like Everton always get beat!

I used to look forward to George McKane's terrific match day posts, which definitely filled my Scouse-Evertonian soul with both happiness and pride but then I began to realise that, the better George wrote, then the worse Everton played.

My match partner for most of my adult life could easily have been on the comedy stage but, when it comes to Everton, he's always had a very pessimistic nature, and it always ends with “I can feel it in my bones!”

With the International break only a week away, I wonder what Southgate will do in respect of Ivan Toney. He is clearly the best striker behind Harry Kane, but with the investigation into him gambling on football and reports suggesting he has pleaded guilty to many of the cases he is charged with.

Will Southgate leave him out of the squad as maybe some will think that selecting him would send out the wrong impression?

Going back to the friendlies a few months back against Italy and Germany, Toney was in the squad but didn't get a minute on the pitch, which seemed very strange at the time.

I wonder if the FA informed Southgate of the ongoing case against Toney after he had already been selected for the squad, and that's the reason he didn't get any playing time?

Danny Bally, are you changing your mind?

You had us relegated in November. Good you are seeing cause for optimism.

Unlike Paul!

Barry (65),

I think Harry hit a nerve with anyone who had a look at that video. Jordan was visibly moved reading about him; what a start to his young life and how he has learned to live with it and hopefully overcome the traumas he has been through along with his mum.

He was overawed meeting his idol Jordan Pickford and the other players who were brilliant the way they treated the lad, undone his nerves made him laugh and laughed genuinely as Harry started to show his real self and became a confident boy the more he was with them. I had to try and hold the tears in myself but failed.

The very best wishes for Harry and his family in the future.

What a goal by Sporting Lisbon. Ramsdale chipped from about 50 yards.

There is no Europa League thread so I thought I'd drop in and tell you what a wondergpal Pedro just scored from inside the midline. Arsenal is in a scrap now.

Why can't we have a squad like Sportings' with a fraction of what we've spent on dross!?
WAIT! I think we all know the answer.

Soren #81

If we knew the answer we'd all be making millions. But we'ee not...we're posting on ToffeeWeb.

I will never be convinced that Southgate knows what he' s doing.

He has picked some of his usual brown-nosers again like Henderson, Deir, Maguire and Phillips who's club form does not warrant selecton.

Yes, Toney is a good striker and wish Everton had him but with the charges over him still to be resolved one wonders if his head will be in the right place.

The quicker Southgate goes the better.

Penalties at The Emirates.

Form table Since Sean Dyche took over at Everton

All teams seven games

Wolves W3 D1 L3 pts 10

Everton W3 D1 L3 pts 10

West Ham W2 D3 L2 pts 9

B/Mouth W2 D2 L3 pts 8

Leicester W2 D1 L4 pts 7

South/ton W2 D1 L4 pts 7

Leeds Utd W1 D2 L4 pts5

Forest W1 D2 L4 pts 5

Palace W0 D3 L4 pts 3

Danny, so many positive waves. Maybe we can't lose. You're on.

Arsenal out!

Arsenal lose 5-3 on penalties. A penalty saver Ramsdale ain't. Some of his attempts were pathetic.

Brendan, the answer is sensible and wise recruitment.

Soren #89

Can't disagree with that

Well, in Derek, a good tonic, and a fair reflection of the work Sean Dyche and his Team have done with this Everton squad, to date.

Arsenal's, meltdown tonight, lets hope, it's a glitch, they

I'm an optimist, all matters EFC. I hope Arsenal recover and spark out their opponents, in their next four games. It would help Evertons cause.

But this season, has a long way to go, and Everton, will prevail.

UTFTs!

The inevitable has occurred and Palace have sacked Patrick Vieira this morning. Let's hope it takes a while before they get the new manager bounce thing.

Hoping the Barcodes do us a favour tonight.

Yep. Quick poll: was Viera that bad or did Parrish get twitchy? Ooh it was by phone call to the training pitch. Tacky.

Perhaps a clue, he has Yank partners.

Frank Lampard is in the mix to become palace manager! Happy days.

Willock should have scored there

Is that Saint-Maximin trying for the most bandages worn in a match record?
Ffs if he's that sore should he be playing?

This referee must have shares in Nottingham Forest how have they avoided yellow cards for so many poor fouls?

That was shit from the Barcodes.

Very cute finish!

Brian, he will be mummified by the end of the season.

Oh shit! Looks like we've got the WRONG Nigerian!

And that St Maximin looks like another Royston Drenthe. Lots of trickery with no end product!

Newcastle are on a right downer now. They won't finish anywhere near the European spots.

Rob @104
I don't think the barcodes are much better than us at the minute. I can't believe it's twelve months to the day that we beat them at Goodison thanks to Iwobi's late winner.

I'm a bit conflicted I have to say. A stalled Newcastle project would be beautiful. That luck does not look good, second one off the bar.

Come on Newcastle put 4/5 past them

Did I see that correctly? It looked as if Graeme Jones told Eddie Howe to do one, but in far more colourful language

Barcodes equalize

1-1. Not deserved though, cos Newcastle have been poor. Barry, certainly looked like Graham Jones was telling Howe to do one, and Howe just seemed to accept it!

1-1 I'll take it. NF should be down a couple though.

Barry, yes, it was very clear, and then the Skunks scored.

Good improvised finish by Isaak. Eddie Howe reacted like a child being told off by his mum. Comical.

Well that was decent all around the box. 1-2 Newcastle

Ruled out but i thought the defender touched it Maybe an initial offside position affected the play later.

Played on not once but twice by two different defenders?

Surely that is a new phase of play? I just don't geddit.

Only watched the 2nd half, Forest looking very poor, they are getting sucked right into it. Bruno Guinemares playing well in midfield. Why was the goal ruled out ?

How the fuck was that offside? Twice a Forest player smashed the ball against a Newcastle player, so surely that means he's onside?

Rob, I can't work that one out.

How the fuck is that offside? Their defender kicks it at him and he tries to jump out of the way!! You can't be offside if the last touch is from an opposition player. I fucking swear down these cunts make it up as they go along to suit their agenda.

And how is that dirty ugly big pointy nosed bald prick Shelvy still on the pitch? At the moment it feels like there is an agenda against Everton and one to keep the Red Shite in the running for the Champions League.

We need Mr Gaynes.

He's the only one who claims to understand this utter bullshit that now passes for 'rules of the game'.

BBC

“It is decided that Sean Longstaff did play a role in the build-up and is therefore offside.”

Anybody know why Gordon isn't even in the squad? Perming his hair?

So now we know, in future just smash the ball against a forward who looks in an offside position, and you will get offside.

Unless it's against the shite, Rob.

I'm no Barcodes fan but these are a proper shithouse outfit all round.

Injured ankle and bruised ego, Larry. Check the interview.

Clearly, Nick. A sudden change in the offside law comes into play then.

Been shit all match that one. Geez

Like they did in the CL final with the evil cheating bastards, Rob

I hated these shithouses in the 80's and now I remember why. Poxy. As. Fuck

Nick, I haven't watched any of their Champions League finals since 2005.

Lol, Rob. It was the highlights reel 👍

Newcastle should be clear, home and hosed here. Poor finishing, good goalkeeping, terrible referee, VAR somehow keeping Forest alive.

And luck, Tony

I wasn't watching 'til just now so don't know if this applies, but...

A forward becomes played on(side) if the touch by the defending player was a deliberate action, unless that defender was defending a ball played at or near to the goal (worded something like that).

But who knows anymore.

“It's a subjective decision”

Hahahaha. So they DO make it up!

I guess if you want to call an offside you just keep going back until you find one

Larry, Gordon's injured his ankle pretty badly in the City game two weeks ago and he's likely out several more weeks.

Michael K, the rationale is that Longstaff was in an offside position when the original pass was played. They would have ruled that the first defender didn't play the ball back, he just blocked the pass.

Personally, I think it's insanity. Or, in your words, utter bullshit. Never in the 140-year pre-VAR history of the game would that have been called offside. Ever. The same is true with all the unintentional handballs that are being called.

Penalty!

They'll miss this.

Justice triumphs. The VAR taketh away, and now the VAR giveth.

Could be offside, Tony.

Well deserved.

Yessss!

2-1. Keeper barely moved.

That's got to be a penalty… and they score Newcastle winning 4 min to go.

Yay. Fuck that bad call. You are shit Tierney

No VAR after the pen?

Wouldn't surprise me if these pinch one

Hopefully the Skunks, will see this game out.

VAR after the pen is automatic, Will. You'll note the ref waited until he heard confirmation in his ear.

Yessss! 12th place awaits

Mike, I kinda meant, something happening.

Will # 135. What game was it at Mordor, where a defender trying to clear a header, flicked it on to salad, who was in an offside position, but was deemed to be onside, and thus scored. Surely the offside goal tonight was exactly the same. The defender was trying to play the ball, and therefore the Newcastle player was onside. Anyway, justice done as the skunks win.

Another result with a nice blue tinge to it.

Things continue to go our way. Forest loses and Palace sacks Vieira. Excellent day.

Is that Kelly Dalglish fucking stupid? Did she say Forest look relatively safe?

Highly unlikely, but depending on other results over the weekend, then Forest could be in seventeenth place come Sunday night. They don't look relatively safe to me.

Didn't see it, Rob, read what's posted here. I think the distinction is whether the defender's touch is blocking the ball from travelling towards goal.

Was the ball the defender played going towards goal? No doubt it will be on the highlights.

Thanks, Mike.

Can you now generalize to say that, if a player is offside when the ball is played forward by an attacker in the build-up to a goal, that he can be penalized after one, two... (how many?) defenders have subsequently played the ball before he then gets involved in the move?

Or is there some deliberate action threshold involved, as Will @135 suggests?

Forest in trouble I think. Their next two matches will go a long way to deciding their fate, home v Wolves away v Leeds.

After those two matches they have a run of five difficult games they won't get many points from.

Rob, spot on, and to also mention in the said game the fucking VAR cameras somehow lost sight of the game for a few seconds and Wolves' goal was disallowed, which I reckon if it stood would have led to Wolves wining that FA Cup game.

UTFTs!

Cheers Paul. I couldn't remember which game it was. Funnily enough, that was also the game where nobody could see an offside for the Wolves “winner”, so I know, we'll disallow it anyway.

Paul, Rob - it's the colour red that makes the difference.

Michael, I believe the distinction is determined by whether the VAR has his head up his ass or merely his thumb in his mouth.

But to be serious, yes, Will's statement is correct and that's the standard. The first defender involved didn't deliberately play the ball back. He blocked the initial pass and the ball then went backward in Longstaff's direction, where he was in position to smother the second defender's clearance.

Justice done in the end. Barcodes nearly done by poor refereeing.

Should have had a penalty early on before Forest scored. Referee's incompetence so evident in this game.

It really is a crap shoot between nine teams now.

If we're still doing Paddy's day weather reports.. .it was pretty good in Derry and Donegal.

Actually had the first glass of wine of the year outside on the patio... three in fact!

Big day tomorrow for Everton & Ireland.

Should have had that prick Shelvy sent off too. Did one of them scissor tackles against us and got away with it, the snide.

Apart from anything else, Forest have the worst goal difference in the Premier League so, erm, yes, they are in the shit.

Tom, it is indeed.

We've improved, had better results, had other results go in our favour, and for all that, we're still right in it really. Every game is going to be vital.

Will, had we not got those results we would almost certainly be down.

As it stands, we are alive and kicking and probably in a much better position than any of us anticipated after the loss to Southampton.

We can do this.

UTFT!

Neil, yes - a measure of how tight it is and a reminder that there will be no let-up of the pressure. This said, I'm feeling pretty positive about things too.

I'm surprised Vieira has gone. I had looked at the Premier League table and matches left, I didn't consider Palace a relegation risk.

The difference being I thought Vieira competent and capable. I think Palace are in the mix now.

Wake up Spurs, damn. Poor Richy comes off in the 4th minute.

Richarlison walking off in tears in the 4th minute. That's gotta be very bad.

Apparently Richarlison had gone down in the warmup.

Spurs are letting Soton play into some confidence rather than pressing them. Conte do better than that?

Now THAT'S a finish. Take a lesson, Blues. 0-1 Spurs.

Yes! A nice pass cuts the Saint defence and Porro smashes it past the keeper top near corner. 0-1 Spurs

Nice finish!

Results going are way at the moment, just need a Wolves equaliser to get the full set.

Yes Jeff, going to order at the moment, long way to go yet.

5 mins added time on injury time excessive. Like he was waiting for Southampton to score.

Ffs, equalizer for saints, Leeds 2 up now!and to compound matters bloody Leicester have equalised too!

Kilusevski delivers Kane finishes. 1-2 Spurs

Makes it look easy, a proper quality striker.

3 /1 for Tottenham

3/2 for Tottenham

Would be devastating for Leeds to lose a three goal lead. 2-3 ten minutes left.

Premier League eh? Brilliant save by Foster

Southampton get a penalty last min Ward Prowse to take it he scores 3/3

What a freaking terrible call in the Spurs - SH game. How is that a pen? Like seriously, that's the shittiest pen call I've seen.

That penalty is a microcosm of why so many 'Mericans don't like soccer. You just decided a game by making a crap call with minimal contact, and the player hammed it up and made a show of it to dupe the ref.

Just crap.

Only one result gone our way today, more vital now we take something from this game?

Well said Jamie 192. Absolute JOKE. Referees and VAR. Diabolical decision for penalty.

Four points separate 20th and 12th. FOUR POINTS.

Insane season.

Well as we say VAR is a joke that was not a penalty. Shows how things can change Leeds with a win go from19th to 14th. and we drop to 17th

Dude we just need a point from this. It's London. We don't "do" London well.

Points are precious. More so this season than any other I can remember because of the logjam in the standings.

I'd snap your hand off for a draw today.

Sky producing stats to try to show us as a long ball team, pre Dyche our 10 pass moves where 11th in league, with Dyche were down to 19th
, my point is them 10 pass moves where dicking about with it at the back, now we get it to where it matters most and quickly, the opposition's half!

Just seen the Conte outbursts after poxy Southampton scraped another jammy point. Agree with every single thing he said. Spuds are a shithouse outfit. 2 league titles, last one in 61. Flat track bullies. More interested in the money. But they think and believe they are a big club.

So multiply that Conte rant by 100x (the not winning and not wanting to play under pressure) you have Kenwrights Glass-ceiling, roll-over Everton. And never complain. Never question the shitty decisions every week for years and years.

A million times I've said it and still half the fanbase haven't got a clue. If you still don't think Kenwright is the root cause of all of this, then you're not an Evertonian. We need that honesty, and Dyche is bringing it but he needs a proper club, board and management behind him.

So let's get rid of this bastard and all the hangers-on and make sure this never happens again.

I'm still coming down from last night and have just seen the Conte interview.

Well, this will get interesting as he's vocally and publicly set his stall out.

Let's see how Levy reacts.

I'm not sure of the stats, but I don't believe Conte hangs around anywhere too long.

Danny,

Conte's contract ends in June so it looks like he has made up his mind he is leaving.

Good time for us to be playing Spurs, I wish it was next week. Can't see the players responding well to his criticism.

As for Levy….

Before we play Spurs on a Monday, here are the games all our rivals play before us that weekend.

Arsenal v Palace (today) then after the international break it's

Arsenal v Leeds
Bournemouth v Fulham
Palace v Leicester
Forest v Wolves
West Ham v Southampton

Games in hand on us from our rivals (West Ham have 2 games in hand)

Leeds v Forest
Leicester v Villa
West Ham v Newcastle
Man City v West Ham
Bournemouth v Brighton

With so many teams playing each other it's going to be very interesting and nerve-racking.

I didn't realise that, Steve.

Derek, a few of us were talking after the match last night.

There are a lot of twists and turns to be had, but we mostly agreed, all we can do is look after ourselves.

Danny,

Spurs can sack Conte and bring in a new manager before we play them, but it won't make a blind bit of difference, because we are going to turn them over at a raucous Goodison Park under the lights on a Monday night.

Bottle that atmosphere from last night, Rob, and our players will be pumped with theirs not knowing what's hit them.

We are going to be competitive in all of our remaining games, all of them. I expect us pick up a minimum of 13 points over the period and end up with a minimum of 39 points.

We are looking a half-decent team and, with the confidence gained from the support, we will be fine.

Still on a real high and I can't wait for Spurs.

Rob, we are a point up on your predictions already!

I listened to the press conference that Conte gave after the game yesterday. No surprise to hear the two ex-players on MotD saying he was wrong to say what he did.

I absolutely disagree and even the pundits had to agree that they couldn't disagree with anything he said, but they reckon it should have been said in the confines of the dressing room.

But he criticized the owner, the chairman, the ethos of the club – how would saying that in the dressing room have the desired effect. He told them "If you don't change, you will stay the same Spurs that finishes 6th or 7th and wins nothing."

I think, if I was a Spurs fan, I would be thanking him for saying what he did. I also think he has to take responsibility for his team surrendering a 2-goal lead to the bottom club.

But you can't question Conte's passion and bravery for saying what he did. I would just add that we could be meeting the most committed Spurs side or one that throws in the towel.

It will be be interesting to see how Lewis and Levy accept his comments… also depends on the reaction of the Spurs fans, I suppose.

Brian @209,

Much of what Conte said last night chimes with so much that has happened at Everton in the last few years. It's so easy for the decision-makers at a club to sacrifice the manager for the poor results and performances from the players.

Man Utd, Chelsea, Spurs and others have suffered from so-called player power in the recent past and I think Conte is making the point that it's happening at Spurs today, and whilst he probably doesn't want to be part of its future, he has flagged up where he believes the real issues lie.

There are too many over-rated players in this league who believe that they are way better than they actually are, and as Dyche has shown at Goodison, it's the whole team that wins or loses a game, quality individuals are important, but nobody is anything unless they are a team player.

Conte's criticism was also largely aimed at the culture of the club. Too used to living on Easy Street with an acceptance of mediocrity.

Sounds familiar… and can only be changed when the owner and board as well as the coach and players won't accept it any longer.

Barry @210

Where I do agree with Conte is how some clubs have the expectation of winning trophies and others don't, and a lot of what he said applies to the type of player we have bought since the Kendall years. Mostly, the players we sign are at the end of their careers or players who have done well with clubs who have won nothing.

Dyche talks a lot about the mentality of players and, as Conte said, some players don't like to play under that pressure, and that's the reason they don't win trophies. I think a winning mentality is the most important thing in a player's make-up,

There are many good players in the Premier League but it's that winning belief that runs through successful clubs that I believe is the biggest thing. That produces a confidence and an expectation on players that just isn't there amongst the teams who don't win trophies.

I suspect that what Conte said at the press conference last night, he has being saying behind closed doors for months. He is a winner and only interested in projects where he can win.

Seventh place is of no interest to him, unlike the owners of some clubs! His error was not to understand that he was joining a club who had grown used to and had an acceptance of not being winners.

62 years since they last won the league tells the tale.

I've been watching Sheffield United in the FA Cup this season and have noticed Doyle and McAtee and thought to myself they're good players someone should snap them up, but the commentator just informed me that they are both on loan from Manchester City!

Well, Ornstein, who may be a twit (still trying to make it out), says Conte leaving is an accepted conclusion. He might still be there but only for the payout. We'll take it.

Neil # 208…

Yep, I had us down as maybe a defeat at Chelsea, so my minimum number of points has increased by one!

Barry, when you say the commentator just informed you, do you mean he phoned you up and told you personally? 😄😄😄

Cracking cup-tie between Sheffield United and Blackburn, you know you're getting on in years when the lad who scored the winner is the grandson of players you watched as a youth, Mike Doyle and Glyn Pardoe.

What happens if Blades draw Man City in the Semi-Finals, are both the loan players from Man City ineligible to play against their parent club?

Rob @217,

I'm not that important, Rob, it was just a text. :)

Barry, 😅😅😅😅

Arsenal 1-0.

Yay. 1-0 Arsenal. Martinelli.

On form we are no longer among the most likely to drop. Schedule is a concern but I can't see.any teams below putting together a string of wins and they all play each other.

2-0. Should be about four already. Saka with the second.

Derek @ 203,

"Interesting" is one word for how it's all panning out!

The positives are there for all to see; result being, we are the only team in the bottom 9 that's unbeaten in the last 3 games.

Pragmatically, as of now we are only truly above Southampton should results of the games in hand all go the wrong way: unlikely that will transpire, but an outside possibility.

This confirms how bad things really were until 6 weeks ago. Imagine being below Saints right now!

We again need a result against Spurs, and we're going to be saying that before most matches, I think.

Will, we will get a result against Spurs and a point from Man Utd

Great Arsenal third goal. Palace totally ripped apart.

Crystal Palace looked like they were losing confidence as they continued possession and the inevitable happened. Slouching players, an out-of-his-league coach, Woy could not awwive too soon.

So, Palace score from a corner.

Nothing wrong with that, except the scorer, Schlupp, appeared to handle the ball before slamming home. The ball seemed to hit his knee first before then hitting his arm. Goal stands after a VAR check.

No different whatsoever from the Demarai Gray last weekend against Brentford, when he had the ball slammed into his chest, then appearing to hit his arm before going in.

With how close the positions from 12th downwards are going to be, goal difference is going to be critical.

We have every chance, James. We are becoming harder and harder to beat and it all starts from there.

I'm kinda looking forward to the battle – couldn't say that in January!

Just seen that the Skunks leading goalscorer, and probably their player of the season so far, Almiron, is out with thigh injury until the end of April.

Dangerous player him, just like Saka, who has just scored his second, and Arsenal's fourth goal.

Rob,

Just another example of the incompetent officials we have as the VAR – each one has a different interpretation of the rules and how they should be applied.

But then they don't care what it means to the clubs that are affected by poor officials as they always throw up another official on TV who says they were correct.

I feel for Palace since they seemed respectful to us last season but never really liked Parish at all. Leeds, Forest and Bournemouth would be my preference with Forest perhaps bumping Southampton.

Dale 233.

I'm with you and I lived round the corner from them in Upper Norwood for many years but Parish is an utterly egotistical gobshite. Very reminiscent of a younger Kenwright.

12-14 points from 10 games? I think we will do that. Any other season, it would be shit but, this season, I'll be over the moon.

Good psychologically to be out of the Bottom 3 for the international break.

UTFT. Getting a bit giddy now.

Palace result, whilst predictable, no less comforting as keeps them in the pack and in free fall.

Not trying to get too optimistic as there'll no doubt be many twists and turns to come but not being in the bottom 3 and unbeaten in last 3 gives comfort. We've also drawn last three home league games against Spurs so can certainly get something next game.

However, looking at the stats, we've surprisingly not won against Spurs at home in the league since 2012! Jelavic and Pienaar getting the goals.

A decade since we beat Spurs at home? About time to put that right.

"Do you know who I am?"

Maguire doesn't get a card when an Everton player would. The bias and favouritism is still going strong for the clubs that are media darlings.

Willian, Mitrovic and Silva all red-carded in one go.

Mitrovic could serve a hefty suspension as he pushed and was pointing right into the referee's face after the ref red-carded Willian for a deliberate handball on the goal line.

Not sure why Silva also got a red card?

For encroaching into the ref's area when he was looking at the screen, Rob, at least that's what the commentary said.

What a fiasco. It was all going so well too.

Rob,

I think it's because Silva cannot accept ANY decisions against his team, he goes off like a bottle of Klopp.

That was a stonewall penalty and red for Willian, why go ballistic?

Exactly, Jeff, so why Mitrovic flipped his lid, I've no idea. Even if Fulham manage to equalise, they will get annihilated in extra time. They might as well throw in the towel now. They won't get an equaliser anyway.

Well that one took a quick turn.

What was Mitrovic thinking? And Silva losing his head.

I think Fulhams good season just unraveled before our eyes in a 5 minute spell.

The Fulham red cards bode well for us because I think Mitrovic and Willian will both miss the game a Goodison?

Watching United v Fulham, who were doing a very good job, and a minute of madness, and they have lost the game themselves.

Cavanagh, pissed us all off, at Goodison, back in Carlo's time, when he disallowed DCLs, winner, v United, Siggy, was on the line, stonewall goal in the Street End, and sent off Ancelotti at the end of the game.

But a positive, from this game, Mitrovic, should be suspended, if he gets a 3 match ban, for Fulham's visit to Goodison Park, on 15.04.2023.

But it's down to Everton to take control of their destiny, this last couple of months of the season, and I'm convinced they will, based on the massive all round improvement, since Sean Dyche arrived at Everton.

UTFTs!

Well, for once, nobody can blame the referee or the VAR.

Stonewall penalty and red card for Willian. Mitrovic got exactly what he deserved for shoving the referee, as well as almost taking the refs eyes out, as he was pointing right into his face.

Mitrovic, I think, will certainly miss the game against us, but Willian will probably only serve a one-match ban.

Also, as Neil states, Willian will also miss the game at Goodison on 15 April 2023.

Rob, thanks for clarifying.

Paul,

I think Willian will only serve a one-match ban. It might have been a straight red card, but it was only for denying a goal scoring opportunity, not dangerous play.

Mitrovic on the other hand could be facing a lengthy ban, possibly 6 or 8 games, for what he done.

Rob, yes, you're correct, I just checked the rules.

Hopefully the stars are starting to realign over Everton FC.

UTFTs.

Mitrovic is a huge loss for Fulham. Really can't see why he reacts so badly nor Silva for that matter. It can only be for something the ref said I think?

Hopefully, we will continue our improvement and it won't make any difference anyway but nothing wrong with a bit of help along the way.

On a slightly different note, I see Frank is one of the favourites for the Palace job along with Roy Hodgson and there is also talk of Slippy G. None of those names would fill me with any optimism.

What is the ruling for Silva?

He got a straight red but not for dangerous play, and he never touched the ref.

Never seen Marco looking so mad in his post-match 'interview'.

I missed most of the match but there must be a concern about these possible penalty incidents that are arbitrarily not reviewed by the officials. It was apparently in reference to something in the first half that Silva and Mitrovic believed should have been reviewed which got them both red-carded. No excuse for Mitrovic's red mist, though…

Of course, no place for it on any highlights I've seen so far, so I can't say how valid it was, but we've had similar occurrences against the Sky Darlings, haven't we?

Rob @246,

I'm sure you're correct on Willian and Mitrovic. The latter should get a ban of about 6 matches. You just can't push a ref like that. What an idiot.

It's probably something he said, Bill. He may have stepped over the line.

Not just in football, but managers and leaders are supposed to lead by example.

It appears that in a mad few minutes, Fulham lost their heads and discipline – and the manager was part of that.

Bill, good question, I'm not sure, but possibly for dissent to the referee?

I'd expect Fulham to get a fine for failing to control their players and manager...

Everton, have been fined for far less serious incidents, this season, v Liverpool, and Leeds.

Parish: "So, Frank – if you came to manage this club, what would you do?"

Lampard: "I'd tell the players to enjoy the ball."

Parish: "Okay... and then what?"

Lampard: "Erm... that's about it really."

Silva was pointing out to the ref that a penalty call Fulham had in the first half, when Mitrovic went over in the box, was not checked by the VAR but they couldn't wait to check the Man Utd shout for a penalty. It was a penalty for Man Utd but why check only one?

Yesterday we had an incident that resulted in a Chelsea penalty, however, the one we had at Forest was not given. The managers outside the Sky 6 should get together, produce a dossier of the VAR errors. After all, there are many to choose from.

Mitrovic is an excellent centre-forward but losing your head does not help the team.

On another subject –get Paulinha in the summer. What a player!

I think the Premier League and FA will make an example of the Fulham incident today and their cliches “gross miss conduct and failing to control their players" etc.

And their manager SilvaI think will also get some personal conduct charges and a touchline ban.

Mr Ed, alias Bingo, will be acting as Silva's advisor...

Jack, agreed, it could be the penalty incident in the first half that tipped Silva over the edge today.

That penalty claim from Mitrovich didn't warrant consideration by the VAR.

He kicked his foot into the defender's foot and dived, lucky he wasn't booked for fakery.

I believe that the officials are using the VAR all wrong.

The guy in the box should be able to communicate with the referee on any decision, save routine free-kicks and yellow cards. If the guy in the box sees something amiss, like a push or a tug in the box against the attacking side, he should advise the official on the pitch to award a penalty – immediately, without the on-field officials having to look at it.

The confusion has gotten worse since Howard Webb stated that he didn't want the VAR to re-referee the game. He's wrong, it's a tool to enhance the officials to get the bigger decisions correct.

Handball in one match isn't handball in another, offside at one ground isn't offside at another, how can this happen? the technology is there to be used but its misuse is appalling.

As Michael says, why are some incidents reviewed whilst others aren't? It doesn't help that the commentators seem to have their own interpretation of the rules depending on which teams are involved. McCoist thought the award of a penalty to Blackburn was harsh, but I thought it was the proper outcome for handball by the defender.

The communication with the supporters within the stadium is totally absent and how many fans leave a ground having no idea about the reasons for the VAR giving or not giving a decision?

Danny,

If it was for something not acceptable that he said, I wonder why Klippity Klopp never gets sent off every game they are losing?

Not watched what's happened today as the Mancs like the RS are not allowed on my telly.

Surely it must be good news for us with straight reds for 2 Fulham players and the manager…. They'll be suspended for our game?

Will 261, agreed, and yet Silva continued to be revved up by that incident 50 minutes later. His wasn't a penalty and United's was, and yet he goes off on one and Mitrovic thinks he can do the same.

Pair of idiots, throw the book at them.

I can understand the manager getting annoyed if he believes that a claim hasn't been looked at properly, so why is there such a lack of trust by most managers about the way the game is officiated?

There's always been controversial moments in the game, but most of it has been put down to human error rather than outright cheating or blatant bias. Look at some of the decisions that Everton have had go against them in the last year and possibly the last couple of years for examples of different outcomes for similar situations.

Forest on Friday night against Newcastle weren't punished for so many fouls, but other teams in other games would see many yellow cards issued for similar types of tackles.

Dyche has the best way of dealing with it, a bit of humour but with a pointed message towards the officials. Silva has always been prone to angry outbursts if he perceives any injustice against his team, but the officials could make it easier for the professionals to accept with some better communication to those in the dug-out.

Like Ian Wright said Sheffield United v Brighton will be one hell of a final!

Well, it's getting intriguing watching the news this morning.

Conte walking the plank apparently and won't survive the week.

Hodgson to make a return to Palace after Viera's departure.

The Premier League saying Mitrovic's actions and the standard 3-match ban for a red are insufficient.

We have to be positive against Spurs. Take control of the game and dominate it.

If we get all the points against Spurs, it will make a massive difference to our league position, obviously depending on the results of those teams around us, but they also have tough games as well.

If you have the time and patience, the Guardian have a 'long read' article about Referees and the challenges they face. I got really annoyed when certain matches are referred to as "Golden Games", just the sort of thing that leads to officials believing that a game between top teams is more important than games between lesser lights, surely to a referee every game has the same rules to play to?

It is a long read and covers many aspects of officiating, with the VAR having his own sub-heading.

Roberto Rosetti, Uefa's refereeing chief, believes that the root of these problems lies not in the technology itself, but in how it's being implemented. The VAR was introduced to “delete the scandals, the clear mistakes of the referees”, such as the infamous Thierry Henry handball that denied Ireland a place at the 2010 World Cup. Too often, said Rosetti, it's being used to “investigate every single detail” of matches. Using the VAR in this way is “dangerous”, he continued, because good refereeing means accounting for the “spirit of the game”, which technology cannot do.

Once, when Rosetti experimented with using the VAR to review every incident in a single match, he found seven penalties and three red cards, according to a strict reading of the laws of the game. “But this is not football” he said.

This doesn't mean that video-review technology has no place in the game, but it requires us to define the line of intervention. “If the mistake is clear and obvious” Rosetti told me emphatically, “you shouldn't have to watch it 25 times.”

When I mentioned this to England, he agreed. “Yes, almost all the wrong decisions nowadays are from the VAR, because that's where there's the most pressure” he said. “We talk about the VAR as if it's this supercomputer, but we have to remember that it's still a human being behind that screen making a decision.”

The Impossible Job?

I guess this is the best place to comment.

I see Man Utd could go for as much as ٣ billion. Final bids in today.

Get the taxis booked for the unsuccessful bidders now.

Put Goodison Park in the Sat Nav.

Danny, they are saying there were eight buyers in talks to take them over. So there will be seven of them disappointed.

It's not too far-fetched that one of those seven would be interested in Everton with the world-class stadium 18 months away.

I think to believe that the people who are bidding for the ownership of Man Utd would if unsuccessful would be interested in Everton, is a bit like saying when Tiny Rowland failed in his bid to buy Harrods, he would then consider ploughing his money into Poundland.

Our valuation is around 𧹈M to 𧺬M – Man Utd are worth in excess of ٣ billion, and generate huge profits, were Everton can only dream of those sort of profits. Admittedly the profits will rise when we move into the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, but then that is dependent on securing Premier League football.

Also, are we quite happy to have anyone, regardless of background, to take over the club? Seems we have learnt no lessons from Moshiri's disastrous time in charge.

I can't help thinking that most of the bidders for Man Utd are less interested in football and more interested in prestige and profit.

Not sure they would be what we need at Everton, even if there was a slim chance that any of them would consider our club an option.

Unrealistic? Perhaps.

Realistic? Maybe.

Moshiri's mistake was to not have a clean out and then blindly hand his money to people who didn't know how to spend it.

We need investment.

But we need investors who insist on installing competency and change at the top.

As an aside to the sale of Man Utd, I happened upon this link of every Ellis Simms senior goal scored.

Link

The kid knows where the goal is and looks a more natural finisher than Calvert-Lewin in my view.

Moshiri has said that he is looking for an investor to help in completing the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, although he has said that he has the funds to complete the stadium should he fail to attract an investor.

Obviously with us being in a relegation scrap, maybe that's a deterrent to any investor as, if the worst happens, that investment could turn out to be a very expensive mistake.

Also, I don't really see the upside for an investor. They are being asked for – if rumours are right – around 𧴵M for 25% of the club. But how do they ever recoup their money given that the club pay 96% of all income in wages?

Barry,

The term "clear and obvious" is surely part of the problem. In rugby, the TMO let's the ref know in his earpiece that something needs looking at. The ref and crowd see the replay and the officials talk about what they can see and what they think is the correct action.

It is all transparent. Everyone can see and hear the information. The rules are implemented. Even after all of that, there are still arguments but nowhere near as many.

Rugby Union obviously has so many stoppages that the TMO can intervene fairly easily but we have recently been told that often the ball is only in play for 55 minutes in most football games, so it could be used in the same way.

The England red card from Saturday has been rescinded. The ref asked his assistants and the TMO whether there were any mitigating circumstances and they all clearly said ‘no'.

The armchair committee has seen it differently which I guess is fair enough.

Has anyone in Canada have any feed for the international qualifying games being played today, and future ones. Canada has the worst coverage for the most watched sport in the world " football " mostly international games even though they offer you 16 sports channels, most have all the same events on for different provinces

Bill, what with women's curling, US college basketball, preseason baseball, and a myriad of other things, there's just no room for something as trivial as international football.

Let's face it, in Canada, soccer is way down the pecking order.

Darryl, Its not way down the pecking order It is TSN are to tight to pay the fees, they did have the premier league in earlier years but now are to tight to pay the fees, the only reason we got the World Cup was because Canada was in it.

Bill, it seems DAZN has the rights for the Euro qualifiers here in Canada. Ridiculous these days how many different subscriptions you need to watch footy.

Neil

It's the same here. For EPL I used to pay for a subscription ton NBC sports but then they shut down that service and moved games to peaccok. I subscribed to that, but now they've moved some games to the USA network (generally Everton games. ) but that has no standalone subscription, you access it as part of a satellite TV package. So I'd have to get satellite TV for 100 a month or whatever, just to get access to that channel when anything else on satellite TV I want to watch I already have various apps/subscriptions for (e.g HBO, Discovery, Disney, Peacock, Netflix, Amazon etc) I really down want to get satellite just so I can then get access to the USA app to try and watch Everton twice a month on my phone (usually when I am at work) Meanwhile CBS has the Champs league, Fox the WC, Euros seem to pop up randomly all over the place.

What odds on Italy coming back to 2-2?

Off topic I know but I was enjoying England's 2 goal lead until the half-time analysis Gerrard's dull monotone delivery makes even Danny Murphy sound interesting.

Kalvin Philips has played 56 minutes all season and we are nearly in April.

How's he in the England team? That's a joke.

Kieran that sounds even worse than we've got it. I'm lucky in that my dad has a fire stick and can get everything (though sometimes the incessant buffering makes it practically unwatchable), so I can go up there for anything I really want to see. Southgate's "take no risks" England not worth the trip so I made do with the Match Play from Austin.

I don't know if you live in the wildest reaches of Western Virginia or in one of those US Pacific Islands Kieran Kinsella, but what you write could not be further from the truth?

These United States, arguably, might have the best Premier League coverage in the world. It's certainly better than anything in England. Poppycock, that you would have to pay north of $100 to watch games.

It costs the princely sum of $4.95 each month through Peacock to watch every single Premier League in full either live (that's the majority of them) or on replay the day after if the game is shown live on the USA channel. in addition, all games are available on replay.

I don't know where you get your information from Kieran but we are spoiled here in 'merica when it comes to watching Premier League games.

I was very impressed with England last night, especially the first half were they completely dominated possession. I thought Bellingham was outstanding although he faded a bit in the 2nd half, also impressed with Rice. Also Harry Kane gave another first class performance, he can hold play up, go past people and can score from anywhere. Grealish should have made the game safe but somehow missed an open goal when leading 2-0. Pickford had no chance with the goal and mostly his distribution was spot on.

I would think the big worry for Southgate is keeping Kane fit, as he is very reluctant to give Kane a breather, I cant ever remember seeing Kane subbed. Even the friendlies in the summer he played Kane in both games and he played 90 minutes in both. So although like in the friendlies in the summer, Toney was on the bench but didnt get a minute on the pitch, it will be interesting to see if Toney gets any minutes on Tuesday against Ukraine. Not wishing him any ill but would be nice if Kane got a little niggle on Tuesday meaning he misses the game against us on the Monday.

Michael / Lyndon.

James Flynn puts so much passion and detail into his posts on his excellent monthly ToffeeWeb Loanwatch updates I think this deserves an accessible link from the home page. Could this be squashed in somewhere in Club News or Talking points maybe?

Yea, Tony @291, I'm just working on creating that:

ToffeeWeb Loanwatch — March 2023

Good post regarding Kane, Brian, because the man is simply an absolutely tremendous footballer. I remember him playing for England under 20's, in a game they lost against Egypt, and also featured Stones & Barkley, and someone said on ToffeeWeb, that English football never changes because Kane, was like a younger version of Lee Chapman.

I couldn't disagree at the time, so his rise has been nothing short of phenomenal imo, and Kane must now be one of the best footballers, in a true footballing sense, on the planet?

England's problem is still Kane though imo (forgetting about Harry McGuire for a minute!) because he constantly gets drawn towards the ball, (because he's that good) and sometimes this leaves them short of bodies at the top of the pitch, and at other times England have nobody to run in behind, which is sometimes needed when they are playing in the latter stages of a major tournament, and against the highest level teams?

Tony, is that a tactical challenge that a good coach could solve?

Kane drops in deeper now and connects the play brilliantly. Runners could take the space he vacates, but I always see Southgate as too cautious.

Southgate did everything he could to lose that game last night in the second half. It was absolutely painful to watch. It was obvious the ref was a trigger happy homer, so what does he do…leave three players on at the back on a yellow. One goes. McGuire - who is simply diabolical - in fact he's that bad I'm surprised Utd haven't tried to flog him to Kenwright by now - should be nowhere an international side and especially not when he's not getting regular playing time. And nor should Phillips. And why play Phillips AND Rice? England will never win anything until they have a manager who doesn't play it safe and players who are comfortable on the ball and can control a game, without bottling it.

Possibly Steve, but only if the central defender keeps going with Kane, even when he drops so deep. Top players usually swap, and pass men on to each other, so a lot of the time this happens then the men at the back can easily track the runners from deep.

England started against Iran, with Bellingham powering into the space which I thought caught out the Iranians, but this very rarely happens against the top teams, and I think the final at Wembley against Italy, is the perfect example of this?

Early on in the game, England were brilliant and blew the Italians away, but Once Italy got a foothold and started passing the ball, this is when England needed someone higher up the pitch, trying to pull those very effective at what they do Italian central defenders, into places they don't really want to go?

Just opinions Steve, but I agree Southgate is based on caution, which can be a bit frustrating because England have got a lot of very talented footballers right now, and I think their first victory on Italian soil in 62 years, is an example of this.

Nick@295 Southgate does everything he could to lose that game last night in the second half. Are you serious? everything he could to lose? God help me.

James @ 275,

thanks for that. Hadn't seen them all nor realized how two-footed he is. Couple of scruffy ones but some great finishes: complete forward play!

That goal against Chelsea was an important step and I'm looking forward to what comes.

If Grealish had scored (missed a sitter, open goal) the game
was over.
Italy had to improve in front of their own fans and that goal
back gave them the edge in the second half.
Perhaps he could have brought Grealish off earlier.
Remember, although Italy failed to make the World Cup,
they are still the European Champions.
Excellent result for England.
By the way regarding Phillips, if Everton had a player that could
play as well as that in midfield, we would not be fighting relegation.

Neil # 283.
Prior to this season I had DAZN that cost $150 a year Canadian or $12.50 a month and as I am originally from England I found this the best as they showed every Premiership Game, plus Darts and Snooker that I like to watch as I played a lot in England. The problem was they only had it for 3 seasons that ended at the end of the 2021/22 season.
After that it was put up for tender, I don't know who owns the right's to the Premier league games but it was purchased from them by FUBO TV in the States for 3 seasons and I used them for the first year 2022/23 at a starting Fee of $100 Canadian that will increase to $150 next season. FUBO TV even though they show every Premiership Game is not as good as Dazn both in quality and programing as the rest of what is in it is part of the package I pay for my regular TV.
i don't like mentioning this but anyone who supports a Championship League Team, DAZN shows these games and are supposing to be bidding again for the Premiership.

Thanks Tony, who do you think could push higher up the pitch in the current England squad?

Rashford is rapid, Steve, but I just think that because England's system relies on Harry Kane so much that it's virtually impossible to practice any real changes to their system.

Romelu hit a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for Belgium in Sweden.

Onana played but I don't know if he played the full 90, and the French beat the Netherlands 4-0.

Broadhead got the equalizer for Wales? How much did we sell him for? 6 months of Tom Davies wages?

Oh dear. Now Tom's getting it for not being Welsh.