Dismal Blues out-played and out-fought in hapless capitulation

MAUPAY?????

And what the heck has happened to Calvert-Lewin now???

Maupay starting? Godfrey at right-back?? Iwobi STILL wide right???

BBC showing it as a 4-4-2, but I think it will be more of a 4-4-1-1 with Gray dropping between the midfield and Maupay.

Anybody know why Onana is not in the squad? Late withdrawl?

Have to say I'm a bit worried about no bite in the middle, if Gana gets booked early, we are in for a tough day.

I'd hope it's a 4-5-1 with Iwobi in the midfield

Or it could be that Dyche has found a use for Maupay: as a link between Gray and the midfield, ie, as a midfielder when we don't have the ball and a 2nd striker when we do.

I support the Onana omission but assumed he'd be on the bench: either he's injured or there's been a disciplinary matter.

I'm annoyed and gutted Calvert-Lewin still out. I had it pinned he'd play some part as Dyche didn't say he'd be out.

From feeling confident, I now feel very very nervous….

Is Lampard still with us, for fuck's sake… Just bewildering.

If Maupay scores, I'll crawl a mile over broken glass. Just staggering — and just when I was starting to trust in the man with the disc beard.

Enough of this mollycoddling. If he's finished (mentally), he's finished. Might as well throw a Hail Mary and see what happens. In the summer, he can go and enjoy the fashion circuit with Dele Alli and Tom Davies.

As for Dom, I don't expect to see him in the team until our fate is sealed, either way.

If our players can't perform today because of the pressure this game brings, we will be in dire straits. We need the "rub of the green" and a balanced series of decisions from the officials. COYB

We will be a bit more open through the midfield which will likely mean we need two or three goals to win, so any chances have to be taken ruthlessly today. Time for Maupay to earn his wages with a goal or two.

Come on you Blues!

I'm guessing Maupay upfront on his own. Delighted to see Garner in, and maybe Iwobi in the No 10 role, he can't do any harm there.

Could see Simms and Patterson getting 20 mins each later on though.

Nice for Mills and Samuels-Smith to get on the bench.

COYB

There are no excuses for not swatting this lot aside today, given our position. We must win.

But I agree: we can't afford not to win this one. With our run-in, a draw won't be good enough.

We get beat today it's 100% master tactics man, Dyche's fault. Maupay – match fit is he, Sean?

James Garner is very positive.

Maupay is never a focal point as a striker, looking for a loose ball and always off the play. He is another Tosun.

Tarkowski almost presented them with their first goal on 17 minutes before poor defending actually gave them their first, hopefully only.

Other than missing two sitters (as forecast by Mike Gaynes when we signed him) what else did Maupay actually do?

A good goal from McNeil though with two subtle changes of direction before a well-placed strike. Having said that, we could have had a couple more without actually looking like the better team. I'd like to see Simms start the scond half just to make Fulham think about it more.

Garner is a tidy footballer, takes the ball with confidence in tight areas and looking to penetrate. Another 10 minutes would've been nice – we had them on the back foot there.

Keep going now.

If only we had a half-decent striker we'd be 3 up by now.

Simms and Patterson for Maupay and Godfrey, please.

Add Mykolenko to that list un all…

We were lucky going in 1-1 at the break but after 10 minutes it was clear something had to be done and Dyche just did not react. So poor from some.

Almost every goal a carbon copy. Ball breaks in the box and no-one reacting. Criminal defensive ineptitude!

Why did he start with Maupay?
Why bring on Davies??
And why wait so long to take Maupay off???

And then the team sheet and a woeful performance.

The buck stops in one place.

Gray stunk out the game but played the full 90 minutes.

Only McNeil can hold his head up.

Just so many poor performances across the park but I still put this totally down to the way the manager set up the side and the players he started with.

Thanks and piss off and go analyse your stats.

We always competed against the big teams and scrapped out a couple of points that gave us hope.

Then against midtable teams and, more concerning, our relegation rivals, we falter.

I struggle to see what has really changed. We're going into some massive 6-pointers now... and we look as toothless as ever. Some of those rivals are starting to move away from us.

Stadium of Shite.

The end of the first half showed us what we needed to do. But they threw it away.

All we want is some honesty; I feel for the bloke if it's a mental issue, but at least let us know.

Their second was down to the two central defenders running back with the Fulham player, let him go and run offside — surely they know the offside rule?

And the third was Godfrey's inability to defend at the back post.

I can't think of anything of positive note we did in the second half other than throw the game away; no idea on or off the pitch.

Well done, Marco Silva, in showing us all how wrong we could be. Great coaching today in exploiting our poor coaching and a team of bang-average, lucky-as-fuck millionaire footballers.

I've seen plenty of Dyche over the years as my wife supports Burnley (she's from there). He was not the right appointment, rarely proactive with team selections or subs (Simms on the bench along with our best centre-half defender).

The season Burnley were relegated the football was awful, Fans screaming for Vydra as Barnes and Wood do nothing up top. The Biggest culprit here though is you know who, and he was the one that brought in Moshiri so he could stay on the board.

Good Times? I don't think so. I was 25 last time we won anything, and I'm now 53. Bournemouth, Wolves, and Palace have shown fight, and goals, that's not Everton, is it?

Abysmal.

Godfrey and Mykolenko our fullbacks so poor, don't know why Mina doesn't start, and how is Iwobi keeping his place?

We're the lowest scorers in the Premier League, and our useless board decided to sell Gordon in January. No problem with that, but to not bring in a striker will come back to haunt us.

Bournemouth just scored, unbelievable.

After last week, Godfrey should have been dropped with Patterson starting and, without both Onana and Doucouré, we have no strength in midfield. Garner is another Gomes, Tom Davies is, well, Tom Davies but... what other choices did we have?

Maupay shouldn't be anywhere near our first-team squad.

If Gray has no space ahead of him and can't cut inside, he offers nothing.

If we'd sacked Lampard after the Wolves match, things might have been different this season, but we are where we are.

Playing them both in the 4-4-2 left us open and likely to concede, the fact we didn't take those glorious chances killed us.

Going through another Premier League season without a recognised goalscorer is asking for the worst kind of trouble. Total shame on the board and recruitment, two windows to address it and wasted. It's an unforgivable disgrace that has us dicing more and more precariously with relegation.

Playing the ultra-conservative 4-5-1 was yielding us a few points and we were on track to just stay up, even without Calvert-Lewin. Changing that set-up since Doucouré's red has made us much worse and has put us in serious jeopardy.

It's not over yet, there is still a glimmer of hope, but playing Maupay and Gray up front together can't happen again.

Doucouré's stupidity is costing us. We also missed Onana, who was essentially replaced by the useless Maupay to give us a bit more upfront... It didn't work!

If anything positive can be said about Maupay, it's that he was a 20-goal-a-season striker for Brentford in the Championship, so he might be good for us next season!

We can't score. We can't protect the defence. We can't create. We can't defend.

Dyche got a tune out of them in his first few games. Now we just look like we are sleep walking to the trapdoor. The hangman is on the scaffold. The drums are beating. The hood has been put on our head. The last rites are being said.

It's over.

Fulham had nothing to play for and were missing their main striker. How can we put in such a crap result when the stakes are so high? This was a must-win game and to lose 3-1 is pathetic.

No idea where we go from here, 7 games to go and we're down to praying. Even if Leicester City and Nottingham Forrest lose, what confidence do we have of getting anything against Palace and Newcastle for the next two games?

We have to hope that Southampton, Nottm Forest and Leicester City keep losing.

Mykolenko – awful
Tarkowski – poor
Keane – okayish
Godfrey – awful
McNeil – good in the 1st half, kept trying
Iwobi – awful
Gray – awful
Maupay – awful
Gueye – okay
Garner – the one bright spot from this game, although he also faded in the 2nd half
Davies – awful
Simms – brought on too late
Patterson – he looked very nervous

All-in-all, if we had taken those chances that fell to Maupay and Gray, it would have been a different story.

I am resigned to us playing in the Championship next season;, we are so poor we don't deserve to be in the Premier League. At least play some of kids like Mills for the rest of the season – at least they will play with some pride.

The commentator mentioned that Everton's 3 ‘strikers' – Calvert-Lewin, Maupay and Simms – have exactly 1 goal each all season. No wonder we are headed for relegation.

Although Godfrey and Maupay were pretty awful, not sure that Patterson and Simms would have given us much more.

We have the worst attack in the Premier League by some distance (and losing Doucouré and Onana hasn't helped).

So Dyche has done a decent job to give us a chance (we had no chance whatsoever under Lampard) but we now really need Forest and Leicester to help us out by losing.

With how toothless we are upfront, especially starting Maupay, and a win at home to Fulham a must, why wait and play him away to Palace?

Not wanting to argue but something that was working was disrupted by a suspension and an injury where backup was light. We'll get Doucouré back and the captain will not sit out. We will get a change in form but the hill got steeper, yes.

I still can't believe that Bournemouth won at Spurs in the 95th minute and 3 goals away from home. That is desire and fight that sadly we miss. Along with goalscorers of course.

I like many feel that, above all failings about this club, goals and strikers are never prioritised. Isn't that what Shankly did, and the rest is history.

Sometimes you give up fighting because everything you've got has been chipped away at over time. We'll be back, but the game is up for now.

Centre-backs deep, playing Fulham players onside and unmarked Fulham players lining up at the edge of the penalty area unchallenged. Runners from midfield never tracked. It was all pretty clueless and looked it. Dependent on Liverpool to beat Forest to keep us out of the Bottom 3.

Still, we have heard nothing from the owner or club management. I doubt we will ever see the owner again. And the club management will not turn up at Goodison.

6th and 7th in the National to put the cap on a disappointing day.

We are now all over the place and I can't see how Dyche will settle it down for the Palace game.

He MUST revert to 4-5-1 and hope we can pinch a 1-0.

But my respect for him has taken a huge nose-dive…
Another idiot!

Doucouré has a lot to answer for with his petulance, imo.

As for Mykolenko and Godfrey, catastrophic.

Dyche's tactics of getting Pickford to hoof it up to the 5ft-5in striker against defenders a foot taller than him were baffling.

The lack of substitutions until 3-1 down bar the enforced one for Godfrey was also worrying. Admittedly there wasn't a lot on the bench but it was reactive rather than proactive changes.

Our only hope of staying up is that Forest, Southampton and Leicester all keep losing because it is hard to see another win coming from that group of players. Only problem is, we've still got to go to Leicester.

If we dodge the bullet this season, we are going down next season after the Premier League impose transfer bans or points deductions. I'd rather be relegated this season than next.

What on earth have people been watching these last few years?

Not a footballer of note at the club and, at the risk of repeating myself, relegation avoidance is in the lap of the gods — not the gift of the manager or players. We might escape but we don't deserve to.

The biggest fault lay on the other side of the white line.

Feel numb about the result. Feels inevitable and we are screwed now. We had to win today to stand a chance and we blew it without a fight.

The ext 12 months could be the most bleak in our history. Relegation, administration, points docked due to financial irregularities.

If anyone thinks the current shower of shite playing for us has any ability to get us back up again then who have you been watching these last few years?!?!?

We need a complete fire sale and hope we don't become obsolete.

I can't see Southampton getting out of it but Leicester have at least three more guaranteed points when they play us.

Worrying times.

No evidence that he could, of course, because he's just proved as rubbish as all the other wankers Moshari and Kenwright have burdened us with.

And don't tell me he's the guy to bring us straight back as the new stadium becomes no more than the thing which sees us go bust!

Thinking back when Moshiri came in, he didn't support Martinez, we were mid-table, ravaged with injuries at the back. Instead, he sacked him, brought in Koeman, spent millions on shite, and it's downhill ever since.

But even worse, he sold Stones and Lukaku. With the money he had, probably the worst manager in our history.

Doucoure, Calvert-Lewin, Onana, and Coleman to come in for the last 6 games. Go back to playing the effective style that we showed before Doucouré's suspension, and do enough to avoid the drop.

Although I also feel like Dyche got it wrong today, I'm not entirely sure what the formation, tactics and personnel were available to get it right?

Simms for Maupay is probably the obvious one – but apart from a tidy goal against Chelsea, Simms has done very little. He doesn't look ready to start games anyway.

Jim # 92 makes the good point that 4-5-1 was working. However, it was working (and only just) with Coleman, Onana and Doucouré in the side. I think we really missed them badly today. Coleman is a massive loss given our lack of bottle generally.

It's interesting (to me at least) to think what would Allardyce have done? I think he'd have gone 5-3-2, with Simms and Maupay up front together and 3 tall centre-backs for set pieces. That might have worked… who knows?

His hands were tied today, but I would still question his line-up. Mina should start, Patterson probably a better option than Godfrey, and Simms ahead of Maupay every time.

As if last season wasn't warning enough, we have continued to compound error after error to become a mismanaged shambles of a football club. You just couldn't make it up. That performance today sums up what we have been in the majority of games in the last 8 years apart from a few bright spells under Carlo.

I know Dyche's hands are tied to a certain extent but he got it wrong again today. The real blame though lies with those whose amateurish handling of a truly prestigious football club has brought us to the brink and they must be made accountable.

Shameful and truly depressing.

Admittedly, Dyche has been left with a piss-poor team with no personality and even less talent. But his long ball, very basic tactics can only work for a time. Teams like Fulham, who can play football, find us easy to play around. There were large parts of that game where I felt our lot must've felt completely humiliated as they couldn't lay a glove on Fulham.

We had such a manager in Marco Silva but I, like many others, was too impatient and welcomed his removal. Every manager since him, with the exception of Don Carlo, has taken us even deeper into the mire.

The only silver lining on the horizon is that it now seems certain this will be the last season we will see Kenwright, Little Miss Dynamite and sellout Sharpe on the board. All nightmares come to an end sooner or later.

I always think if things are going wrong then go back to the basics but we can't do that as most of our squad still haven't mastered the basics. Can't run, can't control the ball, can't pass, can't tackle, can't dribble, can't shoot.

Is there no-one at the whole club who can look at a potential signing and think: "Yes, he can do the basics, so we can improve him"?

Take Maupay as an extreme example: Can he shoot? No. Can he head? No. Can he dribble? No. So by what criteria would any team sign him if you need goals?

I despair…

I've said for years, a big clear out is needed with board, players and recruitment. I could go on.

Back to relying on other teams getting beaten. Sad.

I just think Dyche should have made it easy for himself and the team.

Last week no Doucoure so bring in Garner, keeping the 5-man midfield, and Garner gets a full game under his belt.

This week no Coleman so bring in Patterson, the other right back.

No Onana so Davies takes over. Garner and Gueye the holding players Davies the attacking midfielder.

Start with Gray up front. Bring on Simms.

Do not give Fulham the space to play and make sure we at least get a point.

Instead, I'm left thinking Dyche is as clueless as all the idiots before him!

The slide into this mediocrity has been on the cards for a few seasons now and the obsession with a new stadium has neglected the product on the field.

After the close call last season, the wake-up call was not heeded and that was just criminal from the loyal fans' point of view.

Yes, we can all have our opinions regarding the players who left and the ones that came in and some of those opinions are right on the mark.

When was there ever a time that Everton would lose three times to a team like Bournemouth, twice to Fulham and three times to Man Utd all in one season?

Those kind of statistics speak volumes to the sad state of mismanagement we are enduring which can ultimately see us relegated because winning any game these days seems beyond Everton given the total lack of authentic firepower.

The scouting must be appalling as we witness some of the ineptness displayed by many of the signings that have come in over the last few seasons, especially up front.

Like everyone out there, we can only hope for a miracle to save our pitiful team from the drop.

We really do deserve to go down this season. It'll be a miracle if we don't. From the horrendous decision to recruit Patterson and Mykolenko as the fullbacks, to recruiting Maupay as a striker, and bringing Gana back… it's all just bad management. Not buying a striker alone is bad enough.

Like others have said: put Onana, Doucouré, Calvert-Lewin and Coleman in and we might look different… but there's rot everywhere, so I'm not even convinced now that'll be enough.

Give Ishe Samuels-Smith a go at left back, put Iwobi back on the right and leave him there. Leave McNeil on the left. Drop Gray, Tell Maupay not to bother coming to training or anywhere near the club. Drop Tarkowski for Mina. Leave Garner in instead of Gana. Put Simms in and leave him in… unless Calvert-Lewin is back.

Another 2-3 games like that and the last 4-5 will simply be about getting ready for the Championship. Maybe what we need… definitely what we deserve.

The whole Calvert-Lewin saga needs resolving. If he's nearly fit then he's a better option than a useless Maupay.

Fucking sort this shit, Everton.

I almost feel sorry for Godfrey, Mykolenko and Maupay as it's embarrassing seeing them playing at this level. McNeil put in the effort but, other than that, dire performances all over the pitch and absolutely no leaders in the team.

Pretty flat atmosphere as well. Depressing stuff.

I'm more worried about our Premier League status this season than ever before, we've won 6 games all season and by the looks of it we need to win 2/3 more and a good few draws and hope other teams lose. we've got 7 games left.

I'm sorry but I think we're gone, and as a club we deserve it, sacking manager after manager, signing too many players and giving them ridiculous long contracts.

We have a chairman and a board of directors who would sooner hark back to long past glory days instead of realising the game has moved on. Clubs who were always lesser have overtaken us and left us behind..

We say Evertonians are born not manufactured, we'd have to be because who in their right mind would pick us to support?

Very depressing.

I don't even feel the pain anymore.

It's not the manager, it's £750 million wasted on the poorest quality players I've seen in years, linked with selling our best potential goalscorer in Richarlison, and then Gordon this year who possibly could have added enough quality to win us the odd game — and replacing them with Maupay, for pity's sake!

It verges on the criminally incompetent that the management has not provided a club with the support and status of Everton with a squad that is needed to be competitive in the Premier League. Why are they still here?

Anyone who doesn't think we're off to hell on a handcart should start rolling them a bit thinner…

We were 8th. He has tactical nouse. Look at the absolute state of where we are now. It's an utter shitshow.

Dyche is Allardyce lite.

After escaping by the skin of our teeth last season, the first thing our board did was sell Richarlison?

So, can someone tell me, how were we going to improve this season?

I can see the logic but the drop in quality and goal threat is significant.

With Onana, Doucouré and Coleman, we'd probably have won today. Without them, an extremely poor first XI was materially weakened.

Bournemouth spent some money during the January window and up top are far superior to us.

If we get back to 4-5-1, we will get enough 1-0 wins to keep us up. Try to open up the game and our lack of quality is exposed.

Gana looks goosed, Godfrey was a promising centre-back when we got him. Now he's a shit full-back!! Don't play him at full-back!!

Maupay offers very little, if anything. I think Onana's absence was a big miss. They say you don't know what you got till it's gone and our midfield lacked quality today. Too easily they went straight through or over the top.

Hard to come back from this!

But it's clear we need Seamus back quickly.

I actually don't think anyone else missing is going to help us that much. Keeping Pickford, Coleman, Garner, Iwobi, Gray, Gana and McNeil available is key as the replacements are a new level of poor.

I'd include Doucouré only for his idiotic red card.

Let's hope we can get 17th so we can all do it again next season.

Such a poor performance – I don't know where to start. Playing Maupay is like playing with 10 men. 4-42- is embarrassing with this group of players.

I can accept getting out-played but not out-fought.

As I suspected beforehand, Garner needs a physical presence alongside him.

The manager changed the formation, we got a goal back. Should have scored a couple more before half-time… then, in the 2nd half, we reverted to type.

Pathetic showing in our most winnable game. Are there 3 worse teams than us? I don't believe so.

I have been living in dread for a few weeks now, as I fear we are simply inadequate, a team full of very average players except in goal, and that will prove to be our undoing.

The match confirmed all those concerns, I don't put it down to lack of effort, more a shortage of ability at Premier League level.

I have never walked out onto Goodison Road after a game to such silence. No talk, no moans, just quiet, as it is when someone passes away. Walking back towards Bedford Road, I pondered our demise.

Then, into The Stuart to watch the National. I'm not very interested in horse racing, so I checked the league table to see we are not down and out, we are probably one of six who have the potential to be relegated. The other teams will be suffering similar anxieties.

So, we have to go again. Forget the “must-win” games and win a few “can't-win” games.

Absolutely shocking.

That was poor, except for the 15-minute spell when we tried to keep the ball moving that came just before half-time and would have seen us in front with better finishing.

The manager has taken away the method, he's changed a system that was making us hard to play against, and he hasn't helped any of his players with regards to trying to find the consistency that he talked about after the game.

I feel like Robert De Niro in Awakenings after watching Everton today and last week. The manager has got to realize that the game has to be simplified and made easier for limited footballers; otherwise, they end up beating themselves.

I thought Pickford's body language during the first half, was very telling.

As the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock rises, so we collapse.

If we could have kept our heads while all those around us were losing theirs...

Sad.

Moan all you want about Dyche's terrible selections but keep his options in mind too; apart from Pickford, the best of our players are average at best, most way below average.

Starting Maupay was a waste of a shirt number, but otherwise what's he supposed to do?

Just look at our bench options. There's no game-changers there, not in a positive sense anyway. It's not Dyche's fault our players are shit.

Sam was never big enough for Everton. He came in from our years of success and couldn't continue it. I was gutted when Sam went! Why? I wanted the stability of mid-table. I wanted the hunger and fight back at Goodison. Money turned us that we thought we were better than Sam Allardyce.

Everton FC are hanging from a cliff now. All, from top to bottom, needs change. If we drop into the Championship, the fans must help the players and manager, whoever that might be. The Championship is a hard marathon. It could get worse. Many clubs have had double relegation in the blink of an eye.

Goodison cannot be toxic for players to play. Fear can freeze players. That silence or shout at a young player can stall them. Our manager must be given time with his methods with his players.

Probably the most emotional 4 weeks coming supporting this club for everyone. Relegation is more likely but not confirmed. Still hope… but, if relegation happens? We will be back!

If we get out of this it's on a par with Dunkirk.

While the likes of Brighton have got a board who look into the future, we've got our very own time-travelling Chairman who'd whisk us back to the 60s if it was possible.

For those of us old enough to remember some of the triumphant memories we have plastered around the ground, it must be torture for the younger fans who've had absolutely nothing to shout about for 30 years,a nd yet Goodison is sold out every home game and we always pack the away end out.

We've heard absolutely nothing from our missing-in-action board or Moshiri, our Premier League status is on life support and we've got ourselves into a financial mess.

Our academy produces next to nothing, and we've got a new Stadium on the way 20+ years to late. Worrying times indeed.

Because from the outside, people must be bored of seeing us – the perennial strugglers – constantly hanging on to our Premier League status by a thread. We never win anything, we are as predictable as showers in April. There is absolutely no point in our existence.

From the inside, it's obvious we've been mismanaged to the point of oblivion. Awful squad watched over by a succession of crap managers – all of whom have been sanctioned by this sad excuse for a board.

And the constant in our managed decline is the big-headed, fat-faced Kenwright. Goodison's own Cheshire cat. You don't see him any more but his smug grin remains.

So I'll add to what Peter Mills said about the Evertonians who met at the Harlech pub before the game, some who came from miles away on long journeys and face a miserable journey home after watching that non-performance.

Andy Crooks from Belfast, Dave Williams from Devon, and
Danny O'Neill from London along with Brian Wilkinson, Neil Copeland, Peter Moore, Bill Watson, Derek Knox who organised it and a few of us from the Liverpool area who were looking forward to Everton fighting for the 3points.

All of us knew it would be a fight if we were going to get a win but we didn't get a fight apart from a few minutes when we scored and could have got another couple more.

In the second half, it became embarrassing and the crowd became as silent as the beautifully observed 2-minute silent tribute to the Hillsborough tragedy. Coming out of the ground, it was grim all round except for the happy singing Fulham fans celebrating their win.

We are still in the war but another battle has been lost and some of the soldiers today didn't look up to fighting a few more battles. You never know: “Cometh the hour, cometh the man”… Where the bleedin' hell are you!!

Everton have been letting in more water than the Titanic over the last 10 years. We've finally reached the end of the road under this ruinous board who don't even have the balls to show their faces.

The Houdini act has run its course, so it's goodnight from me, and goodnight from him. Goodnight.

We're being well found out now, poor players plus poor tactics has doomed us. I'm afraid we're paying for years of profligate management. There isn't a worse team in this league than us.

We haven't got a great squad but Dyche should have known better. If we don't have the numbers in midfield, we will struggle.

And if we were to go 4-4-2, it had to be Simms with Gray.

Yes, we're shite and it's criminal how bad this club has been run for years and years but about 0.1% of the blame can be laid at the feet of the scapegoat in the dugout.

Even Koeman got royally fucked over by these clowns. Just pack it in.

We were apathetic. While the players were poor, I felt that Dyche had the most to answer for today.

The reality is that we have a number of poor players whose ability is consistent with playing for a bottom-half, relegation-threatened side. It is the job of the manager to come up with a formula to get the most out of his side's abilities. I would argue that he did the exact opposite.

Starting Maupay and Gray up front and smashing balls up to them, when Fulham have a couple of lumps at centre-half, is madness. To persist with it for 60 minutes is criminal.

It was clear that Fulham were dominating midfield, and the answer was to drop Gray into midfield, push Iwobi more central and stick Simms up top, or look to build higher up the pitch to try and bring out their defence to slip Maupay in behind.

I fear for the rest of the season; it is one thing to have poor players, it is another thing to exacerbate this further with tactics that negate our limited strengths.

I wrote to the club about that weeks ago. To be fair, they replied the next morning... asking me to direct them to the adverts in question.

Apparently no-one had spotted them – or perhaps that Gordon had gone(!?). I answered them in some detail (there are plenty of places his face pops up). but since then, Sweet FA.

As you can see nothing has changed. Bit like this dying fly of a club. Nil Satis indeed.

Dyche, Lampard, Ancelotti, Silva etc etc. It's always the manager's fault. Face it, our players are shit. If he keeps us up, he is a miracle worker.

I think we need luck now to escape. But it's still doable. The good news is that the three teams we need to stay ahead of ain't great. And at the moment, we aren't in the drop zone.

But this was a bad result today, at the least we should have been guaranteeing a point. To be schooled at home by a team with nothing to play for, it shows what a poor side we are.

I share your thoughts that it wasn't lack of effort that was Everton's downfall, but it was the lack of finesse. I never single players out for criticism because I believe that we win or lose as a team.

There can be no doubt that we lack the class of yesteryear, but having experienced the 'dreaded relegation' as a 10-year-old in 1951, 4 months short of my 11th birthday, I hope that we can fight our way to safety.

I was delighted to meet yourself and others who have attended the get-togethers, and to be introduced to some newcomers who were at the Harlech. I try to look on the bright side and, while some were relegating Everton before Christmas, I will consider it done and dusted when we are 4 points from safety with one game to play.

I acknowledge that we don't have an abundance of talent at the club; however, why start Maupay at all if you have Simms on the bench?

If you are going to play him, then you have to play to his strengths (?) which are certainly not asking him to win a ball in the air against huge centre-halves.

The point I was trying to make was that you've got to work with what you have, and if you set them up with a system that doesn't play to their limited strengths, it only compounds the misery further.

Let's face it, if you have an awful director of a movie, then the movie will be awful too.

That's what Everton feels like, same shite from the same directors, year-in & year out.

I would rather have seen Simms start before Maupay but, other than that (and even that), it's re-arranging deckchairs on the Titanic.

He changed things after half an hour and we started to dominate the game but, after 50 minutes, both manager and players looked clueless and paralysed. He's paid a fortune to see these things and react.

Saying that, I realise he's been dealt a poor hand… but today, his decision-making was crap.

That mere decision to persist with what we've got plus the addition of Maupay will probably cost us our status. No one deserves to simply just be in the Premier League because they're a so-called 'big club' or well they always have.

I've seen us at our best in the '80s and now not quite at our worst but very close to it, in the present day. I'm disgusted with the manner in which this club, our club has been run both on and off the pitch, BMD aside.

But I still won't believe we will move there until the royal blue seats are installed.

Southampton 1/10
Nottm Forest 1/2
Leicester 5/6
Everton Evens
Leeds 3/1
Bournemouth 8/1
West Ham 11/1

So it's still very much in the balance for us. Southampton and Forest have looked very vulnerable lately, their odds are fair. So I think it's a dogfight now between us, Leeds and Leicester. The Leicester away game I think now is going to be massive.

Every chance we can still stay up but I think we were going to need 7 points from Fulham, Palace, Newcastle and Leicester.

We'll get a better picture if we're staying up or not as we will now need to pick up at least one win away from either Palace or Leicester.

The next 3 games determine whether we survive or go down in my opinion.

I was 12 years old approaching 13, time's taking its toll, along with the worry of the 'unwanted relegation'.

Maupay plays again, we are relegated.

Leicester will regroup under Smith, Newcastle fighting for top four and City – well.

If anyone thinks we'll beat Bournemouth last game of the season to stay up, think again – it'll be too little too late by then and even if we can stay up on that day, our time has come.

Today was the day most Evertonians knew the game was well and truly up.

Dismayed to see Davies being brought on but who else is there?

Match played in almost total silence apart from when we scored.

Fulham brought a van-load of fans and an equal number of stewards.

One of the most depressing afternoons I ever spent at Goodison.

It's back to checking the results hoping there are still three worse teams than us all through the run-in.

We had one guy who drove down from Southampton, on his motorbike, aka Steve McQueen, we had James Garner on the pitch as well, started to sound a bit like The Great Escape, even more so when everyone of us were saying "Do not start Maupay," only for Dyche to say to "Maupay, good luck," with Maupay replying "Thank you".

I really feel for those that travelled from far and wide today. I can picture Danny heading back on the train to London, surrounded by Fulham fans, dogs awaiting his homecoming. I love your optimism, Danny, but even you will struggle to put a positive on that performance today… really shocking.

However, I will try for you, Danny. Leicester and Southampton look doomed to me, Forest have an awful run-in, and Leeds I just do not rate at all, they've been very poor. If we can somehow get Calvert-Lewin into the team, I feel we have a chance, I really do.

For me now, it hinges on us getting a result at Leicester to try and put daylight between us and them; lose at Leicester and we really are in trouble.

As a coach, I won the Horsham & District Under-11s and Senior Vets leagues and I wouldn't have played Maupay in either.

Fucking useless!

Calvert-Lewin still not considered fit enough.

4-4-2 was suicidal as an opening formation. Gray and Maupay stunk.

Got it to 1-1, missed sitters. Should have brought Simms on at half-time but instead, we started sloppily and gave up some shocking goals.

The 3rd was horrific.

Going down, and there's nothing there to prove otherwise. Not managers, just shockingly bad players.

We played in amber and blue, had one of the finest midfields in world football. We were run by an ambitious board etc… now fast forward a few decades and we are the worst run club in the country with a team of players who aren't fit to wear the shirt.

This is painful to watch and I feel sorry for the generation of Everton fans who have never seen us compete – never mind win anything.

The fans don't deserve this, but the hierarchy does, never has a club been so disastrously run as we have. Everything will be up for grabs now, every asset including the new stadium, if it ever reaches completion.

Kenwright is the chief protagonist, he sold the club to an absolute fool, after endlessly searching out Moshiri as a buyer who suited Bill's own greedy financial ambitions. Moshiri has lost a colossal fortune and Kenwright will die a heartbroken loser, if he even has a heart!

Every team is well capable of beating us, as proven today. We are gone – get used to it.

He had spotted the space available behind the right and left full-backs for runners to run into. The deepness of Everton's two centre-back and the Everton midfielders not tracking runners and gaps between the defensive line and the midfield as a result.

I don't blame Dyche, this has been a gaping hole in the awareness of the players involved for what now seems years. The ineffectiveness of Maupay just allowed Fulham to push up in support, pressuring any attacking play from the wings or attacking midfield. Onana is better than Garner in that he is in position, but looks uncoached in what to watch for defensiveness. Garner isn't even there.

Dyche was let down by players who had not put enough work into the training-ground tactics. They actually thought that all they had to do was to turn up at Goodison to beat Fulham.

For fuck's sake, why play high balls, to a 5-ft 8-in forward? It wasn't working, but you never changed it.

Davies for Gana? What the fuck, Dyche??? If you don't keep us up, your fucking history.

There's 5 other teams as bad as us. We can do this.

Calvert-Lewin has been available for the last few games. It's not an injury that's been stopping him playing; the simple reason being he has been receiving treatment due to mental health issues.

This is from a mate who has a very close friend who works in the medical department for the club, somebody who I actually know myself. I've known this for a few weeks now, but thought best to keep quiet about it.

However, when the team has been struggling for goals, or at least a recognised forward, if I was Sean Dyche, I would have been saying to Calvert-Lewin, “You're in the starting eleven, no matter what. You're playing, your club and fans need you, so get out there and give us your all”.

It's been absolutely criminal that Calvert-Lewin can sit in the stands, watching us struggle, knowing full well that he was fully fit and able to play. Surely to god he must have seen the struggles and put his personal issues to one side, and made himself available for selection?

I simply cannot understand why Maupay was in the starting XI, as all we did was pump high balls up to him. He won't win headers, he can't hold the ball up or bring team mates into play the same way Calvert-Lewin can, so why even try it?

I've been advocating for a few weeks now that we will stay up and I still stick by that but only because I think the teams below us will not get many more points. The crunch match is going to be Leicester away. Come away from that with at least a point, and I think we'll survive, but jeez, it's going to be mighty close.

And when we do survive, Moshiri has to start acting tough, and get rid of his so-called board and get some proper people in.

At the moment, I am utterly pissed off, and could probably rant on for hours about what a shit show of a season this has been. My only sense of satisfaction is watching that so-called Big 6 team – My Fucking Arse! – Spurs, losing at home to Bournemouth on the Sky Game of the Day!

The last two performances have seen me take nothing but sadness. Man Utd could and should have been out of sight by half-tie and Fulham should have been today. We are truly a poor poor side and deserve to go down

In the light of recent events, the line “I was central, I had control, I lost my head” is a bit of a giveaway. Firmly expecting Dyche to start with a weather vane and a honeypot upfront next week.

Crazy what we could have had…

If we get relegated, it'll be 38 games of our own fucking fault. End of.

It was a reminder of performances the players have put in under all the previous managers back to Moyes (possible exception for Carlo). We haven't seen that happen under Dyche but, now that it has, I really fear relegation is now more probable than possible again.

Mental health is a minefield. It used to be no one took it seriously but has the pendulum swung too far?

What I mean is that there's a load of physical injuries that players play through. But what's the threshold for mental health?

There are a lot of people with serious conditions like schizophrenia who are on medication and in therapy but manage to work. There are lots of people with Bi-Polar Disease and so on who do likewise. I'm puzzled that Calvert-Lewin has a condition that allows him to get up
and train each day but prevents him from playing the match.

Mental illness can be physically debilitating but selectively debilitating? If he's in a serious situation, shouldn't he be in a clinic rather than at Finch Farm all week?

Your post betrays a fundamental lack of understanding about mental health issues. He isn't “fully fit” if he's got mental health issues.

If he had a broken leg, then you wouldn't just tell him to put it “to one side” and run it off. Similarly, he can't just put his mental health issues to “one side” and “be able to play”.

It doesn't work like that.

Today was our most winnable game left and the manager got selections and tactics wrong. 5 teams now left to fight it out.

I watched the second half of City game and Leicester should have got a 3-3 draw. With Madison, Barnes, Tielsman, Vardy and Ineacho, I see them getting out of trouble.

We need Leeds and Forest to lose in the next 2 days but United missing a few key players. Let's face it, 1 point from the last 2 home games is awful.

We simply have to go to Palace – who have 3 straight wins and 9 goals – and win! Can Calvert-Lewin return along with Coleman and maybe bring Mina back in?

I understand what you're saying, but look at Kieran's post above yours. Calvert-Lewin looks fine in training, he's laughing and joking with team mates and is fully involved in the training sessions. So what is his problem when it comes to an actual game?

Unfortunately I've not been told that, but it's something that he needs to rectify ASAP.

Garner's first time crosses into the box look pretty good only if we have someone there for the delivery.

Hopefully we can get back up at the first attempt.

I work in the NHS and if there's a diagnosis it has a real bearing on the employee's duties. For example, my staff can work in the office but might not be able to work with clients.

Fuck knows what his diagnosis is but it's frustrating for everyone.

Looking back, in only 4 wins in 68 years have Everton scored at least 3 goals in wins against Liverpool. Two of them were in 1964. That's in 135 games.

In contrast, they have scored 3 (at least) in 33 wins against us in that same span of time (they've won many more times besides of course).

Apart from modest highs of two titles and one FA Cup (no Europe success at all, whilst the likes of Spurs, West Ham, Newcastle, Man Utd won trophies there) under Catterick whilst being bankrolled like no other club by the mega-rich John Moores, and three years of slightly better success in the mid-80s – the legacy of which was ripped away from us – we've nothing but (now ruinous, courtesy of Kenwright) purgatory to look forward to.

I was born a Toffee but aged 68 I don't now expect three goals in a win against Liverpool, never mind any such fantasy as a trail of trophies, in what's left of my life.

My problem is that I just "don't get" the Everton served up to me by way too many shysters, and never more so than now.

I agree with your post.

Calvert-Lewin has had a year to get over his "mental" illness and how the hell Maupay got in the side today, I don't know.

Today is all on Sean Dyche and his team selection and tactics. Godfrey shouldn't be anywhere near a right-back position and Maupay should not be in a Premier League starting XI.

If Patterson wasn't ready, he could have taken a chance on Danny Mills. I'm sure he would have been an improvement on what was on show.

Tarkowski had an off-day with no protection in front of him and Keane made his customary lapse of concentration for the third goal.

A total shitshow today – back to the old "Can't score goals and can't keep clean sheets" regime.

I think we need a minimum of 9 points but I can't see where they're coming from as today was a banker 3 points. The mighty Bournemouth, Wolves and Palace are pulling clear of us and the likes of Forest, Leeds and West Ham have games in hand.

I've got the feeling the last couple of games that the Dyche factor has worked off.

Again, I understand what you're saying, but Calvert-Lewin is on what… £75k - £80k per week, maybe more… I don't know, but, if I was on that kind of money, I would expect the pressure to be immense and hopefully deliver the goods required – and no doubt the club would expect him, and others on ridiculous amounts, to deliver the goods.

So if, and when, he finally does make an appearance, what will be the difference between that game, and the one before that he didn't play in? Sooner or later, hopefully sooner, Calvert-Lewin has to start playing and start helping his team mates out.

Trebles all round!

I have finally made it home. A long day.

Great to catch up with everyone at The Harlech and meet like-minded dedicated and distinguished Evertonians, many of whom had travelled from afar as well as the locals. Always a pleasure to be in your company.

Thank you to John H as always.

I can't add much more to the analysis. If last week we were guilty of a risky high line, today we sat deep and stood off, inviting trouble. We were wide open in midfield. Please don't tell me 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 is fit for the modern game or this current squad.

We were exposed by an average team. I was overheard saying that in a phone call on the train, which led to debate with a few Fulham supporters.

We can only look forward as Brian says. We are still in the fight. And fight we will.

Palace next. If I have to be in amongst the home supporters, I'll use my postcode and will be willing those blue boys on.

A miserable performance, but once again, great to see many of you today.

We already played them twice this season. What's the point? Indeed.

By the end of May, we'll still be on 27 points with a goal difference of minus 35-ish!

I've been around long enough, like so many Evertonians, to see bad runs of form by Everton teams over decades. There's a long way to go, seven cup finals, but every player must give his all and no shirkers. Today was played like a pre-season friendly at times, it should have been Full Metal Jacket from the start by every Everton player.

Each to their own but today Godfrey and Mykolenko were not seriously at the game. In the current situation, then surely give the likes of Vinagre and Holgate a chance but perhaps their Everton career books have been closed.

Every player has a job and role they must be clear about. I really thought, and it seems in hindsight blindly believed after the no-show last week at Old Trafford, Everton would show up today and show up properly.

What I couldn't fathom today was the change from a formation that's won Everton points, hard-earned at Goodison in the last 2 months to make it easier for an opponent who plays the simple give-and-goes and cut Everton pieces at times.

It's a killer to the psyche and Maupay can't hit a barn door from 4 yards. Brett Angell, you can now take respite – your former role is now taken over.

But today for me the feeling in the air this morning was sadly forbidding. Defensively at times all over the place, what's happened to the shape and discipline shown at least in the Spurs game?

I still reckon Forest and Leeds have worse fixtures but they can score goals. Also West Ham, with their Europa Conference games to play and a rack of tough fixtures against the so-called Top 6 in the Premier League, there's a long way to go.

Next week is the test and Sean Dyche has a big stack of questions to find answers to this week. Can Everton beat Palace? Yes, they can… but they must believe they can.

Typical of all the days but beating Bournemouth, I say now it's Forest, Leeds, West Ham, and Everton playing for the 3rd position and relegation.

I'm hoping in time-honoured fashion that Everton are now going to find the inner belief and solidarity to get secure before the last two games. But Everton now need a cushion if there are any spares by relying specifically on Forest, Leeds and West Ham to start losing games.

As it looks, the next two days of fixtures will give an insight to the run-in. But Everton are still in with a very good chance to stay in the Premier League and Doucouré will be back for the Skunks.

There are 7 games to go so that's a lot of permutations and variables for this whole Premier League. Bournemouth were literally written off not to win at Spurs and so who's not to say Everton can't go to Palace and beat them? Who gave Palace to beat Leeds at Elland Road last week?

UTFTs but seriously those signing off this season as a done deal for us to be relegated with so many games still to go is not acceptable.

Every day's a good day and yes this is a struggle but, if Evertonians believe and stick together, Everton can and will prevail this season.

It's in the mind and yes, today hopefully Sean Dyche and his coaches have had a double dose of the smelling salts.

Play to your strengths!

UTFTs!

This season's results against them don't dispel the fantasy I, we, us, have always chosen to adopt – contrary to decades-long evidence in reality.

Devotion of our sort has been deemed a free ride by those in charge for decades and they use it in their relentless pursuit of whatever is best for them alone.

Our current boardroom is stuffed with such nurks, like many stretching back decades.

And, if taking umbrage against 60+ years of 10 to 1 hammerings by them isn't enough to teach us how totally fatuous "If Yer Know Yer 'istory" truly is, I don't understand what a Toffee should be.

Kenwright loves the fucking tune, of course.

So, so disappointing the lack of leadership and lack of a formation or game plan. I have ultimate faith in Dyche, but he let me down today with his team selection, and total lack of a game plan. We were in disarray most of the time during the match and easy pickings for an underperforming Fulham.

I hope the Riot Act is fully read out during the following week, as to the precarious situation we are currently in, because, if the coffee is not smelt, we will be paying Championship Football next season!

McNeil our MotM. Gray [I'm Ronaldo]… Fucking feather-weight.

Lampard fucked us up.

What we have with Sean Dyche is 11 players who can compete and win or draw; lose 1 of the starting 11 and we struggle to get a result; lose 2 or 3 and we are a team
without direction. That's the problem. We have a decent team of 11 but no back-up and this was glaringly obvious today.

This is not the present manager's fault but an accumulation of poor appointments by an incompetent board and owner, and lack of vision. I don't want to use the word 'miracle' but we are in a very difficult situation that is still up to us to solve, but we are most likely going to need help from the results of other teams.

What does the future hold? Will this present owner have the backbone to replace the major failing, and that is people he hired and as majority shareholder he can fire? Or is he simply going to ignore the thousands of people whose generation and their support goes back before he was born, and replace the Chairman and other board members who are responsible for the decline of Everton FC???

There is a Wall of Fame… it's about time we had a Wall of Shame…

Let's assume the average fan earns £50k a year (I'm deliberately high-balling it). I'd say the average first-teamer today earns that in a week.

Yet we have to cajole them. We have to encourage them. We have to support them. We have to raise their spirits. The poor souls.

On Monday, no one supports me. I have to deliver in my job. I have to be self-motivated and be the best version of myself. In fact, I have to do that everyday.

These clowns are better than their league position…but cannot seem to raise themselves, concentrate, do what they're allegedly good at for a sustained period.

Maupay is a Premier League standard striker. He's proven it at Brighton who are no mugs and have dished out some beatings to us over the years with him in the team. Why can't he show it??? The chances he had today were clear-cut… Score a bloody goal!!!

Keane and Tarkowki on the 3rd goal: they watched Ward-Prowse score the exact same goal when Southampton beat us but can't get ahead or out-power or out-fox the mighty Dan James?!?! These numpties have played for England!!!

Ben Godfrey: £20M but can't keep the flight of the ball for the 2nd goal – really??? He's a defender (regardless of right-back not being his natural position) – he should be capable of predicting the flight of a flippin' football.

Mykolenko: is he the only man in the world not to know Harry Wilson is left-footed? Do your homework – this is basic stuff and you're an international footballer: show him on his right – it's so obvious.

Demarai Gray: this man should be at Aintree – he's fast and seems to wear blinkers because he never spots a team mate in a good position. It's always head down and head for goal. I'm sick of his stupid dead-end runs and weak finishes (aside from 1-2 worldies a season). Was he not taught the basics as a kid??

Honestly, I could go on and on… but these clowns aren't worth it. They'll take us down and, as the current custodians of the football club (on the playing side), they're a 100% disgrace.

Very difficult when you have very little belief in the players because they're so mentally weak, their consistency is suspect, and you can't trust them to at least make it difficult for the opposition. I'm starting to hate these clowns…

Godfrey was abysmal at Old Trafford and again today. He has absolutely no positional sense and is really no more than a hefty athlete.

All I can say about Maupay, which hasn't already been said, is that he must be fantastic in training to be anywhere near Dyche's thoughts.

The first two subs were like for like, one for an injury and the other because Gueye was on a yellow card and so didn't give Fulham anything new to deal with.

We needed a change which would alter the pattern of play and that didn't come until the 72nd minute – which was far too late.

Next weekend, we need something better than last seson's Cup capitulation at Palace. It doesn't auger well with our pathetic away record of just 3 wins in the last 34 away games!

We are where we are for a reason. We really are awful!

My biggest gripe of the day was the lack of leadership and I'll start with Tarkowski on this one. His general play of late has been poor but yesterday he played like a little girl. He was handing Fulham players opportunities with his poor clearances, poor positional sense and lack of any senior player organization at the back.

A player of his size and experience should be in control but he just passed the buck. That high ball that had him and Keane in a twist should be bread and butter for a good centre-half to deal with. Same with Keane really but we know he's mentally fragile on the pitch. That goal killed us.

There was a clear lack of a game plan or organization yesterday which Dyche must be held responsible for. I know our players are poor but he's on the touchline and should have got the message across. He seemed to be happy that Pickford was hoofing the ball upfield which is very worrying given who was up front.

We have no leadership qualities in midfield although Garner has not had much time to show any. He does seem to be decent on the ball but needs better players around him than Geuye and Iwobi.

Up front we had next to nothing. Maupay should never be near the team sheet so that's on Dyche but Gray was really disappointing and needs too much time on the ball. He needs a rocket up his backside after yesterday.

So our lack of game plan and organization let us all down yesterday which allowed Fulham to look like Barcelona with Messi, Xavi and Iniesta.

The Dyche bounce has gone but he was brought in to keep us up so needs to get this bunch of misfits organized in some way so we can battle on with the little hope we have left.

If he can't do it, then I don't see the point in keeping what is essentially the dinosaur of football we have been trying to avoid for years. We may as well allow Seamus Coleman to lead us into the new stadium…

Do you not think it’s possible that “mental health” has now become a catch-all for emotions? I had a very close friend with mental health issues who ended her own life tragically. But prior to that, she was debilitated, it caused physical effects on her to where she couldn’t physically function. I have a close friend from Manchester who was institutionalized. I also know folks with schizophrenia, bipolar and BPD all off whom work.

This notion that Calvert-Lewin can get up every day physically and mentally drag himself out of bed and train all day at Finch Farm but can’t play games, seems to me a lot like a case of nerves, anxiety etc as opposed to a serious debilitating mental illness.

As I say, I know folks with serious mental illness who cannot function at all and others who can with medication. I’ve never heard of a serious mental illness that fits what Rob is saying about Calvert-Lewin. Is he struggling with pressure? Probably. Is he anxious as he hasn’t played for so long? More than likely.

But are these things that actually genuinely prevent him from playing or is it a case of molly-coddling that the average postman, miner or taxi driver would have to suck it up to keep his job? I suspect the latter.

Re your earlier comments about your mate's close friend's awareness of issues with Calvert-Lewin, perhaps it would have been better if they'd kept quiet and not revealed info about him. The club are probably not revealing too much detail for obvious reasons.

I have friends who have suffered from very serious PTSD due to their experiences. For one, it totally changed his life and he was sadly never the same person again. Probably never will be. I won't go graphic or into detail.

Another walked away from a successful and promising career because he couldn't face having to go through what he'd experienced again and chose to remove himself from that environment to be with his family.

I think the point you touch on, like other conditions, is that there is a scale that we are all on. Some can cope better than others regardless of the severity or the reason. I came back from places and I don't mind admitting that I struggled to readjust and realign into society. I was, at times, very intolerant towards others. Angry even. And those who know me, know that isn't me.

You manage it and talk to those closest to you. I hope, if this is the case, Dominic is doing this. A bit like those scared of flying. Often the cure is to get on a plane. Get on the pitch, Dominic, and you will be fine. All of life's worries go away when you step over that white line.

Enough of the philosophy and back to Everton. Some seem to have thrown the towel in already. Not here. Not me.

We still have it all to fight for. To use Dave Abraham's sentiment of "cometh the hour", to quote a line from Status Quo's "You're in the Army Now".

Stand up and fight

I'm still feeling down after yesterday, but will pick myself up for next week. Yesterday was more than disappointing, but I got to have my Goodison Supper Bar chips, peas and onion gravy. I read the wording about Colin Harvey under the Holy Trinity Statue.

Boyhood supporter, Player, Coach, Manager, Academy Coach. Is there a bigger Evertonian?

Impeccable silence in respect to the 97.

Tony Kay on the pitch before kick-off. Although my Dad adored the Golden Vision, Kendall, Ball and Harvey as well as Labone and Gabriel, he spoke fondly of Tony Kay, who apparently was a tremendous player.

And to be amongst the Everton Men of Harlech.

There are always positives. Look forward, not back.

I was in the military (Royal Navy) and was exposed to some terrible ideology. Misogyny, xenophobia, racism, exceptionalism, a contempt for civilians and other service personnel, not to mention sexual abuse disguised as ‘Welcome aboard, shipmate'. A real toxic masculinity with a fear of introspection and accountability.

Anxiety can be debilitating and can lead to disassociation, insomnia, panic attacks, agoraphobia, paranoia and psychosis. As you say, graded exposure is the answer and that is exactly what is happening and I expect Dominic to be on the field at some point against Palace.

We don't even know he's suffering from anxiety and panic attacks, do we?

If he was that bad, would he have been able to have done those alternative dress-code fashion shoots last year?

It could just be that he's become another Daniel Sturridge in that he's got phantom pain where there isn't any, and he's convinced himself that he can't play.

As people have pointed out, he looks all fine and jovial in the training sessions, so if that's just a front then just put a front on for the actual matches?

Sometimes in life you simply have to force yourself over that threshold.

Let's be honest, there are people that are genuinely mentally ill, can't get their head from under the duvet cover of a morning, with genuine concerns and worries about where the next bill will be paid or dinner is coming from.

I'm sorry but it's almost 2 years out now for Dominic Calvert-Lewin isn't it? It's getting to the point during some stage this year when he needs to consider whether remaining in football is really for him.

I stopped reading after you started abusing the way he dresses. What the fuck has that got to do with anything? If he wants to wear a bin bag, that's his choice and has no bearing on the discussion.

He had a prolific 3 months in the Carlo Ancelotti season, he's barely scored a goal since then. I don't want this liability here next season, I know he has his fans but I've always thought he was bang-average. Good in the air but piss-poor with his feet.

I'm not going to comment on his mental health because I don't know what's going on in his head. But football ability-wise… well, I couldn't care less if I never see him in a Blue shirt again.

Playing Maupay up front and pumping the ball up to him was a disaster. The inability to hold up play meant our 2-man midfield was completely overrun. It was blinding obvious to 40 thousand but not the one man who really matters!

Why he's willing to play Simms away at Liverpool and Man Utd but not at home is mystifying... especially with Doucouré out.

I've never particularly rated Sean Dyche but I did think he was far more practical than what I saw yesterday. It's not over yet but I left the Old Lady yesterday convinced we were going down!!

If Man Utd win at Forest today, then we're still in with a chance.

What are you on about, mate?

Where did I "abuse" how he dresses?

Did I say something that you took offence at because I've checked my post and I'm not actually seeing an abusive comment in there.

I am more than understanding to these types of issues as it seems you are.

Again, reverting back to being trained to spot, mentor and coach, as well as very close friends going through difficult times, it's about judgement as to where the individual sits on the scale and how you deal with it.

No military institutionalism in me. Far from it on that particular subject.

I say tough love. Some would use a half-time football term of "rocket up the arse". It's all about judging the state of mind of the individual.

We're still in this, Lee. I just hope the manager ditches playing 4 in midfield. It has totally exposed us in the last two matches.

It seems absence makes the heart grow fonder, just like the Sigurdsson eulogies on another thread. Probably the same TWers that were calling him shite before his mysterious disappearance.

Jim #222, you didn't abuse how Calvert-Lewin dresses at all, the problem's not you.

That huge failure at home to Fulham, a loss of 3 points, seemed so empty of both quality and fight as to make it inevitable that we shall be relegated out of the top flight this season.

Dyche had said we were a bit off the levels required last week. We hoped for an improvement, but alas there was none.

It's the first huge let-down under the new regime. Can we bounce back and find a real team fighting performance with quality, to secure an away win next week to arrest this slide? We must. COYB.

As a side note, just want to thank Del Knox for being the perfect host to Andy and I, the both of us travelling for this game from elsewhere. Del very kindly put us up in his Cheshire abode. The team's result and performance let us down, but Del Knox certainly did not, many thanks, mate.

Looking forward to putting the world to rights over breakfast this morning. May the lads bounce back, find a performance and banish that pish poor shite yesterday to the past.

They must bounce back and find instant momentum for the 7 finals that remain. 27 points is a long way short of where we need to be.

The lads must prove they are fit to wear the shirt, show pride in it and let yesterday be the lowest ebb, from which we turn things around. Can they do it? It looked unlikely yesterday.

Dyche and the lads must find the answers we need and fast. We all know it, it's stating the obvious, but they must lay everything down, give everything, and fight fight fight with all their might, every single game.

Any less and we are no longer the proud top-flight record holders any longer and this squad will be remembered for all the wrong reasons. Come on, Everton, arise like a pheonix from these ashes of abject defeat.

What the hell was Dyche doing with that team? It was horrendous. Do managers take over this club then completely lose their marbles? That was 3 points completely chucked away at a whimper.

We now have 7 games left not only to save this season but probably to save the club. Relegation would be a financial disaster for the club and it would be hard to survive.

So on to Palace next weekend – a team that has shown what a bit of good management and fight can do, I don't hold out much hope of getting anything from it but hope springs eternal.

Let's just pray the players can dig something out for these last 7 games and keep us up. COYB.

This is the worst Everton team I have seen in my 60 years as a blue. My first game was in '63, funnily enough against Fulham watching a star-studded Everton team win on a beautiful sunny day at Goodison with my Dad.

A lifetime ago.

Win that and we look in a strong position to survive. Even a point would have been useful. But to lose in that fashion to a team with little to play for shorn of its focal point is really, really poor.

Dyche and the players got it wrong. And it was a terrible time to do so.

Struggling to shake the feeling that this is the year that we reap the many toxic seeds sown by the supposed leaders at this club. But sometimes we play best when everyone has given us no chance, so who knows?

Apologies, I should have been clearer.

If he was that bad, would he have been able to have done those alternative dress code fashion shoots last year?

What has that got to do with his mental health? Not directly confronting the way he dresses but an inference nevertheless, some might conclude.

All part of the same theme.

Yesterday was the first time I began to think we might go down, but I am going to switch mindset and concentrate on the next game.

COYBs! Get the blue flares out, lads, you are needed!!

Obviously the Manager was short of a number of key players but the selection of Maupay from the start was clearly a big mistake.

Once again yesterday we had three senior centre-backs on the bench and, whilst it's not easy to watch, I think we should revert to a back 5 with Coady in his favoured sweeper roll.

To finish on a slightly positive note, Garner, looked okay, if a little lightweight, and Simms looked lively when he finally came on.

However, a second bad week for the manager, he is tinkering with his tactics and it is not working. Okay, he hasn't much to work with but he must acknowledge his part in two very poor performances.

So what can he do?

As for the full backs, Mykolenko is getting unfair stick, Gray was falling over infront of him, giving the ball away for fun.

On the other flank, most of us feared Godfrey would be found out. The kid has no football intelligence, just a big heart. Patterson is a right-back and most of us on here thought Patterson should have started.

As for Maupay, he could have had a brace. Gray should have scored.

Once we conceded their second goal, I looked around and we didn't have a leader. They all looked lost, rudderless.

Garner was neat, Gana put in a shift but the quality is so poor that, if one or two are a little off their game, then we have nothing to drag us over the line.

Last season, we had Richarlison, and Gordon. Neither are filling their boots but they are scrappers.

The team get slaughtered as soon as they open the game up because we have little goal threat and nobody who can hold the ball up.

The only way to play is to fill the midfield and play on the counter-attack. Dyche was doing that and it was getting some success.

Like other managers, he is now aware that these guys are very limited.

Pickford was gesticulating throughout. Were the players not carrying-out instructions, or were they just not doing things quickly enough?

Either way, it undermined our group and made the crowd less supportive.

If anything, Pickford was guilty of hoofing the ball straight to Fulham. Gana and Garner must have had stiff necks watching that thing flying 50 yards over their heads.

We look down and out but, if we get Doucouré back, Onana fit, and Dominic on the pitch, we can go to Palace and steal the points.

I just hope Seamus is okay, as we lack leadership.

The quality of the squad is shambolic, and somehow some feel we need 9 - 12 ponts.

Sean Dyche was an easy, very lazy appointment: we have a young Sam Allardyce, but without the nous. In what world would Neal Maupay be winning against a defence built like Stonehenge? This is the basics and we are putting our hopes on Sean Dyche to find a solution.

My brother-in-law texted me last night (he's a Clarets Season Ticket holder). I know he's trying to wind me up, but he just said “Ifeel your pain, Bro, but you can't have Kompany!”

My annoyance is well and truely at Kenwright though. He’s been at Everton longer than Peter Swales was at Man City and he was the one who took years to find Moshiri, who was happy to have Bill still on the board. That should have been the first thing for Moshiri to address!

The People’s Club.

Rondon, even at his age, weight and pace, is better than Maupay. Over the last few years, we have bought strikers that all contend to get into my all-time-worst Everton 11.

Out of the current squad, only Pickford gets into a better team. The rest of them are either past it or just not good enough. The players we have out on loan are better than the actual players.

Yesterday's mess was purely on Dyche.
Formation, The line up, tactics, the subs all on Dyche.

It's worrying he thought that our 4 man midfield would win the battle against a 5 man midfield.

He had Pickford pump the ball up to their 6ft6 centre back and we didn't win hardly any 2nd ball as they had 5 in the middle and we had 4. Basic stuff.

As a club, we are shite from top to bottom.

The only positive are the fans and, let's face it, yesterday's atmosphere was dreadful. How can you try and motivate the players when only 1 man (Gana) out of the 11 puts a tackle in.

Paul @204,

Love your optimism. You are right in what your saying: we still have a chance of staying up and, if we do, it will be by the skin of our teeth.

It was great heading to the new stadium post-match and having a few consolation drinks in The Bramley Moore. So to the long ride down south and thinking about the next "must win" at Palace!

Thanks again to the wonderful Evertonians I met yesterday, especially Stephen for making contact. You all made my day, even if my club let me down, again!

Safe travels everyone.

Gana was again left chasing shadows, presumably wondering who the hell was in midfield with him. It was glaringly obvious that we were being exposed and were wide open in the middle. It was that space that led to at least two of their goals.

I often say that Pickford reminds me of a Rugby player punting for territory. Perhaps it was instruction to hit the striker or find the channels.

Two problems there. Our striker is about 5 foot tall and not a target man and was surrounded by giants.

And we didn't create space in the channels.

Palace. We can get something under the lights against Newcastle at Goodison. Leicester, Brighton, Wolves and do Bournemouth on the last day. If we upset City, bonus.

There is skin in the game. There is a lot to play for. I hope they are looking in the mirror this morning and realise that.

Pete, good to meet you. I'm pleased you enjoyed the company, sorry about the team. It's not always like that, which is why idiots like me keep giving.

You can shuffle about formations a bit and switch players like Maupay for Simms and Godfrey for Patterson but it's still a very poor side - with the weakest attack in the Premier League.

Compared to the side Lampard scraped up last season, we're much weaker even at full strength. Lets face it, we'd have won with Richarlison and Gordon on the side yesterday. With them missing and so many other absences yesterday we're very poor indeed.

If we stay up - it will be entirely to Dyche's credit.

If we go down, there's a long list of culprits dating back many years.

No option but to seek some positivity, and that has to be that a big lesson has been learned for Dyche and his coaches yesterday. A compact 451 is the only way. We were getting somewhere using it before Doucoure saw red. Wins and draws were coming, along with some confidence in our system. We have to keep the system and make like for like changes as best we can, as weakening the midfield makes us lose matches.

We can only get points by keeping it tight, poaching a goal from open play and or from a corner. It’s unpalatable but it was working pretty well. Teams couldn’t play against it and with our graft, always looked value for our point(s).

More positives, we revert back to 451 and get a point or three at Palace, possibly with DCL contributing. Seamus and Onana back to bolster the system. Then the following match Doucoure back too, to finish the season as strong as we can with a full compliment of first choice players available.

The bookies haves us evens, 50/50, to stay up ( or be relegated if your glass is half empty) so it’s all still very much to play for. If we have a bit of luck with injuries, recovering players, the essential appetite and fight for it, we can do it.

Very hard to take any positives away from that performance but I managed to identify two:-

McNeill is a forward who can beat a defender and strike a football.

Garner is a midfielder who can control a football, look up and pass it to a team mate.

It is pretty unethical that a member of Medical Services should breach the Medical Confidentially clause in their employment contract.Anyway if Calvert Lewin is recovering from a injury it is common for a athlete to have post injury syndrome and the recovery and rehabilitation framework will give consideration and suitable treatment. before deciding the athlete is fit to work.

I have said it before that Everton's wheeling out Calvert Lewin's recovery to deflect from Fan attacks on their numerous examples of incompetence, is very unhelpful to Calvert Lewin,,'s recovery.Calvert Lewin's football career has be mismanaged at Everton from the start, because of the prevailing pressure of incompetence we have all.witnessed for years.Actually I have been drove demented myself on.occasions for years in the way they carry on at Everton and I don't work for them.

I agree with Sam that there a still many twists and turns till the end of the season in the relegation battle.It is better to get a performance like that over with, since the squad are still capable of a sufficient level of performance to get by.It is also a early wake up call for Dyche.

I think we will survive but with the P&S issues we won't be able to invest in the squad in the summer. I would love to know just who is making the decisions and why.

We are in the financial mire yet we hired Benitez and then paid him £10m to leave plus his wages when he was there and no doubt he got a golden hello.

Moshri has stated he leaves the running of the club to Poison Bill yet hires and fires managers. Even my aunt Sally knew Benitez was a really big ask yet he still did it.

lets limp to the finish line and be safe and hopefully Bill, Miss dynamite and the rest will piss off this summer

Maupay is another Tosun.He is the only senior Centre Forward available.

It is absolutely ludicrous that Directors of the Board are still in place and are refusing , under the cover of unspecified advice , not to attend home games.

I think rather than have a empty Director Box. dummies on Clowns should be installed to give everyone a lift.

I've always said that tactics and team selection don't matter if the mindset isn't there. It certainly wasn't there yesterday.

However poor the other teams around us are, we have to pick up our own points. We have to get that mindset back because it's the one thing that will keep us up.

That in turn puts pressure on the DCL situation - and I doubt there'd be half as much criticism if we hadn't been so incompetent in the transfer market (not just in summer but going back years).

As for loans and acquisitions in Jan, it looks pretty clear that we sniffed about a bit but there was nothing within our meagre financial range worth having.

Ouattara looks a great signing for Bournemouth and we were interested - but if you can't compete with Bournemouth financially then you're going to struggle to compete with them n the pitch too.

Once again, though, most of us know Mosheri has got it wrong again although we can have the hope he will have sold out by then !

The Spurs and Forest matches were both good enough performances to have taken all the points, alas they ended in draws and those four dropped points have put us nearer to the trap-door.

Yesterday, was as bad as we've seen under Dyche, and laid bare how poor this squad really is, and no matter what tactics he employs or how he shuffles the pack, there is a complete lack of quality across the board that undermines everything and leads to results such as this defeat.That's not me giving Dyche a pass, because he's as responsible as the players for the last two messy performances.

Of course we could get enough points ourselves, but not with performance levels that we witnessed yesterday and not with the lack of goals on offer. I'm hoping that we do win a few games or even gain a point from each of the remaining seven games, but based on yesterday's game, that would seem a forlorn hope and I'm now preparing for what seems the inevitable outcome of our rapid decline and mismanagement.

Leicester have taken 1 point from their last 9 games.

Forest have taken 3 points from their last 9 games.

Southampton have taken 8 points from their last 9 games.

Leeds have taken 10 points from their last 9 games.

As bad as we were yesterday, we’ve actually taken 9 points from the last 9 games.

We we’re dreadful yesterday but others around us are equally as dreadful too and that might, might just save us as if the form above carries on, we finish 4th bottom.

I think a lot of what Conte said about his Spurs players is equally true of this Everton squad, for the first time in weeks we had what most of us considered a winnable game, but with that pressure this group folded like it has whenever a possible winnable game comes around. Remember lost easily at home to Leicester who were in the bottom 3 same as Southampton and Wolves and away to Bournemouth.

the fat lady might not have sung but she has done her warm up and the mike has been put on the stage, what can possibly stop her singing.

Didn't we all know this anyway?? It shouldn't be a shock to us !! He's no miracle worker !! We knew there would still be games like this, if you didn't, you live in dreamland!
Watching a not brilliant Fulham side basically pulling us apart at will second half shows how far this sqaud has been stripped of any decency.

It's not over, like some believe, and have believed since December.
The Leicester game could be decisive now. But even then, other teams are not going to win every game. I wouldn't be surprised if it goes to the final day with 3- 4 teams all at risk.

Unsubstantiated, rather than unspecified.

We're all angry and frustrated at where we are at as a club and cannot see a way out. I still hold on to the hope we're not one of the worst three teams in the league - even if it's purely on goal difference.

The board have a LOT to explain to do and hold a lot of culpability. The players appear to now accept their fate, even if there's still hope in some form.

Even if we stay up, I don't see how the books can be balanced for next season. Going down will kill the club financially. We've already made more losses than FFP can accommodate and going down will diminish that even further.

I think the club gambled a couple of seasons ago on ploughing money into players to get us into European contention, which would have kept the wolves at bay but it failed abysmally and loaded the club with costs they then couldn't resolve. From there the club went into free fall and had no option but to become a selling club. This season saw the heaviest impact of that, with players going out and non of significance coming in. Whilst it holds that 'if Real Madrid come knocking', there were comments by Ancelotti which point to him being very aware of the heavy financial constraints. He knew there was no way he could build the squad he wanted as the money just wasn't there.

I feel let down, numb and little hope. Last season's escape was celebrated with a high level of relief. I won't feel relief if we escape relegation this season, it'll be a temporary reprieve with my expectations of finding ourselves in a similar position next season.

Never mind where are the goals coming from - where's the money coming from to both close the FFP gap and buy the striker we desperately need to avoid the situation again? This will be against the backdrop of players being sold and players out of contract. What playing resource will we have left?

Players at end of contract this season:
* Asmir Begovic (GK)
* Andy Lonergan (GK)
* Yerry Mina (D)
* Vinagre (D)
* Coady (D)
* Tom Davies (M)
* Townsend (F)

Players entering last year of contract:
* Doucoure (M)
* Iwobi (M)
* Gueye (M)
* Gray (F)
* Simms (F)

That's a lot of players to carry into 23/24 season who the club will struggle to replace en mass, with little funds to rebuild. If we go down, where do we go from there?

Yesterday was the one game I felt we would get something from, never thought for one minute we could have been so poor. You sort of expect one or two players to under-perform but not nine, only Dwight McNeil and Pickford could hold their heads up at the final whistle.

Why Maupay was picked with a goal-scoring record that would even make even Rondon look World Class, what is it ? One goal in thirty odd appearances. Having said that, there weren't many options from the bench. I wish the two young lads could have had a cameo role, Stanley Mills and Samuels-Smith (who I know little about) but surely they would have been better than their senior counterparts.

Can’t add too much about the pathetic performance and selection of the team but when your main playmaker is the goalkeeper then you know you are in serious trouble especially when he kept lumping the ball up to to a very small striker marked by two giant centre backs, it took some planning that!!

The match was summed up by the supporter sitting next to me, who is usually a lot more tolerant than me, “Fuckin’ shite” were his last remarks as he did one after Fulham made it 3-1 and his mate in front got up and walked out with him shaking his head, at Everton not his mate!!

Thought Vinagre was are long awited left back solution at one stage.

We have been slowly sinking for a decade now. The board has gotten worse as have the managers and squad over this period. If we do manage to stay up this season, next season will be just as bad as this club is rotten to the core and is in its terminal phase.

Our multimillionaire owner, board, manager and players will toddle off into the sunset while we are left with an empty shell of a once great institution.

And, by the way, I’m not being pessimistic. This club is royally fucked.

If anyone doesn't fancy Palace, let me know.

I know a fool and a few other people who will snap your hand off.

We may be in the corner, but the trainer can put down the towel as the gloves are still on and we can come out fighting.

Given yesterday's meeting, the scene from the film Zulu where the vastly outnumbered British force held out springs to mind. Singing men of Harlech, our meeting place yesterday.

Massive setback yesterday, but we're still in this. I still think we will do this.

The Defence can't defend. The midfield doesn't protect or create. We don't get enough players forward when we attack. I was saying this under Lampard and it's happening again. Under Lampard opposing teams were having about 20 shots per game. Same now under Dyche.

It's up to the DM to protect the Defence. Gueye is an utter failure. Runs about like Robbie Savage did.

Simms and Maupay can't play on their own. Dyche needs to find a way of playing two forwards together without the midfield being over run. If he can't we are going down.

It appears that while neither of them are any great shakes as footballers, without two heffalumps like Doucoure and Onana, Dyche's system, such as it is, doesn't work.

I think the bookies current odds of evens on going down are generous to us. Even so, they also imply a last match day dogfight against Bournemouth. Right now, I couldn't see us winning that

We are far from being relegated, however, Palace are now safe and Wolverhampton and Bournemouth are closing in on safety. That leaves:

West Ham
Leeds
Us
Forest
Leicester and
Southampton fighting it out.

I think Southampton have a mountain to climb at this stage and I also think that Forest are both a poorer side than us and have a tougher run in than us so I am hopeful that we will finish ahead of both of those clubs. However, if we were to continue to produce performances like yesterday there is a probability that Leicester will catch us and that Leeds and West Ham will stay ahead of us.

Yesterday was by some distance the most disappointing display since the new manager took charge.

We need the Everton that drew with Spurs and beat both Brentford and Arsenal.

By no stretch of the imagination can we be described as a talented team but if we can revert back to being one that is difficult to beat then we have a chance.

Still a lot of points to play for!

with regard to Bournemouth, I wouldn't be writing that game off. From what I've seen they will be well safe by the end of the season, and might just have their flip flops on, especially if a win doesn't move them up the table.

Crystal Palace (A) Lose
Newcastle United (H) Lose
Leicester City (A) Draw
Brighton & Hove Albion (A) Lose
Manchester City (H) Lose
Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) Lose
AFC Bournemouth (H) Lose

I'd fuckin love to have him back now after watching that shitshow yesterday. Dyche could lump the ball up to him then act surprised when a 5ft 8in striker gets out jumped by a 6ft 4in CB!

Dave @282, you'll have to put me into your deluded category

But it is very hard to see much more than 5-6 points which is actually roughly par for the season, so would make sense. Is that enough?

Dyche had a mountain to climb and he's just took a big slip, but he's still on the mountain clinging by his finger tips.

The people who say how poor the team is( rightly) how we've been down for ages, how we have no chance, and yet they expect us to easily beat a Fulham team that have been comfortably in the top 10 all year are deluded.
Yes we should be capable of beating them but are we surprised when we don't?? After last couple of years ?

I believe we are now relying on favours and even then we need this team to somehow get ten points in my opinion.

Even with Calvert Lewin how the fuck they do that I don't know.

This is an awful Everton side, full of fucking headless run around chickens, bottlers.

Our best player currently is McNeill and there you have it !

Hope I'm wrong but I can see Forest getting a result today and same with Leeds tomorrow.

It's a miracle we need folks, we have been floating in and around the bottom three for the last seventy odd matches - that tells us everything.

Ex manager returning to play us banned from the dugout and without his main striker, his team haven't won a game in five but oh yes still good enough to beat us, it's always the same with Everton.

I'm as miserable as fuck with that result yesterday

1. Shocking away form.

2. Derby wins.

3. Dreadful discipline record.

4. Long term injuries.

5. League Cup record (add in now our recent F.A Cup record too).

6. Recent recruitment of players.

7. Wages we pay.

8. P.R dept is a joke now.

9. Basic training (we struggle to even do the basics,our passing, shooting and crossing is woeful).

10. Re-signing poor or passed it players.

Were a Comedy club atm and the shower of shite boardroom we currently have ,have just let things stagnate... fucking shameful,I despise all of them.

We all deserve better!

This is my quote of the season

'It seemed fairly straightforward to me: you're missing key players in midfield but keep the same system, don't be expansive and try to keep it tight. Fulham are good passing side. What you don't do is play one less midfielder and wave them through in all the open space you're created'

Can someone please pass this on to Sean Dyche!

Sod it the rest needs repeating too:

'Maupay shouldn't even be in the squad let alone at the club. He's not PL standard and picking him deflates the other players because it's pointless passing to him. Dyche should have accepted he'd lost key players and even gone for the draw. At this stage of the season, in our predicament a point would have been fine. 442 with inferior players was a completely baffling selection. Did anyone see Dyche tell Pickford to shut up, as he was moaning his arse off at the crap going on in front him? Even if DCL isn't fit he will provide a focal point and we will be able to cross the ball and it will help the mentality of the other players. I hope his arrival on the pitch is imminent'

Thanks I am beginning to remember more now.I thought It was him being brought on at the FA final and me thinking he is only on because they paid so much for him.But he was a real striker and could finish.We had nothing closely resembling that since Cahill.Actually all forwarders have missed more chances than Cottee by miles.In the games we have played recently he would have aleast go a goal a game and probably created space for other players.

I think Evertonian's have been really starved of a forward who can finish.At Everton they do not seem to have a clue what a real striker is and whatever give them the idea that we did not need one desperately.£90 million for Saha, they weren',t even looking at the right player, when they had money.Though they did not seem to have a Clue about Profit and Sustainability Rules or the accounts that the figures are derived from.

Really the problem is consistent and even blatant incompetence at most levels in the Club. No wonder we are in the situation with them all still in situ and a empty Directors box and Moshiri watching Italian television in Monte Carlo.

It is a absolutely crazy way to run a Football Club.A pub team would be better run.

Crystal Palace (A) draw
Newcastle United (H) draw
Leicester City (A) lose
Brighton & Hove Albion (A) Lose
Manchester City (H) Lose
Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) draw
AFC Bournemouth (H) win

I make that 33 points for us. If that keeps us up I will be amazed.

Unbelievable. Since yesterday’s debacle, I’ve been quietly racking my brain trying to work out why? And the only conclusion I keep coming back to, is that I haven’t got a fucking clue.

Playing at Goodison, is all about engaging the crowd, playing at Goodison is all about engaging the crowd. I said playing at Goodison is all about engaging the crowd, and up until yesterday, I thought Dychey understood this. Now I’m not so sure.

Of course the team is poor, but at least they have been very competitive lately, and this was the hardest thing about yesterday, because suddenly we became very meek once again.

You only going to get a performance from this side for two games or three if you are lucky, which Dyche was against Man U and then they will just turn up and put in a shift.The Squad really thought they would get three points against Fulham and did not put the effort into training during the week.This has been the attitude for years and every Manager before Dyche has had to watch the resulting doss, that Dyche look at, wondering what the fuck is going on. There something regarding the underlying training regime at Finch Farm that gravitates towards this entitlement attitude and resulting in a below power display no matter how much the Manager tries..That is why I am saying it is better to get this performance out of the way and concentrate on the next two games, expect the third game after that to be dross again.Against Man City I would give all the players a run out and give them the most embarrassing defeat of their lives.Then the two games after that tell them get their fucking act together.Swearing at all and sundry at Finch Farm would be a good idea as well.

I haven't bother to count up the points, since there will be a few twists and recommend Dyche doesn't either, just get the performances out of this shower of bastards, by hook or by crook.

Firstly, we deserved to be ahead at half time. And the formation was tweaked from 4411 to 4231 to better effect. However we were missing key players and v low on quality. I also think the players bottled the expectation to win.

Secondly, how would we feel now if Dyche had gone with Davies, Garner and Gueye in midfield - and a front 3 of Gray, Iwobi and McNeil?

That would look utter cowardice at home against a Fulham side on a dreadful run without Mitrovic. And it doesn't look like a side that would have won.

There's no athleticism or goals from the midfield 3 and about 75% think Davies is an atrocious player.

The front 3 doesn't look exactly potent either (and doesn't really improve if you swap Simms and Maupay in).

So I do think Dyche got things wrong - but it's a lot easier to get things right if you have a decent group of players available.

The only Everton player to score over 20 league goals in a season since Gary Lineker 37 years ago was Lukaku. Even Greame (Kenwright Puppy) Sharp never made 20 a season in his many years at Everton.

Forgot about Lukaku was thinking more in terms of someone who could even look like scorLukaku just got pissed in the end, as the back do It was often left open.

As for Linekar a championship winning side was set up to support him and lost the League as a result.

But we have nothing even close to looking like them and the Club seems not to be bothered.Even Moshiri said a striker would be sorted, which seems to indicate he did not know what he is talking about,like the rest at Everton.

I think confidence is not the issue ,there is more of a half arsed, beyond caring attitude once a game gets away from them..Dyche did change attitude a bit, but no Manager has been able to over come that third match malaise, under Frank it was every second match.

I was quietly trying to give him the benefit of doubt by thinking these must be slow at the back, Dyche must be wanting to push Gray forward because he his quicker than them, but I was also watching us get overrun, and couldn’t believe our manager couldn’t see the same thing.

I said last night, how everything was wrong, and the only time we looked okay was when we tried to keep the ball moving and on the floor. This resulted in a lovely move from which Maupay should have scored, but then we just went back into our shells and reverted to type.

Their second goal, why Mykolenko had to fire the ball at Gray so hard was ridiculous, and the only time we stretched Fulham was when Simms ran the Chanel around the 85 minute mark.

I understand what you’re saying about cowardice football Robert, but if you don’t play to your strengths, you’re always going to struggle and Everton struggled very badly yesterday.

When we shuffled things around yesterday, both teams played a 4231. But which of our players are definitely better than their Fulham counterpart?

Pickford, yes. Tarkowski, probably. Other than that, I'd have said Robinson, Palhinha, Pereira and Willian walk into our side at present - and the rest are pretty even.

More than tactics we lost on quality - and without Coleman, bottle.

Stay up or go down we must give the manager more time! The players we have unless other clubs want average are not going anywhere fast. Next season up or down ain't going to change a great deal. It will be survival again or try to get back to the premiership.

Dyche needs to go back to the drawing board and quickly. The players need to respond. Time we don't have but still a chance! Everyone must do their part!

Cmon united

And it gets worse

I hope Liverpool do well tomorrow....

Palace away: Draw
Newcastle home: Loss
Leicester away: Draw
Brighton away: Loss
Man City home: Loss
Wolves away: Draw
Bournemouth home: Loss

Points: 30.

We may scrape some draws at teams that struggle for goals but if we can't beat poor Fulham and Spurs teams at home then we aren't beating Newcastle, City or Bournemouth.

We are battling relegation for reason not due to bad luck.

I wish we were 'poor' and sitting either 5th or 10th that way I wouldn't need to self flagellate due to wanting the RS to actually win a game tomorrow.

Based on some predictions above we might make 33 points but after yesterday I am pessimistic - I can only see 4 or 5 max from the last 6 games.

If we can find 6 points, would 33 be the lowest ever points for PL survival?...If it transpired.

Forest have got a stinker of a run in, Need Leicester to slip up again and then hopefully put daylight between us and Leicester, when we play them.

Those teams are struggling, we are but with the chance of Calvert-Lewin, Doucouré and Onana back, we will only get stronger, those others will not.

In our own hands, I just feel we will get better results than the bottom three, if we can just keep our noses in front and hope we get the points at Leicester, in a couple of weeks time.

We are in the strongest position of those three below us, deserve all we get if we cannot get over the line.

Yourself and the rest of the supporters who support our survival in the premiership is admirable but is there any way you can transfer this support to those 11 players on the pitch, as at times they just don't seem interested and seem incapable of doing the simple things that should be natural with all the coaching they have received,

Congratulations on the turn out at the Harlech Castle. Liked to have been their hope in the future.

They say that it's only when alcoholics reach rock bottom they can turn their life around; think I'm nearly at rock bottom as an Evertonian.

Can anyone honestly tell me anything about the current efc disorganisation that is Premier standard?

A points deduction either this or next season is inevitable due to the financial indiscretions of our wonderful board, and I bet the dealings of the oligarch involved in the club haven't even been looked into yet.

It's a total farce the way this club is run from the top, I reckon its all going to come out when relegation is confirmed. The board know the truth and that's the reason for the made up stories, absences and now total silence on all things Everton. Cowards the lot of them.

We can still stay up, but we need some favours and some scarce luck on our side.
The fact is that the team is not very good, they have proved it time and again this season against fellow teams propping the league up.

I thought Wolves and West Ham would get themselves out of trouble, but Leicester have suprised me I thought they had enough class players to climb the table. I hope not, as it stands we need them below us.

Its still wide open if we can find some decent football from somewhere, but its difficult to have much confidence in our team.

Even so if I was forced to bet on will we stay up or go down, I would bet that we will stay up by the skin of our teeth.

They would never say it, but this doesn’t mean for one minute that a lot of them won’t be hoping for a Leeds victory tomorrow night.

Don’t ask them though because they’ll only show mock outrage and bring Man City into the equation, which is enough confirmation for me!!

Fuck them indeed, and there’s no way I’m going to be breaking the habit of my lifetime by wanting any favours out of them.

We have got to get ourselves out of trouble, although looking at yesterday, if we do survive then the last thing we need is a transfer embargo, going into next season.

Biggest match of the season for us is Leicester away on May Day Monday evening, it may well decide the final relegation place.

Sad to say they cannot have any complaints if they go down as they have been as poor as any team around them this season.

On cannot blame the team entirely as they just don't have the clout in midfield and certainly have little if not anything up front.

I can't help thinking Brighton are laughing all the way to the bank after dumping Maupay on us.

Seven games left and we are all praying that the three below us keep losing as I cannot see RS doing us a favor tomorrow the way they are playing.

I got the feeling yesterday that the crowd and the players believed it was one of those games that if we turned up, it would have been enough to win. Obviously, it quickly became apparent that just wasn't true.

It's fine for the supporters to have misplaced confidence in this Everton team, but it isn't for the manager or the players, they have to battle as if their lives depended on it, in every game.

Dyche has to find every tactical gain he can, and ensure that those on the park give their all, physically and mentally. Leaving the midfield wide open isn't and shouldn't have been an option. For this Everton side to win any game they must be robust at the minimum and deadly clinical going forwards, to try and convert the limited number of chances that they create.

I wish I knew how many points will be enough to avoid the dreaded drop, and with the best will in the world, nobody else does either.

I'd hazard a guess that the nearer teams are to the point a game mark the more likely they are to survive, but I believe it will possibly be slightly lower this term, although anything below 36 will likely end in relegation, but as I said earlier nobody really knows.

Crystal Palace is the next game and that game should be the only focus of the manager, the players and the supporters. Everybody took their eyes off the prize yesterday and we all paid dearly for it.

The starting XI and subs put paid to that.

I'm no bigger an Evertonian than those I stand and sit amongst every time I have the privilege to attend and watch Everton. And it is a privilege.

I wish I could transfer that feeling onto the pitch. I, like all of us try our best to do so. I wish they felt for Everton like I and many other do.

I was in the Arkles last night before heading home. It was painful. Kopites and Fulham supporters congratulating each other.

We move on to Palace. Win our games, pick up points.

But with DCL it's "He's on grass" (which is what 60's hippies called marijuana)," He's back in full training"; and then come Saturday isn't even in the squad. Will he make an appearance before the end of the season? has he had a setback?

It seems to me where this club is going from top to bottom, tell them nothing.

Exactly. I’m a big fan of DCL and I’m sympathetic to his numerous injuries potentially impacting his mental health: why wouldn’t it….?

BUT what the dickens is the current issue? And why is it shrouded in so much mystery??? If it’s mental health well fk it: my mental health is down the pan cos of this lot. My state of mind is unhappy. I’m not sleeping. I’m angry all the time and I hate the bl00dy club from top to bottom: the stupid thick directors and their inability to professionally run a multimillion pound organisation. To the absolute mentally weak clowns that masquerade as footballers that take the field every week: using every excuse in the world to avoid rolling up their sleeves and performing.

Frankly I’m out of sympathy for anything or anyone associated with the club. Let’s go down and put us out of our misery. And let’s have the massive FFP fine and the points deduction and the overpriced stupid stadium and shed loads of debt for the next 50 years (assuming we don’t go into administration). Just bring it on.

Because I’m sick of losing every year at Anfield because we annually sh1t the bed. And same at Arsenal. And Spurs and United. We’re totally gutless and pathetic. Just be done with it already.

We’ve been crap for years which is why the Moyes debate happens every few months because as limited as he was, he gave some of us some pride. And that’s a feeling I haven’t felt about my football club for years.

Forest:

Liverpool away Loss

Brighton home Loss

Brentford away Loss

Saints home Win

Chelsea away Loss (poss draw)

Arsenal home Loss

Palace away Loss

Saints:

Arsenal away Loss

Bournemouth home Loss

Newcastle away Loss

Forest away Loss

Fulham home Loss

Brighton away Loss

Liverpool home Draw

I am still feeling pretty miserable about our performance and like many have searched my brain box for a combination that might prove effective enough to get us to safety. I think all he can do is pack the midfield, play Simms up top, and McNeill in an advanced position.

Until Doucoure is back for me that would mean playing, Gueye, Onana, Gardner, and Davies (Doucoure). - and dropping, Gray and Iwobi. Three @ 1-0 and a 0-0 might get us over the line. A daunting task.

1) which Chelsea team have you been following to assume they’ll beat or draw with Forest? They’re rubbish. Look at their results and even we got a draw there

2) as a reminder, we need 3 teams to be below us to avoid relegation. Not 2

I am prepared in my mind for the worse so I won't be doing something silly when it actually happens. Be prepared.

I'm not and I won't. I never will until it's proven.

We are not in the bottom three. We have games to win.

Optimism over defeatism.

See you at Palace. I can't make Newcastle but my tickets will be in good hands. See you at Leicester and Brighton.

See you in the top flight of English football next season.

DCL must play, Coleman and Onana need to return.

If we do go down - we'll be doing well to avoid the decline that hit Leeds and is currently damaging Sunderland so badly. No idea who will be playing for us next season in this scenario but we can all rest assured that most of those who relegated us will be long gone by the time the season kicks off.

If we stay up - we'll be in a comparable position to the start of this season but at least we have a manager who seems to be more capable of planning to deal with this.

It felt as though our only way of staying up was relying on the above, and I don't see any difference now to how things were when Lampard left in that sense.

The team is a little bit better under Dyche, but the players are still the same players and they'll still be shit. I was resigned to relegation before Dyche arrived, so for me anything outside the bottom 3 is as good as we can hope.

Currently we're being propped up by the skin of our teeth, and if we do stay up (I don't think we will stay up) it'll be more by luck than judgement.

NO NO NO NO

Why on earth would you want to bring back the horrendous 352.

This with 433 is the formation that cost Lampard his job

Can I ask you one question. Why on earth does any team need not 1, not 2, but 3 slow centre backs?

Most teams maybe have one tall forward to mark, but most have a small tricky forward and you need a mobile centre back to mark him. Bad enough we have Keane and Tarks together we don't need a third.

451 got us great wins v Arsenal, Brentford and Leeds and is the only formation we need. Dyche made a mistake of trying 442 for our last 2 games, he doesn't need to compound things with 352.

451 is our only remote chance now!

I think the loss on Saturday has done for us, a win would have given us a decent buffer to both Soton and Leicester but we couldn't even cling to that.
Soton and Forest to go with final spot between Leicester and us. The worry is that Leicester have some class players who may turn up, we don't have any so when it gets to the end of the season they can find some quality.

I tell myself that I hate the ownership, hate the players and we deserve to go down as we are awful, but it's just psychological clap trap to protect myself from a bad outcome.

Sad eh, but that's the reality of supporting Everton.

My team for Palace - if DCL and Onana are fit.

Pickford

Holgate Mina Tarkowski Godfrey

Iwobi Onana Gueye Garner McNeil

DCL.

Simplify - 4-5-1 and grab a tight 1-0.

If we play a more open or complex system, these players will fall apart.

Doucoure got a deserved Red.

It happens in football.

But idiocy? He just got wound up and reacted. The other player made sure and went down like he'd been hit by a sucker punch.

Doucoure almost did the same against Leeds at home as well.

Those incidents happen multiple times in every premier league game, and as a senior pro he should know better and he does know better.

But Saturday was mostly down to effort, and if they have stopped running then we are in big trouble. This manager has done a lot right since he come. But he's got it wrong last 2 games.

Time to see whos got the balls!

It wouldn't be so bad if we had 2 effective strikers but we haven't.

My other point about 352 is that if you are going to play this system why the need for 3 centre backs?

I would prefer 2 full backs and a centre back, then a midfield of 2 wide men and 3 centre midfielders and your 2 forwards. Makes a lot more sense to me. You could really take the game to the opposition then and press high.

Tarks and Keane are slow and played a high line against Manure got battered for pace.
I seem to recall a Manure player on a zimmer frame going past them

The last few results show that you need 3 in the middle in modern football or you get overrun. Especially with the quality of players we have to put in there. Don't understand why an experienced manager like him has seemingly forgotten that or changed the whole system because one player is missing for a few games. Makes no sense to me.

He seems to be falling into the Lampard and Benitez trap of leaving us short in midfield at the moment. We all know how well that worked. The only time we have looked like picking points up lately is when Gray played up top on his own with 5 behind him. He should go back to that system.

Of course, the roots of our potential demise were sown well before Dyche arrived to be fair. The baffling inability to bring in a proven striker over summer has proved as disastrous as many fans pointed out at the time. If we could see it before a ball was kicked, why didn't the club? I don't buy all this 'there was no-one out there' the club came out with at the time. Other teams managed it.

With that plus the lack of character shown by this group of players when under any sort of pressure, the season was always going to be a struggle.

Throw in Dyche tinkering with the formation to poor effect in the last few games and you do wonder just what is going on at our club.

I think we can only rely on Forest, Leicester and Southampton losing every week now. That's not giving up but just the reality of how confident I feel about these players picking up the points needed.

Leeds Utd's remaining fixtures:

Liverpool – H – April 17
Fulham – A – April 22
Leicester – H – April 25
Bournemouth – A – April 30
Manchester City – A – May 7
Newcastle – H – May 13
West Ham – A – May 20
Tottenham – H – May 28

West Ham's remaining fixtures:

Bournemouth – A – April 23
Liverpool – H – April 26
Crystal Palace – A – April 29
Manchester City – A – May 3
Manchester United – H – May 7
Brentford – A – May 13
Leeds – H – May 20
Leicester – A – May 28

Nottingham Forest's remaining fixtures:

Liverpool – A – April 22
Brighton – H – April 26
Brentford – A – April 29
Southampton – H – May 8
Chelsea – A – May 13
Arsenal – H – May 20
Crystal Palace – A – May 28

Leicester's remaining fixtures:

Wolves – H – April 22
Leeds – A – April 25
Everton – H – May 1
Fulham – A – May 8
Liverpool – H – May 13
Newcastle – A – May 20
West Ham – H – May 28

Southampton's remaining fixtures:

Arsenal – A – April 21
Bournemouth – H – April 27
Newcastle – A – April 30
Nottingham Forest – A – May 8
Fulham – H – May 13
Brighton – A – May 20
Liverpool – H – May 28

Currently it's us, Leeds or Leicester joining Southampton and Forrest going down. West Ham will continue picking up odd points with Moyse in charge, especially when they get knocked out of Europe, which has clearly been a huge distraction for them.

Then again maybe I'm wrong and that's what Dyche wants them to do. That along with the hoofball, the hot potato aimless tippy-tappy football in our own half and missing a couple of easy chances just looks like they are all out to prove they are the worst team to ever represent our club. They are definitely doing a good job on that.

We all must be crazy thinking that this team can get us out of this mess.

Having said all that, if Leicester, Southampton and Forest blah blah blah then who knows. Cuckoo… cuckoo…

That was the most disappointing thing about Saturday and why I can forgive people for slating the team. To lose in the manner we did with so much at stake.
Dyche needs to get a reaction, I'm hopeful, still optimistic we can beat this drop. Still in our hands. Give them the bollocking they deserve and hope they react!!!

C’mon lads, let’s start fantasising about a new board, stadium, players etc… it’s better than the grim reality staring us in the face.

I wish alot of supporters could have a bit more belief.
We can't blame them to be fair, we have been worn down bit by bit, with the erosion of the club.

I won't be giving up until that fat lady is singing!!!
It looks bad for us, but I believe with the run in we have, compared to others it could be the last day with 2-3 with a possibility of going down.
We could be out of it by then, however with our form ( away especially) I think it's going to the last day.

[The whirring sound is dad spinning in his grave!]