Southampton vs Everton

Dave?

It's starting to look similar to many footballing careers that play loads of games at an early age then the last 5 or 6 years of their career is dogged by injury, Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler spring to mind.

That's why we need to start the search for the next Calvert-Lewin, and not just a backup as has been widely touted.

Anyway it's good to finally get some Premier League football back under way after what has felt like a complete pause in September club action.

Not our favourite venue really Southampton is it?

Can only think of about three wins we've had in 25-30 years of going down there albeit they were down for 7 of those years.

Patterson will be a loss, but I do hope we keep the same formation as it has made us look the most solid and efficient defensively, tampering only results in trouble as past experiences tell us.

I remember a 3-0 not so long ago with 2 from Lukaku.

This Everton team is starting to have a different feel to it and I have reasonable optimism about tomorrow.

In the impasse of the international break, we've had politics, debate over the Royal Family and even a seeming breakdown of the website. Maybe that was a useful cooling off period. Or was I just sent to the cooler??

Back to business. Breakfast in London tomorrow and gambling on the trains from Waterloo amidst the strikes. Coach booked to get us back to Victoria tomorrow evening, so at least we'll get home.

Let's do this, Everton. Let's do this, Evertonians. The last time 3 O'Neills hit the south coast together, we won 2 - 0 and had a great day out, so I'll go for that. See you all there. In person or virtually in spirit (of the Blues).

I'm confident about tomorrow, as always, but I really just wanna see us play again. Genuinely looking forward to the matches this season, which makes a nice change.

I'm afraid I agree with you and have been saying the same about DCL and his injury for longer than I care to remember now. There is something wrong with his situation and we are not getting the full SP from the Club. It worried me during the transfer window and it still worries me now. I hope our worries are not fulfilled but I fear so.

On a more positive note we are looking much stronger in defense and in depth. It is just a shame that Patterson will be out for 5/6 weeks following that tackle that wasn't adequately punished, but that is football I suppose. COYB.

It's not about getting Calvert-Lewin back on the pitch, it's about keeping him on it for a sustained period.

I reiterate again, I think we'll do well to see him get 15 games this season.

We need to buy a centre forward in January.

The importance of depth of squad, which I think we are now gradually building in accordance to a plan that was previously lacking.

15 games? I'll take that but give you 20. Forget the debate over wages, but I'd have taken 15 games from a player with the talent of James Rodriguez over the course of a season.

Personal view. I have a slight niggling concern that Dominic is falling out of love with football. He lit up Goodison in a way that came close to some of it's greatest nights in May. But does he want it or has he lost a bit of his desire and passion for the game?

I hope that makes some sense.

Thelwell has done well up to now and can't be expected to improve all departments in six months but until Dominic returns on a consistent basis we will continue to be lack upfront.

Due to the perceived risk, there is a tendency to play young players out wide. It keeps them out of the danger area down the spine.

We done it for years with Leon Osman.

Kevin Sheedy (sorry) was arguably a better Number 10 than he was an 11.

I think Anthony Gordon will be suited to a Number 10 role.

What we tend to do with young players is push them wide to keep them out of the way whilst opting for security in the middle.

Attack is the best form of defence, not caution. Although I do understand and appreciate the job the management team are doing right now.

I think you have highlighted where we are at present, decent defence and an improvement in midfield, but a side that lacks goals. While a fit Calvert-Lewin will give us more attacking options, I don't think he will solve our lack of goals, that's if he ever gets back to playing on a regular basis.

He missed most of last season and has yet to get on the bench, never mind get on the pitch, and listening to Lampard's press conference, I doubt Calvert-Lewin will be even in the squad for tomorrow.

While the midfield is stronger than last season, there is still a distinct lack of goals in whoever is selected. Iwobi has improved out of all recognition but he doesn't ever look like scoring and Gueye wasn't bought for his goals. Onana is still finding his feet and I am not sure if he is more of a defensive midfield player than an attacking midfield player.

So that means the bulk of our goals have to come from Maupay, Gordon, Gray and Calvert-Lewin, when fit, and, apart from Calvert-Lewin, the others aren't regular goal scorers. How Lampard solves this problem, I don't know as we certainly can't afford nor would attract a top striker, so somehow he has to get goals from the team he has.

What I do find strange is we look so much better at defending corners than we have for a long time, so well done Ashley Cole, but how come with Tarkowski, Coady, Onana, and Mykolenko we never seem to be able to score from corners given the height in this team? I watch Liverpool who only have 3 of any height in the team, the two centre-backs and Fabhino, yet look how many they score from corners.

We need to sign a goalscorer in January or we will struggle in that department. DCL is not the answer.

As has been said already we haven't got bundles of money to throw at this problem nor are we likely to attract every hot potential striker there is, so it is down to Thelwell and Lampard to scratch their heads before going out and finding the solution that we do really desperately need.

Good luck, chaps, as it is a necessity even if it wasn't recognised as such in the summer.

A more difficult time than usual, because Frank has to hurriedly gather the squad for a game deep down south in Hampshire, as he tries to assemble a team without having the luxury of being together all week on the training ground, plus he needs to find a replacement for the injured Patterson – he must do better than choosing Coleman, who cannot get into the Republic of Ireland team. At best 1-1.

Southampton on the other hand, had very few players away on international duty, and had the luxury of preparing all week on their training ground for a game at their home ground.

Nevertheless, I have a strange feeling of optimism about this one. Two things for sure - We won't get overrun in midfield; Ward-Prowse won't get the freedom of the park.

RoboCol: Part man, part machine, all coat.

Messing about the entire movie pointlessly pretending to buddy up to Clarence Boddiker….”oh, just one more thing, Sir!…oh, just one more thing, Sir!…when I get home and see my wife, there…will…be..trouble…oh, just one more thing, Sir!”. Jesus Christ, just fucking shoot, lad.

To be honest though, that's the sort of bat-shit feature I'd patiently sit through purely to see where it goes and that's kind of how I feel about this current Everton incarnation. Last season was the culmination of a long drip-feed of disillusionment when it comes to following this club and I could look at the squad list and not care less if any of them turned out ever again or were turfed out on their arse. The majority of games were torture to sit through and I couldn't really see a way forward. Lampard has changed a lot of that even if the points on the board aren't exactly blaring out that we're witnessing the beginning of a plan bearing fruit.

For once I see an Everton manager instilling the basics and ensuring a solid base to build from, bringing in more vocal players with real character to compliment and coerce others with youthful potential. The plan makes sense to me and I'm already properly invested in seeing it play out. It may be keep-it-tight-and-pinch-one, but I realise it's just the first stage in a gradual process.

We scored 43 goals last season and Conceded 66. There's a very real possibility both those figures are likely to drop this time out, and when you consider that the three teams who failed to score forty were the three to go down then you can see why some might reasonably worry.

However, despite claims to the contrary, I believe Calvert-Lewin will make a big difference, not only by bagging goals himself but also by giving others a target to aim for and play off, along with his aerial ability and occupying of defensive grocks. There have been a number of instances already this season where tasty balls have been whipped into the box and not a single Everton player has been anywhere near them and I've found myself thinking Calvert-Lewin would have been getting on the end of, or at the very least closing in on, that.

Keeping him fit is the trick. If he carries on missing a large number of games then it's going to be tough. If he's a regular fixture in the side we'll be fine.

With the new-look team, even without Calvert-Lewin, I have a feeling they will get something out of the Saints game even though their record down there isn't too good.

Totally agree, nor has he been the answer for a couple of years, so if he's not the answer, what is he - the problem! Like the BIG Columbian - even forgotten his name his appearances are so rare and short - he too is a problem and the sooner we get rid of both the better. We should have snapped up the BarCodes' offer - that is if they actually made an offer.

We need players on the pitch not on the treatment table.

As I said, Calvert-Lewin is not the answer.

All likeliness he makes it for the November run of fixtures. If we are to have him for a spell of games, then probably makes sense for him to take time and recover fully and be ready from January onwards.

I have a friend who is a Blackburn season ticket holder, and he said the exact same thing about Brereton. He is not a striker, he cannot play with his back to goal but is effective from wide areas.

"Not really a good footballer but he can run and score", I think were his actual words. I've not seen him play a full 90 minutes so I can't judge myself.

Well, him or Kudus or Mudryk – we definitely need someone up front wide or in the middle to push us on in January. Any guest appearance by Calvert-Lewin is just a bonus in my opinion.

I hope I am wrong because that has major implications given our lack of goalscoring ability throughout the squad.

Let's hope we garner (pardon the pun) enough points between now and the next transfer window to avoid any pressure hindering the long overdue road to our rightful return to the top table.

I don't pretend to know what's going on in his head and I'm rather sympathetic to some of the banter he's received since his time on the stage. That time is over for now and I think he knows it but, as a young man, he does not know how to set things right to an audience like us.

His disclosure of mental struggles I will take at face value but I don't think this attempt to publicly address his struggle has really addressed the problem for some of us.

That being said, he's not going to get into form any faster with us piling on the pressure. I for my part have had my fun with his fashion indiscretions and his – shall we say – lack of fidelity to the Everton project. I will get behind him and suppress the desire to give him a slagging every time he looks disinterested or just can't get into the flow of the game.

I do reserve the right to have a laugh if someone else gets in a good line on him but overall I wish him the best chance to return to form. And that is not just to put him in the window, I think this club is probably his best chance at becoming and impact player and we damn sure need someone effective for Maupay to play off of if Neal is to get on with some goals.

Looking forward to tomorrow. We've been missing a complete balanced and skilled central mifdield for a long time. We now have one.

He has never been or will be an athlete or prolific scorer. However I have made a point of watching him very closely on the rare occasions he gets minutes off Frank and I can say that 9 times out of 10 when he is given the ball it sticks and is given to a team mate. That is because he can play with his back to the goal something no other player in the first team squad is capable of.

The question is whether that ability has enough value to justify a place in the side for a striker who cannot score goals or create them for others.

In my opinion, the answer is no. I believe he has real value only in the final minutes of a game where his ability to win and hold the ball can help us kill off the clock.

Rondon's career at Everton and his impending departure in January will be, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, little noted nor long remembered.

I always thought Rondon a competent striker so when he signed I thought it wasn't a bad move given our finances. In fairness, Mike was skeptical given his two years in China and Mike was right, his fitness wasn't where it needed to be and now at 32 I don't see him improving. But I feel bad for the guy. Based on comments from him and his family he saw it as a great honor to join Everton. He deserved better than his own fans chanting OFF OFF when he made a bad tackle one week. He seems like a decent bloke and does his best, but he'd have been a decent squad player five years ago rather than being brought in as the main man with DCL out just a year ago. Not that it should effect his selection but his father just passed away last week too and he waxed lyrical about how his father inspired him to be a footballer, and again his family saw Everton as the high point in his career. So I'm not saying I want to see him play more but I do feel sorry for the guy. Good heart, just not really up to it when we signed him.

I hate to be cynical but it will also do the psychology of the team no end of good if they realize that the team can succeed without its star player.
We should be very very wary about building a team around one player.particularly when that one player almost exclusively needs the ball in the air. It not how modern teams work.
Tomorrow I'm happy with a point, just hope we continue to play well.

Hadn't heard about Rondon losing his father. Sad to lose one's dad so young. (33 may be old by footballing standards, but it's young in life.)

However, I wasn't just skeptical of him from China, but from his previous Prem career. Even at his peak, when he had so much physical presence that he was sometimes unplayable -- defenders would just bounce off him -- he scored a goal every four games. Reached double figures in only one season.

I was guilty and I should know better. Some balanced comments above and one thing I will say, he is an honest player who took to the pitch knowing that the majority of fans didn't want him on it. He deserves respect for that.

Anyway, daylight is breaking. I'll make a play with the title of a song, but as I head into central London to get the train, I can see a Waterloo sunrise on the cards.

Marching. Spirit. Bring the points home.

So today maybe sacrificing some width to allow a strengthening of midfield may do the job and even see us controlling swathes of this game . Bringing Garner in for his first game and putting Gray on the bench to share the game with Gordon. Then moving Iwobi into a versatile but attack minded no 10 position behind two roaming forwards Maupay and Gordon. Iwobi's feeding of these two may be a more likely source of a goal than crosses in from wide to a central Maupay.

All this is assuming Calvert-Lewin is not risked today.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>Pickford

>>Coleman Tarkowski Coady Mykolenko

>>>>>>>>Garner Gana Onana

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Iwobi

>>>>>>>>>>>Gordon Maupay

Starting today, that's a hell of a run, and we need to get every point we can, get as many players back from injury fit and firing, and maintain the improved and improving form we've been seeing.

I would go for b) - if we can't go 352. Anyway

Up the Blues!!!

When we get midfield sorted out, we end up a bit short at the back.

Depends how Lampard approaches the game, I'm not a fan of playing for draws though.

Brian above mentions that Gordon may be doubtful, if so that along with other injuries makes us easier to play against.

I cant say I'm too optimistic, but then again I tend to be of the half empty persuasion.

Same lineup vs West Ham which Patterson replaced by Coleman. No effin about, i.e Iwobi at right wingback and bring Garner/ Duke/ Davies, as little disruption as possible and build on the positive start.

Well the O'Neills have anyway. The exit from the station reminded me of Bucharest.

Stumbled across a Yates' which is already being populated by Blues