Lampard on away form: ‘There's definitely a different sense about us now”

The games we've lost, I'd say only Aston Villa back in August was where I felt defensively we were culpable.

Newcastle and Spurs away were tight, decided by a penalty and Almiron curling home a good goal.

Man Utd at home, I think we got caught out twice high up and Pickford had a rare lapse in that match in an otherwise solid season so far.

I have to applaud once again the signings of Coady and Tarkowski.

It feels like we have a backbone finally for the first time since the Jagielka, Distin & Lescott era.

I think in terms of reading the game and the actual art of defending, Coady and Tarkowski are up there with anything we've had in the last 30 years.

If only we had a bit more bite and precision in attack.

It's the one thing I have reservations about.

I think away from home we should not go with ineffective wingers; I think we should go much more narrow with 2 up front and a midfield 4.

Neither Gray nor Gordon are particularly creative, don't offer the full-backs much support, and are both blowing for tugs in the second half of games.

4-1-4-1, push onana more central mid than defensive?

Or 4-1-3-2, giving Calvert-Lewin a partner in Maupay?

I get what Frank is trying to do, he's trying to keep us in games that, last season, we were getting our arses kicked, and hoping the front 3 can win a few.

He just needs to get more out of Gordon and Gray or shuffle them and give McNeil a go and hope they have impact from the bench.

A wide forward or two in January please.

They don't grow on trees, of course, so we can only hope Thelwell finds a gem. No doubt it's crystal clear to them what we need to add to the squad. Don't get me wrong, Gray and Gordon are good players but the magic they are both capable of is less than consistent.

Belief, handwork, skill and wise transfer buys will help the continuous improvement, but there's a long way to go. We're in a better place, with genuine optimism now for this season.

But we're definitely better. Hopefully much better as it's been a work in progress for ages now. But it will be interesting to see how Frank deals with the players not getting games who have played a lot, like Keane and Holgate, unlike the so-called dead wood. Can't see any future at Everton for these two to be honest.

I reckon we need another 5 or 6 good players to be top half.

They came closer to relegation than us last season and that manager who likes to show everyone his latest iWatch gets on my nerves.

The Premier League is wide open. Anything is possible if we convert these hard-earned draws into wins, just as Leeds did at Mordor.

Meanwhile, the BBC Breakfast show has just stooped to new lows. If it was bad enough being told how bad the country and the world is and we're all doomed in an overly dramatic fashion, I've now been subjected to a Jordan Henderson interview, which was effectively a plug for his autobiography. Isn't there something about the BBC not advertising? Because that is what it effectively was.

What a start to the day.

I think I need pills.

I have also just seen that and can't understand why Conte has a touchline ban for his sending off but Bingo only gets a fine for his. I thought the FA used the same rulebook as Uefa?