Lampard: 'Some players fell below the standard'

As for Frank, he is walking the thinnest of tight ropes at the moment. Anything less than 3 points at the weekend and I fear the noose will be that little bit tighter.

Aston Villa and Southampton haven't fucked around. It may well be the Everton manager next for the chop. My faith in the club is now almost non-existent. What a fucking mess we are in.

And he should take Gordon to one side and have a strong word about his attitude on the pitch, I know if I was a manager of the opposing team I would be roughing him up every opportunity I got.

So we'll wait and see. But there has to be some follow up to this.

There was no need for wholesale changes just bringing 3 or 4 in to start and then subbing them later would have sufficed.

He should have known from last season as I said before the game that a combination of Mina, Keane and Holgate was a recipe for disaster.

I am a 'one-eyed' Toffee Supporter, and I don;t want to try and defend Frank, but today I felt he was showing everyone that this was now the entire squad he has at his disposal, and nearly all those players today, he inherited and none were Premier League standard.

But before the usual critics call for his head, comparing him to the Southampton manager, remember he had been at here for 4 seasons, whereas Frank is still not halfway through his first.

If he was replaced, who would replace him? It would have to be for a mammoth salary to interest a decent newcomer – and what would await him?

a) He would inherit the same players we already have on our books, with no hope of bringing in new faces until the next transfer window.

b) Would he be given the funds to bring in new players? Would that numpty Kenwright and the prawn-cocktail boardroom idiots support the signings?

c) Will the size of the first-team squad increase or would there be a big fire-sale? If so, who would want them?

d) Could we in fact sign on any decent new players? Would their clubs agree to their leaving? What kind of salary would these players be demanding? Would they in fact even want to come to a club like Everton?

Let's face it, we are in a mess. Frank walked into it and has tried to sort it out. It was said it would take perhaps 3 years to turn the club round, and in the first transfer window, Frank has produced a decent defensive team. The least the Club do is give him the courtesy of remaining the manager and supporting his efforts.

I'll close by asking those anti-Frank moaners to change your attacks to Moshiri and Kenwright Mob – they are the real culprits in this.

The players are at fault, but so is Frank for making wholesale changes. As someone has already said, by all means bring 4, maybe 5 in and then bring on subs if we are doing well.

Rafa, Ancelotti and Silva all played full-strength teams in this competition. What was served up last night was an insult to the fans, particularly those who travelled, and for only two players to acknowledge them at the end is a disgrace.

The Bournemouth team were a bunch of reserves. Players fault — and only 2 players going over to the fans shows their arrogance.

Whoever is manager of Everton, it's impossible as the squad is awful, absolutely dreadful. How can League Two standard Tom Davies still be at Everton? And Gordon needs a good slap, he needs to buck up and perform and stop having strops.

I remember Unsworth oozing over Tom Davies, a man who is now managing in the Conference (speaks volumes, doesn't it), that's also Tom's level.

This is a horrible club, that just kills us. I thank this horrendous board for what you have done, living in the past (in every way). I just cringe every time I see Kenwright.

The players we had, and still have, are not only not good enough but, when they are playing as a team, they are error-ridden, unable to cover for each other, and must finally be sold for the good of the club; failure to do so will cost him his job.

No matter their attributes, they must be sold. Last night was Déjà Vu; we have seen it before from the same group of players. Frank has seen it, but didn't believe it until last night.

Davies, Holgate, Keane, Doucouré, Mina for starters, should never, ever play first-team football for Everton again. Following up, Gordon, Maupay, Coleman are all on the edge...

Frank got it wrong for all the right reasons last night: his faith in the above players has been fatally damaged. His naivety and faith made him look like a fool. They are mistakes he had to make in a no-consequence game; he won't do it again.

January will be critical, the players he has brought in so far have to be complemented by solid no-frills pros, no passengers.

He is still the right manager but he still has a long way to go. But it shows in truth just how bad our players are. We may be culling them, but the rot was extensive; more to go.

I think Frank probably already knew we needed to sell a load of players but there's two issues…

1. It's a lot to do in one window and, more significant,

2. No one wants to buy our players, as indicated by the fact most of these failures either run down their contracts or we are forced to loan them out (whilst paying a portion of their wages).

We are still being forced to live with the litany of shocking players bought and/or contracted on wages well above what they are worth.

There's no quick fix to years and years of deplorable mismanagement of the club from the higher ups and we can only hope we will now gradually start improving on that front which is not likely given the deluded power-hungry senior management remain in place whilst lots of fans (not you) still seem to want to blame manager after manager when the only constant in years of failure has been the unchanged senior management.

If our club was traded on the stock market, shareholders would have driven senior management out long ago for poor performance.

That was a long day – for many, longer than mine – but a long, wet miserable evening. As I've said, the entry system was bordering on dangerous, but that distracts from the performance, let alone the result.

Bernie, I'm consoling myself, dusting myself down and picking myself up for Saturday, but you're on the money.

We know where the real problem is.

Keep that eye open.

As witnessed over many years, they leave on frees or just retire, like Delph. No other clubs are daft enough to give them another deal.

How can he expect Doucouré, for example, to put in a strong performance after he's been ignored for most of the season? Calvert-Lewin has taken 4-6 games to get up to speed each time he returns from injury.

Frank should have reintegrated these squad players before now. And Holgate – yet another “slip” last night but he was solid when he played regularly at the start of the season. Davies's miss I could put down to this massive pressure to perform in the one game he's been given to show he deserves his place.

Poor management from the manager – he's clinging on by his fingertips now.

Being honest as well, Matt, it will take us 2 years to get a decent squad and turn out the lemons. Players mentioned, please note: your card is marked, leave as soon as you can or have your contracts cancelled because no-one wants you.

It's reality that, until we get better players, we would rather rely on youth... we may have no choice. I'm not going to call for Frank's head, because he is the best chance we have to get rid of the crap and get a squad together. Hang in...

They should be ensuring that all appointments are based on the overriding strategy that they have set. There should be structures in place to ensure forward planning and forecasting is done so that there is no chance of the organisation going broke (or in our place, hitting FFP thresholds), and players are purchased to suit their strategy and we aren't signing 28-year-old Icelandic players for 㿙M when, no matter how successful they are, we would always be writing off the 㿙M at the end of their contracts when they are 32 or 33 with no resale value.

Does anyone wonder why a club like Brighton can change managers but still move forward successfully and smoothly whereas we continue to change managers with continued lack of success? It's because of the structure and strategy in place (or not, in our case) by senior management.

I have to say I am not in agreement with your post, except perhaps your view that Frank was naive. Between those selected, they had hundreds of Premier League games each. The opposition also played their reserves, mostly younger.

No excuses… Not good enough, the players threw the manager under a bus, not the other way round. Just like they have done with other managers before him.

Frank did not have a clue about this club, as he mentioned when he arrived, with his regular "from afar" reflections on us.

He should have watched some of our wretched performances over the last few seasons. If he had, he would know that these pathetic excuses for players, are sitting pretty on Premier League contracts serving-up Conference-level performances.

Frak is himself an inexperienced coach and he was banking on getting 3 points at the weekend. His wholescale changes have simply heaped pressure on himself and the side that run out on Saturday.
Now, a defeat will put him top of the sacking charts.

He should have known better. He should have played his best available eleven and rested players if the game was won.

I know someone at Finch Farm and was told that the players "hated Rafa, but love Frank". It shows that, whatever approach you take with these tossers, they are just mentally weak and not very good at football.

Frank knows his best starting 11, not that hard to work it out really. Let's hope the boys who went off on Saturday can be back in action at the weekend.

What an upgrade Tarkowski and Coady have been on their predecessors!

We get rid of some very average over-priced players, then we buy four more very average over-priced players. There's no quick fix here, heaven knows what the answers are but this is going to continue until something drastically changes.

Such a shame for our great supporters, but we have no say in how the club is run or the decisions that are made, it's frustrating and heartbreaking.

Yes, Lampard is responsible for picking the second string but surely it was reasonable to expect a better performance from those players? Damned if he played a weakened side and lost, damned if he played a full-strength squad and suffered injuries ahead of the Premier League clash on Saturday.

The real problem with our squad is that we have assembled a unit with so little firepower. Whoever was responsible for letting Richarlison go without adequate scoring replacement is the real culprit. Is that Lampard, Thelwell, the Board?

Somehow, that's got to be addressed in January or else we're locked in another dogfight. Has everyone got the adrenalin left to go through another end of season like the last one?

Meanwhile, somehow – against all odds – I'm quietly confident of a win on Saturday.

Apparently Brentford made a few changes (not as many as us, or Bournemouth) and pissed off their fans in the process.

We'll have a different side out on Saturday but, as the problem of who will score the goals remains, I expect we'll be defending deep and hoping for a point.

I was expecting Rondon to feature last night but, as he wasn't even on the bench, I wonder if Frank is thinking of starting him?

They have been playing together on the training ground, in a parallel system that they would be p!aying on the pitch. Obviously they have not been putting the effort in.

Hopefully the bookies will be proven wrong again.

Lol. We still haven't replaced Lukaku for fuck's sake. It's the most incompetent board in the history of the Premier League, commercially and professionally, and the luck will run out one day unless they're forced out.

Yes, FORCED, because Kenwright is going fucking nowhere. This man's ego is so big, he thinks we should all be grateful that he single-handedly saved the club and is delivering a new stadium. It's all smoke and mirrors with this man. He has been the obstacle to progress all these years yet has hoodwinked the fanbase into thinking otherwise.

Everything has been done on his terms and his alone, even dictating who the club was sold to, and what that (silent) owner could then do. The fans deserve so so much better than this. So much better.

It would take a couple of weeks of people not turning up for their Everton hope-fest to get the message across and the future would look much brighter. It's a sacrifice worth making.

Yes, he is a nice guy and gets the fan base but, apart from his first 2 games, he has set his team up to defend rather than attack.

I hear some say you can see the improvement from last season; I don't see it – we signed 2 robust centre-backs who, like last season's centre-backs, have no pace, so can't push up for fear of getting caught on the break.

We sell our leading goalscorer from last season and Lampard didn't think it a priority to try and replace him; instead, with Calvert-Lewin getting injured, we played our first 5 games with Gordon or McNeil as false 9s.

And for those saying he couldn't know Calvert-Lewin would get injured 5 days before the start of the season, then I say that sums up Lampard's failure; he was prepared to start the season with 1 striker as we all know he didn't fancy Rondon. And Calvert-Lewin had spent most of last season injured but he gambled he wouldn't get injured.

Bernie in post 8 asks would a new manager be given funds? Well, except for Benitez, most were given funds, but let's not forget Lampard signed 8 players in the summer and the defensive set-up that he had last season hasn't changed; his main priority seems to be keep them out and pinch a goal on the break.

I think I can count on one hand how many times I have watched Everton under Lampard and actually enjoyed it. As we have seen before, a great player being a manager hasn't always been the recipe for success; we only have to look at Gerrard at Aston Villa after seemingly doing well in his previous job, but managing either Rangers or Celtic is a lot easier than managing in the Premier League.

Many have slated Holgate, Mina and Keane this morning and none had a good game but Ancelotti played these 3 loads of times and we didn't concede like last night; he even managed to have this bunch of Muppets in the top 4 for periods 2 seasons back.

I know Ancelotti is a very experienced manager and Frank is still learning his trade but, even in his short period as a manager, let's not forget he has been sacked twice.

I was hoping that, with a bright young manager who had played under some great managers like Ancelotti and Guardiola and the Special one, he would be bringing all that knowledge to our club. But, as much as it saddens me to say, I think if we lose on Saturday, Moshiri will have no option but to look at alternatives.

I don't think Frank has lost the dressing room but I think the players have lost belief in his methods. After the Newcastle defeat, Coady said in the dressing room after the game the players had a long discussion.

Against Palace, we came out a completely different team playing front-foot football for a change, and I thought "At last, the penny has dropped!" – only for us to revert to the same old against Leicester and again last night.

However, the biggest problem is the lack of quick movement by the forwards and midfield to allow the back four to pass forward, the midfielders (including Gana and Onana) don't pick up the ball on the half-turn and drive forward to create space often enough, and when we do make the odd chance, we have no-one who can finish.

As others above have said, most who played last night have consistently been below the standard needed in the Premier League and need to be moved on, if anyone is willing to take them!!

Sacking the manager won't address any of these issues – it will only exacerbate the problem. We either need to buy our way to a better squad, which FFP will probably prevent, or slowly integrate the likes of Mills into the team, one or two youngsters at a time over the next 2 years whilst our older (and better) players are still able to help them.

Gray and Iwobi were the only two in my opinion that would've been well received following that horrendous performance. If Keane, Holgate, Gordon or Davies had come our way, there would have been problems.

Strategic Review is like a police complaint you may put in and they review it. Waste of time.

I and many have said we could have Pep here and nothing would change as long as that fraud of a man clings on in the boardroom. Hate and loathe him more than I ever did with Shankly and he's hurt us a lot more.

Frank can't or won't recognise a set-piece threat like Martinez and that shocks me because I thought Tait, Cole etc were top-class coaches and would at least point this out.

Great fella is Frank and I'm glad you was open-mouthed and witnessed the fans in true technicolour... but that's it, mate. A young manager learns on the job but you are not. Ask Villa.

Holgate & Keane spell Championship.

Very few chances created. Very few goals scored.

Absolutely nothing in the same league as Lukaku, Richarlison or Sigurdsson.

Not even anything like the deeply flawed Alli or Rodriguez.

So the quality is poor, but Lampard is not helping himself at all here.

We can't score goals!

Get a handle on reality! You don't need 8 men in suits to work that out!

We still haven't replaced Lukaku.

Expect a big announcement by Saturday night or at least by the World Cup. No option.

LOL!

I wrote to the Chair of the Fans Advisory Board in September, asking for an update; see my email below and response.

To the Chair.. Jazz

Dear team,

Hope you are all well, my name is Christine Foster, Evertonian (of course) these days living far from my "home" of L5 and looking forward to moving back to the area from here in NZ.

Yes.. so what I here you say.. point is I wondered where we are with respect to the Strategic Review that was announced a fair while ago now, what is the new strategic plan (do we have one? I am assuming we do, but not released) which begs the question, after the fanfare and announcement of a review, nothing. Sort of, we are having a review but not telling you what we are going to do.

I am not asking for sensitive or commercial information, just broad brush stuff will do, its been my bread and butter doing this for so many years, so I really would be interested in what the current status is and if / when we are likely, or not, to find out!

There is a genuine interest in understanding the plan, indeed getting everyone on board is a critical element of any strategic plan, and the fans are a key element in this.

It feels like there is action but its not for the consumption of the fans, very much left on the outside, "not our concern" so can you give us any update?

Would be very appreciative if you could.

Kind regards
Christine

Response the following day from the Chair of the FAB:

Hi Christine,

Thanks for taking the time to email.

This (strategic review) is one of the themes in which we recently posed questions to the EFC Board, on the back of canvassing questions from among the fanbase.

We are hoping to get a response shortly, which we will obviously share among the fanbase.

Kind regards,

Jazz

Chair
EFC Fan Advisory Board

It would appear they are in the dark as much as we are... no surprises there then.

At the moment, we are doing okay defensively, the biggest problem, as we all know, is up front. Yes, this should have been rectified during the summer but that was not Frank's fault as I'm sure he and his staff were looking and wanted to bring a striker in.

This simply has to be rectified in the January transfer window. The big licks, Tom Davies and Anthony Gordon, are simply not good enough. Despite the fact that I've seen Anthony Gordon and spoken with him a couple of times, doesn't mean I want him to stay.

Yet again last night, he stunk the place out, and that tackle was atrocious. I think if there had been a VAR, he would have walked.

The only player to stand out for me last night was Nathan Patterson. He was the only one prepared to actually carry the ball forward, making some decent runs deep into the Bournemouth half.

Neal Maupay sometimes runs around like a headless chicken, but he needs a target man to feed off, so whether you like it or not, for now, Rondon is that target man and I think he should start on Saturday, providing we are brave enough to play two up front.

Meanwhile, back to the managerial merry-go-round. Will Frank survive? Who knows, but it's cast in stone that, should he go, about 6 months into the new manager's tenure, he will be getting hounded to death by the same people on here, simply because he has the same set of tools to work with.

All those who didn't like the best there probably is, Ancelotti, will still be having their usual moan, because it's what they like doing!

I totally agree with you about not replacing Lukaku but the blame cannot be laid at Lampard's or Thelwell's door for that!

Forgetting previous blunders for one moment, I'm more interested in the current "lack of scoring" debacle.

My suspicion was that the Fans Advisory Board would be a token gesture. A minister without portfolio. A lapdog. A "hey, look at us including the supporters" gesture. But they're not really as we're still in the dark.

That's no criticism to the individuals involved, by the way. I hear there are some solid people on that panel. I just question the influence of the FAB. Maybe, and obviously within the bounds of reason and confidentiality, one of them could post or comment to let us know.

A Strategic Review normally results in an output. Yes, we don't expect to see the confidential business detail, but generally a high-level report outlining the vision, mission and goals will be published for all stakeholders to read. And we, as supporters, are stakeholders in this club.

For about the 10th time this morning, please excuse me. I'm still raw from last night and Saturday is coming.

The advisory spokesman Jaz said moments after the 27 Years Campaign walking protest, which he wasn't part of, that he's happy with the board.

Maybe he was caught on his heels in front of Sky with a microphone thrust in his face. The alternative doesn't bear thinking about.

Getting better attacking players is essential but, if we had found them but then had to keep the same defenders we used last season, I personally don't think we would have been doing any better. Who knows?

He says players fell below expectations… well, Frank, that's because they are not good enough but you let them walk around the pitch being out-classed, out-run and humiliated by a Bournemouth Reserve team.

We can only win one of two cups and, if he does the same in the FA Cup, then we won't get another FA Cup win.

I don't understand an owner like Moshiri, doesn't he know Frank lost him maybe 𧶀,000 if we had got a good home draw in the next round?

Lampard and Moshiri should give back the fans their money to those who bought tickets and travelled to this game.

We are becoming a team that just wants to survive in the Premier League, a club with no ambition, no direction and players who don't give a toss as long as they get paid.

Conte speaking about Spurs players.

To an even greater extent, mediocrity has been accepted for decades at Everton. The problem being that when even that low bar isn't reached, the outcome is terrible.

Like most, I'm sick of sacking managers and then starting over again and, for that reason, I'm hoping Frank can come good. I think the World Cup break and lack of hostility to him will buy him time.

The best I'm hoping for this season is Premier League survival and then more creative and attack-minded players added in the summer. Looks like it'll be a long season. Same old.

Now added to that, Richarlison was our top scorer in three of the last four seasons, scoring 10+ goals each year. He has not been replaced either with the same quality of forward.

Goals have been taken from the side and not replaced. A new manager comes in and, guess what, the same problem exists.

No strategic review needed. It doesn't matter whether Frank stays, or whatever manager comes in, until the board can finance two quality attacking players who can bring the goals we have lost through sales, we will continue to struggle, or worse.

It's not an easy fix financially due to the diabolical way the club has been run, but this is Kevin Thelwell's near-impossible remit.

I was fuming with our manager, especially considering the players are getting a long break from Saturday evening, but after listening to him speak, his reality became a lot clearer.

The only way a manager is going to make eleven changes is when he's not that bothered about winning. But this is a culture that was brought into Everton a very long time ago, with Martinez being the only manager to really take cup football seriously since Kendall and Joe Royle. Even Royle had a couple of shockers in his short tenure as the Everton manager.

Thanks for your post. Maybe there is someone on that advisory board with gumption, like yourself, who will persist and get some sense and response from the board. I doubt it but, if they do, I can see them quietly removed.

1) Lampard has immeasurably strengthened the defence by signing a couple of players from the bottom teams of the Premier League;

2) He has improved the midfield by getting Iwobi to play superbly but more attacking options are needed;

3) There has been a significant reduction in attacking threat, even over last year, and there is no striker in the squad, and no "Lampard-style" players who can score goals from midfield positions.

Everton were saved from relegation last season by a combination of Pickford and Richarlison. If either had been unavailable for the last half-dozen matches, we'd have been watching Stoke, Millwall and Blackpool at Goodison this season.

Like Musk at Twitter, the only way to revive this club is to change the culture from top to bottom. It should start with the board. Moshiri should organise a coup to get rid of Kenwright, Barrett-Baxendale and Sharpe for a start.

I don't know enough about Ingles, and given the financial mess the club is in, we need a pre-RBS "Fred the Shred" brute to turn this shambles into a financially successful operation.

The board of an organisation sets the culture, tone and ethos. The culture of EFC is uncomplaining acceptance of failure, the tone is "we're not as good as our neighbours and have no ambitions to be" and the ethos is defeatist.

I wonder if they could get Elon Musk or Michael O'Leary?

Maybe even Vladimir Putin if he's looking for a new job. At least he doesn't care who gets hurt on his side. On the other hand, his away results recently haven't been too good.

With the new stadium being built, relegation would be the ultimate disaster; we would be a laughing stock then.

Even with all our first-choice players on the pitch for every game, survival is looking far from a certainty, in fact it's looking very dicey.

With that in mind, Lampard picked the right team. They weren't up against Bournemouth's first team in any case.

As a squad of players, they're just very moderate; put 3 outstanding players in the side and we wouldn't have a problem. Look at the points a player like De Bruyne gets for Man City.

The recruitment over the last 5 or 6 years has been a disaster which is choking the club slowly to death.

All on big money and as we saw last season, no effort or pride. They were a disgrace last night, against Bournemouth reserves and they're at the club long before Lampard.

Now he knows they have no future at the club.

Frank more than capable of spouting shoite with the best of them.

Have you checked the papers for TechBro #1's reviews? It is calamitous at best. I heard he is seriously thinking about paywalling that universe. Do us a favor.

Techincally not a tech-bro, i got carried away.

Those three players would make a huge difference to our team and would certainly help going forward.

Other than that, I haven't a clue.

The only problem is how Gordon has been playing since the summer. Would Chelsea or anyone else actually offer a substantial sum now? January might be the worse time to sell because theoretically he might improve one day. As of now if I were another manager sniffing around, I am not sure Gordon would be on my target list even among Everton players.

We are not a big club anymore. We never get into Europe. We are regarded as similar to Southampton and Crystal Palace who are 6 places above us.

Get some players functional again and the offers will come. Until then let's stop confirming the perception that Gordon is a 㿞M+ player in current form.

That's either a joke or wrap him in plastic bubbles until the check clears. Dude was clearly hanging out with Dele Alli a bit too much.

Will Lampard have the balls to play Maupay off Rondon? If he leaves one up top again, and persists with his usual system, I think he is toast.

Don't get me wrong, I think he could make a go of things and he has been dealt a bad hand, both last season and this, with injuries to Richarlison and now Calvert-Lewinyet again.

Nonetheless, he has to forget the wingers and fill that midfield. I'd rather Pickford thumped it into their half and let the strikers fight for it than watch Gray pass backwards.

I am still a little shell-shocked with the Tuesday selection and result – I can understand Frank's reasons for the selection,, and I deplore the players' attitude to the game. And they call themselves professionals?

I have vision back in both eyes again, thanks Danny, and am hoping to see a vast improvement on Saturday. I can still see us ending in mid-table, providing we can sign some decent forwards in January.

In Frank I Trust!

Frank has got to be given time. If not, we could find ourselves calling for the next manager's head this time next year.

The only thing is, though, Eddie, in order to fill the midfield means probably only playing one up top. Iwobi is a certain starter, so maybe play him just behind Rondon instead of Maupay?

Welcome back mate.

Delighted all went well, Bernie.

Holgate, Davies, Keane, Gordon and any other lazy baskets need to be told they are not wanted and to leave the club immediately.

What amazes me is that these players have failed for their entire time with us, and most have had their contracts extended...

How on earth does that happen? How on earth have coaches and directors thought, "Yeah, here's another 3 years of 㿲k per week, please be shit."

Ah yes, Michael Keane, I am talking at you.

It would be an insult to the Commonwealth to show up in Sydney with these clowns. The trip down under should be the better first-team starters and the Under-21s. No point wasting anyone's time with deadbeats.

We can blame many of the players on the pitch for being absolute shite, but the manager picked them and surely he knows by now what the fuck is going on... so, for me, he must accept his part in this performance with his team selection.

Lampard may say the right things, keeping him popular with many fans, but the love-in took a big hit last night. Defeat on Saturday will accelerate this even more, I think. Make no mistake: this is a huge match for Lampard and Everton – as it is for Bournemouth.

Keeping my fingers crossed!

If you have players banging on your door asking for a chance, and then you give them that chance against a poor Bournemouth second-string, you'd expect a performance.

I don't buy into the, "What did he expect? These players haven't played together" narrative. He picked a team with experienced internationals, internationals who have been playing club football together for years, who train with each other, day-in & day-out. They should know how to play together and see off a second-string opponent. Shameful stuff.

But I give credit to Gray and Maupay for going over to the fans. Shows their integrity.

I hope our first choice 11 rips into Bournemouth on Saturday and we give those amazing traveling fans a fine send-off before the World Cup.

Often no-one in the box and sideways and backpassing as usual. Nothing has changed for years except we have no striker and a more resolute, if slow defence.

We're in trouble for sure and smoke bombs and crowds chanting outside Goodison is good when spontaneous but not when contrived. Over to the team, it's their turn to help the fans out.

My comment is that yesterday was the worst performance I have ever seen by an Everton team. The only players who impressed me at all as taking advantage of the opportunity presented to them were Vinagre and Garner. Nobody else stepped up.

For a performance that horrendous, the manager must share equal blame.

However, as somebody pointed out (and I wish I could remember who, to give them proper credit), yesterday's starters were many of the same players we ran out last spring, so the fact that we actually avoided relegation back then might just qualify Lampard as a miracle worker. However, I'm not inclined to compliment him right now.

Saturday's return to Bournemouth now carries far more importance than 3 points. Here's where we see what pride, if any, Frank has instilled in this club. I want to see controlled rage and a proud, motivated performance that balances the scales for Tuesday's embarrassment.

Moshiri does not need to organize a coup to get rid of anyone. As the owner with over 92% of shares, I believe he is one of the largest shareholders the club has ever had.

Since he bought over the club, he appointed Bill Kenwright to the board and we have gone through 7 managers and that has got us into this mess, and he has allowed certain people to wallow in it.

As owner, you would hope he must be aware of what is going on in his organization, Everton FC, and should take full responsibility for what is happening, so to ignore it, he is the one to blame.

Last night, the blame is fully on the manager: he sees all these players at Finch Farm, he must have seen videos of previous games, and that is why his first job was to strengthen the defense, and that is what he did.

Last night, he played players who he has not played for a while because he knew they were weak or injured and were usually on the bench in case of injuries, plus one player had only just been cleared from injury and played him for the full game.

There is no problem in changing players, but over the last couple of months, Everton's defense has been considered as one of the major strengths in the Premier League.

I am 82 years old now, but the years I played or coached or watched, teams sometimes played weaker teams and brought in other players to give them more game time, but the one thing they always did was play to their strengths.

This is what Lampard failed to do last night, The players may look good in training but training and a competitive game against players you do not know is a lot different. This may be considered to be a learning curve but a curve is supposed to turn up – not down.

Mike @82 – I think you are a little harsh with your post. To make a comparison, may I say that I am a life-long Catholic. I believe in the Roman Catholic Faith; I do not agree with most of the Church's Rules. I do not blame the local Priest.

Likewise, I am a life-long Evertonian – I certainly don't agree with the way the club has been so badly run for 30 years by that numpty, Kenwright.

I do not blame Frank for this mess we are in. It was a fiasco against Bournemouth, but what was he supposed to do? His main task is to keep us in the Premier League; other trophies are afterthoughts. Therefore, he has to preserve the few best players we have for the important games – that is not rocket science. Other Clubs think the same way.

That second string he put on the field, on paper should have beaten the home team. They were all experienced professionals with top league experience, they train at Finch Farm all the time, they should know each other well.

I can't see how Frank is to blame – he has coaches to train the players and he has to think for the important games. To me, the blame for that shambles is solely with the shocking attitude of the players.

I'm sorry, Mike, for this reply, but I am so fed up with the finger being pointed at Frank. It's those numpties in the Boardroom who should be sacked.

I don't swear, but I am so angry, I am close to doing so (and in several languages!), so I had better stop.

"Equal blame"?

I agree he shares some blame for letting these millionaires play… but "equal"?

His crime was naivety. Not from the perspective as a high-performing athlete who has high standards. But from the perspective of a human being thinking that someone being well compensated for a job would have some level of dignity, some level of commitment, some level of responsibility to at least make a modicum of effort.

But enabled by some fans, these insidious individuals who earn more in a week than their enablers earn in a year, relish the chance to hide behind every excuse in the book.

"He's young, he's one of us, he's a nice man, he's anxious." Blah Blah Blah – he is a millionaire with no integrity who laughs in the face of the people paying his wages and that is the mistake Frank made. He thought these perennial scum-sucking leeches had any form of desire to do anything beyond picking up a hefty paycheck.

I had no problem with Frank's lineup. Our reserves should beat their reserves. And as I posted above, most of the players spat the bit on their big opportunity to start.

But when an entire team comes out that flat, that passive, the buck ultimately stops with the manager. Bournemouth pressed harder, closed down faster, attacked the ball with more intent. That should never happen. And I didn't see Frank up on the touchline yelling at the players to press.

Moreover, I saw at least five occasions where a player with the ball at his feet (or in his hands) literally held his arms wide in frustration that nobody was moving to open up for a pass, while The Cherries' movement was constant and forward.

I didn't see Frank doing anything to change that situation either. And I don't mean subs, those were fine. I mean getting up in people's faces to change what they're doing right now.

Frank's team usually competes hard and plays pretty well. This team did neither. A performance that comprehensively shitty carries too much blame for the manager not to deserve some of it. I do not blame him for the overall season situation, but for this one miserable day, the manager sucked as bad as the players.

The English way is stiff upper lip – not Jesse Marsch throwing a tantrum.

Frank was probably secretly thinking "I wish they were dead" cause we English don't like to hang our laundry in public. That's just a societal difference

I apologise for being such an old grump. I do try to remain cheerful but, after so many years of seeing my club sliding downhill, it's getting harder to smile. If only that top management crowd would realise the damage they have done and are doing.

Sorry again, fellas.

Bernie, no apologies necessary, it's just that I don't get into the ownership, chairman or CEO discussions very much, because they are drearily, pointlessly repetitive and there's nothing to be done about that aspect of the club. My attention is focused on the players, the manager and the DOF (whom I expect to bring in a couple of attackers in January).

Glad to hear you are once again a clear-eyed visionary. Please keep posting about your health.

You say "pointlessly repetitive" that means a continual never-ending "get out of jail" card for the elephant in the room. As in "Nothing to do with me, I'm just a fan."

Jesus wept.

Bernie, glad that eye is back working. We've got Saturday to think about now.

I don't follow your reasoning about not involving yourself with ownership or boardroom as you can't do anything about them, but you do 'have a go' at players and manager... Do you mean you have some influence there?

Thank you for your comment about my health, though it sounded a little sarcastic – so I will stay shtum in future about my many ailments.

So no, I don't waste my time. Plenty of people here eager to make the same point over and over again. I'm happy to leave it to 'em. I have nothing of import to add to that particular discussion.

As to the players and manager, I like to express opinions where I think one is worth expressing. Plenty of other folks here to talk about Kenwright et al, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. I'll leave it to them.

I am in a foul mood, probably because of all this lousy medication I'm taking. can hardly believe it is me typing this stuff!

Again, Sorry.

Certainly the Board and more specifically the owner are to blame for the overall mess we are in but blaming them for every defeat as if they directly impact what the manager and players do on a match-by-match basis is pointlessly repetitive.

It's pointless in that the damp squib that was/is the 27 Years Campaign shows that, for whatever reason, the fanbase
are not prepared to significantly mobilise against the owner and Board.

It also gives the manager and players a handy "get out of jail" card. The primary reason for the debacle against Bournemouth lies firmly at Frank's feet although I accept the players also carry a large measure of responsibility.

It wasn't the owner and Board who bottled the team selection on Tuesday or who didn't turn up on the pitch.

The first was throwing in 11 players who were either coming back from injury, or who have been discarded. They would all have been fit, but I doubt any of them were match fit. Some of them were playing in a formation alien to them with players who they haven't played with before.

His second was to then blame the players for a performance most Evertonians would have been able to predict. He is going to need some of the people he has just thrown under a bus.

He picked that team and he should have taken ownership.

You ask "Why change the defenders?"

Coady and Tarkowski have played every game so a rest was only right. God forbid if they were injured, Lampard knows for certain now, Keane, Mina and Holgate are definitely not the answer, when they couldn't handle Bournemouth reserves, and he was giving them a first-team runout.

He has been lucky enough to play with some elite players and only at Derby (where he managed to loan-in some of his young bucks) did he have to make amends with average Joes.

Frank kept his standards high throughout his career but he failed to notice the feeble and pathetic shit-shows that various Everton teams have served-up over recent times.

Frank was right to prioritise the league game but, regardless of his crap system, he did put out a team that should have done far better. He is the one who is motivating them and he has to take the flak.

The Saturday game is now crucial to all of us. Imagine the morale if we lose and then go off on our jolly to the wetlands of Oz.

I seem to be saying that the next game is crucial every week.

We did some good work in that regard over the summer and if we can even find one or two upgrades in the January window, we will be in a much better place squad-depth-wise.

We need the following players to stay fit during the second half of the season:

Pickford
Patterson or Coleman
Mykolenko
Tarkowski
Coady
Gana
Iwobi

We also need the young man from Belgium to progress and we will be fine... fine as regards not being in a relegation scrap come late April; anything else, given our talent pool, will be a bonus.

The sins of the past were truly on show on Tuesday!

It seems the lesson of history is lost on those who don't care that the very reason our team is crap is solely because of the way the owner(s) have managed this once wonderful club. Instead, all they focus on is no further than their nose, or to be exact, next Saturday's match.

They see every manager as crap when the team lose, they expect every manager to get a fantastic set of performances from a bunch of players who have been unable to consistently perform to any sort of acceptable level. Instead, every manager is rubbish.

Without change we will still be having the same discussions we had 15 years ago, then 10, then 5, then now... just different managers' names on the door. Mostly the same players, funnily enough...

Imagine the conversation with Moshiri and Kenwright:"The peasants are revolting" "Don't worry, No-one cares..."

Well, I do... and always will... because, if we don't care, then all we will ever get is the same.

Don't tell me the fans don't care. We have the best support in the league; we just have limited options.

“We need to get in that shitty little new cup in Europe“, I thought, “give the old lady a few more night matches, and let her go out with a bang“.

One of those routes into Europe closed on Tuesday night, and sitting quietly in my house, reading the anger and disappointment on ToffeeWeb, and texts off a couple of passionate Evertonians, displaying the same anger, my thoughts drifted towards what Everton have been allowed to become.

Years of total mismanagement have put us in the position we are currently in, and whilst we had a dreadful, selfish, lying, egotistical bastard of an owner, who thought success was delivering a new ground, other clubs have moved light years ahead and away from us.

I think I could stop watching Everton right now; I don't think it would bother me, but I don't know if that is true. Would it make me less of an Evertonian, or just someone who had been beaten into submission by years of accepted mediocrity, which began under Kenwright?

My biggest wish is for Everton to be sold, and the new owners can come in with a clean slate, and more importantly, a real organised plan. How many of us look at Aston Villa, like they are still a really big club? Not many I guess, and I'd also guess that this must be the conception of other fans whenever they look at Everton FC, nowadays.

I love good football played on the floor, and I love quick little interchanges, that can kill the opposition, but surely the key to success starts with being self-aware?

You don't see many teams mixing it up anymore, and this imo, means that not enough managers know their squad's limitations, and are therefore not doing enough to counteract them.

But fans' opinion does count. If memory is right, the last time Moshiri was seen at a game, there were protests against him and the board? I may be wrong but certainly since then he is nowhere to be seen…

In fact, he has, in my opinion, all but walked away from the club; solely his interest is financial with getting his investment back out of a stadium funding deal or future sale.

Kenwright, on the other hand, has consolidated his hold, strengthened the board with his shoo-ins, and just carries on.

Tony, it's one of the main reasons I don't write articles anymore, I feel out of step with some of the views here. I have a passion and an anger about EFC, one that will see me off.

I am starting to not care anymore. I never thought that day would ever come, but it's like banging your head against a wall... pretty soon, it doesn't hurt anymore.

Under Kenwright, he didn't have the resources for us to compete with the big boys, and yes, he should have looked at options to eradicate that problem. But maybe the ones who say he won't let go are right and, for that reason, he has to step down.

As for Moshiri, he was just Usmanov's puppet. Usmanov owned Everton, not Moshiri, and now that funding stream has ended, so has Moshiri's interest and that's why he is desperate to find someone, anyone to help him finance the new stadium.

But the biggest reason why we have been unsuccessful is, apart from Ancelotti, we have appointed a whole host of managers who have no record of winning trophies, and the other one they appointed was never going to win over the fans.

I now think we are back in a position where the stadium will need all the money we have, so despite FFP, our budget for the next few transfer windows will be very restrictive.

The one thing that will be giving Moshiri sleepless nights is the thought of this club being in the Championship when we play our first game in the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, and I am sure, should we lose against Bournemouth, then he may well opt for another change of manager.

I would have loved Ancelotti to have stayed as he would, given the funds, have got this club back to where we should be; but alas, that boat has sailed.

As I have said on numerous occasions, Ancelotti had this club challenging for a European spot for most of the season, and guess what: he did it playing Keane, Mina, Holgate and Coleman, and all I have heard from posters for the last week is none of these should ever play for the club again.

Amazing what a quality manager can do in a short space of time, even inheriting such a poor group of players.

The reason is a lot more simple and has been there for three decades, dumbing down a generation of fans.

Nothing to do with a class manager, albeit Ancelotti was and is, or a gullible owner who hasn't even been here a decade. It goes back a lot longer and deeper than that.

Completely wrong... but carry on. "Ignorance is bliss" as they say.

I really wish I didn't care about Everton FC, I would be a lot more content. After my family, Everton have taken part in all of my life and brought me 100% more worry than any of my family have done and given me a lot less joy and happiness than they have done.

I try not to talk about Kenwright, but I find it hard not to because of the wrath he has brought with him to the club as a director, chairman or even as a supporter if he ever did support them to the extent he professes to.

Mike Gaynes is right: it is repeating the same over and over but, as Christine said in recent post “The truth hurts” – no matter how many times it is repeated – and it is the truth.

Gong back to the Bournemouth cup game, Frank was naive to think these players would play any different to how they have performed in the past. But not to expect them to bleedin' try! They stink for that... not all of them, but too many.

The messing around at goal kicks has become a farce. I know it is used as a time-wasting tactic but, for a team chasing a game, get the ball up the field and get enough players up there to win second-ball possession.

It's the repetition that kills me, Christine. The fans showed how much they care and how much Everton Football Club means to us last season, but any mention of real change just seems to fall on deaf ears, so I can understand why you have now chosen to stop repeating the obvious.

Never the let facts get in the way of a good opinion.

No matter how damming and obvious it is, as a Blue it obviously helps you sleep at night. Enjoy the next few years until another Strategic Review of why we are standing still — or worse.

Long time no speak.

You may have left Scottie a long time ago, but it most definitely hasn't left you. Talk about saying what's on your mind.

Unfortunately, I have to disagree with you here, girl. Not the bit about Kenwright or the board, that's a given, but we have to hold these managers accountable too.

The club has made more money available to these failures than any club in the world outside the top dozen or so. By not apportioning a huge percentage of the blame, we are simply handing them a free pass. They are responsible for the team selection. the tactics. what we see on the pitch.

Brian,

I can't believe you are still coming out with this "Carlo would have made us great again" stuff. Forget what you imagine would have happened, focus on the facts. The reality of what really did happen.

After a good start and a transfer window, Carlo was taking all the praise. People were claiming he was improving players (even though he didn't coach them). He was happy to take all the credit for that... Until we hit a sticky patch.

Christmas came and went and Carlo was finding it difficult to even buy a win. We were falling and he couldn't do anything about it. Soon he was blaming the players he had brought in and the players he had been lauded for improving – "I'm not a magician."

Carlo was offered the chance to go back to the silver spoon existence he had thrived in before. Who could blame him for accepting? That's who he is. That's what he does.

But never forget that he left this club in freefall. If you take into account his wages and the wages of his entourage (including his son and another relative), he left this club about 㿅M poorer. In return for that, he served us the most unholy of football.

Rafa came in and, despite more of the unholy stuff, he couldn't stop the freefall. Frank is still wrestling with it now, but he too is serving up the ugly stuff.

Rail against the board by all means. Protest. Register disgust. I would have no objection to seeing somebody physically eject Kenwright from the ground... but for fuck's sake, let's not let these managers get away with this.

Until we get a manager with the nerve to take the game to the opposition (many of whom have weaker squads). We can't hope to start to climb back up the ladder.

Problems may start at the top, but they are nearly always resolved by the people on the ground floor.

Lampard has done enough to show he is capable of making progress.

The Bournemouth result was a battering. But we've not been battered in any game this season when he has had his first XI on the field.

We were atrocious defensively and spineless as a team. For me, Lampard has already made huge improvements in both of these areas.

We were outplayed by Leicester. It was a poor performance. But let's move on. If we beat Bournemouth, then that is a very good result. A draw away to them is even a half-decent result.

Clearly we lack a threat going forward. Let's hope the extra time off will provide Calvert-Lewin with recovery time to get beyond this hamstring niggle. It'll also take us towards January when hopefully Lampard can improve our attacking options in the transfer window.

Onana and Gueye is not working how he may have hoped so I expect him to introduce some change at the weekend.

But so far this season, we have looked decent defensively, we have struggled for goals and chances. We have produced outstanding performances against Liverpool and Palace at home and generally we have played with a spirit and togetherness that has been absent for a long time.

In my opinion, Ancelotti would have filled our squad with highly paid, over-the-hill ''star names''. He possibly may have won a trophy before buggering off after proving it could be done, leaving us in a bigger mess than we are already in.

We would have had an entire squad of ''yesterday'' players over 30 on massive wages to get rid of.

We already had enough of them as it is.

Those elite-ability players are the chief difference between them and us, how are we supposed to compete with a team of mostly inferior players?

There's always been bigger richer clubs but the influx of foreign players and loads of TV money means I think the gap is wider now than ever.

As soon as we change as a club, we just might be able to compete again.

Ask any Man City or Chelsea fan of my generation if they thought they'd be where they are now and they'd have laughed at me and you.

Even Man Utd fans had a sense of pessimism.

Anf Tottenham in the late 70s getting battered 7-0 at Anfield on their return to the top flight must have felt a long way off.

Man City 21-22 - revenue 𧼝M; profit 㿕M
Everton 21-22 - revenue <𧵶M loss <𧴜M (approximations)

We can't compete with that.

Nice to see you back. Yes, still going on about how Carlo would have made the difference, see you still haven't lost the art of slightly twisting what people say.

I said Carlo in my opinion "would have us back where we belong" which meant competing for trophies. I never said "make us great again". But despite that, it's great to have you back and I am sure you will rattle a few cages, including mine.

Brian @115, what facts have I said that were incorrect?

You're right, I am a Blue who has been going to Goodison for 67 years and had a season ticket for 50 of those years. So I have seen the good the bad and the downright ugly. I have resigned myself being 74 to never see my beloved Blues win another trophy, and that is really hard for me to comprehend.

So I don't really need your sarky comments about if it helps you sleep at night – which, for most of last season, I didn't.

Talk among the fans about changing the manager really doesn't matter. It's down to Moshiri personally who has sacked five of the last six.

Relegation would be a disaster for him, leaving him with a 𧺬M ground on his hands and would cost him most of his fortune. If he thinks relegation is probable, he may well panic and pull the trigger.

This may be his reaction if we lose again on Saturday to Bournemouth – who have lost their last four league games.

Sadly that means more disappointments and eventually that always means the manager will get fired when the Bottom 6 position looms.

Frank did well with what he had last season but has gotten little or no support from the board.

Where we go from here is anyone's guess with yet another game at Bournemouth before the break and an opportunity to regain a smidgen of respectability.

However, with little or no strike force, it will once again be a difficult game.

For a start, he can kick a ball hard in the direction of the goal which means the ball sometimes ends up in the goal – a talent most of our current team seem incapable of.

What… so you sacrifice a chance to win a cup to rest players who are about to get a huge rest from the World Cup? And it's not like we are in Europe every week...

His comments are starting to sound familiar: "It's not my fault, it's the players."

Yes, Tactically, it's always the mortals on the shop floor that somehow try to make it work with what they have. In this sense, the shop floor is the football pitch. And if they don't, they answer to those who are at the top.

Even when those at the top lack strategic ambition and seek nothing more than self preservation so will sacrifice the lambs to the slaughter and hang them out to dry.

The stadium is the shining light and resembles something akin to a vision. The latest pictures are really encouraging. Looking and feeling like a stadium rather than a building site.

But we've been reckless to say the least. We've tried several very different managers in several years. Decades even. Few, if any of them have got a tune out of this club to date. Joe Royle somehow won a trophy and built a fighting team for a year or two, but even he had to walk when he realised the board wouldn't back him to go to the next stage.

As for the marriage made in heaven, well, 11 years of so called stability dressed up as success and good times with moments of false hope. The reality being lowering expectation, standing still, Goodison getting no more attention than the occasional lick of paint, failed stadia attempts that has now materialised 30 years on.

Please excuse me. I really am still hurting from Tuesday and now have a cold having travelled back in an air conditioned train in very wet clothes.

Apologies for the negativity. Just fix it on Saturday Everton. You owe us. Again.

I disagree, Phil. It is the prerogative of the manager to pick a team he feels will win the game.

On paper, that team was full of internationals and players with 100s of Premier League appearances. They are currently second string yet he feels he can't trust them in the league.

Therefore, he gave them all an opportunity and, had there been just one standout performance from that XI, then that would've been an extra player who can make a justified claim to be starting Premier League matches.

As such, none of them performed and therefore those players who didn't play should be fresh for the weekend.

The big problem is not being dumped out of a competition we are unlikely to win this season. (The last 9 winners have been Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool or Chelsea.)

The big problem is if he goes and loses to Bournemouth at the weekend.

I'm not defending the manager (making eleven changes and expecting any type of cohesion is ludicrous, insulting even) but I realised that it's something our club have been doing for a very, very long time now, whoever the manager has been.

If I'm being honest, I'd take Everton coming 16th in the Pemier League for the next few seasons, just as long as they gave us some joy in the cups. But English football has changed dramatically and most clubs seem to me like they'd sooner come in the top half of the Premier League and are not really that interested in the cups.

Lampard is early into what was/is definitely one of the hardest jobs in football, so I'm personally still backing him. There have been some green shoots in one respect, but nothing whatsoever in others.

The biggest concern is the lack of goals, but my biggest concern is that I don't think he's got our shape right across the midfield, and this is something that needs fixing quickly if we are to move forward and develop as a team.

To your point: only Man City, Chelsea, Spurs and Newcastle put out anything resembling their best teams in the cup games this week. All the other teams just handing the cup to Man City or Chelsea year after year.

West Ham have registered their interest in signing Everton and England defender Michael Keane, 29, in January. (Football Insider)

Doesn't matter what you'd take, Tony. Reality is that we are currently a squad and club in the mix for relegation.

So you can want 16th every year all you want but that isn't guaranteed. Lampard knows this and his primary objective is to keep the club in the Premier League, with the potential of building a better future.

I'm sure I read on here not so long ago that, as far ago as Martinez, managers have been told not to worry too much about the League Cup. Supposedly it comes from above which, for me, can only mean one numpty.

(Moshiri wouldn't even know what the League Cup is !)

At one time, I would get over a defeat after an hour or two knowing that we could make it up in the next game.

The "Kenwright" period has drained me of most of my hope and faith so that now I feel upset and depressed for days after a game trying to work out what went wrong and how it can be fixed.

There is no doubt in my mind despite his defenders that the whole ownership and boardroom is a fiasco and unfit to run a club like Everton, making decisions they are unfit to make and wasting money the club doesn't have. Moshiri at least has put his hand in his pocket but he is one of the most culpable because he is the outright owner and should be deciding who should run the club.

Kenwright's interference and influence have had a negative effect on the whole structure, culture and direction of the club since he set foot in the door, where we have become a club of smoke and mirrors accompanied by deceit and misplaced favouritism with egotistical arrogance.

Many attempts have been tried to correct this... Paul Gregg, Blue Union, KEITC, 27 Years movement etc. but all have failed.

We can all go on about which managers have tried and failed and there are different opinions on all of them but we need to think about the present and the future.

I really like Frank Lampard and he says and does the right things but, while I have seen a distinct improvement in performances this season, we still seem unable to turn those games into wins and that remains a concern.

Do we have the time to allow Frank to learn and improve the squad while the abyss beckons?

Should it be the fans' job to have flares and marches to inspire the team or is it the manager's job?

I have always said you make your own luck but there is no doubt that lady luck has turned her back on us.

None of us has the answer but I do know we can't continue this abysmal situation.

Perhaps defensively but the midfield and attack remain poor. We have one point less than this stage last season.

When I look back to the seven signings last summer, I now realise that six of them were cast-offs by their clubs for one reason or another. The exception was Onana who is not yet up to Premier League standard. None of the six were wanted by their clubs.

If what you say is true, and it comes from Kenwright, then he should come out and publicly apologize to the fans for making a wasted journey to Bournemouth, and refund every single one of us our travel costs, be it coach, train or car.

You asked me "Why change the defenders?"

My answer stays the same. Everton's positive changes this season have been in their defence, and changing it – regardless who we were playing – weakens us.
Patterson, this was his first full game after coming on as a substitute in the last game, he had not long come back from injury. Mina, this was his first game after a long injury. Keane, because of his known weaknesses, Tarkowski was bought.

And I do not believe you weaken a team just to give players a rest after a previous 95-minute game. They only have one more game to go before jetting off to hot-weather countries. Also, we have had players injured in training so maybe we should give them days off from training.

The changes Lampard made simply stated, I think, "We were good enough to win but it does not matter if we lose." This may be good enough for him but it is a slap in the face to the supporters, especially the ones that traveled down to the game. Every cup game you win means more income to the club.

Judging by our now substantial sample size of manager sackings not changing anything, we can safely say that, if we sack Frank, we will all be back here again next year with a different manager and the exact same issues.

Too many people focussed on the wrong failings! If we want this sorted once and for all, the Board must go or at least appoint people with experience running a successful club or organisation to key positions, which is something we don't have.

Frank may be a poor manager, a promising one, or a good one, but it is impossible to know for sure as any manager coming to us at present is destined to fail. The opposite is also true: a shite manager could go to a really well run club and look much better than he is.

Man Utd have been suffering from the same issues as us – does everyone think Van Gaal, Mourinho etc are all shite managers or was/is the club a basket case like us?

The Board initiate a Strategic Review, conduct it themselves, release no details of findings etc and everyone just forgets about them and gets back to calling for manager sackings as if that will change anything. How many more managers do we need to sack before the real problems are obvious to every single fan?

I am aware of this, Tommy, I think I even said that most teams don't seem to take the cups seriously anymore, because they are a lot more concerned about staying in the Premier League.

It reminds me of some lyrics from The Jams, Funeral Pyre. The weak get crushed, as the strong go stronger. As Everton become more and more detached from the football club they used to be, each boring bloody season!

Yes, before most of the players came to Everton, they were good players, yet after a short period of time at Everton, they seem to lose their way, and the players who do improve, we seem to sell them.

My problem with Frank is he doesn't seem to react or change tactics, does not give youth a chance, and none of the players bar one he inherited have improved. The players don't seem to know what systems they are playing, and their basic skills are appalling.

How many times do you see players fail to pass the ball to a team mate when under no pressure whatsoever and they obviously don't do triangle pass and move. Watch the players, they pass the ball and, instead of moving to a space to receive the ball if needed again, they stand behind the opposition player so they cant receive it again.

Everton's football is to slow and toothless, our set plays are a joke... these are all things a manager is suppose to improve. You don't have to win a cup to make Europe but you do have to get in the final.

Please don't see this as a attack on your comments but, as a supporter of Everton for 55 years seeing this club crumble before your eyes, we use to be a club chasing the Top 10 – we are now chasing the Bottom 10.

That's why I like the idea of the B Team concept or feeder clubs. Not loans as such, but having an agreement with a team where we send many of our players to and help coach them. So it is a loan system, but a lot are going to the same club to play together with the influence of how our coaching staff want them to play.

I know, it's a pipe dream and a bit revolutionary, so won't happen, but if I was King for a day.

But, sorry Love, as you get older, it just becomes even more frustrating, knowing that as a supporter, there's nothing we can do. I am fading now, but you are still in full flight. Please keep it up.

I don't get the attitude. We can see what these new boys can do on an
occasion that we are supposedly trying to win some silverware – after all, why the hell are we in it?

If there is not any conviction this Saturday, we might just as well say Taxi, Again!!!