Everton U21s to play Mansfield Town at Goodison Park

As for the World Cup — Boycott It. I am and so is my wife.

Mansfield looked pretty neat and tidy, and are a team of giants. But Harrogate (who are just above the relegation zone), turned them over 3-0

If our kids can match Mansfield physically, there will be plenty of opportunities to create chances.

It would be great also if the club could push this and encourage a decent turnout for these lads. Apparently Charlie Whitaker is out with a badly-injured knee after he had to come off when they played Southampton last Sunday.

Also, two lads (Quirk and Price) were shown red cards so I think at least Price will be missing too.

Our U21s are a young bunch and really won't have the physicality to match Mansfield, but that's okay, that's what these games against “men's teams” are all about, getting exposure to physicality and seeing how they cope.

Paul Tait has done a good job tactically this season and also in further developing the youngsters, I'm sure he'll get the tactics right. We demolished an admittedly poor Hartlepool 0-6 in the group stage, so with a decent crowd at Goodison behind them, they should do well.

The average age will likely be around 19, so it's a bit unpredictable and you just know that if we win there'll be calls of “Get them in the first team” and, if we lose, “They're crap, sack Thelwell.” 🤷‍♂️

It's a pity Price and Quirk will miss this game as they have been playing well this season and Everton will need all their best players for this game, maybe Ben Godfrey could be used to get closer to match fitness.

We have another game in the Premier League Cup on Friday v Birmingham U21s, so I believe that will take care of Quirk's one-match suspension for 2 yellows, so he could play against Mansfield. Usually it's a two-match suspension for Price's red for dissent so he'll likely miss out.