Iwobi injury less severe than first thought

We will obviously have to improvise, but who with? Pity James Garner is out too, I do like that lad, and hope he can be an integral part in the future.

At the risk of Darren's wrath, I sincerely hope it is not Bette Davies, the no-action skateboarder.

Socks round ankles looking like 'Roy of the Rovers' but playing like Ena Sharples from the Rovers Return! Or was it Minnie Caldwell, that Alice Band has me confused? :-)

I'm not his biggest fan but I'm glad he's going to only be out for a few weeks because it's a squad game nowadays which I believe makes every single player in our squad important.

Good news about Iwobi, who I also rate, Derek. Those two players, Davies and Iwobi, look to play a forward ball, although not always finding their target. That has more to do with there being no target to find in front of them most times.

Although the upturn in form of Gray and the return of Calvert-Lewin may change that. (Apoligies if I sound slightly positive on ToffeeWeb, I have noted that only Danny O'Neill is allowed that privilege. Thank you, Danny.)

Good news also that Roberto Martinez is to be offered the Portugal job and we can try to bring a bit of stability to our coaching staff for once.

He does bounce around like Tigger but he's a poor player who helped us towards the end of last season and started ok this season but his true self has come to the fore once more.

As for Davies, the less said the better.

I did type – slightly positive.

I noted that being fully positive brought the wrath of Michael K amongst others.

Different eras I suppose, I'm glad it's just a sprained ankle.

This is testing my memory but Harper was a utility sub player, kind of implying jack of all positions, master of none.

Tom Davies does not or cannot play in a number of positions and is certainly not a master of any of the midfield roles.

Relax Alex, relax.

I thought this thread was about Iwobi? Still he is the second-most-mentioned player so far...

"Bette" Davies...Ena Sharples and Minnie Caldwell. The side splitters just keep flowing. TW's very own Tony Blackburn's on fire.

Back on topic. I thought we may have seen the last of Iwobi this season so I am really pleased to see he won't be out as long as we thought. He's struggled recently, but his energy will be crucial to us on the run-in.

The last few games, he seemed to be the Iwobi of old, running around doing absolutely nothing; he never puts his foot in and challenges for the ball.

I'm glad he's only out for a few weeks, because based on that where are the goal assists going to come from now?

Despite that we have to think long and hard about giving him a massive new long term contract. He's more of a player that I'd be happy to play against than want on my team.

I watched Tom closely against Brighton. He often showed for the ball from the defender and would turn forwards but more often than not he'd have to go backwards because everyone else was stood like statues.

He's still got 18 months on his current contract, and seeing as he will be 27 years old in May, I think his contract should be only extended until he's 30, so a 2-year extension.

The other worry is that he could be offered £100k per week. Again absolutely obscene if true.

Yes, he's not exactly the best midfielder on earth, he's not really ever going to be the answer to what we need. But he's better than most of our midfielders and that's about as simple as it gets.

Calls for Tom Davies, who has scored about 5 league goals in 6 years, are pure insanity, do we not remember Davies playing at Bournemouth in November?

We ain't getting goals from Onana or Gana while James Garner – the jury is out on him, he's not even fit yet.

We need to buy players but we certainly don't need Iwobi missing for too long either.

Apologies Darren, as I know you are a fan.

They are saying it is a three and half year £17m contract taking him to June 2026.

He will be missed.

If he chooses to go then we will get decent money and find someone else.

His new contract will be a Horlicks ,because of who is handling it and the existing contract he is on.Hopefully the outcome won't gonk himself as much as Gordon ,appears.to have experienced during his new contract negotiations.

I bet that Mina is on the new Player leadership group and Iowbi and Gordon aren't.

May have taken poetic licence with the spelling there !

As you rightly say, what are the options ? Maybe this will force their hand in the Transfer Market, assuming we still have a pot to urinate in !

I have been wracking my brains trying to figure out why a man who barely plays, is introduced to so many threads by people who bang on about his twitter accounts, Alice bands, His clothes and his private activities

Took a while, but the penny has FINALLY dropped...

You'll hear no more from me on the subject.

Two Word answer : Wage Thief ! Although admittedly, he is not the only one. I think supporters have every right to criticise players if it merits.

Analogy, if you went to the Empire, or any Theatre for that matter, to see a specific Play, and paid decent money for a Seat. The Actors were absolutely garbage and kept getting their lines wrong etc. Would you just accept it, and say nothing ?

That’s your second post on Davies in this one thread. That means just shy of 10 percent of the posts are by you and about him and you are upset he keeps getting mentioned? Pot kettle?

Taps nose

Haha I remember once seeing Camelot and Richard Harris was sick so his understudy stepped in and basically sucked. The theatre was in uproar it was like Shakespeares day only without the flying tomatoes.

Iwobi is another one. He’d probably be a standout player in the championship. He’s just not premier league standard.

How do we differentiate between he who shall not be named and the other he who shall not be named from Iceland? HWSNBN1 and HWSNBN2?

That type of pressing should be base level for a club of Everton’s standing, and it’s what’s needed to compete in the modern game. Whoever comes in has to implement that rigorously and buy midfielders who can both play good football and have that mobile fitness and physical ability to press this way.

The way we played at City and United, at least gets everyone closer together, and seems to have everyone understanding and having more confidence in the system, but for the likes of Brighton, it was really easy and enjoyable training ground practice.

It’s a bit sad that I still think the best defence we have recently had is around four years ago when Zouma and Keane teamed up. For that short period we were a better all round team. Neither top quality but Zouma had pace and strength, Keane had resilience and both aerial ability. There’re was a complementary thing going on. Keane has struggled in every pairing since.

Currently I still think Yerry Mina is the best CB at the club, he has composure and reads the game better than most of the others. The team always looks better when he plays and I think the stats back that up too. An average speed CB who can read the game can also allow teams to play a higher line. The intelligence can give the all important yard start. Shame Yerry can’t go for a pee without getting a twinge halfway up the stairs.

I think a lot of us are realistically hopeful that Branthwaite is going to be a really big player for Everton. It’s important to us he gets the game time promised at PSV.
There will come a time soon when it will be either or for Tarkowski or Coady not both of them together.

In the meantime, the Everton midfield gets weaker and weaker (Garner, Iwobi, Davies) and no replacements in sight. And no, Dele Alli is not the answer. God help this club!

He is also one of the only players in the squad who can pass the ball, he is energetic and connects the forward play. I am really relieved that he will only miss 2 league games.

You do realise that he has as many assists as ALL THE OTHER PLAYERS IN OUR SQUAD PUT TOGETHER?! And that’s without him taking any free kicks or corners.

Those who say he’s had no end product this season are clearly desperate to not see what is right under their nose. He is also us right up there for tackles too. And he’s always near the top of ground covered too!

He’s not been his best for the last few matches (not sure why Lampard moved him to RCM when he’s better at LCM) but he’s literally our only player creating chances regularly from open play. Plus he works hard. And yet his own fans are happy to suggest it’s good that he’s injured?!

Astonishing how quickly fans will turn on their own players. Astonishing and depressing.

It's impossible to blame any single player, let alone our own Everton youth product for the almighty mess we are in. Relevently speaking he cost us zero, is on cheap wages, has been unlucky with injuries but gives his all every single game.

Is he the greatest, is he world class or even one of the Premier leagues best players, no. But I'd rather Tom over the many other impostors we have spent a fortune on over the last decade.

We need better players in every position to compete at the top. That's not going to happen anytime soon. In the meantime we need everyone to improve and be the best they can be week in, week out.

My comment's on Tom are the same for Iwobi only he cost a lot of money and is on a hefty wage. But at least he gives his all. Iwobi hasn't improved as a player, but his attitude, fitness and work rate have which make him a big loss as he's more athletic, stronger, pacey and technically better than most of our other midfielders.

I'm not blaming Iwobi but his recruitment points to the problems of the past. Only time will tell if our recruitment has improved.

I think he has been much improved these past 12 months and starting to be played in his best position.

He might not be one to fly into a full-blooded tackle, but he's good at nicking a ball.

An unpredictable player, which I personally like in a footballer.

Doucoure for example showed just why he shouldn't be playing for us when he came on against Utd. Yes, he's athletic, a big unit and can run - but that's about it. He can't pass, his decision-making is terrible, he gives fouls away, his heading isn't great, his tracking back and concentration are poor, and he gets caught out of position too often.

C'mon Lampard, try something different and let's really see what someone else like Price can do instead.

I think one of the key players who helped Lampard and the team last season was Delph – when he played, of course. We could do with a player of his experience now to keep the rest of the team focused and keeping their positions.

When he played last season in the run-in games, he was invaluable to the team's game. A player like him would certainly help Everton's cause now because, as we all know, as well as a goalscorer, the central midfield is sorely lacking in every game.

Surely we are seeking players in both positions… while time drifts away and other teams are getting players in and changing their managers. The way this club operates is really unbelievable.