Blunt Blues are crushed by rampant Arsenal

Time to change things up front, we could play until the Green comet ZTF comes back and our forwards will still not score. Time for a 442, Simms / Gray may produce something ? Or just keep it as it is and give Simms the central role. Is there any hope at all that Calvert-Lewin will play?

I know he's very limited with what options he's got available to him but come on man, play two strikers if you persist with Maupay.

Sick of seeing tried and tested failures that give up every time they fall behind in matches.

That central midfield too is about as creative as a caveman with a broken rock in a dark cave.

You have to do something with this squad otherwise it's over before Spring is here properly.

I don't know. Free agent, promising kid, repurposed centre back. Gray in the middle. Ioubi. Something, anything.

We have to drop him and try someone else.

When he went to PSG we missed his terrier-like tackling; we never missed his generally limited passing ability and tendency to dawdle in possession. He's the sort of player ‘two-touch' training was invented for.

I thought he was a touch unlucky on Saturday because he was a fraction of a second from making that tackle but McGinn was cute enough to make sure of the contact which both prevented the tackle being successful and gave him the standard ‘justification' for flopping to the ground. Very soft but never going to be over-ruled by the VAR.

But it was poor judgement to attempt that tackle with the risk attached if it went wrong, just as it was poor judgement again last night not to ping it back to the goalie when you have no idea how long you've got before the opposition get their toe in.

The current central midfield three aren't working and we need to be able to at least keep clean sheets (yes I know about the lack of goals but I'm concentrating on one problem at a time). Is there a re-shuffle fresh combination that will give us a midfield without glaring weaknesses?

How do people think things worked when Holgate came on? Can we get enough energy and tackles from someone other than Gana or do we stick with him and reinforce the KISS principles he needs to stick to?

Dyche obviously needs to shake it up and he's a canny manager. There will be the usual twists, so let's not melt after a very predictable result.

We won't be finishing above Wolves.

Leeds, Southampton and Bournemouth are the teams we need to be focusing on, maybe Forest IF we get a win against them on Sunday.

If we don't start winning games, it wont matter what the others do

Jurgen Locadia - Ex Brighton and PSV

Max Kruse (34) - knows where the back of the net is.

Isco - better than what we have

Simeone Zaza - scores goals in under performing sides

All BETTER than what we have!!!!

This is a slow death we are experiencing!! Long and painful…… RIP (Relegation is Probable)

Pickford

Vinagre
Mina
Tarky
Coleman

McNeil
Onana
Garner
Iwobi

Simms
Cody

I wasn't enamoured by Dyche's appointment but he does seem to have better organized the defence but still seems to fall into the ways of his predecessors by sticking with the same bunch of players (team seems inapplicable) and some use the excuse that they see more of them at training which must mean they don't take what they see in the match as seriously.

It is either trendy or for marketing purposes that things are renamed such as "The Premier League" or "The Championship". Well let me rename Maupay's standard, 'The Dustbin", the man despite all his effort just isn't upto it.
I don't know what Doucoure did to fall out of favour with Lampard but I wish he would do it with Dyche.
McNeil was responsible for the first goal when he gave up tracking his man back and left Mykolenko with two to mark on the corner of the penalty box and Myko was damned if he went with one of them and damned if he didn't. I also have doubts about trying to sign a player but not able to when they want cash up front but are willing to let you pay for another in installments.
Gana must have thought the halftime whistle had gone but something like this has been waiting to happen in a few games but the Manager persisted in the same way his predecessors did until they realized Iwobi plays a lot better when used more centrally. And I suppose Tom Davies's knockers will be laying into him for missing an easy chance but by then we were four down and Arsenal taking the piss.

And finally a word about the one constant, the poor and inconsistent refereeing both on and off the pitch. Onana was hit by a deliberate arm/elbow to the head by the Arsenal player coming in on him in the first couple of minutes. Not even a foul was given when last week Doucoure was booked for accidentally hitting the man a metre behind him. And I'm sorry but the VAR given goal just looked wrong to me.

And now the bleedin' obvious, there aren't three teams worse than us!

Some of his decisions in the last few games have made me a little concerned.

Why start Simms at Anfield and then not give him a chance in the next three to start?

Why persist with Iwobi out wide and keep ignoring Gray, ok Gray frustrates the life out of me too, but if one player can get three or four goals between now and May it's going to be Demarai Gray not Alex Iwobi.

Why the hell bring Michael Keane, who's career is all but finished at Everton out of the shadows and start him in the toughest away game of the season?

Why not start Mina and if he breaks down you have Coady on the bench anyway?

Why persist with Mykolenko who in my opinion is absolutely dreadful, not anything against the lad but he's not good enough, at anything, pace, aggressive, distribution, he's so poor.

The midfield of Doucoure, Gana and Onana is never working, not one of them have a clue what to do with the ball, none offer goals and very little defensive protection.

Change the formation if you must Sean, go with two strikers, if you really need to persist with Neal Maupay partner him with Simms.

I remember 1998/99 under Smith, we looked dead certs for relegation but it was only when he introduced Kevin Campbell and Franny Jeffers paired as two strikers that we finally realized that we had to score our way out of trouble.

I don't blame Dyche because much like Frank and those before him, he's working with braindead players.

But it's up to the manager to suss it out ASAP and try to make some difference, otherwise they may as well save the money on managerial appointments and just pull someone out the street to manage them.

I hold out a tiny bit of hope that once DCL, Garner and Patterson are back things might improve slightly but I'm not holding my breath.

We are short up front. I'm not sure playing 2 bad strikers is going to help us more than playing than 1. It will just disrupt our ability to defend.

There's still plenty of matches but obviously our lack of goal scorers is a massive problem. As much as Dyche would want to refute it I suspect our fate will depend heavily on the fitness and form of DCL. If he comes back he can provide a focal point and also a few goals. If, as is more likely, he continues to struggle then it will be an uphill battle. I wouldn't bet heavily on our survival necessarily but it is certainly not settled.

No press on the first, it makes it easy to pick out his man.

Suicidal from gana for 2nd

3rd they all run to the line, instead of marking the players in the box.

4th Tarkowski doesn't get close enough to protect the near post, with Godfrey not getting out quick enough to the cross.

All preventable goals with further mistakes thereafter. A catalogue of errors.

As the classic and sarcastic chat suggests, they must wish they could play us every week.

Although we beat them only a few weeks ago.

I know it's early days for Dyche, but we don't have much time.

I'm no FIFA 2000 or whatever the latest version is player. I haven't touched Football Manager games since my twenties, so I won't go into the this formation, this player debate in depth.

But he has to try something different to give us options to score goals. Mills? Simms?

I don't know much, but just do something different and send me home happy rather than with my tail between my legs.

We'll see Danny B; still more to go in this season. Last night at the Emirates was painful as it usually is, but still more to go in this season.

I don't think even the Davies knockers can actually be bothered knocking him anymore.

Davies never was never the answer, never will be the answer, he's not good enough, another one of those players that has no real attributes to make it at this level but somehow he's managed to survive as a Premier League player for 7 years nearly.

But sadly he's not alone because he's in an entire team that is rank awful.

How has Tom Davies entered the conversation? He came on last night into a difficult situation and done no better but no worse than any other Everton player on the pitch against a very good team on their own patch who are challenging for the title who we beat several weeks ago.

We were well beaten by a good team. Sunday is what matters now.

Gana's error while horrific did not impact on the result as we were always going to score zero goals. The error may have implications for our goal difference but hopefully our survival won't come down to such tight margins.

We have to try something else up top at the weekend as we can't survive on a ration 2 or 3 goals every 5 or 6 games. In fairness to Maupay, he did average about 10 goals a season, 1 in every 4 games, when playing for Brighton, unfortunately for him, he is now not part of a team who can play joined up football which was the case at Brighton. He scored more goals there because they created more, many more chances.

Our season will not be defined by last night's result but it will be by the game on Sunday. We must take something from that game!

Danny, keep on believing, if you give up on them, it really is over

We are still in a better place than we were with the previous manager.

Did those brave souls, Board of Directors, put in an appearance last night?

Last night was predictable- it's the big one on Sunday. Hopefully Garner will be fit as he can both pass and shoot. Move Iwobi into the centre with instructions to play close to Simms from the start along with Mina. AreMills and Pryce worth a punt? Desperately need to find a combo that will scrap and work and refuse to lie down- do we have one somewhere?

Desperate times. What a state to have absolutely no goal threat in the team. Goals being a fundamental part of the game. Gross dereliction of duty either through incompetence or idiocy. Two goals from open play in four months says it all.

I rate him similarly to just about everyone else on here. But he hardly plays and yet keeps on finding chances to score in his limited time on the pitch. Is it a shock that a derided sub player misses chances? Not at all. But it's incredible that he even gets the chances in this team. 4-0 down with seconds to go and the lad sprints half the pitch on the off chance of a rebound. It's more of what we need than any other midfielder is offering.

It's not like he'd be keeping a quality midfielder out of the team.

Yes we've seen some glimpses of his athletism but I compare his to Fellaini's first season with us and it's chalk and cheese.

Fellaini struggled in that first year with the pace of midfield and the physicality but he was nuisance factor, made himself a problem and he used his height as a pain in the arse for opponents and chipped in with 9 goals.

Onana seems a bit meek to me, not really one for trying to dominate or make himself a nuisance for opponents, in all honesty I struggle to see what his assests are meant to be right now.

I'm not suggesting he is definitely going to save us (far from it) but I think he was a sensible appointment and kept similar Burnley teams up a few times. I think we've been a bit unlucky, certainly against Villa and arguably last night where Arsenals first even half chance saw an absolutely world class finish from Saka that he'd struggle to replicate. It's not over yet.

Lampard was inexperienced as a Premier League manager, he needed a more stable club than Everton to take charge of, it was only ever going to end in tears once we failed last summer to get the correct players in to the team.

Dyche is more experienced, more hard-nosed, however he's only ever really been in relegation battles himself, so that probably tells you something too.

I didn't really expect us to be free scoring under Dyche anyway, I thought we'd be a bit harder to beat, so far we haven't been, apart from Arsenal at home, the same glass jaw is there as seen last night.

I won't have blind faith in him keeping us up if we can't find a formula that brings goals.

That's not Dyche's fault necessarily, he's been brought in late with a big task, a task that was always from day one equally capable of failing as much as it was succeeding.

But the real issue is forward options. Unfortunately use of Coady as a forward or getting in someone like Locadia is very unlikely to help. It's more logical to use Gray and Simms more - perhaps together with Maupay at the expense of midfield players.

Again unfortunately there is no real solution. It's just another bad option really but at some point we have to roll the dice and try something to give us a goal threat.

Holgate and Keane in the side, possibly in midfield or RB at least give us height etc at set pieces.

But Dyche despite 3 defeats from 5 is definitely doing a better job than Lampard. But he's not magician.

If the team are a reflection of the board then relegation is certain. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but the overwhelming reason at the end of the season for relegation will be the inaction of the above cretins to remove Lampard after the two Bournemouth fiascos and give a new manager a 6 week pre season and a following 4 week transfer window to try and change things. The interim defeats to Wolves, Soton and West Ham will be the defining moments. Dyche would have gotten some points from them games and that will be the difference.
I could weep, 50 years of support and I am embarrassed by the whole place, any pride has gone and its impossible to defend EFC against work colleagues/friends when they have a go. Gotten that way that I really cant be arsed anymore, how sad. I see the new ground and cringe at the uselessness of it all on the banks of the Royal Blue Mersey. What a joke!!

The Villa result didn't reflect the performance, but it still shows an away win on the coupon so who cares. Dyche can't rely on the CB's scoring from corners every game, but he can't polish a striker turd. I'm worried about the amount of "DCL we need you" comments because a) I don't think we'll see him anytime soon, and b) he had one good season under Carlo and he's no messiah, heaping that amount of pressure on him is only going to compound his obvious mental issues. From hearing what he says, I think Dyche has pretty much given up on him already. He clearly doesn't fancy Gray and he's worried that Simms is too inexperienced and again, won't handle the pressure, but both of those options are surely better than Maupay. I've never seen a striker attack the ball less than this lad, he's like the big lad up front in your pub team who will only score if he gets a cross that lands on his head without the need for moving. His USP seems only to be, he's an annoying little shit that snaps at defenders all game.

I'm still not without hope, otherwise what's the point of pitching up every weekend to cheer the lads on?

I agree that there's still all to play for. Having just watched a video of Maupay's goals for Brighton the other season, the lad is a good finisher, although the video didn't show how many he may have missed, but there's little doubt that he's no centre-forward.

I would play him deeper or on the flanks and let Simms be the target man with a remit to win and keep the ball, with less of a burden for him to score himself. We have to try something before we run out of games.

Unfortunately though mate it doesn't matter what happened for the first 40 minutes if you lose a game eventually by a score of 4-0.

It's like saying if you get to the FA Cup Final "we lost 4-0 but after 40 minutes it was 0-0".

Completely irrelevant.

Everton are in a situation now where they need to start showing bollocks and cut out hard luck stories, blaming refereeing decisions, blaming missed chances, blaming injury.

Get out there and find a way to start scoring some goals and then maybe luck will change.

It's a huge two games here now with Nottingham Forest away and Brentford at home, both different challenges and both equally difficult due to Forest being solid at the City Ground and us being apathetic away.

But we need to start putting points on the board not just patting ourselves on the back after another defeat with a scoreless game.

It would be just our luck that Toney gets his ban on the 12th March, but I think we can get 4 points from the next few games. I know, I better go for a lie down...

And the ‘best option' for him after leaving Everton is said to be Fenerbahce, who are willing to take him to the Super Lig. The Turkish club are saying to be ‘trying hard' for the signing, hoping to get the transfer done before the end of the local window, which closes on the 5th of March.

Even though I was pitch side on the front row, I've just realised looking at the footage that we wore all blue. I didn't take much notice at the time.

No.

We should have worn white socks.

Sorry, just a light hearted look on a dark night.

Tbh, I don't like it when we wear all blue - looks too much like Leicester City or Chelsea, etc.

I'd rather we wear a change kit - we have enough of them! We could even take a leaf out of ManUre's book & wear black shorts rather than white - could you imagine them wearing all red?!

Gray is our most effective attacking option. Play him. Set up team to get the best out of him. He's the only one who is capable of something unexpected or capable of going past a couple of people. He's the only 1 who's not scared to shoot. Why he's being used so sparingly is strange to me.

3 dm players are not going to get us goals. All 3 look tired because playing every game. We may get more from them if 1 is rested and rotated.

I don't have all the answers but options need to be looked at now. 2 up front has to be tried, maupay will benefit from a partner as will simms or gray.

This is not an attack on Dyche, he is trying to install excellent values in a team full of players lacking character and have done since Bobby Brown Shoes and his 'phenomenal' cultural change in 2014.

However, in a team with little attacking threat, Gray has been our best attacking player this season and has hardly had a sniff.

It's a bit like the Government. No matter who is in charge, after a while, most people will either hate you or want a change cos the job is fucked in the first place.

Replace the board so that we can have a culture change with competent professionals, like Newcastle have done. Or just fold the club so I can spend my money on heating instead of counselling.

I hear you. I'm 40 years in and have the same sentiments.

Very sad.

Sean Dyche works for us as he may find a way. If he can't then we are in a mess! The championship is tough and we need dyche's experience to help us gain promotion.

One positive is we still have a chance, why? Sean dyche! Let's not have Everton are too big for dyche. Really? To be honest I'm shocked he took the job in our current situation.

Mike#55 coady does not play well in a back 4. More comfortable in a back 3 to what I saw of him when playing at wolves. Just my observation. Sean Dyche has only had weeks to assess and implement changes. Time and matches not on his side. Players need to work harder.

Quite how long this parasite has survived is testament to the complete fucking ignorance of the fanbase. It's hard to believe that so many, so called savvy street-wise Scousers have been had off by a big Tory Actor from “that London”, who is stealing your wages for his and his mates salary, is absolutely embarrassing to say the least. In fact it's disgusting and every single one of you who held this man in high regard should hang your head in shame.

Everton Football Club is not Bill Kenwright and it never has been. If any one person ever claims to be bigger than the football club It's a warning sign. He's a leach, a fraud, a complete fake and he should be frog marched out of this city forever.

Get him out

Get Baxter out

Get them all out

And pray we survive as a football club. We are getting relegated but we need to survive and bounce back. The players need the support,

I'm with Anthony. Not based on any logic just the fact we've never been relegated in my life so I can't imagine it. I guess it's like dying. You know it's going to happen but you just think of it as something that happens to other people until it happens to you.

I say this because at my age, whilst I am genuinely admiring of those who still openly "hope" for this season (as I used to do in decades gone by), I realised decades ago under Kenwright, and five years ago regarding Moshiri, that mere hope is like a balloon -

one prick and it's gone.

So remind me, just how many pricks still run the club?

https://www.evertonfc.com/news/3090421/vote-for-evertons-february-goal-of-the-month

Of the five on offer only one is scored by a member of the first team and he's a full back - says it all really.

I hope you are right and we can stay up, but I just don't see it.