Injured duo to be assessed after coming off against Wolves

Our squad is depressing reading. I'd keep about 10 out of the current squad and 3 of them are goalkeepers. :(

Phone up an East German gymnastic coach, Lance Armstrong, a night with Pamela Anderson etc, the Liverpool FC Asthma department. No matter what. Get these players ready to play!

His detractors at Burnley towards the end of his reign bemoaned his stubbornness in persisting with his favourites. Maupay is clearly a hugely inferior goal threat and presence in attack then either Calvert-Lewin or Simms.

If Dyche (who I am overall a big fan of) plays Maupay over Simms on Sunday, he should be hoisted by his own petard. We could do without the stress and worry of such a scenario!!

Which means a huge loss. Probably the best formation would be 3-5-2 with Iwobi and McNeil as wingbacks.

Midfield should be Gana, Garner and Doucouré breaking forward.

Forwards: Simms and Gray.

Onana keeps losing his man (eg v Man Utd away and today). He's a liability and we can't afford stupid cheap mistakes.

If your shit, then percentages don't matter. Maupay couldn't hit a cow's arse with a banjo. Give up, Sean, and play Simms.

Maupay is haunting me…

Patterson and Calvert-Lewin are young athletes, why the hell do they keep succumbing to muscle injuries? It can't just be bad luck.

They must both be doing something wrong, they just need to stop getting injured!

Lord knows what we'll get as a team selection. For as much as Keane was great in the second half and showed more technical ability on the ball than our attacking midfielder, it was him coming on at right back that changed the game in Wolves favour. He had no idea how to play the position and was fodder for Traore, who was immediately switched to that wing without any reaction from us. Just because Dyche likes him doesn't mean he can play any position.

Gray showed that he should have been playing all along with just a few moments of actual footballing ability. He's got some ability. That immediately places him in the top 2 or 3 players in this squad and there's no way he should have been on the bench for the last few weeks. He's clearly not selected purely because he's not liked by Dyche and that's a huge managerial mistake.

Holgate managed to go from being a viable left back in Dyche's mind to not even an option at right back with no competition. What sort of manager thinks like that?

So who knows what will happen. We've watched these players for years and know who can play where. Dyche hasn't, and seems to make his decisions based on who he likes or dislikes. And that changes every couple of weeks.

I know what I'd like to see. It's similar to what I've wanted us to play for months based on the squad we have available. But what do I know? I've only watched every minute these players have played for their entire tenure at the club.

I could absolutely see Keane up front, by the way. He offered a physical presence and, to be perfectly honest, he's better on the ball than Doucoure and would improve our attack. I know that's not a high bar. Doucoure must be the worst No.10/Free role type player in any top flight team's history. He can run, he works hard but Christ on a bike he's dreadful.

Personally I'd go with with...

Pickford

Tarkowski Mina Coady

Iwobi and McNeill as wing backs

Garner Gana Onana

Gray

Keane (well he's not going to play Simms is he?)

Gray actually has attacking ability and intent. He puts in a chase too. How on earth is he not practically the first name on the teamsheet?

We're not going to play good football. We can't afford our defence having the ball. We don't really want our midfield having the ball in deep positions. Play it wide then play it direct. Let Onana and Garner go box to box until one of them drops. Be nasty, physical and cynical.

And for the love of God let McNeill take the free kick if we get one.

He's got to be seeing something in training that convinces him Maupay is the better option. Maybe Maupay scores more in the indoor five-a-side or he's better at keepy-uppy? I don't know. I've long given up on the idea that the training at Finch Farm comes close enough to simulating actual match conditions to matter much.

Dyche gave a great insight into his thinking in the post match interview. "It's not about tactics, it's about mentality". I completely get that and I actually believe it... but it doesn't mean you abandon any consideration of tactics or selection based on ability. You're still supposed to consider those things so that mentality has half a chance to even make a difference.

Why play Maupay when he's so clearly not up to it? Why Keane at right back when you couldn't even stomach the thought of him at centre back? Why not Holgate in a position he can play at right back when you thought enough of him to pick him in a position he can't play only last week? Why not a back 3 and wing backs if you're bringing on a centre back? Why is it better to put Garner on the right when you can see him struggling positionally? How in hell is Doucoure in an advanced attacking role when he can't control a football?

The answer to every question seems to be 'mentality over tactics'. The players keep working hard in every shit situation they are placed in.

I feel like the players gave their all. Again. But he's hamstringing them (not literally, I don't blame him for that). There were possibilities there to play a formation that suited the players available. He practically went with the lunatic decision for every decision he had to make.

I'd sack the guy within 30 seconds of the final whistle next week. In fact I wouldn't have appointed him given he was the polar opposite of what we needed as willing triers who were also the lowest goal scorers in the league.

I'll be thrilled for these players if we stay up. It will be a huge career achievement for this bunch to achieve something against all odds and in spite of the ability, resources and leadership of the squad.

As for us, I'm not sure any outcome is something to celebrate. The bigger battles will still be there regardless.

Unlikely but whatever, McNeil can't be wasted playing left back and there has to be somebody who can at least distract opposition central defenders. Regardless of other results today and next week we have to be playing to win and while this Manager has done better than the last one, I'm not sure that he's much better than setting up to be difficult to beat rather than winning at all costs.

What would my team be? Damned if anyone would know who will be available until at least Monday lunchtime at the earliest.

Myko had a thigh injury and was said to have a chance to play. It would help a great deal, as having no left back disrupted the whole team organisation and balance.

Having Myko back and restoring McNeill to more advanced duties will help. Holgate will step in at right back and we will be back to our 451 / 433.

I'd just about start Gray ahead of Iwobi who's end product has been very disappointing. For me Gray looks more likely to grab a goal . He also puts a decent cross in , one yesterday just need a striker on the pitch to poke it in and there have been more than a few like that this season from him that would have been bread and butter to an proper , even average standard , PL striker.

There are no guaranteed solutions but has to be Simms up top as the other options are not suited to the role.

Where ever we play it will still a difficult task so if not Dyche?

Then who?

The list wasn't that big before and do you trust Moshiri or whoever not to fuck it up with yet another cunning plan.

We might just make it over the line but do we really want to suffer more of this? I know the squad isn't his doing but he has shown zero imagination in squeezing out results with this bunch of misfits. The Newcastle, Fulham, Leicester games were good examples of his lack of creativity.

Our form is slightly better than under Lampard, as if that was any kind of measure. But our performances have been just as pointless. We were a team that didn't concede that many but couldn't score enough. Under Dyche we became a team that played a slightly different way and didn't concede that many but couldn't score enough. One game excepted.

The players are giving him absolute desperation. All he's got to do is put them in some logical shape and let them try to scrape points.

Given our 'not got a pot to piss in' finances*

*and yet...and yet - we're owned by a double billionaire and have played for 31(?) years in a League awash with money.

Not to sugar coat, it we're far from being a promising cheapish players first option...unless we pay silly wages which is why we're in the position we are...not that we seem to have much spare silly money to throw around any way.

As always with our mob - more questions than answers.

We may just have to take our lumps and hope it's just a standing 8 count and not a TKO.

I was not a Moyes fan but how I miss those 40 points and top half finishes now.

Only new ownership and leadership can save us now, whatever division we are in next season. Under the current bunch we are doomed, new stadium or not.

COYH!!! SOS!!

I also saw him put Michael Keane on at right back and exclude Gray from the team for weeks on end when we can't score.

The squad is crap and he's failing to make the most of it.

And let's face it. He's a bit of a tit. That matters least, but it still matters.

I don't blame him for much by the way. He's crap, the squad is crap and it's all because the leadership at the club is crap. I'd like to see us get rid of a lot of crap if we ever get our act together.

He came in when it was too late to bring in any meaningful new talent (and/or we didn't have the ££) and has delivered the following record...
Played: 17 / Won: 4 / Drawn: 6 / Lost: 7 / Points: 18 (35% of points, 23% win record)

The losses include all of the current top 4: Man City, Newcastle, Arsenal, Man Utd plus Liverpool. These are all games I don't think we'd be surprised to not get much out of. Fulham and Villa were disappointing, but are teams in form and having their best seasons.

Lampard's record beforehand, with multiple transfer windows, plus a summer and winter break was as follows:
Played: 20 / Won: 3 / Drawn: 6 / Lost: 11 / Points: 15 (25% of points, 15% win record)
This included: Draws (Forest, Leeds) and losses (Southampton, Leicester, Wolves and West Ham) against teams who were relegation rivals.

I don't think Dyche is some sort of messiah or a genius, but tbh he has done a demonstrably far better job with the same resources as his predecessor (actually lesser resources considering injury crisis). If we do go down, which will depend I think primarily on Leeds (although no-one seems to notice that Leicester can also overhaul us on Monday if they beat the barcodes), then I don't think the buck can stop with him, it has to be taken by Frank, the players and of course the board.

I do also think Dyche may be the sort of manager we'd need to duke it out in the Championship. Coincidentally, if we do go down then I think it's likely the anti-Kenwright group will (finally) get what they want!

Let's see what happens next Sunday and hopefully another final day escape which speaks volumes about the way the club had been run for a very long time.

Ernie you're talking about Dyche getting this tactically wrong. What tactics was he supposed to deploy without a left back, after losing a right back and then losing his only centre forward? Gegenpressing? Catenaccio or tika-taka?

Colin you talk about his team selections - and suggest Simms could have been the difference. Simms may have the same physique as Calvert-Lewin, but he's nowhere near the same levels of physicality, work-rate, goal threat, aerial ability etc. And that 1 goal he got against Chelsea may be the only goal he ever scores in the top flight.

As it happens, Dyche's tactics and selection got us a point. The fact that the players kept going to 99 minutes in real adversity got us a point (ie mentality etc). When Dyche has a reasonable collection of players on the pitch then we look good - as per going toe to toe with Man City for 35 minutes until a brilliant bit of improvisation from Gundogan. And we were much the better side yesterday until we got the 2 decisive injuries we couldn't cover from the bench.

By contrast, Wolves were in really serious trouble earlier in the season because Jiminez and Kalajzdic got injured and they had no focal point to their attack. The brought Costa in to help - and then in January bought Ederson, Cunha, Dawson, Lemina, Sarabia and Bentley to bolster an already strong squad.

Lopetegui has done a decent job but so did Lage last year. They have stayed up because they brought in the players they needed. They have a better squad than us - and most notably strength in depth when injuries hit. It's as simple as that.

Dyche is giving us a chance in these circumstances. Very few managers would have been able to do that. Certainly Bielsa didn't believe he was capable of it. He thought we were gone.

The lack of fit fullbacks screamed “wing backs” to everyone but he's so stuck to one system he refused. So much so, he put a slow poor Chunky CB at RB at one point. Good opposition managers will see a static system and play round it. Exactly what Wolves did yesterday. Sit tight, wait for us to commit forward and hit hard on break. It's too easy.

Even if we accept the one system crap, his decision to move Garner to the right was baffling too. The lad did ok there, but why not leave Iwobi there (been doing ok) and put the natural left winger Gray on the left from the start. Guess he felt it was more about protecting McNeil, but surely Garner / Gana / Onana could be asked to do that as a 3, instead of staying so narrow.

Dyche has also killed any confidence Simms may have been developing, and set back chances of Mills / Price / Welsh breaking through. Sure, one can argue it's not the time for young lads (I did against playing a 16 yo at left back this week), but giving minutes ahead of Davies, Holgate or Maupay just backwards thinking in every sense.

Whatever division we are in next year, this dour twat will recruit a cart horse number 9, continue to play Keanes and Holgates over Branthwaites and Cannons, and turn us into route 1 Wimbledon which modern managers will simply stop and exploit.

Honestly, I just saw a manager bring on Michael Keane at full back. How is anyone still defending him? Have you ever seen a player look less comfortable in a position? I actually laughed the first time he went down the flank. It looked hilarious. Then Wolves chipped a ball over Keane's head in the way a pub team would do when they figured out the opposition had a fill in guy playing. And the kicker is that we had Iwobi who has played wing back. We had Holgate who has played a lot of his football at right back.

I don't blame him at all for the quality and depth of players at his disposal. I blame him for his bizarre decisions, seeming grudges and all round lack of tactical adaptability and in game nous.

The guy is a disaster. Yesterday's game was hilarious. We had more players out of position than in position.

Fortunately he's operating at the end of the table where a point a game is considered success, there are lots of below average players, and clubs do things like offer a manager 2.5M with 4 games to go.

There's a reason that he's always occupied this part of the table.

I think people assume that, because we're Everton, we must have better players than Leeds, Bournemouth, Palace, Saints, Fulham, Forest, Wolves etc. Unfortunately we really don't. Without DCL we have easily the worst attack in the Premier League - and the rest of the squad is not much better. We have a relegation quality squad, no doubt about it.

You have to entertain the possibility that, crap though our predicament is, the alternatives (blooding Samuels-Smith, playing Simms instead of Maupay etc) could be much worse.

Ability & mentality are obviously important, but balance is everything, especially the way football is played nowadays. You absolutely must have defenders who can pass the ball out, and full backs who can overlap. We rarely have either of these things and it shows massively.

Gray has to play next week and McNeill has to play in midfield - these two are our only attacking threat and we also need to play either Simms or Keane (yes, Keane) up front because again, it gives us a focal point and someone to play off. Maupay just offers nothing, he can't hold the ball, can't give us an outlet, and he can't score, so play Simms or Keane up top otherwise we just get smothered and will fail to bother their keeper.

Praying for a Leeds loss today to take a touch of pressure off for Bournemouth.

Given the injury crisis that now exists we will have no other choice but to play three at the back and five across the middle next weekend and Gray up top.

A long week ahead but we have to keep believing and supporting the players right to the end.

Then there's the treatment of Gray, which I'll never understand. What I'm sure of is that Joe Royle in 94/95 would have made Gray think he was the most lethal attacker in the league. Dyche benched him and refused to give him game time. Then changed his mind for a bit. Then changed his mind again.

Now he's going to need Gray. He really needs Gray. If Gray puts in a shift it's absolutely in spite of the manager.

Yes, Dyche been given a shit squad, but nothing I've seen in half a season here or MANY seasons in Burnley suggest he'll improve it moving forwards. Another yesterday man, devoid of real football nous.

If we had ANY balls whatsoever….if we stay up, break the bank and get Potter in the summer. If we go down, get a young manager who will develop kids; Lee Carsley or Michael Carrick (if we could get him) would be my call, but I'd go with someone like Viera or maybe Tim Cahill. Literally anyone who won't plays dire none-football from the Graham Basset playbook please.

I think blooding Ishe Samuels-Smith was always going to prove unlikely as he's away representing England at the Under 17s European Championships. Jadon Sancho was called back from the (eventually victorious) Under 17 World Cup to join up with the Dortmund first team squad about five years ago, but I can't see us doing the same.

- Davies gets minutes, Price has not.
- playing CMs RW when Mills is natural there.
- Maupay continuously over Simms (whilst playing long ball game too!)

These are the things that bother me now. They are signs of a manager who will pick experience over a gamble. With our budget, that's simply a recipe for slower decline.

I don't see Dyche as the answer for us moving forward, but for me there is no doubt had he been given the job in November I reckon we would be safe now.

Two from us, Leeds & Leicester will be relegated at home in front of their supporters next Sunday and if Leeds win today, its in their hands - massive match for them today.

Even if they don't, can we beat Bournemouth ?

However I can't help wondering why Everton have let so many young defenders go in recent seasons and chosen to keep the likes of Holgate.

Up front we are so bereft of a good striker it is no wonder we struggle to score goals except on a rare freakish occasion like the Brighton game.

DCL was certainly showing some good form early last season before his injury problems but now he is a starting liability.

I hope to God that Maupay doesn't start against Bournemouth and It doesn't really matter who starts in the midfield area as they are all over the place at times leaving the opposition wide open.

I realize Wolves should have put us to bed long before that 99th. minute equalizer but Everton had to throw bodies forward and that left our pedestrian midfield and back three totally exposed.

Thank God however that our back four have pitched in with some crucial goals to get points when needed which has given us hope but in all honesty the squad is mostly inept and needs a big overhaul in the Summer.

Onana, Iwobi and Gana are too slow in back tracking although Iwobi runs himself ragged for the cause and I am not sure Garner really offers much else.

Leeds will probably get a result at a tired West Ham who may rest players in view of the Euro Conference final coming up.

I think Gary gives a good shout mentioning Potter (if we stay up) but he needs to be able to work with a dynamic well intentioned board - not the fuckwits we are lumbered with currently.

How the chronology will play out after the season's end is anyone's guess but one thing we can be sure of, all things Everton will not be going quietly into Summer recess.

Goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski and Danny Ings are among those to come in, with Michail Antonio and Saïd Benrahma dropping to the bench.

West Ham XI: Fabianski, Coufal, Zouma, Ogbonna, Emerson, Soucek, Rice, Fornals, Paqueta, Bowen Ings.

Subs: Areola, Johnson, Cresswell, Antonio, Lanzini, Cornet, Benrahma, Kehrer, Mubama.

I don't think most people are asking for the likes of Simms to start games; but in a few sub appearances he has shown the ability to win some balls in the air, to control a ball, and lay off a pass.

I'm genuinely at a loss. As are the team.

- Graham Potter's best finish in the Championship is 10th, with Swansea. Steve Cooper really kicked them on with follow-up 6th and 4th place finishes respectively. In fairness, a few people were touting Cooper for the Everton job before he even joined Forest. They were probably right. He's done an exceptional job there.

- Graham Potter was a disaster as soon as he found himself at a club with dysfunctional recruitment - despite having a top 4 quality squad at his disposal. The exceptional recruitment Brighton are now well known for certainly did him a lot of favours as a manager. It's really not clear whether he's any good or not.

- DeZerbi looks like a good manager, but is also benefiting from Brighton's exceptional recruitment (as he did at Sassuolo where he made his name). Interestingly, his Brighton side at lower strength was absolutely steamrollered by a Dyche Everton side with a fit DCL in it. No-one was calling Dyche a dinosaur after that superb performance.

- Lopetegui was given Costa even before the January window opened and then brought in Cunha, J.Gomes, Lemina, Sarabia, Bentley, Dawson to an already high quality squad. Hard to know how he'd have fared if Hwang was his only forward option for almost the entire season. Not so good, I reckon.

- Allardyce today has Rodrigo and Bamford available - with Rutter (£25m), Gnonto, Summerville and Aaronson (£30m) all on the bench to supplement the attack. Consider how Leeds would be doing if he only had Sam Greenwood available as a striking option.

- I'm not saying Dyche is perfect by any stretch. Personally, I'd have played a 352 yesterday with Maupay and Simms up to together (after DCL went off). However, that might have left us short in midfield and susceptible to balls played in behind the wing-backs for the likes of Traore and Podence and Sarabia to exploit. Ultimately it would have been a very low quality 352 that might just as easily have lost as nicked a point.

Given the severely limited options available, assuming the same squad, I'd go:

Pickford
Holgate - Mina - Tarkowski
Iwobi - Gana - Garner - Doucoure - McNeil
Onana
Gray

Onana told not to have more than one touch in our half, be a nuisance up top!

Whereas Everton's manager and supporting staff come and go.

I'm not saying I would start with Keane up front, but he his definitely an option, if things are not going to plan, although Newcastle have still got to beat Leicester first, just like Liverpool did last Monday night.

What the fuck have you done to me Everton? Two teams I always want to lose, I have actually wanted to win, although I'd be delirious if Newcastle can only get a point tomorrow night.

If they get a draw and then a win on Sunday they would come above us on goal difference if we draw with Bournemouth.

Whilst we must go for the win on Sunday, I don't think any of us would be that confident that we will get it.

If Leicester lose a draw keeps us up unless Leeds beat Spurs by 3 or more…

We have had every single type of manager since Moshiri came to Everton, and still it's the manager who many people think is not good enough.

We all know something is fundamentally wrong, and when you think that Liverpool got £17 million for Nico Williams, whilst Jonjoe Kenny, left Everton for nothing, I think it's clear to see that a lot of our problems are not down to the manager, but rather the constant changing of many managers, leaving us the most unstable club in the EPL.

Man City cannot be dictated to; Everton can, because other teams have us over a barrel.

PNE's season is over, so presumably his loan period is also over, but are there any Premier League rules that anyone knows of that would prevent us doing so? I had assumed that no players could be drafted in...

If we can, I'd urge the club to do so, at least we'd have a choice of 2 young strikers to pick from – 1 on from the start, 1 on the bench...

we'd wish him to be wrong, but it appears he's right this time.

He was asked to play lone striker in a team that couldn't keep hold of the ball and now is playing under a manager who wants to be direct which doesn't suit him at all.

People are keen to see Simms or Cannon but Maupay's record in the championship is better than both of them. He'll probably leave this summer and do ok in a team that suits him. He was a bad buy when we should have been looking for a Calvert-Lewin back up.

I think Simms should probably start. He's not good in the air, he's not great at pressing, he needs a lot of work at holding up the ball but he's a young lad that can strike the ball well and that the crowd will get behind. Presumably Dyche and his team will have been working on his ability to use his height and physique better. He's capable of occupying centre-halves, which is what we need to give space for Doucoure or Gray and McNeill and Iwobi.

Lord knows who will play at right back and left back (if Mykolenko is not fit).

I think Id be looking at some kind of 3-5-2 with Doucoure playing off Simms and asked to run everywhere. Not ideal but injuries may force something like this:

Pickford
Keane Tarkowski Mina
Iwobi Gueye Garner Onana McNeill
Doucouré
Simms

I just heard he may be out for 5 weeks and sounds like he had some bad damage to his hamstring.