A fantastic battling display sees Everton through to Round 4

Amazingly Exeter bounced back from a home drubbing by Reading: 9-0... so anything in the crazy world of footy is possible!

Blues take note and win tonight, we need some momentum, consistency and belief going into our next two Premier League games.

Still, it's a decently balanced line up and I look forward to seeing Harrison and Danjuma playing off DCL.

COYB!

Maybe because they want to get them up for the free kicks and corners assuming we can get enough of them.

Still it's a dodgy move.

I think we will do well tonight and win, even if it goes to penaltiess.

COYBLUES!

Things seem to be coming together, hope it continues.

Good win and I'm ecstatic but, for fuck's sake, they were terrible substitutions.

Bring on Luton. They will be giving their all. They have an extra day's rest.

We must not underestimate them, but, go full tilt and Booooom! We are in Business!

Beto to get his first Premier League goals?! COYB, UTFT

I hope he keeps consistently fluking them!

I'm slightly concerned about Beto, he looked so hungry in his first game, but he looks a little disinterested at times, perhaps that's just part and parcel of his personality. Danjuma, could do with a lesson in performing in a team, i.e. sometimes it's better to pass than shoot.

Garner and Onana were outstanding for long periods of the game, but the subs Villa made, put us on the back-foot more often than we'd like, although they didn't make too many clear-cut chances and we had a couple of breakaway moves to seal the win.

All in all, a morale boosting victory on the road, next stop Goodison.

I wonder if the initial demands got to him and shocked his physique a little; he isn't showing the original pace, lost out to defenders more than once in sprints. Hopefully he adapts.

Villa are a good team and Emery is a very good cup manager. I had low expectations for tonight.

Hope Goodison is rocking against Luton and we can make our home a fortress again. Signs that we might be alright but let’s not get carried away.

Branthwaite is immense. Reads the game like Maldini, but playing centre-back. Composed, strong, good balance, can turn.

The spine of the team looks really promising. The football is going to be much more exciting than last season if the improvements keep carrying on.

Great performance for the travelling Evertonians who deserved a win there after so many visits since the last win there.

Two away wins in five days and five goals and both wins deserved, although I missed most of this match. A good performance from Onana (?) I would have appreciated that. Let's get a home game in the next round.

Make no mistake: that’s a big win and should give the players (and fans) a huge lift

Only see DCL’s goal but what a superb piece of individual brilliance

Dyche deserves enormous credit

DCL shows exactly why we depend on his availability. Top drawer centre forward in every aspect.

Long may it continue

What a performance from the away end.

I hope we’ve turned the corner now and confidence seems to be creeping back in.

Let’s keep the momentum going and get more league points on the board.

Garner was superb and the whole squad seems to have
got the mental and physical strength and belief back.

Very pleasing and some nice descions for Dyche for the Luton game. Hopefully no injuries from tonight

Early days, made up to win and beat Villa at their place.

UTFTs!

Win on Saturday and I'll need oxygen... crikey!

Well done blues, Garner was excellent and Branthwaite is a giant. Harrison had a good debut too.

Alas though a thought the bloke third row up on the end behind the goal, yer know, the one with the blue top on? He was just a tad off key during our fans superb singing of Spirit of The Blues.

Clearly it must have been the excitement, we're never off key...!

Great cover and balance, players all know their own responsibility – when the traps were set, they all went and helped get the first goal.

Branthwaite is Rolls-Royce, and under tutelage of Big T, he will only get better. I thought Keane did well but always has one mistake in him.

Garner is a steal – he's always on the front foot, his ability to anticipate the turn off a player allows him to effortlessly step in to regain possession and his control is excellent.

All round great performance and probably should have won by more. Just need to carry on with a home win on Saturday.

I know we could argue we were unlucky against Wolves and Fulham but I think our home form is a genuine issue. The onus is on us to attack more than we are comfortable with when we haven't been set up that way.

It has to change this weekend. We have attacking players at our disposal and we don't need the 'solidity' that someone like Gueye provides. I'd argue we also don't need the workmanlike attacking midfielder, Doucouré. He's there to nick a goal in a typically defensive performance. Valuable at times, but not in this game.

Playing 'solid' players against Luton is just inviting them to play in a low-quality match – which is the type of match they are comfortable in.

Well done Blues, both on and off the pitch.

Sometimes it looked like 5-4-1, others 3-6-1, but the important thing was that, until we retreated when 2-0 up, there were always men up the pitch supporting the 1. A lot of hard work was done.

And let's not forget the 1 furthest back, who made a crucial save with his foot.

And, talking of numbers, let's salute the 4,500 for their fantastic support.

Young lads impressed again. Garner had a fabulous game and was outstanding in the first half. Branthwaite too provides class and balance to the defence. Onana continued in the same way as Brentford, his form has improved and is getting more involved. Patterson did well overall too.

Harrison looks to be a very shrewd signing and will get better too with more matches. Calvert-Lewin took his goal well and did some good work winning possession and free kicks to alleviate pressure. Tarkowski was a rock again and Pickford made a very good save as usual and looked generally in control.

The icing on the cake is being given a very winnable draw, not easy but we can be confident.

Onwards and upwards, looking forward to Saturday.

Great game which we grew to control within 10 minutes. Onana gave the ball away four times early on then turned into a footballer and played well. Branthwaite was excellent again, pleased with Patterson and I do rate Garner.

Well done, Dominic, albeit it should have been two. Massive respect to the North Stand… wow, you out-sang them! And nicked two balls… we were stuck with the Villa fans, most of whom left before their goal.

Good result and (‘sounds' like) performance. Anyone know if at least the goals can be easily viewed right now?

Happy for the always deserving away support. Burnley at home – winnable as long as we don't get complacent.

That applies to all the games I suppose. Wins against Luton and Bournemouth (especially to ‘honour' Mike Gaynes's visit) would really help player psychology by actually putting some distance between us and those who are likely to struggle all season.

Is there an argument for getting absolute maximum playing time from Doucouré and Gana before the Afcon – even if Onana and Garner make a very effective pairing?

I'll be up in 4 hours if I manage to sleep but don't care.

As always. I'll give myself time to reflect on a great evening.

It was a very thorough performance by every player though, and even though that spawny Villa goal had us all on edge for the last few minutes, they didn't really pose much of a threat.

It would have been an absolute injustice had Villa snatched a draw, and therefore penalties, because I think we bossed the game from start to finish, and could quite easily have had the game sewn up by half-time.

The most important thing though, is we're through, and now have a very winnable home game in the next round. Maybe this is our year to finally win the League Cup. 🤞🤞🤞🤞

Tonight his 3-4-3 formation, making best use of the personnel available, worked perfectly for the 75 minutes it was employed. It certainly appeared to take Villa and Emery by surprise.

Apart from the closing minutes our back line of three centre-backs had a very comfortable evening. Patterson proved what many of us suspected; he is first and foremost an attacking wingback. Tonight he was superb in that role and after an early lapse was reliable in the defensive areas.

Likewise Garner showed us beyond doubt his best role is in midfield. His tackling and use of the ball were excellent. His first goal for the club will surely be the first of many. He linked well with Onana who was our man of the match, finally delivering the consummate midfield performance we need from a player valued at £60M. More please!

Up front Calvert-Lewin yet again showed what we have missed so badly over the past 25 months; pace, strength, control and goals. Jack Harrison gave the team the width, quality and work rate we need to make 3-4-3 function successfully. A great introduction for the loanee.

With nearly a full squad available, the manager now has some options to change both the selection and the shape of the team. The trend in our away form is pointing upwards. The challenge now is to turn things around at Goodison, starting on Saturday.

Happy that Calvert-Lewin scored again. Hope he's fully back in strides and starts scoring for fun.

One question though. We seem to put everyone in the box when defending corners. I know based on probability it's harder to score from outside the box and we have a world-class shot-stopper. But do you get worried when the other team get a free-shot opportunity?

It seems like every manager since Howard Kendall has done that. It allows at least one of the opposition big defenders to come up. Moyes was terrible for doing it, even dragging small players like Osman back.

By leaving one man up on halfway, two of the opponents' men had to stay back. It wasn't as if the likes of Pienaar were going to win many headers defending corners.

A massive pet hate of mine too, believe it or not, but our last manager I saw leave someone up for a defensive corner (and he didn't do it often) ... Allardyce!

A beauty of a pass from our Onana for Garner's opener. Those two are our future central midfield partnership and both only 22 years old.

Calvert-Lewin calm as you like for his finish for the second – he was going to nutmeg the goalie again like last week but just couldn't be bothered.

UTFT!

I realize that it's too much for the full game, but instead of dropping everyone behind the ball, remember they are more open at the back if they have to attack.

I liked Garner and Onana, I thought it was his best game for us. What a difference a striker makes too. Now let's put Luton to the sword!

Shows where we stand in the media's thinking…

# 74 Shaun did you work at the San Diego Hilton in the early nineties? Just that I met a Bluenose there who was the catering manager by the same name, much to the chagrin of the wife!

There is a report in my version of The Times, although they didn't list it in the contents page. Also the reporter reckoned we were playing five at the back. We didn't. For the first 75 minutes of play, it was 3-4-3.

Beat Luton and I might even smile!!!

That was the midfield I was waiting for, the 2 of Onana and Garner works, they really compliment each other, strong in the tackle and can play a pass. I think the extra responsibility for Onana was welcome and he took it. Gana was sloppy and often out of position when he came on. Onana looked like a beast last night, he takes an extra few seconds on the ball than needed but he is young and that will improve, Jimmy's technical ability is wasted on the right.

Great finish from DCL, it is nice to see him score a goal he made for himself and also with plenty of time to think about the finish, something which I think is the weaker side to his game, he looks sharp and the competition of Beto is really taking the pressure of him.

Branthwaite is a Rolls Royce and big bids will be coming in for him in the summer. Patterson is an athlete and it would be nice to see him get a run of games and really be a threat from the right.

I think we have a decent squad there fingers crossed no injuries to have a good cup run and dare I say mid table finish.

Only disappointment would be I though Dobbin would have been ideal instead of Mcneal to get a run out.

A good performance and a great result. We've had a few of the former but not enough of the latter. Perhaps that will begin to change now.

Interesting to see a different formation being used and I'm curious to see what Dyche will favour moving forwards. The stats suggest that we have been creating chances all season and that it may be at the other end we should be most most worried, but we looked organised and solid last night against a team with some very handy attacking players.

I wrote a piece a few weeks ago saying that I thought Thelwell had done some pretty excellent work this summer in the transfer window given the incredibly tight restrictions (we only spent £3m!) and it's pleasing that Dyche is beginning to get a tune out of those players. There will be some tough selection decisions for the next few weeks if everyone stays fit.

Could it be that a season of blissfully dull midtable obscurity awaits after all? Credit to Thelwell and Dyche if they manage to pull that off despite the absolute state of things in the boardroom and above.

But moreover I feel that for the first time in a long while we have a manager and a playing squad that are well suited to each other. Finally there's a sense of team identity emerging and even some genuine competition for places in some positions. It's also a young squad with valuable assets who can and will have to be sold, but also a DOF/blueprint to spend any incoming funds sensibly and in a sustainable way.

There's clearly still a whole heap to sort out off the pitch and who knows how the 777 stuff will develop (they look our best/only hope currently) but it feels like on the pitch we may just be turning the corner somewhat.

The one that always stands out for me was the winner against Manchester City at Goodison. I was directly aligned and all 5ft 8 of him leapt above the City centre backs.

The 5ft 10 Tim Cahill wasn't too bad in the air.

Attacking and defending in the air are different arts. As they say, size doesn't always matter.

Doucouré is no Number 10.

Nick Page? Nothing changes.

My opinion when we signed him was that he'd be a good acquisition and probably contribute more than Gray or Iwobi. How did he do?

Who do you think should be the first-choice wide players? I'd like to see Harrison and McNeil with Garner in the middle. Danjuma coming off the bench.

Hopefully Garner and Branthwaite will play and put an extra few thousand on the attendance.

The last 2 results gives everyone a lift and may that continue.

Brian 79 and Trevor 86, it is the quality that counts. For example, we had 33% possession yesterday

Yes Tony the last couple of games have lifted most Blues spirits and it really does make a difference to how you feel, going from Spring to Summer maybe.

Are you still following the Toffees yourself Tony? If you are I hope you are fit and well.

Goodison Park has been chosen to host England Under-21s' UEFA EURO qualifier against Northern Ireland in November.

Everton's home will welcome the Young Lions, who kick-started the defence of the crown they won in the summer with a 3-0 win over Luxembourg this month, for the game on Tuesday 21 November (7.45pm GMT).

For England Under-21s head coach Lee Carsley, the game will see a return to the Blues, where he made more than 150 Premier League appearances over a six-year spell.

And it will also be a return home for Jarrad Branthwaite, with the Everton defender selected in Carsley’s squad for September. Source Everton FC

We could do with a few heated arguments, its got a bit too lovey dovey on here.

As he builds his fitness in the coming weeks he will give Dyche the luxury of being able to rotate his attackers from game to game and indeed within the same game.

The deal for Jack Harrison is a straight loan deal, with no option to buy. Thats the double edged sword of straight loans, if the player is a success the club who hold is registration either takes him back and possibly sells to the highest bidder or keep hold of him or tell the club he was loaned to what extortionate fee that will be needed to buy him. The other side of the coin is if he doesn't do the business you can send him back at the end of the loan deal.

Yes it's something I found really strange that many had turned on the manager so quickly and with quite a bit of verocity.

I think part of the backlash comes from the inherent stylistic, ideological and pragmatic approach of Sean which maybe goes against our inherent DNA of pining for the school of science. In addition Sean's penchant for the tried and tested over the next generation is perhaps adverse to what many of us want to see from an Everton manager.

Once we lost a few winnable games it seems the knives were beginning to sharpen very hastily. For me this was ultra surprising given the leniancy the hapless Benitez and Lampard were given for periods of sustained woefulness

When our managerial position became available I wanted Bielsa or Hassenhutle over Dyche for many of the above reasons as I felt all three would have kept us up.

However Dyche has done a really competent job to date in my opinion. We survived last season and the only game we should have won was the Fulham fiasco but we managed to get those lost points back with the marvellous win at Brighton.

This season I feel we have been excellent and unfortunately we didn't get the points deserved which has put non-sensical pressure on a manager whose performance level seems a real step up from the last campaign. Not many teams play to the level we did against Fulham which was such a big improvement from six months previous.

Then against Arsenal he had a game plan to get a point against a really top class Arsenal side which was only undone by a move of pure class. Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up. When Ancelotti tried the same tactic against City in the Cup many who were berating Dyche were happy to accept Carlos identical approach without a muttance.

Just think if we had been able to play the Fulham and Wolves matches with the likes of DCL, Neto, Chermiti, McNeill and Harrison as options added to the fact that Danjuma wasn't really fit our points tally would be very healthy right now.

To win at a tough place like Brentford was excellent but given their circumstances it may not have been as impressive as at first sight, but backing that up last night making a team of Villas quality look so incompetent was a huge shot in the arm for me.

Whether Sean will be the manager to take us to where we want to be is still highly questionable but so far in his tenure he has hardly put a foot wrong and indeed I am once again really looking forward to games which I haven't really done since Silva was in charge and am beginning to get a connection with quite a few of the players now like with Moyes and Martin squads

I think the angst and some of anger shown towards Dyche following the Arsenal encounter, was justified due to our recent history and our not unreasonable fear that Dyche might be turning into Allardyce light.

I think that the Arsenal debacle, which it was, given we have beaten them on home soil many times in the last few seasons, without resorting to defending our penalty area for 90 minutes without a decent period of attacking, and the backlash that followed, has actually brought about a positive change within the coaching staff and the squad.

There was mention that there had been a meeting where the players and staff expressed their views following the Arsenal game, and since then we've enjoyed two impressive results and a few goals to boot.

It might be coincidence or having a few more of our better players available, but I think that Dyche has possibly outlined to the players that they can't hide behind him or the tactics that he asks them to employ and it's all about the players on the park taking responsibility for their own, individual and collective performances.

Here is something to make that up to you and to help those bummed out by the press doomers.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GUCVfZu0vEo&pp=ygUWc3BlbmNlciBqYWNrc29uIGZhbWlseQ%3D%3D

Spencer Jackson Family Zulu records classic.

There is no buy option but

"Jack Harrison’s loan to Everton is “done” and as there is a release clause involved the deal “could become permanent during the loan spell”, according to Alan Myers."

So it sounds similar to the Coady deal whereby we can buy him during the loan?

We managed to beat them in Sean's first match when they didn't turn up and may have felt that it was an easy three points.

I am certainly not defending Dyche's approach but we played an excellent team who really didn't look like scoring until that brilliant goal and had we got a 0-0 draw there would have been a totally different slant on proceedings.

If you want to win games though the manager has to figure out which is the best way of beating your opponents, theres more than one way to skin a cat.

Let's not get too carried away yet hey, Dyche has deserved every bit of stick he's had so far.

But the last couple of games have got me thinking, well maybe he's more tactically astute than what I've give him credit for.

Last night not for one minute did I think we were going to lose or draw that game, we were dominant from start to finish.

7 points from Luton Bournemouth and them and I really might start believing.

Onana and Garner were fantastic and them 2 have got to play together when fit.

Big shout to Harrison who considering it was his debut and first game coming back from injury was superb, his work rate was sublime added to no little skill either.

We've got to force the issue on sat, I don't want us to be one of those teams that can only play one way as shown in the last 2.

Go for goals on sat and I'm sure we'll put Luton to the sword.

Let's go get a couple more wins to keep us moving up the table and to make Mike Gaynes a happy man.

So let's keep it going, eh, Blues. 💙

Thanks a lot. I appreciate that.

Sounds promising to me.

As others have already posted, they all played well but Garner and Onana complimented each other brilliantly. Calvert-Lewin makes such a difference and we all of a sudden have a few options off the bench.

A great night, I am still hoarse today, singing your head off with an already sore throat didn't help but I wouldn't change a thing.

Got to concentrate and keep the momentum going now into the Luton game.

What a night though, met Danny as usual at the end of the game and his mate Jamie and, to really top it off, I got a ticket for the derby, yaay!

When you say “Garner and Onana complimented each other brilliantly”, I have this image of Garner saying to Onana “Ooh, you're looking fetching in blue tonight!“; and Onana saying “Well, you're not looking bad yourself”.

I wasn't being critical, and I do now remember your St Helens stories, Paul Hewitt is from there too and still lives there. I was thinking less of you than others I alluded to. Sorry for the confusion.

Anyway, here's looking forward to a good solid win and a great weekend. Hoping they don't do an “after the Lord Mayor's show”! UTFT!

So, if you read any shite from Mark Murphy on here — it's the other one!! UTFT

It's 100% certain that there must be another Paul from S Helens on here, because it wouldn't have been Paul Hewitt you met at those games.

I have given Dyche some stick for the way we played against Arsenal, plus the way he set up for the Man Utd and Fulham games last season, but do you genuinely think he got enough praise for keeping Everton up last season?

Someone said he had the worst points record out of any manager since Mike Walker the other week but my view is that he took over a club that was on its knees and to keep us up was an absolutely monumental achievement.

Something I definitely don't believe he has been given enough credit for.