Blues Burst Moyes's Hammers Bubble with fantastic result in London

Can you do it?

YES YOU CAN.

COYB

Can someone explain please?

Hopefully Keane didn't want to play against his next club in January!

Something odd about Keane dropped off the bench. I think there are serious issues there?

His lack of balance perhaps!

Doucoure, neither use nor ornament.

McNeil in the last few games is looking like he did when he first signed and doesn't look fit.

It's like we don't want the 3 points on offer.

I'm finding this just maddening to watch.

Harrison and McNeil have had awful first halves and they look like they've only just met Calvert-Lewin at the kick-off and even he looks like he just got out of bed. And Harrison needs shooting for cocking up that three-against-one breakaway!

Other than that, it's been a fairly disappointing game from both sides and the Ref got it all wrong in that little bit of handbags and should never have carded Pickford but it all became clear when he went over to say that he couldn't hear the VAR.

Heaven help us if there's a power cut and we have to go back to an actual onfield Ref and two old-fashioned linesmen controlling everything.

This has 'first goal the winner' written all over it.

We've done okay but, apart from Harrison's wrong decision, we have offered no real threat. Neither have West Hm but they have more to offer than we have.

We are completely flat, without any spark or energy. How are we consistently lacklustre? So much for galvanised after the derby.

For me, he and Dom and Branthwaite all rate 9s today.

Dom was class as always.

They were invited to go and win the game and rarely looked like doing so in that opening half. I don't know if things improved second-half, but I'm more than happy with the victory and far more importantly the 3 points that go along with it.

On to the next one.

A dramatic post match reenactment:

‘Oh god we win so ugly. I don’t know if I can watch or even admit to friends that I sat through that.’

Great show by the lads and travelling fans.

I did think that Dyche should have made a couple of subs from the 65th minute on and probably for Harrison and Doucoure just to put more legs into it, Harrison going missing for as much of the second half as he did in the first half. And can we include in the Finch Farm training how to go around the keeper in a 1 on 1 situation.

For me our MotM would be either Onana who had a magnificent game but more likely the less spectacular but ever more impressive Branthwaite. He barely puts a foot wrong and his positioning and reading of the game are par excellence. Whatever we offered him in his new contract then double it and put an 85M+ release clause in it.

And a final word on the refereeing as it seems we now well and truly have an advantage rule but I would hope there is some way of letting players and crowd alike know it and when it finishes. And would it be a step too far to have it included in the official rule book.

Always got a possible point deduction at the back of my mind so need a safety net too!

Lovely touch from Calvert-Lewin to make space for himself.
I would have liked us to have had a full week off before Brighton next week but it is what it is.

Hate to say it but I would like our neighbours to give Forest a right good cuffing for goal difference.

My only disappointment was Jack Harrison. He really didn't affect the game imo.

Patterson must start now. If only we'd beaten Luton, the table would look much better. But good points today.

Hard to choose between Dom, Branthwaite and Pickford for MotM. Also good to see Patterson settle down and play a solid game after some initial nervousness.

And Branthwaite was awesome.

Though all the lads put a shift in today, but also agree that Harrison and Doucoure, were only bit part players, but the latter was desperately unlucky to have a well placed shot saved by their keeper. That would have put the game to bed, but thankfully it didn't matter apart from a possible reduction in GD at the end !

I thought Everton defended corners well. Calvert-Lewin did play better, but still a bit short on timing and touch. He did take his goal well though .

McNeil was disappointing. Garner and Mykolenko were better, Doucoure looked more for the pass, with limited results.

Harrison and Patterson worked well on Everton's right. I thought this limited Harrison getting forward.

Pickford was really not tested and was comfortable. The main thing that agitated me was the inability on a counter to at least retain possession, maybe looking for a foul, a corner or line ball. Everton lost possession in promising situations.

Moyes is back under his glass ceiling, now that Rice has gone.

Great away result for Everton.

Delighted the lads Roamed to East London and ruined the Hammers' afternoon with a well-earned away win.

Injuries permitting, I am confident Dyche is improving this group to mould a better, more consistent, more effective, Premier League team.

The away support came over loud and proud on both radio and TV. Massive help to the lads on the pitch for sure.
👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼

May the lads go onwards and upwards and leave the bottom-dwelling depression period behind. UTFT. 💙

In our NFL he would be called a "shutdown corner" and he'd be paid $20 million a year.

He'll never be a modern attacking fullback, but I think what he does give us is critical in games like today.

And you say I'm obsessed with Onana, the man I despise but actually want him to shape up.

He was very good, he did what I wanted by being part of the team and sharing the work load, not a lot to ask was it? If he keeps playing like that, there will be no complaints from me, he was in the running for MotM today.

I thought the team won a hard fought game after an indifferent first half but it was Everton who had an extra gear in the second half. They could have had a second goal to ease our frets, worries and stress in those final few minutes.

But all's well that ends well with a very welcome 3 points and maybe some confidence added to the team. I mentioned a few players but I wouldn't criticise any of those players today because they all pulled their weight and never hid, that's all you can ask.

I'll write up later.

Well played silver Blue boys. Proud of you and the supporters.

Actually, my obsessions at this point are Branthwaite and Mykolenko. I just cannot believe how defensively good these two young kids have become.

Looks like I jinxed Harrison with my tip for him to get the first goal. However, my other tip of Calvert-Lewin getting one came true.

Same again v Burnley or will we look towards the Brighton game and rest some players? Who knows… but let's enjoy a win – they are as rare as England winning in India at present.

May I take the time to say how well the ref and his assistants and the TMO guys did in the Rugby Union World Cup Final. Marvellous to watch people who know exactly what they are doing.

Jarrad Branthwaite – 8

The young defender just keeps getting better and better. Didn't put a foot wrong from a defensive point of view and made three great tackles inside the opening 15 minutes. Also played a key role in Dominic Calvert-Lewin's goal.

Couldn't agree more for once. Man of the match. No doubt.

I thought at times the officials were letting West Ham players off for late fouls but Everton kept calm and held their own.

Now to build an unbeaten run, and get on the higher side of 22 points before New Year.

Everton's away form is good, keep this up, and a good season is in the making, and a Top 10 finish.

Safe journey home to the travelling Evertonians.

UTFTs!

Well done lad.

I have been following Everton since 1966; many highs and more recently many lows. However, on this day of my 70th Birthday, today's result was a wonderful Birthday present.

Thank you, Everton. NSNO COYB.

T'was ever thus... let's get some signals out that we MIGHT accept bids north of £80 million. Hopefully the days of selling our livestock for a handful of beans are over.

If – and it's a big 'if' – we can keep it together, who knows?

This league is such that two back-to-back victories can change the whole dynamic. For example, if Everton can somehow beat Brighton next weekend and Fulham lose or draw the lunchtime kickoff against Man Utd, we would go above them too!!!

Fulham have been much vaunted so far this season, whereas we have been written off as a basket case. That said, the failure to string two wins together in the Premier League has long been Everton's downfall.

Results have mostly gone for us today, and for once we had a referee who looked like he wanted to get the game flow, and was not unduly affected by the home crowd. Dyche deserves a lot of credit for his set-up today, hopefully this will serve us well as we go forward.

Hard to be critical of any of our players but outstanding performances by Dom, Jarrad and Vitalii. Would like to see Danjuma given a chance for McNeil though, who is still to find his best form after his injury.

My biggest stress is at the weekend when Everton play which in recent times can bring a dark cloud over the weekend but not today. Today the sky is BLUE. Maybe Bill provided some inspiration/motivation for the team.

If we avoid a significant points deduction, you would think we'll be safe this season without too many problems. Big 'if', I know.

I would love the comment about Keane being moved on in the New Year to be correct. But not sure there'll be many clubs who will pay his wages. I suspect Keane will be here until his contract expires.

Gamewise, I think we may have something that will help keep the ball in opposition end after loss of possession. This is something that Spurs are doing very well this season. Branthwaite kept the ball in their end with an aggressive challenge (Tarkowski credit). This was covered by Tarkowsi and Mykolenko if it went wrong. We also sent Patterson into the box area late to retake possession.

Onana coming into form will allow us to gamble with Branthwaite and Patterson. Both are capable of extending possession with Harrison or McNeil. Any tricks we can develop will help overall with resets which really improved this match. Players looked for lines to form before going forward more today than I have seen in a long time.

Maybe it was the successful tactic of tiring out Hammers that allowed the time and space. I believe it was the good work of Onana keeping the ball where he had passing options. This made the runs believable and even allowed some standing options to simply force a defender decision yards away which then chose the pass. We actually had 3rd man stuff going today.

Fair play to Calvert-Lewin – that was a good goal!

Just read your post and was amazed. Today is my birthday too and we have the same superstition. My family and friends know better than to communicate with me, until after any match I'm not attending.

It meant they had to come round at 9:30 am this morning for birthday stuff!

Also, the first Everton match I watched, albeit on television, was the 1966 FA Cup Final, Everton v Sheffield Wednesday.
I was completely hooked after that.

Yes, it was a brilliant birthday present today for both of us.
Happy Birthday, Neil.

Will have to wait for MotD2 tonight.

Anyway, definitely deserved the win, and Calvert-Lewin showed once again what a difference he makes to the team (not just the quality goal).

Days like today make you realise how much we love this club that has been with us since the cradle. It makes it worth what we do as supporters.

I'm travelling home with a massive smile on my face. Still up with the dogs early in the morning, but they'll be happy, because I am.

Have a ball, celebrate and enjoy your day and a fine Everton away win! 👍🍻🍻⚽️

"And a final word on the refereeing as it seems we now well and truly have an advantage rule but I would hope there is some way of letting players and crowd alike know it and when it finishes."

Rugby Union do it – miked up so you can hear "advantage" and "advantage over".

Today, I had an all too rare smile on my face watching that Everton performance. "One for all and all for one" springs to mind as a team. Well done, Blues.

Thanks Paul

Much like Branthwaite stepping into the central defence ahead of error-prone Michael Keane, Dyche needs to just let Patterson make that slot his own now, no more Ashley Young as first choice.

All-in-all, a perfect away day performance. I've been crying out for some narrow nitty gritty 1-0 away wins now for some time, I miss them. If you can get five or six of these a season, then you can't go too far wrong.

My sincere condolences. Glad Everton won for you today.

Cracking atmosphere among the away faithful made me remember why I love away games.

Great performance from the whole team I thought, especially Onana and Branthwaite but also an honorable mention for Mykolenko defensively.

A little hoarse tonight but happy with a great result!

I hope Everton continue to be of help.

Jim, agreed about the gritty 1-0 wins. I'm made up with the clean sheet. We look a better side without Gana, he has his qualities but I hope we stick with the midfield we have now.

Onana stepping up again, Branthwaite solid, and Mykolenko defending well. Patterson solid at right back, no more Ashley Young, and a great turn and finish from Calvert-Lewin. UTFT!!

Made up for Evertonians everywhere, but especially those at the match and Derek #71.

Commiserations old chap. So sorry about your daughter.

My partner had two bleeds on the brain (subarachnoid haemmorage) at the age of 50. She survived but is much diminished with no speech. Life can be so cruel.

I thought this was our best performance of the season so far. There was some excellent pressing and defending throughout and we never really looked in danger.

Fair enough, we might not play the most attractive football but this will do for now. This is 'steadying the ship' à la Sean Dyche.

When we win, the temptation is to say our opponents were not on their game but you have to give credit where credit is due. We won this; we were excellent and we move onwards and hopefully upwards.

Both full-backs were good and we were solid in the middle. Well done, Calvert-Lewin, for getting fit and looking like he's a real threat again.

Still think we need to bring in one or two players if possible in the next window, another centre-back and someone with a bit of creativity through the middle.

So sorry to hear of the sad loss of your daughter and to all the other fans on here who also lost one of the family during the week.

Great turnout as always from the travelling blues.

Derek and John, what you say puts Everton and football into insignificance.

God bless your loved ones.

Good time playing anyone after a European game and West Ham looked off the pace a bit. We looked comfortable for long periods, Kudus their main threat.

Calvert-Lewin took his goal well and worked hard all game. Hard to pick a MotM as all of the team put a shift in.

Roll on Burnley midweek.

The kind of performance I was expecting under Dyche. Good, solid, hardworking win. Great to be 5 points ahead of the bottom three and 2 behind midtable.

Must keep it going, starting on Wednesday.

This was a hard earned, fully deserved win, maybe our best of the season. We worked well as a team even the players who are not quite on top of their game contributed to the effort, so that was very encouraging to see. Makes me think there’s more to come from this side.

Another super performance from Jarrad Branthwaite, to be producing these type of dominant CB performances at aged 21/22 is something special. Having Tark alongside is a perfect partner for him . Keep up the good work Jarrad and the consistency, absolutely loving it.

Other performances; Mykolenko has kicked on this season and is becoming a very good defensive left back, I looked at the West Ham wide right a few times today and he looked beaten at times.

Onana was involved and knitted play together well all afternoon, looked after the ball well all game and used it well, he looked the best CM on the pitch today. He is progressing well this season, keep up the good work.

DCL worked hard for the team as usual, class touch and finish, the lad wants a place for the Euros and is going the right way to get it.

Brighton next week will be tougher again, but we go into it with confidence.

That team really played for each other today with some really nice joined-up play at times but even more importantly, we were tight, cohesive, and cut out errors for the most part. Dyche out-Moysed Moyes.

This game and set up really suited Onana, I thought, he was excellent in the middle today, winning one ball after another. I thought that our sometimes maligned left-back was top-drawer at both ends of the field. He has had a really good couple of months against top wingers and I wonder if something changed at The Farm or within him. Branthwaite = class, arguably the best central defender of his age in the top flight.

A separate paragraph for DCL. That was a top quality all-round centre-forward performance and a beautifully taken goal. Many of us feared that he was finished, some of us said it out loud, a large number thought that we could not rely on him (I think that I was one of them), but (fingers and everything else crossed) he is showing us now - as he once said - what he can become once he gets a good run of games.

Table looks so much better now, we are only three points behind Sheffeld United and eight points from safety.

Happy Birthdays Neil and Lynn.

Had a great day with my nephew, meeting up with Danny, Mark, and Joe beforehand for a couple then a tense minute getting in cause Sammy (who had our tickets on his phone) was wearing a Free Palestine t-shirt and they wouldn't let him in with it. Ended up having to leave it outside. He put up a good fight though!

Was brilliant being amongst the traveling support in there. Thought Myko and Branthwaite were great. Wasn't the greatest match but it was a GREAT win and I enjoyed the hell out of it. UTFT!!

"Well, this happy Evertonian is nearly home."

Been abroad, Danny?

I'm worried the points deduction will keep us out of Europe after today's performance.

I'd be interested to know on what grounds and authority Sammy had to bin his Free Palestine tee-shirt. Was there some sort of directive from the Premier League on this or from on high elsewhere that I missed? I trust that anyone with a pro-Israeli tee-shirt would also have been told to get rid.

Words fail me, Derek, I cannot begin to imagine what you must be going through, I wish you all the strength in the world and my deepest condolences.

West Ham are no mugs, cracking 3 points. Loved hearing Spirit of the Blues throughout the match, proud of all those in attendance!!

A very good away performance: solid at the back, competitive in midfield and a goal which reeks of class and should show a few posters that Calvert-Lewin does care and is a top-class centre-forward.

I am so pleased to see Mykolenko getting the praise he deserves and Jarrad Branthwaite is simply awesome.

Hope all of the marvellous travelling support get home safely with big smiles on their faces. Well done, everyone!!

Hopefully this will start giving the team more confidence as we seem to be getting enough players fit, and that will make the players who are picked improve their game, or Dyche will have the guts to drop them.

We may not have moved much in the league table, but we are moving in the right direction.

We looked very solid. For me, Onana had his best game, Pickford kept his crazy in check… just!

Patterson was a definite upgrade on Young and while "last-ditch Tarks" continues to do his Mick Lyons on a bad day impression, Branthwaite is increasingly impressive.

Mykolenko? He will never be Leighton Baines. But his game has been improving week on week. Long may that continue.

Calvert-Lewin makes a massive difference to the attitude of the rest of the team. I get the distinct impression that having a striker on the pitch gives them the belief that they can actually win a game.

There was a lot to like about that performance today.

It's so galling that Everton's loss to Luton and the draw at Sheffield has given them four out of the six points that they have on the board.

Those points have gone now, but we still need to be wary, we have done this so many times in recent seasons, grab a useful win and fail to build on it. Although I do think that Dyche and his backroom team will keep the players' feet firmly on the ground.

Branthwaite is really going to be something special so let's enjoy him while we can. Harrison was poor and I don't see any positives really with our recent acquisitions. Although I think Danjuma should get a run out instead of McNeil or Harrison.

Israeli and Palestinian flags or t-eeshirts are not permitted to be displayed at Premier League matches. This is also the stance UEFA have taken.

Celtic are facing disciplinary action from UEFA due to a section of their fans waving Palestinian flags in their recent Champions League match against Atletico Madrid.

Presumably they'll find some way to add on another 12 for Pickford's non-foul on Van Dijk a couple of years ago, or maybe mix up the Man City file with ours...

Either way, I had an unavoidable lunch with old friends today and missed the match entirely (couldn't even sneak out for a quick look at the phone!) so it looks as though me having a lunch and not watching the match will join the Twebbers who have to a) go and have a cigarette b) retire to the bathroom for 90 minutes c) take the dogs for a walk in order for the gods to be appeased.

The highlights I've seen so far still left me concerned that we aren't clinical enough at finishing and are still leaving opposing players far too unmarked in our penalty area, but it was great to have a 1-0 result after so frequently not managing to keep the opposition out.

I feel Everton should dedicate today's result, not so much to Bill Kenwright, as to David Moyes and the KITAP1 principle.

I mean it's not like breaking some weird technical rule brought in to ensure that teams who do not qualify for the dreary Champions League can't ever compete.

My sincere condolences, losing a loved one doesn't bare thinking about but to lose a daughter so young is absolutely heart breaking.

My thoughts are with you and your family
💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

I think McNeil and Harrison are both still finding their rhythm after injury and will improve with more games. Likewise the full-backs. Mykolenko is clearly not going to be a Baines but he is an excellent 1 v 1 defender. Patterson is also improving and hopefully Young is now just emergency back-up from here.

Dyche is managing to mould a decent first XI and we are, I hope, starting to see the emergence of a team that might lack stars (possibly Branthwaite aside) but is more than the sum of its parts.

Hopefully the likes of Beto, Chermiti, Danjuma and maybe Ben Godfrey will make contributions as the season unfolds.

I think the Premier League and UEFA have taken the most sensible route by banning both of the nations' flags. It's always the safest course of action to stay neutral, as a football association, when many innocent civilian lives have been lost on both sides.

I just hope other teams play bad against us. We could win the league at this rate.

I was in Spain when we beat Bournemouth at Goodison back in May and there again when we repeated the feat earlier this month. I'm wondering whether I should try to get crowd funding for further trips to Spain for our forthcoming home fixtures?

Although it may only apply to home matches versus Bournemouth – let's hope they don't get relegated!

And Mark, you're probably right about the RS, but I'm equally confident that if the entire Kop turned up with flags there would be some reason why they wouldn't be on the end of any punishment - or else the punishment would be applied equally to "all clubs in Liverpool".

Dennis, I suspect there are few on this list who aren't totally confident that something they do is what causes the team to win / lose. My wife is always telling me not to watch the streams "because they always lose when you do".

Actually, i think she knows I will be in a less horrible mood for the rest of the week if I didn't watch Everton lose than if I did. So persuading me I have some causal relationship (ie CB watches, EFC loses) means that the house will have a less unpleasant atmosphere if I don't watch.

Finally, Derek, sincere condolences, I can't begin to imagine your situation.

Everton don't seem to give that many chances away to the opposition now, and it's also debatable whether Liverpool would have scored against our ten men last week without receiving a penalty, so this must slowly start helping our confidence.

Mark Pembridge made a great point today when he said that with the way things have been for so long now, Everton's players must always feel like they are under pressure, but if they get a few more wins, this should naturally change, and who knows what a bit of confidence would do for this team?

Really sorry to hear about your daughter, Derek. 💙💙

This stunts the abilities of the two wingers going forward as they don't want to leave massive gaps between themselves and the defenders. It worked today, in the end, because we won, and it's probably going to be the way we play away from home for most of the rest of this season, and if we can keep getting points on the road, that's a good thing.

The home games are where we need to use the wingers in more attacking areas, more regularly, and that then means the full-backs necessarily becoming more exposed.

I'd keep playing today's defence as often as is possible, just to get them used to each other and the young full-backs will only improve by playing most weeks. Let's be honest, Young and Coleman will likely not be able to play week-in & week-out, but they can be used when required, rather than being nailed-on starters.

Another nine or so victories should suffice, let's get them on the board as quickly as possible.

The team worked hard for each other and with a bit of luck we could have won by a couple. A fit Calvert-Lewin really gives us a better chance – can he stay fit?

Patterson, for me is a better option than Young.

Dedicated to Bill Kenwright – forever an Evertonian no matter what our opinions.

All the hard work today will be for nothing if we don't win under the lights this Wednesday night!

Ashamed as I am to admit it, I was having sex with a fellow Everton fan's wife when we got our first win of this season.

Second win, different Everton fans' wife.

And today... a completely different Everton fans wife again

So if anyone wants to keep this cum running (typo) send me your wives contact details... Michael/Lyndon has my information.

Great win today
UTFT

The more this happens, the more we will hopefully begin to see our two full-backs start developing more of an attacking threat, once they start building up this trust and understanding.

Funny, funny response...glad I posted #122 after all.

Sincere apologies Derek

A nice touch with the wreath on The Chairman's seat.

Patterson, O'Neil and Harrison had 'quiet' starts but settled into their various tasks eventually.

Onana, Garner much the same...(still not basking in the full glare of the Onana hype)

Doucoure kept on keeping on, he did well enough with his shot at a bobbley ball (even if he did probably bobble it himself) sometimes they go in, sometimes the keeper gets a hand to it.

DCL ploughed a bit of a lone furrow, scored a well taken goal and could've had 2.

Branthwaite - aided and abetted by the 2 either side of him - stood out.

Pickford, once he got over his retro 'Mae West where's my handbag' phase with the feigning West Ham player, who was up like a rocket when it suited him...kept us in the game with 2 fine saves.

West Ham seemed to have players doing this silly shit all over the pitch - Moyes...on whom the pressure is mounting, though he has yet to receive the dreaded 'Vote of Confidence'...used to frown on this.

Dyche...wisely as it turned out...stoutly resisted the live forum's...when they weren't busy stupidly feeding the troll...clarion call (from troll and forum alike) to make sweeping changes.

The Referee was all over the place like mad woman's shit with his decisions and why does it take so long to give offside.

So all in all - a good 3pts which, FFP not withstanding, opens a gap between us and the bottom 4.

Our medium term aim is to reel in Chelsea and, at the same time, drop Forest.

Short term - do we go all in Vs Burnley??

Hopefully this will be a real confidence booster and the next home fixture will see a dominant performance, roared on by the Goodison faithful.

"Dyche...wisely as it turned out...stoutly resisted the live forum's...when they weren't busy stupidly feeding the troll...clarion call (from troll and forum alike) to make sweeping changes."

"stoutly resisted"...don't think Sean was even aware of it!

"Noise"...as far as Sean is concerned.

Ed, 111, interesting point you bring up about losing Iwobi, and I would add Gray to the conversation. There was legitimate concern about replacing what each of them brought to the team, and now I never think of either of them. I do wonder what Iwobi could do in the currrent Doucoure role in terms of creativity, but Douc makes up for his heavy feet with the goals, as he showed today with the near-miss and great strike. Iwobi never had goals in him. As for Gray, he deserves the sorry Saudi league for his cry-baby antics his last few weeks here.

What more can be said about Branthwaite that hasn’t already been said. He’s starting to look world-class, which is scary for his age, and means someone will come knocking with £60-70 million bids this summer, as hard as it is to think about. He’s an absolute stud.

One thing to add about DCL in addition to just being so happy to see him proving the doubters wrong. What’s been so impressive to me of late is he’s also shedding the level of being a one-trick pony who can only finish from 6 yards out. He’s winning defensive corners, holding the ball up with soft touches, beating players one-on-one, and now scoring brilliant goals that require beating his defenders like today. And he’s only 26. In 3 years when Kane is on the tail end of his career, Dom could be leading the line for England if he continues progressing like this.

Helluva win today, as boring as that first half was. Kudos to the away supporters, as always. I was singing along with you over here in the States.

I’ll say a prayer for you and your family tonight mate. So sorry for your loss

Football is important as we all know, but it’s not really that important is it.

💙

A bit different, but when I served and lived in Northern Ireland, it was usual for the lamp posts to be "decorated" with Union Flags or Irish Tricolours depending on the leaning of the community. Then it became quite common for Palestine flags to be flown alongside the Irish flag, "retaliated" by Israel flags being flown alongside the Union Flag.

Bizarre, I never really understood the logic.

Anyway, back to football. Absolutely stamp it out.

And get that Steaua Bucharest banner removed and banned. It is offensive and insensitive, related to a football tragedy that they themselves caused.

Shameless and outraged. Never embarassed.

And Derek, condolences, a terrible loss you’ve suffered.💙

As for the match we've had plenty games this season where the performance outstripped the result and this may possibly have been the reverse. Don't get me wrong we performed pretty well but a draw would have been a fair result and we can definitely do better with the ball, though we were solid defensively at a team that has scored at home very regularly.

Branthwaite and Onana continue to be the gems and the club will have to think carefully about how to maximise their value, we should be getting in the region of £150m for the pair of them. I suspect one of them may depart this summer but hopefully not both. Maybe we can keep hold of them for another year but lets enjoy them while we can.

Credit to Dyche and the players. We look like a team with a plan finally and a squad of players able to execute that plan. We're still thin in some spots (notably at CB) but if we can avoid big injuries I remain confident we'll finish closer to 10th than 20th.

As for the 12 points deduction stuff, it's purely clickbait. Don't waste your time on it. At worst we'll get a fine, maybe a transfer embargo and a few points deduction. I suspect it won't even be that bad but little point speculating.

If that flag doesn’t indirectly reference Heysel, then you are obviously dealing with very ignorant people, but it’s always been different for a lot of the people who support WANTITBOTHWAYS FC.

That Steaua flag was definitely intending to take the piss out of Evertonians, and yet they have the temerity to say we are bitter?

I genuinely think I am a lot more honest, than I’ve ever been bitter, although I sometimes feel that the shameful way that Liverpool football club, reacted after Heysel, definitely left a very, very bitter taste.

Life has moved forward, but only one club on Merseyside has moved with the times, and whatever we say, we only have ourselves to blame for accepting the mediocrity of the last 25 years. Hopefully things will now begin to change, but surely I’m not the only person who is very, very fucking suspicious of 777?

Two things stand out for me from this game:

- we look much better without Young on the pitch. I can see why we signed him and it was worth a gamble but he is not at the races when he plays. Team plays much better with him not there.

- it might be a coincidence but there seems a clear parallel between Beto and Chermiti arriving over summer and Calvert-Lewin's return to fitness and form. Since there has been real competition for his spot, he has not only been able to string a run of games together but also find the net again regularly. I'm not of course denying his genuine injury problems in the past and it could be a happy coincedence but maybe a little competition has helped somewhat.

It's also worth remembering that, when we finished 4th and they failed to get a Champions League slot, wasn't it Robinson who said that, as reigning champions, they should take our slot and we should play in the Europa League?

This was retracted when he realised how much brown stuff was hitting so many fans. LFC eventually wanted, and got, much to the annoyance of the Spain, Italian and German FA's, a fifth spot. Then enter Colinas…

My most sincere condolences. Be well and peace to you and yours.

They knew they had to allow Everton in, with finishing 4th, and knew full well had they drawn Everton to play the shite, it would have been too obvious, so they stitched Everton up, to play one of the toughest teams in the competition, Villarreal, where if memory serves me right, they got all the way to the semi finals that year.

Just to ensure both did not get through, they brought a ref out of retirement, to ensure we did not progress to the next round, and the retired ref could not face any punishment, or future suspensions.

Just another example of making allowances for the elite.

"Ashamed as I am to admit it, I was having sex with a fellow Everton fan's wife when we got our first win of this season."

Yes, you should be ashamed. I take it you knew the fellow supporter which makes it a lot more shameful. Let's hope the fellow supporter is reading this and pays you a visit… 👎👎👎

Why do they need to take all this time to make decisions?

When you are young and wet behind the ears, the tendency is to believe those in control of goverments and the like actually know what thet are doing, I know I did.

When you become an OAP+, you realise that the whole shooting match is a bloody joke, talk about the blind leading the blind.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hgd41KPWdk

If that is what it takes to get 3 points, I'll tuck you in and ask how many sugars in your tea… 😆

Jarrad Branthwaite was magnificent during Everton's 1-0 win over West Ham. The young centre-back's first notable involvement was to stop Michail Antonio charging on to a pass down the right and he grew in stature as the game progressed.

It was Branthwaite who started the move that led to Dominic Calvert-Lewin's winner. He left Antonio on the floor with a strong challenge and quickly moved the ball forward for Calvert-Lewin to link with Jack Harrison.

Then, when West Ham tried to force an equaliser, Branthwaite stood firm next to the experienced James Tarkowski. The 21-year-old won his headers, made important blocks, read danger and ensured that Jordan Pickford did not have to make a save until added time in the second half.

It was no surprise Sean Dyche singled out the defender for praise afterwards. Branthwaite appears to have benefited from a year on loan at PSV Eindhoven.

But I have my priorities right.

"He may not be a Kevin Ratcliffe but he might be a Mick Lyons."

We're lucky to have such resources as Crooks's finely tuned understanding of player potential.

There is a late reference about his wife being so disgusted with Moyes she went shopping at halftime. I wonder if she shops in Brendan's area.

Dale#166. Thankyou for your edit. 😁

I don't think so, Bobby. Brendan is a Catholic like myself, we are not allowed to do that!

Are you so anal that you can't spot a very obvious wind-up?

None of the women involved were actually married to Evertonians...

"Missing the match for sex is disgraceful."

I only missed the last 10 minutes after the fecking stewards threw us out!

Just thinkin……

I heard Brendan is a bit naive, he bought a video “Three in a bed” and when he put it on he discovered it was about Darts!

The ball down the right which Antonio was favourite to get. Branthwaite turning on the afterburners, pace operating in synchronicity with his balance and strength. There was only ever going to be one winner.

Antonio was brushed aside. Jarrad retained composure and possession too I think. First thought when watching that, was yet again… “Rolls-Royce of a footballer”.