Everton secure massive win over PSR rivals Forest

A win today would be huge and take all the pressure off.

Well... here we go!

I do hope though that we may get more of a 4-2-1-3 and have a right go them!

Everything crossed and hoping to eat humble pie by 3:30.

Also said, nobody has any idea of the off-field issues I have to put up with. Basket-case of a club.

There are no right or left side combos which could really be fit for purpose.

So we go back to hoping for the best. As opposed to trying to make something happen for ourselves.

Just get a win today blues. That will go a long way to consigning this season to a history that no-one wants to remember.

Going for a quick lie down now...

Branthwaite went on a great run and played a superb ball to Calvert-Lewin who for no reason whatsoever decided to kick to the empty side of their penalty box, did it not occur to him that there were no shirts of any colour over there.

Pickford nearly made another of his footballing errors but later clawed it back with a great save he should not have known anything about.

But having thought that Gana doesn't have much he is having a superb game and I'll overlook the mishit as went as far into the corner of the goal as is possible. Almost caused me to thump the colostomy bag too hard.

If there is one down side then Dyche either needs to have a word with Doucoure or pull him at halftime as he is the one player having a bad game.

I also think the other challenge had the potential to be a 'soft one'.

Interesting enough half. They've certainly responded with effort, though I've never really doubted this side's willingness to put the work in.

The same issues still prevail. Moves break down with the usual suspects who simply lack the necessary basics.

Set pieces and crossing opportunities were infuriating.

Forest will give us chances. Let's hope someone can scuff one in, as Gueye did. There's no way that was how he intended to strike that ball!

There's little point in me saying what I would do, as Dyche will never do it. But in terms of things he might actually do, I'd love to see Doucoure and his two left feet subbed. Likewise Harrison who looks like he's constantly screaming "there's no-one to pass to" every time the ball comes anywhere near him. We have options we can try who can actually control and pass a football.

There was a moment when Gomes and McNeil played a couple of passes where I thought "oh that's what football looks like". Would be great to give them some mates who might be on a similar wavelength.

Oh yeah, and that's why we continue to select Pickford. You get some nervous moments but you also get match defining saves.

Wasn't that one pretty clear?

Ah Beto !

Surely we can see this through now?

The derby is a free hit. If we beat Sheffield United then I think that’ll be enough. Would be good to get points versus Brentford and ease the pressure.

I know he has had stick and deservedly so but I’m pleased for Dyche. He’s been dealt the worst hand of any manager and saved us last season and he will this. It’s not pretty but we find a way.

Then cometh the hour, cometh the subs.

I didn't disagree with Calvert-Lewin going off but I thought Gomes was a mistake and we missed that somebody who would hold the ball for a couple of paces while the rest sorted themselves out and it confirmed my fear that we were just going to try and defend the goal lead.

Then like Gana, McNeil looked as though he had mishit one which again couldn't get any further into the corner. Then when Beto went down I wondered why Dyche hadn't got a sub ready and I'm not sure I would have with Chermiti for the last 6 minutes.

Still, a very important win which could mean a win against Luton should see us safe but at least a point from our next game would be the icing. My MotM even surprises me, Gana.

ps: Young is shite and we were very lucky not to concede a penalty today.

Beto, we all wish you very well. That is obviously a nasty injury. He played well too.

Discussion on the performance, VAR, and some of the fine margins can wait for another day. As can discussions of where this club goes from now, because that's the bigger remaining battle.

I can't feel elated, but I do feel very relieved. Thank Whoever that there are worse teams than us in this league.

Three extremely poor decisions -- three penalties not given -- which we simply cannot accept. We warned the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the game but they didn't change him. Our patience has been tested multiple times. NFFC will now consider its options.

This is from the CLUB. Amazing.

They're not wrong about the pens -- #2 would definitely have stood if given and #3 was simply a stone miss by the ref and VAR -- but what "options" could they have.

And what difference does the VAR being a Luton fan make? Wouldn't we have been the more likely team to go down if we lost? Wouldn't the Luton fan have tended to give those pens?

However, I think there were mitigating circumstances that were in Young's favour in each case. Still, when PGMOL have it in for you…

The long-tilted scales of justices balanced a bit. That's it.

First one: ankle tap. From the trajectory of the ball, Young got his toe to it before kicking the Forest player.

Second one: Yes, Young's arm was out but it was a natural position that did not change as he approached the defender and it only glanced off his wrist from very close range.

Third one: Perhaps the worst, he seemed to come from behind, right through the Forest player to get the ball back to Pickford. So automatic foul, yellow card, penalty? But again, I think he got the ball first.

There was a fourth one… but I don't think it involved Young.

I actually applaud it. There must be some avenue to allege corruption, incompetence or simply not applying appropriate governance to the decision to appoint a certain VAR official... the latter seems to be what they're talking about.

I've been very critical of the implementation of VAR regardless of whether it helps us, hinders us or has nothing to do with us. I'm not changing my view now just because it may well have kept us in the Premier League. Someone needs to blow it up.

I think there are factual errors in your view of claims 1 and 3 that you might reconsider if you see them again. He didn't touch the ball in either of them.

1st one might be soft. 3rd one was cast iron.

I also think the handball was nailed on. But they change their mind with that interpretation so much that who knows what reasoning they've gone with. But his arm was outstretched and the ball was going to stay in play.

If I were a Forest fan, I'd certainly be shouting corruption.

Made up with the 3 points and best wishes to Beto

Sadly for Young (and in truth Coleman), this is exactly why he can never play fullback again. His intial reactions are milliseconds too slow, the difference between hitting man or ball. It's age in an elite athletic sport. He should be on the bench unused as full-back ever again.

He is a liability, we got lucky today, but tomorrow we won't, bench for Mr Young!

But a win is a win, my goodness how we needed that. Is it too much to ask we turnover the RS on Wednesday?

Rode our luck with the decisions. I would have been absolutely furious if it had been the other way around and think at least 2 of them were penalties. Happy that Lady Luck was on our side for once!!!

But can we talk about the absolute ticking time bomb that is Ashley Young? Wherever he is on the pitch! Always gets carded and looks most likely to get a 2nd one and a red card.

Those tackles and blocks in the box with his hands today could have easily undone us. Rode our luck once, it won't happen again, so find someone else to play right-back (Garner?) for the last few games, please.

If only for my blood pressure and health!!!

We are very lucky today.

Forest had four penalty appeals. Three were cast-iron certainties. One was merely odds on. No complaints from me, however.

The one that worried me most was Tarkowski pulling their player backwards but got away with it as the player tried an overhead/bicycle kick which made it look as though he had leant back by his own effort.

Just celebrate a massive win.

There's not too much to get carried away with... but the 3 points are very gratefully received.

Not sure who is going to be fit and available (hopefully Beto is better than he looks) but we should go into the derby in a decent mood. COYB.

I wish they would get Calvert-Lewin staying around the box, and get crosses to him, not the other way round. Pity about Beto, but I think he should be okay. He may even come back scoring!

Agree with the surprise comments on X from Forest, on Reffing and VAR being bang out of order. I think there will be repercussions although intrinsically they were right! Bad reffing has haunted us most of the season.

The penalty controversies; if it was us on the receiving end of those decisions and we didn't get one of them, we would be in meltdown.

Well done to the manager and players, they got the job done by hook or by crook, under a lot of pressure.

Young is abysmal, but still better than Seamus unfortunately.
A point against Brentford and beat Sheffield Utd takes pressure off the Luton game.

Our thoughts were officials would make better decisions with replaying incidents. No! VAR is not the problem.

Have a lovely evening all.

1. Would not have brought down a 3-year-old.
2. Where was Young supposed to put his arm?
3. I have viewed it several times and still am unsure so we stay with the on-field decision.

But it opens a can of worms because that lot would then say "Well, let's have our game with Spurs re-arranged" etc.

You never know though... :(

A long overdue piece of luck for us perhaps.

Disgraceful statement on X accusing VAR of cheating. They warned the league Atwell is a Luton fan they now claim.

We looked more fluid with the changes and McNeil was much better when he came inside. Just wish Dyche would explain the reasoning in selecting Young. He's a total liability.

A good 3 points to steer us from relegation; let's see if we can get 3 more against the Shite.

Young should be nowhere near the team until the end of the season, then Bye-Bye.

1. Agreed. But he does kick his heel. Would have been soft, but they do regularly get given.

2. He's supposed to do what all full backs do now and put his hands by his side. That's just the way it is nowadays.

3. I don't know what you could still be unsure about! He goes right through the back of the player.

The issue I have is that I believe referees are happy to defer to VAR and so avoid making decisions because VAR will bail them out. But then there is massive inconsistency in how the VARs look at things. Some VARs are reluctant to overrule a referee and will find any reason not to, other times they nitpick and then the referee refuses to overrule the VAR.

It's an absolute shitshow. It couldn't be more fucked if they actually deliberately tried to screw it up.

Fundamentally, it's not there to give the right decision. That's the real issue I have with it. Accuracy and fairness are absolutely secondary to process.

The Liverpool v Spurs debacle should have made that clear. "Stop the game, you've made a mistake. No, can't do it". Football in general should have been up in arms at that point, but it didn't happen to 19 other clubs so fans and clubs stayed quiet.

Gana MotM (again) for me.

That's a fast £250M he's burnt through, but hey we know how easy that is. Be interesting to see how they offset that when they're back down below.

I said exactly the same when Gueye received the ball, hey presto: 1-0.

Never thought we were in any trouble today and fully deserved the win.

Big shoutouts to Young, Harrison and Gueye who I personally thought were our 3 best players today.

Just seen the missive Forest have sent, all I can say is welcome to our world.

I'll stick my neck out here and say we're safe.

My view of the pen claims matches Ernie's at #45/#70 (and when have we ever agreed on anything, Ernie??!).

#1 was mushy soft but could have been given just because we're Everton. #3 was absolutely stone dead and I'm still in happy shock that it wasn't reviewed. Whew.

And with the stupid way they interpret handball these days, I would say that 90% of the time #2 would be given. It shouldn't be a pen, but in 2024 it is.

I don't give it, and the players get upset with me sometimes because they expect every shot driven into an arm a yard away and every ball that bounces up into a dangling hand to be a pen. I even had one guy yell at me, "That's a penalty! Don't you watch the Premier League?" I answered "Yep, but this ain't the Prem, pal, this is the Friday night social co-ed D-league, and I'll call it MY way!"

Oh, and I agree with the consensus that Young has used up all his nine lives. See ya. Replace him with Godfrey, who can't pass but at least won't give up three penalty claims in one afternoon.

Anyway, PGMOL have just said all decisions evens out over the season... just to ensure this: Young must play on Wednesday.

So who would you have at right back? I thought Young was very good today.

Keeping a clean sheet is absolutely vital for this team. Ten clean sheets have delivered 26 points this season. The last time I can recall us winning a match at Goodison when the opposition scored was in May 2022, the night of the great Palace fight-back.

This was a hard working performance from a limited group of players. Gana was excellent in central midfield while Gomes tried to offer composure on the ball, not always successfully. There is some irony in that after all the comings and goings in recent times, we were back with the same midfield duo that played under Marco Silva 5 years ago.

We were lucky the two goals squeezed in off the post but we have been due more than a slice of luck in recent months.

Reports of our certain relegation appear to have been exaggerated.

He cannot play again this sesson. He's a total liability. I would feel pissed if I were a Forest fan but we've gad some shocking clear penalties not given this season.

Unbelievable that the club posted that statement. Sour grapes indeed. Do your talking on the pitch. Hope they go down after that.

Praise? Don't make me laugh, some of you would find some fault in perfection.

It makes for depressing reading a lot of the time.

So scraping valuable points in this season of madness is great news. Well done, Dyche and the boys!

There's no sympathy for us when we've been screwed out of games year after sodding year. Everton won 2-0. Enjoy it. End of story

Forza Everton!

"We've won 2-0 but let me rationally set out reasons why we should have lost 2-3."

If the club gets kicked in the nuts, they set out the merits of the boot.

If that hand ball is a penalty, then no wonder people are turning away from football, but this is what happens when the officials keep making a rod for their own back.

Football now is horrible, because it has now become a game played by two teams of cheating bastards, and it has become almost impossible to referee because of the constant gamesmanship.

Yes, I did think the handball was a penalty but so was the Chelsea one yesterday. I just wish Young wouldn't start, he is a red card in waiting.

The ball wasn't going in the goal, and giving penalties for decisions like this and the first Forest claim, are two of the biggest own goals the law-makers have made in recent years, mate.

Fully deserved our win otherwise. Midfield looked stronger with Gana in it and Gomes keeping the ball. Mykolenko played very well and what a sight that was to see Branthwaite striding forward in the first half!

Things are looking a lot better than they did on Monday night, that's for sure.

Ashley Young had a good game today. He was putting tackles in from the off and was enthusiastic throughout. He gets in the opposition's faces, unlike some of our more passive players.

I hear Forest are raising the referee's decisions with the UN Security Council.

Hopefully Young won't start on Wednesday night, considering at 38 two games in four days is definitely too much.

The Forest statement is totally embarrassing, delighted for Clattenburg.

"Please not Pickford! He'll give away one or more goals. Why does Dyche persist with this cowardly clown?"

Sean, what a knobhead comment… and who is the clown now, Sean?

I'm aware we all see different things but I genuinely felt more comfortable when the ball was at Ashley Young's feet. He was one of the few Everton players who didn't treat the ball like it was their enemy.

What a laugh when Gana Gueye scored that goal, 20,000 fans shouting as one “Don't bleedin' shoot!!!” as it hit the back of the net.

Penalties - seen them given, seen them not. None were stonewall.

Forest fans were a disgrace when Beto was injured.

Perhaps the whole world isn't against us after all.

He's far too slow so makes rash challenges which in future he may not get away with but we all know he'll be one of the first on the team sheet come Wednesday

We just need to see out the season and see what comes next. If we somehow avoid administration, we're into a massive overhaul of the team, focusing on those who are good enough and want to be part of the rebuild. All the others can leave as far as I'm concerned.

I suspect we have to sell to buy which means sadly Branthwaite will go.

Much needs to change before next season.

We need to bring in a couple of free players to replace them as Patterson doesn't look to be getting a sniff.

That's good news, mate, I've never understood why, when a player is late into the tackle, he can receive a red card for being reckless and endangering an opponent, but when a player is reckless and late in the air, he his very rarely even booked unless he leads with his elbow.

Beto has ended up going to hospital in the back of an ambulance, and yet not even a booking for the Forest player? Maybe I'm wrong, but that looked very reckless from my seat at the other end of the stadium.

If he's had a handful of decent games since we signed him, I'd be surprised and I personally fail to see what he brings to the party.

Perhaps I've lost the plot, which is easy to do as an Evertonian, but I'm open to be educated!

I'll comment more tomorrow.

We got 3 vital points and I was surrounded by great company.

We are doing this.

Tony #106, from the TV view it was 50-50 and fair. Nobody appealed to the ref except Pickford when he arrived. Certainly looked bad from the players' reaction -- Mykolenko and McNeil turning away and covering their faces in clear distress. Hoping for an update soon.

John #107, when you score the goal that keeps your team up, you get a lot of tolerance. He drives us all crazy with his bad passing and decision-making, but like it or not, he's the only steel in our spine. And he does score huge goals.

I've been suggesting playing McNeil inside for quite a while because although I've been critical of him being very wasteful. He is still one of the few players who can play on the half-turn, and he also possesses a great shot, even if I was crying it in when I was cursing him in the move that led to our second goal.

I might be in the very minor minority that thinks we got some decisions go our way, then the curiosity inside me gets me thinking they can justify the red shite getting them on Wednesday night.

I also think, by Everton being 5 points clear, they are hoping we will not be battling as hard on Wednesday and will give the shite a lesser battle within the players and the crowd.

We know the fans will be up for it on Wednesday, but makes it just that bit easier for the shite to get the right calls.

Make the most of today's result, we will get shafted by the officials for sure Wednesday night and I still recken Oliver will be in charge of the game with Attwell as the VAR.

I will take the 3 points today, but would love us to put a dent in their title dreams.

My earlier posts were all doom and gloom; now I can relax a bit. This was an important win and it makes me more hopeful that we can survive once again.

Well done, Blues, and well done, all those Evertonians at Goodison and all around the world.

I sit towards the Park End and the first “penalty” looked like a good challenge. My view of the other two was not great (although I have to say the Street End went very quiet with one of them).

It was a much better performance, every player battled hard. We played about as well as we can, which is not great but adequate enough today. If we can maintain that form, hopefully it will be enough to garner the points we need.

A word of praise for Jordan Pickford. Many leap to the shout of “drop him”, but he frequently makes crucial saves. A special mention, too, for referee Anthony Taylor, it takes quite an official to be booed by both sets of supporters.

These are the officials for the game against the Red Shite:

Referee: Andy Madley.
Assistants: Harry Lennard, Nick Hopton.
Fourth official: Simon Hooper.
VAR: David Coote.
Assistant VAR: Lee Betts.

Someone asked who I would play at right back. Easy: Garner has played right back for England U21s, I believe. Regardless, he would do.

COYB.

He's an excellent prospect (Doucoure) for the London Marathon, but a ball at his feet and he falls over.

Also, the play out was less station-to-station stuff like we get from Onana in the pivot. Branthwaite as a late option in the pass sequence seemed to be a crucial and useful move.

The impressive thing was that midfielders positioned to create space for the second man out on a three-man line in midfield space. The player in support from there also did a good job of waiting rather than rushing as Harrison usually does. We went forward in two or more moves to get support in place and force defensive lines into retreat. That helped the vision and timing of runs.

In short, today it was functional. Hallelujah, Amen.

Bench as a good experienced sub, or further forward is where he should be.

"Forest fans were a disgrace when Beto was injured".

They were, John, with their pathetic "Sign on". However, let's be fair, John, every one of them I saw was clapping when Beto was stretchered off.

Still not a great performance and we rode our luck but an improvement on recent levels.

I thought Young was ok but definitely prone to a mistake and that Branthwaite and Gana and Pickford were our best players. Gomes almost had his pocket pinched a few times and Harrison was better than before.

It may be that we already have enough points to survive as Luton have been getting less than a point all season and now need 6 from 4 games to better where we are now. Another few points would surely do it.

A big win. Much needed 3 points. Now let’s derail the RS title bid as it’s a free hit for us with the pressure off somewhat.

Sheer delight on goal 1 and goal 2. Never a moment after 10 minutes or so into the match when I feared we might not get 3 points from this.

Best wishes for Beto.

A win is a win, but we got lucky today !

To be fair to Forest, Anthony Taylor, probably gives out more soft penalties, than any other ref, but anyone claiming those first two should have been given, (even if they had happened at the other end) would always find me disagreeing with them because neither was a penalty imo.

The "Relegate Everton" conspiracy...bit embarrassing really...

Taylor even got booed off by the Evertonians, which shows how many people in attendance today thought he was a Homer, and he let Everton off the hook because they should have conceded three stonewall penalty kicks.

I can accept that that Taylor got the decisions wrong, but I really can not get my head round why he wasn't advised to have a look - there is no doubt had that been the case we would have been in trouble - we got very lucky today.
Whatever you are seeing - I don't !
Young one - clearly kicks the forest player in the heel.
Young two - clearly moves his arm.
Young three - clearly goes through the forest player.

Moan, moan, moan, moan, moan, and when those horrible Liverpudlians are outraged, moan and moan some more. It’s a Merseyside derby, and Arnold has already said that the game will be won by whoever wants it the most, so let’s unite for a few days now, and save our moaning for the biggest moaning bastards in football💙

First goal - TAA raking diagonal cross-field pass from left to right over Young's head - goal #1.

And please, it's "shite" with lower case "s" and a long "shshshsh".

Young definitely moves his arm, but when you are forced to turn because a ball is played diagonally over your head, then you have got to clearly move your whole body, and unless you cut your arms off, then I don’t know what else you can do?

I saw what you saw I think Oliver, and just don’t agree with your assessment that they were penalties.

It’s possible that either Taylor or Atwell, could give a penalty for one of those incidents next week, but if this happens it doesn’t mean they will have been wrong today, imo, it will just mean that they are getting away with murder, because nobody is calling in the very inconsistent standards of these very poor officials, and it is definitely making a lot of people feel that the game is corrupt.

Get the refs to speak to the VAR officials, who can then explain their decision in audio, and only then will they have to improve their standards and become consistent, because it will no longer be possible for them to keep getting away with what they are getting away with now.

Sure we rode our luck at times but I thought we were the better team overall.

As for Forest complaining, the whole thing comes across as very unprofessional and embarrassing. As Rob says above, surely a draw was the best result for Luton. Good luck with their points appeal…..

Anyway, great result and onwards we go. Bring on the RS, it’s about time we rammed it down the gobshites throats.

UTFTs

It genuinely feels like some people would have been happier if penalties had been given, in order to justify their animosity towards Ashley Young. I suppose it's lucky Onana didn't play, otherwise I'd have to read the usual stream of venom about him too.

Seems to me refereeing standards are poor because at the bottom of the pyramid, thousands are lost to the game due to abuse and violence from fans and players, and at the top they get ridiculous abuse online. Corruption, really? Has anyone seen any evidence of this? Football fans need to look at themselves first when complaining about referees. It is never an issue in either rugby code.

Whatever, Young’s good luck glosses over the fact that his reaction times are no longer quick enough to play at this level, he is a menace to us and needs to retire.

They could face serious consequences over their statement because, as Gary Neville says, it’s almost as if they are calling Stuart Attwell a cheat. A further points deduction, though highly unlikely, or possibly their current appeal failing.

It’s the same with Leicester threatening legal action after being charged. Either it’s naive self defeating Sabre rattling or we are the idiots and could have sued lol

Joking aside, the officiating and governing seems to be getting more inconsistent but all the clubs do is whinge and whine rather than getting together and forcing change.

A bit more on Wednesday would be nice — a deflected 98th-minute winner will do me!

By rights, we should be above Palace and Brentford and not worrying about the remaining games against Luton, Brentford and Sheffield Utd.

It's not likely we will get much from the RS or Gunners games but they probably won't matter in the final analysis although it would be nice to stick one on Klopp's last season.

We got lucky with the crap referee and VAR but they should have had one penalty and Dyche should seriously think about Young's defensive qualities as he is totally at sea. Perhaps Garner should get the nod there.

Sentiment aside, there's not much to choose between Coleman and Young.

But Young is not getting that lucky twice in 4 days - especially vs Liverpool, so Godfrey it is at right-back.

Pickford's kicking is increasingly hurried and erratic, but he made two match savers and even came out and collected some dangerous high balls in the second half.

Unfortunately, our style of play allows the opposition to run at our full-backs in the box. Mykolenko seems to cope okay with this, giving away a corner or forcing them to the byline, but such is our paucity at right-back, we have no way of dealing with it except to double up and go defensive, which negates our attacking threat.

I know a few of us advocate playing Garner at right-back and that for me is the better option – especially against Diaz or Jota.

Logic tells me we will struggle on Wednesday but we are due a result against that shower and they are no great shakes at the moment.

Just so I can enjoy the Premier League having to respond with "incompetent officiating is something that clubs should expect".

For a bit of balance, those penalty appeals weren't the only decisions (or non-decisions) that were controversial. The officials had absolute shockers all round.

Ball out of play not called, not stopping the game for a head injury in the 6-yard box, no yellows for late challenges, then throwing yellows around late in the game. I reckon they lost the plot.

I don't know how VAR gets fixed. It should be fairly simple – try to reach the right decisions with the benefit of technology. But that's not how it's implemented right now. At some point, the clubs will have to do something but I suspect they won't. Everyone just complains about their own club's decisions – not the implementation in general.

Very relieved with the win and two cracking goals, Gueye ruining the day for anyone that had bet on the first goal scorer. We were the better team, but Young could have easily cost us that match and I hate seeing him in our squad, he's a proper liability.

Mark Clattenburg… Did Everton have any issues with him before? He is Refereeing Consultant at Forest and must have had an input to their statement. His name, like Oliver's, sticks in my mind.

He should resign from his position at Forest over that Forest statement. He has not heard the last of this, because the Premier League will have to do something about that inaccurate and slanderous Forest statement

Young killed us in the away derby vs the same player. It's got disaster written all over it.

Relief that the penalty wasn't given and we won a 6-pointer but we all know it was 100% a penalty. We had similar with Calvert-Lewin at Bournemouth.

Forest are just bad losers.

Forest and Clattenburg have been escalating this sort of view through the willing media since February. Yesterday, they reached peak whinging.

I'll argue we've been stiffed previously by the same dysfunctional VAR implementation and also got some bad calls yesterday from officials who lost the plot.

But if you don't think that last one was a penalty, then I don't know what to say. It wasn't just a foul – it was a bad foul on a player in a good position. That's always been a penalty. And Atwell got to watch it a few times before deciding to do nothing.

We just need a striker from somewhere…

Because after all this furore PGMOL will be crying..."God for Klopp, Clattenberg and the RS"

Anything like Sunday's penalty events vs the RS and we'll be 0-3 down before we know it

Though God help whoever at right-back vs Jota, I hate to say it but he's good.

Football has been slowly going down this road for years and this has been created by television. The forward who had a right to go down was usually cheating and slowly we started getting a game in which cheats prosper.

It's off-putting, very off-putting if I'm being honest, and after thinking about the fact that even Evertonians on this website were saying they were all penalties, it actually makes me very sad for the once beautiful game.

Another thing that made me think was that how many people who were inside the stadium actually thought that those three incidents were nailed on penalties at the time? Because I honestly don't believe many people who were caught up in the emotions of a very tense game would have genuinely thought either of those first two incidents needed looking at by the VAR… but maybe I'm wrong?

Forest's statement is extreme but, like a lot of people connected to Everton, they must also genuinely believe that the Premier League is out to get them.

If Forest have said that Atwell is a Luton fan, then surely they would have asked Clattenberg if this was true before making such a statement?

Bad decisions – if that is what they were – happen. Get over it.

I left the ground not considering for a second we were lucky or they should have had a pen.

Maybe our justified complaints to PGMOL have cut us some slack, who knows. Maybe we just got an overdue bit of luck. Frankly I don't care.

I understand Forest’s annoyance, but the statement is amateur hour. They have an Appeal running, maybe it's intention is to add a little pressure to that outcome…,

Not a bad season to take a couple of points deductions given the standard of the teams below us.

As regards yesterday's game, it was consistent with a lot of the games in the second half of the season. (Chelsea was an exception.) We defended well but did not create a lot.

I doubt if there is club in the Premier League who has suffered as much as us regards bad penalty decisions, we know what bad penalty decisions look like, there were some on view yesterday.

A long summer ahead without much to look forward to incoming wise and probably the loss of our brightest star. Still, if we sort out our finances once and for all by moving on those who are out of contract, we have the opportunity to start again.

The table is looking much healthier this morning and the form book is not quite so bad either with 7 points from the last 4 matches. Not totally out of the woods but there would seem to be some daylight.

Would be great if we could bag some points against Liverpool or Brentford as I also think it helps with planning to know which league we are playing in next season.

I don't know if the ownership issues are at all clouded by relegation fears but I'd imagine they might be and it certainly would affect Thelwell or whoever is planning for player recruitment and sales.

Just a decent average striker will lift us up the table.

Calvert-Lewin, like Onana, could do so much more in a better team. You could take Ollie Watkins out of Aston Villa, put him in this tactical set-up, and he wouldn't score that much more.

We won't score more goals until the tactics change and we get more players forward offensively.

I thought Gueye was really good: he doesn't let teams settle, he is in their faces – exactly what a central-midfield player should do.h

While Gomes may lack the ability to get round the pitch as much as he and we would like, he is an oasis of calm on the ball.

I am glad that Doucoure was moved back to midfield as I think while he did okay in the No 10 role; he gives us that much-needed energy in midfield.

Again, Jarrad Branthwaite oozed class, he has progressed all season and, for me, I don't see any flaws in his game. Given his height, he obviously dominates in the air but it's his coolness on the ball – and his great positional awareness for one so young is amazing.

I can't remember when we last scored 2 goals from outside the box, and what a change it makes to see Everton players shooting from outside the box – and more importantly, hitting the target.

But the most worrying aspect of our game is the lack of knowing what to do when we get to within 3 or 4 yards of the opponent's box. We end up knocking it wide and it being crossed into an area – not really aiming for anyone.

I don't know whether Calvert-Lewin is carrying an injury but he has been way off the pace all season and I am disappointed that Beto doesn't seem to have improved much since he joined us.

I know some will say where we would be without the points deduction, but we came out in the 2nd half and basically, for most of the game, tried to hang on. We did exactly the same thing against Burnley.

I just feel that, come the end of the season, we should thank Sean and his coaches as I can't watch anymore of some of the most appalling football I have seen in many a year. Yes, it might have produced enough points to stay safe… but I would like a little more than survival football.

Pretty football is entirely optional right now. Preserving our Premier League status is not. Do you want an Everton that stays in the league, or an entertaining watch? Because I assure you, with this squad, you can't have both. I'll watch other matches as a neutral if I want to be entertained.

As for "thanking" Sean Dyche and his coaching staff, I suspect that the "thank you" would cost us several million quid that we don't have. There's then the risk of hiring some fancy manager who promises pretty football, who "gets the fans", and who leaves us needing to hire another Sean Dyche type.

I do not understand the "let's get rid of Sean Dyche" vibe on here. The man has outperformed his last two predecessors, with a worse squad than either of them had, spending less money, and having been forced under PSR to get rid of more players.

When I got to the ground yesterday my ticket from Football Ticket Pad would not download. No response from Ticket Pad by phone, email or chatbot.

In desperation, I went to the ticket office in the hope of buying another ticket. I explained to the young lady what had happened, she was very concerned and sympathetic, mind you, I was almost in tears.

She disappeared and came back with a ticket and gave it to me. I couldn't thank her enough, I should have get her name so I could have written and thanked her. I've written to the Ticket Office to thank them.

Don't you just love them when they get something right? — and we got 3 points.

To read this thread and see some Everton fans debating over and over again why they should have been awarded seems very strange to me.

We didn't play great, there is too much stress on and off the field for that, but we deserved to win. I look at the league table now and then think what it would have looked like if we had lost and count my blessings.

I just hope Forest don't mess things up with all their hysteria over the penalty claims. With how this season is going, you never know how the Premier League will react. Especially when it concerns Everton! We've had loads of poor VAR and refeering decisions this season and for many years previously with nothing being done.

Forest just need to suck it up and accept they lost. Just because you shout for enough penalties does not mean you should eventually get one.

If anything negative does come out of it for us, the club need to be just as vocal in return.

It's not Dyche's fault he's been screwed over by the club's reckless spending. And the Premier League's corruption.

Ian #181 "Andrew 179. We won't score more goals until the tactics change and we get more players forward offensively."

But we did score more goals. More goals than usual. More goals than the opposition. And got 3 points. Why the negativity, Ian? I don't understand it.

On the train back from the match yesterday, I scrolled through the Live Forum comments from the start and jeez the negativity time after time from some, the dire predictions about what the result was going to be – not mentioning any names, mind, Ian.

How embarrassing to make such dire certain predictions and be proved wrong.

I never saw so many wrestling incidents in the box from corners by Forest which went unpunished. When he came on, Beto was getting ragged by their fat centre-half on every attack without punishment when the guy was on a yellow.

These impartiality issues have surfaced before. Do I remember well when we did not get the blatant handball by Man City a few years ago, it transpired that the VAR's family were season ticket holders there?

Moving on from that I find it really weird that people find it weird that Evertonians should debate penalty decisions or think that we might have conceded one or more.

It would be moronic (and I chose that word carefully, because it would require an incredible lack of intelligence) to think that you can't have an opinion on an event that landed in our favour, but maybe shouldn't.

Do I need to turn in my colours for considering that VAR is broken for not awarding that last penalty shout? Apparently that's how this works?

It was an indefensible decision within an indefensible system. As football fans we should be disappointed by what is happening to the game. That's completely distinct from feeling massively relieved that it went our way.

You can think and feel more than one thing.

Moronic or not, I find two or three goes is quite enough on the penalty debate, to go on endlessly like you have done is more than enough.

You don't have to change your colours to have an opinion but to comment on people's intelligence because they think you have gone on far too much about the incidents is similar to browbeating.

You are right that most fans should be disappointed in what is happening to our game but I never felt relieved or even thought that those decisions went our way during the game or even watching the highlights.

The whinging through the unquestioning media is a clear tactic of the owner, maybe it's just his personality? But contrived it is, a very deliberate public playing out of alleged bias by the authorities against his clubs. Could be coincidence but I doubt it.

Employing Clattenburg is to give his whinging a coating of authority. I don't really care what happens to Forest but don't buy into their victimhood.

“Old Skool Tunes for Today” - Cry Me a River By Justin Timberlake.

Forest should stop their pathetic whinging. These things even out over the course of a season, and I also do not think any of the three decisions merited a further review on the pitchside monitor.

I was commenting on the season as a whole. We are the lowest league scorers which in my view is down to one up front and inverted wide mids.

Everton not so good, half a point. Looks a bit shallow now…

Any AI employed in VAR would simply learn to award more penalties to the Sky favourites.

Hopefully Forest have got proof that Stuart Atwell is a Luton fan because otherwise, they have only contrived to show themselves as being moronic. But, if they have done their homework, and this is found to be true then the Premier League really won't have a leg to stand on with so many people already having feelings that they are corrupt.

The Forest player didn't deserve a penalty, that was my latest conclusion because I thought he waited for Ashley Young instead of getting across and away from him with more aggression. Who'd be a referee!!

Who'd be a referee? Have a nightmare, get loads wrong, and whilst everyone is arguing about your ineptitude, you don't even have to open your mouth and explain yourself?

On second thoughts, what a job, although when you think about it logically, there's a very unpleasant word for people who cause murder and then slope away leaving everyone else to fight!

In fact, it was only about an hour after the final whistle, when I saw a WhatsApp message from our American refereeing friend, Mr Gaynes, that I learned we had been on the right side of some apparently dubious decisions. They certainly weren't “clear and obvious” errors to me.

Talking of which, I cannot believe that the VAR was ever intended to determine that a toe was offside at the precise moment a ball some distance away was struck. It was a decision worthy of Clive Thomas which robbed Coventry City of a magical day.

Even if Forest have proof that Atwell is a Luton fan, it wouldn't make much difference unless it was proved that he had made a biased decision.

I think that Riley (I can't remember his first name) was a proven Reds fan along with his two sons and I think he refereed many Everton games.

It would have made more sense if he helped to contrive a draw between both us and Forest.

I'm with Carragher and Neville on this one. Forest, without a scrap of evidence, have publicly accused a properly appointed official of cheating. This has become a thing in Premier League football and has to be stamped out. So I expect the powers that be to come down hard on Forest.

Rich owners have to be shown this veiled "legal action" sabre rattling is not acceptable and won't be tolerated. If they don't like their club losing matches, then perhaps they shouldn't be owning them in the first place.

It is known that Atwell is a Luton fan.

I've read articles about which Refs support which teams and Atwell has featured. I know a Luton fan and he has previously told me that Atwell's Brother is a Luton season ticket holder.

The touch on Reyna was perhaps a closer call but he embellished which indicates a lack of justifiable contact for a call in the box. We have paid our dues.

Forest ask PGMOL to release VAR audio from Everton game

For the first penalty incident, the way Reyna threw himself to the floor probably convinced the officials that he had dived, so why wasn't he booked for diving? There may well have been contact from Young, but enough to make him go to ground? I don't think so.

As has already been said, if they were in the Forest box, we would have been irate if we didn't get them.

But I expect there will be as much effort as there has been to improve the standard of officiating in England.

Who the fuck does he think he is? A shite, as good as corrupt referee on his day, now in this made-up role at Forest thinking he has a say over on-field decisions.

I hope Forest go down, that appointment and the bellend fans deserve nothing less.

Lizards.

Being honest, there isn't one present referee who you could describe as being efficient and too many leave the VAR to make the decisions for them. Although it is a stretch to say they are corrupt, I think many are guilty of being biased.

You see the same foul being committed in the same game being punished and not punished by the same referee, so Ernie is correct in saying we would all like it sorted out.

It would be far too easy to criticise Nottingham Forest in the wake of their latest self-pitying tirade at the Professional Game Match Officials Limited, which is convenient because that is exactly what Football Daily intends to do. Following their defeat against Everton, a game in which Forest were denied three penalties – one stone-waller and two 50-50 shouts on the tried and trusted Seen-‘Em-Given-O-Meter – the serial whingers from the City Ground published a tweet in which they criticised all three decisions, suggested the PGMOL and the game’s Luton-supporting video assistant referee Stuart Attwell were corrupted and harked back to assorted other decisions they feel have gone against them before pompously signing off by announcing that “NFFC will now consider its options”. And on Monday the club asked the PGMOL to release audio recordings between officials to ensure “the integrity of our sport is upheld”.

Quite apart from the fact that a win for Everton didn’t really suit Luton and that the only option Forest can reasonably expect to consider is whether to pay the whacking great fine they’re inevitably be going to landed with by cash or card, Football Daily can’t help but feel the club’s paranoid hierarchy might be better served pondering the fact that the only reason they’re actually in the Premier League is because Huddersfield were denied two clear penalties in the playoff final won by Forest at Wembley the season before last.....

Having been called upon by Gary Neville to resign from his weird position as refereeing consultant at the City Ground in order to distance himself from the conspiracy theories of tinfoil hat-wearing employers who had complained about the appointment of Attwell before, as well as after, their defeat, former referee Mark “Clatts” Clattenburg elected instead to double down on the club’s stance in Monday’s Daily Mail. “Certainly, I would not have risked this situation if I were the head of the referees and all of this could have been avoided had the PGMOL simply made smarter appointments,” blathered Clattenburg in a column, where he made no mention of himself being on the Forest payroll and was therefore taking a completely one-eyed view of proceedings but had the clanging brass balls to suggest that Attwell’s decisions, or lack of them, might have been rooted in unconscious bias.....

The main protagonist in all three of Sunday’s “extremely poor decisions”, Ashley Young, must have left Goodison Park unable to believe his luck. Today on Instachat, in a post accompanied by two winky-face emojis, the Everton defender announced he was listening to an “Old Skool tune” by Justin Timberlake. The track in question? Cry Me A River. Touché.

That result was critical, I think it makes it very unlikely now that we'll go down and the bookies agree, having us at around 12-1 which is pretty long odds.

As for the performance, it is what it is, we've seen similar so very many times. The second half was a bit better, but the first half, we were dreadful again, not least the set pieces. I'm not sure whether the players are rubbish, the manager is rubbish, or both, or the club's horrible position has destroyed morale and stability. Probably a bit of all 3 and I don't underestimate the last. Every player's agent must be looking for an exit option, if they are doing their job.

We now have what I regard as a free hit, which is a bit of a luxury. I hope the players see it that way and stop looking like they are terrified. Arguably the RS have more cause to be.

I agree that Young was far from dreadful in general play, but he is an accident waiting to happen, especially against Jota or Diaz. Godfrey or Garner are not solutions, but they carry slightly less risk of a penalty or a red card.

I wonder if we'll also see a bit more of Danjuma and Chermiti, especially the latter. We might at least learn whether a player we have actually bought has anything to offer.

Also, even with lines drawn, I can’t see why Coventry’s “winner” was offside. Is level offside?

I'm seeing a club with nothing but.

Catastrophic points deductions, waves of injuries and a distinct lack of competitive talent have not impacted this team's heart one bit. They've had every reason to throw in the towel. They have not.

I credit the manager and our two center backs. I think Tark's leadership has been little short of magnificent.

I wasn't asserting that, I was musing whether 'the club's horrible position' – which I don't think is open to debate – is impacting morale, confidence, focus, self-belief, which I think my post was simply suggesting might be a consequence.

I think it goes beyond just a tub thumping type of morale, hugging and back slapping. In the end, these are employees and if your employer is as unstable as Everton is right now, such distractions might easily cause the quality of your work to suffer. For a start, some of these players should be worried about their future and getting a new job. That is a distraction (as well, in some circumstances, a motivation). Many of these are young and inexperienced and may be badly impacted when it seems as though things are so up in the air.

However you appear to have concluded the players are optimising their performances. I'm not persuaded but if you're right, it must be one of the other two causes. And if I followed that line of thought, because I honestly don't believe this squad are quite as lousy footballers as their performances this year suggest, then it must be the manager.

But what right would he have to even ring Howard Webb, as a Forest employee before a game?

That reminds me, I haven't heard 'High Time We Went' in a while. Hit it.

The referee's decision was final, end of story. Instantaneous decisions, euphoric or dejected fans and plenty to debate in the pub afterwards.

Nowadays, the game bows to the whims of the megarich media moguls and the faceless robots determining its outcome.

Cook spent 18 months with Forest after joining the Midlands side in January 2022, helping them to promotion that same year. Their ticket to the Premier League was secured via the Championship play-offs.

Forest faced Huddersfield Town at Wembley and ultimately went up thanks to an own-goal from Levi Colwill. But the Terriers were left feeling hard done by following a number of controversial decisions.

During the victory parade which followed Forest's win, Cook alluded to the incidents and the officiating team. The Englishman praised VAR, though he did later admit that his feelings can change depending on the game.

“We'll thank (referee) Jon Moss today - what a fucking guy! We love VAR! Up the Tricky Trees," Cook told the crowd of supporters gathered in Nottingham city centre.

Performance quality is another question. We have good players who have performed poorly all season -- Dom, Dwight (surely due to the horror in his home life) and Seamus.

We have good players who performed great at our December peak and have fallen off badly -- Onana, Garner, Harrison, Gana (until Sunday).

But we have no top players beyond our own goal box. Match our starting lineups with most of our opponents, and man-for-man they're just more talented. Even Luton and Burnley are faster than we are. A lot faster. Luton has scored half a goal a game more than we have. Huge difference in attacking talent.

And even with that and everything going on around the club, we still have ten wins, and we're still staying up. I say that makes Dyche damn near Moses. He has parted the waters and led us to safety. It's one of the most amazing managerial performances I have ever seen.

I have always loved Cook. What a wrecking crew he was. When he was at Bournemouth, I thought we should have bought him instead of Keane. Twice the player at half the price.

But if I recall correctly, he was one of the players who got away with a penalty against Huddersfield. Forest's promotion was a gift from Moss and he knew it. That's why Forest's hysteria over Sunday is so embarrassing.

So, in essence, you are saying the cause is really all down to the players and their (lack of) quality and certainly consistency.

It's actually the fall off from the earlier season form (as far as one can call it that) for some players, certainly the 4 you mention, that led me to think the club instability is having an effect. Impossible to say but I feel it cannot have zero impact, If you put Dyche on a lie detector, I'm sure he'd confess just how horrible things are; even now, he alludes to it in his interviews.

It may be wishful thinking but I believe we do have a top class outfielder in Branthwaite. I'm not sure it's fair to call it only 'promise' nowadays. You might apply that to Chermiti, but Jarrad strikes me as a 'ready to go' high-class player, more so than Stones at the same point in time.

In fact, very soon, I think he'll be one of the team's leaders, assuming he stays, because it is obvious richer clubs have spotted his capabilities. I'm not all that bothered about who exits, even Pickford, but if we don't try and keep Branthwaite, I feel we're giving up.

Why we are still talking about penalties for them I really don't know.

But my two penneth is that only the third was a penalty, the first wasnt, he threw himself on the ground when he felt Young bang the back of his boot, the second wasn't one because the ball hit his arm not the other way round. So in my eyes they were still beat.

The old rule was best when it had to look like it was a deliberate hand ball, that one didnt.

We have a game in hand on the others which tomorrow's game counts as that one. The following 3 games are all games we have an excellent chance of gaining points, so how you approach the derby is a hard one.

Dyche will have to give the game his best shot, but we definitely don't want injuries because we are very close to safe now.

Nottingham Forest to be sent VAR audio after row over Everton game

The full story is behind a paywall but Goal.com report that:

Nottingham Forest will be handed the VAR audio from their controversial clash with Everton but it will not be made public.

I can't believe they are indulging them with this. Although perhaps in their eyes (ears?) it simply reinforces the referee's decisions.

And they must know, if they do this, it will become public.

The Times understands the audio will not be made public as it was when Liverpool made the same request after Luis Díaz's goal against Tottenham Hotspur in September was wrongly disallowed for offside.

The reason for the difference is that Díaz's disallowed goal was down to a factual communication error, whereas the three incidents at Goodison were not.

It is still possible that the audio could be released as part of the Match Officials Mic'd Up programme, where PGMOL's chief refereeing officer Howard Webb reviews key and contentious decisions. That is due to air next Tuesday but at the moment no decision has been made as to which games will feature.

Just making themselves look bigger arseholes than what they already are! 😄😄😄

Sheer speculation here but I think the club will make every desperate effort to keep Branthwaite, if only for one more season, and Pickford. But they have to want to stay, and if Carlo comes in for Jarrad with a £70m offer and a ticket to Madrid, let's face it, he's gone.