Everton win pre-season friendly at Wigan Athletic

COYB

This is my last post until the season opener because I know I am a stuck record and boring. Disillusioned is the word, amongst other expletives. I'm aware of that.

We've got a season to look forward to.

I can't vouch for them but it might be worth trying ukbannerman on Longmoor Lane, just by Fazakerley Station. They've had a shop there for many years.

Whatever you do, don't search “football banners Liverpool” – it'll send your blood pressure through the roof.

There's a place on Smithdown Road in Wavertree called Fitwell, it's predominately a tee-shirt and workwear shop but advertises doing football banners in the shop window. Don't know what they're like but worth giving them a shout.

Saw on another thread someone mentioned Barkley being heavily linked on a free. Who would take him on sensible wages and a 2-year contract? He would improve our bench so I would be interested in a punt there. Something to prove?

What the hell is that team? Is it 5 at the back against league one? Is our new spring chicken LB cover being used as a RW? Are we really playing one dwarf striker once again??

Might well be one of the most negative and dull pre-season line ups I've ever seen. Just utterly pointless. Maybe a mistake to have two pre-season friendlies on the same day with this squad……but then he's ok'd that, most likely as he thinks fitness is all that matters.

We'll find out quickly in premier league that fitness is not a sub for technique and chemistry.

As a final moan any chance of some news from club on DCL / Dele recover, and where the Lord Lucans of Cannon, Gomes, Gbamin are?

Anyone got a working link ?

Gary (14) At this stage fitness is all that matters.

Watching on dodgy firestick now, pretty even, Young doing ok at Left mid

Wish the club could update us on this lot, apart from the 3 returning from international duty, but it's radio silence as always….

https://jm.freestreams-live1.tv/elevensports1portugal/

Nobody, its the same every pre-season.

Oh, so those who can't get the game should just keep their gobs shut then?

Ashley Young seems to be having a good game so far.

Are you talking about that shot off the bar Jeff?

Oh sorry, I had a flashback.

We desperately need attacking players and I am fuming with Ian Woan for not bringing on Francis Okeronkwo in the 2nd half. Why keep playing Maupay when he clearly has no future at Everton football club??

He was awful again. One shot in the 1st half was more like a clearance. As a player he is the lowest sub level of shit and I really do think he is the worst signing we've made... ever!

By the way Gavin, Tom Cannon was not even on the bench this afternoon.

Mike #120, not sure what we learned from the negativity today. Still, it is only pre-season.

Young looks a decent signing for backup, Maupay no improvement from last season, not improving his transfer fee if sold.

Patterson looked good going forward, just a normal workout game.

Apart from Young coming in, it's same again !

I Thought Young should of played left back, Godfrey will struggle in the prem, as he has at fullback on most occasions.
Young showed some good play,he's got a much better delivery into the box than iwobi from the left or right.
Patterson again impressed. Big season for him this year.
Mcneil was our only real threat with Young who will be a useful squad member.

Unless we get a player who can run in behind with pace to stretch defences we are just too one dimensional. Maupay is a passenger.
It's got to be our top priority now.

From the players who are missing today,
Apart from DCL, who actually improves our attacking threat ?

There are too many ifs or maybees..
Maybe DCL will stay fit.
Maybe Gray will be more consistent and less wasteful.
If we can get onana more advanced.
If Deli gets his form back in 6 games.

With the players out we may be a stronger, harder to beat side, but we are still toothless going forward.

It will be the worst Everton team ever.

We will definitely get relegated (unless we're 'lucky', ie, get more points than at least three other teams).

We shouldn't buy any other team's cast-offs, young inexperienced players, older experienced players, anyone who's ever been relegated, or anyone Dutch.

The first player who scores against us will be the player we should have bought.

Our 'best' players, as ever on here, will be the ones not on the pitch.

Hoping Dom's return, along with Garner and others, will enable us to play with more purpose.

The kit (which I dislike) looks okay from a distance on a Portuguese feed.

We're not going to be a joyful watch this season. Obviously. And we will be better without the ball than without it.

But hopefully we will pick up points and grind out wins.

From what I saw this could easily have been 3-0 as Doucoure and Maupay missed chances they should score.

It's like an outlet for fans who are unhappy in their lives to project their anger in some sort of cathartic therapy. If it helps them get through the day, each to their own!!

Has Dyche actually been seen at Prenton Park or is he at a Finch Farm medical? Now that Simms has gone do we actually have a young centre-forward or are Calvert-Lewin and Cannon it?

Tom Cannon was pictured at Deepdale but not sure why he didn't play any part. Hopefully see him at Bolton, surely we can't afford to sell him especially as Maupay was dire as per.

It's all about fitness in pre-season but the score could have been bigger if we had taken the two gilt edge chances created by Patterson who had a good game. Ashley Young's 38-year-old football brain seemed to be working a lot better than a lot of the other players.

Did Everton use another young player as a sub besides Metcalfe, did Beaumont-Clarke come on?

We will improve when more players sign on and the rest of the squad make their way back and of course we are only in the first couple of weeks of preseason training. Always look on the bright side – if Barry Rathbone can, what's stopping the rest of us?

We have known for a long time that Maupay is not up to the task and we have sold Gordon, Richarlison and Simms but there is still no sign of that goalscoring forward nor of Calvert-Lewin.

If we can't vent opinion and frustration on ToffeeWeb, what is the point? Some posters appear to be really happy with the status quo and it seems to have become fashionable for them to knock other posters who are more critical.

I respect their opinion and will not knock them for that but please lay off genuine criticism.

To do this, Everton are going to have to do something that isn't very Everton. That as we all know is score goals and plenty of them. The club cannot go into the season pinning all hopes on a injury-prone striker, who although useful is not very good at shooting.

We also need 2 up top, that will help Calvert-Lewin.

What I don't enjoy is when people get personal or flat out tell somebody they are wrong for their opinion.

Need some Blues chanting for Tommy's putter. He's missing some chances.

We stayed up last season, despite having one barely playing striker and suffering inadequate management for half the season.

With better management and fitness for the whole season, it seems realistic to suggest we'll stay up this season. More so if we actually buy a couple of players who know where the goal is.

When I wrote an article on here saying Dyche was going to keep us up, giving some realistic reasons to back up my view. I was called deluded.

The 'realists' came on here every day to tell me we were definitely going to get relegated.

The 'realists' are now on here every day telling me we're definitely going to get relegated this season.

I didn't meet a non-Evertonian who thought we were going down last season. Couldn't get decent odds on us staying up with any bookie. Found plenty of value on Betfair, though...

Looks like I'll be doing the same this season.

Realism, huh?

Can't wait to have a Guinness with you in October. We will have some laughs, my man.

Looks like we'll do the typical Everton thing and buy someone who's played in the Premier League. My money is on Iheanacho being our next signing. His goal scoring record isn't great but his mitigation is that he has good goal-to-minutes stats, with a lot of his appearances coming from the bench.

Not an exciting signing but has to be an improvement on Maupay. Apparently Chelsea will allow Broja out on loan this summer. If we could also get him we would have some decent depth with Danjuma also capable of playing there.

A Broja loan would also allow us to loan Cannon back out to Preston.

And let's not get too sensitive about football opinions and whether they are accurate. The attacks are really where the action is. The subtleties of the opinions are sometimes attacks if you know how to recognize them.

Further up this thread one poster shared his anger that Tom Cannon had not been brought on against Wigan...only for Rob Halligan to promptly point out that Cannon wasn't in the squad.

The poster then edited his post so that it read that not using Okoronkwo was actually the reason for his anger. Rob then pointed out that Okoronkwo was involved in the other Everton game at Tranmere.

Realistic criticism or negativity?

In comparison with last seasons pre-season games we look much better so far. I know we played a top team in Arsenal but to me the players look better prepared. Remember that we had played 2 and lost 2 with an aggregate Goals For and Against of 0-6! With 4 of them coming against a team not that much better than Wigan!

It's just about fitness and preparation at this stage but even so 2 wins still feels good. 2 or 3 players to add to Ashley Young's obvious class and we will be fine.

So, I will swallow my pride and put my faith in the manager to make the correct decisions in his effort to recruit players.

Would Chelsea want their man to play the majority of games and would that be possible should Calvert-Lewin be fit for the greater part of the season?

I wouldn't have thought that they were just doing it to reduce their wage bill.

Fittest player on the pitch today was Young, bags of energy, good addition. McNeil put his usual shift in. Maupay must surely be on his way out, offers nothing at all.

Other than that not much to get too excited about, certainly need to get a striker or two in.

A good following by the Evertonians today, could be a long worrying season.

After about 10 minutes, I realised, it was some twat playing a Play Station game. Fucking millennials.

I don't know. Apparently they want to loan Broja out next season, but they will want him playing football regularly so that could be beneficial for them and us if Calvert-Lewin's fitness continues to fail, but as you say, if Calvert-Lewin is fit, he won't play that much.

That said, if Everton had a decent roster of strikers like any other big club, we would rotate and rest Calvert-Lewin in games next season anyway. Sounds like a big part of the problem was rushing him back and playing him cos we had no one else to play.

So maybe a Broja loan would work irrespective of Dom's fitness, but if you were Chelsea, a loan to someone like Luton or Sheffield United where Broja is a stonewall starter, would probably be better.

As we all know, without quality we are in for another tough season.

At least we still have the best Chairman ever to be a Chairman.

Tom Cannon was at Deepdale watching Preston vs Aberdeen.

I agree with the edited poster. We learned nothing from today other than we'll still get Godfrey at left-back.

I wonder just how much pressure Calvert-Lewin was put under to play? Such is the non-disclosure world that they live in, I don't suppose we will ever know.

A mate of mine visited the club some years ago, "helping" a former player write his autobiography. My mate spoke to Moyes, Stubbs and others, but the only tales they would allow were as dull as dishwater, and the interesting ones were out of bounds.

It has now been a long time since Dominic broke down (Bournemouth). The longer we have to wait, the more worried I get.

Why did we sell Simms when we have a poor excuse for a forward in Maupay and an injury-prone Calvert-Lewin? Do we need the money that badly!

If we don't get someone who can put the ball away, we are in for grief again.

That absolutely cracked me up

What more do people want?! It's pre-season.

If we lost there would be murder. If we drew there would be murder.

We've won comfortably and there's murder.

Talk about loose loose.

The negativity is stunning. We know where we are at. We know it's not where we need to be. We all agree on that. But strap on the fucking big boy pants and stop cry arseing for gods sake – pre-season is about fitness. Half the squad is on holiday or carrying knocks and signings will come.

Nice finish by Young. Getting fitter for Fulham and hopefully a few signings to come in as our squad is threadbare to say the least. I would have liked to see Cannon starting to give him some confidence. No left winger or do I need new specs?

I watched it on a foreign stream and didn't see the bench, but it was actually Shane's post #103 and not Rob's post where I discovered Cannon wasn't on the bench, so I edited my post. Are you going to bring a federal case against me? lol.

But anyway, it's sad state that a striker as poor as Maupay with no future at the club is playing a whole 90mins and we have no other option this close to a new season. So I feel my frustration is totally warranted and not negative at all.

It's a fitness exercise. Rarely sign players pre season so last week of the trasfer window, arrivals in!

Survival is success next season! Anyone expecting more please get help.

Fair enough although I find it difficult to grasp why anyone who posts on a thread which gives the players selected for the match in the OP isn't aware which substitutes are available to come on.

So no federal case this time... though, if it happens again...

I agree about Maupay but obviously Dyche feels he may still have a role to play this season unless we sign someone new or one of the existing players convinces Dyche they're a better option.

Stuck around after the game, got some food, and let the traffic fade as the Robin Park was rammed to the full with cars.

But positivity was good. Ashley Young has the guile and can still weight the pass.

Let's take the spirit and belief to the Fulham game.

UTFTs!

There was just a big shout of “Up the Toffees” after Tommy took a tee shot!

Will Young be our secret weapon at 38?

Joking apart, the situation is still serious at his time with Maupay still proving he isn't the answer and Calvert-Lewin apparently still not fit.

He played both left and right side and was very good on both flanks. I'm hopeful he will provide an option to the left-back position because Godfrey is not the answer there, Godfrey is not the answer anywhere across the back four.

If Norwich were interested it might be time to say have him back and we won't pay you the last £5 million.

Patterson looked really good and McNeil showing the same promise he demonstrated last season once he settled and grew in confidence. If Doucoure keeps getting into those forward positions, he will get goals.

I never really read to much into the pre-season games.

Like the kit though!

Two outta two, keep it going, Blue Boys, eh!

Thanks for the info. I will check them out. 👍👍

Pete #176, sorry I missed that... had the sound turned down!

If I get one, it will be making its debut at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium in Antigua in December.

Maupay tries hard, but goodness – it's just not happening.

Did Maupay play as badly as he looked on them? Christ, I've never known a striker as inept as him.

Honestly we should've kept Rondon. As least he was tall and useless.

Cannon picked up an injury at the end of the Nyonnais game, bang on the top of the foot.

Mark these words: Dyche is anti-youth and Cannon will go in favour of someone like Che Adams.

"Some watch and learn. Some watch."

Okay.

"Mike #120, not sure what we learned from the negativity today."

Seems you saw negativity but were unable to learn.

Danjuma will be announced early next week and hopefully one more striker will come in, so that Maupay can then be released. Until that time, I think we're stuck with him.

Star man was Young with decent games from McNeil and Patterson. The rest were pretty average with Godfrey pretty awful and Maupay totally useless.

Early on, Wigan found huge gaps in our midfield and with better finishing would have gone in ahead at half-time.

Second half we were tighter and better organised but the final pass was often poor. Apart from the goal and Doucouré hitting the bar, we rarely looked like scoring.

Worryingly, there was very little on the bench and we only made one substitution. As most others have pointed out, the signing of a least one half-decent striker is essential.

Money for nothing – and everyone in football knows full well we've been in dire straits for over 30 years.

Anyone with optimism whilst Kenwright and his stooge boss are still pulling the strings is living in cloud-cuckoo land as far as I'm concerned.

Maupay is Championship quality at best. Unless we sign a striker and keep Calvert-Lewin fit, it'll be another shite season of struggle.

He can still run like hell, and he can put in a great tackle once in a while, but that's it.

dannyefc26@gmail.com

Seems like a perfect opportunity for a get-together. One of the County Road watering holes or a chance to visit The Bramley Moore pub and marvel at the rising stadium on the banks of our Royal Blue Mersey. My red brother-in-law told me only yesterday that he passes regularly on the train and privately, he is jealous.

When that team crosses the white line, they've got me 100% and more, whoever they are. It has always been like that. The Gordon Lee years, Howard's early ones, the debacle that was the 90s. The mediocracy that was the 2000s up until today, with the last two seasons being particularly tough.

I will give my opinion as much as anyone about Everton as a club, but when that team takes to the pitch, whoever they are, I want them to win. We all do.

I'm pretty sure if you, I, Jonathan Oppenheimer, his wife and kids, that Canadian fellow, and a few vagrants from Minneapolis had taken the field last summer versus Inchy's lads, we'd have got a better result than Gbamin, Alli and Co.

But, with that being said, I agree with your sentiment. A win is a win. It may not be Brazil 1970 but Dyche is getting the best out of this group.

I try to ignore the gossip sites as they are rarely right. And when they are, it seems more a case of ‘a broken clock is right twice a day….' than any real insight.

So I'm just praying Thelwell knows who he wants for that striker berth. Has a shortlist of three and is working his way through them quietly in the background.

The right striker signing (see how we played vs Brighton….) could be massive for us and is an exciting proposition.

Not getting one in means we will struggle again and would be so disheartening for the fans.

I think we will be okay this season as long as we get at least a striker in. A couple of others would be a bonus. Dyche will have them fit, no doubt about that and will not tolerate any bullshit from them.

Difficult to understand why we continue to play him at left-back. He is undoubtably quick and brave, but not sure that's enough for a regular spot. Yet another player to add to the long list of those that we need to move on?

Sorry to point this out but Maupay won't be released – that just never happens when these vastly over-paid wasters still have 2 years of a super-generous Kenwright-negotiated contract to sit on.

At best, we might find someone to take him on loan with subsidised wages. What a thoroughly gut-wrenching 'legacy' we have been left with.

Maupay clearly not capable; Calvert-Lewin clearly not fit.

3 weeks and counting...

Disgrace.

Cannon is injured.

I haven't seen enough of him to make judgement.

Probably best to rely on those who have?

I think they believe Cannon isn't ready, hence the loan. Hopefully it's a sign that they've got a few irons in the fire.

Be a disgrace if we loan him out and don't sign anyone, I'll agree with that.

I'm hoping they've learned lessons.

🤞

Cannon might not be ready but the alternative is Maupay...

Like many on here, we are concerned that the club will wait until deadline day and once again play musical chairs with what's left.

That's unacceptable for a club the stature of Everton...

Maybe we don't have any money, or just enough to pay the former directors enough to never have to work again.

I may be wrong but we also need an attacking midfielder and another centre-back.

It looks like the interest in about 5 of the Leeds team was all paper talk...

Finally, how about someone from the club putting out some form of a statement giving us a clue as to the direction the club is talking? Freebies and loans are a sign of a club with serious issues...