West Ham United vs Everton

All I can think off is that, come Sunday, we will be there behind the team. I will be and alongside others. Then we have Burnley and Brighton.

I'm in pitch mode right now as there is a busy week ahead. By next week, we could have 6 points and be in the next round of the League Cup.

Never give up. Never. See you all there.

But conceivably we might have no points and get knocked out the Carabao Cup.

Or we might have 2, 3 or 4 points and progress in the Carabao Cup.

None of us have a crystal ball be lovely if we did.

Don't want to harp on about Bill Kenwright, enough has been said and written about the man, but it'd be lovely if we could get the next week intact, ie 6 points and a win in the cup as a gift to his family.

Here's hoping.

Hopefully the winning Everton turn up! 💙

It will be an honour to be counted amongst our fabulous traveling support and a perfect way to cap off my London weekend with an Everton win.

COYB

However, having said that we seem to be up against a brick wall, of biased refereeing mainly, and seemingly a general desire to see us fail, by the so-called authorities. What have we as fans done to deserve this?

I, like many others, emailed the Premier League, about not only the leak of impending punishment, from whatever source (?) but to penalise the offender/s. I also said that any discrepancies in Accountancy or by Profitability and Sustainability Clauses have nothing whatsoever to do with the fans! Yet they are ultimately the ones who will be the most affected!

I think it's about time Everton did something to impact results rather than let all these other influences apparently dictate our fate.

We'll see what the plan is against West Ham. If there's a plan against West Ham.

West Ham have some really good players now, and are definitely better than us by a decent margin on paper. However, I expect we will cause them difficulties on the counter-attack.

It's also a relief, let's be honest, that Young isn't in the line-up. Patterson is still not the finished article but hopefully he can now build up some momentum in Young's place as there's definitely a player there.

COYB - 1-nil win coming right up.

Other Neil, we've gone posh and will be convening early at O'Neill's near Kings Cross / St Pancras on Euston Road. It's convenient to get the train from St Pancras to Stratford. Just shout Danny.

As always, looking forward to the match, watching the blues and meeting up with others, be that before, during or after the match.

I'm probably going a bit over the top, but most of you know me as match day approaches. One of my favourite military quotes from Montgomery as the British stared defeat in the face:

"Here we will stand and fight; there will be no further withdrawal. I have ordered that all plans and instructions dealing with further withdrawal are to be burned, and at once. We will stand and fight here. If we can't stay here alive, then let us stay here dead."

They won. We can do this. And we will.

I hope Dyche doesn't bring Gana back in and shifts Garner out wide again in an attempt to cover Patterson. If he does, that will be our undoing.

They will target our right-hand side and the game could be won or lost depending upon how we deal with it. There are reservations about Patterson's defensive discipline and games like tomorrow are big learning curves.

It's down to him to prove he has got what it takes. Tomorrow won't be his last opportunity to show he can defend to the required standards, but now is the time to make a mark. Good luck to him.

Pickford
Patterson Tarkowski Branthwaite Mykolenko
Garner Onana
Harrison Doucoure McNeil
Calvert-Lewin

West Ham 1 Everton 2

West Ham away certainly falls under that category. Let's get all 3 points. I feel like Danjuma would be a good option in this one.

I was just thinking the same thing, an unexpected win tomorrow puts us on 10 points, amongst the likes of Fulham and Palace, mid-table almost.

Meanwhile, I just read a Dyche interview in the Guardian. I wish he would stop banging on about “all the noise” and “changing the story”… For fuck's sake, Sean, change your noise and story!

45 years ago yesterday. Andy King's cracker against the RS

Time flies!!!

He said there has been a lot of noise since he came into the club, but it was up to him and the players to try and change that out on the pitch, because this will help change the mood everywhere else. (This is how I read it, anyway)

When a man spends 8 years at a club, getting promoted twice, and relegated once, and says he might be able to write one book, but has been at Everton 10 months, and says he could probably write three books, then surely this explains the absolute shambles of a football club he came into?

Hopefully it's all coming to an end, but please let us find decent owners with a plan, because I find it absolutely sickening that a club who have spent more seasons playing top flight football, than any other club in this country, are actually getting praise in some quarters for being only one of six clubs never to have been relegated from the Premier league.

Oh dear what have we become, Other than a club that began to celebrate mediocrity?

Talking about noise, the first thing I heard when I switched the Merseyside derby on my television last Saturday, with the game having already kicked off, was absolutely sickening, and any Evertonian, who doesn't realise what we have become, must have had earplugs in when listening to our horrible neighbours rejoicing about 1995.

I hate that song too but there is a 1985 version of it (I don't particularly like that either!) which was sung back to our neighbours at which point they went a bit quiet.

Yes, I get what Sean is saying and trying to do, I just wish he would stop using the same phrases and narratives in every interview – it's bordering on the 'phenomenal' interviews Bobby Brown Shoes used to give.

I agree Jeff. I hate the word 'noise', and I disagree with him about a siege mentality already existing, but this is something he has got to learn for himself, hopefully when he changes the narrative!

Also Onana, while making some important tackles and defensive headers last week, he hardly got into Liverpool's half even when it was 11 v 11. I would think leaving Harrison on the bench and bringing back Gueye to sit in front of the back 4 will give us a better chance of getting anything from this game.

The opposite of pressing, no gaps, let them have the ball, until they come over halfway. Wide men work their tripes off, and everyone shuffles over to condense the pitch.

Football has definitely changed but this was a style that was good enough to win Forest, two European cups, so I'm not convinced it couldn't work in the present game?

Brian Jaques, former DJ presenter on Radio Merseyside a good few years ago on Sunday morning or maybe afternoon, an interesting programme.

"We don't have to show you no steenking badges"... I think a line possibly from the film Veracruz.

That team was the same as last week's tame effort v Liverpool although Patterson might strengthen it.

As Brian (27) says, it needs Gana Gueye there to strengthen the central midfield which gives the option of more attacking ideas. There was only one decent chance provided and missed throughout the game, with Dominic very poor in most things he did last week.

Garner had a poor game with Onana making one terrific tackle and a couple of defensive headers but providing nothing attacking wise. Doucoure was mostly on his own up front, especially when McNeil was withdrawn at half-time.

Dyche is dependent on the centre-forward with support keeping pressure on the defensive line to create space in midfield. He is also dependent on interplay in the midfield, which Gana and Doucoure are poor at.

Onano and Garner are better, but you get the worst tracking back of runners. The tendency for the Everton defence to gravitate deep, creates space for the opposition in the danger area outside the penalty area.

I agree that they will target Everton's right side. They have done that every game against Everton. The defenders Coleman and Holgate come to mind, getting sucked in.

The ball is released to an untracked runner from midfield who gets unchallenged into the penalty area and scores. This is a blind spot in Keane's defensive repertoire when he does play, so we do not want to see him.

Successful attacks by West Ham on the other wings are usually a result of defensive errors. Untracked runners from midfield are a problem for Everton's defence.

Dyche may have a formation, but he is short on the players necessary, but then again his selections and decisions during games can be a bit iffy.

That's the film, another of Bogart's great films. They don't make films like that anymore, mostly in black and white. I miss those days bunking in to see a lot of them!

I would keep Branthwaite back from the corners and leave him in defence with his pace to repel those attacks.

I base this mostly on Dyche's penchant not to lose rather than trying to win a game and how he preferred Gana before his pre-match warm-up injury.

I think it is a sign of the times that movies like that are now portrayed more along the lines of "The Pelican Brief" and "Erin Brokovich".

The quote was Harry Catterick when consulted about putting a badge on the shirt.

The film was Blazing Saddles. When the bandits form a posse they are given deputy badges.

“Badges? We doan need no steenkin badgess” the leader spits!

Dale, it was a branding thing. The stadium is still referred to as the London Stadium.

I think there would be a mutiny if we ever considered introducing the name of our home city onto our brand!!

It was bad enough when our then sponsors, NEC had their lettering in red in the match day programme, which the club changed due to protest!

The line might have been used in Blazing Saddles but it was first used in The Treasure of Sierra Madre.

By the way, Mark, did they have Picture Houses (cinemas) in St Helens?

Hard to disagree. Doucoure, as ungainly as he is, has shown an ability to score goals. Onana has almost zero attacking instinct.

Dave, Harry Catterick said “We don't need a badge, they know who we are.”

The other quote, with the word 'steenkin', is from the film.

There were two cinemas in St Helens. The Capitol, which was the cheaper one near the Wizard's Cave which handily sold stink bombs ideal for the Saturday matinees, Flash (not Flesh) Gordon every week; and the Savoy, which was posher.

Looking forward to a good day out tomorrow, hopefully NOT spoiled by a football match! UTFT

“Sighs theatrically and with great patience” – love it, pity Bill never heard of you, he'd have had you on the stage in no time, too late now!

Have a good day tomorrow, no matter what happens!

He's been dumped recently and is acting like a right mopey sod! A few pints and a good win will remind him of the more important things in life!

Joe has most probably had a lucky escape, who does she think she is? Hard-faced mare, I hope she finishes up with a Rednose, that'll teach her!

I got called a scouse (!) bin dipper last week by a redshite from Crawley! Gobshites the lot of em! UTFT

I agree 4-4-2 is a decent defensive shape and many teams adopt that or something similar when defending (even if their offensive formation is 4-3-3, 4-5-1 or even 3-4-3 etc).

However, when trying to move the ball forward up the pitch, it presents a big problem. This is particularly acute unless the full-backs (or one of them) are really technically gifted midfielders or wingers who just start in a deeper position – like Alexander-Arnold, Zinchenko, Estupinan etc.

Our full-backs just aren't good enough on the ball, so when pressed are unable to do much more than clip a ball down the line, play sideways or backwards or go long / aimless. None of this is going to trouble opposition of any decent standard.

Unfortunately although Beto gives us a hefty, willing alternative to Calvert-Lewin, he's not a great footballer. He's not going to come deep or wide to play like a Number 10 to receive the ball and link up with Calvert-Lewin or other = wide players. That's just not his game.

So it means in an era when teams are trying to stuff more midfielders into a formation to close off passing lanes and create passing triangles to beat a press, we'd be giving up 3 midfield or pseudo midfield spots by playing 4-4-2 with the personnel available.

Arsenal basically played a 3-6-1 against us (which is becoming popular against low-block teams) and it completely smothered us, because we couldn't pass through it. It was their way of doing a job on our counter-attacking system and creating overloads offensively. That's why is was such a boring match.

4-4-2 might work if we had prime Baines and Coleman plus a genuinely clever player like Rooney as one of the strikers (because that way Baines and Rooney in particular are really part of the midfield).

But with our current squad, it would just force us to play backwards and sideways until someone either gives up possession in a dangerous area or goes long or aimless to the two target-man style strikers.

It's something for the last 10 minutes if we're a bit desperate. That's all.

I did not mention corners, though they where in the back of my mind as I posted. Of course you are right, but I am hoping that Dyche has got his act together.

If we are defending, Pickford stays on his line, and relies on the centre-backs or Calvert-Lewin to make the clearance. Liverpool were able to exploit this and looked very dangerous every time they had a corner last weekend.

When we are attacking, in my view, our corners have become too predictable as we always sling the high ball into the middle. In these circumstances, those goalkeepers who come for the ball are often favourite and in a great position to set up a very quick counter-attack. Liverpool very nearly caught us on a number of occasions, knowing beforehand that this is the way we play.

Hoping to see something different tomorrow, but I will not be surprised if Dyche sticks to his usual game plan.

Sheff Utd look over and out.

Andy Kings winner was 45 years ago today.

I was there and 11 years old sat in the Lower Bullens with my old man.

Just watched the MotD highlights with John Motson, brought back a lot of memories being there with him as he sadly passed 4 years later at 39.

Watch the link and see the Old Lady absolutely rocking with 54,000 crammed in:

https://www.google.com/gasearch?q=27%20october%201978%20everton%20v%20liverpool&tbm=&source=sh/x/gs/m2/5#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:c66a3120,vid:nwzflFV3wyA,st:0

I was thinking of both defending and attacking as well. They both needed worked on, week-in & week-out in training, because there are consistent problems arising from both.

It has got to the stage that, when a corner is cleared, it is a relief and all corners where the opposition have put work into them in training are a real threat.

Everton's attacking corners are often short or players are not getting in front of their marker or they are easily caught or cleared by the goalkeeper.The near post is never attacked.

In this game, Dyche has to have this sorted. It is a basic for a Premier League club.

Let's go in tomorrow for the fight.

Family and friends. See you there.

God bless Blues.

No.

As I will be next Wednesday night and next Saturday.

Danny #64, me too, can't wait

Can't help thinking that Moyes's bubbles will burst eventually, so let's get stuck in. Travelling blues in full song, points (or point) to bring back home.

It's been a sad week, make next week a great week. UTFT.

I think he will probably start with Lyndon's team but I think we need to see more of Beto.

No prediction from me for this one just:-

Up the Blues!!!

COYB!!!

UTFT!

Don't think we will get that many deducted to be honest, unless they penalise many other more 'guilty' Clubs, and I would be very surprised, if that happens too. Still, you never know with these.

To today's game, as always hoping for a win, and I think that team suggested, if played, have a decent chance of getting something. A few surprises yesterday (ie Brentford, Bournemouth and Wolves) let us be the surprise today, and a quarter of that enema !

COYB 💙💙👍

Certainly the threat of losing points looms large at the moment and one would hope they can respond to that on the pitch.