Everton earn breathing space at the bottom with crucial win over Forest

Two penalties, possibly three, could have been given, VAR a Luton fan, apparently, not jumping on the corrupt agenda of sticking it to Everton.

Hope Beto is okay and Calvert-Lewin, mind you, we have the red shite on Wednesday so we must have the usual injuries. Coyb.

One more win and we're over the finishing line.

I wish I'd had a bet on that...

Currently watching Coventry. Championship team and players but so well-organised and effective.

This is what a manager of any ability should be doing. Getting everything out of the players he has and playing with style and organisation and purpose and confidence.

With a centre forward too who is playing the role effectively and looking a constant threat. We should sign him … oh no, we gave him away.

With the goal difference, we effectively have 6 points over Luton so they'll need to win at least two of their remaining 4 games having just been battered at home by Brentford.

We have 4 points over Forest whose next game is against Man City and they've also got Chelsea to play in their last 4.

We're not mathematically safe admittedly but if we simply avoid losing to Luton that should be enough. Not there but have some daylight at least.

Without the deductions we'd be on 38 points with 5 games remaining. That must be our best performance at this stage since Ancelotti. Just putting things into perspective for those calling for Dyche to be sacked

Recruitment this summer is going to be key. Urgently need to solve the right-back problem that's been there for at least 3 years now. I wouldn't sign Harrison myself and save the money for someone else. Hopefully we can get by only selling Onana and keep Branthwaite for another season.

Danjuma, Keane, Harrison, Godfrey can all go imo.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

But I have said before that, if we were safe mid-table before going 13 games without a win and playing dreadful stuff, would anyone have argued if Dyche was sacked?

Ride our luck at times but 2 excellent goals deserved the win.

Seen the Forest statement about ‘could be' penalties: I didn't think any of them were penalties but we were ‘lucky' that the ref & VAR didn't go against us. Bit annoyed this will be the talking point now rather than Everton getting over the line with resolve.

Hope the injuries won't bite too hard.

Blimey, what a surprise, injuries before a derby game against those bastards, couldn't see that one coming. Couch behind, hiding me shall be

on Wednesday night. If we get a draw that will be fantastic, seeing as we are against a bunch of dirty cheats and media darlings, oh well. here's hoping.

We were so lucky with the penalty decisions. Young especially has used up all his luck for the remainder of his career. He will not be so lucky on Wednesday and has to be dropped

Just hope DCL was taken off as a precaution

The first one on Gio I think Ashley got enough of the ball, but he still had no idea gio was there and was lucky

Second is a handball for me. You have to defend in the box with arms behind back. Yes it's more awkward and difficult, I don't care.

Third is clumsy and goes through his back. Penalty all day.

That really is bonkers if stuart atwell is a luton fan

Just retire Ashley - you're done Son.

The ball gets played diagonally over your head to the back post, and you have got to defend with your arms back? This is basically saying do not defend on the front foot, and pull your body out of the way, because it really is impossible to turn quickly and keep your hands down by your sides, imo.

Defending unnaturally, is this what the game has really come to?

The second goal in particular was an absolute sweet strike but one can't expect McNeil to be doing that every week. Most of the game was an awful watch, made worse when Gomes went off.

I used to be irritated by the jibes from other fans about Dyche/hoofball but it is hard to ignore the evidence of my own eyes.

There is a distinct lack of imagination about the side when in possession and I'll have to savour the precious points ahead of the mid-week reaming.

The season has been horrible but hopefully 37000 people will be falling back in love with Everton football club, at 9.45 on Wednesday night, because even the biggest Dyche haters, must surely want us to beat Liverpool?

I would be inclined to say the form has been so reprehensible since the late Autumn that Dyche does deserve to be let go sometime in the very near future.

We resigned ourselves to the style being dull and old fashioned but to go on that dreadful run with some of the stubborn team selections and the whole sub business should get any coach the sack. Points deduction or not. Fans spend a fortune following what has been long ball, marginal garbage for months.

Young seems exceptionally naive at times, which is bizarre for someone so hugely experienced. This makes me wonder whether the game is moving just a little too fast for his 38 year old body and brain.

Idrissa Gueye though, take a bow lad! After all the grief he (deservedly) gets for his awful long range shots I thought he might’ve given up shooting!!!

Tony #20, you know how this ref feels about that, but you gotta play the rules as they are being enforced. Hopefully PGMOL will fix it this summer and get us back to handball sanity.

Robert #25, yeah, there are some strange-thinking folks here. Phil, for example.

People always make the reasonable point that you need your hands and arms for balance which means defending has more challenges with the current officialdom.

But I really don't know how the FA are getting these things so badly wrong.

But a very important win in the context of this crazy season

I think only DCL, Pickford and Garner would get a game in a mid-table or higher club. Idrissa did well today but he is on his last legs. The problem is recruitment. Why did we sell Ellis Sims, who played well today, in order to buy Beto at an inflated price? What have Harrison, Cherniti, and Danjuma brought to the club? And don’t get me started on the Deli Alli nonsense.

Maybe when the 777 saga comes to an end we may find owners who will get the club run properly but until then I think we will not find any manager better than Dyche prepared to manage our shambles of a club.

Took the wife out for lunch.."I'll drive"...says me of course three pub/restaurants later with no match on I was "FFS Breige eat up!"

Got home in time to watch the second half.

Not the worst wedding anniversary tbh...

People saying that Forest’s claim for that first penalty was nailed on? No danger with the Forest player actually playing the ball backwards, out of the area, towards his own goal, and it’s a nailed on penalty?

With football being such a saturated television sport, it definitely feels like it needs controversy, so many things about modern football frustrate me and I personally think the laws need a proper revamp to help these referees, because the cheating is really off the scale nowadays, and it’s nauseating.

Ellis Simms did nothing this season until his hattrick against Maidstone. He and Coventry have then caught fire. Tom Cannon hasn't done that much at a decent (for the Championship) Leicester City.

Can we please stop acting as though we sold world beaters? We didn't. We sold good potential to keep the wolves from the door.

As for the game? Maybe we got lucky with the penalty shouts. But when have we been "lucky" this season? So many stonewall pens not given, so many marginal calls given against us.

Sean Dyche has outperformed both Benitez and Lampard, and we're comfortably safe, IMO. The football is dogshit, but we've got the weakest squad I can ever remember Everton having.

Everyone bangs on about the run, but ignore how many good teams we played during it, ignore the fact it was all played under the cloud of the points deduction. Villa, City (2), Spurs (2), Arsenal, United, Newcastle. There were precious few gimmies during that fixture set.

We made the mistake of getting rid of Sam Allardyce because we believed that we were too big a club for that brand of pragmatic, percentage football. We've done precious little but deteriorate since then. I want better for Everton, both in results and a viewing experience. But until we're in the new stadium, and we have stable finances, I think we maybe need to stick with Sean Dyche (and I am well aware I've wavered recently on the guy).

My fear is that new owners, whoever and whenever, will seek to place their imprint on the club by appointing a ‘shiny, progressive new manager’ to take the club forward. More often than not such appointments prove disastrous.

Long may the belief and vision to keep this shooting from distance alive. Especially on Wednesday night.

More than over due, some luck, and today Everton got some.

But imho, Everton, have had sfa luck, this season, in terms of big descisions going Evertons way, on and off the pitch.

Good news about Beto, so now to beat Old Nick.

UTFTs!

I get your point and you are probably alluding to Moshiri's obsession with Silva.

We might need a coach who is new and shiny. We've done better with them if you compare Martinez and Silva to Allardyce, Ancelotti, Lampard, Benitez and Koeman.

I am cautious of us going out and getting what is perceived to be the next big thing but I have absolutely no idea of who selected who during the last decade?

Having Cannon and Simms as options would have been useful right?

Allardyce football would have eventually got us relegated.

Not sure we all want to watch that rubbish.

I'm surprised at people saying Harrison had a decent game. I thought he was dreadful. I've never seen someone run out of ideas so quickly – it's usually before the ball even gets to him.

There was a lot of good effort. And I'll stray from my usual position and say Dyche made a clear change in allowing McNeil to move to the centre for spells (he actually switched with Gomes at one point in the first half). As I keep on saying – any change at the moment is worth a go and we got a reward for this one.

Wednesday can't exactly be seen as a free hit, because it matters too much. But it's one where I'll give Dyche a bit of leeway.

If you mean “the hosts”, it's purely for variety's sake, rather than repeating Everton, the Blues, and the Toffees

Secondly - the fans. The fans, the fans, the fans. Oh... my... God... above. The fans did exactly what I was praying for: they lifted this team and willed them to win. It was glorious to watch, and the noise surely was deafening at Goodison because on the television they were raucous. Our fanbase is second to no one in the world. You could feel the energy through the tube, it was insane. To everyone who attended - Well fucking done!

Lastly, I'll leave it to another post...

**Please note politically correct persons should not read, the following will cause triggering and possible real harm

Nottingham Forest I hope and pray you go down. And not only go down, but whining and bitching about every little perceived slight in the most juvenile of ways go down. You are delusional. Your club is the sporting equivalent of a spoiled child brat with zero discipline from parents. Fuck off, I hope you die a slow relegation death.

Your "statement" to the world about the injustice of today's uncalled penalties is sickening.

First "penalty" — Your player dived. A 3-year-old girl wouldn't have gone down with that contact. I assume the player in question, who again cheated and dove like a fucking pristine swan, is indeed a lady? Because, the way he went down, he isn't a man and has zero masculinity, never mind an actual penis.

Second "penalty" — if that's a handball, then we should just stop playing the game. Young (who's shit) was what? A yard from your player? His arm is in a natural position and not extended out from his body and in fact the arm was literally in the process of moving towards Young's body. That is never, ever a handball penalty. Never. No intent, distance minimal to zero from the shot, stop calling for a penalty, you cheating twats.

Third "penalty" – again minimal contact! But... it was from behind so you actually do have a point with this one, Forest! For your sake, we'll give you one and attempt to bolster your "crooked officiating" argument. You win this one! Penalty (despite it being soft as fuck).

Fourth "penalty" — just fuck off. Seriously? Is that ever a penalty?

So, you feel aggrieved? It's not the quantity of penalty shouts, it's whether the play in question is actually a penalty! You got one to bitch about, the rest are delusional. You get one penalty, and you still lose 2-1 (assuming you actually convert said penalty). You know why? You didn't fucking score from open play!!!! Maybe do that next time before you lodge some insanity plea via social media?

I pray Burnley overtakes you, pulling off a few miraculous upsets, and you go down. You sicken me. You're a club that has no concept of being "aggrieved" and your players are cheats. You're delusional, and there's better clubs I prefer to stay up that go about their business and play the game ethically and don't whine about refs publicly, and claim conspiracy theories that simply are drawn from imagination.

Go down, don't come back.

Love,

Jamie Crowley

Adopted Yank Blue

Defender of a real game, not some girly shit-stink, we got fucked nonsense. Man up, you Forest twats.

Well done, Everton today!!!! Well done, the Fans!!!

Not home and hosed yet, but the mission of survival is almost complete. Everyone wants more but, with the points deductions and terrible officiating and terrible finishing for most of the season, it's been an outstanding body of work by the management team to my eyes. Making it work from a very compromising situation, on and off the pitch.
Getting more, from less. Amazing.

It ain't pretty, it ain't supposed to be. In this mess, we need effectiveness, which is what has been delivered, without moaning and whining. The manager just fronted up, got on with it and led from the front.

Given better stability, better resources, the sky is the limit for this manager to my eyes. I hope he and we get to the sunlit uplands that he and we deserve. UTFT. (And get well soon Beto, delighted he woke up to a deserved 3 points).

Part of that gave me a laugh, the comparison of Dyche to Ancelotti.

Maybe I've got it slightly out of context but Ancelotti walked away as Everton couldn't afford the type of players he wnted and may have been promised funds for such.

But I can't see Dyche ever having us near 2nd, was it – never mind resign over a broken promise or matter of principle.

So I feel a big chunk of luck is more than we deserve. On the other hand, if Ashley Old plays Wednesday, we are doomed.

A ‘knobbly monster' is tabloid newsroom slang for that tricky second reference in copy to your subject when you've already used the obvious or only word for it.

The term originated, so the story goes, in the late nineties or early 2000s when a quite possibly well-refreshed Sun hack was working on a sensational account of a fatal crocodile attack. By his fourth or fifth paragraph he was groping for an alternative way of describing his deadly protagonist. He settled on describing it as ‘a knobbly monster'. And a legend was born.

On the matter of penalties (and offsides), I'd prefer a handball to be given as a penalty for any hand/arm contact below the shoulder, and I'd like to see offside given only for a situation of clear intentional taking advantage by the attacker, namely daylight between the attacker and defender, “toenails” (likeCoventry yesterday) should nor decide matches.

Wednesday will of course be difficult, and Dyche will have to carefully shuffle his fit players into hopefully a very hard-to-beat unit. And just maybe we will sneak a goal from what has become a truly awful corner routine.

But hopes and smiles returned yesterday, football is a funny game.

That would continue his vendetta against us when he was stealing a living!

Expecting a Premier League player of his calibre to have at least one decent strike per game that makes the goalkeeper work to save it is not a big ask.

I would say it is the bare minimum he should be doing.

A bit rich, his drawing a salary from Forest for acting as refereeing consultant when there are people doing essential jobs on minimum wage. What does the guy do to actually “earn” his corn?

I used to have a soft spot for Forest but, like Jamie, I hope they go down and Burnley stay up. I think that they've embarrassed themselves.

And well done, Everton. Not there yet but our survival chances have improved considerably.

We're paying for a stadium. In terms of the playing side, we need to cut our cloth accordingly. With that in mind, I'd trust Sean Dyche to keep us afloat, rather than someone like Roberto Martinez or Marco Silva, as much as their football might be prettier.

I wouldn't trust either of those men to keep us in the Premier League with a squad as appallingly mediocre as ours.

We are short on resources and quality. This season and probably the next 2 seasons are all about survival. We need to reset our PSR clock. We need new owners that can run Everton well from a fiscal and operational perspective, and we need to transition into the new stadium.

All of that needs to occur whilst maintaining our Premier League status.

Dyche (and he frustrates me too) is the most able manager to guarantee survival across the next 2-3 years. He's doing a pretty decent (dare I say ‘good'?) job with limited resources, zero off-field support, and as the only Everton employee fronting up against all the pressures of this season.

He's proven he can win ‘must-win' high-pressure matches and has created a largely solid strong unit.

Yes, the football can be dire and obviously we all want more entertainment… but we're in a hole right now. Back the man trying to help us stabilise and who knows where we could go???

Come on, Evertonians, let's see it as it is and try to help the man.

And how great to actually bloody win with 2 super goals!!!

I wasn't advocating trying to bring back said coaches but I find it difficult that we cannot find a coach who might get a more melodic tune out of this set of players.

That said, when we are in this position after once having Carlo Ancelotti at the helm says a lot about the ridiculous running of the club since 2016.

Maybe you could give a thought to Ancelotti and the fact that he wouldn't have given a second thought to coming to Everton if we'd been in the position Everton were when Dyche took the job.

It might be worth you looking at John Rafferty's post @40 and see what you think of that, it makes a lot of sense to me.

Yeah, Dyche plays some fairly grotty football at times, but he's been given a hospital pass by the owners. Forced to bring in free (for now) players and sell two promising youngsters in Cannon & Simms.

Without the points deductions, we would be safe today with 5 games left. 5 games where you might get a chance to blood youngsters, try something different, think about next season etc. Instead he is denied that opportunity for probably two more games at least.

Injuries may have stripped him of his two first choice strikers, but he can't pick either of his more experienced young players because they are now under contract elsewhere.

I understand the criticism of Sean Dyche, but he's certainly not managing in the land of milk and honey, is he?

First two penalty shouts were soft, we've seen them given though. Third was definitely a penalty in my opinion, glad we got some luck. Didn't see anything that warranted a fourth penalty shout?

As for Dyche, he's done pretty well with meagre resources. We had a purple patch where we were creating chances for fun but couldn't put them away.

We are probably going to lose most of our squad this summer (anyone decent and lots out of contract?) and will have peanuts to replace them with, I doubt we'll find anyone more suited to the task than Dyche. We will likely need to give him our backing again.

You called it so right in the away fixture, so I have got to ask you, who starts at right-back on Wednesday?

As we all know, a few weeks prior to that game, Ashley Young got laced down our right flank in the first few minutes at Brentford, and got a yellow card in the process for a foul. I did say that, if he played at Anfield, he was a red card waiting to happen. Unfortunately, after 30 minutes he was making that slow walk back for the “early shower”.

As for Wednesday, I would put Ben Godfrey in at right-back. For a start, he has got a lot more pace than Young, which will be required against someone like Diaz, and, whilst not great at tackling, he is less prone to giving away free kicks, and penalties, like Ashley Young.

Should Ashley Young start, then there is only one man the RS will target.

"Should Ashley Young start, then there is only one man the RS will target."

Yes, Rob. Diagonal ball from TAA over Young. Goal or penalty.

The change by Dyche from suit and tie to tracksuit for the match was a considered tactical and cultural move.

Don't know what to make of that. It wasn't mentioned on the Live Forum that I spotted, and I didn't even notice while watching.

Apologies if I've duplicated, not read the thread yet.

As Peter Moore said @49, Dyche was dealt a pretty raw deal from the start in terms of not being made aware of all the facts. Add to that the mis-match of a squad he inherited too. Sometimes the football has been okay and others downright dire, but rarely 'get you off your seat' performances.

My biggest beef with him, and I know he has had few permutations, is sticking with a very poor group over and over, expecting different results. Add to that, the substitutions left till far too late, to make a jot of difference !

I do feel if any fingers are to be pointed, they should be at Thelwell — who has he brought in (with admittedly limited funds) that has proved to be any good, apart from James Garner? Beto is a willing enough player but not a Premier League one, and for £23M???

While on the subject of strikers, why does Calvert-Lewin, when he plays, mostly drift out wide, invariably wins the ball (right or left) with a cross played in to where he should be on the receiving end? Is that under instruction or his own volition?

Carlo got it spot on with Dom: stay in and around goal, and it paid dividends. Mind you, he had better players making crosses then.

Back to yesterday, I thought it was a much-improved performance from us, and not one I had envisaged to be honest. I know we had some luck for a change, but apart from 2 dubious penalty claims and a shot from Chris Wood, brilliantly saved by Pickford, they offered very little.

A win in our next game (who have we got ?) now confidence has been restored, and a result against Brentford, Dyche will have proved he is the best we could hope for in the present situation.

In the lead-up to the reverse fixture, you predicted that he, Young, would be targeted and be a problem. Given yesterday's events, it's a no-brainer that he will again be targeted should he start.

Godfrey to start and Everton to keep another clean sheet.

one wonders at what useful paid advice might be given to a club by an ex-referee, other than how to manipulate referees and VARs... or cause public argument in cases such as this.

A silly idea of a position, I'd say.

Patterson and Godfrey play like my Mrs drives without a sat-nav. Look at our results when they play. Neither would get a game at right-back for any other Premier League club

Seamus and Young may be fantastic professionals, but they have a combined age of around 73-74. It's disgraceful that a club of our standing is still relying on them to drag their old bodies through the rigours of a Premier League match. Unfortunately, needs must.

Of course they will be targeted. Does anybody really believe they don't know that? That they will have to log onto TW to learn they're slowing reflexes could be exposed? You have to play on the edge when your body starts to let you down.

One of them (probably Young) will definitely play right-back on Wednesday. How about we get behind whichever one it is instead of bleating about their inclusion? This is where we are right now.

We must have the only fans in the league who make excuses for our victories.

It says a lot about Forest if they are seeking ways of effectively 'cheating and fooling refs' in order to win games or gain points!

If they do go down, I don't think they will be missed too much!

Perhaps we should have raised at the time we did not want Clattenburg to referee the derby due to his cosy training sessions with the RS that summer. Of course, no bias there.

Opposition whining after the match. Happy days!

My headline would have been "Everton beat two-time European Champions in crucial relegation six-pointer", you know, just to rub it in a bit.

Jamie @48, "lodge some insanity plea via social media", brilliant!!

Naturally we won't expect the same luck against RS with officiating but we can hope.
Maybe Garner should play right-back, if not Godfrey.

Forest are miffed at losing and getting no penalties… but of course they hate the points deduction too.

Shit happens and we have taken a lot of it this season.

I think they will stay up with Luton destined for the drop.

But its clear Godfrey must come in for Young.

And what about his sending off of Tony Hibbert, having been instructed to do so by that worst of RS, Gerrard.

I must remember to take those blood pressure tablets...

I don't think that any new owners would automatically replace Dyche as isn't there only one more season on his contract? It matters little unless we get somebody who is an excellent coach as all new managers seem to want to bring in players they either "trust", have managed before, or feel will fit their preferred system.

Given our P&S position and the number of players out of contract, somebody said 21 which seems high, this season's end, I wonder how many might consider staying on much reduced wages, say £60-100k pw down to £25kpw, rather than uprooting family etc and given those around and over the age of 30, Coleman, Doucoure, Gomes, Gana, Young.

None of it is inspiring but, unless the upcoming review of P&S rules is draconian or there is a major improvement in our scouting department, I can't see much changing for us in the near future.

I think the squad when Ancelotti came was a lot better than the one Dyche inherited. He brought in Allan and Rodriguez. I don't think he bought Mina and Gray was bought by Benitez I think, Gordon was on the books and pretty raw until Benitez started playing him.

Maybe Carlo was kidded by what money was available and he had it in his contract that he could move if a good offer came in for him.

Dyche was the best available at the time and has done well, imo, with the state of the club on and off the field and he deserves another season after the trials and tribulations he has suffered, along with us, since he came.

With the news just in, who knows what will transpire? The football hasn't been great under Dyche but I understand it was the only way he could play really with limited squad he had, and Carlo's last half of his season wasn't really any better.

All he is doing is drawing more attention to himself which he could do without. He will get no marginal calls next day. Fool!

The guy spent a decent amount of money on players we took a bath on, he didn't really play youth (something for which Dyche constantly gets hammered), and despite his greatness, he finished tenth. He then fucked off at the first opportunity, and having fucked off, he then sued us.

Fuck Carlo. He's a fantastic manager. But the amount of money he spent on Allan and James (who cared and had so little professionalism that he didn't even know who we were playing), and the way he left us, leaves me with little respect for him or his tenure as manager.

Perhaps the PL will retrospectively decide to just give them the points instead of us (to guard against Forest "considering their options"), and dock us a further 12 points for serving tea and pies at a temperature close to that of the core of a nuclear reactor (to be distributed between the sly 6 as the PL sees fit).

Sorry, slipped back into conspiracy mode, difficult to climb out of that pit.

Sorry,

Do you think Ancelotti gets a positive review because he has won 25 trophies worldwide? Also the only manager to have won the league in all 5 of Europe's major leagues? Or maybe it's because he is the only manager to have won 4 Champions Leagues and may actually make it 5 this season.

So the question is what did he do while he was here, well he has the 3rd best win ratio of any Everton manager of 46.3% just behind Catterick on 46.5% and Kendall on 54.1%.

Also many saying how poor the squad is now just let's remember Carlo got that win ration playing Holgate, Godfrey and Keane as part of his regular back 4. I can't imagine how we would fayre with those 3 starting under Dyche.

Carlo's honeymoon period lasted longer than most but then he succumbed to financial constraints as those before and those after.

I liked him; he was nobody's fool but he was headed for Shit Street until Real Madrid rescued him.