Bright start descends into miserable farce

We can do this though, have to stay tight, hopefully the improved bench will keep the starting 11 on their toes. COYB.

Well done, Jenson Metcalfe. Hope he gets some minutes this season to help his development.

COYB.

Otherwise, it's the same old spots, but did we have three keepers to put there?

First home game of the season: handed the initiative to Brighton with our team selection.

Safety and caution first, so a bit disappointed with that but it's up to the guys, create the chances and we will win this!

Harrison — so inspiring.

Let's go with ‘Life is Bluetiful!' The steady eddies will keep it tight for 70 minutes and then the flair from the bench will be given a run-out and wrap up the points with a late flourish.
COYB / UTFT!

A half of tedious bollocks — only likely to improve when the subs come on — may be too late. I just do not understand the rationale.

Get Lindstrøm, Ndiaye, O'Brien and whoever else on. Brain-dead twats!!! I can't wait til the new lads are in the team…

Mitoma runs the length of the pitch, makes and scores the goal. But McNeil can't even score from 3 yards!!! Wankers!!!

Dyche was right to say the entire team is for sale!

He can't possibly come back out in the second half.

Shocking that we went one-nil down, isn't it?

We started by playing the long ball for a few minutes which came out to Harrison and stayed like that for almost the entire half. Iroegbunam apart, the midfield looked disjointed and I couldn't fathom why McNeil stayed so wide left instead of coming inside more often, especially when it was with Harrison.

The goal was a bit soft — almost as if a slow defence had been caught too far up the pitch — but I hope Mr Dyche has enough time at halftime to explain the offside rule to several of the players, Doucoure in particular.

It doesn't compute on any level.

New season. Same old shit.

Hang on, just on that Everton no-penalty...

It turns out there was a technical issue with the VAR screen so referee Simon Hooper wasn't able to see any replays. He overturned his decision on VAR's advice!

Calvert-Lewin wants more than £130k a week? Hilarious.

Harrison and the new guy were good in the first half.

Pretty much the worst start we could have made.

Based on what we're seeing, we can't afford to lose him.

And the words "Mason Holgate is being readied" are uttered…

Are we just not bothering?

Enough said.

Holgate on at home with 10 minutes left and 2-0 down? Your joking.

Creative players left on the bench whilst we watch the same shit who can't pass 5 yards. Get him out right now!

Long ball punt it into the corner rubbish. Complete humiliation.

You change a game when things aren't working but it's still winnable. That's not what happened here.

We just persisted with smashing the ball towards Harrison while Doucoure stood offside.

That was the plan, right?

They have a young inexperienced forward thinking manager.
We have a fucking fossil who couldn't organise a gang bang in a brothel.

Gonna be a long season.

Doucoure and Calvert-Lewin need to gain some awareness of what offside is, must have been off 10 times between them in the first half. McNeil was useless too. Very sobering way to start the season.

On the bright side, Harrison and (especially) Iroegbunam looked good in the first half.

Calvert-Lewin the main waste of space but not the only one out there. We are so far off, it's almost laughable.

Veteran players are expected to perform to their appropriate standards. Only the oft-derided Harrison and Keane did so. And the debut of Iroegbunam was all we could have hoped for.

Lindstrøm must be in the lineup for Gana next week. Perhaps Ndiaye for Doucoure. Tragically, Holgate will be at right-back. Sickening.

The same team and same start as last year. On top and should be taking the lead. Don't and pay the price. Carbon copy of last year.

Young and Coleman not up to it. No pace in the side. Up against one of the quickest and trickiest wingers in Mitoma and what happens? Bloody obvious.

Game crying out for Dixon to have a go, who must be one of the quickest players in the league. I'd rather a young kid be given a chance and make mistakes than a has-been who'll be hanging his boots soon.

Criminal from Dyche. 100% blame squarely on his shoulders. Have some balls, man.

Calvert-Lewin doesn't move anymore. Beto is shite but at least he tries. Doucoure is a waste of space. Is always offside and offers nothing.

McNeil is way off the pace and was all pre-season. Only one who gave a shit was Harrison, who did look bright pre-season.

I mean, Holgate… for fuck's sake — I am a better player than him and I'm 47 and my body is knackered!

I give up, I'm not doing this anymore!

We need at least a couple more in. But what's the point really, when Dyche continues to field Young, Keane, Holgate and leaves new signings on the bench?

Yes it's only the first game, but this isn't Dyche's first rodeo. We know what to expect. And it's invariably crap.

Difficult to see how this season is likely to be any better than the last two. I think we are in for a long hard season.

Well done, Tim - easily our best player. Harrison had a go too.

Hoof ball from the first minute and silly errors from experienced players.

Another long hard slog to try to get to the new ground still in the Premier League.

New season optimism has already evaporated.

Put your suit back on, Dyche.

The Iroegbunam - Onana swap, +$54M, was absolute genius. Skinned Villa clean on that one.

As for Young, he might be able to manage at left-back… but right-back against Mitoma?!

Gana, Tarkowski, Doucoure, Young were all atrocious, as was Dyche's game management when we went a goal down. His decision to bring on Holgate should have been accompanied by a laughter track over the tannoy.

Dyche surely has to change the team for Spurs; he will probably play a back three now.

Why play Keane, Young and Doucoure? All useless.

Why play 4-4-1-1 when you can play 3-5-1-1 just to fit Young and Doucoure in the team?

This was a disaster waiting to happen.

Get Gueye out the team. Terrible, terrible player. My dog could protect the defence better.

But at least the consensus seems to be that, as a manager, he is dog-shit. We can take some comfort in the consensus.

The failure to sign a right-back is criminal. It's going to be another long and joyless season. Spurs away next so we will still be bottom.

I was optimistic this morning… within 4 hours, Everton have destroyed that!!! I thought Brighton looked very good.

We've seen this 3-0 loss play out loads of times now, it's what happens. The first goal is the key.

There is a negativity and sense of entitlement about the club sometimes, we are lucky to be competing in this league, given the horrible errors that have been made.

Leaving early and booing players on day one, disgraceful. If you don't like what you see, don't go.

Personally, I think he will keep us up again but it won't be pretty. We clearly need cover at both full-back positions if Patterson isn't going to be given a decent run at right-back. Maybe Dixon can step up?

A sickening start to the new season admittedly, but a change of manager? Absolutely no chance.

I, along with many others no doubt, can only hope to see both Ndiaye and Lindstrøm in the line up next week. Things can only get better. Can't they!!?

Get him in the squad.

Dyche is a cunt who would rather repeatedly give old Ashley Young a game, than a young kid a chance. I'd rather see a young player make mistakes and learn, than that old man at right-back.

Another shite season of struggle with that arsehole at the helm. Que all the Dyche lovers now. Bring it on.

That was an absolute shambles from start to finish — and all down to Dyche.

Makes signings and only played... One, and that was by default because, if Garner would have been fit, he plays.

Only one player came out of that with any credit: Iroegbunam; the rest were atrocious.

And while I'm on, I've never seen a substitution empty a ground out like Holgate's — who, by the way, starts next week.

Thanks for ruining my weekend, boys.

Young! O'Brien had a good pre-season and gets totally ignored in place of Keane.

Then he brings deadhead Holgate on. Ndiaye and Lindstrøm surely need to start the next game.

Truly awful opening-day performance.

He won't — and that is why the stink of that show will linger for quite a while.

I still thought he should have tried to bring in Phillips, who would be an upgrade on Gueye, but Dyche said in his press conference that was never in his plans.

I can see Branthwaite reaching for his phone "Get me out of here!"

Such a disappointing start to a season.

Dyche has never changed in his career. He's a terrible stubborn manager.

Christy #55, I trust Thelwell completely, and I believe he will succeed in bringing in a right-back.

The straw that broke Dyche's back.

We're going nowhere fast with this horrible football.

Young is the Joe Biden of the Premier League — nowhere to be seen on the first goal and killed us with the red card. It must be frustrating for him knowing what his capabilities used to be.

I am a fan of Sean Dyche except for his use of substitutions. He doesn't put enough fresh legs on. At 2-0, go shit or bust. Give the new signings a run.

A simultaneous gut punch and reality check. I had one eye on the Ipswich match earlier, as we'll be down in the mud with them come May.

I still think the manager is the right man for the job. And I think we've done as well as we could reasonably have expected to in the transfer market.

You found something positive to comment, when today's game offered us nothing to enthuse about. If Thelwall can magic up an all-round full-back happy on either side, then we can rebalance our back line...

I can only repeat what others are saying though, what are Young, Keane and flipping Holgate doing in the first team?
Oh boy, here we go again Blues...

I believe Calvert-Lewin will leave before the end of the window. Beto is awful. So is the injured Chermiti. Not sure where the Onana money is but a new forward is needed.

What is needed more than anything though is a spine and a pair of bollocks for Dyche.

I've only seen him once, on TV in the preseason, but observers like Dave Abrahams know their stuff.

I'm an angry fan watching horrible football and a one-trick pony as a manager.

Have some balls, Dyche, and stop picking the same old same old with the same old results.

For us, we had a good start but nowhere near the finishing quality that Brighton have. The turning point was when Calvert-Lewin went down for the penalty claim. Watching in my living room, I was surprised that the penalty was given and it felt like Dom had gone down too easily.

I was unfortunately proven right. Lack of confidence from Dom is my conclusion. After that, it was a one-way street for Brighton. The mistakes from Gana and Young proved to be fatal.

The positives:

Tim Iroegbunam — looked looked good in the 1st half but faded badly later on.

Harrison — he kept running and was the only attacking outlet for us in the 1st half. I can see why Dyche plays him.

The others:

Young — you've got to feel sorry for him, the game has gotten faster and he is getting slower. Can't blame him for getting selected.

Keane and Tarkowski — just not the same as Branthwaite and Tarkowski.

Mykolenko — not his best game but kept trying.

McNeil — same as Mykolenko above.

Gana — his mistake apart, he was decent, but the lack of passing ability is a huge handicap.

Pickford — very iffy performance, got beaten 3 times on the same side.

Holgate — it wasn't nice for the camera to focus on one very angry individual who was mouthing obscenities when he came on. Sad to see a once decent player being mercilessly hounded by the home crowd. Hope he moves on for his own good.

Beto and Ndiaye — came on too late, and the 11 vs 10 situation clouded their performance.

Calvert-Lewin — he did not have a good game and, although I am a fan of his, I thought he chickened out of the goal-scoring opportunity. Poor!

Doucoure — had a really poor game and his flurry of offsides were the prime reason for the tide to turn in Brighton's favour after such a bright start.

So, where do we go from here?

I wanted desperately for us to sign Kalvin Phillips. It is too soon, in my opinion, for Tim Iroegbunam to be expected to be our midfield anchor. He needs someone experienced to guide him through — Gana and Doucoure are not those players.

But, we might have a solution in the squad — Dele Alli. If I were Dyche, I would do everything in my power to get him fit and playing. Even 50% of the Dele of old would bring a calmness to our play. He is the ideal player to replace Doucoure in the starting XI.

Secondly, the right-back position needs to be addressed urgently. Hopefully, we sign someone before the window closes… but, if not, get Garner fit and playing there. He did well in that do-or-die game against Bournemouth. And hopefully, Patterson will get fit again soon and play there.

Not the start I predicted and not what we all hoped for, but it is early days and Dyche won't panic, as he shouldn't. Let us hope the players turn things around for the club.

For what it's worth, I was very pleased with Keane today. His long diagonals out of the back were excellent.

We played very well for the first 30 to 35 minutes. They pulled a smash-and-grab goal against the run of play.

Mike Gaynes is right, this was down to individual player mistakes.

Sans one glaring thing for me.

Why in the hell do you put Holgate on? It's like a big "Fuck You" to all the fans. Unconscionable! Terrible sub that just took any positives from the game and soured them beyond repair in my opinion. Pissed me off to no end.

But it has to be said that the game was gone by then.

Yet the most important person, the manager, insists on playing him. It makes absolutely no sense.

You don't have to be a Dyche lover to think you're talking rubbish.

Dyche worked miracles last season under unprecedented circumstances. His line-ups and subs are often maddening and I ain't no lover, but people have short memories and, in my view, can't see the bigger picture.

Who was he supposed to play at right-back anyway? Not making full-backs a signing priority is odd, but that's not all Dyche.

One game and all the haters are out in force. Sad.

Brighton are still a quality side who tailed of last season when their manager made up his mind to leave long before the season finished.

Back to us: we'll be fine. Probably lose a few more than we win and some draws in there. Let's remember, half of this league is garbage. Dyche will still pull off results. Expect us to get between 45 and 50 points.

I think fan pressure really does need to start cranking up again and this time on Moshiri to move forward with selling the club. Taking over a year to sell the club is scandalous.

Zero alternatives.

The offside goal was 100% down to him, he's lucky it didn't count.

Holgate is a League Two player. He shouldn't even be on our bench. And to put him on is just inexplicable. What was Dyche's motivation to do so? Give literally anyone else minutes, for fuck's sake!

I admit it's focusing on something that wasn't ultimately game-changing, I just can't get over it. Terrible. It's stuff like that which turns fans against you. We can't afford to introduce avoidable bad mojo into the landscape this season!

Please, please no. Just no. Anyone else.

If that happens, I'll be distraught.

The only shining light was the lad from Villa.

We're fucked whilst we have Dyche as he won't change.

As with the first goal, Tarkowski was not alert to the danger on his shoulder. The guy came right down the middle and Tarkowski didn't run with him, just jogged back. Holgate tried to get over from his position to cover him but couldn't get there in time.

Tarkowski had his worst game since joining us. Hopefully it was just a one-off.

It's the only reason I can think of as to why he brought him on.

Michael Keane, who has basically been placed in football limbo this past 2 years, all of a sudden is a better choice than a central defender you started last week with?

Bringing Holgate on, another forgotten man and complete walking disaster area?

Is Dyche trying to make a point, I wonder, in saying:

"This is all I have at fullback, one old man that's fit, another old man that's never fit, and a Scottish lad that's made from glass!"

I'd have given the fans a huge boost by playing O'Brien, Ndiaye and Lindstrøm.

We know what we get from McNeil, Harrison, Young… honest hard work — but any type of attacking cohesion, any type of pace, guile, creativity is not even on the agenda.

Same disjointed attacking play, same isolated forward, same poor end product, same poor final passes.

We had a good purple patch around April where some of us felt quite optimistic but games like this, and most of last season, has had us scratching our heads at how inept we can be in so many aspects, from managerial decisions to simple basic footballing skills on the pitch.

Iroegbunam for Onana. Otherwise the usual and often inadequate suspects. Not a jot of progress despite purchasing two talented, hardworking and effective forward players.

And A Young Esq? Heaven help us. It looks like a very very long season ahead unless our esteemed and much lauded and vaunted manager pulls his head out of the sand and demonstrates some positivity and courage.

Play a back three. If he insists or believes that] Keane is a good player, then put him in a three with wing-backs.

Or better still. Instead of giving him another contract, sign any other available right-back.

Not sure if you watched pre-season but the best right-back was Roman Dixon and Dyche won't play him because of lack of experience.

I guarantee he will not make as many mistakes as Young. Of course he will start Holgate at right-back next week and it won't be good.

Unless Dyche goes three at the back -- which I consider very, very unlikely -- Holgate is the only possible starter at right-back next week. Every other possibility is suspended or injured.

Some here have speculated that O'Brien can play the position but I've been unable to find any evidence that he has ever done so.

I will have the same sick feeling at seeing Horrible on the pitch.

McNeil was anonymous and Harrison is the worst crosser of a ball I've ever seen. Young should go to a retirement home. Beto looked like he couldn't be arsed when he came on.

Dyche needs to take a good hard look at himself in the mirror; that team selection and game plan was so predictable. The cross-field pass from Tarkowski to Harrison is not working.

Speaks volumes that the ground looked like it did during Covid 10 minutes from time.

Pre-season is fine, and he's shown a little promise, but I thought he was a makeweight in a PSR loophole transfer. I certainly don't rate him as a regular starter at this level.

But he's dogshit, we all know it will end horrifically at Spurs with Holgate, except for the man who picks the team.

They had one real chance and scored. For their first, I don't feel that goes in if Branthwaite is there as he would have been closer to the goal than Keane to make the angle of the pass different — and Young didn't pick up the winger.

The VAR was laughable. Calvert-Lewin clearly stands on the outstretched boot of Dunk and his standing foot visibly slides half a yard. It's impossible to stay upright in that circumstance, you immediately lose your balance.

If you slide through a player, it's a foul — and you are effectively sliding under them. This is no different — and that changes the game completely. You could visibly see our heads drop immediately after that decision.

2nd goal is exactly what many are afraid of every time Gueye plays. He can have excellent games but is always prone to a stupid mistake. Again, Brighton were clinical where we would likely have missed.

The red card was inexcusable. I would have played Young today as we don't have another right-back option — but he's proved today that he just isn't up to it anymore — especially at full-back.

Hopefully Coleman is back for the next game or I dread to think what Dyche might do. Holgate might, unfortunately, be our only realistic option. I'd love to see Roman Dixon played, but if he plays in a weakened team and makes a couple of mistakes, that could be worse in the long run.

Tim Iroegbunam was our best player today.

You guarantee he'll make fewer mistakes? Guarantee?

A player who has never played in the Premier League, and in preseason looked very rapid but very naive?

Nobody wanted to see Young but most managers in that situation pick him over a kid with 0 minutes.

As I mentioned above, I have seen him only briefly on TV, but those here on TW who watch the U21s and have seen Dixon regularly are in unanimous agreement with Dyche on his lack of defensive experience.

Exciting but definitely not ready is the consensus.

Sadly, the line-up told everything. Shame the manager didn't get it.

Staying up is Success!!

He was asked about the ground being empty before the end. He said that's the reality at this club if you're not winning.

But yes, Young was his only choice today.

Young completely off the pace. Gueye and Tarkowski were also.

Calvert-Lewin and McNeil were completely anonymous. Doucoure very poor. No real bright spots at all.

The new guys should all start next week.

Maybe so but the mistakes of Young and Holgate are inexcusable. Dixon could have those mistakes in him but he also adds another dimension that the other two do not offer.

It is 90% likely we will lose next week so take a risk and play him. Young, Keane and Holgate are an immediate advantage to the opposition.

Get out of our club, you twat.

He did not make any in pre-season. That was what I was looking at.

He was our best player pre-season and our best player today bar none. Doucoure, on the other hand, is absolute pants every week. He gets less stick than Iwobi used to but countless attacks break down through him.

To me, he was pure garbage today but Young gets all the bile. Young is past it. Doucoure is poor. And he made at least as many mistakes.

He's got to go before it's too late, try and get Potter for god's sake.

Jobs for the boys. Typical of this club, bad management.

Mykolenko rarely gets beat so easily. I blame him more than Tarkowski because I wouldn't have expected Mykolenko to get beaten so easily either. No excuses for Tarkowski but I think, if you asked Mykolenko, he'd take all the blame.

Gana at fault for the second.

Ashley Young was our only option at right-back. He made a mistake trying to bring the ball down. Not many others but after the red card,we were done. Brighton hold the ball to well.

Most Premier League teams have people on the post so Jack wouldn't normally be offside and I'm still not sure it wasn't a penalty. Is that true Hooper never got to see the replay??

I was loving Holgate not coming on for 20 minutes but was furious we ended up bringing him on anyway. Anyone else!

Sadly, Michael Keane is like a quarterback and I haven't watched O'Brien but Branthwaite and Tarkowski can't hit diagonals like Keane. Shame he's an awful defender who isn't sure where to step next.

Does Doucoure know what offsides is??

Holgate, Keane, Young, Gueye, Beto, Patterson, McNeil, Harrison and Coleman are still here? How the fuck are they all still here?

Then he has a pop at the fans for not staying.

Seems player errors where the main Everton problem.

Pickford — poor kicking, and too easily beaten for the 2nd and 3rd. Why he is still here is a mystery.

Young — absolute liability. How you can go into a season with him as the only fit right-back reflects where the club is. You might get away with 5 minutes here or there, but 100 minutes of football he's going to get punished… and he did. 1 game ban, wish it was 4.

Mykolenko — skinned for the opener and no real quality through the game.

Keane — heart is in your mouth with him. No where near good enough for the Premier League.

Holgate — just amazing he got on the pitch. A terrible player on £70k a week. Again tells you everything about this club that he got on the pitch when he's so bad.

Tarkowski — picked up a yellow, and was plugging the gaps of a piss-poor back 4.

Gana — lost a lot of duels and short-range passing was wasteful. Gave away the second goal. Looks past it.

Iroegbunam — good footballer, but tired in the 2nd half and started giving it away.

Mcneil — lacks pace, quality, desire etc. I think he's terrible to play in a front 3 and contributed nothing, but stays on the pitch...

Harrison — probably his brightest game on the right, but final ball is poor.

Doucoure — gets forward, but is so limited. Constantly offside at 30-odd is just embarrassing.

Calvert-Lewin — robbed of a penalty with VARhaving no right to take it off him. Scraps of service, his body language said "What the fuck am I doing here?"

Dyche — poor. Team started bright enough, but end product is so lacking. Only one game but in for a long season if you're relying on Keane, Holgate, Gana, Doucoure, McNeil, Harrison and Young.

Young was about 40 metres behind his man for the first goal. His fault. He wasn't even on the TV screen.

I hope that he does not read this crap.

We're all in for another relegation battle. It's clear Dyche can't make brave decisions; he still hasn't learnt lessons from last season.

He can't set his team up, and his in-game decision-making is old school.

Holgate should not be playing at this level. He doesn't have the talent. It's that simple.

And Dyche putting him on is another thing that's entirely reasonable to bitch about.

McNeil offering very little, Doucoure atrocious. Young okay until the sending off but that says everything about him. Not even going to comment on Keane.

I thought Tim Iroegbunam did really well first half before falling off second half. But very Dyche-like — exactly the same as much of the dross last season.

Everton knowing they lack pace, creativity and cutting edge, neglect to sign a centre-forward and leave their pace and creativity on the bench.

Sean Dyche resets to his normal mode and goes with a centre-half who should have departed the club a season or two ago and puts an ageing pro against a pacey team, expecting a different outcome than the norm.

The one constant you can expect from Everton is an occasional capitulation, though less so last season. This one came early.

It's going to be a long and painful season with the oligarch's bagman dithering with his sale. Let's face it, Moshiri didn't make his fortune by virtue of his business acumen.

Welcome back. I miss the closed season

So the recruitment team couldn't identify a right-back (and a backup left-back for that matter) anywhere in the world, who could do a job? Instead of waiting round for Gnonto like a lovesick teenager, they should've been addressing the obvious flaws in the squad.

The knives are out for Dyche but I don't think the alternatives were obvious. O'Brien has just arrived and looked rusty vs Roma. Ndiaye would have been nice but Doucoure has historically had the running needed against opponents like Brighton. No options at right-back. Not saying I agree with the lineup but I don't see obvious mistakes.

An obvious mistake has been not recruiting a right-back. I've mentioned this several times over the summer and don't quite understand why everyone has been prioritizing a centre-midfielder or right-winger. We could use depth there too but we have no options at right-back who are up to scratch.

Early days but Tottenham away will be no picnic. We need Branthwaite back and hopefully a new right-back in the transfer market. The prospect of Holgate is not filling any of us with joy.

Dyche knows he has a season left; whoever buys us will not keep him on. He just needs to firefight and keep us up and his stock will remain high because of his ‘impossible' work environment. Moshiri won't sack him because he's not bothered and couldn't pay him off or be bothered to bring in anyone else.

Yet again, our support at Goodison will be needed to drag us over the line. Utter shambles.

One game in and it's toxic. After Spurs spank us, it will be really poisonous if we go behind next home v Bournemouth.

Hibbert should have been a local hero but was derided throughout his career and only towards the end of his days did Neville get anything other than stick.

Patterson is a kid thought well of in Scotland but is derided by speccies young and old alike down here whilst Young was doing his manager a favour today knowing he would be murdered at right-back — even before he got on the field.

Astute Evertonians, my arse! Ruthless observers and long-distance word warriors, more like!

We don't need reminding our manager was sacked by Burnley, and was out of work for months before Everton made their move for this limited, dated manager. He got nearly £3M being sacked by Alan Pace. He's a very lucky guy.

I don't want Calvert-Lewin to be guaranteed a start when he doesn't even want to stay, he looks lazy and predictable.

I don't want Ashley Young at our club, or Keane or Holgate.

I don't want Doucoure to keep running offside!

I want a manager who can do more than making players fit!

0-3 to Brighton… 0-3 to anyone at home is a bloody disgrace. It's bloody embarrassing!

Absolutely, completely fed up!

I think Coleman and Patterson are reasonable at right-back for another season. Unfortunately Coleman got injured so we're down to what I think is our third-choice right-back.

The problem I have is Dyche's apparent blind spot for Young. I didn't see the incident today but I've never seen such an experienced player make mistakes you'd expect from a 20-year-old. And it's exactly the reason the likes of Dyche, Moyes etc wouldn't play an inexperienced defender like Patterson.

I hope the club has warned players not to read TW for the sake of their mental health!

As for Dyche, I agree he is not the most inspiring manager but let's not forget he kept Burnley in the Premier League, ie, one or two tiers above their normal place, for a long time, and got another poor side (us) up to 12th (prior to points deductions) last season.

It's all very well saying sack him, but then what?

As for Patterson, he has not progressed and it seems clear Dyche does not trust him. He looks suspect defensively in the Premier League and so is a poor fit for a manager who wants to keep it tight.

I assumed right-back would be a priority position to reinforce this summer. Not doing so cost us today and may well cost us again.

Quite concerning really.

If our starting line-up is similar next week, then another 3-0 defeat will be looming down at Spurs!

I am totally disappointed and ashamed that we seem to be heading into a relegation fight again this season.

Our dip into the transfer market was disappointing and we are still saddled with deadwood that, if kept any longer, will help us start our own coal mine.

I was encouraged at first to see that we were signing young players; when oh when can we expect to see these grace the hallowed turf of the 'Old Lady'?

Thinking of my heath and age, I question whether I am prepared tp put myself through the same shite as the past 2/3 years.

10 games should be enough to decide whether I'm prepared to put up to this rubbish. I can think of umpteen other ways to make myself miserable. Ask the wife!!

It was by no means toxic towards the players during the game. The booing when Calvert-Lewin went off was because he was being taken off when we were 2-0 down.

If anything, the booing was directed at Dyche — and quite rightly in my opinion.

"DCL booed off".

No he wasn't.

Re Roman Dixon, watched him last season for the U21s and pre-season, and again last night at Southport. He's pacey going forward - but that's U21 level. And his defending is nothing at all to write home about. It's clutching at straws to suggest throwing him in against somebody like Mitoma — suicidal, for us and the lad's confidennce.

Last season, Dyche waited several games before starting Branthwaite — a mistake, I thought at the time, and we know how well he performed once he started games. I just hope now that Dyche quickly gets Ndiaye starting instead of Doucoure. And that we quickly get the injured players fit again.

Three at the back next week, with O'Brien starting?

Tim Iroegbunam looked very good in pre-season friendlies and certainly didn't disappoint today. Well done, lad.

I gave that info based on a fan report I read. If it's wrong, then apologies.

He's already draining the life and confidence out of Lindstrøm and Ndiaye. Clearly playing football is not a beep test, and no doubt they're both already wondering what the fuck they chose.

I'll assume O'Brien had an injury; if not, then using both Keane and Holgate ahead of him is sackable alone. My brain cannot process this decision.

Young is a horror show; if Dixon isn't ready to replace him, then find another 17- to 19-year-old who can… because he hasn't been Premier League quality since 2015.

Tarkowski had a horror show. I pray it's because his brain melted realising who was alongside him and was in flap mode because of it. However, thinking it's another “thanks for service and hope you stay for the squad”, ie, what should have been said to Doucoure a year and a bit ago after the Bournemouth goal.

Holgate sub was arl arse on him and can only be seen as a "Fuck You" to the fans. Calvert-Lewin getting brought off to boos was half “taking a striker off” and half “clearly you can't be arsed today and are just trying not to get injured to keep a chance of a move.”

All-in-all, another disaster of a day from a disaster of a club. It's not all on Dyche, the Moshiri reign is the reason we even have these players here. However, he is now another big part of the rot.

I never wanted Moyes back, but if he fancies it, do it now. At least he had the bottle to attack players who didn't perform on the pitch. PE manager Dyche doesn't concern himself with that. Only his bleep test seems to matter.

Mike Gaynes @34 “100% on the players.”

And the next post:

Phil Smith 35: “Criminal from Dyche. 100% blame squarely on his shoulders”.

You couldn't make it up!

With respect MG, how on earth can Dyche have zero — zero — blame for that today? He picks the team and sets it up. He has the opportunity to change things for the better as the game unfolds. He has a chance to take stock at half-time. He makes subs as and when he sees fit. He sees the players all week long. He now has the opportunity to learn from this travesty but let's see if he does.

Red card for Young. Not Dyche's fault. But Dyche picked him. He had no choice because of our right-back situation. Dyche has had all summer to address that with Thelwell.

Dyche had a massive hand in that disgusting performance — how could he not have done, he's the manager — and then he has the fucking cheek to have a poke at the fans.

There might not be a “consensus” MG, but you are in a small minority with that opinion. Is it a Yank thing!!! I think JC said something similar!

Onana making a tit of himself after the final whistle.

Kevin Molloy 48: “Leaving early and booing players on day one, disgraceful. If you don't like what you see, don't go.”

So easy for you to type that, Kevin, isn't it?

He's right, though, it's just Pickford hoofing it up and diagonals to players who cannot cross.

Mike Gaynes and Chris Sutton should go out for a drink. Sutton loves protecting managers.

We really miss Garner though. He will do well with Iroegbunam if Dyche has the intelligence to play them together.

Ndiaye needs to be starting as well.

We need a first-choice right-back brought in!!! Coleman should be a back-up now.

We need a cutting edge and Calvert-Lewin in isolation is not the answer? Maybe offer him as a swap for somebody, anybody? Simplify the game plan: 3 centre-backs and 2 wingbacks. 3 centre-midfielders and 2 up top.

The strikers need to be clinical and Calvert-Lewin has never been that. Lukaku on loan and the fella from Luton or throw whatever cash we gave at Tammy Abrahams.

Players looked tired in 2nd half. Is Dyche Day to blame? I think there were 2 this pre-season.

Dyche isn't going to change his 4-4-2 / 4-4-1-1 system at any stage. Ever. Everrrrrr. He might try a 3 or 5 at the back away to Spurs but, even if it does a job, he'll revert to type the first chance he gets.

So, why did we buy Lindstrøm and Ndiaye when neither will play the “track back” midfield roles that McNeil and Harrison currently shoehorn themselves into??

They're both attacking midfielders (or one is and the other a secondary striker). But Dyche likes Doucoure in that role… because he too puts in the yards that is Dyche's only real yardstick and metric (well, that and “experience in the Premier League”).

So, looking deeper, I think it's once again an issue with the DoF model and the selection of managers, not coaches. We've suffered it since the day Moshiri came in. Since the 4 x Number 10s days, it's been a disaster. It is continuing to be one.

This time, I can't see any depth in Dyche's preferred formation, nor any wingbacks that would allow Thelwell's 3-4-2-1 preferences. Maybe McNeil and Harrison could convert, but that's square pegs in round holes too.

It's a mess simply beyond compare. Almost a random squad.

Only hope for me is now to a) sack Dyche immediately and bring in a coach who believes in 3 or 5 at back and giving youth a go; or b) sack them both and bring in a manager who can identify their own players in January. Moyes, Potter, etc.

Inaction is suicide. This is the season where it turns for us, but the current situation means it's going to get worse before it gets better.

Calvert-Lewin was booed off unfortunately, hence the sarcastic applause.

They put together decent attacks with their two fast wingers, which eventually brought about a good goal. The signs were there.

Substitutions were needed at halftime. We signed a player in Ndiaye who, I am told, has guile. Such a skill was required. No change. I am truly puzzled why Sean Dyche would agree or sanction such player acquisition and not utilise him immediately.

Around the hour mark, Tim Iroegbunam, who had played well, looked like the plug had been pulled on him — I hope that is a sign of early season, and not why Villa thought fit to release him.

The last half hour or so was painful. Young's sending-off was perhaps the nap of the day. The team looked battered, the touchline looked battered, the crowd felt battered.

But you can't defend persisting with Doucoure after his first-half performance. It was a new low for him. It was as bad as I've seen him play — and I've criticised him practically every week.

Sending him back out was just dereliction of duty. A manager who doesn't make decisions — he selects safe players. And by 'safe', I mean 'safe' for him. Players who he can later argue are experienced enough not to be making these kind of mistakes.

So poor Young carries the can again. This isn't a one-off — every single week he makes a couple of catastrophic errors. The game has well passed him by. He might look decent for his age and be a total professional but father time is undefeated.

I've said it all along. Dyche is not a pragmatist. He's not courageous. And he certainly doesn't work miracles. I've seen him called all those things on here. I believe he's a coward who makes decisions that he believes have the least chance of blowing back on him.

People argue that results are not his fault because he's got a crap group of players... well I don't buy it. It's his job to impact players and games. He demonstrably doesn't do it.

There was a clear difference with the Holgate substitution. The boos started when he ran onto the pitch. The booing for Dominic started while he was running off.

The other explanation could be that the people booing didn't agree with the substitution… but how likely is that after his performance today?

Don't shoot the messenger, that's what happened.

Mykolenko is getting away with it. For the third goal, he was getting in the way of our centre-backs and you could drive a fleet of buses in the space on the right when they passed to Adringa.

Gueye was his usual self. Old, tired, missing in action. He is our central defensive midfielder, supposed to be protecting the defence, but whenever we concede he's never in the camera shot.

Keane seems to play without confidence.

Harrison seems to be too deep and looks like he needs to play more inside.

McNeil has one good game in about 6.

Doucoure hasn't played well for 2 years.

Even at 3 down, we still only had one forward on the pitch. There is a lie built up that Dyche plays 4-4-2. I think that has only ever happened once. He plays 4-1-4-1 or 4-5-1. Doucoure is played as a Number 10 and is terrible at it.

Brighton played with 2 wingers: Mitoma and Minteh plus 2 forwards Pedro and Welbeck. And they were playing away. Dyche schooled by a 31-year-old manager.

The last 2 weeks of the window will decide whether we stay up. If we don't sign a decent left-back and right-back plus another striker, then we will be playing Peterborough at home for the first game in the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

And it was never a penalty, just Calvert-Lewin finding a new way to fluff a chance in the box, standing on the defender instead of the usual passing it to the goalie. At least he was onside though!

Young is here because of his versatility, he can cover several positions. Godfrey was a better option for that backup role, unfortunately he wanted out (can't imagine why). Most everyone on here shit on him whenever he played.

So who was a better option to start at right-back today? Holgate? The match was lost by the time he came on anyway. Is it Dyche's fault that those are the options?

Where I will fault Dyche is persisting with Doucoure, McNeil, and Calvert-Lewin today when they were all terrible and he did have options available to replace them. Unlike at right-back.

Pete Mills, a great fella, who was sitting in the Main Stand said the exact opposite. There was polite applause and no booing.

It's certainly possible that a small but vocal contingent of booers were closer to the broadcaster's mics.

Holgate was definitely booed coming on, a mixture of booing Dyche's decision to send him on at 0-2 down and booing the player too.

I was in the Street End and there was booing from a sizable contingent when Calvert-Lewin went off.

Dyche will point towards the limitations on finances as something that hold us back. But he selected Keane and Young today. And flanked by a struggling Mykolenko who was targeted as a weak link and destroyed as such during the game.

Ashley Young is not a right-back. He operated there for a less-than-great Man Utd side on a makeshift basis, when he was not in his late 30s. It is a blessing in disguise that he is now banned from first-team action.

Both he and Keane are always on the edge of a disaster and when you play with both of them and a weak left-back in the defence, you are asking for trouble. Dyche asked for that trouble today — and found it.

Typical fucking skinhead.

I demand to know what was on that piece of paper!

20 Number 6 and a bottle of sherry?
Your horse finished fourth?
Will you come to my party?

On another matter, that announcer needs re-educating and that half-time "entertainment" with Bellew, Richards and the Yak was simply toe-curling.

Then Brighton started to play and our weaknesses were there for all to see. We have a slow ponderous defence, a useless attacking force, and a midfield with no-one to pass to because there is no movement and nobody wants the ball.

We have all been saying for a long time now we need a right-back, so we sell Ben Godfrey and replace him with a left-footed centre-back who wasn't even deemed to be better than Michael Keane.

We have also known for years that we need players who can score goals, so we bring in Ndiaye and Lindstrøm — and they can't even get a game.

We cannot score goals from open play. That was evident last season, so we continue with the same tactics and the same players. The players can't even pass to each other but insist on hoofing long balls to a "safe" area.

Something has to change before the window closes, even if we risk a points deduction. We need better quality players!!!!

People might say it's too early and negative to call for him to be sacked after one game, but tough. We sign 3 young pacy players but for some reason Dyche thinks Keane, McNeil and Doucoure are a better bet. Guess what? We lose 3-0 at home.

He's stubborn, tactically out of his depth and his substitutions are pathetic. Will we sack him? Of course we won't — we don't even have anyone running the club. It's a sorry state of affairs.

I've said he worked a miracle last season, in a colloquial sense. Having inherited the worst squad we've had in years, he dealt with complete turmoil off the pitch and we finished level on points with Brighton, save for the deductions.

Okay, not a Leicester winning the league miracle, but it defied all odds. Especially the run-in. He's a pragmatist and a bit stubborn, but he's not a coward. And people calling for his head after 1 game??? Probably the same folk who booed Calvert-Lewin (plenty of those in the Lower Gwladys).

The man is like an optimism quasher. Will never gamble and will never win.

He's a dinosaur manager in a tactical game. Mike Walker 2.0.

Needs to go asap.

Today was the first time I've thought I don't want Dyche as manager, but what's the alternative?

We have an owner who can't even sell the club. How is he a billionaire???

Both were signed as they had “experience” that Dinosaur Dyche likes.

This club will take years to recover from him.

Good enough to attract pretty much the top 5% of right-backs in Europe today.

I didn't think we should have been behind, and then that second goal really killed us, but the manager has got to learn very quickly that, if he's got players with ability on the bench, (I fuckin hope so!), then he's got to start using them, simply because we don't have enough ability out on the pitch.

If our main tactic is going to be the 50-yard diagonal ball, then we have got to find a player who has got the skill and the pace to beat his full-back; otherwise, it's going to be a very long and dull season.

I said that I thought Dyche will probably fall on a way, because I had a feeling he wouldn't start any of our new players. But, if he was trying to protect them (I don't know why?), he definitely never protected the young kid Tim Iroegbunam, who definitely needed replacing around the hour mark.

The reality of the fans leaving early is definitely not just an Evertonian phenomenon (30 years without a trophy and three relegation battles on the spin, is new territory, even for the very long-suffering and extremely loyal Evertonians) so instead of not really thinking it through, Dyche has got to think long and hard about why a lot of the fans left early.

Most people will have been unhappy with the team that the manager selected to start the game because most people will feel that we would be very lucky to stay up if this is the best team that our manager could have picked when he definitely had other options.

This club owes our Premier League status to him, at least in part. Renewing Young's contract and not signing a new right-back are baffling decisions, but not all down to Dyche anyway.

Starting Keane was indefensible, and his subs were pants, but calling for him to go after 1 game? You sound like a nutter on a phone-in.

We sign O'Brien from Lyon but he starts Keane, who wasn't good enough to play last season.

He signs a winger with pace in Lindstrøm, said he's not fit enough?

Doucoure played for over an hour, so poor; replaces him at 0-2.

And Calvert-Lewin isolated again and no crosses whatsoever.

Worrying times… I still don't understand, with all the headlines saying Dyche wanted Phillips, but he said no interest?

Onana, Stones, Lukuku etc were players you build good teams around.

You can't do much with poor players. Put Pep in charge and he wouldn't get a tune out of this lot.

But if we stick with him this season, we will go down. Unlike those previous seasons, we will not come back. Not for 15-20 years.

He is short-term gain, long-term pain. Jettison now and move on.

I have asked Ernie countless times to explain a bit more about some of the things he has said about Dyche, and never received an answer, mate. So now I just read some of his posts and think “That was a little bit contradictory, that, Ernie” and smile!

Ian Edwards made me smile because he has explained by some of his posts today that he his definitely a keyboard warrior. But I'm certain that Ian won't be the only fan who Dyche loses if he doesn't try and change track very soon.

There are few so thick as those who aim so low.

"A manager with the worst record in Premier League history of giving youth chances".

You are completely wrong, by the way. I will not comment on the irony of your last sentence.

But I don't believe he will cause lasting damage. He's trying to deal with the lasting damage of Kenwright and Moshiri. And you just can't get rid after one game. That's just pure bonkers.

How can a youthful, very fast, but defensively inexperienced full-back be worse than an old, slow defensively suspect full-back...???

You only pull them back when you know you can't catch them.

Learn from from experience?

Ian E always makes me smile. I think the day he stops calling for 2 up front, the world will stop turning.

I swear he just puts the same comment into AI and lets it re-word things. Weirdly though, I agreed with a lot of his long post...

Except for the bit about Gana. I thought he did okay, save for one howler.

He really must know now that the new signings must start. I hope Pete Mills is right because booing players off or on is what happens at clubs that are doomed and it is toxic.

I would suggest that the Spurs game is a chance to draw a line under today and start our season. Dyche is going nowhere unless he chooses to and — whatever everyone thinks of his stubbornness — he is our manager. He has got to make changes where possible.

Ernie, I have a lot of time for your posts but I think calling Dyche a coward is out of order.

Watching this had me feeling that we might have been even a little bit more potent if Dyche would have played two genuine forwards together?

Let Dave speak for himself because I've seen him a bunch of times.

While no 19-year-old defender is ever really ready, especially if he hasn't had a season of proper football in the Championship or League One, I'd much rather he play and make mistakes than watching Young or Coleman make the same mistakes over and over. They're done at this level.

You never know if a player is really ready to step up to this level until you play him. End of, mate.

How Dyche can defend any of that is beyond me. Holgate and Keane weren't the culprits but certainly on the list of symptoms from countless calamities past.

I'm actually a Dyche backer as I think he's worked wonders the last season or so, but today's showing was a quick march towards a pre-Christmas sacking.

As much as I think Ashley Young is a calamity, let's face it — the game was lost before the red card with that stinking second-half attitude. By far the worst performance on opening day, no excuses.

He had the new lads on the bench after impressing in pre-season. If you're ready, you're ready. I hate this "protecting the player" bollocks. Boys or men?

Down 2-0 and it was damage limitation!!! He was scared of losing 4-0 so shut up shop. He should have got O'Brien on and gone 3 at the back, all about attack!!

We are all paying customers via TV deals and merchandise etc. I'm a Dyche supporter and have been for a while but today was shitbag 101…

The absolute ginger twat thinks we are just a bigger Burnley and probably looks down on us Scousers. I fucking bet you!!! I can't wait for Textor to come in and go all Hollywood…

Also, today's result indeed shows how valuable Jarrad is and probably put another £10M on his price… Also, how can anyone say youth is an issue and that we should play more experienced players instead if available!!

Iroegbunam is 21 and was our best player today. Next week, we'll have Holgate at right-back against Hue-Ming Son down the Spurs left… Hahahahaha, get the popcorn out.

Young can fuck off along with Dyche.

If I was buying Everton FC, I would say to Dyche, "Fuck off to your 70s football tactic."

I'm 67 years of age and without going into detail, this is the worst manager with his head up his own arse, that blames the players.

Fucking Dyche out before it's too late... Now!!!

It's not weekend internet warriors just sounding off, the ground emptied before the whistle on our first game of the season. I cannot remember that happening ever in my life.

The persistance of selection of players who cannot create, cannot finish, and cannot defend, falls squarely on the manager. The lack of an offensive game plan and persistence in using players in Young, Coleman, Keane and Holgate is bad enough, but Gana, Doucoure, Harrison and McNeil as well, was surrendering any attacking initiative before a ball was kicked.

The crowd left because they were disgusted in what they saw. Dyche will not recover from this, but then neither will half the players.

One thing is certain: unless there is a radical change of approach, any goodwill towards Dyche will disappear completely long before Christmas.

Last season, we sat back and let teams have possession and nicked a corner or set play. Little creative play and a lone striker who you never fed. Despite the signings, it was an almost identical strategy made worse by injuries and age.

Memo to Sean Dyche: It isn't going to work this season. Shape up!

We watch the Africans Nations football, which is progressing further to great standards. Their knowledge of the game is possession of the ball on the ground and they are improving year by year.

I watch this clown of a manager who believes in getting the ball up top, as quick as possible, Hoofball. It's not the football that will get you success and the main thing, it's horrible to watch.

The deficiencies in the squad are glaringly obvious. On top of the cost of buying the club, it will take a significant amount of money to replenish the squad.

Second question: in the current circumstances, why would a quality player want to come to the club?

I felt sorry for Iroegbunam — he started very well but his body language as the game wore on seemed to indicate a lack of confidence in the players around him.

Third question: how long for Dyche?

Watching the first half was like watching a re-run of a series you have seen many times. There is an enduring sameness and predictability to the Dyche gameplan, integral to the Moshiri malaise.

The club, the fans and the few decent players we have left are all yearning for a change of direction…

Dyche, Thelwell, the squad, the fans and the media are labouring under almost impossible pressure to realise the truth of the catastrophe made by the pair of them. They only focus on our perpetual inadequacies in the latest match and, to be fair, that's all they have to be to reach their respective remit.

Kenwright and Moshiri are like Japanese knotweed in terms of the football integrity of our club.

They think or thought that merely lopping it off above ground would be sufficient to exonerate their gross incompetence, but endlessly disastrous "open-book" revelations to lord only knows how many prospective buyers over the past 25 (repeat, "25") years shows their stance to have been totally fatuous.

We're still fucked by them, this season, next season, and for seasons to come.

Dyche, Thelwell and whoever else in their back-up staff will be mega-rewarded when they're sacked, and so the cycle will continue.

It's the nature of virulent, self-serving, pernicious entities such as Japanese knotweed… and Kenwright, and Moshiri.

Isn't it?

We have very few players any other top club wants, especially given the fabulous salaries we're paying them, and our Academy has not produced one single player of first-team standard since Anthony Gordon made his debut 4 years ago.

That's what Japanese Knotweed does to decades-long previously fecund football clubs folks (and in decades past, the notion of mere "fecund" was anathema to the ambitious boardroom of our club... until Kenwright).

It'll take years to even begin to get rid of it, if ever.

Now people are talking about Moyes. His tactics are as bad as Dyche's and Big Sam's.

I don't think the boos were directed at Calvert-Lewin — it was at Dyche for taking off a striker when we needed two up front. In fact, I heard a ripple of applause for Dom.

I know Dyche saved us last season but that's his limit — even Burnley could see that.

I'm not sure what's happened with him but he's a shadow of the player to when Dyche first took over. One cross from him all game and nothing else.

Spot on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V85hDmdl81w

It's like he gave the fawning collectives questions ahead of time. An absolute sham. Not a single critical question in 18 minutes. Does the club select the reporters and questions?

"The open section", LOL.

Letting Dyche off the hook for the shite he created verges on the unforgivable.

With the exception of the close season, I'd be surprised if I haven't engaged with you. I'm always happy to discuss football with anyone who can preserve a bit of decency.

Andy 189,

I could soften that language. "Ultra Conservative" "Incredibly Risk Averse"... Ultimately I'd be saying the same thing. It's his job to make decisions and he consistently resists any decision that could potentially expose him to criticism if it goes wrong.

I don't see the miracle of survival. The bottom three (plus a few more) last season were dreadful and paid a fraction of what our squad was earning. Over the course of a season, we had the players to stay up, even allowing for points deductions.

I believe we become more and more 'pragmatic' (ie, anti-football shite) with every month under Dyche. He's now been here long enough to establish the idea that passing the football really isn't worth the risk. And I'm sure Gana got that lesson on Saturday. What was he thinking trying to move through midfield? Everyone else assumed he'd play it to Keane or Tarkowski to hit it long.

It's going to take a while to rid ourselves of that culture once he eventually goes.

Nope I'm still bloody fuming. I just can't get my head around that team selection yesterday, it was nothing but self-sabotage. I'm sure Dyche would sit me down and go through all the data he's got as to why he picked that team, but I still wouldn't agree.

Why wasn't Dixon on the bench? And I'm not having this "e's not experienced enough". How the hell are you supposed to get experience if you're not given the chance? It's cowardice at the highest level, play safe and hope something falls our way.

It's Spurs away next, so I don't expect any changes to the team apart from Holgate for Young. I'm already looking forward to the international break.

37 games to go. Let's not be too downhearted and hope that Dyche learns from his selection errors.

Most clubs would apply due diligence before appointing a new manger, but no, not Everton. Ask any Burnley fan what you get from Dyche, season after season, and this is precisely what we get. He baffles me, his attitude to football belongs in 1970s junior schools. He will always stick with the old guard — no matter how limited and past it they are — over, pace, flair, and youth.

We are stuck with him, and this football does not belong in the Premier League.

Push the opposition for the first 20 minutes; if we don't score, play for the draw. If we score, sit back. Don't use youth, why would we do that when we have the likes of Doucoure, Young and Holgate to steady the creaking ship?

The club is a farce, owned and run by idiots and managed by a man who has made millions by being negative.

Unless something is done to stop any rot setting in, the new stadium will have its first competitive game against the likes of West Brom, Preston etc.

I know it's only one game but Dyche not only can't pick a team to be competitive — he fails to make changes that may change the team, and in a timely fashion.

If you name youth on the bench, give them a chance, at 3-0 down at home, give a kid a chance! No, bring on Holgate.

One game really is enough to show that it's same old shit show from the manager and the team he picks; good debut for Tim Iroegbunam though.

The move to the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock is not going to repair this sinking ship. I would rather compensate Dyche his £5 million salary and not buy a right-back to give us a chance of winning a game and surviving.

And to cap it all, Dyche comments about the fans going early? He is lucky they turn up!

Holgate had less to do with yesterday's hammering than anybody, but he is taking more stick than any other defender.

Young made a schoolboy error but, let's face it, the game had already gone; for me, it was already a question of "How many?" By then, we were being run ragged all over the park.

Keane takes stick as well, but he played our best three passes of the match and was okay defensively.

The knives are already out for Calvert-Lewin. He was the only source of hope when we were taking the game to Brighton during the first half, but woe — and I mean woe! — betide him if he hasn't scored in the first three games.

We took a bit more of a chance yesterday. We committed more men forward trying to break down the Brighton wall with force rather than guile. Instead of having 10 men behind the ball, we were often down to 5-6 and Brighton gleefully exposed our woefully inadequate defending.

By getting more men forward, we were looking for our defenders to defend yesterday. Tarkowski, Mykolenko and Gana were totally exposed without mass cover. All of them were lamentable and they all cost us goals. Why are they not being criticised?

Why mask the reality of this defeat by blaming it on the best defender and the appearance of a guy who came on when the game was already up?

Oh, and if somebody doesn't explain the offside law to Doucoure and tell him that he has his boots on the wrong feet, we will continue to suffer.

We're a poor side. Doucoure and Tarkowski have previous for only ever being involved in dogfights. There is a very good reason for that. Anybody who didn't recognise we were in for an attritional season would have gotten a rude awakening yesterday.

We will be in survival mode until such times when we have proper owners and we can move to the promised land. Ignoring the rank performances of the lead roles in order to hammer the understudy who barely gets on isn't going to fix anything.

I actually felt sorry for Young yesterday, and Coleman's body is letting him down now. Dyche obviously doesn't trust Patterson's awareness and positional play, while Roman Dixon has some way to go (I like him though).

Harrison and McNeil should battle it out for a place on the left side and we should try to give Lindstrøm a shot on the right.

There were a few weak links (an inexperienced Iroegbunam, a too experienced Young) and some instances of bad luck (VAR calls) that cost us. Not much Dyche could do about either. Injured players returning should see those two sidelined in coming weeks.

It's a tough one to take, losing to a side managed by a 31-year-old. But we are rubbish, so games like yesterday's will be decided by fine margins like VAR calls and missed opportunities.

We just need to slog our way to 10 wins and we can carry on at the top table.

My own view is that, without Dyche, Everton would already be a Championship club, but yesterday should definitely be a massive learning curve for him regarding the culture of a lot of match-going Evertonians (I say 'match-going', because we were the ones who fucked off early yesterday) who just want to see their team play football and compete.

The club is fucked, the list of managers who have left Everton, and gone on to better things, tells me that things run a lot deeper than the manager, and until Moshiri sells us, the signs are very ominous for our club.

I thought we were the better team yesterday until Gueye took the completely wrong option and then Michael Keane compounded it by staying with the runner rather than trying to put pressure on the man with the ball.

But the lack of craft and our lack of pace out wide was very alarming, especially because we had a couple of players who allegedly possess both of these very important attributes sitting on the bench.

I think Thelwell is not fit for purpose. Coleman and Young should have been cut loose, they're on top player money that could have attracted some useable full-backs. Patterson and Mykolenko are on huge money and are abysmal. That's the worst set of full-backs I've ever seen.

Beto and Chermiti…that's a sackable offence on its own. We're stuck with Keane and Holgate, the Gueye contract should have been used elsewhere. Calvert-Lewin is a problem we can't get rid of.

It's all lazy, short-termism, it's incompetence and won't change until the club gets sold and we are run like a professional club — not a charitable donkey sanctuary.

Sentiment FC.

Most of the players had poor games, not just Keane and Young. Iroegbunam was probably our best player on the day, but even he almost cost us a goal after gifting Brighton the ball.

Patience will be key this season. Dyche will never get them playing attractive footy, but if the team can do enough to keep us above the relegation scrap (and I'm sure they will), that's enough for me.

My message to fellow Blues: don't expect to be entertained. If you don't like it, don't watch it.

Now you've got to think were these his choices to sign at all? The only tactic we had was the long diagonal ball to Harrison who lost it straight away and, while Dyche is in charge, you can't see anything changing.

After yesterday's performance, the likes of Calvert-Lewin and Branthwaite will be banging Dyche's door down looking to jump ship. This is on Dyche. His team selection and lack of substitutions are criminal.

I'm already looking to see if there are three worse teams to save us. I don't think there are. Failure to get in at least one full-back and extending the contracts of Young and Coleman is outrageous.

The stress levels of last season have returned. Is it worth it?

Yesterday morning, I posted that Mitoma would be our biggest threat and sadly so it transpired, he scored the first and was instrumental in Young being sent off.

I was thinking which of our players worry the opposition fans and I can't think of any of our players who would do that. Our wingers fail to create much and don't weigh in with goals; our main striker has struggled with injury and lack of goals for a couple of seasons, and Doucoure while a willing runner, is never a Number 10.

Seems we only have 2 ways of getting the ball forward: it's either a long diagonal ball from Tarkowski or Keane or Pickford launching one towards Calvert-Lewin and Doucoure. This football is so one-dimensional, it's really painful to watch.

So the same problems of lack of creativity and the ability to finish moves off are the same problems we have had for over a couple of seasons, I think our style of play and lack of real quality in the front 4 is still our biggest problem.

While Dyche deserves plaudits for keeping us in the Premier League despite points deductions, I don't see he has made many improvements.

Even Tarkowski said the other day he hoped that the attacking players we signed would help take pressure off the defenders having to keep clean sheets.

I listened to Dyche being interviewed after the match and he admitted Brighton were the better side; my worry is I don't think they are a very good side and will struggle when they play better teams.

Dyche was asked why he only started one of the 4 signings and his answer was rather vague suggesting lack of Premier League experience was one of the reasons. Well, Ndaiye, who impressed when he came on against Roma, had a full season in the Premier League with Sheffield United.

I think Ndiaye will have played more Premier League games than Iroebunam, who I thought was our best player but seemed to tire in the last 15 minutes, which is understandable.

I think there is a big difference of opinion between Dyche and Thelwell as Thelwell has signed lots of forwards since he has been here yet most of them get very little game time as opposed to Harrison and Young who are virtually ever-presents.

Also O'Brien has played most of the friendlies yet doesn't start, so I guess that makes him 3rd choice centre-back when Branthwaite is fit.

I think yesterday highlighted how much we miss Branthwaite not only for his very geed positional play but also his pace as Tarkowski and Keane are very pedestrian.

I don't know how we turn things round from yesterday's horror show, but changes in style and personnel are needed . But I am not sure Sean Dyche will change his style so let's hope it gives us the chance to go into BMD as a Premier League side.

I agree with most of what you say. We started the game pressing Brighton and I found myself thinking "Well done, Dych,e for having a go". Unfortunately, that press left our aging and slow defence seriously exposed when Brighton countered.

Changes were needed at half-time but we know Dyche never makes any before 60 minutes, by which time, the game was lost.

I'm sure the sight of Calvert-Lewin being withdrawn was taken as a clear signal that we had given up — hence a rapid emptying of Goodison 10 minutes before the end.

I expect the next batch of games will see us revert to last season's strategy of 11 men behind the ball and try and nick a goal at a set piece.

I'd like to see the other 2 new guys given a start but not holding my breath.

Totally gutted when catching the scoreline and more than somewhat depressed that the most optimistic comments on here seem to be that we lost the first three last season... before scrabbling our way over the subsequent 35 to survival.

Fundamental gaps in the squad, injury issues, players out of form, and an absence of quality means it's going to be a tough season again.

Problems run much deeper than Dyche. The backlash was predictable. He still has enough credit in the bank for me and is still the most likely to keep us up. We have one of the weakest and most unbalanced squads in the Premier League.

Our two centre-backs didn't work well together. The first goal against us was a turnover so there's a degree of acceptance the team were out of position but the gap between the two centre-backs was massive and Brighton took full advantage of the overload.

Young being sent off was harsh but being the last player and all that...

Pickford didn't look up to speed following his break and he probably would have saved one or two of the goals last season. Don't think he could have done a lot more though to be fair.

Had Doucoure or McNeil (I think it was) put the ball in the net early on, it would have been a different game.

We still need that striker!

I completely disagree on all counts. Mykolenko is solid, if not spectacular. Patterson, in my opinion, needs a long run in the team to improve. Chermiti is a talent that could become a top player for us. Finally, I personally think Thelwell has done the best he can with the hand he has been dealt.

Everyone to their own opinion of course. But some opinions are just beyond a joke.

Game 1: We get the farce of the ref going to the monitor and staring at a blank screen for over a minute only to then overrule the penalty.

At the match, we got a QR code on the big screen... we don't even get a signal at the game — how are we supposed to scan a QR code, for fuck's sake???

An hour later, West Ham get a soft penalty and no VAR intervention.

The game is well and truly gone, the same refs in the Championship let more go and act on their own instinct and the game is better for it.

Brighton went to the Bundesliga and plucked out a 31-year-old coach — a coach, by the way, who'll leave Dyche trailing in his wake.

There's coaches out there who'd easily get a tune out of our squad, coaches who would have remedied the troubled right-back position.

Not play an octogenarian who's an accident waiting to happen… and coaches who wouldn't leave the very ineffective McNeil on the pitch every single game.

So please spare me the "Dyche is doing a good job" routine, because believe me, he isn't — he's fucking stubborn beyond belief.

Mark my words, if we are in trouble after 10 games, we will playing the first season at the new stadium in the Championship, because you can only play Russian Roulette for a certain time…

So here we are a year later and once again, instead of picking O'Brien, he again makes the same mistake of picking Keane. We started the game with 5 outfield players over 30 years old. Young at 39 and Gueye at almost 35 well over. That has to change almost immediately.

All we can do is wait for the likes of Chermiti, Branthwaite, Patterson, Garner, to get fit and hopefully we will then start games with a much younger side.

In the meantime, we still have Lindstrøm, Ndiaye, Irogbunam, and O'Brien. So let's hope Dyche sees the error of picking so many older players and starts picking some of the younger ones available to him.

Plus there are still 13 days until the window closes. So Dyche and Thelwell still have time to get in some more players.

Disgusted.

Okay there were injured players unavailable but the starting eleven he picked are more like mid-table first division performers.

Sure they started quite brightly but, as like many games last season, it all went to pot. Midfield went pear-shaped and it just doesn't close down effectively.

When Everton attempt the high press, they just don't have the speed to put pressure on the defenders and in fact are the poorest side in the league at attempting this ploy.

On to Spurs now and will they rebound? It's highly unlikely.

And this is one of the main problems with Young playing at full-back, he's suspect defensively and is physically incapable of getting up and down the pitch. It's simply ridiculous to play him but, in fairness, Dyche didn't have much option yesterday given injuries and the inexperience of Dixon.

My issue was with the selection of Keane over O'Brien and Doucouré over Ndiaye. It was just dull, negative and oh so predictable.

We could have easily lined up with O'Brien, Iroegbunam, Ndiaye and Lindstrøm all in the starting 11 and it would have felt we had a new, young, pacey, exciting team.

They may have lost anyway, but I highly doubt it would have been as frustrating as yesterday turned out to be.

Anyway, we'll beat Spurs 1-nil with a goal from a set piece!!

"I'm already looking forward to the international break."

Why? Where are you off to? :-)

Agree though, Dyche needs a rocket up his ginger poo tube!

For the first 10 to 15 minutes, this did look possible, but for the lack of a natural goalscorer.

The one thing that amazes me is that Dyche must have been aware that the opposition has just spent the previous week preparing for this game and has ample recordings to study his tactical plan, and his game management, that can be studied from numerous previous games.

This showed up on the first goal when Brighton getting the ball in their own penalty area, 3 passes later Pickford was picking the ball out of his net.

Football, like many other sports, changes over the seasons with the main ideology being on tactical awareness of the opposition, that you have to plan against this.

Dyche's failure is he is set in his methods that have been proven successful in relegation struggles and he is unable to change.

To me, I think he is on borrowed time; that will only change if or when Everton become more stable in ownership and at boardroom level.

Even though I am still fuming at that display yesterday, I have to hope that our disgraceful owner sells up and gets well clear of Everton, and then we may see some positive progress.

Why do we not use our full quota of substitutions?

Why do we always wait until so late to do any?

Why do people still think Beto is the answer?

How come Brighton were allowed to take an age to take throw-ins, goal kicks, free kicks etc.

Why did their Keeper need to keep downing vast quantities of those sachet type energy drinks and litres of fluid? He had nothing to do all second half. He must have been as high as a kite last night!

Rant over!!

Any Manager who goes into the final year without a new contract being signed knows he'll be leaving. Where that leaves his commitment this season, I don't know…

The first time I saw Mykolenko, I was mortified, he was shocking, a complete dud. He has got marginally better than that but he's still below average even though he gets paid top dollar.

Patterson is the same although I had slightly higher hopes for him. Those two, plus over-the-hill liabilities Coleman and Young, are the worst 4 full-backs in any top- or second-level squad… in my opinion.

I never said Chermiti was useless, he has some potential but we don't have the time and money to waste on a punt. Beto was working at KFC not long ago, he looks like he's won a competition. Another substandard player we make a multi millionaire and can't get rid of.

They're all hiding behind our useless owner and the ‘difficult circumstances' but Thelwell and Dyche aren't helping.

"We get the farce of the ref going to the monitor and starring at a blank screen for over a minute only to then over rule the penalty."

Apparently he was looking at the replay on the second screen on the box on the floor.

Now it's Holgate vs Son next week! Let that sink in… is Cuco Martina still knocking about? Give Hibbo a game. Ashley Young has probably got 50 million quid in the bank. He doesn't give a flying FUCK!!!!

Having watched various highlights of the game again - Imagine a a numpty like Dunk being able to play out from the back !

ROB *222 We get the farce of the red going to theo
Not surprised that went wrong.
Theo is only 3 and a bit and was asleep in NZ at the time. I have taken his mother to task on this pont LOL, hopefully we can keep him awake for the next one

Play a 4-4-1-1 system and give Beto a run out too as DCL's head is elsewhere!...even if we lose verses the Spuds the travelling faithful won't be bored shitless and it'll be a team we can work on to improve matters as we strengthen (hopefully still) and our injured players get back into the fold.

This squad is the dregs of what couldn't be sold or given away 3 years on.

It is one of the worst squads in Evertons recent history. Right up there will HK3.

What sort of statement is that? "If you don'like it, don't watc h it"???

Too late! The majority of us have already shelled out hard-earned money for season tickets so we do have to watch it.

Reading between the lines, you're saying that the manager is beyond criticism. Well, I've got news for you — he isn't; he's a dinosaur whose tactics belong in a different era.

His arrogance of staying loyal to his favourites is downright stubborn. What manager would start McNeil every game and never bring him off, regardless of how he is playing?

What manager would play Young at every opportunity — just because he's his mate? What manager would play the clumsy Doucoure who offers nothing at all? Ditto Keane… and don't get me started on Holgate!

So please, Duncan, don't tell me not to watch it because I'm afraid the club is an integral part of my life and will be til the day I take the long sleep.

Everything then conspired against us and Young capitulated with a stupid mistake and decision.

Having said that, there are still players who do not belong at Everton and should have been moved on months ago. Having known where our squad was limited, it should have been addressed earlier in the transfer window.

Now, we have to make do until recruitment issues are addressed and scrape a team together for the Spurs game.

This is the second season on the trot that Dyche has not used the pre-season games to prepare. What are they for? Not to make the manager look great — it is to prepare the team to play together.

What is the sense of playing any player you are trying to sell (they have had 4 years to impress the managers)? These games are to assess the new talents in a team that will start (injuries allowing) on the first game of the season.

Across Stanley Park, Liverpool played their first pre-season game against a team in a much lower league than them and they lost but the opposition teams got stronger and better and they won all those games and their 1st game of the season. That is preparation.

Prior to the game against Brighton, it was obvious that a 39-year-old could not run faster than a 21-year-old for 90 minutes — probably not for even for 15 minutes of the first half. Yet Dyche said he had no choice… why? Because he did not prepare for this season.

He sold our fastest defender and one of our fastest attackers but he did not give even 10 minutes against Sheffield Utd or Arsenal for any 18-year-old to gain experience.

Those two games were worthless to us; winning both we would not have moved up the table.

So why play Keane and not O'Brien yesterday? Because Keane has Premier League experience… that is an insult to every Everton fan's intelligence.

One of Keane's last Premier League performances was a little game against a team called Chelsea which we lost 6 - 0 — even in that game, Dyche only used 4 subs.

So, while Keane has spent the majority of the season tapping the ball around Finch Farm, O'Brien has scored 4 goals in 22 games for a team that came 6th in La Ligue. O'Brien would have covered Mykolenko's mistakes and given Tarkowski more time to help Young.

To sum it up, Dyche played three players yesterday — Keane, Holgate and Calvert-Lewin — who he has told that he does not want them prior to the game.

Also, last season, Dyche stated publicly that Mykolenko and Patterson were not up to Premier League standards — that is terrible man-management. Have you ever heard any other manager say that about their players?

Dyche's Plan B is to wait until we go 2 goals down then bring on a sub. I have said before Coleman and Young cannot play a full 90-minute game and should only come on in the 2nd half of a game.

Even Klopp only brought on his old players in the 2nd half. I think he won a few things in his time… perhaps he knew something Dyche has not learnt yet.

Maybe Sean should get Fabian Hürzeler's email, he might give lessons.

Top marks to our current management team — they have not given Dyche an extension to his current contract.

'Put Pep in charge and he wouldn't get a tune out of this lot'. Sorry. Ridiculous.

But he might get a tune out of the players Dyche did not select. Dyche's tactics are horrendous. This is not a knee-jerk reaction — it was going on all last season.

He won't have the comfort of three shit teams below us because we are one of them.

We missed a big trick not getting Howe. Sean Dyche IMO has the safest job in football. We have no money and no-one in charge to get rid. Sad times.

We had Europes most successful manager and despite a good start, our wafer-thin squad faded leading to his "I'm not a magician" quote. Like most of our recent managers, operating with their hands tied.

That said, although many will point to a 10th-place finish (the table doesn't lie), we still could have qualified for Europe on the last day. But we faced Manchester City. Bugger!

Some accuse him of taking the money. Personally, I think he may have seen what was coming and got a call from Real Madrid. I wouldn't deny him that.

Maybe if he'd have stayed longer, he could have achieved something, but that would have required investment in better players. There's the problem.

The managers you mention would need several seasons. It took Klopp about 3 before they started challenging and that was at a better starting point than any recent Everton manager.

If it's a 0-1 lost, the manager might still stick with the same setup. Surely 0-3 will force the manger to make some changes. Hopefully we got a bounce from this.

So I don't agree with your comment that any of us us could get a tune out of them. But they aren't a bad team if we play the new players and we we play more on the front foot.