Everton achieve the impossible, squandering another two-goal lead

Can he not see he's a fucking liability — a disaster waiting to happen?

You cannot be serious!!

I am beginning to wonder if he is trying to orchestrate the sack and a huge obscene payoff so that he can play more golf.

This was a free hit for him to give Dixon or Garner a runout at right-back. Keane and Tarkowski have the worst record as a centre-back pairing.

Let's hope for the best.

Does that mean it's doubtful Alli will be included this season or are there ways around it if he's a free agent etc.

Will Dino Dyche ever learn???

We need 3 points asap.

My concern is when and who the subs will be.

He can't be included in the squad list as he's not an Everton player. That won't stop him playing should the club decide to give him a contract though.

I still don't understand why he plays two in midfield, where we've been overrun. Harrison should have been benched for Garner in my opinion.

Get a few bob on Young to get carded.

I appreciate he's currently not contracted to the club. I hhink I was trying to work out how he could be included if he was offered a contract later as the squad has been submitted?

But I suppose it's down to the number of younger players or homegrown ones included which allows us to bump up the numbers or something like that.

Try to understand every word.

Just get in his headspace and feel something that might pass for empathy toward him. I want to be positive and constructive. Enough of these negative vibes.

George... George, wherefore art thou, Oh cosmic one?

Lot of challenges, still is. Good mood, 87 minutes... must keep that focus, standard of play.

Strong performance, Young to slot in, experienced, and put in a performance.

Iroegbunam, needs to learn but going well at the moment.

Yeah, Sean... What a guy! You seem to have the zeitgeist well in hand.

I love you, Sean. Go do it for the Blues!

If O'Brien were there, it would have been cleared.

Pickford for me doesn't look fit.

The Ginger twat.

Pickford was covering the near post when the ball was clipped over to the back post.

We fought for a foothold in the game and have looked dangerous on occasion. The next goal, of course, will be very important as to how the rest of the game progresses.

Defence and injuries are obviously a massive headache now, is it worth switching to 3 at the back with Garner and McNeil as wing-backs? Dwight has had a very good game again so far, was amused to see the calls for him to be dropped prior to the match.

I also think that this Ref has not given us much with a couple of soft yellows and a few free kicks which I think he just gave the wrong way. So far, so good.

Woeful defending. He just looks lost wherever on the pitch he is. Just why is he selected?

We can blame the player but why is the manager selecting him with a better option available?

Just accept guys that he isn't as bad as you all want him to be.

Now Michael Keane, that's another matter completely!

How on earth did he avoid heading it clear?

COYB…

He is so tricky with his quick feet and pace.

Firstly, Digne had acres of space to put in the cross. Now a decent goalkeeper would have claimed the ball, but not the coward. Then Keane ends up with his back to Watkins. Absolutely attrocious defending!

This game is going to be an action reply from 2 weeks ago!

Again on the manager and his setup.

Villa were cutting us apart around the centre-back pairing all evening.

Different season but same shit.

At least Dyche saw it.

We need to push on.

How are we going to defend when we let the other team have the ball?

Get Garner off and Dixon on.

Don't see it happening though.

Utter fuckin' crap.

Calvert-Lewin nearly scored again!

It's the weak weak defense.

I mean, how the fuck are we going to get the ball when one player presses and the others fall back??

Pressing has to be done simultaneously from several players. It seems that we have a serious problem with that.

Difficult to argue with the dirty spitter.

Why Dyche won't play a natural right-back Dixon, and three in midfield, where we're completely overrun, is totally unreal.

We have become Burnley of old, he's tactically clueless.

He's totally clueless.

Do the honourable thing and walk.

What kind of manager can't tactically protect a 2-goal lead 2 games in a row?

Calvert-Lewin has two golden chances and makes a mess of both. You could say he was unlucky on the second but there can be no excuse for the pig's arse he made of the first with all the time in the world and only looked like he would mess it up.

The other week I said that the offside rule should be explained to our attack especially Doucoure but the same should be said for Villa's second. If an attacker wants to run passed you and your the last defender then let him go. And for the whole game Tarkowski never seemed to be marking anyone, just backing off to add to his blocking record.

There's something in there but we need to use more nouse, more knowhow.

Oh, and my Everton play in blue shirts.

Sorry, Dyche, you just don't have the smarts to rally this team into a tight confident unit and the inclusion of Young again is a total mystery.

The numbers signify a totally inept team who are fast becoming a joke, if not already.

Leicester must be rubbing their hands at playing us next.

Keane and Young should be in the Championship but are starting players. Depressing.

2 in midfield is just too easy for sides who keep the ball well; we are terrible at defending crosses.

The players look like they have given up, they know, we know, every opposition knows these tactics don't work… it's 2024 — not 1974.

Even at 2-0, Villa knew they still had us. No composure. No belief. No hope!!!

And now he's out to prove it.

But, if the team keep their nerve and we are able to get a result against Leicester, then I don’t think we have a bad team. Obviously missing Branthwaite and 2 regular full backs for a team of Everton’s resources will hit us hard. If.. if.. if… Calvert-Lewin had taken one of his 2 clear chances, if…. Keane had not been so easily bullied by Watkins for the 1st goal, and that goal by Duran … I mean, that could be a contender for Goal of the Season. Just to comment on some of the newcomers:

Mangala - I thought looked sharp

Lindstrom - also did quite well cutting to the byelines

O’Brien had a couple of ropey moments and it will take him some time to settle into this league.

It is hard to take these 2 defeats, and Dyche needs to turn things around quickly, but I do honestly believe that there is a good team in there. We need a bit of luck also to make it happen.

Why doesn't Dyche just put himself on the team sheet? Along with Moshiri.

How on earth we created so many gilt-edged chances in this game is a mystery, because we certainly can't play football to the required standard. The players have no idea how to tackle and they leave decent opposition players oceans of space to do what they want with the ball.

I'm more annoyed about today's outcome than I was for the Bournemouth collapse. There's no leadership on or off the pitch, too many ageing players unable to do basic things, and a complete lack of will to win, or at least the will to protect a point or three.

I'd offer nobody currently in the squad or managing who has been here for longer than 18 months to 2 years an extension to their contracts and allow all of them to leave at the earliest opportunity.

Fortunately it's relatively early in the season, but the longer we continue to play the way we are, the less chance we have of visiting Villa Park for a league game next season.

I'm one of Pickford's greatest defenders, but I think he needs dropping and try and get his head sorted out, because he isn't helping at the minute.

I bet everyone knew we'd get no points as soon as Villa scored their first goal. Even then, Dominic should have scored to make it 3-1, but that would have been extremely flattering given the overall performance.

Ah well Saints on Tuesday, followed by an awkward trip to Leicester City.

Moshiri will not fire him; Textor can't… so who can?

Whatever way you look at that, there can be no excuse from anyone, management or players.

It is absolutely shocking. This squad is, and we have been for years, mentally fragile. The last 2 games 2 up and lose both? Incredible!

I really don't know where we go from here. Everyone will be looking forward to playing us that's for sure. A disgrace.

I was worried about Ashley Young but he wasn't calamitous. Would young Dixon have been worse? I'm not convinced he would have.

Some decent chances not converted at 2-2 and their last is a genuine goal of the season contender.

We are unlikely to finish stronger in games than clubs like Villa, especially when they have largely controlled possession.

Manager made decently timed subs today, but the odds were always against it meaning as much today. He handled this game better than the Bournemouth game but the Bournemouth game was the genuine opportunity for points.

4 bad results but enough in the last 2 games for us to be okay as long as the manager keeps all his squad involved.

Tactics, inept plan, or Plan B. Predictable football, amateurish tactics.

I'm in the Out camp as well. We can't carry on like this.

Even the so-called smaller clubs have realised the game has evolved. If he stays, we start at the new stadium in the Championship.

Dyche has to change his own mindset and that of the team, to realise that it's sometimes better to take the game to the opposition rather than sit back and invite pressure.

Not sure he can do it.

Carragher, who I believe still wants us to do well, reckons we play away games like a non-league team away to the big boys – I agree.

The football is non-existent, no possession at all, bypassing the midfield to Calvert-Lewin must be devastating for Ndiaye, who can play football, and Lindstrom.

This team can play and are better than Dyche. Get rid please.

If I supported any other club, I would be crying with laughter at our expense. Still, if you are going to be a laughing stock, make sure it costs millions and millions to get there.

I used to see the new ground from the job I recently left. Thank god. The thought of a Championship relegation battle there is too much.

It's taken me decades to realise life is too short for wasting time on this overpriced crap, managed and played by talentless money grabbers.

"But loyalty, Ged!"

Sod it!

If we are honest, some of those unexpected victories we got last season were as much down to lady luck as to our own dogged performances and it looks as if that luck has turned the other way and the goals are flying in from all directions against us. Dyche will probably argue that, over a season, those goals aren't conceded so regularly when you have luck on your side.

I personally hate the fact that Everton should have to rely at all on lady luck. I want us to do the right things on the pitch, pick up good habits, and carry things forward from game to game. That I'm afraid isn't going to happen under Dyche and what is it a dozen or more league games on the road without a victory? Five Premier League losses on the trot, since our five-game unbeaten run at the back end of last season.

If we can't now hold on to 2-goal leads and are conceding over 3 a game, why persist with him?

"We have done well with the game-plan."

Gorra laugh!

Why didn't he bring on a natural fullback? Why didn't he shore up the midfield and take Harrison off? And Keane and Young again.

Dyche has to take the blame.

Villa weren't that great today, but we handed the ball back to them every single time. Whilst the defence was hapless and hopeless, if you cannot control any aspect of the game, you simply hand the initiative back to your opponent on a plate.

For this reason, he has to go before the situation is totally irreversible.

Letting us start the season with no real fullback cover is unforgiveable by the manager and the DoF.

Can't change, won't change, is this manager's mantra. Losing our Premier League position would be a disaster… change it now.

Tielemans sat in centre midfield and dictated play. Tim and Gana sat deep to cover but didn't create. Calvert-Lewin was superb but should have scored 3 if not 4 goals. Lindstrom looks good and O'Brien needs games.

Our defence, especially dealing with high balls, is pathetic and Pickford needs to sort them and himself out quickly. Southall would take the attacker, defender and ball at one go – how an international goalie can hold his head up when simple goals are conceded and the same errors of poor positioning and poor marking occur every game is shameful.

We are scoring, we are creating, but we need to go back to school to learn how to defend. The press will have a field day but this was very different to last week. But we need points before this sinks us.

There seems to be no leadership on or off the field at the moment.

I feel for the travelling supporters; it's hard enough getting up in the middle of the night to watch what was another inevitable defeat.

Worrying times at Everton Football Club.

I'd have Moyes back and we can find £8M.

I don't give a fuck who we get, this fella is fuckin awful.

They looked anxious from the start. Incapable of winning almost. That is 100% per cent down to the manager.

This is the Premier League; even players playing 10% below capacity on a collective basis will result in defeats.

We need a new manager bounce to restore confidence levels.

Kasper Hjulmand

I'm sick of the argument that surrounds most of our managers, at some point, in their Everton tenure.

Who will replace him? Think of the money it will cost.

The club/owner will not baulk at the cost of compensation if the upside is preserving the club's top-flight status. There will be people who would happily manage Everton; whether they'd be the right choice or not, is on those who are responsible for such things.

As it happens, I don't believe that Dyche's position will be in any danger until a takeover is finally completed, or he oversees a stunning 12-game losing run. Both possible, but probably unlikely to happen this side of Christmas.

Absolute dud, who earns a fortune.

Possibly not what you were after:

What is the Harrison Assessment Test?

The Harrison Assessment Test is a psychological assessment relevant to job specific behavior that is well known for effectively predicting job success, retention and employee engagement. It has the following qualities:

Measures 175 talent factors
Is administered in 25 minutes only
Takes into consideration both employer and employee expectations
Uses Paradox Technology

For me, Dyche is going to have to yield 4 points out of Leicester, Palace and Newcastle. Failure to yield those points and it gives Thewell and Chong the next international break to bring someone else in.

They'll have no option but to make that change. I suspect Brianthwaite coming straight back in will be key as to whether Dyche stays or goes.

Every Villa attack looked threatening and playing through our defence looked so easy. We are, to all intents and purposes, managerless. He has to go.

I told my son not to tell me the score as I wanted to enjoy the evening and, at that time, I was happy.

The dozy twat told me just as drinks were arriving that it was 3-2 and I went into my cave. The wife had a go at me and I replied that she hadn't a fucking clue how I was feeling.

A good night out almost spoiled until I realised they just aren't fucking worth it. It's taken me 55 years to realise that.

Fuck off, Dyche… fuck off now!

Exactly!

David Moyes until the end of the season. He's a miles better Manager.

£8 million to pay this shower off is small change to staying in the Premier League, anyhow how do you know we don't have it?

We leave this to Christmas and we are gone.

5 wins out of 25. Every week it's a different reason for the loss but we are haemorrhaging goals.

It's that simple.

This manager can't and won't learn, he's stubborn, arrogant, and actually quite strikes me as being a bit of a bully.

His in-game management is atrocious. I'd love someone on here to name me another side who have lost 2 on the spin after being 2 up in both games. There probably isn't one… well, there is now.

Surely this clown can't be allowed to continue as manager? If he is, we are in big trouble.

I've been hammering on here for weeks we've got a decent, not great squad of players that a good young coach would love to try his hand with.

Who that may be, I'm not sure… but now is the time to gamble or,, as someone earlier in the thread said, we'll be playing at the new stadium in the Championship.

Yes, it's that bad.

100%

But the longer Dyche is in charge, it will get worse.

He's always been a streaky manager but he needs a good streak sooner rather than later. Leicester, Palace, Newcastle and Ipswich next in the league. Think Dyche needs to get at least 6+ points from them or else whoever is making the decisions may have their hands forced.

Vital, absolutely vital that we now take points from those.

The sooner someone new comes in and shows belief in the players, the less ground we will have to claw back.

Otherwise, it'll be backs to the wall in every game. And they don't have the bottle for that.

How long now have we been dining out on shit sandwiches? Still, we're nearly a good team. Not that this is going to happen here but we all remember Howard Kendall's team not getting the run of the green for the longest time before it suddenly changed.

I still think we're going to have a good season. Once we get that break, and get Branthwaite back, I think we'll be fine.

Something has to change, and very very soon, or we'll get deeper in a rut with no escape.

If something or someone is not working, change it or him asap.

We were never particularly good in this one. But then we were playing against a better side.

Only the second time ever in Premier League history that a club has given up two-goal leads in successive games (other was Bournemouth).

Whether that's a preparation thing or just him remains to be seen.

Based on this, I would suggest we're the shittest team in Premier League history – still not relegated, but clearly the shittest due to our incredible ability to be total shite but somehow managing to stay in the division.

Love your optimism, god I hope you're right but in the meantime.

Dyche out!!!

Only three times during Dyche's reign have we conceded and won a league game, at Brighton (5-1), at Brentford (3-1) and of course the aforementioned Palace (3-2). All of the league games won at Goodison, during Dyche's tenure, have been aided by a clean-sheet.

I don't know if that proves anything at all, but it's a strange quirk of Dyche's management.

All criminal and many managers have been sacked for much, much less.

The sooner we can get someone in to put a bandaid on this the better.

Zero composure and he should have passed the fucking ball to Ndayie for a tap in.

He does a lot of running, has decent hold-up play but is a jigsaw in the box - he has to accept a huge part in this defeat today was down to him.

The only thing I enjoyed about today was seeing the very overrated Onana being subbed – how the fuck did we get £50M for him, his badge slapping at the end also shows what he is all about.

He already has Oliver.

That's down to the manager.

I very much doubt it.

Iroegbunam was poor today and I still maintain that, if he had started with Mangala, Gana and Iroegbunam in midfield, with Garner at right-back, we would not have lost this game.

I'm afraid Sean Dyche's team selection and tactics are going to end his tenure.

Small consolation but it's only 13 conceded so far. Perhaps you counted the fourth 'goal' scored by Bournemouth which was ruled out for offside.

I don't know how far back I'll have to dig to see the last time Everton conceded 3 or more goals in four consecutive league games though.

But that's not really a significant fact tbf. We are (and this surprised me) one of only six clubs who are ever present in the Premier League.

So basically, given the number of games played, we are sixth in a mini league of Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool and Spurs.

Yeah, we've lost more Premier League games than Luton, Brighton, Leicester etc, but it's not surprising really given we've played more games than them.

We're still shite though – I'm not making myself feel better.

Bournemouth as well, apparently.

Keane can't start next game. Not in a 2 anyway.

Dyche has no get-out and he's too stubborn to change anything.

We feel like his Burnley side towards the end of his tenure there.

The thing is, this team can play, they just have too many tired old defenders – Keane, Young, Coleman, Tarkowski looks cooked, Gueye as a defensive midfielder is looking past it too now.

We miss Branthwaite big time.

What the hell has happened to Everton these last few years???

I don't quite know what to think about Branthwaite as saviour without whom "we are lost". A baker's dozen goals conceded in four games speaks volumes. But a good number of them have come from very poor closing down by full-backs (two more today).

Branthwaite will not be some sort of knight in shining armour. He might be our best central defender but he still has a lot to learn. He alone can hardly be the solution as some seem to suggest. And if Tarkowski does eventually miss a game or two through what looks like an injury that he carries from one game to the next, well ...

Branthwaite/Keane or Branthwaite/O'Brien does not flood me with confidence especially with our never-ending full-back dilemmas.

You’re right. Young was a LW in his prime now he’s RB at 40! Then a midfielder on the other flank. Myko is not great and starting to rival Patterson who’s no good and Coleman who’s past it for time in the injury room. Branthwaite can’t solve those two massive problems

Coleman - unlikely to play too many consecutive games due to his age and how that usually prevents quick resolutions to any injuries he may suffer.

Young - similar to Coleman, but doesn't positively impact games as much as the Irishman.

Patterson - Relatively young but already suffers from a lot of injuries, and is he really that good?

Mykolenko - has had some decent performances in his time with Everton, but seems to have been 'off' his game for quite some time, perhaps, he's been carrying injuries, although today I read, that he went off because he wasn't feeling well.

O'Brien - Probably not yet ready to play a great number of games especially in a team low on confidence.

Dixon - Could legitimately be a bit peeved not to be given more game time, but again a very young player to put into a struggling team.

Tarkowski - Nowhere near the player he was for most of last season.

Keane - Exactly the player he was last season, the season prior and every year that he's been at Everton.

Branthwaite - As good as he was last season, he's still a relatively raw player and it will be difficult for him to replicate his form and will take him time to re-acclimatise to the rigours and demands of the Premier League, if and when he returns.

The defence was stretched as soon as the window closed at the end of August, even if everybody had been 100% fit.

It's the middle of the park where Everton are crumbling, they are neither defensive nor attacking, it's a mish-mash of players with no set formula for who does what and who runs where, far too off-the-cuff, for my liking.

Whilst the defensive issues remain, it might be time to adopt a five-man midfield, although I'd only have one of Harrison or McNeil on the pitch at the same time.

It's up to Sean to sort out, I don't envy him, but he has to do something to shore us up, else we'll be too far behind every other team to play catch-up.

He's better in the air than Keane, he's quicker than Keane, and his positional sense and body shape/positioning is better than Keane.

Myko also plays a lot better with Branthwaite alongside him, see balance/confidence.

Football is about blend and balance, and Branthwaite makes a huge difference, not because of his individual brilliance, but how he affects those around him.

I don't see how either defence or midfield can be thought of as our most important concern. They are both, equally, a deep concern. For me, actually, it is defence where we are most brittle and flimsy.

I look at the list of defenders that you kindly set out and the quality there is below what we have available in midfield. I know that there is an argument that if the midfield did its job then there would be fewer chances of leaking goals. But defenders are supposed to defend and ours are not very good at it right now: defenders not in their right position (2 today), defenders short on confidence (4 today), defenders making elementary mistakes (4 today).

Can people please stop pleading for Garner at right-back! He was utter shite when he came on and was directly responsible for the first two goals because he was so far behind the ball giving golden opportunities to get the ball into the box.

Midfield can be tweaked Fred. As you say, start with five there perhaps or perhaps our three cracked hard-boiled eggs might react by adding a fifth as might have been done today after their first.

But our defence is in need of serious surgery of the most invasive kind not a plaster. We had a chance to patch things up over a long window but for whatever reason we didn't.

We now reap what we sow.

It won't stop Dychey, Stonesey, and Woaney from having another top night out at Monsoon Nights (six entrees, no vegetable side-plates, endless streams of popadoms).

It doesn't matter - They all play too narrow...always have done with Dyche - who may now be the problem.

Q) When does having the courage of your own convictions become too stubborn to see what's in front of your eyes?

A) Just about right now is one possible answer.

Like Martinez and his damned 'Philosophy'
They seem to get fixated, if the Philosophy isn't working then the cure is obviously must be apply MORE Philosophy.

The Plan B is - apply Plan A harder, faster stronger!

But; was taking Harrison off for O'Brien correct at 2-2 - in theory, probably...but with our luck.

DCL; I'd say unlucky and call it as the defender taking it off his toe as good recovery.
The second chance, did it right lifted it over the keeper who is proven to be no mug 1 on 1...and hit the bar.
If it wasn't for bad luck we'd have no luck at all.

How long can this carry on? Normally Dyche would need to get lucky fast or risk the consequences.

These are not normal times, but Zero pts and a shite GD is still exactly that.

When are we going to help ourselves?
Keane is shorter when he jumps than he is when just standing.
Two one on ones missed (hitting the bar is a miss).

Not sure this one’s entirely on Dyche, Durans goal was a worthy match-winner, but we still could have come away with a point.

6 games in with no points should see the back of Dyche, but I guess we’ll scrape a couple of points out of the next 2 games, and the struggle will continue.

At the moment it’s hard to see where 40 points are coming from.

I'll have to digest that one before commenting.

Not quite the famous godfather quite, but tonight I sleep with the dogs.

How we managed to score two goals against the run of play, is still a conundrum. I can't see us winning anything while he is still there with his two hard boiled eggs Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Even-Dumber, what do they discuss on the side lines without making any subs ? What are we having for tea ?

I was prepared to stand by the wanker that is Dyche, faintly believing he could work some miracle, like he seemed to against all odds last season, but that total myth has been well and truly dispelled !

Then again, who is going to sack the prick ? We have no Board as such, no owner, that you could call one. The sooner Textor gets in the better before it's too late, with a pair of steel toe capped boots, with ten lace-holes aimed at the arses of Dyche, Dick and Dom !