Young and Beto combine to steal a late point after Iwobi scores

I hope Keane has a solid game. If not, poor bloke will be pilloried and Dyche must stand up to explain why he left out our best player. COYB.

Stubbornness could cost us today, this is Fulham and not a poor Ipswich. Not looking forward to Young getting skinned repeatedly.

Branthwaite can not be wasted on the bench. That is ridiculous.

I can't deny Keane played well last week, but being left-sided, he should have started.

Would they be the two players who've been in line for Man of the Match over the past few games?

Judge him after the game, right or wrong. That's why he gets the big bucks.

They will not pump crosses into the box but build play up with quick breaks and running at defenders.

On that basis alone I would have started Jarred. I know Keane has played well B recently but judging the players over the long term he can't hold a candle to Jarrad.

Let's hope for the three points.

COYB

In their attack, only Traore is lightning fast but hopefully Mykolenko can look after him.

Fairly evenly-matched teams but we're on a good run. COYB

I am not surprised that Dyche has started with Keane but I query whether it is for proper footballing reasons or simply because he is old school and doesn't want to change a winning team.

As stated by others, the challenges today are quite different to those faced at Portman Road.

I totally agree with the side – why change a winning team? And Keane has been our best player these last few games, so why drop him?

We will win this easily 3-0.

They are a much better team than Ipswich so we have to be on our toes.

My only concern is Young keeping his discipline against the raiding of Robinson who links up well with Iwobi and also keeping Smith Rowe quiet who I would have liked coming on loan to Goodison.

Let's put some more daylight between us and them.

Surprised Tarkowski is still the undroppable one for many considering some of his play this season (injury a big factor hopefully).

A game in the balance where an early advantage may be the key so hopefully we are quick out the traps.

Up the Toffees!

Again, we need to get men forward more quickly when attacking but, missed chances aside, it hasn't been a bad half which could have seen us 2 or 3 in front.

Driven hard and low past the keeper!!! What a moment!!!

Oh… wait. Nevamind.

That lad can get offside. 5 clear of anyone in the league this early on.

Not just a flash in the pan though. Season after season you can count on his prolific offsideness. it's not all about goals.

Clueless manager. Shit manager. Why do we have to watch this utter dross? Total shambles.

Well in, Sean Dyche and the boys.

But the quality was so abysmal really – and Fulham weren't that much better – so you could say they didn't deserve to win either.

But desperation got us a point when we at last pushed everything forward. We might not have deserved a win but we didn't deserve to lose and I wouldn't say I'd pick a MotM but I thought Gana looked very good, certainly better than he's shown for some time.

A much needed point.

I thought that was disgraceful.

Up until their goal, our intent was to just hope we didn't concede. After their goal, our intent was to hope we got lucky.

At least once Keane went up top, there was a plan that progressed beyond hoping. It wasn't pretty but it was something.

Poor Dom. Runs his socks off on his own for 80 minutes. Gets criticised for trying to find some space against the 4 defenders and a couple of deep midfielders covering him. And there'll be people tonight saying he should be dropped for Beto.

Everton aren't we.

Deserved nothing. Got something.

I'll take it!

Please never change, I love your contrariness.

Brilliant goal!

Sack Dyche and appoint Beto. At least we will get undiluted effort and total commitment.

Not sure why he insists on playing one up front for so long…it obviously doesn't work!

An unlikely point but we'll take it.

Hats off to our two oldies, Young and Gana. Both were rock solid today.

At the end, it was a deserving result for both teams. I would take this point as we have lost to Fulham in their last 2 or 3 visits here.

Horror football? Yes. A good day anyway? You bet. One step closer to being in the Premier League when we launch at BMD next season? Amen.

Awful performance and the manager once again clueless

A decent win this evening and I'd have believed we were on our way to mixing it in the middle of the table… but I fear, keeping this manager, we'll be fighting relegation at the end of season.

We have to hope the takeover happens soon and a new manager with new additions happens in January.

Defence too deep. No protection from Gueye or Doucoure. Calvert-Lewin isolated. Ndiaye too wide. The rest was shocking.

The sooner Friedkin takes over and sticks Dyche in a taxi, the better.

For the love of fuck, who can complain that the very, very limited group of lads who carry our hopes (well-paid lads, by the way) didn't give their all?

It is astonishing to see respected folk on this thread lamenting the dirge.

Overall, not too much to get worked up about either way.

TFG will ditch Dyche within weeks of taking over, hopefully, and the nightmare of the last 8 years can end.

Fulham have plenty of speed in their team and caused us problems but we hung in. Beto was crying after he scored so it meant a lot to him.

ps: Nice to have you back.

Got to pick up 3 points next weekend with another professional away day showing!

COYBB

Dyche football – if I wasn't an Evertonian, I would have switched channel … I thought it was a terrible game!

Pleased Beto scored.

Thay's all that matters this season. Dyche to see it out!

Calvert-Lewin works hard, but Beto is a better finisher.

New owner, new stadium. Just the new manager and new team now, please, Mr Friedkin.

What a load of shite. James Garner will never play in a Dyche team, in midfield. Defensive midfielders come ahead of creative midfielders. Obviously creative midfielders don't suit Dyche's horrible football.

Doucouré is a headless chicken and works his socks off and puts the hard yards in. He is shite.

That's the Dyche gameplan for survival. Just have to suck it up for another season.

I just have no illusions about this squad.

Mike Gaynes nails it with "we have a weak talent base".

Our only hope is battling determination and all involved have committed to that from the season opener and I applaud each and every one of them. But it won't always be enough as early results have shown.

We will fail, probably more often than not, because of the lack of quality.

All we can do is try and be realistic and support the endeavour understanding every point gained is heroic in our present circumstances. Because – lest we kid ourselves into mad delusion – survival is the name of the game this season.

Give us your thoughts on who will replace him and who will get these lads getting more points?

Points not enough? Okay, who will you get to replace Dyche, get the points, and play like 1970 Brazil?

This is us now, and it will do.

Jimmy – explained in his after-match interview.

As for not working…. well that will depend on whether you think part of game management is to avoid conceding more than you score.

The young man who sits in front of me said it all with about 20 minutes to go: he said to his mate “I'm getting off — can't stand any more of this shite.” Not many disagreed with him around me.

This is a fan who rarely has a go at the team and is a solid supporter; his mate followed him out with a couple of minutes to go but rushed back in when he heard the roars after Beto headed the equaliser.

A point is lovely, I'll stick with that for now.

“A late free-kick put pressure on Everton, Smith Rowe lashing the final kick of the game over Pickford's goal.”

Always grateful for the sterling work you do MK, but you either had a very bad feed or a lovely tipple as you appear to have missed the partial block by the defender and Smith Rowe being subbed.

We were poor, it's difficult to be creative when 8 or 9 of your players' primary duties are defensive. But, as has been said above, we have only one objective this season, which is to stay in the Premier League.

Credit the manager for making some changes. Putting two big lads up front with a few minutes to go is not the most sophisticated tactic but it worked, credit to the players for fighting to the end.

A point rescued, I'll take it.

We battered Fulham at Goodison last season and lost. I'll take the point.

Much like the Dyche era in general, it is what it is. On to the next.

Battery gone – more tomorrow.

Shite – abject shite!

Yes, it's not the greatest collection of footballers but equally it's not our worst. The likes of Ndiaye are pretty capable of playing decent footy and I had hoped we might see Dyche's style evolve a tiny bit this season but if anything it's regressed.

I like Dyche and he deserves credit. I expect he'll keep us up. But to remain a fixture in the long term he will have to provide at least some evidence that he can coax something better from these players.

It's tricky because he has two simultaneous jobs, keeping us up and auditioning for a new contract. I don't think succeeding in the first will be necessarily mean succeeding in the second.

I was having a lot of keyboard problems and I always have trouble with identifying the opposition players – some of the buggers even put different names on their shirts just to mess with me.

Lindstrom turns onto his left and drives at Leno, forcing him into a diving stop.

That's from the Echo. No mention of a partial block. Similar at the BBC.

Dyche won't change his formation, so lucky.

Yes, we were shit. Yes, the football was not so much something to write home about as to write to Everton FC and sue for footballing malpractice.

On the other hand, we're ravaged by injury at the moment, and the options we had today... well, let's review:

Pickford – England keeper.
Young – 39-year-old right-back.
Tarkowski – Injured centre-back.
Keane – Terminally unlucky, accident prone centre-back.
Mykolenko – Seemingly still injured left-back.
Harrison – Left-footed right-winger we're borrowing from Championship Leeds.
Doucoure – Aging centre-mid who can't control a ball.
Gueye – Aging centre-mid who can't pass.
Ndiaye – Brilliant left winger who is lighting up our season.
McNeil – Slow, one-footed left-winger playing at No 10 who's having a good season, but wouldn't be good enough for Fulham.
Calvert-Lewin – Brilliant target man who hits the ball like a 9-year-old girl.

I'd love to see us play brilliant, dynamic football. But I like Everton being in the Premier League, and I live in the real world. We're the poorest club (financially) in the league, have barely spent money in 5 years, and until Friedkin comes in, that's unlikely to change. We put all our eggs in the stadium basket, and personally, I think Sean Dyche is likely to get us there as a Premier League club.

Also, and this bears listening to: Fulham are a really, really good team. They have recruited very, very well in recent years, and have lost two games so far – a fluky 1-0 away to Man Utd, and a tough match away at Man City. With the exception of Pickford and Ndiaye, I don't think any of our players today make it into a combined XI. As such, that was a good point, even if the football was rubbish.

The results are all that matters this season.

Harrison and Doucoure should be benched but Dyche has too many favourites.

I wonder if he'd come back?

He probably has it in his contract that if Everton come in for him... cue desert wind whistling and tumbleweed.

This is a lower mid-table team. Survival shouldn't even really be on the table. Yet we have people celebrating its possibility.

It's not even really about the style now. It's about the intent, or lack of. I couldn't tell you what we were trying to achieve in that first 85 or so minutes.

The last 10 minutes got interesting because we knew exactly what to do – hit it up to the two big men and get other players forward around them. That's not particularly pretty, but at least it's a plan.

Now is not the time to descend into doom and gloom. Five games unbeaten, and zero gains today from teams below us. Yes, things would be much rosier if we'd have (somehow) won, but there are two winnable games coming up before we hit the next break. Added to this, I don't think the December fixtures are anything like as daunting as the UK media are suggesting.

Beto: just loved your emotion at the end. It will be sad if you are despatched on loan in January, you clearly care about your own self-worth, and that of the club.

That is not to denigrate Calvert-Lewin in any way, but seeing the tactic of giving 20 minutes to the Portuguese when Calvert-Lewin has taken (lone) punishment for 70 minutes from industrial defenders is edifying. In my humble opinion. COYB

The favoured 4-4-1-1 relies so heavily on the No 10, in this case, McNeil, to be productive in games similar to when he had Doucoure playing there.

I thought Gana was our best player by some distance today. The long ball and not winning 2nd balls just played into their hands. I think their goalie kicked the ball long twice in the game as opposed to Pickford's persistent long punts.

Calvert-Lewin looks like he is going through the motions to me. Beto should be getting more minutes. I thought Harrison and Mykolenko were particularly poor today.

Anyhow, a point is a point, the last 2 seasons we have played Fulham off the park and got beat, so a poor display and a smash-and-grab at the end is a decent result for us.

Not much else to say, it was a pretty grim game to watch, at least we got a point at the death.

I don't mind defending deep, especially with our current defensive personnel, but It was baffling to watch how deep we were starting when we were constantly trying to play out from the back.

The long ball was constantly hit flat, which meant it kept ending up in the arms of the Fulham keeper, and we had no method whatsoever.

I started comparing the personnel and (astonishingly) don't think many Everton players would have got into the Fulham team, but this didn't make me feel any easier because I thought our tactics would get the game done away with.

Happy with Keane, thought Gueye's work rate was phenomenal, and was just glad Ndiaye's deep cross ended up at the feet of Ashley Young because he was possibly the only Everton player with the guile to put such an effective ball back across the box.

Take the point but, in some ways, it reminded me of a once clueless display at home to Norwich not long before it became clear that Marco Silva was losing the plot at Everton.

The over-riding consensus is we need to stay in the league and hold our noses regarding playing style, but you keep trying to bring it back to Dyche. The issue is a bit bigger than that, isn't it?

We were bereft of any passing, flow, counter-attacking (we never take it to the opposition at home) or good without the ball even; we were lucky to be level at half-time.

The 2nd half was poor and McNeil had a stinker. Ndiaye tried hard but was well marshalled by Fulham and Calvert-Lewin was way off it today.

I always rated Iwobi, even though he frustrates, he's talented and stands out in teams like Everton and Fulham but not consistent enough for the Top 6.

I guess that puts everything into perspective and we are where we are – 15th with 9 points after 9 games – almost a quarter of the season and on track for 38 points – job done.

Truth is we were second best in most departments today; possession stats were well in favour of Fulham. Although the disallowed goal displayed the glaring lack of consistency in refereeing and VAR. Calvert-Lewin was deemed to be in an offside position (but not interfering with play).

The reason I mentioned this because when Man City played Wolves (Sunday), John Stones scored (?) a very late winner. Bernardo Silva was directly in front of the Wolves keeper and it was allowed to stand!

Not saying that the result would have been different had it been allowed to stand, but it may have altered the mentality of both sides, and who knows if we would have ended up unworthy winners.

Hopefully this will serve as a wake-up call to Dyche and the players, 'don't get carried away with a few decent results'. We are nowhere near being a force to be reckoned with, and playing with the strongest side we can put out has to be the order of the day. No passengers (Doucoure/Harrison etc) or half-heartedness!

I look at Everton these days and wonder if it's because we have poorer players, tactics or manager? Cleary we haven't got high quality players but certainly mid-table at least, but it's the tactics, selection and football ethos of the manager that just leaves me cold.

Yes, the ship has been steadied… but we aren't moving forward in how we play. Today's tactics were none existent, an awful watch.

Derek (82), the goal was ruled out because Calvert-Lewin was offside when Gana had his shot (which didn't go in) and so couldn't legitimately slot home the rebound. Interfering with play is not a factor in this, just the scorer simply being offside.

You could say, the stuff on the grass, beyond the noise. His story.

The issue of what we do on the pitch with the players available... that's a here-and-now conversation. And it centres around selection and tactics. Tactically, that was absolutely rank. In fact tactically, that lacked tactics for nearly 90 minutes.

When we get a point out of a game like that, I finally understand what people must mean when they say that Dyche is working miracles.

We may have been fortunate that Fulham did not put a couple in but Gana had the best of the misses. We fought back well from the 80th minute on. I'll take it.

Talking about why we needed to crabwalk it up the field to keep possession seems a waste of time. I think getting an extended unbeaten streak out of this squad from where we were five games back speaks for itself.

As we get results like these to keep it going just enough so that more chances can be taken with players coming back, let's extend at least a small amount of credit to the players and coaches. I know your eyes hurt but come on.

Until then, we have to fight ugly mostly to garner points against superior squads, who have been financially backed during the last 5 years, unlike our squad.

That the manager keeps us clear of the drop zone is no mean feat to any realist, I believe. Well done, Beto, that's the spirit lad. Made up for him. He was hiding tears of joy and relief at the end I think when he pulled his shirt over his head.

It's only a point, but they all count and Fulham, with their relative stability off-pitch, and greater investment on-pitch, should be beating us home and away on paper. Good job we play on grass!

If every player in the squad was fit, there is only James Garner who I think Dyche would consider starting, so the team is in my view what Dyche considers his strongest XI.

Why he didn't start Branthwaite is a mystery – and not over Keane either – Tarkowski is the weak link in my view at the moment.

I think that's the positive to take. Beto isn't a particularly cultured footballer but he's an option when we need some late aggression. Lindstrom still looks a player to me. I also thought Mangala moved the ball well when he came on. Keane had a decent game and Branthwaite got a bit of (rusty) game time.

A defender, a midfielder, an attacking midfielder / winger, and a striker. We actually can make subs!

The amount of times we just boot it aimlessly is unbearable. Pickford needs to stop it or give it to someone else to try if that's the 'tactic'. Our inability to put more than 2 progressive passes together is embarrassing.

Pleased for Beto – for all his faults, his heart is massive. Superb assist from Ashley Young. Unfortunately, we have a poor set of footballers and an extremely limited manager.

Everton have played far better and so grinding a point today is a celebration.

Your comment below...

The reason I mentioned this because when Man City played Wolves (Sunday), John Stones scored (?) a very late winner. Bernardo Silva was directly in front of the Wolves keeper and it was allowed to stand!

Silva was not directly in front of the keeper... the goal was allowed for altogether different reasons.

Why is this? Who was responsible?

Well done to one and all for a home point limply won but I pray we retain Jordan Pickford for the years he has left as a top-notch 'keeper because we'll need the very best in as many positions as possible if we are to survive or progress at all in the wake of the catastrophe that's engulfed us for decades, and years yet to come.

A point is as welcome as a plank in the sea would be to a drowning man. It's that bad – Everton "celebrating" a streaky win at home against Fulham.

And that's not to denigrate anyone now employed by our club. It's reality and it needs dealing with at every level immediately, and especially by the least represented at all, namely us fans.

Let's ask those questions first.

Calvert-Lewin is a class footballer who can't score goals. Beto is a poor footballer who can and does score goals. Which one would you keep?

Add on Beto's contribution and emotion, they're the characters you want. Don't give up, don't walk away, don't cry injustice, ride the wave and rise up. Many others with more talent fail that test.

Keep it up, lads.

They probably overdid the late changes which may have upset their rhythm while our late changes gave us the impetus to exert pressure in their area.

That's from the Echo. No mention of a partial block. Similar at the BBC.”

As far as I can remember he only had the one shot. It didn't feature on MotD but is on Sky extended highlights.
Clear downwards deflection (noted by commentator) off Bassey's out-stretched right leg and ball skips up to arrive at easy saving height for keeper to pouch.

Everton transfer in players normally having clauses that means that buying for them is over a period. This reduces the pressure for the manager to play them.

Bigger problems arise when value cannot be realised for a player. Not being able to sell Calvert-Lewin during the Summer posed a problem for selection.

I don't think that judging a player can be wholely on his play, because his value and the stage he is in regarding his contract come into consideration as well.

This is particularly so at Everton when trying to explain to Moshiri why a player on a high-paying contract and with a high transfer worth on paper is not playing.

Add to that Dyche's apparent favouritism for certain players and players who seem to be out of favour, and the problems for unselected players multiply.

60 years a Blue… Dyche is the worst.

Happened again today, Beto for Calvert-Lewin, straight swap, same result until McNeil picked an injury up, which then saw Keane thrown up alongside Beto. As soon as that happened, it caused problems for their defence, instead of doubling up on our striker, they were struggling which one to mark.

The lone striker does not work, we do not have players quick enough to link up with Calvert-Lewin for the lay offs, there has to be a Plan B.

Mangala has to start next game instead of Doucoure; if McNeil is not fit,try Harrison on his favoured left side for a change.

Once Iroegbunam is fit, I would look to start him and Mangola in midfield, those two seem to offer more going forward.

We have to ditch the hoofball upfield to an isolated Calvert-Lewin, we can all see it not working.

Anyway that's just my personal view.

Dyche is Dyche and has always played defensive football wherever he has been. I still think we could get more out of this squad but Barcelona we are not!

Main gripe is once again the subs are put on too late. You need at least 10 minutes to get up to speed when coming on. Nothing much was happening for us over 70+ minutes so why wait another 10?

But, five unbeaten now and every point is precious so things are looking up.

Relieved to get a point and totally agree with Mike Gaynes in that I just want us to survive this season and move on next season.

I thought today was terrible, complete lack of any attacking plan apart from the big boot.

Drove past the new stadium this afternoon, it looks magnificent.

What would have happened if McNeil hadn't got injured? There's no way that change in formation was coming anyway.

And what happens if he's out for the next game? Please don't say the name Abdoulaye Doucoure.

Playing at home to a mid-table team, we should not be sat that deep. The last 10 minutes shows that if you put men in the opposition box in numbers, then you get results.

Gana, Mykolenko and Keane were good. Tarkowski backed off Iwobi so much for the goal, he was almost sat in the Park End. He needs to be benched for now.

Harrison and Doucoure also need to be parked on the bench and told to stay there forever. They are just terrible footballers.

I felt sorry for Dom. Ridiculous offside decision and the rest of the game he was chasing their back 3 and trying to beat them all to the long ball.

I watched in the Park End yesterday. No matter the match, they are the worst fans in our ground. Moan and scream at our players, leave early at half-time and full-time. Toxic bunch who feed off each other… it's unbelievable the amount of kilowatts of negative energy coming out of there.

I think attitude has a lot to do with it, the level of football is getting higher and, if you are not switched on and ready for a fight from the start, you then end up looking second rate.

I just watched Ipswich Town – a completely different team to last week.

We have showed when we are up for it we can play some good football, it's all about getting them on the front foot from the start and being mentally tuned in.

Sunday league manager at best, 30% possession at home, tactics is to hoof the ball up to Calvert-Lewin and hope for the best… What on earth do they do on the training ground?

Dominic Calvert-Lewin — he just shouldn't be playing for us at all at the moment. He is playing in a system that he clearly doesn't like (hell, none of us like it either); he looks very, very uninterested; and he is a terrible finisher!

He thinks he has a right to start and yet doesn't want to stay here. He shows no aggression, no passion, and his goal return is awful.

Beto will, I guarantee, get more goals than Calvert-Lewin in a season, even if this is purely down to desire and never giving up.

Have we all forgotten that Calvert-Lewin in reality has only ever had one really good season with us? I would like Beto to be given a run of 5 games. If he doesn't score more than Calvert-Lewin has this season, then we really haven't lost anything… have we?!

I think Broja will be starting once fit.

I hope Everton have learned: let Calvert-Lewin go in the summer, please do not give him another sentimental contact.

In the first half, it more or less skipped to 37 minutes; 2nd half, Iwobi's goal then skip to 80 minutes. Judging by comments, they didn't miss out much of any note.

In those 25 minutes, nobody stood out – Dyche included.

We saw off Ipswich; can we see off 2 more potential banana skins in Southampton and West Ham Utd?

Another point and now, I think, 5 games unbeaten.

He went into the middle of the pitch once and hit a lovely ball to the left flank but, other than that, he didn't look like a player who wanted to impose himself on the game… but maybe I'm just being critical.

It was hard not to be critical yesterday though because that just wasn't football imo.

It's always going to be difficult to play football with Harrison, Gueye and Doucoure so limited on the ball. Fulham have much better technical footballers than us and a nicely balanced though unspectacular side.

Of yesterday's line-up, you'd probably take Tete, Berge, Pereira, Iwobi and maybe even Robinson, Jiminez and Smith-Rowe over their Everton counterparts.

Hopefully Friedkin releases a bit of money in January.

When you think the last two home games we should have lost and we've somehow managed to eek out 2 points, then perhaps we can say those earlier results which went against us are now evening themselves out.

The way I see it is that it's another game chalked for Dyche to a point where he won't be managing us next season. Grin and bear it moments until then.

For all the stick Ashley Young gets, that was a cranking ball back across for Beto to head in.

I don't know why he didn't bring on Mangala and Lindstrom a lot earlier, as Fulham completely ran through our midfield. Calvert-Lewin was totally isolated against two centre-backs, won plenty of flick-ons and no one near him… Why the long ball tactics with no support?

Can someone explain to me, why take off Calvert-Lewin and then put Keane up beside Beto?

Delighted with a point, can Dyche not see we need three in midfield? What's the bet next Saturday, he'll start Doucoure and Harrison again? And I can't fault Keane, but Branthwaite has to start, he's our best defender.

Beto yesterday put more effort into his game in the short time he was on the field than Dominic had done all afternoon and the fans appreciated his workrate, Beto is there to upset the opposition,more of a bulldozer than a footballer but that’s what we needed yesterday and he did a grand job of it.

It was such a passive performance. I can accept not playing well, but the low block set up at home is so frustrating for fans. It ruins the match day experience and atmosphere. Not sure Dyche has any other way of playing though, especially with this squad. Lindstrom came on and showed very little appetite imo.

Went past the new ground on the way back and what a sight it is in the evening. Hopefully it will be the catalyst for change. Also noticed signs of a rebirth in that area with a few bars (10 street social) and the like. Be great if that whole area gets revitalised, similar to the Baltic Triangle.

Tony 114, I agree with you re Lindstrom. He will have to get up to speed in the prem quickly or be back playing a slower form of the game in Italy.

Not many of our 11 get into a mid table Fulham team and that in itself tells a story.

The plan should be to get through this season, and with our new owner (please god) then strengthen the squad for when we play in the fantastic new stadium.

Theres no gimmes in this League, Fulham were slight favs yesterday, a draw was an ok result in fact.
When we get the ball we cant retain it, if we try playing out from the back its too risky.

For now its all about the result not how pretty we look.

We were rubbish. We hung in there and pinched a draw. I suspect we'll do this several more times this season.

When Beto cam on Keane had to stay up as McNeil was injured and all of a sudden they had two to deal with and that was different gravy.

That was some of the worst football I have ever seen but I am sure Dyche will have a go at equalling it. As long as he keeps us up with the resources and chaos he has had to deal with then he deserves a medal.

The past few years EFC has made Thames Water look like professionals. £20billion in debt and directors taking money out they didn't earn.

I'm also glad that Beto scored. Hope he'll get some more minutes, perhaps playing 2 strikers upfront for a short period as a test.

What is this garbage we are watching? Straight from the kick-off, McNeil gives the ball to Pickford – that set the tone for the rest of the evening.

If Branthwaite plays, Iwobi wouldn't have scored that goal, he'd have been closed down… but no, he just danced around 4 defenders and slotted, absolutely shocking.

Our football is criminal – no fluency, no guile, just a punt up to Calvert-Lewin and hope someone gets on the end of a flick-on.

The sooner the Friedkins come in and volley this dinosaur back to the 50s where this imposter's football belongs, the better.

No wonder people are getting up and going after 70 minutes… an absolutely appalling display.

I thought Branthwaite had to start, he is head and shoulders our best defender. But then we started like we were playing one of the top teams at their ground. Just sitting back and hoping to hit them on the break is terrible to watch, even Pickford seemed to get frustrated by the lack of movement and desire in front of him.

Things didn't improve much as the game continued and when we went behind I thought that was it. In the end we got a lucky point and I got into trouble with my wife for not celebrating the goal. We are all looking forward to next season, but for the moment we are stuck with grinding out points such as this. Hopefully we will retain our Premiership status, but Dyche in his team selection,
and choice of tactics seemed to make matters worse.

"I know the level of footballer here is not very good and the squad options are negligible but I don't care we should be playing more offensive, attractive football"

eg: "turtles" but I think it's enough to keep us up.

"turtles" I'm not sure we'll fill BMD if this continues.

"turtles" but I'm out trampolining tonight so I'm not too worried.

Couldn't care less whether it's attractive. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I am certain, if we would have had an individual sprint race, Fulham would have won every time, that is a major problem with the squad Everton have.

We got lucky last night, to gain a point, but as Tesco always said, every little helps.

The Beto v DCL thing is hard to judge. Beto did fine yesterday but, had he been on from the start, we might equally all be complaining about his weaknesses as a footballer - rather than his barnstorming late introduction. As with DCL, he has his pros and cons. DCL is generally better overall - but it might be time to let Beto have a crack to keep everyone on their toes and motivated.

In terms of improving how we play - I'm not sure we're well placed to build from the back. I suspect we'd just get picked off with a high press since we have some very limited footballers in defence and central / defensive midfield. Worth varying it up a bit but you see limited sides give up loads of goals (and chances galore) from this each week. There's still options beyond Pickford's long balls over the opposition press / midfield though.

We could commit more men forward too, definitely. I suspect Dyche's dilemma here is that this requires us to play a higher line and that is a difficult business without Branthwaite. Keane is obviously ponderous and Tarkowksi looked very nervous yesterday (again). But we should still have a bit more courage at home to commit men forward because otherwise the chances of scoring are so low and it just adds to the tension / nervousness.

Could Mangala and Lindstrom help? Possibly yes, they are better technically than Gueye and Harrison. Although I think most people take the view that Gueye was one of our better players he is pretty limited on the ball. Mangala is not exactly Rodri but he's better than Gueye technically. Lindstrom I think is just one of those speculative signings - where we had to take a punt because of financial constraints / what was available to us. He is pretty lightweight though and you can see why he wasn't a hit at Napoli. As things stand (and we saw it yesterday) Iwobi is a quite a lot better (or at least better suited to the Premier League). We could do with someone like him. I'm not a fan of Harrison at all.

Finally, I do think our set pieces are fairly unimaginative for a team which uses set pieces as a big part of the scoring arsenal. Surely we could do more with these opportunities.

We have fans accused of being delusional for daring to maintain that this squad is capable of finishing mid table with effective management.

Let's be clear this is not an Everton squad that has been ripped apart since the lavish net spend of Ancelotti. Lampard, Benitez and Dyche for the last two seasons have had to operate with the weakest squads many of us can remember. This season has been different. We lost one player who the manager (and many of our fans) didn't rate until he went to Villa and suddenly Dyche had a U turn once he saw his early cameos for Emery's side.

We have added the second best young defender in France last season after Lenny Yoro, a young Dane who tore up the Bundeliga the season before last with goals and assists, a promising centre forward who has proven premier league credentials, a young find from Aston Villa and a Belgium international who was a regular starter until Dyche got his hands upon him. We have also added our shining light this season in Ndiaye.

There are three promoted teams who should not be in the same strata sphere as us. Take Southampton Ryan Manning is their left back. He cannot get in the Ireland squad ahead of Preston's Robbie Brady and Callum ODowda of Cardiff. That is the resources Russell Martin is working with and no doubt they will make us look as ordinary as Fulham did yesterday.

We have the best goalkeeper among the teams likely to finish in the bottom half, the best collection of central defenders, a comparable set of central midfield options and in my opinion the best all round centre forward.

Some would take Jimenez over Calvert Lewin. Not me. Jimenez scored six goals in his last fifty one games for Wolves. They didn't want him, not many did and only Marco Silva took a chance on him because he knew he could get the best out of him. We play Dominic alone with his only chances coming on the break. He is not Olly Watkins and the great thing that Ancelotti did at Everton was to play to Dominic's strengths.

The weaknesses in the squad now are in my opinion because of the manager's decisions. Right back is a problem yet Patterson and the young lad who showed so much promise are repeatedly overlooked. He prefers Young there over Coleman, that's his choice.

Right wing is another problem area. It was his decision to bring in Harrison because Dyche rates him. I'm sure Thelwell would have preferred a different option but pandered to the manager.

Beto looks like a player Dyche would have wanted to compete at centre forward as he is similar to other signing Dyche has bought in the past.

Yesterday many have spoken about the system change as providing that fortunate point. For me that was only part of the equation. Bassey and Diop are very limited central defenders who always give you a chance so having two against them prevented them smoking their cigars as they did for the rest of the game. But for me taking Keane out of the defence and playing Branthwaite was more important as it allowed us to play further up the pitch and so we were able to force them back. Dyche got lucky with McNeills injury.

Dyche was an asset when we were in crisis management mode because of his strong leadership. He is now becoming a serious liability given his tactical naivety and in-game management are being exposed on a weekly basis. Talented players are regressing, being misused or have been discarded under his stewardship.

I must admit, I didn't have a clue who you were referring to when you said we'd bought the 2nd best young defender in France after Lenny Yoro. I realise now that you mean O'Brien.

He did well for Lyon last season but seriously – he's absolutely not of the calibre you claim (although I hope and expect him to be a good signing in time). You might correct me on this but hasn't he also (like Manning) lost his place in the Ireland set-up too?

Lindstrom, yes, he was really good for Frankfurt season before last but hopeless for Napoli. He's a speculative signing who is only here because Napoli didn't want him and there wasn't much interest in him from elsewhere. He also seems to have lost his place in the Denmark set-up.

And finally, yes, we have brought Broja in but he's injured so doesn't really enhance the player staff as yet (and in truth no-one knows whether he will, since he's been pretty crap and barely played since the injury a couple of seasons ago).

As things stand, we remain with the 16th best squad in the Premier League – with the likes of Brentford, Bournemouth, Forest, Palace, Wolves and others all having better squads overall. It's not Dyche persuading me of this, it's the fact that (sad as I am) I do track this sort of thing for my own interest – and there's quite a few independent metrics that support this too.

With the injuries, we have a pretty awful First XI – definitely not better than Fulham yesterday, and barely better than Ipswich on paper last week.

However, working out the rest of the formation is then a whole different ball game.

Calvert-Lewin plus Beto wouldn't work in this formation – except as a fairly desperate option late in games or against weak opposition where we'd dominate the ball even when outnumbered.

When Leicester had Okazaki and Vardy it was more like a 4-5-1 / 4-3-3 than a 4-4-2 – with neither of them operating as a target man striker.

We could potentially do Calvert-Lewin and Broja when the latter is fit, with Broja running the channels -– but this might interfere with where Ndiaye is operating.

I do agree with Connor that Sean Dyche is trying to make us believe he's working miracles and we should be grateful we're in the Premier League, as he did at Burnley.

The relegated teams from last season were so utterly shocking that a mere 27 points would have been enough for survival, and the 3 that have come up this year are barely any better. Not to mention the struggles of Palace and Wolves who are yet to win a single game between them.

We should be comfortable in midtable, as we were last season (on the pitch) but the football should be much better than what we served up yesterday. We were garbage!!

Still, as far as Dyche is concerned, his tactics worked and it's the type of performance we'll see again and again throughout the season.

Tip of the hat to Young for the assist and very pleasing to see Beto celebrating with so much passion.

On to Southampton we go.

Onana
Gordon
Iwobi and
Richarlison

We are now down to Pickford, Branthwaite and possibly Calvert-Lewin and that's it as regards players who might be of interest to teams in the Top 10.

Apart from the obvious general faults, McNeil and Ndiaye need to switch positions.

The number of times he talks about smelling something on the pitch is perplexing. Either he's got poo on his shoe, or as the old adage goes 'he who smelt it dealt it'.

He's got a joke club, flooded with mercenaries on top wages, a circus behind him, grumpy and demanding punters all around.

He took over when we were in the relegation zone, and since that point, he's kept us up whilst constantly selling our best players, coping with the doom and gloomers.

When people look back in 50 years time, they will rightly view Dyche as being a key figure in ensuring the club didn't disappear down a disastrous financial plughole. We've been a whisker away from relegation and therefore administration and probable liquidation the whole time he's been here.

Anyone fancy doing that job? Being the guy responsible if we did go down, and watch the club disappear for ever? He's hard as nails and very competent. We have been so lucky to have got him.

They still try and play out from the back but everyone’s “starting position” is now 15 metres further up the pitch, and it doesn’t half make a difference to the kid up front!!

That’s a very fair argument Kevin, but it doesn’t make watching games like yesterday’s any easier mate.

When Beto came on, he put Keane up beside him. Two upfront made a huge difference, and totally put pressure on their back line.

Having watched secondary school football for the past 5 years with my lad, I can confirm that none of the schools he played, even the poorest, just boot the ball up to solitary attackers.

Think you are doing them a disservice by comparing them to that exhibition of non-football that was served up yesterday!

Having said all of that, Moshiri has unquestionably done the right thing by us in the end, placing us in the hands of competent owners with a new stadium...

Sometimes you just have to thank your lucky stars that we are where we are. We dodged the mother of all bullets.

Manager or players? I don't think there is any avoiding the fact that our players are rank, by Premier League standards. If Ndiaye has an off-day, we have zero creativity and resort to hoofball.

Two players would be retained in a serious re-build, Branthwaite and Ndiaye and maybe Jordan as well. The rest might struggle to get an Premier League contract elsewhere, other than maybe the newly promoted sides.

It's hard to judge a manager with a team this bad. For now, survival is all that matters and Dyche has a track record for doing that but for sure, Friedkin – assuming the takeover goes through – has the mother of all challenges on his hands...

Many have said it before... his tactics belong in the '70s when pitches were heavy and muddy, lumping a ball up to an isolated striker!!!! I can teach that.

You mention Brentford. Nathan Collins is their captain and arguably their most important player. He is not in the same league as Branthwaite and having watched both from a young age I have no doubt that O'Brien is a much better talent than his compatriot.

Robert, you on one hand have poo-pooed what O'Brien did as a young boy at Lyon, then championed a journeyman in Tete who wasn't even always a regular at the same club while in the prime of his career. Indeed, at Fulham, he hasn't always been guaranteed to start and has played second fiddle to Castagne.

You want to take as some kind of fact that we have the 16th best squad based on you following this kind of stuff and some so-called independent metric. The response I would have to you and your previous post that you would take seven of yesterday's lineups is that you seriously downplay the quality of the players we have.

From Fulham's squad, the only player I would love to have and guaranteed to start would be Smith Rowe and even he would come with a caveat as his injury record is so poor. Anderson is arguably a slight upgrade on Tarkowski but I think I would want the latter's leadership as he compliments Branthwaite so well.

Is Berge better than Mangala? Not for me. I don't rate him, he has been over-hyped for years. Pereira has obviously more quality than Garner but isn't a serious upgrade plus I think Jimmy is a lot mentally stronger than the Brazilian when things get tough as you see him frequently disappear in games.

Robinson would definitely compliment our squad as going forward he is excellent but like Zinchenko he is defensively so poor. Jimenez is 32 and Iwobi is nowhere near as effective as Ndiaye.

In the areas where we are weak, such as right-back and right-wing, I don't see a player from Fulham that would make us significantly stronger and the only player with genuine star quality, Smith Rowe, would be lost with us and sitting on our bench because he doesn't do the hard yards.

I guarantee one thing: if Marco Silva had a carte blanche pick of our squad, he would most certainly take more than four players.

Everton tried to sign Ndiaye and Lindstrom before they joined Marseilles and Eintracht, respectively. They are not speculative signings. They are long-term targets who we have now managed to secure through clever work from Thelwell.

Ndiaye had 1 unsuccessful season at Marseilles. He was excellent for Sheffield Utd - 21 goals in 2 seasons - and I have Sheffield mates who loved him. He has been our player of the season.

Lindstrom is taking time to adapt, and he also wasn’t a success in his 1 season at Napoli. As you say, he was excellent for Eintracht Frankfurt playing as a second striker and won the Europa League there. He is technically good and needs to regain his confidence. Let’s see him playing in his favoured position before we pass judgement.

Conor @ 136 (welcome back Conor!), makes the point that we added the second best young centre back in France when we signed O’Brien. You say ‘ he's absolutely not of the calibre you claim.’ I respectfully disagree.

The attached article on O’Brien’s impact last season is powerful (there are plenty of others).

Link

Everton have the 16th best squad in the division based on net transfer investment over the last several years. Chelsea and Manchester Utd are the biggest net spenders over the last 5 years but sit 7th and 13th respectively in the league. Therefore, the point is a valid one but there are other factors.

Data analysis, recruitment processes, football operations and managerial capability are also huge. Personally, I don’t think we have the 16th best squad in the league. The squad is better than last season when we earned the points to finish 12th.

Perhaps unlike Conor, I think that injuries have really hindered Dyche this season. His conservatism and reliance on players he knows has also been a factor. If he doesn’t demonstrate that he can get the best out of the squad he now has, then TFG will replace him when his contract expires.

Many here are blaming the guy running the store, or performing Jedi mind tricks, when your anger is at yourselves for supporting the owners who truly created this situation. We all get caught out supporting the wrong types when we get ambitious but to turn so vehemently on the only functional offices at this club is a form of madness.

I have not seen many offers of constructive and specific solutions to the problems on the pitch. Typically, we just get a rotating list of disappointments depending on outcome. If we win or draw, we were hard on the eye. If we lost, we didn't take enough courageous chances. This is done without any reference to past suggestions that have been tried and failed. If you've made up your mind, fine, just stop with the saccharine soul searching pose.

We have two ball carrying options, McNeil and Ndiaye. Only one has speed for any separation from a tracking defender. Now, get a chessboard or some grid with lines and chart out your solution and please provide it to elevate the discussion.

You want to push forward? Fine, deal with the space behind and a slow back line. You want a faster player, deal with their positional naivety. You want a more front footed system, work out the midfield when a turnover happens.

If Doucoure had not done a pathetic pirouette to give up the goal, we were set to make a late push on our terms with a less energetic Fulham side. That was the strategy: take some limited chances while absorbing Fulham pressure until Ndiaye or McNeil can break through some defensive lines. There was nothing empty or vacant about what was being worked. It just takes some realism to realize it.

And as the unbeaten streak softens the animus to a discussion of 'is it the lack of quality or is Dyche holding this squad back?', make sure your players assessment is consistent over the recent past, consistent with collectively observed posts and performance. Insults are fine, doctoring past positions is a No-No without an explanation.

You can see Calvert-Lewin is not enjoying his football. It must be like brushing sand in a gale-force wind, receiving or winning the ball, with no one within 12 yards. When Calvert-Lewin was injured, he was a great miss to the team.

When I'm Walking down Goodison Road, I know what I'm going to watch, same old shite football. Headless chickens, without skill. Any of them, who put the hard yards in (Dyche's words) guaranteed a place. Horrible football.

Dyche must shoulder a good portion of the blame, he trains with them on a daily basis, knows the strength of the opposition. So should not only pick the best we have available, but instil some sort of game plan too.

You see him on the touchline talking with his assistants, or the 3 hard-boiled eggs (copywright Paul Ferry), usually resulting in an overdue and incorrect substitution. What are they discussing for so long, can't be Head and Shoulders or Harmony Hair Spray?

We struggle to pass to one another trying to get out from the back, that's why Pickford gives it the heave-ho often. If we did push more players up, we may score a few more goals but as sure as hell we would concede more also.

We are not a bad side but we are nowhere near a Top 6 side either.

That said, the ideal scenario is that he muddles us through one more season so the new owners can take things forward into the new stadium, with presumably a different manager to boot. Whilst I think someone else could get at least a little bit more from this squad, I still acknowledge the work Dyche has done to keep us where we are. It's not pretty though, and I have sympathy with anyone forking out dosh to watch us, week-in & week-out.

His 'tactics' are definitely more suited to playing away from Goodison Park, but I cannot imagine him surviving very long if he serves up this type of football in the new stadium.

Personally, I think Thelwell has done an excellent job as DoF. I hope the new owners retain him and he has input into selecting the next manager. The problem is – we don't have very good form with selecting new managers, do we?

When a team has got very few players with the inventive craft to hurt their opponents, then their opponents must think it's Christmas watching them trying to build ever so slowly from the back.

I love Everton but I honestly got more enjoyment watching the kids playing yesterday because I genuinely thought they both tried and succeeded in playing much better football than the millionaire footballers in blue who I watched later in the day at Goodison Park.

I sit next to my brother at Goodison, Jimmy, and he hasn't missed an away game this season. He was criticizing Dyche yesterday and I asked him what the difference was with the week before? He said he thinks we definitely play a different way when we play away from home?

When the onus is on us to take the game to the opposition as the home team, Dyche doesn't know what to do, does he?

Maybe that's got something to do with our performances away from Goodison?

And not to you, Jimmy, but to many others, hey man I get it. I also wish he did not have the nervous tick of wiping his nose and dome in sequence. It is an uncomfortable view and does give Everton a less than desired image.

I think that shows he cares. Not whether you approve, oh no, not about playing safe here so he can get another 5 down the road, oh no. He cares because he understands the size of the job and that is the job he agreed to do.

It could get a little weird if Dyche gets some results somehow on the road v Southampton and v West Ham. Which is why I am trying to get to technical issues on the pitch with some allowance for issues off the pitch.

The two sides of it look like this to me: One group is tired of survivalist football and are right to be concerned that staying with Dyche could cast a Neanderthal curse on the culture of the club perhaps requiring decades and mystic shaman sacred rites for recovery. The other is cynical regarding the resource competition in this league. So cynical that any sustained successful [okay, that is a debatable term] strategy can provide a platform if you find that star player and one special partner.

It is an isomorphic problem larger than any one person or group. So massive it causes managers to act strangely at pressers. I just wanted to state these things in case Dyche gets some unexpected points and some continue their campaign. I will try to not get weird too fast, I think you will see it build.

UTFT!

We probably all repeat our points a bit – because poor results, poor performances, poor players etc are Groundhog Day. It's been the same for large parts of the past 6 seasons and especially the last 3, which have been horrific.

You're comfortable that Lindstrom and O'Brien are quality – that's fine. Hopefully they do prove to be but at the moment it's impossible to know. Same goes for Broja. We've been there before with the likes of Danjuma etc.

Are we better than last season – probably a bit overall, yes. But others have strengthened too (and spent a lot more money than us in so doing). If you line up the First XI of us versus Forest, Bournemouth, Palace, Wolves, Brentford etc, our players don't exactly stand out. And with the injuries, the First XI is really weak.

It's also interesting to compare the First XI and reinforcements to that which Ancelotti had when he finished 10th and Silva 8th. We're some way off that now. As for the sort of quality we had when Martinez finished 5th and Moyes left us, we're miles off that now.

Might a progressive coach (whatever that even means) get more out of them all? Possibly yes… but who? McKenna remains one of the most highly-rated British coaches out there and he fluffed it last week...

COYB

A number 10, who is totally one footed, instead to who to a player who can twist and turn with both feet.

NOOOOOO. Dyche is clueless.

Has he gone yet?

I despair of Dyche's lack of tactical nous at times. Our pattern of play was evident from the kick-off. I could hardly believe my eyes. McNeil playing a pass directly back to Pickford for the big hoof skyward. Reminiscent of Wimbledon in the days of Vinnie Jones & Co. The mighty Alan Ball would turn in his grave seeing how the 'School of Science' is diminished to a thing of the dim and distant past.

The discarded Marco Silva has shaped Fulham into a force to be reckoned with. A young manager with a positive attractive football ethos. I've watched Forest recently on a couple of occasions. Nuno Espirito Santo, at 50 years old, another manager we were linked to at one point, is a scrupulous tactician who embraces adventurous formations and boldly makes changes to team selection and formation, depending on the opposition. His teams results so far this season speak for themselves.

He who dares wins!

Try telling that to Sean Dyche.

We have a manager who specialises in survival. His mindset goes no further than that. He is like a chess player who intentionally starts every game setting out for a 'stalemate' and hoping for the occasional victory.

It is not a criticism of Dyche. I'm stating the obvious. That the man, through no fault of his own, is simply not talented enough and therefore incapable of taking us to the highest level in the Premiership or indeed European competition. With the new stadium and ownership coming to fruition it is essential that the right manager is employed to secure our future and rediscover the glory days.