Everton v Peterborough United

See what they have to offer… as the current first teamers offer very little.

Chermiti is out injured, and will likely be missing for a few weeks.

Looks like he will play Calvert-Lewin then with Broja pulling up last game.

I'd like to see the young lad Omari Benjamin given a spot on the bench, he's done really well since his move from Arsenal.

Dixon was another I'd have wanted to see start, but tbh Patterson needs minutes to see if he has a future with us.

Throw Keane up there alongside Beto.

In today’s press, Gordon has said that he regrets playing for us because he was cup-tied when he joined the Skunks.

No one will pay for him this month when he's free to speak to clubs now and go for nothing in the summer with a very nice signing-on fee on his hip.

Not "Dom is injured" or "Dom has injured his ankle", but "Dom has reported an ankle injury".

The Premier League games are more important.

The hard-boiled eggs are getting sacked anyway and tomorrow's result is nowhere near as significant as what has happened over the last couple of months.

Have you thought how wonderful for morale a decent cup run might be and a deserved reward for the 3,000?

This will be the first, and last, trip to Goodison Park for The Posh.

If TFG let a win against Peterborough United at home affect their judgement, then we really are in the proverbial – surely not.

I think we can have both here.

We can't afford to let him leave in January, even if he can walk away this summer… it's up there with Mourinho coming to Everton.

But, if we win tomorrow, Dyche will then get the next two home games. We can't afford to lose them.

I have something much more subtle I could let you borrow. 😉

1) Youngsters playing and performing well and a comfortable win by 3 or 4 goals. (Unlikely. Armstrong will start but no other young players.)

2) A lucky or scruffy win, perhaps on penalties, provided by the majority of the usual suspects. This one could satisfy most of us. Progress to the 4th Round at home to Accrington or Salford under a new manager.

Don't over-complicate it, you'll feel better, and your posts might make sense.

Besides, nobody knows how long Dyche will get whatever the results. TFG may already be chatting with a replacement for all we know. And even if he does stay for a couple more games, that doesn't necessarily mean we'll lose them.

The only thing it almost guarantees is that we won't be any fun to watch.

I would like to see Patterson, Beto, Lindstrom, Harrison, and O'Brien all start. Need to rest and protect Pickford, Ndiaye and Mangala.

If we get someone else in on 6 months, it's going to be a nightmare. What if they're worse than Sean Dyche – we're sunk. I think we'll look a lot better once we can move Garner to right-back and put Young at left-back.

Paul, you have zilch inside knowledge and evidence for saying this. Why not just listen to wiser heads who are telling you that tomorrow will make little or no difference at all in the grand scheme of things,

Why don't you grab yer coat, hop in the car, and drive to Big Rob's to ask him what he thinks of your posts.

I have never ever and will never hope that we lose a match, any match, U12, our ladies ...

I'm giving Paul the benefit of the doubt that he didn't really mean it. Win tomorrow, new manager comes in and takes us to Wembley and keeps us up!

Speaking of which, Liam, how did your boy's career turn out?

I don't like saying it myself. But the longer game is more important.

So what are you going to do if we beat Villa and Spurs and Dyche is reprieved until the end of the season?

Or shouldn't I ask?

In my opinion, the problem is our midfield, put Dixon at right back, but Garner is a massive loss in midfield, his pace and attacking threat is what we're missing.

We have no one to support our striker, Doucoure isn't the answer with his lack of skill, Garner is.

Wishing your lad all the best... only 17, plenty of time to soar higher!

Pickford, Mykolenko, Branthwaite Tarkowski, Young. Ndiaye, Mangala, Doucoure, Gueye, Harrison, Beto.

Predicted score 1-0

YAWN 😴

I wholeheartedly agree about Garner, and I'd put Iroegbunam in the same category. He has a lot to learn about defending, but our attack was better when we had him dribbling out of the #6 and moving the ball up quickly.

Our dependence on Route 1 began when we lost those two.

I run my lads sunday team up until last year and have 3 lads who've got contracts at Blackpool, Huddersfield and Harrogate this summer. Another few doing non-league like mine. They'll all find it difficult to make a living out of it, but one thing I drilled into them is to keep playing until you physically can't anymore, no matter what the level. You'll only regret it when you are my age. Great group of kids.

The one lad I'm sure will make a living was our CB, but in rugby league. He's signed for Leeds Rhinos and he's an absolute monster. Some competitor that kid and a joy to coach.

A win tomorrow would be a good pick-me-us-up. P'boro are like Wolves. Lots of goals scored and conceded but more conceded. 3-0 for me and then ten days or so for the club to think about Dyche and a couple of players please.

Goodness. Another Spurs injury - Bentancour - and this looks like a head injury. Stretcher out.

Maybe we should all go and watch Liam's son instead?

U23s v Chesterfield away, weather permitting. He'll probably be sub though. 🤣

I remember us playing Huddersfield a few years ago, a night game. My lad went and when I picked him up at our local train station when he arrived back.

He said him and his mates bailed out at half-time to go back to Huddersfield town centre because the pubs were that good!

Non-league is awesome. I envy your lifetime of such experiences. Marine is my second team after Everton. Pete Mills introduced me in 2017. He's been going to their games for 65 years.

Now I have a brick in their new patronage wall, just a few inches away from Jose Mourinho (who donated when Spurs played at Marine in the FA Cup) and a club shirt celebrating their partnership with Cancer Research UK. So cool.

I wish you were picking the team!

I called in to watch Bootle playing there towards the end of last season on a Friday before an Everton game. Nice little ground with a decent club house and bar.

I love Rossett Park – refuse to call it The Arriva Stadium or Marine Travel Arena (yuck) and my time in the old shed. Glad you went there. Did we win?

Somone I know who used to play for them mentioned it to me when I was over in Liverpool for Xmas.

I always tell him he should do better. (As my dad did to me!)

I played my last game at 60, a testimonial game between parents and a joint staff/ex pupils I'd coached at a north London school for 30-odd years.

The added bonus was my daughter played in my team – and before the dinosaurs chip in, she's a two-footed midfielder, currently captaining Islington Borough ladies, who has played at a good standard for 20 years.

She'd dribble rings round most of the begrudgers amongst the ToffeeWeb crowd.

Also, I had Sebastien Bassong, a parent at the school, play a half for each side. Which was nice. Play as long as you can.

There isn't a whole lot of open land in and around Crosby. A seafront stadium to match ours! Maybe something is getting knocked down?

1-0 to the Blues.

Not surprised tbh, the abuse they get is off the scale. Hope it's a bit better on the other side of the Atlantic.

And wouldn't it be nice if we put on some joined-up footy to show that we can do joined-up footy.

I think the comments about Garner and Iroegbunam on other threads are apposite. We could do with them.

Now you're better going to the smaller villages like Holmfirth, Slathwaite or Marsden.

We can't inflict our playing style on young terrestrial viewers before the watershed.

I'm not criticising, I loved soccer, played it.

But being Irish, hurling was huge in our family, and my dad also played, but he never put pressure on any of us, just supported us.

That hurling is a hard-as-nails game! So is Gaelic football.

Whenever I'm in Spain, I can't access it.

Just saw this, however: Everton v Peterborough will be available to watch live on the BBC Red Button. Live streaming of Everton v Peterborough is also available via BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

It's on ESPN+ over here.

Marine put a good amount of the Spurs windfall into upgrading Rossett's facilities -- they got the best artificial turf money could buy, and now the kids play on it too. But a new home? Wow. That's big. They'd better get out of the relegation zone!

Unfortunately the referee situation is equally grim over here. I hear about it from league organizers wherever I've lived. I catch crap from players on occasion, but after 48 years on the whistle I give it right back, and they generally only try me once.

Tony #49, congratulations on having such a brilliant daughter. And a captain no less. Coach Dad has great reason to be proud.

Mind, if some on here get their wish and we stick Keggers the centre-half up front, I may just stay in the pub!

Getting knocked out by them would be the end of the ginger Simeone. He is reminding me of Martinez when he was in his tailspin.

I cannot listen to his crap anymore.

I think we quit too soon!

The all-Ireland hurling final was shown on BBC last summer, for the first time, and they couldn't believe it. The fastest and best game in the world, 82,000 people at the game, played by amateurs!

Then go with Mangala, Armstrong and Ndiaye in midfield with Harrison on the left Lindstrøm on the right and Broja up front. I would also play Young at left-back.

Hopefully that lineup should score some goals??

I've almost forgotten what they were like in midfield, it seems a world ago.

However, I only came on to increase the list of the injured and missing. According to the web, these players will most probably be unavailable for selection tomorrow:

Coleman, Garner, Iroegbunam, McNeil, Lindstrøm, Calvert-Lewin, Broja and Chermiti.

That means we will only have Beto as a 1st XI forward (if he's still around?) with Jack Harrison and Ndiaye in attack.

In midfield, we only have Mangala, Gana Gueye, Doucoure and Armstrong.

The good news is, other than Seamus, all the defence are available as well as all three goalkeepers for the bench.

I wonder if this means we may see another one or two U21s get selected for the matchday squad?

Despite the injuries the fit players you list are all players who are and have been playing at a level well above any Peterborough player. Most of the injured should or would have been rested for this anyway.

We should win regardless and if we don't then it's the last game Dyche will manage at Goodison.

Beto should be champing at the bit, even if he's after a move. As should all the others to finally get a win. Don't care about our league form, we're playing a bottom-table side at home two divisions below us. Give the fans something to cheer about and get a comfortable 3-0 win.

Definitely start Patterson. If he's not good enough to start here, he shouldn't be at the club.

There's also a bunch of the Everton youth coaches in town who are going to swing by.

Why didn’t we go for Potter 💁🏼

81 + 77 and still competing ???.

That is seriously, seriously impressive. What are they feeding you Yanks ? I played vets football until I was in my mid fifties and often came across formidable characters in their sixties.
I only stopped when I overheard my lad and his mates chuckling away in the bar after a "frantic" semi final they had come to watch. They were describing the entire match as like watching a still photograph.

I should never have listened to the bastards. You're a long time stopped.

I have this weird feeling he'll get sacked if we get smashed in the derby, much in the same way Marco Silva had the guillotine brought down on him.

If the Friedkin's were to do that though, I do seriously question them as it's exactly what you would expect from the previous owner.

You can get after that 81 year old Yank.

We cant have them beating us.

What would you want/expect the Friedkin's to do to be different/better than the previous onwer?

It’s going to be cold at Goodison tonight, it would be nice to think we will see a decent game with both teams going for it, although such hope does not extend to optimism.

We can’t win the league but we could win the cup, and that’s why I despair at the Kenwright era.

Hanging on in quiet desperation, became the Everton way, but when you look at the awful football and how much our squad is stretched with just a few injuries, I’m just hoping that the new era, takes us back, or at least tries to take us back, to where we once belonged.

I guess I was just pointing out how threadbare the squad is looking at the moment.

I'm just glad that after this game, we don't play again until the 15th. It's gives the ones with just knocks a chance to recover.

I seriously wonder if he'll rest Young and Mykolenko, and play Jack Butler at LB tonight? Or at least have Butler on the bench maybe?

We'll find out later I guess; oh and woe betide us, if one of the attacking trio goes down, as we've no-one to replace them.

All this mess, and an apparent 'must win' game for Dyche too!

How about make the right decisions?

You're right though, we have about as much chance of winning the cup as Peterborough do.

He is small but has good control, fast feet and a bit of speed, can play right across the forward line and could surprise Peterborough because he is not known, he might even surprise Dyche if he gets on, I think the fans would like him, a player who likes the ball and not afraid to use it!

https://www.evertonfc.com/news/2025/january/09/fan-notice--everton-v-peterborough/

Back in the (good) old days you’d just get the orange ball out. 22 players on the pitch, short sleeves, no gloves nonsense.

If slippery pavements give us an advantage the game should go ahead! We need all the help we can get.

(I fully expect it to be cancelled since we can't have those poor people walking on slippery pavements)

(Get the fucking gritter out and get on with it)

About a 3-4 hour one way trip in freezing conditions. At least if it’s called off at 1pm some may not have left yet.

Hope it’s on and we obviously get the win. Could do with a confidence boost and a cup run is always nice, regardless of the league. It’s not like we had loads of league cup games to play.

Whilst that would make sense, I think just the word Everton would be enough to interest many potential candidates and the chance to turn around the club, perhaps not to former glory, but at least get it back on the road again would be of interest of course remuneration helps.

We all know our past history - however, the more recent history, the club being a basket case for many years and no doubt 'inside knowledge' of further potential points deductions/financial restrictions might just be enough to put people off.

Interesting times ahead...

Just get the game done...

And Dyche gone!

Out of curiosity, have just looked on the Peterborough website. Their coaches are due to leave at 1pm, and are asking fans to turn up as scheduled. They will depart once it’s confirmed the game is on. Problem then is if there’s any deterioration in the weather which could still cause a postponement, and their coaches are halfway up here. Not our concern though.

It's true that he contributed more in a footballing and attacking sense.

It's also true that he was dropped before he was injured.

Tim has been no loss to Dyche. Dyche didn't want to see a midfielder carrying the ball.

I assume the talk of postponement is not related to the pitch? I thought we had under-soil heating? Hopefully if there are really power cuts in the area, that runs on gas!

Sadly now it's just an attitude of nobody's bothered if we get knocked out, football has definitely lost the magic now.

The mere fact this game is being played on a bone cold Thursday night says it all, much like our trio down to Palace last year, ridiculous.

I read yesterday that the idea to stop replays in the early rounds was due to the authorities wanting matches to be played and concluded on a weekend, strange that the ties are being played between Thursday and Monday, that must constitute a normal weekend for the men in suits.

I couldn't reel off the past dozen FA cup winners, I used to be able to recite the winners and finalists from the 1940s right through to the late 90s.

Danny/Anthony, without a doubt Tim was our stand out performer in the first 3/4 "league" games of the season.

The kid has potential and the kid also showed some potential, but he was still a long way away imo, just like Everton I suppose.

Sometimes a teams name is written on the FA Cup, and with the standard of the league, not being that great this season, then I’ll keep dreaming for the younger generation of Evertonians, who have seen nothing.

Just gotta keep believing Christine, and like Mark says, no pitchforks but just plain bemusement, at the thoughts that go through the heads of many Evertonians, when it comes to silverware, now.

That's of course predicated on us "endlessly trying to find ways to be more effective in front of goal".

Which I don't believe for one second.

Playing in a team where none of them are trained to control a football will see him regress like most of our other midfielders.

I have little doubt that come May we'll all be questioning Ndiaye's worth when we've trained even more attacking ability out of him, which would be a shame because that is one of our few if not only real attacking threat.

Are the roads further north that bad?

I have to agree, the FA Cup has lost its magic (lost it quite some time ago I think).

I was watching an interview this morning with Paul Barber (CEO of Brighton). He was quite clear that the priority for them each year is to finish 17th or above in the Premier League. No mention of the domestic cup competitions.

That said, I will be watching on BBC iPlayer tonight, but there is a very good chance I'll dip out at 9:00 pm to watch The Traitors.

Everton's FA Cup third-round tie against Peterborough United will go ahead despite icy conditions in Liverpool.

A safety meeting involving the club and relevant authorities assessed the weather and travel conditions.

The match at Goodison Park is scheduled to kick-off at 19:45 with coverage on BBC iPlayer and the Red Button from 19:35.

And from the OS:

https://www.evertonfc.com/news/2025/january/09/fan-notice--everton-v-peterborough/

Doesn't seem to jive with your earlier 'conclusion' @129 that the game would be off?

John#136.

How come you're disappointed if the game's on?

Thanks for the update, it seems the game is on and I can imagine that even if the pitch and roads are OK, the pavements won't be. I live further south in the Cotswolds, so out the worst of this, but it is still very icy and the sub zero temperatures mean it doesn't thaw.

Proper winter, eh?

It's been years now, you should well know that I'm almost always completely wrong about all things football!

Seems slightly bizarre that TFG who sacked him a few months back from his position of Roma boss to then reinstate him as manager of Everton.

You would have to ask how do they square the circle on that, surely if he wasn't good enough for Roma, how come he is right for Everton?

Joking apart, if Dino Dyche does put out a near "full-strength team" then it will allow us a proper opportunity to judge just how poor and/or poorly managed they are.

If he can not put Posh away comfortably then tomorrow (or 10 pm tonight) must bring immediate action.

Well, if you are leaving Tarkowski out, then you should leave Branthwaite out with him.

Jarrad is still way off his last season performances!

Based on who is available and needs a game I'd probably go for a 4411 (ish) like this.

Virginia

Keane
O'Brien
Patterson / Dixon
Young

Doucoure
Armstrong (definite starter for me)
Lindstrom
Harrison

Ndiaye
Chermiti (if fit) Beto (if in the UK / not being sold)

I can see why we might use more experienced / regular players - and maybe also give Benjamin and Whitaker some minutes from the youth set up.

Mark @144, I was in a place called Colerne, near Bath watching my son play football yesterday.

It was a horrible trip back. Plenty of narrow country lanes, some which were technically two way, but only one car would fit, so he who comes first wins. Then add the snowstorm!! It wasn't much better on the motorway until I got closer to London.

Reading through the comments, I appreciate many have had to revert to propping open the eyes with match sticks this season. I acknowledge that equally as many will continue to be bitter about how to club was allowed to fall from grace since our last league title.

But tonight is the FA Cup. We have the chance to win a trophy.

I was talking the other night, reminiscing. Apologies in advance.

The Everton winter of discontent. The Coventry home match. Kendall (Mk 1) must go was the mood amongst the supporters as we went into January. And then a couple of cup runs that took us to two finals, bringing the FA Cup home, combined with an upturn in league form to finish a respectable 7th place. That was the platform of what was to come.

Champions of England the following season, adding our first and, to date, only European trophy as the blue masses took over Rotterdam.

A near miss on the double the following season but we picked up the title again the season after.

We came from nowhere. I know times have changed and we won't be winning the league anytime soon. But we will at some point.

My point is don't dismiss the FA Cup, embrace it. When I witnessed Kevin Ratcliffe lift the trophy, as the 13-year-old Danny stood behind the goal, who only 5 months earlier, had very little hope, was mesmerised. I hope we do it for those poor suffering young supporters who have nothing, because when it happens, it's magic.

Right now we have a few injury doubts and, in my opinion, right now I’d sooner have all available for our league games

Obviously I want us to go out and batter Peterborough that’s why I’d try 3-5-2 but I doubt Dyche will change anything and we’ll see Peterborough having more possession.

I just want us to do everything possible to have our first game next season in the PL and if that means postponed games to help get players fit, so be it

Anthony @ 101 classic

I am also confused about the reference to trying to lose to concentrate on the league

- I’d boldly suggest Dyche tries to lose every week, or maybe better put does not try to win…

Anyway, he is convinced we will win 5- or 6-nil (has even bet on it). He says their defence is absolutely abysmal. If we don't win this we have serious problems… (Not that we didn't know that already!)

Thats a gem of a post mate.

For the life of me I cant understand how any Evertonian would want thousand of Evertonians freeze to watch us to go out and thousand of young blues deprived of the chance of a cup run, simply because they don't like the manager.

I thought I'd heard it all

Weird time to announce something two hours before a game kicks off.

Clearly we had been speaking to Potter but he's chosen West Ham.

I don't know who we go for now, just hope it's the right appointment

Mind you. it no longer matters. He's gone and we can ALL get behind Seamus and Bainsey

Yep, that resonates with myself too. I started following Everton around the 74/75 season, and also as my Dad had an 'old fashioned' newsagents, I started collecting the Panini stickers for the albums. I also remember the pictures of Gordon Lee and then Mick Lyons! Hehe

Even though Everton were decent back then, I didn't realise until later, how much in the 'doldrums' the club was after Catterick's departure; and yet we finished 4th behind Bobby Robson's Ipswich, Bob Paisley's Liverpool and the emergence of Dave Mackay picking up Clough and Taylor's team at Derby, and winning the league.

Since then, we've had no real success in the league or cups until Howard's reign in the early-mid 80s. Then the '95 Dogs of War, or the midfield pressing trio, who fought for everything and beat the Mancs to win the FA Cup. More against the odds, as by that time the 'Teary Eyed Parasite' had started to hook his mandibles into the club properly.

Anyhoo, since then, other than the 'respectability; of some of the Moyes years, we've been abject in the League and cups.

My cycle was we did alright, but couldn't quite get the job done till Howard rocked up, and then since the squad fragmented over 87-89, other than a plateau under Moyes, it's all been disappointment.

At least with Moyes you had hope that he could get us into the top 4 regularly, but not to be unfortunately.

As for tonight and the relevance of the cup. I think a 'decent' cup run 5th round, or quarter-finals would be quite a fillip for the club in it's current iteration.

However, as both Tony and Christine pointed out, it is a sad state of affairs that the League has to take precedence, and especially because we're worried about relegation - again!

Christ in a hand cart, we've had 30+ years of financial folly, and now we have owners who have stabilised the club financially, we are still in a spending strait jacket because of the pig's ear poop show that first Kenwright, and then Moshiri served up!

I just hope we can survive (I hate that expression with a passion) and then we'll (hopefully) be more financially expansive next season.

A brilliant heartfelt, and obviously genuine post (emotionally).

Well said Sirrah!

On some bookies the betting has been suspended on Moyes, while Mourinho is fav.at 2/1 on most.

I’m not happy at Cooper coming here but the money will come in handy if he does

They don't have a lot to lose really - so might as well just have a go and play very hard for a win. Would be great to see Harrison Armstrong at the heart of that - and maybe one or two others coming back from injury or academy.

Obviously there's a risk of an upset - but who cares. We probs won't win the cup anyway. Let's go for it.

COYB.

It's going to be very interesting to see how a couple legendary full-backs view Patterson…

The only good think about Cooper is he makes Rednapo look handsome

Or is it back to 1 hour as it's not the Premier League?