Uninspiring display at the Bridge for the Toffees

Dull as dishwater.

The season is ebbing out now and, apart from the sentimental last two games at Goodison (which knowing us we'll manage to underperform in), we need it to end ASAP.

We need an overhaul of the squad this summer with some serious attacking signings that can offer some punch going forward.

Overall, a poor season, poor win return, and a poor goal return, just another very Everton season.

I hope we do back Moyes this summer because, if not, I think we can't really progress even to mid-table the way we are.

Thoughts on the game:

Pickford - solid as always. I thought O'Brien and Branthwaite did well together, Branthwaite was outstanding at times.

Patterson isn't good enough. Mykolenko did well but he's pretty limited as a footballer. Gana was solid and tidy. Garner looked poor.

Harrison – why do we persist?!?!? Ndiaye – okay but nothing of note. Should have stayed on though and not Harrison. Doucouré – poor again today. Ran a lot but rubbish with the ball.

Beto – apart from giving the ball away for their goal, I thought he did okay with little service.

Subs:

McNeil – why play him on the right?!? I think he'd have been better on the left in a combo with Mykolenko. Did poorly tbh.
Alcaraz – I'm not convinced about signing him; he doesn't offer much. Ashley Young did okay but offered nothing going forwards. Chermitti offered nothing

We all know that the squad needs an overhaul but I worry about how many players we need to be competitive with the amount of contracts done this summer. Big job for Moyes as we need to get players in early for pre-season to bed them in quickly.

Hi Andrew, I agree with all that apart from Alcaraz, but as you say, that still leaves a massive task to rebuild from limited foundations.

Andrew @ 2, I agree with all you say there, but Everton have rarely brought new players in early, normally last minute scrambles to get transfers over the line. Not conducive to building for the new season. Hope that changes !

Even though it was a narrow loss, on the basis of individual performances we have to ship some out and recruit, as there was nothing inspiring other than Branthwaite/O’brien partnership which look like it will work.

The rest was a mish mash of individiuals spluttering about.

Let’s see what the Ipswich game brings in terms of improved performance and goals.

Couple of obversations that may not have been obvious on TV.
Pre match warm ups and drills:
The first 11 (10 outfield) warm up separately with a five v five of keep the ball. They looked very sharp. Then the back four do a drill with Baines firing a ball into another coach or over the top. The back four move up in unison, try to nick the ball before the target, or play the ball amongst them until the target is beaten and they return the ball to Baines. We looked very good at this and well drilled. Chelsea did the same drills as us but with that last one they didn’t have a target and just pinged it to their back four to pass about and pass back.
Moyes watches our drills intently.
At half time the subs come out with a coach and “ping” the ball to each other and do some short shuttle runs. They looked very ones I recognised were Michael Keane, Dwight McNeil, Tim Ibronamum and Chermiti.
To be generous they looked like half arsed 12 year olds having a kick about. IF Moyes had been watching that I doubt they would’ve got on the pitch that second half.
Alcaraz was also on their doing shuttle runs. He looked heavy and ponderous (although he did look better when he came on).
Seamus Coleman was constantly warming up along the touch line but is obviously not fit and “carrying” a leg. I don’t know if that’s a long term result of his leg break or if he’s just not yet fit, but I can’t imagine him playing anytime before the Southampton game.
All in all, we were NOT a mismatch for this Chelsea side but quality counts and I doubt ANY of our players bar Pickford would get in their team.
We could’ve nicked something - with better quality forwards we would’ve.
UTFT

Andrew #2

I agree and don't know why he played McNeil on the right, even though I thought he did well.

What I can't understand is why he didn't leave Ndiaye on, because Harrison offered absolutely nothing.

Uninspiring? I thought we were dreadful in the first half. Chelsea were no better but we gifted them a goal.

We improved after the interval with this week's substitutions making a more positive impact than last week's. But, until we have more players capable of creating chances and scoring goals, we are destined to struggle against most opponents.

Sorry but Moyes throughout his whole management career has not had to reshape a squad by bringing in players. Even if he had the money, I doubt he is capable of doing so. To think so is to harp back to Kenwright and if we had money, only to be totally exposed when Everton did.

Stats on Moyes's teams winning against the top teams remain the same. When he started back, things did look promising with a high press attacking formation with a engaged midfield.

But he has reverted to type putting out a hardworking negative formation and only going partially positive to retrieve something from the game when Everton have fallen behind. The engaged midfield trio has disappeared, preferring a headless Doucoure who can't pass.

Any players brought in will be to enhance Moyes's system. We may be lucky and get a Rice, McGinn, Madison or Bowen, but it won't change the system of play or Moyes's game management.

I do think that TFG know this and are restructuring recruitment to manage Moyes and prepare for another manager if necessary.

I wish it were different.

Feel like that Manchester United home back in February totally curbed our momentum.

2-0 up and absolutely cruising yet feels in some ways like we've regressed again to November since then.

Might just be me but I feel like much of it also has coincided with Lindstrom missing.

Harrison and McNeil on the flanks kills me, it killed me last season and having to watch it again this season – it's soul destroying as both of them are as slow as a wet bank holiday weekend.

The wheels have certainly fallen off the Moyes welcome wagon as the honeymoon period has faded… and boy has it faded!

Me personally, I feel that there is nothing to look forward to except the final home game – for the atmosphere, not necessarily the match – and the arrival at the new stadium. I want us to go out and win these final games with some gusto and fucking pride; but the way these last few matches have been, it'll end with a pop like a flat champagne cork.

Moyes has indeed reverted to type, keeping faith with players who don't live up to that faith – Doucoure and Harrison, added to that Beto but could/would he have played better with Alcaraz and not Doucoure?

To read some posts, you feel like apart from Branthwaite Pickford, O'Brien, Ndiaye and Alcaraz, not many are worth keeping, it's pretty much a massive overhaul.

Had this been the Everton of old, the deadwood would be given massive contracts to keep them. Hopefully with this new regime, the old Everton is dead and – barring PSR or whatever – we have the financial clout to get in some decent players to add to those aforementioned five and let the deadwood float off elsewhere.

Let's hope Moyes changes it up for these final matches and shows some balls and has a go; otherwise, I can see us limping down to 17th and we'll all be angry but relieved the season is over and a new era beckons.

We appeared a yard to slow on the pitch and too slow in thought and mind. Our build-up was too slow and we were overrun in midfield.

Every time we had the ball at our feet, they nicked it off us from behind, really poor. Beto's lack of skill on the ball finally displayed his limitations.

Patterson was the target for most of their attacks but he got no support from Harrison in supporting back. Mykolenko tried his best but was constantly bullied off the ball, similar to most of the team.

I'm not sure anyone came out of this with any praise and may just have sealed the futures for many of those that started today.

"Ndiaye, two failed take-ons"? Now call me old-fashioned… in fact, call me what you want, but what does that actually mean?

The modern game hey, low block, high press turnovers, transitions – all words from so-called experts. Nah, sorry… not for me.

Jim #11

The Man United game was the turning point. Moyes's negative substitutions, because of fear, handed the game to them. Lindstrom was a playmaker who could pass. Moyes was able to play him in, which Dyche could never have done.

But Moyes has not adjusted tactically for playmaking. Box-to-box Doucoure is all we get.

Andrew you say Alcaraz didn't offer much? Give me strength!

Sounds like we were flat for much of the game. Moyes will be Moyes so you know what to expect from him ie pragmatic, uninspiring, mechanical football.

He’ll guarantee us us safety but, with few exceptions, don’t expect to be entertained.

We have a dreadful squad and nevertheless managed to make a very talented Chelsea side look very ordinary.

Robert

Chelsea have been dreadful this season.

The fact that they are 4th speaks volumes for how bad the Premier League is regardless of what the media will bullshit us as the best in the world.

Ipswich recently went to Stamford Bridge and owned the pitch for an hour and were 2-0 up.

We didn't lay a glove on them until the last 15 minutes.

Jim I totally agree. It used to be the best league in the world, but I'd say for the last few years it's gone down hill. I'm much prefer the German Leagues, even La Liga.

Come on, I don't know why fans expect our players to suddenly turn into top 8 quality.
Chelsea were at home, they are in 5th with now 60 pts, while we have 38 pts from 34 games.

Some of the criticism is over the top and unrealistic, its been obvious all season that the team is only just good enough to survive.

Jim #18

Even Chelsea fans would agree with you.Liverpool may win the Premiership by default, be ause the other teams are teams poor.One said to me that good Old Moyes bottled the tactics as usual.

I expect no progress at all next season when WE will effectively be playing away from home for ages whilst we try to settle into BMD, with whatever's left of our current Moshiri/Kenwright shambles of a squad as contracts expire whilst money for signings, courtesy of the mutually adoring football-dickheads Kenwright and Moshiri, remain sparse.

What can Friedkin do or say about it though - given his deafening silence thus far?