Match Preview: Manchester Utd vs Everton

If so, give him some minutes please.

Seen it so many times before like!!!

The goals we've conceded on the whole have been individual errors, which you would expect to be avoided in the high stakes of a Premier League game when minds and bodies are sharp and focused, not fatigued from playing in heat whilst in the middle of hard training.

Travers doesn't hesitate in a Premier League game. He takes Mykolenko out. Imagine the backlash if he does that in a nothing game!

I hope he gives Barry more game time. The result doesn't matter! Getting used to playing in Moyes's system does. Ideally we'd have had a full new right side and an upgrade in central midfield, but we wait in hope.......

One goal from open play in 4 public preseason games, and that was a fluke from our non scoring anchor, Idrissa Gana Gueye, who is imperative to our team BTW.

We need to start playing with two up top or bring in goalscoring midfielders.

Right, Rasmus, here are your two mates to keep you company, fellow bum strikers, Chermiti and Beto. Pitty you didn't sign last week, we just let another bum walk, Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

I have no idea where you will fit in, you are all fucking useless!

The only good thing will be if we don't pick up an injury or two - fingers crossed.

The "We need to bring in people fast" rhetoric.

We're going to end up with Coufal, Soucek and Antonio and Moyesy will be singing The Boys Are Back In Town…

There will be lots of good players where their clubs are holding on for a fee (like Grealish) or the players are holding out for more interest (like Fofana and Douglas Luiz) and we just have to be patient and accept that we are not top of the pile. It's frustrating but it's our reality right now.

We are in no position to play hardball. We are seriously lacking in numbers, never mind quality. We need players now!

We can't afford to go to the wire in order to save a million or two. Another relegation struggle would be devastating.

They couldn't care less about our preferred deadline. Theirs is 1 September.

Please tell me more about this... *checks notes... 'System' thingy.

Just like your namesake.

Whilst they will hopefully prove good buys, every reader of these pages knows we are still short of 3 first team starters.

Maybe if all 4 of our centre-backs are fit, Moyes would continue to play O'Brien as a full-back, but that still leaves us desperately short of numbers, with little cover for injuries.

Hopefully we will see some evidence that our recruitment team have some sort of a strategy as currently we appear to be chasing lost causes.

All three players have top-flight experience in a major European league and should be ready to play games in the Premier League – even if it takes a bit of time to acclimatise. I would then view it as a good thing that three talented players can continue to develop and improve over the next few years.

Otherwise, as Mike says, for players, agents and selling clubs, the deadline is 1 September.

It is a silly system because it interferes with preparations and the first few games of the season. But everyone is having to operate in the same silly system.

Even the RS, who have spent big and got their players, are probably now wondering if they went too early on Ekitike since Isak does seem to be available now after all (and the player is probably helping to drive down his price tag in desperation for a move).

Then, other than Arsenal, Chelsea, Man City and maybe Man Utd, I think everyone is probably deeply unhappy with this window so far.

We could have filled up the glaring gaps in the squad already with lesser players – but why do that when there still seems like a good chance that we could sign some really good players?

Obviously we need a Plan B and Plan C to fall back on if the top targets go elsewhere and we're running out of time… but that is so stark-staringly obvious you'd have to expect the club is aware of that also.

I expected him to be pragmatic and work the market accordingly. We have no chance of signing some of the lads we have been heavily linked with, such as Kubo and Fofana. We have zero track record of European football and have been shambolic since they were kids.

Moyes has been whinging about how difficult the market is in comparison to West Ham when he could offer European football. He needs to pull his head out of his arse and get with the programme. You've joined us, Davey. And the reason you are here is we've been absolutely shite for a long, long time.

Moyes is basically right back where he started – as is the club – when he arrived in 2002. He needs to work the market as such. I expected at least a couple of young Championship players in by now. We need to start working this market and getting players in.

There's been talk of Josh Brownhill. Whilst not ideal in terms of age – I believe most of our signings should be under 25 years – he's a solid player and a good character and would be handy as a squad player.

We need players in. Stop trying for lads we have absolutely no chance of getting.

I'm not too bothered about the pre season displays, We all know how Moyes likes to flog his players at this time to get them properly fit, so I suspect this explains the lacklustre displays from our midfielders and striker, the problem which we do have is that the CEO and manager don't seem to get on.

It's like players to a degree, if they were any good, why are the parent club not trying to retain them? Mind you, with players it can be a horses for courses scenario, but that is often rare too!

He was dealt an awful hand and played well.

I retract my post.

Man City, Juventus and Atletico want or need to get rid of Grealish, Luiz and Gallagher, respectively, for different reasons (money, money and non-EU player quotas, respectively).

All of them may end up in the Premier League – and none of them will be top targets for any of the established Rich 6 or 8 clubs. They could still end up there – but only because they themselves have failed to land a top target.

Kubo would probably happily come (as Barry has) for a big pay rise – and Real Sociedad may yet dial down their fee demands as we get closer to 1 September. In any case, it looks like we may have moved on anyway given the focus on Dibling.

Younger players like Dibling, Hutchinson, McAtee, El Khannouss and Fofana all look very likely to move – but there are probably quite a few interested parties for these talented young players. I would be disappointed if we were not interested in these players, as they look like the pick of the high quality young players available this summer (below the likes of Madueke, Gittens and Ait Nouri etc who would have been unrealistic).

Any fans considering these players to be unrealistic are positioning us behind the likes of Forest and even Leeds as potential destinations. I don't perceive Everton to be less attractive than these clubs.

Players live in the now. Off the back of a very good season, Forest is obviously a more attractive proposition than us right now. Good manager, good players. They are much better than us.

I had to laugh after they quite easily saw us off at Goodison last season. Some fans were suggesting only one of Forest's players (Morgan Gibbs-White) would make our starting 11. Erm... you might want to take a look at their entire back 4, mid, and wide boys as well, chaps.

Precisely what do we have to offer players? A track record of European football? No. A track record of developing young players - join us and you will improve? No. A stable, well-managed club that's progressing? No.

Our offer is we have a new ground and have been totally shite for over a decade but plan on not being.

If I was a player and it was between us and Forest and the terms agreed were identical, based purely on football, I'd join Forest. It would be a pretty easy decision.

I know this doesn't sit well with some people, and it's difficult to accept.

With a goal-shy offense and multiple defensive woes, it's hard to see anything bright about the coming season.

We have some new blood that may come to fruition soon (Armstrong and Barry) but the few bright spots of the tail end of last season have yet to show up.

Moyes has a tough job to do, especially when he can't get the players he wants through the door, so he has to get what he has into shape – and soon.

It does seem they are strapped for the right amount of cash in certain negotiations but also some guys just want other clubs.

Let's hope at least that the performance today gives us all something to cheer about.

I do agree Forest had a much bigger and better squad than us last season – having spent heavily to assemble it. I don't think they'll replicate their good form of last season though (the Nuno Santos glass ceiling?).

Now that the extreme austerity of the post-2021 Moshiri years are over, I don't think Forest represent a more attractive prospect than us anymore.

I'm not sure about the back 4 comment. Yes, we need a right-back, but replacing O'Brien, Branthwaite and Tarkowski? Even Mykolenko takes the priority off and we now have Aznou as backup or competition.

Early days, but I think the club in several months is better run than it was under the previous lot considering what they inherited. Despite knowing what they were walking into, I'm sure there were a few surprises in the closet.

I'd rather wait until September to get the players we want than getting players that we don't want.

Any money we spend now can't be spent in the future.

I get it's frustrating but it's vital we get it right. One bad summer of signings can set you back years.

To be fair, you've mentioned this a number of times, Kevin, but it doesn't seem to have gained any traction amongst the hoi polloi. This can only mean one thing: we're all stupid.

Or it brings into question the efficacy of your role as Internet Influencer. I don't want to lessen the import of your claim but perhaps some lip filler and a butt-lift would help you get the message over with more conviction and authority?

It's pre-season. Give everyone a run out, ensure maximum effort with some team cohesion when pressing and passing combinations when in possession.

Go forward and attack at pace. We need far more practice creating and scoring than we do defending.

If we lose 6-2 it means nothing. But I'd rather lose in trying to create and score than a boring defensive block that does nothing for building positive play.

I have to presume both West Ham and Man Utd will be far better than last season. Where will we be at, I have no idea?

There's absolutely zero evidence of this.

But if you read the mood music, the conflicting statements between the two 'we're behind where we need to be ' 'I've always said judge me on 1 September' you can see a pattern emerging.

Moyes is not back where he started, the charlatan was in charge then.

We hopefully have decent owners now.

When all else fails, pareidolia is your friend.

The decent owners who brought Moyes back, gave him a 30 month contract, let Thelwell go and replaced him with a "flatter" structure staffed with Moyes "picks" and with Moyes front and centre.

"I honestly don't think players could care less about European football below Champions League, Bobby."

Sorry, but that is pure nonsense.

Maybe Moyes didn't get on with Thelwell?

Now there's a thought... and it seems to fit the evidence, methinks.

Kinnear said ‘judge US’ not ‘judge me’ at the end of the window.

A very important distinction

Most likely these Jodrell Bankers get handsomely rewarded for abject failures!

And I seem to remember we had a few European adventures under Moyes back in the day – but seemed to lose out on players quite regularly despite this.

And really, if all these foreign players were so dead set on the Europa League, then why leave the best clubs in Netherlands, Belgium or Portugal or France to come and play for bottom-half teams in the Premier League?

As I am sure there will be plenty of dissenters if we get off to a bad start. So whose fault will that be?

How would we know that? What evidence is there to suggest this?

Kinnear is running the club on behalf of the owners. Maybe owners and Moyes plus Kinnear are on the same page?

What are Kinnear's targets over a 1-, 3-, 5-year period?

What makes you think the CEO has failed?

If it was just Everton manager saying the transfer market is slow then maybe he has a point

However it’s not just the Everton manager saying the transfer market is slow.

Newcastle
Crystal Palace

To name but two are saying the TM is slow

I’d rather wait and sign good players than rush and sign players were lumbered with for years.

You can’t force players to sign for you.

The manager said we’d tried for plenty of players but none has agreed to come

4 more weeks and we will all know what has happened.

The window should be shut before the season starts

Ademola Lookman has handed in a transfer request at Atalanta.

That's right, you haven't got any, despite the fact that you have the nerve to question another poster about their evidence!

You threw this idea in on another thread and when challenged you promptly went quiet.

Paul @60, when fit, he was probably our best centre-back whilst at Goodison and a real presence in the changing room. He even broke the roof in the changing room after the Palace match even though he didn't play that night.

At 30, still not old for a centre-back. I liked him and will never forget that 99th minute equaliser against Wolves away, which probably kept us up. What a night that ended up being, although emotionally exhausting.

Worth a gamble? I'd be undecided if I'm honest.

A quick google will show you that.

The esk also brought it up months before Moyes arrived.

Ok hun.

Back to the Moyes-Kinnear conspiracy theories, it shouldn't really matter how well they get on, the only issue is how they perform and whether they can maintain a professional relationship.

Moyes is not here for the long term, so I only see one winner if he rocks the boat too hard. His most recent comments about recruitment have seen him at pains to avoid blaming those trying to get deals over the line. Maybe someone (that someone being Kinnear) has had a word in his shell-like.

As pointed out previously to you, Thelwell gave an interview AFTER Moyes was appointed where he discussed his ideas for future recruitment at the club.

That would suggest the 'speculation' you allude to may not have been accurate.

I have no idea whether you can join the dots on that, but I'll leave it with you so you can put two and two together and avoid getting six hundred and thirty seven.

He was taken aback, and commented that he couldn't believe it wasn't Budda ! :-)

I wish he'd been available before we shored up with Keane.

Plus Premiership appeared to be more straining on his body than Serie A

And I missed the reply sent to me. Otherwise I would have replied. I’ve still not seen the reply sent to me. I’m not going thrawling through every post. I’ve had a busy weekend.

I leave this with you.

I asked for evidence where Kinnear was a ‘Cnut’

I have my evidence in regards to whether you are or not.

I hadn't realised that "all these foreign players" are essentially not bothered about whether they play for a decent team or not.

First scenario: here you have referenced two players already playing in the Prem who have elected to join what remains one of the biggest clubs in the world and therefore a massive attraction to players.

Second scenario: you are indulging in an epic amount of spinning here. Please provide a specific example of a player or players that knocked us back during the few seasons we were able to offer Europa football under Moyes and instead joined another Prem team that had not qualified for europe. We were - as you well know - regularly potless during this period, such as when we were unable to raise the £10mil required to sign Landon Donovan permanently despite Moyes very much wanting him.

Third scenario: yes, players leave lower tier leagues to get into the biggest league for the massive increase in wages and exposure, so you are at least somewhat on planet earth here.

And, if the interested clubs happen to be Villa, Forest, or Everton, then the player in question will most likely choose one of the former and not us just because you labour under the delusion that we remain a tractor beam like draw for players because we had a decent spell getting on 40 years ago.

This is why Moyes "told the The Athletic in an interview published on Monday that his club had been repeatedly rejected by players who preferred clubs competing in UEFA club competitions next season and the challenge for Everton is made more difficult by the fact nine Premier League clubs will be competing in Europe in the coming campaign. He said on Tuesday he wants to sign players capable of getting Everton in contention to challenge for European places in the coming seasons."

It's almost as if there's this general principle that the better a club does, the better calibre of player it attracts.

However, I now realise that players aren't bothered who they play for, and whether the team is competing at a decent level so they can test themselves, improve, develop, and gain more experience, and prove they can play at more than just domestic level, and will instead sign for anyone.

Friday night, bored out of my skull, I tuned in a Leagues Cup match (WTF is the Leagues Cup anyway?) between my mediocre local MLS side Seattle Sounders and Mexican powerhouse Cruz Azul, recent CONCACAF Champions Cup winners. As expected, Cruz Azul dominated and were unfortunate to be only 0-0 at HT.

Seattle came out in the second half and scored seven goals. Seven. It was the greatest 45 minutes I have ever seen from any team, any time, anywhere, in 50 years of watching footy. The last goal was a Di Canio-style volley by a guy who had scored once previously in his Sounders career. Even the Mexican broadcast team went insane. 0-7 the final.

Then Saturday, I came home from the gym and, looking for a nice dull background for my nap on the couch, accidentally clicked onto the Women’s Copa America final between Brazil and Colombia. Perfect snooze material.

Forget it. The game went 4-4, then to pens. Colombia led three times. A Brazilian rolled the ball elegantly past her own keeper. Marta the legend tied the game with the last kick of normal time, a worldie full volley from 23 yards that would have made Messi strut. In ET Marta scored again, then Colombia tied it in the final moments with a top corner free kick. Marta missed a pen. The last Colombian pen was missed by a girl who should have been red-carded first half for a head butt. Wild game – which, like Seattle, I had had zero intention of watching.

So ya just never know. I’ll be watching us, that’s for sure. Probably disappointed, but....

So you think Moyes and Thelwell didn't get on

Kevin M. thinks Moyes and Kinnear don't get on.

Jerome thinks nobody gets on with anyone.

Are Everton morphing into ToffeeWeb?

As I said right from the off - it’s why Barry has left a Champions League team in Villarreal to play for a team out of Europe altogether in Everton.

And it’s why a player like, randomly, Talbi has left a really well put together Brugge to play at a lower standard for Sunderland.

All these players are chasing the biggest wage package. If we offer bigger wages than Forest then we win - the players don’t give a shit about the prospect of playing in a competition to find the best mid-table team in Europe.

Don’t get me wrong they’ll enjoy the experience and try their best generally when playing in Europe - but only in the same way as players do in the FA cup etc. But the reason players join one club over another is money.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Moyes doesn't make it to the end of the season at the new ground, I really think this first season in the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock will be tough going!

So we’re then down to those teams outside of the so called big teams. Europeans spots are available if you can finish high enough, often depending on who wins the domestic cups, but you probably know that there’s not much chance of winning the competition, ( Europa League or Conference league) and unless you can be the best of the rest and finish high enough each season, then it might well be your only shot at European football. Will Forest play their strongest team every Thursday in the Europa League, knowing they’ve got a tough away game the following weekend? I think not. Players and managers chase glory, owners chase the money, and the biggest prize pot is the premier league, something no owner wants to miss out on.

So then it’s down to money. Obviously at this moment in time, Forest do have the European carrot to dangle in front of a player, but for how many seasons? Personally I can’t see them qualifying for a European spot this season, so as Robert says, if we offer more money to, for example, Luiz Douglas, who both us and Forest are reportedly after, then I think he would choose us. Douglas has no affiliation to either team, that I know of anyway, so I guess he will go to whoever offers him the most money.

Okay, if a "big" club shows an interest, they may be prepared to take a lesser salary for the "fame" and prospect of winning something.

Obviously the "bigger" the club... the bigger the sacrifice.

Outside of the Champions League qualifiers, however, I don't think it matters much.

Soucek has no pace, that's true. However, he does have presence in both boxes and seems like a Moyes player to me.

My gut feeling is that he'd do well for us for a couple of seasons. Especially in a team which doesn't have much possession.

Our own current manager has said it himself, that it was easier at West Ham.

You buying the Moyes rhetoric now... when it suits?

As I've always said, I don't mind praising him, which I have done countless times.

I didn't agree with his recent press conferences, but he conducted himself differently today.

It's not when it suits. I liken it to criticising a player for a poor performance, but praising them when they play well.

Genuine question Brendan. Are you zooming in on me? Fine if you are, as I can hold my own. But I don't see you doing likewise with others who have aired similar views to me.

Ain't zooming in on you.

Genuine apologies if you're feeling that.

Won't happen again Danny... keep the faith!