Tarkowski harshly punished for a brave defensive block

That squad needs another 200m to be even remotely competitive

What a joke

This team is set up to draw.

It just needs round pegs in round holes. Don’t have to be world beaters.

But when you haven’t got a proper right back. Sign one as priority. Likewise a winger.

It’s like Mykolenko. He’s very average at best. But he is a left back. And when he plays there he can at least help the team to function properly

Looks a strange lineup to me.

Grealish clearly not match fit, and hence on bench. No other reason.

What an awful squad we have.

Yet some on here (Tommy) think we should be targeting a trophy because we spent 69m

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

I fucking despair at his choices and tactics sometimes, then again I did under Moyes MK1.

Tarks , Jake, Keane in a 3.

Grealish and KDH, even Aznou would have mixed it up a bit and given us something to look forward to, instead it’s going to be more of the same, misplaced passes and Beto fed on scraps.

Favs don't always win though.

Someone is having a laugh and it’s not our supporters.

Jeff (14), then why was he on the bench against Roma? He had to come on pretty early on and while it didn’t go brilliantly for him in that game there may have been other reasons for taking him off when he did.

Not surprised he’s not starting but surprised he’s not on bench at least. Could be injured or even sick.

I think youre just filling the injury room. Aznou I assume is injured.

Ian , I get your point, but we’re desperate for creativity, even McNeil is not playing and he can create more than say Tim O.

Leeds have a good solid looking 4-2-3-1 / 4-3-3.

We have a mystery formation with some square pegs and round holes. Presumably fitness issues.

Both teams light on actual quality.

Ndiaye v Gnonto. Who is going to lift the occasion?

TalkSport saying Everton are so unbalanced Moyes has to do something. Already?😕

We've only played 14 minutes.

Everton look like a Championship side, Leeds an established Premier League team. Leeds keeper asking for his phone to play Candy Crush.

But Moyes has to do drastic changes at half-time. So much pressure we are under.

Yes, all Everton did really was defend and — per the scoreline — they did that effectively.

Can't believe that xG for Leeds — only 0.4? I had the impression they had made a load of chances, just failed to convert.

Alcaraz hardly got a touch.

Why are the Linesmen so slow with the offside flag, waiting for VAR and where was VAR for an obvious corner that wasn't given as the officials were that far behind as they need to be told by VAR!

We need something more in midfield and a wide outlet, Calvert-Lewin is probably glad he's out of it.

Not much on the bench to change, mind you, one of the goalies might be better than one or two playing out, can't be any bleedin' worse.

Hoping we can ride out the storm, make some changes and nick it. I'd take a point in all honesty.

Utterly pathetic.

You can't have ambition if you can't string together 2 passes.

Garner is really struggling but sticking at it. Two right footers on the left of defence is clearly an issue.

The big one for me is Tim. I assume Moyes sees Garner as his second midfielder when possible and presumably doesn't trust KDH in there. Tim looks so far off this level – doesn't show for the ball at all.

Still, we could win this. Get Grealish on and probably McNeil too. Put them under pressure and they will get the jitters.

Moyes out!! 😬.

I hope that isn't what it looks like.

Leeds looked good in the first half.

Grealish will be sick of playing in this side by September.

Should have been Frank before Spurs got in.

Never a penalty.

I've given him pelters, but he had a good game overall.

Depressing, hope-killing, aimless, depressing bilge.

Since he left us, he ain't changed. Im sure our owner will take heed. Leeds are shite, we had the players to beat them, unfortunately not with a defensive manager.

We only stayed in the game that long because Leeds looked to take their foot off the pedal in the second half. And then again, Tarkowski as usual several yards behind everyone else trying to up his blocking stats when he could have just let it through for Pickford to make a simple save.

Bloody awful!

Put men behind the ball, no interest in playing up the field until the second half. Consistently passing up any vaguely threatening position to play back to Keane, Tarkowski and Pickford.

Cowardly performance, and Moyes looks a complete arse when it gets the result it deserves.

Terrible patched up defence, no full-backs, Keane playing, but we kept them at arm's length.

I thought Beto was poor, but still much better than Barry, which is concerning. No wonder he's looking for another fucking striker.

Once again, I'll go to bed with that song by Ian Dury bolstering my optimism for survival, as ever:

"Reasons To Be Cheerful - Decade Three!"

Yeah, right. :(

Right-footed centre-midfield player at left-back behind a right-footed left-winger who uses the threat of an overlap by the left-back to take players on inside or creates space for the left-back to receive the ball and whip it in. Garner didn't get forward once and, when the ball went back to him, he just went backwards due to being right-footed — no threat of crossing the ball or getting to the byline.

Opposite flank, we have a centre-half playing right-back behind arguably a centre-midfielder playing right-wing who also wants to drive inside and can't really beat a man — no threat of a cross or getting to the byline

So unbalanced and disjointed. Poor team selection, poor performance, poor touches, too many touches to move the ball on, no threat, slow passing, it was just a continuation of pre-season.

However, it was the shocking play by Alcaraz that put him in that position. Up until then, we had a safe point at least from a mixture of tedium and lack of ambition.

His substitutions are late, or nonexistent. His teams are negative and unadventurous.

He'll keep us up but bore us to death in the process.

a) that performance;
b) another stubborn manager refusing to change (their subs changed the game); or
c) the plebs desperate to write off our young striker after 15 or so minutes of game time.

I wonder if Moyes will ostracise Alcaraz much in the way he did when Ross Barkley made a similar error in possession once upon a time?

Moyes should've recognised that Beto was offering us absolutely nothing in this game. So the options were to hook him or adapt the styles and patterns of play to try and exploit his strengths. Instead, he left him on and we carried a passenger for the whole game.

Grealish has to play centrally for us. Simple as that. He's our most talented player. Alcaraz should've come out on the right with Grealish replacing Tim centrally.

Some really poor decision making from Moyes and, when we went 1-0 down — what did we do in the remaining 15 minutes of play to try and get something from the game? Not very much.

You're in your thirties?

Apart from that, we didn't deserve much from that performance.

But application of the laws has to be consistent; otherwise, the game gets even more farcical.

"We weren't ready. I didn't get the players in I wanted."

He got it in early.

If you can't attack the opposition's penalty area for the first 45 minutes, it's unlikely you will get a positive result….. and don't deserve to.

It's not as if like, Doucoure's departure had been publicly announced months before, or that we thought the loans had an expiration date.

Also, who's really had time to think about buying a new right-back in the short space of time since Coleman broke his leg?

He got a silly yellow card, was the cause of losing the ball in position which led to the incident where a penalty was awarded, and I didn't see where he created anything

Plenty of us are unconvinced.

Negative, weird bizarre positional changes. Not starting Grealish. Garner right-footed left-back with McNeil on the bench? Two keepers on the bench.

Passing the ball back and sideways eventually all the way to Pickford from outside their 18-yard box is criminal. No other sides would do that. Still isolating the striker with zero creativity.

Looked more positive 2nd half but simply not good enough. Moyes and Tarkowski will whinge about the penalty but we got what we deserved on that performance. Nothing.

Time to get the cheque book out TFG.

RW, RB and CM.

Charly Alcaraz reminds me now of Robert Warzycha. Remember him? Came in on loan, was amazing, oddly available for a relatively low fee.

Then, as soon as we signed him permanently, he turned to crap. Clearly there is a reason Flamengo moved him on after just 14 games.

What happened to the referee going to the screen to check the penalty decision? He'd rather take the word of someone 200 miles away!

Not one full-back on the pitch for us. Iroegbunam will never be a Premier League player, same with Beto. So, no right-hand side whatsoever or a decent goalscorer.

Shambles: team selection, injuries, lack of signings made this no surprise.

Les @137. Spot On.

We've had three months to get some decent players and we have to turn out a team like that. Dreadful.

Never a penalty! It hit the arm near the shoulder, it had a deflection, the ball came through a few players and the ref didn't bother. It was rigged!

We may well be worse than last season.

Now we need divine intervention.

And no surprise. Pre-season was dreadful and recruitment has been poor.

This isn't his mate Teary Bill, it's hard-nosed Yanks and they'll pull the trigger on him in a heartbeat.

As for the left-back position, without Mykolenko or Aznou, who should we have played? Rather than give out about selection, let people at least offer what they would have done with the players available.

Just awful.

This team, squad, club needs not only new, better players but new ideas. New tactics. New spirit. This is just more of the same old, same old.

Yes, the team was disjointed because of the injuries to Mykolenko and Branthwaite, but not going out and attacking them was criminal.

Considering Garner was playing left-back, I thought he did okay, ditto Keane.

This recruitment team really have got to get their fingers out because that squad has got Bottom 6 stamped right through it.

Lack of pace, lack of creativity, and a lack of a goal threat.

It's like Groundhog Day supporting Everton.

Referee an embarrassment.

Football is back.

It's nothing to do with him.

RB, CD, LB, RW, Striker

Grealish should've been central and arguably Alcaraz should've been on the left or better still, put Dwight McNeil on the left and actually have a left-footed footballer on the pitch to give some form of natural width and a different dimension to the team.

His plan was his only plan. Defend deep. Absorb pressure. Try and score at some point by relying on a set piece, a moment of magic, or a chance counter.

Wouldn't McNiel have been better at left-back tonight? He could have passed the ball up the line whereas Garner had to stop and get the ball on his right foot.

We know Beto tries his heart out but for fuck's sake, he has to try and hold the ball up better. We know he prefers the ball to run onto but sometimes he needs to play with his back to the goal and needs to do a better job at holding it up.

A few times tonight we had the ball deep in their half and it ended up with Pickford who then just launched it back up the pitch, that first half was absolutely shocking.

The worst first half I've seen since Norwich away under Benitez.

Seriously???

You couldn't pick out anyone apart from O'Brien and Garner, both playing out of position.

It's ridiculous that we're playing square pegs in round holes, our formation is totally lobsided, we've no shape whatsoever.

Up to now, Grealish looks like a very over rated, out of condition waste of space...makes Tim, terribly nice but crap, look good.

Moyes knew… which is why he waited so long.

1-0 and we were lucky to get nil.

Onwards and... well, onwards anyway.

Memo to self, must see if that fridge magnet from the local taxi firm is still on the fridge.

I don't think Alcaraz is a bad player as such, just an underwhelming one. I saw the odd flash of quality last season, but nothing to make me desperate to sign him permanently.

For a creative player, he doesn't create enough or contribute enough all round. Ironically, I thought he was more involved tonight than usual.

First half showed again how the pre-season has been wasted and the slide towards the inevitable crisis and managerial change is well underway.

Rodri caught it, and still didn'tt get given.

If true there are teams interested in Beto, I would say "Thank you, we appreciate your efforts but you are not good enough for us." Even though we didn't play to his strengths, his football ability is seriously lacking.

The penalty was a 50-50 decision and it went against us tonight, some might say VAR got it wrong again. In reality, and as others have already said, we deserved sweet fuck-all from this performance against a Leeds side who are shite.

We need players with pace and quality who can provide crosses...

So then Brighton next up at the new stadium – if we play like tonight, it will over in the first half!

They are saying Tarkowski moved his arm towards the ball. He moves his body towards the ball and the arm is jammed down by his side. Does he think upper arm is okay? Seems like a bit of a grey area as far as the sleeve region goes.
VAR were not going to overturn it as a clear and obvious error.

Alcaraz is always going to be a chancer. He's not the player you want to be taking a short ball from the keeper. It was a poor choice but you can't write him off just for that.

I don't know why we went with James Garner at left-back. If that wasn't a forced decision, it was a poor one. He had chances to play crosses in with his right and chose not to. If we've been practicing with him at left-back, it wasn't evident tonight.

We really struggled to play the ball out from the back whilst they got past our mediocre pressing far too easily.

Beto seemed to be trying to obstruct their defenders rather than concentrating on getting to the ball first. Barry had nothing to work with in his very limited time on the pitch. Bizarre to say Beto was better.

Do you considered that Pickford playing out from the back by passing to Garner under pressure contributed to the incident? Still reluctant to call it a penalty.

What is clear is that the team selection was dictated because of the depth of our squad, resulting in square pegs in round holes.

I ask because in the first half he failed to spot what was an obvious corner when the ball was a good yard out, and I thought then that he might be a bit of a Homer.

We need craft, we need craft, we simply need a lot more balance and craft.

Si, I saw it somewhere that he was given a 3½-year contract.

I don't care about age, he knows how to trap a fucking ball and put the ball in the back of the net.

Our players were poor but weakened by such a strange formation – and we just never had a go. Soft penalty but we definitely deserved to lose.

Also, if the penalty call was in our favour, I would want the penalty all day. So no complaints. Also, on the balance of play, can any of us complain? We deserved fuck all… we made almost zero effort to attack until we conceded.

It was bizarre — like Moyes was more bothered about showing the board we have no players, rather than getting a result.

Surely nobody can argue that was a 'definite' pen? I've never been more confident that VAR would go in our favour.

We were unprepared for their intensity when we should have seen it coming, and we were reactive and unassertive.

The team that plays harder wins more games. Tonight it wasn't us.

Got exactly what we deserved. We are by far the most boring side to watch in the Premier League. Created nothing.

Beto is hopeless, though to be fair, he had no service whatsoever, but he didn't win his aerial battles and couldn't hold the little ball he did get.

Mistake from Alcaraz for the dodgy penalty to begin with. Grealish must have been thinking, "What the fuck?" – as he watched Gana spoon another pass straight into touch!

Sick of this season already!

The handball, the linesman gave it. The ref was guessing, he couldn't see it.

Branthwaite and Mykolenko would see us more solid and balanced at the back, they are not going to create chances, the lack of real patterns of play, the inability to keep the ball (apart from knocking it between 2 CBs and the keeper) is concerning.

We didn't get in behind them once. Where's the plan? What is the plan? We can buy players, but if we stick them in and tell them the plan is to knock it long to the big striker who didn't win a header all game, we might as well save the money and buy all the travelling fans a bottle of vodka for every away game. They are going to need it!

I would. He leaned in to try and block it and took a chance in doing so. It hit his arm and diverted the shot. It's harsh but for me I thought it was a penalty.

However, that is according to me and how I think penalties should be judged. I understand these may not be the rules. I'm not clued up on the rules because it all becomes subjective anyway – when the rules try and make that not so.

But I believe things like unnatural position etc are considered? And where on the arm it hits? Is the fact it took a deflection also considered?

Bizarre set-up, terrible performance. 😢

What was your take on what happened after that.

I felt we were scrambling and panicking in that short passage of play after Alcaraz lost the ball. I didn’t see any need for that level of panic once the initial break had been slowed down

I thought it was a Harsh pen but given all minor decisions went against us. I expected the ref to give the pen.

After ending last season strong, we have started this like a bunch of strangers. No patterns to play, our supposed game winners where collectively terrible.

Beto had nothing to feed on all game. Even when we brought on Barry we kept passing it around the back.

Buying Barry and Hall when we didn't need either is puzzling. Buying a left back that isn't anywhere near ready is 70m without actually improving the team.

We have needed 2 fullbacks and a right midfielder since last season and we still haven't.

It's going to be another long season.

Usual defend for our lives, then huff and puff and then get screwed over by poor officials. Nothing has changed really!

We lost because we were shit all over the park, not just because someone fell over and we gave away a penalty.

Perspective is important.

Moyes could of tried McNeil at left back or McNeil left midfield ahead of garner to have the threat of crosses from out wide, move ndiaye to the right to offer the same threat of crosses into the box and going beyond the full back to the byline cos O’Brien is ok defensively but he simply wants to move the ball onto a winger to do the rest and stay in position, which ndiaye is capable of doing and beating a man or two or at least the ball sticking for a bit to lay it backwards for supporting players in space that he creates by holding the ball, to deliver the cross

Or maybe a back 3 with McNeil as lwb and garner rwb.

Who knows if it would of worked but what was selected didn’t work so all we can do is hypothesise other options he could of made

Garner was ‘ok’ playing out of position but it was disjointed and a toothless set up that resulted in us continually going backwards. It reminded me of the shit trippier got playing left back for England because as admirably as he played and made zero mistakes, it resulted in a major issue with th the balance for the whole team and constantly turning backwards or inside and slowing everything down. I was surprised how many times Pickford chose to go to Keane to his left, who then looked a little confused if he should give it to garner whose body position telegraphs he is immediately going to want to give it back to him or if Keane should just take a swing at it himself, another right footed player looking a little awkward whilst trying to use his left foot to move it forwards

A corner for us is an opportunity it’s to put a ball into the box and have a number of our players in the box to attack it. Something that simply doesn’t happen in open play for a a team as poor as ours.

A corner to us in such a game is a massive thing. So why does VAR not intervene in such circumstances? I don’t know the rules well enough around things like this.

I wrote that I didn’t think I was being negative because I couldn’t really get excited about the new season yesterday, and I’m going to bed now thinking the reason I can’t get excited, is because Everton gave exactly the type of performance that I expected them to give.

I found it very alarming that Barry, was only introduced when we went a goal down, because Beto, was absolutely miles off the pace, mentally, physically and especially technically.

It's pretty sad for the game if defenders are penalised for doing what Tarks did.

But what a depressing performance, what a pathetic statement for the manager to make for the first game of the season. We had so few efforts on goal it was painful.

If you set out not to win the game, but hopefully take a point from it, you are unlikely to win it. If you try and get a point, which I think was our manager’s aim tonight, there is a very good chance you will be thwarted by one mistake, one piece of misfortune. And so it came about.

I have no idea about Grealish’s fitness, but I suspect he, at 70% fitness, has more about him than most of the blue shirts on the pitch tonight. To not start him was the encapsulation of our manager - I bet if David Moyes ever bought his kids a train set for Christmas, he didn’t let them play with it until Easter.

Back in the day, whether your arm was tucked in or not, it was still handball and that hasn't changed.

I think people have got lost and confused in the language used because they started talking about 'unnatural' positions.

A natural position can be and is still handball if you move towards the ball - which he did.

Had he been moving away from the ball with his arm by his side, he might have got away with it. But the fact remains, he was moving towards the ball and deliberately so, in order to block the shot - he did block the shot, with his arm - that is not in doubt, thus it is handball.

There was also a corner given when the TV images made it look like the last player to play the ball was Dan James. Didn’t seem to be much of an objection by Everton players but apparently they are supposed to have been warned not to openly challenge the referees this season.

James (200), something termed the ‘T-shirt rule’ was introduced in 2019. It’s interpretation is the issue.

Please, Everton - wake up and make changes. NOW

That said we were awful and it was petering out into a draw. This week has to be the focus on bringing in some players otherwise I really do fear it'll be five seasons in a row since we have picked up a win in August.

West Ham end of September could be a crucial six pointer where the first win comes from. I hope that sincerely isn't the case.

On the first viewing I thought it was a definite penalty, but on the replays I was confident VAR would overturn it. Tarky leaned towards the ball but him arm was tucked in to his side, over than amputation I'm not sure what else he could do.

It appeared the ref leaned heavily on the lino to give the penalty decision against us, but he was the same official who missed a corner for us in the first half when the ball was 3 yards out of play so probably not the most reliable. But VAR, that's what it's there for to make right these sort of calls.

Hopefully next weekend at BMD we'll change the narrative but I think we need a couple more new faces to make our season a positive one.

But to lose to that, an awful decision by a referee who didn't see it and var who didn't over turn it. Atrocious!

If that is a penalty within the laws of the game then defenders would need to start chopping off arms not to give away penalties.
I no longer pretend to know the rules apart from if they can find a way to hurt Everton, they do.
Simplify it, ball to arm = penalty, no matter what. We will all have to accept it.

Charly is getting hammered as he was useless on the right. Did anyone expect anything different? Then he moves him inside and he comes alive so he takes him off as he ain't one of his favs.

Now we have posters crying for a central midfielder? What are you joking? How many players do You want us to sign? 50?

The great decision of Moyes to bring in the widely heralded KDH. If he's not a midfielder what to fuck is he?

We have Jack, Dwight, Ilyman and Charly who want to play as a ten so what is the point in KDH.

Did anyone who is hammering Charly for the slip not notices that Stach drove the ball unchallenged with KDH running like Allan towards him. Then 2 more unchallenged efforts which could have resulted in a hat trick straight after Moyes took off one of his fall guys and moved him into midfield.

Sorry blame TFG for not signing a right winger and you have a point but to not go with a 352 tonight was madness and those crying about resources and you will see our our chief threat and our most creative player since Moshiris millions ran out sat twiddling his thumbs on the bench.

I'm sure Benitez, Lampard and Dyche would have loved to have that depleted squad tonight.

I'm not gonna write Moyes or the season off on the basis of tonight's game though, that would be ridiculous. Some people have short memories on here.

But clearly, stating the bleeding obvious, we need a specialist right back pronto. Also, Beto was terrible. I would start Barry in the next game and give him a run. The general lack of pace in our team is scary. I thought Alcaraz did ok, at least he had a shot on goal.

More signings required quick.

Pork pie, sausage roll. Come on Everton give us a goal

We were a little better in the second half but never tested their goalkeeper. They had twice as many shots on target; two to our one!

Neither side looked like scoring until that bizzare penalty.

Leeds only won though, because of an awful decision by Cavanagh, who already has history with us - he was on Var for the Rodri "handball" v City. He agreed with the ref it wasn't handball !! Yet tonight after a flag from the linesman, who had an awful game too, he immediately awards a pen. If he had said no pen, VAR would have agreed with him. He said yes and VAR Backed him up. Just incredible.

We deserved to lose, We were horrible. Out fought, out run for most of the game. There was no passion at times it looked as though some, if not all of them had downed tools. My suspicion is the players didn't like the way the Moyesiah set up the team. Surely a 3 5 1 1, would have been better use of the players available. Beto definitely wasn't interested in a lone striker role, chasing and harrying, not for him tonight. To get the best out of Beto, you need an Alcaraz behind him. The end of last season, when we broke they created chances and scored goals. Tonight we looked like we could play, until the proverbial cows came home and never score. The midfield was awful. Tim is not an EPL player - yet. A season on loan but only if we get quality midfielders in asap. KDH looked like he wasn't sure what his role was. The defense stuck at it and would have kept a clean sheet, because for all their effort Leeds have little up front to worry Premier League defenders, unless a ref is especially nice to them.

I expect Howard Webb to come out and back Cavanaghs decision. Personally I'd like to hear the conversation between Cavanagh and VAR. It might make good listening.

The Leeds crowd played their part tonight. The EFC fans at HD Stadium, when Brighton come to town will have to play their part as this team will need lifting. TFG have a habit of getting rid of managers pronto. The Moyesiah needs to be wary. They might have someone lined up and just need a good excuse. I

Likewise we'd have to accept that we as fans don't know where Grealish is in regards to his fitness and preparation... Moyes would have a much better idea. I'm happy enough to accept his judgement and doubt that Grealish will be out of the team for a minute longer than he needs.

The only decision I thought was a bit odd was playing Tim Iro in midfield when Dewsbury-Hall looks tailor made for that "number 8" role and Tim hasn't exactly shone in pre-season. We had no 'out' ball from defence with Tim there... he just hangs back and hopes not to be caught out of position. We improved once Tim was off the pitch - he's a long way from Premier League standard at the moment.

I don't see Charly as a right sided player. I see him as a number 10 arriving late in the box. But it's another position where we're not blessed with alternatives.

Striker is going to be a tough position. Whether it's Barry or Beto. But, again, I don't think Moyes necessarily made a bad decision there, it's just a position we are a bit limited in.

That said, Leeds came out fired up and we limited them to no real chances and lost to a pretty harsh penalty when we were finally in the ascendancy. I've watched referees give nothing that isn't clear all weekend and then suddenly one gives himself 5 seconds to think and then guesses. VAR isn't going to overturn things anymore unless it's objective or measurable.

Shit happens. I still think we're on the right track with generally signing young players. We desperately need to address a couple of areas in the starting XI, but it's fanciful to think that we'll suddenly fix every part of the team in one window, which hasn't yet finished.

No, they really don't. They would have kept Dyche on -- he sat on the grenade himself. At Roma, Friedkin put up with Mou's hostile press comments about club management for over a year before finally sending him on his way. And De Rossi nuked himself the following year by handing in a me-or-her ultimatum about the club president. Friedkin chose her and De Rossi had to go. All that churn wasn't about TFG's preferences.

I'd say Moyes is very safe for the foreseeable future.

But as I said previously, this one's on him -- not for the lineup or the subs, but for not having his team ready for the emotional intensity awaiting them.

Moyes just didn't"t want a Rest Ham result and was hoping to grind out a result, either a draw or a nick a set piece win.I won't be bothering with his post match comments I have heard all the excuses before.

It didn't look right from the start. The midfield couldn't gain a foothold on the ball and we were sloppy in possession. Alcaraz tried, but became visibly frustrated with his teammates. Ndiaye was similar, but wasn't at the races by his own standards. We seemed too reliant on the pair.

I'll give James Garner a mention. Prior to the match, I thought he may play right back, but playing left back, he did a job, especially against a Leeds team that was targeting the flanks.

As for the penalty, forget bygone ages, in the modern game, and interpretation of the rules, that was not a penalty. The ball is hit at Tarkowski with pace from, at the most, 10 yards out, with his arm clearly tucked behind his body.

Generally we lacked intensity and purpose.

Our only attacking tactic was to punt hopeful balls up to Beto to chase, mostly on his own, which only went to their centre backs.

Moyes'body language concerned me. It looked like he was taking instructions from Alan Irvine at one point, and by the time we made our first substitution on around 70 minutes, Leeds had already made 3 or 4 changes.

I don't like being negative, but there is not a lot to take from that. Let's hope we get one or two back off the injury list before facing Brighton.

They've tried that before but skillful players will deliberately aim to hit the arm of the opposing player so it got changed...again. I remember the Rat from the other lot was particularly adept at that.

Whether it was the tactical game plan or the players not delivering the game plan, we were far too passive and struggled to play out of the press; this something we did well under Moyes last season. Beto did not play well but he was totally isolated.

Things we now know for sure 1) we need a bloody right back 2) Tim Iro is not ready for the premier league 3) KDH is not the answer at no.10 - better suited as a no.8 4) we need a bloody right winger - Alcaraz is not the answer there.

Bright note - Garner did OK at LB. He is a very versatile squad member.

Right, so let's get the VAR cameras to focus on the players' faces. "Does he look guilty enough to you?" "Yep, definite penalty".

I sometimes wonder how these players who were great in their time, come up with these stupid comments?

Back to the game, I find it strange that Moyes made only 2 subs. I wonder why McNeil was left on the bench? He is one player who can create chances and shoot from outside the penalty box. And surely, Armstrong who was on the bench is a better player than Iroegbunam at the moment? Anyone knows if Aznou was injured or was he deliberately kept out? If he was not injured, then it is damning indictment of the recruitment team, that when we badly needed Myko's replacement, the player whom we paid 9 million from Bayern Munich was found 'not ready'.

Troubling times, and I have started wondering if this is not another false dawn on the long-suffering Evertonians?

They have operated abysmally for at least 30 years. It’s a miracle we are still in the “top flight”, but we have effectively been relegated by merely staying alive while our rivals have advanced on the European and world stages.

Miraculously, we have the opportunity to move forward with a shiny new stadium. We, the supporters, the only constant good thing over the miserable 30 (closer to 40) years, are being asked to pay more money for that. We are also being asked to go to more effort travelling to and from matches.

Guess what, Everton - we want more from you. A lot more. Last night was totally unacceptable.

That set-up last night reminded me of when Ronald Koeman was the manager: too many central midfield players and no width.

As for the penalty, you just knew Cavanagh was going to give it. Only to be backed up by the VAR. Disgraceful decision. It was probably the only way Leeds were going to score.

The only player to come out of the game was James Garner playing out of position; he stuck to the task well.

On to Sunday surely Moyes has got to start with Grealish and McNeil to provide some width. Gonna be a tough game against a very good Brighton team.

To explain things to our 'expert' recruitman team go for the best right back who will come to us. Don't fuck about with pie in the sky signings were there will be problems. Same with Right wing.

We needed a decent, fit, first 11 for the start of the season, who had played together. Garner at left back because it was deemed the left back we paid money for isn't ready. We already had one of them FFS.

Moyes better get it right for Brighton otherwise we have a replica start to last season which we deserately need to avoid.

And as we saw last night the 'Corrupt Premier League' are still living up to their name.

So frustrating and worrying, again.

Don't be worrying I thought, because if the linesman bends towards Leeds, at least we have now got VAR🤦‍♂️ but I'm beginning to think that VAR, is just a social experiment, to see how much they can bend the rules and get away with.

Don't fuck about with pie in the sky signings were there will be problems makes a lot of sense to me mate, because if take away the top 5%, most footballers are a much of a muchness, imo mate. They're my feelings anyway.

They don't use VAR for the ball going out of play. Get a grip.

Jesus. We were shit, we didn't deserve to win the game. Tarkowski knew he'd handled the ball, just look at his face.

The bias is unreal. What happened to realism?

You're all ruining my birthday 😂

You can't control the transfer market, you can't control officials' decision-making, but you can control your preparation, organisation and mindset.

Last night was down to Moyes and the players.

Then in other games at the weekend when they have gone to VAR you see players blatantly pushing other players over in the box and they say its not a penalty!

If they did a survey, my own belief would be that over 90% of the match going fan, would want to get rid of VAR, but it would probably drop to less than 50%, when it came to the people who tend to watch football on the television?

A changing of the rules quickly followed.

yes, they literally pore over the footage trying to disallow goals.And it's high fives all round if they find something. It's unbelievable.

We are were we are because we were a badly run football club. Hopefully TFG will change this but it will take time.

Paul @243 — absolutely spot on.

That's why most fans outside of the top 6 chant 'Premier League corrupt as fuck'

Personally, I don't think that decision goes against the 'bigger' clubs and also, I don't think its given if it happened in the Leeds box.

The real 'conspiracy' is that fact that rules are not applied consistently for all teams imo. That then leads into bigger, more convoluted conspiracy theories, same as everything else.

Regardless of that, the performance was abject and laid a damp squib firmly at the door of the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

That said, I don’t disagree at all we were shit and we are where we are because the club has been run atrociously for years. But we’re a makeweight and we get pushed around by the likes of Masters who hawks around the PL for the most money. That involves marketing the biggest teams, the most, who get more money and can buy more players (who get more exposure) and win more competitions and get more money etc (except in the CL). And so those teams tend to get the decisions and it does not even itself out (another bullshit excuse made up by those telling you to look the other way).

There was one at the weekend, the ball was crossed into the box, the defender blatantly pushed the attacker in the back stopping him from making a goal attempt so he could head it clear. You have to penalise the offender or they will keep doing it, yet it was no penalty and ok with VAR!

The system is ok, its the numbskulls making the decisions thats the problem.

Howard Webb, and his prerecorded incidents are completely condescending, imo, whilst Dermot Gallagher, who’s opinion means as little as yours and mine, now he’s no longer a referee, is making a fortune through controversy, whilst helping to keep the real controversy away from the refs, is another reason, why I now think the EPL is nothing more than a circus.

I never thought I’d ever become tired of football, but it’s now becoming a sport that I can genuinely take or leave. How sad.

Tarks did everything possible to reduce the possibility of conceding a pen. The amputation of his left arm at the shoulder would've been necessary for "red" "experts" to have given a valid opinion.

The EPL and VAR are manifestly devoid of ability to do the jobs they're charged with enforcing and only the Sky-Babes delight in their gross/negligent/reckless/self-serving graft in purporting to try to do so.

I enjoy watching professional cricket, rugby, darts, snooker and whatever but in those sports, despite a rare inconsequential aberration by the authorities, honour/endeavour/determination almost always endure.

The EPL is miles away from such a philosophy, and has been for decades, hence worldly observers turn away.

Do club owners care though?

Do they fuck - they're focussed on their profit margin........ only.

It is usually not a handball if:

1. the ball makes contact with the arm/hand in a so-called “natural position”

2. the ball accidentally makes contact with a defender's hand/arm inside their own penalty area from a deflection, a teammate's clearance or similar

3. the ball makes contact with a player's supporting arm/hand. A player that falls to the ground or goes into a sliding tackling needs to protect himself using the support of the arm. Therefore it is usually not a handball if the ball hits the supporting arm/hand. On the contrary, it can lead to a handball situation if a player goes into a sliding tackle with his arm extended without using it as support'

As you can probably tell, handballs in football are ultimately left for the referee to interpret. In general, the referee will look at the proximity between the player and the ball and the initial position of the hand/arm, whenever handball contact is made.

Handballs in football are ultimately left for the referee to interpret.
If the proximity is very close, giving the player little chance to react, that might overrule the handball offence. However, if the initial movement of the hand/arm was not natural, then it can lead to a handball situation, as the player maybe could have avoided the incident by having the arms in a “natural position”.

If you review the video footage, Tarkowski moved over to block a shot that was deflected by a teammate (hence satisfying point 2) whilst having his arm in a "natural position" at his side. There was no way he could move the arm anywhere to avoid contact but in fact moved his body whilst angling his arm behind him.

Nowhere does the term leaning into a shot constitute handball. Nowhere.
Tarkowski was committed to the block before the deflection and instinctively moved his arm behind him from an already natural position.