2022/23 Abdoulaye Doucouré

[John from Bootle]

He's not awful though. He is a perfectly adequate premier league midfielder. Not everybody needs to be a superstar.

I get this off my teenage son a lot. Everybody is either amazing or utterly dog turd. Never any middle ground.

 

[larrygobfiend]

He’ll be needed at some point

 

[Saint Domingo]

Doucoure is not very good and will turn 30 in January. If we can find someone stupid enough to buy him, then we should sell him ASAP. He’s very much part of that absolutely crap central midfield that almost got us relegated last season, most of which have been binned off already.

I’d agree but I think we have a club option to extend his contract at the end of this season. I’d just let him go at the end of the season and get his wages off the book. I can’t see anyone taking him, he can’t pass a ball.

 

[MikeH72]

Forgot all about him, which we are better for as a team.

 

[Mikey_Fitzgerald]

He's not awful though. He is a perfectly adequate premier league midfielder. Not everybody needs to be a superstar.

This

We're not going to have a squad full of superstar players

We need some squad players in order to beef up the numbers, and Doucoure is a perfectly cromulent midfield option

 

[Mikey_Fitzgerald]

Let's be honest as well

It's all well and good to say that the spot Doucoure currently inhabits would be better given to a younger more up and coming player

While that's good in theory, it ignores two key points

1 - Talented up and coming younger players aren't going to come to Everton to sit on a bench and play when needed like Doucoure is doing. They're going to want to play regular football

and

2 - Our fan base is historically awful when it comes to giving younger players a chance if they aren't amazing every time out. Maybe we do sell Doucoure and then bring in a 22 year old with some upside who is happy to come on from the bench when needed and start when we have squad issues. If that player isn't a consistent 9+ out of 10 then the usual suspects will be declaring that he's not good enough and will start complaining that we don't have a more experienced player to rely on in that role instead

Basically, the internet is absolute poison and should be eliminated from existence

 

[Neiler]

I can see it now, sell The Duke in Jan, come the summer - "we need a back up midfielder".

Its a game of 25 men these days. No such thing as a first team 11 these days and if you play as if there is, you are on a hiding to nothing.

 

[ToffeeTim]

Need 6 midfield players if we want to play a midfield 3 consistently. Bringing on Doucoure, Garner and Davies is a big step in the right direction compared with our previous bench options of Allan, Gomes etc. We will get injuries/suspensions at some point in the season so will need players to step up.

If we can get someone younger, cheaper, less injury-prone etc, then I'm not against moving on Doucoure, but don't see any point in January. The decision will be whether to exercise his extension come the summer.

 

[CielosGrises]

Think he was pretty key to good form under Ancelotti and even early Benitez - that said we can move on from him in the summer if it makes financial sense.

He was bad when the whole team was bad.

If I had to choose between him and Davies for a match tomorrow - I'd still go for Doucoure.

 

[4737carlin]

He's not awful though. He is a perfectly adequate premier league midfielder. Not everybody needs to be a superstar.

Just look at how bad he was earlier in the season, blew 4 points for us on his own.
Perfectly adequate? That's slang for rubbish

 

[ArtetaMoney]

With him and Garner as backup midfielders, we are in a much better position than we were last season.

 

[Papa Shango]

Just look at how bad he was earlier in the season, blew 4 points for us on his own.
Perfectly adequate? That's slang for rubbish

It's a team game.

 

[4737carlin]

I get this off my teenage son a lot. Everybody is either amazing or utterly dog turd. Never any middle ground.

I agree, but in this case he is utterly dog turd

 

[4737carlin]

It's a team game.

Only as good as your weakest links though, over the last 18 months, Thelwell, Rafael Benitez and Frank have upgraded certain parts of the pitch, well mostly the back line, now we need to really sort this midfield

 

[mightymoyes]

Only as good as your weakest links though, over the last 18 months, Thelwell, Rafael Benitez and Frank have upgraded certain parts of the pitch, well mostly the back line, now we need to really sort this midfield

we've literally a whole new midfield this year if you factor in iwobi only started playing there towards end of last season.