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2018/19 Bernard

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....he’s terrific, all the early season reports about nobody being able to get near him in training were clearly true. For a footballer who is so technically gifted to be such a poor finisher is a surprise. It looks like he’s settling in and I like him lots.
I cant see Bobby Collins in him through Eggs as you stated - he is a terrier chasing back though.....
 

Steven Pienaar never scored many goals.

Same with Arteta.

Why does Bernard need goals to be a success? He's not a goalscorer, never has been, never will be.

He's a brilliant player, who creates chances and brings the best out of those around him.
You're right on all those counts individually, but I still kind of disagree with the conclusion.

I really like Bernard, and he absolutely makes us better as a team, which is exactly what Pienaar did. Pienaar was brilliant for us, but he was probably also one of the reasons why we never quite made that push into the top 4 and were always just behind. He was a really good player and knitted things together brilliantly, but other teams had really good players who knitted things together and also contributed goals and direct assists. When some of our competitors needed someone to step up to the plate these players often did it themselves, while Pienaar would keep playing nice little passes etc but rely on other people to actually deliver the killer blow. That's genuinely not a criticism (he's one of my favourite Everton players) just a genuine observation of the level he was at.

Does Bernard need to score more goals to be a relative success here? No, not at all. He's a key part of the team for me and is a brilliant player to watch, the fans love him. Does he need to score more goals to be an actual success here? I would say yes. We will struggle to win trophies and compete at the top end of the league if one of the players in a key attacking position for us doesn't make many direct contributions to goals.

We're a decent side but not a great one, so the huge majority of our games this season have been close affairs. Many of the games in our bad run we gave pretty much as good as we got but didn't take our chances to get the points. The Arsenal game on sunday wasn't particularly dissimilar to many other games this season, only this time we didn't get punished for bad misses. If Bernard (not just him obviously but this is his thread) only scores 1-2 goals a season when playing as one of our key attackers, then we'll always have that problem, and always be mid table.
 
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....yep, the size is the comparison, Joey, but Collins had a bit more physique.
Yes I was wondering if Bernard could ever become a central midfielder as he sometimes looks more dangerous in the middle of the park?
The rest was in jest as I never seen Bobby play ...just missed him .....read his autobiography in which Roy Vernon stated in marvel of him thank goodness I don't have face him every week..... lol
 
Yes I was wondering if Bernard could ever become a central midfielder as he sometimes looks more dangerous in the middle of the park?
The rest was in jest as I never seen Bobby play ...just missed him .....read his autobiography in which Roy Vernon stated in marvel of him thank goodness I don't have face him every week..... lol

....I recall the same question being asked whether Pienaar could be an effective central midfielder. Good footballers, I dare say they’d be fine but wide position is probably best, especially if they have an effective partner.
 
Yes I was wondering if Bernard could ever become a central midfielder as he sometimes looks more dangerous in the middle of the park?
The rest was in jest as I never seen Bobby play ...just missed him .....read his autobiography in which Roy Vernon stated in marvel of him thank goodness I don't have face him every week..... lol
Bit like Beardsley sold too soon.
Everton's Roy Vernon: "I have never played with a more talented, complete inside-forward, a greater bundle of tricks and a more powerful powerhouse than this diminutive Scot. Nor have I ever played against an inside-forward of any other club who has left me with a feeling that here is somebody even better than Collins. He is a buy in a lifetime. Where he gets his boundless energy from I don't pretend to know. He never complains at hard work, rather does he thrive on it. It is a gift that some players have, which others cannot acquire if they play for years, the ability to take the game by the scruff of the neck and play it at the tempo required. There are times when games seem to go mad with players scurrying around at breakneck speed, making their work much more difficult and the margin for error ever so much greater. How useful it is at a time like this to have a man, who almost imperceptibly applies the brake and becomes the dictator."
 

He should stay on the wing on 1 basis - we can find a replacement for DCL.

In a front 3 you need atleast 2 of those scoring goals - Richarlison provides that and we need a striker to also stump in around 15-20 goals a season.

If we couldn't bring in a striker then thats when Richarlison would have to move Left and a goal scoring RW like Lozano be targeted.

I’d really like to see him play centrally like silva does for city.
 
Bernard has improved hugely recently but was brutal for months. Needs to add more goals but could be very good next season with a summer off and a good preseason.

If you have time to trawl through old posts, I would recommend the book that Flann O'Brien promised to write for his Dad....

"A life and how to get one"
 
Tell you what’s worse than any of that mate. Trying to be quickest off the mark to write off a player after half a handful of bad performances because you think it’ll make you look extra clever if they turn out to be crap.
They get a few likes on their posts and it goes to their heads.

This has definitely worsened over the last year or two. I blame social media for giving people like ‘Ped’ etc. a platform and the tragic bastards who look up to them for being a pundit or ‘football guru’.

“BANG ON AS USUAL THERE M8” etc.
 

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