2020/21 Carlo Ancelotti

[BlueToff]

Oh of course, Spurs. That makes me feel a bit better, that was spirited to be fair.

Yeah I'm not denying this team have spirit because I think that's one thing we have seen this season - we saw it last night, too.

We seem to be lacking in quality, though.

Some say that's on the players. Some say it's the manager/tactics. I think most are in the middle.

But, whatever camp you're in, then there's still various people ultimately responsible.

My thing is, we need better players, in a few positions of priority, and we should be better. But, we should also be capable of scoring more goals/being more of a threat with the players we have.

It's all well and good waiting for James to come back, but he played in matches against Southampton, Newcastle, Fulham where we were soundly beaten and offered next to no attacking threat either.

So, he's not the whole answer even if we could rely on him to be fit for every game.

 

[Bluestar]

Oh we're doing exceptionally well in the circumstances all things considered.

This isn't a dig at Carlo.

I just saw a lot of - and I agree with it mainly - shouts yesterday that we can't compete because of the state of the squad, and let's face it, it was the case.

My frustration comes with how slow the process has been at building what is still a very average squad. We have a few good players that manage to drag us through games. On top of that, we don't really have an identity so there's not really that platform to build from.

We've got 10 games to start at least seeing something. It's not vital, as long as we get points, but, we'll be more likely to get points if we start seeing some semblance of an idea of what kind of team we are going forward.

We've got two forwards both capable of scoring 20 goals this season each. We've got to start getting better quality service into them.

To get an identity, we need to stick with a manager and give him time.

Weve made poor managerial decisions and paid the price with a mixed bag squad.

Carlo knows what he is doing. Give him time and resources and we will improve.

 

[JMT]

Yeah I'm not denying this team have spirit because I think that's one thing we have seen this season - we saw it last night, too.

We seem to be lacking in quality, though.

Some say that's on the players. Some say it's the manager/tactics. I think most are in the middle.

But, whatever camp you're in, then there's still various people ultimately responsible.

My thing is, we need better players, in a few positions of priority, and we should be better. But, we should also be capable of scoring more goals/being more of a threat with the players we have.

It's all well and good waiting for James to come back, but he played in matches against Southampton, Newcastle, Fulham where we were soundly beaten and offered next to no attacking threat either.

So, he's not the whole answer even if we could rely on him to be fit for every game.

It's a mixture of both, I do feel sorry for Ancelotti a little we are working with our right side being absolutely non existent in Holgate offering nothing and Coleman being finito but a crap squad isn't an excuse not to have a way of playing.
I also think we do overcomplicate things formation/rotation instead of trying to keep a bit of continuity and structure going.

 

[TheSecondComing]

To get an identity, we need to stick with a manager and give him time.

Weve made poor managerial decisions and paid the price with a mixed bag squad.

Carlo knows what he is doing. Give him time and resources and we will improve.

Yeah I agree but we aren’t giving him anything close to what he needs to make us successful

 

[BlueToff]

what you suggesting?

I don't know what it is. I just think 'mentality' is far too a woolly statement.

 

[BlueToff]

It's a mixture of both, I do feel sorry for Ancelotti a little we are working with our right side being absolutely non existent in Holgate offering nothing and Coleman being finito but a crap squad isn't an excuse not to have a way of playing.
I also think we do overcomplicate things formation/rotation instead of trying to keep a bit of continuity and structure going.

Yeah I an agree to an extent but then on the last bit, I think it's Carlo's ability to be flexible - especially in big games - that has got us where we are now, to be honest.

Dunno, it's a bit of a mire atm. The break's gonna do everyone good, to be honest, but we need a strong end to the season.

 

[Bluestar]

Yeah I agree but we aren’t giving him anything close to what he needs to make us successful

He’s had one summer window that I think was largely successful. He knows where the problems are.

 

[JMT]

Yeah I an agree to an extent but then on the last bit, I think it's Carlo's ability to be flexible - especially in big games - that has got us where we are now, to be honest.

Dunno, it's a bit of a mire atm. The break's gonna do everyone good, to be honest, but we need a strong end to the season.

No I'm fine with him being flexible, The Liverpool away win was 100% down to him and his tactical nous but against the "lesser" sides I think we he tinkers too much instead of being simple.

 

[BlueToff]

To get an identity, we need to stick with a manager and give him time.

Weve made poor managerial decisions and paid the price with a mixed bag squad.

Carlo knows what he is doing. Give him time and resources and we will improve.

I'm not disputing that.

I would have thought after 16 months there would be more of an idea of how we want to play, though.

If the first 5 games of the season was it, then fine, but that shouldn't be just how we play only if we have each one of the players available, should it? or that's not really an identity as such.

We seem to have the defensive side there now, so hopefully it's a start and it really is just a case of getting better quality attackers (that includes a full-back, in this case) to sprinkle on top.

 

[billyblue80]

Howard Kendall was 35 when he took over, Ancelotti is 62 in a few months!

We’ve banked on getting instant success with a manager on the slide and buying older players completely against the club’s transfer strategy.

It has all backfired spectacularly, once again.

Who even looks forward to watching us anymore? We are clinging on for dear life in near enough every single game. Haven’t seen us take it to a team since the start of the season.

Look at what Brendan Rodgers is doing with Leicester and then people say others shouldn’t be moaning about what we’ve got.

Most other managers would be getting dog’s abuse for what’s on show right now. Especially with that Goodison home record.

What has his age got to do with it? Also if you hadn't noticed we haven't had any fans on this season its not a usual season.

 

[Saint Domingo]

Nope, not my point.

One of them is crocked atm, other one has been for half of the season.

So those two signings (the £40m spent) have come in, and yet the rest of the midfield is very slow and one-paced.

Gomes, Davies, Gylfi, James (to an extent - think he's a forward myself like), and Delph all very sluggish in terms of actual power and athleticism. All have their own qualities, mind, but you contrast our midfield to say, Leicester's, or even Villa's. It can be a bit scary.

Need more players like the ones we spent money on in the summer, that's my point.

The only player like that that we've signed in midfield in the last 3 years has been Gbamin. Obviously it's nobody's fault that he's been uber-crocked. Hopefully we get to see what he can offer before the end of the season.

We’ve spent money on the midfield in the last two summer windows on Gomes Gbamin Delph Allan Docuoure. At any normal football club those five would be being rotated depending on the opposition, covering for injuries etc. and Davies and Siggurdson would have been sold or out of the squad.

At Everton though, the club where misfortune never ends. All three of the 19/20 summer window signings got severely injured immediately. Two have stayed injured for the best part of two seasons, and one has returned to a level akin to league 2 standard. Allan missed about 3 months of the season at a crucial point including the league cup QF, and as soon as he returned Docuoure will now miss three months including the FA cup qf.

If we weren’t the most unlucky team with injuries Silva might still have a job or Ancelotti might be sat in top 5 now and in a semi final.

It’s never ending though. The 09 cruciate injury crisis that affected our three best players, Coleman leg break, Barkley leg break, Oviedo leg break, Besic ACL, Lacina Traore hamstring rupture, Kone ACL, McCarthy broken leg, Bolasie ACL, Mangala ACL, Tosun ACL, Gbamin ACL and Achilles, Delph quad tear, Gomes ankle break, Docuoure metatarsal.

The worrying thing with that list is that I’m sure ive not even remembered half of them and I’ve not included the persistent niggling injuries like Mirallas’s hamstring or James’ thigh which has kept our best players at the time out of the squad.

Until we change our fortune on these injuries we’re not winning a bean because no club can deal with this. There’s 100s of millions pounds worth of assets just dissolved into thin air because they come to Everton, get a major injury and then are completely useless at the top level. We not only lose the player, we lose the money we spent on them, and we then have to pay to replace them (normally with someone else who gets injured).

 

[Bluestar]

I'm not disputing that.

I would have thought after 16 months there would be more of an idea of how we want to play, though.

If the first 5 games of the season was it, then fine, but that shouldn't be just how we play only if we have each one of the players available, should it? or that's not really an identity as such.

We seem to have the defensive side there now, so hopefully it's a start and it really is just a case of getting better quality attackers (that includes a full-back, in this case) to sprinkle on top.

Being solid defensively is the basis for all successful sides.

 

[billyblue80]

FWIW, we average as many shots per game this season as we did under BFS (9).

I don't think the football is actually as bad, and the squad certainly isn't, but, we are pretty crap at the whole attacking thing.

It seems we're going to be reliant on James keeping fit for 10 games in a row, which I don't think he's done in 5 years now, for the rest of the season, to start seeing actual good attacking play. It's that, or we grind it out and try and snatch a goal.

Keep in mind, we've only come back to win a game once this season in the league (West Brom) and IIRC only come from behind to get a point on 2 occasions (v Liverpool (H) and United (A)). First goal counts double in our games.

It's true but we have had injuries so he adapted to a more defensive structure if he hadn't I suspect we would have struggled even more because as we saw under Silva and last season the back ups can't enact free flowing attacking football. Yes he can be criticised for style of play and home record, but the injuries(when was the last time we had a full eleven out there?)squad and a lack of fans at home should be factored in as should the brilliant away form.

 

[BlueToff]

We’ve spent money on the midfield in the last two summer windows on Gomes Gbamin Delph Allan Docuoure. At any normal football club those five would be being rotated depending on the opposition, covering for injuries etc. and Davies and Siggurdson would have been sold or out of the squad.

At Everton though, the club where misfortune never ends. All three of the 19/20 summer window signings got severely injured immediately. Two have stayed injured for the best part of two seasons, and one has returned to a level akin to league 2 standard. Allan missed about 3 months of the season at a crucial point including the league cup QF, and as soon as he returned Docuoure will now miss three months including the FA cup qf.

If we weren’t the most unlucky team with injuries Silva might still have a job or Ancelotti might be sat in top 5 now and in a semi final.

It’s never ending though. The 09 cruciate injury crisis that affected our three best players, Coleman leg break, Barkley leg break, Oviedo leg break, Besic ACL, Lacina Traore hamstring rupture, Kone ACL, McCarthy broken leg, Bolasie ACL, Mangala ACL, Tosun ACL, Gbamin ACL and Achilles, Delph quad tear, Gomes ankle break, Docuoure metatarsal.

The worrying thing with that list is that I’m sure ive not even remembered half of them and I’ve not included the persistent boggling injuries like Mirallas’s hamstring or James’ thigh which has kept our best players at the time out of the squad.

Until we change our fortune on these injuries we’re not winning a bean because no club can deal with this. There’s 100s of millions pounds worth of assets just dissolved into thin air because they come to Everton, get a major injury and then are completely useless at the top level. We not only lose the player, we lose the money we spent on them, and we then have to pay to replace them (normally with someone else who gets injured).

Might as well pack it in then.

You reference the 09 team - that team still managed to get to the final without Arteta, Yakubu, Saha, Anichebe (I was at that Newcastle game btw, right next to that tackle).

It's been never-ending with our injury crisis. How do we change that? Do a deal with the devil?

 

[BlueToff]

Being solid defensively is the basis for all successful sides.

100%

Issue is our attack is offering nothing and as we're seeing in recent games when teams keep peppering our defence we don't look solid at all.

We were lucky not to concede 6 against Burnley at home mate.