2020/21 Carlo Ancelotti

[ElGato]

We will be streaky and inconsistent this season. In a way Ancelotti has always been this way, at his best his teams can deliver world class performances home or away against anyone as he showed at his previous teams, at his worst they’ll lose games they should easily win. Unfortunately now though there seems to be an expectation that teams should he’d ping what City and Liverpool have been doing and smashing everyone home and away each season regardless of which teams they put our. The reality is we’re nowhere near that, when we get even a single injury our team is impacted and we have to change shape or bring in personnel who aren’t as good. Sometimes we’ll get punished for that. We started well, we were then absolutely rank performance wise for three games, and then we seem to have been a bit up and down since but picking up points. We’re still in touch with the european places and to be honest given the lack of quality and depth in the squad and the shambles of the last few seasons I’d take that for Everton about now. Of course I want better, everyone on here does, but I think there’s some green shoots that are pointing towards sustained progress which is what you and others have been calling for.

Improved form of individual players: DCL, Digne, Keane have never played better in their careers than now.

New signings: Allan, Godfrey, James, Doucoure all look like the players we thought we were getting and have all improved the first team. This is a world away from us buying player after player for big fees and all of them turning to rubbish as soon as they got through the door.

Less draws: We don’t seem to throw away as many leads as we used to. When we’re defending a lead under Carlo late on in games everyone feels confident.

Set pieces: These blighted us under Martinez and Silva. No one is talking about them any more and we’re good offensively on them.

The height of the team is better, we’re slowly but surely adding some more pace and physicality with Godfrey and Doucoure, and we now seem to have a few players in Allan Godfrey Holgate Richarlison DCL who look up for the scrap.

There’s so much work still fo be done but I think we’re in a miles better position than we have been at any point since Martinez’s first season. People can make ana regiment for the opposite and they may be proved to be right in time, but I think we’re putting in place some key pieces for a good team moving forward under Carlo.

This guy gets it

 

[Toffeelover]

New keeper.

New first choice right back.

Backup left back.

Three new midfielders to go with Allan Doucoure Gomes.

A first choice right winger

A left winger

A central striker to cover and compete with DCL.

So just the 9 players to get somewhere towards a decent squad.

That would then allow us to turf out Lossl, Kenny, Davies Delph Sigurdsson, Tosun without any impact on the first team squad.

We could then make a call on Iwobi Gbamin Nkonkou Gordon and see if given opportunities they were good enough to contribute to the squad.

That for me would give us depth in every position and enough options to change formations should we pick up any injuries.

Right now we’re one injury in any position apart from centreback away from panic stations.

haha love that Mate. You do not want much. Problem is money, do the players want to come, will those players you name leave? They are the imponderables.

 

[Saint Domingo]

haha love that Mate. You do not want much. Problem is money, do the players want to come, will those players you name leave? They are the imponderables.

Who knows? You’re right that’s the challenge. I know it seems like a lot, but really that’s what we need to have a top 4 squad to challenge.

 

[John from Bootle]

I dont even think he got it wrong in the past.

People were moaning before the game yesterday, if we lost nobody would have praised it.

Fine lines, that's all.

Yeah, when we lose people come on giving it the 'should have done this, should have done that'

What they don't know though, is whether the team they think should have played, would have actually fared any better.

Doesn't stop them acting as if we defo would have won though.

 

[BlueToff]

Yeah, when we lose people come on giving it the 'should have done this, should have done that'

What they don't know though, is whether the team they think should have played, would have actually fared any better.

Doesn't stop them acting as if we defo would have won though.

Oh come off it

If Silva or Allardyce or whoever else had played Iwobi at left wing-back, people would have criticised them, and rightly so.

If they had then continued to ignore our only real viable option at left-back but keep trying to play 3-4-3 then they'd have been criticised.

It's fine to say Carlo made mistakes. That's not the same as assuming we'd have won those matches.

He got it spot on yesterday in difficult circumstances. It wasn't the type of display he'll want to see us put in regularly, but for what was needed yesterday we did well.

 

[John from Bootle]

Oh come off it

If Silva or Allardyce or whoever else had played Iwobi at left wing-back, people would have criticised them, and rightly so.

If they had then continued to ignore our only real viable option at left-back but keep trying to play 3-4-3 then they'd have been criticised.

It's fine to say Carlo made mistakes. That's not the same as assuming we'd have won those matches.

He got it spot on yesterday in difficult circumstances. It wasn't the type of display he'll want to see us put in regularly, but for what was needed yesterday we did well.

So you're saying if we lost yesterday, people wouldn't have claimed he picked the wrong team?

Okay mate.

 

[BlueToff]

So you're saying if we lost yesterday, people wouldn't have claimed he picked the wrong team?

Okay mate.

No, that's not what I'm saying.

I didn't really agree with the team myself because it could easily have not worked but being realistic it's the team and system I expected us to play - I even said as much yesterday afternoon. We don't have many options at the moment with injuries to three crucial players.

As a fanbase we need to stop being so black and white, so one extreme to the other, but that works both ways, with criticism and praise.

The vast majority of posters on here who have questioned Carlo in the last few weeks have fully acknowledged the mitigating circumstances and not questioned his credentials or if he's the right man for us. He has strengths and weaknesses like every other coach. He's made some iffy decisions in the last few weeks which have helped compound our issues.

Hopefully yesterday is what starts to turn things back around for us. Leicester will be a massively tough game and we should be going out to really do Arsenal next week too, so just got to take it game by game and hope the club really go out and improve the squad in January, because it's vitally needed.

 

[DaChunk]

Carlo at the wheeeeel!

 

[Gilbert..]

No, that's not what I'm saying.

I didn't really agree with the team myself because it could easily have not worked but being realistic it's the team and system I expected us to play - I even said as much yesterday afternoon. We don't have many options at the moment with injuries to three crucial players.

As a fanbase we need to stop being so black and white, so one extreme to the other, but that works both ways, with criticism and praise.

The vast majority of posters on here who have questioned Carlo in the last few weeks have fully acknowledged the mitigating circumstances and not questioned his credentials or if he's the right man for us. He has strengths and weaknesses like every other coach. He's made some iffy decisions in the last few weeks which have helped compound our issues.

Hopefully yesterday is what starts to turn things back around for us. Leicester will be a massively tough game and we should be going out to really do Arsenal next week too, so just got to take it game by game and hope the club really go out and improve the squad in January, because it's vitally needed.

Not questioned his credentials? What forum have you been reading. Theres been loads doing exactly that. From his training methods at bayern to he's always walked into jobs with your maldini's and john terrys. I notice the fitness thing hasnt come up today. No doubt that will spring up again when 3 points isn't bagged.
Its understandable when you're going through a rough patch but dont give us the his credentials havent been questioned. There's been some right pissy knickered blancmanges on here the past few weeks.

 

[BlueToff]

Not questioned his credentials? What forum have you been reading. Theres been loads doing exactly that. From his training methods at bayern to he's always walked into jobs with your maldini's and john terrys. I notice the fitness thing hasnt come up today. No doubt that will spring up again when 3 points isn't bagged.
Its understandable when you're going through a rough patch but dont give us the his credentials havent been questioned. There's been some right pissy knickered blancmanges on here the past few weeks.

Okay, well most reasonable posters haven't.

FWIW I still don't think we look as fit as we could do but in recent matches we haven't had to put ourselves about like we did against Leeds and clearly that's helped.

We've taken 7 points from the last 12 on offer but before that we took 1 from 12, so it was perfectly reasonable to expect better.

One swallow doesn't make a summer so we're gonna have to hope the team keeps performing as well as they did the other day, and ideally when we have Coleman and James back we'll start to see more attacking flair too.

An extremely tough run coming up.

 

[Gilbert..]

Okay, well most reasonable posters haven't.

FWIW I still don't think we look as fit as we could do but in recent matches we haven't had to put ourselves about like we did against Leeds and clearly that's helped.

We've taken 7 points from the last 12 on offer but before that we took 1 from 12, so it was perfectly reasonable to expect better.

One swallow doesn't make a summer so we're gonna have to hope the team keeps performing as well as they did the other day, and ideally when we have Coleman and James back we'll start to see more attacking flair too.

An extremely tough run coming up.

Accept that. Club going through choppy seas shock. It happens. To the best of them aswell. Its his first here. And my god havent some hit that panic button.

 

[Death]

5 points off top spot going into the Christmas period.

Found out lad!

 

[catcherintherye]

Let’s hope you are right. We have a period of very tough, high pressure games coming up and it will be interesting to see how we deal with them.

I don't really see it that way. We have played the top 4 teams in the division, and the 8th best team in United (who would be higher with their game in hand). Chelsea was the hardest game, and we won it fairly comfortably. I look at our run; Leicester- tough game but they are up and down and we have faced tougher already, they are a good team but we've played better, Arsenal- they are poor, Sheffield United- attrocious, City Home- tough game, West Ham- already beaten them 4-1 this season, Wolves- Poor side without Jiminez/Jota, Villa- ordinary team, trading off a great start. I make us favourites in 5 of the next 7 if we play as we did on Saturday. And the other 2 we have a chance as well.

 

[catcherintherye]

Okay, well most reasonable posters haven't.

FWIW I still don't think we look as fit as we could do but in recent matches we haven't had to put ourselves about like we did against Leeds and clearly that's helped.

We've taken 7 points from the last 12 on offer but before that we took 1 from 12, so it was perfectly reasonable to expect better.

One swallow doesn't make a summer so we're gonna have to hope the team keeps performing as well as they did the other day, and ideally when we have Coleman and James back we'll start to see more attacking flair too.

An extremely tough run coming up.

I've just done a post on our alleged tough run. I'll try not to repeat but I don't see it. We've played 4 of the top already, and it will be 5 of the top 5 after Wednesday. The fixtures after that ease up a bit. Arsenal are poor, City are not the City of the last couple of years, and the rest of the games we should be favourites in.

 

[catcherintherye]

His away win at Fulham is looking better and better with each passing week.

As might that point at Burnley.