Everton v QPR. 15th Dec at 20.00.

[ilikecheese]

More urgency - Pienaar??? He misplaced almost every pass, lost the ball several times and done nothing of any note.
Mirallas, our best player? He goes on headless runs looking for glory, completely ignores his team mates, then refuses to do any defensive work; watch how he allows their free kick to be taken while he moans at the linesman, then, while Zamora taps in their goal, you can see Mirallas, just standing by the halfway line, having admired the QPR attack. . which he made no attempt to affect. Cut back prior to the substitution and the much-maligned McGeady chases back with their left back each time. Mirallas is so over rated (especially by himself) that if he carries out his threat to leave, I reckon that will be the end of his first team career.
And the problem of the CH's not being able to bring the ball out can be solved immediately by bringing the now fit Stones with Alcaraz in for the limited and nervous J & D

Sorry mate that's just not correct at all. Kev tracks back all the time...puts in his shift on both ends of the pitch. In fact, that's one of the things I love about him...his tracking back.

 

[Professor Toffee]

I thought that the team was quite dysfunctional again last night and while last season the passing was crisp and the ball stuck this season we are not controlling the ball quickly. This is Im sure down to how others set up against us. The players didnt become wonderful ballplayers last season but we played a system that allowed them to settle. This season everyone plays the pressing game against us and it exposes players that do not have a great touch or cant pick the pass. - Distin, Lukaku,
Thought Besic was excellent, Barkley looked up for it and liked him playing CM with Besic
Howard gave the goal to teh forwardf with his push out rather than around, again!
Coleman & Baines looked good going forward but Baines particularly was pressed and Seanus obviously isnt completely at 100% and crossed poorly
Thought Jags was very good and Distin was 37
Thought neither winger played particularly well and lost teh ball cheaply but both are at least getting back now and covering
Naismith is just a dynamo and won so much ball, love him
Lukaku was pants. He shoudl be able to do a few basic fotballer type things like hold the ball, head the ball, win a tackle. Think he needs a rest and see how the team plays with a player who can hold teh ball, like Kone. Especially against a team like Southampton that will keep ball.
my 50p worth

 

[Eggs]

....the passing forward to then come backwards is an increasingly recent trait. Normally we work it out wide and our full backs invariably get in behind but we seem to have lost the effective full back/winger link play. I doesn't help that we haven't had a settled side but I think that's why Pienaar was introduced and Mirallas switched. Mirallas is terrific but his direct approach nullifies much of Baines effectiveness.

Often when we pass back it ends up with Howard who launches it anyway. Possession is ok but possession with purpose is what we're best at, that's where the frustration lies for supporters who know their footy.

 

[DualityNSNO]

....the passing forward to then come backwards is an increasingly recent trait. Normally we work it out wide and our full backs invariably get in behind but we seem to have lost the effective full back/winger link play. I doesn't help that we haven't had a settled side but I think that's why Pienaar was introduced and Mirallas switched. Mirallas is terrific but his direct approach nullifies much of Baines effectiveness.

Often when we pass back it ends up with Howard who launches it anyway. Possession is ok but possession with purpose is what we're best at, that's where the frustration lies for supporters who know heir footy.

Dunno what to say about the fact people were booing at 87 minutes when we were 3:1 up and just passing it around to not lose the ball.

 

[dannyboy]

I thought that the team was quite dysfunctional again last night and while last season the passing was crisp and the ball stuck this season we are not controlling the ball quickly. This is Im sure down to how others set up against us. The players didnt become wonderful ballplayers last season but we played a system that allowed them to settle. This season everyone plays the pressing game against us and it exposes players that do not have a great touch or cant pick the pass. - Distin, Lukaku,
Thought Besic was excellent, Barkley looked up for it and liked him playing CM with Besic
Howard gave the goal to teh forwardf with his push out rather than around, again!
Coleman & Baines looked good going forward but Baines particularly was pressed and Seanus obviously isnt completely at 100% and crossed poorly
Thought Jags was very good and Distin was 37
Thought neither winger played particularly well and lost teh ball cheaply but both are at least getting back now and covering
Naismith is just a dynamo and won so much ball, love him
Lukaku was pants. He shoudl be able to do a few basic fotballer type things like hold the ball, head the ball, win a tackle. Think he needs a rest and see how the team plays with a player who can hold teh ball, like Kone. Especially against a team like Southampton that will keep ball.
my 50p worth

Thought it was the worst I've seen Coleman and Baines play from an attacking perspective at Goodison for a long time. Especially Coleman who looked drained of confidence.

 

[zirc]

I forgot to mention, that I have never felt more like singing the blues

 

[Seanjd]

Dunno what to say about the fact people were booing at 87 minutes when we were 3:1 up and just passing it around to not lose the ball.

Yeah absolutely. Like has already been sai though, those fans would rather a hoofed ball upfield to a lump of a 'striker' to battle for it. There was nothing wrong with playing the ball back and keeping it in that instance, it's not like we were in danger of losing the game.

 

[Seanjd]

Thought it was the worst I've seen Coleman and Baines play from an attacking perspective at Goodison for a long time. Especially Coleman who looked drained of confidence.

Which surely says a lot about plaing 2 out and out wide men ahead of them (Particularly McGeady who can't cut in on his stronger foot). The lopsided midfield does have a reasoning behind it sometimes, but Coleman hasn't been at his best to exploit it of late.

 

[dannyboy]

Dunno what to say about the fact people were booing at 87 minutes when we were 3:1 up and just passing it around to not lose the ball.

I've watched teams kill the game through keeping the ball for years but we don't do that. Our players try to do it but look so uneasy.

If it was crisp passing that didn't result in an error from Jagielka or Distin then people would buy into it more.

 

[dannyboy]

Which surely says a lot about plaing 2 out and out wide men ahead of them (Particularly McGeady who can't cut in on his stronger foot). The lopsided midfield does have a reasoning behind it sometimes, but Coleman hasn't been at his best to exploit it of late.

Think it says more about the lack of form from both of them. Baines is definitely nowhere near the player he was 2 years ago and Coleman is going through his first dodgy spell since he made the right back spot his own.

 

[Seanjd]

I've watched teams kill the game through keeping the ball for years but we don't do that. Our players try to do it but look so uneasy.

If it was crisp passing that didn't result in an error from Jagielka or Distin then people would buy into it more.

But we kept the ball at the end and it worked, I don't get it. Granted our passing isn't at it's best, but sometimes you have to go backwards when there are no options. We were 3-1 up with 5 minutes to go!

 

[dannyboy]

But we kept the ball at the end and it worked, I don't get it. Granted our passing isn't at it's best, but sometimes you have to go backwards when there are no options. We were 3-1 up with 5 minutes to go!

I agree it's the right thing to do, we're just not particularly good at it.

 

[toffeeben15]

Thought mirallas was abit to greedy. Unless you feed lukaku the ball he doesn't really offer much expect for drawing out defenders which is good

 

[n01efc]

Sorry mate that's just not correct at all. Kev tracks back all the time...puts in his shift on both ends of the pitch. In fact, that's one of the things I love about him...his tracking back.

I don't know if your watching the season review of last year but there has been a noticeable change this year where Kev stays up front waiting for the break. Have a look where he is for the QPR goal, standing on the half way line with his hand in the air.

 

[Eggs]

Dunno what to say about the fact people were booing at 87 minutes when we were 3:1 up and just passing it around to not lose the ball.

.....I don't think folk mind that but on occasion it wasn't controlled possession, it went back and either Howard or one of the CBs launched it and we lost control. We can come unstuck passing along the back four and we were overdoing this because of the lack of movement and availability ahead of them.

We are a team at our best playing in the opposition half. That's where we should be keeping possession.