2020/21 Niels Nkounkou

[LouReedwalkonthewildside]

If he plays finished central midfielder Fabian Delph at left back ahead of this lad then I will honestly stick my neck out and say Carlo Ancelotti is going to do nothing at Everton.

Imagine if Sigurdsson starts wearing the armband, and I'm being serious!

 

[MikeH72]

Imagine if Sigurdsson starts wearing the armband, and I'm being serious!

Don’t have to imagine it, it’s happening regularly.

 

[APN_EFC]

This lad was a Brands signing, wasn't he? Acid test time for both of them now. Every team gets injuries - that's why it's a squad game. If Nkounkou can't step up when opportunity knocks, that doesn't reflect well on anybody. Football is full of misfortune for players who get injured and opportunities for those who step in and take the chance with both hands. He's 20, old enough if he is good enough.

At some point we are going to have to ask the question: is Marcel Brands any good? How Nkounkou fares will go a long way to answering that question.

Apart from Brands, this also tests out the Ancelotti - Brands relationship. Everyone bought now - whether it's Brands or Ancelotti, should have a clear role. If Nkounkou is not hte obvious cover for LB and does not play there, then there's some tension. If Delph plays, it's craziness, and I'm sorry if this comes across as a drama queen conclusion, but i think then we're screwed this season! Ancelotti has to go for a recognised LB and not Delph, who will just be overwhelmed.

 

[APN_EFC]

Y

If he plays finished central midfielder Fabian Delph at left back ahead of this lad then I will honestly stick my neck out and say Carlo Ancelotti is going to do nothing at Everton.

YEah I agree. I want to have faith in Ancelotti, and we have to always assume he knows better than us...but it means that there's something wrong in the board / DoF level relationships

 

[everton1953]

Hold your breathe and see how he performs now that the job is his for the time being. Both our new fullbacks are on trial, so to speak.

 

[Carloblues]

Absolutely no excuses for him not to start the next couple of games.

I thought the days of shoehorning donkeys like Delph into wrong positions had gone, we shall see.

 

[Drico]

Too be fair mate the lad did well in the cup games, but until he's had a run of prem games we can't really judge whether he will have been a good signing or not by Brands.

That's very true, and you won't hear me disagreeing with you on that. I am not judging him on how he plays this weekend - I will judge him, the man who bought him, and the man who coaches him on how he plays (if he plays) over the course of the season that Digne is out.

It would be very unfair to judge anyone on two or three games. He will need a run and can only be assessed at the end of that. It would also be unfair to judge Brands purely on one player. However, there have been plenty of Brands signings to this point, and Nkounkou is likely to be the one that breaks the camels back if he doesn't step in and do a passable job over the coming months. Brands hasn't had enough clear successes. Ironically, Digne is surely his best signing. Other signing can be attributed to the manager of the time (Richarlison to Silva, James to Ancelotti, etc) so he needs one or two others to step up and vindicate his judgement. This lad could be that player...or he may simply cloud the picture further to the point where people point out the lack of obvious successes in Brands's work.

Carlo, who we are genuinely privileged to have, will also have to show his worth now. I have no doubt he will, but the purse strings will definitely have to be loosened again pretty soon. There is no point having a coach of his prestige if we are not going to back him properly. The signs are we are supporting him, but it needs to continue and Brands has a key role in ensuring that is possible by successfully removing the detritus from the squad. So, all in all, a big period for Brands.

 

[DaChunk]

If he plays finished central midfielder Fabian Delph at left back ahead of this lad then I will honestly stick my neck out and say Carlo Ancelotti is going to do nothing at Everton.

This hasn't been in question since he captained Siggy the other week.

 

[AussieToffee11]

Carlo giving the vibe from his press conference that he will get first shot at the LWB role at the weekend. Hopefully he focuses less on the defensive side with the 3 CB cover and tries to use his physical attributes to be more of an attacking threat.

 

[Toffeelover]

I am dreading the team selection for tomorrow. I dislike all this biz about 3 cbs why cannot we get back to 4, 2 cbs and 2 fbs then -3 or 4-2.

 

[UptheTofees]

I am dreading the team selection for tomorrow. I dislike all this biz about 3 cbs why cannot we get back to 4, 2 cbs and 2 fbs then -3 or 4-2.

Because we have no right back that Carlo feels comfortable starting.

 

[Toffeelover]

Because we have no right back that Carlo feels comfortable starting.

For me 3CBs will be a disaster, they will get in each others way and won't have a clue who is supposed to doing what.

 

[Toffe3m4n]

For me 3CBs will be a disaster, they will get in each others way and won't have a clue who is supposed to doing what.

If that's genuinely the case then you'd have to seriously question what's been going on in training this week..

 

[catcherintherye]

For me 3CBs will be a disaster, they will get in each others way and won't have a clue who is supposed to doing what.

In fairness though, all defensive combinations have been a disaster this season really haven't they? I think in general we need more defensive cover, not less, so I'm happy to persevere with a back 3.

 

[MikeH72]

I am dreading the team selection for tomorrow. I dislike all this biz about 3 cbs why cannot we get back to 4, 2 cbs and 2 fbs then -3 or 4-2.

Because that wasn’t working mate.