Ronald Koeman discussion

[Kev The Rat]

I don't know what's going on behind the scenes. Nor does anybody else except those behind the scenes. But from the outside looking in, allowing your main striker and main source of goals to leave without a replacement lined up is not good enough. The striker should have been a priority, one that should have been solved way before the season commenced.

I'm hopeful we'll get something done before deadline day, but the fact is some of his other purchases will be questionable if we end up with a completely bang average centre forward.

And even then.. does a striker solve our lack of pace? Lack of cutting edge? Slow tempo? No runners from midfield? A few weeks ago Sigurdsson was the key, now it's a striker. In another month will it be the return of Bolasie and Coleman? All net spend arguments aside, he's been backed more than any manager in my lifetime financially. I expect some guts and fight. Our "big game" attitude stinks. Just what you want when you hopefully want to go deep in Cup competitions and push on in the league.

Im guessing that a top tier striker was beyond us - presumably they are the hardest players to sign. Any second tier replacement (Gray?) would look inferior compared to Lukaku.

 

[Kantareller]

...that's very clever deciphering. I think you may have uncovered a fifth columnist!

Seriously mate too much time on your hands.

Needed a ''release''.

 

[rochdaleblue]

Won less away games last season than Martinez the season before - That's the stat that frightens me

Alternatively look at our home form.

 

[a bell maul]

I don't know what's going on behind the scenes. Nor does anybody else except those behind the scenes. But from the outside looking in, allowing your main striker and main source of goals to leave without a replacement lined up is not good enough. The striker should have been a priority, one that should have been solved way before the season commenced.

I'm hopeful we'll get something done before deadline day, but the fact is some of his other purchases will be questionable if we end up with a completely bang average centre forward.

And even then.. does a striker solve our lack of pace? Lack of cutting edge? Slow tempo? No runners from midfield? A few weeks ago Sigurdsson was the key, now it's a striker. In another month will it be the return of Bolasie and Coleman? All net spend arguments aside, he's been backed more than any manager in my lifetime financially. I expect some guts and fight. Our "big game" attitude stinks. Just what you want when you hopefully want to go deep in Cup competitions and push on in the league.

Good post. The optimism and hope of the start of the window has been totally displaced by the reality that we have actually got a worse team than last season. Letting big Rom go was a terrible error. Talk about goosing a gangster's...we have effectively handed Utd the title whilst ensuring we remain in the tier two 'best of the rest' league.
What a bleak Sunday night it is

 

[Axlswhk]

Getting rid all players capable of running with the ball will haunt this Dutch donkey for the rest of his Everton career.

Delboy
Mirallas
Barkley

Lookman and kenny not having much game time.

I'm not sure what he's up to. I rather keep all of them and rid koeman.

 

[navidson]

Alternatively look at our home form.

I appreciate the home form - but to me, the way which a team plays away from home tells me more about the tactical nous of the manager

At home, the crowd plays more of a part, players are automatically more motivated, the opposition are intimidated etc

 

[ijjysmith]

Anyway, the manager has said what he wants.

Let's see what Walsh and the board get him.

 

[Dario Terracotta]

His team this season,no excuses,we are improving generally as a club,however I cannot give an overview as to how he looks to set us up or style of play he requires,the positives for me are the spine of the team is being set up,pickford,keane,gueye,schneiderlin,we need another centre back/striker and hopefully we can build around this.

 

[a bell maul]

Getting rid all players capable of running with the ball will haunt this Dutch donkey for the rest of his Everton career.

Delboy
Mirallas
Barkley

Lookman and kenny not having much game time.

I'm not sure what he's up to. I rather keep all of them and rid koeman.

The general tone on here suggests you are not alone in thinking that. There is definitely a stirring of unease amongst GOT members regarding big Ron. Isn't it deliciously ironic that such occurs just as @davek is banned ?

 

[Deckard2049]

Im guessing that a top tier striker was beyond us - presumably they are the hardest players to sign. Any second tier replacement (Gray?) would look inferior compared to Lukaku.

How long have they had to plan for this eventuality though? Lukaku leaving didn't catch anyone off guard. We knew since he wouldn't sign a new contract that he was off, in fact we probably knew last summer he'd be gone a year later. Our most important signing has been left till last. I appreciate signing quality strikers is difficult, but it's even more difficult with less than a week to do it in.

The issue with this striker situation as well is that the argument raised following Lukaku's exit was that we needed to spread the goals around more anyway and not play as a team geared to one individual. In our opening fixtures we haven't seen much evidence of others chipping in so far have we?

From last year the only team in the top 7 who didn't have an individual player scoring over 20 league goals was the RS. Instead they had three players all chipping in with around 12-15 each, including goals from midfield too. Have we assembled a team/attack capable of replicating something like that?

 

[Kantareller]

It's just sad to see we still can't win these difficult away games, when will those days come?

 

[Gladystweet]

Anyway, the manager has said what he wants.

Let's see what Walsh and the board get him.

Probably some magic beans

 

[rochdaleblue]

I appreciate the home form - but to me, the way which a team plays away from home tells me more about the tactical nous of the manager

At home, the crowd plays more of a part, players are automatically more motivated, the opposition are intimidated etc

Fair point. But moyes won half his away games at united, but abysmal home form cost him his job. For what it was worth I was just glad to see winning football and lots of goals at goodison once again last season.

 

[ijjysmith]

Probably some magic beans

I can't remember what happened with those in the kids story?

Did Olivier Giroud show up and score 26 goals?

 

[Toffee in Jandals]

It's not that we lost today. Was always likely.

But it's the fact we were atrocious in every area in the first half and playing an extremely daft and negative formation. That's why people are annoyed.

This. I'm not advocating that we should have been reckless Martinez-style and played the gallant losers by going down 5-2 or something silly, but what annoyed me was that, in spite of the evidence of the game at Stamford Bridge last season, we played the exact same formation (ostensibly to counteract their three at the back with wing-backs?), and yet Koeman seemed to expect a totally different outcome.

What made it worse was that the personnel were so poorly-suited to play that formation today, in fact the team last year arguably would have been better (Coleman at wing-back, pace up top with Barkley, Lukaku, Bolasie). Holgate is good but a wing-back he ain't, and a half-fit Sandro wasn't the answer up top.

4-4-2 or 4-5-1 may not have been successful either, but given the personnel available it's likely it would have given us a better chance.