What is our biggest problem?

[TheBigIguana]

Because in games like tonight and Newcastle when the opponents pack the midfield when they do not have the ball (Lookman and Reid were fantastic at dropping in), you need your centre backs to step out and create the space. It is how really top teams operate to beat the lesser teams. Man City's record buy is Dias (previously Laporte and Stones). Liverpool's, record signing is Van Dyke. It is also why Man Utd paid 80 million for Maguire and 40million for Rio Ferdinand (nearly 20 years ago!!) No coincidence. It is the most important position if you are going to win things.

Godfrey and Holgate gave the ball away a combined 24 times tonight. This did not help. The midfield were really poor I agree, but Gylfi and James also did nothing to relieve pressure with any high pressing and we were unable to move to a compact 4-5-1 in defence when Fulham were attacking. Look how the first goal was scored. Ball was allowed into the wide area from the back far too easily. Maja, Reid and Lookman high pressed Holgate and Godfrey into those mistakes all night. In the absence of a proper defensive midfield quarterback to relieve them of their passing duties, we suffered. A switch to 3-5-2 was needed to give us any hope tonight.

These things are still issues with the midfield. The CB steps out to create space for the midfielder to work with. If they aren't going to use the space it doesn't matter. The RS, City and those United sides all had functioning midfields. Van Dijk doesn't drive the team forward in the way we need Keane to for us to function. Their midfield does that.

And James and Gylfi honestly did fine but the midfield doesn't follow them so the pressing is always wasted. You press as a team and you need the midfielders to win the ball. They don't.

We're terrible in 3-5-2 so I wouldn't expect that to have saved us.

 

[Thomasc]

Seen enough of this side now to make a call after this many games.

we just aren’t very good and are flattered by our league position.

 

[TheBigIguana]

Seen enough of this side now to make a call after this many games.

we just aren’t very good and are flattered by our league position.

On the whole of our season we are a mid-table side performance wise. But since that excellent start we've been a bottom half side. Our play is pretty crap most games and we've ridden luck more often than most teams can.

 

[Kris75]

Pineapple on pizza, it always comes down to pineapple on pizza

 

[quasi modo]

Our stand off dross football is the biggest problem.

 

[gwladysnight]

Carlo playing 90's Italian defensive football.

 

[matty1878]

Seen enough of this side now to make a call after this many games.

we just aren’t very good and are flattered by our league position.

so 7th flatteres us?

 

[Toffee-nerd]

Generally being inconsistent. One week a player can look like a world beater then next week they might as well have stayed at home scratching their arse. We have good players, we dont have enough good players to cover injuries and European fixtures but the players are good enough to compete for a European place and a good cup run. They just seem to have a habit of picking and choosing when to show up and when not to.

 

[TimHowardsBeardJuice]

Tonight and Newcastle made it crystal clear to me.

Mina and Keane are actually essential to the way we play. They both bring the ball out from the back which pushes the team forward. That didn't happen tonight as Holgate and Godfrey don't do this.

Then without width, we look poor. Tete had Digne in his pocket but our best chance came from Coleman coming from deep wide right and a Gomes cross from deep wide right. Once Bernard helped out on the left we looked a little better, but generally offered nothing from wide positions. Therefore if you outwork us in the middle, we have no chance if we are not getting crosses in from wide positions.

Gylfi and James do not work hard enough to play together. James really doesn't seem to like the cold at all and is not the answer at Right Wing in the middle of winter. One of them has to play off the striker, but with and not at the expense of width. This was a huge problem tonight.

Think we need to sign a couple of proper speciist hard working wide midfielders to enable a plan B. We have enough wingers that can play number 10, or number 10s that can play winger. We need proper dedicated wide midfielders to enable the switch to 4-5-1 in games like this to overload the middle of the pitch.

Agree 100%

Walcott made our side look better, not because of his touch or end product but because just having some pace out there stretched the defence out of shape.

Gordon could have massively helped in a game like tonight.

 

[optatom154]

We’re too deep in every single game no matter who we play. Got results against good sides when Keane and Mina have been outstanding. When we’re so deep, we end up passing the ball around 30 yards too deep in our own half
Stop trying to play Doucoure attacking mid when we’re losing and putting Sigurdsson cdm. We need more players who will get into the box, not one of our midfielders have ever or will ever make runs into the box.

If Sigurdsson plays he has to play #10. Genuinely the most pointless player ever if he plays anywhere but there and last season showed how bad he is playing deep. We tend to do better against good sides because he’s always sat on their cdm, made that ginger fella for them look like Pirlo tonight, makes it difficult for them to play through us when we stop him. Then there’s a problem because he doesn’t really do enough during open play to warrant that position every game, so we struggle against teams who might let us have the ball because he’s not good at creating pockets of space.

If we then decide to go with 5 crabs in midfield like today, need a right back who will actually attack and won’t tuck in to be glued to the right centre back, like Coleman was to Godfrey.

 

[Kever10]

Our biggest problem is a collective lack of awareness of how Everton work.

Today's result was so blatantly obvious after the last couple of games, and being the so called "easy game" in the midst of a nightmare run of fixtures, especially so after losing DCL, which let's face it, was bound to happen at some stage, the lad has run himself into the ground since August.

Its almost as though Everton fans in their thousands refuse to acknowledge some very basic universal and time proven rules that apply to us.

1 - We will always try our best to let people down in some way. Whether that be losing a home banker to the leagues whipping boys, or causing an upset and beating a team we have no right to on a seemingly unstoppable unbeaten run, we are far and away the most unreliable team to bet on or against in the league, possibly the world.

2 - If something bad ever happens to Liverpool, NEVER gloat. It will always come back to bite us on the ass, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but be assured, it will happen. Laugh about their expensive goalkeeper making a mistake? How about 2 years of nothing but mistakes in return. Thanks Jordan. But seriously, Everton and Banter do not mix, so just don't. It's not funny, and it's not clever.

3 - If things are going well for us, also a perfect time to go ahead and not gloat. The term "getting your eye wiped" was invented for Everton. League Champions you say? Have a World War. Twice. We do not do smug well at all, and should never, ever attempt it. Always proceed with caution.

4 - A player has been a flop, never scored, etc. A manager is desperate for points and needs a win to stop the slide and save his job? Who have they got next? Do you even have to ask? Even players playing illegally and soon to be deported get their solitary goal against the loveable blues, isn't that right Esteban Furtes.

5 - It's written in the stars, our name is on the cup. Nope. Maybe, in hindsight, it is safe to look back and say these things. But never before. We are perhaps the biggest bottle jobs in the history of the game. I only say perhaps, because if we played Spurs in the bottle job final to determine the winner, I honestly don't know if we'd win or lose, it would be too close to call. Renowned for snatching defeat from the Jaws of victory, we held the record for most FA Cup semi final appearances long after the record for FA Cup winners was way out of reach.

6 - It does not matter how good a player is before we sign them. We could sign Messi and he would either, a) get bullied by Ben Mee and lose all of his confidence, going on the longest goal drought of his career, or b) ruin both of his knees in a freak Signing video accident with Darren Griffiths and Contract Dave. On the other hand, just be glad Liverpool didn't sign Yannick Bolasie, or he would be sitting on 2 Balon Dors right now and our fans would have an actual reason to dislike him.

TLDR?

We're Everton. Don't smile for too long and embrace the fume.

 

[akkers]

Biggest problem is its a team full of "good lads", easy going, all get on mates etc - people slate Roy Kean but there's a place for him, never mind the manager he demanded certain standards and his team mates were scared to be on the receiving end from him after a mistake, if I was in that squad, after the spurs result I'd be hell bent on destroying Fulham, these lads need some testosterone

 

[overkill]

Voted other, just quality of players, our sqaud isn't as good as we think it is, even the first 11 and needs improving.
If it's improved and we keep current first 11 players that also helps strength in depth

 

[akkers]

We need a win at all costs player, someone to inject the squad with fire

 

[arbok]

1. Injuries have obviously kept two of our signings out for long periods of time, James and Allan. So while we added Godfrey and Doucoure, we're still very much last year's team. The FA Cup game where we had two less subs named than Spurs was embarrassing.

2. Carlo challenging the team to play more attacking football against lower sides and failing. Picking Coleman and Digne opened up as more, I only watched the highlights but one if not both goals came from the RHS. But against better teams, we've played more defensively and won.

3. I generally prefer sticking with the same team and building the winning mentality until a team beats us. I get why Carlo rotates the players to keep them motivated, but the defence could do with less rotation.

4. Pace and endurance to press defensively. One of the most average pressing sides I've seen, mostly defending the final third.

5. These lads are probably too nice. Even Doucoure who gets about, is too nice, don't see the players getting in other people's faces. We could have done with Zlatan, when those rumors in the summer were floating around. Maybe he didn't want to play the backup role to DCL here, but we need someone like that.