Hello mein frandels and contributors to leading Everton website frandoldteam.com. It's time for another SERIOUS thread. I hope people start some more long-form threads soon.
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Nearly three years ago I asked in another thread what
we thought our playing style plan was following a lacklustre defeat against Chelsea. It's deeply ironic that Tom Davies is the only player who started in each of my snapshot examples on that thread. Perhaps I'm like him too, I've not improved in all that time either.
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We've run out of things to point at now since September 2017. If it was the quality of the manager that was holding us back, and Lord knows it was grim pickings under Koeman, Allardyce, Silva and Unnnnnnnnsy, we've now got one of the all-time greats. Steve "the Passport" Walsh and his profligate spending holding us back? We got rid of him too and replaced him with Brands, he of the Youtube documentary and suits lined with fifties. The pandemic cured the fandemic - we now boo from home so those gentle players can't hear us.
But we are still absolutely rubbish, our captain and manager have just thrown the squad to the wolves on live TV, and we're in the bottom half, having spent the equivalent of the UK's PPE budget on utter, utter tosh. There's nothing to mask it any more; it's the eleven bells strolling / falling / sticking their tongues out all over the pitch that have got us here (and their pals in the wider squad).
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But what's the plan from here? The good people of the world's greatest Everton forum have, with varying degrees of justification, have made the case for the selling, releasing or retiring of nigh-on everyone apart from Richarlison this summer, and yet perversely he's our most coveted asset, and could well be forgiven for looking for a new club. I genuinely believe he would start at every club in the world.
And what's the plan for the club? There's now no real argument that Tait and Unsworth adequately prepare our youngsters for first team football at the top level. Dowell, Pennington, Kenny, Foulds, whoever than ginger kid who came on against Atalanta and was publicly, brutally, sacrificed on the ego of Unsworth playing to the gantry, all have come in and looked utterly lost, not really quite right for the position they played at youth level before finally being shuffled out the door. Sitting at the apex of this failure is Davies, 100 games in, the great survivor, the barnacle clinging leech-like to the listing Good Ship Everton, utterly devoid of talent, form or application. We've extended his contract twice. He's a product of his environment; chaotic, pointless and vapid. He hasn't got a clue where he is supposed to be or what he is supposed to do in this team, but then, who has told him? It's too easy to use an example like Foden, who every time he plays for City plays to a particular style and rhythm, a direct result of a prevalent school of football thought at every level at City under Guardiola. But then you look at Southampton (bummed senseless by Leicester 9-0 just months ago), and everyone who came on or started the match last week knew exactly what they needed to achieve in that system. It took a wondergoal from the best player on the pitch just for our £350m squad to eke out a draw at home. And that from an excellent pass from our second best player.
On the previous "what's the plan?" thread, I said that I couldn't see what we were trying to achieve. I still can't understand why Pickford kicks long to Bernard in the final minute and expects him to win a header. I'm not sure at all why Davies stands out of line of sight of the centre backs when they have the ball, beyond rank cowardice. I don't know why Gyfli still takes freekicks, or in fact takes any kicks in an Everton shirt. I'm not sure what Alex Iwobi considers his strengths as a footballer to be. I don't know why Michael Keane needs the game to start yesterday to get up to speed by half-time. Why did we ever buy Yannick Bolasie?
It's yet another summer where we can sell 11 players just to stand still. It's going to be another summer where I hope that Unsworth et al. are shown the door as our hugely overpaid Director of Football finally looks to build a new culture at the club. Players not just the being able to compete, but instilled with the will to win. The excuses have run out; we've got the money, the brilliant coach, and the support. But do we have the plan?
