It is now time to switch to a new Money AM football blog as the world cup is now over and we all look to the future.....World cup 2010 is over, Bravo Espana, and Forlan, once again and bring on the new season !.....I never expected the last thread to be such a success...thanks all.... so this new one might go on for years without the need to edit the title...we shall see...

Its official, statistically speaking Burnley FC has the best Premier League defence. http://www.itsroundanditswhite.co.uk/2017/09/27/statistically-speaking-burnley-best-premier-league-defence-sean-dyche/

Not sure what it's like now but Cardiff had the fewest completed passes in the Championship after 8 games.

Non of that tippy tapped crap along the back four , can't score in your own half so just a waste of time.

Think are average possession is around 40% per game but we always end up with at least twice as many shots as the opposition and are joint top scorers.

Simple game really , get the ball into the opposing half and shoot !

Absolutely, only play it around when your 6-0 up and a minute to go.

Remind me of the last time Burnley had that luxury Stan. No tippy tappy at the flyover.

The same can be said for your lot IT, talking of which.. congratulations on actually scoring last week.

Stan on the Flybridge.

It's Chris who needs a bridge ... to jump off.

Ashley Williams once again proved me right.

Painful to watch :0(

I gave up just after half time. I think one of the youngsters that played we had on loan for a while 2 seasons ago but he never got much game time.

Pathetic last night. 6 doesn't come to mind Stanley but I can give a few 8s and 7s.

Sorry to hear that you Toffees are still struggling, but cheer up.. Burnley come to play on Sunday you know 👍🏼

Obstinate Koeman's reign reeks of a busted flush
LYNDON LLOYD 29/09/2017 18 COMMENTS



Another game, another often toothless and frustrating display, and two more important points dropped. After what unfolded in Italy a fortnight ago, the home fixture against Apollon Limassol was the one in Group E that Everton could ill afford not to win but they managed to grab a draw from the jaws of victory thanks to a late but unsurprising equaliser. That’s just the way things have been going so far this season but there’s a case for saying that Ronald Koeman’s side should never have been in a such a vulnerable position against that calibre of opposition in the first place.

To give Limassol their due, they had done their homework on the predictable way in which Koeman sets up his team, its reliance on switching the play to the flanks and its inability to consistently create through the middle. The team from Cyprus harried, compressed the space and tried to hit their hosts on the break but, ultimately, they lacked genuine quality and were there to be beaten.

Koeman said in his pre-match “presser” that he would select the strongest team available for what was a vital game in the context of Everton’s hopes of getting out of the group. That plainly wasn’t the case, though; if it had been, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, as demonstrably the Blues’ most effective attacker so far this season, would surely have started in place of Sandro Ramirez. And, as he would show by the end of the evening, so, too, should Nikola Vlasic have been in the line-up.

The problem, of course — as has been pointed out ad nauseam in recent weeks by keen Evertonian observers and long-suffering fans… essentially people supposedly less qualified than the man being paid £6m a year to work these things out — is that the Blues are, at the moment, considerably less than the vast sum of their parts and it’s down to a rigidly adhered-to system that the manager refuses to change.

While he has in recent weeks, accepted a modicum of responsibility for Everton’s poor results and even worse performances, Koeman was back to holding up a chronic lack of confidence and individual mistakes as being at the heart of his team’s problems last night.

“It's really disappointing,” he said after the game, a lead statement that is becoming as ritual as his famous “but, okay” crutch. “We started poor without any confidence, doing a lot of mistakes.

"The challenge is to get the team full of confidence. You need to start better, if you start with many mistakes like today it's hard. Look at the first goal it's shocking. Winning games is good medicine but now it will be the same at the weekend.

"The feeling is like a defeat, not even a draw. We are missing seven, eight players, that is maybe too much in the current situation."

Of course, it wasn’t really a shortage of numbers that was to blame here, although had Phil Jagielka been in the side instead of the increasingly error-prone Ashley Williams, it’s unlikely Limassol would have been gifted the opening goal in the manner in which they were.

In any case, the Cypriot side returned the favour with an even more charitable gift to allow Wayne Rooney to score a goal he never would otherwise have done based on the rest of the match. And once Vlasic had come on to provide the energy, the purpose and the second goal that the team had hitherto lacked, the argument over confidence went out the window.

The Croatian had put the Blues ahead with a composed finish that defied his teenage years and provided the platform from which they could take all three points. What it says of the accomplished and experienced Rooney or the criminally unmotivated Kevin Mirallas that a 19-year-old could provide so many of the answers is best left for another discussion.

Meanwhile, while those errors that Koeman cites were undoubtedly factors everything comes back to selection at the moment, and ineffective, narrow formation, anchored by a defensive midfielder partnership that is superfluous when Everton are at Goodison Park, that is doing the players no favours in their bid restore some self-belief.

Not for the first time, Koeman was aware of that last issue because he addressed at half time by withdrawing Idrissa Gueye in favour of Vlasic. The worrying problem, just like his repeated deployment of too many nominal No.10s at the expense of width, is that he keeps starting games with the same busted strategy, week in, week out. If his team is suffering from a lack of confidence, continually playing the ball back and generally moving it around at a snail’s pace, it’s because of a lack of options, movement and width ahead of them.

What does it say of a supposedly top-class manager that he consistently has to change things up at half time or later in games because his starting tactics aren’t working?

The optimists will point to the fact that Group E in the Europa League is still wide open following Lyon’s draw with Atalanta but Everton will only remain in with a shot of progressing to the knockout phase if they can start winning big matches, something they are struggling to do at the moment. In the same way that Oumar Niasse’s double against Bournemouth papered over some glaring cracks, a slender win over Limassol earned in spite of suspect tactics would have belied another sub-standard display.

On the evidence of last night, it’s hard to see this Everton team winning either of their other two home games in the group and there will be an onus on getting positive results away from home as well depending on how things pan out between now and early December.

Then there are the regular challenges of the unforgiving Premier League where there are no easy games and Everton will have to earn the right to beat the likes of Burnley and Brighton in their next couple of games to keep the relegation zone at arm’s length.

The damning thing is that there is talent in the squad and some fine, blossoming young talent being worked into the foundations for future success under the right management. Tom Davies may have struggled last night in contrast to his transformative introduction against Bournemouth but his refreshing desire to keep the ball moving forward and his eye for a pass mean he should be a regular starter in place of one of the holding midfielders at home.

Calvert-Lewin is another maturing quickly on the big stages, displaying the attributes of control, direct running and eye for goal that some questioned he possessed at times last season while he was still finding his feet.

So, too, Vlasic who was a breath of fresh air last night who had the kind of impact on the game that Koeman would no doubt expect of Rooney. In Gylfi Sigurdsson, meanwhile, you have a player who, unsurprisingly, looked far more at home and was much more effective when he moved centrally and could play just behind the forward line. Will Koeman finally realise that simply picking players on reputation or price tag and shoving them into an unbalanced formation has been exposed as futile or will he blindly barrel forward regardless hoping against all wisdom that it will simply start working?

If there’s a common thread between Everton’s managers in the 21st Century it is, perhaps, a stuck-in-their-ways intransigence that ultimately underpinned their lack of success at the club. Perhaps that comes with the territory with the majority of football bosses but we Blues only have our own experiences from which to draw. And from Walter Smith to David Moyes to Roberto Martinez, we’ve been driven to distraction by an unwillingness to adapt to the demands placed on them by an ever-changing Premier League landscape.

Koeman may have only been in the job less than 18 months but he has quickly revealed either a dogged refusal or a simple inability to change — let’s face, it’s not good either way — in the face of mounting evidence that the system to which he is rigidly adhering isn’t working. They should rename it Goodison Donkey Sanctuary — Home for Stubborn Old Mules. Yes, it’s true that he is bedding in a number of new players but that is not the overriding reason for the team’s abysmal displays.

Maybe it’s a sign that my Evertonian patience has been stretched too thin over two-plus decades without success or the Dutchman’s detached demeanour but if Koeman walked tomorrow or was ushered into a taxi by Farhad Moshiri, I wouldn’t care a jot because there's no discernible plan at the moment. That’s not a new feeling, either — I felt that way before last night’s match and it’s not one I’m likely to shake unless there is a wholesale but unlikely shift in the manager’s approach, tactics and selection policy. To say we expected a hell of lot more this season is an understatement and it calls into question the likelihood of success for Ronald’s three-year Everton “project”.

Everton will have a job in qualifying...Lyon are no walkovers....reached the uefa europa semis last year...put four past Ajax...so it's not looking good...

Goodison Donkey Sanctuary — Home for Stubborn Old Mules. You should feel very comfortable on Sunday Stanley. :)

Everton vs Burnley
Lyndon Lloyd Saturday 30 September 2017 54 Comments [Jump to last]

Everton play their fourth home game in succession and their last before the next international break as Burnley make the short journey to Goodison Park.

Set back following the victories over Sunderland and Bournemouth by the disappointing 2-2 draw against Apollon Limassol on Thursday, the Blues are once again searching for a boost in morale as their halting start to 2017-18 continues.

Ronald Koeman was in confident enough mood when he met with the print media at Finch Farm yesterday, though, insisting that there was no point in him living in fear of the sack and that, in any case, he retains full confidence in his ability as that of his players to turn their fortunes around.

That confidence isn't shared by all, of course, least of all, no doubt, a good percentage of those fans who let their frustrations known at the end of Limassol game. And then there is the fear that Koeman himself admitted was dragging his team down and preventing them from playing football.

The problem with fear is that it can get compounded further by poor results, snow-balling until a state of paralysis takes hold and that is the danger that the manager must mitigate quickly, starting with this weekend's clash with the Clarets.

"I am not worried. Why should I need to be worried?” he said. “Because the fans are unhappy? No. If the club makes another decision it is up to the club. If I am worried about my situation, how can you live? Enjoy life. I was shit after [Limassol], but now I am different.

“If I am not good enough, they will take another one. That is how I see this situation.

“I do my best. I live 24-hours for football and to make Everton a better team and to win more games. I cannot do more. If it is not good enough, it is not good enough but that is my experience. It happens to everybody; Ancelotti, Van Gaal, Mourinho.

“I will fight every second of the day to make the team better and to make the right choices and of course everyone can have their opinion. If you don't win, you have problems.”

Koeman will, of course, face further problems and pressure if he isn't able to deliver three points against Burnley who come to L4 two points and five places better off than the Toffees having beaten Crystal Palace and then drawn twice in their last three games.

While their away form was infamously poor last season, Sean Dyche's men have already claimed the scalp of Chelsea this season and held Tottenham to a draw at Wembley so they are unlikely to be fazed by a visit to a disquieted Goodison.

Koeman's task is clear — either plug away with the same system he has employed so far with mostly poor results of find a new one that would sacrifice at least one of his expensive summer recruits who prefer the No.10 role. The evidence gleaned from the Limassol game would suggest Wayne Rooney should make way and Gylfi Sigurdsson should be given free reign in his best position but the manager has been resolutely faithful to his biggest names so far. A change from that would be welcome but surprising.

With Michael Keane and Phil Jagielka both doubtful — it wouldn't be a surprise to see one of them start — the back line might, with the possible exception of right back where Jonjoe Kenny would be unfortunate to be demoted again, pick itself again which means all eyes will be on midfield and attack.

Koeman's persistence with two holding midfielders has come in for strong criticism in the wake of Thursday's draw so it will be interesting to see if Idrissa Gueye — it would surely be him rather than Morgan Schneiderlin — is sacrificed for Tom Davies or Nikola Vlasic in the interests of adding more dynamism in the centre.

Up front, both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Oumar Niasse have made strong cases for inclusion but it's highly unlikely both will start. More probable is the youngster starting and Niasse being handed the role of super-sub once more if he is needed in that capacity.

As with all games in the Premier League these days, this one won't be easy. Burnley are disciplined and don't lie down easily for anyone; as such they will pose a significant threat to an Everton side that will need to draw on what creativity and determination it can muster.

A victory wouldn't erase the concerns about the Blues going forward but it would once again ease the pressure on all concerned and provide another platform on which to build in the coming weeks. Anything less… well, you know.

Kick-off: 2.15pm, Sunday 1st October, 2017
Referee: Jonathan Moss
Last Time: Everton 3 - 1 Burnley

Predicted Line-up: Pickford, Kenny, Keane, Williams, Baines, Schneiderlin, Gueye, Vlasic, Sigurdsson, Rooney, Calvert-Lewin


Stan, if Burnley can beat Chelsea Everton should be a walkover on current form. Unless of course Koeman changes his tactics which I doubt. Might have a cheeky punt on them :0)

Frank Crewe
19 Posted 29/09/2017 at 17:17:04 He'll start wearing brown shoes and saying everything is phenomenal next. He knows he's skating on thin ice and that he's losing the fans. Our football is so boring we should change the shirt sponsor to Mogadon. If you could bottle Everton you could sell it as rhino tranquilizer.
The fact is that every game is groundhog day. He sends out the same overly defensive, no width, no pace, no striker, stuffed with out of position midfielders formation that huffs and puffs through the first half then concedes a stupid goal. Then half time arrives. On comes the striker and one decent wide player. We change the formation and improve. We are poor because we have no focus to our play because we have no striker hence no out ball. He does not pick the best side he can he picks his blue eyed boys. Rooney, Sandro, Klaassen.

Let's be honest, if Sandro was a local lad, he would be in the Under-23s waiting for his chance like the rest of them. Klaassen is wasting everyone's time. If Anderlecht love him so much maybe they would be prepared to buy him back in January. At least we could get some of our money back.

Then there's Rooney. The elephant in the room. Too slow to play up front. Not as good as Sigurdsson as a No 10 yet he earns too much to be benched. So he spends his time narking with the ref and slowing down the play.

They say the definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result but no doubt we'll get more of the same on Sunday.

Laurie Hartley
20 Posted 29/09/2017 at 17:21:29

Know he feels Chris. We had 5 years of crap negative football including the year we got promoted.

Now its fast attacking football and so much better to watch. Had 45% possession yesterday which is good for us but had 16 shots to Derbys 8 and corners were 8 to 2 in our favour.

But alas we couldn't score but the point gained gives us 24 after 11 games and still top of the league.

It's now a year since Warnock arrived and same stage last season we were absolutely crap , had 8 points from 11 games and were in the bottom 3.

Need Wales not to lose on Friday then everything is all set up for a cracking final game next Monday against Ireland in Cardiff.

I'll be there Monday just in case we do qualify as I've been at all the other near misses so would be nice to see them qualify for a change.

Be really funny if Williams plays a blinder and scores the winning goal Chris :-)

Real Madrid playing silly buggers claiming Bale is injured and needs rest.

I don't think Bale or the Welsh medical team are going to have any of that nonsense and he'll play 90 minutes both games.

Well done Burnley!! Nurse.... NURSE!!!

More like the coroner is needed Chris

Stan's da man.