Everton post match 2-4

[VLC86]

26 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

Said before the game that we aren't able to play anything other than 100%

 

this was a throwback to the autumn but with a little better spirit 

 

expect similar next saturday at palace, assuming we are still in the tie.

 

would rather not play vards if he isn't going to able to play at full pelt. musa may as well run about and stretch the game. 

Agree with this. Vardy can't play and hold back, should have given Musa a chance for me to eat my words. Recon he will get that V Palace.

[UPinCarolina]

As far as Palace is concerned, much depends on midweek in Madrid. If we take any sort of positive momentum out of that match, Palace is a different story. 

[Guest Chocolate Teapot]

1 hour ago, Thracian said:

King didn't give the ball away any more than anyone else and in fact, got a bit better (after a long lay-off), the more the game went on. But that was due to Everton losing their ambition, something Amartey benefitted from as well and Chilwell too later on.

 

Drinkwater was worse than King - almost off the pace and nothing like as bright as at his best.

 

With Slimani not being in any way the kind of midfield dynamo Shinji is (for all that he tried hard enough) we were always going to be up against it in central midfield especially as our full-backs having quite enough to do trying to contain the Everton threat for an hour or so.

Agree on Drinkwater, been woeful for 3 games now.

[fuchsntf]

39 minutes ago, sm1 said:

Its funny how King is getting slaughtered on here yet it is DD who has been consistently shit for quite a few games. Ndidi has been covering for DD, something which King is not good enough to do. 

The biggest problem with this game was Shakey going 442 without a natural defensive midfielder. At least he should have brought on Simpson 2nd half (for Vardy) and moved Amartey to midfield and played a 451/433. Amartey could have shielded the defence and King could've played further up, his natural position. At the moment King is asked to play out of position next to an out of form DD, against one of the best 3 man midfield units in the league, and he's getting singled out because we got over run in midfield! This was a tactical error from shakey and its a little sad he hasn't learnt this lesson from our early season form.

It reminds me of the situation that Gerrard and Lampard were in with England, both fantastic midfielders, but when they were asked to sit in and become more defensive by England, they looked ordinary.

Good point..ssss

[The Prince]

Fully accept making changes with Wednesday in mind but as others have said, really showed our squad depth is poor considering the money spent. No right back cover for Simpson, no quality cover in midfield (King and Mendy not good enough). 

 

But given this, I was annoyed by our performance. Kind of understandable to have one eye on Wednesday and players intensity clearly wasn't 100% but what bemused was our decision making. Frankly bizarre at times. Drinkwater, possibly being the biggest culprit. I like Danny but his form is worrying. 

 

Benny obviously poor today but I'm not too worried. I think he is capable of playing well on Wednesday. 

 

Last thing to to add is my dislike for Everton fans. Horrible! They actually boo more than they cheer. What a depressing place it must be most of the season. 

 

Anyway, confident we will be back at it on Wednesday. 

[Pentatonic]

4 hours ago, Monsell1976 said:

Just never play king again

Harsh considering all the rust he has from sitting on the bench for months.

[shiv]

Just now, Pentatonic said:

Harsh considering all the rust he has from sitting on the bench for months.

Also had to carry Drinky in the first half. No idea what game he was playing.

 

Thought both improved in the second half, Kingy put some good tackles in and Drinkwater with some good bursts forward. 

[fuchsntf]

Now then, I will be mullered for this....

This 1 of many games, we lost to a better team on the day....push this all to the side.

Dont bother to pull the team to peices, and shower this forum with for today unimportant negatives...

 

In a couple of days, we are going to enter the biggest phase of games in our history.I am now gonna sit back and

enjoy the build up, all the gossip, pundits highs and lows, Ranieri tomorrow, and enjoy the journey of the next, 2-3 weeks,

appertaining to this magical mystery tour.  

Everton is blown out of the system, fasten your seatbelts, its going to get bumpy, let see if we can fly this thing....

We have achieved the impossible...now a few miracles are about to be performed..

BFF..Belief, faith fearless...The fox is on the run...where is the question...

[The whole world smiles]

If people are still slating Slimani after his 25 minutes on Tuesday and his 90 today then i am tempted to cancel my foxestalk account.

 

I mean what is the point? How can you argue against such massive stupidity? Its like arguing with a christian about evolution. These fookers are choosing to ignore the facts!

[Blue ROI]

Dublin and Kerry in Gaelic Football was first choice for me today so missed this.

 

Felt that a win wasn't on the cards as we had to slip up sooner or later.Even with the strongest team available it would have been a tall order. Everton are 3rd best at home this season and before today we'd only lost twice in 9 league games at Goodison Park which ain't bad.

 

From MOTD highlights it looked like Benny had an absolute mare and outside of the blistering start didn't threaten all that much. Slimani nets another one. Some of the criticism is probably fair but I suspect it might be a case of 'you dont know what you got till its gone' when he goes elsewhere. Been times in the last 2 games where we looked like the side of 2 to 3 months ago but 2 goals puts it above the likes of man u,chelsea swansea etc away.

 

Don't like losing but after a great month it was inevitable.

 

Now let slip the Dogs of War....

 

 

[ajthefox]

I'm disappointed with today but I think there is a fair bit more negativity than there should be, not for the result as such but the performance.

 

I thought the selection was ok but on reflection, I think a slightly different team might've gained a different result.

We were over-run in midfield today and that wasn't just because the midfield two were poor, it was because we were outnumbered. That had a massive impact on our ability to keep the ball and to create chances. 1st team personnel or not, surely Shakey should get some criticism for that? 

 

Having said that, Everton's fluid passing and their control of large parts of the game didn't actually turn into many chances from open play. None of their goals were particularly clever or incisive, they were all as much about our own poor defending as they were good attacking football. As frustrating as it is that we conceded such poor, preventable goals, it's not typical of us and I think we should take them as what they are and not get too bogged down about conceding 4.

 

The thing that disappointed me more was that after turning around a deficit so quickly with two good goals, we didn't push on and we didn't create anything. Ulloa came on and came very close to making the last few minutes really nervous for them but apart from that we didn't really trouble Everton too much and that was disappointed. It's frustrating that we've lost a game before Madrid that was definitely winnable (even with the changes that we made) but I think we should be looking at the positives.

 

Positives:

I was glad to see Gray make the right decision to play in Slim for the goal after a good run but his attitude does concern me.
Great to see Slim score, hopefully he can kick on a bit after scoring today. 

Happy to see Leo on the pitch again and it's a shame he didn't score, would've gone mad if either of his headers went in.

Albrighton MOTM for me. Not saying much given the individual performances but he looked like the one who might create a goal.

Thought Musa was useful when he came on. Got in a couple of good positions and could've set one up if his final ball was a little better.

 

Our fans. Thought the way we got behind the boys and were still singing right up to and after the end of the game was great even if it wasn't the loudest or most persistent chanting.

 

Love how riled up the Everton fans got about YNWA. What a woeful bunch though, no singing at all.

[Callabinho]

I'm actually pretty pissed off to be honest...I get Atletico, however it just showcases how poor the depth of our squad is...Everton are poor, and without Lukaku would probably be looking over their shoulders, we made them look a hell of a lot better than they actually are today. Their league position flatters them, and RK stupid post match interview annoyed me also....don't why I'm so pissed off, but I am....really disappointed in today's showing.

[adejo92]

1 hour ago, The whole world smiles said:

If people are still slating Slimani after his 25 minutes on Tuesday and his 90 today then i am tempted to cancel my foxestalk account.

 

I mean what is the point? How can you argue against such massive stupidity? Its like arguing with a christian about evolution. These fookers are choosing to ignore the facts!

He's a striker and therefore the law of averages say he will score. Unfortunately, for 30 mil, he doesn't score enough and moves like a shire horse.

[mozartfox]

if we repeat this tactic and get stuffed by Palace then we could be chasing the 3rd Relegation place rather than  a CL semi-final place.. We are not safe despite the optimism on here.

[Aidan]

5 hours ago, sm1 said:

Its funny how King is getting slaughtered on here yet it is DD who has been consistently shit for quite a few games. Ndidi has been covering for DD, something which King is not good enough to do. 

The biggest problem with this game was Shakey going 442 without a natural defensive midfielder. At least he should have brought on Simpson 2nd half (for Vardy) and moved Amartey to midfield and played a 451/433. Amartey could have shielded the defence and King could've played further up, his natural position. At the moment King is asked to play out of position next to an out of form DD, against one of the best 3 man midfield units in the league, and he's getting singled out because we got over run in midfield! This was a tactical error from shakey and its a little sad he hasn't learnt this lesson from our early season form.

It reminds me of the situation that Gerrard and Lampard were in with England, both fantastic midfielders, but when they were asked to sit in and become more defensive by England, they looked ordinary.

What a boring analysis! People here are only interested in bashing their own players. If you don't have anything bad to say about the players (some more than others), then please do us all a favor and stay out of this forum.

[STUHILL]

I've got Benny down for fault on 3 of the 4 goals  I'm hoping he just had a really bad day at the office. 

 

He seems to be more than adequate at this level, when defending someone running at him or making key interceptions/blocks etc but his marking in the box today was shambolic. He has to grab a hold of his man and not let him so easily get away from him for a free header. Really poor from him and maybe signs of why we haven't seen much of him since joining. 

 

It is one bad game though, so he gets the benefit of the doubt and I hope he ups his game big time for wednesday. Simeone will have been watching this game and be looking at set plays as a real chance to get at us. 

 

Luckily, I think Shakespeare will be well onto it and have us better organised. We really missed Simpson and Fuchs back there too, as well as N'didi, so I'm still hopeful for weds! 

[Aus Fox]

3 hours ago, adejo92 said:

He's a striker and therefore the law of averages say he will score. Unfortunately, for 30 mil, he doesn't score enough and moves like a shire horse.

7 goals in 12 starts is not a bad record at any level.

First season in the Premier League, had a few injury niggles and missed a few games due to ACON.

I think if he gets a good preseason he could be a real asset next season.

Great finish for the goal today, I have slated him in the past and he has had some poor games.

But, the last couple of games I think I am starting to see why we paid big bucks for him.

I will have 20quid to the FT bet with anyone on here willing to take it that if he stays next season and is injury free, he will hit 20 goals +.

[STUHILL]

2 minutes ago, Aus Fox said:

7 goals in 12 starts is not a bad record at any level.

First season in the Premier League, had a few injury niggles and missed a few games due to ACON.

I think if he gets a good preseason he could be a real asset next season.

Great finish for the goal today, I have slated him in the past and he has had some poor games.

But, the last couple of games I think I am starting to see why we paid big bucks for him.

I will have 20quid to the FT bet with anyone on here willing to take it that if he stays next season and is injury free, he will hit 20 goals +.

Totally agree. I am not a fan at all costs of Slim! I still have major doubts whether we can get the best out of Vardy and Slimani in the same team but those bashing his goal record are nuts. That's one thing he can't be criticised for. 7 goals in 12 starts as you said is a great return for his first season in the Premier League. 

 

People just can't seem to look past the cost of players, even though we all know that price-tags these days are ridiculous and no fault of the player and why do any of us care anyway? If it's not out there on the pitch, then it's sitting in a Billionaire's bank account. Lets just take all players on what they achieve on the pitch and do for our team and so far, he has scored some important goals for us and goals per minute ratio points to a 20 plus goal scorer, which is a hell of an asset to have in our team. 

 

Vardy has played in minutes the equivalent of 24.4 full games and scored 10

Slimani has played in minutes the equivalent of 12.3 full games and scored 7

 

I'm all for debating on whether they can play together and whether we can get the best out of them etc but questioning Slimani's ability, especially as a goal scorer, just seems bizarre. 

[STUHILL]

6 hours ago, Costock_Fox said:

Agree with this. Vardy can't play and hold back, should have given Musa a chance for me to eat my words. Recon he will get that V Palace.

Agree x2. Vardy has to be at full throttle or is pretty much useless. It was a strange decision by Shakey as I thought he would be the first one I would rest. Perhaps Vardy told him he was fresh and wanted to play, but we certainly didn't get Vardy at 100% effort and he was very quiet. Glad he got taken off. I think Musa (as bad as he has been), would have been a better option than a 70% Vardy. Would have also given us another chance to have a look at Musa. I was also disappointed to see Drinkwater start, as he needs a rest and has to try get back to playing well again as we have no decent back-up option for either N'didi or Drinkwater. 

[Guest the fox]

12 hours ago, Col city fan said:

Slim is becoming like a modern day Yakubu....all he does is score goals!

 

 

His link-up play is good, he has pace (at least for a big guy) he is an aerial threat, great work-rate and positional sense, he is decent on aerial duels (even tho he doesn't go for a lot of them, he had 5 vs Everton)

 

I hate this "he only scores goals", it's his job, you know! okazaki is raved about because all he does is running and slimani is punished for doing what a striker is supposed to do.

 

The soon you forget about the price tag the better

[CosbehFox]

Everton are in cracking form at home and went for the jugular. Their midfield was simply superb and well balanced; add to this the two wingers for like to cut inside, you are fighting against five players in the centre of the pitch. With this in mind the tactic of 442 and no Okazaki created an issues but I think we could have quite easily had our best eleven out and it would have been the same scoreline. 

 

I fear because of our fixtures we may still be looking down, not upwards unless we can pull a result out of somewhere. If not it maybe until May when we are safe.

[Guest Col city fan]

11 minutes ago, the fox said:

 

His link-up play is good, he has pace (at least for a big guy) he is an aerial threat, great work-rate and positional sense, he is a decent on aerial duels (even tho he doesn't go for a lot of them, he had 5 vs Everton)

 

I hate this "he only scores goals", it's his job, you know! okazaki is raved about because all he does is running and slimani is punished for doing what a striker is supposed to do.

 

The soon you forget about the price tag the better

I do agree that the price tag influences how people see Slimani. That's not the players fault, but it's natural that the 30 mill is factored into people's opinion of him. Off the cuff, I'd estimate Slimani as around a 20 million pound player. I think we paid over the odds for him.

I also believe that certain posters have made up their minds about him, rating him as brilliant, and that any debate is futile.

[Guest the fox]

7 hours ago, adejo92 said:

He's a striker and therefore the law of averages say he will score. Unfortunately, for 30 mil, he doesn't score enough and moves like a shire horse.

I find a major flaw in that law, okazaki is a striker and can't buy a goal (and don't give me that "okazaki is deferent", slim tracked back and dropped deep and still got a goal)

 

I want to see this shire house run almost the full length of the pitch and score like this in a 10 seconds counter

 

[Ted Maul]

In hindsight, despite a shocking defensive performance and being weak as piss in midfield first half, we showed some fight in scoring a couple of goals and ending the game strongly to take a bit of momentum into Wednesday. 

 

Crucially, though, no injuries- that was the main worry.

[Guest the fox]

22 minutes ago, Col city fan said:

I do agree that the price tag influences how people see Slimani. That's not the players fault, but it's natural that the 30 mill is factored into people's opinion of him. Off the cuff 1-, I'd estimate Slimani as around a 20 million pound player. I think we paid over the odds for him.

I also believe that certain posters have made up their minds about him, rating him as brilliant, and that any debate is futile.

1- I see him as a 22-25 million striker, paying 5-7 millions above the odds is not that bad, plus, a great overall striker with a good scoring recorded is 45+ million, and 60 million if he is young in modern football, for 22-25 million, I find it hard to get a striker as good as him (let alone better), in a market where a hunter in the box is wanted, slimani is a bonus for any club (he has the same goal tally in the PL as okazaki in the last two seasons)

 

2- and others labeled him as a flop and a bang average striker, people take sides, that's just football. But what rubs me the wrong way is how people say things unrelated to football to judge him as a striker, the injuries, the supposed bad attitude with other teammates and other things, can't really think of any reason that the fans have to go against our player (apart from the price tag, which is not his fault), shame?