Nottingham Forest vs Everton

Replace Iwobi with Gray. Iwobi is not a winger. Wingers take men on, cross it, and press and tackle. He doesn't. If he plays, he has to be central where he did well last year.

Replace Doucouré with Iwobi or Davies. Both are better on the ball.

Mina is our best centre-back imo – pair him with Tarkowski.

Godfrey will need a run of games to find his best form again but that process needs to continue. He brings pace and tenacity in spades which we need. Bring him in for Mykolenko – when the lad goes forward, I have to watch through my hands.

Simms in for Maupey – he can't hit a barn door at 5 paces. Plus Dyche's style (and he's not for turning) is not for him.

We can beat these – COYB!!!

"Neal is doing the right things at the moment."

But he's not scoring, Sean, and he's had numerous opportunities where he should have scored.

Why not change the formation and go two strikers with Gray on one flank, McNeil opposite, and then two central midfielders?

It's not like we ever really win the midfield duel in away games anyway, is it?

He's got to start getting more pace in the team, that includes in defence because the whole back four are too deep, too slow.

Tomorrow is huge, can't be put into context that there are only 13 games left and some of them are unwinnable for this Everton side such as Man Utd away.

Tomorrow and Brentford next week, another teak-tough game, but we've got to take a bare minimum of 4 points from these… we've got to.

We've got to find a way of scoring goals, if that means being a bit braver then do it man, you won't get any argument from the fans, we are all sick of seeing shithouse Everton just crumble with no attacking threat.

Go for it.

We have little to lose by trying something or someone different up front but I think Dyche will feel he has made his point to some of the players he hauled off last week.

I'm still behind Dyche, but I wish he would do his experimentation at Finch Farm and not in important games. It wasn't his fault either inheriting a shit show and mis-matched players.

I still do not see this desire to play Davies, he looks the part, appears to be willing, but is truly awful in my honest opinion – mind you, the others around him are not a lot better but he can't pass to a Blue shirt if more than 5 yards. Enough said – I will have Dazza out of his cage defending the undefendable.

Hope John (Snr) is okay, Michael.

The emphasis needs to be on less goals at the other end and reducing the space between midfield and the final third, where all the damage is being done particularly in the first quarter of the second half.

Errors also have to be reduced. Gueye was the obvious error in the last game, but both Keane and Tarkowski have habitual errors in them. Dyche is right that Everton have improved making 'factual progress'.

But above all a draw needs to enter the vocab over the coming months, instead of collapse, because there will be many twists and turns in the end of season run in and every point will count.

Wow, I didn't know that, what a sad state of affairs at EFC.

I find his comments about Maupay is insulting us as fans, the lad isn't going to suddenly start banging them in for fun. He's played 4 games under Dyche and hasn't looked like scoring.

Anyone with half a brain cell would bring Gray or Simms in instead of Maupay. Not this fella by all accounts. Lowest scorers in the entire 4 divisions. Embarrassing totally and utterly embarrassing.

'That is not to say there have been no positive signs in Dyche's opening month at the helm. Everton fully deserved their victory over Arsenal at Goodison. They battled to another three points against Leeds. At home, they have so far found a blueprint that at least keeps them competitive in games.

Against Leeds and Villa, they pressed high and dictated most of the play on their terms. Passes per defensive action (PPDA) counts how many passes a team allows the opposition to make before attempting to win the ball back and is a proxy for pressing intensity. The lower the number the better. In the win over Leeds, Everton's PPDA was 11. It was nine against Villa, versus a season average around 16. They are forcing chances through their work off the ball.

Everton made a season-high 44 passes into the box against Villa, 10 more than their next best this term. In that game, they regained the ball seven times in the final third, their second-best total of the season.”

The Athletic.

Thanks Steve Brown.

For 40 minutes against Arsenal, the above stats were boosted.

Also, the usual unfulfilled optimism in Calvert-Lewin as a savour is misplaced. The forward line may slightly improve with his introduction, being an additional forward option, but saving the season is beyond his capability and such unrealistic expectation are not helpful to his recovery. He is simply not that good.

It's absolutely crucial we don't lose tomorrow, and although a clean sheet would be brilliant, having to keep a clean sheet, just to gain one point, is obviously where our tipping point, has got to change.

Dyche is trying to rally the players. If we play as we did in the home game versus Arsenal, we will get the 3 points, and who knows, we may get a guest appearance from Calvert-Lewin. We can win this game.

There are such widely varying opinions on how the formation and tactics could be improved that there seems no obvious answer, and it would be a case of “let’s try this to see if it works “.

Apart from in attack, I suspect the time to experiment might be in the games we already seem to have written off here - nothing lost but something possibly gained in what we know. For the likes of Forest, the only change I’d make would be to try somebody other than Maupay. And I would be tempted to try two up top. So Simms and Gray.

But who to drop in midfield?! And what formation does that then force us into in midfield?!

Maupay has failed miserably so far and we cannot keep gambling on him to come good. Effort is great but we desperately need goals. He is not scoring or bringing others into play.

If DCL is fit then great, if not then it's time for a total and radical rethink.

The only time we look like scoring is from set pieces causing a bit of havoc in the box.
Maybe a central defender up front with McNeil and Gray either side picking up pieces????
One things for sure what we're going with recently is not working

A club that proudly wears two stars above their crest, reflecting their success as being champions of Europe twice. It demonstrate that you never take anything for granted. If we didn't know it already, take heed Everton.

In the past weeks, I've watched Seamus grab us a win with a blinder that came from nowhere. I left Goodison deflated after the Villa home result and then received my inevitable Arsenal away beating, which I took personally.

The wheel has to turn at some point. We can do this.

I'll travel tomorrow with belief. Not blind faith, although that will probably kick in at some point tomorrow, so you'll need to excuse me approaching kick off. Stand up and be counted Everton, because those thousands will be behind you if you show us you care as much as we do.

As a side note, I met with family last night as my sister and her husband are down from Liverpool.

He is a Kopite. They have three sons. Two of them reds, the other is an Everton season ticket holder.

My son and brother, both fanatic Evertonians were telling me I'm delusional and we're going down. They grew up in the Moyes era. I just sat quietly, looking confused. The red supporting brother-in-law leapt to my defence and stood up for Everton. And not in a patronising way.

Aiming to be in Nottingham around midday. See some of you there or in the ground. Those who know me, drop me a message. Let's go and do this.

Play Gray on the right and drop Doucoure and move Iwobo into the middle. Gueye is on a final warning and I expect him to have a good game.

Pickford
Coleman
Tarkowski
Keane
Mykolenko
Gray
Gueye
Onana
Iwobi
McNeil
Simms

3 points is a must. We must put pressure on Forest by dragging them right into the relegation fight. The ref should have his red card ready for Shelvey.

12 more after today. It's getting too much!! COYBS!!!

The constant chopping and changing of managers, has put us in this horrendous position, and whilst it would be easy to blame the directors of football, that we have employed, it's clear that having some stability is the only way things are going to change?

I'm surprised we haven't seen Yerry Mina, but another thing working against us, is that some players have been out in the wilderness for that long, that expecting them to just get right up to speed, is another thing that very rarely happens, because the league is just so physically demanding.

The biggest issue is confidence, and you know it's bad when the fans have got such little confidence in the players, but hopefully this will soon change. A lot rests on the shoulders, and hamstrings of Calvert-Lewin, and making sure we don't lose tomorrow.

Clearly we're not scoring but we are creating chances and the play is much more organised. We really should have beaten Villa playing as we did, for example.

We could bring in Simms and Gray and be slightly more likely to take our chances. However, we might also be less likely to create the chances and more likely to concede. Very delicate balance.

The fact is we have a very poor squad so none of this is straightforward.

Jim, I'm not sure what the issue with Calvert-Lewin is. He's no Haaland or Lewandowski – but he makes this 4-4-1-1 / 4-5-1 system work because of his physical attributes and work rate. He offers us in one player what Maupay and Simms offer us together. He is a huge miss.

Feels a bit like adjusting the deck chairs on the Titanic but I think that's as good as we have.

Sit tight and hit them on the break.

It's going to be a nervy game for both teams. First goal the winner.

I would rest Coleman for Godfrey. Drop Gueye, and start Gray. I think we need a different approach, sitting back when you can't score in a brothel is never going to work.

I think was something along the lines of ‘in case you're feeling suidical..'!

This may be a slog of a game and fitness levels and desire will be vital.

Who is picked remains to be seen, but the team defends from attack back to the keeper.

Arsenal is history, flushed away and this is a massive game.

A win would be superb and a point is always good. For me, Gray should start as he has goal-scoring capability and can shoot.

Good old memories of Forest, the old-style ground, Everton have nicked a few wins there but not many over the years.

Tomorrow can be start to the rest of this campaign... Everton can win this game, and I believe that if they turn up for 95 minutes they will.

UTFTs!

I'm not the biggest advocate of either player, both have lots of faults but the way I see it is we are crying out for some pace.

Gray is the only player likely to score three or four goals between now and the end of the season.

We need discipline and concentration from start to finish resulting in a clean sheet.

With so many games still to play it's a must-not-lose game rather than a must-win one.

I think you hit upon the substance of the 'factual progress ' that Dyche is referring to when he talked about the team at Finch Farm, and Lyndon mentions in his article.

Obviously, Dyche looks at all stats provided by the Data Analysts at Finch Farm and uses them as the basis of his coaching. It also explains why some players who are attacked for performance on threads, do in fact produce good stats.

Dyche is working on overall team performance, each player statistically playing their part, according to the stats. He is still trying to find the right balance which will translate the stats into results, as he says.

Actually, that was an outstanding post by you on that thread. I did not quote your opinion, but it was spot on.

Godfrey was awful when he replaced Seamus on Wednesday.

Coleman is not the issue, imo. Simms for Maupay and Gray for Gana with Iwobi coming into the middle would mix it up enough for me.

Switch Iwobi to the middle. Drop Gana and Maupay for Gray and Simms. Start with your best line up.

This is a huge game and we may need 3 points here if Leeds and West Ham manage to take points today. It also puts added pressure to get those 3 points at home to a Brentford side who are well drilled under Frank and haven't lost in the league since October.

We have to win tomorrow.

Pickford
Coleman Mina Tarkowski Godfrey
Patterson Onana Iwobi Doucouré McNeil
Simms

I think this one is very winnable if we can focus for 90 mins like against Arsenal and Leeds. From the off Forest will be energetic and having a go at us, see that off and we will get a foothold.

4411. Free role for Gray to attack or play off DCL. Garner is tough but also can deliver a very decent cross. McNeill showing good commitment and can cross too. Mina adds quality, and statistically when he plays we win more matches.

Touch and go but Godfrey for Myko who is one dimensional. Godfrey has done ok at LB and has some tenacity and recovery pace, but is very suspect positionally. Coleman has been solid, I’d stick with him at the moment. Gana the biggest concern, I’d be asking for a big response here.

A tough no nonsense team, with a sprinkling of attacking creativity in the shape of Gray . This set up can get us a goal or two. If DCL still isn’t ready , play Simms as a more direct replacement.

>>>>>>>>Pickford

Coleman Mina Tarkowski Godfrey

Garner Gana Onana McNeill

>>>>>>>Gray DCL

Also no problem giving the creativity role to Iwobi in place of Gray , though I think Gray is slightly more likely to produce a goal .

Also, if DCL could come back in a get a goal a game a la Super Kev that wouldn't go amiss.

Make or break weekend.

Brilliant comment-you are absolutely correct particularly your words "we can do this"

It is so important to remain positive about our prospects for turning things around

The wheel will indeed turn

Without DCL we don't look like scoring unless its from corners and the odd free kick.
Gray does bring some threat with the ball at his feet but Dyche doesn't see him fitting the system it seems.

We badly need some good fortune in front of goal tomorrow and help from our relegation rivals today as well.

It isn’t being rigid or daft. It is basic stuff that umraveled as Rafa and Frank looked for solutions changing lineups and formations just fhe sake.of avoiding the last dusaster. And givibg Frank a scapegoat. I think he is diing the most sensible thing he can with such a frail bunch of footballers

I would go with both Maupay and Simms from the start, Bring Grey in on the right and McNeil on the left, I would sacrifice either Guaye or Doucouré and move Iwobi back to a more central position.

Few tweaks here and there and if we get into a position where we have a lead, make the changes then, take one of the forwards off and put either Doucouré, Guaye or Garner on, from the bench.

Whilst the present first XI is not exactly setting the world alight, there is every possibility that the alternatives actually make us worse not better.

That said I would like Gray and Simms to get more minutes. Patterson, Garner and Godfrey too should have some part to play yet, too.

It’s Allardyce 2.0 but as you say it’s probably the best way of utilizing the team we have

Perhaps one of them might come in but I think too much change may do more harm than good.

The one for me is probably Mina, our best defender when fit and a real threat from set pieces.

They are not bothered because it is win win for a premiership player relegated, especially if their is no relegation clause.

Once we go dow, and we will, the management will assess who they need and ask the one they don’t want to leave.

We will not receive any transfer fees as no one except us buys relegated teams players, see where that got us, and so they will negotiate to be released from their contracts and get a signing on fee from whoever is mental enough to sign them

Then we rebuild with more journeymen who will be shit and get long contracts.

It’s a long road when you go down as we are about to find out.

Nice new stadium though!!!!!

Why would Thelwell want Nelson? Surely there’s an older injury prone Arsenal player on a massive contract we could pay a huge fee for?

Maybe we can trick Moyes into buying Iwobi if he doesn’t get the sack

I have no expectations of anything positive tomorrow. 2-0 Forest is my expectation without a single shot bothering the home goalie.

I see Richarlison got 6 minutes on the pitch today with Spuds losing. Still at least we didn’t waste the money we got in a footballer.

Charles, accentuating the positive as far as possible - Forest are the next lowest goal scorers after Everton but have conceded 6 more. I know they're better at home but our defence is unlikely to get peppered if we hold it together, as in the earlier part of the Arsenal game.

I can't offer much upfront, but we must be due a good one soon...?

On the whole its the same tactics, and players no matter who is available and whoever is the opposition.

Emery did his homework on Everton, and Cooper Big Teeth will have done also. Big Sean maybe needs to fathom out the opposite team also.

I am looking forward to a 12-30pm home game, which could enable a ToffeeWeb get-together, where all things 'Everton' could be debated in a civilized manner.

I don't see it from the remaining fixtures. You can't argue that any of the next 12 teams we play are weaker than us. There will be big games where we need to go for it. And this is one.

I've been an advocate of giving DCL time
to heal but if there's any chance then he needs to play against Forest's depleted defence. If not then it has to be 2 up front.

Continuing to play the odds away to Forest gives us a big chance of defeat. I think we need to go for it and drag another team back into the mix. They know it's a big game for them... we could do with turning up.

I would try young Mills on the right wing and play Iwobi in the middle next to Onana,let Gray play a free role behind the Striker as he's still our best chance of actually scoring!

Dyche needs to be much braver and be less cautious,as we desperately need to win our next two games... sadly Blues he won't be and Forest will do us methinks.

2-1 Forest.

Just 6 points separate the bottom 9 clubs, it's crazy. A couple of decent results and any club can pull away. Here's hoping we can start tomorrow with a decent result. Win would be immense but at the very least please do not lose. Even draws very important at this stage, especially away from home against another team near the bottom.

Getting tense. At least 3 of the sides around us lost today.

That does however include getting something from tomorrows game...

So far under SD we have played reasonably well. To make wholesale changes would be suicide. I would make one change only to the actual eleven by bringing in Gray and play him as a more advanced winger/inside forward type position. I would drop Onana and leave the rest of the team alone.

I think I read that Seamus is suffering from a sore knee which is why he was taken off against Arsenal.

We can do this but we need keep doing the things that have worked so far.

UTFT!

I agree with bringing in Gray and leaving the rest the same. People are panicked obviously but so far Dyche has a 50 percent win rate. And as you point, to use a Koeman term “productivity” has been much better even in the two games we lost.

As an overall team we look better at the moment than we did under Frank. The biggest crime perhaps was in not making the change sooner. Had we brought in SD at the start of the World Cup break I think we would have beaten Wolves and Southampton and bet even have another striker to give us some potency.

Can’t turn back the clock unfortunately and have to hope SD finds a way to get us some goals.

Oh Wait a Minute. It says beware of Greeks bearing Gifts ! :-)

Good Luck today. Glad to hear from you.

Good to hear from you. Yes, a get together to discuss the passion in our lives is always welcome.

About to take the dog out and then hit the road (well train) to Nottingham.

To quote a Beatles song, Don't let me down, Everton.

I expect we will see a similar setup and lineup and I expect we will create some half chances. But someone has to score them.

First goal scorer will be crucial in what will likely be a low scoring affair and in just hoping that Tarkowski or Obama or Doucoure can scramble one in off a corner. I’ll take the ugliest goal ever so long as we score it first and hold on for 3 points.

I’d be more concerned if our two wins under Dyche were fortunate. I thought the wins were fully deserved and we were organised and systematic about our play. We need more of the same, grind teams down and then it comes down to us taking our chances. And this is it, the sharp end, chances must be taken. No ifs or buts.

Our forwards , midfielders or even defenders, have to cast aside nerves or hesitancy in front of goal, and just go for it. They need to access their inner caveman and bypass any white noise. Just have one single focus for any chance that comes along, and that’s to burst the back of the net with wild eyed relish.

COYBLUES!

The difference in how we might look isn't particularly significant. The fact is, we're just as ineffective so far under Dyche.

Not trying to say we don’t need to start scoring and like today but we look much stronger in defence once we have scored.

Make no mistake our first XI each week is much weaker than last season.

Dyche has definitely improved the organisation, the defending and the creation of chances.

If we had bought say Ouattara and Jackson as Bournemouth did, I'd have no doubt we'd stay up.

However, the fact people are talking about playing Keane up front says it all about what a disadvantage Dyche has.

Personally I don't see he's doing much wrong. Although there are alternatives they aren't "better" they're just a different version of flawed and could very easily be worse.

That said, I could see us putting 3 past Forest today because if you do keep making chances at some point the luck changes and they go in. We could easily have had 3 in each of the games against Arsenal, Leeds and Villa.

I am sure Danny will be well able to look after himself on the journey to and from Nottingham!

So I am predicting a 1-0 win for us with a penalty scored after the Forest keeper gets red carded.

Come to think of it. Who is our penalty taker with DCL not on the pitch?

We played better and lost against Southampton. Played worse and won against Leeds. The Southampton game came down to a lack of goalscorers and mistakes in defence. ie the exact same issues we're seeing now.

We've not cut out mistakes in defence. And I don't blame the manager for that. He's dealing with what he's got. He's also lacking firepower just as the last man did.

I see differences. But I see much more as being exactly the same. If change doesn't result in more goals scored or fewer conceded then is there any point in it?

The bit that bothers me is that I don't see any effort to address the issue that will send us down if we can't even slightly improve it.

I don't think anyone would argue that Dyche is being bold or brave in attack. I didn't expect him to be those things either so it's no surprise.

It does beg the question though. What was the point?

Going back to the summer recruitment when Koeman was manager a journalist who had been around with a few National papers, Paul Hetherington then writing for The Sunday Star and Sunday Express, said to me “ Aren’t Kenwright, Moshiri. Walsh and Koeman speaking to each other, they’ve bought three players for one position” I told him they were all spending one man’s money which he had left in control of his friend Kenwright who didn’t seem to mind how Moshiri’s money was being spent.

At the moment this mess is being tried to be sorted out by Sean Dyche while the man who played a big part in creating the mess has walked away and seemingly done a Pontios Pilot and washed his hands of the whole business.

Forest 0 v 1 Everton

Oh so true.
I fear that even with a 20% share and positions on the board in the offing, Kenwright won’t be the one shown the door (I pray that I’m 100% wrong).
The only positive in all of this current debacle is Sean Dyche.
Fortunately for us, he is a man of honour and will stick with us through thick and thin given the chance.
He had the Italian dirty tricks brigade at Watford, who stabbed him in the back, then the Burnley debacle where he was hung out to dry (imo) so he’s been there, and has a skin thick enough to deal with the likes of Kenwright and co.
SD is doing the best he can with what he has got, and given that chance will turn it around, but not overnight.
Hoping for a win today, and Brentford at home next weekend. I’d take 4 points from our next 2 games 🤞🤞🤞

Going radio silence for a few hours. See you on the other side. Blues.

COYB