Next up: Everton vs Newcastle Utd

We're showing real signs of improvement but certainly need those two missing pieces soon.

For once I enjoyed this international break with Ireland and Scotland upsetting the odds.

Agree on Barry over Beto. Can’t see Moyes looking past Tim for Gana. Too bad the German lad is made of glass.

This is an interesting one. Before Fulham we were at risk of getting sucked into the relegation battle. Win this and suddenly we are in the mix for Europe. Newcastles Germsn striker is the only of the highly expensive strikers signed this summer who looks half decent (Sesko, Isaak, Gyokeres) but luckily he’s an old fashioned number 9 and Howe doesn’t seem to have figured out how to adapt to him. So I’m hoping for a nice 2-0, no slapping each other up, red card for Gordon would be a nice bonus.

Play with confidence and without fear, Evertom. There is no reason we can't beat Newcastle or anyone on our day.

Come on, Rverton.

We will win on Saturday and have a good laugh at Gordon's barnet.

Even at the un Godly hour you posted at, given your liking for that non sensical dirge I'm not sure that's a typo!
Nice to hear from you Danny boy - don't be a stranger.

I'm 3 from 3 at BMD (Brighton,Palace & Fulham) and hoping for my fourth win for probably my last visit for a good while (the wife has noticed our bank balance..).

I've got a seat near the horsepunchers and whilst I quite like Geordies away from football they wind me up something chronic at the match with their inflatable TRexs and lardy shirtless shit. So I'm hoping we shut the fcukers up early doors and “march” on. If our defence can carry on as we did on Monday, we should win again and I'm hoping for a couple of goals from young Barry lad.

Please God not an "after the Lord Mayor's show" performance!
UTFT

Have you thought about hurling yourself at the horse-punchers in a breathtaking swan dive, that will get you in the papers, and you won't have to buy a drink in our city ever again or anywhere where we gather.

It would make up for that Easter game in 1978? When we were down the side with thickos on the right and left and the twats got into our section and one of us ended up with a broken leg.

I believe in you Mark and you can successfully appeal your life-time HDS ban once the wife feels better about the bank balance in March-ish.

Those claiming the links to gambling industry have driven people away need to give their heads a wobble. Sport and gambling have been inextricably linked since Bet365 introduced their online betting site to Ancient Greece. Nobody stormed out of Goodison in disgust when they saw the name of our new shirt sponsors. If you are looking for reasons this site has nose-dived, look no further than the quality of the articles.

Shite talking points will always attract shite comments. Who the fuck wants to read about mindless egg-chasing on a footie website?

Who wants to see the editor of the site mindlessly and spitefully pursue an ex-Everton forward because an ex-player he disliked has a goal chalked off? This is an Everton website and the discussion should surely be focused on why the current two strikers can't buy a fucking goal! They cost us over 70m if you include wages.

And why are people boasting that Barry won 14 headers as if it was a good thing? Why are they not discussing the fact that he is barely getting any service at all? He's a centre- forward -- not a performing fucking seal.

This is a shambolic attempt at a pre-match scene setter. It reflects the desperately poor quality of this site's talking points. Tyler Dibling may be a talented boy with the ball, but who in their right mind actually "expects" him to replace the tackling machine? Why bitch about team selection two days before the team is due to be announced?

The boast that the Live Forum attracted 1,300 comments will have had a few who like to view it as after-match entertainment sniggering. A couple of dozen clueless individuals fuelling each other's anger by repeatedly screaming "Moyes will cost us this game because he wont make subs" may have added up to 1300 comments, but fuck me, seldom was so much shite spouted by so few.

If ToffeeWeb is to stop haemorrhaging members and stand any earthly hope of restoring itself as a credible website, the owners need to reverse the current trend of favouring quantity over quality. Get some proper talking points up and leave threads about egg-chasing to egg-chasing websites.

Oh. And stop putting up bone idle previews like this one.

If you're not interested in Rugby League, as I understand most scousers aren't, then don't read it. Maybe it should've been posted as an announcement with no comments section but then there are people (yes, I'm one) who are interested. I don't understand why you're so angry about it.

Regarding our search for a new striker, there is also a dedicated thread discussing Santiago Castro -- a young prospect we are possibly linked with. Someone on there thinks we should go for Chris Woods instead…

Barry played well in a 10-man team on Monday night and wasn't likely to get service in that second half defensive performance but did his job. Personally, I was a little disappointed he didn't attack a tempting cross early on, before the red card, that had the Man Utd keeper in nowhere land. No one else picked up on that so maybe I'm being harsh. But I think he'll start scoring soon.

I don't know about the ex-Everton forward chalked off goal stuff -- what's that referring to?

Re Dibling, he's still young and new to us but, even given that, I can't see him starting before Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye and even Alcaraz simply on merit. I'm with Moyes in keeping that attacking midfield intact.

The the betting stuff, I really couldn't give a monkeys but I'd love to be able to buy an Everton shirt without a sponsor's logo on it.

"Badges? We don't need no stinkin badges -- they know who we are!" (Harry Catterick in the Guns of Sierra Navone)

Horrible fans, hope we destroy them.

So come on, Darren, put up an article and I can come on and disagree with everything you say... HaHa.

Stop trying to wind me up — secondary assist... Jesus!

Yes, I saw that 3-yard pass and I did see his thirdery assist v Liverpool earlier in the season.

I also saw him miss most of the first half on Monday but he did have a better second half which included him lining up two shots, not one as Michael claimed, but not pulling the trigger.

When I see him having an outstanding game for Everton, I'll be the first to acknowledge it... maybe Saturday?

Spot on with most of your comments. I think some of the articles on here now are a waste of space, and a waste of time commenting on, they look like they're written just for the sake of it.

I'd love to see Barry get his first goal on Saturday evening, he put in a great shift at Old Trafford, winning nearly every header. Maybe it's just me, but I thought Beto strolled around with little effort when he came on, I was totally disgusted.

I agree with Darren Hind!

But... out of habit, must suggest we are superb now.

(Ged ducks literary head)

Good to read your stuff.

I remember that game at St James's Park. Me mate's dad drove up there, we got there late and went in the first turnstile that was open and ended up in their Park End equivalent...

I've never been so quiet in a game in me life!!

"Grealish is Great" may not actually exist as a meaningful and well-researched ToffeeWeb article just yet, although I'm sure at least one hyper-critical reader would be happy to fill us in with his unparalleled knowledge of this as well as all other football topics on which he is a self-confessed expert.

Sadly, it highlights another technical problem that has developed, whereby the list of Recent Articles that appears lower right on the news story pages is completely different from the Recent Articles block on the Homepage. I'm hoping to get it sorted soon...

Come on, lad, call a spade a spade.

Please nominate one article (apart from this one, hehe) that fits your description "a waste of space, and a waste of time commenting on" and let's then go over to that thread and debate it in good old ToffeeWeb style.

Or should I place my bets now on the Homepage that you won't accept the challenge?

I happen to agree with most of his post, there are too many articles, no sooner has one got going than another pops up.

Having said that we would also complain if there were not enough, it's a fine balance.

I don't consider myself an expert. I am simply pointing out the blindingly obvious about the decline of TW... And in case you haven't noticed, several long-time posters are agreeing.

Instead of throwing down the gauntlet to Christy by asking him to say which threads are a waste of space, why don't you listen to what he is saying to you? He wants to save his favourite website too. Some of the current material on here would be better suited to a teenage WhatsApp group than the club's biggest independent website.

This article for reasons given - WASTE OF SPACE

Thelwell sacked by Rangers. Nothing to do with Everton, but has the same handful of posters repeatedly coming back to put a spiteful boot in - complete WASTE OF SPACE

The menu at BMD. What the Fuck? It will be discovered by those who attend and doesn't matter to those who don't. That thread got only one response because it's a WASTE OF SPACE.

Barry sets Premier League record for 14 headers. No blue shirt on the end of 13 of them - WASTE OF SPACE

Rugby league tournament. 8 posters talking about a completely different sport. - WASTE OF SPACE

Jordan Pickford talking about heading in the right direction. Got one response because it's a complete WASTE OF SPACE.

I can remember a time when TW had dozens of posters who were all quite capable of penning an article which would draw at least 50 comments. You may see them as "deserters" but they are serious footy fans who wont stick around to comment on this sort of shite.

I'm no longer a regular poster and therefore have no right to tell the current owners how to run their website, but I spent years on this site and hate watching it go this way. More importantly, our club cannot afford to loose another website.

I have often wondered if alehouse emptyers kept talking to themselves once they have emptied their alehouses. Now I'm wary of coming back on here for fear of finding out.

My comment wasn't meant to criticise you, because I'm a big fan of you and ToffeeWeb, I love the new updated site, but there are so many articles on the site now, that I find some of them trivial.

That's just my opinion, and Michael, I am never afraid of a challenge, place your bets wherever you like!!

I'll be really interested to see what Dave Moyes does at right-back and deep midfield. Newcastle should have asked for the game to be pushed back to Sunday -- a la Arsenal -- after Wednesday night at Marseille.

Whatever, let's hope the whole thing has had the Skunk Maggots both knackered and humbled ready for a total and abject capitulation on Saturday evening.

Gordon started as centre-forward against Marseille which surprised me. Probably because Barnes is in such good form. I can't see him starting with the same line-up against us. It will be Woltermade at centre-forward and maybe Gordon on the bench.

Regardless, they have goals in them and they can compete physically so we will have to be at our best.

As for who replaces Gueye, the obvious choice is Iroegbunam but I have a gut feeling Moyes may surprise us by dropping Dewsbury-Hall deeper and starting Alcaraz. I hope so.

This would be my 4-2-3-1 starting 11:-

Pickford,
O'Brien*, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko
Garner, Dewsbury-Hall
Ndiaye, Alcaraz, Grealish
Barry.

*Big challenge for Jake in this one because they are very strong down their left flank. But he is a tough lad and we will need his areal ability at set pieces against this outfit.

Looking forward to this game with the same sort of nerves I used to feel before a game sixty years ago. If we win we are on our way.

Contrast that with the huge number of Everton items linked by NewsNow every day. Mostly clickbait, highly duplicative, lots of utter rubbish... from which one or two worthwhile items can usually be found. So perhaps think of this as the service we provide: your very own personal Everton News de-aggregator!

For this current article, people start posting about the next game well before our match preview is prepared, so we put this up as somewhere to collect those posts about Everton's next game.

In the case of Kevin Thelwell, his demise at Rangers after such a short time since leaving Everton is of course newsworthy, and commentworthy for some.

The new winter menu at Hill Dickinson Stadium is us acknowledging news-sharing directly from the club itself, with increasing matchday revenue from catering likely a significant factor in growing the resources available for team strengthening in the future.

Barry's heading ability was something positive to note from Monday's game -- but you're right, hardly any went to a blue shirt, which is a valid concern, and perhaps worth noting on that thread.

Use of the Hill Dickinson Stadium for revenue-earning pursuits is again something that should be of interest to all in terms of its positive contribution to Everton's buying power going forward.

Jordan Pickford... well, he was brilliant on Monday. But he's usually best left to do his talking on the field. This is one story I haven't actually read, to be honest, but I will do now just in case he has said something of great value that you might have missed.

It's nice to think you might want to help 'save' us going forward, so I look forward to seeing an article submitted by you for publication.

I for one don't trawl through every clickbait website looking for Everton news, ToffeeWeb is my only source and although some articles may be of no interest (food at BMD) I understand that they may be to some.

The BBC is banned here so I occassionally stray onto ESPN UK to get other info, VAR decisions is a good one there, or to check league tables.

It would be interesting to check out your traffic stats pre-takeover to pre-change and post-change of website. I'm sure there would have been some drop-off post-change so you can monitor any upturns. I'm sure your money-men are doing that and appreciate you wouldn't be able to share it though.

I remember when Mr. Roy used to 'talk' with us. Who's this Harry Diamond geezer? He sounds right out of The Italian Job and Only Fools.

I don't believe that MK has any responsibility for the changes. My sense is that he is here to do his best to preserve the integrity of a site that means a lot to him. It's not an easy job, I think, but it is one that all of us ought to support.

I agree. Michael spent 30 years building up

this site on his own dime. It got bigger and more time and resource consuming than I assume he and Lyndon were willing or able to handle so they handed it off and one of them

is still here trying his best to preserve it as it was. It’s a bit rich for malcontents who haven’t posted on here in years to pop back up sticking the knife in. It also raises the question as to why said malcontent keeps posting lately if the site is as bad as he describes? I know from personal experience running websites is expensive, time consuming and stressful. I don’t always agree with Michael’s posts but were it not for him none of us would be here posting today. Give the guy a break.

Michael has done a great job at explaining the changes in the site and trying to keep the posters engaged. Honestly, I only read and comment on the articles penned by Michael as they are written by an Evertonian with a clear point of view based on deep knowledge of the club, its culture and history.

On the number of articles. If comments are spread across too many articles which are variations on the same topic or game, it can make it difficult to get a decent debate or exchange of views going between posters.

Overall, the site seems to be getting its stability back after multiple changes and the new layout. Michael has been fundamental to that.

I guess more articles, although of lower quality, brings more clicks to the site.

The catering at HD on match days IS of interest to those on here that go the match.

Why should they miss out on news because it’s of no interest to those that don’t?

Theres no reason really to comment on the article but it’s still worthy of a news item connected with the club.

In hindsight, no pun intended, I should’ve just read and digested the RL article without comment but a massive Wigan fan wound me up, as they do.

Btw PH - I’ve got a great story about that Boro away if we ever meet up…

I think you should take on board some of DH's comments though (if you can), there are too many lightweight pieces on here now.

Btw, your article today was actually quite well balanced by your standards, lol! I knew you'd be hard-pressed to stick the boot in after we'd won away at the Theatre of Shite.

By the way, where is Robert Tressell? Not seen any posts by him for a while.

I don't think you had to explain how ToffeeWeb is in the position it is in at the moment; new owners always means changes to how it operates and I think ToffeeWeb is slowly getting back to being easier to post to.

It's nice to see some posters giving Michael the credit he deserves for striving to keep the website running in this difficult time, whether he gets paid or not.

Keep carrying on carrying on, Michael — I hope you are not blushing with that little bit of praise.

I think that what is obvious to many posters is how few responses there are to many of the articles. Is that because many have left the site or they don't find the articles interesting enough? Surely it has to be one or the other.

Danny O'Neill used to be a regular contributor, yet now his posts are few and far between. I know Darren Hind has only recently posted after a long absence and I think he, like the rest of us, are seeing the decline in the site since you and Lyndon stopped running the site.

I did say within days of the new owners taking over that they should get you back, which they did, so even they must have seen the new website was losing connection with its regulars.

I don't go on any other sites, but for our game tomorrow there are 2 articles one has 11 responses and this one has 37... As Darren said, most articles on the old site had many more replies.

I am not sure how much influence you have, Michael, but something has gone horribly wrong with this site, so I just hope they interact with some of the regulars who have left and see if we can't put right the reasons they have left.

Like many have pointed out, you obviously work hard to try and maintain what was once a fantastic football website. I let my frustrations at the current state of the site come out at you, and I realise it is you who is trying to hold it together. Once again, my apologies.
UTFT.

Just adding my respect for your post to Brent's @41.

Get straight on the front foot and go at them early doors and with any luck Barry will score. 2-0 Everton.

Cards on the table: When I came back on here recently I knew Lyndon had set up another site. One which I had already signed up to. Curiosity drove me to see how the old site was doing and I soon discovered that you were sticking around trying desperately hard to stem the exodus. You were like a one man excuse factory (You still are) and given our past. I was more than happy to draw the conclusion that while Lyndon had sold up. You had sold out I now think I was wrong.

A few things have made me change my mind. The point made by the Ferryman that you are the only one who actually communicates with the membership. The point made by Brent Stephens that the site would be an awful lot worse without you. The fact that you were facing up to criticsm and not deleting it before others could see it.

I think it would have been far easier for you have done a Carlo - Take the money then sneak into the night, but you havent. You have stayed on the inside where you can at least wield some influence.

I wish you good luck.

Appreciate the latest comments re MK. Be in no doubt that those assessments are spot on. I'm currently pushing with management for Michael to be even more active on site, as he understands the regular users better than anyone.

Currently, the editorial team are juggling demands. Articles that are popular with the regular users and the content that brings in external traffic are not always identical. We're still working out what works for both, given Google's ever-changing demands...

However, we'll keep working to bring all things Everton to TW and hope our users can stick with us during some experimentation and teething issues.

I'll also do my best to remain as present as time allows on these threads. My inbox is also always open for feedback and questions.

Thanks,

Harry.

Those efforts should not distract from basic core actions like finally fixing the damn table, preserving popular features (matchday threads) and generally encouraging constructive conversations. Sometimes I feel editorial methods of the past are applied like a twitchy Michael Oliver.

That being said, Michael is moderating what could have been damage beyond repair. The owners need to support him in their own best interests, and more importantly, we need to support him in what is an incredibly complex space.

Take a questionable position on the football, all bets are off.

Although the Christmas Fayre at BMD is of no interest to me as I won't be there to sample it, I'm sure many attendees will find it useful info and appreciate it, as I would if I was going to be attending.