Saturday Night Slaughter by Eddie Howe's Scampering Skunks

Defensive replacements looking very light indeed, hope the boys win it for us tonight and come through unscathed.

I’m going to take a punt on 3-1 to the Blues with Barry to finally score.

COYB

Moyes is shite and Barry & Beto should be shipped out! Bloody rubbish!

OFFERS NOTHING

ABSOLUTE GARBAGE

Don't know if I can stomach watching the 2nd half but probably will. Feels like masochism though.

Did they drink Manchester dry on Monday night ?

Tim is awful, untfit or just lacks effort.

The answer's not swapping Barry for Beto... over to the Grim Reaper to sort.

I feel for those people who paid to watch that kind of performance.

As for the players, we will never win anything in my lifetime. They are so beyond awful. We never replaced Gueye with any quality when he first left until he re-signed and yet still we rely on a 36-year-old every game with no successor lined up.

The strikers we have signed in the last decade have been simply abysmal. One somewhat success in Calvert-Lewin, who we let out for free after nursing back to health over and over again.

And the lack of pace...

We haven't had any pace in the team since we let Gordon go in 2022. Every team are so quick in the build-up and we are so slow -- no one moves the ball quick enough. The recruitment has been appealing. All of them need replacing by the owners if they are serious.

The mentality is poor -- you can't go from one of the best performances of the season to utterly hopeless in less than a week!!!

Just not at the races today... looks like they had the Christmas party last night. On the plus side, thankfully Dithering Dave has finally put Charly Alcaraz on in his position and Dewsbury-Hall in his central midfield.

Just need to write this off... a few days, the boys were amazing.

Yes, makes a few good saves in a few games -- then goes crazy in the next group of games.

Moyes is clueless

Beto is better and would have at least nicked a goal if he'd started the last 3-4 games!….

Can we start Dewsbury-Hall up top next time out please. These two clowns need to be binned asap, but I understand that, from a business perspective, we have to play Beto and Barry in the hope they nick goals and keep their market value up.

If we bench them, we would wipe £10M off their value, such is the modern game.

Why does Barry fall over so much, does he not use studs? Beto too for that matter. For all their effort, they both look like Bambi On Ice way too often to ever be effective footballers.

Do we lead the league in disallowed goals?
Is it possible to have a negative xG?
Why did Pickford break out the clown shoes today?
Who is this Dibling fella?

He had a bad game. He made mistakes. He won us the game on Monday night. He's kept us in the Premier League the past three years.

"Pickford lovers". For fuck's sake... Some of the posts on this site are embarrassing these days.

We have a decent first 11 with a fully fit team, but our second options are hopeless. We don't have anyone who can come on and play on the level that our starters play at or even have a similar profile.

How we didn't sign a right-back is beyond me. We need a right-back, a left-back, a striker, a Gana replacement and pace.

Iroegbunam had an awful game and Alcarz and Garner, although technically brilliant, are not modern-day midfielders. We need pace and energy box-to-box players in there. We need overlapping full-backs with pace. We need wingers with pace. We have non of that on the bench. It's poor.

Inconsistency could be applied but beaten 4-1 at home against a team who haven't won away. Excuses can be made for other poor performances this season but not this one.

Okay, we can all blame Moyes yet again but, only a few days ago, he was praised.

The glaring weaknesses are still there and there will be more games like this with the odd win now and then unless those weaknesses are addressed in January or sooner but nothing much will happen in December I'm sure.

Apart from the woeful attack force, the midfield is still inadequate, even with Gana in it.

Get rid pronto.

Well I never... In all seriousness, it just wasn't our night. Newcastle playing peak Everton football. Concede possession, absorb the onslaught, hit on the counter or break, rinse and repeat.

Timmy Iroegbunam had a nightmare of a match. Pickford could have done better but he's done more for this club than any other player over the past 10 years. I'm not gonna get on him for a rough game.

One thing is for sure, this match once again highlighted our needs in January and beyond.

I think Jordan will be dissapointed with his performance, crosses are definitely his Achilles heel.

Felt gutted for Barry, keep your head up lad, there's a player there and I think he'll come good.

A bit of luck might have changed the story tonight. Need to put this behind us; we're a good side, and Bournemouth are pretty open in their play.

I agree. We start every game with a handicap as we don't have a right-back at all, and a sub-par left-back. Not to mention no striker. Once you remove anyone else from the equation, eg, Gana, we have at best three-quarters of a team. Scary thing is that we are about to lose Ndiaye in addition to Gana for a month.

As far as recruitment goes, yes, it was a tough summer to find a striker, as Man Utd and Liverpool have discovered at great cost. But we have been needing an right-back for about 6 years now.

Likewise, Mykolenko seemingly signed by Bill Kenwright, was quickly found lacking at this level about 4 years ago. But successive coaches, DoFs have done nothing to address the issue.

That game was awful. Back down to earth after the Man Utd game... or should I say back to normal?

Two goalies again, two defenders who have never played before, Dibling who has hardly played, McNeil and the inevitable but beyond reason of swapping Barry for Beto with 4 minutes left!

Heroes last Monday and -- despite the effort -- very poor today. We need another win before January to stop the worries again but, if we don't make a couple of signings in January, I think we might see a few more trouncings like today's.

Howe did you do that?

They never disappoint!

Until we get two fullbacks who can play football, a beast of a central midfielder, and two centre-forwards who can control the ball to enable them to shoot, then it's going to be the same old.

Saying he had a bad game is fair; saying he is a bad goalie is not. Let he who is without fault cast the first stone.

I felt gutted for Barry, keep your head up lad, £40k a week for a not fit for purpose who would struggle in League Two.
£30M.

With his bank account, he doesn't need your misguided sympathy. If he's sold in January, he wouldn't give us a backward glance. Turn it in.

Terrible performance all round, midfield non-existent and cut to ribbons -- far too easy. Special mention for Iroegbunam who was lethargic to say the least, and he wasn't alone - how we missed the energy of a 36-year-old today!

The Grealish factor is wearing off -- no chance of him making the World Cup squad on showings like this.

Pickford had a poor game and was guilty of two terrible mistakes for their second and third goals (he should have saved their second and stayed on his line for the third. I
suspect he will know!

Somebody above said Beto is better than Barry -- I would have to disagree with that.

Richarlison, if he was up for it and if Spurs would let him leave, is the striker who will get us goals -- he's not a risk, anyone else will be!

Sigh... we just make up the numbers in this league!

If we lose at Bournemouth, then it festers until Saturday when we play Forest, who are revitalized under a fella we know can organize a team if nothing else.

I get tired of repeating it but we need pace in the side, we need to take some risks in January and get at least three attacking players in.

Ndiaye is out for possibly a month with Senegal, and he will be a loss even though some are critical of him bizarrely today, because for me he's our greatest ball carrier.

It's okay saying what striker do you sign, well I'd just take a punt on Parrott. He may or may not be the answer but one thing I do know is neither Beto or Barry are the answer going forward.

There can't be many sides in this league with a combined total of one goal from their strikers.

Did Alcaraz make much of a difference?

Big Tim coming up short, but so did many tonight.

On yer way, son!

Of the potential options, Richarlison would be the safest bet for January if Spurs would let him go. A massive improvement on our current centre-forwards… plus he actually wants to play for us.

Tim was shocking, Garner and Dewsbury-Hall lack bite in midfield. Pickford had a day to forget.

Barry will make it as he has the right attitude.

He hardly said a word about us and our players in a mumbled minute or two but did heap praise on them:

‘It's no surprise Newcastle are a very good team … do not underestimate the quality Newcastle have got … with the quality they had, the power they had, the speed they had … ‘

Was that post a bit of a sarcastic joke?

You criticise Grealish who has created the most chances in the Premier League this season, and Garner who has been very good, Dewsbury-Hall who has 3 good goals but then say Thierno Bambi, sorry Barry will make it as he has the right attitude?

Personally his attitude is questionable at times, he looks lazy and quite lethargic.

His ability is very much questionable.

They dealt with our defensive problems from minute one, running in behind when we pushed up and then finding space in between the lines, when we dropped deeper.

The first goal coming so early in the game was a sickener, and although we had a little flourish, we didn't quite play quick enough and it didn't quite last long enough before they scored again, and had us exactly where they wanted us for the rest of the night.

Pickford has a bad game tonight, but what was going on around him? Tim was not up to replacing Gana, he is a much lesser player.

We have no right-back either, Jake has a go at filling in, but he is not a natural fit, so the defensive unit and link to midfield was a mess.

The shape, full of holes, the link-up absent or disjointed, the make-do squad fell apart, it took a few passes to open us up, again and again, until the game was gone from us.

Paucity, thin squad, square pegs, etc

Truth is we are a bit better than last season, but have some way to go yet.

I saw Moyes say Newcastle benefited from having played in Europe!

I've never heard any manager ever claim midweek European games benefit the teams involved come their next Premier League game… until today.

The Europe twaddle was desperation and he might also have an encouraging word with Arsenal.

What a slump from Monday to this.

Not seen him in a while.

No, Moyes stuck to the same formation, and changing like for like.

We also desperately need a striker... a proven one at that, not in the Vardy mode but a big imposing horrible bastard who will bully defences and hold the ball up properly to allow the midfield to get forward effectively, instead of it just constantly coming back in our direction.

Ellis Simms has 5 goals in his last 4 games for Coventry. We sold him for £6M and bought Beto for about £30M!!!

What the actual fuck!?!??!

We need Gana Gueye, no decent replacement.
We need full-backs, it's a disgrace we have never addressed right-back and we play a centre-back there.
We need a credible forward who can find the net occasionally.

The team desperately needs some pace. It is painfully slow and predictable. We have cracks across the team and squad. It'll take time and money to sort this out and I'm not confident we have the recruitment team to do it either.

Every ball that we played, a Newcastle player, sometimes two was/were immediately crawling all over them. Gana or not, there was no excuse why you could get nearer to people during Covid than our players were to any attacking Newcastle player.

I am sorry, there is not a Premier League player in Tim Iroegbunam, he offers nothing going forward and was a liability in defence. If Merlin Röhl isn't able to get fit quickly, we need quality defensive midfield cover on 1 January.

Barry has had 2 great games but today he couldn't trap a medicine ball. O'Brien and Mykolenko offered nothing going forward.

Is there an award for the least cards and fouls because we played like it was a non-contact sport today?

Didn’t think so..

How many chances did he miss? None.

That is with the manager and his recruiting team who believed it was okay to pay an exorbitant fee for a winger instead of paying a fee for a seasoned professional to strengthen a known weakness in the team. The weakness in the right-back position draws out the central defenders to help defend.

It still does not excuse the poor display today that seemingly looked as if no one had planned against Newcasttle's strengths or weaknesses and it took till half time to talk about it.

How was the tasty looking brand-new Xmas menu if anyone on here indulged? Anxious for feedback.

It's as if Howe watched our game on Monday and thought "Hmmm... now how can I get around that?"

On Monday night, the Moyes Rock blunted Amorim's scissors; last night, we all caught a dose of Saturday Night Fever as Howe's Paper neatly wrapped up Moyes's Rock.

Was it any individual's fault... Moyes? Tim Iroegbunam? Was it just a collective bad hair day? Or a bit of all the above?

I've never been a big fan of either but Tim Iroegbunam always comes across as what he was -- part of a 2-player PSR sleight of hand fiddle, me to you, you to me.

If Monday night proved the old saying -- It's a funny old game.

Then this result 5 days later appropriates and re-puroses the Harold Wilson quote to 'A week is a long time in Football'.

Which Everton will turn up on Tuesday?

As always with The Regents Road Ramblers (nee The County Road Casuals) -- more questions than answers.

Palace almost did us using long throws. We are not short on size in defence, so it is about organisation.

That can be sorted on the coaching pitch, so get on with it.

Get our hopes up last week and wash them down the next. For fuck's sake!

Firstly, if we don't punt the ball to nowhere and give possession away, we don't concede inside a minute. Why do we do it? Never worked, never will, and we were finally punished for it. Zonal marking once again proves to me a waste of time. 8 defenders in the box and a free header again.

2nd goal -- goalkeeper error, it happens. 3rd goal, U12 defending.

Where was VAR for the handball on the line? Couldn't wait to get involved for the Barry goal.

Why subs so late again? Dibling gets 10 minutes again. He must be wondering why he bothered coming here. I don't blame him. Grealish just slows the play down, playing on reputation alone. So frustrating. Doesn't run at players, doesn't shoot.

Full backs can't attack so that's out of the question as an attacking option. Just so disappointing after the Monday game.

Personally I thought Moyesy got his tactics wrong today.

Newcastle have loads of pace and good finishers which is exactly what we are lacking so if ever a game called for Kitap1, especially with Gana and Jarrad out. They hit us on the break so fast we didn't know what hit us.

Jimmy Garner tried to knit things together but between him and Tim getting forward they left a huge hole in defensive midfield for Newcastle to exploit.

Added to that Newcastle knew if they took Grealish and Ndiaye out of the game, we had nothing else to offer.

A very poor day at the office all round. Expect more of the same at Brentford.

Wholesale changes and tactics required against Bournemouth or we will be on a hiding to nothing.

We then encountered a lot of young ladies, many of whom entertained us with their buttocks partially enclosed in figure hugging denim.

They appeared to be going to some gathering close to the ground. What was the venue and what swinging pop combo were they about to enjoy?

For many reasons, I wish we had joined them.

They have a good midfield, adventurous & technical full backs, pace on the wings, and centre halves with a pace & organisation skills. And a very decent bench to bring on game changers in Ramsey, Gordon, Tonali, Willock.

We are fucking miles off that. Newcastle didn't have to work that hard for us to crumble. It was very like the Spurs performance. If we go toe to toe with a decent side, we get humped.

Could be a long 2 months, with injuries, suspensions and Afcon. Need to be active in the transfer market, and the level needs to be significantly better than what we have.

We are miles off Newcastle… and Moyes is miles off Howe.

Our management and recruitment 'team' has to be held accountable. Decades of failure, recognition of positions that must be a priority to fill. Wasting hundreds of millions on deficient, incapable and incompetent players for the standard required in this league.

Buying three goal keepers (and two of them frequently on the bench) in the summer summed up our blithering ineptitude.

We all hoped TFG would be the fresh start after a near half-century of horrendous owners. They haven't lived up to expectations thus far but, as they say, Roma wasn't built in a day…

Barry won't come good, not a prayer… He's an embarrassment, he can't run properly, he can't stand up, and he has got nothing about him whatsoever.

The only person you're kidding thinking he'll come good is yourself, it's downright embarrassing watching him.

Let's not forget: this lad earns mega money and can't even trap a ball. Who the fuck looked at him and thought "Mmmm... this lad looks a good player"? Whoever it was wants shooting.

Our recruitment team really are shite/ Be honest, Tony: Do you honestly think he'll score at least 3 goals between now and the end of the season? I doubt he will get 1.

In the January window, 2 strikers and others needed, but I won't hold my breath.

And he's the effing manager!!! Flawed judgement! -- flawed manager!

But don't you worry, Andy, Michael Gaynes of this parish has told us -- lectured us -- that Barry has everything needed to be a top-class striker.

You can't blame the absence of one player on a result like that. So, we have to now look forward to the transfer window in order to fend off interest in Ndaiye and add players that will improve us.

But one thing is for sure: we cannot get drawn into the bottom teams for a relegation scrap again. We were supposed to be improving with new owners and a new ground, and the responsibility for any failure will lie with the manager.

Individual errors at this level get punished by quality players and that's what happened. We probably had more possession last night but we don't have any real threat.

It's so obvious Grealish needs legs around him. He is being criticised for slowing play and holding onto it too long. The reason for that is we lack movement and pace for him to pass to. He is a genuine top player.

Newcastle have 2 top full-backs who can defend and attack with pace and quality. We have 2 full-backs who offer very little attacking threat. Big difference in today's football.

Barry is getting better each game. That doesn't mean he is any good.

To improve the team, we need 2 full-backs and a striker -- all need pace. Easier said than done but watching the European games during the week, the likes of PSV, Strasbourg, Leverkusen all manage to do it and maintain a high level of football.

I am sure Moyes's son is scouring Europe for those type of players!

What team will Moyes put out of Tuesday? Maybe Alcaraz for Tim? That's about it isn't it.

1. As upsetting as it is, losing last night might get some focus. On Monday am this week we would have taken 3 points from Man Utd and Barcodes, or last season 1 point courtesy of a great penalty save from the culprit in goal last night!

2. Where would we be if our two strikers had scored 10 between them already? How many points would we have? Certainly enough to put us into a Champions League position!

Most teams have realised when we play Jake O'Brien at right-back, he isn't quick enough, so teams play the ball over his head and most wingers get in behind... but he is a centre-back, not a full-back.

Newcastle had pace all over the park where we have none, so we are always open to a break from midfield. Newcastle were able to let their full-backs overlap and cause us all sorts of problems.

I thought Dewsbury-Hall and Garner were our 2 best players, but Moyes has got a big problem in who replaces Gana because, if yesterday is anything to go by, neither Iroegbunam nor Alcaraz are the answer. Until we are able to resolve this problem then I think we might struggle.

Nice to see Dibling come on and actually take on the full back and beat him and find a Blue shirt in the box.

Undoubtedly our worst performance this season, we did actually play some decent football in the first half but Pickford should have done better with their 2nd and when the 3rd went in it was game over.

Grealish has made a big impact but he has to contribute with more goals.

Barry has had two “great” games.

What the fuck???

With the exception of 3 or 4 players we are a bottom half team, but I think we know that. Against a top team, we need a lot of luck to get a favourable result.

We need strengthening urgently in the next window, but that won't be easy.

2. I thought Iroegbunam would be the best like-for-like replacement for Gana. Oh how wrong I was. He was awful, couldn't trap the ball to clear for their second goal and was physically weak in the challenge for the third. We badly need a strong physically imposing defensive midfielder to replace Gana.

3. When we were on top after the first goal, we have no one to provide a telling pass. Jack gets load of possession but I am now asking myself what does he do with it? Gets double marked and maybe draws a free-kick but he never shoots.

I also thought Ndiaye was poor last evening, at one stage the camera showed a caption of us defending and he was standing still on half-way line, making no effort to get back and defend. Our most creative player but illustrated for me the difference in attitude between Monday and yesterday.

4. Strikers... what can I say? We have what we have and we can all moan about getting a new one in January or the merits of our recruitment.

Firstly, I preferred Beto, who I thought had a stronger mentality, more physicality, fast pace but lacked ball control. He hasn't delivered. Then I saw Barry putting in a shift and looked like he had better ball control but lacked pace and for me does not have the mental strength for a Premier League footballer.

Two things illustrated for me that he is the weaker of our options:

Firstly, at the end of the Man Utd game, we saw Dewsbury-Hall jump for joy at the final whistle but Barry got up impassively; for me, that shows he does not have a team mentality.

Secondly, I though he was awful last night and, even when he did score the goal that was eventually disallowed, it was more about himself, whereas Dewsbury-Hall ran in after scoring to get the ball and bring it back to the half-way line to hurry up the kick off.

On our two strikers, I now revert back to preferring Beto but need to move the ball faster to get him into clear spaces.

5. I don't know where Alcaraz will fit into the side as long as we do not have a strong holding midfield. I do not know where Dibling fits into side but will you drop Grealish or Ndiaye for him? Maybe it's time to experiment.

Whatever we do, one thing we do need is pace and quicker moving of the ball. We had that last night for a while but then it eventually gets stuck out on the wings where our wingers get double marked and no decent ball get into our forwards.

Got a lot of my chest there on this very dull sad grey Sunday morning.

Raymond, mate, they were 3 points below us, which makes Moysey's post-match drivel even more whacky.

'Got a lot of my chest there on this very dull sad grey Sunday morning'.

At least you didn't have to shovel 9 inches of snow in 6 below freezing while cursing that shite no-show, except for Dewsbury-Hall.

I agree with everything you say. As you say, and I said in my post, we lack pace but I don't see anyone in our squad who has true pace.

For the Bournemouth game on Tuesday, I would be tempted to play Beto with Ndiaye just behind in the Number 10 role, play Dibling on the right and have Garner and Dewsbury-Hall in central midfield.

I feel that Ndiaye has great feet but, maybe playing him more central and slightly further up the pitch, he may be even more effective. Also, it reduces his defensive work having to come back and help O'Brien out.

Also, with Ndaiye off to the Afcon in a couple of weeks, Dibling needs game time.

Home now after being released from our local Depressed Evertonian Ward, the drugs they gave me have kicked-in.

Pickford: I think he lost focus with the headlines and messed up. But he has been brilliant; can he have a shit day? The long hoof a silly tactic if you put it into a box with two pretty very average strikers.

The rest?

Well some were brilliant but, to me, the connection is now goalie, wingers, excitement and then "what was the point?" Our B's tripped.

So I am now back to post-release meds but I think Moyes saw reality after a rare 55-second goal and team went for it. They did not sit back and play for a close loss. Okay, it failed... but Moyes tried. Timings. Often too late.

Stay optimistic. Look at our points. Fear and hope.

Sorry, the secure ambulance just came.

But last night was on the plsyers. They let themselves down badly with that display.

We need better players on the pitch to be able to compete, and retain the better players that we have. Garner worked his nuts off last night, but if I was him, I'd be looking for something better than Everton.

And that's the issue. Unless you can spend £250M plus, and throw wages at players, it'll take a good long time to produce a side that can compete at the top.

Really frustrating after a gritty Monday display.

But we can be a lot better organised on set-pieces, long throws and crosses, given that is how Spurs and Newcastle turned us over. Palace almost did the same.

It is a strength of the manager to organise his teams defensively, therefore he needs to get to work on the training pitch.

I was meaning top teams generally but I think Newcastle have been struggling probably because of Champions League commitments and are still one of the better squads that's been going through a bad patch.

Our team is patched up in too many places, whoever had the last say in our last transfer dealings needs a rocket.

Out on the wing, he can more easily be marked out, and sometimes has been by two defenders. Moyes is asking him for more goals, but that is not easy from wide left.

Seems like Moyes, Iroegbunam, Mykolenko, O'Brien, Pickford and Grealish are the ones to blame yet Garner and Dewsbury-Hall were apparently good and our centre-backs have somehow been exempt from criticism.

I must have been watching a different game to everyone as we lost that game in midfield, where all three were terrible, which has the knock-on effect of ruthlessly exposing our defence. The goal which put us on the back foot and gave them confidence came from a free header between our centre-backs again.

I think this was a collective dreadful team performance -- just as Monday's was a brilliant one. I think the players had put so much in both physically and mentally that they were just so lethargic all over the pitch.

Also, the reality of what happened on Monday seems lost on some posters. We started really well then got a goal out of nothing, for which their keeper was really poor both in positioning and then saving. We still didn't create much.

After going down to 10 men, we defended deep with all our defenders suited by playing backs-to-the-wall with two disciplined midfielders protecting. Their two midfielders, Fernandes and Casameiro, don't have the energy, power or movement to trouble our midfield duo. They kept three at the back so they didn't use their extra man and two of their front three were missing so they lacked the quality to score a goal which would have changed the game.

Tim Iroegbunam is getting hammered but he's not naturally a defensive midfielder playing with two midfielders who lack defensive awareness.

We have the usual talk about the recruitment team after every loss.

We need a striker? Well, the only one I can think of would be John Duran as Yeboah and Hasslebank are retired and the centre-forward playing for us needs to be able to score worldies out of nothing.

We need pacey widemen? Why because our slower alternatives like Dibling and McNeil don't sit on the bench quick enough for 85 minutes? Even last night, when four down, Moyes didn't think about giving them much needed minutes to build up their fitness.

Apparently we have a good 11 and a poor 11. I'd say we have a Moyes 11 and an unfit 11.

We allegedly need all these players yet only a right-back and a striker would get a game if they were exceptional. And yet the striker would be on a hiding to nothing and in danger of ruining his career. The right-back would need to be top quality defensively and offer a threat going forward. Good luck finding one in January.

It's a squad game but now we are finding out about the drawbacks of not using the squad all season and the players who have to step in aren't getting the match practice, aren't in optimum physical condition, and lack confidence knowing the manager doesn't trust them.

At 2-0 down, dragging off the persistently woeful Tim Iroegbunam was called for... Nope.

He had to do something at half-time. The game was lost. One lousy sub was chronic and he kept the same failed formation. One trick dinosaur.

Then to allow the game to deteriorate further angd not hook off any 1 from 5 or 6 for those who have nearly no gametime was not only baffling but downright deplorable.

A failed transfer window in the summer was concerning. But we hoped. Now we see how deficient it was. No accountability is concerning. We have failed in every transfer window to so far back, memory no longer recalls a decent one.

We are now expecting the most recent failed unaccountable recruitment 'team?/person(s)?' to suddenly produce the players for the positions which have gone glaringly unaddressed for years.

Moyes wasn't a popular choice. And he hasn't enamoured with his baffling and same old, same old inadequate tactics and game savvy. In his defence, he has not been given a half-decent squad and yet again the squad is burdened with further crap that is going to, yet again, prove a massive waste of money and near impossible task to move on.

The squad is what the squad is. Yes. But because of favoured and unfavoured players seen through Moyes's distorted vision and inability to adapt and adjust means this season is going to have many more Spurs-like and Skunks-like results at home.

Im going with what Rob 22 stated. Alcaraz wont help much so sort out Garner's and Dewsbury-Hall's defensive assignments and roll the fucking dice. We had a chance for this with the Skunks sitting deep.

On the plus side, Alcaraz can do enough to unsettle their back line and limit them going forward on the counter. Moyes basically did nothing to shake up Eddie's set-up.

How much did the loan deal cost?
What wages is he on?
Do we have the option to send him back in the January transfer and get another loan player in?
Can we recall Harrison Armstrong from Preston?

Right from the first minute, they were taken by surprise. It was as if they had no idea about how Newcastle were set up to play.

Yes, we do have a weak squad and we have important players absent or injured but that's no excuse for losing 1-4 at home.

I think a lot of us have been deluded into thinking we will be challenging for Europe. The reality is we will probably be in the lower reaches of the table come the end of the season.

The Röhl deal is a loan with obligation to buy. So he's not going anywhere soon.

Andrews said he was poor first half and wanted him to be more imposing but suggested his side gave him nothing. He said at half time they spoke about the lack of service.

I know they were home to Burnley but the second half highlights showed dangerous crosses, him getting fed lovely through balls from midfield from Damsgaard and Henderson. At times they had 6 or 7 in the box and were relentless with pinning Burnley in.

It would be interesting to see how a player like that would fare at Everton.

Yes I've seen Mike say that, we are all entitled to our opinions and my opinion of Barry is that he is not a footballer, let alone one who's playing in the top league.

I'm no expert, far from it, but I'd love to know who looked at this kid and thought he looked a good player.

If he was getting decent service (which he's not), he still wouldn't find the net.

The goals return from him and Beto this season makes me cringe, surely there were players playing in the lower leagues far better than them two.

One last thought to paraphrase Dave A: Armstrong should be brought back immediately as, in my opinion, he's head and shoulders above anything in our midfield at the minute, and I'm including the very ineffective Grealish in that, who's done nothing since August.

Get Armstrong back, Moyes, and quick.

The only reason Simms is getting game time at Coventry is because Wright is injured; he's normally on the bench.

Yes, I knew that but, looking at the situation as it is now, he can't help getting injured but is he injury-prone?

I'd be thinking that signing him permanently would be very risky and try to renegotiate the current deal.

Beto and Barry wouldn't even make Coventry's bench.

We are 3 or 4 players short of a good team. I feel for O'Brien being played out of position and we know Dewsbury-Hall is not playing in his preferred position.

With Gana going to Afcon and Tim Iroegbunam not being up to the task, and with Rohl injured, we have to bring back Armstrong from his loan in January. While Charly Alcaraz can play in that forward midfield role, maybe Ndiaye can play there and bring Dibling to play right wing.

Regarding the striker position, I would give Parrot a punt over Richarlison or Zirkzee. I think he could be a fox in the box and could play alongside a big Number 9, like Sharpy and Inchy.

So I am hoping Santa brings us a right-back, a left-back and a striker for Christmas.

Everton are like an old movie: you know what you are going to get before you watch it. Are there any young managers not around that could do better than what we have, even if (perish the thought) we get relegated?

If you are rebuilding something, you don't build it with old bricks.

I went last night, but watched it again this morning. How we are being done at set pieces with Barry, Tarkowski, Keane and O'Brien is embarrassing. You'd struggle to find 4 bigger lads that can attack at a set-piece.

Too many players in the side that aren't going to take the club forward.

You can lay the blame at the backs if you want but the keeper has the additional advantage of being able to use his hands as well.

Pickford does not command his area, he's a brilliant shot stopper, one of the best in fact, but he's a liability in a crowded area.

This team is a mid-table side at best, and if we keep getting results like this, then it will be a relegation battle again.

I don't think we will ever win anything again, it's been 30 years and we still don't look like getting anywhere near getting a trophy.

How come Tarkowski doesn't come in for any stick? He as been awful this season... and while we have players like Beto Barry and Iroegbunam, and no right-back and an average left-back, we are always gonna struggle.

I'd unload Tarkowski in January, we have plenty of cover at centre-back, put the cash towards a right-back.

Tim Iroegbunam is not a starter and a squad player at best. Loan him out and bring Harrison back in January.

Go into the loan market for a right-back, with a view to buy. There must be a right-back out of contract, come next summer, who we can entice.

As for the centre-forward position, I'd sell Beto for as much as we can get for him. Bring in Richarlison on loan if Spurs will let us and, as with the centre-forward, again loan one in who is out of contract next summer and needs to prove himself to win a contract.

It's okay saying he will improve once he gets used to the Premier League, but wasn't he bought to score goals? They are the same size goals wherever you play.

I do not expect miracles... I just expect players to do what they are paid exorbitant fees to do.

I agree but I think we have an obligation to buy. It was another Beto-like signing where we delayed paying upfront.

We'd then have to get into a position to get back into the Premier League via promotion. And then start the entire cycle again of trying to bring in better players than we've got now.

Trust me, I've considered whether Wimbledon, Coventry, Palace etc were the resets that we've needed. Our only credibility is never being relegated.

It won't be popular. But the club is going through a 2- to 3-year reset after the chaos of the Moshiri era. The club got as a close as possible to going under. Only the Premier League stopped the 777 Partners takeover from happening. If they hadn't, who knows what would have happened?

We need better calibre players, and that will happen in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th summer windows with the Friedkins. Moyes is unlikely to make it through that period. But it is going to need more patience, I am afraid. There is no magic bullet to fixing the club.

Progress this season is mid table and not getting into any relegation trouble. We are miles off from competing with Top 8 clubs on a consistent basis.

Next summer has to address some of the obvious deficiencies we see. Two full-backs, a defensive midfielder, a centre-back, a right winger with pace, a striker and genuine top level centre-midfield player. The quality of player has to be looking forward.

You mean we're stuck with Rohl? No matter how good or bad he is, we still have to buy him? We don't have the option to say thanks but no thanks?

Unfortunately, I believe that's the case... but hope I'm wrong.

Fair enough but it seems a strange deal with the lad's reputed injury record.

Röhl is out with a hernia. Does that tell us a) not much has been learnt; or b) you need to be careful bedding in players that aren't physically up to the demands of the Premier League.

'Our team is patched up in too many places, whoever had the last say in our last transfer dealings needs a rocket'.

Never a truer word spoken, Raymond.

Dave (126):' I'd unload Tarkowski in January, we have plenty of cover at centre-back'.

With respect, Dave, I don't think that we have 'plenty of cover' there. I can't think beyond an injured Branthwaite (will he be back this season?) and our emergency right-back. If we move him to the middle, that takes us back to square one at right-back.

Were they good? Worth the money? I'm sitting on the edge of me seat here. I might not be able to cope is someone tells me that the Pigs in Blanket Loaded Rosti Bites were shite.

Can we get wine to accompany these tasty festive treats?

That's right, he led the line very well against Fulham and would have scored if someone else wasn't offside. He went off to a standing ovation.

Against Man Utd, SkySports reported he won the most duels of anyone in the Premier League.

That for me, makes two 'great' games.

I agree, Grealish should be played in centre midfield. That would mean Ndiaye could go back to his best position on the left and Dibling in his best position on the right where he showed in his 8-minute cameo that he can beat a man and get in behind.

My view is that Gana cannot be replaced in Moyes's current set up from the players available, so he will have to change the set-up.

Would he dare to go 4-3-3?

I have no faith in Moyes as a short or long term solution, where long term is next August and short term is Bournemouth.

And no faith that Kinnear and his 2 anonymous mates, aka, The 3 Amigos have a fucking clue what they're doing.

Kenwright, Moyes Mk I, Martínez, Moshiri, Koeman, Allardyce, Silva, Benítez, Lampard, Dyche, TFG, Moyes, different names, a New Ground, soon to be a new year...

But still the same old shite.

Ndiaye Beto* Dibling

Dewsbury-Hall Grealish Garner

Mykolenko Keane Tarkowski O’Brien

Pickford.

*There is a case for putting Alcaraz in their as a false 9 but that is even more unlikely than our manager going 4 3 3.

Straight away that hope evaporated as they ran forward with ease and were unlucky not to score straight away but the corner that followed was like Dejavu all over again from the Spurs game and was far, far too easily scored. From the restart we took control and Keano almost pulled one back after good work from Tarkowski but a deflection foiled his effort. That would be our last shot on target until the second half. The fact we were pushing and probing until, and even after, the second without looking anywhere like scoring sums up our problem. We flatter to deceive. We have skilful, attacking players with almost zero attacking menace. But even after the second I thought we’d get a point. The third just killed it as a contest and, in my opinion, should end Tim Iroegbunams eligibility as any thing but late sub in future games. Absolutely shockingly bad effort to win that ball that he should have been favourite to win.

The rest of the game was a horrible experience - seeing our stands empty whilst the horrible “Geordie peoples” directed their scorn and shite songs at us and Jordan Pickford. Their obsession with him is weird and every time I looked sideways there were literally hundreds of them just facing us instead of the pitch, jeering. They are just weird.

Random thoughts during the game. How come VAR inspects every goal we score but not the Newcastle ones? Why didn’t VAR look at the possible handball on their line when Alcaraz then hit the bar? Why did VAR get involved in Barry’s goal when the ref had a good view and gave it - that wasn’t clear and obvious.

My son also made the point of how “nice” we were, almost cowed. I don’t remember even fouling the bastards let alone a yellow card. Whatever happened to “get into them”?? At least give them something to think about when they were show ponying and strolling around the middle of our half.

I’m loathe to have a go at individuals so soon after the awesome collective battling at OT but the only player I thought who emerged with credit was Dewsbury Hall. The rest didn’t turn up.

We NEED two full backs, a CDM and a striker, NOW!

To finish on two positives, the bogs in the North Stand are much more like it. Loads of room and urinals and several stalls, unlike those in the West Stand.

And if anyone stays in Liverpool for future matches get yourselves to Hawksmoor steak house and treat yourself. That ribeye rescued my weekend!

UTFexasperatingT

The full backs arent good enough on the ball, and the two centre backs struggle when playing further up the pitch. It is why every manager plays deep.

When the moves breakdown, youd be wide open to a counter attack in a side lacking recovery pace.

We lack someone to stop the play in Gana's absence. The opening minute we were wide open Saturday. Iroegbunam badly at failt for the 3rd, when he looked in control from a hopeful break.

Grealish would be great going one way, but would offer little the other. I am surprised by how slow he is. It would up the goals scored, but youd get more arm waiving than wins in my opinion.

On paper it's dibling on for Tim. Not sure that's going to change an awful lot to be honest. Both seem a mile off from being Premier league threats.

The same tired back 4 is selected, as we have nothing else. It s a rotation of Barry or beto up top. And then it is alcaraz, Mcneil, Iroegbunam or Dibling for the remaining slot in ganas absence. This is pretty slim pickings, regardless of the manager.

We know where we are obviously deficient in terms of the starting XI. Moyes's reluctance to try different players or tweak the system is frustrating to me and others no doubt. But, on the other hand, we're going nowhere near relegation on his watch.

Everyone here was hoping for a mid-table finish this season after the relegation scares of the previous few, so let's not forget that we're well on course for that. Rebuilding our squad will take a lot more than one window.

I feel a bit bad for those who went the game on Saturday. Shit weather, shit result.

Very good post and you described the game perfectly and the reaction of the players. I thought James Garner was as good as Dewsbury-Hall without the goal and like you I didn't want to post what I thought on Saturday night after that great result last Monday. I couldn't really fault Moyes with the squad he had to pick from.

I hope we do better tomorrow night but I think it is a case of hope for the best but be prepared for the worst again!