The game is full of opinions and after Chelsea there are plenty. If only we knew what the right tactics should be for the remaining 6 games.
My opinion, for what it’s worth:
We need to ensure we don’t get beat by Nottingham Forest and we must get through the derby without getting hammered. I want to beat Forest but a draw will be something and give us some kind of platform going into the derby. Keeping it very tight in these 2 games is vital for me.
With injuries now to Patterson (unbelievable), Coleman and Branthwaite, the defence will presumably be Godfrey, Tarkowski, Keane and Mykolenko.
I do not want to see Young wide right (admittedly he played one lovely pass the other night to Seamus whose low ball in to Beto should have been 1-0 to us). I would prefer Harrison. And on the other flank, I think it will be McNeil. Danjuma cannot be match fit but he needs some game time so bring him on for the last 10 minutes if need be, or start him ahead of either Harrison or McNeil, tell him to go for it and then bring him off when he tires.
I am hoping Gueye is back to feature against Forest. He needs to play with Garner to protect the defence properly with Gomes or Doucouré as the attacking midfielder.
This is where my, perhaps controversial, ideas kick in. I want Gomes in there for his passing, so in the absence of Patterson, and because I do not want Young wide right, I would consider playing Doucouré wide right. I hate playing players out of position but if we play Doucouré slightly out of position, we still get the benefit of his energy, possible runs (cutting in), and goal threat; I think he will help out defensively a bit too. I would prefer this to playing Garner there too.
My other possibly controversial point is I don’t want Onana in there. The game passes him by. Teams overrun us in midfield when he plays and that is the last thing we want right now. The midfield needs hard-working runners in there who will work hard, harry, cover and close down the opposition space and, if Gueye isn’t fit, I would have no reservations in playing Lewis Warrington.
I would tell Warrington to just keep harrying the opposition players, keep closing down space for them to play in, and when you get the ball, keep it simple, let Gomes do the more adventurous passing. Lewis is an Evertonian, is old enough, is energetic, and is exactly what the team needs right now.
There is not enough guile in midfield and there is not enough energy that stops the opposition from getting a grip on the game. We need players in there who will put in a shift with hard graft and more passing ability.
Having a young lad harrying and chasing opposition players and closing down space is worth more to the team right now than Onana doing the odd pass but allowing the opposition to just run past him.
The midfield of Garner, Onana and Doucouré does not work and Monday showed conclusively why. Compounded by Young playing on the right of it. How the manager can’t see it, I just don’t know.
It is no use saying you want two up top if they are never going to get any service. It will just weaken an already weak midfield.
The defence has started to look vulnerable culminating in the Chelsea collapse and it is all to do with the midfield not protecting it.
And I will say it again: Onyango and Okoronkwo should now be on the bench. Okoronkwo would give the team something different up front if brought on for the last 10 to 15 minutes.
The team has to be solid but needs a cutting edge. Beto could come good, he has been a mixture of unlucky and too clumsy when chances have come his way. His goal against Chelsea was taken brilliantly, but it was very poor to be caught offside the way he was, but it did show yet again that he has potential to cause problems.
My only conclusion about Pickford’s horrific error is pressure. Whether you like Dyche or not, and I’m not his biggest fan, the pressure has got to him and the players for sure. What the Premier League has masterminded and the Government seem to be sitting back and allowing to happen is a fucking disgrace. 5 months of torment for the manager, players and supporters over a bit of an overspend is a scandal. The biggest scandal ever in English football actually. We need a new league.
But back to the Forest game, Dyche needs to get the team solid again. I hope to God he has not lost the players because they now need to dig deep and play with more fight than ever before. And having an Evertonian in there fighting for his boyhood team is just what we need.
My view, as it always is, is a strong hard hard-working midfield is the way forward.
Of course, as I’ve said before, the ref and the VAR can just destroy any chance we have of winning in this horrendously badly managed and corrupt Premier League. But the team must try and play through all of these handicaps and get us some wins. Good Luck to all the team!
COYB!