Recent Reader Responses

Below are the most recent comments posted by readers to threads across the website. For context and to add your own reply, you can access the article in question by clicking the link appended to the item in question.

• Absolutely no way ten hag coming to Everton, why on Earth would you swap Ajax for us? Ridiculous. ...
  Dan Nulty in Silva to be given Hammers game. Ten Hag in the wings?
• David (52), Phil Silvers was just an average Joe, but Bilco, now he was an absolute genius!!!...
  Dave Abrahams in Einstein said...
• I have discovered over the last week that one of the nasty side effects of being flummoxed is apathy - a sort of “couldn’t care less” frame of mind.As this dawned on me I decided to revisit this thread to see how it had developed and discovered that it wasn’t just myself and John Mc who were suffering from this dreadful malaise. It seems it is wide spread and I find it quite alarming.To add to my consternation Tony Marsh’s post @ 75 was the clincher for me “it’s just like old men arguing about odd socks”. That rattled me that did Tony especially when I had to go back three times to check your post number because I kept on forgetting it.As the saying goes “if the cap fits wear it”. Here I am 56 years on from watching Alex Young hanging in the air before planting a header past Bill Brown to clinch the title from Spurs, worrying about numbers like 442, 4132, 4312, and so on. How did it come to this?I do think the time has come for us to do something ab...
  Laurie Hartley in In “Defence” of 4-4-2
• It's not good enough, simply to say that the present players are not up to it. that's only half the equation. The second half is: Who else should we have bought? Would they have come? What would they cost? How long would they stay? You can only file a piece like this, if you answer those 4 questions. I suspect, that team we have, is the best team AVAILABLE. The very best players [Tier 1] are only going to play for teams who are regularly in the CL; the 2nd Tier, will put up with regular Europa League games. If you have neither of those to offer, then the top 2 tiers are out of reach. You are then down to Tier 3; i.e. promising youth [KEAN, DCL/RICHARLISON] or those who are good, but have been overlooked/discarded by other clubs [SIGURDSSON/GOMES/DELPH] or 'home-grown' juniors [DAVIES, ANTHONY GORDON etc.]. Looked at in that limited way, we are doing things more or less right. A couple of random points: We could not [realistically] stop Idrissa Gueye leaving; I believe Chel...
  Nicholas Ryan in The Great Pretenders
• Arteta it is, then, Darren?Irrefutable & circumstantial evidence, as m'learned friends might say.Of course the other common denominator with those guys was that they were good, or in the cases of Catterick & Kendall, great managers.That's the main criteria for me. Knowing/getting the club would be a bonus.Lets just get a good man in - we're due one!...
  Paul Tran in Einstein said...
• 'Eddie Howe doesn't exactly inspire, although he has achieved incredible consistent success...' How on earth, can the two halves of that sentence, appear together!!...
  Nicholas Ryan in Einstein said...
• John (#81); Obviously, you have not kept up with things as the years have passed. While my playing days are well gone, we had, even then, moved from OXO to the more expansive Beef Tea and even that may well be the Marmite Formation by now.A rose by any other peony......
  Alan J Thompson in In “Defence” of 4-4-2
• Steve @1; No mate, sorry but you're guilty of over complicating a simple game for kids now played by grown-ups for a king's ransom.It's not about 4-2-3-1 vs 4-4-2; all have their good and bad points, both can be effective and – as we are witnessing –ineffective.It's about flexible vs inflexible.In short; when we have the ball, we are all attackers and the quicker the better. When we don't, we're all defenders.Forget the numbers, the 4-4-2s etc. It's all about the transition from (say) 2 banks of 5, aka under the cosh. To (say) 2-3-5 and laying siege to their goal.If there were such a thing... bear with me... as an 'automatic football formation number counter' when you attack (or defend) it should flip round like a demented airport destination board in full meltdown until every line reads GOAL!Not stuck on one number (say) 4-2-3-1 or, to continue the airport metaphor – DELAYED.KISS... (and fast!)...
  Derek Thomas in In “Defence” of 4-4-2
• Back in the day what technical training young players had was taught to themselves...if they were good enough to learn...by playing in the street usually with a small ball, dodging kerbs, cracks in pavements, lamp posts, dog turds, bicycles, parked cars and irate neighbours.We played anywhere, on any piece of open ground, with any number, if you had 3 you had a game. We played SPOT on any wall we could find. We played in parks, school and council playing fields...until the council sold them off - yeah that worked well. We played from breakfast until it was too dark to see - next goals the winner. We played, usually on a Sunday afternoon when the pubs let out, (players from Everton and the pre rs would even play and no quarter would be asked or given...though you and they would only pick on somebody your own size and skill level) in massive open aged and sized,what the americans call 'pick up games', sometimes 16,17 a side on a flexible sized pitch the size of a cricket oval. With...
  Derek Thomas in Keane struggles as England lose to Czech Republic
• Possession stats. mean diddly !In the end one mistake can cost you the points.You need to have incisive speedy attacking options so that the one mistake can be academic if you have goals in the bag.Everton have nothing up front at the moment and look very tentative playing the ball out from the back which makes them vulnerable.Either we don't have the right players yet or Silva just doesn't have an attacking strategy. Either way I cannot see things improving over the next few games. Silva does not inspire confidence....
  Tom Bowers in Keane struggles as England lose to Czech Republic
• Don, spot on and you hit the nail on the head. What's it all about at Finch Farm?All teams bar the first team do reasonably well and exceed, but transition to the first team from the U23s. It's a different game.Bring back the Central League, and get some proper purpose into developing top-flight players.Since its demise, Everton's stature, be it coincidence or not, has plummeted. I sense only the Gods, past and present, know any answers about the fate and fortune of EFC....
  Paul Birmingham in Keane struggles as England lose to Czech Republic
• It's an international lament when the players get back to Finch Farm. Allowing for travel and recovery time as it is, we are going to the wire for a best 11 available starting line up for the Hammers.But there can be no excuses due to travel, it's the same for all teams.The Bear Pit waits with hope, which kills... Let's hope for a sound victory this weekend....
  Paul Birmingham in International Roundup
• Keane is average. England are average with 2 very good players in Kane and Sterling. The last time EFC had a decent central defensive pairing was Jagielka and Distin. Since Distin left, we have struggled in central defence. I have hopes for Mina and I thought Zouma looked okay last season.I expect my centre-halves to be the hardest and nastiest bastards in the team – Keane is far too nice to be playing centre-half with top 6 pretentions....
  Jack Convery in Keane struggles as England lose to Czech Republic
• Good point, Dick. Don't get me wrong, I don't discount totally the benefits of what English / British attributes bring to the game. Going back to the original thread, one of my main concerns with Keane is his lack of aggression – something traditionally we brought to the game more so than our continental counterparts.I just think over the years we've lost our way in terms of being able to balance aggression with technical ability. I hate to say it, but the Germans are probably the best in that sense.Going back to my point, it starts at grass roots and if your kids are being (un)coached on fields of mud rather than purpose-built facilities, then you fall behind. English football has fallen behind due to lack of investment at grass roots. Other countries have moved on; we haven't, hence we import their players now because they are of a superior standard....
  Danny O/Neill in Keane struggles as England lose to Czech Republic
• My interest in coaching really began with Hungary's slaughter of England in the 50s. I played in St Malachy's U14s or as my dear old mam described as the mad Malachites.Our soccer coach named Dick O'Reilly God bless him devoted much of his unpaid time looking after the team on weekends. Training was non-existent and the sum total of his pre-match instructions were "If you get the chance, kick the ball as hard as you can and take care of that big lad who is their Centre Forward." Puskas and Co. changed all that but not entirely. After all these years, there are thousands of players, administrators, fans and players who think a bit of the old English biffo is the way to go....
  Dick Fearon in Keane struggles as England lose to Czech Republic
• Look at when we had a chance to win something in Portugal a few months ago. Southgate's team selection made you think he didn't actually want to win it.Mike, the front 3 look promising but the midfield and defence and shape look weak. I think he could be doing better with what he has. Then again, we are always in transition. The best international teams are more settled. Anyway... bring on West Ham, it's been a long week!...
  David Pearl in International Roundup
• I will gladly buy you a drink on my next pilgrimage to my spiritual home John. Genuine best wishes & speak soon....
  Danny O/Neill in Keane struggles as England lose to Czech Republic
• Hi Danny [118] if you're in the vicinity and it's convenient for you, I would like to share a drink with you at the next ToffeeWeb get-together. nothing stronger than Diet Coke for me I'm afraid because of my various medical problems, and my age [81]....
  John McFarlane Snr in Keane struggles as England lose to Czech Republic
• Andrew @13, Southgate seems a decent guy, but like his predecessors can only do so much with the playing resource at his disposal. In the Euro's expect England to make the quarters or semis. Of course, It's a knockout competition so there is always an element of luck / bad luck involved – which is why serious football people tend to focus on domestic league football. Roll on next Saturday....
  Mike Doyle in International Roundup
• No offence, John. and I would caveat an ex-coach these days!I too have no real interest in the England thing and never have done. Always been Everton for me.I simply jumped on a thread linked to England based on an Everton player, which to me highlighted similar deficiencies we witness on a weekly basis when playing for his club, which I link back to my point about the problem with grassroots football in England. ...
  Danny O/Neill in Keane struggles as England lose to Czech Republic
• Hi again Danny [116], apologies for wrongly assuming that as a youth coach, you would be part and parcel of the stats generation, I hope that my assumption caused no offence, as there was none intended.I will nail my colours to the mast, I have no interest in the England team, other than hoping that if any Everton players are involved, they play well and return to the club injury-free. I watched part of the game, the score was 1-1 when I said to my 'Young Lady' "You can watch Goggle Box if you want," it was in my opinion, a one-sided affair, and I think that Michael Keane has been hung out to dry, of course he had a game to forget but he wasn't alone. I have stated on other threads on various occasions, that footballers like everyone else are human and prone to make mistakes, it's easy to sit in a TV studio or in the comfort of your home and say, "He should have done this or that". I'll try to give an example, it's easier to say than write, but I'll do my best. A d...
  John McFarlane Snr in Keane struggles as England lose to Czech Republic
• Keane in all honestly is a really poor player. Really slow and makes so many mistakes. It was clear that Zouma was the star in the partnership. He's not even good enough to play for Everton, let alone England....
  Neil Rogers in Keane struggles as England lose to Czech Republic
• Derek #107, yes Vlasic did take a decent goal in the Wales game, and given his performance a few months ago at Real Madrid he's obviously a quality international, but he doesn't have that much creative responsibility in a side with Luka Modric. To be fair, however, if we missed out on a quality player, Silva obviously wasn't the only offender. None of our last four managers seemed to have much interest in him. Hell, he was with us that long and I never saw enough of him to form an opinion myself!!...
  Mike Gaynes in International Roundup
• I think you've mistaken me John Mc Snr! We're probably more aligned than you think in our approach to the game. I'm not a huge fan of statistics either. I just thought it relevant that given this thread originally talked to Michael Keane and the England team, it was interesting to call out possible reasons for the current state of the English team and the different paths they have taken since 1966 in comparison to some of their continental competitors. My key point here based on the original theme was the deficiencies of Michael Keane and English players in general due to under investment in grass roots....
  Danny O/Neill in Keane struggles as England lose to Czech Republic
• Hi Brian [113] a couple of seasons ago we had 72% of possession against Sunderland away and got beat 3-0, and in the defeats we have suffered this season I believe we have had the lion's share of possession. I think that managers, in general, claim in their after match interviews, "We controlled the game" but possession in your own half doesn't constitute control of the game, in my opinion. ...
  John McFarlane Snr in Keane struggles as England lose to Czech Republic