Superb Everton grab three vital points

Anyways folks, whatever happens, early days, still players to come in. To be honest with you, I may be one of the few who thinks we have conducted business quite quickly given the circumstances. Getting the right players in over time is better than getting the wrong players in quickly. To me it looks like the management team have made their minds up on certain players very swiftly and have made sure that the initial recruits are ready to go fairly soon as they all have premier league experience.

You heard it here first 😉

Lukaku being on his game off the bench could be the difference here...

As I write, what a superb goal.

Also, I have to congratulate Koeman swapping formation after 35 minutes. Refreshing change to see tactics changing so soon that aren't working!

Quick decision-making by the manager a refreshing change. Shows he won't mess about or tolerate sub-standard performances. Holgate and Gueye looking good. Funes Mori a bit shaky.

Ron clearly has a Plan B and we'll hopefully see his Plan C, to kick on and win this.

Lets see Lukaku get off the mark!!

Barry 60'

COYB.

Good debut from Bolassie although he kept drifting off the right wing leaving Holgate exposed. If he favours the left then play him there.

Lukaku is out the door already. We may not be able to replace his goals, but we can certainly get a striker who offers more on and off the ball.

Plenty of work to do before 1st September.

Stekelenburg was superb again. Could probably be blamed for their goal a little but overall he saved us more than he cost us.

Today he put two on an absotule silver platter for Rom & Ross. Still no assists.

Mirallas excellent second half. I'd love to see him play to his potential this season.

Holgate and Gana were the standouts for me. Holgate just looked classy; reading and intercepting and simply effective on the ball. Gana is this year's Kante... feels like we've got 12 on the pitch. 13 if you count our brilliant away support.

I only watched it on tv today so I can't really comment on what Lukaku offered off the ball. But we scored twice after he came on despite him not "looking involved".

Someone from in the stadium might be able to tell us if he dragged their defenders out of way etc. He seemed to offer very little but we played a lot better with him on. Perhaps it was just down to the change in shape?

On the other side, I wasn't convinced with Funes Mori and Deulofeu found it hard against Pulis's horrible defending. I would like to see Williams replace Funes Mori in a back four.

And yet again we need to train more on defending set pieces; it felt like they would score on every cross again, like last season. But Koeman made all the correct decisions with his game management. Well played, Everton!!!

Missed the easier chances but with a sharper front line we could have walked it. Nasty place to go but we toughed it out.

Onwards Evertonians...

Singing the Blues tonight with the red shoit getting stuffed (ha!)
How come both Merseyside teams were away from home? Can't remember when that last happened on a Saturday.

The RS stadium isn't ready. So they reversed the fixture.

Take that, Pulis (god I hate his brand of football). Bolasie and Lukaku will be a real handful this season. Gana looks great and so does Holgate. Let's keep winning please.

What a player that Idrissa is... wow, he gives us something I've never seen before. He is such a machine and I think we need to tie this lad down for many, many years... superb footballer, goes about his business with pure dedication, I absolutely love this lad. What a bargain at £7 mill. Buy of the season for me.

Well in lads!!!

Holgate is certainly good enough, and Gana is a steal at ٥m. It's hard to put too much stock into two games from a keeper, but Stek also looks like a #1.

Lastly, Mirallas has bought into Koeman's style, and it was a joy seeing his appreciation for the fans both when he was subbed and when the game finished. My MotM.

Stekelenburg looked good, whilst Gueye put in a great performance. Mirallas looked super motivated too.

Not perfect, but good to see Bolassie and Williams get on. Will be interesting on who gets left out now - fight for your shirt!

Lukaku offered very little and missed his now customary sitter

I have to agree with Thomas@ 29 too though. We certainly looked better with Lukaku than without him. No doubt his mere presence gives defenders something to think about.

Those who scoffed at my pre-season prediction that Holgate will replace the lamentable Funes Mori... watch this space. Won't be long now

Lukaku looked less than 70% fit but even so we looked a better team with him on the pitch. Most pleasing were the manager's use of substitutes and his changes to the formation during the game. Ironically we ended up with four centre halves on the pitch, thus giving Pulis a taste of his own medicine.

What's encouraging more than any individual performance is the willingness and ability to adapt in a meaningful way and at the right time. So refreshing.

Holgate is young and inexperienced so will probably be held back after deputising for Seamus and I don't think RK wants all 3 hoofing the ball upfield.

I haven't seen his name mentioned but I thought Ross was very good today, Holgate and Gueye excellent, but my MotM has to be Gareth Barry, – oh how I wish he was 10 years younger, I honestly never realized how good a footballer he is until he signed for us.

Also, for the posters on the Bolasie thread who claimed he was 'average'... not a fucking chance, he's going to be a superb signing.

Only negative for me today, my favorite player Lukaku, he has now gone 15 games for Everton with a grand total of ZERO goals, I thought he was supposed to be this prolific goalscorer? He said he's now staying so I hope Koeman can turn him into the world class striker that he himself thinks he is.

For those (predictably) having a go at Rom – the match changed after he came on. I'm delighted he's staying and my feeling is that the link with Bolasie (a good debut) will pay off big time. Onwards and upwards, Blues.

Great response from the manager and the team, Plenty to be positive about, Two wingers is great to see.

Excellent from Everton, the best is still to come.

Lukaku gave the attack a focal point when he came on. Had one chance and missed it, or was it a good save? I hope he stays, he'll score plenty. Regardless I think the goals will be spread a bit more this season.

Awful first half, good second half. Should have won by more. A good three points and good to see us last 90 minutes and keep concentration.

If you think Funes Mori is a better "ball playing defender" than Holgate, you must be watching the wrong players.

Holgate is all composure and class. Funes Mori... err, isn't.

Very happy with the result; we will get better with more players to come in, and we are getting fitter. I've said it before but we will have a good season and maybe a very good season, not because of the result today but because we have a manager who knows and understands football.

Spurs are a passing, ball playing team.

RK adapted the team and tactics to great effect and we got the 3 points.

No complaints except Lukaku still can't control a football and is still a lazy bastard.

Lukaku in the middle allowed Deulofeu and Mirallas to move to the flanks and they were transformed. Neither of them can hold the line up front. Holgate also looked much more comfortable as a right back than as part of a central trio.

I thought Barkley looked a fantastic player today. Bolasie set up two assists on a platter for Barkley and Lukaku, he made a difference. Good to see Mirallas working so hard for the full 90 and actually crossing the ball eventually. Gana had a great game as did Jags. Stekeleburg made one great save and was clearly fouled for their goal.

Great to see a manager with a Plan B and using it. Very encouraging but we need cover for Lukaku sharpish

And it's the difference between dropped points and a win.

Great to see us going to a win and attacking. I think we could see some really good attacking play with Lukaku, Bolasie, Mirallas and Barkley. Deulofeu is probably going to have to settle for being an impact sub, being an attacking threat when the defense is tiring.

As many have commented Holgate was very good. (I was with my cousin who is a Baggie and he said he looks really good.) Barry and Gana were also very good and I think the latter will be the buy of the season.

Mirallas looks a new player again and Bolaisie is going to really excite this season. Although Williams only had a cameo, you could immediately see his leadership qualities and that bodes well!

Concerns are still we need a proper back up for Rom in case he gets injured and Macca is very limited.

Great news about Lukaku staying, the guy scores goals and his mere presence (although he didn't play well) made a massive difference for the team. Just need another striker to add competition and keep Rom on his toes. Remi would be my choice.

Holgate's inexperience showed today with a handball just outside our area but that is part of the learning curve and, although I'm not going overboard with praise, like some did with Stones, I predict a bright future for the young man; and hope it's with Everton.

A Van Persie type would fit nicely into our new style of play.

Dear Santa...

In a reverse of the Spurs game, the 2nd half was better than the 1st. The players are clearly benefitting from the training at FF and getting another game in their legs. Their stamina, strength and levels of concentration markedly improved in 7 days, never mind compared to last season.

All 5 new boys (I include Holgate plus the incoming transfers) again contributed to a good team performance and another positive result. All 5 have an edge, a character trait sadly absent in many a blue player in recent years.

Bolasie, based on this cameo, has the confidence and cheekiness to be the maverick who could turn tight games from possible losses or draws into wins.

In one stroke, in one game, RK has exorcised a number of ghosts: in his 1st away game, he has stopped the rot of woeful away form the team slumbered through in RM's final weeks, was proactive with a positive sub in the 1st half and won the game from a losing position. We went more than a calender year between RM's 2nd and 3rd season's without achieving the latter.

Again, nobody played badly. Once the new signings are bedded in, things could get very interesting.

Now Romelu has comitted to us, let's get in another quality striker to support (and challenge) him.

Loving the intensity.

Some of the comments about McCarthy are a bit unfair. He's not a wing back, he's a defensive midfielder, and worth keeping, as cover for Gueye.

After a poor start the game changed when Rom came on, much better tempo. Mirallas excellent. Barry great, Holgate decent, though does occasionally get caught out. Barkley better, held the ball up well, was poor second half last week.

Four points is a good start, though Man City, Chelsea, Man Utd et al are flying.

Please buy two strikers, Ron!

Very happy having Ron as manager.

Now let's go and win more games, Blue boys!!!

Sound comments. Holgate looks a great prospect. He is still a learner and will have no better Master to learn from than the a great Ronald Koeman. He will hone and shape him and hopefully make sure he doesn't take up bad habits, à la Stones, who in mind walked before he crept.

Great also to see Mirallas having a great day. I personally am probably his worst critic. But in these cases, it's great to be proved wrong; keep on doing it, Kev.

We are shaping up to be a great side. And I think we are starting to get our Saturday nights back.

There was a lot of talk on the forum today about food tonight. I cooked Pizzas for the kids; they said... "Thank you Mr Koeman"!!

COYB!!

So thankful that dead weight is gone! RK is looking good!

I obviously took more time to read your post than you did to think about it. Your back tracking wont wash.

You claim very clearly that Holgate will be held back because RK won't want three "hoofing it". You then go on to say (staggeringly) that Funes Mori is the best ball playing defender at the club.

You clearly know nothing about Holgate, so why have a dig? The boy does not "hoof it".

Make of it what you will.

Finally, finally there seems to be a plan that everyone at the club either buys into, or you're history. After half a century of supporting this club, I can't remember being so optimistic about the future. (Well, not since 1985.)

As already reported Lukaku is staying for at least a season says Koeman.
He has his faults I know but he would be very hard to replace, I fancy Koeman will be giving him plenty kicks up the backside as the season progresses!

Gana is a revelation. McCarthy runs a lot, but runs in the wrong areas and regularly runs right past the man with the ball. Gana seems more disciplined and has thus released Barry from constantly firefighting. Pair of them class today.

Holgate could be a tank. Very cool kid. Travelling there today felt like going to the clap clinc. Coming home felt like getting the all clear.

ps: Of course I have no empathy with my analogy. (Missus might read this!!!)

Holgate looked very comfortable as a right back when we went to a back four and was excellent going forward.

Bolasie seemed to hint pretty strongly that Rom would stay but I suppose that means nothing.

Bolasie seems to have been a great buy, I'd normally say that the price we paid for him was stupid but I can see now that he could bring a new dimension to our game. Today really was a good win when you consider what a transition we're undergoing at the club. Barry and Gueye were just superb and Holgate makes that 㿛.5M for Stones look like good business especially when you consider that we have defenders of the quality of Galloway, Browning and Kenny in reserve. I'm sorry that Davies doesn't make the starting line up though.

Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd have all really upped their game after poor seasons last year and the competition for the places after them is really hotting up with even Liverpool and Spurs struggling. If we can get into the top 6 this year I'd say we have done brilliantly but the big picture is not only team and league position but Stadium and future sustainable business model.

If I had to stick my neck out I'd say that Man City will win the EPL but if the odds were good like Leicester last year I'd put money on Everton as a dark horse. We're stringing results together and getting better every game.

Not arsed either way mate. We need a replacement though.

Well done to the lads today, tried watching on a moody stream so looking forward to MotD.

Fans were immense again.

His name is Ronald Koeman, he chose the Royal Blue
He didn't come for the money
His love for us is true
He played for Barcelona, a Holland legend too
And when he wins us trophies, we'll sing this song to you

Another scouse classic

On to the game, we now know we don't need cover at right back with Holgate coming on leaps and bounds. Assuming we get Kone that is as we should still make room for Holgate somewhere.

Impressed with the boys all over the park today and what a breath of fresh air our manager is. Long may it continue.

Special mention to Yannick today, I was dead against his signing but if he continues like this, I'm more than happy to say I was wrong.

Onwards and upwards :)

Two really good points made by you and I'd echo them.

1. I'm delighted Lukaku is staying, and Koeman will make him put in a decent shift.

2. Some of the comments about McCarthy are a bit unfair. He's not a wing back, he's a defensive midfielder, and worth keeping, as cover for Gueye.

Absolutely!

I read somewhere that one of the main reasons for purchasing Bolassie was that he is a very good mate of Rom's and this is in part the reason that Everton were so keen to secure his signature at almost any price. If that is true then we should have Rom for at least another season and hopefully the happy, free-playing goalscoring player will be on show at Goodison, the one that we all saw in his first 18 months at the club and not the disinterested sulky Rom of more recent times, that many of us can't be doing with.

But his value was indeed shown today, mostly in the 35 minutes he wasn't on the pitch, we need a target man and like it or not Rom fits the bill at the minute, if he and Bolassie can form a partnership early on it might be fun to watch Everton this season and who knows it may even prove successful.

BRING BACK MARTINEZ, 2-1 away win, surrrrrrre. But where was the 'beautiful' 50 pass football we've been accustomed too?? Gana looks crap as passes forward, getting McCarthy back in there ASAP! Yannick should never play again!! He ran with the ball, I mean ran with it, and more than once. Pass man, for gods sake, PASS! Oh forget it, just get McGeady on. NOW!

Barry - well again a great performance, and he didn't need RK to bring that out of him. His awareness of what is around him is impressive.

Today RK played fast forwards to try and tire WBAs defence and once we unexpectedly went behind he needed to advance his own timetable.

I am sure RK will buy a midfielder and another striker to create competition for Rom. This will make Rom improve his accuracy and work rate.

At that point the Manager will be in total charge and independent of any 'away' requests or swoops from other teams.

Bolasie had some jitters (understandable – I'm sure he was keen to make a positive impression), but looked like an absolute beast out there. He served up that header for Ross on a silver platter.

Will be interesting to see how the Joe Hart saga plays out, as Stekelenburg has looked tremendous so far.

Our upcoming schedule looks pretty favorable. If we can continue to bank points while bringing in new players, sorting out the squad and getting our fitness levels where they need to be, we should be in good shape when it comes time to face the league's heavy hitters. Exciting times!

But as every man and his dog know, today's star was RK, changing it round at 30 minutes. The game was transformed, their bus didn't know which way it was going with Geri and Kevin pulling them apart, the spaces appeared and we ran into them. If Barcelona had scored our first goal

The foul 'score' was 16/10 today (plus three yellows to zero). And I thought the ref was being kind to them. Barry is running out of the area with the ball, their forward takes him out from behind. End of breakaway. Free kick for us very deep in our own half, the bus has been parked. This must come from Pulis, and beating him is part of the pleasure.

Thanks lads, thanks boss.

I firmly believe that this guy is the right manager for Everton FC and that he knows what he wants from his players and I also think he is on the same wavelength as most of the supporters, which can only be a good thing in the long-run.

We brought in Bolasie because he is good friends with Rom... give me a break. My family has a horse which was lonely so we got it a donkey. Never heard of getting a horse for a donkey.

On the new guys; Stekelneburg – brilliant, some great saves and he's 'commanding', so much better than Howard.

Gana – superb. Oozes calmness. Definitely better without JM.

Bolasie looked decent, occasionally overuns it as he's gangly, but looks a great addition. We could give the RS defence a push!

I see Burnley had 19% and SD said he didn't care about possession stats, him and Bobby should have a pint!!!

Horse for Donkey

Perhaps the Donkey did bring the horse as you say: As according to NSNO New signing Yannick Bolasie has revealed that Romelu Lukaku had been pushing him to join Everton for quite some time. The winger was speaking during his presentation to the media on Thursday afternoon after completing a £25m move from Crystal Palace earlier in the week. Bolasie is known to be good friends with 23-year-old Lukaku, with the pair sharing Congolese heritage and Bolasie knowing one of the striker's cousins on a friendly basis. And when asked if Lukaku had played any part in his decision to eventually move to Merseyside, Bolasie stated that the Belgium international had been on at him for a long time.

He said: “I know Rom from ages ago – he's been wanting me to come here for ages but I've always told him that I was kind of settled where I was!” “Now I've taken the step and I'm looking forward to it.”

The manager will make him a great centre forward for Everton but only if Rom wants it. If not then the boss will find someone else to take up the mantle.

Koeman is perfect for us, no touchline sprints, no diving into the crowd, no stupid piggy backs for a goal scorers, just proper football savvy. Destiny awaits for him and our club.

Good to come from behind, was disappointed when they went 1-0 up, think last season has taken all our confidence away when we lose a goal, especially from a set piece. Hope we get that Kone in from Sunderland he looks decent.
We have been shocking from corners and set plays for a while now, need to stop the rot!

Great win, Gana looks very tidy indeed. Bolasie looks decent too just consistently with him I think.

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He's not as good as he thinks he is but equally he's not as "crap" as some on here seem to think he is. He's only "crap" coz he keeps mouthing off when he's away on international duty. Feel free to criticise him for that but let's not talk out of your arse about his ability. Without him last season and with mythenez in charge we'd have been relegated!!

I get as pissed off and frustrated with Rom as you clearly do.

However, to say that we would be better off with Deulofeu up front, particularly after what we witnessed this afternoon, is just plain ridiculous!

I would easily have had a greater impact than Del Boy today - he was awful, and most definitely NOT a striker. He'll be lucky to still be at the club 1st Sept after that showing...

The lad was clearly not fit or he would have played from the off and no one can deny his presence in place of a hapless Deulofeu turned the game for us. Yes he missed a sitter and did not hold the ball up well but, if Ronald thinks he can do something with him, I am happy to back his judgement.

The only thing I would say is we definitely need another forward to replace Kone & Niasse.

Barkley stunk. Any midfield player who goes through a season with so few bookings, easy if you never make a tackle, isn't worth a place. There were so many occasions in the game yesterday where he did no more than hang out a foot and there were others where he had the opportunity to take the ball and follow through on the man. He still plays with his head down and even after the shortest of runs he has to check and look up to make a pass. Play through him generally stalls. Even when he has space and time he rarely makes a first time pass, because he doesn't know where anyone is. His involvement in the first goal was an exception. Improve his game, difficult when he lacks vision, or drop him.

Positives; more organised, as we were last week, Gueye, Holgate, Bolassie (although always had him as a "mood" player so let's see).

As others have said, a run of less testing fixtures ahead before we play City in September. Points on the board early can make all the difference.

A few others have said that Chelsea and the two Manc clubs have started well. Well on the basis of MOTD I would say that Chelsea were hugely lucky to get a win against Watford...and two matches running Costa scored the winner after committing red card offenses. I am not intimidated by them at all.

Agree with others that we don't need a back up to Coleman - Holgate is an excellent right back. Needs to bulk up to be a CB, I thought Funes Mori was a bit off today and if we play a back 4 then he will lose his place to Williams. His distribution was poor on too many occasions.

"Koeman is perfect for us, no touchline sprints, no diving into the crowd, no stupid piggy backs for a goal scorers, just proper football savvy. Destiny awaits for him and our club."

Referring to Klopp?! What a prick he is. Agree. Very happy with how Koeman conducts himself, love his honesty too.

The criticism of Deulofeu is unfair, he isn't a centre forward. Mirallas I thought was superb.

Apart from holding it up well later in the game, Barkley did little. Second half against Spurs he was a disgrace. Bench for me. And yes, shocking miss from the header.

Did anyone feel Coleman's absence? Holgate was terrific as was Gueye. Albion are tough nuts particularly at set pieces but that's the Pulis style. Pity Everton missed two certs at the end.

But match by match we should get better. With improved fitness and more cohesive training our confidence will grow. Upwards and onwards and lets bury the Martinez era for good.

Our 'final' balls in the first half were shocking and apart from the equaliser, at least 46 mins of the first half looked (to me) like text-book getting-nowhere-fast Everton huff and puff.

The most encouraging thing for me was it really seemed like one of our biggest problems - completely switching off - was being addressed.

For our second, Barry got onto a ball that last season (imo) would have flashed harmlessly past their post.

Their defender was switched off, our man wasn't - 2-1.

We also seemed to have more belief and I'm hoping when Williams is a proper part of the side, we'll have even more.

We know the league is tough and we know on any given day, anyone can beat anyone, so the difference between winning and losing is often down to basics - keeping the ball, concentrating, not being outworked or out-muscled.

If we can improve all these things a little, I've no doubt we'll become a more difficult proposition for other teams.

The plusses for me were that we didn't run out of puff this week and appeared to get stonger and have more belief as the game went on.

Thought Holgate and Gueye were terrific again (Holgate got a gob on him too - great!) and though Barkley missed that header, he does look improved (the ball he slid through for the other feller was fantastic).

Oh and though very early days, Bolasie looks like he could be an asset.

Up the Toffees!

PS: Everton winning any game makes me happy, but when the opposition manager is a middle-age man dressed like one of 'The Crocky Crew', even better

The new coaching team has notably improved us at defending set-pieces and at taking them. Good to see Baines taking free kicks (even though he messed on up!)

The calm assurance of the keeper is helping the whole team. We are showing signs of improvement already.

Tony Pulis on MotD basically said we're at a different level from them, which is nice to hear. Even the MotD 'pundits' made very positive comments, particularly about Holgate. I know we don't really give a monkeys what the pundits say, but nevertheless, again, it's nice to hear.

No spin needed. I just quoted you.

In 116 appearances he has made 11 assists. 11. His shooting accuracy is 28%. 28%. He has played 39 through balls, one every three games.

So he is not a great attacking threat then.

He has made 113 tackles, less than 1 a game.

So much for defence.

What does he contribute?

Yesterday, Barkley played a perfectly weighted through ball to set Bolasie away before he released it to Lukaku, yet 'whoscored' doesn't register it. It can't have been a phantom pass because we all witnessed it.

Is a through ball only a 'through ball' if the player receiving it is the one who takes the shot? If Lukaku finished it off like he probably should then Bolasie would be the only one credited with an assist, but the chance only came about due to Barkley's crucial pass taking defenders out of the game. He slips little balls like that in between opposition players often. Certainly many times more than 'once every three games' or 39 times in his career.

I hope we see many more of the "through balls" from Ross to Yala (that John Daley mentioned @ 151) this season. If we do, it's going to be happy days are here again.

Once his fitness improves and with it the confidence it brings we will see a different player.

Get off his back and enjoy this guy.

In a year he will be worth even more.

No matter who counts, poor shots on target ratios are what they are, as are tackles made. I agree that you don't have to make a tackle to have some impact, you overwhelmingly do if you want to win the ball for your team. The alternative is rapid pressing forcing mistakes. Ross is poor at this.

An assist is what it is, a pass that directly leads to a goal. In his best season Leighton Baines had more than Ross has in his career.

We need someone better in his position. That's the point. He isn't good enough.

The stats measure what they measure...but they don't measure Ross' contribution that I saw on Saturday.

But lets play the stats game and compare apples with apples on last seasons stats
Barkley: 8 goals and 8 assists in the PL (12 and 11 in all comps).
Hazard: 3 goals and 4 assists in the PL (8 and 7 in all comps) -
Juan Mata : 6 goals and 5 assists in the PL (11 and 9 in all comps).

Barkley had better stats than both of them and they are two of the best in the business playing for teams that finished above us in the league - are they "not good enough" either????????

Who else should we compare him to?
Deli Ali in a team that finished third - scored 10 and assisted 9 in the PL? Ok marginally better than Ross but he was considered the new Messiah by the media (and in a team that were turning people over and playing tica takka slow build up).

Coutinho at Mordor scored 8 and had 5 assists in the PL last season - worse than Ross Barkley. Again a team that finished comfortably above us.

There is zero chance of us attracting players of this quality to come to Everton at the moment but we would be delighted to have them. The stats just don't support your case.

Ross frustrates because he is so talented. But he's does deliver at an acceptable level compared to other great players - the stats prove it.

As an example, Bolasie had zero assists on Saturday, which makes him a crap winger on stats. To anyone who watched and actually understood he was terrific when he came on and put two on a plate without conversion. The only stat that matters is goals.

I bet Niasse has terrific OPTA stats, which is probably why we're saddled with the useless muppet.

Stats didn't measure Ross idling up and down the pitch in an inside left channel for most games last season without closing down or chasing back. That is my subjective assessment others may disagree. The only objective measures would be tackling stats, and I don't care how you view those, one a game is one a game.

David, on the basis of their performances last season none of those you mention are good enough, in my view. They pale by comparison with the likes of Gerrard and Lampard, for example. It may be that we can't attract the top players in those positions but better is out there under the radar. That's what Steve Walsh has been appointed for. Proof of the pudding - Idrissa Gueye, whose performance in the past two games was outstanding in every aspect of what he is played for.

And...it was.

Basically 97 pointless Chuckle Brothers passes ('t'me, t'you') between him and whoever was no further than a yard-and-a-half away, then three long balls to players who had made really good runs.

They were the passes that mattered...but ended up leaving both corner flags in splinters and almost taking a support pillar down in the St End (upper!).

Stats me hole.

Tackle hard, win it back, give it someone who knows what to do with it - isn't that an over simplistic but accurate job description for Gana?

With that extra pressure and the way he is still developing makes for a promising future ...

and his close control and in your face movement around the box finding clever angles is on top of that. I love that part of his game ... when the big dream of getting regular European football comes then he will be in his element

Being able to receive and keep hold of the ball when under pressure is one of the big things we hear that we in England lack ... Ross has got it in droves

The goal in pre-season had RK purring ... Ross is a Rolls Royce of a player - we are very very lucky to have his likes coming through at EFC.

The question is whether or not Ross Barkeley is good enough going forward as a club. Nobody seems to be saying "Yes".

How many may determine how good a season it is but we are in for some very good matches and wins ahead -- and with RK's record away against the top teams last year they could be memorable.

It's unfair to judge Ross by the unrealistic expectations some had of him and which he may yet achieve. For a lad who is the centre of Everton's game his mistakes will be amplified. What is disgraceful is that there are some who seem to want him to fail .

I don't think so.

'Arguably'!?

How strange, you appear 100% sure of your Ross Barkley stat-based drivel, yet only about 50% sure of the number of openings there are in the human body.

I would therefore suggest, before questioning me and my opinion, you concentrate on your own very obvious problems and undertake the following two tasks.

1) First read back your paragraph - 'The question is whether or not Ross Barkeley is good enough going forward as a club. Nobody seems to be saying "Yes" - then let us know the stats for how many times you've fucked up the spelling of his name worse than that effort.

eg: Barkally 23%. Barcaly 43%. Sqifgpoggy 11%... (etc)

2) Each night for the next year, get your kit off and count the 'holes' in your body (or better still, get a reliable friend or family member to do it - someone who can be trusted to remember the number).

Then in a year's time, you'll be able to look at your stats and (like the rest of us) be sure of how many there are.

Pot-herb!

(ps: apologies if for some reason you were born without a ring-piece or only have one big nostril..which I'm guessing isn't out of the question)

Barkley, in tandem with a number of professionals over the last 2 years, has been badly coached by OFM, made worse by smoke being blown up his arse by the self-same RM.

RK will have our lads purring in the near future, and I personally can't wait to see improved all round games from Ross and Romlak.

Give the current crop a chance, then by all means do the "I told you so" if there's no gradual improvement by Xmas.

You're right you did upset me - to be honest I was raging (and will now have to replace a large wall mirror).

To be honest I was going respond with something a little childish, but I took your advice and walked away for a bit and after I'd calmed down, had a look at your stats on Ross.

On the face of it, I have to admit they make some sense, but I did a little research myself and believe this graph provides a fairly decent counter-argument.

Link

But, Barkley is a goal threat, and I think he could be an essential part of our squad with the ability to become a very good player. Irrespective of the opinions on him, your manipulation of stats are absurd. Plenty of top players have poor stats at the beginning of their career – it is a product of many sub appearances, of being marginalised in certain sides as a result of their inconsistency, and because they are still improving. Ross might be 22, but 22 is still young for a footballer, and he lost a crucial year of development through injury. I think taking a look at his recent stats makes far more sense, as they better represent the player he is now, rather than the player he was several years ago.

So, I will try a different statistical approach.

In 36 starts last year (2 subs) Barkley scored 8 goals and assisted 8. In 2 starts this season, Barkley has scored and assisted one goal. So he has 9 goals and 9 assists from his last 38 starts. Last season he had 95 goal attempts and 28 of those were on target. His shot accuracy of 29.5 whilst not fantastic, is not a measure of goal scoring ability, and is not particularly horrendous. Tadic, Ramsey, Cazorla, Shaqiri, Coutinho, Pedro, Silva's and Khazri's all had a lower shot accuracy percentage (I've selected these because they are well rated and respected midfielders). His 8 assists were joint 11th best in the division, and of midfielders, he was also the joint 11th highest scorer.

Again, I think Barkley has limitations. He slows things down too much – his passing is too irregular and lacks incision and I think his defensive game is poor. I see him as a bit of square peg in a round hole and I think a 433 or a 3-5-2 would be best for him. Hopefully we will see the best of him in Koeman's 3-5-2. But Peter, your use of stats, is straw man. Try again.

But, Barkley is a goal threat, and I think he could be an essential part of our squad with the ability to become a very good player. Irrespective of the opinions on him, your manipulation of stats are absurd. Plenty of top players have poor stats at the beginning of their career – it is a product of many sub appearances, of being marginalised in certain sides as a result of their inconsistency, and because they are still improving. Ross might be 22, but 22 is still young for a footballer, and he lost a crucial year of development through injury. I think taking a look at his recent stats makes far more sense, as they better represent the player he is now, rather than the player he was several years ago.

So, I will try a different statistical approach.

In 36 starts last year (2 subs) Barkley scored 8 goals and assisted 8. In 2 starts this season, Barkley has scored and assisted one goal. So he has 9 goals and 9 assists from his last 38 starts. Last season he had 95 goal attempts and 28 of those were on target. His shot accuracy of 29.5 whilst not fantastic, is not a measure of goal scoring ability, and is not particularly horrendous. Tadic, Ramsey, Cazorla, Shaqiri, Coutinho, Pedro, Silva's and Khazri's all had a lower shot accuracy percentage (I've selected these because they are well rated and respected midfielders). His 8 assists were joint 11th best in the division, and of midfielders, he was also the joint 11th highest scorer.

Again, I think Barkley has limitations. He slows things down too much – his passing is too irregular and lacks incision and I think his defensive game is poor. I see him as a bit of square peg in a round hole and I think a 433 or a 3-5-2 would be best for him. Hopefully we will see the best of him in Koeman's 3-5-2. But Peter, your use of stats, is straw man. Try again.

Overrated compared to what he cost Everton? Overrated as an International in his early 20's, overrated as a first choice in the Everton team?

Surely we haven't become so stupid that we use subjective stats as metrics for how players perform? I know we follow America in the stupid factor but dear me we are football fans, Everton fans, we used to understand the game and yet a minority of our fan base plainly doesn't now.

RK and his staff have worked very hard to get Lukaku to stay at the club and the reason for this was clear on Saturday against West Brom when his presence on the pitch won us a very difficult game. That minority of our fan base that sees him as nothing but a lazy n****r must have a knowledge of the game that exceeds that of the total expertise at the club?

Get real guys, in Lukaku and Barkley we have two diamonds and I for one am really glad that we have them. Rom has struggled with goals recently and Ross with setting them up but with Mirallas and Bolasie wide and Ross behind him I see Rom scoring a lot of goals as he did early doors last season. Only a striker of the ultimate quality could have scored the Chelsea cup goal and many others that he has scored.

Sometimes it's almost as if I can hear the cogs turning and birds tweeting.

I'm not sure there's any chance of coaching this.

Ciaran, sadly I agree with you so I wait in hope rather than expectation.

Eugene, there's hope for you yet. A reasoned response about a player, no insults for once although you still can't resist starting your posts with someone else's words in inverted commas but there was an absence of your own shouty emphases. Well done.

Couldn't get the link to work, crap phone.

4) Did you have a hit single called "Welcome Home"?

Watched them once on Opportunity Knocks and one of the lads who had achieved an altered state of consciousness said of the girl half "She's slipped up, she could have gotten away with being ugly and he'd never know"

Come again Billy?

Not claiming to be an expert, that was a response to another poster who claimed insight because he'd been watching the game for years. Many people on here have done that, many have differing views.

Not a market town in County Durham either, but then neither is Peterlee. It's a new town of it's era named after a miners' leader I think.

As for cricket, I wish. I used to be able to bowl a reasonable leg break. It surprised the batsmen first ball but after a look at the second they battered the third and subsequent balls out of the ground, and me out of the attack. Although I use the word "attack" very loosely in my case.

Thanks for the biggest laugh of the night in congratulating Eugene for his reasoned response and then stating you couldn't see the link. If that was really your attempt at irony (I'm sure you'll claim it anyway) then I congratulate you on your sarcasm, sir!

But much in the same vein of completely missing the point (as above), since it was me you referred to as claiming to be an expert purely on the basis of watching for years, and pointing out that it was all subjective, let me just spell out for you exactly how you missed the points. I was objecting to the creeping use of statistics as a replacement for reading the game itself. Even more specifically ("lies, damned lies and statistics") the use of stats to actually try and prove subjective opinion, viz your "Barkley stank" pronouncement followed by your rollout of OPTAs just to prove exactly how correct you were.

I've just come out of three years having some idiot continuously tell me that a pig with lipstick slapped on its face was really Megan Fox and here are the stats to prove it, I thought that had gone away.

Neil (#192) he will never be worth 㿭m. By the end of this season he will have 2 years left on his contract and he will have devalued, especially if he continues his current run. He hasn't scored for almost one third of a season.

Barkley, Bolasie, Mirallas and Deulofeu can create all the chances in the world if he doesn't put them away then we are in real trouble. If we think he is going to sign a new contract we are dreaming.

Do you honestly believe he is on the same level as Gueye? Each to his own, I suppose.

I think Barkley is a good player but he is not a great player. As my posts on here have demonstrated for several years, I am a big fan of Lukaku. I do not share the same optimism about Barkley. If we want to become a top 4 or even 6 team, the success of the influential midfielder, customary operating behind, the striker is essential. Arsenal have Ozil, who dictates the game and is one of the world's best playmakers (as well as Cazorla). City have Kevin De Bruyne and Silva, who add goals and who are fantastic playmakers. Silva, in particular, dictates play and can change the pace of the game. Spurs have Eriksen, and Alli. Whilst Alli is also confined in a way Eriksen is not, I think he more effectively played that second striker role than Barkley has so far for us. Chelski have Hazard. United? Mata and they have signed Mkhitaryan, who was incredible for Dortmund. Liverpool have Firmino and Coutinho. Even Swansea have Sigurddson and Southampton Tadic. And West Ham have Payet. Palace have Cabaye.

Now of those mentioned, how many would we claim Barkley is better than? Perhaps Tadic, who blew a little hot and cold, but still managed 7 goals and 12 assists. And even his inconsistent period was shorter than Ross'. Cabaye perhaps, who is a different kind of player, and doesn't offer Barkley's level of goal threat. But in reality, can we say that Barkley is better than any of those players?

We have money now and we have ambition. Barkley is a good player who should be around the first team, and he could yet grow into a top top player. But personally, I see Deulofeu as having more potential, and I think replacing Barkley with someone like Mata would bring about a significant improvement to the midfield unit. I think this is Barkley's big year. If he does not perform consistently, I could see him marginalised for a playmaker. In that respect, the Brahimi whispers suggest Koeman might be considering his options now.

As I have said, I think Barkley is a good player. A very good player maybe. But he is not a great player, and I am not sure that he has what it takes to become one.

Finally, Ciaràn point is interesting. I'd also widen it to English football in general. It seems to me that the failings of the England national team often come down to a lack of intelligence, and a failure to adapt tactically. We've seen it time and time again with various players, and Ross is probably an example of that too.

You couldn't make it up!!

I have it on excellent authority that Barkley has the brainpower to get his tenses right.

Barkley's stats from last season suggest that he is a 'top footballer'; his stats so far this season – albeit merely two in – have him in the top six midfielders in the league (that's the Premier League stats).

Why not celebrate this and enjoy and watch this Wavertree star burn brighter in seasons to come?

What were you doing at age 22, Ciaràn?

When Koeman gets him running more off the ball, watch the difference in terms of impact, defense and recognition. He is still young and missed a lot of football with his double fracture. This will be a big leap forward for Barkley this season and, along with an improvement in fitness, will put this petty carping out of the forum..

I know this has been said many times but give the lad a break. He looks fitter than ever before and now he is getting advice of one of the finest footballers Europe ever produced, a big step up from a second-tier centre half and a journeyman Spaniard who played for Motherwell.

Ross is without doubt a lad who needs to be wanted so let's support him and let RK coach him to play the game as it should be.

Holgate is a real prospect. Some other thread had him being touted for loaning out ...MAD. The lad is in the side on merit and deserves his place. Can only progress under Mr Koeman and his brother.

Glad to see Kevin M getting stuck in and delivering. Good start lads overall.

Keep the faith.

I came across the stats by accident but I was surprised at how poor they were. They suggested that my judgement wasn't far out but you could call that confirming my prejudices.