Allardyce strengthens the case for further change with latest away defeat

Walsh must go too, or scout for the U23 team. If Moshiri has Champions Leahgue aspirations, he needs to bring in a manager who has had some success in one of the major leagues... or possibly Fonseca.

We played most of the game with only four genuine "quality" ball-players on the pitch – Rooney, Sigurdsson, Walcott, and Davies. The rest offer very little quality on the ball, as was painfully obvious today, so it should hardly be surprising that we struggle to score and are stuck in mid-table. We will do better when Coleman and possibly Baines return.

Tosun clearly offers more of a quality goal threat than Niasse or Calvert-Lewin. And Sam needs to restore Holgate, who is our only decent ball-playing centre-back. But to expect that we could ever be above, say, 8th with these players just seems unrealistic.

In order to have poor finishing, one must have opportunities to finish. We had none.

In order to have opportunities, one must have some sort of attacking plan. We had none.

In order to have an attacking plan, one must have a manager capable of developing one. We have none.

Otherwise, one must have players capable of surmounting the human bollard on the touchline. We have none.

Never have I seen a man so arrogant with so little to be arrogant about.

"An argument for persisting with the status quo next season?" To hell with that. I defy anyone to come up with an argument for persisting with the status quo next week.

This is what we deserve. I hope we get relegated as that is what as fans we deserve for insisting we get Fat Sam as manager. For a club of our status, we went so low to hire this boring buffoon who always blames others except himself. What kind of English manager is he when he cannot even keep his England job?

All my life I have supported this club from good to bad times. When other fans make fun, I will still insist on fighting for our club. Now I just allow them and agree – we are the joke of Premier League! Full of shit!

The trip to the Middle East was never going to suddenly make Everton a better team, nor was it going to make Allardyce anything but the Dark Age football manager he is.

We are a poor team, not worthy of the position we are in, which is mainly due to the obscene amounts of good fortune with woodwork, missed penalties against us before Christmas.

Allardyce was brought in to supposedly stabilise the defence; since Boxing Day, he has failed dismally.

He has failed also to do anything whatsoever with a punchless attack. Everton, a team that makes scoring goals and attacking look as hard as climbing Mount Everest bare foot.

There is no way that Allardyce can be here to start next season which will simply be yet another battle and scrap to see if we can eek out 40 points by April.

It's about time Moshiri started taking a look at the bigger picture of actual team performances and how bad they have been for nearly a whole year now rather than just throwing lavish money after one failed signing after another.

Evertonians need to regain trust and belief in Farhad Moshiri after some of the absolute tripe he has spouted in the last 9 months. The panicked appointment of Allardyce on ٤ million and an 18-month contract relatively early in the season hasn't done him any favours.

The prolonged treatment of Unsworth and delay in finding a suitable manager after sacking Koeman descended into a farce. Moshiri himself needs to start making wise decisions rather than just being the kid in the sweet shop with money to spend.

This is where the kicking biting and gouging starts. Teams such as Southampton and Newcastle are fighting for their lives now... anyone fancy us in a fight?

"Fireman Sam" hasn't turned up with a hose pipe, he's turned up with a drum of petrol and a box of matches.

People like Rooney, Jagielka, Gana and Sigurdsson need to galvanise these players to haul themselves over the line, because The Night King has clearly lost them.

Our standards as fans have completely collapsed.

You ain't got much chance of quiet men Jagielka, Gana and Sigurdsson galvanising anyone, let alone a struggling bunch of wasters, while Rooney has physically gone now this season after playing every game.

The performances are not going to get better away from home. He will persist with the deep defensive system. Though it is clearly unsuccessful, he appears to have no alternative. At home, by playing higher up the pitch, the results are better. . . but underlying coaching and selection weaknesses persist even in those performances.

The worrying thing is that Watford effectively dealt with Walcott, the main advocate of our playing higher up the pitch. Another worry is that Allardyce may have got to him in Dubai, since he appeared to be playing deeper than he normally does.

Allardyce's appointment has continued the downward slide. Tactically he has been shown not to be up to the job and his expression of loyalty to underperforming players brought in under Moshiri shows that success for him is holding onto his ٤million salary, rather than success for Everton on the pitch.

Fuck — were we watching the same match, mate? We were fucking abject.

Just watching MotD and I see no team playing worse than Everton. I have a mate in the Wirral looking to get tickets for a home game before the end of the season but, to be honest, I might just travel up to visit my pals and skip the football. Spend the money on a nice meal out or something.

I never thought I would feel this way. And the sight of Allardyce in an Everton jacket sickens me. Fuck, I wish I was an RS some days but I'm stuck with being a Toffee until my dying day.

Aside from this – anyone agree the most impassioned player on the pitch was Jordan Pickford? Is he too young to be made captain? Because he looks ready to stick a boot up the arse of the lot of them.

The sooner that fat fraud is out of our club, the better.

Well, I'm not doing that again! I should have known better having witnessed the previous performances.

A non-existent attack and a totally negative display for 90+ minutes. Barely a response when we went behind. Awful awful game.

I hope Allardyce is history ASAP.

I'm watching Match of the Day too and see enough live football and I'm in total agreement, Everton look one of the most abject teams out there these days.

Clubs like Huddersfield, Bournemouth, Brighton playing constructive quick incisive football and testing opposition goalkeepers/defences.

Watching Everton attempting to attack is like watching a sloth moving from one tree to another: it's ponderous, it's slow... and it's just not really worth watching at all.

The performance last night was terrible, and I can only think that football fans up and down the country must groan when the see that we are playing on the box as we are simply a terrible watch.

What was very annoying this week was the propaganda machine, the official Everton website, trying to sell the line that the trip to the Gulf was going to solve all our problems!

Oh please... Rooney's legs have gone? He just had a break and was holding a baby or his wife's hand for two weeks. Fact is, he should never be anywhere near the club.

Jaysus, I'm now done with Baines Jagielka McCarthy, Allardyce etc and the rest of the losers – let's start again.

A new manager by Monday and new board and scouts by May. Then maybe... just maybe we can think about winning even a derby.

Pay as you go, blue boys – no season tickets. Seems bright spark Moshiri only understands that scenario.

Views that it's the manager's fault are avoiding the fact that we are just not good enough skill-wise. They had plenty of opportunities to display their talent, or lack of it, in this game; how many chances did they create? Very, very few.

Compare our midfield and attacking players with the top teams in the league, it's no contest, isn't it. Rooney I thought had a poor game and is looking like age is indeed catching up with him. I actually thought Niasse had a decent game, Lyndon, feeding on scraps as he was. Tosun doesn't look a 㿅m player on what I've seen so far.

Even so, a fair result would have been a draw; they were no better than us. Problem is, whoever we have as a manager, we still need top 6 quality players who we seem unable to attract. The future, as far as I can see, is more of the same, I regret to say.

They beat us. They were better than us on the day. On the balance of chances created, we deserved to lose.

And as far as Keane's so-called 3-yards-out missed header goes, Sam – you shitehead – well, it was outside the 6-yard box and was nearly a good ball down for Davies who was a yard off the ball.

Me too! I watched MotD and watched so-called lower teams play fast incisive football, it's like I'd forgotten what a good game looked like!

Players rewarded with a jolly to turn out the same old shite, they must be laughing behind their hands!

I suppose ticket revenue was part-sponsor of this "holiday"? SHAMEFUL!

You're right of course, but I've been clutching at straws for weeks.

Rooney may be a shadow of his former self, but he has been instrumental in most of the rare moments of quality we have seen this year. I don't even want to think about where we would be without his input... That in itself is a really sad indictment on the current situation.

As our highest paid player (whose wages could be put to better use) he should be sold off this summer. Even if he's dropped, I think he'd be poisonous in the dressing room. You seen the public display of petullence when Unsworth subbed him off. He was then subsequently dropped by a brave Unsworth. I reckon he caused murder after that.

We've been dreadful playing away for the last 4 seasons and that isn't down to Allardyce. I believe he thinks we're good enough to try and beat teams outside of the top 6 at home, and to snatch draws away from home against sides outside of the top 6. The games against top 6 are all hopeful attempts at draws without any real belief.

After the money spent, we were all expecting so much more, but the reality is that the summer recruitment was a disaster and we are worse than we were last season.

Allardyce is not the answer, but I'm not convinced much more could be done with this team. There really is only so much a manager can do and most of us pretty much agreed with the lineup yesterday. The players are simply mid-table standard and a million miles off top 6.

Greg (#3), the only reason we weren't played off the park is because Watford didn't have the quality to do it. If they had, we wouldn't have put up much of a fight.

This horrendous dinosaur of a manager who obviously lacks any motivational skills has to be moved on at 5pm on the last day of the season.

I loathe every day this man is in charge of our club and, if I didn't need any more proof, then last evening was yet again like watching a team without any motivation, sensible game plan, or commitment.

I feel for the travelling supporters who have to go through that type of debacle every time they travel. Allardyce should pay for their tickets out of the millions he is sucking from this club.

On the other hand, is it possible that he's trying to now lower the value of what's left of the club in order to make it more financially attractive for the likes of his pal Usmanov to acquire... with "adjustments" to bank accounts to be made thereafter?

That's what needs sorting. The midfield is a jigsaw puzzle with pieces that don't fit together.

First job for the next manager.

Moshiri needs to force out Kenwright. We need one, clear direction; at the moment, our approach to recruitment of both players and managers reeks of indecisiveness due to having too many cooks.

We need to get rid of Allardyce now. There is simply no point in delaying the inevitable. It was a poor decision made out pure panic – a massive error of judgment once it became clear that Silva wasn't coming.

I'm not completely sure on Silva but, given that the guy was Moshiri's first choice, why not get him in and give him a go? He has 10 games to impress and improve things, and to prepare his transfer policy for next season. Don't forget, this is a World Cup year, so for me, if we wait until the summer to make changes, we may be hamstrung to some extent in terms of recruitment.

This season has for me been the most shambolic I've ever witnessed given the money spent. We need to rip the whole ‘project' up and start again. Moshiri, get a grip NOW and salvage something from this wreck. It's not too late and we have the best fans in the land, so act now and you'll have our backing.

We will back you to the hilt if you make the big decisions necessary. There is a rot – a malaise – that can be fixed, but it takes one man, not several, to sort it.

If he comes in the summer we will start the season with pretty much what we have now, he will have had about 2 weeks preparation with the full squad by the time the season starts.

Bring him in now and let him have 6 months of proper bedding in and assessing the club from top to bottom.

I'm also sure he'd get us the 2 wins we most likely need this season; in fact, I'd be more confident with him than Allardyce.

"If Wayne Rooney really does think his future lies in a deep-lying midfield role he will have to do a lot better there than he did yesterday – gave the ball away 17 times, made only one tackle and was at fault for the goal."

These are just a few of things that really really disappoint me about Everton and they are the reasons that, unless there is a massive clear-out, that the club will continue to go nowhere. A club with no ambition, no idea and not a clue is how we appear to the football world. We are the worst team in the Premier League.

My number one target next season has to be Fonseca. What a job he's doing with Donetsk.

Niasse, although he has scored a few (a bit like the crap player who no one bothers marking because he's crap) doesn't really threaten the opposition.

That leaves the right-hand side. Now I believe Walcott is a class player and due to our left and centre, the other team pay him more attention, nullifying him to a certain extent. Why oh why doesn't Sam play Martina on the right (until Coleman gets back) as I think Kenny needs a break and try Garbutt on the left.

Why not try our most expensive player as a 10 and Bolaise on the left (you only regain your form by playing).

47 goals against (4th worst) tells me that our two defensive midfielders don't work, play two up top instead.

The season is a write-off so why persist with Williams and Jagielka, neither will play much next season, concentrate on Keane, Holgate and Funes Mori. Rooney should be used the same as any other ageing player, off the bench.

Pickford, Martina or Coleman, Keane, Holgate or Funes Mori, Garbutt or Baines. Gueye, Sigurdsson, Walcott, Bolaise, Tosun, Calvert-Lewin or Davies.

It will be interesting to see who Moshiri targets in the weeks ahead. We need someone in situ before the start of the World Cup.

Simple pass and move and work your bollocks off for Everton FC... but ultimately the long-suffering fans.

On the other hand, I can't believe Walsh is still at the club. We can definitely lose him without it affecting the performance on the pitch. Walsh must be the least successful signing we've made since Per Krøldrup.

Poor signings, no tactics, total lack of spirit by these players and a series of managerial failures have left me thoroughly deflated. Let's get the season over and move on.

The biggest problem these guys have is who do they trot out midweek to tell the faithful that they are all really gutted after yet another defeat but, with your support and money, they will try really try hard next time.

FFS, Everton, wake up to these fucking conmen and take the broomstick to these overpaid mollycoddled bunch of wankers. Even if this means swallowing your pride – and I hate to say this – go across the park and ask or plead with them to explain how a football club should be run. We are struggling while they are cruising and doing well in Europe.

Surely to god this can't go on but with this mob it's constantly like déjà vu.

It's so glaringly obvious that there is no gameplan there, no offence. They seem totally lost in the opposition half. That is all about the manager. The manager needs to put his stamp on the team offensively, drill the players in attacking play. Allardyce hasn't got that in his toolbox.

We have good players, almost the same players came seventh last season, but now the players have no confidence. Confidence comes from winning matches. Winning matches comes from scoring goals. Scoring goals comes from good attacking play.

We don't have good attacking play because Allardyce don't know how to train his players that way. He needs to go asap. His whole managingstyle is a throwback to the stoneage. He's a dinosaur.

Allardyce out now!!

As an Everton fan, I just feel sick and tired, discontented, pissed off. It's depressing that this great club has been allowed to slide so low these last three or four years.

Things were poor for three quarters of the game yesterday but at least they weren't losing and then Allardyce dropped a clanger with the subs. Allardyce is not the answer we know but neither was Koeman, Martinez or Moyes. However, the team looked like it wanted to win under Martinez in his first season. What has gone wrong since is open to much debate.

How this team are not bottom is anyone's guess. They may just be lucky that there are worse teams below them?

The ''engine room'' of the team is non-existent and provides little help to the defense and precious little to offense but, having said that, Niasse is poor and it's looking like Tosun may not be much better.

The team may be better with the return of Baines and Coleman but without some class in midfield, they will still struggle. Rooney is no longer worth a starting role and tires quickly.

The title of this thread, "Allardyce strengthens the case for further change with latest away defeat" has given me an idea. Get yourself down to any park on a Sunday morning, Sam, and pick eleven die-hard blues off any Sunday league pitch who would do a better job than most your lot – and for nothing. Eleven lads who would bust a gut playing for the club we all love.

Professional footballers are professional footballers for a reason, because they are meant to be good. So fucking start proving you are good enough and worth the wage you are getting paid!!!

They are a very small group of a profession every young kid aspires to be. It was my dream as a kid to play for Everton but unfortunately, things didn't turn out, but I would never have put in a performance some of this lot show every week.

Our manager isn't setting his team up to win, to break down the opposition, he sets it up not to lose. And when that is failing, as it is now, we don't have much to fall back on...

Occasionally the professionals we have play well in attack, against teams who are not so well drilled as a team, or have inferior professionals to what we have, and we manage a win. But all professionals need coaching and they need instructions on how to break down the other team to win the game. That's where we are lacking big-time now.

Allardyce out now!!

However, the same was said in the latter years of Moyes, seasons 2 and 3 under Martinez, same under Koeman, and even Unsworth it was dire; now Allardyce.

So what is the problem at Everton FC ? Are we cursed? What the hell is it going to take to fix it?

Personally I think we need to fix the whole club, a wholesale clear-out and replace them with winners. Start with getting rid of Kenwright.

For me, Moshiri has wasted a huge amount of money on players who just are not good enough and Walsh should be shown the door.

Who would want to play for Everton right now? Who does the coaching? How many times have we all seen Pickford palm the ball straight out in front of him instead of pushing it sideways – he keeps doing this... goalkeeping coach?

The sooner this season is over, the better, and if this team don't put it in a performance for the fans in what will be our cup final this season, they can fuck off.

"Sam Allardyce, manager of Everton" – says it all really.

The team that played yesterday was probably the strongest that could be picked with the limitations of injuries. We certainly need a forward-thinking manager in the summer, but we also need a complete clear out of the behind the scenes structure. Basically, that means Kenwright and all of his Yes-men cronies and also Walsh who has spent 𧶲M on players who have made us worse.

It was a major mistake to keep Kenwright as chairman. He is a proven failure over 20 years. I have decided not to renew my season ticket if he is still chairman.

They are a bunch of mid-table mediocrities who will continue to struggle to score goals and defend. Changing the manager will make no difference.

They are a bunch of mid-table mediocrities who will continue to struggle to score goals and defend. Changing the manager will make no difference.

At least we only went down by one. Although maybe if their goal had gone in earlier, we would have reverted to type again.

I think that was probably about the best line-up we can muster so I'm not sure where he goes from here.

Well, Moshiri has done just that because he knows nothing about football; he should be seeking advice from somebody who does know how to run a football club because we are a joke at the moment.

Even without a manager, we should be able to muster enough points to stay up and I for one would take that gamble now rather than see that horrible person in our colours jowling on the touchline.

Start the clearout, Moshiri – otherwise, we will have 20,000 at Goodison soon and a return to the early 80s.

I never wanted the charlatan at our club and the longer he stays, the less interest I have in watching the rubbish his tactics and team selections dish up.

I suppose I might be being overly negative, and you could say we have some chance of nicking a cup success; we're still long odds on doing that though.

We are bloody rubbish compared with the usual top 6 clubs but, according to the league positions at the moment, there's 11 clubs worse than us! Hard to believe, I know.

The managers and the players of the bottom 14 teams are being paid fortunes every week to produce dross and we mugs are funding them. Talk about hope springs eternal.

A good 80% of any of the games are boring spectacles if you watch the full games live. MotD highlights give a distorted view of games entertainment wise, which suits the media and the clubs.

Allardyce is partially to blame, because he failed to strengthen the team properly in the last transfer window. Yet, has inherited a team not of his choosing but allowed Mo Besic to go out on loan when Everton are desperate for players who like to get stuck in. Yesterday's performance showed that Everton are lightweight.

This episode in the club's history must end soon. And somehow start clean but it won't be easy in the next 5 years with TV money starting to drop...

It's become an endurance test now for each passing game and it's worse the way the team and the club is melting away into freefall oblivion. Do the board care and can they relate to the fans?

Heres to a miracle at Turf Moor

James, that was exactly my point – two mediocre teams that struggle to create chances because they have too few quality ball-players on the pitch. Typical middle-of-the-table match, first goal wins, could go either way – we've all seen this match a million times before.

People seem to think that we are "underperforming" somehow. I don't think we are. With so many poor ball-players on the pitch, we are just mediocre – "Watford's level", whether we like it or not. And yes, that is a sad indictment of our recent transfer policy.

How people can look at our squad and think we could be much better than this is a mystery to me.

That's why he's a winner – he looks at what he's done wrong, for the players to put in such a poor performance. Are you listening, Fat Sam? That's how to manage and improve a team. Not to bullshit the fans and the media with utter nonsense about missed chances.

People keep including him in our creative category but we have yet to see it. The list of other disappointments is everybody bar Pickford.

“These are lessons you don't want to have but they're the best lessons in the world. We'll learn a lot from this.

“We weren't there in the first half and I take responsibility for it. I didn't prepare the team as well as I should have and that's my fault. I have to work out what I did wrong and work out how to fix it.

“We were ready for it. It's 138 years of rugby history. We knew the significance of the game, we knew what would get thrown at us at Murrayfield. I apologise for our performance.”

Taken full responsibility for it all – unlike some we could mention.

When Martinez went, prior to the last (meaningless) game of the season, I thought that was a sign of ruthlessness to the point of bitchiness, unusual in really successful businessmen which Moshiri definitely is. So what has gone wrong and why are we still waiting for signs of the direction we should be going in? Well I for one think the signs are there, if we look for them.

The stadium is moving slowly at present, but there are still signs of progress on that front with the recent engagement of the fans, a reassuring strategy, whether public relations driven or not. EitC and the Academy are going strong, with investment of last summer (Onyekuru etc?) still to bear fruit.

I wanted (correction: accepted) Allardyce as a safety measure. It was indicative of how far we had reversed under Koeman, who for me has been far and away the most destructive influence on Everton FC in the last 30 years. Moshiri appointed him with some fanfare (no pun intended) and the cost, financially at least has been paid. We have to move on and the teams player recovery must come before everything.

The most important aspect of the Club is the quality on the pitch, and the most important personality at the Club to achieve this must be the team manager. A good or great manager means a good or great team, and the style of play is an extension of the Manager's personality. It was with Moyes, Martinez, Koeman, Unsy, and certainly it is with Allardyce. 5 managers with 5 different values; no wonder we've been 6s and 7s and the victim of inconsistent performances over the last 4 seasons!

We need a manager, who is youngish, contemporary and forward-thinking in approach and someone who is strong enough to stand up to the feckless management structure and to make his personal values count. Like him or not, Moyes had that strength, but then the situation was less demanding. I liked him a lot, but was tired of his approach by the time he left.

I liked Roberto but he disappeared under his own ego.

Koeman was different. I disliked him but he had my grudging respect because he was his own man and there was definitely an attrition between him and Kenwright, and the managerial shiftiness (Elstone?) behind the scenes. However, when things didn't go his way, then he seemed to switch off the concern button which was a measure of his self-centerdness.

I loved Unsy, but he lost it for me when he proudly stated he talked to Kenwright every day.

Allardyce? Nothing positive there.

Instead of looking for smooth, sauve, well dressed, PR savvy, super continental, we should be looking at a manager who has a track record of building a Club, from the bottom up and that leaves only 4 candidates in my mind. Howe, Dyche, Houghton, or the guy (apologies I've forgotten his name) who has done wonders with the small Swedish club. The Wolves manager also seems to be a good candidate...

These guys would suit the needs of Everton at this time. Give either of them the support to build the team in a time frame in parallel with the stadium, and use the Academy as the bedrock, supported by expensive but selected proven quality in key positions and we should move forward.

My favorite is Dyche. I think his uncompromising image is a perfect foil for his capacity as a 'thinking' manager and a motivator as well as being his own man. He would stand up to Kenwright and alongside Moshiri and he might introduce some sensible toughness into the playing structure. he is nobodies fool, and we would be very lucky to get him. I get the impression he would chew up and spit out a Director of Football like Walsh without any trouble whatsoever.

Here's hoping! COYB . . . . . . .

They play an expansive attacking football, and he's an expert in building team spirit. Their success is built upon that... and upon being fearless and thinking "anything is possible". A manager with that mentality could do wonders with our players.

Allardyce out now!!

We need to be procuring a manager for the longer term now. There is no time for delay, it is clear to all that Sam is not the future of the club.

I stand by words.

There really needs to be one owner driving this club in one direction. At the moment, we are going in three different directions (Moshiri - from distance, Kenwright - close quarters and Walsh buying like he is a kid in a sweet shop with lots of money).

Why wait until the end of the season, the football is dross, and all he does is blame the players. (Wasteful finishing... Jeysus, what finishing?)

Time to act is now – 10 more games of this is just too much for most Evertonians. Big Sam – just fuck off and take the money, you cannot handle a big club.

Chris Houghton is another who has been a manager for some time but he hasn't given me any reason to think he would be a success.

As for the fella at Osterunds, way too big of a risk for me. I know we are shite at the moment but we are steeped in history and are still a big club. Shit team definitely but, in my opinion, a big club.

These managers you mention are on a par with what we have had and I for one don't know who is the right man for the job but, considering the consensus is Moshiri has a few quid, maybe he should try and persuade someone of proven ability to take us on?

I don't hold much hope out for this as I have said on another thread he seems incapable to do so, going with his track record on hiring managers.

Moshiri should maybe spend top dollar on a manager first then players after – and by 'top dollar', I mean if he is serious about backing up what he has said about us being in the Champions League and challenging for the title. Make him the highest paid manager in the Premier League and I'm sure some of the so-called better managers would be interested.

But what do I know? I just listen to all the shit they come out with. So if he wants us there at the top, invest in a fucking proven manager and stop messing around with these could be a great manager or would be a good fit for little old Everton.

His going was inevitable and Everton had plenty of time to weigh up a replacement.

Whilst top class strikers don't grow on trees neither are they found in the depths of lesser leagues.

Everton were left with Calvert-Lewin and Niasse, signed Sandro, Rooney, Sigurdsson and Tosun and between them they have failed miserably to scare most defences in the Premier League.

Okay, people will make excuses for Tosun who hasn't yet had much chance but he doesn't look like he will make much impact.

Hate to say it but Liverpool have always had top class strikers and now they have a bunch of them playing together. Man City, Man Utd, Spurs and Chelsea have goalscorers to spare throughout their squads.

Everton up front are really toothless and have very little to offer from midfield either. The Everton scouting system must be overhauled.

These are the sad facts Moshiri has to deal with before next season starts.

Yes, a mega salary will undoubtedly cause a queue of willing applicants but those with any sense of recent history in any major league will know that they've no chance of winning anything without commensurate expenditure on signings, and Moshiri can't or won't go there as yet, despite his best efforts so far in funding what we all still have to endure from the pitch, touch-line and boardroom, namely consistent ineptitude.

1. Pay top dollar for a manager with a top reputation for winning things... Sounds good on paper but, even if we did tempt someone, whose to say it will turn out any better than now? They'll surely come in expecting a war chest and 𧷤 million later, we'll have a different group of mercenaries bleeding the life and soul out of the club.

2. A young manager proven in a foreign league somewhere... Are we really going to take that risk? How many clubs have appointed a relatively unproven foreign coach (or English – Paul Clements) and paid the price?

3. Look closer to home – Dyche etc. Young manager with a point to prove. We might get lucky, we might end up with a young Pardew!! All the journeymen managers had some degree of success. Nevertheless, this type might be pursuaded to look long-term at the youth setup like Moyes and Martinez did.

4. Go back to Unsworth again. Give him the chance to make mistakes and learn from them. One things for sure – we'll get more fight and determination in 1 game than we've had from the last 10. Could we risk an unproven manager? They all start somewhere after all.

What's the best option?

The substitutions came far too late!!

I have listened to interviews with Moshiri saying on TalkSport and on Everton's own website that we had bid 㿨 million for Koulibaly and listened to Kenwright boasting at the AGM money being available for any players as long as they want to come to Everton.

Don, I did say that I'm just listening to what they tell us so you're right – it would be top dollar for one of the best managers about and they would want a sizeable war chest. So they either shut the fuck up or back up what they tell us where they want Everton to be.

If I hadn't heard it with my own ears, I certainly wouldn't post on here so the likes of yourself can pull me up like I'm daft imagining what these clowns running our club have said. If they hadn't said it, Don, I wouldn't've posted what I did earlier as I know it takes a large amount of cash to get Everton in the champions league and challenging for the title.

One thing is for sure: until we do break the bank for a manager, it's just going to be pot luck we get it right with a manager yet to prove himself. If, like you said, Moshiri can't or won't go there yet, it would probably be best if he and his sidekick shut the fuck up so there is no misunderstanding on my part.

“They get the ball and pass it, not me” he said.

“So, if you get the ball and move it forward to one of your front men, your front men get in the game and they attack the other team's defence. But you can't blame me if they don't pass the ball to each other.”

So exactly what is Sam's job description, isn't it up to him to choose players who will pass the ball to each other and who will attack the opponent's goal? Why are the club paying this man so much to do so little? It's not new; Koeman was exactly the same, bereft of ideas on how to motivate the players and bereft of ideas as to how to cultivate team spirit.

Any Sunday league manager can do these things with players of very limited ability – why can't a highly paid employee get the best out of his players?

Some say that even the best managers in the world wouldn't be able to do any better with the squad we have – why is that? Eddie Howe, Sean Dyche, Rafa Benitez and a few others in the top division outside of the top six, seem to be able to foster a club spirit and a definitive style of play, so how come Everton FC are unable to hire somebody who can do that at Goodison Park?

It's one thing to have a bad bunch of players but it is quite another to have such a bunch who have to listen to a manager who so obviously thinks more about his own reputation rather than doing the job he was hired to do. Koeman had at least some reasons for being less than enthusiastic when his desire for a new striker and left-sided defender were ignored.

Sam has no such excuse, he knew the issues that the team had from the first day he set foot in Finch Farm, but he has done precious little to address those issues and, in some cases, he has managed to make things worse.

Value For Money?

But...

I could see it was a bad appointment. Plenty of others could see it was a bad appointment. So why couldn't those in charge of the club see it?

This isn't just hindsight. It's not like they were hoping for more and have been let down. He's done exactly what he always does. He's Sam Allardyce – he's even publicly judging his performance as a success. By his metrics, he's absolutely right!

So while Sam's decisions and media work is pissing me off no end, I don't think he deserves the bulk of the blame. I reserve the greater criticism for Moshiri and his colleagues. They got exactly what it said on the tin.

"They got exactly what it said on the BIN"

Let's hope Moshiri is not hoping that Big Sam is going to sort this shit out and we end up in 7th as he might get an extension...

"Come and save us please, kind sir. We cannot get anyone else."

Grovelling pricks.

I wasn't in favour of Allardyce coming in, but to be fair to the board I think they held off on his appointment as long as possible. Had the West Ham game come a couple of weeks earlier, we would perhaps not have panicked. But panicking at the time was the rational option!

I am still disappointed in Allardyce. I thought he would certainly tighten up the defence (he has a bit) but also with the playing resources he had get us playing decent football (as Bolton did with Okocha pulling the strings). But this just hasn't happened at all and the style is just as enervating as under Koeman.

As a result, I can't remember the last time I was so disinterested in watching Everton play. It's soul destroying. That has to change next season and I think Allardyce is finished now. Moshiri will demand more – and at least Howe and Silva will be available and willing to come this time.

1. The manager. Sam Allardyce's tactics and team set up against Watford were yet another example of this complacency. It has been okay, in his book, to defend a 0-0 scoreline and offer limited attacking threat away from home, or indeed against any of the top 6 home or away, as the complacency that has set in means that defeats can be added to the numerous away losses and the horrendous record against the top 6 that existed prior to his arrival. He was never going to be the man that shook things up; 6 wins out of 16 is a record of a manager who picked winnable games to ensure safety with everything else deemed a bonus. A complacent mindset which fits in perfectly with the attitude of the club.

2. The players. There are numerous on-and-off-the-pitch examples of the lax attitude so many players have demonstrated this season. Schneiderlin's lack of application in a game and on the training ground was well documented by Lyndon in his article on the player. Rooney's transgressions at the start of the season betrayed a shocking lack of professionalism, considering he had just joined a new club. A series of almost unbelievable capitulations have taken place under 3 seperate managers – Atalanta (twice), Arsenal (twice), Southampton, Spurs (twice), Man Utd, Lyon. A squad that gave a fuck, that had backbone, could not have been hammered so many times in one season.

3. Walsh. One can conclude that Steve Walsh and his scouting team are completely complacent by the sheer number of misses the club has had in the transfer market. The complacency has to stem from a lack of concern over buying duds; where once Everton were frugal in the transfer market and duds could prove very damaging, with Moshiri's arrival it is incredible how many underperforming players have been brought in under Walsh's remit. To spend 㿇M on a striker who is sat on the bench is the latest indictment of Walsh. To have not brought a striker or left-sided defender at all prior to the January window was the biggest indictment of all – and yet, he is still in a job.

4. Moshiri and Kenwright. Moshiri has been a force for good on the club's finances. However, on footballing matters, he is either totally inept or completely complacent or both. He made the announcement to Jim White over Allardyce's appointment so one can only conclude he had the final say. In which case, the shambles that was the managerial search, the game by game mandate for Unsworth, the volte face on Allardyce, all betray a sense of complacency. Perhaps Moshiri thought he could throw money at the problem and it would be fixed. This resulted in an approach to the managerial appointment that resulted in what can, at best, be described as a lazy and unimaginative appointment in Allardyce, with a lazy and complacent target of avoiding relegation. On the back of his bizarre acceptance of Everton losing to the top 6 – because having had the third highest net spend you would have thought he would demand more – and one can only conclude that Moshiri is ok to achieve a top 10 finish. The ambitions to break into the top 4 – which he clearly stated was a target on his arrival – have vanished.

5. The nature of the League. This comfort zone that the club currently finds itself in is also surely down to how strange this season has been, with everyone outside the top 6 capable of being beaten by anyone else. West Brom look to have bitten the relegation bullet, and Burnley and Leicester are probably safe, but with 10 games to go, 2 straight defeats for Everton in 9th could push us down into the relegation scrap. By the same token, one home win will probably do the job for us and I cannot see this squad of players showing the application to overtake Burnley to 7th – even though they are there to be overhauled.

I am extremely worried over what the future holds. Moshiri and Kenwright have made a catalogue of errors this season and their judgement has proven to be highly suspect. Their desire to push the club to achieve more ambitious targets appears to be waning. It is my worst nightmare that Allardyce will see out the entire duration of his contract, simply because the board fail to attract a worthy manager. I can see Walsh continuing too.

Meantime, the players will continue to muddle along, safe in the knowledge that a dozen wins and half a dozen draws each season will be the extent of the club's ambitions – with recriminations only if the club have slid down to near the bottom 3.

Complacency abounds.

If Moshiri thinks it's okay to lose to the top six, then his chairman needs to tell him differently... ha, ha, ha, and the only difference with Allardyce, is that his tactics just point this out that little bit more!