Koeman brings Niasse back into the fold

I would love nothing better than the lad getting some pitch time and knocking a few in.

I have a feeling he may do just that, also I have a feeling that the faithful have a soft spot for him, with regards to his behaviour and dignity whilst not getting a fair shake when first arriving.

Toe the line, Ronald. Embarrassing.

Do you actually want our club to succeed?

For some reason, Koeman's words kind of remind me of that bit in Road House where 'small business scourge' Brad Wesley suddenly breaks off beating shit out of one of his hapless henchmen, has him helped to his feet and then says he'll be fine because he 'likes' him.

Link

(Which, I guess, would make Rooney the 'Tinker' of the team).

I hope this is more than just false hope being thrown out there to make a point on the manager's part though. Niasse has shown a bit of character by not kicking up a fuss, getting his head down and trying to make the best of a less than ideal situation. Koeman is maybe going to have to take a leaf out of the lads book given how light the squad is on strikers at the moment.

Whatever the reasons for him being handed an unexpected lifeline (and there's a big difference between being 'back in contention' and actually being chucked on during a game) it would be fucking fairy tale stuff if he does get a run out and shows he can slot.

What I have seen of his more recent performances he looks fine. Just a thought, if he was a local lad playing in the U23s and had scored those goals, I am sure a number of fans would be wondering why he hasn't been given a chance in the first team. He has also scored 3 in 8 for Senegal.

I am amazed at what people can read into the smallest things and use these things to push their anti-Koeman rhetoric. Amazing, and we slag the papers off for making things up without any sources!

I hope Niasse proves a point and we all gain!!

I have to give Niasse a lot of credit for perseverance and dignity; not many players would have stayed strong despite his wages, he's had a bit of a nightmare really.

You never know – we might start with an attacking formation and attitude on Saturday.

Rather than treat him like shit for 12 months he should have worked with him throughout the year working on the weak points Koeman saw in his game. He has pace to burn and can chip in with 5-10 goals if given service and a chance.

Is that like Magnetism but he doesn't always face North?

I'm sure Koeman's on a win-win with this one. If Oumar bangs in a worldy he'll take the credit but, if he falls flat on his face with an open goal beckoning, he'll look over his shoulder in the direction of Kenwright and Eric Morecambe and do one of his pissed off faces. I might be wrong

I think we would have to play him a certain way, playing off the shoulder of the last defender, then he may do some damage. If he scores... there will be a riot!

If he does nothing other than run around for forty minutes tiring out opposition defences so that Rooney (who will be less and less able to run around for a whole game as the season progresses) can be maximally effective whilst he is on the pitch, then Niasse will have done some good.

There is little point in him hanging around scratching his arse for another couple of seasons on full pay. Unless he really is crap. But surely Roberto must have seen something in him?

The lad has shown nothing but dignity in his response to being left out of the match day squad. He deserves a chance.

I'm sure he will be determined to make a point, after his journey last season.

What they meant was that he was a clumsy player but lively, quick and unpredictable. He's fit and can be a pain for tiring centre halves so he is a good option from the bench.

Remember we need goals from across the squad to replace Lukaku's 20-plus, so all strikers on our books should be getting a fair go.

Are you related to Yoda?

Obviously a big game player!

More seriously, I have to agree with Mark (#49). I think this was Koeman's way of showing what we have had to resort to, and that the people in charge of transfers really need to sort their shit out next window.

Then again, if we beat Spurs 10-nil, Ronald is still likely to get a bashing from some on here i.e. "Why did we let them get nil?!??!?"

Come on Oumar, unleash a worldy on Saturday that beats Loris from 25 yards. Nil Satis Niasse Optimum!!!

Niasse never got a real chance before Koeman came to the club for whatever reason, so if he gets a run of games, starting or as a sub, we can all make out own minds up as to whether he is a player or not.

Incidentally, if my memory is correct Harold Mathews thought he was a good player in one of his posts and Harold had a good eye for players; let's see and judge him for ourselves.

''All we are saying...
Is give Oumar a chance!''

ps: As for Mirallas he's had loads of chances to prove himself and everytime it's the same old, missed chances missed placed crosses, and throwing a tantrum when he's subbed, because he's been ineffective for 70-80 minutes. We should of sold him IMO!

I usually hate the international break as it denies me following my beloved club. The fact that the end of the transfer window was an anticlimax made things worse this time around. I was happy as Baines, Rooney, etc would get some time to rest after the hectic start to our season and the large number of upcoming games with league and Cups. Rooney, though went and ruined that with his off the field behaviour which was both dangerous and deplorable.

Back to the football, I have been reading the comments from many ToffeeWebbers about Oumar Niasse and I must admit I must say that I have really felt bad for him over the last year. He may not have been good enough (although I don't think he had enough time to prove himself). But the way that Koeman treated him was unacceptable in my eyes.

To his credit, Niasse did well on loan at Hull and whenever he was called to do so for the Under-23s as well. He behaved well and, unlike his Belgian team mates, did not use the newspapers to voice his opinion.

So it was a pleasant surprise to wake up and see that Koeman has included him in the first team squad for the Spurs game. I agree that its because we have limited options up front but I still feel that its a very positive step. I was watching You Tube clips of his goals and he does seem to have a good shot on him and has more pace than Rooney ( on the field, of course!).

I watched Koeman's pre-match conference and got all excited about tomorrow's game. I hope that I am not being silly but I feel like we can turn a corner now and play better over the next few weeks. COYB

From what I have seen he isn't necessarily a well-rounded attacker, but he does have some pace and seems to have a knack for finishing. If he has the desire to run the channels and the instinct to be in the right place at the right time then I don't care if he scores tap ins, shinners, or the ball goes in off his backside. Goals win matches and they all count.

I'm actually looking forwards to seeing him play now. 7 minutes for a 㾹m signing is way too little to judge him on.

Koeman played this wrong from the start but was entitled to feel he doesn't fit his preferred style of play and therefore to cash in on an asset and reinvest in the squad was the way to go. His no-nonsense brashness however made him look silly in my opinion and was counter-productive.

Niasse does have qualities though and to have him around the squad is a no-brainer. Our defenders need to train against a variety of styles and our limited striking options are not likely to test them sufficiently. Niasse offers more options on the training ground and this is only positive.

Maybe recent events have turned Ron's mind to an alternative way of playing. I for one welcome the U-turn and what it says about the manager and I wish Oumar every success. He deserves it.

We all know, Bobby brought him in by watching a video clip. Some believe, it wasn't even the same guy, but he's here, on the payroll, so at least, give the guy a chance, and if he then turns out to be crap!

He may even turn out to be the latter day striker we have craved for years.

Credit too, to 'somebody' if they told Koeman to get his head out of his arse and do the obvious thing.

Only a bronze medal for a distant 3rd place effort in the credit stakes to Koeman though.

His speed could be useful against a tired defensive line.

He was asked a direct question which was how do you feel about the nightmare you have endured with Everton? His reply was that he would do it all again because Everton was a massive move for him! What a great reply and what a great person!

At least he can score against the Red Shite!!! (while playing for Hull) None of the fucking so-called superstars we've got have managed that for how long??? I hope Niasse scores goals and sticks it right up Koeman's arse... Good lad, glad we have you, is what I say!

He is behind Sandro, Rooney and Calvert-Lewin in the pecking order

Hope if he gets a chance he does well. Not because I give a shit about the player but because I do give a shit about Everton.

That's Everton that.

Even if he gives us something like half a season, or a season, of 1 goal in 4 games from an occasional start or off the bench, it's a lot more than anyone else is doing. At the moment, we barely even shoot.

If given a chance I hope it goes well for him. For Everton and for him. He deserves a break.

On Mirallas, am I alone in thinking that he's nowhere near the player he was 3 or 4 years ago? I think he's lost a yard. I can also see his point about wanting to get off. This is shaping up to be the third season on the bounce where he isn't playing much. At this point in his career, I'm sure he just wants to be playing.

The 3-year deal the club awarded Mirallas looks like it was about it getting the best return possible for the player. He clearly isn't a part of Koeman's plans, long term. You can only ship out so many players in one go and he may have viewed Mirallas as one worth keeping, for now.

Tbh, he may come on as sub a couple of times and score, never know. One thing is guaranteed, if our own players haven't got a clue what he's going to do, then neither will the opposition defenders.

He may fluke a goal or two for us just yet.

He's not great but he's better than Stracq was, and Stracq was lauded on this website. Let's give him a chance and if he is bad then we can at least have a laugh.

Whatever happens, Niasse will definitely be having the last laugh on 㿣k/week!

Firstly, Koeman is super clear with players and what he wants to do, unlike Dithering Dave and one-tactic Martinez he knows what and who he wants and he makes it clear to players who aren't in his plans (Niasse, Barkley, etc).

Secondly it's clear that he (and the Everton hierarchy) did want a 'quality' replacement for Lukaku last season. We secured Sandro and Rooney early on and the other achievable targets were tied into more complex situations.

Extensive time was obviously spent on the likes of Giroud (he/his wife didn't fancy leaving London), Batashuyi (Chelsea wouldn't sanction this clearly and reportedly didn't go for our Lukaku player + cash deal), and likely many others including Vardy and maybe Costa. The reality is that we didn't get any of these players (in much the same way other clubs didn't get everything they wanted – Chelsea didn't get many of their targets, Liverpool didn't get van Dijk, City didn't get Sanchez, Barcelona didn't get Coutinho, etc, etc).

This was not about money or even about incompetence, its more about the realities of our situation – to players who will genuinely improve our side are likely to be competed for and also want Champions League football.

In the end, though we improved in most places across the squad, we ended up without the extra striker we wanted (although we do still have 3 first team players who can play up top without Niasse in Rooney, Sandro and Calvert-Lewin) which is frustrating but we are where we are.

We were also super clear with Barkley (who I think has been advised/behaved poorly throughout the whole process), Mirallas (who has been a first team squad player but not automatic choice for years for good reason and we said we wouldn't let go on a loan, we didn't) and Niasse himself (he wasn't previously part of the plans and we'd let him go for the right offer – in the end his agent dicked around and fucked up the move by the sounds of things).

Given this situation of being at least one striker light and not being able to offload Oumar, Koeman has evaluated his options and made a pragmatic decision to give Niasse another chance to bolster our forward options (likewise he has also given Barkley a Europa League squad number on the basis we should use him if fit whilst here).

Frankly, I can't really understand what he has done wrong in any of this process:

1. Clear approach to who he wants/doesn't (which also lead to a massive clear out of deadwood that had been soaking up wages for years)

2. Decisive early moves in most areas in the transfer market and clarity about what players could go

3. When the window shut and the dust settled re-evaluated his options and made a pragmatic decision based on what was available/needed, including a climbdown from his previous approach to Niasse, albeit correctly identifyng that the player's attitude has been exemplary throughout a difficult time, unlike most Premier League prima donnas (including our own Mirallas and it would appear Barkley).

He can play at Premier League level; bagging a handful of goals in a shite Hull side proves that. He may not tick all the boxes but pace and hunger aren't traits to be sniffed at.

We are about to embark on a run of 6 games, plus travel, in about 19 days. If we remain in all the competitions, this is the norm until into January. 9 games in December or something like that and maybe 30 plus by the end of December.

We need a squad to cope, so welcome back Oumar. You are certainly needed and I genuinely hope you let us all see your qualities shine through, to go with your apparent dignity.

That was in 19 games – I am unsure how many of those were as a starter or sub but if he can do that for relegated Hull, there surely has to be something there to mine for our benefit, does there not?.

Clearly Niasse is unlikely to be the answer but I do wonder where our goals this season are coming from. It's going to be a tough run up to January, methinks, and beyond if we can't sort ourselves out then.

Stuck with no striker because the so called ambitious board couldn't get rid of more players, so we bring back a player the manager was happy to publicly humiliate, and throw him into the fold out of desperation.

Praise for this? What a club!

There is literally no factual evidence to substantiate your point and a hell of a lot of information that would refute it – Moshiri investment, Chinese bank facility, previous spending behavior and publicly recognised bids/interest for starters.

The fact we were selling Lukaku and Barkley in the first place is hardly a situation created by Koeman, the board or the club – both were offered great contracts but chose not to sign them.

Aside from that, who did we sell of genuine value to the club? Presumably you'd rather keen unmotivated players till their contract runs out and they move for free?

For ages we wanted a manager who showed strength and didn't claim everything was "a special moment"; we got one and now he looks like a bit of a plonker for being so abrupt.

If Niasse and Barkley get back into the squad and prove to be our best players, will we all be calling for Koeman's head as a manager? Or maybe just accepting that people get things wrong from time to time?

Or maybe you found Koeman to be a real insulting bully when he ousted Niasse for no reason and now he's great for being a man.

As for your spends comment, you obviously forgot what happened with other clubs with balls this summer.

On the other hand, the club hasn't hidden the fact that we were looking to offload Barkley and Niasse and would have done so if it wasn't for the former's change of mind, and the latter's agent. So, if the business we attempted on the last day had gone through, would our net outlay have been close to zero over the window?

I'm not saying it was the board's plan only to reinvest the sales money, but that's how it would have turned out. So maybe you can suggest there's no evidence that we were looking to do that, but there's no evidence that we were looking to make a big net spend either.

In the end though, like I say, if Barkley and Niasse had gone as planned, we would have spent a net nothing. Can you name the player we tried to buy on the last day before those selling deals collapsed? I didn't hear us linked with any serious bid.

The facts changed, Koeman changed his position re Niasse. Nothing wrong with that as far as I can see. Sensible thing to do given the circumstances .

Niasse is clearly a contingency - Everton have little to no fire power, so what choice does Koeman have? If Hull would have stayed up they would have purchased Niasse no doubt; Crystal Palace would have had him on dead-line day except for the agent fiasco.

Potential

Right now Everton need all the help they can get and although Niasse can do little else than score goals, albeit it is possible he may be able to or can assist, with sometimes good touches, possibly even press; whilst he cannot cross balls into the box, 'He knows where the net is to win games. This is what we need! Rooney gets paid a staggeringly shocking 𧵘,000 per week but is far from perfect, wear 'n' tear etc.

Fitness

Niasse is currently and will always be much fitter than Rooney, is Pacey, Pacier than Rooney (likely even when compared to Rooney at his best); Niasse is simply an athletics machine – he has very impressive pace; is likely to score more goals than Rooney given Rooney's chances (like for like). Niasse's wages are approx. 1/3 of Rooney's, so why not let Niasse take the burden and use his – what seems to be incredible reserves of energy – and let Rooney Rest? I am borrowing the latter idea from Royal Blue website, 'nough said.

Are we missing a trick here?

Having Sandro and Niasse on the pitch could potentially be like trying to keep control of couple of ferrets.

Sandro is like a puppy we used to have, gets excited and pissed everywhere as she ran about. Sandro has something special; I saw not just his passion but he is used to playing 'Espana' type football, ie, like Deulofeu, they have their box of tricks. Sandro is not playing with a terribly skillful Everton (relative to La Leaga), so he needs to learn how Everton play and not just assume – by using his rapid thinking brain – that where he lays the ball on for an Everton player that they will automatically be there.

I hope players believe in Niasse also as the more supports he feels from the 1st team and Goodison's fans – as a confidence player – the more he will believe in himself. Put yourself in Niasse's shoes – last season he was the 'Water boy,' this season he has found himself in the first team owing to our desperate situation. One thing about Niasse, he is fearless, will go up against the Red's finest (Man Utd, Liverpool), and the Blues (Man City, Chelsea), and Spurs. When he scored against Liverpool and Man Utd, it made me think different about him, notwithstanding his incompetence as professional football player as you said, can't keep the ball, or as I said, can't cross.

Niasse has simply not been given a chance, he has not played a single minute in the premier league under Ronnie, Ronnie made his mind up after a pre-season friendly and the lack of strikers has forced his hand. I also think the Barkley and Rooney episodes have made him have a rethink.

You can hardly defend Barkley and Rooney for their actions at the same time leave Niasse in the U23s.

Unsworth praised the guy for his attitude and yet Ronnie still said I do not care how many goals he scores, he will have to move to get first team football.

I would like Niasse to get a chance, get some goals, and stick it right up Ronnie's arse.

I bet Kitty or whatever his girlfriend's name is, will be delighted. I find the Oumar Niasse saga to have been one of the funnier ongoing issues at Everton, from the day we signed him entertainment value has been high.

Yet Rooney may just get a fine. Doesn't bother me if it's fair or not, just seems strange.

If he gets a game and scores then I suppose Ronnie will be praised. Maybe not. Niasse has some ability but a little like Traore who played one game, scored, got injured and then let go.

His height alone may help especially for defensive corners etc, but he lacks in other areas.

Don't ask him to whip crosses in or play intricate little passes. If he can do the absolute basics and knock a ball past a defender and run on to it, who knows what might happen!

Seeing as Niasse is the last Everton striker to score a goal in a victory against them since Andy bloody Johnson, I hope to god you are right!

The stone the builder refused turns out to be the head cornerstone. I hope. NSNO Coybs

Guy looks useless.

All we know is that he was voted Player of the Year in Russia, then we bought him, and he failed to impress after a very few games! Of course, he may have looked like Bambi on Ice in training, for all we know. But we don't actually know if that is true, or not...

I saw some of his goals for Hull, and even though he seemed to stumble into a few of those, he still scored them! Good enough to at least step in for us when some of our (hopefully) future strikers inevitably tire during a season when Everton actually plays more than the League games (+2 cup defeats...)! Crossing my fingers!

From what I've seen of Niasse if you had to point out his better attributes then heading wouldn't be in there. He runs the channels and has that unknown factor due to that well documented awkwardness.

Personally don't think his inclusion in first team training will come to much. He's just quite an average player who can have moments. Probably on par with a Jelavic.

I saw his 45 mins in last years pre season game. He was truly woeful. Though the shunning of him on that 45 mins was not really fair. For me, a major plus point, the guys attitude. He has knuckled down and put in some decent performances for the U23s including the Chelsea game which they won 3-0 recently. In that game he led the line well. That's running the channels though not as a traditional target man.

Am I the only one to wonder what would happen if Leighton was tried in left mid with maybe Galloway behind him?

Bythe way RK looked thoroughly p doff to me during the press conference. Maybe he's counting the days til he leaves.

He doesn't have the quality striker to play the formation he wants but he's going to play it anyway...

So there'll always be one up top, even if he has to resort to relying on a youngster and Niasse to do it.

He can hardly keep Niasse out with his private life, when Rooney is also doing the same, it's a case of Rooney headlines making Ronnie do a u turn on Niasse. Simple as that otherwise Niasse would still be out in the cold.

Oh, and Kenny set one of them up apparently. An even bigger omission I can't fathom...

The system, given the players we have available, seems far more of a problem. If we're going to stick with a ponderous, no width approach, the only viable option is Calvert-Lewin, with all the pressures that places on him.