Silva targets greater defensive solidity

It does appear sometimes that league positions wise progress has stood still or even gone backwards since the middle part of the Moyes era.

The league hasn't changed that much, the top 4 clubs were still usually head and shoulders above the rest but the biggest concern for me is we have fallen further behind the top 6 (of which under Moyes we used to be a regular part of).

Manchester City since 2010 have understandably left most trailing in their dust but we are now spending roughly on a par with say Tottenham and we still can't get near challenging.

It feels like looking back the Motes era did bring with it a level of stability if nothing else, we knew there was a glass ceiling but we knew we had the capabilities to challenge seriously for the top 5.

Everton as a club need a long period of stability now to start finding out exactly where it wants to be going and back up this lavish spending every summer with actually some positive progress on the pitch.

Is Silva is good enough to bring that stability over that time? Who knows but really we need to keep him here to find out.

It's one thing spending money like there's no tomorrow but sooner or later it has to have something to show for it rather than modest top 7 or 8 finishes with that glass ceiling starting it's formation for us again.

P.S.
A clean sheet might be a bloody good start too at some point!

It was only last week that all the players were banging on about how great the new regime was.

Stick with him. Getting very bored of this new Everton which can't stick with a manager.

Can't stick with a Manager? I think we need a Manager with a big stick.

Awww, ain't that tough.

But hey, it's well below the headline about the psychic predicting more trouble in the Rooney marriage, so this one won't keep me up tonight.

In saying that though, last weeks formation, or the manner in which both fullbacks were both going forward at the same time, was totally unacceptable for top level football, so maybe the players have a point?

I'm looking forward to today's game, Ive been looking forward to seeing how the manager and his players respond to last week. I know it's early days, but I honestly think we might learn a lot today?

I don't think our players are the quickest learners are they?

Maybe one reason why no manager seems to be able to get anything through to them.

"My players know my philosophy is offensive" (not to be confused with downright bloody rude)...."but if you don't concede goals then you are closer to winning matches".

Never mind roll on 4.00 pm think I will get some birch twigs to compound the misery. Up the blues

I know our rebuilding will take at least a year (at least) before we'd be ready to be able to challenge the Top 6 or top 4 or whatever, but the last thing we want now is a mutiny.
It irks me that we are 12th at the moment. Another loss and will we see people wanting Silva gone??

Are we any better off (points wise) than this time last year? It was in October that we sacked Koeman. I hope we find the "buzz" that we had in the first couple of games and get a result today.
We need two Brazilians on the pitch!!

It was the lack of a proven goalscorer that cost us. The closest we came to silverware was the Final and our best striker for years, the 48 year old Yakubu was injured.

Anyone who thinks Niasse, Tosun & DCL are good enough to take this team forward are well and truly deluded. I won't even start with the defence. Blaming Silva for this shambles is out of order, but you have to set your team up to play to their strengths, regardless of your 'philosophy.'

Maybe the new CEO will get a grip of things, that's if she's not kipping in the Park End this weekend for another charidee??

Still, early days in the Silva era, and we have to give him plenty of time to make something of this team.

The worrying thing for me last week, was the lack of movement in the team. Surely a team playing at this level can at least show for the ball, and move into space. It's basic coaching, but we don't seem to be able to even do that.

How about the players start doing some bloody running and hard yakka?
Or do they need someone telling them to do that also?

How many managers do we need to go through before the buck stops with the players shite attitudes?

I'd love to see Tim Cahill on that pitch today or Lee Carsley they would tolerate piss fart attempts from those in blue shirts.

Sadly that's not going to happen.

I'm already going off him. All this shite about telling the players not to concede goals - what? They're not fucking 5yr olds. The guy is Martinez MkII from what we've seen so far this season, and while I hope I'm proved completely wrong, I have zero faith in him. He stood on the sideline exactly like Martinez did last week against West Ham and watched us lose doing bugger all about it.

RS Lawro has us down for a 2-0 loss today and I'd say that's being generous.

Thank fuck you two don't play for Everton !
What odds will you give me Andrew for an Everton win today since you are so certain?

As Eddie says above it was suicidal defending pushing the wing backs so far forward against West Ham . I couldn't believe what I was seeing, how exposed we were.

We have pace and the goal threat it brings, there is no need for kamikaze tactics. Anyway, Digne looks capable of firing in a few killer crosses from slightly deeper . JJK can fire in a decent cross too.

I take the point of a world class CF would make a huge difference to us, but Tosun or Calvert-Lewin has to make the step up. The have to be worthy of being in an attack flanked by Walcott and Richarlison.

Arsenal are currently the weakest of the Sky6 and we can get back on track with a win there.

If true, it's a fucking disgrace and I hope Brand's steps in and tells them if they're not happy, they can go in January. That's if their agent's can get some other fucking mug to pay them the daft fucking wages we do!

That said, I'll remain calm coz it's a rumour in a dog-turd paper!

Can't see a clean sheet today. Just attack the fuckers! We never win there anyway, may as well go there fighting...

If you can't the heat, get out of the kitchen.

I'm not sure bookies should even bother trying to give odds on Everton wins away to Arsenal.

What other sport would someone gamble money on an event that hasn't happened since 1996?

There is really only one way to find out if Silva is as good a coach / manager as those in football reckons he is and that is to give him time.
It will take a few transfer windows to sort his own team.

Yes, we should have won out first two games being two nil up in both and on this occasions Silva was a touch niave for me.
Against West Ham, we were wide open but even then if we had taken our chances we would have won.

I think today we will score and Silva has been drilling players all week on their defensive responsibilities so I am hopeful we can go to Arsenal and get a result for the first time in many years.
6/1 in the bookies is worth a £10 for me.
Come on Everton.

Far to early to decide about Silva he needs time like any manager, getting anything out of the rubish left to him would be a miracle three managers have failed and imo the best managers in the world would struggle with them.

We will never agree with everything the manager does but at least lets give him the time he needs to produce a squad and team and get his ideas across.

I feel the imbalance in midfield doesn't help either. Schneiderlin and Gana has never worked, and never will. Gana is a great 'destroyer' but below average with the ball at his feat and erratic with his positioning. Schneiderlin is more composed on the ball, but maybe a bit static and doesn't press.

How we need a 30-year-old Barry – someone with experience and discipline, good on the ball and just enough 'dirty' to make life difficult for the opposition. Like Milner for Liverpool at the moment.

There has to be a balance between defending and attack and that has beeen Everton's downfall.
For many years our strikers have not scored enough goals to take the pressure of our defenders. We have too often been a single goal from defeat or a draw.

So said Pickford!!

I wonder whether he meant horizontal?
Just a thought!

"Are we any better off (points wise) than this time last year?"

We had 4 points after 5 games last year but we'd already played Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United away and Spurs at home.

Work in progress or not, our total of 6 points from the fixtures we've had so far is well below par - regardless of who the manager is.

If we don't start wasting teams like Fulham, West Ham at home then it's going to be a winter of discontent.

What the hell is going on at EFC??? I was so optimistic before the season started.

Ray #22, agree with you on Moyes, but much as I love Jags, I'd rank him behind both Baines and Lescott as the "best defender we've had in decades"-- and that's only two decades. If we go three he falls behind Watson and Ratcliffe as well. (BTW West Ham has also turned up against Chelsea today, 0-0 as I write this.)

Paul T, ouch, mate, that's the most acidic post I've ever seen from you. Bad mood today? Or an inkling of impending doom?

But I am with Oliver on this one, I see no reason why we cannot get amou got Arsenal and give it a go.

It was only a few seasons back when Martinez took a team there and we played them off the park with Arsenal struggling to even get hold of the ball, damned unlucky to only come away with a 1 all draw, but if we set up the same and have a bloody go, you just never know.

Pay them respect and back off and they will pick us off, we need to get into them and have a damn good go.

However, make no mistake Silva and Brands would be aware of social media forums opinions on the manager and his tactics through the club.

My acidic response was a build up from a few weeks of reading short-sighted, premature judgements of Silva, combined with the annual re-writing of our history under Moyes and his magnificent team of non-achievers.

I feel even better now. See you on the forum!

That's why we can be easy to play through and it won't change until the team has a strong spine.

I always appreciate your knowledgeable responses on here but think that, purely from a defensive point of view, that Jagielka was better than Baines or Lescott.

Baines is only half the player he was without Pienaar and his big selling point was his attacking prowess. Lescott was no better than Jagielka but scored goals. And he couldn't wait to jump ship.

Of course, if we go back 35 years, Ratters was better than all of them! (I wasn't really going back that far!!!)

Or, he will need at least three windows to bring in better players and address the culture of mediocrity that appears to have infected the club for many years.

I will not pass judgement 10 minutes into the game, for a stray pass or whatever.

For once, let's be positive and get behind the lads for 90 mins, and deal with jubilation or post mortem after the final whistle.

Also, Jonjoe Kenny's defending is so indecisive it's embarrassing for the kid – he doesn't know whether to come or go and, more often than not, makes the wrong choice.

Calvert-Lewin and Davies are not good enough to make an impact in the Premier League.

As I have said many times, we should have kept Rooney, Mirallas, and Bolasie and sent Calvert-Lewin, Davies, and Lookman out on loan.

So, is it all Silva's fault? And before anyone cites his records at Hull and Watford, I think it's important to realise that Hull were a lost cause before he took over but by heck they came close to salvaging themselves under his brief time there, which would have been a fantastic achievement. As it was, it was merely impressive. At Watford, until Everton came-a-calling he led a very impressive turn-around too.

Here, unfortunately, he's evidently therefore dealing with a different mindset among many of them still around Finch Farm, players and staff. That's a complacent, comfy, losing mindset IMHO and, until that changes, we're in for more of the same as the last three seasons have delivered.

A backline of Coleman, Mina, Keane and Digne hasn't even had the chance to train together, let alone play a match together; this shows us how early it is in the season.

Mina is on his way back but Coleman is injured.

Keane has just returned from a fractured skull.

Digne has had Zouma next to him in his few games, I'm sure next week that will change to Mina.

Basically he's had a makeshift backline containing 2 good prospects in Holgate (who would be my Number 3 ahead of Zouma) and Kenny who is now back in due to injury to Coleman. On top of that, had Mina or/and Keane been fit, Holgate may have rivalled or replaced Kenny in certain games at right back.

This season should be a walkover for Silva, so long as we don't finish outside of top 12 positions; he needs time to build up a poor Everton team.