Silva: The players and fans deserved this win

Keep the momentum going now. A lot of winnable fixtures coming up.

No-one, including Silva himself, is getting carried away after today's result against a struggling Burnley, just as most people weren't panicking when we lost so heavily to a resurgent Spurs team who are currently looking the most likely challengers to Liverpool for the Premier League title.

It is going to be up and down at times so we might as well enjoy the ride, be patient when we need to be and trust that the club is being taken in the right direction.

Good job, Silva, and I like that you say that the team is constantly learning. Hope Silva and the boys get a couple of days of rest and recuperation.

He has in the past seemed to persist with a team/formation that clearly didn't work, and expect it to, against different opposition.

Having watched the Brighton v Arsenal game, they kept Arsenal reasonably quiet, while managing to equalise the score, and maintain that to the end.

As you so rightly pointed out the travelling blue support, were in full voice, hope it was not just due to the alcohol imbibed during the festive period. I don't know how many games you manage to watch, but recently Goodison Park has been relatively quiet, mind you, they haven't had a lot to sing about.

Hopefully that is condemned to the past, but I wouldn't get over-hopeful until they can prove to do it on a regular basis.

Everything finally clicked yesterday and it was about time.

The big test though is as others state, we have got to do it against Brighton and Leicester now and start mounting a series of results to keep pressure on the teams around us.

Brighton at the Amex is a real tough test as they have acquitted themselves really well at that place since they won promotion, and Leicester are coming to Goodison off the back of two mammoth results.

Let’s see what we can do.

This formation brings the best out of our squad and I'd be disappointed if he changed back to 4-2-3-1. How much better did the full backs look? How much better did Bernard and Walcott look not stuck to the sides?

With 3 strong centre-backs and a strong midfield this gives us a base to win every game. The only change to make against stronger opposition would be with Gana coming in to help win the ball back in midfield. This will also help to improve Calvert-Lewin.

I've been worried about Silva over the last few games if he could watch and learn. The last game he stood on the sidelines and it didn't seem as though he had any answers. This surprised me.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the same formation against Brighton but with a few changes that won't weaken us. Like Richarlison and Gana coming in. Maybe even Jagielka and Baines. We are a team and squad in transition but learning. It's a good sign to see a performance like that after our recent run.

Mina played brilliantly, Bernard was near his best, Walcott was sharp, Digne played like we know he can, the tactics worked, we played to nullify the opponent's strengths, and so on...

Let's hope we can keep the momentum going against our next two opponents who have both had pretty good results recently.

Maybe we should threaten Silva with the sack next time we face the sky babes? You never know what might happen. Just saying like...

Highly entertaining work in progress; let's hope the good players buy into our project and don't leave us in the summer or we'll have to start from scratch again...

Derek, give Evertonians something to shout about and they will back their team as good as anyone. It's something we both know, mate, and it saddens me that so many of our younger supporters (fuckin* thousands) have never seen the joy that winning trophies brings.

They still stick with their club though; they suffer loads of pain but they always come back for more, and this is what makes Everton FC special imo, it's because of our fantastic support.

I'm glad Silva mentioned both the players and the fans in the same sentence because, if we are to become successful again, then it will be a joint affair.

I also like his after match interview where he addressed the dire performance at Spurs in his first few comments, showing he appreciated the hurt from that performance and got on with addressing it. A refreshing change from recent years when a succession of players would have been sent out to media to explain ‘how they were going to put it right for the fans' whilst the manager ducked any responsibility. At least he is showing he can change things between games.

Interesting to look at some of the Burnley forums after the game calling for Dyche to be sacked and, amazingly, some even calling for Allardyce. For sure there will be some setbacks and maybe Silva may ultimately not be the final answer but I would rather be watching the current football than the rubbish we were served with last season. Hopefully more of the same in the next two games but the Leicester game in particular will be a real test.

With playing 3 at the back it allows the fullbacks to play in a more advanced starting position which in turn allows Bernard to play more inside which plays to his strengths. As he can hurt teams a lot more than he can when stuck out wide.

I said a few weeks back the time to judge Bernard is next season; this season is all about him getting used to the pace and physicality of the Premier League. We have seen some really gifted players struggle in their first season Henry and Courtinho spring to mind again both forward players.

I would also add that if we had been playing with a back 4 yesterday, Lucas Digne would not have been in that position to score his second goal.

I haven't read anything from the Calvert-Lewin knockers yet – he has started to play pretty well in the last few games... keep it going, lad!!

If we did opt to use it more often, then maybe we could do worse than look to bring in Moses from Chelsea who is available. To use 3-4-3, Coleman would need to improve.

It also brings doubts about midfield. Gana can't be dropped as he is so important for us to win the ball back, especially against teams with stronger midfields. But where would that leave Sigurdsson?

Hopefully, over time, we are able to switch formations depending on the opposition, or how a game is panning out.

Then there’s how it defends. The Liverpool front three would go man for man on our back three and the wing backs would be pinned back by the Liverpool fullbacks. There’s no spare man back there.

In a back four there’s two centre backs, marking a the central striker and the full backs dealing with the wide men with support from the wingers who stop the fullbacks. We’ve got an extra man back there. Whilst also having gueye and Gomes dropping in to help and to bring the ball out.

4-2-3-1 is a more solid formation that deals better with a 433 and it gives you more men in defence and more men in attack.

Also, what’s the big deal about 6th? We got 5th under Martinez. What did that get us? 4th is what we want. Champions league football, the money and the glory that brings. I couldn’t care about breaking the top 6 cartel as breaking into the champions league is what matters. So, for me, it’s all about closing the gap, in terms of points and not position, on 4th. 55 this season. 65 or 60 the season after then on for 70+ the season after that.

The 3 centre-backs vs Man City and the similar set up vs Burnley were NOT the same. Against City, the fullbacks kicked on too far and Gomes and Sigurdsson – in the absence of the protector Gueye – were swamped in midfield and we were over-ran. Added to that, the centre-backs were not in sync as to where their default position should be in such a set-up. We only got a foothold in that game after going 2-0 down and reverting to a flat back four.

Yesterday against Burnley, the three centre-backs played much more in sync and out of possession, the full-backs 'stayed at home' and Gomes and Sigurdson also sat deeper. We were far more compact than against City and for the most part comfortably repelled all Burnley could throw at us.

On the offensive, Calvert-Lewin led the line well and offered an out ball, whereas when we won the ball Bernard and Walcott did not stick to the flanks, but came inside and went in search of the ball.

The tanking to Spurs and yesterday's opposition persuaded Silva to make these changes. I don't see the need to go with 3 at the back again against Brighton at the weekend, recalling what we did to them in the game at Goodison with a flat back four and Silva's more familiar midfield and forward set-up.

Perhaps it's because we were more direct with our possession rather than constantly recycling the ball. That might of given me the illusion that it was a fairly even battle. (Btw, I'm all for getting the ball forward at pace before a defence has time to retreat and set into position.)

We conceded a number of good opportunities but for once we got the rub of the green.

I don't know. I just don't think it was as dominant a display as the score line suggests.

But a win's a win and I'm happy with that.

I'd be cautious about declaring “this is the system”. If we are to play this system away to lower positioned clubs, I think we might be better suited with Jonjoe Kenny at right-back as his delivery seems better and he doesn't have to be as defensively disciplined.

It ‘worked' yesterday due to Burnley's limitations. Poor passers in the middle of the park and often bypassed by long diagonals.

Steve's point about the quality on the ball of the three at the back is key. A back three needs balance and at least one left-footed centre-back. Personally, I think one genuine centre-half and hybrids that play between full-back are the better, more modern version. It gives mobility and better passing.

I would expect, against a better ball-playing side in Brighton, we see a formation change.

I've always thought of 3 central defenders as meaning an extra defender when defending (i.e 5) and wing backs that play higher up the pitch when attacking, which means the best of both worlds when you get it right, but it really needs 2 great wing backs and Coleman is not at that level at the mo.

The central midfielders need to know their jobs when we play 3 at the back. I don't know how Silva managed to include Sigurdsson, Bernard, Walcott and Gomes in the central areas yesterday as I've only seen the highlights but it worked well. Sigurdsson must be the hardest working number 10 with the ground he covers!

If you look at the players' average positions yesterday, Sigurdsson and Gomes have classic 8 and 10 positions. Interestingly Walcott's average position is more central than Bernard and Coleman's is higher than Digne!

Hope you have got through Christmas okay, by the way.

On principle I do not like a back 3 as it leaves so much space behind the wing-backs.

It is okay against a team like Burnley who are poor this season and tend to play long balls up to the big forwards but Brighton with Knockeart, Marsh, Izquierdo etc are very prominent on the wings so I believe we must start with a flat back 4 and I would even consider bringing Bainesy in to play just in front of Digne.

I know Silva must find it hard to leave Mina out but our best centre-back pairing has been Keane and Zouma.

Seamus has struggled the last few so I would also consider Kenny or Holgate to tighten up defensively.

Our strength has been hitting teams on the break so it will be important to keep it very tight in the ball-winning department.

I rest my case; over to you, Marco.

What will we get next?

Tottenham was a shock to the system and they boys deserve great credit for bouncing back . Tottenham are a really good side at the moment, the best side we have played this season Liverpool and Man City included, and will give the title shot a damned good go. Against Burnley we showed we have quality to rip into any team outside the top 4, so despite the 2-6, I think we are still on the right path.

We are yet to see where we end up for the remainder of the season. I hope we can finish above Arsenal and Leicester. To put it plain and simple, Leicester is our closest rivals and perhaps even West Ham.

As for the formation it worked well, this may have been as Burnley like to play direct route one football that bypasses midfield and give the ball away often. We used the wingbacks well and were able to get them involved in good forward positions. How well we keep the ball is the important thing.

Its nice that teams are kept guessing and maybe concerned with how we lineup rather than us being concerned with opponents formations.