Silva realistic about Everton's top-six chances

We have players that can't put the effort in on a regular basis, for whatever reason I don't know.

Silva picks the team but once they set foot on the pitch it's down to eleven men in blue shirts to work hard and run hard, can they really hold their hands up and say they do that on a weekly basis?

We need probably six away wins from the remaining games on the road looking at the fixtures, given that there are some really tough home games (when you have a mental block against top six teams like we do).

Over the next two transfer windows we need to work on shaping a new right flank and yes that means Coleman will be a squad player like Baines from there on.

We need a top proven striker that makes a difference in the tight matches and games against the big boys when chances are sparse.

It's all well and good to say give this player or that player a run in the team, but the squad we currently have is only good enough for 7th at best.

Outside Richarlison and Sigurdsson we have little regular goal threat.

Brands and Silva will know this.

Couldn't agree more Marco, when are you going to start?

In fact, six of the ten most expensive squads in Europe belong to Premier League clubs, and you won't need more than one attempt to guess which six.

So, in the meantime, we should be looking to finish 7th every season. If we want to challenge the top six, we need to spend a lot more money and, possibly, that would include splashing out on a top six manager.

The Brighton games was 3 days after the Burnley win. How do you know which players were carrying knocks, strains, or simply fatigued?
The game has changed dramatically over the last 20 years. Players run so much further and complete 50-60 high intensity sprints in a match. It isn't possible for some players to recover sufficiently and perform at their optimum levels. The Christmas period always throws up results that are less likely at other times of the season.

Spurs thrashed us and Bournemouth but then lose at home to Wolves. Leicester beat Chelsea and City but then lose at home to Cardiff. Arsenal beat Burnley easily but then only drew with Brighton and got thrashed by Liverpool. Burnley got stuffed by us and then beat West Ham who had just earned a good win at Southampton.

Teams suffer unlikely results due to fatigue and forced rotation. The amount of games at Christmas is fun but ridiculous. You need real strength in depth to come through the Xmas schedule unscathed. We don't currently have that. Not even close.

Let's hope we start off today (2019) with a positive result.

COYB - NSNO

Ahhh, you have got to feel for the poor little darlings — such a hard life to earn their crust. FFS, get real lad.

I believe that, in Moshiri and Brands, we have two men at the helm who are determined to bridge that gap. I'm not so sure Marco is the man to fulfill these ambitions; only time will tell I suppose.

Surely any manager worth his salt at a club as big as ours should be aiming for the top four and the Champions League.

Calvert-Lewin was dropped and he was not bloody tired. Most can't be arsed that's the problem. We need two more top quality midfielders a striker and a new manager, FACT.

Mancini is a good shout; me personally, I would go for Conti ex-Chelsea boss – that bloke is a winner – pay him a small fortune

As far as I'm aware, we have not got the financial might of say Manchester City so, Jim Bennings, you might have to get used to seeing Coleman playing in an Everton shirt for a few more years yet!

I actually think Seamus will get back to the heights he was at before his horrific injury not that long ago.

You clearly don't understand the human body.

Seamus is 30 years old and off the back of a horrendous injury. His game was all about doggies up and down the wing, that's what made him the player we loved.

It's not a case of just “getting back at it”. The body won't allow it anymore and for the amount of time he's been below par now, it's no longer a confidence thing, it's now just simply where he's at.

He's a pretty bang average defender so, when you take away the strengths he once had, you are looking at a pretty average player.

Bang average defender?? Think you're well off there. What about Walcott having a mare front of Coleman week in week out leaving Seamus exposed and caught out of position because he wasn't able to keep possession!

If Silva stays, I suspect you'll get your wish to see the back of Coleman starting... but, with the right manager in place, I'll happily enjoy Seamus bomb up the wing for another few years!!!

His substitutions may exchange personnel but the team's style of play remains unchanged and so predictable. Looks like we have yet another dud in the gun barrel. I hope I'm wrong but I fear the worst yet again.

Top 10 is being optimistic at present.

If a player is fatigued, it doesn't make a bit of difference how much money he makes. It's such an ignorant complaint by so many. Are you suggesting that, because they earn lots of money, they shouldn't get tired?

It isn't necessarily the players complaining of fatigue. Often they feel fine and are probably desperate to play. It's the medical team that have 'fatigue monitoring systems', and it will be these experts who assess which players are able to perform at high levels for games in quick succession. Silva and his coaching staff will be made aware of which players have scored poorly during one of a range of 'fatigue monitoring systems'.

Fatigue diminishes and impairs performance, and it doesn't matter how pampered or overpaid these players are.

I believe we are currently witnessing a player struggling with fatigue in Gomes.

No, Chris, I am suggesting that, if they can't play 3 games of football in 10 days, they should find another way to steal a living.

You see it in all walks of life!! "Hey boss, can I have the day off tomorrow, please? I am a bit fatigued today as I have worked 3 times this week."

Of course the players can play 3 games in 10 days. Many have just played 3 games in 7 days!

The fact is that they can't play all 3 matches at their optimum levels of fitness. We've just witnessed 3 or 4 players struggling with what was undoubtedly differing levels of fatigue. Whether you want to accept it or not, it will have a negative impact on their performances.

It doesn't excuse our piss-poor recent form, all teams have to deal with it, but it is the reason we have to rotate and sometimes change a winning team. Which was the initial point I was making.

I'm quite sure teams who are playing in European competitions and who have had longer cup runs than us have players who have played more games than ours. So why have they not won once in seven, is it?

Watching Calvert-Lewin again today it was clear he doesn't have the movement of a top number 9, he has ability at holding up the ball and flicking on headers, but he's too slow at anticipating were the ball is going to drop in our penalty box.

Theo is poor imo, he's a speedboat with no driver, a headless chicken who runs about at the speed of light, receiving plenty of the ball in attacking areas yet doing nothing with it.

Richalison is our best attacker, but he's only 21, he quite often gets it wrong when he has a decision to make, but he will learn and his desire to do well can't be denied.

Everything else is okay, yes we can improve in other areas, but as long as we're not scoring our chances we won't ever do anything.

Lookman needs chances when he's back, maybe him on the flank with Bernard, and Richarlison back up top.

We cannot get to 7th. We are getting beat by West Ham, Leicester and somehow got out of jail against Watford. Drew against Huddersfield at home and gotten beat by Brighton (all not top-six teams).

Why are you seeking excuses for a top-six then? Nail down the 7th place first; don't we have enough signings for that?

Coleman, in my opinion was only ever good with rightZZ back cover (Hibbert). His injury had nothing to do with his bad form, he was way off his game well before his injury.

He seems like a nice fella, but I'm afraid there's no room for sentiment if you want a successful team.

I rate Lookman, and think he could slot on to the right wing no problem. And put Walcott, in more an attacking position, Number 9.

I know you rate the lower divisions, Jim, what do you think of Norwood, Tranmere? Only 28, knows were the net is. On BT 1 Friday, FA Cup, playing Spurs, have a look. Remember Vardy? Not long ago, he was playing in Fleetwood.

You only rated Coleman as cover for Hibbert?

I don't think I've ever read such crap. He has been an absolutely outstanding player for years.

I think your post is the most annoyingly moronic thing I've read in weeks!

And it seems many of us believe all of it some of the time, some of it all the time, but thankfully, we have ToffeeWeb!

Silva is right: we are nowhere near good enough for the top 6. We are bad enough for the bottom 6, though – and that's the worry.

And don't anyone harbour any ambitions about winning the FA Cup... because, providing we beat Lincoln – and that won't be easy because he 'll make big changes because our poor players are 'fatigued' [laughs] –the sooner we come up against anyone half decent... we're out!

👏👏👏👏

Spot on.

Your man Hibbert would fit into any Tony Pullis side.

I'm not blaming the players. I'm pointing my finger at our manager. Pick your formation using our best 11 players. Rotation is fine if they are similar players.

Against Brighton, he completely abandoned the set-up and threw on all forwards instead of just freshening things up and having a game plan. We lacked an intensity in the final 3rd, not fixed just by throwing on 3 forwards. He isn't good enough I'm afraid.

Putting 3 at the back suits our players. Every forward player we have prefers playing more inside. Lets take some of the defensive duties from them and allow them to be creative. Let them press from the front and not have them run the length of the pitch tracking back. Am I the only one that sees this? If I had hair I'd tear it out.

I know if we had a first half like that with Moyes in charge we would of improved after the break. Why no changes at half time in shape or personnel? Perhaps Silva is a good coach, we seemed to be improving and the players seemed to be listening to him. It appears to be that he simply isn't capable of motivating the players or of finding a formation that works.

The players look tired and so does the manager. He has to change things around and also show he is able to change things mid game. So far, not even close.

If we have another month like our last one, he will be gone. Over to you Marco. Unsworth deserves another go till the end of the season. Looking at Silva on the touchline, I have no idea what he's thinking... maybe he's wondering what's for tea?

I'm not angry, Joe. Maybe you and above post misunderstood what I meant (or I misworded it).

I'm saying Coleman, was good going forward on the right wing, but he was no good defending (wingback) and the best I saw of him was when he had cover at right back from Hibbert.

As for Hibbert, Joe, he was no slouch and always gave 100% and was very underrated in my opinion.

But we're talking about the past and, as nice a fellow as Coleman is, I think it's wrong to say that his form only dipped since his bad injury occurred; I'd say he was well off pace prior to that. In my opinion.

One of my biggest annoyances is when fans glibly spout out old gems like “there's no passion”, or “they don't run hard enough”, or “they don't try”.

We are not privy to the stats or athletic performance numbers of the players. No stone is left unturned these days, and the backroom army of sports scientists will know exactly how much effort every player is putting in and how fatigued they are (yes, there are many scientific ways of assessing this).

Of course, the players are well paid athletes… but then so are all the competition! Trying to be fitter than other teams is almost an impossibility these days. Every team knows exactly what it takes to get players to maximum fitness, and how to evaluate the precise fitness of every player. If a player isn't 100% fit, or isn't “trying”, it will be hard to hide it.

So obviously fitness isn't everything. Quality counts too. You can expend less energy than the opposition by keeping the ball and making them chase it. Running around like a headless chicken expending vast amounts of energy is not going to help win a game. It's the combination of quality, football nouse, tactics and fitness that make the difference.

And this is where I will have my personal moan now. I'm not going to say the players aren't trying (they obviously are) or that they aren't running enough (they are). My criticism is aimed squarely at the manager now. He is the one who must get the most out of the players we have. I honestly believe this group of players is amongst the best we have had since the 80s. Way better than anything we had under the Moyes era.

I believe that our net spend over the last 5 years is 𧶃 million, which is 㿂 million more than Liverpool. Spurs' net spend over the same period is a paltry 㾾 million. Only Man Utd and Man City have vastly outspent everybody else. Now that isn't all down to Silva, but we have a team that is massively underperforming in my opinion.

I was never keen on Silva (his stats aren't very impressive), and the fact that he hasn't got a single extra point (with these players) than Fat Sam, Unsworth & Koeman got at the same point in last season is woeful.

The only positive is that we have got a group of talented players now, and practically all our recent signings are playing regularly and are not ‘duds'.

I also hate short-termism, so I'm not calling for Silva to go now. He's got the rest of the season to prove he's worth keeping. Anything less than 8th with these players and the money we've spent, and then I'll say Silva's got to go.

As a curator of the posts on here, it is somewhat annoying to continuously read the hugely inaccurate characterizations of the players and particularly the effort they put in. Players are far too easily described in the terms you identify, or worse, simply described as "shit" by the less refined knee-jerkers who come on the post-match thread to vent their frustrations.

I will admit there was one crucial moment when it did seem that effort was lacking on Tuesday, and that was the absolute peach of a cross Bernard drilled in. Maybe Calvert-Lewin was a foot or two away from where he needed to be, and that was the reason why he failed to show any inclination or desire to attack the ball?

There are moments like that throughout any game where it seems, with a little more effort – or is it anticipation? – the player would be in a better position to receive the ball. Colin Glassar posted yesterday of the drills the top managers have their players execute:

"Their teams would practice passing, patterns and movement off the ball for hours on end until it became second nature. Their players could find each other blindfolded."

If it's not lack of effort and they really are putting in 100% every game, is this where our critical focus should be?

Allardyce can say what he likes about 'winning ugly' but his run of results during this period last season was rubbish as well and from beating Swansea at home on the 18th December, We didn't win another game until the home game v Leicester when Coleman returned on the 31st January. That included spankings from Arsenal and Spurs when the games were done by half time and horrow shows at West Brom(home and away) and at Bournemouth . He then claimed something like that he had to get back to defending because the attacking stuff wasn't working. Plus the two big money forwards he bangs on about signing are a major part of the problem lately.

Some great points made in various posts above which I don't intend to dissect but for me, he needs time and a chance to construct his own team.

Cap duly doffed. A thoughtful, well-constructed post. Very enjoyable read.

Sports science is extremely sophisticated these days and the monied clubs of the PL - and that very much includes Everton - monitor all you mention constantly.

You only have to look back at the videos of pre-season training and the first-day-back tests the club ran on every player to see evidence of this.

I also agree that we have talented players at the club, but since the game at Anfield, Silva is not getting a consistent tune out of them which he was very much doing going into the Derby game.

Now of course, a fixture list of 7 games in the month of December and 4 in 10 days is going to impact on the physical state of the players, no matter what the TW equivalent of Monty Python's Four Yorkshiremen sketch say in making futile comparisons to other job types.

That impacts on all teams who are similarly fatigued, having had to play the same number of games, so that doesn't excuse Everton.

As Silva's own post-match quotes said yesterday, the players are inhibited and not relaxed and anxious about making mistakes playing at Goodison.

That clearly suggests to me that it is a psychological problem, not a physical problem. And sadly, an issue of long-standing with Everton players (and managers!).

Players made of sterner stuff would not have had a confidence crisis and a collapse of form as we have seen since the 96th minute of the Anfield game. The Everton of the 1980s certainly wouldn't have and we would see more in-game angry reaction to their own players from the many leaders that team possessed to any dropping of standards.

So talented, fit players, I believe we have. It is sufficient numbers of players with the stomach for the fight, in all circumstances, I think we are most lacking.

I agree with a lot you say about players will be monitored on a daily basis regarding their fitness. There are also plenty of opta stats that lists how far each player has ran in a game and many other statistics that coaches and managers will look at after games. You also say that its probably the best squad we have had in years, and again hard to argue given the little money that Moyes had to spend. So if these players are so much better than what we have had as you rightly say, and stats prove its not lack of effort then why do you think given what you have said that they are under performing.

I know you don't rate Silva,but having listened to quite a few professionals who played for him they rate him very highly namely Deeney from Watford and Mason who played at Spurs under Pochettino before playing under Silva at Hull. Also as you say you are not suggesting sacking Silva now but you are only prepared to give him to the end of the season. Well if we apply that logic this Country would never have seen Ferguson win all that he did or have seen our most successful manager Howard Kendall. As it took both quite a few years to turn around under performing clubs.

Now I hope Silva will do that at Everton but I cant be sure he will, but giving a manager 1 year to prove himself with such a big turn around in players is asking more than Ferguson or Kendall did and both became legends.

In contrast, when things are going well and the team is gelling, playing as an effective unit, working like a machine for each other, players make the ball do more of the work, the physical effort produces more dividends, they just find it easier and more enjoyable, and we supporters can see it straight away. Then, we're all cooking on gas, God is in his heaven, and all's right with the world.

Before the Derby, quite a few games were like that, and even if you didn't see all the games you could see the overall positivity on this site. This spirit extended into the Derby itself, where IMO we played the best Derby game we've played for a very long time, including some very impressive classy football that I think surprised many people.

I was really chuffed with that performance, proud of it, but of course we had the daft mistake (a random error, not a systemic problem, shit happens sometimes) in the final minute. And I think it's knocked us, all of us, club and supporters, for six.

For me, we were progressing nicely up to that point, but now the wheels seem to have fallen off for some reason, and it is certainly not due to players suddenly deciding that in December they won't try so hard. It must surely be the mental problem of disappointment that can be hard to recover from. But we surely can recover from it, regain our composure and resume some momentum.

Yes I agree. Psychology is huge, but I'll bet EFC have access to sports psychologists (no stone unturned)!

When things are going well, it's a positive feedback loop, and subconsciously I'm sure players work a bit harder, and probably more efficiently.

At the Anfield derby we went toe to toe with the team currently flying high at the top of the league and matched them for much of the game. I was so impressed that day, and I'm convinced our players can do that regularly.

I don't want to be down on Silva, and if players who have been managed by him rate him, then who am I to argue. But he knows better than anyone where we should be with what we've got.

Let's give him time; I don't think anyone is seriously suggesting otherwise. TBH I wouldn't be wanting him to get the boot even if we finish lower half table this season (but it won't help the cause re. keeping and attracting players if we do). It's next season that he will really be judged on.

“We knew before the match what they [Leicester] came here to do” he said.

“We know, because of how they respect us, how they will come here to play. They started the game with a 4-5-1, blocking the space and waiting for our mistake.

“We made a mistake and they scored in that moment, which made things more difficult for us and after that we didn't create the good moments to change the result for us.

“But we have the quality to do different things in our attack, to show more creativity. We have players to do that.

“This afternoon wasn't the best for some of them, but it is my job to work with them and pass this confidence to them.”

I think he fairly assesses and analyses the game. He clearly knows where we went wrong. I can see Moyes focusing more on "They started the game with a 4-5-1, blocking the space and waiting for our mistake" and saying that he would make sure we didn't make any mistakes in the next few games, cue a load of boring 0-0s transitioning into 1-0s. Silva seems to still focus on the attacking aspect. Clearly, he thinks that had we been better in the final third, then we'd have scored the first goal and then we'd have won as Leicester offered little going forwards up until their goal.

If you look back to the poor results this season, against team you would expect us to beat, and analyse what went wrong, you could sum it up that Everton could simply not find their way through a tight and compact defence. And those we lost by adding that they capitalised on a poor defensive mistake.

There is a worrying trend there. Defensive lapses aren't just the fault of the defence. Against Leicester Keane made an absolute howler, but there was no insurance policy, Vardy was given a dream of an opportunity. All his pace and all that space to run into. It's not how I would want my team to defend.

I think Silva believes we can play better, that the players are capable of better, that these bad games we have lost only by one goal (except the West Ham game) and so we can get the first goal and turn even defeats into wins.

I think I'd prefer to dig out a 0-0 against Bournemouth, but the way they play, I suspect it'll be perfect for Silva's Everton, as they will not sit back tight and compact, they will try to play and so we should be able to beat them at home.

Paul @41 a well written post but most athletes would record better numbers on all these systems and machines than any footballer; I doubt they would make better players. To be fair, you do mention quality and this the most important thing as fitness can be gained in my opinion.

PE teacher coaching and blackboard coaches have let many a player slip through the net for not being tall enough, strong enough, or not having lightening pace at a certain age with their ability and vision being overlooked.

I imagine even the football innocent, Moshiri, is unlikely to keep pouring his fortune down the drain by backing this manager to achieve anything more that mediocrity. The popular fan belief that only when the entire team is made up of a manager's 'own players' went out of the window when signings became the responsibility of a Football Director. "His players, not mine" is the now the mantra of many departing managers throughout the leagues and will, no doubt, be one Silva will not be slow to rely on when his time comes.

I think most of us consider Everton's Director of Football to have done a more than decent job last summer although it appears Silva considers it inadequate for his needs. "I need more players to get above seventh" he's saying. Truth is, his brand of team selection, set up and tactics will be lucky to get us top half !

Off with his head, I say!

So Leicester came “waiting for our mistake”. That leaves us with two options: either score a couple of goals early, or don't make the bleedin' mistake.

We are committing footballing suicide in most games. The purpose of a defence is to stop the other team from scoring. I appreciate that, if the defenders retain and use the ball well, then the opposition will be drawn forward, creating space. However, it needs very skilled, confident footballers to do so, and we don't have them.

Neither Keane nor Mina look comfortable with the ball at their feet, Coleman has been struggling, yet they persist in playing dangerous passes between each other, clearly under orders. It's daft.

When such mistakes are added to the zonal marking inadequacies, the continued failure of defenders to act to a loose ball in the penalty area, and Pickford's errors, we are gifting tight games to our opponents. And every game is tight.

I'm not having a go at you, Steve, we had a good chat when we met in the summer, but it is extremely worrying that we seem to have another purist manager who will not open his eyes to the very obvious flaws and limitations in his thinking.

Now you could think well because of how well we played earlier in the season and especially against Liverpool, teams are playing a lot more defensively against us and that is in some way a compliment. But if we constantly fail to break down teams who play this way, then it will become a template for most visiting teams outside the top 6.

So now Silva and his coaches and players will have to find a way of opening teams up who play this way. This is something the top 6 have experienced for years, but it's relatively new to us.

I think part of the problem is we lack goals, especially from the front 3, and this means that we are trying to set up tap-ins and against a packed defence to do this you have to be very clinical in front of goal. Which this season has highlighted we are definitely not clinical enough in front of goal, you just have to look at the chances we have spurned in virtually every game.

If we can agree our footballers are technically okay for 7th place but don't have much bottle, why even consider a new manager?

He's making do; you can't change a manager a season because they finish 9th rather than 7th... come on!

Silva is incapable of motivating a disheartened team.

Because of this we don't have the pace or desire to get in behind these teams down the flanks.

We don't have enough goalscorers in the team. After Siggy and Richy (who hasnt had a decent game in the last three) we don't have anyone who you would bet on to score a good chance let alone a half chance.

Silva is not yet showing what we need from a manager but if he can get the right players he may just get the results.

Come on Brands get with the program.

On another note, the big game today will be a 0-0 but if there is a goal you just know it will be RS getting it with 2 minutes to go

Everton currently have as many points as last season when Everton fans were already deriding the decision to appoint big Sam. Yet, Everton with him were able to beat West Ham, Leicester and most other teams at home to finish 8th. Everton will do well to finish 8th this season.

The season started badly with 6 points from 6 games but has only got marginally better with 21 points in the last 15 matches with just 1 win in 7 matches. These type of results get managers sacked with clubs with high expectations. Unless Silva can spectacularly turn Everton's fortunes around in the last 17 matches of the season, it would be a risk having him manager next season.

Everton fans may crave after good attacking football but it's the results that count at the end of the day, and Everton's return of 27 points from 21 games are not just not good enough, which proves that Everton are not playing good football just the illusion of it, because in too many games, passes have gone astray and Everton don't have a goal scorer who can put chances away.

I know if I was Moshiri I'd be pulling my hair out. On his 4th manager, 100s of millions spent and still no discernible progress since the day he took over. It's lucky he doesn't run the rest of his businesses like he's running Everton or he would be bankrupt by now and wouldn't be able to waste his cash on Everton.

All he needs now is Lincoln City to knock us out of the FA Cup to put the cherry on top of his misery cake.

Of course, the fact remains that both he and our distinguished chairman are totally clueless when it comes to football matters -as their appointment of the last four managers will attest. Now before the usual TW question, 'who would you appoint then ?'comes flying in I can only say that those who have to find the wherewithal to pay these goons are in it to fail if they can't find a better pick for the job than ANY they've come up with so far.

That off my chest, I now await the onslaught from the 'give him time' wallahs. Personally, I wouldn't give Silva and his ilk the time of day. Clueless and inadequate just about sums up the lot of them !

Other managers in this league of shall we say 'lesser teams' will especially at Goodison come to nullify us, which given our scoring options is not particularly difficult.
Any manager will struggle if the forwards cant find the net and at the moment we haven't a 10+ goalscorer never mind a 20+ one.
Richarlison, Gomes and Bernard were playing well earlier in the season and getting plenty good publicity, any opposing manager worth their salt will attempt to nulify their influence and this one reason why they may have lost some form.
We should stick with Silva and support him, another change would be bordering on the ridiculous, thats not to say that I'm overly impressed with him but time will tell if he's up to the job.

Everyone is pissed off but sacking him is not right. Think about most of the games, if we had a real top striker with the balls coming in we would be well that table. Against the RS we should have won or a 2-2 draw at worst. Again against the teams that came here and shut up shop a top striker would unsettle them and find a way. It is imperative that we have a top striker.

No, the evidence is in front of the eyes of this Toffee. Too many in FF seem weak, play weak, and speak weak, lately on a weekly basis.

And if anyone thinks the manager's responsible alone, well, I doubt it, for now. There's still too much dead wood at FF to make a good ship Everton.

Now you couldnt say that about us could you.

Emery is only in 5th with Arsenal but I would have broken the bank to get him in instead of Silva.

Silva has previous which should have been a warning sign to us but as usual we take the easy lazy way of appointing people.

I would at least give him till the end of the season but the pressure is already on and he doesnt handle pressure well.

For me, the most telling moment in the match was immediately after Leicester scored. I watched intently at every Everton player and their body language spoke volumes about what is wrong with us at present. They trudged back to the centre circle, shoulders drooped, heads down, hands on hips, as if they were just accepting their fate. No urgency, no geeing each other up, no defiance, no spirit. My eyes instantly turned to Silva and the bench, either they were in shock, or their reaction was the same as the players, nothing. I turned to my nephews next to me and said, "Just look at them, we are not coming back from this, Oh for a Tim Cahill to inject some fight into them."

I'm wondering is this all an aftermath of the Liverpool defeat? It's certainly true that a victory at Anfield could have spurred us on to greater things this season, but this of course is just speculation. We need a reality check and fast. Silva needs to show more passion and commitment, if only to appease the fans.

He needs to toughen up his selection decisions and be prepared to drop players not pulling their weight, or having a dip in form. It occurs to me that Richarlson will not be dropped at any cost regardless of poor performances. That is bad management and will cause discontent with other fringe players. Nobody should be above a spell on the bench. In short, we are desperately short on team spirit and passion. Wasn't it supposed to be Duncan Ferguson's job to be the role model and Mr Motivator? If not, would someone explain to me exactly what it is that we employ him as please?

Derek suggested none of the top six sides would stand for this and I was merely pointing out that Chelsea have hit a similarly bumpy stretch that, by their standards, may have done irreparable damage to their season (and for the record, the gap between them and first is the same as the gap between us and 6th, so you can't very well say they're still title contenders but our season is effectively over). And yet, the notion of sacking Sarri is rightfully seen as absurd.

He has stuck to the same 14/15 players and rarely in the good run, when we were playing once a week did he rest a player or two with a heavier schedule in the offing.

He clearly neither rates or trusts players outside this group. In playing a semi-fit Gomes, rushing back Gana he has deprived Davies and others of match time. Gomes looks ruined yet he believes he's better than a fully fit McCarthy, Schniederlin or Davies.

Tinkering with the system twice over Christmas when we have no time bed it in has only made the team more dysfunctional. It just adds to the mental strain.

In the poor run he has also stuck with players woefully out of form, Walcott & Coleman, having the twin effect of running them into the ground and not using fresh replacements.

So yes fatigue hit us hard after losing at Mordor, but in truth it was already there but the psychology of winning had kept us going to that point.

Silva has managed what he has poorly and has paid a price over and above the easy excuse of a heavy schedule something all teams have had to handle.

He needs to show a more controlled hand in the next month and get results and base to work from. Because failure to gain a decent haul will see us face 5 games at home we could easily get nothing from.

The lack of marking the opposing striker in the middle when we are not in possession of the ball baffles me no matter which pair of centre backs we play.

I wonder is it just bad defending believing they have them covered or tactical 'zonal benefits' I'm yet to be convinced of?

With defenders and goal keeper making so many errors we will continue to leak goals. Stop the fancy stuff and just defend.

As for getting a proven, experienced, quality striker in Jan I just can't see it. I said on another thread Charlie Austin for a plan B or C but I don't think that would be a fans favourite but with good service he'd score.

And that's my final point. So many goals are scored by getting bodies in the box and with good quick delivery. We appear to have stopped crossing the ball but in Digne, Baines, Kenny and Sig we have some excellent crosseers.

Watching City, Liverpool, Utd, Spurs, so many goals from open play with good early delivery knowing they will have a few players galloping into the box. 5ft sterling scored such a simple goal against us not through skill or mesmerising play but a simple quick cross.

Has the play been to central since Gomes has been playing? He's a quality player but Walcott and Berni or Ric are playing to narrow. We need to mix it up a bit.

46 is the number. More than any other premier league player. Perhaps you might revise your position.