Everton vs Lincoln City

On paper etc etc, well under that piece of paper hides the obvious FA Cup banana skin.

We could find a fish bone and choke on a jelly. (Jello for the yanks)...Everton That.

Regarding this game, and the FA Cup on the whole, we have to give it a run.

Our league position won't turn heads. We're now, thanks to a wonderful (cough-cough) Holiday season, en route to a 10th to 7th place finish.

Please Marco, I understand the need to rotate the players this game after a silly-busy festive season. But if you pull the same shenanigans in the FA Cup as you did the League Cup after this game, I'm going to fly over there and beat you with a blunt object.

As many have pointed out in the past, he has a good record in cup competitions against teams from lower divisions.

If Tosun plays, I can see him lounging about not getting a sniff and getting bullied by their defence. Cue a close 1-0 victory or an upset.

I agree that DCL should start. He's quicker and stronger than Tosun and has more chance of doing well in this match and becoming a useful player for us in the future. Other than that I think Lyndons team looks good to me. I hope Bernard and Lookman have good games.

Come on Marco no pissing about with this one, it is a must win game for lots of reasons.

These are the types of games where most of our players look amazing in (no disrespect to Lincoln at all) but the Premier League is a million miles away from League 2.

If we can't win this one then we have got problems.

Tosun or Calvert-Lewin, the manager needs to decide and stick with them today and for the next 6/7 games. Personally, I'd go with Tosun; two of our shots on target on that dire New Year's Day came from him. Zouma is the most solid centre-half, him and one other. Finally, Walcott has to be dropped now, dire recently.

In a nutshell, best team each week, with one game per week, and gain some consistency. COYB.

Usually against the likes of Rotherham or Sunderland (Cup last year) or teams of that kind of ilk our players look lethal and DCL looks like the next Ronaldo.

Hell will rise today if we lose. No doubt Lincoln will be set up to do a job and my fear is we may get bullied and we may not be able to handle them.

Also fitness wise, it will be interesting to see the tempo, of this game through out.

MS, please pick the strongest team today, no tinkering.

Not just for obvious reasons, but it will be hilarious watching Jim Bennings try to pretend he is happy when the guy he has singled out for criticism on an almost daily basis, puts paid to the ambitions of a manager he has spent the entire season fawning all over

All teams are forced to rotate through this busy period, but we have been forced to play players who are clearly not at their best because we don't have strength in depth.
Teams such as Spurs, City, Liverpool etc could play their 2nd team for an entire season and be comfortably in the top half of the table. Our 2nd team would get relegated in embarrassing fashion.
When attempting to rotate over the Xmas period we suffered a drop in standards, so instead we played players struggling with fatigue and also suffered a drop in standards.
Other clubs were able to deal with the busy schedule better than us. The difference in standard between our first eleven and second eleven is far too much, and Silva's inexperience at dealing with such a schedule may have been a contributing factor.
I think we will see performances pick up over the coming weeks, with players able to regain their optimum levels of fitness and without the need to rotate.

What about the fatigue we're suffering from watching this shite?

I've read some posts supporting this fatigue theory and just wonder how long it takes the professional player with all the support they have to overcome it?
Seems to me they've had it since the Huddersfield game-if not before

Stek; Coleman, Jagielka, Mina, Baines; Sneids, Davies; Calvert - Lewin, Siggurtson, Lookman; Tosun

Not a bad line-up against a team at Lincoln's level but gawd help him if they don't win !

Grow up mate!

I'd love to see DCL score the winner in EVERY game let alone the derby.

He had the perfect chance in the last minute in April against the Shite but was wearing his inflatable slippers as usual.

Subs
Stek, Keane, Dowell, DCL, Mccarthy, Davies, Niasse

We need to play a full strength team in our best formation, no messing around. Anything else will be a second big strike against Silva for me (the first was the selection of a back 3 vs Man City). At the start of the season, Silva pointed to injuries and the inability to pick a settled team as a reason for inconsistency. Now he is choosing not only to be inconsistent in team selection, but he is also changing the formation regularly. This makes it very difficult for the players. A manager's job is to give his players the best chance of success, and his decisions are not doing that at the moment.

Finally, we need to be prepared to be more direct. This may apply less today, but Premier League teams press, and we need to be able to make them think twice about that. At the moment, opponents' pressing is better than our passing, but we don't seem willing to make them have to adapt.

From world beaters to panel beaters in the blink of an eye.

I'm usually one of those who can't understand middling teams (let's face it) resting players for cup games - their only chance of any success. But in our case I think it makes sense.

Assuming they're all fit, I'd go:

Pickford
Kenny
Mina
Jags
Baines
McCarthy
Schneiderlin
Lookman
Bernard
Davies
DCL - needs a goal and has been rested

And if they can't beat Lincoln then we know we have some serious depth issues to go with our first XI problems.

Robles, Coleman, Baines, Jagielka, Funes Mori, McCarthy, Barry, Lennon, Barkley, Cleverley, Lukaku

Subs: Howard, Stones, Koné, Niasse, Besic, Deulofeu, Osman

Of that side; 11 have been sold, 1 has retired, 1 is out on loan, 4 are peripheral squad member, with only 1 current first team regular - Coleman. We've also sacked 3 managers since then and spent over 𧷤,000,000 on players.

A decent FA Cup run is long overdue!

Stek
Kenny
Keane
Mina
Baines
Lookman
McCarthy
Davies
Dowell
Niasse
Tosun

I wouldn't put anyone on the bench as an act of public humiliation.

However we should beat Lincoln, should on paper, but that's the beauty of the FA Cup, you never can tell.

I think we need to keep Ric and Gomes fresh so I'd rest them and it's a great opportunity to see if Mina can be the commanding centre back he should be against lesser opposition and for Lookman to start wide left. I think this is where he played for Liepzig and can be most effective.

I'd keep the rest pretty much the same from the weekend if all fit. Dowell has been loaned out so I hope he and the other loanees are able to play plenty of football including the FA Cup.

While we have beaten lower league opposition in recent seasons, those teams such as Sunderland, Rotherham, Yeovil and Dagenham & Redbridge, were all struggling for form in their leagues. Lincoln are the best team in their league and come to Goodison Park with the confidence which comes from winning.

I think Tosun should get a start. He looked relatively lively when he came on against Leicester and did more in those 20 minutes than DCL did in the whole match.

I don't think we'll have any problems today. 3-0

Confidence-boosting win, or bile-inducing struggle? Gonna be an interesting afternoon.

We haven't won a fa cup tie, for over two seasons, but we really need a run in the competition this season, more than ever.

I'd go for:
Stek
Coleman, Zouma, Mina, Baines
Davies, Gana, McCarthy
Lookman, DCL, Bernard.

Tosun on for DCL at half time if DCL isn't working and Gomes on last 30 for McCarthy as he tires.

I would have met you Dave @8, but I can't get away from my house until about 2:15 mate, so I just hope you enjoy your day.

I hope Silva picks a very strong team, we don't play again until next Sunday, when Solanke could make his debut for Bournemouth.

I've told her I'll go anywhere as long as it's before this crap season ends. Like Colin, I've had enough.