Southampton vs Everton

I watched Southampton against Derby in their replay on Wednesday, and while the team will be different for Saturday, I suspect a few of them will play. It was interesting to see in that match the impact that Redmond had on the game, when he came on as sub in the second half.

I think this is a winnable game, given that they have some injuries to key players, but it all depends which Everton turn up!

When will Everton ever learn that sometimes it has come to the end and put players out to pasture such as they have done with Jagielka and Baines. Whilst I do not think Kenny is the long term solution he is a better option than Coleman.

Winnable games are becoming difficult because too often we cannot get forward because we concentrate on what the opposition are going to do to us and not what we are capable of doing to them.

The team will be the same as against Bournemouth, and we will struggle as much, but away from home against a team that want's it more will see our one game winning streak halted.

Sorry to be so pessimistic but, after all, this is Everton!!!!

The only questions for me are Coleman vs Kenny at right-back and Richarlison vs Calvert-Lewin; think I'd go with the latter in both cases with Richarlison a great option to bring off the bench against tired legs.

Against tired legs, Bernard's trickery through the middle, Richarlisons directness down the wing and Calvert-Lewin's pace up front could really tire them out over the first 60 minutes. If we're not winning by then, we have Sigurdsson and Walcott to potentially come on against very tired legs.

Lookman looks better on the left, cutting in with Digne going past him, and Richarlison's work rate will give some protection to Seamus (though I'd prefer Kenny to start).

Sigurdsson needs a sit down and watch as he's been poor recently.

COYB!!

Both players also put decent crosses into the box on Sunday and I would hope that, regardless of who is up front, we have worked on this in training during the week.

This is the sort of game that we should never lose and ought, reasonably, to expect to win. The outcome tomorrow may well be significant in determining just what the remainder of the season may bring us.

Confidence needs to be built before the trip to Millwall. The performance is less important although it would be good if that were improved too.

The beauty of supporting Everton is that, despite sensible words from all of us (well, most,) that we have no idea what in reality will occur tomorrow and whether the cat needs to go into hiding at 4:55 pm for purposes of self-preservation. Deep joy!!

We can't build momentum if we win at home to Bournemouth then follow it up with a loss tomorrow, it's just not good enough.

Southampton just played 120 minutes on Wednesday night with most of their first team involved in that gruelling game so we will truly see tomorrow if the tiredness and fatigue excuse so often used by us bears any fruit, and if so, will we be good enough to actually take advantage of it?

We have a bunch a teak tough home games coming up between now and May so away games against the likes of Southampton, Huddersfield, Watford etc need to start resulting in more wins than draws or losses.

We need two or three players who can own that central box-to-box strip. it could happen by existing player improvement or by buying new faces but it needs to happen. Otherwise we will continue to be the 'fragile' team.

With most, I like 4-3-3 long term but we need to tighten things up centrally and build confidence. 4-4-1-1 anybody ?

Our away record the past few seasons has been nothing but a disgrace and we have depended on our home form which this season has been questionable.

This game and our next away at Huddersfield are absolute must wins with no pathetic excuses like tiredness.

Looking at our remaining home games – Wolves, Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd and Burnley – well, it's scary in our present feeble condition. Realistically, can anyone see many points picked up at Fortress Goodison???

Neither is good enough.

We currently have 30 points, so is the 24 in relation to home games or away games?

I find these comments perplexing and only add to the pressure and consequent frustration. We are not that good yet! We're not Liverpool or Man City.

Southampton have had some decent results of late. They beat Leicester and Arsenal who are both above us in the league. Maybe the reason people get so angry on here is because they don't realise we are a mid-table team currently who (like the other mid-table teams) could feasibly lose to anyone, especially away.

If we do lose so what?! It's not a cup match. Maybe we might end up coming 9th rather than 8th. Not a big deal.

Of course, we all want to win every game but let's not burden ourselves with unrealistic expectations. We are an inconsistent team that is hopefully beginning to re-find its feet. We will probably end the season 7th-10th.

The atmosphere at Goodison and indeed in here has been one of entitlement at times and I don't think that helps anyone.

Yeah, we spent a lot of money but most of it unwisely. Spilt milk. I think we are now heading in the right direction with Brands and hopefully Silva but we've got a long, long way to go yet.

A lack of confidence on his part and continuously giving the ball away, bad passing in dangerous areas needs urgent attention. The solution is not Tom Davis as the same problem if not more so persists.

Any ideas, anybody???

It just seems the managers won't leave out many players who earn big wages. We all know these guys have talent but consistency is the key and Everton have very few consistent players these days.

I am sure that all Southampton's squad will be available and will come out with intensity for this match knowing Everton's frailty at defending.

Will Silva have Everton up for this battle as Southampton are desperate?

I was desperate for Kenny to get into the team when we were playing bloody Martina at right back, but having now seen him at close quarters, I would say he is Championship level at best.

Despite his problems since that horrific injury, until we bring someone in, I think Coleman is still the best option at right-back.

Unlikely methinks, but I would rather run the rule over him until the end of the season than bring on board another overpaid and overrated loanee. A scrappy 1-0 in the FA Cup semi-final and final will suffice!

Talking of which, let's hope Southampton are shot from a long FA Cup defeat on Wednesday. They played a pretty strong line-up with only 2-3 changes from their last league game. With good intensity from the off, we could overrun them early doors.

I'm sure Lookman will start and well deserved. The thing I would like him to do, however, is not drift inside so much. I know he's probably told to play that way to make space for an overlapping full-back, but I would prefer to see him hugging that touchline a bit more and taking it on from there. That's how he set up the last goal for Calvert-Lewin.

Also, I suspect that some of us in the UK have a preposterous superiority towards players from other leagues. I imagine that playing against technically less gifted opponents could be a lot easier.

I think their are two possible reasons for Gomes's drop-off in form.

Firstly, as many have wondered on various TW threads, he may be carrying an injury. (A soreness in the hamstring is enough to restrict one's game).

The other thing is opponents have had a look at him, seen his weaknesses(lack of pace, lack of options for the pass), and have marked him accordingly.

Having seen the Bielsa powerpoint presentation, it is clear that modern coaches look at every aspect of opponents.

I think Gomes is a quality player. He lacks pace, but we still don't know if he can be a goal threat as he has been used mostly in a defensive role; however, it is quite silly to write him off, just as it was silly to get too excited at his first few outings. It was only a few weeks ago that people on here were panicking that his price would soar...

The manager might just about get away with a likely midtable finish this season but I imagine – and hope – more will be expected of him next season.

He's fortunate that Evertonians choose to greet the very average displays with reserved dignity. I can think of many clubs where derision would be much more in evidence.

What's the point in getting someone else in this summer and, after 3months, deciding he's likely to be sacked as well after Everton's frailties are laid bare?

I've said it before, we aren't going to get Klopp or Guardiola or Pochettino, are we? So we need to give this manager time to do something and build a stable unit.

The quality of play in the early games indicated promise but, since November, playing style and results have shown only marginal improvement over last year.

Indications are that I shall soon become no more than so many on here – 'a keyboard warrior'! And that after more than 50 years of 'active service'!

We have 3 away games on the trot, and despite our poor away record, they should be seen as winnable:

Southampton away
Millwall away (FA Cup)
Huddersfield away

If we do indeed win, then Goodison will be a different place come the visit of Wolves.

Then two crucial home games sandwiching the away trip to Watford, Man City and Liverpool. If we are to get points from these two, and hopefully getting a title derailing victory against the shite, we will need to enter games with confidence. That means winning games like this weekend.

They say to only plan one game at a time, but that is impossible. We're due a good run of form, and if Silva get's it right, that should come now, and it could turn our season (and aspirations) right around.

I'd go with the same team as last time out, keeping Calvert-Lewin for the final 20-30 minutes as Bernard will eventually tire.

Prediction: Southampton 2, Everton 0.

When Arsenal used to have teams where every player was foreign, their title challenges always unraveled in the winter months.

It will take at least a couple of years before the likes of Gomes, Richarlison, Mina, Bernard and Digne become acclimatised to our weather. Until then, expect to see better performances at the start and end of the season.

Bernard played and lived in Russia before playing for Everton. So should be well and truly acclimatised to the cold weather of England.

Also, Bernard was injured in March. His contract was up. He went home to Brazil for treatment and only left Brazil when he signed for us. So 6 months in Rio before coming here.

David #15, my idea would be to replace Gomes in the starting lineup with Calvert-Lewin up top. Slide Bernard into the #10 and ease Sigurdsson back into Gomes's spot next to Gana. Siggy can do most of what Gomes can do with distributing the ball, and he's exponentially better defensively.

I doubt Silva will do it, however – Lyndon's projected lineup is far more likely.

We need to move the ball about though. Sit deep but break at speed. Get them chasing us and work them hard. A tight first half at 0-0 would then give us plenty of opportunities in the second as they tire.

Or we can just go all out for the first goal. If we score early, it'll be hard for them to chase the game and find their legs to get a goal back.

Well we have a few minutes here and there... then we get knackered and go into transitional fatigue syndrome.

Remember we are talking elite athletes here. Of course they are all already fit. But we need them to be hard running, hard pressing fit. This means they need to be on a particular programme, set up by the Benfica lab guy, that ensures they are fitter than opponents throughout the season.

Because fitness is measured against opponents. Our players aren't fit enough? Compared to our opponents, not compared to the man in the street or an amateur, but compared to the other players in the premier league who are on a particular fitness programme. So you can't just catch up.

There's no World Cup this summer. There's no Euros. But there is a Copa America so we will see Richarlison and Mina return to pre-season late. The rest of them should really step up though. Expect them to look a lot sharper next season.

Thing is a lot of teams had players with little or no preseason, World Cups etc and they seem fit enough.

Man City and our neighbours have probably played as much as anyone, their players, eg, Salah seem to be okay. City had Debruyne miss a load of games and he looks as fit as a fiddle.

In my opinion, for what it's worth, our fitness problems have not just been this season and I think that, and fatigue, is just a poor excuse that other teams don't seem to have had on our scale, to be honest.

We've gone from one extreme to the other in nearly every aspect. Defence to attack, sit deep to pressing, long ball to short ball, etc. If everything is changing it takes time.

Again fatigue is not an excuse, it's a reality. And again it's measured against the opponents. You simply cannot catch up on fitness in the middle of a season. Not unless you drop out of training and do pre-season type training for about 6 weeks and get yourself properly ready.

The white flag of surrender didn't used to surface until the day before the game... now it's being raised half a season in advance.

Give him his chance, if he doesn't cut the mustard by the end of the season, then so be it. I'd be very pissed off to see him leaving now without getting a run & us holding on to Schneiderlin & Davies.

Some on here on the day of the game have us winning 2-0, 3-0 whatever and, according to those unrealistic posters, we'd be certainly in the top three if not top.

Don't give me this 'white flag of surrender' shit.

There would be uproar if the players surrendered the points in advance as readily as you have . .You'd be the first kicking off.

You want to make the claim, but you don't seem brave enough to say how many points you think we'll drop.

BTW; Have you really seen many posters claim we will get top three ? Or are you simply creating a monumental straw man to justify your argument

Nowhere did I say or even imply the players surrendered points. In my opinion apart from a point at Anfield and a point at the Emirates we haven't deserved points we never got simply because we weren't good enough.

What I said is that if these posters who continually have us winning every game, possibly someone optimistic like yourself, then we would uncountably be top three.

Personally I prefer to be more realistic and call each game as I se it.

To answer your direct question, realistically, I can see us picking up 6 points of the available 21 we have on offer at home.

How about you Darren? What do you reckon ? You seem to have us winning every game if I recall.

After 60 years going the match I am more realistic. in fact if I were like some and had us down to be beating everyone, well, I'd feel a right prick after the event.

Having said that DCL may be persevered with now that Niasse has gone and the likelihood Tosun will follow( he's out of favor anyway).

Walcott has not been consistent but Lookman can help himself with another bold showing tomorrow.

I didnt say you mentioned the players giving up. I said you had given up, but if the players showed the same defeatist attitude . .you would scream the house down.

I'll give a prediction to any game on the actual day of a game many fans do, But to abandon the possibility of winning months in advance ??? What the fucks all that about ? You don't even know who will be playing, who be in form, who will be signed or sold . .or injured. By giving up on points now, your are surrendering . . I'm just relieved you wont be playing.

I notice you couldn't answer the question about these mythical people who are claiming we will be top, or top three. There's a very good reason for that - you made them up to try to make yourself look a "realist"

You say you would feel a prick if you had us down for winning every game . .Personally would only ever feel a prick if I supported a gobshite like Allardyce. knowing he would set up not to lose no matter who signed, who got sold . .or who we were playing.

He is like a younger Troy Deeny and I'm sure would be half the price and Birmingham could do with the cash. He came from non-league football so the hunger would be there. For the sentimental of you out there, his middle name is also Everton.

That is the exact nub of it Lyndon.

When we are up for it we have the quality to get at most teams but so often the "mental fragility" that has haunted our players for years turns them into halfhearted wimps if things arent going their way.

We need a fully focussed and motivated squad for this game with a clear game plan.

It doesn't matter whether it's Calvert-Lewin or Richarlison up front but I would like to see more beef in midfield, especially if Gomes is not back on form, so I would agree with Macca back in there provided he is fit with him and Gueye to do the dirty work and Bernard and Sigurdsson to weave the magic.

Which is pretty much my view also, it's difficult to win away from home so it's a draw for me.

Yes, we can be cautiously optimistic based on what went on before the RS game and maybe that win against a struggling Burnley.

It would be wrong to believe that Southampton may be tired after the midweek game as they will probably have quite a few changes and if that includes Ings and/or Austin then they have hope.

As I have said many times this season Everton need to show intensity from the first whistle instead of the boring tippy-tappy passing that they are continually getting caught out on in the first half-an-hour.
They seem to show a lethargy in the middle third that other teams capitalize on and put Everton behind the eight ball early on.

I would like to see more forward impact from Gylfi and Bernard that seems to have been missing of late.

Bernard at the 10 please!!!

Pickford
Coleman Keane Zouma Digne
Sigurdsson Gana
Lookman Bernard Richarlison
Calvert-Lewin

But I think Lyndon has it spot on.

Tough game against a team resurgent, and looking for a good outing after an FA Cup knock out.

Southampton has been a steaming pile of dung for us at their place. Not an easy road game, will take a good effort to get three points. I heard on the radio today we are actually underdogs.

In a way that's shocking, but in an honest moment.... not really!

Tough game coming up.

Attacking wise, which is why he was bought, he is the most expensive flop in our history. As to his defensive capabilities... I will wait for the bottle.

I accept this is throwing down a gauntlet to the betting Gods but I am in no doubt. Evertonians, fill your boots!!!. WE WILL WIN.

Siggy is an adequate defender. He is positionally excellent, marks well and works relentlessly all the way back to the end line when necessary. Most of all he can actually win the ball without committing idiotic fouls 25 yards from goal.

Gomes treats defense like it's a disease. Against Spurs he stood there with his fucking thumb up his ass staring at a loose ball in the area as Dele ran past him and knocked it in. Then he was a jogging spectator 10 yards away when his man, Eriksen, volleyed home. That's his typical effort. And because he cannot tackle properly, he has 31 fouls to lead the club despite making just 14 league appearances. (By contrast Matt Ritchie, one of the Prem's biggest hacks, has 35 in 20.) It's sheer luck that none of the moronic free kicks Gomes has given away around the area have resulted in goals, but it's just a matter of time. (But at least he won't give away pens, because he won't track his man into the area.) And since his passing game has now gone south, there's no reason for him to play.

So forget the wine, I'll send you some medicinal weed from Oregon.

Two things in our favour, however: the 120-minute gruelling Cup replay midweek, will have stretched their stamina to the limit. While I appreciate that not all will play again tomorrow, a large contingent will.

The other being that 'expert football pundit and predictor' Merson has them down for a win (2-1), who like Lawro, rarely gets his 'expert' assessment right!

Letting the opposition have so much freedom on the edge of Everton's final third is another concern.

Silva needs to stick with a consistent player selection, instead of messing about with players with poor stats. He needs to build a team around those with better stats. Bernard, Calvert-Lewin and Lookman do; Richarlison, Walcott, Davies and Coleman don't.

My recommendation would be to try Sigi and Gomez in the centre of a midfield 4 flanked by Lookman and Bernard and then have Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison up front. I have never been a big fan of Gana because you are effectively playing with a 5th defender as offensively he adds nothing. It is not like he is a Bracewell or Reid counterpart.

I think we need to have more bodies in midfield and be more imaginative. It is all one dimensional at the moment; give the ball to Gomez and he will do the rest. Well it has not worked. I would also like to have 2 up front rather than Richarlison going alone.

Maybe I am living in the past with the set-up we had in the '80s with Sharpy and Inchy up front. Surely we can try some other systems cos this one definitely isn't working. I can only see a draw at best for tomorrow cos we are playing crap and Lady Luck was on our side last week and I thought we were not deserving of the 3 points.

If, and it's a big if, the players are fatigued as you say then .either Silva doesn't know and is just asking them to play without proper rotation or he does know and is asking them to execute tactics they have no chance of fulfilling.

Either way, it's on Silva. He needs to adapt his tactics to reflect what you say, if indeed it's true. However, it feels like another thinly veiled defense of the manager rather than acknowledging the results and performances with the talent we have had not cut the mustard so far.

Any chance you could send some down to Florida for tomorrow's match?

It's going to be hard to watch without some medicine.

Today's game might end up 3-0, 3-3 or 0-3, but it will still be a hundred times more entertaining than the shameful, cynical anti-football philosophy of that arsehole.

No snowstorms, no sub-zero temperatures, no winter howlers like the one pushing the Pacific into my back yard yesterday.

Who the heck needs to get buzzed in Florida?

Any Evertonian watching us v Southampton. LOL

The only thing we have to fear today is ourselves. If we are up for it and take the game to Southampton with fierce intensity from the start we can get a 2 goal margin win. Most of all after a good first half, come out like Lions after HT, not mice.

There are times in football when the opposition will be coming at you with all guns blazing to get back into the game. After HT a home team will so just that if they are losing. We need to stand firm and fight through it and not hand over the initiative.

As we all know things are seldom straightforward to EFC, so I think we may end up winning 2-0 at HT and cruising , then be hanging on for dear life at the end.

When all is said and done I will be happy with any win today, it will add a bit more confidence and a bit more momentum.

Also, I am looking forward to watching our front three of Bernard , Richarlison and Lookman . There is quality there . More than Southampton's defenders can cope with.

Give them no rest because like Bournemouth they are a good team if given time to pass and have a bit of pace to hit us on the break.

It's a winnable game but they beat Leicester and are capable of giving most teams a good game. Do not underestimate them, show them some respect but if we battle like we did in the second half last week we will get something.

I do not want to see us putting ourselves into trouble and under pressure at the back on what will be another wet and slippy surface.

Get it forward quicker and we have the players to win this. No let up or resting if we do take the lead. 100% effort all game and use subs wisely.

I would love to see Bernard in the No. 10 position, but can't see it happening this season, unless Siggy is injured.

I agree. McCarthy should have been brought on in the Lincoln game to get some match time, but Silva was afraid of losing. Against Bournemouth, he should have been brought on again, but Silva had his new aggressive tactics. He was lucky Gomes and Richarlison weren't sent off implementing them.

Calvert-Lewin has the best positional play, pass completion, link play, and finishing of the centre-forwards who have played. Working consistently (which he can) with Bernard and Lookman, who have good stats, would improve Calvert-Lewin. Walcott has poor stats.

Though we both can see the problems and how to solve them, by Silva's player selection, it seems he can't. The fact that he can't coach the underperforming players to improve and adapt is another worry.

It wasn't just under strength selection that beat us in the League Cup. It was Southampton implementing the same higher defensive tactics that have shown up the tactical weaknesses of Silva since the Liverpool game.

Richarlison is not a striker, each time he plays there he
confirms this. Lookman Bernard ( no. 10) DCL and Charlie swapping and changing in attack creates plenty of movement and therefore plenty of chances.

Don't give us what you have been Mr.Silva it's boring and not working, plus the opposition just love it.

Richarlison has scored as many as Callum Wilson who seems to be held in high regard. Playing Richarlison up top has not been our problem. The lack of quality service is the reason he isn't already in double figures. He gets one or two chances a game, and very often they are half chances. Compare that to the four or five chances that Kane or Aguero regularly get. I expect him to be up front for us again, and he will work his arse off like he always does.

He is either very stubborn or exceedingly arrogant in his belief that he alone is right. I have lost count of the times people have suggested playing Walcott up front, alongside another striker, or even reluctantly as a sole striker, but no, he refuses to even give it a try.

Let's face it, Walcott apart from the odd game has been poor on the right, and with Seamus struggling to rediscover his pre-injury form, it beckons significant change.

Also, Walcott has done his best stuff outside the box whilst when he's inside the box he's made mistake after mistake. He's not good enough right now, and I do believe he's already in decline. Keep him on the bench and use him as an impact sub coming on at right wing.

So I would add to your bet Sigurdsson to open the scoring, he is due a goal and reckon today could be the day, fill your boots.