Everton begin against Palace

Thursday, 13 June, 2019 99comments  |  Jump to most recent

Everton will kick off their 2019-20 campaign against Crystal Palace and finish at home to Bournemouth but face a testing December programme.

The fixtures for the new Premier League season were released this morning and they have the Blues travelling to London on the opening day before hosting Watford at Goodison Park and then visiting newly-promoted Aston Villa.

The first Merseyside derby of the season will be at Anfield and will take place on 4th December, with the return fixture pencilled in for 14 March.

The Blues are home to Burnley on Boxing Day and at Manchester City on New Year's Day, after playing the derby, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal in succession in December.  



Reader Comments (99)

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Neil Wood
1 Posted 13/06/2019 at 09:06:54
Nothing less than 18 points from first six games is good enough !!!!!!!
Jon Bentley
2 Posted 13/06/2019 at 09:07:05
Easy December then?
Gerry Quinn
3 Posted 13/06/2019 at 09:11:12
Should have the title wrapped up by early April then - NOT!
Ian Jones
4 Posted 13/06/2019 at 09:13:25
I think it's a good start to the season and having 4 of the top teams in succession is a good thing - should concentrate the mind.
Ajay Gopal
6 Posted 13/06/2019 at 09:27:32
We did pretty well when we played the Top 6 one behind the other - Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal and Spurs on the final day. Bring it on! I feel something special as I do every year :-)
John Keating
7 Posted 13/06/2019 at 09:28:18
On paper a great chance to get a good start points on the board and a confidence boost.
Not a bad end either.
Matt Traynor
8 Posted 13/06/2019 at 09:34:13
John #7, how many times have we said that in the past? That said, agree with the sentiments so far. If we have the Everton of the last 1/4 of the season, we'll do okay.
Adam Carey
9 Posted 13/06/2019 at 09:52:56
A tough Festive period! We may be asking Father Christmas for a win come Boxing Day. That said, May looks promising.

I do wonder why we always seem to have a trip to Anfield in the first week of December each season though...

Kevin Prytherch
10 Posted 13/06/2019 at 10:01:46
11 out of the first 13 are winnable.

If there was ever a season to get off to a flyer, this is it.

Simon Jones
11 Posted 13/06/2019 at 10:05:17
Top at the end of October. The confidence running through the team will carry them through December, starting 2020 in hugely positive fashion, by "the second difficult spell" we'll be third and Sky will start having to refer to the "Big 7" in order to accomodate Man U (who'll actually be 10th, but we pretend they are 7th if you count all the VAR decisions that go against them). We'll finish third, but have to endure the wank-fest as the Dark Side finally win the league, thus ensuring any success of ours is overshadowed.
P.S. we win the FA Cup in 2020 as well.
Ellen West
12 Posted 13/06/2019 at 10:06:37
Please help me out with my poor math skills here. What is the probability of playing four of the top six clubs back to back twice in one season?
Paul Hughes
14 Posted 13/06/2019 at 10:19:30
Same as last year, 'winnable' start, 'winnable run-in' and tough in the middle. Let's hope we hit the ground running this time.
Pat Kelly
15 Posted 13/06/2019 at 10:22:00
Ellen, it's simple. It's x÷π√4x72
Martin Berry
16 Posted 13/06/2019 at 10:22:48
Bring it on, I think we are the team that are really improving whereas Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea are transition sides with their various problems.
Top six and maybe creeping into top four is possible.
I expect an exciting season and no one is going to look forward to coming to Goodison.
Dennis Stevens
17 Posted 13/06/2019 at 10:24:30
Aye, Ellen - the same four as well!
Joe Parkinson
18 Posted 13/06/2019 at 10:25:50
Nice to see the BBC website headlines open up with
" Liverpool to host Norwich opening fixture" and a picture of them with the Champions league trophy !!!
and here's me thinking Man City were Champions...
What a load of biased bastards...
Yet another 12 months of Shite bias coming our way..
Let's get a decent Striker, then shove their shite right back up with it came from.. COYB...
Jim Bennings
19 Posted 13/06/2019 at 10:25:59
On paper it looks not terrible but as we know with Everton “on paper” counts for little, if we played Fulham in April on paper we’d have mullered them but as it turned out they mullered us.

It has echoes on the start of last season really, but let’s hope for a far better start then to be sitting here like we were last September moaning about being frustrated ect due to silly sloppy draws.

We need to win more away games this season and I’m looking for at least two wins from Palace, Villa and Bournemouth away to get us up and running, anything less then it’s just not worth taking us serious again.

Frank Sheppard
20 Posted 13/06/2019 at 10:28:53
Not too bad a start at all.
Dennis Stevens
21 Posted 13/06/2019 at 10:39:36
I don't deny the bias, Joe, but the rs v Norwich City match is the opening fixture of the season on the Friday evening.
Danny O'Neill
22 Posted 13/06/2019 at 10:44:07
Agree with the sentiment. Providing we come out flying and continue the end of season form, we have a great opportunity to get a lot of points on the board by the end of October . providing we don't "do an Everton"!!
Jim Bennings
23 Posted 13/06/2019 at 10:50:42
Danny

I love the fact that you know we don’t need explaining what “do an Everton” means.

Totally agree with you!

Can Everton play when there’s something at stake or will we wait as we always do until we are 25 points behind 6th place in February before finally realising?

Rob Halligan
24 Posted 13/06/2019 at 10:59:04
This season sees the first mid season winter break. What a laugh that is. For a start, any premier team knocked out of the FA Cup in the third or fourth round gets a break anyway as there are no premier fixtures on the day of the fourth or fifth round. Also every team will be flying off to sunnier climates for warm weather training, with a friendly thrown in. Also, when was the last time we had a severe winter causing games to be postponed? The daft thing about it is, when the PFL announce the dates of the break (which won't be until December), there will still be premier fixtures, with five games one week and five the next.

So all things considered, I really don't see the point of a mid season winter break.

Fran Mitchell
25 Posted 13/06/2019 at 11:07:43
December will either make or break our season.

Should be fun.

Back in the UK soon, hopefully will get me hands on some Watford tickets.

Jack Convery
26 Posted 13/06/2019 at 11:29:01
Looks ok to me. We are EFC. We are on the up. More will be scared to face us than we are of them. What a great Xmas we'll have after putting the RS back in their place.
Paul Tran
27 Posted 13/06/2019 at 11:30:37
Hope it's a better start than last time we had Palace on the opening day. Bilic's debut; he and we were buzzing, he scored an early header from a corner, Goodison erupted, it was disallowed and the game and us were flattened. They got the only goal from a penalty, me and my Dad walked away thinking we'd seen the worst two top-flight teams ever on that day.

A classic 'Everton, that' day!

Derek Knox
28 Posted 13/06/2019 at 11:33:06
Look on the bright side, we might be the team that they all dread playing. :-)
Billy Roberts
30 Posted 13/06/2019 at 11:50:34
If ever Everton needed motivation to buy a centre forward /striker/ fuckin goalscorer whatever?? this fixture list start is it, very similar to last season.
Please let us start the season bludgeoning some of these teams to gain some serious momentum, I know we don't have a right but we have to feel capable of single handedly pushing teams aside being focused on 3 points every game no matter who we are playing and home or away shouldn't matter.
Rob Halligan
31 Posted 13/06/2019 at 11:51:41
Not quite the first game of the season, but our first away game in 2004 / 05 was palace, when we won 3-1. Mad dog Tommy Gravesen scoring two. As we all know we went on to finish fourth that season.

A repeat of that game and season will do nicely.

Tom Bowers
32 Posted 13/06/2019 at 12:15:36
Those first 4 games in December are interesting to say the least.
Could be the turning point for Silva depending on results up to that point.
Hugh Jenkins
33 Posted 13/06/2019 at 12:28:26
I'm hoping that, for the first time in many seasons, we shall not be starting the season with a team that has had wholesale personnel changes.

If we can start the camping with near enough the same line up as we finished last season with (fingers crossed for Zouma and Gomes), the same attitude and a couple of new recruits in vital positions, I anticipate that we may be pleasantly surprised by the result.

However, as many on here have already said - I have hoped that many times in seasons before and for no apparent reason the "wheels have come off" very early on.

Here's hoping that this time it WILL be different.

Brian Williams
34 Posted 13/06/2019 at 12:29:06
Woe, woe and thrice woe from some, comical. 🤣🤣🤣
James Marshall
35 Posted 13/06/2019 at 12:33:41
We have a very favourable start and run-in.

We play the majority of the top teams in two bunches, through December and then in Feb/March.

Our last game is middle of the table Bournemouth at home.

I would suggest that playing the top teams at the same time is good for us - it keeps any momentum up.

I'm very happy with with all our fixtures personally.

Laurie Hartley
36 Posted 13/06/2019 at 12:36:06
Pat Kelly # 15 - I am not having that! Will the real mathematician please stand up.
John Raftery
37 Posted 13/06/2019 at 12:46:39
I see the 5th Round of the FA Cup will be midweek, Wednesday 4th March. Also we won’t know which is the blank Saturday for the so called winter break in February until mid December.
Hugh Jenkins
38 Posted 13/06/2019 at 13:08:08
Ellen (12) Laurie (36) - According to my calculations its 1 in 410 for the first sequence of four in 18 games and 1 to 6561 to do it twice in 36 Games. If you want to see a guide as to how its done - look here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoW2jHoVdug
Matt Traynor
39 Posted 13/06/2019 at 13:19:46
Rob #24,
I thought the original proposal to accommodate the ludicrous Winter World Cup, was that the Premier League would have to slowly pull apart a gap over 2-3 seasons. (And then close that gap over the following 2-3 seasons).

But of course that would mean losing all the Xmas Holiday fixtures.

Maybe today's instability in the Strait of Hormuz will give FIFA the excuse to look for a plan B after all!

Rob Marsh
40 Posted 13/06/2019 at 13:35:52
We have to do some damage before December, simple!

Hit the ground running first game and keep going, we can't have the mindset we'll catch up on points after Xmas, go into December with a decent league position, we'll be a lot more relaxed and play better.

Especially with the same bout of punishment coming up again in Feb/March.

This season for us is all about the first 14 games, COYB!!!!

Sam Hoare
41 Posted 13/06/2019 at 14:12:57
I think when you are expecting some new players in your first team (and I am increasingly expecting a busy Summer) then I think it is good to have an 'easier' start to the season.

That being said some of our worst struggles last year were against teams who sat back more and looked to hit us on the counter (eg Brighton away and Wolves at home). Some of our best results (against the top 6) came in more open matches when we were the ones able to counter.

It will be interesting to see what the TW expectations are for next year once the transfer business is done. I think the teams above us (United, Arsenal and Chelsea) may be vulnerable. But equally the teams around and below us (Wolves, Leicester, West Ham etc) are stronger than many will give them credit for. All to play for.

Jay Wood
[BRZ]

42 Posted 13/06/2019 at 14:20:07
Like many I guess I always enjoy the release of the (official!) fixture list for the upcoming season.

And again, like many, I like to crystal ball gaze and imagine where we could sit in the league at the end of different months, based on those fixtures.

As many have already pointed it, it really is a very 'benevolent' opening and closing fixture list. Like others - as was proved last season in what looked a very challenging run in with a block of fixtures against the big boys - I also like that we have two blocks next season with a sequence of consecutive games against the best.

I also believe such blocks help focus minds and helps us maintain a high performance level for such games. We showed last season that we are the equals of most of them.

What will most determine our final finishing position next season will, for me, be getting results against the mid-table and bottom feeders, particularly away from home.

Unless and until we radically improve our win ratio on the road, we will never break out from that 7-8-9th finishing position.

David Cash
43 Posted 13/06/2019 at 14:28:02
Agreed Sam. I think there will be a bit of a concertina effect this season with 3 - 4 teams closing the gap on all but the top two.

I expect a much more competitive league and the date you play certain teams will matter far less than the form they are in when you play em

Pat Kelly
45 Posted 13/06/2019 at 14:51:02
Laurie @36, Hugh @38, of course it's not just a mathematical computation of the chance of a specific sequence, there are a number of adjustments made to avoid certain occurrences and an inbuilt replay of some sequences in the second half of the season. I think you'll find that my formula above takes all this into account.
Jamie Crowley
46 Posted 13/06/2019 at 14:57:21
Holy crap, we play Burnley on Boxing Day.

Feverish investigation into the costs of flights being undertaken by the Mrs.

Danny O'Neill
47 Posted 13/06/2019 at 15:34:37
Sam, David, I had this conversation a few days ago.

With an inbuilt Evertonian fear of raising expectation, there is potentially genuine opportunity to crack the 6 (dare I say 4) like we haven't seen in recent seasons.

United continue to descend into doing an impression of 90s Liverpool as they go through "transition" and try to throw money at the problem. Concurrently, the atmosphere at the club has gone slightly toxic & chances are Solskjaer will be gone by Christmas. Not his fault; a club legend lined up for a fall by the board making a sentimental & populist decision on the back of a few good results. Cue more turbulence.

This Tottenham team didn't finish great and must think their opportunity has gone; 3 years of being the nearly men will potentially affect them.

Chelsea rumble along but another with managerial uncertainty & all not well in the camp despite a pretty successful season on paper.

Arsenal they're Arsenal. Not as good as they were, just noone to challenge them.

If we don't bottle it from the weight of expectation (a common and repeated trait of Everton teams & the club in general of recent times), there is opportunity the break the glass ceiling.

As Jim alluded to in response to my tongue in cheek "do an Everton" comment earlier, find consistency and win when their is expectation, & something to play for, not just when the pressure is off & noone is expecting. That's what winners do.

Tony Abrahams
48 Posted 13/06/2019 at 15:50:30
You won’t have to worry about tickets Jamie, which might bring the cost down a little bit mate!
Jay Harris
49 Posted 13/06/2019 at 16:00:15
Never mind the fixture list we need to get Zouma (or at least as good) and a goalscoring advanced MF player, besides a hardnosed Central MF player.

The teams around us are all active in the transfer market already and we don't appear to have anyone of real quality in our sights.

Ray Roche
50 Posted 13/06/2019 at 16:17:46
Jay, the transfer window hasn’t opened yet for European deals.
Brian Williams
51 Posted 13/06/2019 at 16:41:16
...........and nobody knows WHO we have in our sights (which is how it should be).

And transfers "in" so far for the following clubs, Arsenal, Villa, Bournemouth, Brighton, Chelsea, Palace, Leicester, the shite, Man City, Man Utd, Newcastle, Sheff Utd, S'oton, Spurs, Watford errrrrrrrrr none.

Calm down Jay, calm down lad. :-)

Jay Harris
52 Posted 13/06/2019 at 16:47:27
I thought it opened on the 10th June, Ray.

Brian, the media is so "on it" these days they even invent people who are not in our sights.

Steavey Buckley
53 Posted 13/06/2019 at 17:07:52
If Everton have the same team as last season against Crystal Palace away, Everton will again not score a goal in their first game of the season.
Brian Williams
54 Posted 13/06/2019 at 17:26:07
Jay, the 16th I believe for international transfers.

Steavey, that's a strange statement mate considering we scored 2 in our last "first game of the season."

Fran Mitchell
55 Posted 13/06/2019 at 17:51:18
Why Steavey? You really believe Richarlison and Siggy are incapable of goals?..
This obsession with the 'desperate need' of a 20 goal striker is absurd.

Especially considering the last time we had one - Lukaku himhe same people couldn't wait to see the back of him.

We need another forward, true, no arguements. But in Bernard - DCL - Richarlison and Lookman in reserve with Siggy at no10, we are not useless without one. Just need another to up the competition and options.

Derek Knox
56 Posted 13/06/2019 at 17:51:27
I am hoping for a good start to the campaign, especially if we can get a couple of quality additions too, if we could carry on as we finished last season, would be ideal.

I just hope too there is no repeat of the stagnant period we went through between the Derbies and early exits from both Cups.

For those who are worried about the apparent lack of activity, I am confident that significant moves are being made, with the less publicity the better, which because of the Media orientated world we live in is not easy. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I used to like it when the first we knew of a new addition was him being paraded wearing the shirt.

The more public these transfers become the more journos and agents do their skullduggery to inflate the price and have several Clubs all vying against each other in a Bidding War.

Jay Harris
57 Posted 13/06/2019 at 17:52:53
Brian,
Thank you for correcting me.

You are the new ToffeeWeb statto.

Anthony A Hughes
58 Posted 13/06/2019 at 18:14:07
A few loan signings and a bunch of youngsters coming through isn't going to propel us into the top 6. This team needs at least 4 or 5 top quality first teamers to come in and play each week.

The proof was in the pudding last season and that squad wasn't good enough. The table doesn't lie.

Joe Corgan
59 Posted 13/06/2019 at 18:19:19
We were away on Boxing Day 2018 so it’s nice to be a team home this year. My first two years as a season ticket holder - I’m really excited about heading down to Goodison the day after Christmas.
Brian Williams
60 Posted 13/06/2019 at 18:20:43
Jay #57.

Hey shush if Steve Ferns hears that he'll do the pair of us.

I've met him. He's a very scary man!

Brian Williams
61 Posted 13/06/2019 at 18:52:11
I've confused myself now over "international" transfer date as Villa and someone else have just signed a player from "abroad."

I'm wondering if the 16th is the date for transfers outwith Europe maybe.

Tommy Carter
62 Posted 13/06/2019 at 19:11:32
Let’s get our business (incoming transfers) done early. Forget waiting until the final week to see what bargains are about, or if a player finally decides to join us if there are no other options available.

2 players of the highest quality. That’s all we really want. Sure we would like more but let’s nail them on this summer and build again next year when it is apparent what we really need.

Lozano and Gomes.

Ideally those two plus Belotti and/or Berardi.

It could be exciting times, the opportunity is there. Spurs will lose Eriksen this year, their main playmaker and will not challenge as they have done previously.

United are in free fall

Chelsea have already lost their main playmaker and have a transfer embargo

Liverpool and city will be predictably strong. Although I feel LFC have been particularly fortunate to avoid serious injury to Salah, Mane and Firmino for 2 years. One of the former being injured for a significant period will seriously hold them back.

Arsenal have no better squad than us, just 2 very good strikers.

Denis Richardson
63 Posted 13/06/2019 at 19:17:37
Wow - that is the best fixture list I think I’ve ever seen! Could not have picked it better.

We don’t have a difficult run of fixtures in the first 4 months. December will be an arse but we have a fantastic opportunity to build momentum and confidence before we get there.

Over to you Silva - get off to a good start and take it from there. Can’t use the fixtures as an excuse and we’re not in Europe so won’t need a massive squad. Also a relatively friendly run in.

Got to be aiming top 6 with that start.

Just need a couple of quality additions to the squad in the summer to take us to the next level.

Jay Harris
64 Posted 13/06/2019 at 19:23:21
Dont forget Denis we have already lost Zouma, Gomes and Kenny as things stand and for all the use he is Tosun will be out for quite a while.

I just hope our faith in M&M is not misplaced.

Brian Williams
65 Posted 13/06/2019 at 19:23:23
My son pointed out to me, though I haven't checked, that we play four of the top six consecutively TWICE. No other team plays more than two of the top six consecutively.
Coincidence?
Hugh Jenkins
66 Posted 13/06/2019 at 19:51:21
Brian (65) and others. The teams mentioned may reasonably be expected to be in the top six, but it is by no means guaranteed!

By the time we play them (first or second time) we may well be in the top six and one or two of them mayn't.

Hopefully this will be the season where we break the glass ceiling.

Meanwhile, some of the "old established" top six are certainly in decline.

Fran Mitchell
67 Posted 13/06/2019 at 20:00:19
Brian, by putting 'coincidence' in the inverted commas, you are suggesting there is some sort of conspiracy against Everton?

If it was the first 4/5 games, then yes, that would suck, but personally I think it is ideally suited. We have a good chance to build confidence coming into december, at this period, the 'big-6' are a little drained having had their European trips. When we played them one after the other last year, it worked to our advantage, one good result built the confidence for the next. It's high time we looked to the games with the big 6 with joy. We can take them.

Hugh Jenkins
68 Posted 13/06/2019 at 20:03:23
Pat (45), I dare say your formula does - if only "X" had a value. Alternatively, if the value being sought was "Y" then Y might =X / pi * the square root of 4*72 if X= § or Y = ~
Brian Williams
69 Posted 13/06/2019 at 20:04:23
Hugh. The point was, I believe, that those teams were those that constituted the top 6 from last season.

Nobody knows who'll finish where, as you rightly point out, but the previous placings are there for all to see and to face four of those six in consecutive games not once but twice in the season is an anomaly unique to us.

Fran, not suggesting a conspiracy merely stressing the "coincidence."

To suggest a conspiracy would be paranoid I reckon, but it IS, as I say earlier in this post, unique to us and is therefore noteworthy.

Steavey Buckley
70 Posted 13/06/2019 at 20:13:35
Fran #55, I remember Everton having chances against Crystal Palace last season away from home, but nobody finished them off. The same was against Brighton and Arsenal also away from home, there were chances but nobody finished them off.

The reason why the top 6 six monopolise the EPL all 5 of them, except for Chelsea, have at least 1 striker who scores at least 20 goals a season. If Everton don't have a 20 goal striker then Everton won't get as far as 8th place. That's my prediction for the forthcoming season.

Justin Doone
71 Posted 13/06/2019 at 20:41:49
The form both us and Palace finished last season was very good.

It won't be an easy game and I'm not putting point totals against the first 5/10 games etc.

What I want after a very decent first season under Marco is continuing improvement. That means young players continuing to improve and become more consistent.

It means converting and creating more chances. It means less mistakes and stop giving away sloppy goals, free kicks and chances through poor game management.

The team has started to gel, the passing and joined up football was delightful at times but one of the most important factors was the work rate of our forwards.

We can not afford to let that drop, we had good healthy competition for places especially in the midfield and attacking players. That needs to continue.

I'll take 7th place now if it means better play, more points, more goals and a few top 4 scalps from last season as that will probably mean we have improved in nearly every department.

Don't get me wrong, I want more.. much more, but last season and the next 2 or 3 seasons are about improving year on year. A cup win and European football the following season is what we are aiming for.

All of this is realistic but we need a bit of luck and to fully support the team when the sticky patch comes rather than the negative attitude that is often felt and heard especially at Goodison. COYB! NSNO!

Matt Griffin
72 Posted 13/06/2019 at 21:22:42
Looks like the derby in December is only going to be shown on Amazon Prime

Link

The phrase 'exclusive' is being used.

This is the first year of another pay platform showing games. I wonder if their 30 day free trial will be active for the month of December?

Paul Birmingham
73 Posted 13/06/2019 at 22:28:42
We can’t complain, with these fixtures, optimism is higher than usual after a good final quarter, at the end of last season, but as we know anything is possible with EFC.

Let’s see if our squad gets bolstered the next 3 weeks in time for preseason training.

But it’s up to MS and MB, and let’s pray that we get the right players in, and hopefully a few logs of dead wood out, before training starts.

Jamie Crowley
74 Posted 13/06/2019 at 22:50:01
Tommy @ 62 -

No to Lozano. Chucky is overrated in my opinion. He cuts inside, and then blast a shot into orbit, 100 feet over the goal.

But, IBWT.

Jamie Crowley
75 Posted 13/06/2019 at 22:53:23
Jesus, I just saw something that scares the bajeezuz out of me.

Pete and Repeat were on a boat. Pete fell off, and who is left?

Repeat.

December through New Year's Day:
Liverpool
Chelsea
Man Utd
Arsenal
Man City

God, please, no Holiday Season malaise again! Jeez, that looks rough.

Danny O'Neill
76 Posted 13/06/2019 at 23:00:45
In fairness, didn't we have a similar 'horror" run of fixtures late February last season? But did we not rise to it? If you're good enough, you fear noone. We are actually very good. We just need depth of squad, consistency and belief.
Jamie Crowley
77 Posted 13/06/2019 at 23:09:29
TY Danny for talking me off the ledge.
Liam Reilly
78 Posted 13/06/2019 at 23:31:26
Jamie #75
Look at 75, almost a reverse of the same fixtures.

Still, we have to play them at sometime and we often do better with our backs against the wall.

Si Smith
79 Posted 13/06/2019 at 23:32:26
Not the worst first game of the season in all fairness, 3 points is easily achievable.

Brian Wilkinson
80 Posted 14/06/2019 at 04:42:02
Normally draw our first game and normally 2 all draw so worth a punt on 2 all again.
Laurie Hartley
81 Posted 14/06/2019 at 04:44:42
Pat Kelly # 45 - Hmmm! Ok give it to me in “sums”.
Hugh Jenkins
82 Posted 14/06/2019 at 09:03:58
Brian (69). I appreciate what you say. My (optimistic) point was that hopefully, by the time we played those teams that have been historical members of "the top six" in recent seasons some (Chelsea, Man Utd and Arsenal) are hopefully in decline and that we ourselves may well be part of "the top six", or even the "top four" by then. We would therefore be playing members of our peer group not teams that were streets ahead of us in class, so we may not have as much to fear as when we played those teams in the past.

I do acknowledge, of course, that to get to play four of them on a consecutive run, twice in a season is unusual.

Kevin Prytherch
83 Posted 14/06/2019 at 09:23:45
Steavey 70, only 4 players scored 20 goals in the premier league last season. If you look at the top 10 scorers in the premier league (there were 6 tied for 10th place so it turns into a top 15) then we look quite favourable without a striker.

Liverpool have 2 players in there, scoring 22 and 22
Man City have 2, scoring 21 and 17
Arsenal have 2, scoring 22 and 13
Spurs have 1, scoring 17
Chelsea have 1, scoring 16
Man Utd have 1, scoring 13
Everton have 2, scoring 13 and 13.

Liverpool are the only team to have 3 players who scored more than 10 league goals.

My point being, if we have a striker scoring 10-15, and another couple of players doing the same then we don’t need this magical 20 goal a season striker who often results in the rest of the team not scoring.

Pat Kelly
84 Posted 14/06/2019 at 10:57:36
Hugh, #68, you're making progress but you forgot to carry the 1.
Pat Kelly
85 Posted 14/06/2019 at 11:35:46
Laurie # 80+1, have you considered taking up arts at all ?
Graham Rathbone
86 Posted 14/06/2019 at 13:08:21
Matt Griffin @ 72
I just hope that the amazon prime service isn't full of RS "pundits" and commentators with their obvious bias, like the rest of the TV and media seem to be stuffed full of.
Though I do see that the photos at the top of the link show the usual teams players again.
If not, then maybe worth a view even if its just the free trial (if there is one)
Denis Richardson
87 Posted 14/06/2019 at 13:36:22
Jay 64 - fully agree.

I'm still on the fence re M&M but hope this season will put that to bed. Their transfers to date haven't pulled out any unknown gems and have been expensive but at least they don't (yet) have a Tosun on their hands (fingers crossed Mina isn't going down that road).

Am assuming Zouma won't come back but think we'll get Gomes. Was not convinced myself that JJK was ready to challenge Coleman so hoping we sign a decent RB to have proper competition there. Too many places in the first team don't have decent competition.

Key though for me is a striker who can stick the ball where it belongs - we can't go into the season with Tosun and DCL as our only strikers, again. I see Tosun being injured as a bonus as it puts more pressure on the club to sign a striker and not try to muddle through. Nothing personal against the guy but he's simply not prem standard - he won the lottery with Allardyce.

Tony McNulty
88 Posted 14/06/2019 at 14:09:01
Denis (87),

I don't disagree about a striker but as we all know these guys are at a premium. And given our current non-European status, we probably have to take a punt on someone who may not yet be quite the proven ticket.

I must admit, based on the youtube extracts, I had high hopes for Tosun. In fact I saw something of Alan Shearer in him. I guess I meant Alan Shearer when he was playing, and not since he retired.

Derek Knox
89 Posted 14/06/2019 at 14:25:12
Denis @ 87, while I understand your trepidation regarding the M&M 'partnership' I think in the case of M Brands, maybe you are being a bit unfair.

Let's face the facts, before he arrived, we'd spent a King's Ransom, and had too many average players both on inflated and lengthy contracts, which is almost impossible to reverse once in place.

We all want success for our beloved Club having being starved of it for so long, but in fairness to M Brands he did say it would take around 5 years to correct the wrongs, dispose of the deadwood, and establish some sort of stability.

In order to progress he has identified the problem areas and although some of the signings seem a bit expensive, it has to be said that they are a lot better quality than hitherto purchased. I too, would have liked to see 'unearthed gems at bargain prices' but some sort of level of success is required first, for those players to want to come.

I have no issue with the appointment of Brands whatsoever, but must admit the jury is still very much undecided in the case of Silva, although he did seem to be getting things right in the latter part of the season.
It's that middle part of the season that a lot of Silva's team selections and substitutions left a lot to be desired plus the early exits from both Cups.

I think Zouma will be a massive miss for us, if the Chelsea Transfer Ban continues, but I haven't totally given up on that yet. Hopefully there is an adequate or better replacement lined up, should Zouma not return.

I know recent Transfer speculation has us linked to the odd donkey, mostly through journalistic gobshittery, but generally we are being linked with a better class of player, which in itself is a positive sign.

Sam Hoare
90 Posted 14/06/2019 at 14:35:14
Kevin@83, good post. Some people seem to think that if we signs a '20 goal striker' that everything is done and top 4 awaits but its not that simple. I'd wager that if Lukaku came back we might have that striker but the team would do no better.

Its far more important to have a striker who facilitates the whole team doing well (and I think DCL did this at the end of last season). Of course we do need more goals and hopefully that striker should be able to contribute around 10-15 but it is points that matter more than goals. Any striker who can work seriously hard for the team (holding the ball up, pressing defenders and linking play well) AND score 20+ goals is likely to cost near £100m so our best bet I think is to keep giving chances to DCL (i expect him to get more goals this year) and buy someone young (ish) who is perhaps more of a natural finisher and can add goals from the bench whilst pushing DCL for his starting spot if he struggles. The likes of Rafael Leao, Sebastian Haller and Jean-Phillipe Mateta could be interesting options as would be Moise Kean. I aslo expect to see more of Richarlison at CF, especially if we sign David Neres for the right wing.

Paul Burns
91 Posted 14/06/2019 at 15:32:36
Win every game and you win the league.
Every game is winnable. That is how we have to look at it.
Who gives a monkey's about second or anything less?
If we can't go into every game expecting to win, we may as well give up now.
Dale Rose
92 Posted 14/06/2019 at 18:23:55
Interesting one for the derby in December being shown live on Amazon Prime.
Darren Hind
93 Posted 14/06/2019 at 19:02:57
Casho !

Just been looking at what you've been up to. HaHa.

Looking forward to you all coming up next month.

Great to see you posting, Sensible stuff too - I can only assume the alehouses must be shut down there

Denis Richardson
94 Posted 14/06/2019 at 19:06:35
Tony 88 - am not naive enough to think we can go out and easily find a 20+ a year goal scorer but I refuse to believe we can't afford a striker who'll be better than Tosun or DCL. If that is the case then Brands and Silva should be shown the door.

Our top scorers last season in the league were Richarlison and Gilfy, both on 13 - even Glenn Murray managed that playing for a near relegated side and he's 35. Our next top scorer was DCL on 6 from 35 appearances (even Digne managed 4). Likes of Ashley Barnes and Joshua King are no where near world class but both still easily outscored DCL and Tosun, combined.

We need prem standard fire power up front and that is not DCL or Tosun for me. The former is only 22 and will improve but can't yet be 1st choice and the latter is just crap. Giving 150% effort every game doesn't count for much if you don't have the skill or pace for this level. Niasse busts a gut too, I'd bust a gut too given the chance.

Not asking for a miracle just a striker who's going to ask questions of the defence either through pace and/or presence holding up the ball and bringing others into play, dominant in the air etc.

If we have any ambitions on improving, it won't be with Tosun and DCL as our main strikers. Just my opinion anyway - happy to eat humble pie if DCL bags 15+ goals in the coming season.

Benjamin Dyke
95 Posted 14/06/2019 at 19:31:03
Not one that generally cares about the order of the fixtures. I guess if you start badly with a run against top 6 teams it can affect the confidence and in turn affect the whole season, like Newcastle last year. So we have no excuse if we have a bad run in December. We'll have had enough games by then to settle down. Or at worst we'll enter December already brittle after a disastrous start and we'll be in the relegation places come the new year and looking for another new manager!
Denis Richardson
96 Posted 14/06/2019 at 20:11:13
Derek 89 - Brands certainly had a tough ask to clear the deadwood but it should not take anywhere near 5 years as hardly any players had that much left on their contracts. Most had 2-3 years left and that was a year ago. He's done a decent job shifting the likes of Klaasen and Mori but a few others have simply come to the end of their contracts.

If we can't get rid of players they will just go when their contracts run out and the likes of Jagielka and Williams leaving this month has freed up about £120k/week in wages, given it was widely written that Williams was on £70k/week and Jags £50k. Think we have another 4 or 5 high paid players that just have one year left so in 12 months time that's a load more gone (hoping with just a year left we can loan them out for part wages at least).

There'll be a couple of stragglers but not that long to go until most of the deadwood is gone - important thing is to not make the same mistake of signing a whole load more on long term contracts. Would be nice to have a few loans with options to buy - would have helped with Zouma and Gomes.

Julian Exshaw
97 Posted 14/06/2019 at 20:11:20
For a variety of reasons I normally hate our visits to Palace. Maybe it's Selhurst Park itself. Will be good to get it over with early.
Tony McNulty
98 Posted 14/06/2019 at 21:10:24
Denis (94),

I certainly wasn't suggesting you were naive. I anything I was the naive one in thinking that Tosun might be another Shearer...

This reflects my on-going problem as an Everton fan: I always think the next signing is going to be the answer. You'd think by now I would have recognised the illusion which is my continuing hope, over hard, concrete experience.

When this season's signings are announced, I'll be exactly the same, starting 2019-20 thinking this is going to be the one.


Derek Knox
99 Posted 14/06/2019 at 22:30:14
Denis @ 96, I didn't mean 5 years to get rid of deadwood alone, I meant the whole project of which that is a part of, but I meant to get a younger age group across the board, with better quality players, and a more excitable style of play.

Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

Laurie Hartley
100 Posted 14/06/2019 at 23:58:09
Pat 80+5 - touché. I have decided to take your word for it.

By the way - I have (taken up arts). Deep down I must have known.

Denis Richardson
101 Posted 17/06/2019 at 19:43:55
Tony 98 - non offence taken at all.

I am always wary of January transfers at the best of times, especially for big money. In the recent past, we've had Tosun, Walcott and Niasse...

We should probably stop signing players in January for a bit.

Denis Richardson
102 Posted 17/06/2019 at 19:44:47
Derek 99 - my mistake. Misunderstood the post.
Steavey Buckley
103 Posted 17/06/2019 at 20:19:07
It is going to be a difficult few weeks from the start of the season to have a stable Everton team with so many players away with their national teams and with so many players coming and going.

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