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Lyndon Lloyd
Editorial Team
1 Posted 08/08/2020 at 17:56:03
You endured it and possibly dissected it to death during weeks of lockdown and then despaired at Everton's weak performance over the final 9 games. This is intended more for archival/historical record purposes and as a set-up for a follow-up piece on recruitment to come in the next few days.
Mick Roberts
2 Posted 08/08/2020 at 18:10:49
I said when Ancelotti was first appointed he has been successful because he has managed already winning teams... Has he ever brought a club up from midtable to succsess? No.

Hope I am wrong but I have not got a great deal of confidence in Ancelotti.

David Currie
3 Posted 08/08/2020 at 18:57:20
It all starts from the top of any Football club and our recruitment has to get better. Moshiri got it wrong with Sam and what did Silva ever do to get the job as our manager?

We all know that Carlo has to make central midfield our priority, our recruitment of players in this position has been shocking. Sigurdsson, Schneiderlin, Gomes, Klaassen and Delph all signed for big money (with the exception of Delph) but all 5 were and are on huge wages.

None of them were ever going to take us to the next level, we need to get some speed and players with some nark and high energy into this area of the pitch.

Moshiri brought Walsh in who wasted a lot of money and then replaced him with Brands and he has to do better in the recruitment of players as this maybe his last season.

Jack Convery
4 Posted 08/08/2020 at 19:17:00
Sums it up perfectly, though I would have lingered a lot more on the FA Cup defeat by the RS. In all my years watching Everton, that has to be the most embarrassing defeat ever. Gutless and Pitiful.

Due to Covid-19 over half that team will still be with us come September. If that attitude continues then only a battle to stay out the bottom 3 will ensue. Leeds and WBA are no mugs so the competition in the Premier League will be more fierce.

Good luck Carlo you may well need it with this club.

Kevin Prytherch
5 Posted 08/08/2020 at 19:57:58
I have more faith in Ancelotti now than I did when we appointed him.

Although I accept that Ferguson managed to motivate them more for his brief tenure, and occasionally it irritates me that he will stick with certain players who might have finished a previous game well when they aren't suited to the next game (nowhere near as much as previous managers have)

He has shown enough flexibility in team selection and tactical tweaks to demonstrate that, when he has a few players with a bit of passion and desire, he should be able to field decent teams depending on the opposition. The likes of switching from 4-4-2 to 3-5-2 depending on whether we're attacking, or even deploying Davies to cover at full-back when attacking as our full-backs are more creative going forward show that he actually thinks about the game – and doesn't just blindly persist with the same tactics.

In addition, his willingness to put faith in some of our younger players will serve the club well. It's no coincidence that Calvert-Lewin and Holgate often look the most passionate – they weren't boyhood blues but have come here young and now love the club. We will either save a fortune, or increase the value of younger players to sell them.

I am optimistic about the coming season – I haven't been for the last few seasons.

Bill Gienapp
6 Posted 08/08/2020 at 20:12:04
The 3-2 win over Wolves in September was my first ever visit to Goodison. Turns out, with the obvious exception of the Ferguson win over Chelsea, that was probably our best home match all season. Imagine if I'd come all the way to England just to watch us roll over to Norwich City.
Anthony A Hughes
8 Posted 08/08/2020 at 21:02:52
I fear we're too far gone from the so-called "Elite" teams now that, without huge investment on proven class players over a period of time, we will never offer a serious challenge again.

The constant mantra of "bring the young players through" isn't playing out on the pitch. Holgate aside (who didn't come through our system) the rest are much of a muchness.

Kunal Desai
9 Posted 08/08/2020 at 21:08:19
We have wasted 20 plus seasons – what's another season? What are the expectations of a mid premier league table? We are in the same bracket as West Ham Utd and Newcastle Utd hoping we can fluke some silverware.

The aim next season will be European football, of course, but I see perhaps a climb of a couple of positions at best to the campaign just ended. Hate to admit it we have regressed since Moyes left.

I'm not sure Moshiri was the right man to bring in to take us forward. Yet another Kenwright masterstroke in bringing someone to the club who would work and fit into his agenda and criteria as opposed to selling up and giving up 100% ownership.

I've not seen any plan or strategy as to how we move forward since Moshiri came onboard. He may not have a footballing brain but I would have expected better from him in terms of recruitment at senior levels and those that he could bring onboard with the level of expertise to elevate us to the next level.

I've not seen any evidence of this in the 4 years he's been here and firmly believe we'll be in the category of laughing stock next season.

I suggest Moshiri treads very carefully to protect his investment here. Firing managers only gets you so far before eventually falling through that trap door one season by way of relegation.

John Keating
10 Posted 08/08/2020 at 21:20:12
I hate to say it but I doubt the coming season will see us do much more than this one. Until we free up some of the deadwood and are able to bring in some half-decent players, we will more than likely go with what we have.

I think Ancelotti has been surprised by the shite he has inherited. No doubt he can tweak things but, at the end of the day he can only do so much.

Doesn't matter who the manager is – if the players have no bottle, he's knackered. Ferguson got them up for a few games but the arseholes were running out of steam and effort by the time Ancelotti appeared.

Darren Hind
11 Posted 08/08/2020 at 21:50:00
I'd love one of these people who peddle the crackpot theory that Ferguson had the players on their knees, to come on here and explain how these "drained, spent, exhausted" players managed to pick up maximum points from the next two games.

It all started to go Pete Tong for Carlo when he allowed Klopp to put him on the back foot at Mordor.

Klopp was only the start. The wily old fox has been sussed by younger hungrier managers with fresher ideas ever since.

Kevin Prytherch
12 Posted 08/08/2020 at 22:20:40
Darren,

I normally agree with a lot of what you say - especially when pleading for time for younger players and allowing them time. However, I do feel that you should follow the same approach with Ancelotti. If we get to the end of next season and still look like we do now, then fair enough, slag him off But give the man a chance before writing him off completely.

I've read your posts about wanting ex Everton players as managers (I would also love to see that again); however, even Kendall took a couple of years before we really started to see improvement.

Ancelotti has done many things that Silva, Koeman and Allardyce didn't in terms of tactics and trusting some younger players. Personally I think he should have been even bolder in the last few games and played even more younger players; however, Holgate, Branthwaite, Davies, Gordon, Calvert-Lewin and Kean all got some game time – that is a marked improvement on the previous regime.

Chris Leyland
13 Posted 08/08/2020 at 22:36:27
To be fair, since Carlo came in, we won 8 drew 6 and lost 7. Of all those defeats, only the last one against Bournemouth could really be seen as a shock as the others included Man City, Chelsea, Spurs, Arsenal and the shite (in the cup) all away; all of which have been par for the course for a long, long time before Ancelotti showed up.

The other defeat was a very good Wolves team away. Yes, I know the shite beating us with their kids was a low point but, let's face it, they could play their women's team at their place and beat us.

Given that he managed to only lose a third of the games since taking over with the shambles of a squad he inherited with basically no midfield to speak of, I think Carlo deserves be given the benefit if a full season with a few of his own signings before anyone writes him off.

John Raftery
14 Posted 08/08/2020 at 23:08:47
A fair summary of another disappointing campaign. I think at last the majority of fans have now stopped kidding themselves that we have a good squad which required only a capable manager in order to turn things around. The reality is the squad is largely comprised of a very average to poor bunch of players lacking ability, consistency and character. There are a few exceptions, mainly those in their early twenties who are trying to build careers amid the dross around them.

Given the abject state of the squad inherited by Ancelotti coupled with the financial constraints faced by the club, rebuilding in the narrow window before the start of the new season will likely be very modest. Nevertheless one or two sensible additions, most notably in the midfield area, may go a long way to improving our prospects for a top half finish in 2020/21. Qualification for Europe at present looks unlikely.

Lyndon, two very minor points of accuracy. Holgate was on loan at West Brom for only half a season. Koeman’s final match was a 5-2 defeat but it was at Goodison not away from home.

Mark Andersson
15 Posted 08/08/2020 at 01:08:33
Is it a blessing that the start of the new season will be behind closed doors??

I use to think that the Goodison faithful were a bad influence with the moaning and criticism during match day... sure they can act as the 12th man on occations and help win a game..

But the last n8ne games shows that even Carlo cant motivate tge shower of shite to up there game..

So like some posts above I don't see much improvement next season..

Ed Prytherch
16 Posted 09/08/2020 at 03:47:28
It is a myth that Carlo has only coached great teams. After leaving the Italian national side where he was an assistant coach he went to A.C. Reggiana who were near the bottom of Seria B and he got them promoted to Seria A in his first season. He then went to Parma and in two years they were runners up in Seria A. It was only after that that he went to Juventus, AC Milan, Chelsea, etc.

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