Talking Points

A lot of debate is underway on recent ToffeeWeb threads about our squad’s ability, hunger, and that favoured word: ‘deadwood’. We will finish this season where we belong and I am in the Stan Schofield, Thomas Richards school of asking: Why, wit...
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Just watched a heartbreaking newsreel shown this morning by BBC's Breakfast on Speedo Mick and his difficulties during lockdown.

He said, just becaus...
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It’s becoming nauseating, the "We listened to the fans, we are sorry."

Sorry for what exactly?

Sorry for subversive secrecy?
Sorry for lying to fellow Premier League members?
Sorry for damaging fellow PL members' business m...
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I noticed the other day that Wealdstone of the National League had a debut scoring midfielder on loan from Watford, with the classy name of Sonny Blu Lo-Everton!...
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Had our new ground been up and running it's not impossible that Everton would have been invited into this "Super" League. I have been thinking quite a bit about what my own reaction would have been.

My first response would have been the same as mos...
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Based on the current set of players, assuming they’re all fit, Who would be your best starting XI and why? What formation and, assuming they all stay fit, where would that starting XI finish in the Premier League?

I’d go for, in a 4-3-3 ...
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Over the years, Everton have bought some really bad players, some really below-average players and some, quite frankly, awful players. Players such as Alex Nyarko, Brett Angell, Simon Davies, Per Krøldrup, OumarNiasse etc...

Now we have Marcel...
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I am working on a site which takes Everton through the years from the first FA Youth Cup competition back in 1952-53. I am still adding details including match reports, teamsheets etc.

The main site is https://evertonfayouthcuphistory.webador.co....
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As we close in on the end of the 2020-2021 season thoughts inevitably move towards what the Blues need to do in the transfer market to strengthen the squad for 2021-2022. A dynamic midfielder who can move the ball quickly, has pace and can score p...
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I remember as a kid running onto the pitch after Everton had clinched the title against West Brom. What a feeling! It was a dream. I couldn’t believe it. My feet were standing on the turf of Goodison Park. For those few moments under the brigh...
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I thought I’d done with this after last year's lockdown marathon, a 9-month therapy session basically. This will be my last go, I promise.

The new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock changes a lot of things, resets a lot of dynamics, gives hope, rest...
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A wonderful post from Dave Abrahams on the FA Cup Quarterfinal game thread, along with the news of the sad death of Frank Worthington, has got me thinking about coaching.

Dave reminisced about street football and used a phrase that I had never ...
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Definition: “great energy, strength, concentration, vehemence, etc., as of activity, thought, or feeling”

It's a term that we hear more and more of each season. All managers now are praising or complaining about “intensity”. Why is it s...
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There is a lot of goodwill towards Carlo Ancelloti from Evertonians and beyond. His record is superb, his demeanour impeccable, and his standing in the game beyond reproach. It has been argued on this site that he has taken over esablished teams, fin...
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How high in the league will Everton finish? We are unlikely to finish in the top three but finishing in the top six is within our means. Set out below are the remaining fixtures for the teams currently in positions four to ten.

So although ...
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This is a follow up to a previous Talking Point: “How good are we really?”

I often read that Everton are progressing this season. I am not convinced that we are actually progressing b...
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“The table never lies” – so goes the old expression and, generally, I don’t believe that it does. Over a whole season, the "luck”, poor refereeing decisions, and injuries tend to even out. Except that this season, I’m not totally convince...
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“The King then demanded to open the gate that the righteous nation, said he, which keepeth the truth, may enter in”
(The Pilgrim's Progress – John Bunyan)

In the classic novel The Pilgrim's Progress by John Buny...
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Championship player at best, can’t pass, can’t tackle, gives the ball away too much, not big enough, too slow etc. Tom Davies has had a lot of criticism levelled at him in the last few years. Could he now be the missing piece we have been searchi...
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Even renowned world-class football managers can sometimes get it wrong. That's how I felt after watching the dismal Everton performance against 'one win in 11 games' Newcastle Utd.

The players were rightly condemned, but I felt the manager's f...
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