Everton’s quality prevails against plucky Fleetwood

Nkounkou must be pushing for a first-team place shortly, he is outstanding and looks like he could play several positions to me, midfield and centre back as well as left-back.

And yes, it was only Fleetwood and it's only a game-and-a-half sample, but to me Digne looks perfectly comfortable at centre-back, and if either Mina or Keane goes down I'd be perfectly comfortable seeing him shift there and Nkounkou given his Premier League debut.

I say again that we do not need to spend money on a centre-back right now to bridge us until Holgate and the kid are healthy. We'll be fine.

Whatever it is, we need a commanding, assured keeper who is calm under pressure and gives the back four confidence. Pickford could cost us big style this season.

What a mistake by Pickford for the 1st goal. Overplayed.

Overall, he seems to have ironed out some of his mistakes (like rushing out when it's not necessary). Second goal, he misjudged the flight at first but made the correct decision to get back to goal, it's unlucky not to push that ball away. It's a close-range overhead kick. I won't blame him on that.

Is he:

a) Too confident?

b) Arrogant?

c) Lacking confidence?"

d) Just another poor keeper?

Expecting a lot from Saturday's game!
COYB!!

Sigurdsson became anonymous again and did not appear to want to take immediate command when the ball was passed to him, preferring to pass back.

Kean is a good players but for the first time I have to agree with others – he does not appear to be happy. Some of these young superstar players have a destructive sense of entitlement; I hope he isn't one of them. Took his goal well.

And two-thirds of the posts here so far are about Pickford.

Geez.

Made up Gordon taking his chance... and time for Simms to push on as well.

I'm proud he plays for England and I want him to do well but he doesn't seem to be maturing and these thing just happen too often. Our standards are rising and I'm beginning to think now is the time... which means a new goalie.

Fortunately the other 10 played great and banged in 5 goals (again).

Good professional performance. Got the job done.

Spot on about Bernard and Iwobi though – fabulous attitude and quality from both. Digne was excellent at centre-back but we'll be a soft touch defending set-pieces if we can't secure a proper centre-back with physical presence. And of course our rising star Nkounkou will be hard to keep out of the first team... what a player!

I don't agree it was a bad pass by Keane. If Pickford had lumped it with his right foot... Once he let it run across him on his left, he was in trouble, and probably didn't realise their 2nd lad was there. I'm still behind him but he needs to work on his concentration level!

For the second, he was right, when he realised he couldn't reach the cross, to re-adjust his position. However, his attempt to stop the overhead kick was a Sunday morning park football effort (with apologies to Sunday morning footballers).

Southall or Jennings would have stood and plucked that out of the air, it was straight at him! But, yet again, he tries to make an easy save look special with an unnecessary dive and opts to palm it away, Has he never learnt how to catch a ball? Always a punch or a slap away is his preferred option.

Needs to be dropped, even Gordon West had a lengthy spell in the reserves and was replaced by Andy Rankin, and only got back in when injury gave him an opportunity, and he never looked back.

I hope the club have looked into it, ritalin could be a game changer for our much maligned no 1. I wish him no ill will, I just want him to bloody step up as he is letting the side down.

If only someone wanted to buy him! I'm with Mike Gaynes on this, he made a comment some weeks ago that there are numerous quality goalkeepers in the Bundesliga (even at mid-level teams) who would improve us instantly. Sommer, Pavlenka and Horn to name but a few.

That and the need to play a left-back at centre-half two cup games in a row due to lack of squad depth in that position. This is by no means any sort of criticism of Digne's performance there, by the way.

I can't see how anybody can defend Pickford or make excuses for him last night. He basically flapped at a chest-high ball that to be fair, wasn't exactly traveling very fast at him.

He is a conundrum. Let's try to get behind him though, lads – he may be a flapper but he is a Blue and needs our support.

Richarlison & Iwobi were top class! Kills me when people write off Iwobi – he's young and experienced with ability – Carlo will get him good! Just needs to be consistent. I thought his pressing & work rate was really good too!

Bernard was unplayable in the first half – went missing in the second - until his great goal!

Delph was really decent in the first half – but ran out of gas! Definitely not a bad back up option for us, with bags of experience and such good aggression, also a very decent pass on him. Just has to stay fit!

Sigurdsson worked all game long – really sad to see him out of position & not able to contribute as much creatively! But he always puts in a shift – his pressing was really good too.

Davies needs a loan – mainly to get away from our toxic fans. There's a player in there for sure. Also needs a lot of game time to get his confidence.

Kenny was good, especially defensively. For me, he needs to take the more difficult option for a forward pass sometimes. He is too safe and mainly passes backwards. But I thought he played well on the whole.

Gordon was too selfish when he came on – but credit for his assist – really good. But after that, he was only interested in scoring for himself.

Kean was decent – really disappointed we didn't start him. He needs game time & some confidence. He is definitely sulking,but it's a little understandable. Still grabs a goal. Needs to fix the attitude – still so young & has all the attributes to be a top top player.

But the defence playing keep ball in the penalty box puts him under unnecessary pressure. If the answer is to play it long, then the defence could have done that without inviting a press all the way to our 6-yard box.

Keane on the other hand, with all the time in the world and the ability to use his favoured foot, decided to put the keeper under pressure without good reason. It was a crap decision from a centre-back who has started the season well.

One other comment is that Davies came on and did well for us last night to shore things up after Pickford gave us the wobbles for a spell. He got stuck in and always looks to take the ball forward. Sigurdsson by comparison remains lightweight and anonymous. I know which of the two I'd prefer to have in the squad rather than on the way to Southampton.

Just wonder when and against who did he open his scoring account with us?

If he was as good as some of our fans think, why haven't the likes of Chelsea come after him? They all see he is a liability, that's why Joey instructed his players to press on any backpass to him, hence two players did and got their goal.

All other Premier League managers will have observed the same weakness. I fear that, despite the huge improvement in the squad, as long a Jordan remains in goal, I will be a nervous wreck until the end of each game as there is at least one howler from him in each game.

Sorry, Mike, his mistakes need to be called out. If we are to do well this season, we need to stop leaking stupid goals. Not a problem when we score 5 against 10 men or lower league teams but, if we have ambition to challenge for Europe, we will be in much tighter games against the so-called big 6 where a 1-0 win would be crucial and the concession of these type of goals would wreck our ambitions.

Working from home is taking a toll on me, so I didn't follow the team closely. No live matches for me either.

Apart from the result against Spurs, I think we would all have expected us to beat Salford and Fleetwood in the League Cup, and to have beaten West Brom at home in the Premier League, especially them having to play all the 2nd half with 10 men. But what may not have been expected was the new-found belief that is there for all to see, we are playing the ball quicker and look a completely different team to last season.

There is no doubt that the 3 signings have injected a lot of confidence into this squad; although none of the new signings were playing last night, that confidence that was lacking last season was still there.

I heard Carlo after the game when asked about Pickford's error; he cleverly said he was not alone responsible for the goal, even though he knew he was. He doesn't throw his players under a bus to enhance his reputation – like another high profile manager does. He probably thinks he might need to replace him but maybe he can't in this window, so needs to build his confidence rather than knock it.

Carlo went on to say how pleased he was with the contribution of all the players but significantly said a first-team squad of 31 is too big, it's unmanageable, so I presume some of the squad will be allowed to leave in this window.

Jordan's problem is, he is doing this sort of thing with increasing regularity and the press are almost certainly going to give him the same sort of treatment other error-prone keepers have received. We`ve all see what that entails.

The boy's character is going to be put under the microscope like never before and, unless we bring somebody else in (unlikely at this stage), he is still going to be our man.

I pray he comes through this... because, if he doesn't, we are going nowhere.

His aggressive running and desire to play adventurously reminds me of a young Welshman who joined Spurs as a left-back in 2007. No idea what happened to him...

Carlo's post-match interview was revealing. He repeated his message that we have too many (31) in the first-team squad. He wants to get this down to 25.

Obviously that is dependent on other clubs wanting our spares. Walcott, Besic, Davies, Bolasie, Tosun are all probably favourites to go, at least on loan, but would raise little money. I think Iwobi and Bernard are playing for one place but either could attract a decent fee.

Whoever it is, I expect a lot of taxis at Finch Farm before the 5 October.

I really feel we should try for Romero. I've never seen him play bad for Man Utd.

Iwobi is still very poor, some crap passes when not under pressure, but not to dwell on negatives – there is so much that is positive about us now.

COYB

But how about this to give us a smile.

A win at Highbury for the first time since 20 January 1996.

Just a shame the other team have moved to a new stadium since then!

Yes, he's done a decent job out of position; yes, it's great when he's on the ball and spraying out passes from deep, but their second goal showed perfectly what would happen if we tried this every week. He's just not good enough in the air to play him in the middle.

Goalies have to fill the goal and command the air from crosses and Pickford simply does not have the physical attributes. His bizarre antics trying to compensate inevitably make him look like a flapper.

Doubtless a lovely lad and irrefutably a great shot-stopper but he lacks the other fundamentals simply because of his size.

He will continue to cost us goals, I'm afraid.

Just a shame that £60k Seamus Coleman isn't 10 years younger.

By the start of next season, we'll have a different 'keeper.

Martin #37, it's more about the wage bill than the fee we get. Long contracts and fee payments mean we lose proportionately less on fees; cutting the wage bill is more significant for FFP.

He seems to have the arrogance (meant as a compliment) to run at people and do the unexpected. The backheel on the run to set up Kean was not something I've seen many young players do. I think the term is 'Gallic Flair'.

True, we maybe saying "Niels Who?" in 5 years time. But he already comes up first on Google if I type just 'Nie'. Knocking a Danish Physicist into second place!

I can see quite a few clubs who would benefit from having those players, but they won't see value at their current wage level.

I wonder if the club are factoring in the wages of players with soon-to-expire contracts, when thinking about FFP?

Of course there is the elephant in the room: Pickford is a problem and, given the potential to make huge progression this season, we need to be bringing in a new Number 1. Hopefully, we will end up with the guy from Man Utd who must surely be surplus to requirements at this stage.

I can't wait to see Nkounkou up against stronger opposition to see if he is as effective; the signs are good.

I think it's hard for a goalkeeper: if they make a mistake, it usually ends up in the net, whereas outfield players can misplace passes in key areas but maybe the attacker doesn't take advantage or the keeper makes a save.

Prior to last night's game, Pickford had looked more solid, so was last night the old Pickford making another error or was it a blip? We have either Lössl, who I don't think is the answer, or Virginia, who is still learning and still at least a year off being able to replace Pickford.

I think for now Pickford will be our 'keeper, and probably till the summer, so let's hope we see more of the Pickford that played against Spurs and less of the one who played last night.

No wonder he looks sulky – noboby even notices when he does score.

So you're advocating us taking a Man Utd cast-off, and their third-choice keeper as well? Better get yer tin hat ready!

There's a Battalion of ToffeeWebbers just waiting to point out that we should not be taking cast-offs from top-six sides if we want to become top six ourselves.

When it costs us points, the shit will hit the fan.

Carlo isn't going to put up with it, neither will his teammates. He has got to find some consistency somehow or his days are numbered, both for us and his other job.

Does he actually listen to any advice the goalkeeping coaches must be giving him, or is it going in one ear and out of the other? Perhaps we need a tougher goalkeeping coach armed with a cattle prod or something.

When he's gone, he'll be seen as an aberration – a goalie who found a multitude of ways to let daft goals in and in brackets this description will have the words: (see Liverpool, December 2018) as his epitaph.

Pickford received the pass from Keane onto his right leg. He can kick perfectly well with that foot but opted to let it run so that he could look for the killer counter-attack on his favourite peg. Unfortunately, his peripheral vision let him down, and the strikers closed in very quickly.

I don't buy the "goalkeepers get the blame more than outfield players" defence of him. He has continuously made unforced errors. Basic mistakes. He does make great saves and at Spurs he did well but he has too many flaws which are not being ironed out.

His goal-kicks off the deck and out of hand too often go straight out, giving possession away. He still has lapses of concentration and positionally he is prone to concede from long range.

The Baggie's free-kick saw him a full yard to his right, leaving the wall to cover his left. The clever set-piece beat the (non-jumping) Mina and he was nowhere near it. The ball wasn't in the top corner and I would suggest that, if Pickford hadn't been so cocky not standing in the centre, he would have got to it.

Recently he has also opted to punch shots out when they surely could have been held. I can understand if the ball is wet but the gloves are so good that it sticks like glue these days.

Virginia looks good enough to have a go at Palace. Pickford needs a rocket and a spell on the bench will help him focus his mind (if he has one!).

Pickford is a good shot-stopper but has brainstorm mistakes in him. I'm now not persuaded the former outweighs the latter. He needs a real challenger to him or a replacement, current options don't seem to be more than okay number 2s for emergency use only. The young left-back has real promise, let's see where that goes.

Bernard looks to be a good back-up in the Gomes role or as a number 10 if that is needed. Back up to Richie/James appears to be between Walcott and Iwobi. Neither is ideal but I'd go with the latter, offload the former. Jury still out on Kean. Kenny is okay as a back-up to Seamus. Gordon is another with raw talent, worth keeping, may end up leapfrogging Iwobi as best wide forward option because he has much more pace.

Where options are much more limited is Allan and Doucouré. Here we have Sigurdsson, Davies and Delph. Sigurdsson has always been a puzzle. It's never been clear to me how he fits in. Certainly not out wide, not as a box to box, not as a defensive midfielder and we are well covered in the Gomes / Bernard position – others can also fill that place. Square peg in a round hole, always has been. Any takers?

Between the latter two, my heart says Davies but he's been around for several years despite his tender age. To be blunt, he hasn't 'trained on' and I think this might be the best he will be. Loan if not sell.

Delph is no long-term option and is pretty average, but he might do until Gbamin gets fit and, if the latter is a write-off, collect the insurance and buy a proper back-up in this role. He can also back-up left-back, in case our new star doesn't kick on.

The likes of Besic, Tosun, Sandro, Bolasie are clearly surplus and need shifting. Easier said than done, they are not even getting shop window time and most are on silly wages. Might have to cut our losses there. Would any consider a buyout offer on their contracts?

- lost possession 18 times over the course of the game – the most of any Toffee
- won zero duels
- missed the target with every single one of his 6 attempted crosses
- provided just one key pass.

To put that last stat into context, even centre-back Michael Keane, and substitute Moise Kean delivered one key pass!

I fully sympathise with him for recent tragic family events, but this is repeating a similar nightmare as last season.

Plucky is our word, along with "Little".

Gareth #27, good post, but Bernard didn't "disappear" second half -- Barton changed his alignment, replacing young Stubbs with a midfielder who marked Bernard more tightly. Bernard needs open space to operate -- he is not successful in tight quarters. Also I see no "sulking" in Kean... his work rate is great, and I always distrust conclusions based on facial expressions. And since there are no fans at the games, "toxic" or otherwise, I don't see how Davies is being affected (unless he reads TW!).

Geoff #42, when Seamus was 10 years younger, he was a terrible defender. I like the older version much better.

Virginia really needs to step up and pressure him big time. Same with Simms up front not making Calvert-Lewin comfortable in his position (or Moise Keane).

So I wonder did Everton pay for all Fleetwood Towns team to be tested, and if they didn't might that not increase the chances of some of our players testing positive, as all Premier League sides are tested twice a week.

The EFL teams can't afford to test their staff twice a week, and some aren't testing at all. Maybe the obscenely rich PFA could provide the money for their members to be tested twice a week.

Seeing as the government have now put back any chance of crowds being allowed into stadiums, so surely without some financial help, I can see many clubs outside the Premier League either have to shut the leagues down to avoid further costs and thus helping some to avoid dropping out of the league.

The problem is Gomes is even more anonymous than Sigurdsson in most Premier League games.

I thought Bernard looked the business last night if only he could reproduce that form in the Premier League, he would be an automatic choice.

Some very aesthetically pleasing goals in the game and if it wasn't for Pickford there'd be universal praise here and rightly so. It looked like Pickford's concentration – again – was at least partly to blame for the first. It looked like an eagerness to atone played a part in the second. If you're strong as your weakest link then I feel we've all found him.

It was gratifying just how we were set out to play here. This was a mix of first-teamers and the second unit yet the passing and ball movement was dynamic, quick and accurate. Fleetwood, as their lower-league level might suggest, grant more time on the ball than the players might normally see.

The result was devastating, with Bernard essentially a like for like replacement in the James role. His thumping finish was probably the goal of the game. The extra time on the ball just let us pick and measure passes and the chances came thick and fast. A great move took a truly great save to deny Dom, and I thought Richarlison would get a hat-trick of his own.

Another little marker on the road back to relevance. Long may it continue.

BTW, did you see Ibrahimovic tested positive for Covid-19 just two days after his brace against Bologna?

Doesn't sound like as Barton mentioned before the game they're tested once every three weeks and they weren't going to do extras this week as it's a “waste of money”.

Is it because it was an already won game in the last minute? But at least a smile from someone surely?

But, it being Fleetwood aside, that was some first-half performance. I don't think I've seen an Everton team as dominant for 30 years. I saw a stat today that said Everton have had more shots in 4 games than in Allardyce's first 27 games.

Momentum is everything in sport. Players who have struggled suddenly come into their own in a winning side. So here's hoping we take it to Palace on Saturday.

Nearly always he was in space with about six metres to the nearest Fleetwood player. So, instead of control and turning and looking forward, time and time again he passed it straight back to the defender who he had just received it from.

What in the name of Beelzebub is going on with him to do that? Lack of communication or just plain poor awareness of what is going on around him? He needs to get a grip, it is embarrassing.

Good game for Iwobi, Nkounkuo, Bernard et al.

We shall meet during & after Crystal Palace, I want an emphatic win irrespective of opposition.

Below are some relevant things I posted on other pages here about Sigurdsson, with some slight additions. I understand people may disagree but it's just my view.

The thrust is that I believe he is being misused and confused through an appealing but mistaken notion to think of him and to ask him to be something he isn't. I can understand where the mistake is coming from, but it's a huge waste and a lose-lose.

1. After the Fleetwood game:

"I feel like he has mixed messages in his head.
Useless playing him in this game in my opinion unless he is clearly told "Gylfi, forget what happens behind you. Forget the central midfield. If the ball gets coughed up, it's the 6 and the 8's fault. You just work hard in the 10 role purely and try to create."

But the thing is, does Ancelotti want to tell him that? Or does he, knowing it's a second-string midfield, want Gylfi as a 'calm head in the middle' – which I suspect happens? Because it's superficially very easy to fall into that trap: Gylfi's experienced, he's calm, has good ball control. But if Carlo does have that in mind for him to any extent, then it's a mistake.

Gylfi cannot take 'responsibility' in the middle the way people think because he doesn't have the pace or engine to maraud. He's just a No 10 – that's it. And he should be told he needs to take responsibility for that - but that alone. Far, far less useful otherwise. If he gets the ball in the middle, all he will do is make sure he doesn't actively screw up.

2. After the Salford game:

Now that Allan and Doucouré are in the team, I think he can flourish – I would put him in the No 10. Some or most people think his time is up – I couldn't disagree more. Now that we have intelligence with James and actual proper central midfielders, I think this is precisely the time that Sigurdsson can finally use out his technical and brainy skill set.

I'd have Richarlison on the left, James on the right. Carlo has said that is James's best position. Calvert-Lewin up top.

(Both would cut in often, the full-backs would give width, Allan would cover and Doucouré could too when both the fullback and winger were forward.)

Sigurdsson is a very good player. Just needs a strong central midfield behind him so he doesn't have to worry about Everton losing the ball and getting smashed the other way – he was always worried about this to me last year.

He was played as some sort of No 6 / No 8 hybrid nonsense position – for lack of other options. Always trying to make sure we didn't give the ball away because it was obvious that, if we turned it over, there'd be no-one quick and robust enough to save things before they got close to the defence and the goal - certainly Sigurdsson himself isn't, and he knew it.

And he doesn't really have the pace to make many options for people to pass to him when they're coming out of defence – he's just way too slow to maraud around the middle of a pitch. So he was basically useless in terms of his own play.

Might be a goer? Nah... Jordon is just too popular right now.

I disagree about Sigurdsson. I like him as a No 10 but this team we now have needs much more than his technique and passes. He has no power to win a challenge (and Ancelotti asks that from his midfielders) and little ability to dribble past players.

I think that he is only profitable when he has a free-kick or the ball in movement near the area with space. Like an NFL player that gets in a game to kick long-distance shots, that's how I see him.

This is a very athletic team we now have and I don't see he realizes he should be running much more than he does... or, if so, then I think he gets tired too quick. That's why, in my opinion, Carlo puts him in second half always.

Gomes, on the other hand, also lacks some commitment and can loose easily some balls but for this role in midfield, I see him much more suitable and with a much greater desire to fight and run. Sigurdsson looks he's running like my grandfather does in the park. Thankfully Carlo is making the right choices, COYB!

I want to add something to my last message:

If James, who's the most gifted player in the squad, runs and gets balls back, do you believe Sigurdsson could be just left to contribute when the ball goes to him? That's hilarious!

My love of football already on the wane has taken another blow, and I wonder if the circumstances had been reversed, would Leyton Orient have received a bye.

It's a tricky one. Technically if you can't field a team because of injuries, sickness, suspensions that's the norm. But I would hazard a guess and suggest the Orient players are asymptomatic and would have happily played blissfully unaware of their illness had Spurs not paid for their test.

It does work out nicely for Mourinho and his fixture congestion whining. But it also sets a precedent mid-pandemic. Would the powers that be do the same if a big club had the same issue for the semi or final? I suspect not.

Besides, when you come right down to it, Orient is responsible, not Spurs or the football authorities. Clubs all over the world are doing what needs to be done to stay healthy. Orient failed, comprehensively (18 players, reportedly) to meet that obligation. Do they deserve special dispensation? I don't think so.

A rather sad irony is that Spurs apparently paid for the testing of Orient's players!

Maybe Orient were privately quite content with the decision.

I think 'outraged' is a bit strong, and I take your point that there are things far more important than football.

You may not be aware that I was totally against the resumption of football behind closed doors, because I considered the Premier League and it's member clubs, were placing money above human life. I felt so strongly on this issue that I took the decision to boycott the televised games staged behind closed doors, a decision that was met with scorn by at least one person on this site. It's a decision that I have maintained, and will continue to do so.

Furthermore, although I have received my season ticket, I will not enter Goodison until it's safe for everyone.

On a more pleasant note, I trust that you and your 'Young Lady' are keeping well, having endured a worrying time earlier this year.

I was certainly aware of your boycott decision and I do understand it (and I hope you can ignore that one poster's scorn). My view is that Spurs acted with wise and appropriate caution to protect the health of its people by getting Orient tested.

But I must admit your boycott saddens me on a personal level, that you will miss out on so much fun footy from our club this season when you've endured so many dismal performances in the recent past!

Thank you for your good wishes. I'm afraid our worrying time isn't quite over yet -- this month we failed again to get Mom back home. We drove 500 miles one way to meet her flight, only to learn that she had again been denied boarding in China. It was a long, sad drive home, with some tears. Now I think we won't see her until next year.

Mike (87), sorry to hear the sad news about your mom. I thought she had come home a few weeks ago, although I wondered what your sad 500 mile journey referred to in one of your posts a few days ago. It never rains but it pours, Mike.

Don't be concerned for my missing out on the emergence of a decent team, age and finance has put a stop to my away trips, but I have attended games at the majority of the Premier League grounds, and I can visualise them and that enables me to follow proceedings via Radio Merseyside, and of course Goodison Park is imprinted in my mind.

Hi Dave [88] I hadn't opened what you describe as a 'Beautiful decorated box', it was the "2020-21 season ticket" in the bottom right corner that fooled me. I can only suspect that the intention was to use the boxes for the season tickets, and decided not to waste money and to utilise them for commercial purposes.

I read about the bye with some surprise but, on reflection, I doubt the organisers had little option, irrespective of the standing of any team.

Obviously the capability of a club to field a team depends mainly on the players it can call on within a given time frame. As it's a cup competition, if you can't raise a team, you forfeit a game.

It's different for a league game as the option is to postpone. I think the real problem will be as winter draws in and a second wave takes hold, teams will become vulnerable to losing players in quantity for weeks on end and the disruption could be chaotic to the point of postponement of all fixtures, leading to an extended mid-winter break.

Re: your point about James, I never meant that Sigurdsson shouldn't have to track back and run and scrap – of course he should. I just mean that he should be made aware that he isn't at all in charge of these aspects and of the middle of the park. (Although I certainly didn't make that at all clear.)

Time will tell if it can work – but I think a proper game to judge it is one where his role is clearly the 10, which is more likely to happen when he's playing in front of Allan and Doucouré. And ideally James alongside him. Rather than these Cup games where I feel he's getting mixed messages.