Godfrey grateful to have Ancelotti's trust

He can run forward with the ball, wish he did that more often. Crossing can be better, also his defensive awareness. But then, he's only a young man and you can see he has improved this season already.

Also don't seem to have injuries, no glass legs there.

I believe he can play in midfield if needed. Would be interesting to see him paired with Allan, and Doucouré in front of them.

I think he is probably one of the true 'bargains' that is with these crazy prices that seem to be the norm now in the Premier League. I just hope again, and I think I'm right in saying, he shouldn't/wouldn't be tempted away should the offers come in, and they will!

I hope that Brands cottons on to this and spends more time looking for players who are hungry to prove themselves instead of big money, big wage cast-offs from larger clubs who come purely for the money and show little heart or desire when things get tough.

Brands has pulled some clangers for sure, but I definitely like his recent approach to recruitment.

I believe too, that there must be a core of quality players playing in the Championship (and perhaps lower) who are talented and hungry for success, not just for stupidly inflated salaries. What better example is there than Ben Godfrey? Such great value for money.

If anyone disagrees, just whisper Tim Cahill, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines etc in their ears.

I do wish that we would concentrate our search for replacements closer to home and cherry-pick the odd Lucas Digne or Mikel Arteta when they are identified.

Cahill, Jagielka and Baines were great finds and outstanding servants to the club. But I'm hoping Godfrey is a level above Premier League glass ceiling personally.

I don't care what nationality a player is or what league they come from. I just want Everton to aim high. Godfrey has potential and I'm massively excited about him, but then I was about Stones.

Branthwaite is on loan to Blackburn. He was signed from Carlisle and was born there.

Our scouting and recruiting department has been moderate at best for too long to remember. The key with Ben is what he has between his ears, an attitude far too absent from other so-called "stars".

The lad has been given an opportunity and he has grabbed it with both hands. He deserves a lot of credit.

It's also good that he acknowledges the improvement in his game under Ancelotti. No doubt the resident Ancelotti basher will take umbrage at this.

We need more Ben Godfreys. A player who did really well at U21 and Championship level, the right age with room to improve.

You say "others have been individually coached, but are not consistently applying what they are coached."

How do you know this?

But, they are just rumours and as always with these things, you never know if there's anything in them or it's just lazy journalism because of the Napoli link.

Here's hoping.

Check his history, his toughness might come from his dad who was a professional Rugby league player. Ben has captained teams since he was a very young boy. He captained Norwich a few times in the Premier League; easy to see why, he plays like he wants to win and wants his teammates to play like that. A few more signings with his mentality will do Everton the world of good.

If the rumours re Koulibaly are true then I can see Mina, and possibly Keane or Mason, being sacrificed to pay for this.

Moshiri has just received a £100m bonus from Uncle Allisher so that, plus the sale of Iwobi, Bernard, Gomes, Iwobi, Mina, Delph, etc... should leave us plenty of dosh to buy Koulibaly, Aarons, Vasquez and Sarr.

If we get a player of that calibre and have Godfrey, they we've upped the bar and those players become backup and part of the inevitable rotation game.

One I would say makes way. Personally I prefer Mina and even though he's been out of sorts, I like Holgate. So for me Keane is surplus.

That doesn't distract from how well he's done this season, but I want us higher up the pitch, and the moment we do that, Keane is more prone to being exposed.

IMO, since the start of his tenure, Ancelotti has played different formations, even altering formation during games. He also has played players in different positions, though often forced, to increase the depth of the squad. But the biggest basic difference is the individual coaching of players to improve their performance in their position, trying to extend their level of tactical and technical ability.

Some players have responded well, such as Godfrey, Coleman, Sigurdsson, and Gomes. Others have initially responded like Bernard when Ancelotti was appointed but seem to fall back alarmingly, but still the irritating pull back is not as big a part of his game. Richarlison has improved, but is burdened by the special opposition attention he gets, but Ancelotti has got his spirits up. Calvert-Lewin did improve with Ancelotti's one-touch policy, making sure he was getting in position; lately, he has fallen back on this, particularly position- and run-wise, particularly in attacking the near post.

Others have probably had the same attention, but they only needed fine tuning, so it's not as noticable.

Often a mistake, IMO, made on ToffeeWeb is to think that Ancelotti can wave a magic wand. In truth, Ancelotti is proficient in the basics of football and developing the players he has. Thats the reason for his success. Poor performance of players on the pitch is the result of players not having the ability to hit the technical and tactical levels that Ancelotti sets, due to not taking on board what they are coached. Ancelotti has to keep pushing this level to get the overall performance of the team up. He does not have enough players who can consistently achieve this at the moment.

"... the biggest basic difference is the individual coaching of players..."
How do you know this? Unless you have first-hand knowledge of the individual coaching the players are receiving, how can you know this?

It could be anything – formation, position, tactics, diet, physical training, sports psychology, waking up on the right side of the bed, pre-match prayer... How do you know it's all down to individual training from Carlo?

"Some players have responded well..."

So you list the players who are doing a bit better at the moment and you say they have responded well to the individual training. Again, how do you know?

How do you know it's not down to one or a combination of many other factors that contribute to a player's performance?

"In truth, Ancelotti is proficient in the basics of football and developing the players he has."

Really? There is precious little evidence of that on the field, with limited development at best and only sporadically from game to game.

"That's the reason for his success."

What success??? We've seen no success yet. Out of both cup competitions, as per normal. And manifestly failing to take advantage of other equally erratic sides in the Premier League. He is yet to show any 'success' at Everton.

"Poor performance of players on the pitch is the result of players not having the ability to hit the technical and tactical levels that Ancelotti sets."

But not poor individual coaching from Ancelotti? Again, how do you know this?

These are my observations and explanation of good performance and underperformance of various players, they may differ from yours and others, but to me, it explains the progress under Ancelotti and where it has fallen short and the reasons why.

The Ancelotti success referred to is in the context of his achievement prior to Everton by applying the same methods, with players who were able to achieve the necessary levels of performance, due to higher technical and tactical ability than is available at Everton.

This is the difference between Ancelotti and recent previous Everton managers. I know it sounds basic, but combined with good tactics and physically well-prepared players, it will result in success.

I know this from playing football myself and the basics being taught to me by my father and uncles who were all outstanding footballers, a lot better than me.

I was once fortunate to play with the Arsenal Junior team. The Arsenal coach asked me where I had learnt football basics. He told me I had been taught well. I therefore can see where players are falling down on the basics and its affect on team play. I have always had a healthly respect for Arsenal ever since, because they knew the importance and what the basics were. I recognise the same tracts in Ancelotti.

I suspect he'll get one of those tackles wrong one day, and the media will be all over him for being “reckless”. He may also experience a drop in form, just because that often happens. Those will be the times he needs support, from the staff at the club and from us.

The other things they have in common is that they are scared of no one and are all in their early twenties - It augers well for our future.

Godfrey will be our captain one day.

But on the other, we need to be cautious we don't overdo it on the expectation side. To do so risks either ruining him or ruining his relationship with Everton with over expectation or lack of tolerance when he does have an inevitable dip in form during his developing years (John Stones).

Hence my preference for blending future potential with ready made, off-the-shelf proven talent. Please sign Koulibaly!

Give Ben time and patience and he will be awesome. But most importantly, awesome for Everton.

I hope we are both right.

We need to go back to Norwich and try to sign the lad Cantwell to give our lifeless midfield a real boost too.