Everton vs Tottenham Hotspur

I wouldn't be surprised to see Sigurdsson up top tomorrow.

WHU bring in Lingard in January we bring in King. Lingard who hadn't done a tap at MU and suffered mental health issues, is now a cert for England in the Euros, whereas King, who lets be honest hasn't had a look in, looks like he'll have his agent looking for another club as I type - so EFC.

Personally I want the season over and done with now - its like a party that has gone on for far too long. The buffets stale, the ales off and the DJ has reverted to playing Mendelssohns Requiem for Fanny.

On the other hand if we stuff Spurs...........

the problem with King is he doesn't look that he is working to get into the right condition to play.

Whats a 12 yard box?

Our only hope tomorrow is KITANO. I only hope the club has big plans for the summer window, both incoming and outgoing.

Brian (21) - I eagerly await Dennis's response to this question.

Which one of these 4 is not considered to have sat out the game? Although I'd argue there were a few on the pitch who sat it out too.

I give up guessing anything from Carlo's pressers, and would suspect DCL will be out for much longer than just this game (has he been tapped up while playing for Engerland?)

Dennis: Is King cup-tied?
Brian: Uh, it's a league match.
Dennis: So?

I eagerly scrolled down to see the payoff and was bummed that there wasn't one, ha ha.

My apologies, Brian - & Bill too. I didn't expect my comment to be taken so literally as it's been a bit of a recurring theme where King is concerned due to his lack of appearances since we signed him. I did wonder whether our fee for his signature is based upon appearances.

I know too many questions but, at the start of the season, we were told we had a big squad that needed trimming. We don't appear to have got rid of much deadwood, as the saying goes... and now we down to the bare arse bones of a squad.

Marcel... What The Fuck?

Surely it would have been better keeping this news until they had to release the team sheet to Spurs?

Meanwhile Duncan spends his 90 minutes reciting fish puns to the Assistant Referee.

It will be interesting to see how Everton set up tomorrow and the shape they start with, and whom will lead the line.

Let's hope it can be like the Friday night game when Gary Naismith scored the good free kick and Everton won 3-1, in 2004.

Old and ancient memories to stoke up the fuel for a an Everton victory tomorrow night.

Well over due a good performance by Everton.

Everton bad for your health??

I thought that was just the players!

There's lots of guys on ToffeeWeb who could have recommended better options than this.

There's a guy who often comes on as a late sub for PSG who might have been a good option.

I don't believe Kean would have got into double figures had he remained with us, he stills misses absolute sitters over there.
The French League is nowhere as tough as the premier league, one of the reasons for his 16 goal tally.
He's playing with some of the best in the world right now.

Regards another one of our MUST WIN games tomorrow night, i think the fucking wheels have coming flying off us in the last month and for me Spurs will get their own back for our win at their place.

You're right of course. He didn't exactly set the world alight with us, and there appear to be some issues. I didn't like it at the time, but that RS mischief-maker in chief did make a few comments about the guy soon after he joined us.

Nonetheless, I'd rather have a highly regarded and high potential striker playing in a striker's role for us instead of, for instance Siggy, as happened a few games ago.

As for missing sitters, all strikers do at times (I guess you saw DCL in his last game).

Re. your final para, it sounds as if you are going into tomorrow's game as confident as me. But by tomorrow night I'll nonetheless as always be the wide-eyed optimist joining in the fun and games on the Live Form.

Hello Derek,

DCL and EFC's season just like the Bader Meinhof have mysteriously disappeared with a not even a whimper.

Anyway, I doubt Jose will be having any nightmares about DCL being through one 2 one with his keeper.

I know one good omen though, we have played them on a Friday night in April before, 2004 and beat them 3-1.

More of the same please!

I'm bothered that 4 days after a snorefest where we didnt trouble the Brighton keeper once we now face Son and Kane together with shitface Hoijberg and we expect to win.

We are all seriously deluded but we live in the hope that our inconsistency may actually turn positive tomorrow as the pigs fly over the Mersey.

surely there is a huge slice of luck waiting for us somewhere.

Pickford
Coleman Holgate Godfrey Digne
Allan Davies Gomes
James King Richarlison

SUBS: Olsen, Keane, Nkounkou, Iwobi, Siggy, Kid 1, Kid 2, Kid 3

If Allan and Gomes are fully fit, then this XI could test Spurs. Richarlison should replace the permanent scowl on his face and with a more determined, selfless demeanour that he had at the beginning of the season.

When we signed him I watched his show reel and wasn't impressed and haven't been since. If he's the answer someone isn't asking the right question

I do hope you're right we might find a more suitable player with 40m and we can all chuckle up our collective sleeves at getting our dough back with interest.

Osimhen scored about the same as Kean last season in France and was sold to Napoli for £63m.

Kean will do just fine without us unfortunately.

The only worrying thing with this story is whenever a Moise Kean article appears in different publications for me the price attached to his possible transfer is always under £50 million. Now if you have 2 of Europe's biggest and wealthiest clubs after your player, shouldn't we be playing hard ball and not seemingly happy to get him off our books. We will need to get as much money as we can for Kean as very few of the saleable assets will bring in much money, and although FFP hasn't been rigorously applied the last 12 months the powers that be wont turn a blind eye to the likes of Everton after all we are hardly one of Europe's big clubs.

Is he worth huge money ?, only time will tell but for me he is not, he was worth a punt for us.
The other day Ferdinand was saying that Utd should go and sign CL who apparently is worth 80 million - crazy in my opinion whats Kane worth !

Eddie @ 81,

King surely has no future with us anyway , not if we are serious about CL / Europe - doesn't matter if he plays tonight or not .

On Moise Kean - he's not very good. Still looks a lumbering kid with no footballing brain, even if he has scored a few goals for PSG. He's definitely no PL player. He might be great in a few years, but right now he's worth about ten million, so if we can get anywhere near 30 or 40 mill we should bite their hands off.

Think it will be a case of sucking the life out of the game and hoping for a counter. If Spurs turn on the style though we can't match them.

I would think that if fit and ready to go that Pickford, Allan and Gomes will come back at the expense of Olsen, Holgate and Siggy.

Hopefully, we will show a lot more ambition than Monday night. It's not a crime for a team to go out and try and entertain every now and then. Entertaining is not a dirty word!

With regards to yesterday's press conference, the manager was bluffing or we are in for more of the same next year. Kean will be sold and if we get 45 million we should take it and invest in younger and hungrier players in order to bring down the age profile of the side inject some needed pace into the team.

I never understand why over many years striking options at Everton is neglected. Which or without a DOF.

However one thing I will always thank Roberto for is bringing in Lukaku.

My optimism however has taken a major dive to a new low point, which started before the Crystal Palace game but that performance pushed me down the road to ruin. The Brighton game pushed me over the edge and any optimism I had left was drained when one of my recent EFC faves Coleman, thought it was a terrific point!

As for tonight? I've got me Bombay Sapphire to keep me from slitting my proverbial throat!

A win tonight and against Arsenal will be some achievement toward Europe, even though I am an eternal optimist, I just feel we just won't have enough depth to get over the line.

If Spurs turn up and are up for it, it doesn't matter what team or formation Ancelotti picks, we will revert to type and park the bus, with lots of slow sideways and backwards crabs in the team.

The result is dependent on Spurs, because we'll struggle to influence it, sad!

We no longer sell our best players coming into their prime, or shouldn't be doing, otherwise we'll be staying midtable for the foreseeable future.

Forget the defeatist attitude, we've already beaten Spurs twice this season.

I can't remember the last time we did the treble over Spurs.

This would possibly generate a positive discussion after the game and save spending money on old end-of-career players from Europe.

Have you forgotten the abysmal away defeats to Southampton and Newcastle?

"I think the plan will be to cash in on Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin."

And the plan is also to cancel BMD, and for Moshiri to get out of the club. Just as likely.

What do Everton plan to do with the money from the sale of Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin?

I have no doubt King is a good Premier League striker / forward and, other than Richarlison, we have no-one else that can or will try to go forward with the ball, beat a man, or get into the box.

Richarlison hasn't been on form of late.

Nkounkou just needs game time to learn and develop. He's a talent and needs experience.

A win would be fantastic but...

1-0 to someone borefest... please surprise me (in a good way preferably).

I don't know why the owners don't want us to succeed but all we are there for now is to make up the numbers.

As for the new ground, it's far from a fine deal as it needs to be financed and then actually built. It's at the very least four years away.

“Those of you taking issue with my view that the club plan to sell Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin, do I need to list all of the players the club has sold since Wayne Rooney to prove my point?”

No, don't list them. It wouldn't prove your point.

Slight difference between our current strikers and Lukaku, as an example, the current two are nowhere near as good.

I still don't rate Calvert-Lewin. He had a purple patch but he's really not very good

Spurs have more big guns and will probably shade it.

It seems Spurs supporters are even more defeated than us, even forecasting a 2-1 win for Everton.

Let's hope 2 of the worlds most successful managers do not produce another borefest and we come away with 3 points.

I can dream, can't I.

Under Carlo I expected a whole lot more especially thinking we would be putting away Newcastle; Fulham; Burnley; Crystal Palace; Brighton and RS with ease. Only one of those has come up trumps.

Had to apply the arl common denominator to that and, having just got up, it took a while.

Basically a tenner will get you 26 quid. Good odds? I thought they were stingy at first, but I look at how Spurs have been and think there may be an opportunity to buy 26 quid here for a tenner.

I'm on. There are a few mistakes in this Spurs team and I think we will beat them.... and I haven't even had a bevy yet!

They have a stronger team out and Mourinho is already in last chance saloon. So I think they will be trying harder than us.

"However, Spurs still have something to play for."

Point ahead of us having played one more game.
Have we not got something to play for?

I hope you come up trumps.

We have been defying the bookies all season especially at home.

Let's hope for once it is in our favour.

Joe

Yeah. Difficult to see where our goals are coming from, but I think we will get opportunities against this lot. We need to take at least one of them.

Expecting Richie to step up to the plate tonight. We desperately need him to carry the fight.

Anyway I will keep banging the drum, for Nkounkou to be tried on the left of midfield, maybe, one day.

That's an interesting point. Moyes survived 11 years lowering expectations to an all-time low. Any away victory was seen as bonus points towards the magic 40.

Having Ancelotti as a manager has raised expectations on his past performance alone. He comes across as an extremely level headed humble person considering the success he's had.

Are we expecting too much too soon from him given the players that he has at his disposal?

I'm really sad to hear you say that. He's had a bad spell as many in the side have had this year but otherwise he's been monumental. He'll go for sure and there'll be many who'll pay top money. Many of us will regret this deeply.

I have zero confidence in this team/squad at the moment, with or without Calvert-Lewin.

My view is that we'll be lucky if we finish in the top 10, never mind the European places.

Cue everyone shooting me down for being negative – I just don't see anything in the last few games to suggest we have it in us to challenge higher up the table now. Slow play, lack of goals, conceding silly goals, where's the reasoning behind thinking we'll win tonight? I just don't see it.

The team doesn't appear to have much of an attacking plan, we're very one-dimensional & predictable/easy to play against. I can see us getting turned over to nil tonight.

Prediction, Borefest,

Everton 1 Dulux FC 0

It's criminal that he has not been playing this role as much of late because he gives us an extra midfielder and striker in one. He's not a centre-forward in the same way that Holgate is not a right-back and Sigurdsson is not a centre midfielder.

Even considering selling any of Digne, Godfrey, Allan, Doucouré, James, Richarlison or Calvert-Lewin would simply show us up to be the selling club that we have been.

I have noticed you have been unable to warm to this lad from virtually day one. That seems a little out of character for you. I suspect its his antics which grate.

I personally swing with the wind as far as he is concerned. He drives me nuts, but just when I want to write him off he comes up with the goods.

Big game for him tonight.

However, on the flip side, apart from early season, I have been disappointed with the type of football we are playing, so the optimism in me has dissipated to the point where my expectation is no more than that of the Moyes era.

It's a bad sign when people start agreeing with me on here!

Like you I've posted on how weak the team's position is but, unlike you and other negative fans, I say why this is and what we need to do to recover. I also believe we won't win tonight but I understand why not just on the basis of being irrationally negative.

I desperately hope they win tonight, not because I feel irrationally positive but to help silence fans like yourself. Nothing personal and no malice meant in that, I just feel that fans like you a burden on the club not a boon to it.

Arteta, Coleman, Lescott, Jagielka, Cahill, Pienaar, Baines, Stones etc etc. Those were the days.

He's doing the same now at West Ham, repeatedly playing down top 6, let alone top 4 and it's getting results once again. It's almost as if it's a deliberate ploy by him – something called reverse psychology. Way too sophisticated that though eh.

Yeah, to be honest I'm not always negative - in fact I'm usually pretty optimistic about football. The older I get though, and perhaps partly as a consequence of current living conditions, I've lost the will of late.

I would suggest the true burden as a supporter of Everton, is the reliance on our 'istory to keep us relevant.

Best Wishes

Great shout. The Stranglers were my favourites as a teenager in the 80s (along with The Clash). The first album I ever bought was Black and White, that came with a white vinyl single of 'Walk On By'. Rattus is the best LP by a bit.

Hopefully tonight we won't be 'Hanging Around'. Winning 'Ugly' is okay. We will really be 'Down in the Sewer' if we lose again. So it's got to be Hello to Win and 'Goodbye Toulouse'.

Sorry for this twaddle, I need to get a grip on myself. COYB.

ps: I suggest turning the picture off as well as the sound.

Despite our football being currently dreadful we can sense (if we want to) that things are going in the right direction. BMD, USMFF, improved shirt deals, appointment of Ancellotti, saving the Liver Building, improved revenue streams, bigger international presence etc...

The building blocks are slowly being cemented in place to secure a brighter future. We just need to start winning games to put a smile back on our faces.

Yeah, largely I agree with you and I certainly agree the club as a whole is doing good things and trying to move in the right direction. I guess my ire is at recent performances, and of course there's circumstance to take into account - namely injuries which have hurt us big time since Christmas. We haven't had a settled side once from week to week, or so it seems.

As I say, my negativity is really only aimed at the the current displays we're seeing, and not the wider picture. I don't feel I'm a burden on Everton.

Two teams who are inconsistent and unpredictable.

It's for now or never tonight for me, in the quest to stay in contention for Europe.

But you will get no opposition from me during the 90 minutes. You may not have noticed, but I don't criticise during the match. I've got all week to do that.

Playing time is blind loyalty time