With the Gomes tackle in the area, I thought it would be confirmed as a penalty and was surprised when the VAR decision went the other way. Good fortune for us; if the penalty was converted, as it might have injected some extra energy in to Leicester. My son and I were shouting Gomes be careful, don't do it, don't!! But he did. Otherwise, I thought he did a good job.

Iwobi was again very good and Doucouré played well. Olsen looked under control except for one first-half nervy moment at the edge of the area. Godfrey is looking better each week.

Keane stood out the most IMO, though.

I would like to see more of Gordon as well.

I'm still hugely concerned despite the win, at the system, whilst contrived through necessity, the energy it takes to chase the ball for most of the game is sapping. It also isolates Calvert-Lewin who I don't want to see dry up.

We have two more comfortable fixtures and, given the injury and fatigue, I would expect to see changes.

More immediate though is who will replace Allan? While I can understand rotating outfield players to give them some rest, I have to wonder about it when it concerns the goalkeepers.

Whatever, it is working.

Fact is, Chelsea are “in the title race” and spent £200 million to bolster their top three team. We are ahead of them. Four central defenders, slow ass Portuguese liability in midfield. Don't care. All that matters is results.

He has made the changes in the past two games and got results. He had a bad run but has turned it around. In past seasons those bad runs have spiralled and cost 3 full-time managers their jobs. Hopefully we don't suffer any more injuries!

We desperately need an alternative to Calvert-Lewin, the guy is running himself ragged and will need a break at some point.

Richarlison at centre-forward and Gordon replacing him out left.

I'm pretty sure Richi broke his wrist on that odd fall in the second half.

Playing up top alone with a soft cast, not being able to use your hands normally to hold off defenders, might not be ideal for him right now.

I hadn't seen mentioned a break? Different story then...

You'd never know with Richarlison. Every foul on him, it seems he's been poleaxed.

I thought, other than the goal, Richarlison broke down a lot of attacks and provided little support to Calvert-Lewin. His attitude is a bit suspect, though he kept trying. Gomes was okay, but has a glaring late-tackle weakness. I would rather have Davies. Everton need to have more players taking chances.

Hopefully Gordon gets more playing time and others come on in the Carabao and FA Cup games. Allan will be missed, but Doucouré put in a MotM performance after he went off.

Olsen was solid in goal. It's good to have Rodriguez as an impact sub in the coming weeks. Bernard is starting not to fit in and is under pressure competition-wise.

But a great result and well played. Rodgers completely tactically out-manoeuvred again by Ancelotti.

It is worth pointing out that an early goal against opposition prior to Chelsea and Leicester would have yielded a different Everton? The veneer is not deep enough attack-wise, against a set-up-shop defence.

I could be wrong, but saw how he landed on it, how much pain he was in, and how he doubled over it when he landed on that arm again in the final minute. And he didn't waste a moment heading for the tunnel at the end. Pretty sure you'll see it heavily wrapped for the Arsenal game.

Allan was always going to need a spell out anyway and Doucouré can sit deeper now which he has done really well without Allan who was great again before going off.

It's the link between midfield and attack which is the problem.
Gomes has been shocking and I cannot see Davies being a much greater choice.

Still, even in a win, I like to see where we can improve... and this is one of those areas.

I did think that it looked like a break at the time, but when I seen him on again thought it was more of a strain. As you say, it would not help him ward off defenders. It may mean him getting more targeted than he already is. He has not been right since he came back from suspension anyway.

Again, nobody can fault the effort and commitment. The back four has given us a solid foundation, where we can counter-attack and we look dangerous on corners and free-kicks.

For the Arsenal game, bring Coleman back, put Holgate in midfield to replace Allan. Hopefully Richarlison will be okay.

Given the season that's in it, will we go back into the market in January in order to give ourselves a real chance of a top 4 finish. Back up to DCL and a solution at left back might make the difference between a top 6 and a top 4 finish.

In Carlo we trust!

Sigurdsson looks hopeless except at No10, Iwobi stinks anywhere but on the right, and we know Dominic Calvert-Lewin is “championship at best” except when playing an advanced centre forward role.

DC-L has proved to be the best predatory forward in the Premiership so far this season, and his leaps for headers would have me demanding a forensic analysis of his DNA looking for recent splicing of frog genes if I were an opposing manager.

Sigurdsson and Iwobi have been the worst players on the pitch played out of position, but Iwobi has been pushing for MoTM is the last few games and Sigurdsson is starting to play as though he’s worth what was paid. (Looking at Walcott at Southampton, he may be another).

I suspect that most players can operate reasonably in most positions, but are a bit better in one - statistically their performance is a normal distribution with a fairly large standard deviation. Everton’s best players appear to have abilities like a large, narrow spike. If Ancelotti can keep players working in their best positions, I think we could be in for a very interesting season.

We may still lack pace in some key areas but the team at least now has the physical strength to stand up to teams when defending and exploit set play situations in the opposition penalty area.

Compared with the lightweight teams we have fielded in recent years the team looks equipped for a battle. With the increased physical strength has come improved organisation with players knowing precisely what they are required to do in each role. That in turn has helped increase the mental strength of the team when they are put under pressure. No longer do they look a soft touch, especially away from home.

He's a professional footballer. He lives to play the game. He gets 2, 3, 5, 6 days between games to rest... but I bet he's not resting because he's a professional athlete, in the gym or out on the training ground every day... because that's what he does, that's his job, that's his passion.

He wants to be better than Jamie Vardy, better than Harry Kane. Why the fuck would he want to sit on the sidelines during any game and have to watch someone else denying him the opportunity to get on the scoresheet and keep his goal tally fr the season ticking up?

Madness.

Next Up - Arsenal at home. 2 weeks ago it was maybe our only chance of a point in December, now it is favourites to win and anything less will be a complete disappointment.

Then United in the League Cup - failure to win will be a real disappointment because we are in with a shout

Then away at Sheffield United - who have only one point and look odds on for the drop and so we are all expecting Everton to be their usual generous selves and give a boost to a struggling team/striker.

So the pressure is now on to win all 3 of the next games and if we don't then we will all be depressed. Not because we are in danger or dropping into the bottom 3 - but because we are not in the top 4. Nice problems!

I would be careful of using the term tactical success as I said after the Chelsea game it was an Ancelotti masterclass and was rapped on the knuckles for doing so. I just love Ancelotti when you look at the improvements he has made to several players both individually and collectively. For most of his time here most fans including me thought Iwobi was a waste of money, but now he is a regular 7 out of 10, DCL has certainly improved and the biggest improvement has to be Michael Keane who was another who thought needed changing. He and Mina look as solid a pairing as there is in the Premier league. Plus seeing Godfrey and Holgate playing so well, they both know one bad game and either could be replaced.

I see many are concerned about how long Allan will be out, and I share that concern, for me he is the best midfield player since Reid and Bracewell played. Mind there were some on here the other week saying they didnt think he was all that good, so they presumably will not be worried about how long Allan is out for.

One of the biggest problems clubs have is expectations of fans that want to see average players lighting up the game.

I can't imagine how frustrated the likes of Arsenal fans must feel in this respect and its a great time to set ourselves aside from these clubs and back the manager to get the best out of what we have.

Since Moshiri came, expectations rose high and rightly so but it shouldn't take Einstein to realise a lot of money has been wasted and levels of quality haven't jumped much.

I think Ancelotti has the best chance of all Moshiri's managers to actually build. If the team can grind out wins while this is happening we'll look a big attractive club that is on the up for real.

Until we can pull players with ability like James Allan and Richarlison with dynamic movements and skill, we have to do what is ugly and get on the front foot that way.

Look at Holgate and Godfrey, massive praise to them both.
Both went on 50 yard runs v Chelsea because they found the front foot through being solid, focused and aggressive.

Long may this attitude continue.

When there is talk of players being rested it is not so much about them putting their feet up and watching Netflix it is more about them being able to do recovery training so that muscles are able to return to peak level for the next match.

Calvert-Lewin and all the players train most days. Players, most of them anyway, are able to play a game every couple of days. The question is whether or not they can do so at optimum levels of fitness.

I believe as happens every year at this time the crowded fixture programme will see a reduction in quality with knackered teams slogging it out in ‘last man standing’ tests of stamina. Then people will be asking in January why teams have so many muscle injuries.

The feel good factor is back and we are looking up. The doubters are being silenced.

Hope Darren and Conor are feeling a little hungry. I suspect the humble pie is about to go in the oven

* He restored Everton to being a fortress, 11 games before his first home loss
* He is getting us winning on the road - 8 wins in 16 PL games (50% success rate). Compare this to:
Silva 6 wins in 27 (22% win rate)
Allardyce 3 wins in 12 (25%)
Koeman 4 wins in 23 (17%)
* Last season, you could identify his core selections that if they were fit, they played. They were:
Pickford
Digne
Holgate **
Gomes
Richarlison
DCL

** Since Holgate's self-sustained injury v Spurs last season, and again getting injured this pre-season, the automatic pick at centre back is now Michael Keane.

That core six were added to with 3 more 'if they are fit, they play' signings - James, Allan and Doucoure. Seamus also joined that core band this season, making 10 out of 11 default starters, with only who accompanies Keane at centre back open to change.

Injuries have necessitated changes to that core 10. The only player dropped for poor form has been Gomes. It has long been evident to me that Carlo has always seen something in Iwobi he likes and frequently found ways to include him.

It is notable that when Gomes was dropped, Carlo didn't go with the seemingly natural replacement of Siggy, but went instead with Iwobi. Oh so gradually, the Nigerian is proving to be very effective.

Iwobi, then, replaced Gomes in the 'default XI'. In the last two games Siggy has replaced James and done well playing his prefered central role linking defence and midfield, behind the striker.

I spell that out because I'm a tad bewildered at some suggesting our upturn in form is because we are less vulnerable due to the absence of the 'liability' called James. That he should only be used as an 'impact sub'.

Quite simply, James is the most gifted footballer sprinkled with stardust we have had at the club in many a year. If he is fit, he plays. The best 'impact' he can make is having as many minutes on the park as possible, not coming on in the last 15-30 minutes of a game.

The way we are currently set up James' selection is a simple one: he replaces Siggy.

As it is, Carlo now has a different conundrum to solve: who replaces Allan and what formation and tactics do we employ in the next key games? My personal choice would be Davies, but Carlo passed on that option last night.

And one final word in reply to Michael K's observations on DCL: Don't flog a dead horse.

Of course Dominic should feature in the big games - this weekend v Arsenal, the cup game v United. But you risk losing a player for longer to a stress injury if you don't give them R&R in this manic Xmas and New Year fixture congestion.

The rest outside the handful aren't as blessed but there is no doubt they can all have a good game or show good form. Just don't expect us to be like Barca or Brazil.

Where have all the Baningime fans gone??? 🤣

The club have not been in as strong a position as we are currently since the '80s:

A world class manager.
A strong financial backer
A good, young evolving squad.
A state-of-the-art stadium.

Things are looking up for the Blues.

Just saying, he's our kiddie; if he was in a lot of other teams, he'd get protection from the officials. Yes, sometimes, he does drop easily. Maybe he's not worked out that he gets no support from any bugger – not even his own team or supporters.

Just saying that's exactly how I've seen it, for some time now.

Would like to take this opportunity to send sincere condolences to Gerard Houllier's family and friends. One the games good souls. RIP.

Paul #32, interesting speculation, but I'm betting Carlo's decision to play Olsen was less about strategy and more about Pickford's tweaked hip in the Chelsea game.

John and Pete... good 'uns!

Be interesting to see how many calls there were on here before Ancelotti mentioned resting him?

Every centre-forward in the league will be rested at some time.

So I went and scrolled through the forum to see how it went. The names and abuse called on Gomes when the penalty was awarded were awful. But equally was the swiftness of which everyone retracted their comments when it was overturned... er, no. Maybe sometime after Hell freezes over. Many doubled down and called him fortunate and perhaps most politely stupid.

I agree with what you said and somehow I also think that Carlo has a better idea about managing this team of ours better than me.

For the best part of a year, you have been excusing and apologising for Carlo by claiming the 20-odd internationals he inherited were simply not good enough. "What chance has he got?" Now, when they proved you utterly wrong by beating a couple of the fancied teams, it's all down to Carlo.

Carlo must love fans like you. Eleven million quid a year and he can never be wrong... Let's be very clear here. Carlo has not found a formula. It has found him.

We all saw his attempts to cover the injuries to his two full-backs with his crazy back three and makeshift wingbacks. Only when Delph got injured and he had no option but to abandon his tactics did the penny drop.

This was our most impressive performance since Carlo got here, but lets remember a few facts. One of the world class players he used his "pulling power" to bring here missed most of the game. The other one missed all of it. This was done essentially with players that you have repeatedly claimed are not good enough. With players who simply would not have been playing if Carlo had a full squad to choose from.

The result was gained by getting good players to do the simple things. Basic tactics. It was in stark contrast to the over complicated awfulness we had to endure when Carlo had options.

I don't support Ancelotti, I support Everton – and when he fucks up, I wont make excuses of apologise for him.

The best thing about these two results is they strip away the claim that the players are not good enough. I was delighted with the six points.

I also have to say that, given a choice between Carlo Fantastico and Carlo Forcedhandio, I would take the latter all day long.

You know it's nearly Xmas when the Grinch appears.

Not bad for a bloke who fans have apparently had to spend a year “excusing and apologising for”

Maybe, just maybe the bloke actually knows what he's doing?

"Maybe, just maybe the bloke actually knows what he's doing?"

Surely not more than Darren Hind??

Whether you like Carlo or not, a third of the season in and in 5th place. When I WhatsApp with friends and old work colleagues including Arsenal, West Ham, Tottenham, Man Utd and Liverpool (living in London 10 years) supporters, they don't have the old sympathetic "Everton's a good nonthreatening club trying for Europa League" convo anymore. Some of them wish they had Ancelotti as their manager as their clubs have self-destruct over the last few seasons (mostly Man Utd and Gunners supporters).

Sometimes in life, we gotta be grateful whose on our side. We have a genius manager at the helm whose taking us to the moon. Enjoy.

More fool them.

We have a serial trophy winner in charge and it's not good enough? Only Evertonians could find fault with their club employing a manager of this calibre.

I know some footy fans like stats more than others but talking of 95% confidence levels and standard deviations really is taking it to a different level altogether... :-)

Darren #41, you're never gonna concede an inch on Carlo, are ya? Or on characterizing every positive post about the guy as an "apology"? Or about the "pulling power" debate? I'll say this for ya -- when you stake out a position, you sink the stakes in concrete.

The Everton manager tried something that didn't work so changed it. Whether that was forced or not, he changed it. We are in December, nicely placed in the table and well on target to where we need to be despite having a typically "Everton" October.

We are well placed for where we need to be when it matters; better than in previous seasons.

I don't have a problem with trying something as long as you realise that, when it's not working, you change it. We've gone back to 4-2-3-1; the most complete formation in football if you ask me (but that's just me).

But, as with any formation, you play the formation that best suits the players you have available, not make the players you have available fit the formation you want to play (Silva).

Everton fantastico, not Carlo fantistico. We judge on the season; so far, the season is going well and we are in touch with where we need / want to be. I judge in May.

Absolutely :)

2-Nil.

The best stat that gives us joy for another couple of days every time you think about it.

But there are two factors at play. Firstly as the season progresses the type of football required changes and there are two types of teams in the Premiership, those that engage, playing football and those that sit back setting up shop. The latter tend to be the lower half Clubs of the Premier League and gain advantage in the Winter part of the season.

As Autumn progresses into winter it is the ability of the footballing Clubs to adjust to conditions that determines their progress in the Premier League Add to that a increase in injuries as games are clocked up.

What happened to Everton was that at the start of the season good football paid dividends, but then a combination of injuries, weather and playing set up shop teams showed up a weakness in Evertons ability to adapt.

But Ancelotti kept going taking a long term view, playing players in different positions. Sometime forced. Adopting different formations and concentrating on training, coaching and attitude. What he achieved was a more adaptable Everton, a new found squad depth with existing players and a wide range of players all with match time.

There is tendency to favour a certain formation, amongst Posters, but Ancelotti can vary formations and switch player positions according to their strengths throughout a game

We are now looking at a solider Everton, with players well coached on their positional requirements and knowing what they have to do. It now the case that Colman and Rodriguez are not guaranteed a start and younger players will get more playing time due to continued Carabo and FA Cup involvement, added to the squad depth. Other player will be coming back from injury.

So Everton are heading into the Xmas fixtures with confidence and ready to push on into the new year.

Contrast with the great football that Arsenal where playing at the start of the season, and Arteta now at a loss on how to adapt, with a disillusioned squad. Ancelotti has shown he is better than Moyes , Martinez, Koeman, Big Sam and Silva. Dyche and Arteta are amateurs in comparison, as Ancelotti builds toward a Top Six finish.

I’m not so sure. Because it’s not like anyone on here - or anywhere - was suggesting that we play Holgate and Godfrey as full-backs (or if they were then I didn’t hear them). In fact it felt like almost every fan was calling for Nkounkou to be given the right to stake a claim for the left-back berth. But Carlo found a different solution to our injury-induced problems, and I think he and his staff deserve genuine credit for that. Finding a successful temporary fix is not easy; he tried the 3 at the back with converted wing-backs and after a couple of uneven performances he decided that he would try Holgate and Godfrey as full-backs. After spending Silva’s entire tenure praying for him to deviate from his 4231, I am delighted to have a manager who keeps asking himself if he is getting things right. You could arguably learn something from that.

I should also say that I think your use of inverted commas when talking about Carlo and his pulling power is “spot on” and “clever”.

The important thing is the clean sheets. It might not be 4-3 exciting games of football but exactly what was needed for confidence and just finding a way to win games when not playing free flowing football.

Of the many different ways of winning games of football, the commited gritty hard working one nill is a good sign and long may it continue.

That’s fine. And for as long as he is fit it will work. But where the back up if he gets injured? And not just a fitness thing, what alternative do we have when it isn’t working for him?

A rest doesn’t need to be a whole match.

After 5 less games right?

True, in the last couple of games he has worked hard up front. However, against teams in which we have dominated possession, he doesn’t exert himself that much. He has floated around the same area conserving his energy so he is first to react to anything in the area.

I don’t know whether he will need resting all that much. If he can get through the next two games, hopefully he’ll have a bit of a rest against Sheff Utd.

My post was not meant as an attack on Carlo, It was a direct response to one posters unadulterated sycophancy. Although I shouldnt really be surprised that some would step in and attack the fact that I posted...Whilst very carefully avoiding the points raised.

Good to know that Carlo has turned Goodison into a fortress.
Good to know that all those internationals who were simply not good enough after the Leeds game. Have been turned into good players by Carlo..In a fortnight.
Good to know that when some were blaming poor form on inadequate players. poor coaching. Injuries, suspensions and the permanent slope we have to play up. They were not REALLY apologising for Carlo...They were just being "positive"
Really good to know that 15 out of 34 = 49%. That Carlo has "Decided" to ring the changes.
I was delighted to hear Holgate and Godfrey have been so well coached in their positional requirements - in four days...This right on the back of discovering Carlo had spent hours on the training ground with Keane improving his long range passing - unless he just had a word in his shell like and that did the trick.
But I think what impressed me most about Carlo, is that nobody here or anywhere else was suggesting we ditched the wingbacks and play Holgate at right back...Not even the world and his dog...It was all Carlo's idea.

I feel an enormous sense of relief that finally, finally, Ancelotti is doing what he gets paid the big bucks to do. and has sent his team out to bear a striking resemblance to a cohesive unit.

Gutted I missed the miracles, but having read the comments on here, I now feel so lucky and grateful. Carlo deffo an improvement on Silva...

I am think of players such as Kevin de Brunye. Richarlison is on his way there, these players are the special players who can do both, a bit of dirty work and win games with some magic. These are the dream players for managers and the players who are worth splashing the big cash on. It’s this type of crossover player that is a major ingredient of what makes a team top 4 standard.

Seriously though, I think we have got a manager, who knows how to send out a team to play open, skillful football, and this is why our current way of playing, is so heartwarming for me, because I think the beautiful side of football, is something that is second nature to Carlo Ancellotti, and being dogged first, might just help get us, to where we want to go?

Yes, defensive solidity is important, but "building from the back" being difficult to beat gets you so far. Defend all you want, but if you don't venture forward and score, you don't win. I say that generically; clearly those who advocate the keep it tight and nick one approach would differ. But we all see things differently right.

I think right now, with the players available, we are striking the right balance.

While in football the finished product is always elusive and something we always strive for all of the parts needed to make a team do not arrive at the same time.

James is a fantastically gifted attacking player who has arrived in out team a little ahead of his time. We do have a problem on the right side but it is unfortunately that our fullback there requires extra cover even when he sits at home. I love Seamus and what he has meant to our club as much as anyone but as much as his heart wants to his legs don’t cover as much ground as they used to.
James is our main creative outlet and relieves pressure on the defense with his precision passing, that’s his game. He does contribute to the entire defense by playing his natural game. We actually need an in depth solution to our right back position to help James out not the other way around.

Silva and Rodriguez are both at their best are both fantastic players but they are very different players but I do get your point.

Iwobi (who I've always liked) playing out on the wing and would offer more defensive capability than James, no doubt about it, but at what cost? Last season, we tried Sidibé as a more mobile update on Coleman and, for all of his skills as an extra winger, he was permanently exposed as a full-back.

With full-backs, the main task is to defend; otherwise, you are pulling the forwards back. I think when we eventually get our Seamus 2.0 and 2.0s understudy this discussion goes away. Safe Holidays.