Calvert-Lewin set-back deepens Everton's injury woes

Benitez has a system and has communicated his ideas, his coaches have drilled the players and made them sharper. But he himself has been hamstrung with these injuries to crucial players.

Time for the fringe players to take the bull by the horns. The club needs them to step up and perform. The likes of Tom Davies and Gbamin will need all the support they can get these next few weeks, through thick and thin, to give them the best chance of coming good.

On the positive side Richarlison is more advanced and possibility for Watford, his threat up front will improve us immediately.

Wonder what one is injured as they all support the major functions in your legs. This delay may be because it is not an easy injury to get over as you may have to rest the leg for a while and train gradually to get back to full fitness; it's not something that can be rushed.

I am not sure how Benitez will go about it with the midfield but I see us with a front 3 of Gray, Richarlison and Townsend.

Does Rondon just lack fitness or has he gone for good? Interesting to see if the manager perseveres.

Badly need Richarlison up and running to replace the immobile Rondon otherwise where's Steve Watson's number when you need him?

I'm a bit worried about Rondon at the moment to tell the truth.

I'm thinking back to the player I watched at West Brom and then Newcastle, he was never the most mobile, a bit of a James Beattie type but I'm starting to wonder if it goes deeper than just a lack of fitness now.

He should be offering more by now, he's had a good few games since he arrived and frankly he still looks like he's running in treacle.

The player I remember at Newcastle was a handful, he gave us some problems when we faced them, used his physical presence well but he hasn't even done that in the five or so games he's had.

He badly needs to step his game up on Saturday against a side that he most definitely should be offering a threat against.

This will be interesting & difficult for Benitez. Stick with Rondon, providing we find him some boots that don't have lead in them.

Go with a 3 of Gray, Richarlison & Townsend with a 3 behind them (Allan, Davies & ????).

Or gamble and throw one of the kids in?

If I were Carlo, I'd be brushing up on set-pieces. We can't expect a Townsend wonder goal every week, and Gray's crosses are only good if there's someone in the box. Corners on the other hand with Keane and Mina offer us a route to goals.

Old habits mate lol

Every word of that made total sense to me.

"A number of weeks" sounds pretty ominous, like they really have no idea how long it will take. Must be incredibly frustrating for Calvert-Lewin, not just because he might miss out on his dream move to Newcastle, Arsenal, Real Madrid, or Marine, but also because he was the central figure in Rafa's plan to get it out wide and into the box quickly. Gray and Townsend were basically signed to feed Calvert-Lewin, so he would have expected to be banging in even more this season than last season.

If we can get Richarlison back and keep him fit, we might be able to stay in the top half of the table this season, but it does look like the season's ambitions will need to be recalibrated.

Letting Kean and Rodriguez go, instead of actually managing them, seems utterly daft now.

Keep Gordon on the left with Gray supporting Richarlison (Iwobi nowhere near the first 11 please).

And keep giving Dobbin, and Simms when fit, chances from the bench. (More than 2 minutes of injury time to kill time please).

Use Rondon as little as possible.

Simms was back on the bench a couple of weeks ago, and as Kieran said, Tosun was also back in training; not a word about either since.

I hope Fernandes is a miracle worker.

Tosun has the mobility of a frozen rubber jonny and, unlike Rondon, he has no strength whatsoever.

And at least he's capable of putting the ball in the net once in a while. He has scored for us every 246 minutes, which isn't awful.

Rondon has played 415 minutes with one shot on goal. One. Shot.

Enough is enough. If we have an alternative -- and it appears we do -- let's take it. Even if it's Tosun.

Is there nobody in the whole club big enough, fit enough, aggressive enough, to put themselves about and make a nuisance of themselves up front?

Same for midfield... is there no cocky youngster who will badger the powers that be in a Yozza manner: "Giz a job, I can do that job."

What a sad indictment of the youth of today and the academy they all skive in...

[Shakes head, waves fist at clouds…]

(Going for the Irish spelling, I see – unlike my anglicized parents.) I too thought we should hold on to James. But in truth, he's played one game since he left, got subbed, and his team lost 0-3 in the mighty Qatari league. So, on that basis, I'm now looking at it as “Well, that's a million in wages we saved.”

Jim Bennings,

Mike is right. Tosun isn't that good but Rondon looks like he'd struggle to score as a goal hanger in infant school five-a-side. Yeah, he looks strong… but so does Jeff Capes, do we want him in the team?

I said all through the summer, when people were banging on about right-backs, we need another player of Doucouré's profile because we are an injury from mediocrity, or worse!

How Benitez copes with this loss will be season-defining, in my view. Roll on January.

I don't see anything wrong with giving Lewis Dobbin and Ellis Simms more active roles, could they do any worse?

Are they more mobile? Do they know where the back of the net is? Have they scored goals recently? Is the Goal the same size in the U23s as it is in the Premier League?

If the answer to any of those questions is Yes, then surely – you know it makes sense!

It is still 72 days before the next transfer window opens. That's a long time in football to fix the current squad's limitations. Yet, the season began so brightly until injuries took their toll against the best in the squad.

Which is not helped by international call-ups in South America that prevented Mina from playing last Saturday. His height and strength may have prevented West Ham from scoring.

The space that West Ham had was created by Evertons defensive line being too deep. Doucoure and Allan defending in and around the edge of the penalty areas and clear the lines balls from Godfrey and Keane at the edge if the six yard box. i blame Keane. He is neat in his ball control, but slow. Though in the West Ham game he is alast last getting there. His detour on the second half Gray cross was alarming. Gray at the look of W. T. F. after it.

Calvert Lewin intermittently attacks the near post, but is often a yard off. Positionally he is often nowhere for crosses. Evertons midfield when he plays can often be compacted due to the opposition being able to push their defensive line up, leaving him isolated. Richarlison has the same problem. Calvert Lewin is best at the one touch goal. Credit to Carlo, which Calvert Lewin seemed to query as being effective, after Carlo was gone. His shooting is off and ball control is below average for a Premier League forward. He is good at heading the ball when and if he attacks crosses. he does work hard, but comes deeper than Rondon to tackle or recieve the ball, which is questionable. His broken toe may have inhibited his push on progress this season, but his other injury certainly has. He is prepared to very work hard at his training, getting himself ahead of other contenders for his position. He is not worth the transfer fees others think he is worth, and is a favourite for outlandish media speculation at the moment , on a par with Newcastle hysterics.

Hope he recovers soon and best wishes. I am sure he will work hard at it. It is not LIKE Medical Services to have a relapse in their rehabilitation program.

Agree with Mike regarding Tosun. A Turkish Barber was telling me that alot of young Turks think they can become millionaires by doing nothing. I was going to blame Tosun but thought better of it has he was about to poke a lit straw in my ear. Aparently he is a hero and superstar in Turkey.

Cristian Fernandez's Newcastle role under Rafa Benitez could provide clues for Abdoulaye Doucouré comeback

It gives really good insights into his role and also into Benitez's thinking as a manager.

He is going to be a busy man at Everton.

The psoas muscle also attaches on the inside of the thigh and is the only muscle in the body that connects the lower and upper trunk.

We have little (or no) idea as to the cause of the injury, but I would imagine that injury to this powerful muscle group would be quite destabilising and affect athletic performance.

Calvert-Lewin looked to me to be the fittest player in the squad, so there cannot be any question of injuries occurring due to a lack of fitness; unlike others.

He will obviously be missed because the team was set up to feed him crosses – but he will also be missed when defending set-pieces, where his aerial ability was like having an extra centre-back at corners and free-kicks.

We can only hope that the injury is not as bad as feared and that he is able to make a full recovery.

Forget Europe and trophies, this season must now be focused on reaching 40 points, especially with Doucouré likely to be out until Christmas. As for cover, Rondon simply isn't up to the job and I hope Dobbin is given more time because he is far better suited to the quick counter-attacking style of play.

So unless one of the youngsters are given a go, which I doubt would happen from the start of a game, or Richarlison is fit to play as a forward, then it looks like Rondon will be given more minutes.

Any other player and I reckon they would be out of the team; however, with Benitez bringing the player in, he is getting a bit of leway to try and justify the signing, plus the fact our other fit striker is out on loan.

Heaven knows we need some.

Onyango was in the training sessions too. Apparently, Tosun, Delph and Gomes were "visible" (probably alongside Danny Williamson) though not training with the group.