Seventeenth Not Going Under

MSP may provide investment for Moshiri but worryingly they are not big players and we need a new start with a complete takeover.

Walking to the bus stop, I reflected on the brilliant performance of James Garner, the non-stop efforts of Gueye, the solid games from Mina, Coady and Tarkowski along with McNeil, that brilliant save from Pickford near the end and the fantastic goal from Doucouré that won us the game.

I also realised we were lucky to stay up. Dyche coming in saved us but, most of all, three clubs performed worse than us and prevented us from going down. If Lampard had been sacked sooner, then I believe Dyche would have gathered enough points to save us from all this worry. That worry will return next season if there are no changes in the people who run the club.

Surely now Moshiri has to wake the hell up and, if he isn't being bought out very soon, start to rebuild this mess immediately, starting with: we all know who.

This season, it was like, why are we here? There are so many reasons, signposted again and again and again. We didn't survive despite the odds, we survived because we didn't care about the odds and just carried on regardless.

Not buying a striker in January was criminal. Big reset is needed.

We are still a Premier League club and don't have to say we are in a lower division than Luton Town.

The over-riding feeling, both during and after the match, is numbness. Numb to the situation and numb to what happens next.

We need some hope for next season, hope that this will never happen again, hope that a rebuild will start (again). Hope that we have a team to be proud of.

My big hope for next season is that, going into the last game, I don't feel numb. Come on, Moshiri, sort your shit out and let's not have to endure this agony ever again.

While they all put in a shift, I'm again grateful for the amazing composure of Jordan Pickford in the closing stages. Knowing that a fumble or lapse of concentration would doom us and lead to him being forever blamed for our demise, he didn't put a foot wrong. Not bad for a supposedly unreliable keeper with dinosaur arms!

This was our worst season in our Premier League history, and worst in the top flight since returning in the early '50s. Lots of new records, all of them terrible.

Dyche definitely did enough, and changed the mentality enough to get us just over the line.

Replace the board – which he has largely appointed – and what influence do they have in our team? They ain't got the money to invest and those who did sold their shares to Moshiri.

And so Moshiri has to admit he has made a huge error in appointing the board members he has, he has to find a number of new members and then what do we want them to do? Improve the income in the club so we can buy new players. That is about it. If it comes to new talent coming from the academy, then that will take years.

Much as we want to lay the blame at the door of the board, it is Moshiri who is the problem. The toxicity started after Ancellotti left and Benitez was appointed – and whose decision was that?

Unlike, I suspect, a fair number on here, I really hope West Ham Utd win the Europa Conference League Final. Moyes took a few of years of boring, don't get beat, get to 40 points football but, after 2007, we were never out of the Top 8 and the quality of the football improved.

We can moan that he lacked the adventure to gamble on making the breakthrough to Top 4 but would I rather have Everton of 2008-2013 or the Everton of today? That is a pretty dumb question.

And in those dark early years of Moyes, each season came good in the end and we had enough points to not worry by mid-March at the latest. And despite all the early years wobbles, the Chairman stuck by him and gave him time.

Same chairman, different way of operating (sack at first sign of trouble) – who is the difference? Moshiri is the problem.

We desperately need cover at fullback, right midfield and centre-forward, so I'd personally try quickly now for:

Tino Livramento – £10M
Ché Adams – £15M
Viltor Gyökeres – £15M
Luke Thomas – £10M
Adama Traore – Free

That's a lot of holes filled for the Gordon money alone. With Branthwaite, Cannon and (hopefully) Warrington coming in to add depth too, hopefully we can focus on moving on Holgate, Godfrey, Keane, Gomes, Dele Alli, Gbamin, Maupay etc. somehow.

If we're lucky that'll give us enough space to add real quality – maybe a Beto type signing too. After the last 2 years, really want to see a change in how we work. Acting early and decisive would be a good sign.

Yesterday, I prayed to the footballing Gods, my prayers were answered. One more chance to build something, to correct wrongs, to get things right. We have been very fortunate. Lampard was taking us down, no doubt. Please give credit to Sean Dyche who was operating with his strong hand tied behind his back.

Next season we need to build around a core group of good younger players. Branthwaite (a must) and Tarkowski to form our starting centre-back slots. Patterson needs more time and I would give Seamus a reduced, 1-year extension. Left-back is an important position, I think someone to push Mykolenko all the way.

Garner, Doucoure (who has been good under Dyche) and McNeil. If we have to let someone go, I think the sacrificial lamb will be Pickford. I hope we get top dollar, replace sensibly and can reinvest.

We will need a couple of good loans. We will need to spend some money because I predict a transfer ban in October and a fine.

The youngsters with true potential will need space to develop, Warrington and Cannon spring to mind. I think we should offer Simms as a makeweight in the Gyökeres deal to give us a leg up over Brentford.

It was interesting hearing Dyche's words. Unlike many a predecessor, including Lampard after the Palace match last season, no praise for the Chairman and support of the board (what support?), he spoke frankly and realistically.

"Thought you'd be jumping for joy," said he.

"Well, not really. Just relief."

Things have to change and right soon.

I watched the last 20 minutes parading up and down, I couldn't sit still. I thought Garner, Pickford Mina and Tarkowski all played like heroes.

I read people suggesting who we should sign, who we're allowed to sign is more the question and who we can afford to keep. We are in a financial mire and next season could be very similar to this because of our economics.

Will Pickford and Onana be with us come August? The mess in the Boardroom is the first priority before we can begin to sort out the mess on the field.

Thanks again Lyndon for your report and for your and Michael's editorialship. With Michael's unedited primeval screaming and barbed analysis and your elegant velvet prose, it makes you a perfectly balanced odd couple. Thanks to you both.

Hats off to the fans. The real heroes who got us over the line once again. The look of despair on their faces at half-time was a damning indictment of the board and their incompetence. How far have they allowed us to fall.

It'll take a few days to get over this semi-traumatic day but we now need to start planning for the future. The announce of the board's resignation today will be a good start.

I had to laugh this morning though – I was walking the dog in the local park about 8 am when a cigarette end came over the fence from someone's back garden and landed on the path in front of us, landing alongside the dozen or so other fresh fag ends on the path (at least two of which were still smoking).

I saw the top of a fella's head walking back and forth behind the fence and it clicked immediately…

I shouted, “You alright, mate?”, to which he replied “Me head's in the shed, mate.”

“Evertonian?” I enquired, kind of knowing the answer already. “Yeah, mate”.

I'd like to see Dyche get some backing now, from a new board. With him, we had a chance and took it.

On Victor Gyökeres, having seen him in the flesh on Saturday, I would be worried by his poor first touch. Good running onto balls but he would struggle to trap a bag of sand.

This is my favourite section:-
"Where rival clubs failed to muster the collective defiance and will, the power of the spirit that courses through this wonderful old institution and which is embodied within the storied brick, metal girders and wooden timbers of Goodison Park has proved too powerful to be extinguished."

Yes indeed – they can't kill us.

Watching the game on Optus Sport, I have to say yet again that I am very proud to be an Evertonian. The old and the young fellas but most of all the kids and the mad women really get my heart pounding and bring a tear to my eyes. Their loyalty and passion is priceless.

Squad depth is our real problem. These players are good enough with Dyche coaching them to achieve mid-table next season. We all know where we need to strengthen.

Lastly, I will be really sorry to see Yerry Mina leave. He is our best centre-half and a leader.

Garner, Iwobi and Tarkowski were the men yesterday.

My biggest fear is that Moshiri does nothing to change the year upon year incompetence at boardroom level. He thinks that a tweak here and there and buying a striker is all that is needed.

He couldn't be more wrong, a club without unity from top to bottom is set up to fail. Change had got to happen fast now as stability is desperately needed. Pre-season starts in about 6 weeks and that is where solid foundations are built from.

Kevin Thelwell and Sean Dyche need a transfer window which is coherent and fulfills a strategy. It is beyond comprehension that a club like Everton can play most of its games without a recognised striker. This is not a short term issue it is outright negligence over many years.

The hard work starts now.

I get your point about rather having the Moyes team of that period versus what we have seen up and down the country these past seasons. That is a fair shout in the heat of the current moment.

But I could extend that debate to say I'd rather have Howard Kendall's Everton of the mid-'80s than the Everton of the '90s who, yes won a trophy, but escaped relegation on the last day twice. Or that '80s team who won 2 league titles and narrowly missed a 3rd to the one we have today.

For me, and admittedly in hindsight, as I initially knew what Moyes had to do, the Moyes years symbolised the onset of lowering expectation. Be happy with your lot. Plucky little Everton. When I look back, he and Kenwright were a match made in heaven. Supress the masses and take away their belief.

Fortunately that hasn't happened. You only have to be in those grounds all over the country to see that in the young supporters, who won't stop believing. They certainly keep me going.

I don't care what Moyes does with West Ham. We are not West Ham. We are Everton. 9 times League Champions. That is our baseline and mantle. That is how I measure our club.

Despite the barren years, no one will ever tell me and thousands of others different.

Then Dyche came in and was offered literally zero support from his employers. Given a weaker squad than Frank had (as we sold Gordon who was a forward and our top goalscorer) and obviously no fit recognisable strikers.

And somehow, Dyche has made a silk purse from a sow's ear!!! Somehow, he's gained points and made us a threat and won enough points to stave off relegation.

He deserves enormous credit for what he's achieved this season. Obviously many of us will say he overused the ineffective Maupay and could have played Mina sooner but he's not going to get every decision right.

And look at the bench yesterday: 2 goalkeepers, 2 kids who have never played before, the ineffective Maupay, the as yet unproven Simms and the dizzying talents of Holgate and Keane. He's performed a miracle!!

I'd actually offer Mina a 2-year deal and risk the inevitable injuries he'll get. It'd save a transfer fee elsewhere.

We have to build around Garner. Our only true footballers are Garner, McNeil, Iwobi and Patterson. The rest are athletes. And we need players with guile, a footballing brain and skill.

And then the tricky forward areas: do we have money to spend? Are we currently compliant with P&S Rules?? All of this is opaque to us fans. We just don't know.

But we have to stick with Dyche for 2 or 3 seasons if only to gain some much-needed stability, reset and breathe and then aspire to greater things. Remember, he did get Burnley into Europe so it's not kissing ambition goodbye. Instead, it's back to a proper organised, pragmatic footballing approach. I much prefer that to Frank and Rafa…

Under Dyche, I do think he will create a team that is hard to beat, get Goodison involved, and have a team that gives everything. A reset of going back to basics if you like – but it will need more quality in the final third.

The squad is clearly short, but now I'd expect intelligent signings to build a team that is workmanlike, but safe. Cheap physical players and good loans.

The club has to get value on a Saturday as well. The injury situation has to be addressed. We can't carry on with players where they're earning £100k, but playing one in three. And a lob-sided squad of 7 odd centre-backs.

Out
1. Onana
2. Mina
3. Mykolenko
4. Vinagre
5. Keane
6. Holgate
7. Begovic
8. Lonergan
9. Davies
10. Townsend
11. Maupay
12. Gomes
13. Alli
14. Gbamin
15. Virginia
16. Nkounkou

That's 16 players that need shifting, that are contributing not a lot to our club on game day. If we can get rid of these, and bring in some key pieces at left-back, upfront, back-up keeper, and right midfield.

There are players out there. They don't all have to be £20-30M plus.

He managed this despite not really having a striker or any goal scorer anywhere else on the pitch.

He wasn't able to sign anyone when he took over and had to use the same squad that had managed 15 points in 21 games.

He joined a club in the midst of a civil war with a dysfunctional boardroom.

He's lost 4 full-backs to injury plus the stand-in full-back in Godfrey.

He's had to have 2 keepers and a load of kids on the bench a lot of the time.

Despite all this, he managed to eke out 5 wins and we lost 7 games since he came in. 6 of those 7 losses were against 6 of the final top 7 teams. The other was Fulham at home. He made us competitive and difficult to beat when playing the teams outside that top group.

He deserves enormous credit for what he achieved with the cards he was dealt.

I'm in the camp of seeing a real player in Onana, though I realise he may not want to stay next season. I also think Townsend is worth keeping, but bar that, I'd be happy to see the rest leave.

I did think, while under Ancelloti, that Holgate could turn into a top-class player, but that ship sailed a while ago. And I was ecstatic when we signed Gomes permanently, I think he's a class man, and a good player – but the Son injury did for him.

And the threat of a points deduction next season seems very real, so we might need to finish (in terms of points) in the top half to absorb any penalty.

As a team and a club, we are light years away from the side Howard Kendall put together. I would humbly suggest that we start by having realistic ideas of what we want next season.

We will do well if we manage to finish in the top half and, with how Brentford and Brighton are evolving, that's no given.

And wasn't Dyches demeanour a marked difference to Lampard's dancing on the roof of the stand to having avoided relegation. Instead, he said this isn't something to celebrate a club like Everton avoiding relegation.

He spoke about how broken – or 'cracked' as he put it – this club has become. While this owner and this board are here, even with Dyches determination, it will be impossible to change the culture.

Just a brief word on the game. I don't think I have stood up so much at a game, as did the majority in the ground.

Despite the disaster this season has been, I think in young Garner we have found a gem; no wonder Paul Scholes said he was one of the best midfield players he had seen at Man Utd for a long time and was gutted he left. Playing in an unfamiliar role, he was brilliant.

Mina has been our best centre-back – just a shame about his fitness record. Great goal from Doucouré – a man who couldn't get into Lampard's team and was sent to train on his own.

Sean Dyche should be given the time and funds he needs to rebuild this club and under him the minimum requirement will be maximum effort which we have seen very little of before Dyche arrived.

Finally to all those idiots who ran on the pitch with the CCTV they should be able to be identified and fined. I felt sorry that Mina wasn't allowed to say goodbye to the fans and Dyche couldn't be applauded for keeping the team in the Premier League.

I fear you are correct. The money that will may come in from Blythe and MSP appears to be destined for the stadium build.

I'm guessing, therefore, that any new spending can only be funded by sales or that recent EFC favourite – free transfers.

I hope Paul the Esk will cover this on his next Talking The Blues podcast (once he has sobered up from yesterday).

I think he will want a top club, and will have top clubs looking at him. It will be a mutual parting of the ways. Another good player that we'd prefer to keep, but sacrificed to cover the duff garbage we've spaffed a fortune on.

Townsend isn't going to make a huge amount of difference £. He's out of contract, not on big wages – but a bad injury for a player at the end of his career… I think he's done.

Like many others, I have been critical of his selections, substitutions and style of play. But now when you consider just what the scale of his job entailed, he has proved himself, with his staff and methods and he has achieved the impossible.

So thank you, Sean, we now need to learn how to love you, and you us, and with some luck and importantly a new board with depth and experience – we may just have a partnership made in heaven.

I keep reading how wonderful Brighton, Brentford, and others are, but the fact is they are not. True, they are doing well at present, and it seems to many that are going to carry on in that vein. In my view, they will only go one way, and that is down the table.

Bournemouth – finished 3 points above us.
Wolves – manager throwing his toys out of his pram because of lack of investment (try being the manager of Everton, sunshine).
Nottm Forest – Will 30 new signings be enough for you, Mr Cooper? (Everton signed who?).

Others basking in the glory of qualifying for European football by finishing in the Top 7 (laughable).

Everton in recent times have lost their main sponsor, been deserted by owner and board, had unprecedented injuries (Godfrey – broken leg after 10 minutes of the season!). Many of these injuries have been to key players.

Please don't give any thought to these other clubs, they are all irrelevant to Everton. Not one of them would have survived the trials of Everton. Good grief, Leicester, who played in Europe last season, Champions 5 years ago, sold many of their good players, and fell through the trap door.

In my opinion, Sean Dyche has performed a miracle keeping Everton where they belong, and he deserves great credit, willing to come to the club with its current disharmony, and giving us all another opportunity to get back to where we belong.

There is only one team in football that I care about, and that is Everton – not remotely interested in the others. They only exist so we can beat them. I will enjoy the Summer, and am very positive about the future.

Despite my emotional and overly optimistic ramblings, I am occasionally realistic.

I know where we are.

But my bar is what I grew up with. Both on what I was educated on (tales of the '60s), and what I witnessed in the '80s.

I can't accept mediocrity. Doing what we need to do to dig ourselves out of a hole, I can tolerate for a period.vBut I have my standards and ambition for Everton and that is to compete.

Man City and Chelsea fans decades ago would never have dreamed they would be where they are or have been now. Why can't we?

If we want to go down the scale, Brighton in Europe having been on the brink and without a stadium to play in. Villa having been relegated 3 times in my lifetime back in Europe.

Newcastle have been relegated at least 3 times in my lifetime, twice recently; now in the Champions League. And they've done that quickly from being on the brink of another relegation. Anything is possible.

I believe. I always will. But my bar is higher than the Kenwright-Moyes partnership years.

I'm sure yours are as well, Brian. You always talk sense and realism. I'm the optimistic fool. Give me a day to sober up and come down and I'll be talking about European qualification.

He could also be just the man we need to develop the club using homegrown and low-cost talent which, in the absence of money, has to be our future.

Mid-table next season? I think that would be exceptional.

We need massive changes in every department starting at the top. And we need it quickly.

I would never want you to lose that fantastic optimism which you always have when talking all things Everton.

I have been very lucky to have seen all the glory years under Catterick and Kendall and Joe Royle's FA Cup win.

All I was saying is let's not put unrealistic targets on what Dyche has to acquire. He is absolutely the right manager for us right now, and I believe he will change the mindset of this club in the next couple of seasons.

The main thing is, now that we have got Premier League football, then it's time for Moshiri and the board to leave and let people who want to drive this club forward with Dyche in charge to take over.

I don't want Moshiri to spend another minute owning this club; as has been shown, putting money in alone is not the answer. Time for Moshiri & Usmanov to take what they can get and leave and let more committed owners take control.

I was using parallels in my expectations for Everton.

Like you, I've witnessed success, which gives me huge respect for those young supporters who have fed of scraps of hope.

There is short-term realism, but it doesn't stop the long-term expectation.

And things can turn quickly. Look at Newcastle.

We will get there.

Most of the comments on here are spot on IMO. Time for change and quick time. No hanging around, wasting good time. The CEO has to be decisive. She runs the business. Can be a vote of no confidence in her pushed by other board members. The Chairman should retire before he's kicked out.

If there's new money coming in, the deal needs to be settled this week and the board structure altered accordingly.

Personally, I hope Sean Dyche is not pushed out. IMO he has done a lot for the club and deserves a chance to build on what he has done with a properly balanced squad of players.

Gary @ 10 is on the right track. There should be a good number of decent players on the market as not all the not all of the Leeds, Leicester and Southampton team players are useless.

Maddison in MF would do. Also did ant of you see the goals scored by Sulimani ??? (Don't know how to spell it) of So'ton vs the RS?

Enjoy your summer break guys and Gals (winter for us down under). Onward and upward! COYB.

Also, excellent reports from Paul, the Esk and others, not to miss out Danny O'Neill, wearing his heart on his sleeve always, for his newsy match day memories.

Ben is spot on with his analysis and Ian#29 I agree with your outs bar Keane, all the others can go.

I would like to see some immediate response from the board aimed towards Dyche, with regard to where the club is financially and under what restraints that Everton are operating. Dyche himself has laid bare in his interviews, what direction he thinks that the club need to go in, for us to make the necessary progress to improve matters on the pitch.

What all of us don’t want to see is dithering and inactivity by the board. No plan to make that progress and when decisions are made, I want to hear from Dyche. He is the one who is stamping his authority on what we need. He is the one that the fans will trust. If he is not supported or given the tools to do the job, I fear he may walk. What would that say about the owner and the board?

Watched this "from every angle" video of Doucoure's goal of the season a few times in a row now, it's brilliant!

Yes what Ben said. The distinction between athletes and artists is nice. I don’t know the market but Picks and Onana could get prices worth a look. From that we should be able to reload at RB and LB. A more aggressive LB and a more defensive RB would work.

Then obviously a stopper and striker are the key acquisitions. Striker could be a loaner but the CDM is somewhat a search for the new captain. If it works out in the market.

At about 2 min 34sec, after we've just scored, the crowd shot includes a young lad in two-tone grey top who just seems insensitive to it, biting his fingernail! What The Fuck!

I'm convinced they are the ones I've seen in quite a few grounds this season!!

The crowd shots are euphoric, I love the dedicated Dyche camera too. Doesn't even raise a fist for a £3.5 million goal, just a quick sip of water and back to work.

I was exactly like yourself in my younger days, travelling all over the place following Everton; however, age and ailments have eaten away at my enthusiasm.

It's known by many that Michael Kenrick and I don't see eye to eye on this site, but I have attempted to re-read his match report in which he took umbrage at some who had decided that Everton were doomed to be relegated early in the season. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find the thread, but I would like to place it on record that I agree 100% with his views, which he delivered in a more colourful way than I could have done.

I have always believed that anything is possible in a football match and I will always look for a bright light, and will only accept relegation if the required points can't be achieved by the number of games remaining. I have little respect for "wannabe managers or clairvoyants" but accept that it takes all kinds to make this site as interesting as it is.

Link

It's been an exhausting season, sleeping on trains and not through excessive drinking. Sheer long days and emotional tiredness. Leaving early, getting home late. You and thousands of others know the sketch.

I was at Chelsea and Brighton, which were memorable. Warped to say that in a season like this.

But I commented on the latest podcast earlier that, bizarrely, Wolves was the moment for me with Mina's goal 30 seconds from the end of the 99th minute.

It kept our destiny in our hands. Win at Goodison and we are safe. As you say, anything is possible in a game of football.

Top-flight football for Goodison's swan song, then onto the new Everton Stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

In the Premier League.

I know Lyndon will have a very good one for us very soon, but I sort of want it as soon as possible...

Come on, we've vented! Now, give us something to consider! :)