Squad ratings for the season

The owner and the board need to come clean with Dyche asap, because I don't think that Dyche will tolerate being messed around and given false promises, and who would blame him?

Coleman 7
Leader and inspiration.

Patterson 7
With a decent run has enormous potential.

Godfrey 4
Early promise but covid and injuries have slowed him down and he is not big enough for a centre-back.

Mina 7
Another who inspires more than his individual contribution.

Coady 4
Agreed.

Tarkowski 6
Agree - Our most consistent defender. Not great but good enough to keep.

Keane 4
Worst centre-back I have seen at Everton: no concentration and weak mentality.

Holgate 3
There is a player somewhere but his arrogance and casual style keep it hidden.

Mykolenko 6
He has grown into the role IMO and has been more effective defensively than Digne.

Garner 8
Calm and safe on the ball and knows how to deliver a ball accurately. One of my favourite players.

Onana 6
Flashes of class but needs to show more application. Definite promise and a keeper for me.

Gana 7
A player of true class but needs to leave shots to others. His workrate and tackling are first class and he looks good alongside a suitable partner in midfield.

Doucouré 8
One of the few players we have who knows where the net is and has an engine that never stops. His goals have been crucial to staying up and so has his workrate.

Iwobi 6
Another high-energy player with a tremendous workrate. Great linking up play but for a player in his position does not score enough goals.

McNeil 9
Workrate, Skill, goalscoring and contributing all first class. He has been transformed from a waste of money to one of our best players since Dyche came.

Davies
Couldn't really score Tom. He hasn't contributed enough. End of his contract.

Calvert-Lewin 5
Feel sorry for the lad but injuries caused him to offer little this season. Hope he rebuilds over pre-season.

Maupay 2
Agreed. Maybe the worst so-called striker we have ever bought.

Demarai Gray 6
Contributed some important goals but became predictable so defenders knew how to play him. Good squad player though.

Simms 6
Mainly for the goal against Chelsea. Has got to bulk up and improve his heading ability and hold-up play.

Too early to judge Sean Dyche but a big improvement on Frank Lampard.

Patterson is good at something the Dyche system needs imo, a forward thinking RB. He does have some bad habits but those have been in check lately. As the coverage in front of him improved he covered reliably.

I will pass on the numbers but the standouts ate McNeil and Garner. Those two demonstrated some growth in their short time here. On different sides of the pitch with different slills in possession. We lucked out with these two and they will make other transfers assimilate smoothly because of their steady styles of play.

I certainly think it's worth seeing what Dyche can do with Godfrey, Mykolenko and a few others - and indeed the squad generally after a pre season and a little bit of strategic recruitment.

After all there's no real market for our unwanted players and we don't have any money. So we can't just say goodbye to all the players we don't think are worthy. We're going to have to find away to get them to contribute (as I think Dyche has already done).

I agree with you though that there's a core emerging of players to build around, including Pickford, Tarkowski, Patterson, Garner and McNeil. Personally I'd add DCL to that despite the injuries, which aren't hugely different to the injuries for Patterson (or big Dunc for that matter). It's just so acutely problematic with no-one else to share the load.

We obviously still need to buy a striker. But DCL's fitness is still our best gamble at having a decent striker at the club.

As for the rest, outside of Pickford, McNeill, and maybe Tarkowski I think they've all fallen short.

Garner looked a natural footballer in his late season appearances. Very impressed with him. Patterson has a lot of potential but, similar to Garner, he's had injury issues.

Onana has talent and the potential to be very exciting. Historically we tend to ditch those players for more solid types and then complain that other clubs tend to have more exciting players than us. I hope we don't unless the money is just too good to turn down.

The rest can go if the deal works for us. Some can be fire sales (eg Maupay). Others might actually attract half decent fees and allow us to boost the squad with some fresh blood (eg Doucoure, Iwobi). Most are decent enough to be squad players, though I'd drive Mykolenko and Holgate to the train station myself. I'm not sure what we gain by having either of those in the squad and while they're here there'll always be the temptation for a manager to actually put them on the pitch.

None of this will happen though. Between existing FFP and the possibility of sanctions I see only a small amount of player turnover. Player sales would have to be as a result of young players coming through to fill up the squad. That's not really something our club does nowadays.

With his style of play there will be clubs at the right level where he'll be a fan favourite.

He definitely needs to go for his own sake. He's about to turn 25. It's not going to happen for him at Everton and he's getting close to leaving it too late.

Completely out of his depth. Ten defeats in ten 2023 Premiership games for Everton and Chelsea says it all.

It's a 0 from me!

I assume that as we haven't heard anything about Coady staying, he will be going back to Wolves.

Over the course of the season that would have seen us finishing 12th, which is much higher up than this squad deserves I'd say.

I think that's a bit harsh on Coady. I understand his limitations, but he was better than that.

Next season will be a big one for Ben Godfrey. Make or break. The conundrum with him is where his best position is in my opinion. This has just come into my head, so feel free to have a pop and laugh. Centre back? Full back? Defensive midfielder? Like a lesser Phil Neville, just not as good and playing in a poor team. Still relatively young though. Let's see.

Tarkowski a 6? Can't agree with that one.

Mykolenko, at 22, is learning. In difficult circumstances. Both personally and in the Goodison circus tent. Last season, some wrote him off after 2 games. Some keep saying we can see in on the left of a back 3. Maybe that's his position, but he is a good player with potential, desire and work rate.

Garner is so comfortable on the football and always looking for a forward pass. Another young player who can get better.

I can't agree on Gueye. Even at 34, he was an engine, often being left to try and do it on his own, as was Tarkowski at times.

Onana is going to be a very good player. Only 21 and needs to find consistency.

Doucoure was much better when following what I assume where instructions to get forward and use his energy. We started getting goals out of him.

Harsh on Iwobi. Yes, sometimes he confuses himself. Yes, he makes mistakes. But always looking forward and, to repeat myself, trying to create something.

Like Mykolenko last season, I heard McNeil written off early in the season. He became one of our best players and his delivery is a weapon we can use. If he's got something to aim for.

Gray is fast becoming our latest Iwobi type enigma. To be fair, he has often been asked to play as our striker. Not his position.

I don't know how the board scored 0. It should have been a negative rating. You shouldn't have wasted the time typing. I don't know why I am now!

Thanks for the assessment. It will no doubt generate healthy debate.

Certianly not Sergei NotManinoff

C'mon fella, he kept up a squad that was bereft in quality, confidence and attacking options

Sorry, you're wrong here. Dyche deserves an 8 or 9

By rights I think we should have finished 2nd bottom this season.

Hodgson, Cooper and O'Neill all did cracking jobs too but were working with better squads.

Lampard would have relegated us. What more do you want?

This unglamorous man came in with some single minded pragmatism and forced the basics down the throat of our players . They all already know the basics, but they needed the leadership and discipline that Dyche brought.

Extreme tough love for a good few weeks drilling them and getting them into shape and communicating with clarity to them as to their roles and what expected of them within the system.

He made some mistakes but atoned for them, how many managers have we had that just keep on flogging the dead horse ? He has had catastrophic injuries for the club with DCL and first choice and second choice full backs on both sides. He's overcome it all with good footballing decisions and players looking like they know what they are doing for the first time in a long time.

I mean trusting Jimmy Garner to to play that wing back role against Bournemouth was a big call. The young lad played an incredible match out of position that was a big factor in the result. I am still buzzing about how he handled it, because it shows we have got a very good player. He gets a 10 for that performance. ( McNeill gets a 10 too , because he became my favourite player since Dyche arrived)…what was Frank up to with him? McNeill showed very good strength of character to turn it around and become the team's best player in the last few months.

Finally after the result there was no fireworks from the manager. Something along the lines of, “good work but a club like Everton shouldn't be celebrating finishing 17th, plenty of hard work to do”.

There's a big challenge ahead of him but he has more than earned his right to get some players in and build a team he can call his own. I would love to see him next year with an improved team taking points out of the sky six darlings and causing them some grief. I can almost see their managers whining and moaning to the camera about us taking a point or three off them. Bring it on please!

I'm opted can put a team / squad together for next season that can hold its own in the league. Make the first step to mid table and ready to push on.

He's still an unglamorous and dogged manager but

Gana deserves a higher mark too. He was often doing the work of 2 midfielders and never hid.

Pickford is our one superstar. He has been consistent for 3 years and he makes saves that other keepers can't. People still go on about that Gordon Banks save against Brazil in 1970 but Pickford's save against Chelsea last season was better and only bettered by big Neve's save V Spurs in 1985.

Dyche at 6 is harsh - we were absolutely going down under Lampard and somehow he got us enough points to stay up. There were things he should have done better (playing Mina earlier for one). But he has to be 10 for keeping us up.

Patterson at 7 is way over generous - he has been injured for most of the season and played in less than half our games. I like him and feel he will get better, but he had some very average performances. So it's a 5 from me.

Tarkowski at 6 is way below what he deserves. Played every game (twice as many as Patterson), his stats in every area are better than Patterson's. A few errors here and there over the season, a few average games but mostly very good and dependable every week. But most importantly he is our leader on the pitch and held the defence together. I think he runs Pickford close for Player of the Season. Has to be 8.

Harsh again on Gana 5 and Doucouré 4. Many games Gana seemed to be holding midfield on his own (Onana nowhere to be seen). Doucouré under Dyche helped save our season, and his goals in the last few games were vital. 7 from me although he probably deserves 10 for his goal that saved us – because we weren't scoring any other way!