Onana goal saves wretched Everton from damaging defeat

I said before kick-off that he would put out a defensive side, and he did. Crystal Palace struggling, without key players, and manager resigning… surely anyone other than a PE teacher would go for it, but no, Mr Nick it couldn't.

Wonder, Dom, what's that now, 18, 19 without a goal and still not dropped? Oh but he holds the ball up well, and those flicks. I hope to God that we get some points back because this bunch of overpaid bums won't get enough to keep us up. Looking forward to Dyche leading us out at Bramley-Moore Dock in the Championship to a half-empty stadium… wanna bet?

We really need to get the points deduction sorted out and finish the season strong.

Get it right Lyndon.

Drawn games won't do it and Calvert-Lewin is losing confidence which is leaving us with a struggle in every game.

We will need other teams to help us in order to get out of this mess and sadly we all hope RS beat Luton.

It doesn't really matter what it is – because we'll all have one.

But what is Dyche trying? We're now playing a right back in attack so we can defend with even greater numbers. We're going backwards.

Dyche is literally going backwards.

The positives are that Doucoure is back and gave us a little bit of hope at times, Calvert-Lewin had two crosses put on his head by McNeil, we fought back for the tie and could've won it, and yes, the substitutions were made early enough.

At this point, though, if Onana is healthy, he has to start over Gana, who always has a mistake in him. Whatever people think of Harrison, starting Young over him is just criminal. And while I get the Dyche criticism for how hard it is to watch us these days, the reality is we lack anybody who seems to have any magic.

At least Dobbin and Danjuma have some pace, but Dobbin can't get on the pitch. Gomes or Dele would be nice to have to come on for Doucoure, but that's not happening with their injuries.

The hope now has to be that Doucoure stays healthy and starts to bring us goals or assists sometime soon. Or maybe the hope is just that we get 5 points back and don't lose those points down the line. Either way, things are not looking good.

A point is better than none right now, but it's just painful to see a squad so devoid of top quality outside of Branthwaite and Pickford. Let's hope our fortunes change soon.

Defend for 90 minutes solid in 38 games and hope to score from a header at a corner, as long as you haven't conceded more than 1?

We've got to demand more than that from an Everton manager — just because things are tough, why should we lose our entire identity within football?

A sadistic and bitter campaign that has and is taking its toll. The stress is palpable for team and fans. The fans just don't deserve this.

We all should have slept a little bit more soundly in our beds last night with 3 points and Palace dragged right into the mire and with the hope of more points imminently. But no.

Let's set up and select in order to make sure we don't lose (we nearly did) and let's be utter dross in front of our wonderful supporters.

Without any points being returned to us, I genuinely fear we are down because Luton looked a whole lot more potent than us going forward on Sunday.

I'm 65 years old and my heart is breaking watching this car crash of a club slowly being dragged headlong towards the Championship. I very much doubt Dyche is the answer now and I'm usually so positive – it's the hope that kills you, eh?

Dyche has to get points on the table. He has to put some faith in the defence and set up to attack. It means benching Young, putting Coleman as a wide midfielder for the early crosses, playing two up front, using Dobbin and Gomes.

Combinations of the above, attack, win the second ball, go forward. I know you cannot do that against the Top 4, but the bottom half you can. Last night was a tactical fuck-up. We almost lost because we were afraid of losing.

I can never forgive sitting back against anyone at Goodison, every team or player will tell you how difficult the place is when it is rocking... yet we set up not to win but try not to lose.

We have limited options, but we are not good enough to allow the opposition time and space to play, we cannot hold out for 100 minutes. We have to attack, score then defend... not the other way round. Look around you, Dyche 40,000 scousers can't all be wrong!!!

There are half-decent footballers in that squad, it's criminal we surrender all possession, hope to ride the pressure, and then hoof it long.

Plan B is to bring on Beto and repeat the above.

Dire.

Why Dyche played Young when we have better on the bench is beyond me? Patterson should have played! Gana, played like the Wild/Mad Mouse at Blackpool funfair. Twisting turning, running aimlessly around with little or no impact on the game.

I could see the intent of being on the front foot, but the lack of a defence-splitting ball or decent cross didn't help our cause. TV commentators alluded to Pickford receiving the ball 36 times in the first half alone. What's that all about?

Aside from the game being a poor spectacle, the starting players looked stale, and perhaps the starting eleven need a shake-up for the Brighton game, or else I can foresee another wretched team performance.

Palace are hardly a great side, but they had enough players with nous to deal with that Sunday league tactic.

The contrast between the way Rob Edwards and Sean Dyche are approaching this fight for survival is there for all to see.

While Edwards approach often borders on Gung Ho. Our boy thinks our best chance is by adopting the "Give them fuck all" method.

The pressure on Dyche is so much greater than the managers around him. While there is no shame in going down with Luton. Nobody wants to be the guy who gets the once mighty Everton relegated.

There are no "Dyche lovers" - Pathetic statement. Just a section of the fan base who understand just how poisoned the chalice he has picked up is.

I havent been around throughout our entire history, I don't subscribe to conspiracy theory's either, but, with events on and off the field going so badly against us at the moment, this has to be Everton FC's darkest hour to date.

Those incredibly observant fans who have noticed our "football" is ugly. Riddled with fear and doubt can take their insightful bows. Well done you.

The rest of us recognise how utterly worthless I-told-you-so's are in our current situation. Especially when directed at Fellow blues. They understand the gravity of this struggle.

So. We fight, we bite, we gouge. We get down in the mud. We do whatever it takes to claw our way out of this, because if we don't. We are accepting that Everton FC can never be a force again.

Thankfully not many Blues are ready to give up just yet.

A player like Duncan McKenzie, James Rodriguez or Messi would have given his team the inventiveness for his team to have scored ten. Everton have got exactly one moderately creative player on the books, Gomes. He often gets blotted out of games, he's not a powerful lump like Doucoure, he's not a heroic dish-it-out / take-it-like-a-man rock like Tarkowski, he's a player with more vision and ability to spot the killer pass than the entire rest of the payrolll.

So when the team is playing a bunch of talentless clods whose entire tactic is to swarm around the ball, you
Want a game changer. Like Gomes. He might fail he might be obliterated, but at least we won't see an entire match of hoof-it-to-the -non-scoring DCL who will get shoved off the ball by one of three goons sent to do nothing else.

The main thing I'd question is the signing of players like Beto and Chermiti. Are these seriously the best option for a cash-strapped club like ours? Surely there are players in the lower leagues who would be cheaper alternatives and offer more than those two. But we never learn do we? We've had Steve Walsh and Marcel Brands and we still sign journeymen footballers, on big wages, off the back of a few YouTube highlights. Why can clubs like Brighton and Brentford find players that nobody has heard of and fashion a decent team with a defined playing style?

I'm reading Lyndon's book at the moment and the list of players that are mentioned just brings it home how badly we have been run. Niasse, Tosun, Walcott, Sandro, Klaasen, Cleverley, Martina, etc. etc.

Only Bramley Moore Dock offers any kind of hope.

That was soooo turgid. I was watching with my 8 year old Godson, whom I'm trying to persuade to be a Bluenose, but there was nothing for him to get excited about. His Dad is a Man Yoo fan, he'll be going that way I fear.

What is so frustrating is that there are talented players out there. That one brief explosion of good football, where the ball was played on the floor into Doucoure, who flicked it out to McNeill on the run, who whipped a delicious first time cross onto the head of a striker who, sadly, has forgotten how to head the ball between the posts, was as good a move as you'll see.

But we didn't repeat anything like that, not once. Which leads me to think they must be under instruction not to take any kind of risks whatsoever.

One thing I might say though is that Beto and Chermiti only cist us £1.8m together in this fonancial year. So that explains entirely why a cash strapped club bought these players

Now we all know that can be down to the quality of the players or the coaching but one thing for sure is that many other teams around us are getting too much room in our half of the field.

I believe that they start off every game nervous and tense which is natural given the facts of the situation. Having ten points stolen when you have earned them on the field is deflating and I am sure
psychologically is affecting them in every game.

They, at least showed some mettle to the end of last two home games salvaging precious points and did well at City for 70 minutes.

Early on yesterday there were some miscommunications between players which allowed Palace possession when they shouldn't have and that buoyed them.

Anyway the goal difference may be vital down at the bottom so let's hope other scores go in our favor.

Alright that's a bit harsh, I think there is a player in there, but right now any creativity he has is being either stamped on by Dyche or the lad is knackered. Did anyone else think that last free-kick we had right at the death was from a similar position Gray swung in a peach of a ball for DCL to head in the winner in that monumental game v Palace in 2022. I thought this is fate, here comes the winner. What happened? Garner sort of tried to drill a straight ball into the box and failed miserably, just about summed it all up. We're maybe worse than 2022, and we all know how close that was.

He's playing our best midfield but what do they create, not very much. Thats our biggest weakness, with a moderate midfield your going to get a moderate performance.

We should be in actual fact in 12th and comfortable, which is no mean feat from where we started the season considering we had to sell 2 or3 of our best players and goalscorers.

Theres only the top 3 clubs who have conceeded less goals, admittedly theres only the bottom 2 that have scored less.

Nevertheless as I say we should still be in 12th.

If we expect results and pretty football we need some better players.

Generally 40 is the safety point per season. Given the 10 point deduction we now have to put 50 on the board though realistically 45 will probably do it.

We had near misses in the last 2 seasons without a points deduction. We have had to continually weaken the squad for the past 3 seasons to satisfy the league. None of which is Dyche's fault.

It's not pretty and I want us to play as attacking and free flowing as the next fan but given the squad and it's limitations I think Dyche is over achieving.

Disappointing to only get a point but the team keep fighting and don't give up.

I'm going to go off on one now so bear with me; this isn't directed at you! It's more for perspective generally.

The reality is that we had to buy a player like Beto over summer - a big strong, mobile centre forward with a bit of experience in a major league. That's because there was no knowing whether DCL could stay fit or not. So at £0m in year one, Beto was a pretty decent deal - albeit not one who was ever going to get more than about 8 goals in a full Premier League season.

We couldn't rely on Simms or Cannon to be a 38 game striker for us in the Premier League. That would have been madness. So both would be relegated to third choice or possibly fourth choice given the (also sensible) loan of Danjuma.

As it happens DCL has stayed fit and so Beto (like Danjuma) has hardly got a look in. The same would have been true for Cannon and Simms. So we took some pretty good money for the pair of them.

Chermiti has not been bought for this season. He's been bought because he's a very good prospect. A sensible sort of move that we keep enviously praising Brighton for. We only had to shell out £1.8m too so it was decent money (albeit we pay up to £9m more if he makes it).

Sad as it is, we can't really judge our transfer activity without taking account of just how difficult the financials are for Thelwell and Dyche. I've made the point elsewhere but Crystal Palace have invested £250m more than us in their squad in the past three years.

That is why the football is rubbish; it is because the standard of the playing staff (especially in attacking wide positions / number 10) is very poor relative to the opposition. By my reckoning, only Pickford, Tarkowski, Branthwaite and DCL would definitely have started in last night's weakened Palace side.

Can of worms opened.

In my opinion, they wipe the slate or they have to go after just about every club.

Paul # 32, Beto looks okay on highlights reels but he's a 10-goal-a-season man in a weak Serie A – and he's clumsy.

Described as playing with his feet on upside down by some Udinese fans. He was bought for his physical attributes and experience and price tag. Not his quality or goals.

Wonder if new place putting too much pressure all through club staff and false dreams...see it daily at work. Dream of cool gig increasingly!

Understand boss but give us some hope!

Our PSR issues stem from the earlier Moshiri years of haphazardly buying ineffective players on high fees, high wages and long contracts.

The likes of Brighton and Brentford have recruitment processes in place that are thought-through, proactive and rigorous. Our process, for managers and players, is reactive.

It's been exacerbated by our owner and chairman operating without paying attention to PSR, or thinking they can get away with it.

That's why Thelwell & Dyche's buying criteria is first, what deals can we construct, then, who can we bring in on these terms. That's why Beto and Chemtiti were brought in, rather than the Championship strikers who's clubs wouldn't take such terms seriously.

I've been watching Everton since 1970. I can't remember a manager having to operate on such terms and having a 10-point deduction.

And I have seen far, far worse teams than this one.

My wife is a Claret and last night reminded me of most of the Dyche years spent at Turf Moor watching aimless punts to Ashley Barnes, Chris Wood and others. There was no point in having any midfield players on the pitch. It's as anti football as it gets, and yet again embarrasing for us long suffering Evertonians.

Also who the hell to advising Pickford just to boot the ball upfield, thats what we did when I started playing football at school in the 70s!

If this goes on we will be lucky to escape again this season unless Dyche changes his tactics, whatever they are.

At present the option of carrying the ball at pace for any distance and delivering effective passes or shots in the final third is not within the reach of any midfielders in our squad. The nearest we had to that sort of skill set was Iwobi and before him probably Barkley. Hence our play has become too predictable. It's a good thing our corners and long set pieces have become such a potent weapon despite their predictability.

1) Nobody has tried to,
2) Nobody can, and
3) Everton and its fanbase suffering seems to serve the purpose of proving you right.

Do you realise how fucking petty you sound?

The point I was making though is that why can't our scouting system unearth gems like other, so-called smaller clubs do? Why isn't our youth set-up not bringing through better players who are ready for the first team? We change the manager but the same problems persist.

What I've seen of Chermiti, he doesn't look like he is the answer. I know that's harsh but I haven't seen anything to think there's a player there.

Sometimes I get a feeling very early on that someone isn't gonna be good enough. I had it for Niasse when he came on at Old Trafford and looked like he'd never kicked a ball, falling over it.

John Raftery,

Spot on. Our home form nosedived in that COVID season when, bizarrely, the away form was incredible, for us. We seem to get up for the bigger games but got turned over by the likes of Fulham, Wolves, Southampton etc.

Rob. Agree totally. Sick of people on TW point-scoring and almost revelling in a manager failing. Dyche is doing a decent job with a really limited group, having spent bugger all. At least he's given us some fight.

I wish we were a swashbuckling, attack-minded team but we're overloaded with slow players with no creativity or guile and no real goal threat. I don't think Guardiola could solve all our problems.

Reason: the FA Cup game between Liverpool and Southampton, if they win that, the sixth round would clash with the derby game and the cup game would take priority.

Surely the police would say No; riots and God knows what. If we are not safe by then, the twats would win the Premier League and relegate us. They can't hate us that much, or do they?

As you say, there is a potential nightmare scenario. Even if we were safe, them winning the league at Goodison would be bad enough.

Sky would love the drama, and it's them who call the shots as we know.

We would have to be safe on the penultimate weekend (Sheffield Utd at home), as our last two games would be Liverpool mid-week and then Arsenal (a) on the last day.

I'm pretty sure the police wouldn't allow it to be the last game of the season.

I was so careless to actually buy a ticket and am supposed to travel over from Copenhagen. Would you know the date(s) of the slot in April?

And anyone selling their ticket to one of them for £100s to be banned for life.

That assumes though that they make it to the Europa League round that is played over two legs, April 11 and 18.

That won't be known until March 14 when they have played in previous Europa round.

If knocked out, there's a possibility of derby being 9/10 April or 16/17 April.

Please check all that, in case of an oversight on my part.

Klopp may not want 23/24 April because they have away games in London the weekends before and after then, which could give them three consecutive aways. To be fair, that's not ideal. But they do have an annual income that is triple ours.

Intelligent scheduling of TV fixtures for April would help. But intelligence and the Premier League????

Any ideas on other banners we could make, celebrating our hopefully, Premier slot.

I'd always thought the early '80s side to be abysmal. But I'd back them against this shower.

TBH, possibly though even better than the Moshiri and Kenwright version we have now.

I'll trump you Kendall Mk III with his first season collection of Jim Arnold, Mick Walsh, Glen Keeley, Billy Wright, Mickey Thomas, Mick Ferguson, Alan Bailey, Alan Ainscow… I'll have to stop there, I'm coming over all euphoric.

Mind you, this lot eventually gave way to Kevin Ratcliffe, Gary Stevens, Neville Southall, Graham Sharp, Peter Reid, et al, and the rest, as they say, is embedded in our history & DNA. COYB

These players are not bad, rather they face upgraded opponents every six months while getting little recruited support. At a point where we could sign a few, we had to focus on possible goal contribution since Calvert-Lewin was iffy.

It has been well cited how other teams have outspent us. The question is really about slandering some decent players doing their best in an incredibly unbalanced and terribly light squad.

I know I'm on my own but I liked Alan Biley. But I was only 11 and liked his hairstyle.

The worst Everton team I've seen was the debacle under Mike Walker. I'm convinced he'd have relegated us, which takes me onto Lampard, who again, would have taken us down.

Kendall Mk 3 and Mk 2 were worse than this team. My early Everton memories of the early 1970s consisted of drab, aimless disappointing games with thrown cushions and an abundance of swearing.

I've seen drab aimless football from every Everton Manager in my lifetime. Kendall and Royle were the exceptions that won trophies.

Lee gave us two cracking seasons, Moyes gave us one great season when we finished 6th and lost unluckily to Fiorentina (better than the 4th place season in my view).

None of them inherited both an unbalanced scorer-shy squad and budget restrictions that Dyche took on. And he's still lifted us from Bottom 3 to midtable, based on results.

Ancelotti had a better squad and money to spend, ended the season playing awful football, got us to 10th and told us he wasn't a magician.

The Palace performance was awful. The bigger picture tells me something else.

They are doing great under the massive pressure the points deduction has brought – take 10 points off any other team up to as high as Fulham and they would be in a worse position.

Get behind the team – it's not their fault the points were deducted.

His goals so far this season have been worth enough points to keep us in the hunt. We were all annoyed at the time. But it's time to move on, for fuck's sake.

The team worked extremely hard to get to a point where we could win that match and actually get to a cup semi-final and he fucked it up by trying to make the moment about him.

It also happened to be a turning point where our good form went out the window. I like the guy really but that picture still pisses me off. He's 6ft-4in and he scored a header from a corner, it's hardly a 'wow' moment.