Premier League — Matchweek 33

It's a bit that Kop initiated "Allez, Allez". Now you have Villa and quite a few others impersonating it. It was bad enough when they spread that song to Celtic and Dortmund.

Stay original Everton. It's one of the reasons I don't like "If yer Know yer History". Think Tottenham and Celtic. Plus, I just don't like it anyway. About as much as Mark Murphy dislikes Marching Down the Goodison Road.

Deliberate, couldn't see the ball and scrapes him down the back of the achilles.

Now Saka is getting booed every time he get's the ball and huge cheers if he misses a chance.

Sometimes football supporters can be odd. I hope he scores again now.

Saka is a great player, but he gets a fair amount of protection off the refs.

He would have combined well with Ndiaye.

Iwobi was shite for us, Steve. He never wanted to leave the smoke and it showed.

Wolves level on points with us.

Everton points to end of season based on last year = 8
United = 8 (including beating Villa).

We look good to finish above United. First time since?? 2014-2014?

I'm hopeful United and Spurs don't get some wins.

I can see Wolves finishing ahead of us, and at the moment only West Ham can I think we will finish above.

The lack of wins especially at home is costing us

El Khannoussi (Leicester)
Justin (Leicester)
Buonanotte (Leicester / loan Brighton)
Sulemana (Saints)
Ugochukwu (Saints / loan Chelsea)
Harwood-Bellis (Saints)
Delap (Ipswich)
Enciso (Ipswich / loan Brighton)
Philogene (Ipswich)
Hutchison (Ipswich)

Portuguese managers from Mourinho, AVB, silva, NES etc… have done really well over the years.

Me neither.
Yet everyone wanted Frank at that time.

That is some list! Quite a few of those are on loan and in the case of Philogene and Hutchinson bought this season but have they really done anything to change the fortunes of the 3 clubs this season? Delap, possibly, but the others? Are we replacing what we consider our not good enoughs with other not good enoughs?

Looks like 44 points this season. Who’d have thought?

You are just going like for like with what we have now.

We've already got too many that have a ceiling of mid table at best playing for us, even the likes of McNeil, Garner two that many here rave about, I still think are very limited to be honest.

We need to try and search outside the box

Epl getting more like La Liga every season, snooze fest for 30 minutes.

It hasn’t served us well the last few years, so I hope we can be more progressive in our transfer approach this summer.

Well, not it needed it, but that's confirmed the. Technically Leicester can still catch Wolves on points, but have to better Wolves' -18 to their -45.

It's been done since December that those 3 would be going down.

The RS have bottled it making that decision.

Lots of good players at the relegated teams but doubt they’ll come cheap unless there were relegation clauses. Buononotte would do a good job for us at RW I reckon, hard working, great touch and vision though maybe not quite as quick as we’d want.

Potter making heavy work of it at West Ham. Could be gone by Christmas if he can't turn it around.

Seems to me he's worked out pretty well. And didn't we miss him a whole lot when he went off yesterday.

He have been practising his one liners all night.

If we want to progress then we have to sign better quality players.

Still a fucking disgrace though.

People always say they feel sorry for a manager when he gets the boot. I bet the manager doesn't feel sorry for himself.

What an epic but memorable coach trip back to Speke that was as a 16-year-old.

Brainy twat, Paul.

Eternal bottlers Arsenal, and over-spend Chelsea crap as ever. Spurs, don't make me laugh, and Man Utd disappearing up its own arse. No challenges to the media favs, it was all done and dusted months ago, one of the worst, as far as class goes, Premier League seasons to date.

Congratulations, Champions (by default). Don't make me laugh.

If it was so easy why are Everton not challenging them? Why are we always down the bottom with a negative goal difference every season?

I hate them as much as you, Paul, but they have won the league (unfortunately again) with games to spare.

If those twats Wolves had won 20 more games, they would be top, the shithouses, and if the prawn sandwich gobshites Fulham had won 13 more games, they would be top, the bottling shitbags.

Still home to Saints and Ipswich
Away at Bournemouth, Forest, Wolves.

Please let them get just 1 point, preferably none.
First time a team in 19th gets less than 20 points.

What a carp league.

I got a first in Engineering in '76 but we didn't have distinctions then. A first was the distinction before they started giving them away.

I just had to be happy with being a light-year ahead of the other guys on the course. Mind you, I did get some awards from the Engineering Institutes.

We kept our standards and some places still do. It was the big growth in student numbers that had a large hand in that as standards tumbled.

York History Dept had 83 graduates in 1987, four got firsts. Last year, York took in 360 first-year students. The differences are significant.

While Engineering was my business, history was my reading interest. All 20th Century, First and Second World War, Balkans, Russia, Ireland and Everton.

"Why are we not challenging them?"

I refer you to my last comment. Don't make me laugh. And you said they won it with points to spare, then dosn't that prove the quality of the Premier League?

It doesn't matter what I say, does it? If I said the Sun is bright, you would disagree.

How can you not agree with anything that puts those horrible privileged twats in the negative? Why is criticising our hated neighbours pathetic? Of late, that's the only thing we... Hang on, that is pathetic, isn't it.😁

I don't like it when we look like perennial moaners because that is what I think they are on the other side of the park.

Off topic, but will we have to change what we call them next season when they are no longer across the park?

And the sun is not always bright, Paul. Sunrise, sunset, and in winter months or in especially high latitude areas when it is low in the sky, as sunlight travels through much longer distances across the Earth's atmosphere and the atmosphere absorbs a fair bit of the light!

We have a manager who sees positives in losing 0-2 at home. How can we "take shots" at Liverpool winning such a poor Premier League?

But my thinking has always been that he is satisfied with a decent 7th or 8th season finish and is always relieved when we don't lose by three or four to one of the so-called "big" 4/5/6.

He can say that we fought hard and that they had better players on the day in his post-match talk.

"And the sun is not always bright, Paul. Sunrise, sunset." See, I told you! Lo.

All the best this Easter, Paul, to you and yours and all toffees.

If we wanted a squad of relegated players we could have just kept Dyche.

My interest is also the times of Bonaparte, Wellington and Nelson.

Ireland, the Former Yugoslavia, the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Also, Arlington House close to Arlington National Cemetery where General E Lee of the Confederacy lived on the Virginia side of the Potomac. Went to the Kennedy grave as well.

I've also been to Fort Sumter, SC, where as you will know the opening shots were fired by the Confederates on the US Garrison to trigger the Civil War.

My favourite though has to be Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. Both the Visitor Centre and the tour around the battle field. How close the Confederacy came to winning and having a foothold in the north, close to DC. They didn't have to win the war, just bring the Union to the table. It was close to having two nations in what is now the USA. Little known fact, it is used as a case study at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where British Army Officers are trained.

Aside from planning to Everton's tour this summer, my next US road trip I thinking about is from Nashville to New Orleans, taking in Vicksburg on the way.

Funny how toffee web brings up these conversations, but I love a bit of history.

I recently read a biography of Custer and didn't realise how involved he was in the Civil War and the book vividly brings to mind what you say about how close the Confederates came to winning and Custer's Michigan Brigade had a huge part to play at Gettysburg

Yes, 38 games not 42, but Leicester need 4 points to not have the lowest total for finishing next to bottom - and 2 points to make it to 20. Failure to get those 2 points would leave them the first club to finish next to bottom with less than 20 points since 1894 - a league of 30 games and Darwin's 19 points saw them relegated along with bottom club Newton Heath, no know as Manchester United.

So this is a poor league - and if we could ever work out how to put in graphs it would make clear reading how the bottom is getting worse.

Which makes this season’s total even worse.

Be lots of rumours in the summer but the two I think Everton have their eyes on is Tom Fellows and Ben Doak.

And James you're right. I thought it did not exist before 1992.

Jordan Pickford.

https://ToffeeWeb.com/season/24-25/comment/editorial/www.evertonresults.com

Which returns an "Access Fordidden 403" error for me.

Can you post the whole url so I can copy and paste please.

https://www.evertonresults.com/

Paul, There was a great thread on a non-league forum. Sadly the forum had to be upgraded and it was lost. But it chronicled all the seasons and who was elected and re-elected and the votes and the back room deals. I logged the answers but not the thread.

Here is one for a Wet Bank Holiday - How many teams from Merseyside have been in the football league?

I’m watching Fellows along with Armstrong now Brian. Not seen much from Fellows, but it’s one half of football, so can’t really judge.

Go here for a remarkable history lesson in Merseyside football.

https://theballisround.co.uk/2019/12/25/only-four-teams-on-merseyside/

The team in 1898 was New Brighton Tower but they were dissolved in the summer of 1901. They then came back in 1921 and lasted until 1951 when they were not re-elected.

And I only count these two as one club and the answer is still 6.

I remember the conversation a while back. There are a few Merseyside clubs out there. Marine and Prescot spring to mind. Runcorn, if they still exist, are not Merseyside, but Halton Borough is now part of the Liverpool City Region. South Liverpool are still in existence, playing at Jericho Lane and in the 9th or 10th level on the English football pyramid.

And in other news - Burnley about to beat Sheff United, which means Leeds get promoted and the clause in his contract to be at a Premier League club is now invalid and we cannot loan Jack Harrison next year.

Just don't buy him

AFC Liverpool (play at sacred ground Rossett Park)

Cammell Laird 1907 (North West Counties?)

Litherland (North West Counties?)

Ashville (North West Counties)

Lower Breck (North West Counties)

FC St. Helens (the biggest team in St.Helens, much bigger than St. Bellends rugger league who got mauled by World Champions Wigan on another pie-eater Good Friday walk in the park)

Maghull (North West Counties)

There are others.

One of the other nice things about Spud's shite season is watching just how mediocre GBH Son is.

Blokes in their 40s threatening a 64 year old for having the audacity to wear an EFC tee shirt and banter (friendly initially) are just knobheads. Mind you they got off lightly lol.

Forget that, back up and running now.

Missed a few chances but took his goal well.

Forest approached the match like they have done most games this season when that have defended resolutely and then hit teams quickly on the counter. They know their strengths and they play to them.

Tottenham were awful. All over the place. I don't see them moving before the end of the season, but that manager won't be there once the last ball is kicked, or they fall in their Europa League semi-final, which I can't see.

Although self appointed best goalie ever and 1970s gender defining Martinez should have saved it

Yeah, we've sold well. Richi, Iwobi and Gordon all well priced also.

If it is season ticket holders not turning up you’d think they’d have an official selling platform and indeed a market for unwanted tickets.

Think you get two non-attendance games and are encouraged to sell your seat back to the club.

Disabled fans were unhappy on price rises on tickets and car parking, with some being displaced for corporate under Ineos. They were then being penalised for non attendance, which could be due to medical issues or lack of a carer.

Their manager, Hansi Flick (Allo Allo anyone?) is cool as fuck in his jeans, black tee and bomber jacket).

Barca play 4-4-2 which quickly becomes 4-3-3 or even 4-2-4 when they attack (lightning fast). I reckon Iraola could bring us that.

John McGinns arse is huge

Liam, are you clocking McGinns arse? Rating out of 10 on a beer fog induced night out?!!!

Given that Spanish lads would call their team FC Santa Domingo, I'm thinking Magalluf expats??

I think I'm beginning to understand what Tony has been moaning about for so long.

Cynical fouls,
Pathetic offsides,
No intensity or desire...

It's just crap really.

Been awful, but get out of jail again.

Just lulling them into stupefaction before the rapier-like strike at the far post.

Silly me!

And for the life of me, I still don't see what Onana brings to any team.

That's probably Villa out of the game. Forest and Newcastle can catch City, but one more win should seal it for City with goal difference.

Remember when we used to sneer at the continentals?
We are the bad guys now. It's shameful.

Two phrases that sum it all up.

Weak and tired minds, better subs, tactical genius, what ever it is, inferior sides rarely seem to see a game out when there's 120 seconds to go. The opposition passing usually goes to pot, with the ball being coughed up and nothing sticking.

I'd say the la liga, Italian league and German league are far superior to the Premier League. I can't wait till the bubble bursts and the TV companies realise they paying a lot of money for a rubbish league.

The Premier League is sucking the life out of football.

Everton is almost a cult for me now – we'll never be realistic, fair play, level pitch, competitors until the Sky darlings fuck off to their own world. And when that happens, the Champions of England trophy will be forever diluted. Fuck them.

I hate the fact the Premier League has made me lose interest in football in this country, it's bloody terrible and corrupt. I only watch the Everton games really, I might watch a game if it looks decent but it rarely is.

If football in this country ended tomorrow, I wouldn't care less.

I think it's a minimum of 15 Ian. The very vocal Belfast red devil who went public with club emails was told that he was losing his ST because he had or will not attend 15 games.

Love this Paul Hewitt led rant against the PL and canonisation of La Liga, Serie A, and the Bundesliga. Might I suggest Hewey, Mark M, and anyone else that you might immerse yourselves in what Italians, Germans, and Spaniards think about their respective leagues.

Joachim Hewey, Guiseppi Hewey, and Santiago Hewey say - guess what - exactly the same as Paul Hewey. The Bundesliga is as boring as shite. Just rename the league Bayern. Anyone honestly think that there are more exciting games there than say in the PL?

La Liga only really gets interesting outside the Barca/Madrid/Athletico triangle where the PL's Villa, Forest, Fulham, Brentford, Brighton etc. match the Celta Vigo, Sociedad, and Bilbao's. Yet again the triangle has pulled away from the usual rest/rump.

Serie A!!!!!!! Bollocks. Defensive safety first with some dash and flair not least at Bologna and Atalanta. Seriously, anyone who feels that Serie A matters more than the PL and serves up more is, well, xxxxxxxx

Bayern, Real, Barcelona, Athletico, Inter plus one. Don't confuse stand-out teams with their leagues.

It's so easy on our VAR rants, our (YAWN) they have it in for Everton, or inconsistent reffing to have a pop at our domestic league.

THATS WHAT EVERY FUCKER IN GERMANY, ITALY, AND SPAIN TODAY RANT AND RAVE ABOUT OUTSIDE GUESS WHAT THEIR SKY 1, 2, 3, OR 4.

The PL IS BY FAR the most watched league in the world. It's where a majority of players want to play and where TV companies want to spend their money as a first priority knowing the audience size.

There is so much about football and the PL that I have no time for and sometimes contempt, but Hewey et al claims that erm Deutschland and Italia are so much better is based on a fleeting acquaintance with those leagues (i.e. the stuff served up in the box: love the idea of Hewey watching 10 matches in Germany each week) and nothing to do with what actual fans in that particular country think about their league.

I'll be at Stamford Bridge!

Now that's a rant!

I think that could be said about most of the leagues in Europe. Is the Premier League really English football or reflection of it?

Reading a BBC report from last year, the average number of English players per club is about 30%.

Everton had the most at 64%, but when you got to Tottenham and Arsenal, it was as low as 8%.

You know the Bundesliga better than me but hand on heart do you think that the Bundesliga is superior in quality to the Premier League? The one thing that springs to mind, and this is important, is fan ownership. But that is not what Hewey etc were going on about.

Probably not as competitive as the Premier League, with Bayern almost guaranteed the title most seasons.

It's like the "brand" of the Spanish flair and Italian defensive tactics.

One concern I would have about the Premier League is that a lot of the matches do actually become a tough watch, once the euphoria of the grand entrance is over and the whistle blows.

I've always considered the Germans a half-way house between English and say Italian. They are a bit more technical than our players (English ones), but equally as physical, whilst being defensively solid, without doing an Italian Job. I always said, it's what we would like English players to be like. Ze Germans that is to avoid confusion.

I don't want to be unkind to English footballers and always finish on a positive as they say. It's improved the past couple of years in terms of flair and skill, but there is still an emphasis on pace and power.

I used to religiously watch Serie A back in the day when Channel 4 covered it but I don't really have an appetite to watch it anymore.

But in a very different way, I'd say that about League 2 matches. There are some crazy fans down there and the football is more honest and a surprisingly decent standard. Well, it doesn't surprise me, but it would for those who have never watched it live.

On the nations mentioned, totally random, but I'll rate the nicknames for the national teams:

England. The Three Lions. A bit mundane. 3/5.

Germany. Die National Elf (national eleven) or die Mannschaft (the Team). Very poor. 1/5.

Spain. La Roja (the red (one)) or La Furia Roja (the red fury). Just bang out of order. 0/5 and a red card.

Italy. Gli Azzurri (the blues). My favourite. 6/5.

Final random one but this is kind of linked to the Bundesliga comments and I've mentioned before. Why do we call them Bayern Munich? If it's in German, it is Bayern Munchen. If translated to English, it is Bavaria Munich. I guess that doesn't have the same ring to it. Sorry, that's just the linguistic geek in me.

Rugby League is better than anything except Everton.
Now go to bed! Love you.

With celtic's dominance and cash over rangers, that's a tough move to prove yourself in my opinion.

I thought he was out of his depth at Everton despite the behind the scenes shit show. He could find himself in a similar situation. Will be interesting to see who he signs.

I think it's correct that most foreign players want to play in the Premier League and the main reason like always is money. Some will even go to the Arab countries for that reason; money will always be the main attraction. That's why Salah and Van Dijk are staying with Liverpool – not the sentimental shite that Van Dijk talks about.

1. Papa Smurf?

2. Garganel (when he gets angry).

3. Smurfette (probably only at weekends)!

Yes Dave, Salah and St Virgil of Anfield are reportedly earning a combined salary of nearly £1M per week between them. That might just have had something to do with their decision!!!

My comments on Rugby League will have to wait until November when I attend England v Australia at the Everton Stadium with my Rugby League mentor Mark (Murph), who is arranging pre-match preparatory lessons for me in Doctor Duncan's, so I will have some idea what is going on.

Mark, St George's Day seems to be low profile. Unlike St Patricks Day. The Irish and Scottish mark there's with public holidays. I don't think the Welsh do likewise with Sheedy, sorry St David's Day.

He was angry at nets the other night and said "I'm NOT happy!" I said, "Which one are you then?" (he didn't laugh either.)

I have a dilemma then tonight... Athletic Bilbao v Las Palmas is on TV as well as Arsenal v Palace (albeit different kick offs.)

I was going to watch the Spanish game but can't be bothered now that I know La Liga is crap.

Danny - you'll love it mate, I'll even translate the common phrases for you, such as "gerrum onside ref, you bent twat" and "fookin IT that big, durty fooker" and "walsin mitilda me fookin big urrey arse"

I would have advised those in the city to lie low, but there's no point. There is no escaping it. Even down here, they will be crawling all over the place like an army of ants. It doesn't matter where you are, they will be everywhere, like a plague of locusts coming out of their closets, declaring their lifelong support.

I'm more worried for myself about turning on the BBC in the morning and being subject to the love fest, that they will have been rehearsing. I will start shouting, the dog will hide, thinking it's directed at her. I will then have to apologise and coax her back in. Meanwhile, my poached egg will be overdone. First world problems, but I will blame them.

I'm going to focus on Chelsea on Saturday. I'm going with my cousin and his mates, all Chelsea and sat amongst the Chelsea fans. Not only do we have mutual dislike of them, they will look after me. I'll break ranks to meet up with Mark and when we know were we're meeting, I will let everyone know. Alternatively, just let us know where you will be if attending.

I hope there is blue smoke rising from the Vatican soon, so we can be done with this red evil that has plagued us most of my lifetime.

Spirit, forever. The Originals. You'll have to excuse me. It's getting close to match day, so I'm turning into the other me that is only interested in what happens on the pitch.

Mark - how does a grown man change his team? Can't trust that type of person.

This is scary.

Check yer club membership numbers.

San Lorenzo fans took to social media on news of the pope's death to point out that his club membership number - 88235N-0 - coincided exactly with his age and the time of death. "He died at 88 years old, at 2:35am (in Buenos Aires, 0535 GMT) and was member 88235

Sorry had to get that out. Still bugging me.

I think he may be a psychopath and I am scared of him.

A bit like holding on when you'll really need to attend a call of nature!