Saints sucker-punch sinks sorry Toffees

Hoping it inspires a good win.

We've got two goalies on the bench — can't lose! 👌

In my opinion, no matter how good Keane has been, Branthwaite has to be the first name on the team sheet, ridiculous.

Big chance for Lindstrom today, he got the hook at half-time a couple of weeks ago, I just hope he has learnt his lesson.

Not much on the bench, Harrison and Beto.

He will be thinking he needs to get away from Dyche.

Doom, doom, doom. UTFT.💙

No Doucoure at all and Branthwaite on the bench says it all. Hopeful of all three points.

As with last week, hoping for a solid performance from Keane. One significant error and the ritual slaughter of him and of DynoDyche will commence.

And yes. Branthwaite will be gone. Why would he stay?

And we have McNeil playing through an injury.

If we get any result today, it would be nothing short of a miracle.

Now that's a bench to put fear into the opposition and I bet they fall for the belief that we have come to defend.

If you are a player under 21 (or even a bit older, Armstrong excepted... but he won't come on) why would you stay? You aren't ever going to play.

He doesn't have to stick with the guys who ‘didn't let the side down' the previous week or whoever is ‘training the best'?

Just seems as though the starting eleven can't all be the best options for today based on the best we've seen from individuals in the past.

Doesn't mean they can't get us all the points, but it does look like the most conservative way to select your starters you can get and I can't get used to the (apparent) mindset.

Best of luck to them all though. COYB!

Lindstrom, McNeil, Calvert-Lewin all look like they belong in a pub team. Our midfield is sluggish, our defence solid.

The latter looks pretty possible.

"Shackles off for the players, now and onwards, pleeeeeeease, Mr Dyche!!..

(And – if ya 'catch my drift' – if they can all put 'em on you instead and leave you in the fuckin cellar until further notice that'd be a seriously great bonus, I reckon!!)

Add to that a dated embarrassing manager. Why the hell didn't Beto start??

Except he either doesn't get, or doesn't really give a fuck, that it's us and our players he's 'killing'.. over and over and over!!!

Useless, hopeless, woeful, woeful, braindead "manager". Couldn't manage the proverbial piss-up in a brewery.

Most comedy this evening will be listening to his drivel and excuses… Just go!

We were awful for most of the game, but deserved three points.

He took our most dangerous player off and brought Harrison on — a fucking dinosaur!!

Same old same old.

On the disallowed goal, a line was drawn across the pitch and I hope that wasn't what VAR used as it wasn't even parallel with the halfway line.

Gone 1 am so I'll just hope the replay tomorrow is in better condition.

Again, Beto did more in 20 minutes than Calvert-Lewin ever does. Completely fed up with such rubbish.

Feel for the hundreds who put more effort into going to St Mary's than Dyche and many of the team produced. I quite liked the look of the side, taking into account the injury status, but still feel Branthwaite should have started!

Roll on the TFG takeover!

When you have a boring defensive manager who picks a team with one man up front against Southampton, with no attacking threat whatsoever, he has to be sacked.

We were completely outplayed by Fulham at home last Saturday. When he won't start our best defender Branthwaite, it says everything about Dyche. What excuse will he come up with now?

Oh well. At least we're still 5 points ahead of the drop zone and can get something from the next game. West Ham going through a rough patch so hopefully we've run out of charity by then.

I saw Southampton live last season and they were awful. Still don't know how they managed to get promoted and are still my favourite to finish bottom, along with Ipswich.

Time to bring Branthwaite back in and start Beto. Terrible result but it's only one game – thankfully.

Beto unlucky not to have the equaliser but both he and Dom get caught offside too often and just don't do enough.

See what money we can get for them in January and get a more suitable goalscorer.

We created chances and put a shift in but awful to watch but I'll take the positives as it could have been and has been far worse.

No point calling for the manager to up sticks as we are still a mess of a club but hopefully good enough to remain in the Premier League… and hopefully the financial cavalry arrives for next season.

With tougher games coming up, it's going to be another painful slog.

They had most of the play but really created only one chance – unfortunately for us, passing football tends to create the clearer chances when they come. 'Winning the xG' doesn't change that.

I still thought we were a bit unlucky today against a poor Southampton side. But it's not like we haven't ridden our luck lately.

10 games in and this league position is real.

Beto very unlucky. If you leave your best player on the bench, expect more of the same.

I'm no fan of his, but I'm pretty sure he'll see us safe this season, then we can say our goodbyes.

On to West Ham we go!

I honestly hope not, but the nagging doubts about our overall situation out on the pitch at least, are starting to appear once again. Unable to score enough goals, losing to teams that we should at least be able to manage to get a draw from, and a tough run of fixtures between now and the end of the year.

I didn't watch Everton today, because I had a feeling it wouldn't be a good day for us, so I firstly watched Arsenal labour to defeat on Tyneside and then Man City lose to an enthusiastic and energetic Bournemouth.

How I wish I could transfer the whole Bournemouth squad and their attitude to Goodison Park in exchange for what we have on show, at least that would ensure that Goodison got the send-off it deserves.

As Armstrong was striking the ball, our player who should have been in that position was Idrissa Gana Shite who was trotting back like he'd been for a stroll to the shops.

Wrong team selection. Lindstrom? Keane? Mykolenko is shocking. Put Young there and bring back Coleman or Patterson.

I am amazed that our away supporters will travel so far to watch such poor football. They deserve so much more than this.

If you ain't scored yet.
If you haven't won yet.
Play Everton.

Horrible, Horrible football. Was Ndiaye injured? I would say it's Sunday league football, but that's an insult on Sunday league football.

Clueless.

The whole atmosphere in the game was strange – no urgency, no desire, scared football from both sides. Everton picked it up a bit in the 2nd half, but were really unlucky with 4 close chances:

1. The Mangala hit

2. The Keane header (save of the season so far?)

3. The Harrison side footer going inches wide

4. The Beto header against the cross bar

The offside decision looked very dicey to me, and I don't understand why it should take so long with modern technology – AI and what not?

I thought our entire forward line – Calvert-Lewin, Harrison, McNeil and Ndiaye were off the pace. Calvert-Lewin needs a break, I actually think he will score more goals coming on as a substitute.

We need Broja and Chermiti as soon as possible. And we really need to sign a high quality, speedy winger to add some options to the attack.

Liverpool, looking like losing, land a late winner.

Standard.

If he stays, we are doomed.

A new manager and some additions will be brought in in January if necessary.

It's disgusting shithouse football.

How bad do we have to be before you stop supporting this terrible coach?

Beto 2 weeks running has come on and gave his all and chased after balls and put himself in good positions.

He has to start Beto next game, he cannot keep playing a half-hearted Calvert-Lewin.

McNeil's name hardly mentioned so another game that largely bypassed him?

I'm assuming Iliman Ndiaye was subbed because of knock he took rather than preference.

Tarkowski apparently borderline for a red in first half but most debatable decision sounds like the offside decision for Beto's goal, which sounds like the finest of margins that you can get.

I wonder if they'll produce one of those dodgy stills where you really can't say if it's exactly when the ball was played and there is extreme parallax and the imposed line doesn't look parallel to anything on the pitch.

Reality is that, if you are not bossing the game, everything ends up in the lap of the gods.

He starts Calvert-Lewin upfront on his own, takes him off, and then puts Beto and Keane together upfront.

We can criticise Dom, but does he not deserve a chance with somebody beside him, instead of chasing Pickford's long ball tactics?

And how can Dyche leave a fully fit Branthwaite on the bench? It's senseless.

He thinks that little of Everton, he will be satisfied with around a point a game. Somebody needs to tell this self-serving idiot we are not bloody Burnley!

This team is plenty good enough for mid-table but is being ruinously coached by 3 complete fucking twats who know nothing about how to set a team up or create progression.

Dyche likes the sound of his own voice too much, has no nerve to go and win games, and bullies his two sidekicks into meek acceptance.

I will never accept this clown as Everton manager, ever. It's him who causes all the trouble on the pitch, and him who has cost us all these points so far.

Negative, small-minded, lacking any football nous and more pretentious than any politician. Forget the new stadium – this moron is content with a relegation fight – again.

Keep this nugget and Everton's slide into obscurity will continue and end in relegation. Acceptance of this is a sign of blind faith.

Get out, Dyche, you are a loser.

I am now well beyond the point of being interested in this "sport", and my residual interest is due to a lifetime of supporting and being a 3rd generation supporter – my son, poor lad, qualifies as 4th generation.

It's certainly not due to anything to do with today's club, players, management or style of play – all of which are beyond dire.

I couldn't care less who wins the Premier League – I'm even getting to the point where I hate the RS less – and internationals are a matter of complete indifference.

Dyche goes out not to lose.

Southampton scoring was no surprise – you just have to look at their amount of possession and one mistake would give them the points.

VAR is starting to become a laughing stock when a player is offside because his foot is about less than an inch longer than an inline defender.

This game and management is another nail in Dyche's management coffin as, even though we have injury problems, the team that was chosen was more than ample to get a positive result; the tactics were the problem.

As Tarkowski was supposed to be carrying an injury, why wasn't Keane moved over and Branthwaite started? Or are they saving him for a sale in January?

Just wishing for the new ownership to take place and see what if any management changes are made… as something has to change.

We held Leicester and beat Ipswich away. Shame we couldn't deny Southampton the win but the reverse fixtures will be the crucial ones.

Before that, Beto was doing it all himself, chasing balls, winning headers and running at players.

Soon as they scored, he launched Keane up with Beto.

Due to the style and tactical crap this manger offers, Dyche to me is purely a Championship survival type of manager. Sets up to not lose, with no attacking ideas of how to move the ball around, keep possession, keep your best players on instead of substituting. And move the ball forward.

People ask who would replace Dyche? There's plenty better than Dyche, we hear of them every week. Most Premier League teams have managers whose names I've never heard of. But they seem to me to be Premier League ready.

Dyche to me is not Premier League ready. Dyche's sacking should take immediate effect! Style and tactics make a huge difference.

I am all for a new manager debate now, provided the
the use of the word ‘Moyes' is banned. Let's try and
move out of the dinosaur age before we get to BMD.

My sons and I are travelling up to the Brentford match. Potentially our last visit to Goodison.

Like others who have posted, I indoctrinated my 2 boys into a life of abject misery supporting Everton. Fortunately, the seats we have acquired give a restricted view only. I couldn't bear to watch the whole of this complete shambles.

I would so love to have someone else in charge for that game so that the atmosphere can really take off and my memories of so many great days in the past can be revived. With Dyche in charge, it may make sense to stay in the pub and not to adulterate those memories.

Happy days.

I think we should make the move to appoint Thomas Frank.

There's no candidate as outstanding as him.

No, hang on, he only wins silverware.

I know I will get slated for this but I would bring Moyes in as interim for now, until we get the takeover sorted. Moan all you like for him going to Man Utd, knife to a gunfight, but he is head and shoulders a better manager than Dyche and for the short term will at least have us fighting against the best of the rest.

"Let's try and move out of the dinosaur age before we get to BMD."

I heard there is a little known Manager who could be available… Terry Dactyl!

Will he do?

We could all see it was coming.

The problem though is that the takeover can't be far away and perhaps there is already a manager pencilled in.

Please… Anyone!

I can do that.

Dyche has no tactics and Everton under him have no definable style.

I was disappointed for Beto. At least he got playing for longer as a sub. Dyche got caught out not playing Branthwaite.

I suspect Dyche is being told not to play Branthwaie to preserve his £70M value but could very well be wrong; either way I would be tempted to play O'Brien in a 5 against teams like Southampton and really mix it up.

Beto is worth a run over Dom as I think a lot of our current trouble stems from him. Our Talisman, Target man, focal point etc etc is not there!

This is elite sports and I don't care about any of their feelings, I would bench Dom for the next match as it literally can't be any worse!!!

Our full-back positions are also woeful… we need a right-back, left-back and centre-forward asap. Broja and Coleman will help big time. Need Broja asap.

When we get a decent proper Premier League standard forward up top, things will change.

Shocking football against a team worse than us, if that's possible?

A point average a game will see us go to BMD still in the Premier League but I'm afraid we are going to have to put up with embarrassments like this a lot more this season.

To think Everton Football Club have become a laughing stock.

Like what the actual fuck now that I really think about it?!… imagine if he had time.

We deserve all this, tbh.

I cannot take anymore of this shit on the pitch. We have a very good squad of players but Dyche's style and tactics don't suit them. Onana made that clear in the way he is managed now as opposed to being managed by Dyche.

All previous managers who displayed incompetence at its highest order, Dyche has somehow surpassed it, yet he remains the manager. Man Utd pulled the plug and made an ultimatum to their prospect. Why don't we do something similar?

At least sack the 'wipe my nose and rub it on my head' guy.

Beto may well have been off-side but the lines looked odd.

Put yourself in a decent position knowing that 3 points opens up a nice gap before some tough fixtures, and then blow it.

Yes, it's sport and it's unpredictable at times, but this was predictable the way the team is set up by the manager.

We are good enough to win at West Ham next match, but expect more of the same.

I don't know the answer, Dyche and his cronies are not good enough, many of our players are not good enough, but I'd rather lose trying to win.

I think; with the points deductions last time; it provided some incentive; this time, unless the new recruits can raise the quality, then we're stuck in the trap door mini-league until the end.

It's true that margins are fine (even without VAR) but, when you can help yourself, you have to, no-one else will at this level. At the moment, we're just treading water, waiting for others to fail, it seems.

The likelihood is that he grinds enough points to keep us above the relegation zone and gets to stay in charge till the end of the season. At that point, even though I have championed him on here at times, I hope we will shake his hand, thank him for keeping us up in tough times and say goodbye.

I'm not sure he plays for a draw but he certainly plays the percentages, disrupting most games in the hope they'll be settled by a set piece or lucky bounce in our favour. It can be effective for a limited team, which we have certainly been for the last 3 years. But I'm hoping the future offers something better.

Till then, not much will change until the Friedkins hold the rudder.

What is it with South Coast teams that we have such a bad record against. Good job we don't have to play Plymouth!!

If Dyche has any guts, he would bring out the axe for the next game. I can take a defeat if they played well but this was awful.

Defensively we are not great, midfield is just not strong enough, and the offense… well, the least said the better.

Southampton's first win; yes, it had to be against Everton.

Surely to God there are some better players on the books than these overpaid articles.

There's a wide world of standards between expecting us to play like Brazil, which I'm not, and the dreadful stuff we're watching. But now we're not even getting the results to compensate for Dyche's dire tactics, such as they are.

At least, hopefully, there'll be no more calls to give him an extension to lead us out at BMD like some kind charity bonus. At best, this marriage of convenience ends with the season.

After over 300 Premier League games, his points per game is equal with Steve Bruce and surpassed by Alan Pardew. Somehow the likes of Newcastle and West Ham managed to move on, we will as well.

I can't bear that until then. Even when we win, I feel bad, because I know it's another week of him as our manager

Let's not forget, we were playing Southampton, the bottom team, today, and Dyche's usual tactics and game plan again, let's sit back, let them have possession, pass back to Pickford and let him play the long ball to Calvert-Lewin, upfront on his own.

He won't pick his best defender, Branthwaite; when he's playing, he shouts at our midfield if they pass the ball backwards instead of being offensive. Let's see him pass the blame again?

We had enough chances to have won the game but again our lack of quality let's us down. Harrison and Keane with probably our best chances.

Ndiaye got a dead leg after about 10 minutes which should have been a yellow to Walker-Peters, it effectively ended his game.

Lindstrom showed a bit more than last time but only a bit, against better opposition he will be a liability.

Calvert-Lewin showed very little aggression or drive again.

As bad as Doucoure is as a footballer, we missed his energy today.

I also thought Pickford could have done better with their goal, the lad hit the middle of the goal. Young should have also been closer to try and block the shot.

Pretty shite all-around performance again. This group of players is the weakest I think we have ever had.

Branthwaite has to start next week. Have we not got any attackers from the youth teams to attend least give 10 mins to rather than name 2 goalies.

But a quick reminder: the owner is selling the club, there's a temporary Board in place, there's no-one around to actually sack Sean Dyche.

Guaranteed I could find a young left-back tomorrow on muddy pitch that would improve us. Mykolenko tries and Young still does my head in. They only get forward because they have to, not because they want to.

The only manager I'll accept back would be Carlo. Imagine the type of players he would attract under TFG.

I actually feel better than I did last week as we actually looked like a joined-up football team. But, until we realise we have to score to win a game, we are doomed.

Dyche Out… Now! We're fucking clueless!

Have an open mind, people, he finished Top 6 with West Ham for 3 years running, they wanted a sexy foreign manager and look what happened.

We can't take risks. A top-half finish would literally make our world… Moyes would have us probably 10th then I'd let him lead us to the new ground until Wazza is ready (if he's not now)…..

We need a Southgate type England scenario where someone comes in and just brings us all together again with a better feeling around the place. I would back Moyes over this fuckin gobshite any day.

For those many many of us who weren't around to see the '80s, Moyes is the best we've ever had so please understand that. I'm 34, Moyes's days and the 2009 FA Cup run are the best Everton days I've ever seen.

Martinez's first season is the best football I've ever seen Everton play, that's a fact. But the best overall times of my life was under Moyes. Who at the time was a young up-and-coming manager. He's wiser now and we would have a different version. Not that it needs to be different in any way.

It's more than embarrassing now.

Why would any Premier League team want a manager whose last achievement was getting sacked for relegating Burnley?

I'm not bothered by the negativity, because win or lose, I'll say it again. Tell me what other manager in the Premier League would stand over leaving a fit Branthwaite on the bench – has he forgotten how good he was last season?

Dyche has a severe problem of picking players who he managed before, instead of seeing the bigger picture and picking the better player?

If we played a non-league side that was bottom of their division, Dyche's style and tactics would not change and make a non-league side gain 70% possession of the football score on us and ultimately win the game. We see his brand of football, week-in & week-out.

He needs to get out.

Anyone talking about a change right now, before the takeover is even ratified, needs to wake up and smell the coffee. In fact, I'll make it for you. It's embarrassing.

That was a dreadful performance though and, whilst I've defended Dyche, it's obvious he has to go at some point. He's got no plan other than the one we see, week-in & week-out. Anti-football, not good enough.

While I think he gets a decent amount from a shit squad, I think Moyes could squeeze more out by using Goodison better. Moyes always a had a big dirty tackle early on in big home games to get the crowd going etc.

Dyche doesn't use Goodison to its potential and it's how I know he doesn't get us. I suspect he may not even like us tbh and might be spitting us every week right under our noses.

Does he look down on us? I get a feeling… also to spite West Ham fans, who I despise, it would be totally hilarious if Davey has us finish above them.

I no longer think that Dyche is. I think the goodwill he banked is gone. That was utterly abject today and, in my view, utterly down to the coach.

Why Dyche did not start Beto is baffling for me – Calvert-Lewin just isn't at it – needs a rocket up his arse and dropped. Why did he not start Brainwaite also?

The tactics are: don't lose; that might be acceptable for better opposition… but Southampton? – Go win the game!! Just too negative for me but, as I have said many times, I firmly believe he won't lead us into the new stadium – and I would bet he knows this.

In saying this, fine margins: Beto's deserved more with his goal simply for the control (for once) and finish. Was it offside? Their defender should have been sent off. Not excusing that, Beto should have scored with his header.

Calvert-Lewin? If Arsenal or Newcastle want him in January – take the money! He simply is not worth what he is allegedly looking for (£150k per week)… in fact, he is not worth his pay-cheque right now!

At least Stoke had a giant of a centre-forward who knew where the goals were and a couple of good wingers to supply him. We have neither of those assets, yet we persist in trying to get up the pitch in one ball and hope something falls our way.

Today, having just seen the very brief highlights on Sky, we could indeed count ourselves fairly unlucky to have lost the game, but our approach work needs far more method than we've seen for a good few years.

I can't think of another team in the top two English tiers that employ the same tactics and methods that Everton do; if you can name another side that does, I'll be happy to be proved wrong.

His contract is finished next summer.

I want to remember my final game there with a rampant Everton team, not settling for a draw, hopefully with Dyche not in charge of our farewell.

This isn't knee-jerk: Fuck off, Dyche.

Get shut quick before we end up in another relegation dogfight. Moyes may be the answer but Dyche definitely isn't.

Our history says we only win trophies with a former players as our manager. We tried everything else but. Ferguson as interim was positive. I'm not suggesting Ferguson but making a point of positive style or – better yet – the Everton way.

At least lose with your head high in efforts made. Cos winning was what we always expected.

Coleman or Patterson should start next week, along with our best defender, Branthwaite.

I'll keep saying it: only Dyche would leave Branthwaite on the bench, especially as he's been back on the grass for the last 2 weeks!

Hence the numerous golden chances being missed when it seemed easier to score.

So if you're talking about sacking him now, then sorry to be blunt but you're talking shite.

Brian (109), I'd have loved Everton to play all-out attacking football in our final season at Goodison, but doubt that's gonna happen. It's gonna be another backs-to-the-wall relegation scrap. That's been obvious for weeks, hasn't it?

We're saddled with debt, it doesn't all go away because we have new owners. When they arrive, they'll be looking at the most cost-effective way of getting through this season unscathed. If that's with Dyche at the helm, do you think they'll really care what the supporters think?

I assume it would cost some compensation. Might be a clause in his contract? Either way, we're not a rich club anymore, are we?

Disappointed with the result as with any defeat .

No to Moyes for me. He's the past, not the future.

And that's not being deluded.

Then I match Dyche as he talks shite. Many many fans on here are sick to their back teeth of the shite he's serving up – same players, same non-tactics, all negative, which makes for negative play.

He's fuckin dire. Players are probably fed up with him. He couldn't organise a piss-up. Negative man, negative tactics, negative players, negative football, negative fans… for fuck's sake — wake up!!!

I may be wrong, but when checking for offside, aren't the lines supposed to be straight and not on an angle, or is the view they show misleading?

I'm not sure he plays for a draw but he certainly plays the percentages, disrupting most games in the hope they'll be settled by a set piece or lucky bounce in our favour. It can be effective for a limited team.

That is exactly what he is doing. No tactic and no definable play. He selects players who play their position according to percentage play with the aim of disrupting.

The attack is basically defensive, no overlapping full-backs. Just waiting on the opposition to ebb out of the game to get forward and get a foul, corner or lucky break. Then it is dependent on an opportune shot from anyone who can shoot.

The problem with Southampton, who dominate possession as they do, is that they did not ebb out of the game as much and errors in Everton's deep defence were enviable.

Branthwaite would have helped, but Dyche will be staying with his experienced pals. Southampton did ebb out to give Beto his chance but unfortunately it was offside.

Dyche's formation and tactics are abysmal, total negativity… and what about Branthwaite? Unbelievable.

This striker situation – or lack of them – has been killing us for years... it's criminal!!

I can't see Moshiri welding the axe and he hasn't yet completed the sale to Friedkin – so he's a non starter.

The interim CEO has no real power as he's just holding the fort.

So we've just got to stick it out until the future of the club is determined.

Only at Everton…

One is alcohol. The other is Everton. One has to go.

Pint of Guinness, please, mate!

I don't think Moshiri gives a shit to be honest... it's highly unlikely Dyche is going anywhere until new ownership is fully resolved.

Bring on Mbappe and Vini Junior instead of Coleman or Patterson.

Today's team is not far off the best that we have. I don't think a manager in world football could get a tune out of these misfits. I can see us struggling all season. Just got to hope there are 3 worse teams.

Sack Dyche and bring back Carlo, give him our full war chest of IOUs and wooden dollars and let's get back to winning trophies.

If we do sack Dyche – god knows who can actually sack him but if we do – the best we could get is someone like Carsley.

West Ham for me is a must win now. December's fixtures are all tough. Vital now to get the points where Everton should be getting them.

Today was an opportunity missed and the curse of a team's first win of the season bites Everton again.

I could not believe he didn't start with Branthwaite!! Would Liverpool leave Van Dickhead on the bench if available? Would Arsenal bench Saliba or Gabriel??

Talk about not helping yourself, does anybody think he does it to deliberately wind us up?

Enough of this "he's doing the best with the tools he has" shite. That team was better than Southampton but still lost. Because of the manager. He's clueless and shite. Enough!

No to Moyes for me. He's the past, not the future. And that's not being deluded.

Now that the majestic five-match unbeaten run has come to an end, can Branthwaite actually play now?

Dyche has had 7 days at least to come up with a winning formula against a predictable team and still couldn't come up with one.

Fuck him – I'm done with him.

The prerequisites for the Everton manager's job are to be stubborn as fuck, never play your best side, don't risk the point we already have in the bank, only play one up front, don't be young and lack experience, always rely on slow old pros, never try to change the game with substitutions at strategic junctures and be the slump busting patsies whenever you can.

He is nowhere close to being a Premier League player.

But instead, a clueless individual on what just happened and I feel, the players just playing football the way it should be played. Since then, it's grind it out football. And I hate it with a passion.

I feel for those who listen on a radio. All you hear is waves of opposition attacks and the mostly fruitless counter-attacks. That's going back to my days of listening on the radio.

But back in those days for me expectations of scoring a goal was a matter of when as opposed to how? The Era I'm referring to is the '80s. Man, that's what we all are holding on to. The '80s success.

Imagine playing Dyche's style of football in a Champions League Final… Actually, we wouldn't even get that far.

He's fucking useless!!

We need a right-back, left-back and centre-forward and it's so glaringly obvious that our director of football or whoever is running the show must be able to see it too.

Getting Trippier would have been perfect. Saints had 1 fucking point besides today, in 9 games of football!!! They are shite!!!!

We have won one more game than Southampton – the worst team in the Premier League.

1) Leaving Branthwaite on the bench;
2) Bringing Harrison on after his recent form for Ndiaye;
3) A goal down and we bring on a third centre-back and take a forward off.

We ain't terrible. But the manager definitely is.

We didn't hold on for the Bournemouth game, though, did we though???

Like every Blue, "If only we'd have done this or that…"

Back to the drawing board, yet again!

Unless you had loads of money and were wanting to buy him, then I'd make sure he played!

Sean, you are talking utter sh...

His mantra is survival, playing against all the odds and being a tough talker and constantly rowing against the tide. Keep it tight, let the opposition (whoever they are) come at you and we'll nick something on a breakaway.

He is what he is and I wouldn't overly criticise him. He's worked through the biggest mess our club has ever been in.

Like everyone else, he knows his time is numbered. If you're in employment and you know the sack is hovering as you have new bosses on the horizon, you mentally switch off.

The sooner this takeover happens and it will herald a new progressive manager, the better. Dyche will continue and find another club. A club in distress will suit him. Everton on his CV will help.

The negatives: nothing new really, most will stop when we finally get a Premier League standard head coach We can't play such a narrow formation while so weak at left-back and righ-back as we get caught so often down the flanks on the counter.

I don't believe that the squad is as bad as it looks – but our Manager is. Is that irrationally negative or just a statement of the obvious?

Sorry to say too that, for me, Mykolenko shouldn't be played in any position and it may be time to rest Calvert-Lewin, playing in that set up would test a Saint not only Dom.

I believe that we were by far the better side but we lost. Sack Dyche? Not a chance before the takeover but hopefully the new owners have a real manager lined up.

Moyes? No need because I believe that the new owners will have their own ideas and I would doubt that any progressive owner would want Moyes long term.

A change of location for the away fans made it a very Leicester City like away section. Unfortunately, the result today did not match our recent visits to The King Power Stadium. The atmosphere from the travelling Blues did match it though.

With most coaches departing from Goodison or the various pick up points at 7 am, you'd expect a quiet blues contingent, even allowing for a turgid first-half performance. But no, we easily made more noise than the home fans.

That was until the last 5 minutes, followed by 4 added on which turned into nearly 9 because of the length of time to study the Beto goal. Surely to god, any VAR review which takes that long, must mean a really really tight decision, and the goal allowed to stand?

We had enough chances to have won that game, despite losing out on the possession stats, and some poor performances by a few players.

Calvert-Lewin looks like he's now resigned to leaving, and running his contract down. Beto deserves a chance from now on to start a few games. At least he appears to be trying!

Couldn't really fault any of the back four, although Mykolenko was caught out of position in the lead up to their goal. In my opinion, I would say Gana Gueye was probably our best player. It says it all when Southampton fans voted Ramsdale as their MotM.

I now think Dyche is treading on thin ice. Branthwaite should be starting, no matter how decent Keane or Tarkowski have been. Maybe time to rest Tarkowski for a few games?

The substitutions are baffling again. It's just like for like all the time. Nothing ever changes in terms of tactics etc, just a change in personnel.

This takeover can't come quick enough me now. I know it's still 2 months before the transfer window opens, but at least get some stability off the pitch, let Dyche know his position going into the New Year, and hopefully get some signings in January.

Keep the faith, and let's take our magnificent supporters on another long away day down to West Ham next Saturday!

I'm now about to settle down and Watch MotD, and see how close that offside goal was?

Why not extend it to 3 games? Then we'd have 9 more points and look even better. It could have happened, but it didn't.

I see xG made it's triumphant return to Dyche's press conference. The guy loves a metric... when it supports him.

Enough.

New broom in the summer.

I said it before, the only way we garnered success is having a previous player to hold the proverbial reins. That's a fact. I don't like it because football has progressed.

But we seem to be playing behind the curve instead of setting standards. When standards were something we offered at a higher level than what was. Nothing but the worst is what we have to offer today.

But I pretty much agree with Martin. We're probably stuck with Dyche for the remainder of the season.

As much as I admire him as a player, Calvert-Lewin should be nowhere near that team unless he commits. It wasn't his fault today but move on. He's going.

Gana Gueye and Mangala played well. Young played well. Keane played decent. Ndiaye has a free pass as at least he tries to play football.

The rest, apart from Pickford, who was blameless, played ‘okay'. We should've won that. The fact that we didn't was down to tactics.

He's a fraud with one game plan that works 1 in 10 and it's not good enough. I'm not going again until he's gone.

Bill is gone and I thought better football and results would come. But Dyche football is something I don't want to see at BMD next season.

I don't rate Dyche as a manager but I also think he lacks the ability to connect with our support. In fact I don't believe he thinks it matters.

He's so far off the mark. Every game at Goodison is a 'last' at the moment. Our home games should be a weapon in our armoury and they're not.

What I find weird is that he won't even really try it out. Be confident, be the aggressor, let players express themselves, get the crowd going. No, we get the same formation and tactics home and away and no matter who we're playing.

There's no sense of being in this together. He's doing it, we're just watching. It's like we're relatively unimportant stakeholders rather than part of the club.

We'll limp to safety on the basis that there will be worse teams. That's not any kind of achievement, despite what he claims.

The only available and suitable candidate then would be Arteta, and l don't think he'd leave Arsenal, or perhaps Lee Carsley?

I'd personally go for anyone who sticks two fingers up to one forward... I'm sick to death of watching the worst and most joyless tactical system ever invented.

Can you get us tickets for West Ham?

Strong words… totally agree. For me, any manager who would put heart over brain again, and pick Keane over Branthwaite deserves to be sacked.

Sorry, that's just common sense in my opinion.

Surely, some of you can say this kind of coaching at this level has to be atrocious. Better understanding footballers amongst us can see this clearly.

I'd love to see Lee Carsley as Coach but it isn't realistic.

Anyway, surprise surprise, we give another losing streak team a first win. But, we could have won it with a little bit of luck. Keane's header goes in. Berk's, erm… Beto's header goes in and his goal is not offside. Yes, we are coached by a negative manager… but if only.

I'm sure a different manager with some guts would do better with this team.

Using snot to lubricate his skull is a given that doesn't help our cause because it produces complaints such as this, as well as others. who frustrates their anger over this platform. He has to go, Shirley.

Who's he? Manager of Bournemouth who beat us and beat Man City today.

The question is why didn't he? Perhaps he didn't like who was running things…

I'm fooking sick of his shite football and his fooking horrible subs. We needed more firepower and that's not Beto.

I have no doubt once the new owners come in, they will sort the manager problem out; there is no way we can leave Dyche in charge for the remainder of the season.

Not a lot we can do at the moment but imagine another 29 games of this dross of football, bowing out at Goodison Park on our final game there shit scared of attacking the Saints, one in attack for us, 30% possession.

Anyway, here's one for Danny, we had a film theme a few years back and A Bridge Too Far mentioned with the famous scene on the bridge; we'd like to but we can't accept your surrender, sounds a bit like Dyche.

Before that, Danny, Michael Caine says this is the wide part of the road, sounding like the fixtures coming up in December of the road ahead.

By the end of December, we'll be rock bottom.

Dyche is just showing nepotism and sticking with his old Watford and Burnley mates in Young and Keane, and stunting asset development like Jarrad Branthwaite and Nathan Patterson because he doesn't care about them cos he knows he's not going to get a new contract and will be gone sooner or later.

Get rid now. He went 4 months without a win last season, and he's won 2 in 10 this season. Bring back Moyes (a better manager) as interim boss until the end of the season and review it then.

I'm not sure about Dyche's dinosaur 1990s tactics of moving a centre-back upfront is acceptable when he's just taken a real No 9 off the pitch. Just play Dom and Beto together towards the end of games instead of trying to put square pegs in round holes.

Moyes wouldn't set us up like a lower league side playing in the FA Cup against inferior sides like Saints. Dyche does this in every single game, no matter who the opposition is.

And before anyone jumps on the Moyes shout... I stress that it is an interim appointment. There's other managers out there like Carlos Corberan, and Graham Potter, or even Lee Carsley, but aside from Potter, other managers currently in jobs will be easier to get in the summer.

I think Moyes would hit the ground running, knowing the club so well and he would be happy to take a short term contract until the summer.

I was firmly in the 'never again' camp in regards to Moyes, but after seeing the job he did at West Ham, and seeing how they're struggling since he left, I'd give another go on a short term contract.

I wonder why?

We need a change… someone with fresh ideas.

On to WHU next week and a better result, hopefully!

It just shows how determined Dyche is to continue with this approach.Right till the end of the season to avoid relegation.

Calvert Lewin will start the next game. As for Branthwaite I was surprised he was not brought on as a Sub, he would have prevented the goal.Interesting to see if he starts next game.I thought Keane and Tarks would start.But both Keane and Tarks to stay on with a yellow and Branthwaite staying on the bench is something else.If either had have got a red there would have been a pitch invasion and Dyche would have had to get down the tunnel pronto.

Time for the club to ponder; can we afford an interim coach, who would have us over a contractual barrel? Can we afford not to bring in a new coach? Is the squad good enough to have/sustain a 'bounce' from a new coach? Can we afford to trust there are three worse teams? Can we afford to trust Dyche to deliver a good streak or two over the next six months?

With an international break coming, there will be the reminder of what dithering over Lampard's inevitable sacking nearly cost us.

Stick or twist time, in my view. Only they know who we can bring in/afford.

Honestly believe a half decent manager comfortably wins that game yesterday even with this squad. Guarantee you if TFG would have taken over by now he would be out the door. When a manager loses the fans its no way back for them.

A 70 million pound worth defender is sitting on the bench, there was a chance for Patterson to get a game yesterday for Mykolenko who is either not fit or just shite. Taking N'Diaye off and keeping a half fit Mcneil on the pitch for 94 minutes. If you're chasing a win why not just throw both Beto and DCL up top together instead of bringing a CB on so Keane goes up front. He cannot read a game.

Just throwing games away against Bournemouth, Villa, Leicester and Southampton is inexcusable. Its over for him as much as I hope to be wrong there is no way back for him. Excuses after excuses from him.

Time to go My Dyche

If West ham turn up at Goodison Park next week then we will beat them easily as we will be at the London Stadium where the game is being played!

I believe that Kenwright’s stench of mediocrity has been ingrained into the whole fabric of our club, but right now the football that we are playing has become completely unacceptable, imo.

I thought that Brighton win, reminded me of Clough’s, Forest, with Everton getting men behind the ball, when out of possession, and then getting it forward quickly to play off the frontman, and then get in behind from the wider area’s, and thought it would have come naturally for anyone to coach such a performance, if they had spent a few years playing at Forest.

I didn’t mind our early games under Dyche, because we attacked a bit more, but lately it has become very mind-numbing, and even though I can understand some of the tactics, like defending deep, because of our deficiencies (lack of pace, all the way along the back four) he’s got to find a way to somehow change the system, because it’s isolating the centre forward, and N’diaye, who is our only real danger man with the ball, is picking the ball up way to far from our opponents goal, and is getting snuffed out before he gets into dangerous areas.

Can we all meet at Goodison on Boxing Day for a seance, because a quarter of a century ago on this very day, Everton football club and Goodison Pk, were both cursed. Let’s meet and use all our power to erase this and let the old lady go out with the bang, our famous old stadium deserves.

Hanging on in quiet desperation has become the Everton way, but something has got to give because Everton, was never meant to be this way.

I'm up for Christmas as the family are all inviting me. I don't eat heavily, so I'm a bit fearful as they do enough food to feed the 5,000!!!

Dyche this season has lost his way, it started badly in pre-season and never recovered. Threw fans under the bus and is failing because he will not consider change. It is the elephant in the room and everyone skirts it. Managers have gone for much, much less.

Our chances of survival diminish daily.. mind you, you won't like my alternative, in fact, neither do I.

We had 16 shots with 5 on target to their 9 and 2, we had 6 corners to their 3 and their keeper made 5 saves to Pickford's 1.

Sure, we lost and it sucks… but the tirade of abuse that Dyche gets if we lose is a bit over the top.

Sean Dyche has never been seen as a master tactician and his use of substitutes has often proved to be quite irrational. To leave a £70M player on the bench, even having seen Keane play well these past few games, is not acceptable.

Just clearly shows the old favourites mentality of a stubborn and scornful individual who answers to no one at this time. He can do what he wants without fear of being taken to task and quite clearly listens to no one. His two supportive egg-heads obviously have little influence on matters related to football. And the supporters mean very little to him.

His style of play is prehistoric when compared to many of the more ambitious coaches with his head-to-head record pretty shambolic against most forward-thinking coaches since he arrived.

He came with his one-dimensional record of keeping an unfashionable side in the top flight for a number of season but was eventually found out and was shipped out in the season they went down.

What he has achieved in keeping us in the Premier League was done and was accepted by most of us on here as being the best we could hope for under the circumstances, especially under the guidance of the now-departed Boys Pen hero and the Russian Oligarch through his ass-licker.

Improvement has never been his hallmark being stuck in a tactical time warp – doing the same thing for the past 10 years wherever he has been. His remark when he took over was "There are some very good players here" yet he can still omit probably one of the four best central defenders in the Premier League for his old chummy boy from his Burnley days.

He insisted on bringing back Harrison on reportedly £90k per week when last season showed us he was bang average in all his stats. No pace, can't beat a man, can't shoot or cross a ball… but tracks back very very well.

Says it all really about attacking intent which is obviously way down his list of priorities with his single striker choice chasing hoof balls with little support.

He allowed the team bottom of the table and without a win to take full control of the game yesterday and was dependent on not conceding as his only plan. They were there for the taking yesterday had we challenged them to a game of proper footie but, as is the norm, we just let them have possession and adopted a defensive mindset with reliance only on breakaways as was often the case.

Two weeks running now has seen us take off a forward and put a defender up top. Where does that mentality come from?He doesn't have any faith in his players and that rubs off eventually!!

No decent full-backs who very rarely get forwards or overlap other than Seamus, sadly him being well into his latter years. Nose bleeds over the half-way line comes to mind…

His Alamo mentality of defending, defending and more defending now has us back into another relegation dogfight. How this will end may see us pay the ultimate price and see us kick off at Bramley-Moore Dock against Oxford or Cardiff (no disrespect intended).

Would a new face change the outcome? Who would want to come into such a shit show?

He is on a win-win contract which expires at the end of this season, taking home just under half a million pounds per month. As the saying goes "Leopards never change their spots" so we should not expect any change of direction on his part.

Unless the takeover crew decide otherwise, we have to just suck it up and watch the horrible, outdated and un-imaginative way the team plays with us hopefully being only the fourth worst in the Premier League come the end of the season.

Supporters home and away never cease to amaze me with their never-say-die attitude who should be rewarded for their efforts and not with the utter crap that they have to watch most weeks.

My lifelong passion has had me watch many poor Everton sides over 65 years but rarely have I seen a side as bad as this poorly coached group of players who can only play the way they are told to play.

That's really all down to the manager and his mindset. Does he go or does he stay? It's not our decision unfortunately.

I wish Jamie Carragher, would have come out with that statement a little bit earlier when he said that whilst the Evertonians, would respect Dyche, they would never love him, because I’m sure our manager is sensible enough to know which is much more important, considering the job he was asked to do.

Dyche is losing a lot of respect because of the way we are currently performing, and this is sad for the man because most people had a lot of respect for the thankless task, (except for the millions!) that he had performed admirably, and this might actually be one of the main reasons why it looks like our manager looks like he’s lost his way.

Who knows? But comments like they don’t know the half of it, are never uttered for nothing?

Why do you think that he is leaving Branthwaite out? he is far and away our best player and regardless of how Keane or Tarks are playing they are nowhere near his standard. It’s just so obvious really, too obvious really.

Is he still carrying an injury, if so why is he on the bench or is it to safeguard a saleable asset like some have claimed, surely not though.

I can well understand why you would have some empathy with an ex team mate as Dyche was, I think that fact that you have now said this cant go on speaks volumes. I know many over the last couple of seasons have argued that we cant keep changing managers is true, but if we keep appointing poor managers ie Alladyce, Benitez, Lampard, then you will have to keep changing managers or get relegated. I cant think of another club who could appoint our only ever world class manager and allow him to walk away is only something Everton could do. I firmly believe if we had kept him we would be now challenging if not in the top 4.

Dyches team plays more negatively than practically any team in the premier league, that's by design and not because of the playing staff. While DCL has been asked to play a thankless role he is miles off the player he was under Ancelotti, and there arent any noticeable fitness issues with him. But also he refuses to sign a new contract which is his choice, so why are we still so dependent on a player who wants away, and no doubt has his agent talking to clubs who he can sign a contract with in Jan. I think we all have questions over if Beto is the answer but for his goal and his commitment last week surely he deserved a start above someone who seems to be lacking in motivation.

The Branthwaite situation is even more puzzling after quite rightly turning down Man Utds bids in the summer, why has he been on the bench for the last 2 weeks, while still playing the Neanderthal Tarkowski, who for me was lucky to escape a red card yesterday.

I think that’s a really salient point you make, leaving two centre halves on the pitch on a yellow when we have Branthwaite on the bench, very, very poor game management again Mr Dyche.

Someone suggested that Branthwaite has fallen out with Dyche, wouldn’t surprise me, everyone else has.

Dyche's substitutions are also so poor. Harrison was dropped because he's crap, and he brings him on in every game; could he not try Patterson on the right?

And can someone show me the logic of bringing off a striker, which he has done in the last two games for a defender, and putting a centre-back upfront? Does it not make sense to try Calvert-Lewin and Beto together?

Dyche won't change his tactics and formation. How can you play a system, especially at home, that allows the opposition 60% possession, and also leave one of the best defenders in the Premier League on the bench?

Bring in Carsley please.

I would tend to agree, mate. Moyes on a short term and he has form for accepting contracts like that, with a big bonus for keeping us in the Premier League, which he would do imo.

End of the season for Moyes with Corberan or Iraola taking over in the summer would be ideal.

Better hurry up though because, if we leave it too late, West Ham will get him back to keep them safe for the third time.

Your guess is as good as mine as to why he sits Branthwaite on the bench.

Is he for sale in January? Have they been told to nurse him to raise funds for incomings in January? Is he not fully fit? Is Dyche just being bloody-minded and showing who's boss?

You could never tell him how or what to do anything as he seemingly never listens, especially to all here on the site, and he gets a lot of good advice from some very knowledgeable people.

He is well known as a stickler for standing by his favorites and I agree – Jarrad is the best player in the squad by a country mile. Only Jarrad and Dyche will know the real reason. No doubt Dyche will have an "on the grass" answer in his next interview.

What a Billy Bullshitter he has now become, full of shite and rhetoric while he nervously rubs his nose and his face. I was once employed by a guy who always wiped his nose with his smelly Vick's laden handkerchief when he was telling porkies to investors and bankers.

Dyche doesn't use a hankie but just his palm… ha ha.

Enough said.

‘You can turn if you want to but The Dyche is not for turning.'

Derek @173 — ‘Allardyche' … love it!

Tony Abraham, Christine and John Hall — you are all 100% spot on and I share your fears. Yesterday, I was very angry at what I was watching, so I left it to post until today. The anger has subsided but I'm more annoyed at myself for expecting 3 points or even one.

Last season, we built a buffer to offset the eventual points deductions. This season, we haven't. This is where the fear comes in.

Dyche is done. He has now eroded any credit he earned from last season. I don't know the guy like you, Tony, but his persistence with Keane, Young and Calvert-Lewin whilst playing hoofball football with little or no tactical intent is mind-numbing. It's Dinosaur football.

Back in his days at Forest, he had Clough, not everyone's cup of tea, but he could get average players to become European Champions. Dyche has the same stubbornness as Clough but, from my perspective, he doesn't have Clough's insight or tactical awareness.

Anyway, like Dyche, we all live in hope that starting against West Ham we can get a result that will put the last few performances and results to the back of our minds.

Sorry for the long-winded post in agreeing with my fellow posters, but I also fully agree with the inclusion of "abject" in the headline.
Cheers from a less angry but more reflective TWer.

They only lost 1-0 at City so time will tell how good or bad Southampton are.

We lost which no one likes, but saying the betting had them as slight favs, it was not that unexpected.

We have been poor to bad for years now, game after game with very rare exceptions, and frankly have been fortunate to avoid the drop. The ongoing debate is whether it's the manager or squad, but I err on the side that our current squad is quite possibly the worst that has been assembled in decades. There are only two footballers, who actually deserve to play in a decent side in the EPL, Branthwaite and Ndiaye. The rest are past their best, not good enough or seeing down their contract. A few can't even do basic things like control the ball or pass it.

I understand why people won't accept this. I'm also old enough to remember the glory days. But it is our reality, we are a poor, poor team and even if one imagined a new manager might get a slightly better tune (I don't), it won't happen in the immediate future. There is no-one in charge to do that.

I'm in acceptance mode, expecting poor football, being the underdog in most of our games, and just hoping there are, yet again, 3 clubs even worse than us which, to end on a positive note, I think there probably will be.

Your final paragraph says a lot Mark and specifically about being in acceptance mode, because I think this is something that has spread right through the club, and is now Alston onto the pitch, because our current tactics don’t fill anyone with any belief?

A large proportion of the squad's contracts are up in the summer. There will be a huge rebuilding job for the new manager, whoever it is.

Since Moshiri let Lukaku leave the club, rather than building the team around him, only Siguurdsson and Richarlison have given me confidence in their ability to score goals. That's a huge indictment on the people running the club, bigger than anything I'd pin on the poor-performing Dyche.

Sounds familiar doesn't it. Sean Dyche is the problem, not the player(s).

The football is just dire and he manages a team that manges to find a way to give points away, well most games.

I live in Essex and many fans down here consider us irrelevant. There used to be a bit of banter before games, now nothing. just Do you think you'll survive another season ?

I am just fed up with looking at the bottom of the table and seeing EFC in the bottom six.

here's hoping the eggmen can keep us up for the this last season, we can leave the old lady behind ( I swear we have been cursed) and BPB legacy and start afresh at Bramley

Chris Wood is a great example of what a pretty average player can achieve if he is managed and used tactically in the correct way.

I will save the Dyche debriefing for later but now all that matters is that the true test of the latest TW game show is on. Your club is the contestant.

Who is the best choice for this squad? No, you don't get a free fantasy pass, you get to inherit Dyche's problem after having a bit of fun with it.

I will have my cup of shut the fuck up while you come up with some substantially better ideas than suggested above… or we are fucked, again.

I had rather hoped that acceptance mode had only seeped into cantankerous old buggers like me, distraught at what I see, rather than permeated the richly paid staff at the club!! Hopefully they have some professional pride.

As for your suggestion, I think you are an ex-pro so my football knowledge will be a lot less than yours, but for sure, a bit of pace out wide and the ability to deliver a cross might at least improve the odds on Calvert-Lewin or Beto actually finding the net.

That said, Calvert-Lewin's golden period with Carlo didn't include fliers down the wing, but did have pretty skilful players like Bernard and Richie as well as a great crosser in Digne.

In contrast, our full-backs don't cross (partly because they don't get forward, in Mykolenko's case, because he can't).

Ndiaye has a bit of pace on him but he looks and plays like an old-style inside forward, not a winger. Harrison and McNeil are, of course, outright slow. The former looks fast to the eye but isn't. The new lad, Lindstrom, isn't especially quick either.

If I were to try anything, I'd push Ndiaye up with Calvert-Lewin. But I think Dom's struggles are party due to him having mentally checked out. It's a shame injuries have stopped us seeing Broja or whether Chermiti can step up to this level.

I am not saying Dyche isn't responsible but the quality of players we have dictates the formation and tactics.

We have very little guile or pace in the entire team. Forrest have pace and have spent a fortune, God knows how they have escaped with only the 2 points deduction. They bought 40 players last year and even the fine didn't stop them, Anderson £35m and he didn't even start yesterday.

Until the new owners come in I don't think his job is under threat. The football is dire but his track record at struggling clubs means he is well qualified to keep us up.

Take your pick with the defenders but I’d like a cheeky bid for two Spurs players who have been frozen out by Ange: Richarlison and Maddison.

Both are young, hungry, and still have plenty to offer. They are also desperate to keep their places in their national teams.

As for manager? Frank, Iraola, Brighton manager, Silva. Bloody hell, I’d even take Garry O’Neil who’s had terrible luck this season but knows how to evolve his tactics during a game and make proper substitutions, unlike our very own Fred Flintstone.

I wish he would stay but, if he isn't, then he's not committed enough in my opinion. Yesterday wasn't on him but we need a team full of players invested in our future, not their own.

I'm not comparing Everton and Forest squads, I'm saying Dyche is using exactly the same tactics and formation, late timing of subs as he did at Burnley, for years.

He's even got 3 of his ex-Burnley team starting for us.

I hope Friedkin might release some money for a right-back in January but I don't expect there will be any meaningful spending next summer unless we sell Branthwaite.

The experience at Roma doesn't indicate a big transfer kitty. Maybe just the same sort of kitty as other bottom-half clubs like Brentford and Bournemouth get – ie, £30M to £50M net per annum.

That would leave quite a headache if Calvert-Lewin, Doucoure, Gueye, Virginia, Young, Harrison, Broja, Lindstrom, Mangala, Coleman and Keane all leave when their contracts expire.

As for yesterday, we could have won as easily as lost – but alas did not get the luck. The Beto offside (or was it?) was incredibly close.

As much as I think Dyche has done a very good job, it is frustrating as his tactics appear to be getting more formulaic as time goes on.

At first, he played some imaginative formations and approaches – with a decent number of men getting forward to support the lone forward (sometimes Demarai Gray). But it is becoming more one-dimensional even with better options in attack – and the set-pieces remain unimaginative too.

Disappointing. I remember when Allardyce was here I thought "You've spent your £50M on Tosun and Walcott and we're in no danger of going down – so show the world you're not a one-trick pony and take the opportunity to do something special at a bigger club." He failed to do it.

Is Dyche doing the same? Hard to say. No doubt about it, he has more confidence to play a higher line and push people forward if Branthwaite is there to mop up in defence. Hopefully the injury is now cleared up.

Or, as conspiracy theorists might note, has Dyche already been told his time is up and / or that Branthwaite is leaving? Is this having an impact?

Still perhaps it is unsurprising to see us struggling. We're a bottom-half club with an injury crisis – with bigger crises at Wolves and West Ham.

Given that Bournemouth have invested £350M more than us in the past 3 seasons, maybe Iraola isn't much better than Dyche. Likewise Frank at Brentford who have invested £270M more than us in the past 3 seasons (notable when it only took about £220M to assemble our squad).

He has favourites (Keane, Young) and Patterson isn't one of them. When Dyche has gone, we will see Patterson as our right-back for years.

Patterson hasn't been anyone's favourite - Benitez, Lampard, Dyche, Scotland, Rangers. We do need a right-back because Patterson is always injured and doesn't appear to be anything special when fit.

He is 23 now and still plays like a 19-year-old. We're crying out for a genuinely good player in that position and it seems highly unlikely Patterson is the answer.

Dyche needs to listen to that podcast and get his head from out of his arse and take note.

Even if we don't like Patterson, we have Roman Dixon who still couldn't get a game during our recent right-back crisis.

If we are not going to use him, then send him out on loan.

As things stand, we don't have a quality right-back at the club and haven't for many years.

Branthwaite has to start – you can't leave our best defender on the bench. Move Young to left-back. Mykolenko has been so poor this season, pick Coleman or Patterson on the right.

Quit 4-4-2 – most present-day managers have ditched it. Play a more offensive game, instead of sitting back letting the opposition play possession football and leaving a striker isolated upfront.

And forget about passing it back to Pickford, it's not working. Stubbornness is a terrible thing.

Friedkin is a practical businessman. Assuming he's the owner by the end of the year, I believe he will authorize significant spending in January simply because the value of his investment is profoundly threatened if we go down.

And I believe there will be major spending in the summer for exactly the reason you cite -- not just all those players but the manager will be out of contract on June 30, and I would expect few if any to be re-signed. Friedkin will want to put on a great show in his new stadium, and that means a new manager and a whole bunch of new quality players.

Good point on Patterson, but I disagree with your last statement at #227. Coleman was a quality right back up until about a year and a half ago when age and hard mileage caught up with his body.

Has he gone yet? Hurry up and get Dyche out.

Are we dire this season mainly because of him?

Why should we be forever in Dyche's debt for steadying the ship after Lampard and Benitez had done their best to get us relegated?

The simple fact that Dyche refuses to play his best player shows that he will never admit to mistakes and, as a result, Everton will continue to lose games! Does anyone else think that Gabriel and Van Dijk would not be played by Arsenal and Liverpool respectively, as soon as they were match-fit?

Also, is Dyche's new tactic now to put your centre-back upfront beside your striker? How poor and desperate is that?

Dyche is seemingly content to have even the crappiest teams dominate possession against us.

I get it if we're playing Man City, that we have to be set up to be defensive and look to get a break via a counter-attack. But against the club bottom of the Premier League and who are devoid of confidence?! Surely, we have a go at them? But no. Same old rubbish.

We lack imagination and any sense of purpose. And luck? That left town years ago.

Dyche is truly fortunate that we're in a state of limbo currently.

I think I'd vote for Donald Trump before I voted for VAR. At least he and I could agree on one thing. It's rigged.

Ancelotti didn't play with width on a lot of occasions and this is when we had most of our worst results. I think it's a lot easier playing against teams that don't stretch the pitch, and I think this is one of our big problems right now.

I think it's okay if you play narrow and this leaves space in behind for your forwards to run into. But this only really worked when Rodriguez was on his game because, without him, we were usually very ponderous.

We lost at home to Newcastle, Burnley, who footballed us to death, Sheffield United, Fulham, (I think) almost all of the weakest teams in the league beat us at Goodison, with the common denominator being that we played a very narrow midfield with no pace.

Football is mostly about pace nowadays and Everton don't have much pace unfortunately.

If less, then it's not really significant in Premier League terms.

Brighton spent more than £200M just this summer...

And I know it's a boring thing to say but maybe Branthwaite isn't fit? That would generally explain why a player selected all through last season isn't being selected now...

And I happen to think you're absolutely right about Branthwaite. Dyche ain't stupid. He knows exactly how good the kid is. If he's not starting, I believe it's because he's not yet fit to put in more than 20 minutes. We have no details on his injury, but we know how long it kept him out, and I think it's still dogging him.

There is no substitute for speed. And no way to compensate for the absence of it.

As soon as Doucoure is even 90% fit, he will be straight back in the team as well. This is not a pop at the players, but the manager's favouritism.

Patterson, Coleman, and Branthwaite all sat on the bench, week after week, the same subs coming on for the same players going off.

Sheer madness to leave your best centre-half on the bench 2 weeks running. Sheer madness doing like-for-like subs, which changes nothing tactics-wise, if a lone striker is getting nothing, then you swap for another lone striker, it offers nothing.

Why take a striker off then lump a centre-half upfield as a second striker? Why not at least say after 60 minutes, put a second striker on to support the lone striker? If it does not work, then sub the first striker off later in the game.

Next week, let Branthwaite and Beto start, then throw Calvert-Lewin on around the 65-minute mark. Give him at least 10 minutes with Beto; if it works, stick with it; if not, sub Beto off around the last 5 to 10 minutes.

We cannot keep going with the same set-up and tactics every game… surely he can come up with a Plan B?

That sounds like an absolute minimum of £100M based on present transfer values. Brentford and Bournemouth each spent that on their 5 signings this summer.

Personally I'd be amazed if we spend anything like that this January. But I do very much want to be amazed by our recruitment. It's been a while...

He hasn't got a Plan B because he hasn't got a Plan A. In fact, he hasn't got a clue.

And for those who are saying there's no one to sack him, stop talking through your arses. Someone must be running affairs on a day-to-day basis, so obviously someone is calling the shots.

He's been here nearly 2 years and hasn't improved us one iota. Time to go, and by the way, he's a kopite so that's a good enough reason to sack him.

My name is Sam Tyler Dyche, I had an accident and woke up in the seventies, am I mad or simply dreaming?

I love hoof football, leaving my best centre-half on the bench and playing the good old centre-half who can whack the ball upfield, all the better if they can get a bit of snow on the ball at the same time.

I also like to give the odd player a slap, just so they know I am the gaffer.

I could be dreaming or simply back on the grass again, wow those pink elephants are way out, better have a chat to Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, my two sidekicks on the touchline. The fans are calling for Kuntz the German international to come off the bench – that's what they are shouting to the three of us I think.

"We haven't got the player, gaffer. You sure you're hearing them right?"

That about sums Dyche's set-up and tactics – 1970s style, all tongue in cheek.

Moreover, just to validate your point. Eddie Howe couldn't get Wood out of Newcastle quick enough as, at the time, he was a bit of a laughing stock up there due to some calamitous misses.

Fair play to Nuno and the striker himself for getting the maximum out of a quite limited player where he seems to have found a home and the team is playing to his strengths.

Indeed, Eddie Howe was desperate to sign a top striker to provide competition for Isak… yep, you guessed it: Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Apparently detailed negotiations involving a swap between us and them for Minteh, who signed for Brighton, were only shelved when they couldn't find a buyer for Callum Wilson.

Profitability and Sustainability Rules limits and players brought in will be expected to be enough. They may sell a few players or loan them out though.

He can't, Brian, no.

It must be so hard for the opposition to suss out what our tactics will be.

Truth is, it was garbage but the players he had were of much better quality than the present sad bunch and I very much fear nobody will ever get much more out of them whatever tactics are employed.

We'll be lucky to beat the drop this time round!

I never watched Life on Mars but completely get your great post. God knows I need a laugh at the moment and your post provided just that! Thank you.

Connor @243.

As you rightly identify, playing to a striker's strengths makes such a huge difference. Carlo played to Calvert-Lewin's strengths and he scored 21 goals in a season.

Several weeks ago, a ToffeeWebber posted a great game plan, which went (forgive me for stealing it, but is was funny and brilliant all the same time).

Team Talk – Tactics.

DCL - you stay in and around the penalty box.

Rest of the Team – pass to DCL.

Enough said! 😅

You correctly referenced Nuno getting the best out of Wood, who is a carthorse but is now being made to look like a decent striker.

What players has Dyche fundamentally improved in our squad?

No, Dyche is stupid, you're trying to make excuses why Dyche isn't playing Branthwaite.

He said himself that Tarkowski and Keane have played well in the last five games, that's his reason for not starting our best centre-back Branthwaite.

Keane… nothing against him, but he's a Dyche favourite, and he doesn't see the bigger picture. Accept it, it's down to Dyche; nothing to do with fitness – that's his decision.

Bournemouth were a club that came from the championship. Their own manager went through the exit door for deriding the lack of quality to compete in the Premier League. O Neill worked wonders to keep them up against all odds.

Yes they invested a lot of money £100 million last season to give them a fighting chance to remain in the division and they excelled under Areola but don't forget they were essentially a championship squad previously.

Moreover this summer they lost their talisman and best defender on a free (Lloyd Kelly) and their top goalscorer (Solanke) whom their manager improved out of all recognition to command the £60 million pound fee. Essentially their spine was ripped out of the team.

If next summer we let Pickford go on a free and sell Branthwaite for 60 million and invest 90 million I bet you would have a different slant on it.

This summer's spending has only been possible because Areolas brilliant coaching turned a player who was deemed to be a bog standard premier league player into a highly coveted asset. Yet you have somehow profered the conclusion that the manager is underachieving given his perceived lavish spend and is operating on a par with Dyche. Quite unbelievable.

This summer we sold three players who Dyche didn't start, kept Calvert Lewin and Branthwaite who were backbones of his team, used the entire outlay on 3 signings and 4 loan fees. Those loan players don't go in the books as they aren't assets but their combined value would be somewhere in the region of 80 to 100 million worth of player that the club has supported Dyche with this campaign should we chose/if we can afford to make them permanent outlays.

Moyes told us repeatedly that he was as good as we would ever have it. And Dyche is doing the same.

Admittedly, we haven’t done much beyond these two managers but I cannot believe for a second that a more gifted manager would do better at our club.

Dyche has literally made no improvement whatsoever. Why can he not start a season winning football matches. How has he never been able to do this?

He can quote budget all he wants but we repeatedly see European sides perform excellently in the major European competitions. How are they able to do this. How are Leverkusen going a season unbeaten, how are Sevilla winning multiple Europa Leagues, how are Atalanta playing champions league football, how are Dortmund and Atletico Madrid consistently European colossuses all with budgets less than ours?

That's unfair. He has improved Onana out of all recognition

by sending him to Villa!!

Keane and Tarkowski’s good games are nowhere near as good as Branthwaite’s great games Ffs.

Someone else asked the question earlier whether they think Myko plays better with Branthwaite in the team, yes he does, the whole sodding back four does, he’s that important to us.

Just play your best players, for the love of god!!!!!

Playing alright now isn’t he, under a proper coach.

Onana looked exactly the same player yesterday that we sold 6 months ago.

He is playing with better players in a better team doesn't mean Emre has improved him. Likewise Gordon.

That's an impassioned defence of DCL. Fair play, but I only half agree.

Some of the criticism directed at him is grossly exaggerated and frankly ridiculous, but some of it is fair. I've seen him miss four one on one's this season, but to listen to his detractors you'd think he had missed four dozen.

I love seeing people describe 1v1's as "sitters". I watch all the highlights of the top two divisions every week and although I see 1or 2 converted, I see dozens of them missed. Every weekend. The striker first needs the pace and the power to get away from top athletic defenders. He can't afford any touch to be loose or the chance is gon. Even if he can managed that, he is then confronted by a goalkeeper who has been coached to death about getting his angles right and showing as little of the goal as possible. That's why far more are missed than converted. Fans tend to forget about the many that got away, unless it's their player who missed it. Some see them as virtual penalties. But those in that situation will tell you different. Most 1v1's don't even get as far as the keeper

Dom is too deliberate. He generally does what the manual says and works the keeper. Unfortunately the goalies have all read the manual too and you need a certain slight of hand which only comes with the confidence he lacks.

I'm more concerned about the crosses he is not getting on the end of. That is his strength, yet he seems to be on his heels when they come in. Alan Shearer used to say to team mates "You just get the ball in the box and it's my job to get on the end of them". I know crosses are few and far between in this side, but Dom simply isn't getting near the ones that do come in.

Perhaps getting his face smashed at Villa eroded a lot of the courage he had previously demonstrated, especially under Carlo. Perhaps the jeers he faced as he came off injured that day made him think it simply isn't worth it. My mate who sits next to me is convinced that he decided back then at Villa Park that he was going to run down his contract.

Who knows ? Footballers take stick from the fans. It comes with the job, but if a players heart is no longer in the club he is playing for. He is far less likely to go in where it hurts.

1) Net transfer spend year on year is the only factor that dictates success – recruitment, football operations, manager selection, coaching, academy path are secondary.

2) The squad is Bottom 5 and the players are terrible - we sold one first-team contender, Onana, and bought six: Iroegbunam, Mangala, Lindstrom, Ndiaye, O'Brien, Broja.

3) The new signings were failures or cast-offs; otherwise, how could a club like Everton get them? Noticeably, Ndiaye has disappeared from this list.

4) None of our players would get into the Nottm Forest, Bournemouth, Southampton, Ipswich, Fulham, Palace side - until a poster lists the Everton players who they think would get selected.

Sean Dyche has a far better squad than he had last season and he has failed to improve performances. He has to do better – and I hope he does as I admire what he did last season.

But let's cut the excuses. The defeat to the bottom-placed Southampton was very bad for him.

Those points or excuses are valid. When we get a promising youngster, we tend to sell them. I do believe coaching at all levels in the academy is average at best with little innovation.

New signings, of which 3 are on loan, aren't exactly inspiring. Ndiaye is the exception – he looks very skillfull and runs at people.

Our squad is weak and the lesser teams in the Premier League have overtaken us with strength in depth and quality. I don't think there is much argument against that, is there?

I am not absolving Dyche in any of the above – it's just the reality.

Dyche out ASAP please!

TFG seem to be more than happy to make ruthless decisions early, as shown at Roma.

We will make it. It will be ugly.

He also says he covers for Mykolenko, which we're missing. He reckons Dyche doesn't care what the fans think, and it's important to play Jarrad, to be match fit for the tough December period. He said if Van Dijk missed a couple of games, would they leave him on the bench?

He also can't believe he takes off Calvert-Lewin and puts a centre-back upfront, it's embarrassing and not modern football.

Everything he said is spot on.

Christy #250 and Edward #252, Dyche is under no obligation to say publicly that a player isn't fully fit, and we know that he has refused to provide such updates in the past. He does not give specific news unless it's good.

Steve #262, the quality of a squad isn't just determined by the names on the roster. It's determined by their availability and how they perform. One cannot say Dyche "has a far better squad" when the only newcomers who have played to expectations are Ndiaye and Mangala, while mainstays Tarkowski and Mykolenko have dropped off so significantly in their performance level, Branthwaite and Garner have been lost to injuries and even Pickford seems off top form.

I'd say it's a push at best, and one of the slowest sides in the Premier League has become the slowest without Onana and Jarrad. We are under-equipped as well as under-performing.

He's taken a lot of unfair stick but I think we are now seeing his standards drop.

He looks to me like anyone would in the 4th week since serving their notice. In effect, he's been in his notice period for quite some time. The only difference between Dom and your average worker is that he can't just leave after 4 weeks, and there was a prospect that he might actually stay – but he now looks convinced that he'll go.

I don't blame Dom at all for wanting out of this club, and certainly not for wanting out of this manager's style of football. I actually think it's to his credit that he's maintained his effort for so long.

My prediction is that he'll be forced to show a side of himself that we haven't seen before and end up trying to force a move in January. He's going to be made out to be the villain.

Did you read Ball's column? Dyche always goes out of his way to mention the players out on the grass, and who aren't ready, and he said Branthwaite trained two full days before the Fulham game.

He said he had a full week's training before the Southampton game and the reason he didn't start was because Keane and Tarkowski were playing well!

So let's not try to makes excuses, it is an unbelievable decision by Dyche not to start our £70M centre-back, and as Ball said, the fans will turn against him.

Based on previous evidence, I think he will go soon and I recognise now that the fans can do it as we have massive influence now. There is now a significant possibility that we could be relegated this season and, as yet, no indication that we are likely to avoid that risk.

Bottom team with one point and key players injured? Surely a game we needed to have won to balance the hard games to come or is that too simplistic? How does a team so demoralised anyway react to losing to the worst team in the league?

As far as I know, he has no performance-related bonuses and hence no real interest in keeping us up apart from his own ethics which his disgustingly obscene salary for a football trainer negates.

I'm off the fence now and believe that the day the takeover happens, Dyche should be kicked into retirement or to a League One side where he manifestly belongs. TFG should pay whatever it takes to get a young and dynamic English manager of the type that many have recommended. If we have to go down, then let's at least fight for it.

BTW, I think that we missed Doucoure on Saturday.

Tommy # 254, you're right - we've seen the likes of Leverkusen, Sevilla and Atalanta all play some superb winning football in recent years and going toe to toe with better resourced clubs in Europe. So it makes total sense to ask, as you are, how they do it. What all of these clubs have in common seems to be this:

- heavy investment in the academy
- youth player scouting inc. from low cost markets
- spending modest sums on moderate established players and more on high potential youth
- sell to buy strategies

It's all designed to feed the first team coach with Champions League quality players for the first team. Alonso did a superb job at Leverkusen last season - but he wouldn't have achieved that without the players put at his disposal via longer term strategy that bore fruit. He didn't organise any of that.

They will fall away when players are sold but, if they stay true to these principles, they will assemble another high quality squad to go again.

By the way, for those who see me as an apologist for Dyche I don't believe I am. I completely agree that the style of football should have improved this season but it hasn't - it's possibly gone backwards. Even easier fixes like more imaginative set pieces get overlooked. We should be doing better.

But I do think there's a bigger picture perspective here that we need significant investment in the playing staff to catch-up with a few other mediocre clubs who have overtaken us in quality and then kick-on. Although we can definitely improve on our manager, simply appointing someone like Iraola or Frank or whoever else seems unlikely to make a massive difference unless it's accompanied by a decent amount of spending.

Christy – posts 4, 34, 57, 89, 100, 113, 123, 153, 161, 216, 228, 233, 250, 270 and 274. That's one helluva bee you have in your bonnet mate! I think most of us agree that Branthwaite should have started, but you may be in danger of labouring the point, my friend.

I probably did go a bit overboard, and got carried away after a few glasses of red! But when comments say he must be injured, and then you read Michael Ball's column, brings it all back.

Apologies, my last comment on Jarrad!

Yes, I agree he "has no obligation" to tell anyone, but surely at his after-match press conference, he could give a reason or explanation?

Why has no-one in the media picked up on Jarrad's absence by the way? Are we that irrelevant? We are not in a position to leave our best player on the bench!!!!!

I did suspect as much, mate.

Jarrad is maybe being protected, likely under the advice of a certain Mr Freidkin.

If Branthwaite can't make it into our starting eleven, that £70M price tag will be a lot lower, because he's either not fully fit and possibly has an underlying issue that we're not aware of, or any buying clubs would be wary of forking out that much for a 'bench' player. It makes no sense to me, but we all have differing opinions.

Let the bean counters worry about the cash-flow, and the first-team manager worry about getting as many points with the players that are available to him. If the manager fails in his task, it will cost a lot more money than Branthwaite's highest transfer price.

But yes, it's most likely just Dyche thinking that Keane and Tarkowski are better because we had a few late goals save our arses.

He said it's because we were unbeaten in 5 matches but surely even he can see that was only because of late drama!! Michael Keane wasn't good enough 4 years ago!

For Moyes and Lampard read Lopetuegi and Dyche.

It's one of the least impressive unbeaten runs I've seen. Competent wins against the very unimpressive Palace and Ipswich. A draw at Leicester. A 'good' home 0-0 against Newcastle which they'll feel they threw away through dreadful finishing. And an absolute fluke home draw against Fulham.

The performances nowhere near justified that rhetoric. Southampton was just a continuation of our dreadful playing form, not a sudden reversal.

What's worse is that the fixture list has actually been quite generous. It's no secret that I think Dyche is a disaster, but I thought we would come out of this little period in lower mid-table with people incorrectly singing his praises before the slog ahead. Obviously I was wrong – and these first 10 games have been particularly damaging.

We have an international break after the West Ham match – and it's followed by a crucial home game against Brentford. It's about as winnable a game as we have for a while.

Now Brentford are a decent team, but just imagine an energised Goodison anticipating the first game under a new manager. Pipe dream maybe, but surely it's one that everyone would want.

Forget about the scare-mongering — we didn't let him go in the summer when we were skint. The new owners won't do it now.

On the other hand, when our ridiculous manager won't play him, Jarrad might want out.

Most teams have poor defences, Southampton's was awful. At one point in the first half, Everton had not one but two players unmarked on our left side by their penalty box but we failed miserably to take advantage. The final pass was poor.

You could tell there was no conviction to the play, the manager's voice was in the player's ear, don't commit too many players forward. If Mykolenko is up there stay back, cover him. All the play was nervous.

If Dyche just made some small adjustments to his thinking, it would make all the difference.

First, play the strongest team. Branthwaite in. Seamus in. I am not going along with the Young has done okay so he should stay in the team. A couple of good passes does not make him our first choice right back because he is now simply just too old and has the potential to get badly exposed, especially during the December fixtures.

Mangala did okay and I am sure he and Gueye will form a good partnership if they keep playing together.

Ndiaye at No 10 makes a lot of sense and what about Doucoure instead of Harrison cutting in from the right, supporting Dom, giving us a new dimension to the team? His energy and goal threat are clear but keep him away from centre-midfield where you need good control and passing.

We do have the players for mid-table we just need the right balance in the team to get there and just a few small changes can make a big difference.

Unfortunately, that could be the more likely scenario that develops and as another poster has already pointed out, a centre-half on the bench isn't worth £70 million.

I'm hoping that the new owners bring in a few new players and a new manager and Jarrad wants to stay with the buzz around the new stadium. Here's hoping.