That one’s gotta sting

We'll win our last game at the Old Lady due to the fans, a grandstand finish to mask our fragilities... 3-2.

Get on, my fellow Blues!!!

As for next season... more misery, methinks!

Just get out of the disaster of a season now.

Lucky we've managed to even stay up.

Can't defend, can't hardly attack.

4 home wins in the final season at Goodison, everyone involved in that embarrassing statistic should be hanging their heads in shame.

Keep Pickford and Branthwaite, Ndiaye (but he must improve his end product) — chuck the rest as far as I'm concerned.

If only the players had half the enthusiasm of the supporters.

The Ipswich game shows where we are at as a squad, and instead of pressing on at 2-0 up and winning handsomely, we allowed them back into the game.

Moyes seems to think that there may be some of this squad that he would retain but, in all honesty, it has become apparent after this game that we need 8 to 12 new players to get anywhere near a decent Premier League position next season.

We cannot persist with a lot of the current players, they've had their chance and blown it.

Les (3), it seemed to me like the supporters mentally had their flip-flops on more than the players.

First live game for me for a couple of years. Using a colleague's season ticket in the Lower Gwladys Street. Before the game was promising with quite a bit of chanting going on. As soon as the whistle went, it died off almost completely with only sporadic bits after that, mainly when we scored.

Virtually no-one sat in the Gwladys Street (but appeared to in every other stand) but there was little in the way of ‘buzz' and efforts to exhort. A lot of little groups kept up almost continuous conversations that weren't always centred on what was happening on the pitch.

Their first corner and I expected the crowd to be roiling and barracking their players, but it just stood mutely observing.
Yes, it didn't help that much of the game was more like a game of chess than a football game, but today was miles away from the ‘bearpit' I'm used to Goodison being.

If we keep the vast majority of this squad going into next season, then expect nothing more than another relegation battle, and probably a far harder one next season with the three that come up.

The ball retention is still appalling, there's no composure on the ball, no pace in the side, and zero killer instinct, and surprisingly a lack of defensive nous.

How many times this season have we pissed a 2-0 lead up the wall?

Bournemouth, Villa, Man Utd, now today?

You can't “create” atmosphere; there's nothing on the game… end of.

It's Ipswich – never been a rival, never will be.
Time and again, games are “bigged up” but, if there's nothing on them…?

No steel in the side; besides, it's not allowed. The Premier League is apathetic for most who have no chance of winning. We've now no jeopardy of relegation.

We wake up for the derby or when the relegation devil is biting our arse. We have no talisman swashbuckling through opposition ranks, we have no nothing.

Get some honest endeavour, so yeah, lots of casual chatting goes on whilst folks resting their chins on their hands at another borefest.

But the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock? Yeah, what of it? It isn't home and the crowd are still not gonna be up for it.

Don't anyone be going to games for atmosphere — it's largely gone.

Jon,

True words, can't disagree with any of it.

Empathy — perfect word to sum up supporting Everton Football Club in 2025 and basically over the majority of the last 25 years.

Fans have to sit and watch Liverpool win trophy after trophy, play in all the biggest games, have all the biggest name heroes and superstars.

Everton fans have nothing but a season of sentiments leaving Goodison to look back on, and we couldn't even manage to navigate a semi-decent season to give a fitting send-off.

West Ham left in Boleyn in 2015-16 with 12 home wins, and a carnival atmosphere.

We will leave Goodison with empathy and sentiment, just that, nothing more, just almost a serene level of mediocrity as per usual.

No big games here for years, no Cup semi-final, first or second legs of the League Cup, no European footy since November 2017, even that ended with a 1-5 hammering to Atalanta.

It's just impossible nowadays to really get up for these games because it's a copy and paste from most seasons this last two decades.

Patterson did well going foward but can't defend. McNeil did little other than score. Harrison I thought did well against Man City and when he came on, so I would start him.

They out-muscled us and rattled our centre-backs and then our engine room seemed to sit off, unlike against Man City and Arsenal.

We cannot handle possession like good teams as decision making doesn't last to be effective. One decent cross all day! Change has to be drastic.

It's sad, Si, but most of the fans have been going to Goodison for a long time now and, once the game starts, the football is usually very unimaginative which is something you must have witnessed today?

I'm glad you got a ticket and was able to experience Goodison Park for one last time, Si. I actually wrote on ToffeeWeb yesterday that I was looking forward to what the 1878 Group had organised a lot more than I was looking forward to the game. The football has mostly been very dull for years upon years now, mate.

Reading Jim B's post, got me thinking about why I have privately been calling Goodison Park "The Cursed by Kenwright Stadium" for a long time now.

Si, it's a chicken-and-egg thing. The team has to give the supporters something to hold onto. The supporters have to try to pour their passion onto the pitch.

We can't accuse the supporters of not doing that these past difficult seasons. They have been second to none.

Sorry, I get very protective about Evertonians.

Posted this on another thread on here:

I can't wait to leave Goodison now. It's not been a great place to watch football the past 3 seasons.

Played 56
Won 18
Lost 22
Drawn 16
For 62
Against 73

We've got to hope that the new stadium brings a change of fortune as we had been a very hard watch at home for years and the football is an endurance test at times.

We had that hole ahead of Garner and Gana that was often empty and they ran through it.

They were actually quite good and it was a good comeback really. I think they will come straight back up.

Deflating performance after the rousing pre-game banners. We were dreadful in the second half, and Ipswich deserved their draw.

Patterson can't defend, Alcaraz failed his audition (cross for the first goal notwithstanding), Beto spent more time on the ground moaning than being productive, he couldn't trap the proverbial bag of cement. Calvert-Lewin looked more threatening in the 10 minutes he was on.

Garner and Gana both had good games. But, we had a fair amount of decent possession, but no wit or guile in the final third to create much.

A lot of work and refresh required before next season.

Chris #12.

Why the repeat?

Brian, Because:

1. it's such an absymal record that it deserves some repeated scrutiny>

And:

2. I meant to post it on this thread as it was more relevant but I did it on the wrong one!

Not sure why folks are expecting a raucous atmosphere at an end of season game with nothing on it. The season is done. The games are dead.

The same applies to the league as a whole. Other than some jostling for the european spots the league was done months ago.

I stopped watching games a couple of weeks back. Lots of players appear to have mentally checked out ages ago and I was fed up of watching terrible matches played at testimonial pace.

To be 2-0 up and allow two equalising goals is simply poor Management on and off the pitch.

Tony, Danny, Bobby, didn’t say I expected a raucous atmosphere or that the performance today was conducive to the fans getting energised.
I was just responding to Les (3) in that I didn’t think the crowd today was more enthusiastic than the player’s (who did keep trying even if it was unimaginative).
I do remember certain things happened automatically in the past. Any opposition corner, but especially the first or if the opposition seemed to be gaining confidence, was met by furious, snarling, disapproval. There was nothing like that today.
I get that the team has to inspire, but the fans can still be more upbeat than the team properly deserve if they choose.
It was a nothing game but there was still a notable drop in intensity when they scored their first. Some people never said a positive word all through the game, judging everything as ‘shit’.
Again, no credit is given to the opposition for actually having a game plan to make it harder for us to play the game the way the players would prefer.
We all want more from the club and the players but that doesn’t mean supporters are uniquely immune to hubris and may have to take care they aren’t bigging themselves up a bit too much.

Paul 14 DCL is a lamb compared to the wolf that is Beto.

His header was quality. He is Injury free and gets stuck in, DCL is yesterdays fish and chip papers, move him on.

The whole team don't have enough goals in them.

Ndiaye is looking more and more like a top 5 a side player but doesn't impact 11 aside games.

Lots got their wish with Doucoure and Harrison out of the starting 11. Things didnt look much different except off the ball we looked more vulnerable.

Thought Garner, McNeil and Gana had good games.

It's.so.obvios we need quality down the flanks.

On to next week's debacle.

Rob#20

I think you are right regarding attack, but I think the two problems are the lack of a possession possessing midfielder who isv a playmaker and is able to inter pass with his midfield colleagues.The other problem is Moyes negative tactics when he tries to ensure a result from games. This is were his negative change in formation results in lack of wing play going forward happens and Everton go too deep and do not reinforce midfield.

Málaga was the player with Lindstrom, to a lesser extent, who fitted the bill and Moyes was more positive in his attack.Once they were injured Moyes was at sea and his hardworking and negative solutions are not working.Moyes knows that Everton needed to get results at the end of this season in preparation for.next season. He has told the players this, but has failed to deliver.