Michael Kenrick 01/10/2025 12comments  |  Jump to last

After the disappointment of an appearance on Monday Night Football, that was redeemed only by an excellent retrospective with Duncan Ferguson, Everton grace the UK's favourite football channel once again as part of Sky's Super Sunday when they take on Crystal Palace at home this coming weekend. 

It's Part Two of a Hill Dickinson double-header. This should be a great springboard for Everton's new squad to relish in the progress they are making up the Premier League table. 

Instead, it's an all-too-familiar trigger for worry and anxiety. The Toffees face a Crystal Palace side that is on an incredible 18-game unbeaten run! The latest instalment seeing them secure a splendid last-minute victory over the arch-enemy last weekend, their first of the season. 

Still, Everton's recent modus operandi (otherwise known as Plan A) has been to faff about against inferior opposition and allow them to deny us wins and points, or knock us out of competitions our players and manager have told us are the primary focus this season to finally bring us a long-missed trophy.

After demonstrating resolute Scottish stubbornness in refusing to give his fringe players meaningful involvement in his rapidly crumbling Premier League campaign by making anything like full use of his available subs, David Moyes will be forced to make at least one change to his line-up.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall picked up his 5th yellow card of the season after a non-tackle on a West Ham player who ran across him and then threw himself theatrically to the ground, drawing a completely unwarranted free-kick. 

That came after the 4th and perhaps most bizarre yellow card -- for taking a free-kick too quickly -- something the referee insists he had been warned about, but that would seem to countermand the Premier League's claims about them clamping down on time-wasting. 

Odds would seem to be on Tyler Dibling finally being given his Premier League full debut at Everton, but that would mean Charly Alcaraz being overlooked yet again, and he seems stuck in a self-perpetuating downward spiral where he can't get enough playing time to show his value... because he isn't getting enough playing time to show his value. 

The other player Moyes has largely ignored, and whose game has also gone rapidly downhill, is Dwight McNeil -- another catalyst for debate about cause and effect in terms of poor performance: the chicken or the egg? 

But the clear message reinforced in so many games so far this season is that Moyes does not trust his subs, which means he is reluctant to bring them on, even though the game may be screaming for a change. It's either that or he's so inflexible with his starting formation and Plan A that he refuses to countenance change until it is far too late. 

The only position he seems 'happy' to change -- and 'happy' is certainly the wrong word -- is that of the hapless centre-forward, with Beto and Barry successfully battling it out with each other in the race to be Everton's worst striker. With no clear winner, many have suggested a change of formation is needed. 

This could see the skilful attacking players pushed up as a front three without a totemic target man, and encouraged to make killer interpasses both more quickly and further up the field in an effort to create sharper chances that are sadly going the way of hen's teeth in the current increasingly stagnant set-up.

Whatever happens, next weekend is yet another instalment in the unenviable lives of Evertonians who stll faithfully follow the misfortunes of our faltering heroes in The Greatest League on Earth 

 

 

Reader Comments (12)

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Paul Kossoff
1 Posted 01/10/2025 at 14:58:49
After the disappointment of an appearance on Monday Night Football, that was redeemed only by an excellent retrospective with Duncan Ferguson, Everton grace the UK's favourite football channel once again as part of Sky's Super Sunday when they take on Crystal Palace at home this coming weekend.

It's Part Two of a Hill Dickinson double-header. This should be a great springboard for Everton's new squad to relish in the progress they are making up the Premier League table.

Micheal, am I right in thinking you are being sarcastic? Shame on you.

It's not in my nature to be sarcastic, true and honest be the way I say.

Tell it like it is.

You don't like David Moyes, do you?

I think he lost the dressing room when he told the players, "I don't have the time or the crayons to explain it to you."

Steve Brown
2 Posted 01/10/2025 at 15:03:54
Love a new match thread.

It’s a great opportunity for some to get the excuses in early… and often.

Looking forward to see the suspended KDH replaced by Tim Iro,

Michael Kenrick
3 Posted 01/10/2025 at 15:15:05
You've heard of 'unconscious bias' -- I may well be prone to unconscious sarcasm, Paul, but it depends which part of the intro has triggered you?

Sincerely, I really did enjoy the feature they made of having Duncan Ferguson on the show, and going over many of his fantastic goals for the club, especially the headers. It actually brought a tear to my weary eye, I have to admit.

Or was it 'UK's favourite football channel'... yea, I would say there is definitely more than a hint of unconscious sarcasm there...

No? Then it must be 'the progress they are making up the Premier League table'. But it depends how you look at it. We jumped back up into the Top Half after that fabulous draw on Monday -- that you cannot deny.

But we had rather been dropping like a stone from the heady heights of 4th or 5th that we briefly attained. I will try to do better, Paul, to emulate your impeccable writing style: truth and honesty.

Paul Kossoff
4 Posted 01/10/2025 at 15:26:15
Micheal, cheers, you are my favourite anti sarcastic. People say sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, that's why I don't use it, and you obviously don't.
Andrew Merrick
5 Posted 01/10/2025 at 15:40:00
Steve 2, Tim is only one option, and he hasnt done himself any favours recently.
Tyler on the Right, Illy in the middle?
Jack middle, Illy left, Tyler right?
Kean CF with two 9s on the bench?
We do have a squad with options, but not at full backs or CF, so lets try and find goals another way.
Jack needs to mix up his game, swap wings in match, go central, get the goals from the mid?
Stop being predictable and mix it up in match, otherwise we get 2 or three on Jack to neutralise him. Illy gets squeezed too, and the Moyes gameplan remains rigid and ineffective...
Lets see eh!
Mark Taylor
6 Posted 01/10/2025 at 15:44:58
Given how conservative Moyes is and his lack of options in some positions, I expect only one change, for KDH and I suspect that will be Alcaraz, who is wasted out wide, where he has played many games.

The word is Dibling is a future number 10 but perhaps that role comes too soon given he has hardly played yet. Maybe Jarrod gets 20 mins or so at the end.

As a long standing supporter, and have thus enjoyed the successes back to the '60's, it pains me to say it, but Palace are clearly a much better, more coherent team. That it has come to this. However we will catch them as the best possible time, 3 days after a long trip and hopefully a tough run out, so you never know.

Paul Hewitt
7 Posted 01/10/2025 at 15:49:23
I predicted a win for palace. But I forgot they have an away game in Poland on Thursday, so won't get back till early Friday morning. Then travel to Merseyside on Saturday. Hopefully there knackered come kickoff on Sunday.
Paul Kossoff
8 Posted 01/10/2025 at 15:49:48
I've been calling for a false nine set up for a while now. Drop Beto and don't use Barry, play as any of the forwards take up the striker role and confuse the opposition. Just try it D M, it's called plan b, or in your case, plan c.
Paul Kossoff
9 Posted 01/10/2025 at 16:02:28
Mark 6. Yes Palace are at the moment a better side, but that shows you what can be achieved with a positive attitude, instead of a safety first play book. Palace only have a ground capacity of 25.486, so on a record revenue of £190 million last season, which was mostly from broadcasting, they are top four and winning trophies and in Europe. It can be done Mark but with Moyes, I don't know if we can. Keep hoping.
Brian Harrison
10 Posted 01/10/2025 at 16:43:05
Michael, you say that Moyes demonstrates stubbornness to use his fringe players, but when he did use his fringe players against Wolves they lost, also wasn't the majority of criticism from the fans on that game that he should have played his strongest side. You go on to state that Moyes will play Dibling against Palace and once again overlooking Alcaraz, just a reminder Alcaraz started the Wolves game and was so ineffectual he had to be subbed at half time.
Same can be said for McNeil another whose woeful performance against Wolves led to him being subbed.

I would also suggest that he is far from happy alternating Beto and Barry buy seeing both are useless he doesn't have much option.

Neal Kernohan
11 Posted 01/10/2025 at 17:05:01
Need someone up front that the ball does not bounce off and go straight back into Evertons half! Someone who can jump, pass and stay on their feet ffs! Keane for me!
Mike Gaynes
12 Posted 01/10/2025 at 17:09:08
Neal, he's our best defender right now, and until Jarrad returns I wouldn't move him out of that spot for all the grits in Georgia.

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