We have produced some fantastic away results but the home form has been to be kind with my words here, disappointing.

Away from home sitting deep has given us a better chance of nicking games and we have done that well on many occasions and put in some other good results such as Sunderland away.

At home however there is much work that needs done both on and off the pitch in truth.

It feels also like we are watching a side that's nowhere near as strong as it can be, I know no club has its full squad out every week but imagine if we had even 10 games so far with Branthwaite, Ndiaye, Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall in that starting line up.

The bugbears so far would be the lack of proper fullback options going into yet another season and and having zero pace or mobility on either side of the pitch, it's yet again a huge issue in the cog going forward in my opinion.

We've all spoken about the lack of goals, lack of overall input from strikers and that's something that needs to be an uprising in the second half of the season.

Another thing that pisses me off so much is our weaknesses on defending corners/set pieces.

Honestly we are one of the tallest sides in the league yet we are pathetic at both ends of the pitch on set plays, very unlike the first time around under David Moyes when we always had that as one of our strongest suits.

I may be seeing something different; but I felt the left side (Grealish) was always getting the ball, and the midfielders didn't really look at him.

I saw him stretched on the right side, waiting for a pass, and no one gave him the ball. It was all about giving the ball to Jack, so you can't really blame the boy.

Players:
Garner A -: the best player this season in central midfield and right back.
Pickford B+: The best keeper in the Premier League, not just the best English keeper.
Grealish, Dewsbury-Hall B+: 10 goals and 10 assists between them, despite Jack's drop-off in form. We have no creativity without these 3 in the team.
Keane B; Our most reliable defender, despite being blamed by supporters for every mistake that Tarkowski makes.
O'Brien C: I feel sorry for him, as he is not and will never be a decent full-back in the Premier League.
Barry C-: Despite his performances, I still think there is a player in there somewhere.
Alcaraz C: Inconsistent is his middle name.
Iroegbunam C-: Games just pass him by.
Rohl, Dibling, Aznou D: Who knows? They never get on the pitch... and when they do, they are under-cooked.
McNeil D: Slow, one-footed with the turning circle of a super-tanker. He cannot play No 10 or right midfield; sell him.
Mykolenko D: Average in every aspect of his game, and slow to boot. He seems allergic to crossing the halfway line.
Tarkowski D-: Living on his reputation and totally exposed unless we play a low block. Seems to make one serious mistake a game.
Beto D-: His nickname should be Legs Akimbo.

TFG D (for Dividend):
Their recruitment in the summer was slow and left big gaps at full-back and in attack that Moyes had to manage through. Their response to Garner's contract position has been slow, despite him being our stand-out player this season. Rather than invest further in the squad this month, they have decided to take £43M out the club in the form of a dividend payment to the parent company.

On your assessment, I think you are getting soft and would also back up my comment on what Jim has said about our performance at set pieces, especially corners.

Pickford: Too soft as he has some responsibility for our weakness at corners. Great shot-stopper in the resulting case but we must address the root cause. Also too often puts full-backs under pressure with his short kick outs.

O'Brien: Overgenerous. So far at centre-back he has performed well but offers nothing going forward as a right-back constantly passes inside to Tarkowski.

Tarkowski: Overgenerous. Too many mistakes in him at the moment. Full-hearted tackler but a bit careless in possession.

Keane: A bit harsh. I think you are retaining your old prejudices and not giving him full credit for how he has performed this season. Problably our best defender.

Mykolenko: Fair. A good defender but is cautious going forward for fear of being caught out of position when our attack breaks down. Probably because once burnt, twice shy mentality.

Patterson: Was in trouble earlier against Forest but did settle once Dibling tucked in to help.

Grealish; Overgenerous. A very talented player who is key when we need to absorb pressure and retain the ball but going forward his default is that he holds onto the ball far too long and allows the opposition defence to set up and gives our strikers no space. So he passes the ball inside to Dewsbury-Hall or whoever goes to meet him.

Dewsbury-Hall: Is the buy of the season. Works his socks off and presses high up the pitch which has enabled us to play on the front foot for a change.

Garner: I think you are doing him a disservice comparing him to Phil. I think Jimmy has a far better distribution of the ball

Iroegbunam: Agree.

Gana: Agree... but I would comment that, although very good at breaking up play, he is a sloppy passer of the ball once in possession.

Alcaraz: Overgenerous. Flatters to deceive for me. Great mindset once we have the ball from a break looking to push forward but, in general play, he is too careless and poor defensively.

Dibling and Rohl: I do see potential footballers there but they need to integrate into the team. Dibling was good against Forest but took a while to understand that he should be tracking back to help Patterson.

Rohl, I also think has potential, has an engine but needs direction and familiarity with how his team mates play.

McNeil: I do think there is a role there for him. He played well against Forest by providing two assists and working hard with Mykolenko to pressurise Forest's wingers from getting in decent crosses. Those that did get in were meat and drink for our defenders.

Barry and Beto: Neither is a lethal striker but my preference is for Beto -- although having less footballing skills, he has much more impact on the opposition's defence.

Barry in my opinion is weak physically and mentally. Against Forest has awful and nearly lost control of the pass from Garner but did put it away well.

To be fair to both strikers, the service they are getting is slow and ponderous and are given very few clear chances. If they miss those half-chances then they are magnified.

Armstrong: Let's see how he does when starting.

Moyes: A bit harsh, Danny. Again, like with Keane, finding it difficult to let go of old prejudices. I also was underwhelmed but must give him credit where it is due. I no longer wake up after matchdays with a knot in my stomach, checking the tables and our upcoming fixtures.

He got a tune out of a team that Dyche said he could not. We have added some good players but have failed to address the glaring weaknesses in the team so a manager can only work with the players he has available to him.

Against Forest the general consensus was that we were very depleted and would be lucky to get a draw, yet we came away with a win, as we did in a similar backs-to-the-wall game against Man Utd.

Then Moyes has done a great job. However, when we lose, he is Dour Davey. Yes, he seems very slow to make changes, which is frustrating. I would only have given him an 18-month contract but he got 30 months.

Let's see how he does until the end of the season. Don't forget we had to integrate quite a few new players into the squad and now our better players are either injured or at Afcon.

I hope we improve for Saturday for my first visit to the HDS.

Ever the optimist, and I can't fault you for that, and you'll be there watching us whenever you can, so keep on smiling whether we are good, bad or indifferent.

Wishing you well after such a traumatic year away from football and I hope you are getting yourself together after that. Best wishes for a happy healthy life from now on.

ps: Borrowing your optimistic head for a few seconds, if we get past Sunderland in the FA Cup, we might go all the way to Wembley and I'll meet you there singing “We Shall Not Be Moved”.

Up to now, we have done a little better than I expected.
Nevertheless, I think, with the exception of 4 or 5 players, our team is bang average. To win anything or finish Top 8, we need a class revamp somehow.

The key is allowing clubs to spend as much as they like. The problem is you know and I know that is not going to happen.

I actually think this league is pretty weak: 3 or 4 decent teams but after that I'm not so sure. Stumble through till the Afcon lads are back, hopefully Dewsbury-Hall won't be long, and then have a right go at this league.

Put O'Brien at centre-back -- I'm a better full back than he is! The full-backs need to overlap -- our wide players are against 2 players every week -- hence why we don't score many.

Perhaps it's me, but this footy today is too risk-averse and structured. It's like players have forgotten to be instinctive and just follow set plays from training. Whatever happened to players just managing the game themselves? It's like the 20 coaches they have now don't trust them?

I don't know, but it isn't what it was for me. Just go for it.

I think your player ratings are pretty much correct, and you always try and find the good bits of every player.

I think with Gana, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye and Branthwaite back fit, we have a decent team; but without them, we look very ordinary.

Our main strikers, although both scored against Brentford, I can't say I like either of them, especially when you see what Thiago did -- and he cost the same as Beto and Barry.

You and I always disagree over the role of DoFs and it's becoming more of a problem where managers are actually speaking out over DoFs role in the club. Both Maresca and Amorin have both stated that not all footballing decisions are theirs.

I find the whole idea of appointing a manager, then allowing someone who has never had to put a team together dictate who the club sign and sell, is bordering on madness. To me, it's like a company employing a world class dress designer but allowing somebody else to buy the merchandise and just let the designer put the clothes on the rails in the shop.

I have said repeatedly on this site, I don't believe for one minute that Moyes bought Dibling, Barry, Rohl or Aznou. In all his time at Everton, he never bought youngsters, he bought tried and tested players like Dewsbury-Hall and Grealish.

It seems TFG have tasked our recruitment team to bring in more youthful players but, as Hansen said, and apart from the Busby Babes and Ferguson's youngsters, you don't win anything with kids.

I am sure when Moyes came back, he wanted to do what he never achieved in his first spell and that was win a trophy. Spending the majority on untried kids was never going to end in us winning trophies.

Seems American owners prefer buying young and selling on, whereas buying older players doesn't give you that option. But, if you don't get the right youngsters for a club with limited funds, it can be a disaster.

I mostly agree with Steve's player assessments. My only criticism of Pickford is that he isn't dominant enough at corners.

Tarkowski has become a liability and I'm sick of seeing him with a smile on his face because he's either just committed a stupid mistake, a silly foul, or just got away with a ricket or possible penalty.

Mykolenko can be good at man-marking but his crossing is woeful.

O'Brien needs to be playing centre-back. He's done his best covering at right-back but I think Garner plays this position better.

I've given Keane a lot of stick down the years but he has mostly been good this season. I'm hoping Branthwaite and O'Brien can be the long-term centre-back partnership though.

I've been impressed with Dewsbury-Hall.

Grealish can be quiet but he does create and he's brilliant at winning free-kicks and getting us up the pitch. I just wish he'd shoot more often. He gets in good positions and rolls it back to a player inside of him too often.

James Garner has been the most consistent player.

Ndiaye is a super player and we are missing him massively at the moment. He was the best player on the pitch at the Etihad. We need to hold on to him.

Barry and Beto would get goals in the Championship but are not good enough at this level, unfortunately.

Dibling looks overawed and lacks confidence to actually beat a player. I'm hoping he comes good but I think Everton might be too big for him at this stage of his career. He might need to go out on loan.

Alcaraz and Iregbunam seem better suited to come on as substitutes rather than start games.

One of my biggest frustrations is that, every single year, I think, if we can get to January, then we can get reinforcements in. It's 6 January now and we're not even being linked with players.

We needed a proven striker and a right-back (plus a left-back in my eyes) during the summer. We're bound to be scrambling around for cast-offs or has-beens on deadline day or making last-minute enquiries that come to nothing. If we had any ambition, we would be trying to get a European place this season.

Is Roma more important than our club? Roma officials came here to Brazil and bought a right-back, Wesley. And what about Toffees? We are suffering the humiliation of not having a player in that position.

Does he know this? We deserve respect!!!

The number one issue for me that needs addressing is getting full backs who can overlap and cross. Until we do that there will always be two men on Grealish or Ndiaye, there will never be enough crosses going into the box for Barry or Beto and we will therefore never score enough goals to properly challenge the top 7 places.

It is no surprise to see DCL in the goals again when a team is set up to whip balls in as often as possible.

Be interesting to see what the new FFP rules mean for us in the summer. I think the Grealish fee is already set at 50m so that will probably be our full budget. Given I haven't seen us linked with one player this last week suggests we aren't doing any business.

Regards the comments on Dibling, he looks completely devoid of confidence and a complete waste of money so far. Someone needs to inject some belief in him amd quickly otherwise we will end up selling him back to Southampton for 5m quid in 12 months time.

Get a proper right back and a left back that hasn't got a garden shovel for a left foot and runs like a tortoise chasing a lettuce.

Lol, no disrespect meant there to Mykolenko but I've seen proper attacking left backs at Everton like Baines, Digne, to a lesser extent Hinchcliffe but all three mentioned were what I expect nowadays in most teams across the league.

You still get people doubting Grealish but take away Grealish and put McNeil there, you'd see an immense drop off in ball retention, creativity and overall football nous, just where would we be without Grealish's assists this term?

You also need to look at the stage he's at in his career, he's 30, he's still a very fit athlete but the marauding runs of 5 or 6 years ago won't be there now as much, the game becomes more about the mind, his speed of thought is still on different stratospheres to most of our squad.

I would sell or let go the following

Patterson-

Keane

Mykolenko

McNeill

Beto

Alcaraz

All not good enough in my opinion

I would have snatched your hand off if you would have offered me this position at the end of last season.

Key players out of contract and a threadbare squad didn't bode well for the new season.

Signing up Keane and Gana was the best business Moyes did over the summer. Maintaining a strong spine is important in every team.

Kdh and Grealish have added football ability.

Armstrong deserves a run on the team and can hopefully provide some quality that the likes of Tim and Merlin are missing.

The jury is out on all of the other signings. The likes of Bournemouth, Brentford and Brighton have better recruitment strategies than us, why is that?

I am happy where we are in the league. There are 14 teams who we can beat home or away and 6 who we can't.

Moyes has done a great job but like the previous 5 managers the honeymoon period is over now and an early exit from the cup, a loss against Wolves could be the start of the end for Moyes MK2.

Nice to see you back Danny.

There don't appear to be any rumours on potential signings knocking about.

Am I going to be up late on 30 Jan watching Alan Myers freezing outside Finch Farm telling me they've just locked up and the fax has run out of paper?

On the Brightside, going into next season if we have

Pickford.

O'Brien and Branthwaite

Garner, KDH, Armstrong

Ndiaye and Grealish

as the core of the first eleven

Plus Alcaraz

Plus possibly Dibling and Barry depending on how they develop and kick on,

and then Quality additions at right and left back, a replacement for Gana Gueye and a quality striker.

Retain Myko, Ibroenubam, Tarkowski Alcaraz as back up.

Then I really believe we can challenge for top 6.

Pickford

TBA Obrien Branthwaite TBA

Garner KDH Armstrong (Alcaraz)

NDiaye TBA (Barry) Grealish

wouldn't be too shabby and is achievable over the next two windows, yes?

If they were foisted on him then a B.

Could do better but has done incredibly well given the standard of player recruited (other than jack and KDH), the loss of 2 to the Afcon and the season long loss of Branthwaite.