Depleted Blues dig deep for a fantastic result at the City Ground

Happy New Year when it gets here one and all...

Hope I am wrong.

Strange one about Grealish only being on the bench... Here's hoping.

I'd be telling lies if I said I wasn't worried about tonight's game because it takes me back to those pre-season games when we were seriously undermanned. If it was anyone else but Everton, I'd be running around the bookies to have a good few quid on Forest tonight.

Hopefully Everton stop a few professional gamblers winning a few quid tonight.

I would take a draw all day long.

Great stuff, Bill.

Get three, the ugly way.

Stay warm up there in the Arctic!

Barry will hopefully be stung after being dropped last time out and we'll have Jack to come on and change things if needed.
I'm chilled, even positive.
COYB

Save me a long scroll and giz a link?

Ta folks

courtesy of Andy further down..

Forest huffed and puffed and never stopped trying, to be fair, but Pickford never made many saves.

As for Barry's goal, when Garner put it on a plate, my arse never even left the couch... until it went in, of course.

Get in, Blues -- the most frustrating and unpredictable team in the Premier League.

Rohl and Dibling playing well to cement their places 🥳 UTFT COYB

Solid team performance, gritty and organised. Grealish made a difference when he arrived, Patterson decent at right back, Dibling and McNeill put shifts in, Garner was our best midfielder.

Moyes had us soaking up the pressure then suckered them in the second half, you could see it coming. Europe is still a possibility.

COYB.

Moyes might be shit but he is far less shit than the previous half dozen managers -- especially the last one.

Tarkowski should have made it 2 before Barry killed the game. I'd have loved a draw tonight but that win is massive. Moyes deserves a lot of credit for such a battling performance.

I thought Garner and Tim were great as were O'Brien, Tarkowski and Pickford. Dibling showed some nice touches and the goal should do Barry some good.

Enjoy your night, Blues.

Pretty good improvement, I would say!

Garner was world class -- what a player. Tarkowski unbelieveable... We can dream of Europe.

Flabbergasted at those who thought Patterson played well, he was easily beaten on every Forest attack and out of place.

Saying that, I'm made up!

Wonderful win to see out 2025... let's keep it going in 2026.

It might be wrong to pick one player after that brilliant team performance but I think we'd all pick the same player.

Thanks to every one of them for that result which surprised most of us and gave us another 3 very welcome points.

A win on Sunday vs Brentford will make a nice New Year's start. A freylekhn nay yor!

Key is, we won 0-2. Stats suggest it would be otherwise.

Seen good teams do that often. To me, a sign of team spirit often as much as massive skill.

For that I congratulate the management team... especially after Burnley.

Well done.

And Jack? Home now!

our defence has been something else this season.

Back up to 8th again but probably only till Thursday, the table is very tight.

Well done the players and the manager, thats a good tonic for the new year.

Now?

Some of us elderly die-hards as those below 60 bet their futures on the pointless links here.

So to us over 60...

Yeaaaaaaaah!

Rohl looked better at right back.

Tim Iroegbunam improving.

Solid game from O'Brien.

Dyche sacked in the next 5 games?

Twice he has come up against England players Gibbs-White and Anderson and twice has outshone them. An England call-up beckons, he is just too good at everything not to make the squad.

Finally, well done, David Moyes, getting a result with his shoestring heroes tonight.

I had my doubts but Moyes has proved me wrong again.

Great to see us at the right end of the table. Well done, Blues.

He was understandably blowing out of his arse by the time he was substituted. If he can stay fit, he'll offer far more than Jake on the overlap from right-back.

Great game tonight and brilliant result.

Such a weak starting XI -- such a strong performance. Ecstatic.

I thought Jake O'Brien was immense, but what can you say about Tarkowski tonight? He's been ropey for some time now, but he was a colossus tonight, How many times did he head it away? Fuck me he loves a backs-to-the-wall battle... Nearly as much as Moyes likes being down to the bare iron.

Good to be blue tonight.

Typical Moyes result really reminiscent of his first stint here. Making the best of what he has. Gritty, determined, built on a solid back line.

I said I was worried but we looked a much more balanced team, simply because of a player who many have derided and said is shite.

Football is a squad game nowadays and all the best teams have balance, so it was nice to see Everton using their squad players (even if it was out of necessity) to get such a great result tonight whilst playing with a lot more balance.

Garner has been exceptional for a while now, but will get a lot more praise because of his contribution towards both goals.

Iroegbunam, playing alongside him, also gave us a lot of much-needed physical strength. Dibling looks like he his strolling but keeps hold of the ball tremendously well, and McNeil plus Röhl also played their part.

Patterson got skinned a couple of times but the boy is not scared of the ball when it's at his feet. Mykolenko defended very well on the other side.

As well as Michael Keane has done this season, I thought that was as strong as we have looked in the middle of our defence all season.

Barry had a game with a little bit of everything, did some stupid stuff and also some very good stuff. He's got a long way to go but, hard work will always get you rewards in the end, so up the fucking toffees!!

For those wanting to praise the manager, I couldn't believe that he left Aznou stripped on the sidelines for over 5 minutes in the freezing cold and still never put him on, because if David can utilise his full squad, we suddenly realise it's not as bad as we think it is.

Enjoy the night everyone, especially those people who travelled to Nottingham and will be partying all the way home.

Jimmy Garner was brilliant, again. 2 decent chances... 2 goals!!

90 minutes for Dibling, Rohl and Iroegbunam, who I thought has done well recently.

O'Brien and Tarkowski were immense, Barry gave his all, and got his reward.

They are not a good side, but with that depleted side you couldn't ask for more!

Are Senegal out yet ??????🙏

Totally agree re Tim, he's definitely not the greatest footballer but has done a fine job in recent games.

That performance and result surprised me. Great effort and the away fans were brilliant once again.

Dyche on the other hand seems to have made Forest worse.

Garner runs away with the MotM, but there were a few players who gave him a run for his money.

Tim Iroegbunam went about his business in a more subdued fashion, but that was more to do with Garner being everywhere - ably supported by Rohl, McNeil & Dibling, all of who will be better for more minutes under the belt -- as will Patterson.

Maybe Grealish's 'virus' has mutated? because throughout the game, there seemed to be an outbreak of triangles being played -- who knew? I thought that had been eradicated from Finch Farm.

Smiles all around.

Let's hope Dibbling can improve a bit now with a run in the side. When I watch him, I'm screaming at him to run, show more urgency... will he end up central? He's definitely got ability, touches of class and skill are there, just needs a rocket up his arse!

He reminds me a bit of Le Tissier, who didn't turn out a bad player!

The lack of quality and reluctance to get in early crosses cost Forest.

I thought Garner looked the best player on the pitch. Tuchel must be close to calling him up. Twice in a month he has bossed a midfield of Anderson and Gibbs-White.

All 11 put in a great shift. Dibling and McNeil should keep the shirt for the next game, With maybe Grealish in for Rohl.

Made up for the following fans. Moyes needs to get that contract sorted for Garner before his head gets turned.

No, they won 3-0 to top their group. Ndiaye only played the first half, hope he's not injured.

And there's more votes to come!

I'd keep him in there and keep O'Brien at centre-back. I'm absolutely buzzing for Barry, good pass out to Garner got the return and finished it off. Beto would have given the ball away. Barry is far better than Beto in every aspect, good team performance where the whole team played their part, UTFT!!

I am not a Moyes fan but he deserves credit for getting that performance out of a much-depleted squad.

All eleven that started fully deserve another run out in our next game. Happy New Year to all Blues, wherever you may be in the world.

The sooner we pay Garner, the better. He's getting more expensive by the match.

Jake O'Brien in his proper position as a centre-back will be immense for us in the years to come.

Tim Iroegbunam and Merlin Rohl will hopefully be regulars in the starting XI in 2-3 years time, but if not and in the meantime, they'll be very useful squad players.

Dibling clearly has the skill to be a top player, whether out wide or in the middle. With game time and better players around him, he'll come good.

I'll leave the negatives out tonight, because sometimes it's important just to enjoy an important 3 points and be looking up the table, not down.

Happy New Year to all.

A few Jonnie Walker Green Label shots put me in a festive mood as I nipped in and out for a laugh and a joke during proceedings.

I was anticipating a tough game after seeing Forest push Man City in their last game and was very worried when the team announcement was made.

Not one of the strongest Everton sides we have ever seen, especially on paper, with probably the weakest bench I can ever remember in 65 years.

Easy to criticize certain names as is often the case on here but full marks to everyone for a battling performance, especially those who have warmed the bench for most of the season.

Garner obviously was the star man and has now upstaged the Forest midfield potential World Cup hopefuls now over two games.

O'Brien was magnificent alongside Tarkowski with a potential great future alongside Branthwaite once they replace the two veterans who have done brilliantly this season in his absence.

The Dibling doubters can now start to relax as there is a real footballer in there and who will blossom in the future. Put a real shift in today with flashes of great feet as he continues to develop.

Excellent bounce back for 3 points after the disappointing display against Burnley and hopefully we will have a few back from injury before the Brentford game.

Anyone who would have offered me 28 points before end of December when the season started would have no hands now.

Give Moysey his due, he seems to get gritty and hard-working performances from some pretty average players based on limited squad strength, so long may it continue.

Best wishes for the New Year to all ToffeeWeb supporters and everyone with a blue nose.

In the 2nd half especially, we needed to be running at them more and shooting more, but that tends to give the ball away and can leave players 'stranded', it's a fine line -- but it's great to watch.

It was a terrific first half with both sides playing some good, entertaining stuff, far better than the drab Burnley game. The midfield was working as a unit, getting forward in support and arriving late into the box which did lead to the goal.

However, the second half, to me under instruction, the midfield sat back and we lost momentum, giving Forest the initiative, but some nice work from Garner and Barry, both having very good games, led to a second goal.

There will be those who will say it is Moyes bashing and we should just celebrate the win but I really didn't understand the substitutions: take off the right-back who hasn't done badly, for Grealish in what looked like bringing on somebody to hold the ball in a forward position when it really needed the midfield to stop sitting back and to do what they did in the first half.

Then Barry, who scored a very good goal, particularly in his movement and having his best game for us so far, and who had his confidence up, was subbed for Beto and we went back to the long ball from Pickford.

A good win but, when you are outplaying the opposition keep it going, don't just try defending a one-goal lead.

It was a real Moyes performance, he seems to come into his own when he is down to the bare bones, he certainly wrung something out of the players available.

We all have different perspectives of a game, but there is unanimity that Garner was the outstanding player on the pitch.

Patterson had a nightmare first 15 minutes but then composed himself, aided by Dibling putting in a good shift -- Tyler also showed some very nice skill at times.

I thought Barry was awful, but I give him great credit for his perseverance and his goal.

To an extent Forest played into our hands, constantly putting the ball out wide then putting crosses in which were meat and drink for our two excellent centre-backs.

The introduction of Grealish helped. By the time he came on we were desperate for someone to hold onto the ball for a few seconds, he did that and set up a couple of shots, Garner almost scored from one.

Tim was very good with his interceptions, but occasionally wasteful with the ball. Rohl was dead on his feet after 70 minutes, the move to full back gave him a bit of a breather.

It was a nervy evening, the second goal helped settle things down. All-in-all, a superb performance and result considering the line-up.

I live on Tablas Island, Romblon.

I sort of expect that from Garner, so even more welcome was Tim Iroegbunam's performance. For the first time for me, he looked like a real all-round player, winning so much in front of the defence and looking to move things forward in a way I haven't seen before. Apparently Moyes had a word. It worked. Well done both.

Glad you had a great day, Pete M, and agree that Barry was shite. But he scored and it was a great move and finish. So, fingers crossed.

Patterson started poorly but improved as the game unfolded. He had two quick skillful lads to deal with and he did fine. I thought that he and Dibling -- very impressive -- worked well together. Dibling tracking back and, Dear God, I actually saw our right-back ahead of his winger.

Patterson must start vs Brentford, but one reason is that top-drawer performance by Tarkowski and O'Brien. Superb. Domineering. Forest with very good wide players -- we were linked with Hutchinson before Dibling and I wanted it to happen, but message to Tyler Dibling: it took time for Hutchinson to flower -- put in what might be the highest number of crosses in one game so far this season.

Moyesy out-thought the three hard-boiled eggs. Woaney must be the fastest chewer in the west. Their curry would have been a downer after the match, with only two kinds of nan and only 3 poppadoms, but still sticking to Dyche's no vegetables rule.

Some things are sacred.

Tim Iroegbunam!

Agree with all your observations. I thought Garner, O'Brien and Iroegbunam all had their best games as Blues. The latter still has some obvious rough spots passing the ball, but his defensive positioning was by far the best I've seen.

I thought Patterson played his heart out against a tough opponent under difficult circumstances, and he surprised and delighted me by being... adequate.

I'm a Barry optimist, but he had a nightmare most of the way -- including two opportunities running free with the ball when he couldn't make a decision and gave it away. Then late on he made a couple fine crossfield passes before that poised finish. Justified Moyes leaving him on.

And you know how I feel about Garner.

I can't wait to see him and Jarrad Branthwaite as our defensive pairing. God give us Digne and Kyle Walker flanking them.

I was expecting a problem with being down to the bare bones but Moyes's boys have made my day.

A lot of grit and determination shown by the boys. What can you say going into New Year's Eve sitting in 8th place? Thanks, David Moyes -- it's been a few years since that has happened.

On this form, I would not like to see Jarrad Branthwaite break their partnership. But Jarrad might well not be ready for a long while. Moyes cannot answer a straight question when it comes to injuries.

Got to mention McNeil. Apart from his assist in Garner's goal he also won the battle for the ball outside our box before getting it out to Barry to start the move for our second goal.

Iroegbunam continues to improve as will Rohl who looks a Moyes type player to me. I thought Dibling played well. His defensive play needs strengthening but Moyes will no doubt sort that out.

I think it is going to be interesting when we get Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, and Gueye back.

Perhaps the future is looking Blue.

Happy New Year fellow bluenoses!

I thought the Grealish sub was genius; he may not be fit but not only did it give us an option, it gave them something to worry about, they had to change their mindset and it appeared to take the wind out of their sails.

Enjoyed seeing Barry in his interview laughing at the thought of playing Forest every week as his only goals have been against Forest.

However, for those who love a stat, a quarter of our league goals have been against Forest which means a quarter of the goals in just 2 games...

Docked at Abu Dhabi and got WiFi in the port... obviously delighted when I saw the result and shouted all over the cruise terminal.

The look she gave me was priceless! Great, great win and I wasn't expecting that at all considering the side we had out.

Lovely to get one over on that negative fucker Dyche.

6 pts and 5 goals against them in a few short weeks, they're nervously looking over their shoulders while it's up and up for us.

Best thing we ever done was sacking him.

It is still a long season ahead, and Dyche did get some impressive results out of the squad that was in the relegation zone. Plus, their European adventures are not helping their Premier League focus.

I saw the highlights of their loss to Manchester City last week, and they actually created the better chances, and gave Guardiola's men a proper game. And as usual, the referee bottled the 2nd yellow against Rodri (surprise, surprise), which would have changed the game on its head.

So, I wouldn't rule out the possibility that Nottm Forest could finish above us. Arguably, they have better quality players overall compared to our squad.

Nobody moves faster than the ball.

Considering a few of those players had either been injured, or given very little game time, I thought it was an exceptional effort from all involved.

We looked much better than we did against Burnley, especially in the second half when Grealish came on and Rohl went to right-back.

Great away win. COYB

Perhaps easier to concede possession and counter with those players than try to dominate a game. It will be interesting to see the tactics at forthcoming home matches.

The squad is under extreme pressure given injuries and Afcon (I see Ndiaye was withdrawn at half-time last night). Moyes said no choice but to recall Armstrong.

Any further injuries (we were asking a lot of some just returning from injury to do full 90 minutes) or suspensions and we will struggle badly. Moyes's refusal to give updates on Alcaraz, Keane, Dewsbury-Hall is of concern, suggests no quick returns.

We are going to find ourselves under severe pressure in the coming weeks. Need to get into the loan market sharpish.

Worries aside, what a super showing last night.

That's never covered by pundits.

I don't want our better players covered by pundits.

Let's keep them a secret.

I must admit, even before the team was announced, I feared the worst... but Moyes again proved what a good manager he is to get a tune out of most of the team that were abysmal against Burnley was no mean feat.

Seems his predecessor is still pedalling the same boring tactics he employed when with us, despite the fact that Tuchel has picked both his midfield players for England.

James Garner was immense, head and shoulders above anyone else on the pitch and I was heartened to hear Moyes say he wasn't worried about Garner's contract, which tells me he knows it will be sorted.

For the Grealish critics, he showed how important he is in helping us retain possession. I thought for most of the game Barry was anonymous but he is there to score goals, and he did, so all my criticism has to be mindful he put the game to bed... mind, if he had missed that, I dread to think what posters may have said.

O'Brien was excellent alongside Tarkowski, and ably assisted by Mykolenko and Patterson who, although left for dead on a couple of occassions, overall he had a decent game.

Great to see Dibling get 90 minutes and I hope we see more of the performances he put in for Southampton, and we have to remember he is only 19.

Nice ball from McNeil for the goal, and Iroegbunam put in a really good shift.

Anyway, Moyes has now picked up 59 points from 38 games. Obviously that wins or achieves nothing, but it is certainly moving us in the right direction and makes us more appealing to future transfer targets, rather than being seen as relegation strugglers.

Andy don't be so tight!

I was on the Euribia 4 weeks ago and paid for the WiFi and of course the full drinks package

Not only watch but celebrate too!!!!

The two positives I see is the club has to settle a contract with Garner before the vultures step in, and I believe Dibling has realized you don't get into a Moyes team just standing out on the wing waiting for a pass.

I have made a number of negative comments about David Moyes in the past but you have to raise your hat to him for that performance as I believe that most of us thought we would do well with a draw.

If he can learn quickly over the next 4 weeks, it would be good to see if he can release Ndiaye into the middle of the pitch to do more damage.

Garner Dewsbury-Hall
Dibling Ndiaye Grealish
Barry

Take a fucking bow, lads... you deserve it!

No need to go overboard. Keep it realistic.

Happy New Year.

Keane and Branthwaite will have to wait... or can we let Branthwaite go to release funds for two quality full-backs?

What position in the league will we finish?

Me? I think 10th.

Fine shout.

Remember, we are Everton.