Time to give Patterson a chance

Barring Coleman, who struggles to stay on the pitch these days sadly, he is our only natural right back. Playing a natural right back gives the team better shape undoubtedly, and it is fair to say in recent games he has performed ok.

So given the current state of affairs I would play Patterson personally for the balance it gives the team. I will bet however that Moyes will persevere with O’Brien. I hope he is brave enough to vary it.

Tarkowski is really a mediocre defender at best. Why we cannot go with our strongest pairing in the centre of defence in the form of Branthwhaite and Obrien, I do not know.

But I do know Moyes and it's that he will stick with Tarkowski and Keane and all of his trusted warhorses before he takes a chance on Patterson.

Suits his football philosophy

I tend to agree with the author of the article, if you've dillied and dallied and he's still here, you might as well give him a proper run to see if it works out.

Now we are pretty much over relegation worries, there's no reason not to. He might be better all round than Jake O'Brien, who in any case is clearly better at centre-back, probably with Branthwaite as our long-term pairing.

To be honest, I'd make the same point about Aznou. Sure he's raw but he's been through La Masia and Bayern's youth setup and he was highly rated by them and he had a decent run of games in La Liga last season.

It's not like Mykolenko is all that high a bar and, if Aznou isn't first choice next season, we'll need to find someone who is.

I'd give him til the end of the season to show his worth. He may surprise us.

Saying that, plenty of them games will be under Moyes and Dyche, two very defensive-minded managers.

In fact, given a decent run, which is also confidence-building, we would see a more consistent player, and in my opinion, better results.

However, Moyes will probably stick to that defensive setup with 4 centre-backs, two out of position, by the way, but we have no say in team selection unfortunately.

I wouldn't drop Tarkowski for O'Brien, who still has to prove if he is consistently good in this position. I think Tarkowski will prove he will improve on his performances this season, as well as showing he is a very good captain.

More chance of Tony Hibbert goal.

I too wish he was given a chance but it requires injuries or suspensions etc.

We know from widespread media reports that we offered on three of them -- Juanlu Sanchez, Kenny Tete and James Justin. All three approaches were turned down -- the first two by the player, the last by the player's club.

As for January, The Athletic reports that while striker was our top priority, we did move on two right-backs. Quoting Paddy Boyland:

'Strasbourg's Guela Doue and Genoa's Brooke Norton-Cuffy featured high on their list at right-back. But Doue was not readily available, with Strasbourg having recently lost Liam Rosenior as manager, and it was felt Norton-Cuffy was more likely to end up at a top Italian club. David Moyes sets the bar high when it comes to assessing right-back targets and Jake O'Brien has earned the manager's faith in a makeshift role.'

Both targets remained at their clubs and could be targets for us again in the summer.

As for Moyes's faith, an article on the club site implies O'Brien has earned it with hard work:

Individual sessions with Moyes and Nick Davies, who left Spurs in the summer to become the Toffees' new Head of Sports Science/Performance, have focused on positioning and agility in order to deal with the Premier League's notoriously threatening wingers.

“At the start, it was more about learning exactly where to be on the pitch because it is different to centre-back,” O'Brien explains. “Then, with Nick [Davies], who has come in, I've been doing work on my footwork and having fast feet.

“A lot of that we do in training anyway but then, when we don't have midweek games, we'll do our one-to-one sessions as well and that's been a focus for me.

“Everyone knows my size and I'm coming up against small, tricky wingers, so having fast feet is important, then putting everything together and lots of one-v-one stuff in those scenarios you get in a match.”

Dibling started to do this in one of the Forest games, after a shaky first half up against 2 very good wingers. Once they got used to each other, they played well together. Then were jettisoned for the next game.

I've already espoused this on the O'Brien thread.

Left-back is our weakest full-back position, and I personally wouldn't hesitate to throw Aznou in there. The kid's exciting, has pace, been schooled at Barca. Give him a go.

We get that you don't like the manager, but labouring on the point is tedious.

My question is: Does he have a long-term future with us?

We signed him for £12M, rising to £16M. Would you pay the £4M add-ons?

Next issue: the lad is out of contract in 2027, so would you give him a new deal?

Or sell him in the summer, getting some cash on a player who's played less than 60 games in 4½ years?

If he breaks down between now and the end of the season, does that change that view?

He knows we are searching for a right-back, so he's probably thinking: "I'll go if I'm not wanted, trusted or needed".

He's never had a prolonged run of games, had a different manager everytime he's got himself fit again, so I do think a run of games would help him settle down, build a relationship with the other defenders and the winger in front of him.

It's a case of bad luck and bad timing for the lad. With the injuries and manager changes, some players just don't make it at certain clubs.

We look like a better balanced side with a true right-back, think how long it's been since Seamus started to decline and got injury-prone...

Kenny, Godfrey, Garner, O'Brien and Patterson -- all trying but failed to make it their own.

Every game, O'Brien is adjusting to be a right-back is a game he's not gaining experience, knowledge and knowhow at centre-back, which could be even worse long term than playing Patterson in his natural position!

As O'Brien said himself, he's 6ft-6in and not suited to full-back. But Moyes at times doesn't like change.

Why not ask Lyndon to come and fix it for old time's sake. Evertonia's edit button always works. Technical issues under the 'old team' were always sorted out as quickly as possible and we got messages and threads with updates.

You gotta know your place, man. (And yes, I know 'gotta' probably riles proper English gentlemen. Sorry about that.)

Also, Tete, right at the start of the window, I know about. Can you show the evidence 'that we offered Sanchez and Justin'? I don't doubt it, I just want to see it. Funny that Leicester seemed happy to pack Justin off to Leeds.

And the only way we will find an answer to them is to give him a few games.

I thought Moyes, made a terrible mistake leaving Patterson, out against Brentford, after we had just won at Forest, and I thought O’Brien, had one of his best games in a blue shirt, when he moved back into the middle of our defence at Villa, to accommodate Patterson, at fullback.

Loads of lip service in that Athletic report Mike, well that’s how I feel anyway after constantly watching Jake O’Brien, ‘checking back’ when he plays as a fullback.

But I am not sure I would be offering him a new deal, or not cashing in on him in the summer.

You know better than me. But if youve mentally made a decision that he will be moved on, do you still play him? Do you put him over players you want longer term?

Similar with Mcneil. They prepared to sell him on Monday. How much time can he expect to play? What's the reaction of other players when he gets minutes over them, when the gaffer will be selling them next summer?

I personally think that, except in very short emergency doses, playing people out of position is not a good thing.

I've got nothing too damning on a 'Wall of Four' as a concept, Ancellotti did OK with it after he was forced into it due Delph injuring himself breaking into a trot Vs Burnley(?)

Moyes started with it from the Kick Off, but due to the way he 'instructed / set up' the starting 11 it was...not for the first time...a 1st half disaster.

Yet for the 2nd half when he 'Instructed / set up' the very same 11 in a different manner - got a very different improved performance.

I've lost count over 20+ yrs, of the number of times people have written on here after yet another poor performance - if only we'd played like that the whole game not just the last 20, 25 pick a number mins.

Anyway - don't tell me mate - tell the man that sets them up for the 1st half...and the 2nd.

So, in the same way that Saint Daniel the Absent prefers Roma over us, we are way down the list of preferences with the 'techies'.

Stats can be used to beat someone but don't tell the whole story. Patterson, Imo, makes the team better regardless of his stats.

Jake O'Brien hasn't exactly set the assists records on fire.

Obviously Moyes doesn't think so. Or he wouldn't keep picking O'Brien over Patterson every chance he gets. He clearly values O'Brien's defensive consistency over Patterson's better crosses.

Does anybody think Davey's gonna change his mind?

I’ve always wanted Nathan Patterson to succeed because I do think the full-back position is best filled by highly mobile players, but I’ve seen him play very poorly at times.

Latterly he has improved so hopefully he is now coming good. I’d be disappointed if his future at Everton has already been set in stone so I do hope he gets a decent streak of games to properly assess him.

Hopefully he can get his opportunity without others feeling they are being demoted. I personally haven’t seen too much evidence the team automatically plays better when Patterson starts. He does need to start getting some assists because he isn’t a factor at set pieces and remains bottom of the options if you look at goal scoring or creating.

I would be very surprised if he changes the selection, despite the team producing a terrible first half performance.

'Post information for those interested. ' Information is only credible if we know its source. You claim that you do but won't tell us what it is. Bizarre but this is not the first time. Remember the 'guarantee' that Saint Daniel the Absent was falling for us - and more besides? You have your 'notes' of the necessary sources for credibility but you will not share them. Yet you ram Holy Boyland down our throats and note sources in other posts.

Interesting. As someone who works with sources and evidence each day of the week in my professional capacity nothing you say in 10 - was it? - is validated, none of it can be believed.

The list that keeps on growing.

Strong links with the African striker that stayed at Fenerbache.

Duran left Fenerbache for St Petersburg.

Holm was signed by Juventus. Links were there for a productive right back.

Now whether there was genuine interest, or just using our name to push through a deal, who knows.

But some moved, so were gettable.

When I answer your "questions" you either insult or ignore the replies. If I link or cut-and-paste from appropriate sources you abandon the conversation, and when I properly add the word "reportedly" as a qualifier for an uncertain source, you deride it. You've no doubt noticed that when anyone else asks for this information, I'm happy to provide it, but with you it's pointless. You acknowledge neither the information nor the effort.

You've been at this deliberate smear campaign for the better part of 15 years -- the word "obsession" doesn't even begin to cover it -- and my friends who know you have shared more than enough information for me to understand well. Your repetitive derision is so predictable that I will sometimes intentionally post something just to enjoy the certainty of your response, and I am never disappointed.

I do find considerable amusement in the fact that you pay closer attention to my words than my lovely wife does. (She certainly doesn't repeat them for years afterwards.) I suppose it could be viewed as flattering if it weren't so downright weird.

And I truly thank you for the biggest laugh you have ever given me with your assertion about your professional acquaintance with "sources and evidence"... given that you report on the 16th century. After 50 years of dealing with breaking news as it happens on a daily basis, I would be delighted to compare my expertise on information-gathering and sourcing with yours... but again, it would be an utter waste of my time.

Do sleep well.

We've had some of our best performances when players are deployed in their favoured positions. We might have gotten the winner against Leeds had he stayed on.

In the case of Holm, both Corriere dello Sport and Fabrizio Romano reported that he was really comfortable in Italy after playing for three clubs there. And Juve is the most prestigious landing spot in Serie A.

I hoped we could bag Juanlu Sanchez, but about 20 media sources have reported him to be only interested in Napoli, and his people waved off approaches from us and Wolves among others. Napoli and Sevilla couldn't close a deal, however, and Corriere and The Athletic report we still want him.

I do know some would name a back four... then pretend the left-back wasn't there and call it a back three.

There is never any context of why Moyes played Lescott over Baines, just that he is defensive luddite.

The Patterson situation and Baines is totally different. One inherited, one signed, different team strength, different injuries, different team difficienency.

Here are is some context.

1. Baines at the time was the second highest transfer fee paid in our history at the time. He may well have been pushed by Irvine, but he was still our 2nd highest transfer fee. The manager had more faith in him, than the hierarchy that had released him 6 odd years earlier.

2. Lescott actually played very well that season. If I remember rightly, we had a decent League Cup run to the semi finals, narrowly losing to a Chelsea side that was strong.

3. Leighton Baines played 29 games that season. Now for a 22-year-old coming from a relegation-threatened Wigan, that's not too bad. It's actually pretty decent, as he missed 20 games through injury that season. This was early in his time where he had indifferent form, rather than the Rolls-Royce he became when he secured his spot.

4. The backup left-back Valente was also injured. He missed 22 games that season.

5. Now would Moyes have still picked Lescott over Baines and Valente? Who the hell knows. But he sure can't pick them when they've missed that volume of games, predominantly at the start of the season.

Have a hair of the dog, me owld mate!

I hope you've got your whistle and flourescent light going.

He was another who Moyes said was very good to have around the club off the field, good for moral and team spirit.

To me, he wasn't all that good on the field -- where he's getting paid to be good.

Nuno Valente?

For me, the most interesting selection will be who plays on the opposite flank to Ndiaye? Will it be our new loan player, or the player we paid in excess of £40M for? Or the player who we looked to sell earlier in the week?

Who will make up the back 4? For me, it should be Branthwaite and Keane as centre-backs but I know Moyes will pick Tarkowski; hopefully we don't play 4 centre-backs again.

The midfield picks itself but who will he bring off the bench in the 2nd half? I am not his biggest fan but I thought Alcaraz did well when he came on last week. Who does he play up front? For me, I would play Beto.

But it's really nice to have so many possible permutations.

He would play the 4 in every remaining game if he can...

Pickford
O'Brien Tarkowski Keane Branthwaite
Gueye Garner
Armstrong Dewsbury-Hall Ndiaye
Barry.

Here is the team he should play:

Pickford
Patterson Tarkowski O'Brien Branthwaite
Garner Dewsbury-Hall
Ndiaye Alcaraz George
Barry.

Moyes??? :-)

I would pick 2 wingers... but Moyes definitely won't.

The medical advice will be he won't be match-fit to start.

Ian, given that, how do you get players "match fit"?

Pitching players in, is usually only when you have nothing left -- ie, Patterson at Forest.

In theory, Patterson should play right-back with Keane benched, Branthwaite at left-back, Tarkowski and O'Brien in the middle.

But he won't... not a prayer.

Pickford
O'Brien Tarkowski Branthwaite Mykolenko
Garner Gana
Ndiaye Dewsbury-Hall Alcaraz
Barry

I'd play Patterson over O'Brien, but I think Moyes has made his mind up on him.

As I said before, his play is okay without being great, but whether he is a waste of space behind the scenes we don't know. It's a bit of a mystery and I would give him a few games to see what he's made off.

Steve's team would be my choice.

I watched Patterson playing for Scotland, and the boy certainly had plenty of ability prior to his injuries - usually with the Scotland camp.

We aren't getting relegated, lets have a real crack at Europe by playing on the front foot, attacking teams and hopefully scoring more than them.

We do have the personnel, and I would keep Gana gueye, Iroegbunam, McNeil, and even Tarkowski away from the squad as much as possible. Minimise Mykolenko's involvement too.

My opinion only, but I do know it would in no way align with Daveys.

Ho hum

Actual depth in the squad. What a concept.

Yes it was Nuno Valente. He retired from football after he left Everton and became our scout in Portugal, appointed by Moyes. He lasted 12 months in that position.

Gonna take my meds now, thanks!!!

Long time no speak. Hope you and yours are keeping well.

The Ride on time quiz was a little bit of fun mate. I've just stumbled across a Jon and Vangelis album -- The Friends Of Mr Cairo.

Thirty eight years after it was released, but better late than never. I'm enjoying it!

We're very well thanks with a notable exception that I'd rather leave off here.

I can still remember your hatred of Slidin'in (Morgan) and other Koeman signings, and your banter with ToffeeWeb posters then.

Good to hear from you again, hope your family are well, and look forward with hope as there is a squad building here, Rome wasn't built in a day, and a new forward thinking manager can take us a lot higher.

Take care pal.

Come on Everton and England tomorrow.