DML wrote:Its all worth noting that until they started losing, the majority of people in this thread were talking about what good business Everton had done in pre-season.
I'm just going to be real as an Everton fan. The club has been questionably ran since the takeover and I'm not happy with how the club is throwing its weight around.
I didn't like Sam or his style of, he got results but watching the games was not a good experience. He uses a very frustrating grind heavy style of football that doesn't play to the teams strengths. If anything, the typical Allardyce match consists of his teams playing a very low-risk, low-reward style where the players are waiting for the other team to make a big enough error to take advantage. If I had to sum it up, Allardyce doesn't so much play to win as much as he plays not to lose.
People will be quick to tell Everton fans to take what they are given and not be ingrates but for many fans the Everton on the field does not represent our values. I don't mean that in the "we should be top 4" sense. I mean it as a matter of principle, I grew up with Everton being the team other teams "hated to play against", regardless of where the team sat in the league this factor was a constant. When Moyes was in charge we often felt like the club with the biggest chip on its shoulder and it showed in games. I used to get incredibly emotionally invested at the 80 minute mark where we'd either fight with everything to keep a lead or throw the kitchen sink at the other team to ensure we didn't lose. Moiyes didn't have a reputation for exciting football but the last ten minutes of most games were nerve-wrecking, it's a thrill that has been lacking from supporting Everton since he left, there are very few games now that give me that feeling.
I missed Koeman's first season as I lived abroad and ended up returning to a team full of players I didn't know. The change happened so fast that it's jarring and I find it hard to endear myself to the players. This seems to also be the case for fans who have been here the whole time too. The only members of the Moyes old-guard remaining are Baines, Jagielka, and Coleman, these are players fans have grown to trust. This feeling of trust is not something that I see with the newer players: Bolasie, Sigurdsson, Keane, Klassen and Williams are player's have been recruited but have not won the fans over very well. We've got some decent young players coming through but they've all still got a ways to go before they hit their peaks. Jordan Pickford has won the fans over but that's thanks in part to the heavy responsibilities one has in being a goal keeper. Walcott and Tosun have been good signings though, the recruitment team can be given credit for those though really they are going to have to work hard this summon to win back all the lost good will from last summer. Speaking of players, shout outs for Schneiderlin and Mirallas for their total lack of professionalism pointing out one of the issues with the team, that being that the Martinez and Koeman reigns has left us lacking in that pool of mostly disciplined, professional-attitude players Moyes used as the core of his squads (players like Mirallas were brought in to give the teams a little something extra). Wayne Rooney is one of those, we all know how much this meant to him but he can't go like he used to and can't really justify being a key player. If there is an outfield player the fans have come to really like it's Niasse for being a feel good story but even then there are fans who don't want a "gooseberry fool" player like him near the team.
As for the current business. We got one shirt sponsor who mocked us after being beaten heavily and another people mock us for having. It was announced yesterday that the board has had a reshuffle for next season, this is a good step. That said I don't like the manager situation, I didn't like it when we poached Koeman from Southampton and I'm even more disappointed with how the club is going about the current recruitment. If the club gave assurance to Watford they wouldn't offer Silva a job this summer then I can't blame Watford for making a complaint. Considering the fuss we made when City went after Lescott years ago this all feels very hypocritical. In the last 5 years we've quickly gone to a club with a chip on its shoulder to a club many people strongly dislike and want to go down next season. For me it's all a bit disappointing.
Edit: Oh yeah, Lookman, if he leaves Everton after playing at RB Leipzig then the club have themselves to blame, he's damn good.
I don't know the full ins and outs at Everton but one thing I always think is be careful what you wish for when a manager has a good finish to the season (league position wise anyway) and you chase him out
You watch these European games and you’ve got flares and firecrackers going off all over the place, the crowd is almost constantly making noise - totally different atmosphere to a Premier League game.
shadow202 wrote:I don't know the full ins and outs at Everton but one thing I always think is be careful what you wish for when a manager has a good finish to the season (league position wise anyway) and you chase him out
It's easy to say 8th is good but look at the table. Everyone below 7th has had a bad season and failed to hit even 50 points. Worse yet, they all have negative goal difference. Everyone saying Everton finished in a good position is ignoring how terrible everyone below the top 6 has been. Every team below Burnley who aren't one of the promoted teams are going to need to step up because they're all way below the standard they should be aiming for.
I'd love to know what Rafa Benitez did in a former life to warrant having to choose to work for either Mike Ashley or Gold & Sullivan. Why on earth would he go to West Ham in it's current shape??
I do think the overall standard of the PL has dropped this season. I mean, Burnley had a great season and finished 7th, but they only scored 16 goals at home apparently.
It would be interesting to see if the goals per game has dropped overall. I imagine certain teams have probably inflated it, like Liverpool, Man City and Spurs.
Likewise, I think on the last day of the season West Ham could have finished anywhere between 10th and 17th. The gap at the top is widening, but the chasing pack are getting closer together as they desperately try and avoid the drop. That's the be all and end all for about 15 of the PL's teams now. Do whatever you can to avoid being relegated.
Let's face it, it's not been a particularly exciting league this season.
Parksey wrote:I do think the overall standard of the PL has dropped this season. I mean, Burnley had a great season and finished 7th, but they only scored 16 goals at home apparently.
It would be interesting to see if the goals per game has dropped overall. I imagine certain teams have probably inflated it, like Liverpool, Man City and Spurs.
Likewise, I think on the last day of the season West Ham could have finished anywhere between 10th and 17th. The gap at the top is widening, but the chasing pack are getting closer together as they desperately try and avoid the drop. That's the be all and end all for about 15 of the PL's teams now. Do whatever you can to avoid being relegated.
Let's face it, it's not been a particularly exciting league this season.
It's not just the premier league, the Spanish and German leagues are also not as good as they have been. I think we're at a weird point in world football where there are more teams with limitless funds than there are good players to buy.
