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Trying to use Rice and Saka as makeweights?

That's my gut feeling also. Given what's going on there it sounds like this is a joke. Saying that, supposedly we have been in a decent amount of contact with 777 in the past. There were rumours of us buying their group to fast forward the multi club model. So it's plausible we've got a relationship with him, and I don't suppose I can be too prejudiced against him without knowing more...

Yeah... There's every chance I'm talking shit, of course!

No idea but from what we've heard, I'd take a punt on it being Mourinho's guy from Napoli.

Better make sure he reads the small print on his cone-tract, first.

Reminds me of late '21...

It is striking how many decent foreign managers have really humble, journeyman backgrounds compared to what clubs here tend to go for. Maybe drifting around at unfashionable clubs, maybe retiring in their late 20s through injury in the lower leagues. The closest British comparison I can think of is our very own Eddie Howe And he basically dragged a tinpot club kicking and screaming into the big time to make any mark in this country. And still had the media laughing at the idea we'd hire him rather than someone who knows what it takes like Frank Lampard.

At least you recognised it

To be fair that's a bit of a disease we have in this country. If he was foreign we wouldn't think twice about his background being in Series B or the German third division. But because he's a Brit we naturally expect some star power like Gerrard.

You're making a valid point, and it raises an interesting prospect - it's possible Eddie still doesn't consider him ready because of his off pitch habits, and is still only playing him through necessity, rather than because form dictates it. I suspect not, but we'll see.

...And people would be confident that he's still not ready and wouldn't be any help in matches.

Yeah, it's a fair argument. Specifically re: Burn, rather than another tall CB/LB, the counterpoint is how much weaker in various other areas he and we are when he's out on the left, though. If size is the killer point for Howe though it's going to be a struggle for Hall as the one thing he probably can't do is grow...

https://archive.ph/9hWyt Thought this was worth posting. In relation to Salah and Klopp, Shearer talks about the end of his time with Robson. Never really seen him reflect on his behaviour in that time e.g. the Valerenga match the season before Robson was sacked. I remember that being especially destabilising. To be honest, in this article he still doesn't seem to really grapple with the rights and wrongs of it, given the context of his stature at the club back then as Mr NUFC, which he'd never shied away from.

To be marginally ahead of Dummett in the pecking order of course, everyone knows that. But back to the original subject, eh?

Hmm... Fuck. Makes sense I suppose.

So is there any prospect of Everton getting another points deduction this season at this rate? I've got the dumb and dumber gif lined up.

Yes, this is where it gets silly - when there are attempts to gaslight you into not believing the evidence of your own eyes. Every combination of defenders that didn't involve starting Hall was used until finally Targett, Livramento, Trippier, Lascelles and Botman were all simultaneously injured and we couldn't avoid moving Burn to CB. That's the only reasonable explanation for why Hall has had a run since the West Ham game which crippled our backline. Clinging onto the belief Howe just happened to think Hall had finally stepped up his game in time for the next match is mental. Now, I have a lot of sympathy for @Kanji's point about Joelinton and Ciaran Clark. There's a lot of serendipity in football and life, and a lot of what separates great managers from the rest is the ability to take advantage of it. See Bobby Robson and Francis Jeffers. So this issue doesn't need to get litigated to death, what's done is done. But just making up stuff to match your feelings that Eddie Howe is the best dude ever and anyone who doesn't know it stinks is stupid.

There have been little noises around. Take it for what it's worth, but there was a snippet in the Athletic recently saying one reason we were keen to loan Kuol out again this season was to save on his wages, which superficially is a stunning statement. Scarily, the implication was he thought a chemicals company would be messier and splashier than a football club, like he's Mr Burns or something.

Honestly think the missus is a major factor in Bruno staying here

I think so, yeah. I'm not certain of the procedures, but I meant he could've blown for a foul and then kept his card in his pocket, and waited to see if VAR called him back because the offence was actually on the serious side. Which it wasn't.

Felt like Eddie was experimenting with something for next season, yesterday. I like it...

I'm more than happy to pile in on this idiot, but is it possible Anderson was carded for kicking the ball away after the whistle? I just wondered it at the time. If he really thought an offence had been committed he should've expected VAR to check for violent conduct...

Yeah, I think it's premature to say it was a great piece of management. I'm not sure Eddie would say it was himself, to be honest. Him playing well now doesn't prove he couldn't have played well when he wasn't playing. It doesn't disprove it either, in fairness - it might well be true that he shouldn't have been on the pitch back then, even in an attacking position ahead of Burn at LB. Time will tell ultimately, it'll be interesting if the underlying story ever comes out.

The pass was decent but the aggression and speed of transition after intercepting was better!

He did, but there were loads of bits that didn't come off for him, often one after another. He doesn't often sky his shots 15 yards wide and high!