Cronky

Could Bruno, Joelinton and Gordon come to some agreement about varying their hair colour? Watching on the small screen, it can be difficult to distinguish between the three of them. Have some consideration, lads.

I've just seen his one-on-one miss. Those chances aren't always as simple as they might seem. It fell to his weaker foot and he had to hit it in that stride because a defender was about to catch him. And it only just missed. He hasn't hit his Everton form of last season. Maybe it's a case of a young lad making an initial impact, followed by a step back when opposition players suss him out a bit. As others have said, hopefully, he can push on once Eddie and his team have the chance to work with him in the summer.

Not seen the game, but it's a bit of a worry that he got hoiked off at half-time without being injured. Was he playing wide left, or did he have a freer role?

Yeah, somehow I think the time is right for Gordon to step up.

Lots to take issue with Holt there, but the question I would ask is - does this 'sportswashing', in respect of the takeover of our club, have the effect of entrenching the existing practices of the Saudi nation, or will it ultimately have the effect of bringing our two cultures - Western and Middle Eastern - closer together? The issue for me is not so much the intention, but the ultimate effect. After one of our victories last season, Amanda and the Saudi gentlemen were invited to take part in the team celebration photo. What you saw in that photo was a crowd of people of all ages and cultures, arm in arm in joyful celebration, with a woman front and centre, in a position of leadership. Now doesn't that spontaneous image represent a forward-looking, positive image to the world? I do feel that our club has re-ignited its soul, not lost it. And a lot of that is down to the ordinary-looking bloke right at the back, whose success has been more down to inspiring players who were beginning to feel like failures, rather than buying ready-made stars. And I think the other difference between us and City is that we haven't been officially accused of cheating. In a sporting competition, that's actually very important.

Eddie found the right word for him - unique. For such a tall, spindly guy, his footwork and balance is amazing.

I think we deserve to be in the top four, based on our performances. But on paper, these guys should not be performing like this. To put it another way, if we had an average manager, I think we would be amongst the teams fighting relegation. Mind you, an average manager would have taken us down last season. Don’t get me wrong- I love watching this team. Seeing them excelling themselves every week is great.

I don't think we do, but that's all to the credit of the manager and players. We're over-achieving on a massive scale, and it just shows how much can be achieved by team spirit, organisation and confidence.

On reflection, that game showed the value of sticking to a game plan, which Eddie puts great store on. In the first half, we struggled to play the ball through the midfield, and kept losing the ball in our own half. Unlike Villa, Everton didn't have the ability or composure to capitalise, but we were under the cosh, and I was wanting us to start hitting the ball long. Then we beat the press for once, scored from a great move, and from them on things moved steadily our way. So despite the pressure, the team never lost faith that our way would prevail in the end, and that's down to the manager's ability to sell his methods and make them tell.

Technically yes, that is a penalty - he doesn't get the ball and goes straight into the man - but I think it wasn't given because Longstaff kicked the ball out. For some reason, there is this convention that if the attacker has lost control of the ball and the move is over, then the pen doesn't get given. It's as if a penalty has not been properly earned. It's a foul in every other area of the pitch for sure. It'd be interesting to know what Dermot Gallagher will make of it on Ref Watch.

One of the great things about football is you've never seen it all. There's always something new - like Isak's assist.

They're winning the physical battle, as could be predicted from the line-ups, and we're misplacing so many passes. But they lack any real guile when it comes to the final third. We've gifted them so many chances. A nervy 45 minutes ahead.

I was about to post that we're struggling to play the ball through the midfield, and then we slice right through them.

He's been very loyal to Burn, but he's looked increasingly vulnerable.

Several really. Sir Bob and Bellamy's autos to name but two. There was lots of discussion at the time about a rift between Sir Bob and Shearer. It's no longer a bone of contention IMO.

Disappointed that Onana is playing. This will be a tough battle. It's sensible to freshen things up. I'm sure Isak will come on after an hour - Eddie is wary about his fitness.

Shearer was very good at getting what he wanted. I can remember watching a training session a week after Gullit had joined the club, and it was obvious that Shearer didn't want Gullit. Robson then built the team around Shearer and his abilities and managed to get some good seasons out of him and the team. The trouble came when Shearer's lack of mobility was starting to block the team's progress, but Shepherd vetoed Robson's proposal to move him on. Shepherd nurtured the dream that Shearer would be the next manager, and I don't think Shearer ever discouraged the idea, despite the fact that I don't think he was ever that keen on stepping into management. It was a disastrous decision. There was a split in the dressing room, Robson was eased out and we couldn't get a decent replacement because potential candidates knew that Shearer was de facto in charge. The legacy of young players that Robson could have left was lost, and a steady decline set in. The sad thing is that most of our support seemed to turn against Robson, as well as the Chairman, the captain and the local press. I've got to admit that rankles with me a bit whenever I see Sir Bob being hailed as a local hero. He didn't get the support when he needed it.

I hope he's better than that.

Argument by analogy is often a dangerous route. You’d be hard put to find any club that hasn’t at some stage been financially supported by its owners. The fact is that rules have been laid down to prevent clubs from spending unlimited amounts on transfer fees and players wages. If a club is ignoring those rules whilst other clubs are adhering to them then that is cheating, an unfair advantage and it should be stopped. That consideration was not around when the two gentlemen you have named were operating. I’m familiar with the line of argument that FFP is anti competitive because it prevents clubs from challenging those who are already wealthy. The inevitable problem is that we now have a club whose objective has been to destroy the competition through almost limitless spending. And gradually and remorselessly they are succeeding. Ffp is not perfect- no system in a commercial world can be. But the alternative looks far worse to me.

There is certainly no rule which says that if the ball makes contact with the hand then it's a penalty, regardless of the circumstances. There is definitely such a thing as accidental handball, so it really is down to subjective interpretation. What I find annoying is the almost wilful ignorance shown by pundits and managers about the way in which VAR is supposed to operate. VAR is only supposed to intervene when the monitor considers that there is a clear and obvious error. You could say the decision was an error, but it wasn't clear and obvious. After the game, Moyes said that VAR should have asked the ref to have another look because the decision was 'close'. Well as I understand it, VAR is not supposed to operate like that.

I'm not sure that Gordon will cope with the atmosphere. He will need to keep his cool, otherwise he's a red card in the making. You can bet your life that the opposition will be in his ear and biting at his ankles from the moment he steps on the pitch. I don't think Eddie will play him at all.

When was that?

Man U had their period of domination because they had the best manager of all time, and they have a big income stream due to their large support base. It wasn't down to huge outside investment. Likewise Liverpool were well managed over a long period of time, and once success is achieved, it can generate its own momentum. In the modern era, with meg-rich owners with bottomless pits of money, there needs to be some form of financial regulation to ensure that we don't end up with one club in a dominant position. What we're seeing now with Man City has no previous parallels. In recent weeks, they haven't just beaten their rivals like Liverpool and Arsenal, they've completely dominated them. And really, whatever you might think of FFP, those are the established rules which clubs (including City) have agreed to adhere to. If City have not been doing that, then they are guilty of cheating and there is no game if competitors are allowed to get away with cheating.

This will be as tough a test as we've faced. Our players will be entering a bear pit and the opposition will be pumped up for it. Fortunately we have the best manager in the league and there's no-one better at getting his players in the right mind-set.

Looks like a major talent, but doesn't seem to be linked much with other clubs. Maybe there's some question marks about his application / attitude or something like that.