HaydnNUFC

So you agree with what what I've been saying the whole time? That he failed at Everton regardless of the previous years/jobs in his career but you decided to be a condescending, ageist arsehole in your reply anyway? Sound.

Is there any need to be such a patronising dick? He did a bad job at Everton and got sacked for it. That's the bottom line.

He failed at Everton and was deservedly sacked. He succeeded here in more ones than one. Both can be true. He was brought in too late to save us from the drop but brought us back up as champions even after being fucked over in January '17. Then kept us up after being starved of major backing by condensing games down to being a game of mistakes due to the quality of player we had to use regularly, especially from August 2017-January 2019. It was laborious to watch at times and we suffered some utterly rank defeats and runs of results, especially at home. Although the 3-4-3 post January 2019 whilst still a counter attacking, low possession side played some canny stuff. Instilled a siege mentality amongst the fans against Ashley and did so brilliantly and the atmosphere it created brought Staveley to the table and made her want to pursue the club for 4 years before finally getting it, albeit 2 years after Benitez' departure. I'll always be grateful to him for that and recognise his part in that and all the other stuff. But he didn't get the best out of Everton. Taking over a side that finished 10th on 59 points the previous season and could've finished in Europe on the final day, he went on a run of 1 win in 13 league matches including some honking home defeats in a derby and to Watford as well as going out of the League Cup to QPR. Ostracised and got rid of their most creative player the previous season in Rodriguez pretty much immediately after his appointment, fell out with Digne and sold him as a result and certain people who he got rid of inside of EFC such as scouts, directors and medical people have still yet to be replaced. Thousands of Everton fans will say he did a shit job and deservedly got the bullet. Given they know far more about the situation than any of us (cc @1878) I'm not going to even attempt to argue otherwise. Especially after speaking to Evertonians and doing a bit of research on why it went so badly wrong.

Evertonians knew it would've been a bad appointment and they were proven correct, similarly to how we were with Bruce. However it only got negative inside Goodison Park once the results started to turn and they went on a run of 1 win in 13 matches which included their heaviest home Merseyside derby defeat for years (which was part self inflicted given the way Benitez set up their midfield) and a home defeat where they conceded 5 to Watford who ended up going down on 23 points.

Because it's the international break and there's fuck all else to do, been amusing myself through editing this image. Thought there was far too much potential.

Looks like something worn at the darts.

Find it very hard to disagree with much of that, in spite of my personal admiration of him for what he did here. Post more @1878

That's the point of showing those games, Howe wants to move to being a top tier team so it'll take time and transfer windows rather than changing the current system entirely based on form with the current squad.

Can't see him at Leicester. Think he needs to go abroad, where to I don't know. Find it unlikely he'll get another PL job, he's one that wants nigh on full control over everything football related and I don't think any clubs really operate like that anymore here.

O Prefeito

Made a rod for his own back taking the Everton job, find it very hard to have sympathy for him regarding that. Still love him and grateful for the job he did here, mind.

Well, yeah, that's the point of the statistic(s)? Howe wants us to move toward being a side that regularly dominates the ball and play but in the few times that we've done that we haven't got the results or goals to show for our possession. That'll change but it will take time and transfer windows.

Aye tbf. Rise in expectations/aspirations coincides with a decrease in the level of the atmospheres at games. Was the same going from 1993-94 to 1994-95 apparently.

Saturday was the worst atmosphere post takeover but the circumstances and game itself didn't help. All the queen shit resulted in no music pre game (from what I remember), no flags, no Local Hero etc. On top of that, we're playing a side we were all expecting to beat and beat fairly comfortably. The kick off time as well, I've always found the best atmospheres are night time or late TV kick offs rather than the classic 3pm. And the game itself, when you're bossing possession against a side we were odds on favourites to beat but creating few clear cut chances it's no wonder. Probably why Man City's home atmospheres are so regularly poor only they actually break those teams down 999/1000. The consumer like analogy you make is a probably a fair one but I wasn't surprised by it tbh given the aforementioned factors. Real shame, could tell the players knew it was flat as fuck too given Isak's celebration. It'll be 100x better in the next 4 home games given there won't be any forced mourning but there will be unreal displays and the games and opposition we're up against will gee the crowd up especially in the latter 3.

Think this speaks volumes as well. We've been rancid with the ball for over 18 years, it'll take time.

Away from home against the bigger sides, maybe. I always wondered why that last season after we were robbed of a point or 3 at Chelsea we never went back to the system we played that day; we played our 4-3-3 at Spurs and Man City where we conceded 10 and scored 1 goal across those two games. However I think 4-3-3 will be our primary system at SJP against all the teams in the league and away from home in games where we're looking or expectant to win. We've seen the good (Forest, Man City) and bad (Palace, Bournemouth) of it so far as we're still missing the depth; when sides sit deep which they will start doing when coming up here we lack the quality to break them down. Almiron and Fraser are not good enough especially in this regard, the former is useful for games where we press but creatively he's fairly garbage. 2 goal involvements in his last 38 appearances with Fraser only marginally better. However given the performance at Anfield in the 4-3-3 I can't see us moving away from it and arguably rightly so as it's the system that saw us safe last season, Howe is just implementing a change in the style of football and identity which will only be mastered once the Ashley era dregs used to counter attacking low possession football are eased out of the squad.

Chelsea away on 13 March is the last time we didn't play 4-3-3. If we went to a back 3, good luck getting ASM in that starting lineup; given he's our most creative player atm he has to play. And Almiron never played behind the strikers under Benitez, he played on the left of the front 3 in the 3-4-3 we played post February which oft had us sitting off teams. We never had more than 54% possession in any game home or away post February either which isn't what Howe wants us to be imo. When Wilson is back (before he gets crocked again) we'll lineup with Isak next to him and ASM or the next best fit winger on the left, it'll look like Isak is playing RW on a team sheet but he'll in reality be a lot closer to Wilson with Trippier providing the width. Glimpses of Trippier being the width were there to be seen 2nd half on Saturday but mainly because he was the only one in the side that looked even remotely like creating something. We enormously miss ASM when trying to break sides down and him not playing handicaps us imo.

Gone right off Craig Hope tbh. Think it's an unnecessarily worded article directed at a 22 year old lad who's our record signing and has 2 goals in his first 3 appearances in a new league. If anything it's the wingers and creative mids that article should be directed at, not Isak, given Almiron's, Fraser's and Joelinton's performances on Saturday. On his personal account he's hidden replies containing valid criticism about the article, like the fuck? Just dug his heels in and saying it's not his job to help players settle. Odd. Aye he went in on Bruce brilliantly a year to a year and a half ago but feel that as soon as we hit a rough patch of form he'll be the first one going after Howe. Just a taster there now by centring that article around Isak whose just made his 3rd appearance in the league.

Agree, didn't understand it. We've paid £35m for Botman who is very good on the ball and can use all the PL minutes he can at 22. Could've used his passing ability against a low block and they were never going to overly trouble us. Found it bizarre.

Massive having him back but I felt that we missed ASM more yesterday.

Aye, 0-4 and 0-2. Highlights in the OP. Plus since Fulham have started bouncing between PL and Championship they've only managed 1 goal against us which Matt Ritchie scored for them.

He started and played the whole 90.