Dr Jinx

I noticed yesterday that Rice wins most of the 50/50 challenges he’s in and has excellent anticipation of where the ball will be. Bit like Bruno in that regard. He’s an excellent player.. not sure who makes way for him though? As in lineup, formation etc.

He hasn’t started a match since August. Confidence, rust, no form as such to build on. Think people are being massively hard on the chap. He’s always been at his best when he has a run in the team

After seeing the level of respect between Rice and our players yesterday and even Howe name checking him in the post match interview, I’m 100% convinced the courtship has begun with this one.

West Ham were decent. They easily matched if not outplayed our midfield. Rice was excellent mostly and they looked threatening without ever really causing us all that much bother. Gordon looked sharp when he came on and if Wilson hadn’t been tired at that point we might have won it with that through ball he played. Last 10 mins we were just trying to force the issue, we’re not that good at chasing a goal so have to be mildly happy with the point. Fatigue is definitely an issue for us and it seems like we have to have a game won early doors at the minute.

Arsenal have been great this season but they have yet to face any real adversity. Be interesting to see if they have the bottle to fight back if City manage to take 1st spot in the coming weeks

He goes to an Italian team I reckon, after a while. It’s a hard asset to just write off for Man Utd, it’s an easy case to make in todays mad money that he could have been worth 70-100 million. Certainly as much as Sancho.

Bed wetters! We’ve gotten this far this season on what little we have, we’ll be fine. A cup final and top 6, each and every one of you would have snapped my hand off if I’d offered that as a possibility. And we’re still in with a great chance of top 4 if we can keep things ticking over. The big money will roll in this summer. Have faith.

That’s total twoddle. They are not somehow really linked apart from in your head. Both should have been sent off, one wasn’t. Thought the ref was fair enough tonight, shite in the last game. It’s not the end of the world. I’ve thought Bruno has been a little off his usual top tier level for a few weeks, despite still picking up man of the match awards. Think the World Cup took a lot mentally from him in terms of fatigue. A few games off will be good for him.

The players being rumoured in midfield just didn’t seem like they were long term solutions. We’re taking a risk now but I can only imagine the club have a list of targets that they will not deviate from.

Can’t argue with the card, it was a horrible tackle and unnecessary. Southampton we’re good in midfield tonight and from just before end of first half they were more than matching us. We were sloppy and looked leggy again. The ban may be a blessing in disguise for Bruno because he needs to be 100% for the final. A rest will do him good. Joelinton was excellent tonight so he can deputise in the games he’s out. Plus let’s hope the Gordon effect will boost the team to get through the hump.

Handsome lad

Few good moments for us but then I’ll think if that lethargic tracking back while teams cut through our soft gooey centre.. that was all on his watch. And despite him changing his ways somewhat, he would always carry that risk of being red carded for yellowish tackles.. as refs fucking hated him apparently. Eddie Howe is pretty ruthless it has to be said.. I mean, he probably just told him, “Jonjo, we’re playing football that you just don’t have the legs for, time to move on” No hard feelings, just cold hard reality.

They’ve done more in the 5 mins he’s been on than the entire first half.

I’m probably being glass half empty but I’ve seen time and time again recently that we don’t do so well with those tactics. People talking about tickets for Wembley is making me a little nervous ?

They have to come and play at some point if they want anything, that will leave all sorts of space but again, they could play a low block for 85 mins and then try and nick something to draw.. Does it go straight to penalties if that happens?

Personally wouldn’t wanna see Garang anywhere near that, an injury waiting to happen. 2G stated use.. “recreational football” ?

I just tuned in and that was my first thought. Astroturf?

Fraser is probably the likely candidate. Bad timing with Shelvey as well, I’d say he’d have been a candidate to move on if he was not injured.

There was definitely something toxic going on at the club, even in the “good old days”, like that whole thing with giving Dietmar Hamann a copy of Mein Kampf for his secret Santa thing was shit craic. It’s no wonder he wanted out so quick. When you see the difference in how Bruno is treated by everyone at the club and city, you know it would take something absolutely ridiculous to make him want to leave.

Enrique was class for us and ultimately where we were, you can’t blame him for wanting out at that point in time. He hardly replicated that form for the dippers though. Is he even on their radar as a past player?

You think he can just go shopping on Merseyside now? Any time I’ve moved to a different town I like to explore and shopping for trainers is about as innocuous as it gets. He wouldn’t be able to set foot anywhere decent without some dipshit with their phone out. They (footballers) are compensated well for it but I would find that to be such a miserable existence in the time when football isn’t being played. Can you imagine stepping outside your door to some bellend looking for at minimum a photo. Never being able to just go for a quiet pint by yourself, always being watched. Never alone. Always someone there to catch you if you take even the smallest misstep. Wouldn’t fancy it to be honest.

That’s football though isn’t it.. we make judgements on people based off how they appear playing for teams we dislike, or perhaps playing for our own team and not doing that well etc. Anthony Gordon has been somewhat of an antagonistic character playing against us but you can’t argue that he was a standout for them, especially last season. Energy, presence, making things happen etc. This season for Everton is akin to Steve Bruce with us last season. Hopeless. No player has looked good for them, yet they still have plenty of talented players there, and arguably Gordon was by some distance their best. So time to draw a line under past biases and let’s see what he can do with us. I’m expecting between, Almiron, Longstaff and now Gordon that we’ll run teams into the ground and maybe give Bruno a little less to do so he can control the game more. The squad is getting stronger which can never be a bad thing.

He actually looks like one of those AI apps where they get faces all wrong.

They actually have a private forum where they talk about us with that hilarious inbred take on things to try and avoid ridicule on Twitter? (and here..)

I wonder if Howe is planning on freshening things up formation wise. 4-2-3-1 might be an option now, or 4-3-1-2, in both of those I’d see Gordon playing up the middle.