Thiago

I'd say the whole takeover gave me probably the greatest microscopic scan of my own morals and ethics in my adult life. I'd also say the ownership of Ashley is one aspect that convinced me to leave home (genuinely).

They shouldn't and he shouldn't have accepted. That said, I do have one major concern with Lampard and this Everton squad and that's defending. Everton don't really have any quality at centre-back and Lampard's previous teams weren't that strong defensively. Those fine margins can be quite decisive down the bottom of the table and he's already on scored 8 conceded 7 after five games. If that scale tips the wrong way they'll be firmly in the mucky stuff.

Tbf the ex-Sunderland lot have a case to stay on as their academy has done well in producing players. Can't speak to the rest.

If you thought the clout chasing celebrity of our fans was bad pre-takeover it will only get worse now. If we even get a sniff of the top six they'll be wanting fan opinion on things.

Rory is grand if you accept he doesn't believe half the stuff he's peddling. McKola seems perpetually angry.

Wow. That is class. I can't think of a Newcastle player that has navigated the club as well as Trippier. Come in, done it on the pitch, now engaging off the pitch too. I know TG has his critics, but I never thought a current player would do this. Madness.

I love him. Finishes his videos with 'God Bless, may God go with you'.

Yeah, the ambiguity surrounding how close the owners are is a major issue. I think they may have pitched it to KLD as a chance to invest now and then flip next season if/when they were promoted. His own personal wealth won't cover the funding of a Championship club, and I think if his parents were going to clear money from the family fund it would have happened by now because the financial hit in League One is a killer.

No sign of Maxi on the training photos but it looks like a few of the U23s were included.

https://rokerreport.sbnation.com/2022/3/2/22958136/exclusive-charlie-methven-confirms-price-that-his-stewart-donalds-shares-in-safc-are-up-for It would seem that Donald and Methven are still firmly at the dinner table and they're pulling a Mike Ashley. In short, they want £12m for the shares they own with no talk of paying back the £20m they borrowed from parachute payments to fund the deal.

Do you reckon we got under his skin a bit? I sometimes feel like these types live in a bubble and he probably assumed he'd get a hero's welcome - do alright under Ashley then trot off into the sunset. Instead, while he did keep us up, the football was awful, he was derided from almost his ffirst game in charge, and saw more scrutiny about his ability than any previous club. The fact the players he blamed have picked up so quickly and now look to be much better also probably stung.

I agree. It would be nice to welcome Trippier and Wilson back into the team with us looking up rather than down. Looking at those runs in that SCM has put together I think Brentford could be the one to watch. They're dancing with that infamous 'mini-league' Rafa used to talk about and have quite a few six pointers between now and the end of the season. They could be firmly in the shit at five o clock next weekend if results don't go their way. We simply have to keep going and hope we can keep that point per game up and we should be fine.

It would be nice to see an American coach given a job in a top league that doesn't come with the need to instantly turn things around. As you say, Marsch did a good job in MLS and is not a stark change from Bielsa. If he can get those key players fit quickly I wouldn't bet against him keeping them up.

Very good post. Interestingly, running parallel to this I think the EFL is becoming something of a 'coaching incubator'. You have the older PFM types you mention, the journeymen types, but also the likes of Russell Martin, Steve Cooper, Liam Manning, and Neil Critchley aligning more with that modern, hard-working, category you outline. It certainly did Howe no trouble that he had a foundation of almost 300 EFL games by the time he came to the Premier League. I do think the notion of coaches walking into positions and bluffing their way through it due to earned respect as a player is all but over. You need some strategy.

I never expect Burnley to be an expansive but tonight they didn't even seem to muster much of their long ball hoof shit. I didn't think Leicester were strides better, they simply managed a bit of individual quality with Maddison. The biggest surprise is how timid Wout Weghorst looked. There were a few times he had chances to go up for headers and bottled it. I'd say three of their next five are winnable (Brentford, Southampton, Norwich) but if I was a Burnley fan I'd feel tonight was a missed opportunity.

Yeah, they're missing Evans/Fofana at the back, but they've no real dynamism to their play.

Watching Burnley and surprised by just how many empty seats there are. I thought they were pretty well supported. I'm also not bowled over by Tarkowski here. Looks ropey and complacent.

It's not worth his time or money anymore.

I'd love a reporter to ask him what his expectations are. He's so quick to blame the club for demanding too much.

They should be ok for relegation, but honestly, for as much they're blaming the players he is gasoline to that fire.

Feel bad for the lad because he basically toiled through the shite that was the Ashley era and by the time new owners came in he was in bad form and struggling. Truth is right now I can't justify him over Burn or Schar. Both are better on the ball and balance each other out.

I'm inclined to agree. It's not something we'll ever know, but I do wonder how much of his apathy to the situation was rooted in knowing he could always leave. West Ham felt like an obvious destination, while I'm sure someone would take a chance, even if it meant a drop in money. If estimates are right he's made close to £20m on wages while he's been here. It's not like he needed to think about money, if anything he could chase his joy a bit when leaving. I think the quotes that came out recently were telling. I think he actually sees a positive future for himself. He knows if we stay up he'll be replaced fairly quickly, but I think he's happy to hang around and be part of the 'project'.

It might actually see him register more assists. It was Burnley at home where he basically left their lad for dead and squared it for Wilson to tap home.

So sad about that fan that's passed away. RIP.