tajjuk

Sean Dyche for me. Can't see a big club going for him, I'd say we have more pull and potential than Burnley and I'd love to see a British manager. He has also shown that you can combine hard work grafting style with some better football. Also Silva and Wagner as well.

This. Got into the champions league what twice in about the last 6-7 seasons? One runners up spot and even finished below us. VVD is also not the magical solution to their problems, he'll improve them but their problems are defending collectively and organisation.

Do we need a centre-back? Hoedt, Stephens and Yoshida seems potentially good enough for the rest of the season IMO. Hardly like we shipped loads of goals with Yoshida and Stephens last year, I mean we have lost VVD, but in reality we haven't really had him for 12 months plus and conceding over the that period has not been a major problem, scoring goals has.

Certainly gives as option in the forward areas and has more pace and directness than most of what we have already.

That has to be one of the most fanciful and unrealistic 'rumours' I have ever seen, why the hell would one of the best strikers in Europe move to Everton.

I think the performance is key, if this team player with more purpose and tempo, like they have over the last few games then we have a good chance of beating Arsenal. But Arsenal have some top players, so we could easily play well and get beaten, but I'll accept that, as it shows progress and those sort of performances will get results. But a turgid performance will be worrying as either Arsenal will smash us, or they will sneak a win playing badly and we'll have thrown away another winnable game.

I'd say the Jury is still very much out on that one. But at the very least signs that the manager is seeing problems and has an idea how to fix them. It's also very clear that the whole thing has been a work in progress and it has taken time. Certainly IMO enough there to give him more time, like I said though have we wasted too many chances, we have surrendered points against teams we should be better than or at least on par with, which means we need to catch up some points against the bigger teams. That is my main worry. I very much think we need to see this season as a transition season. If we keep seeing good performances (not necessarily always results) then I reckon most people will be happy with that and then we can build on it next season with a stable manager in place.

He was high up on the speed rankings, if not top when the pre-season tests were on the whiteboard in the Hoedt singing video. And IIRC when he came on against maybe West Brom, first thing he did was close down one of their centre-backs and looked rapid then. I suspect he is just not very quick once it is about more than 20 yards, so he's not going to out pace someone over 40-50 yards into the channels like Long.

He just needs to not do that, to come inside like that was the problem, if he'd gone outside they wouldn't have scored. But he is a very very good player, remember he is only 23 which is young for a centre-back and he is not used to the league, you can probably get away with that more easily in Italy, so he'll learn, he was very clearly angry with himself for doing it. But I wouldn't want him to stop trying to play from the back and bringing the ball out as he is very good at it and it helps us recycle possession. Aside from that error though he rarely seems to get beaten and wins plenty of headers, if he improves he can easily reach VVD level IMO.

I think he's a good character for the team, always seems pretty confident and happy, always seems to be having a word with the other players, arm round the shoulder sort of stuff. Also note the reaction of Austin in the second half when Bertrand gets to the byeline, and really should have just squared it to Austin for a tap in, but Bertrand screwed it up. Austin looked bemused but had a laugh on his face, I think other strikers in that situation would have had a go at Betrand, but Austin just laughs it off and then gives some encouragement to Bertrand, knowing that 9/10 he would have made that pass. For me he is a quality striker, he can hold up the ball, he is a threat in the air, he's alert and quick round the box, and his all round play in the build up is much better than people give him credit for and crucially he is a good finisher. Watching us play with him in the team, we look more threatening in the build up, like we did when Pelle was playing. We just seem to be able to play a bit quicker and bit more direct with him in the team.

If we ignore who we played and how they played over the last three games and focus on what the team did. Then, IMO - V Everton, tempo was much better, we controlled the game and the attacking play was much sharper more incisive. He got team selection right in that game and probably the changes right as well, the team clearly reacted well after suffering a wonder goal against the run of play and in the end it could have been 6 or 7. v Man City, shifted the shape and personnel to match the opposition and were unlucky not to get a point if not more had we not missed good chances from set pieces. V Bournemouth, started the game better than them and looked like the home side IMO for most of that half, Austin hits the post, VVD has a clear header at a corner he should have scored, Austin forces a good save and just before half time Boufal should have at least hit the target. There goal comes from an unforced error that the manager can not do much about, the penalty that wasn't again is silly challenge in the box by Boufal and their other main chance comes from a miss hit long range shot. Then second half we dominate the game, he sees JWP isn't working, Redmond comes in and sets up a goal, we create further chances through the game and really should have gone on and won the game with better finishing. He even doesn't just settle for a point bringing Gabbiadini on for Davis towards the end when he could have gone more defensive. Hojberg was excellent against Everton and dropping him for Romeu was a big call, BUT Romeu I thought was back to his best against Bournemouth, made some great interceptions and his robbing of Cook help create the equaliser. So from those 3 games what have we seen? - Something that resembles like he is working out what our best 11 is, certainly when facing equal and lesser teams. The Bertrand/Boufal combo on the left, JWP/Redmond on the right, Austin up front etc. - More attacking and higher tempo play, less sideways passes. - Tactical flexibility switching to the 3 against City. - IMO a better work rate seen by the players, we seemed to press higher and you certainly couldn't say the players weren't playing for the manager. - Better performances by the 'big' names, VVD was immense against B'mouth, Bertrand has been much better and even Forster looks like he's woken up, he's making some big saves again and is coming to catch balls in the box. Overall IMO lots of positive signs. If it keeps going like this and we keep seeing good performances then I'll be happy, the Manager can't legislate for us missing chances (another day and IMo we score 3-4 against B'mouth) or individual defensive errors (though hopefully he is telling Hoedt to keep that trick in the locker) but getting the right people out on the pitch and playing at right work rate and tempo is what he can do, an over the last 3 games I think you can't fault what he did. The only issue is have we wasted too many chances, we have dropped points against teams we should have beaten and some tough games could see him gone before we get to see true progress.

Weird now the Ref thinks he got it wrong and thinks it was a pen, was a clear dive, they replayed it on Sky and as Henry said if he'd just kept running he'd have got a penalty, instead he does a super man dive, very clear dive IMO and the Ref's instinct was right.

Should have won it, we gave them their goal and aside the Defoe shot that Forster saved (which was a scuffed shot anyway) they didn't create much, especially second half. Austin could have had a hat trick another day, Boufal should have scored just before the break as well, Bertrand somehow didn't pull it back when Austin was waiting for a tap in and we had a good 2-3 chances from set pieces as well.

Blatant dive, sky commentator saying it was a pen, but he's going down before Boufal got anywhere near him. Boufal silly trying to tackle like that though.

For all Everton's troubles, they are now above us.

Spot on imo. These sort of things in football are stupid anyway, 'it's only a song', yeh the Nazis started by singing lots of songs it creates a culture where people start making excuses poor behaviour, it's about acceptable behaviour towards other human beings and creating a culture of acceptance. Kids got to those games, they shouldn't be hearing hate speech. Seen similar excuses said about all the hate speech and songs between Rangers and Celtic, yet what happens on the stands often spills out into the streets and people think it's fine to start abusing and shouting at people (and worse) in the street. Just go watch and sing for your team, I have never understood football 'fans' who just go to matches to shout abuse at other fans.

Same team that beat Everton for me, maybe with Lemina instead of Davis. We need to play the same high temp football, Bournemouth will not make it as easy as Everton and have more of a threat but are hardly great defensively.

That is understandable considering how dire and desperate Everton have been plus their whole manager shambles. it's just a bigger story. But to be fair whilst the media has an obvious big club bias, when we were actually doing well we got plenty of plaudits for it.

Even Chelsea, Man Utd, Arsenal etc. will not try to out play them away, so no idea why he thinks us, with like 20% of their budget would go away and try to outplay them. I mean teams come to park the bus against us FFS, you don't see us moaning and we are middling team, doesn't stop teams like West Brom coming to St Mary's and putting 10 behind the ball. He is probably just adjusting to the fact that lesser team in the PL are not pushovers like they are in La Liga and the Bundesliga.

Still think we have decent players mainly out of form and not much the manager is going to do about that. We previously had better players, recruitment players are the biggest failure IMO, we stopped finding gems in the transfer market.

This is more my worry, I am not a great fan of him so far and I don't think he was the right choice but the potential options look horrid. Everton haven't found anyone in 5 weeks but Silva (who our board must regret not going for, he's surely up for a big job now if he keeps this up with Watford), Leicester went with our reject, Palace got one of the most boring England managers in history and West Ham got Moyes who is like a poison chalice everywhere he has been since Everton. If we go a little further back to last year, then Swansea got a guy who hardly excelled at Derby, Leicester appointed their assistant manager (only to sack him barely 6 months later), At this rate Everton will end up with Steve McClaren! Also a lot lies with the players as well, today they were up for it and look what happened (helped we had a few players in there with a point to prove like Austin, PEH and JWP). Can't see us getting the next up and coming young European manager, Silva was that last year and we passed on him, Tuchel wants higher than us so it would be a big gamble on the black box pulling out another Pochettino, not another Puel/Pellegrino

What has happened to him, he was one of the most dynamic and complete midfielders for us, everywhere on the pitch topping the league for interceptions and tackles. Today I forgot he was even there.

I'd save Austin for Bournemouth, if we are to get anything out of the game we have to work our arses off like Huddersfield did today, hope they have a bit of an off day or make the odd error and make more on the counter attack than Huddersfield did. I'd go for Romeu, Lemina and Hojberg in the middle, with sadly Long up top, not cos he'll score but because we need pace on the counter. So same team for me but (as long as he is fit) Lemina > Davis, Long > Austin, Romeu > Tadic.

I am not sure where the slow thing comes from, he's certainly quick enough over a few yards to get in front of most defenders I have seen, when he came off the bench a few weeks ago and closed down he didn't look slow and IIRC when the team statistics board was up during the Hoedt signing vid he was one of the fastest there. I mean Kane is a 30 goal a season man and Austin is quicker than him definitely. Plus against most team we are not going to get a hoof ball over the top for him to run in behind, we are going to have teams like that today where it's his clever movement that is important not his speed. The issue with Austin is keeping him fit. Which is why maybe a fruitless night on wednesday where we'll have 30% possession, after he hasn't played a full game since March and would be his second game in 3 days is probably not a great idea. Keep him fresh for Bournemouth where we have a realistic chance of winning.

Been out of the team for a while, came back and earned his spot IMO. Adds balance in the wide right role I think, different sort of threat from the right side with his crossing ability, whilst you have Boufal on the other side cutting in running at people.