Everton v Manchester C it’s.

Knight of Thorgothshire wrote:This is really one of those games where I wouldn't be surprised if we nicked it, yet could also lose 3-0.

SEFTON wrote:

Knight of Thorgothshire wrote:This is really one of those games where I wouldn't be surprised if we nicked it, yet could also lose 3-0.

Keep the faith KOT this is my fifth thread on the trot,we are at home and with out many 1st team players, everyone was dreading December fixtures, yet we got 12 from 12 points.

Armchair wrote:I guess we'll be defending a lot but that seems to suit us.

Knight of Thorgothshire wrote:

Armchair wrote:I guess we'll be defending a lot but that seems to suit us.

Will Richie play? If not, that makes me think we'll struggle (even more).

Made 4 Gwladys wrote:

Knight of Thorgothshire wrote:

Armchair wrote:I guess we'll be defending a lot but that seems to suit us.

Will Richie play? If not, that makes me think we'll struggle (even more).

we need Richie & James for this one... and Seamus to start too... we were seriously lacking creativity against SFU

SEFTON wrote:Well I got my wish,Everton v Manchester City postponed due to four city players announced to having COVID-19.
Excellent news because we need to be at full strength against them.

Rotterdam 1985 wrote:Well I'm not unhappy about this. Firstly I think some of our players need a break, and we only played 48 hours ago and don't need any more injuries right now.

Second, I'm double-booked tonight, a family quiz night on Zoom. I can now fully-focus on Beatles number 1's and US State Capitals without being distracted by Jordan "Fucking Pickford" Pickford.

Incidentally I have no idea how a family of Evertonians managed to arrange a family quiz night to clash with an Everton game.

Made 4 Gwladys wrote:

Rotterdam 1985 wrote:Well I'm not unhappy about this. Firstly I think some of our players need a break, and we only played 48 hours ago and don't need any more injuries right now.

Second, I'm double-booked tonight, a family quiz night on Zoom. I can now fully-focus on Beatles number 1's and US State Capitals without being distracted by Jordan "Fucking Pickford" Pickford.

Incidentally I have no idea how a family of Evertonians managed to arrange a family quiz night to clash with an Everton game.

good luck tonight... just remember that North America is about 100 miles coast to coast & Boston & Colorado neighbor each over

Everton fury as Manchester City game is postponed

Everton have demanded “full disclosure” from the Premier League over why their match against Manchester City was postponed four hours before it was due to take place last night.

The Premier League called the match off after three additional members of Pep Guardiola’s City squad tested positive for Covid-19, taking the total number of players with the virus to five.

Everton, who were not involved in the talks that led to the postponement, are seeking urgent clarification from the Premier League chief executive Richard Masters over why City’s request to call off the game was accepted.

The three new positive tests mean five members of Guardiola’s squad are self-isolating, after Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus, as well as a team chef and a member of the ground staff, tested positive on Christmas Eve.

An Everton club statement issued last night hinted at their unhappiness. It read: “Everton Football Club regret the postponement of the match against Manchester City — not only for the 2,000 fans who would have been attending, but for supporters on Merseyside and across the world.

“Our players were prepared for the game, as were both the team staff and everyone at Goodison. Match day is the most important date in our calendar. And this was a big one.

“While Everton will always have public safety uppermost, we will be requesting full disclosure of all the information that Manchester City provided to the Premier League so the club can be clear on why this decision was taken.”

Carlo Ancelotti, the Everton manager, would have been without five senior players because of injury for a game in which a win would have put his team level on points with Liverpool at the top of the table.

The Premier League told clubs in the summer that as long as 14 players were fit then games would be expected to go ahead, and there appears a concern from a number of clubs that those guidelines have not been adhered to.

A Premier League source said last night that the rule allowed for each case to be assessed individually, as highlighted by the postponement of Newcastle United’s game against Aston Villa at the start of the month, and that the primary motivation was minimising risk.

Given that tests are not 100 per cent accurate, it is possible that more City players have the virus even though they have not tested positive.

The players will be tested again today to see if the virus has spread further.

City’s league trip to Chelsea on Sunday is now in doubt, with their Etihad training campus closed for an indefinite period to undergo a deep clean.

City fear that the new, extremely contagious variant of Covid-19 that has become particularly prominent in London and the South East has swept through the squad.

They suspect that several players contracted the virus during a trip to London to play Arsenal in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, even though a hotel outside London was booked to minimise the risk of infection.

City said that they had no qualms with Arsenal’s safety protocols during the match, which they won 4-1. Gabriel, the Arsenal centre back, has since tested positive and will miss at least their next two matches.

City’s most recent match was on Saturday night when they beat Newcastle United 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium. But because Sunday’s test results did not arrive at City’s training ground until yesterday, Guardiola did not know which players he would have available for the trip to Everton until the day of the game.

When the virus swept through the Newcastle squad, their training ground was closed for eight days.

At present Newcastle are being tested twice a week and tomorrow’s home game against Liverpool is scheduled to go ahead. Liverpool underwent testing yesterday.

Should City be unable to field a team against Manchester United in their Carabao Cup semi-final on January 6, they will not forfeit the match, as EFL rules state that byes are only given up until the fourth round when clubs cannot fulfil a fixture on health grounds.

Tottenham Hotspur were given a bye earlier in the competition after a number of Leyton Orient players tested positive before their third-round fixture.

The Premier League said that the City-Everton game would be rearranged “in due course”. Guardiola’s team already have to find calendar space for one extra fixture as they did not play Aston Villa on the opening weekend of the season because of their participation in the Champions League knockout stage at the end of last term.

Chelsea, meanwhile, could also have their FA Cup tie against Morecambe on January 10 postponed, meaning they would next be in action on January 15.

The League Two side’s next two league fixtures have been called off because of an outbreak of Covid-19 at the club. Five League One fixtures — Doncaster Rovers’ next three and Rochdale’s next two — have also been postponed because of outbreaks.

Knight of Thorgothshire wrote:I read the same thing that as long as 14 players were available, the game would go on. But hey, this happened to a top six team so they have different rules, ya know.