Everton v Arsenal

Holy fuck.

International breaks, although quite boring, continue to feel more and more like oases of tranquility, whereby the troubles of Everton are left in cold storage for a week or two. Last weekend was dull but relatively stress-free. At least the trauma is delayed this weekend until Sunday afternoon.

Harrison and DCL have both been training this week. Big Jarrad is apparently fine despite bailing out of U21 duty last week. So what do we do here? Write this game off as a lost cause and leave Harrison and DCL to work on their levels of Dychefitness in preparation for easier games?

It's probably academic in the case of Harrison, I can't imagine he's yet close enough to the insane levels of fitness that Dyche demands. But if fully-fit then I'd love to see DCL and Beto let loose on the Arsenal back four. We'll still lose 4-0 like, but it will be fun to see a few fancy-dan Arsenal defenders (I'm thinking of you, Ben White) limping off at the end or walking off with bandaged heads and a shocked "jesus christ" look on their faces.

Dogs of War - 2023 Striker Version. All flying elbows and digs in the back at corners. Bring it on.

Rotterdam 1985 wrote:Holy fuck.

International breaks, although quite boring, continue to feel more and more like oases of tranquility, whereby the troubles of Everton are left in cold storage for a week or two. Last weekend was dull but relatively stress-free. At least the trauma is delayed this weekend until Sunday afternoon.

Harrison and DCL have both been training this week. Big Jarrad is apparently fine despite bailing out of U21 duty last week. So what do we do here? Write this game off as a lost cause and leave Harrison and DCL to work on their levels of Dychefitness in preparation for easier games?

It's probably academic in the case of Harrison, I can't imagine he's yet close enough to the insane levels of fitness that Dyche demands. But if fully-fit then I'd love to see DCL and Beto let loose on the Arsenal back four. We'll still lose 4-0 like, but it will be fun to see a few fancy-dan Arsenal defenders (I'm thinking of you, Ben White) limping off at the end or walking off with bandaged heads and a shocked "jesus christ" look on their faces.

Dogs of War - 2023 Striker Version. All flying elbows and digs in the back at corners. Bring it on.

Yeah it was a blessed relief. On Saturday we took the kids to splash in a local stream, sat about in the sunshine and had a picnic lunch. The spectre of everton doing something extremely everton cast not one shadow over anything, it was wonderful.

Also why are you STILL starting match threads after your record?

Tonteau wrote:

Rotterdam 1985 wrote:Holy fuck.

International breaks, although quite boring, continue to feel more and more like oases of tranquility, whereby the troubles of Everton are left in cold storage for a week or two. Last weekend was dull but relatively stress-free. At least the trauma is delayed this weekend until Sunday afternoon.

Harrison and DCL have both been training this week. Big Jarrad is apparently fine despite bailing out of U21 duty last week. So what do we do here? Write this game off as a lost cause and leave Harrison and DCL to work on their levels of Dychefitness in preparation for easier games?

It's probably academic in the case of Harrison, I can't imagine he's yet close enough to the insane levels of fitness that Dyche demands. But if fully-fit then I'd love to see DCL and Beto let loose on the Arsenal back four. We'll still lose 4-0 like, but it will be fun to see a few fancy-dan Arsenal defenders (I'm thinking of you, Ben White) limping off at the end or walking off with bandaged heads and a shocked "jesus christ" look on their faces.

Dogs of War - 2023 Striker Version. All flying elbows and digs in the back at corners. Bring it on.

Yeah it was a blessed relief. On Saturday we took the kids to splash in a local stream, sat about in the sunshine and had a picnic lunch. The spectre of everton doing something extremely everton cast not one shadow over anything, it was wonderful.

Also why are you STILL starting match threads after your record?

I'll have you know Mr Tonteau that my match thread earned us our first point of the season at Sheffield United.

Basically I'm doing that thing that gambling addicts do when they're on a bad run - rather than give it up for a while, I'm pushing through and doubling down on the basis that the luck has to turn at some point. Luckily my house, job, marriage and family shouldn't be lost due to my stubbornness with match day threads. Hope not anyway.

SEFTON wrote:Everton return to Goodson to face Arsenal, Jarrard Branthwaite has recovered from a knock, Jack Harrison has started grass training but, won’t be available for Sundays game,DCL is back fighting fit will be a welcome headache for Everton manager Sean Dyche to have two his strikers fit DCL and Beto will be interesting to see who starts Sundays game.

Going a 2-0 win UTFTs DCL and Beto

A surplus of strikers, eh? A selection headache you say?

The world has been turned upside down. That's not good at our age, we like certainty. There was always a strange reactionary comfort in whingeing about Maupay's shortcomings.

Beto will start and is gonna fuck shit up.

Made 4 Gwladys wrote:

SEFTON wrote:

Rotterdam 1985 wrote:

SEFTON wrote:Everton return to Goodson to face Arsenal, Jarrard Branthwaite has recovered from a knock, Jack Harrison has started grass training but, won’t be available for Sundays game,DCL is back fighting fit will be a welcome headache for Everton manager Sean Dyche to have two his strikers fit DCL and Beto will be interesting to see who starts Sundays game.

Going a 2-0 win UTFTs DCL and Beto

A surplus of strikers, eh? A selection headache you say?

The world has been turned upside down. That's not good at our age, we like certainty. There was always a strange reactionary comfort in whingeing about Maupay's shortcomings.

Beto will start and is gonna fuck shit up.

Yep, at our age we like routine not change but, a change is as good as a rest so they say?
Maupay was the stress release button we all hit when blaming somebody,
Watch him play well now at Brentford as a number 10.

Me thinks Beto is Lukakuesk get McNeil fit and Harrison both to supply crosses
Beto will get an abundance of goals.

I'm hoping, but not expecting Dyche to play both DCL & Beto in 4-4-2.

...but he'll probably play a lone striker & look for a break to try & salvage a point (or win)

When Harrison is fit, and if he's on the other flank from McNeil, you have two very hardworking wingers who can both cross a ball, but who will track back enough to at least part-compensate for only having two in the middle of the park. Only then do I think Dyche would consider playing both Beto and DCL together.

Two flies in the ointment there - one, Dyche might still prefer Danjuma, even when Harrison is fit; and two, Dyche really likes Doucoure in the second striker position.

Whatever, at least we have some options up front at last. The Saudis manage to keep Isak and Wilson happy despite never starting with both of them up front. Same with the Shite, they generally don't start Gakpo and Nunez together. Dyche has a preference for 4-4-2 but his need for workhorses trumps that right now. So I see Doucoure keeping his place, in that role, for the foreseeable.

That said, and given my level of hope for tomorrow's game, I'll have a smile on my face if I'm wrong and we see Beto and DCL line up together. It might be worth the risk in a game like Arsenal, where we'll be defending deep for most of the game anyway.

Mykolenko at right back according to the beeb.