toffees v citizens

nobody else taking this one
so, here goes
pretty much need at least a point here, we will do well to stop them scoring tho, we all need the teram to be at the top of their game. a very nervy game with us edging it 2-1
COYB
IDWT

Holgate in for Myko the only change.

De Bruyne on the bench.

I'm completely chilled here, this is just a swing of the bat. Would like to avoid any serious GD damage but other than that, no concerns, anything we get is a bonus.

I've been thinking more about Leicester v Liverpool tomorrow, than this game.

Rotterdam 1985 wrote:Holgate in for Myko the only change.

De Bruyne on the bench.

I'm completely chilled here, this is just a swing of the bat. Would like to avoid any serious GD damage but other than that, no concerns, anything we get is a bonus.

I've been thinking more about Leicester v Liverpool tomorrow, than this game.

aren't you banned from match day comments

2-0 down. Entirely Rotts’s fault.

Blue gazza wrote:

Rotterdam 1985 wrote:Holgate in for Myko the only change.

De Bruyne on the bench.

I'm completely chilled here, this is just a swing of the bat. Would like to avoid any serious GD damage but other than that, no concerns, anything we get is a bonus.

I've been thinking more about Leicester v Liverpool tomorrow, than this game.

aren't you banned from match day comments

Lol no I'm only banned from starting match threads. And maybe from commenting during the game. Before the game is fine. I think? I'll need to check the details of the court order.

This game is gone now anyway so what the fuck. City are just different. Nothing you can do about that first goal.

Tonteau wrote:2-0 down. Entirely Rotts’s fault.

They were playing well and totally in the game before City scored. I can’t see them getting back into it.

Maupay coming on. Don’t panic Mr Mainwaring!

DCL gone off at half time. FFS.

that fucks us up completely then

We’ve pressed the self destruct button. I’m done for today.

Lumper wrote:DCL gone off at half time. FFS.

It didn't look like he had any kind of injury so I presume this was just uber-pragmatism from Dyche, having written this one off, to avoid injury prior to the Wolves game.

Lumper wrote:DCL gone off at half time. FFS.

Surely (please, please, please) this was a case of protecting him for the Wolves game.

Rotterdam 1985 wrote:

Lumper wrote:DCL gone off at half time. FFS.

It didn't look like he had any kind of injury so I presume this was just uber-pragmatism from Dyche, having written this one off, to avoid injury prior to the Wolves game.

That was my thinking, sensible management. Would have preferred Simms on. But why risk someone who can actually score a goal.

Tonteau wrote:

Rotterdam 1985 wrote:

Lumper wrote:DCL gone off at half time. FFS.

It didn't look like he had any kind of injury so I presume this was just uber-pragmatism from Dyche, having written this one off, to avoid injury prior to the Wolves game.

That was my thinking, sensible management. Would have preferred Simms on. But why risk someone who can actually score a goal.

A tight groin, according to Dyche. He said he didn't want to take a risk with it and hopes it will "settle down quickly."

Would have been a dyche masterclass but for them scoring three goals.

I liked the way we set up, dropping into a five at the back with McNeil at left back and the hapless Holgate going central - squeezing the space around Haarland. For thirty minutes it worked brilliantly but then they scored. After that it was a stroll for City but at least we kept playing, kept our shape and didn’t shit out pants completely.

One thing I did like was the way the fans that stayed to the end sang like mad and cheered the team off . The players looked pleasantly surprised - they probably expected boos.

Anyway, come on the red shite tomorrow!

hairy cataract wrote:Would have been a dyche masterclass but for them scoring three goals.

I liked the way we set up, dropping into a five at the back with McNeil at left back and the hapless Holgate going central - squeezing the space around Haarland. For thirty minutes it worked brilliantly but then they scored. After that it was a stroll for City but at least we kept playing, kept our shape and didn’t shit out pants completely.

One thing I did like was the way the fans that stayed to the end sang like mad and cheered the team off .  The players looked pleasantly surprised  - they probably expected boos.

Anyway, come on the red shite tomorrow!

Yeah I think the difference is that when we played Arsenal in Dyche's first game, we put in a performance of maximum concentration and very few errors, and were able to beat them. It's not easy to concentrate that hard for the full 90 and play error-free football against teams of that quality.

Whereas, against City, we were on our way to doing the same thing but then they scored anyway, out of nothing. From the interview above it sounds like Dyche is very unhappy with the second goal, as he should be, but I said to my lad that the first goal just knocked the stuffing out of us, I don't think they could quite believe it. It clearly seemed to affect concentration levels for the second goal, at which point it was game over.

Ah well. 3-0 against City is about par. A point and a collective goal difference of -3 against City over two games is better than most teams achieve. Our GD is now similar to Leeds (one better) so it's just as well we got all those goals at Brighton.

It all remains very tight and very scary. Wolves have won their last four at home but, prior to that run, Leeds and Bournemouth both went there and won, so they're not unbeatable. I'm confident we can get a result there and hopeful we can win it.

Two weekends of this left. I just want it to be over.

Tonteau wrote:

Rotterdam 1985 wrote:

Lumper wrote:DCL gone off at half time. FFS.

It didn't look like he had any kind of injury so I presume this was just uber-pragmatism from Dyche, having written this one off, to avoid injury prior to the Wolves game.

That was my thinking, sensible management. Would have preferred Simms on. But why risk someone who can actually score a goal.

100%. I found myself thinking where Maupay would rank in a list of him, Brett Angell and Stuart Barlow?

Goodison_Gringo wrote:

Tonteau wrote:

Rotterdam 1985 wrote:

Lumper wrote:DCL gone off at half time. FFS.

It didn't look like he had any kind of injury so I presume this was just uber-pragmatism from Dyche, having written this one off, to avoid injury prior to the Wolves game.

That was my thinking, sensible management. Would have preferred Simms on. But why risk someone who can actually score a goal.

100%. I found myself thinking where Maupay would rank in a list of him, Brett Angell and Stuart Barlow?

I seriously have Maupay below both of them, and below Straqualursi. He impacts games far less than any of them.

Straq and Angell were both pretty awful footballers but at least they had the workrate and size to run around and harry defenders in possession. If nothing else you could ping a cross into them and know they'd occupy a centre back. Barlow was a better footballer who just couldn't finish, but at least he got into enough positions to allow us to assess that he couldn't finish.

I have no idea if Maupay is an assassin in front of goal or not (I suspect not, like!) because not only does he never score, he's hardly ever in a position to give himself a chance to score. How much of that is down to him or the rest of the team can be debated ad infinitum. But in my head and based on what I've seen, Maupay is in the Nyarko/Niasse category of signings. Apart from his one Prem goal, his season highlight was a bit of late shithousery against Arsenal.

Speaking of our friend Oumar Niasse (a terrible footballer who nevertheless didn't deserve to be treated the way Ronnie treated him)...Morecambe had, until recently, a proud and astonishing record of never having been relegated from any division in their history. They signed Niasse in January. Guess what happened?

i checked the fine print & can confirm this defeat was Rotts' fault