Liverpool v Everton

Well Sef says we're gonna win and Bubbles says we'll get battered and now I don't know what to think.

We'll either get battered or sneak a 1-0 win. Most likely battered. 5-0 to the Shite, goals for Hitler, Klopp, Rush (2) and Pol Pot. Cunts.

hairy cataract wrote:We'll either get battered or sneak a 1-0 win.  Most likely battered. 5-0 to the Shite, goals for Hitler, Klopp, Rush (2) and Pol Pot.  Cunts.

This post doesn't assuage my confusion one bit.

Tonteau wrote:It would be nice not to get rolled over and it would be nice to score a goal or two. However giving them an absolute shellacking in their own backyard would be nicer still.

It won’t happen but I’m going to imagine it will so I can enjoy the idea before Hitler bags the opener.

For what it's worth, and despite their decent start, I think they're more there for the taking in a derby than they have been for at least 10 years. They have midfield issues, not getting Caicedo will do for them this season.

I just don't think we're anywhere near good enough to take advantage of their issues.

Szoboszlai is the fella I fear, he's class. I think we'll put up a brave showing, but for me it will be Shite 3 (Tarbuck, Diaz, Xavier OG) Everton 1 (Xavier OG).

we won Dorisball

I'm not sure Young can complain about the second yellow. It's one of those. My issue with it is that this is the sort of ref who appears to get talked into these decisions by players. It'll be explained away as "he's just giving himself time to think" but bollocks, he can't handle the pressure of those situations. What the fuck he's doing reffing a derby game I don't know.

We'll probably lose now but in a way, we've got just as much chance of nicking a point with 10 as we did with 11. Midfield was wide open and they were killing us on the counter. We'll now have to park the bus.

I think I'm more sanguine and less incendiary than most Blues but that game has left me simmering. It's not that we always lose to them, it's the way we lose some of these games that fucks me off.

There is absolutely nothing to say about that Konate decision. Nothing at all. Dyche should go to his post-match presser and simply say "what do you want out of me? Use your eyes and your common sense and then report what happened. Don't make me and my anger the story here."

There also isn't much to be said for Michael Keane. As long as he's employed as a footballer by this club, he'll continue to do stuff like that. He seems to do something like that every game he plays these days. I may have mentioned this before but there's this phenomenon I experience at work when dealing with particularly stupid people, whereby you're astonished by their fuck ups but are also, simultaneously and paradoxically, not remotely surprised at all. "What the fu....oh it's him. Right..."

Well that's Michael Keane. I reckon every time Keane tries some DIY at home he's calling a plumber or a spark out an hour later to fix the damage he's caused. I wouldn't trust him to give me a lift down the length of my street, the road would be strewn with dead grannies and cars missing wing mirrors.

Ah well, on to the next one. Unless the Premier League orders a replay of this game due to that shocking Konate decision.

away to WHU & Citeh next two prem games ... no points there either

I've had time to ponder/stew over this game.

I was OK with the performance overall. I'd have preferred Idrissa in for Doucoure in a 3 to counter their midfield, and that was a problem until the sending off, how we coped with them on the counter. This is an indicator for me that Dyche wanted to win the game rather than sit for a point. Naive, maybe, but I appreciate the intention given how lacking in ambition we were against Arsenal, and it does go against the grain of the general Dyche narrative. Dyche thought this game could be won, as did I. But Gravenberch gave them more savvy and strength in midfield than they've had of late. The bastard.

Highlights - Salah scored two but in reality, Myko had him in his pocket for most of the game. Myko is the left-sided equivalent of Wan-Bissaka - in specific defensive situations he is excellent. He's just not very good at everything else that full backs need to do these days. His performances against Salah and Saka of late make me wonder how that Doncaster winger gave him such a runaround in the cup game. But credit where it's due, he was good today. Against shit teams when we need to play differently, he won't be.

Branthwaite - another classy performance, so pleased he's signed his new deal. Tarko was also good, but then we now expect that.

Onana - he made possibly the best tackle I've ever seen today, when they had a 4 on 3 overload in the first half. I know that he confuses some Blues who don't see what he does, and that might be down to formation and strategy more than anything. But take it from me, that boy is class and we'll get a lot of money for him when he inevitably goes in the summer. I suspect he needs to be in a better team for people to realise how good he is.

Lowlights - I don't like Danjuma, at all. He came on at a time when we just needed players to hold the ball up further forward, maybe win a throw in or a free kick, relieve the pressure and give us a bit of territorial opportunity. But old Arnaut still prefers his fancy flicks, which of course didn't come off because the rest of the team bar Beto was still in the vicinity of our penalty box. Brainless, I don't like him. Moise Kean was much the same, playing for his own highlght reel rather than for the team.

Back-up centre backs - how little must Dyche think of Godfrey, if he continues to sling Keane on when a back up CB is required. Personally I think Godfrey is as apocalyptic a proposition at CB as Keane is, but at least Godfrey has two identifiable attributes that might be of benefit to us in certain situations; 1, his pace, and 2, unlike Keane, he knows this is football we're playing, not volleyball. I'm fine overall with Dyche being the bloke to get us out of the shit but his continued use of Keane, especially when he doesn't have to use him, will mystify me forever. It's illogical. If he wanted 5 at the back I'd have gone Garner LB and Myko as one of the three in the middle. But Keane's CV says centre back so he has to be used, I suppose.

Beto - the first warning signs for me today, that he might not be that great. Only little things, but there were a couple of occasions when either me or my lad exclaimed that he should be anticipating something, not just waiting for the ball to fall to him. A minor gripe, I still think he has attributes that will benefit us and it was a good move today to put him on for DCL when we were down to 10, as he's quicker than DCL. But I think he's only ever going to be what we suspected he'd be - an average PL striker - rather than anything surprisingly great. Which is a shame, as I was rather hoping he would turn out to be a late-developing Lewandowski.