Everton 2019/20: Guess Who’s Back

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Sunny von Bulow
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So.

I enjoyed the Big Dunc era. The stomping of Chelsea (which, to be fair, looks less impressive in hindsight, since Chelsea seem to have thrown a rod) and the competent 1-1 draw at Old Trafford were followed by two more draws: 2-2 with Leicester at Goodison in the League Cup, before losing on penalties; and a limp, dull, devoid of skill 0-0 with an equally tepid and sullen Arsenal, with both Ancelloti and Arteta watching from the stands wondering WTF they had gotten themselves into. I'd attribute the latter to three games in six days with a decimated squad who had been playing roughhouse ball on sheer adrenaline and just didn't have anything in the tank.

The Leicester game was nuts. Everton sat in Dunc's favored 4-4-2 to start but it became clear that the Foxes would pick their lock given their huge advantage in midfield. Sure enough two goals in three minutes put them up 2-0 at halftime. Dunc switched up to a 4-2-3-1 and brought on more attackers and the Toffees grew into the game. Tom Davies hit a nice volley from the top of the box past Schmeichel at 70', and Goodison erupted in delirium as old man Leighton Baines looped a postage-stamp curler off his left foot in stoppage time. Unfortunately we shit the bed in penalties so our cup run ended, but a fightback from 0-2 down against the Foxes (who played their A side) was impressive.

The less said about the Arsenal game the better. I think the roots of American football probably trace back to a soccer game like this, where somebody just said fuck it, this is dire, I'm a pick up the goddamn ball and run it into the net.

The limits of Duncanball are clear. He showed a little more tactical nous than his critics acknowledge, but he's still an inexperienced manager. His big contribution was to light a fire under the squad and Goodison, which I'm convinced made the job more attractive to Ancelotti.

Yesterday Everton beat Burnley 1-0, on a Calvert-Lewin header at 80', off a pretty cross from Djibril Sidibe. Sidibe, on loan from Monaco, has impressed as an attacking RB, which is to say that he gets forward and crosses very well. The actual defensive part of being a defender eludes him sometimes- he's been caught badly out of position for a couple of nut-punch goals. So Carlo put him is as a wingback, in front of Seamus Coleman, in a formation that played sometimes like a 3-5-2, and sometimes more a 4-4-2. After a first five minutes where the Toffees looked inept and couldn't get out of their own end, they started to get the hang of it and play with more fluidity. Unlike Dunc, who wanted everything humped long- the better to bypass our ragtag midfield - Carlo wants it played out of the back, and for the most part it worked. Sigurdsson, who has had a terrible season, looked decent as a DM paired with Fabian Delph. They made few mistakes and forwarded the ball competently if unspectacularly from defense to attack. Still a problem with a lack of quality in front of goal, as the Toffees had 20 shots but only broke through late.

It's long been recognized that Calvert-Lewin, a big, strong, fast guy, beats up CBs, stretches defenses, and holds the ball up well, but his detractors have pointed out that he hasn't scored many goals which after all. However, his well-taken diving header gives him 8 goals in all comps at the halfway mark. There have been moans re: Everton's failure to land a 20-goal striker since Lukaku left, and lo and behold DCL might be growing into one. He has done much better playing with another striker at top. Mostly it's been Richarlison, whose style- cutting in from the sides, ball on the floor, facing the keeper - complements DCL's hold-up play and aerial game. Moise Kean has also looked good beside DCL in limited duty. He's still without a goal, but he and Carlo know each other well from Serie A - Carlo tried to bring him to Napoli. I'm optimistic that the two will work well together and Kean will blossom.

Silva's undoing was Everton's defensive collapse, especially giving up five at Anfield. Over the last five with Duncan and Carlo - Chelsea, ManU, Leicester (cup), Arsenal, Burnley - Toffees have shipped only four goals, with clean sheets in the last two games. Clarets had 0 shots on target yesterday, but that probably has more to do with their cynical anti-football approach.

Mason Holgate has been a revelation, not only pairing with Yerry Mina at CB, but also excelling in a couple of games as a midfielder, out of necessity. Effective defending, composed and comfortable on the ball. Probably the best in the XI right now.

After ending the Silva era in the drop zone, we now sit at 13th, six points out of our birthright table position of 7th. With players coming back into the squad from injury- the biggest add would be Jean-Pierre Gbamin, acquired to replace Idrissa Gana Gueye but sidelined with a bad quad pull in Week 2. He's supposedly back in two weeks.

UTFT!
 

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Sunny von Bulow
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Carlo pushes all the right buttons and DCL bags a brace of Magpies to continue en fuego. More later.
 

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Sunny von Bulow
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https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/fabian-delph-everton-finch-farm-17533317
Everton are to speak with Fabian Delph after the midfielder appeared to become embroiled in a social media spat with a fan.

The Blues are dealing with the issue internally to try and gain a full understanding of the validity of the exchanges and what the midfielder has, and has not, said to the fan.

The exchange, said to be on Instagram, came in the wake of Sunday's humiliating derby defeat at Anfield which prompted a small group of angry fans to descend on the club's Finch Farm training ground the day after.

Director of football Marcel Brands was forced to speak with the supporters who were outside of the entrance to the training complex, demanding to see the players.
Brands would go out and see the fans and listen to their grievances following the 1-0 loss against a Liverpool side that was made up of under-23s and fringe senior players.

It is said that he was with the supporters for around 20 minutes.

The incident comes as Delph, a second-half substitute in the defeat, looks to have become involved in an exchange with an angry supporter, with the messages being shared online.

Everton are to speak with the summer signing about the matter to fully understand what has happened.
Fans are in a poisonous mood. There have been many bad moments for Everton over the past few years, and many derby defeats, including the 5-2 loss at Anfield a month ago that was the last straw for Marco Silva. But I have never seen the fanbase as angry and disgusted as it is now, after the 1-0 FA Cup loss at Anfield where a first-string Everton lineup went through the motions and were bullied and cowed by a bunch of LFC academy teenagers with spring-training shirt numbers.

There's a piece in The Atlantic that senior players - Sigurdsson, Schneiderlin, Walcott, Coleman, all of whom have been varying degrees of bad this season, and all of whom stunk out the joint on Sunday - snapped back at Ferguson when he read them the riot act after the game. Supposedly they thought that the managers' tactics were to blame. It's paywalled so I have to get to it and I'll post about it when I read it.

More soon.
 

kobayashis bail bonds

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There's a piece in The Atlantic that senior players - Sigurdsson, Schneiderlin, Walcott, Coleman, all of whom have been varying degrees of bad this season, and all of whom stunk out the joint on Sunday - snapped back at Ferguson when he read them the riot act after the game. Supposedly they thought that the managers' tactics were to blame. It's paywalled so I have to get to it and I'll post about it when I read it.
The Athletic article doesn't name the senior players, right? Those four do seem like the most likely culprits. And frankly, I could do with seeing all of them gone.
But are you getting those four names from another source, or do they just remain the best suspects?
 

JayMags71

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Ferguson’s tirade was met with an element of defiance, with some strongly disputing the allegation they had thrown in the towel in the last 45 minutes at Anfield. Instead, these individuals chose to blame the setup and tactics for the crushing defeat.

There is already a feeling in some quarters that Carlo Ancelotti’s style is limiting the impact of certain players, even if most have found the experience of working with a manager of his status to be inspiring.

“It’s hard for individuals to help the team as they cannot keep the ball and play three or four passes to each other. They are playing bad football,” a source close to the first team told The Athletic.

“Who on earth goes from Big Sam to Marco Silva and then from Silva to Ancelotti?” said another source. “When players don’t trust decisions and direction from management, they get frustrated and lose respect. When that happens, players look at all management as the same thing, from a new manager to ownership.”
 

candylandriots

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Why was Ferguson managing the game? I thought Ancelotti had taken over already. Was it a transition situation or was he given the reins for the Cup? Or am I missing something else entirely?
 

OurF'ingCity

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Why was Ferguson managing the game? I thought Ancelotti had taken over already. Was it a transition situation or was he given the reins for the Cup? Or am I missing something else entirely?
Ancelotti was managing and Ferguson is an assistant - the "tirade" supposedly occurred immediately after the game before Ancelotti had made his way back to the dressing room.

This is what happens when you change managers as often as Everton has the past few years - players brought in to play one system become much less effective under a new regime, and more broadly players can't settle into a role when the team's preferred tactics are changing seemingly every season or even more frequently than that. Everton is kind of like a college football team that has had three coaches in four years - players brought in/recruited under one coach are now superfluous/not ideal/not happy under the new coach. Here's hoping Ancelotti sticks for at least a few seasons because they really can't keep doing what they've been doing manager-wise and expect any different results.
 

candylandriots

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Ancelotti was managing and Ferguson is an assistant - the "tirade" supposedly occurred immediately after the game before Ancelotti had made his way back to the dressing room.

This is what happens when you change managers as often as Everton has the past few years - players brought in to play one system become much less effective under a new regime, and more broadly players can't settle into a role when the team's preferred tactics are changing seemingly every season or even more frequently than that. Everton is kind of like a college football team that has had three coaches in four years - players brought in/recruited under one coach are now superfluous/not ideal/not happy under the new coach. Here's hoping Ancelotti sticks for at least a few seasons because they really can't keep doing what they've been doing manager-wise and expect any different results.
Thank you for the clarification. I read it the first time as the players being upset with Ferguson’s tactics, but I read it again and see I misread it. Dunc is being the company man.
 

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Sunny von Bulow
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Ancelotti was managing and Ferguson is an assistant - the "tirade" supposedly occurred immediately after the game before Ancelotti had made his way back to the dressing room.

This is what happens when you change managers as often as Everton has the past few years - players brought in to play one system become much less effective under a new regime, and more broadly players can't settle into a role when the team's preferred tactics are changing seemingly every season or even more frequently than that. Everton is kind of like a college football team that has had three coaches in four years - players brought in/recruited under one coach are now superfluous/not ideal/not happy under the new coach. Here's hoping Ancelotti sticks for at least a few seasons because they really can't keep doing what they've been doing manager-wise and expect any different results.
Agree 100%. The players have gone from Martinez to Koeman to (interimly U23 coach David Unsworth) to Fat Sam to Sliva to (interimly Ferguson) to Ancelotti. Lots of different styles and temperaments in there.

It was also the seventh game in 21 days for a squad that has been stretched very thin.

Having said that, the display in the second half of the cup game was a complete fucking disaster. A first-team EFC side rolled over to get its belly tickled by a bunch of kids. Some have tried to blame Carlo, because the Route 1 tactics of the first half seemed to work better than trying to play from the back in the second - but if the likes of Coleman, Sidibe, Mina, Schneiderlin, and Sigurdsson, with dozens of years of top-flight football and a couple hundred caps between them, can't thread two passes together through players who have never stepped foot on a PL ground before, it takes big brass ones to blame the tactics.
 

JayMags71

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(I)f the likes of Coleman, Sidibe, Mina, Schneiderlin, and Sigurdsson, with dozens of years of top-flight football and a couple hundred caps between them, can't thread two passes together through players who have never stepped foot on a PL ground before, it takes big brass ones to blame the tactics.
Moreover, how many of those guys actually won anything? Sidibe? How valuable was he in Russia?

Or, is that the wrong lens through which to view this?
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Ancelotti hasn't stayed anywhere too long since his Milan days, so he may not be up truly committed to a rebuilding process. But I think he will do good things, even if he only stays a couple years, simply because he has worked with the best in the world and won't stand for any bullshit from substandard players who think more highly of themselves than they really merit. Everton need a shake up and he has the stature to basically tell the likes of Sigurdsson, Schneiderlin, and Walcott that they are nothing special and will either work their socks off and buy into what he is selling or get fecked.
 

JayMags71

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Ancelotti hasn't stayed anywhere too long since his Milan days
Some of his wandering isn’t necessarily his fault. He got the heave-ho from Chelsea, so RA could hire AVB, who didn’t last a season. And neither Real nor Bayern are renowned for their patience with managers. He won major trophies at each of those stops (CL w/RM, Bundesliga with BM), and they still shitcanned him. Yeah, he’s inherited outsized rosters, but you still need a coach that commands respect in the dressing room.
 

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Sunny von Bulow
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Ancelotti hasn't stayed anywhere too long since his Milan days, so he may not be up truly committed to a rebuilding process. But I think he will do good things, even if he only stays a couple years, simply because he has worked with the best in the world and won't stand for any bullshit from substandard players who think more highly of themselves than they really merit. Everton need a shake up and he has the stature to basically tell the likes of Sigurdsson, Schneiderlin, and Walcott that they are nothing special and will either work their socks off and buy into what he is selling or get fecked.
Carlo was also an excellent player in his day - and w/r/t the current issues with Schneiderlin and Sigurdsson, was a midfielder for Roma and Parma, winning several league titles and domestic cups, two European Cups. He also played in two WCs for Italy. So just on that alone he's got ample ground to either a) work with them to improve their play, so they don't get bossed by a bunch of teenagers, and/or b) tell them to go scratch.
 

67YAZ

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I don't know, if the assistant manager - who just got demoted after an interim stint - came in and started yelling at me after a loss, I'd be tempted to snap back, too.
 

fletcherpost

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I don't know, if the assistant manager - who just got demoted after an interim stint - came in and started yelling at me after a loss, I'd be tempted to snap back, too.
I think demoted is not the best word choice. Sure, you can say that, but in truth, he stepped into the breach short notice from his coaching position, as a favour until a replacement for Silva was found and put in post. He then retains a job on the coaching staff and, as we all know he cares deeply about the club and is a true servant of the club - love him or hate him or otherwise. When the current crop of players have gone to better or worse things my guess is Ferguson will still have a job at Everton. He's old school, yes, and old school doesn't mean good or better, but as a player he always put a shift in, and it has to hurt him seeing the die on field displays of late - especially in a derby match against local rivals who put out a second string team.
 

67YAZ

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I’m not saying they’re right, but I can understand why some players would snap back. It’s been a lot of spinning wheels at Everton recently and players probably don’t feel like they have been put in a position to be successful. The whole team got embarrassed out there, and then they have to take stick from a guy not good enough to be your manager? I get that it’s sport and players are supposed to show passion and desire - and that’s kind of Ferguson’s thing - but it’s also a professional setting. Do there have to be “tirades”?

To me, the real issue is why and how this story leaked out. I’m of the mind that internal conflicts are best kept internal.
 

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Sunny von Bulow
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I think demoted is not the best word choice. Sure, you can say that, but in truth, he stepped into the breach short notice from his coaching position, as a favour until a replacement for Silva was found and put in post. He then retains a job on the coaching staff and, as we all know he cares deeply about the club and is a true servant of the club - love him or hate him or otherwise. When the current crop of players have gone to better or worse things my guess is Ferguson will still have a job at Everton. He's old school, yes, and old school doesn't mean good or better, but as a player he always put a shift in, and it has to hurt him seeing the die on field displays of late - especially in a derby match against local rivals who put out a second string team.
Agree 100%.

I’m not saying they’re right, but I can understand why some players would snap back. It’s been a lot of spinning wheels at Everton recently and players probably don’t feel like they have been put in a position to be successful. The whole team got embarrassed out there, and then they have to take stick from a guy not good enough to be your manager? I get that it’s sport and players are supposed to show passion and desire - and that’s kind of Ferguson’s thing - but it’s also a professional setting. Do there have to be “tirades”?
I didn't see you in the FA Cup thread during the game - so I'm going to guess you didn't watch it. I did and was in the thread, as were several others here. I've documented the Toffees' ups and downs here (ad nauseam you might say) and to my best memory I haven't missed a minute of an Everton game in the past 2 years.

You'll see that my contemporaneous impression in the game thread was that I had never seen Everton do worse. That's saying a lot. You only have to go back to last month's 5-2 thrashing at Anfield. That was at least at the hands of some of the A team - yes we got gutted like a fish by Mane, but so does the rest of the world. Everton also showed some fightback and quality with two goals in the first half before surrendering to the inevitable pummelling.

There have been other grim defeats. Losses to all three newly promoted sides this season by the same 2-0 scoreline. Blowing a 2-1 80' lead at Brighton and losing 3-2. Getting bounced out of the FA Cup last spring by Millwall, who were in the drop zone of the Championship at the time. 2-6 at home to Spurs last year and it wasn't that close. Blowing a two-goal lead at Newcastle after Sunderland's Jordan Pickford stops playing football and starts jawing with the Newcastle crowd. The Origi 90'+6 game. Pick a dozen more (mixed in with admittedly some very good outcomes).

This was waaaaay worse. Orders of magnitude worse.

There's no debate among the fanbase about this. The sentiment is that the worst offenders - definitely Schneiderlin - probably shouldn't wear the shirt ever again.

To me, the real issue is why and how this story leaked out. I’m of the mind that internal conflicts are best kept internal.
I agree.
 

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Sunny von Bulow
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To be clear, training and game action is still a ways off, but he was initially written off for the season.
 

Tuff Ghost

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With Arsenal playing Everton on Sunday, I've been catching up a little bit on what Ancelotti has been doing at Everton. It's kind of interesting to see that he is back to a 4-4-2, which was his signature early in his coaching career, but then abandoned for the last 20 or so years.

He played on the Milan side in the late 80's when Sacchi went to the 4-4-2, partially to accommodate Ancelotti who was better in a more central midfield role than out wide in a 4-3-3. Ruud Gullit's excellent book, How to Watch Football, has some nice sections about Sacchi and the 4-4-2, and today Michael Cox has a great article on the Athletic. I like this quote from Cox:

Sacchi revolutionised Italian football by ditching the much-loved system of man-marking with a spare man behind and insisting upon a “flat” four-man defence, which held an aggressive offside trap. This concept was controversial enough in Italy and traditionalists mourned the loss of the classy, intelligent libero. But because Sacchi’s approach depended upon cohesive, compact pressing as a unit, he had no place for the trequartista: the No 10 given freedom to create from between the lines. Sacchi’s emphasis upon compactness meant he wanted three lines of players, whereas a 4-3-1-2, for example, meant a “longer” side.
In Ancelotti's early coaching years (after being an assistant to Sacchi), he stayed with Sacchi's 4-4-2 and had no interest in a no. 10, which led to Zola leaving Parma for Chelsea and Ancelotti vetoing a signing of Baggio for Parma.

When Ancelotti went to Juventus, he had Zidane on the squad and then began a 20 year run of employing no. 10s, often in a 4-3-2-1 formation. At various stops (Juve, Real Madrid), he often played multiple players who were considered no. 10s and he gained the reputation of a players' manager, who could accommodate the stars into a system that worked for them.

Obviously Everton, while a strong squad, don't have the same top-class players that some of his teams have had over the years, so he's gone back to the 4-4-2, which Duncan Ferguson started before his arrival.

Another nice quote from Cox about the current Everton team, their 4-4-2 and the lack of a no. 10:
It was Ferguson, in his caretaker stint, who had introduced the 4-4-2 system but Ancelotti has stuck with it and made Everton more cohesive. Under Marco Silva, there was a debate about whether Gylfi Sigurdsson or Alex Iwobi was a better fit for the No 10 role. Ancelotti has scrapped the role entirely — Sigurdsson has only been used as a deeper midfielder, Iwobi on the flank. Up front, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison are combining excellently, particularly on the break. Calvert-Lewin offers strength, physicality and the ability to run in behind, while Richarlison offers speed and invention in slightly deeper positions.
Hopefully Sunday's match provides more entertainment than the 0-0 draw before Christmas when Ferguson and Ljungberg were both wrapping up their time as interim managers.
 

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Sunny von Bulow
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Sigurdsson was brought in on big money (at the time) to be an elite No. 10. Even when he was putting up good numbers - 13 goals, 6 assists last year - he was criticized by fans for disappearing during long stretches of the game, for failing to impose his will like a 10 should, only to pop up every other game or so with an otherworldly goal or perfectly placed free kick. This year he has only two goals and he's been very poor. His passing is timid and he's been awful going forward. He's been decent in a deeper lying midfield but only decent, and not every time out, and only because the injuries to Gomes and Jean-Pierre Gbamin have left nobody but Sigurdsson and the corpse of Morgan Schneiderlin back there.

The 4-4-2 has worked for a couple of reasons - the success of combo of Richarlison and DCL most notably. They are the prototypical big guy/fast guy pairing. DCL was considered a bust by many fans, he used to do everything well except find the net which of course is what strikers are supposed to do. Now, with Richy playing right next to him, he can play hold-up and use his sizde and strength to bang with the CB's and get sitters off of Richy's movement.

Everton's fullbacks also are good attackers. Digne is rounding into form after a slow start. Djibril Sidibe likes going forward so much that he often forgets his defensive abilities; in practice it can be a 3-5-2 on the attack. Bernard is playing well, and Theo Walcott, history of underperformance and terrible touch as a passer and finisher notwithstanding, has done well lately in just getting forward and stretching the defense. So the current Everton formation is a donut, with a hole in the middle.

Incredibly, Andre Gomes is match-fit and may start on Sunday, so that may put some starch in the middle of the park. There was some success with a Gomes - Tom Davies pairing. Davies has not caught fire so Fabian Delph may be Gomes' partner (or sub, since he'll likely not go 90 the first time out).
 

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Sunny von Bulow
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On a fun note, while most of the Everton players went to Dubai, Ibiza, etc for a few days during the winter break, Calvert-Lewin and Davies hit NYC for Fashion Week and were Instagram and fashion-journalism sensations:







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Sunny von Bulow
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Our long national nightmare the Morgan Schneiderlin era is over at Everton. Back to France, to Nice, for 2M, about 20M less than Toffees paid for him.