Having escaped the drop by the narrowest margins and the most surreal means, Frankie Lampard and the Toffees head into this season with some cause for optimism, but more downside fear tbh.
Richarlison is gone. No Toffee begrudges him. He said he was going to keep us up and he did. Spurs fans will love his work rate, his determination, his giving all for the cause, his snide.
The first signing was James Tarkowski. Solid business. A seasoned PL defender, 30+ games a season for many years (durability being a big concern for our lot), a natural leader. We now have an excess of CB's, but not enough good ones. Yerry Mina is fantastic, our xGA is a full goal lower and our points per game average almost a full point higher when he plays - but he's hurt more than half the time. (Having just seen Everton in person, being maybe 40' from goal, more on which below, I can also confirm that he is a massive human being - it's like plopping a figure from the next-gauge-up into a Lionel train layout). Michael Keane has been very good at times but goes through spells where he is timid and error-prone. Ben Godfrey was a beast two seasons ago but had a bad case of COVID and lost his athleticism last year. Mason Holgate just has not been able to sustain it. One or more of these will be sold. Unless someone decides to bet on Mina staying healthy, either Holgate or Keane will be moved on for whatever we can get.
At the fullbacks, of the two players bought with the Lucas Digne money, LB Vitalii Mynkolenko looks like the real deal. RB Nathan Patterson, Scotland international, was injured and has yet to feature, but looks promising as an eventual successor to, and frequent fill-in for, the increasingly creaky Seamus Coleman. Depth beyond that is a problem. Young Niels Nkonkou was out on loan to Liege last season; he's shown promise as an attacking FB but is a work-in-progress on the defensive end, positional awareness is not very good.
Midfield is the soft white underbelly. No one truly convinces. There is a terrible need at both the 10/creator and the 6/holding mid spots. Dele has had one brilliant half of football in the Palace game that kept us up, but has failed to convince otherwise. Allan is a decent destroyer-type but is on the wrong side of 30 and is badly exposed if left in a midfield two. Doucore has had some success as a box-to-box midfielder and was having a great season before getting hurt (at the time he had covered more ground than any other PL player); he's not been that good since. OCST binky Tom Davies has been cursed by his storybook goal against City as a 17-year-old, I think, and has struggled to find a spot, bouncing between midfield roles and not being that good at any one thing; this is his make or break season. Jean-Pierre Gbamin was brought in from Mainz with great potential as a defensive mid, but suffered an unbelievable run of injuries and has been largely written off by the fanbase. He was loaned to CSKA Moscow last season and did decently well, ie stayed on the pitch without getting hurt. If he can be even remotely useful, it would be huge. He did look decent in the first outing, but I'm not that easily won over.
Andre Gomes is not a viable PL footballer anymore. He is supposedly a creative, ball-playing mid, but since his injury just doesn't have the physicality and mentality to win battles in the middle of the park. Defensively he is an atrocity. He is linked with clubs with Italy and Portugal, where he could be decent, but unfortunately is on big wages so we'd unload at a loss, if at all. His big-money signing exemplifies the worst decision making of the Moshiri/Kenwright era.
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Up front, it's grim with Richy gone. OCST family hero and pet lizard namesake Dominic Calvert-Lewin is back in fighting trim, but supposedly wants out. Can't blame him, since he can't thrive without steady supply and anyone who provided same in the recent past is gone. Anthony Gordon was a breakout star. Despite playing mostly wide, in a statement of intent he's taken the 10 shirt. Let's see if he can fill those shoes. Although the pace, industry and football smarts are clear, his end product is still a little rough. Alex Iwobi, long considered Moshiri's worst signing which is saying a lot, massively stepped up last season and may have been our best outfield player over the last two months. No one played with more spirit and drive. He thrived playing centrally but was shifted to right wing back out of necessity toward the end. Demari Gray, before getting hurt, showed flashes of brilliance and poor decision-making, ie what he's always done. Andros Townsend did what he does, which was to provide the occasional golazo, dependable crossing service, veteran leadership, and good two-way play, although a step slower. Unfortunately he did his ACL, cruelly at Palace where he was deservedly warmly received, and his ETA is far off. Salomon Rondon is old. He was brought in by Rafa Benitez, who oversaw his prime years at Newcastle and also his sucky years in China. Due to injuries up front, he was pressed into service while not yet match fit (a nice way to say "blob"), was terrible, and got crucified by Goodison fans. Through it all he kept his head up and toward the end of the season provided decent holdup play; if fit he could be a barely-adequate DCL backup or late sub.
I was at the Everton-Arsenal game on Saturday. Everton were terrible in the first half. Gunners went through our midfield like no one was there. Lampard played three at the back with wingbacks and a midfield two and got slaughtered (he said later it's because he had a surplus of CBs and no holding midfielders, which is true; however he played this formation often and we got killed whenever he did, we always look better with a back four and an extra body in the middle of the park). Second half was much better, as a bunch of kids with tight-end numbers outplayed the senior squad. In particular watch out for midfielder/fullback Stanley Mills and defensive mid Lewis Warrington.
Everton fans came out in force. Supporters clubs from all over the country represented, and fans flew in from England and everywhere - I spoke with a father/son team from Vancouver and Toronto respectively. The Baltimore Toffees sponsored a get together at a bar near the stadium and we marched over with flags, chanting, blue smoke bombs, the whole bit. Baltimore police, understandably a jaded lot, were baffled.
Fantastic time.
Hope springs eternal. A couple of smart buys and good health, we could finish 8-10 and have a good foundation for next season. But it's unfortunately quite possible that we could open the new stadium against Rotherham or Stoke.
Richarlison is gone. No Toffee begrudges him. He said he was going to keep us up and he did. Spurs fans will love his work rate, his determination, his giving all for the cause, his snide.
The first signing was James Tarkowski. Solid business. A seasoned PL defender, 30+ games a season for many years (durability being a big concern for our lot), a natural leader. We now have an excess of CB's, but not enough good ones. Yerry Mina is fantastic, our xGA is a full goal lower and our points per game average almost a full point higher when he plays - but he's hurt more than half the time. (Having just seen Everton in person, being maybe 40' from goal, more on which below, I can also confirm that he is a massive human being - it's like plopping a figure from the next-gauge-up into a Lionel train layout). Michael Keane has been very good at times but goes through spells where he is timid and error-prone. Ben Godfrey was a beast two seasons ago but had a bad case of COVID and lost his athleticism last year. Mason Holgate just has not been able to sustain it. One or more of these will be sold. Unless someone decides to bet on Mina staying healthy, either Holgate or Keane will be moved on for whatever we can get.
At the fullbacks, of the two players bought with the Lucas Digne money, LB Vitalii Mynkolenko looks like the real deal. RB Nathan Patterson, Scotland international, was injured and has yet to feature, but looks promising as an eventual successor to, and frequent fill-in for, the increasingly creaky Seamus Coleman. Depth beyond that is a problem. Young Niels Nkonkou was out on loan to Liege last season; he's shown promise as an attacking FB but is a work-in-progress on the defensive end, positional awareness is not very good.
Midfield is the soft white underbelly. No one truly convinces. There is a terrible need at both the 10/creator and the 6/holding mid spots. Dele has had one brilliant half of football in the Palace game that kept us up, but has failed to convince otherwise. Allan is a decent destroyer-type but is on the wrong side of 30 and is badly exposed if left in a midfield two. Doucore has had some success as a box-to-box midfielder and was having a great season before getting hurt (at the time he had covered more ground than any other PL player); he's not been that good since. OCST binky Tom Davies has been cursed by his storybook goal against City as a 17-year-old, I think, and has struggled to find a spot, bouncing between midfield roles and not being that good at any one thing; this is his make or break season. Jean-Pierre Gbamin was brought in from Mainz with great potential as a defensive mid, but suffered an unbelievable run of injuries and has been largely written off by the fanbase. He was loaned to CSKA Moscow last season and did decently well, ie stayed on the pitch without getting hurt. If he can be even remotely useful, it would be huge. He did look decent in the first outing, but I'm not that easily won over.
Andre Gomes is not a viable PL footballer anymore. He is supposedly a creative, ball-playing mid, but since his injury just doesn't have the physicality and mentality to win battles in the middle of the park. Defensively he is an atrocity. He is linked with clubs with Italy and Portugal, where he could be decent, but unfortunately is on big wages so we'd unload at a loss, if at all. His big-money signing exemplifies the worst decision making of the Moshiri/Kenwright era.
View: https://twitter.com/JoelFreemanEFC/status/1547661921309974528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1547661921309974528%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=
Up front, it's grim with Richy gone. OCST family hero and pet lizard namesake Dominic Calvert-Lewin is back in fighting trim, but supposedly wants out. Can't blame him, since he can't thrive without steady supply and anyone who provided same in the recent past is gone. Anthony Gordon was a breakout star. Despite playing mostly wide, in a statement of intent he's taken the 10 shirt. Let's see if he can fill those shoes. Although the pace, industry and football smarts are clear, his end product is still a little rough. Alex Iwobi, long considered Moshiri's worst signing which is saying a lot, massively stepped up last season and may have been our best outfield player over the last two months. No one played with more spirit and drive. He thrived playing centrally but was shifted to right wing back out of necessity toward the end. Demari Gray, before getting hurt, showed flashes of brilliance and poor decision-making, ie what he's always done. Andros Townsend did what he does, which was to provide the occasional golazo, dependable crossing service, veteran leadership, and good two-way play, although a step slower. Unfortunately he did his ACL, cruelly at Palace where he was deservedly warmly received, and his ETA is far off. Salomon Rondon is old. He was brought in by Rafa Benitez, who oversaw his prime years at Newcastle and also his sucky years in China. Due to injuries up front, he was pressed into service while not yet match fit (a nice way to say "blob"), was terrible, and got crucified by Goodison fans. Through it all he kept his head up and toward the end of the season provided decent holdup play; if fit he could be a barely-adequate DCL backup or late sub.
I was at the Everton-Arsenal game on Saturday. Everton were terrible in the first half. Gunners went through our midfield like no one was there. Lampard played three at the back with wingbacks and a midfield two and got slaughtered (he said later it's because he had a surplus of CBs and no holding midfielders, which is true; however he played this formation often and we got killed whenever he did, we always look better with a back four and an extra body in the middle of the park). Second half was much better, as a bunch of kids with tight-end numbers outplayed the senior squad. In particular watch out for midfielder/fullback Stanley Mills and defensive mid Lewis Warrington.
Everton fans came out in force. Supporters clubs from all over the country represented, and fans flew in from England and everywhere - I spoke with a father/son team from Vancouver and Toronto respectively. The Baltimore Toffees sponsored a get together at a bar near the stadium and we marched over with flags, chanting, blue smoke bombs, the whole bit. Baltimore police, understandably a jaded lot, were baffled.
Fantastic time.
Hope springs eternal. A couple of smart buys and good health, we could finish 8-10 and have a good foundation for next season. But it's unfortunately quite possible that we could open the new stadium against Rotherham or Stoke.
