Well that was disappointing.  Thanks for all the Birthday messages though.

1 minute ago, Sexyfootball said:

It's fine. I have Diaz in my fantasy team !

He could fill his boots vs that Spurs back line.

You know your defence is bad when Disasi and Badiashile would be a massive upgrade! Lol

Now you see Everton this is what a neoghbour does who does not want their neighbour's winning the title, they play like this vs their contender lol.

11 minutes ago, WhiteWall said:

In this instance I agree but I think the principle applies. I am watching the hated scouse atm, and I remember when TAA broke through. They had Clyne there who was young, bright and confident. But they obviously knew that TAA was good enough to step up and Clyne naturally fell by the wayside.

Maybe if it's against Fulham, Ipswich or Soton. This game tho? It'd be cruel to chuck in an 18yr old with the weather, the ref, the dogsh*t opposition tactics against him

Edited December 22, 20241 yr by Deino

3 minutes ago, WeatherMan said:

Well that was disappointing.  Thanks for all the Birthday messages though.

Take it as a we schooled a Dyche team to a 0-0

Just now, Deino said:

Maybe if it's against Fulham, Ipswich or Soton. This game tho? It'd be cruel to chuck in an 18yr old with the weather, the ref, the dogsh*t opposition tactics against him

Perhaps we shouldn't have thrown Chilwell in the sh*tpan before seeing how the games panned out

1 minute ago, Deino said:

Maybe if it's against Fulham, Ipswich or Soton. This game tho? It'd be cruel to chuck in an 18yr old with the weather, the ref, the dogsh*t opposition tactics against him

We threw him in to a game with much worse conditions. -11 against Astana.

Just now, WhiteWall said:

Perhaps we shouldn't have thrown Chilwell in the sh*tpan before seeing how the games panned out

Probably not but Chilwell doesn't fit at all in this system and Cucu's better. Your point works better in this scenario. 

Just chalk it up to a Maresca blunder, he was due one anyway.

I honestly didn't get that impression watching the game. What a performance. 

1 minute ago, Scott Harris said:

We threw him in to a game with much worse conditions. -11 against Astana.

That game was against opponents that was at a much lower level. The weather there although terrible, didn't have winds blowing at 20mph and the refs wasn't this bias.

I understand the frustration but today's opponents are not where you introduce a young players' second game in the PL. He would have been mercilessly targeted by Dyche.

7 minutes ago, Scott Harris said:

We threw him in to a game with much worse conditions. -11 against Astana.

That was just cold. Everton employed high winds, rain, and cold......a. bit of a leveller against a team which would also have thrashed Astana.

We would have lost this game under Pochettino.

A point is better than nothing.

Proper sh*t club Everton hope they go down

Just now, dan_cfc said:

Proper sh*t club Everton hope they go down

I feel like they will eventually if this continues. It just requires a team getting promoted to do well and for the other teams to not fall off, like Wolves have done this season. Everton have become the least interesting team in the league.

Can't win every game, we're going to drop points here and there. 

The media are forcing a narrative of us being in the title race, we're not in it. It'll be out of Liverpool and Arsenal come the last 1/3 of the season. We just got to keep playing our game, improving, dealing with pressure, and finish in the top 4. That'll be a season well done, and hopefully we can win a trophy to cement that. That'll be excellent going into next season, one step at a time lads, enjoy the moment and progress we are making for the time being. 

46 minutes ago, dR3 said:

I honestly didn't get that impression watching the game. What a performance. 

I genuinely thought that he was one of the few players always looking to pass forwards 

Maresca .............."They are one of the five best teams in Europe in terms of clean sheets. You struggle to create chances against them. It was not an easy game."

And if every paid pundit can acknowledge the part the weather played as leveller in an away match against a team with a head of steam playing for new owners, I think we can too. We had a performance that was solid if not spectacular. The team is growing, we're in the race, It's Christmas. what's not to love! 🙂

 

Edited December 22, 20241 yr by TheBeard

A disappointing but far from unexpected performance/result today. I never believed we’d win the league, but somehow you get just a little caught up in it, but reality bites.

With Liverpool winning as well, at least I don’t have to waste time watching MOTD and can crack on with wrapping presents.

I think after today there isn’t a title race.

Fair play to Slot. He’s doing a good job with the Dippers.

Today went much the way I thought it would. Not a great watch but positives to take away. Sanchez, Tosin, Neto, Caicedo and Enzo all played well.

Palmer needs hooked when he isn’t really at it. I’d have brought Nkunku on for him and Guiu for Jackson. No wonder Nkunku allegedly wants out if his only minutes in his preferred position come if Palmer is injured. Gusto had a decent game. Don’t get the dislike from some. He’s learning a new position and is getting better at it.

Its a decent point without Fofana, Lavia and Cucu.

6 minutes ago, 19seventyone said:

Its a decent point without Fofana, Lavia and Cucu.

And Reece James !

9 minutes ago, Sexyfootball said:

And Reece James !

You might as well say and without Tommy Baldwin.

I can't understand managers when they play against bottom feed managers like Dyce who they know will sit deep with 10 men behind the ball and we still play the same way with the same players...its been like this for years regardless of the manager, Maresca it appears is no different, even the lateness of his subs worry me, he needs to change the game earlier, not with 15-10 mins left.

While the conditions were not great we played with little urgency, all walking pace to the half way line and then a slight jog from there on in.  We know you need to play quick passes to pull the defence out of position and you need players with the ability to have ball control and play quick one two's.  This was not the game for Jackson IMO, perhaps Felix or Nkunku up front keeping the ball on the ground especially in these conditions...and why our two wingers are constantly playing cross balls in the box when we don't have a CF is beyond me...Jackson cannot head a ball. Neto of late has been putting some great crosses in only to be wasted.

Whether it be in the January window or the summer, we need a CF who will bury half chances and not take 1 out of 5 which Jackson seems to do and certainly a CB even though a clean sheet today was welcomed Everton were still given a couple of chances they should have buried.

Anyway...can't complain too much we are still in 2nd and above Arsenal...

If you truly believe we are in the title race, and could win the title, then you are disappointed with this result and see it as two points dropped.

However if, like myself, you believe we are not and are, in fact, in a top 4 race then I believe we gained a point today, not lost two. Everton were at their best today. It was a hard game and we always struggle here. 

So for me this is a good point.

1 hour ago, Scott Harris said:

I feel like they will eventually if this continues. It just requires a team getting promoted to do well and for the other teams to not fall off, like Wolves have done this season. Everton have become the least interesting team in the league.

They seem to be making a better fist of it this season. They haven't been below 16th since mid-September.

For a while they seemed to be circling the drain (or the 'Sunderland vortex'): https://www.graceonfootball.com/p/the-sunderland-vortex