Post by deadbat on Jul 20, 2020 21:47:13 GMT
Pod and report….
soundcloud.com/tufty-club/tufty-club-reaction-everton-home
The dreams for European football for the Blades are over after a number of results over the weekend and tonight means that the highest United can now finish is 8th place. After a poor start to the restart, United had won three straight at home but two poor results against sides out of form have put paid to the chances of the dream season. After a poor showing at Leicester, manager Wilder slammed the players but for once did not get the reaction he hoped for as the Toffees got a surprise victory.
United named an unchanged side despite the roasting from manager Wilder after the defeat at Leicester with Fleck being left on the bench. Leon Clarke appeared on the bench for what could be his Bramall Lane bow with no place for Lys Mousset. Everton started with former Blade Calvert Lewin spearheading the front line and gave starts to Sigurdsson and Walcott. Youngster Braithwaite started at the back alongside Michael Keane. Everton had looked a side ready for the summer break but still a graphic before the game showed an outlay of over 300 million over the last few years.
The first minutes saw a few hefty tackles from Berge and McBurnie as United at least put a few tackles in after the non show at the King Power. It had been a scrappy opening and neither team could find any fluency at all. Baldock was well forward and won an early corner that was cleared. United were playing higher up the field and as Everton tried to play it out – United opted to pick them off. United won a free kick from Berge being tripped and Pickford took no chances and pushed away. Norwood took a great corner that was pushed away.
Everton had offered little so far but Calvert Lewin good work found Walcott who got in after the clever ball and dragged the ball across the box. The drinks break came but it had been a poor game with Richarlison hitting the deck a feature so far showing how bad it had been.
Berge and Baldock won a corner but it was cleared and Osborn brought down Walcott as he sprinted away and was lucky not to be booked. Davies was carded for a poor challenge on McBurnie. Norwood clever ball had been United’s main threat and another good one was cleared and Stevens smashed it miles over.
Everton were having more of the ball but there had been few chances although Basham had to be alert to poke away from Richarlison. United’s best chances, if you can call them that, came from a Basham turn and cross but Pickford in truth was under no pressure and did not need to parry away.
The best chance of the game came when from an Everton corner, Henderson pushed away but not far enough and Walcott sent a lovely cross to the back post where Calvert Lewin got the jump on a static Berge and headed down and against the post. He should have scored really in a game where that was the only chance.
Osborn’s deflected effort drifted tamely back to Pickford before Richarlison fell over (again) but unbelievably Norwood was penalised when he won the ball and was booked too in a real moment of misjudgement from the ref who had let worse tackles from Osborn and McBurnie go. The half time whistle came after the free kick was cleared. United had not done anywhere near enough with no efforts on goal and Everton would definitely have been the happier side having created more and having more of the ball.
United did not heed the warning from crosses as just after the break Everton took the lead. A free kick was won on the left and Sigurdsson’s free kick was a beauty but with Berge and Stevens ball watching, RICHARLISON got in between and flicked a firm header past Henderson into the corner. It was poor defending but a great delivery and desire from the striker to get in to score.
United tried to respond and Stevens was in on the angle but could not get the ball down and the ball was cleared and Everton were then away at the other end but the cross evaded everyone. McGoldrick had a shot blocked after good work from Basham who was one of the few United players carrying the fight. The game had become a bit end too end and more good work from Basham saw his cross into a really dangerous area but the Blades front two were static.
Everton could have made the game save when Calvert Lewin got the better of Egan and ran in on goal but his shot was saved by Henderson. United were seeing more of the ball now but not really creating anything at all. Berge’s cross was blocked via a combination of Keane and McBurnie and went out for a goal kick.
Sharp and Fleck came on for McBurnie and Osborne on the hour but Everton still looked more like scoring again as a neat move saw passes exchanged and Calvert Lewin’s cross was away from incoming Everton players.
The drinks break then saw Lundstram replace Norwood but the game continued in the same vein with Everton looking dangerous with pace on the break but United not having any way through and still not had mustered a shot on goal. Fleck did finally thread a lovely ball through but Sharp could not take it and it got away from him.
The game entered the final 10 minutes and Zivkovic came on for Basham as United went to four at the back and the frontman won a throw in down the left and then was involved as Fleck and then Stevens sent over a cross and Baldock looped his header over.
The final 5 minutes and stoppage time saw United barely able to offer anything of note and frustratingly United kept moving it sideways with Berge and Lundstram chief culprits in passiveness. The final chance, if you can call it that, came when McGoldrick scooped miles over at the end. The final whistle went with United once again failing to muster a shot on target for the second consecutive game and Everton deservedly winning a poor game with a solid defence and more attacking threat.
United – We were bad on Saturday and a lot said Leicester worked us out and just were too good for us. Well they were out of form and showed how poor they have been recently v Spurs. Tonight, we played a team on the beach whose form has been horrific. They have a dodgy keeper and poor defence with a rookie centre back. We did not lay a glove on them and deservedly lost a really bad game of football. They created 2 or 3 decent chances outside the goal – not sure he had any clear chances and certainly no efforts on goal. Wilder slammed us after the game but not sure what he says tonight as it was nearly the same – not sure we were much better – it was just we played a poor team. There we no urgency, life or willingness to take chances. So many players were passive all game. It was all backwards and sideways. I felt Norwood did ok and some decent set plays and then Baldock and Bash in the 2nd half got forward well but outside of this so many very average to poor performances. The front two have given two very static games and we have had absolutely nothing up top. Yes, they have had no service but they need to hold it up/work harder. Both are very inconsistent and an area we need to be better in – sadly with little to spend not sure how we do that. I also thought the midfield were not tight enough again and it was all jogging pace. Maybe we were knackered and maybe we just had nothing left but there was no desire. We did not even chuck men forward till right at the end. I felt we just looked like we had no belief. Normally Wilder gets a reaction after one of his bollockings but tonight we got nothing. I am sure the players wanted to respond but when you are tired and lifeless, you end up not being able to run both with or without the ball. It was all very devoid of ideas. Not sure after they scored that anyone felt we would get back in the game. I felt we could have played till midnight and probably still not tested the keeper.
Everton are not a good side but won the game without having to do much at all. A few decent bits of play and they score. They then defended easily and won comfortably. I wanted a few United players to run at players, penetrate and at least draw men out but it was all just sideways and backwards. I cannot even blame the crosses. Norwood put a few good ones in as did Basham but we never turned them all game and we never made them even deal with anything difficult. At least get the ball in the box once or twice, take a shot, make them think. It is the first time we have not had a shot on goal since that Southend 0-3 defeat in August 2016. So nearly four years!
They just kept funnelling us wide and then back inside and moved across. It was easy. It is concerning how we have looked absolutely clueless the last few games and even subs have just not made any difference. Maybe we are just beaten in terms of energy etc but you would think with a huge prize that many of these will never play for again, that we would at least show some bravery and have a go – that is the Wilder mantra but tonight but we looked like we were feeling sorry for ourselves. I believe it is a combination of the fatigue and mental side but also the players had maybe overachieved too at times and the reality is we are going to finish mid table and that’s maybe about where we are. We have shown some fantastic performances but since lockdown alone, we have served up some dreadful showings – at least 5 where we have not had a shot on target and defended basic stuff badly. It’s a shame that we have petered out as we seemed to have got going again but the last 2 have been as bad as the first 3 games really and individually and collectively, we have not been good enough in these games. Still we have had a fantastic season. To finish top half would have been dreamland so important we do not go too far in criticism. However, we can say we have been crap in 5 out of the last 9 games – and ultimately that is why we won’t quite get the dream that seemed so achievable. We have lost as many (4) since the restart as we had in the previous 21 games.
We have nothing to play for on Sunday but hope we can at least finish the season with a better performance as the last two have been poor and would not want us to go out with three defeats. It is a disappointing way to end and sure many of the critics will say it does not bode well for next season but I feel the players will come back hungry after a break. We do need to add some quality but that is a concern if Wilder says it will not be big money signings as having to scrape around for Championship players is not really the market we want to be looking at. I do hope we can find some value for money in the continent but that is an area we seem to struggle to exploit.
Ratings:
Henderson 7/10 – Not a lot to do. He did not convince on a punch that led to the one hitting the post but then had no chance on the goal. Made one good save from Calvert Lewin from a one on one.
Baldock 7/10 – Thought he was one of our better players first half and at least got forward and tried to attack and was well advanced. Won a few corners/set plays. Second half did not see as much of him as Basham was more advanced and at times took too long to do things but felt one of few to come out with much credit. Only knock is the challenge when he seemed to put his leg into the Everton man – maybe it was an accident but did not look great.
Stevens 6/10 – Not sure he is making the best decisions since the restart with and without the ball. Taking too long to do basic things and his passing /touch has been off a lot. Defensively he is not as switched on and the goal summed it up as he was closest to his man but Berge’s reaction suggested it might have been his man.
Basham 7.5/10 – Our best player and continued to make his case for player of the season. Committed and fought to the end (or when he went off). He was the only player really carrying the fight at the end and busting a gut to get forward. His two crosses might have been the most dangerous we looked. Felt sorry for him as everyone else kept giving it to him and asking him to do it.
O’Connell 6.5/10 – Thought he was a bit slow to do things and defensively he was caught ball watching a bit. He had improved us but the last two games teams have got through us down the sides too much. When going forward he often took too many touches or stopped instead of driving.
Egan 6/10 – Thought Calvert Lewin caused him problems and ragged him about a bit. He was never really on top of him and the chance when he shrugged him off summed it up. He tried to move out with the ball but after Norwood went off had little options to pass to.
Norwood 7/10 – Thought he was decent tonight and that when he went off, we got worse and looked disorganised and did not have any control. Not saying we were great first half but at least he helped us keep it a bit. He also put 4 or 5 very good corners/set plays in but no one got on the end of any of them. Would not have took him off as one of few to pass it forward tonight.
Osborn 4/10 – Been great since he came in but off at Leicester and tonight, he had a bit of a mare. He gave it away, had poor touches and got run off and gave free kicks away also. He was fortunate to survive as long as he did as just had one and felt that he knew it as he seemed to be constantly chasing after his own mistakes.
Berge 5/10 – Thought he was one of our poorer players. He had 2/3 good games in the run but have to say he has still had far more passive and anonymous games than good one and still not fully convinced me. Maybe he is young/new country but I want to see him get on the ball and drive or if not play some forward passes. He was timid physically (Calvert Lewin chance) and on the ball was passive. He kept going backwards or sideways – fine if we were actually stretching them by moving it around but it needed to be quicker and forward. Needs to do a lot more for me in games like that. He ended up playing ‘his’ position but not sure he influenced things any more and it was the same safe sideways and backwards.
McBurnie 4/10 – Had two fantastic games v Spurs and also v Chelsea where he led the line, worked hard and was a nuisance and goal threat. However, he is too inconsistent. He can be brilliant but the has been non existent in several other games – last two for example. He did not hold it up, was not getting in good areas and the game just passed him by. I would rather have some level of 7/10 than say 4’s and then 8-9/10’s. Tonight we had nothing up top.
McGoldrick 4/10 – Think for the most part he has had a really consistent season (despite the lack of goals) but he too has summed us up since lockdown with some great showings and then some poor, ineffective ones. He never got on the ball, did not combine with McBurnie and never came off to show for the ball. When he had it he was sloppy and never looked like scoring really – the wretched effort at the end summed up his night. I felt the strikers were were really poor and it was so easy for Everton tonight on the floor and in the air.
Subs –
Sharp 6/10 – Won a few free kicks and at least showing some hunger and tried to get down the sides but everything was too far from goal. He did have one good chance but mis controlled the ball after a great ball from Fleck. Really hard though at the end to create much as it was all a bit desperate and we lacked the quality to get the ball where he needed it. That is the problem we get so few chances you have to take or make something from the ones you have.
Fleck 7/10 – Best he has been since the re-start and at least got on the ball and tried to make things happen. I felt him and Bash were the only ones who looked anything like creating anything after the break. Made more forward passes than the rest of the team and at least wanted to get us into the final third. Everyone else seemed obsessed with safety/backwards. He should start the final game on Sunday. Just a shame he lost form and got a few injuries after having a fantastic season as he was key for us to finish the season strongly.
Lundstram – Looked completely disinterested since the return. Whether it be his contract or he s sulking about losing his place – he simply does not look arsed at all. His first instinct is to go backwards and does not want to try and take responsibility. Loads of loose balls or silly flicks. He is not combining with others at all from an attacking sense and his body language looks really poor. I personally would move him on if he is not wanting to stay – he has another year but if he considers our contract offer not good enough – then fine. Not sure he has done enough in 3 months of good football in 3 years to justify the huge wage rise he is allegedly asking for. I don’t see loads of Premier League clubs being interested in him either. Like Duffy, he may realise quite quickly the grass is not always greener.
Zivkovic – At least ran onto a few balls and looked like chasing a few which is more than the starters did. Bit of a wild card but not seen him do much with the ball so far – just a chaser. Doubt he will back next year.
Manager Wilder 5/10 – Had two poor games from a coaching point of view. He kept faith with the team after the dressing down which showed his faith but was not rewarded with any better performance. The team looked tired physically and mentally and could not run the extra needed and just looked shot. He changed the team with subs but not sure it made any difference at all. We still looked clueless. He changed the formation but for me I would have gone more direct. We kept moving it sideways and back – it was like Chelsea/Spurs v where the other teams had no idea and just headed and cleared it but we did not even force them to do that. We just looked devoid of ideas and by the end don’t think even Wilder or the team looked they had any belief we would get one goal let alone two.
Everton – Tonight they did a job but were not playing much at all and it was all too easy. They created the few chances that was in the game and any brief bits of quality came from them and they defended easily against a side that had no ideas. Coming into it most of their fans gave them no chance as they have been really poor and looked like they wanted the season to finish and not sure they were great tonight but did enough and will say it was much improved. In truth I am not sure they were any better than they have been but had no real pressure put on them at all.
Odd season to say the least. Started quite poorly and lost to us and Norwich at Goodison after such a good home record previously and the turgid away form continued and they were nearer the bottom than the top. Silva was sacked and then after Ferguson got a few decent results, Ancelotti came in and they moved up the league and at one point were not far off us after the lockdown but then they really tailed off with some bad performance and results. They were better tonight but then you look at the money they have spent over the last few years and it is like 300 million. For a team that will finish lower than us and some right dross they have signed too. It is hard for a team like them – they have tried the young manager, then to take up and coming and gone with experience. They won’t get a much better manager than they have got but without pumping more money in they won’t threaten the top teams and need to overhaul the squad somewhat but not sure who would want most of the team/squad -they are not exactly full of talent they can move on really and most of the players they bought are worth less than what they signed them for.
Not sure they can really look to go much higher than say mid table – the stadium move is still not going to be for a few years and they still seem not sure what direction to go. Ancelotti is a great manager and a bit of a coup but not sure he is a long term.
Opponent Man of the Match – The two centre backs were good but were playing nothing. The lad Braithwaite had a good game and dealt with everything easily. Richarlison scored but spent most of the game falling over and cheating/looking for free kicks. Sigurdsson actually showed a bit of quality to assist on the goal. I actually thought Calvert Lewin was good and a real nuisance and never gave our defence a moment.
Opponent Weak link – The full back Sidibe was never really got at despite positionally being all over the place and Davies in midfield was a bit headless chicken. I think Pickford even with nothing to do still made things hard and we never tested him.
Referee/Officials/VAR – Thought Attwell was poor in a game that should have been easy to ref. He missed a few bad fouls from us (Osborn, McBurnie and Baldock – stamp- that should have been yellow cards) and then gave an awful one and booked Norwood. The rest of the game I felt he actually favoured us and gave us a lot of 50-50 ones that might have gone other way (Fleck and Sharp tackles for instance). He should have spoke to Richarlison for his theatrics but ironically Stevens rolled around for nothing and got him booked. So even with a ref that maybe was on our side (outside the Norwood one) it did not matter.
soundcloud.com/tufty-club/tufty-club-reaction-everton-home
The dreams for European football for the Blades are over after a number of results over the weekend and tonight means that the highest United can now finish is 8th place. After a poor start to the restart, United had won three straight at home but two poor results against sides out of form have put paid to the chances of the dream season. After a poor showing at Leicester, manager Wilder slammed the players but for once did not get the reaction he hoped for as the Toffees got a surprise victory.
United named an unchanged side despite the roasting from manager Wilder after the defeat at Leicester with Fleck being left on the bench. Leon Clarke appeared on the bench for what could be his Bramall Lane bow with no place for Lys Mousset. Everton started with former Blade Calvert Lewin spearheading the front line and gave starts to Sigurdsson and Walcott. Youngster Braithwaite started at the back alongside Michael Keane. Everton had looked a side ready for the summer break but still a graphic before the game showed an outlay of over 300 million over the last few years.
The first minutes saw a few hefty tackles from Berge and McBurnie as United at least put a few tackles in after the non show at the King Power. It had been a scrappy opening and neither team could find any fluency at all. Baldock was well forward and won an early corner that was cleared. United were playing higher up the field and as Everton tried to play it out – United opted to pick them off. United won a free kick from Berge being tripped and Pickford took no chances and pushed away. Norwood took a great corner that was pushed away.
Everton had offered little so far but Calvert Lewin good work found Walcott who got in after the clever ball and dragged the ball across the box. The drinks break came but it had been a poor game with Richarlison hitting the deck a feature so far showing how bad it had been.
Berge and Baldock won a corner but it was cleared and Osborn brought down Walcott as he sprinted away and was lucky not to be booked. Davies was carded for a poor challenge on McBurnie. Norwood clever ball had been United’s main threat and another good one was cleared and Stevens smashed it miles over.
Everton were having more of the ball but there had been few chances although Basham had to be alert to poke away from Richarlison. United’s best chances, if you can call them that, came from a Basham turn and cross but Pickford in truth was under no pressure and did not need to parry away.
The best chance of the game came when from an Everton corner, Henderson pushed away but not far enough and Walcott sent a lovely cross to the back post where Calvert Lewin got the jump on a static Berge and headed down and against the post. He should have scored really in a game where that was the only chance.
Osborn’s deflected effort drifted tamely back to Pickford before Richarlison fell over (again) but unbelievably Norwood was penalised when he won the ball and was booked too in a real moment of misjudgement from the ref who had let worse tackles from Osborn and McBurnie go. The half time whistle came after the free kick was cleared. United had not done anywhere near enough with no efforts on goal and Everton would definitely have been the happier side having created more and having more of the ball.
United did not heed the warning from crosses as just after the break Everton took the lead. A free kick was won on the left and Sigurdsson’s free kick was a beauty but with Berge and Stevens ball watching, RICHARLISON got in between and flicked a firm header past Henderson into the corner. It was poor defending but a great delivery and desire from the striker to get in to score.
United tried to respond and Stevens was in on the angle but could not get the ball down and the ball was cleared and Everton were then away at the other end but the cross evaded everyone. McGoldrick had a shot blocked after good work from Basham who was one of the few United players carrying the fight. The game had become a bit end too end and more good work from Basham saw his cross into a really dangerous area but the Blades front two were static.
Everton could have made the game save when Calvert Lewin got the better of Egan and ran in on goal but his shot was saved by Henderson. United were seeing more of the ball now but not really creating anything at all. Berge’s cross was blocked via a combination of Keane and McBurnie and went out for a goal kick.
Sharp and Fleck came on for McBurnie and Osborne on the hour but Everton still looked more like scoring again as a neat move saw passes exchanged and Calvert Lewin’s cross was away from incoming Everton players.
The drinks break then saw Lundstram replace Norwood but the game continued in the same vein with Everton looking dangerous with pace on the break but United not having any way through and still not had mustered a shot on goal. Fleck did finally thread a lovely ball through but Sharp could not take it and it got away from him.
The game entered the final 10 minutes and Zivkovic came on for Basham as United went to four at the back and the frontman won a throw in down the left and then was involved as Fleck and then Stevens sent over a cross and Baldock looped his header over.
The final 5 minutes and stoppage time saw United barely able to offer anything of note and frustratingly United kept moving it sideways with Berge and Lundstram chief culprits in passiveness. The final chance, if you can call it that, came when McGoldrick scooped miles over at the end. The final whistle went with United once again failing to muster a shot on target for the second consecutive game and Everton deservedly winning a poor game with a solid defence and more attacking threat.
United – We were bad on Saturday and a lot said Leicester worked us out and just were too good for us. Well they were out of form and showed how poor they have been recently v Spurs. Tonight, we played a team on the beach whose form has been horrific. They have a dodgy keeper and poor defence with a rookie centre back. We did not lay a glove on them and deservedly lost a really bad game of football. They created 2 or 3 decent chances outside the goal – not sure he had any clear chances and certainly no efforts on goal. Wilder slammed us after the game but not sure what he says tonight as it was nearly the same – not sure we were much better – it was just we played a poor team. There we no urgency, life or willingness to take chances. So many players were passive all game. It was all backwards and sideways. I felt Norwood did ok and some decent set plays and then Baldock and Bash in the 2nd half got forward well but outside of this so many very average to poor performances. The front two have given two very static games and we have had absolutely nothing up top. Yes, they have had no service but they need to hold it up/work harder. Both are very inconsistent and an area we need to be better in – sadly with little to spend not sure how we do that. I also thought the midfield were not tight enough again and it was all jogging pace. Maybe we were knackered and maybe we just had nothing left but there was no desire. We did not even chuck men forward till right at the end. I felt we just looked like we had no belief. Normally Wilder gets a reaction after one of his bollockings but tonight we got nothing. I am sure the players wanted to respond but when you are tired and lifeless, you end up not being able to run both with or without the ball. It was all very devoid of ideas. Not sure after they scored that anyone felt we would get back in the game. I felt we could have played till midnight and probably still not tested the keeper.
Everton are not a good side but won the game without having to do much at all. A few decent bits of play and they score. They then defended easily and won comfortably. I wanted a few United players to run at players, penetrate and at least draw men out but it was all just sideways and backwards. I cannot even blame the crosses. Norwood put a few good ones in as did Basham but we never turned them all game and we never made them even deal with anything difficult. At least get the ball in the box once or twice, take a shot, make them think. It is the first time we have not had a shot on goal since that Southend 0-3 defeat in August 2016. So nearly four years!
They just kept funnelling us wide and then back inside and moved across. It was easy. It is concerning how we have looked absolutely clueless the last few games and even subs have just not made any difference. Maybe we are just beaten in terms of energy etc but you would think with a huge prize that many of these will never play for again, that we would at least show some bravery and have a go – that is the Wilder mantra but tonight but we looked like we were feeling sorry for ourselves. I believe it is a combination of the fatigue and mental side but also the players had maybe overachieved too at times and the reality is we are going to finish mid table and that’s maybe about where we are. We have shown some fantastic performances but since lockdown alone, we have served up some dreadful showings – at least 5 where we have not had a shot on target and defended basic stuff badly. It’s a shame that we have petered out as we seemed to have got going again but the last 2 have been as bad as the first 3 games really and individually and collectively, we have not been good enough in these games. Still we have had a fantastic season. To finish top half would have been dreamland so important we do not go too far in criticism. However, we can say we have been crap in 5 out of the last 9 games – and ultimately that is why we won’t quite get the dream that seemed so achievable. We have lost as many (4) since the restart as we had in the previous 21 games.
We have nothing to play for on Sunday but hope we can at least finish the season with a better performance as the last two have been poor and would not want us to go out with three defeats. It is a disappointing way to end and sure many of the critics will say it does not bode well for next season but I feel the players will come back hungry after a break. We do need to add some quality but that is a concern if Wilder says it will not be big money signings as having to scrape around for Championship players is not really the market we want to be looking at. I do hope we can find some value for money in the continent but that is an area we seem to struggle to exploit.
Ratings:
Henderson 7/10 – Not a lot to do. He did not convince on a punch that led to the one hitting the post but then had no chance on the goal. Made one good save from Calvert Lewin from a one on one.
Baldock 7/10 – Thought he was one of our better players first half and at least got forward and tried to attack and was well advanced. Won a few corners/set plays. Second half did not see as much of him as Basham was more advanced and at times took too long to do things but felt one of few to come out with much credit. Only knock is the challenge when he seemed to put his leg into the Everton man – maybe it was an accident but did not look great.
Stevens 6/10 – Not sure he is making the best decisions since the restart with and without the ball. Taking too long to do basic things and his passing /touch has been off a lot. Defensively he is not as switched on and the goal summed it up as he was closest to his man but Berge’s reaction suggested it might have been his man.
Basham 7.5/10 – Our best player and continued to make his case for player of the season. Committed and fought to the end (or when he went off). He was the only player really carrying the fight at the end and busting a gut to get forward. His two crosses might have been the most dangerous we looked. Felt sorry for him as everyone else kept giving it to him and asking him to do it.
O’Connell 6.5/10 – Thought he was a bit slow to do things and defensively he was caught ball watching a bit. He had improved us but the last two games teams have got through us down the sides too much. When going forward he often took too many touches or stopped instead of driving.
Egan 6/10 – Thought Calvert Lewin caused him problems and ragged him about a bit. He was never really on top of him and the chance when he shrugged him off summed it up. He tried to move out with the ball but after Norwood went off had little options to pass to.
Norwood 7/10 – Thought he was decent tonight and that when he went off, we got worse and looked disorganised and did not have any control. Not saying we were great first half but at least he helped us keep it a bit. He also put 4 or 5 very good corners/set plays in but no one got on the end of any of them. Would not have took him off as one of few to pass it forward tonight.
Osborn 4/10 – Been great since he came in but off at Leicester and tonight, he had a bit of a mare. He gave it away, had poor touches and got run off and gave free kicks away also. He was fortunate to survive as long as he did as just had one and felt that he knew it as he seemed to be constantly chasing after his own mistakes.
Berge 5/10 – Thought he was one of our poorer players. He had 2/3 good games in the run but have to say he has still had far more passive and anonymous games than good one and still not fully convinced me. Maybe he is young/new country but I want to see him get on the ball and drive or if not play some forward passes. He was timid physically (Calvert Lewin chance) and on the ball was passive. He kept going backwards or sideways – fine if we were actually stretching them by moving it around but it needed to be quicker and forward. Needs to do a lot more for me in games like that. He ended up playing ‘his’ position but not sure he influenced things any more and it was the same safe sideways and backwards.
McBurnie 4/10 – Had two fantastic games v Spurs and also v Chelsea where he led the line, worked hard and was a nuisance and goal threat. However, he is too inconsistent. He can be brilliant but the has been non existent in several other games – last two for example. He did not hold it up, was not getting in good areas and the game just passed him by. I would rather have some level of 7/10 than say 4’s and then 8-9/10’s. Tonight we had nothing up top.
McGoldrick 4/10 – Think for the most part he has had a really consistent season (despite the lack of goals) but he too has summed us up since lockdown with some great showings and then some poor, ineffective ones. He never got on the ball, did not combine with McBurnie and never came off to show for the ball. When he had it he was sloppy and never looked like scoring really – the wretched effort at the end summed up his night. I felt the strikers were were really poor and it was so easy for Everton tonight on the floor and in the air.
Subs –
Sharp 6/10 – Won a few free kicks and at least showing some hunger and tried to get down the sides but everything was too far from goal. He did have one good chance but mis controlled the ball after a great ball from Fleck. Really hard though at the end to create much as it was all a bit desperate and we lacked the quality to get the ball where he needed it. That is the problem we get so few chances you have to take or make something from the ones you have.
Fleck 7/10 – Best he has been since the re-start and at least got on the ball and tried to make things happen. I felt him and Bash were the only ones who looked anything like creating anything after the break. Made more forward passes than the rest of the team and at least wanted to get us into the final third. Everyone else seemed obsessed with safety/backwards. He should start the final game on Sunday. Just a shame he lost form and got a few injuries after having a fantastic season as he was key for us to finish the season strongly.
Lundstram – Looked completely disinterested since the return. Whether it be his contract or he s sulking about losing his place – he simply does not look arsed at all. His first instinct is to go backwards and does not want to try and take responsibility. Loads of loose balls or silly flicks. He is not combining with others at all from an attacking sense and his body language looks really poor. I personally would move him on if he is not wanting to stay – he has another year but if he considers our contract offer not good enough – then fine. Not sure he has done enough in 3 months of good football in 3 years to justify the huge wage rise he is allegedly asking for. I don’t see loads of Premier League clubs being interested in him either. Like Duffy, he may realise quite quickly the grass is not always greener.
Zivkovic – At least ran onto a few balls and looked like chasing a few which is more than the starters did. Bit of a wild card but not seen him do much with the ball so far – just a chaser. Doubt he will back next year.
Manager Wilder 5/10 – Had two poor games from a coaching point of view. He kept faith with the team after the dressing down which showed his faith but was not rewarded with any better performance. The team looked tired physically and mentally and could not run the extra needed and just looked shot. He changed the team with subs but not sure it made any difference at all. We still looked clueless. He changed the formation but for me I would have gone more direct. We kept moving it sideways and back – it was like Chelsea/Spurs v where the other teams had no idea and just headed and cleared it but we did not even force them to do that. We just looked devoid of ideas and by the end don’t think even Wilder or the team looked they had any belief we would get one goal let alone two.
Everton – Tonight they did a job but were not playing much at all and it was all too easy. They created the few chances that was in the game and any brief bits of quality came from them and they defended easily against a side that had no ideas. Coming into it most of their fans gave them no chance as they have been really poor and looked like they wanted the season to finish and not sure they were great tonight but did enough and will say it was much improved. In truth I am not sure they were any better than they have been but had no real pressure put on them at all.
Odd season to say the least. Started quite poorly and lost to us and Norwich at Goodison after such a good home record previously and the turgid away form continued and they were nearer the bottom than the top. Silva was sacked and then after Ferguson got a few decent results, Ancelotti came in and they moved up the league and at one point were not far off us after the lockdown but then they really tailed off with some bad performance and results. They were better tonight but then you look at the money they have spent over the last few years and it is like 300 million. For a team that will finish lower than us and some right dross they have signed too. It is hard for a team like them – they have tried the young manager, then to take up and coming and gone with experience. They won’t get a much better manager than they have got but without pumping more money in they won’t threaten the top teams and need to overhaul the squad somewhat but not sure who would want most of the team/squad -they are not exactly full of talent they can move on really and most of the players they bought are worth less than what they signed them for.
Not sure they can really look to go much higher than say mid table – the stadium move is still not going to be for a few years and they still seem not sure what direction to go. Ancelotti is a great manager and a bit of a coup but not sure he is a long term.
Opponent Man of the Match – The two centre backs were good but were playing nothing. The lad Braithwaite had a good game and dealt with everything easily. Richarlison scored but spent most of the game falling over and cheating/looking for free kicks. Sigurdsson actually showed a bit of quality to assist on the goal. I actually thought Calvert Lewin was good and a real nuisance and never gave our defence a moment.
Opponent Weak link – The full back Sidibe was never really got at despite positionally being all over the place and Davies in midfield was a bit headless chicken. I think Pickford even with nothing to do still made things hard and we never tested him.
Referee/Officials/VAR – Thought Attwell was poor in a game that should have been easy to ref. He missed a few bad fouls from us (Osborn, McBurnie and Baldock – stamp- that should have been yellow cards) and then gave an awful one and booked Norwood. The rest of the game I felt he actually favoured us and gave us a lot of 50-50 ones that might have gone other way (Fleck and Sharp tackles for instance). He should have spoke to Richarlison for his theatrics but ironically Stevens rolled around for nothing and got him booked. So even with a ref that maybe was on our side (outside the Norwood one) it did not matter.
