Aston Villa v Everton Post-Match Thread

[eamonn]

Everton would win the Bundesliga if we could graft Goodison to the outskirts of Dusseldorf. In the meantime they're the steady-eddies of the "EPL" that we can only aspire to being.

[olaftab]

OK the negatives are that we lost a match and performance wasn't great. However positives are that Lambert is learning about this squad.
Hopefully he  has worked out that N'Zogbia is wasting his time here.
He will know that Given is way past his best.
He has figured out that Delfouenso is not a Premier League player.
He knows that we need a ball winning midfielder to play alongside KEA. May be Herd can do that.
He realises that Bannan is not ready and may never be.
He knows that lot of hard work is ahead.
 

[Yossarian]

Everton would win the Bundesliga if we could graft Goodison to the outskirts of Dusseldorf. In the meantime they're the steady-eddies of the "EPL" that we can only aspire to being.

Fortuna Dusseldorf won in their return to the Bundsliga today.

[Nastylee]

I got stick last week for suggesting we were no better than last season, I think today proved it was a correct assumption. Firstly, the team selection was surprising to say the least. I worry about Clark, PL says he's not a midfield player but I cannot see a CB there, and to think some on here think he's future captain material.

The midfield is laughable. Herd on the right? Bannan had the ball but when he's on the half way line with Everton in position then what is the threat? KEA was disappointing, apart from his goal and a 10 min flurry he was anonymous. Our shape is too narrow also and just invited the full backs to get forward, Baines was a winger for most of the 1st half and even Neville got into shooting positions.

It's a very worrying situation that needs rectifying before next week otherwise we are in for a long season. Just imagine you are an outsider looking in, take Given, perhaps Vlaar, Ireland, N'Zogbia and Bent out and no one would have a clue who the rest are and therein lies the problem, a lack of quality!

[Cuz]

I wouldn't be bothered if I never saw Bannan, Fonz,N'Zog, Ireland, Hutton and Warnock in a Villa shirt again, on the plus side I like Baker, Valaar, KEA, but we need at least two experienced centre mids and a winger

[Dan England]

We still sit with a non-existent midfield which makes the defence and  forwards look ineffectual. KEA had a good second half and Holman was refreshing with his movement, eagerness to play the ball and pass and move. However Everton looked like Barcelona in the first half because our midfield sat and watched them play football. There was no pressing, no interceptions, no physicality and Everton loved and dominated.

Going forwards N'Zogbia lost the ball, ran down blind alleys, miscontrolled the ball or stayed so wide there was a 60 yard gap to cover to get the ball to him. Bannan was useless launching aimless long ball after long ball. Herd seemed to run around a lot and not achieve anything.

The key to us improving is finding a midfield that has guile, guts and creativity. We are a long long way from that. It will need Lambert to make another couple of smart signings. (I thought KEA and Holman looked good in the 2nd half and are certainly showing shoots of what's to come).

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Everton are a fair to middling standard premier team

That being the case, I can only dream of us being a fair to middling standard premier team. From the first two games of the season, that's the best Everton side I've seen in years. Confident, arrogant, supposeful, hardworking, technically good and creative.. I'll have some of that, please and realistically, even with some serious investment, that's as good as it will ever get.

Sorry by fair to middling, I mean they will be amongst the 10 or 11 teams well short of the Manchesters, Chelsea, Arsenals but better than the teams we can probably expect to be stranded at the bottom (us).

[Ads]

Everton will finish in the top four the way they are going.

They were splendid.

[noodles]

I know what we need, a team of better players!

Bannan really isn't PL material, as much as it pains me to say it. Neither is Fonz but we already knew that. Clark back into midfield with KEA would at least make us a little more solid. 4-5-1 would be our best bet with how limited our talent is at the moment. Still early days but that was embarrassing.

[tarzansbrother]

Everton will finish in the top four the way they are going.

They were splendid.

I agree. I think in every position I would take their player over ours, even Phil Neville.

[mike]

Never understood the optimism or the stick Savage got for suggesting we are relegation material. We have a woeful squad which has not been strengthened, so what did we expect. I actually think that Randy has worked out that our squad is so poor that it will cost more to comfortably keep us up than let us be relegated.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I don't like writing anyone off, but I think some people just look for excuses wherever to spin it out another year, when we're really just going to have to come to terms with the fact that some of these kids not only don't have what it takes, but they're not actually kids anymore.

Whilst I agree that some are not good enough and will never get to the level we require, it's in our interest to let Lambert judge them for himself and decide if they're good enough to play his system. Before the season started, almost everybody wanted Clark in alongside Ron, Baker was never even mentioned and would clearly have been on the list of those to let go. Lichaj is another that most would not miss but how many posts did you read calling for Bannan to play in the centre.

There certainly is some talent coming up from the youth/reserves but until the manager decides, having seen them in action, only a fool would get rid of them based on what he sees at Bodymoor Heath. Lambert is no fool and I'm sure after today he's developing a clearer idea of who he can count on from our so-called 'kids' and what areas he needs to go out and buy.

[DB]

We need cash to strengthen and a manager to get to know his squad. We were a sack of shot last season, and I didn't expect Lambert to turn us around from day 1, give him time we'll be ok, but money is needed to repair the damage of last season. Everton are a well oiled machine on top of it all, Moyes knows his team inside out.

[luke25]

Its going to take time and alot of it to get this bunch out of the losing mentality that they've been stuck in for well over a year, we go a goal down and its game over because their heads drop, Lambert is most definately the man to take us forward but theres going to be a few of these types of pastings along the way..... I remember Everton going through a transition not long after Moyes arriving and getting trounced 0-4 at home to Bolton, we are now were they were back then. Its going to take alot of patience but to many of our supporters expect instant results.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Its going to take time and alot of it to get this bunch out of the losing mentality that they've been stuck in for well over a year, we go a goal down and its game over because their heads drop, Lambert is most definately the man to take us forward but theres going to be a few of these types of pastings along the way..... I remember Everton going through a transition not long after Moyes arriving and getting trounced 0-4 at home to Bolton, we are now were they were back then. Its going to take alot of patience but to many of our supporters expect instant results.

Not me. I expect us to get relegated.