I am BACK in New York after spending some time in the very beautiful Savannah. I highly recommend if you are ever in Georgia, what a place.
Back home, I was again pondering the weirdness of the criticism that continues to rumble around the new regime. It doesn’t come from serious people, but it is always shocking to me how fucking atrocious internetters are when they’re let loose with bad data.
Comparing Unai Emery to Mikel Arteta is, firstly, a very dumb proposition barely 11 games into his tenure. It’s so dumb, Liverpool fans actually did it when Jurgen Klopp took over from Brendy and started a #KloppOut campaign off the back of it.
This tells you two things.
1. Don’t replicate Liverpool fan behaviour
2. Don’t play the data game unless you are really fucking sure you have a robust argument.
Here is the math for the Spurs fans that were up in your Whatsapp groups with the ‘analysis’ of Arteta courtesy of Champagne Charlie in the comments.
You’re comparing Emery’s point average in a 13 game sample to Arteta’s 8 games. Won’t bother rehashing the old ‘sample argument’ that was brought front and centre with the embarrassing xGA stats previous, will just illustrate with the following:
11 points in 8 games = 1.38
We win our next game = 1.56
We win the game after that = 1.7The state of trying to pull trends in data with fluctuations like this 😂😂
Also, just like to remind you that Emery was operating with 12 months in the job and 150 mil of talent to supplement HIS football ideology. Mikel Arteta by contrast is picking up pieces mid season.
Another swing, another glaring miss.
Data points you ‘should‘ probably like.
We’ve kept 3 clean sheets on the bounce, 5 in 11 (with two games that we went down to 10 men) with a hodgepodge of teenagers, players we thought were dusted, and plenty of non-defenders mucking in. We can celebrate that. So when certain types say ‘I don’t see an improvement’ ask them if they ever felt like they were watching a team that was tough to break down under Emery, or if they ever felt like they were witnessing something even close to competency when it came to Arsenal defending.
You might also ask who the only team in Europe is to be undefeated in 2020? It’d be Arsenal. Again, not a totally electric statistic because we’ve drawn a lot of games, but when you add in further context, like, say, ‘Emery oversaw our worst start in 30 years and Arteta started in late December’, it starts to feel saucier. Low Scoble rating for sure, but we’re definitely spicier than a Heinz Ketchup at the moment.
Sure, there are lots of things we’d all like to see improve. We’re still making mistakes in dangerous places, our attack is hardly Liverpool fluid, but if you are out here complaining we’re not champions elect form at the moment, you’re a fucking idiot. I’m really sorry to be so blunt, but I absolutely mean it. That Liverpool thing didn’t happen overnight, I can assure you.
Additional areas of improvement to point towards.
You might not like Mustafi, Xhaka, Ozil or Luiz… but you cannot argue their performances have dramatically improved. Shkodran Baresi looked like he’d rather snort a Wuhan sneeze than play a few weeks ago, now he’s operating at a very, very good level of football. Granit Xhaka keeps getting better, I’ve been a vocal anti-advocate of him, I called him a mistake terrorist, but he’s doing well. David Luiz looks reborn, a frizzy-haired warrior. Mesut Ozil is slowly but surely feeling his way back into elite-level football. It’s not a longterm solution, but however you chop it up, players that were once deemed bin-worthy are now delivering hardworking performances. Even players we liked but thought were ill-suited are upping their levels… remember when we assumed Torreira was too small to hack it in the league? That Dani Ceballos was a write-off because his hair was too neat for the UK? It’s great that these players are showing their true colours now they are motivated and fired up about the vision.
‘The Uncoachables’ was such a ridiculous excuse, cooked up by the Emeryista, who still weirdly fetishise a manager about as sexy as a septic cock ring. No elite-level player is uncoachable. Sam Allardyce has made a living training bags of rotten potatoes to keep clean sheets. Hardly a shock that Arteta can make World Cup winners look a little better.
Finally, the kids. You can’t knock ’em. They are stepping up to the plate, learning hard lessons, and rarely hiding. To repeat, Ceballos looks like he might have a future, Guendouzi is a mess but he’s learning from someone that won’t tolerate his drama, Saka looks absolutely elite, Gabriel is inconsistent but taking praise from nobodies like Ronaldinho, and the others are showing they have teeth. Not perfect, but at least they are getting game time and a proper chance under a proper coach.
Moaning we’re not he complete package is such a base strawman argument. No one ever thought we’d be where we needed to be in 2 months. However, we’re starting to get better results, we’re hard to beat, and we’re slowly but surely finding our way in attack. We’re doing all of this without a proper preseason. We were in a process under Emery that wasn’t ever leading to a better Arsenal. That has all changed. Under Arteta it’ll be bumpy, but we’re heading in a direction that’ll take us places. We will need a good summer, lots of hard work, and a good start in August, but I don’t think we’ll be making excuses in May 2021. Unless we fail, then I’ll be blaming hair pills and dry grass for our problems.
Anyway, let’s keep it positive.
We have a chance to show our mettle at home against an Everton side that will give us a very good game at the weekend. Carlo has his players focused, better structured, with bit more bite to their game. He’ll be desperate for the win this weekend, but so will Arsenal. Our club needs momentum, win that game and the next 8 look far more attractive, drop points and it’ll feel like a miserable step back.
I’m still looking for more fluidity in attack. I don’t think we’ve cracked it by a margin, but at this point, I think it’s more about repetition and muscle memory than anything else (with this squad). We need a few sexy goals and a real ‘wow, this is the future’ performance to start the ball rolling there. A simple improvement would be finding the target a little more often. I think the type of chance we’re creating is improving, but some of the shooting has been less than ideal… and from players you expect more from. Imagine me as the coach?
‘Erm, guys, could you try and shoot the ball at the actual goal. Thank you.’
Right, big game tomorrow, fingers crossed we smash them and the Gypsy King deals with the Bronze Bomber. x
Eddie, Laca, Fury whatever.
Artetas Arsenal will have their work cut against Ancelottis Everton methinks.
In a weekend
Rambo,Giroud and Nacho all scored.
(All scandalously shown the exit door by Raul.)
And Theo and Iwobi returning to their spiritual home and looking to get on the goalscoring act.
Invest in:
Manchester United 1 Watford 2
Arsenal 2 Everton 3
Wolves 1 Norwich City 2
And you wont be too far away.
Wolves 1 Norwich 2!!!!
I don’t think so.
Didn’t you say the same thing about Iwobi and Walcott when we played at Goodison?
Today’s game will show us all just how far we’ve come since Arteta took charge.
Really looking forward to this.
Cazonarola “Wouldn’t you think it would be suicidal on transitions to have xhaka and Ceballos?” It makes no difference , all of our midfield are slow unless Arteta plays AMN in the middle , so transition wise we are vulnerable if we lose the ball whether it’s Torreira or Ceballos. Anyhow, I think Everton’s danger will be long balls into.the channels behind Saka and Bellerin for Calvert Lewin and richarlason to run onto. I would imagine that Arsemal will dominate the ball hence the inclusion of Ceballos. Everton will play on the counter but I don’t rate them as high… Read more »
CG,
That’s a ballsy (some would say borderline delusional) set of predictions!
If you get them right I will have 87% respect for you!
3 home wins today in the PL.
Take that to the bank.
Words
“””If you get them right I will have 87% respect for you!”””
Obviously even I cant predict what latest VAR shenanigans are in store for today, that could effect results.
But my algorithms are predicting the above.
This weekend must be the weekend that marks the beginning of the end for this grotesque VAR experiment.
Has to be.
Or the supporters might as well not attend fixtures and just as well loiter in the Stockley Park foyer like expectant fathers waiting for the results to come in.
I think all home teams to win but all teams to score at least once. Goals goals goals.
Have always said that VAR would only highlight one thing.
Just how poor our officials really are.
Scrap it!
Dissenter You need to open your mind a little on certain players instead of making a comment like ” Nkettiah couldn’t get a game at Leeds ” as justification as to why Arteta shouldn’t start him. There is not a lot to choose between Eddie and Lacazette or even Martinelli . They all have their positives and negatives as to why they should or shouldn’t start. I am just pleased that Arteta recognises what Eddie can bring to the team unlike many on here who think that because he couldn’t get a start at Leeds, it is a good enough… Read more »
You will still get mistakes even using VAR. That is simply human error. It still happens with other sports that use video review.
A lot of people are just experiencing the sudden reversals or video review for the first time and it is obviously a shock to the system.
What was shambolic yesterday is the Lo Celso incident. For no retrospective action to be taken still is indicative of the need for the rules regarding this to be looked at again.
No ones disputing that Eddie shows promise but if I’m totally honest, he really needs to start to take the bull by the horns and show more intent.
Today may be that day.
I still can’t believe what happened to Nketiah at Leeds. Bamford is an incredibly average Championship player and that’s on Bielsa for not seeing Eddie could have given his team more.
A few operational suggestions for VAR to work better:
1) a tighter definition of “clear and obvious” mistake by the referee is needed to overturn any given decision
2) stockley park to have no more than 30 seconds to highlight a ref’s mistake. If it takes more than 30 seconds then arguably it’s not a clear and obvious mistake
3) in the case of 2) above, the ref must check whether he agrees on the pitchside monitor, such that he has the final say. He should be given 30 seconds to do so.
Graham
What Eddie gives is good movement off the ball and he works the defenders more by drifting wide and running the channels.
In saying that , I will more than happy if Lacazette starts as I have always rated him, he has just got a little bogged down recently and has got himself involved in too many physical battles( probably trying too hard) .
You can see that a weight has been lifted off his back with those couple of goals and is ready to go on a goalscoring run.
Chris
“I still can’t believe what happened to Nketiah at Leeds”
Leeds fans felt the same.
Pierre
Fair enough.
Still feel that he needs to show more of a mean streak in his game.
‘Invest in:Manchester United 1 Watford 2
Arsenal 2 Everton 3
Wolves 1 Norwich City 2And you wont be too far away.’
As in;
You will lose your money but ‘won’t be too far away’ from winning?
My man!
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/feb/22/bukayo-saka-arsenal-reluctant-big-impression-left-wing-back
Good piece on Saka, his favourite position and the impact he’s having this season
Bielsa is a terrific coach,but a mediocre manager. During his entire career, He always had two blind spots that negatively affected his results. 1) His refusal to rotate players when his style is physically demanding always result in his teams collapsing toward the end of league season. 2) his preference of big bulky strikers over strikers with less height and athleticism. The problem is that most tall physical strikers with good movement off the ball and lethal finish are very rare. Bamford has a presence upfront but his finishing is erratic. Eddie would have offered less upfront but more goals.… Read more »
Valentin,
Agreed on your characterisation (great coach, poor manager) of Bielsa.
I know that a lot of Leeds fans are resigned for the customary collapse in the final third of the season…..they also faulted Bielsa for underplaying Nketiah
Anything less than a win today and Arsenal remain in / slip to 11th place. Important match.
okay Grealish said his most favoured position is CM and with Pogba as the main man at United the temptation to go there will be less
we will the be perfect club for him with his ambition to be a mainstay in the England squad
with Saka as the latest English prospect who doesn’t want the future dynamic duo of both club and country
in addition we will finally have a contingent in the national squad to be proud of not just the bottlers down the road
what I want to say is him sign up ASAP
Pedro If you want to visit Viet Nam you need a couple of months to see all it offers. Start in Ha Noi the cultural centre of the country. Fly to the northern mountain city of Saps (cascading rice paddies on the side of the mountains). Then East to Ha Long Bay and the spectacular limestone islands. Take the train from Ha Noi to Sai Gon breaking your journey at Hue, Da Nang (take a day trip to Hoi An), and Da Nang. After Sai Gon head south to the vast Mekong River complex. Many cities and towns to visit… Read more »
Dreamcast
Most reports have United selling Pogba this summer. He has fallen out of favor there to an extent, and they believe they have other options. That doesn’t mean they’ll sign Grealish, but Pogba is not as crucial to United as some people imagine.
Hang Son Doong
G62 Scrap it! VAR or PGMOL ? You are right. The refs are 100% totally inept. It’s PGMOL that should be scraped. For me, there is nothing wrong with VAR if it’s used correctly. We’ve known for years that the refs are poor and biased. But what’s incredible is, as you put it, that VAR has magnified their ineptitude to ref a game not diminished it. And I don’t buy this BS that they have a tough job Just look at rugby. There a plenty of situations where a ref can get it wrong due to the view being obstructed… Read more »
DB10
If ref’s have a tough job they can give up the £70 grand a year they earn doing it and go be fucking useless in another field – can’t wait to see the shock on their faces when they discover the real world doesn’t tolerate constant incompetence.
Everybody assume that if ManUtd come calling the player will always go. I am not sure that this is the case anymore. If you were Grealish and Villa is relegated, it would make sense to join a club in the Premiership. However ManUtd may not be that appealing with OGS at the helm. They are not going anywhere fast. Even with their ban ManCity would be an easier sell. Unless Pepe leaves as well, in which case it will have a whiff of sinking ship. Assuming that Liverpool is not interested, then Leicester, Arsenal even Chelsea may be the better… Read more »
“Not much difference between Eddie, Laca and Martinelli” … Joke writes itself unfortunately
Refs get paid a similar amount to tube drivers. £70k a year in London is fuck all if you’re raising a family.
Marc,
I don’t think that this is incompetence. To me it looks more and more like bias/corruption because they do their pay master Mike Reiley bidding.
You will never convince me that anybody and in particular a professional referee can see Maguire kick and believe that it was innocuous tangle of legs. It was a straight red card.
But Mike Riley like ManUtd, so every referees is turning a blind eye to their actions.
Valentin
The question on ManU comes down to 2 things in my opinion. 1) If money is your primary motivation then they’ll chuck money at you. 2) Is OGS still there if ManU move him upstairs and replace him with someone like the Pooooooch it might be another story.
Jamie
How many ref’s live in London?
Would you trust a ref to drive a tube train?
Bielsa told reporters that Bamford is more a team player. The other forwards have more chemistry with him.
Yeah sorry but reffing is a hard job but that doesn’t make what we see on a weekly basis any more acceptable But look real time mistakes as annoying as they are are at least more understandable, but a bunch of ‘officials’ and I use this term very loosely pouring over 30 different camera angles in slow emotion to confirm what your average fan can confirm in 10-12 seconds and STILL fuck it up when it’s the only thing they’re being paid to do right is out of this world BS It’s like it’s a pre-requisite for var officials to… Read more »
China
It’s not the difficult decisions that get fans going – it’s the fucking simple ones they get wrong ie Maguire and then they quote stats about getting 96.7% of decisions correct.
That’s the thing that really gets my goat. How can paid officials find it harder to make decisions with a wealth of slow motion replays from every camera angle under the sun?
For someone who knows the rules VAR should generally be child’s play to get right. It’s as if they’ve set the required experience for applicants of this role to be ‘ideal candidates will struggle to make decisions under pressure, self doubt regularly, have uncertainty about basic footballing rules and concepts. Quickness of thought and good eyesight not required. Interest in football only vaguely recommended’
I really think VAR has helped to prove what people like Pierre have been saying forever 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
He’s been saying these reefs have it in for certain clubs like Arsenal. One of the most glaring abuse of VAR was disqualifying the goal PapSok scored against Palace at the Emirates.
China
How many times has VAR over turned a decision a ref has made?
Ref’s aren’t making offside decisions that often now because they let VAR do it for them. The Maguire incident and the one from yesterday the ref called it OK and VAR just agreed with them.
Yeah Marc I’ve really had enough
Var is a good tool but it’s being used by tools which has made it incredibly destructive for the game.
You can give a man a £5000 custom built top end bass guitar, but if he struggles with even basic music theory and playing techniques then the bass guitar is as good as worthless and will sound wank. That’s exactly what we’re seeing here
Dissenter
I thought that was Chambers?
The arsenal Chelsea game a couple of months back was horrendously officiated
What’s the point of having it if the officiating is still shit and the game is slowed down?
If decisions were actually good at least there would be a case to be made, but they’re still getting bread and butter decisions wrong on a daily basis and making the fans sit through 3 minute snore sessions for the privilege
It’s wank and has to go in the bin
Marc
£70k per annum??!!! Wow didn’t realise they were paid this much.
Makes it even more shocking that they are that incompetent.
Jamie
You’re right about £70k not being enough to live in London with a family, but I genuinely doubt than any of them are living in London. Most of them are Northerners, so I doubt any of them would want to get anywhere close to London.
Nonetheless £70k p.a. is still a lot if money to be earning.
The purpose of VAR is correct. It’s current form isn’t always producing the correct calls which is frustrating, but again, that can be human error and/or archaic laws if they game that may require adjustment to fit in with video review. A system is only as reliable is the values that are input. I prefer to use Vinny Jones from Lock Stock “One should never underestimate the predictability of human stupidity”. This is the refs in the video room. Any argument for its removal is likely to be moot. It is here to stay, and if as correctly it is… Read more »
I remember reading that there was a serious imbalance between northern and southern referees. Not a single premiership referees lives within the M25, while 15% lives around or near the Manchester area and the same number around Liverpool and Birmingham. Some referees have in for some clubs. Craig Lawson the referee who refused to send Jorginho against Arsenal was the same referee who a few weeks later gave horrendous video decision against Arsenal. Yet the media refused to make the link between the two incidents. When in the lower leagues Craig Lawson was a referee whom clubs managers have repeatedly… Read more »
Jamie
£70k a year is a fortune for most families.
No doubt that’s £70 k a year, all expenses paid.
China1
Your perceptions of VAR are 100% correct.
I’ve always thought we just need a more refined var system to cut most of the bs out but so long as the officials are embarrassingly poor at video analysis then whatever the system is will continue to deliver a crap end product so I’m not against the whole thing The only thing you need to consider is this – how many refs can you name in your entire life time of watching football who you feel are/we’re very capable professionals (not talking perfect just very capable)? I can name Colina from back in the day. Can’t thibk of any… Read more »
Ref Watch on Sky, 11:30am tomorrow.
I’m going to record that.
Marc
The foul was called chambers [when he was the one fouled], PapSok got the ball into the net.
China1
Jack Taylor.
Refereed 1974 WC Final.
One thing about most of our refs.
Why are they so fudging arrogant?
Is it to cover up their defiences?
Is it a prerequisite of their job description?
I’m now* against the whole thing Just remember this, whichever ref gets put up for an arsenal game we make exactly the same groan. Riley/dean/clattenburg etc again? Ffs… Now remember that the officials in the video analysis room are less highly regarded in their field than those bellends we don’t trust to be the lead referee We have a system where someone who is either incompetent, corrupt or both is asking a team of even more incompetent/corrupt and less respected within the field to give them advice That’s like you taking your car to the garage with a small engine… Read more »
“Var is a good tool but it’s being used by tools which has made it incredibly destructive for the game.”
ahaha good one put that on a poster please
but yeah the decision against us is too blatant now it’s all oh so tiresome
I don’t expect doubtful decisions going for us
Just so you know, England lost to SA in 20/20 WC and Man Utd leading 3-2 against Everton in WSL.
Sorry ladies😴😴😴😴
Nothing personal.
China you’re not wrong in what you say but imagine that system with competent individuals, and with some rules tweaked to suit the system. Fairer calls would no doubt be made a much higher percentage of the time. We all moan about the bad ref calls against us other the years, but imagine beating relegated or losing out on a title due to a ref shocker that couldn’t be over turned.
The system is in its infancy, it needs to improve but it hasn’t been in place very long
China Yes Jack Taylor – took charge of the match, decisive (even when wrong!) and didn’t allow any BS. Famous anecdote after a Luton match: “Taylor was hit by a flying penny thrown from the crowd as he left the pitch after one match at Kenilworth Road. It cut his face and he had to have six stitches. Fan and director of Luton Town Eric Morecambe went to see him to ask if he was OK and to make sure he wasn’t going to report Luton. When Taylor confirmed he wasn’t, Morecambe replied “Good, now can I have my penny… Read more »
What’s the chances there’ll be a massive VAR decision in today’s game.
China
“Refereed 1974 WC Final.”
And the first ref to give a penalty in a world cup final (I think it was within the first minute).
Bamford10 what other potential targets that you are interested in to strengthen this squad? If our loanee CB settle nicely I would love to have another early-mid 20s defender who is on the rise. Of course he will be a ball player but speed is not a necessity only quick wit and anticipation and positional sense. I think Sok and Luiz are good mentors with different attributes as back ups too but their high wage might be a hindrance to still keeping them on our book.
Haha Aussie
Chris but if they can’t produce competent referees I don’t trust the FA to churn out capable analysts
The system, whether well designed or not is going to continue to be overseen by people who aren’t good at officiating which will invalidate the benefits var can bring
It’s all down to the standard of our referees.
Totally incompetent.
Tell me, this VAR Hub at Stockley Park, why all the frigging screens?
One bloke on his Huawei Phone, sat in a bus depot in Skegness, could sort it all out.
rereading the previous comment page wow truly the blog of love rings true
thanks Pedro for keeping it realz feels like this is the only part of internet left that is still old skool
like an archived IRC ahaha
Dreamcast I honestly don’t spend a lot of time thinking about targets these days. I think we need a whole new central midfield — three new CMs — and I tend to like a lot of the same names that others here rate, e.g., Soumare, Maddison, Gueye, Grealish, etc. At the same time, I think it’s going to take at least two summer windows to build a proper squad, and I think one needs to be careful about big signings or about thinking that big signings alone will get us there. I think we need to take the long view,… Read more »
Afternoon, Var is great if you have competent people using it. Refs need to actually man up and use their monitor as well, rather that let stockley park take the flak for the decision. Concerning biased refs, I said in here years ago that there was a bias from refs against us due to Wenger constantly harassing the 4th officials who were refs on the touchline. The following week they’d be reffing games with the memory of Wenger berating them. Don’t tell me there was no bias. Phil Dowd in the 4-4 against Newcastle was one of the most shocking… Read more »
” Three promising young 20m players might have been a better use of that money or even two 35m talents.”
great stuff Bamford10 can’t argue with that
try mitigating our risk and adding bodies at the same time
you can see it can be done by how Martinelli came out of nowhere
we have the facility we hate technology
we just need the will
fuck I typo that crucial one
we *have the technology
what attributes are you looking for in the midfield to help our transition based on our current setup though?
3 box-to-box so that they can seamlessly interlink the defense and attack?
or other combinations that you would like to see?
Pepe has been at the club for 6 months.
Three managers.
Dysfunctional manager, team and structure on arrival.
“What the Fcuk have I got myself into?”
Starting to show more under Arteta.
Swagger and positive mindset is coming.
but yeah G62 this is Arsenal fan if you don’t hit the ground running you are Gervinho MkII
hefty price tag just inviting pressure
it’s good now we can see glimpses of his abilities
but we can’t put all our eggs in one basket
but if that top top qualidee is on the market we shouldn’t refuse or penny pinching eh ahahah
Thanks Dream!
VAR makes no difference – the VAR boys won’t over rule the ref unless it is 100% and favours their team. This would only buck their ridiculous stats – take Harry Maguire – deliberately kicked a player in the rollers, ref gave nothing, VAR gave nothing. Statistically, this ref’s decision was correct.
VAR would work fine with competent, impartial officials.
Ah gawd…
If wr lose today the “sHudDa bEeN AnCeLOtTI” brigade are gonna swoop down to us arent they?
Pleeease win today. 😭
“VAR would work fine with competent, impartial tea ladies.
No disrespect intended.
CG
Wolves 3-0 up.
Your predictions are nearly as bad as mine.
Man Utd winning too.
Hope CG isn’t a professional tipster!
Guns I wanted Ancelotti before we got Emery.
Gutted we never got him.
But now things have moved on and it looks like arteta is here for a full on rebuild.
Don’t think Ancelotti is the right man for that job.
CG showing everyone how much he knows about ‘soccer’. Hopefully he completes his hat trick of shite predictions later.
Nketiah starting apparently. Will be interesting to see if Arteta and Pierre’s faith in the young man is well-deserved.
Leno, Bellerin, Mustafi, Luiz, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Ceballos, Ozil, Pepe, Aubameyang, Nketiah.
Subs: Martinez, Sokratis, Lacazette, Torreira, Nelson, Guendouzi, Saka.
Arsenal XI Confirmed: Leno; Bellerin, Mustafi, Luiz, Kolasinac; Ceballos, Xhaka; Pepe, Ozil, Aubameyang; Nketiah
Team to face Everton: Leno, Bellerin, Mustafi, Luiz, Kolasinac, Xhaka, Ceballos, Ozil, Pepe, Aubameyang, Nketiah.
Subs: Martinez, Sokratis, Lacazette, Torreira, Nelson, Guendouzi, Saka.
Anyone got the line-up for later?
Saka Torreira and Laca would be in the side for me but anyway, COYG!!
this mf said Scoble units
Saka and Laca needed some breather, so I can understand why they haven’t started. Torr should have started.
Leno
Hector Mustafi Luiz Kola
Ceballos Xhaka
Pépé Özil Auba
Eddie
Is Ceballos now ahead of Torriera or is Torreira benched because of injuries?
Totally understand the line-up. Eddie provides more space for auba and pepe imo and more passing lines also. Laca for all his endeavours is always too slow in creating space
Saka and Torreira reserves.
Nketiah couldn’t start for Leeds mind you.
Auba on the wings.
If we don’t get a result questions will be asked.
I still feel Auba is too far from our goal, we need the points today.
Martinelli not even on the bench??
Nkettiah doesn’t occupy defenders. It’s as is if he’s not present, same as Auba. If he was scoring for fun like Auba it wouldn’t be a problem.
Hope he puts away the chances that come his way.
Don’t like the decision of starting Ceballos.
Everton aren’t as passive as Newcastle.
His defensive numbers have been poor.
Toffees capable of exploiting his area with
Iwobi/Richarlison drifting inside and Gylfi’s ball striking.
Martinelli not in the squad is laughable. Top 5 performer of the season next to Auba, Leno, Luiz and Saka.
raptora
Still waiting for the day a line up will be churned out and you’d go without bitching, you did exactly same thing prematch Newcastle, throwing your toys out the pram before a ball is kicked and we ended up trouncing them 4:0.