Marco Silva | No longer Everton manager

André Dominguez

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I keep hearing he’s a toxic personality. Don’t know how true that is, but would explain how he often starts brightly and then doesn’t off the rails.
Not true. Like many portuguese posters including me said: he's a competent manager if you want to do a safe season, but he's not as good as English press made him to be. In fact, he has far more reputation in UK than he ever had at Portugal. His name was never vented for another big club despite Benfica and Porto having switched a few times since he left Sporting.
 

AlwaysRed66

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Why not bring Martinez back, pretty sure he can stop goals being conceded.
I never understood all the hate against Martinez. For some reason he was expected to challenge top four with the squad he had, but Koeman & Silva despite spending a fortune weren't expected to.
 

FootballHQ

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Couldn't find the Everton thread so this will have to do.

Another summer of huge investment.....17th in live table.

Obviously red card didn't help today but they can't score or win away from home. Why's Moise Kean not starting? Struggling to settle in.

Think they sign too many players who switch off mentally because they haven't quite made it at the elite clubs...iwobi, Delph etc.

Way Everton work he may well be sacked during international break. Think they had more points when Koeman was sacked at similar stage two years ago.
 

SilentWitness

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Couldn't find the Everton thread so this will have to do.

Another summer of huge investment.....17th in live table.

Obviously red card didn't help today but they can't score or win away from home. Why's Moise Kean not starting? Struggling to settle in.

Think they sign too many players who switch off mentally because they haven't quite made it at the elite clubs...iwobi, Delph etc.

Way Everton work he may well be sacked during international break. Think they had more points when Koeman was sacked at similar stage two years ago.
It's not the players. It's him.
 

VorZakone

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So their 'great' transferwindow has resulted in...another mediocre season?
 

SilentWitness

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They do sign players that tend to fail/not cut it at big clubs.
I wouldn't say Delph failed at City at all. He was solid there, they could just replace him with a younger player with ease and he wasn't a key player.

I watch us every week and to me the players just don't have any interest anymore. He has no motivational qualities at all. He's like a more depressing Mourinho.
 

FootballHQ

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It's not the players. It's him.
Of course manager tactics will always be massively questioned but Koeman isn't a bad manager and he ran into same roadblock (although that really was useless transfer window signing likes of Sandro, Klassan and even Rooney). Martinez overachieved in his first season and then things dipped.

Everton just have big mentality issues. Suppose one thing to cling onto is Spurs were like this 5-6 years ago and things then clicked until last few weeks.
 

FootballHQ

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I wouldn't say Delph failed at City at all. He was solid there, they could just replace him with a younger player with ease and he wasn't a key player.

I watch us every week and to me the players just don't have any interest anymore. He has no motivational qualities at all. He's like a more depressing Mourinho.
Problem is Delph is box to box, he's not a DM. We never played him there and we were generally awful during his time there.

Think selling Gana on eye of the season and not seemingly replacing him in that position with someone really proven is getting exposed as season goes on.
 

SilentWitness

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Of course manager tactics will always be massively questioned but Koeman isn't a bad manager and he ran into same roadblock (although that really was useless transfer window signing likes of Sandro, Klassan and even Rooney). Martinez overachieved in his first season and then things dipped.

Everton just have big mentality issues. Suppose one thing to cling onto is Spurs were like this 5-6 years ago and things then clicked until last few weeks.
We have big mentality issues yes. But this squad should not be 17th and losing to Villa, Sheffield United and Burnley. No disrespect intended.
Problem is Delph is box to box, he's not a DM. We never played him there and we were generally awful during his time there.

Think selling Gana on eye of the season and not seemingly replacing him in that position with someone really proven is getting exposed as season goes on.
He did by buying Gbamin who is unfortunately injured. No excuses though. The squad is perfectly capable of winning the games i stated without him. If we played well and lost I wouldn't mind but apart from the Villa game we look dreadful. Similar to Ole there is no plan. It's shite.
 

paraguayo

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17th in the league with a top10 squad in europe in terms of total salaries.
 

INeedAbsynthe

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They blew half a billion and are worse than ever, their wage to revenue percentages are absurd and cannot be sustained. The quality of that squad given how much has been invested is shocking. The supposed new stadium is nothing but a mirage to keep fans happy, it will not happen and it won’t happen because there is no way on earth they can afford it.

They’ll sack Silva and no doubt appoint another flavour of the month. Rinse repeat..

They’ll be be in league 1 and in administration by 2023.
 
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Acole9

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I don't know who they'd get in if he was sacked. There's not many out there who are out of work who'd be a good fit, Gracia perhaps? Although he was sacked by the team bottom of the league. Someone already at a club might be more viable like Wilder or Potter.
 

SilentWitness

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I don't know who they'd get in if he was sacked. There's not many out there who are out of work who'd be a good fit, Gracia perhaps? Although he was sacked by the team bottom of the league. Someone already at a club might be more viable like Wilder or Potter.
I'd really like Potter if he continues his trajectory but it's probably too early for him. I can't see him leaving Brighton already and it would do him good to have a season or two with them. He doesn't seem the type of man to have loyalty to a club stand in his progression either. I don't doubt that it was hard for him to leave Ostersunds but he did for the best of his career. Similar at Swansea.
 

SilentWitness

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I haven't posted regularly or anything decent in a year or two now but feel compelled to post about Silva given the current situation.

Marco Silva: The Analysis

Style of Play/Tactical Nous:

So, what is it? After a year and a bit now I couldn't really tell you. It is as if he is trying to take all of the parts from top managers and mould it into one style. Pressing, check. Possession, check. Fullbacks high up the pitch, check. Using possession as a defense mechanism, check. It's eerily reminiscent at the moment of someone who is trying to be a Pep/Klopp hybrid but coming out looking like a more depressing and lacklustre Mourinho. Yes, we can keep possession, but what do we do with it? Little of our attacking play comes down to well drilled tactical measures or conviction. It's mostly from individual brilliance. If i look back to last season a lot of our attacking prowess came through Gylfi and this year he's playing really poorly so what then? We can't rely on Richarlison to always bail us out as he's only 22 and our other options are DCL/Kean/Iwobi in the attacking front who are all worryingly looking likely to go down the Rashford/Martial route where the expectation to step up and be a senior player is thrust down their neck when they don't have the senior authorities around them who are stepping up and helping them through that development. Against Wolves we were really good going forward but why was that? They gave us so much space that it wouldn't matter who played them that day, they would have leaked a few goals. Against sides that are well set up defensively we are absolutely hopeless and it doesn't look like we will score or even craft a chance. Digne is one of our most threatening players and he's a left back. That's worrying. The reason TAA/Robertson do so well is because they have forwards that are tactically aware and know where to be and how to play in the system. Ours is get it out wide or to Gylfi, see what they can do. We aren't a possession team though and shouldn't play like one. Our best forwards are pacey or like DCL capable of holding the ball up and playing it off to others. That's when we play best. A counter-attacking style with mixed long and short balls. But we persist on possession.

His tactical ability when going a goal down is also dreadful. Oh, we are losing? Better put on another Striker and go with two up top because we are desperate now. The absolute fecking worst was the Sheffield United game.

We finished with Walcott, Iwobi, Richarlison, Gylfi, Tosun and Kean all on the pitch. Yes. 6 of our 10 outfield players were forward players leaving one CM in Delph and three defenders. It's just embarassing. Is that a move of a manager who knows how to tactically set up a team to grab a goal? God no. It smacks of a manager that knows his job is on the line if he doesn't score. Complete desperation and no composure.

Set Pieces:

Since the summer of 2018, no side have conceded more set-piece goals in the Premier League.

Bang. Straight off the bat. Fachts. At Hull it was the same. At Watford they were 3rd highest. It's a consistent component in his managerial career yet he's not amended it. Why isn't he? More importantly why aren't the analysts at the club looking at that and directing him to change/Brands to address this issue? How did we concede against Burnley in the loss? You guessed it. I'm personally not a fan of zonal marking but it works for some teams. We are not a team that is capable of it which is clearly shown. We have small fullbacks and centrebacks that aren't the most pacy so it's obvious that when an opponent is attacking in the box we are going to be outmanouevred. Why aren't we combating it by playing a man-marking game? Keane and Mina are big lads and have the ability to outmuscle opponents. Play to your strenghts man.

Motivation:
I don't know what he does in the office to the lads but they all seem to be behind him which I can't understand. He's so dull and morbid on the sidelines. We conceded a goal one week and he just sat in his chair. Slumped. When you are in a good run of form and it's going to be your first loss for a while then fine, but we aren't. It just increases the negative energy around the club. The more I listen to podcasts and ex-players speak the more I realise how crucial motivation and man-management is to the players. We might think it is silly that a player needs to be nurtured/praised/spurred on to the extent that some animated managers such as Klopp are but they need it. We laughed at Klopp when he did the WBA drawing thing but you know what? He knew that it was about creating a bond. Not just between the players and fans but between the players. Yeah, we drew against WBA but we are together. I don't see that with Silva. Sure, he implores the players to clap for the fans after a loss but it's a 'shit, we lost I better thank them for watching my shit' rather than him being passionate about it.

Youth:
Had a bit of back and forth with @RedSky regarding this before and while I do think at times I understand why he is playing senior players for League Cup ties because the demand for a trophy from the fans is there, we aren't taking advantage of out youth enough. We have an U-23 side that is regularly excelling at the level and a bunch of exciting prospects but they just aren't being given a sniff when they've performed. Gibson was great in pre-season and now isn't anywhere to be seen. Davies has looked good everytime he's came on and offered something different but still doesn't get a start. Gordon has been great in recent weeks for the U-23s but was told we have too many players in the attacking positions to think of giving him a chance...why? He's scared of playing youth compared to the 20-30m players we have bought. Is that because of him or the board? I'm starting to question it a lot especially after yesterday when that Connolly lad for Brighton got his chance after performing well. It's irritating now as I can understand initially why you'd play seniors but when they aren't performing and we have someone who is and deserves a chance it's not good management.

Facts:

We haven't came from behind to win under his management. Ever.

He's got to the point now where he has the same amount of losses as wins.

We've played 2 promoted sides and have lost both. We've played 8 league games and have lost 5 already. Losses - Villa, Sheffield United, Bournemouth, Burnley, City. We finished above 4 of those last season. It's just shocking.

Liverpool:


This is what hurts the most. Seeing how much money we have both pumped into each club and where we both sit now. Liverpool have a direction. We were lording it over them during the Martinez era and just before when they were sitting in 7th/8th but they recruited well in every aspect and are now sitting comfortably in the top 2 of the PL. We had ambitions for top 6 and we are in 17th. Liverpool committed to an identity and despite having a slow start with Klopp they're now reaping the benefits from it. It doesn't feel like we have done that with a manager at all. We have panicked in terms of most of our decision making. I don't even care if they finish above us but the gap between us at the moment is disgraceful and I don't remember a time when it was this big especially considering how close we were to each other 5-10 years ago. We had a chance to kick on and get back to competing alongside them and instead we have completely regressed.

EDIT:

Forgot to add my final input. He has to go. A club with ambitions of top 6 does not sit in 17th with 5 losses after the first 8 games. A club with top 6 ambitions does not get beaten by two promotees with convincing fashion and using desperate tactics to even draw against one of them. A club with top 6 ambition doesn't have such an obvious weakness such as ours in terms of the set-piece situation yet do nothing to adapt and fix it. It's just not good enough.

 

freeurmind

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I haven't posted regularly or anything decent in a year or two now but feel compelled to post about Silva given the current situation.

Marco Silva: The Analysis

Style of Play/Tactical Nous:

So, what is it? After a year and a bit now I couldn't really tell you. It is as if he is trying to take all of the parts from top managers and mould it into one style. Pressing, check. Possession, check. Fullbacks high up the pitch, check. Using possession as a defense mechanism, check. It's eerily reminiscent at the moment of someone who is trying to be a Pep/Klopp hybrid but coming out looking like a more depressing and lacklustre Mourinho. Yes, we can keep possession, but what do we do with it? Little of our attacking play comes down to well drilled tactical measures or conviction. It's mostly from individual brilliance. If i look back to last season a lot of our attacking prowess came through Gylfi and this year he's playing really poorly so what then? We can't rely on Richarlison to always bail us out as he's only 22 and our other options are DCL/Kean/Iwobi in the attacking front who are all worryingly looking likely to go down the Rashford/Martial route where the expectation to step up and be a senior player is thrust down their neck when they don't have the senior authorities around them who are stepping up and helping them through that development. Against Wolves we were really good going forward but why was that? They gave us so much space that it wouldn't matter who played them that day, they would have leaked a few goals. Against sides that are well set up defensively we are absolutely hopeless and it doesn't look like we will score or even craft a chance. Digne is one of our most threatening players and he's a left back. That's worrying. The reason TAA/Robertson do so well is because they have forwards that are tactically aware and know where to be and how to play in the system. Ours is get it out wide or to Gylfi, see what they can do. We aren't a possession team though and shouldn't play like one. Our best forwards are pacey or like DCL capable of holding the ball up and playing it off to others. That's when we play best. A counter-attacking style with mixed long and short balls. But we persist on possession.

His tactical ability when going a goal down is also dreadful. Oh, we are losing? Better put on another Striker and go with two up top because we are desperate now. The absolute fecking worst was the Sheffield United game.

We finished with Walcott, Iwobi, Richarlison, Gylfi, Tosun and Kean all on the pitch. Yes. 6 of our 10 outfield players were forward players leaving one CM in Delph and three defenders. It's just embarassing. Is that a move of a manager who knows how to tactically set up a team to grab a goal? God no. It smacks of a manager that knows his job is on the line if he doesn't score. Complete desperation and no composure.

Set Pieces:

Since the summer of 2018, no side have conceded more set-piece goals in the Premier League.

Bang. Straight off the bat. Fachts. At Hull it was the same. At Watford they were 3rd highest. It's a consistent component in his managerial career yet he's not amended it. Why isn't he? More importantly why aren't the analysts at the club looking at that and directing him to change/Brands to address this issue? How did we concede against Burnley in the loss? You guessed it. I'm personally not a fan of zonal marking but it works for some teams. We are not a team that is capable of it which is clearly shown. We have small fullbacks and centrebacks that aren't the most pacy so it's obvious that when an opponent is attacking in the box we are going to be outmanouevred. Why aren't we combating it by playing a man-marking game? Keane and Mina are big lads and have the ability to outmuscle opponents. Play to your strenghts man.

Motivation:
I don't know what he does in the office to the lads but they all seem to be behind him which I can't understand. He's so dull and morbid on the sidelines. We conceded a goal one week and he just sat in his chair. Slumped. When you are in a good run of form and it's going to be your first loss for a while then fine, but we aren't. It just increases the negative energy around the club. The more I listen to podcasts and ex-players speak the more I realise how crucial motivation and man-management is to the players. We might think it is silly that a player needs to be nurtured/praised/spurred on to the extent that some animated managers such as Klopp are but they need it. We laughed at Klopp when he did the WBA drawing thing but you know what? He knew that it was about creating a bond. Not just between the players and fans but between the players. Yeah, we drew against WBA but we are together. I don't see that with Silva. Sure, he implores the players to clap for the fans after a loss but it's a 'shit, we lost I better thank them for watching my shit' rather than him being passionate about it.

Youth:
Had a bit of back and forth with @RedSky regarding this before and while I do think at times I understand why he is playing senior players for League Cup ties because the demand for a trophy from the fans is there, we aren't taking advantage of out youth enough. We have an U-23 side that is regularly excelling at the level and a bunch of exciting prospects but they just aren't being given a sniff when they've performed. Gibson was great in pre-season and now isn't anywhere to be seen. Davies has looked good everytime he's came on and offered something different but still doesn't get a start. Gordon has been great in recent weeks for the U-23s but was told we have too many players in the attacking positions to think of giving him a chance...why? He's scared of playing youth compared to the 20-30m players we have bought. Is that because of him or the board? I'm starting to question it a lot especially after yesterday when that Connolly lad for Brighton got his chance after performing well. It's irritating now as I can understand initially why you'd play seniors but when they aren't performing and we have someone who is and deserves a chance it's not good management.

Facts:

We haven't came from behind to win under his management. Ever.

He's got to the point now where he has the same amount of losses as wins.

We've played 2 promoted sides and have lost both. We've played 8 league games and have lost 5 already. Losses - Villa, Sheffield United, Bournemouth, Burnley, City. We finished above 4 of those last season. It's just shocking.

Liverpool:


This is what hurts the most. Seeing how much money we have both pumped into each club and where we both sit now. Liverpool have a direction. We were lording it over them during the Martinez era and just before when they were sitting in 7th/8th but they recruited well in every aspect and are now sitting comfortably in the top 2 of the PL. We had ambitions for top 6 and we are in 17th. Liverpool committed to an identity and despite having a slow start with Klopp they're now reaping the benefits from it. It doesn't feel like we have done that with a manager at all. We have panicked in terms of most of our decision making. I don't even care if they finish above us but the gap between us at the moment is disgraceful and I don't remember a time when it was this big especially considering how close we were to each other 5-10 years ago. We had a chance to kick on and get back to competing alongside them and instead we have completely regressed.

EDIT:

Forgot to add my final input. He has to go. A club with ambitions of top 6 does not sit in 17th with 5 losses after the first 8 games. A club with top 6 ambitions does not get beaten by two promotees with convincing fashion and using desperate tactics to even draw against one of them. A club with top 6 ambition doesn't have such an obvious weakness such as ours in terms of the set-piece situation yet do nothing to adapt and fix it. It's just not good enough.
Really good post. 3 questions. Who would you like to see come in if Silva does get the sack? What do you think of the Mina-Keane-Pickford defsive axis, enough quality or do you need to make changes there? How does Morgan Schneiderlin keep starting over Davies?
 

RedSky

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Gibsons contract is running out too. Wouldn't surprise me if he gets poached by another club tbh willing to give him first team experience.

As for Silva... I don't think he'll last past December with this form. Club has given him a lot of money and despite the struggles of other top clubs he's not been able to take advantage. This season is a big opportunity for clubs like Everton and Leicester to finish top 6.
 

Alabaster Codify7

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Marco Silva's downward trajectory is almost complete. He's like Roberto Martinez, in that he plays entertaining football and starts strongly before hitting a wall and overseeing a downward spiral before being fired.
 

FootballHQ

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Bottom 3 now. Got West Ham next which will be tough one for them to win.
 

André Dominguez

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The main mistery for me and almost every portuguese is how did he got so much hype at UK. People keep bringing the Hull job, but ultimately he failed.
 

SilentWitness

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Really good post. 3 questions. Who would you like to see come in if Silva does get the sack? What do you think of the Mina-Keane-Pickford defsive axis, enough quality or do you need to make changes there? How does Morgan Schneiderlin keep starting over Davies?
That’s the tricky question...I have no idea who will be available. My ideal two would be Potter or Howe if we look within the English circles. I’m not sure Howe would leave though and it’s too early for Potter. There are a bunch of exciting European managers right now though so it’s possible one of them may be available and we have Unsworth again as caretaker in the meanwhile.

We definitely need someone better to come in beside Keane. I like Pickford and Keane, they’re very good and for the most part solid. Keane, Zouma and Pickford was an excellent combo last year for example. Pickford and Keane are prone to mistakes which is stopping them from getting to the elite level. Mina is a good player but he’s far too hot headed and isn’t as good as he should ultimately be. I don’t think he will ever grow into the player he should be due to his temperament.

I assume it’s due to the apparent defensive solidity Schneiderlin is supposed to give to a team. Davies is a more dynamic box-to-box player like Delph and I assume he thinks it’s too risky to have them both in there if Gomes is out.
 

Samid

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They need to win 3 of their next 5. If they don't then those December fixtures will destroy them.
 

SilentWitness

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I would not judge him on this game. VAR ruined it. We were comfortable until that penalty decision.
 

Cee90

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I would not judge him on this game. VAR ruined it. We were comfortable until that penalty decision.
Do you not generally think he is under-performing with the players he has at his disposal though?
 

SilentWitness

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Do you not generally think he is under-performing with the players he has at his disposal though?
See my previous posts before the West Ham game. Yes but this isn't the game to judge him on.
 

AlwaysRed66

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What is shocking is despite Everton's dismal performance this season, they are still level on points with us having played a game more.
 

PyroMan

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Everton fans wanting him sacked and to be replaced by...Jose Mourinho.

They are pretty deluded.
 

RedSky

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Good luck Everton. :lol:

3rd Nov - Tottenham (H)
9th Nov - Southampton (A)
23rd Nov - Norwich (H)
1st Dec - Leicester (A)
4th Dec - Liverpool (A)
7th Dec - Chelsea (H)
15th Dec - Manchester United (A)
21st Dec - Arsenal (H)
26th Dec - Burnley (H)
28th Dec - Newcastle United (A)
1st Jan - Manchester City (A)
 

Damien

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I think he'll be gone by Christmas to be honest.
Most likely. From the 'big six and Leicester' they've only played City, so their games up to the halfway point look like:

3rd Nov: Tottenham Hotspur (H)
9th Nov: Southampton (A)
23rd Nov: Norwich City (H)
1st Dec: Leicester City (A)
4th Dec: Liverpool (A)
7th Dec: Chelsea (H)
15th Dec: Manchester United (A)
21st Dec: Arsenal (H)
26th Dec: Burnley (H)

Horrible set there. Although we are on the same number of points as them (with a game in hand), we have played Chelsea, Leicester, Arsenal and Liverpool.
 

Chairman Steve

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He needs to say that it was never going to be easy, there will be bumps along the way, there would be some highs and some lows and that he has faith that 'Richarly' will get the goals... I think then he'll get three years, £600m to spend over 10 transfer windows and anyone who objects to all that should go support Liverpool.
 
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Good luck Everton. :lol:

3rd Nov - Tottenham (H)
9th Nov - Southampton (A)
23rd Nov - Norwich (H)
1st Dec - Leicester (A)
4th Dec - Liverpool (A)
7th Dec - Chelsea (H)
15th Dec - Manchester United (A)
21st Dec - Arsenal (H)
26th Dec - Burnley (H)
28th Dec - Newcastle United (A)
1st Jan - Manchester City (A)
Well that's a guaranteed 3 points for sure!
 

FootballHQ

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On paper they've had the easiest start of the season compared to pretty much every other team.

Of the likely best 7-8 teams this season they've only played Man. City. Yet to play Arsenal, Chelsea, Spurs, Leicester or Liverpool yet. And Man. United if they wake up.

Their away form is terrible, 1 point from visits to Palace, Villa, Bournemouth, Burnley and Brighton. Fixture list away only going to get harder as the season progresses.

Seem to be banking on just winning most games at Goodison but that will bring its own pressures. Could always just re-appoint Big Sam of course.:lol:

Think they're in a bit of relegation danger tbh.