Everton Banter Archive February 05 2017

05 Feb 2017 21:22:18
Roberto, after it went 3-2 RK went to plan B, that's what a great manager does.

05 Feb 2017 20:13:09
Who thinks Lukaku will still be an Everton player this time next year. I really hope we can hang on to him but I think it's highly unlikely but I'm hoping he can fire us into Europe for next season. Maybe if we can grab a champions league spot we can keep him.

05 Feb 2017 21:12:22
He has scored more league goals in 2017 than the whole Liverpool side.

05 Feb 2017 23:55:47
Never seen him trying harder, he's buying into something, whether that's a give me everything and you're free to go or if Koeman has got him tied down only time will tell.
He's chasing keepers right now though never seen it before. Talking about the team in press interviews not normally his style either.
Hope he stays, doubt he will, if he does we have an incredibley young core for a push to the top 4 next season.

05 Feb 2017 23:56:06
If we can keep Lukaku then with a few aditions I believe we can realistically get into the champions league next season.

06 Feb 2017 11:46:47
Why are we even worrying about that now?

05 Feb 2017 18:24:30
More footbal related than Everton related, has any English team ever won the top flight league one season then been relegated the next?
If not then Leicester are in real danger of setting a new record.

On a lighter note loved Ian Wright's comments on Ross's pre-goal celebration 'I wish I'd have thought of doing that'.
Now there's a man who knew where the back if the net was, unfortunately against us a lot of the time.

05 Feb 2017 19:12:07
I believe City are the only English club to do this, way back in the late 1930's. Never happened in the modern era though.

05 Feb 2017 19:37:23
leeds utd was my first guess but then I recalled they only just survived only to go the following season.

Spud is correct.

05 Feb 2017 23:57:28
I think Ipswich Town won it under sir Alf Ramsey, he left for the England job and they went down.

05 Feb 2017 13:15:10
We are coming to the end of the first year under FM's investment. During this 12 months we have seen a lot of change, both on and off the pitch, which has certainly lifted the fan base. It seems a million miles away from the RM days when we were struggling to hit the heights of the top ten, when the manager lost his dressing room and the onus on scoring more than the other team often left us conceding more than we scored. We seemed to be in free fall with no plan B to get us out of trouble. Their was no, or little, discipline. Players knew they would be selected despite being out of form.
FM seen this and forced the board into a change of manager and, ultimately, direction. Koeman was brought in and had a great start, despite not being able to assess his squad in time to sign players to improve the first team. The players took a while to settle into the new mans style, even the bright start was punctuated with individual mistakes as they tried to escape the 'Martinez philosophy. ' The derby defeat just before Xmas was a turning point for the team, something seemed to click with the players and they bought into what RK wants to see from them on the pitch.
We bought well in the last window and got rid of fringe players who were not good enough, in the managers opinion, to move us forward. In one fell swoop he has jettisoned those who are taking a monthly wage for doing very little work, some from the Moyes era and some from Roberto's tenure. There are a few who will leave next window, with thanks for their service, but we have to believe that their replacements will strengthen the squad even more and help push us on to tackling the top four in the league. It is refreshing to have a manager who is not afraid to make changes to the formation during the game, to make a sub at HT when things are not going too well.
We have a man on the board who has bought into the club values and wants to deliver success to the fans. A man who's vision includes a new, shiny stadium on the water front. A man who has the balls, and cash, to make that dream become reality.
In a nutshell, Moshiri has changed the landscape for EFC in the short time he has been with us. He has given us hope when we could only see despair, he has given us belief when a few had lost faith. FM has given us back our beloved Everton FC, a club which belongs at the top. A club with a proud history but, more importantly, a club which now has hope and a bright future. We are no longer a sleeping giant of the English league, FM has stopped us hitting the snooze button and got us back on our feet. It's been a good 12 months :)

{Ed025's Note - great post spud..

05 Feb 2017 19:11:24
Very well said mate, excellent post. Never been so optimistic in my 30 years as a supporter.

A lot of credit for this has to go to BK who could have sold the club years earlier to the wrong person / people and we could have gone the way of Leeds, Birmingham and Portsmouth. Instead he held out to find someone I never thought he would - a rich investor who shared his passion, morals and, seemingly now, his love of the club.

{Ed025's Note - im with you there windsor..

05 Feb 2017 19:12:26
cheers ed.

{Ed025's Note - well deserved spud mate..

05 Feb 2017 21:45:36
Cheers WB, I'm definitely grateful to BK for everything he has done to keep the club afloat and get the right investor in to move us forward. I know he gets a bit of stick off sections of the fans but he really has put his neck on the line for EFC over the years. I wouldn't fancy being in his position, damned if he does and damned if he doesn't it seems!
Things are coming together slowly but, like you, I don't remember being this optimistic about the future of the club since the 80's!

05 Feb 2017 12:14:08
Fantastic game yesterday, Koeman looks more settled and content plus the players are now buying into Koeman's way of playing.
I believe that we need to get Rom on a long term contract asap and barkley's is running down as well. I really hope that talks are ongoing now, also Barry has ran out of legs now and maybe a coaching role is better suited helping the kids. Funes mori still has a lot to learn and can go missing but is improving and may well turn into a quality, disaplined CB. Williams I also feel, is short on pace and exposed at times but next season maybe his last. Coyb onwards and upwards.

05 Feb 2017 08:22:20
I like everyone else couldn't wait to here his line up, surprised yes but that's why he's a manager.

05 Feb 2017 03:22:05
Hi all, it's been a while, really impressed with Koeman no slackers with escape his wrath. I always believed that Koeman give time would get us back on track. Remember when Pottechinno first went to Spurs they struggled at first and stuck by there manager and they look like they could become regular champions League qualifiers and remember Koeman performed better at Southapton than Pottechinno. We will be really strong next season in saying that this season could still be profitable don't expect top 4 but top 6 is achievable. Next few games are against teams in relegation trouble which won't be easy as we see from the results earlier. But if we could take this good run we are on further for the month of Feb we could be right in among the top dogs and the sacred top 6 will become a flexible top 7 God forbid leave 1 of the other big boys out of the mix like they are still doing now, mostly talking about Sky sports and other sports media. Cheers.