Everton Banter 4

03 Aug 2026 15:14:31
Morning Ed's,

Can we have a poll for who should be our captain with the new season approaching?

Tarks
Pickford
Branthwaite
Garner
KDH
Other

{Ed033's Note -


Everton Captain poll

03 Aug 2026 16:06:33
Cheers Ed33

03 Aug 2026 21:51:09
Make Garner captain and you will ruin him. Lad needs to be left alone to play.

{Ed025's Note - i dont know about that BMD, some guys thrive on that responsibility mate and i think Jimmy is made of stern stuff..

03 Aug 2026 08:05:10
Ok so as it's silly season here's my hopeful formation based on how the manager likes to line them up.
Pickford
Johnston-O'Brien-Branthwaite-Aznou
Rohl-Norgaard-Hackney-Kdh-Garner
Ndiaye
Delap (come on you know it's going to be) .


Would love us to get Yilmaz if we had to let Ndiaye go but would put him out wide right and move Garner up the park where he would be more involved in an attacking sense.
Have I got the job? 🙂

03 Aug 2026 08:52:32
Yilmaz going to be our striker or winger am not sure he looks that good and Turkish players never do well in England look at Tousan.Why can't we make a bid for someone decent someone like sarr at least try and get someone good

03 Aug 2026 09:41:05
Because we are crap. Have flirted with relegation for years and have no chance of European football for the foreseeable. And we play boring negative football. If you are a footballer who is half decent and ambitious, would you sign for us?

03 Aug 2026 09:52:14
Hope they let us start with 12 players BB.

03 Aug 2026 10:46:49
Brassington, not being picky but your team has 12 or is that to balance the VAR anti toffee agenda. 😂

03 Aug 2026 11:56:57
I would have hoped DM would have played JoB and JB together in preseason as preparation, but he hasn't, so I doubt we'll see that pairing any time soon. : (

03 Aug 2026 12:47:51
"Turkish players never do well in England".

Tugay would have something to say about that.

03 Aug 2026 15:10:34
Hey Big Reg, I've just gone and put Everton to beat Crystal Palace 2-0 in our opening game on Super 6 and now you have spoilt it, mate. 😂😂😂😂

03 Aug 2026 15:42:21
Are you for real, Dino, saying Turkish players never make it in England?

03 Aug 2026 15:54:35
Ah, you spotted my deliberate mistake, boys. Just a bit thick, lads, maybe getting a bit excited because we are actually signing some decent midfielders. Now about the two right backs..

03 Aug 2026 16:16:18
I'd take 12 players on the pitch. Surely we couldn't fit them all in our own half the whole game!

03 Aug 2026 16:32:37
Sorry, Brassington, but it's going to be a while before Garner is back on the pitch in any position.

03 Aug 2026 17:35:24
Yes, am serious. Name me 3 top class Turkish players that have made it in England. I can't think of 1, never mind 3, but you seem to believe I am wrong, so name 3.

03 Aug 2026 18:15:22
You're going to have to wait on news now naming some.

03 Aug 2026 18:41:21
Tugay was class, and wasn't Muzzy Izzet Turkish? He was decent for Leicester.

04 Aug 2026 10:27:59
Ya need Google search, and still can't name 3.

03 Aug 2026 07:24:31
Why is everyone obsessed by stats? Surely it depends on what team you play for and what league you’re in. I mean, a player playing for, say, Celtic, could have great stats. But they are the best team playing in a crap league. So that doesn’t mean he will perform to the same level in an average team in the better league.

For example, Patterson had great stats while at Rangers, but has struggled ever since joining us.
We all watch players every week home and away, and we make our minds up about how good or bad they are based on what we see. I would like to think the club are doing the same, and not just basing it on bloody stats.

03 Aug 2026 08:49:57
I think the club go like this when looking for transfer targets. Eeny meeny miny moe catch a player by the toe.
Well, it does feel like that.

{Ed025's Note - I dont think its that sophisticated Dino..

03 Aug 2026 10:33:31
Patterson only played a few games for Rangers before we signed him. He was never getting a game as James Tavernier was the rightback and captain. Think he played more for Scotland than Rangers.

03 Aug 2026 10:42:02
You've basically described every team in the majority of the leagues worldwide, mate. The game has been stats driven for many years now and that is unlikely to change anytime soon. You see the GPS vests the players wear in preseason, clubs have their own analysts to provide data on all aspects of the game.

It's not just us.

Patterson wasn't really in the first team picture at Rangers and, I think, only played a few games for them.

03 Aug 2026 12:49:39
Spot on, Loyalist.

Patterson played a whopping 13 games for Rangers before we signed him with 1 assist.

03 Aug 2026 13:33:03
Van Dyke was at Celtic & when we were looking for a new CB, who did we sign, Funnes Mori. Both the same price & we picked the donkey..again.

03 Aug 2026 15:55:55
Or Van Dick just ended up at a better team.

02 Aug 2026 18:49:27
I would be interested to hear other people’s thoughts, but from what I’ve seen, Rőhl and Aznou appear to have been Everton’s two best players during pre-season.

02 Aug 2026 19:59:48
From watch I've watched, Rohl has been very energetic and covered a lot of ground. He's not a RB but could be with more work. I would like to see him as an 8 or develop his crossing as a RW. He put in a good cross for Barry's no goal and tracked the ball well for his goal against Hamburg - he also dug it out his feet from a pass behind him to control it and put it in the net.

Aznou has been attacking when he's come on (though spent large parts of the Stoke game running towards our goal with the tactics of sideways or backwards) . I think he's a little naive defensively, but brings more attacking play than Myko.

KDH and Hackney have been solid.

Not set the world on fire but did their jobs mostly. Hackney was caught in possession against Hamburg, which led to a good chance they fluffed up.

George started well against Stoke, but his end product was lacking. Hope he gets more game time.

Graham made a decent cameo and Armstrong looks a good player. Graham's assist for the own goal saw him chase the ball down and whip the ball into a decent place. I doubt Beto would have gotten to it, but the defender did enough to turn it in. I think he looks a little lightweight and needs some time to bulk out or he might get bullied by opposition in Prem games.

02 Aug 2026 18:08:18
Everton agree personal terms with Baris Alper Yilmaz as he decides on Premier League switch, but if this is true no fee agreed with the selling club. Make of this what you will, fellow Evertonians.

02 Aug 2026 20:01:39
Loan to buy?

03 Aug 2026 07:50:28
Just buy the bloke a very good player with an attacking mindset.

02 Aug 2026 16:20:34
The problem I have is we have known from September last year that we need a right back and a proven striker who can score goals and move the club forward or we are toast again this season. Why does it take so long? Surly we could have had these things in place before the end of the season with a list of 3/4 rb targets and 3/4 striker targets and as soon as window is open, you pounce, get the best one out of the 3/4 options and they have weeks of preseason to settle in.

What we do is wait to deadline week when all the good players have already been snapped up and we end up with garbage like Barry. Spurs moved early. Why can’t we? It’s just frustrating because I know we have few weeks left but it feels like we are doing the same wait wait wait and end up with Donkeys. Getting a striker for me is the be all and end all. We do that I don’t care but right back striker is main priority.

{Ed025's Note - its been that way for years Dino...dont ask me why..

02 Aug 2026 19:01:35
Exactly, Dino.

02 Aug 2026 20:03:26
I have come to believe players don't want to play for us. Make of that what you will, but unless we pay stupidly high wages, we might not attract the top talent.

02 Aug 2026 15:47:01
I know it’s a matter of opinion but the thought of a front line of Grealish, Richy and Ndyai with
KDH Norgard, Garner, Hackney in midfield and a back three of O’Brien, Tarks and Branthwaite is quite exciting with strength on the bench as well.
Maybe it’s my age, but I’m that excited, I think a bit of wee came out.
UTFT COYB

02 Aug 2026 17:20:29
It is exciting but very unlikely given Moyes doesn't usually play a back three.

{Ed025's Note - its usually a back 11 .. :)

02 Aug 2026 18:02:14
Definitely age, Big C.

02 Aug 2026 19:09:34
You're lucky it's only a bit!

02 Aug 2026 19:49:46
Tarks should be put down like a severely lame horse. Never had pace but has slowed considerably. Flounders about the pitch in no man's land. Look at the goal yesterday from Hamburg - marking neither player and stood aimlessly in space.

The fall off with him is and will continue to be very steep.

I would if we went in for a decent CB this window. Failing that, I would love it if Moyes had the bollocks to drop him and play JB and O'B.

{Ed025's Note - not sure about put down BN, but certainly dropped mate.. :)

03 Aug 2026 01:34:15
I thought Tarky was poor all last season and from Christmas onwards he was terrible.

But if you read through his stats, he was one of the best central defenders in EPL.

The stats and my eyes are seeing two completely different things.

But I think he's finished as a decent centre-half in EPL and his lack of pace will cost us even more goals if he is not dropped.

03 Aug 2026 04:08:06
I like Tarks but unfortunately age catches up with us all. Branthwaite & O'Brien have to be our starting centre backs this season.

NSNO UTFT. 💙 💙 💙

02 Aug 2026 15:06:30
Now there's a shock! Bournemouth in the process of signing a right back. Juanlu £11.2 million from Sevilla. 22 capped for Spain. Where were our scouts for the last few weeks, oh yes Scotland and watching the World Cup. Might have the smallest stadium in the Premier League but have bloody good scouts.

02 Aug 2026 16:33:15
Decent signing for them. They've just signed Silva too, who I think will be a great signing.

They really do have a great recruitment team over there.

02 Aug 2026 18:57:07
Who said our Scouts were in Scotland?
This whole 'where are our scouts/what are they doing' is tiresome.

02 Aug 2026 15:01:30
Juanlo to Bournemouth for 13m, good signing that for them, pity we didn't or couldn't get him.

02 Aug 2026 14:35:56
I’m gonna stick my neck out here but I think that Hackney and Norgaard represent excellent pieces of business for us as a club, the latter is a bargain in this market at just £7 million. We have a strong midfield now, especially if we can get Grealish done and over the line. For me though, now a top striker is desperately needed and a decent right back - not the guy from Celtic please….

If we can get in Yilmaz and keep Ndiaye too, then it’s a good window for me. Just remember that Branthwaite is back too which will be like another signing as he is top drawer …. UTT

02 Aug 2026 15:00:09
They do that Elvis very shrewd signings.