Everton 0-0 Chelsea

[Laylabelle 9,535]

Just now, Pizy said:

The kind of match where we really miss having that alternative #9 to Jackson. A Giroud type.

Also a match where not having any threat whatsoever from our fullbacks in attack makes us easier to defend against. They were able to double up on our wingers on both sides. Having a Reece James or Cucu overlapping makes a huge difference against deep blocks and parked buses. 

Thankfully, I never for even a second let myself think about the title or even a title race so I don’t care about losing ground to Liverpool. We aren’t ready for that yet. But ffs, it would’ve been nice to give ourselves a huge cushion to City and the others behind us.

That's how I see it. We haven't got the squad to go all the way. It's nice to be up there and all but they've also got a game in hand and whatever else. Top 4 we need to make ours however and if can finish 2nd bonus..if not 3rd will do.

[Vesper 30,195]

21 minutes ago, Thor said:

Sancho should have been off after 30 minutes, and Disasi is useless. Get Veiga on and let Gusto play his natural position. He was super limited on the left. 

Neto and Noni should have been running at these fools all game. 

 

Sanchez once again proves people wrong on here. Saved us points. 

yes, Neto can play on the LW as well, despite being left foot, he would have destroyed Young's 39 year old legs

[NikkiCFC 8,326]

23 minutes ago, Blue Armour said:

The ironic thing is that Everton rolls over and show their arse to Liverpool in the same kind of fixture.

Here though, they came with a game plan and executed it well enough

 

 

20 minutes ago, Nero said:

Yeah, they'll lose against Liverpool 0:4 oder 1:6. But against Chelsea, they play like a different team 

Bullshit. Liverpool have one win at Goodison last 7 or just two last 12. 

[Pizy 18,927]

I know people are having a go at Sancho and he was indeed poor first half. But I thought he grew into the game second half and was solid until it came to that final ball.

What bewilders me is how Neto was by far our most dangerous player all first half and then we came out of halftime and he barely got a touch.

Really just a very subpar, ineffective attacking game all around. We have to be able to break down teams when they set up like this or else every small club will do this to us and we’ll struggle.

[Mário César 1,278]

We already knew that cucurella red card would hurt us a lot

[Blue Armour 4,443]

5 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

 

Bullshit. Liverpool have one win at Goodison last 7 or just two last 12. 

Hmm, fair. Liverpool dominates the recent H2H overall,  but yeah at Goodison they haven't done much recently. Interesting 

[Superblue 6,372]

33 minutes ago, Blue Armour said:

Robbie Earle putting a positive spin, saying that a hard fought away draw by a young Chelsea side is still a good point to take.

I agree with him. Came tantalizingly close to breaking the deadlock though. That's the frustrating part.

Couldn't agree more with this.

It's easy to get silly and emotional and think it's 2 points dropped but we're not even half way through the season yet. If we're in a title race we'll know with about 8 games left. Until then it's about building blocks in this squad and I think today and on a larger scale the last couple of weeks have been extremely positive.

We've found ourselves 2 goals down away at our biggest rivals and just played two teams who we've struggled against in recent seasons and come out with 7 points. 

Starting to see some characters in the squad and a bit of steel. Given the weather conditions today, it played perfectly into Everton's hands and we stood up. Our attack was poor today all round - whether you can make the weather an excuse or not, they've by and large been superb between them almost all season and helped us simply outscore most teams. On an off day, it was good to see Sanchez, the defence and the midfield step up and ensure we didn't lose. 

The media over here will spin it as 2 points dropped to charge up the Liverpool love in, but I personally think it's a hard earned point and a building block to how we want this squad overall to be which is pleasing on the eye, but also strong defensively and in character. This squad for me is still very much trending in the right direction.

[Laylabelle 9,535]

4 minutes ago, Superblue said:

Couldn't agree more with this.

It's easy to get silly and emotional and think it's 2 points dropped but we're not even half way through the season yet. If we're in a title race we'll know with about 8 games left. Until then it's about building blocks in this squad and I think today and on a larger scale the last couple of weeks have been extremely positive.

We've found ourselves 2 goals down away at our biggest rivals and just played two teams who we've struggled against in recent seasons and come out with 7 points. 

Starting to see some characters in the squad and a bit of steel. Given the weather conditions today, it played perfectly into Everton's hands and we stood up. Our attack was poor today all round - whether you can make the weather an excuse or not, they've by and large been superb between them almost all season and helped us simply outscore most teams. On an off day, it was good to see Sanchez, the defence and the midfield step up and ensure we didn't lose. 

The media over here will spin it as 2 points dropped to charge up the Liverpool love in, but I personally think it's a hard earned point and a building block to how we want this squad overall to be which is pleasing on the eye, but also strong defensively and in character. This squad for me is still very much trending in the right direction.

Considering where we were this time last year and all...2nd for Christmas is quite nice!

[Mário César 1,278]

it is not the end of the world but I take this point at one of the most hard stadiums to play

come on Chelsea

[NikkiCFC 8,326]

Great game by Sanchez and Tosin. 

Edited December 22, 2024 by NikkiCFC

[Blue Armour 4,443]

3 hours ago, Superblue said:

Couldn't agree more with this.

It's easy to get silly and emotional and think it's 2 points dropped but we're not even half way through the season yet. If we're in a title race we'll know with about 8 games left. Until then it's about building blocks in this squad and I think today and on a larger scale the last couple of weeks have been extremely positive.

We've found ourselves 2 goals down away at our biggest rivals and just played two teams who we've struggled against in recent seasons and come out with 7 points. 

Starting to see some characters in the squad and a bit of steel. Given the weather conditions today, it played perfectly into Everton's hands and we stood up. Our attack was poor today all round - whether you can make the weather an excuse or not, they've by and large been superb between them almost all season and helped us simply outscore most teams. On an off day, it was good to see Sanchez, the defence and the midfield step up and ensure we didn't lose. 

The media over here will spin it as 2 points dropped to charge up the Liverpool love in, but I personally think it's a hard earned point and a building block to how we want this squad overall to be which is pleasing on the eye, but also strong defensively and in character. This squad for me is still very much trending in the right direction.

True, this is the first time we've failed to score since opening day.

And the other positive aspect is that we earned a clean sheet on the one occasion it really mattered.i.e. when we failed to score the other end of the pitch. 

[robsblubot 3,595]

Was reading that we had close to 70% possession and only 5 shots on goal.

if that’s the case then the collective did not produce enough to win the match. That goes into strategy, team setup, player characteristics, and quality (roster).

Teams will start playing with a lower d line against us, so this is hardly the last time we will struggle to find space.

[ZAPHOD2319 4,819]

Watched in Dallas then drove to New Orleans. That wind was insane. Pickford kicked the ball at the end toward the penalty area and the wind carried it far out to the side out of bounds. I agree with Robbie on the USA network. Given the conditions Chelsea won a hard earned point, they did not lose two. 
 

It is a game you can easily lose.

[lluubbeenn 174]

14 hours ago, robsblubot said:

Was reading that we had close to 70% possession and only 5 shots on goal.

if that’s the case then the collective did not produce enough to win the match. That goes into strategy, team setup, player characteristics, and quality (roster).

Teams will start playing with a lower d line against us, so this is hardly the last time we will struggle to find space.

It is not so easy to lower the defensive line without a lot of training. Everton are probably the only specialists in that aspect in the prem at the moment. Weather conditions and the home fans helped them to succeed yesterday. It will not be easy to defend against our team for 90min, so I don't think they have showed THE way to others. Its just that Everton are really good at what they are doing. 

[MoroccanBlue 5,383]

Yeah not every manager can organise a side like Dyche when you want anti-football. 

[Ledg 643]

I wonder when will the refs stop protecting the English players.. That lunge from Pickford on Gusto in the box yesterday was absolutely ridiciouls, like the one on VVD a couple of years ago.

Malo is very lucky, a little bit higher and he was leaving Goodison Park with a broken leg.

[Fulham Broadway 17,319]

Fair play to the faithful away fans yesterday made themselves heard, always a boost to the team - horrible weather and then the 0-0 but at least a point

[robsblubot 3,595]

7 hours ago, lluubbeenn said:

It is not so easy to lower the defensive line without a lot of training. Everton are probably the only specialists in that aspect in the prem at the moment. Weather conditions and the home fans helped them to succeed yesterday. It will not be easy to defend against our team for 90min, so I don't think they have showed THE way to others. Its just that Everton are really good at what they are doing. 

Never said it was easy. We've won quite a bit of silverware employing low blocks.

It's certainly *easier* to defend with a low block than with possession: less space behind your D line to worry about. it's also far cheaper to play defensively, and defend with a low block, than it is to employ, successfully, a possession + attacking minded side.

I think every time your team plays some is indeed shown to others who might be paying attention. Heard from multiple managers that it's common to be forced to switch strategies during a competition as other teams find ways to block your most effective strategies.

How effective other sides will be at employing a low block against us? we will see soon.

[Vytis33 1,272]

Does a lot of good now thanks for the update