Just for those who are not watching,, after an hour we are down 2-1 which might make you think it is a fairly even contest, make no mistake, it is not.
Man U could have and probably should have scored at least four and our goal, although really well taken, has been our only single strike on goal of note.
I know what this game is but nonetheless, we have been poor
Actually in the last 30 mins I saw some positives, certainly saw enough from Paqueta to reinforce my conviction that we have to keep him, I think that assuming he is cleared it will be like getting a new player, also liked what I saw of young Preston Fearon in midfield, looked really sharp to me and thought he stood out.
The first hour we were pretty poor but it was a good run out but Areola……oh boy
Watching the highlights and I think the issues with the team are as obvious as last year. Both goals were down to the keeper being a liability, and other than that nearly every chance they had seemed to come from a turnover in midfield and our midfielders being too slow and immobile to react.
We can’t play Füllkrug & Bowen as a front two with wing-backs as there is no reliable, consistent quality from wide areas. Füllkrug is going to need to play with Bowen & another either side of him to supply him, in addition to the wing-backs. That midfield can’t be starting at Sunderland; I’d argue all three of those midfielders need to be out of the 11. Potts was bright, as was Fearon.
Watching the highlights again the first goal Areola collided with Diouf causing him to lose the ball and then the foul was very soft. For the second Areola passed the ball out but I think it may have been JWP waited for the ball to come to him and the Utd player was more awake and jumped in to intercept. I would make that more a collective mistake as the Areola pass was definitely on
When Summerville is back, he will link up nicely with Diouf & AWB & Bowen will link up nicely, we’ve already seen what Aaron & Jarrod can do as a pair. I’d have Paquetá playing LM/LW for now to set Diouf away as he rampages forward. There is no way Füllkrug will get enough service it we keep playing the 5-3-2 like yesterday & we can’t rely on Souček & JWP to be the players to supply Diouf with delicate passes down the channel.
This is what I think we need with current players but we need to add a keeper & (at least) one CM. Álvarez will probably come back in soon & Potts may be able to stake a claim, but Rodríguez is not good enough (IMO) & we know Souček & JWP, whilst great pros, have their limitations. I am still not convinced by Todibo, Aguerd & Füllkrug as starters for us but this is all we have currently.
It may have been two errors that led to the actual goals but aside from that, Man U created numerous additional goalscoring opportunities that on another day could have easily found us four down at the hour mark.
Our midfield seemed slow and provided little in the way of protection or creativity - I think that Rodriguez was the main offender but neither Soucek or JWP did much to link up play,
We need to focus efforts there - the upside is that we do have options, Paqueta is certainly one and maybe a youngster such as Fearon could be given an opportunity to break into the team.
I completely agree that Rodriguez might as well not have been there, I can't see how he plays any part in our PL season. However, hard to single out JWP or Soucek imo, as, in the first hour or so, no-one seemed to be able to find a claret shirt, or to hold onto the ball if it did actually find them. That's not, however, saying that Soucek or JWP did enough to see them start going forward, and, to my mind anyway, certainly not together.
Wonder if we’ll go strong for second game or be more rotational to allow the minutes to be shared out. Will we stick with back 3 or experiment with a back four.
Chicago has been suffering a heat wave and there was speculation that the match might be called off but the weather forecast is for 23°C/74°F with 40% chance of rain but 79% humidity. Sticky
So what's been happening at Everton
Out goes Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Mason Holgate, Ashley Young, Asmir Begovic and - wait for it - Neal Maupay
Loanees Jack Harrison, Jesper Lindstrom, Armando Broja and Orel Mangala have returned to their respective clubs
Everton took up the option to buy another of last seasons loanees AM Carlos Alcaraz for £15m from Flamengo
The only other arrivals so far are backup goalkeeper Mark Travers, £4m from Bournemouth, and 22yo French CF Thierno Barry, £27m from Villarreal
Everton lost 3-0 to Bournemouth at the MetLife stadium before we played Manchester United
Noticeable absences were centre back pair James Tarkowski, in the stands recovering from a hamstring although could return soon, and Jarrad Branthwaite, left back in Liverpool with a thigh injury
Seamus Coleman is injured again while Michael Keane is with the squad but has been missing from training
Comments
Edit: on for Fullkrug, Todibo and Rodriguez.
Man U could have and probably should have scored at least four and our goal, although really well taken, has been our only single strike on goal of note.
I know what this game is but nonetheless, we have been poor
Sloppy at times, but hard to know if that is because of the stage of pre-season.
The first hour we were pretty poor but it was a good run out but Areola……oh boy
Jarrod can do as a pair. I’d have Paquetá playing LM/LW for now to set Diouf away as he rampages forward. There is no way Füllkrug will get enough service it we keep playing the 5-3-2 like yesterday & we can’t rely on Souček & JWP to be the players to supply Diouf with delicate passes down the channel.
Areola
Todibo - Kilman - Aguerd
Wan-Bissaka - Potts - Souček - Diouf
Bowen - Füllkrug - Paquetá
This is what I think we need with current players but we need to add a keeper & (at least) one CM. Álvarez will probably come back in soon & Potts may be able to stake a claim, but Rodríguez is not good enough (IMO) & we know Souček & JWP, whilst great pros, have their limitations. I am still not convinced by Todibo, Aguerd & Füllkrug as starters for us but this is all we have currently.
Our midfield seemed slow and provided little in the way of protection or creativity - I think that Rodriguez was the main offender but neither Soucek or JWP did much to link up play,
We need to focus efforts there - the upside is that we do have options, Paqueta is certainly one and maybe a youngster such as Fearon could be given an opportunity to break into the team.
Areola
Walker-Peters - Mavropanos - Aguerd - Scarles
Potts - Irving
Cornet - Paquetá - Guilherme
Füllkrug
Chicago has been suffering a heat wave and there was speculation that the match might be called off but the weather forecast is for 23°C/74°F with 40% chance of rain but 79% humidity. Sticky
So what's been happening at Everton
Out goes Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Mason Holgate, Ashley Young, Asmir Begovic and - wait for it - Neal Maupay
Loanees Jack Harrison, Jesper Lindstrom, Armando Broja and Orel Mangala have returned to their respective clubs
Everton took up the option to buy another of last seasons loanees AM Carlos Alcaraz for £15m from Flamengo
The only other arrivals so far are backup goalkeeper Mark Travers, £4m from Bournemouth, and 22yo French CF Thierno Barry, £27m from Villarreal
Everton lost 3-0 to Bournemouth at the MetLife stadium before we played Manchester United
Noticeable absences were centre back pair James Tarkowski, in the stands recovering from a hamstring although could return soon, and Jarrad Branthwaite, left back in Liverpool with a thigh injury
Seamus Coleman is injured again while Michael Keane is with the squad but has been missing from training
Starting XI
Pickford
Garner O'Brien Mykolenko Patterson
Gueye Iroegbunam
McNeil Alcaraz Ndiaye
Beto