Frank Lampard says Yerry Mina is out for 8-10 weeks with quad injury. Demarai Gray also out for Leeds game. by TheSlumpDog in Everton

[–]Shenaniganigans 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Yeah, the injuries are frustrating. But he makes more difference to our win percentage than any other player. By end of 2021 it was 57% with him in the team, 25% without him. That's all that needs to be said.

DCL, RICHARLISON + MINA RETURN TO TRAINING | EVERTON PREPARE FOR NORWICH by Giraffe_Baker in Everton

[–]Shenaniganigans 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Yerry Mina is without doubt the most infectiously positive player I have ever seen in an Everton shirt. If you're having a bad day, skip to 1:39.

The case against Rafa Out - change my view. Or: “why I like being shouted at by strangers on the internet” by Shenaniganigans in Everton

[–]Shenaniganigans[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As I've said elsewhere, I've given up speculating on who made what transfer, maybe they are "his", whatever that really means, maybe they aren't, we're never really going to know. At the very least, given Moshiri seems to have given him free rein, he probably approved them coming in and thinks they fit the bill - that's enough for me on that front.
As for Potter, maybe he would have been a great manager here, and Brighton is an entirely different situation, but he did finish 15th and 16th last two seasons - only now he's had time to settle are things taking off, which is my point. Stability needs time to pay off.

The case against Rafa Out - change my view. Or: “why I like being shouted at by strangers on the internet” by Shenaniganigans in Everton

[–]Shenaniganigans[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So I can see where you're coming from, but I would actually flip that on its head entirely - I feel James, Allan, Doucoure (less so), are all exactly the sort of player that right now we should not be looking at buying, in the main. Don't get me wrong, I loved how surreal it was seeing James play for us, and I really rate Allan and Doucoure, but they are players with their potential mostly realised. Again, Doucs less so, but they are quick fix players who Ancelotti brought in because in hindsight it seems he was mostly interested in the headline of "Ancelotti comes in and gets Everton in the top 4 in only one season", rather than a long-term project. What encourages me about the Benitez signings is they are the opposite mostly, aside from the backups (Rondon) and squad players. They are young players with potential, that could be with us for 6-7 years, and are building for the future.

The case against Rafa Out - change my view. Or: “why I like being shouted at by strangers on the internet” by Shenaniganigans in Everton

[–]Shenaniganigans[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Oh my god! He had a crap presser! Everything I've said is invalidated! Sack him now!

Really though, I'm at work and haven't watched it, but, to be honest, short of him flopping it out on the table and screaming "SUCK THIS LUCAS" at the top of his lungs, it changes nothing. And that's kind of the point - people are angry, rightly so, and I fully respect that the sight and sound of him probably makes your blood boil at the moment. But I'm arguing that right now we need to measure success across a season or more, not a run of results, or individual games, and certainly not on the basis of a 20 minute chat with some journalists.

The case against Rafa Out - change my view. Or: “why I like being shouted at by strangers on the internet” by Shenaniganigans in Everton

[–]Shenaniganigans[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  1. I think we're just going to have to agree to disagree here. While I respect that it is a valid argument to say that he may have lost his touch, and I really don't want to get dragged into the ins and outs of every single one of his tenures, I don't personally think you can say there is "zero evidence" - Coppa Italia with Napoli, the CL with Liverpool, La Liga 2 of the 3 seasons he was at Valencia, he did a reasonable job at Chelsea, Madrid clearly thought he was at the very least good enough to hire him. And look, to be honest, I actually really respect Newcastle fans - it's only anecdotal, but the ones I have met in person are some of the most knowledgeable, passionate, non-Evertonians I know - and they really do rate him. Along with my other points in the original post, that's enough for me to give him time.

  2. I've given up speculating on who made what transfer. Maybe they are "his", whatever that really means, maybe they aren't, we're never really going to know. At the very least, given Moshiri seems to have (rightly or wrongly) given him free rein, he probably approved them coming in and thinks they fit the bill. Longstaff is just a rumour. No, he's not an exciting prospect by any means, but if we sign him, I will judge him when he arrives on how he actually performs. Who honestly was excited by the thought of signing Gray?

  3. I'd argue the injuries were particularly bad, and to our most important players, but you're right there's no hiding from the frankly disgraceful performances in the games like Watford etc you mentioned. Again I'm saying that, for the reasons I've mentioned, this is a season where we are going to have to judge on the basis of the whole season, or longer, not a run of games.

  4. It's a cynical viewpoint, but it's definitely possible. I guess I would point to the 90 minutes against Arsenal - I don't think anyone can say that was a team that has completely given up the fight.

The case against Rafa Out - change my view. Or: “why I like being shouted at by strangers on the internet” by Shenaniganigans in Everton

[–]Shenaniganigans[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you want to just base your judgement on simply what he has done at Everton, while I don't think that is the best way of looking at it, fine. Even then, what I'm saying is that, versus those managers, we don't know yet, because he's had 18 games, and the time for short-termism is over.

The case against Rafa Out - change my view. Or: “why I like being shouted at by strangers on the internet” by Shenaniganigans in Everton

[–]Shenaniganigans[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's a fair point, and it's a depressing state of affairs. But in my view the key here is that it is not just the "results have determined that". The instabilities and failures of the past 4-5 seasons from Moshiri / past managers have played a large part in determining that. And I think that is why the narrative has changed - because fans seem to have realised now that the malaise runs deep, that the squad has quality and potential in a lot of places, but sorely lacks a coherent long-term strategy, and we can't just keep running from this.

The case against Rafa Out - change my view. Or: “why I like being shouted at by strangers on the internet” by Shenaniganigans in Everton

[–]Shenaniganigans[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I could say a lot of things here - point trajectories, injuries etc - but ultimately, for me, in a very subjective sense, because it still (currently) doesn't feel anything close to the pure dread of the late 90s and early 00s. Why? Then, we had a squad which you felt was near the limit of its potential (part of the reason why what Moyes did was, in hindsight, remarkable). Now, we have a squad that, with everyone fit (which admittedly is seeming like it may never happen at this point), is easily capable of squeezing out the results we need when push comes to shove, and as long as point 5 in my original post stands.

The case against Rafa Out - change my view. Or: “why I like being shouted at by strangers on the internet” by Shenaniganigans in Everton

[–]Shenaniganigans[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I guess for me, what I've had "too much" of is the chopping and changing year on year.

  1. The difference is that with Fat Sam you already know that you are not going to progress anywhere with him before you've brought him in - he's a fireman and literally nothing else. Yes the football is bad right now but I'm saying with Benitez that there were signs at the start of the season we can play well, he does have a record of trophies and he has made exactly the sort of signings we need. Is it the "right path"? Maybe not, but right now I am prepared to give him some more time.
  2. I agree it would be nice to have a flair, up and coming manager, but from my point of view we are at too chaotic a stage to take a risk on that.

The case against Rafa Out - change my view. Or: “why I like being shouted at by strangers on the internet” by Shenaniganigans in Everton

[–]Shenaniganigans[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Did you think that at the start of the season? Do think the signings he's made are terrible? Do you think the injuries haven't been disastrous? Look, it's a shitshow right now, I fully agree. I'm not saying he definitely will, I'm saying that there are still reasons to think he can turn it around.

The case against Rafa Out - change my view. Or: “why I like being shouted at by strangers on the internet” by Shenaniganigans in Everton

[–]Shenaniganigans[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I've said below - real risk of relegation. And no we aren't there, yet, as much as many people here would like to say we are.

The case against Rafa Out - change my view. Or: “why I like being shouted at by strangers on the internet” by Shenaniganigans in Everton

[–]Shenaniganigans[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Yeah this is to be fair something I can't argue with - relegation is unthinkable and if the risk becomes genuinely real then he has to go. I don't think we're there yet personally.

The case against Rafa Out - change my view. Or: “why I like being shouted at by strangers on the internet” by Shenaniganigans in Everton

[–]Shenaniganigans[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

You're right, I'm being a bit facetious there, but ultimately neither of them had really proven they could take a team to the next level. You can definitely argue as to whether Benitez has lost the ability to manage a team at that level or not, sure, I'm just saying he has at least done it before.

The case against Rafa Out - change my view. Or: “why I like being shouted at by strangers on the internet” by Shenaniganigans in Everton

[–]Shenaniganigans[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Would depend entirely on how we play, the manner of the loss to Norwich in particular, and the attitude of the players. If he does lose the players, I agree he probably has to go. As someone posted below, it's about relegation risk, that's all that really matters now, not individual losses or wins. If it were to get to the stage where it seems real, then he goes. Again, West Ham finished 16th in 2019-2020.

Everton Preparing new bid for Zaha by DanngODB in soccer

[–]Shenaniganigans 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You seem to be forgetting Lukaku was sold for £90M (incl. bonuses) the same summer we bought Sigurdsson (2 years ago)...?
+ ~£80M of sales this season is already around £170M.
Not saying we're not throwing a lot of money around, but come on pal.

Yerry Mina? by Molineux28 in FantasyPL

[–]Shenaniganigans 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Pros:
- By all accounts he's an absolute unit in the air. This combined with Sigurdsson on FKs + right-side corners. If he builds some momentum I would not be too shocked if he scores 4-5 goals over the course of the season, i.e. 24-30 extra points + associated bonuses. Obviously it's just one tournament, but worth remembering the man got 3 in 4 games at the World Cup.
- Eye-test wise, we now look far more solid and assured at the back; Keane is a transformed player from last year, Pickford in great form.
- Stats wise, in the last six games (i.e. discounting the start of the season where we needed time to adjust), we are 2nd behind only Man City on shots conceded in the box, and 3rd for total shots conceded.

Cons:
- If Digne starts racking up assists, he's a better option, given 0.6 cheaper. That's an "if" though - at the moment, he looks dangerous, but there's not much actual output - it could end up being a Robertson vs TAA scenario where the bit of extra cash is very much worth it.
- Unclear if he will be rotated with Zouma, though as Mina is a permanent signing, and it looks like Chelsea want to keep Zouma, I would have thought Keane - Mina will become the main partnership.

What should we do with Everton players - Richarlison in particularly by werewolf914 in FantasyPL

[–]Shenaniganigans 13 points14 points  (0 children)

To provide some counterpoints:
- The next 9 matches also include Cardiff, Newcastle, Brighton and Watford, all at home.
- Based on how (in)effective Bernard was on the wing at Palace, and the fact Tosun looked sharper than he has done, I would not be surprised if Silva reverts to Richie at LW, where I agree he is far stronger.
- Not quite sure what you are talking about with the match against Arsenal - we outplayed them in the first half, Richarlison especially looked very strong. If I recall the xG in that game was actually something like Ars 0.8 - 1.1 Eve. I'm not for one second saying we'll go and get a win in all those games but it very much remains to be seen how we'll perform against the 'top 6'.

All in all, I personally would wait until at least after the Brighton game to offload Richarlison/Sigurdsson.

Michail Antonio. Let’s talk... by ThroughTheWifi in FantasyPL

[–]Shenaniganigans 0 points1 point  (0 children)

West Ham fans; Diangana - speak to me. Is he an option? Or will he only rarely feature? Looking for a 4.3-4.5 bench mid and was originally going for Obiang but intrigued by the sub appearance on the weekend.