That was an utterly disastrous and depressing outing from Everton. We are definitely weaker without Doucore and DCL. Whilst hold up play isn’t Beto’s game, law of averages suggests he should have controlled at least 1 ball to him. Alas not even the Grealish pass escaped the rebound board that is he right foot.

Despite being undercooked, the desire to go BACKWARDS anytime we had the ball was maddening and put us under pressure regularly.

As for the penalty, it was scripted and a joke - we would never get that decision and especially not against a team ranked above us

Basically top flight football isn’t fun any more. The game was dull, boring dross and the referee was atrocious

Even if we did a Villa or a Newcastle we’d be hamstrung as they are - honestly, what’s the fking point?

You could predict us doing most of our transfer business at the end of the window. You could predict us being on the end of a harsh penalty decision.

I'm not having that half-arsed, insipid performance, which was devoid of shape and purpose. They looked like 11 strangers who had just met. A continuation of the disorganised, messy preseason performances.

That was the big issue last night. And that was down to Moyes and the players.

We have signed a couple of half decent players but the squad is still badly short and imbalanced. It’s like buying a fancy tie and a nice watch but having only one shoe, no trousers and a downright awful hat!

I couldn't understand the complete and total lack of left sided balance in the team. Surely playing McNeil on the L would have been better, even in place of Ndiaye as that would have given us at least something on that side.

A truly baffling, frustrating yet utterly predictable opening to the season.

On the last thread I stated, that, « although we have strengthened in some areas, we are still carrying some very ordinary players,

The likes of McNeil, Garner, Chermitti, Beto and Patterson, imo »

Well, imo, I think I could add Keane, Barry and Possibly Alcaraz, who might just be a little less ordinary.

How can a player like Michael Keane, not be able to pass the Ball 4 yards to a colleague, without putting it into touch.. while being under no pressure whatsoever !

The Pressure is in his head!

Moyes needs to Stop using the Dodgy Penalty card and Shoulder the Blame also.

Playing Garner at left back, when he could have Chosen McNeil.

Waiting until well past the last quarter to play Grealish, who should have come on after the Break, likewise Barry for Beto

Moyes Stated that he desperately needs players, at least 9/10, as we are very short and unprepared, yet, he splurges a chunk of the Kitty on 2 players, that he says are not yet ready for the PL.

Now I’m not a footy manager, but, where is the Logic in that?

We need players for the here and now!

There’s plenty of players to be got from the Championship, who would be an upgrade on the «  ordinary «  players that I mentioned and possibly would have acquitted themselves better last night.

At the moment, the way things are looking, our new Stadium is looking more and more Jucier for our PL rivals, than for us.

The most depressing part of the analysis, is, apart from needing more than half a team, we are still left with the ordinary players, that I have mentioned .. entirely IMHO.

I was pleased this match report does not concentrate on the penalty controversy. Of much more importance is our Dyche like first half, and our dreadful woes against promoted clubs continues.
Leeds were obviously rubbing their hands with glee, with us at home, first game of the season.

The morning after and I hope theres a positive reaction on Sunday.

What's been said sums up the frustration but hopefully Everton, will believe and turn up on Sunday.
If fit I'd start McNeil, as there was no crosses worth talking about.

Hopefully a few more players will arrive by the end of this month.

Back to basics at Finch Farm.

I sat in the posh seats last night as a guest of a Leeds supporting friend of mine. What struck me was, the Leeds fans have been kicked too many times to be anything other than realstic....But they were very pleasantly surprised to see how poor we were. If we are a yardstick for survival ?

TBH I was embarrassed by the ease with which a Leeds team showing little more than shitloads of enthusiasm and passion were able to sweep us aside. We've been here before...many times. I simply don't understand what Moyes was trying to achieve with this set up. I know he is hamstrung to a certain degree and I know we were always going to have to weather a storm, but for eighty minutes ???

From a playing point of view I don't think any of ours came out of this game with much credit. I will exonerate Garner simply because he didnt give up despite being handed the now familiar Moyes fish out of water gig. Possibly O'brien too. Despite being played full back he repeatedly had to clear crosses which Keane and the lamentable Tarkowski should have been dealing with - We simple cannot wait 12 games for Tarkowski to get into his stride like we did last season.

I watched Beto with a mixture of disappointment and heartache. I like the boy, but he was so very clearly out of his depth.The Leeds fans around me were actually mocking him. My disappointment was with Moyes though. Why did he persevere with a boy who's confidence was visibly draining by the minute. Barry must have been wondering how bad it had to get.

Slghtly off topic. One very well informed Leeds official told me DCL did not get the bumper signing on fee he was looking for last season. Apparently despite no transfer fee being involved. He was given a mere five million to sign with a promise of another five after an agreed amount of appearances. He may have been desperate to leave, but he surely took a wage cut ? From a financial point of view, he is probably no better off than he would have been had he stayed here.

The penalty was one of those 50/50 calls that go against you if you’re Everton away but wouldn’t be given in a million years if you’re, say, VVD at the Kop End. We shouldn’t be distracted from the poor performance by the possibly harsh decision.

In mitigation, Moyes had to deal with a patched up defence, square pegs in round holes, adjustments and make-dos. It showed. We never got up to the pace of the game or matched Leeds for intensity, which was always going to be difficult for their first game back in the big-time under the lights at Elland Road (like we used to tell ourselves about Goodison).

I’ll tell you what though, Pickford wouldn’t have made that risky pass out to Alcaraz in the lead-up to the pen if Sean Dyche was still here.

Let’s hope for better on Sunday

I have no problem with the penalty whatsoever. If the ball hits the player’s arm and it’s by their side then I don’t think it’s a penalty. However if the player dives towards the ball and diverts it with their arm (regardless of the position) then surely it’s a penalty? It looked all wrong live and in real time and looked like a penalty. Not really sure what all the fuss is about. Leeds deserved to win either way.
On another note, having been a defender of Beto in the past, I thought he was apocalyptically awful. An utterly embarrassing display.

This match reminded me why I didn't want Moyes back in the first place. Yes, he did comparatively well the second half of last season, but this performance and selection was perfectly reminiscent of the worst of him in his first stint at the club.
An embarrassing and appalling performance. Defensive, cautious, uninventive and just plain shite.

A return to Dyche ball. A return to square pegs in round holes. Another defeat in our first fixture. An affirmation for those who worried that without a senior recruitment team fully in place until after the transfer window closed that we’d be rudderless in a critical period with so many gaps in the squad.
Still no new right back. It is borderline insane that this is the case. And to top it all, Gana looked a yard off it. We simply cannot rely on a crack team taking up their reigns in September. We probably can’t afford to bring Dibling in if it means no ability to address central midfield and R/B. We simply cannot throw our hands up because our first second and third choice of winger all wanted CL football. The sum total of our efforts to get a new right back simply can’t be a fat new contract for the Fulham guy.
This close season was too important to not bring cover in. The manager is not free from blame for last night either.
All so self inflicted going in to what should be a glorious occasion on Sunday. Everton, that!

We had a makeshift look about the team last night, the sort of misshapen set-up one might expect in a mid-season injury crisis compounded by suspensions. That it was the first match of the season confirmed the suspicion that yet again there was simply too much to be done in the summer window to build a squad ready to hit the Premier League in peak condition.

We had too many 5/10 performers last night. It was telling that in the first half only Keane and Tarkowski had the time and space to carry the ball. Neither looked comfortable doing so.

Leeds hunted in packs as soon as we attempted to break through the lines in their half. We had a large share of possession (47.5%) according to the BBC but too much of it was in our own half.

One of our 5/10 players was Gana who never looked comfortable while Tim Iroegbunam mixes the sublime with the ridiculous in quick order, indicating his immaturity as well as his potential. We started last season with those two in central midfield. It didn’t work then and looked no more effective last night. I thought Garner performed competently as a utility left back but I suggest he is a better option presently than Tim in midfield.

Passing through the lines requires someone able to receive the ball from the back four and use it under pressure to dictate the flow of play. Mangala did that quite effectively before his injury last season. Perhaps Dewsbury-Hall, if not Garner, can perform that role this season.

The pressure is on!

Darren #8, now we can see why DCL sacked his agent!
Why didn't our players show the same levels of enthusiasm and commitment that the Leeds players showed? That will be the question I hope is on the minds of TFG today.

The pre-season was poor but aren’t all Everton pre-seasons poor? Other clubs seem to find positive outcomes but for Everton it always seems the opposite. However, I wasn’t expecting last night to be so bad I really though Sean Dyche was ghosting in the dug out. It was abysmal and most Premier league teams would have buried Everton I guess Leeds might struggle to score goals. Why was Aznou not starting at RB? How awful was Beto? You need dynamic physical forwards with pace and midfield players who can hold the ball and make a pass. O’Brien at RB cannot continue. TFG were supposed to bring professionalism off the pitch but so far recruiting has been a damp squib and that was embarrassing against a team who will do well to stay up.

Darren (8), I was also there, not in posh seats but the guest of a friend of mine who is a season ticket holder. All week I have suggested that it was a tough gig for us, the first match for Leeds in the PL, at Elland Rd, under the lights…..

He was very worried about playing Everton and every time we got the ball he meant over and whispered “here we go, you’ll score now”. I whispered back, “nope, it’ll be played back to Pickford”.

And unfortunately I was right all evening.

I’m not a Grealish fan, but by far and away he was the best quality EFC player on the pitch when he came on. His ball control and retention was excellent. It was blisteringly frustrating to see his passes bounce off his colleagues or be passed straight over to a Leeds player by them.

We were rank all evening.

Elland Rd was bouncing.

It was always going to be a nasty deflection or a dodgy referee decision, but we never looked like scoring or even coming close.

Rabbits in headlights?
Badly setup?
Unlucky with injuries?
Lads playing out of position?
Bad refereeing calls

Take your pick, probably all of the above.

The only “good” thing was Mr Moyes stating that new signings would be coming in.

Let’s hope sooner rather than later and much, much better quality than we have now.

The team was unbalanced last night from start to finish. If anything the introduction of Grealish for Iroegbunam in the second half made matters worse in that we then had five attack minded players, four of whom play in a similar sort of position and style; Ndiaye, Alcaraz, Dewsbury-Hall and Grealish. All like to get on the ball and create chances.

Sometimes though, a team can have too many creative players. Lee Carsley made that mistake in one of the international matches last autumn when he threw together the most talented creative attackers in the England squad. The outcome was a disjointed performance which arguably cost him the England manager’s job.

Awareness of risk is a crucial ingredient in any team. A key element of the holding midfield role is imagining the ‘what if’ questions; what if a colleague loses possession, what if he slips, what if the next pass is misplaced, what if the keeper’s clearance is intercepted and so on? Last night Alcaraz’s slip in the build-up to the penalty, was pounced on by Leeds players rather than our players. Part of the explanation for that is that we had one too many players on the pitch without a sufficiently defensive mindset.

Funnily enough, John, I had a similar thought once the team was announced.

Once the ‘action’ began, if that term may be used to describe last night’s first half showing, I couldn’t help thinking back to the time a few years ago when we were overstocked with the Number 10s.

Ironically just about every forward pass was made by Pickford, Keane or Tarkowski!

I can’t help thinking that they’re all a bit fortunate that the controversy over the pen has overshadowed just what an inane performance it was.

Tony (18) Yes, it was inane. Picking up your point about forward passes, on several occasions in the first half Keane or Tarkowski had possession about fifteen to twenty yards inside our half. Leeds stood off them, presenting our two players least comfortable with the ball at their feet, with the dilemma of whether to carry the ball forward or try yet another predictable long ball to Beto. Neither ploy worked. The situation cried out for a midfielder to take charge but neither Tim nor Gana had the wherewithal to do so. It was all too easy for Leeds to make the pitch smaller and crowd the midfield.

It would of course help if we had natural full backs and a speedy right winger to stretch the play, enabling the team to use the full width of the pitch. But we all knew that three months ago. Now we have thirteen days and counting to find solutions in this transfer window.

We have no wingers so don’t set up the team as if we do.
4321…Garner,Gana,KDH behind N’Diaye and Grealish. Barry up front.
I’ve only seen Iroegbunam play once (home against Arsenal) he was awful….don't think he’s up to scratch, needs loaning out when we get more bodies in.

John, great summary. It says it all.

I ain't got a clue, about Evertons business plan, but the recruitment of Senior infrastructure staff at Everton does seem to have been the priority during preseason..

Senior positions filled, but the strategic recruitment of some key players LB, RW etc, will hopefully be fixed in the next couple of weeks.

I'm cautiously optimistic, but the reality is, it's very, very tough to get the right player to come to Everton. at the right price.

Patience,and tolerance needed in heaps.
🤞

Depressingly accurate report. We cannot carry on with all these square pegs, Garner dis his best but with no left foot he was a complete liability.

Not only that, Jack, but taking Garner out of his midfield partnership with Gana Gueye seriously weakened us & I feel that it was in midfield that we rather ceded control to Leeds. No surprise that Ampadu made the beebs Team of the Week.