With N’Diaye out, Everton have suddenly become devoid of all craft.

We got away with it the other night because the crowd was that intense, it was always going to make the players run and fight for every ball.

This is a massive loss and watching how the team now operates without much craft is going to be very interesting, imo.

Moyes has already proved that Dyche’s method was based on being ultra-defensive, so this is why I’m intrigued because I look at this as a big test for David, with regards how much his own method (with such little craft available) can take us forward.

Gutted to lose him, he has been our standout performer this season. Without McNeil as well we have very little creativity in the side, although I have been impressed with Garner since his return.

I guess it will be an opportunity for Alcaraz to show his ability, especially tomorrow with Doucoure banned. Hopefully he confirms he is worth his agreed purchase price as I suspect he will get the opportunity to get the required number of starts before the end of the season!

Just when we least needed another injury to an already depleted squad, feel for the lad, and as has been mentioned he has been our most attacking and creative player. Harrison may get a chance to play in his normal role on the left. He did look marginally better when he came on Wednesday, although he appears to want too much time on the ball, which the Premiership opposition rarely allows. Hoping for a win as per usual but it won't be easy !

Gutted for him,for the team and for us fans.He was the go to player to make things happen that made us feel that we were always in with a shout whilst he was on the pitch,but,it is what it is,unfortunately.It is the shallow depth of our squad that exacerbates the situation,and that’s what we have to live with for now.

Shame that this guy is out injured. But it’s 11 against 11. We have to get on with it. Moyes needs to find a way to counter Ndiayes absense. No shit Sherlock, stating the bloody obvious here.
This season is all about getting enough points to still be in this premier league for next season. So let’s become solid. Hard to beat. And hopefully nick a goal or two. We can still manage that without Ndiaye. Hope that Alcaraz is up to the job. Or how about Harrison and Linstrom stepping up to the plate. We are due a performance and a goal from both these guys. And Doucoure needs also to step up, when he comes back. Garner could become a very important player for us in the next few weeks.
Straying off topic a little, but Moyes has pulled of a wee mini master stroke by playing O’Brien at RB. He might surprise us all with another master stroke. Let’s see.
Anyhow, it’s Alcaraz for me, to replace Ndiaye. Let’s see what he can do. It’s still 11 v 11. I now have faith that we can win a few more matches. We shouldn’t fall to pieces because one player is out.
Here’s wishing Ndiaye a speedy recovery.
And roll on next season, when we hopefully have a decent starting 11, and a decent bench. Surely that has to be everyone’s aim.

We are definitely short of forward options for the time being. The team pretty much picks itself for now with the only choice being Charly or Tim for Doucoure at Palace tomorrow.

We have 3 games in the next week and a half but then only 2 in all of March due to international break and early FA Cup exit. Hopefully Ndiaye is back for April when we start the final push for this season with a trip across Stanley Park.

I expect Alcaraz for Doucoure and Harrison for Ndiaye, and I do think we possess enough craft to create opportunates for Beto amongst others. I will take a draw at Palace just because I think its taken so much out of the players the other night,, Beto ran his socks off and I think Gueye will be instrumental in this game. I don't really think we have anyone else that can do what Doucoure does, he has a great engine, Mangala perhaps the closest but obviously he is out also. Garner if he plays will have to up his game.

I expect it will be Harrison for Ndiaye, and Charly for Doucs, although Tim looks like a Moyes type of player, does a bit of everything, so maybe Charly back on the bench.

with Doucs out our ball retention should improve, Whilst Jimmy Garner come back well his set piece delivery has been dire, I’m hoping Alcarez can do better.
Beto only seems to need one chance slipped through the defence to score, So I think we can score, still think Tarky shaky this season ….

We must have another option to Harrison somewhere in the squad?

I'm not sure how he got some decent reviews in the Derby. Likeable, hard worker, but he lost the ball over and over (and over) again. Even the equaliser came from him losing the ball - thankfully it bounced to the Ukrainian Warrior.

Maybe Moyes moves from hybrid back 2/3 to real back 3.

All of a sudden Doucoure's absence looks like more of a problem.

Gutted for him, and us! He's been brilliant.
Very late tackle by one of their hatchet men that crocked him, or am I losing the plot?
Tough game tomorrow, Palace are tricky opponents.
2-1 for us, Beto double.

I think you are correct David. Anyone who's ever played football will tell you that those little nudges at full speed often cause injury more than full blooded challenges

Think Son on Gomes a few years back. That Slobber watsiname ran 30 yards at full speed to try to stop Ndiaye. They were doing it from minute one on him. Little shoves, tugs, slight touches to knock off balance, running into players. It's their MO.

Liam, if you are trying to say Iliman was deliberately crocked I think that’s a little unfair. There was some contact that caused him to lose his balance and kick the turf but it was nothing like Son’s vicious hack on Gomes. The only real similarity is the fact that the injuries both had a freakish aspect with Gomes helpless to stop himself stumbling into another Spurs player and shattering his lower leg. On both occasions the actual contact for the foul didn’t cause the damage.
I don’t think either side were particularly snide or reckless on Wednesday, but they definitely reacted to everything that went against them as if it was a huge injustice.

I get your point Si, but disagree I'm afraid. When those sort of fouls are made they have consequences. Consequences which wouldn't have happened if the foul hadn't been made. It's a bone of contention with me that players put other players in danger with what to the naked eye seem innocuous fouls, but in reality are worse than the full bodied challenge. Whilst the player might not be wanting to deliberately crock someone, their actions put them in danger.

Liam, you can’t simply claim innocuous challenges are worse and it becomes automatically true. You are just going on the consequences of a limited number of examples. You identified Son’s challenge on Gomes as innocuous and it wasn’t innocuous at all.
People end up injured from a vast range of incidents in contact sports.
An innocuous challenge didn’t dislocate my ankle. I mean it wasn’t even what you’d call a challenge, it was entirely accidental, but it was a full on swinging leg meets planted one. Likewise the clash of heads which bust my nose wide open.
On the converse I’ve been punched and butted by people known for flooring people and walked away undaunted and unscathed.
The turned ankle that kept me out for months was me and a bit of a pothole on the pavement, the groin problem that left me not even able to manage a brisk walk for 4 months was just down to uneven stresses through extreme but unbalanced exercise.
You are being far too selective and seeing a pattern that just isn’t as common as you think it is.
If you think top sportspeople commonly go around slyly trying to cripple people you are pretty warped (or at least those thoughts are).

No edit button, so Liam you don’t think they are trying to hurt other people, but you are still wrong if you think it is the innocuous challenges that cause the most damage any more often than any other challenge. These things are all just a lottery.
What is more likely is that you see the contact coming you will instinctively try to protect yourself more often than if you don’t see the challenge coming at all.
If you fall unexpectedly you are more likely to fall awkwardly, and your own studs can be your biggest enemy if they grip the ground too quickly or for too long.

Did the RS mean to injure Ndyiaye when he caught him late?

Probably not, but he did mean to deliberately foul him. And with that deliberate action he's decided on, he knows that a consequence of that could be an injury to his opponent.

I've always wondered if you said to a player, feel free to foul your opponent, but if a player you deliberately foul is then out injured for weeks, months etc, so will you be. You'll be out for the same length of time as your opponent, would they commit that same foul?

It will never happen anyway, and of course none of our lads have ever committed foul, or even thought about commiting a foul !

If you take the Son challenge on Gomes, he deliberately meant to foul Gomes, he deliberately meant to hurt Gomes, however he had no idea at the time that his actions would lead to such a terrible outcome.

He did though make a conscious decision to foul and hurt Gomes and let's be honest, he (Son) suffered no consequence.

Some fake tears and some great PR work from Tottenham, and only a couple of games later he made a similar terrible foul one a Bournemouth player, without the same long term injury consequence.

David, first of all, there was hardly any contact between Szlobiwotszit annd Iliman and it seemed to me like it could easily have been accidental.
Secondly, are you trying to say Everton players never have / and never will foul other players knowing the potential consequences of serious injury?
Thirdly, as I’ve already stated, it is possible to get seriously injured without contacting anyone else at all.
Anyone who plays a contact sport should know and accept that.
What is never acceptable is a deliberate attempt to injure, or even doing something you know for certain has a high risk of serious harm. Those situations are vanishingly rare.

What I mean is, I don’t believe most contact on a football pitch, even a deliberate foul, happens with anyone actually thinking there is a good chance it will injure their opponent.
Life is never risk free and the risk obviously rises greatly in contact sport. None of the professionals who watched the game on Wednesday will be blaming Szlobiwotszit for injuring Iliman Ndiaye.