The Fish

You hang on my every words, sunshine.

Did you fail English?

Honestly I know he's not an elite 'keeper but I think not properly replacing Schmeichel was what really fucked them. Not just because his replacements were terrible, but his leadership wasn't replaced at all.

They've a stack of good players, to be fair. Is Watkins better than Wilson? Arguably, yeah. Martinez is a fantastic goal keeper, Luiz is a very good defensive midfielder and they've an embarrassment of riches in attacking midfield. Emery's performance this season is more like Howe's last season. But Howe's performance last season was better than Emery's performance this season because he had less to work with.

Can’t believe the lack of credit given to Lampard for keeping Everton up and Gerrard getting Villa into Europe

First amplifying an 'ITK', now back pedaling? Not a good start to the day.

Oh Gemmill, you've let yourself down here.

Still is. Would actually be a decent signing to be honest.

I think that's the dream that set Adam P off at 30,000 feet.

I think they'll all win because they're not facing anybody with anything to play for. West Ham will have eyes on their European final, and Spurs can only finish 7th if Aston Villa fail to put away an already-qualified-for-Europe Brighton.

Gullibiwyki?

The Goodison park faithful have only seen their team score more than 1 goal in one match, against Crystal Palace. They've won 5 times, drawn 3 and lost on 10 occasions. Scored 15, conceded 27. Bournemouth have won 5, drawn 2, lost 11. Scored 17, conceded 42 (Forty Two). Last 5 Home games for Everton W 1, D 1, L3, GF 4, GA 11 Last 5 Away games for Bournemouth W 3, D 0, L2. GF 5, GA 7

Which RB you doyle?

Going to need more info than that.

I think that's harsh, he did wonders with a weaker Brighton team than De Zerbi inherited. De Zerbi has done brilliantly, don't get me wrong, but Potter deserves huge credit too. Transforming them from the pragmatic style of Hughton into a very tidy PL outfit. The Chelsea gig was a poisoned chalice; massive squad, filled with big stars, and bigger egos. Plus I've no doubt the owner wasn't shy about sharing his thoughts about team selection. Wherever Potter goes next will be the real test. If he goes to Southampton, Leeds, or maybe abroad, I think he'll repair a lot of the damage to his reputation.

Then he's a massive div. Bet on the Championship, the Bundesliga, why in the holy fuck would you bet on the Premier League?

This is why Smith setting up Leicester not to lose against us was wiser than gunning for the win.

Is the rules against betting on competitions they can impact, or any football? Like would anyone care if Toney dropped half his wages on Serie A games?

Especially a club that isn't competing in Europe, and is light years from competing for the title. How much did they spend on Mudryk? Fofana? Cucurella? €215m? More than we spent in total to get Champions League, by a healthy $30m. What wages will those three likely be on? Shipping out Mount, Gallagher, Madueke surely won't fill that financial void?

I don't even know how good of a coach MP is any more. At least he's got some advice from the outgoing 'manager'; I particularly like the last bit. It reads like he's been sat in the Soccer Saturday studio, watching it all unfold from afar. Instead of, y'know, being in a position to affect these changes directly. Or it being his fucking responsibility.

If you swapped out any of the other teams travelling to a relegation threatened side I'd be more confident of Everton finally being flushed, I just think Bournemouth with nothing to play for, won't have the nastiness to put their foot on the throat of the boys in blue. Mind you, if Leicester or Bournemouth can get an early goal, Goodison Park could rapidly turn toxic.

How long did Pochettino take to get his ideas across at Spurs? Somewhere he was starting with a clean(er) slate, lower expectations, greater flexibility in the market. I've no idea if Mudryk, Fofana or Enzo are good players, they've been badly let down by the coaches who have, in turn, been badly let down by the owner. They've now got a bloated squad, full of players on massive wages who aren't even shining individually. If the targets weren't so high you could make an argument for cutting your losses and reducing the squad as much as possible. But Chelsea need European competition, and the cheaper, local, young lads aren't likely to be able to deliver it. They can't afford for Mudryk to be farmed out on loan while still covering his wages, he and those like them will have to play, which kind of ties Pochettino's hands together. I don't know how much of an immediate impact MP will have on them, but I don't think we should worry that they're going to be in the conversation for the Champions League spots, even though it's expanding to 5 spots next season. Arsenal, Man City, Man Utd, Newcastle United and after them you're looking at Liverpool, Brighton, maybe Aston Villa in the mix too? Spurs might get the right manager, keep Kane and all that but I think there are many problems there too.

Stick that line to the same three fucking chords and you've got yourself a smash hit there baby.