Poor game management costs Everton two huge points

Once again, Dyche and his out-dated dinosaur tactics lose us points.

Palace at home was a must-win, Dyche sends out a defensive line-up. That game, despite negative play, we should still have won.

Today’s game, again with the chances created, should have led to 3 points, but again Dyche – scared to lose or devoid of a positive mind – makes the wrong choices.

Considering he made the statement that Everton don’t know how to win a game is the pot calling the kettle black. With Luton having a game in hand, we really are in Knopfler territory now.

We won’t get any points back because, if we do, the second charge will deliver the same scenario, 10 points deducted. Any points we do get back, they will have to take the same action in the second charge. Points taken away then given back, what’s the point in that? It’s a clear sign the Premier League is run by idiots.

Anyone would have taken a point today, but we should have won, if we had a positive manager instead of a dinosaur.

So Paul #3 you already know the points deduction process.

If we get points back, we will then get them deducted anyway by the second charge?

Even though they relate to the same seasons?

How can they give us points back and then take them away again for the same seasons?

Please explain your reasoning.

Jeff, I take it you disagree with the headline…? I’d be intrigued to know in what way Everton, as a collective, managed those final 18 minutes following Gilmour’s dismissal well. Because they didn’t.

There may be all kinds of reasons for that – lack of confidence and the fact that we’re just not a very good team among them – but we did not give a good account of ourselves at the end there, in my opinion.

The Premier League is all about small margins and when you have a slight advantage, you’ve got to lock it down and secure it. Massively frustrating but, as another comment on the other thread said, it’s better that Dunk’s goal wasn’t a stoppage-time winner.

Lyndon,

I think Jeff may have meant it’s a poor headline for the manager in the sense that while accurate it doesn’t reflect well on Dyche as a “top manager”?

Jeff.

Why attack Paul? He is expressing an opinion, maybe a fear. He is entitled to it.

Many of us believe, or are beginning to believe, that the Premier League will find a means to reaffirm our points deduction, whether it be in the current process, the second charge, or potential liquidation. Paul doesn’t have to justify his opinions but he is entitled to share them.

Lyndon, you’re challenging Dyche’s game management for a 15-minute period when he got it right for 85 minutes.

A good result was obtained over 99 minutes.

Okay, the game lasts until the final whistle but your headline suggests you know better and would have done things differently to Dyche in those last 15 minutes. Please share with us your game management analysis for those last 15 minutes.

Jeff,

“He got it right for 85 minutes.” So was it part of his game management plan to have zero shots in the first half? And for the team to play generally poorly save a period in the second half?

I think Dyche is overall doing well with what he has but that doesn’t mean he is immune to criticism. Earlier in the season, with this same group, we were creating 16 or 17 chances per game but just lacked composure to finish them.

Now, we aren’t even creating chances. I realize part of that may be an emphasis on defence but you’re sailing pretty close to the wind if the plan is to have a series of 0-0 draws to round out the season.

Jeff, it was a criticism across the board, mostly of the players. I disagreed with Dyche’s decision to take Doucouré off and not put someone like Chermiti on to keep another outlet on the field.

Had it been 11 vs 11, I’d have seen the logic in trying to see out the game as we have done on a number of times under Dyche but when you have the man advantage against a team like Brighton who leave lots of space behind, I think it would have been better to either keep Doucouré on or, if fitness was a concern, put someone other than Young on.

But then that’s Dyche’s MO. He’s very defensive and very conservative. I can’t stand it but he’s the manager and I can’t do anything about it.

Branthwaite apparently admitted that we sat back after the sending off and he didn’t know why. That was poor management of the game and a winning position by the players. Unlike against Newcastle at 2-0 up, they couldn’t keep the ball against a side that thrives on possession to create chances.

It’s massively frustrating and when you can’t score enough goals or win at home, throwing away points from winning positions is potentially very costly.

It’s 5 draws in last 6 games. That is relegation form. It’s down to the manager and I agree, poor game management.

I did predict a 3-0 drubbing, but thankfully that didn’t happen.

Jeff didn’t attack Paul.

Paul said something and Jeff questioned it. Something that happens in a discussion.

Why did you attack Jeff?

Sign of us these days.

Big headline… but that is us Lyndon. You know that.

Boss? Sympathy. Great career move he made!

Players? Linked. Many pissed off too.

Must be financially tough for them all!

Used to always watch.

Is it just me that listens for updates now?

Suspect if we were top, may be same.

Sad.

Whole game like watching X versus Facebook now.

Oh Ged…care.

Give me a reason these days.

63 years as fan and former season ticket holder in Upper Bullens.

Anyone?

Brighton are undefeated in the league at home since August I think, better teams than us have gone there and been drubbed.

It is still a horrible loss of two points though. The strikers are not without blame. 1 goal from open play in the last 9 games is not a fair reflection of chances created.

Calvert-Lewin and Beto were both profligate. Oh for a finisher like Gyökeres, who is tearing it up at Sporting Lisbon.

Brighton were reduced to 10 men. Our players panicked. We badly needed someone, anyone, to show some composure, put their foot on the ball, play into the channels and drag Brighton back into their own half. At one point, I noticed Dyche appearing to signal exactly that.

Instead, we too frequently hit long balls straight to their keeper or conceded possession in midfield. I blame the players. Judging by the disappointment etched on their faces, they knew they had let themselves down in those final minutes.

I think the substitution of Doucouré was debatable although Young is a player who can offer composure on the ball. Bearing in mind his recent injury, it possibly made sense to spare Doucouré the additional time.

Lewis Dunk was the obvious threat at set-piece crosses. I was slightly disappointed neither of our tall centre-backs picked him up for the equaliser. But that is nit-picking as our back line once again gave a solid performance.

Another two points taken away from us by the PremierLeague.

Why? Because before the game we would of taken a point. After going ahead and chasing an outside European spot with 30 points we go for a second goal but because we are looking over our shoulder we have to make sure we don’t lose the game.

We created enough chances to win the game and once again poor finishing cost us dearly. Then again Pickford’s save near the end tells us why we should be grateful for having England’s Number 1.

Dyche is defensive for a very good reason. We haven’t got the squad to be anything other than how he has us playing.

We still created a few chances today, our overall season conversion rate is probably in the Bottom 3 in the Premier League.

We have 21 or 31 points depending on the appeal. The mindset is totally different in either scenario.

The manager is doing a great job at keeping the players focused and working hard which is an achievement in itself.

Roll on the Hammers next week.

It was ugly but, after the opening 20 minutes, they waned a bit and Brighton didn’t cause us so many problems . After that period, it looked like either side could grab the winner.

It’s maddening conceding so late but, when the dust has settled, it’s another important point away against a decent side.

Dyche will be criticised again by some, but in reality he is fulfilling what he has been asked to do, ie, without the deduction we would be 12th, 11 points clear of relegation, and only two wins, from the 12 remaining games, away from safety. That compares pretty well to recent seasons.

It’s a point gained, we all know where we should be, but Dyche is having to play relegation football.

The real issue here is how the Premier League have made a situation that any manager would struggle to deal with; how do you realistically manage a team that should be comfortably mid-table, and have to scrap relegation? Yet people still complain.

Dyche is doing a brilliant job given the hand he’s been dealt. Without him, we would be long gone. Wake up and smell the coffee.

We would be 13th now, without the 10 points deducted, after Iwobi (who Dyche admitted was a forced sale due to the financial situation of PSR restrictions) smashed in Fulham’s late winner at Old Trafford today. Dyche has my full support.

It would be interesting to know Roberto de Zerbi’s view on the Doucoure sub. He is a massive unit, just returning after a very long lay-off. I bet it was a reluctant sub to protect the player.

Maybe the Brighton boss was glad we bought an extra defender on, limiting our ability to counter. Or disappointed we had an extra experienced defender to plug gaps and defend. Would be interesting to know his thoughts. All academic now, of course.

A good result, snatched from the jaws of a great one. Feels like a defeat though, due to the 10 men and the lateness of their leveller. Sickening.

Yet again, points thrown away, mostly by Dyche’s mindset. And I was far from alone in that view in the travelling toffees.

Replacing Doucoure with Young was a huge error. If Doucoure had to be removed to protect him from harm, then Dyche should have replaced energy with energy, not someone just to sit in.

I wasn’t ‘slightly disappointed’ that Dunk wasn’t picked up by one of the centre-halves. I was and still am livid. At the stage of the game, Dunk was the only aerial threat, none of their other players could win an aerial dual. Gutted.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s a decent point, especially given that we’d have taken it before the game. I’ll still never understand why though, especially against 10 men, we invite teams onto us in the last 10 minutes by going ultra-defensive. We had done okay all game using the system we had, why change it? Definitely a shot right in the solar plexus.

Jarrod is right, why stop pressing in the latter stages? Lyndon is right, poor game management.

Dyche v Moyes next.

I’ve got a feeling that could be the last game shown on Match of the Day.

I caught a little bit of the radio Merseyside phone In and a couple of what seemed like knowledgeable Evertonians, were speaking about this (terrible game management) after today’s game Lyndon.

Football is all about momentum, was what one of the callers said, and then he compared the way Palace, killed the game on Monday night, with horrible gamesmanship, to how Everton, never had the brains or inclination to do the same thing to Brighton today.

“Points lost due to Dyche’s mindset.”

Even after the substitute, we still create chances. Beto and Harrison both miss chances that should have wrapped it up.

I wonder how much the players on the pitch are actually governed by their managers?

We all fall into accepting the theory that the managers call the shots, the players just implement their instructions – that’s why the managers get the big bucks. But at the highest level, certain players get paid more than the manager. That’s because, on the pitch, those players take control of the situation. Nobody in our midfield did that in the last 10 minutes today.

I thought that, overall, we played well. It was a fair result. Frustrating as it was to lose 2 points, we came away from a very tough game with a point, a result nearly all of us would have accepted before kickoff.

If I have a particular criticism it’s one that hasn’t been mentioned much – Brighton won 3 headers from corners, straight at Pickford, in the first half, then scored from another from a cross for their goal.

A lot of chances come in the last minutes of a game, regardless of ‘added time’.

Players are tired, concentration levels are stretched etc.

Yes it’s disappointing to lose a goal so late, why not think about the chances we miss time and time again? It could have been put to bed 2:0.

Ok poor game management but our defenders have been magnificent at times and if we can stay up it’s their effort making the difference.

We have no-one stepping up and putting chances away, except Jarrod at the moment.

I don’t want the manager having to ‘game manage’ the last ten minutes of a game, top players should be able to do it themselves.

Game management includes a degree of luck, make a change and we score and the managers a genius, let one in and he’s an idiot.

Problem is we have no effective outlet up front to help run down the clock, or ‘clever’ players breaking up play to disrupt the flow.

Of course Brighton were going to press for an equaliser even with 10 men.

All our best players are defenders. If we had just one 10 – 15 goal a season striker on form we would be fine.

We can still batter West Ham next week, I actually think we will (if 1:0 can be described as a battering). UTFT!

It’s the ten point deduction doing the damage, and lack of quality in certain key areas of the pitch. Not necessarily poor game management.

When we scored that terrific goal I thought we had done it, we were going to win at last, then Young came on, Brighton down to 10 men, my first thought was “oh no” not Young… not the time or the place, we sat back forfeited the advantage of an extra man and gave them the ball.
People rightly compare what Palace did to us and we didn’t do here. Game management, on field leadership, team manager should have got the message out..

I thought the ref had an OK game, the linesman didn’t, but it felt like we had done all the hard stuff but lacked someone to put a foot on the ball in a corner and waste time..poor finish to hard work cost us critical points.

Defender scores our goal – shame on the fucking so called strikers we have – NO MORE EXCUSES.

Dunk is their big threat from set pieces and should never have a got a free header – everyone switched off.

Was expecting nothing and even though we are all pissed off losing two points – one is better than zero !

I agree with Lyndon to an extent regards bringing on Young when perhaps Dobbins or Chermiti may have given them something to think about, had he done that we might all have said “what the fuck is he doing”

No matter – our lack of goals is killing us big time – it needs to change – how is another matter!

Doucoure was having a mare btw, would’ve brought on Young for him with 30 minutes to go, never mind 15 minutes.

Dyche did fine today, so did the players he picked, sometimes you need to remember there is an opponent trying their best too,

and sometimes they succeed in their efforts.

Paul 40, I think you’re over thinking it, if they give us points back , whether its 5 or 8 ..whatever, it completely undermines the second charge, that’s what I’m trying to say, its one thing at a time, let’s wait for the first verdict before we start speculating about the next charge.