Mantra

Would be nice but I suspect they’ll want to test him at a higher level

No, I believe even 21 year olds don’t have to be registered it’s only once they turn 22 that they need to be. if Ashworth was turning 22 after the transfer window closed then we would have to register him in January but it wouldn’t affect the squad registration until then. As long as they are 21 or younger before the registration window closes, then they are free to play without being registered (I think)

https://www.efl.com/contentassets/b3cd34c726c341ca9636610aa4503172/efl-handbook-202223_digital_regs.pdf according to last years rule book (which I doubt has changed in respect of registration rules) The max we can register is 22 players but goalkeepers and u21s don’t have to be registered so: Baxter, Coleman, Zac Ashworth, ( G Johnston) dont need to be registered 1. santos 2. jones 3. forrester 4. Toal 5. Iredale 6. Williams 7. Cogley 8. morley 9. Dempsey 10. sheehan 11. Thomason 12. Nlundulu 13. Mendes Gomes 14. Charles 15. Victor 16. Jerome 17. Bodvarsson (18. Sadlier) (19. John) so even if we keep Sadlier and John, we still have 3 more squad places we can fill. Even more if we sign under 21s players.

this is the drama for those who care - saying he's sitting on the same couch as this slaggy wigan girl i.e. been at her place. sounds like bollocks to me, just stirring up shit cause he left them acrimoniously. But his wife has gone private and changed her banner picture from their wedding pics to pics of her dog.

Declan John is better though 🤥

Just noticed we have a second camera angle, wonder if that’s going to be the norm for WTV

He looked physically bigger in his upper body, not sure if Evatt has put him on the weights to try and make him more of a bully option for us

Baxter - 7 made some good saves but also picked up that back pass 🤦🏻‍♂️ Jones - 7 steady eddie Santos - 8 didn’t give them a sniff and other than one bad pass, was imperious Iredale - 7 very impressed, solid and steady like Jones and did a nice overlap in the first half that almost paid off Cogley - 7 looks sharp and bright, not quite Bradley but looks promising and capable Williams - 8 had a couple of really nice moments, skilled his way past an Everton defender, controlled a long pass ball like Neymar in the second half, put in some good shots and deliveries too Sheehan - 7 kept everything ticking over nicely, and even made a couple of decent tackles Morley - 6 didn’t really add an awful lot, almost gave the ball away cheaply in the first half to Maupay and got nutmegged on the counter Dempsey - linked up well with Sheehan Victor - 7.5 best performance I’ve seen from him in a white shirt. Touch looks cleaner, showed some good pace to get in behind on occasion and pressed effectively with Charles Charles - 6 didn’t get into the game much, took too long to shoot in the second half and was dispossessed, missed a big chance at the end of the first half. But decent overall Subs didn’t really make a huge impact, Thomason almost cost us a goal twice but I know he can do better. Dan and Jerome were feeding on scraps by the end and Gomes didn’t really have much of a chance to show what he could do

If he was 23 years old then I could see us getting 3-5 million for him but as he’s just turned 28, the next few years will likely be his last dance and I think that reduces his value. In the modern game it seems that players who are 21-24 command the highest fees as they have both more development potential and future sell on potential. He’s quite reliant on his pace and that will only diminish as he approaches the twilight of his career. And a move now would likely be one to see out the majority of his career. For him, financially, if he gets an offer to double his money in the Championship then it would make a lot of sense for him to grasp that. And I think it would be hard for us to turn down an offer of 1.5-2m especially if he wanted to go. If we are tested near to deadline day I doubt we would let him go as it would be impossible to recruit an adequate replacement unless we already have a target in mind. But we would probably say to him, “we will let you leave in January/Summer 2024 if the interest remains.”

Who else was missing?

https://evertontv.evertonfc.com/videos/95536e7f-3970-4feb-8d11-cca9206cf47a some highlights here

Think it was almost their strongest side bar pickford

first half was much more intense. went into a bit of a lull second half at times. shame no goals, but very encouraging performance vs their strong XI

Looks like a raft of changes for Everton second half as most of the starting 11 we’re doing a warm down

Excellent first half that very pleased Victor looks like a different man maybe 14 is his lucky number

no Sadlier or John on the bench

Thomason #4 instead of #25

Sadlier lost his #7 shirt and Mendes Gomes has taken it. He’s now 29 which was Victor. Victor has moved to #14 which was previously Iredale Iredale has taken #3 which was declan John John is now #25 Think that’s all the number changes make of that what you will, looks like we’ve retired Kachungas #24 shirt out of #respect

Ross Sykes is the only other rumour I’ve heard

I agree and a wingback system is generally more suited to that more traditional approach. But when Sadlier comes on after 60-70 mins and they’ve been defending that traditional cross for the whole game, it gives them something different to think about. But as I say, it’s a bit of a waste to only use him as that. I wouldn’t be opposed to him being back up to Mendes Gomes in the 10

Prediction tonight is a 2-0 loss Think we will make chances but premier league quality will shine through and Evatt won’t set us up defensively Looking forward to seeing the team in the flesh for the first time this season

he’s also been played all over the place, not really had a consistent run. Feel a bit for him to be honest. He isnt defensively solid, nor athletic enough to be a starting WB. He isnt effective enough at striker. Not really been given much of a chance in CAM. I like him as an impact sub for LWB, gives that side a different dimension, with someone cutting inside rather than hugging the touchline. But seems a waste of a squad place to just have him as that, and emergency cover for the other positions.

MJ was a hard bastard relative to the rest of our midfielders but relative to the rest of the division was probably pretty standard. My overwhelming memories of him are sliding tackles and getting stuck in, with a few nice long diags sprinkled here and there. Thomason I don’t really recall making tackles in the same way. He’s a bit of an enigma. Always seems to play decent but never excellently. Keeps things neat and tidy mostly and had a few wayward shots. Could definitely do with a bit more aggression in midfield without compromising on technical ability too much. Someone like Ben Pearson but more affordable would be ideal. Spearing had a bit of that to him. Happy to sign Mendes Gomes but worry that if he gets injured we will miss his directness and creativity and struggle to break some teams down. Maybe Sadlier can be the #10 first reserve, he has a bit of that “create something from nothing” about him. If not then maybe a RWB with creativity would be our next best option. Kane Wilson looked to be that but obviously will need to look elsewhere now.