v Everton (h) - 19/7/25 - pre-season friendly

[simongarnerisgod]

3 minutes ago, neophox said:

Tyjon looks interesting.

say it in hushed tones,i got heinous grief last week for suggesting he`s ready for the 1st team squad😷

[Exiled_Rover]

4 minutes ago, neophox said:

Did anyone miss Dolan, Weimann and Batth today?

Ask me again in November when several players are injured and we're playing away at Watford on a Tuesday night. 

[philipl]

Ismael has this lot extremely well coached. 9 subs and we were playing the same controlling a full strength Everton who really didn't look like scoring.

The ball was zipped around crisply and the player in possession always had options - neither of these things could be said about us under Eustace. Let's see if we can build consistency.

Pre-season and all that but very very encouraging. 

 

[joey_big_nose]

Just now, Exiled_Rover said:

Ask me again in November when several players are injured and we're playing away at Watford on a Tuesday night. 

Yeah the Championship in November to February is so intense its almost a different sport from games in August or May.

You never know how the team will get on until end of November in my experience.

[WacoRover]

I’m encouraged, when our players can go head-to-head against theirs, and win out in various matchups.

Clean-sheets are welcome, no matter who we play. 

I hope I can see this replayed somewhere. Based on the result, & what’s been posted here, Everyman a hero today! 

Great job, players & staff alike. 

[joey_big_nose]

Just now, philipl said:

Ismael has this lot extremely well coached. 9 subs and we were playing the same controlling a full strength Everton who really didn't look like scoring.

The ball was zipped around crisply and the player in possession always had options - neither of these things could be said about us under Eustace. Let's see if we can build consistency.

Pre-season and all that but very very encouraging. 

 

Yeah, I thought maybe wed got a turkey after JDT and Eustace, but seems we have made another good call. Not sure how we keep doing it considering everything else at the club is such a mess.

[KentExile]

16 minutes ago, bazza said:

I wish I knew the squad, especially the subs. Who is the goalkeeper and the lad with a double-barrel name?

The sub keeper was Nick Michalski, fairley highly rated, has played for England U18s

Lorenze  Mullarkey-Matthews came on wide right, put himself about quite well, was on loan at Bamber Bridge at the start of last season, but think he got an injury so missed a lengthy spell

Edited 9 hours ago by KentExile

[JBiz]

2 minutes ago, joey_big_nose said:

Yeah, I thought maybe wed got a turkey after JDT and Eustace, but seems we have made another good call. Not sure how we keep doing it considering everything else at the club is such a mess.

Maybe it’s not all as bad as many make out. I’ve said since January that since GB, this is make or break for Rudy. I felt too early to judge. VI is his man.

[simongarnerisgod]

1 minute ago, joey_big_nose said:

Yeah, I thought maybe wed got a turkey after JDT and Eustace, but seems we have made another good call. Not sure how we keep doing it considering everything else at the club is such a mess.

you never know with this lot,if they sense val being quite succesful and threatening the top six they`ll destroy all his good work,usually happens in january

[Mattyblue]

It’s the Championship, the margins are very small between the non-parachute clubs. If VI gets them organised we could well be steady enough… or we may not be, but when you read ‘definite relegation battle’, you can never say that in this league pre kicking a ball.

[M_B]

8 minutes ago, KentExile said:

The sub keeper was Nick Michalski, fairley highly rated, has played for England U18s

Lorenze  Mullarkey-Matthews came on wide right, put himself about quite well, was on loan at Bamber Bridge at the start of last season, but think he got an injury so missed a lengthy spell

M-M did well last week when he came on. 

[Exiled_Rover]

4 minutes ago, Mattyblue said:

It’s the Championship, the margins are very small between the non-parachute clubs. If VI gets them organised we could well be steady enough… or we may not be, but when you read ‘definite relegation battle’, you can never say that in this league pre kicking a ball.

I think based on that display today, baring a rash of injuries, we'll be a dogged mid-table team. 

There's really no magic in attack that will turn that 1 point into 3 or rescue a point when you're losing.

We're not as slow as we used to be though, which is a big plus. 

[OsloRover]

33 minutes ago, Exiled_Rover said:

 

#8 (the double barrelled named lad) is miles off the standard, sadly. 

Can’t agree with this, he had some decent involvements and I was curious who he was

[MarkBRFC]

Mullarkey-Matthews to be fair has only just signed his first pro deal, can't long have turned 18 or might still be 17?

Think he could develop into something, made one superb run back to block an Everton shot for a corner.

[GHD]

One thing that particularly impressed me, was the way we regularly regained possession without flying into tackles

[roversfan99]

50 minutes ago, yeti-dog said:

Gueye really is a bit of a donkey at times. 

Ohashi for me, every time.

There is a reason why, considering it was almost exclusively one or the other, we won far more games with Ohashi up front than the very few with Gueye.

[roversfan99]

1 hour ago, RevidgeBlue said:

Very good player.

Extremely under-rated because he came through the ranks.

Why would that be the reason? Adam Wharton wasnt underrated. Travis isnt underrated.

[Forever Blue]

How did Kargbo play?

[JBiz]

7 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

There is a reason why, considering it was almost exclusively one or the other, we won far more games with Ohashi up front than the very few with Gueye.

 

6 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

Why would that be the reason? Adam Wharton wasnt underrated. Travis isnt underrated.

You know what I’m thinking 😂 

[MarkBRFC]

Thought Kargo was really sharp and injected good pace.

Skinned O'Brien in there box to put it across goal but nobody there.

[roversfan99]

Typical pre season fare, a slow game purely as a fitness exercise and punctuated by changes.

I almost feel like you learn more from the starting 11 as opposed to the actual game. In the few positions where we have 2 options at full fitness, it seems like De Neve, Ohashi and Ribeiro are first choice above Kargbo, Gueye and Pickering. Not so sure about the latter personally as I think Pickering is slightly better but not much in it.

Always interesting to see the new signings, in this case only 1 started. Nice finish by De Neve (and also the corner he took was better than a Cantwell floated ball) but still coming to terms with what is expected of him and loose on the ball at times. Not overly quick but seems to be an athletic up and down type. Impossible to take much of a conclusion after an hour of a pre season game.

We already knew that Brittain will be a gigantic loss when he goes. We already knew that we badly need reinforcements in attack, especially on the right hand side. And we already knew that Kargbo is absolutely rapid but incredibly raw.

[roversfan99]

1 minute ago, JBiz said:

 

You know what I’m thinking 😂 

Probably something about me being constantly negative even though the 2 posts youve quoted are just me preferring one player to another and merely questioning the logic behind someones theory.

Just now, MarkBRFC said:

Thought Kargo was really sharp and injected good pace.

Skinned O'Brien in there box to put it across goal but nobody there.

That was a great bit of play. 

I wonder based on the fact that De Neve seems to be first choice, if the logic is that Kargbo is seen as/trusted only as an impact sub against tired defenders.

[MarkBRFC]

4 minutes ago, roversfan99 said:

 

I wonder based on the fact that De Neve seems to be first choice, if the logic is that Kargbo is seen as/trusted only as an impact sub against tired defenders.

That's what I thought.

Think they see Kargbo as a 20ish minute player, to be a threat when we need a goal and to be a outlet when we're hanging on.

[Feed the Yak]

Only caught the game from just over half time but very promising and good intensity and desire on show.

Kargbo, will be frustrating but has something special and is rapid. Someone should have got into his ball across the goal and his overhead kick volley from the corner was almost spectacular 

Gueye, I'm a fan and think there is something there to unlock. He was poor today though, lethargic and didn't provide an outlet. We also didn't make many attempts to put one into the box from out wide which seems a waste while he is on the pitch.

The young centre backs looked very solid and strong all considered and the young GK looks promising, coming off his line at the right time and composed on the ball.

Tyjon has good pitch awareness and is worth giving some time and exposure to in the number 10 role when the time is right.

Impressive but that intensity will be hard to maintain. As someone else mentioned, great to see that all the players seemed to know their role and the way we want to play.

 

[arbitro]

For anyone who has seen both friendlies so far it's clear that Ismael has a plan and it appears the players have generally bought into it. High intensity pressing from a fit, athletic team is what we can expect I think (and this is something Ismael has spoken openly about) which is reminiscent of Tomasson's style with perhaps not as much unnecessary passing.

I enjoyed todays match and we counted eight Academy graduates playing by the end. Cantwell stood out for me and looked a different player with a pre season behind him. There were lots of other good performances too although primarily this was about fitness and sharpness.

I know these are only friendlies but some of my fears have been allayed and hopefully the other signings will improve us and maybe another addition or two to give us more depth.