04 May 2025 11:39:26
After watching the match yesterday anybody else's think that Delap is not the answer for for us, I thought he was very poor throughout the game am sure there are are far better strikers out there than him.
04 May 2025 14:19:21
Cracks me up that a lot of the fan base want/ wanted Delap to replace Beto.
However this season Beto has a better goal to minute ratio - whilst appreciate he’s not everyone’s cup of tea for whatever reason - I want a striker to score goals and Beto is doing that.
If was a choice between Beto and Delap I’d keep Beto.
04 May 2025 14:26:00
I dunno Guernsey, he didn't score but he looked like a typical Everton type forward. Throwing himself about and trying to rattle our back line. I think he could be a very good signing. Supposedly we are looking at Omari Hutchinson too from Ipswich. He looks a really good, direct winger who is what we need on the right flank.
04 May 2025 14:47:29
Yeah I know dentielad mate, maybe he had an off day yesterday, after all our strikers are not exactly pulling up trees eh.
04 May 2025 16:00:33
Beto is garbage and shouldn't even be in the equation. If we have any ambition then he should be sold and upgrade to a better forward this summer. People on here want us to progress yet keeping average, at best, players is not going to help that cause.
04 May 2025 16:53:52
Agree DCL, Beto, Broja all need to move on, none are good enough.
04 May 2025 18:51:39
So BP as Delap seems to be wanted by a lot of the fan base in your opinion would he be an upgrade on Beto?
04 May 2025 23:11:29
Been saying it for months. Emegha is the answer.
04 May 2025 23:32:23
Emegha does look good BlueNose I must admit. But I wouldn't be surprised if we gave dcl a new bumper contract and signed Vardy too and that is that.
05 May 2025 02:24:26
I haven't seen enough of delap to give an opinion on him in all honesty, gd. But, without going over too much old ground, I have made my feelings on beto pretty clear in this forum. Beto isn't good. enough and we need to upgrade this summer if we want to climb the league. In my opinion obviously.
05 May 2025 09:02:45
Fair play BP that’s a decent response regards Delap.
Just find it funny that there appears to be a lot of the fan base calling for us to sign Delap even though Beto has a better goal to minute ratio this season.
Also find it funny that several of those fans who’ve been calling for us to sign Delap are now saying he’s rubbish after watching him play against us.
Got some fickle fans and likely any player we sign will eventually get criticised by the fans.
05 May 2025 09:49:20
Criticising a player's performance is just the flip side of praising them, and I find that fans from 'any' club do just the same as us in regard to this.
We can be as fickle in our opinions etc. . as some players are in their match stats. though when we see a positive consistency, I think we defend them to the hilt.
05 May 2025 10:26:55
Probably the way we go Dentie mate ? UpTheEv!
05 May 2025 16:23:38
Stats can be deceiving, dan. I'm sure I've replied to this before but I prefer the eye test when it comes to judging players and Beto is awful on the eye for numerous reasons that have all been mentioned plenty of times. I'm grateful for his little purple patch when DM first came back but he just isn't the answer to our striking woes. I couldn't tell you of Delap is the answer either, all I know is that our CF position needs attention if we want to progress under our new owners and flourish in our new home.
And you're right, fans are fickle but that's certainly not something new or even just amongst our own support, every fanbase is similar in that regard mate.
{Ed025's Note - im with you BP, I dont know what the question is but i definitely know Beto is not the answer mate..
05 May 2025 22:17:10
Ed the question is who has the better goal to minute ratio this season out of Delap and Beto.
Beto is the answer.
{Ed025's Note - would you keep him then Dan?, i know its all about opinions mate but i dont rate him at all, yes he works hard but lacks the guile and skill to be the main man up front..
06 May 2025 09:54:16
I would definitely keep him. He’s strong and powerful and can score - think he’s done well considering how badly he was treated by Dyche as that would have knocked anyone’s confidence.
Think with a decent run of games he’ll do very well for us.
Understand he’s not to everyone’s liking, however to criticise a striker because doesn’t look decent even though he’s scoring is a bit of a strange one to me.
Even stranger is fans calling for us to spend £30m on Delap to replace Beto when Beto actually has a better goal to minute ratio than him.
If we were to get Delap I’d like to see him and Beto play as a 2 up front as think playing a loan striker isn’t the best way for us to play.
All a matter of opinions I suppose but don’t get all the dislike for Beto myself.
06 May 2025 10:42:00
Beto is 26 and at his peak, delap is 21 just starting his journey, we are buying into his future, 12 goals in his first season, think he may be good enough.
06 May 2025 13:13:05
It's not dislike dan, it's the fact that he is an awful footballer. We can hide behind stats but that doesn't show the true picture and certainly isn't really a reflection on who is better. For example, you keep mentioning that he has a better games to goal ratio, does that really matter? I bet you Beto has been offside more, has lost the ball more, has probably less assists and a worse pass rate! I hate to say it but beto is a poor man's nunez, and not as good. Work rate and effort are good traits to have yet you also need talent and I'm afraid beto falls short. As I said in previous posts, if he was 21 then it is all raw potential, the fact that he is 26 or 27 goes to show that he is pretty much the finished article, he won't vastly improve much more than this. It's not a case of criticising our own player for the sake of it, it's because he's had ample time at the club and still hasn't improved enough to be classed as good enough. It's the eye test mate, stats can be misleading and, in this case, they are certainly are.
06 May 2025 13:13:26
Delap is 22, there is no guarantee he’ll improve from his 12 goals this season - buying into a players future doesn’t always work out.
He managed 8 in 31 games last season in championship and 4 in 37 games the season before - hardly prolific.
He may turn out to be a great player - however I wouldn’t be signing him to be our starting striker I’d want him to be playing in a 2 up top and think him and Beto would work well together.
06 May 2025 14:11:08
Sorry BP but of course it matters who has a better goal to minutes ratio when you’re looking at a striker.
Without goals you can’t win a game.
To also say Beto has had ample time at the club is doing him a disservice - whilst he’s been at the club he has hardly been given many minutes - was pretty much ostracised by Dyche. When given a run of games he’s scored.
I’d take a striker who can score over one who looks good all day long. Also having potential and then turning that into form are not mutually exclusive - Delap may improve, he may not and then stuck looking for a new striker again.
I like Beto and would be happy to see him lead the line next season, hopefully with someone playing up top with him as think he’d work very well in a 2 up front system. Him and Delap could work very well.
Appreciate you don’t rate Beto and don’t want him to lead the line and that’s fair enough also.
Be interesting to see what happens in the close season as don’t feel the striker position is the most pressing area to be addressed - rightback, centre mid, no 10 and a right winger all more important in my opinion.
06 May 2025 15:49:55
It does matter when you take the entire picture instead of just picking one stat. Goals per minutes doesn't tell you how many games they went without a goal for a start mate. I'm not championing Delap whatsoever, I haven't seen enough of the lad, but he has been playing in a worse team than us, a team that has struggled all season as opposed to the 1st half for us. I just think it's ok to talk stats but let's use them in a wider context when comparing as it is always deceiving.
I can't see us playing with two up top any time soon mate but maybe Beto would be better in a two?
06 May 2025 19:11:50
In addition to my previous reply, I didn't address the game time that you mentioned.
Yes, he didn't get much under dyche but that is because he wasn't a dyche type forward. His hold up play is poor, the ball comes back more often than not, the goal against Chelsea proves the point. Dyche likes big forwards, such as Woods, who link up the play and can play with their back to goal. Beto isn't that type so he didn't get a look in. I agree with dyche on that score in all honesty.
I'm not so sure he would have got much game time under DM either if his hand wasn't forced due to injuries. Kudos to Beto, he had a bit of a purple patch and scored a few when Moyes came in but he soon reverted to type. That is, balls didn't stick, always breaking play down with a poor choice of pass or getting caught offside etc. So, for me, he got the game time his ability deserved until injuries forced our hand.
He doesn't pass the eye test mate and, if you put them all together instead of concentrating on just one, he doesn't really pass the stats test either.
07 May 2025 13:47:20
Based on that observation BP then you probably wouldn’t have wanted the likes of Aubameyang, aguero or higuain at the?
All goalscorers but none of them good at holding the ball up or linking up play and were often caught offside - so from the “eye test” they’d be ruled out.
However all 3 would have massively improved us.
Not suggesting Beto is anywhere near the level of the 3 mentioned but ignoring stats and using the so called “eye test” would make clubs miss out on decent players.
Personally not overly bothered if striker can’t do everything but as long as can find the back of the net that’s all that really matters.
Happy to agree to disagree on Beto.
Will be interesting to see what happens regards recruitment over the summer.
07 May 2025 20:18:46
Gd, fans have been using the 'eye test' for as long as football has been here. That's how we form our own opinions on a player as we watch them, on and off the ball, in each game. Obviously, being at the game live helps this as you can see their movement etc. With your way of judging beto, you could make him out to be the next Pele if you can find the stats to back it up. Stats are deceptive, and can be used to manipulate a train of thought, unless you marry them up with other stats to help the argument. I don't see anything to suggest that I should chamge my mind on him, he's garbage and needs to go in the summer.
You mentioned 3 other players that shouldn't be named in the same breath as Beto, each one of them could hold the ball up and score more goals than him! You're wrong mate, everyone of them would pass the eye test as they were good players. You can see a good player by the way they conduct themselves on the pitch, their ability on the ball and their. movement off it. Beto doesn't compare to any of them, which you said yourself, so jot sure why you even mentioned them, it's obvious that they would have improved our squad at the time they were all playing.
For me, a striker needs to be able to lead the line, have ability to hold up play, to be able to score goals and assist other players in the final third. Beto scores the odd goal and mainly against 'lesser' teams.
This argument has been done to death so, for me, I'm signing out of the argument as it's repetitive and tedious. He isn't good enough for EFC and never will be mate.
08 May 2025 15:31:02
BP I’m happy to agree to disagree about Beto as I’d previously said. However to say he scores the odd goal and mainly against lesser teams is a disservice to him - scored against Liverpool, Palace, Fulham and Utd who aren’t “lesser” teams.
I like him, you don’t and that’s fair enough.
As I said will be interesting to see what happens in the summer with recruitment.