Everton Banter 3

28 Apr 2026 18:53:08
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Liverpool v Crystal Palace - A Quick Liverpool Perspective

28 Apr 2026 00:36:01
All our focus is now, on the summer recruitment.
However, the great recruitment team gave us Dibling, a 42 million wast of space, but he had completion for that title from Barry, never seen someone with such limited ability, and disgraceful attitude in a blue shirt, and this topped off with an obligation to pay a further 20 for a player that cannot get anywhere near a first team place.


But if we start talking about who should go, it surely must be those who sanctioned this desaturase lack of judgment over recruitment.

28 Apr 2026 08:32:22
Agree about Barry, but Dibbling? How can you say he is a waste of space when you've hardly seen the lad play. And on the odd occasion he has played, he has been put on the wing, which is not his best position.


Oh no, wait, the manager says none of our young players are first team ready, while playing older players who will never be first team ready?

28 Apr 2026 10:28:37
As I've said previously, Barry was crap before we signed him and I couldn't believe that we were in for him, but I must admit that he surpassed my assessment of just how crap he was.
Dibling, on the other hand, was one signing, along with Grealish and KDH, that I was genuinely excited about. He'd just had an excellent season for Southampton and stood out in every game I'd seen. Every time he got the ball, his first thought was to turn and run at people with excellent close control, usually resulting in a useful final ball or a free kick.

Always positive and on the front foot, never a thought to play the ball backwards, which is all that he's done in the brief cameos that he's had for us. He's clearly had the confidence knocked out of him with the demand for work rate, defensive duties and not giving the ball away. I'm not concerned by the fee, as that's not the player's fault, and I certainly wouldn't give up on him, as I'm sure he will be an asset and flourish at the club once we have a manager who encourages and shows belief in him.

30 Apr 2026 02:03:16
Dibling should've been sent out on loan this season, maybe to a Dutch or German club. It did wonders for Branthwaite & I think he would've come back ready for the first team next season.
Barry should never be allowed to wear the shirt again. A total waste of time, I'd rather use Michael Keane as a back up striker.


This summer is huge for all at the club. Moyes needs to clear out the rubbish, scouts need to prove they're worth keeping & Doris the tea lady needs a holiday as her tea has dropped to Barry's level.
UTFT NSNO IMWT.

27 Apr 2026 18:33:30
Reading that DM has three strikers lined up, first Liam Delap, second Santiago Castro and third Troy Parrot, would take any of them over Barry.

{Ed025's Note - i would take Mr Bean over Barry GB..

27 Apr 2026 19:14:37
Even a baked bean mate. 😂😂

27 Apr 2026 20:48:08
Interestingly, none of them wanted to join us.. wonder why?

28 Apr 2026 05:31:49
GB, would you take Delap, hes been really off for Chelsea although hes had a few injuries, Parrot has done well at international level and in Holland there was talk at Spurs when he was coming through that he was a special talent, but as you say both are an upgrade on Barry, a coat rack is an upgrade on him.

28 Apr 2026 07:49:44
I'm clutching at straws here BB, but anything has to be better than Barry mate.

28 Apr 2026 10:57:05
If we sign Troy Parrot, then it would confirm to be that we have no idea what we are doing and we would never improve signing players like that. Is he even Championship quality? I am not sure. We need better players, surely.

28 Apr 2026 16:53:52
Please don't use Barry as a guide on what striker would be an improvement on him, as you could probably include most of those playing in the Championship.

29 Apr 2026 22:51:45
It's the hope that gets us every dam time.

27 Apr 2026 12:03:34
Lots of calls on here to give our younger players a chance. I can't see it happening when we get liked to the likes of Soucek and McGinn both over 30.

28 Apr 2026 08:33:49
Sadly you're probably right.

26 Apr 2026
New image uploaded to the
Everton Player Sightings page entitled,

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26 Apr 2026 16:54:09
Regardless of the obvious handball, Fernandes is grabbing and pulling at Barry, stopping him from playing - is that not also a foul? VAR cited it as a 'grappling' incident but Moyes correctly pointed out there was only one player involved.



VAR is used so poorly. To then not give a corner (having come off Fernandes' hand) rubs salt in the wound. The technology is there but the idiots behind it are ruining the game.

26 Apr 2026 19:07:01
Never seen anything as bad as that and not get a penalty, VAR is soooooooooooo inconsistent, it should be binned in my opinion.

26 Apr 2026 21:06:40
Still doesn't hide the fact that we were bloody awful, and sat back and let a piss poor West Ham team dictate the game.

26 Apr 2026 22:21:01
Apparently it wasn't checked by VAR.

29 Apr 2026 22:15:36
I thought it was FBS and they said nothing untoward.

The evidence was there. It was clear. He's founded Barry by 'grappling' him and hit the ball with his hand so it can't be played. A rash challenge, which should have been punished. Because of all the complaints with VAR, it's becoming more and more scrutinised, so we see it swing from used too much to not used enough in response to their latest error.

We will likely see them give something similar this weekend for someone else to try and show they can get it right. Won't benefit us though (knowing our luck, it'll be against us!) .

26 Apr 2026 13:14:06
Well, the squad for next season has already taken a blow with the new contracts given to Keane and Mykolenko. Tarkowski is going downhill fast and we haven't got a decent natural right back. Jared can't stay fit and that's just the defence.

26 Apr 2026 15:04:36
Maybe RB, RW and Striker are being worked on. Maybe Keane and Mykelenko free up funds for these essential positions. Maybe Moyes and his staff know what they are doing. They certainly know more about the Club, game, and players than me, no, maybe about it.

26 Apr 2026 16:42:03
Hopefully they are working on those positions, dms. The issue I have is that the needs of the team have been obvious for years, so if Moyes and his staff know what they are doing, why have we not resolved those issues. I am sure other teams managed to get good right-backs, and although getting a striker is more difficult, surely we could find someone better than Barry? Instead, we wasted money on young players who Moyes will not play on a regular basis.

For me to agree that they know what they are doing, I need more evidence, which I don't have up to now. It's not only Moyes and his staff, it's the scouting system, if they have one!

26 Apr 2026 18:42:24
I agree somewhat, Bluemike. One of my thoughts is, this happens season on season. A theory (stress I do not know) , Manager and coaching staff change, owners changed, Directors changed! I wonder, has there been an overhaul of scouts/contacts both here and abroad.

26 Apr 2026 19:10:30
Keane has had his most dependable season since joining. If he stays at this level, then there is no problem in extending his contract, especially when it would cost a good few million to replace him in the current market. That would leave us with less cash to spend on other, more important positions.



I think we have extended Mykos' contract, so that we can get a bit back if we sell him in the next window or two. The club has made worse decisions in the last few years, in all honesty.

26 Apr 2026 19:15:54
If Moyes and his staff know what they are doing, dms, why did they buy Barry and Dibling and not bother getting a RB at all last summer and again in January? Then give Keane and Mykelenko another year. Doesn't look like they know what they are doing to me.

26 Apr 2026 19:43:35
Offer your services, Big Reg. Silly suggestion, I know. Okay, my discipline is/was in other areas, so they know a hell of a lot more than me. Barry not even Championship standard. I have seen far better semi-pro's. Dibling was touted by pundits, experts and quite a few on these forums, for the Club to lay out that dosh somebody was impressed.

26 Apr 2026 19:46:44
Keane makes sense with JB's injury. Still need a replacement for Tarks in the long run if JB is going to be injured a lot.

Get a RB and JOB moves infield, so half the problem solved.

Not sure about Myko. He needs upgrading, especially if we opt to loan Grealish again (or buy him) .

28 Apr 2026 04:06:22
Keane deserves a new contract after this season, & Myko, if nothing else, will be a decent squad player.
Branthwaite can't stay fit, so maybe a change of scenery is on the cards.
We need two full backs & a couple of strikers before anything else.

UTFT NSNO. 💙💙💙

28 Apr 2026 05:01:21
Probably didn't even think about buying a RB because we have 2 sat on the bench every week, and when O'Brien isn't available he puts Garner there, so no point wasting money on a RB is there. 🤔 🙈🙈🙈🙈

26 Apr 2026 11:21:23
I heard it said that the owners are looking at all ways of promoting youth from the academy. Well, let's get one thing straight: no matter how much the academy improves Moyes will not bring anybody through. He was lost on how to use Armstrong, playing him right side of the midfield 3, yet we all know he's a centre midfielder or a number 10, and as for his shocking treatment of 3 youngsters: Rohl was a star for the German Under 21s and Dibling and Azou don't get a chance.

We saw Dibling last season playing as a 10 but soft a*** plays him wide right. Mykelenko has struggled for 2 years now and Azou changed the cup game against Sunderland and then was sent into the oblivion. He could play him wide left but no, let's play the ones who let us down game after game. Would love Europe but boring a*** has shut that door now.

26 Apr 2026 12:19:18
My worry is that, come the summer, we will lose or get rid of valuable assets like Armstrong, Rohl, Aznou, Alcarez and George, who in a few years time will come back to haunt us. Couple that with Moyes' apparent fascination with older so called experienced players, and I doubt we will keep some of our favourites next season.

It's the hopes and dreams that kill you. Just off to a dark room to calm down !

26 Apr 2026 12:22:25
Remember you need to be good enough to play. Being young isn't enough. I know what you're saying, bring the youth through, but the young players mentioned above aren't good enough at the min to get into starting 11. Rohl and Armstrong are way off the standard needed to push on, and I don't know what's happened to Dibling, when he has got minutes, he has been very very poor.

Need to show you have something about you like Michael Owen or Rooney, they had something, not sure some of these kids have anything.

26 Apr 2026 12:33:19
So how many 10's do you want? Armstrong at PNE often played from the left of centre.

26 Apr 2026 13:14:15
I get what you are saying, Dino, but how are these youngsters going to progress without game time, and, frankly, any of them could do a much better job than Barry or McNeil. Aznou and George have already offered more in their brief cameos. How long are we going to stick with a failing formula?

26 Apr 2026 13:24:05
You're right, mate, they couldn't do any worse, that's for sure.

26 Apr 2026 13:27:42
I can understand most of Moyes's selections this season, but it is baffling that he hasn't tried anyone else in that 9 role when we can all see B&B have struggled. Ndayie, Alcaraz, even KDH as a false 9, maybe. Aznou is the other head scratcher, certainly looks worth a run out from the little we've seen.

26 Apr 2026 15:05:55
Rohl and George are not assets yet.

26 Apr 2026 15:15:56
Saying these young players aren't good enough when we hardly ever see them is bizarre. As for Dibbling, he played in the number ten slot for Southampton with the freedom to roam. What does Moyes do, stick him out on the wing? Aznou showed what he could do against Sunderland. He hasn't had a look in since. Rohl played really well against Villa.

He hasn't had a look in since. And Alcaraz must have run over Moyes' cat because the lad hasn't had a look in.
These are not all bad players. In fact, technically many are superior to what we have in the first team. But Moyes likes grafters, so don't expect anything else to change anytime soon.

26 Apr 2026 19:15:17
Mad how, after a ten-minute cameo, a lot of fans think AA can come in and play to the same standard week in, week out. For those who beat that drum, what else have you seen from him to say he warrants a first team place? None of us have really seen what he can do consistently as of yet. Sometimes we just have to trust the manager's judgement.

BG, although he looks like he has the potential to go far in the game, that doesn't mean he is ready for 1st team football just yet.

He looks like he needs to go on a diet of Guinness and steak to build him up a bit. The last thing we want to do is introduce kids who just aren't ready for the first team. That could be very detrimental to their overall development.

26 Apr 2026 20:54:11
I'd take some of the youngsters playing the odd week-in BP. They won't get any better sitting on a bench every week. They need to be playing more, but Moyes doesn't trust youth.

Didn't he say Graham is not at the level we need yet? That's because he didn't fit Moyes' system of a target man and second phase ball.

It's like Dyche tactics, but more successful. Graham can't be much worse in front of goal than B & B.

26 Apr 2026 21:03:00
This old chestnut. The first team are weak in so many positions right now, so maybe they're not ready, yet they play week in, week out.
It's simple, this manager does not trust young players. Or, worse still, hasn't the ability to develop them.


If rumours are true, he still wants Soucek 31, McGinn 31 and Wilson 34. Can only pray the TFG put the block on this, as it will not be in the best interests of the club in the long term.

{Ed025's Note - im with you brass..

27 Apr 2026 17:56:46
BR, I'd love to see the likes of Graham being given a chance, but you only have to look at his current physique to see that he would probably be far too lightweight right now. He may be scoring goals for fun in the youth teams, but that is no barometer of how he would get on in the first team. I'd bet Moyes is right with his statement at this moment in time. He did also mention the summer when talking about this lad.

BB, rumours are rumours, mate, most of them lazy journalism or internet pieces designed for clicks.

All 3 players you mentioned were linked in the last couple of windows. That doesn't mean there is any truth to them at all. But, as a fan base, we do seem to have a problem with any player over 30, as if they will suddenly age overnight and not be able to play football. Players play on for a lot longer these days, just 2 of those you say won the points for West Ham at the weekend!

28 Apr 2026 17:11:14
Seriously, you think it would be a good thing to bring these players in? We already have an aging team, adding more to it would be ridiculous. We went down this root before and ended up a retirement home for overpaid once wheres.
What is clear is that we have a manager who sticks to a system that doesn't suit some of our younger players. The flair gets knocked out of them.

Even Ndiaye spends more time defending than going forward, when what you want to see is the lad further up the pitch going at defenders.
Moyes is a manager who is very set in how he wants the team to play, so if and when we replace Barry it will be for another loan striker who we can hoof the ball up to. Young Graham has no chance regardless of how many goals he scores.

28 Apr 2026 22:58:53
I never suggested buying those players at all, just pointed out that being 30+ isn't as bad as some make out. We need experience in the squad as much as younger players.

26 Apr 2026 11:06:04
Mykolenko caught out at the back post again yesterday and this time against somebody who is non-existent as an aerial threat in Bowen.

When somebody makes a mistake, you can let it slide, things happen, but when it is the same mistake time and time again and when it is something that can be erased with a modicum of desire and competitive nous, it becomes unforgivable.



Understand that we need bodies at the other end of the pitch but I will die on the hill that we need to sign 3 defenders in the summer if we want to be taken seriously next season.

26 Apr 2026 12:38:42
Yet Moyes keeps picking him. Answer me this: who does Moyes trust as last man when the big lads go up? Myko is not perfect by any means, yet his contract has just been extended. 3 pts from 5 games is bad, but it isn't down to one player.

26 Apr 2026 14:03:53
Does the fact that Moyes keeps picking him change the point I have raised - no, it does not. He is absolutely atrocious. He offers absolutely naff-all going forward, and it is a complete myth that he is some quality defender.

It also doesn't help that the only other LB we have is an unknown kid with not even a season's worth of professional football games.

Well, ordinarily, you would leave a defender back when the big lads go up, and Myko is the only defender that we have who isn't a big lad, so I really don't understand your point.

Furthermore, is football about defending corners that you have in the opposition's box - baffling statement.

You are right though, Moyes does keep picking him. Either he is obsessed with Myko, as you are, or Dms is actually Moyes.

Finally, I never said that we lost because of Mykolenko. I am calling him out for a mistake he has made more times than he has scored goals or assisted for this club in his 5 seasons with us.

26 Apr 2026 15:13:57
Course it does, it shows he knows a hell of a lot more about his players and the game than us.

26 Apr 2026 15:15:22
Need to look in a mirror mate for obsession.

26 Apr 2026 16:25:15
I'm with BN here, DMs. He is correct in everything he has said about Mykolenko.

No, he is not to blame for our poor performance and result yesterday, but he was at fault for the winner. I will add to it that a few minutes before WH scored, the ball was played to Myko wide left. He had time and space to pick out a man in the box.

He played it straight out for a goal kick. They scored the winner straight after the goal kick.

He needs replacing just as much as O'Brien does at right back. We can improve those positions easily this summer. Whether we do is another thing all together.

26 Apr 2026 21:08:06
My point was that Mykolenko makes the same mistake time and time again, getting caught out at the back post, opposition getting the run on him. The fact that Moyes keeps picking him does not make that factual statement untrue.

He is his only LB at the club, bar Aznou, who I have already commented on.

I will be saying my prayers that the only reason he has signed on is to recoup some money for him or to have him as a backup to a player who can actually play the position and play it well.

I would rather have Valente, Pistone or Naysmith over Mykolenko. He is absolutely dreadful.

27 Apr 2026 13:37:21
I agree Bn, I don't rate Mykolenko at all and thought Aznou would be an upgrade on him. But we haven't seen enough of him to judge.

There are much better full backs out there than the 2 we start with every week.

So our recruitment team need to find them. If we want to push up the league, we need improvements in both full backs as well as a striker.

26 Apr 2026 10:58:48
Hi, I have to start and say he done a good job up tonight. But it seems he plays players playing on the glory days instead of playing the youngsters.

26 Apr 2026 02:58:18
I hate this argument of “the squad isn’t good enough for Europe”. Wild to me that some fans wouldn’t want to finish as high as possible.

Look at Sunderland. Last season their squad wasn’t good enough for the Premier League. Not remotely close.

What did they do? Invested heavily in new players and it’s massively paid off.

No reason we couldn’t do the same. Big blow today, but I’m still hopeful of at least a Conference League spot. God it’s been a long time since we’ve had European football….

26 Apr 2026 09:50:03
Forest hasn't got a team good enough for Europe. They are a bad lot, and look how they go in Europe. Micky Mouse cups, anyone can win them nowadays. Joke, you finish in 8th or 9th and still get Europe. That's like doing your exams in school, and a F gets you into university. It's pathetic.

26 Apr 2026 11:55:05
All about the money, mate.