Everton Banter 4

02 May 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - Postklopp has posted a new article entitled, Liverpool's Tactical Shift Under Slot Is Not Working

01 May 2026
New image uploaded to the
Everton Player Sightings page entitled,

Click picture for larger image

01 May 2026 12:20:22
Doesn't look physically big, does he, but he is still growing and will be fit as a fiddle. Most center halves are used to playing against big center forwards that like a battle. Graham is technically very skillful, quick footed and has an eye for goal, which most defenders won't be used to playing against. I would like to see the lad get a few minutes on Monday night, just to give him a taste of Premier League football.

I doubt Dave will do that, but can only hope. Imagine if he had a Rooney moment or instead of jumping for a pointless header against them he would drop deep for the ball, bringing 1 of their center backs out of position, opening a bit of space for a runner, hoping he can find them with a perfectly weighted place. 😉

01 May 2026 12:33:31
He's not going to grow much more at 37 and injuries have probably taken their toll too.

01 May 2026 12:54:04
Have you been drinking, SB, lol I'm on about Graham. Similar build to Jeffers and Owen at that age.

01 May 2026 13:08:11
It's a banter site, I was simply responding in a light hearted manner as Seamus was in the picture. It wasn't meant as a serious response. I've posted enough of those lately!

01 May 2026 13:34:02
I laughed.

As long as the kid is in the right place at the right time to stick the ball in the net, I don't care how he's built!

01 May 2026 13:34:37
He's as tall as Seamus and we all know how bloody good he's been, but does size matter? Don't think it does in footy.

01 May 2026 14:14:11
I know, SB, it made me chuckle. 😃

01 May 2026 14:30:02
Messi's about 6ft 6, isn't he?

01 May 2026 15:13:26
Yep, JB, and Mo Salah is 5ft 9.

01 May 2026 18:03:55
I think the Sunderland game would be more realistic if we are going to see him get minutes. It's his physicality that worries me a little; he appears very lightweight. Ability wise, the lad has got bags of potential. A good pre-season behind him would help build him up a bit.

01 May 2026 21:36:53
He's just scored 2 more tonight for the U21s and has a hand in all 4 of our goals. They're calling tonight's win against Brentford 'the Braiden masterclass'. Moyes needs to play him on Monday, the kid is clearly a class above the level he is currently playing at.

01 May 2026 07:39:01
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Matchday 34 - Quick Round Up

30 Apr 2026 18:25:33
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new video entitled entitled, C U Next Time - I Wanna Be Like You Edition}

30 Apr 2026 15:47:51
{Ed's Note - Ed001 has posted a new article entitled, Matchday 34 - Quick Round Up

30 Apr 2026 12:17:16
Just been reading Braiden Graham has been called up for first team training ahead of Monday's game, hope he gets some time on the pitch.

30 Apr 2026 14:07:01
Why not just play him from the start - what is there to lose? Got to be better than what we currently have up front.

30 Apr 2026 18:20:46
Agree, mate, but don't think that will happen. Beto will play, I think.

30 Apr 2026 19:13:35
I'd rather play Dibling in goal before I start Barry up front.

01 May 2026 19:38:02
Chucking him in from the start against City would be madness, get the lad on the bench first, let him taste the first team, chuck him on for the last 10 to score the winner.

30 Apr 2026 09:47:54
Young players now are too shy and immature. They play no street football. As youngsters they go to training on their 4G pitches, not the gravel pitches we used to play on were you had to pick stones out of your kneecaps for days after. They arrive in their flip flops and fancy hairstyles. We went to training without a drink of water; we all shared the shame bottles the coach filled up from his garden tap. No headers and volleys played in the street, no playing against other kids from the neighbourhood. I remember being 13 and playing against 18 year olds who, if you took the ball off them, they would kick you into next week, but it toughened you up.

You didn’t cry; you just got up and did it again. The kids now play the ps and don’t turn into men; they stay we boys. I met the young lad George few weeks ago and he was quite as a mouse had the toughness of a 9 year old. 16 years olds 20/30 years ago were like fully matured men compared to this lot. Kids now are too weak, too quiet and not confident enough; they are still little boys 21 going on 13.

{Ed025's Note - i can relate to what you are saying there Dino, i myself played in the Bootle JOC at the tender age of 15, it was a very tough league and i remember seeing a guy with 2 ears once, but as you say it made a man of me mate..

30 Apr 2026 10:54:32
I get where you're coming from, Dino. I used to play for Collegiate Old Boys and it was the same sort of environment. We'd train and play with and against lads anywhere from 16 to 60, and the older fellas didn't hold back at all. If you got caught in a tackle, that was your problem, you just got up and carried on.



It toughened us up as kids because you had to learn fast, and nobody was putting an arm around you or easing off. Totally different world to what a lot of young players grow up in now.

30 Apr 2026 11:06:06
Don't fully agree, just as tough now as it was, just us 'older ones' memories are clogged. 🤣🤣 Taught my lad to play hard but fair, don't take any crap, but don't argue with decisions. Only time I saw him pissed off was when the referee wanted to abandon, horizontal rain, freezing sleet.

They're all coming off the pitch, except my lad, stood there arms out. He jacked it in shortly after, took up fell running, that is tough.

30 Apr 2026 11:09:46
I remember one time in school the teachers joined in a game against the pupils, and Jimmy Flynn, the history teacher who smelt of booze all the time, kicked me so hard I was bruised for 2 weeks. My Dad said, son, he never kicked you hard enough.

30 Apr 2026 11:32:36
Just as tough nowadays lol. That made me laugh so hard I nearly took a heart attack. A jam donut is tougher than the kids now. You talk to most kids and they look at you as if you come from space, they start shaking and staring at the floor. Something isn't right, I blame the phones and social media, it's ruining the kids' heads.

{Ed025's Note - i blame discipline Dino especially in schools, if we were out of line we got the cane or the dreaded trainer across the backside mate, it kept kids in line but now they would be taken to court and prosecuted so they do what they bloody well want..

30 Apr 2026 12:26:41
Hmm, not sure I fully agree. When I played for Everton Schoolboys through to the U 16 I wasn't allowed to play any school matches or for Saturday or Sunday teams.
Yes, the football was tougher because everyone wanted to play for their club. But we still got spoilt, just to a different level than now.
It's just a different game now than it was back then, and it happens in all sports.

Even rugby, which was one of the hardest sports you could play, has changed. Cameras everywhere, and the sly smack you used to get away with hardly happens now.
It's just that things evolve, not saying it's for the better, it just happens.

30 Apr 2026 12:13:27
Spot on ed society is a joke now

{Ed025's Note - it really is Dino, i cant remember my mum asking me if i have got my knife when i was going out...my money and keys yes...but not a knife ffs mate

30 Apr 2026 16:58:38
During the War

{Ed025's Note - love it JB..

30 Apr 2026 21:06:54
I have to say I disagree with the school discipline Ed. Every school one worked in has behaviour policies rooted in psychology and the majority of kids get it. All the kids I've worked with who have poor behaviour have difficult home lives. There are many factors that affect this but domestic violence is up there near the top. Hitting kids with canes or trainers doesn't resolve any of that.

Sort out the home life and the discipline is sorted. The knife thing is not a school thing, it's a societal thing.

{Ed025's Note - i never said knife crime was a school thing BR, its certainly a social problem mate that for me stems from ill discipline and knowing that the punishment and consequences will be minimal, im not advocating beatings by the way, violence solves nothing..

01 May 2026 10:57:16
Sorry Ed - misread your post as 'bring back the cane'!

Since the government closed all the centres to support families, behaviour has declined. Lots of parents don't have the support in place and kids go off the rails. The training school staff have to have these days to deal with stuff non education based is crazy: 'positive' handling, pastoral work, safeguarding, medical the role is far from that in the pre-2000s when the focus was on English, Maths and Science. It's part teacher, part social worker, part medic, part legal, it's mad.

The game of football has moved on also. Skill has become more valued than brute force. Like BMD says, there's enough cameras around the game these days for players not to get away with stuff they used to. Bullying teams is less likely and refs don't let things go like they used to. The play acting hasn't helped; rolling round and round to exaggerate a foul should be addressed but refs won't do it.

{Ed025's Note - the key word for me BR is "respect"..or lack of it i should say, the justice system is all to cock for me mate and kids can do what they want without any consequences, i was terrified of the police when i was younger but now young guys just laugh at them because they know they can basically get away with anything, the justice system is a joke because we have seen rapists get 8 years and spend that in a prison that resembles Butlins then coming out after 4 to re-offend again, i give up with it all now, this country is finished imo..

01 May 2026 18:45:01
I would argue that technical skill has actually diminished in the game. It might not be about brute force anymore, but it is definitely about being physically superior still, who can run harder and faster. They are mostly cogs in a system now. There are no mavericks any longer.

30 Apr 2026 07:30:42
I've heard for a while that we have been sending scouts to watch 21-year-old PSV winger Esmir Bajraktarevic. I didn't think much of it until I heard yesterday that we have officially tabled an undisclosed offer for the player to get him signed before the World Cup.

So I have done a little bit of research on the player myself and he looks like he could be an exciting player.

He is a dynamic, left‑footed right‑winger who thrives in 1v1's. He would give us a ball‑carrying type player who can break pressure, commit defenders, and create high chances through his sharp close control dribbling, disguised passing, and unpredictable creative movement in the final third.

He is the type of winger who can force defensive errors simply by receiving the ball, with his acceleration, left‑footed craft, and ability to manipulate defenders in tight spaces.

He sort of reminds me of a mix of Olise and Doku, the way in which Olise creates danger between the lines and the 1v1 threat of Doku. He is just more direct and vertical but has the ability to carry the ball 30 yards forward while under pressure.

{Ed025's Note - good stuff OS, nice one mate..

30 Apr 2026 11:07:28
Put an offer in apparently (on the scouts say so 🤔) .

30 Apr 2026 14:58:22
Not sure what the offer is we've tabled. He's valued at £5m but PSV apparently want much more than that.

30 Apr 2026 21:08:58
Well, at least Moyes will keep him in good company on the bench with Aznou, Armstrong and Dibling.

30 Apr 2026 06:35:29
There has been a lot of discussion on here about Moyse. My point of view is: look at West Ham, did well with him, got rid, went poor, got him back, did well, got a trophy, got rid again, now in a relegation battle. Look at ourselves. He had no money, did well — Wembley final, top four finish, European football, regular top table finish. He has brought young players through, Rooney, Osman, Coleman, Baines, Cadamatri, Jeffers, and many others.

This season we’ve bought Dibbling, Barry, Rohl; if they’re not ready now they will be in a season or so, but they’re ours. He also bought Mirrales, Felaini, exciting players, Arteta, Cahill, Pienaar. Give the man a chance. Or we’re in danger of being exactly where West Ham are next season.

29 Apr 2026 23:49:05
Who’s this Esmir Bajraktarevic bloke? Not another Barry buy (I hope) .

01 May 2026 10:59:09
Watched his skill reel. Looks exciting.