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Nottingham Forest theory is childish and strange - I thought they had been hacked after Everton statement
I couldn’t believe what I was reading when I saw Nottingham Forest’s tweet on the full-time whistle after they were beaten 2-0 by Everton.
It was very strange. I didn’t think it was real at first, I thought it was from a fake account or that they’d been hacked.
As Evertonians we’ve been really frustrated and questioned the decisions against us like Antonee Robinson had Fulham when it hit his hand – there have been so many – and although we probably were a touch lucky, that statement seems to go a step too far. Forest have hired Mark Clattenburg to push for the integrity of the sport with officials and he was kept out of Goodison for six years on the back of his decisions.
I think every club in the Premier League is questioning what’s going on. Liverpool put out their statement after the Tottenham Hotspur game earlier this season and it could open a big can of worms if we start going down that route.
READ MORE: Nottingham Forest make new VAR demand with first post since Everton penalty outburst
Although the officials have been very poor, I still don’t think there is the technology to implement VAR correctly. I still can’t be convinced the lines were drawn properly for Coventry’s offside goal against Manchester United.
Those fine margins are sucking the joy out of football. We know the system needs improvement and we need a big, adult conversation about how we’re going to improve these decisions that happen week after week.
It seems strange that Forest think it’s just them. It seems a bit childish in the way that they’ve reacted.
Survival is on the line, we as Evertonians understand that. We’d be up in arms too but I don’t think we’d see Everton Football Club putting out a statement like that.
It completed what was a rather different matchday experience for me on Sunday as I couldn’t make it to Goodison Park because my son was playing in Ormskirk for his team Redgate Rovers Under-10s in the Craven Minor League Shield Cup final.
The game against Prescot Cables went to penalties and while fortunately our team, managed by Steve, who is a Red, and Graham, who is a Blue, won on penalties, even a proud dad such as myself was desperate to curtail the post-match celebrations as quickly as possible and dive into a local pub to watch the remainder of the action back at Goodison. I caught up with proceedings about 10 minutes into the second half but then watched the game back later once I got home.
The ground looked tremendous with the flags, so a shout out to the 1878s for organising all the hard work that the volunteers do to get the atmosphere going. More importantly it was up to the players to show that reaction to the disappointment on Monday as we knew this was the start of a huge week for our football club.
We’ve all had our say on what happened at Chelsea and talk can be cheap with players and managers coming out with the sound bites that you’d want to hear but we want to see it on the pitch. We rode our luck at times but you do in the Premier League.
Jordan Pickford made a fantastic save, he’s done that at crucial moments three years on the bounce now. Yes, he made a mistake at Stamford Bridge and gave a goal away but that save was as good as a goal for me, especially with the timing to ensure we went in ahead at half-time.
Even though I knew the outcome of Idrissa Gueye’s goal, when I watched it back later, I was still shouting at the television telling him not to shoot! You’ve got to buy a ticket and I’ve said so many times that we don’t punish teams by popping the question in such circumstances.
Like Barry Horne and Gareth Farrelly, people were probably thinking along similar lines when the ball dropped at their feet but Gueye asked the question and thankfully it ended up in the back of the net. Full credit to him because I thought he was everywhere and it was good to see him back in top form.
What really pleased me about Dwight McNeil’s goal was the whole build-up play. We were going long far too often against Burnley but we were mixing it up a bit here if the passes were on.
Jarrad Branthwaite was back to his best again and we started the move with our centre-half doing a one-two. That’s gone under the radar a little bit how we passed the ball about nice, sharp and fast.
As soon as McNeil got it, you knew he was going to shoot but it was horrible having to watch it from a couch in the pub as it looked like slow motion. He’s got the ability to do that so hopefully that goal gives him the confidence to do it more often because the fans believe he’s got it in him.
We know we’re not Real Madrid, we’re not going to be outplaying teams but the Evertonians demand that the players give us everything they’ve got. Hopefully there will be an opportunity to show our quality in certain moments but the players just have to give their all for the shirt.
Credit to Sean Dyche too because it’s hard for him to pick up a group of players, especially if he keeps questioning them like he did after the Chelsea game. They all took some responsibility for that performance and the manner of that defeat.
He put out players who he felt he could trust and I think he got his substitutions spot-on as well because he’s been questioned about that. The fans were hoping we’d show some grit and determination but we’ve been let down in the past but the players were helping each other out and it was the Everton that we want to see.
Dyche could be 'Speedo Sean' in his trunks so long as Blues win
Sean Dyche’s change of matchday outfit caused something of a talking point and it certainly confused me from my different vantage point.
I thought: ‘Who is that?’ and wondered if we had a new substitute I wasn’t aware of. It shouldn’t really matter but when you’re a player or a manager you have superstitions and you try everything.
To me it looked like a message of ‘we’re here as one.’ We’d given the players some stick and Dyche had called them out but by putting the tracksuit on it’s a feeling of ‘we’re all here together.’
He could wear Speedo Mick’s trunks and call himself ‘Speedo Sean’ as far as I’m concerned as long as Everton win so maybe the look will have to continue for the Merseyside Derby, even though it’s a night game. I think he knew we needed a reaction and wanted to be part of the group rather than being the kingpin at the top with his shirt and tie, even if that’s smart.
Such a look gives a certain impression but while David Moyes would sometimes wear a shirt and tie, he wore the tracksuit a lot of the time, especially early in his reign when he’d even take the pre-match warm-up.
My superstition was always trying to come out third behind the goalkeeper. I always tried to do that as often as I could but a lot of players like to do that which can lead to a battle, especially when I moved clubs and there was a lot of rock, paper, scissors going on.
Also it would revolve around routine so if I’d done a certain thing on the morning of a game and we’d won then I would try and repeat it, perhaps having the same breakfast or same underpants but when you go on a bad run, those superstitions get thrown in the bin.
