Its a real family affair as Peter talks previews the Derby with his Blue cousin Alan Tyrer …
Firstly Al….What was your thoughts on the performance in the game against Man Utd?
Poor. There was enough encouragement within their team selection for us to really have a go at their back line. 2 poor CB’s in Jones and Rojo plus Lindelof playing out of position and a rare game for Shaw. He went with pace in the forward line, but they just never worked. Bolasie did well early on but faltered which you’d expect, but Niasse and Vlasic where none existent. Night games against the big boys need the crowd and we did very little again to excite until McCarthy came on and threw a few tackles in. You know us Blues we’ll celebrate a crunching tackle nearly as much as a goal and it generates that hostile atmosphere you need but it was too little too late. I thought Carragher nailed it with his “long range goal” shout because that is something we’re vulnerable to because of how deep we sit. Add in that they had no Lukaku or Ibra and I consider it an opportunity missed.
How do you think Everton will up against Liverpool on Friday?
I think he’ll alter his thinking for a big cup encounter and go two up front and maybe sacrifice the width that league games have cried out for. If he does, I think he’ll go Sandro and DCL, with Rooney and Sig behind, then Gueye and Schneiderlin behind them and a back 4 with a bit more pace. I’d expect Kenny, Holgate and Jags plus Martina by default. Mainly because I don’t think Keane or Williams could cope if we attack the way I hope we will. Unfortunately I also expect Joel to start in goal.
What are your thoughts on Sam Allardyce so far ?
He’s given us what we needed in terms of steadying up the ship. If he wants the job long term though he will need to either change his thinking to a degree or bring in players better at the specific jobs he wants doing compared to what he has because it’s heavily reliant on one goal being enough to win a game usually by the opposition making an error (conceding a pen for example ) to help us score, rather than us creating.
Who would you buy in this month transfer window?
I am struggling. We need pace, energy and a proven goal threat. But even so, if the tactics remain the same then Pele could be up front and he wouldn’t get a sniff. I haven’t seen enough of Cenk Tosun to have an informed opinion, but Besiktas seem gutted as a fan base and my lad reckons he’s good on FIFA. Nzonzi, another linked, doesn’t really excite me either he always struck me as a lazyish type of player capable of good performances every so often but few and far between. He’s in a really good Sevilla side and our team needs more energy than he has.
Where does Big Sam need to strengthen the squad?
In terms of what we need, we need a LB, another top draw CB, a pacey wideman and at least two strikers of better ilk than our current offering as I’d actually like to see DCL go on loan and play every week in the Championship
With it being a cup game will Everton be more adventurous at Anfield on Friday?
I hope he does and I think he has to. It’s a cup game, let’s just go for it, give it 90 mins of passion and graft and see what it gets us. We’ve taken hidings at Anfield before and got over it but who’s to say adopting that approach will get us hammered? The league is a different animal, it’s game management and subtle changes. A 3rd round FA Cup derby…….. just go for it!?
What is your score prediction and why?
For as much as I think we’ll go for it and the risks that poses, I still expect it to be a tight and edgy affair, we’ve both had a good look at each other in the recent game and cancelled each other out. Admittedly Liverpool may rotate with Klopp not really being a “same again” kinda guy, plus, who knows, Little Phil may be gone by then too! So I will go for 1-2 for the Blues, but it could just as easily go the other way.
