By history Alright folks, settle in. Figured today I’d share how I actually went about getting a proper handle on Everton’s positions against Man United last weekend. Not some quick highlight reel nonsense – digging into the nitty-gritty, you know?
Starting with Nothing But Gut Feel
First off, I just watched the game live, like anyone else. Grabbed a drink, sat down, tried to watch like a fan. Not taking notes, just absorbing. Came away frustrated like most Toffees – felt like we were sitting way too deep, scared of United. Knew that much in my bones. But why exactly? That nagged me.
Admitting I Needed Help
Next day, the itch was still there. Scrolled through some ‘expert’ analysis online, and honestly? A lot of it felt like people just guessing. Stats thrown around without context – useless. Realized I needed to see it for myself properly, frame by frame. That meant getting my hands dirty. Grabbed my laptop, cracked open the full match replay. No shortcuts.
Playing Analyst Detective
Picked key moments where things felt tense: when United had the ball near our box, when we tried breaking out, set pieces. Kept hitting pause. I started mapping things out on a literal piece of scrap paper like some dinosaur. Drew circles for players, arrows where they moved. Forced myself to answer basic stuff:
- Where is Doucouré actually standing when they attack? Is he stuck covering full-back space?
- How far apart are Tarkowski and Branthwaite when pressed? Are they hugging the penalty spot?
- Is Onana just floating in midfield, or is someone glued to him?
Doing this over and over across different situations felt tedious, but holy crap, the patterns popped out.
The Grind & The Lightbulb Moment
Spent way longer than I’d care to admit rewinding and pausing. My wife walked in, saw my messy scribbles on the table, and just laughed. But then I saw it clearly: During sustained United pressure, our whole midfield line wasn’t just dropping back – they were collapsing into the centre-back space. Like four players trying to fill two spots! Made the full-backs look exposed and gave United’s wingers miles of room. That was the “too deep” feeling solidified. Also noticed Garner seemed confused about whether to stick wide or tuck in – left huge gaps.
Simple Tools, Simple Wins
Tried fancy tactics boards for five minutes, got annoyed. Stuck with my pen and paper scribbles – good enough. Didn’t need complex jargon, just needed to see the spaces we were giving away and where our bodies were clustered. Realized watching slowly, focusing on positions relative to each other – distance between players, how shapes shifted – told the true story way better than possession percentages ever could. Feeling pretty smug about that basic approach now.
Why Bother? Because it Changes Everything
Why waste hours on this? Honestly? Makes the game feel real. Now when someone moans “we defended too deep,” I see exactly how – which players bunched up, which spaces were left empty. It turns generic anger into specific understanding. Makes Dyche’s post-match comments (“We needed more compactness”) make actual sense, even if I might disagree with him on the day. It’s not genius. It’s just putting the work in. Highly recommend grabbing the replay and getting pause-button happy yourself.
