 Welcome to Toffy TV. Let's talk about Tom Davies. I feel like we've got to. I feel like it's an important subject around the Everton fan base at the moment. It's something... I don't know what the split is. I don't know what the divide is. I don't know even if there is a divide. What I know is on social media it's a big talking point. So let's talk about it. What? Let's talk about Tom. So Tom Davies, listen, we know last season he didn't have a good season. He didn't play particularly well in a lot of the games. Wasn't alone by the way but yeah. No he wasn't. Pre-season I thought he didn't really get going that much, wasn't used sort of in the first team. A lot he was sort of in the second teams. Season started obviously first game, unused and he's now played, he's now been part of the last four games, captaining the game against Rotterham in the League Cup. So what are your expectations of a 20-year-old squad player? It's difficult. My expectations are that he's good enough to be in the squad, hence why the manager picks him. He's not. Do I think he's the greatest midfiel player we've seen? No. Do I think he's got potential to get better? Yes. You know the thing, the worst thing Tom Davies ever did in a way was that goal against Man City. Brilliant as it was in that moment, it was fabulous because that gave some people, for me, unrealistic expectations. He got in the side just after Christmas to me under Cuman and the Christmas till the end of the season, the most of the time he was very good. Let's have it right, he was very good. Last season was a right off, he was poor. There was games when he was good, there was a lot of games when he was poor. But he wasn't alone, like I said before. This season, he's been a little bit like that in the pre-season, you weren't quite sure. But he's come out himself, the manager spoke highly of him, he's come out himself and said there was no plan for him under Cuman and all of that, so it was kind of just like get on with it. And he said Mark O Silver sat on down and said what do you think you are because this is what I think. And he's told them what he expects them to do now. I think he's been okay this season, he's not been amazing. He hasn't been as bad as people say, the same with what Michael Gean had at the start. Some people have made a decision on him and no matter what he does they're not going to change and that's the way I see it. But my expectation of him is, is he good enough to be in Everton squad 100%? Will he play in the midfield at Wonder League? Probably not. Can I say that in four years time? No, because I don't know how he'll develop. He might drop off and disappear. He might become better and better and better in a team with different players because players respond to different players around him. And that's where I am with him. I think he's a good player and at the minute, the other thing as well, the big thing is at the minute, there's not that many options anyway, so it's not like he's keeping out too well these. I think expectations are a strange thing because I genuinely think if he wasn't in the side, if he didn't play, there'd almost be times a clamor for him to play. And yet when he plays, people can't wait to slag him off. It's weird, you know what I mean? It's like the whole thing with Keir and Darl at the moment. There's a clamor to want to see him and it's like, or people are saying, but why didn't you play him instead of Tom Davies and stuff? And you're like, well, what if he has a few bad games? Are you suddenly going to start taining that on his head? I think a lot of people have weird expectations of where Tom Davies should be as a 20-year-old. But where ever can I? Because I look and I admit feel and I don't see loads and loads of talent. I see a player like Ghana, who's a good player, gets around the pitch well, but his passing is not great on it either. But he's better. He's good at his job, but he's an experienced at his job. It's his job. Snidelan, is he great? No, but when he plays well, he's effective of what he does. In fact, I've seen something of the data. It was passing of players in the midfield who was faster than I hit it and he was in the faster than I hit it column. So he obviously gets the ball and uses it and that's what he's in the team for. And when he's passed completion, it's 92%. When he's not in the team, you do see the difference of when he's not in the team because we don't have anyone else like him. Sigarton's further forward and he's a little bit more, he's different. He's obviously a more creative player. So Tom falls somewhere between all three of them, but he's not better than any of those three at what they do. Gomez obviously is injured and we haven't seen him yet. And you'd like to think, coming from Barcelona, he will be better than Tom. He should be better than Tom. So straight from the start, you're saying, well, Tom Davies is a squad player. That's what he is. And as a 20-year-old kid, that's what he'd expect. That's what he'd expect because there's plenty of other 20-year-olds who are not knocking on the doors or playing. If he plays, I think he's, as I say, it's because he falls between all of those three sort of positions because we've seen him last season playing higher at the pitch when he first come into the team. Yeah, loads of, you know, a few nice assists for Romelu Lukaku, getting on his feet, getting it forward. That's what we liked about him. And then he's sort of gone deeper and deeper and become more of a runner. And the manager up on the beat on the way out now, what he does, but while he's doing that, he's picking him. Four different managers have picked Tom Davies now. So they're all wrong. Well, I'm not saying all the judgments correct because we've seen by all the decisions, but the new manager's come in and he's got rid of a lot of players, but he hasn't got rid of Tom Davies. Now, that is decision. That's not anyone else's decision. He doesn't take into account that he's a local lad or anything. He takes into account what he's done, how many Premier League games has he played, and what is rolling in the team. The golden boy, the European nominations, a game. Yeah, but that's fair enough. I'm not going out, but I'm going to tell you this. A lot of people make decisions. A lot of people involve in football and make assessments on players as well. And so if they go, he's a good player, just because Jamie from Kirby in his bills doesn't think he is. That's the way it is. We're all different. We'll all have an opinion. I've got no problem with someone sat here going to me. I don't write him. He's average. I go for sand. He's not shit though. Stop calling him shit because he's quite clearly not. Do you know what I mean? You can have someone in your team who you can go, can we do better? Yeah. Doesn't mean they're not good enough to be part of the squad. I go back to Saturday's performance. Now, Tom Davies was not the worst player on the pitch for everyone on Saturday. Okay, I've gone his game by numbers. Well, let me just go on. Go through yours. Well, I'm just going to say the captain was, for me, was the worst player on the pitch on Saturday. Seamus Coleman was the worst player on the pitch. Now, we don't sit here and go, Seamus Coleman shite. He's garbage. He's rubbish. And Seamus Coleman hasn't played well in one game for me this season. But what I will say is because of what he's done before, we have the proof that we think he will come good. He's had slow start before. Generally, Seamus doesn't start the season very well, but he grows into it and he gets better. Tom's at the other end of the spectrum where you're right to people are saying, oh, he's living off a false position because of some games he's played in. But the manager wasn't around when that game, he doesn't go back to that game. Maybe we can go your start because of that game. And I just find the abuse more than anything else, just baffling. I think it's weird. Go on, use it. Well, I've got the three games he's played. I've got the stats for that. And I know, listen, stats can be anywhere you want them, but they're still there. And they're there for you to look at and use. So Salt Anthony came on when Snidelam went off, all right? He completed his pass completion was 87.9%, received the ball 25 times. So if you're completing almost 88% of your passing, you're not giving the ball away, which is something that people tell you that he does. Three out of three in the defensive third, middle of the park, 22 out of 25 completed, and the attack on day four out of five. Sure passes, 29 out of 30 to 11 forward passes, completed out of 13, 15 out of 16 backward. Take-ons completed at one. Ball recovery, seven, more than any other player on the pitch. One 50% of his tackle was only two clearances. Compared with Ghana, who played that day, 80% pass rate, receivable 35 times where he played the full game. Ball recovery is four. So Davis won the ball back in less time more than Ghana. Ghana had to be fair to Ghana four out of four tackles, which is what you'd expect from one clearance. That was Salt Anthony. Bournemouth, his pass rate went down, but again, 10 men, and we had less of a ball. 71% pass completion rate, but received the ball 36 times, which is one of the top numbers of Everton players that day. 16 out of 25 completed, six out of six defensive passes. 17 forward passes, completed almost half of them. Won six out of eight tackles, seven ball recoveries again. And then finally, Huddersfield at the weekend. 89.7% pass completion rate. He was in the top four players of the whole game, and he was top overall Everton players, so he was in the top four. He received the ball 48 times in the game, which was in the top three. Completed six out of his seven passes, and defensively, completed 39 out of 41 in midfield, and completed seven out of 10 in his attack on third. Created one chance. 18 out of 24 of his passes completed going forward. 11, 11 passes square. 13 out of four headers, four ball recoveries. 50% of his tackles completed two out of two clearances. My only criticism of Adam's the weekend, zero shots. And I expect more from a player that's expected to get forward. Those numbers of his first three games are comparable with anybody in those games. Yes, away from home, 71% pass completion ain't great, but we have 10 men, a little bit different. But it's two home games, 88% and almost 90% pass completion. Doesn't give the ball away. So when people go, he doesn't pass it forward. More than a third of his passes are forward. So it's that kind of thing where there's like a, there's this almost preconception that's on David's, I feel, of people going into a game. Now people are looking, go look, you can have your stats. I'll say what I see with my eyes. Yeah, that's fine. And that's fine, but he's not any worse than anybody else in my opinion so far in the scene. No, and that's fine. And I did the same. I looked at Naby Cater's stats of his game so far. And the reason I picked him was because he's this player that Liverpool fans and media are raving about. And I didn't pick him because I expected Tom Davis' stats to be better. But I picked him because I thought, well, he's someone who's come in who they're raving about. Everyone's loving him. And yet we've got a section of our fans who are hyper critical about Tom. And there was a piece of paper's width between them. In fact, Tom was better in some categories. And where Cater was better was again like passing, I think Tom on average was something like 82% passing. Where Cater was like 85. You know, she's talking, talking nothing, nothing. A little bit more, you know, Kate and a bit more attention. We don't want a player who moved to Liverpool for 60 odd million pound, who's, you know, 24, whatever he is, a bit more experienced than him. You know, that's what I, that's what I can sort of get me head around is that is that, you know, people aren't willing to, to give them a chance. Because for me, it's like the whole team. You've got to let it settle down for a bit and then see where we are. And I don't, I don't quite understand that. I understand if he, if he's a 25 year old lad who's played for four years and he's still making the same mistakes he made when he was 20, then I understand that or players that you've bought for big money that you just don't fancy or players at the other end of the career or whatever. I understand that, but for a 20, 20 year old lad to just be making the judgments that you're just, you're just not good enough and you shouldn't be anywhere near our team and you need to go on loan to a championship team. Because I was that going to help, by the way. Um, I don't, I don't fully understand it. No, I don't care, I don't care at Mishathor. We almost need, I've said it before, it's about judging everybody. When everyone's fit and this manager's been here for a while, it was all, it was a reset button that needed pressing in the summer and everyone, look at the team so far. We play five games, we're unbeaten. Yeah. And the only, until Saturday, Bratialiswm's the only difference. The weekend, we've had Lucas Diney and Kate Tumerin. We've lost Bratialiswm, but nine of them are still the same players that were there last season. We've got eight and nine injured out of the squad at the weekend. Tom Davis is in, is one of 11 lads on the pitch. We haven't won the game. We didn't, not win the game because of Tom Davis. We didn't win the game because we didn't play well enough in the second half. Did he play well enough in the second half? Probably not. But Denlyder did other players. Yeah. Well, let's go on to the final point. And this one annoys me more than anything. This idea that Tom Davis shouldn't be given any slack because he's a local lad. Bollocks, bollocks. He should be given slack because he's a local lad. He should be, because I don't care where you're from or who you are. You should be given, you should be given every chance to a local lad as far as I'm concerned because local lads seem to get it more than anyone else. But the thing about it is they're living out the dream that we wanted to live out. They're living that. He's an evertonian. He's been brought up a blue. He understands the challenges. He understands the pressures. And for me that, I don't know him. But I imagine that much way heavily on him. He's a local lad. He lives in the city as well. He's always in the city. We've seen the videos of him playing football and skateboard and all these mad things. But he's around the city. So he's not stupid. He's going to know there's a lot of criticism. And okay, he seems like a very level-headed lad. And you know, when I've had the chance to speak to him and stuff seems really laid back. But you don't know how that's going to affect them. And if he's hearing the same people who cheer him and you know, he first came into the team and he was doing all those things and everyone's, oh, he's a blue, he gets it. So when he's not playing well, why not have the same idea for him and go, oh, he's a blue. We've got to, you know, we've got to rally round them because he's one of us. Why don't we do that rather than everyone go, ah, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if he's a local lad. Why should he get any more dispensation of us or whatever just because he's a local lad? Yeah, when he's doing well, when he's scored a goal, he's one of us. When he kisses the badge, he means it because he knows it and all that. I don't understand that. I don't understand why you don't tell your man and go, well, he is one of us. So let's look after him. And you know what? He'll know more than anyone the pressures are playing for everyone in football club. Because he's watched and he's seen and he knows. And he knows every day how much that weighs on him. And I honestly think it's the score. I honestly hate that argument. Hate it or he shouldn't get any more. Why should he get any more? Well, we've had a book launch this week with Ronnie Godless who's never brought up an Evertonian. He was lucky enough to play for the club. Ken Rodgers done the dingham and there's an Evertonian as well and said, we'd have all love to do it. And you do and you take that to heart. And from Davies, his family of blues, he wants to do as well as he can for Everton. He's playing in a new team with new ideas and new system. Everyone was damaged by Allardice last year. Everybody, everybody by that way. Everyone was damaged by the whole thing. Not just Sam Allardice, not laying it on Sam Allardice. Because Ronald Cooman done probably waste damage, then probably got Sam Allardice done in some respects. But yeah, Cooman picked them. Wonsred picked them. Allardice picked them. Silver's picked them. Martin has picked them. People forget. Martin has put them in me when he was 17, knowing you're not in the baron. When you're doing clwyty in our box at 17. You know, the kid is, he's a kid. I want him more than anyone to do well because he's a local lad. So he does mean something. Why wouldn't you want an Evertonian who's being brought up a blue to be the best player on your team? Do I think he's the best player on our team now? No. As he got the potential to be? I don't know. But he's a good footballer and therefore I expect his education to continue to grow as a footballer because you know, baron, and I'm talking, you know, infinitesimal amount of players who you can see at 18 and 19 and go well star, well star. The rest of them grow into me, grow into me. You can look and go, he's got a bit of something and then sometimes those players stagnate a bit and then they come back strong and they go boom, boom, boom and they keep rising. Others are based onto the scene and you go, gonna be a massive player in me and it doesn't quite happen for them. Tom Davis, I think in the middle of that, I think he's a good, young, steady footballer at the moment and he's playing in Everton Football Club midfield at the age of 20 in the cup game. He was in charge of that midfield at the age of 20, helping care and dial through the game. You're right. If he comes from London, he shouldn't be given less slack than Tom Davis. If you've got a laugh from, like, Luchman, frag me and say, and I don't want to turn this into Luchman v Davis because I want them both to be brilliant for us as I want every Everton player. But that kid has, in my opinion, disrespected Everton all summer. Yeah. All summer. And he got a welcome. That blew my mind. I don't mind people clapping him. They cheered a roar and you're like, this isn't a kid that's going off in an injury or has been like, I love this club. Fucking wanted to go. This is a lad that's made himself unavailable for games because he's a bit, he's hamstrings a bit of a, you know. So let's just re-center everything and go look. Let's get behind every player. That's great. Get behind Luchman if you want. Get behind Tom Davis. Get behind John Joe Kenny. You write about Sherryman's Colm, he's stung the place out of the weekend. Terrible. Absolutely terrible. Been terrible in the opening four games. But we know that he will get back to his thing. You know, get back to it. James Coleman based on the scene, had to go out on loan, come back, base back on and people were like, I'm still not quite sure and he's gone better and he's gone better and he's gone better. And that's what you hope for. You hope that Tom will get this experience. Will he be quick and be able to base all over the pitch? Probably not because he's probably not going to get any quicker at 20. But will he be cleverer? Can he play? Does he always want the ball? Yes, he doesn't go hiding. He doesn't go and stand behind other players and go, I'm going to give it to me. Which you see Morgan Snideland do last season by the way. He's not doing it this year, but he did it last year. He didn't want the ball. I don't want it. And you have a quack in it. So I just think people are entitled to their opinion and I wouldn't say any difference. See, judge on what you see. But let's remove the shite brigade and the animosity towards him. And let's go. You know what? I, in my opinion, I don't know whether he's going to be good enough but let's back him while he's on that pitch. And you know if we do that. Because what are his team mates going to be thinking? What's going on with coming from Barcelona who's already said the pressures at Barcelona messed them up because there was too much criticism coming here, sat in the stands and Aaron Davis trying to play a forward pass. You've heard the numbers. He didn't lose the ball in our half. He didn't lose it at all. I think once against Huddersfield, he lost the ball off the three games. The only ball he's lost in our half. When he gives you the way, he's forward pass and trying to get us in. So don't criticise someone who's trying to get us up the pitch. If you don't rate him, that's fine. Everyone's entitled. But let's just go. You know what? Let's back these lads and see where we're going. And in two years if Tom's still doing like you said, making those same mistakes, then people can turn around and go, I knew that two years ago. I wasn't going to get any better because I've seen it. But do you honest, you know people can honestly believe he doesn't want to go out and be the best player. You see him talking about the captain. See he couldn't believe it. He's the captain. So let's back them all. Let's get behind Towson. Let's get behind Sheamus who needs us because he's struggling. And let's see what we're doing. Let's see how far we go with it. And he might never meet the heights, but you know what? You can't tell me. You know what his career is going to do because nobody knows? No. Nobody knows. So that's where I'm at, where he's a squad. At the moment, he's part of our squad. Do you think people backed Cuckumarty in the last year. He's one of the worst footballers I've ever seen in my life. Did I boom at the match? No. Did it go on Twitter and go, I said I've seen better. But he played and while he played, I was like, come on lad. Get behind him as much as you can. And I think that's what we all need to do. For all of our plays, not just Tom. I know this is about Tom, but I think he's been over-criticised. I think people judge him harshly than they do with the players. But let's just back out all of them. Let's just see where we go with it because it's a bit of shit if we don't. I just don't see what the benefit is of criticising a 20-year-old kid who's trying to do his best for everything. Not everything he does comes off. And you know what? And when players are back fit, he might be on the pitch and then he might be chomping to get on the pitch. And his level might go up again. And he'd be training every day to be better to get in the team. But at the moment, he's playing and he's in there because there's no one else available. And the manager trusts him. He's away with England as well. So all these people can't be wrong, can they? All these people who keep picking them for things. And it's about... You've just said the word, they trust. And that's what it's about. I trust Marco Silva. I 100% trust him as he made some mistakes. Yeah, will he make more? 100% he will. Same as Tom. But I trust him. And it's due to him at the moment. Ey, cos there might be necessity. But be. Says Tom Davis, he's playing and he believes in him. So that's good enough for me. Same with Caren Dalgett, a chance or Dominic Calvert-Lewan, or Neath. And the other thing I'd say is the manager had a good look at the whole squad in the summit and decided Mo Bessage wasn't good enough. And Tom Davis wasn't... Vlassid. Yeah, Vlassid. He said he made his decision on those plays. He said they're not good enough. These are good enough. And Tom was one of those plays. He trusts him. He's given the anabem for the gaming. Who's to say? Sorry, this is the last thing I'm going to say. But who's to say Tom Davis isn't absolutely brilliant at Finch Farm every day. And the little bit of the weight of expectation is hindren him a little bit. Who's to say that? Cos he keeps getting picked if he's that poor according to some people. He wouldn't be in the team at the weekend. So that's all I'm going to say. Let's back him and see where we go. Yeah, let's get behind him. And as I said, even more so cos he's a local lad. Even more so. You should want them to... You should want those players to be local three or four of them. I want John Joe Kenny to eventually take shame as his place cos he wants to get it and he's a blue. And that I do. And let's not say that you should all be Evertonians but it's nice when you've got two of them. I've stayed the idea of like Tom's family if it was our family or... You know what I mean? And they haven't to see that criticism of their lad. It is unjust in my opinion. And he's just trying to do his best for the club. So... Anyway, let us know your thoughts in the comments. Be nice. Be nice. Be... If you want to be critical, be critical. But do it in a constructive way. But if you don't rate him, we're not saying you should rate him. But what we're saying is there's ways and people will to be local. We will go look. I don't abuse him but I just don't think he's good enough. That's fine. That's fine. But I just... I think he gets judged a bit harsher than other players. That's all. But... Yeah. I should... Let us know your thoughts in the comments. Thanks for watching. We'll see you later.