Everton Independent Research Data
Everton FC's Leighton Baines is confident the Blues will not be distracted by Arsenal’s pursuit of Phil Jagielka
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 1 2011
LEIGHTON BAINES says Everton will not be distracted by the speculation over Arsenal’s pursuit of Phil Jagielka.The Gunners have yet to make a second offer for the 28-year-old after their opening £11m bid was rejected by the Goodison board last week. Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood said at the weekend the North London club will return with an improved offer, believed to be in the region of £15m.And Arsene Wenger sent a scout to run the rule over Jagielka on Saturday as he played the first 45 minutes of Everton’s 2-1 friendly win over Birmingham City at St Andrews.But while Baines is not surprised his fellow England international has attracted such attention, he is confident the ongoing transfer saga will not affect Everton’s preparations for the new season.He said: “It’s not unsettling, really. In some respects, we are a club that doesn’t get a lot of speculation. I’m sure there are other clubs that have a lot more going on in the rumour mill.“Personally I don’t really follow it. But it’s not a surprise to me that a top club would want somebody like Phil. He is fantastic and one of the top three of four defenders the country has got.“We as players would like to hold on to him if we can. We just have to pay not too much attention to it and not get involved with it, we just have to keep on doing our jobs.”There are concerns Jagielka’s situation could mirror that of Joleon Lescott, who left for Manchester City two years ago following a protracted transfer that left David Moyes with little time to find replacements. But Baines added: “What happened a couple of years ago didn’t affect us. I think it was just used as an excuse, in all honesty.“Joleon wasn’t a bad egg at that time, he got on with his job and worked really hard. It was just the two clubs dragging things out trying to get the best deal for themselves, it was nothing to do with the player. At the time, some of us used it as an excuse.”Baines also believes moving to Everton has helped both himself and Jagielka become regulars in the England set-up, and said neither would have to move on to progress their hopes under Fabio Capello.“This club has given us the platform to get in and around the squads,” said the left-back. “Although we aren’t what you consider regular internationals, we’ve had the chance to get looked at here.”Everton could turn to Birmingham’s Liverpool-born central defender Scott Dann or Blackburn Rovers defender French powerhouse Chris Samba, if Jagielka does leave.Baines scored a trademark free-kick on Saturday and Louis Saha marked his first appearance since March with a goal shortly after replacing Baines from the bench, before Adam Rooney netted a late consolation for the hosts.It was a third win in four pre-season outings for Moyes’s men, who take on Werder Bremen in tomorrow before completing their warm-up programme at home to Villarreal on Friday And Baines said: “It was a good work-out against a good standard of opposition.“Birmingham have only just come out of the Premier League and I thought they looked really good. They are probably a little bit ahead of us in terms of preparations.“And it’s a big plus for us to get Louis back and I’m sure he’s feeling good about it as well. “
We’ll block out Phil Jagielka speculation says Everton FC’s Leighton Baines
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 1 2011
LEIGHTON BAINES is confident Everton will not be affected by the speculation surrounding Phil Jagielka’s future. Arsenal had a £12million bid for Jagielka rejected by the Goodison outfit last week as Arsene Wenger looks to bolster his centre-back options. Gunners chairman Peter Hill-Wood intimated at the weekend the Londoners will return with an improved offer, said to be in the region of £15m. Jagielka was watched by Arsenal scouts on Saturday as he played the first 45 minutes of Everton’s 2-1 friendly win at npower Championship side Birmingham City. And with Baines not surprised his fellow England international has attracted such attention, he has dismissed fears the ongoing transfer saga could overshadow Everton’s preparations for the new campaign. “It’s not unsettling, really,” said the left-back. “In some respects, we are a club that doesn’t get a lot of speculation. I’m sure there are other clubs that have a lot more going on in the rumour mill.
“We are one of the least affected clubs in terms of transfer speculation. Personally I don’t really follow it. “But it’s not a surprise to me that a top club would want somebody like Phil. He is fantastic and one of the top three of four defenders the country has got.“We as players would like to hold on to him if we can. We just have to pay not too much attention to it and not get involved with it, we just have to keep on doing our jobs.”There are concerns Jagielka’s situation could subsequently mirror that of Joleon Lescott, who left for Manchester City under a cloud two years ago following a protracted transfer.But Baines added: “What happened a couple of years ago (with Lescott) didn’t affect us. I think it was just used as an excuse, in all honesty.“Joleon wasn’t a bad egg at that time, he got on with his job and worked really hard.“It was just the two clubs dragging things out trying to get the best deal for themselves, it was nothing to do with the player. At the time, some of us used it as an excuse.”Baines also believes moving to Everton has helped both himself and Jagielka become regulars in the England set-up. “This club has given us the platform to get in and around the squads,” said the left-back. “Although we aren’t what you consider regular internationals, we’ve had the chance to get looked at here.”As a contingency plan should Jagielka depart, Everton are keeping tabs on a number of centre-backs including Birmingham’s Scott Dann and Blackburn Rovers’ Chris Samba.Baines was on target with a trademark free-kick on Saturday as Everton overcame an indifferent first-half performance to beat Birmingham 2-1.Louis Saha marked his first appearance since March with a goal shortly after replacing Baines from the bench, before Adam Rooney netted a late consolation for the hosts.It was a third win in four pre-season outings for Moyes’s men, who take on Werder Bremen in Germany tomorrow before completing their warm-up programme at home to Villarreal on Friday And Baines said: “It was a good work-out against a good standard of opposition.“Birmingham have only just come out of the Premier League and I thought they looked really good. They are probably a little bit ahead of us in terms of preparations.“We have got a busy week coming up with two more games to come, so hopefully the start of a good week.“And it's a big plus for us to get Louis back and I'm sure he's feeling good about it as well. “
Steve Round says Everton’s match at Birmingham was the ideal work out
Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 1 2011
Steve Round says Everton’s match at Birmingham was the ideal work out
STEVE ROUND believes Carling Cup holders Birmingham City gave Everton the ideal workout at the weekend.Everton continued their promising pre-season with a 2-1 victory over the npower Championship side at St Andrew’s on Saturday.However, the Goodison outfit had to withstand heavy pressure during the first half before two goals in five second-half minutes from Leighton Baines and Louis Saha sent the visitors on their way to a third win in four warm-up games.And assistant manager Round said: “It was a tough first half and I thought we looked a little bit lethargic coming off the back of a hard week's training and a tour in the US which maybe left a little bit in the legs.“But once we got through that I thought we controlled the second half and ran out deserved winners.“I thought first half they caused us a few problems, they looked bright and lively and had some good movement.“It was a great game for our defenders and for Tim Howard because if you control the game for 90 minutes you never get worked and we know in the first game against Spurs we are going to get worked.”Perhaps the only negative for Everton was Adam Rooney’s late consolation strike, which means David Moyes’s side have yet to keep a clean sheet this pre-season.They continue their preparations with a clash against Werder Bremen in Germany where Round is hopeful of addressing that shortcoming. “We thrive off clean sheets at Everton, it is part of our mantra and we are disappointed to concede the odd goal here and there,” he said.“But our defence is pretty solid and we defend as a team so it was a little bit disappointing that we couldn't go on and finish the game 2-0 or maybe get a third.“But it's been a good workout in hot circumstances and I was impressed with Birmingham, they'll be a handful in the Championship this season."Yakubu, who played the final 20 minutes at the weekend, had a race against time to be involved at St Andrew's.While the Everton party travelled down to the Midlands on Saturday morning, the Nigerian was present for the birth of his second child.Yakubu insisted on then making the journey south to link up with his team-mates at just after 2pm.
Everton FC beat Birmingham City 2-1 at St Andrew’s
Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 1 2011
IF Evertonians think their club has major problems, then at the weekend came a reminder of what can happen to those who truly become caught up chasing the dream.As a section of the travelling support continued their demonstration against Goodison owner Bill Kenwright, their Birmingham City counterparts had even greater reason for obvious disgruntlement.“We want Carson out!” came the cry from the few thousand that turned up to watch their side become the latest victims of an increasingly encouraging pre-season – at least on the field – for David Moyes’s visitors.Later came the more jocular “we’ve only got one ball” – referencing the sole matchball that continued to be circulated throughout the game – but the message was no less pointed.Birmingham fans are not happy. Less than six months after lifting the Carling Cup, only their second major honour in their history, the St Andrew’s outfit stand teetering on the brink, relegated from the Premier League, their manager having joined bitter neighbours Aston Villa and star players leaving in their droves.Fingers are pointing at chairman Carson Yeung, not least for failing to live up to his promise of transfer funds as Birmingham struggled in vain to avoid the drop, but the Hong Kong businessman is otherwise obtained having been arrested in his homeland following allegations of money-laundering.Ask any Birmingham fan whether that Wembley triumph against Arsenal has been worth all the subsequent despair, it’s unlikely many will answer in the affirmative.Indeed, the talk around St Andrew’s is the club are treating the subsequent Europa League campaign as an inconvenience – Evertonians will rightly read that sentence and weep.It hasn’t just been the Midlanders, though. Portsmouth, too, splashed the cash to win the FA Cup in 2008 and reach the final again two years later, only to drop out of the top flight and then almost the Football League altogether.Both clubs were taken over by foreign owners, whose initial boasts and successes ultimately unravelled as the shaky foundations on which they were built were gruesomely exposed.Everton fans pining for overseas investment should be careful what they wish for. Indeed, the perils of a change in ownership could be seen a lot closer to home than Birmingham.Sometimes it’s better the devil you know, and for all of the justified grumbles Evertonians aim at Kenwright and the board, no-one can truly doubt they have, by and large, the best interests of the club at heart.Everton are not a club in crisis. That, though, doesn’t make it any easier for supporters who are forced to watch as their main rivals continue to speculate to accumulate as the Goodison outfit remain inert, steadfastly refusing to spend money they simply don’t have.With Arsenal now knocking firmly on the door for Phil Jagielka, it may soon transpire that Moyes is given access to funds to bolster his squad – but only through the sale of the leading players he is fighting tooth and nail to keep at the club.Mindful of the Joleon Lescott saga that hung heavy over the start of the season two years ago, Moyes won’t entertain any disruption so close to the Premier League opener at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday week.Not with his Everton team slowly but surely building their way towards that White Hart Lane showdown.The lack of summer upheaval, while dull for supporters, has at least meant Moyes’s men could prepare for the season without the need to bed in a clutch of new faces, with Everton given a stern test on Saturday by an unfamiliar Birmingham side determined to impress new manager Chris Hughton.At times in the first half it seemed the Midlanders would succeed as Tim Howard, making his first outing of pre-season, saved well from Chris Burke, Adam Rooney and Jordon Mutch while John Heitinga was forced to clear off the line.But having drawn the sting from their hosts, Everton’s greater class told as they landed the knockout blow with two goals in five second-half minutes.The first, on 58 minutes, was as impressive as it was predictable. Only one thing was on the mind of Leighton Baines as he lined up a free-kick 20 yards from goal.However, Birmingham’s new goalkeeper Boaz Myhill was perhaps the solitary person in the ground not to notice the obvious, his poor positioning inviting Baines to curl home inside the near post.Baines was promptly replaced by Louis Saha, making his first outing since a season-ending foot injury in March. And the striker took only moments to mark his return with a goal by dispatching a fine low drive to Myhill’s right from the edge of the area.The sight of Saha instantly rediscovering his touch will have been a huge relief for Moyes, who must now be tempted to wrap the Frenchman in cotton wool.Although missing the ill Jack Rodwell and both Mikel Arteta and Marouane Fellaini unavailable, Everton could at least welcome back the fit-again Tony Hibbert while Ross Barkley - who had played 71 minutes the previous night in the reserves' 1-0 defeat at Oxford United - sparkled during a second-half cameo.The only negative for Moyes was the failure to keep a clean sheet, with Rooney netting a consolation for the hosts 12 minutes from time.“We’re gonna win the league!” sang the away supporters during the closing moments as the anti-Kenwright banner unveiled before the game dissipated from memory.Just a dream? Most probably. But one Everton, despite everything, are better positioned to chase than many other clubs.
Birmingham City fans call for Carson Yeung to quit
by Kat Baldwyn, Birmingham Post
Aug 1 2011 (Birmingham Post)
Fans of Birmingham City Football Club vented their anger in a protest ahead of Saturday’s pre-season friendly with Everton – calling for Carson Yeung to quit the Blues boardroom.About 80 fans, some waving banners, gathered in the car park before the game chanting “save our club” and calling for more fans to join them.David Benson, from Small Heath, said: “We are protesting because we love the club and we want it to still be around when our children grow up. But at this rate it won’t.“Carson has robbed us,” he claimed. “He’s sold players and it’s just not on, we want him to go.”Mr Benson, aged 33, added: “It’s not right that people come from abroad and take over clubs, it’s ruining football and it must be stopped.”Jen May, from Kings Heath, said: “The only option is for him to go. We can’t just wait for the club to be run into the ground, we have to act now.“We are loyal supporters, we have been with the club thick and thin and we want what’s best for it. This isn’t it.“There are questions that need answering but ultimately the right thing is for Carson Yeung to go. I think that’s the view most true fans have and we will be doing our best to make sure that happens.“The protests are peaceful but they will get the message across sooner or later. It’s just a matter of time.”Organiser Kevin Roberts, aged 45, said the protests would be repeated at every home game until Yeung steps down. Mr Roberts, from Yardley, said: “We have had a pretty horrendous time and have seen the decline of the club since Carson Yeung arrived.“We are seeing the sale of our best players and Yeung is facing very serious criminal charges.”Lifelong fan Dennis Arbury, aged 54, from Erdington, added: “I’ve seen the club go through good times and bad times.“This is definitely one of the worst times. What’s happening is wrong, Yeung isn’t doing what’s best for the club or the fans. I hope he listens to our message – he needs to go.”
All change for Blues after Everton loss
Monday 1st August 2011, (Express and Star)
Birmingham manager Chris Hughton is unlikely to stick with the 4-5-1 formation used in the 2-1 defeat to Everton.New-boy Adam Rooney was on the mark at St Andrew’s, as the Premier League visitors endured a testing afternoon against Blues in Saturday’s pre-season friendly.The summer signing from Inverness Caledonian Thistle was the only striker available to Hughton with Marlon King, Cameron Jerome and Nikola Zigic out injured.And Hughton, who takes his side to Derby County for their Championship opener on Saturday, admitted that hampered his team selection.The Blues boss said: “I looked at what we had got and, with our three main strikers out injured and what we’ve got in the middle of the park, it was an opportunity to play the three of them.“It is not a system that I always use but I think you have to be flexible.”Goals from Leighton Baines and Louis Saha put Everton in control but Hughton was pleased with his side, who pulled one back through Dublin-born Rooney late on.The manager added: “We kept the ball very well and I think with the system that we played we were still able to create chances.”
Birmingham 1 Everton 2
31 Jul 2011 (The Sun)
LEIGHTON BAINES insists Arsenal target Phil Jagielka is one of England's top defenders. The Gunners, who had a scout at St Andrew's, are weighing up a £15million bid for Jagielka after a £13m offer was rejected by Everton. Baines, who opened the scoring, said: "It's no surprise to me. He's one of the top three or four defenders this country has." Sub Louis Saha made it 2-0 before Adam Rooney pulled one back for City.
Everton FC Ladies boss Mo Marley eager to keep up winning run
by Neil Jones, Liverpool Echo
Aug 2 2011
MO MARLEY is hoping her Everton Ladies team can maintain their recent good form as they look to mount a challenge at the top of the FA Women’s Super League.The Blues recorded their fourth successive league win on Sunday with a 3-1 triumph over much-fancied Arsenal at Marine’s Arriva Stadium, having beaten local rivals Liverpool in midweek.A win at leaders Birmingham City on Thursday would put Everton within five points of the top of the table, and Marley’s side also boast a game in hand.It is quite a turnaround considering they won just one of their opening five fixtures prior to the mid-season break. “To beat Arsenal comprehensively with key players missing and regular changes to the squad shows how far we've come on and how much potential we've got,” Marley said.“We can't just say we've beaten Arsenal and that's it, it's now about the squad moving on for the next game and the future.” “Everyone says that we've got the best squad and the best team.“This game has shown the strength of our squad, players came in and the ones that played previously have done a job for the team.“We've won games and we've done what we've needed to do to get the points and that's no different today – credit to everyone who has played a part.”
Everton FC prepare for Werder Bremen test
by Neil Jones, Liverpool Echo
Aug 2 2011
For a group of sixteen students from the industrial city of Bremen, North-West Germany, the answer was as simple as the prize. You head back into the playground and create a football club.It was February 1899, and the sporting boom was well under way in Germany. Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (or SV Werder Bremen) were not to be left behind, and the multi-sport club was soon formed.Tonight, Everton will travel to the Weserstadion, a picturesque stadium on the bank of the Weser River, to face the modern version of the “Die Grün-Weißen” (“The Green and Whites”) in what promises to be an attractive pre-season friendly.The plus 42,500 stadium, a popular venue for pop concerts, is a far cry from those early days, when Bremen would play their matches on a cattle-field beside the Weser – with the cows they had evicted often acting as their only spectators. The name Werder Bremen is a direct reference to this; the word “Werder” is an old Germanic term which refers to a large piece of land next to a river.For Everton, tonight’s fixture – as well as Friday’s home date with La Liga side Villarreal - should be a decent barometer as to where David Moyes’ side is at, with the Premier League’s big kick-off just eleven days away.Bremen, led by the idealistic Thomas Schaaf, have plenty to prove this season. They may be Germany’s fourth most successful club, with four league Championships and six German Cups to their name, but Werder endured a miserable campaign last time around.They were eliminated from Europe before Christmas, suffering a heavy defeat to Tottenham along the way, and limped home 13th in the Bundesliga, having flirted with the bottom three as late as February.Everton, of course, are the fourth most successful side in English football history, and the two clubs have plenty more to bind them.Patience and belief in their managers for one. English football’s trigger-happy nature means David Moyes’ decade at Goodison Park is as rare as the support (if not financial backing) he receives at boardroom level, and Werder too have opted for the continuity route. The 50-year-old Schaaf is the archetypal “one club man”. A solid if unspectacular midfielder in his playing days, he joined the club as an 11-year-old apprentice, and has been employed by them ever since. He was coaching Bremen’s Under-17 side at the age of 26 and, following his retirement as a player in 1995, he worked his way up the ladder to assume the role of manager in 1999.His record since stands him out as one of the club’s best-ever. Only Otto Rehhagel, who famously guided Greece to glory at Euro 2004, has won more, and Schaaf’s sides are widely considered to have been far more pleasing on the eye than the more pragmatic Rehhagel’s. It is testament to the credit he has in the bank, and perhaps also the club’s resistance to change, that he should retain his job with little fuss despite last season’s shocking showing.Moyes, of course, knows all-too-well the pressures which come during a long stint at a club. Inertia, one and off the field, is the fear around Everton at the moment, and in that sense they may look longingly at Bremen’s set up.Werder, UEFA Cup finalists just two years ago, are the Bundesliga’s most financially-secure club, and were ranked 17th on the Forbes Football Rich List for 2011, with an estimated value of $279m. Everton, unsurprisingly, did not feature in the top 20. Personnel-wise, Bremen have enough quality to command the respect of Moyes and his side. German internationals Per Mertesacker, Clemens Fritz, Aaron Hunt, Tim Borowski, Tim Wiese and the highly-rated Marko Marin (pictured) provide a classy backbone, whilst Premier League fans (with good memories and sharp eyesight) will remember Claudio Pizarro, who had a spell with Chelsea. The Peruvian is the leading foreign goalscorer in Bundesliga history.They should be a wounded beast too, having been ignominiously dumped out of the German Cup by third division Heidenheim at the weekend. Marin missed a penalty in that match, but is the side’s key creative talent, the natural successor to Mesut Özil, who lit up the Weserstadion before moving to Real Madrid a year ago.Everton, of course, have enough to prove themselves. But their pre-season campaign so far has been largely successful. Saturday’s win at Birmingham was their third from four fixtures, and they can head to Germany knowing that a decent contest awaits.For Bremen, 2011/12 needs to be the season they awake from their slumber by the river.
Everton FC goalkeeper Tim Howard happy to have competition from Jan Mucha
by Neil Jones, Liverpool Echo
Aug 2 2011
TIM HOWARD admits Jan Mucha’s presence in the Everton squad provides welcome competition for the Goodison Park goalkeeper’s jersey.Howard made his first pre-season appearance during Saturday’s 2-1 win at Championship side Birmingham City, having been allowed an extended summer break following his exertions with the USA at the CONCACAF Gold Cup.In his absence, the Slovakian international Mucha had performed solidly during games with Bury, Philadelphia Union and DC United.Mucha is yet to make a Premier League appearance for the Blues, starting just two Carling Cup ties since his free transfer from Legia Warsaw last summer, but Howard says the 28-year-old’s presence will help keep him on his toes and avoid the dangers of complacency. “It’s important to have that competition,” said Howard (below). “Jan is a very good goalkeeper, he’s top quality. “Competition and pushing each other is important, we all need it and it’s part and parcel of football today.“You can’t really rest on your laurels you have to keep pushing yourself every season, because if you stand still you’re going backwards.” Howard admits that he still has a way to go before he is at top fitness. He survived unscathed for 78 minutes on Saturday before being beaten by Adam Rooney’s deft flick.The American is likely to feature in the Blues’ final two pre-season fixtures, against German outfit Werder Bremen tonight and then on Friday against Spanish side Villarreal, and says he hopes to be back in prime condition by the time the new league campaign begins on Saturday week.“I had a pretty comfortable save early on and that helped me get into the flow of the game,” added Howard.“Obviously talking, shouting, communicating and all the rest of it was important to get my feet back under me.“I’m not there yet but it was a good start and there’s definitely something to build on.” Skipper Phil Neville, meanwhile, believes Howard is one of the Premier League’s top ‘keepers.“He is fantastic for us,” said Neville. “When he first came over here he was inexperienced at Premier League level of course, but since he has come to Everton he has been so consistent.“He loves playing for Everton, and his performances with us have helped him on the international stage and he appreciates that. He is now the US number 1 and one of the most important players.“And you can see from his performances at the Gold Cup this summer how much it means to him to play for his country. He is prepared to play all summer long, and he clearly loves playing for the USA.“As a defender, you like to have a keeper behind you who makes you feel safe, and he always pulls out all the stops.”Everton take on Villarreal in their first home game of the pre-season this Friday (August 5) at 7:45pm and tickets are still available.Tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for juniors. To buy your ticket visit evertonfc.com/ eticketing, call 0871 663 1878 or drop into the box office at Goodison Park.
Everton FC latest: Fit-again Louis Saha has Europe on his mind
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 2 2011
LOUIS SAHA admits he was “like a kid” on his return to the Everton FC first team – and has set his sights high for the new campaign.Saha marked his first appearance for EFC in four months by scoring within three minutes of coming on as substitute in Saturday’s friendly victory at Birmingham City.The 32-year-old, who underwent ankle surgery in late March, is expected to continue his recovery with a run-out in tonight’s friendly against Werder Bremen in Germany.And the Frenchman is confident Everton can start the season with genuine hopes of ending their 16-year silverware drought.“Ambition is the main thing; we all want to win things and improve,” said Saha. “A trophy is what we are looking for.“We want to have a good run in the FA cup and Europe is a target as well. There is a desire here and all the players share that.”Of his 30-minute run-out at St Andrew’s at the weekend, Saha added: “It was really good to be back.“I am like a kid when I get back out on the pitch. I enjoy everything about playing, the banter, the fans. The older you get, the more you realise that. “I was just glad (the goal) went in. It is good to have competition. We are looking to push ourselves and if someone is doing well there are others looking to win that place.” Meanwhile, goalkeeper Tim Howard says he must work hard to retain his place following an encouraging pre-season from Jan Mucha.Howard was impressive on his first appearance of the summer at the weekend, with Mucha having played in the previous three.And Howard said: “It’s important to have that competition, Jan is a very good goalkeeper, he’s top quality.“Competition and pushing each other is important, we all need it and it’s part and parcel of football today.“You can’t really rest on your laurels you have to keep pushing yourself every season, because if you stand still you’re going backwards.”
Werder Bremen v Everton FC preview: Louis Saha is among Premier League’s best, says Leighton Baines
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 2 2011
LEIGHTON BAINES believes Everton FC will possess one of the best strikers in the Premier League if they can keep Louis Saha fit.Saha made his first EFC appearance since March at the weekend when netting in the 2-1 friendly win at npower Championship outfit Birmingham City.The Frenchman took only three minutes to find the target having emerged as a substitute on the hour.Saha had netted nine goals in 11 games since the turn of the year before his season was ended by an ankle problem that required surgery, with the striker spending part of his rehabilitation back in his homeland.And Baines acknowledges the 32-year-old’s availability could be crucial to a successful season for the Goodison outfit.“Louis is massive for us,” said the left-back. “You can see that whenever we have him on the pitch.“So it’s important for Louis to keep fit if he can. Obviously that’s not always in his own hands, but we know if we can keep him fit then we have one of the top strikers in the league.“Louis has been working really hard while we were off on our summer break.“Even before that, he has been putting himself through his paces and working back in France and coming over and continuing that.“He is giving himself the best chance by having a good fitness base to build from. Various players throughout their careers are more susceptible to muscle strains than others, and hopefully we can keep him fit.”Having played 30 minutes at St Andrew’s on Saturday, Saha can expect a further run-out this evening when Everton play their penultimate warm-up match against Bundesliga side Werder Bremen in Germany.And Baines reckons Saha’s ability to conjure something out of nothing makes him a nightmare for opposing defenders.“Over the years you talk to people in football, and for defenders he is one of those players they don’t want to play against because on his day he can be unstoppable,” said the England international.“He can just conjure something out of nothing, and every team needs that. My mind takes me back to a goal he scored against West Ham, I remember the ball going in to him and I started making a run, and the next second he had scored and I was like ‘oh, all right then!’“It was a goal totally unexpected, and that’s what he can do. He has that in his bag, to be able to produce a goal out of nothing all on his own.“He can do anything. He is quick, strong and is great in the air, and scores with both feet.”Everton will this evening aim to continue an encouraging run of pre-season form at the Weserstadion against Bremen, who competed in the Champions League last season but struggled to 13th place in the Bundesliga.And Baines hopes David Moyes’s men can maintain that momentum into the Premier League opener at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday week.“We’ve spoken a lot about making sure we get a good start, but we have to stop talking about it now and start doing it,” said the England international.“Obviously it has been an issue, but it’s down to us to try and hit the nail on the head this time and do something about it and give ourselves a reasonable platform to build on.“We have a small squad, but a really strong one as there is a lot of quality throughout. The majority of the players are internationals and good players for their countries.“It’s not a vast squad but it’s strong.“The majority of the players here, like myself and Jags, it’s at least our fifth season. Most of the others are on their third season, so we know each other really well now. “Sometimes when new players come in you have to give them time to gel and get used to the place.“That obviously isn’t the case for us right now, so hopefully that can help us start the season better than we have done in the past.”
Osieck puts 'unfit' Kewell on noticeAAP, The West Australian
August 2, 2011, (The Western Australia)
Socceroos boss Holger Osieck has left Harry Kewell out of his squad for next week's friendly with Wales because the playmaker is “not in very good shape”.While Osieck is hopeful Kewell will be fit for their World Cup qualifiers, the decision to leave him out will put the former Leeds and Liverpool star on notice.Uncontracted stars Kewell and Lucas Neill have maintained a training regime since being released by Turkish club Galatasaray - but only the latter was deemed fit for the clash in Cardiff a week on Thursday (WA time).“There is a slight difference between the two of them, one is fit and one was is not fit,” Osieck said on Tuesday after announcing his 18-strong squad.“Lucas has done a lot of work. He is in very good shape but Harry is not in very good shape.”Kewell also missed the home friendlies against New Zealand and Serbia in June.He appears to be racing the clock if he’s to play for Australia in the opening World Cup qualifier against Thailand early in September.“We all know what value Harry brings to the team. I am really hoping he will be in game shape for the qualifiers,” Osieck said. “He didn’t take part in the two games in June because he was not really fit. He had to undergo some sort of treatment.“He didn’t have full training in the meantime so he is definitely not in a position to play right now.”Harry Kewell is not considered fit enough by Socceroos coach Holger Osieck. Pic: Getty ImagesStars Tim Cahill and Mark Schwarzer return to the national line-up for the clash against world No.112 Wales.The English Premier League duo feature in Osieck’s squad along with striker Scott McDonald while Korea-based defender Luke DeVere gets his first call-up under the German mentor.DeVere slots into the squad for Sasa Ognenovski, who Osieck said was just coming back from an injury suffered in the South Korean league.Osieck said he did not consider striker Josh Kennedy due to a hectic club schedule in Japan.The other 14 players remain from the squad which played the home friendlies in June, with Brisbane Roar skipper Matt McKay the only current A-League player.Midfielder Brett Emerton is poised to to equal Alex Tobin as Australia's most-capped outfield player with 87 games.The Socceroos will assemble in Wales on Monday after completing weekend club commitments.
Socceroos squad: Tim Cahill (Everton, England), Luke DeVere (Gyeongnam FC, South Korea), Brett Emerton (Blackburn, England), Adam Federici (Reading, England), Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar, Holland), Mile Jedinak Crystal Palace, England), Neil Kilkenny (Bristol City, England), Robbie Kruse (Fortuna Dusseldorf, Germany), Scott McDonald (Middlesbrough, England), Matt McKay (Brisbane Roar), Lucas Neill (uncontracted), Mark Schwarzer (Fulham, England), Matthew Spiranovic (Urawa Red Diamonds, Japan), James Troisi (Kayserispor Kulubu, Turkey), Carl Valeri (Sassuolo Calcio, Italy), Luke Wilkshire (Dinamo Moscow, Russia), Rhys Williams (Middlesbrough, England, Michael Zullo (Utrecht, Netherlands)
Final whistle report: Werder Bremen 1 Everton FC 0
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 2 2011
EVERTON were sunk by a rare defensive lapse in the German port-town of Bremen, as a self-inflicted calamity marred an otherwise solid pre-season work-out. The Blues lost 1-0 to opponents further along in their summer preparations, but David Moyes will be pleased with the progressive challenge this entertaining tie with the Bundesliga side represented. Perhaps in rebuttal to the incessant rumour mill surrounding Phil Jagielka’s future, Moyes named the England defender as skipper, with Phil Neville on the bench. Jan Mucha was given an opportunity in goal as Tim Howard was rested, and the Everton boss showed his clear faith in 17-year-old Ross Barkley by handing the exciting academy prospect a place in the starting line-up. With the German season beginning on Saturday, Bremen coach Thomas Shaaf named a strong line-up, albeit while resting Bundesliga’s answer to Lionel Messi, the in-demand Marko Marin. Although the game began at a typical pre-season canter , both sides saw plenty of the ball and Barkley registered the Blues’ first chance with a thumping shot which tested Sebastian Mieltz, moments after he had put an over-lapping Tony Hibbert almost through on goal. Then Tim Cahill and Jermaine Beckford both had headed attempts as the first half developed into an open contest, while Bremen won a string of corners but were unable to trouble Mucha or the Toffees back four, defending solidly to a sound-track of ‘There’s Only One Jagielka’ chants from the travelling Blues behind them. And Jagielka was at his indomitable best, performing a typically brave block that denied Marko Arnautovic from opening the scoring, after a wonderful pass from Brazilian midfielder Wesley. Bremen could have been two up moments after though, when Arnautovic raced through but rolled a tame shot at Mucha. Suddenly the momentum was with the home side, and they edged in front when a mix-up between Mucha and Sylvain Distin allowed striker Sandro Wagner to head home off the Slovakian goalkeeper. The second half saw Mucha depart for the man whose place he is trying to dislodge, Tim Howard, as Louis Saha was also introduced for Victor Anichebe. With Everton’s sense of purpose sagging, Moyes curtailed another richly promising cameo from Barkley to add the pace of Seamus Coleman, while Hibbert swapped places with Neville. Leighton Baines produced the strike of the game to almost restore parity, a stinging rebounded volley from his own cleared free-kick, but Bremen’s extra pre-season minutes had already started to tell by then. And blue legs looked particularly heavy when Markus Rosenberg beat Everton’s off-side trap, only to waste a glorious one on one chance by firing wide. The contest petered out soon after with a swathe of changes by both managers hitting the tempo, and while Moyes will be unhappy with the result, he will still take positives from Jagielka’s focused display. A swift return of playmaker Mikel Arteta, with a lack of creativity Everton’s only other major worry, would help too.
BAINES: NO EXCUSES FOR EVERTON
August 3 2011 The Sporting Life
Leighton Baines does not believe Arsenal's pursuit of Phil Jagielka is any reason for Everton to make a slow start to the season. Arsene Wenger has already had a bid for the defender knocked back this summer but is said to be readying an improved £15million offer. The hunt for the England international has similar traits to Manchester's City's chase for Joleon Lescott two years ago, which eventually ended in his £22million sale. It led to a sluggish start to the campaign and Baines is insisting that whatever the club's transfer activity, the players should not allow themselves to be distracted. I thought it was a bit of an excuse that we used," Baines told the Daily Mirror. "Joleon wasn't a bad egg or anything like that. "It was probably the clubs actually who dragged it out to get the best deal for themselves. But we used it as an excuse at the time - some of us. "We've spoken about it (starting the season poorly) a lot, but we've just got to do it and stop talking about it. It has been an issue. "But it's down to us to hit the nail on the head this time. We have to do something about it." Baines and Jagielka have been seen their stock rise substantially over the last two seasons as they produced an impressive level of consistency. And in the case of the Everton central defender, Baines is not surprised that he is being coveted by one of the Premier League's better teams. He added: "It's not a surprise to me that a top club would want a player like Phil because he's fantastic. "He's one of the top three or four defenders that the country's got. It's no surprise. But we'd like to hold on to him if we can."
Werder Bremen 1 Everton FC 0: Phil Jagielka calms EFC storm in Germany
Liverpool Echo
Aug 3 2011
A SHIP’S horn greeted the goal that sunk Everton’s hopes of victory in Bremen, but with stand-in skipper Phil Jagielka still on deck at least the Blues can hope to avoid stormy waters. David Moyes’ men may have lost in this handsome port town thanks to a rare defensive lapse, but the signal of intent the manager made by handing Jagielka the captain’s armband will go some way to re-assuring supporters they are not set for another August when the rug is yanked from under their feet. With Arsenal’s ponderous pursuit of Everton’s England man dithering on, some fear a last-ditch sale may present Moyes with another unsettling headache akin to Lescott’s departure in 2009. And the 28-year-old’s performance neatly underlined his importance to the Royal Blue cause. The Gunners could still give Everton’s board pause for thought with an £18m bid, but at least Jagielka’s display showed no hint of a man preoccupied with the cost of property in North London. Rival fans teasingly suggest that Bremen smells of fish due to the sea, but the only thing that really whiffed at Weserstadion last night was the mix-up between Sylvain Distin and Jan Mucha that marred an otherwise solid work-out against quality opponents. Of course, Mikel Arteta’s return to fitness can’t come soon enough either. The doubt over his availability for the new season’s start is another Moyes could do without. Shorn of his eye for a pass and creative devilment, the Blues attacking play showed no obvious solution to their final third frustrations of last term. At least the Everton boss will have little doubt over one element of his team’s spine.
Mucha was given an opportunity in goal as Tim Howard was rested, and although the Slovakian international did little wrong, he is facing an uphill battle in gale-force winds to grab Tim Howard’s number one spot. There were further positives from Ross Barkley, the Everton boss showing his clear faith in 17-year-old by handing him a place in the starting line-up and even out of position on the right of midfield he shone again. Seemingly growing in physical stature by the day, Barkley is playing his way into consideration for the Premier League curtain-raiser against Spurs – especially in Marouane Fellaini’s continued absence.
With the German season beginning on Saturday, Bremen coach Thomas Shaaf named a strong line-up, albeit while resting Bundesliga’s answer to Lionel Messi, the in-demand Marko Marin. Although a typical slow early pre-season pace, both sides saw plenty of the ball and Barkley registered the Blues’ first chance with a thumping shot which tested Sebastian Mieltz, moments after he had put an over-lapping Tony Hibbert almost through on goal. Tim Cahill and Jermaine Beckford both had headed attempts as the first half developed into an open contest, while Bremen won a string of corners but were unable to trouble Mucha or the Toffees back four, defending solidly to a sound-track of ‘There’s Only One Jagielka’ chants from the travelling Blues behind them. And he was at his indomitable best to perform a typically brave block that denied Marko Arnautovic from opening the scoring, after a wonderful pass from Brazilian midfielder Wesley. And Bremen could have been two up moments after when Arnautovic raced through but rolled a tame shot at goal.
Suddenly the momentum was back with the home side, and they edged in front when a mix-up between Mucha and Distin allowed striker Sandro Wagner to head home off the goalkeeper. The second half saw Mucha depart for Howard, as Louis Saha was also introduced for Anichebe and the Frenchman hinted his own hard fitness graft this summer is beginning to bear fruit. With Everton’s sense of purpose sagging though, Moyes tinkered - curtailing another richly promising cameo from Barkley to add the pace of Seamus Coleman, while Hibbert swapped places with Neville. Leighton Baines produced the strike of the game to almost restore parity, a stinging rebounded volley from his own cleared free-kick, but Bremen’s extra pre-season minutes had already started to tell by then. Blue legs looked particularly heavy when Markus Rosenberg beat Everton’s off-side trap, only to waste a glorious one on one chance by firing wide. The contest petered out soon after with a swathe of changes by both managers hitting the momentum, and while Moyes will be unhappy with the result, he will still take positives from Jagielka’s focused display alongside Distin.
Partnerships as reliable as theirs are not easy to come across, something Moyes knows.
He may have used the eventual funds from Lescott’s sale to recruit Distin two season’s ago, but any new boys need time to settle and losing Jagielka so late in the summer could pathe the way for another dreaded slow start regardless of his replacement. A swift return of Arteta, with the lack of creativity Everton’s other major worry, would help ensure a smooth sailing too.
Everton FC fan groups join forces at The Blue Union to voice fears
Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 3 2011
FOUR Everton FC supporters’ groups have announced they are merging to form a campaigning umbrella body calling itself “The Blue Union”. Representatives from Evertonians for Change, Keeping Everton In Our City (KEIOC), The People’s Group and School of Science 1878 say they met last week to discuss issues they feel are blighting EFC, and have been for “a number of years”. These include queries regarding the valuation of the club, details about its financial state, and plans for a new stadium. Each individual faction will retain its independence, say the union. The People’s Group, formed by seven friends last month, claims to have more than 5,000 internet followers. It says it wants more details about Everton’s financial state and how the board plans to increase revenue streams, as well as who were previous parties interested in buying the Blues – and why a sale did not materialise. In response last month Goodison Chief Executive Robert Elstone released a blog addressing concerns. He insisted much hard work was going on behind the scenes and added: “While we are not blessed with a transfer ‘war chest’ and we’re acutely aware as custodians the long term security of the club is paramount, there is no lack of ambition or endeavour.” He stressed everyone at the club remained “flat to the floor” as they looked to move forwards. However, People’s Group spokesman Mark Jones said he still feels its key points are being missed or ignored. A Blue Union statement said: “It was decided the respective groups would pool their resources, their expertise and their know-how for the betterment of all things Everton, and also that a statement of intent would be circulated and invitations would be extended to all Evertonians who agree with our mutual aims.” The union says it will campaign on issues, not personalities and be open to all supporters/members of its constituent parts as well as ‘representatives from other like-minded groups of Evertonians’. It says it will ‘actively embark on a campaign to lobby local, regional and national media outlets to report on the true facts surrounding the stagnation of Everton, the lack of transparency and accountability’. It says it ‘wishes to assist the owner, chairman, board and the executive officers in their endeavours to attract investment and/or a takeover’.
Everton FC must ease expectations on starlet Ross Barkley says defender Tony Hibbert
Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 3 2011
TONY HIBBERT has warned against stifling Ross Barkley under the weight of expectations although he admitted it is impossible to hide his own admiration for the Everton FC starlet.
The veteran EFC defender played alongside Barkley, 17, for the first time during the Blues’ 1-0 friendly defeat by Werder Bremen at the Weserstadion last night, and enjoyed linking up with him down the right flank. Hibbert missed the club’s pre-season tour of America when Barkley was given his first taste of first team action, but the defender said he had received glowing reports on his progress from the dressing room. That potential was highlighted again last night with a bright 58-minute cameo against impressive Bundesliga opponents, but Hibbert insists Barkley should not suffer from too much premature hype. He said: “I haven’t seen much of him until tonight. He went to America and the lads told me how good he was over there even though he’s coming back from such a big injury. “But against Bremen and from what I’ve seen in training he’s a really bright lad. Football wise I think you couldn’t ask for any more from him, and he’s young and eager to work. It was a really good show from him and great experience. “It’s easy to forget he’s 17 and people shouldn’t get carried away saying he’s the next big thing. You can put too much pressure on a player – he’s so young and has a lot to learn but there’s no denying he’s some prospect for us.”
Hibbert said there was frustration with the strike Everton conceded against Werder, but was quick to defend the part deputy goalkeeper Jan Mucha played in the mishap that allowed Sandro Wagner to net the only goal of the game. “I wouldn’t say it was a major mistake,” he said. “He’s a goalkeeper and they always stand out if there’s a little slip up – equally if they pull of a worldie of a save. “I think we could have dealt a little better with the ball that came into the area. It got into the box too easily, and even if it looks like his fault I don’t think it was. “He’s got a tough task. He’s had a few games in America and he’s had a half here, but it’s difficult for him because Tim Howard is always going to be number one even though he’s a good goalie. We’ve seen how good he is in training.” Hibbert was otherwise pleased with the fitness boosting benefits of the work-out in Bremen, even if he accepted playmaker Mikel Arteta is being missed. The full extent of Arteta’s foot injury is still yet to be discovered, and for now David Moyes is not able to judge whether the Spaniard will be fit to start the season.
Hibbert said: “They had a lot of creativity. The two centre-forwards were good and the midfield were always changing. We missed Mikel keeping the ball for us and keeping things moving but you get injuries in football – we know that – and you have to deal with it and get on with it. “We have the game on Friday against Villareal and that’s when we’ll need to be sharper passing wise. “Obviously we’re playing as a team together again more and that’ll help more ideas come, but it was all about the fitness first and foremost. We played some football in patches and we wanted the result, but they’re a good side who are starting their season a week ahead of us.”
Everton's Tim Cahill back in Australia squad to face Wales but no place for ex-Liverpool FC winger Harry Kewell
Liverpool Echo
Aug 3 2011
AUSTRALIA have handed Middlesbrough striker Scott McDonald another chance but there is no place for former Liverpool player Harry Kewell in their 18-man squad to face Wales next week. McDonald was cut from the Socceroos squad on the eve of the last World Cup and has gone 24 games without scoring for his country, but gets another chance, while Kewell is absent while he tries to sort out his club future. Captain Lucas Neill, who is also yet to secure a club, is named to lead the squad, while Mark Schwarzer and Tim Cahill, who missed the two friendlies against Serbia and New Zealand, are back in the fold.
Everton FC fan groups launch Blue Union merger
by Neil Jones, Liverpool Echo
Aug 3 2011
FOUR Everton supporters’ groups have announced they are merging to form a campaigning umbrella body calling itself “The Blue Union”. Representatives from Evertonians for Change, Keeping Everton In Our City (KEIOC), The People’s Group and School of Science 1878 say they met last week to discuss issues they feel are blighting the club, and have been for “a number of years”. These include queries regarding the valuation of the club, details about its financial state, and plans for a new stadium. Each individual faction will retain its independence, say the union. The People’s Group, formed by seven friends last month, claims to have more than 5,000 internet followers. It says it wants more details about Everton’s financial state and how the board plans to increase revenue streams, as well as who were previous parties interested in buying the Blues – and why a sale did not materialise. In response last month Goodison Chief Executive Robert Elstone released a blog addressing concerns. He insisted much hard work was going on behind the scenes and added: “While we are not blessed with a transfer ‘war chest’ and we’re acutely aware as custodians the long term security of the club is paramount, there is no lack of ambition or endeavour.” He stressed everyone at the club remained “flat to the floor” as they looked to move forwards. However, People’s Group spokesman Mark Jones said he still feels its key points are being missed or ignored. A Blue Union statement said: “It was decided the respective groups would pool their resources, their expertise and their know-how for the betterment of all things Everton, and also that a statement of intent would be circulated and invitations would be extended to all Evertonians who agree with our mutual aims.” The union says it will campaign on issues, not personalities and be open to all supporters/members of its constituent parts as well as ‘representatives from other like-minded groups of Evertonians’. It says it will ‘actively embark on a campaign to lobby local, regional and national media outlets to report on the true facts surrounding the stagnation of Everton, the lack of transparency and accountability’. It says it ‘wishes to assist the owner, chairman, board and the executive officers in their endeavours to attract investment and/or a takeover’. Its statement adds: “We would campaign to elect a ‘Fans’ Parliament’ that would be representative of all sections of our fan base and, crucially, be an entity that is elected and not selected.”
Werder Bremen 1 Everton FC 0: Blues avoid shipwreck with steady display in Germany
Greg O'Keeffe at the Weserstadion
Aug 3 2011
Leighton Baines fires in a free-kick against Werder Bremen A SHIP’S horn greeted the goal that sunk Everton’s hopes of victory in Bremen, but with stand-in skipper Phil Jagielka still on deck at least the Blues can hope to avoid stormy waters. David Moyes’ men may have lost in this handsome port town thanks to a rare defensive lapse, but the signal of intent the manager made by handing Jagielka the captain’s armband will go some way to re-assuring supporters they are not set for another August when the rug is yanked from under their feet.
With Arsenal’s ponderous pursuit of Everton’s England man dithering on, some fear a last-ditch sale may present Moyes with another unsettling headache akin to Lescott’s departure in 2009. And the 28-year-old’s performance neatly underlined his importance to the Royal Blue cause. The Gunners could still give Everton’s board pause for thought with an £18m bid, but at least Jagielka’s display showed no hint of a man preoccupied with the cost of property in North London. Rival fans teasingly suggest that Bremen smells of fish due to the sea, but the only thing that really whiffed at Weserstadion last night was the mix-up between Sylvain Distin and Jan Mucha that marred an otherwise solid work-out against quality opponents. Of course, Mikel Arteta’s return to fitness can’t come soon enough either. The doubt over his availability for the new season’s start is another Moyes could do without.
Shorn of his eye for a pass and creative devilment, the Blues attacking play showed no obvious solution to their final third frustrations of last term. At least the Everton boss will have little doubt over one element of his team’s spine. Mucha was given an opportunity in goal as Tim Howard was rested, and although the Slovakian international did little wrong, he is facing an uphill battle in gale-force winds to grab Tim Howard’s number one spot. There were further positives from Ross Barkley, the Everton boss showing his clear faith in 17-year-old by handing him a place in the starting line-up and even out of position on the right of midfield he shone again. Seemingly growing in physical stature by the day, Barkley is playing his way into consideration for the Premier League curtain-raiser against Spurs – especially in Marouane Fellaini’s continued absence. With the German season beginning on Saturday, Bremen coach Thomas Shaaf named a strong line-up, albeit while resting Bundesliga’s answer to Lionel Messi, the in-demand Marko Marin. Although a typical slow early pre-season pace, both sides saw plenty of the ball and Barkley registered the Blues’ first chance with a thumping shot which tested Sebastian Mieltz, moments after he had put an over-lapping Tony Hibbert almost through on goal. Tim Cahill and Jermaine Beckford both had headed attempts as the first half developed into an open contest, while Bremen won a string of corners but were unable to trouble Mucha or the Toffees back four, defending solidly to a sound-track of ‘There’s Only One Jagielka’ chants from the travelling Blues behind them. And he was at his indomitable best to perform a typically brave block that denied Marko Arnautovic from opening the scoring, after a wonderful pass from Brazilian midfielder Wesley. And Bremen could have been two up moments after when Arnautovic raced through but rolled a tame shot at goal. Suddenly the momentum was back with the home side, and they edged in front when a mix-up between Mucha and Distin allowed striker Sandro Wagner to head home off the goalkeeper. The second half saw Mucha depart for Howard, as Louis Saha was also introduced for Anichebe and the Frenchman hinted his own hard fitness graft this summer is beginning to bear fruit. With Everton’s sense of purpose sagging though, Moyes tinkered - curtailing another richly promising cameo from Barkley to add the pace of Seamus Coleman, while Hibbert swapped places with Neville.
Leighton Baines produced the strike of the game to almost restore parity, a stinging rebounded volley from his own cleared free-kick, but Bremen’s extra pre-season minutes had already started to tell by then. Blue legs looked particularly heavy when Markus Rosenberg beat Everton’s off-side trap, only to waste a glorious one on one chance by firing wide. The contest petered out soon after with a swathe of changes by both managers hitting the momentum, and while Moyes will be unhappy with the result, he will still take positives from Jagielka’s focused display alongside Distin. Partnerships as reliable as theirs are not easy to come across, something Moyes knows. He may have used the eventual funds from Lescott’s sale to recruit Distin two season’s ago, but any new boys need time to settle and losing Jagielka so late in the summer could pathe the way for another dreaded slow start regardless of his replacement. A swift return of Arteta, with the lack of creativity Everton’s other major worry, would help ensure a smooth sailing too.
Don’t put too much pressure on new boy Ross Barkley says Everton FC defender Tony Hibbert
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 3 2011
TONY Hibbert has warned against stifling Ross Barkley under the weight of expectations although he admitted it is impossible to hide his own admiration for the Everton FC starlet.
The veteran Toffees defender played alongside Barkley, 17, for the first time during the Blues 1-0 friendly defeat by Werder Bremen at the Weserstadion last night, and enjoyed linking up with him down the right flank. Hibbert missed the club’s pre-season tour of America when Barkley was given his first taste of first team action, but the defender had said he had received glowing reports on his progress from the dressing room. That potential was highlighted again last night with a bright 58 minute cameo against impressive Bundesliga opponents, but Hibbert insists Barkley should not suffer from too much premature hype.
He said: “I haven’t seen much of him until tonight. "He went to America and the lads told me how good he was over there even though he’s coming back from such a big injury. “But against Bremen and from what I’ve seen in training he’s a really bright lad. "Football wise I think you couldn’t ask for any more from him, and he’s young and eager to work.
"It was a really good show from him and great experience. “It’s easy to forget he’s 17 and people shouldn’t get carried away saying he’s the next big thing. "You can out too much pressure on a player – he’s so young and has a lot to learn but there’s no denying he’s some prospect for us.” Hibbert said there was frustration with the strike Everton conceded against Werder, but was quick to defend the part deputy goalkeeper Jan Mucha played in the mishap that allowed Sandro Wagner to net the only goal of the game. “I wouldn’t say it was a major mistake,” he said. “He’s a goalkeeper and they always stand out if there’s a little slip up – equally if they pull of a worldie of a save. “I think we could have dealt a little better with the ball that came into the area. It got into the box too easily, and even if it looks like his fault I don’t think it was. “He’s got a tough task. He’s had a few games in America and he’s had a half here, but it’s difficult for him because Tim Howard is always going to be number one even though he’s a good goalie. “We’ve seen how good he is in training.”
Hibbert was otherwise pleased with the fitness boosting benefits of the work-out in Bremen, even if he accepted playmaker Mikel Arteta is being missed. The full extent of Arteta’s foot injury is stil yet to be discovered, and for now David Moyes is not able to judge whether the Spaniard will be fit to start the season. Hibbert said: “They had a lot of creativity. The two centre forwards were good and the midfield were always changing. “We missed Mikel keeping the ball for us and keeping things moving but you get injuries in football – we know that – and you have to deal with it and get on with it. “We have the game on Friday against Villareal and that’s when we’ll need to be sharper passing wise. “Obviously we’re playing as a team together again more and that’ll help more ideas come, but it was all about the fitness first and foremost. “We played some football in patches and we wanted the result, but they’re a good side who are starting their season a week ahead of us.”
EXCLUSIVE Jagielka ready to snub any Arsenal approach to stay at Everton
By Darren Lewis
August 3 2011 The Daily Mirror
Phil Jagielka is ready to snub Arsenal to stay at Everton. The latest blow for the Gunners comes as the club finally prepare to admit defeat in their battle to hold on to Cesc Fabregas following a fresh bid from Barcelona. The Catalans have made what they insist is a final offer of £35million plus add-ons. Arsenal fear Fabregas will pull a sickie for official club photo shoot And Manchester City will try to rip the heart out of the Gunners midfield with an offer of £22million for contract rebel Samir Nasri. A defensive shambles at last weekend’s Emirates Cup highlighted the need yet again for a defender of Jagielka’s ability.
The Toffees centre-back has already been subject of a £10million bid from the Gunners as Arsene Wenger desperately tries to address one of his problem areas. But, in what would be a major snub for the north Londoners, Jagielka is understood to have told friends that even if the two clubs agree a deal he would prefer to stay at Goodison Park.
The 28-year-old defender joined Everton four years ago from Sheffield United for £4million and is seen as one of the most important players at the club. He signed a new four-year contract in March this year and has made eight senior appearances for England, including three in the last 12 months. While Arsenal would offer him the chance to play in the Champions League Jagielka has told pals he is happy being based in the north, that he is totally committed to Everton and that he is already adequately paid.
Everton Ladies beat Birmingham City 3-2
Liverpool Echo
Aug 4 2011
EVERTON Ladies beat leaders Birmingham 3-2 on Tuesday night to record their fifth consecutive win in the Women's Super League. The result keeps the Blues' hopes of claiming the inaugural WSL title alive, as they closed the gap on the leaders to just five points. Natasha Dowie netted twice and Amy Kane follow- ed up her superb goal against Arsenal on Sunday with another impressive finish on 84 minutes. Everton are now level on points with second-place Arsenal, with a game in hand. The Blues are next in action when Lincoln Ladies visit on Sunday.
Everton FC can finally sink Villarreal Submarines
By David Prentice
Aug 4 2011
Everton FC v Villarea lCYNICS and glass half-full fans might say it’s the Everton Way.
Others might say it was just pure and simple bad luck. But there will be plenty of Blues fans inside Goodison Park tomorrow night in reflective mood at the sight of Villarreal’s distinctive all yellow strip. The Blues stunned seasoned Premier League watchers in 2005 when they turned a sloppy 17th place finish - then sold their best player - into a fourth place finish the following season. Then they drew a little known Spanish side in the qualifier who proved good enough to reach that season’s Champions League semi-finals. Villarreal put out Manchester United, Inter Milan and Benfica en route to a last four meeting with Arsenal, where a solitary goal ended their progress. Yet Everton had come just as close to ending Villarreal’s glorious run before it even started. Trailing 2-1 from the Goodison first leg, Everton went further behind at El Madrigal before Mikel Arteta equalised - then Duncan Ferguson’s fierce header sent thousands of travelling Blues fans wild with delight, anticipating an extra time period with their team very much in the ascendancy. It is now part of Goodison folklore - or the Everton way - that the man considered the world’s best referee, Pierluigi Collina, decreed otherwise. It bore echoes to a previous European campaign when Everton ended a four year absence from Europe in 1975 by drawing AC Milan in the first round - finalists in the previous two seasons’ Cup Winner’s Cups. Again Billy Bingham’s team acquitted themselves magnificently, but were denied in the San Siro by an East German referee again reputed to be one of the world’s best. Herr Rudi Glockner did not cover himself in glory at the San Siro. Billy Bingham’s programme notes the following home match would see him charged with disrepute today. Thirty years on Everton’s players bit their tongues after Signor Collina’s abberation, but nowadays goalkeeper that night, Nigel Martyn, is not so circumspect. “It was so disappointing for us,” he reflected. “For a referee of that stature – he was the best in the world at the time – but he gave a decision that a Sunday league referee might give. It was poor.” Martyn added: “It was bizarre. I think his (Collina’s) description was that Marcus Bent or somebody was supposed to have been fouling someone near the goal-line. "When you look at it they do come together but it’s nowhere near the ball, it doesn’t affect the goal. It was nothing really. “We were disappointed, frustrated and annoyed – everything that anyone would feel. “The same as any supporter felt … a little bit, not cheated, because I don’t feel the referee cheated. You just feel really disappointed that he’s made such a bad decision. “It wasn’t a free-kick and he’s given it. You feel horrible about that. But we’re not the first team to get knocked out because of a bad refereeing decision and we won’t be the last, it happens. “It doesn’t help at the time because you’re annoyed and you’re frustrated and you’d have liked the opportunity to have seen what would have happened. The thing is though, we were denied that, so yes we were far from happy. “Yes they did create a few chances and I had a few saves to make, but when Mikel scored they were definitely wobbly at that point. “For probably 15 or 20 minutes, which is what we’d hung in there for at the start of the game, we were all over them. We had a real go at them. We pulled it round and I think their keeper made a couple of good saves and we created one or two chances and they were certainly rattled. "I can remember gesturing something like that to Diego Forlan and he nodded back at me because he could see that they were actually starting to go to pieces. “Then, very late on, after the controversy of Duncan’s 'goal' they just exploited the fact that we’d put too many players forward in trying to get a second and they caught us on the break. “That was the end of it really. It was a far better performance than we had produced in the first game and we were unlucky. Had Duncan’s header stood we wouldn’t have been stuck in that situation with so many players caught forward, so the game would have probably finished 2-1. “From there, who knows? It becomes a lottery. We could have gone on and done really well in the competition. As it was, I think the way it happened and everything, we were left so frustrated.” There are several survivors in the Everton ranks from that night who will face the Yellow Submarines again tomorrow night - Phil Neville, who made his Blues debut against the Spaniards, Tony Hibbert and Arteta. Entry tomorrow is £10 adults and £5 juniors.
Sylvain Distin is buoyed by the emergence of Everton FC’s youngsters
By Greg O'Keeffe
Aug 4 2011
SYLVAIN DISTIN says he is excited about the potential for Everton’s young-guns to shake up the Blues established order this season. The French defender has been impressed with the impact of the latest hopefuls to make the step-up from academy prospects to the fringe of the Goodison first-team, and admits it will keep the senior professionals on their toes.
Distin, 34, who is twice the age of one of those youngsters, Ross Barkley, said: "We’ve got Conor (McAleny), Magaye (Gueye) Ross Barkley, and Tollis (Vellios) is doing well when he comes on and that’s good news for the club. "Ross is good in training and he’s doing well during the game and he’s exactly what we need, some fresh blood like that to just come in and make me feel a bit older and just give something a bit different to the squad. "He can be a great player but we’ve got a few more players like that." Distin has also been quick to help another youngster, Republic of Ireland U-21 international central defender Shane Duffy, with his progress, although the Derry-born star is keen to seek more first team football out on loan after a successful spell at Burnley last season. The 19-year-old has revealed his interest in a possible loan move to Ipswich, and Town boss Paul Jewell is on the lookout for a centre-half to boost his options at the heart of defence, with only Damien Delaney, Tommy Smith and Ivar Ingimarsson currently his senior options. Using his account on social networking site Twitter, Duffy said: "Hopefully a loan move will be sorted for some first-team experience." Then when asked by an Ipswich supporter about a potential switch to Portman Road, he replied: "(I) haven‘t heard anything yet mate. Would be a great move if it happened." The 6ft3in defender played 90 minutes against Ipswich when they defeated Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor in April. With John Heitinga pushing for a central defensive spot and Sylvain Distin and Phil Jagielka established as David Moyes’ first-choice pairing, the Blues boss could allow Duffy to continue his footballing education in the lower leagues.
Meanwhile, Spurs goalkeeper Brad Fridel says he is eager for the season to start and insists the team will be ready for Everton on August 13. "The lads are getting more and more match fitness in, that’s what we want, that’s what pre-season is about and we’ll be ready come Everton," he said.
Everton FC pre-season survey - have your say on how EFC will do in 2011/12
By Sean Bradbury
Aug 4 2011
CALLING all Blues fans - we want your opinions on how Everton FC will get on this season.
What is your general mood as the big kick-off draws near? How do you rate David Moyes as he approaches a decade in charge at Goodison Park? Are you concerned at Everton's lack of transfer activity this summer or do you back the current squad to impress in 2011/12? Where will EFC finish in the league and how far will they go in the cups?
Everton FC youngsters bring much needed fresh blood, says Sylvain Distin
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 4 2011
SYLVAIN DISTIN believes Everton’s emerging youngsters are providing the injection of fresh blood the squad needs ahead of the new season. The lack of signings thus far during the transfer window has presented an opportunity to a clutch of Academy graduates and reserves during pre-season. Highly-rated teenage midfielder Ross Barkley was an impressive performer while starting Tuesday night’s 1-0 friendly defeat Magaye Gueye has netted three times in recent games while both Apostolos Vellios and Conor McAleny have also figured. And while praising Barkley, veteran centre-back Distin believes the strong youth policy can reap dividends for the Goodison outfit. “He’s good in training and he’s doing well during the game and he’s exactly what we need, some fresh blood like that to just come in and make me feel a bit older and just give something a bit different to the squad,” said Distin. “He can be a great player but we’ve got a few more players like that, we’ve got Conor (McAleny), Magaye (Gueye) and Tollis (Vellios) is doing well when he comes on and that’s good news for the club.” The youngsters are likely to be given another chance to stake their claims when Everton conclude their warm-up campaign with the home friendly against Villarreal tomorrow evening. The fixture revives memories of the meeting between the sides in the Champions League qualifier in 2005, when a controversial decision by referee Pierluigi Collina during the second leg in Spain disallowed a second-half Duncan Ferguson goal that would have levelled the tie. Villarreal went on to score a late goal to secure a 4-2 aggregate win, but the evening has not been forgotten by Nigel Martyn, who kept goal for Everton that evening. “It was bizarre,” he said. “I think his (Collina’s) description was that Marcus Bent or somebody was supposed to have been fouling someone near the goal-line. “When you look at it they do come together but it’s nowhere near the ball, it doesn’t affect the goal. It was nothing really.”
Everton FC playmaker Mikel Arteta welcoming the return of the Yellow Submarine despite their previous Goodison sinking
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 5 2011
MIKEL Arteta has had more than his fair share of bittersweet European moments as an Everton FC player. One of few survivors of the team that was robbed of possible Champions League qualification by a doddery Italian celebrity-referee in 2005, Arteta was then left unconscious and fitting on the pitch after an elbow by Dinamo Bucharest’s Mihaita Plesan during the Blues’ subsequent and short-lived Uefa Cup run. He was dejected again when his goal of unerring quality in 2008 against Fiorentina at Goodison, proved merely to be a foot-note to defeat. And now, almost six years to the day, the team that started his tale of Euro woes are back at Goodison, even if it is only for a friendly prelude to the imminent Premier League season. Competitive European football, a regular fixture under David Moyes, has been conspicuous by its absence for two seasons, and the warm-up game tonight will offer further glimpses of what might have been. “Those were two really tough games,” says the 29-year-old Basque. “At home they played really well, we came back at them but went to Spain with a tough result. “We came back at them over there, scored a goal and had some chances. Fergie scored a header from a corner but they disallowed the goal. “It was very frustrating and disappointing as we felt we deserved more from the game. We put a lot of effort in so it was a real shame. “Maybe had the goal stood we would have won the game and gone through. It was really difficult to get into the top four in the first place but we managed it, and we were so close to getting into the Champions League groups.
“Villarreal was maybe the toughest draw we could have got but it was also the best for me personally (being Spanish), but if you want to play in top competitions you have to play the best. “They had great players like Riquelme and Forlan and they have great players now so Friday should be a really good game.” The La Liga club arrive at Goodison this evening (7.45pm) for a high profile pre-season friendly against David Moyes’ side. And they have one of the most potent strike partnerships with Italian hit-man Giuseppe Rossi and Brazilian Nilmar both match winners. But aside from their threat in front of goal, the team from Spain’s East Coast have carved out a reputation as a team truly fit to grace the School of Science, something not lost on Arteta, who is an ardent admirer. “They really are one of the most enjoyable teams to watch,” he says. “After Barcelona and Real Madrid they probably play the best football in the country. “They keep the ball very well and you have to be patient when you play against them. We will have to make sure we take our chances when they come. “Giuseppe Rossi has been outstanding for them and they also have Nilmar, the Brazilian striker so they are very dangerous and the two of them can cause real problems.
“Rossi has scored a lot of goals, his all-round game is very good, his shot is one of the best and he is quick as well, so he is a very good player.” Everton assistant coach Steve Round also believes the Blues will have their hands full, as the toughest pre-season challenge tonight. So far the Blues have beaten Bury, won and lost in America, defeated Birmingham before suffering a narrow loss to Werder Bremen on Tuesday night. Round, however, believes the challenge posed by the men from El Madrigal eclipses anything they have faced so far. “They are a terrific side,” he says. “They finished fourth in their league last season and there are some quality sides in Spain. “We had a hard game against Werder Bremen and we have another one on Friday night. We wanted tougher games this year and we have certainly had them. “I have seen Villarreal a few times and they keep the ball very well. They build it up slowly and play little balls into Giuseppe Rossi who likes to drop off and he really is a top player.” However, Round has warned Spurs they won’t be able to glean much should they take the opportunity to scout David Moyes’ side. He said: “Pre-season is about getting all of your senior players enough time on the pitch. You need to make sure your core group of players all get about three or four 90 minutes under their belt across the games.
“And that is still the case with Villarreal – some players need the minutes more than others – plus we won’t show our hand to Spurs too much.” Tickets are also available from the Park End box office right up until kick-off. Adults £10, kids (Under-16) £5, concessions £7.50.
Villarreal are in healthy pre season shape ahead of the game. After losing their first pre-season fixture against UCD Dublin, they have gone on a three match unbeaten run.
Juan Carlos Garrido's side have beaten Aberdeen and Lazio and drawn with Wolfsburg.
Everton FC priced out of move for Newcastle United FC rebel Joey Barton
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 5 2011
EVERTON FC are set to be priced out of a move for Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton. The 28-year-old has been heavily linked with a switch to Goodison Park after he was told he could leave Tyneside on a free transfer, and sources close to the player believe he would relish a return to Merseyside. But EFC would be unable to meet Barton’s wage demands, and with Arsenal, Tottenham, Aston Villa and Stoke also monitoring his situation in the North-East, a return to the club he played for as a school-boy is unlikely.
Barton’s future remains up in the air after the outspoken Huyton-born player began a Twitter campaign against the Newcastle hierarchy, with a threat to see out his contract at St James’ Park against the club’s wishes. While the messages from both Newcastle and Barton’s agent Willie McKay had made it seem inevitable the Magpies outcast would be on his way in the coming days, Barton yesterday suggested he might stay on Tyneside as a thorn in the club’s side. “Just because ur told to jump, it does not necessarily mean u have to. I may choose to stand perfectly still. It’s my right...just a thought,” he posted. But while that might have been taken as a possibly conciliatory move, Barton followed it up by insisting he would not end his Twitter rant against the club as he quoted George Washington. “Quote of the day: If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. George Washington,” the controversial midfielder tweeted in another thinly-veiled attack. Barton has been made to train alone since the club announced he could leave on a free transfer, and that only seems to have upset the once-capped England man further.
He ended Wednesday with another tweet saying: “Home to bed now, training tomo........... #hopefullynotalone” and spent yesterday musing about potential names for his new dog.
Everton are not the only club who will blanche at Barton’s salary demands. Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp is also interested, but sources in the North East have cast doubt on whether chairman Daniel Levy would agree to cough up the cash. Wages may also be the issue for West Ham United. Barton had to be left out of Newcastle’s pre-season tour of America after the US Embassy refused to grant him a visa. In 2008 he was jailed after admitting assault in Liverpool city centre. In the same year he was given a suspended sentence for an assault on a team-mate at Manchester City. Eventually he had to travel to Holland with the club's reserve team instead.
Everton FC v Villarreal Preview: Youngsters will prove the new faces for supporters
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 5 2011
THE now traditional final pre-season friendly at Goodison is usually a chance for most Evertonians to get a first glimpse of any summer signings. But with the club’s ongoing financial restraints preventing David Moyes from thus far adding to his roster during the transfer window, the new faces will come in the form of the clutch of youngsters that have emerged during recent months. Ross Barkley, Apostolos Vellios, Conor McAleny and Magaye Gueye will provide the unknown factor when Spanish side Villarreal visit Goodison this evening. Gueye was given a few outings last season and has already scored three goals in pre-season, Vellios has previously made a breakthrough and Conor McAleny was enjoying senior action for the first time. Supporters, though, have been most encouraged by the sight of midfielder Ross Barkley demonstrating his wares alongside his first-team colleagues. Barkley had been tipped by Moyes to emerge last season only for that opportunity to be dashed in the opening months by a triple leg fracture while on England under-17 duty in Belgium. The 17-year-old is now making up for lost time. Having impressed on his debut during the recent tour of the United States, Barkley enjoyed a second-half cameo at Birmingham City before further staking his claim with a start in the 1-0 defeat at Werder Bremen on Tuesday. Barkley will surely further his fledgling football education this evening given the high standard of the opposition. Indeed, Mikel Arteta believes Villarreal are behind only Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid in terms of entertainment in his home country. Villarreal, who finished fourth in La Liga last season to set up a Champions League play-off later this month, have been renowned for their eye-catching playing style ever since their promotion to the Spanish top flight in 2000.
The Yellow Submarine possess a mouth-watering strikeforce of former Manchester Untied forward and Italy international forward Giuseppe Rossi and Brazilian Nilmar. And Arteta says: “They really are one of the most enjoyable teams to watch. After Barcelona and Real Madrid they probably play the best football in the country. “They keep the ball very well and you have to be patient when you play against them. We will have to make sure take our chances when they come. “Giuseppe Rossi has been outstanding for them and they also have Nilmar, the Brazilian striker, so they are very dangerous and the two of them can cause real problems. “Rossi has scored a lot of goals, his all-round game is very good, his shot is one of the best and he is quick as well, so he is a very good player.”
Everton FC facing toughest test of pre-season vs Villareal, admits Steve Round
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 5 2011
TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR have been warned they will be wasting their time trying to gain any clues ahead of their Premier League opener against Everton FC. Before then, Everton wrap up their pre-season preparations this evening with the friendly visit of Spanish side Villarreal. Moyes is expected to give extended run-outs to a number of players who are likely to start at Tottenham. But his assistant Steve Round has said there won’t be too many indicators for any watching Spurs scouts. “Pre-season is about getting all of your senior players enough time on the pitch,” said Round. “You need to make sure your core group of players all get about three or four 90 minutes under their belt across the games. “And that is still the case with Villarreal – some players need the minutes more than others – plus we won’t to show our hand to Spurs too much.” Everton have enjoyed a quietly encouraging pre-season, although they were defeated by German side Werder Bremen 1-0 on Tuesday night. But Round believes Everton have saved their toughest test until last, with Villarreal having finished fourth in La Liga last season and preparing for a Champions League qualifying play-off. “They are a terrific side,” said Round. “They finished fourth in their league last season and there are some quality sides in Spain. “We had a hard game against Werder Bremen and we have another one on Friday night. We wanted tougher games this year and we have certainly had them. “I have seen Villarreal a few times and they keep the ball very well. They build it up slowly and play little balls into Giuseppe Rossi who likes to drop off and he really is a top player.” Supporters are advised they can buy tickets for tonight’s game from the Park End Box Office right up until the 7.45pm kick-off.
Everton 0 Villarreal 1: Coleman injury scare for Moyes
By Dominic King
5th August 2011 (Daily Mail)
David Moyes faces an anxious wait for news on Seamus Coleman after the Everton midfielder was carried off during his side’s final pre-season game against Villarreal.Though a stretcher was not required, the Republic of Ireland international was helped from the pitch in clear discomfort shortly before half-time in the 1-0 defeat against the Spaniards following an ugly tackle from Carlos Marchena.Coleman was taken to hospital for a scan and he will have further tests on Monday.Everton’s players were furious after Marchena clattered into Coleman’s ankle with his studs showing but, somehow, the World Cup winner avoided a booking.Moyes has not made any signings so far this summer and he can ill-afford for any length of time to be without the energetic Coleman, although he is suspended for the opening game at Tottenham.Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp was in the crowd at Goodison Park and his scouting trip proved worthwhile as striker Giuseppi Rossi scored the only goal with a thumping left-footed free-kick on 64 minutes.Redknapp, who has long been an admirer of the former Manchester United forward, will have left for home feeling there are plenty of areas that Tottenham can exploit when they welcome Everton to White Hart Lane in seven days.A lively performance from young midfielder Ross Barkley aside, there was not a great deal to excite Moyes or the Goodison crowd and it is patently clear to see they need a new face or two to freshen things up.The last time Villarreal came to Merseyside in August 2005, Everton had dreams of becoming Champions League regulars after finishing fourth but the Spaniards – who were then coached by Manuel Pellegrini – won both legs of their qualifying tie.It will be a long road back to that competition for Everton and there was an air of almost quiet resignation around the stands here about their prospects for the next 12 months.Everton did fashion a couple of chances either side of the interval but Louis Saha and Leighton Baines saw left-footed shots beaten away by Villarreal keeper Diego Lopez.
Everton FC 0 Villareal 1: Final whistle match report
By Ian Doyle
Aug 5 2011
DAVID MOYES was handed a fresh injury headache as Everton FC ended their pre-season preparations with defeat against Villarreal at Goodison. Seamus Coleman was taken to hospital with a serious ankle injury having been on the receiving end of a dreadful first-half challenge from Villarreal midfielder Carlos Marchena. Marchena was guilty of a vicious stamp on the Everton man, who had lengthy treatment on the field before being carried down the tunnel. The Spaniard was later booked for a trivial offence but in reality was lucky to escape a red card for his 38th-minute challenge. Coleman will already miss the Premier League opener at Tottenham Hotspur on August 13 through suspension, but Everton fear the Irishman could now face an extended spell on the sidelines. It set the tone for an at time tetchy friendly between the sides who played out a controversial Champions League qualifier six years ago. Giuseppe Rossi’s 20-yard shot midway through the second half proved the only goal and sent Everton tumbling to their second defeat in four days, having lost by a similar scoreline on Tuesday night at Werder Bremen. In truth, it was a deserved defeat as a worryingly subdued Everton struggled to maintain the momentum they had been building over recent weeks. With no summer signings, the new faces for the Goodison crowd were the clutch of youngsters that have been gaining experience during pre-season.
Chief among them is Ross Barkley, and the 17-year-old could be one of the few Everton players to be pleased with his performance before being replaced 20 minutes from time.
Jack Rodwell returned to the Everton midfield alongside Marouane Fellaini, who was making his first appearance in three weeks since the opening friendly at Bury. Villarreal finished fourth in La Liga last season and face a qualifier against Odense of Denmark later this month for a place in the group stages of the Champions League. Mikel Arteta, who was again sidelined, believes only Real Madrid and Barcelona rate higher in terms of entertainment in his homeland, but while Villarreal bossed possession it was Everton who created the better chances during a low-key first half. The hosts began brightly and took only five minutes to fashion the first opportunity, Coleman’s searing pace taking him down the right flank and inside the area only for his effort to be blocked by the face of goalkeeper Diego Lopez. Victor Anichebe, starting on the left flank, later hesitated when played clear while Saha, gradually regaining his sharpness, drew a good save from Lopez with a low drive. Villarreal threatened sporadically. Fellaini, having inadvertently sent Rossi in on goal with a slack pass, made amends with a saving tackle, while the Italy international then curled a tame effort into the arms of Tim Howard. The pattern of the game changed little after the break, with Everton almost going ahead a minute into the second half when Saha’s clever backheel gave Baines a shooting chance inside the area that was thwarted by Lopez.
But Villarreal increased their intensity after the interval. Howard parried from Rossi and then had to be alert to keep out a free-kick from an acute angle from former West Bromwich Albion man Borja Valero. However, the Everton goalkeeper could do nothing on 65 minutes when, having had a dead-ball nudged into his path, Rossi unleashed a venomous shot into the top corner from 20 yards. Howard’s legs then prevented Joan Oriol doubling Villarreal’s advantage, but the second goal was not needed with Moyes’s side unable to wrest back the initiative during a disappointing closing quarter.
Everton FC have provided top quality pre-season schedule in entertainment stakes
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 6 2011
EVERTON can’t be accused of not providing entertaining pre-season fixtures these days.
Seemingly gone are the days when the Blues would trawl the Highlands playing Scottish teams before taking on a few minnows back down South. Instead, this summer has seen lively games against two growing MLS sides in DC United and Philadelphia Union, and then two genuine top-quality opponents in Werder Bremen and Villarreal. It’s as much testament to the Blues reinvigorated reputation under David Moyes as it is to clever and successful marketing.
Everton FC Ladies hoping for a boost from Blues fans as they push for title
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 6 2011
EVERTON Ladies are hoping for a boost from Blues fans as they push to keep their title dreams alive in their last home game of the season this weekend. Mo Marley’s side face Lincoln on Sunday after recording their fifth consecutive win in the Women’s Super League last week against league-leaders Birmingham City. Two goals from Natasha Dowie and a late screamer from Amy Kane earned Everton all three points and saw them close the gap on Birmingham and Arsenal in second place. Midfielder Kane is now ready for tomorrow’s final home fixture and calling on fans to return to Marine FC to support them. “With the big crowds we have had at the last three home games, I wish we had more home games left but hopefully they will all come back this Sunday to give us the support we need and set us up for the away games in the next few weeks,” she said. “Lincoln are coming on the back of a big defeat after losing 4-0 to Arsenal earlier this week so they are going to be up for it but when we have had big crowds behind us its give us more of a boost to go on and win.”
The Blues, who currently third in the league, kick of their last home game of the season at Marine kicks at 2pm tomorrow. Tickets are £3 for adults and £1 for juniors.
Royal Blue: Joey Barton could flourish at Everton FC - but he’s not the man the blues needby Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 6 2011
IT’S only natural that the Everton FC rumour transfer mill will have contracted this summer with the club’s ability to buy players so limited. But even so, there are still some eyebrow raising bouts of frenzy when a player becomes available who people assume should be on the Blues’ radar. Cue the debate this week on whether David Moyes should make a move for Newcastle United midfielder Joey Barton. Putting aside the significant fact that Everton would be unlikely to be in a position to afford the Huyton-born player’s considerable wages, there’s been some interesting and surprising reactions among fans. Many have seemed to fall under a spell of ‘we’ve got to sign him because he’s free’ thinking, and argued plaintively that failure to bring Barton to Goodison would be, well, a failure.
It’s a dubious sentiment.
While, first and foremost, nobody can dispute Barton’s ability - the fact that seems to be missed here is that he is a midfielder. While 90% of Premier League clubs would be strengthened by the presence of an in-form Barton providing the sort of crosses he did from a wide left role for Newcastle last season, Everton are arguably not in that bracket. Yes, he would provide competition in that role at Goodison for the hit-and-miss Diniyar Bilyletdinov, but when money is as tight as it is at Goodison, you cut your cloth accordingly. If there is one thing David Moyes really needs next season - it is a tried and tested, powerful, quick, 20 plus goals a season centre forward. Granted they don't grow on trees - especially when you’re scouring the loan and Bosman market - but that remains the thorny priority nevertheless. To consider moving for Barton simply because he was free - and then spend all your meagre resources on creating a financial package capable of supporting the signing on fee, wages, and agent fees it would require, would seem to be missing the point.
The Blues had enough creativity from their full backs, when you consider Leighton Baines’ invaluable contribution from left back last term. And while they do have that mythical complete striker on their books already, in Louis Saha, it remains to be seen whether he will play all season. Another target man on the books to supplement Saha’s bursts of genius would be the real ingredient Moyes needs to make a renewed crack at the top six.
That, for me, is the only reason against signing Barton now - and I admit I’ve changed my tune. In June I wrote that the colourful 28-year-old was someone the Blues should avoid.
I argued, ‘Everton thrive consistently on the back of a terrific dressing room, with refreshingly few major egos, that is jam-packed with key players who put the concept of team before themselves. ‘The addition of a destabilising agent like Barton would be counter-intuitive for Moyes, and his chairman Bill Kenwright, who likes players to behave respectfully and professionally. ‘Barton is a risk neither is likely to feel worth taking’. I still think the former Manchester City player has almost too much to say for himself publicly at times - but burning through it all is the defiant sentiment of a winner. He may not be a club-man, or speak the soothing soundbites of an on-message professional, but the game is desperately short of honest, original thinkers. And more than that, I wrongly failed to credit him as having matured enough to cope with a move back to his native city and the gold-fish bowl lifestyle that may have triggered for a while. It was around this time last year when Barton kept his cool under the duress of repeated rough-stuff from Wolves bruiser Karl Henry. Indeed last season he belied his dirty reputations by making only 40 fouls compared to 63 against him, and was only booked eight times, seeing red not once. I’m sure he would have been an exciting addition to Everton’s ranks - just not in the right position.
Everton FC 0 Villareal 1: La Liga artists midfielder leaves sour taste with Seamus Coleman challenge
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 6 2011
WHEN Mikel Arteta predicted Everton FC’s final pre-season friendly against Villarreal would be a tough encounter, it’s safe to assume he meant more technically challenging than brutal. But it was with the sort of blood-thirsty challenge which usually evokes blustery Premier League afternoons against Wolves or Stoke, that La Liga’s artisans left their mark on Goodison last night. The Toffees ended their warm-up games on a sour note with defeat and injury to one of their key young players, despite moments of promise against Villarreal - a side who defeated them in a higher-stakes contest here almost six years ago. David Moyes’ men were beaten courtesy of a stunning free-kick by highly-rated Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi, and will be forced to sweat on scan results for Seamus Coleman who limped off following a terrible late tackle from Carlos Marchena. Coleman was unavailable for next weekend’s league curtain raiser at Tottenham anyway, thanks to his red card against Chelsea in May, but it will be the length of his long-term absence that could present another injury head-ache for Moyes. At least the Blues boss welcomed back Marouane Fellaini, who made only his second appearance of the summer, but wasted no time reminding everyone why he is sorely missed with a commanding display. The game’s first attempt was a bold full volley from Ross Barkley, who had started the preceding move, and although it flew well over, it was to be typical of another hugely promising glimpse of his potential. Next there was almost a sensational individual goal from Seamus Coleman who went marauding down the right, evaded several challenges and had his delicate chip smartly saved by Diego Lopez. Then Barkley played a delightful ball over the defence into the path of the over-lapping Baines who had his goalbound shot blocked just as the linesman blew for off-side. In response, Villarreal began to find their stride. Giuseppe Rossi bent a central free kick over the wall, and then they broke Everton’s offside trap for Rossi to race clear, but an extra touch as he shaped to shoot allowed Fellaini to make an excellent saving slide tackle. Both sides were creating chances in an open contest, although Tim Howard and Everton’s rearguard were rarely genuinely troubled by the side clad all in yellow. Rossi’s incessant movement was the visitor’s main threat, but the Blues posed a few more with Coleman and Barkley pushing on from midfield, and Victor Anichebe cutting inside from the left to support Louis Saha. Fellaini was having a stormer on his return, after not featuring since the opening pre-season game of the summer at Bury’s Gigg Lane.
The Belgian, whose contract situation remains as yet unresolved, said recently he will not be back to his best until October, but he showed no sign of any lingering concerns over the ankle he underwent surgery on in March. The Blues were denied the opener when more deft work from the Belgian and Barkley, operating promisingly in central midfield, set Saha free and his low strike was just diverted wide by Diego Lopez. Everton were marginally on top when Coleman nearly had to be stretchered off on 38 minutes after shameful lunge by Carlos Marchena, a player regarded as one of La Liga’s dirtiest. The Irishman departed on his own two feet, just, but it was no thanks to the Spanish midfielder who somehow avoided a booking. Shortly after the second half began Everton should have been in front again when Baines and Saha swapped passes to allow the left back to skip into the area, only for his close range shot to be smothered by Lopez. Then Fellaini took revenge on behalf of Coleman with a similarly late challenge on Camunas, albeit nearer the ball, and was also fortunate to avoid censure. But as against Werder Bremen on Tuesday, Everton’s tempo dipped as their opponents enjoyed more and more possession. Then Sylvain Distin conceded a free kick on the edge of the area for a late tackle, and Villarreal drew first blood. Skipper Cani slipped a short free kick to Rossi who rocketed an unstoppable shot past Tim Howard. It was a sublime strike, and indicated why the former Manchester United man is considered one of European’s football’s hottest prospects. Ironically the yellow submarine fear losing the Italian if they are unable to progress past Odense in their Champions League qualifying round this month, and the watching Harry Redknapp is one of his many suitors. Moyes made several changes as the clock ticked down, giving a run out to Yakubu and Jermaine Beckford, but the Blues remained largely shot-shy. Little seems to have changed in terms of the lack of a cutting edge in the final third, and it’s difficult to see how it can unless another striker arrives before the month is out. Ultimately Villarreal did the damage again, the fatal intervention coming from another Italian. But a narrow defeat to a side that finished fourth in La Liga is hardly a wretched omen for the coming season, and a glance at the Everton class of 2005 compared to last night’s star-studded personnel offers its own reason for optimism. Much has changed since that heart-breaking couple of games against Villarreal, and if Everton can survive the rest of this transfer window without losing any of their best players, there is cause for hope yet.
EVERTON (4-5-1): Howard, Neville (Capt), Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Anichebe (Hibbert, 69), Fellaini (Heitinga, 63), Barkley (Yakubu, 73), Coleman (Cahill, 44), Rodwell, Saha (Beckford, 63). Subs not used: Mucha, Bilyaletdinov, Vellios, Baxter.
VILLARREAL: (4-4-2) Lopez, Oriol, Musachio, Marchena (M Senna, 70), Cani (Capt), Zapata (Gonzalo 69), Mario, Camunas, B Valero (Wakaso, 80), Bruno, Rossi (M Ruben, 77). Subs not used: Cesar, Nilmar, Catala, Gerard, Marcos Gullon, Mano, Dorian Dervite, Jordi Pablo.Bookings: Marchena
GOALS: Rossi (65)
REFEREE: M Jones
ATTENDANCE: 18, 675.
Everton FC midfielder Seamus Coleman facing weeks out with injury, but his foot isn't broken
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 6 2011
Seamus Coleman lies injured on the pitch against VillarealSEAMUS Coleman has not suffered a broken foot despite needing hospital treatment for an injury during Everton FC’s friendly defeat by Villarreal at Goodison last night. The 23-year-old Republic of Ireland midfielder was left writhing in agony following a late first-half tackle by Spain midfielder Carlos Marchena, but initial tests revealed he has escaped any fractures. Coleman will undergo further scans on Monday to determine whether he has ligament damage, but the news at least means his absence is likely to be more a matter of weeks than months. And Tim Cahill, his replacement during last night’s final pre-season friendly, insisted the Blues still have the potential to surprise the Premier League, despite a quiet summer in the transfer market, and a patchy pre-season record. The Aussie midfielder, who hinted that Everton may yet add to their squad, paid tribute to chairman Bill Kenwright and the Goodison board for keeping all of the club’s best players despite interest from a number of the Premier League’s top sides. He said: “The circumstances are what we are. Financially we’re trying to keep all our best players and when you do that you have to invest in them. Look at eight of the players in the starting 11, they’re on long term deals and that’s expensive to do. “A lot of clubs sell their best players at the start of the season, or are struggling to keep them and we’ve kept ours this season. “The transfer window isn’t over and anything can happen, but we’re footballers and not business men and we need to worry about playing well as a team and showing commitment. Hopefully we can still surprise people. “There are positives. Our young players always play. One a year comes through and once again, the positive is we’ve kept our best players. If you sell four players to generate money that’s one thing but we haven’t – and then if you do buy players, are they going to improve the team? “You see the way the market is going and how money is going throughout the world it’s scarce and unless you’ve got crazy owners it’s not going to happen. “Everton prides itself on doing a few good deals, and it’s not over yet. I’m optimistic and we could be the surprise package that saves the best to last. But if we don’t buy we will probably but later on.”
Everton FC midfielder Seamus Coleman facing weeks out with injury, but his foot isn't broken
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 6 2011
Seamus Coleman lies injured on the pitch against VillarealSEAMUS Coleman has not suffered a broken foot despite needing hospital treatment for an injury during Everton FC’s friendly defeat by Villarreal at Goodison last night. The 23-year-old Republic of Ireland midfielder was left writhing in agony following a late first-half tackle by Spain midfielder Carlos Marchena, but initial tests revealed he has escaped any fractures. Coleman will undergo further scans on Monday to determine whether he has ligament damage, but the news at least means his absence is likely to be more a matter of weeks than months. And Tim Cahill, his replacement during last night’s final pre-season friendly, insisted the Blues still have the potential to surprise the Premier League, despite a quiet summer in the transfer market, and a patchy pre-season record. The Aussie midfielder, who hinted that Everton may yet add to their squad, paid tribute to chairman Bill Kenwright and the Goodison board for keeping all of the club’s best players despite interest from a number of the Premier League’s top sides. He said: “The circumstances are what we are. Financially we’re trying to keep all our best players and when you do that you have to invest in them. Look at eight of the players in the starting 11, they’re on long term deals and that’s expensive to do. “A lot of clubs sell their best players at the start of the season, or are struggling to keep them and we’ve kept ours this season. “The transfer window isn’t over and anything can happen, but we’re footballers and not business men and we need to worry about playing well as a team and showing commitment. Hopefully we can still surprise people. “There are positives. Our young players always play. One a year comes through and once again, the positive is we’ve kept our best players. If you sell four players to generate money that’s one thing but we haven’t – and then if you do buy players, are they going to improve the team? “You see the way the market is going and how money is going throughout the world it’s scarce and unless you’ve got crazy owners it’s not going to happen. “Everton prides itself on doing a few good deals, and it’s not over yet. I’m optimistic and we could be the surprise package that saves the best to last. But if we don’t buy we will probably but later on.”
Seamus Coleman suffers ankle injury
COLE LOT WORSE ... Everton's frustrations grow as Seamus Coleman is crocked by Carlos Marchena
06 Aug 2011 (The Sun)
EVERTON'S bad summer got worse last night as Seamus Coleman was rushed to hospital with a serious ankle injury.The winger, 22, was KO'd by Carlos Marchena's X-rated tackle just before half-time in the 1-0 pre-season defeat to Villarreal.Coleman is already out of Saturday's opener at Spurs as he is serving a ban.Boss David Moyes has been frustrated by cash-strapped Everton's failure to sign any players.
Joey Barton in line to stay at Newcastle this season
06/08/11 By MirrorFootball (Daily Mirror)
Joey Barton will meet the Newcastle United hierachy early this week – paving the way for the controversial midfielder to come off the transfer list and stay at St James’ Park.Providing talks go well between Barton and his representative and Toon managing director Derek Llambias on Tuesday or Wednesday, the player could be in line for a place in Newcastle’s starting 11 for their Premier League opener against Arsenal on Saturday.But both sides know there are SIX other Premier League clubs waiting in the wings, including Arsenal themselves, Aston Villa, Everton, Spurs, Stoke City and even former club Manchester City.
Dann desperate to help Birmingham
06/08/2011 By James Nursey (The Mirror)
In-demand Scott Dann is poised for a quick return to the Premier League – but he is determined to help Birmingham first.Relegated City have been ordered to sell Dann this month by their worried bankers HSBC, and Stoke, Arsenal, Chelsea and Everton are all keen on the £8million-rated defender.But Dann, 24, who is set to line-up for Chris Hughton’s side at Derby in their season opener, has vowed to do his best for the club until his seemingly inevitable sale.“I am still a Birmingham City player until I get told otherwise," said Dann. “With us getting relegated, you always have to make cuts and sell players. It’s not nice to see the way things are going at the moment. If something comes along it’s not just down to me, it’s down to the club.”But Dann reckons new boss Hughton can help the club bounce back.“If anyone can do a good job, he can," he said. “Since he’s come in all the lads have been really upbeat.”
Former Everton striker set for AFC Wimbledon move
Aug 6 2011 By Matt Lewis
Surrey Herald
MARCUS Bent is set to sign for AFC Wimbledon after the ex-Everton striker underwent a medical.
Dons are closing in on the signing of the much-travelled marksman and a deal could be announced early next week after he met for talks with boss Terry Brown. Bent, who is currently without a club after being released by Birmingham City, is wanted by Brown to add experience to his frontline following the summer departure of skipper Danny Kedwell. The 33-year-old Hammersmith-born hitman started his career with Brentford in 1995 and has had 14 clubs in a career that peaked five years ago when his Premier League goals persuaded Charlton Athletic to pay Everton £2.3 million for him. Brown said: "We are definitely looking to get a striker in. It is just a numbers game with four strikers for two positions because we could get an injury at any time."
Everton ready to swap Jack Rodwell for Spurs striker Peter Crouch
Aug 7 2011 by Alan Nixon, The People
DAVID MOYES will make a dramatic late £10million move for Tottenham striker Peter Crouch – and could offer Jack Rodwell in a swap to land him.The Everton boss needs a big capture after a blank summer and sees long-term target Crouch as the ideal man – as Spurs will sell to shake up their own attack.Moyes is on red alert because Stoke are closing in on Crouch – and White Hart Lane midfielder Wilson Palacios – in a double £20m deal.
Sacrifice
West London clubs Fulham and QPR are also keen on the beanpole England hitman, but Everton could tempt Spurs by throwing Rodwell, 20, into the mix.Moyes can’t afford to buy Crouch outright and won’t get him on loan, so making a sacrifice of midfielder Rodwell is his only way of doing business.The deal has been discussed at the highest level, but Harry Redknapp would have to give any move his blessing.The Spurs boss watched Rodwell in action on Friday night in a 1-0 friendly defeat against Villarreal – as well as the Spanish club’s striker Giuseppe Rossi.Rodwell is the great Everton enigma – wanted by big clubs and England, but not a regular for Moyes – which could make him available.Crouch’s wages will also be an issue as he wants £70,000-a-week.Those terms have caused Stoke trouble, who need Spurs to give him money to leave.Moyes wants to raise transfer funds, but has been unable to shift Joseph Yobo or Yakubu.The Everton chief also fancies Joey Barton on a free from Newcastle, but would even struggle to fund that swoop.Any hopes Redknapp had of bringing Bobby Zamora back to White Hart Lane – as revealed by Hotline last week – were dashed by ex-Spurs boss Martin Jol.Fulham’s Dutch manager insisted Zamora was not for sale and that the former West Ham forward was central to his plans for the club.
●LEYTON ORIENT want Tottenham starlet Tommy Carroll back on loan for the season.
The 19-year-old midfielder, who has yet to feature for Spurs’ first-team, made 14 appearances for the O’s last term.And boss Harry Redknapp is keen for the teenager to get more experience with a short-term move away from White Hart Lane.Orient chief Russell Slade said: “We visited the loan market by utilising our relationship with Spurs last season, and we may well look that way again.”
Tottenham fear riots could threaten opening Premier League match against Everton
By Laura Williamson
7th August 2011 (Daily Mail)
Tottenham must wait to hear if the club’s Premier League kick-off at home to Everton on Saturday will be postponed after riots in the area.White Hart Lane is less than a mile from Tottenham Police Station, where around 300 people gathered from 5.30pm on Saturday to protest over the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan, 29.The demonstration was trouble-free until around 8.20pm, when two police cars were attacked on High Road. Chaos: Riots in Tottenham could threaten Spurs' match with EvertonBuildings and cars were then set alight, 48 people were arrested and eight police officers taken to hospital.The Metropolitan Police are ‘aware’ further disorder is being planned on sites such as Twitter.Tottenham cancelled stadium tours of White Hart Lane for Sunday and Monday ‘due to safety reasons’. Trouble: Riot police patrol the streets in TottenhamThe Spurs Megastore was closed and the ticket office in Park Lane, to the south of the ground, will not open until Wednesday.The club intend to operate a counter service from the matchday ticket windows in Paxton Road between 9.30am and 5pm on Monday and Tuesday.Meanwhile, Peter Crouch has pleaded with Luka Modric to stay at Tottenham. Fans' favourite: Luca Modric (right) takes on Athletic Bilbao's Fernando Llorente
STAR MAN
Jermain Defoe: A lively display and a cool finish, though it came too late to convince Fabio Capello to give him an England call.Modric fancies a move to Chelsea, but despite his willingness to leave Spurs fans gave the 25-year-old a hero’s welcome when he came on as a substitute in the 2-1 friendly win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.Reflecting on the reaction, Crouch said: ‘I think he might have been a bit concerned but he got a great reception.‘It certainly makes it harder for Luka that the fans are right behind him. He knows the fans here love him and hopefully he stays. He’s going off for international duty and we were saying, “Make sure we see you on Thursday”. ‘He is a top player. We love him at the club.’Spurs fell behind to a Mikel San Jose strike, but second-half goals from Crouch and Jermain Defoe ensured victory.
Sportsmail's ultimate lowdown on Everton ahead of the new Barclays Premier League season
By Dan Ripley
7th August 2011 (Daily Mail)
Fragile: Louis Saha will be a real threat, providing he stays fit
Last season
Premier League: 7th
FA Cup: Fifth round
League Cup: Third round
Top scorer: Louis Saha, Jermaine Beckford (10)
Another missed opportunity for the Toffees as a terrible start once again meant their season was over before Christmas. With just four league wins in the first half of the campaign, a relegation battle became more likely than a push for Europe. Further embarrassment came in the League Cup as Moyes’ men were sent packing by Brentford on penalties. But when they desperately needed a result, Everton produced. Two late goals to snatch a draw against Manchester United while also defeating Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City (twice) and Tottenham showed the squad was good enough to compete with the best.The story of the season was they never followed it up. Knocking Chelsea out of the FA Cup on their own turf was followed by defeat at home against Championship side Reading.
Transfers In: Eric Dier (Sporting Lisbon, loan)
Out: James Vaughan (Norwich, £2.5m), Kieran Agard (Yeovil, free), Hope Akpan (Crawley, free), Nathan Craig (released), Iain Turner (Preston, free)
Manager: David Moyes
It’s make-or-break for Moyes. There is no doubt the Scot is doing a fine job for Everton on a tight budget, but his career is starting to stagnate. While Moyes is in charge, Everton will always be contenders to qualify for Europe but the 48-year-old must be considering taking on a new challenge with more financial backing. Aussie rules: Pugnacious midfielder Tim Cahill (right) is Everton's star man
Star man: Tim Cahill
Season after season the Aussie always delivers. Cahill has been the engine of the midfield for seven years and it’s hard to see anyone coming close to being able to replace him.A common sight is Cahill rising like a salmon to thump yet another header towards the back of the net. So common in fact that he holds the Premier League record for most headed goals.
Top class: Defender Phil Jagielka
Young gun: Jack Rodwell
Didn’t have the best of seasons last time out, but the 20-year-old is set for a big future. His poor year has failed to put off a number of clubs including Manchester United who rate him highly.
A midfielder by trade but Moyes expects him to drop back into defence later in his career. In fairness he isn’t too bad going forward either.
Best Premier League finish: 4th (2004/05)
Worst Premier League finish: 17th (1993/94, 1997/98, 2003/04)
Aiming for: A return to Europe has to be the aim for England’s fourth most successful club and it is well within their grasp…providing they remember the season starts in August and not October.
What to expect: Everton were one of the form teams at the back end of last season so there doesn’t seem to be any sign that the Toffees are running out of steam under Moyes.But it’s poor starts to the campaign that have hampered them in recent years and it has left them with too much work to catch up on.The lack of spending will once again annoy fans, but the squad is strong enough as it is to maintain a credible challenge for the top six – providing they can keep Cahill, Louis Saha and Mikel Arteta fit.
Sportsmail verdict: 7th
Did you know? Everton have spent the most seasons in the top flight of English football. Next term will be their 109th.
Everton Premier League 2011-12 team guide
08/08/11 The Guardian
David Moyes needs to find a top striker and hopes Bill Kenwright can find someone to invest in the club
The fourth most successful club in England but unlikely to significantly add to that roll of honour in the foreseeable future.Bonus culture or EU bailout? Up for sale for three years – about the same as a terraced house in Anfield – with the eighth highest wage bill in the division. An estimated £45m in debt, most of it securitised on season ticket sales. Times have been tough, but not as tough as they seem right now when being outspent by the likes of Stoke and Sunderland.
They'd bite your hand off if you offered them …
The hard-pressed owner Bill Kenwright is not the only one who wants to find a bona-fide buyer, while the fans also dream of the day when somebody arrives who is good enough to wear the No9 shirt. Failure to get one or the other will see another top-eight finish at best and further declining interest levels on the terraces.
Reality check
Four days in an Austrian training camp, a friendly at Bury and a two-game trip to US venues invariably leads to a slow start, elimination from the Carling Cup and talk that "Moyes has taken Everton as far as he can". A barnstorming last quarter, when his squad is down to 10 fit first-teamers, promotes sufficient optimism that the club are not heading back to the dark days of the Walter Smith era.
What the fans sing
"It's a grand old team to play for/It's a grand old team to support/And if you know your history/It's enough to make your heart go woh, oh, oh, oh."
What the fans should sing
Girlfriend In A Coma (The Smiths)
One to follow on Twitter
Phil Neville is @Fizzer18 "Morning all 5.50am here-everyones still in bed-im starving-might have to pop to starbucks for breakfast!"
The players This is England
Evertonians believe Leighton Baines is the best left-back in the country, Phil Jagielka has the pace if not the distribution to add to his handful of caps and Jack Rodwell may well kick on. One or all of these could be furthering their chances of more caps with other clubs.
Overseas aid
Tim Cahill never puts a foot wrong when it comes to bigging up the club but his obsession with returning to Oz to play in relatively meaningless games is starting to grate as his Everton performances suffer. Dinyar Bilyaletdinov has failed to impress out wide while Louis Saha cannot be relied upon to play four games in a row.
Heart and soul or captain caveman?
Phil Neville, captain in name and attitude, is perceived by England aficionados to be a clogger but despite his gene pool he is surprisingly cultured, both on and off the pitch.
Teenage kicks
There are high hopes for Ross Barkley, a box-to-box midfielder who played for England Under-17s when they won the Euro in 2010. Now fully recovered from a double leg break sustained in September when on England Under-19 duty.
Mad, bad and dangerous to know
Jermaine Beckford won himself a whole new army of critics with his failure to turn up until after kick-off of an FA Cup fifth-round tie with Reading. The game was lost and the neck-tattooed striker blamed gridlock on the M62, even though Phil Neville made it that way. Needs to take his job seriously.
The manager Paid the cost to be the boss
A plodding defender primarily with Cambridge United, won the now League One title with Preston in 2000 and is still perceived, at 48, to be one of the best young managers in the game. Trouble is he's been at Everton for nine or more trophyless seasons, is grey and middle-aged, and given his glass-half-full attitude, is unlikely to inspire this squad to win a thing.
Clogger or tiki-taka?
A lot of fans see him as the club's biggest asset, the best value-added manager in the league, but others point to his knack of circling the wagons and playing 4-5-1 and thus settling for a point against lesser teams – often at home.
On his to-do list
Try to start an auction for Yakubu Ayegbeni, Joseph Yobo, Bilyaletdinov, Beckford, Saha or even Jack Rodwell to raise funds to land a high-quality striker or two.The advice Sepp Blatter might give to your club"Club after my own heart, if I had one. Traditional values, make no progress but the old guard always stay in power, as it should be."
Rule change
Goals from short-arse scurrying midfielders to count double and Louis Saha given dispensation to play in Robocop outfit.
Everton FC star Marouane Fellaini says he can’t wait for the start of the season
by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
Aug 8 2011
MAROUANE FELLAINI says he is fit and ready to go for the new Premier League season. The Belgian midfielder has not played competitively for Everton since February 26 following an ankle injury, but came through an hour of Friday's friendly with Villarreal unscathed.David Moyes' side face Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Saturday, and Fellaini says he is looking forward to his return to action.Fellaini said: “It was good for me (to face Villarreal) because I have not played all the games in pre-season. It helped my fitness as it was a hard game against a good team with good players.“I still need to play more games and I need more training but I will be ready for Tottenham.“All the players are excited about playing that first game. We are playing a good team and it is an interesting start to the season. Hopefully we can get a positive result.” The 23-year-old Fellaini, who has been linked with a move away from Goodison Park this summer, was the senior member of Moyes' midfield in the 1-0 defeat to the Spanish outfit. Youngsters Jack Rodwell and Ross Barkley featured alongside the former Standard Liege man, who was full of praise for his colleagues. He added: “We played a young midfield but they are good players and we need games together to develop the feeling, the understanding.“They are younger than me and that has to be good for Everton. Ross is only 17 and it is good for him that he is playing. He still needs to work on his game but he is already a good player.”Meanwhile, Everton will find out later this week whether Saturday's clash will go ahead as scheduled following a weekend of disturbances in North London.Tottenham's ticket office and club megastore has been closed since clashes between police and protestors on Saturday evening, which saw 48 people arrested and several injured. Stadium tours of White Hart Lane were cancelled on Sunday due to safety concerns.No decision has yet been made on Saturday's fixture, which is due to kick-off at 3pm.
Everton FC winger Seamus Coleman remains positive despite pre-season injury
• Liverpool Echo
• Aug 8 2011
CARLOS MARCHENA may have been able to stop Everton FC winger Seamus Coleman in his tracks but he will struggle to break the Irishman’s enthusiasm for the new season.The 23-year-old will today discover how long a wait he must endure before being able to start the 2011/12 campaign yet such is Coleman’s positive outlook, the misfortune of injury will only heighten his desire to impress upon a return.To add frustration to the one match ban brought over from the previous campaign - after Coleman was sent off in the final game against Chelsea - Everton’s buccaneering youngster is facing time s on the sidelines after his buoyant pre-season was chopped down in full flow by the Villarreal defender.Fears of broken bones were allayed on Friday night after a trip to hospital gave Everton a degree of good news but the Republic of Ireland international will undergo a scan at Finch Farm in order to learn the full extent of his injury. Ankle ligament damage is the anticipated outcome of today’s tests.The set-back is untimely and one Everton could do without given their stagnation in the transfer market as well as the manner in which Coleman emerged as a player without fear last season when David Moyes’ men made a startled beginning.However Coleman’s simple take on life under the microscope of the Premier League allows him to create distance between the hype and reality of playing football for a living; the former Sligo Rovers man approaches the game in the same manner he always has.Part of the burden of expectancy from the supporters is sure to be shared by Ross Barkley this season but for Coleman, outside pressures have rarely entered into his thinking.“I didn’t feel any pressure last season,” said Coleman.“At the end of the day, you’re just a footballer and can’t really help what the fans think. I just go out there on a Saturday and give my best. Sometimes it might not be good enough but I go out every weekend and give it my best, that’s all you can do. “Every year we have been making targets before the season started but for me, I won’t be setting targets because it is a long way to go until the end of the season. We’ve just got to take each Saturday as it comes and by January we’ll have a much better idea of where we stand.“Every week was different last season. You could play brilliant one week but then poorly the next so one thing I need to get better at as a right midfielder is being consistent. But when you’ve all the lads around you then it’s great.“It was a long season and know I’m not going to play well every week. I got more games last year than I expected.“There were times when I felt tired and the manager rightly pulled me out and that’s what it’s all about at this level.”On Barkley, Coleman added: “Ross is definitely a talent. He’s 17 years of age, a big lad and I think he’s at the right club with the right manager. But we don’t want to be putting too much pressure on Ross just yet.” For a man with such expectation placed around him, Coleman remains totally at comfort with the impact he has made with Everton.The £60,000 signing is equally at ease with the position his manager chooses to pick him.Brought over from Ireland in 2009 and having emerged as a right-back, Coleman was thrust into the void on the Blues’ right flank last season and though he admits there were teething problems, the Irishman was soon thrilling the Goodison crowds with explosive bursts along the touchline.Such were the calibre of his displays, Coleman was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year Award for his 2010/11 endeavours and though it would appear the Ireland international, who signed a new four-and-a-half year deal in January, remains earmarked for a long-term stint at full-back, such is his desire to play wherever required, his career as a wide man continues to enthuse.“I’m very lucky to be in the position I am, playing for such a big club and so will play wherever the manager wants to play me. Last year I played right midfield but all my career before that was at right back.“I’m not sure (about seeing his long-term future at right back), it just depends what the manager has planned. I’m not fussy really and every week I just enjoy playing in front of the fans at Goodison, whether that’s right back, right midfield or coming on as a sub. Everyone says they’d play in goal if the manager asked, but I really would.“It’s a lot different and took me a couple of games to get used to it. I hadn’t played there before but started to enjoy it. Teams then start to cotton on to you a bit more so you need to change bits of your game and it’s all a learning curve.“I came back from Blackpool this time last year and was just hoping to get in the first team. I know Blackpool were keen to have me back but the manager didn’t let me, which I guess was a good sign.“I left it all up to the manager here because he knows where he’s at. He didn’t want me to leave and wanted me to play which was a good sign for me. He gave me some game time at right midfield and I enjoyed it.”
Everton FC midfielder Jack Rodwell vows to support Ross Barkley
• by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
• Aug 8 2011
JACK RODWELL has pledged to support Ross Barkley as he adapts to life on the big stage with Everton FC in the Premier League.Rodwell knows all about the pressures and expectations of being a young hopeful in the Blues first-team camp, and will give Barkley, 17, the benefit of his experience.Even though he is only 20-years-old himself, Rodwell can empathise with Barkley – while also being excited about playing alongside him and Marouane Fellaini in a new-look Toffees midfield that David Moyes tested in the defeat by Villarreal at Goodison Park on Friday evening.He said: “Ross is just 17 and that was me back along so I know how he is feeling.“He just needs to keep his feet on the ground and work hard and we will all support him.“The midfield had good balance with Felli holding and Ross and I getting forward,” he added.“It worked well and we will see what happens for the first game of the season.“It was a hard game for us as Villarreal are a really good side who regularly finish high up in La Liga.“But we are still warming up for the new season, we tried some different things, made plenty of substitutions and we will take the positives.“I thought we defended really well for one.”Rodwell says the 90 minutes he completed against Villarreal was just what he needed on the eve of the new Premier League season, after an uneven pre-season.He had an extended summer break following his involvement in the European Under-21 Championships in Denmark, and then missed last Tuesday’s trip to Werder Bremen with a chest infection. The midfielder has already stated his intention to hit the ground running this season so was therefore delighted to have played a full game ahead of the curtain raiser at White Hart Lane next Saturday.“I have not had a lot of pre-season because I had those few extra games with the under-21s and then I also had a bit of an illness last week so it was good to get out there and play the full 90,” he added.“Generally I feel really good though. I trained hard last week and did lots of running so I feel as if my fitness is really getting there now.“Tottenham are a great side but so are we, and if we apply ourselves and do things the right way then hopefully we can get the three points.”Meanwhile, Everton pair Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines have been called up by England to face Holland at Wembley on Wednesday night.Both players have kept their places from the squad that was picked to take on Switzerland in May.Baines came off the bench to assist a goal in that game, while Jagielka remained an unused substitute.Both will hope to use the clash against the Dutch – who are expected to feature fellow Blue Johnny Heitinga – to stake a claim for involvement in the Three Lions crucial Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Wales next month.Elsewhere, Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard has been called up to Jurgen Klinsmann's first USA squad for their friendly encounter against Mexico on the same day.Howard, along with former Blues loan player Landon Donovan, have both made the 22-man-squad, ahead of a re-match of the Gold Cup final which Mexico won 4-2 back in June.Howard is joined in the squad by DC United custodian Bill Hamid, who started the 3-1 friendly defeat to the Blues last month.Shane Duffy has been selected in the Republic of Ireland Under-21 squad to take on Austria in Sligo.Earlier in the week Tim Cahill was named in the Australia squad to face Wales at the Millennium Stadium, a match also taking place on Wednesday.
Everton FC captain Tim Cahill says low expectations can be secret weapon
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 8 2011
TIM CAHILL believes a lack of expectation can be Everton FC’s secret weapon as they aim to make a flying start to the Premier League campaign.David Moyes’s side completed their warm-up programme on Friday by going down to a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Villarreal in their traditional home friendly.The gloom deepened with Seamus Coleman taken to hospital nursing a serious ankle injury after a poor tackle from Spanish midfielder Carlos Marchena.With no new signings imminent and fresh investment failing to transpire, the apprehension among Evertonians is in stark contrast to 12 months ago when Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson tipped the Goodison outfit as outsiders for Champions League qualification.But Cahill is convinced having no pressure can work in Everton’s favour when they begin the season at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. “I’m not putting any expectations on us this season because I think it was a problem last season,” said the Australian. “We called Europe and called a very high finish.“Expectations are a big thing – especially when you pile the pressure on yourself. At the moment we have no pressure.“What’s the point of putting expectations on ourselves if clubs are spending hundreds of millions?“We’ve got something special here and the main thing is that we try to start on fire and the first game will say a lot about how the season will start.“I think we’re the only team not to go out and spend but what we do have is a great set of lads who are on long-term contracts who have been here for many a season.“There are so many great players. We’ve just got to deal with what we have got and make the most of it because when you have got no expectations, anything can happen.“We have a strong team when you look at it on paper. Hopefully the team will surprise people.” While an X-ray on Coleman’s leg revealed no damage, he will have further scans today with Everton braced for the news the Irishman faces an extended spell on the sidelines. On a more positive note, both Marouane Fellaini and Jack Rodwell returned to the midfield fold on Friday to bolster their fitness while youngster Ross Barkley sparkled on his first senior Goodison appearance.And Cahill said: “Ross Barkley is beginning to shine and defensively we did very well.“It might look as though there wasn’t a lot of creativeness from us but if you look over the whole pre-season, the manager has given the lads a lot of game time. It seems to have worked out well.“Come Tottenham, if we start on the front foot at a high tempo, then it’s a different sort of game than we had against Villarreal.“It’s the same scenario every season. You have just got to start like a house on fire, throw the kitchen sink at them and see what happens. Everyone is in the unknown at the start of the season.”Fellaini has had a new contract on the table at Everton for some time, with the impasse prompting suggestions he may move away from Goodison before the end of the month.Cahill, though, has praised the professionalism of the Belgian, and said: “The thing with players and contracts is if you want to stay you sign it and if you don’t want to stay you go.“Felli is an exceptional player and a great professional. He’s put in a great performance after being out for a few weeks.“He gives great heart to the whole team with his exceptional performances. One thing about contracts is that they always sort themselves out in the end if you really want them to.”
Everton FC midfielder Jack Rodwell feels ready for Premier League season
Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 8 2011
EVERTON FC midfielder Jack Rodwell is confident he will be ready for the start of the season after coming through unscathed on his comeback from illness.Rodwell played the full 90 minutes as EFC ended their warm-up programme with a 1-0 home defeat to Villarreal on Friday.The midfielder was given an extended summer break after appearing for England in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship in June, and then sat out Everton’s last two friendlies with a chest infection.But the 20-year-old believes he is approaching the required level of fitness in time for Saturday’s Premier League opener at Tottenham Hotspur.“I have not had a lot of pre-season because I had those few extra games with the U21s and then I also had a bit of an illness last week, so it was good to get out there and play the full 90,” said Rodwell.“Generally I feel really good, though. I trained hard last week and did lots of running so I feel as if my fitness is really getting there now. “It was a hard game for us as Villarreal are a really good side who regularly finish high up in La Liga.“But we are still warming up for the new season, we tried some different things, made plenty of substitutions and we will take the positives. I thought we defended really well for one.” Rodwell was part of a central midfield triumvirate against Villarreal that also included Marouane Fellaini and 17-year-old Goodison debutant Ross Barkley.And of the youthful blend, he added: “The midfield had good balance with Felli holding and Ross and I getting forward. It worked well and we will see what happens for the first game of the season.“Ross is just 17 and that was me not so long ago, so I know how he is feeling. He just needs to keep his feet on the ground and work hard and we will all support him.“We’ll have a really big week in training now. The first game is coming up and we need to work really hard in the build-up to that.“Tottenham are a great side but so are we, and if we apply ourselves and do things the right way then hopefully we can get the three points.”
Everton FC 0 Villareal 1 - Harry Redknapp gives verdict on EFC by leaving early
Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 8 2011
HARRY REDKNAPP had seen enough. Twenty minutes still remained of Everton FC's game with Villareal when the Tottenham Hotspur manager scuttled up the stairs of the directors’ box and out into the Merseyside night.Redknapp had been warned he would be wasting his time garnering any indicators ahead of next weekend’s big kick-off, and David Moyes will pray none were apparent as Everton FC ended their pre-season in worrying fashion in front of their own supporters.Suddenly, the optimism of some decent friendly performances and results has vanished to expose the fears that have been gnawing away at Evertonians for far, far too long.No new players. No new investment. Very few expectations. The same old story.Small wonder Goodison had long since been subdued before the final whistle was blown on Friday night’s 1-0 defeat to Villarreal.Despite talk of a protest inside the ground, such a demonstration didn’t – or more pertinently wasn’t allowed – to happen. Yet the unrest among the fanbase cannot be quelled simply by pulling down some banners and confiscating critical flyers.Matters aren’t quite as bad as the naysayers maintain, but the fact is the apparent inertia of the Goodison board is sapping the hopes and enthusiasm of the support.A penny for the thoughts of Moyes. The usual comment from the manager was absent from the matchday programme, and his relative silence throughout the summer has not gone unnoticed.Of course, financial restraints are nothing new to the Scot. But it must be galling that the main issues of this time last year – the need for a new striker, pace down the flanks, basic squad numbers – haven’t changed one iota.Redknapp stuck around long enough to see former Manchester United striker Giuseppe Rossi arrow home the only goal midway through the second half to give Villarreal a deserved triumph in a surprisingly tetchy friendly.Much of the angst was sparked by a vicious 38th-minute challenge from renowned Spanish agriculturist Carlos Marchena on Seamus Coleman that saw the Irishman carried off down the tunnel en route to hospital and the Villarreal man somehow escape censure. Moyes has enough headaches without a possible lengthy absence of one of last season’s most influential players, although Coleman is already ruled out of Saturday’s opener through suspension.With Diniyar Bilyaletdinov also banned next week and Leon Osman and Mikel Arteta injured, that on Friday Victor Anichebe was tried with little success at filling the problematic left flank role underlined the lack of width in the Everton squad.There was, however, one obvious shining light for the Goodison crowd in the form of Ross Barkley.With no summer signings, the new faces during pre-season have been a clutch of youngsters, with the 17-year-old the most prominent.Moyes had expected the midfielder to make a first-team breakthrough last year until his season was curtailed by a triple leg fracture last October.Subsequently nursed back to full fitness, Barkley has grasped with both hands the opportunity to strengthen his claims in recent weeks.The teenager, employed in support of lone striker Louis Saha against Villarreal, certainly looks the part, possessing a strong physique and swift turn of pace, along with an effortless range of passing that had Goodison purring in appreciation on more than one occasion. Moyes has a track record of bringing through youngsters at Everton, and Barkley can expect to be treated with similar care and attention.One of those players the manager has previously nurtured, Jack Rodwell, made a welcome return to the Everton midfield alongside Marouane Fellaini, who was making his first appearance in three weeks since the opening friendly at Bury.The absent Arteta believes only Real Madrid and Barcelona rate higher in terms of entertainment in his homeland, but while Villarreal, who finished fourth in La Liga last season, bossed possession it was Everton who created the better chances during a low-key first half.The hosts began brightly and took only five minutes to fashion the first opportunity, Coleman’s searing pace taking him down the right flank and inside the area only for his effort to be blocked by the face of goalkeeper Diego Lopez.Anichebe later hesitated when played clear while Saha, gradually regaining his sharpness, drew a good save from Lopez with a low drive.Villarreal threat-ened sporadically. Fellaini, having inadvertently sent Rossi in on goal with a slack pass, made amends with a saving tackle, while the Italy international then curled a tame effort into the arms of Tim Howard.The pattern of the game changed little after the break, with Everton almost going ahead a minute into the second half when Saha’s clever backheel gave Baines a shooting chance inside the area that was thwarted by Lopez.But Villarreal soon increased their intensity. Howard parried from Rossi and then had to be alert to keep out a free-kick from an acute angle from former West Bromwich Albion man Borja Valero.However, the Everton goalkeeper could do nothing on 65 minutes when, having had a dead-ball nudged into his path, Rossi unleashed a venomous shot into the top corner from 20 yards.While the Goodison outfit defended relatively well throughout, the failure to keep a clean sheet during pre-season will cause some concern.Howard’s legs prevented Joan Oriol doubling Villarreal’s advantage soon after, but the second goal was not needed with Everton unable to wrest back the initiative during a disappointing closing quarter.The phoney war is now over. Moyes, however, will hope this isn’t a portent of things to come.
Everton game goes ahead, declares Tottenham
by Neil Jones, Liverpool Echo
Aug 9 2011
curtain-raiser with Everton at White Hart Lane is set to go ahead despite violent disturbances in the area over the weekend.Police made 48 arrests, and eight people were injured after clashes between protestors and police on Tottenham High Road on Saturday evening. Shops, buses and police patrol cars were set on fire, whilst a number of shops were looted.With the disturbances having spread to the neighbouring towns of Walthamstow, Enfield and Brixton, and with the White Hart Lane tickets office closed due to safety worries, there was some concern that the Blues’ visit to North London this weekend could be postponed.Tottenham, however, issued a statement yesterday saying that the game was expected to go ahead as planned.The statement read: “Following the disturbances in Tottenham over the weekend, the club has been in ongoing discussions with the necessary authorities regarding this coming weekend’s Premier League fixture against Everton.“We can advise fans that at this stage the game is going ahead and the club is doing everything it can to ensure that this remains the position.“Fans are advised to please check the website for further updates and in particular travel details as we shall look to advise fans on best available travel options.”Earlier in the day Spurs chairman Daniel Levy had expressed his sadness at the weekend’s events, whilst insisting that the club would do all it can to support its community.Levy said: “As a major employer and business in the area, the club is deeply saddened by recent events. We are concerned about the disruption to local people’s lives and the effect on the community as a whole.“The situation has meant vandals have unfortunately been able to use the events as an opportunity to loot and destroy property and business premises. Our hope is that calm and order is restored.”
Everton FC boss David Moyes must keep his star men at Goodison Park - former star Steve Watson
by Neil Jones, Liverpool Echo
Aug 9 2011
DAVID MOYES must keep hold of Everton’s best players if the club are to enjoy a successful season – according to former star Steve Watson.The Blues kick off their Premier League campaign away to Champions League hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, as they look to improve upon last season’s seventh placed finish.A summer of transfer inactivity at Goodison Park, and the perceived improvement of sides around them, has prompted some to speculate that Moyes’ men could struggle to replicate the form with which they finished the last campaign.Indeed, Everton have spent much of the summer fending off interest from the Premier League’s big guns for star men Phil Jagielka, Jack Rodwell and Marouane Fellaini.A £10m bid from Arsenal for Jagielka was turned down flat last month, whilst Manchester City and Chelsea are believed to be tracking Rodwell and Fellaini.Watson, who made 136 appearances for the Blues between 2000 and 2005, says it is vital that Moyes hangs on to his prized assets.“It is very important that he keeps his better players at the club,” said the Geordie, now development coach at League One Huddersfield Town. “I think Everton are a bit like Tottenham in that they can’t wait for the end of August to come.“It must be very frustrating for a club like Everton. They take players, coach them and develop them to turn them into class players, and then see other teams come in and try to take them.“Jagielka, for example, came from Sheffield United and, through a combination of David Moyes’ coaching and his own hard work, has become an established England international. Now there are clubs looking to benefit from Everton’s work.“But that is the nature of football I guess. I have seen the other side of the coin; I was at Newcastle when (in 1996) they paid a world record transfer fee for Alan Shearer. It happens.”Watson was originally signed by Walter Smith back in 2000, costing £2.5m from Aston Villa. But having spent three years under Moyes’ tutelage, he rates the Scot as the best coach he ever encountered and says that, but for the club’s well-documented financial constraints, Everton would be even higher in the league table.He added: “I played for 20 years and worked under lots of different managers, and they all had their individual strengths.“I would say as a motivator (former Newcastle bosses) Kevin Keegan and Kenny Dalglish were the best, but I have always said that as a coach, David is the best I ever worked with.“His attention to detail, his tactics and his training were all spot on.“As a player sometimes all you want to do is play five and six a side, but David’s training is great, and the proof is in the pudding.“Of course the financial problems are there. If there was more money available then I am sure they would be pushing a lot closer to the top of the table, and be in the top six at least.“But you can’t just buy success. For a club with a small squad, like Everton, staying injury-free is equally important. They haven’t had much luck with that, so hopefully this season it can be different.”
Everton FC still sweating on Seamus Coleman’s injury
by Neil Jones, Liverpool Echo
Aug 9 2011
EVERTON FC are still waiting on the results of a scan on Seamus Coleman’s injured ankle.The Irish wide-man was carried off in the first-half of the Blues’ 1-0 defeat to Villarreal at Goodison Park on Friday evening after a poor challenge by Carlos Marchena. There were initial fears that the 22-year-old had fractured his ankle, but they were allayed after the game, with Goodison assistant boss Steve Round confirming there was no break.Coleman underwent a scan on Monday to determine the full extent of the damage, with Everton’s medical team hoping to know tomorrow how long the club’s Young Player of the Year will be out for.He would have missed Saturday’s Premier League opener at Tottenham through suspension anyway, having picked up a red card in the win over Chelsea on the final day of last season, and Blues boss David Moyes will be hoping to have the talented winger available as soon as possible, with his already-sparse squad stretched to its limit. Mikel Arteta is a doubt with a foot injury, but Marouane Fellaini should be fit after playing an hour against Villarreal.The Belgian showed no ill effects from the ankle injury which has kept him out since February.Meanwhile, Blues defender Tony Hibbert is targeting a quick start this weekend, and says his side will be putting in plenty of work on the training field ahead of the trip to North London.“We’ve got another week to go and we’ll probably work on the smaller details in training,” said Hibbert.“But the majority of the hard work, the running and the fitness has been done. Everyone has got minutes under their belts in games as well.“We’ve just got to fine tune and stay focused for Tottenham.”“It’s a big game for us, Tottenham away is a really tough game – we usually go down there and do alright and pick up some decent results.“We need to start the season well and get a good performance under our belts.”
Everton FC 's Tony Hibbert eyeing an end to opening-day blues
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 9 2011
EVERTON’S Barclays Premier League opener at Tottenham Hotspur is scheduled to go ahead – with Tony Hibbert confident the team are ready to end their first-day blues.Violent protests have blighted the capital for the last three days after locals began rioting following the fatal shooting of Tottenham resident Mark Duggan last week.Tottenham High Road, the place where the initial violence erupted on Saturday night, is located less than a mile from Tottenham’s White Hart Lane home and one of the club’s ticket offices was broken in to and vandalised during the troubles.Police are expected to monitor the situation over the next 48 hours and report back to Tottenham on whether they think Saturday’s match should go ahead.But the Londoners are anticipating the game to proceed as scheduled, with a 3pm kick-off.“Following the disturbances in Tottenham over the weekend, the club has been in ongoing discussions with the necessary authorities regarding this coming weekend’s Premier League fixture against Everton,” said a Tottenham statement.“We can advise fans that at this stage the game is going ahead and the club is doing everything it can to ensure that this remains the position.“Fans are advised to please check the website for further updates and in particular travel details as we shall look to advise fans on best available travel options.”Everton have not won on the opening day since 2007 and triumphed only twice in nine previous attempts under Moyes. However, they have lost only once in their last five Premier League visits to White Hart Lane, and Hibbert said: “It’s a big game for us, Tottenham away is a really tough game – we usually go down there and do all right and pick up some decent results.“We need to start the season well and get a good performance under our belts.”Hibbert believes the squad are close to being fully prepared for the new campaign following their pre-season programme.“We’ve got another week to go and we’ll probably work on the smaller details in training,” he added.“But the majority of the hard work, the running and the fitness has been done.“Everyone has got minutes under their belts in games as well.“We’ve just got to fine tune and stay focused for Tottenham.”Meanwhile, Everton are awaiting the results of Seamus Coleman’s scan on the ankle injury sustained following a heavy challenge from Villarreal midfielder Carlos Marchena in Friday’s friendly at Goodison.An X-Ray showed there had been no fracture and Coleman underwent further tests yesterday to ascertain the extent of the injury.
Mark Lawrenson: Everton FC's summer sunshine has been hard to find at frustrated Goodison
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 9 2011
IT’S almost as if the summer didn’t even happen at Everton.Apart from the sale of James Vaughan, almost everything else has remained the same as David Moyes and his players prepare for their season opener at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.Frustrating for the manager, frustrating for the players, and, above all, incredibly frustrating for the supporters.So much for a summer of excitement and intrigue that normally awaits the football fan.It’s not that Everton are in a plight, it’s just that all the teams at the top are improving their squads and Moyes just isn’t able to do that.Everton haven’t been made any worse this summer but they haven’t been able to get much better, although it may well be there are some loan signings nearer deadline day when players begin forcing through transfers.It would be easy for the board to give Moyes a war chest of £25million and order him to put the club into more debt, but they simply aren’t going to do that.Everton’s debt is around £45m, and if you were running a business you wouldn’t want to put it into further arrears when there is no guarantee you can service the original deficit.Yes, it’s very frustrating, but that’s the lot of the Everton supporter right now. Hard to accept, but the fans have to be realistic. Everton don’t have wealthy owners, there don’t seem to be any on the horizon, so what can they do?What Everton do have is a top, top manager. The one thing the board don’t want is for Moyes to become sick of the ongoing restraints and announce he is leaving.With that in mind, maybe Everton are fortunate in that it’s difficult to see at the moment where Moyes might go. All the jobs he would most likely be interested in seem pretty secure.That might go some way to explaining why Moyes has been curiously quiet throughout pre-season.However, it is fair to say perhaps Moyes believes he simply has had nothing to talk about. Either that or deciding discretion would be better than going public with concerns and fears he readily admits he has no control over. He has no choice.Everton have a tricky start at Tottenham, although they have done well at White Hart Lane in recent seasons.I’m sure, given the status quo, Moyes would be happy with a top 10 finish. That might not be what the fans want to hear, but if they are challenging for European qualification, that would surely be regarded a major success.
Everton FC Ladies title bid is all but over
Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 9 2011
MO MARLEY admits Everton’s hopes of winning the inaugural FA Women’s Super League are all but over.The Blues succumbed to a shock 2-0 defeat at home to Lincoln Ladies on Sunday, bringing an end to their five-game winning streak.Star forward Natasha Dowie missed a second-half penalty, after an own-goal from skipper Becky Easton and a strike from Jess Clarke had given the Imps an early lead.The result leaves them six points behind leaders Birmingham with just three games left to play, although Everton have a game in hand on the Midlands club.And coach Marley conceded that the weekend’s defeat means that there is unlikely to be any silverware for the club this season, following early exits from both the FA Cup and Champions League.“It’s an opportunity wasted, and that’s why we’re sitting third in the table and not at the top,” Marley said.“These are the opportunities you’re given and you have to take them, and once again we’ve fallen short and that’s why we’re not competing at the top.“I thought it was going to be difficult even if we kept winning, because we are relying on other teams dropping points.“In the last few games we’ve got the results and performances have been decent to exceptionally good, but this performance wasn’t great and the result was even worse.”
Duffy on mission to make fresh start
Trapattoni: Shane has Long way to go
By John Fallon
Tuesday August 09 2011 (IRISH INDEPENDENT)
THOUGH events conspired against him last season, Ireland U-21 defender Shane Duffy wants tonight's friendly against Austria in Sligo (6.0) to mark a new beginning. Facing into a campaign just three months after undergoing life-saving surgery for a lacerated liver sustained while playing a practice match for Giovanni Trapattoni's senior squad was always going to present challenges last season. Still, the Everton centre-back was left disappointed that his loan spell at Burnley was restricted to just one outing. To compound matters, he was axed from the Irish U-19 squad that progressed all the way to the European Championship semi-finals last month. "It was a poor season for me and I want to have a better one -- starting with this U-21 game tonight," said the Derry-born 19-year-old, who angered Northern Ireland officials for switching to the Republic in February 2010."I didn't regain the fitness levels I had before the injury and my performances weren't good at all. "Burnley was the right club to go on loan to, but maybe at the wrong time. I played the full match (against Ipswich) but didn't get in after that."He added: "The Ireland U-19s turned out to be a real disappointment too. I don't think the manager (Paul Doolin) really fancied me. I felt I was playing well enough (to be picked) but he chooses the squad."I didn't even watch the European finals (on television). If I'm not there, I can't watch. But I knew most of the lads and I was delighted that they did so well at the finals." With that chapter behind him, Duffy is looking upwards. Another loan move is being lined up from Goodison Park this week, probably for the season, and he's a firm favourite of Ireland U-21 boss Noel King. "There's not much point in staying at Everton with four quality centre-backs ahead of me and the manager David Moyes wants me getting more experience."I made my Everton debut quite young (at 17) but a couple of games doesn't mean you've made it. I really need a full season of playing games to mature properly as a player." This evening's game marks Ireland's final friendly before the 2013 UEFA qualifiers begin on September 1 against Hungary , also at the Showgrounds. They follow that opener up with a trip to Turkey five days later before meeting Liechtenstein and Italy either side of the new year. King was forced to make two changes to his squad following the withdrawal of Adam Barton (Preston North End ) and Sean Scannell (Crystal Palace). York City defender Lanre Oyebanjo has been added along with Aaron Greene of Sligo Rovers.Daniel Kearns is the only fitness concern and the Dundalk winger will undergo a pre-match fitness test on his ankle injury.
Ireland (probable) -- McLoughlin (MK Dons ); Connolly (Bolton), Duffy (Everton), Gunning (Blackburn), Stevens (Shamrock Rovers); Clifford (Chelsea), Kiernan (Wigan), Hendrick (Derby); Brady (Hull), Mason (Cardiff City), Doran (Inverness CT).
- John Fallon
Big-spending Sven sets his sights on £3m Everton striker Anichebe
By Sportsmail Reporter
9th August 2011 (DAILY MAIL)
On the shopping list: Everton striker Victor Anichebe
Everton striker Victor Anichebe will be the target of a £3million bid from Championship big spenders Leicester.oxes manager Sven Goran Eriksson has switched his sights to Anichebe after previous target Shane Long moved to West Bromwich, although it seems unlikely that David Moyes will be willing to part with the 23-year-old. The Everton boss is already short of options, having done little business this summer, while 21-year-old striker Joao Silva has returned to Portugal to join Vitoria de Setubal on a season-long loan.
Everton FC midfielder Seamus Coleman's injury confirmed as torn ankle ligament
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 9 2011
SEAMUS Coleman has suffered a torn ligament in his ankle, scans revealed today. The Irish international sustained the injury during Friday's 1-0 defeat to Villarreal, in a late tackle by Spain midfielder Carlos Marchena. X-rays after the game confirmed he had not suffered a break but further scans on Monday revealed the 22-year-old has torn a ligament in his right ankle. Coleman, who is suspended for the first two games of the new Premier League season after being sent-off against Chelsea on the final day of the 2010/11 campaign, will visit a specialist later this week as he begins his recuperation from the injury but the club are yet to put a timescale on his recovery.
Everton head physio Danny Donachie said: "Seamus has torn the lateral ligament in his right ankle. He will be visiting a specialist in London later this week for further assessment." Meanwhile, Everton have confirmed that Mikel Arteta is likely to miss the opening game of the season on Saturday, as he continues to nurse the foot injury that has sidelined him from the Blues' last four pre-season outings. The Spaniard picked up the injury during Everton's summer visit to the United States and looks set to miss Saturday's game at White Hart Lane, although the club have not revealed their prediction for the overall time-scale of his injury lay-off.
Everton FC defender Sylvain Distin wants new EFC deal
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 10 2011
Everton FC defender Sylvain Distin reveals he wants a new deal with Everton - and said he is confident there will be no major departures from the club before the transfer window shuts.
SYLVAIN DISTIN wants to agree a new deal with Everton FC – and said he is confident there will be no major departures from the club before the transfer window shuts. The 33-year-old defender revealed that initial talks between his agent and the Toffees aimed at extending his stay on Merseyside are underway, as he enters the final year of his current contract. Distin, who joined for £5m from Portsmouth in 2009, insisted he is content at Everton, and said he sees no reason why he – or any of the Blues other key-men – would wish to leave. He said: “I want to stay here, I'm happy at Everton, and if I can do so then fine. If I feel I have to change clubs then I will do it. I'm quite honest about that, if I don't feel good then I say so. “But I do feel good about being here and if I can stay then I will. “Jags has not come out and said he wants to go anywhere, so I guess that means he wants to stay. If he comes to me and asks, I'll tell him what I think – but it's not happened so we're happy he's staying. “I don't think any players want to leave here to be honest. There's no point in saying anything to them about it unless they come out and say they want to go.” Distin said he has grown in admiration for Jagielka, 28, who continues to be monitored by Arsenal despite the Londoners having two bids for the England defender rejected already this summer. “He's an amazing player, you don't play for your country if not,” he said. “He's still young and still improving.
“He had some injury problems but seems to be over them now and is doing great - he's quality. He's got top clubs after him, and that's a sign of his quality.”
Everton FC striker Louis Saha admits he considered quitting football last season after suffering yet another injury
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 10 2011
EVERTON FC striker Louis Saha has revealed he considered quitting football last season after suffering yet another injury setback. The Everton striker’s career has been blighted by injury problems and, when his return to the France side after a four-year absence was curtailed by a calf injury in September, the thought of walking away from the game crossed his mind. Having decided to carry on, Saha battled back and was in prime goalscoring form when he damaged his ankle against Fulham in March, ruling him out for the rest of the season. He said: “Sometimes you feel really unlucky and that it’s not made for you but I’ve got full confidence in myself and my ability so, while I’ve still got the opportunity, I’m enjoying it. “(Retiring) crossed my mind after my last cap with France when I had a really bad injury. It was really hard to take but now I’ve got older and I think I can cope more with this type of situation.” Saha has now returned to full fitness ahead of the new Premier League season and is hoping he will finally be able to show Everton fans what he is capable of over a sustained period. He said of his troubles: “It’s not nice but I’m happy to be playing again. I love the game so much. I love to see my kids be happy when I’m on the pitch and I feel privileged to be a footballer. “Even if it’s hard, you have to accept it. “I want to be a better player, I want to score more goals, enjoy it more, get a better relationship with the fans and the club. I think I’ve got so many things to give to football again. “In my head I feel more confident and more relaxed.” The summer has been another quiet one for Everton in the transfer window, causing anger among some fans about a perceived lack of investment in the playing squad, but Saha has urged them to have faith in the club. The 33-year-old said: “It’s not the right way to start a season but I’m here to kick the ball and make sure we’re winning games. I understand their concern but they have to be confident in the team and the squad. “They should know the chairman and the board and the manager are trying hard.
“They’re desperate to do something but if they’re not doing something it’s because they’ve got big reasons for that. You have to trust them. We trust them as players.”
Everton are scheduled to begin the season on Saturday with a trip to Tottenham, although that could yet be postponed because of the trouble that has flared on London’s streets.
Whether they begin against Spurs or the following week at home to QPR, the Toffees will hope they can avoid another poor start. The last two seasons have seen David Moyes’ team struggle over the first couple of months. Saha revealed they have been working hard to prevent a repeat and, despite a lack of new signings, the Frenchman believes Everton should be looking to challenge the likes of Tottenham for the European places.
He said: “We’ve changed quite a few things around the training and the tactics.
“Maybe the mentality was not right. We’ve trained hard to solve the problems. Everybody is confident we’re going to do something special this season. “We’ve got so many players who are good enough to show that we can break the top five this year. We didn’t start well last season so that’s the aim.”
Everton FC’s Sylvain Distin takes heart in the positives ahead of EFC Premier League campaign
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 10 2011
SYLVAIN DISTIN stretches out his 6ft 4in frame, arches an eyebrow and in his contemplative, Gallic manner dismisses the common theory that Everton FC’s inability to start seasons well is their major flaw. Distin is in positive and relaxed mood. The hard slog of pre-season is almost over, and – barring any riot related postponement – the real Premier League action is set to get underway soon. The 33-year-old is jokingly nicknamed Cyborg by some team-mates due to his formidable physique and clinical approach to the art of defending, but in conversation he is reflective and thoughtful. Distin will turn 34 in December, but has the fitness and energy levels of a player in his twenties, and rather than dwell on the Toffees perpetually slow league starts – he would prefer to highlight their barn-storming ends. “The most important thing isn’t how you start. Look at Blackpool last year,” he says. “They started really well, played some amazing stuff, and it didn’t end well. “Just because you do well early on doesn’t mean you’ll finish the same way. The end product is the main thing.” To that end, he says David Moyes has done little to shake-up the way his charges have prepared this summer, as they aim to hit the ground running at White Hart Lane. “Training has been the same, there’s still a lot of running, I can guarantee,” says the man who joined Everton in summer 2009. “The mood’s good. It’s a bit different this week because most are away with internationals, but everything’s fine, and we haven’t got many missing with injuries.” Distin arrived at Everton on the back of the departure of the talented Joleon Lescott, a transfer to Manchester City that caused much anger on Merseyside, but the Frenchman says the Blues have coped admirably in keeping hold of their better players since that episode. That, he says, is another positive worth remembering despite the lack of new signings at Goodison so far this summer. “I only came two years ago and apart from Stephen Pienaar, no-one else has really left. Losing one player in two years isn’t too bad.
“We can’t do too much about that (lack of signings), it’s not down to us. But we’re happy with what we have got. We’ve kept our best players, which is very positive, and we’ll just carry on working. “If you ask anyone if they should improve and get new players, whether it’s here, Spurs, Chelsea, Man United or wherever, they will all say the same. “The main thing though is keeping the big players and that’s what we have done, but the next step is obviously to bring others in. “We have enough quality in the squad and if we don’t get many injuries we should be okay. If we do, of course, things could be a bit different.” Distin believes that spending in the transfer market for the sake of it is not necessarily the way to progress.
“It’s not about how much you spend, but the quality you bring in. You can pay £10 million and you get someone you’ve not really heard of, but you can spend £3,4,5 million and they’re amazing. It’s about the quality of the ones you get. “It is harder though. There used to be a top four and now it’s a top six, so it’s definitely tougher to get a place in Europe. That’s not down to Everton, it’s just the quality of the Premier League now. “But you can always improve. The players get to know each other a bit better as time goes on, and the team spirit was always good anyway, but that’s even better now too. “Getting quality players makes it easier, but if it doesn’t happen then it doesn’t mean we have no chance.” The former Portsmouth central defender continues to take further comfort ahead of the new campaign from the club’s impressive crop of youth players – and he is equally glad that one of their better veterans – skipper Phil Neville – resisted a move to Saturday’s opponents Spurs in January. “We joke about it all the time. Rather than saying ‘please don’t go,’ it’s just a bit of banter, nothing serious,” he says on the group’s response to that pursuit of Neville, and Arsenal’s interest in Phil Jagielka. “Ross Barkley’s coming through, but I hope there aren’t too many expectations put on him because he’s still young, never even played in the Premier League, so he has to be given time,” he says. “There are others too, like Magaye Gueye and Conor McAleny, three or four who could push through this season. “But if Ross is as good as he is on the training pitch and in the friendlies, then we will see.”
Everton FC’s Seamus Coleman could be sidelined for two months after scans reveal ankle ligament tear
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 10 2011
Seamus Coleman lies injured on the pitch against VillarealEVERTON FC winger Seamus Coleman could be sidelined for more than two months after scans revealed he has a torn ankle ligament. The Republic of Ireland international sustained the injury in a heavy tackle during last Friday’s 1-0 defeat to Villarreal, and while X-rays afterwards confirmed he had not suffered a break, further scans yesterday revealed the 22-year-old now faces a frustrating lay-off. Coleman, who is suspended for the first two games of the new Premier League season after being sent-off against Chelsea on the final day of the last campaign, will visit a specialist later this week as he begins his recuperation, and the club are yet to put an official timescale on his recovery. But writing on his Twitter page yesterday, the former Sligo Rovers player said: ‘Thanks for all the kind messages over the weekend! Disappointed to miss the start of season but injuries are part of football! ‘Going to do everything possible to get back fit as soon as I can.. Got to stay positive! Thanks again! Everton head physio Danny Donachie said: “Seamus has torn the lateral ligament in his right ankle. He will be visiting a specialist in London later this week for further assessment.” The Toffees have also confirmed that Mikel Arteta is likely to miss the opening game of the season on Saturday, as he continues to nurse the foot injury that has sidelined him from the Blues’ last four pre-season outings. The Spaniard picked up the injury during Everton’s summer visit to the United States and looks set to miss Saturday’s game at White Hart Lane. Meanwhile, the Premier League have confirmed they are in ongoing talks with the police over this weekend’s matches in London. Everton are scheduled to take on Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in the first game of the new season on Saturday. But three nights of rioting in the capital have already seen England’s midweek clash with Holland and several Carling Cup ties called off. A further review of the situation will take place tomorrow. A statement, issued alongside the Football League, read: “The Premier League and Football League are saddened by the recent incidents of civil unrest and the effect it is having on local communities. “We are in ongoing discussions with our London-based clubs, the Metropolitan Police and statutory authorities in regard to the staging of the coming weekend’s fixtures in the capital. “The Metropolitan Police has conveyed to us the dynamic nature of the current situation and with that in mind all parties will review the situation on Thursday and make a further public statement at that time. With the information currently available to us there is no reason to think any matches outside of London will be affected.
“We are conscious of the need to keep fans informed of any developments and will, of course, keep them as up-to-date as possible through club, league and media channels.”
Ian Doyle’s comment: Why ‘best of the rest’ may be the height of ambition for Everton FC this season
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 10 2011
IT must have been sorely tempting for Evertonians to head for Goodison this summer and knock on the door simply to check if anybody was still there. Such has been the seeming lack of action or comment from the club hierarchy, doing little to quell the ripples of unrest among an increasingly concerned and frustrated fanbase. Chairman Bill Kenwright hasn’t said a word. David Moyes, other than some brief comments, has been similarly silent while chief executive Robert Elstone became a target of fury when he momentarily put his head above the parapet. Elstone’s update didn’t wash with many supporters, who see their team head into the new season at Tottenham Hotspur this Saturday with the status quo very much maintained, for better and for worse. Only the most myopic of regular readers will have failed to register this reporter’s belief that Everton are not a club in crisis. They don’t have to sell players as seems the case at the likes of Newcastle United and Birmingham City, nor are they in danger of dropping into freefall such as Leeds United, Portsmouth and Southampton. Everton have a team good enough to finish seventh last season, have most of their leading players tied to long-term contracts and, in Moyes, have a manager who is clearly in for the long haul and is as committed to the Goodison cause as any supporter.
But while the board are improving aspects such as commercial revenue and commendably determined not to place extra burden on the club’s debt, it’s the on-field matters that are the greater concern for those that pay their hard-earned to attend Goodison every other week.
Their protestations are well-meaning – they fear Everton have hit a glass ceiling of ambition – and cannot pass unnoticed. But it is the ultimate two-sided argument. Both parties are right, so what gives? Perhaps Moyes has said so little because there has been barely anything new to say. Save the sale of James Vaughan back in June, the Everton manager must call on the same group of players that ended the previous campaign strongly having stuttered so unconvincingly before Christmas. An inconsistent pre-season has done little to suggest the coming term will offer anything different. Goals, more than anything, will be the issue. On just three occasions did Everton score more than twice in the Premier League last season – only Birmingham City had fewer – which increased the pressure on an impressive defence. Tim Cahill was Everton’s top league scorer despite not adding to his tally of nine after Christmas, although Louis Saha threatened with a New Year goal rush before inevitably succumbing to injury. With no new striker in sight, keeping the brittle Frenchman fit will be high on Moyes’s list of priorities. Jermaine Beckford demonstrated enough during his debut campaign to suggest he was a free transfer gamble worth taking, but is hugely inconsistent when leading the line by himself. Efforts to offload Yakubu and Joseph Yobo, and free up much-needed funds for reinforcements, have thus far failed, with the former’s increasing participation in pre-season suggesting Moyes may reluctantly have welcomed him back to the fold. However, Everton – for now at least – have managed to hold on to their leading players. But while rumoured interest in Marouane Fellaini and Jack Rodwell has failed to materialise, Arsenal have not given up hope of snaring Phil Jagielka to the Emirates.
Fending off that advance would send out a clear signal to any other potential suitors, although Evertonians will only rest easy once the transfer window slams shut at the end of the month. Listen carefully and it’s possible to hear the ticking time bomb in the Everton squad of which Moyes is acutely aware. Phil Neville, Tim Cahill, Tim Howard, Sylvain Distin, Louis Saha, Tony Hibbert and Leon Osman, all integral players, are now in their 30s and will soon require replacing. With no funds, that will be a difficult task. Instead, Moyes will once again turn to Everton’s Academy and reserve teams for backup. There he will find significant relief in the form of Ross Barkley. The 17-year-old’s expected breakthrough last season was curtailed by a broken leg, but the midfielder has made up for lost time this summer by emerging as Everton’s standout performer of pre-season. Moyes has previously demonstrated with Wayne Rooney and Rodwell that he can successfully nurture a player through the ranks right through to international recognition, and Barkley can expect to be treated in the right manner. Rodwell, meanwhile, faces a big season. His progress was halted last term with an indifferent campaign hampered by injury, leading to questions whether the midfielder can realise the potential of his fledgling years. Everton will also demand more of Mikel Arteta given the Spaniard’s relatively subdued previous campaign, while Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and John Heitinga need similarly improve. The fitness – and retention – of Fellaini could prove pivotal. The Belgian has emerged, alongside Jagielka and Leighton Baines, as one of Moyes’s key personnel, with few in the Premier League able to fulfil his role as capably. So what would be a success for Everton this season? Believe the naysayers, and simply avoiding a slog against relegation would be regarded as a result. Yet Everton have far too much in their locker to be overly worrying about the drop, at least in the short term. Don’t forget, this is almost the same group of players who 12 months ago were being touted as outsiders for Champions League qualification by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. But with the clubs above them having strengthened their squads, it’s difficult to see how Moyes and his players can close the gap on the top six.
Cahill spoke recently how a lack of expectation could help Everton spring a surprise this season. That, though, isn’t what Evertonians, who only two years ago were celebrating an FA Cup final appearance and regular European qualification, want to hear. Until new investment arrives, being ‘best of the rest’ may once again be the height of Everton’s ambitions.
Everton FC defender Sylvain Distin says keeping star men has been half the battle for EFC
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 10 2011
TALK to any Everton FC fan, and it won’t be long before the lack of new signings this summer becomes the topic of conversation. But Sylvain Distin believes EFC have won half the battle by keeping hold of their key players during the transfer window. Supporters had feared a possible break-up of the Everton squad with leading talents Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Marouane Fellaini and Jack Rodwell all targeted by rival clubs. With three weeks still remaining before the window slams shut, there will be more nervous nights with Jagielka in particular still being courted by Arsenal. However, Distin is convinced Everton will deem it a success if they can maintain the squad status quo – and avoid another injury crisis. “If you ask anyone if they should improve and get new players, whether it’s here, Spurs, Chelsea, Man United or wherever, they will all say the same,” says the Frenchman. “The main thing though is keeping the big players and that’s what we have done, but the next step is obviously to bring others in. “We can’t do too much about the lack of new faces, it’s not down to us. But we’re happy with what we have got. We’ve kept our best players, which is very positive, and we’ll just carry on working. “We have enough quality in the squad and if we don’t get many injuries we should be okay. If we do, of course, things could be a bit different.” A section of Everton fans have become increasingly disillusioned by a perceived lack of investment in the playing staff, prompting chief executive Robert Elstone to come out last month defending their approach. Distin plays down the issue, and says: “I don’t think there’s any club that I’ve played at where the fans have been happy with what happens during the transfer window. “They have to remember that we’ve kept our best players so far. We have to give the club time and maybe things will happen soon.” Asked if it will have an impact on the team, he adds: “It affects us if the fans are not behind us. If you play a home game and feel like you are away because there is no atmosphere, or you can feel the tension or the disappointment from the fans. “But I’m sure the fans love the club and the players enough to support us.” While Distin admits that money alone is no guarantee of success, he accepts the spending power of the leading clubs has made life even more difficult for Everton to clamber their way up into the higher echelons of the Premier League.
“It’s not about how much you spend, but the quality you bring in,” he says. “You can pay £10million and you get someone you’ve not really heard of, but you can spend £3,4,5m and they’re amazing. It’s about the quality of the ones you get. “It is harder though. There used to be a top four and now it’s a top six, so it’s definitely tougher to get a place in Europe. That’s not down to Everton, it’s just the quality of the Premier League now. “But you can always improve. The players get to know each other a bit better as time goes on, and the team spirit was always good anyway, but that’s even better now too. “Getting quality players makes it easier, but if it doesn’t happen then it doesn’t mean we have no chance.” The lack of arrivals has instead turned the spotlight on to the current batch of youngsters emerging through the ranks at Everton. Chief among these is Ross Barkley, but Distin is keen to downplay the hype that is building around the 17-year-old. “Ross Barkley’s coming through, but I hope there aren’t too many expectations put on him because he’s still young, never even played in the Premier League, so he has to be given time,” says the Frenchman.
“But there are others too, like Magaye Gueye and Conor McAleny, three or four who could push through this season. “But if Ross is as good as he is on the training pitch and in the friendlies, then we will see.” Police advice permitting, Everton begin the new Premier League season at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. Skipper Phil Neville came close to moving to White Hart Lane, and Distin says: “We joke about it all the time. Rather than saying ‘please don’t go,’ it’s just a bit of banter, nothing serious.” Distin adds: “The mood’s good. It’s a bit different this week because most are away with internationals, but everything’s fine, and we haven’t got many missing with injuries. “The most important thing isn’t how you start. Look at Blackpool last year. They started really well, played some amazing stuff, and it didn’t end well. “Just because you do well early on doesn’t mean you’ll finish the same way. The end product is the main thing. Training has been the same, there’s still a lot of running, I can guarantee.”
I considered quitting after latest injury nightmare, admits Everton FC striker Louis Saha
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 10 2011
LOUIS SAHA has revealed he considered quitting football last season after suffering yet another injury setback. The Everton striker’s career has been blighted by injury problems and, when his return to the France side after a four-year absence was curtailed by a calf injury in September, the thought crossed his mind that maybe it was time to call it a day.
Having decided to carry on, Saha battled back and was in prime goalscoring form when he damaged his ankle against Fulham in March, ruling him out for the rest of the season.
He said: “Sometimes you feel really unlucky and that it’s not made for you but I’ve got full confidence in myself and my ability so, while I’ve still got the opportunity, I’m enjoying it.
“(Retiring) crossed my mind after my last cap with France when I had a really bad injury. It was really hard to take but now I’ve got older and I think I can cope more with this type of situation.” Saha has now returned to full fitness ahead of the new Premier League season and is hoping he will finally be able to show Everton fans what he is capable of over a sustained period. He said of his troubles: “It’s not nice but I’m happy to be playing again. I love the game so much. I love to see my kids be happy when I’m on the pitch and I feel privileged to be a footballer. “Even if it’s hard, you have to accept it. I want to be a better player, I want to score more goals, enjoy it more. “I think I’ve got so many things to give to football again. “In my head I feel more confident and more relaxed.”
Everton FC latest: Seamus Coleman facing two months out as Sylvain Distin opens contract talks
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 10 2011
SEAMUS COLEMAN faces up to two months on the sidelines after scans revealed the Everton FC midfielder has torn a ligament in his right ankle. Coleman suffered the injury after being on the receiving end of a poor challenge from Villarreal midfielder Carlos Marchena during Friday’s 1-0 home friendly defeat. X-rays immediately after the game confirmed the Republic of Ireland international had not sustained a break, but further scans this week have revealed the tear. The 22-year-old will visit a specialist in London in the coming days for a further assessment, but it is unlikely Coleman, who was in any case suspended for the opening game against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, will be back in action until October. Speaking on his Twitter account, Coleman said: “Disappointed to miss the start of season but injuries are part of football! “Going to do everything possible to get back fit as soon as I can.. Got to stay positive!” It is a bitter blow for David Moyes with the Everton manager already concerned over the fitness of Mikel Arteta, the Spaniard poised to sit out the trip to White Hart Lane as he nurses a foot injury. Meanwhile, Sylvain Distin has opened talks with Everton over a new contract – and expects centre-back partner Phil Jagielka to still be alongside him this season. Distin has started negotiations over an extension to his present deal, which expires at the end of the season. The 33-year-old has been a huge success at Goodison since being signed by David Moyes for £5.3million from Portsmouth two years ago. And the Frenchman sees no reason to seek a new challenge given the strong team spirit at Everton. “I want to stay here, I’m happy at Everton, and if I can do so then fine,” said Distin. “If I feel I have to change clubs then I will do it. “I’m quite honest about that, if I don’t feel good then I say so. But I do feel good about being here and if I can stay then I will. “We have started talks about a new contract, and I am encouraged by that at the moment. It’s going well, quite positive. “This club has one of the best atmospheres in the dressing room, for sure, and that’s very important given the time you spend together.” Distin, who started all of Everton’s games last season, has developed an impressive partnership with Jagielka at the heart of defence. That has come under threat in recent weeks with Arsenal expected to return with an improved bid for Jagielka having had a £12m offer rejected last month. But Distin is convinced the Gunners are wasting their time with his fellow centre-back showing no inclination to leave Goodison. “He’s not come out and said he wants to go anywhere, so I guess that means he wants to stay,” said Distin. “I don’t think any players want to leave here to be honest. There’s no point in saying anything to them about it unless they come out and say they want to go. If he comes to me and asks, I’ll tell him what I think – but it’s not happened so we’re happy he’s staying. “He’s an amazing player, you don’t play for your country if not. He’s still young and still improving. He had some injury problems but seems to be over them now and is doing great – he’s quality. He’s got top clubs after him, and that’s a sign of his quality. I only came two years ago and apart from Steven Pienaar, no-one else has really left. Losing one player in two years isn’t too bad.” Everton are waiting to discover whether Saturday’s Premier League opener at Tottenham will go ahead after three nights of rioting in London. Everton’s players are continuing to prepare for the match as normal, and Distin added: “We can't do much about it so we’ll just get ready and try to do everything as if the game was on.” Meanwhile, ambitious npower Championship side Leicester City are said to be pondering a bid for Everton striker Victor Anichebe.
London riots: Tottenham players call for Premier League clash against Everton to be postponed if riots continue
Tottenham players have called for Saturday's Premier League fixture against Everton to be cancelled if riots that have swept the nation's capital continue.
Concerns: Spurs players want Everton game called off
Johnny Bullman
10 Aug 2011
The Telegrapgh
White Hart Lane was set to host Everton this weekend. However, trouble in surrounding areas, that started out as protests against the shooting of local man Mark Duggan but rapidly escalated into mindless vandalism and violence, have encouraged Spurs players to request the match be rearranged for a later date. Following the cancellation of England’s international with Holland at Wembley, which was set to take place tonight, weekend games such as Fulham v Aston Villa and QPR v Bolton are also facing postponement. A final decision will be made on Thursday by the Premier League, who still remain hopeful the matches will go ahead. Spurs defender Younes Kaboul, though, has asked that the fixture against Everton be rescheduled for the sake of the players and fans until the ongoing situation begins to improve dramatically. "We don't know whether we will be able to play this Saturday, as the riots are spreading across London. They look like they're getting pretty serious," the France international told The Sun. "If it is too dangerous, it would be preferable to postpone the match for the sake of the fans safety. "That is even though it is annoying for us players, especially as it is the first league game of the season. But you have to put people's safety above everything else." Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart has also acknowledged the severity of the situation, after the international with Holland was cancelled, and admits he can’t see Saturday's match going ahead. "I ask myself whether the league matches at the weekend will be able to go ahead. Right now, I can't imagine it," he said. "I saw the TV pictures from London and the chaos there at present is unbelievable.
"With things as they are, there is simply no way to organise a big international match safely. My wife Sylvie is over in England but I've not phoned her. "Thankfully, everything is OK. It has remained calm where we live."
Louis Saha urges Everton fans to trust club
By Eleanor Crooks, PA
The Indepentent
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Striker Louis Saha has urged Everton's fans to trust the club after another quiet summer in the transfer market. Only young defender Eric Dier, a loan signing from Sporting Lisbon, has arrived at Goodison Park, with James Vaughan and Iain Turner leaving the club.
A section of fans have continued to voice their discontent with a perceived lack of investment in the playing squad, but Frenchman Saha has faith in the people running the club, and feels supporters should do too. He said: "It's not the right way to start a season but I'm here to kick the ball and make sure we're winning games. I understand their concern but they have to be confident in the team and the squad. "They should know the chairman and the board and the manager are trying hard. They're desperate to do something but if they're not doing something it's because they've got big reasons for that. You have to trust them. We trust them as players." Defender Sylvain Distin believes the crucial thing is that Everton have so far hung on to star names like Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines, Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill.
He said: "I think we've got enough quality and the most important thing is to keep our best players, which so far is the case. That's a positive and a strong sign. "Any team and any player would like to improve their squad, so everybody wants to see new players coming.
"But the fact we don't have too many players every season is a positive as well because it means you play with the same guys so you get to know each other a bit more and create a good team spirit." Everton are still waiting to hear whether Saturday's Barclays Premier League opener at Tottenham will go ahead after the recent riots in London, but if it does the Toffees will be without two key players in Seamus Coleman and Arteta. The Spaniard is still struggling with the foot injury that has kept him out for much of pre-season, but more worrying for Everton is the news about Coleman's right ankle problem. A scan on the joint the Republic of Ireland international damaged in the friendly defeat by Villarreal on Friday showed he has torn a ligament. No possible return date has yet been set for the 22-year-old, who would have missed the first two games of the season anyway through suspension but now looks set to be sidelined for a much longer period. Head physio Danny Donachie told evertonfc.com: "Seamus has torn the lateral ligament in his right ankle. He will be visiting a specialist in London later this week for further assessment.
Saha tips Barkley to shine
Wednesday August 10 2011
Irish Indenpendent
Louis Saha has tipped teenage Everton team-mate Ross Barkley for a big future with the Toffees and England and has backed him to make an impact in the Barclays Premier League this season. The 17-year-old, who has been with Everton since the age of 11, has impressed in pre-season and is likely to get his chance in the first team. Striker Saha said: "I think he's got all the ability to be a great player for Everton and for England. Hopefully he will show that this season." He continued: "It's not too early for him because he's got all the attributes to surprise a few people. He's got power, strength, confidence, speed - he's said a few times to me that I'm slower than him. Hopefully he will show that to the Premier League this season. "I'm enjoying training with him and hopefully I will enjoy playing with him because I think he's got so many talents and he will definitely be a big star if he keeps working hard." Barkley, a tough-tackling midfielder with an eye for goal, looked set to break into the first team last season but suffered a horrific broken leg on England Under-19 duty that cut short his campaign. His talents were also espoused by defender Sylvain Distin, but the Frenchman is hoping Barkley will not have too much pressure placed on his shoulders.
Distin said: "He seems to be an amazing player but the problem is after one or two games people put too much expectation on the young players. I want to give him time. But definitely he's got quality." As well as Barkley, 21-year-old striker Magaye Gueye and 18-year-old Conor McAleny have also impressed in pre-season, and Distin believes their rise can provide some much-needed depth to the squad. He added: "It's a good thing, especially because we seem to have quite a few injuries through a season so you need those kind of players to be there and push the old players like me to train harder and be even better."
Neville: Coleman will come back stronger than ever
August 10 2011-08-10 Sunday Busnes Post
Everton captain Phil Neville has backed Seamus Coleman to come back stronger after it was confirmed yesterday the Republic of Ireland international tore a ligament in his right ankle in the friendly defeat by Villarreal last Friday. “Everyone knows what I think of Seamus, he’s a fantastic character and a great person to have around the place,” Neville told evertontv. “With the attitude he has, he’ll have no problems coming back fully fit. He’s a real warrior and someone you’d like to go to war with. I’ll personally miss him and I know the team will.” Everton are still waiting to find out whether Saturday’s Premier League opener against Tottenham at White Hart Lane will go ahead following riots in London and other cities. Neville added: “Other things are slightly (over)shadowing events at the moment and quelling our enthusiasm, but we can’t let these people win. Hopefully the game will go ahead on Saturday and we’re all looking forward to the season.” Meanwhile, Louis Saha has tipped teenage Everton team-mate Ross Barkley for a big future with the Toffees and England and has backed him to make an impact in the Barclays Premier League this season. The 17-year-old, who has been with Everton since the age of 11, has impressed in pre-season and is likely to get his chance in the first team. Striker Saha said: “I think he’s got all the ability to be a great player for Everton and for England. Hopefully he will show that this season.
“It’s not too early for him because he’s got all the attributes to surprise a few people. He’s got power, strength, confidence, speed – he’s said a few times to me that I’m slower than him. Hopefully he will show that to the Premier League this season. “I’m enjoying training with him and hopefully I will enjoy playing with him because I think he’s got so many talents and he will definitely be a big star if he keeps working hard.” Barkley, a tough-tackling midfielder with an eye for goal, looked set to break into the first team last season but suffered a horrific broken leg on England Under-19 duty that cut short his campaign. His talents were also espoused by defender Sylvain Distin, but the Frenchman is hoping Barkley will not have too much pressure placed on his shoulders. Distin said: “He seems to be an amazing player but the problem is after one or two games people put too much expectation on the young players. I want to give him time. But definitely he’s got quality.” As well as Barkley, 21-year-old striker Magaye Gueye and 18-year-old Conor McAleny have also impressed in pre-season, and Distin believes their rise can provide some much-needed depth to the squad.
He added: “It’s a good thing, especially because we seem to have quite a few injuries through a season so you need those kind of players to be there and push the old players like me to train harder and be even better.”
Everton FC’s warrior Seamus Coleman will come back from injury set-back stronger, says skipper Phil Neville
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 11 2011
EVERTON FC'S Seamus Coleman is a “warrior” who will be sorely missed during his injury absence, according to Phil Neville. The Blues captain is backing the Republic of Ireland international to make a speedy recovery from the torn ankle ligament he suffered in the friendly against Villarreal last Friday, and insists Coleman’s attitude will help him stay positive. Neville said: “Everyone knows what I think of Seamus, he’s a fantastic character and a great person to have around the place. “We have a real strong bond, we take the mickey out of each other but there’s a real respect between us both, I respect him just as much as he respects me. “He’ll be missed over the next couple of weeks, we wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully the scans and the treatment is good. “With the attitude he has, he’ll have no problems coming back fully fit. “He’s a real warrior and someone you’d like to go to war with – I’ll personally miss him and I know the team will.” Coleman will undergo further specialist treatment on his injured ankle this week as Everton attempt to discover the severity of the problem, and the length of his absence, but Neville will be preparing to put his own body through the rigours of another Premier League campaign.
The veteran will be embarking on his 17th consecutive season in the top flight when, barring any postponement due to the London riots, he leads Everton out at White Hart Lane against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. And although he is raring to get go he admits some of the gloss has been take off the start of the season by the violent disturbances across the country which have left all league games under threat at the weekend. “I’m really excited we’ve building up for the last five weeks and you aim to get to this week fully fit and feeling good and that’s where we’re at this week,” he said. “Other things are slightly shadowing events at the moment and quelling our enthusiasm – but we can’t let these people win, hopefully the game will go ahead on Saturday and we’re all looking forward to the season. “Saturdays in the summer you can be anywhere in the world but when it comes to 3pm you just want to be playing football. I’m no different. “The community shield last Sunday was a mouth watering game that got everyone’s appetite going, and we all just want it underway now.”
Everton FC skipper Phil Neville says he could play on for another four seasons
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 11 2011
PHIL NEVILLE believes he can play on for another four seasons in the Premier League – and is more determined than ever to make his experience count for Everton FC this season.
The super-fit EFC skipper will be 35 in January, but is looking to follow in the footsteps of former Manchester United team-mate Ryan Giggs who is still playing regularly at 37, and Spurs goalkeeper Brad Friedel who is 40. Neville is excited about getting the forthcoming season underway against Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Saturday, barring a possible postponement due to the rioting in London, and has done his home-work to ensure he can improve his game this term. The ex-England international, who was praised for his handling of Spurs’ sensation Gareth Bale, 22, during the Blues’ trip to North London last season, said: “I still feel young. I feel fit and I feel like I could play for another three or four years – not just this season. “I feel brilliant about my fitness and brilliant about my body. “I look at other experienced players throughout the league and teams are going with experience now because the those players are still playing at the top of their games. “The younger players are coming through – and if they are good enough they’ll displace the experienced guys but at the moment they aren’t good enough so you keep going.” Neville is determined not to relent the meticulous fitness regime which allows him to carry on performing at the top level.
He said: “I think each year you try to make changes for the better. Bryan Kidd told me in my first year at Man United that each pre season you’ve got to improve 5%. “You go away after a long had season and evaluate your performances and where you can improve, and that is what I have done. “The main aim was to start 100% fit. I started last season at maybe 70% because I had an injury in the summer.” Neville practises yoga in his spare time and regularly arrives at Finch farm early to do extra fitness work, something he views as vital.
He said: “I have to do all that, and I have to keep doing it even more now. Each season the rest-time has to be better, and you cannot cut corners which is something I’ve found.
“I only had a couple of weeks holiday and otherwise worked hard this summer and followed an excellent fitness programme our coaches set us. “When you get to 32 and older every year, you’ve got to be ahead of the other players, getting everything right and not just some of the time - all of the time. “That is something which has been important to me throughout my career luckily, and I’ve followed through with it. “When you stop enjoying it and the things that make you be a footballer, then it’s time to quit but at the moment I still love the preparation and the business of doing everything right. It’s part of my blood.”
Everton FC vs Tottenham Premier League opener postponed after London riots
By Greg O'Keeffe
Aug 11 2011
EVERTON FC’S opening Premier League games against Tottenham in London on Saturday has been postponed in the wake of riots which started just a mile from White Hart Lane.
The decision, announced today, was based on structural damage suffered by buildings and properties in the Tottenham High Road area during the violent disturbances, which would make it unsafe for supporters making their way to the ground. Premier League chiefs are yet to announce when the fixture will be rescheduled. Metropolitan police chiefs have already ordered clubs in the London area to postpone fixtures this week, after disturbances that started in Tottenham spread to further boroughs of the city. Spurs had initially reassured supporters the fixture would go ahead despite the widespread looting and violence, but the local council insisted that safety of supporters walking to the ground could not be guaranteed, prompting the decision. The White Hart Lane ticket office had been shut on Monday due to safety concerns, after the disorder started in North London last Thursday following the shooting by police of local man Mark Duggan. It comes after Everton star Tim Cahill said the opening Barclays Premier League matches should be postponed until the end of the season as authorities attempt to deal with this week’s riots. Games in riot hot-spots Manchester and Birmingham are also at risk of being called-off. Cahill believes the Premier League owe it to the emergency services to postpone the games. “We could only play for the right reasons. The main thing is, you have to think about the police who are working day in, day out,” Cahill said. “The ambulance, the firemen - they are human beings. We need to reward them, people need to help them. I know it’s not up to us, but that is important.”
The 31-year-old midfielder, who was speaking after scoring in Australia’s 2-1 win over Wales in Cardiff tonight, added that the season should be extended by an extra week to accommodate the situation. “For us if we have to sacrifice an extra week at the end of the season to finish off the games, then so be it,” he said. “For me, being in England for 14 years now, it’s important that everyone pulls together and makes sure we get back together again.
“You have to make sure no-one gets hurt.”
Everton FC’s Seamus Coleman will bounce back from injury, says Phil Neville
by Neil Jones, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 11 2011
PHIL NEVILLE has backed Everton FC colleague Seamus Coleman to bounce back from the ankle injury which has ruled him out of the start of the season. Scans confirmed yesterday that EFC's Irish winger had suffered damage to the lateral ligaments in his right ankle following a challenge from Villarreal’s Carlos Marchena during the sides’ pre-season friendly at Goodison Park last Friday. Coleman, who was suspended for the Toffees’ opening two Premier League fixtures in any case, will visit a specialist in London before the weekend, and is expected to miss a minimum of two months, with early October tentatively pencilled in as a possible return date. Club captain Neville, a close personal friend of the 22-year-old, admits the former Sligo Rovers man will be missed in his absence, but believes his team-mate will come back stronger after the setback. “Everyone knows what I think of Seamus, he’s a fantastic character and a great person to have around the place,” Neville said. “We have a real strong bond, we take the mickey out of each other but there’s a real respect between us both, I respect him just as much as he respects me. “He’ll be missed over the next couple of weeks, we wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully the scans and the treatment is good. “With the attitude he has, he’ll have no problems coming back fully fit.
“He’s a real warrior and someone you’d like to go to war with - I’ll personally miss him and I know the team will.” Everton are due to travel to White Hart Lane to face Tottenham for their opening Premier League fixture on Saturday, though the game has been placed in jeopardy following the violent disturbances that have spread across the UK in the past week.
Neville says he is feeling fit and ready for the new campaign, but confessed that the week’s events have left a sour taste ahead of what is usually an eagerly-anticipated weekend.
“I’m really excited we’ve building up for the last five weeks and you aim to get to this week fully fit and feeling good and that’s where we’re at this week,” said the 34-year-old. “Other things are slightly shadowing events at the moment and quelling our enthusiasm - but we can’t let these people win, hopefully the game will go ahead on Saturday and we’re all looking forward to the season. “It’s my 17th season now but I’m looking forward to it now just as much as I was my first one - that shows I’m still enjoying it.” Meanwhile Louis Saha has tipped teenage midfielder Ross Barkley to establish himself at Goodison Park next season. Striker Saha said: “I think he’s got all the ability to be a great player for Everton and for England. Hopefully he will show that this season.” He continued: “It’s not too early for him because he’s got all the attributes to surprise a few people. He’s got power, strength, confidence, speed - he’s said a few times to me that I’m slower than him! Hopefully he will show that to the Premier League this season. “I’m enjoying training with him and hopefully I will enjoy playing with him because I think he’s got so many talents and he will definitely be a big star if he keeps working.”
Everton FC’s Tim Cahill calls for opening Premier League fixtures to be postponed
by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 11 2011
EVERTON FC’S Tim Cahill believes the opening Premier League matches should be postponed until the end of the season as authorities attempt to deal with this week’s riots.
The first weekend of the season is under threat, with police having been stretched for five nights in an attempt to quell riots which have broken out in city centres across England.
The Premier League are due to make a decision on whether to postpone any matches today, with games in riot hot-spots London, Manchester and Birmingham seemingly most at risk. Cahill is due to open the season with Everton at Tottenham, where the rioting began on Saturday night, but believes the Premier League owe it to the emergency services to postpone the games. “We could only play for the right reasons. The main thing is, you have to think about the police who are working day in, day out,” Cahill said. “The ambulance, the firemen – they are human beings. We need to reward them, people need to help them.
“I know it’s not up to us, but that is important.” The 31-year-old midfielder, who was speaking after scoring in Australia’s 2-1 win over Wales in Cardiff last night, reckons that the season should be extended by an extra week to accommodate the situation. “For us if we have to sacrifice an extra week at the end of the season to finish off the games, then so be it,” he said. “For me, being in England for 14 years now, it’s important that everyone pulls together and makes sure we get back together again. You have to make sure no-one gets hurt.” Meanwhile, Cahill expressed his delight at equalling Goodison legend Dixie Dean's record for most international goals while at Everton – notching his 18th strike. He Tweeted: “It’s an honour to even be mentioned in the same sentence as Dixie Dean. Proud to have that record.”
Premier League to decide on Everton FC’s trip to Tottenham today
by Neil Jones, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 11 2011
THE PREMIER LEAGUE will meet with the Metropolitan Police today to decide whether Saturday’s fixtures - including Everton FC’s visit to Tottenham - will go ahead following the violent disturbances in London over the past few days. England’s friendly with the Netherlands at Wembley on Wednesday night was called off on police advice amid fears over supporters’ safety, whilst the Carling Cup games at Charlton, Crystal Palace, West Ham and Bristol City were also postponed. With the more severe clashes starting in Tottenham, close to their White Hart Lane ground, last Saturday evening, concerns about Everton’s visit to North London on Saturday afternoon are understandable. Tottenham issued a statement on Monday insisting that the game was scheduled to go ahead as planned, despite part of the club’s ticket office being damaged in the riots. A number of Spurs players have voiced concerns over the merits of staging the fixture. Dutch forward Rafael Van der Vaart said: “I ask myself whether the league matches at the weekend will be able to go ahead. Right now, I can't imagine it. “I saw the TV pictures from London and the chaos there at present is unbelievable. With things as they are, there is simply no way to organise a big international match safely.” Defender Younes Kaboul added: “I was really surprised by what happened in Tottenham. We don't know whether we will be able to play this Saturday, as the riots are spreading across London. They look like they're getting pretty serious. “If it is too dangerous, it would be preferable to postpone the match for the sake of the fans' safety. “That is even though it is annoying for us players, especially as it is the first league game of the season. But you have to put people's safety above everything else.”
Elsewhere in London, QPR host Bolton, whilst Aston Villa visit Fulham.
David Bernstein: 'Spurs game postponement is sad but inevitable'
August 11 2011 The Telegraph
FA Chairman David Bernstein says the postponement of Tottenham's Premier League opener against Everton is "sad but inevitable". The game was cancelled in the aftermath of this week's riots in London, while rival clubs were left waiting to hear whether their matches would go ahead this weekend. The violence that has gripped parts of Britain this week started last Saturday in the Tottenham area of London, not far from the club's White Hart Lane ground, with a protest over the police shooting of a suspect two days earlier. The protest escalated to riots with people taking to the streets, vandalising and looting shops and setting fire to cars and buildings, in acts that soon spread to other cities across the country.
Postponing opening day bursts football's business-comes-first bubbleForcing the Premier League to defer to the crisis in the communities that produced some of its stars is for the best
Paul Hayward Guardian.
Thursday 11 August 2011
White Hart lane will remain closed at the weekend following the postponement of Tottenham's game against Everton. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian This Saturday 22 millionaires were scheduled to run around a pitch next to a road where Britain's worst social disorder for 30 years started with a peaceful gathering outside a police station. The people of Tottenham are denied for a few days more the spectacle of Spurs taking on Everton in this most aspirational of sports.
In a society where the gap between rich and poor is at its most extreme since the 1920s today's Premier League footballer is both the rich man in his castle and the icon many disadvantaged youngsters would dearly like to be. He is at once a model of self-advancement and an ambassador for a warped culture that turns many men with modest talent into corporations. Stars from deprived communities who have risen to earn £80,000 a week are watched by contemporaries who see public services collapse and crime overrun the streets on which they live. The gulf between the opulent existence of the top-end footballer and the poorest residents of Tottenham has never been more pronounced. This week we saw England's footballers appeal for calm and Liverpool and Everton issue a joint statement appealing for the chaos to stop. More dubiously, the billionaire Bernie Ecclestone posited that it would be "terrible" for England's image if Premier League games were rearranged, as if the TV pictures from our burning cities had not already shown the rest of the globe that London is no Camberwick Green. Despite the enduring connection between working-class lads made good in our national game and the communities in which they play, superstar footballers are now so remote from their origins that no hoodied looter is going to take lectures from Jermain Defoe or Rio Ferdinand about how best to seize a piece of the pie. As the most knowledgeable social commentators pointed out this week, alienated youngsters in the poorest districts of London, Birmingham or Liverpool calculate that the quickest way to escape a slow start in life is to possess some special talent that will pole-vault them on to another planet. Music and football head the menu. This is what happened to Wayne Rooney in Croxteth and Ferdinand in Peckham. But they also know few are blessed with such gifts. The majority are sucked into failing schools, unemployment, family disruptions and the temptations of crime. A couple of years ago I spoke to Tottenham's youth teams about dealing with the media. Many of the young players in the room were natives of an area with the highest rate of joblessness in London and where the youth services budget has now been cut by 75%. A few were in the process of achieving a spectacular escape from these limited prospects. Most would see their careers fizzle out and a harder economic reality reclaim them.
Top footballers are an inspiration to children from impoverished backgrounds. They encourage youngsters with their talent, charisma, self-discipline (usually) and fame, which is not the least of their attractions these days. If the point of existence is to become a celebrity, in our consumerist age, then the footballer with the mansion and the blacked-out Range Rover displays the ultimate blend of physical prowess, social status and instant access to the kind of goods the looters laid their fingers on. En route to the game's gated communities, as a boy, Rio Ferdinand took ballet lessons. His brother, Anton, tried showjumping. Social mobility is not solely a gift from the system, or the state. Many achieve it through personal motivation. But football's role in all this is paradoxical. It prices those on low incomes out of many Premier League grounds and presents football as a lifestyle accessory and HD experience, played by remote members of the super-rich. JD Sports featured highly on the looting lists of those who went berserk. Football gear is prosperity's uniform. Some may have wondered how bankers and MPs (through their expenses) are allowed to smash and grab while pillaging a high street chain brings the fires of hell down on the perpetrators. At any rate, few of those arrested for stealing will leave a vacant seat at a Premier League game this weekend, because most will have been unable to afford a ticket in the first place. The league runs an award-winning inner-city project called Kickz, in concert with police forces across the country. The figures, though, tell their own story. The biggest 20 clubs in England spend £62.2m on parachute payments, £17.3m in grants to the Professional Footballers' Association (some of it for community action) and £7.8m on Creating Chances, or good causes, including Kickz. As with Britain itself, taking care of business comes first, with philanthropy second, at best. A full Premier League programme this weekend would have brought some small relief from the sense that Britain is a country of private wealth and public squalor, with violent urges everywhere, and nihilism common among the young. But the strain on the police and damage to buildings in the Tottenham area has forced even the world's noisiest league to defer to social reality, which is no bad thing.
Calling off Everton FC opener was right thing to do admits Tim Cahill
By Ian Doyle
Aug 12 2011
TIM CAHILL believes the right decision has been made to postpone Everton’s Premier League opener at Tottenham Hotspur. Tomorrow’s scheduled match at White Hart Lane was yesterday called off on police advice following the riots earlier this week that had affected the borough of Haringey in which the ground is located. The match is the only game in the Premier and Football League to be postponed this weekend following the unrest that has spread throughout the country. It is the first time in living memory that Everton will not have been involved in an opening weekend. And while acknowledging the frustrations of the supporters who had already planned their journey south, Cahill accepts the welfare of the community of Tottenham is the priority. "First and foremost the safety of the people is the most important thing, but also the people who are doing their bit such as the police and ambulances and firemen," said the Australian. "There are so many different ways of looking at it. Yes, we love football, and a lot of people have done a lot of planning to go to Tottenham and I feel for them. "But this is a big thing. "The welfare of people should be put first, and football can always continue afterwards anyway. "The police and services in Tottenham need a rest, and there needs to be calm brought to the situation." Cahill added: "It’d be great to play the game and get on with it, and people are saying the rioters are winning (by not playing) but the only way to win is by putting a stop to it completely. I’ve lived in England for 14-15 years and I treat it very much as my second home. "Football will always be there, and it’s something England should be proud of, having one of the best leagues in the world. "But sorting out what the real problems are and what really effects the country should come first and foremost. I think it’s a great decision, but understandably for fans who have bought their rail tickets or flights it’ll be harder for them to take."
No new date has yet been announced for the fixture, which means Everton will now begin their season at home to Queens Park Rangers next Saturday. For Everton defender John Heitinga, it is the second postponement in a matter of days after Holland’s friendly with England, scheduled for Wednesday, succumbed because of the unrest. And Heitinga said: "It has been a strange week. On Monday morning we were in camp with the national team. "We trained on Monday and then on Tuesday after breakfast we heard the game was cancelled. "I wanted to play at Wembley against England but if you look at what is happening it is not good and hopefully it will be better soon. Everybody was looking forward to the Premier League starting and it was disappointing that this ame was also cancelled. "We understand the decision. "We have to let the police do their job and I hope everywhere is quiet and there’s no more damage." Explaining the postponement, Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said: "In fairness to the police, they have done a fantastic job but they are unable to hand the Tottenham High Road, which as people will have seen has been pretty much a crime scene for much of this week, they are unable to hand that back to the council until Friday night. That doesn’t give the council enough time to do what they need to do to clean it up and get a safety certificate issued."
John Heitinga backs decision to postpone Everton FC’s game against Spurs
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 12 2011
JOHN HEITINGA has backed the decision to postpone Everton FC’s Premier League opener at Tottenham tomorrow. The news, announced yesterday, meant the Dutch international has had two games called off within the space of a week due to the London riots, after he was also set to play for Holland against England on Wednesday. He said: “We understand the decision. We have to let the police do their job and I hope everywhere is quiet and there’s no more damage. “It has been a strange week. On Monday morning we were in camp with the national team. “We trained on Monday and then on Tuesday after breakfast we heard the game was cancelled. “I wanted to play at Wembley against England but if you look at what is happening it is not good and hopefully it will be better soon.” The riots in London began in the Tottenham area and the damage to roads was such that Saturday’s game at White Hart Lane had to be called off. “Everybody was looking forward to the Premier League starting and it was disappointing that this game was also cancelled,” he said.
“Our league will start next week and we can only wait until the whistle goes. We are professionals and the most important thing is that everything is quiet and good in the city centres of England.”
Howard Kendall: Former Everton FC legend Duncan Ferguson would be a great manager
By Howard Kendall
Aug 12 2011
DUNCAN FERGUSON has been back over in the UK this week, and I’ve spent time catching up with him. He said he is keen to return to the country from Spain, where he has been living, and get involved in football once again. Dunc has been doing his coaching badges, so if it was that area he fancied working in, he’d be a potential hit. Just think of the managers he has played under; Jim McLean at Dundee United, Walter Smith at Rangers, Joe Royle, myself, Bobby Robson and Ruud Gullit at Newcastle, and then David Moyes back at Everton. If he hasn’t learned a few bits and pieces about management from that line-up then he never will! Duncan’s desire to win went a bit too far sometimes, and I think he’d admit that, but he was overall a winner. I can imagine him commanding a dressing room, and inspiring real respect from his players. Anyone who has met the big man knows the presence and charisma he has when he walks into a room, and I think that would translate to the job of manager nicely. He has been working hard to get all the right badges and licences a manager needs in the modern game, and from what I hear he’s done well. I hope he’s back for good soon and something comes his way.
Howard Kendall: Everton FC have kept hold of their big names and that’s a positive
By Howard Kendall
Aug 12 2011
THERE has been plenty of focus on the lack of new signings at Everton this season – but those who feel frustrated must remember the catch-22 David Moyes works under. The players that the Everton manager would have to sell in order to bring in new recruits, are exactly the ones nobody would want to lose. I think Moyes has looked at the situation and said, ‘Right, I’ll go again with what I’ve got’. The sorts of players he would want to bring in who are better than what he has got would cost big money anyway. They are exactly the players Manchester City and the other big-spenders are snapping up. There’s no point buying for the sake of it, and Everton’s manager knows that. I’m sure the supporters are thankful so far that the club have held firm over bids for Phil Jagielka, and Leighton Baines and Jack Rodwell have stayed put. Of course, should Arsenal make a bid for Jagielka which suddenly changes Everton’s thinking, Moyes will already have names lined up to replace him with the money he gets. That brings it’s own problems, because those players’ clubs know Everton suddenly have money and their asking prices go straight up! Results may have been hit and miss in pre-season, but Moyes has tried to use his whole squad and that means he hasn’t always had his strongest side out there. Injuries have not helped – Arteta’s absence is a blow and the set-back for Seamus Coleman us huge too, but it’s not just Everton. Ask Owen Coyle at Bolton about pre-season injuries. He’s had two severe ones. Ultimately results don’t matter in pre-season, and it will be the performance against QPR at Goodison that really counts.
Howard Kendall: Why I had to ban ex Everton FC physio Baz Rathbone after learning just what he said to a linesman!
By Howard Kendall
Aug 12 2011
I WAS delighted to see my friend Mick ‘Baz’ Rathbone is doing so well with his new book, The Smell of Football. I am looking forward to reading it on the beach when I’m on holiday in Turkey, and it will no doubt bring back memories of when we played together at Birmingham, and when I managed him at Blackburn where he nicknamed me the ‘Mad Monk’. Baz was a great defender, but he was sent off on his debut for me after swearing at a linesman. When I read the report of what he’d said I banned him for a month - but eventually allowed him back a week early because I needed him in the team. He went on to be a great physio, and David Moyes holds in the highest regard.
Former Everton FC physio Mick Rathbone on his top-selling chronicle of a life in football
By Greg O'Keeffe
Aug 12 2011
HE WAS the charismatic confidant that Everton FC’s players still miss – a year after he left their Finch Farm training ground for the last time. Mick ‘Baz’ Rathbone was once labelled the ‘best signing he ever made’ by David Moyes, and ask any of the Blues current squad and they will tell you he was unforgettable. Now the professional player-turned physiotherapist – who rose to head of sports medicine at Goodison – is celebrating his debut book rising to the top of the charts. ‘The Smell of Football’ has topped online retailer Amazon’s best-seller list since it was released earlier this month, and contains more than its fair share of hilarious and unflinchingly honest anecdotes about a life in football – particularly with the Blue half of Merseyside. Rathbone, 52, only left the Toffees last summer, a sad parting of the ways which he recounts in his book, but rates his time working alongside Moyes as among his proudest moments. The former Preston North End physio followed Everton’s new Scottish manager from Deepdale to Goodison in 2002, with Moyes eager to retain one of the most trusted members of his backroom staff who had tasted promotion success with the Lancashire club. "I certainly eulogise my time at Everton – and can’t say enough how much I respect David Moyes. That chapter in particular was enjoyable to write," he says, after training with Coventry City, where he has followed friend and former Toffees hero Lee Carsley. Rathbone is the Sky Blues new physio and is delighted to be linking back up with U-18 coach Carsley at the Ricoh arena, not least to share in some occasional nostalgia about their Everton says. "I worked with one of the finest English footballers of a generation in Wayne Rooney at Everton," he says. "Before that in my career I’d been caretaker manager of a team that was relegated from the football league. "The point is I’m very proud of the book. When people say they’ve done a book, you normally think ‘Get over yourself’, but I believe this is different and the range of it makes me really think it’s a story worth telling. "It’s a book about football warts and all – nothing is glossed over. "There are certain reasons why I sat down to write it. The main motivation was to expunge myself via the written word of my first four years at Birmingham. "What happened to me there was worth recalling. It’s no great John Pilger style expose of life in football, but it’s just telling how it was for me." Rathbone was a boyhood Birmingham City fan who was plucked from Midlands schoolboy football and given a career with his local club, although after a period of being feted as the ‘next best thing’ the experience quickly turned sour. Crippled by a lack of confidence and insecurity when mixing with his idols like Trevor Francis, the youngster allowed Birmingham’s intimidating dressing room culture to overwhelm him.
He subsequently failed to make it with the Blues of St Andrew’s, but found a new lease of life after a switch to Blackburn Rovers, where he played under Howard Kendall – a man he had shared a dressing room with briefly at Birmingham. "I was aware as I went through my career, like Forest Gump running across America and documenting the changing times, that a lot of interesting things happened," he says. "People are generally shocked by my experiences with Birmingham at the start. Getting that off my chest was my raison d’etre.
"The rest of the stuff, interesting as it is in its own right, shows how those early days moulded me and left a long impact on me. "There’s something for everyone (in the book).
"If you love Everton in particular, it will be interesting. There is hopefully a depth and gravitas to how honest I’ve been that some books don’t have although I don’t dish out stick for individuals." Rathbone is a man still in love with football, even if his departure from Everton was tough to swallow, and he speaks with genuine passion for the game. "The title is a bit of a double entendre. "Some smells in life make such a big impression that they stay with you forever, and from the first time I walked into a changing room those smells have been with me," he says. "No matter where you play, there’s always a queue for the toilets at 2.50pm. "Maybe fans would be interested to know the nerves that players have before a game, maybe not, I don’t know. "Yes the players now get paid very well, but if you’re only 18 you’re only 18."
BAZ ON... WAYNE ROONEY
Everybody knows about him as a player, but I was lucky enough to know him as a lad.
He is a very modest, polite young man, always courteous, always on time, hard-working, very bright and switched on.
BAZ ON...DAVID MOYES
He is like the bloody Rain Man. David’s almost supernatural ability to read, understand, analyse and recount every single passage of play while he is in the dugout is truly amazing.
For example, on numerous occasions when we conceded a goal, the coaches would blame the most obvious defender, but David would often argue that the initial problem had started 15 passes and five passage of play earlier when one of our players took a sloppy throw in.
BAZ ON... DUNCAN FERGUSON
He emerged from a sidedoor and swaggered up to me. "I am ‘Big Dunc’ by the way, and I have finished a few physios’ careers." "That’s OK," I replied. "I’m Baz and I have finished a few players’ careers." He loved that one, laughed out loud, patted me on the back and walked off.
BAZ ON... TOMMY GRAVESEN
In football, people want to find out who is the fastest, toughest, most skilful, the friendliest, the fittest etc. Well, Tommy was the maddest. But mad in the nicest possible way and a good friend to me. Once I was taking him for a scan and we stopped for fuel on the way. Tommy got out of the car and stood next to me as I filled up the tank. He then followed me into the shop and stood next to me while I paid. Then he followed me back to the car and got back into the passenger’s side - all without saying a word.
Everton FC reserves boss Alan Stubbs says Ross Barkley is the club’s most exciting young prospect since Wayne Rooney
By Greg O'Keeffe
Aug 12 2011
ALAN STUBBS says Ross Barkley is Everton’s most exciting young prospect since Wayne Rooney. The reserves boss insisted that a string of serious injuries have prevented Barkley, 17, progressing even faster, but is hopeful he can now build on a pre-season full of promise.
Stubbs, who acknowledged that David Moyes would have preferred to bring in more competition to his squad this summer, said Barkley is a major positive. He said: "We don’t want to put pressure on Ross, but we’re all very excited by him. He’s had a horrendous 18 months; he’s had a double leg fracture, a double hernia and a metatarsal injury in that time but he’s got potential to be very good. "He’s the most exciting probably since Wayne that has come through. I don’t want to put too much on his shoulders but that’s how highly we rate him. Hopefully he can have a little bit of luck now and steer clear of injury and he could be very, very good." Stubbs is taking further encouragement from Everton’s refusal to sell England defender Phil Jagielka to Arsenal, who have had two bids rejected during the current transfer window. "The fact that we haven’t been able to bring anyone in has made it vitally more important that nobody goes," he said. "There’s obviously been rumours around Phil going to Arsenal, and they’ve put an offer in which has been rejected. "The manager has made it clear that Phil’s not going and rightly so. He was outstanding last season and could walk into most Premier League teams. With the squad on the thin side we can’t let anyone gone." Stubbs said David Moyes has attempted to find a solution to the injury problems which blighted his squad last season. He said: "The manager has tried to look at the way the players were injured, how they were injured and explore every avenue of it.
"He’s looked at why we didn’t start the season well and he’s looked at this pre-season to make sure we hit the ground running this time, and not finish with a flurry when it’s too late.
"It would be foolish to say we’re not aware it’s been quiet at the club this summer. It’s been well docu- mented that there is no money to spend for David at this moment in time, and we just have to get on with it. When you look at the squad it’s still strong but the manager, like any other, would just like to freshen things up and keep a few players on their toes with a few new signings but unfortunately he hasn’t been able to do it."
Everton FC to play final friendly against Irish club Bohemians after Premier League opener was postponed
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 12 2011
EVERTON FC will face Irish side Bohemians in a final pre-season friendly on Monday night after their Premier League opener against Spurs tomorrow was postponed. The game offers the Blues a last chance to prepare for their delayed start to the forthcoming campaign, which now gets underway against QPR at Goodison Park next Saturday. Dublin-based Bohemians compete in the League of Ireland and are currently mid-season. The game will take place at the 3,000-capacity Dalymount Park, kicking off at 7.45pm. Tickets are €15 for adults and €7 for Under-12s. They are available from The Members Bar at the stadium from 8pm - 10pm on Friday evening and from 12noon-10pm on Saturday and Sunday (personal callers only).
They will also be available from the Bohemians ticket office on Monday from 9am - 3pm (personal callers only).
Any remaining unsold tickets will be available on the turnstiles on the night.
Everton FC to host Sheffield United and Liverpool FC to travel to Exeter City in the Carling Cup second round
Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 12 2011
LIVERPOOL face a 500-mile round trip while Everton have been handed a home tie in the draw for the second round of the Carling Cup. The Anfield outfit, who were humiliated by Northampton in the competition last year, will face League One opposition at Exeter City.
Not since 1999 have Liverpool entered the tournament at the second round stage having failed to qualify for Europe last season. Liverpool have played Exeter only four times previously. The last time the teams met was in the 1981-82 season, when now manager Kenny Dalglish scored in both legs as Liverpool won a League Cup tie 11-0 on aggregate en route to winning the competition. Everton, meanwhile, will also take on League One opposition when they entertain Sheffield United. The Goodison outfit have been paired against the Blades three previous times in the competition, losing the most recent meeting 2-1 at Bramall Lane in 1991. The ties take place during the week beginning Monday, August 22. FULL Carling Cup Second Round Draw: Millwall v Morecambe, Blackburn v Sheffield Wednesday, Bury v Leicester, West Ham or Aldershot v Carlisle, Bournemouth v West Brom, Crystal Palace or Crawley Town v Wigan, Peterborough v Middlesbrough, Aston Villa v Hereford, Bristol City or Swindon v Southampton, Exeter v Liverpool, Everton v Sheffield United, Brighton v Sunderland, Shrewsbury v Swansea, Reading or Charlton v Preston, Norwich v MK Dons, Northampton v Wolverhampton, Wycombe v Nottingham Forest, Bolton v Macclesfield, Burnley v Barnet, Scunthorpe v Newcastle, Leyton Orient v Watford or Bristol Rovers, Doncaster v Leeds, Cardiff v Huddersfield, QPR v Rochdale.
Everton FC have potential to break into top four, says Saha
by Richard Buxton. Fri 12 Aug 2011
Liverpool Click
AIMING HIGH: Louis Saha believes Everton could break into the top four Louis Saha believes Everton have the potential to break into the top four this season. The Blues missed out on Europa League qualification last season with a seventh-place finish in the Premier League table, two places and eight points behind Tottenham Hotspur in fifth. Tomorrow's game between the sides at White Hart Lane may have been postponed due to the London riots but Saha, 33, believes David Moyes's side can go one better on last season. He said: "Why not [finish in the top four]? "We finished seventh last year, but we didn't start well and had a few bad games. "The main thing is to increase and improve as a team, that's our aim as competitors. "We can see that the league is different every year, you see good players coming and it's physically really tough, so any game is hard to predict. "We didn't start well and still finished seventh, so I think we can see that as a positive. There's good quality in the squad, so why not be confident and do better? "The start is massive, but I'm pretty confident we can do something like that." To date, Everton are the only Premier League side yet to add new faces to their squad. But Saha remains confident that the current crop of players, combined with Moyes's philosophy, will ensure the club prove a stern challenge for opposing teams this season. "We won't be easily beaten," warns the France international. "I think the manager has always got that mentality. "He's always working hard and asking a lot from the players in terms of commitment, so he's happy with the players we've [already] got."
Everton FC players Leon Osman and Tony Hibbert to meet fans in store signing event
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 13 2011
LEON Osman and Tony Hibbert will be conducting a special summer holiday shop signing session. The homegrown pair will be in the Everton One store adjacent to Goodison Park on Monday (August, 22). Hibbert and Osman will be around from 2-3pm to sign merchandise bought in store and chat with supporters ahead of the big kick off against QPR at Goodison Park on Saturday. Everton officials say the event is expected to be popular so get to Everton One in plenty of time, and anglers in particular should ask Hibbert for some tips - after the right back landed a 32lb carp during a trip to Gran Canaria recently!
Barry Horne: After a long summer it is nice to have football back
Liverpool Echo
Aug 13 2011
AFTER a long summer spent trawling through various satellite stations looking for any kind of football, the real thing is upon us this weekend. And while Everton fans will be disappointed that they have no game to follow today, in the long-run it needn’t be too detrimental to the club. It does, after all, give David Moyes another week to prepare his players – some of whom were on international duty this week. Other than that, it promises to be a very exciting Premier League campaign. Manchester United, surely, must be the hottest favourites for the title in some time. The master of English football, Alex Ferguson, has addressed the perceived weaknesses in his squad decisively, doing some great business early in the window. Arsenal are expected to lose both Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, but Arsene Wenger will surely now need to address the defensive issues which have plagued the club for too long (a task which may lead him to Everton, of course). At the other end the likes of Wigan and Bolton have struggled to bring players in, while those Newcastle have managed to sign will surely not match the quality of those who have left the club. The club I feel could struggle most, though, is Blackburn. Steve Kean is already labouring after the loss of Phil Jones, Mame Biram Diouf, Jermaine Jones, Nikola Kalinic, Keith Andrews and Roque Santa Cruz – a large part of his squad last season.
Barry Horne: Everton FC's Tim Cahill shows he still has the magic touch
Liverpool Echo
Aug 13 2011
l ON a positive note, I was at Cardiff in midweek to witness a simply superb display from Tim Cahill, as Australia beat Wales 2-1. Cahill scored a fine goal himself, and was involved in the Australians’ second, but it was his work rate, endeavour and attitude which shone through. He is now closing in on the all-time Australian goalscoring record – held by John Aloisi – and is edging ever closer to Duncan Ferguson’s Everton tally. This is a special player, and someone who scores his goals when they matter. There is no such thing as a meaningless goal where Tim is concerned. What a signing he has been for Everton Football Club.
Everton FC midfielder Leon Osman gives a clue to the Blues approach this season
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 13 2011
ANY Toffees looking for a clue as to how the Blues will go about their business on the pitch in the early games of the forthcoming campaign should note these quotes from Leon Osman. “Last season at the start we were playing really good football,” he told us at Finch Farm this week. “Possession wise we were dominating games, and territorially we were. But we weren’t doing the most important thing in a match and that’s score goals. “We went a bit more basic towards the end of the season and it paid off for us. We were scoring and winning games. “In a perfect world it’s the mixture of the two, but at the start of the season it’s finding a way to win games and hopefully football follows after that. “I’m pretty sure that’s how we’ll go about things.” Cast your mind back to Blackburn Rovers last August, and remember what Ossie means. The passing was slick enough, the moment from defence to midfield very fluid, but in the final third everything fizzled out. It was only when Moyes decided to re-shuffle from January onwards and get the ball into the box quicker, via a 4-2-3-1 formation, that the goals started to flow (or pour steadily anyway...). So don’t expect to see as much pretty football, but do expect a more dynamic start. We hope.
Barry Horne: Outs, not ins, will be key for David Moyes and Everton FC this summer
Liverpool Echo
Aug 13 2011
THIS time a year ago I, like just about every other Everton fan I spoke to, was as excited and optimistic about the new season as at any time since my playing days. It was widely accepted and agreed that David Moyes had assembled the Blues’ strongest squad in a long time, and that a Champions League spot was a distinct possibility. Twelve months on, the mood around Goodison Park appears significantly less positive and, dare I say, a little downbeat. This is a little strange, considering that the current squad is pretty much the same as last season’s. Granted, Steven Pieenaar has left, along with James Vaughan (who rarely featured), but other than a few key squad members being another year older, there appears little reason to be too concerned. It is obvious, however, that fans’ concerns stem less from the playing staff, and more from the financial constraints which Moyes is clearly being forced to operate under. For example, Pienaar has not been replaced yet, whilst - and this is the elephant in the room - there are fears around what may come in the next few weeks of the transfer window. It is rumoured that Everton will have to pay back a substantial chunk to its bankers soon, and it would appear that Arsene Wenger, armed with this information, was attempting to prise Phil Jagielka away on the cheap. Jags is in demand because so many clubs are in need of a centre-back. But he is not the only one; Leighton Baines, Jack Rodwell and Marouane Fellaini could also attract attention between now and the end of August. Of those, Fellaini is the most dispensable in my opinion, but it is simply vital that David holds on to his better players.
Everton FC great Trevor Steven is falling for the same trick as others - forgetting just how good David Moyes is
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 13 2011
THERE are some surprisingly short memories concerning Everton in the ranks of national media pundits. You only have to flick through the tabloids or tune into the radio call-in shows over the last few weeks to digest their pessimistic verdicts on Everton’s prospects this season. Even Everton idol Trevor Steven appeared to write the Toffees off on talkSPORT, when he lamented his former club’s lack of spending. “There’s an obvious need for fresh players at Everton,” he said. “I know David Moyes must be very frustrated. “I know he’s had targets and not been able to go and get them because the finances were just not there at that moment when the player became available.” He also warned because of the lack of investment, Everton are no longer able to be considered in the top bracket of teams that challenges for honours. He added: “You’ve got the top six teams really defining themselves again in the transfer market. “There’s going to be a distinct two leagues there this year, maybe even three leagues. The bottom four or five, the middle group, and then you’ve got Liverpool, Man City, Man United, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal.” Now, this column is not going to argue that Tricky Trev has got his facts wrong or is being deliberately cynical.
His prognosis is probably shared by plenty of Everton fans, and is based on understandable frustration and genuine concern. But among the doom and gloom, there seems to be a surprising lack of recognition of the one major positive Everton can cling to, even when times are tough, i.e. David Moyes. It’s natural for supporters and journalists alike to take Moyes for granted from time to time, as he enters his 10th season at Goodison. But reading former Everton physio Mick ‘Baz’ Rathbone’s book last week, a passage about his awe of Moyes’ tactical ability stood out. David’s almost supernatural ability to read, understand, analyse and recount every single passage of play while he is in the dugout is truly amazing,’ writes Baz. ‘For example, on numerous occasions when we conceded a goal, the coaches would blame the most obvious defender, but David would often argue that the initial problem had started 15 passes and five passage of play earlier when one of our players took a sloppy throw in.’ Moyes’ ability to unearth diamonds from the rough in the transfer market may be on hold for now, as his capability to do even that is stymied, but Everton have a footballing great as their manager not a one-trick pony. For all the brickbats aimed at the Everton board lately, it’s worth remembering that Bill Kenwright and Robert Elstone put together the handsome financial package that Moyes signed in 2008. The Blues chairman and his shrewd chief executive knew they had to put together terms attractive enough to keep Moyes from the clutches of other clubs, and they managed it. Yes, the Blues boss rejected the overtures of Aston Villa this summer, and it’s primarily his devotion to Everton that stoked his disinterest, but could the Midlanders have bettered a deal which makes him one of the best paid managers in the league? It’s debatable. This is a coach who has guided Everton to fourth place, fifth twice, sixth, and seventh twice. It’s a mean track record when you consider his relative lack of spending - OK, supporters will have heard all this before, but it’s too easy to overlook. The postponement of today’s away opener against Spurs could yet be a blessing in disguise. A tricky trip to White Hart Lane is not the ideal way to get that desperately needed strong start underway. A home game against QPR, then a trip to Blackburn before Aston Villa and Wigan at Goodison are instantly more appetising.
He may have no new players, but the man once dubbed the best pound for pound manager in the league can simply never be written off. Who knows where a good start could lead?
Everton FC veteran Leon Osman has seen it all before and just wants Premier League action to start
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 13 2011
LEON OSMAN has seen it all before – ten seasons as a Toffee have left him immune to either extremes of positivity or negativity around the Blues fortunes. The laid-back midfielder could sum up his approach with a line from Rudyard Kipling’s oft-quoted ‘If’; ‘If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same..’. From the highs of finishing fourth in 2005 and a trip to Wembley in 2009, to the lows of scraping clear of relegation in 2004 and seeing that unexpected Champions League dream die the following year. So ask Osman whether he is overly concerned by a quiet summer in the transfer market, or the difficulty of competing against teams who have invested millions in quality players, and he is distinctly underwhelmed. From an individual point of view, the 30-year-old finished last season in the form of his career, sparking talk of an England call-up, and now he simply wants to get back to enjoying his job again. “I don’t get sucked into the things that are going on (off the pitch),” he says. “I’ve seen it all before and we’ve actually got a really good squad now. “It’s always nice to hear that players want to come to your club, and sign on and join what you’re doing. But if that’s not going to happen, then so be it. It shouldn’t affect us on the pitch.” Osman, it’s clear, is not one to let the club’s problems in finding new investment give him sleepless nights. “From my point of view it’s been spoken about for many years now and never materialised,” he says. “There’s no point reading too much into things, we’ve just got to get our heads down and crack on with the things we can affect – not things that happen off the pitch.” Osman was one of the Blues’ most effective performers last season – they won 50% of games with him in the side compared to just 17% without – and he successfully filled the creative void left by Steven Pienaar’s departure in January.
“For me and the team the season probably finished a little bit too soon,” he says. “It’s well recorded that we only seem to get a head of steam up after Christmas. “For the last three or four seasons we’ve only got into our stride in the second half, and it’s a little bit disappointing that hasn’t happened sooner. “On a personal note, it was upsetting but that’s part of football. It’s a long season and that takes its toll on you but that’s part of football.
“We were all ready for a rest, but we’ve had that now and it’s time to try and put right the problems we’ve had with starting in the past on a personal and team level. “The season is coming up pretty fast and we just need to know what our jobs are and get on with them.”
Those as yet ignored cries for an England call-up peaked when Osman scored a spectacular header in a memorable home victory over Manchester City at Goodison, but the 5ft 7in player is unfazed by his lack of recognition from Fabio Capello to date. “It’s not something I can affect. I can affect how I perform, and enjoy my football. The second half of the season I had a lot of fun out there playing football, and played quite well, getting results,” he says. “It was a really enjoyable time, but what happens after that is out of my hands.” Osman agrees with fellow veteran Tim Cahill that Everton could benefit from reduced expectations this term.
“When the expectation levels are high, you go into games and people are aware they’ve got a big game coming up when they play you,” he says. “We became a big target and a big game for teams. “But when you’re off the radar other teams take their foot off the gas a bit and we can come over the top of that. Hopefully it happens this season.” Osman can see some parallels with the summer of 2004, when Everton sold Wayne Rooney but went on to finish fourth. He said: “There are certainly comparisons. I was here then and I’m here now. The feel of things, and the way people have spoken about us. “Like then we hadn’t really brought anyone in during the summer, but our squad now is a lot better. “We managed to finish fourth back then. Also the level of the Premier League has gone up since then.But we’re quietly confident in ourselves and we can pull off something similar (to 05).
“There’s no point being negative. We have to look at ourselves and say we’re capable.”
Leon Osman’s Top Five Everton FC goals
1. v Larissa. Osman’s wonderful goal of the season strike in a 2007/08 Uefa Cup group game against the Greek side followed a breath-taking team move which evoked the famous School of Science approach.
2. v Manchester City. He may be just 5ft7in but Osman out-jumped the towering Vincent Kompany to plant a sumptuous header that Duncan Ferguson would have been proud of during a thrilling 2-1 win over Manchester City last season.
3. v Stoke City. This long distance curler against Tony Pulis’ side in the 2009/10 campaign followed more quick passing and proved Osman has an eye for the spectacular individual strike.
4. v Blackburn Rovers. Osman’s quick-reaction volley from outside the box in 1998’s FA Youth Cup final victory announced his potential to Evertonians.
5. v Arsenal in January 2010. Another gravity-defying header, this bullet from a Landon Donovan corner, left Manuel Almunia with no chance and set the tone for what was almost a fantastic victory.
Everton FC look to resurrect Goodison exits for Joseph Yobo and Yakubu to provide David Moyes with last ditch transfer funds
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 13 2011
EVERTON are trying to generate some last-ditch transfer funds by reviving deals for both Joseph Yobo and Yakubu to leave Goodison. Talks between the Blues and Turkish champions Fenerbahce are believed to have resumed after previously stalling, with Everton considering a deal worth less than the £6m price-tag they had initially put on Nigeria’s captain. Toffees chairman Bill Kenwright prides himself on his ability to get a good price for outgoing players, and had believed that Yobo should not go on the cheap, but as the clock ticks down towards the transfer window closing at the end of the month, he is keen to provide David Moyes with some cash to add to his squad via loan deals. Any deal is potentially complicated by the Istanbul club needing permission from their national federation to sign players after a probe into match-fixing allegations. But should they get the thumbs-up, Fenerbahce hope to do business next week for a player who scored the goal which helped them seal the Super Lig championship. A move to Turkey could also still be on the cards for Yakubu, with sources close to the 28-year-old striker confirming there is still interest in him from two European clubs and the UK. Leicester City, who were rumoured to be mulling over a bid for Yakubu’s Goodison team-mate Victor Anichebe, have not given up on trying to sign Yakubu too after he enjoyed a successful loan spell at the King Power stadium last season. Meanwhile, Everton have confirmed that striker Joao Silva has joined Vitoria FC on a season-long loan. The Portuguese 21-year-old will return to his homeland in a temporary move, after failing to make a first-team appearance for the Blues yet. Silva scored four goals in 12 games while on loan with Uniao de Leiria last season and it is hoped his latest switch will be even more beneficial. Having hit 14 goals in his first full season of senior football with hometown club CD Aves, Silva attracted interest from a host of top clubs.
Moyes won the race to secure his services, with Silva signing a three-year deal at Goodison Park last summer. But he was part of their reserve squad last season before being sent on loan to Portuguese top-flight side Uniao de Leiria, for whom he scored a brace in a 3-3 draw away to Benfica. Silva had played both games during Everton's recent tour of Russia and now has the chance of regular first-team football back home And Everton will finish preparations for their delayed Premier League kick-off next weekend with a final friendly against League of Ireland side Bohemians on Monday. The Blues will take on the Dublin club, who are currently mid season, at their Dalymount Park stadium at 7.45pm.
Moyes’ men will also take on Sheffield United in the Carling Cup second road, at Goodison Park, on Wednesday, August 24. Kick off is 8pm.
Bristol Academy beaten in final home game
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Bristol Evening Post
Follow.A freak own-goal from Jemma Rose and Fern Whelan's powerful header ensured Everton returned to winning ways – and handed Bristol Academy a 2-0 defeat in their final home game of the FA Women's Super League. The Merseysiders – who also saw a penalty saved – kept alive their outside hopes of a late challenge for the title, while the Vixens missed out on the chance to move into the top four for the first time. .Everton were the first to threaten with Bristol keeper Siobhan Chamberlain diving to her left to push away Natasha Dowie's close-range shot on the turn. Then Bristol went close from a couple of set pieces. First, Corinne Yorston's 20-yard free kick curled just wide of keeper Danielle Hill's right-hand post. Then Rose's long-range strike from another free kick was just scrambled away by Hill as she dived to her left. At the other end, Chamberlain needed to advance quickly to snuff out the danger as Dowie threatened to capitalise on a poor backpass by Jade Radburn midway through the opening period. But the half then petered out with neither side able to impose their superiority or create much in the way of openings. Everton were presented with a glorious chance to break the deadlock just before the hour when Rose was penalised for a challenge on Dowie which left the Everton striker on the floor. Fara Williams took the spot kick but saw Chamberlain make an excellent save to her left to beat out her strike.
Bristol's escape was short-lived, however, as Dowie played her part in Everton's 62nd-minute breakthrough. Her shot beat Chamberlain and as Rose tried to clear it off the line, the ball got stuck under her feet and trickled in. Williams could have doubled the Toffees' advantage as she was put through on goal, but once again Chamberlain pulled off another fine save to deny her. Everton netted their second 10 minutes from time when central defender Whelan powered home a header from a Williams corner.
Bristol Academy: Chamberlain; McCatty, Radburn, Rose, Culvin (Dykes 64); Billson (Bleazard 64), Daley (Clark 50), Hoogendijk, Yorston, Heatherson; Fishlock. Subs (not used): Green, Matthews.
Everton: Hill; Easton, Whelan, Johnson, Chaplen; Handley (Harries 60), Kane (Hinnigan 60), Scott, Williams, Duggan; Dowie. Subs (not used):
Attendance: 508
Everton boss Moyes suffers blow as Chelsea pinch scout Docherty
Sunday Mail
13th August 2011
David Moyes has suffered a major setback on the eve of what could be a crucial season.
Strapped for cash, the Everton manager has now lost top talent-spotter Mick Docherty.
The man who unearthed Seamus Coleman, playing for Sligo Rovers, has joined Chelsea as head of UK and international scouting.
Wenger to renew bid for Everton defender Jagielka as Cesc heads for Barcelona
By Rob Draper
13th August 2011
Sunday Mail
Arsenal are expected to make a renewed bid for Everton centre-half Phil Jagielka this week as the club come to terms with the imminent departures of Cesc Fabregas, who flies to Barcelona on Monday to complete his £35million move, and Samir Nasri, who the club are now willing to sell to Manchester City for £20m. Manager Arsene Wenger is also still searching for a midfield replacement for Fabregas, having ruled out Valencia's Juan Mata, but is said to be adamant he will not pay over the odds for players even though the £55m raised by the Fabregas and Nasri sales will be put at his disposal. Arsenal exit: Fabregas will fly to Barcelona on Monday to complete the deal abregas will finally complete his protracted move to Barcelona on Monday when he undergoes a medical, but Barca manager Pep Guardiola has appeared to criticise the premature euphoria of his players Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol, who had used Twitter to announce the Fabregas deal on Friday. In demand: Arsenal are interested in Jagielka Guardiola said: 'Cesc is still an Arsenal player. When I want to know the latest on the matter I don't look at the tweets of Pique and Puyol. I speak to the directors and they tell me that matters are very advanced but some papers unsigned.' Fabregas will wear the No 4 shirt at Barca, the shirt once worn there by Guardiola himself. Given Everton manager David Moyes's unwillingness to sell Phil Jagielka and the player's contentment at Everton, only a £20m bid is likely to succeed, but Arsenal are reluctant to pay that for a player who is 29 this week. A source close to Jagielka said he is 'ambitious for Champions League football but sensible', indicating that he will not agitate for a move unless Everton decide to sell him.
AUSTRALIA RULES FOR PROUD EVERTON ACE TIM CAHILL
14th August 2011 By Harry Pratt
SundayMirror
TIM CAHILL has told Everton boss David Moyes he will never put club before country.
The Aussie hitman, who scored in his country’s midweek win over Wales, missed almost half of last season’s Premier League action after being injured on international duty at the Asian Cup. But Cahill 31, insists he has no plans to stop turning out for Australia in order to extend his career with Everton. And with 24 goals in 53 games for his country, the Toffees ace is now targeting becoming the Socceroos’ all-time record goalscorer. Cahill, who needs five more to do that, said: “I had to fight a massive court case just for the right to play for my country – and I won’t stop playing until my body stops. “It’s a big thing for us to play for Australia and you do it whenever you can. It has given me some of the best moments
of my life and I won’t give that up. “It is not in my mentality to stop. Would you say to Steven Gerrard or John Terry or any of the top players for England that now you are 31, will you stop playing for England? “I am now close to Damian Mori’s goals record for Australia – and I would love to beat it. “I love football. You try as hard as you can for your club and your country, too.”
Leighton Baines finds positives from Everton FC’s fixture postponement
by Philip Kirkbride, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 15 2011
LEIGHTON BAINES has taken the positives from a double disappointment. After England’s midweek friendly against Holland being called off because of the disorder in London, Everton’s opening Premier League game of the season also fell foul of the events in the capital. Baines was sure to feature in both and has revealed his frustration in not being able to be part of the big kick-off as top flight football returned. The 26-year-old admits it was the correct decision however to put the fixture at White Hart Lane on hold in the wake of the social unrest in London. But the left-back was keen to take the positives from the set-back and says Everton being able to open their league account at home, when newly promoted Queens Park Rangers visit Goodison on Saturday, is a positive outcome of the postponement. “Your first home game is always a bit of a moment and with it now being our first home game of the season it is something of a consolation for us having missed out this weekend,” said the England full-back. “I am sure there will be a great atmosphere for that one. “We were waiting on the news and, like everyone else, just sort of hoping it would be on. “The start of the Premier League season is exciting so we were disappointed to hear we were not going to be involved. “But when you put everything into perspective then the authorities have made the right decision. Football is not the most important thing and the game will be replayed at some point when everything has settled down.” On hearing the first of the postponements on Tuesday, whilst with England, Baines added: “That was disappointing. “We were out training and getting ready the day before the game when we heard it was off. “So hearing this game was off as well made it a bit of a double blow. I don’t seem to be able to get a game anywhere at the moment. “But we will just have to be professional and carry on preparing for the season and then we will start focusing on the QPR game.”
Sligo Rovers manager Paul Cook reckons Everton FC are in for excellent friendly against Bohemians
by Philip Kirkbride, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 15 2011
EVERTON are looking to make the best out of a bad situation – but their trip to Ireland will be far from easy. That is the opinion of Sligo Rovers’ Liverpudlian manager Paul Cook who knows all about the opposition who await the Goodison Park side this evening.
David Moyes takes his troops to Dalymount Park tonight for a friendly match with Bohemians, swiftly arranged in the aftermath of their Premier League curtain raiser at Tottenham Hotspur being postponed due to last week’s disorder in the capital. Sligo battled it out with the Dublin-based Bohemians on Saturday night in an FAI League of Ireland fixture in front of nearly 2,000 fans. Cook’s team, looking to return to top spot with victory, had taken an early lead at their Showgrounds home over the weekend only to have that advantage overturned by two goals in the final 15 minutes. Controversy reigned and Cook, a former Southport manager, hotly disputes the penalty decision which lead to Bohs’ equaliser in the 75th minute as Killan Brennan converted from the spot. Former Everton Academy prospect Aidan Downes then piled on the misery by hitting the winning goal nine minutes from time. Downes is one of two standout players Moyes’ men should be wary of this evening, says Cook, who has also pinpointed Christopher Fagan as one who could trouble Everton. And as Cook explains, despite Bohemians running into off-field difficulties in recent times, they remain one of strongest outfits in country. Ranked as the third most successful club in League of Ireland history, Bohemians have won the championship title 11 times and featured in the European Cup on six occasions. Pat Fenlon’s side competed in the second qualifying round of the Champions League last season and despite a first leg victory over Welsh outfit The New Saints, Bohemians lost the return fixture 4-0 in a performance the manager is reported to have described as “disgraceful”. “For the last three or four years more of less, Bohemians have been champions and dominated in Ireland,” said Cook. “However over the last six or seven months they have had a lot of financial problems and so have had to reduce the size of their squad. “But they still have some good players and have assembled a strong squad with a lot of experience in this league. “There are a couple of lads who stand out though, Christy Fagan and Aidan Downes, who used to be with Everton. He’s had a lot of injuries but the lad played very well against us on Saturday night
“That was our first defeat in 13 games and we would’ve gone top if we had won. “The referee gave the penalty but not one person in the ground is appealing for it. “But we’re still only three points off the top with 10 games to go so we’re far from out of it. Unfortunately you can’t win every game.” Everton are expected to take a strong squad to Dublin for this evening’s game and Cook says they can look forward to playing on a quality pitch. And though the Sligo manager is convinced Moyes’ side will prove too strong from the hosts, Cook says Bohemians will be set up to frustrate by their proficient manager Fenlon. “Everton will get a good game down there tonight because it’s a very good surface at Dalymount Park,” said Cook. “I’m sure that will please David Moyes and of course, Dublin is very accessible for the fans. “This is a good game for Everton because the Bohemians manager is tactically astute and so sets his teams up well. “They came to us on Saturday night and stopped us playing. “I would imagine they’d set up in a similar way tonight and stop Everton finding the spaces in behind them. “Everton will have a lot of possession and Bohemians will try and frustrate them. But I expect Everton will have too much.” Irish striker Downes, now 23, joined Everton’s Academy in 2005 from Tolka Rovers in his homeland with Moyes’ men paying £90,000 in compensation to sign him. After making progress with his new club, injury curtailed Downes’ development with Everton in the 2005/06 campaign.
Following a loan spell at Yeovil, Downes was released by the Goodison outfit in May 2008 and so returned to the League One side, signing a two-year contract.
Released in 2010, the Ireland under-21 international moved back to his homeland with Shamrock Rovers before making the switch to city rivals Bohemians. Tickets for tonight’s match (7.45pm) are 15 Euros for adults and 7 Euros for Under-12s. They will also be available from the Bohemians ticket office today from 9am – 3pm (personal callers only).
Any remaining unsold tickets will be available on the turnstiles on the night.
Everton FC’s Tim Cahill wants to play for Australia for as long as possible
by Philip Kirkbride, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 15 2011
TIM CAHILL has revealed his desire to keep representing Australia for as long as possible.
The 31-year-old, who is expected to feature in Everton’s friendly at Irish side Bohemians, bagged his 24th international goal in 53 appearances during last week’s friendly with Wales in Cardiff. Although a recent foot injury, picked up whilst on duty with Australia in the 2011 Asia Cup during January, kept him out of Everton action for a sustained period towards the end of last season, Cahill is determined to prolong his career with the Socceroos and pursue the country’s goal scoring record. In a bid to ease the concerns of Goodison Park manager David Moyes, Cahill took a break from much of Australia’s summer programme, missing friendlies with New Zealand and Serbia. But Cahill returned last week and his strike in the 2-1 victory over Wales brought him to within five goals of the nation’s leading marksman Damian Mori. And after it took a major court case for the former Millwall man to be made eligible to play for Australia – having represented Samoa as a schoolboy – the Everton talisman is refusing to walk away from the international scene just yet. “I had to fight a massive court case just for the right to play for my country – and I won’t stop playing until my body stops,” said Cahill. “It’s a big thing for us to play for Australia and you do it whenever you can. “It has given me some of the best moments of my life and I won’t give that up.
“It is not in my mentality to stop. Would you say to Steven Gerrard or John Terry or any of the top players for England that now you are 31, will you stop playing for England?
“I am now close to Damian Mori’s goals record for Australia – and I would love to beat it.
“I love football. You try as hard as you can for your club and your country, too.” At the time of Cahill’s decision to rest from international action, Moyes said: “Tim definitely needs the break. “He played in the World Cup and then he went to the Asian games and I don’t think that has helped him, in fact it has really hindered him in my eyes. “Because of that I think he needs to start looking at himself to get into condition. “He has been really good for Everton but Everton have been really good to him as well, so I think it is important he does look at the club here. “Because of that I don’t think he’ll get involved in any of the friendlies this summer for Australia.”
Everton FC will get tough test in Dublin, says Sligo Rovers boss Paul Cook
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 15 2011
EVERTON FC will be provided with a stern test as they wrap-up their pre-season in the fair city of Dublin tonight, according to the scouser on the inside of Irish football. Sligo Rovers’ Liverpudlian manager Paul Cook knows all about the opposition who await the Toffees this evening. Moyes takes his side to Dalymount Park for a swiftly arranged last-minute friendly with Bohemians, organised after their Premier League curtain raiser at Tottenham Hotspur was postponed due to last week’s riots in the capital. Sligo battled it out with the Dublin-based Bohemians on Saturday night in an FAI League of Ireland fixture in front of nearly 2,000 fans. Cook’s team, looking to return to top spot with victory, took an early lead at their Showgrounds home over the weekend only to have that advantage overturned by two goals in the final 15 minutes. Controversy reigned and Cook, a former Southport manager, disputes the penalty decision which lead to Bohs’ equaliser in the 75th minute as Killan Brennan fired home from the spot. Ex Everton Academy prospect Aidan Downes then piled on the misery by hitting the winning goal nine minutes from time. Downes is one of two standout players Moyes’ will tell his men to be wary of this evening, says Cook, who has also pinpointed Christopher Fagan as one who could trouble Everton. And as Cook explains, despite Bohemians’ off-field difficulties in recent times, they remain one of strongest outfits in the country. Ranked as the third most successful club in League of Ireland history, Bohemians have won the championship title 11 times and featured in the European Cup six times. Pat Fenlon’s side competed in the second qualifying round of the Champions League last season and despite a first leg victory over Welsh outfit The New Saints, Bohemians lost the return fixture 4-0 in a performance the manager is reported to have described as “disgraceful”. “For the last three or four years more of less, Bohemians have been champions and dominated in Ireland,” said Cook. “However over the last six or seven months they have had a lot of financial problems and so have had to reduce the size of their squad. “But they still have some good players and have a lot of experience in this league. There are a couple of lads who stand out though, Christy Fagan and Aidan Downes, who used to be with Everton. He’s had a lot of injuries but the lad played very well against us.
“That was our first defeat in 13 games and we would’ve gone top if we had won. The referee gave the penalty but not one person in the ground is appealing for it. “But we’re still only three points off the top with 10 games to go so we’re far from out of it. You can’t win every game.” Cook says the Blues, who will take a strong squad to Dalymount Park, can look forward to playing on a quality surface. And though the Sligo boss is convinced Everton will be too strong for the hosts, he says Bohemians will be set up to frustrate by tactically-astute Fenlon. “Everton will get a good game down there tonight because it’s a very good surface at Dalymount Park,” said Cook. “I’m sure that will please David Moyes and of course, Dublin is very accessible for the fans. “This is a good game for Everton because the Bohemians manager is tactically astute and so sets his teams up well. “They came to us on Saturday night and stopped us playing. “I would imagine they’d set up in a similar way tonight and stop Everton finding the spaces in behind them. “Everton will have a lot of possession and Bohemians will try and frustrate them. But I expect Everton will have too much.” Irish striker Downes, now 23, joined Everton’s Academy in 2005 from Tolka Rovers in his homeland with Moyes paying £90,000 in compensation to sign him. After making progress with his new club, injury curtailed Downes’ development in the 2005/06 campaign. Following a loan spell at Yeovil, he was released by the Goodison outfit in May 2008 and returned to the League One side. Released in 2010, the Ireland under-21 international moved back to his homeland with Shamrock Rovers before making the switch to Bohemians.
LIVERPOOL (4-4-1-1): Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name. Not used: Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name.
EVERTON (4-4-2): Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name. Not used: Name, Name, Name, Name, Name, Name.
GOALS: Name (time), Name (time); Name (time).
CARDS: Booked – Name (time), Name (time); Name (time). Sent off – Name (time).
REFEREE: Name Name (address).
ATTENDANCE: (figure).
Everton FC midfielder Tim Cahill insists he will continue playing for Australia
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 15 2011
REVITALISED Everton FC captain Tim Cahill insists he will continue playing for Australia after a break this summer to pacify EFC boss David Moyes. The 31-year-old decided to miss the Socceroo’s two friendlies against Serbia and New Zealand in June, while he recovered fully from a foot problem and took some well-earned rest. It came after Cahill missed a sustained period of last season for the Blues with the foot injury picked up on Asia Cup duty with Australia in January. Cahill, who still finished as Everton’s Premier League top scorer with nine goals, was keen to appease Moyes, who had expressed his frustration at losing his key man over the busy new year period, although he now feels ready to resume his dual responsibilities. Cahill, who once represented Samoa at schoolboy level, was instrumental in FIFA changing its ruling to allow players to switch allegiance from the country they represent at youth. The midfielder was forced to take football’s governing body to court to kick-start his Australia career back in 2004 and is therefore reluctant to give it up easily.
He said: “I had to fight a massive court case just for the right to play for my country – and I won’t stop playing until my body stops,” Cahill said. “It’s a big thing for us to play for Australia and you do it whenever you can. It has given me some of the best moments of my life and I won’t give that up. “It is not in my mentality to stop. Would you say to Steven Gerrard or John Terry or any of the top players for England that now you are 31, will you stop playing for England?” Cahill, who has scored 24 goals in 53 appearances for his country of birth, is just five goals shy of former Perth Glory striker Damian Mori’s all-time top-scoring record for Australia.
Bohemians 1 Everton 1: Full Time Report
by Merseyside News, Liverpool Echo
Aug 15 2011
MIKEL ARTETA made a welcome return to the Everton starting line-up for their hastily arranged friendly match in Dublin. But a Blues team featuring a mix of senior stars and youngsters were held by Irish League part-timers Bohemians at Dalymount Park.
Arteta hadn't featured since suffering a foot injury during the Blues pre-season tour of the USA and might have struggled to make the starting line-up had Everton kicked off their Premier League campaign at Tottenham last Saturday. But he enjoyed a lengthy run-out in Ireland ahead of Saturday's Goodison curtain raiser against Queens Park Rangers, playing 68 minutes before making way for Jose Baxter. The Spaniard couldn't help inspire an Everton victory though. The visitors took the lead with a well constructed goal by Jermaine Beckford after just eight minutes – and young Ross Barkley was influentially involved.
The talented teenager crossed to the far post where Marouane Fellaini nodded precisely back across goal for Beckford to tap in. After 57 minutes Anichebe slid a shot just pass the post after being released by Osman, then Arteta nutmegged a defender, dashed to the bvline and cut back a cross for Jack Rodwell whose shot was blocked by the goalkeeper.
But in the 65th minute Bohemians equalised. Anto Flood cut in from the right and fired past Tim Howard. Substitute Apostolos Vellios almost restored Everton's lead within two minutes, flicking narrowly wide from Garbutt's whipped in cross. Then Vellios and Osman were both denied by the keeper as Everton tried to end their unexpectedly extended pre-season campaign on a winning note. The big Greek striker enjoyed another lively 45 minutes and he fired over the bar from long range just two minutes from time but that was Everton's last opportunity in a well contested clash.
EVERTON: Mucha (Howard 45), Hibbert, Heitinga (Distin 45), Duffy (Mustafi 45), Garbutt, Arteta (Baxter 68), Fellaini (Neville 68), Rodwell, Barkley (Osman 45), Beckford (Vellios 45), Anichebe (Bilyaletdinov 68).
McClaren weighs up moves for Everton pair Yakubu and Beckford
Daily Mail
16th August 2011
Steve McClaren is monitoring Everton's Ayegbeni Yakubu and Jermaine Beckford as he attempts to find a solution to Nottingham Forest’s striker shortage. Everton are eager to offload Yakubu, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Leicester, and McClaren knows the Nigerian well from their time at Middlesbrough. On his way? Everton are keen to offload Yakubu who was loaned out to Leicester ut Forest could face competition for Yakubu from Leicester, who have also expressed interest in Everton’s Victor Anichebe. The Foxes have also bid £5.5million for Bristol City striker Nicky Maynard after missing out on Robbie Keane.
Bohemians 1 Everton FC 1: Mikel Arteta and spirited work-out will have pleased David Moyes
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 16 2011
WHEN David Moyes envisaged Everton FC marking the opening weekend with a hard-earned point in the capital, this probably wasn’t what he had in mind. But the Goodison manager will have been content as his side concluded their extended pre-season preparations with a draw against Bohemians in Dublin. Chief reason for encouragement was the sight of Mikel Arteta back in action. The Spaniard’s absence with a foot injury suffered on the United States tour had been a growing cause for concern among supporters.
Arteta, though, emerged unscathed from more than an hour of graft last night to put himself in contention for Saturday’s belated Premier League opener at home to Queens Park Rangers. The postponement of the scheduled clash at Tottenham Hotspur may prove something of a blessing for Everton. Not only has it given players such as Arteta more time to work on their fitness, it has removed the toughest fixture from Everton’s scheduled opening month. Now Moyes’s side open the campaign with home games against QPR, Aston Villa and Wigan Athletic along with a trip to Blackburn Rovers, surely an ideal scenario to build confidence ahead of the sterner tests that await in late September and October.
In a worthwhile workout last night in less than ideal conditions at a soggy Dalymount Park, Jermaine Beckford gave Moyes’s side a first-half the lead before Anto Flood equalised shortly after the hour. Bohemians agreed to the hastily-arranged friendly despite being partway through their campaign in the Airtricity League. Among those starting for Bohs were former Everton trainee Aidan Downes and Christy Fagan, once on the books of Manchester United. Downes, who was at Everton between 2005 and 2008 before leaving for Yeovil Town, netted his first goal for the club at the weekend in the 2-1 win at league leaders Sligo Rovers. A pre-match deluge ensured the excellent surface was treacherously slippery, a fact that perhaps prompted Moyes to select an experimental line-up from a travelling party that was already missing Tim Cahill, Phil Jagielka, Leighton Baines and Louis Saha.
Shane Duffy, linked strongly with a move to Burnley earlier this summer after a loan spell at Turf Moor, came in at centre-back, while 18-year-old left-back Luke Garbutt made his first appearance of pre-season. Solid and composed, Garbutt could be pleased with his efforts. However, it was the welcome return of Arteta that was of the greatest interest to Everton supporters, who made up the majority of the 3,000-strong crowd. Arteta was employed in a central midfield role alongside Jack Rodwell – perhaps Everton’s finest performer on the night – and enjoyed plenty of possession as Everton dominated the opening stages.
Victor Anichebe struck a shot wide before the visitors went ahead in the eighth minute through a well-worked goal, Ross Barkley’s raking diagonal pass to the far post headed goalward by Marouane Fellaini with Beckford claiming the final touch by the goalline.
Barkley, here ostensibly on the left wing but free to move inside, once again delivered a performance that belied his tender years, and must be in the reckoning for a start at the weekend simply on the strength of his form.
An ambitious 25-yard effort shortly before half-time highlighted not just the 17-year-old’s burgeoning confidence, but also a youthful lack of fear the will serve the midfielder well as he prepares for a first-team breakthrough – which his half-time substitution suggests may not be long coming. Even with a much-changed side, Everton’s greater class told although Anichebe failed to fully capitalise having fashioned a succession of good positions down the right flank. Bohs, however, began to threaten more the longer the half progressed, with Keith Buckley’s potshot glancing off Rodwell and almost looping inside Jan Mucha’s far post.
After Fellaini had booted a shot out of the quaint Dalymount Park stadium – to follow the ball that was lost in the car park – Beckford horribly miscued a header from a Tony Hibbert cross. The inevitable round of half-time substitutions gave an another opportunity to Apostolos Vellios up front while German youngster Shkodran Mustafi stepped in at centre-back. Anichebe was inches away with an angled drive while Rodwell’s effort was hounded out after neat build-up play from Arteta. But Bohs’ greater ambition reaped reward on 64 minutes when Flood ended a fine run with a low shot into the right-hand corner of substitute Tim Howard’s goal. The flow was disrupted by a succession of replacements that confused the overworked stadium announcer – hardly surprising given Bohs ended the game with two players wearing the number 18 shirt. Leon Osman was denied by Bohs goalkeeper Craig Sexton as Everton pressed for a winner, but the draw was ultimately the right result for what in truth was more akin to a practice match to ensure Moyes’s men continued ticking over.
Mark Lawrenson: Everton FC can make a winning start against a weak QPR
by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 16 2011
THE postponement of Everton’s opening game at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend at least gave David Moyes some extra time to work with his players. That further spell of fine-tuning and team bonding should mean the Goodison side are raring to go when they entertain Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. Promoted QPR got a shock last week when they were thrashed 4-0 by Bolton Wanderers. They discovered that mistakes that go unpunished in the Championship can often prove costly in the Premier League, while at the other end they created little. Their manager, Neil Warnock, came straight out afterwards and said he needs two or three top players to compete at this level. That is quite a statement to make after the evidence of just one game, but it shows that QPR are not in great shape right now.
And they won’t have played at Everton for a long, long time. Goodison is a difficult ground to play, and it’s a venue where the weaknesses of opponents are often soon found out.
If Everton start strongly and get at QPR, I think Moyes and his players will make a belated winning start to the campaign. But losing Seamus Coleman to a serious injury is a blow. He has done extremely well for the team, and I can’t believe he doesn’t get more rave reviews when you take into account where he has come from and the steps he has made in a short time. Coleman is able to run at players and dribble past them, and that makes him a nightmare for defenders. He gives Everton a real cutting edge down the right, and is a tough player for Moyes to replace. It’s not like the manager can go out and buy someone straight away or, it seems, even bring someone in on loan. Coleman’s injury underlines the problem of Everton’s small numbers, but Moyes has always been aware of this situation and has packed his squad with versatile players. I’d not be surprised if 75% of them have played in more than position.
Everton FC playmaker Mikel Arteta says he’s ready to face QPR this weekend
Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 16 2011
MIKEL ARTETA has set his sights on lining up for Everton FC's belated start to their Premier League campaign after making his comeback from injury. Arteta emerged unscathed after playing more than an hour of the 1-1 draw against Bohemians in last night's hastily-arranged friendly in Dublin. The Spaniard had been absent since suffering an injury in the defeat to Philadelphia Union in the United States last month, with the player fearing he had broken his foot. But the damage was not as serious, and now Arteta is eyeing a starting role for the visit of Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. “I nearly broke my foot in a tackle,” said the Spanish schemer. “We thought the bone was broken, but thankfully it wasn’t in the end although it took a couple of weeks to find out due to the swelling. “I couldn’t train but hopefully now I can get my fitness back and start the season properly. “I will tell you how far I am off full fitness after the game on Saturday. You never know, it will obviously be very different in front of your own crowd at your own stadium and there is the adrenaline of a Premier League football game. “The tempo will be different.” Of his injury, Arteta added: “It was not ideal because pre-season you want to take part in every session, and play all the games to get in the best condition possible for the start, but it’s not been the case. “I’ve been working really hard in the last 10 days and we’ll see how I do in game.”
Bohemians 1 Everton FC 1: Silver lining shines through the gloom in Dublin (GALLERY)
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 16 2011
Jermaine Beckford scores against Bohemians (pics: David Rawcliffe/Propaganda) THE IRISH might be renowned for their hospitality. But the warmest welcome last night was provided by the small, rain-soaked group of travelling Everton fans at the sight of Mikel Arteta wearing a royal Blue shirt once again.The Spaniard’s return to action was just the fillip the Toffees needed after a so-so pre-season, which had been under a cloud of concern since he limped out of action in Philadelphia.Despite only drawing with Bohemians in a hastily arranged final friendly in Dublin, David Moyes might now wonder if his glass of Guinness is suddenly half full.Understandably frustrated when their Premier League opener against Spurs at White Hart Lane was postponed last week, perhaps Everton can see a few positives on the horizon.For a team bewilderingly disposed toward starting the season slowly, the potential banana skin of a tricky trip to North London is now replaced with the comfort of home against top flight newcomers QPR, freshly taken over and freshly thrashed by Bolton.Add the emergence of Arteta to spark the creative juices once again, and a run of following games against Blackburn, Aston Villa and Wigan, and maybe Everton’s prospects of breaking with tradition – and getting off the marks with some vigour – suddenly seem a bit brighter.Moyes won’t be allowing himself to relax too much, while Arteta looked neat and tidy as he clocked 67 minutes of desperately needed match fitness, his side still lacked much of a goal threat.But for those searching for comfort ahead of the new campaign there were bright performances from Victor Anichebe, and Jack Rodwell. With heavy rain lending a potentially dangerous aspect to proceedings thanks to a greasy surface, Moyes chose not to risk Louis Saha, Phil Jagielka, Tim Cahill or Leighton Baines.Skipper Phil Neville, and ever-present Sylvain Distin started on the bench along with Leon Osman.The Blues opening chance came after just three minutes, Victor Anichebe stabbing his shot wide from a corner. But it wasn’t long before they were ahead, when Ross Barkley was given plenty of time to float a cross over the static opposition defence, and Maroaune Fellaini beat the offside trap to send a header goalbound which Jermaine Beckford prodded home for good measure.Perhaps predictably, Moyes’ men saw most of the possession and worked the ball neatly on a wet, zippy surface.But they had a scare when Bohemians, who are currently fifth in the League of Ireland, almost levelled as Keith Buckley’s shot cannoned off Jack Rodwell’s back and almost crept into the top of Jan Mucha’s goal.If this was a final chance for Ross Barkley to bid for a Premier League debut against QPR he seized it with both hands. Once again, the 17-year-old was bright, industrious and clever with the ball – leaving David Moyes with plenty to ponder ahead of selecting his starting midfield on Saturday.Just before half time the Toffees should have doubled their lead, when Beckford skewed a simple headed chance wide from Tony Hibbert’s cross.The second half saw a clutch of changes for the Blues, but the patter of play was the same – Everton dominating with only the occasional foray forward in response from their opponents. Young left-back Luke Garbutt deserves credit for a promising first appearance this pre season, and Jose Baxter also got time to remind everyone he is still pushing for an opportunity in the coming campaign, as did Shane Duffy who acquitted himself well.With the pace of the game dwindling, Victor Anichebe twisted and turned in the box, expertly making himself space to shoot and was only inches wide, then Arteta almost teed Jack Rodwell up with a smart cut-back following another tricky dart into the area.Next Leon Osman was denied after jinking his way into the box by Boh’s keeper Craig Sexton.It was to be the last of any chances for the Blues to conclude their pre-season with a victory – but the result here was unimportant.Arranged to provide his men with a chance to keep their limbs loose and minds sharp in the absence of a game on Saturday, Moyes will be satisfied that this fitted the bill.They might have been missing from Match of the Day on Saturday, that’s if Evertonians well used to their usual after-thought billing noticed, but that could yet be a good thing.When the real action starts at Goodison, the Blues boss will hope this conspicuous rainy night in Dublin provides a chance to finally unearth that lesser-spotted strong start.
Everton FC midfielder Leon Osman staying level headed
by Our Correspondent, DPW West
Aug 16 2011 (Welsh Daily Post)
LEON OSMAN has seen it all before – ten seasons as a Toffee have left him immune to either extremes of positivity or negativity around the Blues fortunes.The laid-back midfielder could sum up his approach with a line from Rudyard Kipling’s oft-quoted ‘If’; ‘If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster and treat those two impostors just the same..’.From the highs of finishing fourth in 2005 and a trip to Wembley in 2009, to the lows of scraping clear of relegation in 2004 and seeing that unexpected Champions League dream die the following year.So ask Osman whether he is concerned by a quiet summer in the transfer market, or the difficulty of competing against teams who have invested millions in quality players, and he is distinctly underwhelmed.From an individual point of view, the 30-year-old finished last season in the form of his career, sparking talk of an England call-up, and now he simply wants to get back to enjoying his job again.“I don’t get sucked into the things that are going on (off the pitch),” he says. “I’ve seen it all before and we’ve actually got a really good squad now.“It’s always nice to hear that players want to come to your club, and sign on and join what you’re doing. But if that’s not going to happen, then so be it. It shouldn’t affect us on the pitch.”Osman, it’s clear, is not one to let the club’s problems in finding new investment give him sleepless nights.“From my point of view it’s been spoken about for many years now and never materialised,” he says. “There’s no point reading too much into things, we’ve just got to get our heads down and crack on with the things we can affect – not things that happen off the pitch.”Osman was one of the Blues’ most effective performers last season – they won 50% of games with him in the side compared to just 17% without – and he successfully filled the creative void left by Steven Pienaar’s departure in January.“For me and the team the season probably finished a little bit too soon,” he says. “It’s well recorded that we only seem to get a head of steam up after Christmas.“For the last three or four seasons we’ve only got into our stride in the second half, and it’s a little bit disappointing that hasn’t happened sooner.“We were all ready for a rest, but we’ve had that now and it’s time to try and put right the problems we’ve had with starting in the past on a personal and team level.“The season is coming up pretty fast and we just need to know what our jobs are and get on with them.” Those as yet ignored cries for an England call-up peaked when Osman scored a spectacular header in a memorable home victory over Manchester City at Goodison, but the 5ft 7in player is unfazed by his lack of recognition from Fabio Capello to date. “It’s not something I can affect. I can affect how I perform, and enjoy my football. The second half of the season I had a lot of fun out there playing football, and played quite well, getting results,” he says. “It was a really enjoyable time, but what happens after that is out of my hands.”Osman agrees with fellow veteran Tim Cahill that Everton could benefit from reduced expectations this term. “When the expectation levels are high, you go into games and people are aware they’ve got a big game coming up when they play you,” he says. “We became a big target and a big game for teams.“But when you’re off the radar other teams take their foot off the gas a bit and we can come over the top of that. Hopefully it happens this season.”Osman can see some parallels with the summer of 2004, when Everton sold Wayne Rooney but went on to finish fourth.He said: “There are certainly comparisons. I was here then and I’m here now. The feel of things, and the way people have spoken about us. Like then we hadn’t really brought anyone in during the summer, but our squad now is a lot better.“We managed to finish fourth back then. Also the level of the Premier League has gone up since then., the quality of the opponents is higher. But we’re quietly confident in ourselves and we can pull off something similar (to 05). “This squad rates very highly to any in the last 10 years. The group of players we have at the moment are some of the best we’ve had at the club, certainly in the last two or three seasons.“We’re certainly positive. There’s no point being negative. We have to look at ourselves and say we’re capable.” of playing well.”
Everton FC’s Tim Cahill to continue playing for Australia
by Our Correspondent, DPW West
Aug 16 2011 (Welsh Daily Post)
A REVITALISED Tim Cahill insists he will continue playing for Australia after a break this summer to pacify Everton boss David Moyes.The 31-year-old decided to miss the Socceroos’ two friendlies against Serbia and New Zealand in June, while he recovered fully from a foot problem and took some well- earned rest.It came after Cahill missed a sustained period of last season for the Blues with the foot injury picked up on Asia Cup duty with Australia in January.Cahill, who still finished as Everton’s Premier League top scorer with nine goals, was keen to appease Moyes, who had expressed his frustration at losing his key man over the busy new year period, although he now feels ready to resume his dual responsibilities. Cahill, who once represented Samoa at schoolboy level, was instrumental in FIFA changing its ruling to allow players to switch allegiance from the country they represent at youth.The midfielder was forced to take football’s governing body to court to kick-start his Australia career back in 2004.He said: “I had to fight a massive court case just for the right to play for my country – and I won’t stop playing until my body stops.“It’s a big thing for us to play for Australia and you do it whenever you can. It has given me some of the best moments of my life and I won’t give that up.”Cahill, who has scored 24 goals in 53 appearances for his country of birth, is just five goals shy of striker Damian Mori’s all-time top-scoring record for Australia.“I am now close to Damian Mori’s goals record for Australia – and I would love to beat it,” he said. “I love football. You try as hard as you can for your club and your country, too.”Meanwhile, Leighton Baines is taking consolation from Everton’s Premier League opener at Spurs being postponed, because it means the Blues can now kick-off their season at home to newly-promoted QPR on Saturday.Moyes’ men will now keep sharp with a friendly against and Baines said: “Your first home game is always a bit of a moment and I am sure there will be a great atmosphere for that one.”
Everton FC’s Mikel Arteta: I’ll be ready for Premier League opener against QPR
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 16 2011
MIKEL ARTETA said he was relieved to be back in action for Everton during their 1-1 draw with Bohemians in Ireland – after recovering from the foot injury that threatened his start to the season.The Spanish playmaker made a welcome return to David Moyes’ first team last night, as he started the Blues final pre-season friendly, arranged after their Premier League opener against Spurs was postponed due to the violent disturbances in the capital last week. And the 29-year-old admitted he was worried he may have been facing another lengthy lay-off amid fears he had broken his foot during the Toffees tour of America in July.Arteta, who played 67 minutes of the clash at Dalymount Park, said: “It’s good to be back. "I nearly broke my foot in a tackle in America. We thought the bone was broken, but thank-fully it wasn’t in the end although it took a couple of weeks to find out due to the swelling.“I couldn’t train but hopefully now I can get my fitness back and start the season properly. “I will tell you how far I am off full fitness after the game on Saturday. "You never know, it will obviously be very different in front of your own crowd at your own stadium and there is the adrenaline of a Premier League football game. The tempo will be different.”Arteta will now step up his fitness preparations to face Neil Warnock’s QPR at Goodison on Saturday, as he plays catch up with the rest of the squad.Moyes used all 19 of the players who travelled to Dublin last night, although he did not risk Louis Saha, Leighton Baines, Tim Cahill or Phil Jagielka, who were all kept away from the potential hazards of a rain-soaked surface in the Irish capital.Arteta, however, was simply thankful to be back in action, after what he says was a frustrating and worrying period. “It was not ideal because pre season you want to take part in every session, and play all the games to get in the best condition possible for the start,” he says. “But it’s not been the case. I’ve been working really hard in the last 10 days and we’ll see how I do in game against QPR.”
Everton can take positives from draw with Bohemians
Aug 16 2011
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
THE IRISH might be renowned for their hospitality. But the warmest welcome last night was provided by the small, rain-soaked group of travelling Everton fans at the sight of Mikel Arteta wearing a royal Blue shirt once again.The Spaniard’s return to action was just the fillip the Toffees needed after a so-so pre-season, which had been under a cloud of concern since he limped out of action in Philadelphia.Despite only drawing with Bohemians in a hastily arranged final friendly in Dublin, David Moyes might now wonder if his glass of Guinness is suddenly half full.Understandably frustrated when their Premier League opener against Spurs at White Hart Lane was postponed last week, perhaps Everton can see a few positives on the horizon.For a team bewilderingly disposed toward starting the season slowly, the potential banana skin of a tricky trip to North London is now replaced with the comfort of home against top flight newcomers QPR, freshly taken over and freshly thrashed by Bolton.Add the emergence of Arteta to spark the creative juices once again, and a run of following games against Blackburn, Aston Villa and Wigan, and maybe Everton’s prospects of breaking with tradition – and getting off the marks with some vigour – suddenly seem a bit brighter.Moyes won’t be allowing himself to relax too much, while Arteta looked neat and tidy as he clocked 67 minutes of desperately needed match fitness, his side still lacked much of a goal threat.But for those searching for comfort ahead of the new campaign there were bright performances from Victor Anichebe, and Jack Rodwell.With heavy rain lending a potentially dangerous aspect to proceedings thanks to a greasy surface, Moyes chose not to risk Louis Saha, Phil Jagielka, Tim Cahill or Leighton Baines.Skipper Phil Neville, and ever-present Sylvain Distin started on the bench along with Leon Osman.The Blues opening chance came after just three minutes, Victor Anichebe stabbing his shot wide from a corner. But it wasn’t long before they were ahead, when Ross Barkley was given plenty of time to float a cross over the static opposition defence, and Maroaune Fellaini beat the offside trap to send a header goalbound which Jermaine Beckford prodded home for good measure.Perhaps predictably, Moyes’ men saw most of the possession and worked the ball neatly on a wet, zippy surface.But they had a scare when Bohemians, who are currently fifth in the League of Ireland, almost levelled as Keith Buckley’s shot cannoned off Jack Rodwell’s back and almost crept into the top of Jan Mucha’s goal.If this was a final chance for Ross Barkley to bid for a Premier League debut against QPR he seized it with both hands. Once again, the 17-year-old was bright, industrious and clever with the ball – leaving David Moyes with plenty to ponder ahead of selecting his starting midfield on Saturday.Just before half time the Toffees should have doubled their lead, when Beckford skewed a simple headed chance wide from Tony Hibbert’s cross.The second half saw a clutch of changes for the Blues, but the patter of play was the same – Everton dominating with only the occasional foray forward in response from their opponents.Young left-back Luke Garbutt deserves credit for a promising first appearance this pre season, and Jose Baxter also got time to remind everyone he is still pushing for an opportunity in the coming campaign, as did Shane Duffy who acquitted himself well.With the pace of the game dwindling, Victor Anichebe twisted and turned in the box, expertly making himself space to shoot and was only inches wide, then Arteta almost teed Jack Rodwell up with a smart cut-back following another tricky dart into the area.Next Leon Osman was denied after jinking his way into the box by Boh’s keeper Craig Sexton.It was to be the last of any chances for the Blues to conclude their pre-season with a victory – but the result here was unimportant.Arranged to provide his men with a chance to keep their limbs loose and minds sharp in the absence of a game on Saturday, Moyes will be satisfied that this fitted the bill.They might have been missing from Match of the Day on Saturday, that’s if Evertonians well used to their usual after-thought billing noticed, but that could yet be a good thing.When the real action starts at Goodison, the Blues boss will hope this conspicuous rainy night in Dublin provides a chance to finally unearth that lesser-spotted strong start.
Arteta continues on comeback trail
Tuesday August 16 2011
(Irish Independent)
Everton assistant manager Steve Round was pleased to see midfielder Mikel Arteta step up his recovery from a foot injury in Monday night's friendly against Irish side Bohemians.The Spaniard was named in the starting line-up and played 68 minutes of the 1-1 draw as he continued his comeback."He has taken another step closer to being fully fit," said Round. "He has missed most of pre-season with a foot injury and now he has got those minutes under his belt, which is important."He added: "The game got Marouane Fellaini, Mikel, Jack Rodwell and Tony Hibbert more minutes and they need that having missed bits and bobs during the summer."The friendly was hastily-arranged after Everton's opening match of the Barclays Premier League against Tottenham was postponed in the aftermath of the riots in London."It was very important. We needed a game and we needed a competitive game," told evertontv. "The League of Ireland is a good standard and it got one or two players that extra bit of playing time."We are a little bit disappointed that we didn't turn the domination of possession into goals but I am sure that will come."
Leicester City chase Everton striker Beckford
Tuesday, August 16, 2011 Mercury_Sport (This Is Leicestershire)
Follow.Leicester City have made a bid for Everton striker Jermaine Beckford.Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson wants the former Leeds United striker to spearhead his side's promotion challenge.For full details, see tomorrow's Mercury Sport
Yakubu nets as Everton FC reserves draw with West Bromwich Albion
Liverpool Echo, August 17, 2011
YAKUBU was on target as Everton’s reserves fought from two goals down to draw with West Bromwich Albion in their Barclays Premier Reserve League opener.The Nigerian, along with fellow Goodison outcast Joseph Yobo, was given a 90-minute run-out by Alan Stubbs in a behind closed doors encounter at the Baggies’ training ground.The Blues’ second string started brightly, with Jay Wallace and Conor McAleny forcing early saves from Albion keeper Marton Fulop.But they fell behind on 38 minutes as James Hurst volleyed past Adam Davies from 12 yards.Yobo tested Fulop with a free-kick soon after, while Yakubu and Femi Orenuga went close.They were fortunate to survive at the other end, though, when Hurst’s fierce strike thundered against the crossbar.And when the goalscorer’s fellow England Under-20 international Saido Berahino doubled Albion’s lead with a tap-in, after Davies had saved from Sam Mantom on 68 minutes, the game looked all but up.But Everton rallied, and halved the deficit within five minutes, as McAleny smartly headed home Jake Bidwell’s left-wing cross at the far post.And just two minutes later Yakubu slotted home neatly after fine work from Femi Orenuga to earn Stubbs’ side a deserved point.
EVERTON: Davies; Browning, Yobo, Mustafi, Bidwell; Orenuga, Wallace, Baxter, Forshaw; McAleny, Yakubu. Subs: Duffy, Roberts, Nsiala.
Ian Snodin: Neil Warnock will be on the warpath at Everton FC on Saturday
Liverpool Echo Aug 17 2011
David Moyes and Neil Warnock give instructions from the touchline (158)
DON’T be taken in by Queens Park Rangers’ miserable start to the season against Bolton last weekend.I’ve seen Neil Warnock is action as a manager at first hand.He came in at Oldham as a caretaker after Graeme Sharp left and he impressed the lads with his incredible passion.There’s no doubt that he will have QPR fired up for Saturday and I can guarantee he will be out of his technical area about 18,000 times at Goodison haranguing his players, the match officials and anybody else who happens to be within earshot!His attitude will ensure that Rangers come out all guns blazing and it will be up to Everton to match that.With all due respect to QPR, if we’re going to enjoy a decent season at Everton a home match like this is one we simply have to win.And as the visits of West Brom and Wolves proved last season, you can’t take any fixture for granted.Even Blackpool, who came up from the play-offs, gave us our fair share of frights before losing one of the most roller-coaster matches of the season.It’s an old cliche, but it’s nevertheless true – there’s no easy games in the Premier League these days.QPR will show that on Saturday – but it’s still a match Everton have to win – and one I think we will.
Leon Osman says Everton FC must up the tempo against the Premier League’s lesser lights
by Neil Jones, Liverpool Echo Aug 17 2011
LEON OSMAN believes Everton’s performances against the Premier League’s lesser-lights could determine whether the Blues enjoy a successful season or not.David Moyes’ side proved last season that they could hold their own against English football’s bigger sides, recording Goodison Park wins over Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea, and beating Manchester City home and away.Indeed, in 12 games against the Premier League’s top six, their only defeats were to Arsenal (twice) and Manchester United.However, it was against the league’s lower-placed sides that Everton struggled.Defeats against the likes of Blackburn, West Brom and Newcastle, as well as a succession of draws at home, undid much of that good work.Saturday sees Moyes’ side welcome newly-promoted QPR to Goodison for their opening league game of the season, and Osman believes it is vital that the Toffees find a way to consistently collect points against such sides.“We know we can raise our game against the big boys and make it difficult for them,” said the midfielder. “But you have to adapt to a style of play when a team comes to Goodison and sits back, lets you have the ball and camps on the edge of the box. It’s a different style of play to if you’re playing Man United at home, where you’re both going for each other.“The lower teams have raised their game to play us now and they make the game a lot harder.“We need to learn to cope with that if we want to push on in the league.”Osman himself enjoyed arguably his most impressive campaign in a blue shirt last season, with his performances in the second-half of the year sparking tentative talk of an England call-up.The 30-year-old admits he enjoyed his stint as the creative hub of the Blues’ midfield earlier this year, but says he hopes there is more to come from him over the coming campaign. “I’m always wanting to be out on the park,” he added.“I want to play every game, and every minute of every game too, I’m never happy when I get brought off.“But the manager knows that and he knows what type of character I am. So I’ll be there as often as I can.“It was good to get a long stretch in the team last season. The fact that we had a lot of people out meant that I ended up getting a lot more of the ball, people saw me as the creator and I seemed to enjoy the game more.“And I always find when I’m enjoying my game that I play better.“I’m just proud to be out there with the blue jersey on and hopefully I can be out there a lot more this season.”Meanwhile John Heitinga says European qualification is the club’s aim this season.Last season’s seventh place finish was not enough to secure a Europa League berth, but the Dutch defender says Moyes’ men are desperate for a return to continental action, and has targeted a strong start to the season.“In the last couple of months of last season we played quite well and picked up a lot of points,” the 27-year-old said.“But in my eyes Everton should at least play in the Europa League and we will do everything we can to get there.“The start needs to be better because last season we had almost no points after 10 games and we need to play better.”
Ian Snodin: Ross Barkley is ready for Premier League football at Everton FC
Liverpool Echo
Aug 17 2011
DAVID MOYES has showed in the past that he is very good at protecting young emerging talents.And he seems to think that Ross Barkley is ready for senior football right now.I would agree with him and can see the 17-year-old being involved pretty much throughout this season.I first saw Ross play when he was 14 – in a five-a-side which involved Joseph Yobo.I thought straight away he looked like a talent – and he also looked like a boy in man’s body!When I was given my senior debut by Billy Bremner at the age of 16 I was nine stone wringing wet – I must have looked like a 14-year-old in a 16-year-old’s frame!Ross is physically equipped now to handle the Premier League and I have no doubt he’s been technically equipped for some time.The fact that Everton are now kicking off their season in a home match against a promoted side means there’s an even greater likelihood of him starting than if we’d started with a tough trip to Tottenham.But regardless of the opposition I think Ross is ready.I share David Moyes’ belief that if you’re good enough, you’re old enough – and for me Ross Barkley is good enough to make an impression in the Premier League. Roll on Saturday!
Ian Snodin: Peter Crouch and Craig Bellamy would be great additions to Everton FC squad
Liverpool Echo
Aug 17 2011
IT has been a big disappointment that no new faces have been added to the Everton squad this summer. The problems are obvious – David Moyes has to move one or two players on before he can think about bringing players in – but there are still a few weeks to go before the transfer window closes and hopefully David’s squad will belatedly get an injection of new blood.For me it’s clear where reinforcements are needed.Defensively the squad is excellent – in fact I’d say there aren’t many better rearguards in the top flight.Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin are amongst the Premier League’s very best in their respective positions, whilst at right-back Phil Neville, Seamus Coleman and Tony Hibbert are all excellent.Jan Mucha offers quality back-up to Tim Howard, while Johnny Heitinga is a World Cup finalist who can also offer outstanding cover in a couple of positions.In midfield, especially in the central positions, we have outstanding talent.But where we are lacking is a pacy outlet on the flanks and a top quality target man up front.It looks like Yakubu’s Everton days are nearing an end. Even he would probably admit that it would be better for all concerned if he found a new challenge.That appears to have been the story of his Premier League career. He has looked bright and scored goals for a couple of seasons wherever he has been, before appearing to become stale and needing a fresh challenge.Louis Saha is a top class player, but has always had his injury problems and is another season older, while Jermaine Beckford still has plenty to learn about top flight football.If David Moyes can generate some funds there are two names I would be looking at straight away – and I have absolutely no qualms that both have played across the park for Liverpool.I saw a report linking Everton with Peter Crouch recently and I think he could do a very good job for the Blues.He’s a good targetman, a decent footballer and would give us the extra threat we need in the final third.There is another ex-Anfield striker who would also give us pace and goal-threat – and that’s Craig Bellamy at Cardiff.My brother Glynn has worked with Craig as a coach and speaks glowingly, not only about his talent, but the attitude he brings both to training and matches. He is a character who simply hates to lose and that’s the kind of quality David Moyes seems to cherish amongst his players.So what if both players once featured for Liverpool?So did Kevin Sheedy, Alan Harper and big Dave Watson – and they didn’t do too badly for us did they?If David Moyes can wheel and deal I’d be delighted with Crouch or Bellamy. Or both!
Everton FC skipper Phil Neville ready for start of new season
by Neil Jones, Liverpool Echo
Aug 17 2011
SKIPPER Phil Neville says Everton are ready to put the disappointment of their opening-day postponement behind them as they kick off their Premier League campaign this weekend.The Blues were left frustrated as their fixture at Tottenham last Saturday was postponed on police advice, following the violent disturbances on the streets of North London last week.But having shoehorned in a friendly match against League of Ireland side Bohemians on Monday night, David Moyes’ side are ready to make their belated league bow against newly-promoted Queens Park Rangers at Goodison Park this Saturday.And Neville, who appeared as a second-half substitute in the 1-1 draw in Dublin, believes the postponement of the Tottenham clash could even work in the Toffees’ favour, after it allowed Moyes to ease players back towards full fitness.“The aim at the start of pre-season was to go into the first game of the campaign with everybody fully fit,” said Neville. “I think we are there now.“We have worked hard over the past six or seven weeks. We suffered a little setback on Saturday with the game being off, but you never know. God works in mysterious ways, and it gave two or three of the lads some extra minutes on the pitch.”Chief among those players was Mikel Arteta. The Spanish midfielder has been sidelined with a foot injury sustained on the Blues’ tour of the USA last month, but skippered the side against Bohemians, emerging unscathed from a 67-minute run out.Neville admits the 29-year-old’s return is a timely boost ahead of the start of the new season.“It is good to see Mikel back playing,” he said. “He looked fit and strong, and I think he is ready for the start of the season now.“It is always difficult when you miss part of pre-season through injury, but he has come back this last week and worked really hard.“I think we are all ready for the start of the season now. We were frustrated when our game was called off of course, but now the real stuff starts.”Monday’s friendly in Dublin, arranged at short notice, ended all square after Anto Flood cancelled out Jermaine Beckford’s opener, and Neville says the game was a good warm-up ahead of the visit of Neil Warnock’s men to Goodison on Saturday.“It was a decent workout,” he added. “It was important to get some match-practice under our belts.“You cannot be left short going into the new season.“We have not been to Ireland for nine years so it was a good experience.“We have a lot of fans over here, and it was a good game for them I think.”Meanwhile, striker Beckford is unlikely to leave the club this summer, after Blues chiefs rejected an offer from Championship outfit Leicester City.Foxes boss Sven-Goran Eriksson tabled a bid for the 28-year-old former Leeds man, having been frustrated in his quest for a forward this summer.Everton, however, rejected the approach out of hand, and will instead step up their efforts to offload out-of-favour duo Joseph Yobo and Yakubu, as they look to provide Moyes with some much-needed transfer funds ahead of the closure of the transfer window.
Everton FC reject Leicester City bid to sign striker Jermaine Beckford
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 17 2011
EVERTON FC have rejected a bid from npower Championship side Leicester City to sign striker Jermaine Beckford.The Foxes made an official approach yesterday after manager Sven-Goran Eriksson pinpointed Beckford to bolster his strikeforce having been foiled in his attempts to capture LA Galaxy-bound Robbie Keane.Everton FC instantly dismissed the offer for the 27-year-old, which would have only have reached the reported £3million value had a significant number of clauses been met.Ambitious Leicester have their sights firmly set on promotion to the top flight this season but were beaten at home by Reading at the weekend.Despite the initial knockback, the Midlanders are expected to return to Everton with an improved offer in the coming days for Beckford.Having spent his entire career in the lower divisions, Beckford made the step up to the Premier League last summer by making a free transfer move to Goodison from Leeds United.Along with Louis Saha, the forward was the joint top scorer for Everton last season with 10 goals in 38 appearances, only 17 of which were starts.Beckford, however, is likely to find himself on the bench for Saturday’s belated Barclays Premier League opener at home to Queens Park Rangers with a fit-again Saha the preferred choice of Moyes.Nottingham Forest are also keeping tabs on Beckford’s situation, with the Championship side also contemplating a move for Yakubu, who scored for Everton’s reserves yesterday afternoon in a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion. Moyes would be happy to move on Yakubu and his fellow Nigerian Joseph Yobo, also a starter for the second-string, to free up funds for new faces with just a fortnight to go before the transfer window closes.Everton completed their extended pre-season on Monday night with a 1-1 friendly draw at League of Ireland outfit Bohemians in Dublin. And skipper Phil Neville believes the postponement of the scheduled clash at Tottenham Hotspur last Saturday could prove a blessing in disguise.“We are all ready for the start of the season,” he said.“We were all frustrated when the game got cancelled on Saturday, now the real stuff starts.“You never know, God works in mysterious ways and it gave two or three lads extra minutes on the pitch.“Now we are looking forward to QPR.“The talking is over.“Let’s just get on with playing football.”Mikel Arteta made a return from a foot injury, and Neville added: “It was good to see Mikel back playing.“He looks fit and looks strong and I think he’s ready for the start of the season.“It’s always difficult when you miss part of pre-season but he has come back this week and worked really hard.“It was a decent workout, and with the game being called off on Saturday it was important to get some match practice under our belts, you can’t be short going into the new season.”
Bolton and Everton eye Onuoha as Hitzlsperger trains with Spurs
By Sportsmail Reporter
17th August 2011 (Daily Mail)
Bolton and Everton have enquired about taking Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha, 24, on loan.One player looking for a move is free agent Thomas Hitzlsperger who is training with Tottenham. Spurs bound? Thomas Hitzlsperger is training with Harry Redknapp's squad
The 29-year-old Germany midfielder is available after leaving West Ham when they were relegated.
Everton plan swoop for Man City defender
17/08/2011 By Alan Nixon
(Daily Mirror)
Everton boss David Moyes is in talks with Manchester City about signing out-of-favour defender Nedum Onuoha.Onuoha spent last season on loan at Sunderland, and Moyes would ideally take him to Goodison on the same basis.City, however, want to sell Onuoha, who has also been a target for Bolton and Blackburn, but may relent if Everton pick up his £40,000-a-week wages.The player wants to stay in the north-west for personal reasons, and the move would suit him if the clubs can agree to the terms.Everton could even make a cash offer for Onuoha if Arsenal buy their England centre-half Phil Jagielka. although they want a deal tied up with City as soon as possible rather than waiting for a new bid from the Gunners.Moyes is trying to get rid of another central defender, Joseph Yobo, who is no longer in his plans, and could do with having both Onuoha and Jagielka in his squad if he can somehow make the payroll sums work.Bolton were interested in Onuoha when they were discussing a swap with City for centre-back Gary Cahill, while Blackburn see the 24-year-old as a potential replacement for in-demand skipper Chris Samba.
Everton FC youth teams enjoy highs and lows during busy summer
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 18 2011
IT’S been a busy summer for the young hopefuls bidding to one day pull on an Everton first team shirt. From the highs and lows of competing against a clutch of top European clubs in the Lev Yashin Cup in Russia, to lifting their third junior Milk Cup in Four years.An U-21 team consisting of a mix of experienced players flew to Moscow for the tournament, which also featured Bundesliga outfit Freiberg, top Serbian side OFK Beograd and hosts Dynamo Moscow.The Blues, featuring several 17 and 18-year-olds alongside players with first team experience like Shane Duffy and Jose Baxter, lost 1-0 in a tight game against an older Freiberg team but cruised to a 2-0 triumph over Dynamo in their second game.Conor McAleny scored a brace to do the damage.“Dynamo is a big club, so to come over here and beat them like that in their own back yard is really pleasing,” said Baxter.Baxter’s satisfaction at results in Russia was tempered by a 2-0 humbling the young Blues suffered at the hands of Southport in the Liverpool Senior Cup final at Haig Avenue last month.Elsewhere, the Blues' Under-16s claimed the Junior Milk Cup final title after beating Mexican side Cruz Azul 5-4 on penalties. Similarly to the semi final clash with Ipswich Town, the Blues won the game on spot-kicks after being held to a goalless draw at the end of 90 minutes.Edson Valerio had an early chance for the Mexicans but the Blues' young goalkeeper Russell Griffiths produced a fine stop, before saving further efforts.George Newell nearly tapped in from close range from a corner in the final minutes of the game, but his late effort was denied. The young Blue then stepped up to take Everton's final spot-kick and secured the victory.Captain Jon Joe Kenny lifted the trophy for Everton as they built on their strong record in the competition.And ahead of their new season as national Premier Academy League champions, the Under-18s recorded a 1-0 win over Kilmarnock in their penultimate pre-season fixture of the summer last week. The goal came courtesy of Anton Forrester just seconds after the restart in a fiercely fought battle at Finch Farm.Despite some confident passing from the visitors in the opening minutes, the Blues found a couple of good chances through Forrester and Adam Thomas, as they both went close with strong right-footed strikes early in the half.And just seconds after the interval, first year scholar Ibou Touray set up Forrester from the edge of the box to fire a superb left-footed shot into the top corner.The Blues travelled to Coventry on August 13 for their final pre-season fixture, before they face Tottenham away on August 20.
Everton FC letters: No new faces has EFC looking stale
Liverpool Echo
Aug 18 2011
A NEW season is about to start for Everton but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the squad.It’s a disgrace that we go into the campaign with not one single new player to add to the line-up.Where has all the money gone?Everton are just lurching from one season to the next. There is no real progress being made.Luckily we are playing QPR who are in an even worse state than us judging by their performance against Bolton.We should be able to swat them aside on Saturday, if we don’t you can be sure Goodison will be in uproar.
Rich Talbot, Kensington
HOPEFULLY Saha will stay fit this season, because if Everton have to rely on Anichebe we will be in real trouble.You have to give Moyes credit and say he called it right on getting shot of James Vaughan as the lad is clearly incapable of staying fit.But even the youngster Velios must get in the first team ahead of Anichebe who has no goal threat whatsoever.As for Saha, sit back and enjoy him playing in a blue shirt, because as sure as night follows day he is going to get injured before Christmas!
Will Cowell, Bootle
I WISH Arsenal supporters would shut up. All they’ve done this week is cry their eyes out over the departure of Cesc Febregas, whilst also watching their team take a 1-0 lead in their Champions League qualifier against Udinese. They’ve also banked £35m from the Fabregas sale, most of which, if not all, will go on squad strengthening. Presumably, the same rules will apply when Samir Nasri jumps ship. Meanwhile at Everton all we’ve had to go on this summer is the familiar possibility of selling players to bring players in. We also have no European football to look forward to either.If no additions are made we’re two or three injuries away from the coming season being a complete write off. So if you’re Arsenal supporter, be grateful for what you’ve got, because it’s a damn sight more than what’s on offer in L4.
Robert Beard, Walton
YET again Everton go into the season with the same squad of players.I just don’t know what to think anymore. Does Moyes think there is no quality available to be bought or is he being held back by the board.As usual the fans are being kept in the dark.Despite that I hope it makes no difference to the atmosphere at Goodison on Saturday. We need to scare the QPR players half to death before the game has even been kicked off!
Tommy Kershaw, Aintree
Dubai bound student among first set of Everton FC graduates
by Ben Turner, Liverpool Echo
Aug 18 2011
A LIVERPOOL student is to jet off to Dubai after netting her dream job as a football coach following completion of an A-level alternative with Everton FC.The success story of 18-year-old Jessica McNally comes as Merseyside students were today expected to enjoy a bumper set of exam results.But while many will toast top marks at A-level, 14 students who chose not to take traditional qualifications have become the first to complete a BTEC National Diploma in Sport run by the Blues’ charity Everton In The Community (EITC).The two year course, which boasts a 100% pass rate, has seen its first batch of students complete 18 modules, covering a range of different subjects including physiology, sociology, nutrition and performance analysis.The students also take part in three afternoons of coaching per week and enter a team into the Liverpool Colleges’ League.They have been given pep talks and training sessions by the likes of Blues’ defender Phil Jagielka and have earned a Level 1 FA Coaching badge and first aid certificates.Successful students include Jessica from Wavertree who at the end of month will swap the city for sunnier climes, beginning work as a football coach in Dubai.On landing the job coaching school pupils with International Football Academy – the largest coaching academy in the UAE - she said: “I am just really excited about it and cannot wait to start.”And on taking the course instead of A-levels she added: “I actually started doing A-levels but did not enjoy it. This course is more practical and we even had lessons at Goodison Park, which was a nice change.”The course, which is delivered by qualified teachers is the only BTEC course in Liverpool to focus specifically on football.Everton midfield star and EITC ambassador Tim Cahill said: “Sometimes youngsters can get distracted at school or in college and I think the ‘pull’ of football is a massive one.“If we can use football as a tool for encouraging youngsters to get a better education that’s terrific.”Join the experts during our A-level live blogs
MERSEYSIDE A-level students receiving their results are being offered a helping hand from the ECHO.
Students across the region are today expected to join their national counterparts and celebrate record A-level results.And to help students make the right choices, the ECHO once again has teamed up with Anne Wilson, head of admissions at Edge Hill University.Between 11am and 1pm today Anne will be conducting a live blog on our website here.Anyone logging on can ask questions and get tips and career advice from Anne.And from 6pm-7pm today students will also able to join in a live blog being run by UCAS by logging on to the link above.
Everton FC jury: EFC fans give their thoughts ahead of the QPR game
Aug 18 2011
Cole Fraser
SATURDAY can’t come quick enough! Competitive football returns to Goodison Park, after a long summer of, well, not a lot. We, the fans, are frustrated, and I'm sure this frustration will continue to be demonstrated, until the current situation is rectified. Hopefully, some good performances on the pitch, will turn some fans’ heads. Then, maybe, the board can quietly carry on the search for investment. Prospects for this season are pretty similar to the past few seasons. European qualification and to challenge for a domestic cup, would please most fans. Everybody knows that the key for Everton is a good start. This makes QPR at home, the perfect opener for us. Anything other than three points, will not be greeted kindly.
Debbie Smaje
WELL it has been a typically miserable summer at Everton, that was pretty much compounded by last week’s postponement and a late start to the season.It could be a blessing in disguise though, as injuries meant we would definitely be struggling with our available midfield at Spurs. The extra week has given the likes of Arteta and Fellaini more time and they look likely to be fit for QPR.And while there are no easy games, we have to be happier not starting the season with a very tough away game, but at home to a newly promoted side who were thumped at home last week.As long as we don’t see that thumping as a sign we can take it easy, we should be looking at a better start than recent seasons.And at least for the moment, the likes of Beckford, Jagielka and Baines are all still Everton players.
Lee Molton
THE big kick-off is finally here for Evertonians. It was hard seeing the rest of the Premiership kick off last week and having to wait an extra week.This is a big season for Rodwell and Arteta. Can Rodwell fulfil his potential and become a big star for Everton? Can Arteta get back to his best? I think the answer to both will be a resounding yes, Rodwell can be a big star. I would play him every week in the centre of midfield alongside Fellaini.The aim for this season is to finish in the top six and get back into Europe. We can do it, but need to get off to a good start at home to QPR on Saturday. A win on Saturday will start the season nicely ahead of our visit to Blackburn next week, it won’t be easy but we could win both games. It’s good to be back!
Mike Drummond
AFTER a summer without spending, it is no surprise that many Evertonians are not looking forward to the upcoming season.However, it’s not all about the spending. We have good quality players still with us – for the time being at least – and a near fully rested squad, which we didn’t have last year due to the World Cup.If we have a promising start, then I am confident that we can take that form right through the season.But we need to keep the players fit, focused and take our chances. If we won half of the games we drew last season then we would be in Europe.I would like us to sign a winger and a forward, even on loan. It’s frustrating to see the likes of Stoke and Sunderland spending, though each year we prove that it’s not always necessary. The issue is how long can we last without cash...
Mikel Arteta: Everton FC should take nothing for granted as they bid to start campaign with home win against QPR
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 18 2011
MIKEL ARTETA says Everton should take nothing for granted as they bid to start their campaign with a home win against QPR - after waiting until October for their first league victory at Goodison last season. The Spanish playmaker is expected to be fit to start against Neil Warnock’s side on Saturday, and even though their ensuing run of fixtures does not present any tasks as difficult as their postponed opener against Spurs, Arteta is determined not to underestimate their opponents. If the Blues can beat Rangers, who were thrashed 4-0 on the opening weekend by Bolton, they then face Blackburn, Aston Villa and Wigan, but the 29-year-old says the lessons of last season are still at the forefront of his mind.He said: “Last year it was possible to start flying as well and we started really badly so I just want to focus on the first game and getting the first win at home. It took us ages last year to get the first win at Goodison and it cannot happen again this year.“It (the postponement) will help us. It gives us an extra week for the players to get more fitness and game time and in the end it wasn’t bad for us.”Everton did not win a league game last season until a 2-0 victory over Birmingham at St Andrewson October 2, and it was not until October 17 that they defeated Liverpool at Goodison by the same score-line - with Arteta scoring.But the Basque is taking comfort from the Blues retention of their best players during the transfer window, and believes they already have enough quality in midfield to provide serious competition for places.“At least that’s what we’ve done,” he said. “We’ve not been able to sign any players but the club has obviously made a big effort to keep our best players, and maintain the group, so hopefully we can improve on what we did last season. Mentally you have to be a lot stronger and busier when you have competition. We know that we have a lot of players who can play in midfield, but we always seem to get injuries, so we know that everyone will be used over the course of a season.“The young lads have been told to be prepared, to keep training hard and to be ready to take their chances when they come.“Look at Seamus last season, he had a terrific season. At the start of the season nobody would have said he would play that many games, and in the position he played.”Of those young players, Arteta has joined the long line of first team stars who has been impressed with the emergence of Ross Barkley during pre-season.He said: “I think he’s going to be a terrific player, he’s got the talent. He’s got the character on the pitch and he’s not afraid of doing things. He’s a young lad and has a lot to learn, but potentially he’s very strong.”
Mikel Arteta targeting home comforts as Everton FC prepare to face QPR
by Neil Jones, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 18 2011
MIKEL ARTETA says Everton FC’s home form must improve if they are to enjoy a better start to the campaign than last season.Everton host newly-promoted Queens Park Rangers in their opening Premier League fixture this Saturday, having seen their clash with Tottenham Hotspur postponed on police advice.David Moyes’ side endured a miserable start to last season, winning none of their opening six league games, and failing to record a home league win until October 17.And Arteta, who made his return from a foot injury in Monday night’s friendly draw with Bohemians in Dublin, says the extra week’s preparation could help his side, but admits it is vital to get off to a winning start in front of an expectant Goodison Park this weekend.“It will help us,” said the Spanish midfielder.“It gives us an extra week for the players to get more fitness and game time, and in the end it wasn’t bad for us.“Last year it was possible to start flying as well and we started really badly, so I just want to focus on the first game and getting the first win at home. It took us ages last year to get the first win at Goodison and it cannot happen again this year.”Arteta’s return in the 1-1 draw at Dalymount Park earlier this week provided a welcome boost for Moyes ahead of the visit of Neil Warnock’s side, who will be wounded after losing their opening game 4-0 at home to Bolton. And though Moyes has been left frustrated in his efforts to strengthen the Blues’ squad this summer, with no new faces arriving at Goodison so far and no funds expected to be released to the Scot, the fact that the likes of Phil Jagielka and Marouane Fellaini are still at the club is reason for cheer, insists Arteta.“At least that’s what we’ve done (kept our best players),” he added.“We’ve not been able to sign any players but the club has obviously made a big effort to keep our best players, and maintain the group, so hopefully we can improve on what we did last season.”And with the presence of the likes of Fellaini, Leon Osman, Jack Rodwell and Tim Cahill, Arteta believes competition for places in the centre of midfield will be fierce, and tipped youngster Ross Barkley to continue his impressive form from pre-season this year. “Of course it is better when you feel like you have no pressure,” said Arteta.“But mentally you have to be a lot stronger and busier when you have competition.“We know that we have a lot of players who can play in midfield, but we always seem to get injuries, so we know that everyone will be used over the course of a season.“The young lads have been told to be prepared, to keep training hard and to be ready to take their chances when they come.“Look at Seamus (Coleman) last season, he had a terrific season. At the start of the season nobody would have said he would play that many games, and in the position he did. I think Ross is going to be a terrific player. He’s got the talent, he’s got the character on the pitch and he’s not afraid of doing things. “He is still a young lad and still a lot to learn, but potentially he’s very strong.”
Arteta wants to see Everton strengthen squad before window closes
By Sportsmail Reporter
Last updated at 1:00 AM on 18th August 2011 (The Mail)
Everton's Mikel Arteta admits he would like to see some signings before the end of the transfer window but believes Toffees fans must also be realistic about their spending power.David Moyes was the only Barclays Premier League boss not to bring in any new faces before the start of the 2011/12 campaign but Spanish playmaker Arteta hopes that will change before the end of the month. He has also reiterated that retaining the club's current crop of talent is just as important as new additions.He said: 'Do we need to buy players? Hopefully, by the end of August someone will come in who will help but if that is not the case then we know what we have got in the team and we will have to fight.'We know the situation at the moment. We cannot spend money like other clubs. That is sensible, even if it is not very popular.'But at least we have been able to keep our best players. If we cannot sign new players we must keep the ones we have.'It has been the same with myself, with Tim Cahill, Marouane Fellaini and so many other players in previous years. It is important that we stayed, now and for the future.'If someone comes and buys the club then it is a different story but at the moment the club cannot make stupid signings that might put us in trouble for the next few years.'
Everton FC pre-season survey results: EFC fans have their say on 2011/12
By Sean Bradbury
Aug 18 2011
The results of our survey are in - 1,394 fans have had their say on Everton FC's prospects for this season.Of those who took part, 98.5% said they were Everton supporters. 40.1% of respondents said their main method of watching the Blues was going to the game, so many of the opinions expressed here have been formed on the Goodison Park terraces.
Sum up your mood as the Blues head into 2011/12
Mixed set of responses here, as the Wordle picture above generated from the most popular words used in fans' comments shows. The larger the word, the more times it was used by supporters.Many Blues spoke of "disappointment and disillusionment" after a lack of activity in the transfer market during the summer, while there remains a sense of "cautious optimism" in what David Moyes and his squad can achieve this season. Here is a selection of your comments:
"Smashing set of youngsters, good defence. Midfield lost for ideas when Arteta not around. Forward line weak. We will once again find it hard to score goals in the Premiership I'm afraid."
"Frustration at not being able to take the next step up because of financial restrictions as other "smaller" teams strengthen!"
"Hopeful that if we hold on to our top players and we have a good start we could be around a Europa Place. A trophy from the cup competions has to be a target this year."
"Depressed and worried, we have good players and talented youngsters but the lack of any investment in new players to increase competition is not good."
"Optimistic we could finish Top 5 and maybe win a Cup. This is still the best squad we have had since 1987. Worried that the relentless pessimism of a few fans is beginning to seep through and could undermine the team."
"Disappointed and concerned at lack of genuine communication addressing the real issues."
Where will Everton finish in the Premier League?
A majority of 55.1% said the Blues will finish in mid-table, below the European spots but above the relegation zone. 31.5% were more ambitious, believing their club can clinch a place in the Europa League next season. Only 1.4% of fans said Everton will be relegated and just 0.6% thought the league title will be heading back to Goodison Park.
How far will Everton get in the FA Cup?
Fifth round was favourite here with 30.7% of the vote. 25.0% said the quarter-finals will be as far as the Blues go, whereas 8.7% of EFC supporters believe this will be their year in the FA Cup.
How far will Everton get in the Carling Cup?
Fans were not quite so ambitious in this competition, with 22.1% thinking a third round exit is the most likely outcome and 25.1% saying the fourth round will be the end of the road for EFC. 8.4% said Everton would go all the way and lift the trophy. Two main contenders here, with Leighton Baines coming out on top with 39.9% of the vote. Marouane Fellaini was second with 20.3% while Phil Jagielka (6.5%), Mikel Arteta (5.2%) and Tim Cahill (4.9%) get honourable mentions.
What is your preferred EFC formation?
The survey revealed a strong preference for the Blues to go 4-4-2 this season - 65.3% of the vote - while 21.3% felt 4-5-1 would best suit their side and 6.6% said Everton should adopt a 4-3-3 system. Some further comments on the formation debate:
"4-5-1 suits us best for the big games, but at home against the lesser teams who we usually struggle against, 4-4-2/4-3-3."
"4-2-3-1 because it utilises Bily, Ossie and Cahill in their natural positions in the same team."
"I'd like to see us play 4-4-2 but we don't have the players. It's 4-5-1 by default due to personnel."
"Think we need to be more flexible, even switching formations within games. I would like to see 3-5-2 given a go to make the most of Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman."
What is Everton's strongest department?
Bit of a split between defence (58.5%) and midfield (33.9%) but the resounding message was that it is certainly not the forward line, which got just 0.4% of the vote.
What is Everton's weakest department?
Backing up the previous question, a whopping 94.7% voted for attack here, with midfield the runner up on 3.4%.
If you could sign one player for the Blues this summer who would it be?
Several names that cropped up a few times, as you can see on the Wordle image above. The larger the player's name, the more times he was suggested by fans. Joey Barton, Adam Johnson, Daniel Sturridge, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch and a return for Landon Donovan were the most popular choices.
What is your view of Everton's lack of activity in the transfer market this summer?
Not worried at all - squad is good enough >>> 3.2%
Slightly worried - could do with a bit more depth >>> 18.9%
Quite worried - a few injuries and EFC might struggle >>> 40.5%
Very worried - I fear the Blues won't cope >>> 37.4%
How would you rate EFC boss David Moyes out of 10?
David Moyes still enjoys very strong support from Everton FC fans after almost a decade in charge at Goodison Park. 88.9% of Blues gave him an overall rating of seven or more out of 10, with the largest single group - 31.9% - voting for eight out of 10.
How would you rate EFC boss David Moyes' skills?
Everton fans believe David Moyes' greatest strength is his man-management. Asked to rate the gaffer out of five in this category, supporters gave Moyes an average score of 4.24 from 1,370 responses. In terms of transfer market ability, Moyes received an average 3.56 rating from 1,368 responses and for tactical prowess he was rated on average 3.14 out of five by 1,377 fans.
2011/12 honours board
Here is how our survey called the winners of the major competitions this season:
Premier League - Manchester United (66.7%)
FA Cup - Chelsea (33.4%)
Carling Cup - Manchester City (24.1%)
Champions League - Barcelona (75.6%)
QPR’s potential is ‘limitless’ insists new owner Tony Fernandes
by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
Aug 19 2011
TONY FERNANDES has labelled QPR a “fantastic diamond” and pledged to help the club reach its “limitless” potential over the coming years.The Malaysian business tycoon completed his takeover of the west London club yesterday after buying out previous majority shareholders Flavio Briatore and Bernie Ecclestone.Fernandes’ company Tune Group has bought a 66% stake and his business partners will work alongside the Mittal family, who have retained their 33% stake in the club.The 47-year-old, who has previously attempted to buy boyhood heroes West Ham, believes QPR have huge potential and has vowed to utilise it.“You are in London, which is fantastic,” he said.“The potential of developing this ground at some stage or to another ground nearby is there.“There is the potential to develop an academy and good training facilities.“The potential to take QPR to other parts of the world is also there, with Amit Bhatia’s relationships and my relationships in Asia.“The potential is limitless and it is a fantastic diamond, which just needs a bit of polishing.”Fernandes’ personal fortune was estimated at £200million in 2010 when he was ranked Malaysia’s 19th richest person. The AirAsia founder’s deal sees vice-chairman Amit Bhatia return to the board after resigning in May following a disagreement with the board over ticket price increases.Bhatia joined the board as a representative of father-in-law Lakshmi Mittal in 2007 and Fernandes is relieved to have completed the deal.“I got this big grin on my face as I was driving down because I have walked past this ground so many times,” said Fernandes, who lived on nearby Uxbridge Road for several years.“To think that I am chairman of this club now is kind of unbelievable.“It has been up down, up down and obviously with the last couple of experiences of English football clubs it would have been a terrible blow to have invested all this time for nothing to have happened.”
Howard Kendall: Why Everton FC boss David Moyes will have some big decisions to make on Saturday
by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
Aug 19 2011
IT WAS important for David Moyes to give his team a run-out against Bohemians on Monday night.He will have taken a big positive from seeing Mikel Arteta playing for an hour and it will have kept the players ticking over.You can bore players on the training ground, and after a long summer of pre-season training the Everton squad will have been raring to go against Spurs, and they needed the run-out in Dublin to break things up.Now, with the serious stuff on the horizon, Moyes has a real quandary on his hands for his selection tomorrow.I’d like to see two strikers start together up front, and see Tim Cahill incorporated elsewhere, probably on the left of midfield.There are lots of options open to the manager but it’s the sort of dilemma you like having.Whatever selection he goes with, he is guaranteed a strong bench and that can be very important in games.If something goes wrong on the pitch he’s likely to have a mix of experience and international players in the dug-out – not just kids. Apart from his four at the back, who are pretty much nailed on, it will be illuminating to see how Moyes lines up and I’m confident he’ll get it right.
Dave Prentice: Keith Harris – a man whose modus operandi is nothing to write home about
by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
Aug 19 2011
“I’VE got a new buyer for the Reds,” said Seymour Pierce consultant Keith Harris exactly two years ago this week.He hadn’t.Two years earlier he declared: “As regards the sale of Everton, there are certainly grounds for optimism. It’s a terrific club.”We’re still waiting.There has to be a more efficient way of selling a football club than using a man who immediately makes you think of a duck.The tale related by the Blue Union’s meeting with Bill Kenwright last week simply underlines that fact.Here’s a snippet: Bill, “Of course Keith Harris is involved….Keith Harris is involved on a daily basis.Bill went on to tell a story concerning Keith Harris; he’d put forward two guys who, in his opinion, were suitable potential owners of Everton Football Club. Harris claimed the two guys controlled a hedge fund; one was the head of ICI in the Far East and a second an inventor. They conducted due diligence and Everton were ready to sign an agreement when Bill smelt a rat; investigators discovered that ICI had never heard of the person concerned, he actually lived in a one bedroom flat, and the second guy, the inventor, was based in Manchester.That brings to mind a quote I’ve used on this page before, but it bears repeating. It was uttered by Manchester United chief executive David Gill.“Keith Harris will go anywhere that there’s a bit of publicity around. That’s his modus operandi, but his track record in football isn’t anything to write home about.” So why is he still being used by Everton?
More than 100,000 foreign fans watched Liverpool FC and Everton FC matches last season
by David Bartlett, Liverpool Echo
Aug 19 2011
MORE than 100,000 football fans travelled to Merseyside to watch Liverpool FC and Everton FC matches last season.Visit Britain said more than 750,000 inbound visitors who came to Britain last year went to a football game.Anfield was the second most popular stadium destination with 89,000 visitors, while Goodison was seventh in the table, welcoming 20,000 foreign fans.Old Trafford topped the international visitor league with 114,000 foreign fans visiting the ground.Holiday visitors from Norway have the highest propensity to include “going to a football match” (one in 13), followed by visits from the United Arab Emirates.Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the Premier League, said: “Nothing quite beats the excitement of match day, so it’s very encouraging to hear that so many international visitors want to experience football in this country.”Stephen Roberts, deputy chairman of the Liverpool Hoteliers Association, said: “There is no question that football tourism is a huge piece of business for Liverpool hotels.“That has increased in size since 2008 as football supporters are now bringing their partner and maybe their families now that the city centre has improved with places like Liverpool One.”
Dave Prentice: Why ALL Merseyside fans should sign government’s e-petition on Hillsborough
by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
Aug 19 2011
ON FEBRUARY 26 this year, a 50-year-old Liverpool FC fan stepped in front of a speeding train.
In a heart-rending verdict last week, Bolton coroner Jennifer Leeming recorded that Stephen Whittle had “taken his own life whilst the balance of his mind was disturbed.”
Why his mind was disturbed was obvious.
Twenty-two years earlier he had sold his FA Cup semi-final ticket to a friend, a pal who died the next day in the Hillsborough tragedy.
We can only guess at the levels of guilt and torment which must have wracked poor Stephen in the years since.In the absence of anybody to blame, he blamed himself.Which is why Coroner Leeming eloquently and accurately declared: “That awful tragic event that happened so long ago, is still reaching out and touching people.”Let those words resonate . . . that awful event is still reaching out and touching people.Those ‘people’ – and as Stephen’s experience shows the chain of victims extends far beyond the immediate familes – crave closure . . . a closure which once again appears to have been cruelly pushed further out of reach this week.Information Commissioner Christopher Graham had ordered the release of records of a Cabinet meeting held shortly after the 1989 disaster – a meeting chaired by Margaret Thatcher. But the present government, led, of course, by a Tory Prime Minister, has appealed that ruling.They claim an “intention to disclose information to the Hillsborough families first.”If that is their only incentive, such a stance is to be applauded.But I’m afraid I can’t bring myself to put my hands together just yet.Because after 22 years of delays, prevarications and plain and simple cover ups, forgive me for being just a little cynical.Margaret Thatcher made her attitude to football fans in the 1980s painfully apparent.Despite an outcry over the ridiculous ID card scheme introduced by a Tory MP at Luton Town, she introduced a Football Spectators Act to make ID cards compulsory.I witnessed Kenilworth Road’s ID card scheme, ahem, in action.It didn’t work.It was a madcap plan that was only abandoned after Hillsborough.To Margaret Thatcher, football fans were a threat to society in much the same way as trade unionists.And it was an attitude the Liverpool boss was all too aware of.In his recollections of Heysel – a wholly different disaster which took place four years earlier – Liverpool boss Kenny Dalglish recalled: “Margaret Thatcher said Liverpool should be banned from Europe, and that our fans were hooligans. What did she know? She never knew many of the facts.“Partly as a consequence of Margaret Thatcher not understanding the situation, and condemning Liverpool so quickly, English clubs were subsequently suspended for five years. Within football, I don’t think there was any resentment towards Liverpool because English clubs were banned from Europe. I think there was resentment towards Margaret Thatcher, who mouthed off before FIFA had made their decision.”Mrs Thatcher will have been aware of that resentment.And any discussions she had with her cabinet in the immediate aftermath of the Hillsborough disaster are likely to have been coloured by those views.It would be easy to understand why the current Tory administration would be keen to keep those views hidden for as long as possible.Or maybe I’m just being cynical – after all, I’m old enough to remember another head of state from my childhood declaring “there will be no whitewash at the White House” – then being run out of office for lying.Kenny Dalglish has made his opinions clear once again by urging people to sign an e-petition on the government’s website, calling for “full disclosure and publication of all documents, discussions and reports relating to the Hillsborough disaster.”Mr Dalglish tweeted: “Please sign this petition and RT. Think it is very important that we support this.”If the petition is supported by more than 100,000 people, the issue can be debated by Parliament.By six o’clock last night more than 28,000 had done so.Please follow the link and add your name. Victims of the Hillsborough disaster are still being discovered 22 years on.
Former Everton FC prospect Kevin McLeod on his rash early days as the next best thing at Goodison and why he wishes he’d listened to David Moyes
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 19 2011
KEVIN McLEOD admits he didn’t always do things the easy way as a young man, and his Everton FC debut is a case in point.An excitable 20-year-old full of untamed talent and passion, he jumped in head (and feet) first, when he was beckoned to leave the bench and warm-up ahead of that fateful bow at the ground he frequented as a child.It’s with typical honesty that McLeod recalls his brutal tackle on Arsenal’s Lee Dixon, executed just moments after jogging onto the hallowed turf of his boyhood heroes.“I was coming on for Idan Tal and he’d been getting stick from Dixon all afternoon,” says the Garston-born player who rose from Everton’s academy. “Davie Unsworth was on the bench with me, and he said “When you get on, smash Dixon”.“I asked him why, and he just told me to do it. So sure enough, I’d just come on and I saw Dixon come across me and thought, ‘He’s getting it – just go for it,’. So I smashed him.”Anyone present at Goodison that day will smile and wince simultaneously at the memory of the tackle, and how McLeod, a tricky left winger, escaped a red card from referee Mike Riley.“I don’t think Lee was ever the same after that,” he jokes. “I didn’t fear anyone or anything when I was coming through, it was like how Wayne Rooney used to be. I was a Scouser in front of proper Scouse football fans and I felt fearless and comfortable out on that pitch.”To his regret, McLeod let his impetuous nature get the better of him too often in those early days, and despite lacking nothing in ability, he was eventually sold by David Moyes to QPR, who the Blues face tomorrow, after just five appearances in the royal blue shirt he worshipped.“I think if I played for him now it may be different, but then he had totally different players – some not as good as he has now – and he needed lads to stick to a system more.”McLeod, who sports an Everton tattoo on his arm, was loaned and eventually sold to QPR, where he experienced a play-off final and eventually promotion under the tutelage of Ian Holloway.“Ian was mental,” he laughs. “He just said to me go out and show what you can do, we’ve got two great strikers in Kevin Gallen and Paul Furlong so just get the ball to them as much as possible.”And even though he loved his time under the colourful future Blackpool boss, he still has some regrets.“With Ollie everything comes from the heart. He means everything he says to you, and he treats his players like extended family.“If you let him down he really takes it personally. Me and him would clash because I was just naive.“We all loved him but I would still give him back chat and when I look back I was stupid. He was the best to have around if you felt down. An amazing motivator. He’d get into your brain and you’d be worried about not training at full throttle for him because you’d never hear the end of it. He’d challenge us to try and keep up with him in training saying ‘If I can do it at 42 you should be doing it faster”.Moves to Swansea and Colchester United followed, but McLeod never quite fulfilled the potential he displayed in the same Everton youth side as Tony Hibbert and Leon Osman.“I’m not one to cry over spilt milk,” he says, “But I look at Ossie and Hibbo and wonder if I should have stayed around for another season and just played for the reserves at Goodison.“At the time I wanted competitive football.“Playing for the reserves doesn’t mean anything, but you put your body on the line when you’re playing in a first team, week in week out.“It was very tough to leave Everton though.“I grew up on the Gwladys Street so I’m gutted to this day, but it’s something I’ve got to live with.”Now, aged 30, McLeod has just spent a year out of the game he loves, is fit and focused on breaking back into league football.“I’m playing part-time at the moment for Braintree in the Conference,” he says.“I can go on and play five more seasons.“I’ve learned a lot about myself and how I’ve let myself down in the past.“I want to get stuck in to prove to people I’m back.”Despite living in Colchester, when his two former clubs meet at Goodison tomorrow, McLeod’s heart will be in L4.“Everton will win 2-0,” he says.“I’m proud to say I’m an Evertonian.”
Howard Kendall: QPR game could be timed to perfection for Everton FC
by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
Aug 19 2011
I CAN’T wait for Everton FC’s season to get underway and I don’t want to jinx anything ahead of the game against QPR tomorrow – but I fear all three promoted teams will struggle to survive.It wasn’t a good start for Rangers against Bolton last weekend, fair enough if you get thrashed by a Manchester United or Chelsea, but this was a mid-table side albeit with a great manager in Owen Coyle.So, perhaps avoiding Spurs and kicking off against QPR could be in Everton’s favour after all.Incidentally, I think the Blues could well have got at least a point down in London, but I really don’t see a problem tomorrow.There is a lot of talk about QPR’s new owner but already he has shown himself as someone prone to a publicity stunt, by bidding £4m for Scott Parker – despite West Ham already having turned down offers of much more than that.It sounds like he’s trying to capture the attention and imagination of the fans, but it won't help Neil Warnock too much.Neil is a guy who was very respected at Sheffield United, one of my former clubs, and he has a great track record outside of the top flight.He is back in the Premier League now and so far it doesn’t look like he’s been given the finances despite having former owners who had vast amounts of personal wealth.I see he has managed to persuade his talented but erratic Moroccan winger Adel Taarabt to stay – but it strikes me as a luxury trying to stay in the top division with a player like that.It remains to be seen whether he can adapt and stop hogging the ball for too long, but the best players do learn.Hopefully the Toffees will take advantage of QPR’s inexperience.
The Goodison owner outlined EFC's stark financial situation in a London sit-down with the Blue Union, and admitted the only way the club can generate serious income is by selling players.Kenwright also explained the club’s inactivity during the transfer window, and underlined the difficulty in attracting new investment.Everton say the discussions were taped without Kenwright’s knowledge and do not believe the transcript properly represents the conversation.A club statement last night said: “It must be pointed out that, after agreeing at the start of the meeting that there would be no note taking, the members of the Blue Union secretly taped the entire conversation.“Bill Kenwright spent three and a half hours of his day with them, but they saw fit to treat both him and the football club with a total lack of respect.“We accept that they neither speak for nor are representative of the vast majority of Everton supporters.”The meeting with the supporters group, which was held in Kenwright’s office and attended by three Blue Union representatives, painted an alarming financial picture for the club unless new investment is found.While Everton will not be taking any legal action, they consulted their solicitors such was their fury at the taped revelations. The contents of the wide-ranging discussion were revealed on the eve of Everton’s belated start to the Premier League season at home to Queens Park Rangers tomorrow.In the transcript, KenwrightReveals Everton came close to being sold to a man living in a one-bedroom flatAdmits the club dare not cash in on their key quartet of assets, named as Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, Marouane Fellaini and Tim Howard Dismissed suggestions of appointing an interim board with the sole purpose of finding a buyerSuggested Liverpool principal owner John Henry would be willing to discuss a possible ground share.In a separate interview for television, Kenwright admits Everton, who recorded a £44.9million debt in their last set of accounts in February, are unable to borrow any more money from their banks.But it is the alleged content of the meeting with the supporters’ group that has caused the greater embarrassment for the club and cause for alarm among fans. It is claimed football financier Keith Harris came close to selling the club to a hedge fund run by two men claiming to be head of ICI in the Far East and an inventor. But after due diligence was completed, it transpired one lived in a one-bedroom flat while the other was based in Manchester.Kenwright, though, stated Everton are in talks with other potential suitors, and said: “There’s a guy at the moment in Italy, another in Abu Dhabi…Keith has phoned with another; we’ve put a prospectus together. Look you’ll never get a better salesman than Bill Kenwright for Everton Football Club.“Look, we’re desperate, I’m desperate. Every avenue has been explored. You either believe me or don’t believe me. What more can I do?”Kenwright has said Everton have brokered a deal to their lenders to ensure they can continue operating in the transfer market, but added proceeds from the recent sale of players and former training ground Bellefield had been used to service the club’s debt.“We have just done a document to the bank which says you can’t stop the football club from trading,” he said. “Do you not think the bank doesn’t ask me every week how we’re doing with the sale?“They’re desperate. So what I’ve told them is ‘don’t kill us this season’... no I will not sell Jagielka, just as last year I was hung drawn and quartered for not selling Arteta.“You know the four players we don’t dare sell. Baines, Jagielka, Fellaini and Tim Howard. The (Steven) Pienaar money has gone to the bank.”Speaking to television, Kenwright admitted the club have reached the limit of their credit with the banks, and that the lack of player departures has thwarted Moyes’s attempts to strengthen his squad.“Two things, one the world is in a recession and I don’t know any business that isn’t suffering at the moment and I include football in that, other than the financial elite,” he said.“Two, we’ve come to a stage with our bank with our finance where we just can’t borrow any more. A, to protect the football club and B, to protect the fans.“The maths is simple, we’ve actually got an income, as you know, in round figures, up to £80m but the costs are £85m so you don’t need a calculator to work out what the problem is.“We knew this summer we were going to get to a point where things were going to get very, very tight. We knew we had to trade. We’ve not been able to trade yet and that’s the reason that we’ve not bought in a new player.”During the discussion with the Blue Union, Kenwright, while rejecting a proposal an interim board should be appointed to oversee the sale of the club, also dismissed suggestions of enlisting one firm to find buyers, as Liverpool had under Martin Broughton.Kenwright said that Citi Bank, Deutsche Bank, Leon Angel and Amanda Staveley, along with Harris, had been trying to help find investment but none had been given exclusivity to do so.Despite their perilous financial state, Everton continue to ponder possible sites for a new ground, and Kenwright said: “There are six sites we’re looking at; three of which we’re really keen on, Edge Lane, Speke and the one on the East Lancs (Stonebridge Cross).”Asked if a shared stadium was possible, Kenwright answered: “I’m led to believe John Henry is willing to discuss it, I don’t know; the last lot weren’t interested. To be fair, neither were we.”Kenwright later moved to defend his tenure and spoke of the personal abuse he had suffered since becoming chairman.“I’ve survived three periods of death threats not to sack him (Moyes), I’ve had the s--t in the post, I’ve had the wreath, I’ve had ‘we know where your mother lives...’” he added.“I’m always optimistic, because I’m an optimist... my doctor won’t let me be in charge in five years. I’ll be 70 and I don’t want to be there.”
Everton FC ace Tim Cahill wants fan support as Joseph Yobo nears Fenerbahce transfer
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 19 2011
TIM CAHILL has urged Everton FC fans to put their disappointment about transfer inactivity on hold and roar the team on to three points on Saturday - as Joseph Yobo edged closer to an EFC exit.The Aussie midfielder can understand the frustration among fans over the lack of new faces at the club this summer – but hopes they can back the team in good voice as they try to kick-start the season with victory against QPR tomorrow.Cahill, 31, will be fit to play a part against Rangers, who were yesterday bought by Tony Fernandes, but Yobo is looking almost certain to move on, after talks between Everton and Turkish club Fenerbahce progressed.Cahill said: “We need the fans to get behind us. It is difficult for the fans sometimes but as players our main objective is to go out and do our best for them. “The fans may have wished or wanted for players to come in but there is also good news in that we have kept all our best players and the squad is not too different from last season where we all said we would finish in Europe and really push on.“We want to see the fans happy and confident. When you are a true Blue you fight to the end and that is the main thing. We know they are always behind and it makes it that bit more special when you run out and you know everyone is pulling in the same direction.”An agreement over Yobo is expected to be reached by the weekend, with a fee in the region of £2m believed to have been agreed. Cahill, though, is entirely focused on the task awaiting him at Goodison tomorrow, and says Neil Warnock’s side will have a point to prove.“It was sad the game did not go ahead last week but the main thing is that everything is now in order and people are safe. Now it is QPR for us and it is all about trying to make a good start,” he said.“They didn’t have the best of games first up and I am sure they will be looking to put that right straight away against us.“We have been waiting a while to get going but if we can get that good start that has been elusive these past few years then it will stand us in good stead for the games we have coming up.“The players are excited and, for us it is pretty much the same squad as last year, and everyone is happy to be back together. We had a good pre-season, played some good football at times and trained really hard.“Overall it has been energising, there is a good feeling in the squad and now it is exciting to have our first game at home. It will be good to see Goodison rocking on Saturday.“This week has been good. We have trained a lot harder and put in the work because it is not always the best thing to start off a game behind. At the same time it has given us a chance to work on few other things and we feel ready for QPR.“We are just concentrating on ourselves. They have lost 4-0 and they will be looking to put that right straight away. That could be a negative for us but we have had a good look at them and look to open them up on the weekend.”
No money, no loans, no new investors... Bill Kenwright paints stark Everton FC financial picture
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 19 2011
EVERTON have reacted angrily after the contents of a meeting between chairman Bill Kenwright and a supporters’ union were made public.Speaking to fans group the Blue Union, Kenwright laid bare Everton’s stark financial situation and admitted the only way the club can generate any significant income is by selling players.The Goodison chairman also explained the club’s inactivity during the transfer window and underlined the difficulty in attracting new investment.However, Everton insist the discussions were taped without Kenwright’s knowledge and do not believe the transcript is a fair and accurate representation of the conversation.A club statement last night said: “It must be pointed out that, after agreeing at the start of the meeting that there would be no note taking, the members of the Blue Union secretly taped the entire conversation.“Bill Kenwright spent three and a half hours of his day with them, but they saw fit to treat both him and the football club with a total lack of respect.“We accept that they neither speak for nor are representative of the vast majority of Everton supporters.”The meeting with the supporters group, which was held in London and attended by three Blue Union representatives, painted an alarming financial picture for the club unless new investment is found.While Everton will not be taking any legal action, they consulted their solicitors such was their fury at what they regard as an act of subterfuge.Former Liverpool city council leader Derek Hatton, who, along with Everton chief executive Robert Elstone, helped organise the meeting, was also unhappy with the Blue Union, and tweeted last night: “taping meeting without anyone knowing is disgraceful and underhanded”.The contents of the wide-ranging discussion threaten to overshadow Everton’s belated start to the Premier League season at home to Queens Park Rangers tomorrow.In the transcript, Kenwright– reveals Everton came close to being sold to a man living in a one-bedroom flat– admits the club dare not cash in on their key quartet of assets, named as Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, Marouane Fellaini and Tim Howard– dismissed suggestions of appointing an interim board with the sole purpose of finding a buyer– suggested Liverpool principal owner John Henry would be willing to discuss a possible ground share.In a separate interview for television, Kenwright admits Everton, who recorded a £44.9million debt in their last set of accounts in February, are unable to borrow any more money from their banks.But it is the alleged content of the meeting with the supporters’ group that has caused the greater embarrassment for the club and cause for alarm among fans.It is claimed football financier Keith Harris came close to selling the club to a hedge fund run by two men claiming to be head of ICI in the Far East and an inventor. But after due diligence was completed, it transpired one lived in a one-bedroom flat while the other was based in manchester. Kenwright, though, stated Everton are in talks with other potential suitors, and said: “There’s a guy at the moment in Italy, another in Abu Dhabi…Keith has phoned with another; we’ve put a prospectus together. Look you’ll never get a better salesman than Bill Kenwright for Everton Football Club.“Look, we’re desperate, I’m desperate. Every avenue has been explored. You either believe me or don’t believe me. What more can I do?”Kenwright has said Everton have brokered a deal to their lenders to ensure they can continue operating in the transfer market, but added proceeds from the recent sale of players and former training ground Bellefield had been used to service the club’s debt.“We have just done a document to the bank which says you can’t stop the football club from trading,” he said. “Do you not think the bank doesn’t ask me every week how we’re doing with the sale?“They’re desperate. So what I’ve told them is ‘don’t kill us this season’... no I will not sell Jagielka, just as last year I was hung drawn and quartered for not selling Arteta.“You know the four players we don’t dare sell. Baines, Jagielka, Fellaini and Tim Howard. The (Steven) Pienaar money has gone to the bank.”Speaking to television, Kenwright admitted the club have reached the limit of their credit with the banks, and that the lack of player departures has thwarted Moyes’s attempts to strengthen his squad.“Two things, one the world is in a recession and I don’t know any business that isn’t suffering at the moment and I include football in that, other than the financial elite,” he said.“Two, we’ve come to a stage with our bank with our finance where we just can’t borrow any more. A, to protect the football club and B, to protect the fans.“The maths is simple, we’ve actually got an income, as you know, in round figures, up to £80m but the costs are £85m so you don’t need a calculator to work out what the problem is.“We knew this summer we were going to get to a point where things were going to get very, very tight. We knew we had to trade. We’ve not been able to trade yet and that’s the reason that we’ve not bought in a new player.”Asked if a shared stadium was possible, Kenwright answered: “I’m led to believe John Henry is willing to discuss it.”
Everton will struggle to finish in top 10 admits David Moyes
By Carl Markham,The Indepentant
Friday, 19 August 2011
Moyes has been unable to sign anyone this summer Everton manager David Moyes has deliberately lowered expectations this season by admitting his side could struggle to finish in the top 10 of the Barclays Premier League. Financial restraints at Goodison Park have meant the Toffees boss has been unable to bring in any new players. But he has had to watch the clubs who finished below them last season make considerable investment. "I think we are going to have a big struggle to finish in the top 10 this season," said the Scot, who is preparing for a delayed start to the season against newcomers QPR after last weekend's opener at Tottenham was postponed because of the London riots. "My hope is to do as well as we can. It is well-documented what has happened in terms of clubs buying to improve and I don't just mean the top clubs. "I can see the likes of West Brom, Stoke, Fulham and Sunderland have all tried to improve and the reason they have done that is to finish where Everton can. "We have tended to be somewhere fifth, sixth, seventh over the last five years. "We have to aim to do that if we can but I think it will be tougher for us this season.
"Last season I had higher expectations so maybe people think we have dropped expectations - but when they do that we tend to do better. "But (repeating last season's) seventh place will be a tough finish looking at it right now. "I am incredibly ambitious and want to win something with Everton.
"If we can get the players I have brought here firing we have a good side." After falling a match behind their rival Moyes said his players were raring to go after a hastily-arranged friendly against Bohemians in Ireland on Monday helped some players with their fitness. "The players are ready to play. We had some who needed the extra week to get some more training in," he added.
"I have a brilliant group of players, a really good team and if we could add to it we would like to do so but not every manager is lucky enough to have millions. "We may miss out on little bits and pieces but the one thing Everton will be is competitive in the Premier League. "What we want to do is get ourselves up the league as quickly as we can. "First of all this year is to get the points to make sure we are not in a relegation situation and then kick on from there."
Moyes won't let Everton become a selling club - but all money will go to the bank and not transfers
Daily Mail 19th August 2011
Everton manager David Moyes has admitted any profit he makes from the sale of players is likely to go straight to the bank to ease the financial pressure on the club. However, he has stressed he will not allow the Toffees to become a selling club and would allow his top stars to go for big money if it prevented them getting into further difficulties. Chairman Bill Kenwright admitted the Toffees had reached their credit limit with the banks. Standing firm: Moyes won't let Everton become a selling club With expenditure outstripping income by at least £5million a year he said the tough times were likely to continue until a buyer could be found to inject new investment. Moyes is well used to working within financial restraints but insists he will not be held to ransom by clubs who think they can take advantage of their predicament. In demand: Leicester have had a bid for Jermaine Beckford turned down He said Everton had already rejected a £2million bid from npower Championship side Leicester for striker Jermaine Beckford, with two other unnamed clubs also having offers turned down. The Scot has yet to sign any players this summer and knows he has to sell before he can buy, but even if he can offload some fringe players he may not reap the benefit in terms of bringing in new faces. 'Supporters want to see signings in the summer but either we are talking Swahili and people can't understand us but the chairman has been saying we don't have any money,' he said. 'We have not had finances for three or four years. We have always had to trade and I don't think that is any different from before. 'A few years ago we had to trade Andy Johnson and James McFadden and Joleon Lescott to be able to bring players in. 'Managers have to do that - not everyone is going to be gifted with loads of money to spend and you have to do your best without it. Prize asset: Moyes says he won't let key players like Phil Jagielka leave on the cheap
'Anything we get (from signings) the money will probably go to the bank - it might not be able to be re-invested in players. We are in this situation and we have to get on with it.' Moyes was unclear as to whether he would get any money from the sale of one major asset - Arsenal have had a bid turned down for defender Phil Jagielka. But it is not a prospect he is considering after admitting he had not even thought of quitting because of the state of the finances. 'I brought all the players here - everyone by me. I have a responsibility to them," he added. 'There is not a club in the country who does not have a price for every player and if we got an offer big enough I would have to sell.
'But at the moment no-one has come in with an offer which has come close to making me consider it. Under pressure: Bill Kewright says the bank must be paid before any transfers come into the club
'We had a £2million bid from Leicester - we have had an offer from three clubs for Jermaine - but we've not had one offer which we consider coming close to what Jermaine is worth.
'I am not going to become a selling club, I am not here to do that I am here to build a strong team and no-one will go unless I say so. 'If I get an offer which is right of course I will [sell].
'I would never put Everton in jeopardy and if we were getting in the situation one or two other clubs have got in then obviously I would have to do something but we are not in that situation.'
Everton's inability to attract outside investors is a puzzling one for Moyes, especially considering Saturday's opponents QPR have just acquired a new owner less than three months after gaining promotion to the Barclays Premier League. 'You'd have to ask a business advisor why,' he said when asked why no-one had come forward to buy the club. 'QPR have got new owners now who are going to give (manager) Neil Warnock a chance to help him in the division. 'He has done a great job in getting QPR
Everton FC: 'No sales until I say so' Moyes insists
by Aaron Sharp.
Fri 19 Aug 2011 Liverpool Click
David Moyes has insisted, despite their cash flow problems, Everton FC will never become a 'selling club' under his stewardship. The Blues' boss spoke to media amid concerns over the clubs financial predicament after a secretly recorded meeting between chairman Bill Kenwright and fans was released into the public domain. Despite that disclosure clearly showing that Moyes' only option for movement in the transfer window is to trade players, the Scot insisted he would not be selling valuable players simply to please the banks. He said: "We've always had to trade and I don't think that's any different from before. "Yes it's difficult at times but we get on with it. "Not everyone is going to be gifted with loads of money to spend and you have to do your best without it.
"Anything we get from signings the money will probably go to the bank it might not be able to be re-invested in players, we have to be realistic about that. We are in this situation and we have to get on with it. "A few years ago we had to trade James McFadden and Andy Johnson, then Joleon went and we were able to bring players in so it's no different. "I think we do our best with what we've got.
"We're in this situation and we have to move on with it. Everton is a great club well supported and I would expect those supporters to do the same." Moyes sought to put the minds of fans at ease ahead of the league opener which is a week later than expected after last weeks postponed away fixture at Tottenham. He said that no player would be sold without his permission, also telling journalists that even if he did sanction the sale of players he would never put the club in a position of danger. He said: "As far as I'm concerned no players go unless David Moyes says so.
"We're not going to become a selling club, I'm not here to do that. "I'm here to build a good team. I didn't come into football management to sell my best players, I won't do that. "But if I get an offer which is right I will and I'll never let Everton get into trouble. "You only need to look at so many clubs throughout the country who have continuously changed their manager and in some cases changed their chairman nearly as often, they don't necessarily do any better. "We've got a stability and you mustn't take that for us getting stale and not trying to move on because there's nobody more determined or ambitious than myself to make it better." Moyes also rubbished claims that a £3m bid for fringe striker Jermaine Beckford from Leicester City had been rejected. He admitted that their had been a bids for the player, who notched up 10 goals in his first season at Goodison, but that none had been close to the Club's valuation of Beckford. He said: "Leicester made an offer which was £2m, I think people reported it as £3m. It was never anywhere close to our valuation.
"We've had offers from three clubs for Jermaine but none of them are near three million."
Everton FC letters: Blue Union tactics leave fans divided
by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
Aug 20 2011
IF this is true and this meeting has been recorded without Kenwright’s permission, it is an absolute disgrace and Blue Union should be ashamed of themselves. They are certainly not speaking on behalf of me or any of my friends I have spoken to about this issue. I would like to know what their mandate is!
Evertonbluethroughandthrough
THIS is a disgrace, who do these people think they are? Blue Union might have been a good football team in the Liverpool Sunday league in their day but they where an amateur team and this bunch of amateurs have not done the football club any favours whatsoever. They need to butt out and get behind our great manager and his ‘close friend’ the chairman.
engulfed55
DON’T shoot the messenger – maybe if the club were more open in addressing its fans then a fans group wouldn’t need to reveal a warts and all account. Did the people presently managing Everton FC ever think of that?
Most Blues have had it with all the club spin.
Blooboy
SOME so called Everton fans are a joke. They complain and the club finally starts getting worried and has a meeting but bans notes. What else can they do? Without this we would never have known what is going on. How long will it take for people to wake up to the fact that the so called Peoples’ club don’t care about their fans? Well done Blue Union for bringing this out into the open and finally getting the club to talk to their fans.
awd1878
NO business would openly announce that they were struggling with debts or get new loans – it would make creditors and banks close their doors to them. In doing this Blue Union may well have signed the death warrant for EFC.
SacktheJuggler
AT LEAST we’re currently nowhere near administration but the situation is still very grim.
Things can change quickly though but not without investment. The question is, how hard are Bill and the Board looking for new investment? Potential new owners are out there as we’ve seen recently with other, smaller clubs than ourselves. What is happening to find the right new owners/investors? We’re a top eight Premier League club so someone must be interested, surely?
TopBalcony
Ex-Everton FC & Tranmere keeper Steve Simonsen is happy to return to the town where it all began
by Nick Hilton,
Liverpool EchoAug 20 2011
STEVE SIMONSEN makes return visits to the two Merseyside clubs where his professional career began over the next four days – and says he is relishing the prospect. The 31-year-old goalkeeper will be aiming to help Sheffield United maintain a 100% start to the new League One campaign at Tranmere this afternoon. And on Tuesday Simonsen is due back at Goodison Park, where The Blades face Everton in a Carling Cup second round tie. Simonsen said: “I am looking forward to those matches. I still live in the area so it will be good to go back.” Simonsen began learning the goalkeeping trade at Prenton Park, where he progressed through the youth development system and made 42 senior appearances under manager John Aldridge between 1997 and 98. A move across the Mersey to Everton made headlines because the transfer fee had the potential to rise to £3million depending on appearances. But in actual fact, only £1m changed hands between the clubs.
Simonsen wasn’t able to establish himself as Everton’s first choice goalkeeper in five years at Goodison but went on to build a successful career with Stoke City. He moved to Sheffield at the start of last season, following a short loan spell. Today’s priority for Simonsen is to help Sheffield United maintain the momentum of their strong start under manager Danny Wilson. Expectations have risen on the Red side of the steel city following United’s encouraging start to life in the third tier of English football. But Simonsen warned: “There is still a lot of hard work to be done to make things better. We are not the finished article and there is a long way to go.” Simonsen admitted his team mates bailed him out of a sticky predicament this week. He reckoned he should have done better with the two goals United conceded to Walsall. But, much to the relief of Simonsen, United fought back from 2-0 down to secure their third win on the bounce through goals from Matt Lowton, Lee Williamson and a penalty from Richard Cresswell. He said: “The goals were disappointing; I am the first one to throw my hands up when something has gone wrong. The pleasing thing is that although I made a mistake, the lads dug me out of it and I will do the same for them in the season.” Simonsen added: “It is going well (at the back) at the moment. We have got a good mix of youth and experience. Neill (Collins) and I are the elder statesmen of the group but the rest of the lads have been fantastic. They are learning all the time and there is no better place to learn than from playing matches on the pitch.”
Royal Blue: Everton FC nemesis Les Ferdinand on being a Goodison scourge
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 20 2011
FOR too many ominous seasons the visit of today’s opponents QPR almost certainly meant one thing to Evertonians - Les Ferdinand’s name would be on the scoresheet. A generation of Goodison regulars still shiver at mention of the former England striker, forever in association with the sight of the net bulging and torn betting slips raining down like confetti. Throughout a 20-year professional career Ferdinand netted against Everton 16 times – more than any other player. It wasn’t just in the blue and white of Rangers that he struck either, Sir Les did the damage for Newcastle and Spurs before moving on to West Ham, Leicester and Bolton. Now on the coaching staff at Tottenham Hotspur, the 44-year-old admitted that Blues fans do not miss a chance to remind him of their dismay at seeing him run out at Goodison over the years. "If I see an Evertonian anywhere in the world they say they hate me!,” he says. “No matter how my season was going, if I only scored two goals in a season they would be against Everton. "It was just an amazing thing that when I played against Everton more often than not I found the net." And Ferdinand would have been on hand last weekend to encourage Spurs’ strikers to continue his work against the Toffees, if it were not for the game’s postponement in the wake of the London riots. "I now work more with the development squad than with the strikers but I still lend a hand in that department and trying to keep them on the right path," he explained. “I think last season Rafa (Van Der Vaart) came into some form and scored goals and caused the manager a problem with his selection. “Before Rafa came into the club we played with two strikers in a 4-4-2. “He scored some goals and more often than not it was Rafa and one striker. “It all depends on if the strikers start well in a 4-4-2 - then it will be hard for the manager to change that.” But Ferdinand is not short of kind words for Everton’s own bunch of goal-scorers, and believes that in Louis Saha, they have one of the best in the world. The key, as he admits along with every other Everton observer, is keeping the King fit. “With Louis Saha, I think that is the key word - ‘when' he's fit,” says Ferdinand. “We all know the quality he has but unfortunately for him he has had periods of the season when he's injured. “When he's on fire he's unplayable. He has terrific experience of playing in the Premier League. “He is sharp, good on both feet and knows how to make runs. He is a nightmare for defenders.” Ferdinand has seen enough of Jermaine Beckford to believe the former Leeds United hit-man can build on his impressive 10 strikes in all competitions for Everton last season. "I saw Jermaine Beckford a lot when he was at Leeds,” says the man who is the joint fifth highest scorer of all time in the Premier League with 149 goals during a career that took in 11 clubs. “He came from Leeds with a big reputation and like most strikers, it takes a year or so for them to get used to the pace. “You look at them in the second year to see how they fare and the same goes for Jermaine. I know he can score goals and when he played for Leeds he often gave Premier League sides the run-around in cup competitions.” But Ferdinand says former Everton target Peter Crouch is another under-rated striker. "Peter Crouch's size and his attributes are what everyone talks about, his ability on the ground is probably better than his aerial ability to be honest, which is somewhat strange for someone of his size.” But for Evertonians settling into their seats today, perhaps with mixed feelings ahead of the belated start of a season, there can at least be one consolation. At least Les Ferdinand won’t be lining up for the opposition.
* FORMER QPR hero Rodney Marsh gave a typically forthright and interesting interview to Everton’s official website last week. Along with revealing that he first spotted Tim Howard playing as a schoolboy in Tampa, Florida, and admitting that playing against Brian Labone was like facing a lamp-post he simply couldn’t get past, he let himself down with one thought that doesn’t ring quite as true. “Everton have a very good squad of players and they are a solid mid-table team,” he said.
I’m no mathematician, but in a league of 20 I’m not sure recent finishes of 4th, 6th, 5th, 5th, 8th and 7th quite equate to mid-table! He’s a better scout than he is academic though: “Tim Howard in goal is my man, I'll tell you a quick story about him. Ages and ages ago I got a phone call from this guy and he said ‘Rodney I have a 12-year-old goalkeeper who is fantastic and could be a player'. “He was playing in a tournament in Tampa and I thought crikey he's a great little player - and it was Tim Howard. That was nearly 20 years ago and he's gone on to be, in my opinion, world class.”
Barry Horne: Blue Union meeting with Bill Kenwright has done Everton FC a favour
by Barry Horne, Liverpool Echo
Aug 20 2011
LAST week I wrote with a glass half-full perspective on the forthcoming season. I hope I am not viewing the world through Royal Blue coloured spectacles but I still think Everton will be okay this season. That is not to say I expect them to be challenging for a Champions League place, as I possibly did this time last year, but as I’ve often said expectations must be tempered with a dose of realism and placed in context with an awareness of the bigger picture. Bill Kenwright’s meeting last week with a supporters group has been widely declared as a public relations disaster and whilst there were things said which didn’t reflect well on the chairman, I think something good has come out of the meeting. And that’s without commenting on the conduct of the supporters’ group in how the meeting came to be made public. I don’t think there was anything that came out that hasn’t been expected or even ‘known’ by most Everton supporters for some considerable time. In particular the actions of Barclays Bank, ironically the Premier League’s title sponsors, in threatening to scupper the chances of two of their members (they also did the same with Blackburn). Telling the fans how it really is, sometimes can only be a good thing. Bill Kenwright has laid out the stark realities of what lies ahead in the immediate financial future and so there can be no dissenting questions or grumblings when we haven’t bought anyone or, more importantly, sold a player.
I think if I was David Moyes, making that information public would feel like a weight off my shoulders. Whilst most Blues fans, as I said earlier, were vaguely aware of the situation, the fact that the reality is out there means he doesn’t have to dodge questions on the matter and can get on with something which he is excellent at – managing a football club. It’s no coincidence we always seem to produce when we have our backs against the wall. I started this piece by saying we actually have a very good squad, albeit we would benefit enormously from a 15/20 goal a season striker. Having missed the first game of the season, I don’t think you could have chosen a better start. QPR are a club which seems to exist on the edge of chaos and got a proper thumping from a limited Bolton team on their Premier League bow. I don’t expect them to bounce back and all of a sudden start playing like Manchester City. I expect Everton to do something they haven’t done for a few years and win their first game of the season this afternoon. Joey Barton has scuppered the FA’s Respect Campaign on Day One ON the first day of the season, when the Respect Campaign has been given a relaunch, I was at Ewood Park where Kevin Friend and his assistants were outstanding, as was the game and the conduct of the players. It was a real shame, then, that this was a low profile game compared to Sky’s tea-time curtain raiser in which some poor refereeing was matched by some appalling player behaviour. Joey Barton’s insistence on making the headlines for any reason continued. We all know the sequence of events which culminated with a clear penalty not given, and a ludicrous fall to the floor from a would-be hardman. His hyopcrisy is beyond belief. He seemed to believe he had a right to manhandle Gervinho for simulation, which he wasn’t guilty of, then within seconds doing exactly the same thing himself. Alan Pardew’s post-match comments which tried to justify his player’s behaviour were a joke and the fact that the PFA chairman tried to do the same was even more astonishing. In a single afternoon these individuals have scuppered the Respect Campaign for the rest of the season. The whole point of the Respect Campaign is that when a referee does make a poor decision, players, managers and coaches get on with the game and don’t make a song and dance about it. That’s something which seems to have been completely overlooked last week.
David Moyes promises to protect Everton FC's future as Marouane Fellaini moves closer to new deal
by Greg O'Keeffe
Aug 20 2011 Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES says he would never allow his burning ambition jeopardise Everton’s future, as he deals with the club’s stark financial situation. The Blues boss admits his vision of building a top four team at Goodison could be on hold for now, and concedes that all his players ultimately have their price as he tries to help the club’s board pay off its crippling debt. But defiant Moyes backed chairman Bill Kenwright, and insisted they are both determined to prevent Everton becoming a selling-club, and they can still compete in the Premier League with their current squad. On the eve of the Toffees belated Premier League opener against QPR today, Moyes said: “I would never let the club get in an order where we were going to get into some problems, not like one or two other clubs. “I would never let that happen. Unless I am getting told different, that isn’t the situation at the moment. We are okay. “If it got to that point, I would have to accept offers that have far less value than what is getting offered at this present time.” Moyes admitted that most of the money he could recoup from player sales during the transfer window would go to the banks and not his transfer coffers, but he revealed that talks with fan’s favourite Marouane Fellaini over a new contract are close to a successful conclusion. “I think the chairman is moving much closer to agreeing a deal with Fellaini,” he said. “I think we are moving towards that now. I can’t tell you exactly whether it will happen but there have been several conversations and I think we are moving much closer towards that now.” “I don’t think the club is in a position where I need to sacrifice,” he added. “I don’t want to sell some of my top players because I want to keep us competitive in the Premier League and still in with a chance of doing well. “If the bank come and say ‘hey, we’re shutting the doors!’ then of course I would have to do it. “I am only here as a football manager.
“But it is me who makes the decisions.
“Not the bank, unless I get told different.”
Moyes, who has a strong squad for today’s game against Neil Warnock’s top flight newcomers and is only missing Seamus Coleman (ankle) and Magaye Gueye (broken toe), said he is still in complete control of club affairs. He said: “I wouldn’t be sat in this chair now if I wasn’t in control. “I’ve got a really good chairman and we work hard together to try and get the best team we can. “Unless I am told any different, I make the decisions. It is down to me who does and doesn’t go. “At the moment, I have got all the players here and brought them here. “Who knows? We could have a new owner in a month’s time, a year’s time. “It could all change. We might find that we get investment.”
Everton are on the brink of completing the £2m sale of Nigeria captain Joseph Yobo who is due to sign a three-year deal with Fenerbahce, but Moyes said he has rejected three bids for striker Jermaine Beckford, believed to have been from Leicester City, Notts Forest and Southampton.
Meanwhile, Moyes criticised supporters’ group the Blue Union for revealing the contents of secret meeting with Bill Kenwright in London recently, during which the theatre impresario laid bare the Blues’ financial problems. He said: “It is totally unacceptable to go in to what is a confidential meeting and then tape the proceedings. “I really feel for my chairman. “He needs support and help. He certainly gets my backing because he’s a great chairman. I can tell you loads of managers in the Premier League who aren’t enjoying working for their chairmen. “I do enjoy working for mine because he’s a supporter, he’s got the club at heart and he’s desperate for me and the team to do well. “I definitely have sympathy for the chairman. He puts in the time, doesn’t get paid for his job and puts his own money into the club. “But, and I will say but, if you are the manager or chairman of a football club you put yourself in a position where things can happen if it doesn’t go well.”
Moyes also explained that England defender Phil Jagielka has told him he will not push for a move to Arsenal. The Gunners have had two bids rejected for the 29-year-old, who is valued at £18m-plus, and Moyes is confident Jagielka will not rock the boat. “I have had two or three conversations with Jags and he is up-to-date with everything and anything that has happened,” he said. “He has said to me that, unless it is something Everton want to do, he is not going to be the one who instigates or pushes anything.” “It will only be if Everton want to do it and I certainly don’t want to do it.”
Echo Pre-Season Survey results show Liverpool FC and Everton FC fans’ hopes for the new campaign
by Neil Jones, Liverpool Echo
Aug 20 2011
Thousands of Everton and Liverpool fans took part in our pre-season poll – and we reveal the weakest links! DAVID MOYES should abandon his 4-5-1 system in favour of a return to the tried-and-trusted 4-4-2, according to the ECHO’s pre-season poll. Results of the survey, which was taken by more than 1500 Blues online, show that 65.3% of supporters would like to see a change in tactics at Goodison Park, with only 21.3% in support of the current system. Tellingly, however, 94.7% of fans believe Everton’s forward line to be their weakest link going into tomorrow’s Premier League opener at home to Queens Park Rangers. Defence is where Moyes’ side is strongest, say 58.5% of voters, with Leighton Baines the club’s most influential player, according to 39.9%, ahead of Maroaune Fellaini (20.3%) and Phil Jagielka (6.5%). When asked where the Blues would finish the season, most (55.1%) opted for a mid-table finish, with 31.5% believing European qualification was within reach, 0.6% gearing up for a title challenge, and the pessimists (1.4%) preparing themselves for a relegation battle. Domestic cups, once more, could be the Blues’ best hope of silverware this season. Just 8.7% of supporters tip them to win the FA Cup, however, with a majority of 30.7% believing that a Fifth Round exit is their most likely fate. Ambition was even lower when it came to the Carling Cup. Most predict that Moyes’ side will bypass Sheffield United in the second round, but 22.1% believe that is as far as they will get, whilst 8.4% are confident they can go all the way. Moyes himself has endured a trying summer, but at least he can count on the backing of supporters. A significant proportion (88.9%) of voters rate the Scot’s managerial credentials at seven out of 10 or higher, with the largest single group (31.9%) ranking him as an eight. For Liverpool optimism is noticeably higher. Manager Kenny Dalglish is the man Reds trust, with 96.5% rating him at 7/10 or higher, with 39.1% believing him to be a perfect ten boss. A full 75% of fans believe that a return to the Champions League awaits the club this season, with 13.7% suggesting that the Premier League title will be on its way to Anfield come May. Trophies are clearly in fans’ sights, with 46.5% tipping the Reds to win the FA Cup, and 39.5% backing them to clinch the Carling Cup. No pressure there, then? Luis Suarez, unsurprisingly, was named as most influential player, with 75.6% of the vote, ahead of Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing and the absent-but-not-forgotten Steven Gerrard. One area for concern though, apparently, is the defence. A landslide 92.7% of fans believe it to be the Reds’ weakest area, and the “Who would you like Liverpool to sign?” question was littered with those requesting a new centre-back, among the names touted were the likes of Gary Cahill, Ryan Shawcross and Scott Dann.
After a summer of recruitment, midfield is Dalglish’s strongest suit, say 72.7% of fans. Attack is next, with 14.4%, while Pepe Reina’s class earned the goalkeeping department 12.3% of the vote.
Overall, Reds fans are happy with the club’s summer spending. A substantial proportion (64.3%) rated their close-season business as ‘good’, with 23.7% going for ‘excellent’. One thing both Blues and Reds can agree on, although they probably wish they didn’t, was that Manchester United are the most likely Premier League champions. A full 38.2% of Liverpool fans, grudgingly, tipped Alex Ferguson’s men for their 20th league title, with 66.7% of Blues agreeing.
Premier League: Everton FC v Queens Park Rangers
by Ian Doyle, DPW West
Aug 20 2011
OF all the comments that have, secretly or otherwise, emerged from Goodison this week, there is one that perhaps best highlights the shift in expectation at the club. Twelve months ago, Everton began the campaign with genuine aspirations of challenging the established elite for Champions League qualification. But this afternoon, with almost the same group of players, David Moyes’ men make a belated start to their Premier League season with the manager declaring a top-10 place could be the limit of his team’s ambition. The reason is obvious: money. While Everton’s nearest rivals have been brandishing the chequebook during the summer, Moyes, his hands tied by the club’s ongoing restraints, could only watch as target after target slipped out of range. Facing the media for the first time since the end of last season, the Goodison manager was yesterday in fighting – if realistic – mood as he grappled with the inevitable questions prompted by chairman Bill Kenwright’s bleak assessment of Everton’s financial landscape. “What is our aim this year? To be competitive, to get to 40 points and be safe in the Premier League,” says Moyes, whose team entertain promoted Queens Park Rangers this afternoon. “This time last year I thought I was going to win the league so let’s get the first bit done first and then we’ll see where we can go from there.
“But it will be really difficult for Everton to finish in the top 10 this year. I think we are going to have a big struggle. “Look at the spending Stoke and Sunderland have done, Fulham have added one or two players as well, West Brom are improving their team. “But we’ve got a good team already. We don’t need five or six players here, we need maybe one or two. “There’s a lot of continuity here, the players know what’s expected. They know what the club’s all about. I’m really happy with the boys that I’ve got. If I can add to it, great. If I don’t, I’ll go with it. “What we’ve got at Everton is a stability and you mustn’t take that for us getting stale or not trying to move on because there’s no-one more determined or ambitious than myself to try and make it better.” However, Moyes admits that, having been informed by Kenwright of the further financial restraints in May, he has missed out on a number of signings. “I had a couple of plans in my head that I thought we could make work,” he says. “I met a lot of players who I intended to bring to Everton. “I met three or four good players I intended to bring to Everton so don’t think I wasn’t on that. But a couple of the plans I thought might come to fruition didn’t work, so we move on to the next one. I knew the situation we were in when I met Bill in May. “Supporters want to see some signings in the summer. They want you to add players to the squad. “But either we’ve been talking Swahili and people don’t understand us but I’m sure the chairman has been saying ‘sorry, this year we don’t have anything unless we trade’ and even if we trade probably most will go back to the bank.” Speaking towards the end of the previous campaign, Moyes underlined the importance of fresh faces in the summer to re-energise the squad. But the manager has been impressed by the attitude of his players during pre-season, and is confident the off-field issues will not become a distraction. “It was important for me to do that (bring in new faces) but I’ve been really encouraged by the players,” says Moyes. “The players are doing the right things. “We will not use this as an excuse for any result or any performance. No chance. I won’t do it and the players won’t do it. “We’ll take the results on the chin good or bad and I think the players have the bit between their teeth. It has affected other clubs.” Moyes adds: “There are parts of it that becoming tiring but just because you don’t have any cash it doesn’t mean you give in, or stop giving 100% or stop preparing your players properly. “I am doing what I am employed to do, which is to get a team on the pitch which can do as well as we can.” In matters on the field, Mikel Arteta is hopeful of a starting role today after coming through more than an hour of Monday’s friendly against Bohemians in Dublin. Moyes must also decide whether to hand a debut to 17-year-old midfielder Ross Barkley, who has impressed during pre-season.
I won’t sell my stars insists Everton FC boss David Moyes
by Ian Doyle, DPW West
Aug 20 2011
Everton FC manager David MoyesDAVID MOYES will not allow his desire to remain competitive in the Premier League jeopardise Everton’s future – but maintains he won’t be forced into parting with any of his squad. Speaking to the media for the first time in almost three months, Moyes yesterday reaffirmed the Goodison outfit would not become a selling club despite their stark financial plight having been inadvertently laid bare by chairman Bill Kenwright. While acknowledged for some time Moyes has had to sell players to generate transfer funds, it emerged this week much of that revenue is now being taken to pay off the club’s debt. And although Moyes insists he remains in control of the movement of players in and out of Goodison, he would not risk his own ambitions at the expense of the club’s well-being. “I would never let the club get in an order where we were going to get into some problems, not like one or two other clubs,” said the Everton manager, whose side belatedly open their Premier League campaign at home to Queens Park Rangers this afternoon.
“Unless I am getting told different, that isn’t the situation at the moment. We are okay. “If it got to that point, I would have to accept offers that have far less value than what is getting offered at this present time. “I’m not going to become a selling club. I’m not here to do that. I’m here to build a team and have a strong team. “I don’t think the club is in a position where I need to sacrifice. But if the bank come and say ‘hey, we’re shutting the doors!’ then of course I would have to do it.”
Moyes added: “I am only here as a football manager. But it is me who makes the decisions. Not the bank. “But I’ve got to say we get really well supported by our bank. I know the people at the top quite well and they are good people. I am sure they will do everything they can to help us.” Kenwright met with representatives of supporters’ group Blue Union last week, who, without the chairman’s consent, had secretly recorded the discussion and subsequently posted the transcript on the internet. The underhand manner in which the quotes were obtained has led to criticism from the club and other Everton fans, and Moyes has jumped to the defence of his chairman. “It is totally unacceptable to go in to what is a confidential meeting and then tape the proceedings,” he said. “I am devastated for my chairman.” The further tightening of the purse strings has not prevented progress being made with Marouane Fellaini over a proposed new contract. “I think the chairman is moving much closer to agreeing a deal with Fellaini,” said Moyes. “I think we are moving towards that now. There have been several conversations.”
Everton 0 QPR 1: Rangers celebrate takeover with first Premier League win
Daily Mail
20th August 2011
A difficult week off the pitch for Everton was matched on it as their delayed start to the Barclays Premier League season began with a home defeat to newcomers QPR. In the days preceding kick-off the Merseyside club had been in the news as their financial plight came under the spotlight once again. So tight are the finances at Goodison Park - chairman Bill Kenwright admitting they cannot borrow any more money from the bank and desperately need a new owner - that manager David Moyes has not been able to sign anyone this summer. Breakthrough: Tommy Smith wheels away after scoring what proved to be the winner
MATCH FACTS Everton: Howard, Neville, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Barkley, Heitinga (Saha, 75), Rodwell (Arteta 54), Osman, Cahill, Beckford (Fellaini 63). Subs not used: Mucha, Hibbert, Saha, Vellios, Anichebe.
QPR: Kenny, Orr, Hall, Gabbidon, Connolly, Buzsaky, Derry, Faurlin, Smith (Ephraim 66), Taarabt, Agyemangc (Bothroyd 55). Subs not used: Murphy, Gorkss, Perone, Moen, Andrade.
Yellow cards: Hall
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)
With a number of senior first-teamers still not fully fit, Moyes' resources were stretched even thinner and QPR - who this week were taken over by airline boss Tony Fernandes - took full advantage to snatch a 1-0 win. Tommy Smith scored the goal just past the half-hour - securing their first points of the season - in what was probably the visitors' only real chance to inflict Everton's first home defeat since December. It was also the visitors' first top-flight away win since February 1996.
In fact, the last time QPR beat Everton 15 years ago they did so with the help of the likes of Ray Wilkins and Mark Hateley. But the early focus was not on the past but the future as, with Mikel Arteta, Louis Saha and Marouane Fellaini on the bench, Moyes gave a debut to 17-year-old Ross Barkley. The teenager, who has been at the club since the age of 11, did not disappoint as he gave many of his more experienced team-mates something to think about. Despite his depleted resources Moyes will wonder why his team dominated throughout but the closest they came to scoring was Leighton Baines' first-half free-kick which crashed against the crossbar.
Smith had given an early warning of the danger he posed with a low snap-shot half-volley which flew narrowly wide of Tim Howard's right-hand post. Everton took control after that with Jack Rodwell having an appeal for a penalty turned down after a challenge from Matthew Connolly.
But it was the performance of the debutant Barkley which was drawing all the attention.
Midway through the first half a driving diagonal run from left to right saw him twice feign to shoot before he was brought down by Fitz Hall. Chance: Tim Cahill is dejected after spurning an opportunity to level Baines' free-kick cleared the wall and had goalkeeper Paddy Kenny rooted to the spot but cannoned back off the woodwork. arkley's confidence continued to grow as he sprayed crossfield passes around seemingly at his leisure, also curling a low 25-yard shot just wide.
However, Everton's early dominance began to wane and from QPR's first real spell of pressure they took the lead. Phil Jagielka, a target for Arsenal, carelessly gave the ball away to Alejandro Faurlin and it was quickly transferred to Akos Buzsaky in the inside-left channel whose low cross perfectly picked out Smith. The winger's first touch took the ball out of his feet and with marker Jagielka out of position he coolly slotted his shot past Howard's outstretched left hand and into the far corner of the net. After that it was all Everton up until the break with the previously quiet Tim Cahill suddenly finding himself at the centre of everything. Having been tripped by Hall, the Australia international appeared to be pushed as he challenged for Baines' free-kick but when the ball was crossed back in by Jermaine Beckford, Cahill missed from close range at the far post. Cahill and Beckford could both have equalised with headers just before the break while Rodwell tamely chipped into Kenny's arms a couple of minutes into the second half. It prompted the introduction of Arteta and then Fellaini, whose replacement of Beckford did not meet with wholehearted support from the Goodison Park crowd. Leading the way: QPR boss Neil Warnock saw his side grab the three points
However, it almost paid instant rewards as Fellaini teed up Cahill, now playing as a striker, for a narrow-angle shot from the right which Kenny turned behind. Barkley continued to look one of Everton's better players and fired a low drive wide before his deflected shot after cutting in from the right was well held by Kenny as QPR held on quite comfortably. A return to full fitness of their major stars will improve things for Everton, but any hopes Moyes had of getting off to a good start for once were ended by the Londoners. The Toffees boss admitted finishing in the top 10 would be a tough task this season. On the basis of one match, he may be right.
Tommy Smith's first-half strike gives QPR victory over Everton
Andy Hunter at Goodison Park
Guardian Saturday 20 August 2011
David Moyes believes Everton will struggle to finish in the top half of the Premier League after a summer of giving millions to Barclays Bank and not a penny on his squad. On the evidence of this tame defeat to Queens Park Rangers, he is not being alarmist. The Londoners have attracted four different wealthy investors in the past four years while Everton chairman Bill Kenwright has unearthed only hoaxers and, as a leaked transcript revealed in embarrassing detail this week, must reduce an overdraft capped at £25m. The result is rising anger on the terraces, stagnation at the club and, as illustrated against Neil Warnock's well-drilled side, a team that is as bereft of ideas and penetration as its owners are of funds. Not that Tony Fernandes, Rangers' latest owner, or the travelling hordes could care less as they deservedly celebrated a first victory in the Premier League since beating West Ham 3-0 in April 1996. If Moyes hoped the week's stark financial revelations would help generate a siege mentality in his squad than he was to be quickly disappointed. Everton emerged into the new Premier League season in their customary tortoise-like manner, a weakness that has hindered the club for several years and which prompted Moyes to revisit his pre-season training notes from 2004-05 – when his side finished fourth – in his latest search for the remedy.
The Everton manager's first selection of the season contained several surprises as Louis Saha, Mikel Arteta and Marouane Fellaini all started on the bench. The one positive, in a midfield lacking balance and incisiveness, was Ross Barkley, whose league debut at the age of 17 was thoroughly vindicated with an intelligent, composed display. Barkley, a right footed central midfielder of stature and skill, began wide on the left and his runs inside provided Everton's only consistent threat in a poor first-half performance. They should have prospered down their right too, where Jack Rodwell was afforded acres of space by Matthew Connolly but was unable to capitalise on several opportunities in behind the visiting left back. Rangers started nervously, as one might expect from a side welcomed back into the top flight following a 15-year absence with a 4-0 home defeat by Bolton Wanderers last Saturday. Their support play for lone striker Patrick Agyemang, however, comfortably eclipsed that offered to Tim Cahill and Jermaine Beckford by Everton and, gradually, they began to put the home defence under sustained pressure. A mistake by Phil Jagielka led to Rangers' first Premier League goal of the season, and the Fernandes era, when the England international gifted a careless pass to Alejandro Faurlín just outside the Everton penalty area. Faurlín found Akos Buzsáky who slipped the ball inside to the unmarked Tommy Smith and the former Portsmouth striker beat Tim Howard with a low shot into the far corner. Leighton Baines had struck the bar with a trademark free-kick before Smith's measured finish and Everton should have drawn level moments later. Cahill, while still complaining about a push in the back from Fitz Hall, was picked out at the far post by a Beckford cross, the forward's one positive contribution of the entire game, but unmarked and only two yards away from an open goal, the Australia international somehow headed wide. Warnock lost Agyemang to what appeared a serious injury in the second half and when the striker was taken of on a stretcher with his left leg in a brace, the visitors' presence in attack departed with him. A chorus of boos accompanied Moyes' decision to introduce Fellaini for Beckford, a substitution that left Everton without a recognised forward on the pitch until Saha was introduced ten minutes later, although some may have been prompted by a television image of Kenwright that appeared at the same time.
Final Whistle Report: Everton FC 0 QPR 1
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool EchoAug 20 2011
EVERTON FC crashed to a dismal opening day defeat against QPR at Goodison, as an air of gloom descended on the Blue half of Merseyside. It had been a difficult week for the Toffees, with their belated start to the Premier League season overshadowed by financial matters off the field, and this home fixture had been an opportunity for David Moyes’ men to get everybody talking about football once again. But a first half goal by Tommy Smith put EFC behind against the run of play, and despite enjoying the vast majority of chances they lacked the reliable fire-power to claw their way back.
Moyes surprised everybody with his team selection, opting to leave star trio Mikel Arteta, Marouane Fellaini and Louis Saha on the bench, while Jack Rodwell, John Heitinga and Jermaine Beckford started. To compound the unusual set-up, Rodwell and Ross Barkley – both central midfielders – were deployed out wide in a formation that lacked width but at least had plenty of power. In the visiting dug-out Neil Warnock started without one of his own top men, but Jay Bothroyd had done well to even make the bench after struggling with a virus during the week, and skipper Adel Taarabt also recovered just in time. The Blues had an early penalty claim denied when Jack Rodwell was bundled over after chesting down the ball in the area from Leon Osman’s cross. Then Leighton Baines whipped a low cross into the area that narrowly avoided the lurking Jermaine Beckford.
Ref Kevin Friend played advantage after a foul on Tim Cahill in an advanced area next, allowing Barkley to pick up the ball and run at the QPR defence with menace drawing a late challenge on the edge of the area in perfect Leighton Baines range. The England man very nearly obliged too, his effortlessly weighted free kick rebounded off the cross bar. The nerveless debutant then went close himself, collecting a short pass from Jack Rodwell and curling a right-footed shot just wide from 20 yards. Good luck to the Goodison PR men charged with stifling the hype on the 17-year-old’s broad shoulders. With every appearance his reputation has grown, and his range of passing and attacking intent was a joy to watch. But for all the positives of their bright start, Everton were undone with maddening simplicity after half an hour. The Blues midfield and back four conspired to stand and watch as Akos Buzsaky was allowed, without any pressure, to collect the ball near the edge of the area and play in the equally unmarked Tommy Smith who dispatched a crisp finish past Tim Howard.
Chances came for Everton to equalise; Cahill had a penalty claim when he appeared to be shoved as he moved to head home a Baines cross, then the Aussie headed wide from Beckford, and his third moment of frustration came when he headed over the bar a minute before half time. And they continued straight after the re-start when John Heitinga’s pass found its way to Rodwell who slipped past his maker and bore down on goal, only to fire straight at Paddy Kenny who collected it comfortably. Arteta was introduced for Rodwell shortly afterwards, as Moyes tried to re-spark his midfield. Fellaini followed a few minutes later, replacing Beckford. Within seconds of his introduction, the Belgian flicked on a header to Cahill who had made a clever run and stung Kenny’s palms with a fierce shot which the goalkeeper did well to turn away for a corner. QPR had surrendered any attacking intent, switching to 4-5-1 and rarely venturing past the half way line so it became a contest of defence versus attack and Moyes’ decision to play for a period with no out and out strikers seemed odd. Still, Barkley again drove just wide from long range, and Saha soon entered the fray for a subdued Heitinga. The Blues pushed hard for a way back, but with QPR defending resolutely there was none forthcoming, even with five minutes of added time when Fellaini planted a header at Kenny from a Baines free kick. Boos rang out at the final whistle, and Moyes, exasperated and deflated in the dug-out, was left to answer more questions about overdrafts and loans instead of points and tactics.
Phil Neville signs new contract with Everton FC
by Phil Kirkbride, Liverpool Echo
Aug 21 2011
EVERTON FC captain Phil Neville has today signed a contract extension. The 34-year-old put pen to paper on a fresh deal which keeps him at Goodison Park until 2013. Neville's current contract was to expire at the end of this season but the former England international will play on for another 12 months in the royal blue shirt. And the Blues skipper has vowed to repay the club over the next two campaigns. "I feel really proud and this club has never let me down, " said Neville. "It's shown faith in me again and for the next two years I'm going to give my all for this football club."
Everton not just banking on Barkley
A Career In Accounting
Sunday August 21 2011
Irish Indenpendent
Everton may have unearthed another young talent from their academy in Ross Barkley, but captain Phil Neville knows the teenager will need help from his more experienced team-mates.
The 17-year-old made his Barclays Premier League debut and was the Toffees' best player as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat at home to newcomers QPR. He put many of his more senior team-mates to shame with his endeavour and enthusiasm and Neville said the youngster should have got more help on his maiden appearance. "Ross was outstanding without going too much overboard," said the 34-year-old defender. "People say bravery is going around kicking and fighting people, but it is taking the ball when you are 1-0 down and showing you can play football and he did that. I think everyone is quietly confident we have got something really special." Neville added: "This club produce not only good footballers but really good down-to-earth lads and he wants to learn and if he keeps his feet on the ground he has a really good chance. "Ross is lucky in that he is going to get his chance because that is what the manager does, he gives youth a chance. "It is up to us to support him because sometimes young players come on and do take the fight for the team - I have been there myself - and it is something you enjoy. "At the moment you just say let him play and be free and there will be dips but we have to make sure as experienced players we are there supporting him. But he can be well pleased with his debut." QPR winger Tommy Smith scored the game's solitary goal, converting his side's only clear chance in the 31st minute. He took one touch to get Akos Buzsaky's pass out from under his feet with his second coolly dispatching the ball past Tim Howard and into the far corner of the net. "I was just delighted to see it go in to be honest. We knew the first goal would be vital," said Smith, who felt it was important to get their first points of the season after losing 4-0 to Bolton on the opening day. "I think confidence was knocked by the Bolton result so it was important to put that to bed. Once we scored we played like a very good side. It was a great team performance."
Everton 0-1 QPR
Sunday 21 August 201
Morning Star by Mike Wilton at Goodison Park
Queens Park Rangers laid the foundation stone of their season with a deserved victory against an abject Everton, obviously suffering from their opening match postponement. Tommy Smith struck a fine goal to open Rangers's Premier League account, just after the half hour mark, punishing Everton for failing to clear their lines after several attempts. Everton were, however, well on top in terms of territory and chances, and twice could have levelled before the interval. Leighton Baines rattled the underside of the Rangers's bar, and then Tim Cahill headed wide from four yards, with two first half minutes remaining. QPR held on after a late Everton surge, but the host's lack of coheision in the final third, meant chances went begging. The R’s have had a rollercoaster 48 hours, with the takeover completed by Tony Fernandes followed by a virus affecting several players, leaving striker DJ Campbell out of the squad, and Jay Bothroyd on the bench. But the team's remarkable recovery after last week's thrashing by Bolton, is everything that manager Neil Warnock will have wished for in order to attract new players to club, which he finally has the money for. "Last week we thought we wouldn't get a point till Christmas," said Warnock. "This week some of (the players) are taking about Europe." "If we had lost by four, five or six (goals), they might have thought twice," added Warnock about his potential new arrivals. But with this victory Warnock is confident of adding four or five “quality” player to his ranks. The only positive for Everton boss David Moyes to come out of this match was a fantastic debut by 17-year-old Ross Barkley. "Ross had played really well," said Moyes. "I thought Ross was the most likely to (create opportunities)." But the result is major blow for the club trying to forget their off the field troubles, with the frank assesment of the club's finances being controversially exposed online. "People know our current situation, if we had won we would probably have made it better," admitted Moyes. Moyes also did not rule out the sale of any players before the deadline even though it will not release any funds to sign a replacement. "Depending what the value is, most will go to the bank, but everyone has a price."
Everton 0-1 QPR:
Sunday Mirror
August 21 2011 By Simon Mullock
At the end, Bill Kenwright looked like a poor man listening to the next-door neighbours celebrating a lottery win. A week which saw the Everton chairman being stitched up by his own fans had just got a whole lot worse. It was bad enough that his private confession about the club once known as the Mersey Millionaires being broke had been made public. But then came Queens Park Rangers riding on the crest of the optimism generated by their own takeover to inflict a painful defeat. Kenwright, slumped in his usual seat at the front of the Goodison directors’ box, looked ashen-faced and close to tears as he clutched his head in his hands at the final whistle. Around him jeers for Everton’s own meek efforts were mixed with applause recognising that Rangers deserved their win. Everton boss David Moyes said: “We didn’t play well enough to win, but I didn’t think we deserved to lose either.
“People know the current situation. The team is the thing that will make it better or worse and today they couldn’t make it better. “If we sold anyone the money would probably go to the bank, so that’s something I don’t want to do. “But everyone has a price; Fabregas, Ronaldo. I’ll do what is right for the club because I’m not stubborn.” This was a day that money talked as Rangers, bouyant from the hope that Neil Warnock will be given a £10million transfer kitty after Tony Fernandes’ takeover, bounced back after their opening day defeat at home to Bolton. The visitors rode their luck early on, but once Tommy Smith had fired them into a 31st-minute lead they were able to repel Everton with some degree of comfort. Everton had an early penalty appeal rejected after Jack Rodwell had crumbled under Matt Connolly’s nudge in the back. And the Toffees felt aggrieved again when Leighton Baines’ free-kick beat a static Paddy Kenny but bounced to safety off the underside of the crossbar. Everton were also encouraged by the display of Ross Barkley on his debut. The 17-year-old was their best performer and the 30-yard shot that curled just wide evoked memories of Wayne Rooney. But Rangers went ahead when Phil Jagielka surrendered possession to Alejandro Faurlin on the edge of his own penalty area. The ball was worked to Smith via Akos Buzsaky and his angled low shot was too good for Tim Howard. Rangers had been laid low with a virus overnight that forced Warnock to send home DJ Campbell and put Jay Bothroyd on the the bench. But it was Everton feeling sick when Tim Cahill stooped to meet Jermaine Beckford’s right-wing cross only to head wide from four yards. Beckford should have done better than head weakly at Kenny before the break.
And Rodwell opened the second half by breaking clear only to shoot straight at the Rangers keeper.
The home fans made their feelings clear by jeering Moyes for his decision to replace Beckford with midfielder Marouane Fellaini. Almost immediately, Cahill forced Kenny into a save with a shot on the turn. Kenny excelled again to grasp Barkley’s deflected blast from 30 yards and was perfectly positioned to grasp Fellaini’s injury-time header. Rangers boss Warnock said: “We have had a traumatic 48 hours since the takeover. “Then we had this virus. DJ Campbell collapsed and we had to send him home. “Adel Taarabt and Connolly had it too and when Bothroyd caught it we had to put him on the bench.”
VERDICT: Rangers will be relieved to get last week’s heavy defeat out of their system. There is little wrong with Everton that a few quid would not put right, but the cupboard is bare.
THE BIG ISSUE: Will Everton hold onto David Moyes with no money to spend?
Everton remain one of the biggest names in the game – even if they don’t have a bank balance to match. David Moyes has worked miracles in his nine years in charge and his prospects of doing it again hinge on a group of players capable of beating any team in the Premier League.
Moyes’ men were given a rousing reception but the mood of optimism was punctured by Tommy Smith’s opener for QPR just after the half-hour. Ross Barkley, 17, was Everton’s best player and fans will want him – and his boss – to hang around to prove once again that money doesn’t always talk in the big league.
Moyes: Lack of wide players and centre-forwards cost us... again
Sunday Mirror August 21 2011
Everton manager David Moyes accepted familiar shortcomings cost his side as they dominated the game against QPR but lost 1-0 at Goodison Park Despite creating the better chances - Leighton Baines hitting the crossbar with a free-kick and Tim Cahill missing a header from close range - it was the visitors who made the breakthrough. Tommy Smith converted QPR's only real chance of the game in the 31st minute to secure the Londoners' first points on their return to the top flight. Moyes had to leave experienced players Mikel Arteta, Marouane Fellaini and Louis Saha on the bench because of a lack of fitness, and with no money to sign anyone in the summer Everton came up short. "The performance probably didn't deserve to lose over the course of the game but we did," said the Scot. "We are the home team against a newly-promoted team and expected to make the play and score the goals, and we weren't able to do that. "It wasn't because QPR dominated the game and outplayed us, we had good chances to make better opportunities and didn't do so. "Tim missed a good one and we were a bit unlucky with Baines' free-kick. "But if anyone is surprised and disappointed they shouldn't be because we have been saying for a year or two we could do with an injection of wide players and centre-forwards. "We are disappointed we didn't win because I thought we should have gone on and got a result." The only bright spot for the Toffees was the performance of Ross Barkley, a 17-year-old academy graduate who made his first-team debut and was the best player in a blue shirt. "I said to the players after the game I was disappointed with how they played but not to Ross," Moyes added. "He got a big pat on the back. He nearly carried the team; he made chances, tried to take chances and looked really good. "He's not long turned 17, we gave him a chance and he certainly didn't let us down." QPR boss Neil Warnock was delighted to get their first points on the board after last weekend's 4-0 home defeat to Bolton, especially after a virus within the squad had restricted his options. "In a way the attitude we came up with epitomised the whole result," he said. "I said to them 'Give me everything' and they fought for each other. "I said 'Let's go and enjoy it' because I'd rather be pulling up at Goodison Park than some of the Championship clubs we were last year. "It was a well-worked move for the goal and they showed we can compete in the Premier League. "In the circumstances we've had in the last 24 hours to do what they did was quite amazing and I couldn't be prouder. "People like Patrick Agyemang (who started up front) were not in my thoughts for the last six weeks and at one o'clock I had to tell him he was playing - it is like something out of a comic book."
QPR and Neil Warnock cock-a-hoop with post-takeover win at Everton
Guardian report
Andy Hunter at Goodison
Guardian, 22 August 2011
Goodison Park, all faded grandeur and growing resentment, resembled the Garden of Eden to Neil Warnock. Having savoured "one of the best results" of an extensive career, the Queens Park Rangers manager outlined plans to enjoy the fruits of Tony Fernandes's £35m takeover in the final days of the transfer window. It was almost as if he had been hand-picked to increase the torment for David Moyes. Not content with condemning Everton to another false start to a Premier League season, and their first home league defeat since November, Warnock spoke afterwards of making four or five signings before the deadline. He now works for an owner with ambitions for a new stadium, who has stated support for his manager and who is the fourth wealthy individual to invest in QPR in four years. As with all takeovers, the proof of Fernandes's worth is yet to be determined. But he fatally undermines the Everton owner Bill Kenwright's argument that no one is in the market for a Premier League club these days. Scott Parker and Joe Cole are two Warnock targets and their experience would be invaluable to QPR's survival efforts, although his team showed admirable composure in defence and on the ball without them on Saturday. Nervousness was understandable in a side beaten 4-0 on their return to the Premier League the previous weekend. Once Tommy Smith had rounded off an incisive move from Phil Jagielka's poor clearance with a finish to match, however, and Tim Cahill had squandered a chance to equalise from two yards out, QPR banked their first top-flight victory for 15 years without alarm. "I am in Utopia," said Warnock. "When we pulled up there was a sense of 'Wow, this is Goodison'. There was a sense of trepidation after losing 4-0 at home, but we are going to get beaten 4-0 again so it just goes to show that life is too short. You have just got to look to the next game. "It has been a difficult summer but with this man coming in, Tony Fernandes, and with Amit Bhatia, who was instrumental in me coming here in the first place, coming back, it's like a dream come true. I know sometimes when a new man comes in they like to bring a new manager, but he will support me to the hilt. At the end of the day you have to get results but if you have got the support and don't get the results, you don't mind getting the bullet. That is why I am going to enjoy it. You don't often get the opportunity to look at players I have only dreamed about. It is the first time in my career I have had that." Fernandes, who has confirmed he is looking to build a "bigger stadium and a nicer stadium" than Loftus Road, said: "Neil's the kind of guy that can motivate the team to perform as they did against Everton and I think he's a special guy. He's a good guy and we're very happy with him." The money and the mood around QPR provided a stark contrast with Everton. Only Ross Barkley, a 17-year-old debutant, impressed in royal blue as fans condemned Moyes's decision to withdraw his only striker, although the introduction of Marouane Fellaini for Jermaine Beckford improved the team and some jeers may have been for Kenwright, whose exasperated face appeared onscreen at the same moment. "The team will always dictate the mood of the supporters," said the Everton manager, whose captain, Phil Neville, has signed a contract extension to 2013. "If we had won they would be saying we don't need players and we are all right. It wasn't because we weren't trying and were not organised, and it wasn't because of the way we train them. It was because we lacked the quality which is required at times to win games in the final third of the pitch. But that shouldn't surprise anyone who watched Everton last season."
Man of the match Fitz Hall (QPR)
Debts threaten to undo a decade of Moyes' work
By William Johnson at Goodison Park
Monday, 22 August 2011 Independent
Sir Alex Ferguson is not the only gritty Glaswegian expecting to celebrate the passing of a remarkable landmark this season. While the imperious Manchester United manager marches triumphantly on towards his silver jubilee at Old Trafford, his younger compatriot David Moyes is homing in on a highly creditable 10th anniversary at Goodison Park. With each of those passing years, Moyes has enhanced his managerial reputation to the point that his name is frequently mentioned on an exclusive shortlist of potential successors to the formidable Ferguson. That reputation, though, is now in danger of being tarnished, maybe even shattered, by Everton's fragile position among the elite of the English game. Moyes is swimming desperately against a Merseyside tidal wave of rising debt and is resigned to the fact that his outstanding decade's work could end with the club surrendering their long-standing top tier-status. After seeing a difficult opening-day fixture at Tottenham postponed due to the London riots, Moyes and his players were expecting a safe lift-off to their campaign at the expense of a Queen's Park Rangers team whose promotion euphoria was swiftly doused after losing 4-0 at home to Bolton Wanderers. Perhaps that should have been the outcome here as well, such was Everton's territorial dominance of a disappointing encounter which provided decent chances for Leighton Baines, Tim Cahill, Jack Rodwell and the promising teenage debutant Ross Barkley. The home side were punished, however, for their alarming inadequacies in the opposing penalty area and eventually fell to an opportunist sucker-punch from Rangers veteran Tommy Smith – a neat side-footed finish to one of only two chances his team created. The unexpected victory left Rangers manager Neil Warnock in raptures – a timely boost as he looks forward to spending some of the cash promised to him by Malaysian businessman Tony Fernandes in the wake of last week's Loftus Road takeover. While Moyes has to make the best of disturbingly limited playing resources – he may even be forced to offload a couple of his key men – Warnock is planning to give his squad a significant infusion of new talent before this month's transfer window closes. The recruits are unlikely to be big names because Warnock is talking about "four or five" but the manager is experienced enough to know how to spend his kitty wisely to give last season's Championship winners every chance of survival in the higher grade. Only a week into the new season, their prospects look brighter than those of Everton.
Everton (4-4-2): Howard 6; Neville 6, Jagielka 5, Distin 6, Baines 7; Rodwell 6 (Arteta 55, 6), Heitinga 6 (Saha 74, 5), Osman 6, Barkley 8; Cahill 7, Beckford 6 Fellaini 64, 7). Subs: Mucha (g), Hibbert, Vellios, Anichebe. Booked: Osman Queen's Park Rangers (4-2-3-1): Kenny 7; Orr 6, Hall 7, Gabbidon 7, Connolly 7; Derry 6, Faurlin 6; Smith 8(Ephraim 66, 6), Buzsaky 6, Taarabt 7; Agyemang 6 (Bothroyd 57, 6). Subs: Murphy (g), Gorkss, Perone, Vaagan Moen, Andrade.
Scorer: smith (31).Booked: Hall.
Smith secures points at Everton
Aug 22 2011 By Jacob Murtagh
Uxbridge Gazette
TOMMY Smith's first-half strike earned Rangers a hard-fought win at Goodison Park on Saturday.
The former Portsmouth winger bagged the only goal of the game to secure the points on Merseyside. QPR were dealt a blow before kick-off when a virus swept through the squad.
DJ Campbell was left back in London, Jay Bothroyd was only fit enough to make the bench, while Matt Connolly and Adel Taarabt were also under the weather. Rangers had a let off midway through the first-half when Leighton Baines's sweetly-struck free-kicked bounced off the underside of the bar. But it was the visitors who took the lead on the half-hour mark. Akos Buzsaky played in Smith, and he cut inside before curling and effort into the bottom right-hand corner from 12 yards.
Tim Cahill headed wide with the goal gaping as the Toffees pushed for a leveller, while Paddy Kenny did well to deny the Australian after the break. But the QPR defence stood firm to chalk up their first points of the season to lift them into the top half of the table. QPR: Kenny, Orr, Hall, Gabbidon, Connolly, Derry, Faurlin, Buzsaky, Smith (Ephraim), Taarabt, Agyemang (Bothroyd).
Subs (not used): Murphy, Perone, Gorkss, Andrade, Vaagan Moen.
EVERTON 0 QPR 1: FAILINGS RILE NEVILLE
Monday August 22,2011
By Matthew Dunn
Daily Express
TALK comes cheap and after a week in which Everton admitted how poor they are off the pitch and mirrored it by being even poorer on it, captain Phil Neville could still afford to have plenty to say.
“The game was disappointing, to put it mildly,” he said. “It wasn’t good enough. I think this is important to say. We can’t beat around the bush. “The game had nothing to do with what has happened this week or on any other level. We just didn’t do enough to win a game of football.
“We have a good group of players that should be winning those type of games. We are all disappointed. We all take responsibility and are not making excuses. “There is enough strength in this squad. From the team that started last season – that everyone thought had a chance of making the top four – we have only lost Steven Pienaar. We have added Ross Barkley. There is no excuse.”
It wasn’t good enough. I think this is important to say. We can’t beat around the bush.
Neville added: “The manager said we have got to fight to finish in the top 10. I think there is a carrot there for us to prove him wrong almost. “It is a motivation factor for us. Sometimes you can set your targets high and fail, like we did last season. The expectation level this year has been dropped, so all we want to do now is concentrate on playing football.” QPR certainly did that and Tommy Smith was rewarded by steering in the club’s first Premier League goal on their return to the top flight. “We are absolutely delighted,” he said. “Losing 4-0 to Bolton last week took the wind out of our sails a little bit. We needed to make sure that we picked ourselves up and worked hard.
“It was important that we got a win here. Getting a win away from home shows we can compete at this level.” With new owner Tony Fernandes remaining in direct contact with manager Neil Warnock throughout his holiday in order to spend some of his investment before the transfer window closes, that is the aim. Warnock said: “All I know is I am in Utopia to get people coming in who you know support you. I have given them names and they are as excited as I am at bringing some of them in. It’s wonderful. “In 10 days we have got to get four or five players in. That is something that should have taken us 12 weeks, so we need to be a little bit lucky as well.” That does n ot mean that on a weekend when Warnock came up against his former Bramall Lane protege Phil Jagielka, he does not have time for a bit of window shopping for his peers as well. “I told Arsene Wenger to sign him and Paddy Kenny when we got relegated at Sheffield United and he did not listen,” he said. “It is not for me to look at other clubs and say what is what, but I feel that last year Arsenal would have won the league with Phil Jagielka in the side.”
EVERTON (4-4-2): Howard 6; Neville 5, Jagielka 6, Distin 6, Baines 7; Barkley 7, Heitinga 6 (Saha 74, 5), Rodwell 5 (Arteta 54, 5), Osman 6; Cahill 6, Beckford 5 (Fellaini 63, 6). Booked: Osman.
QPR (4-4-2): Kenny 7; Orr 6, Hall 7, Gabbidon 6, Connolly 5; Buzsaky 7, Derry 8, Faurlin 6, Smith 7 (Ephraim 66, 5); Taarabt 6, Agyemang 6 (Bothroyd 55, 6). Booked: Hall. Goal: Smith 31.
Referee: K Friend (Leicestershire).
Warnock overjoyed at his new-found Rangers riches
By Dominic King
Daily Mail 22nd August 2011
Neil Warnock was holding court outside Goodison Park's media room when he let slip his usual gruff guard and began to speak with the unrestrained joy of a lottery winner. 'This is the first time in my career I have had (money to spend) so what a good time to get it!' QPR's manager enthused after a shock 1-0 win over Everton. 'I am going to enjoy every single minute of it. I am in Utopia.'
Overjoyed: Warnock thrilled after the shock win at Everton The smile was broad, the banter sharp and Warnock's troubles have disappeared. Already the decision of Air Asia mogul Tony Fernandes to invest has started to pay off and Warnock will be active during the last week of the transfer window. He continued: 'I have given them names and they are as excited as I am. This man (Fernandes) is like a dream come true.' Stunner: Tommy Smith blasts the winner at Goodison Park
By contrast, David Moyes has not spent a penny this summer and the angst that has pervaded his club was reflected in the Everton boss's body language. These are testing times and boos broke out after a game that had been settled by Tommy Smith's terrific first-half strike. While Warnock will try for, among others, Scott Parker and Joe Cole, the best Moyes can hope for is one or two loan deals. No money: Moyes facing an uphill battle with Everton The team will always dictate the mood of the supporters,' said the Scot. If we had won, they would be saying we don't need players.'
The only positive was the excellent league debut of midfielder Ross Barkley, 17, but captain Phil Neville refused to use outside issues as an excuse for an anaemic display. 'We all take responsibility. Nothing off the pitch has interfered with our preparations,' he said.
Everton FC’s shortcomings don’t come as a surprise to David Moyes
by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 22 2011
Everton FC’s shortcomings don’t come as a surprise to David Moyes EVERTON manager David Moyes accepted familiar shortcomings cost his side as they dominated the game against QPR but lost 1-0 at Goodison Park. Despite creating the better chances – Leighton Baines hitting the crossbar with a free-kick and Tim Cahill missing a header from close range – it was the visitors who made the breakthrough. Tommy Smith converted QPR’s only real chance of the game in the 31st minute to secure the Londoners’ first points on their return to the top flight. Moyes had to leave experienced players Mikel Arteta, Marouane Fellaini and Louis Saha on the bench because of a lack of fitness, and with no money to sign anyone in the summer Everton came up short. “The performance probably didn’t deserve to lose over the course of the game but we did,” said the Scot. “We are the home team against a newly-promoted team and expected to make the play and score the goals, and we weren’t able to do that. “It wasn’t because QPR dominated the game and outplayed us, we had good chances to make better opportunities and didn’t do so. Tim missed a good one and we were a bit unlucky with Baines’ free-kick. “But if anyone is surprised and disappointed they shouldn’t be because we have been saying for a year or two we could do with an injection of wide players and centre-forwards. “We are disappointed we didn’t win because I thought we should have gone on and got a result.” The only bright spot for Everton was the performance of Ross Barkley, a 17-year-old academy graduate who made his first-team debut and was the best player in a blue shirt.
“I said to the players after the game I was disappointed with how they played but not to Ross,” Moyes added. “He got a big pat on the back. He nearly carried the team; he made chances, tried to take chances and looked really good. “He’s not long turned 17, we gave him a chance and he certainly didn’t let us down.” QPR boss Neil Warnock was delighted to get their first points on the board after last weekend’s 4-0 home defeat to Bolton, especially after a virus within the squad had restricted his options. “In a way the attitude we came up with epitomised the whole result,” he said.
“I said to them ‘Give me everything’ and they fought for each other. “I said ’Let’s go and enjoy it’ because I’d rather be pulling up at Goodison Park than some of the Championship clubs we were last year. “It was a well-worked move for the goal and they showed we can compete in the Premier League. “In the circumstances we’ve had in the last 24 hours to do what they did was quite amazing and I couldn’t be prouder. “People like Patrick Agyemang (who started up front) were not in my thoughts for the last six weeks and at one o’clock I had to tell him he was playing – it is like something out of a comic book.”
Comment: Evertonians seek answers but just get more questions
by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 22 2011
AFTER a summer of frustration off the field at Goodison Park culminating with the anger over the taping of chairman Bill Kenwright’s conversation with fan group Blue Union, the hope was that Everton could belatedly let their football do the talking against QPR on Saturday. Unfortunately, rather than ease Evertonians’ concerns, a home defeat against a newly-promoted side who had been pounded 4-0 on their own turf against Bolton on the opening day just threw up more worrying questions than any answers supporters would have been looking for. Sluggish starts at the beginning of the campaign have become alarmingly more common place at Goodison in recent years than big money arrivals. This was Everton’s seventh opening day defeat in 10 seasons under David Moyes and the fourth in a row since the 2008/09 season kicked-off. It’s not like they can blame it on having a raft of new signings needing time to bed in. After the game, the Scot pointed out that while his teams have often been slow starters, they tend to finish well and overall positions remain consistent in the top half of the Premier League table. However, the long-serving manager, who has not spent a transfer fee on a senior first team player since John Heitinga’s arrival on September 1 2009 with the last of the cash from Joleon Lescott’s departure is acutely aware of the continuing deficiencies within his side which he clearly spelled out. Anyone seeing Everton play for the first time on Saturday could have told you that they are desperately in need of a cutting edge in the final third. For observers who have witnessed this for many months now, the joke has worn very thin and stopped being funny a long time ago. Moyes acknowledged this plus the lack of natural width in his side. With Seamus Coleman injured, Jack Rodwell, looking to have a big season to help re-establish his reputation as one of Premier League’s top young talents, was unable to impose himself out on the right flank – a problem position that the Scot has a times filled with that most unorthodox of ‘wingers’ Victor Anichebe. The expectant home fans kept waiting for a game-changing tackle or pass to haul their side back into the contest but Everton seemed unable to up the tempo in their pedestrian play as Neil Warnock’s resolute side understandably just sat back on their lead and soaked up the pressure. The only bright spot of the afternoon – albeit another central midfielder forced onto the flanks – was the debut of at least one new face, Academy graduate Ross Barkley.
The 17-year-old from Wavertree became the 11th player under the age of 18 to be blooded by the Goodison outfit in a Premier League match. Had it not been for a triple leg break last year then Barkley would surely have made his bow even earlier but as it is he becomes Everton’s first player to be born in the Premier League era. Barkley showed confidence and composure beyond his tender years with a display that far outshone several of his more senior colleagues. It would be easy to deliver a knee-jerk reaction to such a disappointing result by pointing an accusing finger at the players, the tactics of the manager or the lack of funds available for squad building. Despite many fellow fans feeling let down by Blue Union’s recordings and the potential damage they could do to the club’s image, a sentiment echoed by Moyes who said they entered Kenwright’s trust and “let him down badly” – Everton’s chairman, like the team, fell victim to the Goodison boo boys when his forlorn face watching from the stands flashed up on screens around the stadium. It’s well-documented that there are no major funds available for new players – a hugely ambitious Moyes must be as frustrated as anyone in that respect – but his sides and their loyal supporters have always thrived on adversity and come out fighting when backed into a corner. You’ve got to play with the hand that fate has dealt you and for all their glorious past and proud traditions, Everton are not a global brand and just what would be the motives of any overseas investor? Yes, Saturday was rotten for the home supporters but Everton still possess their most talented manager and playing squad for a generation. Young Ross Barkley might not remember but the dirge Evertonians had to put up with for most of the 1990s wasn’t that long ago – QPR put five past Everton at Goodison in the year he was born. If you’re going to get angry, don’t get angry because Everton aren’t owned by a sheikh or oligarch – get angry that in the 2011 Premier League you seemingly need such a benefactor to become a contender and at a time of a crippling global recession such unsustainable spending is allowed by those who run the game.
Everton FC 0 Queens Park Rangers 1:
Optimism in short supply as Blues crash
by Philip Kirkbride, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 22 2011
Despair as Everton lose to QPR HARD UP off the pitch, Everton were a soft touch on it. There would be no opening fixture victory to cushion the blow of a tumultuous week at Goodison Park but instead only the sound of Queens Park Rangers sticking the boot in. The Loftus Road outfit rode into Merseyside on the financial storm clouds hovering around L4 and left an even greater sense of gloom in their wake. Just when David Moyes’ men desperately needed to find the antidote to last week’s sobering news of money troubles, the players managed to leave supporters feeling short changed. Everton and first games of the season are uneasy bedfellows but this, the side's fourth consecutive opening Premier League loss and an unwanted club first, will rank as by far the most depressing of the lot. After a week which has allegedly seen a secretive recording of the Blue Union’s meeting with chairman Bill Kenwright made public, the tape of Saturday’s 1-0 defeat is another the club will not want to see the light of day. It took just over half an hour for depressing inevitability to topple the hope of a new season and in a cruel twist of irony, the danger was done by a man who shares his name with a former Liverpool FC stalwart. Tommy Smith’s well placed goal from just inside the area on Saturday was a moment created when panic filled the void where calm and formation should have been. It was at the time Smith found space between Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin to collect Akos Buzsaky’s pass, before side footing beyond Tim Howard, that Everton’s players appeared burdened by the events of the past few days.
The home side had made a brisk start but were not the same after conceding. Of course, had Leighton Baines’ sweet free-kick registered instead of crashing off the underside of the bar just after 20 minutes then not many would have backed a QPR side, still reeling from their 4-0 defeat against Bolton Wanderers, to have put up too much resistance thereafter. Also, had Tim Cahill headed on target with the visitors having just gone ahead, then Everton would have occupied a position of momentum instead of mounting increasingly strained attempts to penetrate the QPR rearguard as time ticked away. Post-match, Moyes revealed Louis Saha had limited training during the week so was in no position to play from the off, so Everton had to rely on an erratic Jermaine Beckford.
Similar assessments were likely to have been made towards Marouane Fellaini and Mikel Arteta, hence the inclusion of Jack Rodwell and John Heitinga in central midfield. Fellaini’s introduction in the 64th minute for Beckford, immediately put the jitters into QPR and reinforced the question as to why the Belgian was not given a start and then removed when the points were as good as wrapped up. Too, given the bedrock of Everton’s form in the second half of last season hinged on Leon Osman either playing wide left on as the support striker, it remained strange Moyes utilised the 30-year-old in central midfield where he endured a stifling afternoon. Rodwell’s cause, meanwhile, was not helped by his deployment on the right wing yet he did spurn a fine chance just after half-time, shooting straight at Paddy Kenny when handed a clear sight of goal. Despite being asked to play in an unfamiliar left flank position, 17-year-old debutant Ross Barkley was a cut above any other Everton player however. Strong, positive and without a hint of nerves, Barkley consistently looked like the only Everton player capable of lighting a revival. He shone on a very drab day at Goodison.
Moyes left his senior players in no doubt as to who was the best man in blue in the changing rooms at full-time. With 15 minutes remaining and Barkley visibly exhausted, the manager showed faith by keeping him on the pitch and hauling off Heitinga instead. By this stage Everton were fighting to get the shutters lifted as QPR dug their heels in to keep the lead intact. The home side pressed, but only seldom probed with distinct threat. Barkley would go close from long distance on a couple of occasions whilst Fellaini, playing in a more advanced role, provided a valuable connection from the midfield to Saha who now occupied the lone striker berth. As the game moved into time added on, Fellaini would have a golden chance to level matters but his header went straight at Kenny and a well placed Phil Neville arrowed his cross down the throat of the grateful keeper. Jeers rang out at the final whistle but it is money matters which continue to talk the loudest at Goodison.
Phil Neville admits Everton FC were ‘not good enough’ against Queens Park Rangers
by Philip Kirkbride, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 22 2011
PHIL NEVILLE branded Everton’s defeat to Queens Park Rangers as not up to scratch – but backed the club’s spirit to help them put it right. The Goodison Park captain has refused to blame any of last week’s off-field events – where chairman Bill Kenwright revealed the extent of the club’s financial struggle – for the poor showing on Saturday afternoon as Tommy Smith’s first-half goal sealed a 1-0 win for the Premier League newcomers. Neville says there was no excuse for what he and Everton served up and even though the squad has not been bolstered as manager David Moyes would have liked this summer, the 34-year-old insists there remained sufficient quality to have seen off Neil Warnock’s QPR. The skipper is determined not to become engulfed in the gloom which is surrounding Everton and has urged everyone connected with the club to look back to the progress of the past few years as a means of drawing inspiration. Neville, who signed a contract extension yesterday to keep him at Everton until 2013, has also warned his team-mates that they are now fighting to prove themselves as top flight professional footballers after Saturday’s showing. “It wasn’t good enough,” said Neville. “I think this important to say. We can’t beat around the bush. There feels as if there is a lot of negativity surrounding the place at the moment and everyone can feel it. I think it is important to say that there are a lot of good things happening here. “We have got great foundations, great supporters and a set of players that have done really well these last three or four years. Supporters will say it is easy for me to talk about the spirit of the club but the spirit is what has set this club apart, going back to the days when Howard Kendall was manager and, before that, when Brian Labone was playing. “Now we need that spirit more than ever. We have got a lot of good things going on and we can’t let these things outside destabilise us. “We have not spoken about getting off to a great start to the season. We did that last year and it never happened. We failed today (Saturday). As a group, we didn’t play well enough and we are all disappointed.
“We all take responsibility and nothing off the pitch has interfered with our preparations. We had a great pre-season, everything was spot on. We didn’t perform but the motivation is there for us. Our reputations are on the line and we have got to perform.” Today had nothing to do what has happened this week or on any other level,” added the captain. “We just didn’t do enough to win a game of football. We have a good group of players that should be winning those type of games. We are all disappointed. “We all take responsibility and are not making excuses. There is enough strength in this squad.” In the wake of Everton’s money woes being laid bare this week, with debt of almost £45m recorded in the last set of accounts, Moyes admits his side will do well to finish inside the Premier League’s top 10 this season. But Neville says the players must use Moyes’ sobering prediction as motivation. “I think there is a carrot there for us to prove him wrong almost,” added Neville.
David Moyes defends his substitutions after Everton FC are beaten at home by Queens Park Rangers
Liverpool Echo, Aug 22 2011
DAVID MOYES insisted he got his second half substitutions right at Goodison Park on Saturday – despite widespread boos which greeted his decision to take off solitary striker Jermaine Beckford and bring on another midfielder in Marouane Fellaini. The Blues boss made his switch in the 64th minute, leaving his side with no recognised strikers on the field as they chased a 1-0 deficit to newly promoted Queens Park Rangers.
But Moyes was defiant afterwards.
“I thought Fellaini actually made quite a big difference when he came on,” he explained. “So as a football person you’d turn round and say ‘yeah, it was the right choice.’ It actually made us better, we got closer to some chances. “Jermaine had struggled to get any chances in the game at all. We needed to build the play up better than we had been doing and I thought Felli gave us that.”
Moyes added that a lack of firepower in the final third cost the Blues an opening day victory and contributed to an air of pessimism around Goodison Park. “The team will dictate the mood of the supporters. It always does do,” he added. “If we’d won people would say ‘hey we don’t need any players. We’re okay the way we are.’ “But we didn’t win today and it wasn’t because of a lack of effort or because we weren’t organised, it was because we lacked the quality which is required to win games in the final third of the pitch. “Anybody who watched us last season shouldn’t be too surprised.” Moyes also believed that his side’s inactivity on the opening afternoon of the season, the match at Tottenham postponed after the London riots, contributed to a ring rustiness. “When you don’t play Tottenham away, and you play QPR at home, it makes your odds sound a little bit better and you hope to get off to a good start,” Moyes said. “But we didn’t. It wasn’t for lack of trying or effort, though, that’s for sure. “We looked like a team that lacked a couple of games. You could see a couple of players aren’t quite ready to play just yet, but we’ve been a bit like that pre-season. “Apart from the Bury game we’ve only scored one goal in any of our friendly games so people shouldn’t be surprised that it’s like that, but I hoped we would win 1-0 not lose 1-0.
“There’s been a lot of our games where we’ve really been lacking at the top end of the pitch.
“We didn’t play well enough to win, but I don’t know if we were that bad that we deserved to lose either. “The game changes. We hit the underside of the bar, Tim Cahill had a chance then another to get it back to 1-1. You couldn’t turn round and say QPR outplayed us. QPR had moments but they got one and we didn’t. “I don’t think we gave QPR too many opportunities but they got one shot which went the past in the first half then they got the goal which was poor play from us defensively.
“But we just lacked ability at the top end of the pitch to make a difference.” Moyes explained that Marouane Fellaini, Mikel Arteta and Louis Saha were all considered not fit enough to start.
“They’ve not done the pre-season and they weren’t ready to start,” he explained. “Marouane was closer, Mikel’s not ready yet and when he came on most people could probably see that as well. Louis had only trained on Thursday and I wasn’t even going to put him on the bench.” But the Blues boss was delighted by the performance of 17-year-old debutant Ross Barkley.
“I said to the players in the dressing room I was disappointed with most of them, but not Ross. Ross played really well. “What we missed today was someone who could create opportunities and maybe take one themselves, and I thought Ross looked the most likely. “He needs a big pat on the back because the boy did well. He’s only 17 and he’s a central midfield player, but because we’ve got no wide players at the moment we played him there. “It can be difficult to get young players into your team and that’s why if you’re a young player and you’re played out of position it’s important you try and do what you can and Ross didn’t let anybody down. “He’s a terrific player. We hope he’s going to follow in the footsteps of one or two others we’ve had come through here, but I’ll need to do what I’ve done with one or two others in the past. “If we hadn’t been chasing the game I might have brought him off because I thought he just ran out of steam with 15/20 minutes to go, which you’d expect. “But I’d made the decision and the changes and couldn’t do anything about it. But I thought he was our best player today.” Moyes also warned that he would not be encouraging any offers for any of his players before the close of the transfer window. “It’s already been said that money generated, depending on the value, would go to the bank,” he rapped. But he added: “Look everybody’s got a price, Fabregas, Ronaldo, you name it they’ve all got prices so if anybody bids big enough I’m sure we would take it. I’m not daft. I wouldn’t do something just because I’m stubborn. I’d do what is right for the club.”
Everton FC 0 QPR 1: Greg O'Keeffe watches the Blues stall once again on opening day
Liverpool EchoAug 22 2011
HE’S just 17 and starting driving lessons, but Ross Barkley was one of the few Everton players who didn’t stall on Saturday. While the Wavertree teenager turned in a performance that purred like a baby Jaguar, elsewhere there was a succession of slow motion car crashes. It didn’t help that three of Everton’s bona fide thoroughbreds, in Mikel Arteta, Marouane Fellaini, and Louis Saha, didn’t start this dismal, maddening 1-0 defeat by QPR, but even without that trio from the off-set the Toffees should have had more than enough to avoid their traditional poor start to the season.
One game into the campaign is not the time for alarm bells – but let’s be clear, this was a team of journeymen who were there for the taking. Freshly thrashed by Bolton, in transitional ownership, short of eight quality players by admission of their manager, and weakened by a virus – if Carlsberg made teams ripe for rolling over…well, you get the picture. But Everton continued where they left off from pre-season, as David Moyes said afterwards, they had only scored more than once in a single solitary game during their summer warm-ups, against lowly Bury. And with Seamus Coleman injured and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov suspended, Moyes selected two central midfielders in the wide positions in Jack Rodwell and Barkley, and shorn of natural width and pace his side’s attacking play was far from compelling. The Toffees started brightly enough, as a packed Goodison found its voice and seemed keen to forget the club’s financial difficulties, and chances flowed. But when a typically superb Leighton Baines free kick slapped back off the cross bar, and Jack Rodwell was denied a credible penalty shout, the Blues ran out of attacking ideas worryingly fast. Then Barkley, a nerveless debutant in the Rooney mould, went close after collecting a short pass from Jack Rodwell and curling a right-footed shot just wide from 20 yards. Good luck to the Goodison PR men charged with stifling the expectations on the midfielder’s broad shoulders. With every appearance his reputation has flourished, and his range of passing, intelligence and attacking intent was a joy to watch. But for all the positives of their bright start, Everton were undone with infuriating simplicity after half an hour. The Blues midfield and back four conspired to stand and watch as Akos Buzsaky was allowed to collect the ball near the edge of the area under no pressure and play in the equally unmarked Tommy Smith, who dispatched a crisp finish past Tim Howard. From anticipating a morale-boosting rout, suddenly the ghosts of West Brom, Wolves, Newcastle and Wigan from last term hovered on the horizon. Chances to equalise went begging as quickly as they arrived; Cahill had a penalty claim when he appeared to be shoved as he moved to head home a Baines cross, then the Aussie headed wide from Beckford, and his third moment of frustration came when he headed over the bar a minute before half time. And they continued straight after the re-start when John Heitinga’s pass found its way to Rodwell who slipped past his maker and bore down on goal, only to fire straight at Paddy Kenny who collected it comfortably. Arteta was introduced for Rodwell shortly afterwards, as Moyes tried to re-spark his midfield. Fellaini followed a few minutes later, replacing Beckford. Within seconds of his introduction, the Belgian flicked on a header to Cahill who had made a clever run and stung Kenny’s palms with a fierce shot which the goalkeeper did well to turn away for a corner. QPR had surrendered any attacking intent, switching to 4-5-1 and rarely venturing past the half way line as it became a contest of defence versus attack. For that reason Moyes’ decision to play for a period with no out and out strikers seemed contrary – but in fairness his options weren’t dazzling. Still, Barkley again drove just wide from long range, an d Saha soon entered the fray for a subdued Heitinga. The one way traffic continued, and Tim Howard could have been forgiven for pulling up a seat next to the reclining stewards behind his goal such was his lack of activity. Everton pushed hard for a way back, but with QPR defending resolutely there was none forthcoming, even with five minutes of added time when Fellaini planted a header at Kenny from a Baines free kick. Boos rang out at the final whistle, loud, clear and lingering, as Moyes, exasperated and deflated in the dug-out, was left to answer more questions about overdrafts and loans instead of points and tactics. Elsewhere, an elated Warnock was planning five new signings. New season, same old story – not enough quality in the final third and an inability to break down defensively minded opponents was the problem, and there’s no money to solve it. It’s unlikely the Blues will bench Arteta, Fellaini and Saha from the start again, and maybe that’s a consolation to cling to – the words may seem hollow after days like Saturday, but it’s still true that Everton have a squad full of quality players.
Perhaps Moyes was just sowing the seeds of a siege mentality and lowering expectations when he said Everton would struggle to finish in the top 10 this season. Perhaps, but on this evidence he may have just been painfully honest. “I went in after the game and said I was disappointed with how the players played but not to Ross. Ross got a big pat on the back. He nearly carried the team today, he made chances, he tried to take chances and he looked really good today.”” DAVID MOYES reflects on the only positive from an opening day defeat. “In a way the attitude we came up with epitomised the whole result. I said to them ‘Give me everything’ and they fought for each other. I said ‘Let’s go and enjoy it’ because I’d rather be pulling up at Goodison Park than some of the Championship clubs we were last year.” NEIL WARNOCK.
EVERTON: (4-4-1-1): Howard, Neville (Capt), Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Barkley, Osman, Heitinga (Saha, 73), Rodwell (Arteta, 54), Cahill, Beckford (Fellaini, 63). Subs not used: Mucha, Vellios, Hibbert, Anichebe.
QPR: (4-3-2-1): Kenny, Orr, Hall, Gabbidon, Connolly, Derry, Taarabt (Capt), Faurlin, Buzsaky, Agyemang (Bothroyd, 56), Smith (Ephraim, 65). Subs not used: Murphy, Gorkss, Perone, Moen, Andrade.
GOALS: Smith (31)
CARDS: Osman
REFEREE: Kevin Friend
ATTENDANCE: 35,008.
Captain Phil Neville insists Everton FC will not allow off-field financial woes affect the dressing room
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool EchoAug 22 2011
PHIL NEVILLE insists Everton’s players will not allow the off-field financial woes surrounding the club to affect the dressing room, after their opening Premier League defeat by QPR. The Goodison skipper, who yesterday signed a contract extension to keep him at the club until 2013, admitted the Toffees were simply not good enough as they sunk to a 1-0 home defeat by Neil Warnock’s unfancied top flight newcomers on Saturday. Neville claimed the players will use manager David Moyes’ admission that they will struggle to finish in the top 10 this term as motivation to prove him wrong, and banish the gloom currently hanging over the Blue half of Merseyside. The 34-year-old, whose previous contract was due to expire at the end of the season, said: “It had nothing to do what has happened this week or on any other level. We just didn’t do enough to win a game of football.
"We have a good group of players that should be winning those types of games. We are all disappointed. “We all take responsibility and are not making excuses. There is enough strength in this squad. From the team that started last season – a team that everyone thought had a chance of making the top four – we have only lost Steven Pienaar. " We have added Ross Barkley to that now. There is no excuse. “It wasn’t good enough. I think this is important to say. We can’t beat around the bush. There feels as if there is a lot of negativity surrounding the place at the moment and everyone can feel it. “I think it is important to say that there are a lot of good things happening here. “We have got great foundations, great supporters and a set of players that have done really well these last three or four years. “Supporters will say it is easy for me to talk about the spirit of the club but the spirit is what has set this club apart, going back to the days when Howard Kendall was manager and, before that, when Brian Labone was playing. “Now we need that spirit more than ever. We have got a lot of good things going on and we can’t let these things outside destabilise us.”
Before the game Moyes had outlined his initial ambitions for the new season as to avoid relegation, and then battle for a top 10 spot. But despite failing to begin with victory against QPR, who were playing their first game under the ownership of airline magnate Tony Fernandes, Neville was defiant
He said: “I think there is a carrot there for us to prove him wrong almost. It is a motivation factor for us. Sometimes you can set your targets high and fail, like we did last season. The expectation level this year has been dropped, so all we want to do now is concentrate on playing football. “We have not spoken about getting off to a great start to the season. We did that last year and it never happened. We failed today. As a group, we didn’t play well enough and we are all disappointed.
“We all take responsibility and nothing off the pitch has interfered with our preparations. We had a great pre-season, everything was spot on. “We didn’t perform but the motivation is there for us. Our reputations are on the line and we have got to perform.” Neville added that he was delighted to pledge his future to Everton and praised the club for rewarding him with a contract extension.
He said: “I feel really proud and this club has never let me down. It’s shown faith in me again and for the next two years I’m going to give my all for this football club. “That’s what I’ve done for the last six years and that’s what I’ll continue to do.” The new deal will see Neville up to the age of 36 and he admits he hopes to continue his career beyond that. “I want to play beyond that. But for the next two years I’m going to give my all. “I love playing for Everton. I love the spirit in the club, I love the togetherness, and that’s going to continue.”
Everton FC youngster Ross Barkley wins QPR man of the match vote
By Neil MacDonaldAug 22 2011
Everton FC midfielder Ross BarkleyEVERTON FC fans took solace in the performance of Ross Barkley in their defeat against QPR. Our latest man of the match vote saw the teenager poll 82%, followed by Leighton Baines with 6% and Jermaine Beckford on 3%.
Smith secures points at Everton
By Jacob Murtagh
Aug 22 2011
Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicles
Tommy Smith
Everton 0-1 QPR
TOMMY Smith's first-half strike earned Rangers a hard-fought win at Goodison Park on Saturday.
The former Portsmouth winger bagged the only goal of the game to secure the points on Merseyside. QPR were dealt a blow before kick-off when a virus swept through the squad.
DJ Campbell was left back in London, Jay Bothroyd was only fit enough to make the bench, while Matt Connolly and Adel Taarabt were also under the weather. Rangers had a let off midway through the first-half when Leighton Baines's sweetly-struck free-kicked bounced off the underside of the bar. But it was the visitors who took the lead on the half-hour mark. Akos Buzsaky played in Smith, and he cut inside before curling and effort into the bottom right-hand corner from 12 yards.
Tim Cahill headed wide with the goal gaping as the Toffees pushed for a leveller, while Paddy Kenny did well to deny the Australian after the break. But the QPR defence stood firm to chalk up their first points of the season to lift them into the top half of the table. QPR: Kenny, Orr, Hall, Gabbidon, Connolly, Derry, Faurlin, Buzsaky, Smith (Ephraim), Taarabt, Agyemang (Bothroyd).
Warnock praises gutsy QPR
By Jacob Murtagh
Aug 21 2011
Fulham and Hammersmith Chronicles
Neil Warnock
NEIL Warnock hailed his virus-stricken side as QPR secured their first points of the season at Everton on Saturday. Tommy Smith's first-half strike proved the difference on Merseyside as Rangers held on for a hard-fought victory. QPR's pre-match preparations were thrown up in the air after a virus swept through their squad, ruling out DJ Campbell while strike partner Jay Bothroyd was only fit enough to make the bench. But the hoops put in a battling display to claim the spoils at Goodison Park. Boss Warnock said: “We have had a virus in the club and three lads went down yesterday. DJ Campbell had to be sent home. He collapsed. “[Adel] Taarabt and [Matt] Connolly had it but we played them, and then Bothroyd woke up with it this morning. “To get a result like that in those circumstances, I have got to praise the players. “We were resolute. It is a great result and we have really messed a few coupons up this weekend.”
Everton 0 QPR 1
By ANDY BAKER
The Sun 22 August 2011
THERE are unpopular owners like the Glazers. There are steady owners like John W Henry. Then there is Tony Fernandes. PR's new power man has been in the job only five minutes but he is already the envy of his rival supremos. While Liverpool marked the start of Henry's reign last October with a 2-0 loss at Everton, Fernandes' first game at the helm ended in a glorious Goodison win. Everton boss David Moyes Everton chairman Bill Kenwright in the stands Phil Jagielka and Adel Taarabt Sylvain Distin and Patrick Agyemang Tommy Smith scores for QPR Tommy Smith celebrates his opener Phil Neville and Adel Taarabt Tim Cahill and Daniel Gabbidon Ross Barkley in action with Bradley Orr and Akos Buzsaky QPR boss Neil Warnock And while the Glazers have become hate figures with Manchester United fans, Hoops fans chanted airline tycoon Fernandes' name during their team's first top-flight success for 15 years. As impacts go, Fernandes has got off to a flier. Jubilant QPR fans who travelled to Merseyside celebrated long and hard after the game following Tommy Smith's coupon-busting winner. Few had given Neil Warnock's side a chance after their 4-0 home battering by Bolton on the opening day. Everton may have a cash crisis but they have not lost any of the assets who sealed a top-seven finish last term. Warnock feared another thumping would have put players off from joining before the transfer window closes.
But Smith's first-half finish has left his boss confident of bringing in the likes of Shaun Wright-Phillips and Scott Parker. Former Watford and Sunderland midfielder Smith admitted his team-mates had yet to meet Fernandes. But he is confident QPR can establish themselves in the top flight under the new owner. Smith said: "We haven't met him but he was at the game last week. "This is an exciting time. We have been linked with some interesting players and it would be great if we could get real quality in, players who have played at the top." Warnock's men had some heart-stopping moments at Goodison. Tim Cahill was guilty of a shocking miss while Leighton Baines clattered the bar from a free-kick. But at least Ross Barkley's impressive debut performance showed Everton's future is not all bleak. But even the 17-year-old's raw enthusiasm could not stop QPR from launching the Fernandes era on a winning note.
SUN STAR MAN - SHAUN DERRY (QPR)
EVERTON: Howard 6, Neville 6, Jagielka 6, Distin 6, Baines 6, Barkley 7, Heitinga 6 (Saha 4), Rodwell 5 (Arteta 5), Osman 6, Cahill 6, Beckford 5 (Fellaini 6). Subs not used: Mucha, Hibbert, Vellios, Anichebe. Booked: Osman.
QPR: Kenny 7, Orr 7, Hall 7, Gabbidon 7, Connolly 7, Buzsaky 7, Derry 8, Faurlin 7, Smith 7 (Ephraim 6), Taarabt 7, Agyemang 6 (Bothroyd 6). Subs not used: Murphy, Gorkss, Perone, Moen, Andrade. Booked: Hall.
REF: K Friend 6
With top players, manager and fans, it's not all doom and gloom at Everton
By David Anderson
August 22 2011-08-22 The Daily Mirror
I know Saturday's events were depressing for all Evertonians. And I know many of them are thinking 'here we go again' after yet another losing start and seeing themselves in the bottom three.
And, yes, I know there's no money for new players or a white knight in shining armour ready to buy the club and change everything at a stroke. But to echo Phil Neville's belligerent statement on Saturday evening, there are still plenty of positives at Everton. Everton skipper Neville hails 'really special' Barkley They've got a top manager in David Moyes whose track record and commitment to the cause is unquestioned. They've also got arguably the best squad seen at Goodison since the halcyon days of Howard Kendall in the mid-80s. From Tim Howard through Leighton Baines, Phil Jagielka, Neville, Jack Rodwell, Marouane Fellaini to Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta, they have got players most other Premier League clubs would love. Seamus Coleman will only get better this season, while Ross Barkley looks a real find after a confident and assured debut on Saturday.
OK, the old problem of a lack of cutting edge remains, but Cahill, Louis Saha, Jermaine Beckford and Victor Anichebe should still be able to plunder enough goals between them. Despite Moyes' gloomy assessment that Everton will struggle to make it into the top half of the table, I believe they can finish seventh. Now I know Evertonians will think that's not good enough for their proud club, but baring in mind the fact they are potless, that would still be a great achievement. Another huge plus for Everton is their fans and despite everything, over 35,000 turned out on Saturday. They are loyal, perhaps more loyal than Kopites, and Roy Hodgson's last home game in charge of Liverpool attracted just 35,000 against Bolton on New Year's Day. They are also desperate to see Everton win trophies again, which brings us to that truest of Blues, Bill Kenwright. Hidden away in the reams and reams of that transcript of his meeting with supporters group Blue Union, was a telling comment from Kenwright. Everton blast fans over Kenwright tape In response to the fans' gripes that he hadn't been able to find a buyer for Everton, he asked them did they want to be another Blackburn?
Venky's promised Rovers fans the earth when they took over last year and having avoided the drop on the final day last season, they are rock bottom. Their best players have either gone or want out and no-one decent wants to join them. Compared to that mess, Everton's so-called plight doesn't look that bad.
Everton 0-1 QPR:
Daily Mirror match report
By David Anderson
August 22 2011
. New season, same old problems for Everton.
No money, no cutting edge, bigger clubs trying to lure away their stars, disillusioned fans, oh, and yet another bad start. Even David Moyes is on a downer and gloomily predicts Everton will struggle to finish in the top 10 because they are being overtaken by their rivals. With the blue half of Merseyside threatening to turn into miseryside, Phil Neville has told Evertonians to snap out it and put their violins and hankies away. He doesn’t want to hear any sob stories and instead challenged his team-mates to prove Moyes wrong. The Blues skipper claims their squad is still strong enough to compete for a European place despite Moyes being blocked by the banks from buying anyone.
“I think there is a carrot there for us to prove him wrong,” said Neville in his rallying cry. “It’s a motivation factor for us. “We have a good group of players that should be winning these type of games and we’re all disappointed. “We all take responsibility and are not making excuses. There is enough strength in this squad. From the team that started last season - a team that everyone thought had a chance of making the top four - we have only lost Steven Pienaar. We have added Ross Barkley to that now. “Our reputations are on the line and we have to perform. There is no excuse.” There was a definite air of resignation about Everton as they slumped to defeat in their opening game for the fourth successive season. The only noise made by the 35,008 crowd - the lowest at Goodison for the first home match of a season since 1992 - was to boo Moyes’ decision to replace Jermaine Beckford with Marouane Fellaini. There were more jeers at the end to crown a difficult 72 hours for Everton after supporters group Blue Union published the transcript of their meeting with Bill Kenwright when he detailed the extent of their money problems and fruitless search for a new owner. Neville’s response was to call on everyone to tap into the club’s indomitable spirit to see them through this bad time. “There feels as if there is a lot of negativity surrounding the place at the moment and everyone can feel it,” he said. “I think it’s important to say that there are a lot of good things happening here. “Supporters will say it’s easy for me to talk about the spirit of the club, but the spirit is what has set this club apart, going back to the days when Howard Kendall was manager and, before that, when Brian Labone was playing. “Now we need that spirit more than ever. We have got a lot of good things going on and we can’t let these things outside destabilise us.” It says it all about Everton’s flat performance that 17-year-old Ross Barkley outshone his illustrious team-mates on his debut. The home-grown midfielder’s assured display on the wing pierced the gloom at Goodison and offered some hope for the future. Everton did hit the bar through Leighton Baines while Tim Cahill and Fellaini went close with headers, but overall their performance lacked energy and drive. QPR were transformed from the side, which imploded on the opening day against Bolton, and Fitz Hall and Danny Gabbidon were dominant at the back while Shaun Derry and Akos Buzsaky ran the midfield. Their passing was crisp and accurate and they scored the only goal after 31 minutes from a flowing move to crown a period of sustained pressure.
Buzsaky slipped the ball inside for Tommy Smith to take advantage of Everton’s AWOL defence and place a precise right-foot shot into the far corner. So much for Neil Warnock’s sides only playing route one and Smith says they also proved they can cut it in the top flight after an absence of 15 years. They should do more than just survive with new owner Tony Fernandes’ millions and their new optimism was in stark contrast to the pessimism pervading Goodison. “It was important for the dressing room that we got a win here,” said Smith. “We’re not too bothered about what’s being said outside, but getting a win away from home shows we can compete at this level. “We know we are a very good Championship team, but we’ve got to take it to the next level now.”
EVERTON 0 QPR 1: JUST CALL ME FAIL NEVILLE
22nd August 2011
By Kevin Francis The Daily Star
PHIL NEVILLE is a real no-nonsense guy on the pitch – and the Everton captain is certainly the same off it. He could so easily have hidden behind the current financial turmoil surrounding his club to excuse this surprise home defeat. No-one would have complained if he had put all the blame for this woeful display down to the gloom surrounding a club with not a penny to spend on new players.
Then there was the pre-match comment from his manager David Moyes that a top-10 place could be out of the question this season. But Neville, 34, is made of much sterner stuff. The player – who yesterday signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until 2013 – admitted: “This result had nothing to do with what has happened over the last week “We just didn’t do enough to win a game of football. “We have a good group of players that should be winning this type of game. We are all disappointed. “We all take responsibility and are not making excuses. There is certainly enough strength in this squad. “From the team that started last season – a team that everyone thought had a chance of making the top four – we have lost only Steven Pienaar. There is no excuse.
“We failed. As a group we didn’t play well enough and we are all disappointed.”
A first-half goal from 31-year-old Tommy Smith – a cracker of a curling right-foot shot – did the damage with Everton looking very mediocre. No wonder Neville maintains that Everton must rediscover the team spirit that clearly deserted them against a team which lost their opening fixture 4-0. He said: “The spirit is what has set this club apart, going back to the days when Howard Kendall was manager and, before that, when Brian Labone was playing. Now we need that spirit more than ever.” The fact that Everton’s star man was 17-year-old debutant Ross Barkley was a clear indication of the way in which the rest of the team let the club down. Moyes said: “I said to the rest of the team that the young boy did well and they didn’t. He got a big pat on the back.”
QPR’s victory was all the more impressive because they were without striker DJ Campbell who had to be sent home with a virus. The same illness kept Jay Bothroyd on the bench while Adel Taarabt and Matthew Connolly played while feeling under the weather. Match winner Smith said: “As a team we needed that after the disappointment of last week.” Manager Neil Warnock will be relishing the job of leading QPR in the top flight even more now he has a transfer kitty after the takeover by airline tycoon Tony Fernandes. Warnock said: “I’m in utopia! It’s marvellous to get people coming in who you know support you. “I have given them names of players and they are as excited as I am at bringing some of them in.”
Everton and Celtic chase £3m rated Blues defender Ridgewell
Daily Mail
22nd August 2011
Everton and Celtic want Birmingham defender Liam Ridgewell on loan after the 27-year-old's £3m move to West Brom broke down following talks. Everton would like to make a deal permanent once they have cash. Manchester City’s Nedum Onuoha is also a target for David Moyes’ side.
Everton FC captain Phil Neville hails Ross Barkley as a ‘special’ talent
by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 23 2011
PHIL NEVILLE believes that Ross Barkley has the ability to become the latest Everton FC wonderkid, hailing the teenage midfielder as a ‘special’ talent. Barkley, 17, from Wavertree became the 11th player under the age of 18 to represent Everton in a Premier League game when he made his debut in Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat newly-promoted QPR. Had it not been for a double leg break last year, the England Under-19 international may have made his EFC senior bow at an even younger age. Neville said: “Ross has been outstanding all pre-season and I think we all know we have got something special there. We just all want him to keep going out there and enjoying his football. He is such a great lad, he is always asking questions and he wants to learn. “People say bravery is going round kicking people and getting stuck in. Bravery is taking the ball when you are under pressure, when you are 1-0 down at home and the crowd are on your back and he did that. His performance was the only real plus to come out of the game for us.” Meanwhile, Neville is hoping to lift the gloom around Goodison, insisting that there is still plenty to be positive about. He said: “There is a lot of negativity around the club and it really riles me. “There’s so many plus points and positives at this place. “It’s been a difficult time [on and off the field] – you can’t hide from that – but Everton are no different to 70% of the Premier League. The purse strings have to be tightened. “Yes, there are four or five clubs, the elite, that don’t have to – but we do. No we’ve not bought any players, but this squad is really strong. “The message to the fans is that we’re going to have a really good season.
“I can understand their frustration but I would just say stick with us. “If I didn’t think this club was going forward, if I thought it was going backwards, I wouldn’t have signed a two-year contract. I still want to win trophies.”
Toffee men bid to make up for sticky start
By James Shield
Sheffield Star
Tuesday 23 August 2011
EVERTON captain Phil Neville has insisted the club’s off-the-pitch woes will not prove a distraction on the field ahead of tomorrow’s Carling Cup tie with Sheffield United. With chairman Bill Kenwright admitting the Merseysiders are no longer able to borrow money from the bank, Everton’s woes increased when they were beaten 1-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Saturday. Manager David Moyes views United’s visit as an opportunity to kick-start a season which, despite still being at the embryonic stage, is already being engulfed by gloom and doom surrounding the blue and white half of the city. Neville, speaking ahead of the second-round clash, said: “There feels as if there is a lot of negativity surrounding the place at the moment and everyone can feel it. “I think it’s important to say though that there are a lot of good things happening here. “We’ve got great foundations, great supporters and a set of players that have done really well these last three or four years. “Supporters will say it’s easy for me to talk about the spirit of the club but the spirit is what has set this club apart. “We have got a lot of good things going on and we can’t let these destabilise us.” Neville, who recently agreed a contract extension, could start alongside Jack Rodwell and fellow youngster Ross Barkley against United at Goodison Park. The performances of Rodwell - who has been linked with some of England’s leading clubs - and Barkley provided cause for encouragement during last weekend’s shock defeat. Before the match Moyes admitted that his targets this season were to avoid relegation and then bid for a top ten finish. “There is a carrot there for us to prove him wrong,” said Neville.
Former Everton defender Lucas Neill joins UAE champions
by Our Correspondent, Liverpool EchoAug 23 2011
FORMER Everton defender Lucas Neill has joined reigning United Arab Emirates champions Al Jazira.
The 33-year-old full-back played for Turkish side Galatasaray last season, having previously also represented West Ham, Blackburn and Millwall in England. Australia captain Neill said: “As you’ve probably read, I’ve joined Al Jazira in the UAE for the next season. I’m really excited for the challenge and looking forward to setting up my new home in Abu Dhabi! It’s exciting to be moving to one of the strongest teams in Asia. Al Jazira won the league comfortably last season, and now I get to help them defend the title and hopefully make an impression in the Asian Champions League. “This decision is the first part of my three-year plan which will hopefully take me to at least the next World Cup.”
Everton FC Joseph Yobo’s transfer delayed by Jon Obi Mikel father's kidnapping
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool EchoAug 23 2011
JOSEPH YOBO’S drawn-out Everton FC exit can now be resurrected after it was delayed by the kidnap drama surrounding the father of Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel. The 30-year-old defender has his heart set on a return to Turkish club Fenerbache where he was on loan last season, and Everton are equally keen to recoup in excess of £2m for the Nigeria captain. A deal had been almost completed weeks ago, but the Istanbul club’s alleged involvement in a match fixing scandal rocked their summer transfer plans, and forced them to put any new signings on hold. The Turkish FA last week gave Fenerbache the green-light to resume financial dealing, and Yobo’s protracted exit was set to be rubber-stamped over the weekend, giving the Blues a chance to remove his costly salary from their wage bill. But Yobo shares the same team of representatives as Obi Mikel, and they were immersed in negotiations with the captors of the Chelsea star’s dad, Michael Obi, who was finally released last night 10 days after his abduction in Plateau State, central Nigeria. Mikel had remained in the UK throughout the traumatic episode to play for Chelsea. Yobo, whose brother Norum was also kidnapped and subsequently released in 2008, has no intention of remaining on Merseyside, and has made it clear he wants a fresh start, despite enjoying his spell with the club he joined in 2002.
Meanwhile, the future of Everton’s other Nigerian international Yakubu is still nowhere near as close to being resolved. The 28-year-old striker was left out of the squad for their opening day defeat by QPR on Saturday, and failed to score for the reserves as they also lost 2-0 to Fulham yesterday.
Despite interest in his services from several clubs including Championship Leicester, Yakubu is in no hurry to leave and could yet opt to remain on Merseyside until January, or even for the entire season. The Yak, who joined in August 2007 in an £11.25m deal, has a year remaining on his contract, and is considering sitting it out in order to leave on a free transfer in 2012.
That would be a blow to David Moyes who wants to try and find enough funds via the sale of both Nigerians to at least pay for the wages of a loan signing before the transfer window closes next week. Everton take on Sheffield United in the second round of the Carling Cup tomorrow at 8pm and tickets are still available. Prices start from £13 for adults, £6.50 for juniors and £10 for OAP’s.
Monty gets his kicks from old pals reunion!
Sheffield Indepentent
By James Shield
Tuesday 23 August 2011
SHEFFIELD United captain Nick Montgomery has vowed to give his former teammate, Phil Jagielka, a rough ride at Goodison Park. Danny Wilson’s side face Everton, the club Jagielka joined four years ago, in what promises to be an emotional Carling Cup second-round tie tomorrow night. The two men grew up together at Bramall Lane before Jagielka, now an England international, completed a £4 million transfer to the Premier League. Despite keeping in close contact ever since, Montgomery admitted: “I’ll be looking forward to meeting up with Jags again and then giving him a good kick.
“I know he’ll be thinking exactly the same about me. “We’re really good mates and I’ve got so much admiration for him given how his career has progressed. “We speak a lot on the telephone and we’ve kept in touch but we don’t actually see each other as much as we’d like because he’s got two kids now and so have I. “That keeps us busy.” Jagielka, who made nearly 300 appearances for United, has gone from strength to strength since leaving South Yorkshire in 2007. With another exciting generation of talent recently graduating from its youth academy at Shirecliffe - United reached the FA Youth Cup Final last term - Montgomery believes sampling life inside one of England’s most atmospheric stadiums will help the likes of Harry Maguire and Matthew Lowton follow Jagielka’s lead by realising their potential. “We’ve got lads who I’m convinced can go on to play at the highest level and it’s going to be a great experience for them,” he said. “It will be for all of us of course but some of us have been up there before whereas it will all be new for them. That’s going to be great for their education. “They can do what Jags has done, I’m sure of that, but hopefully it will be with us.” Montgomery, now 29, was also member of the squad which gained promotion to the Premier League in 2006 before being controversially relegated 12 months later.
“The biggest priority for us this season is getting out of this division but we’ll be going there to try and win the game,” he said.
MOYES MINDING ROSS BARKLEY
August 23 2011 Sporting Life
David Moyes is delighted Ross Barkley is giving Everton fans something to smile about but he is mindful of the need to be careful with the young midfielder. The major positive for the Toffees to come out of their season-opening home defeat to QPR - which followed a frustrating summer of limited activity in the transfer market for the Merseyside club - was Barkley's eye-catching senior debut. Much is anticipated of the 17-year-old and his dynamic performance in the game at Goodison Park on Saturday demonstrated why. Moyes is certainly pleased the Everton faithful have a new hero, although the manager has stressed he will be taking a cautious approach with Barkley, who has had injury problems in recent years. "I think everybody wants to get excited about players," said Moyes, who was Toffees boss at the time Wayne Rooney broke into the team. "I think Evertonians have not got an awful lot to be excited about at the moment, so Ross gives everybody something to look at and cling on to. "But I will have to pick and choose him at the right times and I'm sure people will understand. "It is not just because of his age, it is also because of his lack of football as he is still really coming back from a triple broken leg, which we have to be mindful of.
"He is a boy who is keen as mustard. He was out on the training ground carrying the bag of balls this morning, and it is great. "He is a boy from the city of Liverpool who people know, a bit like Wayne.
"Probably because he has missed a couple of years of playing, he is a little bit raw and naive with it, but it's great to see someone with the life and enthusiasm in them that he has. "He is quite quiet off the field and doesn't say an awful lot, but he comes alive when he is on the field." The other good news for Everton from the weekend concerned a far more experienced player, with the club confirming Phil Neville has signed a new contract extension. The deal means the 34-year-old captain will play on for the Toffees until at least 2013 and Moyes hopes Neville will consider a coaching role at Goodison Park when he decides to hang up his boots. "If Phil wants, there will always be a place for him as part of the coaching staff here," Moyes said. "He is such a good pro and he has a great attitude towards his work. "I don't know if that is what Phil wants to do, but with the type of person he is, we would be delighted to have him around here." Aside from those bright spots, there has been little to cheer Everton supporters of late, with chairman Bill Kenwright last week saying the club's transfer plans were being hampered by their inability to borrow from the bank. Moyes is keeping upbeat, though, and ahead of tomorrow night's Carling Cup second-round clash at home to Sheffield United, has urged the fans to do likewise. "We are positive - we are not getting too down," Moyes said. "We know within the walls that we are not in any way affected by the talk which is going on, but I did feel on Saturday that at times there was an anxiety in the crowd.
"But it is the same players here as last year when they finished seventh - the same players who lost at Blackburn on the opening day last season and recovered. "We were determined and desperate to get off to a good start and we didn't do so. But we will try to get a good win in the cup that will hopefully kick us on." Moyes has dismissed reports that Arsenal have come back in for Phil Jagielka, and says he is perplexed by claims that Joseph Yobo is on the verge of joining Fenerbahce.
Referring to the Yobo speculation, Moyes said: "I've not heard anything about it. "I've seen a lot of stories saying that we've had an offer - I've certainly not been given it or heard of it, so I don't know where that has come from."
LOU TWEET ’N SOUR
24th August 2011 By Paul Brown
Daily Star
LOUIS SAHA has waged war on Everton fans insulting him on social networking site Twitter.
The French striker was reacting to comments from users who branded him injury-prone and questioned his work ethic. One tweet labelled him as “about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike”. Saha, 33, responded by saying: “I respect everyone but you are mad to believe I should accept to be insulted for free because you are fans. Respect is mutual.” Saha – who has a history of injury problems – came on as a substitute during Everton’s 1-0 home defeat to QPR on Saturday. Meanwhile, boss David Moyes reckons 17-year-old wonderkid Ross Barkley could put the smiles back on the faces of Everton fans. “Evertonians have not got an awful lot to be excited about at the moment so Ross gives everybody something to look at and cling on to,” said Moyes ahead of tonight’s visit of Sheffield United in the Carling Cup.
Moyes will take time to channel Barkley's energy
By John Nisbet
The Independant
Wednesday, 24 August 2011
David Moyes is delighted Ross Barkley is giving Everton fans some cheer, but the manager is mindful of the need to be careful with the young midfielder. The major positive for Everton in their season-opening home defeat to QPR, which followed a frustrating summer of limited activity in the transfer market, was Barkley's eye-catching senior debut. Much is anticipated of the 17-year-old and his dynamic display in the game at Goodison Park on Saturday demonstrated why. But Moyes has stressed he will be taking a cautious approach with Barkley, who has had injury problems in recent years. "I think everybody wants to get excited about players," said Moyes, who was manager at the time Wayne Rooney broke into the team. "Evertonians have not got an awful lot to be excited about at the moment, so Ross gives everybody something to look at and cling on to. "But I will have to pick and choose him at the right times and I'm sure people will understand. It is not just because of his age, it is also because of his lack of football as he is still really coming back from a triple broken leg, which we have to be mindful of. "He is a boy who is keen as mustard. He was out on the training ground carrying the bag of balls this morning, and it is great. He is from the city of Liverpool who people know, a bit like Wayne. Probably because he has missed a couple of years of playing, he is a little bit raw and naive with it, but it's great to see someone with the life and enthusiasm he has. He comes alive when he is on the field." The club confirmed that captain Phil Neville, 34, has signed a contract extension until 2013. Moyes hopes he will consider a coaching role at Goodison when he decides to retire.
Moyes warns Everton of razor-sharp Blades ahead of Carling Cup tie
By Dominic King
24 August 2011
Daily Mail;
David Moyes will launch Everton’s Carling Cup campaign on Wednesday night against opponents who he believes provide a salutary warning in how quickly things can go wrong. Sheffield United arrive at Goodison Park having made a bright start to life in League One but it was only four years ago that the two club were going head-to-head in the Barclays Premier League. Seeing United scrapping in the third tier of English is clearly a sobering sight for Moyes and, in some ways, has struck a chord with the manager. Everton are currently trying to juggle suffocating finances that have prevented Moyes entering the transfer market this summer but he has reiterated his intent that he will not offload his best players. 'They are a big club in their own right, they will bring decent support with them and they will see it as an opportunity,' said Moyes, whose side were sent tumbling out of the Carling Cup by Brentford 12 months ago. 'But it also shows you what can happen. You can be a big club but if you don’t do things correctly and don’t do the right things, you can find yourself in League One. Poor start: Moyes lost out to former Blades boss Neil Warnock on Saturday They are a club with a big fan base, from a big city. I am sure that they didn’t plan it to go that way. We have to make sure that we are not one of the big sides who can quite quickly slip away.' The thought of Everton plummeting so quickly, however, is inconceivable and Moyes has faith his squad – which has averaged a sixth place finish in the Premier League over the last five years – will come again. 'I think we have a good enough squad to make sure we are healthy enough,' he said. 'I think we have a good group of players and I would expect them to come together.
'Everton have been in the top flight as long as any club I can think of but we have to be aware that we need to keep working hard.' Injury problem: Tim Cahill is a doubt for the game
Having lost their opening game of the campaign to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday in such dispiriting fashion, this is the kind of assignment Everton could well do without at present. Main goal threats Louis Saha, Jermaine Beckford and Tim Cahill are all carrying injuries, while wantaway striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni will play no part either. 'At Everton we have always put out a strong team in the cups and I would desperately like to win a trophy for the supporters,' said Moyes.
'They are playing with confidence and are passing the ball really well. This is a difficult tie, a really difficult tie.'
Everton's David Moyes acknowledges lesson of Sheffield United's plunge
Andy Hunter Guardian
Wednesday 24 August 2011
David Moyes has warned Everton that Sheffield United's rapid descent into League One provides a salutary lesson of what can happen "if you don't do things correctly". Everton entertain Danny Wilson's side in the Carling Cup on Wednesday with serious problems on and off the pitch at Goodison Park. Barclays Bank has capped the club's overdraft at £25m for the coming season, resulting in Moyes being unable to make one addition to his squad this summer and all monies raised being handed to the club's creditors. On the playing side, Everton opened their Premier League campaign with a 1-0 home defeat by the newcomers Queens Park Rangers on Saturday and head into the second-round tie with injury doubts over Tim Cahill, Louis Saha and Jermaine Beckford.
Moyes has so far resisted an approach from Arsenal for Phil Jagielka and said he does not have to conduct a fire sale of major talent to safeguard Everton's future. However, ahead of facing a club who operated in the Premier League only four years ago, he admitted Everton must heed the lessons of Sheffield United's demise. "This is a difficult tie, a really difficult tie," the Everton manager said. "They are a big club in their own right, they are playing with confidence and passing the ball well, they will bring decent support with them, and they will see it as an opportunity. But it also shows you what can happen. You can be a big club, but if you don't do things correctly and don't do things right you can find yourself in League One. It wasn't too long ago that they were in the Premier League, so that shows that if you don't do things correctly you can get yourself in trouble. "Sheffield United are a big club with a big fan base from a big city, so it can be that things go quite quickly wrong. I am sure they didn't plan it to go that way, I'm not sure whether their financial situation had anything to do with it, but that's football. We have to make sure we are not one of the big sides who can quite quickly slip away." Moyes did not say whether it was the chairman Bill Kenwright's failure to attract new investment, pressure from the banks, or both, that raised parallels with Sheffield United. But he did identify the players at his disposal as the principal reason why Everton should avoid a similar fate. He added: "I think we have a good enough squad to make sure we are healthy enough. I think we have a good group of players and I would expect them to come together. Everton have been in the top flight for as long as anyone, but we have to be aware that we need to keep working hard. I said that first of all this season we need to get to 40 points and then push on from there. I think between 10 and 14 clubs in the Premier League will be saying the same." Moyes's downbeat assessment contrasted with his defiant tone on the eve of the QPR game, when the club's financial problems had been made public via a transcript of Kenwright's meeting with The Blue Union pressure group. But he said financial constraints are not an excuse for Everton's poor start.
"I don't think the situation with the finances changed the mood of the club," Moyes said. "The players were aware of it. They knew the situation. We have said amongst ourselves that we are not going to use it as an excuse or even a reason for if we don't play well, because it is the same players as last season. We won't be feeling sorry for ourselves. When we went on to the pitch on Saturday it was nothing to do with what had or hadn't been done. We just didn't perform well enough on the day to get three points." Kenwright has tried to broker an agreement with Barclays to allow Everton to sign a player should the club conduct any further sales this summer. Moyes said: "If something moved it might allow us to do something, but I think it would need to be someone biggish probably."
Everton FC skipper Phil Neville wants Blues to recapture the enjoyment factor as they bid to progress in Carling Cup
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool EchoAug 24 2011
Liverpool FC midfielder Javier Mascherano once admitted he didn’t actually enjoy playing football.
There was too much to think about, too much to constantly get right if you wanted to perform at the top level, and the simple pleasure of playing the game was drained by it all. Phil Neville is a great believer in enjoying what you do, but unlike the tough-tackling Argentinian, who went on to Champions League glory with Barcelona, the Everton skipper still gets a kick out of the sport he loves. Indeed the 34-year-old, who this week penned a new deal to keep him at Goodison until 2013, says he is at his very best when he is playing with a smile on his face. And despite the disappointment of that opening Premier League defeat by QPR on Saturday, Neville wants to bounce back against Sheffield United in the Carling Cup tonight – and give the fans something to smile about too. But more than anything, he wants to regain that enjoyment en route to lifting his first trophy for Everton. “On Saturday, I don’t think we played with the enjoyment we should,” he says. “It was our first game, in front of our fans, and we didn’t enjoy it like we should have. “When we’re enjoying our football then we are playing well. The Carling Cup game gives us a great chance to get back to that, to be enjoying our football and playing well and passing the ball well, and entertaining the fans. “The manager wants us to be entertaining the fans. He didn’t think we did it enough last season. “And he wants us to do that by playing a brand of football that will get the supporters up off their seats.” Neville admits to a time in the recent past when his enjoyment wavered, prompting him to think twice about continuing playing. “There was period at the start of last season when I came back from my posterior cruciate ligament injury and I wasn’t enjoying my football and was contemplating retiring,” he says. “Enjoyment is everything. I don’t care what profession you are in, if you are happy then you will do it better.” Neville knows his side dare not lose to Danny Wilson’s League One side at Goodison tonight, but believes his team-mates can deal with the pressure of atoning for their woeful league opener. “It’s a fine line, I’ve been thinking about it all weekend,” he says. “The best way is to have an even keel, stay relaxed and back your own ability and the ability of the squad. “I look around the dressing room and think I’m glad to be playing with this group of players. “We have had a great pre-season and the spirit in the dressing room is fantastic. We just let ourselves down on Saturday. “You can look deep into it, but at the end of the day I don’t think we’ve created as many clear-cut chances in a long time. If one of those goes in, then the world is a brighter place.” Neville is adamant that the negativity lingering around the club, after the extent of their financial woes was revealed last week, is at odds with the positivity in the changing room.
“If I was at the game on Saturday as a fan, then I would have probably reacted in the same way as every other supporter,” he says. “You wait two or three months in the summer and, having waited so long for the first game, it ends like a damp squib. “I can understand the frustration of the fans, and we actually feel even worse because we are in a position where we can do something about it. When you don’t perform and don’t win the game, it affects your life. I’m sure the fans understand that because we all feel the same.” Nevertheless, the Everton skipper is insistent that the club’s problems must be kept in context by comparison to clubs in real crises. “We are in a different situation,” he says. “We aren’t in a situation where we are selling all our best players and the manager is leaving and everything is in disarray. “There is no discontent coming out from within the camp. There are no players fighting. Everything that is coming out of the camp is positive. “I don’t think we’re any different to 70% of the Premier League. Not many clubs have money these days.
“The main thing with Everton is that everybody knows our situation, we aren’t bluffing anybody. Let’s stop feeling sorry for ourselves and get on with it and enjoy ourselves.” Neville is keen to quickly recapture the form that made him a target for Harry Redknapp’s Spurs in January, something he says gave him encouragement even if he was happy to stay put on Merseyside. “Spurs being interested actually kicked me on a little bit,” he says. “It gave me the impetus that what I was doing was right. “But with every new season the slate is cleaned. We have got competition at right-back, I see Seamus Coleman playing at right-back more this season and I thought Hibbo was fantastic towards the end of last season. “I just have to make sure I’m ahead of the pack. I don’t care if you are club captain, if you are not playing well enough then you don’t deserve to be in the team.
“Probably our best chance of winning silverware this season is the Carling Cup. Our mentality is that we have to go out to win it.”
Ian Snodin: Phil Neville’s new deal makes sense for Everton FC
Liverpool Echo Aug 24 2011
YOU would normally raise an eyebrow or two when a 34-year-old is given a new two-year contract – but in Everton FC captain Phil Neville’s case it’s a no-brainer. He’s as fit as a fiddle and clearly looks after himself, but more importantly than that he is a genuine leader – on the pitch and off it – and no football club can have enough of characters like him. The fans have taken to him and it is a measure of how well he is still playing that last January, Harry Redknapp tried to lure him away from Goodison with the offer of a move to Tottenham Hotspur. Happily Phil resisted, and he will continue to be an influential figure at Everton for at least the next two years. I say, at least, because Phil’s physical condition is so good that I wouldn’t put it past him continuing even beyond this latest contract offer. He stirs things up on the pitch, sets an effective example off it and he’s the kind of player you can see moving into coaching and management when he finally does decide to hang up his boots. Phil’s made it perfectly clear that he doesn’t see that day looming for some time yet, and for that all Evertonians should be grateful. His new contract is an excellent piece of business.
Ian Snodin: Everton FC fans hold the key to getting team playing well
Liverpool EchoAug 24 2011
THERE was definitely tension in the air from very early on at Goodison on Saturday. The lack of investment, the campaigning by some supporters and the injury to Seamus Coleman all contributed to a negative atmosphere around the ground. I can understand those frustrations, but equally would urge the fans to get behind the players from the off tonight. Sheffield United will try and frustrate us and if they can hear signs of dissent from the stands they will know they’re doing a good job. Get behind the side and help cheers us on to the next round!
Chance to be part of Everton FC’s Fan Forum
by Gary Stewart, Liverpool EchoAug 24 2011
EVERTON Football Club are on the look out for 10 supporters to be part of their Fan Forum for the next 12 months. The representatives will be able to air their views to members of Everton’s executive team, providing feedback and ideas, in meetings chaired by Blues legend Graeme Sharp. The two-times League Championship-winning striker has also started a blog on evertonfc.com to keep the wider fan-base up to date with the issues discussed. Everton’s Fans Forum has been around for some time, but it was revamped in January to further involve supporters in helping to shape the decision-making process. To sign up for a chance to be one of them visit evertonfc.com and fill in the application form, telling the club in no more than 100 words why you would make a suitable candidate for the Forum. Forms must be submitted by September 9.
Ian Snodin: David Moyes should give Everton FC youngsters chance in Carling Cup
Liverpool EchoAug 24 2011
IT’S not only Premier League teams who ‘rotate’ their squad for League Cup ties these days.
I watched Sheffield Wednesday play Blackpool in the last round when both teams fielded weakened sides. Given Sheffield United’s start to their League One campaign, with three wins and a draw from their opening four matches, I wouldn’t be surprised to see The Blades change things around too.
I believe David Moyes should take the opportunity to give some first team experience to some of his youngsters, as well. But such is the difference in quality between the sides’ respective squads Everton should still be confident of getting through without the need for extra-time or, heaven forbid, penalties. Marouane Fellaini and Mikel Arteta clearly need matches and should start, and I’d like to see Jack Rodwell used in a central midfield role. Jan Mucha and Tony Hibbert can come in, to underline the strength in depth we have defensively – but I’d also like to see the young Greek striker, Apostolos Vellios given his first senior start. He looked bright when he was used at the end of last season and was impressive in the USA pre-season.
Ian Snodin: Everton FC starlet Ross Barkley’s a future certainty for England
Liverpool EchoAug 24 2011
THERE was one consolation at Goodison Park on Saturday – and that was the performance of 17-year-old Ross Barkley for Everton FC. I wrote last week that he was ready for Premier League football right now and his performance against Queens Park Rangers did nothing to prove me wrong.
But having seen how comfortably he dealt with his introduction to top flight football I need to reassess how far I think he can go. And I can confidently predict that Ross will be an England international inside the next two years. That will make him 19-years-old. He definitely has the ability to go on and establish himself in the top flight, and I just think all he will need to develop is his experience and his maturity. Jack Wilshere won his first full England cap just a month after his 19th birthday and given similar progress I can see Ross doing something similar. He switches play, has a lovely range of passing, gets forward and isn’t afraid to have a shot. He also has a great attitude.
I thought he was our best player on Saturday and while he looked tired towards the end, still carried on taking the fight to QPR. It was just as well that Ross did shine, because there was precious little to cheer anywhere else. It wasn’t just a series of poor individual performances, we didn’t play well collectively either and QPR probably couldn’t believe their luck. After the postponement of the Tottenham game we probably couldn’t have handpicked a better fixture to kick off the season, but we just never got going. We gave the ball away sloppily, we made mistakes defensively and we lacked any kind of quality in the final third. The biggest problem was the lack of pace which allows you to get beyond the 18-yard box and cause defences problems they can’t handle. We had moments – like Leighton Baines’ free-kick which hit the underside of the crossbar and Tim Cahill’s header which on another day he would have buried, but we didn’t get in behind Rangers’ defence often enough. People will say ‘here we go again, another poor Everton start to a season’ and blame the preparations – but I have seen those preparations first hand and I can honestly say I don’t think they could have worked any harder. David Moyes pushes his players ridiculously hard in pre-season and I’m sure the fitness levels are very good. The biggest problem was the lack of penetration, and that’s difficult to solve with players like Seamus Coleman on the injured list. But as I said at the start, there was a positive from Saturday – and his name was Ross Barkley. I just hope he can build on that as the season progresses and we can improve significantly on a disappointing start.
Everton FC manager David Moyes in Sheffield United warning ahead of Carling Cup clash
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool EchoAug 24 2011
DAVID Moyes believes Everton FC must be wary of the fate of tonight’s Carling Cup opponent’s Sheffield United – as he insisted EFC face a difficult task to progress in the competition.
The Everton boss warned that his players must work harder than ever this season, while the club should strive to limit the long-term effect of its current financial problems. And he says the Blades, who visit Goodison tonight in the second round of the Carling Cup, are an example of how quickly prominent clubs can unravel following their relegation from the Premier League in 2007, and last season’s slump into the third tier of English football. He said: “It shows you what can happen. You can be a big club, but if you don’t do things correctly and don’t do things right you can find yourself in League One. “It wasn’t too long ago that they were in the Premier League, so that shows that if you don’t do things correctly you can get yourself in trouble. “They are a club with a big fan base who are from a big city, so it can be that things can go quite quickly wrong. I am sure they didn’t plan it to go that way. “I’m not sure whether their financial situation had anything to do with it. But that’s football. We have to make sure we are not one of the big sides who can quite quickly slip away.” Moyes, who has fitness doubts over three of his attackers; Louis Saha, Jermaine Beckford and Tim Cahill, added: “I think we have a good enough squad to make sure we are healthy enough. I think we have a good group of players and I would expect them to come together. “Everton have been in the top flight for any club as long as I can think of, but we have to be aware that we need to keep working hard. I said first of all we need to get to 40 points and then push on from there and I think that will be the reaction of 10-14 clubs will be saying the same.” Moyes said the Blues, who will line-up with Jan Mucha in goal tonight, are still smarting at last season’s Carling Cup humiliation at the hands of another League One club, Brentford, and the Goodison boss is eager to prevent his side under-performing against lower league opponents. “You could even say that applies to league games, not just the cup,” he said. “Our last league game before Saturday was against Chelsea and we won. But we don’t go into it with a different frame of mind or prepare the players any less.
“I would hope you would think the manager is not the sort to let the players approach the game differently. It just happens, we have either not performed on the day or it has not gone for us.
“They (Sheffield United) are playing with confidence and passing the ball well. This is a difficult tie, a really difficult tie. They are a big club in their own right.”
Everton FC v Sheffield United preview: EFC skipper Phil Neville insists club are united amid unrest
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily PostAug 24 2011
NO sooner had the shrill peep of Kevin Friend’s final whistle pierced the Goodison air on Saturday, when the sounds of Everton FC discontent began to rain down from the stands. A home defeat to Queens Park Rangers was the nightmare start to a campaign for Everton following a controversial week in which the club’s financial plight was laid bare. The fallout from Bill Kenwright’s conversation with supporters’ group the Blue Union, and the manner in which it was made public, has polarised opinion among an already disaffected fanbase. But Phil Neville, who this week extended his Goodison career until 2013, has sent out a reassuring message the players and coaching staff remain as united as ever in the midst of growing external unrest. “There is no discontent coming out from within the camp,” says the skipper. “There are no players fighting. There is no manager fighting with this, that or the other. Everything that is coming out of the camp is positive. “I don’t think we’re any different to 70% of the Premier League. Not many clubs have money these days, purse strings have to be tightened. “The main thing with Everton is that everybody knows our situation, we aren’t bluffing anybody. Let’s stop feeling sorry for ourselves and get on with it and enjoy ourselves.
“I can understand the fans’ frustrations but I’d ask them to stick with us. If I didn’t think this club was going forward I wouldn’t have signed. “I’ve signed a new contract, hopefully Felli (Marouane Fellaini) will sign one soon, and we’ve not sold any of our best players. Hopefully that will give the fans food for thought. It’s a strong squad.” Of course, fans have heard it all before about the indomitable spirit within the Everton camp. And Neville admits it’s the end result, not the morale of the players, which is the ultimate barometer. “If I was at the game on Saturday as a fan, then I would have probably reacted in the same way as every other supporter,” he admits. “You wait two or three months in the summer, every Saturday you aren’t going to football and having waited so long for the first game and it ends like a damp squib. “When you don’t perform and don’t win the game, it affects your life. I’m sure the fans understand that because we all feel the same.
“But I look around the dressing room and think I’m glad to be playing with this group of players.”
Many supporters are mindful of the fates of Leeds United, Birmingham City and Portsmouth, all clubs who suffered financial pitfalls and tumbled out of the Premier League as a consequence.
“There is a little bit of fear there,” admits Neville. “There is fear that we might be going down that route, but I’m so sure that we are not. “We are in a different situation. We aren’t in a situation where we are selling all our best players and the manager is leaving and everything is in disarray.
“On Saturday I don’t think we played with the enjoyment we should. It was our first game, in front of our fans, and we didn’t enjoy it like we should have.” Neville knows from his own experiences of recent seasons that enjoyment is key to bringing the smiles back on the face of Evertonians.
“There was period at the start of last season when I came back from my posterior cruciate ligament injury and I wasn’t enjoying my football and was contemplating retiring,” he says. “Enjoyment is everything. I don’t care what profession you are in, if you are happy then you will do it better than when you are unhappy. “When we’re enjoying our football then we are playing well. Wednesday gives us a great chance to get back to that, to be enjoying our football and playing well and passing the ball well, and entertaining the fans. “The manager wants us to be entertaining the fans. He didn’t think we did it enough last season. “And he wants us to do that by playing a brand of football that will get the supporters up off their seats.” Neville, however, would not have been at Goodison this season had Harry Redknapp had his way. Tottenham Hotspur were keen on signing the 34-year-old in January, and Neville reveals that interest helped reinvigorate his performances for Everton.
“Spurs being interested actually kicked me on a little bit,” he says. “It gave me the impetus that what I was doing was right and I was still impressing people, and last season was one of my most enjoyable. “But with every new season the slate is cleaned. We have got competition at right-back, I see Seamus Coleman playing at right-back more this season and I thought Hibbo was fantastic towards the end of last season. “I just have to make sure I’m ahead of the pack. I don’t care if you are club captain or the most experienced player, if you are not playing well enough then you don’t deserve to be in the team.” Neville contends that, in some respects, Everton have been a victim of their own success under David Moyes, with the gradual improvement under the manager having continually raised expectations. The one thing that has been missing, however, has been silverware, with tonight’s Carling Cup second round tie at home to Sheffield United the start of the latest attempt to fill that particular blank. “We have to handle the expectations,” says Neville. “It’s almost our own fault. When I joined six years ago we’d finished fourth and raised the bar. Expectations go up with that. “Sometimes not everything runs smoothly and sometimes you’d say from the outside looking in that we’re having a bit of a dip. But we’re confident we can live up to our high standards.
“Probably our best chance of winning silverware this season is the Carling Cup. Our mentality is that we have to go out to win it.”
Mark Lawrenson: Ross Barkley will prove a top Premier League player
by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily PostAug 24 2011
ROSS BARKLEY was a real positive for Everton FC in a difficult first game of the season against Queens Park Rangers. The 17-year-old looks as though he is going to develop into a top player and when someone that young has time and space in the Premier League, like he did on Saturday, then believe me when I say big things will follow. The manager, David Moyes, will not be putting any sort of pressure on Barkley and like every young player, his form will plateau at some point and he may go through a period of starting games on the bench. Barkley’s progress through the Everton Academy has been no secret and for a long time people have told the fans what to expect.
Some Evertonians of course will worry that the club will be forced to sell him in the next 18 months or two years, and the club are in such a position where that may have to happen. The club have no money and, after the transcript of a supporters’ meeting with chairman Bill Kenwright was released last week, we know the bank is unwilling to lend them any more money. But Moyes and the players are just accepting the situation as it is and getting on with it. And Everton have a really good manager in charge with some excellent footballers in the team don’t forget. It was intimated at the meeting that people within the club were taking big chunks of money out, but this is not the case.
Everton are not a very attractive proposition for investors because, for example, their lack of executive facilities. Aston Villa have around 100 executive suites whilst at Goodison Park there are just 12. As a consequence, Everton do not have that wealthy owner who is able to dip into their own pockets and fund transfers, like across the park at Anfield.
Everton FC manager David Moyes issues warning over Sheffield United ahead of Carling Cup tie at Goodison
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily PostAug 24 2011
DAVID MOYES believes the fate of Sheffield United should act as a warning to Everton FC as his team embark on the road to Wembley this evening. The Blades visit Goodison Park in a Carling Cup second round tie while still coming to terms with relegation to npower League One in May.
The Yorkshiremen only dropped out of the Barclays Premier League on goal difference just over four years ago, but have since slipped down the leagues to the third tier for the first time in more than 20 years. With Everton’s financial plight having been laid bare during the past week and the team opening the Premier League season with a 1-0 home defeat to promoted Queens Park Rangers at the weekend, many supporters have started to fear for the club’s long-term future. And Moyes believes tonight’s clash is a timely reminder of how swiftly fortunes can change if problems are not properly addressed. “This is a difficult tie, a really difficult tie,” said the Goodison manager. “Sheffield United are a big club in their own right, they will bring a decent support with them and they will see it as an opportunity. “But it also shows you what can happen. You can be a big club, but if you don’t do things correctly and don’t do things right you can find yourself in League One. It wasn’t too long ago that they were in the Premier League. “They are a club with a big fan-base who are from a big city, so it can be that things can go quite quickly wrong. I am sure they didn’t plan it to go that way. I’m not sure whether their financial situation had anything to do with it. “We have to make sure we are not one of the big sides who can quite quickly slip away. “Everton have been in the top flight for any club as long as I can think of, but we have to be aware that we need to keep working hard.” Moyes is adamant the off-field concerns were not to blame for the weekend defeat to QPR, and that the players already fully understood the financial climate at Goodison. “I don’t think the situation with the finances changed the mood of the club,” he said. “The players were aware of it, they knew the situation and what we have said among ourselves is that we are not going to use it as an excuse or even a reason for if we don’t play well because it is the same players as last season. “So we won’t do that and we have spoken to each other about that. We won’t be feeling sorry for ourselves.” However, Moyes has intimated that, although James Vaughan has joined Norwich City and Joseph Yobo is expected to move to Fenerbahce, he may have to cash in on at least one more squad player before the transfer window closes next Wednesday. “I have known about it since the end of the season,” he added. “I was told by the chairman what the situation was and we always knew we would probably have to sell somebody this summer to get things levelled out a little bit. If someone moved it might allow us to do something, but I think it would need to be someone biggish probably.” Everton will field a strong team this evening, although Moyes – who confirmed Jan Mucha will start in goal – has no qualms in admitting the Premier League is the priority after Carling Cup holders Birmingham City were relegated last season. Seamus Coleman (ankle), Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (suspension) and Magaye Gueye (toe) are all out, while Tim Cahill (illness), Jermaine Beckford (knee) and the still not-fully-fit Louis Saha may not be risked. And Moyes added: “At Everton we have always put out a strong team in the cup and I would desperately like to win a trophy for the supporters and give them something, but if you look back not many clubs would like to do what Birmingham have done. “They would like to win the cup, but not the other part of it.”
Everton v Sheffield United: Doyle out to upset Beckford as Blades target Cup
Wednesday 24 August 2011 09:51
Yorkshire Post
AS team-mates, Michael Doyle and Jermaine Beckford helped Leeds United pull off one of the biggest Cup upsets of recent times. The Yorkshire club’s 1-0 win at Manchester United was remarkable, not least because they were still in League One at the time. The Premier League champions had also not been knocked out in the FA Cup third round since 1984. Understandably, therefore, the celebrations in the away dressing room at Old Trafford on January 3, 2010, were raucous to say the least with Beckford, the scorer of the only goal that day, leading the way.
Two seasons on, however, and many things have changed. Leeds, for instance, are back in the Championship, while both Doyle and Beckford have moved on to new clubs. Tonight, the pair will be reunited for the first time since going their separate ways at the end of the season in which Leeds followed knocking the Red Devils out of the Cup by clinching promotion. And Doyle is determined that his former team-mate will suffer a night to forget as Sheffield United take on Everton.
“It will be good to see Jermaine again,” admitted the 30-year-old Blades midfielder, who spent the 2009-10 campaign on loan at Elland Road from Coventry City. “We had some good times together at Leeds. He is a lovely fella and a great player. It will be good to see him again.” Looking back on the afternoon when Leeds stunned Sir Alex Ferguson’s side on their own patch, Doyle added: “I have enjoyed some good days in Cup competitions, but that was special. “Jermaine was full of it, as you would expect from someone who had just scored a winner at Old Trafford. “And quite right, too, because they were at the top of the Premier League and we were two divisions below them at the time. “But it will be a different story if we get a result at Goodison Park. I don’t think there will be much chance of me having any banter with Jermaine if that happens because, knowing him, if they lose he will be so annoyed that he will be straight off home at the end of the game.” Leeds’s 2010 triumph at Old Trafford, the club’s first in almost three decades, is not the only time Doyle has been part of a major Cup upset. Another came at the same venue in September 2007, when Championship side Coventry City triumphed 2-0 over United in the Carling Cup. It is a notable double that the Irish midfielder is justifiably proud of. Doyle admits, however, that in many ways a win at Goodison tonight in the red and white of Sheffield United would be even more satisfying.
He said: “I was a Liverpool fan as a kid so it would be really nice to beat Everton. I have been to Goodison to watch Mersey derbies, and it is a brilliant ground with a fantastic atmosphere.
“We are happy to be going to a big club, and we shall go there well prepared and confident after the good start we have had to the season. “We seriously want to do well in the Carling Cup because we want to win every game we play. “But promotion is the main aim and, from a personal point of view, I want to play a big part in helping us get straight back to the Championship because I didn’t make the impact here that I wanted to after joining from Coventry last season.” Danny Wilson’s side have enjoyed a hugely encouraging start to the season with four games having yielded 10 points. With Hartlepool United also having been knocked out of the Carling Cup on penalties, it means the Blades make the trip to Merseyside in buoyant mood. Wilson has no fresh injury problems from United’s visit to Tranmere Rovers on the opposite bank of the Mersey last Saturday, meaning Stephen Quinn (back) is okay after being substituted in the 1-1 draw. Ryan Flynn and Chris Porter are also back in contention after injury. Wilson said: “We are more than ready for this challenge, and you see upsets in cup competitions every year. We couldn’t have asked for a tougher tie, and nobody expects us to do anything at Goodison. “But we want more than simply going there just to make up the numbers. We want to go as far as we possibly can in this competition. “Everton, quite rightly, have a reputation as a good footballing side. But make no mistake about it, they are not a team that just floats around spraying the ball about. “They are strong, powerful and aggressive. They know how to look after themselves. We know what they are capable of as a team and they will be desperate for a win after losing to QPR at home on Saturday.”
Last six games: Everton LDWLWL, Sheffield United LWDWWD.
Referee: N Miller (County Durham).
Last time: Everton 2 Sheffield United 0; October 21, 2006; Premier League.
Wilson’s men set to show no Mersey
By James Shield The Sheffield Star
Wednesday 24 August 2011 09:50
DANNY Wilson, the Sheffield United manager, has warned Everton his team are intent on heaping even further misery on the Merseyside club. Speaking ahead of tonight’s Carling Cup tie at Goodison Park, Wilson rubbished suggestions he is prepared to sacrifice a place in the third-round draw to concentrate on League One instead. “We are going there to get a result,” he said. “We aren’t going there just to have people say ‘didn’t you do well but never mind about the score’.
“We want them to be talking about a good performance and about us going through. “Yes, we know it’s going to be tough because Everton are a really, really good side. “I don’t care what team David (Moyes) puts out, you know it’s going to be a strong one because there’s lots of quality there.
“They’ll be desperate to get their season off and running but we’re more than ready for it.” With chairman Bill Kenwright laying bare the extent of Everton’s financial problems recently, their woes increased when they were beaten 1-0 by Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League on Saturday.
United, who beat Hartlepool in the previous round, have not lost a competitive fixture since Wilson’s appointment in May. Ryan Flynn could return after missing the past four games with a hamstring problem while Chris Porter (dead leg) should feature after emerging unscathed from last weekend’s draw with Tranmere Rovers. Wilson revealed his “respect” for Moyes during yesterday’s pre-match press conference and his opposite number last night returned the compliment. “Sheffield United have started the season really well and are unbeaten,” said Moyes. “Danny has got them playing good football and they are no doubt one of the favourites to get out of that division.”
Football rumours - Sheffield Wednesday and United
24 August 2011 The Sheffield Star
What warning should Everton learn from the Blades? What are the Owls chances against Blackburn? Plus all today’s football gossip and back pages. David Moyes has warned Everton that Sheffield United’s rapid descent into League One provides a salutary lesson of what can happen “if you don’t do things correctly”. READ MORE: Guardian www.guardian.co.uk/football/2011/aug/23/everton-sheffield-united-carling-cup
David Moyes will launch Everton’s Carling Cup campaign on Wednesday night against opponents who he believes provide a salutary warning in how quickly things can go wrong. Sheffield United arrive at Goodison Park having made a bright start to life in League One but it was only four years ago that the two club were going head-to-head in the Barclays Premier League. READ MORE: DailyMail www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2029301/Everton-Sheffield-United-Carling-Cup-preview.html#ixzz1Vw0BobAk
David Moyes should give Everton FC youngsters chance in Carling Cup. READ MORE: LiverpoolEcho www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/everton-fc/everton-fc-news/2011/08/24/ian-snodin-david-moyes-should-give-everton-fc-youngsters-chance-in-carling-cup-100252-29291523/#ixzz1Vw0WInE7
Everton FC v Sheffield United preview: EFC skipper Phil Neville insists club are united amid unrest. READ MORE: LiverpoolDailyPost www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/everton-fc/everton-fc-news/2011/08/24/everton-fc-v-sheffield-united-preview-efc-skipper-phil-neville-insists-club-are-united-amid-unrest-92534-29291109/#ixzz1Vw0LsMdc
Fresh from their much-documented financial woes, David Moyes now claims that a top-10 finish could be out of the question at Everton this season. First of all they have to dispose of a Sheffield United side who will be looking to become the second League One side to inflict a defeat on Moyes in successive seasons. READ MORE: Fanhouse www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/08/23/everton-v-sheffield-united-preview-moyes-bidding-to-lift-goodis/
A lot has changed at Bramall Lane since the Blades were relegated from the Championship last season so we’re going Behind Enemy Lines to find out more. READ MORE: EvertonFC http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/2011/08/23/behind-enemy-lines
Barkley the brave set for second chance
By James Shield
Sheffield United Star
Wednesday 24 August 2011 07:01
SHEFFIELD United are poised to come face to face with Everton’s latest ‘wonder kid’.
David Moyes, the Premiership club’s manager, spent yesterday deciding whether to plunge Ross Barkley, who made his professional debut against QPR at the weekend, into battle during tonight’s Carling Cup second round tie. With the 17-year-old already being tipped to follow in the footsteps of Wayne Rooney and Jack Rodwell, Moyes could be forgiven for refusing to pick him against lower-league opposition in cup combat. But Phil Neville, the Everton captain, insisted Barkley has the strength of character to cope with whatever the game throws at him. “People say bravery is going around kicking people and getting stuck in,” said Neville. “Bravery is taking the ball when you are under pressure, when you are 1-0 down at home and the crowd is on your back. “He did that.
“His performance was the only real plus to come out of that game for us.” With Everton beset by financial problems, being beaten by Neil Warnock’s side increased the air of despondency surrounding Goodison Park. Chairman Bill Kenwright admitted before the match that the club’s debts at the end of May 2010 totalled £44.9 million with the promise of no new investment forthcoming. Kenwright also revealed that the £3m Everton received when Stephen Pienaar joined Spurs and the £9m raised following the sale of their Bellefield training complex had also gone directly to the bank. Nevertheless, Neville believes Barkley’s emergence points to a bright future on the pitch. “Ross has been outstanding all pre-season and I think we all know that we’ve got something special there,” he said. “Ross is a great lad and is always asking questions.” Meanwhile, United will hold an “Evening with Chris Morgan” ahead of October’s derby with Sheffield Wednesday. The event, which takes place in the 1889 Restaurant at Bramall Lane, includes a three-course meal and question and answer session with the centre-half and first-team coach.
Tickets, available from the box office, are £45 per person or £340 for a table of eight.
Everton 3 Sheffield United 1: Moyes finds a Victor to settle Goodison nerves
By Dominic King
25th August 2011
DailyMail
Goodison Park has witnessed many memorable Everton victories in its long and distinguished history, from heady evenings in Europe to landmark successes in the league.
It has been a long time, though, since the famous old ground has seen a win greeted with such a sense of relief. Knocking Sheffield United out of the Carling Cup's second round may not live long in the memory but that will not matter to David Moyes, his players or supporters.
All too easy: Midfielder Mikel Arteta scores Everton's third goal at Goodison Park
Financial problems have made this has a hugely difficult summer for Everton but there was a sense of respite as they brushed their in-form opponents from League One aside 3-1 to belated get a campaign riddled with false starts up and running. Though there was a brief moment when, following Richard Cresswell's 28th minute opener, it appeared Everton would follow Sunderland, Swansea, Norwich and QPR out of the cup, ultimately they had too much class and eased into Saturday's third round draw. This was a symbolic night for Everton as it was six years to the day since they almost reached the Champions League group stages. Only a combination of Villarreal's talent and a woeful decision from referee Pierluigi Collina, who disallowed a legitimate Duncan Ferguson goal, denied them. The only similarity between that occasion and this was the fact Sheffield United were wearing all yellow. The atmosphere inside Goodison Park bordered on the funereal and each pass that failed to reach a target frayed the nerves of the already restless natives.
'I sensed an anxiety throughout the stadium on Saturday,' Moyes wrote in his programme notes, referring to their opening defeat by Queens Park Rangers. 'It is always great to see so many Evertonians inside Goodison and your support can never be questioned. 'But we have got to give the players every opportunity to perform to their best. You have to keep the faith.' Such a statement looked totally misplaced as Everton laboured through the opening half hour, barely creating a chance of note. Marouane Fellaini saw a drive from 25 yards comfortably held by United keeper Steve Simonsen, while Mikel Arteta dragged another effort into the side netting. What Everton needed was to get a couple of goals in front to settle nerves but, startlingly, the opposite came true and they found themselves behind when Richard Cresswell bundled in a cross from strike partner Stephen Quinn. It would have been interesting had Everton gone into the interval trailing but, thankfully for Moyes, he saw his team roar back with a three-goal salvo in 12 minutes that effectively booked their place in the third round. First Jack Rodwell was the beneficiary of a slice of good fortune, when his cross-cum-shot after a surging run into the area was diverted into his own net by the hapless Cresswell on 31 minutes. It was greeted with a tangible sense of relief. With some momentum behind them, Everton poked their noses in front when Victor Anichebe popped up to cap a flowing move that involved Leon Osman and Ross Barkley and from that point there was no looking back. Next Mikel Arteta got in on the act, finishing with great panache from 20 yards after he seized on a loose ball to effectively carry the game out of United's reach.
Everton failed to add to their tally after the break but they were never troubled and Moyes can now focus on getting off the mark in the Premier League at Blackburn on Saturday.
MATCH FACTS EVERTON (4-4-1-1): Mucha; Hibbert, Jagielka, Heitinga, Baines; Arteta, Rodwell (Saha 65), Fellaini, Barkley (Baxter 77); Osman (Neville 77); Anichebe.
Subs not used: Howard, Distin, Wallace, Vellios.
Booked: Arteta, Fellaini.
SHEFF UTD (4-4-2): Simonsen; Lowton, Maguire, Collins, Jean-Francois; Williamson, Doyle, Harriott (McAllister 74), Flynn (Porter 56); Quinn, Cresswell (Bogdanovic 60).
Subs not used: Long, Mendez-Laing, Tonne, Slew.
Booked: Lescinel, Flynn.
Man of the match: Ross Barkley.
Referee: Nigel Miller.
Everton 3 Sheffield United 1: match report
Aug 25, 2011.
The Telegrapher By Rory Smith
Only Sheffield United, only the Carling Cup. Everton cannot afford much these days: that much became clear last week as first chairman, then manager and finally team, in defeat to QPR, showed the dire extent of Goodison Park’s credit crisis. They certainly cannot afford to be picky. And so David Moyes rolled out his cannon to kill a fly, deploying the likes of Marouane Fellaini, Mikel Arteta, Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines to see off a League One side, his team selection proof that this competition has taken on the deepest of significance on both sides of Merseyside. They could not afford to waste time, either, effectively finishing the game as a contest by the interval, thanks to an own goal from Richard Cresswell, moments after he had scored rather more impressively at the correct end, and strikes from Victor Anichebe and Arteta himself. It was a victory to kick-start their season . “There was a moment where I thought 'here we go again’,” said Moyes. “That is what it’s been like. We made one mistake on Saturday and were punished and it was the same here. But there was a response tonight.” Quite a response, too: Jack Rodwell burst into the box and saw his shot parried by Steve Simonsen and on to Cresswell’s calf, the striker undone by his own industry.
Six minutes later Anichebe turned midfielder Ross Barkley’s cross-shot past Simonsen after a powerful break from Leon Osman. Five minutes beyond that and the 17-year-old Barkley – called up by Stuart Pearce for the England Under-21 squad – surged towards the edge of the box, found himself tackled by Lecsinel Jean-Francois but watched with glee as the ball rolled to Arteta, the Basque calmly selecting his spot and ending the game. “Ross is ready for the Under-21s,” assured Moyes. “The only thing is that he has not played as many games as he might, so there will be times when he does things that are not quite right. But he is definitely ready, and I have told Stuart that.”
Barkley dominated the second half, going close twice – though not as close as Leon Osman, who clipped the post, and Anichebe, who spurned a golden opportunity – and displayed a composure beyond his years.
Everton (4-4-1-1): Mucha; Hibbert, Jagielka, Heitinga, Baines; Barkley (Baxter 77), Rodwell (Saha 66), Fellaini, Arteta; Osman (Neville 77), Anichebe. Subs: Howard, Distin, Wallace, Vellios.
Booked: Arteta, Fellaini.
Sheffield Utd (4-4-1-1): Simonsen; Lowton, Maguire, Collins, Jean-Francois; Harriott (McAllister 74), Williamson, Doyle, Flynn (Porter 56); Quinn; Cresswell (Bogdanovic 60. Subs: Long, Mendez-Laing, Tonne, Slew.
Booked: Jean-Francois, Flynn.
Referee: N Miller (Durham).
WEDNESDAY EVENING: Sheffield United can’t hold Toffee men
Sheffield Star
25 August 2011
Everton booked their place in the third round of the Carling Cup after coming from behind to complete a comfortable victory over Sheffield United at Goodison Park. The League One side went in front against the run of play in the 28th minute through Richard Cresswell, but the same player diverted the ball into his own net moments later after Steve Simonsen had got a palm to a strike by Jack Rodwell. The Toffees then took control of proceedings, with goals from Victor Anichebe and Mikel Arteta swiftly turning the game on its head in the space of five minutes before the break.
The result will come as a welcome boost for Everton fans after the Merseysiders’ season had got under way in disappointing fashion with Saturday’s 1-0 Barclays Premier League defeat at home to QPR. Manager David Moyes made five changes from that game, with Jan Mucha, Tony Hibbert, Arteta, Marouane Fellaini and Anichebe all coming into the starting line-up. Teenage midfielder Ross Barkley kept his place after making an impressive senior debut in the match at the weekend, while former Everton goalkeeper Simonsen was named in the visitors’ first XI. Fellaini brought a save out of Simonsen in the fifth minute with a low shot from the edge of the area before Barkley, showing more of the confidence that had been so evident in his previous display, rampaged forward and fired an effort wide. Arteta had a strike blocked at the end of a good Everton move and Anichebe put the ball the wrong side of the post after turning in the box. Further attempts followed from Barkley and Fellaini, with the only respite for the Blades being a shot well off-target by Harry Maguire. Arteta was presented with the best chance yet to open the scoring in the 20th minute but made a hash of it from close range. Fellaini muscled through a clutch of defenders to unleash an effort which deflected wide, and Barkley scooped the ball over the bar. United had offered virtually nothing in attack, but just prior to the half-hour mark they suddenly snatched the lead as Cresswell slid in to meet Stephen Quinn’s cross and prod it past Mucha. The advantage lasted a mere three minutes, Simonsen parrying Rodwell’s strike at the other end and the unfortunate Cresswell getting the final touch as the ball bobbled over the line. Anichebe then put the Toffees ahead, connecting with Barkley’s drive across the area to sweep home. And Everton had another three minutes before the interval as the ball broke to Arteta, who stroked it beyond Simonsen from just outside the box.
Quinn called Mucha into action with a shot six minutes after the restart, but normal service was soon resumed as Simonsen saved efforts from Barkley and Leon Osman. Everton continued to press, with Anichebe volleying wide before Fellaini and Arteta sent attempts too high. Moyes then added fresh legs to his forward line, throwing on Louis Saha in place of Rodwell. Blades substitute Daniel Bogdanovic tried something ambitious which sailed over before Osman nearly added a fourth for the hosts, rifling the ball against the post with 15 minutes of normal time remaining. The midfielder was then replaced by Phil Neville, while another eye-catching performance for Barkley came to an end as he was substituted for Jose Baxter. In the last 10 minutes Matthew Lowton directed a header into the arms of Mucha, who also tipped over a shot by Maguire. It was Everton who almost finished with a flourish, though, Anichebe finding himself through on goal only for Lecsinel Jean-Francois to make a last-ditch tackle. Sheffield United starting line up and subs: Simonsen Lowton Lescinel Collins Maguire Doyle Flynn Williamson Harriott Quinn Cresswell Substitutes: Long, Mendez-Laing, McAllister, Tonne, Bogdanovic, Slew, Porter. Everton starting line up: Mucha Hibbert Baines Heitinga Jagielka Arteta Barkley Osman Fellaini Rodwell Anichebe.
ARSENAL LAUNCH MIKEL ARTETA BID
25th August 2011 By David Woods
Daily Star
ARSENAL face Spanish competition for Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta. Malaga and Valencia, who have just picked up £27m from Chelsea for Juan Mata, are both willing to pay £10m for attacking midfielder Mikel Arteta. But despite losing Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona and Samir Nasri to Manchester City, Wenger still appears reluctant to spend the near £60m the club have racked in.
Starsport revealed earlier this week how skipper Robin van Persie called for a meeting with Wenger on Monday and was shocked to hear his manager state he was not unhappy with his current squad.
But that was before Nasri’s departure and 29-year-old Arteta is now understood to be on the Frenchman’s radar. Arsenal are believed to be Arteta’s preferred destination but it may be that his age and problems with injury last season work against him. Wenger is notoriously fussy about signing older players. Everton have major financial problems with their bankers urging them to sell stars and and cut their £25m debt. In contrast Malaga have no such problems having been taken over last summer by a member of the Qatari royal family, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nassar Al-Thani.
Everton FC young gun Ross Barkley called up to the England under-21s squad
by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo, Aug 25 2011
Everton FC midfielder Ross BarkleyEVERTON starlet Ross Barkley has been rewarded for his rich promise with a call up to the England under-21s squad. Barkley has represented his country at under-16, under-17 and under-19 level. Fellow Blue Jack Rodwell is also in Stuart Pearce’s squad, along with Liverpool’s John Flanagan, Jonjo Shelvey and Andre Wisdom, Martin Kelly and Jordan Henderson. Elsewhere, Danny Welbeck and Phil Jones were called up for next month’s double-header against Azerbaijan and Israel, casting doubt over their involvement in the senior side’s matches with Bulgaria and Wales. Welbeck had been tipped to keep his place in Fabio Capello’s party for the European Championship qualifiers, while his new Manchester United team-mate was an outside bet to earn his maiden call-up. Both were rare success stories from England’s dismal Under-21 Championship campaign in Denmark this summer, with Jones ending the tournament as captain. Welbeck and Jones are two of eight survivors from head coach Stuart Pearce's 22-man squad which failed to reach the European semi-finals. Pearce has selected a 27-player group, which includes 12 newcomers. Retained from the Under-21 Championship squad were Henderson, Kyle Walker, Henri Lansbury, Rodwell, Nathan Delfouneso and Connor Wickham. Along with Welbeck and Jones, they remain eligible for the 2013 tournament, which England begin their qualification campaign for against Azerbaijan on September 1 at Watford. They take on Israel in a friendly at Barnsley four days later. Pearce, who signed a new two-year contract this summer despite the failure in Denmark, said: “You’ve got the likes of Welbeck, who is a still an Under-21 player, around the senior squad, the likes of Henderson mentioned in squads, and Walker. “There are a lot of players who have gone through the system and that is also what we’re trying to achieve, give them as much experience as we humanly can, at all the age groups. He added: “Our focus is going to have to be spot on from the offset because we're in a qualifier straight away. “We really could be in the driving seat or, alternatively, it could be up in the air. I’ve got a feelinggetting to the finals will be difficult.” Five of the squad have tasted success previously with the Under-17s, who won last year’s European Championship, including Wisdom, Barkley, Wickham, Josh McEachran and Jack Butland.
Squad: Ben Amos (Manchester United), Jack Butland (Birmingham), Declan Rudd (Norwich); Nathan Baker (Aston Villa), Joe Bennett (Middlesbrough), Matthew Briggs (Fulham), Steven Caulker (Tottenham), Craig Dawson (West Brom), Jon Flanagan (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Martin Kelly (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Tottenham), Andre Wisdom (Liverpool); Ross Barkley (Everton), Dan Gosling (Newcastle), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Emmanuel Frimpong (Arsenal), Henri Lansbury (Arsenal), Josh McEachran (Chelsea), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Jack Rodwell (Everton), Jonjo Shelvey (Liverpool); Nathan Delfouneso (Aston Villa), Marvin Sordell (Watford), Martyn Waghorn (Leicester), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United), Connor Wickham (Sunderland)
Everton FC 3 Sheffield United 1: Unthinkable avoided as Blues fight back to make Carling Cup progress
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 25 2011
Victor Anichebe celebrates against Sheffield United FOR THREE long minutes a sense of cold, pitiful, dread coursed around Goodison Park infecting everyone from a forlorn Bill Kenwright to his exasperated manager. Perhaps it even moved the man responsible, opposition captain Richard Cresswell, because after plunging the knife into Everton, he then kindly removed it and applied some first-aid. Cresswell’s goal after 28 minutes last night left the few supporters who had steeled themselves and braved this Carling Cup tie so soon after Everton’s season began with a whimper against QPR, fearing the very worst. The name of Sheffield United was ready to be added to an inglorious list of cup nightmares including the likes of Shrewsbury, Oldham, Tranmere, Brentford and Reading. But three minutes later Cresswell inadvertently turned the ball past Steve Simonsen and into his own net to give the Toffees a life-line, which they clung to and never let go. Nobody is kidding themselves. A comfortable win over League One opponents at Goodison will not suddenly make Everton’s bank account soar into credit, nor permanently banish the grey cloud hovering over the Blue half of Merseyside. But victory, however it arrived, should bring respite and confidence to a camp which was reeling at 5pm on Saturday. By avoiding the fate of several Premier League clubs who crashed out of this competition on Tuesday night, Moyes’ men have prevented talk of a crisis before summer is even over. They had to do without Tim Cahill, who was ill, and Jermaine Beckford, who failed to shake off a bruised knee, but was at least able to restore Mikel Arteta to his side, while Louis Saha was again on the bench. But his side still started on the front foot – creating the first chance, when Marouane Fellaini took Ross Barkley’s pass, turned smartly and drilled a low shot which Steve Simonsen dived to save. The 17-year-old showed his first slash of humanity after that, losing the ball carelessly near the edge of his own area, but was back to his impeccable best moments later as he drifted in from the flank and fizzed a ling-range drive narrowly wide.
Just as against QPR, it was one-way traffic in the first half hour, as the Toffees piled up the spurned chances. There was early promise from the left-flank partnership of Leighton Baines and Arteta, when they conspired to present the Spaniard with a chance to open the lead but for a brave block by Neill Collins. Then Barkley was pivotal in fashioning another opening, slipping a deft pass into the feet of Anichebe who turned quickly only to drag his effort wide. In response, the Blades could muster only a Collins’ free-kick which failed to trouble Jan Mucha. They were soon defending again though, as this time Arteta snatched a first-time shot wide from the edge of the area. Everton tried to claim a penalty after half an hour when Fellaini had his shirt almost ripped off by Harry Maguire during a penalty box tussle, but in truth the Belgian was hardly innocent. Then came those fateful goals – two of them in just over two minutes, scored by the same man. Jagielka miscued a defensive header that allowed United to seize the ball and take advantage as he was caught upfield. Stephen Quinn steamed down the left and whipped a low ball that Cresswell bundled home. And Cresswell barely had time to reflect on his strike when he was at it again, this time a victim of misfortune as Simonsen spilled a Rodwell shot and the ball ricocheted off him and into his own net. Perhaps it was the slice of fortune Everton deserved after creating so many unconverted chances. Either way they soon capitalised on it. Leon Osman picked up the ball and surged up-field to the edge of the area before releasing Barkley whose shot across goal was heading wide until Anichebe swept it home for his first goal in 17 months. Their confidence restored, the Toffees soon increased their lead when Barkley, who else, ran at the defence and drew a desperate tackle from Lecsinel Jean-Francois.
As the ball broke, Arteta reacted fastest to curl an effortless shot past Simonsen and into the bottom right corner. The second half saw an early succession of free-kicks go close to cementing the Blues’ lead even further, as first Baines then Arteta fired over. For the visitors Matthew Lowton had a header comfortably saved by Mucha from a free-kick, and Danny Wilson’s men, for all their manful effort, offered little else. Saha was given a chance to stretch his legs, and Jose Baxter got a run-out but the result was already in the bag. The only meaningful moment of the later stages was for Anichebe to show his best and worst in the same instant, robbing the ball from a tiring United defence and bursting clear through on goal only to waste it. With the pressure eased, Saturday’s trip to Ewood Park suddenly sees the Blues back in control of their destiny rather than limping into an early must-win contest.
EVERTON: (4-4-1-1) Mucha, Hibbert, Jagielka (Capt), Distin, Baines, Fellaini, Arteta, Barkley (Baxter, 76) Osman (Neville, 76), Rodwell (Saha, 65), Anichebe. Subs not used: Howard, Distin, Vellios, Wallace.
Bookings: Arteta, Fellaini.
Goals: Cresswell OG (30), Anichebe (36) Arteta (42)
SHEFFIELD UNITED: (4-5-1) Simonsen, Lowton, Jean-Francous, Doyle, Flynn, Williamson, Collins, Cresswell (capt) (Bogdanovic, 59), Harriott (McAllister, 73) Maguire, Quinn. Subs not used: Long, Medez-Laing, Slew, Porter, Tonne.
Bookings: Flynn,
Goals: Cresswell (28)
Ref: N Miller
Attendance: 17, 173
Mikel Arteta delighted to help kick-start Everton FC's season with Carling Cup win
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 25 2011
MIKEL Arteta urged Everton to rediscover their defensive steel – but was delighted to help secure their first win of the season as they eventually eased past Sheffield United in the Carling Cup.
The Blues went a goal behind to Danny Wilson’s League One side in last night’s second round tie at Goodison Park, but responded by scoring three to bring some much-needed cheer to supporters after a dismal defeat by QPR on Saturday. Arteta was restored to the starting line-up against the Blades and scored the third goal of the evening, but he warned the Toffees must end the sloppy defending which cost them dearly in their Premier League opener and led to a nervy period against the South Yorkshire club. The 29-year-old said: “It was important for us to get through in the cup and be unbeaten again after a disappointing result at the weekend. "We played some good stuff, but conceded a sloppy goal again that can cost you points against teams in the Premier League although we eventually won comfortably. “Maybe it is the nerves but it happened against QPR as well. They didn’t have many chances but we conceded a goal against them as well. Everything becomes more difficult when you fall behind – the crowd gets a bit anxious, we get a bit anxious, and it’s hard to get back in the game to go and score two or three to win it. “It’s really important we get back to what we used to be good at which is being tight at the back and not conceding.”
Arteta admitted the win, which sees the Blues into the draw for the third round, was important to lift the Everton camp after defeat by Neil Warnock’s side on Saturday served to deepen the gloom in the wake of their ongoing financial problems. And he said it was vital to give themselves some breathing space as they head to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday. “Hopefully this will increase our confidence and change the perspective,” he said. “Blackburn always provide long balls, throw ins and deep free kicks, but if we are strong defensively we can win it. “Everyone seems to be really down and negative about the future of the club right now, but we need to move away from that.
“We know what we’ve got in the changing room and if nobody else comes in to help us that’s it, every one of us needs to give that little bit more to make up the difference against other teams.”
Everton FC 3 Sheffield United 1: Carling Cup is cup of cheer for EFC again
by Philip Kirkbride, Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 25 2011
THE Carling Cup has so often been laced with pitfalls for David Moyes’ side but when it was required the most, the competition offered the Everton manager some welcome respite. Not that he or the players found themselves under any form of acute pressure ahead of kick-off but with the stench of negativity still lingering around Goodison Park in the wake of recent events, a victory in this manner helped clear the air. Last night’s ultimately routine win over Sheffield United was as much an exercise in healing the supporters’ bruised belief in their side, as it was to progress into the weekend’s third round draw. Other than a run to the semi-finals in the 2007/08 campaign, the Carling Cup has been “difficult” according to the Everton manager during his tenure but events were straightforward enough last night. Well, mostly. Fittingly perhaps, the Goodison Park side had to fall once more before picking themselves off the ground and allowing logic to prevail as their superior quality dragged them out of a brief moment of despair when Richard Cresswell put the visitors ahead. Everton’s dominance had been near enough total in the lead up to the shock opener so without panic, they soon re-established order and restored parity before cruising ahead before half-time and securing their passage into the next round thereafter. The evening was hardly flawless but the 17,000 or so supporters who decided to attend the game will no doubt be feeling a touch better about their beloved when they hit the road for Saturday’s trip to Blackburn Rovers. It is arguably the way Queens Park Rangers’ visit should have panned out last weekend.
Everton will hope to make a similarly confident start at Ewood Park as the one witnessed last night when importantly they settled quickly into this second round tie. Marouane Fellaini tested the hands of a returning Steve Simonsen within the first five minutes before Ross Barkley picked up where he left off at the weekend with a confident – albeit off target – drive from the edge of the area. Establishing a pace with which they are accustomed in the Premier League, Everton were increasingly finding sights of the visitors’ goal and from Leighton Baines’ neat cut back, Mikel Arteta was foiled when about to pull the trigger. Victor Anichebe got his effort away, moments later, but was marginally wide of the goal ahead of Barkley firing another low strike at Simonsen. That the 17-year-old continues to find himself in such positions tells much about his ability to engineer space as the trust his team-mates are ready to place in him. The momentum was slowly building for Everton as they were proving too sharp and strong from their League One opponents. And Fellaini’s ability to fend off Sheffield United’s defenders earned him ample room in the heart of the visitors’ area to fire a shot on target, yet Simonsen was equal to it on this occasion. A home goal seemed inevitable yet as Everton found to their cost on Saturday, dominance is little without the clinical streak to back it up – the kind Sheffield United found in the 28th minute. Pouncing on Jagielka’s mistimed header, Stephen Quinn scampered down the left flank before firing a low ball into the area for Cresswell to convert with Everton’s defenders mounting a desperate chase back. However where fortune did not shine favourably on the home side against QPR, three minutes later Cresswell’s own goal – after Jack Rodwell had fired on target from near the by-line – suggested a turning of the tide on that front.
Too, when Barkley’s shot was miscued into the path of Anichebe, allowing the forward to put Everton in the lead and in the process score a first senior goal since March 2010, it offered hope that no longer was fate transpiring against Moyes’ men at this challenging period. The third goal owed only the slightest of nods to fortune as Barkley’s surging run towards the United defence allowed the ball to conveniently fall to Arteta but his finish, an expertly struck effort from the edge of the box sufficiently out of the reach of Simonsen, was not lucky. The former Everton goalkeeper was able to keep out a pair of rasping drives from Barkley and Leon Osman early in the second half before the former struck the post from distance. Such was the comfort with which Everton were controlling the game, Barkley was afforded an early finish when Moyes replaced him with Jose Baxter. Even without an ill Tim Cahill, so often the talisman in the side’s time of need, and Anichebe’s profligacy in the deny moments when clean through, with Everton as expected were comfortable winners on the night.
Everton FC: David Moyes praises EFC winning spirit after Carling Cup fightback
by Philip Kirkbride, Liverpool Daily Post Aug 25 2011
DAVID MOYES feared the worst when Everton FC went behind to Sheffield United – but praised the manner in which his team responded to earn victory. The Goodison Park side booked their place in the third round of the Carling Cup last night with a 3-1 win over Sheffield United however they had to fight back having trailed to Richard Cresswell’s strike. Moyes revealed his concerns that Everton’s woes, after defeat to Queens Park Rangers last weekend compounded news of the club’s financial constraints, were set to deepen when the League One outfit went 1-0 up. Fortunately, Cresswell helped Everton draw level when he deflected Jack Rodwell’s effort past goalkeeper Steve Simonsen three minutes later before further first half goals from Victor Anichebe and Mikel Arteta readdressed the balance and put Everton in a commanding position. Moyes felt his side were favourites to open the scoring after a positive start to last night’s Carling Cup tie, played out in front of just 17,173 spectators, but admits Everton will continue to be punished for defensive lapses, with Phil Jagielka’s mistimed header allowing Stephen Quinn to pick out Cresswell, who made it 1-0. But the home side’s reaction was positive and Moyes believes a greater margin of victory would not have flattered his players. “I thought here we go again, it’s just where we are at the moment,” said Moyes, on going 1-0 down. “But we showed great resilience and the players didn’t let it get to them. “We also didn’t have that period where we had to dwell on it for long. “We had played well and hadn’t deserved to go a goal down. “But we made a mistake, and like on Saturday, we got punished for it.
“We had always looked more threatening than we had on Saturday and played quite well. We passed the ball quite well but there are still bits to tidy up on. If we had scored another couple of goals at the end, it would not have been out of place. “We had quite a few young boys in the team tonight which you forget sometimes. We had quite a young midfield. “They (Sheffield United) are a decent side and they pass the ball well and play a nice brand of football.” Teenager Ross Barkley again impressed in his 77-minute run out but Moyes admits, given his lack of football due to suffering severe injuries, he has been reluctant to over work the 17-year-old but a threadbare squad has forced his hand. The Everton manager, meanwhile, backed yesterday’s decision to call Barkley into the England under-21 squad but warned supporters not to expect outstanding performances every week at this stage of his development. “Ross is a central midfield player but will probably get his games down the sides for us at the moment,” said Moyes. “He probably wouldn’t have started tonight because Saturday was his first 90 minutes in over a year and the plan was to take him off after an hour. “He has not had enough football and he is going to find times when he doesn’t get it quite right because he has missed a lot of football.” Jack Rodwell suffered a suspected dead leg in the win over Sheffield United last night.
No complaints after first loss
By James Shield
Sheffield Star
Published on Thursday 25 August 2011
DANNY Wilson, the Sheffield United manager, admitted his team could have no complaints after last night’s Carling Cup defeat at Everton. United briefly threatened an upset when Richard Cresswell netted his fourth of the season but could not prevent David Moyes’ side booking their place in the third round draw. Wilson said: “We came here wanting a result. “We didn’t get that but I also wanted a performance and I’m satisfied with that because Everton are a damn good team.
“They stretched us and created chances but we showed good heart and we can learn so much from coming up against such quality players. “I’m not at all disappointed with the players. Far from it.
“Everton paid us a lot of respect by naming a strong line-up and hopefully we can pick-up a lot from some of the little things they do.” Despite spending most of the contest on the back foot, United took a 29th minute lead Cresswell converted Stephen Quinn’s centre. But Everton, who levelled when Steve Simonsen inadvertently palmed Jack Rodwell’s cross onto Cresswell’s legs, moved through the gears with Victor Anichebe and Mikel Arteta ensuring it was the hosts who progressed. Their manager Moyes insisted “a few more goals” would not have flattered his team but paid tribute to United saying: “They’re a good side and they pass the ball well. “Danny has got them playing an attractive brand of football and they made their contribution to the game. “When we went a goal down I thought ‘Here we go again’ but getting back so quickly helped settle any nerves.”
United goalkeeper Simonsen set his sights on restoring the South Yorkshire club’s Championship status immediately after his emotional return to Merseyside. Simonsen spent six years at Everton before arriving at Bramall Lane from Stoke and predicted the emergence of young players such as Jordan Slew, Harry Maguire and Matthew Lowton have given United a renewed sense of purpose following last term’s relegation. Simonsen, who described the 2010/11 campaign as an “utter disaster,” said: “The kids have done really well and they’ve helped lift the place. “Now a few of them are coming through into the first team and we’ve got high hopes for them. “We’ve drawn a line under last season. We don’t talk about it anymore. “The fans have stuck with us too and that says a lot about them.”
Barkley is ready for the Under 21s, insists proud Everton manager Moyes
25th August 2011
Daily Mail
Everton manager David Moyes is confident Ross Barkley is ready to play for England Under 21s but has stressed the teenage midfielder remains very much a raw talent. Barkley made an impressive senior debut for the Toffees in Saturday's 1-0 Barclays Premier League defeat to QPR and having kept his place in the starting line-up, put in another eye-catching display yesterday evening as Moyes' side came from behind to beat Sheffield United 3-1 in the Carling Cup second round.
Sticky Toffee Pudding: Barkley celebrates with Anichebe in last night's win The 17-year-old has been called into Stuart Pearce's England Under 21s squad for the first time, a level his club manager has no doubt Barkley will be able to handle. Moyes is, however, keen to point out the player has spent considerable time on the sidelines due to injuries - including a broken leg suffered last October - and still has a long way to go in his development. 'I spoke to Stuart Pearce and he is ready for the Under-21s,' Moyes said. 'But the boy has not played enough games of football. 'He made a couple of mistakes in the first half with the ball - you will find there will be times when he does things and you think it's not maybe quite right. That is because he missed a year and has been plunged right in at the deep end.' Dress to impress: Moyes says Barkley is ready to play for the Under 21s
Barkley was involved in two of Everton's goals in last night's clash with the Blades at Goodison Park as the Merseyside outfit recovered from an early scare. Their npower League One opponents took the lead against the run of play thanks to Richard Cresswell's effort just before the half-hour mark, but the same player diverted the ball into his own net moments later after goalkeeper Steve Simonsen had got a palm to a strike by Jack Rodwell. The Toffees then took control of proceedings as Victor Anichebe converted Barkley's drive to put them ahead in the 37th minute.
On target: Arteta found the back of the net in Everton's 3-1 win And five minutes later Mikel Arteta increased the advantage, collecting the ball and curling it home when Barkley's surging run had been halted on the edge of the box. The result will come as a welcome boost for everyone connected with Everton after their season had got under way in such disappointing fashion with a home loss at the weekend. Moyes admitted he had feared the worst when they went a goal down again yesterday and was delighted with the way his players bounced back. Asked what his reaction had been to United's opener, the Scot said: 'I thought "here we go" because that is just where we are at the moment. 'But they kept going. We showed great resilience and the players didn't let it get to them.'
Everton 3 Sheffield United 1 - MATCH REPORT AND SLIDESHOW
By James Shield Sheffield Star
Thursday 25 August 2011 09:34
“Nil Satis Nisi Optimum,” demands the motto on Everton’s jersey. “Nothing but the best is good enough.” After Saturday’s false start in the Premier League, David Moyes’ players went some way towards meeting their own high standards by dashing Sheffield United’s Carling Cup dreams last night. The visitors arrived on Merseyside unbeaten since the start of the season but departed with only their pride intact as a powerful display, inspired by Ross Barkley and Mikel Arteta, ensured it was the hosts who will enter the third round draw. United predictably spent long periods on the back foot. But while the scalp their manager Danny Wilson craved proved elusive, the combative shift he had also demanded did not. Indeed, Arteta and his precociously talented teenage team mate had to showcase their full repertoire of skills to secure Everton’s victory after Richard Cresswell had handed United a surprise lead. Barkley, the latest graduate from Goodison Park’s school of science, embellished his burgeoning reputation by providing the cross which allowed Victor Anichebe to restore Everton’s poise after a fortuitous equaliser before creating Everton’s decisive third with driving run from deep. Fittingly it was Arteta who applied the final touch to an incisive move, caressing the ball beyond a despairing Steve Simonsen. Beaten by Queens Park Rangers on the opening weekend of their campaign and shocked by chairman Bill Kenwright’s stark assessment of the financial situation behind the scenes, Evertonians descended upon the stadium drowning in despair and disillusionment. But while their balance sheet makes for troubling reading, it can not disguise the fact that Moyes’ men are still among the most consistent performers in the top-flight having finished no lower than eighth in the past five years. United, though, ensured they had to work hard for their victory. Cresswell’s fourth goal of what promises to be a profitable campaign briefly threatened an upset while Stephen Quinn bristled with industry, aggression and intelligence.
But Everton’s ruthlessness and quality in advanced positions gradually punctured their stubborn resistance. Despite many of their rivals treating it with disdain, both Everton and United pledged beforehand they would afford this competition the respect it deserves as Moyes chases the silverware which has proven so elusive during his nine year reign and Wilson hoped to inject extra momentum into the visitors bid to drag themselves out of League One. Fifteen of those who started their respective club’s previous contests featured in the first choice elevens here.
Moyes, who reached the semi-finals in 2008, used his programme notes to admit he was still smarting from last term’s humbling at the hands of Brentford and deployed the likes of Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini in an effort to avoid another humiliating defeat.
His only concession to sentiment was to hand Phil Jagielka, who progressed through the ranks at Bramall Lane, the captain’s armband. United began the contest in confident fashion with Matthew Harriott, replacing the ill Nick Montgomery in midfield, snapping at the heels of his markers and Stephen Quinn full of flicks and tricks in the ‘hole.’ Nevertheless, Everton created numerous openings during the early exchanges with Fellaini testing Simonsen from 25 yards almost straight from kick-off. The United goalkeeper, who made 30 league appearances for them earlier in his career, watched another effort, this time from Barkley, scuttle wide as his former club began to wrestle control. Lecsinel Jean-Francois intervened to prevent Arteta trying his luck from point blank range before being cautioned for hauling back the Spaniard. Moyes’ frustration at recent events was plain for all to see. While Wilson, arms folded and shoulders hunched, barked-out the occasional order from the touchline, the Scot berated all and sundry whenever possession was conceded.
His mood was not improved when Cresswell ghosted in between Jagielka and Baines to prod home Quinn’s 29th minute centre. But United’s joy was short-lived when the striker inadvertently turned the ball into his own net less than two minutes later when Simonsen diverted Jack Rodwell’s cross onto his shins. That was the cue for Everton to move through the gears with Anichebe edging them in front and Arteta capping a fine flowing move with an equally impressive finish.
Simonsen reacted well to smother Leon Osman’s deflected shot just before the hour before Anichebe dispatched a speculative volley into the crowd. With United finding it increasingly difficult to make headway, Maguire was forced to throw his body in the way of another Fellaini effort but substitute Daniel Bogdanovic announced his entrance by stemming the tide with an audacious attempt which flew just over Jan Mucha’s crossbar. Osman struck the woodwork from distance but Harry Maguire nearly had the last word when his effort was touched behind for a corner.
everton: Mucha, Hibbert, Baines, Heitinga, Jagielka, Arteta, Barkley (Baxter 77), Osman (Neville 77), Fellaini, Rodwell (Saha 65), Anichebe. Not used: Howard, Distin, Vellios, Wallace.
UNITED: Simonsen, Lowton, Maguire, Collins, Jean-Francois, Flynn (Porter 56), Doyle, Williamson, Harriott (McAllister 74), Quinn, Cresswell (Bogdanovic 60). Not used: Long, Mendez-Laing, Slew, Tonne.
REFEREE: N Miller (County Durham).
GOALS: Cresswell (29), Cresswell OG (31), Anichebe (37), Arteta (43).
BOOKINGS: Jean-Francois (18), Flynn (32), Arteta (40), Fellaini (79).
RED CARDS: None.
ATTENDANCE: 17,173
Everton 3 Sheffield United 1
Sporting Life
August 25 2011
Everton booked their place in the third round of the Carling Cup after coming from behind to complete a comfortable 3-1 victory over Sheffield United at Goodison Park. The npower League One side went in front against the run of play in the 28th minute through Richard Cresswell, but the same player diverted the ball into his own net moments later after Steve Simonsen had got a palm to a strike by Jack Rodwell. The Toffees then took control of proceedings, with goals from Victor Anichebe and Mikel Arteta swiftly turning the game on its head in the space of five minutes before the break. The result will come as a welcome boost for Everton fans after the Merseysiders' season had got under way in disappointing fashion with Saturday's 1-0 Barclays Premier League defeat at home to QPR. Manager David Moyes made five changes from that game, with Jan Mucha, Tony Hibbert, Arteta, Marouane Fellaini and Anichebe all coming into the starting line-up. Teenage midfielder Ross Barkley kept his place after making an impressive senior debut in the match at the weekend, while former Everton goalkeeper Simonsen was named in the visitors' first XI. Fellaini brought a save out of Simonsen in the fifth minute with a low shot from the edge of the area before Barkley, showing more of the confidence that had been so evident in his previous display, rampaged forward and fired an effort wide. Arteta had a strike blocked at the end of a good Everton move and Anichebe put the ball the wrong side of the post after turning in the box. Further attempts followed from Barkley and Fellaini, with the only respite for the Blades being a shot well off-target by Harry Maguire. Arteta was presented with the best chance yet to open the scoring in the 20th minute but made a hash of it from close range. Fellaini muscled through a clutch of defenders to unleash an effort which deflected wide, and Barkley scooped the ball over the bar. United had offered virtually nothing in attack, but just prior to the half-hour mark they suddenly snatched the lead as Cresswell slid in to meet Stephen Quinn's cross and prod it past Mucha. The advantage lasted a mere three minutes, Simonsen parrying Rodwell's strike at the other end and the unfortunate Cresswell getting the final touch as the ball bobbled over the line. Anichebe then put the Toffees ahead, connecting with Barkley's drive across the area to sweep home. And Everton had another three minutes before the interval as the ball broke to Arteta, who stroked it beyond Simonsen from just outside the box.
Quinn called Mucha into action with a shot six minutes after the restart, but normal service was soon resumed as Simonsen saved efforts from Barkley and Leon Osman. Everton continued to press, with Anichebe volleying wide before Fellaini and Arteta sent attempts too high. Moyes then added fresh legs to his forward line, throwing on Louis Saha in place of Rodwell. Blades substitute Daniel Bogdanovic tried something ambitious which sailed over before Osman nearly added a fourth for the hosts, rifling the ball against the post with 15 minutes of normal time remaining. The midfielder was then replaced by Phil Neville, while another eye-catching performance for Barkley came to an end as he was substituted for Jose Baxter. In the last 10 minutes Matthew Lowton directed a header into the arms of Mucha, who also tipped over a shot by Maguire. It was Everton who almost finished with a flourish, though, Anichebe finding himself through on goal only for Lecsinel Jean-Francois to make a last-ditch tackle.
Teams
Everton Mucha, Hibbert, Heitinga, Jagielka, Baines, Rodwell (Saha 65), Arteta, Fellaini, Barkley (Baxter 77), Osman (Neville 77), Anichebe. Subs Not Used: Howard, Distin, Vellios, Wallace.
Booked: Arteta, Fellaini.
Goals: Cresswell 31 og, Anichebe 37, Arteta 42.
Sheff Utd Simonsen, Lowton, Maguire, Collins, Jean-Francois, Flynn (Porter 56), Williamson, Harriott (McAllister 74), Doyle, Quinn, Cresswell (Bogdanovic 60). Subs Not Used: Long, Mendez-Laing, Slew, Tonne.
Booked: Jean-Francois, Flynn.
Goals: Cresswell 28.
Att: 17,173
Ref: Nigel Miller (Durham).
EVERTON 3 SHEFFIELD UNITED 1: MIKEL'S ALL ART
25th August 2011 By Neil Johnston
Everton 3 Sheffield United 1
Daily Star
Four days after losing at home to Premier League new boys QPR, Richard Cresswell stunned Goodison by firing League One Sheffield United into the lead. But Everton roared back with three goals before the break. They were level when Cresswell netted past his own keeper before goals by Victor Anichebe and Spanish ace Arteta put the home side in command. Phil Jagielka was handed the skipper’s armband for the night against the club for who he made almost 300 appearances before a £4m move to Goodison in 2007. David Moyes made five changes to the starting line-up after Saturday’s dismal 1-0 defeat to Rangers. But there was still plenty of experience on show as the Toffees looked to avoid going out to League One opposition for the second straight campaign.
Last season Brentford left Moyes’s troops red-faced at the third round stage. And Everton had to endure another scare against lowly opposition before they hit three goals in 11 minutes.
Everton were determined to make up for the weekend’s disappointment as they peppered the Blades goal from the start. Keeper Steve Simonsen, who made 30 Premier League appearances for Everton between 1998 and 2004, marked his Goodison return by saving Marouane Fellaini’s 12-yard effort in the fifth minute. Having made his debut four days earlier, midfield boy wonder Ross Barkley went in search of his first senior goal. And the 17-year-old was not far off with a 20-yard attempt which whistled narrowly wide of the target in the seventh minute. Arteta went close with an 18th minute volley before the visitors took their shock 28th minute lead. Cresswell, one of the few former Premier League players on show for the visitors, connected with Stephen Quinn’s low centre to leave the Blades dreaming of an upset. But Cresswell went from hero to villain within three minutes when he turned the ball past his own keeper after Jack Rodwell had let fly. It was to go from bad to worse for Danny Wilson’s side. Anichebe made it 2-1 after good work by Barkley in the 37th minute before Arteta established a two-goal cushion from 20 yards five minutes later.
Everton 3-1 Sheffield United: Barkley enjoys crazy Carling Cup debut
By David Anderson
Daily Mirror August 25 2011
At last a win and a new talent to gladden the hearts of Evertonians. Everton's summer was threatening to rival Arsenal's in the depression stakes and after being blocked by the banks from buying anyone, David Moyes saw his side booed off following Saturday's shock home defeat to QPR.
Victory over League One Sheffield United in the Carling Cup does not suddenly make everything right, but at least Everton are finally up and running this season. And they have a new Blue hero to acclaim after 17-year-old Ross Barkley celebrated his first England Under-21 call-up by showing his fine senior debut on Saturday was no fluke. The home-grown midfielder, who has battled back from a triple fracture to his leg suffered last season, showed a maturity beyond his tender years as he drove Everton forward from his unfamiliar position on the right wing. The dynamic Barkley had a hand in two of Everton's goals and Moyes looks like he has unearthed another gem from his Academy. There were other positives for the Blues and Marouane Fellaini came through his first start since his ankle surgery six months ago and Mikel Arteta looked more like his old self.
Everton and their anxious fans still had to survive a scare before their happily-ever-after-ending and Danny Wilson's Blades took the lead on 28 minutes against the run of play with their first attack.
Former United hero Phil Jagielka made a hash of dealing with a long ball to let in Stephen Quinn down the left and the Irishman crossed for veteran striker Richard Cresswell to fire home. The pained expression on Bill Kenwright's face as he sat in the directors box and ran his fingers through his white hair said it all. Thankfully for Kenwright's nerves, Everton showed the sort of character Moyes expects from his side as they hit back to level three minutes later. When Leighton Baines' free-kick was deflected off the United wall out to the left wing, Jack Rodwell, who has also been called up by the Under-21s, picked it up and hit a shot from the narrow angle, which was deflected in off the hapless Cresswell. The poor old Blades skipper had gone from hero to zero in just three minutes. Everton were in no mood to be sympathetic and they took the lead on 37 minutes when Barkley's shot flew straight to Victor Anichebe, who diverted it past former Blues 'keeper Steve Simonsen. Barkley shamed some of his team-mates with his energy and he had a hand in Everton's killer third goal three minutes before the interval. He made a tremendous run on goal and when he was halted by Lecsinel Jean-Francois 20 yards out, Arteta pounced on the loose ball to plant it beyond Simonsen into the far bottom corner. Barkley was determined to get on the scoresheet to crown his two assists and hit a shot, which was well saved by Simonsen, before coming off to an ovation from the Blues fans in the 17,000 crowd at Goodison. Leon Osman also wanted a goal and Simonsen held his drive at the second attempt before he hit the post from 25 yards out.
Everton 3 Sheffield United 1
August 25 2011 The Sun
By MATT PARKER
ROSS BARKLEY proved Everton do have a bright future ? despite their money worries. There were a few chants of 'sack the board' from frustrated Toffees fans. But Barkley, called up to the England Under-21 squad earlier in the day, showed the Toffees do have something to look forward to.
Everton chairman Bill Kenwright waves to fans Richard Cresswell celebrates after breaking the deadlock David Moyes is on the warpath Jack Rodwell celebrates after Richard Cresswell's own goal Richard Cresswell dives into Mikel Arteta Victor Anichebe makes it 2-1 Ross Barkley hails Victor Anichebe The 17-year-old, who suffered a triple leg fracture last October, set up a goal as the hosts came from behind to see off Sheffield United. Goodison boss David Moyes said: "My plan was to take him off after half-time as last Saturday's game was the first 90 minutes he'd played in over a year. "But Jack Rodwell picked up an injury so I couldn't bring him off when I wanted." Richard Cresswell gave the Blades a 28th-minute lead but put the ball past his own keeper moments later.
Barkley's good work allowed Victor Anichebe to edge Everton 2-1 up and Mikel Arteta added a third before half-time. Blades boss Danny Wilson said: "I'm not at all disappointed with my players.
"I'm not at all surprised with how strong the Everton side was because they take the Carling Cup seriously. "But I wish they'd fielded their youth team!"
DREAM TEAM RATINGS
EVERTON: Mucha 7, Hibbert 7, Heitinga 7, Jagielka 7, Baines 7, Rodwell 6 (Saha 65, 6), Arteta 8, Fellaini 7, Barkley 8 (Baxter 78, 5), Osman 9 STAR MAN (Neville 78, 5), Anichebe 7. Subs not used: Howard, Distin, Vellios, Wallace. Booked: Arteta, Fellaini.
FAN’S MATCH REPORT: Sheffield Utd vs Everton - Blades Provide No Breeze for Blues
Thursday 25 August 2011 14:08
Sheffield Telegraph
Hardcore Blade fan Sam Fletcher gives us his scoop on Sheffield United’s defeat against Everton in the Carling Cup... SHEFFIELD United have failed to make the second round of the league cup in four seasons, so maybe a loss to David Moyes’ Everton had a certain inevitability about it. The two sides couldn’t be in more different situations with United sitting pretty near the top of League One and Everton just one place above the relegation zone in the Premier League. Unlike the Merseyside outfit, Danny Wilson’s Blades have made a superb start to the 2011/12 season, winning three games and drawing one – the only dropped points coming against Tranmere Rovers in a 1-1 draw on Saturday. Despite the ill-tempered reaction from the fans when Wilson was first appointed manager, the former Sheffield Wednesday manager and player seems to have brought some much-needed fresh atmosphere to the club. It may have taken a while for the supporters to warm to Wilson, but the league table on the other hand took an instant shine to the new boss. It will take more than a new manager though to ignite cup success for the Blades, as their only real League Cup run experience came in 2003 when they reached the semi-finals of the ‘Worthington Cup.’ Going into last night’s game, the Home side were always going to be big favourites but United could definitely play with some hope of a win as Moyes’ side haven’t shown - either in pre-season or in the opening fixtures - the edge they displayed throughout the previous campaign - Bramall Lane Favourite Neil Warnock took his Queens Park Rangers side to Goodison Park on Saturday and defeated them 1-0. The tie began well for the Blades, as they applied brief spells of pressure on the Toffees, before top goal scorer Richard Cresswell netted his fifth of the season inside the first 30 mins against the run of play. The delight was short-lived though, as Everton replied with a goal which, unfortunately for the Blades striker, went down as a Richard Cresswell own goal after a strike from Everton youngster Jack Rodwell deflected off his thigh and past the helpless Steve Simonsen, between the posts. The Premier League side continued to show their class as Anichebe and Arteta both found the net before half time. A sigh of relief could be heard around the stadium as Everton found a comfortable lead. The second half was a different story.
Possession was shared by both teams as Everton took control of a pretty uneventful climax to the match – Harry Maguire’s effort for Sheffield United and Leon Osman’s strike for Everton being the only real highlights. It was always on the cards. In the end it has to be said that United were beaten by a better and more deserving side, but impressively the two-division gap was never obvious as the two clubs met in a gritty and intelligent northern affair. Danny Wilson and his players can take many positives from Goodison Park as they travel to Yeovil for an entirely different contest on Saturday and I’m sure any Misery in Merseyside will soon be forgotten.
Blue Watch: Everton FC fightback was welcome sight, but problems still persist
Liverpool Daily Post
Aug 26 2011
AFTER thirty minutes of Wednesday night’s Everton FC Carling Cup encounter with Sheffield United, David Moyes must have felt like going on the run with Colonel Gaddafi. A goal down against League One opposition, following defeat to a QPR side acknowledged as one of the weakest to gain promotion to the Premier League, Moyes’ own position may have looked under threat.
But a swift fightback saw the Blues avoid humiliation – although the victory was hardly cause for wild, Libya-style celebration, AK47’s firing into the air. Premier League teams are always in a no-win situation in games like this, but the goings-on at Goodison last Saturday ensured a comfortable Carling Cup victory would not appease the fans. The QPR performance was a debacle. The Everton players performed like complete strangers, not a side that has been built on continuity over the last few years. Many of the Blues players, it appeared, were struggling to cope with Rangers’ superior fitness and strength. Moyes, yet again, faces accusations over his pre-season arrangements.
The Goodison howls that greeted his substitutions were proof of some fans’ disenchantment with the Scot. Even the manager’s greatest supporters were at a loss to explain why he did not just swap Beckford for Saha, rather than leave the side without a recognised striker, even if it was for just a few minutes. However, it’s important not to jump the gun. This is not a bad start to the season – just yet. Unfortunately this fragile Everton side are in for a trip to Ewood Park – the scene of many a collapse by the Toffees over the years. The Blues are worryingly blunt in attack, with even Moyes himself admitting after the QPR game that Everton have been desperately struggling for goals for at least a year. This presents the greatest threat to the club, above all others, at the moment.
But with the transfer deadline approaching and no cash available it seems Moyes must work his magic again to avoid a Goodison rebellion.
Mikel Arteta says Everton FC must rediscover their defensive toughness
Liverpool Daily PostAug 26 2011
MIKEL ARTETA admits Everton FC must rediscover defensive discipline after their leaky backline once again caused consternation at Goodison. Following the 1-0 defeat at home to Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League on Saturday, David Moyes’s EFC side went a goal behind once more against npower League One side United on Wednesday night in the Carling Cup when Richard Cresswell scored just before the half-hour mark. Moments later, though, the same player diverted the ball into his own net after goalkeeper Steve Simonsen had got a palm to a strike by Jack Rodwell.
The hosts then took control, with finishes from Victor Anichebe and Arteta before half-time wrapping up a 3-1 victory. Although the Spanish midfielder was pleased with the response, Arteta has expressed concern that Everton again allowed their opponents to take the lead. “We played some good stuff, but conceded a sloppy goal again,” he said. “Everything becomes more difficult when you fall behind – the crowd gets a bit anxious, we get a bit anxious, and it's hard to get back in the game. “It's really important we get back to what we used to be good at which is being tight at the back and not conceding." The win came as a welcome boost for everyone connected with Everton after their season had got under way in such disappointing fashion with the loss on Saturday. They have also endured a frustrating summer of limited activity in the transfer market and chairman Bill Kenwright last week admitted the club's recruitment plans were being hampered by their inability to borrow from the bank. Arteta hopes their campaign has now been kickstarted and that the gloom will begin to lift. “Hopefully this (result) will increase our confidence and change the perspective,” he said. “Everyone seems to be really down and negative about the future of the club right now, but we need to move away from that. “We know what we've got in the changing room and if nobody else comes in to help us that's it, every one of us needs to give that little bit more to make up the difference against other teams.” One shining light for Evertonians has been the form of 17-year-old Ross Barkley, who followed a fine debut against QPR with another impressive performance in midweek. And Arteta has been suitably impressed by the midfielder. “I think he can be really good,” he said. “He's got something about him. “We don't want to put too much pressure on him, but we know he can really help us at the moment. “He's brave to take the ball in good areas and creates something, so it's pleasing for him. But the pressure is on the more experienced players.” Everton manager Moyes is certainly doing his best to focus on the positive factors, such as being able to start with Arteta and Marouane Fellaini – both sidelined recently by injury – against the Blades. “They are getting fitter,” said Moyes. “With Fellaini, you could see he is not ready but is getting ready, although by the second half his concentration had dropped a little bit with his passing – Mikel as well. “They weren't ready to start last week and that is why we have tried to bring them on.” United manager Danny Wilson could see little evidence that Everton might be going through a crisis. “It has made me smile in this last week or so that people are writing them off after one game – it is amazing,” he said.
Ian Doyle: Big decisions on deadline day for Everton FC manager David Moyes
Liverpool Daily Post Aug 26 2011
The Everton FC manager admitted this week he must sanction a big-money departure if he is to bring in any major new signings. Arsenal are still sniffing around Phil Jagielka despite receiving little encouragement from the player, but outside interest in Marouane Fellaini will most likely give Moyes something to ponder. Either way, last-minute loan and Bosman deals may be the order of the day.
Ian Doyle: Bill Kenwright has to ensure Everton FC don’t miss the boat
Liverpool Daily Pos,tAug 26
HOW do you sell a football club? It’s become a pertinent question among Evertonians following yet another traumatic week. The morality of the alleged actions of the Blue Union in their meeting with Bill Kenwright has already been heavily debated; suffice to say if a journalist secretly taped a conversation, that would most likely be the last they’d ever hear from the contact. But the transcript of the conversation – the contents of which have not been denied by Everton FC – has thrown up some intriguing points, not least painting in painful detail attempts to gain new investment. Yes, it’s embarrassing the club were apparently some way down the line to being tricked by hoaxers before smelling a rat. And the efforts of financier Keith Harris to find a buyer appear so flimsy that Orville would probably do a better job. So why isn’t anyone seemingly seriously interested in Everton? Or, as many fans would more accurately contend, what would it take for Kenwright to release his hold on the club? There has to be some reason why Everton appear toxic to would-be investors. Kenwright points to the credit crunch, but the likes of Queens Park Rangers, Blackburn Rovers and, yes, Liverpool have proven buyers are out there, albeit with varying intentions. Everton’s debt of £45million, while clearly now excessive for their bank Barclays, is, as David Moyes declared last week, “small fry” in comparison to some other clubs. This time last year, Liverpool were £240m in arrears. Under Kenwright’s chairmanship, Everton, largely through the appointment of Moyes, have been transformed from relegation strugglers into, until this season at least, regularly challenging for European qualification. But Moyes and his players aren’t the reason why anyone would buy Everton. Just look at their neighbours. John Henry and his Fenway Sports Group didn’t rescue Liverpool because of their manager; they jettisoned Roy Hodgson within three months of taking over last October. Nor did they buy Liverpool for its squad; one of the club’s best players, Javier Mascherano, had left six weeks earlier and the new owners soon sanctioned the sale of another, Fernando Torres. Theirs was a business decision, albeit one with the obvious desire of helping construct a successful team. Sure, there will be a significant funding in stadia, with the Americans soon to decide whether to rebuild Anfield or construct a completely new facility. But FSG are confident that, given Liverpool’s worldwide fanbase and interest in naming rights for any new stadium, their investment would be assured a healthy return. And that’s Everton’s main problem. Any investors must first grapple with the Goodison problem, a weighty outlay with no guarantee it will pay off in the foreseeable future. That doesn’t make it insurmountable, however. While no-one is going to make a quick buck out of Everton, the reward for patience is surely there. Everton need a visionary. Someone, or some group, who is prepared to dig in for the long haul. So are the club doing enough to sell themselves? Evidently not. Don’t forget, this isn’t Norwich City or Swansea City we’re talking about, but the fourth-most successful club in English league history, which has spent the most time in the top flight. Everton should be advertised on its strengths – a well-supported Premier League team with a world-class, albeit leased, training facility that works within its limits and hasn’t overly been caught in the trap of trying to keep up with the leading clubs. That may be not what supporters want to hear right now, but clearly the banks have decided the Goodison outfit are no longer able to chase the dream. Reality has bitten. Everton are still paying the price for not so much mismanagement in the early Premier League era, but a failure to fully move with the times they were pressing for as one of the original ‘big five’. They’ve long since been usurped from that exclusive group. Only now, thanks to improvements in their commercial operation, are they starting to play catch-up. But it is a long, long road. Everton must be more proactive. There are things that can be done – securing a site for a new stadium would be a start – although Kenwright’s reluctance to reveal a price tag makes it impossible to speculate whether he is overvaluing the club. While no-one of sane mind would deny the chairman’s devotion to Everton, he must reconcile his efforts to protect against cowboy investment with an understandable desire to cling on to a dream role of every Evertonian. It’s clear the current regime has taken the club as far as it can. Everton missed the boat once in the Premier League era; perhaps Kenwright’s greatest legacy would be to ensure they dare not do so again.
Everton FC braced for fresh Arsenal bid for Phil Jagielka
by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily PostAug 26 2011
EVERTON FC are braced for a fresh attempt by Arsenal to prise Phil Jagielka away from Goodison Park. The Gunners failed in a £12million bid last month for Jagielka as their manager Arsene Wenger seeks to bolster his centre-back options. Arsenal, though, will return with an improved offer ahead of Wednesday’s transfer deadline, with Wenger flush with cash after the recent sales of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri and able to offer Champions League football. While Jagielka has shown no inclination of wanting to leave Goodison, Everton manager David Moyes acknowledged earlier this week he would have to sell one of his leading players if he wants to reinforce his squad.
And the Gunners are expected to test Everton’s resolve in holding on to the England international.
Meanwhile, Victor Anichebe is hoping to build on his return to goalscoring form after coming through his first full match for Everton in more than two years. Anichebe was on the mark on Wednesday night as David Moyes’s side ultimately eased into tomorrow’s Carling Cup third round draw with a 3-1 win over npower League One side Sheffield United. Remarkably, it was Anichebe’s first full 90-minute appearance since he played the whole of the 1-1 Premier League draw at Liverpool in January 2009. His strike ended a 17-month goal drought, and the 23-year-old said: “It's always pleasing to score but it was more pleasing to complete 90 minutes. It's been a while since I've done that. “Hopefully I can do that more and keep fully fit and keep developing as a player.”
While many of Anichebe’s recent appearances have been on the wing, on Wednesday he began the match as a lone striker. And he was impressed by the service from team-mates Leighton Baines, Ross Barkley, Mikel Arteta, Marouane Fellaini and Jack Rodwell. “I’ve always said I don’t mind playing on the right or left, but it’s good to play up front again,” he admitted. “We have Bainesy who is like a left-wing back, Ross is a dream to play with because he comes inside and looks for one-twos. Mikel is the same and we have Felli and Jack who bomb forward at times as well. “That is nice with the way I play with my back to goal. It is good to have people in front of me, Ross was a big help, he was always looking for me and Mikel was the same." Everton aim to get off the mark in the Premier League tomorrow when they visit struggling Blackburn Rovers. And Anichebe added: “Hopefully we can take this win into the weekend and kick start our season. “We’re looking forward to Blackburn now, the manager rested a few players and we’ll be ready for them. “Hopefully we can make the fans happier. They weren’t too happy last weekend against QPR, which was fair enough.”
Ross can be boss believes Everton chief
Friday 26 August 2011 07:40
Sheffiled Star
Everton manager David Moyes is confident Ross Barkley is ready to play for England U21s but has stressed the teenage midfielder remains very much a raw talent. Barkley made an impressive senior debut for the Toffees in Saturday’s 1-0 Premier League defeat to Queens park Rangers and having kept his place in the starting line-up, put in another eye-catching display as Moyes’ side came from behind to beat Sheffield United 3-1 in the Carling Cup second round . The 17-year-old has been called into Stuart Pearce’s England U21s squad for the first time, a level his club manager has no doubt Barkley will be able to handle. Moyes is, however, keen to point out the player has spent considerable time on the sidelines due to injuries and still has a long way to go in his development.
“I spoke to Pearce and he is ready for the U21s.” Moyes said. “But the boy has not played enough.
“He made a couple of mistakes (against the Blades at Goodison Park) in the first half with the ball - you will find there will be times when he does things and you think it’s not maybe quite right. That is because he missed a year and has been plunged right in at the deep end.” Barkley was involved in two of Everton’s goals against Sheffield United, who had taken the lead thanks to Richard Cresswell.
Asked what his reaction had been to United’s opener, the Scot said: “I thought ‘here we go’ because that is just where we are at the moment. “But they kept going. We showed great resilience and the players didn’t let it get to them.”
Howard Kendall: Time to stop the transfer window madness
by Howard Kendall, Liverpool Echo Aug 26 2011
I think the time for change has arrived in English football, with regards to the dreaded transfer window, and the detrimental effect it has on clubs. I heard Wolves manager Mick McCarthy make a great point recently about how the transfer window should be closed before the season begins.
I agree fully. If clubs were told that they needed to do all their business in the summer, then you wouldn’t have the situations which are developing at clubs all over the country at the moment, of players being unsettled and clubs being adversely affected. Clubs should be able to go into the new season knowing what they have to work with, and being in charge of their players. If someone wants to buy a player, they should do it in the summer months, instead of disrupting a team trying to settle into the new season. At the end of the day, players are under contract, and if a club doesn’t want to sell, then they shouldn’t have to. Of course the modern game doesn’t really work like that, unfortunately. But at least at Everton the idea of players being distracted by tranfer talk is not an issue. The likes of Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines have been linked with other clubs, but I have to say that as an onlooker, I cannot see any player giving anything less than 100 per cent. That is a credit to David Moyes and to Bill Kenwright. We had the situation with Joleon Lescott a few years back where his head was turned and his commitment wasn’t there. You could see that a mile off.
He played against Arsenal on the opening day, and was the only player who didn’t applaud the fans afterwards. Thankfully, that is not the case with the current group of players.
Ross Barkley the bright spot for Everton FC, even in wide midfield role
THE undoubted bright spot of the defeat to Queens Park Rangers last week was young Ross Barkley, whose performance has got everyone talking. The lad is clearly an outstanding talent. He is quick, he plays with his head up and he is two footed. He is the type of player you rarely see, but we must be careful not to get carried away. Those who work with him know his qualities, that is why he is in the team. Age is no issue, it is quality, and he has got it. He wants the ball all the time and he seems to have everything in his locker. He played wide left against QPR, and then wide on the right against Sheffield United on Wednesday, and looked comfortable in both positions. And I can see why David would use him out wide, too. Liverpool used to do it with their midfielders in the 1970s and 80s. The likes of Sammy Lee, Ronnie Whelan and Terry McDermott would serve their apprenticeships playing on the wing, before moving infield. It teaches a young player about discipline, about getting up and down and about making sure they are involved in the game. I think a spell out wide will do Ross no harm whatsoever, and will benefit him in the long-run. Comparing Andy Carroll to Duncan Ferguson may be a bit premature I said in my column recently that I felt that Andy Carroll could have the same kind of impact for Liverpool as Duncan Ferguson had for Everton - that of an iconic, cult figure.
And while I still think that could be the case, and that Andy is potentially a fantastic player, I do have one small concern. For having watched him recently, I can’t help but feel he goes to ground too easily when challenged by defenders. If Duncan ever collided with a defender, it would not be him on the ground, it would be them! And they would usually not get up, too. He’s a smashing player is Carroll, but that is certainly something he needs to iron out of his game quickly.
Everton FC hitman Louis Saha hopes summer training camp work will pay off
by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo Aug 26 2011
LOUIS SAHA has found himself in a frustrating, if familiar position during Everton FC’s first two matches of this season – playing a bit part as a result of injury. Ankle surgery in March meant the striker was always playing catch up during the crucial pre-season training regimen and as a result found himself on the substitutes’ bench against Queens Park Rangers and Sheffield United when the season started. But the striker, who scored 10 goals in his 17 starts last season, is confident he can prove his fitness and believes extra work he put in at a private training camp during the summer can pay off. While his team-mates were sunning themselves on beaches or enjoying family trips to Disneyland, Saha spent time at the Camp Eight training complex in the south of France, working on his fitness. “I have worked hard this summer,” he explained. “I was in Camp Eight and was on a machine that has a mask on your face. I was there for nearly two or three months working hard in camp. “I had all the machines available and I did use them all, so it hopefully helped me. I can say it’s the longest I have worked in the summer. I was injured from March, and I was in a cast for two months. “Because of that I worked hard for four months, and I can say it was really, really hard, yeah. I would say I’m in the best shape since I have been here at Everton.” Everton will need Saha to stay as injury-free as possible. When fully fit, even at the age of 33 he still remains one of the most feared forwards in the Premier League. His four-goal performance against Blackpool last season – when he also had another ‘goal’ harshly disallowed – was an individual display bettered only by Dimitar Berbatov’s five goal blast for United against Blackburn. And with Yakubu currently persona non grata, Jermaine Beckford still a relative rookie in the top flight and Victor Anichebe scoring his first goal for 20 months in midweek, his goal threat will be crucially important. It is a responsibility he is happy to embrace – especially with Everton’s financial constraints preventing the likelihood of a new goal threat being signed before the transfer window closes next week. “I have always looked after myself to try and come back from the injuries, but I have always been unlucky in that,” he added. “It is one thing (the injury), so I have had time to work and make sure that I am fully prepared. Sometimes you do too much and get even more stress, and that can cause further injuries to happen to you. “When I got the injury (against Fulham last season) I tried to hit the ball and I didn’t see the giant Hangeland come, and he just knocked me down. “It was really hard for me, really really hard. A few injuries are tough to overcome, but this one was terrible – the timing of it was not right. I was coming back better, and then to have that kind of injury is really hard to come back from, but I love my game I love football, so I am here. “I feel I am ready to be one of the big players for Everton this season.” There is another player who has only briefly crossed Saha’s radar who may also become a big player at Everton this season. Ross Barkley was called up into the England Under-21 squad this week – after one solitary first team start. Barkley followed up that eye-catching display against Queens Park Rangers with another equally promising performance against Sheffield United in midweek. And afterwards Moyes declared he had had no doubts Barkley would be able to handle the step up from Premier League to international football as smoothly as the transition from reserves to senior side. Moyes is keen to point out, however, the player has spent considerable time on the sidelines due to injuries – including a broken leg suffered last October – and still has a long way to go in his development. “I spoke to Stuart Pearce and he is ready for the Under-21s,” Moyes said. “But the boy has not played enough games of football. “He made a couple of mistakes in the first half with the ball – you will find there will be times when he does things and you think it’s not maybe quite right. “That is because he missed a year and has been plunged right in at the deep end.” Barkley (right) helped create two of Everton’s goals against The Blades, and was part of a much improved team performance which had an admirer in the opposition dug-out.
Blades boss Danny Wilson said: “I had to smile when I read the stories this week that people were writing Everton off. “They have a good squad and some great players and they played some really good football in areas of the pitch that hurt us. “The little triangles and the movement was very good.”
David Prentice: Everton FC fans need fighting spirit - not brawling in the stands
by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
Aug 26 2011
Everton fansGOODISON PARK is often feted as an intimidating arena. Not every week. Not in a blind faith, Stoke City kind of way. But when the chips are down, or the home fans have the bit between their teeth, there are few stadia capable of making life more uncomfortable for visitors. That changed on Saturday. Goodison Park became an uncomfortable arena for Evertonians. A heartfelt letter sent to The Echo by a reader in Croxteth underlined the damaging divisions which are developing in the Everton fan base. Peter Roberts wrote: “August the 20th 2011 is a day that will live long in my memory. “In fact it will be there for the rest of my life. “My son, Graeme, who is not a child but a young man of 29 years of age, follows Everton everywhere. “Already this season he has been to Bury, Germany, Ireland and is ready to go to Blackburn on Saturday. Everton is imprinted over his body. His home is like a shrine to Everton. “But on this day I saw my son cry at the Everton-QPR game, not because of the result, but for the first time in his young life watching his beloved Everton he witnessed fighting between Everton fans. “He has a season ticket in the Lower Gwladys Street, seat number KK92. The fighting began when some idiots shouting for the sacking of first the Board, then the Chairman, then of all things, the sacking of David Moyes. “This then started to escalate into foul and abusive language between the fans and the fighting started between the idiots and the fans who were trying to tell them to stop and get behind the team. “One thing led to another and fighting broke out at the back of the stand. “My son could not believe it. Everton fans fighting between themselves instead of getting behind the club and giving them and the players their full support, as we are going through a difficult time. “I have never seen my son so upset.
“Like I wrote earlier he is not a child. He is 29 years of age. His whole night was ruined and even as I write this letter to you his mind and thoughts are twisted up. “If you want to put this letter in your paper you have my permission to do so. “It may bring the fans back as one and let’s all stay together until things improve. By the way, he will be there again on Wednesday. “He was born a blue, he will live a blue and die a blue. He was not manufactured. “Mr Peter Roberts. EFC. (full address supplied).” I hope Mr Roberts’ son had a more enjoyable experience on Wednesday night. But the potential for angst amongst Evertonians has not been far from the surface all summer.
The reasons are clear. The lack of spending – again – while neighbours Liverpool splash money about like water, a stony silence from their manager – broken only to deliver gloom-laden prophesies of a struggle to reach a top-10 finish – and an injury to last season’s Young Player of the Year have all contributed. But so, too, has a growing internet campaign to try and ‘dig the dirt’ and put the boot into Everton Football Club at every possible opportunity. The internet has empowered the ordinary football fan like never before – as proven by the successful e-petition campaign to force the government to debate the hidden Hillsborough papers. The ability to swap views, air opinions and circulate breaking stories has never been better. But it’s not always a force for good.
The number of conspiracy theories, the profusion of well written but seriously flawed articles masquerading as investigative journalism and the basic mischief-making is staggering. Websites which are unpoliced and not subject to the legal and journalistic boundaries which govern the printed press have the capability to whip up the masses into, at best, indignation, at worst outright anger. The latest conspiracy, presented as fact, concerns a £13m loan taken out by Everton from one of their own directors. The loan came from the Vibrac Corporation based in the British Virgin Islands, which is also a business address used by Robert Earl. Hence some fans putting two and two together and making five. The facts are far less sinister. The loan is not a new loan. And Robert Earl, or anybody even remotely connected to him, is not the lender. It’s a renewal of the same loan Everton have had in place for the past two seasons. The old one is paid back every year and a new one is taken out. Everton have used a different lender this season because they offer a better rate.
The loan is £14m and is absolutely not an increase in borrowing. Bang goes that conspiracy theory. But there are plenty more. Of course if Everton answered every charge levelled at them on the internet they’d have little time for the real business of running – and selling – the football club.
And the sale issue is the one that divides Evertonians the most. Some fans still believe that Bill Kenwright is blocking a sale of the club and has even turned away offers from Sheikh Mansour and Randy Lerner. Others – myself included – do not, although his choice of vendors used to try and find a buyer leave a lot to be desired. Which is why I was reassured to read an editorial from those loveable street urchins of the long-running fanzine When Skies Are Grey this week, which showed there are other supporters out there who share that view. Cutting through the conspiracy theories in typically blunt, but colourful fashion, they declared: “The idea that Kenwright can be ‘driven’ out of the club is farcical without someone willing to buy the ****ing thing off him. “Marches, protests, sit-ins, lock-ins or love-ins, it doesn’t really matter – **** it, you could drag the board out to the woods like in Miller’s Crossing and put guns to their heads and demand that they sell Everton – that won’t make a buyer materialise.” Others think differently. Is it now impossible for fans to have diametrically opposed views but still support the one common aim – a successful Everton Football Club? Can we swap views without swapping punches? Is it not possible for one fan to share a different view to another, without one being labelled an anarchist and the other an apologist?
One of Everton’s greatest strengths in recent seasons has been its unity. A unity between chairman and manager, a unity between team- mates and a unity between supporters that makes Goodison Park a fearsome place to visit. Lose that and Everton really will have problems.
Ross Barkley is a dream team-mate, says Everton FC striker Victor Anichebe
by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
Aug 26 2011
EVERTON FC forward Victor Anichebe has saluted the ‘dream’ service from teen sensation Ross Barkley which helped him to celebrate his first goal for more than 20 months. Anichebe rapped in the decisive second goal against Sheffield United in midweek to break a personal goal drought which had stretched back to the end of the 2009/10 season. The goal came from a driven Barkley cross and Anichebe enthused: “Ross is a dream to play with because he comes inside and looks for one-twos. “Ross was a big help, he was always looking for me and Mikel (Arteta) was the same.
“It’s always pleasing to score but it was more pleasing to complete 90 minutes. It’s been a while since I’ve done that. Hopefully I can do that more and keep developing. “Hopefully we can take this win into the weekend and kick start our season.” Everton created a number of goalscoring opportunities against The Blades and Anichebe believes that is down to the willingness of so many players in the side to get forward. “We have Bainesy who is like a left-wing back,” he added. “We have Felli and Jack who bomb forward at times as well and that is nice with the way I play with my back to goal. “It is good to have people in front of me.” Manager David Moyes was pleased with Anichebe’s contribution, and he also explained he had no worries about Phil Jagielka’s form.
The usually unflappable Blues defender has been the subject of interest from Arsenal this summer and was involved in both goals Everton have conceded this season. But Moyes does not see echoes of the Joleon Lescott saga, when Everton conceded six on the opening day of the 2009/10 season to Arsenal after bids from Manchester City had unsettled the central defender. “I’m happy with Phil mentally,” said Moyes. “He’s definitely not unsettled by the transfer talk. "He just needs to tighten up.”
Everton FC letters: Why are Blues so short of transfer cash?
Aug 26 2011
I AM writing because I have written to Bill Kenwright in the past but not had the courtesy of a reply.
In a statement made to the media, he says he cannot borrow money from the banks, why he needs to is beyond me. Everton receive millions from Sky Sports, we also receive millions for finishing high in the table, we sold the old training ground for a lot of money. Kitbag and Chang have given us millions in the past, we received five and a half million pounds for Vaughan and Pienaar. We have one of the highest average attendances in the Premier, outside the top five. The money for the new ground was ringfenced according to Robert Elstone, we have one of the smallest squads in the Premier League, so it can’t be wages can it? Where has the money gone?
J Byrne, Hunts Cross
YET again Everton lurch into a new season with bleary eyes, while every other team is sharp and ready for the action. Why does this happen every year? Judging by the way Spurs destroyed Hearts it’s a good job the first game was postponed because they would have humiliated Everton. And as for talk of the transfer window closing – well it never opened for Everton did it? We are in desperate need of more players and yet we will be the one club on deadline day that Sky Sports News presenter Jim White won’t be screaming about. It’s time for the Blues to pull their finger out.
Tommy Atwood, Kensington
AMIDST all the doom and gloom at Goodison on Saturday, there was a ray of hope on the pitch.
Youngster Ross Barkley emerged from the shadows of youth and reserve team to football to the limelight of the Premier League and did not look out of place one jot. This boy showed some real class, clearly he is supremely talented but his coolness on the ball and confidence through the game belied his young age and inexperience. Clearly Everton still have one of the best youth systems in Europe. Everybody involved with the development of this young man deserves a pat on the back.
Let’s not sell him, though. We don’t want a repeat of the Rooney saga.
Dave Murphy, Bootle
WHAT has happened to Jack Rodwell?
Saturday’s performance against QPR was one of the worst I have ever seen an Everton player give.
There is no doubt this lad has quality – look at his goal against Man United a few years ago. But he seems to be going backwards. He wasn’t helped by being played out on the right, but that cannot excuse some woeful passing and an almost statue-like performance. You can’t knock the lad for missing his goal scoring chance, all players miss sometimes. But his general performance was way below acceptable levels.
George Donnelly, Huyton
I WITNESSED Saturday’s debacle and we did look undercooked. We had no natural width and playing Rodwell and Barkley in wide areas meant they both instinctively moved centrally causing nothing but congestion and no crosses were being delivered to the strikers. Got to give Bily another go I think and with no other wide players probably best to play Ossie out wide as he will stay out wide, but he’s no winger either. There was no outlet player for Baines on Saturday rendering him ineffective. Heitinga is a waste of time in central midfield and Cahill’s place must now be under scrutiny. Would like to see two out and out strikers take on Blackburn. Ross Barkley is without doubt a star of the future, but in central midfield not wide left.
Phil Harris, Northwich
Everton FC jury: Blues fans on a mixed week that saw defeat to QPR but Carling Cup progress
Aug 26 2011
TONY SCOTT, Walton
IT’S been a week of an embarrassing QPR defeat, no signings (yawn), Moyes backing his chairman and saying 10th place is a success, manager and club captain have a pop at certain Everton fans and 17,000 hardy souls turn up for a cup game. As for the fans who were at the Chairman meeting last week, I couldn't care if they used smoke signals to get the information out, something has to change because Everton FC is in its worst financial state ever with the banks threatening to "kill us".
Whilst I would never question Bill Kenwright as a blue, I do question his ability to take this club forward. And as for Phil Neville saying there are some "bad fans" trying to spread negativity, isn't this the same player who's silence about the Spurs interest last season was deafening? Some Everton players and management should be very, very careful what the say about loyal, paying fans – especially after performances like QPR.
RICHARD KNIGHTS, West Derby
THE start of the season? Once again we are left like a sprinter stranded on the blocks – apart from the Carling Cup victory. I’m not one of those Jeremiah’s or Cassandra’s who spread doom and gloom at every opportunity. I don’t haunt the moaning with Moyes must go and sack the board. On the other hand, what is it with the first game of the season? QPR aren’t exactly Champions League contenders. Whacked 4-0 by Bolton on the opening day, this should have been a three point banker.
Granted we don’t have millions of oil wealth to waste but what has happened to our scouting system? There must be promising players in the lower leagues. We’ve done it before with the likes of Cahill. As for consulting with the fans, Mr Kenwright seems to have retreated to his bunker. The troops aren’t happy.
DAVID WALLBANK, Huyton
AFTER Wednesday night’s Carling Cup win against Sheffield United some of the doom has been shifted away from the club. But with the transfer deadline approaching fast, it seems that the frustration of the fans will continue. After QPR I was left scratching my head wondering how we never won the game. Other fans used this as a platform to vent even more anger towards the board and in particular Bill Kenwright. My opinion is simple, we over achieve every season but have a great manager with a decent squad who has worked wonders in difficult circumstances. An interesting fixture at Ewood Park awaits Moyes, surely three points signals a return to form, an would give us some breathing space. Blackburn are the perfect example of foreign investment, owners promising to sign lots of world superstars, while delivering David Goodwillie from Dundee United. Be careful what you wish for, the grass is never greener on the other side! COYB
MIKE WILLIAMSON, Chester
IT’S hard to believe that a home win against Sheffield United could be cause for real satisfaction but after the depression of the QPR game we did get back last night to something approaching a reasonable performance. Fellaini was excellent and there were solid performances throughout the team and even flashes of the old Arteta, even though he is still clearly some way off full fitness. Barkley was again a joy to watch and it was a relief to see Victor score again. As important as last night’s result was, it’s Saturday’s game at Blackburn that really matters. It’s a great chance to start all over again and get last week completely out of the system. After all, it was only one game. Fellaini has to start and Moyes has to consider the option of Saha and Beckford starting.
In other words, we need to go looking for a positive result from the start and not wait to be a goal or two down before we start playing the way we can. Nil Satis and all that.
Louis Saha upbeat about Everton despite financial squeeze
Andy Hunter Guardian.
Friday 26 August 2011
Louis Saha, the Everton striker, says 'it is not easy to get the finance to spend on players. We just have to work hard and move on. There are many problems at Everton but a manager unable to impart his message after almost 10 years in charge is not one of them. A surprisingly upbeat Louis Saha is testament to that. Ahead of the new campaign, and conscious of the financial constraints that have been made public via Bill Kenwright's meeting with the supporters' group The Blue Union, David Moyes held a clear-the-air discussion of his own. Assembling his squad at the club's Finch Farm training ground, he confirmed there was no money and that the new faces required to enhance competition, strength and morale within the Everton squad would not, in all likelihood, be forthcoming. Moyes had one more message for the room of highly paid internationals, however: no excuses. Whether Everton's existing crop can withstand the drain on already slender resources and ignore the furore over the lack of investment remains to be seen. Recent Premier League history suggests they will not, regardless of Moyes's orders. Home defeat by newly promoted Queens Park Rangers in their first match, followed by the manager drawing parallels with Sheffield United's fall from grace before a comfortable Carling Cup win over them on Wednesday, does not augur well ahead of Saturday's trip to another side attracted to crisis with indecent haste this season, Blackburn Rovers. Yet Saha has not bought into the despondency. "The Premier League is getting better and harder every year but I do think this team can improve without new faces," the French striker claims. "We have a good squad, good players, but last year we found it hard to get any consistency because of the amount of injuries we had. We didn't start well and it can be very easy for negativity to surface when that happens. Confidence wasn't high after the start we made and the team was quickly under pressure because of our position in the league. "I understand why the fans are frustrated. As a supporter you always want things to improve. But you know, people in the club, on the board, are trying hard. It is not easy to get the finance to spend on players. If it is possible, I'm sure they will do it, but it is not. There is nothing the board can do, nothing the players can do, so we just have to work hard and move on. I still think this season can be different." Saha spent time in an oxygen chamber over the summer as he recovered from a serious ankle injury. The cynics might suggest the air has gone to the striker's head but, as Moyes has stated, this is a squad tipped for a Champions League challenge last season and into which most of Everton's money goes on wages.
"There may be more responsibility on me to score goals because we haven't brought anyone in but I don't think there is any footballer who wouldn't relish that responsibility," he says. "We have a manager and chairman at Everton who know that part of the job is to get the best out of the players here. I am a goalscorer, I aim to get the best out of my ability and I'm pretty confident I can do that. I am also confident in the players I have got around me. "For sure, everyone would be lifted by a new face but that is not the case right now. So the players have to step up. We have the quality. It could be Mikel [Arteta], it could be Tim Cahill, it could be [Marouane] Fellaini, it could be many players of the big players we have and because of that I am confident we are going to break the top five."
Optimism has had to become a default setting for Saha. His career has been plagued by injury and he is clearly not 100% this season, yet he refuses to brood – even at 33, he spent the summer analysing DVDs of his performances from last season as a means to improve – and has been recalled to the France squad by Laurent Blanc for next month's Euro 2012 qualifiers. "Injuries have made me lose time and they have cost me trophies," he adds. "They have made me lose all the things I love. I love the game, I love football. But you have to accept the injuries and get over them in your mind. I feel I am ready to be one of the big players for Everton this season. I am here to help."
No money, no signings and no hope... Everton are a club going nowhere
By Ian Ladyman
26th August 2011
Daily mAIL
The 'Everton Timeline' that works its way around the exterior walls of Goodison Park is particularly impressive as it turns the corner from Gwladys Street to run south along the wall of the Main Stand.
Consecutive pictures celebrate Graeme Sharp's stunning derby winner at Anfield in 1984, the European Cup-winners' Cup success of 1985 and the First Division championship triumph of 1987.
They were heady times, all right, but by the time this fascinating montage of dates and pictures reaches its conclusion further along Goodison Road things have started to fall a little flat.
The highlighted moments of recent years include the signings of James Beattie in 2005 and Andrew Johnson in 2006. After a photo showing Louis Saha scoring the first goal of the 2009 FA Cup final - a game Everton lost - the timeline appears to run out of room. It is perhaps just as well.
Sign of the times: Louis Saha's fastest FA Cup final goal adorns the Everton Timeline Goodison Park on match night. There are few better places in English football to watch a game - even if it is a Carling Cup tie. outside things are as they always are here. The crowds spill into the street from the Winslow Hotel and the Spellow Pub. The Goodison Supper Bar coins it in. The residents of Gwladys Street stand in their doorways. Scenes like this are disappearing from our game. It is no longer like this near the modern stadia of Manchester City, Sunderland and Arsenal. But this snapshot picture of English football's heritage disguises a restlessness that eats at the soul of this great football club. For Everton are a club going nowhere. Little more than a week ago - in a transcript of a meeting between a fans' group called The Blue Union and Everton chairman Bill Kenwright - the scale of the problems became clear. Kenwright, during a conversation he claims was 'off the record', revealed that Everton are so in hock to Barclays Bank that they are no longer allowed to buy players. Manager David Moyes has not bought or loaned anyone all summer. The vultures hover around star assets like Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines. Kenwright, meanwhile, admitted he has asked Barclays 'not to kill us this season'. It is a desperate situation that is only getting worse. Everton desperately need a buyer. It is the only way out of a hole that would undoubtedly be bigger were it not for the continuing skill of Moyes and his capacity for bringing players through the youth system. There is no sugar daddy in sight, though, and an increasing number of fans are looking to blame Kenwright. Dave Kelly, who speaks on behalf of an Everton fans organisation, the People's Group, said: 'We are not against Kenwright as a person or as an Everton enthusiast. But we are against stagnation. This club are stagnating under his leadership and doing nothing about it is the one option we do not have. 'I sense a lot of anger around Goodison on match days and a lot of it is being directed at Bill.' In the transcript of his meeting with Blue Union, Kenwright says on a number of occasions that he is the 'best man' to sell the club. Nevertheless, it is not a coherent or impressive performance. At one point he admits the club were close to being hood-winked by one prospective buyer who transpired to be a con artist living alone in a one-bedroomed flat in Manchester. Alarm bells: Everton lost their opening home game against newly-promoted QPR Some of the rank and file have not been impressed, even suggesting the owner is not actually trying to sell at all. With Kenwright owning 25 per cent of the club, deputy chairman Jon Wood 19 per cent and US-based businessman Robert Earl a further 25 per cent, the three men control Everton's destiny. Some of the more conspiratorial supporters question the influence of Top Shop owner Sir Philip Green, an ally of Kenwright who introduced him to Earl several years ago. Green has stressed he has 'no status' at the club. 'We would like to know what - if anything - Green's role is,' said Kelly. 'And, if Kenwright has been trying to sell this club 24/7 for all these years, then he hasn't proved to be very good at it. 'What I think we need to do is to follow the example of our cousins across Stanley Park at Liverpool. We need to appoint an interim board with the sole intention of trying to sell this club or at least attract the investment we need.' Outside the ground two men approach the turnstiles. One comments on the low crowd. His mate replies: 'Why should they come? We won't win nothing. We never do.'
Atmospheric: Goodison Park still holds a special magic After kick-off on Wednesday, Goodison's enduring beauty is apparent once again. There are fewer than 18,000 people inside but it remains atmospheric. From the lower tier of the Gwladys Street End you can hear the thud as Jagielka heads an early cross clear. It is this arena, though, that is doing so much to hold Everton back. It may score highly on aesthetics but it does absolutely nothing to make the club any money.
Its capacity of 40,000 is too small while the fact that the stadium has only 10 executive boxes is staggering. Old Trafford has 155, Manchester City's Etihad Stadium 66 while even MK Dons in League One have 28. Against this background, it is no wonder that Everton's wage bill for the 2009-10 season was a relatively modest £54.3million. That figure is £26m less than Aston Villa's, for example, and closer to Blackburn and Fulham than to 'comparable' clubs such as Tottenham. Everton's spending on players also plays to this depressing theme. Since Moyes arrived in 2002, it is half of Villa's and a fifth of Tottenham's. How much of this is due to the fact that Everton are stuck fast in their antiquated stadium? A great deal, it would appear. Everton's failure to fund a move to a new ground by the River Mersey hurt the club badly in 2003. The impressive Echo Arena concert venue now stands proudly on the site. Former Everton captain Kevin Ratcliffe said: 'That one was the big one. Every time I drive past that place I think of what may have been. 'We all love Goodison. Joe Royle always used to say that there was no place like it and I agree. You can almost feel and hear the supporters breathing when you are on the pitch. But times move on and Everton should be at King's Dock. If we were, things may be a bit different.' Since the failure of the King's Dock project, Everton investigated moving to a site in Kirkby, a dream that died at a public enquiry. Now they are said to be looking at 'six or seven' sites while Blue Union, in conjunction with Liverpool fans groups, have been pushing the idea of a 'Football Quarter', something that would see Goodison and Anfield refurbished with the land in between regenerated. Stand outside Goodison, though, and the problems of redevelopment are clear. Dozens of terraced houses would have to go for a start. From nearby Diana Street, for example, you could throw a tennis ball and land it on the centre circle.
'I am not necessarily advancing the case for Goodison,' said Kelly. 'If we need to move then we should. We need to improve our revenue streams. It's embarrassing.' BACK on the field on Wednesday, disaster briefly looms. Having lost their opening Premier League game to Queens Park Rangers, Everton fall behind to Sheffield United. In the Gwladys Street stand, the natives get restless.
There are half-hearted chants of 'Sack the Board' in the second half and Kenwright is booed when his face appears briefly on the big screen. Moyes' team refuse to panic, though. By half-time they lead 3-1 and the tie is over. Everton play that night like Everton teams should, with intelligence.
On the field are youth academy products Tony Hibbert, Leon Osman, Jack Rodwell, Victor Anichebe, Jose Baxter and 17-year-old Ross Barkley. Imagine how good Everton could be under Moyes' guidance if he could spend. The great imponderable is how long Moyes will stay. Publicly he stares down anyone who dares suggest he may leave with a look that is pure Glasgow. Privately, though, he is frustrated. He identified, for example, players like Phil Jones - now at Manchester United - and Gervinho - at Arsenal - months ago. If Moyes were to leave, the house could fall down. Asked about the club's situation this week, Moyes was stoic in support of his chairman. Nevertheless, he knows the danger his club are facing. 'What you pay in wages determines where you finish,' he said. 'That's a sorry situation. I just hope there is still room for romance but then I would say that, wouldn't I? 'Quite a few clubs beneath us in the League have spent quite a lot trying to overtake us. We have to make sure we are not one of the big sides who can quite quickly slip away.'
Everton can bank on rising star Barkley to lift the gloom around Goodison
By Dominic King
26th August 2011
Daily Mail
At 17, he's in the first team and produced mature performances against Queens Park Rangers in the Barclays Premier League and Sheffield United in the Carling Cup. He's already been fast-tracked into the England Under 21 squad. Hopes are high that Barkley will follow in the footsteps of other notable academy graduates like Wayne Rooney and Jack Rodwell. Going places: Ross Barkley has been the one bright spot on the Everton horizon this season What has made Barkley's emergence all the more eye-catching, though, is that 10 months ago he suffered an horrific triple fracture of his right leg while playing for England's Under 19s in Belgium. Sportsmail caught up with some of the figures who have helped shape his progress.
THE ACADEMYNEIL DEWSNIP, head coach of Everton's academy, vividly remembers the moment when Barkley showed his talent. 'I first met Ross when he came to us as an 11-year-old and I'll never forget he had this ability to shoot with both feet from great distance. One game against Yeovil stands out. First he scored a goal from 25 yards with his right foot that flew into the stanchion.
'That was special enough but, five minutes later, he did the same thing from the same distance. All the coaches on the touchline that day looked at each other as if to say "that's not normal".
Debut: Barkley started against QPR on the opening day 'I've been lucky to work with a number of great young players and what sets them apart is inner strength. 'Ross absolutely has that. From day one you could see he was just focused on becoming a footballer. He has always taken on any advice he has been given.' SCHOOL NDY CAWLEY, head of PE at Broadgreen International High, recounts a story that has ended up in school folklore. 'Ross was the type of player who would pick the ball up in defence, weave his way around a few tackles and then smack a shot in from the edge of the area.
'When he was in year nine, he helped us win the Echo Cup final at Anfield (the biggest school competition in Merseyside). He was playing in midfield and I was screaming at him to hold his position but he went off on one of those runs to score the winner. Prodigy: Barkley has been tipped for big things from a very young age The teacher from the school we beat just looked at me and said, "there is nothing you can do about that" and he was right. 'He was always going to go far but to see Mark Lawrenson and Alan Hansen talking about him on Match of the Day last week was just fantastic.' ENGLAND NOEL BLAKE, England Under 19s head coach, witnessed at close quarters the injury that could have proven catastrophic for Barkley. 'We were playing a qualifier in Belgium and I remember the ball breaking in the middle of the park. It was just one of those freak things. Ross and Liverpool's Andre Wisdom came at the ball from different angles and collided right in front of me. 'It was terrible to see two young talented boys hurt like that in such a manner. Still to this day I don't feel comfortable thinking about what happened, as it was so upsetting. 'Thankfully he has recovered and it shows his strength of character that he has got back so quickly. Horror injury: Barkley broke his leg in three places last season I have kept in regular contact with him and I'm absolutely delighted for him. I think he would have played last year had he not been injured.
'You do not get many 17-year-olds who look comfortable at that level. He has got talent but you could see when he played against QPR that he didn't look daunted by the stage and that gives you an idea of what the kid is all about.' EVERTON AVID MOYES, Everton manager, has always been an advocate of pitching young players in and will stick to tried and trusted methods to nurture Barkley.
'Everybody wants to get excited about young players. Evertonians have not got an awful lot to be excited about at the moment, so Ross gives everybody something to look at and cling on to. But I will have to pick and choose him at the right times and I'm sure people will understand. It is not just because of his age, but also because of his lack of football. Star of the future: Barkley has been tipped to follow in the footsteps of Wayne Rooney A STAR IS BORN? 'I'm hearing good things about Ross Barkley of Everton and people are comparing him to Wayne Rooney. I don’t want to put pressure on the young man, but he’s one to watch out for. He can play in midfield, or as a front man. Everton need a spark... it could be him now that he has recovered from serious injury playing for England Under 19s. i wish him well.' Sportsmail's Jamie Redknapp, August 12
'He will make mistakes, which you would expect, and there will be times like there was with Wayne Rooney early on when we will need to pull him out.' PHIL NEVILLE, Everton captain, has been impressed most by the things Barkley has done off the pitch. 'There's nothing flash or fancy about him, he's not interested in getting a big car or flash clothes, and he is so humble. 'You wouldn't have know he was in the dressing room this week, he has just come in, got change and gone again. He just wants to learn.
DAVID MOYES SHIELDS HIS BOY WONDER
27th August 2011 By Neil Johnston
Daily Star
DAVID MOYES admits Ross Barkley already has some similarities to Wayne Rooney. But the Everton boss has warned fans not to expect too much too soon from Goodison’s latest teen sensation.
Barkley has proved a rare positive energy after a summer of financial gloom at Everton. The 17-year-old midfield talent is being tipped for a long career at the top after his eye-catching league debut against QPR last week. Rooney was a young star at Everton under Moyes before landing a big-money move to Manchester United. And Barkley, set to face Blackburn at Ewood, is tipped to follow in his footsteps after receiving an England under-21 call – four months short of his 18th birthday. But Moyes is desperate to shield Barkley from the hype – and keep the Liverpool-born player’s feet firmly on the ground. Toffees boss Moyes said: “Ross is a mature lad, a quiet boy who is similar in that way to Wayne when he was young. “But the boy has had no football for nearly two years. He had a double hernia when he was 15, then he had a triple broken leg playing for England Under 19s. “He’s come in, we’ve tried to get him some games, and he’s not looking out of place.
“With a lot of the real top players there’s a natural talent, an ability and understanding of the game – and Ross has got that. “But he’s got a long way to go and a lot to do yet, and we’re trying to do our best for him.”
Royal Blue: Everton FC launch scheme to help former service personnel
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Aug 27 2011
EVERTON in the Community is heading up a new exercise project for ex-service personnel who are at risk of developing or who have mental health problems. The three-year ‘Inside Right’ programme is designed to support veterans who are at risk of becoming isolated once they have returned to civilian life. Recent research has shown that ex-servicemen are more likely to take their own lives than their civilian counterparts. Of the 233,803 individuals who left the armed forces during the last five years, 224 took their own lives. Inside Right will not only promote physical activity but will also provide participants with opportunities for further social events, along with information and support relating to their health and well being. Jonathan Garside, mental health football coordinator for Everton in the Community, said: “The Inside Right programme is vitally important to help veterans integrate back into civilian life and will lead us to an increased understanding of the health and wellbeing among ex-military personnel.
Barry Horne: It’s time for everyone to get behind Everton FC
by Barry Horne, Liverpool Echo
Aug 27 2011
Barry Horne: It’s time for everyone to get behind the Blues
LAST week I wrote about the need for positivity around Goodison. To quote a frequently used cliche, however, football is all about results and last Saturday’s shocking result merely served to deepen the depression around the club. I wasn’t at Goodison Park, but by all accounts the performance wasn’t good, but I still stand by last week’s comments and I still believe the season will not be anything like as difficult as some people are predicting. I was quite impressed with Sheffield United on ednesday, but Everton were miles better, without ever hitting top gear. I think that the timing of the game was perfect for Everton. Against Villarreal and QPR they didn’t look as if they were fully match sharp individually or collectively. The Carling Cup tie was an ideal opportunity to take another step towards that condition ahead of today’s very winnable game at Blackburn. I don’t really want to harp on about Everton’s financial situation, but the week’s events have served to bring into sharp focus just exactly how good a job David Moyes is doing at Goodison. Everton are the only Premier League club not to have strengthened their squad, while lesser clubs have all added players And there are players who would have been perfect for Everton. Craig Mackail-Smith has hit the ground running at Brighton; a natural finisher like him would have suited us down to the ground. Shane Long is off the mark already – the kind of player Everton could and should have been in the market for. While even Robbie Keane has chosen to move to a place where footballers go to die! What a signing that would have been for 12 months. Craig Bellamy’s wages were always going to be a problem, but he can be an inspirational talent. Any of those players would have been great, but we can’t even go for free transfers and League One players. So we have to stick with Moyes and support the players.
Everton FC boss David Moyes hopes Ross Barkley can spur on EFC's other young-guns
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool EchoAug 27 2011
EVERTON FC have long been able to rely on the fountain of youth to keep their ambition flowing.
From the emergence of Michael Ball, Richard Dunne and Francis Jeffers, to the phenomenon that was Wayne Rooney, the academy conveyor belt has produced a steady line of young players worth their weight in gold. Now the ‘Next Big Thing’ is a 6ft2in 17-year-old from Wavertree who after just two appearances for David Moyes’ first team, has become a major beacon of positivity for Everton supporters. It is not a case of if Ross Barkley will have a ‘Rooney moment’ like that staggering goal against Arsenal in 2002, but when. And Moyes is already back doing what he does so expertly, managing the expectations and the pressure on the shy, determined teenager’s shoulders.
Indeed, he points out, if anything, Barkley’s emergence could have benefits for Everton’s other boy-wonders. “I hope it’s an encouragement to all the young boys at the club,” he says, as he ponders whether to allow Barkley to continue building on two hugely promising displays with another start against Blackburn at Ewood Park today. “I think it’s added to what we’ve got. Fellaini’s 23, Jack is 20, Ross is 17. We’ve still tried to keep some of it young. “It’s probably that Everton have relied on the academy a lot over the years, but even before my time we had people like Michael Ball and Richard Dunne, even Franny Jeffers. Through the years they’ve had a lot, and they’ve sold some on too.
“We’ve got a different scenario because we’re short on numbers and can give room to young players. Sometimes if you’re at clubs where it’s easy to spend the cash it makes it harder for youngsters to get through. But we use that as a bit of a sales pitch, we’ll put them through but they have to come up to a level and a standard that suggests they can play.” Moyes believes Barkley could help players like Rodwell share the burden of expectations – and, he insists, people should not forget the Birkdale-born midfielder is still developing despite being a familiar face to supporters.
“The good thing about Everton is that we put the boys in the team early, we give them a chance,” he says. “Some of these boys if they had been at other clubs might not have seen the light of day and would only be emerging now. “He’s been in and you’ve judged him really early and now you’re maybe saying ‘he’s not really kept going’. But he came into the team young, which is good, but in some ways it’s not good because you’re saying he’s not developed. “He’s a young boy, he’s still coming on, he’s still improving, he’s quite a mature lad, but in some ways not as mature as he should be on the field. Hopefully with his development that will get better.” Moyes is quick to point out that Barkley’s impressive start is at odds with his lack of training over the last 10 months as he recovered from a serious triple leg break suffered last October. Prior to that injury, suffered on England under-19s duty in Belgium, he had already been on the first team bench at Goodison, but nevertheless the pace of his recovery has surprised everyone at Everton. “At the moment the boy has had no football for nearly two years so we’ll bring him on,” says Moyes. “He had a double hernia when he was 15, then he had a triple break, so he’s tended to be playing up his age levels for quite a while. “He’s come in, we’ve tried to get him some games, and he’s not looking out of place. “But you know in the coming months there will be times when we sit him back down and take him out of the firing line, but he’s done well to be included. “We can’t claim to have developed or coached him that much. He’s come through the system of course but he’s hardly had any training for two years.
“With a lot of the real top players there’s a natural talent, an ability and understanding of the game – and Ross has got that. “But he’s got a long way to go and a lot to do yet, and we’re trying to do our best by him.”
Samba ready for action for Blackburn Rovers
Saturday 27th August 2011
By Andy Cryer »
Lancashure Telegaph
STEVE Kean believes Chris Samba is ready to let his football do the talking after enduring a frustrating start to the campaign of injuries and summer speculation. Blackburn Rovers’ captain marvel is set to make his first appearance of the season in today’s Premier League visit of Everton, having recovered from a groin injury, with Kean backing his skipper to put months of pain behind him. Kean will still be living in fear over the potential departure of Samba before the window closes on Wednesday night but, with no bids yet received, he remains hopeful the defender will stay out of rivals’ price range He said: “He’s got a smile back on his face because he’s seen the back of the treatment room. It’s a killer so he’s back out there with a smile on his face. “He was frustrated because he had a rumbling groin injury that he picked up in Hong Kong that was getting to him a little bit. It’s been slow and he’s been frustrated and grumpy like any player is when they’re not fit.
“But as soon as he’s back on the training ground he’s been back to his old self and he’s played in every session this week. “He’s ready and available. When you can get Samba fit, and Givet through Wednesday night, it’s getting towards having the back four that we had last year, which proved to be solid and reliable last season but we haven’t had the chance to put back together again.”
Samba’s future has been the source of speculation for the majority of the summer, with both Arsenal and Tottenham constantly linked with moves for Rovers’ prized asset. As of yet though no firm offer has been made for the defender’s services and, with just five days of the transfer window left, Kean remains desperate to keep Samba at Ewood. He said: “If anyone is going to come in for him they have an idea what the number has to be so I would imagine at this stage it has put a few people off. “If someone hits that number then the club would look at it and then they would make a decision over whether it would be accepted or not. “It wouldn’t be good for me. I’m hoping that a bid doesn’t come in and I’d like to get our bodies in and then turn my phone off. “Chris always tells me that stuff has been lost in translation but he’s said that if any big club come in for him he would like the opportunity to consider it. All we want to do is to get him still wearing our shirt after the window, get him fit and get him out there as often as possible.”
FULL-TIME: Rovers 0, Everton 1
Saturday 27th August 2011
By Matt Baxter Lancashire Telegraph
Rovers suffer their third Premier League defeat in a row after being undone by a late Everton penalty. Having had two spot-kicks of their own and hitting the bar twice the home side failed to gain their first point of the season in what was otherwise a match without many real attacking displays at either end. During the first-half Rovers held position and pressed Everton back into their own half with a couple of good runs from Hoilett and Roberts. During the ninth minute David Dunn nearly took them 1-0 up only to have his shot cannoned off the side of the bar. Steve Kean’s defensive line was put to the test a couple of times but with newly-recovered Chris Samba alongside Gael Givet they held strong whilst Salgado supplemented the attack down the right ring. Pederson was substituted inside the 30th minute after picking up a knock inside the Everton box, with new addition Radosav Petrovic taking his place. David Dunn was also substituted for Mauro Formica.
Meanwhile, Salgado was booked alongside the Toffees’ Victor Anichebe after heads met after what seemed like a high boot from Salgado. With the second half underway Rovers missed the chance to take the lead after the ref pointed to the penalty spot after a tackle from Ross Berkley on Formica in the box. Olsson shot low only to have a solid Tim Howard block its path. Olsson again came close to hitting the score-sheet with a dipping free-kick just outside the box. However the shot only managed to nick the crossbar. As the half went on Everton fought back; with play swapping between halves and a close call for Paul Robinson as a shot from Marouane Fellaini looked set for the roof of the Darwen End. With twenty minutes to go Steve Kean made his final substitution with Goodwillie coming on to replace Roberts. Three minutes later the Scot hit the bar with a little nicked touch in-front of Howard. A quick break down the left from Goodwillie managed to break into the box where his pass met Formica but once again the shot was blocked with a diving effort from the Everton keeper. Another penalty, this time by Formica again found the post after he went down from a Phil Jagielka tackle in the 82nd minute. A strike from Tim Cahill found the back of the net but luckily for home fans it was disallowed for hand-ball. However only a minute from time the referee awarded a penalty against Rovers after Fellaini went down as Samba rode up his back for a header. Mikel Arteta struck the back of the net to send the Toffees home with all three points.
BLACKBURN ROVERS 0 – 1 EVERTON
Saturday, August 27 15:00
Premier League
Ewood Park (HT 0-0)
ATT: 22,826 Arteta (90+2)
Back of the net: Mikel Arteta scores from the penalty spot
27 Aug 2011 (Telegraph)
Everton midfielder Mikel Arteta scored a controversial injury-time penalty as Blackburn Rovers were made to pay for missing two second-half spot-kicks of their own at Ewood Park. Junior Hoilett saw his penalty saved by Tim Howard a minute after half-time before Mauro Formica fired Rovers' second spot-kick against the post. Arteta then delivered the killer blow in injury time, after Christopher Samba was harshly judged by referee Lee Mason to have climbed on the back of Marouane Fellaini, to hand Everton their first league win of the season.
The 32-year-old was one of three changes with Samba and Gael Givet making their first league starts to strengthen the home defence. Everton also welcomed back key men with Arteta and Fellaini joined in the starting XI by Victor Anichebe as Tim Cahill, without a league goal in 2011, dropped to the bench. Despite both sides still looking for their first point of the new campaign there was no sign of early caution and Rovers could have had an early opener but for the woodwork. David Dunn latched onto Hoilett's pull-back in the area and after losing his marker hit a low angled shot that rebounded back off the post. Jason Roberts was then sent sprawling in the area by Howard but referee Mason correctly adjudged the Everton goalkeeper had got a touch on the ball first. At the other end Leon Osman headed over but after a bright start the game started to become scrappy as both teams gave away possession too easily. Michel Salgado played an easy pass straight out while Osman and Jonny Heitinga shot wide when well placed. Injury forced Kean into a double substitution after 34 minutes with Morten Gamst Pedersen and Dunn going off. Summer signing Radosav Petrovic and Formica replaced them. Salgado made a timely headed clearance just before the break with the taller Fellaini seemingly better placed. Blackburn won their first penalty a minute after half-time when Ross Barkley brought down Formica in the area. The Everton teenager had lost the ball in midfield and after trying to make up for the error he left a leg out that the substitute fell over after checking inside. But Howard, whose blunder cost the Toffees a 1-0 opening-day defeat on the same ground last year, saved Hoilett's spot-kick with a diving save to his left. Despite the miss Blackburn, and especially Hoilett, stepped up the pressure and Howard had to save again after a Samba header crept through a host of bodies. Martin Olsson fizzed a free-kick just over before Formica shot when Emerton was better placed to his right. Everton boss David Moyes needed to make a change and hauled off Barkley for the experience of Cahill. The visitors then began to get back into the game and Cahill's lay-off allowed Leighton Baines to cut inside and force a good save from Paul Robinson. Fellaini then wastefully side-footed over when he ran onto Anichebe's low centre just inside the area. A slick Blackburn move ended with substitute David Goodwillie pushing a shot onto the crossbar, although he was flagged offside. Howard then made his second telling contribution 12 minutes from the end when he clawed away Formica's close-range shot. Goodwillie had beaten Baines and cut a pass inside but with the Argentinian seemingly set to score Howard blocked with an out-stretched arm. Blackburn's second penalty miss arrived on 83 minutes after Formica had been felled by Phil Jagielka in the area. Formica stepped up to take the spot-kick but fired it against the upright. Rovers were then made to pay for their profligacy as Everton were awarded a spot-kick of their own in injury time when Samba climbed over Fellaini. Referee Mason pointed straight to the spot before Arteta fired in the late winner to the delight of the away fans behind the goal.
Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Everton FC
by Phil Kirkbride, Liverpool Echo
Aug 27 2011
MIKEL ARTETA'S injury-time penalty earned Everton FC their first win of the Premier League season – but the Blues had to survive a pair of spot-kicks themselves in an increasingly wild match at Ewood ParkThe Spanish midfielder sent Blackburn Rovers' goalkeeper Paul Robinson the wrong way in added time at the end of the match after Marouane Fellaini had been brought down by Chris Samba in the area.Everton coming away from Ewood Park with the three points looked unlikely earlier the second half after the home side twice had opportunities from the penalty spot themselves, as well as a host of other chances from open play.Everton stopper Tim Howard palmed out Junior Hoilett's 47th minute effort before Mauro Formica spurned Rovers' second chance by planting his effort against the post.Arteta's late winner was made all the more remarkable as it was Blackburn who had posed the greater threat in a second period which far surpassed the opening 45 for entertainment.Howard did not limit his heroics to Hoilett's penalty, he also produced a vital close range stop to deny Formica with 11 minutes remaining before David Goodwillie clipped the top of the crossbar from six yards out as Steve Kean's men were much improved after the break.David Dunn was also foiled by the woodwork when his first half effort rebounded off the inside of the post with Howard beaten.Yet Everton may not have needed Arteta's last-gasp winner had Marouane Fellaini not blazed over the bar midway through the second half.Leighton Baines did test Robinson with a well struck effort before Fellaini's miss but a mixture of Blackburn's profligacy and Everton's never say die attitude won them the match in the most dramatic of fashion.
BLACKBURN ROVERS (4-4-1-1): Robinson, Salgado, Samba, Givet, Olsson, Emerton, Nzonzi, Dunn (Formica 35), Gamst Pedersen (Petrovic 35), Hoilett, Roberts (Goodwillie 72). Not used: Bunn, Rochina, Hanley, Lowe.
Cautions: Salgado, Nzonzi, Hoilett, Petrovic
EVERTON (4-4-1-1): Howard, Neville, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Arteta, Heitinga (Beckford 85), Fellaini, Barkley (Cahill 53), Osman (Bilyaletdinov 63), Anichebe. Not used: Mucha, Hibbert, Cahill, Vellios, Baxter.
Goals: Arteta (90)
Cautions: Anichebe
Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)
Emerton denied fairytale in farewell
August 28, 2011 – Sydney Herald
Looking for Work in the UK? Find Jobs for Australians in the UK.Brett Emerton's hopes of signing off his English Premier League career with a win for Blackburn have been dashed, with Rovers conceding a last-minute goal in their clash with Tim Cahill's Everton.The 1-0 loss to the Toffees was Emerton's 248th appearance for the Rovers and final in the league before he returns to home soil to take up an A-League place with Sydney FC.In front of a 22,000-plus home crowd at Ewood Park, Emerton, 32, ran on as captain to rapturous applause from adoring fans.In the lead-up to the match the Sydney-born midfielder said the best farewell gift he could give his teammates was their first win of the season."All I want on Saturday, whether I'm involved or not, is a win for the boys because I think that could really kick-start our season," Emerton said last week.However it wasn't to be. Despite two shots at goal, Emerton, nor any other Blackburn player, could find the net and while the match entered injury time at nil-all, Everton's Mikel Arteta found the bottom right corner from a penalty in the 90th minute.The result infuriated Rovers manager Steve Kean."I'm absolutely gutted at the result," he told Sky Sports."In the second half I thought the way we played was exceptional. The performance was as good as we've played for a long long time. "We had so many attempts at goal but we missed the penalties, we hit the post, we hit the bar, I'm not sure there is much more we could do to win the game."The team boss had nothing but praise for Emerton and his long-standing dedication to the club."It's a marvelous contribution, I wanted to make him skipper today just to give a farewell to the fans. I think what he has done here as a professional I think will always be remembered," Kean told the BBC."I think (his shift back to Sydney) was an opportunity. He had to go back home to the city where he was brought up and [where] his wife's from and we felt as a club that we couldn't stand in his way because he's given such good service in his time here."Emerton's Socceroos teammate, Cahill, took to Twitter to express his disappointment at not being on the field for the entire match. He posted: "Good win and fans were class as always. Farewell to emerton gutted I only played 35mins in his last game in uk."Cahill, who along with Emerton was named to play in Australia's world cup qualifiers against Thailand in Brisbane on Friday and away to Saudi Arabia on September 6, also took the opportunity to allay any fears fans had about his fitness."I'm fully fit, looking forward to world cup qualifiers against Thailand and Saudi Arabia. Getting ready to board plane soon to OZ," he tweeted.Blackburn sits bottom of the table after three losses to start the season.In other games, Liverpool swept to the top of the table with an emphatic 3-1 win over Bolton at Anfield.Chelsea beat Norwich 3-1, Swansea and Sunderland had a scoreless draw, Wigan downed QPR 2-0 and Wolves and Aston Villa drew 0-0.
ARSENE TRYING TO TAKE MIKEL ARTETA
28th August 2011 By Paul Hetherington ( Sunday Star)
ARSENE WENGER is considering Everton’s Mikel Arteta as a replacement for Cesc Fabregas AND Samir Nasri in a deal which would take Nicklas Bendtner to Merseyside.The Arsenal boss is discussing that swap transfer as Spanish playmaker Arteta can operate both centrally and wide.Those were the roles the transferred Fabregas and Nasri had at Arsenal before their moves to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively.Wenger has been an admirer of the Everton midfielder for years and is now close to pushing through a deal before the transfer window closes on Wednesday.Everton boss David Moyes, meanwhile, needs a striker and Denmark’s Bendtner is available at Arsenal. The clubs have still to agree on valuations of the players with £9million-rated Bendtner, 23, six years younger than Arteta.Signing a player of Arteta’s age would be a departure from Wenger’s usual policy of the emphasis being on youth.But he needs to reinforce his squad and time is running out.
BLACKBURN 0 - EVERTON 1: MIKEL ARTETA STUNS WILD ROVERS
Mikel Arteta stroked in the winner to open Everton’s account for the season
Sunday August 28,2011
By Richard Jolly (Sunday Express)
IT isn’t just that Blackburn Rovers can’t win a Premier League game. They can’t even win a penalty shoot-out.A game of three spot-kicks was a match worth three points for Everton. They held their nerve from 12 yards. Rovers didn’t.In injury time, Mikel Arteta stroked in the winner to open Everton’s account for the season and leave Rovers still pointless.Daylight robbery, perhaps, but controversial and cruel as it was, Rovers had only themselves to blame.First Ross Barkley passed straight to Mauro Formica and, compounding his initial error, he tripped the Rovers substitute.But Junior Hoilett’s penalty lacked conviction. Tim Howard flung himself to his left and palmed it to safety.Then the elusive Formica went down under Phil Jagielka’s challenge. Penalty, once again. This time Formica stepped up. He sent Howard the wrong way, but hit the post. Mikel Arteta stroked in the winner to open Everton’s account for the season But referee Lee Mason kept pointing to the spot until finally someone scored. The third award was the most dubious of all, Christopher Samba seeming to be penalised for climbing on Marouane Fellaini as both jumped for a header.The ice-cool Arteta showed his wasteful Rovers counterparts how to do it, beating Paul Robinson. Rovers boss Steve Kean said: “I’ve seen it real time and in slow motion and I just can’t see how it can be a penalty. Samba has got up head and shoulders above anyone and Fellaini has backed into him.” Rovers didn’t think it was a spot-kick. Everton boss David Moyes didn’t think Arteta would take it.“Bainesy (Leighton Baines) normally takes them,” he admitted. “I don’t care as long as it goes in the back of the net.”This was one of Mason’s decisions that he did agree with. “I thought ours was justified,” Moyes said. “Samba has his hands on Fellaini’s shoulders.“The two Blackburn got are both dives. I think the boy goes down too easily for both penalties.”Kean stuck up for his substitute. “I don’t think Formica will dive because he’s trying to cut back inside and have a shot,” he argued.Whether or not he dives, he doesn’t normally take penalties. Neither does Hoilett. But David Dunn, the regular, had limped off.“At least they showed the bottle to take it,” Kean added.But like the events from 12 yards, it was a high-drama, low-quality affair. Besides spurning their two spot-kicks, unlucky Rovers also hit the woodwork twice.After Hoilett jinked inside to pick him out, Dunn hit the inside of the post. Kean said: “If there had been a bit of zip on the grass, David’s shot would probably have gone in.”Then second-half substitute David Goodwillie almost made an immediate impact. On the pitch for barely two minutes, he clipped the crossbar after Formica and Hoilett combined.With Howard also making an outstanding save to deny Formica, Rovers did everything but score. Because of that they got beaten. They paid the penalty.
Everton ride luck after Rovers blow two bites at cherry
Blackburn Rovers 0 Everton 1
By Arindam Rej at Ewood Park
Sunday, 28 August 2011 (Independent)
This was an incredibly lucky day for Everton as their opponents managed to miss two second-half penalties before David Moyes's side, cruelly, scored a controversial spot-kick themselves in injury time. But this match might be remembered as an unfortunate one by Everton in the long run. The visitors' 17-year-old prodigy, Ross Barkley, gave away the first Blackburn penalty and the damage to the midfielder's confidence will be difficult to repair. Moyes withdrew the player little more than five minutes after the error.Both Blackburn penalties were won by the lively substitute Mauro Formica – with Junior Hoilett and the Argentinian himself the ones guilty of missing from the spot. Mikel Arteta showed how it shouldbe done, confidently stroking in the winner.Moyes would have been relieved with that, but must be concerned about Barkley, who has been drawing comparisons with Wayne Rooney. He sloppily surrendered possession at the start of the second half to Formica before, desperate to atone, he committed the foul.Thankfully for Barkley, the excellent Tim Howard saved the first one from Hoilett in the 46th minute then Formica hit a post with his attempt seven minutes from time. Moyes was understandably protective of his players though, saying: "The two Blackburn got were dives and ours was a penalty kick. The boy [Formica] goes down too easy." The Blackburn manager, Steve Kean, said: "There was contact on both. We are aggrieved with the one against us, which was hard to take. We controlled the game from start to finish."They certainly had a right to be aggrieved with the result, which means they have lost their opening three games of the season. How Blackburn must have wished David Dunn, substituted after an injury, had been on the pitch to take the kicks.Dunn had carved out the opening chance in the ninth minute when he struck the inside of the far post. Everton retaliated swiftly but Chris Samba, making his first appearance this season after a groin injury, blocked Leon Osman's effort. Yet it was the huge central defender's foul on Marouane Fellaini in the final seconds that led to Arteta's penalty.There had been a debate regarding whether Leighton Baines or the Basque would take the kick. Everton have the luxury of two competent penalty-takers. Blackburn had none.
Blackburn (4-2-3-1): Kenny; Dyer (Orr, 6), Hall, Gabbidon, Hill; Derry, Faurlin; Campbell, Taarabt (Buzsaky, 71), Smith (Helguson, 71); Bothroyd, 71); Bothroyd.
Everton (4-4-2): Jaaskelainen; Cahill, Knight, Robinson; Eagles (M Davies, 81), Muamba, Reo-Coker (Pratley, 82), Petrov; K Davies, Klasnic (Blake, 85).
Referee Lee Mason Man of the match Howard (Everton)Match rating 7/10
Arsenal set for shock Mikel Arteta swap deal - Exclusive
Aug 28 2011 by Steve Bates and Alan Nixon, The People
ARSENE WENGER was last night trying to tie up a deal for Everton star Mikel Arteta – with Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner set to head for Goodison Park in a shock swap deal.And long-term target Gary Cahill has indicated he would like to join the Gunners, but Bolton will demand £17million before they will do business.Arsenal boss Wenger sees midfielder Arteta as the perfect replacement for departed skipper Cesc Fabregas.Contact has been made between the clubs but Everton manager David Moyes is fighting hard to keep his squad intact before the transfer window closes.Losing the creative talents of 29-year-old Spaniard Arteta would certainly be a major blow.But his departure would be softened if Danish striker Bendtner, 23, goes in the opposite direction. If the swap deal fails to come off, Wenger is willing to pay around £9m for Arteta, signed by Everton from Real Sociedad in 2005 for just £2m.Wenger would also like to sign Everton’s Belgian midfield enforcer Marouane Fellaini but Everton would not allow that to happen.But with Moyes keen to beef up his attack, the possibility of landing Bendtner – who is also a target for Sunderland – is an appealing prospect even though he values Arteta highly.Wenger was pressing Everton for a quick answer last night as he looks to bring in new faces before the end of the transfer window.But the Gunners’ protracted move for Cahill has angered Bolton boss Owen Coyle. The Scot is seething at the low offer made by Arsenal after two months of silence in discussions.The Bolton camp are also angry that after agreeing to help Cahill get his dream move to the Emirates at the start of the summer, Arsenal have come in with an offer way below their £17m valuation.
Blackburn 0 Everton 1: Mikel Arteta shows wasteful Rovers how it's done with late penalty By Bill Thornton
Last updated at 11:15 PM on 27th August 2011 (Sunday Mail)
Steve Kean bitterly disputed the 90th-minute penalty decision that gave Everton victory - after suffering a double spot-kick miss by his winless team.Junior Hoilett and Mauro Formica failed from the spot as Rovers fought in vain for their first points of the season. Then comeback skipper Chris Samba was penalised for climbing on Maroaune Fellaini and Mikel Arteta showed how it should be done to give Everton's season lift-off. No mistake: Mikel Arteta sent Paul Robinson the wrong way to give Everton the perfect tonic to defeat at home to QPR
MATCH FACTS Blackburn: Robinson, Salgado, Samba, Givet, Olsson, Emerton, Nzonzi, Dunn (Formica 34), Pedersen (Petrovic 34), Hoilett, Roberts (Goodwillie 72).
Subs not used: Bunn, Rochina, Hanley, Lowe.
Yellow cards: Salgado, Petrovic, Hoilett, Nzonzi.
Everton: Howard, Neville, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Osman (Bilyaletdinov 62), Heitinga (Beckford 85), Arteta, Barkley (Cahill 53), Fellaini, Anichebe.
Subs not used: Mucha, Hibbert, Beckford, Vellios, Baxter.
Yellow cards: Anichebe, Arteta.
Scorer: Arteta.
Attendance: 22,826.
Referee: Lee Mason.
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Under-pressure Rovers boss Kean complained: 'Chris was up very early and got good contact on the ball, and it was a tough one to take. I've watched the replay several times. The ball was 15 metres away before their boy went to the ground. I just can't see how it could be a penalty.' Unfortunately for Kean, referee Lee Mason did not see it that way. Neither did Everton manager David Moyes, who said: 'Samba's hands were on Fellaini's shoulders.' Kean, who has now won only five of his 24 Premier League games since succeeding Sam Allardyce last autumn, did his best to remain upbeat. 'Even with one point I would have been bitterly disappointed,' he said. 'We controlled the game from start to finish. But this is a ruthless business and you have to stick your penalties away. I hope it won't be hard to pick the players up because, with the exception of the result, this was a good performance.'It will be a lot easier to pick them up than if it had been a poor display. The stats show we were in their box 60 times and that we had 21 attempts on goal. We controlled the game.' Yet the stats also show that Rovers are bottom of the league without a point from three matches.They produced a thrilling display in the second half, but their best efforts were doomed to failure, particularly when it came to scoring from the spot. Penalty hero: Tim Howard takes the plaudits after palming away Junior Hoilett's weak spot kick It all started to go horribly wrong for Kean and his players when Hoilett stepped up to take the first penalty, in the 46th minute, after Everton's teenage prospect, Ross Barkley, had recklessly upended Formica. Your heart went out to the 17-year-old, who was frantically trying to make amends after his underhit back-pass let in the Argentine.Moyes said in the build-up that he would protect his emerging star, on and off the pitch, and he duly replaced the midfielder with Tim Cahill. But not before Barkley enjoyed the sight of Tim Howard diving to his left to comfortably parry Hoilett's kick. To add insult to injury for Hoilett, who was making his 50th Premier League appearance for Rovers, his attempt from the rebound was blocked and then Jason Roberts saw his follow-up deflected wide.Matters went from bad to worse for Rovers when, after a sustained spell of pressure during which sub David Goodwillie hit the bar, Formica produced a point-blank range shot that Howard, going the wrong way, saved with his legs.It was a portent for Formica, who still could not beat the keeper, even when given the opportunity to succeed where Hoilett had failed.Formica was again the victim, going down under Phil Jagielka's challenge.They got that all right, but theirs were howls of anguish as Formica smacked his low shot against the foot of a post. Then, adding injury to insult for Rovers, Samba, the 6ft 5in inspirational centre-back and skipper, rose with slimline midfielder Fellaini and was judged by referee Mason to have climbed on the Belgian midfielder. There was a sense of foreboding on three sides of Ewood Park as Arteta stepped forward. His shot flew unerringly beyond Paul Robinson as he recorded Everton's first goal and first win of the season.Moyes was sympathetic when contemplating rival Kean's situation. Shoulder to shoulder: Sylvain Distin (left) is held off by Jason Roberts But the Everton manager was unequivocal in his assessment of the penalty awards.'I thought the Blackburn penalties were both dives,' he said. 'And ours was a penalty kick. I think their boy dived. He went over too easily both times. And Samba's hands were on Fellaini's shoulders. But I'm a manager and I know exactly how Steve Kean must be feeling. He'll be disappointed not to have scored at least one goal today.' Moyes said he had been surprised when Arteta stepped up to the spot, as left-back Leighton Baines is the regular penalty-taker.'I might have had something to say had he missed. But he was obviously confident.'
August 2011