January 2013 - Week 1

BIG MAROUANE FELLAINI WILL FOLLOW MESSI-AH
I tell Felli that you just have to get on with it
Daily Star
1st January 2013
By Chris McKenna
DAVID MOYES wants to see Marouane Fellaini become more like Lionel Messi after the midfielder committed his future to Everton. Fellaini, who has been linked with a move to Chelsea, could return tomorrow night against Newcastle following a three-game ban for headbutting Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross. Everton boss Moyes said: “The best person you have to look at is Lionel Messi. Every person targets him, they’ll do everything. “But all he ever does is get up and get on with it. That’s the sign of a top player. It says to people, ‘Whatever you do, it doesn’t affect me’. “I tell Felli that you just have to get on with it. “If I was playing against Felli, I’d try and wind him up.” And Fellaini, 25, has promised to see out his current deal at Goodison Park. He said: “I want to go higher in football but I have a contract with Everton until 2016 and, if they want me to, I will see it out to the end. “My headbutt on Ryan Shawcross was frustration, as he had spent the entire game pulling and pushing me. “But I shouldn’t have butted him. I exploded and I am sorry for doing so.”

Everton FC battled on in 2012 - and they end it with all to play for
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Jan 1 2013
JANUARY
THE month that turned it all around began with a New Year’s Day victory at the Hawthorns courtesy of Victor Anichebe’s goal and saw Everton progress in the FA Cup by edging out tough non-League opponents Tamworth at Goodison. The month ended in a glorios victory over Manchester City at Goodison when Nikica Jelavic was paraded on the pitch at half-time, and – just before midnight – David Moyes sealed Steven Pienaar’s pivotal return.
FEBRUARY
UNBEATEN throughout, this was the month of The Straq. Everton’s cult hero Denis Stracqualursi was not a particularly talented player but his attitude and work-rate made him quickly popular. Straq chipped in too, with a strike in the thrilling victory over Chelsea at Goodison, and to ensure progress in the FA Cup. ‘Feed the Straq and he will score’ was the increasingly less tongue in cheek chant of the Gwladys Street faithful.
MARCH
IF ever there was a month of contrast it was this. From the ignominy of a 3-0 defeat at Anfield, when David Moyes prioritised freshness for the FA Cup quarter-final against Sunderland, Everton ended on a high. They had to travel for a replay at the Stadium of Light to vanquish Martin O’Neill’s men in the end, but they did it on a memorable night when an army of Evertonians descended on Wearside in free coaches provided by the club.
APRIL
POOR Sunderland were thrashed 4-0 as Everton warmed up in formidable style for their biggest fixture in years. The FA Cup semi-final all-Merseyside clash at Wembley gripped the nation, and had Bluenoses believing they could taste a rare Wembley victory over their out-of-form rivals.
It wasn’t to be though, and a 2-1 defeat felt almost self-inflicted when errors by Everton allowed Liverpool to seize the day despite Nikica Jelavic’s early goal. The Blue half of the city wallowed in abject misery, which few suspected would be helped by a visit to Old Trafford next.
Many feared another hiding – instead they got arguably the Premier League’s game of the season as Everton showed admirable spirit to fight back in a thrilling 4-4 draw.
MAY
WITH the finish line in sight Everton could dream of the previously unlikely feat of European qualification, but draws with Wolves and Stoke undermined those hopes. That prize went to Newcastle, but at least the Magpies were put in their place at Goodison on the final day of the campaign. Alan Pardew’s arrogant comments beforehand were rammed down his throat as Everton won 3-1. The end of the season had come too soon for Moyes’ side which was firing on all cylinders after a characteristic upsurge in January. The challenge then was continuing that form in the first half of the next campaign....
AUGUST
EVERTON had to wait until Monday August 20 to start their season, but for frustrated supporters the visit of Manchester United was worth waiting for. It had everything that you expect from a Goodison night game under the floodlights. Marouane Fellaini went on the rampage and Everton were good value for an emphatic 1-0 victory.
Then the Blues turned on the style to rip apart Aston Villa on their travels, before dissembling Leyton Orient in the Capital One Cup at Goodison.
SEPTEMBER
HIGH-FLYING West Brom provided some deflation at the Hawthorns by stopping Everton in their tracks with a 2-0 defeat. But fears that Moyes’ men would revert to type and struggle in the autumn were unfounded as they were robbed of victory over Newcastle at home, when the teams were greeted on the pitch by the poignant strains of ‘He Aint Heavy He’s My Brother’ to show Merseyside unity in the Hillsborough families fight for justice. The Blues put Swansea to the sword at the Liberty Stadium next and although a Capital One Cup capitulation at Elland Road provided a low point, there were still signs this team could achieve something. Elsewhere, Fellaini was disciplined for reportedly telling journalists in Belgium that he was ready to leave Goodison – a statement he quickly denied.
OCTOBER
THREE games, three draws in a month which summed up Everton’s potentially costly habit of the season so far. The point against Liverpool at Goodison nearly felt like a positive in the end when Luis Suarez’s late goal was wrongly ruled offside, but clashes with QPR and Wigan should both have yielded victories.
NOVEMBER
EVERTON followed a solid home victory over Sunderland with an abject defeat by Reading at the Madejski Stadium which was to be only their second defeat of the campaign. They threw away three points at home to Norwich by conceding a late equaliser, before showing signs of improvement in matching Arsenal in another Goodison stalemate.
DECEMBER
STILL well placed in the table, the Blues went to the Etihad Stadium and came away feeling they might have had all three points but for another dubious decision when Fellaini was ruled to have fouled Edin Dzeko in the box. No matter, they followed it with a memorable victory over Spurs at Goodison courtesy of Jelavic’s late, late winner. The striker’s manic celebration became a viral internet hit among fans as he dived into the crowd and pinched one fan’s blue hat before high-fiving the entire Everton bench. Fellaini’s head-butt meltdown at Stoke meant missing their key man for three games over the festive period, but Everton have coped admirably and end a positive year with concrete evidence that there is still plenty to play for.

Everton FC Review of the Year 2012
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Jan 1 2013
STEVEN PIENAAR’S return to Everton was vital for so many reasons and Everton’s pursuit of their former midfielder, which ran right to the wire, was undoubtedly one of the most significant and captivating transfer sagas of the year. In the end Pienaar had to make a personal plea to Harry Redknapp to be allowed to make his emotional Goodison comeback, and the deal was tied up just minutes before midnight in the wake of a pulsating victory over Manchester City. TWO children, one in an Everton kit, the other in a Liverpool strip, walked onto the Goodison pitch to the sound of Hollies hit ‘He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother’, in a moment of pathos and poignancy that put sport and life into perspective just hours after the publication of the Hillsborough Independent Panel report exposing the extent of the injustice carried out in the wake of the disaster. Also a timely reminder of city unity between the two clubs, it was a moment which touched the world.
IT WAS the moment when Evertonians realised their club had signed a true goal-scoring predator. David Moyes had likened the glint in Nikica Jelavic’s eye to that of a silent assassin and it was with typical ruthless efficiency that he dispatched his first strike during a morale-boosting victory over Spurs in March. In trademark Jelavic style it was a chance snaffled at the first time of asking with elegance and a clinical edge that suggested there would be many more to come.

Ian Snodin: Highs and lows of 2012
Liverpool Echo
Jan 1 2013
IT’S BEEN A terrific year for sport lovers and one I don’t think we’ll see the like of again for some time. From the marvellous London Olympics, to the thrilling climax of the last Premier League season and the amazing Ryder Cup victory I’ve savoured it all. On a personal note, and I’m sure all Blues would agree, the highlight was Kevin Sheedy getting the all-clear from bowel cancer and then on a wider scale the breakthrough in the Hillsborough fight for justice. Of course, we also lost Gary Ablett and Gordon West, who remain in our thoughts.

Ian Snodin: My defining moment of 2012
Liverpool Echo
Jan 1 2013
IT’S THE point when you reflect back on the year that’s just passed and think about the significant moments. For me, the biggest night in terms of shaping Everton’s 2012 was when the transfer window closed at the end of January and David Moyes had signed Nikica Jelavic, Steven Pienaar and Darron Gibson. Almost from that moment on there was a new vibrancy about the club because so many important boxes had been ticked. They’d got a consistent goalscorer at last, a wonderful creative player and a deep-sitting midfielder who can dictate the way they play and help them to keep the ball and shield his defence. Not bad for a month’s business. Before that you looked at Everton’s squad and there were crucial gaps but afterwards it was like the jigsaw was almost complete and results have tended to show that’s right. You only have to look at how Jelavic has carried on working and making a nuisance out of himself lately, even if the goals have dried up a bit for now, to realise what a great addition he has been. And while Gibson has been a quiet revelation there’s nobody who needs reminding how special Pienaar has been. They can all change games.

Everton FC midfielder Darron Gibson facing month on sidelines as injuries mount at Goodison
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Jan 1 2013
DAVID MOYES has revealed that Darron Gibson is expected to face a month on the sidelines with a thigh injury. The former Manchester United man sat out Sunday’s 2-1 defeat against Chelsea and is now set to miss the first month of 2013, starting with the trip to Newcastle United tomorrow.
Moyes also admitted that the game at St James’ Park could come too soon for several of his other injured players as well. Kevin Mirallas, Phil Neville, Tony Hibbert and Seamus Coleman have all been unavailable through injury in recent weeks. However, the timely return of the influential Marouane Fellaini is a boost to the injury-hit Blues. “He (Gibson) is going to be out for about four weeks,” said Moyes at his pre-match press conference. “I don’t know if we will have anybody back from injury for this game, although we obviously have Marouane back from suspension. “We would like a few players back but so would most clubs in the Premier League. “It’s a test to try and find a team that can win without its best players but you have to try and find solutions to win you games.”

Why Everton FC’s Seamus Coleman is glad to have followed unconventional path to the top
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Jan 1 2013
THE tinsel and trees may soon be taken down in homes across Merseyside, but for Seamus Coleman every day of the year feels like Christmas. The Everton defender who signed a new five-and-a-half year contract yesterday is living his dream, and thanks to his unconventional route to the top he insists he’ll never forget it. While other Premier League players were being groomed and fine-tuned into mini professionals at the age of 18, Coleman was still getting knocked from pillar to post on the Gaelic football field for his local team Na Cealla Beaga. So the 24-year-old makes no apologies for retaining the boyish enthusiasm for the career he enjoys on Merseyside. Although he may still be learning, and there are times his raw edges and late-start in the game remain apparent, the talented right-back wouldn’t have it any other way. “Obviously I missed out on a lot of the things which academy players in the county get but maybe it was good for me in a way,” says the Donegal-born player who opted to focus mainly on football when he joined Sligo Rovers in 2006. “You see young lads playing in the Premier League now at the age of 17 or 18 and I was playing Gaelic football at that age. It’s crazy. I look at them doing so well and it’s mad thinking about me playing a different sport on a Saturday afternoon back then. “Because being at a top club is all some academy kids have ever known perhaps they do take it for granted in some cases. I’m not criticising them. I understand that because it’s all they’ve ever known but it’s one thing you’ll never see me doing.
“I’m very grateful for what I have. I never drive through those gates (at Finch Farm) thinking training is a chore. “I always remember I’m at Everton Football Club. I’m in the Premier League and I’ll never take it for granted. I’m sure people will read this and think ‘Oh here he goes saying this again’ but it’s the truth. “I’m privileged to be where I am and I know that.” Coleman, who hopes to be fit to return to action in time for Everton’s FA Cup third round tie at Cheltenham, also aims to emulate the longevity of one of the club’s other right-backs – Phil Neville. “I’d love to emulate Phil. I know I’ve got to keep improving but I’d love to stay here as long as possible and he’s a great example to be 35, nearly 36 is great,” he says. “I’d love to be fit enough to do that as well. He’s been great with me and helped me a lot. “He keeps us on our toes as a captain and I’ve picked up things from him; little stories or how to adapt to certain games or certain opposition players. He’ll give me practical advice and I’ve been lucky that way. “Having players like Phil Neville, Tony Hibbert and Leighton Baines around me has helped tremendously. You couldn’t not learn from guys like that. They’re great role models.” Coleman admits he now feels secure at Everton after penning his new deal, but it wasn’t always that way after he arrived with plenty to prove in 2009. “When I first signed it was a two-year contract I think and I just looked at it as more of a long-term trial. I was here to try and prove myself and that I was good enough to take the massive step from the League of Ireland to the Premier League here,” he says. “It was difficult making the transition but I just went out and tried to play my game and thankfully had a good year of it. It was something I’d always dreamed about so I just tried to grab it with both hands. “Last year I had some injuries and a dip in form but I kept working hard, which is one of my attributes. Thankfully I got a run in the side in my favourite position this season and I enjoyed it. I think if you work hard enough anything is possible. Some lads are born with loads of natural ability and maybe I wasn’t one of them but I’ve worked hard growing up and luckily I’ve got where I wanted to be. “If you want it bad enough and there is some ability there it can happen for you. “Since I’ve done it James McLean has come over as well so it proves it can be done.”
He might have come a long way since those early days at Sligo’s Showgrounds stadium, but for Coleman there are still similarities between his former and current club. “I love Everton because this is a family club in a similar way to Sligo,” he says. “There certainly weren’t as many staff at Sligo but they were brilliant and here it’s the same. “A lot of my friends back home are United fans but when I play they’re Everton fans. “It’s great and when I go back to where I’m from and I see a kid in a Coleman jersey it’s still mad.”

David Moyes challenges Marouane Fellaini to cope with rough stuff just like Lionel Messi
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Jan 1 2013
DAVID MOYES has challenged Marouane Fellaini to follow the example of Lionel Messi when it comes to coping with being targeted by opponents. The Everton boss wants his influential midfielder to remain calm under provocation like the Barcelona star, and learn the lesson of his three-game suspension for head-butting Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross last month. Fellaini – who has again apologised for the flash-point which saw him fined heavily by Everton – also insists he is happy at the Toffees and is not looking for a transfer. Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Newcastle when Fellaini is set to return for the Blues, Moyes said: “The best person you have to look at is Lionel Messi. Every person targets him, every person tries to kick him and every person tries to stop him and they’ll do everything. “But all he ever does is get up and get on with it. That’s the sign of a top player. It says to people ‘whatever you do, it doesn’t affect me’. “The best in the world is Lionel Messi who gets physically attacked every game by people trying to stop him, but he keeps doing what he’s doing. “I tell Felli that you just have to get on with it. If I was playing against Felli I’d try and wind him up. Anybody would. That’s what happens with good players.” Moyes, who will assess where to deploy the 25-year-old at St James’ Park with the news of Darron Gibson’s injury, insists he has no deep concerns about the player’s character. And he said he was heartened at how his side coped in the Belgian’s absence. “He’ll certainly be back in the squad. Whether he comes straight back in, I’ll have a look at it. But we played quite well in his absence, Victor and Jelavic have played okay. “We won two and lost one and that’s better than drawing three games. We’ve been drawing a lot lately, so that was better. And the one we lost we were a bit unfortunate. We have done okay with what we had. I felt as if he let us down. But that is in the past now. We have moved on. He has paid his punishment for it and we have as well. “I don’t have any concerns about his character overall. He’s actually a really good lad. But something he’s going to have to be careful and mindful of is that people are going to pay more attention to him. “It’s not as if you can miss him that easily. That’s what I was annoyed with. When you are that easily recognisable and seen, how can you ever think you are ever going to get away with anything?” Fellaini himself remains contrite about the incident at the Britannia stadium, and told reports in Belgium that he is happy at Everton.
He said: “Normally I am a very honest player, but that was just frustration at Stoke.
“Ryan Shawcross was pushing and pulling me the whole game, and, in the end, I just exploded.
“But I shouldn’t have, and I’m sorry for what I did. The punishment was right. I can’t complain about that. “I have a contract with Everton until 2016, and, if the club want, I will see that out. I know I am hot, and I want to move forward one day, but I will finish my Everton contract if they want me to.
“I am living in Manchester now, because in Liverpool, the women were crawling for me. It was too much. In Manchester, people don’t recognise me that much and tend to treat me in a more respectful way. I don’t want to be a star. I just want to play football.”

Marouane Fellaini happy to stay at Everton FC until 2016
By Greg O'Keeffe
Jan 1 2013
MAROUANE FELLAINI insists he is happy to stay at Everton FC for the remaining three-and-a-half years of his contract. The highly-coveted midfielder says he won’t push for a move away from Goodison if the club wants to keep him, and maintains he is settled in the North West after early teething problems following his £15m move in 2008. Fellaini’s comments to reporters in his native Belgium will provide a boost for David Moyes ahead of this month’s newly-opened transfer window.
He said: "I have a contract with Everton until 2016, and, if the club want, I will see that out. I know I am hot, and I want to move forward one day, but I will finish my Everton contract if they want me to."

Ian Snodin: Darron Gibson won’t always be plagued with injuries
Liverpool Echo
Jan 1 2013
THERE’S THAT argument which says Alex Ferguson never lets a player go unless he thinks there’s some fundamental flaw with them, but I certainly don’t think you can apply that to Darron Gibson.
I know it’s very disappointing news to see him ruled out for another month, and maybe a few people might wonder if Fergie had him down as an injury prone player – but in my opinion that’s not the case. I’ve been in the same situation as Darron trying to come back from a fairly serious injury problem and you do get other niggly injuries unfortunately which crop up and hinder your progress.
I think he’s a fit, strong lad generally who looks after himself so when he has finally got his thigh problem sorted out I’d expect him to carry on playing without further problems until the end of the season. If anything I think Ferguson allowed him to leave United to be fair to him and give his career a chance to flourish, not because he didn’t rate him. At the time he was going to struggle to get into United’s midfield but I suspect the Scot’s mindset was ‘Go and prove me wrong for letting you go’. There’s certainly plenty of evidence that Gibson has the quality to do just that.

Ian Snodin: Everton FC durability amazes me
Liverpool Echo
Jan 1 2013
I’M NOT sure how many clubs in the Premier League could cope with the absence of so many key players and still give Chelsea – with all their quality and wealth – such a fright. You won’t find many who will argue against the school of thought that Everton FC at least deserved a point against the Londoners on Sunday, but football can be a cruel game especially when you can’t quite manage to take your chances. It was brilliant to see the way David Moyes’ players took the game to Chelsea from the first whistle, and the tempo they set proves what brilliant group attitude and fitness levels they have as a group. Chelsea didn’t know what had hit them at first. Unfortunately they were always going to have a spell in the game – they’ve got too many good players on top form to not up their levels when they need to and that was what happened after about half an hour.
It’d be unfair to say Everton just suddenly dropped off – you’ve got to credit how well Rafa Benitez’s men started to play. I heard Frank Lampard being interviewed after the game and he told the journalist that Chelsea had to really play well to come away with anything from Goodison and it’s been a familiar refrain on the rare occasion a team have beaten the Blues at home throughout the year. Everton can be a physical side and stop teams playing but they can also play a bit themselves so they’ve got a lovely mix which rival managers know can be a real headache. One player who really stood out of course was Steven Pienaar. It was an example of how important he has been to Everton since he returned summed up neatly in one game. He scored and dictated the way Everton played, showing they can cope without Marouane Fellaini – not to mention Darron Gibson and Kevin Mirallas. Pienaar plays football with a smile on his face and you can tell he oozes confidence on the pitch. He has the self-belief to try things and nine times out of ten they come off for him.
He’s a lad who has a great relationship with his manager and a great relationship with his team-mates – particularly Leighton Baines who he has that almost telepathic understanding with.
If you’d sat down before the festive break and offered Moyes two wins and a narrow defeat I think he’d probably have taken it, so I hope there’s no lingering disappointment from the defeat.
It certainly didn’t feel like any reason to become pessimistic or start re-assessing targets – not when you take into account all the extenuating circumstances and still remember that but for a bit of luck in front of goal we could have been talking about another memorable victory over one of the really big clubs at Goodison.

Everton FC boss David Moyes having to tinker with tactics and formations
Jan 1 2013
Everton FC boss David Moyes admits he is having to tinker with tactics and formations to keep his side moving onwards and upwards into the second half of the season. Injuries to key players - with midfielder Darron Gibson ruled out for a month with a thigh strain and forward Kevin Mirallas sidelined for a second time with a hamstring injury - have taken their toll on Everton FC over the festive period. In Sunday’s home defeat to Chelsea, David Moyes was forced to pick 18-year-old reserve-team defender Tyias Browning among his substitutes, so limited were his options.
Things have improved slightly with the return from suspension of Marouane Fellaini and the possibility of Phil Neville being fit again after being rested having complained of pain in the knee he had an operation on recently. But David Moyes’ management skills are being tested to the full once again and he accepts he may sometimes have to tinker with his tactics. "The mood is fine, we are healthy enough - I’d like a few more players back from injury but so would a few clubs," said the Everton FC manager. "It is a busy time and I wouldn’t say it is a time of year when managers and players want game after game. "We’ve had them (Gibson and Mirallas) out before. Kevin and Darron are important players for us but that is what happens. "It is a test to try to find teams that can win without your best players. You have to find solutions." One of the changes which looked like paying off against Chelsea was moving Steven Pienaar into a central position behind striker Nikica Jelavic, from where he scored in only the second minute. The South Africa international is usually a permanent fixture on the left, where he has a great relationship with defender Leighton Baines, but in Fellaini’s absence Moyes wanted to change things around somewhat. "I don’t think his biggest thing is scoring goals but we’ve needed to get some goals from different places and he’s managed to get some in recent games which have been important for us," said Moyes of Pienaar. "I don’t want it to become predictable about Pienaar and Baines down the left and I felt it was right we changed it and I think he can do a job for us there. "We will look to change it around when we can but we know we have a good thing going with what Baines and Pienaar do so we have to make sure teams don’t clamp onto it too often and we can cause them problems in other ways." Moyes hopes the new year brings a change of fortune for Jelavic. The Croatia international arrived from Rangers on transfer deadline day last January and proceeded to enjoy a blistering start to his Everton FC career, with 11 goals in 16 games in the second half of the season. This campaign has been more patchy with just six goals in 20 appearances but Moyes is confident the striker’s form will return.
"He has continually worked hard. I think probably the difference from this time last year is that everything we made Niki scored," said the Toffees boss, who takes his side to Newcastle on Wednesday. "This time we are finding it just a little bit harder to get the ball in the net, which was evident against Chelsea. "You hope the players continue the form they have shown in the past and a bit of confidence can make a difference, especially to forward players. "It is just the way it is, it happens sometimes."

Everton FC defender Leighton Baines: Newcastle’s struggles show it’s tough to stay at the top
Liverpool Echo
Jan 2 2013
LEIGHTON BAINES believes Newcastle’s struggling form so far this season puts Everton’s recent Premier League campaigns in context. The Blues finished below Alan Pardew’s side last season, after the Magpies enjoyed a strong period which saw them qualify for the Europa League.
But England defender Baines insists that maintaining such progress is not so straight-forward – as tonight's opponents have proved so far this time around. He said: “It does put in context how difficult it is to stay up there in a sense. They had a brilliant season last time around but it’s difficult to sustain it and do it over a course of four or five seasons like we’ve been doing. “I think maybe some people thought that was it, they were going to be there every year. Now they’re scratching their heads wondering what they’re doing wrong because Alan Pardew is probably doing the same things he did last year. We’ve been there, like in the early stages of the last few seasons when you’re just not quite sure what’s going wrong. It’s difficult. You just need to start winning games somehow and that’s what they need to start doing – and what they’ll be looking to do at their place. It’ll be a tough game. “I think we do get the credit more now. People acknowledge what we do. I think you can use teams like Newcastle as a comparison to see just how difficult it is. Great last year, struggling this year. Just over the last few years we haven’t had those bigger dips. It’s not to say it’ll never happen because if you let your standards slip it will. “But even when we’ve struggled at the start we’ve found a way and that’s the one thing we’ve always done. We’ll find a way. Whether it’s when we’re at our bare bones or whatever we’ll come up with something at the end, and I do think people are starting to give us the acknowledgement for doing a good job.”

Window of uncertainty could be Newcastle’s undoing when they face Everton FC
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Jan 2 2013
IT IS hardly the ideal setting from which to pull away from the Premier League’s doldrums.
Newcastle United’s players are unsure from day to day whether one of their key men, prolific striker Demba Ba, will still be wearing black and white next month, and David Moyes admits that uncertainty could have a bearing on his side’s opponents today. The Blues have experienced such unsettled moments themselves, specifically when question marks abounded over Joleon Lescott’s future in summer 2009, and the scenario took its toll on morale and results at Goodison at the start of that campaign. Asked if Ba’s ongoing transfer dilemma could be on the minds of Newcastle’s players this evening, Moyes said: “I think it can be. When it starts to go wrong you start looking around. But Alan (Pardew) keeps picking him and he’s an important player to him. He is getting the goals and a threat. “I don’t know if it will help us. I think Alan will play him if he is available. It would not be a great thing to have around the club. We had it when Lescott was leaving the club, a similar thing. It did not work in our favour. “Maybe it would be different with a goalscorer who plays up front. Until they get the offer, he is going to be playing for Newcastle.” It was not long ago that Alan Pardew insisted his club had moved beyond competing with Everton as they finished fifth last term following an impressive campaign. Those comments about the Magpies being “in a different league” have returned to haunt him however, with his side currently in 15th place in the table – eight places below the Toffees. Moyes though, has some sympathy for his counterpart in the home dug-out tonight. “I think we are all operating in similar leagues and at times this league can be really punishing,” he says. “The Europa League can have an effect on it. It’s a tough league, you don’t know where the wins will come from. “We have had a good start but who is to say we will have a good second half? I think it’s difficult. It’s a league where it is really punishing and you can be caught with your pants down very quickly but at the same time you can be cock of the north quite easily as well if you get four or five wins under your belt. You have to be level and quite balanced. “Not too high when you’re the man and when it’s not going too well keep your head down and get on with it. There are three or four teams that could go either way.” Newcastle have been shipping goals lately, but Moyes is unsure whether the Toon will revert to a more defensive approach this evening. “I think that Alan will pick his team with what he has got,” he says. “He is a bit short of defenders, maybe his best form of defence is attack. That looks like what they have been trying to do. They went to Arsenal and United and scored goals. None of us like conceding goals, but you have to do what you can with what you have got.” For his own part, Moyes remains positive overall despite Sunday’s galling defeat by Chelsea and the loss of Darron Gibson for a month. “It’s a big loss because he is influential,” says Moyes of the Republic of Ireland international. “It limits me because Phil Neville is recovering from a knee op so makes me a little short at times. Marouane can drop back in. Heitinga can step in too if we need it. We’ve been short of right-backs too and that’s why I always look for players who can play a couple of positions so we have that versatility as that helps us get through when we are short.” “Overall though you don’t come out of the Chelsea game feeling like a defeat because we deserved to get something out of it. It was a test of where we are. And we ran Chelsea really close. You would expect them to be really close to Manchester United and City come the end of the season. “We ran them close on the day and if we had won there would not have been too many complaints. It was a real nip and tuck game, that did not quite go for us. It showed that we can compete against any of the teams on the day. Have we got that added bit of quality that some of these teams have got? Maybe not. But 11 versus 11 we have a chance.”

Newcastle v Everton FC preview: Alan Pardew may regret his words about EFC
By Ian Doyle
Jan 2 2013
ALAN PARDEW probably wishes he’d kept his mouth shut when, with his side still challenging for Champions League qualification last May, he stated Newcastle United were now operating in a different league to Everton FC. A glance at the league table suggests Pardew may be right, given the manner the Toon Army have since struggled in contrast to a fine campaign for the Goodison outfit.
But there is one aspect in which the Magpies manager is most certainly in a position familiar to David Moyes. Newcastle’s preparations for this evening’s Premier League clash between the sides at St James’ Park have been overshadowed by speculation surrounding the future of Demba Ba.
While Chelsea have held talks with the in-form Senegalese striker, no deal has yet been agreed, meaning Ba could do battle against the team against whom he scored twice in the 2-2 Goodison draw in September. Moyes was in a similar situation regarding Joleon Lescott’s future three years ago as Manchester City pursued the centre-back. And of the Ba issue, the Goodison manager says: “I don’t know if it will help us. I think Alan will play him if he is available. “It would not be a great thing to have around the club. We had it when Lescott was leaving the club, a similar thing. It did not work in our favour. “Maybe it would be different with a goalscorer who plays up front. Until they get the offer, he is going to be playing for Newcastle. “I think it can be a problem for his team-mates. When it starts to go wrong you start looking around. But Ba is an important player to Alan. He is getting the goals and a threat.” Newcastle narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification last season when finishing fifth, two places and nine points ahead of Everton. It prompted Pardew’s now infamous pronouncement that has been made to look even more foolish by his team’s woes this season, Newcastle only three points off the relegation zone after the weekend games compared to the Goodison outfit standing a similar distance from the top four. “I think we are all operating in similar leagues and at times this league can be really punishing,” says Moyes. “The Europa league can have an effect on it. “It’s a tough league, you don’t know where the wins will come from. We have had a good start but who is to say we will have a good second half. I think it’s difficult.
“It’s a league where it is really punishing and you can be caught with your pants down very quickly but at the same time you can be cock of the north quite easily as well if you get four or five wins under your belt. “You have to be level and quite balanced: not too high when you’re the man and when it’s not going too well keep your head down and get on with it. There are three or four teams that could go either way.” While Newcastle netted three goals at both Old Trafford and the Emirates over Christmas, the fact they conceded four and then seven respectively underlines why they have failed to replicate last season’s achievements. Moyes, though, does not expect the Magpies to park the bus this evening. “I think that Alan will pick his team with what he has got,” he says. “He is a bit short of defenders, maybe his best form of defence is attack. That looks like what they have been trying to do. “They went to Arsenal and United and scored goals. None of us like conceding goals, but you have to do what you can with what you have got.” Everton could be down to the bare bones this evening with injuries starting to catch up with their small squad over the hectic festive period. The absence of Darron Gibson for the next month with a thigh problem is a significant blow with the Republic of Ireland midfielder having just rediscovered his sharpness having missed three months earlier in the campaign with a similar injury. “It’s a big loss because he is influential,” admits Moyes. “It limits me because Phil Neville is recovering from knee op so makes me a little short at times. “Marouane Fellaini can drop back in. John Heitinga can step in too if we need it. We’ve been short of right-backs too and that’s why I always look for players who can play a couple of positions so we have that versatility as that helps us get through when we are short.” Despite the absentees, Everton were unfortunate to see their long unbeaten home run halted by a 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday. Victory would have seen the Goodison outfit leapfrog the Londoners into third place, and Moyes believes the performance of his makeshift side underlines they are worthy challengers for Champions League qualification. “You don’t come out of Sunday’s game feeling like a defeat because we deserved to get something out of it,” he says. “It was a test of where we are. And we ran Chelsea really close, where are Chelsea? You would expect them to be really close to Manchester United and City come the end of the season. “We ran them close on the day and if we had won there would not have been too many complaints. “It was a real nip-and-tuck game that did not quite go for us. It showed that we can compete against any of the teams on the day.
“Have we got that added bit of quality that some of these teams have got? Maybe not. But with 11 v 11, we have a chance.”

‘I won’t ask for money we don’t have’ says Everton FC boss David Moyes at start of January transfer window
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Jan 2 2013
DAVID MOYES insists he will not pressurise Everton’s board to provide funds they haven’t got in the January transfer market. The Blues boss said he remains realistic about the club’s finances, and is comfortable with the quality if not the size of his squad. Moyes still hopes to add a couple of loan recruits this month as injuries continue to take their toll at Goodison, but would have to sell a player if he wanted to further invest in new signings. He said: “People know our situation here. There’s no point me asking for something that we have not got so I wouldn't do it. “We are out there looking. I don’t want to put the club in any situation. We have a good squad and if we can get them fit then we are okay. “If I ask you for a grand out of your pocket, you can’t give me a grand. If you've not got it, you've not got it. I’ve got a great respect for the people who run Everton. They have a stability.
“The chief exec has come out and said there is a very small amount available and that is what I am saying. Maybe a couple of loans if we could come up with them. “I joined Everton and I knew what it was about. I will always keep pushing and keep asking but at the end of the day I am the manager and my job is to win the games with the players I have got. “The players who we had available came close to beating Chelsea. We have got a squad, we are a bit unfortunate that we have got some injuries but so have all clubs so the last thing I want to be is someone who is complaining about injuries. “Maybe in comparative terms we might have a small number of injuries. We have some injuries to key players, self-inflicted suspension to one player, I think you accept that you accumulate yellow cards. You accept that you pick up injuries.” Everton must contend without Kevin Mirallas against Newcastle once again this evening, although the Belgian forward is making progress with his hamstring troubles, and Moyes is also without Darron Gibson, Tony Hibbert,and Seamus Coleman.
Further compounding the situation is injury concerns over Leighton Baines (ankle) and Steven Pienaar (dead leg) although both will be given a chance to prove their fitness ahead of tonight’s clash at St James’ Park. But Moyes has confidence in his squad overall, and admits the prospect of selling to buy – with John Heitinga increasingly linked with a Goodison exit this month – is out of his hands He added: “It was the same question last year and we got it and were not expecting it (when the Blues sold Diniyar Bilyaletdinov for £5.5m). That came up and sprung us into life. The difference is this year is that we don’t necessarily need to be sprung into life. We are in a strong position, healthy. “Last year there were still hints we had to be looking over our shoulder to the relegation side of things. We needed to give the supporters something to shout about. We had given them nothing in the first half of last season, I would not have paid to watch some of the stuff we were producing. "We did that and that came from nowhere. Who knows what will happen? We are probably working in the short term. If somebody left that player would have to be replaced before even talking about someone else. So you would need to be talking about someone who is complete surplus to what we need and we don’t have an awful lot of surplus hanging around.”

David Moyes won't pressure Everton FC board into relaxing financial restraints for January transfer window
By Ian Doyle
Jan 2 2013
DAVID MOYES has revealed he won’t pressure the Everton FC board into relaxing their financial restraints during the transfer window to help bolster his side’s challenge for Champions League qualification. The Goodison outfit begin 2013 at Newcastle United this evening hoping to keep pace in the race for a top-four berth. Their challenge has come under threat in recent weeks by a spate of injuries that have exposed the lack of strength of depth in the Everton squad compared to their nearest rivals. Although Marouane Fellaini returns from suspension, Darron Gibson will miss the next month with a thigh problem while Phil Neville, Tony Hibbert and Kevin Mirallas also sit out the trip to the North East and Steven Pienaar, Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman are major doubts.
But Moyes is refusing to ask the Goodison board to loosen the purse strings this month in an attempt to secure a Champions League berth. “People know our situation here,” said the Everton manager. “There’s no point me asking for something that we have not got so I wouldn’t do it.
“We have got a squad, we are a bit unfortunate that we have got some injuries but so have all clubs so the last thing I want to be is someone who is complaining about injuries. “Maybe in comparative terms we might have a small number of injuries. But we have some injuries to key players.”
Moyes added: “You can’t complain about having no money. If you don’t have it, that’s it. We don’t have it. “If I ask you for a grand out of your pocket you can’t give me a grand. If you’ve not got it, you’ve not got it. “I joined Everton and I knew what it was about. I have no problems. I will always keep pushing and keep asking but at the end of the day I am the manager and my job is to win the games with the players I have got. “ Moyes will once again seek to exploit the loan market although limited funds are available to the Goodison manager. “We are out there looking,” he said. “I don’t want to put the club in any situation. We have a good squad and if we can get them fit then we are okay. “The chief exec (Robert Elstone) has come out and said there is a very small amount available and that is what I am saying. We could maybe do a couple of loans if we could come up with them.”
Everton’s excellent form in 2012 – during which they lost only seven of 41 Premier League games – was kickstarted by a January transfer window that saw the arrival of Gibson and Nikica Jelavic and the return of Pienaar and Landon Donovan. Funds were raised by the £5.5million sale of Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, and Moyes said: “I was asked the same questions about money this time last year, and we then got it when we weren’t expecting it. “That came up and sprung us into life. The difference is this year is that we don’t necessarily need to be sprung into life. “We are in a strong postion, healthy. Last year there were still hints we had to be looking over our shoulder to the relegation side of things. We needed to give the supporters something to shout about. “If somebody left that player would have to be replaced before even talking about someone else. So you would need to be talking about someone who is complete surplus to what we need and we don’t have an awful lot of surplus hanging around.” Pienaar hobbled off towards the end of Sunday’s 2-1 home defeat to Chelsea, and Moyes said: “He has a really bad dead leg. “Bainesy has been carrying an ankle injury, and both doubts for me. We have made progress with Kevin Mirallas but he is not in contention.”

Williamson back to contain Fellaini
BIG PRESENCE ... Mike Williamson.
By MILES STARFORTH
Wednesday 2 January 2013
The Shield s Gazette
MIKE Williamson returns from suspension against Everton tonight – tasked with stopping Marouane Fellaini. Williamson sat out Saturday night’s 7-3 defeat to Arsenal because of a one-game ban after accumulating five bookings. The 29-year-old brings some welcome height into the team which will face imposing 6ft 4in midfielder Fellaini, who has now served his three-game suspension for a headbutt on Stoke City’s Ryan Shawcross. United manager Alan Pardew – without injured right-back Danny Simpson – will pair Williamson with captain Fabricio Coloccini in the centre of defence.
And he’s confident Williamson can help shore up a defence which has leaked 10 goals in its last two outings. “He’s a natural centre-half, and he gives us a natural balance,” Pardew told the Gazette.
“We’ve lost Danny, so we’ve got to make a decision a right-back. Having Willo back for this particular game will be important, because Fellaini offers an aerial threat that probably only Williamson can deal with. “He’ll be important to the team.” Pardew has a couple of options for replacing Simpson for tonight’s game. He could play James Perch at full-back after he filled in at centre-half for Williamson at the Emirates, or if Vurnon Anita is fit again, play the Dutchman in defence as he has done a couple of times this season. Youngster James Tavernier, who came on as a late substitute at Arsenal, is another option, while Davide Santon could be switched to the right side of the back four, with Shane Ferguson coming in at left-back. Meanwhile, teenage midfielder Gael Bigirimana is in contention for his third consecutive Premier League start after impressing against Arsenal and Manchester United over the festive perod. The 19-year-old left the field with Newcastle trailing Arsenal by a single goal, and he won praise from Pardew for his efforts with and without the ball.
“Gael never hid on Saturday night,” said Pardew. “He was always there. “He ran out of legs a little bit, but only because he’d given so much. He’s a terrific prospect for us.”

Mike Will be the man to keep an eye on Fellaini
by Lee Ryder, Evening Chronicle
Jan 2 2013
Newcastle Chronicles
MIKE WILLIAMSON will be a key figure in tonight’s Premier League battle with Everton after the returning centre-half was backed by his manager Alan Pardew. Pardew says Williamson – back from a one-match ban – is the only Toon player capable of marking man mountain Marouane Fellaini as the big Belgian also returns from the sin bin after controversially headbutting Ryan Shawcross.
Williamson will slot back into United’s back four alongside Fabricio Coloccini, with Newcastle desperate to plug the defensive gaps which resulted in them conceding 11 goals over the holiday period in defeats at Manchester United and Arsenal. Williamson has been much-maligned by sections of fans but he has still made the most defensive clearance and blocks in the United squad all season. Underlining the importance of his role tonight, Pardew – who is considering whether to use Vurnon Anita or James Perch as right-back in the absence of broken-toe victim Danny Simpson – told the Chronicle: “Willo’s a natural centre-half and it gives us a natural balance. “We have lost Danny so we have to make a decision at right-back. “Just having Willo back will be important.
“Fellaini offers an aerial threat probably only Williamson can deal with. He will be important.”
Pardew is understood to be in the market for a centre-back this January. However, he has admitted his options in his back four this season have been severely limited. So much so in a season in which he was hoping to rest captain Coloccini for some key battles he has had little choice but to risk burning the influential skipper out due to an injury to Steven Taylor. Scouser Ryan Taylor has also been out for the season with a knee injury, meaning full-back options have also been limited. The former Tranmere Rovers star was instrumental in the club’s 11 game unbeaten start last season but was badly injured in August against Atromitos in the Europa League. Now Pardew says 2013 is the chance his defensive troops to stake their claim in his side. He added “I just have to choose what the best pair is and stick with it. “It is very important to have continuity in the back four. “I have not really had any options there this year. “There has been no Ryan Taylor or no Steven Taylor.
“We have not even been able to give Coloccini a rest in the odd game. “We just have not had that luxury. “We have been going from week to week with the same back four and they are going to get tired.” However, United’s back four came under much scrutiny after the 4-3 loss to Man United and then an even worse 7-3 defeat at Arsenal. Pardew sympathised with his players rather than getting stuck into them. He said: “They worked so hard at Manchester United and they were spent.
“We couldn’t even get tight on anyone in that last 20 minutes. “I really did feel sorry for us. We just have to wear that result, it is history.”

Pardew backs Marveaux ahead of Everton clash
by Lee Ryder, Evening Chronicle
Jan 2 2013
Newcastle Chroncles
ALAN PARDEW has backed Sylvain Marveaux to make an impact in tonight’s vital clash with Everton at St James’ Park. With Hatem Ben Arfa and Yohan Cabaye both still sidelined through injury, Pardew feels Marveaux is more than capable of filling the void in terms of creativity.
The fixture does not hold fond memories for the French winger after he picked up the groin injury which decimated his first season in England after joining from Ligue 1 side Rennes.
That meant his first Premier League start in November 2011 for the Magpies was over after 54 minutes. After undergoing surgery at the famous Steadman Clinic in the US, Marveaux did not reappear in a Toon shirt until the final day of last season. Now, though, after a run in Pardew’s first team, Marveaux is starting to show why he was a much-sought-after talent two years ago when Newcastle had to grapple with Liverpool to win his services. Pardew told the Chronicle: “He is looking at Premier League games and has a real taste for it. “Sylvain has had experience of it and suddenly he has blossomed in the last two or three games. So much so, Pardew has instructed Marveaux to provide the spark against Everton. The French winger made one and scored one to provide some of the high points during the 7-3 loss at Arsenal. Pardew added: “I said when we lost Yohan Cabaye we would look to Marveaux. “We have since lost Hatem Ben Arfa as well, but Sylvain has answered that call. “I have been really impressed with him. He understands the work ethic you need in the Premier League. “He will play against Everton and hopefully he continues in that vein.”
Now Pardew hopes Marveaux can keep up his form as the season goes into the second half of what has so far been a disappointing campaign. He said: “Marveaux came here and he had not played for seven months. “He came here and was injured for most of last year and never really featured apart from two cameo appearances. “This season he has been injured again but his body is becoming stronger all of the time.” Pardew may also turn to Gael Bigirimana at some stage tonight.
He was also singled out for praise in the aftermath of the painful end-of-year loss to Arsenal.
Pardew said: “Bigirimana, for an 18-year-old, never hid against Arsenal. He was always there.
“Maybe he ran out of legs a little bit by the end but only because he had given so much.
“He is a terrific prospect for us and he will feature tonight.”

Pardew: We’re not too far away from getting it right
by Lee Ryder, Evening Chronicle
Jan 2 2013
Newcastle Chroncles
ALAN PARDEW will send out his refreshed Newcastle side tonight against Everton believing they aren’t far away from turning things around in what has so far been a disappointing campaign.
The Magpies boss has not hit out after defeats at Arsenal and Manchester United and instead has sympathised with his players. But he will urge them to show that little bit more against David Moyes’ Toffees at St James’ tonight. Newcastle have barely trained in the last couple of days for fear of picking up fresh injuries. And Pardew has kept his players in the club’s war room talking tactics after a long, hard festive period. United lost Danny Simpson to a broken toe at Arsenal and fit-again Vurnon Anita took a nasty whack on the ankle at Man United. Pardew told the Chronicle: “We have done hardly anything. We will do it all on the board. “We couldn’t afford to lose anybody in training, but more importantly we needed rest.” Pardew says he hasn’t laid into his players in recent days despite conceding 11 goals – and leaking seven in a Premier League game for the first time in the club’s history. He said: “At 70 minutes against Arsenal we were terrific. “But we know that we put the ball at risk – and on the counter attack we need to make sure we are better protected. They were the two tactical errors in the game. “But when you are tired the errors start to appear.
“We weren’t just physically tired – we were mentally tired. “As long as I live I will know that in the last 20 minutes it was a definite factor and the difference between the two teams.
“But it’s neither here nor there now. It’s about Everton.” And Pardew insists skipper Fabricio Coloccini will be a key figure tonight. He said: “I thought he did well against Man United.
“He was unfortunate for one of the goals as he got a smash in the face just before they scored.
“I don’t think he’s been particularly fortunate in some situations and I do think he can play better. And, like everybody, we know that he is not far away. “If we can get another 10% out of him and Anita back in the team, Williamson back in, I really don’t think we are that far away.”

Finding winning combination becomes harder for Moyes
Wednesday 2nd January 2013
Northern Echo
EVERTON manager David Moyes admits he is having to become more creative in order to find ways to keep his side winning going into the second half of the season. Injuries to key players – with midfielder Darron Gibson ruled out for a month with a thigh strain and forward Kevin Mirallas sidelined for a second time with a hamstring injury – have taken their toll over the festive period.
In Sunday’s home defeat to Chelsea Moyes was forced to pick 18-year-old reserve-team defender Tyias Browning among his substitutes so limited were his options. Things have improved slightly with the return from suspension of Marouane Fellaini and the possibility of Phil Neville being fit again after being rested having complained of pain in the knee he had an operation on recently.
But Moyes’ management skills are being tested to the full once again and he accepts he may sometimes have to tinker with his tactics. “The mood is fine, we are healthy enough – I’d like a few more players back from injury but so would a few clubs,” said the Toffees boss, who takes his side to Newcastle tonight. ‘‘It is a busy time and I wouldn’t say it is a time of year when managers and players want game after game. ‘‘We’ve had them (Gibson and Mirallas) out before.
Kevin and Darron are important players for us but that is what happens. ‘‘It is a test to try to find teams that can win without your best players. You have to find solutions.’’ One of the changes which looked like paying off against Chelsea was moving Steven Pienaar into a central position behind striker Nikica Jelavic from where he scored in only the second minute. The South Africa international is usually on the left, but in Fellaini’s absence Moyes wanted to change things around somewhat. ‘‘I don’t think his biggest thing is scoring goals but we’ve needed to get some goals from different places and he’s managed to get some in recent games which have been important for us,’’ said Moyes of Pienaar. ‘‘I don’t want it to become predictable about Pienaar and Baines down the left and I felt it was right we changed it and I think he can do a job for us there.”

Ba out of Everton game after Chelsea make Newcastle an offer
Wednesday 2 January 2013
The Shield s Gazette
DEMBA Ba will be missing from the Newcastle United side which faces Everton tonight after Chelsea made an offer for the 13-goal striker. Ba stayed in London for talks with the Blues after the Magpies’ 7-3 defeat by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. And despite moves by the club to offer him a new, improved contract, an official statement from St James’s Park today confirmed that he could be on his way. A spokesman said: “Newcastle United can confirm that Chelsea Football Club has made an official offer for Demba Ba, which has triggered the release clause in the player’s contract. “The club has given the player permission to speak to Chelsea FC and therefore he will not be included in the squad for tonight’s game against Everton.”

Marouane Fellaini – The reluctant ladies man
by Daniel Storey on January 2, 2013
Whilst Marouane Fellaini’s recent ban was originally thought to have been engineered to guarantee him more time with the Leffe and turkey sandwiches on the sofa, it in fact appears that a different sort of bird was the reason for his deliberate absence. For it seems that the crazy-haired Belgian is proving to be quite a hit with the ladies on Merseyside, to such an extent that he has been driven out of Liverpool to a calmer life in Manchester, the midfielder admitted. ‘I am living in Manchester now, because in Liverpool, the women were crawling for me .It was too much. In Manchester, people don’t recognise me that much and tend to treat me in a more respectful way. I don’t want to be a star. I just want to play football.’ Come on Marouane, at least pass them on to your teammates, you know the rules.

Spring on from here, Pardew urges
Wednesday 2nd January 2013 in Sport By Scott Wilson
Northern Echo
ALAN Pardew is urging his Newcastle United players to use this evening’s Premier League home game with Everton as a springboard for the second half of the season. The Magpies kick off 2013 in a perilous position just three points clear of the relegation zone, having lost eight of their last ten league matches. Twelve months ago, they started 2012 with an impressive 3-0 home win over Manchester United, a result that sparked a run of four wins in five games, a sequence that was a key factor in them eventually finishing in fifth position. They could do with a similar upturn in form this time around, and while Everton travel to the North-East in fine fettle despite their weekend defeat to Chelsea, Pardew is confident his patched-up side are capable of starting the New Year in style.
“Everton could be a platform for us,” said the Newcastle boss, who welcomes Mike Williamson and Vurnon Anita back into his squad after the pair both missed Saturday’s 7-3 thumping at Arsenal. “It’s a difficult platform, but no more difficult than Man United last year. “I certainly feel that within the team we can beat them. It’s not like I am in a position where I think the team has massively malfunctioned and we have got a problem. Other than in the last Few Premier League sides score six goals in the space of three days against Manchester United and Arsenal, but while there were undoubtedly positives to emerge from Newcastle’s Christmas schedule, the last week has felt like a return to the club’s chaotic past. On the pitch, the concession off 11 goals in two matches exposed some deep-rooted defensive failings, while away from the field of play, things were equally unstable.
Pardew’s spat with Sir Alex Ferguson dominated the weekend headlines, while the ongoing uncertainty surrounding Demba Ba has overshadowed the build-up to tonight’s game, with the Senegal international expected to start against Everton despite a group of his representatives having met with Chelsea officials at the weekend. For most of 2012, it was possible to detect a mood of optimism and serenity at St James’ Park. In the last two months, however, much of the gloss has been removed. “Take November and December out of the year and it was a really great year for the football club,” said Pardew. “Unfortunately, you can’t (take them out of the equation), so this year we have got to put 12 good months together. “That would be good. I do feel it (2012) was a decent year. I look at this group of players and know that, if they were all fit, we would be in such a great position. “I have been in situations like this before and suddenly you look at your team and think, ‘Wow, that is our best team playing out there and we are losing games’. Then you really do have a problem, but we have not got to that stage yet. “I do think there is some real light at the end of tunnel, which is ironic after such a heavy defeat. We’ve had some good news in terms of players coming back (Steven Taylor and Yohan Cabaye both stepped up their training on Monday) and some positive news in terms of negotiations taking place. Hopefully, that will all come to fruition.”
Those negotiations have related to Mathieu Debuchy, and Newcastle officials have agreed a £5.5m fee with their counterparts at Lille. Debuchy is expected to undergo a medical before the weekend, and could be involved in Saturday’s FA Cup third round tie at Brighton with Danny Simpson nursing a broken toe. The Magpies have pursued Debuchy for more than a year, and after talks collapsed last summer when Lille raised their asking price on a number of occasions, there is a collective sense of relief that a deal is now close to completion. “It’s not my job to sign players, but the people in charge know what they have to do,” said Davide Santon. “We know we need more players and if they come, we’ll be happy. If anyone comes in, they have to help us finish the season as best we can.
“Particularly in defence, we haven’t had much cover, but it looks like we’re going to sign a player and that would be good news. I don’t know much about him (Debuchy), but he’s a good player.
“I think it’s our job, especially the captain and the more experienced players, to help new signings when they come in and give them confidence in the team. It’s important we help them to play their best.”

Newcastle 1 Everton FC 2 - brilliant Leighton Baines inspires latest come from behind win
Jan 3 2013
WHAT price Leighton Baines? £15m scream some ludicrous reports – a fabrication which is wide of the mark on a couple of accounts. Firstly because that would just be enough in theory to buy his right foot. Secondly, because Everton FC wouldn’t put a price on him – he’s simply too important.
The left-back scored the stunning free-kick which got them back into the game against Newcastle last night, then formed part of a rearguard which snuffed out the hosts’ later efforts to salvage something. And his contribution could be priceless in the end, as resilient Everton recorded an impressive win to move right back into the mix for Champions League qualification.
In the process David Moyes’ men became Premier League history makers. They’re now the first team to both score and concede in 16 consecutive games, yet they’ve lost just twice in that milestone sequence. Their ability to keep clean sheets may remain a distant memory, but Everton’s overall capacity to shrug off setbacks and put points on the board remains their calling card this term. It was a triumphant finale with a disastrous start. Newcastle’s tendency to hit long balls should have been no surprise, but Everton failed spectacularly to deal with their first one after just 65 seconds. Goalkeeper Tim Krul aimed a long punt forward, and when John Heitinga mis-timed his jump to deliver a clearing header, the ball bounced and Papiss Cisse was unmarked and able to loop a simple header over Tim Howard. The early advantage electrified the hosts and they began to peg the visitors back with a string of attacks, which required some last-ditch defending around Everton’s six-yard box. Yet they might have quickly hit back when Baines, who passed a late fitness test alongside Steven Pienaar, forced Krul into an excellent diving save with a central free-kick from 20 yards. Better was to follow from him. The Blues began to assert their greater ability on the ball, mounting a further series of probing attacks as Leon Osman and Pienaar took up dangerous positions in the final third, but ref Martin Atkinson was affording Everton little protection from a series of fouls. Despite that it was Newcastle who almost doubled their lead on half an hour when Phil Jagielka conceded a free-kick with a clumsy challenge on Gabriel Obertan, and from Vurnon Anita’s delivery, James Perch got above Heitinga and flicked a header onto the post. If the Newcastle defender was unfortunate then, he got lucky moments later when he clipped Pienaar as the midfielder raced into the penalty area but the South African stayed on his feet and Krul sprinted from his line to save with his legs. But Everton were not to be denied. With half-time approaching, Marouane Fellaini – back causing havoc for opponents after his suspension, won a free-kick from Fabricio Coloccini and Baines stood over the ball from 35 yards. Most perhaps expected the England defender to cross, but instead he unleashed an unstoppable pile driver which almost obliterated the back of the net. If a more sweetly struck set-piece is dispatched during this campaign it will surely be goal of the season. Despite that Alan Pardew’s men started brightly again after the break, this time Ameobi was unfortunate after a simple ball through the middle parted Everton’s defence and the powerful striker’s deft attempt rolled just inches past the post. Everton needed their own muscle to edge themselves ahead. Steven Naismith had struggled to impose himself in the game, and Victor Anichebe’s introduction seemed inevitable. In fact the Nigerian international had been unfortunate to lose his starting place after an impressive performance against Chelsea, but he underlined his case for inclusion neatly with his first touch. Nikica Jelavic did well to deliver a low cross from the left, and the 24-year-old swept the ball home first time just like the man who created his chance normally does.
The Magpies remained a threat on the break but with Everton dominating possession and the away end in fine voice, the visitors seemed the more likely to push on and seal the points.
They appeared primed to do just that when Fellaini was felled on the edge of the area by another clumsy tackle from repeat offender Cheick Tiote, but this time Baines bent a much closer free-kick past the post. It was hardly time for the Blues to coast however, as Newcastle found another gear and forced them to defend from efforts by Davide Sandon and Sylvain Marveaux, who saw his shot blocked by Osman. A nasty clash of heads between Phil Neville and Anichebe saw both men receive treatment as the home crowd howled derision despite the collision drawing blood.
Everton were in no mood to surrenderwhat they had, and saw out the game with a combination of wise heads and the late injection of energy from Bryan Oviedo. Even a nervy six minutes of added time wasn’t enough to derail them – Anichebe holding the ball up superbly. and their defence defiant, they clung on. Newcastle had enjoyed an extra day to prepare for the fixture, but Everton proved their enduring spirit once again. Running on empty, but never knowing when they’re beaten. This Everton side have started 2013 like they mean business. The Blues are second only to Manchester United in terms of coming from behind to grab points. It’s a mentality which could yet make this a season to savour.
NEWCASTLE UNITED: Krul, Coloccini (Capt), Santon, Williamson, Anita, Perch (Ranger, 87), Marveaux, Tiote (Ameobi, 80), Obertan (Bigirimana,65) Ameobi, Cisse.
Subs not used: Elliott, Ferguson, Tavernier, Abeid.
BOOKINGS: Cisse, Tiote, Williamson.
GOAL: Cisse (2)
EVERTON: Howard, Jagielka, Distin, Heitinga, Baines, Neville (Capt), Osman, Pienaar, Naismith (Anichebe, 58) Fellaini, Jelavic (Oviedo, 88).
Subs not used: Mucha, Hitzlsperger, Gueye, Vellios, Duffy.
BOOKINGS: Heitinga, Pienaar.
GOALS: Baines (44) Anichebe (59)
REFEREE: Martin Atkinson
ATTENDANCE: 49,391

Everton FC's Leighton Baines is best left-back in the world, says Victor Anichebe
By Greg O'Keeffe
Jan 3 2013
NEVER mind the Premier League – Victor Anichebe believes Everton FC's Leighton Baines is currently the best left-back in the world. The pair scored the goals that gave Everton a 2-1 victory over Newcastle United at St James Park last night, and Anichebe was awestruck by his team-mate’s 35-yard free-kick which got Everton back on level terms just before half time. Anichebe, 24, added the winner shortly after his introduction on 58 minutes, and the Nigerian international said he has tried to follow Baines’ hard-working example as he also continues to impress this season.
He said: “Bainesy is probably the best left-back in the world at the moment and that’s no exaggeration. I couldn’t believe his goal. "I was thinking ‘he’s not going to shoot here surely,’ then he ran up to the ball and I was in disbelief. That just shows you how good he is.
“Sometimes I’m watching him from the side and he’s just unbelievable. The way he’s progressed is fantastic. When he first came here he wasn’t really playing but he didn’t complain. He was always in the gym working and trying to improve himself. “Same with Sylvain Distin. It shows through their displays how professional they are, and I’m looking at that and seeing how it can help me. I’ve tried to follow their example and do as much as I can and I think it’s started to show.” Anichebe’s strike was his fifth in just 12 appearances so far this season, and came at a ground which has previously prompted difficult memories of rupturing his knee ligaments in February 2009. But the forward – who scored but also had a legitimate goal against the Magpies disallowed at Goodison earlier this season – says that is behind him now. “Every time I come here I look back to when I got that injury but I always feel like against Newcastle I get chances or something happens,” he said. “I don’t know what it is. Hopefully now I don’t need to look back at the past any more and I can just concentrate on the future. When we played against West Ham earlier this season me and Kevin Nolan made up. I want to keep progressing myself now, that’s all behind me. “People tell me about my goals ratio per minutes played but I don’t really think about these things. To be honest I don’t care. I just want to play and not be injured. It’s something I’m getting better with. Even when I had my hamstring injury I knew I’d come back.”

Everton FC accounts show £9m loss in 2011-12 but club stays positive
By Greg O'Keeffe
Jan 3 2013
EVERTON FC officials believe the club has responded well to the challenges of a difficult financial year that saw them make a loss of £9m. Chief executive Robert Elstone said that the Blues record high wage bill and signing of new players such as Nikica Jelavic, Darron Gibson, Steven Pienaar and Landon Donovan, helped contribute to an upturn on the pitch in 2011/12, but conceded that lower than expected TV revenues and Goodison gates also took their toll on figures contained in their annual results which were released today. Everton’s £9.1m loss was more than the £5m approximate amount in the previous year’s results, and the club’s overall debt also increased from £44.9m to £46m. However, the results also show savings in other operating expenses – which constitute running Goodison Park, the academy and Finch Farm training ground - falling for the second successive season to £22.7m (2010/11 - £23.6m). Sponsorship revenue showed signs of growth, from £6.8m to £7.1m, and did not include further new partnership agreements made with kit supplier Nike and secondary online ticketing marketplace StubHub which did not fall into the 2011/12 financial year. Turnover was slightly down on the previous year - £80.5m from £82m – mainly due to four fewer games being picked for live TV and the fall in both gate receipts and season ticket numbers. Yet those crucial revenue generators have since shown signs of recovery in the current financial year with season ticket sales up by 6.4% on the 2011/12 season and most recently, the sale of over 1,000 half season ticket sales. New contracts for players including Marouane Fellaini, Tim Howard, Phil Neville and Ross Barkley added to the four January arrivals saw the club’s total wage bill rise to £63.4m from £58m in 2010/11. The club’s wages as a percentage of turnover – adding back outsourced catering and retail income – was 75% (2010/11 – 67%).
The summer arrivals of Kevin Mirallas, Steven Naismith and Bryan Oviedo are not included in the accounts for this financial year. The accounts do include the costs of signing loan captures Royston Drenthe, Denis Stracqualursi and James McFadden on a short-term deal. Elstone said: “The club has demonstrated its commitment to first team success with increased expenditure on player wages. We continue to try to enhace our competitive position and, at the same time, manage cost base and debt levels effectively.
“To get through a challenging year with only minimal increases in overall debt whilst at the same time, based on the opinions of many experts, strengthening our first team squad is testament to the skill, hard work and commitment of the manager, the chairman and all their support teams.
“I’m also delighted to report, those on-field performances, boosted by new signings in the summer, have made a considerable impact on the current season. Buoyed by excellent season ticket sales which have been lifted further by record half season ticket sales and new commercial partnerships with StubHub and Nike, the Club’s turnover projections for 2012/13 are healthy. “We continue to demonstrate on-field ambition whilst at all times maintaining a close eye on our entire cost base.” Everton Chairman Bill Kenwright said the club’s activity in the last two transfer windows has been pivotal to delivering the turnaround in performances on the pitch - beginning with the recruitment of Jelavic, Gibson, Pienaar and Donovan. “From the day the transfer window closed we embarked on a superb run which delivered 8 wins and 6 draws from our last 16 league games as we swept past teams including Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur,” said Kenwright. “Some of our football was truly spell-binding as we also made a third Wembley appearance in four seasons thanks to a fine FA Cup run.” “We continue to salute and applaud our manager David Moyes, for the massive part he has played, and continues to play, in the life of this football club."
Kenwright insisted that the search for new investment at Everton continues: “My desire to find a person, or Institution, with the finance to move us forward has not diminished. Despite the challenges presented by a global economic downturn, we remain positive and determined.
"My commitment to serve this football club to the very best of my ability remains a constant in my life and I am aware of the trust you put in me to do that.”

Everton FC striker Victor Anichebe happy to end Newcastle hoodoo
By Greg O'Keeffe
Jan 3 2013
FOR four years Magpies have spelled bad luck for Everton FC striker Victor Anichebe.
But last night the powerful front man exacted rich revenge on his black and white nemesis.
Four years ago a horror tackle at St James Park saw Anichebe ruled out of football for more than six months and led to an out of court settlement with Kevin Nolan. Then earlier this season he thought he had scored against Newcastle, only for the match officials to fail to spot his header had crossed the goalline. So his celebrations after last night's clinical finish fired Everton up into fifth place in the Premier League were ecstatic. "It was a great moment for Victor and he's always got a goal in him," said delighted boss David Moyes. "I've always said he can make a big contribution. He just needs to believe in himself a little bit more. And I think the crowd's reaction to him at the final whistle, when they chanted his name, said a lot. "I never even thought about the injury he sustained here, but he didn't half play well when he came on, holding the ball up for us.
"And it was a really well worked goal "I won't take any credit for the switch. The players are always the ones who take the credit. I just felt that after half-time we didn't quite have a grip of the game as well as we'd like, or as well as we had in the first half. "Newcastle had upped it a little bit and put us under a bit more pressure and we needed to find another way of putting them back on the back foot." Anichebe's close range finish and a stunning free-kick by Leighton Baines saw Everton come from behind to triumph – the 20th point they have claimed from a losing position this season and a record topped only by Manchester United this season. "If you're going to come to St James' Park and beat Newcastle you're going to have to play very well," added Moyes. “And you're also going to have to be up against one of the strongest teams in the Premier League. "It looked like Newcastle were hurting a little bit, they came out of the blocks and we didn't deal well with the first ball up and we found ourselves a goal down again. "I thought we played really well in the first half and I was really disappointed that our good play hadn't led to more clinical finishes.
"Marouane Fellaini had a great opportunity, Pienaar had a great chance, Steven Naismith as well. I thought at the very least we'd warranted going in at half-time equal, so thank goodness Bainesy came up with a worldy to get us back level. "I said last week when we played Chelsea that I thought Ashley Cole was the best left-back in England. I've always thought Leighton Baines was behind him, but I also said last week that I thought the gap between the two of them was getting much closer. "He's disappointed he's not scored three goals tonight! "He had the other free-kick and one where he's wriggled through which he's disappointed he didn't finish off." The Blues boss went on: "I hope we continue to be a good second half of the season team and if we can do that we'll continue to compete with the teams at the top end. "Whether we'll be good enough, only time will tell. "I thought the Demba Ba situation might have galvanised their team and I expected them to come out and have a go from the start then we let in a really sloppy goal. "They had a couple across the goal but apart from that I thought we had the best chances. "After two minutes I'd have liked us to have tightened up defensively, but I'd also have liked us to have finished off all the good approach play. "We held the ball well in the last few minutes so maybe we're getting better at that, but we still needed Tim Howard to make one or two good saves."
After some barbed comments about the Blues in recent seasons, Newcastle boss Alan Pardew conceded that the best team won. "Everton had a bit more guile, a bit more experience and a bit more quality," he said frankly. "Take Leighton Baines out of Everton's side and we might have won, but that's the kind of quality I'm talking about."

Newcastle 1 Everton FC 2 - Leighton Baines inspires tremendous EFC victory
By David Prentice
Jan 3 2013
VICTOR ANICHEBE fired Everton back into the Premier League’s European challenging spots with his first touch of the ball at St James Park. But it was an utterly magnificent Leighton Baines free-kick which set the platform for a deserved 2-1 victory. The England full-back added to his already glowing reputation with a thunderous 30-yard set-piece just as Everton looked set to go in at the interval trailing to Papiss Cisse’s 75-second strike. Baines stepped up after Fabricio Coloccini had been penalised for a challenge on Marouane Fellaini and unleashed one of the contenders for Goal of the Season. It lifted Everton up into fifth place in the table, and quickly erased the memory of Sunday’s cruel defeat to Chelsea. Anichebe struck seconds after coming on as a substitute for Steven Naismith, rapping in from six yards after Nikica Jelavic had crossed devastatingly from the left. But it was Baines’ wonder-strike which will live long in the memory. It helped secure victory without Darron Gibson, Kevin Mirallas, Seamus Coleman and Tony Hibbert. But Marouane Fellaini returned after suspension to produce another influential display, while Phil Neville turned in a captain’s performance – at one stage dripping with blood from a head wound. And as they have done so many times this season Everton came from behind to triumph. Newcastle unearthed an Achilles heel in Everton’s defensive armoury at Goodison Park back in September when two long balls down a marshmallow soft centre claimed a scarcely deserved draw. It took just 75 seconds for the same tactic to bear fruit last night. The assist came from Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul who did nothing more sophisticated than lump a long ball down the centre of the pitch. Johnny Heitinga leaped but mistimed his jump horribly and the ball bounced once before dropping neatly onto the unmarked Papiss Cisse’s head. He looped a neat finish over the stranded Tim Howard for a shock opener. After being credited as a goal-maker, Krul turned goal denier four minutes later.
Steven Pienaar was tripped on the edge of the Newcastle penalty area to give Leighton Baines a free-kick opportunity from the kind of range he craves. Baines’ execution was excellent, curving the ball around the defensive wall and into the corner of the target, but Krul launched himself to his left to fingertip the ball to safety. Everton recovered well from their early setback, without ever looking completely secure at the back. A wonderfully incisive move started by Jelavic and carried on by Fellaini saw Pienaar given possession in a threatening position on the left. He threaded a pass back into the centre to meet the inrushing run of Fellaini but the big Belgian’s shot was blocked. The delicate balance of the match was underlined in the 31st minute. First James Perch soared over Heitinga again, this time to meet Vurnon Anita’s whipped in free-kick, but his powerful header bounced back into play off Tim Howard’s left hand post. Then Everton countered to create a marvellous opportunity of their own. Baines’ intuitive pass played Pienaar clear in the penalty area and the little South African stayed on his feet despite the suffocating attentions – and possibly a clip off the heels – from Perch. He was rewarded with a shot at goal, but Krul raced off his line to block brilliantly. Everton had been worth a goal – and it came just a minute from the break.
Fabricio Coloccini was penalised for a foul on Fellaini, but 35 yards from goal it looked a little too distant for even a deadball exponent of the quality of Baines. But the little left-back strode forward and fairly battered a ferocious free-kick which left even the in-form Tim Krul flailing at fresh air. The strike restored parity and meant that Everton have now scored in their last 18 Premier League games and conceded in their last 16, both the longest runs of the season.
It also established a little known club record. The previous record for both teams scoring in a match had been 16, way back in 1958. Baines’ blockbuster took this season’s tally to a richly entertaining 17. While the quality of that strike added to his list of admirers nationally, his class went unappreciated in the north-east. The nation’s best left-back was bizarrely booed as he trotted to take a corner early in the second half. Clearly quality is only appreciated on Tyneside when it’s wearing black and white. The home supporters were on their feet baying in appreciation after 57 minutes though when Shola Ameobi prodded an effort inches wide of Howard’s post.
Once again Everton were undone by a simple lob down the middle. Everton’s response was to craft a stunning goal with a flowing move down their left. Much of the credit went to Nikica Jelavic with a pacy and penetrative run followed by a low cross which Victor Anichebe, on just seconds earlier for Steven Naismith, rapped past Krul. It was a stunning substitution, but Everton still had some defending to do. Gabriel Obertan took advantage of a couple of fortuitous deflections to burst through on the Newcastle left but his low drive was blocked by Howard. Leighton Baines had another opportunity to repeat his first half heroics with 20 minutes remaining when Fellaini was tripped on the edge of the box, but this time his effort from much closer in flew inches wide of the post. With eight minutes remaining Everton were temporarily reduced to nine men after Phil Neville and Victor Anichebe suffered a fearsome clash of heads. Newcastle took advantage of the temporary disarray to fire a shot at Howard’s goal before Martin Atkinson spotted the two players lying prostrate, but Osman blocked bravely. With the head injuries ensuring a lengthy six minutes of time added on, Everton remained composed throughout and almost added to their lead in the 95th minute when Steven Pienaar bore down on goal. Newcastle cleared, but Everton saw the game out to secure a deserved and character-filled victory.

Leighton Baines confident Everton FC can cope with missing players
Jan 3 2013
LEIGHTON BAINES is confident Everton’s ability to “find a way” means they can overcome their New Year injury crisis. The Goodison outfit’s efforts to keep pace in the race for Champions League qualification are being threatened by a succession of major absentees. Darron Gibson will miss the next month with a thigh injury, Phil Neville has been recovering from a knee operation while Tony Hibbert remains out for a lengthy period. Marouane Fellaini sat out three matches of the festive period through suspension, Kevin Mirallas suffered a recurrence of a hamstring problem and Seamus Coleman has also been sidelined. Everton, though, have demonstrated in the past their ability to battle against the odds, and remain within striking distance of the top four. And Baines said: “When we’ve struggled at the start we’ve found a way and that’s the one thing we’ve always done. We’ll find a way. “Whether it’s when we’re at our bare bones or whatever we’ll come up with something at the end, and I do think people are starting to give us the acknowledgement for doing a good job.” Baines added: “I think we do get the credit more now. People acknowledge what we do. I think you can use teams like Newcastle as a comparison to see just how difficult it is. Great last year, struggling this year. “Over the last few years we haven’t had those bigger dips. But it’s not to say it’ll never happen because if you let your standards slip it will.” Baines believes the struggles of Newcastle United this season illustrate Everton’s achievement in consistently finishing in and around the European qualification places. Newcastle were only four points off fourth last term but have spent much of this campaign hovering above the relegation zone as they attempt to balance Premier League and Europa League commitments. “It does put into context how difficult it is to stay up there in a sense,” said Baines. “They had a brilliant season last time around but it’s difficult to sustain it and do it over a course of four or five seasons like we’ve been doing.
“I think maybe some people thought that was it, they were going to be there every year. Now they’re scratching their heads wondering what they’re doing wrong because Alan Pardew is probably doing the same things he did last year. “We’ve been there, like in the early stages of the last few seasons when you’re just not quite sure what’s going wrong. It’s difficult.”
With the transfer window now open, David Moyes in intent on utilising the limited funds available by scouring the loan market for one or two fresh faces. However, it’s unlikely there will be any signings before Monday’s FA Cup third round clash at League Two side Cheltenham Town.
Meanwhile, John Heitinga hopes Everton can benefit from a fresh Fellaini after the self-inflicted absence of the club’s leading goalscorer this season. “He is important for us,” said Heitinga. “He has played really well for us this season and he is one of our main players. “We have missed him in the last couple of games. Hopefully he can surprise everybody by showing that the last couple of weeks off has been good for him!”

Nic Davies’ Blue Watch: Chelsea defeat highlighted Everton FC’s strengths – and their weaknesses
The Liverpool Post
Jan 3 2013
SUNDAY’S defeat to Chelsea highlighted both Everton’s ability to compete at the top of the table and also the squad’s shortcomings, particularly in terms of depth. With the transfer window now upon us, player trading could provide the key differential to our fortunes in the second half of the campaign just as it did 12 months ago. Against Chelsea we dominated the first 30 minutes and over the 90 minutes had more shots and struck the woodwork three times to our visitors’ zero.
Moyes had sprung a surprise in terms of shape by playing Pienaar central behind Jelavic and Anichebe on the left. Heitinga was tasked with hitting diagonals for the Nigerian to attack in a physical miss-match against Azpilicueta. The much maligned forward won more aerials (six) than anyone from either side. Pienaar’s role was twofold; on the ball he would link midfield and attack and when possession was lost would press Luiz. As well as his goal and creativity Pienaar attempted more tackles than any player on the pitch. There was always the worry that the pressure game we had deployed would be hard to maintain for 90 minutes and this was to prove to be the case.
Chelsea could afford to bring in players such as Lampard, who had been rested for the last seven days, and Ramires, who hadn’t started any of the festive fixtures – and both would play crucial roles as the pendulum swung Chelsea’s way. In comparison our key attacking triumvirate of Pienaar, Osman and Baines had played pretty much every minute in all three of our games in the last eight days. Our bench looked bereft of options to give Chelsea anything new to think about as fatigue set in with Barkley’s cameo an example of why Moyes has been loathe to give him more game time. With Gibson out for a month it’s likely we will go back in for Vadis Odjidja-Ofoe and if so it would probably be worth Barkley heading back to Hillsborough where he can continue to develop his game.
At the back, our inability to keep a clean sheet in 16 games would suggest there is a chronic defensive issue which should be our number one priority. Few would question the logic of bringing back Joleon Lescott to partner Jagielka to plug these gaps, after all the duo’s 17 clean sheets in 2008-09 is still the best of any season in the Moyes era, although competition for Howard who has had a poor season is equally important. You get the feeling this could be our best chance of getting fourth spot and I’d surprised if we didn’t bring in at least three players to freshen things up – probably from the loan market.

Moyes believes Everton man is as good as Chelsea star
Thursday, January 3, 2013
London 24
David Moyes hailed Leighton Baines after his stunning free kick helped Everton to a 2-1 victory over Newcastle last night. The Everton manager believes Baines is providing Chelsea star Ashley Cole with real competition for being the best left back in the country. He said: “Ashley Cole is the best left-back in England and I have always thought Leighton Baines is behind him. “But I said last week before we played Chelsea, I think the gap between the two of them is getting much closer.
“He is disappointed he has not scored three goals tonight, Bainesy.”

Everton defeat plunges Newcastle closer to crisis
Thursday 3rd January 2013 in Sport By Scott Wilson
Northern Echo
PICK THAT OUT: Leighton Baines rifles in a first-half free-kick to equalise against Newcastle last night
IF 2012 ended with Newcastle United in a state of considerable disarray, then 2013 has begun with the club lurching even closer to crisis. On the day that Demba Ba's departure to Chelsea became a reality, goals from Leighton Baines and Victor Anichebe condemned the Magpies to their ninth defeat in the last 11 Premier League matches and left Alan Pardew's side just two points clear of the relegation zone. Papiss Cisse's second-minute opener might have hinted at a bright response to yesterday's gloomy transfer developments, but Newcastle have now conceded 13 goals in their three festive fixtures and look like spending the second half of the season mired in a frantic battle against relegation. They were outplayed for the majority of last night's game, and had Tim Krul not made three excellent saves, things could have been even worse. James Perch struck the woodwork in the first half, but as events conspire against them off the pitch, Newcastle's performances on it are doing little to dispel the mounting anxiety. Mathieu Debuchy, watching from the stands ahead of his impending £5.5m move from Lille, must be wondering what he has signed up for. The news of Ba's exit broke early yesterday afternoon, with the Magpies releasing a statement revealing that the striker had been given permission to speak to Chelsea. By the time Pardew was being interviewed by Sky Television a quarter-of-an-hour before kick-off, the Newcastle boss was confirming that the deal was done. It is hardly how he would have chosen to prepare for his side's opening game of the year.
There had been no opportunity for Newcastle to train without Ba, so while Shola Ameobi was promoted to the starting line-up, Cisse remained in the right-wing role he had been earmarked to fill prior to yesterday's developments. Beyond the two established strikers? Next to nothing. Nile Ranger was the only centre-forward on the bench, a fact that underlines the chronic need for a new attacker. Or perhaps it just emphasises how important Cisse could be now his compatriot has gone.
Since exploding onto the scene in the second half of last season, Cisse has retreated into his shell. His demeanour throughout the current campaign has vacillated between disinterest and dismay, while his performances have rarely come close to matching last season's efforts. Despite sharing the same nationality, he never got on with Ba, and those close to Cisse admit he has felt slighted by the enforced change to his role in order to accommodate his erstwhile colleague. Will he be a different player without him? On the evidence of the opening two minutes of last night's game, unquestionably, although his overall performance dipped after an explosive start. It took just one minute and 12 seconds for Cisse to make a successful start to life without Ba, with Newcastle's opening attack resulting in his fourth goal of the season. It could hardly have been simpler, with Krul launching a long kick downfield, Everton defender John Heitinga making a complete hash of trying to clear it, and Cisse reacting quickest to loop a header beyond Tim Howard. It was a dream start for the £9m man, and if he felt he had a point to prove, it could hardly have been made any more emphatically. Cisse also came within inches of reaching Ameobi's driven fourth-minute cross, and with Gabriel Obertan maintaining his recent upturn in form on the opposite flank, there was a brightness about the home side's early attacking play. Everton have attacked with pace and purpose all season, and while David Moyes' side might have been temporarily unsettled by Cisse's early intervention, it did not take them long to regain their composure. Krul had to be at his most alert to turn Baines' early free-kick around the upright, and the Newcastle goalkeeper was repeatedly called into action as Everton's midfielders directed a series of long cross-field balls into the gaps behind Perch and Davide Santon. Santon produced an excellent block to deny Marouane Fellaini midway through the first half, while Krul produced the save of the game to prevent Steven Pienaar equalising after he held off Vurnon Anita to reach Baines' through ball. Everton dominated possession for large spells, but Newcastle would have doubled their lead had Perch not headed Anita's 30th-minute free-kick against the base of the post from the edge of the six-yard box. Ameobi was left frustrated when Martin Atkinson failed to award a penalty following a tangle with Phil Neville, and the referee had a major hand in Everton's equaliser when he penalised Fabricio Coloccini for a foul on Fellaini two minutes before half-time. Baines stepped up and, from fully 30 yards, the full-back cracked a ferocious swerving drive past Krul. It was a magnificent strike from a player whose ability from set-pieces has caused opposition defences problems all season. Pegged back at the break, Newcastle came close to regaining the lead when Ameobi stabbed a hurried 58th-minute shot narrowly wide of the upright. It proved a costly miss as, two minutes later, Everton scored their second. Anichebe had been on the pitch less than two minutes when Nikica Jelavic burst past Perch and delivered a low cross from the left, but the substitute stole ahead of a dawdling Santon to convert from close range. It was another example of tawdry Newcastle defending, and while Obertan and Cisse both forced Howard into decent second-half saves, the hosts rarely looked like recovering despite Pardew's belated switch to a two-man attack.

Everton captain Phil Neville receives little sympathy as clash with Victor Anichebe requires eight stitches in head
Everton captain Phil Neville was left needing eight stitches his a head wound after a collision with team-mate Victor Anichebe during the club's 2-1 victory over Newcastle United at St James' Park, but received little in the way of sympathy from
By Telegraph Sport
03 Jan 2013
Neville's face was covered in blood after he clashed heads with Anichebe in their 2-1 win against Newcastle. After the game the former Manchester United defender posted a picture via his Twitter account in which another team-mate Nikica Jelavić seemingly amused by his injury.
Both players were able to play the final 10 minutes after getting treatment. Leighton Baines scored a sensational free kick as Everton came from behind to win 2-1 in the North East and climb to fifth place in the Premier League. The England left back beat Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul with a wickedly swerving strike from 30 yards two minutes before half-time, after Papiss Cissé had put the hosts in front after only 65 seconds. On the day Newcastle announced that they had agreed to sell Demba Ba to Chelsea, Cissé was keen to impress, but it was Everton who took the spoils thanks to a 60th-minute winner from substitute Anichebe. The victory took Everton to within two points of fourth-place Chelsea, while Newcastle, who had prospective new signing Mathieu Debuchy of Lille watching in the stands at St James' Park, remain 15th.

Newcastle United 1 Everton 2: Lee Ryder's match analysis
by Lee Ryder, Evening Chronicle
Jan 3 2013
But life after Demba Ba began with a painful defeat against Everton for Newcastle United, with the black-and-whites still deep in trouble. Only time will tell whether Ba’s exit to Chelsea proves to be a good thing or a bad thing – certainly, any player who isn’t committed needs to go during the January window. United and Alan Pardew need big players with big hearts if they want to get out of the mess they currently find themselves in. We all know that the stench of a relegation battle is hanging around St James’ Park right now. And although this was an improvement on the two holiday defeats at Old Trafford and the Emirates Stadium, sadly it wasn’t enough to yield even a point out of the Toffees. True, the defeat was a narrow one and Newcastle were still in the game going into the 97th minute of bruising battle against the Merseysiders. They are battling for the fans, yet are still falling short when it comes to results. But there were some key attributes missing when Newcastle needed them most. A glance around the pitch after sub Victor Anichebe slotted Everton in front showed there was very little in terms of influence and inspiration. Nor was there enough creativity, and the return of Hatem Ben Arfa and Yohan Cabaye can’t come quickly enough. It just looked like a long, hard slog against the physical Merseyside unit – and Newcastle could not find a way out of it.
Sure, United gave their fans something to feed off in the early stages, but after Papiss Cisse’s goal they didn’t look like they were going to add to it when it really mattered. Had James Perch’s header bounced off the post for 2-0 then the game could have been out of the Toffees’ reach.
Everton, though, simply weathered the storm before feeling their way back into the contest.
They found themselves a route back into the game through Leighton Baines before Victor Anichebe came off the bench to win it. United started with a 4-2-3-1 formation and surprisingly, despite Ba’s absence, Cisse was still deployed as a right winger with Shola Ameobi given the nod as a battering ram up front. Newcastle slipping 2-1 behind was the cue for Pardew to switch to a 4-4-2 formation, leaving Cisse with just 24 minutes to prosper in his preferred central role. The formation could have been anything you wanted it to be as the game petered out though, but even with Shola Ameobi, Cisse, Nile Ranger and Sammy Ameobi they could not find an answer to Everton’s at times suffocating tactics. While fans left feeling choked by the end – not helped by Martin Atkinson’s frustrating performance with the whistle as 50-50 decisions seemed to go in Everton’s favour – they had begun the night in defiant mood. Loud chants of “Papiss Demba Cisse” were ringing around St James’ Park at the start. Then, after Cisse had fired the Magpies ahead, the chants changed to “Are you watching Demba Ba?” Unfortunately, after a barnstorming start, Everton took full advantage.
Baines’ free-kick was unstoppable but it was a product of a soft free-kick from Atkinson, as one of the game’s so-called tough guys, Fellaini, was pushed over like Bambi on ice. It gave Everton the confidence they needed to finish the job. Newcastle were undone by a slick move down the right, but the Magpies will be disappointed they allowed Jelavic the time and space down the right before sub Anichebe squeezed in to nick the winner. They hit back when Gabriel Obertan made a driving run down the left before firing a shot which Tim Howard had to turn away for a corner.
United poured forward with 22 minutes left, with Anita crossing from the right after a Newcastle break only for Cisse’s diving header to be blocked. Moments later Shola Ameobi made space before firing over with his left foot as Newcastle tried hard to force the issue. Davide Santon also forced a save out of Howard with eight minutes to go but Everton did enough to see the game out.
And so it proved to be another one of those nights for United. Much has been made about whether Newcastle have served up excuses after games. And much has been made of formations and systems. But the only figures that matter between now and the end of the campaign are the points they pick up. The margin for error gets smaller by the week. So now with 17 games to go Newcastle need seven wins in order to secure survival. With the party season behind us, it doesn’t get much more sobering than that. Ryder’s verdict: Newcastle can’t afford too many more hard-luck stories – especially at home.

Newcastle 1 Everton 2: Ba humbug as Baines bullet and sub Anichebe down Toon
By Colin Young
3 January 2013
Daily Mail
Twelve months ago it was Newcastle United who started a new year with a win which was to lay the foundations for them to try and break into the top four. Their challenge proved fruitless in the end, and Alan Pardew’s dubious reward for his team’s sterling efforts were a place in the Europa League and all the complications UEFA’s secondary competition has brought his stretched squad.
This year it is Everton who have emerged from the pack to contest fourth with the league’s elite. And they opened the second half of the season with a victory which has inflicted more misery on Pardew and Newcastle as they come to terms with the loss of top scorer Demba Ba.
The blue half of Merseyside, buoyed by the return of Marouane Fellaini, fought back to record only their fourth Premier League victory at Newcastle. An unstoppable free-kick from Leighton Baines just before half-time, and a killer second from substitute Victor Anichebe with his first touch of a fascinating game, inflicted another defeat on Pardew on the day Ba was finally sold. Newcastle have now lost nine of their last 11 league games and they stand two points off the bottom three. Pardew never hid his delight that Newcastle were among the European contenders last season. And he refuses to ignore concerns about his team’s slide down the table this week. ‘Let’s be honest, we have had an awful run but we have given a good account of ourselves,’ he said. ‘But that is not enough. Everton had more guile, more experience and more quality and that is what we need to get back. We have played Manchester United, Arsenal and Everton without our best team. ‘We can take some heart from that but we need new bodies in and players out of the treatment room. ‘We are right in it now and we have to get out of it. We need another body, maybe two in this window and we really need players like Cabaye, who are close now.’ It all looked so rosy for Newcastle after just 72 seconds when Papiss Cisse put them in front. Their supporters even sang, ‘Are you watching, Demba Ba?’ although not for long. The opener was not terribly sophisticated — Tim Krul’s almighty punt from his own half bounced over almost every player on the pitch and into Cisse’s path — but it still required a deft headed finish from the Senegal striker who has stayed on Tyneside. But then the possession, the pressure and the better chances came from the visitors. ‘We played really well,’ said David Moyes. ‘I was really disappointed our good play didn’t lead to more goals.’ Within five minutes of Cisse’s opener, Newcastle keeper Krul was called upon to make a more routine contribution for his side with his first save of the night. And Krul, who has arguably been his side’s most consistent performer for the last two seasons, had to be at his very best to keep out a curling free-kick from Baines. Fellaini, back in the Everton side at the completion of the three-match ban for his assault on Ryan Shawcross, was at the centre of the visitors’ best moments. He created the best opening with a teasing ball out to Steven Pienaar on the Everton left, in the absence of Danny Simpson’s replacement James Perch, who had gone AWOL. Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini was left struggling to cover Pienaar’s run and the threat of Fellaini, who lurked at the edge of the box to gather the South African winger’s pulled-back cross. Thankfully for the home side, Davide Santon blocked Fellaini’s shot. It was a taste of things to come. Fellaini and Pienaar combined again just after half an hour when Perch was again found out of position and Krul rushed confidently from his line to save well with his legs. But the Dutchman was completely helpless when Baines stepped up to smash a free-kick from around 35 yards past him. ‘It was a worldy,’ said Moyes and referring to two other set pieces, he added: ‘Leighton is disappointed he didn’t score a hat-trick tonight.’ Newcastle supporters, and Pardew, had lost all patience with referee Martin Atkinson at that stage following a series of decisions against the home side.
The most notable was a rejected penalty following Phil Neville’s clumsy challenge on Shola Ameobi. It was a difficult one for Atkinson to give amid a welter of legs and arms and the ball, but Newcastle felt it was one of many wrong decisions. He was, however, right about the foul by Coloccini on Fellaini which allowed Baines to step up and thunder an unstoppable left-foot shot into Krul’s net.
There were chances for Newcastle but Howard was not seriously tested apart from a close-range effort from Santon which he saved with his legs, and a rebound effort from Cisse. And while Perch may have struggled against Pienaar, the utility man hit the post with a powerful downward header from a Vurnon Anita free-kick. But on the ground where he broke his ankle three years ago, Anichebe prodded home neatly to end another fine move involving Fellaini and Jelavic. It was his first touch of the night after replacing Steven Naismith. One piece of welcome news for the Newcastle boss is the arrival of French defender Mathieu Debuchy who will have a medical today ahead of a £5.5million move. Moyes backed Pardew to get his side out of trouble. He added: ‘You could see they were hurting a bit, but they are a strong team with a strong manager and they have had injuries for some key players. And no team can work without their key players.’ MATCH FACTS
Newcastle: Krul, Perch (Ranger 87), Williamson, Coloccini, Santon, Obertan (Bigirimana 65), Anita, Tiote (Sammy Ameobi 79), Marveaux, Shola Ameobi, Cisse.
Subs not used: Elliot, Ferguson, Tavernier, Abeid.
Booked: Cisse, Williamson, Tiote.
Goal: Cisse 2.
Everton: Howard, Jagielka, Heitinga, Distin, Baines, Naismith (Anichebe 58), Neville, Osman, Pienaar, Fellaini, Jelavic (Oviedo 88). Subs not used: Mucha, Hitzlsperger, Gueye, Vellios, Duffy.
Booked: Heitinga, Pienaar.
Goals: Baines 43, Anichebe 60.
Referee: Martin Atkinson.
Attendance: 49,391.

NEWCASTLE 1 - EVERTON 2: SUB VICTOR ANICHEBE SINKS TOON
Thursday January 3,2013
By Niall Hickman
Daily Express
EVERTON came from a goal behind to heap more misery on Newcastle manager Alan Pardew as substitute Victor Anichebe snatched a second-half winner at St James’ Park. The Magpies led through an early Papiss Cisse goal, but a brutal 35-yard free-kick by Leighton Baines made it 1-1 before Anichebe scored the winner just two minutes after coming off the bench. Newcastle’s defeat cranks up the pressure on Pardew, who since signing a new eight-year contract in the autumn has won just twice from 15 league and cup games and is set to lose top-scorer Demba Ba to Chelsea for just £7million. Everton had not won successive away games in the Premier League for 21 months, but David Moyes’ side were well worth the three points, with Baines outstanding at both ends of the pitch. Pardew had new signing Mathieu Debuchy sat in the stands, in the process of completing a £6m move from Lille to bolster a defence which conceded seven in a game for the first time since 1986 on Saturday. Moyes welcomed back playmaker Marouane Fellaini following his three-match ban for violent conduct and started with Nikica Jelavic as a lone striker after his side ended 2012 with a 2-1 home reverse to Chelsea, a first loss in eight league games. After only 72 seconds the Magpies punctured Everton’s defence with a soft goal as Cisse pounced for only his sixth strike of the season. Tim Krul, hoping to make amends for Saturday’s 7-3 defeat at Arsenal, hoofed a long ball upfield and it evaded Shola Ameobi and Phil Jagielka, bounced and landed perfectly for Cisse, who looped a header over Tim Howard. Predictably, the goal was met by chants of ‘Are you watching Demba Ba’ from the Gallowgate End but Everton’s response was swift as Baines drifting 25-yard free-kick was pushed around the post by Krul – a magnificent save – before the Dutchman again came to the rescue seconds later from Baines, as he smothered the defender’s close-range effort from John Heitinga’s wonderful through-ball. It was end-to-end stuff as Gabriel Obertan’s cross just evaded Cisse and Steven Naismith’s header from Baines’ cross was caught by Krul.
Midway through the half, Leon Osman’s clever pass found Fellaini, whose goal-bound shot from inside the box was brilliantly blocked by Davide Santon on his 22nd birthday. But Newcastle went within a whisker of going 2-0 up as Vurnon Anita’s deep free-kick was met by James Perch, whose header thudded against the inside of Howard’s upright and bounced away. Baines, wearing his Bradley Wiggins sideburns, was proving a constant thorn to Pardew’s side as his superb through-ball caught the home defence napping as Steven Pienaar raced towards goal, only to be thwarted by another eye-catching stop from Krul. The half continued in the same thrilling vein, as Santon created space on the left before crossing to the far post, where Anita only just failed to convert past Howard. Minutes before the break, Ameobi went down in a heap following Phil Neville’s challenge and although TV replays suggested there had been contact, albeit minimal, referee Martin Atkinson saw no foul. Everton equalised with the last attack before half-time as Fellaini was pushed by the equally big-permed Fabricio Coloccini. There appeared little danger as Baines placed the ball fully 35 yards out but the England international stepped up and crashed a screaming shot through the wall and past Krul. Heitinga was yellow-carded for a clumsy foul on Ameobi after the restart, while Mike Wiliamson, back from a one-match ban, was cautioned as he pulled Jelavic. And Newcastle almost regained the lead as Fellaini lost out to Anita, who found Sylvain Marveaux, and his dinked through-ball caught Sylvain Distin on the wrong side of Ameobi. But the big striker could only push his shot wide of the post. Everton equalised with the last attack before half-time Anichebe came on for Naismith and, two minutes later, ghosted in front of Santon to guide the ball past Krul with only his second touch, after Fellaini had sent Jelavic past Coloccini on the left to cross. Howard denied Obertan an immediate response and Cisse could hardly believe his eyes as Heitinga blocked his point-blank header and Howard saved his follow-up effort to preserve Everton’s advantage.
Newcastle (4-4-2): Krul; Santon, Williamson, Coloccini, Perch (Ranger 87); Anita, Marveaux, Tiote (Sammy Ameobi 79), Obertan (Bigirimana 65); Shola Ameobi, Cisse. Booked: Cisse, Williamson, Tiote. Goal: Cisse 2.
Everton (4-5-1): Howard; Baines, Heitinga, Jagielka, Distin; Naismith (Anichebe 58), Pienaar, Fellaini, Neville, Osman; Jelavic (Oviedo 88). Booked: Heitinga, Pienaar. Goals: Baines 43 Anichebe 60.
Referee: M Atkinson (W Yorkshire). Inter 24ptQuotey her black con

Tough Toffees: Anichebe caps Everton comeback against Newcastle
It all looked to be going Toon's way with an early goal - but you can never write off David Moyes's battling side
Daily Mirror
January 3 2013
Losing games, losing their best player and top scorer. Relegation alarm bells should be ringing at Newcastle. A disastrous run of form lasting two months has left Alan Pardew's men teetering on the brink, two points above the drop zone and in danger of repeating their demotion of 2009.
Add to that the fact that Demba Ba, who's scored half their goals this season is poised to sign for Chelsea today, and another miserable home defeat to Everton last night, and the signs are worrying.
They should have enough quality when their best players return, but..... Pardew said last night: "We can't hide it, we are right in it now, and we want to get out of it. We have had an awful run."
Sub Victor Anichebe notched the winner for David Moyes' proficient, ruthless side as the Merseysiders keep pace with the top five in the sort of marvelous season Newcastle themselves were having this time last year. This was a fourth win in six games for Everton. It added up to Newcastle's tenth defeat in 13 games in all competitions. They kind of slump that would have seen off Newcastle bosses of old, but Pardew has an eight year contract and mitigating factors chiefly injuries to key players. Another stats is Newcastle having won just twice in 15 games in all competitions since the start of November. When that sort of form becomes engrained it is time to worry. Pardew admitted: "It is testing in so much as I find myself in a unfathomable position, with so many players missing for key games. We can look and say what have we done wrong? But none of the injuries have happened because of lack of preparation. We have not had our best side out all year. We need to get as many as possible out, and start winning games. "Everton had more guile, experience and quality, and that is what we have to bring back. We have to take heart from our performances but we need new bodies in, and bodies out of the treatment room."
Anichebe did the damage and had the last word on the hour, finishing off a sweeping Everton counter attack that left Newcastle's defence flat footed. Nikica Jelavic gathered the ball on the left and sprinted at Fabricio Coloccini before crossing low six yards out. It was an impossible ball to defence and Anichebe stabbed home. It must have been a satisfying moment for the super substitute striker. Not only his fourth league goal of the campaign, scored within 90 seconds of coming on for Gary Naismith, but also at the ground where he broke his leg four years ago in a career threatening injury. Moyes said: "He didn't half play well holding the ball up when he came on. It was a really well worked goal." Leighton Baines had equalised with a sweet free kick from 35 yards out that went through the Newcastle wall and swerved late to deceive Tim Krul.
It was a a wonderful goal, set up by a controversial foul when Fabricio Coloccini and Cheick Tiote challenged Marouane Felaini. Baines is a gem of a player who was Everton's greatest attacker, prime play maker and scorer rolled into one. The goal meant Everton have scored 18 times in a row, the best run in the league this season. Moyes said: "Bainsey came up with a worldie to get us level. Ashely Cole is the best left back in England but Leighton Baines is getting close. He is disappointed he has not scored three goals tonight. "I hope we are strong finishers. We have been a good second half of the season team. If we do that again we can compete with the teams at the top. Whether we will have enough time will tell." The only consolation for Newcastle was seeing Papiss Cisse score as Ba departed. Cisse took just 73 seconds to consign Demba Ba to Newcastle United history.
Ba was pulled from Newcastle's starting line up six hours before kick of and he travelled to Chelsea for talks over a pds 7.5 million transfer. Boss Alan Pardew confirming the deal was "done" just before kick off. So it was up to the Senegal No9 make his mark in what has been a lean season so far, with his strike partner claiming all the goals and plaudits. Cisse immediately seized the initiative notching his sixth of the season. It was a simple affair that will annoy David Moyes. Keeper Tim Krul punted a long ball that was headed on by Ba's direct replacement Shola Ameobi. It bounced and found Cisse for a looping header over Tim Howard. "Are you watching Demba Ba?" came the ruthless chant from the Gallowgate End. Cisse will have to score more regularly to extract Newcastle from their slump. Baines is a gem of a player who was Everton's greatest attacker, prime play maker and scorer rolled into one. The goal meant Everton have scored 18 times in a row, the best run in the league this season. Moyes said: "Bainsey came up with a worldie to get us level. Ashely Cole is the best left back in England but Leighton Baines is getting close. He is disappointed he has not scored three goals tonight. "I hope we are strong finishers. We have been a good second half of the season team. If we do that again we can compete with the teams at the top. Whether we will have enough time will tell." The only consolation for Newcastle was seeing Papiss Cisse score as Ba departed.
Cisse took just 73 seconds to consign Demba Ba to Newcastle United history. Ba was pulled from Newcastle's starting line up six hours before kick of and he travelled to Chelsea for talks over a pds 7.5 million transfer. Boss Alan Pardew confirming the deal was "done" just before kick off.
So it was up to the Senegal No9 make his mark in what has been a lean season so far, with his strike partner claiming all the goals and plaudits. Cisse immediately seized the initiative notching his sixth of the season. It was a simple affair that will annoy David Moyes. Keeper Tim Krul punted a long ball that was headed on by Ba's direct replacement Shola Ameobi. It bounced and found Cisse for a looping header over Tim Howard. "Are you watching Demba Ba?" came the ruthless chant from the Gallowgate End. Cisse will have to score more regularly to extract Newcastle from their slump.

NEWCASTLE 1 - EVERTON 2: VICTOR ANICHEBE PILES ON TOON GLOOM
we had prepared with Demba in the side. We had no inclination but I was in the dark as I have been on most of this particular deal because obviously the ball was in his court
By Ian Murtagh
Daily Star
But Newcastle still have plenty of work to do if they are to avoid being sucked into a survival dogfight this season after Everton hit back to snatch a huge win thanks to Leighton Baines and Victor Anichebe. In a surprising statistic, Chelsea-bound Ba, and Cisse only once scored in a game they had both started and rarely looked a natural partnership. The two Senegal hitmen were also not close pals off the pitch, though not even boss Alan Pardew could have dreamt Cisse would show he is the man to fill Ba’s boots so quickly. Cisse’s goal was a terrible one for Everton to concede. Fatally, they allowed Tim Krul’s lumped free-kick to bounce and with Sylvain Distin and John Heitinga getting in a dreadful tangle, the Toon No.9 nipped in to loop a header over Tim Howard. But Geordie dreams soon turned into a nightmare as Everton drew level with a stunning 43rd-minute strike from Baines. After Fabricio Coloccini fouled Marouane Fellaini, the full-back hit a thunderous 30-yard free-kick which gave Krul no chance. And then on the hour, Anichebe, with his first touch after coming off the bench, turned Nikica Jelavic’s cross home at the near post. It was a hugely satisfying goal for Anichebe, who suffered a serious ankle injury at St James’ Park four years ago. Newcastle had played with a verve which hints at a sustained revival in the weeks ahead. But Everton provided plenty of evidence themselves to suggest they will maintain the form they showed during the first half of the campaign. Newcastle looked threatening down the left throughout the first half and Gabriel Obertan and Davide Santon sent in dangerous crosses which almost provided Cisse with tap-ins. The striker was also only inches away from connecting with Shola Ameobi’s superb low ball from the left. While Newcastle are looking over their shoulders after nine defeats in 12 games, Everton are eying a top-four finish this season and were in no mood to be the supporting act. Baines had already demonstrated his dead ball prowess. A sixth-minute free-kick eluded the defensive wall, forcing the diving Krul to turn the ball around his left-hand post. And the Toffees went close again on 24 minutes when Coloccini was caught in two minds, allowing Steven Pienaar to feed Fellaini inside the box. The Belgian looked poised to mark his return following a three-match ban with the equaliser only for Santon to block his goal-bound shot. Pardew had planned to start with Ba alongside Cisse last night only to be told mid-morning that the £7m release clause in the striker’s contract had been activated. The Toon chief, however, insists he has no hard feelings towards Ba: “He will go to Chelsea with our blessing,” he said. “But we had prepared with Demba in the side. We had no inclination but I was in the dark as I have been on most of this particular deal because obviously the ball was in his court.” While Ba’s gone, Newcastle will sign France international Mathieu Debuchy in the next 24 hours, having agreed a £5.5m deal with Lille.
The full-back, who undergoes a medical today, was in the stands watching his new team-mates.
And he will have wondered just how 13 points separated these two sides at kickoff as the post also came to Everton’s rescue from James Perch’s header. But the Toon Army failed to improve on their early lead and paid the ultimate price as Everton showed their powers of recovery to hit back and snatch all three points with a battling performance that leaves Newcastle in real trouble.

Newcastle United 1 Everton 2
January 3 2012 The Sun
By Steve Bremner
IT TOOK just 74 seconds for the Toon Army to forget about Demba Ba. Trouble was, the remaining 88 minutes proved Newcastle are in a real relegation dogfight. Papiss Cisse’s quickfire opener headed Alan Pardew’s men into the lead and seemingly eased the pain of 13-goal top scorer Ba scuttling down to London to seal a move to Chelsea. But Everton recovered superbly and showed just why they are looking to gatecrash the Champions League places — and why Toon are hovering above the drop zone. Leighton Baines deservedly pulled the Toffees level just before half-time with a stunning 30-yard free-kick and when Victor Anichebe jumped off the bench to bag the winner on the hour, that was that. It was not that Pards’ men played badly. They seemed to be coping well without Ba for spells. But it was at the back where the problems have been this term — and last night was no different. Toon are powderpuff in defence but with French full-back Matiheu Debucy watching from the stands, new blood is at least in the building. A new centre-half — and a new striker — need to arrive. And fast. An eye-watering 13 goals conceded in three festive games says as much. But credit to Everton, though. David Moyes’ men were far more compact, had more quality and played the better stuff. A top-four push is on the cards but, for Newcastle, the problems refuse to go away. It had been a typically rollercoaster, emotionally draining day for the Toon Army. The confirmation that Ba was heading to Stamford Bridge for £7.5million was the news Geordies had been dreading. Most have known it was coming — yet to see their prolific striker walk out before their very eyes still stung. One look at the last two months in the Premier League would only make them feel even worse. Toon have lost nine of the last 11 league games — and that is relegation form however you look at it. Newcastle need to start getting wins on the board so the arrival of Everton was the last thing Magpies boss Pards would have wanted. Yet after the most blistering of starts it looked like being one of those raucous St James’ Park nights. Moyes’ mob are bang in form. Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Chelsea was just their second loss in 17 league matches and their first at Goodison Park since March. Despite Ba thrashing out terms at Stamford Bridge, Cisse was forced to spend one last match out wide. Pards admitted before kick-off his side had prepared with Ba up front so Shola Ameobi performed that role with Cisse on the right wing. And with less than two minutes on the clock he nodded Toon ahead. Keeper Tim Krul pumped the ball forward, it totally evaded Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin and allowed Cisse to loop a header over Tim Howard.
‘Are you watching Demba Ba?’ barked the Toon Army. Everyone of a Black-and-White persuasion was bang up for it — but it did not take the visitors long to start asking serious questions of that dodgy defence. In the sixth minute Krul was forced into action, brilliantly tipping wide a Baines free-kick before denying the England star again seconds later. Newcastle were enjoying plenty of possession and Gabby Obertan was causing problems down the left. At the other end, though, the home side were all over the place. Marouane Fellaini and Steven Pienaar were getting into the game and a decent break on 23 minutes, coupled with some awful positioning from Fabricio Coloccini, should have resulted in something better. But just before the half hour Toon were inches away from making it 2-0. Vurnon Anita curled in a free-kick and James Perch leapt to meet it, only to see the ball smack the post. It was a massive let-off for Everton — who then almost equalised.
Baines slipped in Pienaar but Krul saved superbly from eight yards. And in the 43rd minute, Everton set up a grandstand second half thanks to Baines. Coloccini fouled Fellaini and up stepped the left-back to unleash a superb, thumping, swerving free-kick. Game well and truly on. Ameobi poked wide on 56 minutes but the killer blow was on the way. It was a sweet move from Everton. Fellaini fed Nikica Jelavic and his centre was slid in by Anichebe. Four years ago, an awful challenge from Kevin Nolan broke his ankle. So how he must have loved netting his fourth of the season.
Cisse should have levelled nine minutes later but his weak effort was easily kept out.
The best chance fell to Toon’s Davide Santon in the 82nd minute. Cisse slipped him through but his finish was below par. A bit like Newcastle really.
DREAM TEAM
SUN STAR MAN — LEIGHTON BAINES (EVERTON)
NEWCASTLE: Krul 7, Perch 6, Williamson 6, Coloccini 6, Santon 6, Obertan 6, Anita 7, Tiote 5, Marveaux 6, Shola Ameobi 6, Cisse 6. Subs: Bigirimana (Obertan 64) 5, Ameobi (Tiote 78) 5, Ranger (Perch 86) 5. Not used: Elliot, Ferguson, Tavernier, Abeid. Booked: Cisse, Williamson, Tiote.
EVERTON: Howard 7, Jagielka 7, Heitinga 6, Distin 6, Baines 8, Naismith 5, Neville 7, Osman 7, Pienaar 7, Fellaini 7, Jelavic 7. Subs: Anichebe (Naismith 57) 6, Oviedo (Jelavic 87) 5. Not used: Mucha, Hitzlsperger, Gueye, Vellios, Duffy. Booked: Heitinga, Pienaar.
REF: M Atkinson 6.

Moyes still dreaming of beating the financial odds
Thursday 03 January 2013
Indenpendent
These are supposed to be the weeks when Everton are reminded of the hopelessness of their deepest ambitions, when they are weighed down by the reality of a field that sometimes seems so uneven in might be located somewhere deep in the Alps. It is just as well that David Moyes and his men treat the proposition as someone else's grasp of the art of the possible. Their own understanding is that if you battle hard enough, long enough you might just get somewhere close.
Last night they were faced with the prospect of a shocking entry into the second half of a campaign which had promised so much. Yet their reaction went to the heart of their meaning. They simply refused to be deflected from their belief that this indeed might be the season when they exceed the very best of their hopes. It was more than a victory filled with character and moments of superb professional accomplishment. It was a refusal to buckle under the most dispiriting pressure. But then if January always has an edge of bitterness for Moyes, if for the last decade or so it has almost invariably confirmed his status as the most resilient street urchin in the opulent marketplace of the Premier League, this one could hardly have come in more discouragingly He had a shopping list that stretched no longer than a couple of possible loan deals as Newcastle's latest passing hero Demba Ba travelled to meet Chelsea and get his hands on something described ludicrously as a loyalty bonus of more than £2m. That was enough to invite the old question about how long the Everton manager is prepared to fight against the financial odds, the instant strike of Papiss Cissé, whose own scoring touch had shrivelled in the shadow of the departing Ba, must have brought something close to a pang of despair. The possibility of ambush on Tyneside can rarely be remote but this one was horrendously self-induced. Sylvain Distin, of all people, was lured with his central defence partner John Heitinga under a huge punt from Tim Krul and when the ball bounced high and loose Cissé towered above Leighton Baines to nod home. This was the threat of an extremely bad night in the month guaranteed to test so profoundly a crusade which for much of the first half of the season had held the promise of something quite remarkable. But if Newcastle's Alan Pardew was able to talk blithely of a replacement for the defecting Ba, Moyes was not exactly stripped of options.
He could make the point that has sustained his tenure at Goodison Park for so long and with such enduring prospects for some kind of progress. It was that within his team there is never a shortfall of serious commitment. If he has to scour for talent of the required level, the supply of authentic competitive character appears to be much less elusive. This was never more apparent than when Everton were required to battle in defence of the lead they fashioned with quite superb commitment after that catastrophic start. After the stupendous free kick of Baines and the goal superbly shaped between Nikica Jelavic and substitute Victor Anichebe (left), Newcastle inevitably rallied before their aroused following. At one point Everton could not have been more stretched with both Anchebe and Phil Neville nursing head wounds on the touchline. It was almost a parable of Moyes' plight. Minus key troops, his team was obliged to fight on against insurmountable odds. But if Everton can do anything, they can face up to such a challenge with exceptional resolve. Indeed, last night when you were reminded it is rarely less than their default position.
This is one that informs all of Moyes' work and last night as they fought so hard to regain their place in the chase for a place in the Champions' League there was another reason to acknowledge that beyond the enclaves of vast wealth in the Premier League, there is another story, another set of values. That they have been so relentlessly pursued by Moyes for so long, and with such little self-indulgent complaint, was once against a wonder of the game.

Baines and Anichebe add to Newcastle's growing misery
Thursday 03 January 2013
Independent
It is possible to sell very good footballers and emerge as a serious force in English football. That may be a crumb of comfort to Newcastle's supporters this morning. There are not many more. Everton continued their excellent season by climbing to fifth place in the Premier League. They will still believe the Champions League is possible. Everton have sold big in Wayne Rooney, Joleon Lescott and Jack Rodwell in the last decade. It has not broken them, on the contrary in fact. From that, Newcastle, with Demba Ba ready to be unveiled as a Chelsea player, must begin to find hope. It will not come from the statistics. They have won two of their last 15 games and lost 10 of their last 13. Alan Pardew got spirit out of his team, who sit two points above the relegation zone. In the same fixture he got three points last season. Newcastle went second that day. Their demise has been quick. Everton matched the spirit and their class told. Leighton Baines was the best player on the pitch. He could so easily have emerged as a hat-trick scoring left-back. His goal, in the 43rd minute, was brilliant, a vicious 35-yard free-kick. That cancelled out Papiss Cissé's second-minute opener, a simple affair which came from a long Tim Krul free-kick which the Everton defence missed completely. On the hour mark, substitute Victor Anichebe, who had been on the field for less than two minutes, gave Everton a lead they never lost. Holding on to good players remains important. Selling goals (Andy Carroll left in the transfer window two year ago and Kevin Nolan went in the summer of 2011) is a dangerous game to keep playing. At the game's start it had not seemed so significant. By the end it did. Following Ba's expected transfer and after conceding 11 goals in their last two games, Newcastle needed a spark to banish a growing sense of gloom descending in these parts. They did not get it. James Perch hit the woodwork while Shola Ameobi and Gabriel Obertan both went close. But in the end United were thankful to Tim Krul for producing some stunning saves that prevented a rout. He denied Steven Naismith, finger-tiped an earlier Baines free-kick round the post then, near the end, Krul had to back-peddle to tip Marouane Fellaini's effort over the crossbar.
It kept the goal difference at one but could not prevent the boos ringing out as the final whistle went.

Patrick Barclay: Leighton Baines ready to take over Ashley Cole mantle
03 January 2013
London Evening Standard
A few months ago, Ashley Cole was widely regarded as the best left-back in the world. Now he’s not necessarily the best in England. And he has hardly put a foot wrong in the meantime.
The point is that Cole is being overtaken — or overlapped — by the continuing development of Leighton Baines, who emphasised his range of ability with a sensational free-kick equaliser in Everton’s win at Newcastle last night. Baines began as an 18-year-old under Paul Jewell at Wigan in League Two more than a decade ago and has simply got better and better along with his only two clubs. Now it is no exaggeration to say that, if Gareth Bale did not exist, the modest Merseysider would be the most potent left-sided threat in the Premier League. It’s an exciting thought for England as Roy Hodgson turns his mind to the friendly international against Brazil next month — if a slightly perturbing one for Cole, who needs one more cap to complete a century. Maybe the manager could try moving either Baines or the 32-year-old Cole to midfield. Who would have believed it? In the old problem position, there’s an embarrassment of riches. Meanwhile, the race to the Champions League was given added piquancy by the coincidence of Chelsea’s defeat with wins for both Merseyside clubs. For Everton to bounce back so impressively from their loss by Chelsea was yet another tribute to David Moyes, while Liverpool appear firmly on the road back to the top under Brendan Rodgers. The first two places may be reserved for Manchester but the contest between London and Liverpool for three and four ought to be a highlight of the second half of the season, with the Footballer Of The Year perhaps emerging. Luis Suarez and Bale are already in the envelope — add Baines.

FA Cup, Cheltenham Town v Everton: Big Neville Southall was the star when the Robins defeated the Blues 23 years ago
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
EVERTON will be making their second visit to Cheltenham Town on Monday night.
The Toffees arrived for one of the most eagerly anticipated friendly matches ever staged at Whaddon Road in April 1990.
HEADLINE ACT: Neville Southall was the star turn as Cheltenham Town defeated Everton 1-0 in April 1990, this was how it was reported in the next day's edition of the Gloucestershire Echo
It was a joint testimonial match for Nick Jordan and Ray Baverstock to mark the pair's sterling service to the club. Anyone who was in the healthy crowd of 3,050 that Monday evening will probably best remember the occasion for the appearance of Everton and Wales great Neville Southall in goal for Cheltenham. The Robins' manager at the time was Jim Barron, who was the Toffees' goalkeeping coach and he managed to persuade Everton boss Colin Harvey to bring a strong team to play the then Conference club. Cheltenham left-back Kevin Willetts described Southall's performance as "incredible". "He strolled into the dressing room before the game and said 'we'll win this tonight if we score, because nothing's getting past me' and he was right!" Willetts said. Willetts recalled how Southall took aside central defender Anton Vircavs, who was dominant in air, telling him to stay out of his way because he'd come and catch everything. "It was virtually Everton's first team against Cheltenham Town so as to be expected they had a few shots, but Southall made it look easy and it was an unbelievable experience to see just how good he was," he said. "Everton's manager Colin Harvey had them straight on the bus after the game as he wasn't happy they'd lost and I am sure Yatesey (Mark Yates) would settle for the same result for Cheltenham next week!"
With Southall making the art of goalkeeping look decidedly easy, Cheltenham won a well contested match 1-0 courtesy of substitute Simon Brain's second half strike, which stemmed from a long clearance from the peerless custodian. It was misjudged in flight by Steve Reilly whose forehead grazed it goalwards and Brain raced away to take his chance with great confidence from 22 yards.
Among the best known players in the Everton team was Northern Ireland international Norman Whiteside, who had joined the Merseysiders from Manchester United for £600,000 a year earlier.
England international pair Tony Cottee and Dave Watson, both of whom started the previous season's 3-2 FA Cup final defeat by old rivals Liverpool, also played. With Southall switching his allegiance, Australian-born Jason Kearton played between the posts for Everton. Southall's consistency meant Kearton started only three league games during his eight year spell at Goodison Park. Everton finished sixth in the top flight at the end of the 1989/90 season and reached the fifth round of the FA Cup, where they were beaten by Oldham Athletic. The part-timers of Cheltenham had been dumped out by Dorchester Town in the third qualifying round. The Gloucestershire Echo described Cheltenham's win as "one of the most unlikely scorelines the club will ever produce".
The result that night counted for little however, but if Mark Yates' men can produce a repeat, it will cause rather more of a stir.
Cheltenham Town: N Southall; S Whelan, P Williams, R Baverstock, A Vircavs, K Willetts, C Burns, M Boyland, N Jordan, M Buckland, R Crowley. Subs: M Nuttell, J Purdie, S Brain, S Crouch.
Everton: J Kearton; R Atteveld, M Wright, D Watson, M Lyons, N Whiteside, P Jones, J Ebbrell, G Powell, T Cottee, P Power. Subs: M Ebdon, N Moore, S Reilly.
Referee: R McBeth.
Attendance: 3,050.
Five players have represented Cheltenham Town and Everton at first team level: Brett Angell, Luke Garbutt, Andy Gray, Jimmy McCambridge and Bernie Wright.

FA Cup, Cheltenham Town v Everton: There's no chance David Moyes will take the Robins lightly – Luke Garbutt
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
THERE is no chance of Everton boss David Moyes taking Cheltenham Town lightly in Monday's FA Cup showdown, according to Luke Garbutt. The England youth left-back spent last term on loan with the League Two Robins, underlining his potential and showing why Everton paid Leeds United £600,000 for his services. Garbutt returned to his parent Premier League club last summer, making his first team debut in the Capital One Cup earlier this season. He will miss out on a chance to play against Cheltenham due to an ankle injury, but he will be at Whaddon Road to watch a tie he has been looking forward to since the draw was made. "My rehabilitation is going well, but I am still two weeks away from being back, so I won't make the game unfortunately," Garbutt said.
"I was really pleased for the Cheltenham lads when the draw was made because they deserve it for doing so well over the past couple of seasons. "My loan spell there was massive for my development, playing regularly in the Football League with points at stake and it's definitely helped me to become a better player." Garbutt played in the third round of the FA Cup for Cheltenham against Tottenham a year ago, a match he describes as one of the highlights of his temporary spell along with the play-off final at Wembley. He is now understudy to England international left-back Leighton Baines, rated as among the best in the business. Garbutt, 19, said that Everton boss David Moyes is desperate to do well in this season's FA Cup and he will therefore treat Cheltenham with full respect. "The gaffer likes to go as far as he can in the FA Cup so he'll definitely put out a strong team," Garbutt said. "I've been asked about Cheltenham's threats and I've told the analysis people at Everton about the wide men Kaid Mohamed and Jermaine McGlashan, who are quick and direct.
"I have also told them about Marlon Pack, who is the ball player and Russ Penn, who likes to rat around and get in among teams. "But the gaffer has most teams nailed on anyway and he is very thorough, showing us clips and that sort of thing. He'll expect Everton to be able to deal with Cheltenham." Garbutt believes the key for Cheltenham's chances of an upset will be the opening 20 minutes. "With Cheltenham at home they need to take the game to Everton early on and press high up the pitch," he said. "Everton won't sit back, but I think it could be a tight one and the result will probably depend on the team we put out. "If the gaffer brings in a couple of young lads like Ross Barkley and Shane Duffy we should still have too much, but you never know in the FA Cup.
"It would be great for Cheltenham if they could get a replay, but on the day I think it will be 2-1 or 3-1 to Everton."

FA Cup, Cheltenham Town v Everton: Nothing but the best is good enough for Toffees boss David Moyes
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
DAVID Moyes has earned widespread acclaim for his decade in charge of Everton, despite failing to bring any silverware to Goodison Park. Since succeeding Walter Smith in 2002, the former Preston boss has guided the Toffees into a Champions League qualification place (2005) as well as the 2009 FA Cup final and he is now the third longest-serving manager in English football, after Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. Ferguson (inset, below) has publicly praised Moyes for the job he has done on a limited budget, with the Merseyside club one of the most consistent in the top flight, regularly finishing in the top seven despite a minimal outlay on transfers. The 49-year-old Glaswegian has established himself as one of the top British managers and many have tipped him as a potential successor to Ferguson at Old Trafford. The likes of Maroane Fellaini, Steven Pienaar and Leighton Baines have lit up the Premier League this season, with Everton sitting pretty and still very much within touching distance of the top four just past the halfway stage of the campaign.
It is all a far cry from the task facing Moyes when he took on the job, with Everton threatened with relegation from the Premier League for the first time since 1951. He guided them to the safety of a 15th-place finish and set about rebuilding a squad capable of mounting a charge back up the top flight, which Everton last won in 1987. The 2002/03 season began better than any Everton supporter could have expected, as a run of six consecutive wins – their best since the Championship-winning season – helped them climb as high as third before Christmas. Moyes won the manager of the month award for November, but Everton were on the receiving end of a giant-killing act by League Two Shrewsbury Town, who were 2-1 winners at Gay Meadow. Everton marched on in the Premier League however, inspired by teenage sensation Wayne Rooney. A 2-0 defeat by Manchester United on the final day saw them miss out on a UEFA Cup place, but the jump from 15th to seventh earned Moyes the League Managers Association's Manager of the Year award.
Everton slipped to 17th in 2003/04, but Moyes won the LMA gong again a year later, lifting them to fourth place, with the signing of Tim Cahill from Millwall instrumental in the return to form.
Cahill ended as Everton's top scorer and player of the year and the Blues enjoyed their first Merseyside derby victory since 1999, winning 1-0 against Liverpool in December 2004, helping them finish a place above their city rivals. Everton's Champions League experience was short-lived, going out to Villarreal in the qualifying round. Andy van der Meyde and Mikel Arteta added proven quality to the team as Everton recovered from a poor start to end the 2005/06 season in 11th.
They have not finished outside the top eight since then. They climbed to sixth in 2006/07 with Joleon Lescott, Andy Johnson and goalkeeper Tim Howard key figures. They progressed to the last 16 of the UEFA Cup the following season, bowing out to Fiorentina on penalties Inspired by the summer arrivals of Pienaar, Yakubu, Phil Jagielka and Baines, Moyes' side managed 19 victories and eight draws – a club record 65-point haul which ensured a fifth-place finish and another season in Europe. Furthermore, a 7-1 victory over Sunderland at Goodison Park in November was the Toffees' biggest in 12 years. On 14 October 2008 it was announced that Moyes had penned a new five-year deal with the Club. That emphasis of stability galvanised Everton and the Toffees climbed the Premier League to again finish fifth, with Moyes also masterminding his side's run to the FA Cup final. He could not quite secure his first Everton silverware, though, with the Blues losing 2-1 to Chelsea. A slow start to the 2009/10 season saw Everton win only one of their opening five games.
Their form picked up, however, and a 12-match unbeaten run helped them finish eighth in the Premier League. The Blues also reached the last 32 of the Europa League before exiting to Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon. Injuries contributed to another hit and miss opening to a campaign in 2010/11. But again Moyes was able to work a turnaround as the team battled back to finish an impressive seventh. Last season again began slowly but Moyes made some astute January signings and the Blues finished the season in rampant fashion, securing a seventh-place finish above Liverpool. The 2012/13 season began very well indeed with Everton near the top of the table and Moyes being named manager of the month for September, continuing to enhance his reputation as one of the best in the business. Robins assistant manager Neil Howarth has described Moyes as exactly the type of leader Cheltenham boss Mark Yates looks up to. "We had a good go at Tottenham last season when they were as good as anyone in the country at the time and funnily enough Everton are probably in similar form at the moment, so you can't ask for more than hosting such a fantastic club," Howarth said. "Their manager is someone that our gaffer looks up to as a top British manager, who has been a massive success there. "There is a big gulf in class, but it's up to us to try to bring that closer together." Premier League ever-presents Everton have won the FA Cup on five occasions, most recently in 1995 (pictured right) when Paul Rideout's goal gave them a 1-0 win over Manchester United at Wembley, with club record apearance maker Neville Southall outstanding between the posts. Cheltenham were knocked out by Bashley in a fourth qualifying round replay that season. Everton first won the famous competition in 1906, beating Newcastle United 1-0 at Crystal Palace. They claimed the Cup again in 1933, 1966 and 1984.
The 1980s was a hugely successful decade for Everton, who also won the top division twice, battling it out with arch rivals Liverpool for supremacy before Arsenal and Manchester United became the dominant forces in English football. Among their most famous-ever players is Dixie Dean, who scored an all-time record 60 goals in Division One during the 1927/28 season.

£200,000 reward for defeating Hereford
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
CHELTENHAM Town's reward for finally ending their Hereford United hoodoo is a mouthwatering televised FA Cup third round tie against Everton on Monday night. Substitute Kaid Mohamed's injury time winner at Edgar Street in the second round replay will help net the Robins in excess of £200,000 with a sell-out crowd of just under 7,000 set to pack the Abbey Business Stadium.
It will be one of the biggest nights the old ground has ever seen as Mark Yates' promotion hopefuls tackle David Moyes' squad of international talent. Cheltenham have only progressed beyond the third round twice in their 126-year history and if they are to do so this season they will have to pull of the greatest upset in their FA Cup history. This special supplement looks ahead to Monday's game with insight from some of the people who know the Robins and the Toffees best. Midfielder Scott Brown was a schoolboy star at Goodison Park, playing alongside Wayne Rooney before to playing professionally for the Robins. He told Jon Palmer that on Monday – for the first time that he can remember – he won't shed a tear if his beloved Toffees lose. Meanwhile another former Robin, left-back Luke Garbutt has warned his former loan club that Everton boss David Moyes won't be taking Cheltenham's threat lightly. Monday's meeting won't be the first between the two clubs – in fact the Robins have a 100 per cent record against the Toffees. Inspired by the brilliance of Neville Southall, who swapped sides ahead of a testimonial game in 1990, the Robins claimed a 1-0 victory, courtesy of a Simon Brain goal. Former Robins player Kevin Willetts recalls how Southall told his new teammates that they would win, because no shot was getting past him. There is also an in depth look at the visitors and especially highly-regarded boss David Moyes – the Scot who is the third longest-serving boss in the Premier League. And talking of the Premier League, Robins midfielder Darren Carter has experience of playing in the top-flight and against Everton.
And Carter believes that the Robins have the right stuff to cause an upset.

FA Cup, Cheltenham Town v Everton: The international stars facing the Robins on Monday
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
Tim Howard:
Remarkably consistent goalkeeper who has not missed a Premier League game since September 2007. The USA number one made the move from Manchester United after a successful long-term loan spell. The 33-year-old set a record for consecutive Premier League appearances for one club with his 184th game in a row in August.
Phil Jagielka:
England international centre-half signed from Sheffield United for £4 million in July 2007, having previously been in the Toffees' youth set-up. The 30-year-old is also comfortable at right-back, or in midfield. Played against Cheltenham in the FA Cup for the Blades in January 2003, with the Championship side winning 4-0 at Bramall Lane.
Johnny Heitinga:
Played in every game as the Netherlands reached the World Cup final in 2010, the defender was Everton's player of the year last season. Previously with Ajax and Atletico Madrid, he is approaching the 100-cap mark for his country at the age of 29. He was at Ajax's famous academy, making his first-team debut aged 17.
Sylvain Distin:
Imposing left-footed central defender signed from Portsmouth in 2009. The 6ft 4in 35-year-old spent five years at Manchester City after a loan spell with Newcastle United from Paris Saint-Germain. Contracted to the end of this season, Distin has been a model of consistency.
Leighton Baines:
Joined Everton from Wigan on the eve of the 2007/08 campaign and has since established himself as one of the most effective attacking full-backs in the Premier League. Scored in England's 5-0 win over Moldova in September and is a regular in Roy Hodgson's squad.
Steven Naismith:
Scotland international who joined Everton as a free agent in the summer of 2012, penning a four-year deal. The versatile right-footer is comfortable in wide positions or behind a central striker and his move to Goodison Park saw him reacquainted with former Rangers team-mate Nikica Jelavic.
Leon Osman:
Long-serving midfielder recently capped by England for the first time, nearly a decade after making his first-team debut for Everton. An academy product at Goodison Park, Osman spent time on loan at Carlisle and Derby early in his professional career.
Thomas Hitzlsperger
Known for his powerful shot, the German midfielder joined Everton on a free transfer in September 2012, following a season at Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga.
The left-footer also had two stints in England with Aston Villa and West Ham.
Steven Pienaar
Back at Everton after a brief and unhappy spell with Tottenham, for whom he played against Cheltenham in last year's FA Cup third-round tie. The 30-year-old fans' favourite retired from international football in October. Previously with Ajax and Borussia Dortmund.
Marouane Fellaini
Everton broke their transfer record to sign the big-haired Belgian, paying over £12 million to Standard Liège for his services in September 2008. One of the most recognisable players in the top flight, he has been in fine form this season and is back in action after a three-game ban for headbutting Stoke's Ryan Shawcross.
Nikica Jelavic
Croatian international striker with a reputation as a lethal one-touch finisher. Joined Everton on January 31, 2012 from Rangers on a four-and-a-half year deal for an undisclosed fee. Netted 11 goals last season, making him Everton's top scorer despite starting his first game with two months of the campaign left.
Victor Anichebe
Powerful and quick front man born in Nigeria who is a product of the Everton academy.
The 6ft 3in 24-year-old made his senior debut as a substitute in an FA Cup fourth-round tie against Chelsea at Goodison Park in January 2006. Represented Nigeria at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
Phil Neville
Club captain who won more than 50 England caps. Has been at Everton since 2005, having made the move from Manchester United, where he was one of 'Fergie's Fledglings'. Recovered from knee surgery to make his 500th Premier League appearance against Wigan on Boxing Day, becoming only the seventh player to do so.
Seamus Coleman
Republic of Ireland international defender formerly of Sligo Rovers. Nominated for the 2011 PFA Young Player of the Year Award and named as Everton's outstanding young performer. Began as a central midfielder before switching to full-back. Spent time on loan at Blackpool, helping them win promotion to the top flight.
Boss David Moyes can also call upon versatile left-sided Costa Rica international Bryan Oviedo, who joined Everton on deadline day in August 2012. Liverpool-born midfielder Ross Barkley leads Moyes' next generation having graduated from the Toffees' Academy. The 19-year-old has made two substitute appearances in the Premier League this term. Also vying for involvement against Cheltenham Town will be Irish centre--back Shane Duffy, who is known for his composure on the ball. Howard's goalkeeping understudy is Slovakian Jan Mucha, who joined Everton in July 2010 after starring in his country's run to the last 16 at the World Cup in South Africa. French striker Magaye Gueye, 6ft 3in Greek forward Apostolos Vellios and young defender Tyias Browning could also feature, but ex-Robins loanee Luke Garbutt, Darron Gibson, Tony Hibbert and Kevin Mirallas are all sidelined with injuries. Garbutt made his Everton debut earlier this season in a League Cup win over Leyton Orient.

FA Cup, Cheltenham Town v Everton: The Robins have the talent to cause a famous giantkilling, says Darren Carter
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
ANOTHER chance to take on the might of Premier League Everton will evoke fond memories for Cheltenham Town midfielder Darren Carter. He held his nerve to score the winning penalty in a play-off final shoot-out victory over Norwich City, securing promotion to the top flight for Birmingham City a decade ago.
PREMIER CLASS: Darren Carter, then of Birmingham City, celebrates scoring against Tottenham Hotspur for the Blues during April 2005, and, inset, playing for the Robins this season
The Blues picked up their first Premier League point in a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park three games into the 2002/03 campaign, with Carter joining the action from the bench in the 70th minute.
He described that period of his career as the stuff dreams are made of as he quickly moved from a regular in the stands at St Andrew's to the first team of his beloved home city club. "It was one of our first games after we'd gone up and our second away fixture after we'd lost at Arsenal on the opening day," Carter said. "It stands out for me because it was our first point that season, going to Goodison and getting a good draw. "It was a dream for me really and it all happened so quickly, breaking into the team and managing to help us get promotion. "To play at that level was phenomenal for me at 18 years old, especially doing it for Birmingham and it was such a quick transition from being a season ticket holder. "It really was more than I could have dreamed of. I have so many fond memories and I wouldn't change how it went for the world." Carter next crossed paths with Everton following his £1.5 million move to West Bromwich Albion. He was part of the Baggies team that thrashed the Toffees 4-0 at The Hawthorns in November 2005. "It's another game I remember well," he said. "We ended up going down that season, but we picked up some decent results along the way and felt we deserved to stay up. "That was one that really stuck out because it was a great performance at home and to score four goals too was great for us." The likes of Tony Hibbert and Leon Osman remain in Everton's squad from those days and both will be among the players to arrive at the Abbey Business Stadium on Monday for one of the biggest occasions in Cheltenham's FA Cup history. Having spent four years in the North West with Preston, Carter knows all about the esteem in which Everton are held in that corner of the country. "When you look at their squad now, with the experience and quality they have it's just fantastic throughout," he said.
"From my time there I had a good glimpse of what they are all about and the fact that David Moyes managed Preston, there were a lot of ties between the clubs. "I know what they are all about and it's a club that does everything properly. The job Moyes has done is fantastic because he is working with a relatively low budget, but every year they are a solid Premier League team and this year in particular they are riding high. "They are well established as a top half club, pushing towards Europe and they have done very well without spending huge amounts of money like other clubs have."
Carter is more used to playing for the bigger club against lower league opposition in the FA Cup, but having tasted the big time at such a young age, he cannot wait for the chance to test himself against Everton's stars at the age of 29. "Their squad is full of international talent and they'll have (Marouane) Fellaini back fresh from suspension, Leon Osman in midfield and a lot of talent up front with people like (Nikica) Jelavic," he said. "At the back (Phil) Jagielka and (Sylvain) Distin are big players and nobody will expect us to win, but we can use that to our advantage. "We have enough talent in our dressing room to hurt them and they'll know what we are about. "We have nothing to lose and these are the sorts of games you look back on in your career as being fantastic to be a part of. "There will always be upsets in this competition and whenever you get a chance to play against a bigger club on TV it's a chance to showcase what you are about." Carter believes a positive performance against Everton can help Cheltenham achieve their main objective for the season: promotion to League One. "If we can put in a performance it will definitely build confidence and belief," he said. "If we do well other clubs in League Two will see it too and they will look at us and fear us more. We want to show everyone we are not messing around this season."

FA Cup, Cheltenham Town v Everton: For once it won't hurt if my beloved Blues lose, says former Robin Scott Brown
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
FOR once Scott Brown will not be heartbroken if his beloved Everton are dumped out of the FA Cup by lower league opposition on Monday. The other club with a special place in his heart, Cheltenham Town, will be bidding to cause a major upset at the Abbey Business Stadium.
BLUES FAN: Everton fan Scott Brown had two spells as a Cheltenham Town player
Runcorn-based midfielder Brown signed for the Toffees aged nine, progressing to earn a professional deal at Goodison Park. After being released in 2004 he joined Bristol City before signing for the Robins in January 2007 following a successful loan spell. He was one year ahead of Wayne Rooney in the Everton youth system, becoming good friends with the England star before his £25.6 million move to Manchester United in 2004. Rooney was not the only big name Brown rubbed shoulders with during his decade with Everton. "It was an amazing experience joining Everton, who I had always supported because my family are all Blues," Brown said. "Duncan Ferguson was my hero growing up so to have a chance to play with him was a dream come true and I also played in reserve games and trained with people like Paul Gascoigne, David Ginola and Thomas Gravesen.
"To be on first name terms with Gazza was a great feeling and he was an absolute magician who had everything and he went out of his way to help out the younger players. I played with him for the reserves and it was just too easy for him! "Me and Wayne Rooney were really good mates and we used to room together, including when we were with the England youth teams. "We were very close right up until he left Everton and we'd played together ever since I can remember.
"He was a joker, although I couldn't give too much away about that. He was like many players who are really funny and do things off the cuff. But he's settled down a lot now, which I think he needed to do." Brown's love for Everton saw him have the club's emblem tattooed on his upper arm at the age of 16. He was at Wembley the last time they won the FA Cup, under Joe Royle in 1995, defeating Manchester United 1-0 in the final. He also went to the penalty shoot-out semi-final victory over United in 2009 and the final against Chelsea, who emerged as 2-1 winners over David Moyes' team. Brown recalls working under Moyes, who is the third longest serving manager in English football after Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger. "I was one of the younger lads and it was hard to make an impression with so many great players there, who I was in awe of really," Brown said. "But Moyes was always dead encouraging and all the players love to play and work hard for him. "It would be interesting to see what he could do with the sort of budget some of the other clubs have, but Evertonians love him. "I remember when I went in for my meeting with him, when he told me I was being released. "I had done well in the reserves and the Under-19s so I thought I had a chance of staying on, but he told me I wasn't ready and to go and prove him wrong somewhere else. "It was hard, but it meant going to Bristol City, where I played first team football and settled in well." Brown's time at Cheltenham was ruined by a horrific leg fracture suffered on his return to Ashton Gate after a collision with team mate Damian Spencer. He has since battled back and is now at Blue Square Bet North pacesetters Chester FC. Now 27, Brown says Cheltenham will always be dear to him for the way they helped him on the road back to fitness after his career-threatening injury. "Cheltenham are close to my heart and I love the club to bits," Brown said.
"I am so pleased to see them doing so well in League Two and when the FA Cup draw came out against Everton I was made up for them. "I still speak to Scott Brown the goalkeeper and Weso (Ian Weston) the physio, who did so much for me. They are flying and I hope they go up this year.
"Everton are my team and I always want them to win, but if Cheltenham turn them over I won't be as gutted as I normally am. The best thing for me would be a replay at Goodison and I'd be able to get along."

FA Cup, Cheltenham Town v Everton: Marvellous David Moyes is living up to the motto – former Blues keeper Connor Roberts
Thursday, January 03, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
GOALKEEPER Connor Roberts has seen first hand the miraculous job done by David Moyes at Everton. The Wrexham-born 20-year-old joined Cheltenham Town last summer following his release after five years at Goodison Park. He spent his days training with Tim Howard, who has established himself as one of the most consistent goalkeepers in the Premier League, ever-present since September 2007. Roberts (above) was coached by former England number one Chris Woods, who is also Howard's mentor at international level in his capacity with Jürgen Klinsmann's USA squad.
Roberts was just behind Adam Davies in the Toffees' pecking order. Davies spent time on trial with Cheltenham in July before signing for Sheffield Wednesday. "Training with Chris Woods and first team keepers Tim Howard and Jan Mucha was such a great experience and I learned so much from them every day," Roberts said. "The club's Latin motto translates to 'nothing but the best is good enough' and that sums up what David Moyes has done there. "He doesn't get huge money to spend on big name players, so he has to teach them to be that good and you can't knock the job he has done." Roberts lived in digs with nine other youth team players, including left-back Luke Garbutt, who spent last season on loan at Cheltenham. He expects some of his other former colleagues to have a chance of starting against Cheltenham on Monday. "Ross Barkley was in the same team as me and he's one to watch in midfield," Roberts said. "I lived with the big Irish centre-half Shane Duffy for a while and I think he has a chance of starting along with Tyias Browning, who was on the bench for their game against Chelsea on Sunday."

Newcastle United 1 - 2 Everton: Baines’ bullet fires Everton comeback
By DAMIAN SPELLMAN
Thursday 3 January 2013
Scotsman
EVERTON substitute Victor Anichebe plunged Newcastle deeper into crisis last night as a difficult day on Tyneside ended in depressing style. The striker needed just two minutes to steer home Nikica Jelavic’s cross to complete a comeback which saw the Merseysiders condemn the Tynesiders to a ninth defeat in 11 Barclays Premier League games. That was the last thing manager Alan Pardew needed with leading scorer Demba Ba finalising his transfer to Chelsea, while Mathieu Debuchy – sitting in the stands as he prepared to complete his move from Lille – was left in little doubt about the fight into which he is about to be plunged. It had all started so well for the home side when Papiss Cisse headed them in front with just 72 seconds played, but Leighton Baines’ stunning free-kick cancelled out the advantage two minutes before the break to set the stage for Anichebe to win it on the hour. With two minutes of the first half remaining skipper Fabricio Coloccini was harshly adjudged to have fouled Fellaini with the midfielder backing into him, and Baines took full advantage. The England international stepped up to blast the resulting free-kick past Tim Krul from the best part of 30 yards, prompting celebrations among the travelling fans and a tirade of abuse aimed at referee Martin Atkinson from the locals. The three points were sealed when Jelavic cut inside from the left and crossed for Anichebe to slot home at the near post. Krul had to tip Fellaini’s audacious 71st-minute flick over the bar and Baines curled another free-kick just wide before a late Newcastle flurry fell short.
Scorers: Newcastle - Cisse 2; Everton - Baines 43, Anichebe 60
Referee: Martin Atkinson
Attendance: 49,391

Toon 1 Everton 2
By Footy Mad - Editor
Updated Thursday, 3rd January 2013
Nine defeats in eleven games ... not good is it!
NEWCASTLE 1 EVERTON 2
NEWCASTLE: 1. Tim Krul 14. James Perch 87' 6. Mike Williamson 2. Fabricio Coloccini 3. Davide Santon 25. Gabriel Obertan 65' 8. Vurnon Anita 24. Cheick Tiote 79' 22. Sylvain Marveaux 23. Shola Ameobi 9. Papiss Cisse
Subs: 21. Rob Elliot 20. Gael Bigirimana 65' 28. Sammy Ameobi 79' 30. Nile Ranger 87' 31. Shane Ferguson 34. James Tavernier 39. Mehdi Abeid
EVERTON: 24. Tim Howard 6. Phil Jagielka 5. John Heitinga 15. Sylvain Distin 3. Leighton Baines 14. Steven Naismith 58' 18. Phil Neville 21. Leon Osman 22. Steven Pienaar 25. Marouane Fellaini 7. Nikica Jelavic 88'
Subs: 1. Jan Mucha 8. Bryan Oviedo 88' 16. Thomas Hitzlsperger 19. Magaye Gueye 27. Apostolos Vellios 28. Victor Anichebe 58' 34. Shane Duffy
The striker needed just two minutes to steer home Nikica Jelavic's cross to complete a comeback which saw the Toffees condemn the Magpies to a ninth defeat in 11 Barclays Premier League games.
That was the last thing manager Alan Pardew needed with leading scorer Demba Ba finalising his transfer to Chelsea, while Mathieu Debuchy - sitting in the stands as he prepared to complete his move from Lille - was left in little doubt about the fight into which he is about to be plunged.
It had all started so well for the home side when Papiss Cisse headed them in front with just 72 seconds played, but Leighton Baines' stunning free-kick cancelled out the advantage two minutes before the break to set the stage for Anichebe to win it on the hour. With Ba's move all but complete as the game kicked off, the onus fell on Cisse to reprise his stunning form during the second half of last season, and despite once again being asked to play a wide role, he obliged with less than two minutes gone. The Everton defence inexplicably allowed goalkeeper Tim Krul's long clearance to bounce on the edge of the penalty area and having gambled on the ball reaching him, the Senegal international calmly headed it over the stranded Tim Howard. It might have been 2-0 had Cisse been able to stretch just a few inches further to meet Shola Ameobi's cross in front of goal with the home side in determined mood. However, after the initial flurry abated, the visitors started to exercise a measure of control and would have been level within two minutes had it not been for the excellence of Krul. Baines' dipping free-kick seemed destined for the back of the net until the Dutchman threw out a hand as he flew across goal and managed to palm the ball around the post, and it was not to be his last activity of the half. Everton were targeting Newcastle's right-hand side where Cisse was doing his best to protect full-back James Perch, but with Baines and Steven Pienaar a constant threat, the Magpies were repeatedly stretched. Marouane Fellaini, back in the team after completing a three-match ban, forced a fine 24th-minute block from Davide Santon after accepting Pienaar's square ball, and the South Africa international looked odds on to equalise eight minutes later after being played in by Baines, only for Krul to come out on top. In the meantime, Pardew's men had come agonisingly close to extending their lead when Perch headed Vurnon Anita's free-kick against the inside of the post. In an end-to-end encounter both sides pressed repeatedly, but Newcastle were guilty of conceding a series of free-kicks in dangerous territory to invite pressure on to themselves. They did it once too often with two minutes of the half remaining when skipper Fabricio Coloccini was harshly adjudged to have fouled Fellaini with the midfielder backing into him, and Baines took full advantage. The England international stepped up to blast the resulting free-kick past Krul from the best part of 30 yards, prompting celebrations among the travelling fans and a tirade of abuse aimed at referee Martin Atkinson from the locals. Sylvain Marveaux was handed a chance to match Baines' strike three minutes after the restart after John Heitinga had hauled Shola Ameobi to the ground, but the Frenchman drilled his effort harmlessly into the wall.
Newcastle came agonisingly close to taking the lead when Shola Ameobi expertly controlled Marveaux's 58th-minute ball over the top and stabbed it past the advancing Howard, but also just past the post. And the home side were caught out two minutes later when Jelavic cut inside from the left and crossed for Anichebe to slot home at the near post. Gabriel Obertan tested Howard at his near post with a 65th-minute shot after being set away by Shola Ameobi, and Cisse headed at Heitinga and saw the ball drop nicely for Howard four minutes later. But Krul had to tip Fellaini's audacious 71st-minute flick over the bar and Baines curled another free-kick just wide with Everton looking the more dangerous. Santon passed up a glorious opportunity on 83 minutes after being played in by Shola Ameobi and forced a second save from Howard three minutes later, but the late flurry came up short.

Mark Lawrenson: Don’t expect Everton FC to splash the cash in January
The Liverpool Post
Jan 3 2013
THE arrival of the January transfer window offers Everton the temptation to spend money to bolster their chances of Champions League qualification. But I just don’t see the Goodison outfit chasing their tail to try and finish fourth. Any new arrivals are likely to be loan signings, and then Everton will take their chances with what they have. It’s a bit frustrating for supporters, who see this as a real chance of a top-four finish should the club speculate to accumulate. But that’s just the way it is. Everton don’t have the resources of Arsenal or Tottenham Hotspur, teams they are competing with for that fourth place. In any case, January is a dangerous market. I know Everton had a good one last year and their signings proved a massive catalyst for what was to follow. But that was very much a rarity. To be honest, fourth place is going to be between Tottenham and Arsenal. Everton need to cut their cloth accordingly. After all, if they go for broke it might have a knock-on effect in the summer transfer window, when they might need even more new faces. It’s sad in a way, but there’s not much that can be done about it. I’m sure Arsenal and Tottenham fans find it a little sad they can’t challenge for the title. It’s very easy to go and spend money you haven’t got. But Everton have to run their business in a way the club doesn’t go bankrupt. I’ve always said that injuries would be the key to Everton’s top-four hopes. When everybody is fit, you fancy David Moyes’s side against most teams. But once one or two key players start to be sidelined, it hits them hard. That’s the difference with the top four or five teams – they have a bigger number of quality players.
I don’t imagine the loss of Darron Gibson for another month will impact on Moyes’s January plans, which I believe will be restricted to loan deals. Moyes won’t commit £3million on a player who could be out of the team once Gibson returns. That’s one of the reasons he brought in Thomas Hitzlsperger on a short-term deal, and the manager may look to extend that now. Everton’s business will not be high profile. But the bigger worry for me is if somebody tries to tempt the board with a massive offer for Leighton Baines. Will they be able to resist? The loss of Gibson is a blow. I’ve mentioned before that while he is unspectacular, he does the job. He does what it says on the tin, and you need players like that. Matters are counterbalanced by Marouane Fellaini coming back from suspension, but with Kevin Mirallas and Phil Neville also both out, those absences are starting to show. Everton could easily have beaten Chelsea, but the Londoners’ extra class told. They just had that bit of an edge, and that comes from having so many good players in such a big squad.
It’s good news, though, that Seamus Coleman has signed a new long-term deal. He is already a good player and is only going to get better. Coleman improves year on year and this season the penny has dropped, whether it’s at right-back or right midfield. That he can occupy two positions makes him invaluable to Everton, and a typical Moyes signing. For £60,000, Coleman has definitely proven money well spent.

Everton free-kick king Leighton Baines worthy of comparison with Roberto Carlos (and he's more accurate)
By Mike Norrish
Telegragh
Baines has established himself as the best attacking full-back in the Premier League over the last few seasons. He created 67 chances last year from left-back, 22 more than his nearest positional rival, Benoit Assou Ekotto, and 43 more than Chelsea's Ashley Cole. Baines scores as well as creates, however, and his cracker against Newcastle was arguably his best yet for Everton.
Modern football has witnessed a small but memorable list of left-backs who, like Baines, have exceptional dead ball skills. Baines, in fact, offers more variety than many left-footed free-kick experts, who either bend or blast the ball. Only the best can do both.
Here are five more left-footed defenders who specialised in the spectacular.
ROBERTO CARLOS
Statistics are not available for free-kick conversion rates, but Carlos would have ranked very low on any list. Despite that, he dominated dead balls for both Brazil and Real Madrid for most of his career (to the frustration of some seriously talented team-mates). Why? Because when Carlos did get it right, his free-kicks were more than goals. They were events.
SINISA MIHAJLOVIC
The Serbian is best known for two things - racism and free-kicks. At Lazio, they loved him for both, but even those offended by Mihajlović's conduct cannot dispute his dead-ball brilliance. Holds the all-time Serie A free-kick record with 27 goals scored during his 14 seasons in the top Italian league. He is also one of the few players ever to score a hat-trick of free-kicks, a feat he accomplished for Lazio against Sampdoria in 1998.
JOHN ARNE RIISE
Unlike Baines, Riise lacked subtlety with his free-kicks, which were invariably rockets. Few were as memorable as this effort in a 3-1 win over Manchester United in 2001. Alan Smith will never forget this Riise free-kick, which he blocked in 2006. The force of the shot broke Smith's leg and dislocated his ankle.
STUART PEARCE
Another left-back with a fearsome strike, Pearce was a regular goalscorer for Nottingham Forest throughout his career. He opened the scoring in the 1991 FA Cup final with this rocket. His run-up was also impressively long. Unlike Baines, Pearce always favoured power, but he also had the ability to bend the ball around the wall, as he did here against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Everton FC defender Phil Jagielka signs new four-year deal at Goodison
David Prentice
Jan 3 2013
The England defender has penned a contract until 2017, which could tie the 30-year-old to the club for the rest of his career. Signed from Sheffield United for £4m in 2007 and initially played in central midfield, Jagielka has blossomed into an enormously reliable centre-half. He has now won 16 England caps and has captained the side in the absence of club skipper Phil Neville. The new contract was revealed on the day Everton announced a loss of £9m in their annual accounts - partly explained by new deals in 2010/11 for Marouane Fellaini, Tim Howard, Phil Neville and Ross Barkley.

Martin Keown reflects on his time with Everton FC
by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
Jan 4 2013
IN HIS spell as Everton FC manager, Colin Harvey brought talent as diverse and as dazzling as Pat Nevin, Tony Cottee, Norman Whiteside and Stuart McCall to Goodison Park. But his reaction was resolute when he was asked once for his best Blues signing. “Martin Keown,” he declared.
The feeling was mutual. Snapped up from Aston Villa for a modest £750,000 in the summer of 1989, Keown made 126 appearances for Everton before being moved on to Arsenal for £2m.
But despite enjoying unparalleled success at Highbury, he never forgot his time on Merseyside, and revealed that the decision to move in 1993 wasn’t entirely his! “I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Everton,” said Keown, now a TV analyst working on this season’s FA Cup with ESPN. “The only disappointment was that I couldn’t contribute to the club winning anything tangible in my four years there. “I played under Colin Harvey and Howard Kendall and I was eternally grateful to them for the opportunity to play at a club like Everton. “Looking back in hindsight it was probably a bit much to ask a young lad, which I was then, to step into the boots of a club legend like Kevin Ratcliffe. But I always gave absolutely everything. “And it always felt like it was a club at the crossroads.
“We knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup in 1991 after the famous 4-4 draw, then went to West Ham in the quarter-finals. “It was played at night under the Upton Park lights and West Ham always seemed to get an extra impetus from playing under the floodlights. “They went through and that seemed to be the theme of my time at Everton. “We had a few near misses.” But while Everton was a club in transition at the time, on the slide from the glory days of the 1980s, Keown’s career was in the ascendant. It was during his time at Everton that he won the first of his 43 England caps, and Keown credits the Everton fans for his call-up. “I think it was partly down to the Everton fans who helped get me into that England squad,” he explained. “They made their voices heard at a time when people were being tried out in the national side and I got my chance. “The atmosphere was always superb at Goodison. Even though I played a lot of my career at Highbury I loved Goodison.
“And I’m glad that the stadium has still retained its integrity. Everton is a big club, but it always felt like a family. There was always a togetherness and I hear that it’s still the same now.
“When I was there it was a like a big family, from Mary in the canteen through to the gaffer.
“It was like that even when I left the club. “I thought I was going in to the manager’s office to negotiate a contract extension, instead he ended up offering me a new club! “Then in true Howard Kendall style he opened a bottle of champagne and toasted the move with me! “Arsenal was the only place I’d have left Everton to join. It was a move back down south, although my son was born in Merseyside and is a Scouser. “He plays at the Reading Academy and I came back up to Finch Farm to watch him play recently. It must be the first time I’ve visited properly in almost 20 years and I couldn’t believe how I was treated. “I was like a long lost son. “I bumped into Gary Ablett and it was desperately sad to hear about his illness, but he made a big impression on me as did everyone else that day. “Some of the faces are still the same – Jimmy Martin is still around – and I hope they have a good run in the Cup this year. “Cheltenham are fourth in League Two and it’s quite a sticky pitch, to say the least, which could be a great leveller. “But the experience David Moyes and his squad have will cope with that. I can’t see anything other than an Everton victory.”
TRIAL by television can be costly. Just ask Marouane Fellaini who spent three matches kicking his heels on the sidelines over Christmas, after his flagrant reaction to Ryan Shawcross’s attentions was picked up by at least three different camera angles. It wasn’t always that way – as Martin Keown ruefully recalls. A powerful, imposing central defender when Everton went to Wembley in 1991 for the Zenith Data Systems Cup Final, Keown left the celebrated pitch on a stretcher seeing stars.
An uncompromising Crystal Palace side which contained monolithic individuals like Eric Young, Andy Thorn and Garry Thompson, plus current Newcastle manager Alan Pardew, walked up the Wembley steps to collect the silverware – while Keown was having his face stitched back up in the Wembley hospital. “If that match had been played today the authorities would have thrown the book at the players involved,” he said. “It was blatant off the ball ... well, let’s just say I was stretchered off and didn’t see any of extra time. But fortunately Wembley has its own hospital.” Football has certainly changed since that brutal afternoon – and not just in the technology that now polices the game.
And it’s the role of defenders which has adapted more than most in recent years. Keown famously became one third of the most resolute defensive triumvirate in modern football when he left Everton for Arsenal. So rock solid was the axis of Bould-Adams-Keown that Gunners fans gleefully adopted the refrain “One nil to the Ar-se-nal!” – and so reliable was that defence that one goal was usually enough. Nowadays the emphasis appears to be more on attack, even from the back.
“What you see now is that full-backs are given much more licence to go forward than they ever were in the past,” explained Keown, now a TV analyst for ESPN. “If you look back to when David Moyes first took over at Everton to now, the emphasis has changed completely for the full-backs.
“I actually thought Seamus Coleman was a winger I saw him flying forward so often, but he’s actually described as a right-back. “On the other side Leighton Baines creates most of Everton’s chances.
“But that switch in emphasis exposes the centre-backs much more and an apparent strength can become a weakness. “But in Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin Everton have two defenders who really complement each other. “One of the things which really stands out when you watch Jagielka is the number of blocks he gets in. “He does extremely well inside his own penalty box, while Distin’s strength comes working the channels where he can use his power and strength. “To keep playing as well as he does at his age is commendable. “And they are just as valuable to Everton as the likes of Fellaini.”

David Prentice: Everton FC still making the best of a bad set of circumstances
by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
Jan 4 2013
EVERTON FC published their annual accounts yesterday – the day after a memorable away win. A few hours later a new contract was announced for Phil Jagielka. Only the eternally naive would say ‘coincidence.’ But Everton’s desire to gloss over the figures is understandable. Annual losses grew from £5m to £9m and the club’s debt increased from £44.9m to £46m.

The debt figure marks a continuing downward spiral which can only be checked if the 24/7 search for investment finally bears fruit – while the world is still officially in recession – or next year’s much awaited additional TV income doesn’t end up in the pockets of players. But is there light on the horizon? Can Evertonians dare to dream? Fortunes can change very quickly in Premier League football. And you don’t have to be a Blackburn, Leeds – or Manchester City fan – to understand that.
It’s fast approaching the anniversary of a column I wrote on this page (January 13, 2012) explaining why Everton fans deserved an apology. A bleak analysis included lines like: “Everton can’t keep pretending everything’s rosy in the garden.” “Louis Saha, Phil Neville, Tim Cahill and Sylvain Distin are all nearing the end of their useful top flight playing life.” “Maybe it's symbolic that this year is the centenary of the Titanic sinking. They have been steaming towards their own iceberg for years.”
And “An ageing stadium, an ageing and as a result increasingly injury prone squad, a decreasing fan base – with those that remain becoming more and more disenchanted – and an over-reliance on a magnificent manager. I fear for the long term future of Everton Football Club.” It was an unrelentingly gloomy outlook

Everton were 11th in the Premier League table, with a negative goal difference.
Now they are fifth and poised for a realistic assault on Champions League qualification, an outcome which could genuinely transform the club. I repeat those lines not to highlight what a hopeless tipster I am, but to show how quickly fortunes can change in football. But sometimes it seems that outlooks don’t change as quickly as fortunes. Some of that “disenchantment” referred to seems embedded at Goodison. Blues fans mock their Reds counterparts for having unrealistic aspirations, for believing that every handsome home win is about to herald a title charge – and every new signing is the final piece of an elaborate jigsaw. There’s even a mock Twitter account dedicated to it (@LiverpoolLogic if you want a smile). But inappropriate or not, at Anfield optimism springs eternal.
Across the park it’s different. Everton are playing their best football since, at a conservative estimate, the spring of 1996. But if that Tony Grant-Andrei Kanchelskis inspired cameo was short-lived, they are also playing their best football, consistently, since Howard Kendall was manager.
And that new attacking emphasis has yielded more points in a calendar year than at any time since Everton were last champions. Yet there’s a chunk of their fanbase who still fear the worst.
It’s difficult to gauge the ratio of satisfied fan to disgruntled punter. People with an axe to grind always make their voices heard louder than the satisfied majority. And the reaction on internet forums, Twitter and message boards to yesterday’s accounts was almost wholly negative – doom, gloom and despondency just hours after Everton had forced even Alan Pardew to admit “Everton had a bit more guile, a bit more experience and a bit more quality.” That’s the manager of a Newcastle team who were lauded last season for selling one player for £35m, investing the money wisely in the playing staff and surging up the table to finish fifth. Everton have been doing that for years. And provided they keep hold of David Moyes could feasibly continue to do so.
In difficult, testing times, Everton are making the very best of a bad set of circumstances and shouldn’t that be something to be celebrated? I’m not a business reporter. I won’t pretend to understand phrases like amortisation of contracts and netbook value of intangible assets.
But yesterday’s figures appear to point to a club still desperately trying to spin plates to push every penny possible into its playing staff until the club can finally be sold. Everton have the eighth highest wage bill in the Premier League, yet have consistently achieved above that investment.
Their annual losses rose from £5m to £9m – because TV bosses elected to show four fewer Everton games last season – when gate receipts fell and season tickets dipped. But that loss already looks like being offset. By the time they face Manchester United next month Everton will already have matched last season's TV appearances, average gates have risen from 33,000 to 36,000, season ticket sales are up by 6.4 per cent and half-season ticket sales have risen by a remarkable 100 per cent. Reasons are clear. Everton have a team worth watching – and supporting.

Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin could be at Everton FC for the rest of their careers
by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
PHIL JAGIELKA and Sylvain Distin could end their careers at Everton FC.
England defender Jagielka, 30, signed a new deal yesterday which runs to 2017, while defensive partner Distin, 35, is expected to be offered a new deal shortly. And former Everton defender and ESPN analyst Martin Keown believes the pair are integral to Everton’s bid for Champions League football next season. The pair have partnered each other in central defence on 11 occasions this season, and Keown said: “In Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin Everton have two defenders who really complement each other. “One of the things which really stands out when you watch Jagielka is the number of blocks he gets in. “He does extremely well inside his own penalty box, while Distin’s strength comes working the channels where he can use his power and strength. “To keep playing as well as he does at his age is commendable. And they are just as valuable to Everton as the likes of Marouane Fellaini.” Jagielka’s existing deal was due to run until the end of the 2014/15 campaign. His extension now takes him until beyond his 34th birthday. Blues Chief Executive Robert Elstone said: “We are delighted Phil has agreed to commit his long-term future here at Goodison Park. “Phil is a hugely important and influential player and I, like many Evertonians, look forward to seeing him play in a Blue shirt for many years to come.” After signing from Sheffield United for £4m in the summer of 2007, Jagielka was used initially in central midfield and at full-back. But after returning to his favoured central defensive role he flourished and won a call up to the England squad in June 2008. He has since won 16 caps and scored his first international goal last year against Italy – and has captained the Blues in the absence of club skipper Phil Neville.

Phil Jagielka signs new Everton FC deal
Jan 4 2013
PHIL JAGIELKA and Sylvain Distin could end their careers at Everton.
England defender Jagielka, 30, signed a new deal yesterday which runs to 2017, while defensive partner Distin, 35, is expected to be offered a new deal shortly. And former Everton defender and ESPN analyst Martin Keown believes the pair are integral to Everton’s bid for Champions League football next season. The pair have partnered each other in central defence on 11 occasions this season, and Keown said: “In Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin, Everton have two defenders who really complement each other. “One of the things which really stands out when you watch Jagielka is the number of blocks he gets in. “He does extremely well inside his own penalty box, while Distin’s strength comes working the channels where he can use his power and strength.
“To keep playing as well as he does at his age is commendable. And they are just as valuable to Everton as the likes of Marouane Fellaini.” Jagielka’s existing deal was due to run until the end of the 2014/15 campaign. The England international’s extension now takes him until beyond his 34th birthday. Blues Chief Executive Robert Elstone said: “We are delighted Phil has agreed to commit his long-term future here at Goodison Park. “Phil is a hugely important and influential player and I, like many Evertonians, look forward to seeing him play in a Blue shirt for many years to come.”
After signing from Sheffield United for £4m in the summer of 2007, Jagielka was used initially in central midfield and at full-back. But after returning to his favoured central defensive role he flourished and won a call up to the England squad in June 2008. He has since won 16 caps and scored his first international goal last year against Italy – and has captained the Blues in the absence of club skipper Phil Neville.

Everton FC manager David Moyes eager to avoid writing an unwanted chapter in the club’s FA Cup history
The Liverpool Post
Jan 4 2013
AS Everton manager and owner of horse Desert Cry, David Moyes wants at least one winner at Cheltenham this year. But the Scot knows all too well that success at lower-league opposition in the FA Cup is anything but a racing certainty. His Goodison outfit begin on the road to Wembley on Monday night with their third round visit to League Two promotion hopefuls Cheltenham Town.
The presence of live television cameras at the intimate 7,000-capacity Whaddon Road stadium suggests the air will be laced with the scent of a possible giantkilling in the first-ever meeting between the clubs. Indeed, while the magic of the FA Cup is something that resonates with Moyes, the problem for the Everton manager is that he has too often been on the receiving end of the fairytale. None more so than in his very first game in the competition since moving to Goodison, a 2-1 third-round defeat in 2003 at a Shrewsbury Town side that were ultimately relegated from the Football League later that season. And Moyes acknowledges the desperation not to write another unwanted chapter of FA Cup history remains a driving force, while admitting his team’s run to the final in 2009 is now rarely mentioned. “Shrewsbury was one of the lowest times I have had,” he says. “I know exactly what it is like to go through and you don’t want to be put in that situation again. “I remember the feeling was of real despondency afterwards. We had been knocked out and we had made the news for all the wrong reasons. You mention to the players beforehand about past experiences and you warn them. “It reminds you of the fear that you don't want to have again. But I think nobody has asked me about the great run we had en route to the final (in 2009), the great teams we had to beat to get there.” Moyes understands the flip side of the situation, having regularly punched above his weight in the competition while manager of Preston North End.
“I have been there before and you always remember it,” he says. “I have been a manager at Preston when we have been 2-0 up against Arsenal, who had Vieira, Petit, Overmars and Henry and Bergkamp, a minute before half-time (Preston ultimately lost 4-2). I’ve been there and know what it is like. “I have been too Goodison as manager as Preston and I've been to Chelsea as manager of Preston so I know what that is like. “The teams always raise their games, whereas it can be harder for the teams who are favourites to do that.” Cheltenham dropped out of the automatic promotion places in League Two with a 1-0 defeat at Oxford United on New Year’s Day, having seen their scheduled home match against Bristol Rovers called off four days earlier due to a waterlogged pitch. The Robins, who have been managed by Mark Yates for more than three years, earned their place in the third round by winning 2-1 at Hereford United in a replay after drawing the initial home tie 1-1.
And Moyes says: “I saw them beat Hereford in the replay. Managers are much more liable to take a gamble in an FA Cup game because the points at stake in the Premier League mean everything. But the FA Cup provides strange, strange results and we have to make sure we are not on the wrong end of them. “We went to the semi-final last season and we want another good cup run.”
If defeat to Shrewsbury was the lowest point of Moyes’s Everton tenure, then the semi-final loss to Liverpool at Wembley last April is the most disappointing. There was a legacy to that derby setback, however. The positive response built momentum that passed over to the new campaign and has kept Everton in the hunt for Champions League qualification. “We need to continue the form we have shown for most of 2012,” says Moyes. “I’ve got no reason to believe that we can’t do that, but obviously the challenge from other clubs is great. The group of players we’ve got here have a great spirit and know themselves that on their day they can be a match for any side. The stability that’s been built up over the years here can help us in the second half of the season.” Leighton Baines agrees the last 12 months have demonstrated signs of progress and encouragement. “I think it was a good year for Everton,” says the left-back. “Niki and Gibbo coming in and Steven rejoining the club galvanised us and we’ve had some great results. At Goodison in 2012 we’ve beaten Tottenham twice, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United. “The FA Cup quarter-final win at Sunderland was great as well. To take more than 6,000 fans up there for a midweek game was great and we played really well that night.” Moyes can count on some inside knowledge for Monday’s tie. England under-21 international Luke Garbutt, who made his first-team bow for the Goodison side in August, spent last season on loan at Cheltenham, helping them reach the League Two play-off final where they were beaten by Crewe Alexandra. “I had lots of fans on Twitter afterwards saying it will be nice to see you back and that I’d be given a warm welcome if I was involved,” says Garbutt.
“I’m just really pleased for the lads at Cheltenham. I think they deserve it and when I was there last season we got Tottenham away in the third round. That was a great experience for all the lads. Cheltenham have nothing to lose against us and can go out there and express themselves.”
Garbutt adds: “The bulk of the team is pretty much the same. Kaid Mohamed on the left is quick and direct, Jermaine McGlashan on the other side as well. Then you have Marlon Pack in the centre of midfield who can distribute the ball quite well. They will be the dangermen. “Their lads will be really up for it and will give us a game, that’s for sure. The fans will be up for it as well and the players will be keen to put on a good show with it being on TV and having the chance to cause an upset.”

Cheltenham Town: Consistent Howard is one of the world's best, says Brown
Friday, January 04, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
SCOTT Brown will relish a chance to take on a man he regards as among the best in the world in his position as Everton visit Cheltenham Town in the FA Cup on Monday night. The Robins' last line of defence is a big admirer of Everton's Tim Howard, who is currently the most consistent goalkeeper in the top flight. The American set a new record for consecutive Premier League appearances for one club with his 184th game in a row in August. Everton boss David Moyes picked Howard for their third round tie against Tamworth last year and Brown is hoping the 33-year-old starts at the Abbey Business Stadium. "He has been Mr Consistency ever since he joined Everton," Brown said.
"It didn't work out for him at Manchester United, but certainly proved what a great goalkeeper he is since then. "Everton have so many good players, but I always look at the opposition goalkeeper and he is definitely up there among the best in the Premier League, with some of the saves he pulls off and he's a nice lad too according to Connor (Roberts)." Brown said that it was while watching Everton's televised match against Chelsea last Sunday that it began to sink in that Cheltenham would be testing themselves against so many top class players at Whaddon Road. Everton made a storming start at Goodison Park, taking a second minute lead through Steven Pienaar, but Frank Lampard's brace completed a comeback for the European Champions. "I sat down and watched Chelsea game and all I can say is that it was interesting!" Brown said. "They aren't bad at all and whatever team they put out, there will be plenty of quality. "With the League games we've had since getting through, none of us have thought too much about Everton, but now we can really look forward to it." Brown was on the bench for the Newcastle FA Cup fourth round tie in 2006, when he was understudy to Shane Higgs. The most important Cup tie he has played in at Whaddon Road is the match against Chester in the previous round, which was his first team debut. "I played against Tottenham last season which was great, but in terms of pressure the Chester game was probably the biggest," he said. "Against Everton, it will be a no pressure game and one to enjoy, but it's more important that we make sure we get three points in our next home League game against York City."
Since shipping four goals at Rochdale on December 21, Brown has been beaten once in two matches and that was from the penalty spot. Oxford United's Peter Leven beat him from 12 yards for the third time this season, earning maximum points for Chris Wilder's team. "He (Leven) has gone down the middle both times before so we spoke about it before the game and I wanted to stay as big as possible and react to it," Brown said. "Fair play to him he's put it in the corner, but whether it was a penalty or not is debatable".

Howard Kendall: John Heitinga not reliable enough for central defence at the moment
Liverpool Echo
Jan 4 2013
JOHNNY HEITINGA’S form this season hasn’t come near the standards he set last season when he won Player of the Season awards. And if Everton are going to get the best out of him I think they need to keep him out of the penalty area. Maybe he’s trying too hard to impress, but he is doing far too many rash things, like that premature leap at St James Park. Sylvain Distin and Phil Jagielka are clearly the better defensive partnership, and maybe Heitinga would be better served playing in a holding midfield role. His form simply isn’t reliable enough at the moment to be playing in central defence. He can still be effective for Everton, but not in their penalty box!

Howard Kendall: Goals will come for hard-working Nikica Jelavic
Liverpool Echo
Jan 4 2013
NIKICA JELAVIC hasn’t scored the goals this season that he did when he first arrived at Everton FC last term. But he will – because his work-rate and attitude has been first class.
If you start thinking ‘it’s not happening for me’ or ‘I’m never going to score’ it will become a self fulfilling prophecy. But if you continue to chase lost causes and put yourself into positions where you can score goals, the chances will come. And a player of Jelavic’s quality will always score.
Hard work, as it is in so many other parts of football, is the key. It will be the key when Everton go to League Two Cheltenham in the FA Cup on Monday. As a manager I was fortunate enough to never experience the humiliation of a giant-killing by a side from the bottom tier. But when I was at Stoke City as a player we were knocked out of the FA Cup by non-league Blyth Spartans – at home! It was a terrible upset and I think led to George Eastham losing his job. Maybe a little complacency did creep in that day, but David Moyes knows that the squad he has put together at Everton doesn’t have that in it. Everybody gives absolutely everything every time they run out, and that’s a wonderfully reassuring feeling for a manager to have. You want to know you’re going to get a certain level of performance from your players every time they cross the white line, and David has that.
Players like Leighton Baines, Leon Osman and Phil Neville are always totally committed regardless of the opposition. That’s what Everton will need on Monday night at Cheltenham – and I’m sure they will get it.

Howard Kendall: Leighton Baines’ goal highlighted his class
Liverpool Echo
Jan 4 2013
IT MAY be a little early to start talking about these things, but Leighton Baines must already be in contention for the Goal of the Season award with that thunderous free-kick at Newcastle.
It was a special goal. And it underlined something which I’ve always believed. Left-footers tend to have sublime ability with their ‘good’ foot, much more so than right-footers. And that’s because lefties tend not to use their ‘other’ foot as much as right-footers do, so perfect their ability with their good foot. You don’t get many left-footers who can use their right foot well too. But when your left is that good it usually doesn’t matter. Lionel Messi doesn’t score many goals with his right foot or his head, but defenders still can’t work out ways of stopping him! And there was absolutely no stopping that free-kick from Baines. Obvious comparisons will be drawn with Kevin Sheedy, who was magical around the penalty area. But I also used to be very impressed by Matthew Le Tissier, then more recently Cristiano Ronaldo who perfected the art of getting free-kicks to rise and then dip viciously. The fact that we’re talking about Baines’ effort in the same breath as players like that, though, simply underlines how phenomenal it was. It gave Everton a platform to go on and win at St James Park, and while I’ll always be thrilled to see any Everton victory, as a Geordie boy I can’t help but be a little saddened by what’s happening in the North-East now. When I was a boy my dad used to take me to watch both Newcastle and Sunderland, so it’s disappointing to see two clubs with such great fan bases suffering the way they are at present.

Everton FC boss David Moyes tells Nikica Jelavic, assists are great - but we need goals too
by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
Jan 5 2013
DAVID MOYES is urging Nikica Jelavic to rediscover his goal touch, even though last seasons top scorer proved he can be just as deadly as a goal provider on Wednesday night.The Croatian hit man scored 11 goals in just 13 starts after hitting the ground running with a goal on his full debut in March. But this season he has seen Marouane Fellaini steal his scoring thunder, the Belgian leading the Blues goal charts with eight to Jelavics six so far.In midweek Jelavic played a pivotal role in an outstanding away win at Newcastle by setting up the matchwinner for Victor Anichebe.But Moyes still wants goals from his main striker.Weve said to him come on, were playing you, were putting you in, were keeping you going so we need him to come up with the goals, said Moyes. If youre going to be a top team you need your centre-forward to score you a decent amount of goals. But in fairness to Jela the opportunities didnt fall to him at Newcastle. They fell to Fellaini, Naismith, Steven Pienaar and Victor in the end.On Sunday, against Chelsea, they did fall to him and he was a bit unlucky not to score with his efforts which hit the post and the bar.There has been some suggestion that Fellainis formidable presence in the Blues forward line this season has reduced the number of chances Jelavic has received.But Moyes was delighted by the way Fellaini slotted back in after suspension on Wednesday.I thought he played really well. I thought in the first half his chest control and the way he got people into the game was exceptional and gave us an alternative when we were passing it, added Moyes.We could hit Felli if we needed it. Id have liked him to have got the goal in the first half, though!Fellaini is likely to be involved at Cheltenham in Mondays FA Cup third round tie, although Leighton Baines could be in line for a rest as Bryan Oviedo may be given a run out, while midfielders Thomas Hitzlsperger and Ross Barkley may also come into contention for a start. Kevin Mirallas, Seamus Coleman (both hamstring) are still sidelined, as are Tony Hibbert (calf) and Darron Gibson (thigh). Former Everton youth goalkeeper Connor Roberts is expected to be on the bench for Cheltenham. WITH Evertons allocation at Cheltenham Town sold out, the next chance Blues fans have to watch the team live is at Goodison Park next Saturday for the Premier League clash with Swansea City.ickets are still available for the 3pm kick-off and prices start from £31 for adults, £15.50 for juniors and £20.25 for over 65s. Call the Goodison Park Box Office on 0871 663 1878, visit evertonfc.com/eticketing, or drop into the Liverpool city centre ticket outlets at Everton Two or the TicketQuarter in Queens Square.

Everton’s TV viewing figures which just don’t add up
by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
Jan 5 2013
EVERTON’S annual losses almost doubled in 2011/12 – partly because TV bosses decided the Blues weren’t as big a draw as other clubs.Hopefully whichever highly-paid TV executive made that decision has had his plug pulled.Because the decision makes about as much sense as Hollyoaks – and is not as easy on the eye.Compared to TV darlings Arsenal, Newcastle, Tottenham and West Ham, Everton have the highest average live audience figures – 1.7m per televised game.Yet despite a first half of the season when Everton’s football has been more thrilling than at any time for 20 years, the Blues’ TV picks remain lower than that of Newcastle and West Ham!Attractive Everton have been screened six times, long ball West Ham and less than catchy Toon have 10 selections each.Despite having 40 per cent less televised games, Everton’s cumulative audience is still on a par with West Ham’s (10.08 million v 10.91 million).If you can work out why Everton have featured so infrequently, answers on a postcard to the satellite broadcasters please.

Royal Blue - Links between Everton and Cheltenham have been few
by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
Jan 5 2013
LINKS between Cheltenham and Everton aren’t numerous – but the Gloucestershire and Mersey clubs have shared three centre-forwards ... of vastly contrasting quality.Brett Angell managed one goal in his 18 Everton appearances, failed to score in 10 Sunderland appearances and was similarly unsuccessful in front of goal for Queens Park Rangers.But in the lower leagues he was prolific – and nowhere more so than at Whaddon Road.Angell burst onto the scene in 1987-88 with 24 goals in 37 appearances for Cheltenham – a flurry which earned him a move to Stockport County where he made his name as a reliable marksman.Bernie Wright took the opposite path to Cheltenham.After a league career which embraced Walsall, Port Vale, Bradford City – and a short-lived but memorable spell at Everton in the 1970s – Bernie The Bolt wound his career down in non-League football, including a spell at Whaddon Road.While Angell and Wright feature only on Everton lists of infamy, Andy Gray is a 24 carat Goodison legend.And he took his last steps in competitive football for Cheltenham Town in 1990, after leaving Glasgow Rangers.Predictably he scored, seven times in 20 appearances for the then Conference club.

Royal Blue - The day Big Nev beat the Blues at Cheltenham
by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
Jan 5 2013
SO just how good was Neville Southall? The answer is, in his prime – by popular consensus during the late 1980s to early 90s – good enough to win a match against any opposition on his own!Proof comes from the first time Everton visited Cheltenham Town’s Whaddon Road ground – a venue they return to on Monday evening in the FA Cup.Everton have never met The Robins in a competitive fixture. But they did go to the Gloucestershire spa town in 1990 for a testimonial match.Big Nev switched sides for the night – and with him in goal the Conference club upstaged an Everton team containing internationals like Dave Watson, Norman Whiteside and Tony Cottee 1-0!It was a joint testimonial match for Nick Jordan and Ray Baverstock in April 1990 – and the clash was arranged by then Robins’ boss Jim Barron, who had been goalkeeping coach at Everton and worked closely with Southall.Cheltenham left-back that night, Kevin Willetts, described Southall’s performance as “incredible.”He explained: “He strolled into the dressing room before the game and said ‘we’ll win this tonight if we score, because nothing’s getting past me' – and he was right!“He took central defender Anton Vircavs, who was dominant in the air, to one side and told him to stay out of his way because he'd come and catch everything.“It was virtually Everton’s first team against Cheltenham Town so as to be expected they had a few shots, but Southall made it look easy and it was an unbelievable experience to see just how good he was.“Everton’s manager, Colin Harvey, had them straight on the bus after the game as he wasn't happy they'd lost and I am sure Yatesey (current Cheltenham boss Mark Yates) would settle for the same result for Cheltenham next week!”With Southall making the art of goalkeeping look easy, Cheltenham won a well contested match 1-0 courtesy of substitute Simon Brain's second-half strike, which stemmed from a long clearance from the Goodison legend.
CHELTENHAM TOWN: Southall; Whelan, Williams, Baverstock, Vircavs, Willetts, Burns, Boyland, Jordan, Buckland, Crowley. Subs: Nuttell, Purdie, Brain, Crouch.
EVERTON: Kearton; Atteveld, M Wright, Watson, Lyons, Whiteside, P Jones, Ebbrell, Powell, Cottee, Power. Subs: Ebdon, N Moore, Reilly.
Ref: R McBeth. Att: 3,050.

Cheltenham fan Mark Halliwell gives an insight of what Everton can expect
by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
Jan 5 2013
CHELTENHAM Town fan and blogger, Mark Halliwell, has given Everton fans an insight into what they can expect in the Glocuestershire spa town on Monday night.“We are a friendly club with a family ethos, and Everton fans coming down will get a warm welcome in the town and at the game,” he explained.“Your fans will be housed in the Hazlewoods Stand, a 1,100-seater stand behind one of the goals.“It is the last part of the ground to be modernised, and will provide you with a decent view and good acoustics for you to get behind your team. “Sorry we can’t give you more tickets – but I’m afraid Whaddon Road may be a little smaller than the grounds you are used to!“Everton fans can also rest assured that we are a footballing team.“No long ball stuff, no plans to try and kick our way to an upset – that is not (manager) Mark Yates’ style.As for the team, our goalkeeper Scott Brown has kept more clean sheets than any other League two keeper.“And our back four, Portuguese right back Sido Jombati, Billy Jones – a threat with corner and free-kick deliveries – and solid centre backs Alan Bennett and Steve Elliott are a good unit.“In midfield, we have former Birmingham and West Brom man Darren Carter alongside highly-rated Marlon Pack, a 21-year-old who was freed by Portsmouth and just missed out on last year’s League Two Player of the Year prize.“Out wide, Jermaine McGlashan and Kaid Mohamed both have pace and are capable of grabbing a goal.“And in attack, Yates can pick from four strikers, Shaun Harrad, Jeff Goulding, Darryl Duffy and Chris Zebroski.”Mark writes on www.cheltenham townchatter. blogspot.com and is on Twitter @MarkHalliwell1

Luke Garbutt factfile
by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
Jan 5 2013
LUKE GARBUTT began his career with Leeds United and was signed from their academy by Everton in 2009, for an initial fee of £600,000, set by a tribunal.He joined Cheltenham on-loan last season and made his debut in the Football League Trophy against Wycombe Wanderers.He played in the FA Cup third round against Tottenham, when Spurs triumphed 3-0 – and also proved to be something a free-kick specialist, like the man he is hoping to understudy in the Blues first team, scoring his first goal direct from a free kick at Macclesfield. That strike, on January 31, fired Cheltenham to the top of League Two. He has represented England at under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19 level.

Cheltenham old boy Luke Garbutt is plotting a win for Everton
Liverpool Echo
Jan 5 2013
LUKE GARBUTT has already made one Cup appearance for Everton this season – making his Blues debut in the Capital One Cup romp over Leyton Orient.But he will be denied a Cup double at a Whaddon Road ground he knows inside out by injury.That hasn’t stopped the promising youngster still trying to influence Everton’s progress, though!Garbutt enjoyed a successful loan spell with Cheltenham last season, making 36 appearances in which he helped guide The Robins to a League Two Play-Off final at Wembley.And he learned enough to be able to tip off David Moyes and his staff about any potential threat that Cheltenham, who are mounting another promotion charge this season, may pose.“I’ve been asked about Cheltenham’s threats and I’ve told the analysis people at Everton about the wide men Kaid Mohamed and Jermaine McGlashan, who are quick and direct,” he explained.“I have also told them about Marlon Pack, who is the ball player and Russ Penn, who likes to rat around and get in among teams.“But the gaffer has most teams nailed on anyway and he is very thorough, showing us clips and that sort of thing. He’ll expect Everton to be able to deal with Cheltenham.”If there is to be any upset – and the ESPN TV cameras will be present on Monday night hoping for the kind of shock Everton endured at Shrewsbury Town in David Moyes’ first full season – Garbutt believes the key will be the opening 20 minutes.“With Cheltenham at home they need to take the game to Everton early on and press high up the pitch,” he said.“Everton won’t sit back, but I think it could be a tight one and the result will probably depend on the team we put out.“If the gaffer brings in a couple of young lads like Ross Barkley and Shane Duffy we should still have too much, but you never know in the FA Cup. It would be great for Cheltenham if they could get a replay, but on the day I think it will be 2-1 or 3-1 to Everton.”Given a clean bill of health, Garbutt may well have been included in the squad for Monday’s Cup tie.Leighton Baines was rested when Everton faced non-League Tamworth in last season’s third round (although came off the bench to convert a late penalty) and earlier this season Garbutt was the player called upon to give Baines a break with Everton leading their Capital One Cup tie with Leyton Orient 4-0 down at half-time.It has been his only taste of senior action to date – but an ankle injury means he won’t get the opportunity to add to that on Monday.“My rehabilitation is going well, but I am still two weeks away from being back, so I won’t make the game unfortunately,” he added.“I was really pleased for the Cheltenham lads when the draw was made because they deserve it for doing so well over the past couple of seasons.“My loan spell there was massive for my development, playing regularly in the Football League with points at stake and it’s definitely helped me to become a better player.”The 19-year-old left-back’s ultimate aim is to impress David Moyes sufficiently to earn further first team exposure – but such is David Moyes’ burning ambition to progress in the FA Cup that the further the Blues go, the less chance of a key figure like Baines being rested.“The gaffer likes to go as far as he can in the FA Cup so he’ll definitely put out a strong team,” Garbutt said.

Barry Horne: Everton have been hugely impressive in the first half of the season
Liverpool Echo
Jan 5 2013
THE New Year started as well as the old one ended – a stunning victory at Newcastle following a win at West Ham, a comfortable victory against Wigan and a great performance against Chelsea.If there has been any negative to a hugely impressive first half of the season, it has been a failure to score the goals the approach play has merited – and an inability to finish games off during spells of dominance.That’s been a recurring theme in the poorer results we have had – at Reading, Fulham and against Chelsea when we could so easily have put some daylight between ourselves and them.Even as far back as West Brom, when we didn’t play them off the park, Marouane Fellaini missed a great chance to open the scoring.It is a stark reminder that missing chances will, more often than not, cost you dear – and that’s why strikers don’t come cheap.Everton started the calendar year brilliantly with the signings of Nikica Jelavic, Darron Gibson and Steven Pienaar on loan.A similar transfer window this month would set us up nicely for the rest of the season.Of potential concern would be the futures of Leighton Baines, Fellaini and Phil Jagielka.Jags’ contract extension would have been great news at any time , but especially now going into the transfer window. Of added concern is that our losses went from £5m to £9m.People get blase in football about figures because they are used to seeing ridiculous numbers. A top Premier League player can earn £5m or £6m in one year.But a loss of £9m is a significant figure by anybody’s standards, especially set against a turnover of £80m. And at a club like Everton, which is run properly as a very tight ship. That represents almost 10per cent of annual turnover.

Barry Horne: Essential Everton keep hold of Baines
Liverpool Echo
Jan 5 2013
NO-ONE wants to see anyone leave Everton this month – but newspaper speculation still surrounds Leighton Baines and Marouane Fellaini.If it had to be one, I’m afraid it’s a no brainer for me. Fellaini for £20m would presumably free up £10m plus for transfers and would keep our best player at the club.If you sell Baines, the affect is much greater than just losing a player.The combination play of Baines, Osman and Pienaar is so significant. You would be losing one great player, but also making the entire left side less effective.Bryan Oviedo may be an adequate replacement, but you would lose so much from others.

Cheltenham Town doc is Everton fan (but he's backing Robins in FA Cup)
Saturday, January 05, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
HE might have been a staunch Everton supporter since his days growing up in the North West.But Cheltenham Town team doctor Alistair Smith has promised he will cheering on the Robins when they meet the Premier League giants in Monday night's FA Cup tie. The 42-year-old dad-of-three has admitted to having split loyalties for the Whaddon Road clash.But after 20 years spent living in Gloucestershire and 16 working as team doctor – tending to injured players – he has adopted the club as his own.Alistair, a Stroud-based GP, said: "I started supporting Everton as a youngster when I was at school. At the time Liverpool were at their prime and so I suppose I was drawn to supporting the underdog."Theirs is still the first score I look out for in the results so when Cheltenham drew them in the FA Cup I was made up."But of course I'll be supporting Cheltenham – I don't think the gaffer would let me forget it if I turned up wearing my Everton blue!"He added that since moving south from St Helen's 20 years ago he had been drawn in by the family atmosphere at Whaddon Road and often took his three young daughters to home games."Cheltenham Town is a fantastic club and I think even if I wasn't team doctor I would still be coming down here to support them," he added."It's the kind of place where there are no big egos – everyone pulls together. Sadly the stadium is not often full, but when it is there is a great atmosphere and I'm sure it will be like that on Monday night."I'm hoping for a high-scoring draw so we can get a rematch back at Goodison Park where Cheltenham will win it on penalties."Also at the stadium for the highly-anticipated match will be brothers Ryan and Jed Dicks, from Cinderford, who won tickets through an Echo competition.Ryan, 13, who has been supporting the Robins for three years, said: "I'm really looking forward to it."It will certainly be the biggest game I have ever been to see at Whaddon Road."My prediction for the result is a 2-1 win to the Robins."Police have warned fans to park legally if they are coming to the sellout match, which kicks off at 7.45pm."Any vehicle causing an obstruction or parked illegally will be subject to enforcement action and, if necessary, towed away," said a force spokesman.There will be a free park and ride service running to and from the racecourse before and after the fixture. For more information go to www.ctfc.com

Scalping Everton would be Robins' greatest ever result – Yates
Saturday, January 05, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
MARK Yates says an FA Cup victory over Everton on Monday night would be the best result in the club's history.The Cheltenham Town boss played in the record-breaking run of 2001/02 when they knocked out higher division clubs Oldham Athletic and Burnley en route to a last 16 clash at West Brom, where they lost 1-0.He is now hoping to claim the biggest scalp in Cheltenham's 126-year existence and while he is under no illusions about the size of their task, he believes a major upset is possible."We need to be at the absolute top of our game and Everton will have to be off theirs, without a shadow of a doubt, but it's possible," Yates said."We know all about the quality they have, but we are at home and we have some good players ourselves."There will be a great atmosphere and it's been a while since our ground was sold out, so hopefully the supporters can help us achieve something and it's 11 men against 11 men."Yates' main concern is that his players "do themselves proud" against David Moyes' stars, who currently lie sixth in the Premier League."I will be trying to make sure my boys are relaxed and that they enjoy the whole experience and if they do that they'll give a good account of themselves," he said.

Ex-Robins loan star Garbutt wants to emulate highly-rated Baines
Saturday, January 05, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
LUKE Garbutt says there is no better left-back for him to be learning from than Everton star Leighton Baines.Garbutt spent last season on loan with Cheltenham Town, but he will miss out on a chance to return to the Abbey Business Stadium on Monday due to an ankle injury.The 19-year-old is two weeks away from fitness and he will be looking for another temporary switch to further his career development, with Baines currently rated as one of the best attacking full-backs in the world."It's obviously going to be difficult to wedge myself in the team with Leighton Baines there, but I learn so much from him," Garbutt said."I watch him closely every day in training and it's great for me to see first hand how he plays. I want to try and emulate his game and that's how I want to play as a left-back."I need to get myself fully fit and playing again and maybe I'll go out on loan to get more experience, push on and see where it takes me."Former Wigan man Baines joined Everton for £6 million in 2007.He scored a spectacular free-kick for Everton at Newcastle United on Wednesday night, levelling the scores before half-time after Papiss Cisse had given Alan Pardew's side an early lead.David Moyes' men went on to win 2-1 thanks to Victor Anichebe's winner on the hour.Garbutt said: "I think Leighton and Ashley Cole are now on the same level without doubt and he's kicked on massively this season."He is a top lad as well as being a great full-back and I'd say he's one of the best in the world."He is great with the young players and gets on well with everyone."He gave me some great advice when I made my first-team debut against Leyton Orient in the Capital One Cup earlier this season."

Cheltenham v Everton in the FA Cup - don't rule out sticky night for the Toffees
Saturday, January 05, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
THE Robins take a well earned break from league duties to take up an engagement in the FA Cup third round against Premier League side Everton on Monday night – a tie that will be beamed live to the nation from the Abbey Business Stadium.Mark Yates will therefore be keen for his side to put on a good show in front of the cameras, and the fact his side share the joint-best home record in League Two this season suggests they will prove a tough nut for David Moyes' Toffees to crack.As for how the bookies envisage the first-ever meeting between these two sides going, then it will come as no shock to learn that the hosts have been chalked up as Stan James' 10/1 underdogs – BetVictor go 13/2 for Yates' men to make the next round.However, punters not tempted about such odds may instead prefer Skybet's 5/2 for Cheltenham winning with a one-goal start on the handicaps.In other markets, it is interesting to learn that Everton have proven vulnerable in the early stages of a game, conceding no fewer than nine goals during the first quarter of an hour in all competitions this term.It is a statistic that adds value to bet365's 3/1 for Town shocking Moyes' men by scoring the tie's first goal, while the hosts are 15/2 (William Hill) to lead at the interval.Elsewhere Stan James flag up 22/1 for Cheltenham recording what would be a 'famous' 1-0 Cup upset, though some folk would be more than happy to see the Robins force a replay at BetVictor's 22/5, where a 1-1 full-time scoreline is 9/1 via Ladbrokes.With neither side really looking for a replay to damage their league programme, however, this could be an attacking encounter where 3.5 goals or more is 13/8 at bet365, where both halves to feature a goal is 8/13 (Paddy Power).In the goalscoring market, leading scorer Shaun Harrad is 12/1 at bet365 to net first and 7/2 (Skybet) to score at any stage, with Kaid Mohamed 5/1 to do likewise at Ladbrokes.Odds supplied by Betrescue: Open an account with Paddy Power via betrescue and claim a bonus of up to £50. See betrescue.com/freebets for details.

Duffy aiming to spring surprise against long-time pal Naismith
Saturday, January 05, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
DARRYL Duffy will be reunited with an old pal as Everton arrive to take on Cheltenham Town in the third round of the FA Cup on Monday night.Robins striker Duffy played representative football for Scotland with Toffees winger Steven Naismith.Both men are ex-Rangers players, although their paths did not cross at Ibrox.It was in the Scotland Under-21 and B squads that they played together and they have remained in touch since."I have know Nais for years, since I was 18, and we played together in various Scotland set-ups," Duffy said."He's gone on to play for Scotland at full level, which is great."When I was on loan at Hibernian a couple of years ago I caught up with him as he was still at Rangers then and it was good to see him."He's done so well for himself."I have not spoken to him since the draw was made, but I will try to contact him and see what he's got to say for himself and find out if he is playing or not!"Duffy went on as a substitute in Cheltenham's third-round trip to Tottenham Hotspur a year ago.He is hoping to retain his place in the starting line-up, despite failing to pierce the Oxford United defence in the 1-0 New Year's Day derby defeat."We've been lucky enough to draw two Premier League teams in two years so it would definitely be nice to start this one," he said."Me and Jeff (Goulding) tried to link up at Oxford, but they defended well."I can't remember having a shot on goal or even an opportunity to have a shot on goal so maybe I need to be more selfish, but you need the ball to do that."The pitch was heavy at Oxford, but it'll be better at our place so we can move the ball quicker and hopefully put in the type of performance we did against Wycombe on Boxing Day (4-0 win)."I have never been on the right end of a giant-killing in the FA Cup so it would be nice to put that right this time."Duffy described the job done by fellow Glaswegian David Moyes at Everton as "incredible"."I have watched a lot of them on TV recently and every season they seem to get better and add another dimension to their game," he said. "This year they look solid at the back, hard working and as soon as they lose the ball they win it back within ten seconds."They are one of the best form sides in the Premier League and it's a bit daunting, but there is no reason why we can't be one of the upsets that always happen in the FA Cup."

Cheltenham v Everton in Fa Cup: Elliott relishing opportunity
Saturday, January 05, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
STEVE Elliott knows how it feels to enjoy a positive result against Premier League high-fliers Everton. The experienced Cheltenham Town defender made regular appearances against the Merseyside club during his spell in the top flight with Derby County, marking the likes of Kevin Campbell, Francis Jeffers, Joe-Max Moore and Tomasz Radzinski.Elliott played at Goodison Park four times, but Monday's FA Cup third-round tie will be his first appearances against Everton on home soil."I remember going up to Goodison Park early in my career and getting a couple of draws there, but that was a long time ago now!" Elliott said."I played against them a few times back in the day and I will relish a chance to play against them again."We are not going to get ahead of ourselves and say we'll win because they have so many international players, but it's the FA Cup, and Whaddon Road gives us a better chance than at Goodison."We are all really looking forward to it and if we can create a bit of history, then great." Elliott could find himself marking the unmistakable figure of Marouane Fellaini.The Belgian has established himself as one of the most awkward customers to deal with in the top flight, netting eight times this season.Standing nearly 6ft 5in tall even without his trademark big hair, Fellaini is one of a kind, but Elliott believes some of the unusual physical specimens he deals with on a regular basis in League Two could help him cope with the threat of the 25-year-old."Everyone knows how strong Fellaini is, but you don't get many stronger than (Adebayo) Akinfenwa, I can guarantee that," Elliott said."But the big difference is that Fellaini is technically fantastic too and he's been one of most consistent performers in the Premier League over the past 18 months, so it will be a massive challenge."It would be great to pit my wits against him."Everton boss David Moyes can also call upon Croatian Nikica Jelavic, who has seven goals this season, and Academy product Victor Anichebe, who scored the winning goal in Wednesday's 2-1 victory at Newcastle United.Elliott is expecting Everton to field a strong side as they bid to go one step better in the competition than they did in 2009, when Moyes guided them to the final."If you look at the history of Moyes' teams in the FA Cup, it's very much their trophy and the one they go for," Elliott said."That means people like Fellaini and Jelavic are likely to play."Jelavic is an instinctive finisher, so with those two up front we'll have to be more than on our game to keep them quiet."Cheltenham have conceded 11 goals in 12 League Two games at the Abbey Business Stadium.Six of them came in heavy defeats by Southend United and Accrington Stanley, when Elliott was without his main defensive partner Alan Bennett."We have the best home record in League Two so we want to make it as hard as we can for Everton and keep it tight as we have been doing," he said.

GAELIC CAREER HELPED SEAMUS COLEMAN HIT THE £8M JACKPOT AT EVERTON
I missed out on a lot of the things and ¬opportunities which academy players in this country get.
Sunday Star
6th January 2013
By Garry Doyle
SEAMUS COLEMAN insists his youth career in Gaelic Football has turned him into a Premier League sensation. The Everton defender penned a new deal with the Toffees this week worth £8million over five years. And he reckons his rough ride to the top, where he played Gaelic Football with his local club until he switched codes at 18, is the main reason he has become so successful. Ireland international Coleman, 24, said: “I was certainly a late bloomer. You see young lads playing in the Premier League now at 17 and 18 – it is mad to think I was playing a different sport at that stage. “And because I never got across to ¬England until a relatively late age, I missed out on a lot of the things and ¬opportunities which academy players in this country get. “But maybe it was good for me in some ways. “Some young lads, who know nothing but academy football, take their careers for granted. “Well, that is one thing which you’ll never see me doing. “I’m very grateful for what I have. I have come up the hard way – but I wouldn’t swap the experience for anything. “Learning my trade with Sligo Rovers was the best education I could have got. You really ¬appreciate every penny you earn when you play for a club like that, where so many volunteers are working on your ¬behalf every week. “Plus, the League of Ireland is a good breeding ground for players – James ¬McClean’s emergence at Sunderland has proved that. “Basically, if you work hard enough in this game, anything is -possible.” And hard work is ¬certainly something which Coleman, who looks set to play some part in the FA Cup Third Round clash against Cheltenham tomorrow, does not shy away from. He added: “Some lads are born with loads of natural ability and maybe I wasn’t one of them – but I worked hard and luckily I’ve got where I wanted to be. “If you want it bad enough and there is some ability there, it can happen for you.” Another person who believes the ¬fairytale is only just starting for ¬Coleman is Goodison Park boss David Moyes. The Toffees chief said: “Seamus can ¬definitely get better. He isn’t at Leighton Baines’ standard just yet but Seamus is improving all the time. “His work ethic is tremendous. Once you have that, you can go a long way.” Coleman has also received backing from former Everton star Kevin Kilbane. The ex-Eire midfielder ¬reckons ¬Coleman can go a long way in the ¬Premier League and has also backed the Everton ¬defender to shine on the ¬international stage. He said: “I’ve known about Seamus for a long time – long before his debut at Everton. “When he came across to England he was raw – but the defensive part of his game is improving on a daily basis. “He has made mistakes but the good thing is that he is learning from them.

“And now that he is a regular for the Irish side, his performances for Everton are even more important.” Now that he has signed a new contract, ¬Coleman will be able to continue learning from Toffees ¬skipper Phil Neville. He said: “From day one, Phil has been giving me great advice on what to do on the pitch. He has a brilliant attitude and works so hard.”

MAROUANE FELLAINI WILL COST CHELSEA £30M
Sunday Star
Everton turned down £20m for Fellaini in the summer
6th January 2013
By Tony Stenson EXCLUSIVE
CHELSEA have been told they will have to pay £30million to sign Marouane Fellaini from Everton.
A source close to the Merseyside club say they can afford to play hard-ball over the Belgium midfielder because he still has over three years left on his contract. Everton turned down £20m for Fellaini, 25, in the summer and, despite posting a £9m annual loss last week, are trying to hold on to their asset. In fact, they have told Fellaini they intend to strengthen the side by going in for Scott Sinclair of Manchester City and £3m-rated Molde defender Vegard Forren, watched recently by David Moyes. Aston Villa and Sunderland also want 6ft 5ins Fellaini, one of the best headers of the ball in Europe, although he is also prone to the odd defensive mistake. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich hopes boss Rafa Benitez can use fellow Belgian Eden Hazard to persuade Fellaini to join him. Winger Sinclair, 23, has been told he can leave City despite signing from Swansea for £8m just six months ago. Molde manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the former Manchester United striker, has warned that Forren, 24, will not be cheap. Solskjaer is aware of their interest and said: “We have in mind that Everton may bid for Vegard. “There are plenty of clubs who have been to see him many times. We’ll see if anyone really wants him if they make a bid. But he will not be cheap.” Forren admits he would be interested in a move. “Everton are a great club,” he said. “I feel ready. I have had many great matches this season and it tempts me to take the next step.”

Everton bid to snatch Forren from Fulham's grasp with rival £4m offer
By Andy James
Daily Mail, 6 January 2013
Everton are believed to have had a £4million bid for Norway defender Vegard Forren accepted by his club Molde. Fulham reportedly made an offer for the 24-year-old on Thursday and Molde boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed Forren was set to leave the club. But, according to The Sun, Everton have now rivalled Fulham’s bid and are in pole position to wrap up Forren’s signature this week.

Draw incentive to beat Sunderland
Monday 7th January 2013 Bolton News
WANDERERS have been given a home draw against either Everton or Cheltenham Town should they come through their third-round replay at Sunderland. Dougie Freedman’s men face the difficult task of having to beat Martin O’Neill’s Premier League team at the Stadium of Light a week on Tuesday if they are to stay alive in the world’s oldest national knockout competition. Should they be successful, they will face the winners of tonight’s tie between David Moyes’ men and League Two’s fourth-placed side on the weekend of January 26/27. Wanderers came within an ace of disposing of Sunderland on Saturday when they performed admirably but let a 2-0 lead slip. Now they must produce something akin to the famous White Hot replay victory at Liverpool which went down in club history when Bruce Rioch’s men won at Anfield 20 years ago this month. And the irony is that, although tonight’s game is being played at Cheltenham, the probable fourth-round opponents of Wanderers or Sunderland will be Everton who the Whites beat 3-2 after extra time at Goodison Park on January 19, 1994, in the second of the famous White Hot trilogy.

Baines and Pienaar hold no fear for laid-back Jombati
Monday, January 07, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
THE prospect of trying to shackle one of the best left-sided combinations in the country holds no trepidation for Cheltenham Town right-back Sido Jombati. Everton's England international left-back Leighton Baines and South African star Steven Pienaar have attracted widespread praise for their Premier League performances. Jombati grew up watching Everton play on television in his native Portugal and until last season was playing non-League football with Weymouth, Basingstoke and Bath City. He now wants to test himself against the leading lights and he said he would be disappointed if David Moyes rests any of his biggest names. "Of course I want both of them to play because it's a chance to test myself and I think everyone else at Cheltenham will feel the same," Jombati said. "The best player I have played against so far was probably Aaron Lennon last season for Tottenham, who was so quick and a confident player as well. "Playing against players like this is good for me and good for the club." Jombati is full of admiration for the job Moyes has done in his decade at Everton, working with a relatively limited budget, but repeatedly guiding the club into the upper reaches of the top flight. "He took Baines, worked him out and made him the player he is now, helping him reach the England team," Jombati said. "He brought Pienaar back from Spurs and signed people like (Marouane) Fellaini and they are now two of the best players in the country. He signs lesser known players and makes them well known." Jombati generally prefers Saturday afternoon kick-offs to midweek matches, but he said tonight's televised game is one to savour, irrespective of when the action commences. "I usually like 3pm matches, but this one could be played at midnight or 1am, I wouldn't care!" Jombati said. "I know Everton will be dangerous and can win by two, three or maybe more, but I know we can do something special. "We want a draw, a lucky 1-0, or even a deserved 1-0 because I am confident in our ability and anything that is of benefit to the club will be great." Jombati knows promotion from League Two is Cheltenham's overriding priority this term, but he believes a positive performance against Everton can help further build confidence during the remaining months of his second season with the Robins. "If we play well, even if we lose, it will give us a lot of belief," he said. "We did well at Tottenham and if we do the same against Everton it will give us confidence for the rest of the season."

'We believe we can cause a Cup upset'
Monday, January 07, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
CHELTENHAM Town are capable of springing the biggest FA Cup upset in their history against Everton tonight, according to boss Mark Yates. Yates will urge his players to enjoy the occasion of a televised third round tie against five-time winners of the competition, while insisting that his charges will not be content to simply make up the numbers at a sold out Abbey Business Stadium.
An away tie at either Bolton Wanderers or Sunderland is the reward for the victors and Yates believes his side can cause an upset and progress through to the fourth round for only the third time in the club's history. He said: "There is an excitement around the place and rightly so, but we want to get through and beat Everton tonight, make no mistake about it," "We want to go as far as we can in the FA Cup and hopefully the fact we've been drawn against Everton doesn't mean the end of our run because we have the capabilities to cause an upset. "We want to enjoy it, but that doesn't mean we'll take a 2-0 defeat. "I want us to do all we can to give ourselves a chance and at home we have a shot. "There is going to be a crowd of about 6,900 and it's great for the public of Cheltenham to witness these stars in our own back yard because it's completely different to what we normally see. Hopefully we can scare them and knock them off their game, which will give us a chance."
Cheltenham have built up a favourable relationship with ever-present Premier League club Everton in recent years. Brothers Courtney and Tyrone Duffus from Hester's Way, joined the Merseysiders last season after shining in the Robins' youth set-up, while left-back Luke Garbutt arrived on long-term loan at Cheltenham. Having taken on the then Tottenham Hotpur boss Harry Redknapp a year ago, Yates said he cannot wait to go head-to-head with David Moyes. "Everyone regards him as one of the best managers around and quite rightly so," Yates said. "He has been there for more than ten years and they have been going along nicely. "I gather they are desperate to win something and it's up to us to try and stop them winning the FA Cup this year. "I have met him (Moyes) a number of times and he's been fantastic so it'll be great to pit my wits against him." Cheltenham are sweating over the fitness of midfielder Darren Carter, who twisted his ankle at Oxford United on New Year's Day, but Yates has no other injury worries. He and his assistant Neil Howarth went to watch Everton play at Newcastle in their 2-1 victory on Wednesday night. "Whoever plays, they will have quality in abundance and they are very professional, very pragmatic and we know they won't take us lightly because they've been very thorough in their preparations," Yates said. "We had the cameras here against Hereford in the previous round with people looking for a giantkilling of us, but hopefully now the neutrals want to see the underdogs win and we will certainly give it our best shot."

Moyes still haunted by the ghosts of previous Cup upsets
Monday, January 07, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
THE fact Everton have only lost three times in the Premier League this season puts into perspective the size of the task facing Cheltenham Town tonight. David Moyes' men are fifth, only two points behind European Champions Chelsea in the table, with 11 wins and five draws from their 21 top flight fixtures. But Premier League business will be put to one side tonight with Moyes insisting that the immediate priority is progress in the world's most famous cup competition. The long-serving boss has twice tasted the bitter taste of an FA Cup giant-killing during his Goodison Park tenure, with third round defeats to Shrewsbury in 2003 and Oldham in 2008. And Moyes knows that anything less than a professional performance from whatever side he picks tonight will bring about the possibility of another upset. "We want to go as far as we can in the FA Cup and we will be doing everything we can to get through," Moyes said. "We will not underestimate Cheltenham and we will have to go there and do a really good job if we want to get into the next round. "It's the next game and that's always our next priority. We have to go into the game and try and win it and then move on from there. "Cheltenham have done very well at home and they are a good side. "I watched them against Hereford in the replay and they are going well in their division. They have got a wee bit of confidence because they are playing well in their league. Moyes wouldn't be drawn on whether he would make changes to his settled Premier League side that gained two terrific away victories in the Premier League over the festive period. Everton claimed a 2-1 win at West Ham United immediately prior to Christmas and followed it up with another 2-1 success, this time at Newcastle United on Wednesday night. The Toffees boss admits there is the temptation to rotate his squad to give fringe players some game time, but that past Cup results may dissuade him from making wholesale changes. He still recalls with horror the defeat to Shrewsbury in his first full season in charge with that result likely to be top of mind when he comes to picking the side. Star names like Tim Howard, Phil Neville and Marouane Fellaini featured in the 2-0 home success against Conference side Tamworth last season, with the Toffees boss hinting that it will be the same tonight. "I'm still wary of what happened at Shrewsbury seven or eight years ago when we went out and when Oldham knocked us out as well, we have to make sure that doesn't happen," he said.
"There are no guarantees in football you have to go and earn the right to win any game you play.
"Our players have to play – that's what they're here for. Otherwise, they'll be thrust into the really big games without that experience. "You would like to play at home but when you see some of the real mouth-watering ties – there are some all-Premier League matches – at least we have got a tie where we are playing lower league opposition. "They have a little bit of an advantage because they are at home but I would hope that our experience and the players we have got can overcome it, albeit it's never going to be easy."

A win would be the best result in our history'
Monday, January 07, 2013
Gloucestershire Echo
How excited are you about the prospect of Everton playing at the Abbey Business Stadium tonight?
Very! It's not every day we get the opportunity to see clubs of Everton's stature in action at Whaddon Road, especially when they're flying high in the Premier League, so it will be an occasion to savour. The fact that the game is sold out and being played under the lights can only add to the excitement. What sort of team do you expect David Moyes to field? I'm sure Everton will fancy their chances of going all the way in the FA Cup this season, so I don't expect David Moyes to take Cheltenham lightly. I expect him to field a very strong side, which would make it even more satisfying for me if we end up getting something out of the game. Would you make any changes from the Oxford United match? I would bring in Kaid Mohamed and play Jeff Goulding as the lone striker, meaning that Daryl Duffy would have to miss out. How do you see the game unfolding, is an upset on the cards? As with Spurs last year, Everton are in good form at the moment, so this probably isn't the best time to be playing them. However, it may be a cliché, but the FA Cup really can be a great leveller, as Macclesfield and Luton showed on Saturday. Home advantage should also count for a lot, especially with our recent record at home, so you never know! Would a victory or even a draw be Cheltenham's best ever result? While I feel there have been a number of wins that have been more important in terms of the implications for the future of the club, I think a victory against Everton really would be Cheltenham's best ever result, given their respective positions in the football pyramid. What are your views on the Chris Zebroski departure? It's a shame things have come to this, as he's undoubtedly a talented player who could have played a key role in our promotion push. However, players know the standards of behaviour that are expected of them and Chris Zebroski seems to have fallen short of them on more than one occasion. I therefore feel the club had no choice but to take the action they did.

Sticky draw as Sunderland could face Everton
Monday 7 January 2013 Sunderland Echo
SUNDERLAND can expect to face bogey side Everton next in the FA Cup if they overcome Bolton in their third round replay on January 15. Whoever wins the tie will face the winners of the Cheltenham v Everton cup match – with the in-form Premier League side overwhelming favourites to get past the League Two outfit. David Moyes’ side, of course, knocked Sunderland out in a quarter-final replay last season, and Martin O’Neill will be looking for the chance to exact revenge.

Cheltenham Town boss Mark Yates says his side have to believe they can beat Everton FC in the FA Cup
Liverpool Echo
Jan 7 2013
MARK YATES says his Cheltenham side have to believe they can be giantkillers when Everton come to town tonight and insists they are not there just to enjoy the FA Cup third round experience.
David Moyes and his side of internationals head to the Cotswolds to face a side fourth in npower League Two in front of a 7,000 sell-out crowd and the ESPN cameras in what is the first-ever competitive senior meeting between the clubs. And Yates, whose Robins have one of the best home records in the division, is not content with thoughts of a few good memories and some positive exposure for the club. “We won’t be going out there saying ‘let’s just enjoy it and let’s take a 2-0 defeat’ and be happy with that,” he said. “We will go out there having planned and prepared properly and make sure the players do all they can to make sure we give ourselves a chance.
“It is only 11 v 11 and yes, they are Premier League players, but you never know. “After 60 minutes if we are 3-0 down we might not believe quite so much but right at this moment in time we have to believe we can do something. “The Cup has got a tradition of shocks, so why not? “We want to cause a shock and we know that is a big task. But we know we have the capabilities to do it.”

Memories of Shrews defeat raw for Everton FC boss David Moyes
Liverpool Echo
Jan 7 2013
EVERTON manager David Moyes will use the memory of his first ignominious FA Cup experience with Everton as motivation for tonight’s trip to Cheltenham. The Scot had been in charge at Goodison Park for 10 months when he took his side to Shrewsbury in the third round and saw former Toffees’ defender Kevin Ratcliffe, in charge of a side 80 places below in the lower reaches of the then third division, get the better of him. Moyes has never forgotten that result – or a home defeat to League One Oldham four years ago – and it always seems to spring to mind when Everton get drawn against lower league opposition around this time of year. Everton have already come unstuck this season against lower-placed opposition when Leeds beat them in the Capital One Cup. “I am more wary of what happened against Shrewsbury 10 years ago,” said Moyes ahead of the trip to the npower League Two side. “We went out then so it’s happened to us in the past. We have to make sure it doesn’t happen – although we were trying to do that then as well. “There are no guarantees in football, you have to go and earn the right to win the games. “You like to play at home but when you see some of the real mouth-watering ties which have come out – some all-Premier League clashes – I wouldn’t say we’ve been lucky but at least we have lower opposition. “It has not always been the easiest thing in the past, we have lost at places like Shrewsbury and we lost at home to Oldham so we’re well aware how difficult it will be, no matter who you draw. “You would expect Premier League players to have the extra quality but is their attitude right, are they prepared for what is to come? “The lower opposition tend to get themselves a little bit higher and more ready for it as it gives them a chance to showcase themselves and you have to be ready for that.”
Everton reached the 2009 FA Cup final and were denied a place in last year’s Wembley showpiece by near-neighbours Liverpool’s semi-final victory Moyes has yet to win a trophy in nearly 11 years at the club and the FA Cup, which the Toffees last lifted in 1995, remains one of his most sought-after targets even if he believes it has lost some of its appeal for other clubs. “We want to go as far as we can in the FA Cup,” he added. “We’ll not under-estimate Cheltenham and we’ll have to go there and do a really good job if we are to get through to the next round. “It is something where Everton have had success at times and it is a competition people would like you to be involved in. “We’ve been to one final, got to the semi-final last season so we’d like to do it again and get to the cup final.
“I think it has lost its excitement a little bit, as it goes on it gets better. “There is so much at stake now in the Premier League, there is so much coverage, so in a way the FA Cup has been put on the back burner. “I think it is a cup every team wants to win. “But if you really pushed the chairmen and managers of clubs they would say certainly doing well in the Premier League is the priority.”

Everton FC: David Moyes still keen to go all the way in FA Cup
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Jan 7 2013
THESE days the FA Cup third round stage inevitably sees managers asked if the historic competition is losing some of its former magic. And although boss David Moyes acknowledges that the Premier League must always be his overriding priority, he is keen as ever for the Blues to go all the way in the cup, even if he knows it does not offer the same vital financial incentives as the league.
“The next game is always the most important one, and we’ll try and use it like that,” he says.
“We enjoyed getting to the semi-final last year, we enjoyed getting to the final a few years ago so we’d love to try and do it again. “But obviously there’s still part of me that says, it looks like we’ll be a Premier League team next season which I think will always be first and foremost for most teams.
“It’s as important as any other game at the moment and we’ll try and treat it that way.
“The media come here every week and talk about the Premier League; the games, the full houses, the best league in the world etc. Then it’s a sudden change to the most important thing is the FA Cup. “All the managers treat the FA Cup with real significance but there are 12 or 13 teams who would shake your hand on going out of the FA Cup but being in the Premier League next season.
“You look at the financials. We had a pretty good run last season, played Liverpool in the semi-finals and there’s no sign of that. “It’s not the big money-spinner. The big money-spinner is the cheque you get from Sky for being in the Premier League. Nobody is disrespecting the FA Cup whatsoever but that’s the hard facts of it. “There have been a lot of Premier League games this week. Everyone’s saturated with the games, it’s coming just off the back of saturation. But I suppose it’s always the way this time of year when the third round comes in anyway.”

After 10 years at Everton FC, Victor Anichebe is finally finding his feet
by Greg O'Keeffe
Jan 7 2013EVEN Victor Anichebe laughs at the long-standing Finch Farm gag which suggests David Moyes is his dad. The good-natured wind-up is based on the Everton manager’s long-term patience and support of a striker he has known since he took over at Goodison more than 10 years ago. It is easy to forget that although only 24, the powerful forward has been on the Blues first-team scene for almost seven years himself – and has been at the club since he was a boy. Like any genuine paternal relationship, Moyes has had his ups and downs with the Crosby-raised striker, but has taken extra pleasure in signs he is finally ready to come of age this season. The Toffees manager needs no reminding that Anichebe has managed only 147 appearances in seven and a half seasons, but with five goals in 12 outings so far this term – and a renewed work ethic and self-belief – Moyes sees signs that the Nigerian international is ready to take responsibility for himself. Anichebe made his first team debut in the early rounds of the 2006 FA Cup, and will be involved again tonight as Everton start their involvement in this year’s competition with a tricky tie at League Two side Cheltenham. “Victor’s biggest problem is he has not played often enough,” says Moyes as he ponders how to use Anichebe at Whaddon Road. “It’s mainly down to injury. If he gives himself a real chance and gets down to playing, he will find he will enjoy it more. “He lacks a bit of self-confidence at times and the way we are trying to give him that confidence is by saying ‘You’re good – keep playing well and we will keep playing you’. We’ve been trying to do that. There have been times when we have been biting our lip, but we have said ‘Keep going, we are not giving up on you, we want you to try and become a proper player’. “It’s for him to see himself valued as part of the team because he’s an important part of the team. You see the way people have taken ownership of their position at the club – Jagielka and Baines. For Victor who has been here since a boy, he’s not really done that. “He could do with realising ‘I am one of these who in the future will tell the others what to do at Everton, where to go and how things work’. He has to look to be like that.
“He knows the way I work. He’s been with me for the 10 years. He should know more than anybody how the wheel sort of turns here.” Anichebe netted on his return from another injury this season in the important win against West Ham on December 22, then scored the winner against Newcastle last Wednesday. At the same time the 6ft 3in forward displayed a surprisingly relentless new work-rate, and Moyes was pleased with his efforts. “I thought against Chelsea he worked really hard,” he says. “I had mentioned to him before it that he had to step it up a bit, I thought he had. He was unlucky not to start the game against Newcastle but he came on and made an impact. What we have not had in recent games is someone off the bench who can come on and make an impact. It was important that he did. “He came on and got a goal and played well. When he went up front for the last 10 minutes he held it up, and went on a few runs. We have mentioned it to him that out there he has to show physically how he is working and make everyone notice. “He’s got a great ability with his strength, power and he’s quick. There has been a lot of centre forwards with similar attributes who have gone to have really good and long careers.” At St James’ Park there were signs of Anichebe developing an understanding with Everton’s first-choice centre-forward Nikica Jelavic, but Moyes is unsure whether the two will persist as a pair regularly. “It depends where we play Fellaini,” says the Scot. “Victor can play in a couple of positions. As a wide forward, through the middle… so we are trying to use him the best we can. “At times he tends to drift a little wide without being asked to do so. It’s something we have to be mindful of when we play him and how we think best to play him.” Moyes insists the win over a Newcastle side with proving goal-scoring progress was a solid way for his men to start the new year. “It was an important victory for us because we were a bit unfortunate to lose to Chelsea and could easily have gone up to Newcastle, who to be fair had scored three at Man United and three at Arsenal, and they looked like they were coming into form,” he says. “But I thought we played well and deserved our victory. Hopefully it gets us into the year in a good fashion, and we can try and keep the momentum going into the next month or two.”

Everton FC: David Moyes set to decide on Ross Barkley loan move
by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Jan 7 2013
DAVID MOYES admits he faces a dilemma in helping Ross Barkley fulfil his Everton first-team potential. The Blues boss recalled the gifted teenager from a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday in November as injuries reduced his midfield options, but insists it is not easy to blood him in high-pressure Premier League games. Moyes is set to give Barkley, 19, a chance to shine in tonight’s FA Cup third round tie against League Two outfit Cheltenham Town, but will not rule out loaning him out again in January to help his development. He said: “We have to remember he is a young boy and we’re bringing him on. He missed a bit of football but I will continue to edge him nearer to our first team. When the right opportunities come and I think it’s the right time, I will do that.
“If I don’t get him enough of them I will put him back on loan. That’s my thoughts. Probably people can see where he is needing the games and where he is still needing more experience. The boy is going to be a very good player but he is still young and still young maturity wise and we have to be wary of that. “We’ve no problem with boys making mistakes, but you don’t want to make mistakes that cost the team, especially when we are in such a good position. It’s something I have to balance. When can I give him the opportunities when maybe the mistakes aren’t so important? If I can’t find those times then I will have to let him go back on loan and let him learn more somewhere else.”
Moyes will assess whether he is able to further reinforce his midfield during this month’s transfer window before he makes a decision on Barkley’s short-term future, but thinks the spell at Hillsborough – when the England U-21 international scored four goals in 13 appearances – helped him to mature. “He came back a much better player,” said Moyes. “He had more maturity about him and the games did work for him and help him. We have to remember he is just 19 and we should not expect too much, too soon from him. Everyone builds him up and they need to take a step back and let him come on. We’ll get him in the team when we think he is ready.
“Some come on sooner than others. Players develop at different times and we have to see where. Because we developed the likes of Wayne and Jack there’s a clamour to see it again, but they’re not all the same. They come along in different ways. “The big thing for Ross was at 15 he missed over a year of development with a broken leg and hernia operation, so he missed a lot of personal development at that age.” Seamus Coleman should be fit for tonight, but Kevin Mirallas is not yet ready.

Phil Jagielka aims to finish his career with Everton FC
by Greg O'Keeffe
Jan 7 2013
PHIL JAGIELKA wants to end his career at Everton FC. The England defender signed a contract extension last week which means he will remain at Goodison until 2017 when he will be 34, but Jagielka hopes he will continue in a blue shirt until he is ready to hang up his boots. He said: “I hope so. I really enjoy playing here. It wasn’t a long discussion to extend my contract here, I was delighted to do so. I’m proud to be part of this club and especially if we keep forward the way we are at the moment, maybe there’ll be another contract extension in a few years to come. “With the sports science, the equipment, the fitness coaches and the physio team around us, it does help you progress further. Sylvain (Distin) is a fantastic professional. You wouldn’t think he was the age he is – you’d think he would be close to 10 years younger with the way he plays and that’s a credit to him.“You look at Phil Neville as well, he’s not the youngest and he recently played his 500th Premier League game. If you can keep yourself fit and on top of your game like Sylvain has been doing, I’m sure he has another year or two in him. “I love being here and the club have obviously not minded extending my deal for another two years so I’m looking forward to the future.” The Sale-born defender said that securing key players on long-term deals is important to bolster the stability of David Moyes’ squad. “We’re not able to go into the transfer market and buy lots and lots of players every time the window opens, so when we do get key players and good players in the squad, we want to keep them for as long as possible,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of options and we’ve got a group of players that have been here a while now. We’re so close as a unit and we’ve got a lot of players with attacking flair that can score goals and create chances. “We’ve got a good blend of young and old, so the squad is definitely up there. We’ve had a good start to the season and hopefully we can have a good rest of the campaign and progress from there – not only this season, but I’ve signed for a few years and I hope we go further up the league and be in this situation year-in, year-out. “Just before I came, Phil and Tim Howard had been a year to 18 months. Obviously we had Tim (Cahill) then before he left in the summer. “Then you’ve got myself, Bainesy – this is our sixth season here. Ossie and Hibbo have been here all the time. “So there’s a lot of lads that have been here over five years which is a long time to stay at a club these days. I think it proves on the pitch, when we do need to dig in, everybody knows each other that well that it makes it a little bit easier.” With the Blues in fifth place in the Premier League, Jagielka admitted that the possibility of a return to European football is driving them on – especially after avoiding their previous habit of bad starts to the season. “I think the disappointment of the starts of so many seasons has meant that you’re sort of deflated before you’re even 10 games in,” he said. “This season we’ve managed to keep ourselves in with a chance. We’ve not been this high up with as many points around Christmas for a long time. I wouldn’t say pressure starts taking a place but it’s a nice pressure. Rather than looking behind us thinking we need to win to stay out of the bottom three, it’s a case of playing a day late at Newcastle and the pressure being on to stay with the leaders. “That’s a lot better and I’m sure if you asked the lads in the dressing room, it would be something that we all wanted.
“The march towards a European place is motivating us, but we’re not looking too far ahead.
“The manager has said that and we haven’t got the biggest of squads so we have to take it basically each game at a time. At the moment, that’s not working too badly for us.”
Trotters or Black Cats?
SHOULD Everton negotiate their FA Cup third round tie at League Two Cheltenham tonight, they will face a trip to Premier League Sunderland or Championship Bolton. The Blues won 2-0 at Sunderland in last season’s quarter-final, courtesy of a Nikica Jelavic strike and a David Vaughan own goal.
The replay at the Stadium of Light will be on Tuesday, January 15, and the fourth round tie will be on the weekend of January 26/27.

Anger management: If Fellaini can curb his short temper he'd be a contender for Footballer of the Year
7 Jan 2013 Daily Mirror
This question mark over the giant Belgian's temperament is just about the only negative about him and he has been exceptional since he joined Everton Potential world beater: But Fellaini must remain calm on the pitch
With his Afro like something out of the Hair Bear Bunch and standing at over 6ft 4ins tall, Marouane Fellaini is hard to miss. And David Moyes claims he has become even more of a target because of his recent three-match ban. Fellaini showed signs of a suspect temperament when he reacted to Stoke's physical approach by butting Ryan Shawcross last month. In that split second he revealed to all his opponents that the way to stop this enormously-gifted midfielder is to wind him up.
Moyes knows this and it was interesting hearing him last week urging Fellaini to learn from Lionel Messi. Messi is tiny compared to Fellaini and is regularly buffeted by defenders, who think they can muscle him out of games. Still Messi keeps his cool and answers their roughhouse tactics in the best possible way by scoring. Moyes wants Fellaini to display the same unflappable attitude and it is something that comes with age. Wayne Rooney had to learn this lesson as a hot-headed teenager and despite his red card against Macedonia, is less prone to being wound up now than he once was.
Fellaini must develop this outer calmness as well, regardless of the provocation. This question mark over the giant Belgian's temperament is just about the only negative about him and he has been exceptional since he joined the club in 2008. His performances for Everton mean he should be a candidate for the Footballer of the Year award. He always had the ability and I feel the difference in 2012 was that he added consistency to his game. Fellaini is well on his way to becoming world class and he has been Yaya Toure's equal this season. Like Toure, he is equally adept screening his back four or getting forward, creating opportunities and scoring. He is the complete package as a player and worth in excess of £30million in today's transfer market. Like I've said, the only query about him is his attitude and he can answer that by keeping his head from now on. So far, he looks like he has learnt his lesson and Moyes could not have been more stinging in his condemnation for his behaviour at Stoke. Fellaini apologised at the time for his moment of madness and was penitent again in an interview he gave in Belgium last week. He is saying all the right things and now it's up to him to do all the right things on the pitch.

QPR and Sunderland to stay with Champions League chasing Everton
By Paul Collins
January 7 2013-Daily Mail
Sylvain Distin is likely to reject any overtures from Queens Park Rangers and Sunderland.
The 35-year-old Everton defender has been outstanding this season and is out of contract in the summer. However, the towering Frenchman is happy to bide his time as Everton also assess making a new contract offer. Manager David Moyes is keen to strengthen his defence and bring down the age of his squad generally but recognises Distin is one of his most dependable performers.
Distin wants to stay at Goodson and is comfortable keeping his options open until the summer when he knows he will have other offers to choose from. QPR and Sunderland want to bolster their defences now as they strive to fend off relegation and move up the table. They would be willing to offer a fee and two year deal but Distin is enjoying Everton’s push for Champions League football.
The likelihood is both clubs will be forced to look elsewhere this month.

Everton youngster extends Brentford loan
Monday, January 7, 2013
London 24
Transfer News: Brentford have extended the loan of Jake Bidwell from Everton until February 27.
The 19-year-old joined the Bees in August and has had the deal extended several times and is one of the first names on the team-sheet. The full back is eligible to play in the FA Cup and should Brentford beat Southend, he will be in line to face Chelsea.

A decade since Shrewsbury defeat can Everton avoid a similar FA Cup fate at Cheltenham?
January 7 2013
David Moyes takes his side to Whaddon Road for a potential banana skin tie with Cheltenham Town on Monday night. With the competition his best chance of silverware this season he will be looking to avoid a similar fate from ten years ago. The FA Cup this weekend as always delivered many upsets, close-calls and Premier League exits. Newcastle United were dumped out by Brighton, Wolves were sent packing by Luton Town while Matthew Barnes-Homer put paid to Cardiff City as Macclesfield advanced to the fourth round. There is just one game left to be played in the third round and it sees an intriguing tie between Everton and Cheltenham Town at Whaddon Road. On paper it should be an easy victory for The Toffees but a trip down memory lane to a decade ago will give David Moyes men all the trepidation they need to avoid a cup upset. On January 4th 2003 the venue was Gay Meadow and the lower league opposition was Shrewsbury Town. Managed by former Everton skipper and club legend Kevin Ratcliffe the unfancied side went out and dominated the game. If it was not for a superb performance by Richard Wright in the Everton goal than the likes of Luke Rodgers and Ian Woan would also have seen their names on the scoresheet. However it was a double from Nigel Jemson that did the trick in what is now one of the most memorable FA Cup upsets in recent history. That was Moyes first ever FA Cup tie as Everton boss and he did not take it lightly. The likes of Alan Stubbs, David Weir, Thomas Gravesen and a young Wayne Rooney all featured; and toiled in defeat. The comparisons with their opposition on Monday night are evident. Same lower league standing and similar stadia. These factors will keep Moyes on his toes ahead of the fixture; as well as causing slight flashbacks to that fateful day. There are no survivors from that Everton side still playing in the team ahead of this tie. In fact the only connection you can make from the current Everton troupe and that fixture is with Phil Jagielka; his brother Stephen came on in the 81st minute for The Shrews on that occasion. In David Moyes eyes he will hope that is exactly where the connection between this fixture and that one ends. The Scotsman is desperate to win silverware to finally add gloss to his sensational career on Merseyside and in recent years the FA Cup has been a haven for Everton and remains their best chance of success this year after an early exit from the League Cup. Cheltenham Town certainly have some quality; the likes of Darren Carter and Alan Bennett are punching below their weight in League Two so Everton should be wary of being over-confident ahead of this tie. David Moyes will certainly be reminding his players of what happened when they took fourth tier opposition for granted a decade ago.

January 2013 - Week 1 (1st - 7th)

All News Articles throughout each month.....

Everton Independent Research!