Everton Independent Research Data
Everton FC 1 Stoke City 0: Greg O'Keeffe sees the Blues climb the table after beating Stoke
Nov 1 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
AT TIMES over the last six months Ayegbeni Yakubu has looked like he had a mountain to climb to resurrect his Everton career. Sometimes that mountain seemed like Kilimanjaro, and the Nigerian seemed like a one-armed climber with a phobia of heights. Short of confidence, and frustratingly short of fitness after a disappointing World Cup, it was natural to wonder whether Goodison would ever rock once again to chants of ‘Feed the Yak and he will score’. But ever since David Moyes sent the Yak and his team-mates up a mountain in the Lake District to prepare for the Merseyside derby, the striker has been a man re-born. There were signs before that emphatic victory over Liverpool, that Yakubu had started to turn things around. His performances against Fulham, and then Birmingham showed plenty of promise.
Now the former Middlesbrough man has taken that promise and turned it into the only currency that matters for strikers – goals. David Moyes has two thorough-bred strikers in his stables in Yakubu and Louis Saha, but to his eternal frustration he has to juggle them continually to try and get a string of games from either. Louis Saha’s week started with a family bereavement, so he can receive no criticism for struggling to train consistently, but when he then reported another injury, this time a thigh strain, there was perhaps a little exasperation as well. Obviously the Frenchman does not relish watching from the sidelines. He would rather be fit and playing, but he could perhaps take the robust example of his striker partner. Yakubu has rediscovered his mental strength, and for an athlete of his physique, he has finally rediscovered the bustling strength, and bursts of power on the pitch that should come naturally.
The Yak took heed of Moyes’ pre-match demand for goals from strikers, by creating his own – the first time he has scored for the Blues since a strike against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park in April last season. His solitary strike in the 67th minute was enough to grab the Blues a result which Moyes had insisted was crucial before the game, a springboard from which to attack a run of games against Blackpool and then Bolton Wanderers which could see Everton jostling for a spot in the European qualifying places. Three points against a characteristically bruising, resolute and prodigiously hard-working Stoke side have already propelled the Toffees to eighth place, only two points behind star-studded Tottenham. Tony Pulis’ outfit might not have proved the accepted wisdom that their style is evolving beyond just long balls and set-pieces, but such was their relentless endurance and defensive discipline that this result was still every bit as rewarding as that first win of the season in Birmingham. The Blues rode their luck at times. Pulis was entitled to argue the toss over a goal for Tuncay, disallowed by Lee Probert for a supposed shove on Leighton Baines as the defender and forward challenged for the ball. But Probert can certainly face no accusations of being a homer. The official ignored plenty of illegal rough-stuff from the visitors, and turned a blind eye whenever Tim Cahill was battered in the penalty area. The Aussie is tough enough to look after himself, and give what he receives in the physical stakes, but Probert was wrong to afford him zero protection. Likewise, the impressive travelling Stoke support would be entitled to expect more adventure from their side which included the subtler talents of Matthew Etherington and Tuncay Senli. Moyes will take particular satisfaction from victory over a team his charges would have struggled against in their difficult start to the season, when a draw to Wolves at home and defeat by Newcastle left everyone feeling flat. Yakubu indicated his renewed work ethic and fitness early in the game, cleverly drawing a ninth minute foul which gifted the Blues a free kick that Mikel Arteta wasted. But it was end to end in the first half, and a bungled clearance when Sylvain Distin’s hoof hit Arteta, saw the ball drop to Jones who blasted wide. Stoke were defending supremely. They denied Everton each loose ball and cleared their line impressively, constantly closing down and pressing, with effectively four big, tough centre backs across their back line. And despite having the majority of possession, the Blues nearly conceded with half time approaching. Stoke won a corner, Tim Cahill missed his clearance, and Abdoulaye Faye was caught off guard when the ball dropped to him, lashing his shot wide. Stoke wasted another glorious chance via Ryan Shawcross in the second half, and Everton should have opened the scoring themselves through
But the stage was set for the Yak’s timely cameo. With Everton’s attacking threat diminishing, Moyes acted decisively. Louis Saha entered the contest for Coleman, to provide two recognised centre-forwards on the field.
It worked a treat. Yakubu did splendidly to rob Faye, and guide the ball back to Tim Cahill who struck the post with a terrific shot. The big Nigerian pounced on the loose ball, turned Ryan Shawcross sharply and almost ripped the net with a thumping finish.
Whisper it ever so quietly but Everton appear to have survived their woeful start relatively unscathed, thanks in part to the tight Premier League table.
Add further goals from Yakubu to their ever improving performances, and Moyes’ mountaineers could yet prove capable of leaving their Euro rivals gasping in their wake. ”I think if you work hard, the supporters appreciate you, your team-mates appreciate you and I think Yak’s certainly improved his work and he’s beginning to probably feel more confident in himself.” DAVID MOYES hails the Yak.
“I’m really disappointed with the disallowed goal. It looks a very poor decision which has gone against us again. It was a very even game and in tight games you get opportunities and you have to take them. I’m certainly not blaming the ref for the goal Everton scored.” TONY PULIS feels the frustration factor after a close contest.EVERTON (4-4-1-1): Howard, Neville (capt), Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Heitinga, Arteta, Pienaar, Coleman (64, Saha), Cahill, Yakubu (Bilyaletdinov, 86). Not used: Mucha, Hibbert, Beckford, Gueye, Rodwell.
STOKE(4-4-1-1): Begovic, Huth, Shawcross, Collins, Wilson (Whelan, 77), Whitehead, Walters (Pennant 74), Faye, Etherington, Tuncay, Jones. Not used: Nash, Higginbotham, Whelan, Gudjohnsen, Delap,Wilkinson.
GOALS: Yakubu (67)
CARDS: Booked – Wilson (61), Baines (65)
REFEREE: Lee Probert.
ATTENDANCE: 35,513.
Yakubu: Winning goal against Stoke was for Everton FC fans
Nov 1 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
YAKUBU dedicated his match-winning strike against Stoke to the Everton fans who stood by him through a six-month goalless spell. The Nigerian forward struggled for form and fitness at the start of the season, following a disappointing individual World Cup campaign for his national team in South Africa. But he has worked hard to rediscover his edge, and the 27-year-old capped another impressive display with a fine 67th minute goal to settle a tight contest in Everton’s favour on Saturday.
With the Blues now unbeaten in five Premier League games and up to eighth in the table, Yakubu insisted they can begin to dream of European qualification once again.
He said: “It’s not going to be easy but we want to play in Europe next season. We’re used to Europe and playing Wednesday and Sunday. But hopefully we can start picking up some points and get there again. There’s a long way to go. “It’s been so, so long since I scored. The fans have been really, really good to me. They believe in me, even when I’m not scoring. I appreciate that and I dedicate my goal to the fans.
“It was tough. It’s never easy playing Stoke. They have massive defenders, and fight for every ball, so it was a big three points. “As a striker sometimes you have chances, which you have to take. I was there to score it and its been really good for me. It’s given me more confidence and hopefully I’m going to score goals. “I think my fitness is really good and better than last season. Hopefully I can help the lads achieve something this season as a team.” Yakubu admitted he must maintain his fine form to keep his place in the team, with Louis Saha approaching full fitness again and Victor Anichebe edging closer to a return. He said: “There’s always tough competition when you play for Everton. You have to fight for your place, and when the manager gives you a chance you have to take it. We have good strikers. Even when I don’t score, Tim Cahill and Louis Saha are there. We work and fight as a team. “We know when we are in the bottom three that we are under pressure. But we know we had good enough players to turn things around. We’ve done it in the past and we don’t want to stop. We must train hard, carry on fighting and hopefully be happy at the end of the season.” The former Middlesbrough striker benefited from a morale-boosting day of mountain climbing before the recent Goodison derby, and said that change in routine, coupled with a desire to mend bridges back home in Nigeria, has helped fire his season. He said: “After the World Cup when I missed those chances, people back home wanted to almost kill me. They were saying so much about me in the country.
“But when I go back to my state they appreciate me playing for the national team, and I went to meet the governor which was good. “The mountain climbing was tough. To climb the mountain in one hour, 30 minutes, my legs were gone. It was hard work but it helped get us the result so it was great.”
Everton FC 1, Stoke 0: Yakubu winner well worth waiting for
Nov 1 2010 by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post
NEVER mind no Goodison striker scoring in the Premier League so far this season, Evertonians had been waiting over three years to see this kind of goal from Ayegbeni Yakubu. Since arriving for a then club-record £11.25million from Middlesbrough in August 2007, the Nigerian’s time on Merseyside has certainly been an eventful one.
The rollercoaster ride started with a debut strike at Bolton followed by the seemingly inevitable barren spell. Despite being dropped for a late return home from the African Cup of Nations, Yakubu still managed to finish his first season in a royal blue jersey as the only Everton player to break the 20-goal barrier during the Premier League era.
The following November, Yakubu suffered an Archilles tendon injury at White Hart Lane and although he returned to competitive action some nine months later, David Moyes warned it might be some time before the player was back to his best.
Question marks still remain as to whether the 27-year-old remains capable of recapturing the prolific kind of form that saw him net 100 goals in his first five years in the English game but against Stoke Yakubu did show one new string to his bow.
Incredibly this was the first time he had netted ‘a winning goal’ for Everton in a Premier League game. Among Yakubu’s 33 Everton goals there had been a couple of hat-tricks and various efforts in matches that proved to be one-goal victories for Moyes’ men. But never before in 38 months with the club had Yakubu scored the decisive strike in a top flight game when the scores had been level. For a striker who has been accused of keeping his goals quota ticking over with less-meaningful efforts while failing to deliver at crucial times, this was clearly a significant breakthrough.
Although Yakubu’s goalscoring record leading up to his transfer to Goodison Park was impressive, ever since he first became an Everton player, he has had to overcome a series of obstacles and accusations. Chiefly, he has been branded as being almost the antithesis of a ‘typical Moyes player’. Many have cried, ‘He doesn’t work hard enough, he’s not fit enough, he never stays anywhere longer than a couple of years’ and then of course there’s the great stereotypical stick to beat African players with ‘he’s older than the records say he is.’ Throw in a career-threatening injury and two derisory bids from West Ham this summer – the second reputedly lower than the first! – and it’s obvious that the ride has not always been a smooth one for ‘The Yak’.
Like all strikers he can blow hot and cold when it comes to finding the net – Saturday’s winner ended a 10-game barren spell playing for Everton and there have been other longer droughts. But for all his trials and tribulations, Yakubu still remains Moyes’ most dependable centre-forward. For all his brilliance, Louis Saha’s body is too fragile for the rigours of an entire English campaign and despite an impressive display of goal-scoring range in pre-season, Jermaine Beckford is yet to step up to the mark in the top flight after terrorising League One defences for the past few seasons.
For a club that prides itself on its rich tradition of ‘number nines’, Everton have lacked a serious penalty box plunderer for two decades now. While admittedly lacking in some natural talent down the flanks, Moyes more or less has everything else at his disposal now in the strongest Everton squad of his eight-and-a-half year tenure.
As footballers, this is ‘The School of Science’s’ most gifted bunch of individuals since Howard Kendall’s two-time champions of the 1980s. Yet for all their fancy flicks and deft touches, Moyes’ maestros continue to labour somewhat against the Premier League’s more ‘agricultural’ outfits. You almost sense that this Everton side are more comfortable at times against the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur than they are when welcoming teams such as Wolverhampton Wanderers, Newcastle United and now Stoke City. Moyes has undoubtedly seen his side evolve in the brand of football they play during his significant time at the club but in many ways Pulis’ Stoke team have several similarities to the Everton teams during the Scot’s early years at Goodison Park. Tough, resolute competitors who are difficult to break down, they are a force greater than the collective sum of their parts. As such, this was never going to be a stroll in the park for the hosts. Everton started brightly enough but despite plenty of possession there was little purpose and the dreaded ‘lack of cutting edge’ again showed. Stoke’s only efforts came from self-inflicted errors from the home side with Kenwyne Jones blazing over the bar after Sylvain Distin and Mikel Arteta fluffed a clearance when both swiping at the ball at the same time while Abdoulaye Faye was off target with a header at the back post after Everton failed to deal with a Matthew Etherington corner-kick. At the other end, Yakubu should have done better with a tame effort after being played in by Steven Pienaar who also shot straight at Asmir Begovic after working an opening for himself. The South African may have built up a good understanding with full-back Leighton Baines on the left flank but on the other wing, Phil Neville and Seamus Coleman still have work to do in their fledgling partnership. Both worked hard to get forward at every opportunity with the captain unfortunate not to do better when Faye blocked his shot after he had popped up in the inside-right berth but on several occasions the pair seemed to be making runs that were too similar. After the break home fans feared that their side were being dragged down to Stoke’s ‘rough and tumble’ level by both the opposition and referee Lee Probert’s pernickety performance. However, there were sighs of relief when the Wiltshire official blew his whistle as Tuncay bundled the ball past Tim Howard into the Everton net after the Turk had debatably pushed Baines. The penalty box expertise that did matter came midway through the second period, shortly after Moyes had replaced Coleman with a second striker in the shape of Saha. Tim Cahill’s initial shot struck the foot of Begovic’s left-hand post but Yakubu was on hand to open up the Stoke defence and fire into the roof of the net. The Yak is back but he and Moyes’ other strikers now have to remain sharp if this talented Everton side are to fulfil their full potential.
Phil Neville's leadership skills pulled Everton FC through tough spell - Tim Howard
Nov 1 2010 by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post
EVERTON goalkeeper Tim Howard believes that the leadership skills of captain Phil Neville were a key factor in their side’s hard fought 1-0 victory over a dogged Stoke City as the skipper made his 600th senior appearance. Despite winning all of the game’s major honours with Manchester United in an illustrious career at Old Trafford spanning over a decade, Bury-born Neville has subsequently become a highly-respected figure in Merseyside football after being handed the arm band at the Goodison Park outfit. The last 214 appearances for the 33-year-old have come in an Everton jersey and Howard reckons that the example that Neville provides his team-mates is crucial. Since the skipper returned to Premier League action following his opening day injury at Blackburn, David Moyes’ men have embarked on a five-match unbeaten run. Howard said: “There’s a big trust factor. He does what he always says he’s going to do. He’s reliable and he’s there. “Every time you look up he’s there, doing the right things, saying the right things and putting the work in. “If you have somebody on the field doing that and putting in consistent performances it’s important.”He added: “Phil’s done a great job picking the right times to pick guys out and yelling at guys – getting a reaction is the best way to explain it.
“He doesn’t do it every once in a while, he does it every week. The big games, the training ground matches – everything. “In games like the Stoke one, that are tough and rumble tumble you expect your captain to do that, that’s his job but like I keep saying he goes above and beyond that.” Howard believes that Neville’s temperament has played a significant part in his durability in English football’s top flight.
He said: “The fact that he’s made 600 appearances is a great achievement for him but it’s not a surprise when you know him. His brother is the same, they come from a good family, a hard-working family and they don’t take any shortcuts and certainly not in their profession. “He’s very level-headed. He takes the good with the bad. Being at Old Trafford for so long he saw there are going to be good days and there are going to be bad days and you can’t just always crumble. “He’s been fantastic. He was a great inspiration for me when I was there. “Coming here to this club, it wasn’t the main reason why I came but it was a huge help to know that Phil believed in me, was excited about having me here and helping me to settle in.” Like Neville, Howard joined Everton from Manchester United and the pair were team-mates under Sir Alex Ferguson for two seasons. The United States international reveals that the former England man has been a big influence on him at both clubs. “The move to United was huge for me but Phil helped me to settle,” said Howard.“It was a different set of characters at Old Trafford, a different set of personalities but Phil and I always had a huge mutual respect for each other. “I remember speaking to him when he was on the move to Everton, we were on a pre-season tour, and I was excited for him because I knew just how much he wanted to play. “He came here and his career has continued to rise.” Turning 34 on January 21 next year, Neville is not just captain but the elder statesman in Moyes’ first-team squad. Howard reckons that while the full-back/midfielder has plenty more games left in him yet, an eventual move into coaching is an inevitability. He said: “I think the main issue with Phil at his age is keeping himself fit. It won’t be for lack of hard work. “He keeps himself in fantastic shape so if, touch wood, he can keep himself clear of injuries he’ll make a bunch of appearances because Phil’s a guy even when he stops becoming a regular you’re going to rely on him in the big games and he’s always going to have a place. “You can’t see Phil doing anything else but coaching when he does retire. “He’s got the right attitude, he knows how to speak to players and feels comfortable around dressing rooms and that’s massively important.”
Everton FC manager David Moyes hails Ayegbeni Yakubu’s all-round play
Nov 1 2010 by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post
EVERTON manager David Moyes hailed the all-round play of match-winner Ayegbeni Yakubu as well as the Nigerian’s finishing after he fired the Goodison Park outfit to a hard fought 1-0 victory over Stoke City. Yakubu became the first Everton striker to find the net in the Premier League this season when he struck after 67 minutes against a dogged Potters side, registering in club colours for the first time since the 3-2 win at Blackburn Rovers on April 17. Moyes revealed earlier this season that the former Portsmouth and Middlesbrough player had been keen on a summer move to West Ham United when his former Maccabi Haifa coach Avram Grant made two bids for him and the 27-year-old did not start a match until over a month into the campaign due to doubts over his fitness after returning from the World Cup finals. However, the Scot now hopes that Yakubu can recapture the form that prompted him to splash out a then club record £11.25million for his services in 2007.
Moyes said: “I think his all-round play was better. Obviously we need a goalscorer who can score us 15 a season to give us a real chance. “I think Tottenham, Manchester City and Aston Villa all have a centre-forward like that, someone who can get them the goals.” Moyes also hit out at any suggestions that the powerful Nigerian has been carrying any excess weight (he is listed at 83kg/13st 1lb). He said: “People say that but his weight is the same as it has been for the last two years. “I think we all know as we get older (say 28 for example) you might look the same but you are putting on some weight but Yak isn’t, he weighs the same as he has for the last couple of years.”
Yakubu displayed all of his predatory instincts to prove the difference between the two sides and Moyes conceded that his side need to be more ruthless in front of goal.
He said: “Yak has got an ability to find the net and power and because of that I think it was a typical Yak goal.
“It was inside the box, six yards out and in my mind that is where I see him scoring most of his goals.
“We’ve probably not been getting the ball into the six-yard box as often as we should.
“I think we have been a wee bit pretty and trying to be very precise and sometimes you have to try and score an imperfect goal.”
Moyes also revealed that he had been concerned how his side would match up physically against an imposing Stoke outfit and their rigid shape. He said: “Stoke have a big back four and they are narrow and their midfield players work very, very hard.
“They make it hard to play against and they are a hard-working team. “I was worried today we didn’t have players with size against Stoke City but we tried to play good football. “I made that point to the players. Against Newcastle and Wolves at home for example we have struggled to get that goal and we tended to concede or make a mistake so that was good. And in truth we limited Stoke to very few opportunities which is pleasing.” Moyes was obviously pleased that Everton are continuing to climb the Premier League table after their sluggish start but admits that their recovery remains a gradual process. He said: “I think we have the making of a real good team but I think we are not quite there and there is more to come. “I want us to create more and be more adventurous in our attacking. There is still a part of us that is still recovering from a bout of flu if you want to call it that at the start of the season.
“That means you have to do things step by step, you don’t want to do things too quickly but we are moving in the right direction.”
Kate McCann attends Everton FC match at Goodison
Nov 1 2010 by Liam Murphy, Liverpool Daily Post
LIVERPOOL-BORN Kate McCann – mother of missing Madeleine – was spotted at an Everton match during a visit to her home city this weekend. Mrs McCann, 42, was spotted wearing an Everton shirt in the crowd at Goodison Park at the team’s match against Stoke City with her husband Gerry. Their daughter Madeleine was just three when she went missing from the Portuguese resort Praia de Luz in 2007. Mrs McCann, a GP, was raised in Mossley Hill but now lives in Leicestershire with her husband and their twins Sean and Amelie. Her parents still live in south Liverpool.
Stoke City: Everton 1 - Stoke City 0 Monday match report
November 1, 2010 The Staffordshire
WHAT odds would you offer on seeing Darren Bent tripping three defenders and punching the ball home to score for Sunderland against Stoke next Saturday? writes Martin Spinks. Evens, if Andre Marriner or Lee Probert were reffing the game, 2/1 on if it is Chris Foy, 10/1 on and a couple of red cards for Stoke if it is Mike Dean.
Our growing paranoia in these parts can be forgiven after Tuncay's disallowed goal at Everton on Saturday, following hot on the heels of Zat Knight’s blatant handball at Bolton a fortnight earlier and Gary Neville's red-card escape at the Brit eight days later. Such painful kicks to the proverbials do not entirely explain or excuse a hat-trick of Premier League defeats, but they sure do not help a Stoke side needing all the assistance it can get during this nasty little trot of fixtures.
The only blessing is that Saturday's efforts at Goodison Park suggest Stoke's embattled players are still retaining far more confidence in themselves than their referees. There was certainly no chucking in the towel or a dropping of heads at 1-0 down in the final quarter of the contest, a vital state of affairs if they are to end this slump in results sooner rather than later. But bad refereeing decisions or not, in neither the Bolton, Manchester United nor Everton games has the opposition keeper been forced into anything beyond the routine. The absence of Ricardo Fuller provides a convenient excuse, but a viable one nonetheless. Various strikers have come on and gone over the past four years at Stoke, but none have possessed the enduring quality, unpredictably and popularity of our old friend from Jamaica. The speedier his return the better, to "shoulder" an increasingly worrying burden on Kenwyne Jones, a player for whom goalscoring expectations sometimes appear to weigh rather too heavily.
Not least on Saturday, perhaps, though service to the big man could have been better from back to front and more frequent from the flanks. Stoke's defending remains far from blameless, either, and once again we were left wincing at the circumstances which would eventually prevent what would have been just their second clean sheet in 10 Premier League fixtures. Everton were the better side for the first hour, no question, but a clutch of goal-bound efforts were far more accurate than deadly as shots from favourable openings did no more than test Asmir Begovic's positioning on his return to his side's league line-up for the injured Thomas Sorensen.
Indeed, the scariest thing on show during that first 60 minutes came in the toilets at half-time for those of us confronting not just Marouane Fellaini’s beehive barnet, but that of his younger brother as well. And so Stoke were looking pretty solid and relatively untroubled by the time their defences were breached by those forementioned errors to which we are becoming far too frequently accustomed this season. Perhaps he was still suffering from an earlier bang to the head, but either way there was little excuse for the otherwise-excellent Abdoulaye Faye to let an admittedly-awkward ball bounce against his shins in a doomed attempt to control it.
Yakubu, a player fitting the description of the "wide load causing delays on the M6" earlier in the day, suddenly showed a lightning turn of pace in mind and body to nip in and prod the ball off Faye's toes for Tim Cahill to smash a low shot against the foot of Begovic's left-hand post. And it was the Nigerian international striker gaining instant possession of the loose ball right of goal before jinking past a wrong-footed Danny Collins and crashing his shot into the roof of the net. Fatally, Stoke could never conjure anything anywhere near so eye-catching in front of goal before or after the game's only strike. Both Jones and Ryan Shawcross skewed wide from promising positions in either half, while the only time an equaliser truly beckoned came when Matthew Etherington's cross-shot beat both the keeper's outstretched palm and his far post. Oh yes, and then there was the little matter of Tuncay's disallowed effort a few minutes before Yakubu's breakthrough. Everton's failure to clear a free-kick left the ball bouncing perilously close to their goal-line and Leighton Baines standing between Tuncay and the object of his desires. Now the impish Turk did indeed make contact with Baines while prodding the ball home from close range, but surely not enough to provoke the defender's exaggerated collapse. Like fellow England hopeful Stephen Warnock at Aston Villa 10 months earlier, when capitulating melodramatically under the weight of Mama Sidibe's headed goal, Baines succeeded in convincing the very same referee to blow generously for a foul. The fact that Stoke were to suffer once more, and to the home side's advantage, is surely no more than a coincidence.
We are beginning to wonder though. And with increasing justification.
Stoke City: Boss Tony Pulis fed up with same old story
November 1 2010 The Stafforshire
ENTHUSIASTIC: Tuncay Sanli, who played in the deep-lying striker role for Stoke, is tracked by Phil Neville as he charges for the ball. Picture: Phil Radcliffe
TONY Pulis is getting fed up of being told his team are hard to beat just after they have been beaten, writes Michael Baggaley.
The manager was not really in the mood for chit-chat after City's fourth defeat in a row, so one reporter tried to move the conversation along by suggesting Pulis could take some positives from another decent performance. "I'd rather be taking some points," retorted Pulis, while behind him the television in Everton's press room showed City still one point above the drop zone in the latest league table.
If City had a point for every pundit who told them they will finish safely in mid-table, they would be already looking forward to Champions League football next season.
As it is, they reside precariously on the edge of the drop zone with a quarter of the season gone. They do not look like relegation candidates, but, unusually this season, it is hard to identify three other teams who do. Considering the run he is having, the trick or treaters at TP's house last night would have turned up kitted out as a referee and linesmen. Having been understandably furious that Gary Neville was not sent off for Manchester United at the Britannia last week, Pulis pointed an accusing finger at officials once more when he said Lee Probert was completely wrong to disallow Tuncay's second-half strike. There was the slightest of nudges from the Stoke player on Everton full-back Leighton Baines before the ball was bundled in, but that was barely enough to have raised eyebrows in a game of Happy Families, let alone a full-blooded football match. This would not have mattered had Stoke been soundly beaten, but once again they were within touching distance of getting a result, just as they had been in their late defeats at Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United, and at home to Manchester United. Until Yakubu's 67th-minute winner, City had stifled Everton's attack and killed the home atmosphere so effectively it was possible to hear individual yawns in the Gwladys Street End. Stoke had not exactly been carving out chances galore themselves, but this was a perfectly-respectable performance against a quality Everton side beaten only once in its previous 16 games at Goodison Park and playing their second game in eight days, compared to Stoke's third in seven.
Yes, Stoke have their best Premier League squad to cope with such schedules, but this ignores the fact they are having to make do without their most influential player of all.
It is surely no coincidence that City conceded late goals against Bolton, West Ham and Manchester United and a latish one at Everton when there was no Ricardo Fuller on the field to hold up the ball at the other end. Pulis had planned to use the Jamaica forward as an impact substitute to stretch teams and keep the pressure off the City defence in the final half hour of games, but Fuller's right-shoulder problems have robbed him of that option. The ball certainly was not sticking with Kenwyne Jones up front, but the striker might still have been feeling the effects of the virus which had laid him low during the week. Jones received enthusiastic and admirable support for 90 minutes from Tuncay, the deep-lying striker who got forward when City had the ball and then dropped back to trouble Everton's holding midfielder John Heitinga when the home side had possession. His inclusion was bad news for the taxi industry in these times of recession, but much appreciated by City's noisy travelling fans. Far from criticising their team this season, those travelling supporters have been criticising themselves for not having enough songs. Having been declared the new stars of the Premier League after their first season, City's supporters have been struggling with that difficult second album as they try not to rely on the old classics Delilah and When The Reds Go Marching In. Their answer here was to spend much of the first half insulting the Everton supporters, before baffling the hell out of them at the start of the second with a 10-minute ode to Bread – the food that is, not Carla Lane's Scouse comedy. Absolute cobblers or surreal genius? I prefer the latter, if only because of the bemused expression of the fans in the main stand as City supporters enthusiastically belted out loaf lyrics, with accompanying gestures, about "big ones, small ones, some as big as your head". Heaven only knows what they will come up with next. "Annie, where's your oatcakes", from Smooth Criminal perhaps, or "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme a Naan after midnight"? Watch this space.
Stoke City: We must keep possession better, says Faye
November 1 2010 The Staffordshire
EXPERIENCED defender Abdoulave Faye says Stoke have to keep the ball better to get results at places like Everton, writes Michael Baggaley. Only Yakubu's 67th-minute strike separated the teams in a tight encounter at Goodison. But Faye said Everton's greater possession meant City were always vulnerable, however hard they worked defensively. The 32-year-old centre-half said: "We need to play more, we can't just defend.We have better players this season, so we need to keep the ball and play."
City had been sunk by late goals in their previous three defeats and Faye – whose battling display saw him leave the pitch with a large bump on his head – says that can happen because the team becomes tired if they are on the back foot for long periods.
He said: "In the last 15 minutes everyone is tired and then it is very difficult. You need to play well in the first half, as well as the second and concentrate all game as well." Faye's comments come just as Tony Pulis appears to be trying to evolve the playing style from the more direct system which helped win promotion and saw them established in the Premier League. Midfielder Marc Wilson was signed from Portsmouth for his ability to pass the ball and was included at Goodison alongside Dean Whitehead. Tuncay also prefers the ball to feet and was given 90 minutes as the deep-lying striker, playing off Kenwyne Jones City did not keep the ball as well as Everton, but few teams do against a midfield superbly orchestrated by Mikel Arteta .
Hard-man defender Faye looked devastated as he reflected on City's fourth straight defeat, following reverses against Bolton, Manchester United and West Ham.
He was at fault for Everton's winner – his lone mistake as he failed to clear a cross before Tim Cahill hit the post and Yakubu netted the rebound after making room too easily against Danny Collins. However, Pulis praised both Faye's and Collins's overall performances after they came back into the starting line-up having been rested for Wednesday's Carling Cup defeat at West Ham. Faye says the players's pride has been wounded by the run of four defeats, which has left them a point clear of the drop zone and out of the Carling Cup. City are only a couple of good results from being back in the top eight, but Faye's response to defeat at Goodison suggests there is not a trace of complacency in the dressing room. He says the team will be desperate to make amends at Sunderland on Saturday. The Black Cats have only been beaten three times in their last 24 games at the Stadium of Light, but Faye says a fifth straight defeat for Stoke is unthinkable. He said: "It is very frustrating and disappointing. Everybody worked hard and tried to win, but that's four games now. "We need to look forward and win the next game against Sunderland, because we can't go five games. It is hard for us, for the club and for everybody." Although he felt City could have played better at Goodison, Faye believes Stoke should still have had a draw. He was bemused by referee Lee Probert's decision to disallow Tuncay's 64th-minute goal for a push on Everton left-back Leighton Baines. That completed a trio of controversial decisions to go against City in the last fortnight after they were denied a penalty for Zat Knight’shandball at Bolton and then faced 11 men against Manchester United when Gary Neville escaped a second booking after clattering into Matthew Etherington.
Faye says Tuncay's goal at Goodison Park should have stood.
He said: "I think it was a goal. The referee never helped Stoke City. That's football and it is very disappointing. "We need to look forward now and forget this game."
Stoke City: Match statistics
EVERTON 1
(Yakubu 67)
STOKE CITY 0
POSSESSION
Everton 66 per cent
Stoke 34 per cent
GOAL ATTEMPTS
Everton 17 (8 on target)
Stoke 8 (0 on target)
CORNERS
Everton 6
Stoke 2
THE REFEREE
Lee Probert (Gloucestershire) 7
FOULS
Everton 16
Stoke 14
CARD WATCH
YELLOW – Everton: Baines (foul, 62); Stoke: Wilson (foul, 61). RED – None.
THE CROWD
Attendance 35, 513
MATCH RATING
Entertainment 7
BEGOVIC: Plenty of routine saves after taking early knock to the face. No realistic chance with the goal 6
HUTH: Largely solid around his feet at right-back and always solid in the air in front of goal 7
COLLINS: Little to quibble about until Yakubu's little feint did for him for the winner 6
SHAWCROSS: Gave away two early free-kicks, but recovered something like his best form to stand firm thereafter 7
FAYE: Powerful and unruffled performance, but one blow to the head in the second half might partially excuse role in goal 7
WALTERS: No disputing his efforts on the retreat on a day when there was little chance for him to impact goalwards 6
WHITEHEAD: Plenty of huff and puff against superior midfield and one crucial challenge when danger beckoned in own box 6
WILSON: His booking was an indication of a competitive, if unspectacular, offering in the middle of the park 6
ETHERINGTON: Sniped away without too much joy and could always be counted on defensively 7
TUNCAY: A foul or not a foul on his "goal"? Would have rounded off a typically energetic, if not always threatening, effort 7
JONES: Another afternoon of hard toil – and too few quality crosses from wide to exercise that lethal head in front of goal 6
SUBSTITUTES
PENNANT (Walters, 73): Saw enough of the ball, but not able to manufacture supply line to Jones and executed one poor free-kick 6
WHELAN (Wilson, 77): A cool head in possession to try to get the wide men going 6
Not used: Nash, Higginbotham, Gudjohnsen, Delap, Wilkinson.
EVERTON: Howard, Neville, Baines, Jagielka, Distin, Coleman (Saha, 62), Heitinga, Pienaar, Arteta, Cahill, Yakubu (Bilyaletdinov, 86). Subs not used: Mucha, Hibbert, Beckford, Gueye, Rodwell.
Everton 1 Stoke 0
By DAVID FACEY
November 1 2010 The Sun
THE manner of Everton's win seemed to sum up their captain Phil Neville.
Not a thing of great beauty but full of an admirable ability to get the job done.
Neville, 33, on his 600th overall club appearance, rallied his players in trademark fashion when the game seemed to be slipping away from them. And he was rewarded with the result the landmark deserved. The Goodison faithful were getting increasingly nervous as Stoke had a Tuncay 'goal' controversially disallowed and saw Ryan Shawcross blast a volley wide from barely 10 yards early in the second half.
Neville promptly launched a series of marauding runs from right-back and also made a vital challenge to prevent Kenwyne Jones cancelling out Yakubu's 67th-minute strike. Everton's skipper was just a week later than his elder brother to the 600 milestone. While Gary has made all his appearances for Manchester United, Phil has offered sterling service in nearly 400 outings for the Red Devils and another 213 for the Toffees. Tim Howard, who followed Neville from Old Trafford to Goodison, was full of praise for his 'Captain Fantastic'. Howard said: "Phil is so dependable and the way he handles himself off the pitch translates to his consistency on it. There's a big trust factor. "He always does what he says he's going to do. He's reliable, he's there, he's a natural captain. But he goes above and beyond that. "Every time you look up, he's there, doing the right things, saying the right things and putting the work in.
"He has done a great job picking the right times to hand out praise and when to yell at guys. "Getting a reaction is the best way to explain it. "He doesn't do it every once in a while, he does it every week - the big games, the training ground, everywhere." Everton started brightly but Yakubu, Steven Pienaar and Seamus Coleman all wasted good build-up work with tame shots.
Yet there was nothing half-hearted about Yakubu's first goal since April - the first contribution by one of Everton's recognised strikers this season. He smashed home the rebound after Tim Cahill's drive had hit a post. Everton boss David Moyes said: "It was a typical Yak goal, using all his power and his ability to find the net from a tight angle. "As for Phil, the players working around him should look at what he has accomplished, how he handles himself and think, 'I want to be like him'."
SUN STAR MAN - PHIL NEVILLE (Everton)
EVERTON: Howard 6, Neville 8, Jagielka 6, Distin 7, Baines 5, Coleman 5 (Saha 5), Arteta 6, Heitinga 7, Pienaar 6, Cahill 6, Yakubu 7 (Bilyaletdinov 5). Subs not used: Mucha, Hibbert, Gueye, Beckford, Rodwell. Booked: Baines.
STOKE: Begovic 5, Huth 7, Shawcross 6, Faye 6, Collins 5, Walters 6 (Pennant 5), Whitehead 7, Wilson 6 (Whelan 5), Etherington 7, Tuncay 7, Jones 5. Subs not used: Nash, Higginbotham, Gudjohnsen, Delap, Wilkinson. Booked: Wilson.
REF: L Probert 6
EVERTON 1 - STOKE 0: THAT'S A WEIGHT OFF, YAKUBU
November 1 2010 The Daily Star
ABOVE: Everton hitman Yakubu opened his season’s tally to condemn Stoke to
By Chris Brereton
EVERTON 1 -- STOKE 0
YAKUBU finally pulled his weight on Saturday – but Everton boss David Moyes insists that weight is not going off the scales. The Nigerian hitman opened his season’s tally to condemn Stoke to their fourth straight loss. Yakubu, who had not scored since April, slammed home a fine finish to help club captain Phil Neville celebrate his 600th professional performance with a win. Although Yakubu looks a touch on the heavy side, Moyes reckons his main goal threat is fighting fit.
“No it’s not,” Moyes replied when asked if Yakubu’s weight was an issue. “People say that but his weight is the same as it has been for the last two years. “I think we all know as we get older you might look the same but you are putting on some weight, but Yak isn’t.” Moyes focused on a brilliant finish after Yakubu was first to react to a Tim Cahill shot that rebounded off the post. Moyes said: “He’s got an ability to find the net and power, and because of that I think it was a typical Yak goal.”
The win stretched Everton’s unbeaten run to five games in the Premier League but Moyes expects more improvements. He added: “I think we have the making of a real good team and I think we are not quite there. There is more to come and I want us to create more and be more adventurous in our attacking play.” After a dour first half containing little action the second period picked up. For Stoke, Tuncay had a goal mysteriously ruled out by Lee Probert who spotted a foul in the build up to the Turk’s bundled finish. The decision upset boss Tony Pulis, whose day got worse when Yakubu hit the winner moments later. Pulis said: “Looking at the television replay there’s hardly any contact and it’s a poor decision. “The referee is obviously a lot closer to it than me, and it will be interesting to see what he says. “You just need breaks, and we’re not getting them. “You have runs in football – we went five games without losing before we went on this bad run, and in those five games there were certain things that went for us that are certainly not going for us now. “You have to take it on the chin and just get on with it.”
Everton ready for step up against Brondby in women's Champions League
November 1 2010 Guardian
Tony Leighton
Arsenal and Everton head into Champions League first-leg matches this week with justifiably high hopes of reaching the quarter-finals. For the Gunners, who have never failed to reach the last eight in eight previous European campaigns, it will be business as usual if they come through against the Spanish champions Rayo Vallecano. The Merseysiders, by contrast, are contesting the round of 16 for the first time and have a more difficult task against Brondby IF. The Danes have twice reached the semi-finals and are far more experienced campaigners than Mo Marley's team. They are not the force they were, as shown by their struggle to overcome the Polish side Raciburz on the away-goals rule after a 2-2 aggregate draw in the last round. But, when Marley watched them in the Elitedivisionen last week, they won 10-1 against the bottom club Viborg with an under-strength line-up. "They rested some of their more experienced players," noted the Everton manager, whose team are away in Wednesday's first leg after their 7-1 aggregate victory over MTK Hungaria. "I'm sure they'll be at full strength against us and they will undoubtedly be the toughest opponents we've faced in the competition this season. It will be a big jump for us but we've become a good side over two legs and it will take a top team to beat us." On the domestic front today Everton's conquerors in last season's Premier League Cup final, Leeds United, were beaten 3-1 after extra-time at Sunderland. Regional Division teams Leicester and West Ham had surprise wins against top flight opponents Blackburn and Reading respectively. Portsmouth came from 3-0 down to beat Aston Villa 5-4. Millwall, Nottingham Forest, Barnet and Cardiff also went through to the quarter-finals.
David Moyes calls time on 'pretty' Everton after rare Yakubu winner
November 1 2010 The Guardian
Richard Gibson at Goodison Park Yakubu Ayegbeni celebrates his first Everton goal for six months with his captain Phil Neville, who was playing his 600th game in English club football. Photograph: Alex Morton/Action Images When you shell out £11.25m on a striker you would assume you are buying a game-changer of distinct pedigree yet until this weekend, Yakubu Ayegbeni had not scored a single winner in a Premier League game for Everton. Now in his fourth season on Merseyside, it is a surprising statistic for Yakubu and overcoming it against Stoke, the most competitive of top-flight adversaries, could not have been more apt. Twice seizing on loose balls on the periphery of the six-yard box midway through the second half, he first set up Tim Cahill's low drive, which hit the base of a post, before depositing the rebound past Asmir Begovic and into the roof of the net. Since his prolific debut season at Goodison Park, in 2007-08 when he struck 23 times, the Nigerian has struggled to replicate the form which encouraged David Moyes to part with a club record fee. So his first goal in club colours for six months could prove a watershed moment both for the player and his team, who are once again going forward now the clocks have gone back. "He's got an ability to find the net, it was probably an angle which would make you ask 'why did you shoot from there for?'. It was typical Yak, six to eight yards out, and in my mind that is where I see him scoring most of his goals," said Moyes. "Obviously we need a goalscorer who can score us 15 goals a season to give us a real chance of being a team at the top. I think Tottenham, Manchester City, probably Aston Villa, have a centre-forward, someone who can get them that amount of goals.
"Have we been getting the ball into his area enough? Probably not. I think we have been a wee bit pretty in what we have been doing and trying to be very precise – sometimes you have to try and score what is not the perfect goal," Moyes added.
Stoke are masters of such conversions, of course, and believed an ugly one had put them in front just shy of the hour when Tuncay Sanli poked in from a couple of yards. A shove on Leighton Baines discredited it and provided the manager, Tony Pulis, with subject matter for his weekly wail of injustice. "Baines was going down before Tunny got there," claimed Pulis. Having extended their abysmal first-half return to just a single goal in 10 Premier League games this season, Stoke increased their threat after the break. Ryan Shawcross and Matthew Etherington flashed efforts wide with the goalkeeper Tim Howard helpless while Everton efforts to repel them were marshalled by their captain Phil Neville on his 600th appearance in English club football. His geeing-up of the team-mates was crowned late on when he triumphed in an aerial mismatch with Kenwyne Jones at the far post. "On days like this that are tough and rumble-tumble you expect your captain to lead, that's his job but he goes above and beyond that," said the 33-year-oldNeville's former Manchester United colleague Howard. "He takes the good with the bad and knows from being at Old Trafford for so long that you can't just crumble. Phil's a guy, even when he stops becoming a regular, that you're going to rely on in the big games because of that."
Everton here I come! Azerbaijan teen sensation Araz Abdullayev on his way to Goodison, confirm player's club Neftchi
By Sportsmail Reporter 1st November 2010 (Daily Mail)
Azerbaijan starlet Araz Abdullayev has revealed his excitement at joining Everton, as his club confirmed the midfielder is on his way to Goodison Park. The 18-year-old midfielder , who became his country's youngest ever international aged just 16, will start on an initial three-year contract, with the option for two more seasons, when the transfer window opens in January. Abdullayev, speaking to his club's website, said: 'I am proud that I will be an Everton player. I'm very grateful to the authorities at Neftchi for all they've done for me. 'I will do my best to be a good representative for Azerbaijan and Neftchi in England. I hope I can please both Everton and Azerbaijani fans.' A Neftchi spokesman said: 'Officials from the English club will visit Baku soon and the contract will be signed here in our capital.' The deal is subject to the player securing a work permit.
Captain Fantastic: Everton defender Phil Jagielka hails skipper Phil Neville
By Sportsmail Reporter (The Mail)
Last updated at 3:47 PM on 1st November 2010
Everton defender Phil Jagielka believes his skipper Phil Neville could rack up 700 club appearances. Neville, 33, made his 600th appearance for Everton and Manchester United on Saturday and Jagielka said: 'It is a great achievement for him to reach 600. 'He is a fantastic professional and still a very good footballer, long may it continue. Maybe he can reach 700, who knows?' Get your Phil: Phil Jagielka (left) has heaped praise on Everton captain Phil Neville (right) In the interview with the club's TV station, he added: 'Phil is a massive player for us, he is our captain and we all look to him.' Goalkeeper Tim Howard, who followed Neville from Old Trafford to Goodison Park, added: 'The fact that he's made 600 appearances is a great achievement for him, but it's not a surprise. 'His brother is the same, they come from a good family, a hard-working family and they don't take any shortcuts and certainly not in their profession. 'He's very level-headed. He takes the good with the bad. Being at Old Trafford for so long he saw there are going to be good days and there are going to be bad days and you can't just always crumble.'
Everton FC Ladies face Champions League awayday at Brondby
Nov 2 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
WHILE Premier League managers rotate their squads to keep players fresh, Everton Ladies will try to conquer Europe this season with exactly the opposite problem.
The Blues go to Denmark tomorrow to face Brondby in the last 16 of the Champions League, not having played a match domestically since May! The launch of the new FA Women’s Super League next March means that there has been no domestic football since last May. But coach Mo Marley is refusing to use the huge gap in the fixture list as an excuse. “It’s actually helped us,” said Marley. “It’s been a total focus on the Champions League; there haven’t been any distractions. You get a good lead-up to every game, two to three weeks solid preparations. You’ve got less concerns about people getting injured.” Goalkeeper Rachel Brown agrees. “Domestically, we’ve not played together very much but we’ve still been training regularly and we’ve had a lot of games in international competition this summer,” she said. “So that’s kept us focused on football and our training programmes. We’re all in top condition as we would be if our domestic league had continued as a winter league. “And some of us have had a little bit of rest between England games and these sort of games, a little bit of down time. “It hasn’t affected our fitness, apart from giving us rest we don’t usually get.” Everton and domestic rivals Arsenal have both reached the last 16 of the Champions League, but while The Gunners will be aiming to reach the last eight for the eighth successive season against Spanish champions Rayo Vallecano, the Blues face the more difficult task against Brondby IF. The Danes have twice reached the semi-finals and are far more experienced campaigners than Mo Marley’s team.
They struggled to overcome Polish side Raciburz on the away-goals rule after a 2-2 aggregate draw in the last round. But when Marley watched them in the Elitedivisionen last week, they won 10-1 against the bottom club Viborg with an under-strength line-up. “They rested some of their more experienced players,” said the Blues boss. “I’m sure they’ll be at full strength against us and they will undoubtedly be the toughest opponents we’ve faced in the competition this season. It will be a big jump for us but we’ve become a good side over two legs and it will take a top team to beat us.” Everton have already rattled 30 goals in five European games this season – including a 7-1 aggregate victory over MTK Hungaria in the last round.
Brondby IF v Everton (5.30pm tomorrow).
IAN SNODIN: The night Everton FC legend Neville Southall got his timing wrong!
Nov 2 2010 Liverpool Echo
EVERTONIANS will not have been surprised to see Mark Clattenburg’s face at the heart of this season’s most controversial refereeing moment . . . so far. Controversy seems to follow him around – and while he claims to have followed the letter of the law perfectly in allowing Spurs an advantage at Old Trafford after Nani’s handball, Heurelho Gomes clearly didn’t understand that’s what was happening and a little common sense should have been used. Fortunately I don’t think I was on the receiving end of anything quite so bizarre in my playing career. The worst one I can recall was when we were playing in the last 16 of the League Cup at Nottingham Forest and the referee – I think it was George Tyson – ruled that Neville Southall had held onto the ball for longer than the permitted six seconds. If Nev was guilty it must have been only by a fraction of a second. It was the last minute of the match, we were looking forward to a hard earned replay at Goodison and, predictably, Lee Chapman scored from the indirect free-kick. That decision has stayed with me, as Saturday’s will for Tottenham
Time for Phil Neville to praise his game!
I’VE never heard a footballer complain about being praised before – but then Phil Neville isn’t your average footballer. The Blues skipper said he was embarrassed by all the attention he received for nullifying the Gareth Bale threat at Tottenham and stopped buying the papers for a few days! All the players I knew enjoyed getting a pat on the back from the manager or seeing nice things written about them in the papers.
But Phil seems to be one of those supremely level-headed individuals who, like the words of the famous poem, treats success and failure the same way. He’s a good lad, an excellent leader and has clearly been brought up the right way by Alex Ferguson and his parents. So while Phil Neville might get embarrassed by praise, I’m afraid I’m going to have to make him feel uncomfortable again! At the age of 33 he is playing as well as ever – and when you consider what he has won throughout his career that’s a pretty high level. You don’t spend as long at Manchester United and have the medals he has without being a very good footballer.
Blackpool have been a breath of fresh air to the Premier League
BLACKPOOL have already been a real breath of fresh air to the Premier League.
Ian Holloway is such an enthusiastic football manager and his teams reflect that quality. Their fans are new to the Premier League so there’s always a great atmosphere at their matches – and the fact that they play in orange makes for a really colourful spectacle at whatever ground they’re playing.
It will be a tough match for David Moyes’ men at Bloomfield Road on Saturday, but the kind of match I would expect Everton to win.
Les Parry’s week has been simply foursome!
I’D like to pay tribute to my old mate Les Parry for the week he’s just guided Tranmere through. After scoring four goals away from home in a crucial basement battle at Walsall, Rovers have followed up with another four goals in an equally important clash with MK Dons. It’s been a desperately difficult season for Les and his staff, but he’s kept his head above water and will be looking for another positive performance tonight at Carlisle.
IAN SNODIN: Yakubu strike can spark an Everton FC goal rush
Nov 2 2010 Liverpool Echo
STRIKERS will always tell you that it doesn’t matter who scores the goals as long as the team gets three points – and absolutely none of them mean it! A centre-forward exists to score goals, which is why Yakubu will be monumentally relieved to have finally got his name on the scoresheet on Saturday. He received deserved praise for his performances against Liverpool and Tottenham, but scoring the matchwinner against Stoke will have meant much, much more to him. It’s no coincidence that strikers seem to score in runs. When their confidence is high they are more likely to score again, which augurs well for our trip to Blackpool on Saturday. It will be a tough trip, but Blackpool will offer up chances and a confident Yak is more likely to gobble them up. That was never going to be the case against Stoke City. Everybody making their way to the match knew it was going to be a gruelling battle with little free-flowing football. It was never going to be a classic, the fans anticipated that and in those circumstances the most important issue is to collect all three points. We certainly can’t be sniffy about getting three points from a very difficult to beat Stoke side.
A month ago, when we were desperate for a ball to bounce off somebody’s backside to give us a win, we’d have gobbled up a 1-0 win over Stoke. So we should be celebrating the fact that we managed to do it with a classily finished goal from Yakubu. We got a little bit of good fortune, too, with Tuncay’s disallowed goal. There probably was a little shove on Leighton Baines, but whether it was enough to warrant a free-kick is a different matter. Put it this way, if an Everton goal had been disallowed in similar fashion I’d have been angry. But there have been plenty of other times this season when the luck hasn’t gone our way – notably when we threw everything but the kitchen sink at Aston Villa and ended up losing 1-0.
That day we clearly needed an in-form and confident striker ready to gobble up the succession of half-chances we created. Now we have Yakubu up and running, Louis Saha back to fitness and knocking on the door for a recall, and Jermaine Beckford desperate to prove he’s got what it takes to scores goals in the Premier League. That’s all very heartening.
Phil Jagielka tips Everton FC team-mate Phil Neville to reach the 700 club
Nov 2 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON skipper Phil Neville clocked up his 600th club appearance against Stoke City on Saturday. But team-mate and defensive colleague Phil Jagielka believes his captain won’t stop there. And he has tipped Neville to rack up 700 club appearances during his time at Goodison. Since making his Manchester United debut in the infamous ‘You’ll win nothing with kids’ defeat at Aston Villa in 1995, Neville, 33, has gone on to make 600 club appearances – 386 with United and a further 214 since signing for Everton in 2005. “It is a great achievement for him to reach 600, said Jagielka. “He is a fantastic professional and still a very good footballer, long may it continue. Maybe he can reach 700, who knows? “Phil is a massive player for us, he is our captain and we all look to him.” Goalkeeper Tim Howard, who followed Neville from Old Trafford to Goodison Park, added: “The fact that he’s made 600 appearances is a great achievement for him, but it’s not a surprise. “His brother is the same, they come from a good family, a hard-working family and they don’t take any shortcuts and certainly not in their profession. “He’s very level-headed. He takes the good with the bad. “Being at Old Trafford for so long he saw there are going to be good days and there are going to be bad days and you can’t just always crumble.”
Neville’s landmark appearance comes just a week after his older brother Gary reached 600 not out – but the younger Neville is well ahead of his sibling in the number of Premier League appearances he has made. The Everton man is 10th on the all-time list having racked up 435 appearances. His importance to David Moyes’ side is demonstrated by the numbr of matches he has started. Whilst 85 of Neville’s Manchester United appearances came as a substitute, at Everton Neville has stepped off the substitutes bench on just three occasions.
Everton deny a deal is done for Azerbaijani wonderkid Araz Abdullayev
Nov 2 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON have still not agreed to take up their option on Azerbaijani wonderkid Araz Abdullayev – despite the 18-year-old speaking this week of his “pride” at joining the Blues. Everton have had first option on the midfielder – the youngest player to be capped by his country – since July. But yesterday a spokesman for the the Azeri side, where Abdullayev plays his football, said: “Officials from the English club will visit Baku soon and the contract will be signed here in our capital.” The midfielder, speaking to Neftchi’s official website, added: “I am proud that I will be an Everton player. "I’m very grateful to the authorities at Neftchi for all they’ve done for me.
"I will do my best to be a good representative for Azerbaijan and Neftchi in England.
"I hope I can please both Everton and Azerbaijani fans.” A Blues spokesman, however, said last night: “We still have first refusal but there has been no decision yet on whether to exercise that option.” Any move to Goodison for Abdullayev would be subject to the player securing a work permit in January, and after their problems with Nigerian international Victor Obinna – now playing for West Ham – no-one at Everton will be taking a move for granted.
Tim Howard backs Yakubu to go on an Everton FC goal glut
Nov 2 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
TIM HOWARD hopes Yakubu can now embark on a scoring streak after ending his goal drought at the weekend. Yakubu netted for the first time since April to earn Everton a narrow 1-0 triumph against Stoke City at Goodison on Saturday.
Remarkably, that was also the last time a recognised striker had scored for David Moyes’s side in the Premier League. Having scored 21 times in his debut season at Goodison in 2007-08, Yakubu suffered a serious Achilles injury the following term and, after making his comeback in August 2009, netted only six times last campaign as he struggled for form and fitness. However, Howard is confident the Nigeria international’s matchwinner against the Potters can spark a goal glut to go with his continued improved performances for the team. “It’s huge for us,” said the United States goalkeeper. “It was one of those days we didn’t know where things were going to come from. It was scrappy, it was tough. “That’s the thing with the Yak in front of goal, he’s deadly. If the ball can fall to anybody and get his feet collected it’s Yak, he does brilliantly. “I hope we can see him going on a run now. He’s been huge for us the last two months. We’ve been kind of riding him a little bit. “I think he’s shown some good form, he’s shown some brilliant flashes and has been working terribly hard so I hope his rewards will continue to come. I’ve never been around a more clinical finisher in all my life.” Yakubu himself admitted there was a mixture of delight and relief at ending his lengthy wait for a goal. “It’s been so, so long since I scored,” said the Nigerian. “The fans have been really, really good to me. They believe in me, even when I’m not scoring. I appreciate that and I dedicate my goal to the fans.
“It was tough. It’s never easy playing Stoke. They have massive defenders, and fight for every ball, so it was a big three points. “As a striker sometimes you have chances, which you have to take. I was there to score it and its been really good for me. It’s given me more confidence and hopefully I’m going to score goals.
“I think my fitness is really good and better than last season. Hopefully I can help the lads achieve something this season as a team.” Yakubu’s winner extended Everton’s unbeaten run to five games with the Goodison outfit now in eighth place in the Premier League table and knocking on the door of the European qualification berths.
And the 27-year-old added: “It’s not going to be easy but we want to play in Europe next season. We’re used to Europe and playing Wednesday and Sunday. But hopefully we can start picking up some points and get there again. There’s a long way to go.
“We know when we are in the bottom three that we are under pressure.
“But we know we had good enough players to turn things around. We’ve done it in the past and we don’t want to stop. We must train hard, carry on fighting and hopefully be happy at the end of the season.” Meanwhile, it is believed Crystal Palace are lining up a £1million bid to turn James Vaughan’s loan spell at Selhurst Park into a permanent transfer. Vaughan, who is with the npower Championship outfit for the remainder of the year, has scored four goals in seven appearances for George Burley’s side.
Mark Lawrenson: Return to Europe is there for the taking for Everton FC
Nov 2 2010 Liverpool Daily Post
A MONTH ago Everton were just glad to be getting away from the bottom of the table. But it’s the top end they should be looking towards now – and a top six finish and return to European football is very much on. I think the victory over Stoke is the clearest indication yet that they are getting the confidence you need to string results together. It’s been said before that Everton only start playing when the clocks go back – but if this is the start of one of those great unbeaten winter stretches that have served them so well in recent seasons, then nobody will be complaining about that.
The recent results against Liverpool and Spurs will have given them great heart, especially after it took them so long to get off the mark with their first win of the campaign. But the real mark of a team is one that can win when the onus is on them to take the game to the opposition and live up to their tag as favourites.
Stoke are one of those sides you have to battle against every time and sometimes you have to be prepared to sneak a 1-0. Everton did just that and they also got that little bit of luck that every side needs – something which they were sorely lacking earlier in the season. Now it’s their turn to get some things going their way, so fair enough. The most pleasing aspect overall though, was the return to goalscoring form of Yakubu – a couple of months of him staying injury free and David Moyes really will be in business.
The manager has patiently waited for his forwards to come good and the Nigerian getting back to his best will give everyone a lift.
It’s impossible to get a consistent run going if your strikers aren’t finding the net.
It’s not just good for their own confidence but it’s great for other individuals in the team too.
There’s nothing more disheartening than feeling your efforts are going to be in vain because the guys up front aren’t up to it. And you also feel a burden to produce something magical to make up for the fact that your forwards don’t look capable of doing it. So the great control and composure Yakubu showed for his winner should give everyone a lift that there’s things happening up top. But given that Everton have more than matched potential European rivals like Spurs and Aston Villa already this season, confidence should be coursing through the team. The only reservation I have is that when they get in their stride, they always throw in a performance that leaves you thinking, ‘where did that come form?’ But that’s my only negative – at the moment, Everton are a team nobody wants to play. Put simply, they have got good players and a good manager – and when you have that you’re not going to stay in the doldrums for long.
Dewsnip delight as Everton FC under-18s go top of the FA Premier Academy League
Nov 2 2010 Liverpool Daily Post
AN excellent 3-1 win over Crewe Alexandra at Alexandra Park saw Everton under-18s go top of the FA Premier Academy League Group C table on Saturday.
Neil Dewsnip’s side had not played for two weeks but they picked up where they left off thanks to goals from John Lundstram, Johan Hammar and the Anton Forrester.
And coupled with previous leaders Bolton Wanderer’s 2-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion, Everton are now two points ahead of the Trotters after 10 matches.
On Saturday Everton led just before half-time when Lundstram headed in from Femi Orenuga’s superb ball into the area. Then soon after the restart they made it 2-0 when Hammar headed home his second goal of the season following a Adam Forshaw corner. Crewe pulled one back due to a disputed penalty. But Forrester broke through on Forshaw’s pass to seal the points and secure Everton‘s second away win of the season. Dewsnip said: “We played very well and I was very pleased. We had a lot of possession in the first half but didn‘t create many chances. But we managed to get the breakthrough just before half-time. “We went 2-0 ahead but we were disappointed when the linesman gave a penalty. There was a bit of a kerfuffle on a free-kick. A load of bodies went down and I still find it difficult to understand where the penalty came from. But we scored again and we won 3-1, which was well deserved.” He added: “Crewe had played in midweek in the Youth Cup which was both an advantage and disadvantage to them. It was an advantage in that they had been in action and weren‘t coming into the game off a break. But the lads handled that and played well. The pitch was a little heavy and not easy to pass the ball on, so overall I was pleased with the performance. “We had Forrester and Adam Thomas back. Without them we had a lack of firepower, but we have coped well. But now that they are back I am sure it will help.” Leaders Everton will look to continue their fine form against West Brom at Finch Farm this Saturday (kick-off 11am). Dewsnip said: “I think the players see it as important to be up there in the league and doing well. They want to do the best that they can within that. Last year was terrifically exciting going into the last game with a chance of winning. It was against United and winner takes all and was exciting. I think the players would like to experience something like that again. But from the staff‘s point of view we don‘t put lots of priority on it. “We would hope for more of the same this week. But West Brom have become something of a bogey team for us over recent years. And we will try to lay that one to rest this weekend if we can.” Adam Cummins has got the flu and is unlikely to feature again this week. EVERTON UNDER-18s: Davies, Barrow, Murphy, Hammar, Bidwell, Orenuga (Donegan 70), Kinsella, Lundstram, Dobie, Thomas (Forrester 65), Forshaw. Subs: Roberts.
Everton FC star John Heitinga vows to fight for his place in David Moyes’s team
Nov 3 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
JOHN HEITINGA has vowed to put his difficult start to the season behind him and fight for a place in David Moyes’ side. The Dutch defender missed most of Everton’s pre-season after an extended World Cup campaign with Holland which ended in a red card and defeat in the final. Heitinga, 26, insists he has not felt fully fit until now, but is determined to nail down a regular place in the Toffees’ starting line-up after figuring sporadically so far. The 26-year-old, who has also been dogged with rumours he could leave in January, knows he is not guaranteed a starting place with Marouane Fellaini and Jack Rodwell on their way back to fitness. He said: “Finally I am fully fit. I had the World Cup, a short break and then back to Everton. It hasn’t been easy because I have had a couple of annoying injuries, but I am fully fit again now and ready to play. “I played until July 11, to the very last day of the World Cup. Most of the players had a holiday for maybe eight weeks because their last game was in May, so there is big difference in the holiday they had and the one I had. It is normal after the World Cup for a player to have a break – normal for the player and normal for the Club. But you see all over the world the players from the World Cup are now struggling with injuries, some have big injuries and some have small injuries.
“But I am fit now I am ready to play games. I know we have good players here and a strong team and I am ready to fight for my place.” Heitinga also revealed he faced a psychological battle to get back to his peak following his sending off and Holland’s defeat in South Africa.” He also told how his frustration is so great he has not – and will not – watch the tape of the World Cup final. Heitinga did, however, insist he bears no animosity towards English referee Howard Webb who brandished the red card in Soccer City as he was dismissed against Spain. Webb refereed the recent Merseyside derby and Heitinga said he was pleased to shake his hand and move on.
“The disappointment (in the summer) was heavy,” he said. “I played all summer to reach the final and in the end we lost to a really good team in extra-time. It was a long hard summer. I can’t watch the game back because I can’t bear to. The reason is because I hate losing any game – let alone the World Cup final. Heitinga said: “Enough about the referee, he sent me off, but it is gone now. He is human, I am human, it is just football and things happen. I am back at Everton and focused on doing well here. He (Webb) refereed the derby but I did not say anything, I just shook his hand and we move on.” Meanwhile, Steven Pienaar’s agent has denied that the midfielder is set for a move to Rafa Benitez’s Inter Milan in January.
Ivan Modia said: “Nothing is true. Steven’s contract is expiring and the press continue to report rumours about his future. But I’ve never met anyone of Inter.”
Everton FC duo Shane Duffy and Jose Baxter could be allowed to leave on loan
Nov 3 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON are considering sending young prospects Shane Duffy and Jose Baxter out on loan to help transform them into future first-team stars. The Toffees are believed to be willing to allow the pair, both 18, to move, although both remain highly-rated by boss David Moyes. Moyes was delighted with the impact a loan spell at Blackpool last season had on the development of Seamus Coleman, and Leon Osman benefited from loans early in his Everton career. Duffy is close to full fitness since a freak injury in May, when the central defender needed life saving surgery after lacerating his liver in a collision while on Republic of Ireland international duty. The teenager has been limited to indoor training for most of the summer and early season, although he was on the bench for the recent draw against Spurs at White Hart Lane, and will be on the radar of a host of clubs. Baxter has featured on the bench for the first team several times already this season, and Championship outfit Scunthorpe United are keen to secure his temporary services. The midfielder may have been allowed to leave earlier but for a string of injuries to first team stars like Marouane Fellaini, and Osman, which have meant that Litherland-born Baxter was needed in reserve.
Moyes said: “I'd like to put Shane out on loan. We've been keeping an eye on him at first (since his injury) and keeping him indoors. He's very good in the air though, and could have come on against Crouch (at White Hart Lane). If we find the right club he could go on loan.” Meanwhile, reports have surfaced claiming Crystal Palace want to make James Vaughan's loan deal a permanent move this January. The Everton striker joined Palace on a temporary basis in September and has scored four times for the Selhurst Park club. The CPFC2010 consortium, which own Palace, reportedly have limited funds to spend and could allow George Burley to make a £1m bid for the 22-year-old. Meanwhile, Tim Cahill has paid tribute to his team-mates after new statistics revealed he is officially the most lethal header of a ball since the Premier League began in 1992. Following his headed goal in the dying moments at Birmingham City last month, Cahill now has 27 headed goals in 174 appearances in the top flight.
He said: “It came as a bit of a surprise to me to find out, but it is something I am very, very proud of. “It is massive honour, but it isn’t something that happens on its own.
“Players like Phil Neville and Mikel Arteta, the whole team in fact – they all provide me with the opportunities to score. So as long as I can keep doing it, great.
“I suppose I started young and scored a lot of headed goals as a youngster and I worked hard. I was scoring goals with my head long before I was at Everton, even before Millwall, when I was back in Australia.”
Everton FC captain Phil Neville conquers Twitter after Gareth Bale's Champions League masterclass
Nov 3 2010 By Neil MacDonald
GARETH Bale may have received the plaudits for his man-of the-match display against Inter Milan last night, but Everton FC captain Phil Neville conquered Twitter across the world thanks to the Welshman's heroics. Neville became the unexpected star of the social networking site today thanks to his typically solid performance for the Blues against Tottenham recently, when he kept the in-form Bale quiet for the full 90 minutes. Given Bale's terrorising of Brazilian star Maicon in Milan and at White Hart Lane, this quickly led to a series of flattering comparisons between Neville and the Inter Milan right back. It quickly progressed onto something more, with Neville being lauded as a superhero, in line for the next Christmas number one and someone who doesn't do push ups - he just presses the earth down. This was noticed by his former Everton team-mate Landon Donovan, who commented on Twitter about the Phil Neville phenomenon:
Tim Cahill says Everton FC lucky to have Leighton Baines' creativity
Nov 3 2010 Liverpool Daily Post
TIM CAHILL last night saluted the creative skills of the player doing most to drive his goalscoring exploits with Everton – Leighton Baines. Australian international Cahill has been the most consistent of Everton’s marksmen since arriving at Goodison from MillwallŠin 2004, notching 61 goals in 218 appearances. But in more recent times the 30-year-old from Sydney has been profiting most often from the service provided by left back Baines. Remarkably, nine of Cahill’s last 15 Everton goals were the result of an assist from the 25-year-old England international from Kirkby.
Cahill said: “Bainsey is an exceptional player. “I think I am lucky because I have got a relationship with him where we were together a lot on the pitch to try and make things happen. “But I think I’m lucky as well because he’s got that special left foot which can create chances on a plate – hopefully for myself to finish. “He’s a great player and someone who is not only effective in defence but going forward as well. He does give us that different dimension. I’m happy to have someone like that on my side because I rely on him a hell of a lot.” The Cahill-Baines partnership might not be a conventional centre forward-winger combination in the tradition of Bob Latchford and Dave Thomas in the 1970s. Cahill is no traditional centre forward but a deep lying attacker who uses timing and positioning to deliver a remarkably high ratio of headed goals for a player of just 5’10” in stature. Indeed, the statistics show that Cahill boasts a strike rate of headed goals that is unmatched in 18 years of Premier League football.
Cahill’s 27 headed goals in 174 appearances in the top flight for Everton gives him an average of one headed goal in every 6.4 games. Powerful centre-forwards such as Duncan Ferguson and Alan Shearer could not match that. Dion Dublin came close, with a headed goal every 6.93 games, followed by Ferguson on 7.77 and Les Ferdinand on 8.16. Cahill said: “It is a record I’m very proud of. It is a massive honour but it is not something that happens on its own. It happens with the help of players I have around me. I always talk about Bainsey and he is very important to me but it is the whole team as well. “Players like Phil Neville and Mikel Arteta, they all provide me with the opportunity to score. So long as I can keep doing it, great.”
Cahill also put his success rate down to years of practice and an understanding of how to time his runs into a goalscoring position.
He said: “I was scoring goals with my head long before I was at Everton, even before Millwall, when I was back in Australia. I worked hard as a youngster and scored a lot of headed goals.
“Working on my technique, doing basic training with Steve Round, getting crosses in with Bainsey, Phil Neville or whoever, these are all things which help me.
“Working hard on your fitness is important too, to keep you going and make sure you keep making the runs. It is about timing also. You watch the great players like Gary Lineker, David Platt and Alan Shearer and they all arrived late into the box.
“I am always trying to make the runs at the right time. People may think I have got no hope of getting there and suddenly the ball hits the back of the net. It is about making sure you make the right run.” Everton and Newcastle United have been linkedŠtoŠAnderlecht winger Jonathan Legear, according to Belgian media. The 23-year-oldŠplayer is quoted as saying that Everton manager David Moyes has watched him in action “several times.” ŠLegear, who has made 103 league appearances for Anderlecht, says a move in the January transfer window is “an option but it’s not a must. “I like life at Anderlecht,” he added. Newcastle’s interest has fallen short of an offer.”I will first have to prove that I can meet the standards of playing in the Premiership,” Legear said.
Jurgen Klinsmann in as manager at Toronto for sacked ex-Everton FC striker Mo Johnston
Nov 4 2010 Liverpool Echo
FORMER Germany boss Jurgen Klinsmann has taken over as a consultant at Toronto FC, after Mo Johnston’s sacking. The former Everton striker, who first joined Toronto in 2006, had been working as director of soccer but was sacked in September.
“We’re honoured to work with a football icon like Jurgen and to have access to his wealth of experience and expertise,” said Toronto executive vice- president Tom Anselmi.
Everton FC fans letters: Well done to the Yak!
Nov 4 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
A HARD-FOUGHT victory against a resilient Stoke side, which puts the Blues within touching distance of a top five place. Yakubu got his first goal of the season and again the defence was resolute in their application. It might have been a cameo from Bilyaletdinov, but he showed some neat touches and nearly scored in the dying moments. With Coleman slightly subdued which is understandable considering the infancy of his career, maybe it's time to give Bilayletdinov a run in the side down the right, with Neville behind giving him support and leadership, to unleash the quality he possesses. Also encouraging, was the performance of John Heitinga. It was his best this season delivering some crunching tackles and shielding the back four superbly.
But if Everton have any realistic chance of getting into the top four come the end of the season, they need pace. Considering Steven Pienaar sees his career elsewhere, maybe January would be the best time to address this and bid for players – Jarvis (Wolves), Eagles (Burnley) Adam (Blackpool), all of whom are still young and within Everton's budget. Pace and guile are vital ingredients in achieving a top four place, but talisman tactics will only get Everton so far. David, Aintree
JOHN HEITINGA is clearly not fully committed to the cause, so if someone offers a decent price then Moyes should get rid. He's a cracking centre-back but a very ordinary defensive midfielder, and is only in the side because Fellaini got injured.
stay gold WELL done Yak! More of the same please starting with a hat-trick at Blackpool on Saturday! Bluewinner
FEED the Yak!
He’s playing really well lately – our number one striker without a doubt.
Y2J
KEEP firing them in, Yak! ParkEnder
AFTER watching Gareth Bale tear apart the Inter Milan defence on Tuesday evening in the Champions League, Phil Neville’s performance in shutting him down in the draw at White Hart Lane last week was nothing short of miraculous. blooper
ANOTHER good win on Saturday against Stoke. We were fortunate that the Potters’ goal was disallowed. It was good to see the Yak score and celebrating with his eagle hands. Also since Phil Neville has been back from injury we haven't been beaten in five matches. Well done Phil – a great ambassador for Everton Football Club.
Bluewings OUR super skipper Phil Neville really motivates the side and is the best right-back we have due to his experience and ability to read the game. Yes, we didn’t play well but if you check out the stats we had seven shots on target to their none!
Stdomingo57
Everton FC ladies come from behind to win in Denmark against Brondby
Nov 4 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON LADIES took a major stride towards their first Champions League quarter-final with a stunning 4-1 win in Denmark. Mo Marley’s Blues trailed Brondby before storming back to floor the Danes with a power- house performance.
After three minutes Camilla Kur Larsen put the hosts ahead but Fara Williams equalised from the penalty spot 11 minutes into the second half before a final flourish of three goals in seven minutes. First Toni Duggan gave Everton the lead before Brooke Chaplen scored in the 81st and 86th minutes to demoralise the Danes.
However, assistant manager Andy Spence says it would be wrong to write-off the Danes. He said: “It was a good response to going a goal down. The penalty got us back in the game but it was a 10-minute spell which won us the game and made it even more comfortable in the end. “We have to give Brondby credit – right through the first half they showed quality so we’ve got to be on our guard when they come to England.”
Everton FC jury: Blues fans have their say on the win over Stoke
Nov 4 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
RICHARD KNIGHTS, West Derby
IT wasn't pretty; it wasn't ugly; just pretty ugly.
Stoke are one of those teams where you know what you are going to get. So credit to the defence, Distin and Jagielka in particular, for dealing with the Stoke long ball game. The Everton machine is now moving smoothly into gear but one or two cogs are still grinding away. Heitinga's agent is apparently whispering in his ear: 'You've played in a World Cup Final Johnny!' Fact is, if Fellaini and Rodwell weren't injured he wouldn't be in the team. Stop giving the ball away, shape up or ship out.
So Blackpool on Saturday – 'Kiss Me Quick' hats, donkey rides on the
beach, greasy fish 'n' chips, a freezing wind blowing in from the Irish Sea, Les Dawson-like landladies and fights between drunks dressed as nuns or monks.
On the other hand...
LEE MOLTON, St Helens
FEED the Yak and he will score! The Yak is back and can now hopefully go on a good run and score a lot of goals. He has certainly looked sharp in the last few weeks and worked harder. It was a hard-fought win against a Stoke side that came to Goodison for a point last week. The Blues kept going and got their rewards in the second-half to maintain their unbeaten run and move them into the top half of the table. The league table looks better now but we can aim higher than this.
A trip to the seaside is on this weekend for all Evertonians – Blackpool beware!
This is a winnable game, Blackpool are vulnerable at the back but can also play a bit too. We have to be wary of their attacking threat and not take them lightly. It should be an enjoyable day out for the travelling Evertonians and also we can bring the three points back too.
DEBBIE SMAJE, Up Holland
WELL, just a goalkeeping error away from a perfect month, all looks pretty good at the moment for the Blues. Saturday’s performance wasn’t quite as good as the recent Liverpool and Spurs games, but it’s not always going to be. Stoke are always tough to break down, and it was good that the deciding goal came from the Yak. He’s played very well lately, but his finishing has let him down. He was far less involved on Saturday, but managed to score an excellent winning goal, so hopefully that should be the one to add the goals back to his performances. Blackpool will be a completely different test on Saturday. Watching them on Monday night, they don’t seem to know how to shut up shop! That should hopefully leave a few gaps for us to expose and keep this run going. Our own defence has been excellent, Jagielka especially is in the form of his life, and they will have to put up with a lot of attacks on Saturday. Lets hope they can keep it going.
DAVID WALLBANK, Huyton
IT was a tough game against Stoke, a side who would be top of the table if points were given for fouls and aggression. Arteta and Pienaar worked really hard and covered so much ground it was a pleasure to see them dig in and not just rely on their skill. A great goal from Yakubu settled it, and he truly deserved the limelight. The Yak’s workrate has improved and even without the goal you would have been satisfied with his performance. Jags and Distin have also found a rhythm together and to be fair they haven’t put a foot wrong in recent weeks. I WOULD like to extend my sincere condolences to the family of Paul Fitzgerald who sadly passed away recently. He was a great Evertonian and a perfect gentleman who always had a smile on his face. He always commented on the Jury and always gave me his honest opinion. RIP, Paul.
Everton FC stars Jack Rodwell and Victor Anichebe return as reserves romp to 5-0 win over Blackpool
Nov 4 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
JACK RODWELL and Victor Anichebe made their long-awaited returns to action as Everton reserves thrashed Blackpool 5-0 yesterday. The pair, who have both been out injured for lengthy spells, figured in the convincing win over the Seasiders’ second-string at Finch Farm. A watching David Moyes will also have been heartened by an impressive performance from striker Jermaine Beckford, who produced plenty of clever running and a smart finish in the rout. Summer signing Beckford is yet to notch his first Premier League goal, but shone during the rain-soaked match, which also featured a well-taken brace from young striker Jose Baxter, plus goals for French starlet Magaye Gueye and sub Hope Akpan. Rodwell, who has been missing since he was injured in a tackle with Aston Villa’s Stephen Warnock at Villa Park in August, played an hour of the victory, and will now hope to feature against Blackpool for the first team at Bloomfield Road on Saturday. Meanwhile, Anichebe, 22, who has yet to feature since pre-season, enjoyed a 20-minute cameo. Everton's array of quality in the final third showed right from kick off and after just two minutes Jermaine Beckford narrowly failed to connect with Nathan Craig's inviting left wing cross.
But Everton didn't have to wait much longer for the game's opening goal.
Magaye Gueye peeled away to the left flank and his low near post cross was diverted past Mark Halstead by 18-year-old Baxter who arrived just ahead of Beckford to give the Blues an early lead.After eight minutes Blackpool forced the first corner of the game after good work by left winger Tom Barkhuizen. Barkhuizen cut inside past Tyias Browning, but defender Shkodran Mustafi came across for the Blues to block his effort. Just before the quarter hour Everton were close to doubling their lead as both strikers went close. A neat bit of skill by Beckford created some space and his long range drive was only parried by Halstead. The ball dropped straight to Gueye but the French U-21 star couldn't convert from close range. Barkhuizen was proving to be the main threat to Alan Stubbs’ side’s aspirations of winning the game and mid-way through the first half Adam Davies had to make a good low save as Barkhuizen beat Tyias Browning at the back post. After half time Everton came out strongly and central midfielder James Wallace burst forward on 47 minutes only to be denied by Halstead low to his left. Everton soon scored a second goal after more good work from Beckford. The striker twisted and turned before testing Halstead, and the goalkeeper pushed it straight into the path of Gueye who this time made no mistake.
By now the Blues were rampant and it didn't take them long to make it 3-0.
Beckford gave Halstead no chance with a good low finish from just inside the Blackpool penalty area. And Anichebe was quickly involved, laying on the fourth goal for Baxter. Akpan added a fifth, and just before full time Anichebe shot too close to Halstead.
Former Everton FC star Paul Gascoigne’s drink-driving trial adjourned
Nov 4 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
THE trial of former Everton FC star Paul Gascoigne for alleged drink driving was adjourned yesterday after hours of legal wrangling. At one point, the ex-player was representing himself after his lawyer withdrew from the case at Northallerton magistrates court. Gascoigne, 43, is accused of driving a Ford Transit van while more than four times the limit on February 7 at Leeming Bar, Yorkshire. The court was told he was found to have 467mg of alcohol in 100ml of urine. The legal limit is 107 ml. He denies the charge. He has also denied driving without insurance. Gascoigne was due to be represented by lawyer Stephen Andrews but he withdrew from the case after long legal discussions. The court was due to hear evidence in the afternoon but was finally adjourned after magistrates heard there was not enough time left in the day to hear the case. Mr Andrews said he would represent Gascoigne at the new trial on December 13.
Blackpool FC v Everton FC match preview, Premier League
Nov 4 2010 By Sean Bradbury
Blackpool's last five games
Nov 1: Premier League - Blackpool 2 West Brom 1
Oct 23: Premier League - Birmingham 2 Blackpool 0
Oct 17: Premier League - Blackpool 2 Man City 3
Oct 3: Premier League - Liverpool 1 Blackpool 2
Sept 25: Premier League - Blackpool 1 Blackburn 2
Everton's last five games
Oct 30: Premier League - Everton 1 Stoke 0
Oct 23: Premier League - Tottenham 1 Everton 1
Oct 17: Premier League - Everton 2 Liverpool 0
Oct 2: Premier League - Birmingham 0 Everton 2
Sept 25: Premier League - Fulham 0 Everton 0
Past meetings
Everton's overall record against Blackpool: Played 48 - Won 21 - Drawn 12 - Lost 15 - Goals for 71- Goals conceded 57 The Blues have not met Blackpool in a competitive match for more than 20 years. The last encounter was a two-legged League Cup clash at the start of the 1980-81 season. After Eastoe, Latchford and McBridge gave Everton a 3-0 lead at Goodison, a 2-2 draw at Blackpool featuring a Latchford brace wrapped up a 5-2 aggregate win. While the Blues were knocked out by West Brom in the next round, they did have the satisfaction of beating Liverpool in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup in January 1981. Everton played Blackpool at Bloomfield Road in a pre-season friendly in August 2009 before the start of the last campaign, losing 2-1. David Vaughan and Jason Euell scored for the home side and only Jo could find the net for Everton.
Gordon West, who made his Blackpool debut aged 17 and went on to play more than 400 games for Everton, gives a humorous speech after receiving the Dixie Dean Memorial Award at the 2009 ECHO Sports Personality of the Year awards.
Ones to watch
Blackpool
While the stats aren't kind to Blackpool keeper Matt Gilks - he has let in 21 goals in 10 Premier League games so far this season - his impressive performances have seen him linked with a move away from Bloomfield Road. Manchester City are the latest suitors alleged to be interested in his signature, with Arsenal and Rangers also in the frame according to media reports. The Blues will be hoping Gilks has an off day this weekend. Everton will be clear on who they need to keep quiet: in Blackpool's last two league wins the scoreline was 2-1 on each occasion and the goals came from Luke Varney and Charlie Adam (both times from the spot). And as ever, win lose or draw, Blackpool manager Ian Holloway is one to watch in his post match press conference.
Everton
David Moyes' men have built up a head of steam in the league after their poor start. They are now unbeaten in five games, having won three and drawn two. Blues fans will be hoping the players can build on what they have recently achieved: Yakubu got off the mark against Stoke, Tim Cahill has four league goals already this season and Tim Howard has kept four clean sheets in his last five Prem matches.
Injuries/suspensions
The Blues should have several of their sidelined first team players returning to action this month, but the Blackpool game may come too soon for Leon Osman (ankle), Marouane Fellaini (hamstring), Victor Anichebe (knee) and Jack Rodwell (ankle). Blackpool remain without long-term absentees Alex Baptiste and Billy Clarke (both knee).
Blackpool - 7/2
Draw - 13/5
Everton - 5/6
Everton FC striker Jermaine Beckford told not to change his style
Nov 4 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON striker Jermaine Beckford has been told not to change the predatory style which made him a goal machine for Leeds United. The forward has had to be content with a place on the bench for his new club so far, but he produced a livewire goal-scoring performance for the reserve team yesterday. Now reserves boss Alan Stubbs insists that the 26-year-old can break into the first team by staying true to the tactics which saw him net 31 times in League One last season, as Leeds won promotion to the Championship. His only goal for the Blues so far came from the penalty spot in the Carling Cup victory over Huddersfield in August, but Stubbs said: “We wanted him to play on the defender’s shoulder. “A lot of his goals at Leeds came from him running on to things. Defenders don’t like it when you play just on the shoulder.
“On another day he could have had three or four. But he scored and hopefully he’ll take confidence from that because he admitted he was probably a bit rusty.”
Jack Rodwell played for over an hour during the 5-0 win over Blackpool at Finch Farm, and Victor Anichebe completed a 20-minute cameo as the pair continued their return from injury. In recent weeks Everton boss David Moyes has been boosted by the return of Louis Saha and now with Rodwell and Anichebe nearing a first-team comeback, Marouane Fellaini is the only major absentee. Ahead of a trip to Bloomfield Road on Saturday to face Blackpool’s first team, Stubbs admits the manager is spoilt for choice as the Blues look to continue their five-game unbeaten run. “I think it’s getting towards the manager being able to pick from a full-strength squad again,” he said. “Jack’s got 65 minutes under his belt, Becks has got 70, Victor 20 and Gueye a full 90, so everyone is looking like they are coming back and that’s good news for the manager.” Stubbs was able to celebrate a first win in five games for his side, and believes that Jose Baxter’s early goal was crucial in helping the Blues to victory. The first of Baxter’s brace came after just three minutes and Stubbs says it gave Everton the freedom to look for more goals as the game progressed.
“We had a great start by going 1-0 up very early on, and we looked a threat. We had something at the top end that could threaten their back four which we haven’t really had in the last couple of weeks,” admitted Stubbs. “Then once we got the second the game became easier. I’m delighted for the young lads that are learning the game because it’s been a little bit harsh on them recently.”
Top 10 Phil Neville Twitter 'facts'
Nov 4 2010 By Sean Bradbury
PHIL NEVILLE could never have guessed that keeping Gareth Bale in his pocket for 90 minutes in a football match would make him a global internet phenomenon.
But yesterday, an epidemic of Phil Neville 'facts' spread on Twitter after Inter Milan's Maicon was unable do the job that Everton's captain did and was repeatedly skinned by Tottenham's Welsh winger in the Champions League on Tuesday. The 'facts' - in the satirical style of the online craze which originally built up around Chuck Norris heaped praise on the Blues defender in the most bizarre ways. These are the ECHO's top 10 Phil Neville 'facts' - feel free to comment below with yours.
Everton FC’s Tim Cahill nominated for Asian Footballer of the Year award
Nov 4 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
TIM CAHILL has been recognised for his efforts for club and country by being shortlisted for the Asian Footballer of the Year award. The Australian, nominated for the Ballon D’Or in 2006, is one of 15 players in the running for the accolade which will be decided at a gala dinner in Kuala Lumpar later this month. Cahill has been in fine form in recent weeks for Everton, most notably when scoring in the derby victory over Liverpool last month. Having helped Australia to the World Cup, the 30-year-old was sent off against Germany but returned to score in the Socceroos’ 2-1 group win over Serbia. Among the other nominees is Manchester United’s South Korea midfielder Park Ji-Sung and former Everton defender Li Weifeng of China.
The Goodison outfit begin a spell of three games in eight days on Saturday with a trip to Blackpool, and Cahill has added his name to the growing list of fans of the Tangerines manager Ian Holloway. “We have a massive week ahead of us, starting with Blackpool away on Saturday,” said Cahill. “It’s going to be another tough match and someone who I admire a lot is their manager, Ian Holloway. “His spirit and belief runs through their team and he has proved that he is a top manager.”Everton are looking to extend their five-match unbeaten run, and manager David Moyes will be encouraged by the reserves’ 5-0 thumping of the same opposition yesterday afternoon.
Both Jack Rodwell and Victor Anichebe made their returns from long-term injury while Jermaine Beckford notched a morale-boosting goal in the second string’s Finch Farm romp. Rodwell, an unused substituted against Stoke City at the weekend having been sidelined for two months with an ankle injury, came through a 57-minute run-out while Anichebe, who hasn’t appeared this season, emerged as a substitute for the final 20 minutes of the match. Shane Duffy and Jose Baxter also both appeared, although Moyes is keen for the pair to leave on loan to gain some first-team experience.
Meanwhile, Dinamo Zagreb have claimed that Everton are among a group of Premier League clubs tracking their young midfielder Sime Vrsaljko. The 18-year-old midfielder has been called into the Croatia squad for their forthcoming Euro 2012 qualifier against Malta and will become his country’s youngest-ever player if selected.
And Dinamo club’s vice-president Zdravko Mamic has stated the teenager has become a hot property. “I will tell you something, which is really exclusive, everybody wants Sime Vrsaljko,” said Mamic. “I can tell you, that he is followed by Manchester United and also City, Everton, Arsenal, Tottenham, by everybody!”
Everton Ladies fight back to beat Danes
Nov 4 2010 Liverpool Daily Post
EVERTON LADIES took a major stride towards their first Champions League quarter-final with a stunning 4-1 win in Denmark. Mo Marley’s side trailed Brondby before storming back to floor the Danes with a power-house performance.
Camilla Kur Larsen put the hosts ahead but Fara Williams equalised from the penalty spot 11 minutes into the second half before a final flourish of three goals in seven minutes. Toni Duggan gave Everton the lead before Brooke Chaplen scored in the 81st and 86th minutes to demoralise the Danes.
Blue Watch: Everton FC will never have better chance to grab Europe from usual suspects
Nov 4 2010 Liverpool Daily Post
ACCORDING to bankers, volatility equals opportunity. Obviously they are referring to financial markets, but the same principle could be applied to the Premier League.
The top flight certainly appears to be in a state of flux at the moment – for instance, when the fixtures were originally announced, few people would have predicted that Everton and Blackpool would sit level in the table when they meet at Bloomfield Road. That’s how things stand though, with the Blues only slightly ahead of the Tangerines on goal difference before Saturday’s game. In the summer it was widely believed that Everton’s strongest squad for years was set to fulfil its potential, while Ian Holloway’s side, who surprised themselves as much as anyone by winning promotion, looked like they might set a record low points haul when they were struggling to attract even the most modest talents to the Fylde Coast.
The Blues’ slow start and Blackpool’s incredible form have made a mockery of all the preseason predictions though, and are in keeping with what is the most interesting season for a long time. For years the complaint about the top flight of English football has been that it is all too predictable, but that simply isn’t the case any more.
Granted, Chelsea still look a cut above the rest, but even they have looked less than invincible in recent weeks. Manchester United are a shadow of their former dominant selves, their city rivals appear to be imploding, Liverpool are simply delighted to be out of the bottom three, and Everton showed at White Hart Lane that Spurs might struggle to compete on several fronts at once. Meanwhile, West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United are doing even better than Blackpool – both sides are currently lurking just outside the top four. It’s still relatively early in the season, but it must be dawning on managers and chairmen alike that there has never been a better chance for a club usually dubbed unfashionable to get their act together and make a proper stab at qualifying for the Champions League. Can Everton be that club? It’s certainly heartening after the bad start that we are now grinding out wins against horrible sides like Stoke. If we can get another at Blackpool – and it’s hardly a formality – then some of those teams above us are going to start looking nervously over their shoulders
Reserves hammered at Everton
04 November 2010
By Steve Canavan The Gazette
LOUIS Almond made his comeback for the Seasiders Reserves at Everton on Wednesday ... but the young striker who dislocated a shoulder in pre-season was on the wrong end of a thumping. A young Pool side lost 5-0 as Jermaine Beckford notched a hat-trick, while Jack Rodwell was also on target on his return from a long-term injury. Chris Basham, who has yet to make an impression since his £500,000 summer switch from Bolton, was one of the few senior players on show for Pool, along with Danny Coid and Ishmel Demontagnac. Pool: Halstead, Coid, Eastham, Youanda, Roberts, Tomsett, Husband, Basham, Barkhuizen, Almond, Demontagnac.
Meanwhile, The FA has rescinded the red card shown to West Brom defender Pablo Ibanez at Blackpool on Monday. An independent regulatory commission overturned the decision of referee Michael Oliver after viewing TV replays. Oliver dismissed Ibanez for what he deemed to be a foul on DJ Campbell inside the penalty area.
The Baggies were later reduced to nine men when Gonzalo Jara lunged at Luke Varney. They aren't appealing Jara's red card.
Evatt thinks hoodoo is lifted
04 November 2010 The Gazette
By Steve Canavan
IAN Evatt is convinced the Seasiders can beat Everton on Saturday, now their home hoodoo has been buried. After failing to claim a victory in their opening three Premier League matches at Bloomfield Road – something that had begun to bug Ian Holloway – Pool saw off West Brom 2-1 on Monday. It was their first top-flight win on home soil since Crystal Palace were beaten 3-1 in April 1971 and, more importantly, it ended a run of four defeats in five games to set the Seasiders up nicely for the clash with David Moyes' Everton. "We've got the monkey off our back and we can now go into the game full of confidence," said defender Evatt. "Hopefully we can get another three points." Holloway is more than hopeful. Despite Everton's upturn in fortunes – they are unbeaten in six outings – the Pool boss feels his side are capable of racking up back-to-back wins for the first time in the Premier League. And he says that really would make people sit up and take notice. "What if we win two games on the spin? Where would we be then? That would set everybody talking," Holloway said. "Do I think we are good enough to do it? Yes, I do. Do I think we are playing well enough? Yes. "I was worried after the Manchester City game because we should have won that. It wasn't right. "We deserved to beat them, and if we had those points we'd be fifth with 16 points. "But all it is about is trying to keep your feet on the ground and learn. "We will learn from West Brom on Monday because we've never had that scenario before – being up against one goalkeeper and eight players strung across the 18-yard box saying, 'Come on, break us down'. West Brom did that brilliantly. "We have learned we need to make more of our chances. We created 21 efforts on goal and we only scored two, and as it turned out how vital was the second one? "But I believe in my strikers and I believe they will score. "I just think the way we've started this season shows just how far we've come in such a short space of time, but we haven't achieved anything yet." Holloway's reference to "believing" in his strikers is a clear message to DJ Campbell. The frontman is playing well but enduring a frustrating time – without a goal in six games. But the manager is right behind him, and so are his team-mates. Charlie Adam describes him as the best striker he's played with, while Ian Evatt says it is a matter of time before the goals start flowing.
Everton FC launch half season ticket offer
Nov 5 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
A Half Season Ticket gives fans entrance to the Blues' last 10 Premier League games of the current campaign as well as a host of other benefits. Everton have been renowned for their impressive performances in the second half of the season and last term was arguably the most exciting yet. David Moyes guided his team to famous victories over Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea as the Toffees finished 2009/10 on an astonishing unbeaten run. This time around, the Toffees' season is again gathering pace and there is expected to be significant interest in the half-season offering. Supporters purchasing a Half Season Ticket will not only benefit from major savings on match-by-match prices, with tickets starting at £130 for juniors, £184 for concessions and £268 for adults, but some tantalising football to boot. Included in the 10-game ticket are matches Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa. The popular Boxing Day clash, is also included. Discounted gym membership at Total Fitness, reduced priced meals at Malmaison and the Living Room are also on offer.
Dave Prentice: Who needs Gareth Bale when Everton have got Leighton Baines?
Nov 5 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON have been the unwitting beneficiaries of the London love-in with Gareth Bale this week. The Spurs full-back-cum- flying winger is undoubtedly a class act – as he has been since well before his two exceptional Inter Milan performances.
Echo columnist Barry Horne described him as a “Rolls Royce of a player” when the rest of the media was still talking about the 24 games he’d played before Spurs actually won a match he’d played in. But was his display on Tuesday night really “one of the most mesmerising individual displays of the modern era – comparable perhaps to George Best’s destruction of Benfica”, as one journalist wrote? Bale didn’t even score. He certainly gave Inter defender Maicon ‘twisted blood’, but let’s be realistic, Maicon is like all Brazilian defenders – he doesn’t really do defending. Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Dani Alves and Carlos Alberto regularly gave opposition defenders nightmares, but they also gave their own centre- backs a few sleepless nights too with their forays upfield. But while the London boys are loving Gareth Bale, Leighton Baines is being allowed to quietly and effectively produce another series of consistently excellent performances. After 14 goal assists last season – a phenomenal return for a full-back – Baines has already supplied another three this season . . . not to mention that sublime free-kick while Phil Neville was keeping Gareth Bale quiet at White Hart Lane. Bale is an exceptional athlete and an excellent footballer, but Everton are more than happy with their own left-back. To rework that old Gwladys Street anthem . . . ‘Who needs Gareth Bale when we’ve got Leighton Baines!’
Everton FC star Seamus Coleman aiming to follow Spurs star Gareth Bale
Nov 5 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
SEAMUS COLEMAN wants to copy man-of-the-moment Gareth Bale by transforming himself into a world-class attacking winger. The Everton starlet has much in common with Spurs star Bale, who has become one of Europe’s most sought-after talents after tearing Inter Milan apart twice in the Champions League.
Both men are full-backs who have been pushed into midfield, and Coleman, 22, has been inspired by Bale’s stellar progress. He said: “If you look at him this time last year he couldn’t get in the Spurs team, and then even when he started getting in, he wasn’t bad but wasn’t shining. “Maybe he’s just got his head down in the gym, I don’t know. But it just goes to show that it can be done. Things can turn around quickly.
“He was not getting a game last year, and now he’s one of the best wingers in the world. Hard work pays off. “I keep an eye on his game - it will be hard to mimic it but I’ll definitely give it a go. He just runs at people. No tricks or anything - just power and pace. If you've got the pace to do that why not?” Coleman helped his skipper Phil Neville to mark Bale out of the game during the Blues’ recent draw at White HartLane. And the former Sligo Rovers player used the experience as another in his growing line of steep learning curves. He said: “We’d all seen the hat-trick he scored against Inter Milan before the game at White Hart Lane and he was just on fire.
“To be fair to the lad he’s just brilliant. He’s full of confidence and I knew I had to be wary of him. But being a natural right back myself, I track back a lot anyway and Phil did a great job. “Phil was in my ear a lot but he is in every game anyway, which I need because it’s a new position to me on the right wing and I need his help.”
Meanwhile, Jack Rodwell has paid tribute to Everton’s medical staff after returning from a serious ankle injury three weeks ahead of schedule. The midfielder has been sidelined since August 29 when he sustained ligament damage in the Premier League defeat at Aston Villa. It was initially feared he could miss as much as three months of the season while the injury healed. However, the 19-year-old was a surprise selection on the Blues bench against Stoke City at the weekend and then stepped up his rehab by playing an hour in the reserves’ 5-0 win over Blackpool on Wednesday afternoon.
The England Under-21 star said: “Credit has to go to the medical team. I’m a few weeks ahead of schedule. I was meant to be out until Christmas time so I’ve done really well to get back by now. “Now it’s just a case of getting my confidence up and getting a bit of time on the pitch like I did against Blackpool. I’ll get my head down, do some extra work in the gym and hopefully I’ll get my chance again.”
“I felt quite far from match fitness (against Blackpool reserves). But the sharpness will come. It was my first game back in nine or 10 weeks so I’m pleased with how it has gone. I’m three weeks ahead of schedule so I can’t complain, but there are little bits that I need to work on. “Obviously I always want to perform well but it was more to gain more confidence in my ankle. It’s been a while now, my ankle has been in a boot, I’ve been on crutches – it’s been a long time out so it’s about getting the confidence in the ankle and feeling good on the pitch again. “I was involved in the last game on the bench,” he added. “All I can do is keep training, keep working on my ankle, get confident and keep getting in the squad.”
Howard Kendall: Yakubu was back to his best in Everton FC's win over Stoke
Nov 5 2010 Liverpool Echo
IT WAS extremely important that Everton took three points from their Goodison clash with Stoke, and even if it wasn’t pretty, the result was what mattered. Afterwards there were the usual complaints and grumbles about decisions made by referee Lee Probert. Tony Pulis was affronted because Probert ruled that Tuncay’s goal shouldn’t count for a foul on Leighton Baines. Whatever you think about that, Pulis should look to an incident at the other end of the pitch when Baines was denied a blatant penalty.
Ever the honest professional Baines stayed on his feet when he was unfairly challenged in the Stoke area, but it was a stone-wall penalty for me so Pulis should have just bit his lip. I do understand his frustration, there is so much at stake in every Premier League game these days, and his side are in need of a victory. But he should have tried to look at the game as a whole and realised what his team got away with, because there were other decisions that went in their favour throughout. The bookmakers must have taken an absolute hammering because everyone I spoke to before the game was backing Yakubu to score the first goal.
I have always maintained that class like his does not go away overnight, and he would eventually come good. Now it would be massively influential on the season if the Nigerian went on a run of scoring similar to when he first came to Goodison Park.
He certainly looks much more like his old self. I would rather have had the Yak up front for my team than Kenwyne Jones. He cost a big fee for Stoke and was pretty anonymous all afternoon.
Everton FC star Seamus Coleman recalls three eventful months under the mad-cap management of Ian Holloway
Nov 5 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
SEAMUS COLEMAN spent three eventful months on loan at Blackpool last season – but one moment sums up his experience with the irrepressible Ian Holloway.
The young defender was on a high after helping the Seasiders clinch promotion to the top flight, when his mobile phone rang as he sat with the rest of the squad on the team bus making its way back North from Wembley. “My phone rang, and it was my mum,” says the 22-year-old Irishman. “Ian heard me say “Hello Mum”, so he got all the lads to start chanting “There’s only one Mrs Coleman” really loud. She thought it was hilarious.” Holloway might be renowned for being a joker, but he is deadly serious when he says the loan capture of Coleman was one of the best decisions of his managerial career. The eccentric manager took Coleman to Bloomfield Park for a busy spell, which saw the club clinch promotion to the top flight, via a play-off dog-fight which saw Nottingham Forest and Cardiff City brushed aside. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Coleman’s fearless attacking full back play gave Blackpool fresh impetus at a crucial point of their season, and the experience gave Coleman the added maturity which has helped him become a regular for Everton. The former Sligo Rovers player smiles at the memory of that loan spell, even as he prepares to return tomorrow with the Toffees and pour cold water over Blackpool’s early season optimism. “Blackpool definitely has a lot of special memories for me,” says the defender. “I was lucky enough to be taken there on loan and the fans were great.
“I was fortunate to learn from playing some very high profile games in the play-offs, especially the final, and the experience was priceless. “Every game in the Premier League is massive, so I needed those games - like Nottingham Forest in the semi final, and Cardiff in the final, to bring me up to speed in a way. “There were a lot of people at the games, and big pressure, so it helped me.” Coleman was only a short drive from Merseyside, but he was still heartened by the interest his Everton team-mates took in his progress - not least the watchful eye of his manager. “The lads at Everton kept an eye on how I was doing and texted me all the time,” he says. “It’s nice that people from your own club are still interested. I spoke to David Moyes once or twice while I was there, particularly about extending the loan. “He was great, telling me I was doing well and what I needed to brush up on. “He even went to a couple of the games and it was nice to see him showing an interest. Knowing he was there might have made me a bit nervous, but at least you know he cares to come out and watch another game just because you’re in it.” Despite the laughs he enjoyed under Holloway, Coleman insists that his temporary boss is much more than just a jester. “I just laugh when I see him on Sky Sports news, and we used to laugh all the time but he’s not just a joker.
“There are days when you have a laugh and a joke, and then days when you stand back and listen to him. I really enjoyed it.“He can be completely focused and serious when he needs to be, and if his team get a defeat he really takes it home with him.
“Losing hurts him and he takes it to heart. He’s a great manager, and I hope that after Saturday he wins a few games. But on Saturday we’re going there to win.”
Holloway is convinced Coleman will be “a top quality attacking right-back in the Premier League,” and the praise is music to the ears of the modest Donegal man.
“It’s a big compliment to hear him say I was a good signing. I just went there, got my head down and did what he told me like I would for any manager. I’m pleased it worked out well for both of us. “I still keep in touch with some of the Blackpool lads. Keith Southern used to take me out every day and I still speak to Charlie Adam. They’re all good lads and they really helped me settle.” Coleman denies he will be asked for the inside track on Blackpool’s tactical approach before the game tomorrow, but he does have words of caution for his team-mates. “The manager knows himself (how Blackpool play) and will have been to their games and know what to expect. Charlie Adam will be one we’ll have to watch,” he says. “He has a great footballing brain and always wants the ball. “His range of passing is fantastic and he will be one we need to keep an eye on. It’s not just him though, there are other players we’ll have to watch. Someone else is capable of popping up and being the star.” The Blues go on their travels unbeaten in five Premier League games, looking to leave their early season woes behind. But Coleman insists none of the Everton players are allowing themselves to think their revival will simply look after itself. A hard-fought three points ground out against Stoke City last weekend reminded the Blues they must not allow the derby victory and draw against Spurs to give them too much bravado.
“We need to keep our focus now and take each game in our stride. We can’t afford to take anything for granted,” says Coleman. “You can feel the confidence coming after every win, but we still need to be wary.”
Dave Prentice: Does Superman wear Phil Neville pyjamas?
Nov 5 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
PERHAPS it’s just as well that Phil Neville has more of his career behind him than ahead. The modest Blues captain stopped buying the papers last week because he was embarrassed by the publicity given to his shackling of man of the moment, Gareth Bale. So quite what he’d make of becoming an internet phenomenon is, as yet, unrecorded. In case you missed it, Neville became the third most tweeted-about subject in the world this week. More people mentioned the 33-year-old footballer on Twitter than wrote about Barack Obama, Kanye West’s embarrassing indiscretions or even the US mid-term elections. Everton wags sparked the hijack after Spurs star Gareth Bale’s brilliant performance against Inter Milan on Tuesday. They noted that only last week Neville had stopped Bale from wreaking similar havoc on Everton – and started joking about their skipper’s superpowers. The campaign took off like one of The Incredible Hulk’s rage fuelled leaps. Apparently it takes at least 5,000 tweets about a subject to make it a top trend. On Tuesday night only two subjects were being discussed more worldwide . . . the absence of African Americans in the US Senate and a recently deceased US pro surfer. Some of the tweets included: “Death once had a near Phil Neville experience.” “The Queen sings God Save Phil Neville.”
“If Phil Neville was from Sparta, 300 would just be called One.” Ex-Everton team-mate Landon Donovan noticed the surge and tweeted: “Phil Neville is trending?!? What has this world come to?!?!?!?” So next time you’re thinking of booing the Blues skipper, remember “Phil Neville doesn't wear a watch. He decides what time it is!”
Everton FC’s Jack Rodwell is refusing to rush return
Nov 5 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
JACK RODWELL is refusing to rush his comeback into the Everton first team after making an early return to action this week. Rodwell played 57 minutes for the reserves on Wednesday in their 5-0 thumping over Blackpool, his first outing since injuring ankle ligaments at Aston Villa on August 29. The damage that was expected to sideline the 19-year-old for three months, but a course of intensive treatment saw Rodwell a surprise inclusion on the bench as an unused substitute for in Saturday’s Premier League win over Stoke City. Rodwell is likely to be among the replacements again tomorrow when David Moyes’s side head to Bloomfield Road to take on Blackpool’s first team. And the midfielder is happy to ease his way back to full match sharpness. “If it seems right that I come on, then I’m sure the gaffer will do so,” said Rodwell. “If not, then I can only keep working, keep training well and keep some good form going in training and hopefully the gaffer will see that. “Like I said it’s about getting confidence in the ankle now which will take a couple of weeks I think. I’m not putting too much pressure on myself.” Rodwell added: “I felt quite far from match fitness (against Blackpool reserves). But the sharpness will come. It was my first game back in nine or 10 weeks so I’m pleased with how it has gone.
“I’m three weeks ahead of schedule so I can’t complain, but there are little bits that I need to work on. “Obviously I always want to perform well but it was more to gain more confidence in my ankle. It’s been a while now, my ankle has been in a boot, I’ve been on crutches – it’s been a long time out so it’s about getting the confidence in the ankle and feeling good on the pitch again. “I was involved in the last game on the bench. All I can do is keep training, keep working on my ankle, get confident and keep getting in the squad – hopefully I’ll get my time on the pitch.” Rodwell’s early return after a little more than two months has led the player to pay tribute to Everton’s medical staff. “Credit has to go to the medical team,” he said. “I’m a few weeks ahead of schedule. I was meant to be out until Christmas time so I’ve done really well to get back by now. “Now it’s just a case of getting my confidence up and getting a bit of time on the pitch like I did against Blackpool. “I’ll get my head down, do some extra work in the gym and hopefully I’ll get my chance again.”
Everton boss: I used to stop Holloway by "nutting him"
05/11/10 By David Anderson (Mirror)
David Moyes claims he used to stop Ian Holloway in the Bristol derby by “nutting him”. But he knows he will have to adopt a more cerebral approach when they go head-to-head at Bloomfield Road today. Moyes went up against Holloway when he was a rugged centre-half at Bristol City and the Blackpool boss was a busy midfielder at Bristol Rovers in the mid-80s and says he has always been a character. “He was a gashead and there was a big rivalry between the teams, but they were good times,” said the Everton manager. “I just nutted him. Mind, he did have big centre forwards to look after him like Devon White. He always had minders to look after him at Bristol Rovers. “He was a lively character and always had something to say. He was from down that way as well with that West Country accent. “He was fiesty and even then, he had qualities about him. You could see him going into management and that was the chosen route he wanted to take. He was a real competitor and I think he’s shown that as a manger.” Holloway is often dismissed as a joker because of his zany quotes, but Moyes says he deserves huge credit for what he has achieved at Blackpool on a shoestring. “He’s changed round their style,” said Moyes, who revealed Leon Osman will be out for six weeks following his ankle operation. “You have to admire someone who is willing to do that and be brave enough. I don’t know if they would have got out of the Championship if they hadn’t changed their style. “They’re a little bit Dutch in style, with wide boys high up the pitch. It’s working well for them just now. For him to do that and change was probably a big risk. I have to say well done to him.”
Seamus owes Pool star a pint
05 November 2010 The Gazette
By Steve Canavan
SEAMUS Coleman will make a beeline for one particular Blackpool player when the Everton coach pulls up outside Bloomfield Road. The Irishman owes Keith Southern a pint or three, for driving Coleman into training every single day of his loan spell last season. At the time, Coleman hadn't passed his driving test and was fretting about getting to Pool's training ground. "He lived, still does, in south Liverpool. I live in north Liverpool and he said one day 'do you mind if I come in with you Keith'," said Southern. "I said 'no problem' but the only thing I asked of him was could he get to my house in the mornings, because for me to go and pick him up would have been an extra 50-mile round trip before we even got on the M6. "Also I've got a little baby lad now so there are extra things to do in the house before training. "So every morning he would get a taxi to my house and he used to sit in my living room, just him and my little 'un staring at one another before it was time to leave! "But Seamus was a great lad and I didn't mind taking him into training, it was no problem whatsoever.
"You try to do a favour or two for a young lad who needs a helping hand.
"I don't know whether has passed his driving test yet or now ... knowing him he probably hasn't!" Coleman might not be able to drive but he is making giant strides in the Premier League. He has started the last five games for the Toffees, during which time Everton haven't lost a game, and playing wide right in David Moyes' line-up, he's sure to be a handful for Stephen Crainey tomorrow. One thing's certain, Coleman will get a great reception from the home support And quite right too, for the 22-year-old undoubtedly played a major role in helping the Seasiders win promotion to the top flight – in Southern's opinion, a key role. "I remember he'd had a really bad infected blister in his foot that kept him out for three months last season," explained Southern.
"He'd just got fit and came to us at a time when he really wanted to play football. He was fed up of reserve football and he wanted games. He is that type of lad, he just wants to play. "We were fortunate enough to get him and it might be a bold statement but I don't think we'd have got promoted without him. He was that good and that important for us towards the latter stage of the season. "It's just a shame that he was too good really because it meant we couldn't hang on to him."
Greg O'Keeffe: Blues cycle from Goodison to Blackpool for Everton in the Community charity
Nov 6 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
IF you’re leisurely making your way to Blackpool today, spare a thought for a group of Blues who are braving the rain (and saddle rash) to cycle there. Last year, a group of Evertonians rode 300 miles from London to Paris to raise more than £15,000 for Everton in the Community. Today, they’re cycling the 55 miles from Goodison to Bloomfield Park accompanied by Blues chief exec Robert Elstone. It’s all to promote the Bike2Work Scheme, set up by two of the group last year. Using the company can save you up to 50% on bikes and equipment. Visit bike2workscheme.co.uk or call 0800 612 2603.
Greg O'Keeffe: Win tickets to Everton former players foundation evening on November 15
Nov 6 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
REMEMBER Ibrahim Saeed? Nope, us neither. Only the most stat-obsessed Evertonians (Hello Mr Prentice) would be able to instantly pluck the Egyptian from the cavern of their mind. Saeed joined Everton from Cairo giants Ahly on loan in 2003, but his Premier League tenure lasted only a few weeks. He returned home without playing a single competitive game with the side." I was only 20 years old at that time, I was a bit naive," the controversial defender said, "I was supposed to play (in the Merseyside derby) against Liverpool after Swedish full-back (Niclas) Alexandersson picked up an injury. But people were surprised to see my red hair. I did not know that it would cause problems because Liverpool wear a red shirt. [David] Moyes eventually did not play me for that reason." It’s hard to harbour any sympathy for someone that daft. Anyway, if your memories are sharp enough, two readers can bag yourself a couple of tickets to this month’s former players foundation evening, featuring more than 50 Everton greats. Just answer this: Which former Everton player wore a woman’s wig to training at Bellefield in mock homage David Ginola. E-mails you answer to grego’keeffe@l iverpoolecho.co.uk
Barry Horne: Harry Redknapp’s FA triumph is a victory for common sense
Nov 6 2010 by Barry Horne, Liverpool Echo
ATTACK certainly proved to be the best form of defence for Harry Redknapp this week. And I’m not just talking about the thrilling demolition of Inter Milan which was based on a very attacking philosophy. Harry also secured another victory which whilst not thrilling him in the same way as his players, I’m sure would have nevertheless given him great satisfaction. Has any other manager been so directly critical of a referee, using such damning language, and not been called before the FA to explain his comments? Harry went on the front foot after it looked like the furore over the Mark Clattenburg incident last weekend was beginning to die down. His actions obviously pre-empted any action the FA might have been considering and, just like his tactics on Tuesday, it worked. I have to say that reading and listening to Redknapp, many of the comments he made were very reasonable. Perhaps some good will come out of it and it will lead to more honest appraisals during post-match interviews.
Barry Horne: Rafa Benitez can spot a priest on a mountain of sugar - but he can’t spot a good player
Nov 6 2010 by Barry Horne, Liverpool Echo
GARETH BALE’S midweek performance drew worldwide acclaim for the second time in a fortnight. The tributes were appropriate, but less so was some ridiculous hyperbole. I have watched Gareth for many years and for me he was always going to be a Premier League player – the question was whether or not he could fulfil his potential and become an extra- ordinary Premier League player. The two games against Inter Milan suggest the latter is quite possible. But maybe the two games in between against Everton and Manchester United suggest that he’s not quite there yet and some of the comments attached to him, suggesting he is already the best player in the world (Radio 5) are a little premature. Possibly the one person inside White Hart Lane on Tuesday unable to acknowledge Gareth Bale’s display was Rafa Benitez. He may be able to spot a priest on a mountain of sugar, but he still doesn’t appear able to spot a good player.
Barry Horne: Yakubu's back to his best
Nov 6 2010 by Barry Horne, Liverpool Echo
I WALKED away from Goodison Park last Saturday mightily relieved to have seen us win a very, very scrappy game. I was relieved too, of course, that Lee Probert, wrongly in my opinion, disallowed Tuncay’s ‘goal.’ Granted, the referee then evened things out by not allowing a blatant penalty for a trip on Leighton Baines, but the reality was that the first goal was always likely to be so important and therefore the disallowed ‘goal’ was the more important decision for me. The magic triangle of Pienaar, Arteta and Baines stuttered a little and their performance so often determines the performance of the team. As a result Distin and Jagielka were very much the unsung heroes of the day. I was also very impressed with Yakubu. He looked lean, energetic and enthusiastic. Of late he seems to have uncharacteristically lacked confidence in front of goal, missing several opportunities where in the past he would cooly stroke the ball into the bottom corner. Recently he has been playing safe and finding the goalkeeper. His goal on Saturday was a fantastically instinctive finish, and it should not be overlooked that his tenacity and strength earned Tim Cahill’s initial opportunity for the strike on goal. I have seen Blackpool three times this year and on each occasion I have been hugely impressed. Ian Holloway promised to ‘throw some punches’ this season and, very much in the image of their manager, the team is upbeat, full of confidence and dynamic. Everton players can expect some great personal duels with players that are better known by followers of the Championship. I have seen Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Luke Varney give Premier League defenders a torrid time this season and if Everton don’t get on top of the in-form Charlie Adams, the game will by no means be as easy as some fans might hope.
Greg O'Keeffe: Everton FC legend Mike Trebilcock on his Roy of the Rovers career
Nov 6 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
THEY might not fully appreciate it, but the Aussie schoolboys who turn up for football coaching in the tropical city of Darwin each weekday morning are in the company of a legend. The small, tanned 65-year-old who puts the youngsters through their paces, shouting constant encouragement and praise might be just coach Mike to them, but to a generation of Evertonians he is the man who helped them taste FA Cup glory at the height of the swinging Sixties. Mike Trebilcock, the unlikeliest of Wembley sensations, took just five minutes to write his name into the history books when he scored twice in the 1966 final to help Everton come back from 2-0 down against Sheffield Wednesday. Derek Temple did the rest of course, and the Blues had the major domestic trophy in the year that England became world champions. Trebilcock was tracked down by former Echo writer Hyder Jawad, working for top football nostalgia magazine, Backpass. In their interview, Trebilcock says: “It all went according to my dreams. I always knew I’d play for a top club, then play in an FA Cup final, then score the winning goal. “I didn’t get the winning goal, but I got the next best thing: I scored twice, then I helped another young player score the winner.” The Cornishman admits his ambition to reach the top was fuelled by a youthful obsession with Roy of the Rovers. “The Roy of the Rovers stories were the standard Christmas present every year when I was a kid. So it wasn’t difficult to identify yourself with either Roy Race or Blackie Gray. What they did in a comic I wanted to do for real. But how does a young Cornish boy from Gunnislake get to play at Wembley?” The answer for Trebilcock was a transfer to Goodison Park from Plymouth Argyle, completed in December 1965. “I’d signed for Plymouth in 1962 and I loved my time there,” he says. “I learned a lot there under Malcolm Allison. Malcolm was class. It was he who taught me how to curl a ball, and I used this skill to score against Gordon Banks. But when the chance came to play in the First Division, I knew it was right. “When I went to sign for Everton in 1965, I had to wake up early to board the train from Plymouth to Crewe, on the way to Liverpool. I had to borrow a fiver to pay for the train. “At first I had no idea that Everton was a place in Liverpool. It was exciting to go to the big city, the city of the Beatles; the city famous for its football clubs and its night life. “Here I was a 21-year-old Cornishman, going to sign for one of the greatest clubs in Europe. “During the long journey, I couldn’t help but think about my background. Growing up in Cornwall in the 1940s and 1950s, I was the youngest of 14 children. I like to tell the story of how we used to gather around a candle in the middle of winter. If it was really cold, my father would light the candle. My own children would always laugh when I told them that, but Cornwall in the 1950s was a different world. “So when I arrived at Lime Street, I saw all of these flash bulbs and what seemed like crowds of people, and I thought the attention must have been for somebody else. The Beatles perhaps. How could I think it was all for me?” His Everton career might not have been particularly long, he played just 13 matches for the Blues. But he will never forget that magical afternoon in the capital. After a quiet first half for him, and the team, the Blues were 2-0 down. “You can imagine how I felt,” he says. “The boss drops the England centre-forward, puts me in the team, we’re 2-0 down, and I've not had a kick for an hour. “But in a blink of an eye, everything had changed. The match had changed, Everton’s history had changed, my life had changed, everything had changed. “My goals reminded me of something that Malcolm Allison once told me; you always have more time in the penalty area than you think.”
Everton FC boss David Moyes relishing sea-side clash with old adversary Ian Holloway
Nov 6 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
TODAY may be the first time David Moyes and Ian Holloway have squared up with three Premier League points at stake - but the pair are old, not to mention fond, adversaries. Moyes and the ubiquitous joker known as Ollie, were derby day rivals when the Everton boss was a no-nonsense centre half for Bristol City, and Holloway was a prickly midfielder for Bristol Rovers. Moyes grins at the memory. “He was a gas head!” says the Blues boss. “There was a big rivalry and they were good times. They were well anticipated derbies at that time. “He was always a character. He was feisty and he always had qualities about him. “You could see him going into management and that was the chosen route he wanted to take.” Moyes had a typically forthright way of dealing with his spiky counterpart. “I just nutted him!” he says. “He had big centre forwards to look after him like Devon White. He always had minders to look after him at Bristol Rovers.” Never one to duck an out-spoken soundbite, Holloway once said the only good Bristol City fan is a dead one. “He could get away with that!” he says. “He was always lively, always had something to say. “He was from down that way as well with that West Country accent. He was a real competitor and I think he's shown that as a manger." Moyes has the utmost respect for what Holloway has achieved with Blackpool on a budget which makes even his own seem like mega bucks."He's changed round the style,” says the Scot. “You have to admire someone who is willing to do that and brave enough. “I don't know if they'd not changed the style whether they would have got out of the Championship. They surprised a lot of people and they've surprised a lot of people in the Premier League with how they are playing. “They're a little bit Dutch in the style, wide boys high up the pitch. It's working well for them just now. “For him to do that and change was probably a big risk. I have to say well done to him. “He's got players passing the ball and trying to do the right thing. I'm sure he's standing back and enjoying his football and people who have watched Blackpool over the last year will probably say the same. “ I know the area quite well and I've seen a few of the games, watched them develop over the last 12 months. “He has embraced the way they're playing and wants them to pass the ball and they've done it really well.” The Everton manager believes a lot of Holloway’s infamy is down to his refusal to sugar coat his views. “He's been brutally honest in his assessment of football,” says Moyes. “I really admire him for that because a lot of us managers, me included, maybe can't always say the things we want to say because it would be perceived the wrong way. “Ollie's come up from the lower leagues and thought 'this isn't what I'm used to' and 'this isn't what I'm seeing' and he's been really disappointed with what he's seen. “It's great because he's come up fresh faced in the Premier League.” Moyes accepts Holloway’s vow to try and copy Everton’s progress as a compliment, and a sign that money is not yet always all powerful. "Hopefully football isn't going to be about how much money you can spend,” he says. “I don't think football was for that. Football's about picking players, getting a team in, trying to mould a team, one year you have a good season and the next maybe it's not so good. “I think Ollie has done that. We've tried to compete with the main clubs in this country on a far less budget."
Everton FC star Marouane Fellaini set for faster than expected return to fitness
Nov 6 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
MAROUANE Fellaini is set to provide David Moyes with a fitness boost by returning to action two weeks ahead of schedule. The influential Belgian midfielder was ruled out for up to six weeks earlier this month, after he was injured on international duty with Belgium. Fellaini’s ham-string problem was worsened by playing on during the Euro 2012 qualifying clash with Austria, and left Moyes furious. The Everton boss, who wrote an angry letter to the Belgian FA over why the 22-year-old was not substituted, was resigned to being without his £15m man for most of November. But Fellaini could now be fit for next Sunday’s home game against Arsenal, after working hard on the training ground and responding well to treatment. Moyes said: “The situation has improved. He’s training well and will have an outside chance of being fit for next Sunday. I’ve said it before but the lad is probably the hardest working player when he’s injured, and probably the most dedicated to getting back. “The medical staff will say he’s a pleasure to work with, he wants to put his time in and get back quickly. He was in Belgium doing a solid week’s work and he really puts himself out.” Moyes’ delight at Fellaini’s rapid recovery was tempered by news that Leon Osman will be out for six weeks after he needed surgery to remove a piece of bone from his ankle, injured during the Merseyside derby. Moyes said: “Maybe last year I felt we couldn’t get players back quickly. Obviously we’ve got to keep an eye on it. “Phil Jagielka came back quick from his hamstring, and Mikel Arteta and there’s always an element of risk to it. Jack (Rodwell) we put on the bench last week and I wouldn’t have used him unless we really needed the size at set pieces late on in the game. He wasn’t really 100%.” Moyes said that Rodwell, who has been out since the end of August, has not fully recovered from the ankle injury he picked up in the 1-0 defeat to Villa. “I think he's close but I don't think he's quite ready yet, but we may need to continue to include him,” said Moyes.” he said. “He played 50 minutes in the reserves and will probably be included again tomorrow, but I don't think he's ready to start and I think he would probably agree with that.” Victor Anichebe also appeared for the reserves against Blackpool in midweek, but Moyes revealed he is not yet in line for a first-team return. The striker's 20-minute cameo at Finch Farm came before he had returned to training and the Everton manager said it was Anichebe's decision to play in that game. He said: “We weren't planning to bring Victor back because he hadn't trained. But he felt he could use 20 minutes in the reserves so we took a risk and gave him that. “Victor has only had 20 minutes of football so we'll try and up his training and he'll start training with us (the first team) from today.” Everton are likely to be unchanged as they take on Blackpool today, with none of the starting eleven who secured a 1-0 win over Stoke last weekend missing.
Southern desperate for Everton chance
Keith Southern in action against Liverpool
06 November 2010
By Steve Canavan (Blackpool Gazette)
KEITH Southern is champing at the bit for a bigger slice of the Seasiders action and would love to play today against Everton, his only other club. Southern was a kid at Goodison Park before joining Blackpool in August 2002, frustrated at a lack of first-team chances at Everton. Little did he know that eight years on he would be playing at the same level as his former employees. But following a knee injury over the summer, Southern is yet to start a top-flight game, though he has been on the bench for the past month and edging closer to Holloway's starting 11. As for Everton, the midfielder has nothing but fond memories. "It didn't work out for me at Everton but I've had a really good career at Blackpool," said the 29-year-old. "But Everton still holds a place in my heart because I really enjoyed every minute I had there. "It feels like another lifetime really and the whole club has moved forward massively since.
"I went to watch our reserves play at Everton on Wednesday and got a guided tour of the training ground. It is unbelievable – one of the best I've ever been to. "I wasn't born in Liverpool but I do live there and all my links are there now. "It will be special to be part of this game but if it's not to be, it's not to be. Any start in the Premier League would be special, against Everton or anyone." Southern departed Goodison four months after David Moyes was appointed manager and he is looking forward to their reunion. "I think he'll remember me because he has a great football brain and keeps an eye on everyone he has managed," added Southern. "You never know, if I get a start and maybe have a good game I'll make him think, what if. "He was honest with me at all times. I went away with the first team that pre-season and did quite well."
Blackpool 2-2 Everton: Sunday Mirror match report
07/11/10 By Derick Allsop
Tim Cahill of Everton jumps above Ian Evatt of Blackpool to scores his side's first goal
Forget the pleasure beach. No white knuckle ride beats the thrill a minute experience of Bloomfield Road these days. Twice Blackpool lead, twice they were pegged back by Everton and might have been swamped, yet they survived to threaten a winner in the frenzied finarle. A fingertip save by Tim Howard from Charlie Adam’s fierce rising shot two minutes from the end spared Everton total despair. As it is, they will be desperately trying to work out how they squandered opportunities to put the issue beyond doubt. But then Ian Holloway has weaved an unlikely tale ever since he set foot in this place and his players have a knack of conjuring results against the odds. Neal Eardly’s free kick set the tone for Blackpool and although Tim Cahill pulled Everton level, David Vaughan restored home advantage. It fell, appropriately to Seamus Coleman, who had a spell on loan at Blackpool last season, to plunder Everton’s second equaliser with his first Premier League goal. Coleman gave a right-sided rendition of Gareth Bale in Europe to run the Blackpool defence ragged, the wonder is that his contribution did not prove decisive. With Mickel Arteta orchestrating, Cahill hounding and every other player purposely supporting, Everton ought to have been out of sight. But the catalogue of wasted chances mounted and by the later stages Blackpool, too, had cause to tally the what might have been moments. Holloway even thought his team had won and was celebrating until he realised Marlon Harewood’s “goal” had been disallowed. “I didn’t hear the whistle” Holloway said. “But I’m pleased that we look like a Premier League team. We were terrific.” Seamus Coleman showed the kind of lad he is by not celebrating his goal and I’m delighted to have been a part of his life.” Frustrated Everton manager David Moyes said: “We had enough chances to win. It’s a big two points drop. We gambled for three points with an extra striker and that made it end to end. “Seamus has done a terrific job but we perhaps lacked a bit of quality when we needed it in front goal.” Blackpool had the best possible start. Howard and the Everton defensive wall were doubtless bracing themselves for the left foot strike of Adam as they faced a free kick after ten minutes. Instead it was the right foot of Eardley that breached the cover and beat the American keeper to his left. Blackpool’s fans had barely four minutes to wallow in the euphoria. Yakubu, who scored his first goal in more than six months to secure Evertons victory against Stoke a week earlier, turned provider for the equaliser. The striker crossed from the left and Cahill’s header had just enough power to defy Matthew Gilks’ groping hand. Coleman, revelling on his return to the seaside resort, joined forces with captain Phil Neveille to stunning effect on the right. He had a shot saved by Gilks and then, after dancing inside two defenders, curled his effort inches beyond the far post. Everton’s failure to capitalise on that first half domination came back to haunt them early in the second. They scorned chances to clear the danger and Vaughan duly punished them. Once more, Everton responded swiftly. Coleman launched another raid and his low drive went through the vulnerable Gilks. In a show of respect to his former colleagues, Coleman resisted any impulse to celebrate, satisfying himself with the appreciation of the Everton players and support. Coleman almost set up Yakubu with another unstoppable surge and Gilks somehow scrambled the ball away as Arteta seemed certain to put Everton in front. Substitute Louis Saha looked even more likely to score for Moyes’ side, even as he was tugged back, yet screwed his shot off target. Blackpool sent on Matt Phillips and Harewood, and their pace and power presented Everton with concerns of their own at the back. The bold ploy almost paid off for Holloway but that would have been a cruel blow to the visitors.
BLACKPOOL 2 - EVERTON 2: SEAMUS COLEMAN'S GOT SCORING BLUES
7th November 2010
By Mike Whalley at Bloomfield Road
BLACKPOOL 2 -- EVERTON 2 (The Star)
IT’S a sign of how fondly Seamus Coleman remembers his time at Blackpool that he chose not to celebrate his first Premier League goal. He cut his teeth during a three-month loan stint at Bloomfield Road last season, helping the Seasiders to their shock promotion to the Premier League. And the youngster, who used to get a lift in to training from Liverpool with Pool midfielder Keith Southern, still has a lot of mates beside the seaside. So when he raced away from Stephen Crainey to fire in Everton’s second equaliser five minutes into the second half, he brushed off the congratulations of his team-mates and jogged back to the centre circle. Blackpool manager Ian Holloway said: “I’ve just told Seamus he should have put it wide. He’s a lovely gentleman and he showed what he feels for us. He’s scored a goal but he didn’t celebrate. “He’s a very good lad and a very good player and I’m delighted to have been any part of his life.” Quite how this game only had four goals is a mystery, as it was a breathless exhibition of attacking football. At times, it was almost like watching basketball. Ian Holloway’s men started brightly – they don’t know any other way, it seems – and led inside the first 10 minutes through Neal Eardley’s superb curling free-kick. If Blackpool thought that might be a springboard, they were wrong. It was their only shot on target in the first half. And Everton were quickly level. The Premier League’s headmaster – Tim Cahill’s headed goals per game ratio is better even than Alan Shearer or Duncan Ferguson – rose to power Yakubu’s cross past Matt Gilks. Everton dominated after that, with Coleman a key player. The young Irishman is fast making a name for himself at Everton. So fast, that his manager David Moyes reckons he could be the next Gareth Bale. Coleman plays on the right rather than the left. But like Tottenham’s Welsh wonder, he is a natural full-back who has been pushed forward this season. “Seamus has been terrific,” said Moyes. “He’s done great for the goal. “There were one or two things he could have done better but overall his performance was good. “He got to the by-line a couple of times and put some good balls in that you hope somebody would be on the end of.” Everton must have thought the game was theirs for the taking at half-time, but they got a shock less than three minutes into the second half. They failed to deal with Charlie Adam’s ball into the box and David Vaughan scrambled in the loose ball. But again Blackpool could not hold on to their lead as within two minutes, Coleman had struck. And still the chances kept coming, mostly to Everton – although Adam went close for the home side.
BLACKPOOL: Gilks 5; Eardley 8, Cathcart 8, Evatt 8, Crainey 6; Vaughan 7, Adam 7, Southern 7 (Phillips (62nd) 8); Taylor-Fletcher 8 (Grandin (74th) 6), Campbell 7, Varney 7 (Harewood (74th) 7)
EVERTON: Howard 5; Neville 6, Jagielka 7, Distin 7, Baines 6; Coleman 9, Arteta 7, Heitinga 7 (Beckford 77th), Pienaar 8 (Bilyaletdinov 76th); Cahill 8; Yakubu 7 (Saha (61st) 5)
STAR MAN: Seamus Coleman
Ref: A Marriner
HOLLOWAY: WE LOOK LIKE WE BELONG
Sunday November 7,2010 (The Express)
Blackpool manager Ian Holloway believes his team are now playing as if they belong in the Barclays Premier League. The Seasiders continued their excellent start to life in the top flight by holding Everton to a 2-2 draw at Bloomfield Road on Saturday afternoon. The hosts twice led in a thrilling contest after goals from Welsh pair Neal Eardley and David Vaughan, and thought they had snatched a late winner when Marlon Harewood struck, only to be flagged offside. Holloway said: "In general the biggest bugbear I have got is we didn't hold onto the lead long enough, but it is coming. I think the boys are playing so well. If we can keep doing that I think results will come our way. We are looking like a Barclays Premier League team. I thought we were terrific." He added: "I was pretty excited about the way we played and we haven't played as well as we have done. "We're at the top level and we're starting to look as good as some of the sides we are playing. "We need to keep going, but considering what some of our boys are getting paid, it's absolutely remarkable." Blackpool now have 14 from points from 11 games and Holloway thought they had two more when substitute Harewood struck in the last minute. "I didn't hear the whistle and was celebrating what I thought was us scoring the winner," he said. "I danced down the steps, I didn't hear the whistle." Holloway, however, having recently been fined for criticising a referee, refused to comment on the decision itself. He said: "I'll have to watch it again, I haven't seen it. It is what he has given because he is the man in charge. I've learnt that, let's get on with it."
BLACKPOOL V EVERTON: SEAMUS COLEMAN'S A SAVIOUR FOR DAVID MOYES
Sunday November 7,2010
By Mike Whalley at Bloomfield Road
Blackpool 2, Everton 2 (The Express)
IT’S A sign of how fondly Seamus Coleman remembers his time at Blackpool that he chose not to celebrate his first-ever Premier League goal. The young Irishman is fast making a name for himself at Everton. So fast, that his manager David Moyes reckons he could be the next Gareth Bale. Coleman plays on the right rather than the left, but like Tottenham’s Welsh wonder, is a natural full-back who has been pushed forward this season. He cut his teeth during a threemonth loan stint at Bloomfield Road last season, helping the Seasiders to their shock promotion to the Premier League. The youngster, who used to get a lift in to training from Liverpool every day with Pool midfi elder Keith Southern, still has a lot of mates beside the seaside. So when he raced away from Stephen Crainey to fi re in Everton’s second equaliser five minutes into the second half, he brushed off the congratulations of his team-mates and jogged back to the centre circle. Quite how this game only had four goals is a mystery, as it was a breathless exhibition of attacking football. At times, it was almost like watching basketball. Ian Holloway’s men started brightly – they don’t know any other way, it seems – and led inside the first 10 minutes. What a moment it was for Neal Eardley, who picked his 22nd birthday to score his first goal for the Seasiders. The right-back stepped up after Mikel Arteta had fouled Charlie Adam 25 yards out. Most of Bloomfield Road expected Adam to take the free-kick, so there was surprise to go with delight for the home fans when Eardley curled it in. If Pool thought that might be a springboard, they were wrong. It was their only shot on target of the first half. And Everton were quickly level. When it comes to scoring headed goals in the Premier League, nobody does it better than Tim Cahill. The Aussie is only 5ft 10in, but he has proven he is deadly in the air. Stats experts have worked out that Cahill has scored one headed goal in every six-and-a-bit top-flight games since joining Everton from Millwall in 2004. Even Premier League goal giants such as Alan Shearer, Duncan Ferguson and Les Ferdinand were never able to match that ratio. Steven Pienaar started the move for the equaliser with a neat ball to Sylvain Distin, who set up Yakubu to deliver a cross which Cahill powered past Matt Gilks from close range. It was his 50th goal with 28 of them have come with his head. Everton dominated after that, with Coleman a key player. Everton must have thought the game was theirs for the taking at half-time. But they got a shock three minutes into the second half. They failed to deal with Adam’s ball into the box, and Gary Taylor-Fletcher saw a shot blocked by Phil Jagielka’s arm before David Vaughan scrambled in the loose ball. Again Blackpool could not hold on to their lead. Within two minutes, Coleman struck. And still the chances kept coming, mostly to Everton – although Adam went close for the home side with a drive from the edge of the box. Marlon Harewood had a goal ruled out for offside, but defeat would have been as harsh on Everton as it would on Blackpool. What a cracking match.
Everton left to rue missed chances as they are held at Blackpool
Harry Polkey at Bloomfield Road
The Guardian, Sunday 7th November 2010
Steven Pienaar looks for a way past Keith Southern during Everton's game against Blackpool at Bloomfield Road. Photograph: Clint Hughes/PA Quite how Everton failed to win this match is hard to fathom, given the amount of possession they enjoyed and chances they created. Blackpool, for all they attacked with characteristically reckless abandon, created little, but they led twice and were still doing their best to snatch all three points at the end of a breathless, often bizarre game of football. "We should have won, we had numerous chances in the first half alone," said the Everton manager David Moyes. "It's two points dropped, and a big two points dropped. It was there for us to get a result." Blackpool made a bright start, moving the ball quickly and neatly in midfield to press the visitors back and forcing a series of free-kicks. Even so, the Everton back four had not appeared unduly troubled until Mikel Arteta fouled Charlie Adam in the 10th minute. From around 20 yards, and to the right of the Everton goal as he looked at it, the Blackpool full-back Neal Eardley curled the ball around the wall and beyond Everton's goalkeeper, Tim Howard. Everton's response came quickly. Blackpool's system means they can be very narrow in midfield, especially after losing possession, and they had already looked vulnerable when Sylvain Distin played the ball into the feet of Yakubu Ayegbeni, who turned away from his marker into space on the left of the Blackpool area and crossed for Tim Cahill to rise and get enough power on his header to beat the Blackpool goalkeeper Matthew Gilks. For the remainder of the first half, Everton looked dangerous every time they came forward. Cahill and Seamus Coleman both tested Gilks with shots from inside the area, and both Blackpool full-backs were booked for fouls born partly of desperation. Coleman, who played an important part in Blackpool's promotion push when on loan at Bloomfield Road last season, looked particularly threatening, turning Stephen Crainey every which way before cutting inside to curl a left-foot shot just past the post. Yet Everton were behind again within three minutes of the restart, when a scramble in the area resulted in the ball sitting up kindly for a composed David Vaughan to shoot beyond Howard. Again it took Everton only a couple of minutes to equalise. Gilks has impressed with his solidity this season, but the goalkeeper will not have been pleased with the manner in which Coleman's low, firm shot squeezed under his body. As had been the pattern in the first half, Everton resumed their dominance. Moyes sent on Louis Saha for Yakubu to give them a little more pace up front, and Steven Pienaar looked certain to score when a combination with the Frenchman left him with only Gilks to beat, only to scuff his shot sufficiently to enable the goalkeeper to make the save. Saha himself missed when clear on goal soon afterwards, and in the final 10 minutes Blackpool themselves threatened to take all three points, Howard having to tip Adam's rising shot over the bar, and the substitute Marlon Harwood putting the ball in the net from an offside position. "I'm delighted with the performance, I thought we were terrific," said Holloway. "The biggest bugbear I have is that we didn't hold on to the lead long enough, but if we can keep playing that well, the results will come our way. We're not the best team in the world, but we're certainly not the worst." They are certainly not, and for all they will be badly beaten sometimes this season, as they were at Arsenal and Chelsea, their exuberance could yet be enough to keep them up.
Everton FC boss David Moyes hails “terrific” goalscorer Seamus Coleman
Nov 8 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON manager David Moyes has revealed that he is delighted with the progress of Seamus Coleman after the Irishman netted his first Premier League goal. Coleman, a £60,000 buy from Sligo Rovers, grabbed Everton’s second equaliser at Bloomfield Road and Moyes, who likened the player to Tottenham star Gareth Bale last week, is pleased with the youngster’s development. He said: “He has done terrific. He did great for the goal. “There are one or two things he could have done better but overall his performance was good. “He got to the byline and put some balls in he would have hoped someone would get on the end of.” The draw extended Everton’s unbeaten sequence to six matches – a strong recovery having begun October bottom of the league. Nevertheless, Moyes regarded the result as two points dropped in their quest to climb the table. He said: “Winning in the Premier League is never easy – this wasn’t easy but I thought it was there for us to get the result. “But I thought we made a lot of poor decisions on the field. Maybe we should have done something differently than we did.” Everton also had several chances to settle the match and Moyes felt his side should have taken more than a point. The Scot said: “For me it is a big two points dropped. We had enough chances, but you have to credit Blackpool. They dug in and made it hard in the last 10 minutes. “I thought we had numerous opportunities in the first half to create goals and I thought we created some clear chances in the second half and didn’t take them. “We should have seen it off and got all three points. “ I would have gambled for three (points) today rather than one. “But when we gambled, Blackpool did as well. It became end to end.” Meanwhile, Blackpool manager Ian Holloway believes his team are now playing as if they belong in the Premier League.He said: “In general the biggest bugbear I have got is we didn’t hold onto the lead long enough, but it is coming. “I think the boys are playing so well. If we can keep doing that I think results will come our way. “We are looking like a Barclays Premier League team. I thought we were terrific. “I was pretty excited about the way we played and we haven’t played as well as we have done. “We’re at the top level and we’re starting to look as good as some of the sides we are playing. “We need to keep going, but considering what some of our boys are getting paid, it’s absolutely remarkable.” Blackpool now have 14 from points from 11 games and Holloway thought they had two more when substitute Marlon Harewood struck in the last minute. “I didn’t hear the whistle and was celebrating what I thought was us scoring the winner,” he said. “I danced down the steps, I didn’t hear the whistle.” Holloway, however, having recently been fined for criticising a referee, refused to comment on the decision. He said: “I’ll have to watch it again, I haven’t seen it. It is what he has given because he is the man in charge. I’ve learnt that, let’s get on with it. “But I was very pleased with Marlon’s finish.” Everton responded quickly to both Blackpool goals. Eardley’s brilliant 10th-minute free-kick was cancelled out by Tim Cahill’s 50th Premier League goal, while former Blackpool loanee Coleman immediately replied after Vaughan’s 48th-minute effort. Irish winger Coleman is emerging as one of the Premier League’s brightest young stars and Holloway remembers him with fondness after his spell at Bloomfield Road last season. Holloway added: “I’ve just told him he should have put it wide! “He’s a lovely gentleman and it shows what he feels for us. He’s professional, he scored a goal, but he didn’t celebrate. “But it’s his first Premier League goal and he deserves to celebrate.”
Everton failed to take their chances in a 2-2 draw with Blackpool
Nov 8 2010 by Nick Hilton, Liverpool Echo
Everton failed to take their chances in a 2-2 draw with Blackpool
"It was two points dropped. We had enough chances but you have to credit Blackpool. I thought we had numerous opportunities in the first half to create goals and we created some clear chances in the second half and did not take them. We should have seen it off and got all three points," DAVID MOYES feels Everton dropped two points. "The big bugbear is that we did not hold on to the lead long enough. But I think the boys are playing so well. We are at the top level and we are starting to look as good as some of the sides we are playing. Considering what some of our boys are getting paid, it's absolutely remarkable." IAN HOLLOWAY admits pride in Blackpool’s performance
EVERTON demonstrated some of the refinements that come from being members of the Premier League establishment to an appreciative crowd at Bloomfield Road – but still had their difficulties in keeping the brash new arrivals from the Lancashire coast under check. The visitors finished an entertaining contest as the side most deserving of a victory yet they also took a measure of relief away with their point because Blackpool could have nicked it at the death. The Seasiders don’t pretend to hold any ambitions to compete with most of the Premier League rivals on investment. In fact they are intent on spending as little as possible to achieve the objective of staying in the division. A sensibly run club like Everton represents the kind of stable and successful model that would be the outer limit of their long-term ambitions. It is a measure of Blackpool’s impressive progress so far under manager Ian Holloway that they started and finished the first league game of November level on points with the Blues. They have done it playing football that’s a good deal more sophisticated than many were expecting. Even the architect of their promotion via the play-offs last May admits to some surprise. “Considering what some of our boys are getting paid, it’s absolutely remarkable,” Holloway said. The point Blackpool are determined to prove is that a team good enough to keep the club in the top flight need not cost a fortune provided the manager knows what he is doing and the players are properly motivated. There were times when Blackpool looked like a team of good Championship players chasing Everton’s tails and others when their ability to break quickly out of defence forced the visitors into anxious retreat. A goal for the home side early in each half brought the best out of the Blues, who responded with a swift equaliser on each occasion and held the upper hand thereafter. Everton looked the part of a team unbeaten in six games and putting a stumbling start to the season behind them. With just a little more composure in front of goal and in the delivery of the final ball into the box, they would have won this contest comfortably. The balance of chances fell heavily in their favour. Some of the buildup play was a joy to behold, confident, smooth and enterprising. They benefited from a strong hand in midfield where the efforts of Mikel Arteta, John Heitinga, Steve Pienaar and Seamus Coleman kept them on the front foot. Coleman clearly relished his return to the club where he spent a productive loan spell last season. The talented Irishman, a full-back turned into an attacking midfielder by manager David Moyes, gave Blackpool left back Stephen Crainey a particularly uncomfortable afternoon and struck Everton’s second equaliser five minutes after the break. Everton’s other goalscorer, Tim Cahill, notched his fifth strike of the season with a typical header after attacking partner Yakubu supplied the cross. Blackpool posted their first home league win just four days prior to this game and an early goal fired up their bubbling confidence. Arteta’s trip on Charlie Adam conceded a freekick a few yards outside the edge of the box and the dead ball was swept into the bottom right-hand corner of the net with power and precision by full-back Neal Eardley. Everton found a response to puncture the celebrations within six minutes. Yakubu, running into space to the left of goal, turned to deliver a precise cross and Cahill’s finish showed why he is the most deadly of Premier League finishers when it comes to headers. Blackpool goalkeeper Matthew Gilks got a hand to Cahill’s powerful effort but could not prevent the ball finding the net via the inside of the post. Everton dominated the next half-hour to an extent that they could have had all three points wrapped up by half-time. Cahill, playing a one-two on the edge of the box with Yakubu, got off a first-time shot that Gilks smothered nervously in the 22nd minute. Coleman, taking a pullback from Phil Neville, fired an effort straight at Gilks on 35 minutes. Five minutes later the Irishman cut inside two challenges on a run into the box from the right then curled a left foot shot narrowly wide of the far post. When another Coleman run set up Arteta, the Spanish midfielder’s venomous shot knocked over the substantial figure of Ian Evatt. Then on the stroke of the interval Cahill neatly set up Yakubu on the edge of the box and the big centre forward’s slight hesitation meant his shot struck a lunging defender and looped over the bar. Everton compounded all of this wastefulness by conceding the lead for a second time three minutes after the restart. This time they were undone in a goalmouth scramble in which centre back Sylvain Distin survived a penalty appeal for handball but could do nothing about the loose ball dropping for midfielder David Vaughan to drive home from a dozen yards. Everton levelled within two minutes. Coleman made his ability to go past Crainey pay dividends with a run from the right that took him into the box to fire a low shot under Gilks at the near post. Pienaar, becoming a greater threat to the home side the longer the second half went on, could not get any power in a shot from a dozen yards after collecting a reverse pass from Cahill. The midfielder then set Louis Saha through only for the substitute to guide his shot wide. Those near misses ensured there was some serious anxiety amongst the visitors in the final minutes, not least when Adam’s rising shot was touched acrobatically over the bar by goalkeeper Tim Howard.
BLACKPOOL (4-3-3): Gilks, Eardley, Cathcart, Evatt, Crainey; Adam, Vaughan, Southern (Phillips 61), Campbell, Taylor-Fletcher (Grandin 72), Varney (Harewood 72). Not used: Sylvestre, Carney, Keinan, Kingson.
EVERTON (4-5-1): Howard, Neville, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Coleman, Arteta, Heitinga (Beckford 76), Cahill, Pienaar (Bilyaletdinov 74), Yakubu (Saha 61). Not used: Mucha, Hibbert, Rodwell, Baxter.
GOALS: Eardley 9, Cahill, 15, Vaughan 48, Coleman 50.
CARDS: Crainey, Eardley, Jagielka
REFEREE: Andre Marriner, West Midlands.
ATTENDANCE: 16,094
Tim Cahill calls for Everton FC to keep up momentum
Nov 8 2010 by Nick Hilton, Liverpool Echo
TIM CAHILL is convinced Everton can maintain the momentum of a six-game unbeaten run as they prepare for home matches against Bolton and Arsenal over the next week. The Australian front man reckons the Blues are in the mood to move further up the table. “We are moving in the right direction and playing some great football,” Cahill said after notching his 50th Premier League goal in Everton’s 2-2 draw at Blackpool. “We have to get one now and make sure we get some results. The key is putting more of our chances away.” Cahill reckoned the only flaw in Everton’s enterprising performance at Bloomfield Road was their failure to capitalise on enough scoring opportunities to have won the game comfortably. “We should have got more out of the game,” Cahill said. “We created a lot of chances and that is why we were upset with ourselves for not putting more of them away. “The main thing is for us to be focused and positive that we created those chances. We look like we’re going to create a lot of opportunities with the way we’re playing at the moment. We have some momentum going. We’re playing well and getting results. “Now it is about putting the ball in the net. We could have been a lot more clinical – but it wasn’t to be.” Everton twice bounced back quickly after going a goal down to the Seasiders. Cahill answered Neal Eardley’s ninth minute freekick with a typical headed strike on 15 minutes. Irishman Seamus Coleman equalised within two minutes of David Vaughan putting the home side ahead for a second time on 48 minutes.Coleman, a full-back who has been turned into an attacking midfielder by manager David Moyes, had good reason to relish his first Premier League goal. He spent two months of last season on a loan spell with Blackpool, helping Ian Holloway’s side clinch promotion via the play-offs. Cahill is confident there will be more goals to come from Coleman whose £60,000 transfer fee from Sligo Rovers looks like a bargain. “Seamus is a great player with a real talent,” Cahill said. “He put in a terrific performance and showed the quality that helped get Blackpool up last season. “He’s a threat because opposing teams can’t anticipate what he’s going to do next. He causes all sorts of problems. We saw today that he can not only set up goals and finish them as well.” Cahill was generous in his praise for Blackpool, who made such a strong start that they are level on 14 points with Everton after 11 games of the campaign. “You have got to get Blackpool a lot of credit,” Cahill said. “They are going to need a lot of visitors to Bloomfield Road. They are different to some of the teams you come up against. I think they play with no fear. You can see they give it a go and we had to give it as much ourselves. “They have a lot of quality. They move the ball quickly and break with pace.”
Everton FC’s Seamus Coleman is thankful for Phil Neville’s help
Nov 8 2010 by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post
EVERTON’S Seamus Coleman believes his adaptation from marauding full-back to a fully-fledged winger is being helped by playing in front of captain Phil Neville on the pitch. Coleman’s first Premier League goal snatched a point for Everton at Blackpool on Saturday – although David Moyes’ men will have been disappointed not to have taken all there in a contest they dominated. However, the visitors had to come from behind twice with Tim Cahill cancelling out Neal Eardley’s free-kick opener. Early in the second half, Coleman secured a share of the spoils after David Vaughan had restored The Seasiders’ advantage. Playing against the team whom he helped win promotion to the Premier League last season during an impressive loan spell, Coleman was a constant menace and as well as his goal he went close to scoring on a couple of occasions while also carving out several good chances for team-mates. Having started his career as a defender, Coleman has been pushed forward into a more advanced wide midfield role by Moyes in recent weeks with Everton skipper Neville slotting in behind him. With Everton benefiting from the good understanding Leighton Baines and Steven Pienaar enjoy down the left wing – Everton looked less secure in the final 15 minutes at Bloomfield Road after the injured South African had to be replaced by Diniyar Bilyaletdinov – Coleman is hoping that he can be part of something similar down the right hand side with his captain’s help. He said: “It’s not too hard to play in front of Phil, he’s always speaking to me and telling me what positions to be in. “It’s a bit different to what I’ve been used to but I’m enjoying it. “There were many happy memories for myself at this ground from last season so it was good to come here and to get a goal was a bonus. “I don’t think that I was particularly trying to show the Blackpool fans something, I try and do well and I was just lucky I had a few good moments today.” Despite dominating possession and carving out the majority of chances throughout the contest, Everton fell behind twice before hitting back with a couple of quick equalisers and Coleman is hoping to take the positives out of their double recovery.He said: “You’re never happy to go behind and when you’re chasing a game it’s not ideal. We got back into the match and in the end we were looking for a winner but it didn’t come. “We showed that we’ve got good character in the squad to fight back twice and we never give up. “We were disappointed not to get the full three points. We came here expecting to win but it didn’t happen so credit to Blackpool they gave us a great game.” While large elements of Coleman’s game are based on raw instinct, his combination down the right flank with the steadying influence of Neville has dovetailed well and coincided with Everton’s recent unbeaten run. Moyes’ men now have the opportunity to leapfrog Bolton when Owen Coyle’s side come to Goodison on Wednesday and a home win would extend Everton’s unbeaten Premier League sequence to seven matches. Coleman said: “We started the season slowly but it’s definitely been a good recovery from us. “The players knew that we were playing well but just not getting the results so hopefully we’re going to keep going onwards and upwards now. “It was important not to lose in what was the start of a busy week for us with home games against Bolton on Wednesday and Arsenal on Sunday. Hopefully we’ll end the week unbeaten too.”
Blackpool 2 Everton FC 2 - Seamus Coleman illuminates seaside draw
Nov 8 2010 by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post
BLACKPOOL’S famous illuminations were turned off today at the end of another colourful autumn season but if the town council had wired the lights up to Seamus Coleman’s boots at Bloomfield Road on Saturday then they could have carried on shining bright throughout the winter. The young Irishman returned to the ground which provided his finishing school at the end of last term for his football education in readiness for making waves in the top flight this season and responded with a typically livewire performance and of course his first Premier League goal. When Blackpool’s maverick manager Ian Holloway took a punt on the raw but exciting then Everton fringe player back in March, the Seasiders were well off the pace in the Championship but the former Sligo Rovers starlet’s arrival at the club proved to be the catalyst the side needed to sneak their way into English football’s elite division for the first time since 1971 with Coleman only on the losing side once in a tangerine shirt in a dozen games, away at title winners Newcastle. Having learnt from that experience, Coleman – who cost Moyes a fee similar to a single week’s wages for one of his marquee players – has now established himself as a regular in Everton’s starting line-up. Operating in a more advanced right-wing berth ahead of full-back and captain Phil Neville, Coleman showed no sentimentality towards his former Blackpool colleagues, largely giving them a torrid time throughout as Everton carved out enough chances to win a hat-trick of matches. But despite such dominance, the visitors will be thoroughly frustrated that they had to come from behind not once but twice just to earn a share of the spoils.This was never going to be a leisurely stroll down the Golden Mile for Moyes’ men – their opponents have already triumphed at Anfield this season, something Everton haven’t managed for over 11 years – and have accumulated the same number of point as the Goodison Park outfit to date. However, a game that was there for the taking for the visitors became at times a white knuckle experience akin to a ride on Blackpool Pleasure Beach’s ‘Big One’ – The UK’s tallest roller coaster. Thankfully for Everton, both times that they fell behind to unexpected strikes, they were not rocked by Blackpool and responded almost instantaneously. It was just a shame for Moyes that apart from just after conceding, his players were again guilty of profligacy in front of goal. Buoyed by a lively home support, determined to enjoy what could be their only taste of the Premier League, Blackpool were full of their usual pluck but while they’ve scored in every game at Bloomfield Road for the past 16 months, a usually mean Everton defence that had conceded just once in their previous five outings – and that came from an individual error – will be bitterly disappointed to have shipped two goals in such a sloppy manner. With Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin their usual strong, dominant selves and Tim Howard’s handling secure, the visitors in the large part kept Hollaway’s men at arm’s length but it was them, not the top flights new boys, who were severely punished for a couple of lapses. Going forward, Everton looked most effective on the wings with the aforementioned Neville-Coleman axis down the right quickly blossoming to supplement the Leighton Baines-Steven Pienaar combination on the left. in addition to their individual talents, the understanding between the England international full-back and the South African midfielder has been outstanding for many months now and the breaking up of such a sparkling combination would be the biggest blow to losing the former Ajax and Borussia Dortmund man should he decide that the grass is greener elsewhere come next summer when his Everton contract expires. Given the way that Baines complements his own game, any such loss would be as much Pienaar’s as Everton’s.With no chances of note at either end, the visitors were stunned 10 minutes into the contest when Neal Eardley showed that Holloway has more than one dead ball expert in addition to Charlie Adam at his disposal. With Blackpool’s playmaker felled in rather unnecessary fashion by fellow midfield maestro Mikel Arteta just outside the area, the Scot declined the chance to have a crack at goal instead leaving free-kick duties to the right-back with the decision vindicated by a perfectly-placed strike that curled around the Everton wall and past Howard. Visibly riled, Moyes’ men hit back within four minutes with centre-back Distin motoring up the left wing and playing a one-two with Pienaar. The Frenchman then found Ayegbeni Yakubu who crossed from the left to Tim Cahill with the Australian’s powerful header proving too hot to handle for Matthew Gilks who despite getting his hands to the ball was unable to prevent it going in for what was the former Millwall midfielder’s 50th Premier League goal. As Everton started to dominate proceedings, Stephen Crainey was a little fortunate to escape with just a booking for what was a cynical push on Coleman after the Irishman had been played through by Neville while the same Everton player almost gave his side the lead when he curled a left-foot shot just wide of Gilks’ right-hand post when cutting inside from the wing. Everton were left to count the cost of their missed opportunities just three minutes after the restart when they failed to clear their lines in a penalty box scramble and another Welshman in the shape of David Vaughan pounced to fire home the loose ball at the second attempt. This time, the visitors’ response was even swifter and less than three minutes later they were level again as Coleman capitalised on a poor headed attempt by Crainey to intercept John Heitinga’s cross-field pass and riffled a low shot under Gilks’ body and into the net. Such a swift reply should have been the cue for Everton to step up a gear and push on for victory but they were unable to find an elusive third goal. Substitute Saha, on for Yakubu, had a penalty appeal waved away after being threaded through by the already injured Pienaar and Everton added more firepower in the latter stages only for Jermaine Beckford to have a shot blocked by Ian Evatt. Both sides pushed forward for a winner in a frantic finish and there was almost a late sucker punch as Blackpool substitute Marlon Harewood had the ball in the Everton net only for his effort to be ruled out for a push on Jagielka. The light may have gone out in ‘The Las Vegas of the North’ for another year but after a stuttering start, Everton continue to look brighter as the dark nights creep in. Moyes just needs a clinical finisher to illuminate his otherwise sparkling side.
Coleman was 'chuffed inside'
08 November 2010 By Steve Canavan (Blackpool Gazette)
SEAMUS Coleman admitted he didn't celebrate his equaliser on Saturday because of his affection for Blackpool. The 22-year old's first ever Premier League goal secured a point for Everton but he simply trotted back to his own half, rather than jumping around and going berserk as is the norm these days. "I wouldn't be a big celebrator anyway, but I didn't want to rub it in their faces because they treated me well when I was here," Coleman said afterwards. Obviously I was chuffed inside, though." Coleman enjoyed a hugely successful loan spell with Blackpool last season, playing in the Wembley win over Cardiff and joining in the homecoming parade. The Tangerine supporters clearly hadn't forgotten his contribution and made him hugely welcome on Saturday. "It was a great reception," he said. "The fans were chanting just before kick-off, which means I must have done all right here. It was always going to be special coming back. To get a goal was a bonus." The only downside for Coleman was Everton's failure to secure the win that would have lifted them to fifth, espite having the lion's share of possession and the better chances. "We came looking for the win, so I would say it's two points dropped," the Irishman declared. They had a few chances but I thought we could have won it in the end." But Coleman has done himself the world of good in terms of nailing down a regular place in the side. David Moyes was beaming about the player's performance. "Seamus has done terrific," he said. "His performance was very good and he's been at that level for a few games now. He's learning about his game all the time. "He deserved to score because he did a lot of good things on the day. He ran at the full-back and got some good crosses in."
Blackpool 2 Everton 2
By PAUL JIGGINS
08 Nov 2010 The Sun
WHO needs Gareth Bale when you have Seamus Coleman?
Like the Spurs wonderkid, Coleman is discovering that in order to move forward in football sometimes you have to take a step... er, forward. Just like Bale, Everton's rookie right-back has been pushed forward into a wide midfield role - and it is working a treat. Blackpool were the latest side to discover the Donegal-born defender is deadlier on the wing. And Coleman, 22, capped an outstanding performance wide on the right by netting Toffees' second equaliser - against the club he helped get promoted to the Premier League in a loan spell last season. His boss David Moyes said: "We were struggling there at the start of the season so we thought we'd give him a go. The competition at right-back is tough, we've got Phil Neville and Tony Hibbert.
"Seamus is really good going forward and he showed that again. It's a bit like the Gareth Bale situation at Spurs and what it will do for Seamus is get him playing. Hopefully when, or if, he moves back to right-back, he'll have gained a lot of experience. It might just turn out to be his position. People switch then find out they can do that job better." Well, if Coleman can play right-back better than he played in his new role on Saturday then Hibbert, 29, had better ask for a move. Because on this evidence he will not get a look in when captain Neville, 33, stands down.
Poor old Blackpool left-back Stephen Crainey was turned inside out by the flying Irishman. Coleman said: "I really enjoy it. Just to be getting any game time at all has been great for me. "I still see myself as a right-back but I'll play anywhere."
Neal Eardley put Blackpool 1-0 up with a stunning 25-yard curling free-kick in the ninth minute. But Tim Cahill headed in to wipe out that advantage four minutes later. Everton had the better of the first half but fell behind again in the 48th minute.
David Vaughan shrugged off a suspicion of handball to make it 2-1 with a close-range finish. Then, just as it had in the first half, the lead lasted only moments as Coleman cut inside Crainey to level with a powerful low shot. After a sticky start, the Toffees are now unbeaten in six matches. And Moyes said: "I'm looking to get near the top of the table. And if you're going to do that, then when you should win, you need to do it.
"We didn't do that, but I've got to give Blackpool a backhanded compliment and say they made it hard for us and will make it hard for a lot of teams this season."
STAR MAN - SEAMUS COLEMAN (Everton)
BLACKPOOL: Gilks 4, Eardley 8, Cathcart 6, Evatt 6, Crainey 4, Vaughan 8, Southern 7 (Phillips 6), Adam 6, Taylor-Fletcher 7 (Grandin 5), Campbell 7, Varney 6 (Harewood 6). Subs not used: Kingson, Sylvestre, Carney, Keinan. Booked: Eardley, Crainey. EVERTON: Howard 6, Neville 7, Jagielka 7, Distin 8, Baines 5, Coleman 8, Arteta 7, Heitinga 7 (Beckford 5), Pienaar 6 (Bilyaletdinov 5), Cahill 8, Yakubu 6 (Saha 4). Subs not used: Mucha, Hibbert, Rodwell, Baxter. Booked: Jagielka.
REF: A Marriner 9
BLACKPOOL 2 - EVERTON 2: COLEMAN'S WINGING IT
ABOVE: Everton's Seamus Coleman celebrates their second goal with Tim Cahill
8th November 2010 The Daily Star
By Darren Witcoop
BLACKPOOL 2 -- EVERTON 2
SEAMUS Coleman is following Gareth Bale’s path to success – after being converted from a full-back to a winger. And following his latest eye-catching showing, Everton’s young Irishman may have sealed himself a regular first-team spot.
David Moyes only stumbled upon the idea of pressing Coleman forward following a spate of midfield injuries. Bale was pushed upfield in an emergency too. And like the Tottenham wonder, Coleman could be making the forward move permanently.
Everton boss Moyes said: “What it will do for Seamus is get him on the field playing in Premier League games. Hopefully when or if he moves back to right-back, he’ll have gained a lot of experience. It’s all part of being a Premier League player and I think Seamus, given where he has come from, will think this is great. “You never know, it might just turn out to be his position. “It’s happened in football before. People switch positions and then find out they do that job better. “We just don’t have anybody to do the job on the right flank at the moment. “The competition at right-back is tough. We gave him a go, he’s really good going forward and he showed that again here.” Coleman was snapped up for a bargain £100,000 from Irish side Sligo Rovers. Having shown signs of his potential last season, he has made his mark now.
And he capped this performance with his first-ever Premier League goal to rescue a point for Everton. Coleman explained: “It’s different but I really enjoy it. “I’m getting game time which is great for me. “You just play anywhere for the manager as it’s about getting games. “I’ve had a few games at Everton now, but I know I’m not regular yet. I need to keep impressing to keep my place.” Blackpool knew all about Coleman as they had him on loan for last season’s run-in. But they couldn’t stop him doing damage throughout. After Neal Eardley’s early free-kick was quickly cancelled out by Tim Cahill’s header, Coleman tore Stephen Crainey to shreds. And after David Vaughan scrambled home for the hosts after the break, the visitors responded immediately again with the Irishman’s solo strike. Coleman refused to celebrate – a sign of his affection for the Seasiders. Blackpool chief Ian Holloway was jubilant at escaping with a draw as Everton piled forward in search of a winner. And he was quick to dispel suggestions that captain Charlie Adam would ever allow his form to be affected by a contract dispute – he is waiting to find out if he has won a court battle over an unpaid £20,000 bonus. Holloway said: “It has nothing to do with the football. It’s to do with him and he feels about a bonus he should have had.
“As long as Charlie keeps his mind on football – which he will do as he loves playing – and I keep picking him because he trusts me, then there’s not going to be a problem.
“There will be a time when Charlie will need to go, unless we’re pushing for where I think he could play. “That’s one of the top four teams. If they don’t come in for him, he stays with me. “If not, they might nick him on a technicality. What can I do about that? Nothing.
Blackpool's Ian Holloway resigned to life without Charlie Adam
Richard Rae at Bloomfield Road
The Guardian, Monday 8 November 2010
Charlie Adam in action against Everton. Ian Holloway fears he may lose his influential playmaker in January. Photograph: Chris Brunskill/Getty Images
There is something almost fatalistic about Blackpool's approach to the Premier League, on and off the field, and for the time being the Seasiders' unabashed positivism is paying remarkable dividends. Whether it will continue to do so is another matter; the sense it may yet all blow up in their face remains uncomfortably strong. January will be the key month, during which the future of individuals including the playmaker Charlie Adam, who is involved in a legal dispute over last season's bonuses, and the goalkeeper Matthew Gilks, who has turned down a new contract, will become clear. The way the manager, Ian Holloway, spoke after another extraordinary game, he is already planning to do without them. "Whatever happens, happens. It's out of my hands," said Holloway. "I got some brilliant players, I want them to be successful, and being successful is looking after your family and earning the right amount of money your play deserves. If I can't give them that, then they'll go with my blessing. "There will be a time when Charlie needs to go – unless we're in a position where Charlie should play – which I think is one of the top four teams. I honestly believe he is that good. I think one of them will buy him one day. If not they might nick him, because we have a bit of a technicality – if that happens, what can I do? Nothing, so we get on with it. "Look, I got some players sat on the side who I think are really good as well and haven't had a chance to play yet. What I'm trying to do is find more and more players who want to come here. I had trouble in the summer, people saying 'How much am I going to get?', but I don't think people will say that any more, I think they'll say 'Please can I play for you?' Because they won't think we're going to go down, and they'll want to play this type of football." This type of football, indeed. As a slightly bemused David Moyes acknowledged, the Blackpool "system", in which a compact and constantly interchanging four‑man midfield piles recklessly forward in support of two rather average strikers, might continue to catch teams out.
"They're going to score a lot of goals, but probably going to concede a lot as well," said the exasperated Everton manager, before getting to the nub of the matter. "In truth, we should have scored a lot more goals and really had the game out of sight, but we didn't take those opportunities." A scoreline of about 9-4 in the visitors' favour would have been an accurate reflection of the match in terms of chances created, or at least in terms of chances that should have been created, given the amount of possession Everton had in dangerous areas after breaking quickly into the wide open spaces left behind the tangerine waves. That they failed to take more than two was a reflection on a lack of quality – Moyes himself used the word – as well as composure, ensuring Blackpool were still in the game during a finale that was even more frantic than the 80 chaotic minutes which had preceded it. Neil Eardley gave Blackpool an early lead from a free-kick, which was quickly cancelled out by Tim Cahill's header. David Vaughan restored the hosts' lead in the second half, but again Everton replied, this time though Seamus Coleman. You couldn't take your eyes off it for a moment, pointed out Holloway. "We attacked and his [Moyes's] team did the same, they felt they could take us on blow for blow and it was end to end. Every supporter who went away today will be happy their team tried to win playing a fantastic style of football. What more can we do?" What indeed? Man of the match Seamus Coleman (Everton)
BLACKPOOL BOSS IAN HOLLOWAY IS PROVING HIS POINT
Monday November 8,2010 The Express
By Peter Edwards
Blackpool 2, Everton 2
IAN Holloway’s Blackpool were seen as cannon fodder at the start of the season.
But they have raised a few eyebrows and expectations with their brand of attacking football and this was another point earned to keep them on track for survival.
They like the white-knuckle rides on the nearly Pleasure Beach and Blackpool fans are destined to have one here all season. Holloway said: “What I’m trying to do is find more and more players who want to come here. I had trouble in the summer with players we were after asking ‘How much am I going to get?’ “But I don’t think they will be asking us that question now. They’ll say, ‘Please, can I play for you?’ That’s what I think the difference will be because they won’t think we are going to go down and they will want to play our type of football.” After Neal Eardley’s early free-kick was cancelled out by Tim Cahill’s header, Irishman Seamus Coleman proceeded to run Stephen Crainey ragged, prompting the hosts to double up on him. David Vaughan scrambled home after the break and again the visitors responded mmediately with Coleman’s solo strike. Having spent much of last season on loan at Bloomfield Road, he refused to celebrate in front of his old crowd. Coleman, converted by manager David Moyes from a full-back into a winger, said: “It’s a different position, but I really enjoy it. You have to play where the boss says, but I’m getting game time, which is great. I’ve had a few games at Everton now, but I know I’m not a regular yet. I just need to keep impressing.”
Mark Lawrenson: There’s no black marks for Everton FC
Nov 9 2010 Liverpool Daily Post
NO surprise to see David Moyes get manager of the month – after all he did get my vote. I don’t base it on whether a manager has won five out of five, I look at who they have played and Everton have negotiated some very tricky obstacles during their climb up the table. And on that point, Everton have no reason to be downbeat over getting a point at Blackpool. I saw WestBrom lose there last Monday, while Manchester City were fortunate to get a 3-2 victory at Bloomfield Road.
It’s a very difficult place to go. Basically you have to start well and work hard to earn the right to play and Everton didn’t do that early on – but it’s no disgrace really is it?
They have got into a nice pattern of winning their home games and not losing away, and if that run continues tomorrow night at home to Bolton, then the confidence will be sky high when Arsenal are the next to visit on Saturday.
Murphy’s score gives Everton FC academy a derby boost
Nov 9 2010 Liverpool Daily Post
DANNY MURPHY’S goal was enough to give Everton under-18s victory over West Bromwich Albion at Finch Farm on Saturday and extend their lead at the top of the Group C table. Neil Dewsnip’s side made it three wins in a row thanks to Murphy’s second-half header and go into this weekend’s Merseyside derby in buoyant mood.
Everton coach Dewsnip said: “They were very good in the first half. There was an awful lot of questions asked of us and our lads had to defend incredibly resolutely.
“It was very difficult as they played very well. They had lots of possession of the ball and territorial advantage. But we survived and the turning point in the game was when Anton Forrester missed a great chance just before the break. We took a bit of a feelgood from that and went on to win.” He added: “I must compliment the team on some top-notch defending that gave us the opportunity to win. “At the top level it is win at all costs. The lads showed that dogged mentality and refusal to lose that is a great quality to find out we have got.” Everton are now five points ahead of Bolton ahead of Saturday‘s derby clash with Liverpool at the Kirkby Academy (kick-off 11am). Dewsnip said: “It is good that we are top and it is a nice feel-good factor going into the game against Liverpool. We enjoy all the games for different reasons but Liverpool is the one they look forward to most. And the last few years at this level the games have been very exciting and good fun.” Tom Donegan should return to the squad after missing last week’s match through illness. EVERTON UNDER-18s: Davies, Barrow, Murphy, Hammar, Garbutt, Orenuga, Kinsella, Lundstram, Dobie, Forrester (Thomas 60), Forshaw. Subs: Roberts.
Everton FC latest: Manager of month David Moyes is unbelievable, says Bolton counterpart Owen Coyle
Nov 9 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
DAVID MOYES was yesterday recognised for guiding Everton away from the foot of the Premier League by picking up yet another Manager of the Month award.
Moyes was presented with the gong for the third time this calendar year after his team remained unbeaten in the Premier League throughout October. It is the eighth time the Scot has been named Barclays Manager of the Month since taking over at Goodison in March 2002, with only Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger having won more.
Having gone into October in last place with three points from six games, Everton recorded their first Barclays Premier League win of the season with a 2-0 victory at Birmingham City. They followed that with a memorable triumph by the same scoreline in the Merseyside derby against Liverpool at Goodison Park, with Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta finding the target. A Leighton Baines free-kick ensured a battling 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur the following week before Everton ended the month with Yakubu’s goal earning a 1-0 home win over Stoke City. Their march up the table was checked on Saturday with a 2-2 draw at Blackpool, and they will look to return to winning ways when they entertain Bolton Wanderers tomorrow.
And Trotters manager Owen Coyle believes it is no surprise Scottish compatriot Moyes continues to glean individual honours. “David Moyes is an unbelievable manager, who has established Everton a top-eight club year in, year out,” said Coyle.
“To say that he has done a fantastic job doesn’t do him justice. “I know Moyesy from when I was a player at Bolton Wanderers. John McGinlay, who I obviously played with, was pally with David when he was at Preston because they had played together at Shrewsbury. “We used to meet up regularly and you could see how much David loved the game. “Even at that time he was looking at the game from a coaching perspective, so it doesn’t surprise me that he has gone on to become an outstanding manager. “David in many ways is very similar to Sir Alex (Ferguson) in the qualities he has. “Everton have had real success with David because he is fantastic at what he does and he gets the best out of that group of players.” Coyle admits Bolton can expect a difficult evening against a rejuvenated Everton tomorrow, particularly in front of their passionate home support. “The atmosphere at Goodison Park is incredible and the home fans are screaming and cheering every time the ball goes into the opposition’s box,” he added. “They really get behind their team and that’s something that we will have to account for, as well as the quality that Everton have.
“Everton had a slow start last season but picked themselves up and in the second half of the campaign they were the outstanding team in the league, and they have been playing well again in recent weeks. “So we know we are in for a tough game but it’s one we are looking forward to.”
Bolton boss Owen Coyle is hoping to taste his first managerial victory at Everton FC's Goodison Park
Nov 9 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
BOLTON boss Owen Coyle insists only total concentration will help end his Goodison Park jinx tomorrow night. The Scot is yet to win as a manager at Goodison, losing twice last season in charge of Burnley and Bolton, but is relishing the chance to finally beat his old friend David Moyes on home turf. Coyle was delighted with his side’s shock 4-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, but stressed that they cannot let the result distract them from the next considerable challenge that lies in wait. And he is determined that a tendency to concede late goals, his undoing on trips to the home of the Blues, must end. He said: “The nature of football tells you that you have to go back into work on a Monday morning and be ready to go again, and we have a tough game at Everton ahead of us. “We were terrific at Everton last season and were very comfortable up until we went down to ten-men, with Mikel Arteta curling in the resulting free-kick to give them the lead. “I went there with Burnley too and the team played well but conceded a goal in the last minute, so we will have to be focused and concentrate for the whole duration of the match. “The atmosphere at Goodison Park is incredible and the home fans are screaming and cheering every time the ball goes into the opposition’s box. They really get behind their team and that’s something that we will have to account for.
Coyle has fond memories of meetings with Moyes during his playing days. He said: “David Moyes is an unbelievable manager, who has established Everton as a top-eight club year in year out. To say that he has done a fantastic job doesn’t do him justice.
“I know Moyesy from when I was a player at Bolton Wanderers. John McGinlay, who I obviously played with, was pally with David when he was at Preston because they had played together at Shrewsbury. “We used to meet up regularly and you could see how much David loved the game. Even at that time he was looking at the game from a coaching perspective, so it doesn’t surprise me that he has gone on to become an outstanding manager.” Coyle has overseen a gradual change in style at Bolton, and their football has become increasingly watchable. He said: “My players know that whenever we play, whether it be home or away, then I want them to be positive. We don’t go anywhere just to sit in and hope for a draw. “We accept that at times then you have to dig deep and defend well. But we will be prepared and look to take the game to Everton whenever we can.”
Ian Snodin: Tim Cahill’s technique key to his Everton FC success
Nov 9 2010 Liverpool Echo
TIM CAHILL has 50 goals in his Everton career after that strike on Saturday, and few will argue they’ve seen a better, more natural header of the ball at the top level.
But people miss the point a little bit when they bang on about his height and how that makes him so remarkable. Yes, it is an added compliment to him that he is not a six-footer and he can still get up there. But they are missing the point that it is Tim’s amazing mastery of the technique of heading which is all important. Heading is not just about being there to connect with a ball. It’s the angle you jump at, timing that leap, getting direction on the ball and almost an instinctive knack for finding the ball in the air that it is hard to teach. Tim has all of that, and more, and it doesn’t surprise me one bit that he has scored more headers than the Alan Shearers of this world.
He will go down as someone who youngsters can watch and learn from and rightly so.
Of course he has put a lot of work into perfecting that art, whether it’s as a young lad in the plyometrics techniques he honed in Sydney or as an adult at Milwall and then Everton.
Coleman shows his class
SEAMUS COLEMAN’S reaction after he scored against Blackpool says everything you need to know about the lad. He didn’t celebrate or rub it into the faces of the home crowd because he has a natural affection for them after his loan spell last season. He could have claimed to have been lost in the moment, after all it was his first (of many) Premier League goals, but like the respectful lad he is he declined to go mad. It’s no wonder he’s so popular among his team-mates and with the fans. Coleman embodies the Corinthian spirit of men like Brian Labone and Alan Ball. Good on him.
Great Scots know best
DAVID MOYES’ mantlepiece must be bulging with manager of the month awards – there can be few managers who have carried off the gong more times than him.
He proves the adage that Scots are the best characters to manage football clubs.
I don’t know what it is in the water north of the border, but they somehow create tough men with shrewd tactical brains who know what it takes to succeed.
From Bill Shankly to Alex Ferguson, they are a breed apart. Then you’ve got the younger managers coming through like Moyesy and Owen Coyle. Funnily enough they will have a chance to test each other out tomorrow night, and I’m sure Owen would say he can learn a lot from David. He is the slightly less experienced coach, albeit with a big future in the game and he has already got Bolton playing a far more attractive brand of football than they have ever done in recent times. Another Scottish trait – that bloody-minded competitiveness – will be on display at Goodison, and it will be intriguing to see who comes out tops. Everton should have enough to claim three massive points at home, but they will need to play better in the final third of the field than they did against Blackpool. Bolton have a good solid goalkeeper and a well organised back four, who have one of the better up and coming stoppers in Gary Cahill among their ranks. Everton must be patient and ensure they aren’t wasteful.
Pre-match preview: Everton FC v Bolton Wanderers, Premier League
Nov 9 2010
Everton's last five games
Nov 6: Premier League - Blackpool 2 Everton 2
Oct 30: Premier League - Everton 1 Stoke 0
Oct 23: Premier League - Tottenham 1 Everton 1
Oct 17: Premier League - Everton 2 Liverpool 0
Oct 2: Premier League - Birmingham 0 Everton 2
Bolton's last five games
Nov 6: Premier League - Bolton 4 Spurs 2
Oct 31: Premier League - Bolton 0 Liverpool 1
Oct 23: Premier League - Wigan 1 Bolton 1
Oct 16: Premier League - Bolton 2 Stoke 1
Oct 2: Premier League - West Brom 1 Bolton 1
Past matches
Everton's overall record against Bolton
P 148 W 73 D 36 L 39 Goals for 248 Goals against 196
Selected matches
20 March 2010: Everton 2 Bolton 0
Mikel Arteta continued his comeback from injury by firing the Blues in front with a superb free-kick before Steven Pienaar added a second
3 December 2004: Everton 3 Bolton 2
The Blues warmed up for the following week's Merseyside derby with a hard-fought victory over the Trotters - Duncan Ferguson equalised Kevin Davies' opener with a towering header and, after Davies again put Wanderers in front, Thomas Gravesen dragged the Blues level with a quarter of an hour to go before Raidi Jaidi put through his own goal five minutes from time to give Everton the points and maintain their grip on fourth spot
1 April 2002: Everton 3 Bolton 1
Everton still had relegation anxieties in what was only David Moyes' second match at Goodison since taking over and they weren't helped by Duncan Ferguson getting sent off after only 20 minutes for punching Freddi Bobic. Bolton's Kostas Konstantinidis soon evened the sides up however by also seeing red and goals from Alessandro Pistone, Tomasz Radzinski and Nick Chadwick secured a vital win for the Blues.
28 December 1997: Everton 3 Bolton 2
Howard Kendall make Duncan Ferguson captain for the day and the Big Scot responded with a hat-trick of headers for an important Everton win, particularly seeing as the Blues only stayed up ahead of Bolton at the end of the season on goal difference.
Duncan Ferguson scores against Bolton in a 3-2 Blues win back in December 2004Ones to watch
Everton
Tim Cahill notched his 50th Premier League for Everton in the weekend draw at Bolton and will have the Trotters defence worries, Yakubu is edging back to match fitness and will be looking to add to his goal tally after breaking his duck against Stoke while Louis Saha will be looking get his season up and running after showing glimpses of his old sharpness at Bloomfield Road.
Bolton
New England recruit Kevin Davies scored twice in Bolton's win over Spurs and is a constant handful. Centre back Gary Cahill has also made an England squad and is reported to be interesting some of the top clubs in the country while veteran striker Robbie Blake is still one of the wiliest operators around and can punish defences given the chance.
Injuries/suspensions
Marouane Fellaini, Leon Osman and Victor Anichebe are all still out for the Blues while Bolton have a full squad to choose from, bar long-term injury victims Ricardo Gardner, Jlloyd Samuel, Joey O'Brien and Sean Davis
Latest odds from Betfred
Everton - 4/6
Draw - 13/5
Bolton - 5/1
Ian Snodin: Everton FC boss David Moyes has to find goals from somewhere
Nov 9 2010 Liverpool Echo
THE Everton players will be kicking themselves that they didn’t come back from their trip to the seaside with three points. It was a great chance for the Blues to shoot even further up the table and all of a sudden find themselves hanging about the top five, which is exactly where they have been aiming to be since pre-season. That’s how tight the Premier League table is at the moment. A couple of wins and you’re edging ahead of that glut of teams all on the same amount of points. It is making for a difficult to predict and exciting season so far, with everyone beating everyone else, but Everton have looked like finding more consistency lately and after winning away at Birmingham, I thought they had improved enough on their travels to beat Blackpool Road. Sure it was like a cup tie atmosphere, and that excitable and wildly enthusiastic home support give Ian Holloway’s team an added edge against so-called Premier League big boys. But the way Everton are playing, they still should have beaten a side that only just clung onto a result against West Brom previously. Blackpool pile forward, and their swash-buckling style does bemuse teams but Everton had the quality in defence to soak up that bluster, and then hit back. Unfortunately it was back to the frustrating early season pattern of missing chance after chance. Again the midfield did their bit, with two goals, but the strikers failed to get on the scoresheet.
It’s not like Everton aren’t creating opportunities either.
The chances are coming thick and fast in games, and whoever David is playing in attack – not including Tim Cahill – they aren’t consistently delivering.
Yakubu has looked the most likely to get going, and everyone was hoping that he’d carry on where he left off against Stoke. Unfortunately he couldn’t quite manage that, and it seems like this problem, unless rectified, could become a stumbling block to moving right up where they want to be in the table. It’s not simple to solve. David doesn’t have great big wedges of cash ready and waiting in January to go and splash on a world class centre-forward who can bang in goals for fun. Look at the teams who traditionally have finished in the top four and they all have a 20-plus goal a season man. Chelsea have Drogba, Liverpool Torres, United Berbatov and Rooney and Spurs had Jermain Defoe firing on all cylinders last season. Everton have rediscovered their defensive solidity and now their hopes of progression are going to depend on coaxing goals out of the side. David Moyes has to be the snake charmer and somehow manage to get Louis Saha fit to provide competition for the Yak.
David Moyes & Bill Kenwright are Everton FC's special blend - Joe Royle
Nov 9 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
FORMER Everton boss Joe Royle believes it is the “special blend” of manager and chairman at Everton which keeps David Moyes a regular manager of the month.
The FA Cup-winning former Toffees manager insists Moyes deserves to be held in the same regard as Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, two men he is just behind in terms of individual awards from the Premier League. Moyes was yesterday named Manager of the Month for October, following a superb month during which his side have gone unbeaten. The Blues have won three and drawn one of their four Premier League matches – including a memorable victory over arch-rivals Liverpool. October started with a 2-0 win at Birmingham – a result which saw Everton become the first side to claim a league win at St Andrew’s in a calendar year. Then goals from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta eased them past Liverpool before Leighton Baines’ spectacular free-kick was good enough to earn a point at Spurs. Yakubu’s first goal of the season saw off stubborn Stoke last Saturday, and also took the Blues to the summit of the form table.
Royle said: “It’s a special blend what Everton have got with David and Bill.
“They have such a close relationship that the club can only prosper because they understand and respect one another. “It helps David to do his job, what he is so good at, without distractions. “The doubters cropped up again this season when things didn’t start well but now he has turned it around and got things back on track like he always does. “I am not surprised David has won so many awards. “He deserves them all, and it is the solidity which he and Bill bring to the club which means they will go on to achieve something special.” The bedrock of Everton’s good form has been a string of miserly defensive displays and Rafael van der Vaart’s equaliser at White Hart Lane is the only goal they have conceded in five games. Moyes, a three-time LMA Manager of the Year winner, has previously been named Manager of the Month on six previous occasions. Meanwhile, Preston North End have emerged as the side most likely to take Everton’s Irish youngster Shane Duffy on loan. PNE boss Darren Ferguson is an admirer of the youngster and could follow his interest with an enquiry this week.
EFC manager David Moyes could take charge of Manchester United says Bolton Wanderers’ Owen Coyle
Nov 10 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
BOLTON boss Owen Coyle is confident David Moyes would be a success if he was appointed manager at Manchester United – or any of the world’s greatest clubs.
“It certainly wouldn’t surprise me if one of the elite clubs in world football had been looking at David Moyes to be their manager,” Coyle said. “It’s been mentioned before about him being a successor to Alex Ferguson and that doesn’t surprise me at all because I know how hard he works and how good he is at his job. “If he is given the right tools, there is no doubt he would go on to win trophies.” Coyle could see the management potential in Moyes, his fellow Scot and old friend, from an early stage.
“Fantastic doesn’t even do him justice,” Coyle said. “I know him from when I was at Bolton as a player – Moyesy was at Preston and John McGinlay, who I played with, was pally with him from Shrewsbury. “We used to meet up and I knew how much he loved the game – and from a coaching perspective, even at that stage when he was playing. “So it didn’t surprise me when he went on to be, as he is right now, an outstanding manager who has done a remarkable job. Year after year Everton continue to get stronger and stronger.” Coyle had to make the journey to Goodison Park twice last season in the Premier League, first with Burnley and then Bolton having moved from one club to the other in January. He was defeated 2-0 on both occasions and is expecting another testing time tonight. “I remember the Everton game very clearly – we (Bolton) were terrific at Everton and very comfortable in the game,” Coyle said.
“Then we had a player sent off and Mikel Arteta moved a free-kick a number of yards and curled one in the corner. I remember that feeling of disappointment because we did ever so well.”
Let’s help our referees, says Everton FC manager David Moyes
Nov 10 2010 Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES believes that players and managers should help referees in their decision making. Stoke boss Tony Pulis has recently suggested that a relegation system be introduced based on how clubs vote for referees, with the bottom three to be demoted at the end of the season. But Moyes said: “I think the managers and clubs could help the referees, but it would need them to be willing to listen and hear what we’ve got to say. “We had one of the referees in last week and we really enjoyed (having) him. I think he probably enjoyed his time here as well. I think we could learn from each other. “But at this present time it is hard enough to get them on the telephone after a game at the weekend to hear their answer on something, so I don’t think they’ll be putting themselves forward too quickly. “I heard one of the points. I think the referees are full-time but they only ever train together once a fortnight. They keep themselves fit but they do no tactical training, no game training. “So for me - if that’s the case - it’s a full-time job and I would have thought those referees should be out most days. “I think they are downloading their performances onto their computers and sending it in. “If I was the boss of the referees I’d be saying, ‘I am going to have to get you people together and get you trained more. I am going to have to find ways of training you’. “And maybe that is going into clubs.”
David Moyes warns his Everton FC stars to start converting chances
Nov 10 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES has warned his misfiring stars to start converting chances or risk losing their new-found momentum. Moyes admitted he is losing patience with the number of opportunities spurned during games by his front-men, and is hugely frustrated at the Blues’ failure to capitalise on a tight Premier League table.
He still finds it painful to recall potential victories which have slipped away due to his side’s failings in the final third of the pitch, and wants things to change fast.
Moyes has emphasised that point firmly ahead of tonight’s Goodison Park clash with Bolton Wanderers, after missed chances cost the Toffees three points once again against Blackpool. “My patience will start to evaporate if I don’t start to see some results because in the end it affects everyone,” he says. “It galls me when I think of the points we have dropped. I look and say to myself ‘I should certainly be much closer to the top than I am.’ I have said this to the players and I said it to them again at the weekend. “We are making lots of opportunities and moments where our approach play is good, but if the final pass or final finish at goal isn’t going to be right it’s going to count for nothing in the end. “All the players need to play their part, not just the forwards. I said to the boys the other day, isn’t it about time someone got on the end of a corner kick? “We’ve spoken about the forwards, but the other players need to chip in.”While Moyes is demanding more goals from set-pieces, he is hopeful that french striker Louis Saha can finally reach full fitness and contribute his undeniable touch of class. “Louis is back in it. He has been training for the last two weeks,” he says. “He’s been in contention, he had a big chance on Saturday to win the game for us. You want your forwards to keep getting chances and hope they start converting them.” Moyes also wants a contribution from Jermaine Beckford, although he concedes the forward will have to show patience as he waits for his chance to establish himself in the side. “I told him when he arrived that the first year was going to be difficult,” he says. “I said he’d get his opportunities. He got some opportunities early on and maybe they were a bit too early for him. Hopefully the next time he comes on he will be ready.” The rival men in the dug-out tonight know one another from their playing days in Scotland, and share a deep mutual respect.
“Owen is a few years younger than me,” says Moyes. “A lot of his time was at Airdrie and I was at Dunfermline when I went back up to Scotland. Owen got a great move to Bolton where he was with John McGinlay, and I was friends with John.
“I knew Owen from his Glasgow days and he was a Celtic fan, so he’s quite well known. So I’ve known Owen for a long time. “He was a very good player and loves his football. He still tries to play now, as everybody knows. “I think I played against him in the Airdrie semi-final against Dunfermline in the League Cup. We won on penalties before losing to Hibs in the final.” The Everton manager admits he was interested in pursuing Gary Cahill, along with most teams in the top flight at one point, but a reported £15m price tag ended his interest. “He was one who was on our radar but I think everybody was scared off by the price at the time, which was about £15million. We took one look at that and walked away,” he says. “I’m not surprised he has done well. He has improved, and maybe the confidence from joining up with England as well has helped.” Moyes agrees with the accepted wisdom that Coyle has helped change Bolton’s style from direct to something more eye-catching, but says they still rely on the prowess of newly-capped England forward Kevin Davies.
The Blues boss can even recall coming up against him during the latter stages of his own playing career with Preston in 1997. Moyes said: “Over the years we have known an awful lot about him. At the end of my career I think I played against him when he was at Chesterfield. “So he’s been around, he’s seen a few clubs but I think he has been more appreciated over the last few years for what he can do as a team player.
“He is a big part of their game, they use him a lot. They get the ball up to him and gain free-kicks from him or flick-ons. “They want to play as well but they have always got that get-out. He does it well for them. They are a high-energy team but a lot of their play is centred around Kevin Davies. “I think there is an awful lot of similarity with Bolton as it has been nearly the same team over the last couple of years.
“The squad hasn’t changed that much but I think there has been a development. Owen has done a great job.”
Everton boss David Moyes backs Tim Howard to overcome tiredness
Nov 10 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES fears Tim Howard has become jaded by more than two years of non-stop football – but the Blues boss will resist resting the keeper after giving him his full backing. Questions have been raised after uncharacteristic errors by the American cost the Blues vital points against Blackburn, Spurs and Blackpool, and Moyes accepts his first-choice keeper faces an increased challenge from Slovakia international Jan Mucha. Howard has not had a proper summer break for two years, after he played for his country in the Confederations Cup in 2009 and then this summer’s World Cup.
But the Blues boss insists the 31-year-old USA international has the mental strength to shrug off the blips and return to his consistent best. He said: “Tim Howard has played well. Of course, you think of the mistake in the first game of the season and he has had one or two other moments, but he has made one or two good saves as well.
“Tim hasn’t really had a break. I have Jan Mucha and if I felt the need to put him in I’d have no problem with that. Jan is waiting for his chance. Tim has got good competition. “Tim has played a lot of football through the summer and hasn’t missed many games. I’ve seen moments where I have thought I would have liked him to have done better, but overall he has been excellent in his time here. “He has been extremely consistent in his four years now. He’s not the kind of keeper that broods over a mistake, he gets his head down and does his work. He is a conscientious boy with his work. But I thought we could have done better with the free-kick against Blackpool, though. I think it may have something to do with the fact we probably thought Charlie Adam was going to take it.” The Blues welcome midfielder Marouane Fellaini back into the squad for tonight’s clash with Bolton Wanderers, and Moyes has not ruled out deploying the 22-year-old further upfield again this season. Fellaini shone in a defensive central midfield role last season, and the Everton boss agrees it is his best position but was impressed by an all-action display from the £15m man for his country against Austria last month. He said: “I saw him play for Belgium and played behind the striker and was the best player on the pitch by a mile. “He played higher up early on this season in one game and then wasn’t so good in the next game. Ideally we would probably play him a bit deeper rather than higher up. But in that Belgium game he was practically behind the striker.”
Everton FC manager David Moyes losing patience over wasteful finishing
Nov 10 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
DAVID MOYES admits he is close to losing patience with his profligate Everton team – as Marouane Fellaini prepared for a comeback. The Goodison outfit will aim to continue their autumn revival and extend a six-match unbeaten run when they entertain Bolton Wanderers this evening. Having been rock bottom in the Premier League six weeks ago, Everton have now moved to within three points of the European qualification places with a run that earned Moyes the Manager of the Month award for October. But the Scot believes his team would be higher up the table but for a wastefulness in front of goal that has hampered their efforts. Yakubu’s winner against Stoke City 11 days ago is the only goal a recognised striker has scored for the club in the Premier League this season, and Moyes reveals he is growing perturbed with his faltering forwards. “It galls me when I think of the points we have dropped,” said the manager. “I look and say to myself and say I should certainly be much closer to the top than I am. I have said this to the players and I said it to them again at the weekend. “We are making lots of opportunities and moments where our approach play is good, but if the final pass or final finish at goal isn’t going to be right it’s going to count for nothing in the end. “My patience will start to evaporate if I don’t start to see some results because in the end it affects everyone. All the players need to play their part, not just the forwards. “I said to the boys the other day, isn’t it about time someone got on the end of a corner kick? We’ve spoken about the forwards, but the other players need to chip in with some goals as well.” Everton will be bolstered tonight by the return of Marouane Fellaini, the Belgian having been sidelined for a month since injuring his hamstring while on international duty. “Felli has done well and is back a week early,” said Moyes. “I am not sure he is ready to start, I will wait until tomorrow. It’s four weeks coming up now so he is back not too far off schedule.
“Will he play in a deeper role when he comes back?“Probably, but I saw him play for Belgium and played behind the striker and was the best player on the pitch by a mile. The games will decide where we play him. “He played higher up early on this season in one game and then wasn’t so good in the next game. Ideally we would probably play him a bit deeper rather than higher up.” Jack Rodwell is likely to also be on the bench as he continues his recovery from an ankle problem, but the game has come too soon for Victor Anichebe. Moyes, meanwhile, had words of encouragement for Jermaine Beckford with the summer signing from Leeds United having seen his first-team options limited in recent weeks. “I told him when he arrived that the first year was going to be difficult,” said the manager. “I said he’d get his opportunities.
“He got some opportunities early on and maybe they were a bit too early for him. Hopefully the next time he comes on he will be ready to show it.”
David Moyes would be a successful manager anywhere, according to Bolton boss Owen Coyle
Nov 10 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post
BOLTON manager Owen Coyle is confident David Moyes would be a success if he was appointed manager at Manchester United – or any of the world’s greatest clubs.
Wanderers travel to Merseyside tonight to take on Everton, where Moyes has been in charge for more than eight years. His achievements over that period – which include guiding the club to a fourth-placed Premier League finish in 2005 and the FA Cup final in 2009 – have seen him emerge as one of the most frequently-touted candidates to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at United. That has come as no surprise to Coyle, who feels Moyes’ exploits warrant attention from the game’s biggest clubs. “It certainly wouldn’t surprise me if one of the elite clubs in world football had been looking at David Moyes to be their manager,” Coyle said. “It’s been mentioned before about him being a successor to Sir Alex Ferguson and that doesn’t surprise me at all because I know how hard he works and how good he is at his job. “If he is given the right tools, there is no doubt he would go on to win trophies.” Coyle could see the management potential in Moyes, his fellow Scot and old friend, from an early stage. “Fantastic doesn’t even do him justice,” Coyle said. “I know him from when I was at Bolton as a player – Moyesy was at Preston and John McGinlay, who I played with, was pally with him from Shrewsbury. “We used to meet up and I knew how much he loved the game – and from a coaching perspective, even at that stage when he was playing.
“So it didn’t surprise me when he went on to be, as he is right now, an outstanding manager who has done a remarkable job. “Year after year Everton continue to get stronger and stronger.” Coyle had to make the journey to Goodison Park twice last season in the Barclays Premier League, first with Burnley and then Bolton for a brace of Lancashire derbies having moved from one club to the other in January.
He was defeated 2-0 on both occasions and is expecting another testing time tomorrow. “I remember the Everton game very clearly – we (Bolton) were terrific at Everton and very comfortable in the game,” Coyle said. “Then we had a player sent off and Mikel Arteta moved a free-kick a number of yards and curled one in the corner. “I remember that feeling of disappointment because we did ever so well, but that is how tough it is at Everton. “I went there with Burnley as well last year and it was 0-0, before we had a man sent off as well and lost a goal. “So we need to be concentrated and focused for the duration of the match, knowing that Everton have quality.”
Everton FC v Bolton Preview: Why Tim Howard is still number one for David Moyes
Nov 10 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
IT’S a testament to Tim Howard’s impressive consistency at Everton that a couple of high-profile mistakes this season have prompted debate over the goalkeeper’s form.
Few would argue the United States international has been a calming presence between the sticks ever since arriving from Manchester United more than four years ago, his level of performance having meant there has been no chance of being usurped as the first name on the teamsheet. However, it hasn’t quite all gone to plan this campaign. Having opened the season with a mistake that cost defeat at Blackburn Rovers, Howard dropped another clanger when gifting Tottenham Hotspur a point at White Hart Lane last month. And eyebrows were again raised at the weekend when the goalkeeper appeared to be caught out by Neil Eardley’s free-kick opener for Blackpool. Howard has played football almost non-stop for the past two-and-a-half years, including consecutive summers that included lengthy campaigns in the Confederations Cup and World Cup for his country. But while admitting the keeper may benefit from a rest – Jan Mucha champing at the bit to pull on the gloves – Moyes sees no reason to admonish his number one. “Tim Howard has played well this season,” says the Everton manager. “Of course, you think of the mistake in the first game of the season and he has had one or two other moments, but he has made one or two good saves as well. “Tim hasn’t really had a break. I have Jan Mucha and if I felt the need to put him in I’d have no problem with that. Jan is waiting for his chance. Tim has got good competition. “Tim has played a lot of football through the summer and hasn’t missed many games. I’ve seen moments where I have thought I would have liked him to have done better, but overall he has been excellent in his time here.
“He has been extremely consistent in his four years now. He’s not the kind of keeper that broods over a mistake, he gets his head down and does his work. He is a conscientious boy with his work. “But I thought we could have done better with the free-kick against Blackpool, though. I think it may have something to do with the fact we probably thought Charlie Adam was going to take it.” Howard and his defenders will come up against a formidable foe this evening when Bolton Wanderers visit Goodison. Kevin Davies, who scored twice in the Trotters’ win over a poor Tottenham last weekend, has long been viewed as a nuisance by opponents for his rugged approach but only now is he earning widespread plaudits, including a first England cap last month at the age of 33. Moyes has long been aware of Davies’s attributes and the former Preston defender can recall coming up against him during the latter stages of his own playing career in 1997. “Over the years we have known an awful lot about him,” says the Goodison manager. “At the end of my career I think I played against him when he was at Chesterfield.“So he’s been around, he’s seen a few clubs but I think he has been more appreciated over the last few years for what he can do as a team player. “He is a big part of their game, they use him a lot. They get the ball up to him and gain free-kicks from him or flick-ons. “They want to play as well but they have always got that get-out. He does it well for them. “They are a high-energy team but a lot of their play is centred around Kevin Davies.” Moyes, however, does recognise how Bolton have improved since Owen Coyle took charge at the Reebok Stadium in January. Coyle steered the Trotters clear of relegation last season and has overseen a fine start to the current campaign, with the weekend win moving them up to sixth with 15 points from 11 games, one point more than Everton.
“I think there is an awful lot of similarity with Bolton as it has been nearly the same team over the last couple of years,” says Moyes. “The squad hasn’t changed that much but I think there has been a development. “Owen has done a great job. After rescuing Bolton a bit and making sure they stayed in the division, he has got them at the right end of the league.” Moyes also went up against Coyle during his playing days at Dunfermline, defeating his counterpart’s Airdrie side in a Scottish League Cup semi-final in 1992. “Owen is a few years younger than me,” he says. “A lot of Owen’s time was at Airdrie and I was at Dunfermline when I went back up to Scotland. Owen got a great move to Bolton where he was with John McGinlay, and I was friends with John.
“I knew Owen from his Glasgow days and he was a Celtic fan, so he’s quite well known. So I’ve known Owen for a long time. He was a very good player and loves his football. He still tries to play now, as everybody knows.”
Wanderers to go on the attack
7:10am Wednesday 10th November 2010
By Marc Iles »
Bolton News
OWEN Coyle has pledged not to take a backward step as Wanderers head to Goodison Park looking to break into the Premier League’s top five. With Saturday’s thrilling 4-2 victory over Spurs still fresh in the memory, the manager will be urging his buoyant side to go straight on the offensive at a venue where they have not registered a goal, let alone a point, in five years. While Coyle knows the Whites will face a thorough examination against an Everton side themselves rejuvinated after a terrible start to the season, he aims to carry on regardless his philosophy of attack being the best form of defence. “My players know that whether it’s at home or away, I want them to be positive,” said the Wanderers boss. “We don’t go anywhere and just sit and hope for a draw. “We accept that at times you have to dig deep and defend. But we’ll be prepared and take the game to Everton whenever we can.
“When we do, we have the players to cause problems for anyone.” Coyle is expected to name a side unchanged from the weekend, meaning that Martin Petrov will remain on the bench despite scoring in the final stages against Tottenham. Victory could see Wanderers move above Newcastle United into fifth, and the manager has called for the same fearless approach that served them so well in their last outing. “I think if we’d have sat back at 2-0 then it would have invited Spurs on to us, and it would have caused real problems,” he said. “That isn’t what my sides are about. We can’t just click our fingers and everything fall into place – we need to work at high intensity – but we’ll always try and stay on a front foot.”
Coyle fan of Everton's rising star
Wednesday 10th November 2010
By Liam Chronnell, Bolton News
NO sooner have Wanderers seen off one wonder kid, they are bracing themselves to face another. Gretar Steinsson and Co coped well against Tottenham’s Gareth Bale in Saturday’s 4-2 win. Now they must snuff out the threat of Everton’s rising star Seamus Coleman in tonight’s clash at Goodison Park. Like Bale, the 22-year-old Donegal-born ace is a full back by trade but has been enjoying success further forward. Right-footer Coleman’s first Premier League goal earned the Merseysiders a point at Blackpool in a 2-2 draw on Saturday. And Coyle knows all about the threat the flying Irishman poses after trying to sign him from Sligo Rovers when he was in charge at Turf Moor. “I had Seamus in at Burnley,” said the Wanderers boss. “He came in and played a trial game for us and he got injured after 10 minutes and he was unfortunate. “He caught his knee and was out for four to six weeks but as soon as he was back fit, everybody was talking about this young player. If he’d played the full game and not picked up the injury we probably would have signed him. “But he went back to Sligo and got himself fit again and by that time there were bigger clubs than ourselves at Burnley looking at him, with Everton being one of them and he moved there.” Coyle added: “He went about it with such vigour and enthusiasm, I liked him straight away before he’d even played, and you see how he’s evolved at Everton.
“He had a great loan spell at Blackpool and now he’s pushed himself into the Everton first team. David Moyes has been very good with him and very clever with him because he gave him a little sample of the European stuff last year and knew that the Championship with Blackpool would serve him well. He’s been proved right because he’s been terrific. “He’s getting better and better. He’s a full back but he can play further forward and he’s just an outstanding young player with a real sense of purpose, a real sense of drive and I love that type of player.”
Cahill aims to overtake Jag in Capello's plans
Wednesday 10th November 2010
By Liam Chronnell, Bolton News
GARY Cahill will go head to head with Phil Jagielka at Goodison Park in a showdown that could earn one of them a place in Fabio Capello’s next starting line-up. The England boss was at the Reebok on Saturday to run the rule over several of his players, including the Wanderers centre-back, ahead of next Wednesday’s friendly against France. Capello has indicated he plans to field an experimental side for the Wembley clash, with Cahill and Everton’s Jagielka in direct competition for a place at the heart of the defence. And as the pair prepare to press their own individual claims, Owen Coyle believes his star defender could not have a better opportunity to show his credentials than against the firepower of David Moyes’s men. “Gary’s an outstanding young player who is playing out of his skin,” the Bolton boss said, reflecting on his performance against Spurs. “He played against Peter Crouch and Fabio Capello was watching. “He’ll have to be at his best against Yakubu, Tim Cahill and Louis Saha, but I would suggest his consistency level is a very high one and that augurs well. He’s getting better. I look at the volley on Saturday, his feet are so quick they should not belong to a centre half. He’s just a gifted footballer.” Coyle is also a big fan of Moyes, the Everton manager, and believes his fellow Scot could one day succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. He said: “He’s such a top-class manager. He’s done an unbelievable job for Everton and will continue to do so. “The mystery for me is why the top clubs, the elite clubs, of world football haven’t come calling. Maybe they have and he’s turned down their advances but he’s got everything and he’s shown it consistently at Everton. You can see why people are full of admiration for him and might fancy him as manager of their club because they’ll want to be winning trophies and, given the right ammunition, he could do that. “I know him well from when I was playing at Bolton and he was at Preston and we’d meet up quite a lot. John McGinlay was here as well and he’s big pals with Moyesy from their Shrewsbury days and one of my best mates so I know how focused he was then as a player and a young coach. He’s really taken that into management and there’s no doubt if he was given a job anywhere in world football, he’d be an outstanding success.” Coyle’s in-form side travel to Goodison five places above Everton, but the Reebok chief believes the Wanderers are still lagging some distance behind the Toffees. “We’re a long way from Everton,” he said. “Everton are a big club in terms of their fan base and that generates bigger finance. On Saturday we had 20,000 there and we’ve had 23,000s and 24,000s, so we’re never going to be a club that has 40,000 at their games and that tells you the gulf in finance. “My job is to do the best I can do and take the club on. Can we, in time, push into that top bracket? That top eight? Who knows? My ambition each year is to get better. “Last year we finished 14th after coming in as favourites for relegation. Now we have to improve that on a year-by-year basis, bearing in mind that everybody’s after the same thing and there are a lot of the bigger clubs than us.”
Stubbs hopes time is right for forgiveness
Wednesday 10th November 2010
By Marc Iles, Bolton News
ALAN Stubbs hopes that time has finally healed the bad blood between himself and Wanderers’ fans. Despite being one of the most successful examples of the club’s youth policy in the last couple of decades, the former Burnden Park YTS trainee has not been held in high regard on the terraces since leaving for Celtic in a £3.5million deal over 14 years ago. Stubbs had spent eight successful years with Wanderers, earning two promotions and appearing in a League Cup final, before seeing his popularity plummet when he announced publicly that his future lay elsewhere early in the 1995-6 season. Now assistant reserve team coach at Goodison Park, Stubbs hopes to bury the hatchet as he prepares to watch two of his former clubs in action tonight.
“In the end, I’d been a professional for seven or eight years at Bolton, which was a decent length of time,” he said. “It wasn’t something that I’d come to the conclusion ‘bang’ overnight that I was going to leave. “I had spoken to Bolton over an 18-month period. I was ambitious, and there was a lot of talk about me going to this and that club. “And, no disrespect, Bolton weren’t on the same level as those clubs at that time. We were a little bit up and down promotion-wise. If the fans were unhappy, I can understand but I did a lot while I was at Bolton, I didn’t suddenly jump ship. I had more ups than downs and had a few promotions with them, so if I had stayed for another two years and left, it still would have been the same.” Stubbs revealed his chief reason for quitting Wanderers for Glasgow was that he did not believe they had invested enough to avoid relegation, having ended a 15-year wait for top-flight football. “When the club went up, I’d hoped they were going to invest and stay there,” he said. “But they came to the decision that they wanted to try and spend just enough to stay in the division. “I felt that if we’d had a decent go at it, that we would have been able to stay up, so that was my argument. “I had a great relationship with the chairman at the time and we had a very formal conversation where I said if someone comes in for me, I wanted them to be completely honest with the bids. I knew they would get decent money for me. “He said ‘I know we’re holding you back a little bit but can you give us another year, then if things don’t work out, I’ll shake hands now and we’ll work something out.’ “I still go back now and see a few of the people, the chairman now, Phil Gartside, and (vice-chairman) Brett Warbuton, so if I would have left under a cloud, that would have been a frosty relationship. But they’re the first to shake my hand and that’s because they knew what had gone on.”
Stubbs went on to play for Celtic, Sunderland, Everton and Derby before hanging up his boots for good two years ago. He also beat cancer twice to resume his playing career. This year will be his 10th in remission. And the 39-year-old looks back fondly on his time at Wanderers, where he played alongside current boss Owen Coyle.
“I’ve got to be honest, I always saw him as more of a coach,” Stubbs admitted.
“Coyley and McGin (John McGinlay) were two right characters - chalk and cheese. Whenever McGin would be winding someone up, you’d have Owen in the background, feeding him little lines and vice-versa. “They were a great double act. Coyley was a natural finisher, McGin would work hard and play bigger than he was. He could hold the ball up and scored some really important goals. They played in partnerships - they weren’t individuals. “I think Coyley has done great. I see him from time to time and he hasn’t changed a bit. He’s doing a fantastic job.
“Bolton are on the up. They have established themselves as a good Premier League team now, and I’m delighted.”
Bolton 1, Everton 1: Beckford rescues point for Everton
Nov 10 2010 by Merseyside Sport, Liverpool Echo
JERMAINE BECKFORD finally celebrated his first Premier League goal with a stunning 94th minute strike to rescue Everton a point against Bolton.
The Toffees were destined for their first defeat in seven Barclays Premier League games when the former Leeds striker fired over Jussi Jaaskelainen with the three minutes of time added on already elapsed at Goodison Park. Ivan Klasnic had come off the bench to give Bolton the lead 11 minutes from time and worse followed as Marouane Fellaini was sent off for kicking Paul Robinson. The Belgian, returning to the side after four games out, could have few complaints. On the receiving end of a heavy challenge from Robinson he kicked out two-footed as he lay onthe floor.
The hosts had squandered a number of chances to take the lead, many of them through the returning Louis Saha, as manager David Moyes’ complaints about a lack of goals again rang true. But Bolton, who also hit bar through Matt Taylor moments before Klasnic’s effort, could not hang on for a win that would have taken them fifth.
The visitors had twice caused anxiety in the Everton defence early on, first as captain Kevin Davies broke the line to reach a long ball and Johan Elmander forcing Sylvain Distin to block. Everton’s first opportunity fell to Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, surprisingly preferred to Seamus Coleman, but the Russian skewed his shot well wide.
Bilyaletdinov had another chance as Leighton Baines found him six yards out with a fine cross but he failed to connect with his volley. Elmander put a simple header wide from a similar distance after Taylor headed a corner back across goal. Saha, on his first start since August, showed great skill to beat Robinson on the edge of the box but the Frenchman shot straight at Jaaskelainen. Bilyaletdinov had a good shooting chance after being fed in the box by Steven Pienaar but lost momentum by cutting inside onto his left foot and Bolton recovered. Saha had two shots cleared off the line in quick succession as Everton put the Bolton goal under more pressure.
The first chance came after Jaaskelainen failed to claim a Phil Neville cross but Gretar Steinsson blocked at point-blank range. Saha then rose to meet the resulting Mikel Arteta corner but Lee Chung-yong volleyed out from under the crossbar.
Elmander inadvertently set up Fellaini when he trick to flick away another Everton corner but the Belgian blasted over the bar. Bolton made the initial running after the restart and had the first chance as Davies headed forward and Lee squared for Elmander but the striker’s first-time shot was deflected wide by Baines. That resulted in the first of three Bolton corners in quick succession. The visitors again went close from the second of them as Stuart Holden met Taylor’s cross with a glancing header but Tim Howard clawed the ball out. Everton responded as Bilyaletdinov drove at Jaaskelainen from 20 yards and Baines had a shot sliced narrowly over his own bar by Gary Cahill. Zat Knight then got in Saha’s way to deny the former Manchester United striker once again after good control on the edge of the box. Moyes brought on Coleman, one of the stars of Everton’s recent good run, for the frustrating Bilyaletdinov after 66 minutes. The Irishman immediately looked a threat as he charged at the Bolton defence and cut inside but Jaaskelainen was not tested by his shot. Holden required treatment after a kick on the ankle from Fellaini but recovered to take the corner which almost saw Bolton break the deadlock after 75 minutes.
The American picked out Taylor with his cross but the midfielder’s header glanced the bar and went behind. Bolton then grabbed the initiative as Taylor broke from deep down the right and sent over a bouncing cross for Klasnic. With the defence frantically back-tracking, Klasnic inched ahead and just got his body to the ball to divert it in at the far post. Everton’s frustrations then started to get the better of them as Fellaini went down in a challenge from Robinson and responded by kicking out.
Referee Phil Dowd pointed the Belgian in the direction of the tunnel as Everton’s night threatened to end in misery. But Everton had one last throw of the dice and late substitute Beckford chose the perfect moment to score his first league goal for the club, curling a wonderful effort in from the edge of the box in time added on.
Everton FC's Marouane Fellaini helps Liverpool One’s newest restaurant go with the fro
Nov 11 2010 by Dawn Collinson, Liverpool Echo
Marouane Fellaini with Prego restaurant owner Franco Mercuri LIVERPOOL One’s new Italian restaurant, Prego, is proving quite the celebrity magnet.
Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini was spotted (and he is hard to miss) dining there with his father and brother. He happily posed for photographs with fans before ordering a huge seafood platter and Josper grilled chicken with rosemary and lemon juice. Reds captain Steven Gerrard was also among the first to sample Prego’s menu, along with Sex And The City star Kim Cattrall, who took the opportunity to swap Egyptian for Italian for a night.
Everton FC jury: Blues reflect on their side's trip to the seaside to face Blackpool
Nov 11 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
Tony Scott - Rock, rollercoaster, bright lights and donkey at Bloomfield Road
AS soon as the fixture dates were released, thousands of Evertonians scrolled down the list for one particular away game. Yes, Blackpool. Famous for its rock, rollercoasters, bright lights and donkeys – all four were seen in just 90 minutes at Bloomfield Road on Saturday. A presence in defence and getting better each time he throws on a blue shirt is Everton’s rock, Sylvain Distin. Compare him to John Heitinga who gets worse with each game and looks a shadow of his former self, regardless of where he plays in the team. Blackpool were decent going forward but lame at the back with Everton's bright light coming from Seamus Coleman giving Blackpool's left-back a really bad ride. Thousands of Blues enjoyed the trip, but instead of bringing home presents for the wife, we should of been bringing back all three points.
Mike Williamson - Everton FC really need a goalscorer
IT was very much a case of what could have been at Blackpool and further evidence of how restricted our progress will be until we can find a goalscorer. The game should have been over by half-time with the chances we had and yet again we are left frustrated at thinking of where we could be in the table if we had not dropped points against teams like this so often this season. That apart, we look like we are back to the team of last year but the game against Arsenal on Sunday will be a massive test. Nobody can forget the opening game of last season but there will be no repeat of that.. Jags and Distin look invincible, while Cahill and Arteta are clearly enjoying their football again. Pienaar looks like he is away in January so the main issue then will be who can Moyes find to retain the kind of balance Pienaar brings to the team.
That won’t be easy.
Mike Drummond - Lost chance to gain maximum points at Blackpool FC
OU can’t help but think it was two points dropped against Blackpool on Saturday.
Again, you couldn’t fault our passing or creativity. Perhaps our defence could have been more organised, but it was just our end product that was this issue. Thank the Lord for Tim Cahill who keeps popping up with the goals, but he can’t do that all season – it would be great if he could! However, we cannot dismiss Blackpool’s performance. They have got results from big clubs already this year and never lack any confidence in doing so, so they deserved a point from the game.
Needless to say, these are the games that need to be won if we want to break into the top four again. I said it a few weeks back, we need to be more clinical, particularly our forwards, otherwise we will not see off games and what could be wins could end up as draws, or even losses.
Cole Fraser - What an asset Tim Cahill is for Everton FC
ANOTHER solid performance on Saturday saw us pick up a deserved point at Blackpool. The highlight for me was Tim Cahill scoring his 50th Premier League goal. Nobody could have guessed just how important the little Australian would prove to be to Everton's cause, when David Moyes signed him back in 2004.
But 219 games and 61 goals later, the £1.5 million fee that we paid for him seems an absolute steal. Tim has been an invaluable asset since his arrival, and has taken Everton to his heart as we have taken him to ours. He continues to be the heartbeat of the team even now. Having already written himself into Goodison folklore with five goals against the Reds, he continues to show an impeccable ability to pop-up with a goal at anytime. We look a different team without him in the side.
David Moyes delighted with ‘fantastic’ Jermaine Beckford strike to rescue point for Everton FC against Bolton
Nov 11 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON boss David Moyes hailed a “fantastic” finish by Jermaine Beckford but labelled Marouane Fellaini “stupid” after his side snatched a point against Bolton.
Beckford struck his first Barclays Premier League goal deep into injury time as 10-man Everton grabbed a 1-1 draw in a dramatic late finish at Goodison Park.
Ivan Klasnic had given Bolton the lead after 79 minutes and Everton’s night had looked like ending in misery when Fellaini was sent off for kicking out at Paul Robinson four minutes from time. Moyes has shown great patience with Beckford, who has struggled with the step-up from League One since his summer move from Leeds, but concedes he expected too much too soon. Moyes said: “Anyone who has watched Leeds United over the last few seasons will tell you he can score an array of goals. “It was a fantastic finish, it really was. “I think that is what Jermaine has got but there is a lot he will have to learn in being a Premier League player. “I put him in a bit earlier than I should have done. My idea was always to bring him off the bench in games where we needed a goal. “I shouldn’t have started him so early, that was a mistake of mine, but it was a good goal. The one thing we can’t teach him is the one thing he came with, the ability to score goals.” Moyes had no issue with the red card shown to Fellaini, who reacted petulantly after a heavy challenge from Robinson.
“It was correct,” Moyes said. “I thought it was a foul on Fellaini, the tackle by Robinson, which I thought might have been a booking. “But I’ve no complaints, it was retaliation. He shouldn’t do it, he was stupid.” Everton squandered a number of chances throughout the game to take the lead, with the otherwise vibrant Louis Saha spurning several on his first start since August. Yet while the Toffees were disappointed not to take three points, the result at least extended their unbeaten run to seven games. Moyes said: “If we hadn’t got a point, we’d have come away saying it wasn’t right.” Beckford's stunning late intervention denied Bolton fifth place in the table but manager Owen Coyle reflected pragmatically on the result.
Coyle said: “If someone had offered me four points from two games against Tottenham Hotspur and Everton I would obviously have taken them with both hands.
“I am disappointed because we were in a great position to win the game – but that is the only disappointment. “I felt my group of players were terrific tonight.
“Every one of them had to stand up to be counted.”
Everton FC 1, Bolton 1: Greg O'Keeffe sees Jermaine Beckford become the main man for the Blues at last
Nov 11 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES had advised Jermaine Beckford to be patient this season, but last night it was the striker who helped the Everton boss keep his rapidly evaporating composure. Beckford’s last-gasp goal to earn the Blues a point against Bolton, proved that at least one of Moyes’ mis-firing strikers has been listening. The Scot has warned his front men that their constant wastefulness is grating on him, and Beckford’s wonderful injury-time strike underlined perfectly that sometimes it’s better to seize the moment. Too often last night the frustrating pattern of Everton’s season seemed set to undermine them again, over-elaborating in the final third has almost become their hall-mark. That habit, and missing a hatful of chances against a taciturn Bolton side which it is difficult enough to get behind anyway, was set to yield an awful result, until Beckford’s contribution turned it into a barely acceptable one.
The summer signing had only been on the field for nine minutes, when he took a pass from Leighton Baines, drifted inside for a second and curled a marvellous effort into the top right hand corner to stretch Everton's unbeaten Premier League run.
Only last week David Moyes took Beckford to one side at Finch Farm to discuss his limited participation so far, but the former Leeds man may just have muscled himself into the frame. Defeat may have been avoided, but the league table will still make Moyes grimace. Victory against Owen Coyle’s side could have had the Blues breathing down the necks of the top five, instead they’re still treading water at twelfth.
The first clear chance of the game was Bolton’s. Paul Robinson drifted forward from left back and slipped a cute pass to Kevin Davies, who beat Phil Jagielka too easily and was set to pull the trigger when Sylvain Distin produced a heroic sliding block.
The Blues, despite some nice build-up play in attack, were slightly second best to the visitors at first. Gradually though, they asserted themselves and Louis Saha’s elegant foot work on the edge of the area began to yield chances. The Frenchman, making his first start since August, looked sharp but still struggled to make Jaaskelainen work hard enough. Another rare starter, Bilyaletdinov, fluffed a gilt-edged chance; played in by the flying Steven Pienaar, Bily refrained from shooting on his weaker right foot and tried to turn inside and unleash his emphatic left. Saha went close from an inventive corner on the half hour mark, and then saw a headed effort cleared off the line by Chung Yong Lee. Although they ended the half dominant, Everton had nothing to show for it, Electing to pass when a shot is on, or vice versa, is becoming a curse.
The second half began with an early chance for Johan Elmander, then from a corner Stuart Holden ghosted into the box and saw his goal-bound header superbly saved.
What was perhaps not the most pulse-quickening of fixtures on paper, at least provided plenty of chances. Gary Cahill narrowly avoided an own goal when he got lucky, slicing Leighton Baines’ cross over his bar after a surging run.
Seamus Coleman’s pace down the right had been sorely missed, so Moyes introduced the young Irishman, whose exclusion in the first place was a surprise.
Almost instantly he was doing his best Gareth Bale impression; zipping to the byline, cutting into the area with menace and making things happen.
Then disaster struck. Phil Jagielka dawdled on the ball near the centre circle, and Stuart Holden robbed him and fed Matthew Taylor who surged forward and whipped in a wonderful cross for sub Ivan Klasnic to bundle home.
Things got worse when Marouane Fellaini got his marching orders, after kicking out at Paul Robinson. Three minutes added time seemed scant considering the stoppage for Fellaini’s dismissal, but in truth Bolton were defending so well the Blues seemed destined not to score. That was until Beckford’s late, late intervention.
The danger for Everton is that a habit of dropping points at home is becoming their calling card. While the table is still so uncommonly tight, it remains easy to capitalise against sides like Blackpool and Bolton, and surge upwards. Instead, a potential six points have yielded only two, and Moyes’ patience will be on the rack again when Arsenal visit Goodison.
Leighton Baines backs Everton FC's Jermaine Beckford to come good
Nov 11 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
LEIGHTON BAINES has backed Jermaine Beckford to build on his dramatic point-saving strike against Bolton by turning his training ground prowess into more performances in the Premier League. The Everton defender insists nobody in the home dressing room was surprised by the quality of Beckford’s last-gasp finish to earn the Blues a point in a 1-1 draw with Bolton Wanderers last night.
Baines, who provided the interception and pass to set-up the former Leeds United hit-man for his first Premier League goal, believes David Moyes always wanted to use Beckford from the bench this season. Moyes admitted as much in the build up to last night’s game, and said he had told the former non-league striker he would have to bide his time. Baines said: “It’s great for Becks to get off the mark in the Premier League like that and he’ll feel really good for it. He’s been doing it very regularly in training and he always looks sharp. “He was thrust in a bit at the beginning of the season because we were short on numbers and now the manager will be able to do it how he wanted, bringing him on gradually, and he’s proved he can be a valuable asset for the club with goals like that.” Baines accepted that the Blues should have taken more of their chances, after failing to get enough shots on target against Owen Coyle’s solid defensive unit. He said: “It’s hard enough to get behind Bolton, and we didn’t make their keeper work enough in the end.“We passed it quite a bit but never really had that final bit of quality to get a goal. “It is two points dropped, no doubt about that, and we felt it was a winnable game but the consolation is we remain unbeaten ad we take heart in that.” The draw against Bolton represents another missed chance to move toward the European places for the Toffees, but Baines says that his team-mates cannot let their frustration deter them. He said: “We can’t afford to let it get to us, not when the games are coming around so quickly. You need to be professional and focus on the next game. “Straight away we need to shift our thoughts to Arsenal, and we might feel the disappointment for a bit but we have to put it behind us and be positive if we want to get anything from that.” Meanwhile, the Blues are facing losing midfielder Marouane Fellaini for three games after the Belgian was sent off on his return to the side from injury. Ref Phil Dowd showed the 22-year-old a straight red after he kicked out at Bolton defender Paul Robinson following a hefty challenge in the second half. Fellaini had already been out of action for a month after he picked up an injury on international duty with Belgium.
Everton defender Sylvain Distin reveals admiration for Arsenal's style
Nov 11 2010 by Phil Kirkbride, Liverpool Echo
SYLVAIN DISTIN has revealed his admiration for Arsenal’s style of football - but has urged the Everton faithful to create an unsettling atmosphere for the Gunners.
Following last night’s last-gasp draw with Bolton Wanderers, David Moyes’ return to Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon for a showdown with the Londoners.
Having watched Arsene Wenger’s men in action recently defender Distin has hailed their crisp passing approach yet insists Everton must not show too much respect this weekend. Distin, who turned in a man-of-the-match performance against Bolton, has earmarked Arsenal’s lack of brawn as an area to be exploited by the Blues.
“For a while Arsenal have played the best football in the league,” said Distin.
“They maybe lack a bit of experience or a few macho players like they had when they were winning everything, but the way they play is very interesting.
“They are still a tremendous team. I watched them play Newcastle and even though they lost the game they played wonderful football so they are always a good team to watch and a tough opponent. “They play with the ball on the ground and with one or two touches, maximum. "They play with a lot of movement and you can end up chasing the ball for 90 minutes if you are not careful. “But for us the approach is the same as it always is. “We focus on what we do well and that is the main thing.
"Obviously you show teams respect and we work on analysing the opposition, looking at what they are good at and what their strengths are. “But we know if we play to our potential then there are not many teams who can live with us – particularly at Goodison.” Fellow Frenchman Samir Nasri has been earmarked as Arsenal’s main threat by Distin who says the forward is starting to fulfil the potential he showed in his homeland. “Nasri was already a big star in France and he came over and not many people had heard of him,” he added. “But I knew he would do well because he has excellent technique. Also he is a typical Arsenal player and you knew it was the right club and the right manager for him.”
Everton 1 Bolton Wanderers 1: Goodison faithful left as frustrated as manager David Moyes after draw
Nov 11 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
Everton 1 Bolton Wanderers 1: Goodison faithful left as frustrated as manager David Moyes after draw IF patience is a virtue, then no wonder David Moyes has been named manager of the month. The Scot has found his composure sorely tested this season by Everton’s continued failure to produce sufficient end product to their impressive approach play. With mere seconds remaining last night at an increasingly restless Goodison, it appeared that debilitating shortcoming would bring his team’s six-match unbeaten run to a shuddering halt. Fitting, then, that a player who has had no option but to bide his time should come to the rescue and salvage a point from an encounter where Everton frittered away enough chances to win all three.
Jermaine Beckford would be the first to admit the leap from League One to Premier League has proven greater than envisaged, the striker learning the hard way when thrown in at the deep end earlier in the campaign as injuries limited Moyes’s forward options. Beckford retreated to the bench, where he has stayed for the best part of two months. But, handed the call last night with eight minutes remaining, the striker demonstrated just why Moyes was willing to take a punt on the former Leeds United man by curling in a superb equaliser to post a timely reminder of his talents with his first-ever Premier League goal. While the timing was tough on Bolton Wanderers, who had taken the lead 11 minutes from time through substitute Ivan Klasnic, few could quibble with the final outcome, even though the majority of proceedings served only to underline the problems that continue to hamper Everton. Moyes’s patience was also tested by a needless red card shown to Marouane Fellaini, the Belgian deservedly dismissed with four minutes remaining after kicking out at Bolton defender Paul Robinson. A quicker than expected recovery from injury had seen Fellaini back in the starting line-up just four weeks after sustaining a hamstring problem while on international duty with Belgium. Now the midfielder faces another three games on the sidelines. With Everton playing their second of three Premier League games in a week, Moyes looked to freshen his line-up although eyebrows were raised with Seamus Coleman dropping to the bench in favour of Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. The Russia international, making only his third league start of the campaign, has yet to totally convince during his 15-month career, his undoubted talent undermined by chronic inconsistency. A first-half moment last night encapsulated the frustration the winger often provokes among supporters. Steven Pienaar, leading a charge towards the Bolton area, fed Bilyaletdinov in acres of space down the inside right channel. However, instead of letting fly on his weaker foot, the Russian was betrayed by a lack of confidence and instead cut inside on to his favoured left peg, by which time the opening was lost. Up front, Yakubu’s run of seven successive starts was halted with the Nigerian taking a well-earned breather among the substitutes, Louis Saha spearheading the attack with his first start since August.
But it was Bolton, reinvigorated by their impressive weekend defeat of Tottenham Hotspur, who made the brighter start, capitalising on indecision among the home side.
It required a sliding interception from the alert Sylvain Distin to deny Johan Elmander a clear run at goal in the ninth minute after the striker had put the ball through the legs of Phil Jagielka. It was to be a difficult evening for Jagielka, who breathed a sigh of relief 10 minutes later when, with Everton struggling to deal with a flurry of Bolton corners, the centre-back almost looped an intended clearing header into his own net.
From Matthew Taylor’s resultant set-piece delivery, Gretar Steinsson met his cross at the far post and nodded across to Elmander who, in a central position, couldn’t twist his neck enough to direct his header at goal. That near miss appeared to jolt Everton into action. Saha fired a strong shot on 24 minutes that Juusi Jaaskelainen could only parry before the keeper blocked Tim Cahill’s rebound attempt. Ten minutes later, Jaaskelainen again showed a pair of unsafe hands when dropping Phil Neville’s cross under pressure that allowed Saha a shot that was bundled behind. From the corner, Saha saw his header cleared off the line by Bolton midfielder Chung-Yong Lee.
Having wrested the initiative before the interval, Everton were almost made to pay for being slow out of the blocks again after half-time. Swift build-up play between Davies and Lee led to an Elmander shot from 16 yards that took a nick off the boot of Leighton Baines and rolled narrowly wide. And seconds later, the hosts were indebted to a fine save from the goalkeeper to paw away Stuart Holden’s close-range header from a dangerous Taylor set-piece. Everton responded immediately and Gary Cahill almost turned a low Baines cross into his own net, the ball looping agonisingly over the crossbar. The home side forced a succession of corners, but it was Bolton who next came close when Taylor glanced Holden’s left-wing corner on to the crossbar.
And the visitors went ahead on 79 minutes with a goal that Jagielka will want to forget. A heavy touch by the defender on the halfway line was pounced upon by Holden, who sent Taylor scurrying down the left flank. With the Everton defence caught on the backfoot, the Bolton winger delivered a brilliant low cross into the six-yard box that dissected Howard and Distin and simply invited substitute Klasnic to apply the finishing touch. Everton’s task was made more difficult with four minutes remaining when Fellaini took exception to a strong challenge from Robinson and kicked out at the Bolton left-back, giving referee Phil Dowd no option but to brandish a red card. But deep into injury time, a tenacious Baines won possession on the left from Lee and fed Beckford, who curled the ball brilliantly beyond Jaaskelainen into the top corner for the equaliser. On the day the Trotters announced record losses of £35million, Everton failed to inflict another. And but for Beckford, it could have been even worse.
There’s more to come from goal hero Jermaine Beckford, insists Everton manager David Moyes
Nov 11 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
DAVID MOYES believes there is more to come from Jermaine Beckford after the striker scored his first-ever Premier League goal to salvage a dramatic point for 10-man Everton. Beckford came off the bench to net the equaliser in the third minute of injury time to earn the Goodison outfit a 1-1 home draw with Bolton Wanderers last night. The visitors had appeared to have snatched victory when substitute Ivan Klasnic netted with 11 minutes remaining. Everton’s job was made more difficult shortly afterwards when Marouane Fellaini was sent off on his return from injury after kicking out at Bolton left-back Paul Robinson. But Beckford’s brilliant curling strike extended the Everton’s unbeaten run to seven games and earned the praise of his manager. “It was a really good goal,” said Moyes. “Anybody who has watched Leeds over the last few seasons will tell you he can score an array of goals. It was a fantastic finish, it really was. “That is what Jermaine has got. There’s a lot he will have to learn in being a Premier League player but overall the one thing we can’t teach him and what he came with was the ability to score goals. “We needed something.
“We were in the last 10 to 15 seconds of the game. Credit to Leighton Baines who never gave up, won it back in the bottom corner and slipped him in.” Beckford started four of Everton’s first six games this season but has spent the last six weeks on the substitutes bench. And Moyes admitted: “I have put him in earlier than I should have done. “My idea was always to bring him off the bench in games where we needed a goal. “I shouldn’t have started him so early on in the season. That was a mistake of mine.” Fellaini made his first appearance in four weeks having recovered from a hamstring problem suffered while on international duty with Belgium. But, after taking exception to a challenge by Robinson, Fellaini kicked out two-footed at the Bolton man to leave referee Phil Dowd no option but to brandish a red card.
He now faces an immediate three-match ban. And Moyes said: “It was correct. It could have been a foul on Fellaini by Robinson which might have been a booking.
“But we have no complaints. It was retaliation, and a sending off. Marouane should not have done that, it was stupid.”
Until Beckford’s intervention, Everton had wasted a number of good chances to score, a failing Moyes admits has been affecting his team for some time.
“If we hadn’t got a point then you’d have come away thinking ‘that wasn’t right’,” said the Goodison manager. “We had lots of the ball, lots of opportunities, good play, and we tried to do the right things and tried to pass the ball through.
“But it has been like a long-playing record, for eight or nine games and maybe more. We stuck at it though and kept trying to do the right things but we didn’t look like we were going to score at the end. “We put three up front, Tim Cahill on the right and Yak on the left and Becks up the middle. “We had nothing to lose and we could go for it. We tried everything to score all night and by then we were thinking there was no chance.” Bolton manager Owen Coyle expressed his disappointment the visitors could not hang on to the three points. “I thought it was a brilliant game between two good teams who were both looking to win the game and the players had to stand up and be counted,” he said. “Having gone in front through a well-worked goal it was a bit of disappointment to concede goal in the last minute especially as we looked like we had dealt with the attack. “Goodison Park is one of the toughest venues to get anything from and the way we applied ourselves is very pleasing and will hold us well for the rest of the season.”
Everton 1 Wanderers 1
11th November 2010
By Marc Iles, Bolton News
WHILE the accountants are producing numbers that make Wanderers fans quake in their boots, it would have been nice to see just one more zero make an appearance last night. But Jermaine Beckford’s strike, deep into injury time, hurt much more than the one that earned Marouane Fellaini a straight red as he lashed out mindlessly at Paul Robinson. Ivan Klasnic thought he had won the game with his 78th minute effort – but the clean sheet Wanderers have been so desperately searching for was robbed from them at the bitter end. Despite the feeling of two points dropped, it’s heartening to know that one asset seems to be increasing in value with each passing week.
Losses of £34.5million for the last financial year have hammered home how important remaining in the Premier League is to this club; indeed, the thought of relegation hardly bears thinking about. Right now, though, Owen Coyle’s side look anything but relegation fodder and with defensive displays such as they put in at Goodison Park, the future looks nothing but bright. Klasnic will probably grab most of the headlines – this time positive – after putting the Whites so close to their first victory on this half of Merseyside for five years. But it was England international Gary Cahill who proved the jewel in the crown of a magnificently stubborn defensive display – and it will be that resilience that keeps the club’s money men sitting easily Wanderers might still be wondering how they held on in a first half dominated almost exclusively by the home side. What few chances the Whites created came in the opening 10 minutes, when it seemed the exuberance of the weekend win over Tottenham spilled over into midweek. The best opportunity fell to Johan Elmander, who cleverly slipped Phil Jagielka’s challenge and lined up a shot, only for Sylvain Distin to bail his side out with a terrific last-ditch challenge. But another decent one came Gretar Steinsson’s way a few minutes later, as a half-cleared Matt Taylor corner reached him six yards out, but the Icelander was unable to convert his second goal in a week.
The home fans demanded more – and with Steven Pienaar pulling the strings in midfield, they got closer and closer to getting what they wanted. Diniyar Bilyaledinov came within inches of connecting with Leighton Baines’ cross with the goal begging, and Jussi Jaaskelainen made a double save at his near post from Louis Saha and Tim Cahill as the Merseysiders cranked up the heat. Wanderers were finding the midfield battle a lot harder to win than they did against Spurs due largely to Fellaini’s physical presence and Pienaar’s artistry. While Everton spent the majority of the last 20 minutes of the half camped in the Whites’ box, they lacked the killer touch, and only Saha will know how he didn’t go in at the break with a goal to his name having seen a handful of attempts deflected wide and another cleared off the line by Chung-Yong Lee. Fellaini also volleyed a relatively simple chance over the bar at the far post – one of 13 attempts at goal the Toffees managed in a one-sided first half.
But there was a sign of what was to come in the second half when Jagielka was called upon to make another saving tackle, as Elmander looked to break through on Stuart Holden’s through ball. Wanderers emerged a different prospect, and twice came desperately close to taking the lead in the opening five minutes of the second half.
Elmander had a goal-bound shot deflect off Baines for a corner, from which Taylor found Holden unmarked at the far post and the American’s header forced compatriot Tim Howard into a brilliant reaction save. Steinsson hobbled off after an hour, leaving Sam Ricketts to slip effortlessly into the defensive effort. But as per norm, the Wales international let nobody down. In fact, after he entered the fray, Everton’s attacking prowess dried up completely – and when Taylor skimmed the bar with an excellent header from Holden’s corner, it was a prelude for a much more telling knockout blow. Klasnic has had unwanted attention for his ongoing legal matters off the field just recently, but when Taylor put a dangerous ball across the Everton goal to cut keeper Howard completely out of the picture – there was only going to be one man on the end of it and the Croatia international tapped home his third goal of the season.
Fellaini lost his head completely in the final stages, kicking out at Paul Robinson to make sure his side ended the night with 10 men. The Belgian’s moment of madness looked to have all-but guaranteed a memorable victory for the Whites – until Beckford escaped Fabrice Muamba’s challenge to curl a fine effort into the top corner.
Everton's Jermaine Beckford saves day with late leveller against Bolton
Andy Hunter at Goodison Park
The Guardian, Thursday 11 November 2010
It is a monumental leap from League One to the Premier League, as Jermaine Beckford's fledgling Everton career has demonstrated. With practically the final kick last night, however, a striker who was playing non-league football for Wealdstone four years ago also showed why David Moyes gambled on his talent this summer.
Bolton were seconds from ending Everton's six-match unbeaten run courtesy of Ivan Klasnic's 79th-minute breakaway goal, the Croatian substitute making his second appearance since being bailed following an allegation of rape. Marouane Fellaini, on his comeback from a four-week injury lay-off, thenfoolishly collected a straight red card for retaliating to a foul by Paul Robinson with two feet. Another galling evening beckoned for the Everton manager. Enter Beckford. The 26-year-old has endured nothing but torment since leaving Leeds on a free and shown little to suggest he could be the latest lower league acquisition to flourish under Moyes. One exquisite finish, swept over Jussi Jaaskelainen after turning Fabrice Muamba just inside the area, made his painful promotion worthwhile. Everton'sunbeaten sequence was preserved and Beckfordfinally had a first Premier League goal. "My idea was always to bring him off the bench in games where we needed a goal," Moyes said. "I shouldn't have started him so early on in the season. That was a mistake of mine. Anybody who has watched Leedsover will tell you he can score an array of goals. It was a fantastic finish, it really was. That is what Jermaine has got. There's a lot he will have to learn in being a Premier League player but the one thing we can't teach him and what he came with was the ability to score goals." Moyes's relief contrasted with the frustration felt by Owen Coyle, the Bolton manager who saw Lee Chung-yong lose out too easily to Leighton Baines in the build-up to the dramatic equaliser. This should have been six points from two testing games against Tottenham and Everton. In an open game Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander caused the home defence frequent problems while Stuart Holden was denied by an outstanding save from Tim Howard, and Matt Taylor headed on to and over the bar from a corner. With 11 minutes remaining Holden pounced on Phil Jagielka's mistake on the halfway line. Taylor took over and delivered a delightful cross from the left and Klasnic bundled the ball in with his stomach. "Obviously I'm only concerned with his football," said Coyle. "He trains ever so well and wants to play but I think he recognises that the performance of Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander have been outstanding," Coyle said. "We know we have a top-class player in Ivan Klasnic and I think he showed it."
Everton 1 1 Bolton 1
By MARTIN BLACKBURN
11 Nov 2010 The Sun
FORMER RAC recovery man Jermaine Beckford came to 10-man Everton's rescue with a last-gasp leveller.
The striker's career has stalled since his free summer switch from Leeds.
But he kick-started his Toffees spell by curling in his first Premier League goal - just when it appeared his team would not break down stubborn Bolton. Wanderers had looked set to continue their impressive campaign as sub Ivan Klasnic put his off-field problems behind him to grab the opener. David Moyes' men seemed likely to lose their six-match unbeaten run - particularly when Marouane Fellaini saw red for a crude challenge on Paul Robinson. But then up popped Beckford with a 94th-minute beauty. Goodison chief Moyes said: "It was a fantastic finish, it really was.
"Anyone who has worked at Leeds will tell you he is capable of scoring an array of goals - and we needed something because it was the last 10 or 15 seconds.
"That's what he's got, although he still has a bit of work to do to become a Premier League player. "If we hadn't got a point, then it wouldn't have been right because we had lots of chances." Bolton had earlier announced yearly losses of £35.4million but fortunately things are going much better on the pitch under Owen Coyle.
The Trotters are now more than £90m in debt but there is little danger of them going down with the Scot at the helm. Record £10m buy Johan Elmander could have given them an early lead as he flicked just wide after Gretar Steinsson headed across goal.
At the other end, a Leighton Baines' cross found Diniyar Bilyaletdinov at the back post but the Russian slid his effort wide. Everton had another opening when Jussi Jaaskelainen spilled Louis Saha's shot but the Finn recovered to smother Tim Cahill's follow-up. Saha's flick header was booted off the line by Chung-Yong Lee before Steven Pienaar sent the rebound wide. Wanderers came back into it early in the second half as Stuart Holden got round the back only to see his header brilliantly clawed away by Tim Howard. But there were chances at the other end too as Baines' cross was sliced over his own crossbar by the superb Gary Cahill. Taylor flicked a header against the bar from Holden's corner but it was not long before the visitors went ahead England defender Phil Jagielka was carelessly dispossesed by Holden and he sent Taylor racing down the left. He fired over a cross that was forced in at the back post by substitute Klasnic. The striker is on police bail until February 1 over an allegation of rape at his Manchester city centre flat made by a 17-year-old girl.
Coyle said: "I can't talk about that but what I know is he has come in and trained ever so well. "He has just been disappointed not to start more games due to the form of Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander. "But I know he's a top-class player."
It was Bolton's first goal on Merseyside in nine matches and looked to be enough - particularly when Fellaini saw red for his needless two-footed lunge.
However, with just seconds remaining, Lee was dispossessed by Baines and Beckford curled the ball perfectly beyond Jaaskelainen.
DREAM TEAM
STAR MAN - GARY CAHILL (Bolton)
EVERTON: Howard 6, Neville 6, Distin 6, Jagielka 5, Baines 7, Fellaini 4, Arteta 6, Bilyaletdinov 5, Pienaar 7, Cahill 6, Saha 6. Subs: Coleman (Bilyaletdinov 67) 5, Beckford (Saha 81) 7, Yakubu (Neville 81) 5. Not used: Mucha, Hibbert, Rodwell, Baxter. Sent off: Fellaini.
BOLTON: Jaaskelainen 7, Steinsson 7, Knight 8, Cahill 8, Robinson 7, Muamba 7, Holden 8, Lee 7, Taylor 7, Elmander 6, Davies 6. Subs: Ricketts (Steinsson 59) 6, Klasnic (Elmander 61) 7. Not used: Bogdan, Petrov, M Davies, Moreno, Blake. Booked: Steinsson, Knight.
BECKFORD: JERMAINE MAN AGAIN
ABOVE: Everton's Jermaine Beckford celebrates his last minute equaliser
11th November 2010 The Daily Star
By Graham Chase
Everton 1, Bolton 1
After announcing a bumper loss of £34.5m, Merseyside was the last place Bolton wanted to head last night and Jermaine Beckford’s last-minute equaliser meant things did not get better. Ivan Klasnic looked like he had brought some joy to Bolton when he popped up with just over 10 minutes remaining but Beckford grabbed his first goal for Everton to snatch an undeserved point. Having trebled last year’s loss, Bolton had failed to win their last nine trips to either Goodison Park or Liverpool without even scoring. Marouane Fellaini returned for the Blues after a stint out with a hamstring problem and will find himself watching from the sidelines again after picking up a red card for kicking out at Paul Robinson in the 86th minute. Bolton started bright, picking their way through the hosts and Sylvain Distin had to be at full stretch to deny Johan Elmander after the Swede slipped past Phil Jagielka. Everton boss David Moyes had called for an end to his striker’s blunt finishing before the match.
Whipped But the recalled Louis Saha struggled against Gary Cahill’s muscle and Zat Knight blocked Steven Pienaar’s cross when they did find a way through.
And then Russian flyer Bilyaletdinov failed to turn his shot on target at the far post after he was picked out by Leighton Baines’ whipped cross. Bolton continued to push on and when Distin headed away Matt Taylor’s cross as far as Elmander, his drive flicked wide off Fellaini. But Saha finally showed some threat for the Blues when he skipped past Robinson and hit a fierce drive that was palmed away by Jaaskelainen.
Tim Howard then had to palm away from a header from fellow American Stuart Holden as Bolton pressed. And just as it looked like the Trotters would not find the breakthrough Matt Taylor crossed for Klasnic to slot in on 79 minutes. But as the Bolton fans began to think they had broke their Merseyside hoodoo Beckford fired home in injury time.
MOYES THRILLED WITH BECKFORD STRIKE
ABOVE: David Moyes
11th November 2010 The Daily Star
Everton boss David Moyes hailed a "fantastic" finish by Jermaine Beckford but labelled Marouane Fellaini "stupid" after his side snatched a point against Bolton.
Beckford struck his first Barclays Premier League goal deep into injury time as 10-man Everton grabbed a 1-1 draw in a dramatic late finish at Goodison Park.
"It was a fantastic finish, it really was. We needed something, it was probably the last 10 or 15 seconds of the game," he said. Ivan Klasnic had given Bolton the lead after 79 minutes and Everton's night had looked like ending in misery when Fellaini was sent off for kicking out at Paul Robinson four minutes from time. Moyes has shown great patience with Beckford, who has struggled with the step up from League One since his summer move from Leeds, but concedes he expected too much too soon.
Moyes added: "Anyone who has watched Leeds United over the last few seasons will tell you he can score an array of goals. "I think that is what Jermaine has got but there is a lot he will have to learn in being a Premier League player. "I put him in a bit earlier than I should have done. My idea was always to bring him off the bench in games where we needed a goal. "I shouldn't have started him so early, that was a mistake of mine, but it was a good goal. The one thing we can't teach him is the one thing he came with, the ability to score goals." Moyes had no issue with the red card shown to Fellaini. "It was correct," Moyes said. "I thought it was a foul on Fellaini, the tackle by Robinson, which I thought might have been a booking. But I've no complaints, it was retaliation. He shouldn't do it, he was stupid."
Everton 1-1 Bolton: Daily Mirror match report
November 11 2010By David Anderson
FORMER RAC man Jermaine Beckford came to 10-man Everton's rescue last night with a stunning last-gasp strike. The Blues were like a car broken down on the hard shoulder when Beckford arrived on the scene to score his first Premier League goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time. David Moyes picked Beckford up on a free from Leeds in the summer and was delighted with the former Chelsea trainee's effort.
"He can score an array of goals as anyone who watched Leeds knows," said the Blues boss. "It was a fantastic finish, it really was, when we needed something special and we were down to the last 10 or 15 seconds of the game. "There's a lot Jermaine has to learn in being a Premier League player, but one thing we can't teach him is that ability he has to score goals." Owen Coyle was proud of his players, despite his obvious disappointment, and defended Chung-Yong Lee after the South Korean lost the ball to Leighton Baines in the build up to Beckford's goal. "Having got in front through a very-well worked goal, the disappointment was to lose a goal in the 94th minute knowing that we could have cleared the danger," said the Bolton boss.
"It looked like we had seen off the attack and Chung-Yong Lee made a mistake. But the boy has been different class for me and he will learn from that. He's going to be a top player." Once again, Everton failed to take their chances and Jussi Jaaskelainen made a fine double save to block shots from Louis Saha and Tim Cahill.
Saha looked lively on his first start since the opening day of the season and had a shot blocked by Jaaskelainen after the Finn failed to hold Phil Neville's cross and then Lee cleared the Frenchman's header off the line at the back post. Johan Elmander dragged a shot wide and Tim Howard made a great save to push away Stuart Holden's back-post header before Matt Taylor headed against the bar with the Everton keeper beaten.
Then with 11 minutes remaining, Wanderers netted when Phil Jagielka lost the ball to Holden and he fed Taylor on the left who sent over a beautiful cross for Ivan Klasnic to score their first goal in 449 minutes against Everton. Moyes responded by throwing on Beckford and Yakubu, but Everton's predicament worsened and Marouane Fellaini was rightly red-carded five minutes from time for kicking Paul Robinson in the nether regions with both feet as he lay on the ground. Moyes was unimpressed with his Belgian midfielder and said: "It was the correct decision. I've no complaints. He shouldn't have done it and it was stupid." Just as Bolton, who yesterday announced £34.5million losses to take their debts to £93million, must have thought they were home, came Lee's costly error. Leighton Baines robbed him on the left touchline and fed Beckford, who brilliantly curled the ball home right-footed from the narrow angle.
Everton: Howard 6; Neville 6 (Yakubu 81mins 5), Jagielka 4, Distin 6, Baines 7; Bilyaletdinov 5 (Coleman 66mins 6), Fellaini 3, Arteta 6, Pienaar 5; Cahill 6; Saha 6 (Beckford 81mins 8). Subs not used: Mucha, Hibbert, Rodwell, Baxter.
Bolton: Jaaskelainen 7; Steinsson 5 (Ricketts 59mins 5), Cahill 7, Knight 6, Robinson 6; Lee 6, Muamba 6, Holden 8, Taylor 7; Elmander 6 (Klasnic 61mins 6), K Davies 6. Subs not used: Bogdan, Petrov, M Davies, Moreno, Blake.
Referee: Phil Dowd
Hero: Jermaine Beckford: Came to Everton's rescue.
Villain: Marouane Fellaini: Disgraceful foul on Paul Robinson.
MOYES THRILLED WITH BECKFORD STRIKE
The Daily Express
Thursday November 11,2010
Everton boss David Moyes hailed a "fantastic" finish by Jermaine Beckford but labelled Marouane Fellaini "stupid" after his side snatched a point against Bolton.
Beckford struck his first Barclays Premier League goal deep into injury time as 10-man Everton grabbed a 1-1 draw in a dramatic late finish at Goodison Park.
"It was a fantastic finish, it really was. We needed something, it was probably the last 10 or 15 seconds of the game," he said. Ivan Klasnic had given Bolton the lead after 79 minutes and Everton's night had looked like ending in misery when Fellaini was sent off for kicking out at Paul Robinson four minutes from time. Moyes has shown great patience with Beckford, who has struggled with the step up from League One since his summer move from Leeds, but concedes he expected too much too soon.
Moyes added: "Anyone who has watched Leeds United over the last few seasons will tell you he can score an array of goals. "I think that is what Jermaine has got but there is a lot he will have to learn in being a Premier League player. "I put him in a bit earlier than I should have done. My idea was always to bring him off the bench in games where we needed a goal. "I shouldn't have started him so early, that was a mistake of mine, but it was a good goal. The one thing we can't teach him is the one thing he came with, the ability to score goals." Moyes had no issue with the red card shown to Fellaini. "It was correct," Moyes said. "I thought it was a foul on Fellaini, the tackle by Robinson, which I thought might have been a booking. But I've no complaints, it was retaliation. He shouldn't do it, he was stupid."
Everton 1 Bolton 1: Jermaine Beckford hits last-gasp equaliser as Toffees dig themselves out of sticky situation
11th November 2010 The Daily Mail
Everton fans were beginning to question the wisdom of manager David Moyes in dropping down to League One to sign Jermaine Beckford on a free transfer in the summer. But with his team one goal behind and one man down after a moment of madness from Marouane Fellaini, the former Leeds striker conjured up a moment of Premier League quality in the fourth minute of injury time to deny Bolton.
Much of the credit must go to Leighton Baines who ambushed Chung-Yong Lee as he tried to guide the ball out on the left touchline, and played it into Beckford.
The striker, an 82nd-minute replacement for Louis Saha, shrugged off Fabrice Muamba before curling an exquisite shot beyond Jussi Jaaskelainen and into the top corner for his first goal in the top-flight. Moyes, who has been forced to defend Beckford’s performances in recent weeks, said: ‘It was a fantastic finish, it really was.
'We needed something because it was the last 10 or 15 seconds. That’s what he’s got although he’s still got a bit of work to do.’ It capped a dramatic finale after Bolton went ahead against the run of play in the 79th minute. Stuart Holden robbed Phil Jagielka on halfway before releasing Matt Taylor down the left, and his cross picked out substitute Ivan Klasnic who made no mistake with the finish. It was Bolton’s first goal at Goodison Park since 2005 and a sweet moment at a difficult time for Klasnic.
MATCH FACTS
EVERTON (4-4-1-1): Howard 6; Neville 7 (Yakubu 81 min), Jagielka 6, Distin 6, Baines 6; Bilyaletdinov 6 (Coleman 66, 7), Arteta 7, Fellaini 6, Pienaar 7; Cahill 6; Saha 7 (Beckford 81). Subs not used: Mucha, Hibbert, Rodwell, Baxter. Sent off: Fellaini.
BOLTON (4-4-2): Jaaskelainen 6; Steinsson 5 (Ricketts 59, 6), Knight 6, Cahill 8, Robinson 5; Lee, Muamba 5, Holden 6, Taylor 6; K Davies 6; Elmander 7 (Klasnic
61, 7). Subs not used: Bogdan, Petrov, M Davies, Moreno, Blake. Booked: Steinsson, Knight. Man of the match: Gary Cahill. Referee: Phil Dowd 7.
This was only the Croatian’s second game since being bailed until next year after being questioned by police over allegations of rape. Bolton boss Owen Coyle said afterwards: ‘I can’t talk about Ivan’s off-the-field problems but I know he’s come in and trained ever so well.’ Coyle’s hopes of a win and a place in the top five were given another lift in the 86th minute when referee Phil Dowd showed a straight red to Fellaini after he responded to a challenge from Paul Robinson by launching both feet into the Bolton defender’s midriff. It was a stupid act and one that looked to have cost his side any chance of a point. But Beckford’s goal capped a disappointing day for Bolton who came into the game on the back of an announcement that they had fallen into record debt of £93million, having seen their losses almost triple to £35m last season. The figures were the result of replacing manager Gary Megson with Coyle, and the money spent on new signings and increased player wages.
BLUE WATCH: Jermaine Beckford’s beauty helped banish Goodison boos of frustration
Nov 12 2010 by Mark O'Brien, Liverpool Daily Post
FIRST thing’s first – congratulations to Jermaine Beckford for finally breaking his Premier League duck. The muttered phrase ‘he must be due one’ every time he makes his entrance was beginning to feel like a morbid joke, but on Wednesday night he did exactly what he was bought for, conjuring up a magnificent goal from almost nothing and rescuing a point for the Blues. In all honesty, it also earned David Moyes and the rest of the players a reprieve too, as the Goodison crowd were in the process of clearing their airways in preparation for a titanic bout of booing when Beckford’s shot came arcing out of the night sky and into the top corner of the Gwladys Street net. There’s nothing fickle or disingenuous about desperation turning into elation and a late equaliser papering over the cracks to a certain extent – the fans pay their money to be entertained after all, and despite dropping four points and the re-emergence of some familiar failings, there’s no doubt that these last two games have provided more action and drama than a mob of angry students.In both matches though, against Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers, Everton enjoyed the majority of possession but never really looked completely convincing in the final third of the pitch. Typical of Ian Holloways’ team, the encounter at Bloomfield Road was the footballing equivalent of a Wild West bar-room brawl, with both sides throwing everything at each other and fighting to a breathless standstill.Unfortunately though, Everton never had enough real cutting edge to take advantage of the endless opportunities that Blackpool’s kamikaze approach presents, and with that in mind it was mystifying when one of the goalscorers, and Everton’s most direct player by some distance, Seamus Coleman, was replaced by the somewhat less dynamic Diniyar Bilyaletdinov in midweek. With Mikel Arteta morphing into some sort of modern-day Ray Wilkins, the team seems packed full of players who want to lay the ball off and keep possession in safe areas. Only Steven Pienaar, Leighton Baines and Coleman consistently look willing to commit opponents, take risks and do what is essentially the difficult stuff – the things that should separate us from the bulk of the organised but ordinary teams that make up the bulk of the Barclays Premier League. Coleman made an instant impact when he replaced the consistently disappointing Bilyaletdinov – it now seems unthinkable that Moyes will make the same mistake again.
Everton FC v Arsenal match preview, Premier League
Nov 12 2010 By Sean Bradbury
Everton's last five games
Nov 10: Premier League - Everton 1 Bolton 1
Nov 6: Premier League - Blackpool 2 Everton 2
Oct 30: Premier League - Everton 1 Stoke 0
Oct 23: Premier League - Tottenham 1 Everton 1
Oct 17: Premier League - Everton 2 Liverpool 0
Arsenal's last five games
Nov 10: Premier League - Wolves 0 Arsenal 2
Nov 7: Premier League - Arsenal 0 Newcastle 1
Nov 3: Champions League - Shakhtar Donetsk 2 Arsenal 1
Oct 30: Premier League - Arsenal 1 West Ham 0
Oct 27: Carling Cup - Newcastle 0 Arsenal 4
Past matches
Everton's overall record against Arsenal
P 193 W 58 D 41 L 94 Goals for 236 Goals against 317
Selected matches
15 August 2010: Everton 1 Arsenal 6
Arsenal caught the Blues completely off guard on the opening day of last season. Everton were still on holiday as the Gunners smashed in three goals in each half, with Saha nabbing an injury-time consolation. David Moyes will do his best to ensure there is no repeat this weekend.
18 March 2007: Everton 1 Arsenal 0
The Blues' last home league win against Arsenal came courtesy of an Andy Johnson stoppage-time strike in March 2007. Although Arsenal knocked the ball around with typical panache it was Everton who threatened more often, twice hitting the woodwork through Lee Carsley and Leon Osman before Johnson slotted past Jens Lehman late on.
19 October 2002: Everton 2 Arsenal 1
While Everton fans may not remember him so fondly now, Wayne Rooney's first Premier League goal came in undeniably spectacular fashion as the Blues saw off Arsenal at Goodison Park. Rooney, then just 16, came off the bench and struck a breathtaking last-minute winner, prompting Arsene Wenger to state: "Rooney is the biggest England talent I've seen since I arrived in England."Everton
With three goals against the Gunners since October 2006 and five goals in the Premier League to date this season, Tim Cahill could be Everton's biggest threat against Wenger's side this weekend. Jermaine Beckford got off the mark for the Blues in the league against Bolton in midweek and will be looking to add to his tally as soon as possible should he get the chance.
Arsenal
Marouane Chamakh seems to have taken to English football quickly and he was the hero for Arsenal against Wolves on Wednesday night, grabbing a goal in the first minute and another in the last to wrap up a 2-0 win. His midweek brace makes it five Premier League goals so far this campaign. The Blues will also have to be wary of Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott breaking forward from midfield should either player feature; both have chalked up four league goals in 2010/11 already.
Injuries/suspensions
Everton still have Victor Anichebe (knee) and Leon Osman (ankle) on the sidelines. The Blues will also be without Marouane Fellaini after the midfielder picked up a three-match ban for his red card against Bolton. Arsenal's absentees are Abou Diaby (ankle) and Thomas Vermaelen (achilles), while the game may come too soon for Manuel Almunia (arm).
Everton - 12/5
Draw - 12/5
Arsenal - 6/5
Everton FC’s Tim Howard: Criticism of goalkeepers over the top
Nov 12 2010 by James Pearce, Liverpool Daily Post
TIM HOWARD has leapt to the defence of Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski ahead of their showdown at Goodison Park on Sunday. The Polish international shot-stopper has endured plenty of criticism so far this season and it was his error which enabled Newcastle’s Andy Carroll to secure a shock 1-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium last weekend. However, Fabianski put that blunder behind him to help earn Arsenal a 2-0 win at Wolves on Wednesday night and the Everton No 1 insists his opposite number is no weak link in Arsene Wenger’s side. “Goalkeeping criticism is 90 per cent nonsense,” said Howard, who has made some uncharacteristic errors himself so far this season. “He is a fantastic keeper and he showed that the other night at Wolves. Goalkeeper is an easy position on the pitch to criticise, so I would tell him to ignore it, I certainly don’t pay attention to it. “I think he is a top keeper and that is why he is at Arsenal. They have chosen him to be their goalkeeper and he has repaid them. “It is very easy to focus on when a keeper goes through a difficult time but I think the level of criticism isn’t very realistic.”Arsenal are flying high in third place – five points behind leaders Chelsea – but home defeats to Newcastle and West Brom have highlighted weaknesses. Everton haven’t beaten Wenger’s men since Andy Johnson got the winner at Goodison in March 2007. In the six meetings since then Everton have picked up just two points and were humbled 6-1 at home on the opening day of last season. However, Everton showed their true colours at the Emirates back in January when goals from Leon Osman and Steven Pienaar earned a 2-2 draw. Howard is hoping a packed house at Goodison on Sunday can help Everton clinch victory.“Arsenal are one of the few teams in the world who play with the style they do,” he added. “It is so fantastic to watch but so very difficult to defend against.
“Over the years I’ve been here we have had some really good results against them but have also had a few lumps. We know what we are up against and we know we can handle it. But that said, we have to go out and put in the performance on the day and hope that being at home the crowd will give us that little extra boost that we always need, particularly against the top teams like Arsenal. “I think we do know how they will approach the game but the hard bit is not the preparation, it is the execution.”
Defender Sylvain Distin insists Everton have no reason to be overawed by Arsenal.
Distin said: “For a while Arsenal have played the best football in the league. They play with the ball on the ground and with one or two touches, maximum. They play with a lot of movement and you can end up chasing the ball for 90 minutes if you are not careful. “But we know if we play to our potential then there are not many teams who can live with us – particularly at Goodison.”
Everton FC defender Leighton Baines urges team-mates to take their frustration out on Arsenal
Nov 12 2010 by James Pearce, Liverpool Daily Post
LEIGHTON BAINES has urged Everton to take out their frustration against Arsenal at Goodison Park on Sunday. Despite Jermaine Beckford’s last-gasp equaliser securing a 1-1 draw at home to Bolton on Wednesday night, David Moyes’ side were left rueing what might have been. Everton dominated possession and wasted a number of chances prior to Ivan Klasnic’s strike 11 minutes from time. Beckford’s injury-time effort after Marouane Fellaini had been sent off for kicking Paul Robinson extended Everton’s unbeaten run to seven games but left-back Baines insists there was little to celebrate. “It was two points dropped, no doubt about that,” he said. “We struggled at times to break Bolton down – teams tend to come here and pay us a bit of respect and sit back. It makes it difficult for us and Bolton did that quite well. “We struggled to create any really clear cut opportunities but we did have a few chances to score goals.
“We passed it quite a bit but never had that bit of quality to find a goal. In the end we ended up nicking a point in the last minute with a great goal. “We felt it was a winnable game but the consolation is we remain unbeaten and we take heart in that.
“We can’t afford to let it get to us, not when the games are coming around so quickly. You need to be professional and focus on the next game. “Straight away we need to shift our thoughts to Arsenal. We might feel the disappointment for a bit but we have to put it behind us and be positive if we want to get anything from that.” One of the positives for Everton on Wednesday night was the impact of Beckford after he came off the bench. he summer signing from Leeds grabbed his first Premier League goal in the third minute of stoppage time when he curled home a brilliant equaliser. The 26-year-old has struggled to make an impact so far this season but Baines believes that his dramatic strike could provide just the spark the former Leeds striker needs.
Baines, who robbed Lee Chung-yong to set up Beckford, said: “It is a great goal to get Becks off the mark in the Premier League. “He’ll feel good for it but he has been doing it quite regularly in training. “He has looked sharp. Early on in the season he was thrust in a bit because we were short on numbers but now the manager will be able to do it the way he would like to and introduce him gradually. “He has now proved he can be a valuable asset for the club, coming on and scoring goals like that.”
Everton FC boss David Moyes takes comfort in side's unbeaten streak
Nov 12 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES admitted he is clinging to the solace of Everton’s unbeaten run as he struggles to get his team climbing towards the European places. The Toffees boss insisted his team’s draw with Bolton on Wednesday night felt like a defeat, despite the late drama of Jermaine Beckford’s injury time goal. It meant the Blues dropping further points at home, after earlier slumps against Wolves and Newcastle, but Moyes was at least able to see the Blues go seven Premier League games unbeaten. Everton have only lost three games all season, and only once at Goodison Park, but the Scot fears a habit of drawing could cost his side. He said: “A point was the least we deserved overall, but in the end we took just that. It kept our unbeaten run going so we have to take that. “I thought we would get punished for not taking chances. It’s probably been the long playing record everyone has heard from me since the start of the season. “It probably felt like a defeat (against Bolton) and I feel like I’ve dropped a few points. Credit to my players for keeping going and trying to do the right things, but in the final third we still can’t finish teams off.” Meanwhile, midfielder Jack Rodwell has been recalled to the England Under-21s squad for their friendly with Germany next Tuesday. Rodwell has missed the last four fixtures for Stuart Pearce’s side after picking up an ankle injury in Everton’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa in August. The 19-year-old’s absence caused him to miss England’s Euro 2011 play-off victory over Romania last month. Rodwell has only recently returned to the first team fold, and despite being on the bench in Everton’s games against Stoke City, Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers he has yet to come on. In Rodwell’s last appearance for the England Under-21s he captained the side in a 2-0 win over Uzbekistan in August. Elsewhere, Moyes criticised Marouane Fellaini for the kick on Bolton left-back Paul Robinson which earned him a red card on Wednesday and three-game ban. Referee Phil Dowd showed the 22-year-old the red card for ‘serious foul play’ and the midfielder will now miss games against Arsenal, Sunderland and West Brom. Moyes said: “It was the right decision. Marouane retaliated and it was stupid, he shouldn’t do it. I do think maybe it was a foul on him to begin with but it was the correct decision.” Fellaini had replaced Dutchman John Heitinga in midweek, while Jack Rodwell and Phil Neville have also operated in central midfield berths in the past.
Everton Ladies are in the Champions League quarter finals
Nov 12 2010 Liverpool Echo
EVERTON Ladies are through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League after a 1-1 draw with Brondby in the second leg of their last 16 tie sent them through 5-2 on aggregate. A 4-1 win in Denmark seven days ago meant Everton came into the game with one foot in the last eight but they still needed to produce a professional performance to avoid a shock reverse against the Danish side. The Blues again had to come from behind to ensure they didn't lose for the first time in the competition, with Jill Scott's 70th-minute goal levelling things up after Sanne Troelsgaard's early opener. Everton could have had to play the majority of the game a woman down, but goalkeeper Rachel Brown was only shown a yellow card for handling outside the penalty area in the final stages of the first half. Mo Marley understand-ably kept faith with the side that started in Denmark last week meaning the goalscorers from the first leg, Fara Williams, Toni Duggan and Brooke Chaplen all started on a blustery night in Widnes.
Everton donated 300 tickets for servicemen and women to watch them play Bolton
Nov 12 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
Everton donated 300 tickets for servicemen and women to watch them play Bolton
OVER 300 servicemen and women were invited to watch Everton take on Bolton at Goodison Park on Wednesday as part of the Tickets for Troops campaign. Servicemen met with Phil Neville and Phil Jagielka at Finch Farm to pick up their tickets. Tickets For Troops offers free tickets for big events to UK soldiers, sailors and airmen. The Blues made the donation to mark Remembrance Day. This Sunday Everton take on Arsenal and both teams will wear poppy embroidered shirts to mark Remembrance Sunday.
Tim Howard: It’s time for Everton to forget the ‘lumps’ against Arsenal and move on
Nov 12 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
MORE than a year has passed since Arsenal crushed Everton by six goals in the first abject game of the 2009/10 Premier League season, but the memories of that day are still painfully vivid at Goodison Park. Everton’s players have long since recovered from the short-term damage to their self-esteem, but recalling that particularly deflating opener still makes many of the established first team stars wince. For a team as full of gifted individuals as the Blues, shipping six goals in one afternoon is anathema. Tim Howard euphemistically described that particular low as a “lump”, but behind his generally ultra-positive demeanour are still twinges of regret, and he has no wish to relive it. “Over the years I have been here we have had some really good results against them but have also had a few lumps,” he says ahead of the Gunners Sunday visit to Goodison. “We know what we are up against and we know we can handle it. Arsenal are one of the few teams in the world who play with the style they do. It is so fantastic to watch but so very difficult to defend against. “But that said, we have to go out and put in the performance on the day and hope that being at home the crowd will give us that little extra boost that we always need, particularly against the top teams like Arsenal. “I think we do know how they will approach the game but the hard bit is not the preparation, it is the execution. Again, a lot of hard work has to go into it and we are capable of doing that.”Howard’s opposite number on Sunday, Arsenal keeper Lukasz Fabianski, has received widespread criticism for a couple of high-profile errors this season, but the former Manchester United star believes that criticism is unfair. Arsene Wenger has had to frequently justify the 25-year-old’s place in his side in the face of widespread negativity in the press. Despite some excellent displays, those mistakes have undermined Fabianksi’s position, and there was fresh criticism after he dropped a clanger to allow Andy Carroll to score in the recent 1-0 defeat to Newcastle. The keeper responded with a man-of-the-match showing and a clean sheet in a 2-0 win at Wolves on Wednesday night, and Howard says the Polish international would do well to ignore any bad press he receives. Asked if Fabianski is likely to be under pressure when Arsenal visit Goodison this Sunday, Howard said: “I don’t think so. Goalkeeping criticism is 90 per cent nonsense. “He is a fantastic keeper and he showed that the other night at Wolves. “Goalkeeper is an easy position on the pitch to criticise, so I would tell him to ignore it, I certainly don’t pay attention to it. “I think he is a top keeper and that is why he is at Arsenal.“They have chosen him to be their goalkeeper and he has repaid them. It is very easy to focus on when a keeper goes through a difficult time but I think the level of criticism isn’t very realistic.” Arsenal go into the game in third place but despite some impressive results, unexpected defeats to Newcastle and West Brom have highlighted their vulnerability.
Defender Leighton Baines is another who will not easily forget the embarrassment of that afternoon last August, and is determined the Blues should never make the same mistakes. “Arsenal are a very good side and if we give them too much space, they’ll definitely expose us,” he says. “They have already embarrassed us one time at Goodison, that first game of last season. “But there have been times when we’ve been very unlucky, played well but they’ve scored late on. “They are the type of opponents we like to try and raise our game against.” Bruising recent encounters against Stoke and then Bolton have forced Everton to try and overcome two solid defensive units with mixed success, but the left-back is looking forward to a more cultured clash when the North Londoners roll into town at the weekend. Even if only for the sake of the spectacle, the England man hopes Arsenal will focus less on limiting the home side than Tony Pulis and Owen Coyle’s teams, and allow Everton to play their own game. “They will be different from Bolton and Stoke. “They will have a more fluid approach, and come here looking to play their football,” he says. “Both sides will give each other due respect but it’s more likely to be a case of two teams focussing on their own games, rather than the opposition’s. “Hopefully it’ll be good to watch and there’ll be three points for us at the end.”
Everton FC Twitter directory
Nov 12 2010
PHIL NEVILLE'S 'taking' of Twitter has not yet inspired the Everton captain to sign up to the micro-blogging site himself but some of the Blues squad are represented on there. Steven Pienaar @therealstevenpi and Mikel Arteta @mikelarteta are regular tweeters (although the latter's account seems to have been suspended for the moment) while Landon Donovan, who enjoyed a successful loan spell at Goodison last season, occasionally mentions the Blues in his updates, this week having some banter with compatriot Stuart Holden ahead of Everton's game with Bolton. You can follow Everton's official Twitter feed here, Blues correspondent Greg O'Keeffe here and the ECHO's Everton feed for all the latest news and features here.
Tranmere boss Les Parry and Plymouth's ex-Everton FC star Peter Reid in consistency quest
Nov 13 2010 Liverpool Echo
LES PARRY and Peter Reid, men with long experience and contrasting backgrounds in the game, continue the quest for football’s holy grail at Prenton Park this afternoon.
As managers of Tranmere and Plymouth respectively, they can testify that consistency of performance is the most valued and elusive commodity sought by teams competing at any professional level. Finding that consistency has proved a difficult business for both Parry and Reid over the first three months of the League One campaign. Plymouth have not been able to string two wins together in league and cup games since Reid, the former Everton and England midfielder, arrived at Home Park in the summer. Tranmere waited until the end of October to post back-to-back league wins over Walsall and MK Dons either side of a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy success against Stockport. Then they lost successive games to Carlisle in the league and Bournemouth in the FA Cup before winning another JPT game against Bury this week. Parry, a manager for 13 months but with two decades of experience as a physiotherapist, can see evidence that his bargain basement team have been moving in the right direction over the past month after coping with a pile-up of injuries during August and September.Expectations are inevitably higher for Reid, a vastly experienced manager who took over at Home Park after Argyle’s relegation from the Championship last season. The Pilgrims’ fortunes have been so mixed they could find Rovers pulling level with them on points if they lose at Prenton Park today. Reid this week called on his team to deliver a positive response after bowing out of both the FA Cup and JPT inside four days. But recent evidence suggests neither manager can be entirely confident of the kind of performance he will get from his team today. Parry said: “Consistency is the holy grail at every level of the game. It is always going to be an issue and every manager is saying the same thing. “If a player can perform at a high level every single game, he will be playing in the Premier League, not League One. For us it’s about how many of the players perform to their potential each time they go out. If they all do it we win the game. If only half of them do, there’s a chance you will lose the game. “I think if we could flatten out the peaks and troughs of every player’s performance level, we would do well.” Parry added: “Plymouth have had a couple of defeats this week but this season they have just been inconsistent. They would win a game and then lose one. There’s been no pattern to their form, home or away. “We have to hope they are inconsistent and poor against us. But we don’t worry about other teams. It’s all about us. If we play as well as we can we feel we can win the game. If we don’t we are in trouble.” Reid said: “I know Les very well. He’s a real character and his team mirror that. They will be very busy. It’s always a difficult place to go to, so we have got to be up for it, mentally and physically, because it isn’t going to be a cakewalk. “On the contrary, it’s going to be a difficult game. They are scrapping for their lives and have had a couple of good results recently. Les has been there a long time and he’s a good Scouse character. He wears his heart on his sleeve and he’s a good football man.”Parry faces selection and tactical posers today. He must gauge whether the oldest and youngest players in his squad–- centre back Ian Goodison (37) and front man Dale Jennings (17) – are fit and ready for action after being rested in midweek. Goodison missed the Bury game with an ankle problem. Parry said: “Ian was going to have an injection this week but the ankle was too inflamed. He has been struggling with it. So we will see how he is in training and leave the decision until late. “Jermaine Grandison did well when he took Ian’s place at Bury so we won’t have any worries.” Jennings, whose recent performances should attract a posse of scouts to Prenton Park, was rested at Gigg Lane after limping out of the FA Cup defeat at Bournemouth last Saturday. Parry said: “We were a little bit worried about Dale’s calf because it had cramped up a bit. Dale began training again on Thursday and we will see how he goes.” Midfielder Paul McLaren is ruled out of contention after an injury to his lower back flared again during a reserve team outing against Preston on Wednesday. Midfielder Joss Labadie will be missing through suspension, after picking up his fifth booking of the season at Bury. The condition of the pair may influence how Parry sets up the side. Rovers made a rare switch to a 4-4-2 formation in a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy tie at Bury on Tuesday and were rewarded with a 1-0 victory, earning them a place in the morthern semi-finals of the competition. Parry isn’t saying whether he intends to revert to a 4-3-3 system – the staple of his 13 months in charge of team affairs – against Plymouth.
Royal Blue: Ex-Everton FC defender Earl Barrett plays a different field to help love blossom
Nov 13 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
EARL BARRETT knows a thing or two about heartbreak – he suffered a bout of it while at Goodison Park. The popular former Blues defender missed out on an FA Cup final winners medal after he signed for Everton in 1995, because he’d been cup tied playing for Aston Villa earlier that season. It didn’t stop him forging a happy stay on Merseyside, and Barrett won three England caps during an impressive career. But now the man often dubbed The Pearl (if only be headline writers), is trying to do his bit to prevent heartbreak in other areas of life–- and has taken on a novel role quite different from many former pros. Barrett has become a lifestyle and fitness coach for a dating service, Arrange me a date.com, operated by his wife Keely. The ex Manchester City, Sheffield Wednesday and Everton star works alongside his missus to help North West singletons build up their dating self-esteem and confidence by getting them “fit for love”. Earl, 43, who met Keely in Manchester more than 20 years ago, finds time to train her crop of aspiring romantics in between a role coaching Stoke City’s U-16 side, and representing anti-racism in football charity Kick It Out. He said: “In really enjoy working for arrangemeadate.com, I know that being in good shape will boost anyone’s confidence and it’s great to see the effect that training can have on a person’s self-image and, eventually, their life. “As a player I experienced a lot of different fitness regimes – I remember what a shock the required physical standard was when I joined my first club Oldham Athletic at just 15. “It was a real eye opener and you’ve got to be in top shape, and very flexible to avoid injuries throughout your career which are the bane of any footballer’s working life. “It’s not just about working with people to get them physically in shape though. It helps get them mentally in the right place. “It’s all about that feeling when you’ve got your best suit on and you feel 10feet tall and strut around within your back straight and your chest out. “That doesn’t come easy to everyone. Some people, for whatever reason, struggle with their confidence, and we’re trying to help them to turn that around and ultimately find love.” Earl and Keely, who have three daughters; Georgia, 11, India, seven, and Emmie, five, say working together helps their romance, and the former right-back is looking forward to taking on more of her hopefuls - although he admits he refrains himself from offering advice on chat-up lines. “I’d probably just tell them to say the wrong thing,” he laughs. “They were never particularly my strong point. “We met on a night out in Manchester, I saw her and went up to her and from there it took four or five years before we actually got together. It’s quite uplifting doing this line of work. I enjoy it. My ultimate aim is to get a full time job in football management, and I’m not far off completing my Uefa A coaching licence, but this is fun to keep me going. “Football has changed from when I was playing. I enjoyed a 16-year career and it’s funny how it seems to have gone so quickly. “You think it will last forever when you’re playing but it doesn’t. I always wanted to come up against the best players, play international football, and challenge myself - and I did that. I might have come off second best now and again when I was up against the very best, but that’s how you test and learn about yourself. It’s what I always aim for in life.” The Rochdale-born love doctor is a regular pundit on TV and radio, and also works trying to get unrepresented minority groups involved in football. ECHO readers interested in www.arrangemeadate.com can sign up for two months free membership, and enjoy the benefit of Earl’s sound advice as well as boosting their chances of finding a bit of romance.
Knee injury helped Everton FC pinch Seamus Coleman from Sligo Rovers
INJURIES aren’t always a bad thing. Consider how Everton almost missed out on bargain of the decade Seamus Coleman to Burnley a couple of years ago. The Blues paid Sligo Rovers just £60,000 for Coleman in 2009 but Owen Coyle, then manager of Burnley, was also keen on the Donegal lad. “I had Seamus in at Burnley,” said Coyle. “He came in and played a trial game for us and he got injured after 10 minutes and he was unfortunate. “He caught his knee and was out for four to six weeks but as soon as he was back fit, everybody was talking about this young player. If he’d played the full game and not picked up the injury we probably would have signed him. “But he went back to Sligo and got himself fit again and by that time there were bigger clubs than ourselves at Burnley looking at him, with Everton being one of them and he moved there.” Coyle probably breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that David Moyes had rested Coleman on Wednesday evening, but the young star’s introduction in the second half certainly reminded him what he had missed out on. Coleman was electric, terrorising Paul Robinson and making an instant impact on Everton’s attacking play.
Phil Neville backs scheme to protect children at Goodison
PHIL Neville has backed a new scheme to safeguard young Blues.
From November 10, children under 11 years old and attending a match at Goodison Park must be accompanied by a responsible adult. The policy is to protect the safety of its junior supporters after a number of youngsters have been found entering the stadium unaccompanied. Phil Neville said: “Any new legislation that centres on the safety of young children has got to be worthwhile. “We don’t want to discourage any youngsters from coming to see us at Goodison but we want them to be perfectly safe and properly looked after.”
Barry Horne: Everton FC must turn pressure into goals
Nov 13 2010 by Barry Horne, Liverpool Echo
LIKE most Evertonians I left Goodison on Wednesday night with mixed feelings. In the end we were relieved to get a point but it was a game we should have won. I thought in spells it was an entertaining match and I’ve certainly seen a lot worse so far this season. The two halves were very similar in the way they panned out. The opening exchanges were very open with huge gaps in the midfield. Everton eventually came to dominate and forced Bolton into a mass defensive rearguard. It’s quite possible Owen Coyle had set out to play that way. They crowded the penalty area with Zat Knight and Gary Cahill outstanding on the night to prevent Everton playing their way into the penalty box.Everton played well in spells up to a point but were hindered by Diniyar Bilyaletdinov’s over reliance on his left foot and what appeared to be a general reluctance to shoot from distance. On another night that performance could have gained three points. Marouane Fellaini made a promising return to action in midfield until he reverted to type and got himself sent off. He was quite rightly dismissed and I had no sympathy for him. Just when we appeared to be heading for defeat, Jermaine Beckford picked the perfect time to score his first Premier League goal. As far as personal achievements are concerned everyone must be thrilled and delighted for Beckford. His wonder strike got us out of jail and I’m confident with that monkey off his back he will become a fans favourite. That goal coincided with David Moyes calling for his strikers to contribute more and hopefully now we will see him go from strength to strength.
Stage is set for a thriller at Goodison
IT’S highly unlikely that Arsenal will come to Goodison tomorrow with the kind of tactics Bolton employed in midweek. Arsenal are rightly praised for the way they play the game and Everton have adopted a very similar style to the Gunners in recent matches. With both sides being positive Sunday’s match has got the potential to be a real thriller. Hopefully we will see the return to action of Jack Rodwell. The youngster has come through a reserves game and sat on the bench for the first team and it will be great to see him back.
Ian Holloway was within his rights to ring changes
THE buzz around the press room prior to Everton’s clash with Bolton was that a story would be emanating from Ian Holloway’s team selection for Blackpool’s game at Aston Villa. That was certainly the case and Holloway’s interview after his side’s 3-2 defeat was memorable. His interviews are always entertaining but there’s also a great deal of wisdom and passion. On Wednesday night he rounded on experienced radio broadcaster Pat Murphy. Holloway was quite right when he said the question about his team selection was an “easy one” because his team had failed to get a result. He might have made 10 changes but Blackpool were never out of the game and would have got a point but for Villa’s late winner. As he pointed out if they had held on everyone would have congratulated him on his managerial brilliance. By threatening to resign if action is taken, Holloway has taken the Harry Redknapp approach of attack being the best form of defence, getting his case in before the Premier League get in touch. Holloway’s argument is a sound one, especially as teams now have to submit 25-strong squad lists. Mick McCarthy got in trouble for failing to field a “full strength team” but in my eyes any 11 names from your list of 25 satisfies that rule.
The Premier League are going to have to bite the bullet, cancel Wolves’ suspended fine and say that being expected to put out your “strongest” team no longer applies.
The fact is you could hardly find two fans of the same club to agree on what their best line up is so how can the Premier League decide?
I was bored watching Everton FC against Bolton, admits David Moyes
Nov 13 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
IT used to be ‘Boring, Boring Arsenal.’ Not for a long time now, mind. But while David Moyes believes his side is beginning to play football which bears comparison with Arsene’s artists, he admits he was “bored” in midweek. While Arsenal are capable of fluent and free-flowing football, they are also guilty of looking for one pass too many in pursuit of the perfect goal. And that’s a trait Moyes is keen to rub out of his own side. “I said to the players after the game (on Wednesday) I thought you played great, I thought you did a lot of good things – but I was bored,” he admitted. “I told them ‘Your football was good but I needed you to do more. I needed you to find another route but you didn’t.’ “We didn’t have it within our ranks, we didn’t have another route, we didn’t have something that different. “I think we’re almost overplaying at the moment. I think we were a little bit slow in getting the ball forward the other night. “Sometimes you need to find an alternative route and we didn’t really have that. “But I’ve got to say the players kept playing, they kept passing and if that’s going to be consider- ed a fault, what a good fault it is. Maybe we’re trying to make the perfect goal at times, but there are very few perfect goals in football. “We could do with mixing it up just a little bit. “But I’d rather it was this way than the other way, a bit too far this way is better than too far the other way!” Diniyar Bilyaletdinov is one of those players who could provide something a little different. Despite an inconsistent 18 months since he arrived from Lokomotiv Moscow, Moyes admits he is still optimistic the maverick Muscovite can come good. “Bily played well at Tottenham and we changed it round for the next game against Stoke and brought Seamus back in because we were at home,” explained the Blues boss. “Bily’s been a bit up and down, but we’re certainly not critical. We want to try and get him the opportunity. “The other night Bily ended up having three chances. He made the wrong decision when he cut inside when he had a chance on the outside, he had a shot which was going in the top corner but hit Zat Knight and he had another shot which he pulled back the post. “So by the end of the night you might say Bily wasn’t that involved, but he had three chances to score goals.” Bilyaletdinov is going to have to forge a first team place for himself down the flanks. Despite playing plenty of his football in Russia in a more central role, Moyes added: “There’s no place for him in a central position given the quality of players we have in there at the moment. “Not with Jack Rodwell to come into the team, Marouane Fellaini, Johnny Heitinga, and we’ve still got Leon Osman to come back. “There could be a possibility behind the striker. A couple of people have mentioned that to me but it’s something I’ve not really considered that much because I already have a lot of people who can do that. I could have two players up front or I could play Steven Pienaar in there as well so there’s quite a lot of competition for those sort of roles.” Seamus Coleman is likely to replace Bilyaletdinov again tomorrow, while Johnny Heitinga is favourite to come in for the suspended Marouane Fellaini. The Dutchman missed the midweek draw with a knee injury but Moyes said: “He’s had an injection in his knee and we’ll see how he goes tomorrow. “I’m banking on him being available. I think Jack Rodwell could just about play now. “He’s just beginning to feel confident again about his ankle. “He was back a couple of weeks early so maybe he just needed the time to get it right but I still wouldn’t say it’s 100 per cent. “But we’ve got other options. Phil Neville can play in midfield if needed.”
David Moyes resigned to Steven Pienaar leaving Everton FC at end of season
Nov 13 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES admits he has resigned himself to Steven Pienaar leaving Everton at the end of the season. But the Blues boss won’t stop trying to convince the South African his future lies at Goodison – and has no fears about the player’s attitude.
Pienaar has ignored massively improved terms from Everton and is free to negotiate a deal with foreign clubs from January. Moyes admits: “In my head I’ve resigned myself that he’ll probably be leaving at the end of the season. “But we’d love him to stay and if he wants to stay we’ll be here for him at any time. He’s in the last year of his contract so we’ll just have to let it go and see how it ends up. “But I’ve also said I’m happy with what we’ve had from him. He cost us £2.5m and people in the last year of their contract tend to play out of their skin because they’re trying to impress suitors. "If it’s money they want they’re going to have to play well for people to say they’re worth the money they want. “So I’ll try and use the situation to my advantage this year and get the best out of him I can. But I have to say he’s been playing well.”Moyes also said that Pienaar had promised him his commitment will not dip despite his failure to sign a new deal. Moyes added: “When he spoke to me about it, he said ‘boss, whatever happens I’ll do my best in all the games and you’ll never find me wanting.’ "He’s admitted the club is good for him. “At the moment I’ve got to say he’s been standing up and doing some really good things on the pitch. “Maybe he wants Champions League football and I’d love to be able to give that to him and I think he’d be able to help me get it. “But maybe those are his ambitions. I hope we can still talk him round and Steven will say Everton have been really good for him in his career “He was a really good player at Ajax, lost his way a little at Borussia Dortmund and we brought him back when nobody was really willing to take him and it took him a while to settle. “But Steven’s turned it round, not Everton. “He’s the one that’s done it, but I hope that if there was any doubt in his mind he will stay. “As we know the grass isn’t always greener. There’s a really good contract offer for him there if he wants it.”Moyes also revealed that Phil Jagielka is in line for a new contract early in the new year. The England defender was targeted by tomorrow’s visitors to Goodison, Arsenal, in the summer. Moyes explained: “I got an offer for him in the summer. It wasn’t a lot of money. Not for Phil Jagielka. "Definitely not the £16m that was reported. I had a word with him the day before we went to Australia but he’s got on with the job no problem. "And there will be a new contract offer for Phil, I’m sure, in the New Year. ““I’m trying to keep the good players here and it was great that Jags reacted that way. “But we’ve been good for him as well. He wasn’t an England international when he came here. He made a poor mistake the other night, but overall him and Sylvain Distin have done a good job.”
Everton FC ready to offer Phil Jagielka new contract after Arsenal bid rejected
Nov 13 2010 Ian Doyle
PHIL JAGIELKA will be rewarded with a new Everton contract after David Moyes praised his commitment to the club in the face of summer interest from Arsenal.
Moyes confirmed the Goodison outfit rejected a bid from the Gunners, believed to be in the region of £8million, for Jagielka during the close season. It echoed the situation 12 months earlier when Manchester City had a succession of offers turned down by Everton for Joleon Lescott. But while Lescott forced through a move to Eastlands before the transfer deadline, Jagielka has not allowed the interest from Arsenal – who Everton entertain in the Premier League tomorrow – to affect his game. And now, despite signing a five-year deal 18 months ago, the England international is poised to be handed improved terms before the end of the season. “Yes we had a bid (from Arsenal), but it wasn’t a lot of money for Phil Jagielka and definitely nowhere near what has been mentioned,” said Moyes. “I had a word with him the day before we went to Australia on pre-season tour. I said they would have needed to offer an awful lot more money and it wasn’t at that point. “He got on with the job no problem and there will be a new contract offer for Phil Jagielka maybe next year. “I have tried to keep the good players here and I was really keen to do that. It was great that he accepted that.” Jagielka’s new deal also reflects his progress at international level, where he has become a regular in Fabio Capello’s England squad and started three of his country’s last four games. “He wasn’t an England international when he came,” added Moyes. “He had played a B international at Burnley. “He made a poor mistake the other night for the goal, but in the main him and Sylvain (Distin) have done a good job. “That is why I let Joseph Yobo go and they are keeping out Johnny Heitinga, who played at centre-back for Holland in the World Cup final. So it gives you an idea of how they are doing.” Moyes, meanwhile, admits is effectively resigned to Steven Pienaar walking away from the club for nothing at the end of the season. Pienaar is in the last year of his contract and, as such, is able to open talks with foreign clubs in the New Year. And Moyes said: “We would love him to stay and if he wants to we will be here for him but he is in his last year and we’ll see where it ends up. “I have probably resigned myself to him leaving but I knew that when there was no contract signed in the summer. “We brought him in for £2.5million and you tend to find people in the last year of their contract have to play out of their skin because they are trying to impress suitors, and as well as that if it is the money they want they are going to have to play well to show they are worth the wages they want. “I will try and use it to my advantage. I did not get once pence of an offer for him, we got an offer to swap for one player, but not one pence. “The grass isn’t always greener but I have tried all that. There is a really good contract offer there for him. He has said whatever happens I will do my best and he has been standing up and doing some really good things on the pitch.” Moyes will have to make at least one change in midfield tomorrow with Marouane Fellaini beginning a three-match ban following his sending-off in Wednesday’s 1-1 home draw with Bolton Wanderers. Jack Rodwell is fit enough to be considered for a start, while John Heitinga is available after having an injection to address the knee problem that forced him out in midweek. Yakubu and Seamus Coleman could also return to the starting line-up after being rested to the bench against Bolton.
Everton FC v Arsenal: Why watching the Blues is leaving David Moyes bored
Nov 13 2010 Ian Doyle
A LAST-GASP equaliser. Chances aplenty. A sending-off. It sounds exciting, but David Moyes had one overriding emotion while watching his Everton salvage a point against Bolton Wanderers in midweek. It used to be “Boring, boring Arsenal”. But Moyes now reckons watching his own team is prompting pangs of tedium.
Of course, the Goodison manager was proud of the impressive build-up play, passages of neat, attractive passing that has been a welcome feature of his team’s approach this season. But the recurring inability to produce the final pass or deliver the final finish – at least until substitute Jermaine Beckford’s late, late intervention – resulted in much gnashing of teeth among the home supporters. It’s a criticism often levied at tomorrow’s opponents Arsenal, lauded by neutrals across the land for their footballing mentality but damned with the reputation of being more pretty than effective.
And Moyes admits the failing is something of which Everton are now being guilty. “I think we are doing it in a way where we are nearly over-playing,” says the Goodison manager. “We were a little bit slow in getting the ball forward the other night. “We don’t have a big player who we can toss it up to and play the knock and find an alternative route to get through. The players kept playing, they kept passing and if that was going to be a fault then what a good fault it is.“You are trying to play, trying to do the right things and take the ball, we could do with a bit more impetus at times in the final third. “Maybe we are trying to make the perfect goal at times. When you look at it there are very few of them there is always a mistake or a ricochet or a bounce for someone to score, a header which is deflected in.” Moyes adds: “I said to the players after the game I thought you done great, you did a lot of good things but I was bored. I said that. “I was a manager and desperate for them to win and their football was good but I needed them to do more. To find another route and we didn’t have that within our ranks, something different. “If teams are going to play deep sometimes you have to knock the ball into the box and see what you can get from it, we don’t really have those players to do that. “I don’t want to say just do that, I just want them to mix it up a little bit more than they are doing. I would rather it be a little bit too far this way than too far the other way.” Leighton Baines admits Wednesday’s draw was simply the latest encounter that has left Everton wondering what might have been. “We’ve had a number of frustrating games,” says the left-back. “Bolton was another. We have not been able to capitalise on so many teams dropping points this season. We are one of the teams in that bracket. “It is still early in the season but there are so many games where we can look back and say we should or could have got more points, whether we deserved them or not. “If we’d have had just a slightly better start to the season, say three or four points, that would have made a massive difference at this stage. We’d be fifth in the table and just one win away from the top sides.” But for the tenacity of Baines in harassing a mistake out of Bolton winger Chung-Yong Lee in the final minute of injury time on Wednesday, Jermaine Beckford would not have been given the opportunity to salvage a point and extend Everton’s unbeaten run to seven games.Four of those matches have been drawn, and Baines adds: “We definitely need to be more ruthless. We’ve come away from several games knowing we’ve made plenty of chances to have scored more goals than we have done. “The manager has spoken to us about other people having to chip in more goals and that the burden shouldn’t always be on the strikers. It’s important we all contribute.” Everton were on the receiving end of a 6-1 thrashing on Arsenal’s most recent visit to Goodison on the opening day of last season, although the return fixture at the Emirates ended in a 2-2 draw. And of that defeat, Baines adds: “That was one of the lowest points but also such a strange feeling. But we had a decent season eventually and against the top sides, especially at Goodison, we raised our game. “Arsenal was the exception last season but we have fared pretty well against the top sides. We were unlucky to only take a point at The Emirates later in the season and we need to start emulating those performances again. “One thing we need to do is forget about what happened at home to Arsenal last season.” Tomorrow could see the battle of the Jacks in midfield, with Everton’s Rodwell deemed ready for a start – timely given Marouane Fellaini’s suspension – and Arsenal’s Wilshere in a rich vein of form. The latter has gained the greater plaudits this season but Moyes insists the former is just as good a player. “I think Jack Rodwell is up there with Jack Wilshere, but his injuries have held him back a little bit and from the start of the season we haven’t had a chance to get him in,” says the Everton manager. “I think Jack Rodwell is an outstanding player and will be one. He compares well with Wilshere and I have no worries with him. “Jack Wilshere plays in a really good Arsenal team alongside Fabregas and others and he got experience last year (on loan at Bolton) but Jack Rodwell played a lot of games for us last season he is well known to the people at England.”
Everton FC 1, Arsenal 2: Blues seven-match unbeaten run ended by Gunners
Nov 14 2010 David Prentice
EVERTON scored a late, late goal for the second time in a week at Goodison Park, but this time Tim Cahill's 89th minute strike was merely a consolation.
Arsenal inflicted a deserved defeat on the Blues with goals either side of the interval from Bacary Sagna and Cesc Fabregas. But while Everton's seven-match unbeaten run ended in home defeat, World Cup referee Howard Webb failed to cover himself in glory either. Booed off the pitch at half-time for a couple of high profile howlers - one embarrasingly advertised by the Goodison big screen - he resisted the opportunity to show a red card to Sebastien Squillaci when he hauled down Louis Saha who had broken clear on goal. But a poor afternoon from the Yorkshireman - after his excellent display in the Merseyside derby - hardly contributed to Everton's defeat.
Tim Cahill wasted an excellent opening with the scores blank, then half-time substitute Jack Rodwell blazed another close range effort over the bar barely 10 minutes into the second half. David Moyes made just two changes from his midweek line-up, one enforced, one by choice. Johnny Heitinga returned for the suspended Marouane Fellaini after a pain relieving jab in his injured knee, while Seamus Coleman was preferred for maverick Muscovite Diniyar Bilyaletdinov.
The manager's preference was justified after only 10 minutes. Coleman was given his first opportunity to run at the Arsenal defence and he took it with both feet, haring away from the pursuing Fabregas. Waved on by his manager, Coleman carried the ball to the byline, clipped a perfect cross into Tim Cahill's path, but he misheaded horribly over the crossbar from eight yards. An early goal might have changed the complexion of the match completely. As it was Arsenal started to settle and threaten more and more. Samir Nasri saw one mazy dribble and shot blocked by Distin, Arshavin volleyed a foot wide and the Gunners' best move of the match ended with Wilshere's 18-yard effort deflected wide. In response Louis Saha saw an instinctive shot from the edge of the area curl just wide. Johnny Heitinga had been warned by referee Howard Webb for one robust challenge on Jack Wilshere so when he gave the teenager another faint nudge a couple of minutes later the theatrical reaction meant the yellow card was inevitable. And that coincided with Arsenal's best spell of the half.
The Gunners began to enjoy their first concerted spell of pressure as the half-time interval approached and they capped it with a goal. Tim Howard dived to his left to parry Nasri's fierce drive from the edge of the penalty area but Arshavin collected the rebound and touched it into Bacary Sagna's path. The angle was tight but the Blues were far too slow to close him down and he fired a rising drive into the roof of the net.
Everton's response was spirited, but the half ended with World Cup referee Howard Webb booed off the pitch. His decision to ignore a clear trip on Steven Pienaar on the edge of the penalty area was strange, but when he then ruled that Louis Saha's header back into play at the far post had gone behind for a goal-kick his howler was compounded by the big screen which clearly highlighted the error.
It made for an uncomfortable walk to the tunnel after he had blown his half-time whistle, but not as uncomfortable as the position Everton found themselves in just two minutes after the restart. Arteta was unable to control a sharp pass on the halfway line and the Gunners broke with venom. Denilson prodded a neat pass into Fabregas' path just inside the penalty box and the Spanish midfielder threaded a precise shot just inside the post. Everton had an instant chance to reduce the arrears but again Howard Webb was involved in a controversial call. Louis Saha looked to have escaped Squillaci's attentions to give himself a clear run on goal when the defender hauled him down. It could easily have been a straight red, but Webb decided Sagna's proximity just about warranted a yellow instead. The official was enduring a torrid afternoon and two minutes later Cesc Fabregas was harshly booked after colliding with Distin.
In amongst all the controversy there were still spells of sparkling football and after 51 minutes Everton carved out an outstanding chance for Jack Rodwell - on at half-time for Heitinga. Pienaar raced into the box and cut the ball back but Rodwell's effort, in his first senior appearance since August, flew over the bar from barely eight yards.
Arsenal showed they were also capable of spurning sitters when Nasri raced 40 yards with the ball, outsprinting Distin, before Howard blocked superbly, then Marouane Chamakh incredibly turned the ball over the bat from barely two yards after Fabregas had cut the ball across the Everton goalline. The match was wide open and after 62 minutes Saha had a rising drive from 18 yards deflected over the bar by Song's flailing hands. There wasn't much distance between the striker and the Gunners' midfielder, but predictably Howard Webb failed to spot the infringement anyway. Arsene Wenger decided he'd seen enough end to end stuff and brought on Rosicky for Arshavin, but his Blues' counterpart, David Moyes, introduced another couple of attackers a minute later. The midweek pointsaver Jermaine Beckford came on for Mikel Arteta and adopted wide right role, while Yakubu came on for Phil Neville to partner Saha. Beckford turned and saw an inventive shot palmed wide by Fabianski with 10 minutes left, then three minutes later excellent approach work by Baines and Yakubu teed up Pienaar but Fabianski parried his rising shot. Another wonderful Baines cross was clutched by Fabianski then a couple of corners came to nothing as Everton tried to snatch the goal to set up a dramatic climax. Louis Saha came closest with a cleanly struck shot from the edge of the area but again Fabianski was equal to the effort, palming it over. The goalkeeper was finally beaten in the 89th minute.
Pienaar's cross was headed back into the six yard box by Saha - almost a rerun of the first half incident which caused Howard Webb such angst - but this time Tim Cahill swept the ball past Fabianski. It was as close as Everton came to snatching a point.
MATCHFAX
EVERTON (4-4-1-1): Howard; Neville (Beckford 68), Distin, Jagielka, Baines; Coleman, Heitinga (Rodwell 45), Arteta (Yakubu 68), Pienaar; Cahill; Saha. Unused substitutes: Mucha, Hibbert, Bilyaletdinov, Gueye.
ARSENAL (4-): Fabianski; Sagna, Djourou, Squillaci, Clichy; Nasri, Song, Fabregas, Wilshere (Denilson 45); Chamakh (Eboue 89), Arshavin (Rosicky 65). Unused substitutes: Szczesny, Van Persie, Walcott, Gibbs.
Referee: Howard Webb.
Bookings: Heitinga (25 mins), Squillaci (49), Fabregas (51) fouls, Coleman (90) dissent.
GOALS: Sagna (35 mins) 0-1; Fabregas (47) 0-2, Cahill (88).
Attendance: 36,279.
Everton FC’s World Cup stars are struggling for form
Nov 15 2010 by Philip Kirkbride, Liverpool Echo
THE World Cup may have been quickly forgotten but the ill-effects still linger at Goodison Park. At the heart of the Everton side the woes of summer disappointments are holding back progress. From being just a couple of players shy of having something potentially exciting, the shadow showings of the returnees from South Africa are compounding the Blues as a mid-table side with only pretensions of being in the top four. Of course those who spent June and July at the World Cup are not to shoulder all the blame but yesterday’s match at home to Arsenal hammered home where Everton must improve to make the next step. As losing finalist Johnny Heitinga struggles for form – looking a weak imitation of the man who could so often be found to sprinkle his international class last season – South Africa’s Steven Pienaar still appears to be weighted by the failure of he and his homeland to progress beyond the stages of Group A in June. Too, a striker with more of a predatory instinct in front of goal than Yakubu, who appears shorn of confidence not aided by a poor summer, would have made Everton a more threatening proposition and given Arsenal greater cause for concern. Pienaar, it must be said, improved in the second half of yesterday’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal and began to weave and infiltrate the visitors’ defence, giving hope his campaign is about to spark, but Heitinga’s day was rightly cut short by the manager. For Heitinga, gone are those displays in the dogged defensive role like at West Ham United in the last campaign or the full bloodied campaign at the core of Everton’s defence which made him so pivotal last time round. Not for the first time since his return from a World Cup final, the Dutchman looked bewildered by the task of marshalling in front of the back four. Arsenal profited on Sunday because Everton showed them too much respect in the midfield. It can be no coincidence Everton’s player of the season to date – Phil Neville – has not tasted international football in three years, whereas those who featured in the summer have yet to recapture what got them there in the first place. It came as little shock David Moyes opted to change personnel with Jack Rodwell replacing Heitinga at half-time yesterday afternoon and many Everton fans will hope it is a permanent fixture. A fit Rodwell and a disciplined Marouane Fellaini hold the key to a push for Europa League qualification this season.
And even though still not at maximum, Rodwell’s 45-minute cameo brought greater urgency to the Blues’ presence in the middle of the battle – the England U-21 international almost made it a scoring return to action but skewed his effort over the bar. The hope remains Heitnga will rediscover his best, but with bad taste of his reported desire to leave and then swift retraction still fresh with Everton fans, something will have to change quick if he is to reclaim his starting place and favour with the faithful. Perhaps the more worrying development for the Blues is that this post-World Cup malaise appears to have inflicted Mikel Arteta. Given the stature with which the Spaniard is rightly held at the football club, it has become almost unthinkable to have to question Arteta’s form. But it has not become beyond reason to suggest that if Moyes had a second option in the Arteta role then the Spaniard may find himself starting on the substitutes’ bench. Against Arsenal – one of the sides continually linked with wanting his signature – he was often caught in possession or unable to ignite the attack as he has become his trademark wearing the royal blue. Resting Arteta and removing the burden for a few games could help him rediscover the knack, but unfortunately the manager is working with limited resources and has had to rely on the same group of players each week. The resolve which can be harnessed from such adversity has often been to the benefit of Everton but when push came to shove against Arsenal it proved their undoing. The Gunners’ extra dash of quality told at Goodison and left Everton frustrated because they know the gap can be bridged.THE World Cup may have been quickly forgotten but the ill-effects still linger at Goodison Park. At the heart of the Everton side the woes of summer disappointments are holding back progress. From being just a couple of players shy of having something potentially exciting, the shadow showings of the returnees from South Africa are compounding the Blues as a mid-table side with only pretensions of being in the top four. Of course those who spent June and July at the World Cup are not to shoulder all the blame but yesterday’s match at home to Arsenal hammered home where Everton must improve to make the next step. As losing finalist Johnny Heitinga struggles for form – looking a weak imitation of the man who could so often be found to sprinkle his international class last season – South Africa’s Steven Pienaar still appears to be weighted by the failure of he and his homeland to progress beyond the stages of Group A in June. Too, a striker with more of a predatory instinct in front of goal than Yakubu, who appears shorn of confidence not aided by a poor summer, would have made Everton a more threatening proposition and given Arsenal greater cause for concern. Pienaar, it must be said, improved in the second half of yesterday’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal and began to weave and infiltrate the visitors’ defence, giving hope his campaign is about to spark, but Heitinga’s day was rightly cut short by the manager. For Heitinga, gone are those displays in the dogged defensive role like at West Ham United in the last campaign or the full bloodied campaign at the core of Everton’s defence which made him so pivotal last time round. Not for the first time since his return from a World Cup final, the Dutchman looked bewildered by the task of marshalling in front of the back four. Arsenal profited on Sunday because Everton showed them too much respect in the midfield. It can be no coincidence Everton’s player of the season to date – Phil Neville – has not tasted international football in three years, whereas those who featured in the summer have yet to recapture what got them there in the first place.
Light at the end of the tunnel for Everton FC despite defeat to Arsenal
Nov 15 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
GUNNERS’ visits to Goodison don’t always deliver what they promise.
An opening day drubbing in 2004 pointed to a season of trouble and toil. Instead Everton qualified for the Champions League. Two years earlier Evertonians were urged to “remember the name,” when a stunningly talented wonderkid from the youth academy ended Arsenal’s year long unbeaten record. That rich potential was happily realised, unhappily it was in the red and white of Manchester United.
Then there was the time two teenagers scored to pull back a two-goal deficit and suggest Howard Kendall’s third coming could be a glorious success. Ultimately it was a single Coventry City goal away from the most abject of failures. So what to make of yesterday’s Arsenal victory? That the Gunners deserved all three points is unquestionable, despite another spirited comeback by the Blues and a wretched performance from World Cup final referee Howard Webb. But does it mean that Everton are light years behind the title-chasing Gunners? Clearly not.
There was plenty of consolation to be gleaned from an ultimately unhappy afternoon.
Everton under David Moyes are at a stage of their football development where they can try to take on Arsenal at their own game without being laughed out of a football ground. The only problem with that is that the Gunners still do it better than most.
Arsene Wenger’s artists are sometimes referred to as Barca-lite, a disparaging reference to their aspirations of, but inability to, match Barcelona’s titanically talented team. Everton in their current incarnation, could be called Arsenal-lite.
They passed and probed patiently and sometimes precisely. But it was The Gunners who always had the more incisive approach play. Everton might have been better mixing it up a little. It might also have been different had Tim Cahill accepted an excellent 10th minute opening carved out by one of Seamus Coleman’s swashbuckling runs. Completely out of character, he misheaded horribly over.
He made amends in the final minute when he swept a ball past the previously inspired Fabianski. But the other individual to endure an uncharacteristic afternoon, referee Howard Webb, didn’t make up for any of his howlers. The World Cup final official received and deserved plaudits for his sympathetic handling of the recent Merseyside derby. But yesterday it was difficult to escape the conclusion that Arsene Wenger’s withering outbursts about teams bullying his effete artists has clearly struck a chord in referees’ rooms. While Arsenal are allowed to lunge in with impunity – witness Cesc Fabregas’ assault on Stephen Ward last week and the astonishing decision not to award a free-kick when Steven Pienaar was tripped on the edge of the area yesterday, opposition challenges are punished ruthlessly. Heitinga was booked for the faintest of nudges on young Jack Wilshere, although the Dutchman had already been warned.
More controversial was the official’s decision to show only a yellow card when Sebastien Squillaci hauled down Louis Saha on his way through on goal.
It could easily have been a straight red, but Webb decided Bacary Sagna’s proximity just about warranted a yellow instead. That was a matter of interpretation. A matter of straight fact was the header Saha bulleted back into the Arsenal six-yard box just before half-time, only to be told the ball had already drifted out for a goal kick.
The Goodison big screen highlighted Webb’s embarrassment in glorious technicolour. He was booed off at the end of both halves. Everton did enough in a storming last half-hour to warrant the appreciative applause they received. It’s one of the curiosities of the modern day Evertonian to witness the speed with which the Park End empties when Everton are trailing. “Is this a fire drill?” hollered Arsenal’s travelling fans as the stand emptied with 10 minutes still remaining. They missed Cahill’s late consolation, a host of near misses – and probably missed the last minute equalisers against Bolton and Manchester United this season, too. Hey, you pay your money you can choose when to leave your seat, but this Blues side is not one to throw in the towel without a fight. After 51 minutes Everton carved out an outstanding chance for Jack Rodwell – on at half-time for the booked Johnny Heitinga. Steven Pienaar raced into the box and cut the ball back but Rodwell’s effort, in his first senior appearance since August, flew over the bar. Arsenal showed they were also capable of spurning sitters when Nasri raced 40 yards with the ball, outsprinting Distin, before Howard blocked superbly, then Marouane Chamakh incredibly turned the ball over the bar from barely two yards after Fabregas had cut the ball across the Everton goalline.
The match was wide open and after 62 minutes Saha had a rising drive from 18 yards deflected over the bar by Song’s flailing hands. There wasn’t much distance between the striker and the Gunners’ midfielder, but predictably Howard Webb failed to spot the infringement anyway. Substitute Jermaine Beckford turned and saw an inventive shot palmed wide by Fabianski, excellent approach work by Baines and Yakubu teed up Pienaar but Fabianski parried his rising shot, then the often maligned keeper did even better to deny Saha. The goalkeeper was finally beaten in the 89th minute.
Pienaar’s cross was headed back into the six yard box by Saha - almost a rerun of the first half incident which caused Howard Webb such angst - but this time Tim Cahill swept the ball past Fabianski. It was too little too late. Before the match Arsene Wenger had pointed out that the gap between Arsenal and Everton had closed markedly in recent seasons. He will have left Goodison last night with that view reinforced. Evertonians will be disappointed by yesterday’s defeat, but not devastated.
EVERTON (4-4-2): Howard; Neville (Beckford 68), Distin, Jagielka, Baines; Coleman, Heitinga (Rodwell 45), Arteta (Yakubu 68), Pienaar; Cahill; Saha. Not used: Mucha, Hibbert, Bilyaletdinov, Gueye..
ARSENAL (4-4-1-1): Fabianski; Sagna, Djourou, Squillaci, Clichy; Nasri, Song, Fabregas, Wilshere (Denilson 45); Chamakh, Arshavin (Rosicky 65). Not used: Szczesny, Van Persie, Walcott, Eboue, Gibbs.
GOALS: Sagna (35 mins); Fabregas (47); Cahill (89).
CARDS: Heitinga (25 mins), Squillaci (49), Fabregas (51).
REFEREE: Howard Webb..
ATTENDANCE: 36,279.
Everton FC's Jack Rodwell ready to hit the ground running after early return from injury
Nov 15 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
JACK RODWELL has vowed to hit the ground running after making his first team comeback a month ahead of schedule yesterday. The return of the talented youngster was a bright spot on a disappointing day at Goodison Park, with Arsenal ending the Blues’ seven match unbeaten run. Rodwell was introduced at half-time to protect the booked Johnny Heitinga from a possible red card. It was his first senior appearance since injuring his ankle at Aston Villa in August and he came through with no ill affects. “I’m four weeks ahead of schedule so I’m very happy to be back,” he said. “It was my first game back in a long time and while I was pleased to get back on the pitch I was disappointed with the result. “It felt a bit unusual getting back out on the pitch again and trying to find my feet, but I settled down and was happy with the minutes I got under my belt. Now I just need to build up a bit more confidence and get a bit more playing time. If I can do that I’m sure my performances will come back.”
Rodwell admitted that the severity of the ankle injury meant he had to repair damaged confidence as well as a damaged joint. “It is a psychological thing,” he admitted. “In the first couple of weeks of training I wasn’t confident at all, my movement was off and everything. “It plays on your mind a bit and you don’t do well in training and feel a bit low. “But the more you do in training and the better you get, you start feeling more confident. “Today definitely helped me in that respect and I’ve got the Under-21s now to hopefully get a bit more playing time and come back in good shape.
“It’s just a case of getting on the pitch now, getting more confidence and getting more minutes under my belt. “If I can do that I’m sure I’ll be knocking on the door.”
Rodwell admitted that Everton’s performance against Arsenal had dipped below what was required to get a result against a side challenging for the Premier League title.
“It probably was too little too late, but the manager has come in and credited us for our effort,” he added. “We just weren’t good enough on the day. We got one late on and it pushed us a little bit, but we didn’t have enough on the day. “I had a chance myself which I’m disappointed I didn’t put away. “It was probably a lack of match sharpness.” Rodwell added that the Blues still needed to strike a right balance in their play. “We are probably still trying to play a bit too much,” he said. “We’re trying to mix it up a bit more and get the ball into the box, be a bit more ruthless in and around the penalty area. But we matched them ability-wise, we’ve got a great squad - it’s just that today we didn’t show it. “They’re arguably the best footballing team in the Premier League and we’re up there definitely when our players are on form. We can take positives from the game and take them on into next week and hopefully get a good result.”
I took John Heitinga off so that he wouldn’t get a red card, insists Everton FC manager David Moyes after Arsenal defeat
Nov 15 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
DAVID MOYES admits he substituted John Heitinga at half-time to avoid the Dutchman receiving another red card from World Cup nemesis Howard Webb.
Heitinga was hauled off during the interval by Goodison manager Moyes having received a yellow card after 26 minutes of Everton’s 2-1 home defeat to Arsenal yesterday. Referee Webb infamously sent off Heitinga when the midfielder was representing Holland in this summer’s World Cup final against Spain in South Africa.
And Moyes said: “I didn’t know if he was one more tackle away from a sending-off. I didn’t want us to go down to 10 men while we were 1-0 down.” Webb infuriated the Goodison support with a number of debatable decisions, not least when adjudging Sebastien Squillaci was not the last man when hauling down Louis Saha shortly after the visitors’ second goal. Squillaci was subsequently shown only a yellow card, and Moyes said: “I’ve not seen it again. It was one of those in the dugout where I thought the referee had a decision to make, and I wasn’t sure what decision he was going to make. “Could it have been a sending off? Some referees would have but I haven’t seen it again so I can’t comment. “There were things that maybe on another day might have gone in Everton’s favour. Possibly you get those.” Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger felt his side were rewarded for their hard endeavour after goals from Bacary Sagna and Cesc Fabregas either side of half-time proved decisive and moved the Gunners up to second in the Premier League. The Londoners were made to battle for their victory and Lukasz Fabianski produced a string of fine saves as Everton, who eventually broke through courtesy of Tim Cahill, finished strongly. And Wenger said: “The most important qualities we showed were discipline, commitment, honest desire, 100% focus for 90 minutes. “That got us the three points – if you come here without that you don’t get the three points. “We’ve had two difficult away games, Wolves and here, but we have got six points and that puts us in a good situation. The team has shown great spirit. We could have scored more but we were nearly punished and we needed a few good saves from the keeper because we became a bit too conservative. We were hanging on a bit at the end but overall I am satisfied with 2-1.”
Fabregas believes his goal came at a vital time for Arsenal as they claimed victory.
The Spain international said: “The second goal was an important goal early in the second half. We knew they would push hard at us and at the end they scored and we were nervous.”
Everton FC 1 Arsenal 2: David Moyes finds it better to be bored than beaten
Nov 15 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
DAVID MOYES expressed last week he was fed up watching his team. Yesterday, though, the Everton manager discovered it is better to be bored than beaten.
The manner in which the Goodison outfit have been guilty of spurning goalscoring opportunities this season has been a cause of frustration for Moyes, the Scot unhappy his charges have been unable to consistently provide an end product to some attractive approach play. It's a criticism often aimed at Arsenal, long perceived as the fancy dans of the Premier League for whom too often style wins out over substance. Yet, if anything, it was a role reversal of stereotypes that ensured the Gunners brought Everton's seven-match unbeaten run to a shuddering halt. How the Londoners love facing Everton. Arsenal have now recorded 23 Premier League wins over the Goodison outfit – more than against any other opposition – and they fully deserved this latest triumph. Goals from Bacary Sagna and Cesc Fabregas either side of half-time and some fine goalkeeping late on from the much-maligned Lukasz Fabianski meant Tim Cahill's 89th-minute effort was nothing more than a consolation.
Having scrambled a point against Bolton Wanderers in midweek, there would be no such salvation this time, the home side seemingly jaded by playing a third game in eight days. And, the trademark cavalry charge apart, there was little for a strangely subdued Goodison to cheer as Everton struggled to capitalise on an Arsenal side playing below their best but willing to dig in and demonstrate the resolve that so often fails to go with their undoubted talents.The home supporters took their ire out on referee Howard Webb, the official and his assistants infuriating with what they perceived as an erratic performance weighted in favour of the visitors.
None more so than in the 49th minute when there were screams for a red card when Arsenal centre-back Sebastien Squillaci fouled Louis Saha, although even Moyes later admitted it was debatable whether Squillaci was the last man. This, then, was a disappointing way for Everton to surrender an improved run of form that has moved them away from the relegation zone and earned Moyes a manager of the month award. Too many players were below par, with Steven Pienaar the honourable exception.
Everton missed the stupidly suspended Marouane Fellani although the returning John Heitinga did his best to add bite to midfield until being withdrawn for his own good following an first-half booking from Webb – the referee, of course, who sent him off in this summer's World Cup final. It directly led to one positive, and Jack Rodwell will have benefited from a 45-minute run-out in place of the Dutchman, his first senior outing since damaging ankle ligaments back in August. Encouragement, though, was in short supply overall, not least with the way Everton conceded both Arsenal goals. Wenger's boys had already appeared the most threatening going forward even before they forged ahead on 36 minute with a strike Moyes will feel his team could have been defended better. Samir Nasri, the game's most impressive performer, was allowed to receive the ball from a throw in and stroll inside before unleashing an effort from 20 yards that was parried by Tim Howard. Andrey Arshavin then reacted the quickest to retrieve possession on the byline, and rolled a pass invitingly into the path of the incoming Sagna to crash an angled shot beyond Howard at the goalkeeper's near post. It was the full-back's first goal since March 2008.
Early on, Sylvain Distin blocked a goalbound effort from Nasri, Arshavin twice came close with shots from range before neat interplay inside the area between Marouane Chamakh and Nasri gave Jack Wilshere a chance to shoot that Phil Jagielka did well to deflect behind for a corner. However, Everton should have been ahead in the 11th minute when their profligacy struck once again. After an Arsenal corner broke down, Seamus Coleman – restored to the starting line-up ahead of Diniyar Bilyaletdinov – scampered down the right flank away from Fabregas into the area before crossing to the far post for the unmarked Tim Cahill to head horribly off target.
The Australian would normally have converted that chance with his eyes closed, but the manner in which an anxious Cahill snatched at the opportunity spoke volumes for Everton's travails in front of goal at present. Arsenal showed how it should be done three minutes after the interval with a sumptuous second, although again Moyes will question his team's marking. Denilson, a half-time replacement for Wilshere, dispossessed the curiously under-par Mikel Arteta on halfway and, after progressing to the edge of the area, pushed the ball sideways to Chamakh who moved it on to Fabregas for the Spaniard to finish clinically first-time to the right of Howard.
The goal finally prompted a response response from Everton, but Rodwell fired wastefully over from Pienaar's cut back after good initial play by Coleman.
Arsenal, however, were content to hit on the break and twice spurned chances to extend their lead on the hour. Nasri sprinted 60 yards and, having backed himself against Jagielka, forced a sprawling stop from Howard, and then Chamakh put the ball over from four yards when stretching to meet a low Fabregas cross. Only a resourceful block by Alex Song prevented Saha's shot testing Fabianski, but it took until the 81st minute before the Arsenal goalkeeper was pressed into his first real save of the afternoon to turn behind Jermaine Beckford's shot on the turn. Beckford and Yakubu had both been introduced from the bench in an attempt to repeat Wednesday's heroics, and the latter provided a cross from which Pienaar solicited another good stop from Fabianksi, who also saved well from Saha late on. The keeper could not prevent Cahill netting a consolation in the 89th minute, the Australian prodding home after Saha headed down Pienaar's cross from the left. But it was too little, too late. From being bored, it's now back to the drawing board for Moyes.
Everton FC boss David Moyes admits they didn't deserve to keep unbeaten run going
Nov 15 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
DISAPPOINTED David Moyes conceded Everton could have no complaints after their unbeaten run came to a shuddering halt. Goals from Bacary Sagna and Cesc Fabregas either side of half-time sent Arsenal on their way to a 2-1 Premier League win at Goodison yesterday. An 89th-minute strike from Tim Cahill was not enough to prevent Everton’s first loss in eight games that means they stand only two points above the relegation zone. And while accepting the defeat, Moyes believes Arsenal’s second goal shortly after the interval was the turning point of the match.
“I can’t really say we deserved an awful lot,” said the Goodison manager. “I didn’t think we played that well. “But I did not think there was very much in the game until the first goal. I thought whoever got the first goal was going to go on and win.
“I didn’t think Arsenal were great on the day but then I didn’t think we were. Losing the goal right on half-time was crucial, and then the one just after half-time made it really difficult for us.“We gave away a terrible second goal which meant we didn’t give ourselves a chance after half-time to build up a head of steam and put pressure on Arsenal. Once that went in, it was difficult. “Having said that, I thought we created one or two good chances that on another day we might have scored. If we’d have got the goal a bit earlier, then who knows?” Cahill’s goal – his sixth in 12 appearances this season – gave hope of another late comeback following Wednesday’s last-gasp 1-1 draw at home to Bolton Wanderers, with Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski having already produced a trio of fine saves in the final 15 minutes. But Moyes admits Everton left it too late to provide an attacking threat on a subdued afternoon at Goodison. “We tried to keep going, and we wanted to do that from the first minute but I didn’t think we ever got up a tempo or a speed to the game,” he said.
“I thought it was quite quiet around Goodison today. We just never really generated anything on the pitch to make it a tougher place for Arsenal to come today.
“We created chances but when you are making changes in the game, then it is difficult. Before I made them, I thought we had got a bit of rhythm back into our game and sometimes you are loathe to change things because of that momentum.
“But I felt if we didn’t, then we weren’t going to get anything. “I wanted us to try and pick up the speed and tempo and see if we could put a bit of pressure on like we did in the last 15 minutes but it came too late, especially after the second goal.”
Cesc Fábregas winner puts Arsenal out of Everton's reach
Andy Hunter at Goodison Park
15 November 2010 16. The Guardian
There was no historic rout this time for Arsenal and only a hint of the scintillating style that humiliated Everton 6-1 on their last visit to Goodison Park. And yet, paradoxically for Arsène Wenger, their latest triumph here brought more encouragement. On such results are championship challenges built. The old stadium was as subdued as the teams for much of this contest but when Tim Cahill bundled home a Leighton Baines corner with a minute remaining, Everton finally stirred. When four minutes of added time went up, they sensed a repeat of September's remarkable fight-back from two goals down against Manchester United. But they, and perhaps the rest of the Premier League, had not reckoned with Arsenal's resilient spirit. The much-maligned Lukasz Fabianski held firm, Johan Djourou and Alex Song threw themselves into every threat and when referee Howard Webb blew, the visitors found themselves bottom of the division's disciplinary table and, rather more importantly, two points behind Chelsea. "I feel the performance has shown we have something that is not only quality football but spirit, and fighting spirit," said Wenger. "We have shown discipline, commitment, togetherness, desire, 100 per cent focus for 90 minutes and we got the three points. When you come here without that you don't get the three points. They are ingredients you need if you to fight for the championship like we want to do. At the moment Chelsea are at a different pace but we have to keep going." And this was before the result from Stamford Bridge made the journey home even more comfortable. Neither Arsenal nor Everton delivered a great performance but the visitors' work without the ball, allied to the clinical touch in front of goal that David Moyes's team lack, set them apart. Their response to losing at home to Newcastle last weekend has been six points from Molineux and Goodison inside five days and a convincing riposte to criticism of their desire and maturity.
The breakthrough epitomised the performance of the two teams. Tim Howard saved well from the influential Samir Nasri but, as Everton hesitated on the loose ball, Arsenal seized the initiative. Andrei Arshavin turned the loose ball back to Bacary Sagna, the below-par Mikel Arteta stood watching, and the Arsenal right-back beat Howard at his near post with a venomous strike for only his second goal for the club in three years. Arsenal extended their lead three minutes after the restart. Arteta was again at fault, losing possession after being played into trouble by Steven Pienaar, and the visitors broke with their customary precision. Denilson fed Cesc Fábregas, he exchanged passes with Marouane Chamakh, and then swept the ball low beyond Howard into the far corner. After complaining this week about sitting on the bench Nicklas Bendtner failed to make the bench for Arsenal, but Wenger said there was nothing sinister in his omission and the player had suffered a slight injury setback.
"He had a little groin problem and I left him at home," said the Arsenal manager.
"I can't really say we deserved an awful lot," said Moyes. "I didn't think Arsenal were great on the day but I didn't think we were. Losing a goal just before half-time was crucial and then we gave away a terrible second goal. We never gave ourselves a chance after half time to get a head of steam and after that it was difficult."
Much of Goodison's ire was directed at the match official but Webb's erratic performance could not disguise Everton's familiar failings in front of goal and a lethargic start. Webb again courted accusations of leniency when he rejected two controversial calls to show red to an Arsenal player. Sebastien Squillaci tripped Louis Saha as the Everton striker broke clear of the Arsenal defence and seconds later Fábregas committed the kind of foul that understandably sends Wenger apoplectic when he caught Sylvian Distin after a clearance. Both received a yellow card, Saha's run away from goal saving Squillaci and Fábregas's trailing leg sparing the Arsenal captain, although, as Moyes said; "On both occasions I thought 'He's got a decision to make here'." Everton rallied belatedly but Fabianski saved well from Jermaine Beckford, Pienaar and Saha.
Everton 1 Arsenal 2
By PHIL THOMAS
The Sun 15 Nov 2010
IF only Arsenal could come to Merseyside every week there would be no talk of trophy droughts at the Emirates.
And if they could pick Everton as their opponents, they would have run out of silver polish in North London by now as they have not lost to them in seven clashes.
Arsene Wenger's men have celebrated victory against the Blues an amazing 23 times in the Premier League - more than against any other side. They are now unbeaten on their last eight visits to the Mersey area. Oh, and just for good measure, they have blasted 33 goals against Liverpool and Everton in four years. Never mind the one-goal victory margin, the Gunners were in a different league for so much of the game.
Goals from Bacary Sagna - about as likely as a long-term contract extension for Roy Hodgson - and Cesc Fabregas had wrapped up the points after 48 minutes.
Tim Cahill's late close-range effort did raise Blue hopes of a comeback to match the one which saw them bag the unlikeliest of draws against Manchester United here.
But, in all honesty, David Moyes' men could have expected a charge of daylight robbery had they managed it again. In fact, the biggest surprise was it took until 10 minutes before the break for the Gunners to find a way through - that and the identity of the scorer of course. Prior to yesterday Sagna had managed just one goal for the club in three years, the opener in a 2-1 loss at Chelsea back in March 2008.
Well now he can make it two in 32 months, after a tight-angled rocket which nearly took the net from its mooring. Three minutes after half-time that lead was doubled, courtesy of a goal that left manager Moyes raging on the touchline.
Fabregas paved the way by feeding Marouane Chamakh on the right, but even then Everton had plenty of bodies back to deal with the danger. Advertisement

Yet when he clipped the ball across, Fabregas - despite the attention of FIVE defenders - stuck out a boot to guide it home. It was a goal which summed up Everton's woeful lack of bite and spirit to that point, even more galling given those are two things they usually have in abundance. Only John Heitinga had shown any real desire for a scrap, picking up a yellow card off referee Howard Webb for one late lunge on Jack Wilshere as he did so. Yet having been sent off by the same official in the World Cup final, Moyes hauled him out of the action for the second half.
It took that second goal from Fabregas to finally spark the rest of those in blue into any sort of angry response. Yet even then you sensed the Gunners could have picked them off at will should they have needed a third. Quite how they did not manage it from Chamakh, however, had to be seen to be believed as the Moroccan somehow ballooned over from three yards out without a defender in sight. Tim Howard also had to produce heroics to deny Nasri yet again, while only a superbly-timed Phil Jagielka tackle nicked the ball away from Arshavin. If Arsenal are guilty of one thing, it is giving opponents a glimmer of hope when really they should be out of sight. It was the same story at Goodison yesterday. Even then it took until 10 minutes from time to call Lukasz Fabianski into action - and what a response we got from the Gunners keeper. His full-length dive to push away Jermaine Beckford's opportunist strike was the best of his saves, but the ones to deny Louis Saha and Steven Pienaar were not far behind. Cahill eventually pulled one back but the Gunners held on for another Mersey killing.
Everton FC Youth set to face Wolves at home in the third round of the FA Youth Cup
Nov 16 2010 by Chris Wright, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON Youth have been drawn at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round of the FA Youth Cup. Neil Dewsnip’s youngsters will be looking for another extended run in the prestigious youth tournament. Last year they were narrowly beaten in the quarter-finals, going down 2-1 at Blackburn Rovers in extra-time. No date has been fixed for the third round match, but ties must be played on or before Saturday, December 12. It will be played either at Goodison Park or the Halton Stadium. Everton coach Dewsnip said: “We have beaten Wolves 2-0 this season, but I am not sure it will be the same two 11s taking the field in the Youth Cup
Ian Snodin: Everton have always done the right thing when it comes to former players
Nov 16 2010 Liverpool Echo
A HUGE gathering of former players gathered at Goodison Park last night to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Everton Former Players’ Foundation. A registered charity, the Foundation does some great work and it’s great to see them reaching such a milestone. But I’ve always found that Everton as a club are really good at looking after their own. There are always tickets available at matches for ex-players, which was something I appreciated before I started working at Goodison on matchdays.
David Moyes has got it just right with the way he’s using Jermaine Beckford
IT was great to see Jermaine Beckford get off the mark in the Premier League with such a stunning strike against Bolton. But I would have to take the manager’s side and say that his progress as a top flight striker would be better served by introductions from the bench rather than from the start for the time being. The system that David Moyes employs with one striker up top and five in midfield doesn’t suit Beckford.
With the Blues chasing the game in the last two matches he has come on with a striking partner – Yakubu on Wednesday against Bolton and the Yak and Louis Saha on Sunday. That suits his game far more and as a result he has made chances for himself and finished one quite magnificently. Even then you could see he got angry with a few of his team-mates for not playing him in on a couple of occasions and dished out a couple of rollickings – which was good to see. But, for now at any rate, I think the manager has got it right with the way he is using Jermaine Beckford.
A couple more goals like last week’s though and he’ll be knocking on the door.
Sunderland will test Everton but we’ll still win
I HAD to retune my radio on my way home on Sunday night because I thought I’d heard the result wrong. I hadn’t, and because of that scoreline at Stamford Bridge our trip to the Stadium of Light next Monday promises to be even more difficult than it might have been. But despite having just beaten the champions 3-0 on their own ground I’m very confident we’ll go to Sunderland and get a result. No, make that a win!
Ian Snodin: Mikel Arteta will always be the first name on the teamsheet for Everton FC
Nov 16 2010 Liverpool Echo
IN my eyes Mikel Arteta is Everton’s best player, bar none. He hasn’t shown that in recent games, and certainly not on Sunday, but that’s absolutely no reason to start worrying. A few fans were having a go during the match and a few eyebrows were raised when he was substituted with 25 minutes still remaining, but that’s only because it happens so infrequently. I know from my own experience that Mikel won’t have read anything into the manager’s decision. During my playing career there were times when you’d be having a nightmare – not as often as Graeme Sharp will have you believe by the way! – and you’d see the substitutes warming up and think to yourself “Come on boss, you might as well take me off. I’m not helping the team so it might as well be me.” I’m not saying Mikel was having a nightmare on Sunday, nothing like it, but equally he will accept he wasn’t performing anything like at his best and it might have been better for the team to give someone else a run. But the old saying about form being temporary and class being permanent certainly rings true with Mikel and he’d be the first name on my teamsheet for the trip to Sunderland next week.Arteta wasn’t the only player to dip below his own high standards against Arsenal and that’s why we lost a match I was very, very optimistic about winning. Of course people will say I’m biased – and they’d be right – but I really thought we were going to go out there and beat The Gunners. Arsenal are an excellent football team with some magnificent players but I just felt that we would have a bit too much power and height for them, and with the game being at Goodison Park that we’d have the edge. It didn’t work out that way, but only because it was just one of those days. Players are not machines, they do have the odd bad game and that was the case with too many on Sunday.
Plymouth will be ok with my old pal Peter Reid in charge
I HAD mixed emotions about Tranmere’s vital victory over Plymouth on Saturday.
I’m a big fan of Les Parry and was delighted that he picked up three very important points. But I was just as disappointed that he did it at my old team-mate Peter Reid’s expense. Reidy is now boss at Plymouth and he’s got a real tough task on his hands.
But if anyone can turn the fortunes of the football club round it’s him. I’ve never come across anybody with such a huge will to win and such enormous passion for the game. I saw that at first hand when I arrived at Everton. I didn’t find it all that easy to begin with but Reidy was somebody who backed my corner and stuck with me.
I appreciated that at the time and we’ve remained pals ever since. I speak to him regularly and love spending time in his company – and he’s told me how big a job he’s got on his hands. But he’s confident he can turn things around and I would certainly back him to do it. Especially now they’ve got Tranmere out the way.
I’m striving for more, says Everton FC defender Seamus Coleman
Nov 16 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
SEAMUS COLEMAN’S feet are fixed firmly on the ground – despite a stratospheric rise in fortunes from Irish League regular with Sligo Rovers to the brink of becoming Ireland’s newest full international tomorrow. The 22-year-old has a reputation for being one of Everton’s most focused footballers, willing to learn at every opportunity, and he’s also willing to accept responsibility. When it was suggested that an uncharacteristically miscued header by Tim Cahill early in Sunday’s home defeat by Arsenal might have proved a turning point in the match, he countered: “Tim usually puts those away, but maybe the cross was a bit high for him.” The cross, of course, was clipped over by Coleman at the end of one of those swashbuckling runs that Everton fans adore. And it was right on the button. But the comment was typical. Coleman always wants to do that little bit better, and his form this season has been improving game by game, despite getting used to an unaccustomed right midfield role.
“I am learning the roles so it is always good to have a couple of positions,” he explained. “I think the most important thing is getting to play week in week out and hopefully when I do or if I do go back to my original position I will be more comfortable, not necessarily with the football side of it but the atmosphere as I will be used to it. “When you are playing right midfield you can look back at whoever is playing right-back, whether it is Phil Neville or Tony Hibbert, and you can learn while you are playing right wing from what they are doing. “I am a football fan so when I came here it was strange training with all these guys I had been watching on the TV,” he added. “But I have to get my head down and be professional and go about my business like the experienced guys do. Although it is mad to be surrounded by all these internationals.” Despite Coleman’s best efforts against the Gunners, which included creating that glorious chance for Cahill, Everton could not extend their seven-match unbeaten sequence. Goals from Bacary Sagna and Cesc Fabregas proved decisive for the Londoners, who moved up to second as a result of their victory.
Cahill did eventually get on the scoresheet in the final minute as Everton were deservedly rewarded for a late rally, but it was not enough. Jack Rodwell also put a good chance over while Lukasz Fabianski produced fine saves to deny Jermaine Beckford, Steven Pienaar and Louis Saha. Coleman said: “If we’d have got one earlier we’d have had more time to put a bit of pressure on them and hopefully sneak one, but it just wasn’t to be. “I think we were just unfortunate at the end we didn’t get something. “But everyone’s going away now for a week for the internationals.
“Everyone will come back looking to the Sunderland game and looking for three points. “If you look around our team we have some really really good ball players but we have to mix it up, too, sometimes. We were just unfortunate in the end we didn’t get something.”
Legends turn out at Goodison Park to celebrate 10 years of the Everton FC Former Players Foundation
Nov 16 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
THE Everton Former Players Foundation is 10 years old
The world’s first registered charity set up to alleviate medical and other hardships of old footballers celebrated its birthday at Goodison Park. Appropriately the party was attended by scores of former Everton players, Foundation trustees past and present – and the man whose brainchild the foundation was a decade ago. Dr David France decided to set up the charity after meeting one of his heroes who had fallen on hard times late in 1999. “He was too proud to accept any help,” Dr France recalled.
“It was mid-October 1999. Actually it was the night that 55,000 fans packed into Old Trafford to pay tribute to the most successful manager in Manchester United history.
“On the way home my car radio claimed that Alex Ferguson would rake in £1million from his testimonial match. "I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving the recognition, but less in need of the money. “So I enlisted the aid of my friend Norman Jones to set about registering the charity and after a few false starts were successful.”
The Foundation has been spectacularly successful and whilst their individual cases usually remain private, some players have been happy to speak out about the help they have received. See this week’s Football Echo and our website www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/efc for more pictures from the Everton Former Players Foundation 10th anniversary dinner.
Seamus Coleman still fighting for Everton FC place despite Ireland call-up
Nov 16 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
SEAMUS COLEMAN feels he is still fighting for his Everton place, despite being poised to become a full international tomorrow. Ireland boss Giovanni Trappatoni confirmed last night that the Blues youngster will win his first cap against Norway.
“We are missing many injured players, but it is impor-tant in this friendly game to look at other young players. "The likes of Coleman, Cunningham and Walters, it is very important for them and for us,” he said. But despite his dramatic emergence from Sligo Rovers to full international inside 18 months, Coleman admits he is uncertain of a regular place at Everton. “I don’t know if I am established,” said Donegal-born Coleman. “I am still learn-ing every game. “I know I am not guara-nteed my place every week so I am going out there and trying my best. It is going all right for me so far.” Everton boss David Moyes views Coleman primarily as a full-back but it is in a more advanced role on the right flank that he has caught the eye this term.
Coleman made seven successive starts, culminating in a goalscoring appearance against Blackpool last week, before being rested for last Wednesday’s clash against Bolton. Coleman replaced Dinivar Bilyaletdinov in the second half of that 1-1 draw and kept his place for the visit of the Gunners. He now hopes he has done enough to be given a chance by Trapattoni. An injury to Hull’s Paul McShane means the opportunity could come in defence but Coleman is happy to fill any position.
He said: “A lot of people are saying it and I hope to win my first cap Wednesday night. That would be great for me. “I think I read somewhere the manager, Mr Trapattoni, saying he sees me as a defender. I’ll see what happens. “I probably see myself as a full-back but if the manager wants me to play left midfield I will play left midfield. I will play anywhere I can get a game.”
Everton FC granted planning permission to build £9m retail and administration development at Goodison Park
Nov 16 2010
Everton Football Club have been granted planning permission to build a £9million state-of-the-art retail and administration development on the existing Goodison Park footprint. The new facility will be built on the site of the Club Everton lounge at the Park End of the stadium and will house a 900 square metre retail store, museum, cafe, a fan-focused hospitality lounge and office space. The four-floor, self-funded development will also free up space within the corporate areas of Goodison, meaning capacity for corporate hospitality inside the stadium itself can be expanded.
Chief Executive, Robert Elstone, said: “The new building is an exciting phase in the development of Goodison Park. “It will help us grow our business by giving fans a new, purpose-built Club shop more than twice the size of Everton One, a new hospitality lounge targeted towards Evertonians wanting to socialise before and after games at Goodison and, at last, a proper home for the Everton Collection and other exciting attractions for our fans. “It will also get the entire Everton team under one roof, something that is long overdue and an opportunity to further improve how we work as a team for the benefit of the fans.” Work will start before the end of the year and is expected to be completed in Autumn 2011. The project will be paid for entirely through the assistance of existing Club retail partner Kitbag and Stadium catering partner Sodexo. Mr Elstone added: "This new scheme is totally self-funded by partners so there is no net cost to the Club. In fact, it is cash-positive from the start.”
Commenting on the decision, Tim Groom, Managing Director of Formroom, the architects behind the design of the new development, said: “It has been fantastic to work on a project that allowed us not only to be so creative, but also to work with a client who is so passionate about high quality design and achieving an end result that everyone associated with Everton Football Club can be proud of. “The new development will be a gateway to the stadium and stands against a backdrop of one of England’s most historic grounds, therefore it was crucial that whatever we designed was complementary to the existing area, while also reflecting the Club’s ambition.”
ACADEMY FOOTBALL: Jake Bidwell scores late goal to give Everton under-18s a point against Liverpool
Nov 16 2010 by Chris Wright, Liverpool Daily Post
JAKE BIDWELL scored a dramatic late equaliser as Everton under-18s secured a well-earned point against neighbours Liverpool at the Kirkby Academy on Saturday.
Neil Dewsnip’s side stay top of the FA Premier Academy League Group C table following the draw. In a typically competitive derby Everton had chances to take all three points but were happy to get something from the match after going behind 10 minutes into the second half. Hallum Hope hit a post in the first half, while Everton goalkeeper Adam Davies had superbly saved Conor Coady’s penalty to keep the match goalless at the break. And he also denied Craig Roddan from the spot 10 minutes after the break, but on this occasion the Liverpool player followed up to head them into the lead. Anton Forrester was denied twice either side of Liverpool taking the lead, the first time by a superb clearance off the line. Everton continued to press for an equaliser and the visitors eventually made the breakthrough in injury time. Luke Garbutt’s corner caused panic in the Liverpool defence and Bidwell head home the equaliser. Everton coach Dewsnip said: “I don’t think we should have won, but a draw – particularly in the circumstances – was probably a fair result. “But this group of lads have unbelievable mental toughness. “They seem to find the strength as a group not to be beaten and it is standing them in good stead for the future.” Everton take on Bolton at Finch Farm on Saturday (kick-off 11am). Meanwhile Everton have been drawn at home against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Youth Cup third round.
EVERTON UNDER-18s: Davies, Barrow, Murphy, Hammar, Bidwell, Orenuga, Kinchella (Dobie 80), Lundstram, McAleny (Garbutt 45), Forrester (Thomas 65), Hope. Subs: Roberts, Cummins.
Phil Neville: Everton FC must get ruthless or miss out on top four
Nov 16 2010 Liverpool Daily Post
PHIL NEVILLE admits Everton must become more ruthless if they are to rekindle hope of challenging for a top-four place this season. The Goodison outfit saw their seven-match unbeaten run brought to a halt when they were beaten 2-1 at home by Arsenal at the weekend. Having been bottom of the table at the end of September, David Moyes’s side are now ensconced in mid-table, seven points off the Champions League places and only two off the relegation zone. Six of Everton’s 13 Premier League matches have ended in draws with Moyes having already grown unhappy at his team’s profligacy in front of goal. And skipper Neville agrees Everton need to start “grabbing the bull by the horns” and impose their authority on games. “It’s been one of those seasons so far where we have done okay but not outstanding,” said the 33-year-old. “We are a six or seven out of 10 and need to be a nine or 10 to be beating the likes of Arsenal and getting into the top four. “That’s where we all aspire to be but we have to raise our game. The spirit is there, maybe we just need to relax and be a bit more ruthless. “We were disappointed against Blackpool and Bolton. Those were two games we should have won but probably were not ruthless enough by grabbing the bull by horns and seeing out games. “Maybe those disappointments carried into the Arsenal game. We thought we were full of confidence but didn’t hit the heights we can. “We wanted a real high tempo and to play in their third but never built up the momentum we have in the past.” Having already impressed in draws against Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur along with the derby defeat of Liverpool, Everton failed to hit those heights on Sunday until they had fallen two goals behind.
And Neville added: “We didn’t do enough to win to be honest. Our plan was to play on the front foot in their half but we never got the momentum to cause them problems. They didn’t create too many chances, we always seemed to be not quite there.
“At the end we showed our fighting spirit but it was too late. After the week we’ve had maybe that was coming but we really felt we had a good chance of beating a top side.”Indeed, Neville can envisage Arsenal challenging for the title having shown the substance to go with their undoubted style in earning victory at Goodison.
“They seem a little more resilient now,” he said. “They’re always going to play fantastic football, that’s never going to change. But at the end they were getting men behind ball. “They’re maybe still a bit to go to have a real title-winning team, because you always fancy yourself to rough them up. But we couldn’t do it and that’s where they have improved. “No Arsenal will be at the level of the past but they have developed with each year. “They’ve got more experience and now maybe they’re getting the things you need to win at places like Everton, Stoke and Bolton, when it’s not perfect conditions and they have been beaten up in the past. They have a great manager and know in years to come that these youngsters will come to fruition. But they’re getting more experience each year so you never know. “Chelsea and Manchester United don’t always win playing pretty football. You have to do it when you’re not playing well, and Arsenal are learning that now.”
Everton FC rising star Seamus Coleman still learning his trade as country calls
Nov 16 2010 Liverpool Daily Post
RISING star Seamus Coleman feels he is still fighting for his Everton place despite being poised to win a first international cap this week. Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni is set to reward the 22-year-old, at home on the wing or at full-back, for his blistering club form with an appearance in tomorrow’s friendly against Norway. Coleman has been one of Everton’s standout performers during the opening three months of the season and was again impressive in Sunday’s 2-1 Barclays Premier League loss to Arsenal. “I don’t know if I am established,” said Donegal-born Coleman. “I am still learning every game. “I know I am not guaranteed my place every week so I am going out there and trying my best. It is going all right for me so far.”
Everton manager David Moyes views Coleman primarily as a full-back but it is in a more advanced role on the right flank that he has caught the eye this term Coleman made seven successive starts, culminating in a goalscoring appearance against Blackpool last week, before surprisingly being left out for last Wednesday’s clash against Bolton. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov was preferred but Coleman replaced the Russian in the second half of that 1-1 draw and kept his place for the visit of the Gunners.
He now hopes he has done enough to be given a chance by Trapattoni.
An injury to Hull’s Paul McShane means the opportunity could come in defence but Coleman is happy to fill any position. He said: “A lot of people are saying it and I hope to win my first cap Wednesday night. That would be great for me. The manager, Mr Trapattoni, saying he sees me as a defender. I’ll see what happens.
“I see myself as a full-back but if the manager wants me to play left midfield I will play left midfield. I will play anywhere. I am learning the roles so it is always good to have a couple of positions.”
Mark Lawrenson: David Moyes could do with a Bruce bonus like Gyan
Nov 16 2010 Liverpool Daily Post
I’M not sure many will share David Moyes’s view that he finds watching Everton boring. But it must be extremely frustrating for him to see much of his team’s good work come to nothing in the absence of a red-hot striker. If he had one player who could combine the best qualities of Yakubu, Louis Saha and Jermaine Beckford then he could be on to a winner. As individuals, however, they all have limitations and defenders are finding it quite easy to handle them. These problems could be brought into sharp focus on Monday night when Moyes takes his side to Sunderland.
Asamoah Gyan signed for them in the summer for a fee that was probably well out of Everton’s range – but what a player he looks. Pace, power and someone who really knows how to finish, he is living up to his World Cup pedigree . Moyes must be looking at him and thinking how lucky Steve Bruce is to be able to call on someone like that, particularly in the absence of another top
Jack Rodwell and Martin Kelly feature as England under-21s lose 2-0 to Germany
Nov 17 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
AFTER Sunday’s 45 minute return from “the worst injury I’ve ever had” Everton midfielder Jack Rodwell got another 66 minutes under his belt for England under-21s last night. But it was a losing experience in Germany where errors by goalkeepers Scott Loach and Jason Steele proved costly for Stuart Pearce’s young side.
Trailing 1-0 in Wiesbaden after Loach failed to keep out Konstantin Rausch’s shot, the visitors saw their 15-game, five-year unbeaten away record go up in smoke when half-time substitute Steele was sent off after conceding a penalty just 13 minutes into his debut. Cenk Tosun converted from the spot and the 10-men never looked like getting back into the match after that. Liverpool defender Martin Kelly also enjoyed a solid 77 minute run-out before he was replaced. But for Rodwell the run-out was another significant step towards reclaiming a first team place at Everton.
“I’ve been out injured for eight or nine weeks,” he said, “but I’m buzzing to be back playing again. “The medical team at Everton has done really well getting me back.
“It’s taken its time but it’s getting stronger and stronger. “It’s the worst injury that I’ve had, I was on crutches, I was in the boot, and you don’t see the light. “It can be very boring when you’re injured, I couldn’t do anything but lay there with my foot up icing it every hour, so I watched a lot of DVDs. “But I started jogging about four or five weeks ago so now it’s just great to be playing again.” Despite Rodwell’s absence, Pearce’s young team clinched qualification to next summer’s European Championship in Denmark, and the 19-year-old says he was following the action as he recovered.
He’s also seen a number of his fellow Under-21s players being given an opportunity with Fabio Capello’s senior team, and he believes that with fitness returning he can also stake a claim for a chance with the full squad. “It’s good for us to see that players are getting the chance with the senior team. “It gives you a lot of confidence and we look at them and aspire to do that ourselves,” he said. “There was talk of others also going in the squad, so it could be anyone. “Have a good game for the Under-21s, keep playing well for your club and it could be you.”
Everton FC’s £9m Goodison upgrade given go ahead
Nov 17 2010 by Marc Waddington, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON FC was given the go ahead for a £9m upgrade of Goodison Park.
Liverpool council’s planning committee yesterday agreed the proposal for a four-storey, stand-alone development which will include a football museum, hospitality suite and office block. The building will stand where the EFC lounge marquee currently sits at the west corner of the Park End car park. Planners heard from the club’s planning consultant Colin Williams that the current hospitality offering at the club was “one of the poorest in the Premier League”. The development will see a rooftop hospitality and cafe suite which will have views across Stanley Park and the Mersey. The development will also mean that the club can upgrade the matchday hospitality suites inside the stadium by freeing up space through moving back office staff into the new building. Planning consultant Mr Williams said: “Everton are obviously very keen to improve hospitality offer of the club, probably one of the poorest in the Premier League. “This will enhance it. There will also be new retail opportunities, and the old [mega store] building will be refurbished and used by the Everton Foundation.” Tim Groom, of architects Formrooms, added: “The museum will be a real visitors’ attraction, not just for Everton fans but for the wider community. Spealing about the design of the building, which will be made from fractured glass referencing the clubs blue and grey colour colours, he added: “When we met with Robert Elstone and [chairman] Bill Kenwright they said they wanted something that would show off the club’s ambitions.” Members of the committee raised questions as to whether, given the largely glass design, it would impact upon local residents through excessive light, but heard that the hours of use would be controlled to minimise the impact on the surrounding community. No objections to the plan were received. The development will result in the loss of around 50 car parking spaces, but the club is looking to acquire land nearby to replace them.
Club Chief Executive Robert Elstone said the permission represented an “exciting phase in the development of Goodison park”. In recent years, the club set its sights on moving to Kirkby to join up with Tesco and create a new stadium there as part of the Destination Kirkby project, but the bid was thwarted by Government inspectors.
The decision to invest in Goodison to the tune of £9m – which the club insists will be raised through investment from its commercial partners Kitbag and Sodexo – is likely to ensure Mr Elstone’s previous statement that there would be no move to a new site “in the medium term”. Mr Elstone added: “It will help us grow our business by giving fans a new, purpose-built club shop which is more than twice the size of Everton One plus a hospitality lounge targeted towards Evertonians wanting to socialise before and after games at Goodison and finally a proper home for the Everton Collection along with our other exciting attractions for our fans.”
Anders Limpar is an Evertonian – and Cup medal donation proves it
Nov 17 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
HE lives in Sweden, came to footballing prominence in Italy and spent four years winning trophies galore with Arsenal – but Anders Limpar considers himself a lifelong Evertonian. And the Swedish stylist underlined his true blue devotion this week by donating his 1995 FA Cup winner’s medal to the Everton Collection.
Limpar’s role in that famous victory was significant. He led the breakaway which ended with Paul Rideout’s matchwinner against Manchester United – and he also hit a memorable 50-yard reverse-pass which BBC commentator Barry Davies described as the “pass of the match.” But now Limpar wants the Everton fans to share in the joy his Cup winning medal brings. The Everton Collection is the world’s greatest club collection of football memorabilia – an amalgam of the famed David France Collection and items already in storage at Goodison Park. “Why have I handed over my medal? It just seemed a good thing to do,” he said. “The medal is in a drawer somewhere in the house. The Everton Collection is the largest collection in England and if I can be part of that, it’s a way of me being part of the history of the club.
“It’s been too long now since we’ve won anything, so I have something to give them.
“If I can do that and it helps the fans in a small way that’s great. “It was one of the highlights of my career by far and I just thought it was a good idea. “I sometimes look back on those days and I sometimes watch the videos and I really miss them, but this will remind fans now of our last trophy success.” Currently assistant coach of Swedish second division team Sollentuna United, after selling his betting shop and shares in the Limp Bar in Stockholm, Limpar was back at Goodison this week for the clash between his two former clubs Everton and Arsenal and the following evening’s gathering of Goodison old boys at the Everton Former Players’ Foundation anniversary dinner. “Everton is a club in my heart,” he added. “I’ve been a supporter since I was 10 years old and every time they want to do something with the older players I’m happy. I love coming over and it’s enjoyable for me. “When I was little Bob Latchford was my hero and he’s here tonight. Every time I meet him I gets jelly legs and he blushes. He was my hero but I also liked Imre Varadi as well.
“I still see the occasional game. Football isn’t that much different now to when I was playing. I don’t think it’s better and I don’t think it’s worse. “I went to Goodison Park on Sunday and it was good to see the present Everton side a lot closer to Arsenal now than when I was playing here. “Arsenal are a fantastic side, but when everybody’s fit, players like Pienaar, Arteta and Fellaini, Everton also play some really attractive football and I think they are good enough to finish top five this year.
“They are a more attractive side now, but back in the 90s we had Rideout, we had Andrei (Kanchelskis) and we could score goals. They lacked that a little bit on Sunday, but overall they are more effective.” Limpar was also excited by his first glimpse of the precocious talent that is Seamus Coleman. “Oh, he’s a very good prospect,” he declared. “He was man of the match in the lounge I was in and I love to see him taking people on. He’s going to be even better as he learns the game, as he learns when to take people on and when to pass.” That was a balance Limpar learned very quickly. Able to burst past opponents with explosive acceleration he could also deliver astonishingly imaginative passes – Evertonians still recall his outside of the foot crossfield pass at Anfield which sent Andrei Kanchelskis racing away for a derby day clincher – and boss Joe Royle once described him as a “genius.” Now he’s trying to impart those lessons to a batch of new Swedish wannabes. “I’m really enjoying my coaching,” he said. “We came second this year so things are going well football wise.
“I always wanted to get back involved in the game again and I’m really enjoying it.”
Everton FC and South Africa's Steven Pienaar: I don't need a break
Nov 17 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
STEVEN PIENAAR is lining up to play his fourth match in 12 days tonight – at the end of a 6,000-mile flight to Cape Town. But the Everton midfielder has insisted he has no fears about burn-out and doesn’t need a break. Pienaar will captain South Africa against the United States in the annual Nelson Mandela Challenge and declared: “I did not want to rest. I was always keen to play especially as this match is being staged in Cape Town and I enjoy playing here. We are heading for a full house.
“It is a great honour being asked to be captain and it means a lot to me, but having said that I will not allow myself to be carried away.” Pienaar will wear the captain’s armband because Portsmouth defender Aaron Mokoena is being rested.
The Blues midfielder only returned to David Moyes’ squad at Tottenham three weeks ago after missing two matches with a groin strain. But he has showed no ill affects since then starting five successive Premier League matches. Pienaar says he is more than up for the challenge against a new-look United States. “It is going to be a special game for the fans and for me being my first game as captain and hopefully we get a win.” He was also not reading too much into US coach Bob Bradley’s selection of an experimental squad to play Bafana. “The US coach is trying to look at new players and that means they will be trying to impress him. I have played against a number of Americans internationals in the Premiership and the new generation of US players we face are going to be tough.” Pienaar will not be lining up against team-mate Tim Howard, who has been left at home. Boss David Moyes spoke only last week of his concerns about the goalkeeper’s unbroken two-year spell of club and international football, but US coach Bob Bradley has rested a number of senior players and selected an inexperienced XI for the friendly.
European qualification is an attainable target for Everton FC says David Moyes
Nov 17 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
DEMANDING David Moyes believes a European place remains an “attainable” target for Everton provided they continue showing the courage of their attacking convictions. Following a poor start to the campaign, the Goodison outfit have transformed their fortunes during recent weeks to the extent Moyes was named Manager of the Month for October. That momentum was checked at the weekend with home defeat to Arsenal that brought an end to a seven-match unbeaten run.
Although Everton stand in 13th place only two points off the relegation zone, such is the congested nature of the Premier League table they are also within three points of a European qualification berth. And Moyes is confident his players continue to improve and can challenge for a return to the Continent in the coming months.
“As a manager, and I’ve been here for close on nine years, I find myself getting harder to please,” said the Scot. “The character we have within the dressing room is unquestionable, our football has improved, our style has been changing and we are moving forward year in, year out. “Our targets have to be attainable and I strongly believe finishing in a European place is attainable for Everton. “We have lads who are determined to do well for the club and for a manager it’s all you can ask, that your players are 100% committed.” Everton’s efforts have been hampered by a profligacy that Moyes has long bemoaned with skipper Phil Neville this week urging the players to become more ruthless. But Moyes does not want his players to become afraid of maintaining the expansive football that served them in the second half of last season.
“All we can do is continue to make the right decisions, be courageous enough to take the ball and pass it, and we hope that our conversion ratio will turn around and the opportunities we create will turn into goals,” said the Goodison manager.
“What we have to do is try to find solutions for us to score more goals and we will do this by looking within out own squad to see if there are any options we have missed.”
Meanwhile, Marouane Fellaini has claimed his call-up to the Belgium squad for tonight’s friendly against Russia was at the request of Everton. Belgium coach Georges Leekens initially had no plans to include Fellaini with the midfielder having only this week made his comeback from four weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. Fellaini sustained the damage while playing for Belgium against Austria, with Moyes subsequently writing to the Belgian FA after being unhappy the player was not substituted immediately, a decision that further aggravated the injury. But with the 22-year-old currently serving a three-match ban following his sending-off against Bolton Wanderers last Wednesday, the Everton manager is keen for Fellaini to gain more match time to improve his fitness. “Everton want me to join up with Belgium,” said Fellaini. “Everton have a good relationship with the Belgian FA. “I serve a three-match ban after I was given my marching orders for an act of retaliation in Everton’s 1-1 draw with Bolton Wanderers. “Everton coach Moyes asked his colleague Leekens to call me up to the Belgium squad so I can get some match rhythm. I am physically okay.”
Illness could deny Everton FC defender Phil Jagielka latest England cap
Nov 17 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
ILLNESS could deny Phil Jagielka the chance to add to his haul of England caps this evening. The Everton defender had been pencilled in for a start by national team coach Fabio Capello for the glamour friendly against France at Wembley.
But Jagielka, suffering from a fever, was one of three players to sit out training at the stadium yesterday, with former Goodison team-mate Joleon Lescott on hand to deputise at centre-back alongside England skipper Rio Ferdinand.
One player who definitely will not play is Jack Wilshere, who is to return to Arsenal with an injury. But Capello was more hopeful about Jagielka and Joe Hart, who also missed training. “Wilshere is going home,” said the Italian. “Jagielka has flu but we think he will be okay tomorrow. “Hart, the doctor is waiting to decide what happened.
“We think it will not be a big problem for him.” Capello is poised to select an experimental line-up, and has already confirmed debuts for Sunderland midfielder Jordan Henderson and controversial Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll, while also handing a first start to Arsenal full-back Kieran Gibbs. Carroll is expected to be partnered in attack by Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, with Capello eager to give the 21-year-old every chance to impress. Capello admits Carroll will take on more responsibility as a senior England player. “He needs to improve things in his private life now,” said Capello. “I spoke with him about what you have to do on the pitch and I will speak to him about his private life.”
Everton FC letters: David Moyes has to be more adventurous
Nov 18 2010
A DISAPPOINTING result and display against Arsenal . Certain senior players at the club need to raise their game considerably. Clearly Fabregas is of an international calibre and will be a future Spanish captain. Then again, our seven- match unbeaten run came to end but during this time we have not been convincing. And with challenging games next, our season is at a tenuous point. David Moyes needs to get the balance right and if this means a realpolitik approach to achieve this – ie. sell Arteta and Saha to bring in four, so be it. David Kearns, Aintree DAVID MOYES is getting on my nerves with this negative approach he has to the game.
Why must he persist with a lone striker? It’s not working. Beckford when he came on against Arsenal showed what he is capable of with a good shot on the turn.
The lad needs a run of games from the start. Get Arteta to drive forward with the ball, instead of passing it sideways and backwards all the time. Fortune favours the brave, Dave! Bluewings OUR manager insists on playing defensively at home and we always seem to pay for it. The game usually starts off with us on the offensive with a lone striker (usually a crock) being marked out of the game with ease. That gives the opposition the incentive to go over to the attack and we end up on the back foot with our defenders working overtime and we concede territory until the inevitable goal against and maybe more. Players who are out of form like Arteta and Saha are allowed to carry on regardless while goal hero Beckford, like Coleman in the preceding game, gets dropped. Then, when the game looks over, David Moyes panics and puts extra strikers on and we look a different side. Take a leaf out of Sunderland’s book for their positive attitude away to Chelsea on Sunday. They went for it with an attacking line-up and scared the champions to death. Change your attitude, David, and play an attacking formation with in-form players and see where it gets us. Stdomingo57
Everton FC jury: Blues fans give their thoughts on the Arsenal defeat and look ahead to Sunderland
Nov 18 2010 Liverpool Echo
RICHARD KNIGHTS, West Derby
BUDDHISTS believe in reincarnation, the tragedy of human existence is endlessly repeated. Last Sunday it was as though the ghost of Clive Thomas had come back to haunt us. Goodison witnessed a bizarre performance from South Yorkshire policeman Howard Webb. Is he still recovering from stage fright after that mare in the World Cup Final? During the first half I thought he was miked up to Arsene Wenger. Every time someone sneezed on an Arsenal player he blew for a free kick.
The big decisions? It was Soccer City, Johannesburg again, as he bottled it on two blatant red cards. Where is the Police Complaints Authority when you need them? However Sergeant Webb aside, let’s be honest, for 80 minutes Arsenal’s strolling band of overseas mercenaries completely outplayed us. Or to be more accurate they were allowed to.. Armchair manager’s notes- Let Baines take the free kicks
Louis Saha cannot play the lone striker role Stop giving daft goals away
A frustrating afternoon – we weren’t at the races.
LEE MOLTON, St Helens
IT could have been such a different story on Sunday! The Blues had their chances in the second half against Arsenal and the Gunners were relieved to hear the final whistle. We have to start converting our chances to win more games. The great Howard Webb had another shocker, why are these referees scared of the big teams! We did well to get a free-kick off him! Seamus Coleman is having a great run in the team, he is terrific running at defenders and crossing the ball. It is such a pleasure to watch his enthusiasm. It is also good to have Rodwell back and he should be given a start in the team, we really do have 2 stars of the future but don’t tell Chelsea or Man City! In the January window, we need a striker who can score goals and maybe off-load one of our strikers to raise the money. A win in the North East on Monday is needed to push us up the table again, we can do it!
MIKE WILLIAMSON, Chester
ANOTHER frustrating day of strange refereeing and dropped points, just like so many games before.
There is a growing feeling of disillusionment from fans and it’s not just because we should be further up the table.
David Moyes has done wonders for Everton but the question has to be asked now if there is anywhere left for him to go with this team. His cautious approach to every scenario is so predictable.
The 4-5-1 structure surprises nobody anymore and teams knows how to deal with us now; keep Cahill quiet, man mark Arteta and work down the left on Baines, who was out of position so many times when Arsenal attacked that it was a surprise they took so long to score.
Arteta has not fired consistently all season and most of his dead ball deliveries are simply awful. I could do better with my Wellies on! Why does he have to take every free kick and corner? We all love him but nobody should be immune from being dropped and the quicker Saha is shown the door the better.
DAVID WALLBANK, Huyton
ARSENAL came to Goodison and for 80 minutes I bet they couldn’t believe there luck? Only with the clock counting down did Everton begin to look like any sort of threat. It was bitterly disappointing to lose the unbeaten run, and more importantly miss out on climbing the table. Blackpool, Bolton & Arsenal should have represented at least seven points, instead only a couple of draws leave Everton in 13th place.
It looks more likely that Steven Pienaar is going to leave Goodison, and what an immense shame that will be. I can honestly say that Pienaar is one of the best players I have witnessed pull on the blue jersey, and it will be a very sad day if he decides to quit the blues. Now with an international break the Blues have time to regroup and build up for tThe next few premiership games Sunderland (a) & West Brom (h) are major fixtures and decide how our season will turn out. With January only a matter of week’s away, reinforcements must be added in the transfer window if we are salvage our season.
A Merseyside derby fight and a Kamikaze flight – The highs and lows of Joe Harper at Everton FC
Nov 18 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
BY his own admission Joe Harper is “not a greedy man.”
“As long as I get two holidays a year and all the bills are paid for I’m satisfied,” he admits. But the man who was once Everton’s record signing has one regret.
“My biggest regret in football, my only regret, is leaving Everton when I did,” he declared. Harper, a relaxed and fit looking 62-year-old, was back at Goodison Park this week for only the second time since his Everton career ended.
And it’s clear who Harper holds responsible for his all too brief spell on Merseyside.
“Harry Catterick signed me and he was a wonderful manager, a gentleman,” said Harper. Then Billy Bingham came in . . . “He brought in a programme of weight training and rather than tone us up he had us lifting heavy weights. I was bench pressing about 250 pounds. All that did was make me bigger and stronger, but my game was about speed and sharpness. “If you asked me to sprint all day I’d do it but lifting weights wasn’t good for me. “But I bit my tongue because I loved it.
“When I came down it was supposed to be Big Joe and Little Joe. I was supposed to be playing with Joe Royle, and we were really getting on well, but then he injured his back and was out for about a year. “By the time he came back properly I was on my way back to Scotland.” Harper was the right player at the wrong time for Everton Football Club. A tally of 31 goals in 52 matches for Aberdeen made him third top scorer in Europe and earned him the bronze boot – not to mention a £180,000 move to Merseyside. His debut against Spurs in December 1972 put 7,000 on the gate and despite missing a penalty he went on to finish as the club’s top scorer with eight goals.
Harper topped the goals table despite never being allowed near another penalty kick, despite only arriving at the club in December and in spite of, or perhaps because of, two of the least celebrated strikers in the recent history of the Blues playing alongside him – Rod Belfitt and Bernie Wright. His Everton career totalled 14 goals in 51 appearances, but he always felt the Goodison fans appreciated his efforts – possibly because of an incident he recalls in a derby match. “I fell awkwardly on top of Emlyn Hughes and when Larry Lloyd took exception to it and grabbed me, I floored him with a right hook,” he recalls with grim satisfaction. The occasion was a testimonial match for Brian Labone. Aah, those halcyon days of the friendly derby. Harper also forged some firm friendships during his short stay, one with the madcap comedian and celebrity Evertonian Freddie Starr. Joe tells of an ordeal when Starr collected him and his wife from their Heswall home in his limousine, ferried them to an airport and bundled them aboard an eight-seater private plane – which Starr promptly took the controls of. Apprehensive, not least when the wind started to reach force five or six, that concern turned to outright horror on the approach to Aberdeen airport when Freddie leaned down to the cockpit floor, picked up a Japanese style kamikaze bandana and glasses and started imitating a machine gunner strafing the looming airport! “We thought we’d had it!”smiled Joe. “Until we realised the co-pilot had been flying all the time and not once had Freddie been in control of the aircraft!”
Perhaps it was the memory of that afternoon which restricted Harper’s return trips to Merseyside. After all it’s a long way from Aberdeen to Liverpool by car.
He said: “The only time I’ve been back since I left was the Newcastle match five years ago, the last match of the season when Everton qualified for the Champions League – and I had a great weekend. “I actually came out of the ground and a few people recognised me and asked me if I wanted to go to the supporters club just down the road. “From there I ended up in a big sing-song, swapping a few stories and stuff like that! “I’ve always loved Liverpool. I say that to folk up in Scotland. There’s always a magic about Liverpool.” Harper was back at Goodison for the 10th anniversary dinner of the Everton Former Players Foundation and he went on: “Aberdeen’s actually got a very good ex-players’ association but nothing like this. “We maybe have a golf day and that’s about it. “This one doesn’t just get players together to share memories it actually helps players who’ve fallen on hard times which is absolutely magnificent.
“I’m semi-retired now. I’m 62 and I do the Aberdeen games on Saturdays and look after our legends lounge. And I do my paper round as I call it. I do an article every week in the local paper, a wee bit of radio work and some commercial work.
“But Everton is always the first result I look for in England and it’s good to see so many players from my era here – Howard Kendall, Mick Buckley, big Westie.
“I’m just disappointed John Connolly couldn’t make it because he usually comes to these gatherings.” Not as disappointed as the all too brief spell he spent on Merseyside, though.
Everton FC striker Louis Saha desperate to end goal drought
Nov 18 2010 by James Pearce, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON striker Louis Saha has vowed to work tirelessly in a bid to end his nine-month Premier League goal drought. The Frenchman has endured a frustrating campaign so far and only has a solitary strike in August’s Carling Cup win over Huddersfield to show for his efforts. Saha, who was sidelined for three weeks by a calf injury he picked up on international duty in September, hasn’t found the net in eight league appearances this season. The 32-year-old last scored in the league when he bagged a memorable double in the 2-1 win over Chelsea at Goodison in February and he’s desperate to rediscover his touch ahead of next Monday’s trip to Sunderland.
“The season has been really hard for me,” said Saha, who top scored for the Blues with 15 goals last season. “I have had my share of injuries and it has been difficult. When I have had chances to play I don’t think I have had much luck. When I have had sights of goal then shots have been blocked or deflected. “I feel sharp and am a positive person within myself and I have confidence that when the timing is right and I am able to give my all then it will come together. It is important to get that first goal, it gets you underway. “I would rather not be sharp and scoring goals with tap-ins and so forth but it doesn’t happen like that. “I will work harder to get luck back on my side as that is often the way it goes and I will continue to give my all for the team.
“We need results and I will try everything. I will work as hard as I can to help give the team three points as we need to get going again.”Goals have been a major problem for David Moyes’ side this season with just 14 scored in 13 Premier League games. Tim Cahill leads the way with six while frontmen Yakubu and Jermaine Beckford only have one piece. Beckford broke his duck with a last-gasp equaliser against Bolton recently and Saha has been impressed by the former Leeds striker. “I think he (Beckford) has lots of ability,” Saha added. “He has pace and is also a very good finisher. He has many qualities and I have full confidence that he will score a lot of goals at this club. “Maybe the manager was right when he said that he maybe put him in a bit too quickly given where he had played before. But I see a lot of good qualities in him and I think he can do a lot of damage to defenders. “He still has to learn but he has what is required and I think everyone here believes that.” Meanwhile, John Heitinga says he wants to play for Ajax again before he hangs up his boots. The Blues defender left the Dutch club in 2008 to join Atletico Madrid before moving to Goodison a year later. “I’m eager to return to Ajax later on in my career but I want to play abroad for a few more years first,” he said. * Everton will face Wolves in the third round of the FA Youth Cup at the Stobart Stadium on Wednesday, December 1 (7pm).
Yakubu ready to hit scoring heights with Everton once again
Nov 18 2010 by Phil Kirkbride, Liverpool Echo
The Nigerian international has found the back of the net just once this season, scoring the winning goal against Stoke City, but is confident his return to peak form is not far off. In the 2007/08 season Yakubu became the first Goodison striker to bag over 20 goals in a league season since Peter Beardsley and feels the competition for places with David Moyes' squad will drive him towards those heights once more.
“I always believe I can score and I believe I can score goals like I did here before,” said Yakubu. “Even when I don't score I feel I am not under pressure because I honestly believe I will score no matter what. “As a striker you need goals, they give you that confidence. When you start scoring you start to look fresher in games. For me to score means a lot and I think there is more to come. “I think my fitness now is really good, much better than last season, even better than two seasons ago.
“When you are fit it shows in your performance on the pitch. You aren't tired, you want the ball and you want to run. If you play for Everton, you have to be fit.”
“We have competition in the team, Louis Saha is a good striker, then there is Jermaine Beckford and Victor Anichebe, so I have to fight for my place. “For me, it's a challenge. When you have people behind you and by your side and they are watching you and looking to take you place then it is a challenge. "You have to work harder on the pitch and give everything. “For me to play, I have to take my chances when I get them. I need to keep working hard and hopefully I can start scoring regularly.”
Yakubu: I’m ready to fire for Everton FC
Nov 18 2010 Liverpool Daily Post
YAKUBU is convinced he can repeat his debut season heroics and help a misfiring Everton rediscover their scoring touch. Yakubu became the first Everton player since Peter Beardsley to score 20 goals in a season after netting 21 times after arriving from Middlesbrough shortly after the start of the 2007-08 campaign. However, the experienced 27-year-old's progress was checked by a serious Achilles injury in November 2008 and subsequent slow return to fitness. Having taken time to rediscover his sharpness after the World Cup, Yakubu recently started seven consecutive games but returned to the bench for Everton's last two outings.
And while his only strike of the campaign was last month's winner against Stoke City, the Nigeria international believes he is in the mood to bolster an Everton side that has scored just 14 times in 13 Premier League games this season. “I always believe I can score and I believe I can score goals like I did here before,” said Yakubu. “Even when I don't score I feel I am not under pressure because I honestly believe I will score no matter what. “As a striker you need goals, they give you that confidence. When you start scoring you start to look fresher in games. For me to score means a lot and I think there is more to come. “I think my fitness now is really good, much better than last season, even better than two seasons ago. “When you are fit it shows in your performance on the pitch. You aren't tired, you want the ball and you want to run. If you play for Everton, you have to be fit.” With Moyes rotating his strikers during the past week, Yakubu has come under extra pressure for his place. Louis Saha has started the last two games while Jermaine Beckford stepped off the bench to net a superb last-gasp equaliser that earned a point against Bolton Wanderers last Wednesday,
And Yakubu added: “We have competition in the team, Louis Saha is a good striker, then there is Jermaine Beckford and Victor Anichebe, so I have to fight for my place.
“For me, it's a challenge. When you have people behind you and by your side and they are watching you and looking to take you place then it is a challenge. You have to work harder on the pitch and give everything. “For me to play, I have to take my chances when I get them. I need to keep working hard and hopefully I can start scoring regularly.” Saha has not scored in the Premier League since netting twice in the 2-1 win over Chelsea back in February. But the 32-year-old believes he needs only a rub of the green to once again be back among the goals. “The season has been really hard for me,” said Saha. “I have had my share of injuries and it has been difficult.
“Also when I have had chances to play I don’t think I have had much luck – when I have had sights of goal then shots have been blocked or deflected. “It is important to get that first goal, it gets you underway. I would rather not be sharp and scoring goals with tap-ins and so forth but it doesn’t happen like that,” added the Everton striker.
Bluewatch: Everton FC making moves in right direction off the field
Nov 18 2010 Liverpool Daily Post
YOU have to feel for the suits at Everton sometimes. They get loads of stick whenever anything bad happens, and even when there is some positive news, like Robert Elstone announcing the go ahead for the all singing, all dancing creation in the Park End car park, no one really seems to be able to muster much excitement thanks to events on the pitch. Fair play to Elstone though, and whoever else is involved, for dusting themselves down and getting on with the job in hand so quickly after seeing the Kirkby project they had invested so much energy in evaporate into thin air like, well like all the ground moves that preceded it. It’s easy sometimes as supporters to criticise and to dream up ideas that we think the club are blind or stupid for ignoring, but we have the luxury of not having to deal with the real-world logistics and financial realities that Elstone and his staff do. There have been genuine strides forward in recent years in terms of ticketing and customer service, even if we will all still have our individual bugbears and areas where we see room for improvement.
Hopefully this latest venture, this big blue cube, proves a great success for the club and some much needed local jobs too. Going back to the rather touchy subject of the football, it seems as if all the goodwill accrued when beating Liverpool – which seems no great feat at the moment – has been well and truly used up. We’re back to where we were a month or so ago now, trying to pinpoint the exact problems and how they can be resolved. A team of Everton’s resources needs its best players to be on top of their game to compete with the top sides like Arsenal, and very few were on Sunday. There are real issues up front, where only Tim Cahill seems to pose any threat, while Mikel Arteta again underwhelmed and his midfield partner Johnny Heitinga had an abysmal game. The Dutchman was wearing what is commonly known as a ‘Torres face’ – the moody, petulant look of a player who desperately wants to be somewhere else, and it would surprise no one if we looked to move him on in January. Perhaps we could throw in Diniyar Bilyaletdinov on the cheap as well, like they do with bars of chocolate in WH Smiths when you buy a paper. See, it’s easy this running a club business.
Sunderland v Everton FC match preview
Nov 18 2010 By Alastair Machray
Everton's last five games
November 14: Prmier League - Everton 1 Arsenal 2
Nov 10: Premier League - Everton 1 Bolton 1
Nov 6: Premier League - Blackpool 2 Everton 2
Oct 30: Premier League - Everton 1 Stoke 0
Oct 23: Premier League- Tottenham 1 Everton 1
Sunderland's last five games
Nov 14: Permier League: Chelsea 0 Sunderland 3
Nov 9: Tottenham 1 Sunderland 1
Nov 6: Premier League - Sunderland 2 Stoke 0
Oct 31: Premier League Newcastle 5 Sunderland 1
Oct 23: Premier League- Sunderland 1 Aston Villa 0
Past matches
Everton's overall record against Sunderland
P 167 W 74 D27 L 66 Goals for 286 Goals against 264
Selected matches
27 January 2010: Everton 2 Sunderland 0
36,631 fans wartched Everton ease to a 2-0 victory. Tim Cahill was on target along with American ace Landon Donovan, settling nicely into the Premiership.
24 November 2007 2010: Everton 7 Sunderland 1
Dominic King's Echo match report recalls that the hapless Wearsiders got off lightly. They were sliced apart by some great Blues passing and running. The men with their shooting boots on were Yakubu and Cahill who grabbed a couple each with cool finishes, and goals also came from Pienaar, Osman and the wholehearted Andrew Johnson.
26 December 1999: Everton 5 Sunderland 0
The Boxing Day massacre No festive cheer for the visitors from the North East as that son of Scotland Don Hutchison grabbed two goals. Also on target werer Mark Pembridge, Kevin Campbell and Frannie Jeffers.
Ones to watch Everton
Louis Saha is certainly due a goal as he goes into the match on the back of a nine-month Premier League drought. One person who has broken his duck is Jermaine Beckford who got off the mark for Blues with his last-gasp equaliser aginst Bolton. He will be anxious to build on this. Titus Bramble and Michael Turner struggled badly against Newcastle's Andy Carroll last month so Tim Cahill may prosper in the air.
Sunderland
Kieran Richardson was a key factor on the flank as Sunderland upset the odds by thrashing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. He and Bolo Zenden were in inspired form and their menace meant space and goals for the impressive Danny Welbeck and Asamoah Gyan.
Injuries/Suspension
Everton
Injured
Victor Anichebe - knee
Leon Osman - ankle
Sunderland
Darren Bent - hamstring
John Mensah - shoulder
Andy Reid - hamstring
Frazer Campbell - knee
Suspended
Everton
Marouane Fellaini
Odds
Everton 19/10
Draw 11/5
Gary Rowell: Now Sunderland must be on their guard against Everton
Sunderland Echo
November 18 2010
AMID all the euphoria over a game against Chelsea which will be talked about for years to come, we shouldn’t forget the visit of Everton to Sunderland next Monday.
It’s unfortunate that the game is 48 hours later than the start of the weekend’s programme. After a performance like that at Chelsea, Steve Bruce would have loved to have a straightforward 3pm kick-off. We all know what to expect. Everton will come to spoil the party. But it’s a great game in prospect because both sides have a similar emphasis on workrate and determination. It will be a hard, tough game but I’m sure Sunderland will fancy their chances, given their excellent home record, their displays against the top teams this season, and the high they’ll be on from the Chelsea game.
Coleman decision makes no sense
By Paul Hyland The Evening Herald
Thursday November 18 2010
POOR crowd, poor result and poor Seamus Coleman. Giovanni Trapattoni kept Ireland's most exciting prospect under lock and key on the Aviva bench against Norway and it is very difficult to understand why. Worse than that, Trapattoni threw away a chance to blood one of Ireland's few Premier League regulars to protect a 1-1 draw in a friendly international and then lost the game anyway. At the best of times, Trapattoni struggles to communicate his message but it didn't matter what language he used to explain Coleman's omission because it made no sense. "At that moment, we had a good balance and I thought about playing Foley in front of Coleman but I didn't want to change too much and we were happy with the draw at that stage," said Trapattoni. Perhaps in a competitive game there is justification for such caution but when there is nothing at stake and a crowd to be entertained, there is none.
Trap won't care, though, and he walked away from the Aviva with three positives.
There was Shane Long's performance, clearance from FIFA to cap Ciaran Clark and an injury to Joe Hart which might allow ring-rusty Shay Given another chance at Eastlands. - Paul Hyland
Steven Pienaar set to snub January move to Sevilla as Everton midfielder looks to leave on a free
Daily Mail18th November 2010
Time out: Steven Pienaar has six months to go on
his deal at Everton and could leave on a free transfer
Sevilla look set to be disappointed in a move for Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar.
The Spanish side are planning talks with the Toffees about a cut-price January bid.
But the South Africa international is likely to snub any offer this winter as he moves into the final six months of his contract. The 28-year-old is not short of offers. Tottenham and Liverpool are both keen, while Rafa Benitez would be keen to take him to Inter Milan if he can hang on to his job. Everton resisted bids in the summer as they tried to reach a breakthrough in contract talks, but little progress has been made.
Trapattoni defends decision not to blood Everton ace Coleman
By Brendan O’Brien The Irish Examiner
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Last night produced another defeat for an Irish team at the venue and yet again the ‘action’ was played out against a backdrop of thousands of empty seats. Remember how we thought the place wouldn’t cope with the demand for tickets? All that seems a long time ago now after the birthing pains experienced by Giovanni Trapattoni and Declan Kidney’s sides in their swanky new Ballsbridge home but the minor chorus of boos which accompanied the final whistle were harsh. What did people expect from a November friendly? Norway earned their victory with two tasty goals but the result was unjust on an Irish side that held possession for long periods and had the better chances against a side ranked over 20 places above them by FIFA. "I was a little bit afraid about the last minutes," said Trapattoni. "My feeling was we had three or four players on the pitch who weren’t playing with their clubs. Our condition in the last few minutes didn’t have rhythm. I was disappointed with the result." The biggest grumble should have centred, not on the result or Ireland’s performance, but on Trapattoni’s failure to hand a senior international debut to Everton’s Seamus Coleman despite having stated his intention to play him two days ago. Yet, Trapattoni defended his absence from proceedings last night. "It was important to have on the pitch a team with balance, with some players who have experience and not only players who are 21. It is not easy to get players playing as you want after only two days. It is no good if we lose two or three-nil. I said I would look at players but at this moment the team was playing well. Norway had no shot for almost 45 minutes in the second-half." It was nonetheless a useful testing ground for the Italian who, with eight players having pulled out of the squad, fielded an unfamiliar starting 11 and made ample use of his bench as the evening unfolded. Greg Cunningham and Darren O’Dea brought their collection of caps to three apiece, Stephen Kelly got a rare start, Keith Fahey trialled in the engine room and Shane Long built on his recent growth spurt with club and country. Add in Stephen Hunt’s first international appearance since the Thierry Henry controversy a year ago and Jonathan Walters’ arrival on the senior international scene and there were more than enough morsels to nibble over. "I saw the personality of players like Cunningham, Walters and Fahey in the positions and they played very well. I had a little doubt about (Fahey) in this position but he played very well and with great personality. Walters the same and Long." Norway manager Egil Olsen admitted that his side had been "a bit lucky" to claim the win. "A draw would have been okay,’’ he said. "After a poor first 15 minutes we came into the match quite well but in the second-half it was not very good. We had great problems defensively and we were a bit lucky to win the match even if the counter-attack for the winning goal was perfect.’’
Landon Donovan will deliver his decision on Everton future after a holiday
Nov 19 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
JACK RODWELL is prepared to bide his time as he bids for only his second Premier League start of the season at Sunderland on Monday. Everton’s talented young midfielder limped off injured at Aston Villa in August and has been recuperating from an ankle injury ever since. But after an ahead of schedule substitute appearance against Arsenal last Sunday Rodwell got another 66 minutes under his belt for England under-21s in midweek. “The legs felt a bit tired in the end, as I’ve been out for nine weeks injured,” he said.
“But it was good to get back out on the pitch with the Under-21s and I’m happy.
“It was tough when we went down to 10 men, but we dug in and it was an okay performance in the end, but we know we can do better. “It was a young squad with new faces, so it’s a learning curve for us and we’re just preparing for the Championships now.” Rodwell is likely to be on the substitutes’ bench again on Monday night at the Stadium of Light, with John Heitinga continuing in the midfield holding role. The Dutchman played the full 90 minutes of Wednesday’s friendly in Amsterdam against Turkey, and issued his now customary interest in a move elsewhere. But happily this time Heitinga was speaking about the distant future when he said: “There’s a big chance that I’ll return to Ajax one day. It’s too soon to move back to Amsterdam already though. “ I don’t know when I’ll return, but I left only three seasons ago. “I’m eager to return to Ajax later on in my career, but I want to play abroad for a few more years first.” Blues loan target Landon Donovan, meanwhile, has promised to give David Moyes a decision on whether he will return to Merseyside this winter after he returns from holiday. Donovan was an unqualified success on loan at Goodison last season, but has now played non-stop football for more than two years. He explained: “Give me a few weeks and I will have an answer for you. Right now I’m four days into my vacation and I’m going to enjoy it. “I’m going to chill and then in a few weeks I will make a decision. Both personally and professionally I would have to say it’s been the best year of my life. “This time of year, I guess, is the time to reflect on it and realise how special this was.” Finally, Blues boss David Moyes, has praised the improvement of unsung Blues hero Sylvain Distin.
The French defender has been ever present this season and Moyes said: “I think Sylvain has improved since he has been here. He might admit he had a slightly slow start here. “But he looks like a senior player now.”
Everton Ladies to find out Champions League quarter-final opponents
Nov 19 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON Ladies find out the identity of their Champions League quarter-final opponents today. The draw takes place in Nyon, Switzerland, with the pairings for the semi-finals drawn at the same time. Everton qualified from the round of 16 in style with a 5-2 aggregate crushing of Danish side Brondby IF and will now face a two-legged quarter-final in March next year.
Quarter-finalists: FFC Turbine Potsdam (GER, holders), Arsenal LFC (ENG), Everton (ENG), FCF Juvisy-Essonne (FRA), FCR 2001 Duisburg (GER), Linköpings FC (SWE), Olympique Lyonnais (FRA), Zvezda-2005 (RUS).
Time for Everton FC to follow Barcelona model
Nov 19 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON pride themselves on being a club of firsts.
They were the first club to proudly take possession of the League Championship trophy and the first to present medals for winning it; they were the first club to stage an FA Cup final; the first to be visited by a reigning monarch; first to issue a matchday programme; first to wear shirts numbered 1-11; first to win a penalty shoot-out in Europe and the first to use dug-outs . They were also, proudly, the first football club to set up a registered charity to aid its former players. But the Blues have been beaten to the punch this week by another club which has its roots here on Merseyside.
Barcelona – created by a couple of Merchant Taylors’ old boys – followed Everton’s model when they set up their own Former Players’ Foundation. But this week – in the marquee at Goodison Park – Barca’s Ramon Alfonseda revealed that from now on 0.5 per cent of every player’s salary at the Nou Camp would go into its Former Player Foundation coffers.Half a per cent is the kind of fraction modern day Galacticos wouldn’t miss. But with Lionel Messi earning a reported £570,000 a week – that’s £148,200 diverted every year into the Barca Former Players’ fund from his wages alone – or one hell of a lot of hip replacements. It’s the kind of classy gesture you’d expect from a club which donates 1.5m euros to children’s charity UNICEF every year for the privilege of advertising the charity on its shirt. Everton have also been a club which prides itself on doing things the right way. Would pledging half a per cent of every Everton first team player’s wages to their magnificent Former Players Foundation be such a controversial suggestion? In this instance coming second would be absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. In fact they would still be the first club in this country to take such a salutary step. Come on Everton, time to be trailblazers once again.
Former Everton FC right-back John Barton backing Seamus Coleman to shine
Nov 19 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
Former Everton FC right-back John Barton backing Seamus Coleman to shine
JOHN BARTON knows exactly what it will take for Seamus Coleman to make a success. Because he trod a similar career path. Barton was a swashbuckling right-back who made the leap from non-league Worcester City to top flight football in 1979. A breath of fresh air when he burst onto the Goodison scene – after just three appearances no less an authority than Colin Todd was already predicting an international future – it was only a cruel leg break which curtailed his Everton career.
Coleman has made similar strides. Just as comfortable going forward, he has seamlessly made the transition from Sligo Rovers to top flight football and this week sat on the Republic of Ireland substitutes’ bench during their international friendly against Norway. Barton was back at Goodison Park this week, almost 30 years after his promising Blues career had ended, as a guest at the Everton Former Players’ Foundation anniversary dinner. But he is still involved in football and predicted a bright future for his modern day counterpart. “I’ve seen him a couple of times when he was on-loan at Blackpool and he looks a good player who certainly likes to get forward,” he declared. “I was better at that end of the pitch rather than the other! But Seamus looks comfortable at both ends. “I see he's playing in midfield at the moment and he will benefit from having players like Phil Neville behind him. When you're at that stage of your development it's important who you have around you.
“I had Colin Todd to my left, Martin Dobson in front of me and that's not a bad wraparound is it? “I was just delighted to get my opportunity when I did. It is a big step up from non-league to the First Division. But they were good days.
“I'd like to be in his position now just starting out again but you can't turn the clock back! “Getting forward was always a big part of my game and I'm looking forward to seeing how Seamus develops.” Barton was snapped up by Gordon Lee from Worcester City in December 1978 for a then record transfer fee for a non-league player of £30,000. Within three months he was a first team regular.Terry Darracott, Neil Robinson, Colin Todd and Billy Wright had all been tried at right-back during a season Everton led the First Division for long periods but ultimately dropped to fourth, but after a sparkling appearance as a substitute in a home match against Norwich City, Barton started all of the final nine games. He was the man in possession at the start of the following season, too, until a broken ankle at Coventry tolled the death knell for his top flight career. The fracture didn’t heal properly and a six week lay-off stretched to more than a year. Nicknamed ‘Special Agent’ after namesake Dick Barton, by the time he was fit again promising youngsters Brian Borrows and Gary Stevens had broken through and were competing for the full-back jersey and Barton returned to the Midlands at Derby. “Although I played less than 30 games for Everton it is still an honour to say you have played for a club of that stature. They are a fabulous club. The affection for them will always be there,” he said.
Nowadays Barton is back in the Midlands working for League Football Education, which is a partnership with the Football League and the FA. “It provides an educational framework for apprentices in the Football League,” he said. “I don't get up that often because of work commitments but I do get to a couple of games a season and that doesn't stop me keeping an eye on how they're doing.”
And that interested eye has certainly enjoyed what he has seen of his modern day counterpart, the rampaging right-back that is Seamus Coleman.
Everton FC's Jack Rodwell happy to wait for Premier League start
Nov 19 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
JACK RODWELL is prepared to bide his time as he bids for only his second Premier League start of the season at Sunderland on Monday. Everton’s talented young midfielder limped off injured at Aston Villa in August and has been recuperating from an ankle injury ever since. But after an ahead of schedule substitute appearance against Arsenal last Sunday Rodwell got another 66 minutes under his belt for England under-21s in midweek, a run-out in which he had to work even harder with England reduced to 10-men early in the second half in Germany. “The legs felt a bit tired in the end, as I’ve been out for nine weeks injured,” he said. “But it was good to get back out on the pitch with the Under-21s and I’m happy. “It was tough when we went down to 10 men, but we dug in and it was an okay performance in the end, but we know we can do better. “It was a young squad with new faces, so it’s a learning curve for us and we’re just preparing for the Championships now.” Rodwell is likely to be on the substitutes’ bench again on Monday night at the Stadium of Light, with John Heitinga continuing in the midfield holding role. The Dutchman played the full 90 minutes of Wednesday’s friendly in Amsterdam against Turkey, and issued his now customary interest in a move elsewhere. But happily this time Heitinga was speaking about the distant future when he said: “There’s a big chance that I’ll return to Ajax one day. It’s too soon to move back to Amsterdam already though. I don’t know when I’ll return, but I left only three seasons ago. “I’m eager to return to Ajax later on in my career, but I want to play abroad for a few more years first.” Blues loan target Landon Donovan, meanwhile, has promised to give David Moyes a decision on whether he will return to Merseyside this winter after he returns from holiday. Donovan was an unqualified success on loan at Goodison last season, but has now played non-stop football for more than two years. He explained: “Give me a few weeks and I will have an answer for you. “Right now I’m four days into my vacation and I’m going to enjoy it. “I’m going to chill and then in a few weeks I will make a decision. Both personally and professionally I would have to say it’s been the best year of my life. “This time of year, I guess, is the time to reflect on it and realise how special this was.”
Landon Donovan mulling over Everton FC return chance
Nov 19 2010 by James Pearce, Liverpool Daily Post
LANDON DONOVAN insists he will decide in the “next few weeks” whether to return for a second loan spell at Everton. The USA international enjoyed a successful three-month stint at Goodison last season and manager David Moyes has made no secret of his desire to bring the LA Galaxy star back to the club in January.
Donovan is currently taking a break after his MLS campaign was ended by a 3-0 defeat at the hands of FC Dallas in the Western Conference final last weekend.
The 28-year-old is in no rush to make a decision about his future as he puts his feet up at the end of a gruelling year. “Give me a few weeks and I will have an answer for you,” Donovan said. “Right now I’m four days into my vacation and I’m going to enjoy it. “I’m going to chill and then in a few weeks I will make a decision.”
Donovan has enjoyed a year to remember which started with an impressive spell with Everton. He scored twice in 13 appearances and established himself as a firm fans’ favourite. Donovan went on to shine at the World Cup finals in South Africa where his three goals led the Americans to the last 16 and enhanced his blossoming reputation. On his return to his homeland Donovan inspired Galaxy to the MLS divisional play-offs. “Both personally and professionally I would have to say it's been the best year of my life,” he added. “This time of year, I guess, is the time to reflect on it and realise how special this was.” Meanwhile, Everton manager Moyes has paid tribute to in-form centre-back Sylvain Distin. The French defender endured a difficult start to life at Goodison after joining from Portsmouth in August last year but he has grown in stature and has been one of the club’s top performers in recent weeks.
“I think Sylvain has improved since he has been here,” Moyes said. “I think he might admit he had a slightly slow start here. I think he would say he was a bit short of what was required. “But I see him now, the way he trains and the way he looks after himself, the way he works in the gym and I think he looks like a senior player now and he conducts himself in a really good way. “We needed to replace Joleon Lescott and I think we did that. I think on the whole it has been pretty seamless.”
Meanwhile, Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has defended his decision not to hand a debut to Seamus Coleman against Norway on Wednesday night. The youngster has been in excellent form for Everton and was expected to play some part in the friendly.
“It was important to have on the pitch a team with balance, with some players who have experience and not only players who are 21,” he said. “I said I would look at players but at this moment the team was playing we
Barry Horne: Still time for FIFA to get World Cup bid right
Nov 20 2010 by Barry Horne, Liverpool Echo
THE FIFA synopsis of the rival World Cup 2018 bids, published this week, pointed to the problems with each. The Russian bid cited the huge distances to travel, possible infrastructure problems and maybe security. The England bid, however, hadn’t set aside enough hotels for FIFA officials. Which one would you think is the most important? It is no surprise that FIFA are criticising the BBC for criticising them. Neither is it any surprise that instead of looking at themselves, they are seeking to defuse the controversy by criticising the fact that we have a free press and free speech in this country – a free press that doesn’t particularly like the way FIFA does its business. World football’s governing body is placing obstacles in front of what, to most sensible observers in a time of worldwide austerity, has to be by far and away the best bid. Stadia, road transport links, and hotels are all already in place here, which are surely the most fundamental and important criteria. FIFA will no doubt say they can police themselves effectively, holding up recent events with the suspended Amos Adamu and Reynald Temarii as proof. The fact of the matter is, though, that FIFA were presented with a more or less proven case and had little choice but to suspend the duo. We live in hope that FIFA has enough decency and nous to award the bid to England anyway. If they do, it will reflect well on them as an august and decent body.
Barry Horne: Full Backs for the future
Nov 20 2010 by Barry Horne, Liverpool Echo
WHEN I was at school, full-back was a position to be played only when you couldn’t get a game anywhere else, marginally ahead of having to go in goal! Joking apart, even in recent times a manager with a serious team rebuilding operation ahead of him is unlikely to look at either full-back position as his number one priority. Yet more and more the position is becoming increasingly influential and the quality of full-backs is often a very good barometer to the general health of the team. Look at Abidal at Barcelona, Maicon at Inter, the contributions made to Chelsea’s fantastic start to the season by Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa, the performances of Bacary Sagna and Gael Clichy at Arsenal and Patrice Evra at Manchester United. All are complete footballers and great assets to their side’s attacking efforts. And you can add Everton’s Leighton Baines to that list. It’s not really my place to talk about England and I know many Merseyside football fans are less enthusiastic about the national team than in other parts of the country, but the full-backs told the whole sorry tale of England on Wednesday night. Phil Jagielka has played full-back on numerous occasions and is an able deputy in that role. He is also a great professional in that he is willing to play there for his country. But he aint a full back. At no point on Wednesday evening against France were we expecting to see him play one-twos, taking people on and getting to the byline or into the penalty area. What was even more remarkable was that when Micah Richards came on, the two didn’t swap positions. I’ve watched Micah since he was 17 play brilliantly in that role. On the other flank we had Kieran Gibbs. I remember seeing one of Kieran’s very first Premier League outings here in the North West when he had an absolute nightmare. Since then he has managed a handful of first team games and a lot of reserve team outings. Hardly sufficient for anyone to judge his international credibility. The fact that he played second fiddle to a man sitting on the French bench said it all. Would Joleon Lescott not have been a better left back having excelled there on so many occasions for Everton? Throw in the injury plagued and seriously over-rated Rio Ferdinand and England’s bright new future already looks past its sell by date.
Seamus Coleman benching causes Irish media row
Nov 20 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
IF Seamus Coleman’s non-selection for the Republic of Ireland caused raised eyebrows this side of the Irish Sea in midweek, that was nothing to the furore it has sparked over in the Emerald Isle. Under a banner headline ‘Pointless’ The Irish Independent asked yesterday: ‘Why was Seamus Coleman an unused substitute?’
It then went on: “The question on everybody’s lips. Trapattoni was asked about the logic on at least three separate occasions and his answer can be summarised as follows: “Basically, when Darren O’Dea went off injured, the instant decision was made to bring Stephen Kelly inside to centre-half alongside John O’Shea, thus leaving a vacancy. “Kevin Foley – overdue a second cap – was introduced as a right-back at that point, but the manager’s intention was to bring the Wolves man into midfield a few minutes later to step in for either Keith Fahey or Glenn Whelan. That would have paved the way for Coleman to be brought in at right-back. “That’s the only position where Trapattoni wants to see him, for while the 22-year-old is being deployed as a winger by David Moyes at the moment, the Irish boss feels he is well subscribed in that department. “However, with the game poised at 1-1, Trapattoni decided to leave things as they were, rather than instigating another reshuffle by summoning Coleman.
“ ‘The draw was enough,’ said Trapattoni. ‘I wish to win and if I had made this change and we lose, I would ask myself: Why did I make this change? That is football’. ” “So, in other words, Trapattoni felt Ireland had something to lose. Baffling, when there was a gilt-edged chance to see Coleman play at international level. The logic is extremely dubious.” About as dubious as the English logic employed in selecting Kieran Gibbs and Stephen Warnock ahead of Leighton Baines, one of Everton’s most consistent performers this season, and using Phil Jagielka at right-back against France. And international managers wonder why they sometimes struggle to receive co-operation from their club counterparts when it comes to releasing players for international call-ups.
Everton FC prove that charity begins at home at Former Players' Foundation's 10th birthday party
Nov 20 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
IN modern transfer terms, it was a gathering of talent worth hundreds of millions. Even adding up the transfer fees they originally cost Everton Football Club, it was still a multi-million pound assembly. But mere money couldn’t buy the feelgood factor that washed around the Goodison Park marquee on Monday night.There was one British record transfer fee, three club record buys, Britain’s most expensive defender, the record fee paid for a non-league footballer, one World Cup winner, more League and FA Cup winners than you could count on the fingers of Drew Brand’s hands (he was the only goalkeeper in the house) – all watched over by the managers responsible for the last nine pieces of silverware brought to Goodison Park. It was an unashamedly nostalgic night – to pay tribute to a body which services the needs of Everton’s heroes from yesteryear. The Everton Former Players’ Foundation celebrated its 10th birthday last week – one of the final functions to be staged in the Park End marquee before the new £9m development gets under way. Many of the players who were called on to the stage were quick to emphasise just how important the Foundation has been in their lives. And a special message was read out from Alex Young, who wrote: “The foundation has quite literally changed my life.” He’s not alone in that respect, although a great many of the recipients of the Foundation’s charity prefer not to advertise the help they have received. The night was given special significance by the attendance of EFPA (European Former Players Association) representative Ramon Alfonseda from FC Barcelona. He spoke about the importance of the Everton Former Players’ Foundation in founding EFPA. And he also delivered a wonderfully classy gesture from Barca, that all players at FC Barcelona have now agreed to donate 0.5% of their wages to the Barcelona Former Players Foundation.
From little acorns do enormous international aid organisations grow. I can still recall the moment David France dragged me over from the Echo offices, sat me down at the Albany Steakhouse on Old Hall Street (now luxury apartments) and excitedly told me about his latest brainchild – a registered charity to raise money for Everton heroes who had received the richest of adoration, but the faintest of financial rewards. ironically the seed of the idea came from a chance meeting with Jim Hoey – a rugby league legend. Dr France, then a humble gas fitter, was servicing the gas fire of a man who had scored in every Widnes match during the 1932-33 season. The motivation came from David’s meetings with his own former heroes who were clearly experiencing hard times. Lawyers Norman Jones and Laurence Lee provided the legal expertise – in fact Norman had to doggedly apply to register the Foundation on four separate occasions before the application was successful.The first significant contributions came from Bill Kenwright and Walter Smith (unsolicited) – then the club generously agreed to install a pre-season friendly every other year as a Foundation fund-raiser. Since then the Foundation has gone from strength to strength, thanks in no small part to the untiring efforts of the Rev Harry Ross and his willing band of trustees (special mention here to secretary Pat Labone, widow of the man who helped David France construct the Foundation). Every single penny raised is used to improve the lot of former favourites. And David tells a funny tale about a couple of his own favourites. “Gordon West opened his heart in 2001 and spoke with rare emotion and genuine humility about the work of the Foundation,” he recalled. “Life hadn’t always been kind to him and I vowed to get him back on his feet. But there was one obvious problem; the keeper had ballooned to 20-odd stone. “After Brian Labone and I had ushered him into a suit shop in the city centre the salesman measured him. Brian asked: ‘What size are you, Gordon?’ The salesman responded ‘58 regular.’ As quick as a flash Brian retorted: ‘There is nothing bloody regular about being 58 Regular.’ ” There’s also nothing regular about a registered charity set up solely to help former footballers in need of medical or other support. Such is the wealth of the modern Premier League footballer that there will come a time when the Foundation becomes redundant. But until then . . . Happy Birthday and here’s to the next 10 years!
Everton FC manager David Moyes desperate to see Blues' strikers hit form at Sunderland
Nov 20 2010 by James Pearce, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES would be forgiven for casting an admiring glance at Sunderland’s attacking options. Having spent £10million for Darren Bent from Tottenham last year, Black Cats boss Steve Bruce was able to shell out a club record £13million for Ghana international Asamoah Gyan from Rennes this summer. Both have played starring roles in Sunderland’s impressive start to the campaign which has led them to sixth in the Premier League on the back of last weekend’s remarkable demolition of Chelsea. Bent, who is in line to return against Everton on Monday night after a hamstring injury, has already netted eight times, while Gyan has stepped up to the plate in recent weeks with four goals in the last three games to take his tally to six. In stark contrast Moyes’ frontmen can’t buy a goal. Louis Saha hasn’t scored in the league for nine months, while Yakubu and Jermaine Beckford have just one apiece this season. Just 14 goals scored in 13 league games so far explains why Everton find themselves in the bottom half of the table. However, rather than envy his rivals’ greater financial muscle, Moyes insists he’s focused on getting the best out of what he’s got at Everton. “Sunderland have got some exciting forwards,” he said. “They’ve spent money and decided to have a go for it. “They’ve spent money on Bent and Gyan and also taken Danny Welbeck on loan (from Manchester United).“Is that the difference? I don’t know. We always knew we could be a bit short at the top end. If we could have we would have tried to add more there in the summer. “But I’ve got to make sure I motivate and promote the players I’ve got and I’ll continue to do that.” Last Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal ended the Blues’ seven-game unbeaten run. Having started with just Saha up front, Moyes introduced both Beckford and Yakubu midway through the second half. The injection of attacking impetus led to a late revival which saw Tim Cahill halve the deficit but the manager is unlikely to deviate from his favoured system on Monday night. “If I thought it was right (to play with more strikers) I would have done it from the start,” he added. “If I’d done that and been wide open against Arsenal and lost people would have said ‘why are you doing that on the back of seven games unbeaten?’. “The fact is we hadn’t been doing an awful lot wrong. We just needed to score more goals.” Everton have a proud record against the Black Cats having won 10 and drawn two of the last 12 meetings between the clubs, including a 7-1 thrashing at Goodison three years ago. It was December 2001 the last time the Blues were beaten by Sunderland but Moyes is wary of Bruce’s side. Three weeks ago they were embarrassed 5-1 by arch rivals Newcastle but have responded in style with victory over Stoke followed by a point at Tottenham before last Sunday’s stunning win at Stamford Bridge. “That was a great result for Sunderland and they’ve bounced back really well from the defeat to Newcastle,” Moyes said. “Steve has turned them around but I didn’t think they were ever a bad team. They just had one bad result and have put that right. “We’ve got a decent record against them and hopefully we can keep that going but we won’t underestimate Sunderland. “We were on a decent run before we lost to Arsenal and the defeat was to a good team. It was tight and we still had a good chance at the end.” There was relief for Moyes yesterday after his international contingent returned from the midweek friendlies unscathed. Long-term absentees Victor Anichebe and Leon Osman are still out, while Marouane Fellaini serves the second of a three-game suspension. “We’re waiting on Steven Pienaar to get back but everyone else has returned fit and well,” Moyes said. “I’m not mad keen on Monday night games. If you ask players or managers, it’s not the slot we would pick but I know it’s attractive to people sitting watching at home.” Meanwhile, Black Cats boss Bruce has told his Sunderland players to forget about their heroics at Chelsea. He said: “Apart from the Newcastle debacle, we have been playing very well. That’s the top seven we have played against and been undefeated. We have played very well against Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, without maybe that cutting edge. “On Sunday, we had that cutting edge where every time we went forward, we looked a threat. “To have 18 attempts on Chelsea’s goal is remarkable. I think I have had 18 attempts in 10 years. It was a wonderful performance but it’s history and we must look forward to the next game. We have hit standards we hope we can keep setting.”
Everton FC boss David Moyes wants compensation for “massive” loss of Tim Cahill to Asian Cup
Nov 20 2010 by James Pearce, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES believes Everton should be compensated for the “massive” loss of Tim Cahill at a crucial stage of the season. The Blues could be without their top scorer for up to six weeks from next month due to his commitments with Australia in the Asian Cup. The tournament in Qatar runs from January 7 to 29 but the Socceroos want Cahill to attend a pre-Christmas training camp. Moyes is powerless to prevent Cahill going but insists Everton shouldn’t have to pay his wages while he’s away. “They are due to take Tim in mid to late December and depending how far they go in the tournament will determine how long he is away,” Moyes said. “I’m trying to delay him going until January and will do the best I can but I think it’s unfair. “I just feel in this world where the money is so tight for clubs, someone might say if you want to play in that tournament then there will be no wages in that month. We can't stop you playing for your country, but maybe there are no wages. “You cannot turn round and say ‘bring yourself in line with us’ because their weather or their seasons are different from us. “You can't ask them to change, but maybe if you are going to take the player away in the middle of the season should a club get reimbursed? “If that was the case I don't think it would happen because those countries can't afford to. “If 10 Australian players were playing in Europe then surely they couldn't afford to pay their wages each for a month. “If you were an owner of a club you would be disappointed about paying the wages of these players and not getting the benefit of them at that time.” Moyes is used to losing African players to the African Cup of Nations during the Premier League season but this will be the first time Cahill, who has already netted six goals this term, has departed for an extended period. Australia have only been part of the Asian confederation since they made the switch from Oceania three years ago. Cahill played in the 2007 Asian Cup but that was held during the summer and had no impact on the Blues. Moyes added: “We sign African players and we accept that they will be away to the African Cup of Nations, but when we signed Tim Australia weren’t in Asia’s pool so we didn’t expect to be missing him. “Tim is massively important for us and is going to be a really big miss. When we don’t have him we miss him. I cannot do anything about it. “All I hope is that I get as much time with him before he goes away or sadly you start hoping they get knocked out of the tournament because you get them back quicker. “These competitions in the middle of the season are really a hindrance.” Meanwhile, Moyes has refused to rule out selling defender John Heitinga in the January transfer window. The Dutch international, who has been linked with German clubs Bayern Munich and Wolfsburg, was taken off at half-time in last Sunday’s 2-1 defeat to Arsenal. Moyes recently urged Heitinga to regain his focus after a string of poor display following the World Cup finals. Asked if Heitinga would leave Goodison in January, he said: “I don’t know. We have had no offers, but you hear bits of rumours like everyone else. There has been no official contact from anybody. “I think his character and type is one who will battle for his place, and I have no reason to think anything other than it is just speculation. I haven't heard anything officially from Johnny or any clubs. He has to get on with it. There is competition for places and he is involved in that.”
Seattle Sounders ace Steve Zakuani is set to train with Premier League Everton. The MLS season has just finished, which means many of their players will take the chance to play or train in Europe over the winter. Zakuani is one of those, and he has been invited to spend time with the Toffees. The 22-year-old began his career with Arsenal before being released and he then opted to move to America - where he has become one of the brightest prospects in MLS. He has recently turned down the chance to represent USA, instead opting for the country of his birth DR Congo, who his brother Gabriel, of Peterborough United also plays for. Zakuani, who grew up in London, is now looking forward to returning to Britain and joining up with Everton. "As for my off season plans, I plan to spend a few days in London visiting old friends and family before going up to Liverpoolto train with Everton for a few days," he revealed to the Sounders' official website .
Jack Rodwell has a bright international future ahead of him, says Everton FC manager David Moyes
Nov 22 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
JACK RODWELL goes back to where it all began tonight with manager David Moyes tipping an international future for Everton's bright young midfielder.
Rodwell made his Premier League debut at Sunderland's Stadium of Light in March 2008, three months after he became the Blues youngest ever European debutant.
And he could line up against Englands latest midfield debutant, Jordan Henderson tonight. Moyes believes that only injury has prevented Rodwell joining the Sunderland youngster in Fabio Capellos full England side. Jack will go on and play for England, he declared. But thats opinion. It might not be right at the end of the day, but my opinion is that he will go on and play for England. We will have to see.
We will keep developing him and bringing him along, but he has been injured recently and thats been the part thats hard for him or he may well have been selected for England by now. Rodwell injured his ankle against Aston Villa in August and spent eight weeks on the sidelines. During his absence Henderson made the step up from under-21s to the senior set-up ahead of schedule, but the Blues boss believes that Rodwells absence during the disappointing defeat by France last week may not have been such a blow. I heard it said Jordan Henderson needed a chance to use his youthful energy (against France) rather than pinning him down to something he is maybe not ready to do, said Moyes. I am not sure that what Jordan Henderson was asked to do is what Jordan Henderson is. Maybe you put Jack Rodwell in, but if you are not going to play him where he is at his age right now whats the point?
He may develop into something else in two or three years time, but if you ask Jack to go in now and be a defensive midfield player for England I would say it wont be the biggest thing for him. Rodwell is likely to be the on the substitutes bench this evening, with John Heitinga continuing as the holding central midfield presence in Marouane Fellainis absence.And Moyes believes that Rodwells best position is currently as an attacking midfielder. Jacks best position will be as a midfield player, but probably running forward, joining up, getting in the box and supporting in behind rather than the defensive side of things, he added. He is still young and not ready for that role yet.
With time and experience he will eventually slide back, but at the moment he would be better joining in and getting forward.
David Moyes is anticipating a tight match tonight, despite Sunderland's shock 3-0 triumph at champions Chelsea last weekend. Earlier the same afternoon Everton's seven match unbeaten run was ended by Arsenal and Moyes said: "We had been on a decent run but then had the defeat last Sunday. "Arsenal are a good team but it was still close, we still had a chance. "The games have been tight, even against the so-called top teams. "I have seen it in a lot of the games in the Premier League where it is not always going to par. You might see one or two more results like that."
Sunderland's defeat of the champions had been preceded a demoralising defeat in the North-East derby a couple of weeks earlier and Moyes added: "After the Newcastle game I think a lot of people were ridiculing them and putting them down, but there is only one way back and that is to go out and do it on the field. Steve Bruce has turned them around very quickly. "But I don't think they were ever a bad team. They had a bad result against Newcastle but they made sure they put that right. "As a manager you now want a similar performance but we don't want them to have a similar performance. "We need to go there and be hard to play against and cause them problems."
Bruce ponders Bent return for Sunderland against Everton
Nov 22 2010 Liverpool Echo
SUNDERLAND manager Steve Bruce is hoping to have to contend with a major headache when he sits down to pick his team to face Everton tonight.
Leading scorer Darren Bent returned to training last week after overcoming the hamstring injury which prevented him from holding on to his ever-present tag this season. Bruce has spent much of the time since he pulled off a s10million swoop for the former Spurs striker worrying about what would happen if he was ever missing.
However, his fears have been emphatically dismissed in the last three games, which have seen record signing Asamoah Gyan take up Bent's mantle and score four times.
With Danny Welbeck having opened his seasons account with the final goal in Sunderlands stunning 3-0 victory at Chelsea last Sunday, Bruce finds himself in the enviable position of having three in-form strikers vying for two starting berths.
He said: Darren has been fantastic for 18 months. It gives me an awful headache.
The more good players we have got available, terrific. He will give me a hell of a selection headache, but those are the kind of decisions you enjoy making.
Everton are the final member of last seasons top 10 to face Bruces team inside their opening 14 fixtures, and none of them have yet got the better of the Wearsiders.
Saha desperate for goals as Everton face Sunderland
Nov 22 2010 Liverpool Echo
LOUIS SAHA is ready to get up front and personal for Everton at Sunderland tonight.
This time last season the French striker was riding high at the top of the Blues scoring charts with eight goals, but this season has just a solitary Carling Cup strike to his name. But Saha says he has made it his personal mission to improve his output to thank the Everton fans for backing him starting tonight at the Stadium of Light.
Saha said: The relationship we have with the supporters is special and I am very grateful for the way they accept me I know I need to work harder to get back on the scoresheet. That is my aim and I want to give something back to them. It is very personal for me and I want to repay them. Even if I dont score they are always very supportive so it is important I start getting a few to help us win some games and make them happy. But the Premier League is very tough this year and there have been lots of strange results. We saw it last weekend with Sunderland beating Chelsea convincingly at Stamford Bridge nobody saw that coming. It seems that teams are able to beat anyone and it is really tough. In the past you have had the odd strange result but there have been even more this season and it seems every team has two or three players who are able to do damage to anyone. It is hard to predict and betting must be difficult for people this season. Winning at Chelsea was a massive result for Sunderland. I watched the game and they played very well. They mixed short passing with counter-attacks and hitting diagonal balls. They know how to hurt defences.
They have a few good players and I see their strike-force being a danger to any team. It is a massive boost for them to beat Chelsea but the Premier League is all about consistency and we will have a chance. We need to make sure we put in a very, very strong performance. David Moyes is also looking for a strong performance, with greater firepower from his frontmen.
Only two of Evertons league goals this term have come from strikers one each from Yakubu and Jermaine Beckford and the Blues boss wants more.
Saha did have two months out with a calf injury but, after three substitute appearances, the 32-year-old has started the last two games against Bolton and Arsenal. Moyes has been impressed with his workrate and says the Frenchman must now start to make his own luck in front of goal. He has done OK, Moyes said. He played well against Arsenal. He had one or two shots but never got the goal, but I thought he did OK. I think you make your own luck. They say the harder you work, the luckier you get, and I think there is part of that here. I also think you could do with the ball now and again dropping to you in the right place. But if you are in the right place often enough the ball does drop. The key is both things work for your luck but if you get it, take it. Everton, whose seven-game unbeaten run was ended by Arsenal last week, face their first Monday night action of the season tonight. After last weeks much-criticised international friendlies, that gives the Toffees crucial extra preparation time but Moyes has mixed feelings about the games timing.He said: I think a little bit more recovery will be vital for the ones that have played. But it does mean you dont have as much rest before your next game, so you get it the other way round. And while Monday is not a bad night to sit and watch the game on telly, when you are a manager or a player it is probably the last slot you really want.
Nevertheless we are happy to play and this is how football is now.
Everton entertain West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, but must first face a Sunderland side at the Stadium of Light bubbling after last weeks stunning defeat of Chelsea. Only last month the Wearsiders crashed to a humiliating 5-1 defeat at the hands of rivals Newcastle but manager Steve Bruce has quickly turned the situation around. The Black Cats followed up by beating Stoke and then drawing at Tottenham before producing their remarkable 3-0 success over the champions. Moyes said: In the past we have had a decent record there but we wont underestimate Sunderland, the way they are playing at the moment. This is the Premier League this year. There have been a lot of games which could have gone either way. Maybe there is more to come, maybe there will be a few more shocks. The games are pretty tight. While it is like that you have always got a chance of getting a draw, while its close youve always got a chance of a victory or defeat. A lot of the games are like that thats what makes it so exciting.
Louis Saha warns of Sunderland strikers’ threat as Everton FC manager David Moyes urges Frenchman to fire
Nov 22 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
LOUIS SAHA has warned Sunderland’s in-form strikers could wreck Everton’s remarkable record against the Wearsiders – as David Moyes urged the Frenchman to keep working to rediscover his own scoring touch. Everton travel to the Stadium of Light this evening looking to extend a run of form that has seen them take 29 points from a possible 33 against their hosts. Sunderland, though, have lost only one of their last 11 Barclays Premier League games this season during which they beaten Manchester City and drawn against Arsenal, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. Steve Bruce’s side also claimed a 3-0 win at champions and league leaders Chelsea in their last outing, with £13million man Asamoah Gyan and Danny Welbeck, on loan from Manchester United, among the goalscorers. And Saha admits Everton must keep the pair in check tonight as they aim to bounce back from a seven-match unbeaten run being ended by last week’s defeat to Arsenal. “Their strikers are dangerous and Gyan and Welbeck – who I know very well – are good players,” said Saha. “You need different qualities and they have a good mixture. They have technical ability, pace and strength and mix all that with confidence and it makes them very dangerous. “Welbeck was already very mature for his age (when I was at Man United) and it was amazing to see a 16-year-old play with his confidence and also his awareness of the game. “So I was not surprised he got a chance and made an impact at Man United and now is out getting more experience at Sunderland. “You could tell he would be a good player. “He has what you need but like any player you have to play every week and that is what he will do at Sunderland. He can be a great player for England in the future.” By contrast, Everton’s strikers have found it hard to come by goals this season with Saha having not netted in the Premier League since his double sunk Chelsea back in February. The French forward has started the last two games but could come under pressure from Yakubu for his place this evening. And Moyes has urged Saha not to become disheartened. “I thought he played quite well in the Arsenal game,” said the Everton manager. “He had one or two shots, he didn't get a goal but I thought he did okay. “I think you make your own luck – and the harder you work the luckier you get. But sometimes you could do with the ball dropping to you in the right place. “If you are in the right place often enough it will drop. So it's a bit of both, work hard and if you get the luck, take it.” Sunderland could be further bolstered by the return to fitness of £10m top scorer Darren Bent this evening, and Moyes believes the Wearsiders are reaping the benefits of speculating to accumulate. “They have spent a bit on Gyan and took Welbeck on loan and they spent the year before on Darren Bent,” said the Goodison manager. “So over the last couple of years they have spent £10m and £13m, they have had a little bit of a go buying centre forwards.
“We always knew we could be short up front, but I have to make sure I motivate and promote the players we have got. If we could have we would have tried to add there in the summer. “In the past we have had a decent record at Sunderland but we won’t underestimate them given the way they are playing at the moment. “This is the Premier League this year. “There have been a lot of games which could have gone either way. Maybe there is more to come, maybe there will be a few more shocks.”
Meanwhile, Moyes has revealed Victor Anichebe is back in training following a knee problem while Leon Osman has returned to Finch Farm having undergone an ankle operation.
Everton FC manager David Moyes biding time with Jack Rodwell development
Nov 22 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
HAD Jack Rodwell not been regaining fitness after an ankle injury, it may have been him and not Jordan Henderson accepting what turned out to be a poisoned chalice at Wembley last Wednesday. Now the pair could go head-to-head in midfield at the Stadium of Light this evening with David Moyes admitting his relief Rodwell has not yet been fast-tracked into the senior England side. Sunderland midfielder Henderson was one of several youngsters given an opportunity by national team coach Fabio Capello for the friendly against France last week. But what should have been a memorable occasion for the 20-year-old turned into something of a nightmare after England’s pitiful performance prompted another round of furious finger-pointing over the state of English football. Teenager Rodwell, a huge success since breaking into the Everton first team almost three years ago, has been cited by many observers as part of a new generation of players that needs to be ushered into the England set-up.
But Moyes, ever protective, believes it would be beneficial not to rush the youngster.
“There is a lot of clamour from a lot of people to give him a chance (for England), but Jack is 19 so why would we be thinking about that now?” says the Everton manager. “Maybe in two years’ time we will only be thinking that. “He might have another two years of under-21s football before he is out of that age group, so there is no big rush for Jack or for anybody else at the moment. “I don’t think it is Everton (who have pushed him), I would say it’s the media who do that. We don’t come out and say anything other than we have a young lad with great potential who is making good strides. “But he is a really good player and he is going to be a good player, but he needs time and I have always said that. “He will go on and play for England, but that’s my opinion. We will keep developing him and bringing him along, but he has been injured and that’s been the part that’s hard for him or he may well have been selected for England by now. But he has been injured for eight weeks since the Aston Villa game.” Having impressed during his comeback as a half-time substitute in last week’s 2-1 home defeat to Arsenal, Rodwell is hopeful of getting the nod ahead of John Heitinga to replace the suspended Marouane Fellaini as Everton look to bounce back against in-form Sunderland. Moyes, though, believes the 19-year-old is better served at this stage of his development by not being burdened by defensive responsibilities.
“His best position will ultimately be as a midfield player but probably running forward, joining up, getting in the box and supporting in behind rather than the defensive side of things,” says the Scot. “He is still young and not ready for that role yet. “Time, experience, he will eventually slide back, but at the moment he would be better joining in and getting forward. “It’s a bit like Jordan Henderson. I heard it said Jordan Henderson needed a chance to use his youthful energy (against France) rather than maybe pinning him down to something at the moment, maybe he is not ready to do those jobs. “I am not too sure what Jordan Henderson was asked to do is what Jordan Henderson is. Maybe you put Jack Rodwell in, but if you are not going to play him where he is at his age right now then what’s the point? “He may develop into something else in two or three years time, but if you ask Jack to go in now and be a defensive midfield player for England I would say it won’t be the biggest thing for him. “I am looking round the divisions and I don’t see a defensive midfielder, not like France had in M’Vila the other night.” Moyes added: “Fellaini is the same. We hoped he would do the defensive midfield job when he came here, but he was a bit young, a bit inexperienced, lacked the nous and he still plays running forward for Belgium.
“But I have no doubt in time he will become a good defensive midfield player and I think that comes from experience. “Lee Carsley did a great job for us, Makelele was probably the master at it. They are experienced players.” Moyes believes enhancing the claims of Rodwell – along with that of the likes of Kieran Gibbs and Andy Carroll, who both played against France – represents a challenge for the national team.
“If you want a winning England team today and you want to win every game then you pick your best players,” he says. “If we have to win tomorrow, if we have to get a result how do I do that? “That might be knocking it up to Peter Crouch and Andy Carroll and flicking it on and chasing it if you want to win. But if you want to develop your players and end up having a quality type football team, you are going to have to bring some young players in and find a way of playing that suits. “I think there is a bigger debate. Do you want to win tomorrow? Or do you want to build a team which is going to do better? That would need a re-education of the public.
“But the talent has been draining slightly over the years and if anybody thinks that is not the case then they are misled. We should be looking to try and find out why. People are, but we need to find out why we haven’t got as much talent as before.”
Sunderland boss Bruce to keep formation against Everton
Sunderland Echo
By Chris Young
Mon Nov 22
STEVE Bruce expects to stick with an orthodox 4-4-2 against Everton tonight despite believing there is an unhealthy focus on formations. The Sunderland boss won much praise for the ambitious ploy of using two strikers up front during the 3-0 win at Chelsea eight days ago. Bruce is set to keep faith with the system although the personnel may change in attack, with top scorer Darren Bent back in contention after recovering from a hamstring strain. But Bruce does not necessarily agree that Sunderland’s joy at Stamford Bridge was attributable to the formation, with the 4-5-1 system largely effective this season. “There seems to be an obsession around 4-4-2,” said Bruce. “We’ve generally played very well apart from once this season (the derby defeat at Newcastle) and we’ve played the top seven. “When has a Sunderland team played the top seven in the league and remained unbeaten? “Formations add a bit to it, but it’s how you turn up and play on the day. “Sometimes a lot is made of formations.
“If we had played 4-5-1 at Chelsea and won two or 3-0, would there have been the same reaction? “We stumbled on one with 4-5-1 and did well with it against Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United. “It’s a talking point.
“But, with the games coming up, I always had it in my mind to play 4-4-2 anyway.
“If you look at me throughout my career, I’ve usually played 4-4-2.”
Club captain Bolo Zenden has been one of the chief beneficiaries of Bruce’s tinkering over the last two games, with the former Barcelona winger adding a touch of composure to the Sunderland midfield. Zenden has had to bide his time for a chance this season, making just one start before Sunderland’s last two games. But after being named in the starting line-up at Tottenham, the 34-year-old went on to play 90 minutes twice in six days. “Bolo’s played very well,” added Bruce. “As I’ve said repeatedly, I wish he was 25. “But he keeps himself in fantastic nick and he’s right at the front of the queue when we’ve got a physically hard day planned in training. “He’s a terrific player, an experienced lad and a bit of quality which you need in big games. “The time was right to call on his experience at Chelsea. He’s done very well for us.” Eight-goal leading marksman Darren Bent’s return from a hamstring problem gives Bruce food for thought in his team selection, and Zenden may be the one to make way after successive starts – his third and fourth for the Black Cats since joining 16 months ago. Danny Welbeck, last week’s man of the match, could revert to the left side of midfield to accommodate Bent.
Sunderland defender Onuoha says his side is still under pressure
Sunderland Echo
By Chris Young
Mon Nov 22
NEDUM Onuoha believes the pressure is still firmly on Sunderland to maximise their points tally despite an impressive post-derby haul. Sunderland can regain sixth spot in the Premier League table if they can register back-to-back wins for the first time this season in tonight’s Stadium of Light clash with Everton. Steve Bruce’s side head into the game on the back of a three-game unbeaten run after a spirited response from the 5-1 defeat at St James’s Park. But right-back Onuoha insists Sunderland need to keep picking up points, both to maintain their top six challenge and to soften the humiliation of the derby rout. Onuoha said: “Seven is a great tally from the last three games, any more would have been a bit greedy. “It’s good to see we’ve reacted right from the Newcastle game. But there’s a lot more games to play and we’ve got to keep collecting points. “There’s still a lot of pressure on ourselves because we let ourselves down at Newcastle. “There’s been a feeling that we had to come back, instill some pride back into the club and belief back into us and the fans. Slowly but surely we’re doing that. “We had a team meeting after the Newcastle game. But I think at the end of the day, it was only the players going to get us out of that situation.
“As a group, we had to come together and we couldn’t have any moments like that again because it was embarrassing.” Onuoha has not been guilty of basking in the glory of his stunning individual goal in Sunderland’s last outing at Chelsea – claiming he forget about it after a day. But the on-loan Manchester City defender does think the memory of the manner of the 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge should live on for Sunderland’s players. The 24-year-old believes Sunderland can take heart that they can play their own brand of football against the Premier League’s top teams.
He said: “The goal lasted in my memory for about a day and then I moved onto the Everton game. “To be fair, I think I scored a similar one last season and that’s it for me. “It was good to see us playing in that way at Chelsea, though, because sometimes we’ve been a bit too direct. “When we got it down and played it, we looked dangerous. We had a solid game plan and we knew we had to stick to it otherwise they will grind you down as they do with so many other teams that go there.”
Sunderland should take leaf out of Everton’s book
By Chris Young Sunderland Echo
Mon Nov 22 2010
SUNDERLAND need to take a leaf out of Everton’s book to avoid a Chelsea hangover. That was the message today from Sunderland boss Steve Bruce as he looks to ensure that last weekend’s 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge is not confined to a one-off.
Bruce believes Everton have developed the consistency over the last decade which Sunderland need to emulate if they are to become regular challengers in the top half of the table.
Despite the Toffees enduring their traditional slow start to the campaign, Everton have begun to find their stride, with David Moyes’ side unfortunate to come away empty-handed against Arsenal eight days ago – ending an eight-match unbeaten run.
Bruce said: “Everton could have easily got something against Arsenal and the likes of Everton and Aston Villa are who we need to get parity with.
“Every year for the last 10 or so years, they’ve been knocking around the top half of the division.
“That’s what we need to be. “Everton are a good team who epitomise their manager – tough, resilient and hard to beat.
“I’m a huge admirer of Everton. They are a fantastic team and they will take some beating.
“They’ve got good players as well with a great attitude. “They’re a difficult team to play against. “You just look through their team with (Steven) Pienaar, (Sylvain) Distin, (Phil) Neville, (Louis) Saha and Yakubu and there’s so much quality.
“We’ll have to deal with (Tim) Cahill, too.
“We all know what he is, he arrives late in the box.
“There’s no doubt that we’ll have to be at our best if we want to win the game.
“We must make sure we keep our performance like we did last week. “It will be a difficult game, no question.” Bruce believes the international break has helped his side with the bulk of his squad having a distraction from revelling in the Chelsea game. And the scheduling of the televised clash could also prove beneficial with Bruce getting an extra two days to work with his players on the training ground.
“I didn’t see a lot of the players after the Chelsea game because there were only a handful here last week,” he said.
“It has helped us that the game is on a Monday after the internationals.
“We were able to get the players who had been away back on Friday and focus on the game over the weekend. “But now we have to get on with getting a result against Everton.”
Dave Prentice on the 50th anniversary of Golden Vision Alex Young signing for Everton FC
Nov 23 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
IT was 50 years ago today . . . that Merseyside football's enduring love affair with the Golden Vision was launched. On November 23, 1960, two promising young Scottish footballers signed for Everton from Hearts. George Thomson's name became little more than a footnote in Everton history. In the following seven years Young made 271 Everton appearances, scoring 87 goals, winning a League Championship and an FA Cup winners medal.But stark statistics could only hint at the impact of the man, later christened The Golden Vision after a 1968 BBC documentary investigating the phenomenon.
This was the era of Beatlemania and Georgie Best.
But Evertonian adoration of Young appeared even more intense than those deified members of popular culture.
When manager Harry Catterick dropped Young for the then teenage Joe Royle in 1966, he was pushed and jostled in the Bloomfield Road car park.
The following match a famous placard bearing the legend 'Sack Catrick (sic) Keep Young' was paraded by one disgruntled fan.
So why all the fuss?
This was the era of the Soccer School of Science and Young more than anyone appeared the living embodiment of those values.
Everton Player by Player author Ivan Ponting wrote: "Alex Young simply oozed charisma, his halo of blond curls and elegant, almost ethereal style of movement fuelled the theory that after the match he would simply float home to Olympus.
"A deep-lying, elusive leader of the line he stroked the ball rather than kicked it, his touch infinitely sure as he glided past opponents with the merest shimmy of his hips."
The night he signed for Everton history was made. While Everton were beating Bury in the fledgling League Cup competition, Echo reporter Michael Charters wrote: "A history making night at Everton and a sensational one. The excellence of the League Cup tie against Bury at Goodison Park tended to be dimmed at times as rumour swept the ground with reports that Everton had signed Alex Young and George Thomson from Hearts; that they had not signed them; that they would sign them today.
"It was not until after the match that it was learned officially that the Scottish stars had signed for a club record transfer fee of £55,000. It is also the biggest cheque paid between British clubs." Young was soon made aware of the intensity of Everton's support.
His debut was delayed by a long-standing problem - blistered feet - and he wrote in the Echo: "This has happened before in Scotland, and although I bathe my feet in methylated spirits to try to harden them I dont seem to be able to toughen them.
"I have tried all I know to prevent these blisters from forming, but so far I have not been successful. So if anyone reading this should know of any treatment I could try, please let me know and Ill be eternally grateful if it helps."
He didn't know what he was letting himself in for.
Hundreds upon hundreds of readers' letters deluged the Echo offices, then in Victoria Street.
The following week Young replied: "Your letters all made most interesting reading and contained advice which looks very sound to me." On suggestions he should rub ordinary household soap inside his stockings, or paddle in salt water, Young said: "If you are standing up on the terraces at Goodison Park and see suds coming from my boots, or walk along the seafront on a winter's morning, and observe a lone figure at the waters edge, you'll know just why!" Robert Hayes of Walton suggested getting in touch with boxer Terry Downes and finding out whether the remedy he used for hardening his famous 'hooter' would be of any use. Steve Long of Ponsonby reminded Alex that Sheffield United goalkeeper Ted Burgin cured tender skin on his knuckles by pickling them in a bowl of brine and vinegar. T Hunt of L6 claimed that all the remedies in the world would be useless if he wore boots with leather soles and that such boots should be burned! While 'a gipsy's remedy' was passed on by George Rogers of Cefn Mawr, Wrexham. "Soak your feet in paraffin and I wager youll be all right within a fortnight," he wrote. Other cures included alum, goose grease, cod liver oil (applied to the feet), sulphur, washing soda, coconut oil, zinc and castor oil.
Whether Young followed the advice is unrecorded, but he soon forged a devastating forward partnership with Roy Vernon. In August 1968, the Daily Posts respected soccer writer Horace Yates wrote: "Alex Young, Everton's Scottish international centre-forward, recipient of more eulogies and hero worship than any other player in Goodison Park history, not excluding the fabulous Dixie Dean, has played his last game for the club." Ultimately forced out of the club by his some time nemesis, Harry Catterick, he became player-manager of Glentoran. "I will never forget the Everton fans," Young said. "Right from the moment I came to Everton the fans took me to their hearts and I am most grateful. Merseyside supporters are the most knowledgeable to be found anywhere. They are fair and they are warm-hearted."
They never forgot him, either, as he discovered on his occasional forays south from his home in Edinburgh. Only last week Alex Young delivered a message to the Everton Former Players Foundation anniversary dinner. It was received by a rousing ovation. Fifty years on . . . Alex Young is still hero-worshipped on Merseyside.
Everton FC manager David Moyes rues not making Sunderland FC pay
Nov 23 2010 Liverpool Echo
EVERTON boss David Moyes was a frustrated man after seeing substitute Jermaine Beckford pass up the chance to snatch victory at Sunderland. The former Leeds striker went through on goal in injury time just minutes after Mikel Arteta had levelled, but blasted over the crossbar with just keeper Craig Gordon to beat. Moyes said: "It was a great chance in the last seconds, through on goal, and he normally finishes them. It could have been three points. "We had the ball a lot in and around the edge of the box, we got into good positions, but didnt make them pay. "It was disappointing we couldnt finish off our good play. "(But) we are pleased. Its a hard place to come, especially after the result last week for Sunderland." Ultimately, Arteta rescued a point for the visitors with eight minutes remaining when his low drive was deflected past Gordon by full-back Phil Bardsley. They had taken the lead through Tim Cahills sixth-minute header his seventh goal in 10 appearances against the Black Cats for Millwall and Everton and the Australian was later denied a second by goal-line clearances from Jordan Henderson and Lee Cattermole. In the meantime, Sunderland had equalised when Danny Welbeck, playing alongside leading scorer Darren Bent in the absence of injured record signing Asamoah Gyan, turned Bolo Zendens 23rd-minute cross home. Welbeck, on loan for the season from Manchester United, put the Wearsiders in front with 19 minutes remaining when he headed home Kieran Richardsons cross with more than a hint of offside in the build-up. Kieron Richardson was clearly in an offside position just yards from the referees assistant when the ball was returned to him to cross for Welbecks second goal and Moyes quipped: "Obviously it was an offside goal but it was a difficult one for the linesman to see, wasnt it?" Welbeck, for his part, simply commented: "I was just bothered about getting my head on the ball and luckily it went in." However, Arteta's late strike was not the end of the drama with Welbeck and Beckford both passing up glorious opportunities to win the game at the death, the latter with almost the last kick of the game. Bruce said: "We started slowly against one of the better teams in the Premier League. "That put us on the back foot, but we responded and overall I have to say I would have taken a 2-2. We are a little bit aggrieved to have conceded late, but I think a draw was a fair result."
Everton FC draw 2-2 with Sunderland FC at Stadium Of Light
Nov 23 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON have become kings of the late, late salvation act this season but its a trick which can too easily paper over cracks. A point against a buoyant, upwardly mobile Sunderland side at the Stadium of Light is not a bad result. But when the a stoppage time long ball fell to the feet of late sub Jermaine Beckford, the striker blazed over and the opportunity to end a haphazard run of results with a dramatic win vanished.
Ironically, the last-gasp chance was one of few times Everton opted for the direct route all night. Yet even if Beckford had cemented his super-sub status with another last-gasp cracker, the Toffees failings would still have lingered behind the jubilation. Over-elaboration is killing them. Trying to pass the ball endlessly into the net is not only boring their manager, it is undermining his hopes of a special, era-defining season. There remains a time and place for that style, but Evertons attacking play is too reliant on it and they simply do not have the finishers to make it effective.
They are best when the passing is crisp, quick and decisive. So often one of their most potent creative outlets, Leighton Baines and Steven Pienaar combined wonderfully to create the Blues opener. The pair exchanged passes, before Baines zipped past Nedum Onuoha and sent a wonderful cross into the area for the unmarked Tim Cahill to bury.
The strike propelled the indefatigable Aussie even further up the Premier League top scorer charts, brining his tally to seven so far this season. It is not just in the opposition area where he is head boy though, just moments after his goal Cahill was back in his own area to clear a lofted Sunderland free kick. Evertons early goal lit the touch paper for a feisty opening period. First John Heitinga was booked for a cynical foul on Kieran Richardson, then the former Liverpool man was fortunate to escape a card himself when he shoved Seamus Coleman to the ground in frustration.
Sunderlands equaliser resulted from a slip-up by the pair who created Evertons lead.
Bolo Zenden stole the ball from Pienaar before jinking past Baines, and firing in a low cross which the untracked Danny Welbeck sidefooted past Howard. The Blues nearly undid themselves again shortly after in a dizzying spell. Phil Nevilles mis-directed pass was seized by Phil Bardsley who slipped in Richardson to fire narrowly wide as the home support found their voices. Fortunately for Everton, Tim Cahill was leading the line in typical all-action style. Cahill was at it again on the half hour, seeing his header cleared off the line and then using his strength to shield the ball and tee up Sylvain Distin who blasted over. Meanwhile, Louis Saha, the nominative striker on Moyes team sheet, seemed barely to break a sweat all night. It was not only the Frenchman who turned in a limp first 45 minutes, the game seemed to pass John Heitinga by after an early booking, and the Dutchmans midfield credentials have withered. Sunderland ended the half with a Darren Bent header flashed just over the bar. And the second period began with a delicate Tim Cahill lofted shot bravely cleared off the line by Michael Turner. Familiar woes began to pile up. Everton started to eke out chance after chance but over-elaborate approach play undid them.
Steven Pienaar, for instance, is perfectly capable of striking a ball sweetly, but far too rarely backs himself to take a pot-shot. Yet chances continued to flow in an increasingly lively encounter. Darren Bent went close again just before Danny Welbeck grabbed his second. Richardson, who was infuriatingly offside when he received the ball, crossed and the Manchester United loan star leapt to net with a header that will have grabbed Alex Fergusons attention. It certainly inspired David Moyes. Saha and Heitinga were replaced with eight minutes left, Jermaine Beckford and Yakubu entered the fray. Almost instantly, Everton regained their foothold. Mikel Arteta, still strangely out of sorts, nevertheless showed he has the courage to shoot and was rewarded when his effort found the net via two deflections. In the end, the Evertonians who made the lengthy journey to the North East headed for home with the same unease which has settled over much of their season. Every corner turned seems to reach another dead end. The Premier League table remains largely wide open, but chance after chance to capitalise on that potential is being squandered.
There are positives; the Blues remain hard to beat, robust on the road, and still refuse to accept they are beaten. But for David Moyes there must be a concern that his team embraced too readily a philosophy based on the justified praise their finesse football received last season. When Everton are not firing on all cylinders, which is often in this seasons first half, it is not enough. It is not winning football. Time for them to embrace Plan B.
SUNDERLAND: Gordon; Onuoha, Turner, Ferdinand, Bardsley; Cattermole, Zenden (Malbranque 69), Henderson (Al-Muhammadi 85), Richardson; Welbeck, Bent. Subs: Mignolet, Angeleri, Da Silva, Riveros, Adams.
EVERTON: Howard; Neville, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; Heitinga (Beckford 83), Coleman (Rodwell 65), Arteta, Cahill, Pienaar, Saha (Yakubu 82). Subs: Mucha, Hibbert, Bilyaletdinov, Magaye Gueye.
GOALS: Welbeck 23, 70; Cahill 6, Arteta 83.
CARDS: Booked Heitnga, Rodwell.
REFEREE: Peter Walton.
ATTENDANCE: 37,331
Everton FC’s Leighton Baines calls on his side to be more ruthless after draw at Sunderland FC
Nov 23 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
LEIGHTON BAINES has urged his shot-shy Everton team-mates to be more decisive and stop trying to pass the ball into the net. The defender shares his managers frustration that too many in royal blue are ignoring opportunities to test goalkeepers this season, and a habit of overdoing things is hampering their ambitions.
David Moyes has demanded a more direct approach from his charges, but saw them again squander chances during their 2-2 draw with Sunderland at the Stadium of Light last night. Baines said: "There was probably a lot of times we got within 20 yards of goal outside of the box, with no real pressure and still turned down the opportunity to take a shot. "Sometimes you just need to take the chance and hit one. Sometimes it will fly in, others it will miss, and I think that is something we need to look at. We are in range a lot of times and not hitting it. "Some of us are always looking for another pass. For example Steven Pienaar is a footballer through and through, and he is always trying to score a goal that you'd call an Arsenal goal lots of passes, then its knocked in from six yards. We're not doing that at the moment unfortunately though, and players like Steven and Mikel can really hit a ball. "Like with Mikel, his shot took a deflection and went in. Youve got to try your luck." Baines accepted that the draw was frustrating as the Blues remain in the bottom half of the table, only two points clear of the bottom three.He said: "We feel weve dropped another two points. We came to win and we know what three points can do for you at the moment in the league with the table how it is. "We were disappointed. They were off the back of a good result and put us under a lot of pressure, so in some ways it wasnt the worst point. "Becks had a great late chance, and the two extra points would have made a big difference but we cant keep relying on that. "We can't always ask him to come on for ten minutes and win a game. That,d be hard on him. We must do more in the 80 minutes before that to put ourselves in a better, winning position."
Sunderland 2 Everton FC 2: No light relief as Everton once again rue missed opportunity
Nov 23 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
IT was the same old story at the Stadium of Light last night. But for David Moyes, rarely can it have been so graphically illustrated. As the clock ticked down the final seconds of injury time, a hopeful punt over the top by Phil Jagielka put Everton substitute Jermaine Beckford in the clear with only Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon to beat. The whole of the stadium held its breath, Beckford cocked the trigger... and the blasted the ball horribly over the crossbar. Moyes, watching disbelievingly on the touchline, dropped to his knees in anguish. Having rescued a point in similar last-gasp fashion with a much more difficult finish against Bolton Wanderers less than a fortnight ago, it would be harsh to be overly critical of Beckford. But his miss encapsulated the shortcomings that continue to undermine Everton’s efforts, Moyes once again left to ponder an inability to translate impressive approach play with a decisive end product on a more regular basis. Admittedly, it could have been worse. The Goodison Park outfit were heading for a second successive defeat before Mikel Arteta’s deflected shot wrong-footed Gordon to earn the visitors a point with six minutes remaining. Everton had fought back after surrendering an early lead, Tim Cahill’s seventh strike of the season putting the visitors ahead in the sixth minute only for Danny Welbeck to draw Sunderland level midway through the half before heading a controversial second in the 71st minute.
Yet while the character and determination of the side remain largely undimmed, the frustration at Everton’s profligacy is reaching almost critical levels. Moyes must find an answer, and on recent evidence it isn’t Louis Saha. Urged by his manager to work hard for the change of fortune that could end a nine-month Premier League goal drought, the Frenchman responded with a listless, limp display. It meant Cahill, who also twice saw efforts cleared off the line, was effectively forced to forage up front on his own, with Moyes perhaps waiting too long to introduce the now regular cavalry of Beckford and Yakubu from the bench. While Everton can reflect on missed opportunities, in truth the draw was probably the right scoreline from a full-blooded contest that, while low on quality, was high on entertainment and endeavour.
The Goodison Park outfit had taken 29 of the previous 33 available against Sunderland, but Steve Bruce’s side are a different beast this season, the highlight of which came last week with a 3-0 victory at champions and league leaders Chelsea.
While the Wearsiders could welcome back leading scorer Darren Bent, it came at the expense of Asamoah Gyan, the in-form £13million Ghanaian who was among the scorers at Stamford Bridge. And Everton wasted no time capitalising on the Sunderland reshuffle by forging ahead in familiar fashion after only six minutes.
Neat interplay between Leighton Baines and Steven Pienaar released the former to tease and inviting cross into the danger zone where Cahill – who else? – had ghosted away from his marker to hammer a downward header beyond Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon. But if Baines and Pienaar could celebrate an assist for Everton’s opener, they must also share a portion of the blame for Sunderland’s equaliser on 23 minutes. Both were outfoxed down the Everton left by a fine run from Boudewijn Zenden, who was allowed to progress to the byline and cut the ball back for the loosely marked Welbeck to slot crisply home past Tim Howard. It had been coming.
Sunderland had responded well to going behind, Jordan Henderson in particular eager to make amends for his chastening experience at Wembley last week.
Moyes resisted the temptation to throw Jack Rodwell in against his fellow England hopeful despite the teenager having made an encouraging return with a second-half outing in the defeat to Arsenal.
Instead, John Heitinga retained his place, despite his manager hinting the Dutchman could be on his way in January.
On this showing, though, he would not be missed, Heitinga virtually anonymous except when picking up his now customary booking after felling Kieran Richardson.
Everton had to weather a storm immediately after being pegged back, Sunderland full-back Phil Bardsley intercepting a Phil Neville pass and finding Richardson for a shot that whistled narrowly wide from 20 yards.
But the visitors soon found their second wind and almost went ahead again on 33 minutes. Once again, it was a combination between Baines and Cahill that did the damage, the former’s corner nodded goalwards by the latter only for Henderson to head off the line before Lee Cattermole completed the clearance.
While again below their best, Everton’s greater composure in the face of Sunderland’s excited approach meant there were always chances for the visitors. And one arrived in the 54th minute when Cahill beat Gordon to Neville’s punt forward, lobbed the ball towards goal but saw Turner race back and bravely clear off the line before smashing into the post. With the action lurching from one goalmouth to the other, Pienaar saw an effort resourcefully blocked while Bent’s shot was deflected wide by Jagielka after Richardson robbed a dozing Arteta to create the opening. It would prove a crucial mistake by the Spaniard as Sunderland scored from the resultant corner on 71 minutes, although it was not without a shade of controversy. Richardson appeared in an offside position when the ball was returned to him after his initial delivery had been cleared. But the flag remained down, and the Sunderland winger whipped in a fine cross from the right that Welbeck glanced expertly over Howard into the top corner. But that fortune was evened out six minutes from time when Arteta made amends with a shot from 20 yards that took a nick off Anton Ferdinand and was diverted past Gordon by the unlucky Bardsley. Welbeck almost completed his hat-trick in injury time but pulled his shot across goal before Beckford’s moment to forget provided manager Moyes an unnecessary reminder of failings he must still address.
ACADEMY FOOTBALL: Hallum Hope’s double helps Everton under-18s extend their lead at top of Group C table
Nov 23 2010 by Chris Wright, Liverpool Daily Post
HALLUM HOPE’S double helped Everton under-18s extend their lead at the top of the FA Premier Academy League Group C table in a excellent 3-1 win over Bolton Wanderers at Finch Farm on Saturday. Hope’s double and a Bolton own goal sealed the win and Neil Dewsnip’s side now head the table by five points from Manchester City. Everton opened the scoring on 20 minutes when Hope fired in Femi Orenuga’s cross. Within five minutes it was 2-0 when Adam Forshaw’s free-kick went in via a slight deflection off a Bolton defender. John Lundstram, Hope and Orenuga all went close to extended the lead as Everton were in fine attacking form. But Bolton hit back when Adam Davies fumbled a free-kick and the visitors capitalised. But on the hour Hope latched on to Anton Forrester’s flick and seal the points for Everton
Everton coach Dewsnip said: “We played really well for the first half hour and could easily have been ahead by more than 2-0. They hit back and we had to weather the storm a little bit but in the end we ran out deserved winners.” He added: “We are doing well at the moment and in the first half hour we played as well as we have all season. If we can carry that on I will be very pleased.”Everton are not in action this weekend, and turn their attentions to the FA Youth Cup. They will face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round of the FA Youth Cup on Wednesday, December 1 (kick-off 7pm) at the Stobart Stadium. Dewsnip said: “We have beaten Wolves 2-0 this season, but I am not sure it will be the same two 11s taking the field. “It will be a tough game because Wolves are also a team in good form at the moment. We had a good run in the Youth Cup and we are hopeful of something similar this time, but we will have to play well to beat Wolves.”
After that Everton are next in Academy League action at Stoke City on Saturday, December 4. EVERTON UNDER-18s: Davies, Barrow, Murphy, Hammar, Cummins, Orenuga, Lundstram, Donegan, Forshaw, Forrester, Hope (Thomas 75). Subs: Roberts, Heneghan.
Everton FC manager David Moyes rues missed chances in draw with Sunderland
Nov 23 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
DISAPPOINTED David Moyes rued two points dropped as Jermaine Beckford spurned another chance to make himself a last-gasp hero for Everton.
With the visitors having fought back to level with Mikel Arteta’s 84th-minute equaliser, Beckford – who scored a late equaliser against Bolton Wanderers a fortnight ago – was sent clear in the dying seconds of injury time only to blast horribly over. Tim Cahill had headed Everton into a sixth-minute lead before goals in either half from Danny Welbeck transformed the game. And while pleased with a point at the in-form Black Cats, Moyes was left frustrated by familiar failings from his team.
“It was a great chance in the last seconds,” said the Goodison manager. “Through on goal, you wouldn’t want any more. Jermaine normally finishes those and it should have been three points. “We had the ball a lot in and around their box and got crosses in from good positions, but didn’t make it pay and it cost us. “I’m disappointed we couldn’t finish off some of our good play. “I’m pleased, though, because this is a hard place to come, particularly after their last win (against Chelsea). “At the start of the season I thought we were capable of big things and I still do. We are a good team that is lacking goals, even though Tim Cahill is popping up with a few, but we are in a position to challenge at the top end.” There was some controversy over Welbeck’s second goal, with Kieran Richardson appearing to be in an offside position before crossing for the on-loan striker to head past Tim Howard. And Moyes said: “Yes, it looked offside, but it was difficult for the linesman to see. Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes it doesn’t.” While having now lost only one of their nine games, Everton haven’t won in four and assistant manager Steve Round admits there have been too many draws for the Goodison outfit. “We are disappointed not to get all three points,” said Round. “We had enough opportunities to win the game. We are playing well enough to win but can’t get the wins. “We have only lost one of the last eight games but we have had too many draws.” Of Beckford’s miss, Round added: “It was very unusual for Jermaine to miss that. We have seen him score that many times in training, I was just waiting for the net to bulge. But that sums up our season really.”
Sunderland manager Steve Bruce declared himself satisfied with the result, which means the Wearsiders have faced all of the teams that finished in the top 10 last season without being beaten. “When I look back on the game, I would take a draw,” said Bruce. “We started slowly, that’s for sure. Everton are one of better teams – they might not be accumulating points, but all the reports say they have played well and not got results. “Getting off to an awful start put us on the back foot. But we responded and overall I would take a 2-2. I’m aggrieved we conceded a late goal, but a draw was a pretty fair result. We are improving and it will take time, but we’ve got to aspire to being like Everton who have been in the Premier League since the year dot.”
Sunderland 2 Everton 2
Sunderland Echo,
By Ian Laws
Tue Nov 23 2010
MIKEL Arteta’s deflected effort denied Sunderland a third win in four games.
It looked like Danny Welbeck’s double had given the home side victory, but Arteta’s 82nd-minute shot was deflected past keeper Craig Gordon by Phil Bardsley.
Welbeck, 19, found the net in each half to first cancel out Tim Cahill’s sixth-minute opener and then give Sunderland the advantage with 20 minutes to go.
Though they can be proud of now having stayed undefeated this term against all of last season’s top 10, another victory would have brought the bonus of sxth place in the Barclays Premier League. Everton went in front with virtually their first attack, Leighton Baines combining well with Steven Pienaar on the left to cross for Cahill to once again display his aeriel strengths with a well directed header. It looked like Bolo Zenden had been caught too high up the pitch in the build up to the goal, but he made ammends by showing great strength and skill to outwit Pienaar after 23 minutes before sending in a low cross that Welbeck slid home at the near post for 1-1.
It was down the left that Everton did most of their damage and they grew into the game as an attacking force. But Sunderland went in front when, after Phil Jagielka blocked Darren Bent’s shot out for a corner, Kieran Richardson delivered from the right to Welbeck, whose header looped in at the far post. Arteta’s equaliser silenced the home crowd’s celebrations, but the night could have ended worse for Sunderland when sub Jermaine Beckford took advantage of hesitation between Anton Ferdinand and Michael Turner to go clear and blaze over the bar with just Craig Gordon to beat.
Cattermole praises Sunderland resilience after Everton draw
Sunderland Echo
By Chris Young
Tue Nov 23 2010
LEE CATTERMOLE today praised Sunderland’s determination to remain unbeaten, despite squandering two points. Mikel Arteta’s 83rd minute equaliser denied Sunderland back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time this season last night after a pulsating 2-2 draw with Everton. Sunderland’s barren run without a win against the Toffees now stretches to 13 games although it would have been harsh on David Moyes’ side to leave empty-handed. Everton could easily have won it at the death too when Jermaine Beckford spurned a glorious opportunity with the last kick of the game. But Sunderland held on to make it four games without defeat as they fought back to earn a point after conceding the opener for the fourth time this season.
Skipper Cattermole said: “I think it was a good response in the end to come back against such a good team. “They’ve only lost one in nine now and that was against Arsenal, so they’re a top team. “We showed good resilience. We were a bit gutted that we weren’t able to stay in front. “But we knew before the game it was going to be a tough one. A point’s not a bad result. “It was probably a fair result going on the chances and both of us could have won it at the end.” Nemesis Tim Cahill gave Everton an early lead when he headed home his seventh goal in 10 games against Sunderland. But Sunderland responded well and goals from Danny Welbeck either side of half-time put Steve Bruce’s men ahead. Arteta grabbed a deserved leveller for Everton before Beckford scooped his half-volley over the bar in stoppage time when through one-on-one. “We talked about it at the club earlier in the day about the amount of goals Cahill scores with his head,” said Cattermole. “It was disappointing for the two centre-halves that he was able get between them so early on. But we came back from that and we had a good 20 minute spell.” The 22-year-old added: “Danny’s been fantastic. He runs around with a good engine and he’s good in the air. He’s got everything for a striker for me. But he needs to keep going for us now. “He’s given the gaffer a headache and he’s the top man at the minute. “He caused havoc at Chelsea, did really well at Tottenham when he came on and caused havoc again on Monday. He’s leading the line well for us. “Young lads can be hit and miss at times. But as long as he’s consistent, he’s a quality player.” Mikel Arteta’s 83rd minute equaliser denied Sunderland back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time this season last night after a pulsating 2-2 draw with Everton. Sunderland’s barren run without a win against the Toffees now stretches to 13 games although it would have been harsh on David Moyes’ side to leave empty-handed. Everton could easily have won it at the death too when Jermaine Beckford spurned a glorious opportunity with the last kick of the game. But Sunderland held on to make it four games without defeat as they fought back to earn a point after conceding the opener for the fourth time this season.
Skipper Cattermole said: “I think it was a good response in the end to come back against such a good team. “They’ve only lost one in nine now and that was against Arsenal, so they’re a top team. “We showed good resilience. We were a bit gutted that we weren’t able to stay in front. “But we knew before the game it was going to be a tough one. A point’s not a bad result. “It was probably a fair result going on the chances and both of us could have won it at the end.” Nemesis Tim Cahill gave Everton an early lead when he headed home his seventh goal in 10 games against Sunderland. But Sunderland responded well and goals from Danny Welbeck either side of half-time put Steve Bruce’s men ahead. Arteta grabbed a deserved leveller for Everton before Beckford scooped his half-volley over the bar in stoppage time when through one-on-one. “We talked about it at the club earlier in the day about the amount of goals Cahill scores with his head,” said Cattermole. “It was disappointing for the two centre-halves that he was able get between them so early on. But we came back from that and we had a good 20 minute spell.” The 22-year-old added: “Danny’s been fantastic. He runs around with a good engine and he’s good in the air. He’s got everything for a striker for me. But he needs to keep going for us now. “He’s given the gaffer a headache and he’s the top man at the minute. “He caused havoc at Chelsea, did really well at Tottenham when he came on and caused havoc again on Monday. He’s leading the line well for us. “Young lads can be hit and miss at times. But as long as he’s consistent, he’s a quality player.”
Mikel Arteta's deflected shot earns a point as Everton hold Sunderland
23 November 2010
The Guardian
There was a time when Sunderland fans wondered why Steve Bruce had made such a fuss about borrowing Danny Welbeck from Manchester United. Last night those doubts were finally banished as they implored their manager to "sign him up".
The fast maturing young striker emphasised his rich potential with not just two goals but a pacy, intuitive performance which, at times, frightened the life out of Phil Jagielka and company. Admittedly Welbeck's passing is not all it might be but Everton looked relieved to secure a point courtesy of Mikel Arteta's late, heavily deflected, equaliser. "I quite like Welbeck," said Steve Round, David Moyes's assistant. "He's an emerging talent who has certainly got the talent to go far. Playing here is doing him the world of good." Eric Black, Bruce's deputy, was even more fulsome about a player aided by Sunderland's reversion to 4-4-2. "Danny's got phenomenal potential," he said. "He's exceptionally talented and has now got confidence. Not playing every week at United was stunting his development."
Moyes reckons it is high time Fabio Capello offered Leighton Baines another England run out and Everton's left-back swiftly emphasised his overlapping credentials. After exchanging neat, short, triangular passes with Steven Pienaar down the left, Baines whipped in a cross which the on-rushing Tim Cahill headed beyond Craig Gordon.
It was the Australian's seventh goal in 10 appearances against Sunderland for Millwall and Everton but hardly the start a home crowd – who had braved the sort of bitter north-east night on which the damp chill seeps into your bones – envisaged. After all, in the wake of a 3-0 win at Chelsea, Bruce had been talking up Sunderland as realistic European contenders. Bruce has more than done his bit to hype Jordan Henderson but the midfielder, who looked out of his depth during his full England debut against France, played as if on a mission to justify his manager's faith. Apart from testing Tim Howard's reflexes courtesy of an early free-kick, Henderson's invariably dynamic hyper-activity initially rarely allowed Arteta time to settle on the ball in central midfield. When he learns to sometimes slow things down a second international cap will surely follow. Welbeck has been the subject of even more lavish praise from Sir Alex Ferguson. Such glowing references appeared a little puzzling when the Manchester United loanee first arrived on secondment from Old Trafford in August but, suddenly the 19-year-old has added poise — and goals — to his wonderful pace and energy. He claimed the equaliser, his instinctive first-time close range finish defying Howard following a connection with Bolo Zenden's clever low cross. It is barely a month since Zenden was murmuring discontent at his sidelining from first team action and it seems Bruce has been wise to take the veteran Dutchman's hint.
Incisive and industrious wide on the right, Zenden did not merely supply the cross for Welbeck's goal but was the source of the leveller, seizing possession in his own half from Pienaar before slaloming his way to the edge of the area and tricking Baines into an unwise challenge. Seeking redemption, Baines promptly delighted in reminding everyone that he takes a mean dead ball and the fallout from one of his corners saw first Henderson and then the equally determined Lee Cattermole scooping the ball to safety. With Michael Turner subsequently colliding painfully with a post while clearing a hooked angled volley from Cahill off the line following Phil Neville's deep centre it became apparent that crosses were proving game altering. When Kieran Richardson's late corner was partially cleared the Sunderland midfielder regained possession before crossing perfectly for Welbeck to head Sunderland's second. Everton fans may argue both scorer and creator were offside but it was a splendid finish. Unfortunately, defending is not always Welbeck's forté and he was deceived by Arteta's slick Cruyff turn after the Spaniard met a fine Baines cross before unleashing a shot which deflected heavily off Phil Bardsley en route beyond Gordon.
Although Everton could have won it when the substitute Jermaine Beckford shot tantalising over the bar when clean through, a draw seemed fair.
SUNDERLAND 2, EVERTON 2
The Daily Star
23rd November 2010
By Ian Murtagh
Two-goal Danny Welbeck had celebrated his birthday four days early as in-form Sunderland looked poised to leapfrog Spurs into sixth place. But Arteta’s 18-yard shot took a wicked deflection off Phil Bardsley, wrongfooting Craig Gordon to earn David Moyes’ side the point they deserved. And sub Jermaine Beckford missed a glorious chance to win it for Everton in the dying seconds but blazed over when clean through. Welbeck has thoroughly enjoyed his last week as a teenager. Having opened his Sunderland account in that stunning 3-0 win at Chelsea, the England Under 21 star took that form into last night’s game with a goal in each half after Tim Cahill had headed Everton into an early lead. Not so long ago, critics were saying if Darren Bent didn’t score, the Black Cats fired blanks. Asamoah Gyan was first to shatter that theory and now it’s Welbeck’s turn. Having cancelled out Cahill’s opener with a neat sidefoot finish, he made it three in two games with a looping 70th-minute header over Tim Howard from Kieran Richardson’s inswinging cross. But Everton had won 10 and drawn two of their last 12 meetings against Sunderland and were in no mood to lose for the first time since Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips led the Mackem’s attack.
Though Arteta’s goal was tinged with luck, had Sunderland held on for all three points they would have been the more fortunate. Michael Turner almost did himself a nasty injury when colliding with the upright as he magnificently kept out a Cahill lob.
Cahill had opened the scoring against a Black Cats’ defence which had kept clean sheets in their three previous home games. Steve Bruce knows all about Leighton Baines’ qualities from their days together at Wigan and the left-back set up Cahill’s seventh goal in 11 games against Sunderland. Swapping passes with Steven Pienaar, the left-back flung over an inviting cross which Cahill buried with a downward header past Gordon after squeezing between Turner and Anton Ferdinand. In the opening 20 minutes, Sunderland had looked a shadow of the side which had blitzed Chelsea in their previous outing. But it was two of their top performers at Stamford Bridge who combined to pull them level in the 24th minute. Welback’s second goal for the club was almost as straightforward as his first against the champions and he had Zenden to thank. The Dutchman rolled back the years with a piece of wing wizardry, first taking advantage of Pienaar’s slip then turning Baines inside out before delivering a low cross for Welbeck to score at the near post.
Sunderland 2 Everton 2
MIKEL ARTETA'S scrappy late equaliser rescued a point for Everton to keep them clear of the drop zone.
The Sun Nov 23 2010
But Danny Welbeck made the biggest impact of all last night.
Sunderland's on-loan Manchester United striker underlined his potential and said goodbye to his teenage years with a classy double. Yet it was not enough to end the Wearsiders' nine-year wait for a victory over their Merseyside rivals.
Welbeck, who turns 20 on Friday, bagged a goal in each half to have Old Trafford pal Rio Ferdinand tweeting in delight. Sunderland and their fans were still revelling in their amazing 3-0 victory over Premier League leaders Chelsea last time out.
But the scorer of one of those goals - record signing Asamoah Gyan - plus defender Titus Bramble were ruled out through injury. Former Newcastle centre-back Bramble could be facing a lengthy absence, with the club confirming that he will need a knee operation. At least boss Steve Bruce could welcome back top-scorer Darren Bent to replace Gyan, who has been a revelation since his arrival in August. Everton chief David Moyes went with an unchanged line-up, despite the fact his team had not won in three matches and sat just a point above the relegation places. Yet the eyes of Toffees fans always light up when they play on Wearside, as they have won 10 and drawn two of their last 12 meetings in all competitions. And they got off to the perfect start this time, as Steven Pienaar played a neat sixth-minute one-two to give Leighton Baines space down the left. His cross was inch-perfect for Tim Cahill, who arrived bang on cue between Sunderland's two centre-halves to net with a trademark header. Sunderland must hate facing the Aussie, who grabbed the winner for Millwall in the FA Cup semi-final six years ago and has scored seven goals in 12 games against them. Bruce was doing his nut on the sidelines and you could not blame him. It had been a sloppy start by his Black Cats. The goal seemed to work as a wake-up call, though, and England new boy Jordan Henderson tested Tim Howard with a low, 25-yard free-kick. Midway through the first half they were level after Pienaar was left chasing shadows out on the right by Bolo Zenden. The Dutch veteran then went past Baines before firing over a low cross which Welbeck slid beyond Howard.
It was only the second goal of his loan spell but was just what Sunderland needed. Even so, while Bruce's boys had got their acts together going forward, they had clearly not learned their lessons at the back. A Baines corner saw Cahill get another header on target but this time Henderson nodded it off the line. When Sunderland again failed to clear their lines, keeper Craig Gordon found himself out of position. But Sylvain Distin finished like the centre-half he is and blasted over. Advertisement


It had been an entertaining opening 45 minutes and the second half continued in a similar vein. Sunderland poured forward and Kieran Richardson went close from the edge of the box before Zenden had a goalbound effort blocked. Chances were being created at both ends and Phil Neville's clever through ball saw Cahill get there just ahead of Gordon. He flicked the ball goalwards but Michael Turner got back brilliantly to clear off the line, suffering an eye-watering collision with a post as a result. The former Hull man needed treatment before he could carry on.
Everton were now well on top and worked an opening for Pienaar. But he dallied far too long and allowed Nedum Onuoha to block. Moyes was left ruing his players' failure to turn their dominance into goals when the Black Cats went ahead 20 minutes from time. Richardson's corner was only half cleared and he got the ball back on the right-hand side from Lee Cattermole. This time he swung over a cross with his left foot and Welbeck climbed highest to loop a header over Howard. It was a third goal in two games for Welbeck. United pal Ferdinand gave his seal of approval on Twitter and no doubt Alex Ferguson was chuffed too. Moyes threw on Yakubu and Jermaine Beckford in a bid to save the game, yet neither was involved in the visitors' equaliser.
Arteta's shot from the edge of the box would have been straight at Gordon. But it took a nasty deflection off the unlucky Bardsley and found its way into the corner of the net. Everton could even have gone on to win it as sub Beckford raced clear but blasted his effort high over the bar instead of gently lobbing it over Gordon.
DREAM TEAM
STAR MAN - DANNY WELBECK (Sunderland)
SUNDERLAND: Gordon 7, Onuoha 6, Turner 7, Ferdinand 6, Bardsley 7, Richardson 7, Henderson 7 (Elmohamady 5), Cattermole 7, Zenden 6 (Malbranque 6), Bent 6, Welbeck 8. Subs not used: Mignolet, Angeleri, Da Silva, Riveros, Adams.
EVERTON: Howard 6, Neville 6, Jagielka 7, Distin 7, Baines 6, Coleman 5 (Rodwell 5), Arteta 6, Heitinga 6 (Beckford 5), Pienaar 6, Saha 5 (Yakubu 5), Cahill 8. Subs not used: Mucha, Hibbert, Bilyaletdinov, Gueye. Booked: Heitinga, Rodwell.
Moyes agony at Beck horror miss
By MARTIN BLACKBURN
The Sun Nov 23 2010
DAVID MOYES was left with his head in his hands after Jermaine Beckford's horror miss denied Everton a last-gasp win.
With the match locked at 2-2, Toffees sub Beckford blazed over in the 94th minute with the goal at his mercy. Everton boss Moyes said: "It was a great chance in the last seconds. Jermaine normally finishes those and it should have been three points.
"We got in good positions but did not make it pay and it has cost us. I'm disappointed we couldn't finish off some of our good play." Mikel Arteta rescued a point for Everton after Danny Welbeck's double had threatened to win it for Sunderland.
It means the Toffees, who took the lead through Tim Cahill's header, have not won in four matches and sit just two points above the Premier League drop zone.
BOY OH MOY ... David Moyes is left distraught after Beckford's missBut Moyes still reckons his side can pick themselves up and challenge the big boys.
He said: "At the start of the season, I thought we were capable of big things and still do. "We are a good team that is lacking goals but we are in a position to challenge at the top end."  Black Cats boss Steve Bruce saw his team blow the chance to build on their win at Chelsea and move into the top six. He said: "I'm aggrieved we conceded a late goal but a draw was a pretty fair result. "We are improving and it will take time but we've got to aspire to being like Everton, who have been in the Premier League since the year dot." On-loan striker Welbeck, who turns 20 on Friday, admitted he should have taken home the match ball after missing a chance to bag a late third.
He said: "Yes, I was close to a hat-trick. It is pretty disappointing but we still played really well."
Sunderland 2-2 Everton: Daily Mirror match report
November 23 2010
David Moyes' amazing unbeaten record against Sunderland remains in tact - but ended up on his knees in frustration as Jermaine Beckford blew a glorious chance to grab a last kick winner. A spirited game that ebbed and flowed, with both sides having spells of dominance and plenty of chances, ended in a draw after Mikel Arteta conjured an equaliser in the 80th minute for the visitors. By cancelling out an excellent double from Danny Welbeck, Everton kept up a run of nine years and 13 games unbeaten against the Wearsiders. Moyes has never lost home or away against Sunderland.
However it could have been much better. Presented with a volley 18 yards out and with defenders in his wake, Beckford fired well over the bar, and ensuring the point were shared. Ultimately, despite the abundance of chances and open play, there was cause for cheer, and disappointment for both managers. Everton again rued missed chanced and a lack of finishing panache up front. They need to turn draws in to wins to force their way up the table, but are resilient and have only lost once eight games.
Sunderland can take solace in their own run of losing once in 12, and have teenage striker Danny Welbeck hitting a rich vein of form. But they also need wins not draws at home. Welbeck has emerged from the shadows of more illustrious strike partners Darren Bent and Asamoah Gyan with the final goal to beat Chelsea a week ago, and now one in either half last night - the second a mighty leap and brilliant header.
The on loan Manchester United striker will have caught Sir Alex Ferguson's eye with his slick play in the last two game. Only a few weeks ago Sunderland fans were not convinced about Welbeck's merits. Some asked if he was only being played as part of the loan deal with United. But since he moved into his preferred strike role, rather than out wide, he has excelled. The opener came inevitably from Tim Cahill. He grabbed his seventh in 12 games against the Wearsiders, and seventh of the season, nodding home from 8 yards out. He was presented the goal by a perfect cross from Leighton Baines. The left back started and finished a fine move down the left combining to break clear with Steven Pienaar. But Bruce's men burst to life after 20 minutes and produced an equally well worked leveller. Bolo Zenden, playing against brother in law John Heitinga, was the architect, winning the ball off Pienaar on the left wing and sprinting into the box to draw Baines and firing low to the near post where Danny Welbeck was lurking. The on loan Manchester United star, 20 on Friday, prodded a wonderful finish inside Howard's post. Welbeck's second arrived after 70 minutes. First he robbed Jack Rodwell to tee up Bent on the break, but his shot was blocked. From the ensuing corner the winner came, although replays show Keiron Richardson was offside before he crosses. Welbeck leapt above the defence to glance home, but Everton didn't cave in. Mikel Artata kept probing Sunderland's fragile looking centre backs. He levelled after dancing across the area and shooting via a big deflection off the boot of Phil Bardsley, past Craig Gordon. in the first half Cahill also had a header cleared off the line by Jordan Henderson and Lee Cattermole.
The five minutes of injury time produced chances for both sides to win it. Welbeck was dinked in by sub Steed Malbranque but scuffed wide. A cross to Darren Bent would have created a tap in goal. Then came Beckford's miss. Phil Jagielka's punt down the middle split Michael Turner and Anton Ferdinand and Beckford pulled the trigger. "He usually scored those in training," said boss Moyes. His response in the heat of the moment may not have been so generous.
Everton target hints at January switch
Nov 23 2010 By Football Spy The Daily Mirror
Everton target Yannick Djalo insists he is happy at Sporting Lisbon – but would be open to a January move. The creative winger has been tracked by David Moyes for some time and sources in Portugal revealed Everton have been in touch with Djalo’s club about the possibility of a January move. But the 24-year-old, who has just returned from injury, says he will only leave Sporting if it is for the good of the club.
He said: “There is still time until January and then we’ll see what is best for me and the club. “I can only say that for me the most important thing is Sporting.
“I’m at a great club that formed me from junior level and I owe it all to them.”
Everton FC lodge club logo as official trademark
Nov 24 2010 by Ben Schofield, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON FC bosses have moved to protect their logo from European imitators.
They registered the club’s iconic shield and motto Nil Satis Nisi Optimum with continental authorities. The club said it was “standard practice” to do so and it was “protecting the club’s interests” across Europe. Last year, the ECHO revealed Everton missed out on lodging “The People’s Club” as an official trademark after a Liverpool market stallholder registered it before them. Lifelong Evertonian Brian Gould filed the paperwork after Blues manager David Moyes coined the phrase at his first press conference. When the story broke last July, the club said it was moving away from the People’s Club slogan and its Latin motto – which means “nothing but the best is good enough” – would take centre stage. A bid to make the logo a European-wide trademark was filed with the Trade Marks and Designs Registration Office of the European Union (OHIM) in September. On October 14, OHIM gave it official protection. Everton’s head of communications Ian Ross said: “We are doing no more than protecting the club’s interests on a Europe-wide basis by way of a trademark.
“It is a sensible measure and one which is standard business practice inside football.”
A search of the OHIM database reveals the word “Everton” has also been trademarked by two businesses – an Italian paint manufacturer and a Dutch financier.
Everton unsuccessfully objected to the Dutch firm’s claim to the trademark.
Victor Anichebe and Dani Pacheco on the mark as Everton Reserves and Liverpool Reserves draw
Nov 24 2010 Liverpool Echo
VICTOR ANICHEBE continued his comeback from injury with an equaliser as Everton Reserves shared the mini-derby spoils with Liverpool at the Stobart Stadium last night. Barclays Premier Reserve League leaders Liverpool had taken the lead with a superb solo effort from Spaniard Dani Pacheco. But the Blues secured a point thanks to Anichebe’s quick reply. In a typically-competitive contest there were not that many clear-cut chances for either side to secure all three points. But the draw means that Liverpool maintained their three-point advantage over their neighbours at the top of the table. Both sides fielded young but strong line-ups. Liverpool had Danny Wilson, fresh from his goalscoring international debut with Scotland, in the line-up along with Pacheco and Nathan Eccleston, who have all played in Roy Hodgson’s line-up.
While the Blues could call pn Anichebe, Shane Duffy and Jose Baxter among those with first-team experience. Baxter and Kieren Agard both tested Martin Hansen in the Reds goal before Liverpool took the lead on 21 minutes. Spanish striker Pacheco capped a fine display by dancing into the Everton area onto Gerardo Bruna’s quick free-kick before delicately lofting over Blues keeper Iain Turner to score from a tight angle. But the lead lasted just three minutes as Anichebe, on the comeback trail following a knee injury, prodded home from close range after Magaye Gueye’s ball into the area. The contest remained open, but chances were proving hard to come by.
Nathan Eccleston had a penalty appeal waved away while on the hour Reds keeper Hansen flapped at Gueye's corner, but did well to stop Agard’s follow-up.
The Dane tipped another effort around the post as Nathan Craig's cross was deflected off Wilson. He also denied Anichebe's a second with another good stop.
Gueye's had another rasping drive saved while at the end substitute Michael Ngoo hit the post after Eccleston's pass. Anichebe clipped a free-kick inches wide, while Pacheco was also off target with a curling effort as the game drew to a close.
Wilson headed off target from a corner, but did well in his own box when blocking superbly to frustrate Agard after the Everton striker. In the end both sides settled for a point which seemed a fair reflection of the contest.
EVERTON RESERVES: Turner, Browning, Garbutt, Wallace, Duffy, Bidwell, Craig (McAleny 81), Gueye, Agard, Anichebe, Baxter. Subs: Davies, Forshaw, Hope, Cummins.
LIVERPOOL RESERVES: Hansen, Flanagan, Robinson, Irwin (Coady 71), Mendy, Wilson, Amoo (Ngoo 55), Suso, Eccleston, Pacheco, Bruna (Roberts 77). Subs: Belford, McGiveron.
Ian Snodin: Left is looking right for Everton FC
Nov 24 2010 Liverpool Echo
ALTHOUGH it was another two points dropped I’m not too downhearted by Everton’s draw in the North East. It was certainly an entertaining game and the satellite TV subscribers got their money worth. And there were positives for David Moyes; largely the creativity of two players I go on about week in, week out.
Leighton Baines and Steven Pienaar are a joy to behold on the left, their link-up is telepathic and they duly created a lovely first goal for the Blues to take the lead at the Stadium of Light. It was an example of what they’re best at. Overlapping and then getting the ball to Bainsey to find Timmy Cahill with that wonderful left foot of his.
Baines played so well that it makes a mockery of his exclusion from Fabio Capello’s last few England squads. But where you give him all the credit possible, because he has it all in my book, you have to hold your hands up and say he should have done better to stop Bolo Zenden getting the cross in for their equaliser. First and foremost, despite his attacking attributes, the lad is a defender and he will know he should have been a bit tighter before Zenden went outside of him. That was a very rare error though, and I can’t fathom why he is being overlooked for England.Anyway, credit where it’s due Sunderland were very good. In Darren Bent and Danny Welbeck they had two strikers with everything you could want. They were lively runners, both could hold up the ball, and they always tried to run the channels. It was a difference between the sides, because Everton didn’t have that and if they had, they would have come back with three points. It’s that simple. You can only hope that Louis Saha took note, because he’s a class act and let’s hope that the patience Moyes has shown in him pays off. It was, without doubt, an opportunity to move up the league with the table still uncharacteristically tight. Everton could have dragged themselves up to 10th, and for the home side they could have been looking at being near the top five.
It’s that type of season so far. You see Bolton so high and Sunderland not far off, and realise that outside of the top two, anything can happen.
Everton FC's Phil Neville demands Blues become more ruthless
Nov 24 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
PHIL NEVILLE insists the topsy turvy Premier League table means Everton can still flourish despite their lacklustre form. The Blues skipper refuses to be disheartened by two more dropped points against Sunderland on Monday, and still believes the club can reverse their faltering fortunes with a few wins. Neville is fed-up with his team’s failure to take three points from games when they have dominated possession, and knows that has to change against West Bromich Albion on Saturday.
He said: “In the past, and I have played in championship winning teams, you have had to go on runs of 10-15 games of winning games but now it looks like it is coming down to five-to-10 games. “You can see with the way the league is shaping up that a run of victories will take you right up the table.” To recapture their consistency, Neville believes Everton need to develop a ruthless streak, after the 2-2 draw with Sunderland left them in 14th place in the league. A win against the Baggies at Goodison on Saturday could see them move as high as eighth though.
He said: “It has been the story of the season so far. We have come off at the end having dominated 70 per cent of the play and not got the three points we deserve.
“We can’t start feeling sorry for ourselves, not in the position we are in. It has happened too many times for it to be just bad luck. The league table doesn’t lie.
“We are where we are because we haven’t turned draws into victories. We have to be a little bit more ruthless in the final third, maybe shoot a bit more and hopefully we will be up there.” Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta believes the Blues must improve in both penalty areas, after his late goal clinched the point against Steve Bruce’s side.
Everton are now without a win in four games and Arteta is demanding more at both ends of the pitch. He said: “We conceded two goals but the second was offside, and I think we created enough chances and enough opportunities around the box to put the ball in the net. “The difference is in the boxes, if we have to score three goals away from home to win the game it’s going to be very difficult,” he added.
“These are the kinds of games that you should put them (Sunderland) away and get the points,” he said. “It was like when we went to Blackpool, I don’t know how many chances we created, but we couldn’t score them and ended up dropping two points.”
Everton FC live blog - chat with Blues writer Greg O'Keeffe from 12.30pm
Nov 24 2010
AS the football season nears its halfway point, Everton FC find themselves in the bottom half of the Premiership table.
High points such as the 2-0 Merseyside derby defeat of rivals Liverpool have been tempered by home defeats to Newcastle and Arsenal and the recent frustrating draw with Sunderland. The Echo's Everton FC writer Greg O'Keeffe has been with the Blues every step of the way, and now you can ask him what he thinks in our latest football live blog. From 12.30pm on Thursday, Greg will be online here to answer your questions and give his opinions on Everton's season so far and what the future may bring.
Victor Anichebe scores equaliser as Everton Reserves draw mini-derby against Liverpool Reserves 1-1
Nov 24 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post
VICTOR ANICHEBE continued his comeback from injury with an equaliser as Everton Reserves shared the mini-derby spoils with Liverpool at the Stobart Stadium last night. Barclays Premier Reserve League leaders Liverpool had taken the lead with a solo effort from Dani Pacheco. But Anichebe’s quick reply saw it end 1-1.
Mark Lawrenson: Too much passing – but Everton FC have no other option
Nov 24 2010 Liverpool Daily Post
I’VE heard some criticism this week that Everton are currently too obsessed with stringing passes together rather than having a pop at goal. And yes, there might be a bit of over-elaboration in the midfield. But you can’t have a go at the players for that – because at the moment there’s very little else for them to do. Trying to pick their way through with neat little touches is pretty much the only option and that reflects worse on the forward players than it does on the men in the middle. At the end of the day – and this has been the case all season - there’s just not enough happening up front and it is costing Everton valuable points. They did battle back well to force a draw at Sunderland on Monday at a very difficult place to go. But how many times have we talked about how it should have been more based on the amount of possession they had? Everton, even when they were 2-1 down, never looked like they would lose that game. But to win matches you need in-form forwards, with confidence flying. It makes the difference in tight games. Look at Louis Saha. Which shouldn’t be too difficult because he’s not exactly a ‘blink and you miss him’ type character at the moment. Where’s the movement? Where’s the gambling? The desire to get beyond the last defender? He made himself very easy to play against on Monday night, dropping back to get possession and therefore allowing his markers to keep tabs.
As a result, he offered Everton very little. No wonder the midfielders were keeping the ball amongst themselves. You could argue that David Moyes might play two up front, but he hasn’t got the resources. I said last week that a forward with the combined qualities of Yakubu, Beckford and Saha would be fine up front on their own.
But on an individual level you only need to look at Beckford’s last minute miss. He made the kind of run Saha should have been making all night, but when he got there his lack of finishing at this level was exposed. Also, Everton’s best players are in midfield. It would be pointless in dropping creative, dangerous players like Arteta, Cahill, Pienaar and Coleman to accommodate another forward. So the answer is simple – the man up front simply needs to start giving more for the cause if Everton are to shake off this lower to mid-table mediocrity.
Everton FC midfielder Mikel Arteta wants improvement at both ends of pitch
Nov 24 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
WHEN David Moyes declined the opportunity to speak to Her Majesty’s Press on Monday night, few would have argued had the reason been because the Scot was fed up repeating himself. Another game saw yet another frustratingly familiar performance from Everton as they wasted an opportunity to return to winning ways at Sunderland. But it isn’t just up front that the Goodison outfit have been found wanting in recent weeks. Despite taking an early lead through Tim Cahill’s seventh goal of the season, it required a deflected Mikel Arteta shot late on to earn a draw after the visiting defence was twice breached by Danny Welbeck. Having conceded just once in five games, Everton have now shipped seven goals in their last four matches, none of which have been won. And Spanish schemer Arteta admits Moyes’s men need to improve at both ends of the pitch. “We conceded two goals but the second was offside, and I think we created enough chances and enough opportunities around the box to put the ball in the net,” said Arteta. “The difference is in the boxes, if we have to score three goals away from home to win the game it's going to be very difficult.
“These are the kinds of games that you should put them (Sunderland) away and get the points. “It was like when we went to Blackpool, I don't know how many chances we created, but we couldn't score them and ended up dropping two points.”
Although dominating many of their recent games, Everton have been guilty of either spurning clear chances or simply being over-elaborate and not making the most of any available openings. And while mindful of that shortcoming, left-back Leighton Baines cites Arteta’s equaliser – which was helped on its way past Sunderland goalkeeper Craig Gordon by a huge deflection off Phil Bardsley – as an example of what can happen when chancing your arm. “There was probably a lot of times we got within 20 yards of goal outside of the box, with no real pressure and still turned down the opportunity to take a shot,” said Baines. “Sometimes you just need to take the chance and hit one. Sometimes it will fly in, others it will miss, and I think that is something we need to look at. We are in range a lot of times and not hitting it. “Some of us are always looking for another pass. For example Steven Pienaar is a footballer through and through, and he is always trying to score a goal that you'd call an Arsenal goal with lots of passes, then it’s knocked in from six yards. “We're not doing that at the moment unfortunately though, and players like Steven and Mikel can really hit a ball. “Like with Mikel, his shot took a deflection and went in. You’ve got to try your luck.” Substitute Jermaine Beckford missed an injury-time chance to seal the win having earned a point against Bolton Wanderers a fortnight earlier with a last-gasp leveller. But Baines believes it would be harsh to criticise the striker, and said: “Becks had a great late chance, and the two extra points would have made a big difference but we can’t keep relying on that. “We can't always ask him to come on for 10 minutes and win a game. That’d be hard on him. We must do more in the 80 minutes before that to put ourselves in a better, winning position.”
Everton FC might have to go more direct says Phil Neville
Nov 24 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
PHIL NEVILLE believes Everton may have to consider putting substance before style as they seek to cure the profligacy that continues to undermine their season.
The Goodison outfit were once again guilty of being unable to make the most of their chances when held to a 2-2 draw at in-form Sunderland on Monday night.
Since David Moyes was named manager of the month for October, Everton have not won to slip back towards the wrong end of the Premier League table, their failure to kill off the opposition illustrated by four draws in their last six games. And given the tight nature of the top flight this season, Neville admits Everton could face some tough choices if they don’t start converting those one-point hauls into three.
“Should we be playing more direct? It’s something we have talked about,” said the Goodison skipper. “But the manager doesn’t want to take away the football we are playing. “We’ve progressed over the years and we’ve got better and better, and now we’re playing a style of football that is pleasing to the eye. “But we need to be more ruthless in the final third. We need to start turning these draws into victories.
“Victories are what are going to take us up the league and draws aren’t. The way the league is shaping up, three points are absolutely valuable. “It’s in the final third where we’re probably taking that extra touch and that’s maybe a confidence thing. Instead of just having a shot, maybe players are thinking too much about it.” While Everton’s woes in front of goal have been well documented, Neville believes such efforts have not been helped by a defence that has kept only one clean sheet in six games.
“We keep saying we need to be ruthless and we need to be ruthless up front and we need to be ruthless at the back now,” he added. “We let two goals in against Sunderland, but if we keep clean sheets we know we’re going to win games.
“We feel as though we should have come away with three points, two points dropped is the overriding feeling.“Yes, Welbeck had a chance in the last minute but then Beckford had a good chance as well.
“We thought we’d done enough to win the game but I don’t know how many times we can keep saying that his season. “We’ve shown again we’re better than the table suggests, but at the moment, the table doesn’t lie.” The table currently shows Everton in 14th position, six points off the European qualification places and only two ahead of the relegation zone. However, Moyes revealed after the Sunderland match that he still expects great things from his squad this season, with Neville sharing that ambition. “The aim is Europe still,” he said. “It’s shaping up to be an unbelievable league this year – there’s twists and turns already. “The team that puts together three or four good wins is going to find themselves at the top of the league. It’s not going to take a run of eight or nine games anymore. “If you get three or four victories, you’re up there in the top four and we’ve got to make sure that team is us.”
Everton FC latest: Victor Anichebe eager to make return from injury
Nov 25 2010 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
VICTOR ANICHEBE is desperate to return to the Everton first-team fold and help David Moyes solve his goalscoring conundrum. Anichebe marked his first 90 minutes of football this season by scoring the equaliser in the mini-derby against Liverpool reserves on Tuesday night. The 22-year-old – who played only 11 times last term due to knee problems – has yet to make a senior appearance this season after seeing a promising summer curtailed by another knee injury in July. “It was good to get 90 minutes under my belt,” said Anichebe. “Towards the last half an hour I was dying but it’s good to get the game time and hopefully it will take me a long way.
“I would say the injury is behind me. I feel it sometimes and it’s been a long time but it was good psychologically to come through it and hopefully all my injuries are behind me as it has been a tough last 18 months with being injured, coming back and then getting injured again.” Anichebe added: “I worked hard in pre-season and it was hard to get injured when I did. Hopefully the manager will be thinking about me now but we will see. “I am taking slow steps and I can’t just think I am going to play but hopefully I will be around the first team again soon.” Meanwhile, Tim Cahill has revealed his pride after being named Everton’s player of the month for October.
The Australian said: “It’s fantastic, the most important thing is that we’ve maintained a good run of form after a poor start to the season. “It’s always great to be recognised but most of all it’s always great to get points on the board. “I find all the goals I score important. Those goals were fantastic because we were going through a difficult patch and Birmingham was actually our first win of the season. “One of the most memorable goals will have to be Liverpool because of what it means to myself and the supporters.”
Psycho Pat’s trans-atlantic phone call which landed him in hot water
Nov 25 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
I DID fear for my safety once when Joey Bennett Senior phoned and told me to get my arse round to their house pronto! I had no idea what I had done wrong and was truly sh**ing myself when I arrived there. I walked into the front room and Joey was sitting around the table with some friends, Les and Joan Powell. They proceeded to hand me their latest telephone bill, which was an astonishing £650 for a quarter. I then had a horrible flash-back to a couple of months earlier when I had gone to a local pub with Joey and some family friends including Les and Joan. We had ended up back at the Powell’s for a party and when everyone had gone to bed I crashed out on the couch. After a few minutes I began thinking of Kimberly Cusack, a girl I had met on tour in Hawaii, so decided to phone her. I must have been on the blower to her for about three hours! In my drunken state I had thought nothing of it but weeks later the phone bill sobered me up! Joey just said: “What are you going to do about this?” I looked at Les and Joan and said: “Will you take a cheque?” I paid the bill and we had a good laugh about it although I was not invited to stop over at the Powell’s ever again!
I hadn’t long left Everton when I met Mandy Smith and was being driven around London one day in a Rolls Royce drinking champagne so got Mandy to phone Joey and told her to invite him and Jean down for a weekend. They thought I was nuts and did not have a clue who she was. Before long I wished I didn’t either! The likes of John Smith, Tony Unghi and The Bennett’s made my time in Liverpool extremely enjoyable, in fact one of the main reasons I had to leave was that they were too enjoyable! I was born in Belgium, raised in Millwall but am 100% an adopted Scouser!
Everton FC great Pat Van Den Hauwe to launch his autobiography Psycho Pat at the Royal Oak
Nov 25 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
PAT Van Den Hauwe is an adopted Scouser.
His last act before returning to Cape Town after an emotional reunion with his title winning team-mates this year was to have the slogan ‘Nil Satis Nisi Optimum’ tatooed across his back. “I was only at Everton for five years and although I have the utmost respect for the fans of every club I have ever played for I see myself as an adopted Scouser and a true Evertonian,” he said. In keeping with that sentiment, Van Den Hauwe is launching his autobiography at one of the Everton fans’ most popular matchday pubs, the Royal Oak, this Saturday. A limited edition of 1878 copies will be available in an original format and all are signed. The books cost £20 and Pat will be at The Royal Oak from 11am onwards.
Pat Van Den Hauwe’s links with The Krays and the best boozer in Toxteth
Nov 25 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
LIVERPOOL can be a tough, rough place. Make no bones about it, it is a city that has more than its fair share of hard-cases and is certainly a place where the locals do not suffer fools. When I moved to Everton I was warned by a few people that I may find it hard to get out and enjoy myself as I had a bad reputation which may be a tag the Scousers wanted to test. I had another disadvantage… I was a cockney!
What the people who were worried about my general well being did not know was that I had connections in the city. Very good connections indeed!
Many years before I moved to Goodison a gentleman named John Smith who was a well known local business man, used to travel to London with The Golden Gloves Boxing Club from Liverpool and fight my local club, The Fisher Amateur Boxing Club. The Fisher lads were trained by Little Nobby a well known ex-member of The Krays’ firm. Through the boxing John became friends with my Uncles, Harry and Tommy, who at the time ran The Crown, a pub in Bermondsey. which was near The Lilliput Pub, run by a Scouse boxer Billy Aird, who fought for European and British Championships. Another boxer who fought the Fisher lads was none other than Wayne Rooney senior (above), father of the famous ex-Evertonian, who in his younger days I’m told, was a decent fighter. As soon as I moved to Everton I was in touch with John and to this day he remains one of my closest friends, although he has had to clip my wings once or twice since we met! My first introduction to some of his infamous hands-on discipline came soon after I made the move to Merseyside. I was guilty of turning up at another well-known boxing club, The Everton Red Triangle, drunk and foolishly threw John’s name into the hat when I was asked to leave having made a bit of a nuisance of myself. The bloke in charge, Joe Curran phoned John to say I was acting a bit out of order so John told him to stick me in the ring with someone while he came down to take me home. I went to the ring upstairs and was put in with a local lad called Tony Carroll (right), and not realising he was an up-and- coming pro gladly agreed to spar with him. By the time John arrived Tony had literally chased me round the ring, so I got out and told John to join me for a few minutes as this bloke was a bit too tasty for me. It was a big mistake!
John stripped to his vest and asked for these huge 16oz gloves which when worn made his hands look like shovels. Not wanting to lose face I commented that we would just have a bit of a spar and no proper hitting in the face! Tony said he’d keep time and we’d just have a minute so I got ready. The bell went and “BOOM” this 16oz glove smashed into my belly and it was game-over in two seconds flat. I never turned up p****ed at that gym again! Having learnt a valuable lesson I began showing a bit more respect and John introduced me to a good friend of his Tony Unghi. Tony was another well known local businessman who owned The Royal George in Park Road, Toxteth. I had some fantastic times in that boozer, if ever I had problems or wanted to get away from all the hassle of being in the spotlight. That was the place to go. It was nicknamed “Black George’s” and I was treated like a local in there at all times. When I went missing from training that’s where I would be, it was the one place the likes of Terry Darracott and his staff would not come looking for me. Another great pub John took me to was run by ex-Everton winger Gary Jones called The Albert in Lark Lane. It was another place I spent time in when I should have been elsewhere but that’s another story.
Ex-boyband singer in court over alleged threats to kill Everton FC legend Kevin Ratcliffe
Nov 25 2010 by Steve Bagnall, Liverpool Echo
A FORMER boy band singer made a threat to kill Everton FC legend Kevin Ratcliffe, a court heard. The charge against 25 year-old Matt Johnson, a former member of One True Voice, is believed to have arisen from a neighbours’ dispute. Johnson, of Ewloe, near Chester, appeared in court in Mold, North Wales on Tuesday. Dressed in black trousers and dark shirt he pleaded not guilty to the charge. Kevin Ratcliffe was regarded as one of the best central defenders of his generation. He captained Everton, making more than 460 appearances for the club, capturing honours including the FA Cup, the Football League Championship and the UEFA Cup Winners Cup.
He was also captain of the Welsh football team and was capped nearly 60 times.
Johnson had his first major taste of fame in 2002 when he made it through public votes to the final of ITV’s Popstars The Rivals – which also produced girl group Girls Aloud – to form One True Voice with four other young men. Their debut single Sacred Trust/After You're Gone went head-to-head with Girls Aloud on December 16, 2002 for the Christmas number one spot. One True Voice lost out to the girls and had to settle for the number two position. But while Girls Aloud went from strength to strength and became a huge hit, One True Voice faded into obscurity. Johnson continued his song writing and singing career and is set to perform at a series of private functions lined up over the coming months. Johnson was released on bail and the case was adjourned until January 20 for a trial.
Psycho Pat: Legend or Madman? Pat Van Den Hauwe launches his sensational autobiography
Nov 25 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
“This is not one of the usual ex-footballer’s autobiographies you may have come across!” writes Pat Van Den Hauwe. in the introduction to ‘Psycho Pat.’ The Everton cult hero is true to his word, as Echo readers will discover over the next three days.
AT LEAST once a month my wife will wake me up from a nightmare that I often have. It’s not just a bad dream but a real situation that I found myself in, a situation that to this day makes me weep. If I gave you numerous guesses you would probably go for the likes of why did I let Norman Whiteside cut inside and get a shot in on goal that cost Everton the treble? If you thought the sight of Whiteside running past me celebrating as I dropped to my knees in despair prevented me from sleeping you would be wrong. Another favourite would be why did I not get a grip of Gazza early on in the Cup Final a few years later? Maybe a senior pro like myself or Gary Lineker could have calmed him down and prevented him from making that horrendous tackle, a tackle that left him screaming in agony, one that almost ended his career.
Is it the image of Gazza screaming in agony that made me shout out in my sleep? No it is not.Those of you who know about my personal life would maybe think that the nightmare scene involves me walking away from my wife who was in tears holding my baby daughter as I left them to move in with Mandy Smith?
That’s a close call, as although I don’t have nightmares about it, it does make me weep. The nightmare is none of those. It is actually an incident that occurred in South Africa a couple of years after I had left England and become heavily involved in the high life and drug culture that goes hand in hand with it. I wake up screaming as in the dream one thing changes from the actual incident. In the dream I pull the trigger of the 38 special I have been carrying around with me for months and blow a gentleman called Steven Penkridge’s head off. In real life, although the situation occurred I did not pull the trigger, I let the bloke walk away. It was a decision that probably saved my life as well as his. My reoccurring nightmare never goes away and I am glad, as it makes me realise how fortunate I am to still have my liberty and also makes me realise how becoming involved with guns and drugs can only lead to death and despair. I came so close to committing murder that night that I never want to forget how fortunate I am that I chose not to pull the trigger. Every day when I wake up that is the first thing that comes into my mind. Before I got to that crazy stage of my life I had plenty of other memorable moments on the way. My life was one big fairground ride that never seemed to stop. Some parts of it were good, some bad and some plain stupid. I look back at it now with a smile, the occasional tear and with some fondness. Believe me it was a ride that at times was destined to crash and it was the excitement of waiting for the crash to happen that prevented me from ever getting off.
I love excitement and I doubt there are many people who have been on a similar ride still here to talk about it. Luckily I am.
Everton FC agree new record-breaking three-year £12m sponsorship deal with Thai brewey Chang
Nov 25 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON have agreed a record-breaking three-year sponsorship extension with Thai brewery Chang worth up to £12m. The decision to prolong the club’s current partnership with the beer manufacturer makes it the longest-standing sponsorship deal in the Premier League. Goodison officials were today in Bangkok to complete the agreement, which is also the biggest shirt sponsorship deal in the club’s history.
Toffees Chief Executive Robert Elstone, who was in the Thai capital along with first-team star Marouane Fellaini, said: “We are delighted to be signing a new three-year extension deal with Chang. We consider Chang to be very much a part of the extended Everton family. We are proud of what we have achieved in our time together and to have contributed to the development of young Thai footballers and the coaching infrastructure. “Thai Bev has harnessed the years of accumulated expertise in our Academy and used it to deliver their own agenda on the ground in Thailand.”
Everton have been wearing Chang’s distinctive elephant logo on their shirts since the start of the 2004/05 season, and the extension will further boost their profile in the thriving South East Asian football market. The club’s recent achievements have delighted the brewery, culminating with one of the biggest global audiences for a single sporting event at the 2009 FA Cup Final. That huge international exposure for British football's showcase final, illustrates the attraction of deals with established Premier League clubs to top Asian brands. Mr Elstone added: “Chang have always been very supportive of Everton since we first signed with them in 2004 and have been extremely proactive in driving the partnership forward, helping Everton grow internationally, whilst we have assisted in supporting Chang in key markets around the world. “We understand that in the modern sports sponsorship market it is vital to generate as much value as possible and together we believe that the Everton/Chang relationship will continue to provide a significant payback on the investment.
Š“We are extremely excited about the new contract and look forward to working with our Thai colleagues to further develop the relationship.” Charlie Jitcharoongphorn, Deputy Managing Director, Thai Beverage Marketing Co. Ltd said: “Chang has been a major sponsor of Everton for seven consecutive seasons. Over the course of these seven years, our partnership has been nothing short of truly fulfilling.”
Everton FC v West Bromwich Albion - pre-match preview
Nov 25 2010 By Echo reporters
November 27, 3pm kick off
Everton's last five games
Nov 22: Premier League - Sunderland 2 Everton 2
Nov 14: Premier League - Everton 1 Arsenal 2
Nov 10: Premier League - Everton 1 Bolton 1
Nov 6: Premier League - Blackpool 2 Everton 2
Oct 30: Premier League - Everton 1 Stoke 0
West Brom's last five games
Nov 20: Premier League - West Brom 0 Stoke 3
Nov 13: Premier League - Wigan 1 West Brom 0
Nov 10: Premier League - West Ham 2 West Brom 2
Nov 7: Premier League - West Brom 0 Man City 2
Nov 1: Premier League - Blackpool 2 West Brom 1
Past Matches
Everton's overall record against West Brom
P 150 W 61 D 34 L 55 Goals for 247 Goals against 240
Selected matches
April 11 1973: West Brom 4 Everton 1
Notable in that it was one of only five games under the stewardship of caretaker manager Tom Eggleston. Blues were swept aside in front of 21,281 at The Hawthorns with Mick Bernard grabbing the consolation goal. Co Durham-born Eggleston, who died in 2004, bridged the gap between Harry Catterick and Billy Bingham.
April 16: 1985: Everton 4 West Brom 1
Blues kept up their chase for the First Division crown in front of 29,750 fans. On target for Howard Kendall's side were stopper Ian Atkins, Kevin Sheedy and Graeme Sharp (2) including a penalty. Scotsman Sharp's goals were among 30 he scored in 54 games that season.
December 7 1985: West Brom 0 Everton 3
A comprehensive away victory for the Blues. Manager Howard Kendall watched as the Baggies were sunk by goals from Kevin Sheedy, Pat Van Den Hauwe and the great Gary Lineker.
Ones to watch
Everton
West Brom's soft centre will have Everton drooling. Their centre backs wilted under the bombardment served up to them by Stoke striker Kenwyne Jones as the Baggies were drubbed 3-0 last week. That suggests that a fit and firing Yakubu could have a field day. Baggies' keeper Scott Carson is prone to howlers and Mikel Arteta could profit with shots from distance.
West Brom
Manger Roberto Di Matteo must wish he could put his boots on after seeing his team take just one point from the last 15. He may be encouraged to give more pitch time to Graham Dorrans who was outstanding in the Championship last season. Livewire striker Peter Odemwingie has four goals this season and couldl pull Blues' central defenders out of position with his range of movement.
Injuries/suspensions
Everton
Injured: Victor Anichebe, Leon Osman. Suspended: Marouane Fellaini.
West Brom
Injured: Ishmael Miller, Jonas Olsson.
The Odds:
Everton win 4-7; West Brom win 4-1; Draw 11-4.
Everton FC legend Dave Hickson in shock after sudden death of wife Pat
Nov 25 2010 By Greg O'Keeffe
EVERTON legend Dave Hickson was in shock today after the sudden death of his devoted wife Pat at their Merseyside home. Mrs Hickson, 77, died in bed during the early hours of this morning at the couples’ home in Great Sutton, South Wirral, with her husband of 25 years by her side. The former blues hero, known as the Cannonball Kid during his swash-buckling playing career which also saw him play for Tranmere and Liverpool, told friends Mrs Hickson had suffered hot and cold flushes and he was unable to revive her. He called paramedics but his wife, who had previously been feeling well, despite ongoing problems with angina, was declared dead around 1am.
Mrs Hickson, who had three children from a previous marriage, always accompanied her husband on his busy schedule of Everton events, and was present at the Blues' Former Players Foundation 10th anniversary dinner at Goodison Park on November 15. Her son-in-law Patrick Ryan said: “Pat’s life, as Dave’s does, revolved around Everton FC. He will continue his active participation in the club, and wants to be at Goodison Park for the game on Saturday. “He is best being around his friends and keeping to his routine at the moment, so he is determined to be at the West Brom match.” Ex Toffees manager Howard Kendall said it was a “sad day for the club”. He said: “It is heart-breaking. Dave and Pat were the perfect couple, and she was every inch the doting wife. “Pat was a lovely lady and went everywhere with Dave, who is an absolute gentleman. He has had his own health problems lately, so I’m very upset for him.” Close friend Ivor Scholes, who holidayed with the couple every year in Southern France, said: “I’ve spoken to Dave and as you’d expect he is devastated.
“Pat was a huge Everton supporter, very passionate about the club and very supportive of Dave in every way possible. “She was a very elegant lady, a great hostess and cook who catered for Dave’s every culinary whim and loved him so much. "I remember fondly the parties she used to host when we went on holiday, and she was held in the highest esteem by all of the wives of Dave’s former team-mates.”
Everton FC live blog - re-read today's chat with Blues writer Greg O'Keeffe
Nov 25 2010
AS the football season nears its halfway point, Everton FC find themselves in the bottom half of the Premiership table. High points such as the 2-0 Merseyside derby defeat of rivals Liverpool have been tempered by home defeats to Newcastle and Arsenal and the recent frustrating draw with Sunderland. The Echo's Everton FC writer Greg O'Keeffe has been with the Blues every step of the way, and now you can ask him what he thinks in our latest football live blog. From 12.30pm on Thursday, Greg will be online here to answer your questions and give his opinions on Everton's season so far and what the future may bring
£12m deal shows Everton FC are making progress, says Robert Elstone
Nov 26 2010 Liverpool Daily Post
EVERTON chief executive Robert Elstone believes a new record-breaking shirt sponsorship deal is an indication of the progress the club is making.
Chang, the Thai beer company, have extended their long-standing association with the Toffees for another three years. Terms included in the agreement could see Everton net more than £12million by 2014, by which time the sponsorship with Chang will have spanned a decade. “It is a great deal for us financially,” said Elstone.
“It is probably about four times the original deal and is at least 25% more than the current deal, so we are showing good growth rates. “And in a climate where people are really questioning where they spend their money, questioning their investments and trying to save money wherever they can, the fact that Chang have come back to us and are prepared to spend more than they have in the past shows that we are really delivering for them. “Also I think the length of the partnership shows we work hard, we are a good partner and that it is a genuine working relationship with excellent communication.” The decision to prolong the club’s current partnership with the beer manufacturer makes it the longest-standing sponsorship deal in the Premier League.
Goodison officials were yesterday in Bangkok to complete the agreement, which is also the biggest shirt sponsorship deal in the club’s history. Everton have been wearing Chang’s distinctive elephant logo on their shirts since the start of the 2004/05 season, and the extension will further boost their profile in the thriving South East Asian football market. The club’s recent achievements have delighted the brewery, culminating with one of the biggest global audiences for a single sporting event at the 2009 FA Cup Final. That huge international exposure for British football's showcase final, illustrates the attraction of deals with established Premier League clubs to top Asian brands. Elstone, who was in the Thai capital along with first-team star Marouane Fellaini, said: “We consider Chang to be very much a part of the extended Everton family. “We are proud of what we have achieved in our time together and to have contributed to the development of young Thai footballers and the coaching infrastructure. “Thai Bev has harnessed the years of accumulated expertise in our Academy and used it to deliver their own agenda on the ground in Thailand.”
Elstone added: “Chang have always been very supportive of Everton since we first signed with them in 2004 and have been extremely proactive in driving the partnership forward, helping Everton grow internationally, whilst we have assisted in supporting Chang in key markets around the world. “We understand that in the modern sports sponsorship market it is vital to generate as much value as possible and together we believe that the Everton/Chang relationship will continue to provide a significant payback on the investment. “We are extremely excited about the new contract and look forward to working with our Thai colleagues to further develop the relationship.” Elstone intends to make further commercial advancements in the future, with work on the new £9million self-funded retail and administration centre on the current site of the Club Everton lounge due to start. “We have a number of big projects on the go and we will continue to strive to take the club forward and make Everton the very best it can be,” he added.
Everton FC chief executive Robert Elstone vows new Chang deal will give David Moyes spending boost
Nov 26 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Daily Post
EVERTON chief executive Robert Elstone has vowed the club’s £12m sponsorship extension with Thai brewery Chang will give manager David Moyes a much-needed financial boost in the transfer market. The Blues boss will be keen to try and strengthen his squad in January’s window, and will be buoyed by the potential of fresh funds - although the money will arrive in installments over three-years.
Moyes is believed to be on the look-out for a centre forward and a right-sided midfielder in January, and has been linked with a fresh loan move for USA captain Landon Donovan. Elstone said: “It is a big increase on the current deal and allows us to flow that into our financial forecast and can only really strengthen our resolve to continue to strengthen the playing squad. “There were other brands out there who were interested in sponsoring us, but it’s a partnership that works for us and for them. We are proud that we will have had 12 years as commercial partners at the end of this new deal. “It is the longest standing sponsorship in the league and it really is a great deal. It is important to have the security of a new deal on the table for the next three years, especially during these volatile economic times. “I am sure all businesses in the world are looking where they should spend their money or cut back, and value for money will be massively important to them. “It says a lot about what Chang think about is that they have agreed to this deal and all it entails.” Meanwhile, Everton youngster James Wallace has joined Bury on a month’s loan. The midfielder links up with the promotion-chasing League Two outfit in time for their weekend clash with Peterborough in the FA Cup second round. Wallace, 18, is a product of Everton's Youth Academy and made his debut for the first team last season in the Europa League clash with Sigma Olomouc. The club were also today offering their full support to legend Dave Hickson, as he was coming to terms with the sudden death of his devoted wife Pat at their Merseyside home. Mrs Hickson, 77, died in bed during the early hours of yesterday morning at the couples’ home in Great Sutton, South Wirral, with her husband of 25 years by her side. The former Blues hero, known as the Cannonball Kid during his swash-buckling playing career which also saw him play for Tranmere and Liverpool, told friends Mrs Hickson had suffered hot and cold flushes and he was unable to revive her. He called paramedics but his wife, who had previously been feeling well, despite ongoing problems with angina, was declared dead. Mrs Hickson, who had three children from a previous marriage, always accompanied her husband on his busy schedule of Everton events, and was present at the Blues' Former Players Foundation 10th anniversary dinner at Goodison Park on November 15. Her son-in-law Patrick Ryan said: “Pat’s life, as Dave’s does, revolved around Everton FC. He will continue his active participation in the club, and wants to be at Goodison Park for the game on Saturday. “He is best being around his friends and keeping to his routine at the moment, so he is determined to be at the West Brom match.”
Everton FC’s Tim Cahill: I’m more than just a goal-scorer.
Nov 26 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
THE PREMIER League’s top goal scorers chart might suggest otherwise - but Tim Cahill insists he does not feel like an out and out striker. Everton’s Aussie diamond has weighed in with seven goals so far, placing him fourth in the list of the top flight’s most prolific marksmen. Only red-hot Carlos Tevez, Andy Caroll and Johan Elmander have found the net more times than the 30-year-old who David Moyes signed for £1.5m from Milwall in 2005. Yet even though he is currently carrying the weight of Goodison’s striking expectations on his shoulders, the 30-year-old insists his role as a link-up man between midfield and attack is about far more than just scoring crucial goals. “I don’t feel like an out and out striker because I’ve never played as one really for Everton” says Cahill, fresh from picking up the club’s player of the month award.
“Against Sunderland was the first time I’ve ever had the licence to go up and stay up, but it’s in me to come back and defend. “Obviously I win the first, and second balls and try to close down defenders but straight after I do that I’m back into the midfield trying to make sure everything is closed up. “Then I’m back defending corners and free kicks. It’s a bit of a mixed role I suppose. In terms of centre forwards these days most don’t run 12 kilometres a game.” Despite some typically swash-buckling performances, including goals against Liverpool in the Goodison derby and Manchester United, the Socceroo does not feel he is in the form of his life.
“I’m not sure if I’m in the form of my life” he says. “The first season I came here was fantastic. I just want to be consistent. “I suppose just because the goals have come, people talk about it being my best season but the one thing I maintain under this manager is the importance of him making sure I’m not only playing well, but training well and keeping my body fit.” Cahill credits his manager with helping him hone the super-fit physique which helps him play for both club and country regularly.
“The manager has had a m assive infleunce on my attitude this year, and as I get older looking after my body. Doing the right things is important to stay on top,” he says.
“I won’t have to modify that. The manager understands the amount of football I play, but I feel fantastic. I play three games a week sometimes and travel a lot, but it’s all about working hard, and not trying to find excuses not to play. “I play with knocks. I’ve done it every year I played for Everton anyway, and this year seems to be very fluent. “The manager always says ‘Just get on with it’. It’s alright when you’re doing well, but that has got to apply when it’s not going so well too.” Despite his reluctance to be classed as a striker, Cahill admits he looked up to centre forwards as a youth, and held AC Milan’s Ruud Gullit in high esteem. “Every time he jumped into the air he looked more dramatic because of his hair, he was an inspiration,” he says. “There were loads of players. For me I’ve tried to improve every year a little bit.
“Maybe Everton fans question my ability as a footballer sometimes. That comes part and parcel of being at a club for so long. But I need to make sure I can improve.”
Howard Kendall: Substitutes need to warm-up with the ball at their feet!
Nov 26 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
I FEEL some sympathy for Jermaine Beckford being asked to come on and win games in the dying stages. It’s not easy, although David Moyes is trying to balance giving him opportunities at the same time as helping him adjust to the top flight.
I noticed against Sunderland though, that when the subs warm up on the touchline it is just jogging, sprinting and stretching. I feel that something is lost when they have not got a ball at their feet, sharpening their touch. Your first touch in a game in a game is massive, and it’s always going to be better if you’ve done ball-work before kick off.
As it was, Jermaine’s first touch was the opportunity to shoot at goal and we know it didn’t go to plan. It was the type of chance we’ve seen him score at Leeds, although he had been on the pitch since the start when he was winning games single handedly for the Yorkshire club last season. It’s not easy for him but I believe he will get a lot of chances and he needs to take them. At the least I’d like to see Jermaine, and any subs staying on the pitch at half time and doing ball work, shaking off the cold and making sure that if they are called upon to come on - they are ready and their first touch will be right.
Howard Kendall: Danny Welbeck should not have been able to score against Everton FC
Nov 26 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
SUNDERLAND were good value for their point against the Blues on Monday but I take issue with the scorer of their goals – he shouldn’t have been on the pitch.
I’m firmly against loans between Premier League clubs. Danny Welbeck should be learning his trade in the Championship, and not playing for another top flight club because Alex Ferguson doesn’t require his services at the moment. It’s not sour grapes because he scored against Everton by any means. I like him as a player and he seems likely to have a bright future ahead of him. It seems though that the clique of Alex Ferguson is in full swing. He loaned Welbeck to his son Darren at Preston North End last season, and now it’s his old pal Steve Bruce at Sunderland. It seems silly to loan within the league and then have stipulations in the deal that player can’t play against the club who own him and things like that. Saying that, Sunderland played well and a draw was a fair result. If anything I’d have liked to see Yakubu and Jermaine Beckford introduced earlier. There is quite a lot of ammunition for Moyes in striking power, and you wonder whether it’s best to throw caution to the wind sometimes.
Steve Bruce said afterwards that he felt his side has just played one of the best teams in the league, and a lot of people in the game echo his opinion. It’s a false position that Everton are in, but that won’t provide much consolation for David Moyes or the fans. There is still time for the Blues to put a run together and surge back up the league, and do the opposite of what Hull City did last year when they plummeted.
Howard Kendall: Everton FC must look for three points from low on confidence Baggies
Nov 26 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
WEST BROM come to Goodison on the back of a bad result at the Hawthorns and it could be a time for the Blues to hit them while morale is rock bottom.
Thanks to a good manager in Roberto Di Matteo, they are playing some good football and giving it a good go at survival this season. Di Matteo, like Roberto Martinez at Wigan, likes his team to play football and I admire both men's’ principles.
It means they will be involved in some entertaining matches, and it also means they will have to take a few big defeats along the way. Everton may be better taking a more direct approach against the Baggies, sometimes they have been guilty of over-passing this season, something it’s easy to do on pitches these days.
David Prentice: Shake the hand of Cannonball Kid Dave Hickson, he’s a very special man
Nov 26 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
WHEN dear old Davey Hickson suffered a heart attack ahead of an Everton match against Sunderland three years ago, his reaction was typically stoic. He joked about missing his beloved Blues score seven – then was back performing his ambassador’s role within weeks. So no-one should be surprised by his reaction to the devastating blow he suffered early yesterday morning. Dave’s wife and soul mate, the lovely, charming Pat, passed away at his side. Any Evertonian who has ever been to an Everton function will know the pair were inseparable. But Davey intends to soldier on. He plans to be at The Devonshire House Hotel tonight for a function organised by Ronnie Goodlass – and he has vowed to be at Goodison Park tomorrow when the Blues take on West Bromwich Albion. If you bump into the Cannonball Kid tonight or tomorrow, just pause for a moment to shake the hand of a very strong, very special man.
David Prentice: Everton FC could do with an FA Cup silver lining
Nov 26 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
IT was a legitimate query from an ardent Evertonian. Why does Hodgson get so much stick when no-one says a word about Moyes? Now you ought to be aware that my interrogator does like a moan. But with Liverpool currently three points and five league places ahead of their neighbours, in a supposedly slack season, his moans were not misplaced. I delivered a two-word reply. Expectation and imagination.
First imagination. Such has been the quality of Everton’s passing and possession this season, it’s easy to imagine a second half of the season revival. The Blues don’t appear to be too far away from garnering the results their performances deserve.
Liverpool, however, veer wildly from the sublime (Chelsea at Anfield) to the ridiculous (Wigan and Stoke City away). Then there’s the expectations.
Liverpool fans have become conditioned to expect silverware, whether those expectations are realistic or not. It might be 20 years since the league title last landed at Anfield. But in that time the Reds have still celebrated three FA Cups, three League Cups, a UEFA cup and perhaps the greatest Champions League triumph of modern times. After 15 years with barely one sniff of a trophy (two if you count the Carling Cup semi-final of 2008) Evertonians are not. And it’s why this weekend’s FA Cup draw is so important to the Toffees. Joe Royle, the last manager to bring silverware to Goodison Park, joked this week: “I was negotiating a new contract with Peter Johnson when he told me ‘Anyone can win a Cup. It’s only six matches’!” Tongue in cheek, perhaps – although with PJ you could never be sure – but he had a point.
Since 1995 the League Cup has been won by Blackburn, Middlesbrough, Aston Villa, Tottenham and Leicester (twice). All clubs with less celebrated histories than Everton (Villa fans might be able to give me an argument there, but definitely not Spurs).
The FA Cup, despite being taken more seriously by the serious trophy collectors, has still given Portsmouth Football Club one of their greatest days in modern memory and Liverpool their last serious celebration. The 20 minutes and 35 seconds that Everton led the 2009 FA Cup final for is still as close as they’ve come to a serious celebration in a similar timescale. Everton need a trophy badly – and they have already let the League Cup slip carelessly through their fingers this season. I remain an unconditional David Moyes fan. He is an outstanding manager. In his time at Everton he has raised expectation levels, raised the quality of the first team squad, and lowered the average age – while the flame of motivation still burns more intensely than ever inside him.
But 15 years is a hell of a long time for a club like Everton not to celebrate real success. I grew up during a 14-year Goodison trophy drought which felt like an eternity. The 24 years which straddled Everton’s two title winning campaigns of 1938/39 and 1962/63 still represents the longest period of Goodison trophy famine. But the outbreak of the Second World War which split up the memorable Mercer, Lawton, Sagar side had something to do with that. There’s no such mitigation today.
David Moyes has been a force for good at Everton, but he needs a trophy as badly as his football club.
Psycho Pay: Pat Van Den Hauwe on how his injury was self-inflicted
Nov 26 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
PAT Van Den Hauwe ended the 1987/88 season with a slight hamstring niggle. After helping Wales beat Italy on Italian soil, however, he didn’t kick a ball again for three months. But there was no club v country row this time, as Psycho Pat’s ‘injury’ was very much self inflicted.
I HAD ended the season with a slight hamstring niggle so sat out the Malta game. However, the night before, knowing I was not playing, I sneaked out and went to sample the local hospitality where I met up with a local lady who, shall we say, was quite happy to show me some Maltese delights - and I am not talking sight seeing here! I had a stunning night in her company and the following day watched the game in-between some sun bathing and swimming. My hamstring was improving and as I sat on the pool side with a beer in my hand and the sun on my back I thought to myself could things be any better? Little did I know that inside my body was a virus that could hardly be any worse. We travelled to Italy the following day and I noticed that my ankle had swelled slightly but thought it may have been the flying or possibly all the swimming I had been doing. The Welsh medical bloke, although he was probably a vet knowing how the Welsh FA saved money, strapped me up and I played the full game in Brescia albeit with some discomfort. We won 1-0 and that night we all went out for a few beers and a meal and, as it happened, I once again ended up with a local lady so went home in good spirits. A day or two after arriving home I began to feel a little discomfort in the lower region – and I am not talking as low as my ankle here – so I went to the club doctor at Everton. Within hours I was in hospital and never kicked a ball again for three months. Everton were not happy as thanks to an Irish pitch and a Maltese b***h they had lost two of their top players whilst on International duty, although in slightly different circumstances! A month later the club secretary at Everton handed me a letter from Italy and I opened it to discover that it had a medical card stapled to it and although I can’t read Italian I knew it was from the girl I had slept with in Brescia. I had a good idea what it was about and I was quite sure it was not a request for me to pop back to Italy to marry her! Things were beginning to go a bit flat and there was plenty of talk of players moving on but in pre-season only Gary Stevens and Derek Mountfield were sold. I was especially sad to see Gary leave as from day one at the club he was my room partner and we had some superb times together. Colin brought in Neil McDonald to replace Gary, Pat Nevin from Chelsea and Stuart McCall all for good money but the signing that excited everyone was when Tony Cottee chose us before Arsenal for a British record fee.
They were all big signings so the board had certainly backed Colin Harvey and it looked like we were going to have a real go at getting the title back.
Unfortunately it was at this time that I had arrived back from the Welsh tour in some discomfort and went to see the doctor at Everton at once, as things were not looking good. As well as my privates being a bit sore my ankle was in a bad way although I thought it was a totally different issue and had no idea it was connected.
As soon as the doc saw me he sent me to a private hospital the club used and they diagnosed me with NSU, Non-specific Urethritis, a sexually transmitted disease which causes inflammation of the urethra. I had all the classic symptoms of an old fashion dose, the pain and burning sensation when I went the toilet and a feeling that I needed to pass urine frequently but had no idea how this affected my ankle. As I was diagnosed with a common STD they carried out a few more tests and I had to stay in over-night awaiting the results. The following morning I could not stand up, could put no weight whatsoever on my ankle and was absolutely terrified. They told me that whatever this slapper in Malta had passed onto me, it had got into my blood and found its way to my ankle and that the inflammation caused by the STD could have ended my career. It was that serious that if I had left it for another week I could have been finished. Luckily, I was not stupid enough to have hoped it would go away by itself and the early diagnosis and immediate treatment helped me carry on as a footballer, albeit not a very professional one. I spent nearly a month in hospital and the club, never mind Mrs Van Den Hauwe were none too impressed. There were all sorts of rumours going about that I had been stabbed, was a smack head, had had my leg broken by gangsters but the fact was I had a dose, a very bad one! A nurse was given the job of looking after me and it was a little embarrassing as she knew exactly why I was there and it was not because my ankle was a bit swollen. It did not help that she was also a very good looking young lady! As the weeks went by we got quite close and one night she sneaked me out of the hospital to a pub owned by a former Everton winger Gary Jones. By now she assured me that I was OK to have a drink as I was off the medication and just rehabilitating. So there I am sitting on a bar stool with my leg all strapped up drinking with a tasty nurse who the club were paying to look after me!
With not drinking for weeks I was soon drunk and ended up falling off the bar stool. So the nurse got me out of there having decided to really look after me. She gave me the good news that the dose had gone and then took me back to her place and sorted me out every way imaginable. The following morning she managed to sneak me back into the hospital before I was missed, which was good for the both of us – if the club would have found out we’d have been sacked. That’s how much out of control I was. Basically I did not care and that makes me feel ashamed looking back, but at the time that’s how it was.
Tim Cahill wants Everton FC to get back to ‘good old days’ before he departs for Asia Cup
Nov 26 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
TIM CAHILL is hoping a return to winning ugly can kick-start Everton’s Premier League campaign – before he departs for the Asia Cup in January. The Blues could be without their top scorer for up to six weeks from next month due to his commitments with Australia in the international tournament. Cahill is set to play in the Qatar-based competition from January 7 to 29, and the Socceroos also want the 30-year-old to attend a pre-Christmas training camp. David Moyes has admitted he is unhappy at the prospect of losing his star man during the busy period, although he respects the Aussie’s wishes. Now Cahill is desperate to at least leave the Toffees in better shape than their current league position of 14th, and believes they must make grinding out wins their focus again, even if style has to suffer. He said: “The time when I’ve had most success at this football club is when we’ve not looked too far ahead. We’ve won a lot of games ugly, maybe 1-0 wins and not conceding goals so I think it’d be great to go back to the good old days of showing up, not looking too far ahead and focusing on each match. “I don’t focus on the internationals. I don’t think about the Asia Cup. It’s just each game at a time for Everton. The good thing is that me and the manager speak frequently and my main objective is to play well and keep him happy.
“When it arises and the Asia Cup comes I’ll just deal with it, and speak with the manager. I do every other day. “The manager understands, and it’s hard for club and country. But I make sure my football is doing well. I need to play well for my club to do well for my country.” Skipper Phil Neville has previously expressed his concern that a pre-season focus on Everton’s potential to break into the top four could have distracted the squad. But Cahill accepts expectations were high for a reason. “It’s about expectations,” he said. “People need stuff to write about, and we’ve probably had the strongest squad we've had in a while. “If you look at the statistics we probably should have won a lot more games than we have, but all that’s out of the window and we have to try and make sure we show up to every game for three points.
“This time last season I don’t think we were worse off, so who knows what can happen until the end of this one. “I want to make sure the fans can see I’m trying to keep the highest level as possible. I suppose it’s hard being at the club so long because they expect something different, and hopefully I can continue it.”Meanwhile, Toffees chief executive Robert Elstone has vowed the club’s £12m sponsorship extension with Thai brewery Chang will give David Moyes’ a much-needed financial boost in the transfer market. The Blues boss will be keen to try and strengthen his squad in January’s window, and will be buoyed by the potential of fresh funds – although the money will arrive in installments over three-years. Elstone said: “It is a big increase on the current deal and allows us to flow that into our financial forecast and can only really strengthen our resolve to continue to strengthen the playing squad.
“There were other brands out there who were interested in sponsoring us, but it’s a partnership that works for us and for them. We are proud that we will have had 12 years as commercial partners at the end of this new deal. “It is the longest standing sponsorship in the league and it really is a great deal. It is important to have the security of a new deal on the table for the next three years, especially during these volatile economic times. “I am sure all businesses in the world are looking where they should spend their money or cut back, and value for money will be massively important to them. “It says a lot about what Chang think about us that they have agreed to this deal and all it entails.” Elsewhere, youngster James Wallace has joined Bury on a month’s loan. The midfielder links up with the promotion-chasing League Two outfit in time for their weekend clash with Peterborough in the FA Cup second round. Wallace, 18, is a product of Everton's Youth Academy and made his debut for the first team last season in the Europa League clash with Sigma Olomouc.
Old friends reunion for Pablo Ibanez
Friday 26th November 2010
The Express and Star
Albion defender Pablo Ibanez hopes to leave two old friends feeling miserable when he lines up for the Baggies at Everton. Ibanez will go head-to-head tomorrow with former Atletico Madrid defensive partner Johnny Heitinga and former Spain under-21s team mate Mikel Arteta when Roberto Di Matteo’s side take on the Toffees.
And the former Spain international, who is enjoying his first run in the Baggies team in the absence of the injured Jonas Olsson, is looking forward to renewing acquaintances. Ibanez said: “Johnny and I played together at Atletico Madrid. Sometimes he was my partner at centre-half and sometimes he was at right-back. He is a good player. “We haven’t spoken since he left Atletico and it will be good to see him on Saturday. I know Arteta. He is a great player. I don’t speak with him but I played with him at under-21s level for Spain. “He was unlucky with Real Sociedad in Spain and has shown his class at Everton. “He will be a big threat to us on Saturday.”
Ibanez was forced to be patient as he waited for a regular place in the team following his free-transfer move from Atletico in the summer. But an Achilles problem for Olsson allowed the Spaniard to slot in alongside his room-mate and fellow Spanish-speaker Gabriel Tamas. Ibanez said: “I was just happy to be here at the start of the season. Jonas and Gabby were playing very well. “We have a 25-man squad and every player that trains strongly has the chance to play in the league or Carling Cup.
“I try to do my best in training and all the players speak to the gaffer every day.
“Every player wants to play and I understand the coach’s point of view, because he wants to do what is best for the club. “Jonas was having a fantastic season and it was unfortunate he got injured. I am upset, like all the players, about Jonas.
“I’m trying to make the most of my opportunity, because I want to help the team keep winning. “Gabby and Gonzalo Jara have helped me most since I’ve been at the club because they both speak Spanish. “It has made things a lot easier for me. Gabby and I have a good understanding off the pitch and that helps on it. “Being room-mates on away games also helps. Gabby is helping me learn English and knows so many languages he talks with every player. “The players in the Premier League are more aggressive and strong than in the Spanish league, where the players are more technical. “It is different here and the refereeing is different.In Spain the game is stop-start.
Royal Blue: Everton FC star Marouane Fellaini turns Thai TV star
Nov 27 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
MAROUANE Fellaini is a serious young man who sees his football as no laughing matter. This is, after all, the player who was made to run after his father’s car in his youth in order to boost his fitness. And he is the model pro who David Moyes believes is the best trainer at the club. But his current suspension for a silly red card against Bolton, has allowed him to accompany chief exec Robert Elstone to Thailand to sign the club’s new sponsorship deal. Fellaini turned Thai TV star as he hit the screens on two popular shows on the final day of his short stay in Bangkok.
On one show with vague similarities to former Channel 4 Show The Big Breakfast, in honour of Fellaini’s visit the set of the show was mocked up into a football pitch with the eccentric host even keeping goal for a penalty from the Belgian international.
That followed an interview as Woody quizzed both the midfielder and Mr Elstone about their trip to Bangkok, the Club’s new deal with Chang and Fellaini’s trademark hairstyle, among other things. The Blues ace presented the host with a signed shirt before performing some expert ball juggling. Woody then took his place in front of a miniature goal to face a penalty from Felli. With nothing to aim at his initial shot crashed back off the Thai TV star but the Everton man thumped the ball back through his legs to score, much to the amusement of the studio audience.
Royal Blue: Everton FC need to rediscover their steel - but not at the cost of any semblance of style
Nov 27 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
EVER since the Blues graced the top of the first division in their all-conquering mid-Eighties hey-day, stylish football has been coveted at Goodison Park.
Even before then, traditionally Everton sides have always tried to play the beautifully game beautifully. It’s an ethos which famously spawned the school of science nickname, and was upheld by some of the clubs greatest names from Alex Young to the Holy Trinity. That legacy goes part of the way to explain why Evertonians are so reluctant to question their side’s current failings in terms of overall footballing style.
The last few seasons under David Moyes have witnessed a delightful footballing evolution, from the dour, defensive days of his countryman Walter Smith.
Gradually, Moyes has signed players who can keep the ball, put a foot on it, and then use it assiduously. Artists such as Mikel Arteta, Steven Pienaar, Leighton Baines, and Marouane Fellaini at his pirouetting best, heralded a new approach towards aping the finer footballing sides of the Premier League like Arsenal and Manchester United.
Suddenly, the Blues had more of that type of player than those who looked to launch it like a hot potato. There were even winning plaudits from the normally unyielding national press for their style. Following last season’s 3-2 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, the BBC’s Ian Hughes wrote; ‘The Toffees' current form - they are now unbeaten in their last eight league matches - suggests they could still overhaul their Merseyside rivals, and their intent to do that was obvious from the first at Ewood Park. ‘Rovers went into the match having kept three clean sheets in their last three games but they were stunned by Everton's blistering opening which saw them keep possession in a manner akin to Barcelona.’ And he was right. Those present that day witnessed some marvellous football from the Blues which Blackburn simply could not live with at times, in an absorbing game.It hinted at greater things to come. Indeed all summer the buzz about the Toffees was that they were ready to clinch a special season by virtue of their stylistic prowess, propelled to a top five place - or higher - by pass and move play which would have everyone sitting up and taking notice.
As one pundit noted; if Arsenal are Barcelona-lite, Everton are Arsenal-lite.
Faint praise? Sort of, but equally nobody paying for their season ticket was about to grumble about the standard of football they were set for. Yet we approach the half-way point of the campaign, and suddenly that style seems limp. Suddenly it is the substance which Everton are crying out for. Even David Moyes has admitted he is bored of seeing his side endlessly over-passing only to suffer their moves breaking down in the final third. Skipper Phil Neville, was first to suggest a return to a more combative and direct style in the short-term may be necessary. This week, Tim Cahill echoed the sentiment, in as much that he called for the Blues to start “winning ugly” again. “The time when I’ve had most success at this football club is when we’ve not looked too far ahead,” he said. “We’ve won a lot of games ugly, maybe 1-0 wins and not conceding goals so I think it’d be great to go back to the good old days.”
The arrival of another principled footballing team in West Brom today, though, poses a conundrum. Do the Blues persist with 4-5-1 at home and try to out-muscle the Baggies, en route to a 1-0 win? Are points now all that matters? Or should Moyes play 4-4-2, and back the ability of his squad to play through the Midlanders?
The answer will hopefully be - a bit of both. This column has said in the past, Moyes’ Everton are most potent when they mix silk with steel. By all means, they must become hard to beat again - but it would be a shame if by doing that they turned the clock back completely.
Royal Blue: Everton FC need to rediscover their steel - but not at the cost of any semblance of style
Nov 27 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
EVER since the Blues graced the top of the first division in their all-conquering mid-Eighties hey-day, stylish football has been coveted at Goodison Park.
Even before then, traditionally Everton sides have always tried to play the beautifully game beautifully. It’s an ethos which famously spawned the school of science nickname, and was upheld by some of the clubs greatest names from Alex Young to the Holy Trinity. That legacy goes part of the way to explain why Evertonians are so reluctant to question their side’s current failings in terms of overall footballing style.
The last few seasons under David Moyes have witnessed a delightful footballing evolution, from the dour, defensive days of his countryman Walter Smith.
Gradually, Moyes has signed players who can keep the ball, put a foot on it, and then use it assiduously. Artists such as Mikel Arteta, Steven Pienaar, Leighton Baines, and Marouane Fellaini at his pirouetting best, heralded a new approach towards aping the finer footballing sides of the Premier League like Arsenal and Manchester United.
Suddenly, the Blues had more of that type of player than those who looked to launch it like a hot potato. There were even winning plaudits from the normally unyielding national press for their style. Following last season’s 3-2 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, the BBC’s Ian Hughes wrote; ‘The Toffees' current form - they are now unbeaten in their last eight league matches - suggests they could still overhaul their Merseyside rivals, and their intent to do that was obvious from the first at Ewood Park. ‘Rovers went into the match having kept three clean sheets in their last three games but they were stunned by Everton's blistering opening which saw them keep possession in a manner akin to Barcelona.’ And he was right. Those present that day witnessed some marvellous football from the Blues which Blackburn simply could not live with at times, in an absorbing game. It hinted at greater things to come. Indeed all summer the buzz about the Toffees was that they were ready to clinch a special season by virtue of their stylistic prowess, propelled to a top five place - or higher - by pass and move play which would have everyone sitting up and taking notice.
As one pundit noted; if Arsenal are Barcelona-lite, Everton are Arsenal-lite.
Faint praise? Sort of, but equally nobody paying for their season ticket was about to grumble about the standard of football they were set for. Yet we approach the half-way point of the campaign, and suddenly that style seems limp. Suddenly it is the substance which Everton are crying out for. Even David Moyes has admitted he is bored of seeing his side endlessly over-passing only to suffer their moves breaking down in the final third. Skipper Phil Neville, was first to suggest a return to a more combative and direct style in the short-term may be necessary. This week, Tim Cahill echoed the sentiment, in as much that he called for the Blues to start “winning ugly” again. “The time when I’ve had most success at this football club is when we’ve not looked too far ahead,” he said. “We’ve won a lot of games ugly, maybe 1-0 wins and not conceding goals so I think it’d be great to go back to the good old days.”
The arrival of another principled footballing team in West Brom today, though, poses a conundrum. Do the Blues persist with 4-5-1 at home and try to out-muscle the Baggies, en route to a 1-0 win? Are points now all that matters? Or should Moyes play 4-4-2, and back the ability of his squad to play through the Midlanders?
The answer will hopefully be - a bit of both. This column has said in the past, Moyes’ Everton are most potent when they mix silk with steel. By all means, they must become hard to beat again - but it would be a shame if by doing that they turned the clock back completely.
Barry Horne: Nothing sub-standard about David Moyes’ substitutions
Nov 27 2010 by Barry Horne, Liverpool Echo
PEOPLE were questioning the late- ness of David Moyes substitutions against Sunderland on Monday, but I could see exactly where he was coming from.
Everton were so much on top that for most of the second half it was a case of when, and not if, we would score. David Moyes’ selection today will be interesting against a West Brom team who, typically for the club, are gaining more compliments for their approach to the game than points. But whatever team he sends out it is an opportunity for the individuals selected to get themselves on the scoresheet against a team who are currently conceding more than two goals a game away from home.
Barry Horne: Reasons to be cheerful about Everton FC
Nov 27 2010 by Barry Horne, Liverpool Echo
I WAS really heartened by Everton’s display on Monday night. Our football was fantastic, at times brilliant. And the result continued our good record in televised matches this season. To go to Sunderland – a team very much on the up – and take the game to them at a vibrant Stadium of Light says a lot about our own current health.
Baines and Pienaar have recaptured their combined good form and are looking more and more threatening with each game and overall our attacking play was very good.
We didn’t win because we didn’t turn our advantage of territory and possession into clearcut chances. It has to be said that Louis Saha (right) looks uninspired at the moment and gives the impression that he is coasting at times. That is, of course, his style. He can give that impression even whilst playing well, but of late there certainly seems to be a spark missing. Having said that, a question has to be asked as to whether our final pass or final decision could be better from the supporting players.
Just as the old cliche says that defending is not just about the back-four, then so too the same could be said that attacking is not just about the forward players.
That said, you would imagine that David Moyes is pretty close to wanting to shuffle the pack and freshen things up a bit. The problem of course is that Tim Cahill, one of our best players, is neither a striker or a midfield player. That means the option of 4-4-2 is not an easy one. David Moyes is one of the first managers to regularly rely on what has become a very popular formation and it works for Everton because it enables us to get all our best players in their best positions, and gives the likes of Pienaar, Arteta, Coleman and Cahill more freedom.
Psycho Pat: Everton FC’s cult hero Pat Van Den Hauwe painted the town red . . . literally
Nov 27 2010 Liverpool Echo
Concluding our three part adaptation of Psycho Pat – Everton’s cult hero details the night he painted the town red . . . literally
THE signing of Manchester City veteran Paul Power raised a few eyebrows as he was at the wrong end of his career however Howard knew that we needed back-up in defence as, apart from a few lads still nursing minor knocks, Derek Mountfield was a long term casualty and one idiot...me, was out for months after a stupid fight in a local night club. The problem began when I loaned £50 from two well-known local brothers while out in town one night and for one reason or another I never gave it them back.What a costly mistake that would turn out to be. I had visited a local Chinese with the squad for a club organised team meeting and then moved on to a favourite watering hole for a few beers with the usual suspects. I can remember having a few words with Steve McMahon in this pub after he had said something unpleasant about Howard Kendall. I could take or leave McMahon. He was a decent player and we had a few tussles on the pitch but I did not take kindly to him slagging Howard off and told him so. Eventually things calmed down, Steve left and a few of us stayed on playing pool and chatting to some birds who had tagged along with us.
Later that night we moved to The Toad Hall in Ainsdale which was a well known night club at the time. I was laughing and joking with a few of the lads when one of these girls who had tagged onto us said something unpleasant and caused a bit of a scene. I know now that it was a set-up, as the minute I tried to find out what her problem was some bloke came from nowhere and threw the head on me. We ended up brawling over a table so I got him in a headlock and as quickly as it had started it was over.We were getting ready to leave when Inchy noticed my leg was pissing with blood so the lads got me into his car and we set off to the nearest hospital.
All the way there he was moaning that there was blood gushing from my leg onto his seats and he kept telling me that I was going to have to pay for it to be cleaned!
I was examined and the medical staff were not sure if I had fallen on glass or had been stabbed with a bottle, either way it was a nasty cut that required seven stitches to tidy it up. I limped into Bellfield the next morning and told anyone daft enough to listen to me that I had been walking my dog on the beach and had fallen on some glass causing the injury which may keep me out for a few weeks. I don’t for one minute think anyone believed me but it was the best I could come up with at the time.
A few weeks turned into a few months and it was a long road back to fitness, with one complication after another hindering my recovery. By the time I was ready to play I had missed almost six months of a soon to be memorable season. After several failed attempts I eventually made my comeback in an FA Cup tie at Bradford after I had made about half a dozen reserve appearances. I then made my first league start of the season a week later, when we beat Coventry to go top for the first time that term, the team obviously needed me! It was a frustrating time for me as I would play a game here and a game there before I’d pick up another niggle or fresh injury.
In total I ended up playing only seven full games all season which was a nightmare.
Everton FC v West Brom preview: David Moyes putting in the miles on the road to success for Blues
Nov 27 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES may not hold out much hope for riches when the transfer market opens in January, but nobody can accuse him of not doing his homework regardless.
Despite a new sponsorship extension with Thai brewery Chang, that could net the club up to £12m over three years, the Everton boss insists he is unlikely to have his hand strengthened come the new year recruitment period. Yet he has still been putting in the hours, and miles, taking in games all over the continent to scout for stars of the present and future. “I have been on the road now for the last four to six weeks. I feel like I’ve not stopped,” he says, ahead of another winnable home game at Goodison against West Brom. “I’ve been on the road most week nights. Some of it for the team now, some for the future, and some for just getting out of the house and going to a game. “As far as I know, none of the new sponsorship money is marked out for myself. “Everything that comes in is ultimately for the first team in some way, but I don't think I’ll see much of it. “I will look around the loan market again.”Moyes admits the loan market is far from ideal, but he will still be scouring it for players to improve his under-achieving squad. “It’s difficult,” he says. “You maybe might get someone like Landon (Donovan) from America but that’s rare. “Or you’re looking at people where the clubs want them out for a reason, or the club won’t let them go in January. So then it’s a player who might not be in the side somewhere. “It limits the pool of players you're looking at. I am reluctant to sell my assets if you want to call them that. “I am not going out of my way to sell anyone (in January), I’d rather be adding. “If I had to sell to buy I would do, but it needs someone to come in and want your players. It’s easier said than done. “I think that I would be given the cash for any players I sold.” For now, the Blues boss must make the best of what he has, and his priority is coaxing some consistent form from his band of strikers. A listless performance from Louis Saha on Monday against Sunderland led to calls from fans for the Frenchman to make way for Yakubu, or Jermaine Beckford. But the Scot is keen to be fair to his trio of hit-men as he looks for a partner for Tim Cahill.
“I have tried to give all the centre forwards a chance,” he says. “I don’t want them to feel like they’re coming in and out, I want to give them a run to prove themselves.
“We’ve done it with Yak for eight games or so, and he scored one goal in eight.
“Louis has come in, and then what you find is people say whoever else could come in would do better. “But I want to support them, while at the same time I want to win games. “I think Louis needs a bit of confidence like everyone else.”
Saha is not the only player to perhaps be suffering from a blip in form. Fan favourite Mikel Arteta has failed to sparkle of late, but Moyes is unconcerned about his play-makers below par spell. “He has just been a little bit below it in recent weeks,” he says. “His goal will give him a boost, and I thought he was better against Sunderland than he was against Arsenal. “He’s conscious of it and knows he can do much better. That’s a good sign. You’d worry if a player thinks they’re doing well, when they’re obviously not. “But he is a key player for us. He never hid the other night, he wanted the ball and he’s not far off.”
Everton FC boss David Moyes would offer David Beckham loan move to Goodison Park in January
Nov 27 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES has revealed he would welcome the chance to bring David Beckham to Everton on loan in January. The Toffees boss is an admirer of the former England captain, and has been impressed with his fine form for LA Galaxy this season.
Moyes, who is still hoping to re-sign Beckham’s club team-mate Landon Donovan, on a second three-month loan deal, insisted Beckham knows he would be warmly-received at Goodison. The Blues have been short of options on the right side of midfield, and Moyes would relish having two of Major League Soccer’s hottest prospects for a short-term move during their close season. He said: “I would hope that if David Beckham wanted to come he would pick up the phone and call me. I worked with David and I know him. If he wanted to come back to the Premier League, he would only need to call me or Phil Neville. “We would be here for him at Everton. He probably could pick up the phone to a lot of clubs in the Premier League.
“But if he wanted to play for me then he could do that. He knows how to get hold of me and Phil.” Moyes revealed his fond memories of playing alongside Beckham, 35, while the former Manchester United star was on loan at Preston North End early in his star-studded career. “We played in the same team. I even scored from one of his corners,” said Moyes. “I would need to come and see the chairman and ask how he thinks we could do it. Could we make it work by selling shirts?” The Blues boss expects an answer from Donovan no sooner than the middle of December, with the USA skipper currently on tour in Australia with Galaxy. But he admits he is shorn of options and his right-sided dilemma still exists. He said: “We’ve said all along that since Landon left last year we’ve had no right-sided player. Victor Anichebe came in and did well for us, but he’s been injured. “We’ve tried Steven (Pienaar) on the right, and had Bily on the right, trying to cover all bases. Then we’ve had Seamus on the right, and to be fair he’s done well for us. “He hasn’t let anyone down at all. He’s a young boy, and not really a wide right, but can definitely do a job when needed.”
Moyes has a couple of injury concerns ahead of today’s home game against West Brom, with tickets still available for the clash. But despite not picking up enough wins lately, he is not ready to totally sacrifice his side’s stylish play. He said: “I think the style has changed a lot and it’s not just here. West Brom play some nice football too. But many teams mix it. Even Manchester United and Chelsea. “They still knock long balls up to Drogba. The other night with Man U, Scholes hit his first five passes over the top and trying to get Rooney and Berbatov in behind. I want to maybe get people in to passes over the top as well. “We need to mix it. We would coach or train lads to just hit long balls though. Jermaine’s pace would be good. Getting in behind would be a strength of his. But we find a lot of teams have come to Goodison and sat deep. You find there isn’t so much room. “At home we get the ball up and around the box and we’re looking to build attacks up. That’s if you’re the team in ascendency.”
Di Matteo savours clinical Baggies display
28/11/10 By Mirror Football (Sunday Mirror)
West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo felt his team got their just reward for an outstanding performance at Everton this afternoon. The Baggies struck twice in each half of an eventful clash at Goodison Park to end a run of five games without a win with a convincing 4-1 success. Paul Scharner opened the scoring before Chris Brunt doubled the advantage with a brilliant free-kick. Tim Cahill pulled one back but West Brom took advantage of the sending-off of Mikel Arteta to secure victory through Somen Tchoyi and a Youssouf Mulumbu effort which was deflected in by Sylvain Distin. Di Matteo said: "There were some excellent goals today - we were very clinical, which has been missing in the last few weeks from our game. "I thought we played some fantastic football, we didn't show any fear. "We showed a lot of courage to come here and play the football we did. "We rode our luck a bit at 2-1 and our keeper made some great saves to keep us in the game. "But the quality of our play and the quality of goals gave us our advantage." The only downside for the Baggies was the late sending-off of Mulumbu for two bookable offences. The Democratic Republic of Congo international received his first yellow card for over-celebrating his goal and the second came moments later for a challenge on Steven Pienaar. The goal and the two cards all came within the space of three minutes. Di Matteo said: "He needs to learn a bit, but I think the second yellow card was a bit harsh. I don't think he touched the opponent and I think he got the ball as well. "If we have yellow cards for those challenges we should have 20 in every game." Di Matteo had no doubts about Arteta's dismissal, however. The Spaniard was challenged heavily by Gonzalo Jara and appeared to react by stamping twice on the Chile defender. Di Matteo said: "I think Arteta stepped on Jara and it was just in front of the dugout, so everyone saw it." The incident occured just seconds after Jara had collided with Leighton Baines on the edge of the area, a challenge which went unpunished. Everton boss David Moyes said: "I'm not going to talk about the sending-off, I'll only talk about what happened prior to it. "It was a free-kick on the edge of the box, which should have been dealt with. The referee is close enough to see it. "It was an elbow in his face, on Leighton Baines. The player led with his elbow. As far as I am concerned that is the decision we should be talking about." Moyes, however, did not look for excuses for his team, who have now gone five games without a win. He said: "We didn't start well. We went a couple of goals down because of our poor start. "You can play badly and maybe get away with it but we didn't get away with it today because we didn't pick up well enough. "We were terrible in the first half, we got the goal and I told them (at half-time) they had 10 minutes to get another goal back and then I'd make changes. I did that. "The players had a go and in truth we were maybe close to winning it at one point, but in the end we've ended up losing quite heavily." One of the players sent on in the second half was Jermaine Beckford, who had a shot cleared off the line and then squandered two gilt-edged chances. "You've got to score," admitted Moyes. "When chances come like that, whatever level, that's it. It is very rarely you get as many. You have got to score."
EVERTON 1 - WEST BROM 4 : ARTETA'S ATTACK'S A KILLER
Roberto Di Matteo said everyone saaw Mikel Arteta's stamp
28th November 2010 (Daily Star)
By Gary Carter at Goodison Park
STROPPY Spaniard Mikel Arteta stamped on Gonzalo Jara and helped cost Everton the points yesterday. Despite Arteta’s rush of blood West Brom were good value for the win while Everton look like they face a long, hard battle against relegation. Why David Beckham would fancy joining the Goodison gloom is a real mystery. Everton boss David Moyes had set tongues wagging by admitting he would not mind signing the English icon on loan. However, one glimpse of this display that leaves the Toffees hovering above the drop zone and Beckham would almost certainly stay in Los Angeles. Unless they turn it around quickly, it promises to be a long, hard winter down at the bottom of the Premier League table at a place where depression currently reigns. Hardly the sort of place Beckham is used to. Apart from a spell after they were reduced to 10 men, Everton were hopeless. It can’t be long before the R word is mentioned, especially if a new striker is not found in January. Moyes would be better off signing West Brom’s Paul Scharner, if only to make sure he does not score against them again. The Austrian’s powerful header was his 15th goal in English football and his fifth against Everton. Chris Brunt’s stunning free-kick made it 2-0 but just as a point looked possible after Tim Cahill’s goal, they were badly let down by Arteta. He twice appeared to stamp on Jara, leaving referee Lee Mason with no choice but to give him a straight red card. It summed up the despondency swamping the blue half of Merseyside. Forget a push for the Champions League, staying out of the Championship is the main aim. Albion, toasting their first league win at Everton for 31 years, were not that good but confidence is so fragile at Goodison, they looked like world beaters. There was terrible marking from Brunt’s corner and Tim Howard could not react quickly enough with Graham Dorrans blocking his view. From that, Everton could not string two passes together and Albion dominated the midfield, especially Youssuf Mulumbu, who rounded off the scoring with Sylvain Distin’s help before picking up a second booking. And with Beckham on the tip of people’s tongues, Brunt’s superb free-kick into Howard’s top corner had echoes of the England icon. Moyes has rarely been under pressure during his eight years in charge but there were audible rumblings of discontent as his side blundered their way around. But Cahill produced the goods yet again, stealing clear at Leighton Baines’ corner to head home his third goal in three games. Jermaine Beckford missed a hat-trick of chances and Somen Tchoyi made him pay when he cut inside Tony Hibbert and Jack Rodwell then looped a right foot effort past Howard. Mulumbu finished it after a clever one-two and his chip was helped in by Distin. He picked up a booking for his celebration then another for a foul seconds later. Delighted West Brom manager Roberto Di Matteo said: “We rode our luck a little bit at 2-1 as the keeper made some great saves but the quality of our play and quality of our goals gave us the advantage. “Arteta stamped on Jara and it was in front of the dug-out so everyone saw it. For Mulumbu’s one, he needs to learn a little bit but the second yellow card was very harsh. I don’t think he touched the opponent and also got the ball. If you get a yellow for that, you’ll have 20 every game. Everton boss David Moyes said: “We didn’t start well and got a couple of goals down because of it. “It was two set pieces. You can play badly and get away with it but we didn’t as we didn’t pick up. “We were terrible in the first half but got the goal and the players had a go. “We were close to maybe winning at one point but, at the end of the day, we have lost quite heavily.”
Everton 1 West Brom 4
WEST BROM rubbished talk of a crisis in style by whacking ten-man Everton.
28/11/10, (The Sun)
The Baggies came into this without a victory in over a month but a double-whammy from Paul Scharner and Chris Brunt put them in control. Tim Cahill grabbed one back for Everton but their hopes took a blow when Mikel Arteta saw red for stamping on Gonzalo Jara. Somen Tchoyi and a Sylvain Distin own-goal then added some late sheen for West Brom, who had Youssuf Mulumbu sent off in the dying stages. Hawthorns boss Roberto di Matteo said: "There were some excellent goals today — we were very clinical, which has been missing in the last few weeks from our game. "I thought we played some fantastic football, we didn't show any fear. "We showed a lot of courage to come here and play the football we did. "We rode our luck a bit at 2-1 and our keeper made some great saves to keep us in the game. "But the quality of our play and the quality of goals gave us our advantage." David Moyes was left kicking himself after Everton slumped to a two-goal deficit. The Goodison boss added: "We didn't start well. We went a couple of goals down because of our poor start. "You can play badly and maybe get away with it but we didn't get away with it today because we didn't pick up well enough. "We were terrible in the first half, we got the goal and I told them at half-time they had 10 minutes to get another goal back and then I'd make changes. I did that. "The players had a go and in truth we were maybe close to winning it at one point, but in the end we've ended up losing quite heavily." Everton had an early sniff when Leighton Baines fired in a free-kick and Distin narrowly missed out. Victor Anichebe then wormed his way inside and teased a shot that Scott Carson tipped to safety. But the Baggies hit back and stunned Goodison by grabbing the lead after 15 minutes. Brunt sent in a corner and Scharner thundered a header past keeper Tim Howard. The Toffees looked to respond and Baines and Arteta came close with a pair of free-kicks. But Brunt showed them how it is down by swerving in a stunning 25-yard deadball to double the West Brom lead. The shellshocked hosts could not believe their eyes and Di Matteo's side looked in total control. But Everton goal-machine Cahill smacked in a trademark header on 42 minutes to get his side back in the game. Moyes shook things up 10 minutes after the break when he sent Louis Saha and Jermaine Beckford for Yakubu and John Heitinga. And Beckford almost made an instant impact when he clipped over Carson — only to see Gabriel Tamas clear off the line. Everton were then up in arms when Jara collided with Baines in the box before the Baggies man flew in on Arteta. The Spaniard was livid at the tackle at appeared to stamp on the Chile World Cup star — earning himself a straight red from ref Lee Mason. The ten-man Toffees looked to raise the tempo but Beckford lost out in a foot race to Carson. Everton threw everything at rescuing a point — but their hopes died when Tchoyi struck a brilliant third after 76 minutes. The Cameroon star cut inside, slipped his way through the defence and hammered past Howard. Mulumbu then picked up a second yellow but it did not derail the Baggies and they forced a fourth when Distin put into his own net. Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin, Baines, Pienaar, Cahill, Heitinga (Beckford 55), Arteta, Yakubu (Saha 55), Anichebe (Rodwell 61). Subs Not Used: Mucha, Bilyaletdinov, Coleman, Baxter. Sent Off: Arteta (58). Booked: Beckford.
Goals: Cahill 42.
West Brom: Carson, Jara, Scharner, Tamas, Cech, Mulumbu, Morrison, Thomas (Tchoyi 66), Brunt (Barnes 90), Dorrans (Reid 73), Odemwingie. Subs Not Used: Myhill, Pablo, Shorey, Fortune. Sent Off: Mulumbu (89). Booked: Brunt, Dorrans, Mulumbu.
Goals: Scharner 16, Brunt 26, Tchoyi 76, Distin 87 og.
Att: 35,237
Ref: Lee Mason (Lancashire).
Everton FC 1 West Brom 4 - shocking home defeat for Blues
Nov 29 2010 Liverpool Echo
IN THE words of those irritating Marks & Spencer food ads – this wasn’t just any defeat. This was a home thumping, captain sent off, desperate, demoralising, impossible to fathom, 4-1 defeat. So bad was the overall manner of Everton’s grisly display on Saturday, that the drinking dens of Walton and beyond echoed to an unfamiliar sound afterwards – rank discontent. It might have been almost freezing temperatures for the watching supporters at 3pm, but their red-hot fury at the final whistle was matched only by the raging intensity in David Moyes’ gaze as his players trudged off the Goodison pitch. The Blues now sit just two points off the relegation zone, with little prospect of new life being injected into the squad via the January transfer market. It should not need it. This is the same squad which moved the Toffees boss to insist in the summer that he did not need to bring anyone in. Yet, only half of the team, at best, are performing in any given Premier League fixture. Suddenly, established, dependable players are struggling badly for form, and oppositions are rarely failing to take advantage of the whiff of vulnerability Everton seem to exude. Even David Beckham’s white knight heroics would be hard pressed to save the day. A team that seemed set for a campaign that would live long in the memory is sleep-walking towards mediocrity. It must improve, and it surely will. Everton under Moyes' stoic guidance have proven time and time again to be kings of the second half of the season revival. Yet now the Scot needs a conjuring trick to better even the upturn in form last time around after the New Year, when the Blues went unbeaten for so long.A home game against a stylish yet eminently beatable West Brom, side seemed to offer the perfect opportunity to start the ball rolling a little before 2011 has arrived.
The news before kick-off did not augur well. Missing hugely influential skipper Phil Neville with a knee injury, and still without power house Marouane Fellaini, Moyes persevered with the struggling John Heitinga and drafted Tony Hibbert in at right-back. Yakubu returned to the team at the expense of Louis Saha, dropped after an anonymous display at Sunderland, and Victor Anichebe was preferred to Seamus Coleman on the right of midfield. Moyes has been crying out for the power and dynamism on the right flank the young Nigerian offered last season in spurts, and during the summer tour of Australia, but he could offer little to lift the poorest first half performance of the Blues' season. Few thought it possible to match the woefulness of their first 45 minutes against Wolves. Turns out they could. West Brom scored from the game’s first corner, Paul Scharner stealing ahead of his marker to bullet a header past Tim Howard and continue his smug habit of scoring past the Blues. Then it got worse. Despite largely sitting back and trying to hit on the counter attack, West Brom went two up thanks to another set-piece. This time Chris Brunt sent a superb 30-yard free-kick arcing up and over the wall, and into the top right hand corner of Tim Howard’s net. Debate over whether the American could have repositioned himself quicker to save is rendered redundant by the sheer quality of the strike. Tim Cahill, as ever the man tasked with single-handedly turning the tide, scored another wonderful header shortly before the break to provide hope. Surely, now the Blues could come flying out of the traps in the second half and grab the points? Not quite. Their fate nosedived when referee Lee Mason ignored a brutal forearm smash on Leighton Baines by Gonzalo Jara that left the left-back sprawled on the floor. In the resulting frenzy, Mikel Arteta reacted to a two-footed lunge from Jara with an apparent stamp, and after heated exchanges the stand-in skipper was sent off.
Everton, who should have had a free-kick from the initial act of thuggery, were instead floundering. Substitute Somen Tchoyi then rubbed salt into raw wounds by drifting too easily past Hibbert and scoring a fine goal. The remaining 15 minutes heralded only further missed opportunities from the short-on-confidence Jermaine Beckford before the outstanding Yousouff Mulumbu scored a fourth to seal Everton’s fate.The silence from the Park End in response to the gleeful Baggies chant of: “You should have gone Christmas shopping” was deafening. Suddenly it is difficult to see beyond a bleak run of fixtures which include a trip to fortress Stamford Bridge, and Manchester City. Relegation will not be a realistic concern, but a season of standing still will hurt Moyes’ Golden Generation almost as much. But Everton have a useful habit of responding when their backs are against the wall, and they are now. So, with Fellaini back, and hopefully a return of Phil Neville’s steadying, cajoling influence, this result could prove to be the darkest hour before the dawn. The season is still eminently salvageable – but there is a clock ticking ever louder on that ray of hope.
EVERTON (4-4-2): Howard, Hibbert, Distin, Jagielka, Baines, Arteta, Heitinga (Beckford, 56) (Saha, 56), Cahill, Pienaar, Anichebe (Rodwell, 61), Yakubu. Subs: Mucha, Bilyaletdinov, Coleman, Baxter.
WEST BROM (4-4-1-1): Carson., Cech, Tamas, Jara, Morrison, Brunt (Barnes, 90), Thomas (Tchoyi, 66), Dorrans (Reid, 73), Mulumbu, Scharner, Odemwingie.Subs: Myhill, Shorey, Pablo, Fortune
GOALS: Cahill (42), Scharner (16); Brunt (26); Tchoyi (76); Distin (OG 87)/
CARDS: EVERTON: – Heitinga, Arteta (red); WEST BROM Brunt (yellow), Dorrans (yellow), Mulumbu (yellow x2)
REFEREE: Lee Mason
ATTENDANCE: 35,237
Everton FC manager David Moyes urges fans not to blame Jermaine Beckford
Nov 29 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES refused to put the boot into blooper sub Jermaine Beckford – after the Blues striker spurned no fewer than three clear chances during Saturday’s shock drubbing by West Bromwich Albion. The misses came just five days after Beckford’s last-minute miss at Sunderland. A rueful Moyes said afterwards: “He had chances and we hadn’t had too many clear-cut chances prior to that, so you give him credit for getting in there and getting the chances. “But the ratio of goals to chances is at quite a high level in the Premier League because you don’t get many, and I’ve just said in there (to Beckford) that that was quite a number of chances not to get one goal from.”
Beckford, introduced as a 55th-minute substitute for the disappointing Yakubu, saw one chance parried by Scott Carson and cleared off the line, hooked another narrowly wide and volleyed the best opening of all wildly over the crossbar from inside the six-yard box. The timing was unfortunate for the forward, coming just days after his last minute miss at Sunderland “You’ve got to score them haven’t you?” added Moyes. “I think the chances come at whatever level you play at, but you’ve got to score them. He’s just got to go and do it again. “We’ve been saying for the last eight weeks that Everton haven’t been taking their chances. Today we got the double whammy in that we didn’t score and then we lost a player. “When you come to a club you know what you’re good at. If you’re a centre-half it might be heading it, if you’re a winger it might be crossing. If you’re a good goalscorer it’s finishing and that’s what he does.”
Moyes insisted that the responsibility for the reverse was collective. “We had a very bad first half performance which got us a couple of goals down. We were slack and never seemed to really get going,” he said. “We lost two goals to set-pieces – one from a corner and one from a free-kick, because it wasn’t as if we were getting carved open. “We scored one from a set-piece to get back in it and I hoped we would go on in the second half. “I wanted them to react at half-time. And in a way they did. The players here have always reacted well. They know what’s required and hopefully they will go and do it again. “But at the moment our games at Goodison haven’t seen us put in good enough performances. We’ve had some good games, but now it’s beginning to become too much of a coincidence when you see some of the teams we’re not taking points off. “You can play badly and sometimes get away with it, but we didn’t get away with it today because we didn’t pick up at a set piece and then the boy scored a good free-kick.” Moyes was also unhappy at the manner in which he lost his skipper, Mikel Arteta, to a red card. “I’m not going to talk about the sending-off,” he said. “I’m only going to talk about what happened prior to it. There was a free-kick at the edge of the box which should have been dealt with, the referee was close enough to see it. “There was an elbow in Leighton Baines’ face – their player led with his elbow – so as far as I’m concerned that should be the decision we should be talking about. “We were terrible in the first half. We got the goal and I told them at half-time I’d give them 10 minutes and if we hadn’t scored I’d be making changes. We didn’t, so the players came on and had a go and in truth we were close to maybe winning it at one point but we have lost it quite heavily.” Club captain Phil Neville missed the match with a knee problem and Moyes added that the absence of his skipper might have contributed to the indiscipline at set-pieces. “He’s a good leader, a good organiser,” said Moyes. “But he had fluid on his knee.”
West Brom winger Chris Brunt delighted with Everton FC result
Nov 29 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
WEST BROM winger Chris Brunt is determined to not let his standards slip as the plaudits continue to pour in for his performances. The 25-year-old Northern Ireland international further enhanced his growing reputation with an outstanding display – capped by a stunning goal – in Saturday’s 4-1 Premier League win at Everton. Brunt has been one of the stars of the season so far and in recent weeks has been linked with Liverpool and told by his international manager Nigel Worthington he has the world at his feet. Brunt has played down the impact he has made since the Baggies’ promotion to the top flight and has no intention of believing his own press. The former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder said: “It is nice to hear people saying good things about me but it is down to a lot of good work in training and the games. “The only way I am here is because I have been working hard for it in training. “That is paying off in the games but I will just keep my head down and just keep doing what I am good at. “Hopefully I will keep improving,” he said. Brunt added to the early lead established by Paul Scharner at Goodison Park by curling home a perfectly flighted free-kick from 25 yards after 26 minutes.He added: “I knew as soon as I hit it I had hit it well. “I was delighted to see it go in the top corner, but there was as much satisfaction seeing Paul Scharner put his head on my corner. “Last time we were in the Premier League I was in and out of the side until the closing months of the season.
“To be involved right from the off this season has benefited me. “I am really enjoying playing in the Premier League and hopefully I can play my part to keep West Brom in it.” Scharner put West Brom on their way to their first win in six games when he planted a firm header past Tim Howard from a Brunt corner after 15 minutes. Everton replied with a Tim Cahill header but their hopes of coming back were dashed when Mikel Arteta was sent off for a stamp on Gonzalo Jara. Somen Tchoyi curled in a brilliant third for the visitors and Youssouf Mulumbu sealed victory with a shot that was deflected in by Sylvain Distin. Mulumbu was then sent off after being booked for celebrating in the crowd and promptly collecting another caution for a bad tackle but West Brom’s uplifting win could not be soured. Brunt said: “It was a good result and one we desperately needed to stop the slide. “To come here and get the three points is a big boost for us, especially on the run of results we have had. “It was important to stop the rot, hopefully we can pick up from here and get some wins.”
Everton FC comment: David Moyes needs reaction to save Blues’ season
Nov 29 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
THE last Everton manager to lose 4-1 to West Bromwich Albion lost his job. Even his celebrated status – at the time he was the most successful manager in Everton’s history – couldn’t save Harry Catterick after his side was mauled at The Hawthorns in April 1973. David Moyes won’t suffer the same fate. And while some Evertonians are starting to ask why, I’m not one – and I’m still in the majority . . . I think. Only yesterday morning Blues fans woke up to stories linking their manager with a potential future vacancy at White Hart Lane. His value is still high on the managerial market, and he still makes more good than bad decisions at Goodison Park. But someone has to accept responsibility for the most unedifying home result at Goodison Park for years on Saturday. Being bounced by the Baggies was a bad day at the office for the manager and most of his players. Sure, there have been heavier home reverses in recent memory. But Arsenal can take some of the best sides in Europe apart on their day. Saturday’s hammering was inflicted by West Bromwich Albion. That’s right, humble West Brom. Perennial yo-yo club West Brom. A West Brom side beaten at home 3-0 by Stoke in their last outing. The manager has to accept responsibility for a team selection which was too cautious, while some players have to accept responsibility for slipping into a trough of complacency. Selection-wise, the more defensively-minded Tony Hibbert was preferred ahead of the more cavalier right-back option of Seamus Coleman. Johnny Heitinga’s safe, sideways passing central midfield play was preferred to the more adventurous Jack Rodwell – and Victor Anichebe was brought back for a quicker than anticipated first team return. Only Anichebe’s selection could be termed a partial success. Everton forced just two corners all afternoon – which underlined the lack of pressure they inflicted even with 11 men and an over-reliance on Leighton Baines to provide the only meaningful width in the side.
Tim Cahill and Sylvain Distin maintained the outstanding form they have shown in recent weeks – but too many of their team-mates appeared to be going through the motions. It’s a tough balancing act to collect the kind of classy players which characterise a top four side, yet instil the hunger evident in teams that genuinely believe they can achieve something. Too many Everton players currently look like they’ve accepted mid-table mediocrity – although even that is a step up from where the Blues presently find themselves. It’s as if some players have accepted that a top four challenge is beyond them and are going through the motions. Louis Saha and Yakubu have endured desperately disappointing campaigns, Steven Pienaar has made it clear he doesn’t see a long term future for himself at Goodison, while Heitinga bears the body language of a man who wants to join him. The difficulty in achieving the class/appetite balance is personified in the frame of Jermaine Beckford. The forward’s work-rate is unquestioned.He makes runs, finds space and chases down defenders – but doesn’t possess the class to finish a sizeable ratio of them. His movement means he’s at least getting on the end of chances, though, and that is a step up from the men currently keeping him out of the team. The players who have limped to 16th in the Premier League table are exactly the same group who threatened to burst into the top four with their second half of the season run earlier this year. So if personnel hasn’t changed, attitudes must have. Last season Everton went to Stamford Bridge and drew 3-3, went to Manchester City and triumphed memorably. They pose Everton’s next two challenges, but few are contemplating similar outcomes. This group of players is capable of greater things. They’ve proved it before. And in truth, Saturday was a curious kind of hammering. There’s no doubt The Baggies deserved their victory for their ambition and outstanding finishing. But Everton created enough chances to have won, and the match clearly turned on a controversial refereeing decision. Mikel Arteta’s stamp on Gonzalo Jara was unacceptable indiscipline from a man wearing a captain’s armband – the kind of irresponsibility we thought had been left behind by Duncan Ferguson’s retirement. But only seconds before, the perfectly positioned Lee Mason had ignored an assault on Leighton Baines which left the full-back clearly suffering from a head injury, two attempted fouls by Steven Pienaar, one successful foul on Arteta himself before the moment which resulted in the captain’s dismissal.
In truth Everton still got what they deserved. Nothing. At least Arteta’s suspension will mean a rethink in central midfield. A Marouane Fellaini/Jack Rodwell axis is long overdue – and couldn’t be handed a stiffer test than Chelsea away. But those two players were instrumental in sparking the revival which helped carry Everton so memorably through the second half of last season. Something equally memorable is required now, otherwise the Moyes doubters may start to swell – and we’ve seen too many times at Goodison Park the unsettling affect that can have on a football club.
Phil Jagielka insists Everton FC must thrive in adversity after West Brom defeat
Nov 29 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
PHIL JAGIELKA insists Everton must thrive in adversity after defeat against West Brom left them facing a potential relegation headache. The England defender knows the Blues face a tough task to turn things around with their next three fixtures including games against Chelsea and Manchester City. But the centre-back hopes a lack of self-pity in the Goodison dressing room will help them forget the pain of a 4-1 home defeat by the promoted Baggies. He said: “We were bad. We started off well for the first ten minutes but I don’t know what team was playing for the other 35 minutes. “We need to draw a line under it now but it’s getting frustrating having to do that. We’re a good team and we should be in a better place. The manager must be pulling his hair out, and it must be hard to know what to do. “We didn’t perform as individuals or as a team today. We went down to 10 men and played OK but conceded too many goals. “We tried to get back into the game and it cost us two more goals. But the fans would prefer us to go for it. The boys will brush themselves down, and there’ll be plenty to say on Monday, and hopefully when it comes to adversity we can pull ourselves together.”Jagielka was furious with referee Lee Mason for ignoring a foul on Leighton Baines in the second half, only to send off stand-in skipper Mikel Arteta for a an alleged stamp on Gonzalo Jarra moments later. He said: “It wasn’t even a debatable foul on Leighton but it was the little bit of luck we didn’t get. Unfortunately the ref's missed a blatant foul on the edge of the box. “A few tackles went in here, there and everywhere and Mikel's ended up getting sent off. “We’ll miss Mikel for three games now. The player didn’t go down until three or four seconds after Mikel has finished his little dance. He’s told the ref he’s stamped on him which is disappointing. "From what should have been a good goalscoring situation we ended up being down to 10 men and we all know how well West Brom can pass the ball.” Everton are now without a win in five games and travel to Champions Chelsea next week. Jagielka added: "We're all obviously behind each other in the dressing room. “We’re devastated with ourselves and our performances but we'll bounce back," he revealed.
Match report: Everton 1 West Bromwich Albion 4
Nov 29 2010 by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post
Match report: Everton 1 West Bromwich Albion 4
MANY places across the UK recorded their coldest ever November temperature on Saturday night and the home dressing room at Goodison Park could have been one of them. Unless results like these are quickly eradicated, it looks like being a long, hard winter for Everton. But the most annoying thing for David Moyes is that it shouldn’t be like this. After seeing their side reach the pinnacle of the English game in the mid-1980s and on the brink of conquering Europe, Evertonians had to get used to a sharp decline in the following decade. Having suffered throughout this period, Everton’s loyal supporters have seen their fair share of substandard players, unable to scale the heights reached by past glories – but those days should now be long gone. It’s nearly nine years now since Moyes first arrived through the Goodison Park entrance door and since then he has dramatically improved the quality of the playing staff at the club and justifiably increased expectation levels back towards where they should be for a football institution of Everton’s size. With such talented individuals on the pitch, Everton’s playing style has evolved too from artisan to artistic, but currently that has come with a price. Before Moyes’ appointment, Everton had recorded just one top half finish over the previous decade but under the former Preston North End manager they have enjoyed placings of seventh, fourth, sixth and fifth twice plus eighth last term despite having many of their best players out injured for several months. This incarnation of Everton is the fruit of almost a decade’s work by a three-time LMA Manager of the Year who rightly regards them, along with many senior players, as being the strongest squad he’s worked with during his time at the club. It includes all of the players who finished last season with just two defeats in their last 23 matches and this term most of them are actually fit. Yet after going unbeaten in the Premier League at ‘Fortress’ Goodison for over nine months until this September, the citadel has now been stormed by Arsenal and two promoted sides in the shape of Newcastle and West Brom while last-gasp goals were needed to prevent home defeats to both Manchester United and Bolton.Moyes’ labours throughout the noughties have ensured that Everton are now one of the Premier League’s most respected established outfits but everyone connected with the club needs to realise they can’t for a moment sit back in their comfort zone. From the players on the pitch to the fans in the stands, why do they have to be riled into a sense of injustice or adversity before they start to roar?
Moyes’ men were undone by a couple of set-pieces in the first half but the nature of the two goals were very different. West Brom’s opener was basic. Having hardly threatened during the first quarter of an hour, Jerome Thomas won a cheap corner by knocking the ball out of play of Phil Jagielka’s legs and Paul Scharner got above the England international centre-back to head in the resultant dead ball delivery from Chris Brunt. The Austrian remains a bogeyman for Everton as this was his fifth goal against them in as many seasons – that’s a third of 15 he’s netted during his Premier League career. While Mikel Arteta was denied from a free-kick at the other end when Scott Carson palmed an effort away, it was Ulsterman Brunt’s brilliance that doubled the Baggies’ advantage. Brunt stepped up from 30 yards out after Tim Cahill had felled Youssouf Mulumbu to dispatch an unstoppable curling effort into the top left-hand corner of Tim Howard’s goal. Although they were down, Everton showed they certainly weren’t out when they responded with a set-piece goal of their own three minutes before the interval when Cahill headed in his sixth effort in his last nine matches from Leighton Baines’ left-wing corner-kick. Indeed, soon after the break with substitutes Louis Saha and Jermaine Beckford brought on to bolster the forward line, the hosts continued to press for an equaliser and it was from one such foray forward that the game turned. Beckford had just seen a goal-bound effort cleared off the line by Gabriel Tamas when Bolton referee Lee Mason somehow missed a vicious seemingly-blatant elbow in the face on Baines by West Brom’s Chilean international right-back Gonzalo Jara. Visibly livid, both Cahill and Steven Pienaar tried to exact retribution with strong challenges on their opponents, both going unchecked before initial culprit Jara came in again with a two-footed lunge on Arteta, which also went unpunished. The whole sorry episode culminated with Everton’s frustrated stand-in Spanish skipper letting his emotions get the better of him and being shown a straight red card for his retaliatory stamp on Jara. Such actions cannot be defended but the match official should never have let the situation escalate to that kind of boiling point and from then on the hosts were facing an uphill battle. To their credit, Moyes’ remaining 10 men continued to create chances for an equaliser but after missing a golden opportunity deep into stoppage time to win the game at Sunderland the previous Monday, Beckford continued to splutter in front of goal. Unlike his fellow strikers at the club, the former Leeds man is at least getting himself into decent scoring positions but his profligacy is leading to lost points. Soon after Beckfor blazed over the bar from close range from a lofted right-wing cross from Tony Hibbert, West Brom substitute Somen Tchoyi was marauding down the other end to cut inside the Everton right-back and Jack Rodwell to curl a decisive third goal past Howard. There was still time for Beckford to hook another gilt-edged opportunity wide following a Saha knock-down but again Roberto Di Matteo’s side showed they were far more clinical as Mulumbu opened up the home defence only for Everton’s Sylvain Distin to get the final touch. The visitors’ fourth went down as an own goal but the Congolese midfielder celebrated nevertheless by jumping into the jubilant away supporters in the Bullens Road Stand, a decision that ultimately proved costly as he was booked and moments after play restarted he was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Beckford. Evertonians are left wondering when their underachieving side are going to show their potential. Too many ‘watersheds’ and turning points have been and gone so far this season. Moyes knows this team could and should be doing much better but given the compact nature of the Premier League table this season – you won’t be getting four teams staying up with less than 40 points like last May – the only way this winter of discontent at Goodison Park looks like hotting up is by getting sucked into a most avoidable relegation battle.
Everton FC manager David Moyes tells Jermaine Beckford he needs to start converting his chances
Nov 29 2010 by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post
EVERTON manager David Moyes has warned striker Jermaine Beckford that he needs to start converting his chances. Substitute Beckford looked the most likely to score out of all four of the strikers Moyes used against West Brom on Saturday after coming on as a substitute early in the second half. However, the 26-year-old, who has netted just one Premier League goal to date, was guilty of missing several good opportunities to get 10-man Everton back in the game and the visitors gave him a lesson in clinical finishing as they romped to a 4-1 victory – their first success at Goodison Park in 31 years. Moyes said: “At this level you can’t afford to miss chances like that. “We’ve said the last few weeks that we have been punished for our poor finishing, and nowhere was that more apparent than here. “Look what happened. Beckford had a great chance that had we scored then maybe we were close to winning the game, and instead we have the double whammy of the miss and we get a player sent off. “I think for him, he needs a much better goals ratio than that, because it’s not often you get so many chances at this level. “It doesn’t matter what level you are at, you have to put some of those away.” He added: “When you come to a Premier League club, you know what you’re good at. “If it’s heading, you still go out and head it, if it’s goalscoring, you have to still go out and finish when you get chances like that. “Let’s be fair to him, we weren’t getting any chances before he came on, and after he did, we had lots. “But he needs to convert them, and as a team we can’t keep missing them, because we are in a bit of trouble now.”Fit-again Victor Anichebe made his first appearance of the season, playing on the right hand side of midfield rather than as a centre-forward but Everton’s other senior strikers Beckford, Ayegbeni Yakubu and Louis Saha have netted just two Premier League goals between them this term. Moyes admits he is concerned by the situation but concedes he is unlikely to have the funds to bring in fresh blood in the transfer window. He said: “I don’t know if things will change, but as things stand at the moment there is no money to buy any strikers in January, so we will have to look to players to step up and take more responsibility. “The idea was that we don’t want to be chopping and changing too much, so we gave Yak a run, but he didn’t work here, so we will have to take another long look at it.” After going on a seven-game unbeaten run, Everton have only collected a single point from their last three Premier League fixtures and Moyes knows they must improve. He said: “The fact is, we have not performed well enough over the piece so far. “We have put in some good performances, but not consistently enough, and our form has suffered badly in recent weeks. “We are in a bad position, and we have got some tough games coming up against Chelsea and Manchester City.
“But we have to keep going, keep trying and go out there and do it again and hope we start converting some of those chances.” Moyes refused to discuss Mikel Arteta’s sending off but revealed he was disappointed that his side had not been given a free-kick in the build up to the incident. He said: “I’m not going to talk about the sending-off, I’ll only talk about what happened prior to it. “It was a free-kick on the edge of the box, which should have been dealt with. The referee is close enough to see it. “It was an elbow in his face, on Leighton Baines. The player led with his elbow. “As far as I am concerned that is the decision we should be talking about.” The Scot, however, did not look for excuses for his team, who have now gone five games without a win. He said: “We didn’t start well. We went a couple of goals down because of our poor start. “You can play badly and maybe get away with it but we didn’t get away with it today because we didn’t pick up well enough. “We were terrible in the first half, we got the goal and I told them (at half-time) they had 10 minutes to get another goal back and then I’d make changes. I did that. “The players had a go and in truth we were maybe close to winning it at one point, but in the end we’ve ended up losing quite heavily.”
Liverpool FC travel to take on Manchester United, while Everton FC face Scunthorpe United in FA Cup
Nov 29 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post
ROY HODGSON’S Liverpool will travel to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the in the third round of this season’s FA Cup. The bitter rivals clash is the highlight – and the only all-Barclays Premier League tie – of the last-64 draw which was made yesterday afternoon at Wembley. Everton will also be on the road on the weekend of January 8-9 when they take on Scunthorpe United at Glanford Park. Fellow top-flight big guns Arsenal and Chelsea were granted home ties against Leeds and Ipswich respectively. The last time Liverpool and Manchester United met, Rafael Benitez’s side won 1-0 in the fifth round at Anfield thanks to a Peter Crouch header, before going in to lift the trophy by beating West Ham United on penalties in the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. But the bitter north west rivals have not been paired at Old Trafford since January 1999, when Liverpool were cruelly beaten 2-1 in the fourth round. Current United striker Michael Owen had headed Liverpool an early deserved lead which they held until the dying moments. But goals from Dwight Yorke and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer knocked Gerard Houllier’s Liverpool side out. The two clubs have played each other 15 times in the competition and in the final twice – United winning both in 1977 and 1996. The last time Liverpool beat United at Old Trafford in the FA Cup was in 1920-21, although there has only been two other ties at the Salford venue since. David Moyes’s Everton will face Scunthorpe for only the third time in their history. The last and only meetings between the clubs was in a two-legged League Cup tie in 1997-98. Everton won 6-0 on aggregate. Gareth Farrelly gave the Blues a 1-0 win at Scunthorpe before goals from Nick Barmby (2), John Oster, Graham Stuart and Danny Cadamarteri saw Howard Kendall’s side secure a comfortable 5-0 success in the return at Goodison Park.The two non-league teams already through to round three were both handed away ties, with York travelling to Premier League Bolton after their win at Darlington and Huddersfield the destination for Dover, conquerors of Aldershot. Four other teams from outside the Football League took their places in the draw with their second-round ties yet to be decided. FC United of Manchester will host Portsmouth if they come through their replay against Brighton, while Crawley will tackle Swindon once more for the right to take on Derby. Droylsden, of the Blue Square Bet North Division, face League One Leyton Orient tomorrow night with a trip to Norwich the prize for the winners – while Luton have the biggest incentive, with Tottenham awaiting at White Hart Lane if they can see off Charlton. Ten further ties will see top-flight sides meet opposition from the npower Championship, with draw-makers Serge Pizzorno and Noel Gallagher celebrating after the rock stars drew their respective teams, Leicester and Manchester City, together for a clash at the Walkers Stadium. Midlands sides Wolves, West Brom, Birmingham and Aston Villa all face tough away trips to Doncaster, Reading, Sheffield United and Millwall respectively, while Wigan face Hull at the KC Stadium. Stoke and Blackburn were drawn at home to second-tier high-fliers Cardiff and QPR, while West Ham host Barnsley, semi-finalists in 2008. Of the remaining Premier League sides, Fulham host Peterborough, Blackpool travel to Southampton and Sunderland await the winners of the clash between Notts County and Bournemouth while Newcastle travel to League Two Stevenage. Two all-Championship ties came out of the bag, with Coventry hosting Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest travelling to Preston. Ties will be played over the weekend of January 8 and 9.
Everton FC’s Phil Jagielka fumes over Mikel Arteta’s sending off
Nov 29 2010 by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post
EVERTON defender Phil Jagielka has hit out over Mikel Arteta’s sending off, the flashpoint that proved the turning point in Saturday’s 4-1 home defeat to West Bromwich Albion. Although the Baggies had stunned Goodison Park by racing into a 2-0 lead, the hosts had pulled a goal back through Tim Cahill just before the interval and were pressing for an equaliser early in the second half when stand-in skipper Arteta saw red for a stamp on Gonzalo Jara. Along with the rest of his Everton team-mates, Jagielka was incensed that in the build up to the incident, referee Lee Mason failed to spot a seemingly blatant elbow on Leighton Baines by the Chilean international right-back. He said: “We started the second half well but unfortunately, from my view, what should have been a blatant free-kick from the edge of their box and maybe a goalscoring opportunity for us, escalates into one of our players being sent off. “A horrific decision one way turns into a bad decision for Mikel and we’re going to miss him for three games now. “If you watch it on the television you can see that he doesn’t make contact. There’s the gesture and the motion of his foot going down but if you look at the other player he doesn’t actually go down for about three or four seconds until after Mikel’s finished his ‘little dance’ so to speak. “There wasn’t any contact but you can see that the linesman has made a decision and has told the referee he stamped on him. But we’re going to have to put a line under this game and hopefully kick on.” Jagielka added: “I don’t think what he (Jara) did made any difference to the decision. The linesman saw what he saw and the referee went to speak to him and the decision was made. “People exaggerate things but to say he exaggerated what happened would be a polite way of putting it. “I’m not Mikel, I can’t try and defend him and say he didn’t try and stamp on him. But if there was contact, it was minimal. “If someone stamps on you go and look for a sore spot on your leg. “I don’t think there was anyone looking for any sore spots on his leg other than him rolling around the floor.” Jagielka was disappointed with the way Everton quickly let a bright start to the game fade but felt the decision not to award a free-kick for the elbow on Baines – and subsequent sending off proved the turning point. He said: “That’s the little bit of luck that we maybe needed today and we didn’t get. “We were bad. We started off well for the first 10 minutes but I don’t know what team played for the next 35 minutes. Jagielka added: “We tried to get back at them and it cost us ultimately because they scored more goals but I think the fans would prefer us to try and get something out of the game. “On another day maybe our shot isn’t cleared off the line and we take our chances but it ended up a 4-1 defeat. “We’ll dust ourselves down and the boys will no doubt have plenty to say but hopefully the adversity can pull us together.” The England international acknowledges that Everton’s tight-knit bunch of players always come out fighting when cornered but admitted the poor results so far this season have been infuriating for one of the Premier League’s most consistent sides of recent years. Jagielka said: “We’re getting a bit sick and tired of having to do that. We’re a good team and should be in a better place – the gaffer must be pulling his hair out. I bet he really doesn’t know what to do. “We didn’t perform as individuals or as a team. We showed glimpses of it, we still created chances when we were down to 10 men so there are positives but from a defensive point of view we’ve lost four goals. “When you’re down to 10 men, going for the equaliser, you expect to concede territory and chances to the opposition and they took theirs and we didn’t take ours.”
Boing Backability for the Baggies
Monday 29th November 2010, (expressandstar) West Brom
Yes I know it’s not a real word but it really should be! writes Albion blogger Jarrod Hill. Saturday’s win at Goodison Park had all the ingredients that thrilling games need to have to remain in our memory banks for years to come. Lots of goals, disputed refereeing decisions, a goal of the month contender, and more importantly three desperately needed points for Roberto Di Matteo’s boys. We all knew how much our boys needed a result, and we didn’t gain our boing boing nickname for nothing. Friday’s blog stated our need to have a change of luck as well as an upturn in form, however on Saturday we got both. With the score line at 1-2 our South American hot-head Gonzalo Jara got involved in an incident that another referee on another day could have interpreted differently and when I say differently I mean he could have been the one taking an early bath rather than Mikel Arteta. But hey we were due a bit of luck from those people posing as referees, and our play more than deserved the win. Everton missed some glorious chances and Scott Carson again played well to keep us on top, yet on reflection that was just a side story to the four fantastic goals we scored. Paul Scharner opened his Baggies account with the type of goal we have been waiting for, a goal we had got used to seeing him score for his previous employers. The second goal was simply straight out of the top draw, postage stamp stuff as Chris Brunt unleashed a curling free kick into the top corner. Two keepers would have struggled to stop it and it was great to see him back on the pitch after a recent injury picked up on international duty. But the great goals did not stop there, Somen Tchoyi has been unlucky not to get more game time in many fans opinion and he did his chances no harm at all when he climbed off the bench to score another cracker. He looks a threat whenever he gets the ball and was again involved when we scored the fourth, it was a real team goal and although the powers that be gave it as an own goal Youssouf Mulumbu had more than just a hand in it. His late sending off would have been laughable if it wasn’t so damaging to our preparations for the next two fixtures. He, like Gonzalo Jara needs to learn to be a little smarter when it comes to the officials and giving them opportunities to penalise us. His red card was completely overshadowed by the result and the three points feel like a huge shot in the arm for all connected to the club. I know it helped make my weekend great and as we approach Christmas I am sure most fans are happy to be sat in twelfth position in the league with 19 points. I still feel the need to look over our shoulders and the five point gap down to the bottom three is still too close for us to get over confident, but at the same time that small cushion is as welcome as a mug of mulled wine on a cold winter’s day. Our attentions now turn to our League Cup quarter-final game at Ipswich, and it feels good to have a break away from the pressure of getting three points. The chance to make the last four of the competition is good for the club and exciting for the fans and it will be interesting to see who our head coach Roberto Di Matteo choses to play. Up until now he has used the competition to give game time to a number of fringe players, but with a bigger prize now within his grasp will he be tempted to play a stronger side? I wait with baited breath, and at this point in time i just feel glad to be Baggie and look forward to the game. Sometimes we feel deflated, sometimes elated, sometimes what happens on a Saturday effects your mood for weeks, forth coming games fill your thoughts as you try to sleep, and provide conversation while you enjoy a pint with your mates. But one thing always remains constant, it is never boring being a Baggie!
Up the Baggies.
Nov 30 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON'S Victor Anichebe was delighted with his return to action on Saturday, but admitted his comeback was soured by the scoreline. The Nigerian completed an hour of action before being replaced by Jack Rodwell in a tactical shake-up after Mikel Arteta's red card. He said: “It was nice to be back. Obviously the result wasn't the best but it was good to get some minutes under my belt and hopefully that can take me a long way. “The result was a disappointment but hopefully we can pick ourselves back up and win the next game. “I felt okay at times, obviously fatigue is normal and match sharpness will come, but the result wasn't the best and the fans made that clear but we know that ourselves.We know we can do better and hopefully will do in the next game. Any minutes I can get are only going to make me better. Last time I was injured it took me a while to really get into my stride. “It was a good run out and obviously I took it seriously and it was good to get out there.” Everton will be without Mikel Arteta for three games after the Spaniard was sent off against the Baggies, but the Blues will be boosted by the return of Marouane Fellaini for their visit to Chelsea's Stamford Bridge. And Anichebe believes it is vital that the Blues get everybody back in action to combat a heavy schedule next month. “We need every player, even some of the ones that are injured at the moment. We need everyone back, really,” he said. “That period is going to be tough and we need to start winning games through that period. But everyone is coming back so hopefully we can keep doing better.”
Nov 30 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
JERMAINE BECKFORD continues to find the Premier League a harsh and unforgiving place for a goalscorer who is not scoring any goals. He arrived with a big reputation, albeit at a lower level and has struggled to do the business so far. But I hope supporters continue to give him time to adjust, because the heartening aspect of his display on Saturday was that he was getting into the positions to miss in the first place. He had three or four chances and I thought he made a lovely run for the first which was saved well by Scott Carson. The problem is that in most games at the top level you usually only get two chances as gilt-edged as the ones he fluffed, and you've got to put them away. His manager said as much after the game. The volley was high and wild, and the over-head kick was a strange decision – but in his defence he never once stops getting into positions, asking for the ball and he never hides. I like that in him. The Evertonians will give him credit for that too, and hope that he can start putting away a few more of the opportunities he gets.
Nov 30 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
STAMFORD Bridge is not the first place you'd choose to go after a hiding at home from a promoted team. Yet that is the task facing the Blues on Saturday, and I actually think they can go there and be optimistic. Any team would miss men like John Terry, and Frank Lampard – not to mention Michael Essien – so they have been hurt by the absence of all three. I said last week that the shoddy treatment of Ray Wilkins did them no favours either, and I believe their is still a lot of ill-feeling about what went on due to Ray's popularity with the first team squad at Chelsea. So there are worse times to visit West London, even if Everton are starting to need the points badly to give their season any impetus. We have actually done well against the Londoners over the last couple of seasons and there have been some tight games that we have just shaded. A lot will depend on how the midfield shapes up and whether Jack Rodwell and Marouane Fellaini can keep the ball, and also chase it down when we are not in possession with far greater hunger than against West Brom.
Nov 30 2010 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
I DON'T think I've been so deeply disappointed after a game as I was on Saturday for some time. It was the hardest defeat to try and get your head around at Goodison Park since Arsenal came and spanked us at the beginning of last season, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one trudging out of the ground with my spirits as low as Everton's position in the league table. The first 45 minutes was as poor as Everton have played in ages. It was always going to be difficult to recover from a start like that. I went from fully expecting three points before the kick-off to wondering how we were going to grab a draw. West Brom must have been surprised how easy it was for them to score twice in the first half against one of the league's supposed better sides. We just didn't close Roberto Di Matteo's side down or get about them with anything resembling the normal conviction you expect from David Moyes' side. When we got the goal, I thought things would improve but Mikel Arteta's red card put paid to that. We could have rolled over and took a worse hammering after that, but at least the team started to play a bit though. thought Lee Mason was shocking – to miss the assault on Leighton Baines and then a dodgy tackle on Mikel who was pushed to the brink by Gonzalo Jarra was incredible. He had a nightmare. I am hoping that Mikel benefits from the chance to rest and get himself back to normal during the next three weeks, because he is an exceptional player who has been below par by his own high standards. There's not much of a defence you can mount for him in response to his sending off, other than to say it was out of character and he was provoked – but Mikel shouldn't have done it and he will know that.
Nov 30 2010 by Marc Waddington, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON FC's plans to build luxury houses on its Bellefield training ground must go back before city planners after a High Court ruling. The bid to build 74 homes was approved last month but the club has been unable to sign legal agreements to get underway with the scheme. The deadlock came when a judge ruled that Government Communities Secretary Eric Pickles' decision to scrap a piece of legislation that set housebuilding targets had been “unlawful”. The case was launched by an Edinburgh housebuilder who was refused permission to build 2,000 homes following Mr Pickles' decision. The ruling has had a knock on effect for the Blues' plans to build 74 houses on the West Derby training site in order to bring around £8m into the club from the sale of the land. The bid was originally turned down by Liverpool council on the basis that the “regional spatial strategy” discouraged housebuilding outside of Housing Market Renewal areas. But when the strategy was scrapped it allowed for the bid to be approved at the November 9 planning meeting. The over-turning of Mr Pickles' decision means the scheme must be considered again. The plans were due to go before planners again today and are again recommended for approval. Club spokesman Ian Ross said: “It's only going up again because of a legal challenge to a change in regulations and legislation but we remain confident it will go through a second time.” The club's plans includes houses for sale for between £300,000 and £500,000. Eaton Road resident John Judge, 60, said fears of excess traffic were rife. He added: “With 74 big expensive houses you're probably looking at two or three cars per house and the access is bad. They'll all be coming past my house.” Knotty Ash Cllr Paul Twigger added: “I will be supporting people in their opposition to what they are trying to railroad through.”
Nov 30 2010 by Staff Reporter, Liverpool Echo
FOOTBALL violence is in decline on Merseyside. There were 215 arrests at matches involving the area's three clubs last season, a fall of almost 20% on the 268 arrested in the 2008-09 campaign. That fall was twice the 10% decline at all domestic and international games in England and Wales, according to Home Office statistics. However the improvement in Merseyside was explained entirely by a big fall in arrests at matches involving Everton, down from 139 to 65. In contrast, the number of Liverpool fans detained by police rose slightly (from 100 to 108) and there was a sharp rise at Tranmere Rovers games (from 29 to 42). It means the Anfield club now has the seventh worst record in the Premiership. There was also a fall in the number of banning orders imposed on Merseyside fans last season, down from 51 to 43. Thugs sent to prison for football-related offences can also be banned from matches for up to ten years.As a result there were a total of 163 orders in place by the middle of last month, with the highest number slapped on Liverpool fans (77). The detailed figures revealed that most Anfield supporters were arrested for violent disorder (41), followed by alcohol offences (38) and ticket touting (20). The breakdown for Everton fans showed alcohol (27) to be the most common offence, with violent disorder (25) and invading the pitch (7). The figures provided a welcome boost as David Cameron prepared to fly to Zurich to lobby Fifa executive committee members to bring the 2018 World Cup to England - to be decided on Thursday. James Brokenshire, the crime prevention minister, was quick to point to the stark contrast between the good behaviour of England fans during this year's World Cup, in South Africa and the turmoil at Euro 2000 a decade earlier. He said: "No football-related arrests at the World Cup, compared to nearly 950 hooligans being expelled from Belgium in one night. "There are many factors behind this and the greatest credit must go to the fans. “But I want to see them continue to build on that good behaviour.
Nov 30 2010 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo
Phil Neville believes misfiring Jermaine Beckford is still the pick of the striking bunch at Everton despite another frustrating cameo against West Brom. The Blues skipper insists that the summer signing from Leeds United is more than capable of becoming a top Premier League centre-forward. Beckford, 26, missed three chances to drag Everton back into the game during their ultimately painful 4-1 home defeat by West Bromwich Albion. But Neville is in no doubt that Beckford's work-rate and positioning mean he is out-performing more experienced team-mates. He said: “The one thing I would say is that he is putting himself into that position to miss. Out of all the strikers we've got, he is the one who is consistently getting chances.That tells me that he's brave, he has an eye for goal, and he's hungry to score. “At the moment it's not quite going in for him, but it works that way for strikers. They go on runs where they don't score, but it's pleasing that he keeps making the runs. “He is a Premier League striker. If he wasn't creating the chances, or making the runs maybe you'd question that, but for me a striker is 99% there if he is doing that. The extra 1% is maybe confidence and that will come when he starts scoring. “Becks missed a chance against Sunderland, but came on against West Brom and kept wanting the ball and getting into space.” Neville is hoping Beckford is just a lucky break away from a hat-trick in the top flight, and backed the free-signing to make an opposition goal keeper suffer soon. He said: “Eventually he'll click and punish someone by banging in three or four. All the lads are behind him, we all realise he's had a difficult start but he has goal scoring ability and we need to back him up. “The experienced strikers must shoulder some of that burden too.”
Nov 30 2010
EVERTON FC's plans to build luxury houses on its Bellefield training ground was given the go-ahead. The bid to build 74 homes was approved last month but the club had been unable to sign legal agreements to get underway with the scheme. The plans went back before planners today and were approved.
Nov 30 2010 Liverpool Daily Post
I REMEMBER when he was in charge at Preston, asking David Moyes why he sometimes took the warm-ups before a game. He said that he took matters into his own hands when he felt the players needed revving up, when the atmosphere in the dressing room was a bit flat. In other words, he would get bad vibes before a game and try to do everything in his power to get rid of them. So don't be surprised to see him spending plenty of time with the players in the middle in the coming weeks. Because he really needs to shake things up amongst his playing squad. It's a squad that, in terms of quality and strength in depth, is better than any he has had during his reign. But despite the talent at his disposal he now faces his toughest challenge in snapping them out of their current slumber. He has a pretty good track record of doing that when faced with slow starts in the past few years. But the rot seems to be setting in for a lot longer this time – and it's time the team was shocked out of this lethargy. You just get the feeling the Everton players are not quite at it Last Monday I thought they were a lot better at Sunderland and could have won. But then Saturday rolls round and I got the impression Everton thought they just had to turn up to beat a West Brom side that were on a bad run. Too many of them were of that ilk, expecting to win without putting in the hard work. Mikel Arteta's sending off was symptomatic of his season so far and Tim Cahill was also lucky to get away with one late on. You can't referee the game yourself any more and experienced players should know that. But when a team is not playing well on the day that is what happens – rash decisions and ill-advised actions. It's a mindset that needs changing quickly and I think it starts on the training ground. For example, Moyes was openly critical of Jermaine Beckford after his succession of missed chances on Saturday, and that was unusual. I honestly think if he was happy with his work rate in training he would have said something like, ‘well he's been unlucky but if he keeps at it he'll get the break'. But Moyes wasn't having any of that. In fact, he sounds like a man who's had enough of some of his players' attitudes. It is, of course, wrong to point the finger at Beckford or any one player but one thing is certain – they will be in for it on the training ground this week.There is of course no choice with a trip to Chelsea on Saturday. They're having a wobble and it's actually a good time to play them. But Moyes needs to worry
Nov 30 2010 by Ian Doyle ,Liverpool Daily Post
VICTOR ANICHEBE admits he felt mixed emotions after his Everton comeback was soured by a heavy home defeat. Anichebe made his long-awaited return to first-team duty by playing an hour of the shock 4-1 loss to West Bromwich Albion at Goodison on Saturday. It was the 22-year-old's first appearance of the season after being sidelined by a knee problem suffered during pre-season. Having made only 11 appearances last term due to a succession of injury complaints, Anichebe is now desperate to make up for lost time. But he acknowledges the joy of his comeback was tempered by Everton's heaviest defeat of the campaign. “It was nice to be back,” said Anichebe. “Obviously the result wasn't the best but it was good to get some minutes under my belt and hopefully that can take me a long way. I felt okay at times, obviously fatigue is normal and match sharpness will come, but the result wasn't the best and the fans made that clear but we know that ourselves. “We know we can do better and hopefully will do in the next game. “Any minutes I can get are only going to make me better. Last time I was injured it took me a while to really get into my stride. It was a good run-out and obviously I took it seriously and it was good to get out there.” Everton's ongoing problems in attack mean Anichebe could be handed more chances in the coming weeks. Mikel Arteta will miss the next three games after his red card at the weekend while Goodison manager David Moyes fears losing Tim Cahill from mid-December in preparation for the following month's Asian Cup with Australia. Everton will at least be bolstered by the return of Marouane Fellaini from suspension, and with the hectic festive schedule approaching, Anichebe believes the depth of the squad will be pushed to the limit. “We need every player, even some of the ones that are injured at the moment,” said the Nigeria international. “We need everyone back, really. That period is going to be tough and we need to start winning games through that period. But everyone is coming back so hopefully we can keep doing better.”
November 2010