Cornish Steve

Sunderland 1-2 Everton Eto'o

Chelsea win - and deserve it apparently despite a late shout for a penalty.

So who forgot to put a bob in the meter?

Toss-up between McCarthy and Lukaku. Went with McCarthy.

Sell him in the January window while he's looking good and healthy.

As my uncle used to say, a man is only as old as the woman he feels.

I just saw this, too. What is the man playing at? If they get hammered (and they may very well get hammered), Rodgers could be looking for a new job.

Putting all else aside, he has a Scottish wife and young daughter who undoubtedly benefit from living within reasonable distance to extended family. Why ever move to Italy, of all places?

As long as you have the cash flow needed to pay it off - yes! My guess is that debt is being managed well right now as a prelude to stadium financing - as well as simply being good business.

I remember one episode that was very funny because a caller's comment was just so unexpected. Her boyfriend was a car mechanic and she wanted to arrange for him drive a really fast car on his birthday. Could the brothers provide any advice? There was just one problem: he was blind! One of the brothers commented that he must be the one person in the world who uses the braille on drive-through bank machines. Ray's laughter was so infectious, as you can tell from the links above.

One of the most popular radio shows in America came to a sad end today with the death of the older of two brothers who hosted Car Talk. Only repeats have been played for two years, but this is the real end of the series. For those who've never heard of Car Talk, it was a call-in program for those having car problems, but it received cult status because of the personalities of the two presenters - brothers who grew up in a really rough area of Boston. Here are some excerpts, and I dare you to listen to the first without laughing.

The right balance depends on many factors, and these factors change all the time, but this article gets the main points across. http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/04/25/focus3.html?page=all

It's not a tax dodge. It's just the way that taxes work in business. There are two ways to generate cash: debt and equity. Each has its cost, and, depending on company, business, and environment, there is a certain balance that allows you to minimize the cost. So many moan about the owners, but they put money in to make a profit, and that's a cost to the business. Likewise, banks don't lend money for fun, and they charge interest, which is a cost. The government taxes some things, allows you to write off some costs against taxes, and so on. This is why financiers make the big bucks.

With a couple of caveats up front: I'm not a finance guy or a senior exec, just a veteran of business with an MBA (for whatever that's worth) and experience defining company strategy Like the rest of us, I don't see the complete picture - and probably not even most of it - so it's dangerous to draw too many conclusions But, I do have several observations and suggestions if I was running the show. Contrary to what most people believe, debt is actually good in business. There is an optimal level, though, which probably explains the pay-off of some debt. I'm also guessing that preparations are being made for a stadium initiative, and the finances must be in good shape for that. Too many are being dismissive of the TV money. It's extra revenue, and it's an important factor, not something to be dismissed. It's no different than landing a huge advertising deal to replace the current mediocre deals. Don't discount it. Using it to pay off debt, and not allowing it to sidetrack us, is wise. Otherwise, we become like a lottery winner that's bankrupt a few years later. Invest in the youth program. Maybe 10% of them will make it to the first team, but we can sell the rest for a profit. View it as a P&L venture. Once the brand is stronger, buy out the Kitbag deal, which is a disgrace. There's a lot of money for the taking in this area. The single biggest thing, though, is to have a clear business strategy. RIght now, there's a bit of this and a bit of that, but no clear definition of what defines Everton and makes us different. Another way of putting this is that the brand is weak. Focus on a strategy and use that to filter and justify all decisions made by the club. For example, I'd play Tim Howard for all he's worth and pounce on the meme he inspired during the World Cup. Become "America's team" in the Prem. Bring in a couple of other American players, do summer tours, have Roberto continue with ESPN, play the history angle (Americans love that) and the underdog status (they love that too), link up with an MLS team, set up a couple of US-based development centres for youth players, and generally raise the team's profile. Play on the colour blue - and work with Jet Blue, Citibank, IBM ("Big Blue"), Twitter, and other popular US brands that are blue. Link up with the New Orleans Saints and have them "sing the blues." Be creative. That will generate a larger international fan base that will attract the Nike's of the world. And drop Chang, because Asia brings us nothing right now, and flying the team there just exhausts everyone. Of course, this is just one invented strategy, and it won't be everyone's cup of tea. It's almost doesn't matter what the strategy is, as long as we have one!

McCarthy for me.

The Europa.

I'm sorry. I missed both your prediction and Matt's - because your posts appear before the table for the previous game. (You were quick off the mark, and I was slow in posting the previous table.) I'll correct my spreadsheet so your points are correct.

Nostalgia isn't what it used to be. How many people were slating Deulofeu when he we playing last season? Now, based on this thread, you'd think he's the bee's knees. He was good and showed a lot of promise, but he's not the long-term winger the team needs right now.

I feel very sorry for him. You can tell in interviews that he's so eager to get back and prove himself. I really hope he gets that opportunity. Theo Walcott came back yesterday for Arsenal after ten months out. Long-term injuries happen, and it's not fair to blame the player - or, indeed, to laugh about it.

I would expect pretty much the same team, but with Distin slotting in for Alcaraz and Lukaku starting.

Yup. I thought it was one of McGeady's better games. Plus, McCarthy and Besic, the more they play together, are going to be immense.

Congratulations to Sideliner for being the only person, along with Rubecula, to predict a draw. Not bad for your first prediction of the season! Several other people scored 2 points, however, because they predicted no goals for Swansea and their predictions were better than average. For the season, Romey has caught Mike, mainly because the latter's prediction this weeks was disqualified for slight ambiguity. As a reminder, you appear in the "points per prediction" list only if you've made at least 3 predictions this season. For interest's sake, I've calculated the average prediction for each game and added a new line entry in each list called "TT Average". PS - I forgot to sort the 'points per prediction' into order this week.

You never learn!

You predicted that one!

Replace Naismith with Lukaku, and this has to be the most attacking Everton side for quite a while.