carlmc25

I'd semi go along with that. I'm not saying we'd definitely get in the top 4, but I think we're one class CM (Appiah?) away from regularly being in the mix for the top 4.

to be fair, I think Yakubu was knackered from Thursday. I was surprised Moyes had made so little changes to the team that played on Thursday and in the first half I think it showed. 1-1 was a fantastic result and Moyes should be commended for making an early tactical change for once. Just a pity that once AGAIN we let in a soft goal from a corner, they've cost us too many points this year.

in some ways yes, some ways no. It's definitely the ultimate test of how good our squad is, but not how good our first 11 is. I mean, our team are going to be a lot more tired than Chelsea's and we're away from home. I think you'd have to expect us to struggle on Sunday or to rotate a few players, but I'm still hoping that as their defence is a bit weak at the moment we may pull something out of the bag. Any result at all would be fantastic, I can only assume Vaughan etc may be brought in to give us the energy we need. Be interesting to see what team he puts out.

I like McFadden but he's just not in Moyes first team plans, he gives us options but I think he has to be sold if he's not going to be a regular as we have so many options up front and McFadden hasn't got the pace to play in midfield. Wouldn't mind seeing Hibbert go for Hoyte as you said, we really need that one class CM to play 442, if no one is available then don't panic and just play 451 until we get our man.

Arteta is usually about the best there is from set-pieces, we score loads of goals off his deliveries, that being said he hasn't been on top form recently and last night his set-pieces were abysmal, but usually he's the best around imo. Gravesen can whip in a mean delivery too and is probably not far off Arteta standard and Carsley isn't too shabby.

yeah I didn't realise, didn't watch the goals again at the end as I was busy so never really noticed! One thing though, how cheesed would you be if you were a Nuremburg fan? I mean, Anichebe did well for the goals (he tries that turning the defender a lot) but from a defensive point of view the goals were embarrassing! That guy was lucky to stay on the pitch, he got booked for the pen and then hauled Anichebe down when he was clean through on goal and should have gotten a straight red imo, yet he didn't even get his second booking! I just hope Anichebe can really get stuck in when he starts a match in future, he definitely has all the physical attributes to be awesome.

Arteta's set-pieces were terrible, I don't know if it's a different ball in Europe or whether the pitch was just heavy - but he just couldn't get any purchase on the ball all night. I just hope he doesn't become a victim of the Gravesen syndrome, it seems that now that has form has dropped a little people start getting on his back - because they know how talented he is - when in reality he played ok last night. If his name wasn't Mikel Arteta you probably would have watched his performance and thought "this guy looks good." The Daily Mail gave him motm, which was possibly undeserved but he was one of the best players on the pitch. People rave about Pienaar, yet all he did was keep it tidy, get into good positions and not pick anyone out, work hard and nearly cost us a goal with a stupid dummy on the edge of our box. Arteta worked hard, he also passed it around nicely, won loads of free-kicks, played a lovely one-two with Cahill in the box, had a few shots on goal which rebounded out and we could have scored off, plus he scored the penalty etc. He did nothing wrong, apart from his set-pieces, and played better than VDM ever has, BUT he just isn't playing as well as he could. I bet if you ask the Nurnberg fans who our best player was they'd probably say Arteta. He possibly needs a rest but he certainly shouldn't be dropped as he's still playing better than the alternatives (I mean does anyone want to see Jags in midfield instead?). Let's just hope he gets back to top form soon and then we really will be flying. Cahill looked off the pace last night, contributed little, but Osman was again excellent. Considering we were away from home I thought Nuremburg hardly had a sniff of goal so I thought we defended pretty well, although I missed the first 10 mins or so. Before the match many were saying they'd take a draw, they think we'll lose etc, we actually won 2-0, so how about we congratulate the team and say well done? The real test is Sunday, but with tired players I think we may struggle.

yeah, obviously we have a weakness at the back when Valente plays, I'm talking about when we're full strength. I don't quite understand why (once again) the full-backs get all the blame, I don't know if I'm mistaken here but early on I thought Lescott lost possession abysmally and nearly cost us a goal. Also one of their best (only) half chances came from a ridiculous dummy from Pienaar, yet somehow it's all Neville and Valente's fault. Neville was superb, hardly gave the ball away, even took short throws in the main, criticism of him is ridiculous on last night's performance imo and Valente was totally solid and apart from one bad foul didn't miss a tackle.

I agree with whoever said Arteta is showboating a bit at the moment and seems content winning free-kicks, but usually his set-pieces are superb and we score a lot of goals from them, tonight they were awful. To be honest, I thought Arteta was one of our better players, it's just everyone judges him against what they know he is capable of so all of a sudden he was crap when in effect he was still as good as Pienaar and better than Cahill for me. Yes he can play a lot better and do a lot more with the ball, but he hardly lost possession all night, won loads of free-kicks in dangerous areas, worked hard and did enough. He just looks like he needs a bit of a rest, but the problem is, Arteta on a bad day is still better than most of the players in our squad on a good day. I have to say, I think criticism is ridiculous - every time I've watched teams like Liverpool over the years in group games away from home they've gone about it professionally. Soaked up the play, hit them where it hurts and ended up winning - that's what we did. We won 2-0 away from home against a top flight German team, yes they looked poor but so what, we won. Personally I don't understand the criticism, we don't go away from home to entertain, we're not Arsenal, we play to get results and we did. The most professional performance we've put in in Europe under Moyes by far. Well played.

it wasn't all round talent, it was physical attributes - personally I'd think that Vaughan could possibly have done both of those tonight. Everyone knows Anichebe as the attributes, he just doesn't do it when he starts and he looks lazy. If he was as hungry and energetic as Vaughan he could be an awesome specimen, but he too often doesn't look interested. He did well tonight, but I think we've all been there before and if he starts on Sunday I doubt many would be surprised if once again he flattered to deceive. At the moment he is supersub material, Vaughan is the better player.

In a 451 I don't think we do have a weakness. We may not have the very top players in the world but we have very good players for that system in every position. So I agree with Meyer.

don't know what game you watched? we played against a Bundesliga team and totally controlled the match, never looked like losing and won 2-0. Neville never put a foot wrong all night, he was excellent. Valente (surprisingly) was also very good. We passed the ball around a lot but looked a little like we were happy with the draw and didn't really want to exert too much energy. Excellent totally professional win, about time too. Pienaar was no way best player imo, he was ok but nothing special, Osman shined a lot brighter than Pienaar in my opinion. Defense (apart from a couple of stupid moments) looked totally solid and Yakubu worked hard enough with no service. Once again Anichebe comes on and makes the difference, just a pity whenever he starts a game he looks totally useless - supersub material for me as he always tires too quickly and doesn't seem to put anywhere near as much effort in as he does as a sub. Bit concerned that we played a full strength team, Nurnberg looked unbelievably poor and I think we would have been pretty comfortable resting a couple of players, I mean Cahill really contributed little tonight and looked a little tired for me. Arteta, Carsley all appeared to be getting leggy with 20 mins to go and I was very surprised Grav didn't come on. I think a lot of players will be tired for Chelsea now, but at least they'll go there in good spirits. I'd expect a couple of changes for Chelsea, they have a big physical team and I think Jags or Neville will be brought in alongside Carsley in midfield with possibly Pienaar or Osman on the bench. Wasn't the most exciting match tonight and Arteta's set pieces were awful (different ball in Europe?) but it was a typical away match in a group stage. Well done Everton, Moyes seems to be getting the cups right at last. 5 wins on the trot, 5 x 451's on the trot.

haven't seen him score many at all, he's no Steven Gerrard or Cesc Fabregas from what I've seen. Granted, I don't get to see as much football as I used to (apart from watching Everton) but I've never been exactly amazed by a performance from Essien. Just because he signed for huge money and played for Chelsea all of a sudden he became some world beater, yet in reality I've always just thought he looked very good - not one of the best in the world like Vieira was. But as I say, I don't get to watch as much football as I'd like these days so maybe I'm missing something. Still I'd like him in our team as the all round defensive midfielder we need.

don't get me wrong, I think Essien is decent, but don't see what the fuss is about to be honest - he's no Vieira from what I've seen. I wouldn't want Appiah to be a poor man's Essien, I'd like him to be virtually as good if not as good. Haven't seen much of him so not going to make any big noises, but from what I have seen he looks exactly what we need and I have a good feeling about him - particularly with our African contingent!

ok so it looks like Baines, Stubbs are going to be out so the defence could be interesting. I hope he gives Carsley a rest to keep him fresh for chelsea so I'd play Hibbo, Yobo, Jags and Lescott back 4 (hopefully he won't play Valente, but I wouldn't be too surprised if we did). I expect Neville to play instead of Carsley in DM, then the midfield is anyone's guess although I expect Gravesen to play unless injured. Options are a bit limited up front but I really wouldn't rule out McFadden being in the team somewhere, we must have one eye on the weekend and with a weakened Chelsea team we have a good chance to get a result if we're fresh.

Cudicini used to be superb, but when he's come in for Cech he hasn't looked that comfortable to me. Chelsea are also without John Terry and Ashley Cole so their back line is seriously weakened. I think this is a seriously good time to play Chelsea, which is why personally I'd put out a lesser team tonight against a clearly struggling Nuremburg (particularly when it's almost guaranteed we will get through the group). I still think we can beat Nuremburg putting out a decent strength team but if we can rest a couple of key players for Chelsea then I think we can get a result in both matches. Once we see the team tonight I think we will have a lot better idea of Sundays team, if anyone like Cahill, Yakubu etc is rested tonight then we know they're definitely playing on Sunday. If Gravesen plays tonight, then probably no chance he'll play Sunday etc.

Hamann has always been able to do a job, up to a point, but his lack of pace is really starting to show for me. He's still a good squad player and City have had an excellent start, but watching them last night they looked a shambles. Obviously they were missing whatshisname (their best defender?) but they looked poor all over the pitch. I think Sven is a decent manager and he may go out and spend more in January, but after seeing City last night I certainly think Everton can definitely overtake them if we put a run together. As far as I'm concerned, when all teams are full strength we have the 5th best in the country, and we're not far behind Liverpool at all. With the cups etc then I think we'll have our work cut out but I still think we can finish above the likes of Blackburn, Pompey and City, certainly in or around the top 6 - unless we get a lot of injuries or have major runs in all cup competitions! Didn't see the whole match but I thought Kenwyn looked a bit of a gangly donkey! but I'll reserve judgement, still cant believe how much money he spent on Chopra, Richardson etc oh and the goalie!

Lescott was unproven, so was Yobo etc etc whilst Valente was a proven winner and international, yet he's rubbish! I think if Moyes thinks Hoyte looks the business then it's well worth a shot. We have options there if it doesn't work out or he needs to be taken out of the team for a break, I doubt he'd be big money.

Is it just me or is he doing a really bad job this season? He seems to manage to stay out of the bookies tips to be fired and escapes criticism in the press, but in reality he's spent a LOT of money and I don't think he's even bought a half-decent player never mind a decent one. He's constantly running his mouth off about overpaid prima donnas etc and how much other managers have spent, yet for my money, he's done one of the worst jobs this season. I know he got them promoted but the signings he has made this season are woeful, I saw them against City the other night (or about an hr of it) and it was one of the worst games I've ever seen, both teams were abysmal (no way will City finish top 6 on that performance, I can't believe a team with Vassell, that other tank up front and Sun Jihai/Hamann is above us - not for long) but Sunderland just didn't have a single player who looked anything other than a bona fide donkey.

the only problem with that is that I'm sure in the Summer/end of last season I kept hearing how AJ was having an operation to sort out his long standing ankle problem and that he'd come back flying, yet he came back looking exactly the same - who's to say he won't come back exactly the same player again? Yes he looked a lot better up front on his own, as then his workrate and energy was vital, but as others have pointed out - no way does he deserve a pay rise on his current Everton record. It just looks like we're trying to put an end to the speculation linking him with West Ham etc, but I think it's an unnecessary move.

I'd like to see Hoyte in. Haven't seen much of him but he looks QUICK and young and what I have seen I've liked. Hibbo has definitely suffered, I used to really think he was an excellent defender but he just isn't doing the business at the moment - I certainly think the fans have gotten to him and now he just panics as he's so aware of the abuse he gets. Neville is definitely a decent enough rb and possibly Jags (tho I will judge him when he's played a bit more) but I think both lack a little pace and are not the most dynamic attacking players. I'd be delighted with Hoyte, I'd definitely try and snap him up.

As I said, I don't really follow F1 at all but all I know is he apparently messed up in the second to last race and then in the final race you said yourself that he made an error and dropped to 4th. Personally, I think you have to look at Joe Calzaghe. Hamilton has many years ahead of him and he should win the young sports personality of the year, but Calzaghe at the end of the day, wasn't a nearly man, once again he got the job done and he's been unbeaten his whole career or something? unfortunately he gets no publicity and is never really on mainstream tv, but he's possibly Britain's greatest ever boxer and he's a winner. Still, it'd be funny if McFadden won!

I don't follow the formula 1, so I may be wrong here, but from the outside looking in it appeared that Hamilton bottled it when he had the title all but sewn up. He only needed to finish 5th in the last race and didn't even do that. He had an exceptional season but if McFadden does actually fire Scotland through to the Euro Championships then I think he is possibly a worthy winner, it would be an incredible achievement considering their group and McFadden has been the inspiration. I know it may seem ridiculous considering he hasn't done a great deal for us, but if Scotland do actually qualify (and not fail at the last like Hamilton) then I think McFadden is a good bet.

good point, it is a bit of a worry how we're going to manage the 451 for the whole season, although to be fair, even in a 442 we'll have the same problem as we still have loads of DM cover (3 defensive midfielders) but only really 2/3 decent wingers (Arteta, Pienaar and possibly Osman). As I said earlier, I think 442 has to be what we aim for, but at the moment we just can't do it against the big teams, particularly away from home or after tough midweek matches. I seriously believe the likes of Chelsea will not relish one bit facing a full strength Everton team in a 451 formation, I don't think anyone would. I'm not saying we would beat Chelsea, or even draw, but we'd give anyone a heck of a game. I just hope Moyes puts out a rotated/slightly weakened team against Nurnberg, as I really think we need to have our key players fresh for the Chelsea match.

I agree with all that! and I didn't say Carsley was THE best, just one of them!