rubecula

Now that Rooney has come out in the press as saying he is loyal to Man U and will stay there, what are the odds on him leaving withing a couple of seasons? After all he said he won't do a Ronaldo. I seem to remember him saying he wouldn't do a Jeffers.

Sir Captain Ferguson10????????

SSN Say Heitinger is a done deal if they can sort out personal terms. Moyes is said to be on the case.

The thing is Mike, the occurances whatever they may be will still be diagnosed and cross referenced by TV broadcasters, and mistakes will still be highlighted on air. We have the technology, and a lot of it is already in use by TV companies such as Sky etc. I can not see why it is not used to sort out things (eg Eduardo's diving) Don't get me wrong, having extra officials may be a good idea. But with modern technology, for the modern game, available. Why not use it?

I am hopeful that Saha's ability will spur on Jo to perform to his best too. When Jo is good, he is really good, but when he is not. Well that seems to be most of the time just now. Lack of confidence maybe. He needs a kick up the backside, which a fully fit Saha may give him. Along with a suitably fit Yak of course. With the strike force we have at our fingertips, we SHOULD be able to go through any defense in the premiership.

That sounds a fantastic way to watch the match. Not sure I would want to do it every week though. It is the sort of thing to have as a special treat every so often. Maybe for the derby games or something?

I really don't get this 5 officials in a match. (Six if you count the 'fourth' official on the dugouts) Soon there will be more officials than fans. Rugby, (both Union and League) use televised replays. Tennis has Hawkeye, Cricket has something (whatever that is called). Football creates the most income, generally over a season creates more interest. So why in hell's name can't we have technology? I have heard arguments for and against, and frankly the arguments against are no real arguments at all.

It isn't much but there is this: http://www.livesoccertv.com/match/96382/sigma-olomouc-vs-everton/ You may need to wait a minute for it to play.

Thanks for that c1892. I have made a note of the dates.

I think you will find that Everton are a little bit more friendly than West Ham or Millwall. And I hope you enjoy the experience of being here. As for the Premiership....... Luck would be nice, but an improvement would be wonderful.

I understand your disappointment in the performance. I too would have liked to see us pass a ball to an Everton player more often. I would like to have seen an Everton player take a pass and keep control of the ball more often. I would liked to have seen a few goals going in. In fact there are a few things I would have liked to have seen. But for ten men to play almost an entire match, where it was unlikely in the extreme that we would be knocked out anyway, and to not want to have more players booked/sent off or injured. Well I am satisfied. They had a job to do and did it without too much drama or too much risk.

Thank you for that Rui Costa. I would not slight Sporting, as I think they too are a great side. However when I was growing up it was Benfica thet were exotic, talented and brilliant to watch on the old black and white TV. My father and his brothers, along with little me, used to listen to the football on the radio. There were some mighty teams in Europe that we could only dream about ever seeing, and Benfica was one of them. Of all of us in the family, I am the only one who now has a chance to realise that dream. Yes of course I want Everton to beat Benfica, that is normal. But more than that, I simply want to see Benfica for real at Goodison Park, were I was able to go to the World Cup games in 1966. Benfica at Goodison Park should be similar to the game we played against Bayern Munich there on one of the greatest nights of European football our club has seen. If the atmosphere is only half as good, it will be better than anything that you can get up the road at L'pool. And if it is good here, what will it be like in Portugal?

You guys are coming up with a lot of names for poor players, but have you forgotton Glen Keeley? And THAT game against Liverpool?

ROFL I am as excited as a little boy again over this. WE are going to play BENFICA. (incidentally, how do you remove fist sized dents in the ceiling? I punched mine when I heard the draw)

As much as I respect your opinion Louis (and I do) I want to disagree with you on this one. If I mention Richard Gough, David Weir and so on you will see why. I think this may (and I say MAY) be one of the best deals around. I reckon that we will get the full three seasons he has signed for out of him and maybe more. (Now we need a suitable Right Back to compliment him.)

When I was a wee lad, many years ago...... Well frankly, Benfica were THE team, a sort of Barcelona of the 1950's and 1960's if you like. Garincha (excuse the spelling) Eusebio and the like. This is one game, win lose or draw I want to see like no other. I would watch Benfica over the likes of Real Madrid any day of the week. Possibly because I am an old fart to be honest. In our group I think Everton are the best team, but they really need to improve on their performances of late. Not one of the group will be a push over. If only my Aunt Maria were still around, I am sure she would pop round and get me a ticket for the away leg. (Before making me eat one of her awful burnt offerings) But it would be worth it. I will be pulling out all stops to get to the away leg.

I am content to have Distin come here. We do need some defensive players. And now that Hibbert has been red carded, it makes recruitment even more important.

It would be nice to have an easier draw wouldn't it? But is there any chance of any easy draws in the league? We may stand a chance if we are seeded, but I don't know if that is going to happen. Anyway, fingers crossed for a good draw and an improvement in performance.

The game was not a classic by any means. Not sure if any of our players have yet learned the rudimentaries of passing or trapping a ball. Nevertheless it was a steady professional performance and they did what they needed to do. Hibbert's sending off didn't seem to alter the game all that much to be honest, although it is hard to judge on just 7 mins of a full team. I am satisfied with that. But I do think we wil need to pick it up a bit for forthcoming matches, both in the premiership and in Europe. ps. I think Pienaar was MOM

Sunderland for me too

If it wasn't for bad luck we would have no luck at all. But lets face it we are Evertonians, we don't get any other kind of luck.

I am not holding my breath over this.

I can't see how we can compete with a club like Fulham if they are interested. They are massive compared to us, with money and prospects. (Am I being too cynically ironic here?)

You guys are such cynics. Of course we have him. Mind you he has to earn the right to play now. He is starting off as a coach driver for away games to get the work permit.

Personally I don't like Wheater, possibly because we don't really need any more uglies.