nutmegwolf203

this was actually shot, edited and approved by people.

Who do you work for!!!!!

Jelly lookin lively

I agree, let's be positive.

Naisy in the proper position? http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/dec/21/west-ham-everton-squad-sheets

He more or less pushed Cahill, at speed, into Joe Hart's shoulder/collar bone area. At the time I saw it as a pretty dirty move; not despicable, but certainly very "anything goes", I'm sure he couldn't have suspected the outcome being so extreme.

Can't express how happy I am about those closing scenes from Jela's substitution! The Moyes hug and the familial attitude from literally everyone. I don't think there was one person he didn't high five. That win meant a lot to us, the goal was a huge relief to him and you could see that everyone appreciated it. Also, Mirallas looked pretty psyched for him. No animosity there...but we already knew that.

If I learned anything watching the match against City, it's how incredibly Fellaini-centric our style of play is right now. When Jelavic first came here we played to his strengths. It was shocking how isolated he seemed against City. In my head I'm thinking, hmm, we were winning some matches by three or more goals last spring, instead of drawing several with a single goal and talking about how wonderful Fellaini is. I'd really love to get excited about the whole team again, but it's hard because right now we're catering to the very idea of Fellaini embodying what we do. We're LETTING him be the team. Prior to the last two matches Jela was kinda just sulking in response, but now his attitude seems a bit better, he just needs a goal, and less Naismith. I'm looking for him to bounce back, he still works pretty hard. I wouldn't compare this to the Yak situation.

I actually thought he improved yesterday. It still wasn't great, but there was more industry about his play. I noticed that moment you mentioned and there were a few more like it that gave me some confidence. His on the ball strength was present, as opposed to getting muscled out of things, like he has of late.

Just curious, what's your problem with him?

http://www.eplindex.com/19874/dark-horses-everton-lead-stats-comparison.html

I agree with all your points...except maybe Neville being even 'ok' in midfield. I couldn't even bring myself to say that. But, I've also noticed Hibbert playing pretty well recently. He had some great moments last night, and I think when Mirallas gets fit and they understand each other a bit more, we'll find more balance on the right .

If only. Perhaps we can still do business in Argentina?

No reason to speculate. Steve Nicol has come out and said he doesn't even believe the contents of that story (he also confirmed that we were the ones that made the substantial offer that was turned down by the MLS years ago- but I'm sure people knew that). Everyone seems to vouch for the guys character. If being American makes me biased, then so be it; I don't think we need him, despite his obvious talent. At the end of one's career, one can only imagine the the lengths you'd go to make it ideal. Who knows?

Completely for real. I'm aware, believe me. I was just saying it considering the combination of black and yellow. If I remember correctly it was black with a red sash, that's all. The away shirt, while I like it, is really just the last Barcelona away with a collar, some longer sleeves and a less complicated and cheaper to produce crest. That's all. Without any branding it's a black shirt, but does it mean the same thing to them as it does to us? They took the time to produce that video asking players their perspective, and not once was The Black Watch mentioned...I don't think. That's all I'm saying. I understand how that may have come off, but I was only commenting on construction and it's implication. I wouldn't take the time to type something THAT naïve. I should have prefaced it by mentioning The Black Watch.

But the whole no variation on large sizes and lack of kids and women is weird.

I like them all actually. I'd be interested to explore some of the embellished dialogue about the home kit to see if they claim to be aware of or tapped into any real historical significance of the club; which, upon looking at them is really my only worry. Because that's essentially just the Brazil template, I'd be worried if our kit two years from now is still piggy backing off of an existing design. They need to spend a few weeks around GP speaking to people and watching footage if they haven't already. I don't mind the white arm bands and I like the look of the fit of the home, Nike's stuff has a very lean and 'athletic' last. I think that's something consumers should expect when buying replicas of garments worn by athletes. The black is cool enough, but again what the hell do it have to do with us? Rather, how can they explain it. It would be nice to see this relationship mature in the next few years so Nike ( a company I know a fair deal about-the storied history-the failure to stay wholesome-and the undoubted global phenomenon it's become [with admittedly some cool shit to buy at times]) can learn some things about the club.

Beat me to it. This vid is sooooo good. One of the better compilations I've ever seen. Jelavic is an assassin, he plays like he enjoys killing. You can see it on his face, he feels accomplished after doing horrible, calculated things, like destroying Krul's face on that first attempt and then owning his net on the second. His first ever goal is also a great example of that. He's cold blooded, and I like it.

I may get some abuse for this, but, does anyone believe it's possible that the 11 on the pitch JUST bottled it? That perhaps it wasn't a game plan to recede, but more like we couldn't deal with being in front and we just invited pressure on ourselves? He sent out the same personnel, some of which didn't have a great first half to begin with. I just can't see a halftime talk saying: "We can certainly block them off now, get a goal when you can." If that honestly was his game plan, that's more than embarrassing, but I feel like 1-0 is an incidental scoreline, especially when established in a first half. That's not a lead to protect, it's one to build on. With mature wingers and a midfield that wants to account for itself Jelavic will ascend to legendary status and we can really show our playing identity (which I've been seeing glimpses of the past few matches). This won't happen with timid first half performances from people like we saw today. We're better than that. ...and by mature wingers, I mean players used to the position. I rate Gueye, and certainly Osman, but we all know they aren't ideal for playing there.

This is what I would assume. He has played really well with Zamora at times. I wouldn't see him displacing anyone further back.

Noticed that. I think he'll grow into this league if we can keep him. He's won people over with his effort, but I do think he has more to offer. I don't think his touch is as bad as some have said. Not every big man is Fellaini. Great report! The stance I've taken with him is more analytical in the way I assess footballing talent. He's superb at holding the ball up, including others and he's got great awareness at times. Isn't that talent? I saw some instances when he was dovetailing with Donovan on the right, small flicks and dummies, it was great to watch. We'd have a really cool and uncharacteristic front line if we could build on his strengths and have a healthy rotation with Jelavic, or perhaps both for some matches?

Well put, I agree completely. Either he needs help or someone else needs to make the decisions. The whole frontline especially needs to be revitalized, we've got strikers training and on the bench that never look as sedentary or uninterested as Saha usually does. I'd like to see us develop a partnership; It could even be as simple as giving Vellios a whole half with someone (i.e. Anichebe, McAleny). Right now we can't even say we're trying everything, we're throwing the same tired team at everything.

I'm pretty sure Vellios was an integral part of Drenthe's goal in that Fulham match he started. I don't want to slag off Saha, because it's redundant now, if anything, put Tolos in there ahead of Cahill. It must have been Vellios' attitude in training that's truncated his involvement-whatever- by what Stubbs was saying about his performance for the reserves, he worked super hard for the team. The kid's a specimen, and I feel like for those who say "he's not a world beater, etc.", I think they're just noticing what Moyes is allowing us to see. He could be immense. It's rare you find someone with his height, that's as mobile as he is, with a witty football brain, I might add. I think back to that chance vs. Given in the Villa match he came on for. He's got the same sort of special ability that separated talent like Saha's from the rest, when he was in his prime. Point being, Vellios hasn't looked nearly as shit as Saha, in my opinion. Vellios screams progression and Saha is just stagnant as hell.

Right on, I really like Vellios...I think he would have put that away. Does anyone have any idea what's happened to Moyes' confidence in him? Could he train that horribly to not get a look? Him and Vic could do a job, well, should at least get a shot. It's at the point now that Saha is hardly the best "tactical" option for most teams, seeing him waste his time down the wings today was infuriating. He's so far from the unplayable striker that put four past Blackpool last season it's shocking. I'd love us to go with a younger more active combo. The one thing I've seen from Vellios that I haven't from any other forward option we have is excitement. Vellios is actually exciting. Saha and Cahill are just lucky to play. I can't think of many other managers that would persist with them as he does, and I don't just mean starting them, but also neglecting to change things up as they get stale.

Close, actually. Saha would theoretically do better with a partner. Hoping http://www.guardian....n?newsfeed=true