Matt

YOU FUCKIN BEAUTY!!!

all the best dude! dads 50th today too, so hoping that we all get a good surprise tonight!

the dutch 'ij' doesn't exist in english i think, but it's close to an 'I' in like..

 

nevermind, i'm ruining your fun

dutch 'ij' is basically a 'y'. Lived there for a while but i may still be wrong!

doctor doctor, ive only got 59 seconds to live!

Go sit down, i'll be with you in a minute....

How have they played forty games at home this season? Or this year even?

 

In fact they're struggling...they're in fourth place in the league badly trailing the other two of the Greek "big three" and also Salonika, ahead of a pack of five other teams by goal difference/one or two points. They've won five, drawn three and lost four in a league that's usually almost as top heavy as the Scottish premier. They've scored thirteen goals in twelve games and lost to such giants as Kavala...dreadful season so far by their standards. The Benfica result is a mystery to me.

 

We really should take at least a point.

i did wonder about the forty-odd games myself... i suppose i shouldve looked it up before passing it on, i just assumed that with stats like that they'd been research. im happy to be proven wrong in this case!

It means despite receiving £22m for a Klingon and not spending all of it we still lost £7m.

 

It means that if we didn't receive the money for the afore mentioned we wouldnt have been able to buy any new players and would actually be in a worse position.

 

Scary.

dammit... this is what i thought! I was hoping my dire understanding of business finances was steering me wrong but apparently not. Still, ive obviously learnt something!

hey dude, i read that before but what does it mean?! bare in mind, youre dealing with someone whose own financial knowledge about his own accounts is crap. really crap. to the extent that if no money comes out of the wall when i ask for it, thats when i know ive got no more money left....

can anyone break this down to simple terms?

someone from the OS posted this:

AEK have won 27, Drawn 5 and Lost 8 at home this season, and they also beat Benfica 1-0 at Athens.

err.... im nervous again now!

well both played rubbish at the back... it was only tony hibbert and leighton baines that saved their arses and had to clean up their mistakes...

 

how funny is this... RS had to rely on our defensive mistakes to beat us while we legitimately scored 2 goals from set plays

goals that are offside arent legitimate im afraid Reg... Though if it was Utd at OT bet it wouldve been allowed, was very tight. Fantastic finish for the first one too, the biggest piece of skill ive seen from Jo i think, he had a very good game.

did anyone see match of the day? i rarely watch it because theyre so blindly biased that it make me sick, but i watched because i was convinced that we would be congratualed for a good performance and for that Kopite to admit we were the better team. but what happened? yeah, thats right, they concentrated on the negatives and ignored the fact that we had 55% of the possesion, had nearly twice as many shots and were denied a penalty when Carriger tried to mount Felli... makes me feel sick...

I still think Heitinga is a right back first and foremost, and nevermind what their 'right' position is, you couldn't get much worse than Yobo and Distin at the back yesterday, I'd rather play someone out of position just to make sure they don't play alongside eachother at the moment (see other thread), they just do not work as a pairing.

even though Johnny has played RB in the past, i agree with the original post, that he has found his place. He could be the answer to Carsley. Then, when Neville comes back, put him at RB. Johnny gets stuck in and doesnt shirk from a challenge (not that Pip does mind you!) but i just think he has a bit more pace and better eye for a pass than Neville.

As for the midfield, wont it be nice for DM to have a headache with the selection! im still sure we should do 442 depsite the performance at Hull, but if not, maybe 451 but with Saha supporting Jo/Yak. His pace and skill is vital going forward and he can win a header too. he would see more of the ball too, as we wouldnt have to hoof it long for him to battle it out. just a thought....

spot on mate. yes, goals win games and it will go down as a Luckypool win, but! it was a great performance, very promising and we were just unlucky! if we play that way against Aethens we will destroy them and with 2 good performances under our belts, bring on Spurs!

as much as i agree with you, about seeing the youngsters playing, im hoping it would be a nice game to ease Jags, Arteta etc back into the game. By that time im hoping we can destroy teams like this, but honestly, despite yesterdays performance, im not confident. we never/rarely do well against small fish...

for the 3rd match in a row ive gone for Johnny. but really, it couldve been anyone on the pitch, they were all very good. the best ive seen them play for a long time and a performance we should be proud of, despite the result...

well, depsite the goal, i think we're playing exceptionly well. if we keep it up, no reason why we cant win the game...

i recognise this! were playing.... FOOTBALL!!!

if this article is true, he's picked an awful time to speak out. how are the players supposed to play with confidence if the manager has lost faith?

ive said many times before, the season isnt over for a good while yet (10 points behind 4th, which is acheivable if we start playing), but if the leader is throwing in the towel already then recovering the season is going to be even harder....

according to the bbc:

Everton

24 Howard

02 Hibbert

03 Baines

04 Yobo

05 Heitinga

15 Distin

07 Bilyaletdinov

17 Cahill

20 Pienaar

25 Fellaini

11 Jo

Substitutes\

01 Nash, 23 Neill, 31 Coleman, 19 Gosling, 08 Saha, 22 Yakubu, 37 Baxter

im going to assume that Jo is on because he is the most fit striker. ive got to say, im very, very nervous today...

thats a crackin volly from Lukasz and brilliant reactions from ruddy, both look like theyve got the quality.

it is only the SPL though....

Anyone else have a problem with this link?

just for you mate:

SOS Derby Preview

Some luck lies in not getting what you thought you wanted but getting what you have, which once you have got it you may be smart enough to see is what you would have wanted had you known Garrison Keillor

They say a week is a long time in football, and never has that statement been better illustrated than during the past 7 days at Goodison Park.

Going into the Manchester United game on the back of a useful 2-1 win down at West Ham, and with the much needed return of captain Phil Neville touted as a good possibility, hopes were high that after a stuttering start to the season the Blues were on the verge of turning that famous footballing corner.

With Uniteds own form looking less than convincing and with several of their key players still missing through injury there was a hope, albeit a faint one, that we could really go to Old Trafford and ask them a few questions this time around. In reality it took just 34 minutes to end Evertons hopes after a glorious Darren Fletcher volley proved a dagger to the heart of a side who had clearly come set up to achieve a 0-0 draw at best.

Blue and Red Heroes

The misery was further compounded early in the week with the news that Pip The Skip wont in fact be passing any late fitness tests or making any much welcomed returns just yet as he is to go back under the knife. As with Jagielka, a cartilage tear we are told…surely we can see these problems coming? Apparently not.

Not to worry though, we thought…next up was Hull City on Wednesday night. A much welcomed 3 points surely a distinct possibility and a rapid ascent back up towards the right end of the table would follow!

Before that, however, came some better news….the best (depending on which side of the fence you sit!)

Literally minutes prior to kick-off at the KC Stadium news began to filter through, firstly from Sky Sports News, that the ultra-divisive Destination Kirkby scheme had finally been rejected by the secretary of state following the much publicised public inquiry.

Met with joy and relief from many Evertonians a real buzz going around the KC as fans received the news on their mobiles this was surely going to be the start of a great week to be a Blue with a victory over arch-rivals Liverpool this coming Sunday as the cherry on the icing on the cake!!

Johnson's Derby

You know what comes next though dont you, we should have known better…it just wouldnt be Everton to do things the easy way!

After a bright opening, Evertons players proceeded to lumber around the finest turf in the whole of East Riding of Yorkshire during the first half in such a carefree, hopeless and spineless manner that we found ourselves 3-0 down with just over half an hour on the clock. Had it not been for Tim Howard and a bit of good fortune it could have been worse.

Suddenly the joy of our near miss with Kirkby was overpowered by a feeling of sickness. Its that feeling of sickness you only get from watching a side that has relegation stamped all over it. No fight, no cohesion, no idea and no goal threat….that despite the once-in-a-blue-moon occurrence of starting with two forwards in the form of Saha and Yakubu. Hull City are everymans tip to be relegated this year but for 45 minutes the Everton boys made them look like 70s Brazil.

Whatever Moyes said at half time and his after match comments suggested it was fairly cutting and to the point it had the desired effect.

It still leaves a bitter taste

Re-taking the field with a renewed vim and vigour, the lads gave it what they had and came away with at least some pride restored as the final score read 3-2. A Kamil Zayatte oggie that will no doubt be in 2010 Christmas stockings on some gaffs compilation narrated by Rory McGrath, Danny Dyer, Alan Hansen or another equally irksome twat was accompanied by a Louis Saha penalty that almost, but not quite, got Everton back into the game.

It was a defeat that was hard to take and even the semi-comeback left more questions than answers; Namely, why the fuck cant this negative bastard Moyes get us going out and attacking shit sides like that from the whistle instead of fuck arsing around like a bunch of startled rabbits with the hope of a 1-0 win?? We have a squad full of talent, even with injuries…use it Moyesie lad. Preach positivity; tell them what we can do to the opposition, not what they can do to us. Make them believe it and it will be so, plant seeds of negativity and shit trees will grow, plant seeds of hope and maybe, just maybe, a wonderful orange grove will bloom. Or something (Ill pop a few of my tablets at this point).

Oh we hate....

Anyway, shit happens and that has gone now. The hope for a more positive future remains with me now that the grey cloud of Destination Kirkby has passed and what better way to restore the pride, to bring back the belief and to get us all pushing in the same direction again that a win over our loveable, if genetically inferior, brothers from across the park!

Sunday will see the Big Red Machine pull into Goodison, complete with Stevie Starfish, errrrr, Dirk Kuyt…..mmm, Yossi Benayoun…! Bloody hell, we could win this now I think about it!!

In all seriousness though the similarities between the two clubs right now cannot be ignored and the importance of winning this game to both sides could well give birth to one of the most fiercely contested Derbies in recent times.

Both clubs have failed to realise their stadium plans, both clubs have owners who many fans would much rather press on without and both clubs though at different levels are struggling for form.

Liverpool cant buy a run in the league just now and look distinctly uneasy against any side willing to have a go, and their exit from the UEFA Champions League to join us in the Mickey Mouse Cup (bet it matters now though hey!) is certainly akin to us getting battered by Benfica.

The walk through Stanley Park

Our own form is shocking, 5 defeats in the last 6 league games and the nature of the defending in some of those games have set alarm bells ringing. With confidence having taken a further battering midweek, presumably along with the players eardrums after the manager had finished with them, Evertonians will be rightly expecting a reaction.

In many ways, given the relative situations of our clubs, this is a match that could well define two managers under pressure; Benitez and Moyes, they have had their disagreements, they have both had the upper hand at times…now they are a pair of rats cornered. Neither man can swagger into this contest but, no doubt, one will swagger out. With Evertons upcoming fixtures suggesting we need the 3 here to avoid a serious relegation scrap and with Liverpools title hopes a distant memory this is a game neither man can afford not to win.

Fortune favours the brave they say, so which man will have the guts?

All known form and history would suggest Benitez triumphs. Surely the attritional Moyes will not change the habit of a lifetime for such an important game as this, we hold what we have is his usual philosophy and anything extra we can nick along the way then all good and well!

Ruddock still hasn't recovered

In the past you would sense Benitez has realised this and deliberately set his team up to exploit the time and space Everton tend to afford the opposition in midfield and around the edge of the area. We have seen enough of Gerrard from range to have learned that lesson well though and with Torres hopefully missing out again there is no need to be obsessed with sitting deep.

This Liverpool teams weakness is clear, their defence.

The keys to winning this game are to put that creaking gate under pressure and not hope it cracks….make sure it does!! If any team can come off the back of this Hull defeat and triumph against the odds then it is David Moyes Everton side.

I may have called him a negative twat earlier and I have dished out plenty of criticism over the years but last season the manager won me back in some part and I havent forgotten some of the promises I made. One of those was not to doubt the man quite so easily.

Super Lee's day

Its Glaswegian grit versus Spanish artistry and arrogance. Good versus evil you could say even!

They say the form-book goes out of the window for Derby games and I think never has that been more true than on Sunday, which thinking about it both sides should be pleased about seeing the form they bring! This is the most one-off of one-off games and an encounter in which both sides really can ill afford to throw caution to the wind. A draw suits neither side and the fans simply wouldnt accept it.

So close to the game it seems strange that the thoughts of many fans seem distracted from this monster encounter still yet Blues chewing the fat over the Kirkby decision and Liverpudlians discussing what to do with a house full of Tesco carrier bags and sports socks but come Sunday I expect the nation is in for a treat.

Passion, cards, goals and controversy…I am fully expecting one of the most memorable Derby games in a while. The stakes are high and the managers are under pressure, the fans need a win and so do both boards. Like the cornered rat I expect both these men to dart for that chink of light, to go for the main chance, and to put it all on the line in the name of those vital three points.

Which man makes it out alive, we will very soon learn.

My money is on ol blue eyes.

Neil Steele

Oceansize - Feed to Feed. waited 6 months for it to come through and my gods it was worth the wait. i was so gutted that i had to give up a ticket to the gig when it was recorded, this boxset goes towards making up for it....

after waiting a year and after a lot of blackmailing friends and family to not talk about it in my presence, i finally saw season 7 of 24. fuckin awesome and... THERES GOING TO BE A SEASON 8!!! WOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

We're all fucking unhappy. Needs to grow a pair and suck it up and play well. Then we can discuss his future.

Well said lad!

no one will buy a player just after being out for 9 months.

Downing?

im not saying anything this time. everytime i make a prediction, it seems the opposite happens....

I voted yes because I have no reason to call him a liar and I honestly do beleive he has done a decent job so far but knows as well as anybody that he cant take the club any further

 

If I was Kenwright I would be tempted to just leave the club in the shit and sell to the first cowboy who comes along given the way alot of ungrateful blues have treated him

im goin with this. i honestly believe he is trying and providing the terms are correct, he would step aside.

the bigger a question is: what the "best thing for everton" is in his eyes?

we also went on to draw 7 games in the second half of the season, some of which we shouldve won. its not really over until March. there is still time.

this made me happy, thank you!