Bailey

Its not only me who notices how poor he can be.

 

rusty747 ......."Felli is occasionally brilliant but always risks being a liability".

 

Chicagoblue ...."Fellaini lost him as he drifted through from the midfield".

 

Blueboy1980 ...."can't fuckin believe that, where was the marker?"

 

He was walking about in midfield ahead of the ball and behind the attacker when they scored, i thought he was supposed to be playing defensive holding role. . (Lack of awareness and lack of mobility)

To be fair to Fellaini though he did it bloody good for the rest of the game and its a shame this one lack of concentration cost us. I actually thought he gave the ball away a couple of times too many Sunday but he won it back fairly quickly if he did. Another thing I would say about Fellaini is that when he gets the ball he looks forward and doesn't rely on the simple ball back to the CB's like Hibbert does or like Neville does when Arteta isnt about. When Heitinga was DM he did a similar thing and he also let people drift (think the Man U game especially) its just that they didnt score from it.

It just annoyed me that he got into some excellent positions and then fluffed them up.

I think a lot of the time he probably only had 1 or 2 men at most to aim for in the middle and their defenders were pretty massive and more or less dealt with everything aerially. A lot of the time I think he was waiting for more people to get in the box before crossing. Having said that I always think an early delivery is much more likely to catch defenders out and with the movement of Saha you would expect to eventually get on the end of something.

Baines for me, he was absolutely quality!

I think everyone played well today. The tactics were more or less spot on, we chased, we hassled, we passed and tackled well but we just couldnt get that second goal.

Saha's goal should have stood and we should have had a penalty for Carr's handball which no-one seemed to spot in real time.

Cahill and Billy were a bit too quiet for me but its not as if they had a bad game.

We play like that every week and we will win a lot of games and we will also score some good goals and play entertaining football!

I have no idea how we havent won that...

I cant believe we have played so well yet we are only drawing!

Without doubt the best Everton performance so far this season, the passing, the movement and 99% of the time the defending has also been spot on. Saha's goal should have stood especially as he was quite a way on, even in real time he looked well on.

As someone said Fellaini just lost his man for the goal which is a shame because apart from that he's done very well in the holding role.

Hibbo has put in a real quality slide tackle to stop them getting through on the edge of the box but he offers nothing going forward. When he gets the ball 9/10 he will look for a pass backwards instead of forwards and its sucking the momentum out of the move.

Apart from the goal Billy has been a bit quiet and Saha maybe a bit too. Id just like Saha to have a crack when he is 20/30 yards out when there is nothing in front of him to pass to.

Im so happy to see Vaughan on the bench! I watched them coming into the ground from SSN and I thought I saw him all suited up in the background but I thought I must have still been hungover..

That'll be Lescott sold in the summer then .

 

I'm sure Hughes is heart broken at being sacked when he'll have a big fat payout sitting in his account .

Yeh Moyes said he is looking for another centre half...

I quote the UEFA regulations saying he's ineligible but you only believe it to be true when you see it on Wikipedia.

 

The power of Wiki .

Lol... I just thought I better double check, you know what these UEFA regulations are like. It would surprise me if the RS win the Europa League, finish outside the top 4 and somehow get a petition signed to allow them to play in the CL!

I'm sure everyone is aware of how well Birmingham are doing but its optimism and they are hardly unbeatable it will be a tough game but then again im sure Fulham thought the same and then some before today's clash with United, We seem to have slightly turned a corner in the last few games and im hopefull we can get a result and kick on or i could just say Birmingham are doing well we will get rimmed three nil?

Yeh there is optimism and there is realism. Fulham fans may have been hopeful of a result or a point against united but I bet none of them really thought they could win 3-0! Im not saying we shouldn't expect to beat Birmingham, but expecting to turn up and run out comfortable winners knocking 3 or 4 by them is going some. You say optimism, I say false confidence

Im pretty sure Moyes said Heitinga was available? I bloody hope he is anyway...

Bollocks on WIkipedia it says he isnt eligible... Unbelievable

Im surprised so many people on here are so confident of a positive and somewhat comfortable result tomorrow. This current Birmingham team are certainly no mugs, they have a solid defence, a hard working midfield and a striker who seems to have hit form.

I remember people were calling for a Sunderland style demolition against Wolves even though we were playing crap and Wolves were playing fairly well and look what happened then. This will be a tough, tough game and I would take the 3 points anyway we could get them but I certainly dont expect it to be an easy game by any stretch of the imagination.

I always though that at Blackburn Hughes was a decent manager but the Man City money and power went to his head and the way he acted over Lescott and the Adebayor incidents show him to be an arrogant twat and I hope now he comes down to earth with a bump.

He seems desperate to play and impress as well which for me is always a good quality. Id prefer to see what he is like on loan first but the down side to that is it means everyone else finds out what he is like. Doubt it will happen though.

That's very surprising; I never thought they'd turn on the two golden boys.

You have to admit though Gerrard has been fairly anonymous in most of their games, or at least the ones I have seen. He barely had a touch in the derby, did nothing against Arsenal and I dont even remember hearing his name in the game at Pompey today. IMO you know the true quality of a player when the team are in the shit and doing badly. Its easy for players to look good when their team are on top and playing good football but when backs are against the wall its the player that fights for every ball thats really priceless. Today Pompey had 11 and Liverpool 1 (Torres imo) had none and thats why they lost.

I think its ridiculous that they are turning on Torres. To me he doesnt look fit yet he still worked hard up front with very little service. Yes he gave away fouls and lost possession but at least he tried.

To be fair, he skinned the full backs a few times and then got put on his arse. Everytime he did manage to escape without being belted, Yakubu was stood 30-40 yds away keeping his thumb warm in his arse!

Thought it was quite a positive performance from him myself.

I admit I may be being a bit harsh on the fella given the support he received during the match but you tend to find a lot of young players who have pace but never really develop much more than that. Had he scored that late chance then maybe I would be saying something else. I certainly wont write him off but I dont think we will see much more of him. Had Vic or JV been fit he wouldnt be getting anywhere near the 1st team right now.

Carsley is probably one of my all time favourite Everton players and I would put him in any Everton best 11 from post 1990 ish. For a player of 'limited' ability he showed great heart and did all the hard work and graft for us in the midfield during the clubs revival under Moyes. The fact that we havent really been able to replace him shows how important he was to us! Neville did a good job last year and Heitinga's done it a bit this but for me they dont rank up there with Carsley.

Sporting are 7th in the league and struggling...Atletico are 14th in the Spanish league and doing even worse. Galatasaray would be the biggest test for me but they're beatable and we'd have the second leg at home if it happens.

I bet their fans are saying the same about us though...

This will be a really tough game, which I'm surprised by as I would have expected to beat Birmingham comfortably at the beginning of the season. If we win it will prove we are back on the right track, getting results and regaining the form of the last couple of years.

Id more or less agree with the team set out by iMac, with maybe Pienaar moving into the centre and Osman/Baxter out wide if little Leon isnt quite fit.

I will agree with most of this Bailey, bar the Agard bit. He didnt get any support from Yak and wasn't 'fed' very well with most of the through balls that he chased being down the wings.

Yakubu, was a waste of space. He isnt arsed anymore, he really is a two season player, then just wants to move. good price...get rid! can be spent on people who want to work!

I dont argue that Agard didnt work hard and that he certainly got no help from Yakubu but small quick players need to have that little bit extra of something to make a mark in the big leagues and I didnt see any of that last night. Maybe it was because he didnt get a chance due to Yakubu and service in general, but when he had the ball he invariably lost it. I would love him to prove me wrong but I just dont see it unfortunately and while he did some good in the game he also did his fair share of bad.

I agree with most people on here, with Coleman and Duffy being our best players. I was very impressed with both. Coleman looks and plays like a seasoned professional to me and I think he has more nous and composure on the ball than Hibbert by a mile. Duffy made the odd mistake, but I think that will improve significantly with experience. He reminds me a bit of Vidic, hes big, strong, and great in the air and will pose a threat in both boxes.

Baxter and Forshaw also looked good to me. They didnt get any proper possession because of the lack of quality of the two boys up top but when they did get the ball they looked to get it down, move and pass. Baxter also put in some decent set pieces although I get the feeling after a couple of dodgy clearances that he hasnt got a left foot!

Bidwell looked a bit scared and slightly over-awed by it tbh, but I dont really blame him. He did as good as was expected.

Not sure what to make of Akpan. He wanted to get on the ball, showed good energy but he gave away to many freekicks and misplaced to many passes. Id be suprised if we see too much more of him.

Osman and Hibbert did well with the youngsters, and Mustafi and Craig did well off the bench.

The worst performers by far were Agard and Yakubu. Agard who isnt all that young anymore, doesnt have great control and he cant really dribble. Good quick players can run fast and have the control and dribbling skills to match. Having said that he worked his arse off and for that he cant be faulted. On the other hand Yakubu was just terrible. If Moyes gets a good price it wouldnt suprise me if he left. What annoys me most is that he gives that token gesture of a jog, which doesnt pressure defenders but Im pretty sure he thinks that its work rate. I dont expect him to chase everything but when the ball is near him I expect his to try and win it, instead of letting it roll past him and jog after it.

Overall it was a good effort by the young lads out there and my hat goes off to Coleman and Duffy who I hope have a bright future at Everton!

To be honest once we had qualified along with Benfica and there was nothing to play for in the last group game, only a fool would expect him to play a full strength team and if you bought a ticket after the Athens game them you should have seen it coming.

As a supporter I want Everton to do the best they can in all competitions but especially the PL. When we have qualified and nothing rides on this game and you have the current injury list we have, you have got to expect youngsters to play as we will have a tough game against Birmingham coming up, who are surprisingly the form team in the league!

Should be interesting to see how the youngsters get on.

I imagine it will be Yakubu right up top with Agard doing all the running and chasing behind him. Its going to be a change to see someone rapid up front as even AJ seemed to get slower when he was at the club.

Im also glad to see Duffy in at CB, he played well in the other European game and it would have been a shame to not give him another go.

Hopefully the lads will go out there give it their all and somehow get a result!

Like Romey Im not entirely sure what to predict as it really does depend on our injury list and the form they return with. Jagielka was awesome before his injury but will be slip straight back into that form when he returns? I dont think he will and it may well be nest season before we see him and Jags really hit form.

We also have the 'distraction' of the Europa League whereas the rest dont. Villa struggled last year because of it, and when they went out morale dropped, much like it did for us the year before. They wont have that problem this year and I really do think they have a chance of a top 4 finish ahead of the shite. Similarly the likes of Spurs, City, Sunderland, and possibly Fulham (after Thursday) wont have the midweek competition as a 'hindrance'.

I think that if we are to have a very successful second half of the season and get into possible European places then we will have to take points against all those above us, of not all 3 points from now on. Draws against Chelsea and Spurs are the start but we will need 3 points at their gaffe if we want to get right back up there.

i cant understand the carlo nash situation why buy him or sign him when to me ruddy seems to be the better keeper i think ruddy should be no two...carlos contract finishes in the summer so maybe then ruddy will step up but i have a feeling moyes will sign another keeper.

I think its important for a young keeper to get games whereas an old boy with experience like Nash is more than happy to sit on the bench and not get a look in. I think it was a good move in hindsight by Moyes, although I wasnt quite sure at the time.

Ruddy is more and more beginning to sound like a solid keeper up in Scotland and I really hope he comes back to Everton, gets a chance and takes it. Id also like to see Jutkievicz do the same.

Not too sure about the teams people are mentioning here as they seem to want to play players out of position again which Im not a big fan of.

My team would be something like this:

Howard

Coleman Hibbo Duffy Baines

Rodwell Felli

Osman Baxter Billy

Yakubu

Id keep Howard in goal because IMO GK's dont need rests and its always important to keep his sharpness up.

Id chuck Duffy in there with whoever else can play CB which Im guessing will be Hibbo. Mustafi could play at CB or maybe at LB instead of Baines. I dont really know where he plays but I'd like to see something of him.

I dont think we have anyone else to play in the center of midfield so it will have to be Rodwell and Felli. If there is a decent youngster than can step up then chuck him in, or wait for Felli to get a yellow card and sub him.

Hopefully Osman will be fit to give others a rest but Id definitely have Baxter in one of the 3 roles, whether it be out wide or more through the center. Id like to give Billy a rest but Pienaar is more important for us and we cant risk him getting injured unnecessarily. As before if there are any youngsters then the should probably get a game in one of these positions.

Finally Id start Yakubu up top to try and get some sharpness back. If Jo's fit then I would quite like him to start again as he is doing well and seeing as we are at home he might not be quite such a pussy.

I guess it all depends on who's fit and who's good enough from the youngsters. We should play as many as we can as long as we dont have people playing out of position or out of our preferred shape.