Bailey

He was also resonseable for 2 of our goals so I would say that cancels it out and I dont really blame him for the first goal anyway as he lost possesion in thier half, you cant really slag him off for taking a man on fair enough if he had lost it on the edge of our area

I thought his overall play more than merited MoM especially as he was forced to feed off scraps and play up there on his own for most of the game ( Yak may have been on the pitch but he didnt contribute anything other than his goal)

He lost possession about 10 yards inside our half when there was a fairly simple pass available, although from that position it shouldnt have led to a goal, but it did. Im not saying he didnt have a good game, but I dont think he did enough good to outweigh the two rather large cock ups.

I think if I was rating the team he would get a 7 which would be the same as the defensive 7 that I mentioned earlier.

Well I certainly wasn't expecting to score 3 or get a point from the Bridge so all in all its a good result!

Like a couple of people on here I couldn't really single out a MOTM. The defensive 7 (Howard, back 4 and felli/rodwell) all did well, getting stuck in, putting in challenges, covering for others and showing the Everton spirit that was missing prior to the derby.

I would have been tempted to give it to Saha but losing the ball to Carvalho for their 1st and then scuffing a routine clearance for their second means that he doesn't deserve it. If it had been someone like Jo, Hibbert or maybe Felli that made the mistake people would be screaming for him to be sold or dropped. Other than those big mistakes I thought he had a good game.

Pienaar and Billy were both quiet. Billy looks fairly out of place right now, I don't know whether its fatigue or whether he is still trying to get adjusted, in fact its probably a bit of both and I imagine Osman coming back soon will help him out.

Jo looked pretty good in the 1st 15-20 mins IMO but kind of petered out as the half went on. I'm not quite sure what his problem is with these bullshit injuries, and even as a fan of his, they are starting to piss me off. Man up.

Yakubu scored but did very little for the rest of the game. When Chelsea started to dominate all the strikers/wingers found it difficult to get on the ball properly but he is just ridiculously lazy. I thought that being out for ages would give him more of a desire to get on the ball and work harder for it but I was well and truly wrong. I like him but he's starting to really get on my tits.

For now though, Donovan could be the tip of the iceberg, or then he may not be. Lets just give the lad a chance, he has surely earned that much at least.

Yeh I agree, youve got to be doing something right to be one of the best players in your league and country. Id love to see him come over here and do well.

I will just be happy with a decent performance. I would hate to see us get a demoralising thrashing just when the players are starting to get a bit of confidence back

Amen

Don't get sucked into an argument trying to defend Americans in the premiership. My initial reaction to his comment was the same, but to heck with it. If they don't want Donovan or think he can't cut it, I say he should go some where he is wanted. And maybe we should take Tim Howard with us..

I wasnt trying to provoke a reaction I was merely stating fact 9ish) . Apart from GK's where the pace of the game doesnt matter too much, not many other have made it in the Premier League. I really rate Dempsey and think he is a solid player as to was Mcbride but as far as I know they didnt settle straight down into the PL in 2 months in the most hectic part of the season.

Players like Joe Max Moore, Johnson, Altidore and whoever else there may have been have all struggled to make an impact. In a similar fashion Russian players struggle to adapt to the pace, just look at Billy. Even Arshavin took around half a season to really settle in.

The pace of the Premiership is totally different to any league in the world. I hope Donovan does come here as I said in my original post, and I hope he can adapt in just 2/3 months but I certainly wont be holding my breath.

The Americans are coming on in droves but dont get your hopes up, The Belgians thought Fellaini was a superman until he got here, it will be harder for Donovan.

 

Thats if he ends up here, Palace and Fulham want him, i say let him go to London.

Without seeing much of him and also being quite skeptical that a MLS player will cut it in the Premiership, I think that for 3 months wages and maybe a nominal fee he will be worth the punt. We are already short and we will potentially have 3 more leave (2 of the current 'fit' squad). Even if he is only good to run around, provide cover when necessary and possibly chip in with the odd key pass etc then I dont see the harm. If we were fishing out a large transfer fee then I would agree with you, but 3 months would probably be good for both parties.

Dont forget Donovan will be looking to impress for the WC and will be determined to put in good performances.

I think it should be an interesting game...

However should we play crap and get stuffed we will be back to square one. A good performance with plenty of bollocks and effort will do fine for me, whatever the result.

"I was wondering what the feeling is about giving him the Lee Carsley role and playing him just in front of the back 4? It would enable Coleman to play RB and let Hibbo make a few crunching tackles outside our penalty box.

Thoughts?"

Are you on crack?!

I dont really know too much about him but we will need cover in January so it doesnt seem like a bad bet.

Saying that I dont really know what position he plays. On some sites it says attacking midfielder and other its says striker. We could do with another wide player or striker but what we dont need is another timmy/felii who plays just behind the striker.

Howard is without doubt a quality keeper!

People who have never played in goal properly have no idea what it is like between the sticks and think everything should be caught and distributed with perfection.

Howard quite obviously makes some mistakes but name me a keeper who doesnt. Howard is probably one of the best reaction save keepers in the Prem without a doubt, just look at the save from when Hibbo kicked the ball against Crouch on Sunday and the one from Insua in the derby.

I dont think Howard is a bad long range shot stopper. I cant think of any examples this season where he has fucked up a long shot. I would agree his communication may not be the best BUT at least this season we have had so many changes at the back as well as new players that getting on the same wavelength is going to be hard. IMO you cant keep so many clean sheets last season and have bad communication. A goal keeper constantly talks to his defenders and even a brilliant defender will struggle at times if his keeper doesnt talk to him.

I rate Howard, I would say he is the best in the prem although tbh Im not sure who is. Cech isnt what he used to be and the goal he conceded against City points at that, because it was more or less straight at him. Reina is a brilliant shot stopper and distributor but his decision making and aerial command is very poor. VDS and Friedel are knocking on a bit now and wont be around for much longer and probably top the list. Schwarzer makes great saves but he also fucks up a fair bit. Jussi looks good at Bolton where he has lots of shots to deal with but at a good team will he be as impressive? Just look at Foster and Kuscak (sp) as they looked brilliant at Watford and West Brom receptively but look 2nd rate at Man Utd.

For me Given is the best in the prem and probably by a country mile. Howard would probably come in around 5th ish. It seems as though he loves the club and I would have him here for at least the foreseeable future.

I think a mention should go to Hibbert for a decent show against Crouch, Fellaini who has improved greatly since the Hull first half, Cahill for his industry, Pienaar, who again played well and Saha, who is just a class act and that overhead kick ws not the sign of a man carrying an injury and not 100% fit.

I think Moyes prefers (to some extent) Jo up front when its 4-5-1 because he does more in terms of work rate, channel running and closing down. If Saha isnt quite 100% then I would agree that Jo should start for the aforementioned reasons. However, Saha is pure class and is one of the best goal scorers we have had at the club for a while and coming off the bench may suit him, whereas Jo is much better starting IMO and on current form.

This match had me on the verge of tears. Fantastic, textbook Everton spirit. I belive it dosen't matter who sets the example, as long as it's emphatic and with spirit. Hail Seamus. Saha was giving Howard marksman's advice before the pk as well "he'll smash it down the middle", Timmy just made himself big. I expect a response from this one, great great match.

haha yeah same here... I love it when Everton play with that passion, and the fans roar behind them. For me that's what football is about and a part of the reason why I support Everton, and a large part of the reason I dont really want to leave Goodison. As Timmy Howard said after the game, the old lady's got heart and soul and that makes up for all its short comings.

Coleman was simply awesome. He actually reminds me of Hibbo in the fact that he goes 100% and gets stuck in although he certainly has much more on his locked going forward! I think his performance deserves a place in the starting 11 next time out.

Howard also had a good game especially the save at the end. I havent jumped around my living room like that since King Loius scored at Wembley!

Hibbert & Neill did well for the most part seeing as it isn't their natural position and they've never played together before properly. They should have done better for the Defoe goal and I'm not sure what Neill was doing at the corner? I think its safe to say he isnt our saviour at the back. Having said that Im not sure he did too much worse than what Distin or Yobo would have done. A couple more games together then maybe they will be alright.

Baines was quiet again. A bit disappointing tbh, but he did get me an assist for my FL team!

Felli was good yet again in a deeper role. He is starting to look a lot better (except his bloody hair!) and he should never have got booked. Unfortunately that kept him a bit quieter for the rest of the game.

Rodwell did pretty well and played a couple of quality passes. I still think he plays the ball backwards a bit too easily, he just needs to look up and get us going forward as at least a couple of times there was a forward ball on but he layed it back to the CB's who hoofed it forward.

Cahill was good and scored a much needed goal. Didn't really do as much as he has been and picked up a booking ruling him out of our next game!

Billy and Pienaar were also pretty quiet. Probably Billy's worst game so far IMO. He didn't really do much and I think he should have closed down Lennon quicker for their 1st. Pienaar got more into the game the second half but not as much as he has been.

Yet again Jo impressed up top again, he just needs to get the ball in the back of the bloody net! His movement is real quality and it just didn't come off for him today.

Saha and Yak did well and the Saha overhead kick would have probably been the best goal ever! As a pair coming off the bench they were superb but I still don't think 4-4-2 would suit us from the start of a game.

Overall we did well to get a point against a great Spurs team. Against Chelsea I would start the same team (Heitinga in for Cahill) depending on who is fit at the back. If it doesn't go our way at the start then bring on Yak and Saha at half time, or whenever its necessary.

Plus if he is cheap then it suggests something is wrong (Romey will point at Distin here, although he wasnt that cheap either!)

I wouldn't actually tbh mate. I thought we overpaid for him - 31 and with a year left on his contract - we were robbed.

I meant that you would suggest that something is wrong with him and as I said he wasnt exactly cheap either.

We certainly dont need another back up CB (well maybe for the Spurs game!). If we are going to buy anyone back there then they have to be a starting 11 player (when everyone is fit). Distin was bought as a quick replacement, at what I would say is a fair price. We needed players quickly and he fitted the bill. Anyone else that we could have got in with premiership experience would have cost more, and probably wouldnt have been much better in all honesty. We got screwed over by Man City, Lescott and the board and we didnt have much time to do anything, especially with other clubs sniffing around the players. Having said that Im not sure Dunne or Collins were that much more and they signed close to deadline day.

yobo needs a mouth next to him, to keep his concentration up. distan wouldn't even be premiership standard player IMO if he weren't left footed. reads the game like he's been poked in the eye and just follows the blur of the ball past him, cant keep a defensive line to save his life, it's shocking how awful he is.

Yeah I completely agree with the 1st bit. When Jags gets back, and maybe even Neville to some extent I think his performances will improve.

I don't agree with the Distan opinion though. He is a quality player but he also needs someone else to keep him in check. He does push out of the line however, I believe Moyes must give him the license to do it, because surely otherwise, he would get a bollocking and not do it again. At the end of the day Moyes and Distan are no mugs, its something we obviously work on, although I think Distan may take it too far. I pretty sure Lescott also used to step out of the line, but then again positionally I wouldn't rate him that highly either.

Wow this is the second game in a row where its been hard to decide a MOM, and not because they'v all been shit!

I voted for Pienaar. He did more or less everything and him and Felli worked well together. Its a shame the pitch wasnt better as with them two in the middle I really think we might have seen a quality passing display from the blue boys. I also liked the way he ran the midfield. He shouted, he pointed, he put in some tough challenges and some cynical fouls as well. It was like we had a tanned, South African version of Pip playing for us!

Of the others Jo and Hibbo did really well and I was very impressed with them both.

The three youngsters were also quality. Coleman was awesome, its just a shame we had an awful ref which meant it basically became a non-contact sport (or at least when they had the ball!). Baxter worker his arse off, up and down the right. He also made a couple of nice dribbles and passes, its just a pity more didnt come of that volley chance. Although when I first saw Duffy give the ball away early doors I was shitting myself, I thought he actually did a real quality job at the back. For a 17yo to come in, away from home on a shocker of a pitch and be that dominant, strong and commanding, with a make-shift CB partner was awesome, so hats off to the lad. One thing I would say against (constructively) is that he likes to drop off, and try to cover the goal line, which can end up with player being left onside. However, its nothing major and tbh he looked more assured than and even dedicated than either Distin or Yobo has so far this season.

The only person I can really say let the team down tonight was Yakubu with that shocking 15/20minute display. Everyone else was working their arse off and he couldnt be bothered to jog after the ball. He showed today everything that I hate about him, and I just wish he could put in that extra effort just to make sure we get the win. He really pissed me off. If a similar situation arrives in the future and it was either him or Agard/Baxter id 200% chuck on the youngster cos at least he would chase everything down and it would let Yakubu know that he cant fuck around.

http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/distin-a-doubt.html

 

 

If we hadn't already lost Yobo I'd be happy about this .

We seem to be very good at losing players in a certain position. Last year it was strikers and this year its defenders! I think even if Distin has a strain he will play becuase we cant afford to not have him out there. I would also stick by my original decision and have Duffy start at CB. Distin will know he has to be the commanding defender and pull his finger out (hopefully). We will have an even bigger problem if Rodwell is out because that also means we have no holding midfielder in any way shape or form. I wouldnt really call Jack one but he is the only thing we have resembling a DM right now. Cahill and Felli in the centre of midfield will be a shambles as neither will know what to do going forwards or backwards. I dont even know if any of our youngsters play there?

What I do know however that if both Distin and Rodwell are out we havent got a hope in hell.

come back with the player your going to buy for 3 million that was the question...in your opinion..as for distan hes not the problem we all know its yobo when jags comes back he and distan will be ok yobo is to error prone...the problem is its probably to early for our reserve defenders...i think duffy will come good but at present i think hes just too young and inexperienced.

I say put Stubbsy back on the books as a player!

I dont think there are any quality players out there that are the type of player we need (strong, quick, commanding)for that price tag. I dont think Scharner would be bought for 3mil tbh, he plays everywhere for Wigan and I cant imagine they would let him go that easily unless he was near the end of his contract.

Senderos would be about as good as you get for 4/5mil and hes crap. It would suprise me if Moyes looks at Wes Brown, I dont rate him and he doesnt fit the bill but Moyes loves the ex-mancs.

For 5ish mil you might be able to get Wheater, but again he aint great and I cant think of anyone in the English leagues thats good and cheap. Plus if he is cheap then it suggests something is wrong (Romey will point at Distin here, although he wasnt that cheap either!) Shawcross is good, as is Bolton's Cahill but they would be too much. Im not sure about Taylor, he might look good in the Championship but he always made mistakes in the Prem.

I dont really watch the foreign leagues that often anymore so Im not sure if any decent players are knocking about, but there will be one somewhere hopefully a Kolo Toure who was bought for 150k or something silly like that!

I think its more or less what was expected, but as mentioned above Lescott and the incoming transfers wont be counted until next years accounts. I think a large chunk of the additional wages is down to Moyes' new contract and Felli signing. Add this to the fact we didnt get rid of VDM and maybe Valente til the summer, who would have had fairly high wages.

Without looking at the full accounts I would guess by what Kenwright said that the FA Cup is included, or at least most of it.

This basically means that if we didnt have to buy players we would have made 6.7mil which is pretty good IMO and is more than last year as was explained in the article supporting it. Im not sure how much other clubs are making, but if its improved on last year then it cant be a bad thing.

Much like the Hutton rumour is comes every transfer window. At least if we did sign him it would stop him scoring against us!

Heitinga is suspended for the Spurs game

Plus Im not sure Moyes will want to take out probably his best midfielder unless Pip was back, which he wont be. Id certainly give Neill a try at CB (does he play there for Australia??) as I cant believe he could be much worse than the current partnership.

With regards to the Yobo/Distin combo, I noticed on sunday that Distin likes to follow the attacker quite a bit and pull out of the line. Sometimes its because someone drops deep or sometimes its in cover for Baines. When this happens Yobo doesnt cover leaving a massive gap between the 2. Normally you would expect the other CB to drop a little deeper and move over slightly or call in a midfielder to cover. A couple of times Liverpool exploited this gap (I remember one Stevie G shot early on off the top of my head) but Im not sure whether thats what Moyes wants him to do (with Yobo meant to be covering) or whether Distin is doing it off his own back. I fairly sure it Jags didnt do it, but maybe Lescott did??

Im going for:

Howard

Hibbo, Duffy, Distin, Baines

Rodwell Felli

Pienaar Cahill Billy

Jo

I think Jo deserves to start up top especially if Saha still has a niggle. Although moyes did say he was resting Saha at the weekend for the midweek trip so Id gather from that he will start.

I dont think we can afford to drop Rodwell back as we will then have no holding midfielder available which means any team wil be able to walk through us! Id say start Duffy, it will be tough for him but Id rather have someone there who plays as a natural CB rather than moving Hibbo across. I dont expect it will happen but its what I would do.

No matter who plays, they HAVE to start and finish the game at the same intensity as they did on sunday. That was the old Everton I love and I hope it sticks!

Well well well, our best performance this season by far and we get robbed by the shite and somehow lose 2-0! Unlike the rest of our performances im not pissed off by the boys (maybe a bit about Yobo, tit) and Im quietly optimistic and some might say happy?! Unfortunately Im gunna get a shit load of stick but at the moment I dont care. We played well, we played them off the park for at least 2/3rds of the game and we should have won. Liverpool fans should be embarrased by the performance of their players and I think in that stake we won, a moral victory if you will, although that counts for fuck all. Shame.

Anyhoo, I went for Pienaar MOM. He is integral to everything we do going forward while Arteta is out. Its a pity he only has Hibbert behind him as if he could get some passing and service quality from behind him like he did with Baines (probably through Neill) then our wings could go from being piss poor to real quality.

Fellaini and Heitinga absolutely ran the midfield winning almost everyball it seemed for the 1st half. I prefer Fellaini deeper and Cahill further forward as Fellaini will stay in position and listen to instructions whereas Cahill just bombs forward. Either one of them could have been MOM also.

Cahill had a much much better game, getting stuck in and chasing everything. Thats the captain Cahill I have been expecting to see.

The much maligned Jo also had a very good game IMO. He actually won a fair amount of headers and if Moyes had given him some more games he might have finished one of his chances or not marginally strayed offside. His work rate, channel winning, clever touches and hold up play was very very good and it was nice to see. I would like to see him getting some more games and id certainly start him ahead of Yakubu, 100%.

Billy was good, should have scored a sitter but still had a good game. He got stuck in, had some nice touches, he did look a little off the pace at times but that will come.

The fullbacks both had good games, especially Bainesy. He made a couple of real crunching challenges which I like to see. he just kept hitting everything long on corners and the crossing from either player wasnt great.

Im not entirely sure what to make of Joey and Distin. They did well for large parts even if they were a bit shaky at times. Im not sure what Yobo was trying for the second goal but some would argue Distin should have been winning the initial header so it goes either way. They arent a good partnership but we havent got too many options right now.

Howard had a cracker with an absolutely sublime save against Insua. Didnt deserve to concede 2 goals.

Roll on the the Europa League (I think?!). We HAVE to play like that to keep up the momentum and get back to play how Everton football club should be playing. I think all those 'Moyes has lost the dressing room' believers should go quiet now as the team gave it everything for him and the fans. On another day we could scored 4 and lets keep that up. COYB!

How has the season been shaping up so far?

F*****g awful to put it mildly... We have probably had about 180 mins worth of good performances. The balckburn game, parts of the 2nd half at Hull, parts of the Bolton game and any other game where we have managed to string more that 2 passes together

What are your expectations for this season? Have they changed from day one?

Yes! Top 6 was going to be harder this year but I would have expected a galiant attempt. However our increase in bad injuries and silly suspensions as well as later transfer purchases has meant the squad hasnt been able to gel and we cant get any balance in the midfield to save our lives. I think top half will be realistic but if more people get injured then we will be in a relegation scrap.

Who do you think is your most important player(s)?

Jags, Arteta, Pienaar. Of the ones that have been mostly fit I would say Saha. The only player right now who can create something out of nothing. At the start of the season I would have said Cahill but for the most part he has been terrible and IMO shouldnt be captain, which is a shame because I love him to bits!

Your worst player(s)?

Cahill/Gosling. Other players have chipped in with terrible performances as well so its hard to really pick out one player specifically

What sort of line-up will be put out against us?

4-5-1 Howard, Hibbo, Joey, Distin, Baines Heintga, Rodwell, Cahill, Pienaar, BIlly, King Loius

Are you surprised by Liverpool's poor start to the season which also included going out of the Champions League and joining you in the Europa League?

Not really, maybe Europe. Alonso was Liverpools best player and for some reason he was sold? If you can keep Gerrard and Torres fit you would have been okay but it shows how fragile your squad and ambitions are that if both of these are out you really struggle. Thats the difference between your lot, Man U and Chelsea. I think Arsenal will be similar to you now with the loss of RVP. Everything went through him and now he is injured and they have no-one to replace him.

Where do you expect Everton and Liverpool to finish in the Premier League?

Liverpool - 5/6th ish, Everton 10th ish

Which Liverpool player will you fear the most?

Torres will run rings round our defence if he plays and Im 99% sure he will at least start. Gerrard will probably run our midfield to the ground unless someone like Heitinga can shut him down. Iv also got a strange feeling that Aquilani may well start or at least come off the bench and do something. Dunno why seeing as he has barely played but call it a 6th sense if you will

Care to predict the score?

Im not falling for that one! Although definately not a 0-0!

Im pretty sure Moyes will go 4-5-1. I get the feeling he may try and get Heitinga to man mark Gerrard a fair bit, or at least maybe he should!

I agree with Hibbert in at RB and I certainly see the merit in moving Neill into the centre but I dont think the latter will happen, but I think it would have been a good idea to try against Hull rather than Liverpool.

If I was moyes I would go with Cahill and Saha up top and then Felli and Yak to come on towards the end depending on the score. If Saha isnt fit I would start Cahill and Felli up top together as we will need to press early and win the ball back ASAP and Yakubu just wont do that. Dropping Cahill is also a possiblity as mentioned but Liverpool's defence just dont like markign Cahill so id stick with him and if he does F.A. for another 90minutes then drop him for the next game.

Im not looking forward to this at all BUT it could be the game that defines our season and gets us going. I dearly hope so but I dont see it happening. If I was a betting man I certainly wouldnt put my money on either team getting a clean sheet!

Amazing what playing a few games can do for your confidence isn't it?!?!

Clearly they rate him up there, so not too much of a shock if it's made permanent sooner rather than later.

Id take it all with a pinch of salt tbh, I remember when we got Turner back from a loan at Sheff Weds that they were all raving about him and then Howard gets injured before the Mancs and Turner drops a clanger on to O'Shea's foot.

Its easy for a keeper to look good when he has loads to do but its much harder when you have nothing to do for 20-30 mins and then get called into action.

Fingers crossed they are goodens though!