Chelsea (Home)

[Mike Preece]

What a difference an Everton win Makes to a weekend, I can watch Match of the Day for a start ( if we lose I cant)

everything just seems better.

 

Its great that RM has so many selection options, cant remember the last time we had such great competition for places.

Look at midfield Barry, Barkley, McCarthy, Gibson, Osman(surely he will buck up) what a headache of choice to have .

 

Our defence is as good as any, although they did allow Chelsea too much space yesterday, they will know this on reflection.

And once Alcaraz is fit we,ll see what he has to offer.

 

On the flanks I think its great if true that Gerard Deulofeu thinks he should be always in the starting 11, I admire that

confidence and self belief. Add pienaar, Mirallas,Naismith, Oviedo and the contribution of Coleman and Baines as full backs come

wingers and again its very healthy.

 

Up front when is the last time we have looked forward to a debut as much as Romelu Lukaku ? Relishing the thought

now if Jela could find his form and Kone look the player we know he can be its all good. Plus Velios another

lad we want to see more of. I hope Velios, Deulofio , McCarthy and Oviedo start at Fulham in the cup.

 

This cup is damn important to me, but we must get a competitive look at these lads and I think its the competition to do it.

 

One great result is not clouding my judgement I just think that at the moment Everton Football club is in a very good place.

 

Im excited in a way that I have,nt been for years under Moyes. Roberto Martinez for all his gentleman exterior

has the balls to stick to his principles and so far I have nothing negative to say about him.

 

This is going to be our most interesting season in years because Basically we don't know what to expect.

 

The whole club from manager, to players to fans are on this journey, and I am very glad to ride with it.

[Bailey]

I would definitely agree that reverted to the Moyes type cast for the first part of the 2nd half but the subs Martinez made were miles apart from Moyes' and the way we played after those subs was completely different than we would have under Moyes.

 

Fistly we wouldnt have made a sub for 80mins. Then it would probably have been Heits for Jela (if we were still at 1-0 which would have been unlikely).

 

If anyone thins Moyes qould have brought on youth and reverted to counter attacking with pace they clearly havent watched him for the last 10-11 years. We would have gone for the long ball all game and we would have conceeded and not create more chances.

 

Also we did create some very good chances ourselves in thw first half. Both Jela and Naismith missed two clear cut chances before they combined for the winner. Yes Chelsea should have scored too and probably had 3 clear cut chances with 2 half chances. 2 of them clear cut chances and both of the half chances were down to our own mistakes. They didnt create those opportunities we gave it to them and that in itself is encouraging because on the whole we are defending well. Even in the 2nd half, the chance that Eto'o had should have been dealt with by Howard before he had a sniff.

 

I dont deny the fact that we rode our luck at times but we gave as good as we got across the whole 90mins. On another day it cpuld have finished 4-4 but it didnt and thankfully we won. A draw probably would have been the fairest result but considering we should have won our last 3 games its about time our efforts were rewarded.

[Brett Angel]

I am pissed off reading negative comments after a performance like that. Chelski were gonna have a host of clear cut chances FACT! They have a title winning side. It was down to us how many we kept them to... The shite played utd last week and defended for there lives at the end held onto a one nil at home and probably came up against a far weaker side than Chelsea's, yet no-one battered an eye lid. Just said it was a good performance. I'm truelly sick of pundits, the little arogant Spick, morhinio and every other bellend saying we got very lucky and should have been beat convinsingly. If we can't take our chances, defend extremely well, ride out luck and match a top four side pound for pound, without being put down at the end of the game, then there's no point in continuing.... The difference between Martinez and moyes is when we beat utd last year 1-0 we really did pump it back into there half once we had the goal, only for them to come straight back at us. I don't know about the rest of yous but I seen us trying to play it out at every giving opportunity which resulted in us creating lots of chances ourselves which could have killed the game off. Give credit where credits due, we're gonna win the league, we're gonna win the league........

Edited September 15, 2013 by Brett Angel

[Zoo]

Martinez' post match interview - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24094155

Mourinho's post match interview - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/24096260

 

 

Mourinho is right IMO, his side should have put away some of their chances and had they done so would have won the game. I think people are over-reacting a little bit by jumping up and down about him.

[Steve_E]

 

 

I know he can't defend,

you know he can't defend,

everyone knows he can't defend.

 

That is not why you put him on the pitch ffs. He's strictly a forward.

 

That is why he's on the pitch. He HAS to do his job defensively OR he can compensate for his lack of effort by forcing things on the other end and he isn't doing either at the moment so in that case he shouldn't be on the pitch.

 

That Ramires shot on goal that Howard saved is one example. If he is just back to help his full back on time, Eto'o can never slip that pass into Ramires and can only pass it back. If not for a very good Howard save that would have been 0-1.

[Steve_E]

Not really understanding how people thought Jela had a shit game today... He almost had a goal early, and then he not only got his head onto a ball that he had no business getting to, he got it perfectly to Naismith for our goal. I also thought hos all around play was fine. Luiz pulled him down the one time, too. What does he need to do for you?

 

Keep hold of the ball once out of the 15 times he had to and I'd say "good on you, Jelly".

[pete0]

Possession 43 - 57

Shots on target 5 - 5

Corners 5 - 7

Fouls 10 - 12

 

Stats don't show they twattered us. Chances wise we had the better ones, if it wasn't for Howard's cock up I don't think we'd even bother discussing Chelsea's efforts. They had us under pressure for the first 20 mins in the 2nd half as expected after we scored dot on half time, but once McCarthy come on we looked the most likely to score on the counter. Nothing like a Moyes performance, 1 up and still playing the ball from the back to the point it stood out when the likes of Coleman done the odd lump. Barkley taking people on and searching for a shot in the final minutes. Counter attacks that involved surging runs toward the goal rather than the corner flag. With Moyes I'd be watching the second half through my fingers shitting myself every time Chelsea went forward, yesterday I could still enjoy the game and believed we'd be more likely to get the second goal.

[Steve_E]

Possession 43 - 57

Shots on target 5 - 5

Corners 5 - 7

Fouls 10 - 12

 

Stats don't show they twattered us. Chances wise we had the better ones, if it wasn't for Howard's cock up I don't think we'd even bother discussing Chelsea's efforts. They had us under pressure for the first 20 mins in the 2nd half as expected after we scored dot on half time, but once McCarthy come on we looked the most likely to score on the counter. Nothing like a Moyes performance, 1 up and still playing the ball from the back to the point it stood out when the likes of Coleman done the odd lump. Barkley taking people on and searching for a shot in the final minutes. Counter attacks that involved surging runs toward the goal rather than the corner flag. With Moyes I'd be watching the second half through my fingers shitting myself every time Chelsea went forward, yesterday I could still enjoy the game and believed we'd be more likely to get the second goal.

 

Shots on target aren't necessarily good shots or big chances. Chelsea were 1v1 against Howard a couple of times and didn't hit the target, those were still enormous chances. The total shots were 11-22 in favour of Chelsea.

 

I don't think there was much difference with how we would have played under Moyes. In the first half we tried to contain them as high up the pitch as possible with a medium-high line which is what we did most of the time under Moyes. At the start of the second half we were under immense pressure and that bettered as time went on and Mirallas and Barkley managed to occupy them on the counter attack. Which is how we got most of our chances, not necessarily from rapid counter attacks but definitely in some kind of semi-transition: before Chelsea had transitioned back into their defensive shape. One difference is probably that Cahill or Fellaini won't have got those free kicks around their box that Barkley did at the end by dribbling straight up the middle past a couple of players. But we still cleared the ball long a lot and the keeper and centre backs played plenty of long balls, mainly to wide positions.

[pete0]

 

Shots on target aren't necessarily good shots or big chances. Chelsea were 1v1 against Howard a couple of times and didn't hit the target, those were still enormous chances. The total shots were 11-22 in favour of Chelsea.

 

I don't think there was much difference with how we would have played under Moyes. In the first half we tried to contain them as high up the pitch as possible with a medium-high line which is what we did most of the time under Moyes. At the start of the second half we were under immense pressure and that bettered as time went on and Mirallas and Barkley managed to occupy them on the counter attack. Which is how we got most of our chances, not necessarily from rapid counter attacks but definitely in some kind of semi-transition: before Chelsea had transitioned back into their defensive shape. One difference is probably that Cahill or Fellaini won't have got those free kicks around their box that Barkley did at the end by dribbling straight up the middle past a couple of players. But we still cleared the ball long a lot and the keeper and centre backs played plenty of long balls, mainly to wide positions.

Were Chelsea's chances of better quality than ours? Most went wide because they were hopeful punts. Howard wasn't really worked at all, one save that although good I'd expect him to make.

Long balls were massively reduced compared to similar games under Moyes. The reason we wouldn't get them free-kicks near the goal with Felli or Cahill is because they had no one with them going forward to get to the area and had to hold the ball up killing any chance of a counter.

[MikeO]

Big difference v Moyes was that I enjoyed the end of the game. In the past I've have been hiding behind the sofa while we clung on with eleven players in our penalty area but we were (at times) playing the ball around in their half; injury time was actually brilliant.

[Brett Angel]

Exactly.... I've just been speaking to me mate about that... Those three minutes flee by. And why...... Cause we retained posession, unlike a moyes side.

[gethinO]

Brilliant result. Good competition for places in this squad now. Barry, Gibson, McCarthy and Osman battling for midfield spots. Can't wait to unleash Lukaku either. Jelavic can't hold the ball up in my opinion.

[Hafnia]

Big difference v Moyes was that I enjoyed the end of the game. In the past I've have been hiding behind the sofa while we clung on with eleven players in our penalty area but we were (at times) playing the ball around in their half; injury time was actually brilliant.

Totally agree.

 

The usual Moyes mantra would be to get at the edge of his technical area shouting and gesturing to get in shape, get back, don't over commit - in other words "hold on lads! They are trying to score". Low and behold the players become nervy, hoof it, suffer another attack and the other team smell blood - how many late goals did we concede under Moyes?! Too many.

 

Attack is a great form of defence and Martinez used this yesterday. Martinez was calm, reassuring and it comes through to the players. I can't see how our performance was Moyes like - because we were defending well? If you don't concede you defend well, the beauty is we defended well despite having a big focus on attack - something Moyes was unable to do (see liverpool fa cup semi final).

[Bailey]

 

Shots on target aren't necessarily good shots or big chances. Chelsea were 1v1 against Howard a couple of times and didn't hit the target, those were still enormous chances. The total shots were 11-22 in favour of Chelsea.

 

I don't think there was much difference with how we would have played under Moyes. In the first half we tried to contain them as high up the pitch as possible with a medium-high line which is what we did most of the time under Moyes. At the start of the second half we were under immense pressure and that bettered as time went on and Mirallas and Barkley managed to occupy them on the counter attack. Which is how we got most of our chances, not necessarily from rapid counter attacks but definitely in some kind of semi-transition: before Chelsea had transitioned back into their defensive shape. One difference is probably that Cahill or Fellaini won't have got those free kicks around their box that Barkley did at the end by dribbling straight up the middle past a couple of players. But we still cleared the ball long a lot and the keeper and centre backs played plenty of long balls, mainly to wide positions.

 

I think in terms of good chances we were pretty similar as well, especially when you look at dangerous areas. As I said before, a draw was probably the fairest result, certainly not the one sided battering a lot of the 'pundits' were speaking about.

 

I too don't think there was a massive difference, but I feel that there is a lot more to come with this side under Martinez. That would have been as good as Moyes could have done and even then he probably would have fucked it up by trying to hang on with his subs and being overly cautious, instead of doing what Martinez did and tried to exploit Chelsea marauding forward. I don't think we cleared the ball long that much in all honesty (at least not in the last 30 - we did before that), and if we did during that time there was some thought behind the pass. It wasn't just lumped long, it was played into an area that we could win the ball and keep hold of it. We would be a very good team if we could build on the best of Moyes' tactics and incorporate Martinez's philosophy. Moyes got stale because he didnt know how to improve what he had, whereas I think Martinez can and will.

[Steve_E]

Were Chelsea's chances of better quality than ours? Most went wide because they were hopeful punts. Howard wasn't really worked at all, one save that although good I'd expect him to make.

Long balls were massively reduced compared to similar games under Moyes. The reason we wouldn't get them free-kicks near the goal with Felli or Cahill is because they had no one with them going forward to get to the area and had to hold the ball up killing any chance of a counter.

 

Yes, Chelsea's shots off target were of better quality than ours. They had a free header from almost in the six-yard box that wasn't on target (Eto'o), Eto'o had a shot from around the penalty spot without Howard in goal that Barry blocked, Schurrle was eye to eye with Howard when he hit it high and he chipped another into the side netting though at least he had some defenders on his back that time, Ivanovic had a header from near the six-yard box that wasn't on target that was a decent chance as well, etc.

 

We played less long balls than we did under Moyes, but still a fair few. We also completed just 76% of our passes and we cleared the ball 41 times (compared to Chelsea's 13 clearances). And I think you should count the amount of people we had forward when Barkley wins that free kick where Baines hits the bar: it's 2v6. It's entirely Barkley's doing, Fellaini or Cahill simply woulnd't have the skill to do it, of course Martinez deserves credit for playing Ross and sticking with him until the end. I can also vividly remember Jelavic's deflected goal on a late counter against Manchester City as well. I like Martinez and have been one of his biggest supporters pretty much from the beginning, even from before he was signed, but there's no need to represent things as better as they are.

Edited September 15, 2013 by Steve_E

[Steve_E]

 

I think in terms of good chances we were pretty similar as well, especially when you look at dangerous areas. As I said before, a draw was probably the fairest result, certainly not the one sided battering a lot of the 'pundits' were speaking about.

 

I too don't think there was a massive difference, but I feel that there is a lot more to come with this side under Martinez. That would have been as good as Moyes could have done and even then he probably would have fucked it up by trying to hang on with his subs and being overly cautious, instead of doing what Martinez did and tried to exploit Chelsea marauding forward. I don't think we cleared the ball long that much in all honesty (at least not in the last 30 - we did before that), and if we did during that time there was some thought behind the pass. It wasn't just lumped long, it was played into an area that we could win the ball and keep hold of it. We would be a very good team if we could build on the best of Moyes' tactics and incorporate Martinez's philosophy. Moyes got stale because he didnt know how to improve what he had, whereas I think Martinez can and will.

 

I fully agree with the bold part of course. City, United and Chelsea all have sides with more talent than we do and they have all dropped 5 out of 12 points already as well under their new managers. We've dropped 6 out of 12 so far. It's completely normal that not everything is going great at the moment and I'm sure Martinez and the staff and squad know that too and will be working on it every day for the coming months. There was mostly graft on show yesterday, not that much craft, and I'd still like to see that improve against the top sides.

[pete0]

 

Yes, Chelsea's shots off target were of better quality than ours. They had a free header from almost in the six-yard box that wasn't on target (Eto'o), Eto'o had a shot from around the penalty spot without Howard in goal that Barry blocked, Schurrle was eye to eye with Howard when he hit it high and he chipped another into the side netting though at least he had some defenders on his back that time, Ivanovic had a header from near the six-yard box that wasn't on target that was a decent chance as well, etc.

 

We played less long balls than we did under Moyes, but still a fair few. We also completed just 76% of our passes and we cleared the ball 41 times (compared to Chelsea's 13 clearances). And I think you should count the amount of people we had forward when Barkley wins that free kick where Baines hits the bar: it's 2v6. It's entirely Barkley's doing, Fellaini or Cahill simply woulnd't have the skill to do it, of course Martinez deserves credit for playing Ross and sticking with him until the end. I can also vividly remember Jelavic's deflected goal on a late counter against Manchester City as well. I like Martinez and have been one of his biggest supporters pretty much from the beginning, even from before he was signed, but there's no need to represent things as better as they are.

They were luckily gifted a chance from Howard that Barry luckily blocked, as far as the other chances created they wasn't as clear as Jelavic's header or the missed opportunity we should have had when Mirallas got took down (1v1 or a red both more advantageous than anything Chelsea offered).

Felli/Cahill didn't have a partner up with them to create space and help them get forward, at best they'd win a fk on the half way line. Don't know how you can put all the credit solely on Barkley, Mirallas was a nuisance when pushed forward and that is when/why we looked the more likely to score.

[Bailey]

 

I fully agree with the bold part of course. City, United and Chelsea all have sides with more talent than we do and they have all dropped 5 out of 12 points already as well under their new managers. We've dropped 6 out of 12 so far. It's completely normal that not everything is going great at the moment and I'm sure Martinez and the staff and squad know that too and will be working on it every day for the coming months. There was mostly graft on show yesterday, not that much craft, and I'd still like to see that improve against the top sides.

Yeh I would agree with that and I think there were glimpses of it yesterday, albeit mainly in the last half hour.

[Shukes]

Jelly also has a free header in a better position than them.

Mirralas cut inside and had an effort.

Jelly had a simple knockdown for Mirralas for an easy tap in.

Ossie has a shot with no one in front of him.

 

We had just as many clear chances than them.

 

Some of you are right, it's just a win and we shouldn't get too excited.

But this is football and this is why we love it, we do get excited and it's the reason I live and die football, for this kind of excitement.... Otherwise what's the point?

[Steve_E]

They were luckily gifted a chance from Howard that Barry luckily blocked, as far as the other chances created they wasn't as clear as Jelavic's header or the missed opportunity we should have had when Mirallas got took down (1v1 or a red both more advantageous than anything Chelsea offered).

Felli/Cahill didn't have a partner up with them to create space and help them get forward, at best they'd win a fk on the half way line. Don't know how you can put all the credit solely on Barkley, Mirallas was a nuisance when pushed forward and that is when/why we looked the more likely to score.

 

Who cares how they got them? That doesn't matter at all. The point is that they had them. Eto'o's header was as clear a chance as Jelavic's but Jelly's one is counted among those 5 shots on target, Eto'o's wasn't. Schurrle's shot one on one and Eto'o's in front of an open goal were huge chances whether you'd like to admit it or not. Felli/Cahill had Jelavic or Saha with them, as is illustrated by the goal Jelavic scored against City for example. I'm putting the credit solely on Barkley for the free kick that Baines hit the bar on, I even said "Mirallas and Barkley managed to occupy them on the counter attack" earlier.

[RuffRob]

One thing that worried me a little bit yesterday, was the number of clear cut Chelsea side created, we were fairly lucky that Eto was very rusty. We should really have been 3 goals down before we scored - if we had have been 3-0 down, it am sure it would have got worse, so in a way we were a little fortunate. Wigan suffered some heavy defeats over the last few seasons. But saying that, we are still only a few games in to a new playing philosophy, so there may be a few scary moments or bad score lines on the way.

 

I think Kone and Pienaar would have started if they had been fit, and with Lukaku being ineligible, the starting eleven was weakened. Chelsea are full of world class player, with arguably one of the best managers in the game. So we will not get many harder teams to play.

 

But a great result and generally we haven't had the rub of the green on the previous 3 games, so its about time we had a bit of luck. The result will be a great one for the confidence of the squad. Great to have unbeaten records to protect as an added incentive each game goes on.

 

We had a tough time for the first 25 mins in the second half. But we settled down, and in the final 20 mins it looked just as likely that we would get a second goal as Chelsea getting a equaliser. I though Mirallas playing as the forward made a difference in that final 20mins, I think he is a good option in this position. Quick, tricky and an eye for goal.

 

We have a fairly raw 19 years in the middle of the park and he is just going from strength to strength.

 

lots to be positive about in what is still an embryotic Martinez era.

[pete0]

 

Who cares how they got them? That doesn't matter at all. The point is that they had them. Eto'o's header was as clear a chance as Jelavic's but Jelly's one is counted among those 5 shots on target, Eto'o's wasn't. Schurrle's shot one on one and Eto'o's in front of an open goal were huge chances whether you'd like to admit it or not. Felli/Cahill had Jelavic or Saha with them, as is illustrated by the goal Jelavic scored against City for example. I'm putting the credit solely on Barkley for the free kick that Baines hit the bar on, I even said "Mirallas and Barkley managed to occupy them on the counter attack" earlier.

Because it was a freak chance, in the long run we will cut out them mistakes. Given the chance for another go at each chance created yesterday I'd expect more of ours to go in that theirs. Everton deserved the win and unlike the old era non of us felt nervous after going 1 up as we never looked like we'd concede.

Apologies, my bad. I said that as this alludes to more than one 'One difference is probably that Cahill or Fellaini won't have got those free kicks around their box that Barkley did at the end by dribbling straight up the middle past a couple of players'

Any how, I thought it was Mirallas pushing their back line back that allows Ross to get forward to win the fk so far up the pitch and that is something we didn't get to see under Moyes as we'd only have one man up. I remember last year when Mirallas scored on the counter and we all celebrated like mad as leap years are more frequent.

[Bailey]

One thing that worried me a little bit yesterday, was the number of clear cut Chelsea side created, we were fairly lucky that Eto was very rusty. We should really have been 3 goals down before we scored - if we had have been 3-0 down, it am sure it would have got worse, so in a way we were a little fortunate. Wigan suffered some heavy defeats over the last few seasons. But saying that, we are still only a few games in to a new playing philosophy, so there may be a few scary moments or bad score lines on the way.

 

I think Kone and Pienaar would have started if they had been fit, and with Lukaku being ineligible, the starting eleven was weakened. Chelsea are full of world class player, with arguably one of the best managers in the game. So we will not get many harder teams to play.

 

But a great result and generally we haven't had the rub of the green on the previous 3 games, so its about time we had a bit of luck. The result will be a great one for the confidence of the squad. Great to have unbeaten records to protect as an added incentive each game goes on.

 

We had a tough time for the first 25 mins in the second half. But we settled down, and in the final 20 mins it looked just as likely that we would get a second goal as Chelsea getting a equaliser. I though Mirallas playing as the forward made a difference in that final 20mins, I think he is a good option in this position. Quick, tricky and an eye for goal.

 

We have a fairly raw 19 years in the middle of the park and he is just going from strength to strength.

 

lots to be positive about in what is still an embryotic Martinez era.

I dont think they did 'create' that many good chances. Probably 2 all game. We caused our own problems by losing the ball when we had committed bodies forward, namely due to Barkley and Osman misplacing passess.

 

Yes they could have scored 3 by half time but so could we, and whats impressive (or worrying depending on how you view it) is that we had to work hard and create those opportunities whereas they only carved us open once through their own good play.

[Romey 1878]

In the first half we were terrible. We were so flat and lacked tempo for pretty much the whole half. The lack of tempo wasn't helped by there being little movement in front of our defence, so they either had to resort to passing it around aimlessly giving the Chelsea players a chance to press us or hoofing it forward a little too often. Also, other than Barry no one was picking up the runners between our defence and midfield meaning that they were opening us up so easily and created opportunities to score almost at will. We were fortunate that the defence were mostly solid because we could have been out of the game by half time. On occasion we'd get ourselves going and I'd think to myself, "right, that's it, we're in the game now." But, we'd just drift back out of it again. Very much against the run of play we took the lead just before half time in what was a lovely worked goal. Osman and Barkley showed good link up play, Jelavic showed a huge amount of desire to get on the end of a deep cross and made the right decision to head it back across for Naismith to have the simple task of nodding it home from a yard out.

 

Second half I thought we improved massively and while Chelsea did put us under pressure I actually thought we were the better, and more dangerous side. Our tempo was upped, our movement was markedly improved and we kept the ball a lot better as a result. We also showed a lot of composure with the ball which helped. If you've got the ball then the opposition can't hurt you. I thought we pressed them a lot more in the second half too, which was something we hadn't really done in the first half, and that relieved some of the pressure that we were inevitably put under. As it approached the last 20 minutes I was shitting myself with us only being one goal up and I was fully expecting us to be right under the cosh. We were put under pressure, as you'd expect, but strangely this was the period of the game when we were most dangerous and could have actually put the game to bed and come out with a 2- or 3-0 victory. I thought we were magnificent and showed something completely new than what we've come to expect. We didn't sit back and invite pressure; they came at us and then we looked to break on them and on many occasions we broke brilliantly and could have grabbed at least another goal. It was refreshing to see us keep attacking right until the end. And that made the end of the game so much more comfortable than I could have hoped for.

 

I was so proud of the second half performance and I just hope this win has given us the confidence to push on now. Things are coming together.

 

 

Howard - Very nearly cost us a goal with his ridiculous fannying about but also made some good saves to keep Chelsea out.

 

 

Coleman - He annoyed me enormously in the first half with his attacking play. Every time he went forward he lost it by running into the Chelsea man. Improved in the second half in that regard and was great defensively all game with the help of Naismith.

 

Jagielka - A few aimless punts forward and a couple of occasions when he wasn't aware of what was around him but generally a good performance.

 

Distin - Held things together at the back in the first half in particular when it looked like Chelsea would tear us apart, and kept his standards high in the second half too. Brilliant performance from the big man.

 

Baines - I don't think it was his best performance but it was certainly an improvement on what he's shown this season before yesterday. He was still a bit subdued but got involved more. Had no help whatsoever from Mirallas during the game so was often being double teamed, but he stood up to the pressure quite well. Maybe that was why he struggled to impose himself going forward?

 

 

Naismith - I thought he had a really good game. Much better than I was expecting after seeing him named on the wing. In the first half he was our best player, IMO. While most of the other players lumbered about the pitch he was full of energy and running. He looked to relieve the pressure on our defence time and time again. And his willingness to help Coleman out defensively was priceless I thought. He has the handy knack of being in the right place at the right time and he showed that perfectly with his goal by getting himself in the box. It's something that Mirallas needs to do more when he's playing out wide and the ball is coming into the box. Yes, he did mess up a few things but he fully deserved the ovation he got when he was subbed because he worked his balls off.

 

Osman - Unbelievably poor in the first half. He was caught in possession too often, lacked any desire to make himself available for the ball, and when he did have the ball he didn't use it well. He did improve in the second half. He showed improved awareness of what was around him, he passed it better and he won the ball back for us often. My one gripe with his second half showing was that he dallied on the ball too much on the edge of our penalty area, very nearly giving the ball away a few times.

 

Barry - He was absolutely quality, I hold my hands up. I decided to pay close attention to him throughout the game and he put in a phenomenal performance, he really did. That block on Eto'o after Howard's fuck up! Even if he'd done nothing else all game he'd have had my praise. How he managed to get there in time is a mystery. But that wasn't all he did. He marshalled in front of the defence perfectly and he basically snuffed out any threat that Mata might have provided by shadowing him. He didn't just follow though, he put his foot in many times as well, which is something we've really needed and lacked. Gibson and Fellaini didn't do it. Then there was the composure he brought to the midfield that obviously rubbed off on the rest. No matter what he was so calm when the ball came to him.

 

Mirallas - Absolutely anonymous in the first half. I wouldn't have minded if he'd been subbed at half time in all honestly, he was that insignificant. Offered no threat going forward and gave no help defensively. However, once he was moved up front he was a different player. He was full of energy and trickery and was one of our biggest threats. Every time he got the ball I got excited. I noticed that he really came into his own after having a chat with Martinez on the touchline during a stoppage. After that he was on fire. The only thing that was missing was a goal or an assist, but that wasn't for a lack of trying. I honestly believe that he was the main reason why the last 20 minutes of the game were so comfortable for us and that's why he gets my MOTM vote.

 

 

Barkley - I thought this was probably his poorest game for us this season, but strangely he also showed some of the best stuff he's shown this season too! During the first half I thought he looked rather jaded and a bit tired. Especially with some of his passing, which showed by him playing numerous loose passes that Chelsea could, and probably should, have capitalised on. And his decision making showed mental tiredness too. He has to learn when to release the ball to a team mate, and when he should go on his own. That will come the more he plays, and the more he messes up. But in the second half he showed, in glimpses, just what he's capable of with numerous driving runs to relieve the pressure. What really impressed me about him was his ability to be at a standstill with the ball, move the ball quickly around the Chelsea man, change direction and then be gone. His foot speed and balance was immense.

 

 

Jelavic - I really don't think he was anywhere near as bad as some have made out, and I actually thought it was probably his best performance of the season for us. Yes, he didn't hold the ball up as well as what we'd all want him to but he worked for us. Particularly in the first half he was a willing runner with the ball when things were looking a bit dodgy for us. His link-up was ok, a few occasions when players weren't on the same wavelength though. And he showed a huge amount of desire to get on the end of Ossie's cross, and then made the right decision to nod it back across goal rather than go for goal himself (no mean feat when he's got to be desperate to score himself) and got an assist to his name. My one disappointment with his showing was his finishing. He hasn't had all that many opportunities created for him but yesterday he had a few, and they were good chances too, not just half chances, and he should have done much better with all of them.

[pete0]

I dont think they did 'create' that many good chances. Probably 2 all game. We caused our own problems by losing the ball when we had committed bodies forward, namely due to Barkley and Osman misplacing passess.

 

Yes they could have scored 3 by half time but so could we, and whats impressive (or worrying depending on how you view it) is that we had to work hard and create those opportunities whereas they only carved us open once through their own good play.

Hopefully the chances will be easier to create once everyone gels, yesterday was a good test as Chelsea with Mourinho is possible the most difficult team to get chances against and we still done an admirable job.

[jofanon]

Lots of learnings in this game.

 

I thought Miralles really looked the part upfront and I'd like to see that repeated. A front 3 of Lukaku and Miralles with Barkley behind would be a right handful.

 

Osman and Naismith I'm sorry just rubbish. How many times do they give the ball away? Osmans shooting just gets worse and worse.

 

Back 4 were excellent although we've not seen Baines at his attacking best for some time?

 

Coleman excellent. Cost us £80k and looks like a £15-20m player.

 

Gareth Barry world beater!

[Romey 1878]

Coleman excellent. Cost us £80k and looks like a £15-20m player.

 

£60K so even better!

[Steve_E]

Because it was a freak chance, in the long run we will cut out them mistakes. Given the chance for another go at each chance created yesterday I'd expect more of ours to go in that theirs. Everton deserved the win and unlike the old era non of us felt nervous after going 1 up as we never looked like we'd concede.

Apologies, my bad. I said that as this alludes to more than one 'One difference is probably that Cahill or Fellaini won't have got those free kicks around their box that Barkley did at the end by dribbling straight up the middle past a couple of players'

Any how, I thought it was Mirallas pushing their back line back that allows Ross to get forward to win the fk so far up the pitch and that is something we didn't get to see under Moyes as we'd only have one man up. I remember last year when Mirallas scored on the counter and we all celebrated like mad as leap years are more frequent.

 

I'm sure we will cut those mistakes out, that doesn't change the fact that Chelsea did have the chances to batter us yesterday.

[pete0]

 

I'm sure we will cut those mistakes out, that doesn't change the fact that Chelsea did have the chances to batter us yesterday.

I don't see how you can think they had the better of us. Chelsea on a whole had the ball, but did little to threaten with it much like us against WBA. Taking all the chances into consideration if it had finished 2-1 to Everton, we'd probably not even be having this discussion.

[Steve_E]

I don't see how you can think they had the better of us. Chelsea on a whole had the ball, but did little to threaten with it much like us against WBA. Taking all the chances into consideration if it had finished 2-1 to Everton, we'd probably not even be having this discussion.

 

Let's just forget about it if you think they did little to threaten us. I don't think we're gonna see eye to eye on this.