Newcastle

[RuffRob]

Score does flatter Newcastle a bit. they didn't create that much, even in the second half.

 

I agree Lukaku may have been left on a little too long as he did look a little tired in the last half hour, but hey if you are on a hatrick on your home debut, then you would be cheesed off if your taken off at 3-1.

 

First half was awesome and bodes well for the future, didn't maintain the tempo in the second half, but difficult to do that when the game is all but won at half time- Barkley is getting better and better. McCathy looked tidy. Coleman awesome. Baines had a relatively quiet game - but we didn't need to rely on him.

 

Down the middle with Lukaku, Barkley, McCathy and Barry. This is in it's infancy. 4th in the table and the only unbeaten team in the league by a squad in transition and on a leaning curve - great stuff.

[Cornish Steve]

I get the feeling we're going to be a bit like last season's ManU: great at the come-from-behind wins but frustrating when on top early. But, it's early in the season, and the team should only improve.

 

Now it's time to beat City on their own turf.

[marcopaulo]

awesome awesome first half

 

 

shite second

[Avinalaff]

best first half I have seen in a long while -

subs came too late - Osman and Lukaku were finished at 60 min -

Jagielka gets beaten too often lately -

we were by far the better team - score flatters Newcastle -

best start for Everton in decades - long may it continue

 

Last year we were in 2nd after 6 games with 13 points but I agree with the sentiment.

 

Last season though, we were to go on a run of draws that cost us by the end of the season. If we can keep getting 3 points, between now and May, we'll win the league lol.

[markjazzbassist]

we got 3 points and that's all that mattered. i think delafeu will start next match on the wing and hopefully osman will be on the bench. we have a strong squad and i love roberto's positivity and attacking. so great to score 3 goals, and lukaku is the signing/loaning of the year!

[Toffee_in_LA]

we got 3 points and that's all that mattered. i think delafeu will start next match on the wing and hopefully osman will be on the bench. we have a strong squad and i love roberto's positivity and attacking. so great to score 3 goals, and lukaku is the signing/loaning of the year!

Based on what RM has done thus far, I don't think Osman did anything this game to lose his spot in the XI. This is just based on his philosophy, I would personally want Peanuts/Deulafeu to start.

[markjazzbassist]

Based on what RM has done thus far, I don't think Osman did anything this game to lose his spot in the XI. This is just based on his philosophy, I would personally want Peanuts/Deulafeu to start.

 

good point, but i see some progression with delafeu. he used to just play league cup games, now he gets 20 some odd minutes in a prem game where it was close, and ossie missed one clear cut chance, but when delafeu came on, different vibe. i get what you're saying and don't disagree, maybe i'm just hoping he'll start.

[Brett Angel]

Very good win. Really good to see he's building a winning mentality though... I still think our defence is very questionable even when put under limited pressure.. just think city will have too much of getting around the back of out defence for us to handle... Do like the way we play at the minute and that's credit to RM but do still see that we revert to type when ever under any real pressure.... This has happened against Chelsea and also second half against Newcastle....

[bluenosetoffee]

Did anybody else have 3-1 Everton with Lukaku to score first? Gutted. Good win though none the less. What a player Lukaku is, who is better Benteke or Lukaku?

[weebittight]

Their two goals took the gloss of it a bit but I think most of us would have taken a win of any kind before kick off. Hard for us to keep up the high standards of the first half and for the Deluded Goedies not to show some element of fight in the second. Cabaye is a good footballer. Very pleased with the start, the unbeaten record and the improvement in the quality of our play. Martinez is a breath of fresh air.

[MikeO]

Did anybody else have 3-1 Everton with Lukaku to score first? Gutted. Good win though none the less. What a player Lukaku is, who is better Benteke or Lukaku?

 

I had 3-1 but Barkley first scorer.

[Hafnia]

Gerry D has ridiculous dribbling ability, he's like George Best his burts of pace and close control... the number of times he got to the byline and dribbled back into the box around the defender was awesome...

 

so exciting this season...

[marcopaulo]

agreed...if he improves on his decision making then he'll be a great signing for us

[Hafnia]

agreed...if he improves on his decision making then he'll be a great signing for us

 

I'm hoping we can have him next season too, he's a game changer.

 

I would be interested seeing him switched to a central striker role when Lukaku has run the centre halves into the ground, someone with his pace and trickery on a player with tired legs could be a cracking weapon.

 

Seriously though, he makes his opponent look like he's running in treacle, the acceleration looks effortless and the ball is tied to his feet.

[Romey 1878]

Another game of two halves for us. If we can put together a full game, or thereabouts, we'll destroy many a team.

 

In the first half we were absolutely sublime. I think that's the most I've enjoyed a half of football from us this season. We were in total control of the game. The way we popped the ball about was a joy to watch. We clicked all over the pitch. Sometimes we overplayed it by trying a clever flick when an ordinary pass would have been better, but I really didn't care because I was loving the show we were putting on. Where we've sometimes looked like we were passing for passing's sake in previous games you always felt there was a purpose to what we were doing in that half. We played within ourselves at times (so I think we can actually put even better performances in than this) and then we just ramped up our play and cut them to ribbons time after time. Honestly, it was almost effortless. Nice and slow, pass and move, and then BANG, everything speeds up and we're in. Newcastle are lucky we only put three past them in this half. We had nice link-up's all over the pitch. Mirallas and Lukaku. Lukaku and Barkley. Coleman and Mirallas. McCarthy and Barry. Newcastle had no chance with that many players putting it together. It wasn't just when we had the ball though; we were just as impressive without it for the first half. It was rare that we surrendered possession but when we did we invariably won it back quickly or pushed them into playing the ball backwards. Once they entered a dangerous area we swarmed them, McCarthy being particularly responsible for this I felt. He was a bag of energy. Lukaku, Mirallas and Barkley were phenomenal at pressuring their defenders when they had the ball as well. The energy levels shown were something else.

 

I don't think our second half performance was quite as bad as some have made out. What I didn't like is how slowly we started the second half; it was like their heads were still in the changing room and that allowed Newcastle to gain an early foothold in the half and boost their confidence. However, we were never going to be able to keep the same level of performance going for the whole game and I expected a dip and I expected Newcastle to put in a better second half showing, which they did. We could, and should, have kept hold of the ball better but what was pleasing was that we still created chances despite not being at our optimal levels. Another pleasing aspect was that although they managed to score two goals to make it a lot closer than it should have been they didn't come from us being cut open. Cabaye should have been closed down better but it was a quality finish, and the second came from some terrible defending.

 

 

Howard - Didn't have a lot to do (I've said that a lot this season!) but kept his concentration so when he was needed he was more than capable. I also thought he was very commanding aerially too.

 

 

Coleman - He's been pretty poor the past couple of games so it was pleasing to see him play so brilliantly last night. Going forward he was a thorn in the side of their LB (Santon I think?). He destroyed him all game long. I almost felt sorry for him. The only thing that was lacking was a better end of product. He was great defensively as well, which was made even better when you consider Osman constantly drifted inside leaving him with a two on one situation. If it hadn't have been for Lukaku's match winning contribution then he'd have been my MOTM.

 

Jagielka - A better overall performance from him than in the previous few games but he still managed to cost us another goal. It was pitiful defending by him for their second goal. He needs to give his head a good shake.

 

Distin - He was superb from start to finish. He shielded Howard excellently with the amount of clearing headers he made. He didn't put a foot wrong all night long.

 

Baines - Bit of a quiet night from Leighton with us tearing it up down our right instead.

 

 

Mirallas - He put in quite a shift. Made even more impressive by still showing the same willingness to work even after injury (I hope the injury isn't too bad now he's found his feet this season). He was great in the way he attacked and duly got an assist for our opening goal. But it was his defensive work that really caught my eye. It's something that he's been criticised for in the past but he showed a great willingness to track back and to pressurise the oppositions defenders. He harried them incessantly and was a key factor in us regaining possession quickly.

 

Barry - He wasn't one of our better performers, probably a bit slow to react to situations at times but he was still fairly solid.

 

McCarthy - He's looked a bit nervous and a bit too eager to pleased previously but he looked settled last night and had a really good game. He was superb at the pressing game, and used the ball intelligently. The only blight on his game was that I thought he should have made more of an effort to close Cabaye down.

 

Osman - It was a relief to see him have his first good game this season. It was a vastly improved performance from than anything he's shown so far this season. He rarely gave the ball away for a start! He played quicker and he made passes that counted rather than just passes that took us nowhere. Basically, he actually contributed last night.

 

 

Barkley - Not his most spectacular performance but it was such a mature performance, and that impressed me even more. He's often guilty of over playing but he kept things fairly simple last night and I thought he controlled things out there and really made us tick. He was brilliant at finding space for himself so he could receive the ball under no pressure, and then he had time to think about what to do next and had options because of the space he'd made for himself. We know he's fine receiving the ball under pressure but it takes intelligence to make space for yourself when you're a marked man. He took his goal really well as well (a mature finish) and also seems to have built a good relationship with Lukaku already. That bodes extremely well.

 

 

Lukaku - You'll struggle to see a better performance from a striker than what he showed in that first half. It was monstrous. He dominated the Newcastle defence and they were terrified any time the ball went near him. He has so much in his locker that they couldn't predict what he was going to do and stop it. Sometimes he'd hold the ball up and play it off to someone else, then the next time he'd get the ball and go on his own, other times he'd drift out wide and look to be a provider. This is highlighted by the fact he got two goals and an assist. I really like that he's not all about himself; he looks to set up others as well. His willingness to work for the team was shown perfectly when he played out wide to allow Mirallas the central role after he took a knock and couldn't put the same work rate in. He faded badly in the second half but that was no surprise after what he'd put in for the first half, it was above and beyond what you'd expect and he still gets my MOTM vote.

[Hafnia]

good report Romey, pretty much agree with all of it - though my MOTM was Coleman - in fairness any of Distin, Coleman, Barkley, Lukaku could easily justify it.

 

I would have loved us to do them 5-0... however in some respects conceding 2 cheap goals is a warning to the team and will certainly serve as a wake up call to the players. It tainted a great first half but it was a vital lesson that we didnt lose any points for.

[chicagoblue]

we got 3 points and that's all that mattered. i think delafeu will start next match on the wing and hopefully osman will be on the bench. we have a strong squad and i love roberto's positivity and attacking. so great to score 3 goals, and lukaku is the signing/loaning of the year!

 

I'll eat my shorts if Gerry starts away to Man City. We might no longer have DM in charge but we won't but putting a 19 year old winger/striker in to start this match. I've had serious doubts about Osman, but he did reasonably well on the wing, and if Pienaar isn't back I think he'll start there again. Makes us too narrow on that side, but Coleman can provide enough width to keep them honest.

 

Did anybody else have 3-1 Everton with Lukaku to score first? Gutted. Good win though none the less. What a player Lukaku is, who is better Benteke or Lukaku?

 

I think a fair few on here would just as soon marry Lukaku as sign him, but I'd still have Benteke. More finished product at the moment. Come next year though, or even this summer, might be very close.

[Bailey]

I thought Coleman had a solid game but Gouffran got the better of him on two occasions, once when he hit the post and once when he turned him inside out in the corner and got into a very dangerous area. We cant afford for him to slip up even once, let alone twice and had Newcastle made the most of those errors, he would be nowhere near MOTM.

 

Not sure what to make of Newcastles first. I think we came out a little too deep and a little lazily. When we upped the tempo a little more in the middle of the half and pressed with a bit more haste we dominated the game and created some more very good opportunites. McCarthy could have made the effort to squeeze him a little more but at the same time, the whole team should have been 5 yards further up the pitch. Cabaye could hit 10 shots from that spot and probably only score one, so in most ways its a wonder strike that we shouldnt beat ourselves up about.

 

Their second goal was a shocker though, Distin was caught a little flat footed and Jags was too weak in the challenge. Baines isnt going to win every ball in the air so they should have been prepared for the knock down.

 

On the whole though I thought we were very good, probably for 75mins. We didnt have a shite 2nd half because we could have scored 3 or 4 more and they didnt really create that much on the whole. My MOTM was a toss up between Lukaku for his first half performance, Barkley for his general display and McCarthy for really bossing large parts of the second half.

Edited October 8, 2013 by Bailey