Everton Independent Research Data
John Thompson: Shared stadium route is simply the wrong option
Oct 2 2008 by John Thompson, Liverpool Echo
LIVERPOOL chief executive Rick Parry moved swiftly this week to dispel the latest claim that a shared stadium was back on the agenda. He emphatically denied reported claims by Liverpool City Council leader Warren Bradley that the Reds are softening to the idea – and instead back-heeled it into the long grass of Stanley Park. No doubt Parry finds it irksome that he has to react to this forced political issue so often.
But the man who told Tom Hicks and George Gillett upon their arrival that they could have his resignation if they ever proposed ground-sharing, is to be applauded for doing so. Neither Liverpool’s nor Everton’s fans want a joint stadium. That much is clear and has been for a very long time. And while Cllr Bradley suggests people are perhaps ignoring an elephant in the room and refusing to face reality, the fans – and those who represent their ambitions – maybe aren’t quite as naive here as some would have it. For years, Liverpool as a city underachieved. It was left behind as Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow and others modernised and developed. Some people thought it could never recover. But now Liverpool is catching up fast, and with a mighty river at its centre and waterfront land galore to exploit and enjoy, the potential on Merseyside remains both enormous and untapped. Equally, the potential for Liverpool and Everton to develop independently and separately remains intact, if as yet overdue and unrealised. The challenges here are enormous of course, with huge issues to be overcome at both clubs. But the fan bases at Anfield and Goodison are easily big enough and with hard work can get even bigger. This one is all about two things.
Real ambition for both clubs – and the will and method to pursue it. And secondly, it’s about people holding their nerve. A club of Everton’s size and tradition has every reason to yet believe it can successfully go it alone into football’s modern, uncertain global age. And the same goes for Liverpool, even more so. Admittedly, neither club has been able to turn a spade on a new ground. But it isn’t give-up time yet. Far from it. There is still a process in train here – and for all the frustrations and delays it is far from exhausted. That process may yet end with new owners at both clubs arriving in the next year or two, people determined and able to deliver finally such major stadium projects, if the current incumbents ultimately cannot. Some politicians, and to be fair some supporters too, will shake their heads and call this pie in the sky self-delusion.
But they don’t necessarily have the full picture – nor understand the importance of keeping two great football clubs in a great British city going forward in their own homes, with their own identities. A shared stadium would, over time, simply dilute professional football in a city which has frankly done it better than any other in this country for over a century. For that reason alone, giving in to it now would be utterly wrong. The shared stadium issue should stay firmly off the agenda until matters are beyond hope, which they are not. To be fair, Warren Bradley cares passionately about his home town and its two football clubs and is right to some degree with his jungle analogy. There is indeed an elephant. But it isn’t in the room, or even in the house. It’s just knocking at the door. And while there remains real hope yet of the Reds and Blues shooting it dead, there’s no good reason to answer its call.
Everton jury on a crucial night for the Blues
Oct 2 2008 Liverpool Echo
Debbie Smaje, Upholland
I DON’T think it’s being melodramatic to suggest that our season could be over if things go badly tonight. What is most worrying is the way we have approached our last two games. Goalscoring hadn’t been a problem until then, but against Blackburn and Liverpool we completely abandoned any footballing intent, and have reverted to dreadful alehouse football, which resulted in us barely even creating a chance from open play. The same tactics in Liege will see us go out, absolutely no doubt. We need to have a positive approach to the game, and the players need to have more belief in themselves and go back to passing the ball. We may still be conceding goals thanks to awful errors, but if we play football, I know we can score. Osman, Arteta, Cahill, Saha and Yakubu are all good attacking players who are at their best with the ball at their feet, and if we use them properly instead of by-passing them, I still think we can get the result we need.
Richard Knights, West Derby
I’M not one of those people who writes letters to the papers in green ink and block capitals. I don’t haunt the ‘Moan In’ after every defeat demanding ‘Sack Kenwright, Sack the Board, Sack Moyes, Sack all the players.’ We aren’t yet a ‘club in crisis’ and Bill Kenwright hasn’t appointed a cockney wide boy as ‘Director of Football’.
But I’ve got to part company with some of my fellow jurors, with their ‘don’t panic it’s only the start of the season attitude. They seem to be influenced by that well-known pundit Rosy Scenario. Just how bad can it get? Here’s the reality check.
Comprehensively outplayed in the derby. Defeated in the last three Premiership games at home. Dumped out of the Carling Cup. A paralysed defence leaking goals.
Imminent departure from the UEFA Cup. With Standard Liege in mind we need what that football expert Gramsci wrote: ‘The pessimism of the intellect but the optimism of the will’.
David Wallbank, Huyton
EVERTON must gain a win at Standard Liege tonight and put an end to a turbulent start to the season. David Moyes and the players cannot go into this game expecting an easy ride, the first leg proved this. In my last jury article I talked about winnable games coming thick and fast. Since then we haven’t won a single game, and the doom and gloom still hangs over Goodison Park. Everton tonight face a season-defining encounter in Belgium. A hero could be born this evening, the Blues need to stand up and be counted because I for one don’t want to wait till January for the FA Cup third round to arrive. I hope the players realise how important a win in Liege is, and how much the fans are hurting after a dismal run of results including a heartless and embarrassing defeat to Liverpool. A performance with pride and passion will go along way with most Evertonians, a win would make us believe again.
Michael Drummond, Speke
AT this moment, the one thing that is worse than being an Evertonian is being asked to comment on the club’s current situation! I've gone from querying the defence, boardroom and Moyes' contract but I have now run out of excuses. It's got to the point where I took the fact that we didn't concede against Liverpool until mid-second half as a bonus! The League Cup has come and gone and the UEFA Cup will become a similar scenario tonight if things continue as they are. I want to see us go all out for this game with Saha and Yakubu starting with Cahill in support as we will lose him for the next three games. If we can get two goals in the first half, then there's a good chance we will go through, but our defence is key. We cannot afford to lose concentration at the back and we need a defensive midfielder so I can see Neville being put there and having Hibbert at right back. Hopefully come later this evening, we will have a win in Europe that will kick start our season!
Standard Liege v Everton: Away days suit us fine, says Leon Osman
Oct 2 2008 Liverpool Echo
LEON OSMAN believes Everton can triumph on the road tonight and clinch a place in this season's UEFA Cup group stage. Although the Blues have been wretched at home, losing all three of their Premier League matches, two wins and a draw away from Merseyside have tempered matters. Midfielder Osman feels such away-day comforts can help Everton upset the odds at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne. “We’re better suited for playing away from home, as we have proven in the Premier League this season,” said Osman. “I’m sure Liege were pretty pleased with the result they got in the first leg, but as everyone knows we’ve been better away, so we’re still confident. “We’re not here to keel over, we’re here to get the positive result we need to get through. “It’s only half-time, so it’s definitely not over by any stretch of the imagination.” Meanwhile, Standard Liege coach Laszlo Boloni feels victory over Everton will see the club take a step towards his aim of them becoming a feared team in Europe. In his first season in charge of Liege, Boloni has started where former Belgian international goalkeeper Michel Preud’homme left off at the end of last term.
Preud’homme guided Liege to their first Jupiler League title for 25 years, and after bizarrely switching to KAA Gent, Boloni is under pressure to replicate such success.
The Romanian, who has previously coached at Sporting Lisbon, Stade Rennais and Monaco before joining Liege, has so far hit the ground running. Standard currently lead the way by three points after taking 16 of 18 on offer, with their most noteworthy victory on Friday when they beat rivals Anderlecht 2-1. Midfielder Igor De Camargo is Boloni’s only injury doubt with a back problem that had initially ruled him out yesterday, but he is now touch and go.
Standard Liege v Everton: Kharkiv spirit can keep Euro dream alive - David Moyes
Oct 2 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
ASK David Moyes for his memories of Everton's first European away day last season and you get a look that expresses a mixture of relief and immense pride. It was, after all, in a far-flung corner of Ukraine on this day 12 months ago that the wheels were set in motion on an adventure that many believe should have ended with Everton contesting the UEFA Cup final. Yet, due to the scheming and plotting of Mayron Markevych, that journey was nearly stopped dead in its tracks. While he respects Wenger, Mourinho, Ferguson et al, nobody has presented Moyes with more tactical problems than the coach of Metalist Kharkiv. Chances are, however, he will get more of the same tonight. Standard Liege’s colourful leader Laszlo Boloni is cut from cloth similar to Markevych and he will be doing everything in his power to end Everton’s interest in this tournament at the first hurdle. But experience in these type of games is vital and Moyes hopes the memory of that chaotic night in Metalist Stadium will give his team an edge as they seek the win they need to book a place in the UEFA Cup group stages. “I hope that’s the case,” said Moyes. “There are a lot of similarities with that game, especially with the first game at Goodison being a draw. Standard’s performances have shown they are a really good side and it will be a difficult challenge. “I think a lot of people thought we would get through against Kharkiv but they were a good side also. We have given ourselves a hard task but it is similar to what we achieved last year. We were very good away from home then, so we will use that as motivation.” That 2-2 draw last month may make Everton second favourites to go through but consider this for a moment: in 210 minutes of playing Liverpool in the Champions League, Liege failed to score and both their goals at Goodison came via mistakes. True, they may have some good players but Moyes certainly does not think the mission facing his side is impossible and, if anything, he believes nerves might start to get the better of the home side before kick-off. “We know we can do it again,” he said. “Although they have drawn at our place, it makes it difficult for them because we know what we have to do – we have got to win. It is really important for us because we want to get through.” Victory here would do much to lift the early season gloom that has engulfed Goodison following a series of defeats, the latest two – at Blackburn Rovers in the Carling Cup and against Liverpool last Saturday – have been especially hard to stomach. That is why the prospect of another four matches in the UEFA Cup at least would be the perfect antidote to cure the current ills but, much more than that, it would also enhance Everton’s reputation. So much good work was done last season and nights in Nuremberg, Alkmaar and Bergen continue to be spoken of with great fondness – the task now is to ensure that the name Liege is added to that list. “It was good competition for us last season,” said Moyes. “We talked highly about the competition last year so I am not going to start talking it down now. I think the players enjoyed it so we really want to get through. “Our achievements last year got us in this competition so we want to stay in it. It was a great achievement for us to finish fifth last year and we want to be successful again. I don't think there is pressure on us. It’s a UEFA Cup tie and we want to get through. “When we were drawn together, everyone said Standard were very good. They came very close to putting Liverpool out of the Champions League. We were given quite a tough tie against them but let’s see what we can do.” The sideshow of Moyes’ contract talks continues to rumble on in the background but the manager, who admitted after the Liverpool defeat that his failure to sign might have had impact on his team’s form, does not believe it will prove a distraction this evening. No wonder. All thoughts are geared towards keeping that elusive first clean sheet since April and he hopes those infuriating mistakes which have proven so costly do not resurface once more. “I am sure the players will put my contract to one side and focus on the game,” Moyes insisted. “Their focus will only been winning the game. “I don’t think the team we put out will be too far away from the players we have been putting out. Our defending is something we need to tighten up and do better. If I knew exactly what was wrong I would be stopping it. There is maybe a bit of a loss of confidence and some individual mistakes but they are good players and they will get better.” Especially as the likes of Joseph Yobo, Tim Howard and Joleon Lescott will know they are one good game away from being back in form. “That’s the beauty of football,” Moyes agreed. “It gives you the chance to turn everything around in 90 minutes and we know a win here could kick-start our season.” It would also kick start another adventure – and Moyes, you suspect, will settle for that mix of relief and pride at full time once again.
EVERTON (probable 4-4-2): Howard; Neville, Yobo, Jagielka, Lescott; Arteta, Castillo, Cahill, Osman; Yakubu, Saha.
Light up Everton's Euro dreams, David Moyes tells Tim Cahill
Oct 2 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES today urged Tim Cahill to take his appeal frustration out on Standard Liege and fire Everton into the UEFA Cup group stages. The Australian will miss Everton’s next three Premier League games after the FA rejected his appeal for the red card he received during the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday. Moyes believes Cahill has been harshly treated but has told the 28-year-old, who missed training on Tuesday with illness but will start tonight, to forget that and exact revenge on Liege. Moyes, whose side go into the second leg in the Stade Maurice Dufrasne all square at 2-2, has described Cahill as a “special talent” and said: “Tim just does what he does and that is he keeps coming up with important goals for us in important games – let’s hope he does it here. “We couldn’t wait to get him back, as he is vital to what we do. I think the decision (to send him off) was the wrong one and that’s why I appealed against it. I’ve not spoken to him about (the FA’s decision) as I’ve had other things on my mind.” With the exception of the cup-tied Marouane Fellaini, Moyes has a fully fit squad for the first time this season and Steven Pienaar could be pitched into battle at some point. The South African has been sidelined for the past seven weeks by a broken toe and his preparations for this game were disrupted last weekend when he was arrested following a domestic incident. But he was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing and took part in training here last night. “We have missed him and we are hoping to get him back involved if it is possible,” said Moyes. “He made a big impression last year and we want him to do the same this year. I’m sure he will.”
Moyes’ main selection dilemma is whether to stick to playing a lone striker or reverting to a more orthodox 4-4-2 line-up and, if he opts for the latter, that will mean a start for Louis Saha, who has made an eye-catching start to his Goodison career.
“Louis is a talented footballer who has played at the highest level,” said Moyes of the France international, who has made 31 European appearances during his career. “He’s played in many games of this type and could be a value to us if he plays.”
Standard Liege 2, Everton 1 (Aggregate 4-3)
Oct 3 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
AS he was about to begin one of the most galling post mortems of his Everton career, a switch was flicked and the lights went out on David Moyes. The press room inside Stade Maurice Dufrasne was hopelessly over crowded, many waiting to hear Moyes’ verdict on his side’s latest setback, but, in an instant, the drama was taken out of the situation thanks to one clumsy individual. It was a scene that summed the situation up to perfection. Having started this campaign with such high hopes, Moyes now faces the challenge of preventing Everton’s season from plunging into total darkness.
Out of the Carling Cup and languishing in the lower reaches of the Premier League, being dumped out of the UEFA Cup – at the first hurdle – is the unpalatable situation with which Evertonians are facing today. There is no real ignominy in losing over two legs to Standard Liege; this Belgian side look poised to make their presence felt in the UEFA Cup and it has been well noted in these parts how they were unfortunate against Liverpool. However, it cannot be stressed enough just now how much of a body blow to Everton the 4-3 aggregate defeat is; everybody at the club wanted another adventure similar to the one that took them from Ukraine to Italy via Germany, Holland and Norway. Now, though, a bleak midwinter beckons. The only rewards on offer are Premier League points and while Moyes is right to suggest they will always be the priority, it will be scant consolation when the group stages begin later this month. Everyone knows how eye-catching progress in two knockout tournaments improved Everton’s domestic form 12 months ago, so it is understandable why some will be fearing a lack of matches may prove so problematic now. Trips to the Reebok Stadium and the JJB – Everton’s only night games between now and January – simply do not have the same mystique as, say, jaunts to the San Siro, Mestalla or the Amsterdam Arena – jaunts they could possibly have had.
This, then, is where Moyes must work the oracle. He will understand more than anyone how wretched this start has been and, inevitably, it will continue to torment him for some time – but that misery needs masking; his players, after all, need cajoling back to form. That said, it won’t be easy. Given how desperate he is to bring a piece of silverware back to Goodison Park, Moyes will be aghast that two chances have slipped away before the clocks go back and particularly by the manner in which those defeats have been suffered. To start examining why Standard Liege rather than Everton will be in next week’s Nyon draw, cast your mind back two weeks to events at Goodison. Yes, the Toffees were the victims of a contentious refereeing decision here – Leighton Baines seemed to get a toe to the ball when he challenged Milan Jovanovic only for referee Peter Sippel to feel otherwise – but, in reality, they were masters of their downfall. Sloppy and slovenly defending presented Liege with a chance to grab two away goals and Laszlo Boloni set his team up expertly to defend that advantage. Try as they might, Everton had no guile to break down the walls of red with which they were confronted. “We let ourselves down in the first leg and gave ourselves too much to do,” agreed Phil Jagielka, who had given Everton some hope when he scored in the second half. “We played well but their tactics were to play in the counter and they won the game.” When they were needed, neither Mikel Arteta nor Leon Osman created a chance of note for Ayegbeni Yakubu or Louis Saha and it was only when Steven Pienaar was pitched into the fray that Everton started to stretch their opponents. The game was slowly slipping away from them the moment Axel Witsel squeezed a shot past Tim Howard in the first half to ratchet up the decibels of a partisan crowd after Steven Defour’s initial howitzer had been parried away by the American. So frustrating. Another two last night takes the number of goals Everton have conceded this term up to 18 and from nine competitive games, the only victories have come against newly promoted West Brom and Stoke. Surely that tally will be added to soon, as the squad is now back to full strength, but Everton are paying the price for stuttering in the transfer market and failing to recruit new faces early.
Draw your own conclusions as to who is at fault for that but, obviously, nobody has come out of the situation blamelessly. When fast, decisive action was required, Everton waited and waited. So, as a result, just like the cricketer who is able to pinch a quick single if he makes his mind up to run straight away but fatally dithers, the Toffees find themselves out and in a predicament few would have imagined after Newcastle United were beaten on May 11. Unfortunately, Everton are not playing anything like the side that finished the most recent campaign as the fifth best team in England and not even beating the same opposition this Sunday will provide solace for this failure. Everyone is suffering at present and the fact the team was absurdly kept waiting on the runway for 30 minutes at John Lennon Airport in the early hours because there was nobody to position steps alongside the aircraft did not help matters one jot. Yet isn’t it always darkest before dawn? Everton’s players cannot afford to wallow in self-pity any longer for, if they do, any hope of playing UEFA Cup football 12 months from now will evaporate in front of them. Chances are they will raise themselves but surely they could do with a helping hand – and that is where Moyes comes in. Time to switch the lights back on this faltering season.
STANDARD LIEGE (4-4-2): Espinoza; Camozatto, Sarr, Onyewu, Dante; Dalmat, Nicaise, Defour, Witsel; Jovanovic, Mbokani.
EVERTON (4-4-2): Howard; Hibbert (Anichebe 63), Lescott, Jagielka, Baines; Arteta, Neville (Yobo 89), Cahill, Osman; Saha (Pienaar 70), Yakubu.
Referee: Peter Sippel (Germany)
Attendance: 27,406
Standard 2, Everton 1: Night in hell leaves dark winter ahead
Oct 3 2008 by Chris Beesley, Liverpool Daily Post
EVERTON faced up to their own version of football ‘hell’ last night as their first round European exit was greeted by the sight of thousands of opposition fans waving red and white scarves in delight. Standard’s bear pit Stade Maurice Dufrasne is situated opposite a gargantuan dark steelworks which looks like it contains the devil’s own furnaces. However, it is a proper football ground with a proper football atmosphere – two elements often far too lacking in sterile Premier League encounters these days. Everton’s travelling supporters filled their allocation in a section of the gloriously steep three-tiered stands behind the goals but struggled to make themselves heard above their passionate hosts. Those same Evertonians will be wondering just where this defeat puts their beleaguered side with the last eight days going down as one of the darkest periods in Moyes’s six-and-a-half-year reign at Goodison Park.
A Carling Cup defeat to an under-strength Blackburn has now been followed up by a derby defeat to Liverpool in which Everton struggled to muster a single shot on target and this early European exit leaves the prospect of a bleak-looking winter ahead.
With no silverware to chase until January at least when the FA Cup – a competition they have been knocked out of at the first hurdle for the past two season – begins, Everton need to seriously knuckle down and try and get some vital Premier League points on the board if they’re even going to challenge for European qualification again next season. A fourth consecutive Premier League home defeat to crisis club Newcastle on Sunday would be a disaster but Moyes’s side need a win with games against Arsenal and Manchester United on the horizon – tasks made even more daunting with the suspension of Tim Cahill. Although there have been many ups and downs during Moyes’s reign at Goodison Park, overall Everton have enjoyed a major upturn in fortunes as a club. But following a record high Premier League points finish to clinch fifth place five months ago, hopes were high that the foundations of success last season could be seriously built on over the summer. Yet all supporters have been met by is a seemingly never-ending stream of disappointments whether they be setbacks in the transfer market, off-the-field upheavals, the failure to secure their manager to a new long-term contract and of course, crushing blows in terms of results for their team. On a night on which there was no room for sentiment, Everton manager David Moyes dropped Joseph Yobo on his return to the Stade Maurice Dufrasne after the Nigerian defender scored an own goal against his former club in the first leg. Leighton Baines came into the side at left-back with Joleon Lescott, who had struggled against Liege’s pace in the full-back position at Goodison Park a fortnight ago, switching to the centre. There was also no recall for Ecuadorian midfielder Segundo Castillo who netted on his home debut in the side’s initial meeting as captain Phil Neville remained in central midfield while Tony Hibbert continued at right-back.
Knowing that his side needed to score if they were to stand any chance of progressing, Moyes switched his formation from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 with Marouane Fellaini suspended against his former club and Louis Saha stepping up to start up front alongside Ayegbeni Yakubu.
Everton, like all visitors to these parts, were given a hot reception on their arrival by a set of home supporters who are far and away the most vociferous in the Jupiler League. Although Standard are their country’s third-most successful club behind the more fashionable Anderlecht, based in cosmopolitan capital city Brussels, and Brugge – dubbed ‘The Venice of the North’, their hard-edged image is more Jean-Claude van Damme or Pat van den Hauwe than the cheery image normally associated with Belgium of fine chocolates, Poirot, Tintin and the statue of the little boy answering the call of nature. Going into the game with a couple of away goals to their name, Standard knew they could sit back and try and hit their visitors on the break with their explosive pace – a ploy that suited them fine. Such a ‘restrained’ approach did not prevent the opening exchanges from threatening to boil over though and home skipper Steven Defour was the most tetchy of the protagonists. Already booked for dissent when complaining furiously to German referee Peter Sippel after Axel Witsel had fouled Louis Saha just outside of the area, Defour was somewhat fortunate to stay on after some rash challenges soon after.But with a couple of tame Saha efforts all Everton had to show for their efforts before the interval, Defour played a major part with Liege’s opener on 22 minutes when they scored with their first real opportunity.
Driving forward 20 yards inside the Everton half, his stinging shot from outside the area could only be parried by Tim Howard into the path of Milan Jovanovic who lofted a hanging cross back across goal to Witsel who netted from a tight angle.
Standard continued to push forward after the interval with Dante Bonfim earning cheers for his nutmeg on Hibbert down the left wing but his cross was gathered by Tim Howard. With the tie threatening the slip from his side’s grasp, Moyes shook things up on 62 minutes, introducing last season’s European ‘super sub’ Victor Anichebe for Hibbert. The switch worked as the visitors enjoyed their most sustained period of pressure, forcing two corners in quick succession that proved decisive.
First from the right Mikel Arteta’s delivery was palmed away by Ecuadorian keeper Aragon Espinoza but Everton earned themselves a corner on the left-hand side as Anichebe’s shot from the rebound was deflected wide. From the resultant set-piece, again by Arteta, Standard were the architects of their own downfall as Espinoza dropped the ball under pressure from his own defenders and Phil Jagielka dived in to prod into the net despite Bonfim’s desperate effort to clear off his own goal-line on 67 minutes. A further adjustment saw South African midfielder Steven Pienaar, sidelined since breaking a toe in Everton’s final pre-season friendly against PSV Eindhoven at Goodison, introduced for the tiring Saha but it was Standard who crucially went on to score next, restoring their lead with 12 minutes to go. Baines was left cruelly exposed as Jovanovic played a quickfire one-two with Dieu Mbokani and clipped the Serbian earning Standard a penalty. Jovanovic dusted himself down to take the resultant spot-kick himself, which he dispatched just to Howard’s right and although the American guessed correctly, the ball flew over his diving body and off his hand. Everton understandably piled men forward in the latter stages with one last effort but despite some more jitters from Espinoza they were unable to find a second goal to take the tie into extra-time. However, after feeling the heat in ‘hell’ it’s the cold, dark winter ahead with nothing to play for that will now be leaving Evertonians scared stiff.
Standard Liege 2, Everton 1 (Aggregate 4-3)
Oct 3 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
AS he was about to begin one of the most galling post mortems of his Everton career, a switch was flicked and the lights went out on David Moyes. The press room inside Stade Maurice Dufrasne was hopelessly over crowded, many waiting to hear Moyes’ verdict on his side’s latest setback, but, in an instant, the drama was taken out of the situation thanks to one clumsy individual. It was a scene that summed the situation up to perfection. Having started this campaign with such high hopes, Moyes now faces the challenge of preventing Everton’s season from plunging into total darkness.
Out of the Carling Cup and languishing in the lower reaches of the Premier League, being dumped out of the UEFA Cup – at the first hurdle – is the unpalatable situation with which Evertonians are facing today. There is no real ignominy in losing over two legs to Standard Liege; this Belgian side look poised to make their presence felt in the UEFA Cup and it has been well noted in these parts how they were unfortunate against Liverpool. However, it cannot be stressed enough just now how much of a body blow to Everton the 4-3 aggregate defeat is; everybody at the club wanted another adventure similar to the one that took them from Ukraine to Italy via Germany, Holland and Norway. Now, though, a bleak midwinter beckons. The only rewards on offer are Premier League points and while Moyes is right to suggest they will always be the priority, it will be scant consolation when the group stages begin later this month. Everyone knows how eye-catching progress in two knockout tournaments improved Everton’s domestic form 12 months ago, so it is nderstandable why some will be fearing a lack of matches may prove so problematic now. Trips to the Reebok Stadium and the JJB – Everton’s only night games between now and January – simply do not have the same mystique as, say, jaunts to the San Siro, Mestalla or the Amsterdam Arena – jaunts they could possibly have had.
This, then, is where Moyes must work the oracle. He will understand more than anyone how wretched this start has been and, inevitably, it will continue to torment him for some time – but that misery needs masking; his players, after all, need cajoling back to form. That said, it won’t be easy. Given how desperate he is to bring a piece of silverware back to Goodison Park, Moyes will be aghast that two chances have slipped away before the clocks go back and particularly by the manner in which those defeats have been suffered. To start examining why Standard Liege rather than Everton will be in next week’s Nyon draw, cast your mind back two weeks to events at Goodison. Yes, the Toffees were the victims of a contentious refereeing decision here – Leighton Baines seemed to get a toe to the ball when he challenged Milan Jovanovic only for referee Peter Sippel to feel otherwise – but, in reality, they were masters of their downfall. Sloppy and slovenly defending presented Liege with a chance to grab two away goals and Laszlo Boloni set his team up expertly to defend that advantage. Try as they might, Everton had no guile to break down the walls of red with which they were confronted. “We let ourselves down in the first leg and gave ourselves too much to do,” agreed Phil Jagielka, who had given Everton some hope when he scored in the second half. “We played well but their tactics were to play in the counter and they won the game.” When they were needed, neither Mikel Arteta nor Leon Osman created a chance of note for Ayegbeni Yakubu or Louis Saha and it was only when Steven Pienaar was pitched into the fray that Everton started to stretch their opponents. The game was slowly slipping away from them the moment Axel Witsel squeezed a shot past Tim Howard in the first half to ratchet up the decibels of a partisan crowd after Steven Defour’s initial howitzer had been parried away by the American. So frustrating. Another two last night takes the number of goals Everton have conceded this term up to 18 and from nine competitive games, the only victories have come against newly promoted West Brom and Stoke. Surely that tally will be added to soon, as the squad is now back to full strength, but Everton are paying the price for stuttering in the transfer market and failing to recruit new faces early.
Draw your own conclusions as to who is at fault for that but, obviously, nobody has come out of the situation blamelessly. When fast, decisive action was required, Everton waited and waited. So, as a result, just like the cricketer who is able to pinch a quick single if he makes his mind up to run straight away but fatally dithers, the Toffees find themselves out and in a predicament few would have imagined after Newcastle United were beaten on May 11. Unfortunately, Everton are not playing anything like the side that finished the most recent campaign as the fifth best team in England and not even beating the same opposition this Sunday will provide solace for this failure. Everyone is suffering at present and the fact the team was absurdly kept waiting on the runway for 30 minutes at John Lennon Airport in the early hours because there was nobody to position steps alongside the aircraft did not help matters one jot. Yet isn’t it always darkest before dawn? Everton’s players cannot afford to wallow in self-pity any longer for, if they do, any hope of playing UEFA Cup football 12 months from now will evaporate in front of them. Chances are they will raise themselves but surely they could do with a helping hand – and that is where Moyes comes in. Time to switch the lights back on this faltering season.
Man of the match: Phil Jagielka
Built on his impressive display against Liverpool with another solid effort; Phil Neville and Leighton Baines also stood out.
STANDARD LIEGE (4-4-2): Espinoza; Camozatto, Sarr, Onyewu, Dante; Dalmat, Nicaise, Defour, Witsel; Jovanovic, Mbokani.
EVERTON (4-4-2): Howard; Hibbert (Anichebe 63), Lescott, Jagielka, Baines; Arteta, Neville (Yobo 89), Cahill, Osman; Saha (Pienaar 70), Yakubu.
Referee: Peter Sippel (Germany)
Attendance: 27,406
David Prentice: Everton fans must give Marouane Fellaini a chance
Oct 3 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
EVERTONIANS are masters of the knee-jerk reaction to players. Barry Horne, Dave Watson, Paul Rideout, Paul Power, Lee Carsley . . . all were signed to an Overwhelmingly unenthusiastic response – and all went on to become highly influential. Gary Lineker had to wait until five months after he had signed and a couple of goals against Sheffield Wednesday before he was, grudgingly, accepted.
I mention those signings because there are fears that Marouane Fellaini could already fall into the same category. Expectation is enormous when a player costs £15million, and as you’d expect from a 20-year-old playing in a different league among team-mates speaking a different language, Fellaini hasn’t lived up to that expectation yet, and there have been more than mutterings and murmurings from the stands.
But in trying circumstances last Saturday, Fellaini got better and better. He has the potential and the ability to become a hugely influential Everton figure.
I just hope he’s given the time and the opportunity to do so.
Riley held moral high ground
MIKE RILEY is a wretched referee. It was just good fortune that the big decisions he got wrong last weekend did not alter the outcome of the derby. But while Tim Cahill’s sending-off was yet another technically incorrect decision, morally he actually got something right. Four times Riley asked Cahill to approach him. Four times he refused. Twice Riley blew on his whistle to attract his attention. Twice Cahill feigned deafness. Once David Moyes even urged his player to show more respect and approach the official. Cahill was resolutely unmoved. Riley’s decision to apparently upgrade a yellow to a red was wholly understandable. This was a man, remember, already publicly humiliated by Ashley Cole last season. Riley often makes the most baffling decisions. But Cahill’s decision on this occasion was the most baffling.
Nuno's lottery luck is out
HAS Everton’s search for new investment really come to this? Nuno Valente reportedly held up a supermarket queue for 20 minutes this week, while he had 100 lottery tickets checked out. Sadly, he wasn’t a winner. Time to get back onto Anil Ambani again.
WE CAN’TCRUMBLE
Oct 3 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
LEIGHTON BAINES today insisted Everton’s players won’t let the season disintegrate - as he took responsibility for the penalty that ended their UEFA Cup dreams. The Blues were knocked out of a cup competition for the second time in just over a week last night – a 2-1 defeat in Belgium was enough to send Standard Liege through to the group stages 4-3 on aggregate. But, not for the first time, Everton were seemingly on the wrong end of a refereeing decision, as Peter Sippel pointed to the spot after Baines and Milan Jovanovic came together with the tie delicately poised at 1-1. Jovanovic subsequently converted the spot kick, despite television replays showing clearly that Baines had got a toe to the ball, but he felt German official Sippel made the correct decision and now wants to put the incident behind him. “I was trying to help cover but he (Jovanovic) has seen me coming over to tackle and he’s basically been quite clever to get the penalty,” he said. “I couldn’t get out of the way in time and that’s why I held my hands up to show I wasn’t going for the ball. “Unfortunately, it’s just one of those things. It’s the first time I’ve ever given a penalty away in my career and I know I couldn’t have picked a worse place to do it. It wasn’t the best thing to happen, but you have got to move on from it. “There is no consolation for being out of Europe. It is so disappointing to have gone out this way, but we have all got to stay as positive as we can.” Everton get an immediate chance to start atoning when they face Newcastle United at Goodison Park on Sunday, and he believes the first shoots of the team’s recovery started to surface during a blood-and-thunder tussle with Liege. “It’s not been like it was last year,” Baines accepted. “Things are much harder. But I think we played a bit better against Liege than we have been doing and I think there were little signs that we are coming back into things. “We were speaking on the plane coming home amongst ourselves and a few of us said that we feel much better. There was more confidence and comfort in the way that we were playing and we’ve got to use that as a positive. “We are out of two competitions and the FA Cup doesn’t start until January, so we have got to make sure we have a right good go at the League. We have got to be spot on for every match we play.” Baines returned to the starting line-up in place of the dropped Joseph Yobo, but, even though he tried to add width down the left, he admitted that Liege’s stifling tactics spelt trouble for the Blues from the start. “They were really difficult to play against,” said Baines. “They set up and let us attack. They had nine or 10 men behind the ball at all times and it was near enough impossible to get through that at times.”
David Moyes: My future is with Everton
Oct 3 2008 Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES insisted he sees his long-term future at Everton - despite last night's UEFA Cup exit adding to his early season problems. The delay over signing his new contract has created an air of uncertainty at the club and Moyes admitted the situation may be affecting his players. But after last night’s 2-1 defeat in Liege, he said: “No one has a divine right to win football games. You have to earn the right to do so.
“Managers can get into situations where it can be hard, and I have had it before. That’s your job. “There’s no manager in football who thinks they have an easy ride, that’s for sure. That’s part of it. But I want to stay.” Moyes was non-committal, however, when pressed on when he will sign his new deal, saying: “There might be a timescale, something might happen.” Then when asked to assure supporters he would stay at Everton, Moyes replied: “The supporters have known that for a long time.”
Moyes felt Liege captain Steven Defour should not have been on the pitch prior to his contribution for the opener after vehemently confronting referee Peter Sippel.
Defour was furious at a decision that had gone against his side, and just stopped himself short of shoving Sippel. Instead, the German only issued a yellow, and then shortly after failed to spot a foul on Ayegbeni Yakubu that could also have warranted a caution. “You can’t run up to a referee and do that in his face nowadays. We all know that,” said Moyes. “In England you’re not allowed to do what he did. Maybe in Europe it’s different, but I thought they were stricter. “I thought he should have been sent off for his reaction, and then for him not to be sent off for the professional foul on Yakubu was unbelievable. “If he (Defour) had been sent off it would have made a difference because he had the shot that led to their first goal. “We were playing well against 11, so against 10 we would have had more space.” Blues goalscorer Phil Jagielka turned his focus to improving the team’s domestic form – starting with a win over Newcastle on Sunday. “We’ll have to pick up our league form and hopefully have a decent run in the FA Cup instead,” said Jagielka, who scored his team’s away goal. The Blues defender suggested Everton’s failure to win the home leg against Standard, who pushed Liverpool all the way in qualifying for the Champions League, was a major factor in the tie. “I think we let ourselves down in the first leg, maybe gave ourselves too much to do tonight,” added Jagielka. “We played well but their tactics worked. They played on the counter and obviously won the game.” However, he was not prepared to be drawn on whether the penalty which put Standard 2-1 up on the night should have been awarded. “I’m not too sure,” said the former Sheffield United player. “We’re just disappointed he got through too easily.” But he added: “We’re disappointed, but we’ve got to kick on now for Sunday.” And referring to Moyes’ own contract negotiations, he concluded: “The gaffer will sort his own contract out in his own time. “But I’m sure he’s going to stay.”
Howard Kendall: We must target clash with Toon to turn corner
Oct 3 2008 by Howard Kendall, Liverpool Echo
THERE'S very little positivity around Everton today. But perhaps the most positive thing we can take after last night’s defeat is that we have Newcastle next up on Sunday. Quite simply we have to put everything behind us, start again and get at a team which has had a worse start to the season than ourselves. There was certainly nothing wrong with the way Everton approached the game last night in Liege.
The team selection was positive, so was the attitude, and in the end it was probably the performance in the first leg which proved the team’s undoing – that and an appallingly unfortunate cup draw. David Moyes chopped and changed his formation all evening in a bid to get back into the tie, and Tim Cahill’s position changed several times during the night. How best to use Cahill has long been a consideration at Everton, with the usual decision being to employ him behind a striker.
But I think it could work if he was used as a left midfielder. That’s not as an out and out wide player, because clearly his game isn’t suited to that, but more in the way Kevin Sheedy used to play the role, tucked in on the left. That would give a more solid look to the midfield, allowing you to play two strikers and two specialist central midfielders, but would also retain Cahill’s invaluable ability to arrive late in opposition penalty areas. Obviously that can’t happen for the next three games, and Sunday is the match we have to focus on immediately. The UEFA Cup has gone and there’s nothing we can do about it now. We have to concentrate on turning over Newcastle then turning over a new leaf for the rest of the season.
A comedy of errors
I SPOKE to Andy Gray after the derby match last weekend, and his thoughts on the Tim Cahill dismissal were very interesting. He told me that according to guidelines laid down, the referee must approach a player about to be cautioned, not the other way around. That puts Mike Riley’s behaviour in an interesting light, but also presents a comical scenario of a player retreating from a situation, being pursued by a referee like something out of a Benny Hill sketch! Whatever the actual situation, Cahill should have listened to his manager and taken his punishment straight away.
Everton might still have an influential player available for selection for the next three games.
Blues passed out in derby letdown
EVERTONIANS didn’t see what they wanted to see at Goodison Park last Saturday, and I’m not just talking about a win in the derby. They will have turned up expecting 100mph football, they will have hoped to see players pressing and harrying – and they will have anticipated an in your face, up and at ’em approach. They didn’t want to see a team retreating into its own half and Liverpool passing, passing and passing with a solitary striker unable to close them down. That’s not what you want to see in a home match, let alone a derby, and it contributed to Everton’s defeat. When Liverpool had Alan Hansen and Mark Lawrenson at the heart of their defence, they had the ability to build from the back and pass you to death. So in one derby in particular I told Adrian Heath and Graeme Sharp to mark those two man for man whenever Bruce Grobbelaar got the ball, forcing him to throw it to his full-back or kick it. It worked for us.
Good defence starts at the front, and Liverpool were far too comfortable in possession on Saturday.
David Prentice: Everton need a new brand of defiance
Oct 3 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON is a club in desperate need of a lift today. And David Moyes can provide it with one flourish of his right hand. But less Evertonians will be inclined to celebrate the Blues’ boss signing a new contract this morning, after a spell which has seen expectation replaced by demoralisation at Goodison Park. It’s all relative, of course. And that this demoralisation has been caused by a struggle to sign new players, a European exit, Carling Cup defeat and a mediocre start to a Premier League season – rather than a regular battle against relegation – is testament to the outstanding work Moyes has achieved since he arrived at Everton. But after building hopes, ambitions and expectations – the last eight days have seen the wheels fall off. And Moyes has to accept some responsibility. I’m an unashamed David Moyes fan. Statistics show he is the fifth best boss in the Premier League; given greater resources he might even prove to be better than that. But all summer he has looked and acted like a man handed the cruellest of breaks. If we read between the lines (necessary because clear and open communication with the fans has not been the currency of Everton this summer) the money wasn’t in place to replace key players until it was too late, his contract offer wasn’t up to scratch and influential players were sidelined when he needed them most.
All justified reasons to moan. But good management is dealing with adversity.
And statements like: “I fear we’re not ready to start the season,” “I can’t pick a team to win a Premier League game” and “the contract issue might be affecting the players” are not inspirational clarion calls likely to lift a squad of players. Honest, certainly. Painfully, acutely honest. But perhaps not what the squad of players under his leadership needed to hear. I’m reminded of one of the low points of Walter Smith’s reign when Everton went to Coventry for a must-win relegation clash with only 11 fit players, then lost Alec Cleland and Niclas Alexandersson before the match was half-an-hour old. The day before the match Smith tired of the negative line of questioning at the pre-match press conference and rapped: “Never mind how many players we haven’t got. I want to talk about the players we have got. We’ll be alright. Don’t you worry about us.” Everton were 3-0 up before half-time. The Blues need some positive thinking and talking right now. The season isn’t over. In many respects it’s only just begun. The UEFA Cup campaign is over, so is the Carling Cup and there’s three months of free Thursday nights now before an FA Cup draw when the prayer mats will be out to pray that draw isn’t as unkind as this one. Whoever created the seeding system in the UEFA Cup must have all the credibility of an international banker today. While Manchester City, a team which qualified for Europe by virtue of not tackling aggressively, drew a team from Cyprus, and Aston Villa plucked out a side which sounds like a new wave band, Everton got the Belgian champions unbeaten in their own domestic campaign and fresh from a hard-luck story of their own in the Champions League. That was almost as unfortunate as drawing the eventual semi-finalists in a Champions League qualifier, or getting two stern Eastern bloc tests in UEFA Cup first round matches. But to bemoan the luck of the draw is to fall victim to the same malady which has afflicted the manager these last few months.
Phil Neville’s frequent rallying cries are mocked by some Evertonians, but I prefer that brand of defiance, the defiance expressed by Leighton Baines on the flight back from Liege. “We were speaking on the plane coming home amongst ourselves and a few of us said that we feel much better,” he said. “There was more confidence and comfort in the way that we were playing and we’ve got to use that as a positive.
“We are out of two competitions and the FA Cup doesn’t start until January, so we have got to make sure we have a right good go at the league. We have got to be spot on for every match we play.” After the awful run of results which accompanied Everton’s last two exits from Europe, that’s the kind of talk Evertonians want to hear.
That and the scratch of the manager’s signature on a new contract. David Moyes is still the best manager Everton have had for a couple of decades, and I hope he has learned from his experiences this summer.
Leighton Baines: Everton won't crumble after Standard Liege defeat
Oct 3 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
LEIGHTON BAINES today insisted Everton's players won't let the season disintegrate - as he took responsibility for the penalty that ended their UEFA Cup dreams.
The Blues were knocked out of a cup competition for the second time in just over a week last night – a 2-1 defeat in Belgium was enough to send Standard Liege through to the group stages 4-3 on aggregate. But, not for the first time, Everton were seemingly on the wrong end of a refereeing decision, as Peter Sippel pointed to the spot after Baines and Milan Jovanovic came together with the tie delicately poised at 1-1. Jovanovic subsequently converted the spot kick, despite television replays showing clearly that Baines had got a toe to the ball, but he felt German official Sippel made the correct decision and now wants to put the incident behind him. “I was trying to help cover but he (Jovanovic) has seen me coming over to tackle and he’s basically been quite clever to get the penalty,” he said. “I couldn’t get out of the way in time and that’s why I held my hands up to show I wasn’t going for the ball. “Unfortunately, it’s just one of those things. It’s the first time I’ve ever given a penalty away in my career and I know I couldn’t have picked a worse place to do it. It wasn’t the best thing to happen, but you have got to move on from it. “There is no consolation for being out of Europe. It is so disappointing to have gone out this way, but we have all got to stay as positive as we can.” Everton get an immediate chance to start atoning when they face Newcastle United at Goodison Park on Sunday, and he believes the first shoots of the team’s recovery started to surface during a blood-and-thunder tussle with Liege. “It’s not been like it was last year,” Baines accepted. “Things are much harder. But I think we played a bit better against Liege than we have been doing and I think there were little signs that we are coming back into things. “We were speaking on the plane coming home amongst ourselves and a few of us said that we feel much better. There was more confidence and comfort in the way that we were playing and we’ve got to use that as a positive. “We are out of two competitions and the FA Cup doesn’t start until January, so we have got to make sure we have a right good go at the League. We have got to be spot on for every match we play.” Baines returned to the starting line-up in place of the dropped Joseph Yobo, but, even though he tried to add width down the left, he admitted that Liege’s stifling tactics spelt trouble for the Blues from the start. “They were really difficult to play against,” said Baines. “They set up and let us attack. They had nine or 10 men behind the ball at all times and it was near enough impossible to get through that at times.”
Everton boss David Moyes: I'll sign new deal
Oct 4 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES will finally commit his future to Everton this weekend – as he sets about the task of building a side that can compete in Europe once again.
After months of speculation about whether the Everton manager would walk away from his current contract, which expires next June, Moyes has reached an agreement with the club on a new, long-term deal. He will dot the i’s and cross the t’s on the paperwork once his legal team have cast their eyes over it for one last time and that will finally bring an end to a saga which has cast a dark cloud over Goodison Park this summer. Moyes insisted that walking away from the post he has occupied since March 2002 was never an option as he believes Everton can build on the foundations that are in place. “I am here,” Moyes confirmed. “I will sign a contract with Everton very shortly, maybe before the weekend is out. Things are with the lawyers.” Losing in Liege was the lowest point of a troublesome start to the campaign, especially as it came on the back of defeats against Liverpool and Blackburn Rovers, but Moyes has moved swiftly to deny his team is regressing. “We are only just starting,” he said. “We have had a down but what I need to do is find more players to add to the squad. I’m at a great club with good players. I feel I can fulfil my ambitions here. “There is nothing rotten here. The board’s ambitions are as high as mine. The one thing I have had is fantastic backing from Bill Kenwright. Every penny he’s been able to give me, he has done so.” There is little doubt Moyes has been distressed by results since the beginning of the campaign but he has urged the Blues to go into the international break on a high by beating Newcastle United at Goodison tomorrow. “This week has been a horrible week of results,” Moyes said. “The cup, then the derby and then Liege. Has it made me low? Well, I’m terribly disappointed. But what am I going to do? I’m going to turn around and fight. “I think I needed European football last year. The players needed it to. We have lost it and it is something we need to get back. But it is going to be very hard this year because of the level of investment at certain clubs.
“But isn’t that the way we’ve done it over the six years I’ve been here? I think the structure that myself and the board have got in place has got Everton in a good position and that will be the structure that we continue to follow.”
Mikel Arteta: No place like home when you’re too blue to smile
Oct 4 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
MIKEL ARTETA is normally one of the most bubbly characters in Everton’s squad but his expression as he boarded flight LS6214Y on Thursday night spoke a thousand words. Running the torment of the Blues’ early exit from UEFA Cup through his mind over and over again, the Spaniard slumped into his chair, let out a long, deep sigh and told a fellow passenger: “No smiles. Not today.” As someone who relished everything involved with playing European football, it is no wonder the little Spaniard was unable to stomach losing to Standard Liege, especially as defeat came so quickly after Everton were dumped out of the Carling Cup by Blackburn. When you consider that a derby reverse was sandwiched in the middle, these past 10 days have brought a catastrophic sequence of results that leaves Everton’s season hanging precariously in the balance. Having worked so hard over the past 12 months to secure another European campaign, the emptiness that will inevitably be felt in the next few weeks is likely to prove hard to shake off. However, it cannot be a fatal blow to ambitions and tomorrow David Moyes’ side have the first chance to atone; Newcastle United – once a football club, now a circus – arrive on Merseyside and Arteta knows they must be beaten. “We tried as hard as we could in Liege and we left everything on the pitch,” said Arteta. “But it was hard again as we conceded a goal against a good team. We can’t keep doing that when we play sides who are well organised. “It feels like everything we did last year has gone. I’m so, so disappointed. We all are. But now we have got a big game against Newcastle, then we have Arsenal and Manchester United. We need to get a lift now and start winning at home.” That last sentiment is particularly relevant. If you had suggested that Everton would have opened the new campaign with three straight defeats at Goodison Park after Newcastle last visited in May, nobody would have thought it possible. However, Blackburn, Portsmouth and Liverpool have all subsequently ransacked Everton’s home to damage morale but, as Arteta points out, this is where Everton’s famed team spirit needs to kick in.
You only need look at Newcastle to see what happens when there is a lack of harmony in a dressing room and it would be fatal if the Blues allowed results to get on top of them; it is encouraging, then, to hear Arteta stress that is not an option.
“We need togetherness,” he said. “Disappointing each other is not going to be helpful to anyone now. We have got to stick together – us with the manager, everybody. We need to try to start winning games. “I don’t think we are too far away. It’s not like we are conceding four goals every game, like three years ago when we were knocked out of Europe early. It is small details making us lose games. “Everyone is fit and we need to get a run of games where we all play together. We have to change things immediately on Sunday. We have got to start winning games at home because it hasn’t been good so far. “There’s no point telling everyone how bad we are feeling. We are all low but tomorrow is another day. We have to think that we can turn it around on Sunday. That is the reason why we get paid. Saying things are bad won’t help us change the situation.” Nor will it improve the mood. Laughs have been few and far between at Finch Farm almost since the Blues returned to pre-season training in July and, as Arteta accepts, changing that outlook is now a matter of urgency.
So, in many ways, Everton have the perfect opportunity to redress the situation against a Newcastle team that has been in freefall since Kevin Keegan quit over a point of principle five weeks ago; they even look beaten in warm-ups. That said, football is not a game in which you can take anything for granted; the only way Everton will get back on track is by working hard, cutting out the ruinous mistakes and staying together as a unit. Only then will the mood be lifted. “We all need something to smile about,” Arteta noted. “It’s not just the fans. We want to get something back from all the effort we are putting into games. We are training hard, playing hard – we are doing everything we can to get good results. “When you try hard, it turns for you. I know we have got strength (of character) here. We stick together as a team and I have no doubt that will continue to be the case. The lads who have been here longest have to help the new players settle. “They are going to find this situation a little bit strange compared to what they thought they were coming into when they signed. “To start winning at home would be massive - for us, the fans, everybody. “That can be what changes the whole season.”
Barry Horne: Everton showed lack of balance
Oct 4 2008 by Barry Horne, Liverpool Echo
I HATE to say I told you so . . . I earmarked this period of the season as a potentially defining spell when the season first started, and feared that the lateness of the squad additions and the hint of panic buying about their acquisition, could be damaging.
That has proved to be the case. I was working at Manchester City on Thursday and, driving to the match, was delighted to hear the Radio5 commentators enthusiastically praising Everton’s start. However, when I arrived home and watched the game on tape, I couldn’t help but think they had misread the situation. Everton had a lot of possession, but Standard Liege had a strict gameplan and controlled the match, safe in the knowledge that they didn’t have to score. There was a similar situation at City, where Mark Hughes was spectacularly ruthless in his approach with a 45-minute spell where he didn’t disguise the fact that he would have been delighted if neither team scored a goal. Liege looked equally content to sit and hold Everton at bay, until one of their counter attacks paid dividends. Everton looked unbalanced from the off.
The first thing I do when I assess a team’s chances at the start of a game is to see how balanced they are, whether they have right-footers and left-footers in the right positions, the right height in the right areas and pace where it counts.
I don’t think Everton had the right balance from the start on Thursday.
It’s a peceived wisdom now that you don’t get the best out of Tim Cahill in a 4-4-2 and David Moyes was forced to rejig his midfield several times during the match.
Whatever he tried didn’t work.
Ready to call the Toon
I HAVE always said that what goes on off the pitch at boardroom level does not affect footballers. It never affected me when I was playing, and I’m sure it doesn’t affect players now. The boardroom upheaval at Newcastle, however, has been anything but normal. They are a club in absolute disarray and the players would have to have superhuman mental strength for it not to have drifted through to them.
Hopefully Everton can take advantage of that tomorrow.
Times are worrying
ANY one of the hundreds of fans who questioned Lee Carsley’s value might now be beginning to appreciate just exactly what he did. It’s one of the most undervalued and unrecognised roles in a football team and Cars performed it with incredible discipline and efficiency. I presume Segundo Castillo was brought in as a short-term replacement, but it’s a big worry that he was brought off at half-time at Blackburn and didn’t feature in the derby or against Liege. It’s equally worrying that Marouane Fellaini also produced a lethargic performance at Ewood Park then in the derby looked drained and out of his depth. The obvious person to compare with on the day was Steven Gerrard, who touched the ball more than anybody else in his side and gave the ball away less than anyone. These are worrying times.
Marouane Fellaini needs time to settle down at Everton
Oct 4 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
PATIENCE is a virtue sadly lacking in modern football but the haste with which some make judgements now continues to take the breath away. During the aftermath of last weekend’s derby defeat, messageboards and forums were awash with myriad topics relating to the Liverpool game but one particular strand stood out like a beacon. Its title? ‘Fellaini worst ever Everton signing’. Before we examine that staggering claim, let’s just throw a few names into the ring to see who could vie for that title. Off the top of the head, how about Glenn Keeley, Danny Williamson, Marc Hottiger, Per Kroldrup and Claus Thomsen? Just three games into his career on Merseyside and already the likes of Grumpy of Goodison and Disillusioned of Dingle are ready to write Fellaini off as a dud, believing David Moyes has squandered £15m.
Everyone, of course, is entitled to their own opinion. That is what makes football the game it is and if people genuinely feel that the Belgium international won’t make the grade on Merseyside, fair enough. Surely, though, dismissing Fellaini as not being fit to lace the boots of that old warrior Alex Nyarko is a knee-jerk reaction in the extreme? What worries in this scenario is that the 20-year-old is apparently being made scapegoat for all Everton’s ills this season. The more rational supporters, of course, won’t do anything of the sort and they will understand that it is going to take time for Fellaini to become accustomed to the Everton way and understand Moyes’ preferred style of play. He may be built like a giant but that masks the fact that Fellaini is only a young man and in the past four weeks he has moved house, jobs and come to a country where he does not speak the language. That’s not much to cope with, is it? When you throw into the equation that Moyes has been forced to blood Fellaini in a team struggling for form and bereft of confidence, is it any wonder he has not looked like the imposing presence who dominated Liverpool’s midfielders in the Champions League? If he was uncertain during his first two appearances against Stoke (surely he has never played in a match so bewildering as that one?) and Hull, there were signs against Liverpool seven days ago of what he can do. Strong, a capable passer of the ball and blessed with an ability to pop up in dangerous positions near goal – he had an excellent conversion to chance ratio for Liege – Fellaini recovered from a shaky start and got better as the game progressed. He will almost certainly get a chance to build on that when Newcastle visit Goodison tomorrow and skipper Phil Neville, for one, has no doubt that Fellaini has the ability to come good.
“Marouane is picking up English much better now,” he said. “We are talking to him all the time. It is never easy moving to a new club but it’s been really tough for Marouane as he has got to get used to a new culture and a new style of football, too.
“Another thing that has made things difficult is the fact our form hasn’t been what it should be. It’s been a lot for him to cope with. But you can see in training that he is a top player and I’m sure he will go on to make an impact for us. We have faith in him.”
One hopes that the majority of supporters do too. He, after all, was the heartbeat of the Standard Liege side that dumped Everton out of the UEFA Cup on Thursday and was widely acknowledged as their best player. When you consider how impressive the likes of Steven Defour, Wilfried Dalmat, Dante Bonfim and Axel Witsel were against the Blues, it is obvious Fellaini is a player of considerable talent. He is not the finished article – name a player who is at 20? – but to rate him as the worst ever Everton signing already is ludicrous. Fellaini had nothing to do with the fee Everton paid for him – at least give him the chance to prove his worth.
End of the road for a very special Hall of Fame
Oct 4 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
THE Gwladys Street Hall of Fame first opened its doors in 1999 to 125 exclusive members. Since then a further dozen have been admitted. But in March, it closes its doors for good. David France, who originated the Hall of Fame concept, has moved to Vancouver and is taking a back seat from Everton commitments, while Brian Snagg, who has continued to promote the raucous gatherings in recent years, is also ready to call time on the uproariously successful evenings. As a result, just four more heroes will be inducted into the Hall of Fame, from a short list of 20. And you can decide their identity. More than 2,000 ballot cards have already been distributed to different royal blue organisations and fan clubs. Fans will also be able to cast their votes shortly via the better independent websites. But a handful of votes have already been counted, revealing the following patterns (only the top four are inducted remember): Duncan Ferguson (17), Kevin Campbell (11), David Unsworth (11), Mike Trebilcock (9), Ian Snodin (9), Graham Stuart (9), Pat van den Hauwe (8), Gary Lineker (7) after missing out on four previous ballots!, Tony Kay (7), David Weir (7), Peter Beardsley (6), Bill Kenwright (5), Andrei Kanchelskis (4), Alan Harper (4), John Bailey (4), Nigel Martyn (4), Paul Rideout 3, Martin Dobson (2), Joe Parkinson (1) and Tony Cottee, who is still waiting for his first vote! The results will be announced in early January and the boisterous induction of the four new members will take place at the 11th and Final Hall of Fame Dinner scheduled for March 19 at the Adelphi. Tickets will be available from Brian Snagg at 07747-011014 on a first come first served basis.
Last year’s dinner paid tribute to the one and only Alan Ball. Barely 12 months previously, he had stood at the Adelphi Hotel and delivered a stirring tribute to his friend and skipper. Just five weeks later Ball had joined his old team-mate in the sadly growing gallery of Everton greats looking down from above. Last year’s gathering was emotional, and echoed the previous year’s event when Ball paid tribute both to Brian Labone and his own enduring love affair with Everton Football Club. Bally told his audience: “I asked my father how I could win the Evertonians over and he said ‘Give them 110% every time you put the shirt on and the fans will love you.’
“He was spot on. There is so much pride when you put that Blue shirt on, it’s fantastic.”
Everton 2, Newcastle 2: Defence causes concern again
Oct 6 2008
YOU wouldn’t have blamed David Moyes for knocking on Joe Kinnear’s door last night to ask if he could borrow one of his x-rated tirades. He could certainly make good use of it after watching his Everton side self-destruct in spectacular style yesterday, even by this season’s remarkably low standards. Everton looked all set yesterday. They were cruising at 2-0 after 35 minutes, with Mikel Arteta marking his first game as captain with the opening goal from the spot and Marouane Fellaini scoring for the first time since his club record move from Standard Liege in the summer. Without Tim Cahill and Phil Neville, and inspired by Steven Pienaar’s first start of the campaign, the sky was blue and it was finally looking like a good day to be a blue. But then the air turned blue – and this time it wasn’t Kinnear doing the cursing. The former Wimbledon manager must have been disappointed to have missed both of his team’s goals – he left his seat to get to the dressing room before Steven Taylor headed the first in first-half stoppage time, then after the break hadn’t returned to it by the time Damien Duff swept in the equaliser. But Moyes must have wished he’d been elsewhere too to spare him the pain of witnessing yet more defensive disasters. They are costing him dearly at the moment and have been all season as he now endures his longest run without a clean sheet of his Goodison reign.
They have robbed him of UEFA Cup and Carling Cup commitments to bulk up the winter schedule and they have contributed heavily to a sluggish start in the league – yesterday’s was the first point against a side that wasn’t promoted from the Championship last season. But a visit from Newcastle really should have turned the tide and brought a first win in six games. The last time the Toon Army descended on Goodison the hosts shot them down to secure fifth place, European qualification and a record Premier League points total. In the four months since, the fact that the fortunes of Newcastle have somehow nose-dived even more spectacularly than their hosts’ made them ideal opposition for a side desperate to shake off the unease and nervousness that has dogged their defensive displays since their last meeting.
But they still couldn’t do it. And it once again fatally undermined what was for long periods a vibrant and pulsating attacking performance.
Bizarrely, both of the key lapses involved a failure not to pick up Duff or Michael Owen – but Taylor.
Just as that one-sided first half was fizzing out to its natural conclusion he was allowed to roam from his right-back slot to the left side and, although Geremi’s cross seemed over-hit, Taylor reached it to head in off the underside crossbar.
Then barley a minute had elapsed after the restart when Taylor found a space wider than the void Mike Ashley has left in the St James’ Park boardroom and he squared for Duff to provide the kind of punishment for loss of concentration Everton have suffered so much of recently. It’s the overall effect of the errors that is most galling, however. For example, had they just held out for a few seconds before Taylor scored, Moyes would probably have had to deliver his easiest team talk of the season. In fact, at five words long, it would also have been his shortest: “More of the same, lads.”
And even at 2-1 up, if Everton had taken that advice on board in the second period they could still have registered their first home three pointer of the season.
But that would have meant Taylor’s intervention was merely a blip, a pot hole on the rapid road to the victory Everton sought to help turn their fortunes round – but the concession of a goal isn’t something they are dismissing easily at the moment.
They are allowing it to sap confidence and with the ever-dwindling Goodison faithful not slow to exercise their right to show their anxiety over the whole situation, it’s clearly eating into the players’ ability to hold their performances together.Which is a shame because in the early stages those performances were comfortably some of Everton’s best of the season, certainly at Goodison Park, where they set out to avoid losing all of their first four home league games for the first time in 50 years.
That ignominy looked like being easily swept aside as, with Cahill suspended, Moyes’s decision to play two up front with Pienaar installed on the left paid instant dividends. Strikers Yakubu and Louis Saha both had decent chances to break the deadlock before the opening goal in the 17th minute, after a hasty lunge by Nicky Butt on Leighton Baines gave Howard Webb little option but to point to the spot.
Arteta might have been a surprise choice as captain but at least it gave him the authority to take the ball off Yakubu, with the Nigerian’s pathetic attempt to beat David James in the home defeat to Portsmouth still fresh in his mind.
And Arteta proved he made the right call when he coolly sent Shay Given the wrong way. Everton then had a triple escape when Tim Howard saved from Duff and Danny Guthrie before Taylor’s shot was blocked on the line by Baines. But the left-back wasn’t finished there as he also set up the second when his cross was met by Fellaini’s right leg – which seemed worth the record fee alone when it stretched to beat Given and volley in off the bar. Everton were so on top at this stage, it was always going to take something out of the blue to change the pattern of the game and Taylor’s header seemed a surreal end to a 45 minutes in which Newcastle were generally awful.
But goals change the face of games and for Everton they are currently having Leslie Ash-style consequences. They lost their lead thanks to Duff but more crucially, given that there was still a full half of football left to play, they lost their grip on the game as a whole. Where there was a buzz and brightness about everything they did early on, the search for a winner was depressingly devoid of ideas. Once the nerves – which almost led to Saha slicing into his own net shortly after United equalised – had settled a bit, the lively Leon Osman did go close to restoring the lead by forcing Given into a fine near-post save. But it was the away side who came closest to a winner when Charles N’Zogbia seemed set to round off a fine move by sliding into an open goal – but Baines had other ideas and slid in to clear brilliantly. In a late flurry, Victory Anichebe curled just wide, as did Shola Ameobi at the other end, and Given held Yakubu’s injury-time header after a fumble. But by this time there was a desperation that few would have bet being there during the distant memory that was yesterday’s first half. So if Everton can’t win this one after being two up against a side trying to avoid a sixth successive defeat, when will the they win? Arsenal away in a fortnight’s time? Manchester United the week after? Time for some defensive work in this international break, then.
Everton 2 Newcastle 2
Oct 6 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
AFTER a hastily arranged meeting, British broadcasters have made two additions to items which cannot be shown before the watershed – interviews with Newcastle United’s manager and Everton’s defending. If Joe Kinnear startled the general population by cramming 52 expletives into a five-minute tirade, residents in the Blue half of Merseyside are increasingly feeling the need to use industrial language after watching their team play. Unable to keep a clean sheet for love nor money, each damaging lapse at the back that has been suffered during this wretched campaign has lit a bonfire of profanities among increasingly bewildered supporters.
This should have been a report that hailed Everton’s return to winning ways.
We could have easily been extolling the virtues of a jaded squad that shrugged off its exit from Europe with an encouraging dismissal of a Newcastle team that has become a laughing stock. Instead, here we are once again going over old ground.
Laughs, sadly, are in short supply around Goodison Park at present and that is simply down to the fact that David Moyes has seen his defenders become generous in the extreme to opposition forwards. It cannot go on any longer. In the space of 49 days, Everton have squandered a run in the Carling Cup, frittered away their hopes of another UEFA Cup adventure and now have a mountain to climb in the Premier League due to a horribly out of sorts rearguard. Newcastle should have been sent packing yesterday on the back of a hiding but instead their journey home was filled with regret; having been let back into what had been a one-sided contest, Kinnear and Moyes knew they could have nicked it. How incredibly infuriating – and not just the defending. Seeing Everton’s confidence ebb away as the clock ticked down was just as alarming. There is clearly much for Moyes to do before his team returns to action at the Emirates Stadium on October 18. In truth, it was a day of surprises, starting with Moyes’ decision to make Mikel Arteta skipper in the absence of the injured Phil Neville. Not for the first time, though, being handed the armband had an immediate, galvanising effect as the Spaniard could be seen offering words of encouragement from the first whistle and displayed great composure to fire his side into the lead.
Nicky Butt’s ridiculous tackle flattened Leighton Baines as he tried to get on the end of a pass from Osman, referee Howard Webb had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Arteta did the rest, sending Shay Given the wrong way from 12 yards.
Having made an encouraging start to the campaign, there can be no disputing that Arteta’s performances dipped dramatically in the games against Liverpool and Standard Liege, so it was important that he responded in a positive fashion here.
Moyes, quite rightly, expects an awful lot from Arteta – it’s all very well turning it on against the sides that are meant to be seen off comfortably – but if handing him the captaincy when Neville is out of the team brings the best out of him, he may well stick to it. Getting Arteta firing on all cylinders is obviously a priority – there is definitely room for improvement on this showing – but, arguably, it is just as important to have Steven Pienaar back up to full speed as quickly as possible. Bright and busy on the ball, Pienaar was at the hub of everything positive Everton did in the opening 45 minutes, the pick being his back-heeled pass that Baines then helped on to Marouane Fellaini, who stretched out a leg to score from six yards. That should have been the signal for Everton to pocket a much-needed three points in style and, given the disarray which currently embroils their opponents, it was not unreasonable to expect the hosts to go through the gears. Not so. In many ways, it all looked too easy and that must go some way to explaining why the defence switched off for the umpteenth time this campaign to present Newcastle with a gift on the stroke of half-time.
“It changed my mood, it changed the crowd’s mood and it changed the players’ mood. We were all anxious from a game that we were in total control of,” said Moyes. “We were cruising and I was about to go in to do a positive speech, but then we conceded.”
Again. The inability to keep a clean sheet has, quite frankly, become such a serious problem now that it is threatening to develop into a full scale crisis – if you don’t stop the opposition scoring, you can forget all hope of winning football matches consistently. Conceding such a poor goal on the stroke of half-time was unforgivable – Yakubu squandered possession, Geremi picked out Steven Taylor and he did the rest – but to gift Newcastle an equaliser within 50 seconds of the re-start was utterly deplorable. Again there was nothing slick or clever about Newcastle’s build up play but Butt’s pass down the line gave Taylor a chance to cause chaos with a cross and Damien Duff smashed home while Everton’s back four was at sixes and sevens.
Normally, we would try to conduct an analysis of what is going wrong but, in reality, you will have read about the failings of Everton’s defence on these pages every Monday since August 18. It is alarming, then, that nothing has changed since.
Had it not been for the impressive Baines making two superb goal-line interventions – if the first from Danny Guthrie before half-time was good, the second to thwart Charles N’Zogbia was even better – the situation would be a lot worse than it is today.
Now, thankfully, there is a lengthy break and there is little doubt that much work will be done on the training pitches at Finch Farm to get things back on track. But if the mistakes keep occurring when they return, this is going to be one long winter.
D-Day for Everton star Leon Osman on knee op
Oct 6 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
LEON OSMAN was set to find out today if he needs an operation to cure his long standing knee problem. The Blues midfielder was meeting Everton’s medical staff to determine whether he needs to go under the knife during the international break.
Osman has been troubled by the knee since the start of the season, training sporadically during the past month, and it could be that surgery is the only remedy.
Osman hopes to receive a definitive answer once he undergoes tests but there is no cure for the frustration he feels after yesterday’s 2-2 draw with Newcastle.
“I hope I don’t need an operation, as I haven’t missed a game lately,” said Osman, who has played in all Everton’s games this season bar the 3-0 home defeat against Portsmouth on August 30. “But we’ll have a look today and tomorrow and see what happens. If I need surgery, so be it. But, if I don’t, I‘ll carry on with the rehab work to keep my knee as strong as possible.” Having looked dominant for 45 minutes yesterday thanks to a Mikel Arteta penalty and Marouane Fellaini’s first goal for the club, Everton pressed the self destruct button and ended up hanging on grimly.
Once again, individual errors were to blame and Osman accepts they are the reason that Everton find themselves out of two competitions already, as well as being stuck in the wrong half of the table. “We have been struggling at home of late and everyone knows that,” Osman said. “We had not picked up any points here but I don’t think that was noticeable during the first half. We were really confident, we passed the ball around well and some of our play was really top notch. “We got the two goals we deserved and we were comfortable but, as they say, we conceded at the worst possible time. It started to go wrong from there. Things have not gone as we would have wanted. “But we have got to pick ourselves up and have a look at what is left for us during the remainder of the season. “We have got to put a run together and try to climb the table. We are starting to get people fitter in the right areas of the park now and I think it is starting to show. “Some of our play has really improved but we need to cut out the silly mistakes.” Eradicating those errors is, as Osman agrees, a necessity as once the international fixtures are out of the way, Everton return to Premier League action with a trip to face Arsenal, then a home clash with Manchester United.
“At the start of the season, we were not working together as a defensive unit,” said Osman. “We were caught out a few times. “Individual errors keep costing us and we can’t make them in the next two games. But we’re confident we can out things right.”
Blues officials, meanwhile, have dismissed weekend reports of an imminent takeover at Everton. Reports claimed that two bidders, one from the Far East and the other from the Middle East, were close to reaching agreement with chairman Bill Kenwright. But a spokesman said: “The stories are not true. “The chairman has made it clear he would listen to potential investors, but the stories in the Sunday papers are not true.”
Everton 2 Newcastle 2: X-rated display's the same old story
Oct 6 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
AFTER a hastily arranged meeting, British broadcasters have made two additions to items which cannot be shown before the watershed – interviews with Newcastle United’s manager and Everton’s defending. If Joe Kinnear startled the general population by cramming 52 expletives into a five-minute tirade, residents in the Blue half of Merseyside are increasingly feeling the need to use industrial language after watching their team play. Unable to keep a clean sheet for love nor money, each damaging lapse at the back that has been suffered during this wretched campaign has lit a bonfire of profanities among increasingly bewildered supporters. This should have been a report that hailed Everton’s return to winning ways. We could have easily been extolling the virtues of a jaded squad that shrugged off its exit from Europe with an encouraging dismissal of a Newcastle team that has become a laughing stock.
Instead, here we are once again going over old ground. Laughs, sadly, are in short supply around Goodison Park at present and that is simply down to the fact that David Moyes has seen his defenders become generous in the extreme to opposition forwards.
It cannot go on any longer. In the space of 49 days, Everton have squandered a run in the Carling Cup, frittered away their hopes of another UEFA Cup adventure and now have a mountain to climb in the Premier League due to a horribly out of sorts rearguard. Newcastle should have been sent packing yesterday on the back of a hiding but instead their journey home was filled with regret; having been let back into what had been a one-sided contest, Kinnear and Moyes knew they could have nicked it.
How incredibly infuriating – and not just the defending. Seeing Everton’s confidence ebb away as the clock ticked down was just as alarming. There is clearly much for Moyes to do before his team returns to action at the Emirates Stadium on October 18.
In truth, it was a day of surprises, starting with Moyes’ decision to make Mikel Arteta skipper in the absence of the injured Phil Neville. Not for the first time, though, being handed the armband had an immediate, galvanising effect as the Spaniard could be seen offering words of encouragement from the first whistle and displayed great composure to fire his side into the lead. Nicky Butt’s ridiculous tackle flattened Leighton Baines as he tried to get on the end of a pass from Osman, referee Howard Webb had no hesitation in pointing to the spot and Arteta did the rest, sending Shay Given the wrong way from 12 yards. Having made an encouraging start to the campaign, there can be no disputing that Arteta’s performances dipped dramatically in the games against Liverpool and Standard Liege, so it was important that he responded in a positive fashion here. Moyes, quite rightly, expects an awful lot from Arteta – it’s all very well turning it on against the sides that are meant to be seen off comfortably – but if handing him the captaincy when Neville is out of the team brings the best out of him, he may well stick to it. Getting Arteta firing on all cylinders is obviously a priority – there is definitely room for improvement on this showing – but, arguably, it is just as important to have Steven Pienaar back up to full speed as quickly as possible. Bright and busy on the ball, Pienaar was at the hub of everything positive Everton did in the opening 45 minutes, the pick being his back-heeled pass that Baines then helped on to Marouane Fellaini, who stretched out a leg to score from six yards. That should have been the signal for Everton to pocket a much-needed three points in style and, given the disarray which currently embroils their opponents, it was not unreasonable to expect the hosts to go through the gears. Not so. In many ways, it all looked too easy and that must go some way to explaining why the defence switched off for the umpteenth time this campaign to present Newcastle with a gift on the stroke of half-time. “It changed my mood, it changed the crowd’s mood and it changed the players’ mood. We were all anxious from a game that we were in total control of,” said Moyes. “We were cruising and I was about to go in to do a positive speech, but then we conceded.” Again. The inability to keep a clean sheet has, quite frankly, become such a serious problem now that it is threatening to develop into a full scale crisis – if you don’t stop the opposition scoring, you can forget all hope of winning football matches consistently. Conceding such a poor goal on the stroke of half-time was unforgivable – Yakubu squandered possession, Geremi picked out Steven Taylor and he did the rest – but to gift Newcastle an equaliser within 50 seconds of the re-start was utterly deplorable. Again there was nothing slick or clever about Newcastle’s build up play but Butt’s pass down the line gave Taylor a chance to cause chaos with a cross and Damien Duff smashed home while Everton’s back four was at sixes and sevens. Normally, we would try to conduct an analysis of what is going wrong but, in reality, you will have read about the failings of Everton’s defence on these pages every Monday since August 18. It is alarming, then, that nothing has changed since. Had it not been for the impressive Baines making two superb goal-line interventions – if the first from Danny Guthrie before half-time was good, the second to thwart Charles N’Zogbia was even better – the situation would be a lot worse than it is today. Now, thankfully, there is a lengthy break and there is little doubt that much work will be done on the training pitches at Finch Farm to get things back on track. But if the mistakes keep occurring when they return, this is going to be one long winter.
David Prentice: Everton must act fast to find pick-me-up
Oct 6 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
BORROWING a little vocabulary from their interim manager, Newcastle’s long suffering fans summed it up succinctly. “Two-nil, and you ****ed it up.”
And the big worry is that Everton have been, let’s be kind, cocking it up all season.
The Blues bounced back from Thursday’s heartache in Liege to place themselves in a winning position, against a club with an even bigger confidence crisis than themselves. Then they cocked it up. They gave away possession too cheaply on the halfway line, allowed a cross to come in from the flank too easily, and gave Steven Taylor just enough encouragement to think he could get to the ball first.
He did, and the jolt to a team’s fragile confidence the goal gave was shattering.
It’s a scenario which has been repeated over and over again this season. The Blues have given up goals with a regularity and a recklessness which is mystifying.
And every week it’s a different individual who is responsible. Yesterday Yakubu gave away possession cheaply just seconds before half-time, a few seconds after the interval it was Steven Pienaar who wasn’t switched on quickly enough.
And each lapse of concentration was punished, as it so often is in the Premier League.
The Blues have to start finding a ruthlessness and an edge to their game quickly, before jitters start being replaced by out and out panic. Just three points separate Everton from official crisis club Tottenham, and it’s a fortnight before the Blues have another Premier League fixture, away at Arsenal. The champions then come to Goodison, setting up the very real prospect of Everton entering the month of November without a home win. It’s been a dreadful start. But, sadly, one which many inside Goodison saw coming. “The start we’ve had is one that I had predicted, but I hoped wouldn’t materialise,” said David Moyes in his programme notes, citing the late recruitment of new signings and the late return from injury of several key figures as contributory factors. The summer clearly was a wretched one for Everton.
But we’re now entering autumn and Everton have to look forward. They tried something different yesterday, changing their formation, changing some personnel and even changing the skipper, in the absence through injury of Phil Neville. Sending an unlikely individual out wearing the captain’s armband is known as the Ferguson factor round Walton way. It was a catchphrase coined in 1997, in tribute to Howard Kendall’s shock decision to ask that footballing firework, Duncan Ferguson, to lead his team out against Bolton. He responded with a hat-trick. What’s often forgotten, of course, is that Kendall also asked Nick Barmby, Don Hutchison and Slaven Bilic to skipper Everton teams that season. The Blues didn’t win any of them. Mikel Arteta’s day with the armband threatened to start like Big Dunc’s, converting a penalty kick after barely 16 minutes. But it ended in Barmbyesque fashion. There were a few highlights, if you looked hard enough. Record signing Marouane Fellaini’s languid style and tall, gawky appearance means he is not that easy on the eye. But he is effective. Yesterday he broke up tackles, scored a confidently struck volley and passed precisely. Behind him, Leighton Baines has waited a long time to influence a football match like this. He won a penalty, crossed for the second and made two absolutely decisive goal-line blocks. His contributions in the opposition half were significant enough to see him walk away from the ground clutching man of the match champagne. But both Newcastle’s goals came down Everton’s left flank and it’s that balance which isn’t right at the moment. If Baines is to be allowed to rampage so effectively down the touchline, he needs to do so with the reassurance that he has adequate cover behind him. Everton haven’t got that balance right at present.
They have a fortnight’s break to work on that, but there’s nothing you can work on to try to inject confidence into players. Only results can lift sagging spirits, and Everton have to get a couple of them in the bank and quickly. Otherwise, a crisis of confidence could quickly turn into the real thing.
David Moyes: 'Fragile Everton gave Newcastle perfect lift'
Oct 6 2008
DAVID MOYES believes Everton’s “fragile” players helped Joe Kinnear drag Newcastle out of their slump in his first game in command. Everton were winning 2-0 thanks to Mikel Arteta’s penalty and Marouane Fellaini’s first goal for the club, before Steven Taylor headed one goal and created the equaliser for Damien Duff in two dramatic minutes each side of half-time at Goodison Park. It helped boost Newcastle’s confidence, and take the heat off stand-in boss Kinnear who had been slammed for his tirade of swearing aimed at the media during the week.
Kinnear managed to get through post-match interviews without swearing once and kept the lid on his temper this time as Newcastle ended a run of five successive defeats. The Magpies manager may consider that Newcastle “are on the up” but Moyes – who insists he will sign his new contract this week – witnessed another stumbling performance from his side. In the last fortnight they have been knocked out of the UEFA Cup and Carling Cup, lost the Merseyside derby and yesterday once more failed to win a first home match of the season. Moyes said of Taylor’s strike: “There’s never a good time to concede a goal. But that was bad. We gave Newcastle a lifeline. “We are a bit fragile at the moment, anxiety crept in. Even during the half-time period. “Their dressing room clearly got a lift and ours was down because we had controlled and dominated the half, so to go in just 2-1 ahead was annoying.
“We kept working hard. I know some fans were booing at the end, but they were disappointed we did not win the game.” On the issue of his contract, Moyes added: “I hope the contract will now be signed sometime next week. “We have not had the time to do it over the last few days, it will be done next week.” Kinnear praised the character of Newcastle’s players after their comeback. But he could find himself in trouble with the FA after seeming to compromise his touchline ban. Kinnear was seen passing instructions from a position in the tunnel, and first the fourth official and then a policeman made sure he left the area. He said: “I feel it is highly unlikely I will be in trouble for going down to the tunnel. I was on a mobile and could not get any reception, all I wanted to do was make substitutions and changes. “If they want to be so fickle, so be it. I was talking on the phone and the signal went. I was not on the pitch or in the dugout. “I passed on instructions to make the substitution and then left the area. I didn’t go on to the touchline, I stayed in the tunnel. “I was trying to get a point over. That’s all. I passed the information on to someone and then turned away and went back. It’s nothing as far as I am concerned.”
Mikel Arteta: Let's make the most of our break
Oct 7 2008 By Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
MIKEL ARTETA believes the latest international break has come at just the right time – and expects Everton to reap the benefits from it. The Blues’ frustrating run of form continued at the weekend, as they signed off until October 18 with a 2-2 draw against Newcastle that leaves them in 15th place in the Premier League table.
A sequence of just one win in seven games in which they have conceded 13 goals has also brought their hopes of making progress in both the Carling Cup and UEFA Cup crashing down, leaving Arteta to lament familiar failings. However, he feels that spending more time on the training ground in the next 12 days can prove beneficial and help Everton return to action at the Emirates Stadium in a better frame of mind.
“At this moment, the break could be the best thing for us,” said Arteta. “We need to have a look at what we are doing. We can’t keep giving two goals away every game. It is so hard to win in the Premier League in the first place. “But if you keep conceding so many goals, you will win maybe one out of six games. To score three goals in the Premier League is very hard. But we are making things easy for the teams we play against. We are panicking every time they get near us. “I don’t know how we are going to change things but we have got to make sure it happens fast. We are doing everything. We are looking at videos, working on the pitches, changing the shape of the team. We know it must change soon.” With Phil Neville missing the Newcastle draw due to a hamstring problem, Arteta was made Everton captain for the first time on Sunday, a decision from manager David Moyes which left him both surprised and honoured. But as much as he relished the chance to lead the team out and enjoyed scoring his side’s opening goal from the penalty spot, the Spaniard admitted the gloss was taken off the occasion by a Newcastle comeback which the Blues aided.
“It was a really nice gesture from the manager,” he said. “Some players have been here longer than me but he gave me the responsibility and I wanted to give something back. For 45 minutes we did it and we controlled the game. “We made it very hard for Newcastle, we pressed better than any time during the season but we gave a goal away too easily again and did the same at the start of the second half. “That means our concentration levels were not good enough. The first goal changed everything. It changed our confidence, it changed how we were going to start the second half. In the end, we know we could have lost it. “But we know we cannot keep playing only for 45 minutes. It’s not good enough.” Leon Osman, meanwhile, was relieved to learn yesterday that his injured knee does not need immediate surgery. The midfielder met with the club’s medical staff yesterday to discuss whether a long-standing problem could be cured by an operation. But it was decided that a period of rehabilitation during the current international break could be more beneficial.
Nigel Martyn: Everton must knuckle down and battle through it
Oct 7 2008 by Nigel Martyn, Liverpool Echo
THERE is only one thing to do when you are faced with the kind of situation Everton are currently in – roll your sleeves up and battle through. It might sound simplistic but, really, there is no other solution; having suffered such a wretched sequence of results in the past few weeks, the squad has got to stick together like never before.
When a team is making smooth progress and you are winning games here, there and everywhere, the training ground is a happy place to be. Everyone gets on with their jobs and morale is the last thing you worry about. But when you have a situation like the one we are in at the minute, it’s only natural that there are long faces, so, with that in mind, I really wouldn’t be surprised if David Moyes has a trip to the Lake District in mind like the one we went on three years ago. Being knocked out of both the Carling and UEFA Cups, coupled with the defeat against Liverpool and Sunday’s infuriating draw with Newcastle, is hopefully as low as it will get for the Blues this season and maybe this international break has come at the right time.
Of course, things won’t get any easier when play resumes – how could they with games against Arsenal and Manchester United? But it would great to see us chisel out a 0-0 draw from somewhere soon. At the minute, we don’t look like being able to keep a clean sheet and a goalless stalemate would, in many ways, have been better than the result against Newcastle as the defence would have had something to work with. The goals we conceded on Sunday came at horrible times and the first one completely changed the dynamics of the game – from feeling totally positive and in control, the jitters set in and it was worrying to see the Blues hanging on at the end.
Comfort, however, should be taken from the fact that there is still plenty of time to turn the situation around – there are still 31 games to be played, after all and you would think there is enough talent in the squad to put a lengthy unbeaten run together.
That said, it is up to the senior players to lead the way; Mikel Arteta, for example, wore the captain’s armband on Sunday and while he is not a Tony Adams, he is an intelligent guy and can inspire by the way he plays. Others have to follow suit.
Strong show a real boost for Leighton Baines
IT seems slightly ironic to praise a defender after a team has conceded two soft goals but Leighton Baines fully deserved his plaudits against Newcastle. Aside from two crucial interventions on the line, the most pleasing aspect of his display was his eagerness to get forward whenever possible and that was rewarded by him winning Mikel Arteta’s penalty and providing the cross for Marouane Fellaini’s goal.
He will be feeling much better about himself now, as there is no doubt things have been difficult since he arrived at Goodison Park; for one reason or another, he has not hit the heights expected of him regularly. But while David Moyes will also be pleased, the manager now has a quandary - he won’t want to play Leighton and Tony Hibbert in too many matches as neither is the biggest and opposing teams will cotton on to that. If David also wants to play Leon Osman, Mikel Arteta and Steven Pienaar in the same team, all of a sudden you are lacking in inches and that inevitably means somebody is going to have to make way. At least Leighton will know he has done all that he could in the last two matches and he will be hopeful of finally getting a long run in the team; to my eye, he looks like he could be a very good player.
Everton can book Euro spot again – Phil Neville
Oct 8 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON skipper Phil Neville is adamant that Everton can still qualify for Europe next season, after yesterday’s UEFA Cup draw took place with the Blues on the outside looking in. While Portsmouth drew a plum tie against AC Milan and Everton’s conquerors Standard Liege face attractive ties with Seville, Sampdoria, Stuttgart and Partizan Belgrade, the Blues are left with a increasingly difficult test to secure a third successive season of European football. They currently lie closer to the relegation zone than they are the European qualification places, but skipper Neville rapped: “Without a doubt we can still qualify for Europe. If we don’t, as players we need to take a long, hard look at ourselves. “At the moment the buck stops with the players and we have to accept more responsibility, show more courage.
“We climbed a mountain last season, and we need to show we can do it again.”
The Blues skipper accepted that losing to Liege represented a huge psychological blow to the players, but added: “It’s massive going out of Europe. People at Everton still talk about the European run of last season. Last season was the reason we wanted European football again so badly. “I think the players and the manager will miss that. But what we’ve got to do is make sure we’re in that competition next year.”
Everton’s next two fixtures pitch them against Arsenal and Manchester United, but Neville declared: “It doesn’t get any easier, but I’m a really positive person and there’s no better games in which to turn your season round . . . and we need to turn our season round. “We’re showing glimpses now that there’s some kind of form coming back. We’ve got players back now fit. “It’s now or never.” Blues players, meanwhile, rallied round record signing Marouane Fellaini after the £15m midfielder opened his goals account for the club last weekend against Newcastle.
“Marouane has been under a lot of pressure because he cost so much money,” said team-mate Stephen Pienaar. “People expect miracles, but they also have to understand he’s only 20 years old and he comes from a different country. The language and the culture is different. “He’s adapting well but it will take some time. He showed against Newcastle that he’s a good player and it will take a lot of pressure off him having scored that first goal.” Leighton Baines echoed those sentiments. “It will be great for him,” he said. “He’s got a goal and he’s shown what he’s about,” Baines added.
“It’s difficult for him. He’s not yet speaking the language and he’s in a new country, a new league, and there has to be a settling in period. It would be unfair if there wasn’t.
“We’re starting to see now on the training ground what he’s all about and I have no doubt that he is going to come good for us.”
Reserves waste a two-goal lead
Oct 8 2008 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON Reserves’ 100% start to the season was ended after they threw away a two-goal lead against Middlesbrough at the Stobart Stadium. Andy Holden’s side led 2-0 at the break but a pair of strikes in three minutes midway through the second half helped Boro claim a point. The Blues remain top and are a point clear of second placed Manchester City. Everton scored inside a minute when Dan Gosling netted the rebound from Victor Anichebe’s shot. Vaughan made it 2-0 after just 12 minutes when Jose Baxter put the striker through on goal. Keeper Carlo Nash, making his first appearance for the Blues, was rarely troubled in the first half, but two goals from Tom Craddock – the second from a penalty – levelled the scores.
David Moyes: Marouane Fellaini is more like Tim Cahill than Lee Carsley
Oct 9 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES has urged Evertonians not to expect record signing Marouane Fellaini to become a new Lee Carsley. The Blues’ boss believes the Belgian midfielder has more in common with Tim Cahill than the Republic of Ireland international. Everton smashed their transfer record when they splashed out £15m to lure Fellaini from Standard Liege just minutes from the transfer deadline at the start of last month. But after allowing midfield enforcer Carsley to leave at the end of last season, many fans have seen the six feet five inch Belgian as a like for like replacement. Moyes, however, believes that should not be the case. “People might think he was another Lee Carsley, but he definitely isn’t that. In fact he’s closer to Tim Cahill than Lee Carsley and probably combines bits of both players’ games,” he explained. “I think he has done well so far. He is comfortable in possession and is not embarrassed by the ball, that’s for sure. “He has certainly given us a bit of presence for a start, which we were short of.” Fellaini, still only 20-years-old, has grown in influence since making a winning debut at Stoke City. But Moyes admits that trying to blend new players into the team has created problems of its own. “We have not had the balance right in midfield since the start of the season, but I thought on Sunday it was the most balanced we’ve been so far,” he added, “that may be because Steven Pienaar was available again. “There’s no reason why it should be so different. The only change from last season has been Lee Carsley. “But the problem has been we have had a number of players lacking form. I thought we would have a difficult start because of the problems we had in the summer. What we didn’t expect was so many mistakes being made. “Big clubs can leave players out if they are playing badly, but at this moment in time we don’t have the numbers to be doing that.” Moyes confirmed that he hoped to sign his new contract before the Blues’ next match at Arsenal.
A deal has been agreed on, but a couple of minor details are being reworded by lawyers. Moyes hopes to put pen to paper either by the end of this week or early next week.
Leighton Baines can reach Goodison heights - Matt Jackson
Oct 9 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON hero Matt Jackson believes his old Wigan team-mate Leighton Baines can walk tall at Goodison. Man of the match last Sunday against Newcastle, Baines stands just five feet eight inches tall and has been overlooked for some matches, with manager David Moyes concerned by a lack of physical presence in his side.
But Everton’s FA Cup winning full-back, Matt Jackson, spent six years with Baines at Wigan and believes his stature should not be an issue. “He just needs a run in the first team and the chance to show what a good player he is,” said Jackson. “I must have played more than 100 games with Leighton, and I can honestly say we never had a single problem defensively with anyone outjumping him and he was never beaten once at the far post. “He was left out for the game at Stoke recently, presumably because of Stoke’s height, but then Everton got done at two set pieces anyway.
“It’s something people talk about because it seems obvious, but at the same time it’s his all-round quality which should count.” That Baines possesses quality is undeniable. A £6m signing from Wigan last summer, he made more than 150 appearances for the Latics and won 16 England under-21 caps. Jackson saw him progress all the way through from the youth ranks at Wigan. “It was clear from a very early age he was different,” he explained. “He was always an outstanding footballer, but he had a professionalism that set him apart from the other kids. “He’s intelligent about the game and is perfectly suited to play the modern full-back role which requires so much fitness. “He’s had a tough time at Everton with niggling injuries, which is so out of character because at Wigan he played week in week out no problem. “He’s very consistent and all he needs is a decent run of matches to show his quality.” Jackson, like Baines, is remembered by Evertonians as an attacking full-back involved in some iconic moments in the club’s history. During the triumphant FA Cup campaign of 1995 he scored a spectacular matchwinner at Bristol City – a day when Evertonians first began to suspect that their name was on the trophy that year – opened the scoring in the semi-final defeat of Spurs, and led the crucial break which led to Paul Rideout’s Wembley winner. But he revealed: “Actually I’m not perfectly placed to comment on the modern full-back, because I was a centre-half first and foremost! “I’d only made nine appearances for Luton at right-back when Howard Kendall signed me, and while I had a certain youthful exuberance in that role, I spent the next five years trying to persuade Howard that I was really a centre-back.
“That’s why I eventually left for Norwich, because they promised me I could go back to that position.” Now retired, Jackson is mixing media work with football liaison work for IMG, a group which includes Tiger Woods amongst its client list.
He is also studying and gets to as many games as possible. He was at Goodison Park last Sunday for the 2-2 draw with Newcastle and was impressed by his old team-mate’s display. That satisfaction was shared by boss David Moyes. “I think Leighton has improved recently and he did some good things on Sunday,” said the Blues manager. “When he first came here he was our best player for a couple of months, but then he picked up the injury, Joleon Lescott moved out to left-back and became very effective. “But young full-backs are hard to come by, especially players like Leighton who are adventurous and use the ball well. “I don’t think his physical presence has anything to do with it. Ashley Cole is not that big, but he makes up for that in other ways. “It’s up to Leighton to do the same.”
The Jury: Everton fans on the draw with Newcastle and the international break
Oct 9 2008 Liverpool Echo
TONY SCOTT, Walton
FEELING numb against Newcastle, taking a lecture from Liverpool fans and losing in Liege. Yes, it was probably one of the worst weeks in Everton's 130-year history.
We lacked guts, grit and determination in the derby with only Phil Jagielka giving 100%. He was also the only player to look genuinely hurt as the players trudged off the pitch in Liege too. The Belgian outfit were the better side over the two legs, and that's the end of it. One thing that has got me annoyed is certain fans slagging off Everton players at the match. Every fan has a moan and groan, but you can also get right behind the players too. These same set of players who achieved a record points total last season deserve some kind of support – they can only move forward with the help, support and passion of the real Everton fans.
MIKE WILLIAMSON, Leasowe
IT would be easier to write the next Harry Potter book than trying to explain what has happened to Everton this season – twists, turns, and dodgy performances all over the place! Actually, any Harry Potter novel is more believable than what has been going on at Goodison in recent times. All our troubles go back to the summer and the unforgiveable failure by the Board to back Moyes up financially and build on the “success” of last season. The failure to explain what happened, the subsequent doubts over the manager’s future, the chaotic last minute signings – all these things have inevitably had a negative impact on the players and that can be no surprise.
They want success with a club that’s going somewhere. Instead, they are probably wondering what the hell they are doing in the middle of such a shambles and if some are already thinking about getting out at the first opportunity, who could blame them?
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum. Does that phrase ring any bells, Mr Kenwright?
COLE FRASER, Litherland
I CAN’T remember the last time I was happy to enter an international break, but I think we need this one to reshape the squad and have a look at where we have been going wrong. Some may argue that we are just beginning to play some better football and that there is no worse time for a break, but I think the rest will do the players some good, mentally and physically. Saturday’s game was the most disappointing for me so far this season. To be cruising the way we were and to throw the lead away was a real blow. Tim Howard must stand up and take the blame for their first goal, he should have dealt with the cross and dilly-dallying left him with no chance. He has not looked the same player this season. I was also disappointed at a number of Evertonians who feel the need to boo the players from the pitch at the final whistle. It is clear that the performances are gradually improving, a little bit of encouragement from the terraces might go a long way.
LEE MOLTON, St Helens
IT’S been a tough fortnight for an Evertonian, how do you keep a smiling face? Part of being an Evertonian is that we bounce back and look forward to the next game with hope and optimism though. There were a few positives to take out of Sunday’s game – the return of Pienaar was very welcome as we have missed him greatly. His link-up play with Baines down the left was very good. It was also good to see Fellaini get his first goal in a Blue shirt. This will give him confidence as it must be hard trying to settle in a side struggling for confidence in a new country. We could have won the game on Sunday, we looked quite good going forward. The international break will give us time to regroup and iron out some of our defensive problems. A good solid performance is needed against Arsenal and Manchester United to stop this bad run of results. It is still early days – a couple of wins and the outlook looks a lot brighter.
The game’s history finds perfect home
Oct 9 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
THE four most prestigious prizes in UEFA history were unveiled in Liverpool city centre yesterday – with a Merseyside story surrounding every one. The European and UEFA Cups, both proudly won by Liverpool, stood alongside the European Cup Winners Cup, captured by Everton – while the European Championship trophy, claimed by Spain thanks to Liverpool striker Fernando Torres’ goal this summer, made for an enormously impressive book-end. But they weren’t even the earliest European trophies on show. That honour belonged to the Barcelona Cup, won by Everton in 1924. The silverware was the centrepiece of UEFA’s ‘Only A Game?’ public exhibition which opened at Liverpool’s World Museum yesterday.
It preceded a special VIP dinner and awards ceremony in the city last night, organised by the National Football Museum and backed by UEFA, which saw Reds legends Kenny Dalglish, the late Bob Paisley and Kevin Keegan all honoured for their part in the English game’s contribution to European football. French legend Michel Platini, Everton great Neville Southall, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and John Barnes, on behalf of Sir Bobby Robson, also attended to claim honours.
UEFA vice-president Senes Erzik, who spoke earlier at the exhibition launch, declared: “Liverpool has written some of the most dramatic chapters in the history of European football. There is no more appropriate place to stage this.”
Phil Redmond, Creative Director of Liverpool Culture Company, added: “In this city you’re either red or blue. I’m a red, but preparing for this exhibition I’ve learned about the incredible part Everton have played in the evolution of football in this city . . . something which included producing the first ever medals for a trophy winning team (in 1891) a tradition which was adopted by the rest of football.” Running until March 2009, Only a Game? is an interactive exhibition for the whole family, inviting visitors to plunge into the emotions of football inspired by a selection of prestigious artefacts, trophies and memorabilia from over 50 years of European football. The significance of some of the artefacts is outweighed by their size. Alex Stepney’s 1968 European Cup winning medal is a fragile, slender gold square, while the Thomas Lipton medal, awarded to West Auckland in 1911 for winning the first unofficial World Cup, is even smaller. The shirts won by stars like Gento, Franz Beckenbauer and Bobby Moore are more robust . . . as is the Spitting Image puppet of Eric Cantona.
The museum in William Brown Street is open from 10am to 5pm every day and admission to the exhibition is free.
David Prentice: Departing Everton fans are turning Park End into Kemlyn Road
Oct 10 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
WAY back when Anfield's Centenary Stand was still the plain old Kemlyn Road, it provided the butt of many an Evertonian joke. Anfield was usually crammed to the rafters, but only until 20 past four. For some reason known only to themselves, the Kemlyn Roaders liked to leave early. And the white seats vacated in that part of the ground would become instantly and garishly conspicuous. The early darters would shuffle to the exits in Anfield derbies, while the Everton fans chanted: “Bye, bye! Bye, bye!” even with the scores locked at 0-0. No-one ever got to the bottom of the phenomenon. Maybe it was older season ticket holders who preferred to avoid the crush at full-time. Maybe the buses weren’t as frequent down that end of the ground.
Whatever the reason, you could guarantee that while the Kop was swaying and heaving and baying, the Kemlyn Road Stand would resemble the House of Lords on a Bank Holiday Monday. But now it has a rival. And the Blues fans can’t mock any more, because the number of blue seats exposed in the Park End Stand this season, even with half an hour remaining, is Kemlyn Road-esque. There were still 28 minutes left when Fernando Torres scored his second goal in the recent derby match, yet the charge for the exits suggested Jimmy Tarbuck had volunteered to do a stand-up routine backed by Gerry Marsden. When Everton were beaten at home by Portsmouth in August, there were no boos inside the ground at the final whistle, because there was no-one left to boo. Of course it’s a football fan’s right to walk out when he likes. After all, it costs enough to attend in the first place. But it’s not as if David Moyes’ side is incapable of comebacks. They have already retrieved one 2-0 deficit this season, have come back from losing a 2-0 lead at Stoke to win the match – and under Moyes’ stewardship have enjoyed an enormous number of last minute victories.
Like the chicken and egg argument, it’s a moot point as to which comes first: Do the fans inspire the players? Or do the players fire up the fans? In 2005, Duncan Ferguson was undoubtedly the catalyst for turning Goodison into a seething, baying cauldron which saw Manchester United wilt under its furnace blast. Mikel Arteta’s glorious thunderbolt lit the blue touch paper on another incendiary evening against Fiorentina in last season’s UEFA Cup. Yet it was a Gary Ablett own goal and the very real prospect of relegation in 1994 which saw a raw, almost primeval roar rise from somewhere inside the bowels of Goodison – a noise which saw even those renowned street scrappers, Wimbledon, shrink under its power. This season, some Everton players have spoken of their preference for playing away from Goodison Park.
With fans marching out muttering with half an hour to go, that’s wholly understandable.
Baines is the right standard
AFTER the first leg of Everton’s recent UEFA Cup tie with Standard Liege, Steven Defour declared: “We targeted Everton’s left flank after watching Lescott a few times. He’s a better centre-back than left-back and we thought we could get at him.”
Leighton Baines was restored to the side for the second leg. Square pegs in round holes rarely work in football. Maybe it’s time for Baines to enjoy an extended run in the side.
David Moyes: Joseph Yobo can win his Everton place back
Oct 10 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES believes Joseph Yobo will reclaim his first team place at Everton - using the powers of concentration. One of the Blues’ most consistent performers in recent years, the Nigerian international has been axed for the last two matches.
But manager Moyes is confident the central defender will be back in contention soon.
“He will be back in the team, I am sure about that,” said Moyes. “He is disappointed because he wants to play. I expect that and understand that. “But he’s had a difficult start to the season. “We gave him, extra time off in the summer because of his international commitments, then he had an injury niggle and that’s all contributed to him not being able to reach the fitness level he wants. “With fitness comes concentration and he has missed that. He’s not really got back to the level we would have liked.” Despite his disappointment at being left out, Yobo has knuckled down according to Moyes. “I’ve not had any problems with him at all,” said the Blues boss. “Of course he’s disappointed, but he’s not been banging down my door demanding explanations. We are looking to try and find a way to get him back in.” Yobo is currently away on international duty with Nigeria, bidding to maintain their 100% start to the 2010 African Nations Cup/World Cup qualifying group campaign against Sierra Leone in Abuja tomorrow. Coach Shaibu Amodu revealed that he had visited Everton’s training ground recently during a flying visit to England, where he also met Luiz Felipe Scolari. “My visit to Everton was so successful,” he said. “It was arranged by Yakubu and we had a fruitful discussion. “David Moyes particularly pleaded with us to always make sure that his players are forced to return to them after they have been released for a National assignment. “When the players know that I have a good relationship with their managers they will hardly play pranks.” That meeting had particular significance, after Yakubu’s late return from last winter’s African Nations Cup.
Why Everton's Carlo Nash is number one for travel guides
Oct 10 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
SOME players march around like they're carrying a weight on their shoulders.
Carlo Nash does it voluntarily – on his holidays. And the Everton goalkeeper is trying to convince other holidaymakers that actually it’s a very good idea. The Blues’ shot-stopper is an enthusiastic back-packer. And along with wife Jill, he has produced a series of travel guides designed to aid the more adventurous holiday-maker who still wants to backpack, but wants to do it a little more comfortably than perhaps the average student. “Global Adventures in Style” launched the concept of “luxury back-packing” – photographer Nash taking the beautifully framed pictures and wife Jill, a doctor of marketing, supplying the written words. That has been followed up by a Honeymoon Guide, and both are selling well in book shops and on retail websites like Amazon. “I met my wife eight years ago and discovered we both had a passion for travelling,” explained Carlo. “Obviously I’m not involved with the England internationals – I wish I was – so during the close season and international breaks we try to go travelling. “We got the idea for the books waiting in reception in a palatial hotel in Dubai. “It’s one of the most stunning hotels in the world and it was going to be our last bit of luxury before we started roughing it. “We were checking in at reception with our rucksacks! It was quite funny really and that’s where we got the idea for back-packing in style. “We went from there to Cambodia and then Vietnam, where we had a bad experience from inadvertently eating sweet and sour dog. I wasn’t great, but Jill was really ill. “And that’s one of the pieces of advice we give in the first book, warning travellers about what you may end up eating in Vietnam! “During the same trip we ended up in Bali, which was on the foreign office banned list at the time because of the bomb which had gone off there, but we had a great time. It’s one of my all-time favourite places. “We were there for two-and-a-half weeks, the people were so nice and in one shop, when we bought a pair of sunglasses, the owners were in tears because we were the first customers they’d had in about a week.” Football dressing rooms can be notoriously unforgiving places, but Nash reveals: “A lot of the lads in the dressing room are coming round to the idea of back-packing. I don’t like to sit on a beach for two weeks. I get bored and have to try and find things to do. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mind relaxing for a few days, but then I get itchy feet and want to do something and the book caters for people like that.” If Nash fits an unconventional mould for a footballer, his football career has also followed an unconventional route. He actually gave up the game at the age of 14 to play tennis and go on to do his A levels. Then he picked it up again and was spotted playing non-league football for Rossendale and Clitheroe, kicking off a career which has so far taken in nine clubs. It’s the most recent move, however, which has excited Nash the most. A lifelong Evertonian, the chance to move to Goodison came as a thrilling bolt from the blue. “I’d heard of Everton’s interest two weeks before the deadline, but because I’d been on-loan at Stoke last season and done well that was also an option,” he said. “But when the Everton offer came in and I was told to go for the medical I was in cloud cuckoo land. “To support a team, and then get the chance to play for them was the best thing in the world.” Nash’s support of Everton is not a sudden marriage of convenience. He’s seen the good times – and the bad. “I lived in Bolton, but my first experience of football was actually coming to watch Everton rather than playing it. Unfortunately it was the Goodison derby in 1982!” he explained.
“My next door neighbour was Alan Wright, who was the brother of Billy Wright, the Everton defender. “He used to bring me to the home matches every week and I was lucky enough to be a regular during the glory years. Neville Southall was a big influence on me. In a way he was an inspiration for me to get into goalkeeping, then after that it was Peter Schmeichel at Manchester United.” Now it’s the figure of Tim Howard who is barring his path into the first team, but he accepts the situation.
“I knew when I came here it was as back-up to Tim Howard, which I was happy with. But obviously I want to play and we'll have to wait and see. “I knew I was scuppered in the Carling Cup because I was picked to play for Wigan in the competition at the same time as I was hearing about Everton interest! Hopefully the FA Cup will give an opportunity or two, but it’s all at the manager's discretion and I will respect his decision and just get on with it. “I just want to work hard and show what I can do, so when I get the chance I’ll be ready.”
Howard Kendall: Everton in need of a leader on the field
Oct 10 2008 by Howard Kendall, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON suffered against Newcastle because they didn’t have a true leader on the field. When Newcastle made it 2-2 early in the second half the supporters showed their frustration. I don’t blame the fans because we had lost the three previous home league games and had just thrown away a two-goal lead against a team we were expected to beat. Fans often get frustrated but it’s important as players to ensure that it doesn’t affect your performance on the field. Someone should have been strong enough to make sure the feeling from the stands was ignored but most of the players suffered. Nobody wanted the ball and passes were misplaced. In the end it could have been even worse as we were saved by two goalline clearances. Everton did very well in the first half but goals change games. If you go in 2-0 up it’s just a case of saying ‘keep it going’ but when the opposition score just before half-time your team talk changes. Confidence is clearly very low at the moment and when I found myself in a situation like that I would organise a practice game against the kids or a local non-league side on the training ground. We would end up putting seven or eight past them and it would act as a confidence boost. It was a good chance for the strikers to hit the back of the net and for us to pass the ball around against inferior opposition. In Everton’s situation something like that might just help. I don’t believe the ongoing talk about David Moyes’ contract has had any effect whatsoever on results. Players have their own contracts and that’s all they are worried about. As long as David is there for training and match days, nothing has changed and to point the finger at his contract situation is a pretty lame excuse. The internationals give Everton a break but I wouldn’t say it’s come at a good time. If you have just won three on the bounce then it’s great timing but when things are tough you can’t wait for the next game.
With no game for a couple of weeks you find yourself looking back at what’s gone wrong.
Fellaini just needs time
THERE’S nothing like scoring to win over the fans and hopefully Marouane Fellaini will build on that first strike for the Blues. When you come with a high price tag the focus is bound to be on you to justify it. That’s hard, especially when you are only 20.
When Everton broke their transfer record in recent years to sign Andrew Johnson and then Yakubu it was for strikers. You expect big prices for strikers but the fact that they paid so much for a midfielder after Lee Carsley left means the fans expected Fellaini to settle immediately. However, when you come into a side which is struggling it makes life more difficult and fans have got to be patient. Look at David Bentley – proven for Blackburn but has done nothing so far at Spurs.
Everton deny BBC sale deal claims
Oct 11 2008 by John Thompson, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON Football Club moved swiftly to deny reports that the club is on the verge of sale. The Blues played down claims reported from London by the BBC that Goodison was about to change hands. The BBC suggested an £180m deal was “at an advanced stage” and could even be struck this week-end. The ECHO understands there is no deal, nor even anything close to a bid for Everton on the table at present, though specific expressions of interest are being actively and very carefully explored.
This latest website report had suggested that Everton Chairman Bill Kenwright was poised to fly overseas for a face-to-face meeting with a potential overseas buyer.
However, Everton’s Head of PR and External Affairs, Ian Ross, confirmed last night: “Contrary to this afternoon’s media reports, the club is not on the verge of being sold and Mr Kenwright spent Friday afternoon in his London office.” Kenwright told last month’s extraordinary general meeting at Goodison that he is more active than ever in his search for new investment but would consider selling but only to the right investor. He confimed that Keith Harris of Seymour Price, a renowned expert in the field, was assisting him in trying to find a suitable buyer, a process which is continuing. The club chairman said at the shareholder meeting in early September: “I am a pauper when it comes to other chairmen. "If I can find somebody who can bring that level of investment I would sell it tomorrow. "The club has been for sale since the day I arrived. We have people out there looking for more investment because everybody knows this club needs investment. "I would like the club to have a billionaire who could support David Moyes with more money. "I don't want to be standing here in a year's time saying it’s been another tough summer. I want to have everything you want, be it a Russian, an American or a Sheikh. "Then I would stand down and give you that because I want David Moyes to have the money. I want you all to have a billionaire - it's not me and I apologise it’s not me."
Phil Neville: I won’t quit on England
Oct 11 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
PHIL NEVILLE insists he hasn’t given up hope of winning his 60th England cap – despite watching tonight’s World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan at home on TV.
The Everton skipper won the last of his 59 caps against Estonia last October, but despite another Fabio Capello squad being named without either him or brother Gary, he said: “I’d like to think Gary and I haven’t got our last England cap. “I’m not unduly panicking about the situation at the moment because under Sven I was out of the squad for eight or nine months after the World Cup in Japan. “It’s about your performances on the pitch and I need to do more now to convince the new manager that I’m worthy of a place. “It was one of my aims at the start of the season that I wanted to get back in that England squad because I’d love to work with a great like Fabio Capello.” Neville insisted that he would never turn his back on his country and call time on international football, like team-mate Nuno Valente did recently.
“I’m never going to retire from international football. The day I stop playing football is the day I won’t be available for England,” he said. “I just need to make sure I give myself the best opportunity to play for my country. “Capello’s picked players who are older than me so it’s not an age thing. I just need to make sure that my performances get better.” Everton team-mate Joleon Lescott has been in recent Capello squads, and with England skipper John Terry sidelined today with a back injury, Lescott could be in line to win his sixth cap at Wembley Stadium. “I’m really pleased when I see the likes of Joleon called up,” Neville added. “They’re in the early stages of their international career and I know what it’s like. Every squad announcement is a massive thing for them and it’s still massive for me. “But experience tells you you will get your chance again and you gave to make sure you take it. “When I’m not involved I still watch every England game. I support the lads and when they produce a performance like they did in Croatia it makes you proud to be English. “Everything builds up from Wednesday onwards. I’m patriotic. I love my country and I love it when I see players walking out to represent their country. “I’ve done it and I know how hard it is and I have every respect for them.”
DAVE PRENTICE: How does Captain Arteta compare?
Oct 11 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
CAPTAIN MARVEL or Captain Cock-up? Mikel Arteta’s first experience of the captain’s armband was a mixed one. He scored the opening goal against Newcastle, then saw the Geordies come back and snatch a damaging draw. But how does Arteta rate in the gallery of Goodison skippers? Looking back at the past decade or so of Everton captains, there have been some interesting choices. We highlight the Captain Fantastics, the Captain Sensibles . . . and the odd Captain Cock-ups.
DUNCAN FERGUSON: Undoubtedly an inspiring leader. His selection as skipper against Bolton in 1997 was a masterstroke of psychology by Howard Kendall. Ferguson scored his only Everton hat-trick, and during the run-in to that traumatic season played through the pain barrier to produce a series of inspirational performances. However (there’s always a ‘but’ with Big Dunc – no pun intended) . . . he was sent off after 15 minutes in a home game against Derby wearing the captain’s armband, which the Blues lost, and was wearing the armband when he tried to strangle Stefan Freund. Nevertheless . . . a Captain Fantastic.
GARY SPEED: Regardless of what some Gwladys Street regulars think, Gary Speed was one of the most passionate, professional and inspiring skippers to lead the club in recent years – encapsulated by his performance and last minute penalty in a vital win at Leicester. Definitely a Captain Fantastic.
NICK BARMBY: Howard Kendall handed him the armband three times in 1998, clearly hoping for a Ferguson-type reaction. Everton lost 2-1 at Southampton, edged past Blackburn 1-0 then self destructed at home to Aston Villa 4-1. Captain Cock-up
SLAVEN BILIC: Led the Blues in a home match against Newcastle. The Blues drew 0-0, but at least he wasn’t sent off. Captain Caveman.
DAVE WATSON: Led the Toffees in exemplary fashion for season after season after season – including the last time a Blues skipper ascended the Wembley steps to raise a piece of silverware. Undoubtedly a Captain Marvel.
MITCH WARD: Yes really. Led the Blues out at home to Oxford in a League Cup tie in 1999. Everton lost 1-0. Captain Scarlet (faced).
DON HUTCHISON: Was a better skipper than many expected, once he realised that squaring up to Richard Gough during a match wasn’t a good idea. Captain Kremmen.
CRAIG SHORT: Only skippered the Blues once – in a disastrous home match against Sheffield Wednesday that saw two own goals and a defeat which left the Blues teetering over a relegation precipice. Captain Calamity.
DAVID UNSWORTH: Not only led the Toffees out at White Hart Lane, but also converted two penalties in the same match. Led the team out again on the opening day of the following season at Leeds, was back on duty against at the Lane . . . in another 3-2 defeat, then was skipper at Bristol Rovers in an infamous Cup upset. Never got to do the job at Goodison Park until his testimonial. Captain Courageous.
RICHARD GOUGH: Perfect captaincy material, although started with a 5-1 defeat at Old Trafford! Was also in possession of the armband for a 4-0 win at West Ham, though. Captain Dan Dare.
JOHN COLLINS: Was skipper at the tail end of the 1999-2000 season, starting with a 4-0 walloping of Bradford when he scored. Captain Sensible.
DAVID WEIR: Quiet, undemonstrative, but hugely respected . . . which is why he was in possession of the armband for several seasons. Captain Marvel.
KEVIN CAMPBELL: Proudly named Everton’s first black captain in 2001, he celebrated with a stunning performance, Walter Smith’s side winning a vital match at Coventry with only 11 fit senior pros. Was handed the job full-time at the start of the 2001/02 season, when the Toffees were tipped for the drop, and kicked off with seven points out of nine. Captain Fantastic.
ALAN STUBBS: A photofit of what an Everton captain should be. A boyhood Blue, fiercely proud of his side and an excellent organiser. His first match at the helm was a seven goal thriller at White Hart Lane, with the Blues on the receiving end, but recovered to enjoy a successful spell. Captain Marvel.
There you go. Not a comprehensive list by any stretch of the imagination, but food for thought. Send me your thoughts at my Echo e-mail address.
Hopeful that Mikel Arteta rumour mill is not about to kick into gear
Oct 11 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
IT’S all gone quiet on Mikel Arteta . . . until now. After months of rumour, counter-rumour and speculation about Arteta’s imminent return to his Spanish roots, a new contract seemed to spike those stories for good. But if Guillem Ballague’s website is anything to go by, they look set to surface again. Sky TV’s regular Spanish football pundit wrote this week: “There is something that worries me and it should be a concern for Everton fans as well. “Mikel Arteta is a player that needs to see the ball, needs to play it, to caress it, to receive and to give it again and again. Yet, for some reason - and please tell me why you think this is - Everton have stopped playing that kind of football. “I have had few chats with David Moyes in the past about his vision for the team. He told me that he used to learn from the movements of the full backs in La Liga (particularly Barcelona) and their tactical relationship with false wingers like: the best way to utilise Arteta. “The Everton coach loves the game as it should be played – he knows that if it is all long balls and second balls, then there is no control: without control any team can beat you. “On the other hand, the defenders of the route one philosophy would say that, equally, you can also beat anyone playing it their way. However, without keeping possession you are entirely dependant on luck: on the bounce of the ball, the height of players, and countless other superficial things left to chance. “For many years David Moyes has been telling me that he wanted his teams to own the ball and that he wanted his sides to dominate possession – even though he felt he couldn’t do it against the big teams and Everton have always been bit more pragmatic in those fixtures. Fair enough. “But now Everton seem to have forgotten the reasons why they bought Arteta. And if Moyes doesn’t change things around and get the team playing in a way that allows the players and the team enjoy itself, I wonder just how long Everton can keep Arteta happy? “I guess it’s all down to Everton. The club is at a crossroads and David Moyes and his staff need to decide upon which direction to go: route one, or the less direct, but more scenic route. “That will influence whether or not Arteta remains happy – and if Arteta is not happy, then it is inevitable that Spanish clubs will try and poach him. They may not be able to offer him more money, but if they promise him more football…” Just idle musings from Guillem? Or the product of a conversation with Mikel himself? Let’s hope it’s the former.
Brave Isabella could prove the key to Everton scaling heights
Oct 11 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON skipper Phil Neville has endured a torrid first seven weeks of the 2007/08 season. But he doesn’t have to look far for inspiration. Daughter Isabella has just taken 15 unaided steps for the first time, after being told by doctors she may never walk. And the Blues’ captain admits his feisty four-year-old helps him to put his football fortunes in perspective. “She’s a determined little character; she’s an inspiration,” he declared. When she was 18 months old Isabella, who suffers from cerebral palsy, suffered a stroke and was rushed into hospital. Neville reveals the torment he and wife Julie went through. “For eight weeks we had to leave her behind at the hospital,” he explained, “but one day I’d left Julie there and I was driving home when I got the call saying I had to come back because she was 96 per cent breathing on a machine. “That tells you she wasn’t very well and the whole journey back there I was fearing the worst. “When I got there she’d got down to a 70 per cent reading so she had improved, but from that point on she just got better and better. “That was probably the scariest moment. “But when the doctor tells you she’s got cerebral palsy and she might not walk, walking for me and my wife became the most important thing, to try to give her life some normality. “When they told us, we totally restructured our whole house to give her the best opportunity. “We put rails up, ramps everywhere and actually we forced her to walk. We made it impossible for her not to walk. “We never allowed her to sit down and we never allowed her to accept what the doctors said might happen. “For about three to six months she could stand up, holding a rail, then she just set off and it was one of those moments you think ‘I’m dreaming this.’ “When she did it again, we phoned all the family and relatives to come round and it was like putting on a show. “The more praise she got the better she got. Sometimes in life if you want something that badly you have to get it. “We force her to do things which are probably unrealistic and we are hard on her, but it’s the only way she’s going to get better. “It puts everything else into perspective, without a doubt. People say when you have kids your whole perspective changes, but when you have kids and one of them has been seriously ill then sometimes a defeat doesn’t seem that bad . . . although at the moment football does seem bad, but it does put it into perspective.” Does Isabella’s determination come from her dad? “I hope so,” laughed Phil, “although I think a lot of it is from Julie.” The pair have committed themselves to help raise £20m for the Manchester hospital which helped their daughter.
They have already hit the £15m mark, and Neville hopes that he can use the lessons he has learned from his daughter to help turn round Everton’s season. “I thought it was an unrealistic target, but it’s amazing with the right kind of support what can be achieved,” he added. “It’s the same with football. We’ve got Arsenal and Manchester United next, so it doesn’t get any easier, but I’m a really positive person and there’s no better games in which to turn your season round . . . and we need to turn our season round. “We’re showing glimpses now in the last two or three games that there’s some kind of form coming back, we’ve got players back now fit. “It’s now or never.
“At the moment the buck stops with the players. We have to accept more responsibility and we have to show more courage. “We climbed a mountain last season, but it’s always a question of whether we can climb that mountain again . . . and the moment we’re not doing. We need to make sure that we can.” Neville knows exactly where to turn for inspiration. Isabella has already scaled Everest and is looking for other peaks to conquer. And the Blues skipper hopes he can mimic that attitude.
BARRY HORNE: Sepp out to curb English power
Oct 11 2008 by Barry Horne, Liverpool Echo
OUR old friend Sepp Blatter has been pontificating again this week about the financial problems facing football. But his comments seem to be wholly pointed at English clubs. His first concern appeared to be the level of debt which exists in the Premier League – and his ill-thought through solution was to urge UEFA pal Michel Platini to ban clubs from European competition should they take on board an excessive level of debt. I can’t help but suspect his comments are nothing to do with the greater good of football, but more likely designed to whittle away the power of English clubs in Europe. He has a track record for that, of course. While there clearly has to be a concern about the level of debt some of our clubs have taken on, you also have to appreciate they operate in a free market economy. You can’t suddenly impose some arbitrary halfway house where you step in and say ‘okay, you can only have debts of x amount.’ For a start, clubs would see that as a restraint of trade and illegal. Those clubs with debts rely partly on success in Europe to bring in more money to service their debt. Banning clubs from Europe would clearly exacerbate the problem, rather than prevent it. And while Sepp seems to be talking specifically about English clubs, he seems to have conveniently overlooked or forgotten the way Real Madrid conduct their business, and the financial problems they have had in the past, the way Juventus are bankrolled and the influence Silvio Berlusconi exerts at AC Milan where his club is effectively state backed. The other point Sepp has been keen to make regards the quota system. He seems to think he will get permission to introduce the concept, despite the presence of Freedom of Movement of Labour laws in Europe.
Even if he can overcome that obstacle, though, I have news for Mr Blatter.
The big clubs in this country have already taken steps to satisfy the home grown criteria by recruiting players at younger and younger ages. The likes of Chelsea and Manchester United have been scouring the world for 18 and 19 year old talents for years. Once again Sepp Blatter has proved highly adept at trying to close a stable door, long after a particular horse has bolted. Happily Everton are one of the clubs unaffected by Blatter’s proposals. The Blues have operated prudently within a debt which is manageable and, this summer apart, have largely looked to the English market for their players. They can safely ignore Blatter’s comments. Although I suspect that goes for all of us.
Dragons will benefit from Dean’s wisdom
I WAS delighted to see that ever popular Evertonian Terry Darracott back at one of my old clubs, Wrexham, this week. Terry will take charge of Wrexham on the days manager Dean Saunders has international commitments, which Dean obviously has over the next few days. The players who work with Dean for both club and country will do well to listen closely to him. He’s an intelligent lad generally, but he also has a very bright football brain and has tried to absorb lessons from all the managers he has worked with. Anybody who thinks Saunders has only operated at the privileged end of the football spectrum should appreciate the sacrifices he has made and the work he has put in during the best part of a decade at less fashionable clubs. He was released by Swansea, given a free by Brighton and also came through a career threatening injury which he had to manage for the rest of his caree. To keep going after setbacks like that requires a lot of determination, hard work and faith in your own ability – something I know Dean never lacked. Players will do well to listen to him – and I’m pleased to see him getting his chance in management.
Past Masters: Howard Kendall left on the England sidelines
Oct 11 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
THIRTY-SIX years ago this morning, Everton skipper Howard Kendall was waking up with a tingling sense of anticipation. “Kendall has never been so near to an England cap, the achievement of which is one of his greatest footballing ambitions,” wrote the Daily Post on October 11, 1972. But the reporter added: “Yet, with only one man to drop out, he cannot be sure of the prize. “Sir Alf will blood at least four new caps. He named 12 players last night and five of the party have still to make their full appearances for England.” Kendall, crushingly, was left out of Sir Alf Ramsey’s side which drew 1-1 at Wembley against Yugoslavia. Horace Yates wrote: “It was a night of celebration for Joe Royle, the Everton centre-forward, who not only scored his first goal for England, but looked the part in everything he did. The crowd roared their acceptance of this bustling, dynamic new leader. “On the other hand it was a night of tragic disappointment for his club skipper Howard Kendall. “Left out of the original 12, he watched the game from the substitutes’ bench. He saw the Yugoslavs make two substitutions, but opportunity passed Kendall by.” His words underlined how difficult international caps were to come by under Sir Alf. Kendall’s hopes hinged on the fitness of Manchester City’s Colin Bell, who had injured a calf in the previous weekend’s match with Wolves. Bell was named fit to start, and in a display of how cherished England appearances were, completed the full 90 minutes. Not everybody in the country in 1972 cherished England internationals, however. The same night saw a number of League Cup third round replays take place. Liverpool overcame West Bromwich Albion the night before, after extra time, while on the Wednesday night Leeds overcame Aston Villa to earn a fourth round clash at Anfield, Manchester United were humbled at home by Bristol Rovers and Spurs were held by Middlesbrough. The same week Tranmere Rovers gave a full debut to a “19-year-old local player brought to Prenton Park from Wallasey by Dave Russell and transformed from a striker.” That player was Les Parry, still at Prenton Park today and who has now been transformed into a highly respected physio. His debut saw Rovers held 1-1 by Halifax, Alan Duffy scoring Rovers’ goal and “Les Parry acquitting himself well in his first full League game.”
Marouane Fellaini has our support says Mikel Arteta
Oct 13 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
MIKEL ARTETA today backed Marouane Fellaini to emerge from a shaky start to life at Goodison Park and show his true colours. The Blues’ record signing has had difficulty adjusting to life in the Premier League since his £15m move from Standard Liege but signed off for the latest international break with a goal in the 2-2 draw against Newcastle United. Fellaini showed the benefit of that experience when scoring for Belgium in their 2-0 win over Armenia on Saturday and will be hoping for more of the same when his country tackle European champions Spain on Wednesday.
Arteta hopes that will mean the 20-year-old return to Merseyside later this week with confidence and he can start to show his full potential when Everton resume their campaign with a trip to Arsenal. “When you come to a club you are overloaded with information early on but it becomes even harder to settle when everything is not right,” said Arteta. “We are trying to explain every single thing to him – about the videos he sees, the meetings we go to, situations on the pitch – to try and help him settle. But his attitude has been very good. “He is starting to improve. He is talking a little bit more, he is working hard. It is not easy when you come to a club and the club is not in its best moment. “He needs some credit for the way he is trying to adapt. He has got the ability to score a goal, he has got stature at set pieces to cause problems and hopefully he can help us with that.” With Fellaini having language difficulties, Arteta – as one of the few players in the squad who speaks fluent French – has had a key role to play in helping him settle and, perhaps, influenced David Moyes’ decision to make the Spaniard captain against Newcastle. Whether he retains the armband at The Emirates Stadium will depend on whether Phil Neville has recovered from a hamstring strain but, either way, Arteta has promised to do his bit to help Everton end a sequence of six games without a win. “I have been captain a few times before – once with Paris St Germain when I was 18 and I captained some of the national teams too but it was a surprise to be made Everton captain,” said Arteta. “I am a foreign player, so maybe it would have been natural to give it to somebody else. But it was a great honour and I really enjoyed the experience to lead out the lads we have here. I just wish we could have got the win for everyone at the club. “To represent them on the pitch is a pleasure. When the team is playing well and the confidence is up, everything comes easy. At the moment it has been hard but we all need to stick together to turn things around.”
Everton fans launch Mikel Arteta for England campaign
Oct 13 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
A GROUP of Everton fans have launched a campaign to win Mikel Arteta an international call-up . . . for England! The Blues midfielder has regularly won Player of the Year awards since moving to Goodison from Glasgow Rangers in January 2005. But his high class performances have never earned him a single call-up to Spain’s squad. Now a group of Evertonians have taken matters into their own hands.
A hard core of fans have started a “Mikel Arteta for England” campaign on the internet, with more than a hundred already adding their names to the list.
Arteta qualifies for England early in 2010 under the five-year residency rule, when he would be eligible for England’s build up to a hoped-for World Cup finals appearance.
Portuguese playmaker Deco is a high profile beneficiary of the rule, the Brazilian winning 56 caps for his adopted country, while Arsenal keeper Manuel Almunia is also hoping to take advantage of the system. Arteta has to remain uncapped by his native country in order to qualify, but with the Spanish midfield currently consisting of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas, Xabi Alonso, Marcos Senna and David Silva, that situation looks likely to continue. Arteta has regularly been linked with a return back to Spain, which would undoubtedly boost his chances of an international call.
But he has stayed loyal to the Blues with the faithful now wanting his commitment to the club rewarded. An Everton spokesman said: “This campaign was started by one supporter who believes that if Spain don’t want Mikel then we in England do.
“So far this fan has been joined by more than a hundred other supporters and the campaign list is growing by the day.”
Everton boss David Moyes signs new deal
Oct 14 2008
DAVID Moyes has finally ended all speculation about his future by signing a new five-year deal. The Everton manager, who moved to Goodison Park from Preston in February 2002, has maintained throughout the summer that it was case of ‘when’ not ‘if’ he would put pen-to-paper and he has stuck to his word. Though the issue has dragged on longer than many would have liked and led to suggestions Moyes was thinking of moving elsewhere, he is determined to see through the job he has started.
With the vast majority of his squad on long-term deals, Moyes felt it was only right he stuck by them and he is delighted to have finally resolved the outstanding issues so he can now concentrate solely on improving results. “There have been many different things for different reasons,” said Moyes. “But we are here now and the big thing for me is that I am at Everton, as far as I am concerned, for another five years and the job is to make us better than we have been. “I am really excited and really pleased. I am pleased for everybody, I’m pleased for myself and my family who were desperate to get it signed and secured and it is always what I wanted to do. “I have enjoyed my time here so far and I am looking forward to the next part as well. There is definitely a consistency at the club, players and staff know what they are doing. It’s a great football club and I am privileged to be the manager.” Blues chairman Bill Kenwright brokered the deal, which runs through to the summer of 2013, and he said: “There have always been two people – myself and David – confident that the long-term future of the manager would eventually be secured. “The signatures of those two people are now on a contract. I am obviously very pleased that the contract, that I’ve always believed to be the most important, is now concluded.”
Tim Howard: Work is key to revival for Everton
Oct 14 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
TIM HOWARD believes there is only one solution that will turn Everton's ailing season around - hard work. The Blues have endured a hugely disappointing start to the new campaign and have failed to win in their last six games – a run which has seen them dumped out of both the UEFA and Carling Cups. Added to that, they have failed to keep a clean sheet so far, and things are not going to get any easier as they face back-to-back games against Arsenal and Manchester United after the international break. Howard, though, is refusing to accept that Everton will go under during this difficult time, insisting the spirit in the dressing room will ensure that the situation is turned around sooner rather than later. “We have struggled, it’s no secret. It’s kind of hard to take because it’s the same team that finished fifth last season,” he said. “The team spirit has been good but the performances just haven’t been there. “I think we’re all kind of pulling in the same direction. We’re trying to get it right. “The manager is plugging away the same way as we are. He’s staying on top of us and trying to encourage us to keep pushing forward. “We have to keep going and put things right.”
Howard has been away with the United States in the past week and helped his country take another step closer to the 2010 World Cup finals when they beat Cuba 6-1 in Washington at the weekend. But he will be back in time for the clash with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday. With the US sitting on top of their qualifying group, coach Bob Bradley has left Howard off his roster for tomorrow’s game against Trinidad & Tobago. Meanwhile, Steven Pienaar hopes to take some of the burden off Everton’s strikers by improving his goal return. The South African had 14 assists last season, but only found the net twice, and wants to rectify that matter. “I need to score more goals,” he said. “It’s something I am working on. If I can contribute five goals in the Premier League a season then that would be an achievement for me. The last two seasons have been a drought for me in front of goal.”
Keith Harris: I will find a buyer for Everton
Oct 14 2008 By Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
KEITH HARRIS, the man who has brokered some of football’s biggest takeover deals, has spoken for the first time about his belief that he will find a buyer for Everton. Harris, the chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce, was contacted by Blues chairman Bill Kenwright earlier this year to see if he could unearth an individual or group with the capability to invest heavily in Goodison Park.
Kenwright has made no secret of his desire to sell his majority shareholding and told shareholders at an EGM last month that he wanted to give them “a billionaire” to help Everton compete at the highest level. But he has told Harris, who played a huge role in bringing Roman Abramovich to Chelsea and Randy Lerner to Aston Villa, that any potential investor must have Everton’s integrity at heart if they are to be taken seriously. “Bill is passionately clear it is is going to be someone who really does care for Everton in the future,” said Harris. “Bill has been very straightforward. First and foremost he is the most enormous Everton fan.” Indian tycoon Anil Ambani has been linked with a bid for the Blues, while there were erroneous stories last weekend suggesting that Everton’s £180m sale was imminent, but Harris has confirmed that he still is looking for the person with the right credentials. “It is not going to be hot money or people who want to do all sorts of strange things with it,” said Harris. “It is somebody who is going to carry on the tradition. A big talking point has been the ground and you have heard Bill come out on that. “It is very difficult for clubs to compete at the highest level if they can’t get 55,000 or 60,000 people to come to watch them.”
Liverpool Reserves v Everton Reserves: James Vaughan and Victor Anichebe fired up for derby
Oct 14 2008 by Dominic King and Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo
JAMES VAUGHAN and Victor Anichebe will lead the line tonight as Everton’s reserves aim to continue their unbeaten start to the season. Though manager Andy Holden intends naming a young side for the mini derby clash at Warrington’s Halliwell Jones Stadium (7.00pm), he has every faith that his players will put in another bold showing. While Liverpool’s second string have lost both their opening fixtures against Manchester City and Sunderland, Holden’s side beat City and Hull last month, before drawing 2-2 with MIddlesbrough at Widnes a week ago.
But despite the differing form of the two teams, Holden is expecting a typically robust encounter and believes it will prove to be beneficial for those youngsters who are trying to catch the eye of David Moyes. “These boys are on a learning curve and our job is to make sure that they are fully prepared if the manager ever feels the need to call upon them,” said Holden. “But, saying that, this is a game against our neighbours and there will be no quarter given. “Vaughany, Victor and Jose Baxter have all been in and around the first team squad. But they need to be playing games. The same applies to Dan Gosling, who is coming back from injury and little ‘JP’ (John Paul Kissock). They need to get some matches under their belts. “That’s why this is the perfect game for them. There will be a few tackles flying in and it will be a proper derby match. It should be a good contest and I’m sure anyone who goes to watch it will find it quite entertaining.” As pleased as Holden has been with the start Everton have made to the campaign, he is demanding an improvement at the back. Last week against Middlesbrough they threw away a two-goal lead. “Some of our defending has been suspect and we need to tighten things up at the back,” said Holden, who is now being assisted by Blues’ stalwart Alan Stubbs. “On the plus side, our attacking has been good and long may that continue.” Meanwhile, Holden’s opposite number, Gary Ablett, is adamant that Liverpool – last season’s reserve league champions – will leave their early season blues behind and couldn’t think of a better match in which to start showing their true capabilities. “We are better than what we’ve shown so far,” said Ablett. “There’s a massive amount of room for improvement, but the boys have shown they want to put it right. As a staff we’ve been trying to put a few things right.
“We’ve had to look at ourselves and the training methods, and look at the attitude of the boys to see if that's any different. Every now and again the boys need geeing up. The attitude of the majority is absolutely fantastic but they need to perform to their maximum day in, day out, in here.”
NIGEL MARTYN: Doubts that crept into David Moyes' mind
Oct 14 2008 By Nigel Martyn, Liverpool Echo
HOW long is too long to stay at a football club? It is a question that David Moyes appears to have asked himself during the summer but any doubts he may have had were quelled by the wise words of Sir Bobby Robson. And he will not be the only person to have taken sound advice from that doyen of the game. You can understand why slight doubts may have crept into his mind. After all, David has achieved a lot during the six-and-a-half years he has been Everton manager and will have wondered ‘what next?’ after last season’s terrific campaign. The challenge he faces this time around, though, is slightly different than before. This Everton team is evolving, a work in progress and it may not be until spring when you really start to see these players at their best. There are a number of factors to considered. Marouane Fellaini, for example, is not a Lee Carsley. He doesn’t read the game like Cars did nor does he sit back and offer the defence protection but he is superior in that he gets into the box and seems sure to score more goals. Every player is different and that means there is going to be an impact on how the team performs as a whole. It has changed significantly since my days at Goodison Park yet it still has strengths that will never alter, such as defiance and an ability to play in the Premier League. But, clearly, there are a number of things for David to consider as he brings this team along. Does he stick with Ayegbeni Yakubu and Louis Saha up front? Is 4-4-2 the formation that will bring Everton most success? He has tried the orthodox system before and I vividly remember the discussions we used to have when James Beattie first arrived at the club – when David named what appeared to be his best 11, it looked on paper a team that could get plenty of positive results. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work and we had to revert to the lone frontman with Tim Cahill bombing in from behind to score goals. Maybe that will be something the manager will think about once again. Results, after all, cannot suffer and while David will know just how lucky he is to have the support of a patient chairman, he will be anxious to get on an even keel soon.
Gunners test no mission impossible
A TRIP to the Emirates Stadium is not the easiest assignment a team will face during the course of a season but it is by no means impossible. Hull, of course, have just staged a smash-and-grab raid on that part of London and the one thing that Everton will have to be this weekend is resilient and clinical if they are going to repeat the trick. On present form, though, you may scoff. The point is, though, you never know what you are going to get with Arsenal. They are clearly capable of playing some of the best football in Europe and have a crop of terrifically gifted players; in the right mood, they would rip anyone apart. If you can stop them getting behind you, however, and nullify the supply line to their attackers, they are a side that can lose their heads. If that happens, then why not believe we can get something on Saturday? This has to be the game that is seen as the one where things turn around.
Everton duo Tony Hibbert and Leighton Baines in community drive
Oct 14 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
TONY HIBBERT and Leighton Baines will tackle Arsenal’s flying wingers on Saturday but last night faced opponents just as difficult - all for a good cause.
Everton’s full-backs visited Heatwaves Leisure Centre in Stockbridge Village and played five-a-side with enthusiastic teenagers in the Kickz Soccer Scheme.
They were there to promote the Premier League’s Creating Chances initiative and since the Everton In The Community backed Kickz was launched 18 months ago, crime and anti social behaviour in the area has fallen dramatically. Hibbert said: “It’s great to see the kids getting involved in something like this. “Getting them off the streets is the main thing. You can see how much they enjoy it and there were a few good lads taking part. “That’s all they want to be doing - playing football.”
David Moyes will lead Everton into a new era, roars James Vaughan
Oct 15 2008 EXCLUSIVE by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
JAMES VAUGHAN today predicted David Moyes will lead Everton into a bright new era after the manager finally ended his contract saga. Moyes put pen-to-paper on a lucrative deal yesterday that will keep him at Goodison Park until 2013 and he celebrated the announcement by watching a Vaughan inspired Blues’ second string beat Liverpool 3-2 at the Halliwell Jones Stadium. While Vaughan was delighted to score two goals, he was more pleased that all speculation about Moyes’ future has now been quashed and has no doubts he is the right man to help Everton make the next step. Now Vaughan says he and the rest of his team-mates have a responsibility to raise their game and help the manager fulfil his ambitions. “It’s massive news for the club,” Vaughan said. “He has brought us a long way in the space of time that he has been here and we hope that remains to be the case. The Gaffer brought me through and gave me my chance. “Now it’s up to me and the rest of the boys to repay him with results. When we click together, I don’t think there will be any stopping us. We have just got to get together and keep fighting. This is a new era for us and we have got to kick on from here.” Moyes, who took over as Everton manager from Walter Smith in Ferbruary 2002, always insisted it was a case of ‘when’ not ‘if’ he would sign a deal and he believes the best is yet to come from a squad that continues to evolve.
“I have enjoyed my time here so far and I am looking forward to the next part,” he said. “There is definitely a consistency at the club; players know what they are doing and staff know what they are doing.” Blues chairman Bill Kenwright added: “I am obviously very pleased that the contract, that I’ve always believed to be the most important, is now concluded.” Vaughan, meanwhile, gave Moyes a timely reminder of his talents with two typical striker’s goals and the 20-year-old, who has been tormented by injury, feels he is reaping the benefits finally being able to train consistently. “It’s always good to get a run-out and a mini derby is a bigger game than most at this level and it was good to get the win,” he said. “The two goals were brilliant but the biggest thing for me was the team performance, as the younger lads showed a lot of heart.”
Liverpool Reserves 2, Everton Reserves 3
Oct 15 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON striker James Vaughan stole the show in last night’s mini derby with a late double which condemned Liverpool’s reserves to their third consecutive defeat of the season. But that only tells a fraction of the story that unfolded at a wet, windswept Halliwell Jones Stadium. Five goals, nine bookings and numerous contentious refereeing decisions ensured the encounter was a thoroughly entertaining spectacle for those who ventured out in the foul conditions, so it was appropriate that fortune favoured the brave. Though Liverpool looked to have matters firmly in hand when Jordy Brouwer and Gerardo Bruna fired them in front midway through the second half, Vaughan’s diving header on 66 minutes changed the complexion of the game.
Lee Molyneux then crashed a wonderful left-footed free kick past the startled Dean Bouzanis to restore parity moments later and it was left to Vaughan to win it for the Blues late on, when he raced onto Victor Anichebe’s through ball and lobbed past Liverpool’s advancing keeper. Everton’s second string, who were watched from the stands by club manager David Moyes, have now won three and drawn one of their opening four fixtures, so it was no wonder Reserves boss Andy Holden was smiling broadly afterwards and hailed the spirit of his players. “I’m so pleased for them,” he said. “They have got a smashing work ethic and they all stick together. We just need to try to play a bit more football at times, as we gave possession away too cheaply. We gave two sloppy goals away but what a great reaction. “The two front lads are what they are but the young central defenders stuck at it. “ I just thought it was a smashing performance. To be two goals down and come back showed great character. We knew what derbies are all about and in the end we swarmed all over them.” Fortunately, football ended up being the main talking point but referee Steve Cummins almost changed that fact with an individual performance that could at best described as comical – and at worst inept. Aside from making nine bookings when there was no sign of a malicious tackle from either side, he failed to award a penalty when James Vaughan was brought down by Mikel San Jose and somehow conjured up six minutes of added time. His most alarming blunder, however, was allowing Liverpool to re-start the game after Molyneux’s goal while several Everton players were still celebrating in the opposition half; it left referee’s assessor Roger Dilkes with a furrowed brow and Holden utterly bewildered. “It wasn’t his best night and I think his pen ran out of ink before half-time,” he said. “But there was no real malice in the game and nine bookings in the end was madness. “I don’t know what happens to some of these referees when the TV comes to town. They just end up getting carried away with themselves. But, his performance apart, I was delighted with our discipline as we did well to have 11 players on the pitch at the end.” While Holden headed home beaming, the mood of his opposite number Gary Ablett was in stark contrast, as aside from Jay Spearing’s bright performance and occasional flashes from Daniel Pacheco, Liverpool were out of sorts. “It was so very frustrating,” said Ablett. “For 20 minutes in the second half, we played some of the best football we have done all season but we gave everything away in the last 25 minutes. We were far too open at the back.”
LIVERPOOL (4-4-2): Bouzanis; Darby, San Jose, Huth, Insua; Bruna (Flynn 77), Plessis, Spearing, Duran; Brouwer, Pacheco.
Goals - Brouwer (54), Bruna (66)
Bookings - Darby (14), Huth (71)
EVERTON (4-4-2): Nash; Irving, Barnett, McCarten, Molyneux; Wallace, Kissock, Gosling, Baxter (Apkan 62); Anichebe (Agard 85), Vaughan.
Goals - Vaughan (69, 83), Molyneux (72)
Bookings - Kissock (16), Vaughan (18), Irving (25), Wallace (40), Molyneux (87), Apkan (89), Nash (90)
Attendance: 2,679
Everton's Tim Cahill will come back with a bang for Socceroos - Pim Verbeek
Oct 15 2008 Liverpool Echo
AUSTRALIA coach Pim Verbeek is backing Everton midfielder Tim Cahill to return to international football with a bang tomorrow. Cahill has been out of the Socceroos picture for six months due to a foot injury but is fit to face Qatar in their World Cup qualifier in Brisbane. Verbeek explained: “We know how important he is because he always scores goals. “Also if I’m a defender and I have to play against Timmy Cahill, I’m sure that I will have a difficult night. “For our team it’s good to have players like that in the team, because you know he will always score a goal – and that’s good.”
Tony Hibbert puts injury woes behind him - Everton latest
Oct 16 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
TONY HIBBERT hopes he has banished his injury troubles once and for all - and now intends to help Everton dig themselves out of trouble. The Blues’ right-back is the longest serving player at Goodison Park and made his 200th appearance for the club in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle United earlier this month. But he would have reached that milestone long ago had it not been for a series of setbacks
Hibbert, though, is not dwelling on what might have been. His only thoughts at present have been proving to David Moyes he is fully recovered from a knee injury that forced him to miss the start of the season. He used the break from Premier League action to cram in extra training sessions, and the 27-year-old now hopes he can show the benefits when Everton tackle Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
“I’ve been working on my fitness and I feel good,” Hibbert said today.
“I’ve still got a lot of strengthening work to do and it is trying to find a balance.
“I only had a week training before I played my first match of the season (against Liverpool) and it has been hard. “But things are getting better. I played 90 minutes against Newcastle, so that was good. I’ve had a hard couple of weeks since and feel much better now. “That’s the norm when international breaks come around. As soon as the lads go away, it’s tough for the ones who stay behind. But I definitely needed it and the lads who stayed back have been brilliant.” Hibbert’s woes started in the summer of 2006 when he was laid low by a tropical illness. He returned briefly but then ruptured his groin that October in a defeat at Middlesbrough which meant he missed four months, while a knee problem suffered in February 2007 led to another lay-off. He fared better last season, making 34 appearances, but ruptured the medial ligament in his right knee at The Emirates, requiring an operation. Investment hunter Keith Harris, meanwhile, is confident he will find the right buyer for Bill Kenwright.
The chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce, handed the task of finding new owners for both Newcastle and Everton, said: “It is not going to be hot money, or people who want to do all sorts of strange things with it. It is somebody who is going to carry on the tradition.”
The Jury: Everton fans on David Moyes' new contract at Goodison Park
Oct 16 2008 Liverpool Echo
Undefined Headline
Michael Drummond, Speke
IT'S fantastic news that David Moyes has finally signed up for another five years. We can put all the rumours behind us now and focus our attentions on the pitch, where it counts. The team needed the international break to get their heads down and start concentrating on improving their performances. We could be playing Arsenal at the best possible time with a lot more of their squad being involved in internationals than ours. Also, they seem to be losing a bit of form in the league, especially at home, so I see no reason why we can't capitalise on that. I hope that the team can take the performance from the first 45 minutes of the Newcastle game to spur them on through the match. We must watch out for Arsenal's counter-attack and set pieces, so having five in midfield wouldn't be a bad option. Our passing needs to be accurate so we can control the game.
David Wallbank, Huyton
THE INK is still wet on David Moyes’ new five-year deal, but the question is will it be enough to motivate the players to pull out a performance of a lifetime this weekend at the Emirates? After having plenty of opportunities to ‘kick start’ our season, the first team have put in far too many lacklustre performances in recent weeks, resulting in Everton having an absolute mountain to climb to rescue any kind of respectability this campaign. I hate joining the doom and gloom brigade, but it’s impossible to find any light inside this dark tunnel we currently find ourselves. I would encourage all the players to have no fear – we have nothing to lose in the next two games, and who knows what could happen? For the first time this season the Blues can play with a ‘no fear’ mentality, partly due to our own over-inflated expectation levels. I can see how the players have crumbled under this pressure, but I don’t mind losing or drawing as long as the players put in 110%.
Richard Knights, West Derby
LET’S remember life BM (Before Moyes).
We had Agent Johnson, but even after Bill delivered us from evil, there was the reign of Woeful Walter, the comedy signings (Gazza and Ginola) and the annual fight against relegation. Under Moyes we’ve had that fourth spot and two UEFA Cup campaigns. Apart from Ferguson and Wenger, he’s the longest serving manager in the Premiership – some feat that because at most clubs it’s lose three games and you’re fired. Moyes isn’t under threat. He won’t need a dodgy Kevin Brock back pass to save his job, like Howard Kendall in January 1984.. We just need a result at Arsenal to kickstart our season. Moyes’ decision to stay has stopped me offering my services – at a considerable discount to £16 million over five years. My extensive managerial experience includes a top four finish in the Tuebrook under-12s League. But no point making the call now!
Debbie Smaje, Upholland
THERE is no doubt that the instability surrounding Moyes’ new contract for the last few months has had a negative effect on the players so far this season. The situation has now at last been resolved, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Going to Arsenal this weekend, the obvious approach seems to be to go for one up front and a five-man midfield. But is that really the way to go, when a team like Hull did so well at the Emirates, mainly because they were positive? We are often far too negative in games against the top four, away especially. Inviting the best teams to attack isn’t the best way to go. You are relying on working hard, defending for so long, and praying for luck. We have some great attacking players, even without Tim Cahill available, so why not do what we’re best at? The defence has been shipping goals all season, so maybe going for it is the best way.
Joseph Yobo in race against time for Arsenal clash - Everton latest
Oct 17 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
JOSEPH YOBO is facing a race against time to be fit for Everton’s trip to the Emirates Stadium. The Nigerian international has missed the Blues’ last two games against Standard Liege and Newcastle after suffering a dip in form but he may be forced out of the 18 at Arsenal tomorrow due to the effects of a heavy cold.
David Moyes had made it clear that he was looking to restore Yobo - who has been one of Everton’s most consistent players in recent years - to his starting line-up as quickly as possible but that decision may be taken out of his hands. As is always the case after international breaks, the manager will not make any decisions about the identity of his starting line-up until after training today but one man who looks destined to start is in-form left-back Leighton Baines. Since reclaiming his place in Liege, Baines has caught the eye and was man-of-the-match in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle but he would happily forsake any personal plaudits if it meant Everton could return to winning ways. Baines, however, is confident that normal service is close to being resumed and is not daunted by the prospect of facing Arsenal.
“We’ve shown in patches over the last couple of games brief glimpses that we are starting to come good again,” he said. “We’ve been talking amongst ourselves and we do feel a bit better but now it’s a question of turning that into positive results.
“We need to feel comfortable and confident in what we do, like we did last season. This time things have been harder but we know that we can turn it around. We’ve got some difficult games coming up but we are ready for it. “You could say it will be difficult, as we are only going to be playing one game a week from now until Christmas. Last year we kept rolling from game to game and couldn’t wait for things to happen. Obviously we’ve only got the league to concentrate on at the minute.
“But we are going to have a right good go at things. Maybe the time that we have got between games will help us prepare, freshen up and get everything absolutely spot on.” Arsenal are hot favourites but Baines feels it is time for the players to knuckle down and provide some solace for fans. “We have got to get back to where we were,” he added. “Once we get that first win, you will hear everyone start saying how much they are looking forward to the next game and things will snowball from there. It would be great if we could give the fans something back.”
Tony Hibbert: Everton's class will rise to top
Oct 17 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
AS SOMEONE who shuns the limelight and rarely courts the media, it is perhaps easy to forget Tony Hibbert’s position in Everton’s squad. Add in the fact he hardly looks any different to the young man who was given a rude awakening to life in the Premier League by Stuart Pearce, you would be forgiven for thinking Hibbert is still learning his trade. Think again. In an age where players can change clubs at the drop of a hat and loyalty is not an instantly recognisable trait, Hibbert – Everton’s longest serving player – is the antithesis of how modern day footballers are perceived. The epitome of a one club man, the right back has come a long way since his debut in a 2-0 win at West Ham in March 2001. He has remained at Goodison Park for eight years, which speaks volumes for his talent, application and dedication. So, with that in mind, it is significant, when you hear his views about Everton’s current travails. While he understands the concerns supporters currently harbour and feels the crushing disappointments that early exits from two cup competitions have caused, there is a reassuring sense of perspective. Hibbert cut his teeth in a Walter Smith team that struggled for consistency and class, so when he surveys the calibre of player he works alongside at Finch Farm, he believes it is a matter of ‘when’ results change for the better, as opposed to ‘if’ they will. “The changes that the club have made since I first came into the team are unbelievable and it has been so quick,” said Hibbert, who is poised to make his 201st appearance tomorrow. “That’s why we don’t need to get carried away about how things are. “We have got everything here to be successful. The players here are different class and the facilities we are training at now are second to none. “All we need is for a rub of the green here or there and we’ll be off again.
“It will come. We just need to be patient, keep plugging away and do things as we always do. Then things will fall into place. “Of course, we are down about the way results have gone in the past few weeks. It has been so disappointing for everyone.
“But we have got a lot of big games coming up now and once the internationals are back in the squad again, you will see everyone pull together. “That’s what always happens when we are faced with these type of matches.” Had he not suffered such wretched luck with injuries during these past two years, Hibbert would be closer to 300 appearances for the Blues and his most recent lay-off – a ruptured medial ligament in his knee – was sustained at the Emirates Stadium in May.
Yet even though he played the second half of that game in considerable pain, Hibbert was still one of Everton’s top performers and his type of no-nonsense defending will be needed in abundance tomorrow to stop the current rot. “I thought we were brilliant there last season,” he said. “Playing against a side of their quality in a world class stadium is what you want as a footballer. “But we know how difficult it is going to be because they are a top side. “This is the type of game that brings the best out of the players we have here. That’s why it’s better we are tackling a side like Arsenal as opposed to someone else. It’s difficult but it’s not impossible. A good result there will see confidence go sky high again.” There is no question that confidence has been dented by a sequence of results that means Everton’s only hope of winning a trophy is now the FA Cup but Hibbert is quick to point out that it is not as low as some fear.
Of course he recognises that mistakes have proven fatal this past month but as soon as they are eradicated, the 27-year-old is confident Everton will embark on unbeaten run similar to last season – and that’s where team spirit comes in. “It has been very frustrating but the positive thing is the fact that the lads haven’t beaten themselves up over it,” noted Hibbert, who signed his first professional contract in August 2000 and recently penned a deal that will keep him at the club until June 2012. “We know things will change but we could also do with a bit of luck. Some of the lads have been in this situation before. “We know if we keep on playing and stick together then we will turn it around. “It isn’t just down to the defenders, the midfielders or the forwards. Things will just click into place and then we’ll be away again. Everyone will see the difference. “Hopefully, it will be sooner rather than later. “The mistakes have been frustrating. There’s no getting away from that. The most annoying thing is that we are getting punished for the slightest errors. “There are errors in football, that’s the nature of the game. But it seems as if we are being punished for every one we make. “I can remember a time here when there were errors being made all over the pitch but we didn’t get punished for them. “I can remember us playing terribly and winning games or getting draws. We are much better than that now and that’s why we know it will change.”
Phil Neville: Everton boss David Moyes is one of the best I've played for
Oct 17 2008 Liverpool Echo
EVERTON captain Phil Neville has welcomed David Moyes’ new contract at Goodison Park, hailing the Toffees manager as “one of the best that I’ve played under”. The Scot ended months of speculation by signing a new five-year contract on Tuesday. Moyes had been in the final year of his previous deal and talks over an extension had rumbled on for some time. Ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Arsenal, Neville said: “He’s a fantastic young manager and with the way that he’s built this club up since he’s got the job shows that he’s a top manager and one of the best that I’ve played under. “He’s a massive reason why I signed a new contract. I wanted to play under him.”
HOWARD KENDALL: Fresh challenges in David Moyes’ new era
Oct 17 2008 by Howard Kendall, Liverpool Echo
THE cloud of uncertainty that had been hanging over Goodison Park was banished this week, much to everyone’s relief, when David Moyes signed his new contract.
It is clearly a lucrative deal, but I have no problems with whatever he is getting, as I have always firmly believed that a manager should be the best paid person at a club, regardless of the level at which they are working. The reason is simple. If, say, you wish to fine a player for something but they are earning more than you, how can you hope to exert authority? What’s more, you would inevitably find certain players losing all their respect for managers they could dismiss with a cheque. That, however, is not the case where Everton are concerned and now every Blue is hoping the next five years will see all the hard work David has done since he has been here really start to bear fruit. David hasn’t decided the length of his contract – the board have done that – and they will ultimately decide whether he will be here come 2013. But he certainly has the scope to take things further now and that will settle supporters down.
Understandably, they had become anxious at the way things had gone during the summer and they possibly thought he had lost his enthusiasm, particularly when you consider how poorly this campaign has started. If a manager loses his enthusiasm, that is guaranteed to transmit all the way down to the dressing room, which obviously spells disaster. But David is no doubt of the opinion he can keep things fresh.
That, possibly, is the biggest challenge he faces. So what can he hope for?
It goes without saying that breaking into the top four will be the major goal. But wouldn’t it be nice to think that, finally, there will be a silver lining on the horizon?
That, after all, has been the one thing sorely missing from David’s reign.
I want to do things my way - Everton boss David Moyes
Oct 18 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES has spoken of his determination to leave a lasting legacy at Goodison Park - and why Everton must stay true to their principles. The Blues boss, whose side tackle Arsenal this afternoon, ended all speculation about his future earlier this week when he put pen to paper on a new five-year deal. And he ex- plained why it took so long for things to be finalised. Given that chairman Bill Kenwright is actively seeking new investment, Moyes sought assurances that any potential buyer would understand his belief that a manager should be left to manage without interference.
Directors of football and owners who buy players without consulting their coaching staff are becoming more commonplace in the modern game. But Moyes has admitted he would find it difficult to work under such conditions. “I look around football now and I see situations that I would rather not be involved in,” said Moyes, who hopes Phil Jagielka will shrug off a bout of flu to take his place in the starting line-up at The Emirates Stadium. “But I have a lot of trust and a lot of faith in the board and the club. I want Everton to be run correctly and properly and do things the right way. In the last five or six years, we have tried to do that and improve all the time.” The relationship Moyes and Kenwright enjoy is one of the closest manager/chairman bonds in the business, and while Moyes has received plenty of plaudits down the years, he is quick to point to the role of the man who appointed him. Kenwright has given Moyes as much financial backing as he possibly can, as well as remaining patient when things have not always gone according to plan, and the manager feels that is why Everton have made such progress. “Bill is the one who sets the guidelines for us all,” said Moyes. “After that it is myself with the team. We are fortunate that we have a working relationship. In football now, it’s a shame that so many managers and chairman can’t work together. “You look at things and you think ‘is this the future?’ Is this the way football clubs are going?’ But this club has never been run that way. I have always had the sole say on decision making, which direction we are going in and how we run the club. “For me, that is important. Alex Ferguson has got a great saying and that is ‘the manager has to control the football club’ and I have been very fortunate here as, in the main, I run the football club. “You look at some clubs and you can see that the manager isn’t in control. Other people are doing that. “It has taken us six years to get close to competing (with the top four). If we don’t have the (big) money, as a coach I have got to find another way.”
DOMINIC KING: Bill Kenwright the right man for a massive call on Blues
Oct 18 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
BEFORE they allow any football clubs to be taken over, the Premier League insist potential buyers must pass a ‘fit and proper person’ test. Some, understandably, would argue that it is nothing more than a sham, particularly when you consider Dr Thaksin Shinawatra, the man with that impeccable human rights record and faultless financial history, sailed through it to purchase Manchester City. It would appear, though, that a fit and proper person test has also been set inside the corridors of power at Goodison Park, but it is guaranteed to take more passing than the one Premier League supremo Richard Scudamore and his cronies currently have in place. With each passing day, the prospect of Everton becoming the latest club to fall into foreign hands increases and the fact Keith Harris – the man charged with finding the Blues a buyer – has spoken publicly confirms that the situation is gathering pace. This, however, does not mean Bill Kenwright is going to say ‘thank you very much’ to the first sheikh, sultan or stockbroker who wafts a cheque under his nose and hand over the keys to Goodison without a care in the world. Kenwright’s biggest critics – you know, the ones who blame him for everything from Ayegbeni Yakubu gifting Newcastle a goal with a lackadaisical back pass to the late arrival of the new home shirts in the club shop – will snipe that he is simply holding out to line his own pockets. That, of course, is their prerogative. But surely more rational types would agree it is a myopic view; if the chairman was really just in it for personal gain, he would not have subjected himself to one of the most turbulent summers in recent club history. “Bill Kenwright has made it clear after years and years of successfully nurturing Everton, it requires a new investor with substantial money to invest,” said Harris. “He is passionately clear it is going to be someone who really does care for Everton in the future.
“Bill has been very straightforward. First and foremost he is the most enormous Everton fan. It is not going to be hot money or people who want to do all sorts of strange things with it. It is somebody who is going to carry on the tradition.”
Progress and tradition have never been the most comfortable bedfellows but Kenwright is doing his utmost to ensure the values of the club he, and thousands of others fell in love with, remain, while at the same time securing the financial investment it needs to compete with the best in the business. “I trust Bill to find the right person for this club,” manager David Moyes said before signing his new five-year contract. “He will make sure they are the right type, not just anyone throwing a few bob around.” Those who vehemently oppose Kenwright may be frustrated he is still in charge but there needs to be a sense of perspective when talking about attracting investors. As Shakespeare wrote, “all the glisters is not gold”.
Tom Hicks and George Gillet, remember, were hailed as white knights when they bought David Moores out across Stanley Park but now they have to think twice about stepping over the city limits, so reviled are the pair. Mike Ashley is another billionaire who needs endless security following his botched job with Newcastle; his big promises turned into broken dreams almost as quickly as he was trumpeted as the new messiah after guzzling pints on the terraces with supporters. If you were to pick out the ideal character to invest, the vast majority would surely point to Randy Lerner, who has stayed in the background at Aston Villa, bought into their heritage and backed Martin O’Neill with money whenever he has needed it. Kenwright has done likewise with Moyes but, much to his frustration, his pockets aren’t deep enough to buy the players Everton really need, hence the reason he has sought Harris’ advice.
In time, an individual will emerge to invest in the Blues but they will only take over once they understand the virtues and integrity of the club of footballing giants such as Dean, Lawton and Ball to name a few. And if Kenwright takes his time, who would blame him?
Wheels of fortune make a difference
IT is well known youngsters are not fazed by celebrity and an incident outside Heatwaves Leisure Centre earlier this week reaffirmed that belief. The sight of Leighton Baines and Tony Hibbert sitting in their immaculately polished sports cars waiting to take part in a ‘Creating Chances’ initiative caused a stir among Stockbridge Village’s youth fraternity. But one young man couldn’t decide who was who.
After weighing up what they were driving, however, this mischievous urchin soon reached a conclusion and decided that as much as Hibbert claimed he played for Everton, he didn’t quite believe it. Out of bewilderment and curiosity, the Blues’ longest serving player asked why that was the case. Then came the incredulous reply.
“Look at what you two are driving,” he said, nodding at the respective vehicles, before looking at Hibbert. “Yours is a piece of ****. A footballer would never drive that!”
Vaughan’s mini-derby goals such a big bonus
WET and windy conditions in Warrington on Tuesday gave proof, if it were needed, that winter is around the corner, but there was also a sight to warm Evertonian hearts.
While a 3-2 victory over Liverpool’s reserves in the mini derby was well received by all Blues, it was just as pleasing to see James Vaughan charging around with a spring in his step and grabbing two goals to show for his efforts. We have no reason to go over old ground and rake up the myriad injuries that have halted Vaughan’s progress in the past three years but, clearly, he has benefited from a month of consistently training and playing games without pain. There are, of course, still some aspects of his game that need the raw edges polishing and it would be folly to start making rash predictions about what he might do between now and the end of the season.
But given the way his infectious enthusiasm spreads around the team when he plays, few would dispute that Vaughan has a role to play for Everton, so the stronger and fitter he becomes over the next few months, the better it will be for all concerned.
Everton boss David Moyes well placed to confound the sceptics
Oct 18 2008 Dominic King
IF Everton Football Club has undergone a dramatic transformation during the past six years, for David Moyes one thing still remains the same. When he left Preston North End in March 2002, charged with the task of restoring the ailing Blues’ fortunes, Moyes vividly remembers certain people informing him, in a way, to forget any dreams he harboured of shaking up the Premier League’s biggest clubs. Through hard work, careful spending and persistence, though, Everton managed to do it once – finishing fourth in 2005 – and in the past two seasons, have been acknowledged as a team going places. That is one reason why Moyes signed a new contract earlier this week, quelling suggestions he had grown tired of occupying the Goodison Park hot seat, but his main raison d’être was precisely as it had been on the day he uttered the words “people’s club”. After a shaky start to this campaign, he knows those who were making observations six years ago are again saying that Everton cannot hope to match strides with the top four over 38 games but Moyes is determined to prove them wrong.
“My motivation is to try and gain a level of success here at Everton,” he said. “A lot of people told me it would very difficult when I came in but I am still driven to show that it can be done as there are very few managers in the country who get (big) finances. “We have worked within a really tight budget but I have been given every penny that the club has been able to. Some clubs who have given their managers too much to spend are in trouble now. “Some clubs haven’t spent wisely enough or the board hasn’t done things the correct way. In the end, I think Everton have tried to do things correctly and I think this is a really good club, one of the best in England. I said that when I came here and I still believe it. “I feel as if there is a job that needs to be finished completely. We have tried to compete and it is amazing the way the perception of the club has changed. When I first took over, we perhaps weren’t seen as a club that could provide much competition. “Now you can see there is an expectancy for us to be better. That alone means something around Everton has changed and that indicates that people think this is a club that is on the rise. I hope when the time comes to leave, I will have left an impression. “But I have no intentions of leaving. It is not easy to stay at one club so long, especially when you look at the world of football nowadays. So I have got to give credit to the board and the way they have handled themselves.” What, then, are his ambitions between now and 2013? The one thing those Evertonians who will travel down to the Emirates Stadium today for the clash with Arsenal want is a piece of silverware and Moyes would love to deliver that. He, though, has other ideas. “If I was ever lucky enough to win a trophy, I’d then start looking to win the next one,” he said. “But if I won a trophy in the next six years would that be proof that things have been good? The proof I want is for Everton to become a bigger, stronger football club. “Manchester City look as if they have got a big future ahead of them, Aston Villa look as if they are very stable. Those clubs are beginning to pick up and who knows? They might be the top clubs in the future. “My job is to make Everton a club that is seen that way and that is hopefully going to come around in my period.” Clearly he is in it for the long haul but there were fears he would turn his back and walk away. That, however, was never an option, particularly when it became apparent that leaving Goodison is not something you do easily.
“Ask any young manager about Everton,” Moyes said. “Look at the squad we have got, look at the fan base and the history; I’m telling you what – there would only be about three or four managers in the country who wouldn’t want the Everton job.
“I accept there are negatives but the pluses are there for me – now my job is to try and use those pluses to get a football club that hopefully the supporters here can be very proud of, which I’m sure they are already. “This was always too big a job to even think about leaving. I won’t overstay my welcome and have always said that.
I hope that I am still welcome and the chairman has made me feel really welcome. He wants me to stay and that alone gives me great confidence.” Cast a glance at the current table and those unfamiliar with Moyes’ work would be forgiven for thinking that nothing has changed, as Everton tackle Arsenal with eight points from their first seven games, languishing in 15th position. “I hope that my contract hasn’t been the cause,” he said. “If it suddenly all springs into life and I realise it was all down to the contract, I will be really, really surprised. I just think there have been a number of factors; injuries, loss of form. That’s more the reason. “Could it have an effect? Yes. Is it as important as any of the other factors I have mentioned? No it’s not. We have to get back up and running but I believe there is a team here that can do just that.”
Moyes will be without Joseph Yobo (flu), Segundo Castillo (hamstring) and Victor Anichebe (hamstring) but, despite missing training for the past fortnight, Leon Osman should take his place in the starting line-up. EVERTON travel to face an Arsenal team today who have looked less than invincible in recent weeks . . . even at the Emirates.
A couple of injuries to key players would tend to add to a sense of Evertonian optimism. Be warned, however. I have seen several of Arsenal’s ‘substitutes’ at close quarters in recent weeks and can assure you that they are capable of some clinical and winning football. Gary Speed was a part of the Sheffield United team taken apart by Arsenal’s youngsters recently and he told me afterwards that it had been a chastening, but also an awesome experience. One player in particular I have seen a lot of recently is the Welsh Under-21 international Aaron Ramsey, and he gave two extraordinary performances against England in the European Championship qualifiers.
I have a funny feeling that if he plays today, a number of Evertonians might be saying ‘I was there’ a few years from now, just as many did when Cesc Fabregas made his imperious bow for the Gunners at Goodison Park. That’s not to say Everton can’t go to the Emirates today and get a result. I was there two years ago when Tim Cahill’s goal earned a 1-1 draw and elicited a few moans from Arsene Wenger afterwards.
That’s too bad. Arsenal still have the same faults now as they had back then, as Hull City exposed a couple of weeks ago. The Gunners refuse to go wide and constantly try to play through teams, so if you make the middle of the park congested you can frustrate them. It’s a perfectly legitimate tactic and something Wenger has to start to learn to overcome . . . but not this afternoon, hopefully!
Past Masters: Everton suffered capital punishment
Oct 18 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON make their third visit to Arsenal’s impressive new stadium today – with a draw and a narrow defeat under their belts. Highbury, however, was never a happy hunting ground for the Blues. They lost their last 10 visits there – including a joint heaviest defeat of all time in 2005 – and 16 of their last 18. And it wasn’t much better in previous eras. When football restarted after the Second World War, the Toffees lost Joe Mercer to The Gunners, then took just one point from eight visits to North London . . . before a remarkable visit on September 10, 1958. “Despite the handicap of having to play the last 40 minutes with Jimmy Harris a limping passenger on the wing, Everton got a magnificent victory before 42,010 spectators, thanks to a last minute goal by Wally Fielding, the oldest man on the field,” reported Ranger in the following day’s Daily Post. The matchwinner was a marvellous individual strike.
“From an Arsenal corner Everton dashed away in counter assault and Fielding, picking up the ball near the centre circle, emulated Haverty with a cunning dribble. He rounded Dodgin and Holton, and then, as Kelsey advanced, fired the ball into the net off the inside of the post. “It was a great finish and though Everton were perhaps a trifle fortunate to have withstood Arsenal’s second half attacks, they deserved the points on the basis of the fighting spirit as well as their first half superiority.”
In that first half the Blues took the lead through a remarkable Jimmy Harris strike.
“Harris was fouled close to the touch line and about 10 yards from the corner flag. He took the free kick and rattled the ball into the goalmouth like a rocket. Harris had shaped up as though to lob a centre, but seeing the Arsenal defence move up and Kelsey advance from goal, he changed his mind – and took the whole defence by surprise.” Dave Hickson made it 2-0, and “led the line splendidly once again, subjugating self for the welfare of his side.” Groves reduced the arrears within a minute, then with Harris’ contribution severely diminished just five minutes into second half, levelled 20 minutes from the end. Everton hung on grimly until Fielding’s later intervention, prompting one overwhelmed correspondent to write into the next day’s paper. “I congratulate on appointing a first class man as Chief Coach, Mr Ian Buchan,” wrote T W E H Pritchard of Neston. “His stay at Goodison has not yet been long, but surely results prove him to be an extremely capable official.
“He took over at a difficult time with material of a doubtful quality, but at least he has produced a side that promises more than Everton have yielded for many a year.”
Buchan’s time in charge had been turbulent to say the least and it was ironic that he was enjoying a rare run of successes when he was sacked. He saw the Toffees beat Sunderland at Goodison and win away at Luton after those Highbury heroics, before he parted company with the club.
EVERTON YOUTH 1 WEST BROMWICH YOUTH 1
October 19th 2008 Daily Post
Everton Under-18s boss Neil Dewsnip was left disappointed after his side were held to a fourth 1-1 draw in five games. A tight encounter saw the young Blues create the better chances and they took the lead before the break. But West Brom forged a second-half comeback to snatch a point and leave Dewsnip ruing a number of missed opportunities. Everton's early breakthrough came courtesy of some inspired play from 14-year-old Ross Barkley. The England youth international won the ball in midfield before storming forward to tee up striker Lewis Codling. The goalscorer could have added to his tally soon after but saw his effort tipped over the crossbar before being cruelly denied a penalty.
Lee McArdle came to Everton's rescue when he cleared a shot off the line early in the second half but keeper Lars Stubhaug - who had a quiet afternoon in the main - was beaten by a header soon after. ""The story was similar to our other recent games," said Dewsnip. "We scored first thanks to great work by Ross and Lewis did well to finish under immense pressure. It was a really encouraging piece of play. "We've then had chances to score another and I don't understand how we have been denied a penalty. "At that point I wouldn't say we were comfy but we were not too threatened either. "We've then started the second half well but they've had two chances and one's gone in. "I suppose it was a fair result in terms of play but we had a lot more chances so I'm disappointed not to have made the game safe."
Arsenal 3, Everton 1
Oct 20 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
HEARD the one about the similarities between Everton and the credit crunch?
The theory, you may well have guessed, is as follows: while the economic outlook of this country is destined to remain bleak for sometime, things at Goodison Park will get worse before they get better. Judged on the latest evidence, it’s not difficult to see why. While many anticipated that David Moyes’ decision to finally sign his new contract last week would signal the start of a new era, the failings which have blown a hole in the Blues’ ambitions this season reared their ugly head at the weekend.
We could – no, make that should – have been talking today about a dynamic, deserved victory at the Emirates Stadium, heralding signs that Everton are on the road back to their best as Arsenal, quite simply, were there to be taken. But here we are again. Another Monday, another account of Everton shooting themselves in the foot, another discussion about why the same individuals who have been out of form since the start of the campaign continue to be so. Like Bill Murray’s tormented character in Groundhog Day, Moyes, not to mention Everton’s beleaguered supporters and players, keep waking up after each match day to an all too familiar feeling of misery. For everyone’s sanity, it can’t go on. Moyes was right when he said there were aspects of the Toffees’ play that pleased him and it’s easy to see why there was an attempt to focus on the positives which emerged from an encouraging first 45 minutes.
Jack Rodwell, brought back into the team in place of Phil Neville, caught the eye continually and refused to be daunted by the occasion, Phil Jagielka was the pick of an assured defence and Steven Pienaar showed great skill on the flank. Then it all went wrong. Badly. That’s why being upbeat is like commending a student for failing an examination, telling them their paper was good but, ultimately, they just didn’t know what to do with the hard questions. In other words, utterly pointless. In this Sky-driven world of modern football, with all its razzmatazz and hype, Arsenal, along with Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool, have been hyped up to be some of the greatest teams to have ever played the beautiful game. Admittedly, each side – not least the two which contested the most recent Champions League final – has some terrific players, but there is a danger of the other 16 teams in the division becoming like golfers paired with Tiger Woods on the last day of a major. If Woods leads going into the final round, he inevitably wins but there appears to be a feeling even before he tees up among his locker room contemporaries that whatever they do on the course won’t be enough to stop him. Look at what is happening in football. If United, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool take the lead, very few, if any, sides overhaul them now but how much of that apparent invincibility is down to psychology?
There will be some individuals who do not like what follows but Everton’s latest defeat can be put down, in the main, to the fact that, for 45 minutes, they were mentally weak and visibly disintegrated after Arsenal had equalised via Samir Nasri’s well placed shot. Sure, Arsenal’s football was slick in the second half. Theo Walcott’s dancing feet and Cesc Fabregas’ ability to pass through the eye of a needle left the Toffees in disarray but they were actually there for the taking. Had Joleon Lescott’s header beaten Gael Clichy shortly after Leon Osman had poked Everton in front, then Arsenal would have suffered the mental short circuit and left Moyes to celebrate his first success in 25 attempts at a top four ground. Instead, the moment Nasri levelled things, Blue shoulders sagged, heads dropped and certain players stopped wanting the ball. As a result, it became inevitable Arsenal would score again, and they didn’t disappoint, thanks to Robin Van Persie and Walcott. Yet do not forget this Arsenal team was one beaten recently by Hull City and only scrambled a draw at Sunderland in the dying seconds. They may often be a joy to watch but do not begin to compare them with the truly great teams Arsene Wenger has built. They are young, occasionally brittle in battle and will, more often than not, lose games this year when the pressure is on. Had Everton bustled up them for longer here, those vulnerabilities may well have surfaced again. “We’ve got this habit at the moment of looking vulnerable and weak when we concede goals and that was the case again,” Moyes lamented. “We gave them a couple of opportunities and they got momentum. We couldn't get a grip of the game after that.” It is for that reason the feeling persists that Moyes needs a ‘nark’; a player who will scream at his team-mates, rage like the Tasmanian Devil when things don’t go his way and who is vilified by opposition fans. His side, after all, are in danger of being too nice. This is an extreme example but if Roy Keane had been in Everton’s midfield on Saturday, they would have wrapped the game up before the interval and the ensuing capitulation would not have happened. Hopefully this situation will be addressed urgently in January. Why be popular when points are all that matters? Take a look at the table now and you can see it makes grim reading. Surely everyone reading this would happily let Everton swop style for success to reclaim a position in the top half again? Quite clearly, there is much for Moyes to work on this week before the champions arrive at Goodison Park for a high noon showdown. Ominously, they are clicking into gear and will need no second invitation to run all over the Blues if a chance presents itself. Unfortunately, though, that is exactly what will happen if Everton continue in their present frame of mind.
It’s all very well sparring with the big boys, but if you are unable to land a big punch at the right moment, there will only ever be one outcome. So, it’s either toughen up and stand tall for United’s visit – or expect a similarly bleak synopsis on these pages seven days from now.
Arsenal 3, Everton 1: Iron fist needed to bolster Blues
Oct 20 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
HEARD the one about the similarities between Everton and the credit crunch?
The theory, you may well have guessed, is as follows: while the economic outlook of this country is destined to remain bleak for sometime, things at Goodison Park will get worse before they get better. Judged on the latest evidence, it’s not difficult to see why. While many anticipated that David Moyes’ decision to finally sign his new contract last week would signal the start of a new era, the failings which have blown a hole in the Blues’ ambitions this season reared their ugly head at the weekend.
We could – no, make that should – have been talking today about a dynamic, deserved victory at the Emirates Stadium, heralding signs that Everton are on the road back to their best as Arsenal, quite simply, were there to be taken. But here we are again. Another Monday, another account of Everton shooting themselves in the foot, another discussion about why the same individuals who have been out of form since the start of the campaign continue to be so. Like Bill Murray’s tormented character in Groundhog Day, Moyes, not to mention Everton’s beleaguered supporters and players, keep waking up after each match day to an all too familiar feeling of misery. For everyone’s sanity, it can’t go on. Moyes was right when he said there were aspects of the Toffees’ play that pleased him and it’s easy to see why there was an attempt to focus on the positives which emerged from an encouraging first 45 minutes.
Jack Rodwell, brought back into the team in place of Phil Neville, caught the eye continually and refused to be daunted by the occasion, Phil Jagielka was the pick of an assured defence and Steven Pienaar showed great skill on the flank. Then it all went wrong. Badly. That’s why being upbeat is like commending a student for failing an examination, telling them their paper was good but, ultimately, they just didn’t know what to do with the hard questions. In other words, utterly pointless. In this Sky-driven world of modern football, with all its razzmatazz and hype, Arsenal, along with Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool, have been hyped up to be some of the greatest teams to have ever played the beautiful game. Admittedly, each side – not least the two which contested the most recent Champions League final – has some terrific players, but there is a danger of the other 16 teams in the division becoming like golfers paired with Tiger Woods on the last day of a major. If Woods leads going into the final round, he inevitably wins but there appears to be a feeling even before he tees up among his locker room contemporaries that whatever they do on the course won’t be enough to stop him. Look at what is happening in football. If United, Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool take the lead, very few, if any, sides overhaul them now but how much of that apparent invincibility is down to psychology?
There will be some individuals who do not like what follows but Everton’s latest defeat can be put down, in the main, to the fact that, for 45 minutes, they were mentally weak and visibly disintegrated after Arsenal had equalised via Samir Nasri’s well placed shot.
Sure, Arsenal’s football was slick in the second half. Theo Walcott’s dancing feet and Cesc Fabregas’ ability to pass through the eye of a needle left the Toffees in disarray but they were actually there for the taking. Had Joleon Lescott’s header beaten Gael Clichy shortly after Leon Osman had poked Everton in front, then Arsenal would have suffered the mental short circuit and left Moyes to celebrate his first success in 25 attempts at a top four ground. Instead, the moment Nasri levelled things, Blue shoulders sagged, heads dropped and certain players stopped wanting the ball. As a result, it became inevitable Arsenal would score again, and they didn’t disappoint, thanks to Robin Van Persie and Walcott. Yet do not forget this Arsenal team was one beaten recently by Hull City and only scrambled a draw at Sunderland in the dying seconds. They may often be a joy to watch but do not begin to compare them with the truly great teams Arsene Wenger has built. They are young, occasionally brittle in battle and will, more often than not, lose games this year when the pressure is on. Had Everton bustled up them for longer here, those vulnerabilities may well have surfaced again. “We’ve got this habit at the moment of looking vulnerable and weak when we concede goals and that was the case again,” Moyes lamented. “We gave them a couple of opportunities and they got momentum. We couldn't get a grip of the game after that.” It is for that reason the feeling persists that Moyes needs a ‘nark’; a player who will scream at his team-mates, rage like the Tasmanian Devil when things don’t go his way and who is vilified by opposition fans. His side, after all, are in danger of being too nice. This is an extreme example but if Roy Keane had been in Everton’s midfield on Saturday, they would have wrapped the game up before the interval and the ensuing capitulation would not have happened. Hopefully this situation will be addressed urgently in January. Why be popular when points are all that matters? Take a look at the table now and you can see it makes grim reading. Surely everyone reading this would happily let Everton swop style for success to reclaim a position in the top half again? Quite clearly, there is much for Moyes to work on this week before the champions arrive at Goodison Park for a high noon showdown. Ominously, they are clicking into gear and will need no second invitation to run all over the Blues if a chance presents itself. Unfortunately, though, that is exactly what will happen if Everton continue in their present frame of mind. It’s all very well sparring with the big boys, but if you are unable to land a big punch at the right moment, there will only ever be one outcome. So, it’s either toughen up and stand tall for United’s visit – or expect a similarly bleak synopsis on these pages seven days from now.
Leon Osman: ‘Everton must prove critics wrong against Manchester United’
Oct 20 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
LEON OSMAN today demanded that Everton prove their critics wrong and show they are more than just a 45-minute team - starting against Manchester United. The Blues have shown glimpses of the brand of football that proved so successful last season in their last two games against Newcastle and Arsenal. But, on both occasions, failed to make their first half supremacy count. There have also been times in the past month - notably against Hull City and Standard Liege - when Everton were found wanting and only started playing in the second period and Osman knows any repeat against the champions will spell disaster. That’s why he is calling for his team-mates to bounce back from their latest 3-1 defeat at The Emirates in the best possible manner and he feels a game against United could be just what’s needed to trigger a positive response.
“We showed we had confidence in ourselves and always felt that we could cause Arsenal trouble and we proved that in the first 10 minutes,” said Osman, who fired Everton into an early lead with his third goal of the season. “I thought we played some great football at times, we counter-attacked well and defended well as a team.
“For 45 minutes it was going fantastically well but I don’t really know what happened in the second half. “Maybe they found another gear or maybe we didn’t get as tight as we had been doing in the first half. “But, whatever it was, they got three goals for themselves and we are all so bitterly disappointed. “I couldn’t tell you what it is. We are performing well in games for 45 minutes but doing the opposite in the other half. It’s not through a lack of fitness or a lack of trying but it‘s something we need to put our finger on as soon as possible.” Once again, Everton failed to keep a clean sheet which means 16 games have now passed since they stopped Derby County from scoring on April 6 and Osman accepts that few people will give them any chance of ending that sequence against the champions. However, Osman - who shook off the effects of a cold and a persistent groin injury to take his place in the starting line-up - hopes an aggressive week on the training pitches at Finch Farm can reap positive dividends next Saturday. “I hope there isn’t anything psychological about what is going on,” said the midfielder. “We have shown how resilient we can be in the last couple of years but (conceding) is something that has been happening for too long now. “Maybe we are going to have to start getting into each other. We have got to put it right over the next couple of weeks. “Our aim is put to it right against United - our belief won’t wane this week.”
David Moyes - Everton will get back on track
Oct 20 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
ARSENE WENGER has backed David Moyes to lead Everton out of the doldrums and feels it is only a matter of time before the Blues click into gear. Having looked as if they might record their first victory since September 14 thanks to Leon Osman’s ninth minute goal, Everton were flattened in the second half as Arsenal ran out 3-1 winners. That result leaves Everton hanging in 16th place yet Wenger is adamant that is a false position and believes a number of testing circumstances have meant Moyes is now playing catch up. “Everton have had a tough start to the season but they are a good side,” said Wenger. “They have missed a few players through injury, such as Steven Pienaar, and Tim Cahill has been suspended recently. “But when you look at their squad, you always expect that they can cause you a problem and be a dangerous side. They have Louis Saha and Yakubu in attack and Saha is just starting to fit in now. They certainly started well. “You would think when everyone is fit for Everton, they have a strong side. I feel they will come back to their normal level and climb the table quickly. David Moyes is the third longest serving manager in the Premier League and I’m happy he’s signed his contract. “Some managers have that responsibility to show that stability is important - he has been there for six-and-a-half years and is signed now until 2013, which would take him over a decade. That is not very easy in our job.”With more poise and assurance, Everton might well have recorded a first win at Arsenal since January 1996 but the half-time introduction of England star Theo Walcott swung the pendulum back in the home team’s favour.
Moyes now has the onerous task of trying to figure a way of beating Manchester United on Saturday to prevent Everton’s winless streak stretching to an eighth game but he has faith that his players have the appetite for a battle. “The players worked really hard and played with a lot of confidence in the first half,” said Moyes. “I could see that the stuff we had tried to do during the week had worked. We didn’t have everyone but we tried to work and prepare for this game. “I do think the players we have got here have done unbelievably well in recent seasons. And I expect them to do it again this year. We are in a difficult position right now and we’re not winning as many games as we would like. “But I do believe there are reasons for that. Partly getting people back to fitness and I hope that doesn’t sound like an excuse.
“We played very well in the opening 45 minutes. I half assumed they would bring on Walcott at some point and the free-kick we conceded just three minutes after half-time was undoubtedly the turning point.”
David Moyes: I can’t afford to let James Vaughan go – Everton latest
Oct 21 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES will resist the temptation to send James Vaughan out on loan – as he believes the young striker can help transform Everton’s fortunes. Vaughan is slowly working his way back to full fitness after spending much of the last three years sidelined with serious injury. He was most recently laid off for five months after undergoing more surgery on his left knee in March. However, the 20-year-old has made pleasing progress recently and is poised to get another 90 minutes under his belt tonight when Everton’s reserves tackle Bolton Wanderers at the Halton Stadium (7.00pm). Playing matches is the one thing Vaughan desperately needs at present and, in normal circumstances, Moyes would invite offers from clubs to take him.
However, he won’t consider it for a number of reasons – not least because Vaughan has match-winning capabilities. “Maybe that (sending him on loan) will be something that we think about in the future,” Moyes said today. “But, at this moment, this is the best place for him. We need him at the minute. “The squad isn’t strong enough or big enough to let him go away. But, much more than that, he is a type of player we don’t have at the club. “That’s why I’d prefer it if he stays with us. “But if I got to the stage where I think it would benefit him, I might send him away. For now, though, we want him with us.” Vaughan was thrust back into first team action when the Blues beat West Brom 2-1 on August 23 but, even though he changed the game, that was far earlier than Moyes wanted him as the England under-21 international had done little training. Since then, however, Vaughan has hardly missed a session at Finch Farm and the manager feels the benefits are there for all to see, pointing to his match-winning double for the reserves in the mini derby seven days ago. “I’ve said to him that I’ve just started to see signs of him coming back to what he is about and those goals against Liverpool will have done him the world of good,” said Moyes. “I still think he has got a bit of developing to do but he has had a good month or more to get up to speed. You have to remember he has missed so much football. “The training is definitely helping him. He is doing bits of extra stuff and he is definitely working hard to try and improve his all-round game. “We are not making excuses but we did think he was going to take a few months to redevelop and get back to what we know he can do.” Everton, meanwhile, still have a number of tickets available for Saturday’s high noon showdown with Manchester United and they can be purchased at the Goodison Box Office, online or by calling 0871 663 1878.
Everton's pride at boys in blue
Oct 21 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
IN AN era where throwing bundles of cash around has been seen as the key to footballing success, it has become increasingly difficult for young players to breakthrough. While some clubs do not think twice about signing a cheque for players with glamorous names from exotic locations, there has been an alarming tendency on their behalf to overlook what is actually under their noses. But though having access to a vast transfer kitty is something all managers crave, there appears to be a realisation now in these testing financial times of the need for clubs to cut their cloth accordingly and give youth its chance. That policy, however, has been in practice for many years at Goodison Park and Everton have never shied away from pitching novices into battle. Clearly David Moyes’ has felt that if they are good enough to play, they are old enough regardless of their age. Such an approach has led to Everton being the only club to have played five 16-year-olds in the Premier League - Francis Jeffers, Wayne Rooney, James Vaughan, Jack Rodwell and Jose Baxter - and have provided seven of the 14 youngest scorers in the division. Yet there is reason to believe those figures will be added to in the coming seasons, as Moyes - who pitched Rodwell, only just 17, into battle against Arsenal on Saturday and was rewarded with a typically assured performance - feels there is going to be even more of a reliance on youth.
Nurturing future stars, though, is something that Moyes relishes and if a wealthy benefactor does not happen to emerge, the manager has every faith that the approach he has employed thus far will continue to reap dividends. “If we don’t have the money, I have to find another way,” said Moyes. “As a coach I’m going to have to find more Tim Cahills, more Mikel Artetas and I’m going to have to try and develop that type into international players. “Then we are going to have to couple that with the good success that the Academy here has had in bringing young players through.
“There is no magic formula. I can’t suddenly go out and say I know somewhere (to get players) that nobody else does. “If we get somebody who comes in and gives me money to throw a lot of cash around, then I might be able to get a different level of player. “If not, I will be out getting players who, over the next three or four years, can lift us again. “Nowadays I think we are going to be putting in more boys. I think you are going to find that if the new UEFA laws come in, you are going to find more young British players coming through and Academy-based players getting more chances. “This season alone we have had Jack and Jose in the side. That (playing youngsters) has always been the case for Everton.” The imposing Rodwell has been training regularly with the first team squad for more than a year now, while the precocious Baxter was thrust into the seniors barely a month after he had finished his GCSEs this summer. Such an experience, inevitably, is going to accelerate their development but Moyes also feels that sharing a site with the Academy at Finch Farm is also going to increase the chances of those youngsters at the club of making it.
Previously, Moyes and Academy director Ray Hall were based at sites eight miles apart, now all that separates them is a corridor. “The benefits we have had since coming here is that when we have been short of numbers, we have been able to bring boys across to train with us on a regular basis,” he said. “That has meant they have been able to see the level they have got to get to. “We have got one or two about us and whether they go on to be the real deal, only time will tell. “But the Academy do what they can. We are expanding globally and doing what we can to get good players here.”
NIGEL MARTYN: Everton need some good old anger management
Oct 21 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
DESPERATE times call for drastic measures – so let’s hope we see the return of ‘horrible, nasty’ Everton this weekend. It was interesting to note David Moyes’ comments following Saturday’s defeat at Arsenal, when he admitted we have a number of players who can’t “handle it” – pressure – as well as he hoped they’d be able to. That is a great cause for concern. When you have games against the top four, you should really have the kind of mentality where you are looking forward to it and realise how great the opportunity before you really is. There is no better feeling than walking off the pitch with a result against a top side; victories over Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United were among the highlights of my time at Everton.
Right now there is clearly a lack of confidence in Everton’s squad and if such vulnerability remains when United visit on Saturday, I’m afraid there is only going to be one outcome – and I’m sure many others share that view. The other that the manager is having problems with just now is finding the right balance in his starting line-up and I’m sure he is desperate to get a settled 11 in place that is capable of grinding out the right kind of results. Everyone will be anxious to pull away from the foot of the table as quickly as possible, as you don’t want to be down there with the likes of Tottenham and Newcastle, two sides who, for all their faults, are more than capable of going on winning sprees. So it’s vital, then, that we start to show the kind of form of which we are capable and there would be nothing better than taking points off United for giving everyone a huge injection of confidence, going into games against Bolton Wanderers and Fulham. You have to be worried when United start scoring lots of goals, as that is a sign they are starting to click and, unfortunately, man for man, we are not going to be able to match them in terms of quality. What we can do, however, is match them for application, hunger and perspiration; we can tackle them, hustle and bustle them and be aggressive to the point that it distracts them; you know, the qualities that you would expect from an Everton side. If United score by cracking in a wonder goal from 25 yards or putting 12 passes together, then you can hold your hands up and say there was nothing more you can do. But the basic requirement on Saturday has to be to let Alex Ferguson’s men know they have been in a game. Maybe, just maybe, the return of ‘horrible, nasty’ Everton will turn things around.
An in-form Rooney is so difficult to contain
IF any of Wayne Rooney’s critics questioned his ability to blossom as a footballer, their doubts will have been well and truly answered in recent weeks. A run of six goals in his last five matches for club and country has shown that he is in fantastic form and he will be desperate to continue that run when he returns to Goodison Park on Saturday. He won’t give Everton’s defenders a moment’s peace. It seems strange that people wanted to question him as from day one Wayne was always going to go to the top of his profession and I certainly remember a young man who was blessed with all the talent in the world. Of course, the way his move to Old Trafford came about means he no longer enjoys much affection in these parts and I have to say it is a shame the way Wayne’s relationship with David Moyes ended. If Wayne is honest with himself, he will acknowledge what David did for him when he emerged, how he tried to protect him and develop him as a footballer; maybe there was just a frustration on Wayne’s behalf because he will have felt he knew what was best. Maybe that’s part of the reason why he gets so fired up for games against Everton nowadays but, all being well, Phil Jagielka and Joleon Lescott will keep him under wraps. That, though, is going to be something easier said than done.
BOLTON WANDERERS RESERVES 3 EVERTON RESERVES 0
October 21st 2008 Daily Post
Bolton's experience proved too much for Everton Reserves as their unbeaten start to the season came to an end on Tuesday. Seven of the visitors' starting XI could boast Premier League runouts and one, Ebi Smolarek, has been named Polish Player of the Year for three successive seasons. And it was his goal, followed by efforts from Heider Helguson and Joey O'Brien, which gave this game its one-sided scoreline. In comparison Andy Holden had little first-team quality to call on. James Vaughan, scorer of two in last week's mini derby win over Liverpool, was the stand-out name with Andy van der Meyde and Iain Turner making only their first outings of the season. It was little surprise then that Bolton did much of the early running, with Mustapha Riga, a summer signing from Levante, pulling the strings in midfield. Temitope Obadeyi failed to capitalise on the Dutchman's clever ball over the top 12 minutes in - but the deadlock would be broken with the very next attack. A cross was allowed to come in from the right and Smolarek was left in acres of space to plant a neat header past the helpless Turner. Having fallen behind Everton went in search of an immediate response. Van der Meyde found Vaughan in the box but the youngster was outmuscled and the ball cleared. It fell kindly for John Paul Kissock but, under pressure, the midfielder fired high and wide. Dan Gosling saw a shot parried in the direction of Vaughan soon after but this time Nicky Hunt got there first. Undoubtedly Everton were turning the screw in search of an equaliser and James McCarten, the 17-year-old centre back who this week signed his first professional contract with the Blues, headed a deep Lee Molyneux freekick inches past the post. Bolton possessed a threat on the break though and so it proved when Helguson stooped to head home a second on 38 minutes. And it got worse as the visitors' lead was extended to three before the break, O'Brien lobbing into an unguarded net with Turner stranded. Gosling had a shot cleared off the line in between and perhaps that alone offered encouragement for the second half. For, while a dogged performance made no difference to the scoresheet, Holden's determined charges at least kept Bolton at bay. Molyneux, scorer last week of a stunning freekick, came closest to a reply only to see his low shot tipped past the post. He failed narrowly to repeat the trick that did for Liverpool stopper Dean Bouzanis too, Ali Al-Habsi proving tougher to beat from 20-yards. And while Riga rattled Turner's post late on, the Scottish stopper earned his luck, displaying both bravery and agility in twice denying Bolton a fourth. Everton, Turner, Irving, Molyneux, Barnett, McCarten, Wallace, Gosling, Akpan, Vaughan, Van Der Meyde, (Agard 60) Kissock, (O’Kane 60) (Subs, Stubhaug, Sinnott, Spencer). Bolton Wanderers, Al-Habsi, Hunt, Stokes, O’Brien, Basham, Shittu, Riga, Helguson, Smolarek, Obadyi, (Subs Campbell, Lainton, Eckersley, Ward, Sheridan)
Chance to join Neville Southall on Africa trek
Oct 21 2008 by Tina Miles, Liverpool Echo
FOOTBALL heroes are captaining six teams of adventurous volunteers for a charity trek in Africa. Ex-Everton goalkeeper Neville Southall and ex-Liverpool goalie Bob Bolder are among former top-flight players taking part in the PFA South Africa Challenge. Each player and team member will go head-to-head in a series of challenges to win the cup. The eight-day journey will include cycling through mountains, hiking to Thukela Falls and improving facilities at a school in Spionkop, where a football match will be held. Ruth Thompson, head of fundraising for Children Today, said: “While the trip is challenging, it’s plenty of fun as well. “It is especially rewarding because it is in aid of such a fantastic cause, which makes a real difference to children in the UK living with disabilities.” The challenge takes place from June 5 to June 14 next year and is open to anyone aged 18 or over. For more information, visit www.childrentoday.org.uk or call Ms Thompson at Children Today on 01244 335622.
Mikel Arteta: I am not planning to play for England - Everton latest
Oct 22 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON midfielder Mikel Arteta has revealed he has no plans to switch international allegiances – but the Blues star has thanked the fans who tried to push his claims for an England call-up recently. A group of supporters kicked off an online campaign asking boss Fabio Capello to consider the claims of the club’s latest captain.
Under the five-year residency rule, Arteta would qualify for England in 15 months.
But he says he still hasn’t given up hope of a Spain call-up. “I appreciate a lot the affection they are giving me and the campaign they are doing for me to play for England, but at the moment I am not planning anything,” he said. “Since I have arrived in England the support of the fans has been constant and I value that a lot. I have played with all the categories of Spain and the hope is to play with the full side.
“I know that it is very difficult because there are players with a lot of quality but I will fight to achieve it. “At the moment the idea of playing for England hasn’t even crossed my mind. “I have the desire to play with the Spain senior side. “The truth is that it is an idea that has come about through the fans here. In England legislation states that if you play five years in the country you can play for the England team.
“I’ve been here for four and so there’s this possibility.” “It’s an idea similar to that which was talked about with Arsenal’s Manuel Almunia.” Some Spanish reports have suggested it will be easier for Arteta to win a call-up if he is playing regularly in La Liga. But he added: “At the moment I’m very happy in the Premier League. I want to continue enjoying the game they play in England. “If a very important offer arrives then I would have to study it, but at the moment I haven’t planned anything.”
Defender Lars Jacobsen, meanwhile, is planning a return to competitive action in December. The Danish right-back dislocated his shoulder on international duty before he’d even kicked a ball for the club and is desperate to show fans what he can do.
“I got injured at the worst possible time,” he explained. “I had only trained about five times, then I went away with the Danish national team and got this injury.
“I was very unhappy at the time of my injury but now I’m just trying to look forward to coming back. Hopefully I should be ready in December. That's all I’m focusing on at the moment. “I just got out of the sling last week, so that’s positive, and I’m starting to work a bit more with my shoulder joint and try to get the movement back.
“I haven't been able to move my arm for a few weeks and I’m just starting to get some movement back, so that feels a bit strange. I can’t really run at the moment because it’s too much for my shoulder to take so I’m just working on the bike for my cardio and doing some exercises in the gym.”
Vagner Love looking for January move to England - Everton latest
Oct 23 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
VAGNER LOVE has resurrected the prospect of a January move to Everton after admitting he wants to play in the Premier League. The Blues tried to sign the Brazilian international on an initial 12-month loan during the most recent transfer window but his club, CSKA Moscow, pulled the plug on the deal. David Moyes eventually filled the void left by Andrew Johnson’s sale to Fulham by bringing Louis Saha to Merseyside, but is still eager to boost his striking options when the window re-opens.
And Everton’s manager will have been alerted to Love’s declaration that he would welcome the prospect of joining an English club - Tottenham and Manchester City are also tracking him. CSKA have insisted that they will not discuss Love’s future until the Russian domestic season finishes next month, but the 24-year-old is already thinking about his next move. “I will have to speak to CSKA and review my options,” he said. “If there is something clear I will consider it, because an offer from England is always attractive. “My friend and former team-mate Jo is playing for Manchester City and they have a lot of good forwards. The Tottenham situation is different. They have a bad position in the table.” Moyes, meanwhile, has urged his players to remain positive as they attempt to finally register their first home win of the campaign against Manchester United on Saturday. There have been many parallels so far with season 2005-06, not least that the Blues have been dumped out of two cup competitions at the first hurdle. One man who will be aiming to heap more misery on Moyes is Wayne Rooney; the former Everton striker needs one more goal to bring up his century and he would love to reach the milestone in front of fans who used to idolise him.
“It would be special to do it at Everton,” said Rooney. “It’s always nice to get to 100 goals when you are a striker and if I could do it at Everton, the club where I started out, that would be really pleasing.”
The Jury: Everton fans on the Blues' clash with Manchester United
Oct 23 2008 Liverpool Echo
Lee Molton, St Helens
IT WILL be a fiery atmosphere at Goodison on Saturday with a sell-out crowd and we can beat the champions. This is just the type of game we need and could be the turning point for our season. The Evertonians would love nothing better than to win and wipe the smile off a certain Rooney’s face. This could be the ideal game for Saha to start and get his first goal for the Blues as he will surely have a point to prove to Ferguson and want to show that he can still score goals in the Premier League.
There were a few positives in the Arsenal game with Fellaini having his best game in a blue shirt and Rodwell looking good in the first half too. We need to repeat that first half performance on Saturday to claim the three points. The games coming up against Bolton, Fulham, West Ham and Middlesbrough should see the Blues start moving up the table. Let’s raise the roof at Goodison on Saturday!
Tony Scott, Walton
IS it just me or is there just far too much respect given to any of these so-called 'SKY Four' clubs at the moment? It's as if these clubs are untouchable. And why is there such an aura about these teams, especially as they are up to their eyeballs in millions of pounds of debt? To be in with any chance of finishing in the Champions League spots, first and foremost you have to beat them. Think back to 2005 when we beat Manchester United and Liverpool to back that statement up. This season, we gave the Arsenal and Liverpool players lots of room to do whatever they liked – and were comfortably beaten. The Everton players have to get tough, physical and competitive, starting on Saturday against Rooney and his mates. There are only two Everton players who are showing any fighting spirit for the shirt at the moment – Tony Hibbert and Phil Jagielka. Messrs Arteta, Lescott, Howard and Yakubu take note!
Cole Fraser, Litherland
IN recent years we’ve headed into games against Man United brimming with confidence on the back of some good form. This year couldn't be more different. When we struggle against the likes of Newcastle it is hard to see how we can take points from the champions. Yet this is the seemingly impossible task that we find ourselves facing. While our defence has more leaks than a rusty, old watering can, and United are firing on all cylinders, it’s not hard to figure out that we need to tighten up at the back. I do believe we are getting better with each performance, with Marouane Fellaini finally looking involved in matches and Phil Jagielka playing out of his skin.
The other players need to take a leaf out of Jags’ book and start showing the determination that he does. If we can get behind the team together we can rattle United. The players will have a desire to stop the rot and grab a win. To do that on Saturday would be perfect.
Mike Williamson, Leasowe
NOBODY could have been surprised by the eventual outcome of the game at Arsenal - but are we ever going to keep a lead? What was really disturbing about Saturday’s performance was the visible manner in which the confidence just seemed to sap out of the players as soon as Arsenal scored the equaliser and the result was never in doubt from that point. Somehow, against the backdrop of this awful start, we have to find that confidence and find it quickly or we will be back to the sort of relegation scrap we thought had been left in the past. Against United this week, Moyes needs to learn from the derby and not just surrender possession to the opposition, sit back and just hope for the best. That’s not what Evertonians want to see for the next five years, nor the site of subs being made only when the game is already lost. Let’s fight from the start and remind people what Everton are about!
Inquiry on Everton homes for Bellefield
Oct 23 2008 by Marc Waddington, Liverpool Echo
PLANS to build luxury homes on Everton FC’s former training ground will be examined by a public inquiry in the city next month. It comes after Everton appealed the city council’s decision to reject plans for 74 homes at the Bellefield training ground. Some 220 residents also objected to the scheme, which the club hoped would help fund its new Kirkby stadium. The three-day inquiry, to start on November 26, means the club can make its case for the development. The developer working with the club, David Wilson Homes, has now pulled out of the scheme. The club has added an extra 34 homes to the plans, taking the total to 108. The club quit the site for Finch Farm, Halewood, last year. The original application was rejected on the grounds the homes would have led to unacceptable levels of congestion. A club spokesman said it believed the application was “right and proper” and it was looking forward to making its case again.
John Thompson's Sports View: Bill Kenwright’s big call
Oct 23 2008 by John Thompson, Liverpool Echo
EVERTONIANS can argue about Bill Kenwright until they are blue in the face. And some do. But who’d be in his shoes today as he attempts to find the right buyer for Goodison? Particularly having seen what has happened across Stanley Park over the last 18 months after David Moores had to make a similar, onerous call. Even Kenwright’s harshest critics should count themselves fortunate to have a man who loves the club to its core in charge at such a vital time. They should abandon hostilities and give him the support he needs just now. All change brings risk - it’s unavoidable and can’t be shirked. Yet while there’s much to gain from a sale, there is also a lot to lose So the message should be loud and clear from all who love Everton.
Take all the time you need to get it right, Bill. And if deep down it genuinely doesn’t feel right for Everton, then don’t do it.
Red hot reason to think again
WHEN Kevin Moran scythed down Everton’s goalbound Peter Reid at Wembley in 1985’s FA Cup Final, BBC commentator John Motson immediately declared he would be booked by referee Peter Willis. The thought of the Irishman being given a red card didn’t even enter his head. But Moran was indeed ushered to the dressing room by Willis, becoming the first player to be sent off in a cup final. Motson was shocked. Moran was stunned and could barely believe it. He protested vigorously.
Fast forward 23 years, and the same incident would nowadays have been instantly interpreted as a red card offence. And rightly so. But over the years things have changed since Moran’s landmark ignominy, and any time a last man defender commits a foul on a player attacking his goal, the red card pops out. A clumsy, rather than malicious, Gareth Bale left the field after 19 minutes for Spurs at Stoke on Sunday, having upended Tom Soares as he sought to make up for his miscontrol.
Twenty four hours later, Newcastle’s Habib Beye was left disconsolate after making a gallant late lunge for the ball – just taking it – as he halted Manchester City’s Robinho. In truth, it probably was a penalty. Graham Poll was correct in saying you can be punished if you take the man as well as a bit of the ball, which Beye did.
But was it not unduly harsh to instantly dismiss both Bale and Beye? Neither offence was pre-meditated, or arguably even intentional. One was hapless, the other unlucky. Had they not been penalty area incidents, it’s doubtful either player would have even been booked. Red cards for last man incidents were orginally introduced to ensure cynical tackles, like Moran’s, received a proper penalty. But perhaps the pendulum has swung too far. And referees should be given scope to decide whether a foul really is designed to stop a goal being scored, or just an honest piece of mistimed foul play.
There is a difference. But in an era when authorities seem to want everything scripted, and robotically policed by the book, it may be asking too much for officials to be given a bit of leeway to interpret them. Nearly everyone was shocked when Moran was dismissed in 1985. Yet they should not have been. Equally, no-one was surprised to see Bale or Beye dismissed this week. Maybe, for the sake of the spirit of the game, we should at least have raised an eye brow.
Everton Ladies 5, Liverpool Ladies 0
Oct 23 2008 Liverpool Echo
EVERTON climbed to second place in the Women’s Premier League with an emphatic 5-0 derby victory over Liverpool at Marine last night. The win maintained the Toffees’ 100% record and took them to within three points of leaders Arsenal with a game in hand. Two goals in the first 11 minutes by England midfielder Fara Williams set Everton on their way against their relegation-threatened neighbours.
Jill Scott and Michelle Evans doubled the lead before the interval and Evans added her second goal 13 minutes from time. Liverpool’s defeat leaves them just one place above the relegation zone with only five points from 11 games.
Louis Saha set to face Manchester United - Everton latest
Oct 24 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES is poised to let Louis Saha loose on his old club Manchester United – at the expense of Ayegbeni Yakubu. The France international has made three starts and three substitute appearances since his summer move from Old Trafford but is still waiting to celebrate his first goal. However, Saha’s performances have been encouraging and Moyes is weighing up whether to start with him instead of his former club record signing Yakubu. Though he started the season by scoring four times in his first five matches, the Nigerian has gone off the boil in recent weeks and was substituted in last week’s defeat at Arsenal. That decision clearly upset Yakubu as he marched off the pitch without shaking hands with his replacement Phil Neville.
With Moyes determined that Everton will be difficult to break down during tomorrow’s high noon showdown, he is unlikely to play both Saha and Yakubu up front. Now he must decide who will pose the greatest threat to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic – and the fact that Saha has played alongside both men is likely to prove significant. What’s more, the Blues’ number nine had a habit of doing well against his former employers Fulham when he played for United – he scored three times in six appearances – and has continued to impress in training. Moyes, as always, will wait until the last minute before naming his team but he hopes the prospect of facing the Premier League champions will provide Saha with an extra incentive to break his Goodison Park duck. “I’m sure he would and I would love him to score as well,” said Moyes, who must also decide whether to keep faith in midfield with Jack Rodwell. “But, saying that, I wouldn’t mind anybody to score. That will be important but let’s hope he does and let’s hope we get a good result.” Everton have not won since they beat Stoke City 3-2 on September 14, a run of seven games, but the manager feels there were signs at the Emirates Stadium that his side were starting to show the kind of form of which he knows they are capable. “I’m looking forward to the game,” he said. “But it is very tough, and the form they’re in just now makes it more difficult. But, nevertheless, we need to try and get ourselves back, hopefully if we put in a good performance and try and get a good result from it then that will give us confidence. “I thought there were periods in the game where the lads played quite well, so that’s important. We are looking for small positives to build on and there were bits in the first half which were good.”
Everton v Manchester United: 2005 victory can inspire revival, says Leon Osman
Oct 24 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
ASK any Evertonian to recall events of April 20, 2005, and you will instantly get the kind of beaming smile that is reserved for the most special memories. It was, of course, the night when Duncan Ferguson waged war against Manchester United and scored a goal which effectively guaranteed that Everton would finish an unforgettable season in a Champions League position. Those who were crammed inside Goodison Park then still talk excitedly about the turbo-charged atmosphere which built long before referee Phil Dowd blew his first whistle and reached a crescendo when Ferguson’s diving header nestled in the back of the Gwladys Street net. For much of that game, Leon Osman was sat on the substitutes’ bench, and though he tried to concentrate on the events which were unfolding in front of him, he kept being drawn to the bouncing, swaying stands on each side of the old ground. It was an verwhelming experience. Osman, still to this day, is in no doubt that the cacophony proved inspirational, so it is hardly surprising that he is hoping a similarly inspirational noise can be generated for tomorrow’s return of the Premier League champions to Merseyside, but he appreciates this is not a one-way street.
Having stuttered and spluttered their way into autumn, failing to win any of their last seven games, Osman knows he and his team-mates have a duty to put a smile back on the face of supporters who have suffered too much this season. That’s why the midfielder has promised nothing other than maximum effort as Everton bid to kick start their season with a victory that could prove just as significant as that memorable one three-and-a-half years ago. “The thing I remember above all is the atmosphere,” Osman recalled. “It was absolutely incredible and from the first whistle you could tell everyone was behind us. They pushed us on and gave us belief. We didn’t do anything to get them going – they were just up for it from the start. “We don’t feel like we are on a hiding to nothing. It’s another game, it’s Manchester United at home and if you don’t want to be involved in a fixture like this then there is something wrong with you. These are the games you want to play in. “They are great occasions when you play the top sides at Goodison but they are even better if you win and we have got to make sure we do that. We will be giving it our all and I’m sure the crowd will do the same as well.” It will, though, take far more than just screaming and shouting to topple a United side that has shown ominous signs of clicking into the form that enabled them to win the two biggest prizes in the game last season in their two most recent games against West Brom and Celtic. Everton, by contrast, have endured a wretched opening to the campaign and last Saturday’s trip to the Emirates Stadium provided another false dawn, when a first half lead was turned into a crushing 3-1 defeat. United, understandably, are long odds-on to heap more misery on the Blues but Osman insists there is no defeatist talk. If anything, there is a fierce determination to prove those who are questioning Everton’s credentials wrong. “We are going to have a crack at it and we’ll give it everything we have got,” said Osman. “It’s going to take a big effort, probably bigger than the one on the night we beat them a few years ago, but we are ready for the challenge. “Everyone is going to have to play to the best of their ability and it’s going to need the crowd to make the kind of noise they did that night through the whole 90 minutes. We know that it is going to make a massive effort because United are a top side. “But we feel we are capable and, regardless of what has happened recently, we are confident in our own ability to turn things around. We did well in patches against Arsenal, it’s just a case of turning it into a 90 minute performance. “Maybe this will be the game that catapults us back up the table and gives us some momentum. We have got to believe that is going to be the case. Things are tough at the minute but there is no use anyone feeling sorry for themselves.”
Osman, certainly, is not the type of individual who will dwell on disappointment, and after grabbing his third goal of the season in that defeat at Arsenal, he has set his sights on adding to that tally against United. “I’m feeling pretty good,” said Osman, who has been troubled by knee and groin problems at various stages this season. “I feel like I am near enough back to top fitness and I’ve scored a few goals so far. I want that to continue. “It’s great that we have got Steven Pienaar back in form. Everyone knows what a good footballer he is, and to have the likes of himself, Mikel Arteta and Yak as a front three is going to cause the opposition problems. “We’ve been scoring regularly but we are conceding far too many. We need to start keeping clean sheets – there could be no better place to begin than against United.”
HOWARD KENDALL: Derby misery must spur Everton on
Oct 24 2008 by Howard Kendall, Liverpool Echo
LOSING to Liverpool was one of the biggest disappointments Everton have suffered this season but what an opportunity we have to correct things tomorrow. While the 2-0 scoreline against our neighbours was bad enough to take, the most frustrating thing was the apparent lack of passion and not seeing anywhere near enough tackles being made. Liverpool had it too easy. That can’t be the case when United visit. If they are given time and space to play, they will cut you to shreds; they are the best in the business at the minute and Alex Ferguson will have his players tuned up for this battle. It doesn’t matter that they have been playing in the Champions League this week or that their diary is full to bursting point, Alex is a master of motivating for the ‘next’ game; it’s why he has stayed at the top for so long. But while United will come with all guns blazing, Everton have to be prepared to hustle and harry them to the point of distraction, never allowing them a moment’s peace ; let’s make them play long balls out of defence. Think back to the game with Liverpool and you will recall they played at exactly the tempo they wanted, Steven Gerrard ran the game and that’s why they were such comfortable winners. If United are given as much respect, they will do the same. So it’s imperative the Blues start on the front foot, the strikers and midfielders must be prepared to do some dirty work and set the tone for a performance that could turn the tide back in our favour. There have been too many disappointments recently but a win against United would change the atmosphere around the club completely and set us up perfectly for our November games. Fingers crossed hard work can lead to big smiles.
Hand it to Rooney
WAYNE ROONEY has struck a rich vein of form and he will be desperate to score the 100th goal at the ground where it all started for him. Doubtless he is going to get his usual ‘warm’ welcome, but I think we have reached the stage now where true football fans should just appreciate his outstanding ability. It was, of course, hugely disappointing to lose a player of his talent, as we all remember the excitement he generated when bursting on to the scene. Things have now moved on and he should be welcomed back – I just hope he doesn’t have anything to celebrate.
Robert Elstone in appeal to Everton fans
Oct 24 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON’S acting chief executive, Robert Elstone, has asked Blues fans for help in filling Goodison Park. The club still has tickets available for tomorrow’s visit of champions Manchester United, and Elstone has appealed in a website blog for fans’ views. “It’s Wednesday evening before our second biggest home fixture of the season and we’ve still got good tickets on sale,” he wrote. “In the three seasons I’ve been here, that’s something I’ve not experienced. And that’s telling me yes, our start’s not been the best; yes, the ‘credit crunch’ is biting, and, maybe our sales and marketing effort is not what it should be? I’d like your views.” Elstone’s appeal drew six pages of printed responses. John Roberts complained: “Maybe if you the board had put your money upfront and built on last season’s success you wouldn’t be asking why tickets are on still on sale! We the fans were asked to put our money upfront with still three games to go last season.” Michael Carney added: “The early kick off has had an effect on sales as a lot of match goers will be working half-day,” Andy Spence moaned: “Stop ripping us off on the price of a pint. I refuse to pay £3.60 for a pint of warm beer,” and Frank Devine pointed out: “If you think that this is bad it will be far worse if we go to Kirkby.” Elstone pointed out Everton offer some of the cheapest seats in the Premier League, but added: “One of the most important things we can do as a club is fill Goodison Park every week, not least for the simple reason that 1,000 more fans per game can add £500,000 into the business. “For me it’s our ‘barometer of success’.
“Last year, we filled Goodison – every last seat (including the bad ones) – six or seven times. Our challenge is to make that nine or ten, then 14 or 15, then every game. That’s the challenge for our Box Office, Marketing and Communications teams. And we welcome your feedback.”
DAVID PRENTICE: Everton need impact of a Duncan Ferguson style talisman
Oct 24 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON released a Duncan Ferguson DVD this week. It was optimistically entitled “Story of a Goodison Hero.” But, regardless of your opinion of Big Dunc, the release was timely, because that’s exactly what Everton need right now – a hero, an inspiration, a catalyst. The Blues have had plenty of those characters down the years.
Two of them featured in the ‘Hero’ DVD. “Duncan Ferguson had far more than Andy Gray had got going for him,” said Dundee United’s old boss Jim McLean, who worked with both tartan talismans. “He was definitely faster, he was definitely bigger and he was, in my opinion, capable of being an outstanding and exceptional talent in Scottish football.” The clip ends at that point. So we’ll never know whether McLean believed if he became that talent or not. But the respective honours list of each player is informative. Ferguson ended his career with one FA Cup winner’s medal, collected for playing the last few minutes of Everton’s 1995 victory over Manchester United.
Gray didn’t just win a League Cup, an FA Cup and a European Cup Winners’ Cup, he scored in all three finals, picked up a league title winner’s medal and was joint Young Player and PFA Footballer of the Year – a double not repeated until Cristiano Ronaldo. But, if Ferguson couldn’t hold a candle to Gray’s honours list, he was nevertheless an inspiring presence – like he did so many times against tomorrow’s visitors to Goodison Park. I have no idea who can lift the Blues tomorrow, but there’s no doubt Duncan did. Six times he scored goals against United. Two of them were matchwinners on the last two occasions Everton beat United in a league match, and two of them gave the Blues a draw at Old Trafford. But while his stooping header in 2005 was the metaphorical dip over the line in the chase for an unexpected fourth place finish, it wasn’t his greatest contribution that night. His biggest impact was the way he helped turn a match drifting to a draw by the force of his personality.
Deep in the second half, with the match reaching a lull, he took it upon himself to chase down United defenders slickly passing the ball between themselves.
He harried Rio Ferdinand, he hunted Gary Neville and he hared after Wes Brown. He managed to get a stretching touch to the ball, won back possession, then was fouled for his efforts. It ignited the crowd, the blue touch paper sizzled and minutes later he provided the explosive climax. Plenty of Blues teams have boasted similar catalysts – Barry Horne would toss in a reckless tackle to rouse the crowd; if Howard Kendall’s great side was struggling (a rarity, admittedly) Peter Reid and Paul Bracewell would press, pester and a chase a team into submission. And if the team which finished fourth in 2005 found itself trailing, it would toss on a tartan talisman.
It’s that enthusiasm, that drive, that infectious personality Everton need right now.
Tim Cahill has it, but he’s suspended tomorrow. Does Everton have anybody else?
We’re about to find out . . .
Keep an eye on Wiley
THE bookies at Blue Square have taken the novel step of offering to refund losing bets if a referee wrecks your punt with a dodgy decision. Using the independent website, rightresult.net, they will repay losing bets on live Premier League matches if the website arbitrators rule the ref got it wrong. It’s worth bearing in mind with Alan Wiley at Goodison Park tomorrow.
Case of ref justice
ROB STYLES has been dropped from Premier League duty this weekend after making the tough call that Habib Beye fouled Robinho on Monday night.
Alan Wiley got a much easier call wrong when Everton faced Stoke earlier this season. His reward was Manchester City v Portsmouth seven days later.
Does Keith Hackett’s decision depend entirely on how much furore accompanies a refereeing cock-up?
Wayne Rooney and Everton: Maybe it could all have been so different...
Oct 25 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
RIGHT player, wrong time.
Though Wayne Rooney will not receive a warm welcome at Goodison Park this afternoon, might things have been different had he emerged in another period?
It may seem like only yesterday but six years have passed since Rooney announced his arrival to the footballing world with a sublime goal against Arsenal which generated celebrations that shook the foundations of Everton’s home. Long before that, of course, Evertonians had known all about his capabilities; he was the young boy who many believed would lead the charge into a bright new era, a player who could make dreams come true. As we all know, the relationship turned sour and the circumstances of his move to Manchester United will mean that even though much water has passed under the bridge, some will never forgive Rooney, who wore a T-shirt that made famous the saying ‘Once a Blue, always a Blue’. Others may simply prefer to appreciate the two years he played for Everton and bask in the memories he gave them, such as a first winning goal at Elland Road in 51 years, the thunderbolt which flattened David Seaman or the impetuous goading of West Brom’s Darren Moore.
There is, obviously, a school of thought that says Rooney would have left regardless of where Everton found themselves in the table, that it was only a matter of time before Manchester United or Real Madrid, perhaps, came calling with an offer which was too good to refuse. Given Everton’s finances back in the summer of 2004, a £25m offer for any player simply had to be accepted and Rooney even acknowledges that in his autobiography when saying “what would have happened to the club if I hadn’t left?” A parting of the ways was best for all then, as Rooney’s relationship with David Moyes had broken down to the point that it had become irreparable – certainly in the player’s eyes – and Everton had just finished the previous campaign with the lowest tally of points in the club’s history. But what if he had emerged at a time when Everton were buoyant? Say, for example, he had come onto the radar at this time last season and started to learn his trade in a sidecompeting in Europe and at the top end of the table? As another UEFA Cup campaign was on the horizon this summer and, with the greatest respect to those who were at the club in 2002, the quality of the player at Goodison having risen, might Rooney have been happy to stick around for longer than he actually did? Life would be glorious if we had the ability to use hindsight but, looking back on how things panned out, Rooney would surely admit he handled the situation surrounding his move badly and it was certainly not the wisest thing to release an autobiography so early in his career. In it he comes across as brash and a know-it-all and there are certain passages involving Moyes that make you wince reading them now. But also quite evident was his love for all things Royal Blue; that’s why it is such a shamethings have turned out as they have done. What’s more, it makes his ridiculous celebrations in front of the visiting section at Old Trafford in recent years all the more bewildering; hopefully now that he has matured, Rooney will rise above any goading he receives. “Looking back, I’m sure Moyesy was doing what he thought was best for me and the club,” Rooney wrote about how the manager handled his emergence. “I was probably a bit impatient, being so young and inexperienced.” With that in mind, maybe the clash of personalities between an adolescent Rooney and Moyes would have ended in separation, regardless of whether he had emerged into a struggling team or a prospering one. It would, however, have been fascinating to see how things would have developed if Rooney was at Goodison Park now; it has been said on many occasions recently that Everton need a hero and a player of Rooney’s class would fit the bill. Such a pity, then, he will be wearing red today.
Cahill backs the game fit for everyone
The One Game, One Community week of action, organised by KICK IT OUT, sees a host of events taking place across the country and Leon Osman and Tim Cahill have added their support to the initiative. Cahill said: “I hope people don’t view this as a purely anti-racism campaign. Obviously that’s a big issue that we all take very seriously andpart of this message but one game, one community is about embracing everyone. “At Everton our community department organises teams and tournaments for disabled people, children, girls, ladies, everyone. The Everton disabled teams are very successful and it‘s something we’re all very proud of.”
Work to do for Blues’ Spaniard
GIVEN he speaks seven languages fluently, it’s quite clear that Mikel Arteta is a footballer who is blessed with intelligence, and not just skill. So it was no surprise to hear him say earlier this week that while he was flattered by the clamour of some supporters to get him an England call up, the only country he wants to represent at international is Spain. That, however, remains easier said than done. Anyone who watched Xavi pull the strings for Barcelona in midweek against Basle or Cesc Fabregas take Fenerbahce apart in midweek, to name but two, will appreciate the size of the task facing Arteta. "I have played with all the categories of Spain and the hope to play with the full side is there," said Arteta, who has captained his country at Under-16, Under-18 and Under-21 level. "I know that it is very difficult because there are players with a lot of quality but I will fight to achieve it." The time to start fighting, then, is now. After a bright start to the campaign, Arteta’s form has dipped, coinciding with Everton’s disastrous run through autumn; he, just like a number of his team-mates, owes a few big performances. If he starts to reproduce the form that made him Everton’s dual player of the year in 2007, then he can feasibly start to talk about winning international recognition again; until that happens, though, keeping his head down and working hard is the order of the day.
Steven Pienaar’s so desperate to make up for wasted time
Oct 25 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
CLUMSY tackles are the bane of a footballer’s life and Steven Pienaar knows that better than most. It was against Manchester United last Christmas, after all, when Pienaar got his bearings wrong, lost his concentration and stuck out a leg which sent Ryan Giggs sprawling and scuppered Everton’s hopes of leaving Old Trafford with a deserved draw. But if he was able to shake off that incident with a string of creative, clever performances that helped Everton to fifth place in the table last season, the ham-fisted challenge of which he was on the receiving end this summer was not so easy to bounce back from. Though nothing seemed amiss after he tangled with an over-enthusiastic PSV Eindhoven midfielder during an August friendly, the consequences were disastrous – a broken toe ensured he played no part in the opening of a campaign that had promised much. Given that his first season at Goodison Park saw him finish with a tally of 14 assists, there were genuine reasons to believe that Everton’s current predicament would not be so bleak had the South African been available. Happily, however, Pienaar is fit again, determined to make up for lost time. Not one to dwell on things that have gone before, he is looking to the future and he knows it will look much brighter if the champions are beaten this afternoon.
“It was a long two months,” said Pienaar. “I won’t say it was frustrating, as when you get older, you start understanding that it happens in football. Although it was unfortunate to suffer the break when I did , I worked really hard and I’m happy that I’m back fit again. “I knew something bad had happened straight away. I felt my toes bend back and I thought at first four of them had broken. Then when we went to check them, we knew I would be out for some time. I’ve had long absences through injury before. “At Ajax I had a problem in my knee that meant I was out for five months. I remember there were suggestions that I might not play football again. You just have to stay patient and I was quite relaxed that everything would be okay.” If Pienaar was unruffled by his injury woes, he is similarly tranquil about Everton’s prospects of climbing the table once again and sees a showdown with United as the ideal game to get back to winning ways. Of course he acknowledges that it is not a straightforward mission by any means, but the former Ajax midfielder points out that there are still 90 points to play for between now and next May, so he, for one, has no intentions of pressing the panic button. “We have only played eight games in the league so there is plenty of time,” he said. “We need points. We have been playing against the big clubs and it is not going to be easy, especially when you are in the situation we are. But a win can change everything around. “We played Newcastle and that was always going to be difficult, as they were in a bad situation like us. But we came out with a point only to give everything away so easily at Arsenal last week. “Maybe things will change after we have played United. Who knows what will happen? At the moment United are on fire and they are scoring goals from all angles. They have a lot of quality players. “But you don’t need any kind of encouragement when you play a team like this. You just go out and enjoy yourself. Nobody needs to motivate you. We just need to be disciplined and do what is asked of us. If we don’t concede a goal, we have got a good chance.” Keeping a clean sheet, though, has proven impossible thus far and the Blues keep being undone by a series of individual errors, the kind of which Pienaar – a man who grew up in Johannesburg idolising Peter Beardsley – made when these sides last met. That foul on Giggs, which led to a penalty being converted by Cristiano Ronaldo, was arguably the only mistake he has made during his time on Merseyside, but his biggest frustration about it was the fact he had let his team-mates down. “That was a disappointment,” Pienaar recalled. “I was busy having a good game and then I made a silly mistake. It just goes to show that you have to concentrate for 95 or 100 minutes. I was just physically tired and couldn’t do it anymore.
“I was so disappointed for the rest of the team because we had worked so hard. I gave it away and felt that I had let my team-mates down. After the game, I just sat in the dressing room and apologised to them. Then I put it behind me.” Such an outlook means he won’t be hell-bent on setting the record straight, his only concern is being part of a successful team. That said, a fitting symmetry would see Everton register their first home win with Pienaar scoring the goal. “If God is on my side and a chance happens to come my way, I’ll be there to take it,” said Pienaar, smiling broadly at the thought. “But it’s not a personal thing. It’s down to the team. We all have to work hard to get the win. Then we will see what happens.”
Liverpool fans in Madrid showed a true blue touch of class
Oct 25 2008 by Tony Barrett, Liverpool Echo
IT was easy to work out where the Liverpool fans were situated in the Vicente Calderon Stadium on Wednesday night – the section of the ground adorned by a flag carrying Everton's crest. As improbable as it may seem to those who didn't see it or who believe football supporters are so tribal they make the gangs in The Warriors look like the Women's Institute at a craft fair, the banner was proudly displayed by a group of travelling Liverpool followers who wanted to pay tribute to their Bluenose mate. Alongside the Everton crest was a picture of Rory Colquhoun, a well known figure in this city and an Evertonian to the core of his being, who sadly passed away recently at the age of 49 following a courageous battle with cancer.
Also on the banner was Liverpool's own crest, a montage of Everton players and the legend "Rory 09.07.59-11.10.08". It was the kind of tribute which restores your faith in humanity and proves once again that although the relationship between Merseyside's football fans is not what it should be or what it once was, there are still those prepared to rise above hatred. It was that kind of night at the Calderon though.
Despite the concerns of UEFA and pretty much anyone who had seen the Madrid police in action previously, Liverpool's much publicised clash with Atletico passed without any sort of major incident, even though one national newspaper broke ranks with the rest by claiming that there had been "skirmishes involving 900 Liverpool fans" when no such incidents had taken place. In actual fact, the atmosphere between the two sets of supporters could not have been better and the Spanish press were quick to praise them both the morning after the game. Maybe it was the fact that they both love Fernando Torres. Maybe it was a sense of mutual respect. Maybe it was a shared dislike of UEFA bigwigs Michel Platini and his rent a quote sidekick William Gaillard. Whatever it was, there was an inescapable sense of unity in the stadium which should not go unrecognised. At the final whistle objects were thrown into the away end by the home fans which were returned with interest by the Liverpool supporters. But these objects weren't rocks or coins – this was Madrid, not Rome – they were scarves and shirts being exchanged as tokens of mutual respect.
After the Liverpool fans were allowed out of the stadium the ones who were not headed straight for Barajas airport to catch flights back to Merseyside returned to the bars dotted around the ground to get stuck into a few more San Miguels with the very same Atletico fans they had also been drinking with before the match.
But the most symbolic indication of what kind of night this was came after just 10 minutes of the first half when the Madrid police stationed in front of the away end removed their protective helmets. This is unheard of at the Calderon and regulars at the stadium looked on in disbelief at what was unfolding before their eyes.
So well behaved were the Liverpool supporters that any ideas the police may have had that they were typical English hooligans were totally removed and their protective headgear followed suit. Had there been trouble on Wednesday night you can bet your life it would have made headlines everywhere, particularly after UEFA had tried to move the game to a neutral venue. The disappointing thing is that when things go well – and, in fact, probably much better than anyone could possibly have expected – it tends to go unnoticed. There is always a potential for trouble at matches abroad. Language, cultural and football differences combined with regular ticket shortages, heavy handed policing and, lets face it, far too much ale mean the possibility for skirmishes is always there. But more often than not games pass without any serious problems, even when they are deemed potentially volatile beforehand, and Liverpool's visit to Atletico undoubtedly fell into this category. Maybe one day football fans of all clubs, the vast majority of whom are a credit to the teams they support, will begin to get the recognition they deserve. But in the meantime just take another look at that flag in front of Liverpool's away end bearing Everton's crest and a picture of a lifelong Blue who loved his team with all his heart – if that doesn't restore your faith in the enduring humanity of football then nothing will.
New EFC stadium bid probe
Oct 25 2008 by Tina Miles, Liverpool Echo
A SECOND pre-inquiry into Everton FC’s and Tesco’s joint bid to build a stadium and superstore takes place next month. The meeting to finalise arrangements for the public inquiry later next month will be held in Kirkby on Wednesday, November 5.
Knowsley council expects the inquiry, which will start in November 18, to last for six weeks, running for four weeks prior to Christmas and two weeks in the New Year.
The £400m project includes a 50,000-seat stadium, a Tesco supermarket and up to 50 shops. The new ground is budgeted to cost £130m, of which Everton would contribute £78m. It would generate around £11m additional revenue a year for the club.
The government called a public inquiry because of concerns over the “significant effects” beyond Kirkby. The plans will not be discussed in any detail until the inquiry itself starts on November 18.
Everton's results will improve – David Moyes
Oct 25 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
We can still have a good season says Moyes
DAVID MOYES believes a stronger, fitter Everton, are on the verge of a return to business as usual. The Blues face one of the toughest games in the calendar today when they tackle league champions Manchester United. But, after that, they have a run of winnable fixtures against Bolton (on Wednesday), Fulham, West Ham and Middlesbrough. Moyes alarmed supporters earlier in the campaign when he said Everton “were not yet ready to win” in the Premier League. But now that those who have been out with long term injuries are close to full fitness, he thinks results will reflect accordingly. He has challenged his squad to try and scale the heights of last season by putting together the kind of sequence that will see them make rapid headway up the table once again. “We do have players who are beginning to get fitter and ready,” said Moyes. “Will that lead to more results? I hope so, and I think it will.
“But I do think that maybe there were one or two too many excuses used before – players not in, manager doing this etc. A lot was said, but now we need to get our heads down and start winning some games. “I’m fortunate because my players have been good and there’s a consistency here. I’ve got great belief in the players who finished fifth that they can do it again. I know we’re not in a good position, but I still think we can turn it around and have a good season. “There will always be doubters, those that say you’re playing the wrong way, playing the wrong players and that you should do this and that. “But whatever we’ve done in the last year or two has tended to be the right decisions. “So I think that’s why you’re given a little bit of time to get things right. “As a team and a club we need to show character, a lot of belief and a bit of patience as well, that we can turn it around.” One thing Everton have appeared to lack in recent weeks is an ‘angry’ influence in midfield. But Moyes, who will check on Tony Hibbert’s fitness before naming his side for today’s noon kick-off, thinks his captain can provide such leadership. “I think most people would say Phil Neville is probably that,” he said. “He’s played in most games for us this season. Phil is a leader.
“But I hear everybody talking about that – teams at the bottom need leaders – but you need to get the confidence and when that comes in more people tend to take responsibility.”
BARRY HORNE: Robert Elstone senses Everton download
Oct 25 2008 by Barry Horne, Liverpool Echo
I WAS interested to read the thoughts of Everton’s acting chief-executive, Robert Elstone, on the club’s website this week – under the heading ‘Packed To The Rafters.’
Under normal circumstances, that would refer to Goodison Park for the visit of the current champions of England and Europe, but it’s quite shocking to discover that it’s likely to be anything but the case at lunchtime today. The visit of Manchester United normally creates a black market for tickets. It seems, however, that the ground isn’t even going to be sold out. But this is not an isolated incident. It was noticeable that there were less than capacity crowds against Newcastle and Standard Liege earlier this season, while alarm bells started ringing for me when the visit of Portsmouth in just the second home game was three or four thousand down on last season’s average.
I did not follow up on the fans’ comments which followed Mr Elstone’s piece, but the fact there were so many tickets unsold so early in the season suggests that much of the disaffection had to do with the activity in the transfer market in the summer not creating any optimism for the coming campaign. A poor start to the season compounded that feeling, while the impending recession no doubt fed into the cycle.
I don’t think we need to look too much further than that. It was refreshing and heartening to see Robert Elstone canvassing the fans for their views, but I suspect he isn’t going to learn anything he doesn’t already know.
A game that’s full of hopes and fears
YOU didn’t need a crystal ball to realise late September and early October was going to be a definitive period in Everton’s season – and so it has proved. Exits from two cup competitions were bad enough, but UEFA Cup qualification next season is now looking unlikely, while a Champions League place, which would have been the next step in the side’s progression, is already unthinkable with less than a quarter of the season gone. David Moyes and his players are in a situation where they need to salvage something from the season quickly – so the last thing they will want to see coming around the corner is the United team bus. They are in sparkling form at the moment, while it’s typical of Everton’s luck that Wayne Rooney returns to Goodison looking to score his 100th career goal. Another viewpoint, however, is that when you are in a situation like this, a match against a side like United could be just what you need. There is no expectation, no pressure – and let’s not forget we have had some terrifically close battles with United in recent seasons. My concern is I said something similar prior to the derby match and things didn’t materialise. If Everton aren’t at the races at lunchtime today, they could be in for a drubbing.
Everton 1, Manchester United 1
Oct 25 2008
Everton outmuscled Manchester United to claim an unexpected point thanks to a spirited second-half comeback. Manchester United had dominated the first 45 minutes of the Barclays Premier League clash with a controlled and confident display, to the point that Everton were chasing shadows. United held a deserved lead through Darren Fletcher at the break, but in the second period Everton stormed back with a physical performance, with Marouane Fellaini heading the equaliser. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was able to make five changes to the United side that outclassed Celtic in the Champions League in midweek. Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra were back from injury, while Ryan Giggs returned as captain. Wes Brown and Ji-Sung Park were also recalled. Everton had former United striker Louis Saha up front with Ayegbeni Yakubu, while Joseph Yobo and Phil Neville returned from injury. The hosts were either brave or foolhardy to play two wide-men in Steven Pienaar and Mikel Arteta, leaving Leon Osman and Fellaini sometimes cruelly exposed in central midfield, where Giggs pulled all the strings. United found space with ease. Dimitar Berbatov may seem to show an economy of effort, but his clever link-up play kept United moving forward with menace. Everton did have a couple of decent half-chances early on, firstly when Fellaini took a pass from Joleon Lescott and saw a shot on the turn blocked by Nemanja Vidic. From the corner by Mikel Arteta, Belgian midfielder Fellaini headed just over. Then Wes Brown needed to make a hasty block when Saha struck a low drive from the edge of the box. But United’s movement, quality passing - and the amount of men they got forward so quickly - had Everton constantly stretched.
Fletcher had a header from Giggs’ corner deflected wide, and Neville blocked a drive from Cristiano Ronaldo. Wayne Rooney then blasted wide after a free-kick had been blocked. A goal from the champions has been on the cards for a while when Fletcher broke the deadlock after 22 minutes. Giggs’ astute angled ball into the box by-passed a static Fellaini to allow Fletcher a run into space where he evaded Lescott, before calmly placing his shot wide of Tim Howard. United sensed blood and Osman cleared off the line from Vidic, and Howard saved well from Ronaldo and Giggs as the visitors stormed forward. Vidic was booked for a poor challenge which sent Saha flying after 29 minutes. From the free-kick, Everton saw shots from Yakubu and Steven Pienaar charged down. Giggs’ run and chip then created a headed chance for Rooney that dropped just wide. Everton started the second period with more pace and urgency, which at least stopped United strolling in possession. Phil Jagielka was booked for a foul on Berbatov after 51 minutes. When Arteta caught Brown, his pass to Fellaini produced a shot which was deflected away from goal. Neville enraged his former United colleagues with a nasty lunge at an already grounded Ronaldo, boot connected with knee and the Everton captain was booked when the uproar had died down.Everton then got their lifeline, having barely troubled Van der Sar previously. After 63 minutes Neville crossed from the right and Fellaini rose above Vidic to head the equaliser. A minute later Yakubu harassed Ferdinand, stole the ball and ran into the box to see Van der Sar touch his shot onto the right post. United almost immediately sent on Anderson for Park. Rooney was then booked for a late tackle on Arteta, the game now the physical battle Everton needed to inspire their revival.
Rooney’s chances of scoring the 100th goal of his career back at his former club were ended after 71 minutes when he was replaced by Nani. Carlos Tevez arrived six minutes later for Fletcher as United sought to re-establish their earlier seemingly effortless control. Ronaldo was moved to play through the middle, and twice it took timely interventions from Yobo to snuff out danger. Brown was booked for bringing down Yakubu, before Ronaldo shot wide from a good position. James Vaughan and Victor Anichebe were sent on for Yakubu and Saha in the final minutes, Everton now striving for an improbable victory. Fellaini was booked in injury-time for dragging back Berbatov as United chased a late winner.
Everton 1, Manchester United 1: How the masseur’s words rubbed off on battling Everton
Oct 27 2008 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post
IT wasn’t just the muscles that were being massaged at half-time in the home dressing room on Saturday. As a dizzied Everton attempted to clear their heads after being given the run-around by Manchester United during the first 45 minutes, long-serving backroom staff member Jimmy Comer could barely believe what he had seen.
“The masseur, who is a massive Blue, said to us this was not like a normal Everton-Man United game,” says skipper Phil Neville. “He said the crowd were quiet, the players were quiet, and in the second half we needed to lift it and show more energy.
“Sometimes it takes something like that to get people going. Because it was only 1-0 and we were still in the game, I think that gave us the springboard to say ‘sod it, let’s just go for it’, and that’s what we did.” And how. Spurred by the unlikely rallying call Everton put together a sterling 45 minutes to snatch a richly-merited point against the European champions and maybe, just maybe, finally kickstart their spluttering season into belated life. The number of false starts already this campaign means it would be unwise to become too carried away with this result. Everton still haven’t won at Goodison this season, and a lowest home league attendance against United in 15 years on Saturday was testament to those travails. But given that United, the reigning Premier League and European champions, had won 12 of the previous 14 meetings between the teams and had scored 14 goals in their last five games without conceding, this was easily the most encouraging result of Everton’s season thus far. Of course, it’s the job of the manager and team to persuade the stayaway fans to return; and if they can maintain the level of their second-half performance then Goodison will soon be regularly packed to the rafters once more. As against Arsenal the previous week, and has been to often the case this season, it was the archetypal game of two halves. This time, though, Everton came stronger in the second 45 minutes than the first and ensured they gleaned deserved reward from an absorbing spectacle.
Such an outcome seemed extremely unlikely when, with the magnificent Ryan Giggs pulling the strings in central midfield, Everton paid United so much respect before the break that it would have been no surprise to find Moyes’s men serving the half-time tea and oranges to the visitors.
Only a clutch of fine saves from Tim Howard prevented United from adding to Darren Fletcher’s well-worked 22nd-minute opener and Everton staring another demoralising defeat in the face.
In truth, it wasn’t the words of the manager, the masseur or anyone else in the dressing room that jolted Everton into a fightback.
Thanks for that go to Cristiano Ronaldo for his reaction after being on the receiving end of a feisty tackle from Neville in the 58th minute.
The Everton captain won the ball and, while admittedly going in hard on the Portuguese whinger, there was no call for the United man to flail in agony as if he’d only just heard Real Madrid were no longer interested in signing him.
United, though, were incensed. Ryan Giggs jabbed his finger angrily at his former team-mate and Rio Ferdinand raced 50 yards to remonstrate to referee Alan Wiley, who, in keeping with his lamentable performance, then made the wrong decision to book Neville.
All of this served to destabilise United, waken the previously slumberous Goodison crowd and rile the home team into a response. The hunger, desire and fight that was so lacking in the first half – and for too much of the campaign – suddenly came to the fore, and in an instant the Everton of last season was revived.
Ferdinand in particular suffered as a consequence, completely missing his kick on the halfway line to allow Yakubu to race clear down the left and set in motion a sequence of events that ultimately led to Neville crossing for Marouane Fellaini to head home Everton’s 63rd-minute equaliser.
The United centre-back’s inexplicably underhit backpass then allowed Yakubu in moments later for a shot that Edwin van der Sar turned on to the post, the closest either team came to a winner. Indeed, as Ferguson later admitted, it was United who were hanging on at the end.
Fellaini’s goal came at a critical time for both player and team. Up until then, the Belgian appeared bewildered by what was transpiring around him, very much the 20-year-old dumped in a foreign country and a foreign league after a whirlwind transfer.
But, following his second strike in as many home games, Fellaini grew in stature and began to show glimpses of his potential. The club record buy will be indulged to a point, but Moyes will no doubt implore the midfielder to build on his confidence-boosting intervention. A lack of clean sheets is an ongoing concern – it’s now 17 games since the last shut-out – and Joleon Lescott and the recalled Joseph Yobo have yet to replicate their form of recent seasons. That hasn’t been a problem for Phil Jagielka, who followed his efforts at the Emirates with another impressive display to frustrate Dimitar Berbatov and Wayne Rooney, the latter substituted 20 minutes from time after agitating the home fans with a bout of tedious badge-kissing.
Moyes’s decision to partner former Old Trafford striker Louis Saha with Yakubu initially weakened the home team’s midfield and allowed United time and space to control proceedings. That was until Everton rediscovered their mojo, and by harrying the visitors out of possession and pressing further up the field, the space was made for Mikel Arteta and Steven Pienaar to exploit with the strikers stretching the United defence before tiring late on. This is what Moyes’s side were all about last season. So why has it taken this long for it to happen this time around? Certainly, Everton must now prove Saturday’s second-half showing is now the rule rather than the exception, but they have at least given themselves a platform from which to build. Another blood and thunder encounter at Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday is the ideal gauge of whether Everton have truly regained their appetite for a fight – without the need for any backroom reminders.
Phil Neville: 'Don't let Manchester United draw count for nothing'
Oct 27 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
PHIL NEVILLE today demanded his Everton team-mates follow up their good work against Manchester United by securing back-to-back wins for their first time this season. Given the respective form of the two sides going into Saturday’s game, Everton sprang a slight surprise when they battled back from a goal down to hold the Premier League champions to a 1-1 draw. Though that scoreline means they have not won for eight matches, the performance was certainly a big step in the right direction, and Everton now have a run of fixtures where they could accrue enough points to dramatically alter their position in the table. First up is a trip to Bolton on Wednesday evening, followed by a Goodison Park clash with Fulham, but Neville does not want to see the point they collected from United squandered by a lack of concentration at the Reebok Stadium. “It was a pleasing result at the weekend but it will count for nothing if we get beaten by Bolton,” Everton’s skipper said today. “As well as we played in the second half, we have to remember that we only got a point – and we need wins now. “We have really got to look to beat Bolton and Fulham this week. I don’t think any of the lads will be happy if we don’t do that. “But the way we finished against United must give us massive confidence. “Our energy levels were back to normal and sometimes fitness comes from when you have confidence.
“I saw glimpses of that returning when we played Arsenal and we have got to make sure we continue it now by getting the results we need.” Having trailed to a goal from Darren Fletcher – a player whom David Moyes tried to sign during the summer – Everton’s point was secured when club record signing Marouane Fellaini headed in Neville’s cross. It was a fitting reward for the Belgian international’s best performance so far in a Blue shirt, and Neville believes Fellaini will come on in leaps and bounds now that his confidence and fitness is improving with each game.
“Marouane has scored two goals in his last three games and he also did well at Arsenal,” said Neville, who was one of Everton’s star performers against his former employers. “Really, we have let him down since he came here. “The circumstances of him arriving here were unfortunate, in that he joined a team that was struggling and people automatically looked at him to start winning games for us single-handedly because of the record fee. “You’ve got to remember, though, that he is only a baby. He’s a 20-year-old lad, who is one of the youngest in our team and he’s had a lot to deal with. But you can see that he is going to be a top player for us and we’ve got to help him all that we can.”
DOMINIC KING: Simple values worth weight in gold
Oct 27 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES has urged his Everton players to go back in time – so they can look forward to a bright future. The Blues stopped their recent rot on Saturday with a 1-1 draw against Manchester United thanks to a performance that was, in many ways, reminiscent of the night they beat the champions in April 2005. Though Moyes wants Everton to play with an expressive, expansive style, he also knows the key to success demands they be hard working and energetic and he has reminded them that such simple values can prove very effective. And for the first time this season, Moyes believes his side got the balance just right, which is why he felt they fully deserved the point which Marouane Fellaini’s second half header secured. “I remember that game under the lights here vividly and I think there was a bit of that about this game,” he said. “I think our team has developed a bit since then. But I have got to say that maybe at the moment we need to go back a bit, go back to that night.” Everton looked in trouble when Darren Fletcher fired United ahead during a one-sided first half but were unrecognisable in the second, as they tore into the visitors. “I thought we got closer to them and forced them into one or two mistakes at the back which they hadn’t made in the first half,” Moyes said. “We saw a little chink in their armour. “I thought our crowd played a big part in it but I think they reacted to how the players tried to lift the tempo and do something about it. We were on the front foot for the whole of the second half. “I thought it became like a game of tennis with massive counter-attacks. If we won it back we were breaking forward and the players who were having to do all the counter-attacking, namely the midfield players, were almost on their knees.
“Certainly Steven Pienaar and Mikel Arteta, Leon Osman and Fellaini, had to get up and back for most of the second half.”” There were a number of flashpoints in the game, not least Phil Neville’s robust tackle on Cristiano Ronaldo; the Portugal winger’s reaction suggested that he was trying to get Everton’s skipper sent off, as did Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs’ protests. However, Giggs somehow escaped a booking earlier in the game for a tackle on Pienaar by shaking hands with referee Alan Wiley, while Nemanja Vidic could easily have been shown a red card for a lunge at Louis Saha. “I didn’t think for a minute Phil was going to get a card,” said Moyes. “Even if he had been a touch late, you would have to say that Vidic’s tackle on Saha was a touch late as well. I heard a right crack, I was worried for Louis when I saw it.
“I thought something had gone. Did I think Neville was going to get a red card? No, I didn’t. I’ve had a chance to see it again he was spot-on. There should be a few of their players going to Phil Neville saying, ‘Hey, we got that wrong, good tackle lad’.”
Tim Cahill in waiting for Everton FC
Oct 28 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES has admitted that Tim Cahill’s return from suspension has left him wrestling a major selection dilemma. The Blues’ talismanic midfielder is available for tomorrow’s trip to Bolton after serving a three-match ban for the red card he received during last month’s Merseyside derby. In normal circumstances, Cahill would be expected to march straight back into Everton’s starting line-up, but the improvement in Marouane Fellaini’s form - plus the performance of the 11 who played against Manchester United on Saturday - has complicated matters. Fellaini has scored two goals in his last three matches and filled the role that Cahill normally occupies, leaving Moyes mulling over whether playing both men in the same team might be too adventurous in certain games. “We definitely needed his stature and he’s scored two important goals in our last two home games against Newcastle and Manchester United,” said Moyes. “At times it might be that we can play both of them and maybe on others we can’t and we will need to look at that.” With Tony Hibbert having recovered from the ankle injury which ruled him out of Saturday’s 1-1 draw against the champions, Moyes expects his team to be at nearly full strength at Bolton – Lars Jacobsen is the only long-term absentee. Moyes, however, could well say ‘same again.’ And that would mean Jack Rodwell - who was relegated to the bench seven days after impressing against Arsenal - will again have to settle for a substitute’s role.
But the manager is quick to point out that the 17-year-old’s progress has been one of the most encouraging aspects so far this season and expects Rodwell to play a major role in Everton’s future. “We’ll do everything we can to bring Jack on at the right pace and time,” said Moyes. “We will always try and do the best we can for any young player. We thought Jack did well at Arsenal. “We’ll look to see when we think it’s right to play him. “We thought Arsenal was a good opportunity. We knew they would have a lot of young players in the team as well and felt it was a good chance for him to play.” One man who will definitely play at The Reebok Stadium is Phil Jagielka, who maintained his outstanding form against United. And Moyes believes the player has improved on the levels that secured him a first England cap against Trinidad & Tobago in June. “Jags has been our most consistent player after the opening period,” said Moyes. “I would say he has been the one who has matched his form from last season. “There are one or two beginning to get back into it, but he’s the one who has stuck to his task. “He got into the England squad with his performances towards the end of last season and you’d say he’d have to be close to it again because of his performances at the moment.”
Everton FC launches hearing aids for children
Oct 28 2008 by Caroline Innes, Liverpool Echo
YOUNG Evertonians with hearing difficulties can now proudly wear their team’s colours – on their ears. The Blues have joined forces with scientists to tackle the problems hard-of-hearing children face while wearing hearing aids. Together they have created special clear hearing aids carrying Everton’s world-famous club crest.
The aim is to make Merseyside children proud of their hearing aid, not embarrassed by it, and the new devices are already proving popular among young Blues.
The Better Hearing Initiative was set up by Starkey Laboratories, the world’s largest manufacturer of hearing aids. Suzie Butcher, from Starkey Laboratories, said: “Many children suffering with hearing problems can often experience bullying among their peers and feelings of embarrassment from using hearing aids. “We have seen a fantastic response from children who have opted for a football-designed aid.
“It really transforms it from being something children can be ashamed of to an object of aspiration.” Everton’s team badge, including the Nil Satis Nisi Optimum motto, is inserted into the ear mould by Cheshire-based Starkey at the development stage.
Young fans can even request tubing in the Goodison Park club’s colours to complement the look. Tom Shelston, head of marketing at Everton, said: “We are really pleased to be supporting the Better Hearing Initiative with Starkey.
“It is a fantastic idea to use football and provide children with hearing difficulties something they can be proud of wearing.” The Better Hearing Initiative was devised by Starkey to change children’s perceptions of hearing aid use and encourage children with hearing aids to feel more confident.
Goodison enigma who was inspiration to the fans
Oct 28 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
INSPIRATION or exasperation? Head man or head case?
Duncan Ferguson’s football career has sparked more opposing views than perhaps any other footballer. But he had a large and enthusiastic body of fans who remained devoted to his power and personality. And his career has now been handed official endorsement with the release of a club DVD “Big Dunc – The Story Of A Goodison Hero.” Like the subject matter, the DVD has its controversial moments.
Every one of Ferguson’s seven red cards – a Premier League record – is scrutinised and analysed, while the motivation behind the last one, a punch which floored Paul Scharner at Wigan, is revealed. “Fergie wanted a rest and the gaffer wasn’t prepared to give him one,” giggled James Beattie, “so I don’t know whether he punched him to get out of the next few games!” But misguided motivations apart – and what fired Ferguson was always a grey area – Big Dunc is a reverential and enthusiastic celebration of a career which was undeniably colourful. It’s all there – the goals, the brushes with authority, the jail sentence, the international exile and bungling burglars.
Joe Royle, the man who coined the phrase “Ferguson became a legend before he became a player,” offers his views on the moment that kicked off Ferguson’s Goodison career. “For 45 minutes, Duncan had wandered through a derby match, until Neil Ruddock made the mistake of kicking him up in the air. That got Duncan angry,” he smiled, on the moment which kick-started Ferguson’s love affair with the Goodison faithful. As always, Royle is worth listening to, but the list of other interviewees is impressive . . . Howard Kendall, Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney, Craig Brown, Gary Speed, Graeme Sharp, Andy Gray, Derek Temple and former team-mates galore. Every aspect of Ferguson’s 12 years as a Goodison hero is investigated, while his younger years at Carse Thistle and Dundee United are explained by youth boss Dick Taylor, Jim McLean, Paul Sturrock and Billy McKinlay.
“Duncan Ferguson had far more than Andy Gray had got going for him,” said Dundee United’s old boss, McLean. There are even words from the man himself, before he took his vow of silence. Ferguson did not agree to participate in the making of the DVD, but there are still a surprisingly large number of archive interviews.
Once you penetrate the Tartan brogue, his articulacy makes you wonder why he didn’t offer his opinions more frequently. But then there is much about Ferguson which was enigmatic. What is crystal clear is that he possessed a talent which produced some sparkling goals and performances. The DVD publicity blurb features a remarkable claim “every goal Ferguson scored for Everton, beginning with his bow against Liverpool, and ending with his final strike in the 90th minute of his last Everton appearance, delivering a memorable souvenir of an unforgettable Goodison Park character.” That’s 72 goals from 191 starts and 82 substitute appearances.
NIGEL MARTYN: How Howard turned the tide for Moyes’ men
Oct 28 2008 by Nigel Martyn, Liverpool Echo
SEASONS, we all know, can turn on the smallest thing and many people believe Phil Neville thundering into Cristiano Ronaldo did just that for Everton. But, as a fully paid-up member of the goalkeeper’s union, I would have to disagree and point to a moment in the first half of Saturday’s tussle with Manchester United when the tide finally started to turn in the Blues’ favour. Trailing 1-0 and under the cosh, Nemanja Vidic rose highest to meet a Ryan Giggs corner and powered towards goal – happily he was denied by a quite brilliant save from Tim Howard and the rebound was cleared to safety by Phil Neville. Had that happened last month, say, the rebound would have fallen to Wayne Rooney, he’d have lashed the ball into an empty net and we would, in all likelihood, have been beaten by three or four goals. Thank goodness, then, that we stood firm at that point and were able to stage a fightback in the second half that will hopefully serve us well from now. That moment, as much as anything, provided a welcome injection of confidence. And that save will also have done Tim the power of good – for the first time since he has been at Goodison Park, people have just started to mention one or two things about whether his form has been up to scratch.
To my eye, he hasn’t made any glaring mistakes nor do I think he has been responsible for the goals we have conceded, but when you are a goalkeeper and struggling to keep clean sheets you never feel totally comfortable. During my time here, I always used to worry that people would say were unable to stop teams scoring because of my age. Daft little doubts start to creep into your mind and sometimes you need a big save to get you back on track. Certainly the one Tim produced from Vidic was right out of the top draw and he proved that was no fluke 60 seconds later when getting his fingertips to a drive from Ryan Giggs that appeared to be arrowing for the top corner. It provided a little belief that grew in the second period and we fully deserved the point at the final whistle – now we have got to follow up with three against Bolton tomorrow night to really build on Tim’s timely intervention.
He is a top class goalkeeper and the squad is full of quality players. Hopefully we will start to show our true form now and start climbing the table as we have a real opportunity in the next month to start making up ground.
David Moyes: Phil Neville a great leader
Oct 29 2009 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES has hailed his skipper, Phil Neville, as the “last of a dying breed.”
The Blues boss paid a stirring tribute to his captain ahead of tonight’s trip to Bolton, and described him as Everton’s very own John Terry. “People wouldn’t understand how good a skipper he is,” said Moyes. “The preparation of himself as an individual is as good as I’ve ever seen in any professional. “Someone said to me the other day I needed leaders, and I said I think most people would see Phil Neville as one of the last type of leaders in football. “If you were to ask who were the leaders at football clubs you might pick out one or two, the John Terrys of this world and the Jamie Carraghers, but there is a lack of that type of personality in football now. Phil Neville has still got that. “There’s different types of leaders and people who will do it with their football ability, but of that sort of old type captain, roll your sleeves up, get stuck in, the encouraging and clapping the players on, really a general motivator amongst them, that’s becoming less and less. “I don’t know why. That might be society really rather than football, but Phil Neville has very good leadership qualities.”
Moyes believes that Neville’s willingness to accept responsibility means he sometimes doesn’t get the credit he deserves. “He never shirks, he always takes responsibility, he always wants the ball and sometimes I’ve had to say ‘look, don’t try and do it all on your own.’ “He probably doesn’t get the credit he deserves because he always wants to take responsibility, whether it be taking a free-kick, whether it be crossing a ball and whether it be making a tackle, he’s the one who wants to do it and that means you are always drawing attention to yourself. “I’ve got to say he does it and he does it with the team’s best interests. “He’s the first to text the boys before and after international games. He’s on the phone, he’s making sure they know what’s going on and he’s regularly involved in things in the area. “He’s a great ambassador for Everton Football Club the way he speaks about the club. For someone who’s not been here that long he’s done a really good job.” Moyes also pointed out the quality he brings to the team, typified by the cross from which Marouane Fellaini scored Saturday’s equaliser against Manchester United. “That was a fantastic cross, and he put another in just before it,” added the Blues boss. “We have played Phil Neville in wide midfield positions last year when we had to shore things up. “We’ve played him in the middle of the park, we’ve played him at full-back and he’s never once said ‘sorry, that’s not what I want to do.’ Not once. “In this day and age we have a player here who is willing to do any job and do it the best he can and still prepare.
“It shows someone who has leadership qualities and is happy to take that responsibility. “When he came here I saw someone with a real winning mentality, someone who is good for us in lots of ways.”
Beware of the Yak says Moyes
Oct 29 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES has warned Everton’s next three opponents to beware of the Yak – starting with Bolton tonight. Yakubu opened his account for the Blues with his first touch at Bolton last season, celebrated a Goodison hat-trick against Fulham and then scored in back to back visits to Upton Park. Everton face all three clubs in the next 10 days, and Moyes is hoping his top scorer can shake off a heel injury and be involved.
“I remember when I signed him somebody told me Yak tends to score six in a row then might not score for the next six. That’s the way he is,” said Moyes.
“So hopefully, he’s gone through his six where he hasn’t scored and he’s going to the six now where he does.” The Blues boss added that a goal would be as well received by the player as it would be by his manager. “What do centre-forwards do? They love their goals for their confidence. “When he’s not scoring you start to analyse all the other parts of his game. When he’s scoring you don’t analyse quite as much so I think Yak will be delighted when he gets those goals! “I think he and Louis worked harder than I’ve seen from them at the weekend and we needed them to because it always starts from the front. “Louis seemed fine and I think he actually got better the longer the game went on. “If you’re boys from the front don’t work then the boys in the middle can’t do it and the boys at the back certainly can’t do it. So it will always be started by the boys up front. They will be the ones who can start pressing and closing down. “Yak got a kick in the heel and has a bit of an Achilles, but he’s been out today and we think he’s okay. “We want him to score because we know how important Yak is to us. “I think every season in the Premier League he has scored 14, 15 or 16, maybe more. “He has that sort of record and he has three or four already this season.”
Marouane Fellaini feeling more at home now
Oct 28 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
IT’S not just goals that have shown Marouane Fellaini has slowly become attuned to life at Everton – the broad smile he has sported this past month has been the biggest giveaway. “He’s laughing and joking with the lads now,” explains Phil Jagielka, a man who understands exactly what the club record signing has experienced. “At first you didn’t see any of that. He’s obviously enjoying training again and that’s pleasing for everyone.” Having been burdened by the weight of expectation following his record £15m move from Standard Liege, Fellaini cut an abject figure around Finch Farm, unable to fully express his opinions and was undoubtedly bewildered by Everton’s wretched form. Fast forward to the present day, however, and the situation has dramatically improved. A goal against Newcastle United, coupled with the equaliser in Saturday’s draw with Premier League champions Manchester United has left the Belgian feeling much better about himself. That is something his team-mates have picked upon and it is no surprise to learn that Jagielka is tipping him to show his real worth in the coming months, starting with tonight’s tussle at Bolton Wanderers.
It was at The Reebok Stadium last season when Jagielka first gave a glimpse of his capabilities, starring in a game from which Everton pilfered three points thanks to Joleon Lescott’s late header, and he hopes Fellaini continues to do likewise.
Jagielka has, after all, had great sympathy for Fellaini. He experienced a dip in form following his £4m move from Sheffield United and was shunted from one position to another before finding a niche in the centre of defence. So good was his form that Jagielka was eventually rewarded with an England cap and he is now expecting Fellaini to show why David Moyes felt compelled to spend big and bring the midfielder to Merseyside, particularly as his confidence continues to grow.
“It was backs to the wall on Saturday but we started the second half really well and got in their faces and ‘Felli’ used his big head to get the important goal,” said Jagielka, the Blues’ most consistent performer so far. “His performance against United was arguably the story of his Everton career up to now - (slow start but ultimately impressive). We hadn’t seen an awful lot of him before he came here. He’s a young man and the price tag probably hasn’t helped him. “But we are learning how to play with him now and he’s probably learning what certain players can do when they have got the ball. He’ll be learning all the time, but what he has started to show in the last few weeks is very positive and looks good for the future. “You forget that just because he is big, he’s still only 20. He’s come to a foreign country, the team has not performed well and we hadn’t gone out and bought loads of players in the summer. So it was a case of him becoming our major buy. “People maybe expected fireworks from him too quickly, for him to score hat-tricks every game. But he is starting to grow. I’m not just talking about what he did against United - we saw against Arsenal and Newcastle the type of player he can be. “He’s getting better and better. Initially he was quite quiet, but now he understands a bit more of the language and the French speakers in the dressing room are giving him a bit of banter. He’s also coming out of his shell a bit more.” In many ways, the same could be said about the team. They might not have won since beating Stoke on September 14 but there was much to be encouraged about the way Everton tore into United at the weekend and there is a feeling that they are close to clicking. As pleasing as that performance was, however, Jagielka knows it will stand for nothing if they do not follow up at The Reebok Stadium, just as he is aware that dreams of playing in Europe again will be extinguished before Christmas if they don’t start racking up some wins.
“It was a bit like a cup tie in the second half,” said Jagielka. “The fans were electric and that was great because we haven’t given them much to shout about this year. The tackles started flying about and you could hear that the fans were enjoying it.
“They played a big part. Sometimes when we are not playing well and it’s a little bit nervy, the fans are quite quiet, it is hard. But this time around, the fans kept shouting. They helped us gain a point but now we have go to go and build on it.
“If we don’t perform at Bolton, it is a waste of time. We have got to put a decent run together now. “We had one last season when we went 13 games unbeaten and we’ve got to be looking to do the same again now. We need to be in a decent position by Christmas. “If we want to finish anywhere around where we did last season, we’ve got to be looking at taking maximum points from the games we have got coming up. We did it last season and now we have got to prove that we can do it again.”
Forum will explore pioneer who led blues to Goodison
Oct 29 2010 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON’S Shareholders’ Association is hoping to stage a ‘Meet the Ancestors’ night at their annual forum at Goodison Park on December 9. The Association plans to commemorate the 100th anniversary of founding father George Mahon’s death, with a talk about the work of the club’s first chairman and the pioneer who led the club away from Anfield in 1892 and into a new era at Goodison Park. Two of Mahon’s great grandsons will be present, along with the Liverpool County FA’s George Mahon Cup. But in keeping with the historical theme, the Association is also searching for relatives of the formidable Blues chairman Will Cuff – a man who gave half a century’s service to the club in the pre-War days. The Association has undertaken extensive ancestral research in a bid to invite a Cuff family member to the forum, but has so far enjoyed only limited success. Paul Wharton, of the Shareholders’ Association, explained: “We’d love to see a member of the Cuff family back at Goodison again, but all of the descendants we’ve tracked down so far are based in Australia. “Will’s great grand-daughter, Linda Riley, has been very helpful and supplied us with quite an extensive family tree, but we’ve not had much luck tracking anyone down still around the Merseyside area. “We found details of a Reginald Cuff, a nephew of Will, who was 25 in 1949 – and information of a Lilian Brenda Cuff who lived in the Liverpool area, but the trail goes cold there.
“Linda, Will Cuff’s great grand-daughter was able to tell us that after Will Cuff died in 1949, just a year after wife Jessie, their only surviving son sailed for Australia with their two grandchildren, Dorothy Jessie Cuff and Henry Charles Cuff (Charlie).
“That’s where they remained.”
Clean-sheet hero Tim Howard hails Everton’s fighting spirit
Oct 30 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
TIM HOWARD today hailed the fighting spirit that helped Everton grind out a ‘priceless’ win at Bolton - as he celebrated his first clean sheet of the season.
Everton’s number one had not kept a shutout in a competitive game since Derby County were beaten 1-0 at Goodison Park back on April 6, but he rectified matters last night. Howard was rarely troubled as the Blues saw off Bolton thanks to Marouane Fellaini’s last-gasp goal and he believes victory at The Reebok Stadium could be a turning point. “It’s a monkey off our back,” said a relieved Howard, referring to the clean sheet. “You need things to fall for you and thankfully they did. We are all delighted with the win. “The manager has been saying that if we get a few results and start climbing up the table, things will be much better and that is important for us right now. “A win at Bolton - a real tough place to come in such conditions - is priceless for us. These games are so difficult and when you pull out with a win, you feel really good. “We didn’t play great but we got the result and that was the only thing that mattered. It was so massive for the boys.” The Blues got their best results last season when games were coming thick and fast and that’s why Howard was not surprised they were able to win at Bolton so soon after drawing with Manchester United.
Now he - like the rest of his team-mates - has set his sights on bringing a fruitful week to the best possible end and is determined that Fulham will be beaten on Saturday.
“When I was driving into training the other day, I started to think back to what it was like in the UEFA Cup last season,” said Howard. “We didn’t train every day of the week back then just focusing on one opponent. You didn’t have the time. You just recovered, trained and then got on with the match. “Early on in the season, the weeks were so long, whereas this time the whistle went and bang! We were ready for it. The game just fell at the right time for us. “We have got to use this as a catalyst.”
Everton chief Robert Elstone excited at future prospects
Oct 30 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
AS someone who has competed in countless marathons across the world, it is perhaps fitting that Robert Elstone is currently helping Everton prepare for the long run.
A fanatical runner who once covered London’s 26-mile course in an astonishing time of 2hrs 30mins, Elstone is well versed in readying himself for extreme tests. But it is safe to say he has never faced a challenge like the one which presented itself this summer. The abrupt departure of Keith Wyness from Goodison Park meant that Elstone was thrust into the role of Everton’s acting chief executive at one of the most turbulent and controversial junctures in the club’s history. With an EGM looming and the proposed move to a new stadium in Kirkby thrown into limbo by a government call-in, Elstone did not have chance to ease himself into the position. It is, however, a challenge he has embraced. While Wyness was often accused of being detached from supporters and insensitive to their feelings, Elstone has made an impressive attempt to build bridges. A recent blog he wrote on the club’s website – asking supporters why they felt gates had fallen this season – generated huge interest and showed that he is determined to embrace the ethos of Everton being ‘The People’s Club’.
Though there have been suggestions that Everton have become a club in crisis, Elstone refutes such claims but, equally, he knows there is still much to be done.
“I still believe there is a bright future and I’m sure hundreds of thousands of Evertonians will share that view,” he said. “At the moment, game by game, we have got to work hard. “Five months ago, we were the fifth best team in this country. We had just come off the back of a good European run. Since then, we have made good signings and secured the contract of one of the best managers in the Premier League.
“We still have the opportunity to move to a fantastic, new 50,000 seat stadium. I don’t think that’s a crisis by any means.” But, as has been well documented, The Destination Kirkby project – arguably the most contentious, volatile subject to emerge in Everton’s 130 year existence – has reached a stage where it is now in the hands of government officials. A public inquiry will start next month and Elstone has the responsibility of proving why the club believes it is imperative to leave the ground that has been home since 1892 for a site outside Liverpool’s city boundaries.
“We have worked very hard to develop a proof of evidence which explains clearly why we have to move and why Kirkby is such a strong option for us,” said Elstone, who arrived at Goodison as Chief Operating Office in 2005 from top accountants Deloitte. “We have shown why we need to move – the constraints of Goodison, how we are in danger of falling behind our competitors, what it is going to cost us, how we are going to pay for it, and essentially where it is taking this football club in the future.
“That’s a detailed document, nearly 80 pages thick, and it has taken a lot of time to put together. “But I think everyone internally is very pleased with that document. It is about to be submitted to the public inquiry and it will be discussed during the inquiry. What needs to happen over the next three weeks from a club perspective is that we have to summarise that into a shorter statement of those facts. “I, on behalf of the club, will present them to the inspector and that will be open to question and challenge from anyone within the framework of the public inquiry. We have got over the first hurdle, which is getting the evidence prepared. “The next couple of weeks are going to be about preparing to stand up in front of the inquiry and proving to everyone why this is such an essential part of the club’s future development. “That’s the message we were trying to get across at the EGM. It won’t be a few weeks, it will be a few months. The inquiry is scheduled to run into January. The inspector produces her report, that’s then reviewed by the government minister. “She will then make her decision. We are confident of a reasonably prompt decision at some point in the Spring. But it will be a future-shaping few months for this football club.”
Born in Barnsley and raised a Castleford Tigers devotee, Elstone’s first sporting love was rugby league and the path his career has followed since graduating from Hull University with an economics degree in 1988 has enabled him to indulge that passion.
Yet he also has reams of experience in the world of football, too, being involved in the deal which saw the Glazer family buy Manchester United, as well as consulting Juventus and Real Madrid on marketing strategies. Added to this was four years at BSkyB, managing commercial and media rights – an experience that gave him the insight that helped secure the best main sponsor deal with Chang in Everton’s history.
He knows, then, what is required in order for Everton to bring in more revenue, which ultimately means David Moyes will have an improved transfer kitty, and won’t rest until they have achieved those aims. “This is a great club,” he said. “There was a chance to make a mark because the club needed to modernise and progress. There was room to grow and that still holds true. “Other people can probably answer that better than I about what has changed since I have been here. But I think we have got a much stronger management team and are stronger in key areas of our business.
“We have made big improvements in our main sponsorship deal. We have dramatically improved our retail performance from a financial point of view. We have taken a loss-making business and turned it into a profit- making business.
“But there is still work that we need to do around that and a lot of progress to be made. I’m not satisfied with anything other than the best and we will keep pushing for that because that’s what this club absolutely deserves. “This is a really great opportunity for me, personally. I have day to day contact with the chairman and the board. I just want to do the best possible job for Everton Football Club and let’s see where that gets us.”
Improvements that will benefit fans long term
ROBERT ELSTONE has barely had chance to catch breath since he took his new role, but he has been quick to pay tribute to those who have helped make the switch seamless. Elstone has been credited with making sweeping changes behind the scenes at Goodison since arriving in 2005 and is determined for that to continue. But he thinks the task will be made easier with the framework that is in place. Significantly, he expects supporters to feel the benefit in the long term, and wants the improvements that have been made to continue apace. “What the new role has forced me to do is step away from day-to-day issues and allow the management team to get on with their jobs,” he said. “They have risen to that challenge. It’s not been a haphazard development. “We’ve made continual investments in our Media and Communications team and, as I’ve said in the past, the forefront of the club in the city will be Everton in the Community. “Year on year the club’s charity is expanding its reach. Behind the scenes, we’re a ‘tighter ship’ with better levels of reporting and control. “Now the area I’m most keen to keep improving is our Fan Centre and the aim is to raise the bar in terms of accessibility and responsiveness. Little things, perhaps, but little things that I know mean a lot and say a lot.”
Bolton 1, Everton 0: Fellaini is slowly warming into life
Oct 30 2008 by Nick Smith, Daily Post
THE temperatures may have dropped – but this harsh, biting season is beginning to warm up nicely for Everton. And it’s being fired up by the goals of Marouane Fellaini. The slow burner that has been his Everton career so far has finally sparked into life and he provided his team’s first winning goal in nine games. The Belgian has almost inevitably struggled to look like a £15m record signing since his move from Standard Liege. But suddenly, three goals in four games now make that look like money well spent and his last-minute header at the Reebok last night was priceless.
But perhaps even more encouraging for David Moyes is his first clean sheet of the season. And that – like the second half performance against Manchester United on Saturday – is something to build on. The Reebok is not the place it once was, when over the years visits here on such unrelenting wintry nights have been about as welcome as your answer-phone flashing a message from Russell Brand.
But you still have to work hard to leave with something – and that’s exactly what the back four did. They have improved individually and as a unit, with the edginess and errors that have blighted most of the first two months of the season now seemingly a thing of the past. With Phil Neville leading by customary example, Joseph Yobo and Phil Jagielka formed a strong central barrier in the face of a typically robust assault from Kevin Davies and Johan Elamnder, while Joleon Lescott looked back to his confident best. And while Everton struggled for potency at the other end of the field for much of last night’s game, they persevered to force the breakthrough at the ideal time. It ensured Bolton finished the night in the bottom three after going into the game searching for a first home win since the opening day of the season. On that occasion, they saw off Stoke – also the last team Everton beat in any competition before last night, with a 3-2 victory at the Britannia on September 14. So with both sides so desperate for three points it was perhaps inevitable that neither side would throw caution to the considerable wind that was sweeping across the Greater Manchester hills. That, however, didn’t stop Moyes continuing with his commitment to a more attacking formation, the workrate of his two centre-forwards in the improved second half against United on Saturday impressing him sufficiently to reward them with another start at the Reebok. This was despite the return to the fold of Tim Cahill following his three-game suspension for being sent off in the Merseyside derby a month ago – he had to settle for a place on the bench as Moyes named an unchanged line-up. Keeping up the intensity of the second half performance from the weekend was always going to be a difficult ask, however, such was the considerably lower-key feel to events. Tim Howard was the busier of the two goalkeepers earlier on, making no fewer than four saves – but the fact that they were all from weakly-hit low shots from long range said much about Bolton’s lack of penetration. In fact, both sides struggled to gain any kind of attacking rhythm going initially before Everton finally began to look threatening on the break. Ayegbeni Yakubu and Louis Saha started to work the home defence while a series of forays down the left, initiated by Mikel Arteta, hinted that this might be an area where they could find some joy.
It was a move involving Fellaini and Yakubu from the left channel which created Everton’s best opportunity of the first half, as they combined well to tee up Saha, who forced Jussi Jaaskelainen into a block. Then the combination that tormented Manchester United almost struck again as Phil Neville’s cross was met by Fellaini on the far post, but this time his header was misdirected too high. But it was Bolton who carried the greater aerial threat, Matty Taylor heading narrowly wide before Jagielka’s timely leap denied Gary Cahill a free header on goal from Riga’s corner.
There is only one Cahill who can be relied on when balls make their way into the penalty area, however, and in his urgent need to increase his side’s firepower, Moyes called on his Australian poacher for the final 26 minutes. Yakubu, who had faded from view in the early stages of the second half, made way as Cahill and Steven Pienaar were charged with the job on pushing on to assist Saha in their attempts to force a breakthrough. Unfortunately, that only seemed likely to come from the home side, who wasted another decent chance when Taylor slid a low cross wide from close range with 20 minutes left. By contrast, Everton were merely scrapping just to stay in it and clearly needed more ideas and impetus if they were to press for a winner – and it was Steven Pienaar who provided that inspiration. The South African actually had one of his more ineffective nights but he came up with the vital contribution, crossing from the right and landing the ball on the head of Fellaini as the game moved into the final minute. The midfielder escaped his marker and guided the ball in via the foot of the post – and there was still time for Jaaskelainen to prevent Victor Anichebe adding a second.
Bolton Wanderers 0, Everton 1
Oct 30 2008 by Liverpool Echo
Marouane Fellaini headed home in the last minute to give Everton their first win in nine games and heap more misery on under-fire Bolton manager Gary Megson.
The Toffees’ record £15million buy from Standard Liege followed his point-saving equaliser during Saturday’s Barclays Premier League draw against Manchester United by nodding home again from a Steven Pienaar cross. Pienaar and Fellaini both looked suspiciously offside but the goal was given and furious Trotters fans booed off their team, who have failed to win at home since the opening day of the season.
Everton midfielder Tim Cahill had to settle for a place among the substitutes after returning from suspension in tonight’s clash at Barclays Premier League rivals Bolton.
The Australian international was available after a three-match ban, but manager David Moyes named the side which held Manchester United to a 1-1 draw on Saturday.
Bolton were without midfielder Gavin McCann, who served a one-match ban after being sent off in Sunday’s 2-0 loss at Tottenham, and he was replaced by Dutch winger Riga. Bolton chairman Phil Gartside used his programme notes to make a heartfelt plea to a section of disgruntled supporters who verbally abused manager Gary Megson during Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Tottenham. Gartside wrote: “I can understand the frustration of some of our supporters who made the journey to White Hart Lane, but I would like to urge them all to stick with us. “I cannot over-emphasise the importance of stability at our football club, especially as we are undergoing a phase of rebuilding.” Megson’s men began in encouraging fashion and a neat touch by Matty Taylor gave Riga the opportunity to strike a low shot into Tim Howard’s midriff from 20 yards. But Everton hit back when Mikel Arteta swung in a dangerous cross from the left in the ninth minute and Yakubu planted a firm header into the ground from six yards but Jussi Jaaskelainen was not seriously tested. Two minutes later, a delightful flick from Yakubu sent Saha clear from 20 yards and he raced forward before striking the ball into the net - but referee Phil Dowd spotted a clear handball offence from the Frenchman and the effort was ruled out. Wanderers captain Kevin Nolan - a boyhood Liverpool fan - kept Howard warm with a low shot from distance before Saha miskicked at the other end. In the 20th minute Joleon Lescott was booked for hacking down Gretar Steinsson - but Taylor’s free-kick from an excellent position was high and wide of the far post. Yakubu combined effectively with Saha again in the 26th minute when he drifted across the 18-yard box and presented the France forward with the chance to hit a low first-time shot at Jasskelainen from 20 yards. The Finnish goalkeeper parried the ball but no visiting player was on hand to tuck away the rebound. Three minutes later, another chance came for Everton and was spurned. Phil Neville flighted a superb deep cross from the right and rejuvenated midfielder Marouane Fellaini - the Toffees’ record £15million buy from Standard Liege - ghosted in unmarked at the far post. Fellaini’s stunning header earned his side a point against United on Saturday but this time he nodded over the crossbar and Bolton breathed again. Bolton looked woefully bereft of ideas and long-range pot shots and set-pieces looked to be their most realistic means of a breakthrough. In the 41st minute, Gary Cahill nodded a corner from Riga wide and Taylor also failed to hit the target with his head moments later. On the hour, Elmander's flick found Taylor unmarked 20 yards from goal and his right-foot shot was on target but woefully weak and straight into Howard's arms. Three minutes later, Moyes replaced Yakubu with Cahill as he sought to add fresh impetus to his side’s attack. But the Toffees almost fell behind in the 70th minute when Steinsson crossed low from the right and Taylor stabbed the ball wide at the near post. Bolton’s lack of guile in attack was ruthlessly punished in the last minute when Neville fed Steven Pienaar down the right flank in a suspiciously-looking offside position.
But he crossed quickly and Fellaini, unmarked, headed home from six yards to send Everton’s visiting supporters behind the goal into raptures and heap more misery on Megson.
First team conveyor belt a delight for coach Neil Dewsnip
Oct 30 2008 by James Pearce, Liverpool Echo
COACH Neil Dewsnip keeps losing his best players - but Everton’s under-18s coach couldn’t be happier. The conveyor belt of local talent at Finch Farm has seen youngsters such as Jack Rodwell, 17, and Jose Baxter, 16, progress into David Moyes’ first team squad. Midfielder James Wallace, 16, joined them when he was named on the bench for the recent Premier League clash at Arsenal. Their promotion provides the perfect incentive for youngsters battling to make the grade with the Blues.
“To have three under-18 players in and around the first team is sensational,” Dewsnip said. “Over the past 10 years at least one lad every year has progressed to the first team squad and it’s vital we carry on delivering that. “We pride ourselves on it and the challenge is to get even more of them. “Eight of the lads who played for our reserves in the derby win against Liverpool recently had been with us since the age of nine. That’s a remarkable statistic.” Elevating the teen stars has ultimately weakened the under-18s, who are sixth in Academy League Group C. But Dewsnip wouldn’t have it any other way. “Obviously Jack, Jose and James don’t play for the under-18s now so we’re not as strong as we could be,” he said. “A number of our lads also play for the reserves so it has a knock-on effect, but what it does is give younger players the chance to step up and we have two schoolboys who have played for us. “Under-16 left-back Jake Bidwell and under-15 midfielder Ross Barkley are both local lads who have been doing extremely well. “Results have been indifferent so far, but that’s probably to be expected with such a young team. “But the performances have been very good and hopefully results will start to pick up.”
Reserves' chance to bounce back
Oct 30 2008 by James Pearce, Liverpool Echo
EVERTON Reserves will be looking to get back on track when they take on Blackburn Rovers at Morecambe on Monday (7.00pm). Andy Holden’s side suffered a first defeat of the season last week when they went down 3-0 to Bolton.
Sunderland replaced them in top spot, but the Blues are just two points adrift.
Seven of Bolton’s team had played in the Premier League and their experience proved too much for a young Blues outfit. The match saw Dutchman Andy van der Meyde make his return from injury, while 17-year-old Hope Akpan also earned a start following his impressive cameo role in the mini derby.
Winger who failed to hit the heights calls it a day
Oct 30 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
BECKHAM, Charlton, Moore . . . and Niclas Alexandersson?
The former Everton winger has announced plans to hang up his boots at the end of this season, just months after calling time on an international career which saw him rack up an astonishing 109 caps – more than all those aforementioned England legends. Alexandersson became only the fourth Swedish player to win a century of caps when he faced Iceland in June 2007, and he has since added a further nine appearances. Now 36, the Swede called time on his international career following Euro 2008, and has confirmed this would be his final season as a player following a series of niggling injuries and fitness scares. “It’s something I’ve weighed up and thought through,” said the IFK Gothenburg player. “My body has started to protest and I no longer have the energy which is needed to motivate myself for another season.” Evertonians will be split on exactly how much Alexandersson offered during his spell on Merseyside. He arrived at Goodison in the summer of 2000 for £2.2m, and left fans licking their lips in anticipation with five goals in a series of sparkling pre-season appearances. But he then spent much of his first season injured, making only 10 appearances before the new year and waiting until March before scoring his first goal, at West Ham, on the day a young Tony Hibbert made his debut.
The following season he did his best to beat the Blues record for being substituted the most – 19 times in 31 starts – before injury wrecked another campaign in 2002-03.
In September 2003, he joined West Ham on loan, returned to languish in Everton’s reserves, then joined IFK Gothenburg on a free transfer. But, all that time, he remained a mainstay of the Swedish national side. He played for them at the 1992 Olympics, had to wait eight years before a first major tournament appearance at Euro 2000, then started all four games at both the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.
His last competitive goal came against England at the 2002 finals in Japan.
David Prentice: Giants who lead by example
Oct 31 2008 by David Prentice, Liverpool Echo
WHEN David Moyes chose to extol the virtues of his own captain courageous this week, he offered a couple of comparisons. He picked out Chelsea lionheart, John Terry, a captain from head to toe, and a man who only occasionally wears the armband across the park. But in using Jamie Carragher as an example, Moyes added: “There’s different types of leaders – people who will do it with their football ability, and the old type who roll up their sleeves, get stuck in, and encourage and clap the players.” Liverpool are fortunate to have both – and their leader who leads by his football ability, the man who is officially the captain, produced another captain’s performance on Wednesday. After the ecstasy of Sunday’s Stamford Bridge success, a follow-up victory over a potential Portsmouth banana skin was vital for Liverpool’s budding title ambitions – and they were handed the opportunity to do that by Papa Bouba Diop’s Superman impersonation in the 75th minute. Dirk Kuyt has an impeccable record from the penalty spot, in the highest pressure situations imaginable, and he was still on the pitch. But there was never a chance of the Dutchman getting near the ball. Steven Gerrard acted like a captain, accepted the responsibility – and crashed a clinical strike past the formidable barrier that is David James.
It might, ultimately, prove significant. Liverpool had a couple of leaders in their line-up on Wednesday night. One leads like an old fashioned captain, the other leads by example. And Liverpool are fortunate to have both.
Fascinating book on Blues is a perfect gift
WITH supermarkets already dusting down the inflatable Santas, the Echo sports desk will soon start to clutter with football related Christmas stocking fillers. You know the sort of thing, books, CDs, calendars and DVDs. But whatever lands between now and December 24 (and Four Kings by George Kimball would be nice if McBooks publicity department is reading) will be hard pressed to top Mark O’Brien’s ‘The Everton Miscellany’. Small enough to pop in your pocket when you’re heading to the rest room, engrossing enough to ensure you’re still in there 20 minutes later, it’s a treasure trove of facts and anecdotes – with a glossy colour section featuring every kit ever worn by the Blues, whites, pinks, blacks, yellows and ruby reds. Only £9.99, my favourite tale surrounds Dougie Rose, a man I remember as the, now retired, head groundsman at Bellefield. It seems our Doug used to like to cut more than the grass down to size. “Our youth sessions were taken by Les Shannon and I remember one night a great, big centre-forward knocking people all about and scoring all the goals,” recalled Colin Harvey. “He was frightening. I thought to myself that I could never be as good as he was because he was really physical. So I asked Les who the big guy was and he explained to me that it was Dougie Rose, the groundsman. The coaches just let him join the game, but he was 12-15 years older than us. He was a grown man with a beard and everything and he used to give the young defenders a torrid time.”
The Everton Miscellany – by Vision Sports Publishing. Recommended.
Fergie’s selective memory
THE sound of Sir Alex Ferguson stepping into high-pitched whinge mode is music to football fans’ ears – and furious Fergie’s latest rant left Evertonians grinning from ear to ear. "I don't think the referee protected our players enough," he said at Goodison on Saturday, without any sign of tongue wedged firmly in his cheek. The most dangerous tackle on Saturday came from a man United fans chant: “He comes from Serbia, he’ll try and murder yer!” to, and that appeared to be Nemanja Vidic’s intention with the challenge which left Louis Saha writhing. Notwithstanding, Fergie added: "I don't know what the game is coming to with some of the tackles and the speed of the tackles." The same game it was, perhaps, when Roy Keane was ending Alf Inge Haaland’s career, and Paul Scholes was threatening limbs with his ill-timed tackles.
Sir Alex Ferguson is an awe inspiring football manager – but he’s also so blatantly one-eyed he’s funny.
Nevin puts the boot in
BLUES fans don’t need any added reasons to love Pat Nevin. A cheeky flip over Jim Leighton’s baffled body saw to that. But wee Pat showed he’s as quick with his tongue as he was with his feet, in an exchange with BBC buffoon Alan Green this week. “It’s absolutely ridiculous,” ranted Green in trademark fashion. “It’ll be a farce if Nacho Novo plays for Scotland. I agree with Burley’s assistant, Butcher, on this one.” Nevin’s response? “Do you mean George Burley’s assistant Terry Butcher, the former captain of England?” One nil to Nevin.
We'll give Andrew Johnson warm welcome - David Moyes
Oct 31 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
DAVID MOYES has promised Andrew Johnson he will receive a rousing reception at Goodison Park tomorrow - but wants his first return to ultimately end in disappointment. After spending two seasons on Merseyside and scoring 22 goals in 74 appearances, the former England international was sold to Fulham earlier this summer in a deal which could earn Everton more than £12m. But he left under something of a cloud after he refused to play in a pre-season friendly at Preston North End and the striker has since said he wanted to move as he was “no longer enjoying his football” with Everton. Moyes, however, has no intentions of giving a man for whom he broke the club transfer record in May 2006 the cold shoulder. “Of course we will welcome him back,” Moyes said today. “I enjoyed working with Andy when he was here and he was a great lad to have around the club. “He will be made more than welcome by me – obviously we don’t want him to score any goals – but I will be delighted to see him.
“I got on really well with Andy. I’ve got no problems with him, he played a big part in our rise during the last couple of years and he was really good for us.” The hand of friendship, though, will not be extended during the lunchtime kick-off as Moyes wants Everton to finish a productive week on a high by beating Fulham to secure back-to-back wins for the first time this season. Having kept their first clean sheet of the campaign in Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Bolton, Moyes now wants to see the Blues bury another damning statistic by registering a first triumph in front of their own fans.
“We want to try and build on a couple of results but what we really need to do is turn our home form around – let’s see if we can start here,” said Moyes, whose career as Everton manager began with a 2-1 win over Fulham in March 2002. “We want to get that first home win. Hopefully the players will have taken a bit of confidence from this week. They certainly should for what they did against Man United. “You can see our confidence is coming back. We are getting competition for places and I’m starting to make one or two decisions, which I’ve not had chance to do this year.”
Marouane Fellaini: I'm so happy goals have helped
Oct 31 2008 by Dominic King, Liverpool Echo
A FLURRY of crucial goals has worked wonders for Marouane Fellaini's popularity - but it is clear to see he remains a reluctant hero. After spending the best part of a month fretting about his position in Everton’s side, desperate to show he was worthy of a place in David Moyes’ squad, the towering Belgian has engaged overdrive in recent weeks. Slowly but surely, those who questioned the enormity of his £15m transfer fee have started to be won over, and it is a measure of the esteem in which he is currently held that Fellaini received a rapturous ovation at Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday night. Certain players would have milked every moment, kissed their badge and made sure they were the centre of attention, but Fellaini seemed uncomfortable, almost embarrassed, when Phil Neville ushered him towards the Evertonians who were celebrating his winner. That, though, is no bad thing.
Moyes has built a squad which is short on egos but high on endeavour and regardless of the fact he has scored three times in four matches, Fellaini knows he still has much to improve. Such an attitude will stand him in good stead for the challenges that he will doubtlessly face in the coming weeks, so while the 20-year-old has good reason to be satisfied, he won’t be resting on his laurels. “The goals have been more important for the team rather than me personally,” said Fellaini, with a little help from Everton’s translator. “We are all in this together and it’s pleasing that things are starting to go well for the group again. “Everyone is doing their best to make me feel a part of things. They are doing everything that they can to help me settle as quickly as possible. “The victory at Bolton has also helped things and we are moving forward as a team.” Mention of the ovation he received at the Reebok Stadium brings a smile to Fellaini’s face, and not even the fact that referee Phil Dowd absurdly booked him for celebrating – which means he will miss the game at West Ham next Saturday – can dampen his ardour. “We have got fantastic supporters here,” Fellaini noted. “They travel away with us and show great passion. “It is the same when we play at home. They make tremendous noise and it is not just when we score a goal. “It’s obviously nice to receive the kind of adulation that I did at Bolton. Something like that can only help you, as it makes you feel good. “But I have felt that the supporters have been with us all the time. “I suppose you could make a comparison between the intensity of Evertonians and the supporters of Standard Liege, but the difference between England and Belgium is that only one team over there has fanatical supporters. “Here, they are everywhere. “Every team has a set of supporters that stays with them right to the death. They follow their teams through thick and thin. “That is what is so special about playing in England and, in particular, playing here.” Happily, he looks content with his current lot but that was not necessarily the case during his first few weeks at Goodison, when results were poor, form dipped and a number of exasperated supporters were looking for a scapegoat for the predicament. Circumstances meant that Fellaini was singled out in certain quarters and it obviously affected him.
Happily, though, the furrowed brow has gone and his form is mirroring the team’s, in that it is on an upward curve. “It’s hard when you come to a new country and you are trying to settle in,” he explained. “I’m also trying to develop as a player and it wasn’t easy at first because the results we were not good. That made things even more difficult. “But things are really improving now. The draw against Manchester United and the win at Bolton has given everyone confidence and I think you can start to see that in our play. “Hopefully, the confidence will continue to grow.” Off the field, it has certainly helped that the dressing room houses three fluent French speakers – Mikel Arteta, Joseph Yobo and Louis Saha have all been enormous aids to Fellaini – and each day he feels more used to his surroundings. What is helping, however, is an upturn in results and it is no surprise to hear that he wants three points from tomorrow’s tussle with Fulham to bring the curtain down on his best week to date.
“Mikel, Louis and Joseph have been a really big help,” he said. “They keep me in touch with everything that is going on inside the dressing room and explain everything that the manager and the coaches are saying. and that is making life much easier.
“Settling in has actually been easier off the pitch than it has been on it. I’ve actually been surprised how quickly I’ve adjusted. “I have got an apartment now and am starting to get to know different parts of Liverpool. “Things are going well but now we have got to make sure that we put in a great performance against Fulham.
“Let’s hope we finally get our first home win of the season tomorrow.”
Howard Kendall: Leighton Baines so unlucky to be odd man out
Oct 31 2008 by Howard Kendall, Liverpool Echo
CONSISTENT results happen when a manager can pick a settled side so it should not come as a surprise that Everton’s form is starting to improve.
Having named an adventurous starting line-up for the visit of Manchester United, David Moyes was so pleased with his players’ efforts that he said ‘same again’ at the Reebok Stadium on Wednesday night. The outcome, of course, was four points from two tough encounters and it really wouldn’t be the biggest surprise if David stuck to his guns and kept faith with the 11 who have been on duty this week when Fulham visit tomorrow. You do, however, feel sympathy for certain players in these situations, and Leighton Baines will be wondering now what on earth he can do to get his place back. Unfortunately, though, there is not much he can. David’s decision to pick a back four of Phil Neville, Joseph Yobo, Phil Jagielka and Joleon Lescott has resulted in Everton only conceding once in two matches. They have stopped the rot.
I’m not for one minute saying that all the goals they were conceding had been down to Baines. Far from it. Don’t forget, he was star man when Newcastle United visited at the start of the month, with two assists and two goal-line clearances.
But a manager has a duty to pick what he believes is his best XI and it’s obvious David prefers Lescott at left-back, regardless of how well Baines has performed. I can empathise with both parties. When we won the title in 1985, Kevin Richardson scored two goals in a game against Southampton but we played Tottenham the following midweek and, as Kevin Sheedy was fit again, I put him straight back into the team.
Not surprisingly, Richardson was bitterly disappointed and he was always hammering on my door to find out what he could do to get back in the team. Remember, he was a top player who went on to win the title with Arsenal. Baines, clearly, is a talent, as David would not have bought him in the first place. He is going to be disappointed and It will be interesting to see how this episode resolves itself.
Beware the Johnson threat
ANDREW JOHNSON has rediscovered his shooting boots and will be aiming to keep the momentum going at Goodison tomorrow. I’m certain he will get a terrific ovation from the Gwladys Street, as he was a player who never gave anything other than 100 per cent during his time here, and his tremendous appetite for hard work was well received. Some fans were upset that he was sold in the summer, but you have to trust a manager in those situations and the fee David Moyes received for Johnson represented sound business for a player who had been troubled by injury.
He will, though, be looking to cause havoc tomorrow and when the final whistle blows, Everton’s defenders will know for sure that they have been in a game, as Johnson won’t give them a moment’s peace. Maximum concentration will be required to keep another clean sheet but, if we can do that, I’d be pretty hopeful of the Blues getting another three points.
Redknapp proves perfect spur
IT is widely agreed that Harry Redknapp did a remarkable job at Portsmouth and his magic appears to be working at Tottenham already. The players who looked as if they were sulking and sullen under Juande Ramos now appear to be enjoying their football once more and Harry will right the things that were wrong behind the scenes. Expect Spurs to start climbing the table swiftly.
October 2008