Bleacher Report - Articles by Mike Prescott

Mancheter City-Everton: 25th February 2008

Mike Prescott — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 09:27:58 -0500

With both teams so close to each other in the league table this match was going to be an old fashioned six-pointer. Victory for Everton would leap frog them over Liverpool and back into fourth, While a win for Manchester City would put them level on points with Everton, Liverpool and Aston Villa.

It’s been an amazing first season in charge for new City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson. He has probably done more for City than any other manager in the last 20 years. They are flying high at the right end of the table, and only recently were beaten at home in the league for the first time this season. That defeat to Arsenal was offset by what most City supporters will see as the result of the season, beating their local rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.

But there are signs City are starting to flounder. Their victory over Man Utd was their first league win since the start of January.

Everton on the other hand have now gone six league games without losing. With five teams still having a realistic chance of finishing in that all-important fourth spot, that is the type of form that will be invaluable come the end of the season.

It was not surprising in the slightest that the Everton manager, David Moyes, chose to go with a 4-5-1 formation. With the kind of home record City have had this season Everton would be looking to absorb the pressure then try to attack on the counter. Maybe not the most exciting football, but away from home all you want to do is get a result.

A problem for Everton would be an injury to their star player Mikle Arteta. It has emerged that the Spaniard has been playing through the pain barrier as he looks to overcome a groin injury. But playing two games in a matter of days was seen as too much for him so he was left out of the squad.

Tony Hibbert got a chance to stake a claim at right back, with Phil Neville moving into the midfield. Neville, a former Man Utd player, was assured of a ‘warm’ welcome at Eastlands. Neville, Steven Pienaar and Lee Carsley were all looking to keep their noses clean. A yellow card for any of them would see them suspended for the next game.

Eriksson rewarded the players that had done so well at Old Trafford, by keeping faith with the same team. So on a typically rain swept night in Manchester, and live on TV, the game got under way.

It was Everton who dominated the opening few minutes. Tim Cahill managed to get himself into the box to meet Hibbert’s cross, only to see his shot blocked by what suspiciously looked like Micah Richards’s hand. The ball fell back to Cahill who shot again, this time to see it blocked by City captain Richard Dunn. Then Hibbert showed why he plays right back with a shot that was as ugly as it was wide.

City came more into the game and it was Darius Vassell who looked the most threatening. But when through on goal he would fire wide or be so slow in shooting that he would be closed down by Everton defenders. In fact the Everton defense looked solid and it would take something special by City to break them down.

It was something special it the other end that almost brought the game to life. Pienaar, cutting in from the left, curled a shot around City keeper Joe Hart only to see it come back of the post. It was the best chance either team had had to score. But goals weren’t long in coming.

With confidence Everton started to go forward. The ball was played to Yakubu who turned to pass it left to Cahill, then ran into the box. Cahill beat a City defender then played it back to Yakubu. The remaining City defenders stepped up in an attempt to catch Everton offside. But the timing was wrong and all they did was leave Yakubu unmarked 6 yards from goal.

1-0 Everton.

City streamed forward in look for an equalizer but the only reward for all their attacking was a shot over the bar form Vassell. In the wet conditions it was hard for both teams to play attractive football.

Ten minutes after taking the lead Everton got the chance to extend their advantage. Everton won a corner on the right, only to see it cleared by City. Carsley was the quickest to react to the loose ball, chasing it to the left wing. His deep cross was perfect for Joleon Lescott. The big defender had come up for the corner and had stayed there while Carsley had retrieved possession. Lescott rose above his marker to loop the ball over Hart and into the opposite side of the goal.

2-0 Everton.

It was a hammer blow for City. They hadn’t played badly, but they hadn’t troubled Everton either. Everton had carved out two chances and scored both of them. City would have to do something quickly if they were going to get anything from this game.

The second half started with City getting lots of the ball but they were unable to break down a resolute Everton defense. A telling moment for Everton came 10 minutes into the half when Carsley got himself booked for a tackle on Fernandes Gelson. He will now miss Everton next game.

There wasn’t much happening in the game. Everton were happy to let City have most of the possession but the home team couldn’t find a way through to goal. With 20 minutes left City won a free kick after a foul by Cahill. Martin Petrov crossed the ball into the Everton box and City skipper Dunn was first to it. But from six yards out he could only head it over the bar. That had been City’s best chance all half.

With less than 15 minutes left City took off Darius Vassell and replaced him with Nery Castillo. The Mexican forward looked lively as soon as he got on to the pitch. Just after this substitution came a bizarre refereeing decision.

Everton had a throw in deep in the Man City half. The ball was thrown into the City area where, in a moment of madness, Richards jumped and palmed the ball away. Referee Rob Styles immediately blew for what everyone, Man City supporters included, thought was a penalty.

No, ignoring the claims of the Everton players, he gave a free kick on the edge of the box. Fair enough, because from his position on the field it may have looked like the handball had happened outside the area. But what got me was it was a deliberate handball in a goal scoring position which meant Richards should have been shown a red card. The referee never even spoke with him. The free kick came to nothing.

As the game entered the last 10 minutes Castillo showed why he should have been on from the start. Two shots in quick succession were blocked by Phil Jagielka. Both of them looked to be on target.

The game rose in the excitement factor. As City pushed forward looking for a goal they left gaps at the back. Andrew Johnson, who had come on for Manuel Fernandes, should have done better when he collected a pass from Lescott and then saw his shot saved well by Hart.

At the other end Castillo powered in a shot from the edge of the area only to see it saved by Tim Howard. It was the first time all game that Howard had to make a real save.

As the game entered injury time City’s frustration bubbled over. After being dispossessed Petrov kicked out petulantly at Leon Osman. He hardly made contact and Osman made nothing of it. But Styles had seen it and sent him off, even though Everton captain Neville pleaded with the referee not to. Petrov will now miss City’s next 3 games.

It was a sourer way to end the game. Everton had done well. They had come to Eastlands, took their chances and defended stoically. As for Man City, they had offered nothing. After they had gone behind they had lost all sense of position. Any game plan that they may have had simply disappeared. They couldn’t find a way past Everton and almost gave up trying.

Everton now face another test against Portsmouth at Goodison Park. Another 6 pointer, as the south coast team is on the edge of the European Qualification positions. After that it back to the UEFA Cup with Everton’s most difficult opponents so far, an away trip to the Italian giants Fiorentina.

This is where the season really starts to get interesting, stay tuned.

Everton-SK Brann: Toffees Blow Out Norweigans at Goodison Park

Mike Prescott — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 14:24:31 -0500

In the first leg of this tie, in Norway, Everton managed to win in a scrappy game that could have gone either way.

The away goals by Leon Osman and Victor Anichebe were priceless, and meant SK Brann would have to score at least three times at Goodison Park if they were to knock Everton out of the UEFA Cup.

Knowing SK Brann would have to come out fighting right from the start, it was surprising to see Everton had gone with two up front. Most people were expecting them to play with five across the midfield in an attempt to snuff out the early SK Brann attacks. It seemed David Moyes was looking to get Everton on the score sheet early on and kill off any hope SK Brann might have had of rescuing the tie.

A complete public address system failure caused confusion before the game had even got under way. After the coin toss it looked like the Everton captain, Phil Neville, was trying gather his team for a minutes silence in memory of Brain Harris who had sadly passed away earlier in the week.

Brain was a former Everton player who had won both the league title (1962-63) and the FA Cup (1966) while at Goodison. More poignantly he had been a member of the first Everton team to play in a European competition and it would have been a fitting tribute to a great servant of the club if he could have been remembered at this game.

But with no way for the club officials to inform the crowd and obviously not wanting to cause more confusion, the moments silence was abandoned and the match was allowed to start. Maybe the best tribute to Brain is to say that this game was played in his memory.

The match started slowly as both teams tried to size up each other. Unsurprisingly it was SK Brann that did all the attacking at the start, though their first couple of efforts hardly troubled Tim Howard in the Everton goal.

Everton seemed happy to play the ball around but never looked like mounting a serious attempt on the Norwegian goal. With a two goal aggregate advantage, it seemed Everton were going to sit back and absorb whatever SK Brann could throw at them. This tactic very nearly back fired after 30 minutes play. A free kick from the right caught the Everton defense asleep. The momentary lapse in concentration allowed Thorstein Helstad to shoot unmarked at the back post. His shot was straight at Howard and the ball bounced off the keeper, back on to Helstad, and out for a goal kick.

If SK Brann were ever to have a chance of beating Everton they needed to make the most of opportunities such as this. With the crowd livid at almost seeing Everton conceded a goal, the team started to push forward and within moments made the Norwegians pay for their miss.

A loose ball on the edge of the SK Brann area was picked up by Tim Cahill who did well to battle for possession. Some quick thinking saw him flick the ball to Yakubu. The Nigerian unleashed a blistering right foot shot that buried into the back of the SK Brann net.

1-0 Everton.

Everton realized that the tie was over as a contest and moved in to kill SK Brann off. A flurry of shots descended on the Norwegian goal, but none troubled their keeper Hakon Opdal. That was only a temporary reprieve.

With only 5 minutes left in the half Howard found Steven Pienaar with a long throw. The South African was having a great game and his pass found Andrew Johnson in full flight. Johnson broke into the area and fired in a low, powerful shot that beat Opdal and nestled into the bottom corner of the goal.

2-0 Everton.

It was no more than Johnson deserved. He had been all over the pitch helping in defense and attack, and the goal was a reminder of what he can do when somebody supplies him with the right type of ball.

The goal also shut up the travelling SK Brann supporters. From before the game started the 1500 strong Norwegian support had been in full voice, even bursting into a few English songs. But with the realization that their team now needed to score 4 times in little over one half of football, their songs died away.

There was still time in the half for SK Brann to try and put some pride into the score. From over 30 yards out Petter Vaagan Moen saw Howard tip his fiercely hit free kick over the bar. That was the last real action of the half.

With only 45 minutes left in the tie, an aggregate score of 4-0 and one eye on an important league game on Monday, Everton manager Moyes rang the changes. He took off Cahill and Lee Carsley and replaced them with Tony Hibbert and Manuel Fernandes.

With the SK Brann fans back to full voice Everton got straight back into the attack, and Johnson was unlucky to see an effort come back off the post after beating the whole SK Brann defense for pace. But Everton didn’t have to wait long for more goals.

All Everton’s attacks looked to be coming down the left and it was from this side of the pitch that the ball was played to Yakubu in the SK Brann area. Struggling for control, he shaped up to fire at the right side of the goal. The two covering SK Brann defenders threw themselves in front of the perceived shot. But Yakubu turned away from them, leaving them both on the floor, and looked to take aim at the left side of the goal. This time Opdal moved to cover where he thought the shot would go, but when Yakubu let fly, it was to his right.

3-0 Everton.

This goal was an example of top class finishing, out witting defenders and sending the keeper the wrong way. It was one of the best goals I have ever seen at Goodison.

A lot of teams at this point would have shut up shop and played out the last 30 minutes making no attempt to score, not SK Brann. To their credit they continued to push forward when they could, and when they got a free kick 10 yards outside the Everton area Vaagan Moen stepped up to have another crack. This time his low shot went under the wall and completely out foxed Howard who made a hash of saving the shot.

3-1 Everton.

And the Norwegian supporters went wild.

With the goal it seemed SK Brann finally admitted defeat. They had got as much as they could and now they just wanted the game to be over. Everton had other ideas.

With 20 minutes left on the clock Mikel Arteta stole in from the right. After going past one defender he fired towards the left of the goal. Opdal looked to have it covered the whole way until one of his own defenders stuck out a boot in an attempt to clear the ball. To his horror all he did was defect it away from his keeper and in to the open side of the goal.

4-1 Everton.

When it’s not your day everything seems to go against you. Moments after the goal Everton broke yet again down the left. Pienaar played the ball into the box from the by-line and with the keeper and defenders all over the place, Yakubu had the simplest of chances to wrap up his hat-trick.

5-1 Everton.

It was Yakubu’s last action of the night. He was brought off to standing ovation and replaced with Anichebe. The young striker was desperate to make the most of his opportunity. Twice when he could have squared it to Johnson he had a shot himself, only to see it comfortably saved.

Anichebe wasn’t the only one trying to get on the score sheet. Pienaar, who probably deserved a goal more than anyone else, was left on his knees after seeing his fine effort from the edge of the box hit the post.

Hitting the woodwork became contagious. Vaagan Moen had the chance to score his second when, with the whole of the Everton goal at his mercy, he somehow managed to hit the post. It was left to Johnson to have the final say on the night. From 20 yards out the little striker belted a powerful dipping shot that flew into the SK Brann goal.

6-1 Everton.

The rout was over. Everton had emphatically booked their place into the next round of the UEFA Cup. There they will meet the Italian side Fiorentina. Against the Italians it will be a whole different kettle of fish.

But before then, Everton have two massively important league games against Manchester City and Portsmouth as the race for the last Champions League place heats up.

Everton-Reading: Toffees Struggle in Choppy Match

Mike Prescott — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 09:02:49 -0500

Is it a sign of a good team when they play badly and still manage to win?

Many times over past seasons the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal have won games while playing simply dreadful football.

Is being able to ‘win ugly’ a sign of future success?

Everton were awful in this game, especially in the first half. Their only saving grace was they were playing against a team that had lost six in a row. Understandably, Reading sat back and tried to grind out some sort of result.

A big problem for Everton has been their recent lack of goals (strange interpretations of the off-side rule aside). In games against Tottenham Hotspur and Blackburn Rovers, Everton could have walked away with valuable wins instead of frustrating draws.

I would have never thought it when Everton signed him, but we have greatly missed Yakubu. Everton have struggled through the last five games, as three of their players have been away at the African Cup of Nations. With both Nigeria and South Africa now out of the competition, Everton supporters had hoped to see a much stronger squad. But with Steven Pienaar injured and Yakubu late arriving back from his magical mystery tour, only Joseph Yobo was available.

Manager David Moyes took a tough line with Yakubu, not selecting him for this game and fining him two weeks wages because of his late return to the club. I agree with the strong management, but wonder if the same punishments would have been used if Everton had been playing against stronger opposition?

Reading started brightly in this game. Awarded with a free kick in the first minute, Stephen Hunt almost made a dream start. Keeper Tim Howard had difficulty holding on to Hunt’s low, curling shot. Unfortunately the game soon reflected the true class of the teams' play.

Poor passing was only overshadowed by poor tackling. Referee Mark Halsey seemed to blow for a free kick every time a player fell to the turf. Yet, he showed unusual restraint in not booking anyone. Even Lee Carsley was let off with just a free kick after trying to remove Hunt’s knee cap with his studs.

Toward the end of the half, the Everton team realized they were meant to be playing football. Mikel Arteta found Leon Osman on the right of the Reading penalty area. After some good foot work, his cross found Tim Cahill 12 yards out and unmarked.

Maybe it was his eagerness to score that caused him to snatch at the shot. Maybe it was fatigue from flying around the world to play in Australia midweek, and then returning for this game. More worryingly for Everton, maybe it was a reflection of the fact Cahill has not looked like he's been at the races for some time. Whatever the reason, Cahill’s shot was high, wide, and wouldn’t have looked out of place in a Sunday League game.

Without a doubt, this was the worst half of football I had seen in many years. It is actually beyond my writing abilities to describe how bad this was. Yes, Reading were going to sit back and defend—they had to. A point at Goodison would have been a huge result for them. While Hunt and James Harper had played well, Kevin Doyle had done nothing and Dave Kitson won’t be a Premiership footballer much longer if he continues to play like he did here.

But Reading are a team fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table. Everton are meant to be challenging for the Champions League.

Andrew Johnson has been living off scraps because his teammates are only launching the ball to him, instead of allowing him to use his pace.

Osman, stuck out on the left, wasn’t too bad—but he was limited in what he could do. Arteta and Cahill have been less than average for weeks.

Is this because they are being targeted as Everton’s biggest threat, or just a complete lack of form?

I am sorry to say, but Manuel Fernandes has been an empty shirt. I was glad when he was brought back to Everton on loan, but I’m still waiting to see the player that got me excited last season. It was a relief to see him subbed for James Vaughan at the start of the second half.

The second half started in much the same way as the first. Wayward shots by Carsley and Hunt got everyone on their feet, but soon the play settled down into mediocrity.

One bright spark in the game was the display by Phil Jagielka. The utility player had been in and out of the team, in a number of positions, since his summer move from Sheffield United. But with Yobo away on international duty and the transfer of veteran defender Alan Stubbs, Jagielka was thrown in at center half.

He would be the first to admit that he had looked lost in a those first couple of games. But he has grown into the position. It was his tackling and shot blocking that kept Everton in the game. But it was his unforeseen aerial threat that would write the headlines.

With half an hour left to play, Everton won a corner—and for once Arteta managed to beat the first man when crossing the ball in. Although the ball was half-cleared by the Reading defense, Osman managed to play it back into the penalty area. With the Reading goal keeper, Marcus Hahnemann, unwilling to come off his line and the Reading defense pushing out to try and catch Everton offside, it was Jagielka who rose unchallenged to head the ball home.

1-0, Everton.

The goal threatened to bring the game to life. Soon after helping to put Everton into the lead, Osman saw his curling cross come back off the bar. While Arteta showed a glimpse of what he can do when he cut in from the right, skipped past his marker and unleashed a shot. Unfortunately, the shot was blocked by Kalifa Cisse.

With Reading pushing forward in search of an equalizer, Everton should have been exploiting the gaps left in the Reading defense, but they didn’t.

Vaughan had Everton’s last real chance at goal, when he teed himself up for a spectacular over head volley. Hahnemann just managed to tip it around the post.

But it was left to Man of the Match, Jagielka, to have the last say.

With only a few minutes left in the game, Jimmy Kebe found himself bearing down on the Everton goal. Just as he let go with a powerful shot, Jagielka threw himself into the ball's path and deflected it away for a corner.

It’s a good job points are awarded for results and not performances, because this game was extremely poor. With all the resent talk about taking the EPL abroad, you have to ask if this is the kind of match you want the rest of the world to see? I know if I had paid to see this abroad, I’d be asking for my money back.

Reading might be in a relegation dogfight, but Everton should have easily won this game. It’s worrying that they didn’t. They allowed Reading to pull the match down to their level of play, instead of imposing themselves on to the weaker team.

Everton now have a break from domestic football, as their next two matches are against SK Brann of Norway in the UEFA Cup. If Everton take the Norwegians lightly, and don’t show some fight then we could see them exiting another cup competition.

Everton-Tottenham Hotspur: Goodison Park

Mike Prescott — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 12:37:40 -0500

With six players either injured, suspended or away on international duty, Everton manager, David Moyes, had a selection nightmare ahead of this crunch match against the Spurs.

This was reflected not only in the players he chose to start, but also in the formation they would have to play.

Gone was the 4-5-1 to be replaced by a more attacking, yet less secure 4-4-2.

Young Victor Anichebe got the chance to play as the second striker alongside Andrew Johnson, with the back four remaining the same. But it was the midfield that had a make shift look about it. Both Tim Cahill and Leon Osman were unavailable, so it was left to full back Leighton Baines to fill in on the left wing.

Although the starting lineup may have been a little unfamiliar, it was on the substitutes bench were the weakness of the Everton squad was highlighted. Named among the subs were Anderson Silva de France and Andy Van der Meyde.

Silva de France has spent most of his career at Everton on loan. He was brought to the club when the team was really desperate for players, but the Brazilian has never looked like a Premiership player.

Van der Meyde was going to be the answer to all Everton’s problems on the left of midfield when he joined from Italian giants Inter Milan. But he has been beset by injury and off the field problems.

Stories of his life away from football go from the heart rendering to the ridicules, and it speaks volumes that a player with an injury, and playing out of position, is preferred to Van der Meyde. It seems only a matter of time until Everton and the Dutch winger go their separate ways.

Spurs manager Juande Ramos had his own selection problems. With Ledley King a long term injury and Michael Dawson suspended, it was left to new signee Jonathan Woodgate to partner young midfielder Tom Huddlestone in the center of defence.

But what the Spurs lack at the back they more than make up for when they go forward.

Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane, Aaron Lennon, Steed Malbranque, Jermaine Jenas and the promising Jamie O’Hara were all named to start in an attacking line up.

As the game got under way, on a cold winter's evening, there was a concern that Everton could find it hard going against a Spurs team that Ramos had got playing well.

With all the attacking players on the pitch for the Spurs, it was surprising that they showed so little imagination going forward. Everton wasn’t much better, but at least they could use the excuse of fielding an under strength team.

It took 20 minutes for Baines to drag a shot wide of the Spurs goal, the first real attempt of the match. This was followed by a nice bit of foot work that allowed Malbranque to try a spectacular over head kick that never troubled Howard in the Everton goal.

But this flurry of shots failed to ignite the game. It was a dire affair that was almost brought to life by Johnson. After some good work down the right, the ball was played to the little striker while he had his back to goal. One touch, a quick turn and shot almost caught out the Spurs keeper, Radek Cerny. But the shot lacked power and was easily held.

Johnson also had a shout for a penalty after he broke into the area and seemed to have his heels clipped by Huddlestone, but the referee waved away his appeals.

It was a poor first half by two teams with aspirations of progressing to the later stages of the UEFA Cup. And unfortunately the second half was no better.

Spurs started at a higher tempo, and Keane could have made Everton pay for some sloppy defending, but his shot from 15 yards out was weak.

Like the first half, the game became a punting competition with both teams lacking the creativity to fashion a scoring opportunity. It was with 30 minutes to go that Everton finally managed to present a real goal scoring threat.

Manual Fernandes, who was having a poor game by his standards, found room in the center of the Spurs half. His fine pass released Johnson who raced past Huddlestone and in to the area. The shot was powerful and low but too close to Cerny who managed to smother the ball. And that was it. The closest either team would get to a goal.

Everton continued to press forward but got nothing from a deep sitting Spurs team. As news filtered around the ground that results in other games were going our way, the crowd tried to cheer Everton on to that elusive winner, but when Everton needed to be going forward the most, they couldn’t get possession off Spurs who were happy to play keep ball for the last 10 minutes of the game.

It was a disappointing result. This was an opportunity not only to beat the Spurs, but also open up a gap in the race for forth spot in the league.

And the reason for Everton’s failing is obvious, they lack a cutting edge in front of goal. This is not entirely the striker's fault. They need to be provided with quality by the players around them. Pumping a 40 yard ball down field wasn’t working 10 years ago, and surprisingly it still isn’t working today.

At least one Everton forward scored this week. Yakubu scored the winner for Nigeria in their latest game in the African Cup of Nations. The down side is that it means both him and Yobo will be missing from Everton for at least another week, though with South Africa loosing Everton can expect to have Pienaar back in the side.

Unfortunately he won’t be back in time for Everton’s next game away to Blackburn Rovers, a real toughie. The next game I’ll be writing about will be the home match against Reading. It’ll be interesting to see if Everton will still be hanging on to that fourth spot.

Everton v Chelsea: Carling Cup Semi-Final 2nd-Leg, Goodison Park, 23rd January 2008

Mike Prescott — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 01:50:23 -0500

After the disappointment of losing the first leg to a late own goal, Everton came into this game with a bit of confidence. After two consecutive league wins Everton had risen to fourth in the EPL.

The team also welcomed back Manuel Fernandes for this game. The Portuguese midfielder had looked set to join Everton after impressing while on loan last season. But a last minute change-of-heart saw him move to Valencia.

Things didn’t fare well for Fernandes in Spain and when the January transfer window opened he took the opportunity to return to Everton on loan. Hopefully this time Everton will permanently sign up the talented midfielder.

Leon Osman also returned to the squad. Having recovered from injury in time for the last game at Wigan, it was good to see Osman playing again. It’s no coincidence Everton has had a hard time of it since he has been out of action. His quick feet and constant running always provide an essential link between defence and attack.

It’s safe to say the Chelsea squad was looking a little thin. Without John Terry, Frank Lampard, Michael Essian, Andriy Shevchenko, Didier Drogba, John Mikel Obi or Michael Ballack; it was a chance for some of the fringe players to stake a claim.

But Chelsea manager, Avram Grant, could still call on Joe Cole, Shaun Wright-Philips, and Nicolas Anelka, the new £15 million-pound man. Each of these players could start for nearly any EPL team; together they make a talented and exciting attacking line.

Under the floodlights at a boisterous Goodison Park, the game was set to start. The prize for the winners, a trip to Wembley to face Tottenham Hotspur, who had emphatically dispatched Arsenal 5-1 in the other semi-final the night before.

The game began at a frantic pace with two early Chelsea shots landing off target, while Everton had a Joleon Lescott header saved on the line as each team looked for an early advantage.

As the game settled down it became obvious Chelsea was going to sit back and try to absorb the Everton attack. Time and time-again Everton concentrated its play down the wings but couldn’t deliver a ball into the area. For all his flicks and tricks Mikel Arteta couldn’t get past Chelsea's stern defense. Out of frustration Andrew Johnson resorted to a long-range shot that never troubled Petr Cech.

For as deep as Chelsea was playing, Everton’s back line was very high up the pitch. In a show of good organization, the Everton back four constantly caught Anelka off-side. This tactic also allowed Fernandes enough time to dominate the midfield, but still Everton came up scoreless.

As the half came to an end both teams attempted shots from distance but never managed to hit the target.

At the interval you had to wonder if Everton’s chance had passed it by. One goal could still win it for the home team, but with all the effort they had spent in the first half they had only managed one real scoring attempt on the Chelsea goal. It was going to take something special to get past the well-drilled Chelsea defense.

The second half started at the same torrid pace as the first, but a lack of concentration allowed Anelka to turn and shoot from just outside the Everton area. The well struck shot had Howard beat but hit the cross bar and deflected away.

This should have been a wake up call for Everton as Chelsea looked to be more adventuress in the second half. Though Everton needed to score it couldn’t afford to leave gaps at the back.

It did just that midway through the half when Florent Malouda found Joe Cole unmarked in the Everton area. His smart volley nestled into the back of the net.

1-0 Chelsea.

David Moyes brought off Lee Carsley for Victor Anichebe immediately as Everton searched for a way back into the tie. The substitution nearly brought dividends as some good work down the right allowed Johnson to fire in a fierce shot only to see it tipped around the post by Cech.

But with 20 minutes to go it looked an uphill task as Everton now needed to score twice to force over time.

Everton tried to pick up the pace again but even the introduction of James Vaughan couldn’t produce any results. With time ticking away Lescott moved up form defence to try to force a goal but still there was no way past the Chelsea back line.

After 4 minutes of injury time referee Steve Bennett blew the final whistle that sent Chelsea through to the Carling Cup final.

You have to give Chelsea credit. It showed up with a game plan and stuck to it. Knowing Everton had to score they sat back and attacked on the counter. It wasn’t exciting to watch but ask any Chelsea fan and they’ll say so what. The result is what matters not how pretty the football is.

Everton are left to rue what might have been but mustn’t get too downhearted as it still has the UEFA Cup to play in and the small matter of the league.

There is one hell of a battle developing for that all-important fourth spot. And with difficult games coming up against Tottenham and Blackburn, Everton must put this disappointment behind itself quickly.

The Sweetest Boo: Which Team Do You Love to Hate?

Mike Prescott — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 20:40:07 -0500

Before the death threats start, this is all meant to be a bit of fun, so please try and remember that as you read on.

I’ve seen a lot of "best of" articles on Bleacher recently. Some about the best sport stories of the year, others about the best stadiums for atmosphere and one I read mentioned a favourite sporting moment.

So this got me thinking. Who is the most HATED team in sport?

At the risk of turning this into forum, I really want to know which team gets under your skin and why.

Of course a lot of this is down to which sport you watch and who your revels are. But what I’m trying to find out is if there is a particular reason why some teams are disliked so much.

Is it because of success? A team that’s winning all the time will always be resented.

Is it because of image? Some owners seem to be willing to allow their team name…sorry, brand to be stuck on anything if it means more publicity.

Is it because of their fans? Maybe it’s a tribal thing, getting back to that cave man sprit. But I bet there’s a least one group of supporters that gets right up your nose.

My personal most hated team would have to be Liverpool FC.

It’s not because of their players or their management. It’s not jealousy over their success, past or present. And it not all because they are my teams local revels (but that does have a little to do with it).

It’s mostly down to their holier than thou, smug, self-obsessed, fickle supporters.

Now, some of my closest friends and colleagues are Liverpool fans and I usually get on fine with them. But when the topic of football comes up, it’s as if they turn into completely different people.

Ask them about football history and they believe that it started in the 1960’s with Bill Shankly. Apparently nothing before that matters.

Talk to them before a game and they will tell you, with out a doubt, their team will win. Regardless of any injuries they may have or the quality of the opposing team.

Try to speak to one after a defeat and you’ll be told they have the worst manager ever. Even though they won a major trophy under him, back when he could all but walk on water.

But the one thing that really gets my back up is on match days. If you ever watch a game at Anfeild and the ball is close to the sideline, take a look at the crowd. Count the amount of people taking pictures, hundreds of them. And it’s not once or twice, it’s every single time a player comes near them.

To be fair it’s not only Liverpool fans that do this, but it does irritate me.

Football is meant to be a fasted paced, exciting, passionate, involving sport. Where do you find the time to add to your photo album?

I could go on, but as I said before it’s only meant to be a bit of fun.

Well that’s my rant over, who do you hate? Manchester United, Chelsea? If this article is read in the US, I’m sure there’ll be a lot of finger pointing between Bears and Packers fans.

I’m guessing there’ll be a lot of people mentioning the New York Yankees as well. I understand the Red Sox thing, but I’m interested to know why everyone else seems to dislike the Yankees so much.

It can’t be about the area of New York because not much is said against the Mets, or I’m I wrong?

So come on, get it off your chest. Who do you love to hate?

Everton-Manchester City: Goodison Park, 12th January 2008

Mike Prescott — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 23:23:31 -0500

You could argue that this match was the biggest of the weekend, with both Everton and City looking at that allusive fourth spot.

City have been the surprise package of the season so far. When Sven-Goran Eriksson took over as manager a lot of people thought it would take him a while to make an impression, how wrong can you be?

City’s supporters have come accustomed to finishing at the lower end of the table in resent years. And even the most staunch Sky Blue would say finishing mid table was a success.

That was before Eriksson arrived. He has been given a lot of money to spend and has produced a squad capable of pushing for European qualification.

It will be a huge surprise if City aren’t in next season’s UEFA Cup.

Everton have done things the long way round.

For 5 years David Moyes has been building his team. Money limitations have only allowed him to bring in one or two big names each season.

But they are defiantly heading in the same direction as City and qualification for Europe two seasons in a row will be massive sign of progress.

An injury to Andy Johnson on Friday saw Victor Anichebe start up front as the lone striker as Everton reverted back to their trusted 4-5-1 formation.

This game also saw the return of Arteta. The creative midfielder had been suspended for 3 games after being sent off against Arsenal. Although he has not had the best of seasons, Everton have missed his inspirational play.

City brought two former Everton players with them, Michael Ball and Richard Dunne. They have had mixed fortunes since leaving the club.

Ball was seen as the next England left back when he transferred to Rangers. But injury put pay to that.

With his opportunities at Rangers limited, he moved to Holland to play for PSV Eindhoven. But still couldn’t make much of an impassion.

He got a chance to return to the Premiership with City and hasn’t looked back. Some reports have mentioned him showing glimpses of the form that had England interested.

Dunne was going to be a big player for Everton, both in height and presence. But off the field arguments with the then manager, Walter Smith, saw him sold to City.

After a shaky start at his new club, Dunne got his head down and worked hard. His reward for straightening him self out? He is now the City captain in one of the clubs best seasons.

Both players got a warm welcome from the home crowd at the start of the game, but there were no questions of mixed loyalties as both players fouled Ainchebe in the first 10 minutes.

Everyone knew this would be a hard game, but it was Everton who had the better of it. Returning to the 4-5-1 formation gave Everton more stability and, more importantly, allowed Cahill to get move involved in attacking moves.

This was no more evident then when Cahill had a glorious chance to put Everton in the lead. A cross by Arteta found Cahill on the edge of the box. He saw his shot saved by Hart in the City goal. But the young keeper could only push the ball back to Cahill who, with the whole goal at his mercy, fired his shot over the bar.

Still City were unable to create much and ten minutes after Cahill’s miss Everton won them selves a corner.

The ball in by Arteta was cleared back to him. From the closer position he fired in a low cross. With the penalty area still packed from the corner, the ball could have gone anywhere, but it was Lescott who managed to deflect the ball towards goal.

1-0 Everton.

The goal was no more then Everton deserved, but now City would have to be more adventures.

Shortly after the goal Onuoha had City’s first real chance when he headed a Petrov corner wide. Although City were starting to come forward Everton were still controlling the game. The feeling was as City committed more men to the attack Everton would be able to exploit holes left at the back.

The game wound down to half time and there was an air of confidence in the crowd. After 2 consecutive defeats Everton should have been on their way to a comfortable victory, if only that had been the case.

As City were chasing the game, everyone knew they would come out fighting for the second half. What we didn’t expect was that Everton would sit back and let them.

Petrov and Corluka were constant thorns in the side. But with all the possession City were getting they couldn’t break down the deep sitting Everton defence.

With half an hour left Moyes removed the unproductive McFadden for Vaughan. Now with two young strikers Everton were starting to find gaps in the City back line. Both Vaughan and Anichebe ran them selves into the ground, but they still couldn’t find a chance to score that game killing goal.

As the Everton forwards started to tire City came on again but couldn’t find away through.

With the match entering injury time Petrov finally got the chance City had been looking for. 12 yards out he let fly with a low, powerful shot. But it was too close to Howard who gratefully smothered the ball.

An equalizer would have been no more then City deserved, and at the death substitute Gelson had a final chance with a header that he put straight at Howard.

And that was the last action of the game.

City will feel that they should have come away from Goodison with something, and their second half play deserved it. But a little credit to Everton. Though they sat back after scoring, they didn’t let City have much in the way of chances.

This was the first time this season Everton had beaten a team in the top half of the table. It was all the more important that it was a win against a team in a similar position.

This result now leaves 4 teams on 39 points. Liverpool, Everton, Aston Villa and Manchester City look like they will be battling it out for European qualification. Though expect a late challenge from Tottenham. As the teams above them fall away I can see them pushing up the table near the end of the season.

Everton now travel to Wigan, and if they want to be considered a top team then 3 points is a must against a struggling team. After that it's the 2nd leg of the Carling Cup semifinal against Chelsea, possible our biggest game of the season.

Chelsea-Everton: Carling Cup Semifinal, 1st Leg

Mike Prescott — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 22:15:27 -0500

This would be my first away game of the season. And what a game to choose, the semi-final of the Carling Cup.

Now I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of this competition. In a time when managers are complaining of hectic fixture lists and players being exhausted from playing too many games, it seems pointless to have two cup competitions in the season.

But it is a route into the UEFA Cup and at this stage of the competition it would be a reckless manager who didn’t take it seriously.

After the embarrassing FA Cup defeat to Oldham Athletic on Saturday this game took on even more significance for Everton, so it was a much-changed team that took to the field for the Toffees.

Back in goal was Howard, at left back was Lescott and Cahill returned to the midfield. Starting in attack Everton had both Johnson and Yakubu.

This would be the last game for Yakubu and Yobo before Everton lost them to the African Cup of Nations. Pienaar had already lost his fight to stay for this match after South Africa had threatened to have FIFA ban him.

Chelsea had their own problems in selecting a team.

With Lampard and Terry long-term injuries and Drogba and Shevchenko unavailable, Avarm Grant had to rely on the strength of his squad.

Hilario was in goal while Belletti and Malouda got rare starts.

So with 6000 travelling Evertonians in an all-most full Stamford Bridge the game got under way.

It was Chelsea who had the best of it at the start. With Wright-Philips and Cole finding them selves in shooting positions within the first 10 minutes.

Everton were playing a 4-4-2 formation which was giving Chelsea lots of space in the middle of the park, and they were happy to use it.

If it hadn’t been for some great tackling by Carsley and Lescott, Chelsea could have taken the lead early on. But a goal wasn’t long in coming.

Mid way through the half Malouda managed to find Wright-Philips coming in from the left. Though the Everton defenders tried desperately to close him down, the little midfielder found time for a fine curling shot that beat Howard and went in off the far post.

1-0 Chelsea.

Everton seemed to be falling to pieces. All most from the restart Chelsea won the ball back. Cole broke past a floundering Jagielka who could only bring the Chelsea man down at the edge of the box.

Luckily Ballack put the resulting free kick wide.

It was with around 10 minutes to go Everton finally had a shot on target when Lescott breaking down the left fired straight at Hilario.

As the half came to an end there was still time for Johnson to put a header wide from a McFadden corner.

McFadden wasn’t having the best of games. Playing wide on the left, the Scot seemed unwilling to track back and help Lescott out in defence. And when going forward he always wanted to keep the ball too long.

Many times, when a quick pass would have released Yakubu or Johnson, he held on to possession only to be tackled by a Chelsea player.

At half time there was a sense of unease in the Everton portion of the crowd. We seemed to have weathered the storm, and if we could keep within one goal of Chelsea it gave us hope for the second leg back at Goodison.

But you had the feeling that Chelsea could score at any time. Everton would have to up their game if they wanted to compete with the Londoners.

The biggest talking point of the whole game came 10 minutes into the second half.

Neville, running through midfield, was spectacularly up ended by a sliding challenge by John Mikel Obi.

The tackle probably looked worse then it was, though Neville obviously felt sore after practically being launched into orbit.

Referee Peter Walton, who had been card happy through out the game, had no hesitation about showing the red card.

Chelsea were down a man, but remember what happened last time Everton where playing against 10 men? They were beaten 4-1 by Arsenal!

It looked like that result wouldn’t be repeated as Grant took off the influential midfielder Cole, and replaced him with the more defensively minded Sidwell. Chelsea were looking to defend their lead, not extend it.

Playing against a reduced team that were sitting back a little too deep, it didn’t take Everton long to get back into the game.

A ball played over from the left found Yobo who managed to head it down to his countryman, Yakubu.

The Nigerian had been having a quite game. But with the Chelsea defence out of position and the ball at his feet, he unleashed a powerful shot that was in the back of the net before Hilario moved.

1-1.

Chelsea tried to retake the momentum, but it was Everton who were surging forward. It could have been worse for Chelsea as Sidwell stamped on Carsley, but the referee decided to let play continue and never booked the Chelsea man at the next stoppage.

Though it was Everton doing all the attacking, they never really produced a decent effort on goal.

Gradually Chelsea managed to get a foothold in the game. Everton’s chance to take the lead seemed to have gone.

With the clock ticking down the game looked to be heading for a draw, until the last minute.

Chelsea won a throw in deep in the Everton half. The ball was play to Ballack, who hooked it towards the far post. The Everton defence looked flatfooted, and little Wright-Philips got the jump on Lescott.

Though he didn’t make contact with the ball, Wright-Philips did enough to force Lescott, who was one of Everton’s best players on the night, into heading the awkward ball past Howard and into his own net.

2-1 Chelsea.

It was shattering. Everton looked to have done enough for a priceless draw. Now they were a goal behind in the two-legged tie.

Still there was time for Lescott to try and atone for his mistake.

Breaking down the left he found himself in the Chelsea area. His touch past a defender wasn’t the best, and as Hilario advanced all Lescott could do was fire a shot straight at the keeper.

And that was about it. The game finished 2-1 to Chelsea.

Everton will feel they are still in the tie. One goal at Goodison will put them into the lead on the away goals rule, but I think there will be more then just one goal on the night.

Everton will have Arteta back for the return leg. But will be missing Yakubu, Yobo and Pienaar. So it will be a much changed team next time out.

Chelsea have their own problems with players that are injured or unavailable. So it will be interesting to see if they try to defend their slim lead or kill the tie by taking an early lead.

Before then Everton get back to league football with matches against highflying Manchester City (at home) and relegation fighting Wigan Athletic (away).

Everton-Oldham Athletic: Everton Eliminated from FA Cup

Mike Prescott — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 13:20:10 -0500

Preview

For me this is one the highlights of the season, third-round day. This is where the big boys of English football enter into the greatest of all competitions—the FA Cup.

Other competitions are over two legs, or played in a league format, or seed the draw to give bigger clubs an advantage.

The FA Cup is the original, and still the best, knock out competition in the world.

It all starts with the draw. It’s simplicity its self. All the teams are given a numbered ball. These balls are placed in the hat (or the big glass tombola they use nowadays—progress eh?). First ball pulled out plays at home against the second ball that is pulled out, and so on until all the ties have been drawn. Simple.

There’s no seeding to worry about, you have as much chance of drawing a big club as you do a small one.

And that’s where the romance of the cup starts. Teams from small towns, and lower leagues, get the chance to play against one of the elite clubs. And if there really lucky they may even get to play at a famous old ground like Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge or Villa Park.

And when it comes to playing the games there’s no aggregate scores or away goals. The team that wins the game goes into the next round. On the occasion a game finishes all square, then you play a replay. Simple again.

It’s a great old cup competition with an amazing history. And though you may support one of the so-called big teams there is always the chance of a giant killing (but we’re not going to mention Shrewsbury Town, or Tranmere Rovers, or Bradford City, or Port Vale).

With giant killings in mind it was with some unease I watched Everton being drawn at home to Oldham.

Though Oldham’s glory days are well behind them, they remain a team that can still cause an upset. Just ask promotion chasing Leeds United after Oldham beat them 3-1, at Elland Road.

Everton will have to be wary when playing Oldham. They are the proverbial banana skin.

The Match

FA Cup games are always special and it was good to see the Oldham supporters felt the same. They had taken up their whole altercation of tickets.

6000 had made the short journey to Goodison Park, and all of them were going to enjoy them selves.

With one eye on the huge game on Tuesday night, injuries, suspensions, and the chance to rest some players, a much changed Everton team took to the field.

Wessels came in for Howard in goal. Stubbs and Baines returned to the back four. McFadden and Gravesen got starts in the midfield. And up front young Vaughan got a rare opportunity.

Even though some of these players wouldn’t get a look in if everyone was fully fit, now would be the time to prove the depth of the Everton squad.

So as referee Uriah Rennie got the game under way, most of the supporters in the ground were expecting an Everton victory.

And in the opening minute it looked like those expectations were well founded.

After a bit of a scramble in the Oldham area, the ball fell to Vaughan who’s shot was turned around the post by Oldham’s veteran goalkeeper, Mark Crossley.

In recant games it has been evident that if you fail to make the most of goal scoring opportunities, your opposition will punish you. If only Vaughan could have scored that one.

The missed chance seemed to wake the Oldham team up. They got them selves organised and into the game. They weren’t creating much going forward, but they had a nice, solid shape to their formation. And they were able to harry the Everton players every time they got the ball.

Everton didn’t help them selves be showing a complete inability to pass the ball. Countless times when in possession, Everton players would give the ball straight back to an orange shirted Oldham player.

Everton didn’t seem to have a game plan either. Unwilling, or unable, to play the ball on the floor, Everton were constantly pumping it forward hoping Vaughan could flick it on for Johnson to chase.

I haven’t seen the stats from the game, but I don’t think Vaughan won a single header against the two big Oldham centre half’s.

This tactic, and the lightweight Everton midfield, gave Oldham the confidence to push up the pitch. Their full backs, who should have been getting pushed into their own half by the pace of Johnson, were instead finding time and space to get deep into the Everton half. This caused the already overwhelmed Everton midfield to practically collapse.

Even when an Everton player won the ball they had no time to pick out a pass and no outlet up front, with both forwards falling back to help out in defence.

If it hadn’t been for the jinking runs out of defence by McFadden, Everton could have found them selves in much deeper trouble.

Oldham were getting more and more chance. Lee Hughes had seen a couple of efforts saved by the uncomfortable Wessels.

But it was on the stroke of half time Oldham took the advantage. A high ball in to the Everton box was flapped at by Wessels. The ball was only half cleared and with the Everton players all over the place, Gary McDonald unleashed a fierce shot at goal. Maybe it took a deflection or maybe it was how McDonald had hit it, but the powerful shot looped over Wessels and into the net.

1-0 Oldham.

Rennie blew for half time and the team’s left the pitch to a chorus of boo’s from the Everton crowd, and a whole lot of cheering from the large Oldham support.

You had to say Oldham deserved their lead. They had been organised, played good football, out fought Everton all over the pitch and had scored a spectacular goal.

If Everton were going to avoid an embracing defeat, they were going to have to do something about it, and quickly.

Everton started the second half with a lot of huff and puff, but still made no real progress into the Oldham half. They only had a couple of long-range shots by Carsley to show for their efforts.

On the other hand Oldham were looking more comfortable as the game progressed. Being able to completely shut down the Everton attack made them a constant threat on the counter, as Everton pushed more men forward in search of an equaliser.

With half an hour left in the game, Moyes finally took off Gravesen for Anichebe. The Danish midfielder had had a nightmare. His passing had been sloppy and slow. Too often he had been caught in possession and his general play had been more of a hindrance then a help to Everton.

Also brought on was Yakubu for Vaughan. Like the rest of the team Vaughan had found it hard going, but you had to feel for him as he had no real service from his teammates.

It took 10 minutes for Yakubu to get into the game, with a weak shot straight at Crossley. It was only the second time in the whole game that Everton had got a shot on target.

Shortly after Everton made their final substitution, Lescott on for Baines.

With time ticking away Everton began to push forward but still could not break down the resilient Oldham defence.

Pienaar saw an effort caught by Crossley at the second attempt. While Lescott put a difficult header over the bar.

It was all too little too late and with Everton players rushing forward huge gaps were being left at the back.

With the game approaching the final minute it looked like lightening would strike twice as Hughes found room for a shot from 6 yards, only to see it blocked by his own teammate Hazell. Had he scored it would have been the end of the game.

But with 3 minutes of injury time left to play Everton had one last attack. The ball was played down the right as the Oldham players flooded back into defence.

And for once they were in disarray as a low cross was delivered into the box. Nobody had picked up Yakubu, who at full stretch fired his shot past the diving Crossley.

It had been Everton’s best scoring opportunity of the whole game. Surly it was the equaliser that would take the tie to a replay at Boundary Park.

No, the ball thundered off the post and away.

And that was it. The game was over and Everton were out of the FA Cup. The highest ranked team in the country to go out on 3rd round day.

Conclusions

A disaster, that’s all you can say about this performance. Listening to some of the post match interviews with the Oldham management and players, they were very humble in victory.

They shouldn’t be. They were by far the better team and if you didn’t know who the teams were, then you would have thought it was the team in orange who played in the Premier League.

This result could have huge ramifications for the rest of the season. The players have to get over this embarrassing defeat quickly.

On Tuesday Everton travel to Stamford Bridge for the first leg of their League Cup semifinal against Chelsea.

And if they don’t get back to high standards they have set them selves we could see Everton out of 2 cup competitions in a matter of days.

Everton-Arsenal: Goodison Park, 29th December 2007

Mike Prescott — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 06:57:07 -0500

Arsenal have found it hard playing league games at Goodison Park over the last two seasons. On both occasions they have been beaten 1-0 and Everton would feel confident that they could keep that trend going.

After winning against Bolton Wanderers on Boxing Day, David Moyes kept faith with the same team.

Arsene Wenger didn’t have that luxury.

After a disappointing performance, away at Portsmouth, the Arsenal manager decided to shuffle his pack in an attempt to regain the top spot in the league.

The most notable change was the inclusion of Da Silva Eduardo. The exciting young striker has been making the headlines when playing for Arsenal’s Carling Cup side, but has found it hard getting chances to play in the Premier League.

So on a cold, rainy, windswept night (sparking a few memories of this fixture last season), the match kicked off.

And it was Everton who got the upper hand. Arsenal are known as one of the best footballing sides in the country. No long punts up field for them. They are a team who will pass the ball around in an attempt to create an opportunity, and when in full flow they are a joy to watch.

Only it wasn’t Arsenal who were doing all the passing, it was Everton.

But there was a problem. In much the same way they had controlled large parts of their last game against Bolton, Everton were still finding it hard to create a descant goal scoring opportunity.

In fact it was a mistake by the Arsenal defence that let Everton in to score.

Having failed to clear their lines, the Arsenal defenders then left both Yakubu and Cahill unmarked at the far post.

1-0 Everton.

It was hard to tell who had got the final touch, but the suggestion was it came off Cahill’s boot and not Yakubu’s head.

Never mind who had scored the main things was Everton had taken the lead. Against teams like Arsenal you don’t get many chances, and it’s important you make the most of the ones that come your way.

Many were expecting an Arsenal fight back-it never came.

Everton’s high tempo play was keeping Arsenal pined back. The best footballing team were being out played.

But as already mentioned, though Everton were controlling the game, they were not producing any real attempts on goal.

No more was this evident then when some great play down the right saw the ball fall to Neville who, unmarked at the edge of the area, blazed his shot over the bar when he had only Almunia to beat.

The first half came to an end and the fans were happy with the score line. But you knew Wenger would have a few words for his team in the changing room.

Those words didn’t take long to have an effect. With barley 90 seconds gone in the second half, a long ball forward by Clichy should have been easily cleared by Jagielka.

But he completely miss judged his jump and allowed the ball to fall to Eduardo who cleverly flicked it past the stranded Howard.

1-1.

Though the goal had given Arsenal more confidence, Everton were still playing some good stuff. And only 10 minutes after the equalizer a ball in from the left found Yakubu unmarked 6 yards out. With the whole goal gapping he put his bullet header well wide.

You never know how a goal could have changed the outcome of a game. At 2-1 maybe Everton would have pushed on, or maybe Arsenal would have fought harder. But speculating is pointless as it only took a minute for Arsenal to score at the other end.

Another long ball forward found Bendtner, he passed inside to Eduardo who controlled the ball with his hand before firing his shot past Howard. It seemed the handball was seen by everyone in the ground-except the referee or the linesman.

2-1 Arsenal.

The game continued but there was something missing from Everton’s play. Where was the pace? Where was the passing and the movement? Where was the team from the first half?

If Everton couldn’t lift their heads they were never going to get anything from the game.

A glimmer of hope came 25 minutes from time when Bendtner caught Johnson high on the shin with a late dangerous tackle.

The challenge was bad enough for a straight red, but the second yellow he received had the same effect. He was off and Arsenal were down to 10 men.

Everton needed to take advantage of the extra man. They needed a bit of composure and a bit of leadership.

What they didn’t need was a mix up between Yobo and Howard that allowed substitute Adebayor to race in on an open goal.

3-1 Arsenal.

Two mistakes and a handball had done for Everton.

In the first half they could have beaten anyone, but as Jimmy Greaves likes to say, it’s a funny old game.

In the second half Everton were a totally different team and had let Arsenal back into the game.

Any lasting hope for Everton vanished when Arteta was sent from the pitch. In an attempt to shrug off Fabregas, his arm brushed the side of the Arsenal players face. Fabregas threw him self to the floor like he had just been assaulted with a cricket bat. Arteta was given a straight red.

What annoys still is that referee, Martin Atkinson, saw this coming together of 2 players as more dangerous then Bendtner’s high challenge on Johnson, for which he only received a second yellow (the same out come, both off, but technically making Arteta’s foul the more dangerous one).

The game was more or less over, but there was still time for Diaby to find Rosicky who’s well hit shot beat 2 defenders and the keeper.

4-1 Arsenal.

And just in case you were wondering, Fabregas managed to overcome his grievous bodily injury and participate in the rest of the game.

I hate it when I see a player trying to con the referee in to giving them a free kick/penalty, and yes that goes for Yakubu and Neville’s pathetic diving attempts. But Fabregas’ performance was for one reason only, to get a fellow professional player sent off.

Many times games between the big four teams, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool, degrade into a farce as players fall to the floor and constantly argue with the referee in an attempt to get one up on each other.

Maybe its some sort of twisted complement that Arsenal felt they had to resort to this type of tactic against Everton.

Although they will feel hard done by, Everton can’t really blame anyone but them selves.
One half of good football isn’t enough against a team like Arsenal. Hopefully this will be a lesson learned as they go into games against Middlesbrough, Oldham and Chelsea.

Everton v Bolton Wanderers: Goodison Park, 26th December 2007

Mike Prescott — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 22:09:00 -0500

All good things must come to an end.

After their defeat by Liverpool, back in October, Everton have become one of the best in-form teams in the Premiership.

They have secured a draw, away at Portsmouth.

They have beaten the Russian champions, Zenit St Petersburg, in the UEFA Cup.

They have found victory over Fulham—albeit after an awful first half.

They have taken advantage of two consecutive trips to Upton Park to beat West Ham United—once in the league and once in the Carling Cup, for which Everton’s reward is a semi-final tie against Chelsea.

And finally, they have tallied another win in the UEFA Cup, this time against the Dutch team AZ Alkmaar.

In all, Everton had not been beaten in 13 games. But that run came to a shuddering halt as the Toffees travailed to Old Trafford to face Manchester United.

Everton hadn’t won there since 1993, and it looked like that record would continue as Cristiano Ronaldo scored a screamer after 20 minutes.

But yet again (and for the umpteenth time this season), Tim Cahill was in the right spot to pull Everton level just five minutes later.

The game looked to heading for a draw, until Steven Pienaar had a moment of madness three minutes from full time.

Man Utd’s Ryan Giggs was forced away from goal by Pienaar, then cut in behind him to attempt a cross.

Maybe it was a rush of blood to his head, or maybe it was inexperience, or maybe he just can’t tackle. What ever it was, Pienaar dropped a clanger.

With Giggs behind him, Pienaar stuck out a leg, presumably to knock the ball away.

Now I’m not saying Giggs took a dive—far from it. But Giggs has been at the top of his profession for over ten years, and like any other footballer, if you give him the chance to win a penalty for his team, he’ll take it.

But I’m glad I can still remember the days when a player would attempt to avoid a challenge to create a goal scoring opportunity, then go down under a nothing tackle to win their team a penalty.

But with so much money in football these days, football players like that have long since gone.

Over Giggs went, and Ronaldo scored from the spot to give Man Utd a late win.

Everton will feel they deserved at least a point from the game, no matter what Man Utd assistant manager Carlos Queiroz says.

But they had to get over their disappointment quickly, as they faced free-scoring Bolton Wanderers at home.

In their last three league games, Bolton had scored nine goals. Everton’s defence needed to be water-tight if they were to overcome a Bolton team trying to put as much distance between themselves and the relegation zone as possible.

Bolton are a big, hard, physical team, and Everton would find it hard going with their lightweight midfield.

Traditionally the Boxing Day game is a dire affair. Everybody is still trying to get over their Christmas dinner, it’s cold, and there are one or two hangovers to contend with—and that’s just the players!

So it’s safe to say we weren’t going to see the best performance of the season. And judging by the first 15 minutes, it looked like we weren’t going to see Everton perform at all.

Bolton were all over the pitch, harassing the Everton players every time they got the ball and producing some good passing play on the floor.

Bolton looked quicker and much more determined, and there was a sense around the ground that it could be a long afternoon.

I can’t tell you why the pattern of the game changed, but suddenly Everton began to play.

Their passes started to find blue shirts, their off-the-ball running began to create space. All of a sudden, Everton realised they were in a game.

And Everton started to have a few shots at goal from distance. But the shots that weren’t blocked were well wide of the target. In fact, the Bolton goalkeeper, Jussi Jaaskelainen, didn’t have to make a save in the entire first half.

Then a shot from outside the box was turned towards goal by Yakubu. In it went, and everyone began to celebrate—only for the linesman to rule it offside.

Yakubu hadn’t been offside but Cahill was, even though he was not interfering with play. So the goal was disallowed.

With all the possession, all the good passing, and all the territory gained by their opponents, it was obvious Everton were going to need a huge piece of luck to break down a resilient Bolton.

That piece of luck came five minutes into the second half.

After starting the half brightly, Everton captain Phil Neville found himself just inside the Bolton half.

With not much happening in front of him, Neville attempted a deep cross towards goal.

As the ball dropped towards the penalty spot, both Jaaskelainen and Cahill jumped for the ball, both managed to miss it, and the ball bounced untouched into the bottom of the goal.

1-0 Everton.

While the rest of the Everton players ran to celebrate, Neville began the long walk back to his right back position, only to be mobbed by the entire team. He hadn’t realized he had scored, thinking someone had got a touch on it.

The crowd took great joy in screaming "Shoot!" every time Neville came any where near the ball.

After Everton had taken the lead, Bolton began to attack more. Nicolas Anelka was a constant threat, and it took some good tackling by Phil Jagielka to keep him from scoring. In fact, Jagielka would be the Man of the Match for his defensive performance.

With 20 minutes left in the game, Lescott got himself down the left wing and crossed in the ball, which fell to Cahill in the edge of the box. Cahill took a right-footed shot that rifled into the top of the net.

2-0 Everton.

Although down by two, Bolton still attempted to push forward. And with Howard not looking like his usual assured self, you felt that if Bolton could get one goal, they would go on to draw the game.

With time ticking away, Bolton began to lose heart. Though they never stopped trying, they couldn’t break down Everton’s well-drilled defence. And with Pienaar and substitute Andy Johnson threatening to break away at the other end, Bolton couldn’t afford to commit too many men forward.

After three minutes of injury time, referee Rob Styles blew the final whistle.

Conclusions

Everton played well, but it was their defence that had won the game. If not for a great game from Jagielka, and an acrobatic goal line clearance by Lescott, Bolton could have got something out of this match.

Gary Megson has got Bolton playing the same way they did under Sam Allardyce—a hard-tackling team who are dangerous from set pieces. If Bolton carry on like this, they won’t be at the bottom end of the league for long.

Everton will have to produce a similar defensive performance if they are to get anything from their next game against Arsenal.

It will be interesting to see if Everton try to attempt a free-flowing passing game or stick to a more counter attack-based plan.