COLUMNIST KEN BUCKLEY
From my seat: Chelsea (h)
Comments (45) : For once we won the toss and attacked the Park End which produced a good ten minutes of Blues pressure. But, slowly but surely, the presence and class of Chelsea started to assert itself... although without much of a cutting edge.
We were a team with determination and both Fellaini and Neville tested Cech but, with Cole (J) prominent in causing panic among our rearguard, I did wonder if it was just a matter of time before their breakthrough would come. Then, just after the half-hour mark things took a turn that altered the whole match and plans of both teams.
The England captain, John Terry, lunged studs high on Osman in a part of the pitch (near half-way line) that kids are taught not to dive in and left the Ref very little option other than to show red.
To say Chelsea were miffed was an understatement and such was their angst both Lampard and Cole (A) were booked for dissent and our efforts to capitalize resulted only in a Yobo shot that had Cech scrambling to save.
Half-time and the chat was could we snatch it against ten and take a Chelsea 'scalp' for the first time in the Moyes era. No doubt the Blues dominated but with little cutting edge; the odd chance had the crowd roaring.
A Fellaini header from a superb Hibbert cross directed straight at Cech, a Hibbert cross that deflected and almost ended up in the top corner, followed by some play from Chelsea that you found hard to believe they only had ten on the park, yet they had little cutting edge despite the much vaunted Drogba being introduced for Anelka.
The ref. who I thought had an excellent game gave Chelsea a free-kick some 25yards out, he paced out the ten yards but the arrogant opposition disputed his length of stride' so he paced it again, was proved right and went back and booked the complainee. Priceless!!
Yobo picked up an injury and hobbled off the pitch. (Why didn't he go down on the pitch and stop the game for treatment?) He left, Baines came on, with Lescott moving to partner Jags. The Blues continued to press and Baines, with ten minutes left, put in a low cross that that begged to be converted but wasn't.
Then with five to go a cross from the right caused one hell of a scramble, which saw Pienaar get the ball over the line, the crowd was up in celebration, the linesman had his flag up, the ref disallowed it. Was it for offside? Kicking the ball out of the keeper's hands? No matter ? no goal... but, just to make sure, Cech lay prone for a good minute and a half got treatment and then carried on untroubled. Play acting in the prem from all teams is getting out of hand. Injury time came and went and we all left the ground not sure whether to be pleased or narked.
Man of the match? Probably Jags or maybe Hibbert or Neville ? not the ones you want at home against ten men for three quarters of the game.
Overall, I would take a point against Chelsea but the game proved to me we are nowhere near having the squad to challenge at the top four level as today's opponents were even with ten men one different proposition than the City team we faced away when 4-6-0 worked. It may work against other teams as well but there is no substitute for a deep squad if we are to ever challenge at the top table.
Still, no money but a small dedicated bunch of good pros and a manager who gets the best out of them may yet see us finish in a respectable position and once again test the club's ability to move us on.
It is from this standpoint that I am enjoying my season, not expecting too much but ever hopeful that the manager can pull rabbits from hats in January that keep us there or thereabouts.
Tonight reinforced this as I thought both Pienaar and Arteta had poor games yet there was nothing from the bench that the manager could have used with any certainty of improvement.
Not doom and gloom by any means but investment in the squad is the only thing to truly move us on and meet the expectations that have been raised by the current manager. Next up: Boro away on Boxing Day ? now that's a 'treat ' for travelling fans???
Who will be fit? Will we have a team? What will the line -up be?... who knows, but ever hopeful ? I'll see you there.
A very Merry Christmas to all ToffeeWebbers. UP THE BLUES.
Reader Comments
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Agree with you on the play-acting, but I think you’ve convicted an innocent man in this case... TV shots showed Cech clearly in distress for the rest of the game, tugging on his jammed thumb. He even mentioned it in the post-match interview.
Yobo’s injury means Baines finally gets his chance. Let’s see what he makes of it.
Thanks again, and all the best to you and your family too. Let's hope in the next report you are telling us in graphic detail how we teared Boro a new arsehole. COYB!!
I value the point. if you?d asked me for odds before the game I wouldn?t have taken them. Good spirited performance against a well stocked side ? let?s not be too disappointed. Give us a bit of luck (like Villa are getting) and we?ll finish in the top five. Not the best but much better than we expected at the start of the season.
What?s the difference between us and the rest of the (outside the monied top four) teams ? true heart. So, sorry to make a plug at this but... let?s stay in the city. We musn?t lose the heart and soul of the club.
Finally, I want to wish you and all the guys and gals that send in their postings, a very Merry Christmas and a Fantastic New Year from sunny Adelaide
COYB
6 across the middle, confuses the opposition, stops them playing and scares the hell out of the defence as they constantly have players running at them..
Now if we could score as well..
Merry Christmas to your family and to each and all Evertonians no matter were you are, raise a glass to the Blues and smile. Merry Christmas!
I for one was pleased with the result ? after the first 10/15 it really looked inevitable to me that Chelsea?s class would shine through in the 2nd half like the CC last year.
Does anyone else think that we make too many mistakes to really be a force to be reckoned with? Players making poor pass selection, trying to take on too many players and generally not valuing possession.
Also, I think Leighton Baines should get a bit of a mention ? when he came on for Joe I thought he did well.
I finally thought that Moyes had learnt his lesson about Neville, that he was a poor midfielder, and that his good performances in right back in recent games was the end of this dismal experiment. I was wrong. For me, Moyes is making the same mistakes over and over and over and over... it?s like footballing groundhog day.
Both Pienaar and Osman were very poor, they both gave the ball away constantly and when they went down to 10 men, I thought that we?d see a change on the pitch... Not likely ? the exceedingly poor Pienaar and Osman managed to stay on the pitch to the end.
I just don?t get Moyes. 1 step forward 2 steps back. Cue the ?all you do is moan? clowns. Save it lads, I really don?t give a fuck what the optimist crew think.
I don’t think we should be too downbeat by a point, even against ten men. We played some good stuff at times, were sloppy at others. There were a number of occassions where the ball broke free in the Chelsea box only to be hoofed clear. With a recognised striker, it might have been different last night.
I do agree though, that we are still far, far off the top 4 in terms of quality, and I also think we will do well to catch Aston Villa this season. The number of players we have with the ability to break an opposition down is clearly lacking (as mentioned time and again on these pages, other than Pienaar and Arteta, we offer very little else creatively).
However, after the fiasco that was the summer transfer window, after our appalling start to the season, and with a relatively young squad, still improving - would I take 6th place this year?
Michael Kenrick, I suspect may not, but yes - I would. But, let’s have a bit of a cup run too eh, just to make it interesting?
COYB!
What were his alternatives? Look at who Chelsea had in their team? Even with ten men a midfield of Lampard, Ballack, Deco and Mikel is world class. Cech was their man of the match. They had Anelka upfront, it wasn?t working so they bring on Drogba... Piennar wasn?t playing well so who does Moyes bring on... VDM??? Get a grip... when has he ever come on and changed a game???
It is moaning when you just criticise and don?t offer a credible alternative.
Merry Christmas everyone.
Likewise Steve and John if you are going to agree with his over-the-top negativity, then perhaps you could offer some constructive criticism of Moyes. Anyone can pick out where it’s going wrong, that’s easy! Changing it for the better is much harder.
I am not the "optimist crew" as you have already tried to label anybody who dares to oppose your opinion, but I don’t agree with your Moyes bashing approach to every post.
I was disappointed we didn’t win last night and, with Terry being sent off, I feel it was 2 points dropped rather than 1 gained. However, look at the facts, our awful home record, their amazing away record, our lack of strikers, their abundance of stars. Not worth slitting your wrists over.
Then again I don’t know why I’m bothering to write this as you "don’t give a fuck" what I think, so I guess you won’t be coming back on here to read this, will you?
Merry Crimbo all!
But bringing on VDM is surely a marginal call in attacking terms. Also Chelsea?s greatest attacking threats last night were A Cole and Bosingwa ? and VDM offers basically zero defensive cover. Frustrating, but I?m not sure Moyes could have done much else last night. The problem is our squad is not deep enough.
Great report as usual, with which I entirely agree, with the exception of Arteta. He really played well in the second half and for me was showing signs that he will grow into that role in the middle of the park. Okay, it wasn?t vintage Arteta but I think you are wrong say he had a poor game. Quiet first half ? yes.
Ciaran. I understand your comments about Neville in midfield and I was gutted when I found out he was there. However, I really believe it was the best option. Should Moyes have played Rodwell there? I think Rodwell is a while off first team football based on performances early on this season. IMO, Neville's performance justified the decision to have him in midfield. However, I agree that Neville in midfield is not the way forward.
Also, I can?t agree with you about Osman last night. Were you watching the same game as me? I am not an Osman fan and quite often, I am calling for his substitution but last night he had a good game and if he played like that all of the time then I would want him on the pitch.
My only change to last night would have been to give VDM 15 minutes at the end in place of SP (he was our worst player for me, follwed by Fellaini).
I thought Jags was head and shoulders above every other player on the pitch last night and for Ossie to play on with a BADLY bruised ankle, to ADD to the injury he is taking painkillers for, is a testimony to his ability and dedication.
It seems every home-grown player is the subject of certain blues venom. It wasn't long ago that most supporters were shouting "Osman for England". So let's be fair to the lad and stop the Ossie bashing.
Happy Xmas and best wishes to all Blues and their families the world over and let's wish ourselves a more prosperous 2009 and a Striker from Santa would go down well too.
My other half (who I let go the game with me, and she?s a Man U fan) said, "He reminds me of Carlton Palmer." So, we could have ended up with a £15m version of Carlton Palmer... god, it can?t be that bad, or could it?
He wasn?t playing in the midfield area so he?s hardly going to influence the game. He had his back to goal for most of the game which isn?t where you want him.
If he was actually playing centre midfield I?d agree but he wasn?t, just thought I?d point that out.
The the only player we have who can get the ball off the back 4 and actually "dictate" our style ? which since he?s been there is a far better class of football than the hoofball we were watching in the first 10-12 games.
I totally agree with you Ken on our absolute lack of depth. I don't ever see Kissock, Lukiewitz, Gosling ever being good enough and Rodwell will make it ? but at CH not midfield.
The real bugbear for me though is the lack of availability of both Vaughan and Anichebe. Vaughan is a disaster waiting to happen and Anichebe just hasn?t got the heart and commitment to make it. I think we should get rid of both asap and hopefully use the funds to get ourselves a pacy, always available striker.
Last point: will Basil Rathbone please please get players back far quicker ? it might be me but I feel on a like for like basis our lads seem to take an extra few weeks to return from injuries vs other clubs. "Saha should be fit for Man City "- NO and NO to Chelsea, and "Anichebe?s should be ok next week at Man City" - NO and NO to Chelsea.
You just have to watch him match against Man utd in the 04/05 season. He was getting stuck in even then and putting himself about. He’s always been capable in that area but outwide you don’t see it enough.
What’s suprised me is his tackling ability, I never knew he had that in his locker. Against Spurs, City, Villa and Chelsea he’s won many tackles and his positioning has been excellent. That has definatly suprised me.
"Sorry Ciaran" I believe you are way off the mark with your overly critical opinion of Osman in particular he had a good all round performance.In regards to Moyes he has limited resources and is doing quite well,could maybe make the appropriate substitions if and when he has the quality sitting on the bench.
As for the match, I thought they all played well including my mate Hibbert (after a shakey start) - with one exception, and that was Pienaar. Things just didn’t work out for him on the night.
As much as I like Fellaini there’s no way he covers more ground than Pienaar and Osman. Pienaar and Osman cover the most ground in our team according to Dave Billows, the fitness coach.
He’s also the slowest player in our squad according to Tim Cahill.
Hope you guys are wrong about VDM. If we’re still without Saha, Vic, Ossie and Castillo, guess who has to play this week!
AVDM is not the answer, we all know that, but Steven Pienaar had a really poor game on Monday and needed to be taken off. Fundamentally, we will tread water when Phil Neville is in midfield and Tony Hibbert is at right back. Ok, Hibbert had a reasonable game (after the sending-off), but these two guys simply don?t cut it at ?upper? Premier League level. It leaves us very weak down the right flank. As for young Jutkiewicz, if he doesn't get a game when we have no strikers, even for a last 10 run about, when will he play.
I do recall David Moyes's reluctance, several years ago, to play another promising youngster when the side was seeking inspiration. He was called Rooney.
Last word on David Moyes. An honest, hard-working and loyal guy who does his very, very best for Everton Football Club. It is probably getting very close to the time when Moyes's career needs a new entry on the cv as I personally have no doubt that a club with lots of money will want to see if he can turn his 'water into wine' trick into a trophy winning mentality. I also think that we need a new man who can do an ?Arsene? and lead us onto the next level ? new funding, new stadium (well, GP completely revamped if I had my way) and ? let?s dream ? some silverware.
The Xmas games are now critical to our push for a Uefa Cup place... I just hope the small squad holds out with all the games played in such a short period.
Any comments on strikers for Jan... Kris Boyd of Rangers... loan Nugent off Pompy... any other ideas?
But then to most of you I?m just another dickhead optimist I suppose.
A great Xmas to the TW team by the way, you do a brilliant job.
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1 Posted 23/12/2008 at 04:48:39
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