Match Preview

That, along with the possibility of an appearance from Paul Gascoigne almost guaranteed, may have brought in a half-decent crowd to Goodison Park, were it not for a sense of numbing horror over the recent events in New York and Washington.  

The problem Everton face seems to be one of motivation, judging by a less-than battling surrender to the Red Devils at Old Trafford at the weekend.  The task of motivation surely lies with Walter Smith and Archie Knox, who must be able to do something to breath more life into the players under their charge.

Team News
Although Thomas Gravesen is back in training inside the promised 4 weeks, he will not be fit for this game.  Neither will Thomasz Radzinski, who may appear in the weekend's derby.  And Gary Naysmith will not be risked either – his exertions  for Scotland last week having apparently aggravated a groin problem.  Hopefully, the changes will be rung in attack, were Ferguson and Campbell have both been coasting in recent games.  

Radzinski could potentially start or at least play a part, but wouldn't it be nice to see young Nick Chadwick finally given a chance to show his mettle after being named as an unused sub in each of the four opening league games.

Niclas Alexandersson, Mark Pembridge and Alessandro Pistone are all suffering knocks following the United match, and are classed as "very doubtful".

For Palace, last season's semi-finalists in this competition, new signing Matt Clarke will continue in goal, but Gregg Berhalter could come into the side to add strength at the back.  Winger Tommy Black may keep his place on the right after impressing as a second-half substitute against Millwall.

What the hell is going wrong?

We started brightly, looked good to the penalty; I turned to my brother and said "we'll bury them now".  Big mistake.  The spirit of optimism lasted four minutes.

Then Palace broke into the Street End box, Gerrard beaten by Dougie Freeman and tries to haul him down.  Freeman shakes him off, gets past him and two or three seconds later decides to fall over.  Blatant dive, but totally unnecessary as the penalty was equally blatant.  For some reason Gerrard seemed to escape a card of any colour, although I've seen keepers walk for less.

After that the confidence drained away from us, we were woeful.  Defensively, we effectively played a back three.  Xavier was the pick of the bunch, but Weir & Stubbs put up little competition.  Davy Weir looks really out of sorts to me so far this year.

If they play as poorly on Saturday, I'm afraid Golden Bollocks will have a field day.  

McLeod & Watson played as, well, I hesitate to say wing backs as they played so far forward.  Stevie Watson was a bit off his game last night but I still love him to bits.  In extra time he seemed to be playing as a spare centre forward for some reason.

McLeod looked handy, but better going forward than defending.  He showed a willingness to run at the defence early on but seemed to lose confidence.

Midfield I have to admit, I was quite keen on the prospect of Tal/Gascoigne/Moore before kick-off, and Gazza was a class above everyone else on the pitch, but the other two... Tal didn't seem to know where he was supposed to be half the time.  He spent most of the match behind McLeod, made no constructive off-the-ball runs to help McLeod, and basically looked lost.

A huge disappointment, cos I so want this lad to succeed.

Moore was just anonymous; he ran around a lot, but got where he needed to go just that bit too late every time.

Up front, Duncan put himself about as he does and was lucky to last the 90 minutes after being held down by their No 4 once too often – he caught him full on the jaw with the most overt elbow I've ever seen, which both the Ref and the Linesman completely missed.

Their lad eventually went off, with a few less teeth and probably need of a surgeon, and if the video caught it I think someone else will be taking the penalties for a while.

Campbell was poor last night.  He was berated constantly by the lad behind me, and I think the honeymoon is coming to an end here.  Too often Kevin looks lethargic and slow.  It infuriates me the way he slowly jogs back onside when their goalie clears, effectively preventing any quick forward play if we gain possession.  Agreed, he led by example in taking the first penalty, but the casual way he took it reflected his play all night.  

Chadwick & Hibbert came on for extra time and did enough to suggest we'll see more of them this season.  Gerrard did nothing wrong (penalty excluded!) and couldn't be faulted for any of the penalties.

So what the hell is going wrong?

On paper, the team should have been sufficient to see off any threat from Palace, although with hindsight the midfield needed a Gravesen or a Gemmill (or even, God help us, a Pembridge) to provide some presence and bite.

People have already said that the team (Geordies excepted) can't pass a simple 5-yard ball, but what sticks out for me is that our off-the-ball running is absolutely dreadful.  When people do get the ball, there is never anyone making themselves available for a decent, constructive pass, so the ball has to go back, or long, or astray.  We can't pass because there's never anyone to pass to!

Another thing got to me last night after the match.  Leaving the Main Stand by the church, then walking down past the Winslow, no-one seemed that bothered about the result.

Someone walking past would have thought, from the fans' general reaction, we'd got a decent draw against a top team, not that we'd effectively been humiliated by a bunch of no-marks from a lower division.  Have we really come to accept this as the norm?

Hopefully we will get a reaction from this desperate result on Saturday, and the boys will play with fire and passion (and with their passing boots) but at the moment I don't feel too hopeful.

Chadwick left to rue wasted opportunity

Palace's previous visit to Merseyside saw them routed 5-0 by Liverpool with a place in the Worthington Cup final at stake.  Returning for a mediocre second-round tie at Goodison Park, they answered Duncan Ferguson's early spot-kick with one of their own from Dougie Freedman, and won a shoot-out by converting all their penalties after Kevin Campbell blazed over from Everton's first.

In a match which marked the latest comeback by Paul Gascoigne, Freedman had almost spared the sparse crowd extra time, but his 20-yard shot came out off the underside of the bar late in injury time at the end of 90 minutes.

For Everton, Nick Chadwick missed his kick completely when Kevin McLeod's cross fell to him in front of goal after 115 minutes.  His misfortune looked all the more costly when Morrison scored Palace's final penalty with aplomb.

Only five of the Palace side whose run ended at Anfield in January were used by Steve Bruce.  Walter Smith, meanwhile, was without nine players, only one of whom, Scot Gemmill, was rested for Saturday's visit by Liverpool.

Everton's depletion prompted Smith to give Gascoigne his first start since last November. Looking tanned and slim, he lasted 120 minutes, albeit at a stroll.  In only the third minute a swiftly taken free-kick showed that Gascoigne's brain still works quickly, even if his feet no longer dance, and Matt Clarke saved with difficulty.

What followed suggested the rival managers had agreed not to wait until 10.40pm for a shoot-out.  In the fifth minute, Tony Popovic hauled down Kevin Campbell as the Everton captain burst clear.  Ferguson's spot-kick beat Clarke as Palace's new keeper dived the wrong way.

Within four minutes Palace were level after Freedman was wrestled over by Paul Gerrard.  The Scot scored emphatically from the penalty, yet wasted a clear-cut opportunity after 32 minutes with a shot more akin to a back-pass.

Gascoigne became involved in the odd skirmish and played a few sweet passes.  Lesser names, however, had a greater impact, Joe-Max Moore forcing a fine save from Clarke just before half-time and then Kevin McLeod volleying inches over.

In between, Morrison cleverly made room for a drive which stung Gerrard's fingers.  The Tooting Irishman's ill-judged comments before Palace's semi-final on the other side of Stanley Park did Gérard Houllier's motivational work for him, but this time he really did have the final word.

Palace had been forced into a change just before the hour, replacing the injured Gregg Berhalter with Aki Riihilahti.  Yet the contest was less in need of a Finnish journeyman than the finished article, someone like the young Gazza.  While the latter-day Gascoigne showed glimpses of class, his main contribution to the later stages, apart from scoring in the shoot-out, was a booking for dissent.

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