Match Preview

Have they made a deal on Brian Deane yet?  He'd be just the one to inspire a turnaround, with a new manager Dave Bassett already in place.  So, is this another banana skin awaiting the boys in Blue?  Sorry, yellow... or pink?

Walter Smith is faced with the same dilemma in attack as last week, now that Duncan Ferguson is out following a minor ankle operation, and Kevin Campbell is still sidelined with a bad back.  

Many said Steve Watson made a good fist of his emergency role up front, but let's not forget: Everton failed to score, and played some pretty uninspiring football in the process.  Is this what we must put up with again?  It really is like a nightmarish return to the depths last season or earlier dismal periods of Smith's reign.  Surely something must be changed?

One hope is that Gazza will actually play after last week's substitution fiasco.  Another somewhat fainter hope is that Walter Smith will give a chance to Idan Tal or Joe-Max Moore (why are they even here if he is not going to use them when his first-choice strike-pair are out?) – or possibly Nick Chadwick, who is fit again.  But Smith seems paranoid that they are not big and strong enough to take on those big defensive hulks of the Premiership.  

Er... Hello!!!  Zola?  Owen?    

Everton (before Smith) had a tradition of playing with nippy little strikers: Alex Young, Alan Ball, Peter Beardsley, Tony Cottee....  But it's obviously not in Smith's nature to take such risks.  Better to field six or seven defenders again.  Especially as those nasty Foxes can play it a bit rough... 

After watching last week's fascinating display, I can't in all honesty hold out much hope of a decent result at Filbert Street.  I used to foolishly believe that any game was winnable by an Everton team taking the field.  Last week showed that the best we can realistically expect from Walter Smith's bizarre team line-ups – home or away – is a 'creditable' draw.