Match Preview

Four consecutive victories � including beating Arsenal and returning victorious from Elland Road and St James Park � may lead those naive enough amongst you to think of Charlton at home as an easy fixture.  One hopes that the players don't!

Complacency is undoubtedly the biggest threat to us this weekend but we would do well not to underestimate an actually quite decent Charlton side.

Last year saw Charlton establish themselves in the top half before failing to win any of their last eight.  That form has pretty much continued through this season which has seen them garner only three victories from their 12 league games.

Graham Stuart � forever to be revered by Everton fans for his penalty and THAT goal against Wimbledon � is out until February and they are definitely missing him.  They still have some tasty players though.  Jensen is a class performer in midfield and upfront Bartlett and Euell can be a handful � young Kevin Lisbie could also come off the bench and I rate him highly; he is very fast.

For us, Moyes managed to balance the resting of players whilst still winning at St James Park quite brilliantly.  Yobo, Hibbert and Pembridge all had the week off though Radzinski, because of extra time, ended up playing his now customary hour up in the north-east.  You would expect all 3 to return and Rads to revert to the starting line-up with Rooney back on the bench.

Central midfield may cause a few problems with Gravesen still struggling and Linderoth � who had been enjoying a very good run � now out for up to a month.  Expect Carsley to move inside along Li Tie with Steve Watson starting in front of Hibbert on the right � a very strong right side.

Avoid complacency and another 3 points are there for the taking.  In many ways, this is a bigger test for us than the games against the bigger teams; we had a spell where we were not expected to get anything but we did � the next challenge is to deliver when expectations are high.  I think we all believe that Moyes will pass this one as well.

3-0 to the Blues and Rads to get the goal that his recent performances so deserve.

BlueForEver

Report

Today's game saw Everton presented with the opportunity to move to third place in the Premier League, if other results went in our favour.  Conversely a drop to ninth might be possible if we failed to pick up any points at all, such is the constricted nature of the Premiership at the moment.

That Everton should find themselves on such a lofty perch is somewhat surprising given the slow start to the season, but with the whole squad contributing to the on-field displays, the levels of confidence and consistency are increasing.  Against that backdrop Charlton arrived in their most perilous position since they climbed back into the Premiership.

Form dictated that, with an unbeaten home record, we should be more than a match for the visitors.  A near-capacity crowd would roar on the Toffees, but Charlton would have to be treated with caution.  Last year we expected to roll them over, but we ended up with egg on our faces.  Today, under David Moyes, we were unlikely to see any complacency at all.  So although a home win was the likely result and a fourth straight Premiership victory beckoned, we had to beware the potential banana skins.

Gravesen's inclusion was something of a surprise after his omission during the last few games following a minor operation to remove liquid from a knee but, with the controlled and effective Linderoth missing, David Moyes's hand might have been forced.  Whatever the reason, it nearly paid off after only three minutes as a neat one-two between him and Radzinski almost forced an early goal.  The first eight minutes were one-way traffic as Everton completely dominated both in terms of territorial advantage and possession.  But, despite the domination, there were no frights for the Charlton keeper.

In fact it was Wright who was the first of the two keepers to be tested as a shot from 30 yards was rifled towards him; he held it comfortably.  But it was a reminder of the sort of thing we had to be careful about.

Throughout the half, there were excellent cameo pieces � not least from Yobo in the centre of defence, who with one moment of outrageous skill took out three opposing forwards as he turned a perfect ball back over his head to Hibbert.  In another, he did a shimmy and a back-flick to turn a forward on a sixpence.  But the moment of sublime skill that was a disbelief to everybody around was a trap and flick by Unsworth on the touchline that turned defence into attack.  Priceless.

The moment of the half, though, was Radzinski's goal.  It came from nothing.  Charlton had the ball, two-thirds of the way forward in their own half.  A moment of indecision saw Gravesen pounce to dispossess Mustoe and stroke the ball forward to Radzinski.  On went the power and Radzinski left his marker standing and raced towards the box.  With the keeper committed he put the ball into the corner of the net.  Now it was a case of how many?  Surely?

Yet it stayed 1-0 up to half-time.

The second half was a bit of a puzzle.  For fifteen minutes we again dominated.  Radzinski had two more good chances that he put over the bar.  The first was a dazzling run first to the by-line and then, as a cross was expected, he cut inside again, beating two men and blazed his shot high.  The second was a great ball into his path from Campbell that he side-footed above the target. 

The defence, too was getting in on the act; a rasping shot from Hibbert was parried by the keeper and, from a midfield not wanting to be outdone, Gravesen drove a shot wide of the post.  Pembridge had a couple of chances and the game was there to be taken.

But we couldn't kill them off; we nearly paid the price as Lisbie and Euell failed to take chances offered and Hibbert had to clear a goal-bound header off the line.  In the end, we were hanging on � in a game that should have been all over as a contest by half-time.  What happened to us in the last half-hour is beyond me.  We went from being in total control to being overrun. 

Whether it was complacency kicking in or tiredness after the exertions of St James's park on Wednesday, we'll never know, but three substitutions made no difference; if anything, we went from bad to worse.  Where the extra three minutes at the end came from I've no idea, but at the end of it we'd won and we'd banked another three points.

It was a game of what might have been, rather than what was.  What we didn't do rather than what we did.  That in itself is a testament to how far we've come.  Twelve months ago, a win such as this would have been welcomed with relief, whereas today there's a tinge of disappointment that we didn't win more easily.

Four in a row...  ...fourth in the table.  Wow!

Man of the Match: Yobo was outrageous, but David Unsworth was Mr Consistency... he gets my vote.

Player Ratings (from Deep Blue):

• Wright 7 - Solid display again.  Didn't have too much to do and made one or two bad punches where he could have caught it but overall, very good.
• Hibbert 7 - Barnstorming first half in both defence and attack.  Drifted out a little in the second half. Didn't put a foot wrong though.
• Unsworth 6 - Some poor quality crosses and looked a bit tired.
• Stubbs 8 - Did his cause no harm and Davie Weir may find it a bit hard to get his place back now.  Passing and heading superb
• Yobo 9 - Looks to be developing a great partnership at the back with Stubbsy.  Oozes composure and class, is fast and very good in the air
• Gravesen 7 - Slotted back into midfield like he'd never been away, great tackle and through ball to set the goal up
• Li Tie 7 - Another good performance.  Passing and awareness very good although he did look to be tiring somewhat at the end
• Pembridge 7 - Made some great runs at the Charlton defence.  Turning into an automatic choice for the first team
• Carsley 6 - Fairly ineffective for most of the game.  Looked tired.
• Campbell 7 - Understated but by no means ineffective.  Led the line well
• Radzinski 8 - Once again caused problems with his pace and trickery.  Missed a couple of chances but he was there for the winner
• Subs - Rooney 6, Naysmith 6, Weir 6

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Steve Bickerton

Report #2

All week, I've had a nagging little voice worrying me about this game.  Whether it was the realist, the pessimist or the cynic in me I don't know; but it was there none the less.  We were playing well and on a roll; Charlton were struggling at the bottom.  It looked like a walkover.  However, I still carry the scars of the Charlton and Ipswich games of last season � games we widely anticipated winning but ended up getting tonked.

The team showed no real surprises but, with Linderoth injured, it was a relief to see Gravesen return to after his recent knee problem. 

We started the game like a team on a roll, a team playing with confidence.  Gravesen was at his best, we passed it about and looked in total command.  It was very pleasing on the eye, but, crucially, we didn't actually create a proper chance or force the 'keeper into a save.

Needless to say, that sort of domination couldn't continue and Charlton began to drag themselves into the game.  We were still the better side but it wasn't one way traffic anymore.

It took us 30 minutes to finally find some penetration.  Gravesen caught Mustoe dallying on the ball and immediately put Radzinski through; his first time shot found the bottom corner of the net.  The goal had been a while coming but it was undoubtedly deserved.

The start of the second half was like the start of the first, only with a bit more directness.  The instruction had obviously gone out to stop the over-elaboration and general arsing about.  For ten minutes or so we battered them, forcing corners and putting them under real pressure.  We should have cashed in but, like in the first half, failed to do so.

Charlton once again, dragged themselves back into it.  They didn't look like scoring but at least acquired parity.  This was actually when we created our two best opportunities, both falling to Radzinski.  First, he cut in along the by-line, danced past a couple of defenders until he'd opened up the perfect angle for himself, whereupon he blazed high and wide.  Shortly afterwards, he was fed in by Campbell; he had just the 'keeper to beat but again blazed high and wide.  Two bad misses, both should have been converted.

The problem with not taking chances is that, at 1-0, the opposition always have a chance and, crucially, they know that � it gives them a lift.  As we reached the last 15 minutes, they were pressing us more and more and our defending seemed to get more and more panicky.

Moyes began to make changes, first Weir for Stubbs (injury related I presume) closely followed by a double substitution: Rooney for Radzinski and Naysmith for Li Tie (Pembridge went to centre midfield).  Not even Rooney could wrest control of the game back for us, his most significant contribution being to get booked for a rash tackle after losing his head when fouled.

During the last ten minutes, Hibbert cleared one of the line, they had a couple of chances where they missed the target, and we looked nothing like a team on the rise.

Crucially, we rode out the storm and got the three points we undoubtedly deserved.  It was just a pity the final 10 minutes had to be such an undignified scramble.  It's an old adage in football that you have to make your periods of dominance pay; we failed to do that and nearly paid a high price it.

• Wright 7  Still not totally convincing.  Certainly playing well but there's still the odd flash of uncertainty � a dodgy punch a couple of slightly fumbled catches.
• Hibbert 7  The most improved player this year.  I harboured doubts but he is visibly growing in self-belief and confidence.
• Yobo 7  Some sublime stuff � an overhead pass to Hibbert, beating an attacker with a drag back in our penalty area, but slightly negated by some panicky stuff in the closing stages.
• Stubbs 7  After some of the ill-informed crap that came his way early in the season, I'm so pleased to see him make a positive contribution.
• Unsworth 7  Another who is growing in self-belief and confidence.
• Carsley 7  Just does the job.
• Gravesen 7  One of his more complete performances, although he still leaves me frustrated at times � most notably when we were under the cosh late on.
• Li Tie 7  Did OK, contributed a few fancy turns and flicks as well.
• Pembridge 7  Ditto Carsley.
• Radzinski 7  Deserved his goal but should have had two more.  Just works so hard for the team.  One moment sticks out for me: a long ball towards their corner flag, Campbell closed down the covering defender and Radzinski sprinted fully 30 yards just to close off the option to the 'keeper.  The defender did manage to clear it but it shows the pressure we put defenders under and how hard our players all work for each other.
• Campbell 7  A selfless, hard-working performance.  Never quite fell for him in the penalty area.  Funny how no-one mentions his contract anymore...
• Weir 6  Slotted in relatively comfortably.
• Naysmith 6  Did OK
• Rooney 6  One of his quieter introductions.  I daresay Moyes has had a word about his silly bookings...

Team 7  Really should have been an 8 or 9 if we'd cashed in when playing well.  That in itself speaks volumes about our progress � quibbling about not winning in more style!

Man of the match Yobo, Gravesen and Campbell were the standouts for me, though I reckon Campbell just edges it.

Richard Marland