Match Preview
Well, after the dire performance at Ewood Park, the Wolves are really
at the door this Saturday.
Since Moyes arrived with a win over
Fulham, Everton have
avoided the "must-win" games. This perhaps explains the lack of
focus and preparation that appeared evident against Blackburn. Such
a poor start simply cannot be contemplated against Dave Jones's boys who —
unfortunately for us — are running into a bit of form and have now only
tasted defeat once in their last eight games.
Forget "can't afford to lose"... this is the ultimate in early
season "must wins"!
The mess over Ferguson is the last thing that we needed this week and
has managed to overshadow some very promising International performances
from the best up-and-coming talents in British football: Rooney and
McFadden. Even if Ferguson apologises to Moyes, it is hard to see
him making the starting line up on Saturday. Jeffers's goal for the
reserves (2-2 against Villa) may see him get the nod but, with Campbell
also struggling, it is hard to see past a Rooney/Radzinski frontline with
Jeffers on the bench.
We also have the chance to possibly see two wingers at Everton in
McFadden and Kilbane. Gravesen showed how useless he is on the right
and must come central again (where of course he was outstanding against
England). With Watson still struggling, McFadden must take the right
flank, and Moyes must choose between Naysmith and Kilbane for the left
flank.
At the back, Stubbs should thankfully return and provide some
experience; Moyes must decide whether Unsworth's spirited second-half
showing at Blackburn gets him a start — one hopes not!
For Wolves, their resurgence has simply been sparked by hard work and
commitment — shown clearly when they came back from 3-0 down against
Leicester to secure a stunning 4-3 victory. However, the key player
in that fight-back with 2 goals from midfield, Colin Cameron, missed both
Scotland's games this week and is a big doubt.
Upfront is where Wolves should struggle and we must return to last
season's defensive base — am I repeating myself again? The defending
against Blackburn was simply shocking and cannot be repeated — hopefully
Stubbs will exert the control and leadership that is needed.
Wolves are a poor side and, not long ago, were being tipped as the
worst ever Premiership side (what, worse than Leeds?). We should
batter them and I fully expect us to do so.
3-0 to the Boys in Blue!
Blue4Ever
Lee Doyle
Report
A very satisfying match. The first half was superb, and we passed
the ball on the ground for most of it. Even Unsworth fell in
line. Everton gave a good professional performance that won
the game in the first half. You can't get too carried away
about beating a poor side like Wolves but this was a massive game
for us psychologically and we got the 3 points.
Gravesen was immense — Man of the Match by a mile. The
England-Denmark game has obviously boosted his confidence. He
consistently got his foot on the ball and played some superb passes
that cut through their midfield time and time again. In short,
he ran the show in the first half. If he can get performing at
this level on a consistent basis then I think he might silence a few
of his critics; however, he needs to show he can do it against
quality opposition.
Good game from Kilbane too — he may not set the world on fire in
terms of skill but he's an intelligent player who uses the ball
well. He was obviously chuffed to bits to get his first goal
for us; the £1M we paid for him doesn't look like such a bad bit of
business.
Rooney and McFadden did a good job in drawing defenders out,
creating space for us to work with. Not their greatest ever
displays individually but they worked hard for the team which was
good to see.
We were solid in defence — Blake caused a few more problems than
Iversen had in the first half but Stubbs rarely looked troubled.
Yobo looked a class act as usual but one minor gripe is that he
tends to dilly-dally on the ball sometimes when a hoof upfield is
the safer option. It looks great when he dances round an
opposing forward and then lays it off to a team-mate but I've just
got a feeling it's going to go horribly wrong one of these days.
J The second half was forgettable, and much like the first half v
Blackburn, but we had won, and the only criticism that I would make
would be when we are up, we need to add more. Clean sheet great.
Just to note, we need to work on those free kicks. No one in the
side can really bend it like Beckham. Give it up lads, even he
rarely scores from them. Also, a few more shots from outside the
area would not go amiss either.
- Martyn: Surely on the path to England Footie.
Marsahlled his defence well. 7
- Hibbert: A few wayward passes, caught out of position a
few times but solid. 6
- Yobo: Solid as ever 8
- Stubbs: Same 8
- Unsworth: Best game this season, contained himself 7
- Linderoth: Tidy came. Came forward a few times. 6
- McFadden: Still worried about his first touch, but he
can dribble and shimmy past the best of them 7
- Gravesen: Best match he has had. Only two passes going
amiss all game. Drove us forward. Finally the leader we have
wanted? 9
- Kilbane: Proving his critics wrong by the week. Very
skillful, and great goal. 8
- Rooney: Tucked in nicely, caused plenty of problems,
but I suspect that it will be a few more weeks before the Rooney
of old is really back with us. 6
- Radzinski: A most annoying player you can't find (apart
from Gravesen). Scores from 30 years, misses from 10. 6 Subs not
on long enough to mark, but good to see Osman at last. And he made
a corner.
Second half was pretty dull and the atmosphere was a bit subdued.
We are going to face tougher tests than this though — we were good
yesterday but they made it easy for us. The next few weeks are going
to shape our season...
From Deep Blue and Black Toffee on The
People's Forum
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Blackburn Rovers (A)
