COLUMNIST PAUL TRAILL

Match Report - The Apprentice

The result aside, of course? a good day at the game. Ritchie doesn?t get to many games these days so it was nice to see him coming along. John is an Arsenal fan and it was nice to see him join the clan for the day also. I know John well from my time in college and we went to the odd game together back then, the first of which was a thrilling 4-4 draw with Leeds United back in the 1999-2000 season. I could have done with a game of such entertainment today.

Well, that didn?t happen? not if you?re an Everton fan at least anyway. Just a few changes from the midweek game. Heitinga back in for the suspended Fellaini. Coleman rightly back in for Bilyaletdinov. Saha wrongly preferred over Yakubu. Mr Webb was the referee. We attacked the Park End in the first half. ?Come on, boys. Come on!? yelled the bloke behind me. Indeed.

The first 20 minutes or so progressed quite nicely, the key moment of which was Tim Cahill heading over when superbly picked out by Coleman after a surging run into the box. Arsenal soon got themselves into the game, however, and were knocking loudly on the door long before Sagna practically burst the net to put the Gunners 1-0 ahead. Their domination in play and energy levels throughout he pitch were exemplary, and whilst Everton couldn?t match them for brilliance they sure coulda? done more with commitment? notably just before the Arsenal goal when Heitinga didn?t charge down the original shot.

Jut when Arsenal scored, I needed to take a toilet break. On the way back, I thought I might as well get a few beers in for Gary and me. I did my best to wait for Gary around the bar but the nimble bugger somehow evaded me and got the drinks in at a different bar. Resultantly we had four pints when we only needed two. Luckily I was able to sell the surplus beers back to someone else in the queue for less than what we paid for. ?That was like something out of The Apprentice? quipped Gary. Regardless. I felt better after a beer.

Early in the second half, Everton quelled this good feeling by going 2-0 down to a low Fabrigas drive after Arteta lost possession. We already had it all to do. Now we had it ALL to do... and, from that period until around the 80th minute, the football dished up was about as bad as anything ever produced by Everton under David Moyes and perhaps on par with some of the stuff dished up by Mr Smith. Why it takes us so long to make a substitution is just beyond me.

Eventually, we did kick into gear but this time just too little, too late. We tried hard to lose to Stoke, Blackpool and Bolton so I guess we had a defeat looming sooner or later. After plenty of pressure, Cahill eventually forced the ball home after a Saha knock-down to really bring on the cavalry... though we just couldn?t force the ball home. We trudged off seconds before the final whistle and all congregated in the pub for the Chelsea vs Sunderland game. It coulda? been worse eh!

Just a word about Arsenal though. For no apparent reason, I've always had a bit of soft spot for the Gunners... though it's hard to respect them with all the pathetic taunting of the crowd the players do, and the persistent fouling and whinging by Fabregas. Not the right ilk of a proper team if you ask me

Things need to improve for Everton, however. On paper, the next two games look comfortable enough though I?ll be surprised if we gather our full points quota from these fixtures. I just can?t see where the next win is coming from myself? although I am usually wrong of course.

Player Ratings:

• Howard: More underworked than you?d probably expect against Arsenal but not the most inspiring performance either (sorry, I?m in negative mode). 6
• Baines: One of the better ones. You know what you?re getting from Leighton every game. How Warnock gets picked for England ahead of him is criminal. 7
• Jagielka: Not exactly performing like an international centre-back at the moment in my opinion. Hardly solid. 5
• Distin: Probably our most consistent player at the moment. 8
• Neville: Solid though unspectacular. About the norm really. 6
• Heitinga: I thought he started the game well but appeared to lose focus and once he got his yellow card was just all over the place and was probably most culpable for Arsenal?s first goal. Not performing as he can. Rightly subbed at half time. 4
• Pienaar: Certainly our most creative player today. If he?s leaving then fair enough but you can?t criticize him for commitment. 8
• Coleman: Also one of the better ones. You just can?t bottle his enthusiasm. 8
• Arteta: Crap. 4
• Cahill: My Man of the Match. I was most impressed with him when Moyes went 4-3-3 and Cahill was the creative spark. He was placing balls around in a way of which I had no idea he was capable of?got the goal too. Others should take head. 8
• Saha: Got plenty of stick but not exactly the worst one out there today. Still, I feel Yakubu and Beckford in particular are offering more at the moment. 6
• Rodwell: Was the change I wanted though didn?t exactly have the desired impact. 4
• Yakubu: Toiled. 6
• Beckford: Worked hard. The way he can create something out of nothing (and I?m referring to that wonderful turn and volley here) is a skill you just can?t teach. It wouldn?t be the worst idea in the world to start with him a week tomorrow in my opinion. 7

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