COLUMNIST PAUL TRAILL

Utterly Ridiculous

By Paul Traill   ::  22/01/2012 With Ste kindly offering me a lift to the game it was nice to sink a few beers in the pub pre-match. It was also nice to see Simon make a rare appearance and we were all even happy enough with the team news to face lowly Blackburn Rovers. Just the one change from the impressive draw at Aston Villa ? the unimpressive Drenthe replace by Anichebe which made sense given the goals he is offering us at the moment.

I think everyone was relieved Yakubu was missing this one. A goal from him would have been inevitable. Instead David Goodwillie lead the line for Rovers. No Chris Samba for them either with Paul Robinson taking goal. They were followed by perhaps the best crowd I?ve ever seen Blackburn bring to Goodison Park, taking up a fair bit of the lower section even if the Upper Tier was entirely vacant. Not a great support for many clubs no, but as good as I?ve seen them bring?it?s normally just a coach load.

Phil Neville lost the toss and the teams switched ends before Mark Halsey got proceedings under way. Chances were few and far between in the first half though Blackburn were always looking the more likely. We came reasonably close a couple of times through Phil Neville and Shane Duffy (both via corners) though were not really hurting Blackburn. Baines was doing his best to get down the flank and put in a few decent balls ? one in particular ? though Saha, or anyone really for that matter, just doesn?t appear hungry enough to get on the end of things at the moment.

Regardless, we did find ourselves ahead on 23 minutes after a corner was kick was cleared and then worked back to Donovan who clipped the ball back in. Blackburn still had a player on the line playing everybody onside. Fellaini controlled and bundled the ball to Cahill who easily finished from about six yards out. I saw nothing wrong though several Blackburn players chased the referee in complaint. I saw the replay and presumed they were falsely claiming for offside though having now seen it again its clear Fellaini handles in squaring the ball to Cahill and the goal shouldn?t have stood. Nevertheless?we led.

Sadly this wasn?t enough to deter Blackburn Rovers and they continued to battle away, twice coming very close to scoring when Dunn struck the post with a decent drive and a high cross was awkwardly cleared by a combination of Howard and Baines.

With 10 minutes or so to go until the break, I thought I?d take advantage of not driving the game and go for a half-time pint with Gary. I seldom bother with the half-time pint as I find I miss too much of the game but in previous seasons the monitors downstairs have at least shown the match hassle-free.

Well, I just can?t fathom what they?ve done to the screens now. They?ve flipped them all on their side making it difficult to see what?s going on. I think they?ve gone for a more digital plan showing latest results etc on one half of the TV with the game on the other, and then they can use the top side of the screen for advertising etc also. I?m all for that, we have to utilize every possible revenue stream as best we can but Christ, the quality of the match picture is now so, so poor it?s extremely difficult to detect what?s going on. It?s like watching the match on your mobile phone!

Furthermore, every time the ball goes out or there?s a stoppage in play the screen changes to show to some other advertising blurb and then doesn?t come back on again until mid-play. I can?t believe they?ve impaired the service so badly? that?s cost them my overly-priced Chang from now on anyway. Utterly ridiculous.

This all epitomized the second half as Everton were extremely lackluster throughout the remainder of the game and Blackburn were very worthy of their point. Moyes did try to do something about it, taking off the useless Saha and replacing him with Drenthe with Anichebe moving up front. This didn?t work either and Blackburn just grew in confidence throughout the half.

The goal had been coming for some time but oh my, what embarrassing circumstances of which to concede. Howard coming for a long free kick and missing it woefully. With the ball bouncing goalwards Cahill looked all set to clear on the line. He could have cleared it any which way? heading it out, smashing it high and upwards to the left or to the right, but for the love of God, not directly at Goodwillie who couldn?t help but score. As with the downstairs screens? utterly ridiculous.

The atmosphere was turning a bit nasty as frustration amongst the crowd was so horribly apparent. With the way it was going and with two substitutes still to use up I couldn?t understand why Moyes waited so long to make his changes. Looking at the bench there wasn?t much inspiration to be fair but just for work rate alone Vellios and Stracqualursi could have been introduced sooner than they were in my opinion.

Despite all this we still had some great chances to win it towards the end of the game. Duffy flicked his header onto the crossbar from a good Baines delivery which was unlucky. Fellaini later forced Robinson into a good save with the ex-England No 1 palming the ball out for a corner. From this we twice came close but just couldn?t force the ball home as Blackburn defended resolutely to ensure they shared the points. Boos greeted the final whistle as we trudged off in the cold wind.

Yet another disappointment to this God awful season and I?m just sick of it now. Sick of getting asked ?What happened there?? when I get to work on Monday. Sick of going home on a Saturday night after the match and just feeling down about it? at least this weekend my Red mates have nothing to laugh about either I suppose.

So in which direction do you point the finger of blame? I?m still reluctant to blame it all on Moyes. I?ve tried my best to be patient with the board but if I?m not mistaken Darron Gibson is the only First Team player we?ve actually paid money for in 2½ years. I think Gueye and Vellios we paid money for but they were effectively youth players.

So £500k is all we?ve paid out for First Team players in 2½ years? Exactly what sort of sustainable business model is that for a Premier League team? There?s managing prudently and there?s ?not doing a Leeds? but come on. Without at least some realistic investment we are just going nowhere?and will continue to go nowhere. If Moyes gets money and we still fail, then is the time to blame Moyes in my opinion.

I hate football today?but that can call change with FA Cup progress next Friday.

Player ratings:

Howard: Poor. Punching when it seemed easier to catch and generally all over the place. Foul or not, he should have been stronger with the goal and got nowhere near it. 4

Baines: My man of the match, more by default than anything else. 7

Heitinga: Not the worst performer. Seemed baffled as to what was going on around him at times. 6

Duffy: Did OK. Not great on the ball and got caught out once or twice, hence I had no problem with him just clearing his lines towards the end rather than trying to pick out a pass. If in doubt and all that. Came close to scoring also. 6

Neville: Not great. Got forward quite well but his balls into the box were usually poor. 5

Fellaini: Great when involved but went missing far to much. Had a ?hand? in the goal and came very close to scoring at the end but I think we need more from him than what we?re currently getting. He?s capable of much more. 6

Gibson: Largely anonymous. Just didn?t get into the game. Showed a few nice little passes. I like how patient he is on the ball, very Man Utd-like but he just didn?t get involved enough today and should have been subbed a lot sooner as he clearly didn?t have much left in the tank. 5

Anichebe: Worked hard I suppose but didn?t offer us much, particularly when put up front. Might have been a bit much to ask him to play nearly a full game given he?s just returning from injury. In hindsight maybe an impact substitute role might have been more apt today. 5

Donovan: Disappointing. Never really got going like we know he can. 5

Cahill: Once he scored he looked really up for it and was looking great. He then had to be the one who messed up for their goal. I really hope he doesn?t dwell on that and instead gains confidence from his goal. We need his goals now probably more than ever. 5

Saha: Now I?m no genius but to me its very apparent that Saha can?t handle 90 minutes anymore. Nowhere near in fact. Whilst I?m well aware we?re not going to get any / many goals playing Stracqualursi up front but at least that boy will put a shift in. Why not start him with the remit of ?kick, scrap and chase that centre back. Don?t give him an inch and don?t give him a second on the ball. Wear him down.? Let him do this for 60 /70 minutes and then bring on a fresh Saha against a now knackered and bruised centre-back and I imagine we?ll then get more out of Saha. You could apply the same role to Vellios also.

Let's rewind to Wednesday 10 November and Yakubu had just been dropped with Moyes rather unnecessarily publicly saying ?Yakubu has played the last six games and got me one goal. I?m looking for a better return from my strikers so am trying something different?. Now never mind the fact that whilst Yakubu may not have scored in all the games he played in during that period he did bully Liverpool and had a big hand in the 2-0 derby win. He also won the free kick which Baines bent in away at Spurs, scored the winner against Stoke City and set up a goal for Cahill away at Blackpool (Saha missed a sitter that game also). There?s faults to Yakubu?s game sure but I didn?t see the sense in dropping him then as he was showing decent form.

Take Saha, who has a total of 2 goals in his last 15 games. Why on earth do we persist and not try something else? I?m just glad Yakubu wasn?t there to rub it on our faces today. Saha was awful. For Godsake, Moyes, either use him more effectively or get rid. 4

Drenthe (for Saha): Didn?t do it today I?m afraid. Poor. 4

Vellios (for Anichebe): Didn?t really get into the game. Still learning. I can?t believe Moyes didn?t start with him after he scored a hat-trick for the reserves this week though. 5

Stracqualursi (for Gibson): Got involved and won a few headers. Would like to see him given the ?kick, scrap and chase? project next Friday. 6

Reader Comments (22)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer

About these ads