Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

Thoughts from Craven Cottage

By Sam   Hoare  ::  24/10/2011   17 Comments (»Last) A cracking day for what turned out to be a cracking game. After for some reason parking about 10 miles from the stadium, I got to my seat in the neutral section, behind another vocal Everton fan (who would later get blamed for my loud protestations) to watch a strange game of football that we could and maybe should have lost but ended up winning 3-1.

I'm not going to give a match report as it's been done and my memory is a little hazy anyway. But here are some players analysis and thoughts.

Howard ? 8.
Made a couple of decent and crucial saves and looked relatively assured on crosses for a change. Not sure he could have done much about their goal. Always have the sneaking fear that a howler is never that far away but surely one of the better keepers in the league.

Baines ? 7
Fairly unspectacular game for Leighton. Yet to show the form of last season, perhaps due to not having a left midfielder in front of him. Was pretty solid defensively and got in a few good crosses... if nothing else, he always seems to offer movement. Something sorely lacking in the rest of the team.

Distin ? 8
Our best defender this season for me and solid again. Shackled Zamora for most the game. His partnership with Jagielka though is not exactly watertight.

Jagielka ? 6
Made some good tackles and always committed but his reading of the game seemed poor to me. Got dragged out of position a few times and got caught out by simple route one stuff between him and Hibbert. Not quite hitting the heights.

Hibbert ? 7
Tricky one because he is dogged and makes some great blocks but also his side leaked the most chances. He errs too often on the side of caution which means he allows people to get crosses and shots in. Ruiz scored with Tony backing off and Hibbert totally lost him again for a good chance in the last 5 mins (watch the MotD highlights to see how he just let Ruiz in behind him). He did put in a few good crosses to be fair but for me the Hibbert-Jagielka side of our defense looks leaky.

Neville ? 6
Works hard off the ball but has far too little quality on it to play in centre mid. Gave endless balls away including a 6-yard simple pass to Hibbert that he hit right off the pitch under no pressure. We improved dramatically after he was subbed.

Fellaini ? 8
I thought he was pretty immense. Won tackles, is always available for the ball, and nearly always tries to take it down onto the deck and move it on quickly. He's far from perfect, he's not quick and he does over-complicate at times but covered a lot of ground, won a lot of headers and was mostly tidy.

Rodwell ? 9
Probably being a little generous but thought he had his best game for a long while, particularly in the second half. Pressed well, tackled well, rarely gave the ball away, and seemed more determined to make something happen. He has the ability to pick the ball up and run with it from the centre... he did this a few times and made good space. Also got a good goal and and an assist. More of the same please.

Osman ? 5
Not a wide man, this much is clear... but, even so, his dawdling on the ball and consequent lying on the floor after being tackled is so frustrating!!! Did very little either defensively or offensively.

Drenthe ? 9; MotM
What a breath of fresh air! Pace, trickery, ambition and the desire to shoot on sight. His first touch was a rocket of a goal and he seemed enthused from then onwards. He didn't always track back and got caught on the ball a few times but so what. He's a genuine winger with speed and touch and one of the only players who looked to make something happen out of nothing. Also, his desire to beat the bigger man for the flick on for Saha's goal, I liked that very much.

Velios ? 6
I felt a bit sorry for him; he was hugely isolated and didn't get much service but even so I would have expected to see him come off in buckets of sweat. Could maybe have chased a few more lost causes to boost the crowd. Mostly tidy when the ball came to him and beat Hangeland for few headers. Will be back and better hopefully.

Subs

Saha ? 8
Looked pretty sharp. Scored one and nearly had 2 or 3. Stay in this form and fitness and he is clearly a potent striker. And by God ? how we need one of those.

Cahill ? 7
Hustle and bustle as always. Have a feeling super sub may be his best position at the moment as his goal threat seems a little diminished.

Coleman ? 7 Made a few good runs. Is probably possessed of more enthusiasm than natural talent and was not quite as quick as i though he might be but still brings balance and width unlike Osman. I though with him and Drenthe on the wings and Rodwell and Fellaini in the middle was when we looked by far our most complete and effective offensively.

Moyes- 7
Really we have to thank Zamora and his missed open goal for the 3 points but, to be fair, Moyes's subs made the difference and we came away with 3 points from a tricky place. We are 3 points off 7th with a game in hand. It could be worse.

However my strongest observation from the game was the amount of times we gave the ball away with punts to no-one. Initially I blamed the players in question... usually Neville or Hibbert but then realised it was down in part to a lack of options.

There is a startling lack of movement and ambition in our team. By ambition, I mean that no-one seems to want the ball. If you watch players like David Silva, Fabregas, Xavi etc, then when they don't have the ball they are constantly moving in tandem with their team-mates to create space. It's not so much that players in good teams are always making incredible passes as it is that those around them are presenting feasible options.

Our players seem allergic to the ball and are happy to stay still or jog closely to one of the opposition when we have the ball. This results in long, useless punts forward and is both depressing and frustrating to watch. So memo to Moyes... get the players moving. Get them to want to the ball. Constantly. A bit like Drenthe yesterday. Otherwise we are stuck in mediocresville for a while longer.

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