From My Seat: Swansea City (A)

I wasn't convinced by the centre-half partnership. We were wide open at times. It has to be Distin plus either Jags or Heitinga for me.

Coleman had a good solid game at right back. The team looked better balanced with him on the right of defence, providing what Baines does on the left.

Neville had a decent game, he kept it neat & tidy. I know he gets a bit of stick but I thought he did well today.

Baines & Pienaar — outstanding as usual.

Mirallas looks like a bargain, again he has improved the balance on the right-hand side.

Ossie and Fellaini had good solid games.

That leaves Vic. He's doing really well at the moment. He's desperate for a run in the team. He's never quite done it in the past, but last season he had several decent cameos and he has done really well in this past week. He seems to have matured a bit — maybe the penny has finally dropped regarding his attitude, he put in a good shift again and is worth his place in the team.

Great win today, let's keep it going...

And with the team in such good form I am very excited about heading back home to see them play at Wigan. Can't wait!

I love this part of the website and congratulate Ken for giving us a real life snapshot of the game from the right perspective... in the stands.

Thoughts:

(1) Coleman needs to be trusted at right back; he needs a run there in up-and-coming games that we ought to win on paper. He looked brighter and better today than in any other game there.

(2) MotM was our Indie music luvin' left back.

(3) Central defence is becoming such a thorn in our side. So shaky again today. Distin and JH for me; can't be worse than the other two permutations used so far.

(4) I don't care that he scored and don't care that he stayed on for the full 90. Victor is quite simply not up to par; I long for the day he is shipped down the road to the mutants at Stoke. One error after another: misses that fill the fingers of one hand, wayward shots, falling over (still), gangly, lacks pace, ungainly. He is not good enough to be a starting Everton striker. Yes, one of his better games (I know, I saw it) but for every good thing there were two bad things.

(5) TH drives me frenzied insane with his ups and downs. Sparkling when called on today and therefore will clearly start against Saaaawwthhhhaammptonnnn where the might well have another mare and drop a couple of clangers.

(6) 2nd and a deserved 2nd. But until Moyes gets rid of his blinkered obsession with playing the Frightful Five — Neville, Hibbert, Osman, Timmy, Victor — we will not be able to sneak into the top four. Osman, to be fair, had a good game today, I thought, especially 1st half, but overall, week-in & week-out, ship him down the road to Wigan or Bolton or Blackburn.

The CBs: still shakey, but I don't think it's all their fault. Moyeses New Model Army has gone a bit Cavelier with this attacking ethos, no bad thing in its self, I mean I for one have been shouting for it for ages, so I can't complain too much. But with this, in simplistic terms pushing up a bit more come space in front of the back 4 where in olden times there might have been a tighter MF 5 or even 6, which brings us to...

Capt Pip: we all know he is playing out of position, some seem to think his is doing OK for him, sorry I see him as struggling, not just with the job but with his own form and footballing mortality, I can see it having been there at a lower level you can only kid them and your self for so long, his brain is writting more and more cheques his legs can't cash. Gibson he ain't Carsley he never was even at his 'best'.

But finances dictate a small squad, jacks of all trades, there should be Gibson, a decent back up and Fellaini in the Carsley spec. But that then leaves a Fellaini-shaped hole further up field and so on with the knock-on effect.

We are EIGHT players away from a top team: the 4 that are already here, including Neville and Osman, the other 2 are debatable. And the 4 decent and thus expensive replacements.

I think we could get 3rd, but my glass half-empty leads me to think we might do a Newcastle and miss out right at the death.

Excellent report, Ken. As you say a strange game that we could have won by more, or but for great or lucky goalkeeping at critical times we could have lost.

The 2nd worrying thing is the number of opportunities that we wasted. OK, Vic, Fella, Mirallas, Pienaar and Osman are still figuring out each other and once they do that, I expect we will score a lot more goals.

Still, an away 0-3 win is not to be sniffed at. As somebody mentioned on another thread, a fair result would have 10-4 !

Neville allowed runners, especially Michu, to run past him all afternoon and this distribution from defence was also wayward. Osman is not a central midfielder in my book and can't tackle.

So unless we pull Fellaini back (impossible given how well he played up front) or until Gibson is back, let's enjoy the roller-coaster thrills of the last two games for a month or so!

I can't believe the amount of chances Vic had. If he had a little more composure he could/should have had a hat-trick.

If it wasn't Toffeeweb I'd be somewhat dumfounded by the surprising volume of negative commentary following a game in which we have well and truly outplayed one of the better regarded footballing sides in the division and punctured their great start to rout them at their own stadium.

Swansea are renowned for holding possession and outplaying opponents, today we had almost twice as many shots (30, with two thirds on target) and drew 23 fouls and 6 cards from 'footiballing' opponents. We obviously won 3-0 and with a bit more luck and composure it could easily have been 5, 6 or 7.

Sure, we did concede some opportunities too, but that's what happens when you play attacking football (you know the football the majority of glass half empties have been clamouring for for years), you inevitably leave yourself with players up the pitch. Despite that, our defence held firm and some great saves and clearances ensured a clean sheet.

Now I appreciate I'm not a footballing professional, but to me 'creating chances at one end' and 'keeping them out at the other' is pretty much the base premise upon which a successful football team is based. If you can deliver entertaining passing moves (which we did) and large spells of control with the opposition team not having a sniff (check), then so much the better.

Are all of our players the best in their position? No, of course not. But the key problem I have with the criticism here is that most of it bears little relation to what's actually happened on the pitch today and more to long-standing grudges based on real or perceived failures previously. This is especially true of the bile that gets hurled at the apparently not so fab 5 of Vic, Neville, Osman, Hibbert and Howard.

Today I think Vic was a solid 7, with a good argument for an 8. Did he miss a few chances? – absolutely. Did he get into the positions to have the chances? – absolutely. Does every striker in the world miss more chances than they score (including RVP, Tevez, Rooney and our own Jelavic)? – well, aside from 1-shot 1-goal Fletcher, then yes! Was Vic repeatedly involved in our build-up play, holding up the ball, offering an outlet, creating chances for others, winning free-kicks and keeping on running and trying till the last? Well, from what little I could see by actually watching the entire match, I can only say yes.

Curiously enough this appears to be the verdict of many independent outsiders inclduing the Premier League's own fantasy football game which awarded all 3 bps to Victor ahead of Baines and Felliani and Fantasy Football Scout's ICT index which also placed him as the most valuable player so far this gameweek.

I must stress this isn't me saying that Anichebe is perfect and deserves to be our first choice forward when Jelly is fit, but it is me absolutely saying "the boy done well" and "that's 2 goals in 2 matches, so let's give him a chance and get behind him".

As for Osman, going by the stats he also had a pretty good game, with over 88% pass completion of 50 passes (25 in Swansea half), he created 3 chances, won all 3 of the tackles he was involved in, had 2 shots (both blocked), made 2 interceptions, 7 recoveries and 3 clearances and had 70 touches in total (so was involved every couple of minutes). All-in-all he wasn't far behind Pienaar or Fellaini in terms of creative contribution and had more overall influence in terms of winning the ball and passing it around.

If you apply the same stats-based approach to Neville a similar picture appears that's at odds with the perception held by many. Comparing Neville's performance today with an average of Gibson's first 3 games actually reveals that the impact of the two players is actually very similar and Neville actually comes out on top overall as he had more touches than Gibson on average, made more passes and had a higher pass completion rate as well as winning far more aerial challenges and making more clearances.

Howard needs no statistical defence, he was awesome today and made 2 world-class saves and Hibbert obviously wasn't playing, offering Coleman an opportunity he took with gusto (another positive).

Add in another promising attacking performance from Mirallas (and his first goal), Fellaini continuing to look an unplayable beast in the attacking midfield role, the usual consistent threat and interplay of Baines and Pienaar on the left, and the return of Heitinga to the back-line plus a brief run-out for Naismith, Oviedo and Gueye and today surely has to go down as an amazing day. I'd suggest that Moyes's willingness to persist with attacking line-up and approach despite absences (and recent results) is also a hugely encouraging trend that surely must merit recognition and celebration here amongst those who'd castigated Dour Davey beforehand.

I'll make no league predictions (way too early for that) or even pre-empt a good-run against supposedly weaker opposition (anyone can win on their day in the PL), but I am going to revel in the joy of some great attacking performances that have yielded 10 points (that should've been 12 bar some poor reffing) and see us flying high and genuinely expectant going into each game week.

Our line last year: P10 W 3 D 1 L 7 GF 11 GA 15.

Our next 5 games are:
Southampton (H)
Wigan (A)
QPR (A)
Liverpool (H)
Fulham (A)

I really think these next 5 games will define our season. If we get the job done and get to the Sunderland game at Goodison with 20 points the foundation would have been set.

Regardless of results all I remember from this time last year was the fear of conceding first. I would stop watching once we let in the first goal. With this current team and the form they're in that fear is gone. Once we get Gibson and Jelavic back Moyes will be looking at his bench and thinking I have real options now.

I'm sure there will be dips in form over the course of the season but we are currently the best team in the league that doesn't have Europe to worry about. It could end up being a perfect storm for us to break through that glass ceiling.

I can't believe I am still the only Evertonain in the world to like Anichebe. He has always been quick and strong and has good technical ability. His problem has been confidence and attitude at times, but he seems to be sorting that out. If we, as a group, get behind the lad, in stead of berating him even after he leads the line so powerfully for 135 minutes consecutively, than his confidence issues are never going to go away and we will never get to see whether he can be the Drogba-style striker that he looks as if he could be.

Be nice to see Coleman get another game at right-back on Tuesday, give Jagielka a rest and play the other 2. Also give Naismith 45. We want to go and beat Leeds. That is one of our most important games of the season so far!

Couple years back we were just as much fun but couldn't hit a barn door... So I'll take not banging in 6, as long as we take a couple.

Sadly I was unable to watch the game today due to a catering commitment but while I was slicing sweet potatoes and mashing avocados I was listening to the game on radio five and by all accounts I heard Vic, Osman, Pip and Howard all acquitted themselves very well. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter who they are – get a 0-3 victory in the prem and they should play every week until they turn rubbish.

One example: Neville's pass completion rate. The full story is that a lot if those passes put the player receiving the pass in trouble. A badly executed pass is nothing to be crowing about.

I generally agree with the comments about Neville, but at the end of the day that's why Moyes bought Gibson and tried to get the lad from Belgium, as he knows it's not PN's best position as well. This is probably Neville's last season as a regular and he busts a gut for us every time he plays and has done since he joined; so I think some slack and also some respect is due.

By the way, have most of the media had an irony by-pass ? Everton fans singing about winning the league was good banter and humour (made me smile). So...message to various media outlets.....it's a joke, we don't mean it.

Now Champions League ? We are havin a laff (hopefully).

Only when you don't want to agree with them.

I don't know what the United fans were chanting during YNWA but I get the feeling it was neither supportive or abusive, just disruptive. From that moment on I wanted LFC to win it to be honest. United fans are a bunch of dark, charmless, uncharitable bastards. The good news is they are in decline. Long may it last.

As some one who has criticised David Moyes for his negative approach in the past this season has been a refreshing change. Yes, we are looking a bit dodgy defensively but the positives far outweigh the negatives. We are playing some great attacking football and sometimes as a result of this you do leave your self open defensively. 30 attempts on goal with 19 on target, away from home - that's is frankly unbelievable!!

People should read some of the comments on other websites from fans of other teams to get a bit of a perspective on what is happening so far this season. Here's one that is typical: "Dare I say it but could Everton be the most enjoyable team to watch in the league right now?"

And here's one I read from an Arsenal fan: "Whole lot of great individual performances and Everton's games are the best ones to watch this season. Everton for CL in expense of ummm.. anyone but us :D Ki Sung Yong, Fellani, Anichebe, Mirallas, and Howard were the standouts!! If Everton were a political candidate, they would be getting whole lotta votes, that's how convincing they are at this time."

When the hell was the last time we got comments like those from non-Everton Fans?

"The full story is that a lot if those passes put the player receiving the pass in trouble. A badly executed pass is nothing to be crowing about."

Do you perchance have anything to support this statement apart from a perception expressed with gusto?

Are you actually suggesting that Neville's stats tell the whole story?

Then again, I like statistics. I agree that they can never tell the full story, but I think they are a good indication of what is going on, and certainly support the theory that people allow their pre-conceived ideas and prejudices cloud their judgement of certain individuals.

Best stat of the day... we scored 3, they scored 0. Happy days!

But we're after bigger game this season than just finishing above those red shirts over the way. We did that last year and easily will this.

The 3 points are paramount. I would've been delighted at ManU drawing or losing today. They're our competition now.

Some good points made already can come together in my book. With Gibson out, Fellaini is our best player to be in that position. But the 'old' Moyes, dare I say it because he's still there on the bench, would have done that. Up the field he is becoming, and I've heard it twice now from pros, 'unplayable'. He has to be fouled to concede the ball. He will be kicked to death in the months to come. Let's see how the refs respond. (I'll put a ps at the end about the truly unplayable player)

Mirallas looks to be getting acclimatised as quickly as Jelavic did (are we getting something right - its supposed to take six months isn't it?) and Naismith will continue to improve in the Prem. But our major acquisition - and this is easy to forget - is Pienaar. With Marouane and Leighton working the left we have to be as good at that as anyone.

Which raises the question of what happens on the right. Fine players all, but Hibbo, Neville and Ossie can never reproduce what happens on the other side. Ossie in any case, although he acts heroically at times, shouldn't have the defensive duties put on him. He is creative, has good, quick feet, and a brain. An inside forward, like Jimmy Husband (see end for age related comment if you wish)

Coleman, for me, impressed in Swansea. We know all about his mazey, sometimes headless chicken runs forward. But he can attack effectively. And although not a youngster he is still young, very much so in terms of Prem experience compared to where he came from. I just had a sniff of a hope that we might have seen the future Leighton Baines of the right flank showing himself yesterday.

PS - those of us who were at GP for the World Cup in 1966 may have seen Brasil play Bulgaria. Hard fought, but notable for two goals from free kicks. Pele's and Garrincha's. Manuel Francisco dos Santos was properly named the 'unplayable' player. You had to foul him to stop him. In fact, coaches realised that had to change their defensive systems because of people like him. Welcome 'catenaccio'.

Sorry I can't post the link, but simply go to YouTube, search for Garrincha & Zitarossa for 6 minutes of football heaven and pretty nifty guitar

pps - I'm not comparing Fellaini to Garrincha. But I reckon our guy is an innovator, never as mind-boggling as Garrincha was, but in a much more professionalised game, a special talent.

For instance..take this quote..

"But the key problem I have with the criticism here is that most of it bears little relation to what's actually happened on the pitch today and more to long-standing grudges based on real or perceived failures previously. This is especially true of the bile that gets hurled at the apparently not so fab 5 of Vic, Neville, Osman, Hibbert and Howard."

That is quite clearly a broadside at those who critique our players...In fact he even goes as far as saying.."it bears little relation to what's actually happened.."

And then below..he goes on to validate what he's said by using stats..

"If you apply the same stats-based approach to Neville a similar picture appears that's at odds with the perception held by many."

I think its clear from this post that Chris was trying to dampen valid discussion/and or criticism by reference to stats, and stats only..Especially whenever he comes back and asks for my evidence that Nevilles passes often put other players in trouble [when even the most ardent Neville fan has seen him do it regularly]

So, i'll repeat...stats are absolutely useless without context. Especially whenever they lead to the conclusion that Neville "actually comes out on top overall" in a comparison with Gibson.