Column Why Three Points on Monday Night Are a Must Previewing Everton's trip to the south coast in front of the Sky cameras on Monday Liam Prenderville 18/01/2013 22comments | Jump to last David Moyes will be determined to end Everton’s South Coast hoodoo when they travel to St Mary’s on Monday night. After picking up just one win on our last 11 visits, courtesy of a goal from makeshift striker Steve Watson; our latest trip down south couldn’t come at a better time. Such is the lack of loyalty shown by Premier League chairman these days; Nigel Adkins was ‘relieved on his duties’ on Friday, after leading the club to two successive promotions and a superb point at Stamford Bridge in midweek. Former Espanyol boss Mauricio Pochettino has been brought in, with the decision receiving widespread criticism, not just from Saints’ fans but from key figures across the footballing world. I don’t think it would be right to say the club is in turmoil, but this news will not have gone down well with the Southampton players and will have undoubtedly disrupted their preparations ahead of Monday night’s game. Usually, teams enjoy a new-found belief when a new manager is appointed, but I think the situation at St Mary’s could have an adverse impact on their side. This can only be a good thing for David Moyes and Everton and it is fundamental that we take full advantage. Article continues below video content Another boost, is the difficult fixtures that the teams in and around us face. Sunday’s double bill sees Arsenal travel to London rivals Chelsea, whereas Tottenham host league leaders Manchester United. Besides last season’s 5 - 3 victory, The Gunners record at Stamford Bridge isn’t great. However, with Rafael Benitez’s side lying only five points ahead of us, I don’t see any result that would really favour us. On the other hand, Tottenham face a really difficult challenge when they host Sir Alex Ferguson’s team. United have been in excellent form so far in this campaign and will be confident, although Spurs’ 3 - 2 win at Old Trafford in September will give them a huge boost. Despite Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion facing home fixtures, which they should win, come Monday, I expect us to still be in 5th place. Last Saturday’s goalless draw against Swansea was largely frustrating for the Goodison faithful, but I think the Blues boss will have taken some consolation from registering only our second clean sheet of the season. Nikica Jelavic is struggling in front of goal at the moment and looks short of confidence and this is the first time this has happened since his move from Rangers, 12 months ago. After scoring just one goal in his last 11 games, Everton fans are beginning to become frustrated with The Croatian, but I believe it is only a matter of time before he starts finding his range again. The news of Kevin Mirallas’s return to training will be welcomed by David Moyes, who has admitted his side have lacked a bit of creativity, when the speedy Belgian has been missing. Moyes has confirmed that he won’t rush the winger and it is unlikely he will feature at St Mary’s on Monday night. I don’t see any changes being made for this one, with Victor Anichebe again filling the void on the right flank in the absence of Mirallas. We have had so many games this season where we have dominated and had to settle for a point, or in the matches against Chelsea and Reading, been beaten. The players will be determined to finally turn chances and possession into goals and will be looking at Monday night’s clash as one we should be winning. Our performances in front of the Sky cameras have been largely excellent this season and I expect us to make the journey back to Goodison with three points in the bag, after another strong showing. Follow @Prendo10 Share article: 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 Denis Richardson 1 Posted 18/01/2013 at 20:30:57 3 points would be nice but there's still another 15 games left after.......not quite do or die ey?No easy away games in the league....ask Chelsea! Liam Prenderville 2 Posted 18/01/2013 at 20:59:24 I agree it is not do or die... I just feel that it is the sort of game we have to be winning, if we are going to get Champions League football this season.It will be by no means easy mind! Dennis Stevens 4 Posted 18/01/2013 at 23:07:23 'David Moyes will be determined to end Everton’s South Coast hoodoo ...' - what South Coast hoodoo?? Whilst it's true Everton have only won once at Southampton under Moyes, we've also only lost once & the other two matches were draw. Along the coast in Portsmouth, Everton have visited Fratton Park 7 times since Moyes took charge & the record is won 4 drawn 1 lost 2. Not a bad away record, imo. Tony Rice 5 Posted 19/01/2013 at 03:04:34 Everton 4 Southampton 1(Jelly 2, Fellaini, Victor)COYB James Lee 6 Posted 19/01/2013 at 16:22:48 Liverpool's Suarez just can't stop scoring. Why can't Everton never find a consistent striker? Is it the lack of funds, manager's tactics, or simply no luck in this area for the past so many years? Kevin Day 9 Posted 19/01/2013 at 17:13:18 I see a big score here, 6-1 to the mighty blues James Flynn 10 Posted 19/01/2013 at 17:21:07 I expect us to get all 3 points, but let me ask a general question you fellows would have a better handle on over there: I don't give a shit about Southampton but, in this era of the coaches' carousel, why do you think a successful manager like Adkins was bounced? Pete Anthony 11 Posted 19/01/2013 at 19:04:36 James (#811), The whim of the trigger happy foreign Chairman. Not to say English chairmen are any less inclined to act likewise though, 'Deadly Doug Ellis' at Aston Villa a prime example. On another matter... COYB, let's rout em.. Brian Garside 12 Posted 19/01/2013 at 20:02:32 Play Oviedo. Even on the right he would create more than anyone else in the absence of Mirallas. We have a left foot right foot combo on the left so why not on the right too? Ken Buckley 13 Posted 19/01/2013 at 20:02:07 Whatever has gone on at Southampton I don't think will have much bearing on how they play as players tend to want to impress new managers for their own ends. The key I believe is our ability to capitalize on chances made. We have not been great at it this season but, when we click, we win. A lot of clicking would be nice come Monday...UP THE BLUES Kevin Gillen 14 Posted 19/01/2013 at 21:13:39 Couldn't agree more. Three points vital which means we will probably get one! Our play this year deserves more and we traditionally do well in the 2nd half of the season so let's hope it is 3 points. An early goal would get their fans on to their board's back so let's be positive from the start. Osman to score first and Jelavic late on, 2-0.Dreadful treatment of Nigel Atkins, two successive promotions, out the relegation zone and you lose your job, shame. Andy Peers 17 Posted 19/01/2013 at 23:25:48 I am pretty sure that this will be our last season to finish in the top four until new board and owners. This is the best first eleven Moyes has ever had and, as we all know, some talent coming in this month is an absolute must. Southhampton are there for the taking and I believe we will beat them but as there will be 15 more games after this one we need to strengthen for those games.The fact that we have not brought anyone in so far just makes my blood boil with our inept board. The shite are getting better and are making productive signings and they will probably finish above us if we don't have more squad strength. We don't need much but we should have them already.No matter what they say, our board have access to money. It may be their own money but being an owner sometimes involves investing to improve your returns. Ged Simpson 18 Posted 20/01/2013 at 07:45:50 I think 3 points would be good but I see last 10 games as key and if we have Gibson and Mirallas fit, could be fun. Kieran Fitzgerald 19 Posted 20/01/2013 at 09:18:22 Andy, couldn't agree more with all your points. This is the best chance we are going to have for many seasons. The thing is, we are struggling in the supposed easier games at the moment. When we get as far as playing Man Utd, Man City Arsenal and Spurs, if we don't have our first eleven fully fit, I can't see us getting more than a couple of draws out of those games. You just get the impression at the moment that Spurs and Arsenal are going to pick up more points than us over the rest of the season. We need to strengthen in this window and it honestly wouldn't require that much investment by the Board. A couple of million each per Board member would give £10 to £12 million for Moyes to buy two decent players. They may not be billionaires but the Board members are all wealthy in their own right, Bill apparently excepted. It is sickening to see but the RS have the right attitude. They very obviously needed a second striker to support Rat Boy as he has been carrying the team. Hey presto, here's £12m in the January window to buy Sturridge and he has already scored three or four goals. Even with all the money they blew under Dagliesh they still found the cash when they needed it.Brian (#837), I definitely agree with you about Oveido. We need to be utilising our squad more and Oveido has shown that he is a valid option. Roberto Birquet 20 Posted 20/01/2013 at 15:54:01 Wins are more important the closer to the top that you are.I remember when we were relegation dogfighters, 10-15 years' ago. Then you needed to win once every three games and pick up the odd point on top to make you safe. Even going four or five was not a disaster as you could still hope to pick up a back-to-back win sequence and you'd be up to 15th, or even 14th.Thankfully those days seem and hopefully will remain history. But when you're 5th, you need to win every other game, not one of three, as well as pick up some draws. We have 16 to play, and will need a minimum of 8 wins, and at least half the others as draws just to have a smidgeon of a chance. That would bag 28 points for a total of 65; we got that about 4 years ago, and it delivered 5th. So we missed out on the elite. I reckon that would get us 5th at best again. So I reckon 9 wins will be needed for a realistic shot at top 4; nine out of 16. And Southampton should certainly be one of them. Phil Walling 21 Posted 21/01/2013 at 04:00:42 We can be certain that no money will be coming from the pockets of directors and the accounts show that little is available without the sale of players.Another draw is the likely result at St Mary's although the two extra points from a win are vital if we are to continue to have hopes of bettering our likely 6/7th finish. Tom Bowers 22 Posted 21/01/2013 at 08:25:07 After the bonus of Spurs and Arsenal both losing surely the Blues can't foul this one up? Saints are making progress but Everton even without Gibson and Mirallas should edge this one.It may well be the weather will play a part but if it is played then let's hope for a win of any kind. It's time for Everton to get a run going. Chris Corn 23 Posted 21/01/2013 at 09:33:36 Tom, did you switch off the Spurs game?!!They drew with Man Utd. Tom Bowers 24 Posted 21/01/2013 at 14:02:29 Chris I meant to say dropping points. James Marshall 25 Posted 21/01/2013 at 14:24:35 Everyone seems to see this as a pretty simple Everton away win, including the media, but Saints have only lost 2 in 12 games which proves they're a tough team to beat these days – albeit with the managerial craziness that occurred this week.We're draw specialists as you all know, and Southampton clearly don't lose many at the moment – the whole Adkins saga must have been decided long ago when they were struggling, but it's taken time to get Pochettino in.Personally I see yet another draw, leaving us still 3 points behind Spurs but still in with a good shout of a top 4 finish. That said, I think Spurs look a strong outfit, and their squad is definitely better than ours so it's a tough ask. Carl Sanderson 26 Posted 21/01/2013 at 18:57:08 Given our run-in, including aways at United, Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea, we need to win matches like tonight's to stand a chance of finishing fourth. Mick MacManus 27 Posted 21/01/2013 at 22:21:07 Well called James (unfortunately!), about the only one who didnt get carried away. pre-game. They stifled us in the first half and out played us. Looked like a decent side. Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. About these ads , placement: 'Below Article Thumbnails', target_type: 'mix' }); Find out how to browse ad-free and support ToffeeWeb © ToffeeWeb