England suffer from Jagielka's limitations

, 13 September, 55comments  |  Jump to most recent
Phil Jagielka is as dependable as they come for Everton, but for England against Ukraine on the vast Wembley pitch his poor positional sense and lack of leadership was ruthlessly exposed by technically superior opponents.

This Sabotage Times analysis highlights blames Jagielka among other defensive weaknesses for the spectacular goal scored by Yevhen Konoplyanka that had England chasing the game until a lucky late penalty gave them an undeserved draw.

To top off a dismal night, his passing was sloppy and rarely useful, wasting possession far too often, another trait we rarely see at Everton.

Quotes or other material sourced from Sabotage Times



Reader Comments (55)

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Dan Owens
1 Posted 13/09/2012 at 12:47:20
As much as I like Jags, I don't think "his passing was sloppy and rarely useful, [...] another trait we rarely see at Everton" is something I'd agree with. He's one of our worst players on the ball. He can be a great defender on his day and I'd always have him in but he's much better when he doesn't have the ball at his feet and a whole football pitch to aim for in front of him.
Dennis Stevens
2 Posted 13/09/2012 at 12:51:46
He's probably going to supercede Neville as captain & if so I can understand why Moyes selects him so regularly, but I see him as very much the weakest of our 3 main contenders for the centre back position. Heitinga-Distin pairing for me everytime.
Jim Preston
3 Posted 13/09/2012 at 13:13:58
Or Jagielka suffers from England's limitations...
David Nicholls
4 Posted 13/09/2012 at 13:15:44
Too right Jim! I cannot believe they singled out Jagielka. I think our centre backs were left exposed as neither Lampard or Gerrard willing to sit and anchor the midfield. When Ukraine broke with pace our defence had no protection.

We all know as a footballer Jags has his limits as a footballing centre half but for me his defensive prowess, athleticism and bravery mean he'd be the first choice centre back for Everton. I think he's much less error prone than Distin and if you think back to the summer transfer window of 2011 when Arsenal were strongly rumoured to be sniffing around we never heard a peep out of Jags. Try to imagine Johnny Heitinga in exactly the same scenario.
Danny Jones
5 Posted 13/09/2012 at 13:23:47
Whilst it is true that Jags is not the best passer of a ball, it should be recognised that he is good defender which is his primary job.

I feel that he is best winning the ball and giving it off to a midfielder. With England the other night and often with Everton, no midfielder came. This is either their fault or a tactical issue. You can't blame a centre half for not being a playmaker. And you certainly can't blame him for a team's inability to score a goal.

You could play a midfielder at centre half, of course, like Carrick the other week. What happened there?

Tony J Williams
6 Posted 13/09/2012 at 13:32:00
God we just love dissing our own players, don't we?

What I saw, granted only the first half as I was bored off my tits, he passed it more than he usually did with us and his passes nearly always found their men.

Shaun Murphy
7 Posted 13/09/2012 at 13:32:24
Jags knows his strenghts and plays to them (look at the opening game against Man Utd, he was quality). Yes, he is not the quickest or the biggest but he has good positional sense, is willing to put his face in front of a bus to block a shot, and gives 100% which is all you can ask from him.

He doesn't deserve to be the scapegoat for an England team that lacked creativity and had no-one dropping in the hole to protect and also to pick the ball up.

Martin Mason
8 Posted 13/09/2012 at 13:33:20
I don't believe that Jagielka is or would ever claim to be a true international standard CB whatever that may be. However there are many players in international football who aren't but are part of good teams, the important thing being the teamwork.
Steve Carse
9 Posted 13/09/2012 at 13:47:49
I've not seen any statistics but I would guess that Jagielka must have had the ball in his possession more often than anyone else, and that he probably gave the ball away on only 3 or 4 occasions. Admittedly he wasn't trying to hit defence splitting passes at all – but then that's the job of others.
Paul David
10 Posted 13/09/2012 at 13:49:01
Maybe i'm old fashioned or its cos Dave Watson was my favourite player but I couldn't give a toss if a centre half can pass or not, as long as they can defend i'm happy. I just wish he was told to stop hoofing it, not being able to pass and giving away possesion are two different things.
Graham Lloyd
11 Posted 13/09/2012 at 13:55:58
Jagielka was not at fault for anything on Tuesday if you work on the fact he had more of the ball than anyone because England where trying to play the possession game and playing from he back and rightly so. Obviously he will get a few passes wrong.

This is a smokescreen for other players' inadequacies — look at Tom Cleverley, he should not be in positions where he needs to finish as he got 2 absolute certain goal chances and missed, he hit the post when it was easier to score.
Typical knowledgeless tripe some of these southern-based websites come up with. Stick with your computer game football because you haven't got a scooby....
Declan O'Shaughnessy
12 Posted 13/09/2012 at 14:02:15
I know fans of the "English-style game" don't like hearing this, but defenders throwing themselves in front of the ball, making last-ditch tackles and generally giving it the whole "Braveheart" performance (cf John Terry, Terry Butcher et al), isn't usually a good sign. You only have to make last-ditch tackles and desperate blocks because a number of things have broken down leading up to the defender's intervention.

Where a team is well organised, moves are stifled in midfield or at source, and long balls are routinely dealt with. Seeing defenders turned towards their own goal, desperately trying to make a tackle, is not comforting.

I never enjoyed Moyes labelling Jags the best "recovery defender" in England. I'd rather a player like Beckenbaeur or Moore or Sammer etc. than the usual "British" centre-back. For me, Heitinga is a much better player than Jags, but doesn't get the attention because he's not as good at the last-gasp desperate stuff.

Just my tuppence's worth!

Paul Smith
13 Posted 13/09/2012 at 14:13:22
I have to agree with the OP. Jags did not look comfortable on the ball all night. He usually looks more comfortable playing for the Blues, maybe it's the way England set up.

He gave the ball away on numerous occasions causing fear in his own defence (never a good thing).

I would be surprised if Woy starts him again, but you never know.

Ean Palese
14 Posted 13/09/2012 at 14:16:43
I agree with David (418) - when England have both Lampard and Gerrard in the midfield the backs have a lot more work to do. Not only that, they have to face more numbers down counter attacks. At the end of the day, Jags has a lot of huff and puff to his game - which gets you found out at the international level eventually.
Tony J Williams
15 Posted 13/09/2012 at 14:25:39
Good point Declan, Heitinga doesn't do last ditch tackles, as he has usually broken the play up before it gets to that stage.
Alex Sinclair
16 Posted 13/09/2012 at 14:36:14
Idiotic to blame the defence for England's lack of creativity. Poor midfield let us down. As to Jags v Johnny... defenders need to be able to tackle. One can, one can't. All need to be able to recover as ALL make mistakes.
Jack Molloy
17 Posted 13/09/2012 at 14:30:56
I could care less about England and I think many Evertonians and many fans north of the Trent feel alienated from the national side. It's really just another London club with a London home ground and a London focus. Every time an Everton player makes it in the England team he gets nobbled by Chelsea, Manchester Utd and Liverpool players who try to persuade him to leave.

Now Jagielka is supposed to carry the blame for the failings of the whole team. Good. Don't pick him. Less chance of getting injured. The influx of foreign players and the growth of the Premier League has made the England team a joke. It doesn't represent English football anymore and it hasn't represented England for years. If England don't qualify for Rio it will only worry me to the extent that I won't be able to see them humiliated by Spain or Italy or Brazil.
Steve Guy
18 Posted 13/09/2012 at 15:10:52
It wasn't Jags who gave the ball away which started that move for their goal, it was Lescott; whose mistake exposed us to a swift counter from which they scored a sublime goal.

Jags and Lescott spent most of the game passing to each other whilst waiting for the midfield to wake up and take the ball forward. If anyone is to blame for the performance it is the manager who (following the mistakes of his predecessors) is convinced Stevie Me Laa and Lumpen Lamps can play in the same team. The latter was anonymous for huge parts of the game and the former looks increasingly past his prime I'm pleased to say ( as per his usual poor tackle which got him sent off).

Paul Ferry
19 Posted 13/09/2012 at 15:06:54
I don't give a toss about England but Everton is an altogether different matter. Quite frankly, I wouldn't have him in our team ahead of JH.

I'm happy for him to get some serious playing time for England though, his shortcomings were yet again all too evident and Woy ain't helping with his shifting formations and his so far not-up-to-par footie nous.
James Morgan
20 Posted 13/09/2012 at 15:12:01
I don't recall many England players being "technically good on the ball."
Al Reddish
22 Posted 13/09/2012 at 15:27:59
Steve Guy, exactly my sentiments. I was also disappointed to see Baines substituted to give a Chelsea reserve a run out. Baines was also not his usual self due to having no-one in front of him willing to track back, stifling Baines main asset, his ability to break from defence.

Lescott was poor and shit himself everytime he had to pass forward, and as Gerrard was meant to be the one out of the two midfield clowns to sit deep, he should have come looking to get the ball from the defenders. It was obvious they were told to keep possession and build from the back.

Oh well... same old England, I am waiting for the call up for Scholes and Carragher.
Jamie Barlow
23 Posted 13/09/2012 at 15:38:38
I'm not surprised Baines wasn't his usual self. He never is when playing for England. He constantly bombs down the wing just to be ignored by Creasehead everytime.
Phil Sammon
24 Posted 13/09/2012 at 15:48:23
This article is bollocks. He made one bad pass.

He and Lescott had no options all evening. Where was someone in the Carrick role to come and collect the ball?

Ste Stanley
25 Posted 13/09/2012 at 16:37:50
(461) I agree, absolute dangly knackers. Better performance than Terry would've given.
John Pickles
26 Posted 13/09/2012 at 16:17:50
I seem to recall Jags had a very slow start to his Everton career, admitting he was overawed at first and unsure if he was good enough. Maybe he is going through the same self confidence issues with the national team. I doubt it helped that Lescott was pants!
Mike Powell
27 Posted 13/09/2012 at 16:32:19
It was the midfield that let England down, not the defenders. Yes, Jags never had the best of games, Lescott was woeful, but the midfield was terrible — where was Gerrard? His passing was poor and he got himself sent off.

Wait a minute — it's Gerrard I am talkiing about... Sorry, it could not be his fault, it must be one of them Everton players.

Jags — just play your heart out for the Blues. Fuck England.
James Martin
28 Posted 13/09/2012 at 16:55:21
The England media game is just to blame anyone who doesn't come from any of the clubs they love. Gerrard and Lampard can play as badly as they want yet they still get man of the match almost every game. Wasn't it Gerrard getting out paced and allowing the shot to come in? This piece says that John Terry won't be under threat but is that not the same Terry who got done by a few long balls down the middle against Germany in the World Cup. The 'Golden Generation' have abysmally failed continuously at international level, the sooner they all get shipped out the better. Yet they never will because the media is hell bent on blaming an entire Engand loss on whichever non super six player makes it into the starting line up (unless its Rodwell who they overhyped hoping to force through a move to a bigger club). I still remember the game against Spain when Jagielka was probably the best player on the pitch in the first half keeping Torres and Villa quiet singlehandedly, he then made one bad pass out of defence and Villa scored. The papers blamed everything on him despite the fact Villa had dribbled past 2 or 3 lame midfield tackles and then Terry had decided just to leave Villa to Jagielka, Villa then proceeded to score with an amazing finish, all Jagielka's fault of course.
Steve Carse
29 Posted 13/09/2012 at 17:02:51
Paul Smith (436), Jagielka simply did not give the ball away 'on numerous occasions'. If anyone can find the match stats anywhere I think they'd show that he misplaced less than a handful of passes all night. Mainly because all he did was pass the ball square or over short distances. Likewise Lescott. In fact the only time Lescott gave the ball away (Lescott is the king of the 10-yard square pass) led to their goal.
Anthony Hawkins
30 Posted 13/09/2012 at 17:21:27
Can't say any o the England team performed well and to single out a specific player as the weak link is absurd!!

The defence coped with a non existent midfield and a strike force would rarely made a shot and any midfielder who did rarely hit the target.

Did Jagielka cover himself in glory? May be not so much but then non of the team did. On a different night an differebt ref the result could have been very different

Jamie Barlow
31 Posted 13/09/2012 at 17:39:32
107 passes - 5 incomplete.
Tom Bowers
32 Posted 13/09/2012 at 16:19:12
Pathetic comments made by the ''gutter'' press.

Just count the number of poor passess made by Gerrard and the lack of contribution made by Oxlade and Lampard.

The midfield on the whole were rubbish and if Lampard hadn't scored the penalty his contribution would have been one cross that Cleverly botched and nothing else. Gerrard as ''Hodgson's'' captain did not lead by example.
Colin Wainwright
33 Posted 13/09/2012 at 18:07:32
Absolute shite. Gerrard and Lescott were at fault for the goal and the centre backs were overun at times, due to the two lazy geriatrics in midfield.Terry would have fared no better.
Barry Rathbone
34 Posted 13/09/2012 at 18:17:12
Declan O' 433

That was a great post, couldn't agree more.

Dave Parry
35 Posted 13/09/2012 at 18:29:37
Jags is a central defender, his area of excellence being the central defensive partnership with another central defender.

Pass limitations? In the England set up he plays the ball to the midfield players over a matter of a few metres, no 40-yard defense splitters required, it's not his job; short passes and be available for a return pass.

Blame for a stunning goal hit from distance cannot be aportioned to a central defender. If Jags was anywhere near the winger he would have been massively out of position.
Simon Gilmovitch
36 Posted 13/09/2012 at 18:43:20
Harsh! I don't think he played too badly I thought he looked good on the ball. He looked pretty much in control most of his game, thought his passing was not bad. If the midfield don't show for him he aint gonna play too many killer passes, but who is? the Ukraine played very well in attack and the game could have been 4-4, but hey, it wasn't and that was because of a good defensive effort by Jagielka and England. Ukraine are a very good side. Who scored a wonder goal! Jags was no better or worse than anyone else, he has a level of consistency and standard of skill that is more than high enough to play for England. Top man glad he's an Evertonian!
Andy Meighan
37 Posted 13/09/2012 at 20:23:07
I'm no lover of Jagielka, I prefer Heitinga but, having watched the game last night, I really can't remember him doing much wrong and actually thought he played quite well in a poor England performance the likes of him and Baines will never get any recognition off the southern-based press, regardless of how well they play.

So I find this criticism of him quite baffling. No matter who would have played last night, the result would have been the same. Let's face it, the country is hardly overrun with Beckenbauer types... is it?
Peter Knight
38 Posted 13/09/2012 at 22:51:22
I thought Jagielka played fine; Lescott and Gerrard were responsible for the goal, Gerrard was far too slow to attempt to block the shot.

I did not know Lampard was playing till he took the penalty and misses from Wellbeck and Cleverly were a disgrace. Also they were lucky when Baines's replacement nearly set up a goal with a dreadfull backpass.
Nick Armitage
39 Posted 13/09/2012 at 23:18:49
Declan O'Shaughnessy, "You only have to make last-ditch tackles and desperate blocks because a number of things have broken down leading up to the defender's intervention."

I have been saying this for years, Jags and his limited ability and style invites pressure. Heitinga plays a high line and marks zonally instead on rushing to the ball like a school boy. I have never rated Jagielka as a footballer. The fact that Jags is first choice when fit says a lot about the style of football wants to play.

Kev Johnson
40 Posted 13/09/2012 at 23:43:32
Excellent post, Declan. The only thing is that Beckenbauer and Sammer weren't really centre halfs, they were sweepers. (Moore was a bit different, I think.) If you're going to play with a spare man at the back then it can't be in a 4-4-2. It's going to be a 5-3-2 cum 3-5-2 with wing backs. I can't see that coming back into fashion, but you never know. Personally, I think sweeper is the coolest position on the pitch, if you have the right person to do it. It's all about reading the game...

When Rodwell first came through, I hoped he could play that position. But my hopes turned out to be unfounded!

Si Cooper
41 Posted 14/09/2012 at 00:57:40
"You only have to make last-ditch tackles and desperate blocks because a number of things have broken down leading up to the defender's intervention." That may be true but it is not always the fault of the defender who ends up making that tackle or block. Sometimes (shock horror) it is the result of good play by the opposition, and having a defender capable of making the recovery is pretty important.

An awful lot of successful central defensive partnerships have relied on at least one of them having the pace to get back at an attacker who has broken through. The ideal may be two quick ball-players but they are pretty rare. Two relatively slow ball-players would end up getting shredded in most games in the EPL, no matter how good their reading of the game may be (looking to play offside high up the pitch would be a definite no-no).

Jags has his limitations but he is not the terrible player that some make out. He has more pace than JH and is probably a more robust tackler (we have all seen Johnny H not come away with the ball in tackles were he really should have). I too would like to see JH starting more games as I think he offers something that neither Jags and Buzz do, but I am not bothered to see any two out of the three of them on the team-sheet.

The role of prompter that Jags was asked to play for England isn't his forte, and it would have been far better if one of our much vaunted central midfielders had taken the initiative for distributing the ball.

Keith Glazzard
42 Posted 14/09/2012 at 01:19:55
Put a good defender at the back of a shite team and he will struggle, on Sunday morning or at international level.

And Jags didn't actually struggle, he's too good for that.

Any manager/coach who expects him to carry the ball forward and put in a killer pass has obviously never seen him play. This manager/coach should be examining the quality of his midfield*, whose job that normally is.

Leon Osman, anyone?

* wasn't it established about 6 years ago that Lampard and Gerrard in the same team meant midfield incompetence?

Ciaran Duff
43 Posted 14/09/2012 at 01:54:52
Gibson for England! (well friggin Trap won't play him and he is exactly what they need in front of their defence)
James Flynn
44 Posted 14/09/2012 at 01:42:55
I'm USA all the way. With nothing for my country at stake, I follow with interest:
1. Mexico (A North American thing)
2. England
3. Any Everton player regardless of nationality

I found a link to watch the game. Jags' problem was the same as the rest of the backline. The other guys running free thru the mid-field. How the fuck was it the Everton guy's fault?

I'm a fan of Sabotage Times. Read it regularly. Not just the sports. All of it. Good fun stuff. Much of it well-written. Was disappointed reading this hack blame somebody "journalism".

Eric Myles
45 Posted 14/09/2012 at 02:13:01
Danny #419, in your post just substitute the name 'Jags' for 'Hibbo' yet he gets a lot of stick from our own on here.
Anthony Hawkins
46 Posted 14/09/2012 at 07:20:58
It comes back to the old Lampard & Gerrard debate - can they play together? I don't honk they can . In theory they should be able to buy the practicalities are they both need a defensive midfielder to support and compliment their. The team suffers without a DM.

Strange thing is, I don't know having Rooney would have made things any better.

Roman Sidey
47 Posted 14/09/2012 at 09:02:18
Didn't see the match so will only ask questions rather than make statements. Did the centre halves yell at the midfield to fall in until they couldn't yell any more? If they didn't, then I have no sympathy for them. Which leads me to the leadership topic. Was the quip about Jags' lack of leadership anywhere near the truth? I've come on here in the past saying he's a poor choice for captain/vice captain, and I think a central defender, captain or not, has to have the temerity to be a leader and yell at players the way the goalie yells at them.
Lee Gorre
48 Posted 14/09/2012 at 09:39:56
Like others I don't really care about England, but the facts are in terms of Ukraine's goal that Lescott gave the ball away and then Gerrard showed the scorer onto his stronger foot for the shot rather than sending him down the line onto his weaker foot. Where Jags fits into that is beyond me.

Yes he's not the best with the ball at his feet and neither is Lescott. But Ukraine exposed that by letting the pair of them have the ball. It was down to Hodgson and his coaches to out-tactic them and they didn't have the ability to.

Kev Johnson
49 Posted 14/09/2012 at 09:42:48
This is an unusual thread: we all more or less agree!

The truth is that it was a poor piece of journalism from Sabotage TImes. Jags was obviously instructed by Hodgson NOT lump it long, so he gave it short. Gerrard and Lampard didn't do enough to collect it from him, which was the original idea, I'm sure. Or maybe our central midfielders were expecting to be able to receive the ball comfortably in, er, midfield, but were thwarted by Ukraine's tactics. Anyway, I bet Hodgson gave Jags the thumbs up at the end. He did what was asked of him. He's not really an international level player but he put in a decent performance, nowt wrong with it at all. The problem lay elsewhere.

In answer to Roman's questions: I don't think leadership was an issue at all. I didn't notice him shouting at people telling them where to go, but I don't think it's reasonable to expect him to be the fulcrum of the side and organise everyone. Although, having said that, Terry probably would have done.

If Scott Parker had been sitting in front of the back four then Jags would have come out of the game smelling of roses. Same with Baines: for England, he always gets stuck with a selfish numbskull ahead of him in left midfield, which means he can't play his normal game.

Trevor Lynes
50 Posted 14/09/2012 at 11:09:44
If stock is taken of ALL the English centre backs who are available for the national team, its pretty obvious that we do not possess a Beckenbauer.
Jags is a very good, honest centre back who is younger than Terry and less injury prone than Ferdinand.
Lescott is much the same and so is Cahill.

We have been carried by our heroic defenders for many seasons and thats why they get picked as players of the year.
Both Jags and Baines are the only players of English nationality on our books who are international standard.
Heitinga is one of the worst Dutch internationals I have ever seen and does himself no favours by regularly giving away dangerous free kicks because of poor tackling.

When has Jags been sent off ? How often does he get booked ?
The same go's for Distin who is a tremendous athlete for his age and a great professional.

England have quite a few players coming to the end of their days eg; Terry, Ferdinand, Gerrard and Lampard.
Our best youngsters are attackers eg; Walcott, Chamberlain and possibly Sterling.
We have never adequately replaced Scholes as a midfield general.
He is far better than Gerrard or Lampard as a reader of the game and long passer.

The whole England team is badly needing a good shakeup but Jags is as good as any other English centre back and far better than most.

Peter Cummings
51 Posted 14/09/2012 at 12:36:16
If Jags was such a liability why did he play the full 90 mins? The England performance as a whole was poor and disjointed but to blame him in any way for a great goal is out of order, the so called 'pundit' Taylor gushed over Cleverly until he was subbed despite missing three sitters.

I really couldn't care less if none of our team is picked for England myself because they are also-rans as far as the southern bias is concerned, wonder why is it taking so long to suspend racist Terry???
Danny Kewley
52 Posted 14/09/2012 at 14:35:13
Englands football was poor and not just by jagielka. The whole team was at fault, the passing was wooden,the movement ditto and the lack of passion made it painful to watch.If they make it to Brazil they will struggle against just about anyone.Anyway on a brighter note...........Roll on Monday bloody Monday
Chris Butler
53 Posted 14/09/2012 at 16:06:24
To be honest I was a bit dissapointed Ukraine never won. I hate the way the groups are designed so big teams get easy passage into big tournaments. I was quite happy when Croatia beat England in 2007 because it completely disproved the myth of the golden generation of English footballers. Just look at the way Ireland were treated in 2009 by Fifa.

With regards to Jags, I don't think he's ever reclaimed the form he was in in the 2008-09 season where he was unstoppable. We would of probably won the FA cup if Jags had played. The truth is very few players actually care about international football with the exception of players from countries like Bosnia, Croatia, and Turkey.
Jonathan Wiggins
54 Posted 14/09/2012 at 22:43:00
Three out of four of England's defensive quartet on Tuesday night are either current or previous players at the club. Given Baines and Jagielka cost relative peanuts but are now worth considerably more, and Lescott was sold was at a very decent profit, leaving aside the issues raised above re English players and style, Moyes's ability to pick a defensive player is well evidenced.

Let's hope that Jelavic, Naismith and Mirallas etc are the start of our attack becoming as sharp and effective as our defence, sticking the ball in our opponents net on a regular basis and that this trio will have hefty price tags around their necks this time next year – alongside a 4-year contract.

I felt for both Jagielka and Lescott against the Ukraine as they passed it square across the back for the 99th time........ there just wasn't a lot on beyond them nor was there the tempo that really opens up opponents.

Ste Traverse
55 Posted 14/09/2012 at 23:45:17
For some reason, Everton players in the England team seem to get slaughtered by the media so this article is no suprise.
Adrian Dale
56 Posted 15/09/2012 at 02:29:41
I watched the entire game. Jagielka was uncomfortable on the ball but I have to say this was mainly due to the fact that he was left isolated. When Gerrard and Lampard are not working back and looking for it and it's clearly obvious that the manager has said "don't lump it", then you run out of options!

Lescott and Jags put more passes together than Barcelona in a five minute period! Where do you go? Baines always seems to be left out of these England get-ups. It's as though he's not really trusted. Add to the fact that we really don't have much of a clue who should be ahead of him then there seems a real reluctance to go left.

Johnson is so far up the pitch that he's not an option for a release ball either. So we go square. If "Super" Stevie G or Frank were to actually drop deep and collect then perhaps we could be excused for trying to make something happen. Sometimes going back is the first step to going forward.

As an Evertonian I'm quite happy to have Jags and Baines! Yes, Distin and Johnny are classier but how long has Sylvain got left? Love to see Johnny get more games tbh...

Roll on Monday. I just moved from Tuebrook back to Birmingham so I won't be there but I expect we'll give 'em something to think about. All this England stuff can "do one". I'm bored of it! Hate to say it but there you go. Golden Generation have taken the lustre off international football for me and we'll not get it back until people realise it's not just about the top six.

Monday night is what it's all about. Love EFC. Love life.

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