Oviedo and Kone to make long-awaited returns

, 22 September, 45comments  |  Jump to most recent
Pair to be named in squad for Swansea trip
Bryan Oviedo and Arouna Kone's long roads back from injury look set to end this week after Roberto Martinez indicated that the pair will be included in the squad to face Swansea City in the League Cup tomorrow evening.

Oviedo broke his leg in the FA Cup tie at Stevenage in January and though his initial recovery was surprisingly rapid, he was forced to slow the pace is his rehabilitation in May and missed his ambitious target of being fit for the World Cup in Brazil.

With about two hours of action in friendly and U21 matches under his belt this month, the 23 year-old is now ready for first-team action and hopes to be involved in some form at the Liberty Stadium.

Kone is at a similar point in his recovery and will be similarly keen to put a nightmare year behind him. With just a handful of senior appearances under his belt since joining last summer, he has yet to score his first Everton goal.

Everton will be hoping to put the disappointment of Sunday's home defeat to Crystal Palace behind them by negotiating what is a tricky all-Premier League third round tie.  



Reader Comments (45)

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Kevin Rowlands
1 Posted 22/09/2014 at 21:44:07
Not sure if it's misplaced hope but I've got a feeling Kone will still come good for us, nice to see Brian back as well, on another note just watched the Wigan/Ipswich game and that Adam Forshaw is a tidy little player, I think we let one slip through our hands there.
Robert Duncombe
2 Posted 22/09/2014 at 21:40:43
We need this news after the weekend we have had. Someone mentioned that we should had signed Bolaise, as he ran through the heart of our defence. Well step forward Kone. As for Bryan, it is just wicked to have him back. Baines can move just in front of the back four now and Oviedo and boot it down the wing. Nice.
Denis Richardson
3 Posted 22/09/2014 at 22:19:28
Great news all round. Lot of people slating RMs decision to sign Kone but the guy has not been given a chance yet. I think Oviedo and Kone will both make decent contributions this seasons (especially really hope Oviedo can get back to where he was before the injury).

Looking forward to seeing them both in action again come tomorrow, although doubt either will start.

Colin Glassar
4 Posted 22/09/2014 at 22:27:25
Haven't seen enough of Kone to decide either way but if Oviedo can recapture his pre-injury form then that will be brilliant news.
Harold Matthews
5 Posted 22/09/2014 at 23:41:03
Both lads have great movement. Looking forward to their return.

Re Bolasie Robert. He pushed for a move from Bristol to Palace because he wanted to live in London.

Peter Gorman
6 Posted 22/09/2014 at 23:57:43
Sounds very much like misplaced hope there Kevin.

I can’t wait to have Oviedo back and playing left wing. What a boss player he was proving to be.

Paul Smith
7 Posted 23/09/2014 at 00:02:21
My team for Swansea would be as follows Robles, Hibbert, Alcaraz, Stones, Garbutt, Besic, Gibson, Osman, Atsu, Mcgeady, Eto'o. That would then leave the following team to face the other lot.
Howard, Coleman, Jags, Distin, Baines, Barry, McCarthy, Gibson, Naismith, Mirallas, Lukaku in a 4,3,2,1 formation. I feel if we keep it tight we can pinch both games on the break.
Christopher Kelly
8 Posted 23/09/2014 at 06:28:56
Kone’s injury is obviously bad luck but on our limited budget, we cannot afford older players past their prime, esp. for £6m... If people don’t want to call him a mistake I will...

Of course I could be wrong and hope to be. However, a contributing member of our team and "second striker" that cost us so much and is on 40k a week (I’m speculating) could potentially have been the difference between 4th and 5th. Just saying.

Peter Z Jones
10 Posted 23/09/2014 at 07:37:44
Paul, why would you ever want to see the Jags/Distin line up to play Liverpool? You want to keep it tight? Stones has to be in your team surely. Otherwise, we're gonna need to score 4 or 5 to get a win with all the nonsense Howard, Jags, and Distin have put us through the last 5 games.
Jim Bennings
11 Posted 23/09/2014 at 08:11:02
This game has become more important now with that shameful result on Sunday.

Losing becomes a bad habit.

Regardless of where people view the League Cup there is no getting away from the fact that we need a positive result tonight.

Play a changed but not necessarily weakened team is my advice.

Start with a midfield of McGeady, Besic, Gibson, Atsu and play Naismith behind either Eto'o or Kone(if fit)

Bring on Lukaku if needed later on.

At the back give Hibbert the start with Distin partnering Stones and one of Garbutt or Oviedo left back, again depending on fitness or if he wants to be really brave, Leighton Baines.

What's up with Pienaar by the way??

Ian McDowell
12 Posted 23/09/2014 at 08:32:26
Think its time for a couple of changes in this one. Priority has got to be the Prem and looking at our fixtures (RS and Man U) to come we could be a mini-crisis come the next international break. Hopefully tonight will see a bit of game time for Besic, Gibson, Oviedo, Kone, Hibbert, Atsu, Garbutt, Alcaraz.
Max Wilson
13 Posted 23/09/2014 at 08:47:09
My mate Chris and I are going to the match,living as we do amongst the sheep shaggers, so we'll send you a report! Its great news about Brian Oviedo- we need
our defence stiffening,it's obviously over the hill in parts. A seconds slowness in moments of intense action can be fatal, so lets hope Brian has'nt lost his speed and anticipation. Koney is still an unknown factor in our terms.We'll all wait and see. Swansea have started well and if there is any away match that is going to be tough it is this one.We'll need to treat them with more respect than we've shown others lately.
Peter Murray
14 Posted 23/09/2014 at 09:05:51
Great news but now overshadowed by today s "Guardian" claim that Man City have made Barkley their number one transfer target.
Paul Smith
15 Posted 23/09/2014 at 09:49:06
Peter I am not overly confident over the jags/ Distin combination but do feel the way we've played has led to them being more exposed than usual. This is why I think we should play with 3 central midfielder for a while to bring back a bit of solidity especially in away games against the better teams.
Lee Gorre
16 Posted 23/09/2014 at 09:55:52
I hope that Kone will come good but on the face of it he just adds to the increasingly long list of 30 somethings. Against Palace on Sunday we had Howard, Jagielka, Distin, Barry, Osman and Eto'o all well past 30. The lack of legs together with the individual mistakes cost us that game for me.
Mike Keating
17 Posted 23/09/2014 at 10:05:35
Is it on the telly anywhere?
Tony J Williams
18 Posted 23/09/2014 at 10:39:59
Kids and bench warmers tonight, couldn't give two badgers nads about this one.
Jim Bennings
19 Posted 23/09/2014 at 11:11:35
Bad attitude Tony.

We are Everton not Real Madrid, we can't afford to pick and choose which competitions we would like to win mate.

What's the point in throwing it tonight just to lose at Anfield anyway on Saturday?

This fucking team needs to start producing the goods, we have spent money and a whole summer bigging up our so-called "international performers" so let's see some action.

We froze when we had that one chance as favourites to get 4th in Arpril and the chances are we won't even get a sniff of it this season so games like tonight and the Europa League for that matter should NOT be brushed under the carpet.

Whoever gets selected tonight should be under firm pressure to perform.

Dave Pritchard
20 Posted 23/09/2014 at 11:14:55
I would like us to progress in this even if it does mean more fixtures. Not sure the way things have gone so far that we can be choosy about thedifferent competitions. Having said that we should, and surely will, make changes and give people who haven't been involved much so far a game.
Tony J Williams
21 Posted 23/09/2014 at 11:27:18
Jim, I was looking at the Swansea site and it seems that Monk is considering making 10, that TEN changes to his team.

Shows you what he thinks of this Cup.

If he does that, we can surely make six or seven changes (Make Osman, Stones & Howard play as punishment) and still have a decent chance of getting through.

Need them all fresh for the game on Saturday, especially as Sturridge will most probably make his return against us.

It's a competition that we have never won, one more year won't make that much of a difference

Chris Jones
22 Posted 23/09/2014 at 11:45:12
I think it’s time Stones started to get a run in the team at centre-back as he has looked good in the last two games he played there. I think the Jags/Distin partnership has come to an end.
Jim Bennings
23 Posted 23/09/2014 at 12:07:46
Tony

That's up to Swansea and Gary Monk.

If I was a Swansea fan I'd be pretty pissed off because I will bet when they won that Cup last year it was the best day most of them had ever witnessed.

I am only interested in Everton winning games and trying to win some bloody long overdue silverware.

Ok everyone would prefer the FA Cup but this League Cup competition is more do-able.

We need to get wins and start making some sense of this ridiculous defensive frailty.

I don't see how losing tonight and shipping more goals will help in the long run.

Anthony Lamb
24 Posted 23/09/2014 at 12:11:06
I am absolutely delighted at the news that Oviedo is recovering from his injury to such an extent that he appears ready for competitive action. It was a long time since I was so saddened by a footballer's injury such as his (I am almost 70!) as at the time he was playing so well and becoming such a vital member of the side. So much so that in the light of the purple patch he was going through at the time and the options he was giving the side, especially in his forceful pressing game in both attacking and defensive roles that I genuinely believe that his loss was a major contributing factor in Everton falling away from the fourth spot last season. I do so hope that he returns to top performance levels as soon as possible - we certainly need some energy from somewhere!
Peter Cummings
25 Posted 23/09/2014 at 12:21:00
Although this competition is regarded as ’Mickey Mouse’ by many at least it is a route to Europe,ironically to another so called MM version of European in
volvement,
So in this respect, after Sundays debacle,I rhink it is important we take tonights game seriously and go for it, The good news that Oviedo is fit again and could figure as a sub is a bonus, Kone is another story, having seen him several times playing for Wigan, I still can’t see why we bought him.
Like many I can’t see us getting anything from our next two league games unless there is a massive upturn in morale so a good result tonight IS vital for that reason alone.
Andrew Ellams
26 Posted 23/09/2014 at 12:57:28
I think it was Tony Cottee on TV over the weekend said that the more congested your fixture list, the more successful you are.
Dave Lynch
27 Posted 23/09/2014 at 13:06:59
I'm starting to worry that Martinez is taking the EL more serious than the PL, the man needs to sort his priorities out as a defeat against the other lot and the mancs will not bode well.

I'm not panicking just yet but my arse is developing a curious twitch, the EL should be nothing more than a side show as it's a joke of a competition we have no hope of winning.

He should go for broke in the PL and domestic comps if you ask me.

Ciaran Duff
28 Posted 23/09/2014 at 13:31:16
I hope we start with a strong team and use subs as necessary. We need to build some momentum and get results rather than trying to be too smart.
Mark Taylor
29 Posted 23/09/2014 at 13:47:41
Dave 27
Why do you say we have no chance of winning the EL? I don't see any teams in this competition that we could not beat with our best side, playing to their true form. If Fulham can nearly win it, surely we can?

And this year, there is a CL spot up for grabs. In my view that is by far our most realistic chance of achieving that particular holy grail, far more chance than coming 4th this year.

The League Cup, however, should be for squad players otherwise what is the point of having them? That would even go for the FA Cup, to an extent, if we are still in the EL at that point.

Tony Abrahams
30 Posted 23/09/2014 at 13:48:51
Think it’s a bit early to be making obbs like that Dave, but I hope we are going to try our hardest to win The Europa Cup.

Bayern Munich was probably the best game I ever saw Everton win, but for a fifteen year old boy, Rotterdam was and still is my favourite ever night as An Evertonian.

Everton Football Club, have not won a trophy for 20 years and people want us to play our reserves tonight.

I want my kids to see Everton win a cup, not come fifth or sixth in The Premier League!

Dave Lynch
31 Posted 23/09/2014 at 14:25:04
Mark.
There is the small matter of CL teams dropping in when they don't qualify. Lets be real here shall we,
we will play a lot better teams than Palace if we get out of the group and that's no certainty.

The amount of games we have to play will take it's toll and we don't have the squad to cope end of, i'm being a realist here and he will have to prioritise one or the other, the EL is NOT! priority over the PL and never should be IMO.

Paul Ferry
32 Posted 23/09/2014 at 14:26:07
Tony J Williams 21: ’Make Osman, Stones and Howard play as punishment’.

What on earth has Stones done to deserve being treated in the same way as an inept goalie who cost us the game and the geezer who made the other great mistake of the weekend and was quite frankly utterly awful in the 2nd half and should have been subbed around ’60?

So, what has Stones done to line up in your ’unholy trinity’? Being moved out of position by the gaffer in one of his increasingly incomprehensible decisions as the game dragged on?

Brian Hennessy
33 Posted 23/09/2014 at 14:44:45
Interesting points here re prioritizing the Europa League over Premier league.

I think most of us would settle for one season finishing mid-table in the PL, getting knocked out early on in the FA cup and league Cup if we went on and won the EL and thus qualified for the Champions league, plus the huge bonus of our first trophy in ages.

Trouble is, if all the above happen and we get beaten in just say a semi final of the Europa League, the season will be viewed as a disappointing one.

Tom Bowers
34 Posted 23/09/2014 at 15:56:55
After the disarray of the Chelsea and Palace games who know’s what to expect from Everton anymore?

The Capital One cup is, as we all know, a Mickey Mouse thing... so the team selections will usually be made up of benchwarmers etc. Ergo, the results of these games really mean nothing in the grand scheme of things and the bigger clubs (Everton?) don’t get serious until the semi-finals if they are still around.

Having said that, it is an opportunity for the managers to bring in players who have been injured and also blood some youngsters for the experience. It is, as we all agree, more important to have an injury free squad to pick from for the Premier League game ahead.

Still, I would like to see them win and progress rather than limp out – as so often has happened in this competition.

John Pickles
35 Posted 23/09/2014 at 16:02:14
I'll tell you what, judging by the picture above this article, Bryan goes a cracking Phil Cool impression.
Harold Matthews
36 Posted 23/09/2014 at 14:58:45
For me, The Premier League is always the most important but the likes of Robles, Garbutt, Browning, Besic and Long need a long run of competitive games in order to gain the manager's trust. That said, after seeing Stones selected as right back and Osman in the starting eleven I'm not sure I trust the manager. The final line-up of McCarthy at right back, Barry at centre back, Eto'o on the right wing, Gibbo and Naismith running around the middle doing nothing was the last straw. We desperately needed a dribbler to beat men and open things up so he took off Atsu, brought on a couple of water carriers and left McGeady on the bench.

Anyway, there are favourites who need to be replaced and these cup games may unearth a hidden gem. We'll see. Surely Howard is not our future.

Tony J Williams
37 Posted 23/09/2014 at 16:12:02
Paul, Stones's crime was the first goal, which turned the game.

He was trying to be clever and hold off a player instead of clearing the ball, hence fuckwit Howard having to come across and do his fuckwit impression and give away a penalty.

Stones did exactly the same just before half time, where again he was brushed aside easily and the player got the ball.

Mike Gaynes
38 Posted 23/09/2014 at 16:09:03
Anthony (24), I'm with you. Oviedo's gamewinner at OT was the high point of the season for me, and his injury broke my heart. Absolutely elated to see him back.
Jay Harris
39 Posted 23/09/2014 at 16:48:35
Tony J
Stones was waiting for Howard to collect the ball. Syandard procedure in the defender's handbook.

It also looked like Howard shouted for the ball but was just late getting there.

IMO most referees wouldnt have given a pen for that as Howrd collected the ball and the CP player went over him but Michael Oliver has never been a good referee withus.

MIke McLean
40 Posted 23/09/2014 at 16:50:34
Those advocating a strong team, think of this: pick up a couple of key injuries then lose the derby even more badly than referee Atkins already plans ... what would be your reaction to the relative importance of the two competitions?

Let Howard play to try to regain some confidence, as for the rest - as someone above has said - give those on the fringe a chance to get match fit.

Tony J Williams
41 Posted 23/09/2014 at 17:06:33
Jay, defending handbook states that they can't score when the ball is whistling towards row z.

I don't care if Howard called, Stones knew where the Palace player was and wasn't strong enough to hold him off so should have put his laces through it and made sure.

That to me is basic defending.

Peter Bell
42 Posted 23/09/2014 at 17:14:29
Tony, if there had been windows in the top balcony I am convinced Dave Watson would have smashed every single one of them during his career
Mark Taylor
43 Posted 23/09/2014 at 17:09:51
Dave31

We'll get the third placed teams from the groups and even that is not certain as we might avoid them in R32.

I don't think that will include anyone massively better than for example Wolfsburg, and we beat them handily.

Granted there will be a fair few better than Palace but if we play like that, not only will we not get out the EL group, we'll also be in the Championship next year.

Priority number 1 is to stay in the Premiership. I think top 4 is out the question now. I would much much sooner win the EL and come 16th than get nowhere in the EL, but finish 6th or 7th.

In other words I think the EL is important enough to ensure it is part of balanced priorities. Not because the EL is important in itself but because the real prize of CL is.

The other two competitions are for the squad players, certainly till the later stages.

Peter Bell
44 Posted 23/09/2014 at 17:22:39
We need to win a cup, for the club, the players and the supporters, it gives everyone a lift, that was the catalyst for the mid eighties success.
EL gives us that and CL qualiification all in the same sentence.
Dave Lynch
45 Posted 23/09/2014 at 18:01:36
Of course we will get the 3rd place teams Tony and if you look at the groups, bar a couple of dodgy ones there are some well tidy teams who won't qualify.

We could well end up with Arsenal, Benfica, Liverpool, Athletico to name but a few.

I honestly feel that people who think we have a genuine chance of winning it are deluded but trust me, if we do I will eat more humble pie than anyone on here and will enjoy every single mouthful.

Kevin Tully
46 Posted 23/09/2014 at 18:07:45
The trouble with making lots of changes is the message it sends out to the players - that this competition doesn't really matter. I would be telling the fringe players that if they perform tonight, they could make the first team on Saturday. Otherwise, what's the point of having a squad?

As a poster above said, who knows what to expect tonight?


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