Merseyside derby musings

Those who regularly read my match reports would know that, as much as getting across (or trying to) what I feel about the team and how we are playing, I try to paint a picture of the general matchday experience. With that currently unavailable to us, I had no plans to write a report but, having watched the Merseyside derby on TV, there were a few things I wanted to get off my chest.

Everton 0 - 0 Liverpool

Those who regularly read my match reports would know that, as much as getting across (or trying to) what I feel about the team and how we are playing, I try to paint a picture of the general matchday experience. With that currently unavailable to us, I had no plans to write a report but, having watched the Merseyside derby on TV, there were a few things I wanted to get off my chest.

My pre-Merseyside derby build-up couldn’t have been further away from anything I’ve previously experienced. On Saturday evening, against my better judgement, I ate some bacon which looked off and smelt off and didn’t taste of anything. The next day, I awoke feeling very poorly with a high temperature and, remembering my tasteless bacon experience the night previous, I wondered if I had maybe somehow contracted Covid-19. And so I booked a test and travelled to Deeside in the morning.

Come the evening, I felt a lot better and even stretched to a couple of beers while watching the game at home. The test result arrived this morning and it's negative, but better to be safe... Not my typical pre-Merseyside derby build-up!

Come kick-off and, though I was undeniably very interested, the pre-derby nerves were nowhere near their usual levels. Having the game at the end of the day on a Sunday would usually have me fretting all day long, but it really didn’t occupy a lot of my thoughts. It felt odd hearing the Z-Cars theme tune and then seeing Liverpool players enter from a Portacabin, and then on kick-off, bar the loud shouting from the supporting casts in the dugouts, Goodison Park felt eerily quiet.

With Theo Waltcott unavailable and Carlo sticking to 4-4-2, I felt it was the most disciplined team we could have begun with. It was great to see Anthony Gordon make his first Premier League start and Alex Iwobi filled the other wing, with Tom Davies and André Gomes in midfield. There was no room for Gylfi Sigurdsson in the starting XI.

If the opportunity permits over the coming weeks, I would like to see how we get on in a 4-3-3. I think André, Tom and Gylfi would be quite well suited to it and Dominic, Richarlison and Theo (for now at least) could be handy in a three also. I’d be interested to see us give it a go anyway.

As for Liverpool, it really feels that Jurgen Klopp is trolling Everton with his team selections, with a few of their first-team regulars not participating. Given what such a fit team Liverpool seem to be and how well prepared they always are, I’m a bit surprised they haven’t got everyone firing fit. Despite Andy Robinson, Georgino Wijnaldum and Mo Salah not involved, Liverpool still had a lot of quality to bring in.

Let's not forget, we are talking about a £264M wage bill compared to £89.5M and we had plenty of injuries ourselves. Aside from Manchester United, Liverpool have the highest wage bill in the Premier League. I’ve never understood this “plucky Liverpool” notion. (Source: https://www.sportekz.com/football/premier-league-clubs-wage-bills/)

I was a bit dismayed with our first-half performance, particularly that of Alex Iwobi who offered nothing sensible in attack. Liverpool were well on top and Firmino should have done better with his first-half opportunity after he was nicely set up by Takumi Minamino. It felt like it was only a matter of time before Liverpool scored but we held out to the break, and perhaps came closest to scoring ourselves when Richarlison’s effort fizzed just away from Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

I have to say I was much more impressed with our second-half showing and really enjoyed our disciplined approach to the game. Carlo looked calm and composed on the sideline whenever the camera showed him. I have to admit to being dumbfounded by some of his tactical decisions in his short time at Everton so far, but our second-half display showed me what a wise and astute manager he is. We’re in safe hands with him.

I saw a different side to Alex Iwobi, who actually did a very good job of following team instructions and filling a lot of holes. André Gomes slowly had an influence on the game. Liverpool had some free kicks in dangerous positions (one from a shocking Mike Dean decision) but thankfully failed to seriously trouble the impressive Jordan Pickford. They looked threatening from corners though nothing came of them. I thought in the second half, we were comfortable.

Whether it was the initial game plan or not, or Everton scenting blood with the introduction of Dejan Lovren, I don’t know, but Everton went for the kill in the last 10 minutes and so nearly came away with the win. Joe Gomez, as he did at Anfield last season, saved the day for Liverpool with an outstanding block tackle from Tom Davies which deflected the ball onto the post. We twice came close after that also with a Richarlison drive and a Dominic Calvert-Lewin header. On another day, it could have been a rare Merseyside derby win.

And alas I turned off the TV reflecting on what might have been; it felt a bit like Groundhog Day. A lot was made of our terrible derby record over the years (17 October 2010 when we last won a Merseyside derby) but we can add this one to the list of Merseyside derbies that could have broken that hoodoo…

Sunday 16 January 2011 | Anfield | 2-2

Everton lead 2-1 when Maxi Rodriguez wins a very fortunate penalty to level the scores for the hosts.

Saturday 14 April 2012 | Wembley | 1-2

Everton take the lead but an uncharacteristic Sylvain Distin error gifts Liverpool an equaliser and swings the momentum in their favour. We lose the game very late on as extra time beckons.

Sunday 5 May 2013 | Anfield | 0-0

Sylvain Distin has the ball in the net with a good headed goal from a corner kick but Michael Oliver inexplicably disallows it and books Victor Anichebe for asking him why. Oliver later on apologises to Stephen Gerrard after Stephen calls him a “shithouse”. True story.

Saturday 23 November 2013 | Goodison Park | 3-3

Roberto Martinez’s first Merseyside derby is the most open one for years and, with 8 minutes remaining, Romalu Lukaku puts Everton 3-2 ahead. Liverpool win a pretty fortunate free-kick in the last minute which Stephen Gerrard displaces 10 yards, and at a much more acute angle, from where the foul was committed but Phil Dowd ignores Ross Barkley’s protests. Daniel Sturridge equalises from the resulting free-kick. Even after that, James McCarthy very nearly won it for Everton at the death.

Saturday 7 February 2015 | Goodison Park | 0-0

Liverpool edge a tight encounter with performance but, in the 89th minute, Seamus Coleman thrashes at goal and Simon Mignolet saves brilliantly.

Saturday 7 April 2018 | Goodison Park | 0-0

This one was probably the most like last night’s encounter. Sam Allardyce’s Everton are solid and compact against an under-strength Liverpool, with James Milner the closest to scoring for Liverpool early on, thwarted by a fine Jordan Pickford save. Late in the game, Everton make a bit of a play, and surely one of Dominic Calvert-Lewin or Cenk Tosun should score their golden chances.

Sunday 2 December 2018 | Anfield | 0-1

André Gomes misses a sitter with a free header from 6 yards out but the rebound is goalbound until Joe Gomez makes an incredible goal-line clearance. Still we should get a point until… well, you know what happened next.

Sunday 3 March 2019 | Goodison Park | 0-0

Everton battle hard and Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane both memorably deny Liverpool with their best openings. Everton make a late play in the game, bringing on André Gomes, and his influence nearly makes all the difference with Everton pushing hard in the closing stages but unable to get the goal.

Sunday 5 January 2020 | Anfield | 0-1

Mason Holgate, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Theo Walcott all miss gilt-edged first-half opportunities which would have set Everton up nicely against a very weakened Liverpool team. In the second half, Everton don’t continue to press home their superiority and allow Liverpool in. Still, the hosts are creating nothing until Curtis Jones dips in with a hit-and-hope effort that curls into the top corner. I want to see how many more of them he scores in his Premier League career. Everton don’t respond and lose.

Now I’m not suggesting we’ve been brilliant in Merseyside derbies over the last decade, far from it in fact, but – two abysmal Anfield showings under Roberto Martinez aside – we have always been competitive. There have also been a couple of other very narrow defeats in this time when draws have been snatched away from us due to bad fortune or soft player mistakes. But, in my opinion, in 10 of these 21 fixtures we have had real opportunities to win.

Why haven’t we done so? Bad luck? Not having the bottle? Poor refereeing? A mixture of all three? The point I’m trying to make is that I don’t believe the record over the last decade reasonably reflects how each of the games have gone in that period, and it’s inconceivable that not one of these aforementioned games have resulted in an Everton victory.

There’s always next season.

Player ratings:

Jordan Pickford: Was very comfortable with everything he did. Certainly one of them players who will perform better with no crowd, I imagine. 7

Lucas Digne: Very solid. Incredible that he got booked for that clean tackle. A big relief that didn’t result in a goal. 7

Michael Keane: Solid and dependable. Also had the good sense to bring down Sadio Mane when he was running at us dangerously. 7

Mason Holgate: Very good. I like his no-nonsense defending combined with his ability to pick a pass. Glad he seems to have carried on where he left off. 8

Seamus Coleman: I had a good feeling he would come good as he has been working very hard on his fitness, according to reports. He snuffed out all danger on his side and was feisty and competitive throughout. A great captain’s performance. My Man of the Match. 8

Tom Davies: Unlucky not to have won the game and I thought he was very good throughout. A few dicey moments when he lost possession towards the end but thankfully it didn’t cost us. Another one who should perform better in front of no crowd. A good effort. 7

André Gomes: Looked incredibly rusty and likely not fit, but his influence on the game grew late on. Expect more from him in the coming weeks. 6

Anthony Gordon: Showed glimpses of promise but a quiet if disciplined full debut. 5

Alex Iwobi: From an attacking sense, he was terrible, but he dug in very well in the second half and contributed towards us staying in the game as much as anyone. 6

Richarlison: Starved of service but was effective when in possession. 6

Dominic Calvert-Lewin: Worked hard and almost scored the winner. 7

Gylfi Sigurdsson (for Anthony Gordon): Got involved quickly and mostly used the ball well. 6

Bernard (for Alex Iwobi): Didn’t get going in the short time he had. 5

Moise Kean (for Dominic Calvert-Lewin): Not on long, can’t judge.

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