Blues battle to stalemate with Arsenal

Darron Gibson made his long-awaited return to Everton's midfield but Kevin Mirallas missed out again with a hamstring injury.

John Heitinga, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Bryan Oviedo dropped to the bench to make way for returning trio Gibson, Tony Hibbert and Marouane Fellaini.

Everton relinquished possession from the kick-off and relinquished any sense of discipline or structure as Arsenal skipped forward, Ramsey and Walcott exchanging passes on the Everton right, where Hibbert was AWOL, Walcott scooping the ball with ease over Howard and into the far corner with less than 2 mins under the Goodison lights. Astounding incompetence from Everton!

Koscielny was an early casualty, pulling a hamstring overstretching for a ball at the back. He as replaced by Gibbs. Everton pushed and probe as they tried to settle after the early shock, and made some good approach play. A dangerous free-kick curled in by Baines was easily defended away.

From Everton's first corner, Baines swung one in very deep to Fellaini but his ground header was straight at the keeper. Everton were getting some good possession building toward the Arsenal area but not really getting much further, and a period of Arsenal dominance followed.

Naismith was blatantly held back by Gibbs and rightly booked. Some great passing led to the second corner, again deep but headed away. Sanga went down claiming contact from Osman in a threatening position, Vermaelen driving it through the wall at Howard.

Pienaar made a great interception but his ball for Jelavic looked to be the end of the move. However, hhe did it again on the Arsenal clearance, the ball careening acorss to Fellaini, we steady himself ofn the edge of the area and cureld it bueytifully around Vermaelen and Szczesny into the corner of the Arsenal net. 1 - 1!

A late tackle from Gibson on Walcott led to him getting a yellow card. Arsenal won a couple of corners, both defended away, as the game looked fairly even, if a little stop-start. Everton needed defend solidly, but on the breakout, Jelavic almost got ahead of Sagna, who gave up a corner, which was again repelled.

Jelavic did a lovely chest-down and turn to beat Mertesacker but then leaning back, lashed over, when he really should have done better. Fellaini pulled back Corzola rather cynically as the contest neared half-time, Jelavic breaking well but form an offside position. Corzola looked to make space but his strike curled a long way from the Everton goal. Arsenal won a late corner in added time but it was defended away.

Good interplay between Baines and Pienaar that saw the South African power a shot goalwards after the break, and Everton's approach play continued to show signs of promise, with Jelavic switching to wingman and provider for Naismith, who could not get his foot to a glorious chance ahead of the full-back.

Pienaar was looking a lot sharper, and from a corner, Distin got a good look at the whites of Szczesny's eyes off a deep ball in from Baines that the Arsenal keeper parried away with an instant reaction save.

More superb work by Pienaar saw Fellaini denied a certain header as Szczesny took the ball off his head, but Everton kept pressing, although Fellaini's ground shot at Szczesny lacked invention. Moyes acted on the hour, swapping Naismith for Oviedo, an interesting move given the player's last outing.

Pienaar appeared to be tackled from behind as he advanced on goal. surely a penalty, but the ref bottled it, giving a corner. Everton were giving it their best, but the crucial chances, as ever, were not turning into goals, while at the other end, Giroud came mighty close with a header that flew inches past the post.

Howard looked lost, scrambling a loose ball behind for a corner but came out well to punch at the next attempt as the momentum swung back Arsenal's way... Moyes reacting by swapping in Hitzlsperger for the tiring Gibson. Corzola had a poke at one end, then Hitzlsperger at the other, both keepers doing their jobs effectively, as the game was end to end, each side keen to score the winner.

Arteta caught Fellaini to give away a really promising free-kick that Jelavic rather casually spooned in toward the top corner, too slow and too obvious to beat Szczesny — why no Hitzlsperger Hammer?

Into the last 10 minutes, Wenger swapping Ramsey for Gervinho as another Baines corner was defended away, with the tension reaching breaking point as the game continued from end to end, although a Jags hoofball not really the preferred method!

Oviedo was a firecracker going forward abut Hibbert's cross was a total waste as the game rested on a knifeedge until it was Fellaini's turn to 'do a Naismith' and spoon his cross shockingly under zero pressure. Then the Hammer's turn finally came and his shot was utterly woeful as he got right underneath it.

More great work set up a brilliant chance, but the ball from Jelavic was just too far ahead of Fellaini as it really looked more and more like Everton would not score the winner, even if it was handed to them on a plate. Meanwhile, hearts in mouths each time Arsenal went forward as the game went into 3 mins of added time.

Chances continued at either end, Arsenal finishing a little stronger after another great chance for Jealvic went begging, and it was a poor chiice from Pienaar at the end.

A very good game and a crucial litmus test of Everton's real quality... which came up short in the end against inferior competition yet again. Two more important home points lost.

Everton: Howard, Hibbert, Jagielka (c), Distin, Baines; Naismith (62' Oviedo Y:70'), Gibson Y:28' (73' Hitzlsperger), Osman, Pienaar; Fellaini; Jelavic.
Subs: Mucha, Heitinga, Gueye, Barkley, Vellios.

Arsenal: Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Vermaelen (c), Koscielny (4' Gibbs Y:21'), Arteta, Wilshere, Giroud, Walcott, Ramsey (80' Gervinho), Cazorla.

Below-par Blues drop more vital points

A must-win game following last weekend's stumble at Reading. Fellaini is suspended, Neville and Anichebe out injured, Hibbert is on the bench and Coleman is missing (injured, apparently) but Distin returned with Jagielka moved out to right back while neither Mirallas nor Gibson were included despite suggestions they would be returning from injury. Bryan Oviedo was given his first league start, mostly playing in front of Baines on the left.

Everton were attacking John Ruddy's goal from the off and there was almost an early goal from Osman, who tried to fire in a loose ball picked up for him by Naismith, curling it just inches wide of the far post. Pienaar bashed his knee challenging for the ball inside 5 minutes, giving concern of yet another injury for David Moyes to deal with.

Jagielka put in a very smart cross from nothing that Jelavic didn't seem to jump for and the chance went begging. Hitzlsperger floated a good ball forward that Ovideo did brilliantly with controlling it perfectly and placing it back on a plate for Naismith who smashed it home for a nice early goal after 12 minutes.

A great move and a brilliant one-two with Pienaar saw Baines into the area and firing on John Ruddy, who got down well to save. Naismith then went down in the corner of the area to the requisite shout: nothing from referee Mike Jones. In Gibson's absence, Hitzlsperger was an increasingly dominant calming influence in midfield. Baines curled in a great cross for Jelavic but he was edged off it a little too easily.

Holt managed to beat three Everton defenders than thankfully fluffed his shot badly and failed to threaten Howard when all alone. Oviedo then picked out Naismith with a superb ball forward from midfield, but Jelavic was offside for the final ball as Norwich started to see a lot more of the ball.

Some good work from Osman ended up with him shooting straight at John Ruddy with Oviedo really catching the eye. Everton won their first corner on 36 mins, Hitzlsperger swinging it in well but Jelavic headed wide as the ref predictably blew for a foul amongst the crazy jostling. The pace dropped and Norwich won their first corner that Bassong came very close to converting.

Pienaar and Osman combined nicely but, with the goal gaping, Osman produced one of his classic powder-puff passes straight into the arms of John Ruddy.

After the break, and Mike Jones gave Norwich a dubious free kick that was defended away before Tettey lashed it well over. It was terribly scrappy and disjointed fare, with Jones giving Norwich every opportunity, a Pilkington free-kick nearly catching out Howard.

It was rubbish football allround, Howard needed to be alert for a ball over the top when Holt beat the offside trap. Baines raised the standard with an excellent delivery no-one could finish it off. Past the hour mark and Everton finally got a corner but the officiating was poor, both in controlling the 6-yard scrum, blatant encroachment, and a deflected Jelavic shot wrongly called as a goal-kick.

It was just as scrappy in the Everton area, the ball could have gone anywhere as the game went from bad to worse with Grant Holt the villain of the piece, but it was Johnson who earnt the first yellow for a foul on Oviedo. Everton were very vulnerable as Norwich again came close, Snodgrass beating Howard but not the four blue shirts back defending the goalline.

At the other end, some better work ended in Pienaar lofting the ball to no-one — where the hell was Jelavic? Some absolutely dire football on show but Oviedio was trying to raise the stakes with a low shot on Ruddy. But Everton's weak link was Pienaar, who had gotten worse and worse. But Baines did superbly to run through and lash in a shot on Ruddy.

Osman was next to make progress and play it in to where Jelavic should have been waiting... but again he was dawdling around 5 yards back instead of lurking in the danger area. Ruddy was then forced off with a knee or groin problem, to be replaced for the last 10 mins by Mark Bunn.

The game was summed up when Naismith and Jelavic got behind the Norwich defence and all Naismith had to do was square it to his pal Jelavic, who this time was up with the play... Naismith's ball was absolutely atrocious. While at the other end, Howard again had to produce the goods as the last line of defence from a determined header.

Oveido was fouled on the edge of the area. Tettey was finally booked for blatant encroachment (what happened to that 10-yard rule???). Baines finally curled in a decent shot that was just a foot over.

Norwich got the softest of free-kicks when Morison missed his kick. It was delivered very deep to the far post were Bassong did very well to power the ball through Howard, who had hesitated and gone back to his line instead of plucking the ball out of the air. The goal had been coming all second half, and Moyes's bizarre reaction was to swap Naismith for Vellios with two of the four extra minutes already gone.

Some games are tremendous adverts for the Premier League... this was anything but. Another 2 points squandered by the bumbling Blues.

Everton: Howard; Jagielka, Heitinga, Distin, Baines; Oviedo, Hitzlsperger, Osman, Pienaar; Naismith (90+2' Vellios); Jelavic. Subs not Used: Mucha, Duffy, Hibbert, Gueye, Barkley, Kennedy.

Norwich: Ruddy (82' Bunn), Whittaker, Bassong, Ryan Bennett, Garrido (Y:87'), Johnson, Tettey, Snodgrass (89' Jackson, Hoolahan (75' Morison), Pilkington, Holt. Subs not Used: Howson, Elliott Bennett, Barnett, Tierney

A good start thrown away

No Phil Neville for Everton at Reading today, with Thomas Hitzlsperger getting his first start, behind Naismith as Gibson and Mirallas miss out; Hibbert and Anichebe failed late fitness tests.

An early corner was a gift for Jagielka, who failed to bury his close-range shot, but in the follow-up, a cross back in found Jelavic all alone at the far post with a golden chance that he somehow scooped high and wide. Should be ahead in the second minute!

Reading had a couple of set-pieces that could have been threatening. But Everton went ahead when Jelavic kept the ball alive at the far post and a fumbled ball dropping infront of Fellaini and a couple of defenders stood up nicely for Naismith to stride forward and slot home.

Pienaar got in a good ball for Jelavic who shot fractionally wide. Naismith was taken down at the side of the Reading area and there were screams for a penalty but the ref gave nothing as Everton in their all-black kits kept pushing the home side back.

Roberts dragged at the shirt of Baines who was on the counter-attack, and he picked up the first yellow card. Coleman the got a silly booking for booting the ball away after he couldn't quite get his foot around it to keep it in play.

Gorkks took out Coleman cynically and rightly went in the referee's book. A great run by Jelavic was followed by a not -so-great cross that evaded Fellaini, perfectly positioned. Hitzlsperger took a pop and forced a punch from Frederici.

Naismith played in Osman perfectly but the new England man fluffed his lines badly by failing to score when in on the keeper. Then there was a chance for Jelavic on another punch from Frederici but the Iceman's cool shot was deflected away by an arm... but again no penalty given. It was developing into another one of those games where Everton dominate and pepper the opposition goal with chances but make very few of them count.

Everton had to defend a couple of early corners after the break and struggled for the first five minutes to reassert their dominance. Indeed, a Shorey free-kick given away by Hitzlsperger was headed home with ease by Le Fondre, and it was once again all square, Everton with everything to do once again.

Reading threatened to score again with another dangerous free-kick as Everton tried to reconstruct their cool passing game, Coleman winning a corner taken by Hitzlsperger. But the pressure was soon back on, Jagielka tihs time guilty of fouling.

Pienaar looked to release Jelavic but his chance was denied by a perfect tackle from Morrison. But Howard had to be alert when Roberts played in Le Fondre. At the other end, Osman's attempt on goal was rather poor .

Some clever work between Pienaar and Fellaini set up a snapshot for Hitzlsperger but he volleyed wide as the black shirts finally started to get a better grip of the game again.

But another free-kick, Coleman conned by Roberts, saw a dangerous ball swung in that Fellaini defended well against Morrison's kamikaze attack.

20 mins left, and well past Moyes's normal sub time, there was no movement on the subs bench, Moyes believing there was little on their that could do better than the ones on the field. A couple of Everton corners led only to a Reading breakout that saw a brilliant covering tackle by Coleman on Le Fondre.

England star Leon Osman seemed to be in with a glorious chance but the man with the clever feet inexplicably stumbled and miscontrolled the ball instead of lashing it into the net and a nothing ball resulted.

At the other end, disaster as Coleman, who had been booed all match for some reason, drove into the back of and a penalty awarded was lashed home by Le Fondre to surely give Reading their first win of the season. Fellaini was booked, presumably for protesting, and he will now miss the Norwich game. Moyes reacted to the setback by swapping out Naismith for Oviedo.

Fellaini headed into the ground and off the post, back into the hands of Frederici. Moyes then puled Hitzlsperger for Vellios with less than 10 mins left... too little, too late, surely?

Everton huffed and puffed but the lack of crisp and decisive finishing in the first half would be the story of this game as they allowed Reading to steal all the points, condemning Everton to only their second defeat of the season, but at a crucial time as the come toward the end of what was on paper an easier run of games... if there really is such a thing in the Premier Leaue!

The Glory of Goodison

In partnership with the Everton Heritage Society, the National Football Museum and Everton in the Community, the Museum of Liverpool will host a weekend of events on the 17th and 18th of November to mark 120 years of Goodison Park.

They include a number of talks covering the legendary Dixie Dean and other great Everton centre-forwards, the history of the Toffee Lady, Everton's tour of South America in 1909, the close links between Everton and Liverpool Football Clubs, the invention of goal nets, the 1933 FA Cup Final ball and the great T G Jones, the ‘Prince of Centre Halves'.

Opened in 1892, Goodison has a long and rich history that includes Second World War bomb damage, the death of Dixie Dean, a 1966 World Cup semi-final, and more top-flight matches than any other stadium in England.

That's not to mention the long list of firsts that the Grand Old Lady boasts, including being the world's first four-sided double-decker stadium, and the first football ground in England to have dugouts, fit a scoreboard and install under-soil heating.

The weekend will also include Museum tours, object handling sessions, footie-themed craft, children's stories, and the Liverpool Shanty Kings singing Everton Songs. The Toffee Ladies will also be on hand to make sure there's Everton fun for all the family and visitors of all football allegiances.

And if that's not enough, the Museum of Liverpool has more to offer in the Wondrous Place gallery, which explores sport and creativity in the city. Visitors can learn about the history of football on Merseyside, and experience Kicking and Screaming, a 360-degree film immersive exploring Liverpool's passion for football and the unique rivalry and success of Everton and Liverpool Football Clubs.

Opened last year, the Museum of Liverpool is the largest newly-built national museum constructed in Britain for more than a century. It showcases Merseyside's popular culture while tackling social, historical and contemporary issues.

Darron Gibson closes in on Everton FC return

DARRON GIBSON’S protracted injury ordeal is nearly over with the influential midfielder hoping to make his comeback against Reading in nine days.

The 25-year-old has already missed eight games after limping off with a thigh problem against West Bromwich Albion in September, and his return to fitness has taken longer than expected.

Finch Farm medics discovered that the Republic of Ireland international had also damaged a tendon near his thigh, which meant his initial month-long lay-off was always likely to be longer.

However David Moyes has been careful not to rush his bargain £250,000 capture from Manchester United back into the first team, in the hope that when he returns he will be able to last for the rest of the season.

Gibson has an outside chance of being involved against Sunderland on Saturday after taking part in some light training, but it is more likely he will be brought back for the trip to the Madjeski Stadium on November 17.

Having the former Manchester United man back in action in time for December has been a priority for Moyes, with crunch games against Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea all taking place during a tough month, alongside a trip to Stoke and high-flying West Ham United.

It means Everton, who are also hoping Tony Hibbert will recover in time for the weekend, will have a fully fit squad as they attempt to strengthen their grip on fourth place in the Premier League.

From My Seat: WBA (A)

Players and fans full of confidence head to the Hawthorns. The weather could not have been better but there was a point that should have been remembered. Our record there is poor 4 wins in 23 games suggesting this is indeed a bit of a bogey ground for us. The longer the game went on this thought kept entering the mind...

We started full of confidence and well in control forcing the Baggies on to the back foot and letting us come on and depend on a breakaway.

From quite early on, you could see that our silky passing was getting us to the final third with ease but there seemed little sign of ‘killer pass’ or indeed a semblance of cutting edge. I think a lot of us thought it may be just a matter of time before we click but that thought was dispelled just after the 15 min mark when Gibson – in no more a strenuous act than passing the ball out wide right he went to the turf – was led off and that was his day over; after Hibbert coming on at right back and Neville going into midfield so was ours. We never seemed to really recover from that and although we were on top until the break we never really looked convincing.

We had a couple of headers from Jelavic to ‘Ooh and Aah’ about and one very close effort from Fellaini who met a deep right wing cross and did the right thing in heading it back across the keeper but just over the bar with the keeper well rooted to the spot.

Having most of the play is one thing but being sloppy and giving the ball away on the opponents' 18-yd line and allowing a quick break was rammed home when Ridgewell galloped forward, put a great cross in, and Long rattled the bar with force. We had been warned but the warning was not heeded and after another defensive mix up Morrisson was in one-on-one and we were grateful to Tim Howard for making a great one-handed stop and then falling on the ball in the resultant scramble.

Half-time and we were perplexed at our performance as so many players seemed just not ‘At it’ – especially in crucial areas of attack and defence. A worrying time!

The second half again started well for the Blues but our frailty was demonstrated early on in the piece when Baines took a touch before shooting when well placed in the box and allowed his effort to be deflected for a corner; I wondered why he didn’t shoot first time. Then Jelavic fed Fellaini who with nice control left his marker and from a good position in the box dragged his effort wide and I have to say it was with little conviction. It was a real chance that the Belgian has been despatching so far this season.

It was frustrating for all and fair play to our manager he did try to inject something different by swopping Naismith with Mirallas on the hour mark. It almost worked as he got a pass from our most consistent player on an inconsistent day, Osman, then went forward at pace to the by-line and put in a low cross that found Fellaini at the far post. It seemed nailed on, he swung a boot, did it get a bobble? Because the upshot was that from a very presentable opportunity he did in fact find the legendary ‘Row Z’ – hell you just knew this ain't our day.

Wouldn’t you just know it – almost straight away, their sub Odemwingie raced away down the left leaving Hibbert in his wake and Jags out of position and crossed low for Long to get his foot on the ball before Distin – 1-0 down and to be honest at that moment I just knew ‘Game Over’.

Now we looked even flatter than before, Osman did try to pull a few strings and play people in but everything just seemed to break down. Fellaini seemed to lose all concentration as he embarked on run-ins with the rookie Ref Moss but there was always going to be one winner and he duly got himself booked. Neville also started to sail close to the wind with daft tackles and he got a very unnecessary yellow and was hooked in favour of Big Vic. This on the face of it put a more attacking slant on our side but unfortunately it never materialised.

It was from a comical episode that emphasised our frailty both up front and at the back as Fellaini got his legs in a mess just inside their box and eventually played a ball so badly to Baines that he had to stretch and toe poke it to Osman with no real direction which led to Osman being robbed and they set off down field and from a great strike Howard did well to tip over the bar. From the corner, Howard seemed to be pinned in by a WBA forward, a big centre back was left unmarked so, when the floundering keeper flapped and missed, the unmarked defender headed home – as did a good number of the faithful. If it was not 'game over' before it was now.

Final whistle and I wouldn’t say the fans were very angry; it seemed to more bemusement after a display like that on the back of our previous displays.

MotM – Hard to find but I would go for Osman. Overall what can you say? We promised much and delivered little. Players who usually stand out for us all off form at the same time. The injury to Gibson disrupted us more than it ever should, leaving me to hope that the last-minute loan signing from (yet again) Belgium can hit the ground running and live up the accolade from Vincent Kompany. (I wonder how you pronounce his name, let alone master spelling it???) You could justifiably question the manager when on Gibson’s injury he didn’t just drop Fellaini back and send Mirallas into the Fellaini role but hindsight is a great thing.

What next? Well it’s probably best to put today down to just one of those things that happen at times in every season, and turn up and watch us gain three more points v Newcastle in a fortnight.

Enjoy your international break.
UP THE BLUES

From My Seat: Villa (A)

Aston Villa 1 -3 Everton

On the back of a rocking good night at Goodison on Monday, it was a trip out to the home of the Villa, a ground where we have not had that much success in past seasons but today we believed... On seeing the Villa line-up, my thought was: if we can’t beat these after the Man Utd display, we would need locking up.

As it turned out, it was a game of one half, the first, where we built a three-goal lead, then a second where we did ok but without that fight ‘n’ bite we showed in the first half. Even with the hosts going down to ten men, we still afforded them a consolation goal.

The Villa fans gave their heroes a quite rousing welcome as they entered the arena; then our captain Neville upset the apple cart by winning the toss and electing to turn the players around so that each team played toward their own fans in the first rather than the second half. I don’t know what he knew but it could not have been better for the travelling 2,000-odd Blues.

We started fast with intent and with just 3 mins on the clock, we put together some joined-up stuff that culminated in our new boy Naismith planting the ball perfectly into the path of Pienaar some 20-odd yards out. He smashed a great curler into the top corner leaving Given helpless. "Pick that out" came to mind as celebrations were joyous. Scoring after just 3 mins doesn’t lend itself to parking the bus so we didn’t.

We continued to completely out-play Villa and threatened more or less each time we came forward. Baines hit a beauty over the top and picked out a Jelavic run and his header only just missed. The Croat then got his head to a Baines corner and glanced it just over. This was good stuff and the players seemed to be enjoying it as much as the fans. Gibson was quietly orchestrating and stitching together moves and still found time to hit a screamer just over the bar.

After some 25 mins of Everton dominance, Villa did rally a bit and had some foray’s foreword without causing our rearguard much trouble. On the half-hour mark, another joined-up move started from the back by Jags who ran foreword and found Gibson, Jags carried on the run and Gibson deftly returned the ball to him, Jags crossed like a seasoned winger and found the head of our man of the moment Fellaini who headed into the deck and up toward Given. This produced an odd sight as Given seemed to get out of the way of the ball and allow it free passage into the net. A howler but who cared as the Blue throng celebrated yet again.

This really put Villa on the back-foot and looking quite despondent as they allowed our captain to venture forward but alas he showed he was no Hibbert when it comes to shooting as his effort was ‘high, wide and handsome’. We still clapped.

The clock was ticking down to half-time and we seemed to be moving forward with menace at will and with nous as we passed and probed. Just before the break, Baines finished off a nice bout of passing by whipping one across the box and found Jelavic who with one assured swing of the leg, his boot made first time contact, the net bulged with the keeper nowhere... 3 - 0, game over and party time.

At the end of the half, any late-comer could have been forgiven for thinking it was the final whistle such had been the singing, chanting and merriment from the travelling hoards. All the songs you know and love plus an ear-splitting rendition of ‘There’s only one Kevin Sheedy’, and so the half ended.

The humour and chat was of a light-hearted nature with most wondering when we would see our new Belgian.

No changes as we started the second half much the same as we started the first — on top. Pienaar set up both Jelavic and Naismith and on both occasions their shots were blocked.

On the hour-mark, a through ball saw Jelavic hare down the middle only to be halted by a trip by Clark — last man: sent off.

Although the hoards whooped in delight, the sending of did us no favours as, for the rest of the half, we did not seem to have the same conviction and drive. We did have the odd moment or two to be fair. Pienaar had a pile driver well saved by Given and a great back-post header from Distin was goalbound until a Villa head sent the ball to the underside of the bar and out.

Naismith, who had had a promising full debut, had taken a knock just after the hour mark and was replaced by Coleman. I wondered why at 3 - 0 up the new lad was not given the nod... still, I am just a fan and the manager who is with them all week knows best. Coleman did much like he did v Man Utd — he ran a lot up and down the flank and from time to time caused the odd bit of bother by hitting the by-line and crossing. On 70 mins, Mirallas arrived in place of Gibson who also seemed to have taken a knock. You could just see he wanted to impress and some of his work was a little hurried — none more so when he got a bit excited at a Jelavic run and cross from the right by going forward to quickly and being flagged offside as he put the ball in the net.

Villa had now decided to give it a go and we seemed to let them come at us at will and with 15mins to go we paid a price. Villa attacked down the middle we backed off and he shot. Our keeper then made one of his early-season howlers when, from my seat, he seemed to first of all go the wrong way then his despairing dive was in vain as the ball nestled in the corner. Considering the shot was from some distance, it is difficult to even hazard a guess at what he was doing or thinking — still, better to get it out of his system at 3 - 0 rather than in a 1 - 0 nail-biter. I wonder if Howard, being a fully paid up member of the 'keepers' union, just decided to show solidarity with Given?!! Villa still had time to hit a post before the end and a good job too as, in those last minutes, we were all at sea and the last thing we needed to do was give them a glimmer. I don’t think the manager will be happy with that ending — especially against 10 men.

MotM — Pienaar... but I would not take exception at other offerings as first half there were some very good displays.

Overall an enjoyable day out that sees us sit 3rd in the embryonic table, I always like to have my first look at tables with any meaning around the end of November beginning of December, it would be nice to be 3rd then and ready to kick on.

For those who like to follow such things I thought the so-called third kit that we wore today looked like a proper football kit and the white shirt would be a good holiday shirt, pity it wasn’t out in time as it will be a retro next year.

WBA next, the conquerors of the cousins... it won’t be easy but, with the support we get and a clean bill of health for the manager to formulate his starting eleven, we can give it a good go but a sustained effort over both halves would be a big step forward from today.

Early days but let’s get the window shut with a couple of in-comings and no out-goings and then see how it all pans out. I am sure there is just a little room for some optimism this campaign.

UP THE BLUES

From My Seat: Man Utd (H)

A balmy evening in north Liverpool saw a shirt sleeved throng assemble to witness the Blues entertain ‘Team Sky’ and what a good job they made of it as predictions of bookies, pundits and no-mark experts had their predictions well and truly rammed down their throats. The buzz pre-game was infectious as matchday mates were reunited after the Summer(?) break. Holiday stories were swapped and the question asked: "Where you there the night of the Hibbo riot?" I was and it was a cracking goal.

The team electronically appeared on ‘phone screens and it looked like it was designed for us, first and foremost, not to lose... but capable of grabbing one and seeing it out. In fact, as the game progressed, the team did much more than that... and subjected Man Utd to an examination that proved even a club as rich as them cannot afford to have injuries to key players when visiting the Goodison Park cauldron and expect to conquer, with talented players played out of position as well as some of their old guard looking jaded.

From the off, it was clear we were up for it and determined (for the first time in five seasons) to start with a win, and play well enough to suggest that – with a fair wind and a little luck on the injury front – we can challenge higher than sixth.

First half was dominated by the Blues in terms of chances, their defence being scared witless by the magnificent Fellaini. If his fellow countryman that we have just signed is anywhere near as effective, then we are in for some season. The Man Utd 'keeper, De Gea, kept them in it throughout with some acrobatic saves that brought rich applause, firstly by turning over a Pienaar header and then sprawling to turn away another effort from the same player.

I would imagine Utd had most ball possession but did little with it compared to the Blues in terms of threat; a terrific effort from Osman looked nailed on until the keeper did a brilliant parody of Tom Daly as he soared to thwart and then flew again to claw away a Baines free kick that looked destined for the top corner.

Utd did have the odd effort and Rooney put in two shots that were little more than back-passes; the England man Welbeck shot wide under pressure from Jags, and then the Utd mob had the cheek to ask for a penalty — even ‘Team Sky’ favouring ref Atkinson had to turn that shout down! That was the game until half-time: we made the chances, their keeper did well, they passed neatly without getting anywhere... and most thought we were a little unlucky not to be ahead at the break.

No changes as the second period began and again it was the Blues in the ascendency; in no time at all, Fellaini was tormenting them again with skill, power and aggression: he headed a ball down to Osman who this time left the keeper for dead but the ball cannoned off the bar and was ushered clear; no wonder Ossie sank to the deck and beat the turf whilst bemoaning his luck.

Utd rallied a little but it was passing of the backward and square variety that was never going to hurt us... whereas we attacked with less finesse but far more purpose — and, just before the hour mark, it paid off.

We won a corner, BainesGibson took, Fellaini rose, Carrick wilted under the pressure of the big man, and the ball was dispatched into the net past players on the goal line, and Goodison Park erupted — the celebrations both on and off the pitch were something to behold.

Guess what happened next? Yep, we went deep and challenged Man Utd to break us down. They nearly did five or six minutes later when Cleverley had one cleared off the line by the impressive Jags. Then Fergie hooked Welbeck and introduced £24 million man, Van Persie. Luckily he didn’t show anything like his Arsenal form and merely looked a very expensive corner taking expert.

Still we did little more than defend and the crowd were getting fidgety; one or two players were looking tired, the words ‘fresh legs’ were heard louder and louder... On 80 mins, the workaholic Osman was replaced by Coleman and it was soon clear that his instructions from the manager were to tackle anything that moved, including waste paper, and the lad didn’t let him down.

Into the last quarter of an hour and it was time for the proper defenders to shine with Hibbert leading the way, ably supported by quality work from Jags, Distin and Baines.

With the crowd bellowing out the Moyes tribute song, Fergie threw Young and Anderson on in place of Nani and Cleverley but to little advantage as the Blues were determined to hold on.

The board went up: 4 extra ‘Fergie time’ minutes. Jelavic went down and needed treatment for what looked like a ‘Hammy’ and Naismith took his place. Squeaky bum time as the clock clicked down and a nice touch from the manager with just a minute left when he replaced Fellaini with Heitinga for the big Belgian to receive a tremendous ovation.

The ref seemed to be stretching the 4 added minutes and whistles as loud as thunderclaps cascaded from all sides... Eventually he relented after Everton had cleared a corner and the celebrations began. The DJ did not need to put the ‘istory record on the crowd belted it out in full.

Amidst all of this, I caught sight of Distin prone in our penalty area and after attention he was led away with what looked like a brace on his leg. So, what with both Distin and Jelavic in the wars, it will be an anxious time for both fans and medics. Another disappointing thing at the end was the sight of Heitinga seeming to hurl his shirt at the floor by the dugout; still, it is nice to know he cares.

MotM – Fellaini, with a special mention for Hibbert who when the real defending was needed he was excellent The walk back to the ale house was a pleasure listening to snatches of conversations that truly appreciated our night's work, the word Fellaini was prominent as were the words ‘I will be glad when this transfer window closes’.

Overall, I thought it a good honest display from a squad that were determined to make a decent start to the season for once... so now the trick is to keep it going and next week’s trip to Villa Park will no doubt throw more light on our readiness to push onward and upward.

On a side-note, is it just me or does our Wayne still have a soft spot for us because he never seems anywhere near as effective against us as he does against other teams?

Looking at the team and bench selected tonight, it does look stronger than previously... but I would love to see another maybe 2 or 3 half-decent players in and just maybe we could start to believe.

A great night out – see you at Villa!!!

UP THE BLUES

Liverpool vs Everton

Everton's hectic fortnight continues on Tuesday evening with a trip across Stanley Park for the second Merseyside derby of the season where the prize for a Blues victory will be seventh place at Liverpool's expense. Despite just edging their way past Championship side Cardfiff on penalties in the Carling Cup Final two weeks ago, Kenny Dalglish's men are struggling through a slump in League form that has seen them win just once in eight League games; indeed, if the season had started on 1st January, the Reds would be in the bottom three. Everton, by contrast, are in their best form of the campaign. The win over Tottenham on Saturday lifted David Moyes's side to a ninth game without defeat in all competitions and to within two points of their bitter local rivals in the Premier League. All of which, of course, could be rendered moot in the heat of a local derby where the form book usually goes out the window. And though the incentives have always been there for Everton, they have found victory at Anfield elusive under Moyes's decade in charge. The Blues' last win over on the dark side was almost 13 years ago and there could be no better present to mark Moyes's 10-year anniversary this week than his first win on Liverpool's home turf. The manager is aided by his squad's cleanest bill of health for many a week, with only Darron Gibson definitely ruled out with the knee injury that will likely keep him sidelined beyond Saturday's FA Cup quarter final tie with Sunderland. Steven Pienaar is back in the side after being ineligible for the Spurs game and Victor Anichebe has overcome his latest niggly injury to offer a more physical option on the right flank than Royston Drenthe if Moyes opts for power over the pace of Seamus Coleman. Drenthe's unpredictability could move his manager to drop the him back to the bench for this one. Having taken the plaudits for this efforts against Spurs, Leon Osman should keep his central midfield spot alongside Marouane Fellaini in what is expected to be a largely unchanged starting XI. Up front, Nikica Jelavic should be fit to make what will be only his second start despite being withdrawn towards the end of Saturday's game after picking up an apparent knock. Should there by any doubt about his fitness, Denis Stracqualursi would get the nod to partner Tim Cahill. For their part, Liverpool will be hoping that their linchpin Steven Gerrard will be sufficiently fit after recovering from a hamstring strain but Daniel Agger and Lucas Lieva are ruled out. Evertonian minds will inevitably turn back to the reverse fixture in October when Martin Atkinson's disgraceful decision to send off Jack Rodwell for a perfectly legal challenge destroyed the match as a contest after just 22 minutes and condemned the Blues to defeat. Though the thirst for revenge will be hard to sate, it is of paramount of importance that Everton keep their heads and rise above the blood and thunder that usually accompanies these local battles. With the weekend's FA Cup clash in mind and two tricky League games to follow, avoiding injuries and suspensions is going to be crucial. With just one defeat in their last five games away from home and an impressive defensive record since the turn of the year, the Blues have the foundation on which to exploit any cracks in Liverpool morale — they just need to get things to come together in the opponent's area and perhaps nick an early goal to quickly get the Reds on the ropes.

DAVID MOYES WAGES WAR

ONE question disturbs David Moyes more than any other as he reflects on a memorable decade as manager of Everton. “People keep telling me I’ve mellowed over the years,” he says. “I’m not sure that’s a good thing. Does it mean they think I’ve gone soft?” Moyes laughs for a flickering moment – and then fixes you with the fierce, piercing glare that is legendary throughout football. His toughness is as authentic and everlasting as granite. In 10 days’ time he will have been the boss at Everton for 10 years, joining a select band of managers who achieved the feat with one club in the top flight – men like Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, Brian Clough, Sir Bobby Robson, Bill Shankly and Bill Nicholson. Moyes is among illustrious company, yet still only 48. He is a relatively young manager and his intelligence, intensity and inspiration blaze as brightly as ever in a commanding figure of high ambition. That’s particularly evident in his strong views about how football has changed for the worse during the last 10 years, and in his bold and radical vision for improving the national sport. One of his ideas is that “everyone in the Premier League takes a 20 per cent pay cut to put football finances back on an even keel and allow a significant reduction in ticket prices to make football more affordable for the ordinary fan.” When he joined Everton in March 2002, Moyes famously called it the ‘people’s club’. He dearly wants football as a whole to remain the people’s game. “Perhaps the 20 per cent suggestion would cause some mayhem,” says Moyes, “but I think we need to do something serious. People might say it would be harder to attract players to the Premier League, but we have to take responsibility for the long-term health of football. “Clubs have to control their money properly and only pay what they can actually afford. People have to be held responsible when things go wrong. “Every family in the country at the moment has to finance correctly. They can’t overspend. Why is football different?” Moyes has proved a roaring success at Everton, cajoling the club to punch far above its weight with slender resources. He has been named Manager of the Year three times in a decade and earned universal admiration. In the same period, Sir Alex Ferguson has won the award only twice. Premier League football was very different when Moyes arrived as a virtual unknown at Goodison. Amid the excitement, he has seen too many bad trends corrupting the game. “I see myself as a supporter of football and I see things I don’t like that are damaging the game,” says Moyes. “One of them is players going down too easily. In the last 10 years, we have seen a lot more diving. Players now go over at the slightest brush of contact. For me, it’s one of the worst things of all. “I believe players must take a bigger responsibility on this issue. We and the players haven’t done enough to help the referees, which has made their job doubly hard. I would advocate retrospective action by the FA on diving. “I say to my players there must no diving in our team. There is no ‘but’ to it either. I don’t want it. “Another area to worry about is agents. It was a better situation 10 years ago. Back then, I looked at the way agents abroad had control of the players, and in some cases the clubs, and thought that couldn’t happen in Britain. “You thought the chairmen wouldn’t be daft enough for agents to be doing the deals or telling them what deals they should be doing. “That seems to be happening now in some cases, and it seems the players are more easily controlled by agents instead of doing what’s right for their own game. That’s a change for the worse.” Moyes also believes the quality of football in the Premier League has declined with the advent of faster and more powerful players. “Technology has changed for managers and helped in many ways,” he explains. “Now we can monitor everything a player does. There’s no doubt the game has speeded up but I’m not sure that has made for better football. “I think some of the players in the Premier League 10 years ago were at a superior level than those of today in terms of technique and ability. I’m thinking of Dennis Bergkamp and Gianfranco Zola, for example. That was a golden era in the Premier League.” Ten years at Everton have given Moyes a rare perspective. His enduring passion for the game shines across in his suggestions for the future, large and small. “We have to help referees,” he says, “whether it is using technology, whether it’s having two referees on the pitch or whether it’s changing attitudes in the game. “Maybe it’s time to have a Premier League One and Two, and to invite Scottish clubs like Celtic and Rangers to join. I think that would add to it. “I’d like to see lower ticket prices so that everybody can afford football. We should be filling all the grounds all the time. If people in football took that 20 per cent pay cut, then lower ticket prices could be one direct result. Football’s been around for 150 years and it has come a long way, but we have to make sure we don’t take it away from its roots. We must not get too far away from people. “Look at the kids – we’ve moved too far away from the roots there. I would advocate allowing top young footballers to go back to playing for their school teams. Taking kids out of school, and just playing with other elite youngsters, has affected discipline. “I think we need to get back to kids growing up normally, not being banned by football clubs from playing other sports, like cricket, at the age of 14. I think that’s terrible. Just let kids play. “We used to talk about ‘over-use’ injuries in youngsters because they played too much. Now the danger is that they are nearly not playing enough and not playing just for the fun of it.” The intensity of David Moyes’ conversation is wonderful and you could listen all day. It is challenging and invigorating and blessed with intelligence. The one word you could never use to describe it is ‘mellow’.

Drenthe goes from hero to villain

No Jack Rodwell but at least Nikica Jelavic and Leon Osman were deemed fit enough to sit on the bench, with Neville and Cahill preferred. Drenthe and Pienaar on the wings to hopefully provide width and creativity as Everton continue without the mercurial inspiration provided by Landon Donovan's all-too-brief visitation. Tim Cahill smashed one off the bar in the fourth minute, from an excellent header played back by Fellaini at the near post off a Neville throw. Everton had the first corner but it was defended away and the blues had to be alert at the other end as QPR responded with a corner of their own. A soft Drenthe foul led to a good delivery that was thankfully behind the QPR attacker as the hosts kept getting in behind the Everton defence. Drenthe got to put in a free-kick of his own but it was very poorly executed; however, he won one on the other side that Baines put in well. Wright-Phillips got clipped and Kevin Friend gave QPR a dangerous free-kick that forced a tremendous save off Buzsaky's curling effort. A far better effort from Drenthe found Heitinga on the far post and it was harder not to score, but the Dutchman failed to wrap his boot around it from 2 feet out, and he then completely wasted a free-kick from the half-way line. Pienaar's deflected cross forced a tip-over from Kenney resulting in a good corner from Baines. Wright-Phillips got behind a couple of good attempts and failed but Drenthe showed hin how it was done from well outside the area, a tremendous shot from a good layoff by Pienaar, and an excellent Everton goal. At the other end, danger was only just averted as another dangerous free-kick careened off the wall and seemed headed to the opposite side of Howard's goal and just over. But it was hero to zero for Drenthe, making a poor tackle that got him booked and gave QPR yet another free-kick which was delivered well and Zamora got the final touch with Howard perhaps standing too far back. Then Everton won a dangerous kick of their own that was delayed by the antics of a squirrel on the pitch! Enough to put off Drenthe who drove his kick into the wall. Pienaar made a tremendous run and fed Fellaini whose brilliant cut-back El Traca just failed to convert. QPR then got behind the Everton defence yet again and manged to hit both posts in an attack that incredibly failed to put then ahead, while at the other end Fellaini seemed to conjour a good chance but could not convert. But a pretty entertaining game with lost of goalmouth action at both ends! Fellaini should have done better when gifted the ball but he looked for a pass rather than pressing the QPR goal. Some good possession football from Everton on occasions but it only led down cul-de-sacs. They failed to get a grip on the game as the hour-mark passed and Howard had to punch away another corner, while the appearance of Nikica Jelavic from the subs' bench was accompanied by Leon Osman, replacing Drenthe and Cahill. Jelavic looked to get involved at every opportunity but nothing was coming off, while Buzsaky had a poke form 25 yards that went over for QPR, and Taarabt drove across Howard's goal but past the far post. The changes were meant to enliven a flagging Everton side but it was QPR who got the bit between their teeth while the Blues were far too lackadaisical when they did gain possession from the marauding Rangers. Osman won a dangerous free-kick off Wright-Phillips that Baines swung in but Fellaini was offside in the follow-up. Pienaar and Baines were doing their best down the left but QPR were holding firm and effectively denying them space and usually preventing a telling final ball to the pair of big strikers,Jelavic and El traca, showing signs of starvation in the middle. Into the final 15 mins and this one could go either way, with both teams fighting and scrapping to gain the ascendancy. A bizarre free-kick from Buzsaky saw him scoop the ball high over Howard's goal from a standing position... Moyes seemed to call it quits with 2 mins left, swapping Stracqualursi for Coleman in an admission that this attempt at 4-4-2 had failed to yield the required end product in a disappointing second half for Blues fans. Fellaini did get a shot on Kenney but play was pulled back. Jelavic tried to dribble through but couldn't as a late Everton corner came to nothing. An eight-game unbeaten run for Everton but no revenge for that dreadful opening loss at Goodison Park. Everton: Howard; Hibbert, Heitinga, Distin, Baines; Drenthe (62' Osman), Neville, Fellaini, Pienaar; Cahill (62' Jelavic); Stracqualursi (88' Coleman). Subs: Mucha, Jagielka, Gueye, Barkley.

Lunchtime KO for Sunderland tie

Everton's FA Cup quarter final against Sunderland will be played on Saturday, 17 March 17 at Goodison Park, with a lunchtime kick-off at 12:45pm. The game will be screened live on ITV1. Tickets will go on sale from Saturday, 25 February.

David Weir returns to Everton

David Weir has returned to Everton as a coach five years after leaving the club for Rangers. Weir, who made 269 appearances during eight years at Goodison Park, will work with the youth and reserve teams. The defender, who turns 42 in May, will also be eligible to play for Everton's reserve side. "He'll help out Alan Stubbs with the reserves and will play in the occasional reserve game," said manager David Moyes. Weir left Everton in January 2007 to link up with Walter Smith at Rangers, where he won the Scottish Premier League title three times and the Scottish Cup twice. But he left Ibrox last month having seen his first-team opportunities limited this season. Weir had been hoping to continue playing first-team football and had been training with Sheffield United since departing Ibrox. "David did great for us when he was a player here and we are looking forward to being able to work with him again as he starts out in his coaching career," Moyes told the club website. "It will be good to have him around the place. He is a great professional and someone all the players at the club can look up to." Weir said it had not been a difficult decision to leave Rangers. "I'm not sad about it, I'm happy that I got the opportunity to play for such a great club," he said. "I have so many memories to look back on and I am very proud of that. I wouldn't change it for the world.

Everton 2 - 0 Blackpool

Everton booked comfortable passage to the FA Cup quarter finals thanks to a blistering start that had them two goals up on Blackpool inside seven minutes, an advantage they could easily have extended further before the Seasiders were gifted a highly dubious 90th-minute penalty that veteran striker Kevin Phillips ballooned over to seal their fate. With Landon Donovan denied his second swansong by a bout of flu, Royston Drenthe started on the right flank and the Dutchman took full advantage of the American's absence by curling home a beauty after just 49 seconds. Denis Stracqualursi, meanwhile, was guaranteed another start by Nikica Jelavic's groin problem and he grabbed his third goal of the season from close range off Drenthe's corner to kill the Championship side's challenge before it had a chance to grow legs. With Steven Pienaar cup-tied, Magaye Gueye made a rare start wide on the left and he was instrumental in both goals as Everton flew out of the proverbial traps in this Fifth Round encounter at Goodison Park. The French forward collected Leighton Baines' pass down the left before crossing low to Marouane Fellaini. The Belgian, playing in Tim Cahill's advanced role behind Stracqualursi, controlled the ball with his back to goal before laying it off to Drenthe and he despatched it past Michael Gilks with aplomb from the right side of the box with a sweet left-footer. And the Blues doubled their lead on their next meaningful attack when Drenthe won a corner on the Everton right and whipped the ball in to the near post. Gueye's glancing flick-on dropped into the six yard box where Stracqualursi prodded it home at the second attempt. Blackpool were stunned but recovered their composure enough to try a few forays down their left channel, getting in behind the home defence on a couple of occasions but finding John Heitinga and Sylvain Distin in uncompromising mood. They really only had a couple of opportunities before half time. First, when Phillips fired a direct free kick into the wall after quarter of an hour and then in stoppage time when Tim Howard palmed Silverstre's low drive behind for a corner. In between, the Blues carved out three chances to extend their lead. In the 39th minute, Drenthe skipped to the byline and served up the first of three greate chances for Fellaini but the Belgian was denied by Cathcart on the line and Darron Gibson's low drive was also blocked from the rebound. Four minutes before the break, Gueye picked out Stracqualursi with an excellent cross but the Argentine powered his header a foot over before Fellaini glanced Tony HIbbert's centre from the other side wide of the upright. Unsurprisingly, with a comfortable lead, Everton took their foot off the pedal a little in the second half but were still unlucky not to add to their tally. Stracqualursi served up what looked odds-on to be number three for Fellaini but he and Gibson got in each other's way and the former's weak shot bounced wide off a defender. And just before the hour mark, the mercurial but dangerous Drenthe unleashed a stinging effort that Gilks did well to push over one-handed. Unfortunately, Heitinga sent a free header off the resulting corner over the bar with his second goal of the competition served on a platter. The Dutch defender's foul at the other end after 65 minutes almost gave Blackpool an entry back into the tie, however, when his foul set up another direct free kick opportunity for Phillips. Thankfully, though, he smashed his shot off the top of the crossbar. As the game ticked into the last 20 minutes and the tie still firmly in Everton's grasp and Seamus Coleman already having replaced Gueye, it seemed like a good opportunity to give some playing time to the likes of Apostolos Vellios and Ross Barkley. Both players had to wait until the closing stages to make their entries, however, and Stracqualursi almost repaid his manager with a second goal off Baines's free kick. Hooking the ball goalwards with an out-stretched leg at the far post he almost surprised Gilks but the 'keeper parried his effort at point-blank range. Fellaini would be denied again in the 80th minute when, at the end of a lovely move, he found himself unmarked at the back post off Stracqualursi's well-placed header but, having beaten the 'keeper, his shot was booted off the goalline by a fortunate defender. And the Belgian wasted his final chance to earn a reward for his efforts when he planted a header off Drenthe's peach of a cross over when he really should got sufficiently over the ball to get it on target and despatch it past the 'keeper. Blackpool's attempts at heroics came in the dying minutes, first when Howard denied Lua Lua with a superb finger-tip save that diverted the forward's impressive drive onto the outside of the post, and then when Bednar was inexplicably awarded a penalty for what referee Michael Oliver determined was a foul by Heitinga. Any chance that the Tangerines had of staging a dramatic injury-time finish evaporated, however, when Phillips sent his spot kick over the crossbar without even forcing Howard to make a save. So a fairly routine home victory that brings Everton to within a win of returning to Wembley, the scene of one of their most exciting moments of 2009 and also their biggest disappointment. That year a thrilling semi-final win on penalties over Manchester United put them into the Final where they wilted in the May heat and couldn't hold onto their early lead. David Moyes will be hoping for another favourable draw in the last eight as he plots a return to the national stadium and an opportunity to make right on that crushing disappointment of three years ago. Player Ratings: Howard 8, Hibbert 7, Heitinga 7, Distin 7, Baines 7, Neville 6, Gibson 7, Drenthe 8*, Gueye 7 (Coleman 7), Fellaini 8, Stracqualursi 8

We've got an axe to grind, says Neville

Defeat in the 2009 FA Cup final still eats away at the Everton captain, Phil Neville, and he is determined to put it right. David Moyes's men lost 2-1 to Chelsea at Wembley almost three years ago but the disappointment of that reverse still rankles with Neville. Hopes of earning another shot at the trophy they last lifted in 1995 have been raised in recent weeks, with Everton odds-on favourites to come through their fifth-round meeting with Blackpool at Goodison Park tomorrow. It is the memory of being a losing finalist that most spurs on Neville towards securing a Wembley return. "Wembley is not a place for losers, it is a place for winners," the 35-year-old, who won the FA Cup three times with Manchester United but played in only two finals, both at the old Twin Towers, said yesterday. "There is no worse a feeling than losing a game at Wembley so that still rankles with me — that is motivation. It is my favourite competition out of them all and if you get to the fifth round you are nearly at that stage of getting to Wembley for the semi-finals. The carrot is there for us, we just have to take the chance." Surprisingly for two clubs with such long histories Everton and Blackpool have never met in the FA Cup, and their two matches in the Premier League before the Seasiders' relegation last season were their first encounters since a two-legged League Cup tie in 1981. Blackpool have not beaten Everton since 1966, in the old First Division, but Neville will take nothing for granted. "I watched them against Sheffield Wednesday in the replay [in the last round] and they looked every bit as good as they did in the Premier League," the former England international said. "And it looks like they have got over the hangover of their relegation — it wouldn't surprise me if they bounced straight back up. We are the team expected to win but they will come and attack us." Neville believes the FA Cup has given his team a kick-start this year as, since their third-round tie in early January, Everton's form has taken a turn for the better. "When we got drawn against Tamworth we weren't playing well at the time and, to be honest, it scared the living daylights out of me," he recalled. "I thought 'banana skin', FA Cup third round... we had been beaten by Shrewsbury and Oldham in the past. I thought, 'Please not this time, not to a non-league team'. We got through that but didn't play particularly well and Tamworth gave us a really good game. In the next round I was pleased we got a home draw against a Premier League side so at least it wasn't David versus Goliath. "Fulham took the lead but that game [which Everton won 2-1] was the turning point in our season because it gave us the confidence and belief because we had not been playing well at home. We started to show a few signs of getting back to form that night."

Green is young England hero

Everton youngster George Green was the debut hero for England Under-16s as he struck in the last minute in a 1-0 win over Spain. Green made his first appearance for the Young Lions by coming on at half time in Madrid and sealed victory with a curled effort from outside the area in the dying stages. After the game, England Under-16s Head Coach Kenny Swain applauded both Green's match-winner and his debut performance. "It was a great finish from George, so I'm pleased for him," he said. "It was his first call-up and he came on in the second half. We've had four new players involved and they've all done really well."

Everton look to push on as injury list diminishes

Everton midfielder Seamus Coleman's return from injury has given manager David Moyes another timely boost. The Toffees are on a high after back-to-back home wins over Premier League leaders Manchester City and Chelsea. And Coleman's goalscoring return for the reserves more than a month after being sidelined with a thigh problem provides more good news as the club look to maintain progress in both the league and FA Cup. Teenager Ross Barkley, who made such an impact in the first two months of the season but has not featured since 26 November because of a knee problem, also stepped up his bid for full fitness with a run-out and goal in the 6-3 win over Newcastle at the club's Finch Farm training complex. The 18-year-old has made a couple of appearances for the academy side in the last fortnight and was named on the bench for the first-team games against City and Chelsea but remained unused. It leaves only Phil Jagielka (knee), Leon Osman (knee) and Jack Rodwell (hamstring) of the senior players to return from injury. Rodwell, who has made only three appearances since last November, was in training last week until he suffered a setback. However, Jagielka's return was scheduled for late February/early March and the defender is looking forward to edging closer to first-team involvement. "It has probably been the longest January ever but I have got over that and am out of the brace and starting to do more in training as well," said the centre-back, who has not played since damaging medial knee ligaments in the defeat to Bolton on 4 January. "I have had Ossie [Leon Osman] for company which has been good and we'll hopefully be stepping it up in the next couple of weeks. I am getting there. We are itching to get back – although we'll probably be sat on the bench or in the stand the way the team are playing at the moment." In the time Jagielka and Osman, who has also been out since 4 January after having a piece of floating bone removed from his knee, have been sidelined, the whole atmosphere at the club appears to have been transformed. The arrivals of former Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson and ex-Rangers striker Nikica Jelavic on permanent deals and the loan signings of Landon Donovan and Steven Pienaar have given everyone a lift and that has been reflected in performances. Even striker Denis Stracqualursi, a loan signing in the summer from Argentinian side Tigre, has started to look like he has found his feet in recent weeks. Jagielka acknowledges the change that has taken place in a short period of time. "The whole team looks different and they look brilliant every game," he told the club's own TV channel. "We have added quality in January – Nikica has not played much yet – but Denis is like a new signing, the raging bull up front chasing everything down and he has got himself a couple of goals. "The back four are doing fantastically – they have changed around in the last month or so – and hopefully we can have a much better second half of the season to the first. It proves what a good team we've got."

Donovan heading back to MLS

Landon Donovan would like to turn his brief taste of the Premier League with Everton into something more permanent... once he has led his LA Galaxy to more MLS success. "It would be hard to go to any other club now so if anything were to happen I would imagine it would be here at Everton," Donovan told Reuters in an interview. "I know for sure this year I'm going back to LA but we'll see. My commitment is for two more years to the Galaxy and we'll see what happens after this year ... but I would obviously welcome the opportunity to come back." The grey skies threatening to burst with rain at any moment are a reminder that while the standard of soccer in the Premier League might be a step up from the MLS, the weather in northwest England compared to Los Angeles would be anything but. But that is a minor drawback compared to the benefits of playing in Europe with new US coach Juergen Klinsmann urging his players to seek experience in the big leagues to boost the national team's prospects at major tournaments. "It's obviously not possible for everyone but that's his (Klinsmann's) desire," Donovan said. "This year's a qualifying year and next year's a qualifying year and then we've hopefully got the World Cup in 2014 so if that's something I feel I need to do leading up to the World Cup then it's something I'd consider for sure." Donovan, who spent some of his early days in Germany at Bayer Leverkusen, said that while the clock was against him as he turns 30 next month, he still had time for a move. "There is no question that as you get older your desirability to European clubs diminishes," he said. "But I still think I can perform at a high level and I think that if guys are doing it at 36, 37, then I hope I can still be doing it at 32, 33." The US have improved steadily at big tournaments, topping their group at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, and Donovan said making it past the group stage was now a realistic goal in all competitions. Donovan would dearly love the chance to help his country bid for Olympic success at London 2012 and hopes to be picked as one of three over-age players allowed to participate if his team qualify. "I had the chance in 2000 to go to Sydney and it was one of the best experiences of my life so if I have the opportunity, especially given it's in London, I think it would be a lot of fun and I would love to go," he said. "I do think more players should do this if possible," said Everton's on-loan midfielder. "I think it benefits our players a lot and they can learn a lot from these experiences. "Although the level of the MLS has got better and better there is no arguing what the level is here in the Premier League and having the chance to see guys up close every day is important. "For me the opportunity to learn from a captain who has been a captain for a long time in Phil Neville will help me when I go back to captain the Galaxy. Things like that are priceless and we should take advantage of them." Donovan, who returns to Los Angeles later this month, said the Galaxy's priorities this season would be to do well in the CONCACAF Champions League and retain the MLS Cup. He said he would return to the US champions fully fit and feeling confident due to his Everton experience although there was one thing he would have to do when he got back. "I'll just have to remember to take my foot off the gas a little bit when I get home," he said. "The pace of the game here ... is so frantic. The game will probably slow down a little for me."

Dogged Everton power past Chelsea

David Moyes insists he has not taken Everton as far as he can and hopes to still be the club's manager when new investment is finally found. He has been mooted as a contender to take charge at Tottenham Hotspur, if Harry Redknapp leaves White Hart Lane at the end of the season to become England coach. However, rather than jump ship to North London, Moyes wants the Toffees to emulate the progress Tottenham have made in recent years, providing chairman Bill Kenwright can secure fresh investment. "I take pride in the fact that it's only in the last 10 years that Everton have really come back to life," Moyes told The People. "The history of Everton has been great but I think in the decade I've been here I have established us as a top 10 Premier League club. "I don't want to leave this club then see someone else come in and get the chance to do all the things I've dreamed I could do here with the right investment." "It's been an incredible 10 years and I wouldn't swap them for all the difficulties we have had. Over most of those years we have been consistently competing against Tottenham but the last couple of years that has changed because of the investment they've made at Spurs. "So it's my belief and hope that I will still be in the building when our time comes to make the same change Spurs have done. "My chairman Bill Kenwright will need investment to make that happen and he is out there looking for it. But that prospect keeps me going here. Because I want the chance to be able to take Everton where Tottenham have gone. "I don't want to leave this club then see someone else come in and get the chance to do all the things I've dreamed I could do here with the right investment." He added: "I will know when I have taken the club as far as I can and I would hate to think I would overstay my welcome here at Everton. I hope I'd never be hanging around like a bad smell. "I don't think it's quite that yet. The supporters can see what we are trying to do, even though we are in a bit of a transitional period."

Fresh faces provide a welcome boost

Leighton Baines believes Everton's business during the January transfer window has given everyone at the club a lift. The Merseysiders are now unbeaten in four league games and Baines believes the fresh faces have provided a welcome boost. "I think [January's transfer dealings] lifted everyone associated with the club, it certainly did from what we see within the club, it gave everyone a boost," explained Baines. "It was massive, in particular, what that 24 hours did for us with the two new lads coming in (on deadline day) and the win over Manchester City. "We needed it and it does lift people. It is hard to articulate exactly why that is at times but to get the new bodies in really helped. "It was a productive period for the club and we certainly feel as though we are on the up again."

Everton FC fan group Trust Everton launches plan to buy club’s £15m Finch Farm training ground Read More http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/everton-fc/everton-fc-news/2012/02/08/everton-fc-fan-group-trust-everton-launches-plan-to-buy-club-s-15m-finch-farm-training-ground-100252-30287313/?#ixzz1lt1Tg7c5

A GROUP of Everton FC fans want to become landlords of the club’s Finch Farm training ground by using supporter donations to buy the £15m complex. The idea, which has the backing of shadow health secretary and Goodison Park season-ticket holder Andy Burnham, has been received with interest by club officials who have already met with the Trust Everton group. Everton FC currently rent their 55-acre training base after selling it to ROM Capital for around £2million in 2007, but last October ROM announced they wanted to sell. Now one of the men behind Trust Everton, web entrepreneur Tony I’Anson, is trying to gauge interest in the proposal with an online survey. Tony, 42, said: “Everton has a long history of firsts in football. This could be the next – supporters of a Premier League club owning one of its main property assets. “To get the wheels in motion we need to show the current owners of Finch Farm that there is a genuine will amongst the fan base to make this happen, and that’s why we’ve set up the survey. “The training ground is currently owned by a third party finance company who’ve put it on the market. “The logic is that someone has to own it, and at the moment the club is paying rent, and that money will continue to disappear. “Ideally Trust Everton would buy Finch Farm using subscription-based memberships and other sources of finance. Any surplus could then be used to finance other fixed commercial assets, for example to support the financing of a stadium redevelopment. “We see it as a positive move where the fans feel like they are really part of something. We’d be working with the current owners of the club. “But the aim is to still exist in 150 years when we are all gone, and the next generation are working with whoever owns Everton, whether it’s a local businessman or a Sheikh.” Read More http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/everton-fc/everton-fc-news/2012/02/08/everton-fc-fan-group-trust-everton-launches-plan-to-buy-club-s-15m-finch-farm-training-ground-100252-30287313/?#ixzz1lt1u0k58

Rodwell returns to full training

Jack Rodwell has returned to full training with Everton as he looks to put his latest injury nightmare behind him. The midfielder has not played since aggravating a hamstring injury just 19 minutes after appearing in the defeat by Bolton on 4th January.


Rodwell's fitness problems have interrupted what had been an encouraging campaign, but he has managed just 103 minutes of action since making his full England debut against Sweden in November.