Fingers crossed, toes crossed, everything crossed. I am happy that it is a Sunday, happy its on Sultana TV, like the Villa and shite games earlier in the competition. My grundies and socks will be the same, yes I have washed them, same top, same jeans, same trip to the match, superstitious, you bet I am.
Moyesy though is taking it all in his stride, and as always injury worries are top of his mind. Tiny, Leon and Peanuts all have had to put their feet up since Wednesdays bore draw against Blackburn as they are nursing slight knocks. Hibbo has joined the long term absentees looking for space on Basil's treatment table, but his diagnosis is slightly better than his team mates. Screech's back is playing up, and I suppose that is no surprise with the weight he is carrying on his head. Jo is cup tied, so Louis should partner Tiny up front, with the back four of The Jag, Bainsey, Roger and Joey hopefully carrying on in protecting Tim's goal.
So it seems the midfield is the problem area, and fingers crossed they all come through their fitness tests, but remember we now have Jack the Lad, and goal hero against the shite, Dan G Laaa to call on. If all fit, I am sure Moyesy will go with his most experienced line up, as we attempt to reach Wembley for the first time since 1995.
If the Blues reach the Semi's, it will be their twenty fifth appearance in the Worlds Premier Cup Competition (got to say that as we have a chance of winning it). If we do do it, it will be the hard way, Macclesfield apart, we have beaten Premiership opposition along the way. Form is good for us, still unbeaten at Goodison since early December 2008, and ironically our last visit to the last eight of the FA Cup was back in 2002, against Boro, losing 3-0 in Walter Smiths last match. COYB
Moyesy says: "Tim Cahill, Leon Osman and Steven Pienaar haven't trained since the game on Wednesday night. But I'm hopeful they will all be back training tomorrow. When I saw Ossie getting hit in the head the other night, I was thinking it was just our luck that he would have a fractured skull or something. But what I will say it that the players have coped really well, whoever I've put in, they have bonded together. We're not quite at the level we want to be at because of that, but the players understand, I hope the supporters do as well and we want them to be patient on Sunday - hopefully we can all get through together. He (Screech) has had a back problem. He actually cracked a small bone in his back so I'm hoping that he's going to be okay. I think it should be basically what we had before. Jo is cup-tied, but I think everyone else is roughly back.
There have been a lot of disappointments here in the past - I'd like to put that right. I want to give them something that they can get excited by, so we're looking forward to getting through. But the draws in this competition have been really tough for us. There have been years when we've had difficult draws, and this year is one of those. Luckily enough for us we've got through those ties against Liverpool and Aston Villa and now we have another Premier League team - Middlesbrough.
We can't take anything for granted, but I think there are signs that we are improving in the cups. Last year we got to the semi-final in the League Cup, we had a decent run in the Uefa Cup, so there are one or two signs that we are improving. Middlesbrough will have the Premier League in mind. The Cup could take the pressure of them though because you don't feel that at the end of the game you have to check the league table to see where you lie, so I suppose that does make it easier." (07/03/09)
Everton from: Howard, Jagielka, Lescott, Yobo, Baines, Osman, Cahill, Fellaini, Rodwell, Neville, Pienaar, Gosling, Saha, Nash, Van der Meyde, Castillo, Jacobsen, Baxter, Wallace.
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