ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

Cheap!!!

I thought we gave the ball away cheeply, Yakubu being the main culprit, Arteta's decision-making was awful, mainly holding on too long when he should have played it... and how many balls were played in straight into Van der Sar's arms?

Arteta and Baines were guilty of this although I felt Baines was man of the match. I also noticed that everytime a loose ball dropped into the centre of midfield there were 2-3 red shirts there and no blue; pains me to say it but that is where Carsley is useful. That said, if Yobo had pulled that ball back instead of trying to be Ganfranco Zola we could have had a share of the spoils and although we were shite lets face it so were they, A FREE HEADER FROM A CORNER FFS.

BTW all the no voters: shame on you, if that was the protest then we're going to Kirkby without a wimper. I for one will no longer talk about it as quite clearly there are not enough of us serious about stopping it.
Rich Jones, Deeside Posted 16/09/2007 at 09:46:38

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Michael Kenrick

Intersting no-one has mentioned this, so I will. Bolton, Sept 1: dying minutes of a game with Draw written all over it. Visiting side gets a corner, swung in with pace, defenders leap en masse to defend but an opposing centre-back muscles his way in at the far post and buries it, stealing all three points. (Sound familiar?)

Cut to Sept 15, Goodison Park. Rewind and replay above, but at the near post. Only this time (supposedly) it was "a soft goal", "a free haeader from a corner". I'd say the amount of work done by Lescott and Vidic was about the same. If you get in at the right place and the right time on the end of the right delivery, it's yours. Yes, it's a set-piece, but I thought Lescott's determination demonstrated how impossible it is to defend against the perfectly executed in-swinging corner. Vidic just underlined that.

Mark Stone
1 Posted 16/09/2007 at 16:03:39

I couldn’t agree more Michael - it’s not just inswinging corners that are impossible to defend - those inswinging free kicks from the corner of the penalty area are a even worse.

Every time we concede one (usually by Phil Neville) I hide behind my hands till it’s over. When we win one have our own Arteta send to row Z

John Holmes
2 Posted 16/09/2007 at 17:06:59

I actually think they had it right on MotD. Hibbert should have been across to head it behind in front of Vidic. Not a massive mistake on his part, he wasn’t far off making contact but it’s those little things that cost you points.

Ray Robinson
3 Posted 16/09/2007 at 19:14:19

I’m not on a Hibbert witch hunt though I do think he is almost entirely sub premiership standard, but if he’d moved off the post towards the ball as soon as it became clear that the ball was going near post, then at the very least he might have put Vidic off.

But you do have to agree that some corners are nigh on undefendable. Far more worrying was the corner in the first half that he allowed the attacker to win at the back post who fortunately headed straight into Wessels’s hands.

He is a good defender but only in the tackling sense. Positionally and in the air he is very weak. And I’ll say nothing more about his distribution!

Despite all that, yesterday’s was not his worst game by far. He did reasonably well, I thought.

Terry"marsbar"Maddock
4 Posted 16/09/2007 at 19:32:24

Just watched "The last word2 on Sky sports with Andy Gray giving analysis of the Vidic goal..and in all honesty its a cracker..
At 1st glance I blamed hibbert..but he goes for the ball..Yobo goes with the man ..but the run , jump and execution of the header are all total class..
my revised opinion is this...you can find a way in hindsight to have stopped every goal..but some you cant legislate for.(see MK’s headnote)..this was one of those times..roll on Thursday COYB

Paul Kish
5 Posted 17/09/2007 at 02:53:53

No doubt it was a good corner, but despite having an outstanding game in the heart of our defence, Yobo switched off for a second and then couldn’t catch Vidic when he made his run.

I may be a bit harsh here, but the player who was supposedly guarding the post possibly could have done more too.

Rich Jones
6 Posted 17/09/2007 at 07:16:18

Im sorry Mike, I felt Vidic was not harried enough ie noneone got between him and the ball. Basics of defending from a deadball situation really!!

Mark Stone
7 Posted 17/09/2007 at 13:28:38

Maybe - alternatively basics of attacking a deadball situation - get there before the defender. Whether it was bad defending or great attacking it happens week in week out in the premiership, and la liga and serie a. I don’t think Hibbo is that bad. By Neville’s own admission last season Hibbo is the best right back at Everton.

Mark Stone
8 Posted 17/09/2007 at 13:31:39

No-one has mentioned this though - Hibbo isn’t the biggest lad. Shouldn’t Yobo or Lescott been marking Vidic and Hibbo on Evra or someone.