ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

A tricky draw

Anyone who thinks we've had an easy draw for the Uefa Cup group stage needs to think again. Yes, we're all glad we've avoided the likes of Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid and Fiorentina (not to mention Villarreal), but the actual opponents we will face could prove just as troublesome.

Larissa might appear to be the easiest on paper, but as mentioned previously, knocked out a strong Blackburn side who outplayed us at Goodison earlier this season.

As for the others, Zenit have the highest budget of any club in the Russian league, and an experienced coach in Dick Advocaat (formerly of Rangers and the Dutch national team). They don't have too many big names but Turkish striker Fatih Tekke and nippy Argentine Alejandro Dominguez could spell danger, along with Russian Andrei Arshavin.

AZ are indeed having a poor start to the Dutch season. However, they are staking a claim to make Holland's 'Big Three' and 'Big Four' (and are arguable superior to Feyenoord at the moment). Their star is coach Louis van Gaal, formerly of Barcelona and Ajax, but Belgian midfielder Maarten Martens is a potential star. An up-and-coming side.

FC Nurnberg won the German Cup and have Greek striker Angelos Charisteas to threaten us with. None of these teams will give us an easy ride and we will have to work hard to progress (and then probably draw a Champions League dropout team and get stuffed).

Enjoy the rollercoaster!
Chris Marks, St Albans Posted 10/10/2007 at 13:51:09

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Comments

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Martin Wallace
1 Posted 10/10/2007 at 15:10:27

You’re not wrong (as they say) but as far as draws and the fixture line up go, we’ve gotten off real easy.

So if we don’t progress we need to ask ourselves why we’re even in there.

I hope it sparks a recognition of the benefits of passing the ball.

glen strachan
2 Posted 10/10/2007 at 15:27:40

Intriguing post Chris and since we are all surely agreed that the big teams go to the ’big cup’ or Champions League the second rate sides play out the UEFA Cup.

Has Everton slipped back so far that you believe we are not likely to take one of the three qualifying places from a group of five sides that include no Italian ,French, Scottish or Spanish sides ?

Spin has become the trend of our times but spin this draw in any way you like and is still about as easy as it could have been , given the seedings involved.

You might be right , Chris............maybe we are just not good enough for this kind of second rate competition ............the next few months will tell if Everton has fallen from grace as sharply as you seem to believe.

Jeez...........I certainly hope you are wrong about that !

Chris Marks
3 Posted 10/10/2007 at 16:02:55

AZ were UEFA Cup semi-finalists three years ago. Aside of the strengths I mentioned earlier, they have several full Dutch internationals and play an impressive, attacking passing game.

Nurnberg are the cup holders in one the strongest leagues in Europe. (Forget the French league, Germany is probably the third strongest now).

I would expect Zenit to play the same, quick, short passing style that Metalist tore us to pieces with, only with better players.

To counteract this negativity, I would say that both Nurnberg and AZ have made poor starts to their respective seasons, Russian teams traditionally travel pooely and EFC have some of their best players still to return. Plus, we’re learning all the time.

In terms of your final point, Everton have fallen far enough that they have only finished in the top half four times since 1990. That’s not the pedigree we’re used to, but it is the reality of how the rest of the continent sees us. We have to earn our place at the top table, and nothing we’ve done in Europe in the last three years suggests we’re about to achieve that.

Tony Marsh
4 Posted 10/10/2007 at 16:12:27

Its as easy as we could get and we dont play Zenit.We play the best two teams Larrisa and Petersburgh at home and the easy two away but that wont matter one bit if we go about it like we did against Kharkiv.Top 3 go through so if we fail then />it will be an embarrssing disaster.Hoof it and we are out .Play in to feet and keep possesion then who knows.

Chris Lawlor
5 Posted 10/10/2007 at 16:43:54

Having been to the Larissa v Rovers game in Greece, I can tell you that the Greeks will provide the sternest test of our group. They played a poor Blackburn out in Greece, but that said, they poured forward for every attack and had big defenders at the back well marshalled by a competent keeper. Everton as we all know dont play attractive football, and this is where we will come unstuck against Europe’s supposed lesser teams, simply because our style of football is easily countered and easily outplayed. If ever there was a necessity for Moyes and the boys to play the ball on the deck this is it. Will they do it? What do you think....

Stefan Tosev
6 Posted 10/10/2007 at 16:34:41

Tony a bit confused here, I agree that its good to play Zenit at home, I disagree about Larissa, they are the worst team in our group.

We should challenge with AZ and Zenit for the 3 spots,we can always find an excuses but we have to trough. End of

Gavin Harris
7 Posted 10/10/2007 at 17:06:58

"the Greeks will provide the sternest test of our group."

Well the bookies have made them the least unlikely to go through and try telling me that bookies dont know what they are taking about?

Michael Newton
8 Posted 10/10/2007 at 18:11:48

This UEFA cup is confusing if the top 3 in 8 groups go through that is 24 teams, if the 3rd place Champions League join them that is a last 32. I presume you have a knock out at this stage.
If that is so the UEFA Cup is one very difficult Cup to win. Is the knockout stage 2 legs?
Anyone knowing the logistics of this competition please enlighten me.

karl masters
9 Posted 10/10/2007 at 18:32:28

Michael, you suppose right. 8 lots of 3 plus 8 from the Champions League makes 32, playin g 16 two-legged knockout ties in early March I believe.

Could be lots of games to come. It’s not going to be easy to win it, but I reckon we’ll make the last 32 and then we would have to win that tie and another 3 two legged games to make the final. If we won it that would total 15 games for the season!! Only played 2 so far so a long, long way to go. :)

Nick Wall
10 Posted 10/10/2007 at 19:16:10

On paper AZ and Zenit are the most dangerous threats. AZ almost qualified for the CL last season, and Zenit are on the verge of doing so this season. But all our opponents are there on merit. Nurnberg and Larissa have shown cup fighting success that belies their league positions. So no, it’s not an easy group, but we’ve got to believe that we’re good enough to comfortably make the top 3. COYB !!!

Neil McKinney
11 Posted 10/10/2007 at 20:03:38

Good reasoning, but I’m sure that if you did the same with the other groups it would make scarier reading.

There’s no doubt that we cannot afford to underestimate any of these teams, as Nick says above "all our opponents are there on merit", a cliche but as true a statement as you’re likely to get. Having supported Everton for 25+ years I have learned to take nothing for granted, but if we are ever going to get some European experience then this draw has given us a great chance.

Bring em on! COYB!!

Roy coyne
12 Posted 10/10/2007 at 21:19:49

I am looking foward to meeting the R/S in the knockout stage.If we cant get in the top three some thing or someone is wrong

Neil Pearse
13 Posted 11/10/2007 at 07:41:39

After the debacle against Metalist, what you are saying must be true Chris. Yes, we might be creamed against good second rate European opposition (or third rate if you put Barcelona et al in the first category).

Perhaps that’s realistically where we now stand. In European terms we are trying to break into tier three of the pecking order. To be able to compete with the Zenits and AZ Almaars of the European scene. Then on to the Anderlechts and the Fiorentinas.

Personally, I think this is an excellent test of Moyes and whether he really can ’take Everton to the next level’. If we don’t get out of this group - one of the easiest we really could have hoped for, even if it is not easy - then I feel that at the end of the season someone else should be given a chance.

If we can’t compete in Tier 3 Europe, we won’t be able to hang on to the likes of Lescott and Arteta. It is that important.

neil hampton
14 Posted 12/10/2007 at 03:08:50

erm arn’t we the 6th best team in the EPL?? Why the inferiority complex?? I bet the other teams in our group are thinking oh sh1t we’ve drawn a good English team oh fu*k!!!!! We need to believe - come on fellow blues!!!!