Season 2011-12 Fan Articles
Thoughts from Craven Cottage
By Sam Hoare :: 24/10/2011
17 Comments (ğLast)
A cracking day for what turned out to be a cracking game. After for some reason parking about 10 miles from the stadium, I got to my seat in the neutral section, behind another vocal Everton fan (who would later get blamed for my loud protestations) to watch a strange game of football that we could and maybe should have lost but ended up winning 3-1.
I'm not going to give a match report as it's been done and my memory is a little hazy anyway. But here are some players analysis and thoughts.
Howard ? 8.
Made a couple of decent and crucial saves and looked relatively assured on crosses for a change. Not sure he could have done much about their goal. Always have the sneaking fear that a howler is never that far away but surely one of the better keepers in the league.
Baines ? 7
Fairly unspectacular game for Leighton. Yet to show the form of last season, perhaps due to not having a left midfielder in front of him. Was pretty solid defensively and got in a few good crosses... if nothing else, he always seems to offer movement. Something sorely lacking in the rest of the team.
Distin ? 8
Our best defender this season for me and solid again. Shackled Zamora for most the game. His partnership with Jagielka though is not exactly watertight.
Jagielka ? 6
Made some good tackles and always committed but his reading of the game seemed poor to me. Got dragged out of position a few times and got caught out by simple route one stuff between him and Hibbert. Not quite hitting the heights.
Hibbert ? 7
Tricky one because he is dogged and makes some great blocks but also his side leaked the most chances. He errs too often on the side of caution which means he allows people to get crosses and shots in. Ruiz scored with Tony backing off and Hibbert totally lost him again for a good chance in the last 5 mins (watch the MotD highlights to see how he just let Ruiz in behind him). He did put in a few good crosses to be fair but for me the Hibbert-Jagielka side of our defense looks leaky.
Neville ? 6
Works hard off the ball but has far too little quality on it to play in centre mid. Gave endless balls away including a 6-yard simple pass to Hibbert that he hit right off the pitch under no pressure. We improved dramatically after he was subbed.
Fellaini ? 8
I thought he was pretty immense. Won tackles, is always available for the ball, and nearly always tries to take it down onto the deck and move it on quickly. He's far from perfect, he's not quick and he does over-complicate at times but covered a lot of ground, won a lot of headers and was mostly tidy.
Rodwell ? 9
Probably being a little generous but thought he had his best game for a long while, particularly in the second half. Pressed well, tackled well, rarely gave the ball away, and seemed more determined to make something happen. He has the ability to pick the ball up and run with it from the centre... he did this a few times and made good space. Also got a good goal and and an assist. More of the same please.
Osman ? 5
Not a wide man, this much is clear... but, even so, his dawdling on the ball and consequent lying on the floor after being tackled is so frustrating!!! Did very little either defensively or offensively.
Drenthe ? 9; MotM
What a breath of fresh air! Pace, trickery, ambition and the desire to shoot on sight. His first touch was a rocket of a goal and he seemed enthused from then onwards. He didn't always track back and got caught on the ball a few times but so what. He's a genuine winger with speed and touch and one of the only players who looked to make something happen out of nothing. Also, his desire to beat the bigger man for the flick on for Saha's goal, I liked that very much.
Velios ? 6
I felt a bit sorry for him; he was hugely isolated and didn't get much service but even so I would have expected to see him come off in buckets of sweat. Could maybe have chased a few more lost causes to boost the crowd. Mostly tidy when the ball came to him and beat Hangeland for few headers. Will be back and better hopefully.
Subs
Saha ? 8
Looked pretty sharp. Scored one and nearly had 2 or 3. Stay in this form and fitness and he is clearly a potent striker. And by God ? how we need one of those.
Cahill ? 7
Hustle and bustle as always. Have a feeling super sub may be his best position at the moment as his goal threat seems a little diminished.
Coleman ? 7 Made a few good runs. Is probably possessed of more enthusiasm than natural talent and was not quite as quick as i though he might be but still brings balance and width unlike Osman. I though with him and Drenthe on the wings and Rodwell and Fellaini in the middle was when we looked by far our most complete and effective offensively.
Moyes- 7
Really we have to thank Zamora and his missed open goal for the 3 points but, to be fair, Moyes's subs made the difference and we came away with 3 points from a tricky place. We are 3 points off 7th with a game in hand. It could be worse.
However my strongest observation from the game was the amount of times we gave the ball away with punts to no-one. Initially I blamed the players in question... usually Neville or Hibbert but then realised it was down in part to a lack of options.
There is a startling lack of movement and ambition in our team. By ambition, I mean that no-one seems to want the ball. If you watch players like David Silva, Fabregas, Xavi etc, then when they don't have the ball they are constantly moving in tandem with their team-mates to create space. It's not so much that players in good teams are always making incredible passes as it is that those around them are presenting feasible options.
Our players seem allergic to the ball and are happy to stay still or jog closely to one of the opposition when we have the ball. This results in long, useless punts forward and is both depressing and frustrating to watch. So memo to Moyes... get the players moving. Get them to want to the ball. Constantly. A bit like Drenthe yesterday. Otherwise we are stuck in mediocresville for a while longer.
Reader Comments (17)
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2 Posted 24/10/2011 at 19:00:01
3 Posted 24/10/2011 at 19:04:29
Also, they are surrounded by some of the best players in Europe/the World.
Everton on the other hand have Leon and Phil. That is the reality and that is why you are unlikely to see them play like Barcelona or Man City anytime soon however you and I both might want them to.
4 Posted 24/10/2011 at 19:19:25
There was a case in point yesterday in the first half where Rodwell carried the ball all the way down the left side, ran into a wall of three white shirts and then threw his hands up to his teammates as if to ask, "where's the support, lads?"
Good teams have players who keep moving to provide space and options. Everton is not a team that does that consistently, if hardly ever at all since Pienaar left. He was one player who was always buzzing, looking for the next pass.
5 Posted 24/10/2011 at 19:32:35
Conor- Lyndon beat me to it. Not expecting Neville to beat three players and chip the keeper. Just to keep moving into space and showing for the ball. Admittedly easier said than done.
6 Posted 24/10/2011 at 19:29:04
I'm almost convinced that it is a zonal-type of Moyes tactic that makes us appear rigid and frozen to the spot when trying to move play forwards?
7 Posted 24/10/2011 at 19:26:37
We really miss Pienaar type player; the little I've seen of Barkley looks promising... I just hope he gets a few more run-outs.
8 Posted 24/10/2011 at 20:07:08
9 Posted 24/10/2011 at 22:53:59
Watching the RS and our team brought home how much quicker that shower are in off the ball movement. Against Fulham it was very noticeable that only Fellaini and Drenthe consistently made themselves available.
10 Posted 25/10/2011 at 00:13:46
Part of the problem is that equally we dont have players with vision. Rodwell is virtually blindfolded in games and its the same with Neville. Neither sees the easy ten yard pass forward and wont pick up on players moving in space, they just dont see it. Coleman is the same mainly cos he has his head down too much.
Rodwell though is particularly weak in this area and can kill us off in games because he lacks speed of thought (granted he was better on sat).
I agree Dick F, Fellaini despite his shortcomings is constantly available for the ball, hes always the 'out' in the middle of the park
11 Posted 25/10/2011 at 00:29:28
Ronaldo left not for money. Man Utd would've paid him. He left scoring 30-40 goals while steadily getting the shit kicked out of him for 40-how many goals with his body intact in La Minor Liga.
12 Posted 25/10/2011 at 01:19:17
And the Premier League isn't horseshit? Coz, from the matches I see, the standard in the Premier League isn't much...
13 Posted 25/10/2011 at 05:17:44
Hell I think most teams have struggled against Fulham at Craven Cottage because they can block the center of the pitch and make it difficult for the full backs to attack, which is how Everton get most of their attacks going.
14 Posted 25/10/2011 at 09:04:15
15 Posted 25/10/2011 at 09:09:04
16 Posted 25/10/2011 at 17:17:19
I must say I have been quite impressed with Ruddy since he had a run of games and why we let him go beats me....to bring in Hahneman and McFadden totally mystifies me when we are supposed to be short of money. Surely it would have made more sense to pay that money to Pienaar instead of letting him go for a pittance.
Now we have lost Arteta who was the player he supposedly wanted parity with? I truly cannot understand the decisions that have been made of late.. .we need to have a lot of luck injury wise to blunder through this season.
It's a good job we are not in Europe!
17 Posted 26/10/2011 at 02:47:54
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1 Posted 24/10/2011 at 17:26:33
a. hoofing it out of defence - giving the ball back to the opposition
b. playing the ball sideways or backwards in midfield - allowing the opposition to get back and re-organise
The amount of times I've screamed at the telly ? knowing full well they can't frickin hear me. Frustrating and costing us dearly