Malaga v Everton

Michael Kenrick , 11 August, 28comments | Jump to most recent

Kick off: 8:00 pm BST

Everton's preseason schedule draws to a close with a trip to Andalusia to take on Malaga. The game will be broadcast online at evertontv with a kick-off time of 8:00 pm. Phil Neville believes the challenge of taking on Malaga is the ideal preparation for the team.

“Against AEK Athens we had more energy and you could see that in our play,” said the Everton skipper. “But Malaga will provide the quality opposition that we need.

“We need a good test going into the season. We have played some decent teams but a sterner test away from home, where we are going to have to concentrate, will stand us in good stead for the Man United game.”

That view was echoed by Hibbert, who said: “We have still got one more game before Man United and some of the lads still need to get a game under the belts. We are still working on our sharpness but I think we are getting closer.

“I don't think the manager will play his starting line-up against Malaga, it'll be trying to get the fitness up to a proper Premier League standard. Malaga will give us a chance to do that.”

Malaga have risen to prominence in the Spanish league since being bought by billionaire Sheikh Abdullah Al-Thani in 2010. But having finished fourth in La Liga last season, it emerged cashflow problems meant players had been unpaid and transfer fees remained outstanding with a number of clubs.

It meant Malaga have been forced to sell star players, among whom was new Arsenal signing Santi Cazorla.

Quotes or other material sourced from Liverpool Daily Post

Reader Comments (28)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer

Chris James
1 Posted 11/08/2012 at 10:34:36

I think we can expect to see a lot of subs in second half and our players getting a very good sweat on - it's going to be insanely hot in Andalusia at this time of year.

Sam Hoare
2 Posted 11/08/2012 at 10:59:37

See that Liverpool have bought Allen. I know that we should be concentrating on ourselves but a bit worried they are going to be alot better this season. Hope not but think Rodgers might get the best out of them and Allen is a very tidy Iniesta-esque player. Sorry.

Kevin Day
3 Posted 11/08/2012 at 11:14:13

Bollocks to that lot across the park Sam, Allen is a good player, but he will not single handedly transform them, if he was that good, the Man U's etc would of signed him, no one else even took an interest bar Spurs.

Phil Sammon
4 Posted 11/08/2012 at 11:39:26

Rodgers is a good manager but the Liverpool fans will be straight on his back the minute things don't go well.

Allen is a decent player but can do nothing on his own. He needs players around him who will give and go. I can't see it working for him. Charlie Adam was a good player before he went to the RS.

Anyway, who bloody cares? Let's concentrate on the blues.

Jim Knightley
5 Posted 11/08/2012 at 12:07:01

Allen is an ok player...he is never in a million years a 15million pound player. I saw him a fair bit last season, and live at the olympics in a couple of matches recently, and he is tidy, but not brilliant. To mention him in the same breath as Iniesta is football blasphemy. The money would have been better spent on Cazorla, or Michu, or other foreign talent. But when you buy British, you pay double the amount.

Liverpool are the biggest wasters of money in the premierleague, and that's what annoys me. Theyve spent 35mil on Carroll, 20mil on Downing, and thereabouts on Henderson, 15m now on Allen, 20m on Aqualani. They should with their spending power be fighting for the title, but they've wasted it all, and now Gerrard and Carragher are at the end of their careers, and they are no longer a top club. It annoys me, because if we had half of their money, I generally think we would be regular Champions League place contenders, and secured at least one trophy. But hey-ho.

Malaga should be a test...and also a shop window (if we can find some money), because they are one of the very few (if any?) high profile teams with worse financial problems than us. Hopefully we can get a few of our top stars, especially those who participated in the Euros, nearer match fitness. Would like to see the team who will start the game against United play, baring injuries, although the right mid of midfield is still going to be an issue. Could we play a diamond to counter the lack of a genuine right sided player? probaly not, but we need to sort something out, because it will hold us back next season.

SWP on loan? I know most of you will probaly think he is past it, but imo, he is one of the only genuine and pacey right sided players who I think we could bring in on loan.

James Martin
6 Posted 11/08/2012 at 12:23:18

Should be a good test although would have preferred another home game. A European trip so close to the start of the premier league is the sort of excuse these modern day players will make for not being at full fitness. I saw signs of a diamond formation in action against Blackpool before a reversion to the standard 4231 against Athens. I think the diamond is a formation that works well in Europe but not so much in the premier league where teams will just try and get it wide at every opportunity and sling it in.

Jim Knightley
7 Posted 11/08/2012 at 12:31:11

Yeah, I remember Chelsea trying it because of the lack of a geniune right sided midfield player, and it didn't work very well. I suppose we would play a holding mid, three central mids (Pienarr left, Fellaini central, Osman right), and then Naismith behind Jelavic, or up top with him if need be.

We really need to get in a couple of attacking players on loan, to enable us to play with wide men, and to improve our options. At the moment, our first eleven is pretty impressive, save for one or two positional issues, but we have a weak bench.

Nelly Verdonghan
8 Posted 11/08/2012 at 12:42:09

Jim...I believe a decent wide right sided player should be our priority in the transfer market

Steve Brown
9 Posted 11/08/2012 at 13:10:10

I don't want us to buy a right sided midfielder as I want Ross Barkley to play there this season.

Paul David
10 Posted 11/08/2012 at 13:12:53

I believe the formation best suited for the players we have is 4-3-3. Three players in the middle of the park which Moyes wants with Pienaar and Naismith playing as inside forwards off Jelavic.

Ray Roche
11 Posted 11/08/2012 at 14:00:42

Jim Knightley @734

"Liverpool are the biggest wasters of money in the Premier League" ... "and they are no longer a top club"

Great, innit...

Stu Gore
12 Posted 11/08/2012 at 14:12:41

Bit worried about Barkley. He still insists on doing that "I'm good at football, look at me"-turn where he shapes to go wide while protecting the ball and then turns back on himself infield. That makes you look dead good.... at school. I feel he will lose the ball a lot this season. Not having a go, just hoping it's not his only trick.

Jay Harris
13 Posted 11/08/2012 at 14:49:53

There is a chinese whisper doing the rounds at the moment that we are in for Matt Phillips of Blackpool and that Coleman going the other way (possibly on loan) is part of the deal.

Steve #738 I have to fundamentally disagree with you there.

IMO Ross Barkley will never make a right wing MF player.

I think his ideal position (which is where we should be playing people) is centre mid just behind the forwards but it looks like Moyesy has already decided on Felli for that role.

again IMO he is a solid (Physically) version of Ossie albeit less experienced.

Mike Powell
14 Posted 11/08/2012 at 16:10:32

Why are you talking about who the Shite have signed on here??? We want no more talk off those deluded clowns on here. Barkley might need to go out on loan; what I have seen in preseason, he is not ready for the first team yet. Here's hoping I am wrong though.

Keith Glazzard
15 Posted 11/08/2012 at 16:34:06

Chris James - its 40C (that's 103F in old money) in Malaga at the moment. By kick-off it might be down to about 35C, but you'r right, it will be a sweat box out there. And we are bound to be using subs.

I'd much rather see us using close to a starting line-up for most of a game. Seems unlikely to happen though.

And think of the travelling faithful. Some of them must have walked out of the AC into the heat today and wondered wtf hit them. But I suppose a cold San Miguel is never too far away.

Mark Riding
16 Posted 11/08/2012 at 17:16:06

Jay, I suggested such a swop on here the other week, got shot down as Coleman was our young player of the year etc. etc.
I like the lad, but I cant see him making the swop to full back sucessfully as a prem player, and thats got to be where his future lies with us. He would need a good run at playing full back, and to be allowed to make the necessary mistakes. Is that with us ? Hope so, but doubt it.
As for Rogers, his mind will be elsewhere come January.. as he is a family man !

Paul Gladwell
17 Posted 11/08/2012 at 17:22:07

Paul, I think you are dead right with that formation and I would be pretty happy with it too, Osman,Gibson and Fellaini in the middle with Pienaar and Naismith wide slipping inside, it looked that way the other night and worked well, the problem is the bench, that formation would suit Rodwell if he pulled his finger out to warrant an England call up.

Tom Bowers
18 Posted 11/08/2012 at 17:47:06

Chances are that what we have now will be the squad we have until January with only Naismith as the new aquisition. Hopefully they get off to a good start unlike previous seasons. Cahill was an enigma last season with his lack of goals that we had become acustomed to despite his all round effort but I see Naismith being a good foil for Jelavic. The Malaga game will further sharpen the fitness and hopefully we have a full squad to choose from against Manure.

It's midfield that has to be sorted out soon as that't were games are won or lost in my opinion. We have a good blend of experience and youth to choose from so Moyes should be able to keep a strong formation no matter who the midfielders are. Would dearly love to see Rodwell and Barkley force their way into the starting eleven as I believe they are stronger than the likes of Osman when it comes to a real battle.

Only time will tell.

Jay Harris
19 Posted 11/08/2012 at 14:49:53

There is a chinese whisper doing the rounds at the moment that we are in for Matt Phillips of Blackpool and that Coleman going the other way (possibly on loan) is part of the deal.

Steve #738 I have to fundamentally disagree with you there.

IMO Ross Barkley will never make a right wing MF player.

I think his ideal position (which is where we should be playing people) is centre mid just behind the forwards but it looks like Moyesy has already decided on Felli for that role.

again IMO he is a solid (Physically) version of Ossie albeit less experienced.

Paul Gladwell
20 Posted 11/08/2012 at 19:23:49

Tom,I have seen Osman have some great games against the bigger teams over the past two seasons and have not saw Rodwell offer anything against lesser teams for us to warrant that shout of yours.

Al Reddish
21 Posted 11/08/2012 at 19:26:56

Links: www.marca.com/mutimedia/directo/marcatv.html. Or so I am told!

James Martin
22 Posted 11/08/2012 at 19:36:44

OS is indicating that Fellaini is not in the starting line up or on the bench.

Ben Jones
23 Posted 11/08/2012 at 19:37:57

I saw the same as well James, actually hope its an injury, otherwise its not good, not good, not good.

John Crawley
24 Posted 11/08/2012 at 19:23:55

Stu - My only worry about Barkley is Moyes playing him!
If you look at him the other night he always make himself available for a pass, as soon as he's layed the ball off he's in space again to receive it back. He's will only get better if he gets played. I agree with Jay his best position looks to be where Moyes is playing Fellaini.

James Martin
25 Posted 11/08/2012 at 19:46:18

The OS isn't specifying an injury for Fellaini, only that he isn't featuring. Surely he's not being rested? he's one of the players who seems to take longer to get to top form and fitness than the others so could do with the games.

John Crawley
26 Posted 11/08/2012 at 19:48:41

Fellaini must be injured otherwise he'd be starting. Hopefully the EVERTON TV commentary will shed some light on the situation

John Nugent
27 Posted 11/08/2012 at 19:38:18

http://www.vipbox.tv/watch/67200/1/malaga-vs-everton-live-stream-online.html

Try that just before 8.00

Viv Sharma
28 Posted 11/08/2012 at 20:05:51

does anyone know the caliber of malaga at the moment? are they still expected to challenge for cL in La Liga this season? and therefore; are we expecting to win this?

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.

About these ads