Superb Everton power to Villa Park win

Now we have about 10 games that are all winnable, blimey, if injuries stay at bay we should be near the top come Dec! (I know I know, only two games etc etc).

Only downer was that f'k up by Howard, cost Baines points in my fantasy league team! Swerved I know, but he should have saved that. Still didn't cost us in the end so no harm done.

2 games 6 points - I'll take soma dat!!

we're gonna win the league, we're gonna win the league......(allow it!)

First half performance was exceptional... 3-0, 63% possession, 9 shots to 1.

Played some great football.

Once again we're hanging on to the end of the transfer window to...potentially build on the good business done earlier in the summer and compliment an already strong side...Errr

It wouldn't be so bad but the football we've been playing has been absolutely...enthralling at times, with some lovely incisive passing, plenty of variation and attacking threat from multiple angles...Oh!

Anyone else feel like pinching themselves right now?

Gotta mention. Last week watching, commentator emphasis was ManU's injury woes, this week how poorly Villa was playing.

I'm not a "woe-is-us" type, but come on already. Those 2 clubs were outplayed and defeated by a better team proving it.

Same 6 points, I guess. But a little respect is in order.

Who's next?

COYB!

End the season now thanks.

Everton are starting to swagger. From midfield upwards is looking very fluid in attack, shame Mirallas was offside but he looks like he's going to fit in well. Coleman did his Forrest Gump impression but actually looked a player for the first time in ages. Osman should keep that role in the centre. Gibson is an understated charm. Naismith looked tricky for the first half hour. Carry on like this and the blues are going to start upsetting the big spenders. Maybe need a little more depth before the window shuts as injuries are bound to knacker everything up.

Anyway the score was kept low enough to ensure the Reds stay rooted were they belong.

Villa have gone so far backwards since O'Neill ... he saw the boss was going to dry up the funds and jumped... the heady days of Young, Milner seem a long time ago...

I was happy with Naismiths match.. his first touch wasn't always great but he has been out for so long and also needs to get up to pace... but he worked hard and showed some good stuff....

Happy to continue to eat humble pie over our big Belgian. My old man always thought he'd be a real player once he filled out and could handle his strength. Not the most pleasing on the eye when he rolled in with that fee, but hey we have a real player on our hands with a 5-year contract. I can't see many sides having an answer to him.

We do need more cover for at least one or two positions.
Injuries will cause us grief if no adequate cover is available.

Methinks old miser BK will have the purse strings tight to his back pocket so long as the fans are kept happy.
We have taken in about £18 million and spent £10.5 so far.
Thats Rodders, Yobo and Cahill out and Pienaar and Marallas in.

I hope that Naismith gets fit enough to make a real impact !!
I also hope that Barkley does NOT go out on loan as he may well be needed.

Great performance though and deserved to be
more comfortable throughout.

Hopefully our new boy took note of the more physical nature of the premier league.
His you tube dance videos might have to go on hold for a little while.

Great game again today and plenty of positives.
Game time for Naismith and Marillas. Gibbo looked solid again. Felli, awesome. Baines and Pienaar clicking again. Pienaar seems to have foud his shooting boots since he came back on loan. Defence looked solid apart from Tims effort.

Its good to be blue.

I would have thought it was Grrreat!
Happy happy times.

Absolutely loving this.

Interesting to hear Moyes say he thinks the squad is still a little short! The best equipped its been in ages in my opinion. Still think middle of the park is where we are lightest. Osman and Gibbo looked solid but no-one after that unless Fella drops back which would be a shame they way he and we have been playing...

Naismith showed he's been told to get back with the defense, but showed he can't tackle. Otherwise he played ok, I think. Kevin M. did ok in the twenty some minutes he got.

Jelavic did ok except for his goal that show what an one touch genious he really is.

However, I was more surprised to see how bad Villa was. Or perhaps we made them so bad?
I'd say Villa is going to struggle to keep up this year.

Everton should with a little luck, be finishing in the top four. This is of course if we keep the rest of our players. Our good start could be a course..

How's that Nick West make you feel better?

Tim Howard was a little unlucky in that the ball did move a hell of a lot and his first reaction took him in the wrong direction (but it was where the ball was headed initially) but he should be expected to save them. If it is only an isolated incident then it won't be too much to worry about.

Felli is obviously enjoying his marauding role and it will be hard to drop him back unless Pienaar, Naismith and Mirallas make themselves automatic choices. Thought Mirallas looked okay for a first outing and showed good striking instinct even if he was fractionally offside (imo, should scrap the 'active / inactive' offside rule and go back to the 'clear daylight' one to give the benefit of the doubt to an attacker playing 'on the edge').

Have to tip my hat to Ossie who showed he can still mix it at the heart of the midfield, though I doubt Villa are amongst the strongest in that department.

We were excellent first half but its going to be a long season for the brummies.

But when I'm watching our games, I like a little balance in the commentary. All I'm asking.

We were out of this world today.....................Fact.

Lots of good to build on.....and build on we will.

SAF said Robin the Rich should have had more match time. He never told us who made the decision not to play him. What a load of bollocks.

Look with your eyes, not your ears.

Good players, playing well together. As I said, if the link up between Fellaini, Pienaar and Baines towards the end of the game had been Brazil, or a Sky team, the BBC would be showing the clip for 30 years.

On a completely different note, does anyone know what's happened to Blue Kipper? Always like to check around the sites for more good news and it seems like they've forgotten to renew their domain or something?

He's..the presence.

He seems to be a quiet, effective driving force and it means Felli can reek havoc in the ACM position

If we lose either to injury (and we will) its then that things will start to go wrong

If we can bring in another CM who can really add to the squad id be a very happy bloke, and I already am pretty happy!!!

and id have discounted Rodwell as he was never fit and seemed to totally lack in self belief for us

Regarding who is better than Howard, Hart, Vorm and I've always rated Jaaskelainen.

Well done Moyes and the boys long may it continue.

Wigan have sold Moses and have some cash. We flog em Big Vic for £5M and then put that with left over Rodwell money to buy Dembele for £10m. He's young, can play anywhere in midfield (though I would play him alongside Gibson), and would be keen to come join his countrymen. Plus he was the best player by a mile at Old Trafford today and at Fulham in the first game last week.

Everton should be allowed to show a soft spot now and then. As long as it's not too often. I believe we all rate Howard up there, among the best. I know I do.

Felliani played fantastically again, Gibson was very good (has he lost weight he looks more fit), Osman was great, Mr. One Touch was great, Mirallas I thought looked extremely effective for his first time out.

God!

Only thing that was a bit disappointing... I didn't think Naismith played particularly well. Not bad, but he got roasted once out wide and I thought he actually looked a little slow. Out of shape perhaps? I do think he will come good, but today he didn't shine.
Probably because everyone else around him is playing so well. Don't mean to be harsh.

Praying for no serious injuries. If that happens, the sky seems to be the limit.

Get well soon Sheeds.

"But he is such a complete player that Moyes must decide whether his terrifying depredations, deployed behind Nikica Jelavic, compensate for a corresponding void in front of defence. Fellaini's stats last season were just ridiculous, from distance covered to passes to tackles. The 190 occasions he won possession in midfield compared with 164 by Alex Song, No 2 in the chart."

Of course it is only an opinion, but I think this will be debated / discussed a lot this season.

As you alluded to, it is perhaps Gibson's contribution that is key to the whole thing.

Personally, I would like us all to reserve judgement until the new recruits have had a chance to properly 'bed-in' and until we have played against teams that will give us more to focus on in the middle of the park than Villa could manage today.

I think there was an element of relaxing a little bit too much late on today, which is understandable given the opposition on the day and the stage of the season, and Felli may have suffered a little from his exuberance in the attacking phases of our game.

Overall, I guess we should be grateful we do have options and trust that if one formation / selection won't suit all of our games we make the right choices for each occasion.

Really a percerptive comment about how he is not the same as a few years ago. We all get older and a bit slower. I'm sure you can't type commenst as quick as you used to..

It really bugs me when people who will only get as close to the field as a keyboard talk about WHAT they would have done or what should happen. This applies to Tim but everyone on the team that gets slagged off.

COYB from across the pond!

As unbelievable as the bloke who had a go at me in the live forum for questioning Mirallas being caught offside when he could see the whole line and had no-one near him.

De Gea had one good match against us. Not a typical De Gea display but, credit where credit is due, he had almost as good a match as Fellaini did. Maybe he's starting to come good, I don't know but right now I'll take howard.

I'm so sick of this line of thought that because "supporters" aren't paid to play, they are entitled to say or criticize whatever they want. Anyone can say anything they want. But what we have these days is a culture where people just love to criticize others who do jobs that they could never do. Everyone just loves to criticize, somehow has the answers, but for some odd reason they don't do these jobs that through the keyboard they seem to be so well qualified. Yes you're entitled to an opinion. But you not being paid hundreds of thousand to play has nothing to do with anything. That just makes you sound jealous and petulant. If Howard was only paid the salary as a policeman would you suddenly be unable to offer an opinion on him?

I wonder how we will look when the whole team is 100% sharp and fit. Villa is a bad team now, relegation is close for them, so I am looking forward to better opposition because I fell asleep during the game it was so one-way traffic.

We have a decent off-the-line start but we still have 36 more games to play.

I've watched and played enough football to know when someone has made an error. I rate Howard but he is prone to occasional errors. I don't need to be a top class keeper to make that comment.

The team is playing well. Naismith looked handy, Mirallas was pretty good in his cameo but once again the stars of our attack were Felli/Baines/Pienaar/Jeleavic. If we can keep those 4 fit and firing on all cylinders then there isn't a game between now and December that I don't fancy our chances of being able to win. If we can get Mirallas to have as much impact as Pienaar does then god help every other team in the league.

I think we can safely say that relegation isn't going to be a worry this year.

Ask Wenger and Mourinho among the most successful managers of the last 20 years yet probably wouldn't have got game for Runcorn. I wouldn't argue their judgement of a footballer.

Even at my (pub) football level every once in a while a striker hits a ball in a way that makes it move in an unexpected way through the air. When that happens you, as a keeper, are happy to get anything at all on it because you've had to readjust your position.

Howard would've been cold too having had nothing to do until that point. Call it goalies union but I think we have much bigger priorities than changing our keeper. Both Given and Jaaskelainen had howlers yesterday worse than Howard, it's the keepers curse that no matter how good you are you will always end up looking like a clown from time to time.

He was allowed to move on to further his career as he was unlikely to displace Tim Howard. In my opinion, he still would be second-choice at the moment.

Even the very best, muck up, sometimes with alarming regularity. Cech, whilst great for the majority of Chelsea's Champions League run, has made far too many domestic (and international) howlers, and would have been replaced by some teams by now. Reina, previously dependable, has been suprisingly error prone over the last few seasons. Friedal, whilst age has something to do with it, has also made an increasing amount of mistakes, such as the awful misjudgement in the QPR game. De Gea... well, he is a wonderful shot stopper, but he has made errors of Gomes-esq proportions.

Perhaps it's the result of the new balls, but goalkeeping errors have been on the increase. Last season, Howard was one of the best in the division. Arguably, based on last season, only Hart, Krul and Vorm played better... but it would be madness to replace him.

And Ruddy? don't mention Ruddy... I can't believe anyone who watches Football would rather have Ruddy in goal than Howard. He is like a slower version of Paul Robinson, an apt number two, but not a goalie for a team of our capacity.

Amazing performance yesterday...I have to keep pinching myself. Villa have issues, especially with the integration of a new defensive line-up, but very few teams will play like we did at their place this season. Pienarr has started where he left off, Gibson is playing superbly, Jelavic's first time finishing is Ruud like, Fellaini is a beast, Osman is looking very good, and our back four is one of the best in the divisions. Also, incredible cross from Jags yesterday for Fellaini's goal.

I thought before the season, that top four was beyond us. I rate our team, but alot of the teams fighting for fourth (Chelsea are nailed on third imo) have bigger and better squads. However, it has to be considered a possibility, because we have started this season, like we ended the last. Spurs have weakened their squad, and have an issue with Modric, Arsenal have lost RVP but added good players, Liverpool are a mess, and we can certainly match Newcastle, esp with the African Cup of nations in January severly effecting them potentially.

But, I think we must invest a bit more. I know we don't have money, I know we have to be careful, but I think this season, might be the season to take a bit of a risk. Imo, we need to bring in another central midfielder, and another creative player for the squad. If possible, another striker is obviously needed, but we have brought in Mirallas, and have others, albeit of a lesser quality.

I'm really hoping we get the couple of players I believe we need for the squad, but if we do, and with the potential of Cahill and Donovan on short term loans in January, I don't see why we cant have a real go at it this season. COYB

I'm delighted that he's gone on to be Norwich's number 1 but I don't think we missed out as he would still be playing second fiddle to Howard had he stayed at Everton.

Also from Ruddy's point of view he would not have been able to develop into the keeper he is now as a number 2.

Vorm on the other hand looks to be the real deal, but his value is probably up around £5-7m after last season.

We're a better side than them hands down.

This "he's paid hundreds of thousands to do a job so I'm entitled to criticize" is idiotic. If his pay is the reason you're entitled to criticize, then what would be the threshold where you lose the right to criticize? The answer is there isn't a threshold. There is no amount of money paid that either gives you the right to an opinion or takes away your right to an opinion.

"he's paid hundreds of thousands to do a job so I'm entitled to criticize".

You forgot to mention the main reason: jealousy.

Bogie team de-bogiefied.

Other points. Mirallas looks exciting. Humble pie tastes delicious re: Fellaini. Maybe Howard's concentration had dropped due to our 3 goal lead, as any player in any position can be guilty of that.

Eg. a part timer paid expenses might be excused heading the ball like a threepenny bit head whereas yer actual Premiership player paid thousands would be expected to soar like a leaping salmon nodding the ball perfectly into the top corner.

Both are footballers but as their wages rise so to does expectation however the threshold of "allowed shiteness" drops, it's a footballing version of Boyle's law in Thermodynamics which I won't quote because I'm getting fig rolls just now.

Howard is getting on and does make the odd howler but as someone said, there have been a lot of mistakes already. I think the new ball has something to do with it. Even defenders are at it (Collins and the red sh-te...?).

As for Dembele - Oh yes!.....and may be cheap depending on contract.

Come on you Blue Boys!!

Three or so years ago we were beating the teams that we should beat and that puts you in the top 6... unfortunately we had a terrible record against the top 5.

In the last couple of years that trend has been reversed, which has put us outside the top 6.

If we can start confortably disposing of the likes of Southampton at home then we'll be on our way to a special season.

They lack a goalscorer but the signs are worrying. They are going to be in the mix no doubt, as will arsenal who did everything but score against a resilient stoke yesterday.

We will have to steer clear of injuries and keep up the high level we have started at of we have any ambition of challenging for a champions league spot.