Michael Kenrick
1 Posted 23/12/2013 at 02:00:55

A fantastic report, Ken, and I thought that second half was just tremendous football of the highest order in terms of commitment, passion, excitement and belief. Yes, perhaps the clinical quality was not on exhibition everywhere, but I thought we pulled out an absolutely top-drawer win under very difficult circumstances.

Not many of the diaspora on here seemed that moved by it but it sounds like the faithful who were there fully appreciated two goals of stunning quality and execution. All the best to you this Christmas, and let's hope the festivities continue at a packed Goodison Park come Thursday afternoon. Let's make it a true Boxing Day!

Graham McCann
2 Posted 23/12/2013 at 01:56:34

Great report as always, Ken. Spot on about Lukaku and the no apparent need for an out-and-out striker. We don't pump everything forward to the big Belgian bloke, but we need him as a focal point for our play in the final third of the field.

I think that Romelu is tiring a bit now, maybe that's why Vellios was on the bench today? I wouldn't mind betting that Vellios will have a role to play in the coming few games. After all, we have no apparent need for an out and out striker. It's all about the attacking players, barring Howard, Distan and Jagielka, they are all attacking players.

COYB

Cenric Clement-Evans
3 Posted 23/12/2013 at 04:33:37

Everton fans were awesome yesterday after a quietish start. The singing was tremendous with the away end literally bouncing! My 13-year-old had to keep on telling me to behave from our seats amongst the Jacks! I was desperate to join in.

Great report as ever Ken. Happy Christmas Evertonians everywhere!

Mike Gaynes
4 Posted 23/12/2013 at 06:09:34

Ken, your reports are always better than the game itself... thanks from all for your commitment to a long journey and a long day to bring us the inside-the-ground viewpoint. Much appreciated, sir!

Martin Lam
5 Posted 23/12/2013 at 09:01:13

Thanks for the great report. Players lacked their passing touch as game stats show that Swansea passed more accurately and had more possession. But in an away game under such weather, it's certainly the determination of our players that won us the game.

Well done, lads. COYB!

Peter Mills
6 Posted 23/12/2013 at 08:40:33

Ken, I've got no idea how you manage to post these works of art so quickly after the match. I drove home from Swansea, arriving back around 11:30pm, and while I read all the reports and comments on TW, I was so tired, I just couldn't be bothered offering any thoughts. You, however, find the time and energy to paint a vivid picture of the occasion – thank you for doing so.

I was in the posh seats yesterday, on the half-way line. The Everton end was something to behold, a fantastic turnout. The crowd we were amongst were mostly Jacks, including the dad of a pal of mine who was celebrating his 95th birthday there. One or two of them were muttering that they had deserved a point, but on the whole they were pretty gracious, and very complimentary about our football.

There were also murmurings about the ease with which young Ross fell over, and the equal ease with which Mr Mason awarded him a free kick – it was difficult to argue. McCarthy was excellent in the second half, and Barry was constantly in space to receive the ball and keep it moving.

The Lukaku situation is a difficult one; even when he is not at his best, he is keeping two defenders occupied, creating the space that others take advantage of. We were saying at half-time that the game was ripe for an impact substitution at 60 minutes, Romelu could be devastating in that role for a game or two but it would be a huge decision to rest him to the bench.

Thanks again Ken, best wishes.

Phil Walling
7 Posted 23/12/2013 at 09:28:56

Don't very often say it but I agree with Mr Kenrick's every word above. And thanks Ken for another great report!

Kevin O'Regan
8 Posted 23/12/2013 at 09:47:55

Ken, thanks for all your hard work, you're a legend and a very talented writer,

To be honest, I was shouting quite a bit at Seamus in the first half, as he was shaky in defence and out of position and gave a few passed away, but made up for it in 2nd half. Great lad, and true blue spirit. Great to have a McCarthy style player again and a great mix of experience and brazen, young and talent with confidence and as Roberto says with arrogance. That arrogance was missing in DM's time.

Starting to worry about Lukaku in terms of frustration – I'd like to see Roberto give him a break or time off. Put Mirallas up front, or the Greek lad – but Lukaku needs a break soon.

Michael Winstanley
9 Posted 23/12/2013 at 09:47:47

Great report as always Ken. I'm still on a high here this morning. I thought it was a good test for us yesterday and we came through with another three points.

Delighted for Seamus and Ross, two fantastic strikes, nice to see we have the quality to edge a game like yesterday and we always looked a threat.

Patience is the key to our style of play, however I would like to see us take the lead a little earlier in games. Hopefully over the next few weeks we'll see our dominance produce a few more goals.

Thanks for your reports Ken, Merry Christmas to you and all the Blues out there.

Eugene Ruane
10 Posted 23/12/2013 at 10:28:15

It's true Lukaku looked a bit lost and got little of the type of service he thrives on, but imo, many of the gaps that open up for others are as a result of how closely he's being marked. It's clear he (and we) would love a goal or two right now but I'm actually impressed with the effort he puts in and how he (consciously or unconsciously) drags defenders out/around creating spaces for our attack-minded midfield and fullbacks to run into.

Gary Mortimer
11 Posted 23/12/2013 at 10:59:22

I think that if the Swansea fans were moaning about the free kicks that Mason gave for fouls on Ross, I guess they were ecstatic about all the times Mason ignored all the fouls on Pienaar – who was pushed over / dragged back at least 3 times with no intervention from the ref.

There was no way Swansea deserved anything from the game, we had the best chances and should have killed them off before their flukey equaliser.

I hope players get their feet up for a few days and come back on Boxing Day in the mood to put a shed load past Sunderland.

Denis Byrne
12 Posted 23/12/2013 at 11:00:44

Great report as usual Ken. However, may I take issue with your reference to one of the chants. You suggest "Allez-Allez-O", alluding to a Franch origin for the song. I may be mistaken, but I assumed the chant is derived from the old childrens song, "The Ally Ally Oh", which if you go to the last verse shows this is a worthy inclusion to the terrace psalm book,

All together now...

"The big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh
The ally-ally-oh, the ally-ally-oh
Oh, the big ship sails on the ally-ally-oh
On the last day of September.

The captain said it will never, never do
Never, never do, never, never do
The captain said it will never, never do
On the last day of September.

The big ship sank to the bottom of the sea
The bottom of the sea, the bottom of the sea
The big ship sank to the bottom of the sea
On the last day of September.

We all dip our heads in the deep blue sea
The deep blue sea, the deep blue sea
We all dip our heads in the deep blue sea
On the last day of September"

On second thoughts, there could be miserable omens here... let’s stick to the French etymology.

Iain Love
13 Posted 23/12/2013 at 10:58:38

Lukaku's play is the reason other players get chances, there will be times when defenders don't double up on him to cover other areas and then he will shine again.
Merry Christmas.

Trevor Lynes
14 Posted 23/12/2013 at 11:41:15

Efforts should be made to get Lukaku scoring and the wide men should be told to cross the ball sometimes instead of just shooting from impossible angles. Lukaku found space in the area at least four times when Mirallas shot or Coleman tried beating yet another defender. I reckon the big guy needs to be used better than he is being, he has pace and strength but he consistently receives the ball with his back to goal or not at all.

We played pretty well in spite of the conditions and it was a great result. Mirallas is dangerous as he has lots of pace and could perhaps be used more infield where he can run at the centre backs. McCarthy improved a lot in the second half as his first half display was pretty average. But Swansea are a decent team if allowed to play as they showed against Newcastle just a few weeks ago.

Julian Wait
15 Posted 23/12/2013 at 13:29:25

Thanks, Ken – great report as usual.

Does anyone have any insight as to why Coleman was so animated, toward what I presume were Swansea fans, after he scored? It was like had a a point to prove; was there some animosity there? It was hard to get any context on TV as I was watching without commentary...

Kieran Fitzgerald
16 Posted 23/12/2013 at 13:43:03

I caught the second half in the pub. It was hard to see how that was the same team that played the first half against Arsenal. The thing is though, compare how well we still played compared to difficult or poor games in recent seasons. The bar has just been set that much higher, I suppose, so when we don't play well it seems like we are dreadful, even when we're not.

Despite the performance, a win was vitally important. We are now averaging two points a game and confidence will still be very high after yesterday. Two good results this week means that we can go into the FA Cup weekend halfway through what is a great season. It also means that we can rest some players for QPR.

The bench caught my eye yesterday. The absence of Heitinga and Jelavic, added to Martinez's comments during the week makes me think that they may already be out the door. Fair enough, there was a little bit of squad rotation going on and while I was happy to see Vellios on the bench, I do think that not having Heitinga and Jelavic there was more than just rotation. The bench didn't fill me full of happiness though and I do think that we will need to buy players next month. I think Martinez will need to raise the cash before he can buy and Heitinga and Jelavic are the most obvious players to go.

Michael Winstanley
17 Posted 23/12/2013 at 13:58:12

Julian. Seamus explains...
http://www.evertonfc.com/evertontv/home/9759

Shane Corcoran
18 Posted 23/12/2013 at 14:27:04

Michael, for us non-subscribers, can you elaborate?

Michael Winstanley
19 Posted 23/12/2013 at 15:08:33

When asked about his celebration the interviewer suggests it must have meant a lot Seamus replies, it did yeah, just to score the goal, lately I've had a few tap ins so it was nice to score that goal. To score for Everton is a special thing.

And then he gets asked about Ross but at the end he said to those that don't subscribe, it's only an e-mail registration away. He seems like a nice lad.

Peter Mills
20 Posted 23/12/2013 at 15:49:20

Gary#246, your first 2 paragraphs are precisely how I responded to the Welshmen I spoke to!

Mr Mason was rather whistle-happy either way, but one thing he did do correctly was to take 10 decent sized paces to position the defensive wall for Ross's free kick.

Julian Wait
21 Posted 23/12/2013 at 15:56:46

Michael - not sure that really explains it; he looks very angry tbh and it seemed directed at Swansea fans. Not a big deal, just wondered if something had happened off camera...

Michael Kenrick
22 Posted 23/12/2013 at 16:29:13

Julian, I think it was right in front of the Everton fans... Seamus's body language in that celebration was something else — I took it as a real massive in-your-face, fist-pumping, chest-beating moment of pure personal exaltation.

I mean, can you imagine, in your wildest dreams, hitting a ball so perfectly, getting it to fly initially straight at the keeper, then curve away and beyond him just inside the post, and into the net, right in front of 2,000 drenched Evertonians who had just watched attack after attack after attack come to nothing?

Simply fantastic stuff.

Julian Wait
23 Posted 23/12/2013 at 17:06:01

MK - thanks. That explains it. To me, Coleman should be Captain one day, he's exactly what we need to drive us forward when things aren't going to plan. He has the heart of an Ox.

Peter Creer
24 Posted 23/12/2013 at 21:56:36

Thanks for the report. You always paint such a clear picture of life in the stands. After watching the game live here in Canada it is always great waiting for and getting your report.

Chelsea and Arsenal have just finished and that leaves us tied for fourth with Chelsea and only two point out of first. For me the great part of the year so far is that we have only lost one game and, like this game, we have found a way to win. It wasn't Romelu today but it was two great strikes from Seamus and Ross. Consistency at the back has been critical and as we look forward to the next few games over the holiday things are looking very good.

Merry Christmas from Canada. Wish I was there!

Paul Kernot
25 Posted 23/12/2013 at 22:06:35

First blood to EFC. We took two points off both The Arse and Chelski yesterday/ today, both of whom have a recent history if losing it a bit in the last third of the season.

This may prove critical in the run in as, much as I hate to say it, it looks like the RS have finally got it together under Brenda (assuming they keep Suarez who does seem to be very happy there right now) and Citeh's home form should keep them in the top 4 so it could ultimately be one of these two we nick 4th place from if our season continues like this.

I do have concerns about Mirallas's service to Lukaku in particular but with so many others prepared to step up, it's becoming a habit to get results like the Swansea game. Long may it continue.

Finally,those saying Macca needs to add goals to his repertoire are crazy. 85 mins in and who was it that made the Barkleyesque drive through the middle to make something happen? Admittedly he was going nowhere and we were reliant on a lucky break (the needless foul) and a bit of magic from Ross to get us those all important, pre Xmas 3 points but what I saw was McCarthy's efforts creating that opportunity. Play to your strengths!

Jay Harris
26 Posted 24/12/2013 at 00:21:36

Really enjoyable report as always Ken.

Only 2 points off the top with only 1 game lost and the best defensive record in the league.

The thing I am really happy about is that we can mix it up short, long, tough, pretty, tight or open. We can be a match for anyone.

Happy Crimbers to all fellow blues and lets hope for a very prosperous New Year.

Stuart O'Malley
27 Posted 24/12/2013 at 01:02:56

I thought Gareth Barry was immense on Sunday, especially in and around the 18-yard box. The amount of times he intercepted and cleaned up around that area during the game was fantastic. A defensive midfielder masterclass.

Love the way when the two wingbacks are bombing forward, Barry just drops in between distin and jags so seamlessly if possession is lost and we need to defend as a three if the two boys are outta position. . Everybody is just totally on the same wavelength. Long may it continue. COYB.

Stuart O'Malley
28 Posted 24/12/2013 at 01:30:23

And brilliant report as always, Ken. A very Merry Christmas to you and all Evertonians, especially the ToffeeWebbers.

Harold Matthews
29 Posted 24/12/2013 at 06:07:06

Trevor. Terrific post as usual. With regard to Lukaku, Mirallas and Coleman, you've said it all for me.

Enjoyable report as usual Ken. The way we allowed them so much possession in the last 20 minutes was very puzzling and slightly disturbing, to put it mildly. We completely lost our shape. As you pointed out, they had nothing to lose but it took a brilliant performance from Howard and a goalmouth covered in stardust to keep us in front. Just when I thought dropping deep was disappearing from our game, it reappeared and scared me to death.

Dennis Ng
30 Posted 24/12/2013 at 10:07:35

Caught the game from ~35 mins into the game. We played very well and I was bemused by the analysts at NBC talking about how stale the game was at halftime. Possession football is awesome, even in a 0-0 game!

I agree, the game is forgettable for Lukaku but I hope he has patience because, as some mentioned earlier, this is one of those games where the wing-men do better because of the defence marking Lukaku down too much. I look forward to the games where he'll get more space as opposition start to realize we will attack them from all angles, not just Lukaku. Hopefully he'll get to catch up on his scoring then!