Another Bite from Reality As Everton Crash Out
The Wembley dream is dead for another year and Everton's painful stretch without a major trophy extends to 20 years thanks to a heavy, if somewhat harsh, 4-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
Ross Barkley's 54th-minute miss could have been a turning point in the match
Arsenal 4 - 1 Everton
The Wembley dream is dead for another year and Everton's painful stretch without a major trophy extends to 20 years thanks to a heavy, if somewhat harsh, 4-1 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
It was the latest in a series of reality checks meted out to Roberto Martinez's side as this most promising of seasons threatens to peter out in a pall of deja vu, the focus now forced to return to trying to finish best of the rest in the Premier League and securing a place in Europe for next season.
The pre-match talk in the media predictably centred around Arsene Wenger's Gunners as their own prospects for the season tetered on a potential tipping point. Having been deposed as the leaders in the Title race and facing a mountain to climb in the Champions League against Bayern Munich, they needed a big performance and a result to match to keep their hopes of silverware alive.
Thanks to home advantage, the general superiority of their bank balance and players, and a pivotal penalty midway through the second half, they duly answered their critics and dumped Everton out to secure a date at Wembley next month. It was a closer run thing than the yawning gap in the two scores might suggest but few could argue that the better team won.
You couldn't have faulted Everton for optimism, though. The 5,000+ plus who were allowed to make the trip to North London came in full voice and made their presence known in no uncertain terms and Martinez put out arguably the strongest team at his disposal, with the glaring exception of Joel Robles being preferred in goal to Tim Howard. The Spanish 'keeper had been handed the gloves in every previous round of the cup this season so credit Martinez for consistency but the general feeling among Evertonians was that a game of his magnititude demanded the best available options in every part of the field.
Ultimately, while Robles had a jittery afternoon, one almost capped off horrendously with an own goal in the first half, his inclusion had little bearing on the result. The Gunners were able to carve the Blues open on four crucial occasions while, at the other end, good opportunities that might have given Martinez the platform on which to play more defensively were spurned.
Though Everton started brightly and tenaciously, it was Arsenal who scored in only the seventh minute, completely against the run of play and with their first meaningful attack. The usually dependable James McCarthy lost his footing in the middle of his own half and was robbed by Santi Cazorla who quickly surged into the ocean of space in front of him. Tracking the run of the much-maligned Mezut Ozil, he slid a perfect, defence-splitting ball to the German who side-footed home with his first touch.
The floodgates briefly threatened to open as Everton battled to find their footing, with John Stones failing to clear his lines and Robles having to make a two-fisted save at his near post to deny Sanogo and Steven Pienaar then repeating the young defender's error before being rescued by his 'keeper who made a similar stop a minute later.
The Blues carried a threat on the break, though, and could have been level as early as the 10th minute when the otherwise desperately disappointing Kevin Mirallas sprinted to catch up with a ball bouncing towards the byline and hooked it back into the path of Pienaar. Presumably put off by the impending challenge from Bacary Sagna, the South African didn't make anything like a confident contact and the shot spun off his boot and harmlessly out to the far side of the box.
As they were in the League fixture in December, Everton were confident in possession when they had the ball, but often looked slighly vulnerable when they didn't, which made Robles' propensity to kick the ball long to no effect whatsoever particularly frustrating. Equally annoying was the Blues' reluctance to take the odd speculative shot from outside the box to test Fabianski in the Arsenal goal. Gareth Barry eschewed two such opportunities and when he lost possession in the second instance, Arsenal broke quickly and Robles, flapping at deep cross that would have dropped safely past his goal, somehow batted the ball onto the angle of crossbar and post. That, combined with his woefully erratic kicking and instistance on punching even the most rountine of crosses away, deepened the sense of uncertainty at the back.
Martinez's faith in Ross Barkley would pay dividends just past the half-hour mark, though, as the young midfielder picked up a loose ball following a terrific defensive block by Barry and ran almost the entire length of what remained of the Emirates pitch before centering perfectly to Mirallas at the back post. Whether the Belgian intended it or not, the ball flicked up off his instep and fell invitingly to Romelu Lukaku who controlled it with his knee before tapping home almost on the goal line to level the scores.
Game on again and, after surviving a dangerous moment when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was put in through the middle but was foiled by a one-handed stop by Robles, the Blues fashioned two great opportunities to turn the tie on its head before half time.
Unfortunately, though, having been put into space down the left channel by Lukaku, Mirallas cut inside and delivered a weak shot to waste a promising opening. And, two minutes before the interval, Lukaku himself charged forward on another counter-attack but he held onto the ball far too long and allowed Oxlade-Chamberlain to tackle him in the area before he could get a shot away.
Martinez remained bold after the break, though, and kept Leighton Baines deployed high up the left side of the pitch hoping to force the issue and put Arsenal on the back foot. His teammates struggled to supply him sufficiently, though, and there were precious few of the interchanges between the left back and Pienaar that had lit up the win over West Ham last weekend.
Nevertheless, Everton could have gone ahead from the other flank when Lukaku capitalised on a horrible slip by Thomas Vermaelen on the touchline as he tried to hack the ball forward. The Belgian left the Dutch defender prone on the floor and drove inside before laying up Barkley but the midfielder could only sweep the ball over the bar from a great position when it demanded he hit the target. It would prove to be an important miss.
The Blues had toiled hard and it was fatigue that clearly played a role in the pivotal moment in the 67th minute when Barry left a tired leg dangling on Oxlade-Chamberlain as he wriggled past him on the byline that sent the young England winger to the turf. Referee Mark Clattenburg pointed to the spot and Mikel Arteta stepped up to plunge a dagger in the heart of his old club. As it turned out he had to do it twice as his first successful spot kick was ruled out for encroachment by substitute Olivier Giroud, but the Spaniard beat Robles with aplomb from the re-taken penalty to make it 2-1. Then he had to ruin his standing with Evertonians by needlessly kissing the Arsenal badge...
The Blues trief to respond but, in truth, they had started to run out of ideas a little. Mirallas despatched a cross-cum-shot into Fabianksi's arms and Barkley swept another shot narrowly wide from 20 yards before Martinez withdrew the Belgian and the injured Pienaar in favour of Aiden McGeady and Leon Osman.
Instead, though, it was Wenger's substitute who would kill the game, Giroud converting from eight yards out to make it 3-1 in the 83rd minute after Sagna had been given all the time in the world to pick him out from the byline. And the French striker completed Everton's misery two minutes later after Martinez's last change, Gerard Deulofeu, had run into trouble and lost the ball in Arsenal territory. A swift, rapier-like counter later and Ozil had slipped the ball to Giroud to slot past Robles. 4-1.
Many times on trips to Arsenal since we last beat them on their own turf 18 years ago have resulted Everton sides being handed a footballing lesson and today probably falls into that category in as much as Wenger's side display the speed of foot and thought and the killer instinct that the Blues currently lack as a crucial piece of Martinez's jigsaw. As we found out to our cost at Anfield in January, pace and clinical finishing can make all the difference between losing and winning – as it turned out, winning big.
Everton had their chances to turn this into a different kind of game than it eventually became but, not for the first time this season, they spurned them. Mirallas displayed more of his infuriating propensity to make the wrong decision and, on the whole, had a pretty poor game; Pienaar lacked bravery at the crucial moment with his early chance; Lukaku was lacking the kind of single-minded confidence that saw him score wonderful solo goals for club and country earlier this season with similarly driving runs; and Barkley will be ruing not having worked the 'keeper from his two chances.
The same could have been said of Arsenal at 1-1, though, and though they forced a litany of corners and set-piece opportunities, particularly in the first half, they only managed to go ahead thanks to a clumsy foul by Barry and tacked on two more goals when Everton were chasing the game and had left large gaps in front of the inexperienced Stones for the home side to ruthlessly exploit.
Everton's was not a performance that deserved to lose by three goals but Arsenal showed their quality when it mattered. And that's the model to which Martinez must aspire and towards which he must continue to build over the summer, funds permitting, of course. Adding more pace and creativity to his midfield must be a priority but he must also try and instill a cold streak in his players and the confidence to drive home an advantage or an opportunity when it presents itself.
They may have been run off the road to Wembley this weekend but Everton's season is far from over. With 11 games left and a fairly kind run-in, there are plenty of points to be won and much for Martinez to learn about his players as he continues to fashion this team around his footballing principles and ethos.
As we wallow in the dashed optimism that he himself created, it's easy to forget that Martinez is only nine months into the job. He wasn't beyond criticism today, of course – in addition to the Robles decision, there will no doubt be debate over whether he should have started the green Stones ahead of the older (but less fit) campaigner Alcaraz. But this will hopefully serve as another cornerstone in the learning process, the evolution of the club under the new manager and the continued construction of a platform from which this club can eventually achieve success.
Reader Comments (22)
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2 Posted 09/03/2014 at 00:12:22
Lukaku is isolated every game; with a proper striker to partner him and create space for him by drawing defenders, I believe he would have double the goals he has now and Everton would be a lot better off for points too.
ps: Why are we so bad at crossing/corners? I can't remember the last header we scored.
3 Posted 09/03/2014 at 04:39:59
Desperately lacking creativity in the last third, and for the life of me I just don't get why we play one striker against four defenders who effectively becomes another midfielder, far to easy to defend against.
5 Posted 09/03/2014 at 10:21:54
When you play with one striker you are looking at at least one or maybe even two midfielders getting 10 or 12 goals but look at our midfield??
Pienaar..1 goal all season.
Barkley...3 league goals all season, none from open play since September.
Barry...3 league goals and not expected to score many.
McCarthy...0 goals and again like Barry.
Mirallas...5 league goals, just three from open play though and I think the vast majority of fans would say he has been a letdown this season after expectations and at the start of the season I was expect at least 11-12 goals from Mirallas.
The same old problems that dogged Everton last season have reared its head again this year.
Last year we had Fellaini scoring the goals but no striker to put the ball away, this year Lukaku has scored a few but we have no midfielder or Fellaini/Cahill type player contributing.
Our threat from corners, high crosses this season is zero, I have never seen an Everton team win so few headers in all my time watching us.
Its greatly reduced the threat we really are because we are now seeing opponents week in week out knowing that all they have to do is press on to our defenders to stop us playing.
Do we score a variety of goals? NO.
Before Christmas teams were not doing that, now they have quickly got wise to what our only strength is and we sadly don’t seem to have a Plan B.
6 Posted 09/03/2014 at 09:54:12
What I can't accept is our unfailing habit of blowing big chances with poor performances and individual errors. It's been the difference between us and our victors so many times, not the class gulf money affords them.
The semi-final against Liverpool is the most painful example for me. They humiliated us at Anfield recently but that was down to their rapid forward play which we couldn't deal with. They didn't need Distin to pass it to Saurez to get them back into a game we were in control of and then proceeded to wave goodbye to with a shameful submission.
Yesterday's half-hearted attempt on goal by Pienaar in the first half is the moment that sticks with me. He allowed himself to be beaten to a cross he should have been first onto thereby missing from 6 yards. Instead of looking at the ball, he looked at the challenge coming in and came second, just like his team.
7 Posted 09/03/2014 at 11:58:02
Too many games highlight this with our front players not good enough in front of goal. Next season, get rid of them all (send the rubbish loan players back) and take a chance on some lower league strikers who can score goals as they cannot be any worse than the 'toothless' front players we have now (and would probably be on less money than the current load of rubbish we have now).
I can't stand the RS but, even when they play badly, they are a goal threat, and with their 3 up top they can score at will (Swansea scored 3 at Anfield but still got beat, due to Liverpool's dynamic front three: pace, power and goals galore!).
We need to replace Osman, Pienaar, Mirallas,and send Lukaku, Del boy back to their clubs. Give Koné a chance next season to prove his worth, but spend everything we have on a class front player who can shoot and most importantly get his shot ON TARGET!!!
8 Posted 09/03/2014 at 12:41:15
But Jim (761) raises a really crucial one going beyond this particular game, namely the absolutely woeful end product coming from the middle unit of the team. It is nothing short of a disgrace that efforts (or lack of them) have been tolerated for so long.
We have heard people speak of the "incredibly high standards of the Premier league". In some instances perhaps yes – but have great players of any era always been of an "incredibly high standard"? But players with the almost complete inability to hit a ball with the necessary conviction, power, finesse etc in order to hit the back of the net with any consistency such as Pienaar and Co are actually playing in this so-called "elite' league, are they not?
Of course, in the final analysis, if you pack your team with world class players you will generally win most things and Everton cannot compete in that "uneven playing field'. However, even allowing for this, even "plucky old Everton" would be more intense in their competing if these characters were actually doing their job effectively – and supporters are at least within their rights to demand this as a matter of course. After all, we are not supporting a local boy's team on a Saturday morning, are we?
In addition to the lack of goals issue, I also am getting a little tired of this "Del Boy" affectation. If it was a local lad trying to make his way in the game, I just wonder if his cavalier, "Ah well that didn't come off then, over to you lads" attitude would be endearing him to the crowd as this young man seems able to do?
Mirallas is another one who beggars belief. In what other profession would an employee who persists in consistently "doing the wrong thing" (in his case the very difficult task of failing to understanding that he is in a team game) be tolerated?
I am all for Mr Martinez's "positive attitude" but positive attitudes need to be accompanied by a "that is simply not good enough" admonition – otherwise we are simply in the vacuous world of patronising.
9 Posted 09/03/2014 at 12:56:24
I believe it could be another 20 years before we win anything, so we shouldn't look down our noses at the Europa League – what else have we got to look forward to bar something a little different?
The Champions League will generate even more revenue for the richest clubs, and we don't have the nous, or facilities to take advantage of that competition, even if we managed to reach the group stages for one season.
Yesterday, we relied on a free signing, a teenage loanee and a player who is coming to the end of his Premier League career to rescue the game from the subs' bench.
Every season we are at Goodison, and every season we perform woefully in our commercial activities, we will fall further and further behind. This board have no answers except to sell another player to the richer clubs – we are on a perpetual treadmill of mediocrity. Get used to it.
10 Posted 09/03/2014 at 13:21:37
11 Posted 09/03/2014 at 13:49:52
You are aware it was Arsenal...AWAY.
Ffs, I'm not saying they were unbeatable or that we didn't have a chance but comments like that are imo just wishful thinking nonsense.
Since when was ANY away game against Arsenal a case of them being 'there for the taking'? (I'm 54 and I can't remember any).
Sorry but what many posts over the last couple of days have revealed is that many Evertonians live in a complete fantasy world.
All any realist has to do is look at the results of teams with money over the last 10 years, then look at the results of teams with fuck-all.
Head to head, re trophies, CL places etc - it's all there, clear as a clear thing, IF you take your head out of the sand and WANT to see it.
It's not a mystery or 'a bit of a puzzle' or hard to figure out.
(nb: I know putting this logic forward is pissing in the wind, so by all means continue to search for answers by questioning should Osman/Pienaar/Barry/whoever be dropped/play deeper/wear a cowboy hat etc blah).
12 Posted 09/03/2014 at 16:00:24
It brought home to me that even though Hull are a average team, I don't think they are great and I certainly don't think they are a poor side either, but watching them I notice something simple about them today: they get quick balls into the box without all the silly dilly and dally football that we see on display at Everton.
I also noticed how ruthless they were in taking their chances even though Sunderland defended wretchedly. Hull have now scored 4 away to Cardiff and beaten Sunderland 3-0.
Why can Everton not score goals like this? Are we not better than Hull? Of course we are...
We may be better on the ball but where oh where is our end product?
13 Posted 09/03/2014 at 14:46:04
We may not have spent the 35/40 million quid Lukaku, Barry and Deulofeu would have cost but they were still at RM's disposal, its ridiculous to take them out of the equation.
Wenger paid a lot of money for Ozil, but in recent seasons his transfer dealings have made the Arsenal board far more than they have spent.
When Steven Gerrard powered into the Everton box to open the floodgates, it was about desire, sheer raw desire, just as it was when John Terry, frightened the living daylights out of our defence a couple of weeks ago. Neither player cost their clubs a penny. You simply can't buy that sort of will.
The rich clubs will occupy the top positions in any league, because over a period of time the bigger squads will inevitably be better equipped to deal with injuries/suspensions/ loss of form, but this was a cup game, Birmingham, Pompey and Wigan have all blown this money argument out by winning cups in recent seasons.
Forget the differences.
Wealth. If you are looking for the REAL reason we lost, take a look at the reaction of our players to conceding possession in advanced positions... then contrast that to the lung-bursting reaction of young Oxlade-Chamberlain chasing back all the way to his own six-yard box to stop Lukaku scoring at a crucial time in the contest.
Money matters of course it does, but not for the first time this season, we lost this game because the opposition wanted it more.
Desire. The sheer will to make it happen: Gerrard has it, Terry has it, young O-C has it... It doesn't cost millions, but you won't win an argument without it.
14 Posted 09/03/2014 at 16:17:35
15 Posted 09/03/2014 at 16:56:10
Not that I care much for City but it's going to kill me knowing if had beaten Arsenal that our biggest threat would have been Hull in the FA Cup Final.
Sometimes you feel like crying supporting us.
16 Posted 09/03/2014 at 17:13:43
So it just goes to show it's not all about money really doesn't it??
Money cannot score you goals,.
Players score you goals because for big games most players get so psyched up and revved up.
Yesterday, we played the game too slow almost like a pre-season friendly match at times the pace was so slow.
If it was all about money, what excuse can we use of the Wigan debacle at Goodison last year with Millwall at Wembley in the semi-final waiting??
No I am sorry, the mental strength of our players and the regular lapses in concentration are the MAIN reason why Everton FC is so much about hard luck stories.
We do it on way too many big stages for it to simply be bad luck.
17 Posted 09/03/2014 at 17:18:41
18 Posted 09/03/2014 at 17:44:09
I have nothing against Wigan but I want City to win this now to face Arsenal in the semi.
19 Posted 09/03/2014 at 18:49:28
Gutted, really sickened by a missed opportunity of winning something. It'll be twenty years between trophies now, next chance is 2015, and we all know when we last won one.
I hope the players and anyone else at the club are equally sickened, if they're not they can leave now as far as I am concerned. This feels worse than last year, for some reason, I think it's the hope that kills me, and I never do learn when it comes to Everton (I've already reconciled myself with England being a farce).
20 Posted 09/03/2014 at 20:50:40
21 Posted 10/03/2014 at 12:11:13
Is it the players? new players have come in but nothing has changed.
Is it a lack of support from the fans? Away from home definitely not, at Goodison it could be a factor yes.
Is it because when a team like City plays a team like Wigan they think they've won before they kick off so don't try as hard but when they play Everton they give it their all? Definitely a part of it in my opinion.
Is it because the board won't give us the funding to build a big enough squad so that our players are not all knackered by the time big cup games come around. (and anyone who asks why they are knackered go and train with them for six months without playing the matches and see how you feel)? Yes, Yes and Yes.
Fully fit we can outplay anyone, we showed it at Old Trafford. But go back and watch that game now and see how much running everyone did. Now watch the Arsenal game from Saturday, the lads just don't have the energy that they had earlier in the season and we need that to make our system work. A fit Gibson would have allowed Barry to rest so he wouldn't have been as likely to swing a tired leg at Ox-C. We will struggle to win anything until we get a big enough squad of decent players who can be rotated into the first team without weakening it too much.
22 Posted 11/03/2014 at 07:59:09
23 Posted 11/03/2014 at 18:13:32
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1 Posted 08/03/2014 at 23:56:25
We lack guile and belief at times. I hate to say it but we need to cheat a bit more. Apparently, and according to most pundits these days, that's part of the game.
Have to say I was fucking furious when we kicked the ball out for Arteta. But he slowed the play down and broke up what looking a dangerous move.
I've always been proud of the fact Everton don't cheat and dive all over the place but I'm getting sick of being on the receiving end. It was a definite penalty today, by the way.