Everton Out-Gun Shellshocked Saints

Kone, if he can stay healthy, is going to be a key player. He takes some of the defensive pressure off of Lukaku and opens space for Barklay to run into. We seem a lot more dangerous with him on the field. So far we've played 3 halves of decent football, and Arouna Kone is one of the main reasons... that and RM getting the tactics spot on... and Jags and John Stones not putting a foot wrong... and Rom be almost unmarkable, most of the time... and Barry and McCarthy controlling the midfield and knocking Pelle on his kiester every chance they got!

The whole squad showed a little bit of a mean streak! I kinda liked it!

Lukaku looked the complete striker: power, aggression and 2 superb goals for his efforts. Oh how we all hope this is a turning point, a return of confidence, and the starting point of a great season.

Now keep it up and don't do what has happened previously and go back to slow, sideways and laboured build up.

Please more of the same against Citeh and Ross and Romelu were immense COYB.

Great result, performance and proud of the team to a man. Just hope we can take this in to the next match.

Nice to read Chelsea are worrying about Man City and Man Utd going for Stones... funny, I thought he was our player!!!

It may be a blessing in disguise that we have so many top teams in the first 10 games. If we can pull off some similar performances and get points against them and be higher up the table earlier on than most of us (including me) expect, the team could be a little more confident going into the games against the lesser teams who we find so hard to break down.

Counter-attacking is not without its risks as teams can potentially create chances. But football is also about luck and perhaps we also got a bit lucky yesterday. Southampton did create some good chances but their heading was thankfully rubbish.

But overall a great performance from everyone involved at Everton, including the away support.

He was annoying, falling over on contact but would bring something we don't have. They are probably 10 other Mane's floating around Europe for 3/5 million each.

No one can question his passion for EFC, maybe his decisions but "get well soon Bill" or you are going to miss some fabulous Toffee footy.

On another thread before the game, I commented that I had no real hope (of a win) at St Mary's, but wanted to see attacking intent from the start. We ended up with both, and it lifts our expectations of a similar approach against Man City next week. City will attack us but, if our defence holds firm, we have every chance of a result on the counter attack.

I do hope Roberto keeps the faith with Kone up there with Rom; there seems to be something gelling there, and credit to Kone for regaining his fitness after that long lay off; we might just start to see the best of him if he gets a run in the team?

Stones was impressive and so was Jagielka who is so consistent in playing well and we should give him much much more credit. Win was even greater having in mind that it was done against very well organized club.

This win is bringing question about buying more players, where would they play and instead of whom?? We had Mirallas and Deulofeu on the bench plus there are covers for other positions on bench and also coming from injuries. This team is stronger than two seasons ago, most important thing is our approach and tactics.

Oh and to me our 3rd kit was the same quality as was our show. Great!

A lot depends how our opposition set up, you wont get performances like the Southampton game every week because the lesser teams when they come to Goodison shut up shop and say break us down if you can!
You have to appreciate that opposing managers are not mugs, they have at least a week to work their strategy out when they play us.
Its too simplistic to say we are playing a lesser team and we should win easily!

Ok, you could say well change the tactics against the teams that defend in numbers and hassle the man in possession, the problem is you need players that can overcome very tight marking and maybe were lacking in that department.

I'm watching Citteh right now and they look strong and sharp, with Kolarov getting some great crosses in (IMO we let far too many crosses in) to Aquero & Silva, and the movement is first class.

So will RM stick with a winning side or bring in Besic(if fit) to give defensive solidarity. Personally I hope he sticks with the side that started yesterday.

If Galloway starts, he needs to be very patient as City they will target him relentlessly with crosses from Navas, plus Aguero, Sterling, and Silva could roam over to his side and try pull him out of position. And Seamus needs to get the blunders out of his system too. His poor pass out of the back led to the Mane attempt that Howard did well to save (and yes, we did score on that ensuing counter-attack), and don't forget that chest pass he inadvertently made to Pelle in our penalty area led to his shot on target, which Howard was also alert to stop.

Watching them against Chelsea, you forget how quick the City attackers are, and how well they find and exploit defensive gaps. So we need to be on our toes - be patient, composed, and keep our shape. More like Southampton, less like Watford.

So great counter-attacking, and tactical adjustments made by RM; we showed great intent, fight, aggressiveness and listening to some of the players afterwards, you could tell they wanted to give Southampton a little payback. But we have to ratchet up our defensive stance in these next few fixtures if we want to stay near the top half.

Frankly, I like the idea of us playing with a chip on our shoulder, and I think it's time we took Man City down.

Perhaps Martinez took on board some of the Carragher analysis as we didn't split the centre backs and we moved the ball much quicker out of our own half.

I think it likely that these two both have strong points and serious weaknesses in their play, but that together (when they are both reasonably fit), they make a considerably more effective attack force than either alone.

Whether this is the key to the Goodison 'parked bus' scenario, I don't know, but perhaps with a reinvigorated Barkley and a more adventurous Coleman, we have something nearer the team of two seasons ago.

"It seems to me that Everton tend to prosper from combinations of players."

It was ever thus Charles, for all teams. Managers strive to have combinations all over the park, which in turn interlink with other combinations.

What is very clear in the first 2 games of the season so far, since Kone entered the fray against Watford, our forward play has been transformed.

Whether that is by chance or design, who can definitively say? I would say by design, given the absence of any out and out wide men in the starting XI v S'ton. This is possibly why Roberto signed the unfortunate Kone for in the first place - to offer that link between midfield and his main striker.

Kone is not playing as an out and out striker, nor as an additional midfielder. Certainly not as a number 10. He operates in that space between the lines of the opposition defence and midfield. This is messing with the opposition's default defensive shape which allows us to exploit their uncertainty of who to pick up where.

Look at our five goals to date. All have involved combinations of Kone, Ross and Rom.

Kone set up Ross for the 1st against Watford.
It was Kone-Rom-Kone for the 2nd against Watford.
Ross-Kone-Rom the 1st v S'ton.
Rom-Ross-Rom for the 2nd v S'ton.
Rom-Seamus-Ross for the 3rd v S'ton.

What 4 of the 5 goals had in common was 2 or more players in close proximity to each other, playing quick wall passes between them or sweet 'round the corner' type passes.

This sucks in defending players and creates space for our own players.

When you can create so much devastation right down the middle of the opposition, the need for width, wide players and hopeful hoiks into the penalty area diminishes.

No doubt teams will get wise to this and try to counter it, but depending on the opposition and game situation, with the likes of Gerry, Mirallas, McGeady and to a lesser extent Ossie and Pienaar (and who knows besides before the transfer window closes), we can mix it up and put players on the pitch who can keep it narrow or give the play width, pace, trickery and movement.

And with a variety of formations and strategies available, the less predictable and more difficult it will be for teams to set up against us.

Most definitely encouraging signs.

It may be just a confidence thing, but he looked like a different player against Saints. I wish him well and hope that he can continue in this vein. If he does, he can make a big difference this year.