rodwell did well for england

i don't think anyone would disagree with the above statement - indeed all the new boys like jack and phil jones did well and englands midfield looked transformed without the lumbering, one paced Lamps and the overrated Stevie G. it was worth noting though that Capello seemed to play him a bit further forward than Moyes does for us and gave him more licence to get in the box and support the attack. as it seemed to work is this the way forward for Jack at Everton? maybe he isn't that suited to his current role as the pairing with Fellaini in front of the back four as DM / playmaker.

i know playing there is what got him into the England team but maybe he could be even better playing like he did for england? i know my previous post advocates Fellaini switching back to a more attacking role too and i know that both of them can;t play up there so a choice would have to be made. i guess what i'm getting at as result of this is that we could do with a new DM too to take over from the current pairing. IMO we have never replaced the immense Carsley in that role yet. just remember Super Lee used to play that role on his own and still did it better than Jack & Mau Mau

Legend

New Contract for Fellaini

so i see Big Mau has signed the contract at last after months of negotiation - as i have posted in the past i do like the Big Fella so am pleased we have tied him down for another 5 years. at least if any does try to nick him off us they will have to pay top dollar for him :-) although obviously i hope we hang onto him as we do all our best players

one little point though - does anyone think with our current goal scoring crisis we should move him back up front like he was in his first season? don't forget he picked up a few goals then and was effective , if not pretty or the most elegant. but the situation we're in at the min we need what works , not what looks good!

Is Steve Round Evertons Premier Problem?

canvassing opinion amogst the lads as to where we seem to be going wrong at the min and the spotlight fell on tactics , formation and how poor we look in general play. theres no movement into space when players don't have the ball to provide options for those that do, no attacking verve to get up there and worry the oposition, no desire to run with it and do something out of the ordinary and no triangles to allow us to play it barcelona style through and round teams.

now you could blame the players but most of us felt all of the above really comes down to what the players do in training and how they are set up / instructed to play. as the above problems seem to have got worse lately could it be the influence of Steve Round to blame? Don't get me wrong we were never Brazil circa 1970 when Irvine was assisstant but we were better than this. Maybe its just Irvibe stood up to Moyes more and would tell him when it wasn't working or his ideas were rubbish?

one thing has to be said though - we have lost most of our creative, skillful players who would bring the verve to our attack so it could just be that. we don't know what the players are told and it could be they're just not good enough to do it like we used to anymore?

I'm bloody knackered wheres me fags?

Marounne Fellaini - sorchio or not schorchio?

my thoughts today turn to a man who , like so many of our players at the moment, divides opinion amongst the fan base. or to put it bluntly some people think he's mint and others think he's gash! the one and only Mau Mau 'Big Fella' Fellaini.

i have to agree that the man is frustrating at times and almost like one of those luxury players that you have in your team when you're miles better than everyone else and winning everything in sight (just like us then ha ha!) i will come out though and confess that I like him and think he is a good player - maybe not as good as some think but still someone to hold onto and play every week. for one he can actually control and pass the ball to another everton player on the deck which makes him better than 50% of the others (taxi for Jags). and he does have skill - remember that move on Bellamy against City when he just nailed him?! i think the things that goes against him is that he is one of those players that just looks untidy and cumbersome due to his height. and the hair don't help - for crying out loud lad , get it cut!!

don't make me go the barbers i'll do anything

Everton 0 - Man Utd 1

what a strange game this was in many ways. because basically we were pretty much the better side and had the majority of possession for a lot of the game. so why did we lose in the end? our trouble is the same as last year - we have no penetration in the final third and no goalscorer there banging them in week in , week out.

look at how they won - just a move of quality with a genuine goal scorer on the end to finish it off. i know there are other areas of the team that need work (right winger, right back) but i really think at least one top class striker is needed next time any money is going round

Royston Drenthe - Real Madrids loss

just wanted to post quickly re one of our latest acquisitions, Ricky Royston Drenthe. what a player this lad looks - pace, skill and a directness that we haven't seen at Goodison since Mustard burst onto the scene the other year. just hope he keeps it up and improves cos he offers us a creativity and a talent that we are lacking at the moment particularly in wide areas.

only trouble is - if he does too well he'll probably be pinched by city or someone in the summer!!

Chelsea cup game

what a shame we lost this one cos they didn't field a particularly strong team and reckon we could have beaten them with a bit more quality. i guess the sending off didn't help mattes for Royston - seemed a bit harsh as i think the second yellow looked worse than it was. although when you go in like that you're always in trouble if you don't get it right. looks like we're gonna be concentrating on the league again this year ha ha!

on the bright side Bily played well and showed his promise - i think most agree now that tim should be dropped and Bily put in his place in that supporting role behind the front man. Bily has a foot like a jackhammer - he would easily get 10 goals a season if played regular

Fulham 1 - Everton 3

Come on!

What a great win this was - specially with it being darn sarf where we never do that well to be honest :-)

i think the very early stunner from royston really settled us down and almost sealed it for us from the start. they did come back into it well and there goal was equally as good - question mark over Hibbo letting him have the space to do it though and maybe Tim for getting done from there?

great couple of goals to wrap it up though - can you believe Zamoras miss though ha ha?! OMG that was one of the worst ones ever the big donkey. really good
                                                                                finish from King Louis though for our second - have 
                                                                                 to say though he needs to keep scoring cos he does
                                                                                nothing else in the game at present!! nice to see Jack
                                                                                scoring too - a rare treat :-)