Paulo di Canio’s Sunderland 1 Everton 0 – Everton lack bite in The Stadium of Light
What do you mean? That’s what they are called. Sunderland used to be one of the dullest teams in the league but now they’ve rebranded as ‘Paulo di Canio’s Sunderland’ they are transformed.
Anyway, no one at Ian Marshall’s Matters really fancied writing a match report, we are still recovering physically and emotionally from yesterday after a big drinking binge around the North East. So we’ve decided to hand responsibility over to Sunderland Gary – who received looks which can only really be described as ‘quizzical’ when he walked into the O’Neill’s opposite Newcastle Station in his red hoodie – complete with massive Sunderland AFC logo.
Everton were pretty poor yesterday and in a tight game committed the crime of conceding first. Sessegnon still had loads to do when Baines misplaced a pass – a shoddy team effort on a dodgy day for The Blues.
Anyway……..over to Gaz for the Mackem verdict…………………………………………………………………..
Have you ever spent ages and ages on a problem or puzzle, and then, when you finally come up with the answer, wonder why
took you so long – but still wonder in the back of your mind how easily you’d be able to do it again, if at all?
So it felt as a Sunderland supporter having watched us beat Everton for the first time in nineteen attempts. It was a thing of process and functionality rather than beauty, but was no less satisfying for us having finally cured the curse.
As a game it was pretty unremarkable – home advantage and one gifted footballer, Stephane Sessegnon, being the difference in a fairly mundane EPL clash.
Sunderland undoubtedly played well above the level they’ve shown most of the season, while Everton were a disappointment and the names of Mirallas, Pienaar and Felliani – that caused real concern in the run up to the game – were only infrequently commented upon by those of us who like to barrack.
Far too many times in the past we’ve looked at the relative merits of clubs and players and felt that there’s not a great deal of difference on paper. We’ve then gone into the game thinking that we are playing against equals only to find we’ve been outfought and out-witted by Moyes, particularly in the midfield.
Yesterday, we approached the game knowing that this was a much bigger test than playing the horse-botherers the week before.
If the Premiership is much of a muchness outside the top four or five, then EFC have been the flag bearers for the rest of us plodders. Recent form has been good, Top 4 has remained in sight and Moyes has talked-up his current crop as his best ever.
So being underdogs when playing Everton suited us, and, as we know Paolo’s just been the Tailors. It seemed that our players responded to this, and their newly found faith in manager, themselves and each other. We played you at the right time and I hope future fixture lists can be equally as obliging.
Seb Larsson harried, cajoled and started to look like he really could play centre-midfield. Next to him Alfie N’Diaye carried on from where he left off the week before, seemingly in the three or four different places on the pitch at exactly the same time. McLean, while never as creative as when at his best, worked hard and Johnson was our main threat, Sessegnon apart, nearly bagging a second at the end.
By comparison, Everton’s strong-looking midfield played like strangers. Fellaini, who has hurt so much in the past just in front of our back four appeared to play un-ambitiously deep. Pienaar drifted and occasionally threatened but seemed to lack the conviction to do anything more telling in the final third, while the much-heralded Mirallas looked fairly pedestrian; a first half run and cut-in, apart.
The midfield area was all the more important because both teams lacked a striker who could change the game on his own. I’ve always like Anichebe but he never really threatened and Yellow-Witch offered a far greater threat when he came in the second half, not least for his theatrical falls under pressure from Danny Rose late on. He still looks a shadow of the bloke who has tormented us in our last two matches
For our part, Graham worked the line but rarely threatened Howard’s goal himself. £5m on that? Apparently.
Both defences were comfortably on top, with Sunderland’s full backs impressing the most. Jack Colback seemingly saves his best performance for playing Everton, while Rose will be top of our summer spending wishlist. Coleman looked more comfortable in possession than I’ve seen him before and Baines, although by his own standards poor, made us as nervous as a 1970’s children’s entertainer at the chief constables invitation evening when he threatened going forward.
When the goal came, it was a proper sucker punch. I always wonder if the announcements of forthcoming injury time can distract some teams. Certainly, Baines seemed to go sleep when carelessly giving the ball away, before Larsson prompted Sessegnon to run on and repeat his trick of finding the bottom corner through placement rather than power as he did at the Wonga Dome last week. Replays suggested that Howard – in proper footballers parlance – would be ‘disappointed with that’, having seemingly got his hand to it but not sufficiently to divert the shot around the post.
It really is a great time to score. It felt a deserved half-time lead although – two Larsson free-kicks apart – our goal threat was limited. And it certainly set the scene for the second half. Once we had a lead to protect we played with a resilience not seen for over twelve long months. The late Everton flurry from an indirect free-kick in our penalty area seemed to produce an extra three or four red-and-whites on the field as our players scrapped to clear the ball to one of the biggest cheers of the day.
There were still plenty of incidents and talking points. What in-the-Swedish-meatballs was Larsson thinking about when he tried to lob his own keeper from 40 yards? And if said keeper then catches the ball has he denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity? I don’t recall having seen a keeper get booked for catching a back-pass before, but won’t lose any sleep over it.
And so the final whistle was greeted with some relief, and not a little celebration. I’d cheered down every one of those final ten minutes so much, I was feeling a little hoarse. I know this because a Geordie tried to punch me on the way home.
Paolo jumped for joy and made his apparently traditional war dance at the end as he thanked the fans and the fans thanked him. In just seven days he’s turned our world upside down and we love it.
Everton slunk away, seemingly with other things on their minds. Hopefully, for you Toffee fans it’s the upcoming fixture at ‘Analfield’ (copyright – bloke on the train) that’s occupying their focus, and not the balmy beaches of Florida.
Sixth place looks assured and the fact that it’s you, and not either the Skunks or the Red-Sh1te, is definitely ‘good for football’ (I have no evidence for that, it just is)
Good luck with the rest of the season!!
Yes – thanks for that. I suspect we’ll 1. Need it 2. Be back at the SoL next season.
Fulham preview to come next
Sunderland Preview: No Horsey Jokes…Well, Neigh-rly
In our occasional series of guest bloggers, we turn to our friend Gary once again – he’s becoming more of a part time intern – for a bit of insight into the Mackem mindset post Paolo and their storming of the Geordie house of cards last Sunday. His sense of optimism may not have been their even two weeks ago…but it makes for a good read. There’s potential for a decent game on Saturday, as long as the Toffees don’t let the home team’s emotions dominate the occasion. Our terrible record at Arsenal was maintained midweek, which is as good a reason as any to believe we can continue our dominance of Sunderland. Anyway, I’ll let Gary tell you what he thinks…
You can’t fool me. I’ve been here before. Sunderland versus Everton – if the bookies are offering any odds at all on a home win then they are just taking the Mickey Thomas and paying out in counterfeit coins only.
I’ve lost count, but I reckon we now sit at eighteen games since we last beat the Blues, home or away. In other words, not once in David Moyes’ eleven-year reign, despite us trying out nine different managers in that same period.
So why on earth would I predict anything other than a SAFC defeat or – oh joy of joys – a dour no-score draw, especially given our recent form and horribly disappointing home performances?
Well, there has been one recent change at the Stadium of Light that may have passed by your moral compass and does actually give us some hope.
In an appointment that almost completely by-passed the great British media, we’ve made Paolo Di Canio our new manager. You know, the quiet, unassuming Italian, famous for sportingly catching the ball at Goodison when Paul Gerrard lay motionless like a fallen dictator?
Despite having only a limited managerial career, mostly in the fourth tier of English football, poor Paolo was given the unenviable task of lifting not just results but the whole demeanour of club and city in seven games.
And with two of his first three games involving our perennial bogey sides, Neighcastle United and Everton, the guy didn’t have much hope to be honest.
And then it all changed…..
Whether it was the twice daily / six days a week training sessions, the extensive dossiers on the opposition or just the mere presence of a manager on a training field (something that Messrs. Keane and O’Neill never felt necessary), we have witnessed a re-birth.
To win at Sid James Park is always special for a Mackem. To do it so emphatically with a three goal winning margin, a clean sheet, and the natives smashing up their own locality in self-pity just about makes it a perfect day out for all concerned.
And that it came from THIS team, a group who had us yearning for those halcyon days of Jon Stead and Jeff Whitely, made it even more incredible.
I still like to think that the man running my football team is someone close to greatness. Someone intelligent, articulate, cultured, perhaps even close to genius, such is his record in cajoling players to perform at the highest levels of endeavour. Well, we tried that and it didn’t work did it, which is why we ended up with Paolo.
So it doesn’t matter that his experience is limited, that his reputation in the game is… errr… scratchy? Paolo has come in and talked-the-talk (much of it comprehensible), strutted down the touchline at the landfill and delivered us a day we’ll talk about on Wearside for many a long year. Forza Paolo!
So, Si, signor… optimism is here, like the spring we thought would never come. Relegation? Never crossed my mind.
Which just leaves me looking for any pointer – any suitable indication or even mere hint that THIS will be our day. The day when we finally put to bed the Toffee’s curse and leave it to wake up screaming next to a butchered horses head (too much imagery? – sorry).
Well, try this.
April 20th was Hitler’s birthday. It was also my Nana’s birthday. My Nana lived in Swindon Road, Sunderland. The only reason for SAFC fans to like Swindon is that’s where Paolo made his name as a manager.
It’s in the stars and possibly the tea-leaves (cheap Scouse dig there in case you missed it) and I confidently predict…
A score-draw! 1-1
Everton 2 Sunderland 1 – Curly Hair too Sunderland one
How much better is that? After an outstanding performance last week which yielded just one point, yesterday the Blues dug in and managed to do (just) enough to get three.
With twenty minutes to go things were looking bleak but this grand old team of ours has quite a few qualities, steely determination is certainly one of them.
The first half was pretty even really, with Everton having more of the ball but Sunderland making the better chances. Quite a decent side Sunderland really, with the likes of Johnson, Fletcher and Sessignon. There was a chance to try the much overused punditry style right there…yer Johnsons, yer Fletchers and yer Sessignons just then, but it was skilfully avoided as it’s hugely annoying. They also had a poppy free James Maclean, must be some kind of Celtic/Rangers thing?
Where were we? Oh yeah, quite decent Sunderland.
For the Blues it wasn’t really happening in the first half. Pienaar, almost certainly linked to his new do, looked a little out of sorts yesterday. Too many long balls when it’s his short passing and trickery that make him such an asset. And that’s despite his new barnet potentially playing a part (Carsley/Gravesen to Real style) in Leon’s England call up. Everton were good at retaining possession but finding it really hard to carve out any meaningful chances against resolute opposition.
The main spark of creativity was coming from the be-gloved Kevin Mirallas, who seems happy to hold on to the ball, sometimes running crossfield, in order to make chances, interchanging frequently with Pienaar. This may have an impact on Seamus, who was exposed on a couple of occasions as first Sessignon and then Fletcher (who looked pretty hesitant for a decent striker) failed to score when bearing down on Tim Howard.
Everton’s plight looked worse when the gloves quite literally came off as Mirallas limped off, possibly hamstrung. This gave another chance to the busy Steven Naismith. It’s really irritating when you’re faced with someone who has a lookalike but you can’t quite put your finger on who it is. Got it with Naismith though. It’s a slightly chunkier, slightly narkier looking Les Dennis.
Our best first-half effort probably came from a free-kick, caused by one of them mad Seamus Riverdance runs. Baines squared to Jela, who with an improvised effort nearly hit the target. Worked hard yesterday did Nikica, good to see.
As the first half meandered to a close, Neville actually accepted the invite to shooooot and did so to reasonable effect. Next, Sunderland scored. Leon ‘switched off’ for a second and that was enough for Johnson, his fellow number 21, to get in and finish well. Cue a few comedy boos and much gloom and doom for Evertonians.
A wise blue pointed out that Everton only really score at the Street End in the Leauge this season, Baines v Newcastle being the only exception, but after 70 minutes it was looking grim. The closest we came was a couple of Johnny Heitinga headers, one cleared comfortably off the line and the other badly miscued. Jagielka’s form, he was rock solid again yesterday, suggests that it has to be him plus Johnny or Syl, but you do lose a bit in the opposing box when the big Frenchman is missing.
Moyes, who gets criticised for not making subs soon enough, brought on Vellios for Neville, who’s been pretty decent in recent weeks. When Gibson comes back into the side it’ll be very interesting to see whether Neville reverts to the bench our gets in ahead of Seamus.
This also saw the entrance of ‘King’ Louis who quite rightly got a good reception. Tolos’ introduction meant that Fellaini dropped back into midfield although he still played in a pretty advanced position. Potential masterstroke from Moyesy there, Vellios occupied Cuellar and O’Shea, leaving space for Fellaini. And when he got the ball in such a position, he drilled a great shot hard and low into the corner. The ball had make its way through a few pairs of legs, but thems the breaks. Back to the Semus v Neville debate, Coleman was actually Everton’s furthest forward player during that move, occupying a couple of defenders to create space for the Big Fella. Maybe, just maybe, if we are going to be a top 6 side that’s why he has to get the nod ahead of Neville’s superior nous and positioning.
There was just time for Saha to get caught offside on the exact same blade of grass as he had many times in the past before the big man struck again. Another ball into his feet, from Leon once again, this time a brilliant flick which somehow made it through John O’Shea’s legs. When you watch the TV replay it looks like it’s going to hit him every time, but somehow sneaks through. Jela, from memory very much like he did at Wembley, (never seen it on TV) simply passed it into the opposite corner with the inside of his right foot. The next touch was indeed the celebration. Beautiful. Apparently that maintains his record of never having gone more than 3 games without bagging for the Blues. Nice.
Everton’s somewhat dodgy defence was nearly breached straight after when Louis won a far post header to set up Cuellar. Luckily for us, Gardner, who has been a thorn in the Blues side in the past, blocked his effort right in front of a Belgium flag in the Park End.
Not too much happened after that. Vellios was pretty energetic and had some neat touches, looking the part. Sunderland threw on Conor Wickham, who is absolutely massive by the way, but to no great effect. Oh and Der Hammer came on and misplaced a pass and had an awful shot. More Mallet’s Mallet (ask yer dad) on this occasion. Danny Rose was blocked off by Fellaini and just to confirm to Sunderland and their fans that this wasn’t their day, was penalised and then booked. Ah well.
Despite conceding first for the SIXTH time in a row, once again Everton held firm and ended the run of draws with a crucial win. If we could keep the winning run going through November then the tough tests which await us in December can be faced with more confidence.
We rode our luck a little, against the Black Cats of all people, but who cares? A win is a win is a win.
Nice one Blues.
Everton 4 Sunderland 0 – Blues mackem suffer for the 18th time
Admit it – you never saw that one coming did you.
It’s not the 18th time we’ve used that pun by the way (it’s about the 5th) but it’s a while since they beat us like.
After an OK-ish point at Norwich, the whole thing had a kind of inevitable air really. Moyesy rang the changes (expected) and the first half was really pretty dire (fully expected). Fielding an unfamiliar line up, the Blues were OK without looking in any way penetrative. Sunderland were worse if anything, appearing to settle for damage limitation against a team with bigger fish (y on a little dishy) to fry.
The Sunderland support was around one eighth of their previous showing, maybe a little harsh, although there were a couple of surprise Black Cat guests in the Park End. They really didn’t need to sit on their hands as there was little or nothing for them to shout about. The issue with the first half (somehow resolved in the second) was that there was only one ‘recognised’ striker on the pitch. Recognised striker? Well, big Denis ‘El Traca’ himself. Not the easiest person to recognise as a striker really. He threw himself around as per, but has still to scale the heights of his herculean displays against Chelsea and City.
Phil Neville, possibly as a residual effect of Cup game, possibly because he just is Phil Neville, was getting plenty of abuse from the visiting and proceeding to fall over right in front of them. Weird feeling yesterday, Everton worked the ball nicely and rolled it over to the left for……..wait a minute no not Baines but Phil to cut in on his right foot. He did OK to be honest.
There was a slightly hairy moment when Tim Howard slipped and fell on his face as MacLean looked like he was clean through, but no.
Everton were creating a few chances, without really looking like scoring. Faddy, making his first start in years, did his usual tricks (running down blind alleys and taking one touch too many) but to no great effect. Pienaar blazed over and Fellaini shot wide. The only Sunderland threat came from a great overhead attempt from Sessignon, but it was probably going to take something equally special for them to score. The only other incident of note was some cheeky cheers for David Vaughan as he went over to take a corner in front of the Street End.
Something had to give in the second half and it was immediately apparent that the Toffees had come out with more purpose. It’s easy to be confident about the Blues at the moment, but despite fielding a weakened side just how many of Sunderland’s team would you have in the Everton side? Based on yesterday’s evidence, not many. MacLean maybe? Larsson on his day. Sessignon probably.
Having had territorial control for most of the first half, Everton began to put this to better effect with Fellaini (not many teams have got one as good as him), Pienaar and Osman taking control of the centre of midfield. Then the goal came.
McFadden’s corner was cleared to Pienaar, he set up Leon, who drew a save from Mignolet and Magy Gueye lashed home the rebound. The looked well chuffed with that too. Quite a bit of conjecture about whether Gueye or Drenthe should start at Wembley. Ian Marshall’s Matters admires the pace, guile and skill of Royston Ricky, but let’s face it, he’s off his head. Magy has looked more and more assured recently (and presumably has now recovered from the excessive praise lavished on him by Andy Townsend) and just maybe he should get the nod, with Drenthe being a better ‘impact’ player from the bench. Maybe.
Back to the action (always wanted to say that) and there was a self-imposed scramble around Tim Howard’s goalmouth. That was it from Sunderland. End of.
First Pienaar curled in a beauty in front of the Street and then Leon, seemingly seconds after, slotted in a carbon copy. Carbon copy is probably an outdated term now, so it was more of a facsimile. Or maybe, he duped it. Or something. Anyway, it was a bit like Pienaar’s. Except the hair was different. Bit of grey in there now for Neon Leon, who seems to have been with the club longer than the Bullens Road stand. Bless him, he was good yesterday.
Then, after Fellaini was subbed to rest him up for the semi, and Faddy was subbed, Big Vic scored. The man who doesn’t want to be known as super sub, it turns out, is a pretty decent sub. Go figure. Vital goals when we were struggling at Wigan, Villa and West Brom have all bought us points. He took his goal well against The Baggies at home (didn’t he score against them in Big Dunc’s last game too? Their fans must think he’s ace) and has done OK. Could be very good according to Moyesy, as long as he keeps his head down.
And that was pretty much it. A routine win in the end and an illustration that maybe we have got a bit of a squad thing going on. Seamus made a quick appearance but didn’t have time for his trademark shot into the side netting. He replaced Phil, necessitating the seamless transition of Hibbo from Alves-like right-back to a Marcello-esque left-back. Oh how adaptable these ‘modern day’ footballers are. And still he refused to ‘shooooooot’ but did a great ‘shepherding the ball out of play’ for a goal-kick at the end. Nice one Tony.
Next stop – semi-final preview.
Sunderland preview (and quick look back at Norwich)
So as we look forward to playing Sunderland once again, a quick look back at Norwich away. The games sure come thick and fast over the Easter period, especially when the pub beckons for any aspiring young (or in this case old and ageing) blogger.
The Blues came away from Carrow Road with a decent point, despite having led twice.
The main reflection is one of just how ace (apart from feigning injury – sort it Nikica) our new centre forward is. At last, we have a striker who wants to be in the box. Sure, he will play his part in build-up and will reassuringly work hard and get stuck in, but his priority is to be on the end of the chances. The two finishes on Saturday were beautiful, the first instinctive (right foot) and the second just cool (left foot) with the proverbial ‘pass into the net’. Nice.
The back four (same one that played at Klanfield) looked much shakier, with Jagielka especially disappointing for the second goal, seemingly eased off the ball too easily. At least we are now clear what our best back four is right now and just for the time being, Jags ain’t in it.
Of course the main talking point was the massive security alert (East Anglian Riot Police were on standby) caused when Tony Hibbert hit the post. The inside of the post. Tony. Hibbert.
It would be typical Everton to get kicked out of the league and cup, the week before we’ve got a big semi on (leave it), due to excessive joyous and non-threatening rioting. This has to be the closest he’s ever been. His best other chance cited tends to be the one at home to Birmingham, Saturday lunchtime in the season we finished fourth. It was a day for unlikely scorers as Heskey had given Brum the lead. Big Dunc equalised and Tony was faced with a very presentable chance in front of the Park End – only to screw wide.
Ian Marshall’s Matters was recently party to a hypothetical conversation about what would happen if Tony scored at Wembley. Yes, you would have to go on the pitch. Have to. Scary thought.
Looking to the semi and a lot of Blues have seemingly adopted the ‘military precision’ approach to planning. Meticulous preparation right down to Service Stations used and Blue/Red pubs and all that stuff. You imagine many to have a ‘war room’ set up at home with terrain and tube maps on display.
There’s an episode of Father Ted called ‘Speed 3’ which is based around a milk float not going below 5mph because there’s a bomb on board. Ted is frantically scribbling what appears to be a complex diagram for ages on the blackboard but what it actually says is ‘We put the brick on the accelerator?’. In the case of the Blues going to Wembley, for all the preparation surely it’s all about ‘We get there early, get drunk and then take it from there’.
Now to Sunderland and for all the ‘Monday morning quarterbacks’ we’ve got out there, it’s a pretty tricky situation which faces Moyesy from a team selection perspective. The temptation would be to throw 11 non-starters for Saturday in there but that seems unlikely. Suspect we’ll be looking at a team not dissimilar to the one which started at Anfield. We really need our key players; Baines, Distin, Heitinga, Fellaini and Jelavic to be 100% for Wembley.
Just quick word on ‘them’ – things are a bit tougher for KKKenny. If Moyes did rest just about everyone, he may get a bit of grief but this would soon be forgotten in the build-up to the semi-final. Dalglish just doesn’t have that luxury. So his team plays 24 hours later and the manager really needs a win to solidify his own position. It will be interesting to see how it unfolds. Both Everton and Liverpool are playing pretty robust opponents too.
As for the Mackems, they must still be scratching their heads about the cup replay and why their team really didn’t turn up that night. Every single logical thought suggested that was going to be a tight game but the irresistible force (O’Neill v Moyes) couldn’t make a dent in the immovable object (Everton v Sunderland).
It’s about 17 games since we lost to The Black Cats (gone off the White Stripes since our visit to SoL?) and they probably think they’ve got a really good chance of changing that today. Since our win up there, they’ve claimed creditable draws against City and Spurs, although the game v Spurs was a bit of a shocker really.
There’s certainly more at stake for Sunderland, but The Blues will be desperate to keep their run going and hopefully we’ll get a good display from those <cliché alert> ‘playing themselves into contention for a Wembley place’.
Expect a really tight game (no really, this time) – a draw looks like a distinct possibility.
Onward Evertonians.
Sunderland 0 Everton 2 – Stadium of Blue and White
Routine win, you didn’t expect anything else did you? What? Really?
Let’s just tick off the Everton neuroses in advance of the game
- We never turn up in the big away games
- O’Neill has the upper hand over Moyes
- We blew our chance at home
- Gueye and Osman wide (4th and 5th choice wide men)
- Negative Moyes
- 4-4-2 Moyes
- Blew it for the derby (and lost momentum) Moyes
- Probably lose on pens
- Ref will ruin it for us
- <insert own personal Everton issue as appropriate>
Forget all those. Everton were magic, Sunderland were (made to look) tragic and the blues breezed into the semis against ‘them’.
It was actually like a ‘top side’ (think United/Arsenal/Chelsea in their pomp), going to some northern outpost and just slapping them down. Two nil was a travesty; Everton might have had many more.
That’s the view from the tangled, joyous mass of Blues from behind the goal. There has been no opportunity to corroborate any of the following information with TV highlights, so feel free to point out any inaccuracies at your leisure. Who cares? Moyesy’s army is on the march and we’re ALL going to Wembley. Twice maybe?
Maybe it was the unseasonably warm weather (hottest ever day in Sunderland ever) but the sunshine and number of away fans amassed around the ground made it feel like a special day was in the making. Everton’s away support (like most teams no doubt) doesn’t mind a drink and the heat and long build up just multiplied this by loads of times. The free coaches were a master stroke – nice one Bill. Sorry, obviously it’s not considered ‘de rigeur’ to praise our Chairman, but last night was a credit to him, our manager, our players, our fans and our great tradition.
Anyway, a good example of the refreshed nature of the Blues support was that three Evertonians were trying to occupy the seat next to Ian Marshall’s Matters – well the space stood in front of one of the seats. No one cared. And no one sat down. It was a night when you saw a few familiar faces, those people you don’t really catch at home games but always bump into at the big aways. A great night to be a blue.
The match started relatively evenly, but that didn’t last for too long. The first good sign was that Gueye and Osman got off to a strong start, looking confident in possession and linking up well with their teammates. Fellaini looked in the mood and a rejuvenated Cahill (looks decent again doesn’t he?) was getting stuck in nicely, he’s like Kryptonite to the Mackems is our Timmy.
Gibson made an error to let one of their players through on goal but Howard was untroubled. Then Jelavic scored and the place went mental. The Everton end was described as ‘exploding like an angry sea’ by The Independent. But there was no anger, just unbridled joy. This was matched in equal measure by hysterical laughter when Vaughan did what most of us have done on a football pitch, kick the ball with one leg and hit the other, in front of the buoyant Blues.
And in a way, that was all she wrote. Everton had loads of chances, Sunderland very few. The second half did go really slowly and the ‘longer in the tooth’ among us were waiting for a reaction from O’Neill’s side – even a scruffy goal in the last few minutes to get us twitchy. No sign really. Everton had chances galore, (Jela) Jelavic really should have scored with the best of them. Looks a proper centre-forward (the first in ages) does Nikica.
There was even time for Jags, Denis and (he’ll score when we he wants) Tony Hibbert to make guest appearances for the lauded Gueye, Cahill and Jelavic. What sort of line up we’d have had going into extra time would have been interesting – luckily that was never going to happen.
Everton repelled everything, Sunderland gave the ball away on a regular basis. The ground emptied. MacLean, the anticipated threat (the word tyro may be appropriate here) was snuffed out by Neville, resorting to kicking the medal winning specialist. Sessingnon beat the first man regularly (he loved running at Gibson) but never the second. Referee Probert irritated both sets of fans (too many bookings as well) but nothing to worry about. Five minutes of injury time came and went.
Boy Cattermole was aced by Man Fellaini, Baines was serene, Cahill industrious, Distin and Heitinga impregnable. Excellent blues. The enigma that is Gibson had a couple of shots and played OK, but once again made Fellaini look more comfortable. Weird that.
Just maybe, Moyesy will be forgiven for his derby folly if we can beat them at Wembley. How brilliant would it be if we look back on that as a masterstroke?
And he showed his class last night too. Whilst Heitinga desperately tried (and pretty much failed) to get his team-mates to do a ‘hold hands and salute the fans’ style salute, the man who picks the team was on the half-way line, shaking hands with all the Sunderland players. Class that.
Whatever happens at Wembley, Everton have a modern, dignified, respected, resourceful, balanced and likeable manager. Compare that to the bemused, out of touch, old school, hack-attacking, profligate, paranoid, unintelligible KKKing KKKenny.
The last three big domestic cup away supports saw a defeat, draw and win on pens (Chelsea, Liverpool, Chelsea), last night’s topped the lot. A landslide for the blue tide.
See you on Wembley Way.
We shall not be moved.
Sunderland Replay Preview: Blues to Wear down the Black Cats
The tension is building as the focus turns to the Cup Replay. It really is the biggest game of the season so far with all our crème eggs in this basket. The mood going into it is in stark contrast to the first game. The enigma that is Everton have to deal with the expectations of Blues everywhere and see this one through. There’s unfinished business ahead. The concern is the Toffees don’t always handle such circumstances. It’s not just the recent Anfield debacle – remember Reading last season?
Moyesy has played the old pressure is all on them now card. Not sure how much that one works. In truth it’s two evenly matched teams who are next to each other in the table and have drawn both games this season. So, it’s going to be tight. Extra time and penalties are probably a decent bet. It could be News at Eleven if ITV aren’t careful. Who cares as long as it’s the brave Boys in Blue getting roared off victorious by 6,000 Evertonians.
Moyes did great tactically on Saturday. He was the grandmaster against the new kid whereas here he’ll be up against an equally canny operator. He’s not often come off best against O’Neill – the Blues beating Villa at Goodison in 2009 was his only success whilst O’Neill was at Villa Park. His plans for this one will primarily be determined by fitness worries as there appears to be a few who need a late check. The shape should be the usual 4-4-1-1 with Jelavic being the focal point of our attack. Big Denis showed his eagerness in his late cameo against Swansea – another similar job against Sunderland would be good – when the game has been made safe.
Midfield will be the key battleground – battle being the word if Lee Cattermole comes back in after suspension. We’ll need to be able to stand up to a pumped-up and aggressive Sunderland on their home turf. Fellaini was rested on Saturday in readiness and Gibson brought back in. Moyesy has the option of re-uniting those pair, possibly dependent on how Gibson has recovered from his first game back. Phil Neville is another contender for the centre of midfield, especially due to the nature of the game. Moyesy’s talk of how driven Neville is looks like a politician trailing a new policy in the press, although if it was like the recent pre-Budget coverage he would have named the starting XI. Tim Cahill should be in there, if for nothing else than to worry the Mackems. We then need a bit of guile and someone who can cross a ball. If Royston is fit and rested and not in Moyesy’s bad books for whatever reason then this could be the game for him. When he’s focused and not rolling about he’s a handful and no Pienaar means we’re short of someone to try the unexpected. Neon Leon on the other flank also gives us a goal threat. He might even kick the turf again…the Mackems countered any arguments about a possible Everton penalty at Goodison with the one Leon was awarded on Boxing Day.
Our defence will have Sessegnon to deal with – one of Sunderland’s better players who makes them tick. He slotted on his return against QPR, as did Bendtner, so they’ll have a confident goal threat. Johnny and Syl have looked a fantastic pairing in recent weeks and it’s to be hoped they are able to carry on their good work. Jags showed he’d be a worthy deputy if called upon with his return to form at the Liberty. It’d still be a surprise if Moyesy put him back in. Heitinga’s leadership could be a decisive factor even if Jags seems to be the official vice-captain. His leadership is more of the backs to the wall variety which may be required if we’re defending any kind of lead late on.
There are 6,000 on the march with Moyesy’s army. This is the type of game for Evertonian heroes to be created. Come on you Blues, who doesn’t want any tea?
Swansea preview
So Everton head abroad for the first time in ages for a league game in what is probably a case of ‘before the Lord Mayor’s show’.
After the major frustration over the team selection for the derby, there would be much less concern if Moyesy changed things around today. No points from the last two games mean that league position has become less relevant and our only chance of going to abroad proper (as opposed to the Prinicipality) is via the Budweiser Cup.
Swansea have never beaten Everton but maybe think if they don’t manage it today, they probably never will.
The past three months have been outstanding for the Swans, who bore many of the hallmarks of a relegation side when they visited Goodison in December. They did look neat and tidy in possession but really had only one decent chance (Danny Graham) and failed to score at the Old Lady, which at that time was unheard of. Finally the Blues wore them down and sent them back to the ‘land of their fathers’ with nothing.
Since then they have been lauded as the Barcelona of the EPL and have scored some impressive victories. Oh and Brendan Rodgers is like ‘shite in a field’ (everywhere) and has taken over from previous ‘up and coming’ managerial legends like Phil Brown, Ian Holloway and Aidy Boothroyd in being celebrated in all quarters. The truth about Swansea will probably emerge next season, when they go through that ‘difficult second album’ syndrome. That said, they’ll go five points clear of the Blues with a win. They’ve also won their last three in the league.
So an in-form team plays at home to a struggling outfit who are likely to make loads of changes and are awaiting their biggest game of the season. Oh and the visitors haven’t won an away game since last year. Everything points to a home win. And it’s the team who have committed the most fouls this season against the team who have committed the least. Will leave it with you to guess which way round it is.
However, for Evertonians it doesn’t really work like that. The expectations will be for at least a point and a much stronger performance. Having started the last three games in a sluggish fashion, we need to get off to a flyer in Wales.
Team news wise, it’s probably anyone’s guess but expect to see Jagielka, Victor, Denis and (that) Gueye (lad) involved at some stage. Gibson is also a potential starter and whatever we think of his all-round contribution we were on a great run with him in the side (Donovan was another factor like).
It sounds like Rodwell (injury record starting to look very concerning) and Seamus may not make it.
The Swans will no doubt feature Gylfi Sigurdsson who’s scored a load of goals since coming on loan from Hoffenheim. That Russian bloke at Fulham is also on loan from the Bundesliga, perhaps another sign that the overhyped EPL (just calling it that for a laugh honest) just ain’t what it used to be. Oh and a certain Steven Pienaar also joined the Blues from Dortmund on loan.
If he starts today, it will be interesting to see how Jelavic gets on. We’ve seen a little bit of everything from the Croatian so far; ruthless finishing, strength, petulance and a willingness to go to ground a little bit too easily. More to like than dislike so far but despite us ‘loving our centre forward’ at Everton, he needs to show he’s made of the right stuff. It’s Everton and Newcastle who are identified as clubs who ‘love their centre-forwards’ (although for Newcastle it’s usually limited to ‘number 9’). There must be a club somewhere who likes their ‘limited in possession but great at last ditch tackles’ right-backs, if so, no doubt Tony Hibbert will end his career there. We love Hibbo (what’s not to like with him?) but Wednesday night was another example where his prowess on the ball was a big limitation for Everton.
Bit like Prince or someone is Tony, constantly reinventing himself. He starts most seasons as 3rd or 4th choice right back (this season arguably Neville, Coleman and Heitinga were ahead of him) but now he’s back in the side. Where Prince has a name change or new image, the artist formerly known as Tony Hibbert is EXACTLY the same. Decent going backwards, not so good going forwards.
Enough on Hibbo (he’ll probably score today now), let’s get Swansea out of the way (take a draw?) and on to the main matters at hand.
Sunderland here we come.
Everton 1 Sunderland 1 – Irresistible force draws with immovable object
A little bit of everything from the Everton class of 2011/12, summing up their home campaign in one game.
So Sunderland never beat Everton and Moyes never beats O’Neill – and that run continues.
Sunderland will be well pleased with their draw (especially having Sessegnon and probably Cattermole back for the replay) and in the end whatever the views on Moyes’ derby selection policy, his calculated gamble has failed. Having made six largely unnecessary changes on Tuesday, a win was an absolute minimum requirement and it just didn’t quite happen. Close though.
Now we’re left to chew on a derby humiliation and a logistically tricky Tuesday trip to the Stadium of Light (and last time we went to one of them in a big cup game, we got gubbed 5-0).
The FA cup is ace though.
Big away support is a rare phenomenon these days, with reduced allocations and ticket prices acting against them. It is great when there are more away fans and you couldn’t help but be impressed with the turn out from Sunderland (despite all that ‘your support is fcking sh1t’ sh1t) and they were bouncing when they took an early lead.
This was the Everton that laboured through the first half of the season at home, making a sluggish start and crucially conceding the first goal. Sunderland started with a sense of urgency and energy and McCLean and Colback both figured significantly – McCLean in particular threatening to tear Phil a new one early on and forcing an early booking.
Despite this there was a big penalty shout for a foul on Drenthe. A combination of Friday night hangovers, early St Patrick’s Day refreshments and the fact that it was at the other end of the ground, meant it was hard to discern whether Gardner fouled the man we don’t call Royston Ricky.
But there’s a bit of footy karma here. If you ‘go to ground’ as much as Drenthe does, then you ain’t going to get much sympathy from referees. Sort it Royston, this is not the Everton way (we’ll ignore Limpar v Wimbledon here).
A Park End sage did say recently that you know what you are going to get with him after the first half an hour and on a lot of occasions you can sub him then. Yesterday you may have hooked him after 15 mins. Typically, as befits a man who fits the definition of the word ‘mercurial’, he went on to hit the bar with an excellent free-kick.
Anyway, initially we were looking off the pace and it wasn’t a massive shock when Sunderland took a short free-kick and Bardsley, who’s one of the few Mackem players to have looked decent against Everton in the past, drove it home from about 25 yards, cue pandemonium from the travelling hoards and more anti-Moyes anger from the expectant Evertonians.
After all, this was the easiest Everton line up to predict ever. After Tuesday’s changes, it was only ever going to be this line up, even if star pupil Jags was once again available (back among the own goals at Klanfield too). So the assumption was that we would actually start the game well, but alas no.
It’s weird but as we’ve seen so many times this season, when two relatively even teams play, if one goes ahead the next goal is most likely to be an equaliser. Something psychological there.
The rest of the first half was pretty even really, with the Blues trying to force the pace but the industry and pace of Sunderland did cause one or two problems. That said, Howard didn’t have a save to make for the rest of the game.
Somewhat fussy refereeing was causing extra frustration, but before Goodison got really nasty, what could be a priceless equaliser came. Baines, who worked hard all day as per usual, sent over a cross which Jelavic got his head on to, before a Cahill header steered it home. A proper nemesis for Sunderland is Tim and he played a key role yesterday.
The second half was really all Everton. That’s not to say they were particularly outstanding or created loads of chances, but they did dominate possession and almost did enough to force a winner.
Three things seemed to change. First, Fellaini ‘decided’ to assume control of the game. His talent is such that he should be doing much more of this. It was hard to discern if anything changed tactically but he did boss it for a while (before drifting further forward later in the match).
Cahill also took on a slightly different role, being the ‘free’ man in both boxes and as a result heading away just about every one of Larsson’s threatening set-pieces.
And eventually The Blues resorted to a lot of long balls from the back. Heitinga and Distin played a more and more significant part in the game (at both ends) and the more direct approach nearly worked.
Again, that’s not to say that Everton created loads of chances or were totally dominant, but they maybe did enough to win. Maybe.
As it was, the best moment came when Heitinga’s header brought a good save out of Mignolet and he recovered well to block Jelavic’s follow up. Still liking the look of Nikica, he has the air of a proper centre-forward and seems to have the work-rate levels required to thrive for The Blues in a (kind of) one up front formation.
Having seen the save at relatively close quarters (Park End vantage point) it didn’t seem to have the Jim Montgomery-esque qualities being eulogised about. Maybe TV pictures contradict that but as Ian Marshall’s’ Matters was observing a self-imposed Everton media blackout (common on non-winning matchdays), no contrary evidence has been seen.
So to Sunderland we go to see if our season will continue into April. It will be very interesting to see the team selection for our game at Swansea three days before. Oh and we now know it’s them in the semis if we get through. Beating both Spurs (assuming) they win and Chelsea may have been unrealistic so maybe this hypothetical semi is the best thing. Hmmmmm.
And then we were all made aware of the Muamba news and then it all seemed a bit less important. Stating the obvious is what we do here but really hope he’s OK. The fact that he’s survived thus far seems positive as the first reports seemed to suggest that another fatality was the most likely outcome.
One of Muamba’s former sides, Arsenal, visit Wednesday. Preview Tuesday.
Ian Marshall's Matters 
Sunderland preview – Three lions, three points?
In the week ‘Neon’ Leon Osman joined Bainesy and Jags in the England Squad, we look ahead to Sunderland at home.
Regular readers (if any such discerning types exist) will know that Ian Marshall’s Matters sometimes run a critically unacclaimed guest preview – often when we’ve run out of things to say.
Well Moyesy always says look at the table after ten games, usually when The Blues haven’t won in the first seven, so we thought it was time to have a little look back at how things are going. Sunderland have only played nine but just ignore that.
We’ve invited a Blue and a Black Cat, let’s call them John and Gary, mainly because those are their names. So, without further ado, let’s hand over to Ian Marshall’s Matters with the questions.
What do you make of the season so far ?
John : 4th place after 10 games is good going, especially in light of recent poor starts by the Blues. There’s a lingering sense of disappointment because it could’ve been so much better. Conceding late equalisers against Newcastle and Fulham in games we should’ve won are two reasons and a general defensive frailty has made us too vulnerable. No one’s kidding ourselves that if we’d converted recent draws into wins we’d be definite top four material but it’d have given us some leeway for when we have a bad run. As it is we’ll have to maintain this level and hope our bad spell is minimal. It’ll be a shame if we can’t. So far then I’d say 6/7 out of 10. That means we need to do a job on Sunderland.
Gary : Has the season started yet? It’s hard to tell. I’ve had numerous conversations with SAFC fans ahead of an upcoming league game, with the agreement that ‘our season starts here’. And then it doesn’t. It seems silly to blame a postponed game in August for our ills, but the postponed match v Reading on the second Saturday of the season was undoubtedly an influence on this. We waited a month for our first home game and then it was against Liverpool, just two days after the Hillsborough apology. We struggled to victory against 10-man Wigan and have been draw specialists in far too many an outing, including West Ham and Swansea games that were there for the taking.
The worst thing about this early-season purgatory is that nobody seems to know what’s going wrong. Players are out of form, O’Neill seems powerless to change things, we ain’t scoring goals, we ain’t creating chances. It’s horrible to watch and it’s creating the same uneasy shifting in our seats that we had this time last season… an unease that was only solved by sacking Bruce. Those of us pleading patience have looked at the Toffees recent history for solace. ‘Poor starters, but they trust in Moyes and they always come good’. We are hoping that we & O’Neill can pick up some tips from Moyes after our traditional Goodison roll-over-and-die impression this Saturday.
2. What’s been the highlight so far?
John : There’s been a few – the opening game against Man Utd was fantastic – the passion and desire of players and fans gave us the edge. Helped by an almost unplayable performance by Fellaini. Good to see him getting back to that level against Fulham. There’s been spells where we’ve looked dazzling – our football has really evolved over the last couple of years. The 20 minute spell in the first half against Southampton was magic and similarly spells against Villa and Swansea were breathtaking. My favourite moment so far has been our second goal at the Liberty. Phil Neville winning the ball deep in his own half and managing to complete the pass to get it to Seamus Coleman could be a highlight in itself but Seamus moved it on to Fellaini. The Big Fella put in a lovely weighted pass down the right which Pienaar ran onto and squared for Mirallas to blast a first time shot against the bar. He had the peace of mind to head in the rebound to round off a brilliant end to end move.
Gary : Mmmm, so many to choose from…… Demba Ba taking second place in our goal scoring charts while getting us out of jail versus the Skunks was more of a relief than anything. The only game we can say we truly dominated was against Morecambe in the league cup – leaving Fletcher’s blistering start with us as frankly the highlight, the saving grace and the only flickering light of optimism in a truly mundane opening to the season.
3. OK. So how about the biggest disappointment?
John : There’s no debating this one. A rainy Tuesday in late September. 5,000 Evertonians anticipating their team to work hard, play the good stuff to somewhere near the level they had done in the previous game at Swansea (and would do a few days later against Southampton), and overcome a tough but winnable fixture to go into the next round. ‘Cos we’re all desperate to win something…and so is Moyesy supposedly. Not quite as bad as the 2012 Anfield derby selection disaster but this one also had too many changes with players inexperienced for this type of assignment – hello Junior and Magaye Gueye. In the previous round Moyesy had started with a strong team at Goodison against the very poor Leyton Orient and then made his changes once the game was easily won. This time we conceded the initiative even before the early goal. A few tools in the away end too throwing flares into the home supporters only enhanced the poisonous atmosphere amongst Evertonians that night.
Gary : Ah, this is more like it. We love a good moan in the East Stand and there’s just so much to choose from. Lack of atmosphere at the SOL (even though we’ve shifted the away fans – that’s your fault by the way for celebrating too raucously in March), poor team performances, poor individual effort, a lack of luck.. I could go on. But if Fletch is the highlight then it just helps to illustrate the absolute lack of impact made his fellow new season signing – one Adam Johnson. I don’t think I’ve seen a new signing make less of an impact since.. well since last season actually. He looks weak, he looks one paced, he looks lacking in ideas and confidence. His most notable action was being sick in the changing rooms when back at the Etihad in September. He’s been playing on an empty stomach ever since.
Who do you rate from the opposition?
John : Tough one…only joking Gary 😉 Used to rate King Louis – but he looked like a poor man’s Stuart Barlow for the last year or so at Everton. He had some hot streaks in his time here but there weren’t many in reality. Cue a return goal. Of those who were there last season I’d say Sessegnon and Mignolet look decent players. Sessegnon looked strong and skilful – able to get a goal and create chances for others. Mignolet seemed to have a few really good games from what I caught on telly. Obviously, a shred of self-confidence would make you a better keeper than Craig Gordon. For this season’s new faces there’s Scottish international James McFadden…really O’Neill? If that’s who you’re reduced to then the budget must be small. I can see another walk out looming. But Steven Fletcher has made a great start – even suggesting £15m wasn’t daylight robbery. It would be remiss not to thank David Vaughan at this stage for his outstanding contribution to our cup victory last season.
Gary : It’s begrudging admiration but it has to be Fellaini. He always dominates against us and appears to be moving that form into the big games, too. We loved the way he dominated Man United. His near hat-trick against Fulham was highly impressive and I just can’t believe nobody else has waved sufficient cash in front of Ken Billright to prise him away from you. My favourite Belgian (after Stella Artois & Simon Mignolet)
All very nice chaps but who do you hate from the opposition?
John : Not sure there’s anyone who is really loathed in this Sunderland team. Is that a condescending way of saying they’re not very good? Ok, apologies. That Lee Cattermole is a horrible little snide. They’ve even made him captain although it’s not a full-time job as he’s usually suspended. Dirty – always good for a foul – and one who gets into the referee’s ear. Think Sunderland fans try and defend him as not getting the most cards and not committing the most fouls – it’s just he’s shown a talent for it all his career, not just over one season. He just beats O’Neill himself – the jumping up and down on the touchline, annoyingly sanctimonious in every interview…although enormously well-regarded manager’s manager.
Gary : Well, you’ve got rid of Cahill and Stubbs remains in the background so we’re now looking at Neville (P) as our favourite hate figure. His comedy fall last season in the cup bang in front of the away fans, that resulted in a booking for McClean, will not be forgotten easily, particularly as he appears quite happy to keep repeating the amateur dramatics despite his Managers moans about serial divers. He’s not very good at it either. Boooooooo.
They are two proper football clubs meeting tomorrow. Loads of players must have played for both, name a good one and a really dodgy one…..
John : There’s been a fair few played for both sides, although not many who’ve really shined. In the Moyes era we’ve had the likes of Kevin Kilbane and currently – no wonder they’re finding it hard to score – Louis Saha and James McFadden. Kilbane had two longish spells with both clubs – long for him in his nomadic career. Within living memory the best player I’ve seen has to be Paul Bracewell. We signed him from them – think he made his debut at Wembley in the Charity Shield against Liverpool. He was brilliant alongside Peter Reid in the middle. One of the famous games at Goodison in the 84/85 championship season was our 4-1 win over Sunderland. Brace played a cross field pass – first time on the volley – to Trevor Steven. One of the goals of the season. He was never quite the same after that Billy sh1thouse Whitehurst tackle at St James’ Park. The other end of the scale would see the John Osters of this world but the prize would have to go to Brett Angell. He had short-lived spells with both clubs – this time he went from us to them – mainly because he was absolute garbage. He’d gained a reputation as a goalscorer with Stockport and Southend before the Blues took a punt on him. It wasn’t a glorious period for Brett or the Blues. He’d been on loan and looked terrible but the all-knowing Mike Walker must have seen something and signed him on permanent. Just one of many poor decisions by the Silver Fox. Amazingly Joe Royle managed to flog him onto Sunderland – who mustn’t have had a scouting network in the mid 90s or ever watched Match of the Day or read a newspaper during this period.
Gary : I actually blame Everton for splitting up one of our best teams in my SAFC supporting lifetime. Alan Durban had put together a strong and fairly young unit in the early 80’s and we were (despite Durban’s reputation as a safety-first protagonist) capable of playing quick and incisive football.
Brace and Ian Atkins were among that crop who finished the 83-84 season in our traditional last-game safety decider, not with finger-numbing anxiety but with a dominant and confident 2-0 away win at Filbert Street. My memory of Brace that day is probably my overriding one of him in our appalling early-80’s red pin-striped shirts.
Brace was always in the right place at the right time, and he used that time fully. Never hurried, tidy but decisive in his passing, and regularly on the edge of the eighteen yard area; prompting and looking for a shot on goal. When we looked ahead to the following season with some justified optimism for a change, we did so with Bracewell pulling the strings.
My memory may be clouded here but didn’t we sell him to you for £250,000? Exactly the same amount as we paid for him from Stoke 12 months earlier. Unbelievable, Jeff. You did us good and proper, took Atkins into the bargain (and rarely played him) and were rewarded with two league titles. Brace came back to us (twice) but was never the same player after the injury he picked up (at Sid James Park, wasn’t it?).
The legacy of Bracewell can be illustrated by the amount of players who have been dubbed ‘the new Paul Bracewell’. Brian Atkinson, Paul Thirlwell, Chris Lumsdon and, lately, Jack Colback have all taken that mantle. (Jack, take note – the other three ended up at Carlisle United) For a player who only had on season at his peak with us that’s quite a compliment. (We don’t talk about the stint under Keegoon, by the way)
On the flip side, it’s got to be Killer Kilbane hasn’t it? True story… I spoke to an Everton scout at a wedding do once. You’d just signed KK and I bought the scout-person-man a beer as a thank you. He then admitted he’d warned Moyes off him but DM signed him anyway on the basis that he was left-footed and tall, and he needed more height on the left side. Frankly, if I’d known that earlier I’d have pushed my own merits onto Moyesy but at least getting rid of Kilbane was an adequate alternative. Lovely guy, apparently – in fact so nice that he didn’t go looking for the ball as he obviously didn’t want to appear selfish to his colleagues. Just what we needed in the rough and tough Premier League. It didn’t make up for losing Bracewell and Atkins but thanks anyway.
You still there? Really? Good.
So there you have it – if it’s not already gone past 5pm on Saturday by the time you’ve got to the end of that, see you down at The Old Lady.
And let’s face it, we’ve all got a bit of a thing about Paul Bracewell.
Report to follow Sunday(ish)