Ewood Park bathed in the sun of a Saturday afternoon
as the six or eight thousand traveling fans made the atmosphere sparkle. Three decisons changed the game. Despite the interference of the referee and
his assistant the game had plenty of talking points but not goals.
The trip to Blackburn meant
plenty of Blues fans had made the trip to Ewood Park. The weather was pleasant enough and the pitch
was in pretty decent condition. Teams
with European aspirations doing battle, the sort of game against your rivals
that is more important than the games against the top three, perhaps.
Without some key players Hughes
has to make do in defence. Friedel keeps
goal behind a makeshift back four of Emerton, Ooijer, Khizanishvili and
Warnock.
A five man midfield includes the
recently called up England man Bentley alongside Reid, Derbyshire, Dunn and
Pederson, Santa Cruz occupies the lone role up front in a 451 with the emphasis
on width and defence.
TURNER IS ABOUT 5'10" or 6' SO A STANDARD SIZED COFFIN WOULD BE ABOUT RIGHT...
Moyes battered by injuries and
ACoN absentees picks a pretty standard 4 4 1 1.
Howard keeps goal, Neville drops into the defence alongside Capello
favourite, Lescott, Jagielka and Baines.
Carsley sits in front of the back four alongside Fernandes, Osman plays
on the left with Arteta on the right. Cahill
operates behind Johnson in attack.
As early of the second minute
Blackburn show that they have been watching and preparing for the visit of
Everton, Santa Cruz
easily evades his marker and gets behind Carsley at the front post but glances
his header just wide.
Two sides with one foot in the
‘clean sheet then score’ camp provide a scrappy opening; space and time are at
a premium as defence and midfield are solid and clogged respectively.
Friedel’s first real test comes
after Lescott romps upfield and plays in Neville, the cross is good but
Johnson’s run isn’t and the big American stopper comes to claim the cross.
The visitors start to dominate
possession but don’t really do much with it.
SPOT THE BALL
Dunn gets a yellow for a tackle
on Arteta.
Blackburn’s
strength on the wide positions is demonstrated with a cunning Pederson free
kick.
Everton pressure from the right
sees Arteta play some give and go with Cahill, space opens up for the Spaniard
and Friedel does well to parry the ball wide, from the corner kick an Osman
drive narrowly misses the upright.
Bentley demonstrates his intent
as Everton display their closing down and the shot goes well high.
Dunn is bamboozled by a cheeky
Neville flick so deliberately uses his hand to win the ball. Riley is only a few yards away and gives the
foul but mysteriously decides that the rules for ‘deliberate handball’ don’t
apply this afternoon and all Dunn gets is a brief chat.
More Everton pressure and another
corner kick and Jagielka’s stab is headed off the line from Dunn.
Neither manager makes half time
changes.
The first half starts with a wh!z
b@ng wh@llop.
Bentley forces a good save from
Howard as he breaks down the right channel and unleashes an unexpected low
drive. Howard clears his lines quickly
and Everton are on the counter, good work down the left see the ball arrive at
Cahill’s feet, he spots the late run of Fernandes and lays the perfect ball on
a plate for the Portuguese midfielder.
The away fans behind the goal groan as Fernandes manages to whack the
ball straight at Friedel.
The play calms down but Everton
retain the ball better and attack better, they aren’t able to really test
Friedel.
Arteta has his range on the dead
ball deliveries and a fantastic cross from the right is too good for anybody
else on the pitch and sails harmless through the six yard box at the perfect height
for the merest of glances to turn it in the net.
The game drags on and starts to
get feisty, two or three dodgy calls from Greg Turner, one classic in which
Arteta is bustled off the ball from behind his flag goes up for a Blackburn
throw in and Riley comes rumbled over from thirty odd yards away and reverses
the awful and wrong decision.
Fernandes hits the base of a much
relieved Friedel from a free kick.
Hughes makes a second change and
turns the game, Tu#### replaces Derbyshire which added to the inclusion
previously of McCarthy gives Blackburn that
boost up front and in the middle. The
game is more open now with Blackburn able to
keep the ball, build pressure and threaten Howard.
Late on Vaughn shows great desire
and beats a Blackburn defender to the ball,
Friedel comes out but Vaughn shows his mettle with a challenge against Friedel
that wins the ball, the Everton substitute is first to the loose ball and hooks
it into the path of the onside Johnson, the Everton striker rounds and
Khizanishvili and scores. Only when the
ball is in the net does Mr. Turner raise his flag for offside.
GLEN, WORLD CUP OR NOT YOU GOT IT WRONG YESTERDAY!
Tu#### has a late chance and to
end the game Santa Cruz
gets free in the area and smashes the ball just over the crossbar.
Everton played well enough
considering they fielded two players carrying knocks and a third who is not
fully match fit. They played well in
parts against a difficult opponent and created some good chances that they failed
to take. When they did take them they
were penalized. Had they played the
match against the ten men following Dunn’s handball things may have been
different.
A point away isn’t too bad a
result and we are still in fourth. The
team is missing Yakubu, Pienaar and Yobo.
Hughes played a makeshift back
four that managed to keep a clean sheet.
His substitutions made the game closer than it should have been and he
got lucky with some wrong decisions. His
team is built to be hard and tough but that hampers the goal threat. Considering a point against a top four team
is quite a good result for Sparky. His
moaned about McCarthy not getting a penalty can be ignored, he was fifty yards
away at the time.
Riley was his usual good
self. Plenty of common sense applied and
officiated with a smile and without getting flustered.
Three decisions changed the
game.
First only he knows why he
ignored the following and let Dunn continue to play.
Disciplinary sanctions
There
are circumstances when a caution for unsporting behaviour
is
required when a player deliberately handles the ball, e.g. when a
player:
•
deliberately and blatantly handles the ball to prevent an opponent
gaining
possession
Second he ran thirty or more
yards to correct a wrong call from the near touchline assistant referee, Glen
Turner.
Third he didn’t stop play when
McCarthy went down quicker than a strumpet’s knickers at Mardi Gras under the
challenge of Jagielka.
Glen Turner may have gone to Germany to
officiate at the World Cup but his wrong offside decision against Andy Johnson
was poor form. You can see it in his
mind, “these blue boys have been shouting at me all this half, and I’ll show
them”. If an assistant doesn’t actually
know how to recognize what an offside is or isn’t then he shouldn’t be on the
touchline.
Tough wintry game at Goodison Park. Tight in the first half but class tells in the second to give Everton a 2-0 lead.
Well wrapped up and well fed Goodison crowd gives a warm welcome to an ex player turned opposition manager. Bolton is seeking their first away League win since April and Everton want to continue their good home form. The home side doesn’t win too many on Boxing Day but with Arteta back in the side they are positive and confident.
Moyes; goes with a 4 4 1 1. Howard keeps goals with Neville in at right back Yobo and Jagielka make up the centre back pairing and Lescott keeps the leftback spot. Carsley and Gravesen (a commentator’s nightmare) pair up in the centre of midfield with Arteta and Pienaar providing width. Yakubu starts with Cahill sitting off him.
Megson goes with a 4 5 1, the two wide players operating as wingbacks but focused more on the defensive side of the position. Jaaskelainen keeps goal with a back four of Hunt, Meite, O’Brien and Gardner. Diouf, Nolan, Campo, Guthrie and Davies string themselves across the middle with Anelka up front.
The visitors start with a Megson-induced bright start. Guthrie looks good in possession; Lescott, Jagielka and Yobo do some good covering at the back.
The Bolton pressure has Everton on the back foot but doesn’t last long, ten minutes in and the home side have got their passing game going and Bolton have dropped back into a deep lying 4 5 1. The visitors are working hard to defend and regain possession, sporadic forays forward don’t really trouble Everton, a Gardner effort going wide their best chance.
Long periods of Everton pressure are well defended by Megson’s men but Jaaskelainen isn’t troubled or forced to make a save. The Blues play plenty of neat football in front of Bolton but can’t penetrate the nine or ten men sitting at the edge of the area, both Davies and Diouf are taking their defensive responsibilities seriously.
Gravesen has an on target shot bravely blocked by Nolan and a Yakubu goal is disallowed for a spurious offside. Cahill was static and possibly not interfering with play but Styles says two players were in an offside position. Clearly his view isn’t great as replays show Yakubu was certainly onside.
Megson and Moyes keep faith with their starters and Moyes must have given the players more than a half time orange.
Everton have two good chances inside the first minute, Yakubu gets in the box to a Neville ball, holds up the play and lays it into Cahill’s path, the Australian fires on target, Jaaskelainen makes his first save of the match and it’s a good one.
Lescott gets free in the six yard box onto a Jagielka flick on from the corner kick but fires wide on his weaker foot.
Everton are starting to turn the screw on Bolton, and Yobo and Lescott are even getting into the attacking action, the Nigerian providing a neat back post cross which has the Bolton defence scrambling to clear.
Everton probe and keep possession, the ball is played out to Neville on the right who cuts onto his weaker foot, he plays the ball into the six yard box and Jaaskelainen; under intense pressure from Cahill; completely misses the ball and it goes through for the opener. Not something that Premier League crowds are used to seeing, a Phil Neville goal. For the rest of the game any forward possession by the Captain is greeted by shouts of “SHOOT!” from the home fans.
Diouf gets a booking for dissent, which seems par for the course for the fiery player.
Megson rings the changes and brings off Guthrie and Campo. Samuel comes on into defence and McCann; an ex Blue; comes into midfield. Bolton switch to a more aggressive 4 4 2 as they look for the equalizer.
The change almost gets immediate benefits for Bolton, a good back post free kick from Diouf comes out to McCann whose fierce, low drive is blocked by the excellent Jagielka. The same defender holds up Anelka’s run for a through ball long enough for Howard to come and claim.
Bolton is leaving two men up even when defending and the game is more open, Everton are the team that are making better use of the spaces. The home side shortens their passing game to exploit the more aggressive Bolton tactics.
A long throw troubles Everton and they half clear the ball out to McCann, his acrobatic kick is goalbound and for the second time in two games Lescott clears off the line to prevent a certain goal. This game, his clearance is measure and very acrobatic.
Everton are playing neat, attractive and threatening football which keeps Bolton on the back foot. The entire defence hesitates when Styles waves play on for a foul on Gravesen, they are not as alert as Lescott who provides a good cross from the left; an aspect of his game he’s been improving of late; Cahill; poacher supreme; arrives with a perfectly timed run and side foots it past Jaaskelainen for Everton’s second.
Nolan picks up a card and is brought off for O’Brien in quick succession.
Jagielka keeps the shackles on Anelka but when the Frenchman combines with the Senegalese he forces Howard into his first save of the match.
Johnson comes on for Gravesen, who has a knock.
Diouf and Anelka combine again but Howard is alert and comes out quickly to stymie the Frenchman.
Neville gets a standing ovation as he is replaced by Hibbert.
Bolton fans are off their seats when a neat move ends with a searing McCann drive which can only find the side netting.
Vaughn comes on for Yakubu.
Pienaar makes another howler, this time it’s not punished by a goal, merely a dangerous Diouf corner. The Senegalese player endures heaps of abuse as he delivers two good balls in succession but Everton have the tenacity to keep their sheet clean. The two players should continue their rivalry in Ghana in January!
Gutted on Sunday the Everton boss is delighted with the win and the clean sheet. His side dominated the game and despite being flat in the first half managed to excel and overrun Bolton in the second. Good performances from all his players will stand him in good stead as he prepares for Arsenal on Saturday.
A comfortable win today.
Megson’s side played well in the first half, forcing Everton to play in front of them for long periods and being obdurate enough in defence to keep the game scoreless.
They didn’t quite have it in them to deny a strong Everton side. The move to a 4 4 2 showed tactical acumen and almost came off. Games against Sunderland and Derby look eminently winnable as Megson seems to have the team solidly in mid table form. Something that Ringo didn’t really think would happen.
Styles had his usual game, authoritarian but actually quite good. Overall he officiated fairly, evenly and not card happy. His offside on Yakubu wasn’t correct but he bowed to the better position of his assistant to award Everton a free kick in the first half; it’s always good to see the officials working together.
He was strong enough to keep his whistle in his pocket as Everton had penalty shouts correctly ignored, Arteta didn’t get everything he tried for either.
His advantage for the second goal was excellent, putting his whistle in his mouth then not blowing won’t endear him to any Trotters though.
Joe Royle was profuse in thanking David Moyes for replacing Johnson with Gravesen. He would have been really confused with the Everton numbers 8, 10 & 26 on the pitch at the same time.
One silly South African moment hands Manchester United all three points. Tough and tight at Old Trafford. Everton go behind and manage to come back
quickly. They withstand intense home
pressure and throw away the chance o####reat point with a ‘moment of madness’.
Cold and cacky Old Trafford has a
good crowd to see Everton; unbeaten in thirteen; visit a less than
full-strength Manchester United who need to keep up the pressure on Arsenal.
Ferguson has three changes to make; all due
to injury; Kuszczak keeps goal, Simpson gets a first Premier League start at
rightback, Brown moves inside alongside Vidic, with Evra keeping his leftback
spot. Carrick comes into midfield for
Hargreaves alongside Anderson, Giggs and Ronaldo. Rooney and Tevez play up front.
A RARE SMILE FROM LIVERPOOL'S BLUE EYED BOY!
Moyes; also hit by injury; still
manages a decent eleven. Howard keeps
goals with Hibbert back in at rightback, Yobo and Jagielka make up the centre
back pairing and Lescott moves out to leftback.
Neville, Carsley, provide the meat in the middle with Cahill and Pienaar
providing attacking options and width respectively. Yakubu keeps his place alongside Johnson.
Vidic begins with intent; giving
Yakubu a strong challenge. Ronaldo’s
early incursion down the left is well met by Everton, Carsley and Yobo leading
the clearing charge.
Rooney gives us a flash of his
physical side with a hard, late tackle on Cahill and gets a yellow. The Australian gets another physical
challenge from Carrick and Everton’s first opportunity is a free kick on the
left. Pienaar’s delivery is easily
cleared by Manchester United. The first
few minutes are cagey with Everton looking solid and Manchester United failing
to dominate in midfield.
CAHILL HANDLES THE WINTRY COLD BETTER THAN TEVEZ!
A long ball from Simpson for
Rooney is cleared by Jagielka; the utility player doesn’t get a great deal of
distance but Tevez snatches at the ball to send it high and wide.
Yakubu and Brown take turns in
giving the ball away cheaply.
Evra’s challenge on Hibbert gets
him a yellow but the free kick is well cleared and Ronaldo bursts forward on
the right, Lescott is in attendance but can’t prevent the near post cross,
Howard gets his hand in and Jagielka clears from Tevez.
Simpson has to defend at the
other end, Yakubu gets forward with Pienaar but his lay off is too soft and the
fullback intercepts.
Pienaar is provider soon after
playing in Lescott; the centreback plays well on the left but isn’t the best
crosser of the ball; true to form his cross can’t pick out an unmarked Johnson
and Kuszczak smothers gratefully.
Cahill picks up a yellow then
Manchester United loses possession in the middle allowing Everton to come
forward and apply some pressure. Hibbert
gets a yellow for a full blooded and ball winning tackle on Evra. Manchester United comes forward but Simpson
can only get a goal kick under pressure from Pienaar and Lescott.
Pienaar, full of energy and good
touches; gets forward in the middle but dallies, Anderson doesn’t and his reward is to come
away with the ball after a good tackle.
Everton’s edging of the first minutes of the game is evidenced by
Brown’s hopeful hoof up to an isolated Rooney.
Everton come forward when Johnson
robs Anderson, the striker plays in Yakubu who feeds Pienaar with a nice touch,
the South African holds up the ball long enough to complete the one two through
a flat footed Manchester United defence, Kuszczak is alert to Yakubu’s run and vilifies
his defenders after he smothers the cross.
Manchester start to apply some pressure
but Ronaldo crosses behind, Anderson then brings it from defence and plays it
into Rooney, the English centre forward feeds it out to Ronaldo who has a cross
cleared, Manchester retain possession, Tevez finds Ronaldo but Carsley is too
sloppy in closing down Ronaldo and the Portuguese goal machine delivers the ball
perfectly over the Everton defence and wide of Howard for a stunning
opener.
RONALDO'S STUNNING OPENER LEAVES HIT BOOT!
No Manchester United Onslaught
appears despite the goal clearly injecting the home side with some extra
pep. The visitors stick to their tasks
well and work hard to play their way back into the game. The reward comes quickly, Lescott gets
forward on the left and plays a couple of one two’s with Pienaar, the South
African, bamboozles Brown to enable him to loop a ball onto the penalty spot,
Cahill; one of the better leapers in the Premier league, out jumps the bigger,
stronger Evra and heads the ball past Kuszczak for a hard won equalizer.
THE TWO MANCHESTER UNITED MOTM TUSSLE OVER A LOOSE BALL!
Carsley and Rooney, bantering
amicably moments earlier face each other over the rarest of Premier league
incidents, a genuine drop ball, the Irishman wants it more and the violence of
his attack on the ball sees Rooney, arms aloft, whine in protest.
Webb denies Anderson the chance to run into acres of
space on the Everton left, he brings play back for some argy-bargy shirt
pulling between the Brazilian and Nigerian when advantage would have been
better. Poor decision referee!
Pienaar, Yakubu and Johnson
combine to pressure Manchester
united but the ball comes out to ex-manc Neville, he is unable to exert control
over his shot and the decent chance sails well high.
Giggs and Rooney combines up
front and the striker finds the space for a dink to the back post, Howard is
beaten but Lescott is quick enough to head the ball off the line. Anderson
relieves the Manchester United pressure with a needless hand ball.
Everton come out of defence and
feed the Yak! The cross is well held by Kuszczak.
The final fifteen minutes is more
open with Manchester United pushing forward and Everton responding with some
bright counter attacks of their own.
Howard saves a fierce drive that
Tevez fires right at him; good hands. A
Giggs stepover comes to Tevez a little too unexpectedly and the chance goes
begging. Neville gives away a free kick
and a mouthy Anderson
is carded by Webb.
Ronaldo fires one straight at the
wall. Giggs combines with Ronaldo; Yobo
puts enough pressure on the Portuguese winger to fire the difficult chance
wide.
Ferguson brings on O’Shea for more experience
in defence and Moyes keeps his side the same.
Pienaar show good strength in
midfield and comes forward with the ball, he finds Lescott who wins a corner
off O’Shea.
Hibbert has another lapse when he
fails to meet Evra’s through ball on the Everton right; Rooney plays the ball
in but Jagielka, fitting in well at the heart of the defence clears the
danger.
Manchester United is looking for
the third goal and pile some concerted pressure on the Blues. Webb’s cack advantage does Everton no favours
when they manage to push forward.
Ronaldo takes advantage of a
Jagielka slip and crosses for Tevez; the Argentinean is sharp but gets a deflection
for a corner.
Howard leaps to claim a cross
whilst under pressure from Ronaldo.
Howard claims well after Tevez’s shot takes a deflection off
Lescott.
Yobo steps authoratively in front
of a Rooney to prevent the shot and clear the ball.
Everton are pushed deeper but
have the skills to repulse a not quite at their best Manchester United.
A good clearance sees Johnson
turn Vidic; with no support his cross is much too heavy. The two players had a fine tussle throughout the game.
WHAT CAN BE SAID ABOUT THIS LOVELY IMAGE!
A neat turn from Yakubu takes Brown out of
the game, the Nigerian flails wildly with the goal in front of him and send the
ball harmlessly and wastefully high and wide.
Hibbert clears well under
pressure from Ronaldo; Lescott’s clearance is not as good and allows Ronaldo a shot,
which block falls to Carrick who skies it.
Everton have weathered the United
storm and are back to working the ball and looking to create something
upfield.
Everton get in a good position
but fail to pull the trigger and any chance o####oal or corner kick goes
begging.
Saha comes on for Carrick in a
bid to grab the winner, Manchester’s
formation changes to be more attacking.
Johnson takes advantage o####ood
advantage call and cuts in towards goal, Yakubu’s run pulls the defenders and
the ball comes out to Pienaar off a Vidic challenge, the South African can’t
keep possession and the counter collapses.
A clumsy Hibbert challenge sets
up a dangerous placed Manchester
united free kick. Training ground stuff
as Ronaldo plays it laterally to Rooney, the ex-Blue gets under the ball and it
skims Howard’s bar.
Manchester still has more possession but the
game is drifting away from them, Everton’s defenders remain obdurate and feisty
whilst the home sides’ attacks lack conviction.
The home side is keeping the ball as well as keeping the pressure on
Everton, the visitors remain solid in the second half.
A moment of madness hands the
home side the victory with two minutes to go.
Pienaar is back defending and
Giggs has beaten him but is heading for the touchline, really tired, sloppy
play from a pro; he lashes out with his trailing leg and fells Giggs, Webb
points to the spot and Ronaldo bags the winner from the spot.
IT WAS A PENALTY STEVEN!
NOW TO ADD STEVEN PIENAAR TO MY CHRISTMAS CARD LIST!
Two points for free for Ferguson. Happiest of the two manager’s he’ll take the
gift and probably some credit. Yet again
his team isn’t at its best but takes the three points. An admirer of Moyes he is decent enough not
to gloat. Queiroz is less
munificent.
THE BEST EVER PREMIER LEAGUE MANAGER - GETS ANOTHER WIN.
Moyes is gutted; just check out
the photos; his side played well whilst not at full strength. They fought back from a goal down at Old
Trafford and lost the game on a silly leg flick.
I’m more disappointed that we had
Hibbert at rightback and not Neville which would have allowed Gravesen to play
in midfield, Yakubu stayed on the pitch for too long as well. Pienaar created the second and third goals so
whilst any Blue should be annoyed with him his contribution throughout the
entire game can’t be discounted.
NO CHRISTMAS BONUS FOR YOU, STEVEN!
Webb showed why he is England’s representative
at Euro ’08. A few early cards set his
tone and after the initial flurry of rash and hurried challenges things settled
down. His card for Anderson was a good statement. Everton may have looked like they got the
worst of Webb but the away side defended more than attacks so more fouls
against is to be expected. Webb’s only
blunders really were two wrongly called advantage calls. He let an Everton one go when a deep free kick
would have been a better reward and he called back Anderson when the Brazilian had space in
front of him. Hardly more than a blemish
on what was a fair and measured performance.
Manchester United:-
Kuszczak
Simpson (O’Shea 46)
Brown
Vidic
Evra
Ronaldo
Carrick (Saha 70)
Anderson (Fletcher 85)
Giggs
Rooney
Tevez
Bookings:-
Anderson
Evra
Rooney
Goals:-
Ronaldo 22, 88 (P)
Everton:-
Howard
Hibbert
Yobo
Jagielka
Lescott
Cahill (Anichebe 84)
Carsley
Neville
Pienaar
Johnson
Yakubu (Gravesen 75)
Bookings:-
Pienaar
Cahill
Hibbert
Goals:-
Cahill 27
Attendance:-
75749
Referee:-
Howard
Webb
Images courtesy of:- evertonfc.com getty images and manutd.com bbc.co.uk
My pick will still remain as Internaz ionale to beat either Barcelona or an English team in the Final in Moscow.
Group A
Bookies favourite Liverpool
stuttered but qualified second and the bookies second favourite; Porto topped the group ensuring an easier game in the KO
stages.
Marseille drop into the UEFA Cup.
Liverpool
**Win it all –
Ladbrokes 9/1 – 11/1 – after a poor start to the Group Stage the odds have
lengthened on the reds.
Porto
Win
it all – Ladbrokes 9/1 – 50/1 – now they are rank outsiders?
This is what I said in August:
“Liverpool look group favourites
but Porto will be tough.”
Group B
Bookies favourite Chelsea won the group
comfortably but the bookies other pick goes home. Schalke did well to finish second and
Rosenborg can be thankful for UEFA Cup football in the New Year.
Chelsea
Win it all -
Ladbrokes 6/1 – 8/1 – despite dominance in the group the odds go out – maybe
it’s Mr. Grant?
Schalke 04
Win it all -
Ladbrokes 40/1 – 40/1 – not quite the rank outsiders anymore.
This is what I said in August:
“Chelsea should be pushed by Schalke in this
group.”
Group C
Bookies picked correctly again
with Real topping the group. Olympiakos
confounded the bookies with a second place finish and Werder Bremen drop into the UEFA Cup.
Real Madrid
Win it all -
Ladbrokes 9/1 – 8/1 – shortened with a decent showing in the Group Stages.
Olympiakos
Win it all -
Ladbrokes 150/1 – 50/1 – Rank outsiders.
This is what I said in August:
“Real Madrid clear favourites in Group C.”
Group D
Bookies favourite AC Milan topped
the group with Celtic, finishing above Benfica to confound the bookies. The Portuguese side drop into the UEFA
Cup.
AC Milan
Win it all -
Ladbrokes 8/1 – 10/1 – Maybe their Serie A form can explain the lengthening of
the odds.
Celtic
Win it all -
Ladbrokes 100/1 – 50/1 – rank outsiders.
This is what I said in August:
“AC Milan is clear favourites in
this group.”
Group E
Bookies do it again with the
correct pick of Barcelona
to top the group and Lyon to come second; they are confounded with a Rangers
third place and the Scottish side can look forward to the UEFA Cup in the New
Year.
Barcelona
Win it all -
Ladbrokes 9/2 – 4/1 – shortened but not too significantly.
Lyon
Win it all -
Ladbrokes 18/1 – 20/1 – lengthened to a team with a puncher’s chance.
This is what I said in August:
“Barcelona
could be pushed hard by Lyon.”
Group F
Manchester United did the bookies
proud with a comfortable win as did AS Roma with a second place. Sporting drop into the UEFA Cup in a perfect
group for the bookies.
Manchester United
Win it all -
Ladbrokes 6/1 – 5/1 – significantly shortened after going unbeaten in the Group
Stage
Roma
Win it all -
Ladbrokes 21/10 – 16/1 – shortened a touch.
This is what I said in August:
“Possibly the toughest
group. The Mancs to scrape in.”
Group G
A topsy turvey group for the
bookies, they got Inter spot on but gaffed with Fenerbache coming second and
PSV going into the UEFA Cup.
Internaz ionale
Win it all -
Ladbrokes 8/1 – 9/1 – surprisingly lengthened.
That’s a really odd one.
Fenerbache
Win it all -
Ladbrokes 200/1 – 50/1 – rank outsiders.
This is what I said in August:
“Internaz ionale are clear
favourites.”
Group H
The Bookies favourite finished
second with the bookies third favourite winning the group. One for the punter. Slavia Prague gets a shot at the UEFA
Cup.
Arsenal
Win it all -
Ladbrokes 18/1 – 8/1 – Seriously shortened.
Sevilla
Win it all -
Ladbrokes 20/1 – 10/1 – A bet now is not as good value as a bet in August.
This is what I said in August:
“Arsenal are favourites but will
be pushed if Sevilla beat AEK.”
So how will the draw work and how will the odds change?
Group winners become the Seeded
clubs:
AC Milan, Barcelona,
Internaz ionale, Real, Chelsea, Manchester
United, Porto, Sevilla.
Two English (or other nations)
sides to play each other.
Two sides who have met in the
group stages to play each other.
Winners don’t play winners and
second place finishers don’t play each other.
Someone high up in UEFA will draw
some balls from a bowl and pick the runners up names first. then someone will work out who they can play
and someone else high up in UEFA will pick from those team using a bowl and
some balls. All really high tech and glamorous.
The second placed teams play at
home first and the ties are two legged.
I’ll check the Ladbrokes odds
after the draw and we’ll see how they’ll change.
**All
Ladbrokes odds are from 31/08/2007 and then 20/12/2007.
UEFA CUP DRAW
No predictions from me for this
season’s UEFA Cup. I am proud and happy
to see the Toffees won out in their group and that despite qualifying top of
their group in only three games managed to travel to Holland and win without a number of senior
players. Bordeaux were the other team to win all four
games in their group. Bayern Munich qualified
top of their group but did it with the least amount of points for a group
winner.
Group Winners:-
A – Everton FC
B – Atletico Madrid (Good Old
Mattress Makers!)
C – Villarreal
D – Hamburg
E – Bayer Leverkusen
F – Bayern Munich
G – Getafe
H – Bordeaux
Second place sides:-
A – Nurnberg
B – Panathinaikos
C - Fiorentina
D – Basle
E – Spartak Moscow
F – Braga
G – Tottenham
H – Helsingborgs
Third place teams:
A – Zenit St Petersburg
B – Aberdeen (Go The Dons!)
C – AEK Athens
D – SK Brann
E – Zurich
F – Bolton
Wanderers
G – Anderlecht
H – Galatasaray
Champions League Losers:
It
must be noted that I think the practice of rewarding these teams that are
basically losers with a berth in the UEFA Cup to be utterly stupid. I loathe the practice and would love Monsieur
Platini to just stop it.
Marseille
Rosenborg
Werder Bremen
Benfica
Rangers
Sporting Lisbon
PSV Eindhoven
Slavia Prague
So how will the draw work?
The process is much simpler than
the other competition. The only caveat
is that same associations won’t play each other in the first KO stage. Winners play third places teams (matches 1
through 8) and second placed teams play Champions League Losers (matches 9
through 16).
Group Winners and Champions
League Losers play the first game of the two legged tie away from home.
THEN…
For some reason UEFA pick the
teams for the next KO stage. winner
match X will play winner match Y with the first team drawn getting to play the
first leg of a two legged tie at home.
They will pull paper from a bowl until all eight ties are sorted
out.
Current Odds. (As given by
Ladbrokes on 20/12/2007)
The odds are clearly not just
based on group performance – but note that no Champions League Loser gets a
spot in the top six. I’ll update the
odds after the draw has been made.
Bayern Munich 3/1
Tottenham 9/1
Atletico Madrid
8/1
Villarreal 12/1
Everton FC 12/1 – below Spurs?–
flying below the radar again.
West Ham fluffed three good chances and conceded a late goal in the first
half. A lack of quality and a dodgy
substitution doesn’t help their cause in the second. The Hammers lose at home to the Blues twice
in four days.
Chilly Upton Park; gloves
required. That Easterly is blowing all
the way in from Russia. It’s tough to play the same opponent in quick
succession and the muted crowd at Upton Park seemed to sense this. This win was more important to both teams
than a League Cup result; you need your bread and butter before you can enjoy
the jam.
Curbishly makes two changes from
the side that lost a tight one to the Blues on Wednesday in the League
Cup. Green in goal with Neill, Collins;
in for the injured Gabbidon; Upson and McCartney across the back. Solano; back in the side after missing out in
midweek through ineligibility; Parker, Mullins and Ljungberg across the middle
with Ashton and Cole up front.
Moyes starts the same eleven;
from Wednesday’s game; in an attacking 4 4 1 1 formation. Howard in goal, Neville, Yobo Jagielka and
Lescott at the back. Arteta, Carsley,
Osman and Pienaar across midfield and Cahill; slightly deeper; with Yakubu up
front.
Everton start brightly, looking
to pass but the first incident is Parker tackling Neville, the ex-Manc gets a
taste of what he normally dishes out.
AN UGLY SISTER GETS A TASTE OF HER OWN MEDICINE
A West Ham corner is tipped out
by Howard and Yobo release Yakubu on the left, Pienaar receives the ball and
cuts it inside to Osman but the shot goes behind for a goal kick. Then Osman shoots wide after a lovely spell
of Everton possession, plenty of passing and movement from the visitors. Green has to be alert to claim a Cahill cross
and Jagielka comes across to cut out Ljungberg.
Cole gets the ball in midfield
and lays it wide to Solano his cross is telling and Ljunberg gets his head to
the ball but sees it go wide. A half
chance.
Collins and Yakubu commence their
altercation which continues throughout the game.
Solano and Parker combine well to
pierce Everton’s defence but they eventually hoof it clear as West Ham start to
assert themselves. Solano provides
creativity and Parker drive. West Ham makes
the most of a sloppy Yakubu pass with Cole crossing a looping ball into the
area which Ashton meets well but can’t keep on target. First decent chance.
Howard pushes a ball sloppily
wide and then makes a far better save at the feet of some West Ham players in a
crowded box. That’s how you do it
Paul! Everton appear clumsy and a tad
lethargic at the back and Solano takes the opportunity to spread the ball
around neatly, the ball breaks to Ljunberg off an Everton deflection, from a
few yards out the Swede’s shot can’t beat Howard.
Second really good chance.
Everton start to battle a bit
more and win a free kick which Arteta delivers nicely only for the home side to
clear. The pressure from West Ham is
good but the final ball is either poor or cleared.
Upson; who has an up and down
game; clears well from Yakubu after Osman’s through ball beats the offside,
then the diminutive midfielder is shaping to shoot when Ljungberg’s tackle puts
him off. The Swede is putting on a
thoroughly excellent display. Ditto
Parker and Solano.
It’s not all West Ham, Pienaar
intercepts a sloppy midfield pass and attacks the cross is decent enough but
Ljungberg’s clearance is better. West
Ham tries to break but Yobo is easily a match for Cole and shrugs him off the
ball.
Parker breaks up Everton play
with a brave (or foolish) header, the ball comes to Solano whose cross is put
over by Ashton.
Carsley gets an unlucky bounce
and gives away a corner but he’s first to Solano’s delivery.
Arteta hasn’t shown yet but when
Everton do get the ball Pienaar, Cahill and Yakubu are playing well. The South African drifts offside in a poor
end to some nice Everton possession, then Lescott; covering at left fullback; gets
a chance to cross with a nice run but with men in the box only finds a West Ham
defender, poor delivery.
CAKE AT THE YAK'S PLACE IF YOU SCORE!
Ashton gets possession in a
decent forward area but his turn is clumsy and shot is wide.
Ashton gets onto a deep ball but
Jagielka and Lescott clear up, the ball comes back to West Ham and they get a
free kick, Upson’s delivery finds a wide open Collins but the defender doesn’t
make much use of his header and it flies way wide.
Yakubu gets some possession on
the Everton left, his first cross is poor but his second run is delightful, he
beats Collins twice with some neat footwork but his final ball in is neither a
cross nor a shot and Green gratefully collects, at the second attempt.
Ljungberg gets forward on the
left with McCartney, the initial cross is poor but Ljungberg gets a second
chance, he nutmegs Neville and evades Yobo before stumbling on the byline,
Everton clear thankfully.
Solano shows his dead ball skill
with a well delivered free kick, Ashton flick the ball on but Lescott is
covering the back post and heads clear, another Peruvian dead ball delivery is
flicked on and finds and unmarked Collins, the defender has time and space to
bring the ball down and try a shot but just shanks it. Third really decent chance.
Green clears a ball long and it
comes to Parker via Solano, the midfielder tries a header but can only find the
side netting from a difficult chance. Osman;
not in the form he was in Wednesday; blazes over after Arteta tries a quick
free kick.
The half is coming to an end but
West Ham continues to see more of the ball.
West Ham huff and puff as they
pressure the visitors but a promising move is halted by a silly handball in the
Everton area. Howard clears the ball,
Mullins and Yobo each have touches before it comes to Lescott who plays it
forward to Yakubu, the Nigerian finds the South African who holds it up neatly
and plays in Arteta, the Spaniard finds Yakubu but Collins half clears, the
ball is loose and Pienaar is first to it, he plays in Osman who finds Arteta,
the Spaniard plays his ball of the game with a great looping ball to the back
post area, Cahill 5’ 10, outjumps Upson 6’ 1” to head the ball back across
goal, Yakubu is playing the goal scorer role supremely at the moment is in the
right place at the right time and picks his spot wide of the flailing
Green. The goal; just before half time;
is perfectly timed for maximum impact.
YAKITY YAK! DON'T LOOK BACK - FEED THE YAK AND HE WILL SCORE!
Curbishly brings on Camara for
Cole due to injury at the half. Moyes is
more than happy enough to leave the lads to get on with it.
Everton come forward early and
McCartney does well to shepherd Arteta away from the ball. , the ball upfield is poor and it allows
Pienaar to get some more possession, he waits for the run of Lescott and plays
in the defender, whose cross is that of a centre back and not that good.
Arteta is lucky not to get carded
for a trip in Parker; Tanner decides a talking to is enough. The free kick is quickly taken but Camara’s
control is woeful and the ball goes out for a goal kick.
Neville’s throw ins cause West
Ham some problems but they manage to clear.
Parker is having a blinder, all
over the park, attacking and defending, shame some of his team mates don’t have
his energy or touch. That means you
Dean.
Solano gripes when he’s muscled
off the ball by Lescott and Everton sustain some pressure, neat one and two
touch passing cuts through West Ham and Mullins decides to stop it with a free
kick (this happen last week against Fulham!).
Osman wins a throw in from the quickly taken foul and Lescott’s throw in
is good but a foul on Neill relives the pressure.
Parker is all over the shop; his
through ball bisects the Everton defence but doesn’t manage to pick out
Ljungberg, only finding a relieved Howard.
Ashton loses the ball; again, he
looks like he needs to come off. His
passing isn’t great and his insistence on keeping his feet and playing argy bargy
with the strong Nigerian hasn’t worked at all so far, he isn’t 100% fit
though.
Everton have the better attacks
and Green needs to be sharp to clear a good free kick delivery from Arteta, it
comes out to Carsley and his volley is headed in the right direction, Upson
clears with a timely header. The Everton
pressure breaks down then the Blues get the ball back from Mullins’ mistake, he
redeems himself with a good tackle and West Ham come forward, Solano’s first
touch allows Jagielka to come across and clear.
Noble comes on for Solano, the
Peruvian isn’t quite as effective in the second half but he is causing Everton
problems when he gets the ball. The
formation shifts slightly into what could almost be a 4 3 3.
EVERYBODY SAMBA!
Howard clears long and Green does
likewise, Ashton, Camara and Ljungberg combine in quick succession but Everton
get men back quickly and clear the danger.
They have moved to a 4 5 1 leaving Yakubu upfield alone. His hold up play has been effective today
though.
Noble gets the ball and runs directly
at Everton, he manages to find Mullins and the midfielder has a go from inside
the area but gets a deflection and wins the corner.
The game is drifting away from a
tiring and long ball prone West Ham, Parker is still gunning for the Blues and
his wide right run is finished with a great back post cross. No West Ham players have made the move into
the space and the delivery is wasted.
West Ham players are nothing if
not pluggers and they keep at Everton, Howard claims the ball in front of
Ljungberg. Everton still look the more
dangerous and a through ball leaves the Hammers defence for dead, Green and
Yakubu race for the ball and the ‘keeper gets to it first, Yakubu recovers
enough to put the ball into the box but the West Ham defence gets itself
together and clears, Parker is at the heart of all things good West Ham
today.
Collins has a moment of apoplexy
and just stops, Osman doesn’t and no flag is raised but the dink over the
advancing Green goes out off the crossbar.
The pear shaped moment continues for Collins as he hacks a clearance aimlessly
at Yakubu, the Nigerian is on the ball in a flash and Curbishly is greatly
relived to see the flag go up for offside.
West Ham seem to have slipped into neutral, they are sloppy in
possession and aimless in their passing.
Arteta wins a free kick from
Mullins who demonstrates what he thinks of the Spaniard, no words needed
there.
Neill gets forward in a
disorganized and dispirited West Ham thrust and volleys high and wide. Everton haven’t shut up shop but are solid at
the back, rebuffing any and all Hammer attacks.
The last twenty minutes isn’t
really pretty for West Ham, apart from Parker.
His run and pass is well met by Camara with a low, driven, near post
cross, Yobo’s clearance flashes past Howard’s post for a corner.
Pienaar, having plenty of the
ball tonight, gets forward wide and puts in a good ball, Yakubu heads from
distance with enough power to trouble Green, when the ball comes out Carsley is
waiting and his screamer is tipped behind by Green. Pienaar is in the thick of things moments
later and starts a move which Osman tries finish, no shooting boots on the
Englishman’s feet today, the ball flashes high and wide.
Parker; unable to rouse his team
mates but happy to take more than his share of the load; tracks back in
midfield and robs Osman with a great challenge, Ljunberg bursts upfield but the
move ends with Parker’s shot only getting a corner kick.
West Ham throw everything forward
in the final few minutes but some good last ditch headers, hooks clear and poor
crosses keep the scoreline for the visitors.
West Ham are in long ball heaven but Everton just stand firm and clear,
one clearance comes to Upson who tries to head back to Green, he is about
twenty yards short and Johnson is lightening, he gets a good bounce and drives
forward, he takes a quick look and lobs Green for the second Everton goal of
the afternoon.
Game over.
THAT'S NOT THE HEIMLICH!
Everton didn’t play particularly
well in the first half but finished much better than West Ham, the goal all but
killed off the Hammers and Everton played themselves through the second half in
a professional if unspectacular manner, the Johnson goal was a Brucey Bonus. In patches they still managed to play some
neat, attractive passing football, this is nice but the clean sheet may chuff
Moyes more.
Curbishly’s side had three really
nice chances in the first half, failed to put any of them away and lost the
game. Solano was a constant trouble to
Everton and his substitution was terrible, West Ham was never as effective with
Noble on the park.
WEST HAM'S BEST PLAYER DOES HIS DEFENSIVE DUTY WITH GUSTO
Parker was a giant,
striding around Upton Park attacking and defending with skill and heart,
totally the opposite of Ashton who looked dull and leaden footed and totally
unable to cope with the attentions of Yobo.
Where will the Ashton for England crowd be now? Ljunberg played well in spurts but the class
of players around him isn’t what he is used to.
For all their huff and puff West
Ham were the second best team on the day and got beat.
Tanner did well; most other
Premier league referees would have booked Arteta.
Super Sunday – oh how the media darlings love a headline.
The Premier league floated the
boat when they drew up the fixture list for this season. Two games involving your recent ‘Big Four’ on
the same day with no other top level games to muddy the waters. Sky, Setanta, Auntie, Fox, whoever and
however the Premier League is going to be covered this weekend it will all be
about these two games; Manchester United’s visit to Anfield and Chelsea’s visit
to the Emirates; Andy Gray might by talking about Wigan v Blackburn but you know he’s focused
on Sunday.
