Traveling support loud and proud as the Blues win away from home in Europe again. Less
than brilliant but professional and mostly solid.
Brann Stadion in chilly; hovering
around the freezing mark; Bergen Norway had a
hostile and vocal atmosphere for such a small stadium. Everton’s traveling fans were mostly drowned
out by the whistles, boos and cheers of the home support. Great atmosphere for a European night.
"DEATH IS MY BUSINES...AND BUSINESS IS GOOD!" PROFOUND THOUGHTS FROM A VENERATED MEMBER OF THE UNDERTAKING PROFESSION AND THRASH METAL FREAK!
Moyes; without his full squad to
pick from; went 4 4 2. Yakubu; naughty,
punished and forgiven; played up front alongside John son. An unfamiliar look to the midfield with Osman
and Fernandes wide with Cahill and Carsley in the centre. Jagielka continued in the centre of defence
alongside Yobo with Neville and Lescott operating as fullbacks. Howard keeps goal.
ONE FOR MUM!
A squad full of internationals;
unbeaten in nineteen at home and current Norwegian Champions went with an
attacking 4 4 2. Mjelde keeps Norwegian
number one Opdal in goal with a back four of Dahl, Bjarnason, Sigurdson and
Hanstveit. Moen operated on the left
with Bakke, El-Fakiri and Solli inside him.
Up front Helstad is a threat alongside Karadas.
Everton have an early chance for
Yak but his shot is weak. Carsley is
called into action at the other end.
Brann aren’t shy to come forward
and drop 6 men back when Everton come forward.
A lack of natural width forces
Everton through the middle where Brann are strong.
Yakubu and John son don’t really
work together they are just both up front.
A discombobulated midfield can’t
get many good balls forward and shows sloppiness in possession.
Jagielka is a rock at the back
bar one fluff with Lescott (similar to the howlers against Arsenal); thankfully
Helstad is a bit rusty and doesn’t take a shot.
The Brann corner kick is an
excellent weapon; crowd the six yard area and hamper the goalkeeper; almost
worked in the last minute of the half but for a Bakke arm across Howard; those
almost always get given.
Osman provides the goalmouth
entertainment he only brought a fine save from Opdal on his third try.
Brann could have been ahead,
Karadas’ header flashed over from a wonderfully flighted free kick. Moen was the bright spot for the home side;
always good deliveries. Brann had more
possession but lacked alacrity in attack, particularly Karadas; Helstad would
have been more assured in front of goal mid season.
No changes at the half, surely DM
made a few choice remarks at half time though.
Everton start off the second as
they did in the first half. Some decent
play and possession. Cahill came close
with a good run and shot which may or may not have been touched onto the post
by Opdal.
The visitors kept playing hard
without really threatening when the breakthrough fell their way. A robust Cahill tackle on the left didn’t
interest the referee, he pokes the ball to John son who gets forward, he is
pushed wide but manages a decent cross; Dahl’s clearing header only finds the
venomous right boot of Osman who send the ball rocketing back beyond the
defenders and Opdal.
OSSIE DOES HIS JIMBO IMPRESSION!
Brann don’t give up. They work hard and push Everton back.
The home side’s corner kicks
still cause problems and Howard has to be alert to gather Helstad’s header;
Neville had closed his eyes or something at the back post and left his man
free.
Some of the Blue defending is
sloppy but Jagielka seems to be in the right place to stick out a foot or win
the ball. Substitutions with twenty odd
minutes to go energize Brann; a Gambian international tests Howard when the
defence fails to close him down and the winger adds something.
Everton start to work the ball a
bit more and apply a professionalism to the game to kill it off; this doesn’t
involve flopping all over the place as they do in Italy.
A late Brann charge has Everton
sitting deep and keeping almost everyone back.
Lescott breaks with a galloping
and most unorthodox style down the left, he looks up and shows that he has
practiced his crosses with a superb delivery that finds Anichebe at the back
post, a cool finish over the ‘keeper seals the win and probably the tie. Was it offside? Possibly, I’ve seen those flagged back before
now, but the Bulgarian official kept his flag down.
VICTOR FINISHES WITH A FLOURISH!
TIM, CAN YOU JUST F..U..C..K.. OFF, WE'RE HAVING A "GOAL SCORING" MOMENT!
Carsley and others did the brave,
mad or ambivalent thing with shirtsleeves.
Everton won albeit with two decisions which on another day they might
not have gotten. Professional away win;
which has become their stamp in Europe this
season. Winning when you don’t play all
that well is a bonus and kind of makes up for some of the losses when we’ve
actually played better and lost. Surely
this a ticket to the last sixteen and probably a trip to Italy or maybe a return trip to Norway.
Hey! Yes You! The Idiots Who Inavded The
Pitch At The Final Whistle. I Know You
Are Excited But Your Stupidity Could Result In Everton Being Censured By UEFA!
Mjelde can take a lot from this
game. His side stood up and attacked
well, defended well but showed too much rustiness to score. They played better in the first half than the
second but couldn’t put away the chances they had. They will enjoy a trip to Liverpool
in the next leg but only a home disaster or an away miracle can give them the
win.
The Bulgarian referee allowed the
game to flow, some robust challenges were let go before Cahill won the
ball. That seemed in character with the
rest of the game. Could the linesman
have given offside, well yes he could, he didn’t and the second goal
stands.
Time for predictions
Group Winners:
Everton FC – at least a qf, easy round of 32, tougher but winnable round of 16 against Fiorentina.
Atletico Madrid – probably a qf, Bolton will be tough as will Sporting, should score the goals to see them through.
Villarreal – have a tough part of the draw, they could romp to the qfs or fail against Zenit, very hard to tell.
Hamburg & Bayer Laverkusen – have to beat German opposition to get to the qfs, both teams are currently within two points of each other in the Bundesliga.
Getafe – looks like they will be the first of the group winners to fail.
Bordeaux – romped their group and get rewarded with a tough round of 32 and an even tougher round of 16.
Bayern Munich – despite a tougher than expected group stage the Bundesliga leaders should make the qfs
Other notables:
Tottenham Hotspur – probably a qf but Prague could provide a stern test and PSV are no pushovers either.
Rangers – should beat the Greeks but the Germans are currently second in the Bundesliga and will be a tough team for Walter Smith to beat.
Bolton Wanderers – with Anelka they have a chance to get to the qfs, without him it declines substantially.
Aberdeen – great win for the Dons to qualify and a glorious shot against Bayern but you really shouldn’t be thinking they can win it. Must be said that Bayern won their group with the least number of points.
Fiorentina – la viola should beat Rosenborg and will provide a stiff test in the round of 16, ultimately they will be too focused on Serie A. A good opportunity for Serie A and the Premier League aficionados to do some comparisons.
The Draw for the round of 32
(Group Winners in CAPS)
1- EVERTON FC v SK Brann
2 - ATLETICO MADRID v Bolton Wanderers
3 - VILLARREAL v Zenit St Petersburg
4 - HAMBURG v Zurich
5 - BAYER LEVERKUSEN v Galatasaray
6 - BAYERN MUNICH v Aberdeen
7 -GETAFE v AEK Athens
8 - BORDEAUX v Anderlecht
9 - Nurnberg v Benfica
10 - Panathinaikos v Rangers
11 - Fiorentina v Rosenborg
12 - Basle - Sporting
13 - Spartak Moscow - Marseille
14 - Braga – Werder Bremen
15 - Tottenham – Slavia Prague
16 - Helsingborgs - PSV
Champions League Losers:
It must be noted that I think the practice of rewarding these teams that are 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.
The Draw for the round of 16
1 v 11
2 v 12
3 v 13
4 v 5
6 v 8
7 v 9
10 v 14
15 v 16
Current Odds.
Odds are from Ladbrokes from before and after the draw.
Remember the bookies aren’t exactly trying to pick the winner. They are trying to make money, so the odds reflect their understanding of the betting market and their expertize at fleecing suckers.
Expect the longer odds to change if that team does well in the first game. The stronger teams’ odds will remain fairly static at the early stages of the KO rounds as the bookmakers realize the games are actually too tough to call with any certainty.
Bayern Munich 3/1 – 11/4 – dropped slightly, they’ve been everybodies’ favourites since they failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League
Tottenham 9/1 – 8/1 – the bookies like the draw for Spurs
Atletico Madrid 8/1 – 7/1 – best odds for a Spanish team and they seem destined to go to the qfs
Villarreal 12/1 – 10/1 – a decent drop suggesting the bookies like their chances.
Everton FC 12/1 – 12/1 no change suggests the bookies think we’ll lose in the qfs or that they can’t separate ourselves and Fiorentina.
Fiorentina 14/1 – 14/1 – see above
Werder Bremen 14/1 – 12/1 – league form and easy round of 32 draw shortened he odds for the Germans.
Hamburg 14/1 – 14/1 – not out of it but the bookies still rate this side higher than their likely round of 16 opponents.
Bayer Leverkusen 20/1 – 20/1 - not out of it but the bookies still rate this side lower than their likely round of 16 opponents.
Benfica 20/1 – 20/1 - same so you think that it’s too tough to call.
PSV 25/1 – 25/1 - same so you think that it’s too tough to call.
Sporting Lisbon 25/1 – 25/1 - same so you think that it’s too tough to call.
Getafe 25/1 – 25/1 - same so you think that it’s too tough to call.
Bordeaux 33/1 – 50/1 – seen as unlikely to get past the round of 16
Marseille 33/1 – 50/1 – seen as unlikely to get past the round of 16 (maybe even the round of 32)
Panathinaikos 33/1 – 33/1 – same so you think that it’s too tough to call.
Spartak Moscow 33/1 – 33/1 - same so you think that it’s too tough to call.
Rangers 33/1 – 33/1 - same so you think that it’s too tough to call.
Zenit St Petersburg 33/1 – 33/1 - same so you think that it’s too tough to call.
Nurnberg 40/1 – 40/1 - same so you think that it’s too tough to call.
AEK Athens 50/1 – 50/1 - same so you think that it’s too tough to call.
Bolton 50/1 – 50/1 - same so you think that it’s too tough to call.
Slavia Prague 50/1 – 66/1 – lengthened odds due to playing the Spurs in the round of 32.
Rosenborg 66/1 – 100/1 – not going to get past La Viola then.
Galatasaray 66/1 – 100/1 – not going to get past Bayer Laverkusen then.
Basle 66/1 – 100/1 – not going to get past Sporting then.
Anderlecht 80/1 – 125/1 – going to get rolled by Bordeaux – I’d have thought this may be a little closer.
Aberdeen 80/1 – 125/1 – no chance against the Bundesliga leaders.
Braga 80/1 – 125/1 - no chance against the second placed Bundesliga team.
Zurich 100/1 – 200/1 – thumped by Hamburg.
Helsingborgs 150/1 – 250/1 – beaten by PSV.
SK Brann 500/1 – 350/1 – Must have had some money on the long odds and shortened, no chance against the Toffees. They are Norweigan Champions so won’t be a pushover and they do play some attacking football. They will be in pre-season when the ties are played which will count against them in terms of fitness. For extra ####e SK Brann field Ramiro Corrales, two time MLS Cup winner with the EarthQuakes. They’ve also won two Fairplay Awards in recent years.
