So it’s like this
By: jamie |
Add Comments
After Sunday’s clash of the smallish titans (Villa vs. Everton) the blues sit in 5th place, three points ahead of the said titans, and five ahead of portsmouth. Is it comfortable? Not really, but neither is 15th, 1st or being Derby, so it’s pretty much down to how the players react under pressure.
Category: Team News
Tags: The blue revolution begins here..
By: jamie | 2 Comments
Introductions…They’re great no?
Much in the same way that Everton have burst onto the premiership scene, bringing with them their own brand of slick, one-touch football, with a proud David Moyes at the helm, I’m gonna present myself (Jay), the new Everton blog captain, with a similar ethos, if that’s at all relevant or possible.
However, this is no time for pleasantries. It’s that time of the season again- the famous last few games, when the tackles go in hard, the goals really really count, and Everton fans realize that we can’t just give the ball to Mikel Arteta and hope he does something…. Read the rest of this entry »
Category: Team NewsToffees STRIKE a Deal For Yakubu!
By: DJR | 4 Comments
Finally my call has been answered. All I wanted for the Toffees was for them to add a reasonable strike partner for AJ up front and eventually it looks to be coming true. The team website is reporting that they have agreed a Club record fee of £11.25 million to pay Middlesbrough for the services of one Yakubu Ayegbeni. The Nigerian is due in Merseyside today to undergo a physical and complete personal terms with the team. If all goes well, and it looks as if it will, Yak should be in the starting lineup Saturday against Blackburn making things all the more interesting.
With AJ and Yak upfront and Arteta and hopefully Fernandes (who is awaiting International clearance) serving them balls things look to be more on the attacking side. Defensively, we just signed German keeper, Stefan Wessels, to challenge first choice keeper Timmy Howard. I definitely think we can push for a top 4 spot this season with the new arrivals and the way we are playing. I think we were very unlucky not to have at least made it a draw against Reading this past weekend.
Will Fernandes Be In Merseyside Blue? Maybe Yakubu Too?
By: DJR | Add Comments
After a spectacular start to the season, the Toffees are looking to strengthen their squad and will hopefully wrap up the deal to bring Manuel Fernades back. There are reports out that Fernandes is in Merseyside to get a physical today. If all goes well there is a possibility that he could be part of the squad for Saturdays match against Reading.
Fernandes showed glimpses of brilliance last season and would definitely be a great addition to our midfield. For those who haven’t seen Fernandes play I have added some video highlights for you to gaze upon. That boy got skillz!
There is also some rumblings that Middlesbrough might be ready to part with striker Yakubu now that they have signed Mido from Spurs. I don’t want to get my hopes up too high, but this season looks to be shaping up better than I thought.
Category: Team NewsToffees Open Season 2-0. Stand at the Top of the League.
By: DJR | 4 Comments
I apologize for my absence the last week or so. There was a death in my family and things have been rather hectic. I did get a chance to watch some of the highlights of the blue merseysiders and they have help to keep my spirits up.
The Toffees opened their 07/08 campaign with a 2-1 win at home to Wigan with goals from Osman (26′) and Anichebe (75′). The man orchestrating the entire preceding was once again Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard is a man on a mission so far this season and looks to be the class of the entire premiership. I really wish they would televise more of the Toffees games so people could see just how good he really is. Anichebe seemed to give them a lift and looked good alongside AJ for once. New signings Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka both didn’t see any action with Steven Pienaar coming in for Osman in the 74′. All in all the Toffees played a decent game and deserved to win.
Today they beat a pre-season favorite to push for an UEFA League spot in Tottenham (3-1). I don’t know how good the Spurs actually are but Arteta was once again all over the pitch wreaking havoc. Lescott opened the scoring in the 4′ with a brilliant header from a bending ball from the foot of Arteta. Osman looks to be in mid-season form and scored his second goal of the season in the 37′ with a sensational volley into the back of the net. Stubbs closed the scoring in the 45′ just before the half when he deflected a ball from a free kick. The defense was once again were it needed to be and Timmy Howard is looking strong in the nets. Johnson and Anichebe look to be a nice little 1-2 punch and hopefully we can keep this momentum leading into the weekend.
Category: Team NewsBaines Deal Nearly Done. Beattie Gone. Bidding For Santi and Gonzalez?
By: DJR | Add Comments
The Toffees are on the verge of closing the deal to bring in the talented England Under-21 defender Leighton Baines. Baines will take his physical today and work out the terms of his contract. He turned down a move to Sunderland last month and was spotted attending the match against Werder Bremen last week. Looks like we can add his name to the left back line right now.
In other news, James Beattie has signed with Division One Sheffield United for £4mil. I’m hoping that offloading Beattie will help Moyes push for another striker, but it looks like they may be going after a midfielder instead. There are reports that we have offered £10million for Porto midfielder, Luis Gonzalez. The good news is that ‘Lucho’ can play an attaching midfielder role, the bad news is that there are other clubs looking to sign him also. With the likes of Valencia and Manchester City he won’t come at a small fee. It also looks like we might be looking at Barcelona striker Santi Ezquerro.
As I doubt we would actual be looking to sign both Gonzalez and Santi, I would rather that we acquire Santi. I have seen Santi highlights (view below) and he would look rather good alongside AJ. If we can sign either one of these guys it would make me feel much better about the upcoming campaign. Especially with Vaughn and Cahill being injured. More news to come…
Cahill Gets X-Ray - Toffees Get Draw
By: DJR | Add Comments
The Toffees got quite a scare as star midfielder Tim Cahill suffered an foot injury in the friendly played against Werder Bremen yesterday. Cahill has sent for x-rays after coming off the pitch and there were fears that he broke his metatarsal again. Alan Irvine, an assistant manager, is confident the the injury is only minor. He had this to say,
“He felt his foot which is a bit of a worry,” Irvine said. “It is something that we will check out and Tim will have an X-ray this evening.
“I have just been speaking to him now and he feels a lot better.
It obviously gave him a bit of a fright about but we will just make sure he is okay. I thought he played well in the time he was on tonight.”
I looks like he’ll be alright and hopefully back in the lineup as soon as possible. As for the game that was played, the boys from Merseyside ended up with a disappointing draw. With some spotty defense and unfinished chances they managed a 2-2 finish with goals by McFadden and Anderson da Silva.
Werder Bremen do have a nice squad, so finishing in a draw is nothing to frown upon. There were some encouraging moments for the Toffees and certainly David Moyes must be happy with some of the play. Especially seeing Anderson da Silva score his first goal for the Toffees. It would be nice to see either him or McFadden step up their game this campaign.
1-1 McFadden vs Everton
Uploaded by super-goal
2-2 Anderson de Silva vs Bremen
Uploaded by super-goal
Everton(0)-RSL(2). I Know Rocky Wouldn’t Be Happy With That Result
By: DJR | 5 Comments
With all the hype surrounding the much anticipated Becks debut I almost forgot that the Toffees were playing Real Salt Lake. RSL, currently last in the MLS and without Freddie Adu and Eddie Pope, somehow handed the boys from Merseyside a 2-0 loss. The scores came within a 2 minute flurry from RSL which saw Carey Talley(28′) score from a corner taken by Alecko Eskandarian and Robbie Findley(29′) bury one in the back of the net just moments later. Our best chance came when Beattie side footed a volley from in close but somehow managed to shank it. David Moyes had this to say after the game:
“The boys had a hard session as far as running about tonight. But it wasn’t a good performance. A lot of people tonight would tell you the conditions were very warm but we won’t use that as an excuse. It is part of the training and defeats will come along but we are disappointed in the nature of tonight’s game because we have been doing okay, we have been full of confidence and were brimming after last season.
“But maybe we needed that, maybe it is a wake-up call to make us realise we are all about hard work and commitment and there wasn’t enough of that tonight.”
All in all it looks like the boys in blue were outplayed by RSL and that brings me to my question. Have the Toffees hit the lowest of the low?
I don’t think they have hit the low point by any means, but losing to the worst team in the MLS is pretty bad. I’m sure jet lag and the elevation probably had something to do with their poor performance, but I think you have to have a little better showing than that. Hopefully they can get something out of the loss and build towards the upcoming campaign.
Category: Team NewsPienaar On Loan, More Offense?
By: DJR | Add Comments
Reports are out that we have signed Steven Pienaar on loan from Borussia Dortmund. Pienaar, an offensive midfielder hailing from South Africa, had a horrible season last campaign but is expected to bring some life to the left side. Just two years removed from Ajax, Pienaar was supposed to be the replacement for Tomas Rosicky at Dortmund. Hyped as the new wonder kid for South Africa he showed flashes at Ajax, but that never seemed to happen last season and Pienaar failed to score a single goal in 25 appearances.
I hope this ends up being a good signing. Maybe he will revert back to how he played at Ajax.
Vaughan Out For Months, Not Weeks
By: DJR | Add Comments
Everton’s 19 year old striker, James Vaughan, will be out for an extended amount of time after dislocating his shoulder during a friendly match played against Preston yesterday. The youngster sustained the injury it what was called an incidental collision with Youl Mawene. Vaughan was taking to the hospital where the assessment was not good. Alan Irvine, an assistant boss to the club had this to say,
“It will be months rather than weeks with James - a couple of months I should expect,” Irvine told the club’s official website. “We will learn the full extent of it tomorrow.
“Having suffered the injury myself I know how painful it is and how long it can take to get back.
“It is not a long, long term injury - it is not anything like his knee problem - but it is not something we expect him to return from in a matter of weeks.
“It is bad, bad luck for him. After being out for so long he did really well at the end of last season and was looking good in pre-season so it is not just bad luck for the lad but also for the team.”
This is some really bad news considering I had really high hopes for him this year. The only good thing that may come from this is that maybe Moyes will look at bringing in another striker to help out. Once again, I wouldn’t hold my breath and it doesn’t look like he is at all interested in bringing in offensive help.
Home 
