Time To Buy a New Jag
By: DJR |
Add Comments
Sheffield United utility man, Phil Jagielka, maybe returning to the Toffees real soon. Jag was released by Everton when he was younger, but is ready to pick them over Aston Villa or Newcastle now. He is believed to have a release clause in his contract that would allow Everton to offer up £4m for his services. Jagielka was used as a substitute for the England B squad when they played Albania last week and seemed to impress. With Sheffield being relegated it only makes sense for Jag to move to a Premiership squad to further his professional career.
This is a solid move in my opinion because Jag can play so many different positions (right-back, center-back, midfield). He will be a welcomed asset to the team and his International experience is a added bonus.
Football Gods Hear My Prayers
By: DJR | Add Comments
Yesterday ending up being more than just another busy day for me and I haven’t had my proper chance to weigh in on the Champions League Final. I just started a new job a little less than 2 weeks ago and was unable to secure yesterday off to watch the final ‘live‘. I know, I know, I should have made up an excuse and went home to watch it anyway. The fact is I need this job and couldn’t risk it this early in the game.
Anyway, I made sure that I wouldn’t hear anything about the game by resisting the urge to check the internet. I also closed my instant messenger and made sure not to answer my cell phone at all costs. I didn’t even listen to sports talk radio (ESPN Radio) on the off chance that they might mention something about it. (yeah right) I finally made it home to watch the final, which I had DVR’d (best invention since the thong) a little more than 3 hours earlier and here are my thoughts:
Let me start off by saying that I watched the first goal by Pippo about 30 times and I’m pretty sure it was a hand ball. It looks like his arm moves forward, just enough to push the ball into the back of the net. This is from an Everton fan remember. It shouldn’t have been a goal, but that’s the way the ball bounces sometimes.
Jermaine Pennant absolutely dominated the right side of the pitch. He made Jankulosvski look stupid most of the time. If he could have connected on at least one of his crosses they probably would be celebrating today.
For as much as Gerrard calls for the ball he can not finish! He had more than a couple of chances to beat Dida and just couldn’t. Dida sucks! Let me repeat myself, Dida sucks! He is slow and usually pretty easy to beat.
Kaka really didn’t do as much as I would have thought. He did have a nice ‘Roulette’ move to avoid some defenders and the pass to Pippo for the second goal was nice, but all in all it was a pretty slow night for the Brazilian wonder. The defense that Liverpool used on him was appropriate. Macherano kept smothering him until he was no where near the ball.
Gattuso is a cry baby who acts tough but really isn’t. I guess you either love him or hate him. I don’t hate him, but I think he has some psychological issues. He is always looking for a call and then if he doesn’t get it he explodes. Like when he got the boot to the head, you would have thought that his head was ripped open and gushing blood. Give me a break!
Pirlo didn’t do much except the free kick to the (hand ball). Seedorf was pretty much invisible the entire game. Crouch was brought on to late. Kuyt had a nice deflected header for a goal. (right place, right time)
Inzaghi has got to be the luckiest and scrawniest player in the Champions League. He loves to play the offsides trap game and beat it. For every 20 1000 times he gets called offsides he’ll get that one chance and score. He did cry like a little girl when he got that ball blasted into his chest. His entire chest might have caved in by the looks of it. He really needs to eat something. Last night was definitely his night. Congrats Pippo!
Which brings me to the title of this post: Football Gods Hear My Prayers. The same football gods that produced the females in the picture above, answered my prayers and allowed the team that really wasn’t the better team to win. (or maybe it was the ref) Either way, it’s a good day for me.
Category: Team NewsWant to Play Alongside The Boys in Blue?
By: DJR | Add Comments
Think your the next great Toffee player and just haven’t had the opportunity to show of your skills? Here’s your chance to get some recognition and become part of the Everton Football Club. The Boys in Blue have teamed up with Soccer Dreams to give one lucky player (between the ages of 14-19 in North America) the chance of a lifetime. The winner gets a 2 year placement with the team’s academy and some reality television facetime. Tryouts will be held in different locations (all Canadian) throughout the summer months. For more info go here: Soccer Dreams
Category: Team NewsArteta and Johnson Better Than Anyone in Merseyside
By: DJR | 7 Comments
The last official Premiership stats of the year have been released and Mikel Arteta and Andy Johnson are listed in the top 12. Arteta placed 6th overall with AJ ranking 12. The Toffees had 5 players in the top 30 (Tim Howard(21), Phil Neville(27) and Joleon Lescott(30)), which was the second most behind Man. U (6) and better than Liverpool(4), Chelsea(3) and Arsenal(3).
Great job to all of the guys for their hard work. It just goes to show you that Liverpool isn’t the only team in Merseyside with talent these days. Hopefully we can add to that talent pool this off season and next years top ten list will be filled with Everton players.
Here is the complete Top 100 listing:
1 didier drogba Chelsea 628
2 cristiano ronaldo Manchester United 617
3 dimitar berbatov Tottenham Hotspur 611
4 wayne rooney Manchester United 580
5 frank lampard Chelsea 572
6 mikel arteta Everton 567
7 cesc fabregas Arsenal 565
8 gareth barry Aston Villa 561
9 benni mccarthy Blackburn Rovers 535
10 gabriel agbonlahor Aston Villa 517
11 ryan giggs Manchester United 505
12 andy johnson Everton 498
13 david james Portsmouth 489
14 dirk kuyt Liverpool 487
15 el-hadji diouf Bolton Wanderers 483
16 marcus hahnemann Reading 482
17 steven gerrard Liverpool 481
18 paul scholes Manchester United 477
19 steve finnan Liverpool 469
20 matthew taylor Portsmouth 468
21 tim howard Everton 467
22 gilberto Arsenal 467
23 ricardo carvalho Chelsea 463
24 edwin van der sar Manchester United 462
25 jose reina Liverpool 462
26 rio ferdinand Manchester United 461
27 phil neville Everton 454
28 kolo toure Arsenal 454
29 david bentley Blackburn Rovers 453
30 joleon lescott Everton 452
31 michael carrick Manchester United 445
32 nicolas anelka Bolton Wanderers 444
33 brad friedel Blackburn Rovers 443
34 nicky shorey Reading 441
35 pascal chimbonda Tottenham Hotspur 440
36 jens lehmann Arsenal 439
37 emanuel pogatetz Middlesbrough 435
38 paul robinson Tottenham Hotspur 426
39 michael dawson Tottenham Hotspur 425
40 jussi jaaskelainen Bolton Wanderers 423
41 ashley young Aston Villa 420
42 nemanja vidic Manchester United 418
43 kevin doyle Reading 418
44 jamie carragher Liverpool 417
45 stewart downing Middlesbrough 416
46 richard dunne Manchester City 414
47 liam rosenior Fulham 412
48 gary speed Bolton Wanderers 412
49 gary o’neil Portsmouth 411
50 olof mellberg Aston Villa 411
51 kanu Portsmouth 410
52 emmanuel adebayor Arsenal 408
53 mark schwarzer Middlesbrough 407
54 gary neville Manchester United 406
55 andriy shevchenko Chelsea 403
56 ivan campo Bolton Wanderers 403
57 sylvain distin Manchester City 401
58 peter crouch Liverpool 398
59 mark viduka Middlesbrough 398
60 morten gamst pedersen Blackburn Rovers 398
61 joey barton Manchester City 396
62 patrice evra Manchester United 393
63 xabi alonso Liverpool 392
64 joseph yobo Everton 391
65 alexander hleb Arsenal 389
66 jermaine pennant Liverpool 386
67 michael essien Chelsea 381
68 aaron lennon Tottenham Hotspur 376
69 ivar ingimarsson Reading 376
70 linvoy primus Portsmouth 372
71 kevin davies Bolton Wanderers 371
72 john terry Chelsea 370
73 abdoulaye meite Bolton Wanderers 369
74 darren bent Charlton Athletic 368
75 james milner Newcastle United 366
76 brett emerton Blackburn Rovers 365
77 steven taylor Newcastle United 363
78 andrew taylor Middlesbrough 361
79 brian mcbride Fulham 357
80 scott carson Charlton Athletic 356
81 lucas neill West Ham United 355
82 lee carsley Everton 349
83 thierry henry Arsenal 349
84 stephen hunt Reading 349
85 louis saha Manchester United 348
86 bobby zamora West Ham United 346
87 john o’shea Manchester United 345
88 talal el karkouri Charlton Athletic 345
89 sol campbell Portsmouth 344
90 george boateng Middlesbrough 343
91 thomas sorensen Aston Villa 341
92 ayegbeni yakubu Middlesbrough 340
93 robin van persie Arsenal 340
94 salomon kalou Chelsea 337
95 michael ballack Chelsea 337
96 daniel agger Liverpool 337
97 claude makelele Chelsea 336
98 nicky hunt Bolton Wanderers 335
99 jermaine jenas Tottenham Hotspur 334
100 obafemi martins Newcastle United 332
To get a more detailed breakdown visit the ACTIM INDEX
Mr. Clean signs with the Toffees
By: DJR | Add Comments
Mister Clean, Lee Carsley, has signed a one year deal to continue playing for Everton. Cars had a nice season in helping Everton secure a spot in next years UEFA Cup. Many believed that Cars was headed to Wigan Athletic when his contract was done. He had this to say:
“I am absolutely delighted to be honest. I have had a fantastic time here and hopefully that can continue now.
“Myself and the gaffer sat down two or three months ago and he said he wanted me to stay and I said I wanted to stay as well. I am just glad we have come to an agreement.
“We have got the UEFA Cup to look forward to next season. The manager has got the right blend at the minute and that is important.”
It’s ‘Me’! I thought you knew
By: DJR | 2 Comments
Who is ‘Me’?
My real name is Dominic but I go by DJR because I have a cheesy tattoo on my arm with my initials that my friends decided would be an appropriate nickname. It’s funny how vodka and tattoo parlors somehow go hand and hand. I guess it stuck for some people and voila.
So why am I blogging about Everton FC?
Besides the lovely picture to the left, I have been reading The Offside and the World Cup Soccer blog for a while now and wanted to be part of the soccer blog revolution. I follow multiple teams with Manchester United being my club of choice. Seeing that Nick is already blogging about them I decided to expand my horizons and blog about another EPL team. While Everton might not be the best team in the Premiership, they do have a bunch of great players to watch in Johnson, Arteta, Cahill, Carsley, Neville and my boy Timmy. I’m sure it won’t always be great but I hope to bring some news and insight from the Everton football world.
Category: About Your Blogger
Home 
