My thoughts- Cathcart was our MOTM IMO,solid at the back. Ighalo really is a poacher,his finishing is second to none and could easily see him being our top goalscorer this year. Nyom was decent but needs to improve his distribution,was giving the ball away far too often. Gomes good. Holebas fatigued towards the end and was something of a liability by the end of it. Anya was ok but his pace is his only asset imo ,decision making very average. Overall tho positive as far as I'm concerned.
Actually you completely missed the point, which is their fans act as if they are a top 6 team. Take 4-6 players out of Chelsea and they would still have a 5hit hot team. Take 4-6 players out of Everton they would be relegated. Hardly a squad that justifies their arrogance.
Quote Originally Posted by lowerrous View Post It wasn't malicious - the ball was free in the box and had Deeney got to it first he probably would have scored. In those circumstances I think that Deeney being a bit over-exuberant was understandable and was probably what saved him from a red card. Also, while the tackle was two footed, he did have both feet on the ground (he didn't go over the ball, which is how ankle breaks usually happen). I still could have understood the red card being shown though. Both feet and an arm. Don't understand what the scousers are complaining about tbh.
First things first...the travelling army...utterly brilliant...we were non-stop and the look of bemusement from the Everton fans looking at us was a joy...especially the bouncing...there was definitely a look of envy. When the teams came out to rapture from the Yellow Army...I could see Prodl look over with a look of 'wow' on his face...he regrouped and started applauding us. The game itself...first half they had loads of possession however they hit a yellow brick wall at the 18 yard line...Prodl and Cathcart stopped everything. Capoue and Behrami protected the middle brilliantly, Behrami snapped at their heels but never fouled, a couple of times he went too far but other than that he was immense. My only issue was before the equaliser he was cramping up and stretching his hamstring and at that point he should have gone off...it was fatigue that cost us their equaliser. Anya - he was frustrating today...but worked his socks off...however he left Holebas exposed a few times. Holebas, concerns me however I'm hoping it's just a fitness thing...I'm hoping he will improve once he's up to speed. Jurado - I'm expecting big things as he everything that was good about us in the first half he was pulling the strings. Layun looks much more comfortable in the Premier than Championship and his link up with Jurado was excellent and the goal was taken brilliantly. I kind of feel sorry for him as he must be fatiguing a little as he hasn't had a break - but today showed why we signed him. Deeney - much as I love him and he worked his heart out, I'm a little worried that the quality of the centre backs in the Prem maybe too much for him....I hope I'm wrong. I was chatting to a copper at half time and he confessed he was a Red and said we looked really good. He was loving the frustration on the Everton fans faces and said keep it up as he was 'well made up'. All in all, once we're up to full fitness, we will improve and I think we have a gem in Flores as he set the team up really well. When the opposition have 67% possession but create fewer chances then you've got effective use of the ball. Seeing the stats on MOTD where we had 70% of passes in the opposition half, tells you that we are here to compete and we won alot of admirers with Alan Shearer and Charlie Nicholas saying how impressed they were...we're going to be okay this season.
Chelsea struggle without Costa Let alone Costa, Hazard, Matic, Cortouis & Terry No they would not be sh*t hot without them 5 whatever way you may spin it.
I don't think we need to worry about that. Sunderland consistently sign dross and Bournemouth only sign homegrown players (despite 90% of their squad being homegrown already). Why the latter doesn't buy outside of the UK is anyone's guess, but if they're willing to overpay for players then they can go right ahead!
Quite funny that Ighalo was able to leave the new England defending megastar - John Stones on his backside for a sublime goal - probably the best goal Watford have scored in the Premier League. If Raheem Sterling had scored that goal it would already be contender for goal of the season and you'd have pundits saying with delight that 'Sterling is worth every penny on that evidence!'
So proud of that team. Gomes - Assured and clearly more confident with that strong back 4. Came for crosses and not intimidated by Lukaku. Excellent 8 Nyom - MACHINE. ENGINE. What a player, strong and pacey able to time a challenge perfectly, little sloppy in the 93rd minute to give away a FK after great work but he was so good. Could be POTS. 9 Prodl - Giant. So strong and didn't lose a header, was upset with no Angella but boy this bloke can defend. Assured next to Cathcart. 8 Cathcart - The guy gets better and better, don't think he put a foot wrong. Desperately unlucky the ball slid under him for their second. 9 Holebas - Encouraging. Quick, physical, technically gifted. He was excellent linking with Anya and is clearly going to be superb. 7 Capoue - All over their CM like a rash. Niggled away, few fouls but nothing wrong with that. Think we have made a steal here from Spurs... 8 Behrami - Okay, sloppy for their first. But strong in the tackle, rarely gave the ball away and worked well with Capoue. Lucky not to be booked for bad tackle on Mirallas. 7 Anya - Pacey as per usual and good work with Holebas. Positive to make runs into the box, just wish he would take on the full back more often. 7/8 Jurado - Neat footwork and good range of passing. Little rusty with his touch but clear we have a great player here. Sort of assist for the 1st. 7 Layun - Whole coach couldn't believe he was starting .. took goal superbly, unlucky not to pick up an excellent second. Worked hard defensively, right move to replace with Parades as he was being beaten for pace. More of the same please! 9 Deeney - A little ominous and frustrated at times but didn't look out of place against Stones and Jagielka. Amazing how far he has come. Played better when Ighalo came on. 7 Ighalo - ALWAYS BELIEVE IN IGHALO 8 Parades - Gave the ball away a couple of times, should have taken on Bale more often seeing as he has the turning range of a large oil tanker. 6 Watson - Neat and tidy, not enough time to make a mark. 5 MOTM Cathcart for me. Will be interesting to see what happens with Britos ....
It was very good but it doesn't come close to a GOTS contender, Chelsea score one of those every week.
In fairness more than one pundit has declared it to be a 'Premier League standard goal'. Whatever one of those is, because as far as I'm concerned if it crosses the line they're all worth the same.
Were quite nice to me when I walked into their supporters bar over here. 40 of them 1 of me. It went alright, got a free drink out of it.
What the picture doesn't show is that there was virtually zero forward motion from Deeney. This wasn't a dangerous tackle.
Ighalos new song was glorious. Stuck on the coach so missed the first goal, but what a performance from the lads, well and truly, nobody in particular played poorly. Very proud of our "mercenaries"
What an opening match! Shame about the motorway debacle, pleased with my decision to listen to Absolute Radio whilst sunbathing on balcony. Fans sounded fantastic, could hear them throughout the game, think my neighbours could too. New manager, new team and a point gained away at Goodison Park whilst going ahead twice. Couldn't have asked for more with our odds for being relegated. Right now I'm feeling extremely positive about this season.
Didn't go to the game so really only going on what I've seen on Sky and MOTD. The passing seems to have improved greatly from last year, much quicker and more accurate. The standard of the new players seems to be better than we could have dreamed of and they all played well yesterday. To have settled that quickly is incredible. Although it's disappointing to concede late on, I would have bitten your arm off for a point before the game, our record at Goodison in dreadful. Some nice comments by Shearer and Charlie Nicholas and we certainly did not look out of place. It is only one game though and I'm sure the players were bang up for it. Be interested to see where we are after 10 games. The fans. I have a mate who is an Everton fan that was at the game yesterday and he said our fans were exceptional. One of the best he's seen for noise and the fact we never stopped singing. Great start
After watching MOTD I've revised my previously positive opinion of Cathcart. He was out jumped several times and at fault for Everton's two main headed chances and their second goal. Not sure if it was him who was out jumped for Barry's header too.
If Cathcart was either a split second earlier or later then the shot would have been blocked. Fine margins.
Is Forestieri injured? I was surprised not to see him on the bench, given that we had Abdi and Berghuis out injured. If he's not injured, I suppose that says a lot about his prospects for this coming season.
To the tune of Karma Chameleon: Give it, give it, give it, give it, Give it to Ighalooooooo, He'll score a goal, He'll score a gooooooooaaaaaaall! Credit to the bloke in front of me who got it going when Iggy came on. It caught on very quickly and is a nice addition to his other 80's themed chant.
He may well still recovering from the knock he got in pre-season but I think Forestieri will be struggling to make the squad of 25. Flores obviously rates Layun and now with Diamanté being signed Forestieri has dropped further down the pecking order. Just shows how much the quality of our has improved over the last 12 months!!!
I still believe forestieri would add something. He needs games. People bemoan his consistency, but when he's played a run of games, he's been dependable. He's just not good at coming in here and there, which I believe is all we can offer him, sadly. Maybe a championship loan for half a season would be the best option.
https://twitter.com/0stman/status/629744950196965376/photo/1 Before yesterday, we had named a youth product in our matchday squad in every game for 36 years and 8 months. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that run came to an end yesterday, which is a shame. Gomes, Nyom, Cathcart, Prodl, Holebas, Behrami, Capoue, Jurado, Anya, Layun, Deeney, Gilmartin, Angella, Watson, Paredes, Pudil, Ighalo, Vydra. No Bond, Doyley or Hoban, one of whom would have been almost guaranteed a place in the squad.
Deeney will be fine. Don't under estimate him, his work rate yesterday as you say was 100% and he was up top on his own against an international defender and Englands latest star in waiting. I have no doubts he will cut it in this league.
What a day yesterday was, missed the entire first half thanks to the M6 traffic but sounded like we were clearly the better team (bbc radio Mersey confirmed this on the phone in after). As you'd expect Everton came out with a lot more purpose in the second half but can't say they looked like scoring, our shape was good. Bit of a hash by Behrami in the lead up to Barkley's goal but what a strike, surprised the net didn't rip. Just knew Ighalo would score, great moment. Having just watched MOTD, bit disappointed that Watson didn't stick with Kone who had the momentum against Cathcart , even so another good finish and Cathcart almost blocked it. Good point in the end and lots of positives. With Abdi, Diamanti and Berghuis at our disposal I'm confident we'll have that cutting edge to win enough games. 4-2-3-1 looks perfect for away games, just hoping it allows us to play on the front foot at home.
It was just such a fantastic day all round..waking up in the morning it felt like Christmas Day..the build-up, the media coverage, the match itself, the nice comments made about us on tv and radio, watching Sky's Matchday Choice coverage at 10pm, then Match of the Day...precisely why all of us on here endured the tension, the stress, the uncertainty, the pressure and ultimately the sheer happiness and relief of last season's nail-biting promotion run-in. Very proud of the team, and very confident we will have enough about us this season providing the Gods smile on us (injuries, decisions, meeting sides at the right time etc). We'll grow and get better for sure. It's a nice feeling, relief I think, to have got through our opening fixture unbeaten, and knowing we can hold our own at this level on the evidence of the first match. If I'm honest, and will probably get a dislike or two here, but just a small part of me is annoyed we couldn't hold on to our lead, because Everton weren't great and because wins in this league don't grow on trees and we were mighty close to getting one at the first time of asking. If we're to stay up this season we have to be ruthless. I'm confident we will be as time goes on and the side gets more used to each other, and I'd have gladly taken a point at 2pm, but at the end it felt like two dropped! A sign of how well we were doing! But of course, an average of 1 point a game probably keeps a side up anyway so it's a good start!
