Roll up Roll up
Posted by Ian Marshall's Double in Everton | 12 March 2006
Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting. Sun Tzu ((ca. 500 BC))
How good was that? The best Everton have played in a long time and a victory coming not from dogged determination, although that was still there, but craft and guile and some superb football.
Not withstanding 1 point out of the last 6, you can now turn up at Goodison with a degree of confidence and despite an unnecessarily twitchy last 5 minutes and only winning by 2 goals, this was an excellent display. And we scored one eighth of our league goals this season in this one match. Five home league wins in a row is not to be sniffed at.
And what about the goals? After the Newcastle game, Real Life Blues bemoaned the fact that we never score goals as good as Solano’s. Since then, we’ve scored 4 belters and even Beattie’s penalty (his others have been pretty ropey) was comprehensive. In the past couple of weeks the much maligned Beatts has started to show the sort of player he can be. England class he probably ain’t, but who cares, he’s a proper English centre forward who scores all kinds of goals, and he’s loads better than Peter Crouch.
It’s tough to know what to make of Fulham though. They look like a bit of a circus of a team to be honest, all their players seem to be either giants or midgets, or curiously overweight. When Elliott minced off you half expected him to be replaced by a bearded lady. Maybe their hideous kit ain’t the most flattering but the Kiwi Elliott, who they’ve signed from the Columbus Crew, presumably formed in 1492, looked like he’d just rolled off the Ackney Marshes. He could prove everybody wrong but he looked like an Ali Dia of a signing.
For the blues, Arteta will take a lot of the credit but the simmering Spaniard was sublime. Not least when he teased and tricked Boa Morte for what seemed like ages until Luis felt he had to clatter Mikel. You can imagine big Dunc giving Arteta some enthusiastic and painful slaps on the back for that one.
Osman was also excellent but the other player who should receive special praise is Alan Stubbs. The sight of Stubbsy berating the officials, Dicky Wright and all his fellow defenders is one of the many things we were missing earlier in the season. Thinking back to games like Arsenal away it’s hard to believe we would have conceded cheap goals like that with him bossing the back line. He’s strong in the air, his distribution is superb and despite being distinctly one paced, his ability to get in front of attackers and nick the ball is imperious. Sunderland must have some great defenders to not give him a game. Ahem.
Even Van came on and did OK but the shape disappeared and we missed Faddy a little towards the end. His goal was fantastic and in the same way as Yobo isn’t a full back we also know McFadden should never ever play on the wing again. He may not be a goal machine but his only decent games have been up front or on the wing against inferior oppositon (of course we are including Leeds United in this).
Having been dreading the derby some weeks ago, maybe, just maybe, we can go there and give them a game.
In a weekend of unlikely players scoring screamers, you’d have expected Beattie and Mcfadden before Mendes or Gallas, next we’ll take a look at some of THE great Everton goals in the past 20 years, not Sharp v Liverpool or Steven v Sunderland, but some of the less obvious but brilliant moments which make you turn to the stranger next to you and swear loads.
Until then, keep smiling.
Comments
Me? I'm ecstatic. What better way to cheer up a mardy weekend stuck with the in-laws than to knock three goals in?
We've only had the one where we didn't score this year and it's much more fun being a blue again.
Only low point? Typically we score two crackers and everyone in the Prem's at it. MOTD was like goal of the season in one day. Can't complain though, was good viewing.
Beefy
Wise words Beef, it's been said before (if mi auntie had bollocks she would be mi uncle) but if we could disregard those 8 games without a goal or a point, we'd be in business. It augurs well for the future, I hope.
Think it will be difficult on Saturday - we definitely owe Villa a serious kicking but do seem to struggle against them. How many boring Everton v Villa games has there been? Got to start with same 11 though. P.S. Can't stand all this Arteta for Spain (never mind the Beatt for England - not really) nonsense. There is only one conclusion to this, and it doesn't involve little Mik playing for Spain, more likely the subject of a transfer bid or unsettling agent talk. The club and local media are asking for this - it's not as if it's a new phenomenon. He is excellent though.
Wise words as ever Cat.
Can't remember a comfortable win over Villa at home at all and we defo owe them one after the Mike Riley inspired debacle at Xmas.
As for Arteta, it's gone from should we sign him to can we possibly hold onto him. We seem to lurch (nothing to do with Crouch) from one extreme to the other i.e. we are garbage and so are all our players OR we are great so surely someone else'll want them. V frustatrating.
Arteta's contract doesn't expire until 2010. Surely we can keep him a while.
The whole thing upsets me righteously. Losing the Grav was bad enough but to lose his, although lacking the air punching mentalness, even better replacement!!!
