It’s easy to admire what Everton have been able to do in the last couple of weeks. We did manage to edge them over in a fiercely contested derby at Anfield, but one must acknowledge that the Blues have been excellent in beating both Chelsea and Man Utd at Goodison, and today’s victory over the Red Devils was a contest I enjoyed watching for many reasons, the main being that as a Red I do not want the red half of Manchester to win the Premier League.
It may have been destiny, but seeing Dan Gosling and Jack Rodwell rip Man Utd apart was awe inspiring. One of the most delicate fixtures of the current PL season was decided by a 20 and a 19 year old! I don’t know if Moyes’ choice was pure genius or sheer luck, but bloody hell it paid off, bigtime! Mind you, James Vaughan could have come on, and there is also a certain Victor Anichebe!!!!
I ask how we, could for example, not consider a player like Fellaini when we played Standard Liege a couple of seasons back for CL pre-group stage qualification. Now many of you will not like the guy, but he is a solid midfielder comfortable playing either a holding or attacking role. He is also extremely strong in the air in both defense and attack mode, and he did not cost Stg 20 million!
And where did these people go to find a player like Bilyaletdinov? Have you seen Sylvain Distin orchestrating Everton’s back four? And how about Landon Donovan: does he not give you the impression he’s been an Everton player all his life? Not to mention Pienaar. We all remember the Jescott saga, and they made some good money from that deal. Has anyone noticed he does not play for them anymore?
These lads played an outstanding game, beat the odds after conceding an unexpected goal, and they were without influential the Cahill, Fellaini and Jagielka!
Luckily for us Reds, Everton have only lost 2 PL games since our game at Goodison and the return at Anfield, they have not lost any other game anywhere, either at home or away.
My compliments to Everton for a great victory! They are enjoying a fantastic run and I feel they will continue to climb the table. It’s a cocktail of modesty, good management and an excellent choice of players. All this added to an effective academy that continues to produce wonderful talent (ah…a certain Wayne Rooney comes to mind) which is groomed to produce results as we saw in today’s game.
The following considerations are not meant to be comparative, but they are meant to be objective. What I am saying is that LFC are known to have one of the best scouting network and player database in the Premier League, but when you look at the acquisitions made, the players brought up through the ranks, and the one-for-one replacements, I can’t help but wonder if our cousins could teach us a thing or two in this respect. Food for thought friends?