I almost totally gave up writing about Everton after the Newcastle and Brentford debacles, but the performance in Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Fulham provided a tiny glimmer of hope that we might be about to hit a bit of form.
The 3-3 draw with Manchester United at Goodison Park turned out to be a false dawn. Everton were largely battered in that game anyway, with David Moyes going a bit mad and picking Marouane Fellaini and Tim Cahill up front, but given the fight shown by the players to come back from 3-1 down and score twice in the dying minutes it was hard not to feel at least a little bit optimistic ahead of the home game against Newcastle United.
Despite Yakubu coming off the bench to good effect against Man United it was Jermaine Beckford who was chosen to lead the line against last season’s Championship winners. With Cahill injured it was left to Fellaini to support the former Leeds striker, who continues to look woefully out of his depth in the Premier League, and unsurprisingly Everton never really looked like scoring.
Hatem Ben Arfa settled with game with a well-taken goal on the stroke of half-time. The France international cut inside from the left-wing, asked phoney enforcer John Heitinga to move out of the way, and smacked a cracking effort past Tim Howard. Cue Geordie bedlam.
You can add Ben Arfa’s name to those of Alex Hleb, Martin Petrov, Hamit Altintop and (at a stretch) Jermaine Pennant on the list of natural wide players who were available either on loan or a free transfer during the summer, but whom Everton showed no interest in.
If you thought things looked bleak after Newcastle then you were probably ready to bounce your season ticket off Moyes’ head in the wake of the League Cup tie away at Brentford. Everton sent out a strong team against a side struggling near the bottom of League One, so there were really no excuses when after failing to hold onto a lead or break them down a second time Everton were dumped out of the competition on penalties.
The fact that Alex Ferguson didn’t bother showing up to his side’s 5-2 win at Scunthorpe shows what little regard the League Cup is held in, but it remains Everton’s most realistic means of ending what will soon be a 16 year trophy drought. Winning a domestic cup is probably Everton’s best hope of getting back into Europe at this point as well.
Moyes was probably relieved that his team’s next game would come away from home at Fulham, as it’s hard to imagine the Goodison crowd showing much patience with Everton’s new brand of football; which essentially involves sitting very deep, passing the ball across the back for thirty seconds and then running out of ideas.
Injuries to perennial starters Leon Osman and Tony Hibbert gave Moyes an opportunity to try something different at Craven Cottage. Phil Neville came in at right back with Seamus Coleman ahead of him, Fellaini dropped back into his favoured holding midfield role alongside Mikel Arteta, and Cahill returned to partner comedy figure Yakubu Aiyegbeni in attack.
Although Yakubu appears to have completely lost his ability to accelerate he remains by far Everton’s best all round striker. He’s the only one with the intelligence to drag opposition defenders out of position and create space for the midfield to attack, and despite his sitter at the end he showed enough to suggest he might be getting back to something like his old self.
Everton looked far more balanced at Fulham than in any other game so far this season. Coleman’s pace and direct running on the right provided the kind of outlet we’ve been looking for since Landon Donovan’s departure, while Arteta and Fellaini were able to exert more influence on the game without Heitinga getting in their way.
It’ll be interesting to see what Moyes decides to do with Heitinga. Given how poor a pairing Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin have been it must be tempting for Moyes to drop one of them in favour of the Dutchman. Jagielka and Distin are both out and out stoppers with distribution that is limited at best, whereas Heitinga is extremely comfortable in possession and has the ability to bring the ball out of defence and pick a forward pass.
The draw with Fulham leaves Everton bottom of the league after West Ham’s somewhat surprising home win over Tottenham. It’s best not to get carried away with league positions at this point, but if Moyes really does have designs on qualifying for Europe then Everton need to start picking up points immediately.
Barring any injuries Moyes will almost certainly start with the same team away at Birmingham on Saturday. Alex McLeish’s side haven’t lost at home in over a year and it seems unlikely that Everton’s static, predictable attack will have enough to break down such an organised outfit, but I can’t help but sort of fancy us in this one.
We should have won last weekend and, regardless of their fine record at St. Andrews, we should be looking to beat Birmingham as well. As much as I was expecting to see Fulham grab a late winner, with Mark Hughes running up and down the touchline wearing a Joleon Lescott mask and flicking V-signs at Moyes, Everton had the possession and late chances to feel disappointed at having to settle for a share of the points.
0-1, Cahill with a late header.
Starting XI for Saturday: (4-4-1-1) Howard, Neville, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; Coleman, Arteta, Fellaini, Pienaar; Cahill, Yakubu
Wednesday 29 September 2010
Thursday 9 September 2010
UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn II
Frankie ‘The Answer’ Edgar laid to rest any doubts over who the best lightweight in the UFC is, as the New Jersey wrestler dominated BJ Penn over five one-sided rounds to defend his 155lbs title for the first time.
Many, myself included, thought that Penn did enough to win the first fight and would set the record straight once and for all at UFC 118. Much of the former champion’s pre-fight rhetoric centred around claiming that Edgar could do no better than his performance in Abu Dhabi, while insisting that he would be suitably motivated to up his game and blow ‘The Answer’ away at the second attempt.
It wasn’t to be though. Penn looked very much the same slow, plodding fighter that he did in the first bout, whereas Edgar, while employing similar tactics to those that beat Penn first time around, appeared faster, stronger and more confident than ever before.
Edgar showed fantastic conditioning and energy, bouncing around the cage and landing fast, accurate combinations at will on his ponderous foe. Penn appears to have fallen into the same trap as Quinton Jackson of simply trying to stand and box with his opponents, and it wasn’t until late on in the bout that he mixed up his offence and took Edgar to the mat. Even then though, Edgar showed tremendous technique and power as he reversed position on one of MMA’s most decorated jiu-jitsu players.
It’s customary after any BJ Penn defeat to look for reasons as to how such a talented fighter could perform so poorly. Apparently Penn has broken away from the Maranovich brothers, who led his training camps prior to dominating victories over Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian, with some speculating that his performances against Edgar suffered as a result. There has also been criticism levelled at Penn’s corner during the fight, particularly from UFC commentator Joe Rogan, for the way in which they simply coddled him in between rounds rather than giving any real instruction.
All that aside, you have to give full credit to Frankie Edgar. The lightweight champion displayed a level of speed and stamina that 'The Prodigy' just couldn’t live with, and at this point it’d be remiss to say anything else other than that he simply has Penn’s number.
UFC 118’s co-main event saw the MMA debut of multi-division boxing champion James ‘Lights-out’ Toney. After chasing UFC president Dana White up and down the country, Toney was finally granted his opportunity to prove himself in a bout with former two-weight champion Randy Couture. It lasted all of four minutes, as Couture took Toney down with laughable ease and eventually worked his way into an arm triangle. It appeared as if Toney didn’t even know how to tap out, causing referee Mario Yamasaki to intervene on his behalf.
Elsewhere on the card Gray Maynard cemented himself as the no.1 contender for Edgar’s lightweight title with a decision victory over Kenny Florian. Maynard used his impressive wrestling to take Florian to the mat and keep him there, and while his safety-first performance didn’t go down too well with Florian’s native Boston crowd, it was enough to secure him an overdue title shot against a man he has already beaten once.
Nate Diaz was another to stake a claim for himself as a top contender. The younger Diaz brother showed crisp boxing and excellent jiu-jitsu as he choked out Marcus Davis in round three of their bloody ‘fight of the night’ confrontation.
A clash of heads early on opened up a nasty cut above Davis’ right eye and impaired ‘The Irish Hand Grenade’s’ vision throughout. The fight was eventually stopped after Diaz caught Davis with a guillotine choke in the third round; Davis refused to tap and referee Yves Lavigne eventually called a halt after seeing that he had lost consciousness.
The win was Diaz’s second at 170lbs but, when interviewed after the fight, the Stockton native expressed an interest in returning to lightweight to challenge Gray Maynard, a man who he defeated on season five of The Ultimate Fighter.
Former middleweight title contender Demian Maia took on fellow Brazilian Mario Miranda to round off the main card. The clash of jiu-jitsu black belts followed much the same pattern for three rounds, with Maia dragging Miranda to the ground and hunting for submissions. Miranda, a student of the Nogueira brothers, showed impressive submission defence to escape several perilous positions and probably did enough to earn himself another UFC bout, despite dropping a unanimous decision.
Many, myself included, thought that Penn did enough to win the first fight and would set the record straight once and for all at UFC 118. Much of the former champion’s pre-fight rhetoric centred around claiming that Edgar could do no better than his performance in Abu Dhabi, while insisting that he would be suitably motivated to up his game and blow ‘The Answer’ away at the second attempt.
It wasn’t to be though. Penn looked very much the same slow, plodding fighter that he did in the first bout, whereas Edgar, while employing similar tactics to those that beat Penn first time around, appeared faster, stronger and more confident than ever before.
Edgar showed fantastic conditioning and energy, bouncing around the cage and landing fast, accurate combinations at will on his ponderous foe. Penn appears to have fallen into the same trap as Quinton Jackson of simply trying to stand and box with his opponents, and it wasn’t until late on in the bout that he mixed up his offence and took Edgar to the mat. Even then though, Edgar showed tremendous technique and power as he reversed position on one of MMA’s most decorated jiu-jitsu players.
It’s customary after any BJ Penn defeat to look for reasons as to how such a talented fighter could perform so poorly. Apparently Penn has broken away from the Maranovich brothers, who led his training camps prior to dominating victories over Diego Sanchez and Kenny Florian, with some speculating that his performances against Edgar suffered as a result. There has also been criticism levelled at Penn’s corner during the fight, particularly from UFC commentator Joe Rogan, for the way in which they simply coddled him in between rounds rather than giving any real instruction.
All that aside, you have to give full credit to Frankie Edgar. The lightweight champion displayed a level of speed and stamina that 'The Prodigy' just couldn’t live with, and at this point it’d be remiss to say anything else other than that he simply has Penn’s number.
UFC 118’s co-main event saw the MMA debut of multi-division boxing champion James ‘Lights-out’ Toney. After chasing UFC president Dana White up and down the country, Toney was finally granted his opportunity to prove himself in a bout with former two-weight champion Randy Couture. It lasted all of four minutes, as Couture took Toney down with laughable ease and eventually worked his way into an arm triangle. It appeared as if Toney didn’t even know how to tap out, causing referee Mario Yamasaki to intervene on his behalf.
Elsewhere on the card Gray Maynard cemented himself as the no.1 contender for Edgar’s lightweight title with a decision victory over Kenny Florian. Maynard used his impressive wrestling to take Florian to the mat and keep him there, and while his safety-first performance didn’t go down too well with Florian’s native Boston crowd, it was enough to secure him an overdue title shot against a man he has already beaten once.
Nate Diaz was another to stake a claim for himself as a top contender. The younger Diaz brother showed crisp boxing and excellent jiu-jitsu as he choked out Marcus Davis in round three of their bloody ‘fight of the night’ confrontation.
A clash of heads early on opened up a nasty cut above Davis’ right eye and impaired ‘The Irish Hand Grenade’s’ vision throughout. The fight was eventually stopped after Diaz caught Davis with a guillotine choke in the third round; Davis refused to tap and referee Yves Lavigne eventually called a halt after seeing that he had lost consciousness.
The win was Diaz’s second at 170lbs but, when interviewed after the fight, the Stockton native expressed an interest in returning to lightweight to challenge Gray Maynard, a man who he defeated on season five of The Ultimate Fighter.
Former middleweight title contender Demian Maia took on fellow Brazilian Mario Miranda to round off the main card. The clash of jiu-jitsu black belts followed much the same pattern for three rounds, with Maia dragging Miranda to the ground and hunting for submissions. Miranda, a student of the Nogueira brothers, showed impressive submission defence to escape several perilous positions and probably did enough to earn himself another UFC bout, despite dropping a unanimous decision.
Wednesday 8 September 2010
Summer's almost gone
Plenty has gone on in the three weeks or so since I last updated.
Everton laboured to a disappointing 1-1 home draw in the face of Mick McCarthy’s Wolves and their ultra-violence. This was followed by a hugely frustrating 1-0 defeat away at Aston Villa and, finally, the closure of another near-silent transfer window for the Blues.
After the incredible form shown during the second half of last season there was a feeling amongst Evertonians that if David Moyes could somehow get through the summer without losing any first team players, and perhaps even find some way of kidnapping Landon Donovan, we’d have a real chance at challenging for fourth place.
So far things haven’t quite panned out as expected. Everton have developed into one of the better ball-retaining sides in the division – unthinkable during the days of the Lee Carsley/Phil Neville midfield axis of evil – but for all our neat sideways passing there has been a distinct lack of a final product.
Donovan’s impact last season showed the difference a pacey outlet can make, and it was hoped that even if Everton couldn’t swindle LA Galaxy out of the USA winger we would at least bring in someone similar. It didn’t happen.
It’d be remiss to write Everton off at this stage, not least because we’ve been garbage for the opening months of the last two seasons before turning things around, but I do worry about where the goals are going to come from.
Jermaine Beckford remains unproven at the highest level, though his early performances suggest he needs more touches than Premier League defences allow. Louis Saha is reaching parody status, with his wacky medieval medical treatment being followed by going off injured ten minutes after coming on as a substitute for France, while Yakubu Aiyegbeni is yet to make a competitive appearance due to some dubious calf injury.
Tim Cahill is always good for around ten goals a season, and Mikel Arteta, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Leon Osman, Marouane Fellaini and Steven Pienaar are all capable of getting forward and hitting the net, but such has been the lack of movement from up front that opposition defenders aren’t being dragged out position and no gaps are opening up for the midfield to attack.
Moyes has never really been the wheeler-dealer type, but he knew from the start of the summer that there was no money to spend and should have set about moving some of his fringe players on to raise funds. Apparently James Vaughan is about to join Crystal Palace on loan and Joseph Yobo has moved to Fenerbahce on a temporary basis as well. No doubt the board will be pleased with not having to pay these players’ wages while they’re away, but surely it would have been better to try and sell anyone the manager deems surplus early on and use the money to improve elsewhere.
Nobody expected Everton to spend big money without selling first, but it was pretty galling to see Alex Hleb, who really is a top-quality footballer, moving to Birmingham City on loan for the season. Hleb would be such a huge step up from Osman, Bilyaletdinov or Jack Rodwell on the right of midfield.
Now that the window is shut all we can do is hope that our two remaining Nigerians re-emerge and make a significant impact. Yakubu played in Jamie Carragher’s big day out on Saturday and has hopefully gone some way to shedding the excess weight he was rumoured to be carrying after his post-World Cup break. The smiley goal plunderer is better suited to Moyes’ system than any other forward at the club, and his intelligent (albeit slow) movement and underrated link-up game could go a long way towards improving the team’s performance in the final third.
Victor Anichebe, meanwhile, appears to be Moyes’ preferred choice on the right of midfield. He’s played there to good effect over the past two seasons but seems rather injury prone (obviously the Van Daminator he suffered at the hands of Kevin Nolan doesn’t count) and questions still remain over his attitude. The fact we’re pinning so much hope on two of the more unreliable players at the club is quite concerning, but there’s basically no other option.
Next up for the struggling Toffees is a home fixture against Manchester United. It’s nice to go into this game without worrying about Alex Ferguson’s trophy hoarders dominating possession in midfield, but that aside it’s hard to see Everton having the cutting edge or breakaway pace to hurt United, whereas their slick forward line will likely cause all sorts of problems for the Blues’ shaky defence.
I’ll post a full preview for Saturday’s game and reaction from UFC 118 separately.
Everton laboured to a disappointing 1-1 home draw in the face of Mick McCarthy’s Wolves and their ultra-violence. This was followed by a hugely frustrating 1-0 defeat away at Aston Villa and, finally, the closure of another near-silent transfer window for the Blues.
After the incredible form shown during the second half of last season there was a feeling amongst Evertonians that if David Moyes could somehow get through the summer without losing any first team players, and perhaps even find some way of kidnapping Landon Donovan, we’d have a real chance at challenging for fourth place.
So far things haven’t quite panned out as expected. Everton have developed into one of the better ball-retaining sides in the division – unthinkable during the days of the Lee Carsley/Phil Neville midfield axis of evil – but for all our neat sideways passing there has been a distinct lack of a final product.
Donovan’s impact last season showed the difference a pacey outlet can make, and it was hoped that even if Everton couldn’t swindle LA Galaxy out of the USA winger we would at least bring in someone similar. It didn’t happen.
It’d be remiss to write Everton off at this stage, not least because we’ve been garbage for the opening months of the last two seasons before turning things around, but I do worry about where the goals are going to come from.
Jermaine Beckford remains unproven at the highest level, though his early performances suggest he needs more touches than Premier League defences allow. Louis Saha is reaching parody status, with his wacky medieval medical treatment being followed by going off injured ten minutes after coming on as a substitute for France, while Yakubu Aiyegbeni is yet to make a competitive appearance due to some dubious calf injury.
Tim Cahill is always good for around ten goals a season, and Mikel Arteta, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Leon Osman, Marouane Fellaini and Steven Pienaar are all capable of getting forward and hitting the net, but such has been the lack of movement from up front that opposition defenders aren’t being dragged out position and no gaps are opening up for the midfield to attack.
Moyes has never really been the wheeler-dealer type, but he knew from the start of the summer that there was no money to spend and should have set about moving some of his fringe players on to raise funds. Apparently James Vaughan is about to join Crystal Palace on loan and Joseph Yobo has moved to Fenerbahce on a temporary basis as well. No doubt the board will be pleased with not having to pay these players’ wages while they’re away, but surely it would have been better to try and sell anyone the manager deems surplus early on and use the money to improve elsewhere.
Nobody expected Everton to spend big money without selling first, but it was pretty galling to see Alex Hleb, who really is a top-quality footballer, moving to Birmingham City on loan for the season. Hleb would be such a huge step up from Osman, Bilyaletdinov or Jack Rodwell on the right of midfield.
Now that the window is shut all we can do is hope that our two remaining Nigerians re-emerge and make a significant impact. Yakubu played in Jamie Carragher’s big day out on Saturday and has hopefully gone some way to shedding the excess weight he was rumoured to be carrying after his post-World Cup break. The smiley goal plunderer is better suited to Moyes’ system than any other forward at the club, and his intelligent (albeit slow) movement and underrated link-up game could go a long way towards improving the team’s performance in the final third.
Victor Anichebe, meanwhile, appears to be Moyes’ preferred choice on the right of midfield. He’s played there to good effect over the past two seasons but seems rather injury prone (obviously the Van Daminator he suffered at the hands of Kevin Nolan doesn’t count) and questions still remain over his attitude. The fact we’re pinning so much hope on two of the more unreliable players at the club is quite concerning, but there’s basically no other option.
Next up for the struggling Toffees is a home fixture against Manchester United. It’s nice to go into this game without worrying about Alex Ferguson’s trophy hoarders dominating possession in midfield, but that aside it’s hard to see Everton having the cutting edge or breakaway pace to hurt United, whereas their slick forward line will likely cause all sorts of problems for the Blues’ shaky defence.
I’ll post a full preview for Saturday’s game and reaction from UFC 118 separately.
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