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.