Everton 1 – 0 MAN CITY – MY THOUGHTS

1 Feb

As we enter the nerve racking end of season, let’s all KEEP CALM AND TRUST MANCINI with mugs designed by Mosestheblue, also available in KEEP CALM AND PASS TO SILVA and any other players name you desire, available here on Ebay and in That’s Entertainment on Market Street (opposite HMV).

And so the curse of Everton continues. This was yet another disappointing defeat at their hands and combined with Manchester United’s victory against Stoke, our lead at the top of the Premier League table is now just six goals. Adding insult to injury was the fact that it was a former Red, Darron Gibson,  who secured the three points, his strike finding the back of the net, albeit via a huge deflection.

A draw would have been the fair result with neither side testing the other out consistently but we lacked any sort of spark. There was no tempo to our play, a total absence of incisiveness and Everton, to their credit, were resolute and organised in defence. Our confidence and belief drained as the game progressed and from the moment the home side scored, I never felt as if we’d get back in the match.

One of the few positives for me was the display of Samir Nasri, who was moved into a more central role by Roberto Mancini and the Frenchman’s performance improved as a result. He was constantly involved, always looking to keep play moving but with the undoubted ability to find that killer pass. He took up a number of intelligent positions and of our front six, he was the most likely to cause Everton problems.

He’s struggled to adapt since joining in the summer but in the past handful of games, he’s shown the desire to up his standards and he could be a key figure as the season draws to a close. So much attention is focused upon David Silva and that means Nasri’s contributions are often overlooked, but he’s finally settling down and starting to produce the form of which we know he’s capable.

A player who may help us rediscover our early season form is David Pizarro, the Chilean midfielder who signed on transfer deadline day and is a look-a-like of Aleks Kolarov. He’s someone Mancini has worked with in the past so the judgement of the manager must be trusted and he’s proven again just how keen he is to add that winning mentality to the squad. Pizarro has been successful with Inter Milan and as the season reaches its climax, that knowhow will be invaluable.

Opposition View: Everton ought to be commended for their resilience, commitment and organisation, and they will feel delighted with the three points. Tony Hibbert and John Heitinga in central defence were superb, but it was frustrating for us not to break them down. For all their heart and character, Everton are a very limited side, offering little attacking threat but they stifled us and yet again secured a victory against City.

As for the Blues, January has been a hugely testing month but it’s now finished and we look forward to a run of seemingly easier fixtures. Should we secure victory over Fulham at the weekend, we ought to head into matches with Bolton, Blackburn and Aston Villa with confidence and with the belief that we can win the title.

9 Responses to “Everton 1 – 0 MAN CITY – MY THOUGHTS”

  1. Robbo 01/02/2012 at 7:20 pm #

    Fully agreed with this assessment. Looking at the fixtures if we aren’t top at the end of February then we don’t deserve to win it.

  2. Pheeno 01/02/2012 at 7:30 pm #

    A good piece. Wasn’t a huge deflection though. A crucial one? Prehaps. It was a slight deflection though. Let’s be fair: it was a decent opening, a good strike of the ball that was on target but it wasn’t a ‘huge’ deflection

  3. Siamack 01/02/2012 at 7:31 pm #

    Wing play is almost missing from our game. Majority of crosses are the worst I have ever seen in EPL. We truly miss a fast winger. This is an area of game that should be improved. Yaya’s absence is becoming evident more than ever. As much as I do not like Everton but their hard-work and resilience is commendable.

  4. AndyMac 01/02/2012 at 8:19 pm #

    Evertonian here. Much as I have been instinctively tempted to despise Sitteh since you have “won the lottery” and under Hughes really exhibited “no class” whatsoever in your / his treatment of our Club regarding the Lescot transfer, there is no doubt that your football is great to watch, which it should be, given the talent you have bought. Its the nearest to the Arsenal of a couple of years ago that I have seen in a long while. AND I still (like many Evertonians, maybe) have a sneaking empathy with you lot for living in the shaddow of your more “illustrious” neighbours for so long, with never being given credit for your achievements (familiar story to us) If your fans just pull back from the arrogance of the “nouvaux riche” – “very average opposition” etc comments, you might regain a lot of respect. Anyway, give Manure a good run for their (slightly less) money, and it should be a grteat end to this season.

  5. Gareth 01/02/2012 at 11:11 pm #

    Basically what Andy Mac has already stated, lose the arrogance and gain most peoples respect. For what it is worth I still think you will win the league and rightly so as the football you play is at times absolutely superb and frankly exactly how champions should play, not grinding out wins like your neighbors and Chelsea. You were always going to struggle without the best central midfielder in the country, but if you are still top by the time he returns then the title is going across the city. Good luck for the rest of the season. ( Evertonian)

  6. Gary 02/02/2012 at 12:48 am #

    As a 46 year old Evertonian, I grew up in the 70′s and became accustomed to Sunday afternoon football highlights with Gerald Sinstadt. My memories from that time had nothing to do with my beloved Toffees, it will always be ( for whatever reason ) watching City, players such as Bell, Summerbee, Lee, Royle, Donaghie etc. They were always my second favourite team, add to that the players who we both had great allegiances with ( Royle, Reid, Kendall, Power ). As the years went by I always thought we had a lot in common, being the “poor relation” to our more successful neighbours. Whilst being really jealous of your new found wealth, I also quite enjoy watching the joy on your supporters faces during these wonderful times of prosperity and potential global power. All I ask is please don’t become a Northern Chelsea ! In other words, keep it real, don’t lose sight of where your from and what you are and PLEASE don’t become arrogant money orientated fuck wits like them ! Good luck and enjoy, I hope one day in the not to distant future we are up there challenging you for the title !

  7. Siamack 02/02/2012 at 1:58 pm #

    Our utmost respect goes to the rational and great fans of other teams such as those Evertonians above. However, keep in mind that majority of media and fans of traditional top four have been the most hostile toward City due to change in the traditional status quo caused by City. In such environment where vindictive hostility overruns neutrality or friendliness, our reaction is often interpreted as arrogance by good non-City fans.

    The first sin committed was arrogance by Devil and it is an attribute that fits the Devil itself and by that I mean “red devils” of EPL not City.

  8. David 03/02/2012 at 2:34 am #

    Nice comments from the Evertonians. Some of us are still quite humble (I still have a small celebration when the blues get to 40 points.) Johnson and Dzeko are still very frustrating. Perhaps we don’t play the right way with Dzeko up top…I don’t know. He’s so good with his head and our crosses are pretty poor of late.

  9. middle east blue 04/02/2012 at 3:47 am #

    expect Silva/ Barry to be rested with Pizzaro/ Milner or Johnson playing. Aim win with a blitz of goals to boost our strikers confidence. This is the month to prove to all .
    Am somewhat surprised we did not go for a striker in Jan. Someone on loan/not mor than 5 mil, with a proven scoring record (Zamra/Davies/or lower league player) to add cover to Aguero,Mario Dzeko.
    Tevez is still in Neverland . Guidetti apparently cannot be called back from season loan. Bunn still raw. Leaving us with Scapuzi and Costel the giant goalkeeper as our secret strike force. It should not be forgotten we
    stll have games against Porto. CTID

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