Of all Premier League teams, Everton certainly have a lot of young talent, none more so than Romelu Lukaku. It is a good thing I didn’t publish this post at night, otherwise there would’ve been nightmares all around the world! The 22 year old has now scored 7 in 7 appearances against us in all competitions. In recent years, he has made a habit of scoring very late on against us. The last win for us in the BPL against the Toffees came in April 2007 courtesy of a Bobby Zamora goal. Additionally, we have lost four of our last five matches in the league against Everton at Upton Park. Moreover, we have defied the odds quite a few times this season. We have done the magnificent at Anfield, as well as against Arsenal, and the champions from the last two seasons Chelsea, and Manchester City. It is evident that any game we expect to lose is one we turn up for. It is great to see the players not going through the bag of excuses.
With one fit lone striker capable of playing to a high level, I felt that Bilic made the right call playing Carroll for the entirety of the match. Playing Valencia would have been problematic, as he was not at full fitness. The gaffer couldn’t have let the Ecuadorian striker play for a whole match, as he wouldn’t have been productive throughout. We needed a statement of intent after that blunder at Watford, so there wouldn’t have been any point in playing him if there is a good group of eleven fit players on the pitch. Personally, I am a bit worried that we need another number nine with the qualities of Sakho, namely pace, and a bit of strength with a high work-rate. Jelavic is certainly not capable of playing at the Senegalese’s level. The other problem that arises is that Valencia and Zárate now play on the wings more often. They have less practise as strikers. Mauro does best on the wings, but I don’t we have seen enough of Valencia to say the same. Unfortunately, he has been injured for most of his West Ham career ever since signing from CF Pachuca for a reported £12M.
This is one of the most eagerly anticipated matches excluding the top six. Everton, like us, have a lot of talented players. The Academy of Football and the School of Science have a reputation for playing at a high calibre, as well as signing and keeping hold of big players. Namely, we bought Payet in from Marseille, and Everton bought Lukaku for £28M from Chelsea, as well as keeping ahold of John Stones. It is fair to say Barkley, Lukaku, and Stones (who are 21, 22, 21 respectively) are not playing the best football of their lives, but are not better than our three best players. According to WhoScored this season, Payet is playing better than Barkley, Lanzini is playing better than Lukaku, and Reid is outperforming Stones. This was one of the key reasons I wasn’t surprised why West Ham and Everton had scored before any of the other 3 o’clockers yesterday afternoon: we have potential that, I feel, hasn’t been fully harnessed. Playing without Payet, Valencia, and Sakho, I feel we did really well out there. In the days of Big Sam, an injury would have meant we lost our shape completely. Now, we have players that can play with more flexibility. And I am not only talking about Cresswell, and Jenkinson. This transformation from the gaffer has been phenomenal. As the season progresses, I am adamant we will all get used to watching Lanzini and Moses giving it their all on the flanks. They have added a new dimension to our game that have changed our options up front, and more importantly, our attacking mentality.
After that shambles at Vicarage Road, all I wanted to see was a good start – I was not disappointed at all. Payet drifted away to create an early chance for Moses who hit the side netting. Both sides had decent chances to score. There were half-hearted appeals from Ramiro Funes Mori for a penalty for a tackle from Reid. It goes without saying, it wasn’t a pen. The goal came in the 30th minute with a shot rebounded off of Moses with a touch from Lanzini on the ball to the right and an ice cool finish right into the top corner of the net over Tim Howard. Mr Freeze went into hiding again after that finish. There was a handball from Gareth Barry, as he moved his hands away from his body towards the ball. While the players appealed, the Jewel wasn’t fazed at all.
There was a nasty scissor kick on Payet which should have gotten James McCarthy a red card. It was a malicious challenge which saw the Frenchman limping. He wasn’t covering back in midfield like he does as usual, so something was up. I felt Bilic should have taken him off. There was no sudden danger, but when you see your best player limping, don’t take any chances. Just before the break, the Toffees got the equaliser in the 43rd minute. A wonderful ball from former Barcelona winger Deulofeu for Lukaku was exquisite. Lukaku beating the two CB’s with his pace and Adrián with skill was not my main concern. Also, the Belgian was just onside, and was already moving before the ball was played, so I can’t fault any of the CB’s or the goalkeeper. I was irate with Kouyaté’s marking of Deulofeu. He was just jogging back when Deulofeu had a lot of space with the ball in the middle of the park. It was careless marking which cost us a goal.
It was only when Payet was down that the gaffer subbed the 28 year old off for Valencia. Given that the striker hadn’t played for a while, I thought he had built up quite a bit of fitness. He was fairly energetic up front. The tackle on Valencia was very unfortunate from Coleman. There was nothing wrong with his tackle at all, but he did accidentally catch Enner’s ankle. It was a sad sight as the striker had to be stretchered off the pitch in the 69th minute. I thought that was game over. There was a good header from Reid off a Moses corner which flew slightly over the bar on the top of the goal. Everton lacked clear cut chances today, but Lukaku nearly scored yet another late winner. Brendan Galloway slided a ball for the Belgian which, only just slided past the post. The game ended with injuries to Payet and Valencia. Carroll was the one who got away. On the whole, 1-1 was the right result for both teams. Both played really well in attack.
Tottenham have Arsenal today, and will play us after the international break. Many of our players should return, namely Sakho, Obiang, and maybe Payet. Valencia could take a while, as could Song. Spurs have only lost to Manchester United this PL season. They have more players in the England squad, so ours ought to be fully rested.
