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Everton vs. Chelsea: The End

2013-05-19T14:15:04Z

90 minutes is all that is left in the David Moyes era, and fittingly enough it comes against Chelsea, a team that Everton has had some fantastic moments.

Everton is locked into 6th place regardless of the results, but Chelsea needs a victory to secure third place and automatic passage to the Champions League group stages. Join us below as we end the 2012-2013 campaign in style.

Everton XI: Howard, Coleman, Baines, Jagielka, Distin, Gibson, Fellaini, Pienaar, Mirallas, Naismith, Anichebe.

Everton subs:: Everton subs: Mucha, Hibbert, Heitinga, Oviedo, Jelavic, Barkley, Duffy.

Chelsea XI: Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Cole, Luiz, Lampard, Torres, Mata, Oscar, Cahill, Ba, Ake.

Chelsea: Subs: Turnbull, Moses, Ferreira, Marin, Azpilicueta, Benayoun, Christensen

Everton - West Ham: Moyes Sent Off In Style

2013-05-14T18:00:06Z

The last home game of the season is always special, but it takes on a whole new meaning when saying goodbye to a club captain and a manager who has devoted 11 years of his life to the club. Kevin Mirallas got things started early, and finished it up in the second half with a fortuitous bounce to help Everton seal a ~~5-0~~ 2-0 win.

If Moyes was feeling emotional at the beginning he did well to hide it. The only acknowledgement before the game was a quick wave to the fans before the match got underway, and Everton was off to a fantastic start. It was the type of start Evertonians normally dream about with players pressuring the ball and retaining the ball like those Arsenal sides that actually won trophies. It all culminated in a beautiful series of passes to give Kevin Mirallas a goal from the top of the box. As the commentators said, anyone who tries to claim Everton only plays negative football needs to watch that goal, it had the best of everything.

Normally Everton has a tendency to back off after gaining the lead, but that didn't happen this time around. No doubt inspired by this week's events, the squad continued to press for another goal and without a fantastic performance from the West Ham defense and goalie, it should have been 3 or 4-0 before break.

There are moments in football that tend to stick with a fan for the rest of their life. Normally they are memories of fantastic goals or saves that help ensure a trophy. In the second half though the fans at Goodison Park helped show why Everton is such a special club. With the team in the ascendancy, the fans broke out into song, but this time it was different. It was that special roar that Goodison can produce on only the biggest of occassions, and it was the Evertonian way of saying thanks. From David Moyes to Tim Cahill and every song inbetween, the fans sang them all.

It was hard to hear from all the noise, but Kevin Mirallas managed to punctuate it with his second goal of the game that took a deflection and sailed into the upper corner of the net. Goodison reached a new level when he scored, and from then on the game was never really in doubt.

Moyes only acknowledgement to the end of his tenure during the game was the introduction of Tony Hibbert late on. The defender is the last remaining player from the first team when Moyes joined the club in 2002, and his appearance was an appropriate way to close out the afternoon.

Tim Howard was called into action a few times during the match, and he did extremely well to make some fantastic saves. Two in particular were difficult, but Howard was more than up to the job and earned his 5th clean sheet in the past 6 matches.

Victor Anichebe also had another great game. He really should have scored a goal or two, but his hold up play and physicality were fantastic. Anichebe has really done well this year, and has far surpassed the expectations of most fans. Going forward it will be interesting to see how he improves under a new manager.

Of course the big moment everyone was waiting for was the lap of honor to thank the fans for their support. As the players emerged from the tunnel after the match they flanked both sides to thank some very special members of the team. First was captain Phil Neville who is leaving the club at the end of the season. We have been critical of Fizzer this season, but it is a shame he was unable to play today, and we wish him the best going forward.

It was then that the cameras cut to a look down the tunnel. There they caught Moyes with his head bowed and trying to control the vast array of emotions that were sweeping through him. The next time he appears at Goodison it will come with a red tie on a a roster of players that far exceeds Evertons, but on this day he was treated to the reception he deserved. It was one last time to say thank you, and both fans and manager did it superbly.

Everton Manager Candidates - Michael Laudrup

2013-05-14T14:31:03Z

Michael Laudrup took the Swansea job in June of last year, after former manager Brendan Rodgers left the job. Laudrup gave the team stability and ensured they experienced another year in the Premier League. He didn't only ensure it he made clear space between Swansea and the back end of the table, he also helped his side lift the Capital One cup at Wembley, thus gaining them Europa league football next season. All this in just one season in the Premier league.

The team that Laudrup has fielded this year has been balanced and the ability of the players has been there for all to see. Since joining the club, as a Laudrup transfer, Michu has been this years suprise package , scoring 17 league goals. Michu has certainly been a key to Swansea's success this season, but, Michael Laudrup deserves the praise for his eye for finding a player that can score goal consistantly in the league.

This is how Laudrup has set his Swansea team up:

In the Swansea side I see players similar to the players we have here at Everton, for example, Michu plays in a similar style to an inform Jelavic and Leon Britton has a similar playing style to that of Leon Osman. I don't think the two teams are a million miles away from each other. The team above is an attacking team, that line-up to ensure there is always three Swansea players in the opposition's half most of the time. They also have two quick wingers, which has helped with Laudrup's desire to break quickly and smoothly.

There is no doubt that Michael Laudrup is attack minded on the whole, however, his defence has been better than most, currently in 8th position on goals conceded (46), one more than Tottenham (45) and four more than Liverpool (42). Our current goals conceded in the Premier league is 38.

Currently Swansea have scored just as many goals as they have conceded, for me the goals conceded would certainly have to be address if he was to get the job at Everton. But the attacking side is something I admire greatly. He has bought a striker capable of consistently scoring goals, in Michu, that is another thing I feel is crucial for a team like Everton.

To go forward, as a team we need someone who can provide us with an edge, a bite, that little bit of fire when the game is dull, but also that capability to go to the Chelsea's, Arsenal's and Manchester United's and be able to go for a win from the out set.

I believe that Laudrup, would work positively for Everton and will be able to take the next step to making our club a top 4 club, but again if he is not backed early on he, as Moyes did, may find it difficult.

This is how I think he may line his Everton team up, if he was to be given the job.

I feel that Laudrup will want to keep the balance and the structure of the side. However I think he will see similarities in Jelavic, to what he has seen in Michu, both play off the shoulder of the defenders and both have a killer touch. Whereas Moyes this season has centred his tactics around Fellaini, I think that both Fellaini and Jelavic will benefit more under Laudrup. This will be due to his first year experience in the Premier League. I highly doubt Laudrup expected Michu to have such an impact on his side and I don't believe he thought his contribution could be so significant to their success. He now trusts the forwards to do the job in his current side and I think he will transform Jelavic, so we can once again rely on him.

Everton Manager Candidates - Roberto Martinez

2013-05-13T21:03:54Z

When news broke that David Moyes was leaving Everton, it was Roberto Martinez who bookmakers favored as the most likely candidate to replace him. While the odds have softened somewhat, he is still a strong possibility to be manning the sidelines at Goodison next season. Here’s what you need to know about him.

The Resume

Martinez’s first job was Swansea in 2007 in League 1, where after getting the job in February he led the team to the promotion playoffs while losing only once in 11 games. Although Swans lost in the playoffs, he led them to the League 1 championship the following year, earning promotion. After guiding Swansea to an 8^th place finish the following season he moved to Wigan, where he has been for the last four years. Under his stewardship Wigan has finished 15, 16 and 16 in the last three years, and are currently struggling once again to avoid relegation.

The Pros

Broadly speaking, Martinez has two major factors working in his favor. The first is his style of football. First at Swansea, and then at Wigan, Martinez has always emphasized a pleasing possession based brand of play. His focus on ball retention, possession and building attacks from the back is a style that will be sure to please many Everton fans. Also, Martinez has implemented a three man defense at Wigan over the past two seasons, a stylistic choice that seems well suited to Everton’s attack minded wingbacks (although it bears mentioning that without Moyes, Leighton Baines' future at Everton must be somewhat in doubt).

The second argument in favor of Martinez is that his time at cash strapped Wigan will prepare him well for the realities of life at Everton. Wigan’s financial status is infinitely more dire than Everton’s. In effect they make no money and exist only due to the Premier League payouts they receive. They made the least amount of money out of any Premier League team last year. And while, their wage bill was technically 16^th at 38 million pounds, it’s worth noting that the teams below Wigan were either relegated (Wolverhampton also on 38 million, who have since been relegated a second time) or newly promoted (Martinez’s old club Swansea on 35 million, and Norwich City on 37 million). Wigan also made less money than any of those teams and responded to the brush with relegation by selling its best player, Victor Moses, to Chelsea. All of that data is thanks to a fun little Guardian article you can find here. Clearly, this is a manager with experience getting results on a shoe string budget.

In a nutshell the argument for Martinez is that he plays positive attacking football, built one successful long term project at Swansea, and maintained another team under extraordinarily difficult financial circumstances at Wigan.

Oh, and he also turned down Liverpool last year. So, points in his favor for that.

The Cons

The case against Martinez, interestingly enough, is similar to the one some Manchester United fans have made against David Moyes. Does consistently meeting or exceeding expectations at a club with lower expectations qualify a manager to lead a bigger team? Martinez’s resume is undoubtedly thin, and hiring him would essentially be gambling on the idea that his talent was heavily constrained by economic realities at Wigan. Is that a good gamble? It’s hard to say, but it’s essentially the same one that Manchester United took on Moyes (albeit Moyes had a longer history of relative success at Everton than Martinez has had at Wigan).

The Chances

Even if Everton does settle on Martinez, it’s not a foregone conclusion that he will take the job. While Wigan owner Dave Whelan seems resigned to losing his coach at some point, he did cast doubt on whether Martinez would be interested in the Everton job in particular. That’s understandable, especially given that, as I mentioned above, Martinez has already turned down Liverpool. If Martinez prizes the chance to compete for a Champions League spot it seems possible he could look back to his native Spain for his next job, where conceivably the 4^th Champion’s League spot seems more attainable than it is in England. It’s also a possibility that he somehow avoids relegation again with Wigan and decide to stay there another year.

The Conclusion

There’s a strong possibility that Roberto Martinez will be Everton’s coach next year.

Everton vs. West Ham: Live Goodison FarewellThread

2013-05-12T13:50:17Z

Today marks a great yet sad day in Everton's history. Our manager of eleven years David Moyes will be moving on greener pastures, to what is undoubtedly one of the top jobs in the sport of football. As Evertonians, we are proud of his achievements and the role our club played to get him there, and wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.

Not to be forgotten either is club captain Phil Neville. While not at his best in the last couple of years and limited in his abilities, he embodies the fighting spirit that Moyes instilled in his players and provided an excellent role model in his commitment and dedication to the younger players in the squad.

It's a rainy day at Goodison today, but there is not a spare ticket to be had as Toffees have streamed in droves to bid farewell to two great leaders that have led this team through some tough times and leave us stronger and better-placed to face the future.

*BREAKING - Tim Cahill played last night and immediately caught a flight to make it to Goodison for today's game!*

Starting lineups -

Everton: Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; Mirallas, Gibson, Osman, Pienaar; Fellaini; Anichebe.

West Ham: Jaaskelainen; Collins, O'Brien, Demel, Reid; Jarvis, Nolan, O'Neil, Collison, Diame; Carroll

Everton vs. West Ham: Premier League Matchday 37

2013-05-12T13:34:45Z

The focus today will be on manager David Moyes, and to a lesser extent captain Phil Neville, as they mark their last home game at Goodison.

It is always a pleasure for us at Royal Blue Mersey to speak this week with LBC 97.3 Radio presenter and West Ham United fanatic Iain Dale, who also runs the blog West Ham Till I Die. We asked him for his opinions on a wide variety of subjects ahead of their visit to Everton on Sunday.

RBM - A possible tenth place finish in their first season back in the Premier League, far from the relegation dogfight. Has this been a successful season for the Hammers?

ID - Anything which avoided relegation would have been successful to be honest, so our aim was 17th. In the end it has been far better than any of us could have imagined. Indeed, if our away form had been better we’d have been rather higher. Our home form has been superb, unlike last season when we found it difficult to win at home and easy to win away!

RBM - Having been skeptical of 'Big Sam' in the beginning, you had mentioned that you felt much better about him the last time we spoke. How do you feel about him after two seasons?

ID - I am a convert. He has brought some much needed discipline to the team and enabled us to play in very different styles when we need to. Yes, we like pretty football, but we can also rough it up and play more directly when we need to. I can’t think there are many Hammers fans who don’t want him to sign a new contract.

RBM - Where are the weaknesses in the West Ham side? What should Allardyce be working on in the offseason? Are there any players that he has been linked with bringing in?

ID - Our weakness has been scoring goals. Andy Carroll has done brilliantly but has only played 20 games, scoring 8 goals. Not a bad return, but none of the other strikers have scored more than 4. Kevin Nolan has scored 7 but they mostly came in the first half of the season. Defensively we have been superb, but I think we need to add a top class full back, centre back and striker to our lineup. We have some brilliant midfielders and wingers so I think we’re OK there. We play 4-5-1 but I’d love to see us play 4-4-2 with a Defoe-like striker playing off Carroll. That is, if we keep Carroll.

RDM - Winston Reid was recently (and rightfully) named West Ham's Player of the Year. You had said he had come on by leaps and bounds. Tell us more about him. Who else caught your eye this year?

ID - He is Mr reliable, and he chips in with a few goals too. His timing has been brilliant all season and his partnership with James Collins has come on leaps and bounds. Everyone thought it would be James Tomkins who really pushed on this season, but he has been totally eclipsed by Reid and Collins. Winston has signed until 2015 which is a real boost.

RBM - Ref Anthony Taylor had quite the shambolic game the last time West Ham played Everton, hopefully Sunday will be better. What is your score prediction? What are you expecting for a formation, and who do you think will have outstanding games?

ID - Everton are our bogey team and very few of us expect three points. However, it will be interesting to see how the Everton players react after the Moyes announcement. We will play 4-5-1 and I would expect an unchanged lineup. However, I hope to see Ravel Morrison feature at some point. He’s back from his loan spell with Birmingham and if he can control himself, he could well be a star of the future. If Mo Diame is on form, and Carroll has his usual excellent game, maybe we can scrape something!

Everton vs. West Ham: Match Preview

2013-05-11T17:30:21Z

Goodison Park will be loud and rocking for West Ham United's come Sunday, as the Everton faithful will bid a fond farewell to one of the greats of recent times. Titles be damned, David Moyes led Everton through a very dark time and leaves the club poised at a very momentous edge, depending on what chairman Bill Kenwright does next of course.

As for the game itself, there's precious little for either team to play for. Everton have just about sealed sixth place and only need a couple of points to guarantee a second consecutive finish above cross-city rivals Liverpool, for the first time since 1937. Ridiculous really, considering some of the great Everton sides we've seen line up at Goodison Park, but a testament to Moyes' ability nonetheless.

For West Ham, Sam Allardyce has done a memorable job in his two seasons in charge, bringing the Hammers straight up to the Premier League and then keeping their noses clean of the relegation dogfight with a solid tenth place showing. Indeed, with some better performances away from home, Big Sam's boys could have been challenging Liverpool!

Team News -

Club captain Phil Neville is out with a knee injury. Ross Barkley missed the Merseyside derby last weekend, but should be in the squad this weekend.

Defenders James Tomkins and George McCartney will both miss the game with injuries.

Keys To The Game -

Moyes has attempted to deflect some of the attention off his departure by asking his players to retain a professional demeanor in his last home game. Expect Nikica Jelavic to line up alongside Victor Anichebe upfront in a more attacking formation as Moyes will attempt to go out with a bang.

The Hammers will have little motivation for this game except playing spoiler for the home side's celebrations. They have been in good form lately, with just one loss in their last seven games.

Match Facts -

Tomorrow will mark David Moyes' 426th game as Everton manager.
Everton have only lost once at home all season, a loss to Chelsea in December.
West Ham have won away only once in their last thirteen games.
The Hammers record of eleven away goals this season is the lowest in the League.

Everton vs. West Ham: Q&A with West Ham Till I Die

2013-05-11T16:09:33Z