Everton Player Ratings - v Newcastle (17th September 2012)

[Dom1878]

Would you still be saying that if both of his goals stood and he won us the match?

To be honest, Anichebe is the only striker in the league (now that Heskey has gone) where we are all surprised when he scores/shoots on target

 

[Christiffa25]

Howard - 5 At fault for both goals. Bad night from him and on another night he could and should of saved both.

Hibbert - 7 Typical solid tony Hibbert performance.

Jags - 7 I thought he had good game. Involved in getting us 2 goals and defended well at times when needed. Can't say he was solely to blame for any of there goals tonight.

Distin - 6 IMO has been off his game the last 2/3 matches whith last night included. He just ain't marking goal side at all... Time for a spell on the bench.

Baines - 8 First half was unstoppable, second not quite as much as the game changed. Still MOM for me.

Neville - 4 Worst I've ever seen him and I usually defend him a little. Really really poor and our weakness in CM is prob gonna be what costs us this season.

Osman - 5 Good moments first half but second half awful... Cost us the equalizer and needed replacing if we'd had another option on the bench.

Mirallas - 7 finding his feet still no doubt but very promising. Will get better and better this lad.

Pienaar - 7 Very good first half, seemed to tire alot second half. Don't think he's at his best tho.

Fellaini - 7 Played well without being outstanding. Think jelavic going off effected his game. Either way he needs to drop back to CM till Gibson is back.

Jelavic - 6 Another not to really get going yet. Was playing ok before going off injured.

Subs - Anichebe - Did very well IMO and grabbed what should of been a priceless goal.
Naismith N/A

Moyes - 7 Let's be clear, we should be talking about a very different score line if it wasn't for the officials. At 3-1 or 4-2 it would all be well done's and good 3 pts. As it happens 2-2 makes things look worse and magnifies the problems of Neville and some other little things.
We were robbed whatever u think of selections and tactics.

 

[Goat]

Howard 3 Cracking save, but starfish impression for the 2nd goal was a complete joke
Hibbert 7 Hibbert innit
Baines 8 Lovely goal, Baines being Baines
Jagileka 4 Christ lad
Distin 4 Jesus
Neville 3 Je suis la terrible
Osman 3 Looks a good player when we are on top, goes AWOL when needed
Mirallas 8 Looks a real player
Pienaar 8 Thank God hes back
Fellaini 7 Tried his best, Dear David, hes not an AM, please stop
Jelavic 6 Injured early, game over, shame

Anichebe 6 I just dunno what to say, fell over the ball, avoided tackles and then showed why we get so angry with the lid by scoring a superb goal
Naismith 6 Meh

 

[IllinoisBlue]

Osman was ****e- was played in for at least three good chances and missed - completely at fault for their first goal.

Neville? Oh dear - needs to be put out to stud.

 

[sportbillyblue]

Previously I've respected Neville as despite his lack of skills he brings leadership to the team but after last night's performance I am firmly on the side of his detractors and will feel the same dread whenever I see his name on the teamsheet.

I also agree with the shouts for Heitinga to be re-introduced in place of Jagielka. Dropping Jagielka been coming for a while, he is a good defender who just needs a gentle reminder of where his day-to-day responsibilities rest and start to do what he gets paid a considerable amount of money to do i.e. defend for Everton.

I'm slightly confused what position Osman plays, at times his link-up play is good / very good, other times he seems like the spare prick at an orgy, the one who's too small and slow to get in there first and due to his physical limitations he's not much of a defender either. He's not exactly enjoying his customary purple patch just yet and needs to pull his socks up too.

Mirallas - whereby it's great to see this type of talent in an Everton shirt and I thought he played fairly well 1st. half, I thought his greed was destabilising and upset the rhythm and patterns we were establishing, he clearly upset Jelavic a couple of times and several others weren't too happy with him either. I hope he becomes less selfish and more of a team player.

Moyes - agree with above tactics / team selection was wrong, again demonstrated lethargy in responding to a situation and what the **** do they put in the half-time tea ? melatonin ?

Finally - surely some action has to be taken against that fat [Poor language removed] linesman who flagged Felli's goal as offside (let's be absolutely clear, it wasn't) and failed to see the ball 100% cross the line for Anichebe's first goal (the only thng obstructing a clear view of the ball was the net). The officiating generally was piss poor and lots of questionable decisions went against us but horrible, self-important like that fat [Poor language removed] need to be removed.

 

[slimspek]

Howard 5 on and off, was brilliant and terrible

Hibbert 8 Had a great game, was very solid at the back

Baines 9 He is superhuman. Ripped the maggies apart! MotM

Jagileka 5 Did well for that one shot he had but other than that he had a shocker.

Distin 5 Kept Cisse quiet for the most part but should've done better. Jags or Distin needs to make way for Johnny.

Neville 3 That was bad, really bad.

Osman 6 Inconsistent, he is too light weight for playing deep.

Mirallas 8 Very impressive for his debut in the premier league. Was a bit selfish but had a spark. He kind of reminds me of Drenthe except with a work ethic and no mental issues.

Pienaar 8 Superb. Had a fantastic first half and then faded but he was pivotal.

Fellaini 7 Not bad but we desperately need him at DM.

Jelavic 7 Looked bright as usual. Shame he got injured as he was doing a great job of bothering the defense.

Anichebe 8 For that goal alone (the one that counted). Great to see him celebrating. At times he was great but at other times he switched off.

Naismith 6 Didn't do that much, granted he didn't have a lot of time.

Note: Would've like to have seen Coleman instead of Naismith. Coleman is a lot more direct as he just seems to somehow to run straight into danger areas. Also where's Vellios? He seems to be a better direct replacement than Anichebe for Jelavic.

 

[Tiggernits]

Howard: 5 They only got forward and made proper chances a couple of times, and Timmy made a decent save or two. Ba's first goal, however, was struck with all the venomous intent contained within an episode of My Little Pony. He may as well have had hooves considering how unstretched his hands appeared to be.

Hibbert: 7 ''Hibbert innit'' (I'd quote properly but I cba and it's pretty much everyone's opinion)

Baines: 9 A new name for his role will be invented by the end of the season. Putting forward CF for consideration (Complete Flanker)

Jagielka: 4.5 I can confidently say I know less about reading the game than this guy. He appeared to be fairly gash but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he probably did some helpful stuff off the ball. Possibly.

Distin: 6 Did his usual impenetrable wall of rage routine, and did well to manage two of the hefty buggers in the second half but I'm convinced that clearance off the line didn't have to be fluffed.

Neville: N/A That'll do pig, that'll do.

Osman: 4 Showed some drive and vision but proved again he lacks the physicality and jack-of-all-trades-ness to succeed in the middle of the park.

Mirallas: 6 Preparing for neg-bomb but unless Moyes sorts out his selfish streak, he's like an Arsenal player. Could be misreading it for desperately wanting that first prem goal, but for now I'll stay pessimistic until he proves me wrong. In saying that, did anyone see that pass he tried to get to Pienaar/Baines with the outside of his foot when he cut in? Didn't work right enough, but that technique was utterly sexual. Shows some nice potential but needs more teamwork to avoid inconsistency.

Pienaar: 7 His symbiotic link with Baines is uncanny. They're in each other's heads mang, just incredible watching those two rip apart defences. Disappeared a bit towards the end though.

Fellaini: 7 Predictabllaini? *pause for laughter* but naw, he bulldozed through them a few times but he was fairly effectively neutralized for most of the game.

Jelavic: 1 Gung-ho dafty made me lose out on 11 quid.

Big 'Dat Heart' Vic: 8 Gotta feel for the lummox. Played with fire in his belly for the last quarter, and grabbed a goal that brought a tear to my eye. Apart from that his positioning didn't seem all that great, so he didn't help us take advantage of their poo defence as much as Jelavic did. Also think he could have done better when he got that free ball with one defender between him and the goal, but instead ended up taking it wide with some poor touches when he should have gone balls to the wall and ran at the defender. If Fellaini can manage to jink past 5 folk with moves about as delicate and refined as Rammstein, Vic could at least have a go at one.

Naismith: 6? Still yet to see anything special.

Overall: 7.5
As far as the final result goes, I finished drowning those sorrows a good 5 minutes ago. Who am I kidding, I can't be the only one finding myself despising their manager. Easy target I guess. Might take a while to get rid of this game's bitter aftertaste.

 

[carolinablue232]

I'm a huge Howard supporter, but he was poor. The first goal, he needs to save. The second goal is tough, but he has to stay on his feet. That at least gives him a chance. To say he's at fault for both is unfair because the defending was horrid as well.

 

[Pblueman]

Wow you guys are harsh with your marking. If the decisions had been correct we would be talking about a 4-2 win.
howard 6 would have been five but the reaction save from Ben arfa was fantastic
hibbert 8 solid dependable, should have had a shot!
baines. 9 just fecking good, showed real class, especially first half.
jagelka 6 definitely not a game to remember for him, but still made some great stops and tackles.
distin. 7 better than jags tonight but not by much.
mirallas 8 little bit selfish, better passes available for some of his shots, but looks hungry. I like him
peinaar. 7 not one of his best games, first half hour he was unplayable, then after he was judo thrown to the floor....
fellaini. 9 for the first half performance, just bloody awesome, dominant
neville 4 phil I love ya, you been a great servant to the club but you need to know when to go!
osman 6 put a shift in but should scored a couple of times.
jelavic 6 bit nfair to rate him, but he was looking good till he ploughed himself into the post.

Anichebe 8 would have been 7 without the goal (s) I just think he's a rubbish version of the Yak. He's got a goal in him though.
naismith 6 didn't really have long enough to rate properly. Looked full of running should maybe have come on earlier.

Overall I thought in the first half we were dominant and fluid. Second half they worked the baines / pienaar harder and we didn't have a plan b. tea performance tonight -71/2 good, but could do better.

 

[bobobio]

Can't say it would've been 4-2. Goals change games and when we scored we were looking over our shoulders and let them back into it. If either had been allowed, I believe it would've been equalised.

 

[Zatara2]

Reading some of these ratings is just embarassing;

Howard -- 4 (Great save with his legs but he looked at fault for the goals, second one he looked like he was doing a YMCA)
Baines -- 8 (Great goal included)
Distin -- 6 (Average performance but actually could have been a 5 as he did look at fault a few times)
Jagielka-- 4 (Shocking game, after his shot he went worse and worse)
Hibbert --6 (Plays well and gets a 6, hes not a top left back but average every game)
Pienaar --7 (Carried on playing but looked hurt)
Osman -- 3 (Totally lightweight, absolutely ineffectual -- a poor mans joe allen!)
Neville -- 2 (slightly worse than osman, how did he stay on the pitch?)
Mirallas -- 8 (The new Ronaldo?)
Fellaini -- 8 (Awesome as ever and hard done by with the goal disallowed)
Jelavic -- No rating
Anichebe -- 5 (Did nothing at all AGAIN....had a disallowed effort 2 yards in front of goal + a fantastic goal which gets him the 5)
Naismith --6 (Still getting up fitness)


......................Jelavic

Pienaar............Fellaini.........Mirallas


That looks awesome in anyones team....snag is that we need another Fellaini type behind these guys....

 

[hktoffee]

I can't stand Osman and Neville in CM.

Howard 5

Hibbert 6
Jagielka 4
Distin 5
Baines 8

Mirallas 6
Neville 4
Osman 3
Pienaar 8

Fellaini 7

Jelavic 7

Subs: Anichebe 8; Naismith 5.

 

[Half Time Bovril]

Watched the game from front of top balcony. Saw the lot. Woeful substitutions tactics by Moyes. Messing about with 4,5,1 for all of ten minutes. Anichebe on up front for all of five minutes , didn't run, looked slow, and then sulked when moved to right hand side. Neville showed just how much we miss Gibson - confidence went after first fifteen and then just didnt look happy with or without the ball and - Felli - if hendoes go, whatever we get for him, whatever, he will be sorely missed as he was all over the place - put in the effort of two.

 

[aptfeehely95]

Fellaini 8? Really? I felt that he wasn't quite his usual self. The long balls up to him weren't sticking, and he was caught out in possession quite a lot.

Well we haven't seen this for a little while - let's have a good look at today.

Howard - 5

Again I've been proved right, mistake after mistake from Tim in goals - a shaky start to the season. I'm probably gonna get a load of abuse from the Yanks when they come on, but this is non rose-tinted glasses view.

Mistakes tonight and against Villa, I hope Boruc joins soon - he can replace Howard immediately.

Hibbert - 7

Good performance, as usual. Did Jagielka a favour by filling the space he left when he went forward (for some strange reason).

Jagielka - 4

Abject performance, big supporter of him but he needs dropping. Heitinga must be fuming after being left out and being made to watch that pitiful performance.

Distin - 7

Had to work harder because of how poor Jagielka was. Got back when needed and did Cissé's tits in.

Good performance, should of maybe got the ball off the line.

Baines - 8

Looked great on the left-hand side, especially in the first half. However he was forced to sit back most of the second half but still looked good in defence.

Neville - 3

Awful. Absolutely awful.

Can't pass, can't shoot, can't tackle, can't run - can't do anything in the middle of the park.

Poor Poor Poor Poor.

Osman - 6

Looked good going forward, but did his trademark 'not going to hear off me for a little while' in the second half. Leightweight as usual, what Moyes was doing playing him deep I'll never know.

Mirallas - 7

Promising, showed intent and was unlucky not to have scored.

Fellaini - 8

Really good tonight, knackered by the end of it though.

Brought the ball down and passed it well.

Pienaar - 7

Looked awesome in the opening 30 or so minutes, then took a knock and seemed to struggle for the rest of the game.

Jelavic - NA

Didn't do much, had to come off injured. Would be unfair to rate him.

Subsitutions

Anichebe - 8

Looked really really good, scored two good goals tonight. IF Jelavic's injury is serious, then he looks good enough to cover in for him.

Man of the Match.

Naismith - NA

Wasn't on long enough, played in a deeper role - showed some energy but didn't contribute to play.

 

[Tree13]

Howard - 2 - At fault for both goals, one good save from Ben Arfa, but when you concede two goals by not doing the basic 'keeper skill of reacting to the ball rather than the player, one other save doesn't make amends. He was terrible.

Hibbert - 7 - Solid game, nullified a dangerous Newcastle left side for most of the game.

Jagielka - 5 - Poor for the most. Not helped by the midfield leaving enough space to sail a barge through in front of the defence for the entire second half when Neville and Osman evaporated into thin air.

Distin - 6 - Same issue as Jagielka, but he did well first half to keep Cisse quiet.

BAINES - 8 - MAN OF THE MATCH: Ran them ragged first half, had to drop deeper as the midfield fell apart in the second half thanks to "Pip", but overall he was comfortably our best player.

Neville - 1 - The worst performance from an Everton midfielder since Mitch Ward and Claus Thomsen. Mistimed tackles, misplaced passes, no movement, no defensive cover when that was his only role in the side; he may as well have sat down the entire second half in the middle of the pitch. Not only finished at the top level, he's finished as a footballer.

Osman - 3 - Looked sprite and alert early doors, but with Neville being his usual self he was quickly overrun in the second half as Newcastle took advantage of the glaring hole in midfield. Too lightweight to play that role without a competent partner, which Neville isn't.

Mirallas - 7 - Very useful, bright attacking play, but looked selfish at times and if he'd looked for the pass on two or three occasions we could have put Newcastle to bed in the first half. Exciting prospect to look forward to.

Pienaar - 7 - Very good first half, but squandered possession when we needed him to step up to the mark and make an impact in the second half. Overall you can't fault his endeavour and workrate with Baines. Poor play when he should have laid in Osman for a sitter in the second half.

Fellaini - 7 - He's doing a job out of position, but he tires rapidly after the hour mark and it means we run out of ideas offensively when he fades. He should be used in his actual role in central midfield alongside Osman, but unfortunately Moyes hasn't got a clue.

Jelavic - N/A

SUBS:

Anichebe - 6 - He moves from looking great to looking like a fat Conference level striker, often in the same minute of action. A complete enigma. He scored but he shouldn't be anywhere near a starting spot, especially not alongside Fellaini. Good option off the bench against poor defences like Newcastle tonight.

Largely agree with the ratings and the explanations. First half Distin rendered Cisse anonymous, second half Demba Ba ran riot: That says to me Distin did well and Jags sucked enormous monkey balls, so I 'd rate Distin slightly higher. Baines is MOM by a country mile and I'd give him the captaincy too. Pienaar generally looked lively but made a handful of key poor decisions, Felli played well but was sorely needed elsewhere, Mirallas looks a very exciting player but probably tried to do too much by himself..... Osman and Neville were the cause of this woeful display in that they CANNOT play as the CM pair. Osman's best work is always going forward - why he and Felli weren't simply swapped around is beyond me. Neville was hamstrung by the early yellow but he did deserve it.

Phyllis Stein summed it up very well earlier in the thread:

Moyes - 0. Wrong setup and wrong subs. His side bottled it again, like so many times. He needs to teach a ruthless streak where his players are confident and comfortable to stick a shed load of goals past whoever and not break sweat. It is a mental mountain that has been bred into his teams that the game is only safe when we are lucky enough to put 2 or 3 goals past the oppo.

Ref was bad, but it should have been academic after 45 minutes. Disappointing, disheartening, and disheveled.

Our midfield got comprehensively swamped in the second half and Jagielka got his pants pulled down by Ba for both goals as a direct result of Neville and Osman's poor play. Moyes is wrong to play Felli forward when Gibson is out, and if Osman is on the pitch at all he needs to be at ACM. Neville needs some bench time.... I would like to see Junior, Hitzlsperger or even Hargreaves starting alongside Felli at CM for the next game. Hargreaves has the right mentality and the technical skills so I would drag him in for the mother of all medicals.