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

[Half Time Bovril]

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.

Just shows you with football how two people can see a different game. Not saying one of us is right but from what I saw I thought that just about anything into Fellaini worked in some way. He won most in the air but Mirralas not used and so not anticipating and Anichebe far too static. His control was outstanding at one point taking a kick from Howard on his chest - brilliant. He was caught in possession yes but again sometimes his outlets were limited, especially second half.

 

[grandjoeblue]

I don't see how anyone can give big vic below a 7 when he effectively scored twice in 45 minutes, that is what a striker is for...

 

[steven]

Maybe I am being overly harsh on Sylvain - but I think he could have cleared that second goal if he had gone for it with his right foot!

I think Heitinga has to come in - two pretty poor defensive performances for us. Such a shame we didn't manage to bring in one extra midfielder!

 

[LTblue]

Howard-5
Could of done so much better with Ba's goals imo, but he did also make a great save from Ben Arfa and was always solid with ball being crossed or hoofed into our box, but the 2nd Newcastle goal at least, he could of done a lot better.

Hibbert-8
He was one of our best performers of the night, one every 50-50 and found good offensive and defensive positions throughout the game, big improvement on his performance against WBA.

Jagielka-7
Very good blocks and was good carrying the ball out from the back in the first half, the reason I won't give him an 8 or 9 is that I have a question mark over his play for Ba's first maybe a slide tackle was in order rather than meekly throwing a foot out in the hope it would land in front of the ball.

Distin-6
His performance was OK but not infallible, got bullied a bit too easy in the 2nd half by Ba, Cisse and then ameobi.

Baines-8
Good overall, but his crossing was sometime erratic, fantastic play for his goal, great block off the line as well. Probably MOTM.

Mirallas-7
Looked mustard in the first half with his combo play with Fellaini, Baines, Pienaar and Jelavic, sometimes a bit too selfish in trying to get a goal and tailed off in the 2nd half, but I am excited about this guy

Osman-4
Poor game from him, no lack of effort but he made too many mistakes in the centre and we needed better from him, his worst game of the season, but I think he's been a bright spark in the previous 4 games, so I won't get on his back too much.

Neville-4
Poor use of the ball, poor positioning at times, lacks the pace to play in CM, he played really well there however against United so I'm not going to say he should never play there again as he wasn't helped at all by Osman alongside him, they both look better players if they're playing alongside Gibson, which says a lot about his quality.

Pienaar-7
Some great link-up play with Baines, sometimes his final pass was lacking, it infuriated me when near the end instead of crossing the ball in with his right foot he attempted a cute pass to Baines that was nowhere near what it needed to be and it trickled out of play, also when he was running at goal and failed to slide an obvious pass to Osman for a tap in and ended up with a poor shot at goal.

Fellaini-8
Caused problems throughout, but he needs to be deployed deeper to get us on the upper hand quicker at times as his advanced position can sometimes leave him isolated, that said, he links up great with Pienaar, Baines and Jelavic in his ss role.

Jelavic-8
Caused no end of problems when he was on and found great positions, a dangerous player no doubt, hopefully he is not too seriously injured.

Anichebe-7
His overall performance wasn't great, but what a goal he scored and really should of had 2 as his header crossed the line, if he can find goalscoring form like that consistently then you could say we have two good strikers. Goalscoring is what you measure strikers by and he made up for Jelavic going off with his exploits last night.

 

[Kay20]

Howard 4 Love you Tim, but today wasn't your best, and you know it (by the way, why do you deliver stinkers right after playing well for the USMNT? It's like clockwork. Chin up, you'll do fine next time). Both were saveable.
Hibbert 7 Saved our bacon a few times
Baines 8 MOTM So glad he's still here
Jagileka 4 as much to blame as Howard
Distin 4.5 as much to blame as Howard, had a few key plays so gets .5 more than Jags
Neville 3 God awful. Why we play him instead of at least trying a 4-4-2 I don't know.
Osman 4 Not physical enough today, and was partially responsible for the 1st goal
Mirallas 7.5 Seriously impressed. Buzzed around today and his pace was a big help. Had ideas as well. Would have had an 8 minus the selfish streak, but that should be coached out.
Pienaar 7 Downgraded for the lack of finishing.
Fellaini 7
Jelavic 7

Anichebe 7 Here's the thing. Yes, he scored two goals. But he spent the other 35 minutes literally loafing about.
Naismith 6 Meh

 

[Kurt.]

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.

I know it's all opinions mate bu seriously how can you rate Neville's performance higher than Osmans ........ and 8 for Vic ?? yes he put the ball in the net twice butaside from that he offered nothing,,, he does'nt make the opposition back 4 work hard enough and is a very static player who is what I would call a reactionary player rather than an instinctive player such as jelavic. Vic could have scored 5 last night but it don't change the fact that he is a poor premier league player.

 

[hktoffee]

I know it's all opinions mate bu seriously how can you rate Neville's performance higher than Osmans ........ and 8 for Vic ?? yes he put the ball in the net twice butaside from that he offered nothing,,, he does'nt make the opposition back 4 work hard enough and is a very static player who is what I would call a reactionary player rather than an instinctive player such as jelavic. Vic could have scored 5 last night but it don't change the fact that he is a poor premier league player.

Osman was to blame for their first goal. Anichebe scored twice and he offered goals yesterday. We could have won due to Vic's goal if not our poor defending towards the end.

 

[Kurt.]

Osman was to blame for their first goal. Anichebe scored twice and he offered goals yesterday. We could have won due to Vic's goal if not our poor defending towards the end.

I agree it was his mistake which led to their first goal.... even taking that into consideration he was still a mile ahead of anything Neville offered, also Vic's goals could have won the game I agree but it was no coincidence that when he came on we instantly started allowinf Newcastle more time on the ball which then enabled them to build attacks and dictate the pace of the whole of the second half.

 

[Foot Long Hot Dog]

I know it's all opinions mate bu seriously how can you rate Neville's performance higher than Osmans ........ and 8 for Vic ?? yes he put the ball in the net twice butaside from that he offered nothing,,, he does'nt make the opposition back 4 work hard enough and is a very static player who is what I would call a reactionary player rather than an instinctive player such as jelavic. Vic could have scored 5 last night but it don't change the fact that he is a poor premier league player.

So aside from the 2 goals in 50 minutes he offered nothing, brilliant.

Give the lad a break, he's had plenty of performances that have warranted stick, but last nights wasn't one of them, if Jelavic had bagged a brace & done knack all else, you'd still be purring over him.

 

[Kurt.]

So aside from the 2 goals in 50 minutes he offered nothing, brilliant.

Give the lad a break, he's had plenty of performances that have warranted stick, but last nights wasn't one of them, if Jelavic had bagged a brace & done knack all else, you'd still be purring over him.

Honestly mate , take your blue tinted glasses off and look at the bigger picture. His goal was a fantastic finish, I can't and wouldn't want to take that away from him... his ' goal that never was' mate, both you and I could have put that away... it was a couple of yards out and you would expected nothing less off somebody who gets paid to play football. The rest of his game is not at the level expected of a premier league striker, i'm not gonna apologise for my opinion. I don't think he has the heart or passion to become a top player.

 

[Foot Long Hot Dog]

Honestly mate , take your blue tinted glasses off and look at the bigger picture. His goal was a fantastic finish, I can't and wouldn't want to take that away from him... his ' goal that never was' mate, both you and I could have put that away... it was a couple of yards out and you would expected nothing less off somebody who gets paid to play football. The rest of his game is not at the level expected of a premier league striker, i'm not gonna apologise for my opinion. I don't think he has the heart or passion to become a top player.

Your opinion as to whether he'll end up being a top player is irrelevant.

You're judging his performance last night, with a bias against the lad, due to your overall view on him & you're therefore not being objective in looking solely at last night.

He did well, we took his goal brilliantly, his header required him being in the right place at the right time, strikers instinct, it's unfair to dumb it down as "I could have scored it" & you wouldn't be dumbing it down if it was anyone but Victor - that was my point.

I'm not a fan of Victor at all, I would have cheered if we landed a few million for him in the summer, but last night he played well, & deserves some credit for his performance.

 

[Kurt.]

Your opinion as to whether he'll end up being a top player is irrelevant.

You're judging his performance last night, with a bias against the lad, due to your overall view on him & you're therefore not being objective in looking solely at last night.

He did well, we took his goal brilliantly, his header required him being in the right place at the right time, strikers instinct, it's unfair to dumb it down as "I could have scored it" & you wouldn't be dumbing it down if it was anyone but Victor - that was my point.

I'm not a fan of Victor at all, I would have cheered if we landed a few million for him in the summer, but last night he played well, & deserves some credit for his performance.

He was stood 2 yards out and should have buried it if i'm being harsh. He has been flattering to decieve for 5 or 6 years is it ??? He is not as you say an instinctive striker,,, he is actually far from it to be honest. He also doesn't work hard enough to pressurise the oppositions back 4.......... this is not just based on last nights performance mate it's based on his performances for the club historically...... I think he will score goals here and there for the rest of his career but I honestly don't think he has what it takes to have an edge over premier league defences.

 

[Foot Long Hot Dog]

He was stood 2 yards out and should have buried it if i'm being harsh. He has been flattering to decieve for 5 or 6 years is it ??? He is not as you say an instinctive striker,,, he is actually far from it to be honest. He also doesn't work hard enough to pressurise the oppositions back 4.......... this is not just based on last nights performance mate it's based on his performances for the club historically...... I think he will score goals here and there for the rest of his career but I honestly don't think he has what it takes to have an edge over premier league defences.

If you'd never seen him before & watched him for the first time last night, you'd think he looked a good striker mate, you can't deny that, can you?

I've never thought Victor would make it at Everton, more based on his attitude & workrate rather than his ability though. But last night he did work hard chasing down the keeper, running the channels etc. so, despite my previous view on the lad, I came away thinking he's got a chance this season.

One Swallow doesn't make it summer, so it's up to Vic to prove that he's turned a corner in his career & that last night wasn't a one off.

 

[toffee-bhoy]

fairplay to the lad for been on the end of the disallowed goal and then getting a goal after it but i didnt think he did much outside that and if been really clincal he should burst the net with the disallowed goal as opposed to leaving it to the officials

we can (rightly ) give NEV / OSSIE some stick for their overall performance as a midfield duo bu the game was lost (twice) through indecision between HOward JAGS n DISTIN ....thats not acceptable

 

[Kurt.]

If you'd never seen him before & watched him for the first time last night, you'd think he looked a good striker mate, you can't deny that, can you?

I've never thought Victor would make it at Everton, more based on his attitude & workrate rather than his ability though. But last night he did work hard chasing down the keeper, running the channels etc. so, despite my previous view on the lad, I came away thinking he's got a chance this season.

One Swallow doesn't make it summer, so it's up to Vic to prove that he's turned a corner in his career & that last night wasn't a one off.

See the part in the game where Mirralas was trying to close down 3 defenders on his own whilst Vic stood watching him. He honestly does not have a clue how to lead the line. Most of his runs are reactive rather than instinctive and again for me he does not work hard enough to put pressure on defenders , this then enables them to be comfortable with the ball and build attacks from the back. Vic will go through his career coming of the bench and scoring a goal hear and there but I don't think he will be a top first choice striker for any premiership side. Are you sure you are not basing your argument purely on last nights game ?