Everton v Stoke City. PL Asia Trophy, Singapore. 15th July @ 11:00 BST.

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Furey1878

Player Valuation: £70m
Less than four weeks remain to see if Everton have remembered how to win actual competitive games of football, as the team embark to the Far East for a “glamour” tie against Stoke. Sky have slung us over to Singapore, in for me the only questionable part of our pre-season schedule. However, it is Premier League opposition and a decent adventure for any travelling fans.

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How can I best describe Stoke-on-Trent? Perhaps the Tatooine to England’s Star Wars Universe. A baron wasteland that its natives yearn to escape, and rather than being under the harsh light of two suns it is instead glared with the harsh light of reality that haunts much of the midlands. On a more relevant note, the city of Stoke is home to the Association Football Team, Stoke City. Stoke are fellow founding members of the Football League and the second-oldest existing football club in England. The Potters will soon be embarking on their 60th season of top flight football. While the highest league and FA Cup honours they can boast are 4th place and Runners-up respectively, Stoke are among the many teams to have succeeded in a competition in which we have failed since its inception. The League Cup. They won the competition in 1972, it is currently their only major honour to date. That may all change, though, as Stoke have established themselves as a comfortably (numb) mid-table team since they returned to the division in 2008, ending their 23 year exile from England’s top flight. Under the stewardship of the ultra-cultured Mark Hughes, they recorded their highest league finish (9th) of the Premier League era, and with owners seemingly willing to back their manager with regards to signings, why shouldn’t they be looking to break into the European places and look to win a 2nd major honour? I’m fairly sure the Potters fans will be happy to be in a position where they can look up the table, rather than down staring into the abyss of relegation. To conclude, Everton and Stoke share the fine piece of pottery that is Howard Kendall. At Stoke, he began coaching, all while still playing and helping his team regain promotion to the First Division in 1979.

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All quiet on the transfer front…

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Was anyone else secretly relieved that we actually won a pre-season game? Perhaps it was over-anxiety on my part but the ghosts of last year’s pre-season could very well have emerged like the beginning of a Scooby Doo episode had we not emerged victorious. A comfortable 4-0 victory. It is important, however, to acknowledge that this was merely a pre-season tie against League One Swindon side with many new players. Although, a win for Everton is not looked down upon, and I trust the travelling Toffees enjoyed both the slightly sunnier south and casual bumming of lower league opposition.

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As we all breathe a collective sigh of relief, we can reflect on a successful pre-season outing. 20 squad players got at least 43 minutes, as 43 is apparently the new 45. With both Browning and Galloway getting a full game. Those two were among the other players who gave promising performances, McAleny looked desperate to have an Everton career, Cleverly kept things ticking over. In addition Mirallas promptly piped down any revisionist Everton fans trying to claim he was now crap given the uncertainty surrounding his future and fellow Belgian, Lukaku, also got off the mark, one cannot underestimate how important it is that he keeps scoring, even in pre-season. Alas, Besic suffered a mild-injury, hopefully it will not disrupt his pre-season as the pre-season-Blues recover from the pre-season-blues of 2014.

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As always, I wish any of our travelling fans a boss trip. Regardless of it being but a run out for the boys and a holy commandment from the puppet masters of football, otherwise known as Sky. Anyway, this is a team that did the double over you last term, Everton. Destroy.
 



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