Liverpool v Everton. 27th Sep at 12.45.

[CahillsCornerFlag]

Jags was captain fantastic today. Even before the goal. I hope we have our old jags back, this could get him over that summer rubbish and back to his best.

There was one tackle in particular, attack from the left they played a ball in to the players feet who was facing goal and Jags just slid in and stopped him in his tracks. Didn't put a foot wrong today, and that's ignoring his goal. Stones was solid but again got caught in possession, teams target for quick closing down.

Prepare for incoming dubious ratings;


Howard - 7 - Had a good game on the whole, could've done better with Gerrard's freekick though, wasn't in the top corner.

Hibbert - 6 - He was much improved than against Swansea, had a very solid first half but not so good in the second.

Jagielka - 9 - The captain didnt put a foot wrong, and looks back to his best. Oh and err yeh he scored a thunderbolt.

Stones - 7 - Solid performance from John, couple of misplaced passes and got caught in possession, confident he'll iron these out in time.

Baines - 7 - Decent defensively but had a fairly quiet game by his standards. Didn't do anything particularly.

McCarthy - 7 - Did everything expected of him defensively, no concerns here.

Besic - 7 - Given he was pitched in against them lot at Anfield he played well, looks like he'll be a solid player for us.

Barry - 4 - Poor tackle before a minute was up, and uncharacteristically poor passing. A rare off day.

Mirallas - N/A

Naismith - 6 - Worked hard, but didn't really do an awful lot

Lukaku - 6 - Some nice touches and worked hard, especially as he played out of position for the whole game.

McGeady - 5 - Frustrating but at least he gave it a go.

 

[toffee matt]

Balotelli on instagram

Balotelli should look at himself first

A better striker than him upfront and they'd have had the 3 points

 

[evertony]

LOL

Lol all you like fella.....Hibbo has never been a poor tackler and rarely gets skinned. Offensively he's way off the mark.

The fella who runs like he's chewing a caramel -you know, the one Brenda says is the best in Europe didn't shine against Hibbo today.

 

[faddy the blue]

Apart from that goal of the season it was a typical everton performance in a derby; over emotional, nervous and fearful at times. How many times have we questioned Howard's GK with freekicks and long range shots. He was at it again, his positioning was just too poor and didn't move quick enough. That ball wasn't even in the corner but a yard in the post and with sensible positioning could have been saved.
Hibbert's time is up, should only come on to ptotect coleman if we're 2-0 or 3-0 up with 10 min to go. Tyas Browning looks good. He's a good strong defender with decent pace it seems.

More and more injuries now woth Mirallas and no fluency in our play. Gonna be a long stop start season it seems.

 

[evertony]

He was decent but all of their pressure on our goal came from crosses that they had space to put in because Hibbert was sitting so far off Sterling so as not to get done for pace. No one is questioning Hibbo's commitment or effort but he's just not at the level we need in the squad anymore.

Nobody is saying he is....just reinforcing that he rarely lets us down defensively when called upon despite the dogs abuse he gets. Still, it stops Ossie and McGeady getting the whipping boy treatment. Let's not forget how Naismith was treated not so long ago.

 

[Carlito]

Very frustrating to see Everton spend so much time on the back foot, although in a way it made the goal even sweeter.

Jagielka, Stones and Baines were better than I've seen them in some time, but while Hibbert didn't disgrace himself he is clearly finished. Browning should get a proper chance next time Coleman needs covering.

I'm starting to think it's time to try something different in midfield. Lukaku out wide was an effective surprise tactic when Martinez first sprung it on Arsenal, but he's milked it now and the lad looks isolated more often than not. It's also affecting McCarthy; he spends too much time putting out fires down the right and is leaving Barry exposed. I'd like to see him actually getting on the ball.

Gloomy as things are at the moment, I'm still quite sure everything will improve drastically once Barkley returns. However, that doesn't mean the manager shouldn't prioritise bringing in a back up number 10 in January. Even a cheap option such as Bryan Ruiz on loan would help.

Also, Howard is jarg. Can't knock his reflexes, and his handling is generally good, but he's laughably vulnerable from distance.

 

[sageyefc]

Lol all you like fella.....Hibbo has never been a poor tackler and rarely gets skinned. Offensively he's way off the mark.

The fella who runs like he's chewing a caramel -you know, the one Brenda says is the best in Europe didn't shine against Hibbo today.

Hes forever getting skinned, he either gets caught out or backs off till there on the goal line. Hes wasnt as gash today as he usually is but he still had alot to thank his CB pairing for

 

[Robertor]

Reading through this thread makes me realise how many bad belters there are on this. Martinez out and all that? Playing Lukaku out wide to attempt to sure up the midfield and letting us play 4-3-3 was a good decision. Imagine us playing 4-2-3-1 in a big away game. Not his best position but I just feel he had a poor game today. I'm just happy this is Martinez's second season not his first because all these clueless Facebook fans would be even more unbearable than they already are. Pipe the f down and stop overreacting.

 

[zirc]

Nobody is saying he is....just reinforcing that he rarely lets us down defensively when called upon despite the dogs abuse he gets. Still, it stops Ossie and McGeady getting the whipping boy treatment. Let's not forget how Naismith was treated not so long ago.

He was pretty bad at Swansea.

Agree with you though, he gets abuse that he doesn't deserve, that's the way of GOT though, always have to be 1 or 2 whipping boys, Neville and Jonny, Naismith has turned into a good footballer so Ossie and Hibbert are the natural targets as they're rather one-dimensional players. Not saying they deserve it like but the mob demands a criminal be punished even if it's the wrong one.

 

[LTblue]

So so sweet today and for the most part all those defensive issues we've had seemed to disappear. I just can't describe the scenes when Jagielka smashed home at the Kop end when they were sing ynwa like they'd won.

 

[GwladysBlue]

How were we?

 

[evertony]

He was pretty bad at Swansea.

Agree with you though, he gets abuse that he doesn't deserve, that's the way of GOT though, always have to be 1 or 2 whipping boys, Neville and Jonny, Naismith has turned into a good footballer so Ossie and Hibbert are the natural targets as they're rather one-dimensional players. Not saying they deserve it like but the mob demands a criminal be punished even if it's the wrong one.

Swansea was his first game in how long? And today his first Prem start in 600 days. Did sound.

 

[evertony]

Hes forever getting skinned, he either gets caught out or backs off till there on the goal line. Hes wasnt as gash today as he usually is but he still had alot to thank his CB pairing for

Do all full backs not have their centre backs to thank and vice versa? When I last looked football was a team effort.

 

[Professor Toffee]

Rooney sent off for ManU will miss match next weekend

 

[zirc]

Swansea was his first game in how long? And today his first Prem start in 600 days. Did sound.

Not excusing it just explaining it.

I do think Browning is the better option there though.