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Robert Jarvis
Player Valuation: £35m
That aspect was mentioned by our Dutch followers. TBH I am still not sure on this, always for me smacked of a desperate last minute signing to build up numbers. If you recall he virtually had to be forced to sign.
Jamo Martinez
Player Valuation: £70m
Is he that good?
Jonny H on being ace at the weekend:
John Heitinga believes the spirit remains strong among the Everton squad despite their winless run being extended at the weekend.
David Moyes’s side let slip a half-time lead when they were held 1-1 at Goodison by Aston Villa on Saturday.
It halted a run of three successive defeats but means Everton have gone six games without a victory, a sequence that includes three successive home draws.
But Heitinga is convinced the squad’s unshakeable faith in each other has not been altered by the indifferent form.
“The last few games were bad for us and we didn’t get the results we wanted, especially the Tottenham defeat in the Carling Cup as that was our quickest route to silverware,” he said.
“You could see in the opening minutes of the game against Villa that we were maybe a little nervous to go forward, but then we got a grip of the game and played quite well in the second part of the first half.
“The team spirit hasn’t been affected. It was good against Villa. We all want to play well for the team and for the fans.
“But it’s not good that we are dropping points at home. We do have a lot of players missing and we hope that there’ll be a few coming back for next week.”
Diniyar Bilyaletdinov put Everton ahead on the stroke of half-time, only for John Carew to equalise for the visitors less than a minute into the second half.
Bilyaletdinov was then sent off in the closing moments for a foul on Stiliyan Petrov, with Villa also reduced to 10 men shortly afterwards when Carlos Cuellar was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
And Heitinga added: “It was a tough game, a typical Premier League game with lots of confrontations. We’re sad because we didn’t win and I think we needed it.
“We should have won. We conceded straight after the break, and that was not what we needed. It’s important that we played with a good spirit and it’s important we keep on going.”
Heitinga produced one of his most effective displays since arriving from Atletico Madrid on transfer deadline day in September.
The Dutchman partnered Jack Rodwell in a defensive midfield role having played at centre-back and right-back in recent weeks.
And he said: “I enjoyed playing in midfield. I spoke with the coach on Friday and he said I’d be playing there and what was expected, and I feel as though I did well.
“I thought that the way me and Jack played together helped us get a bit of control on the game in the first half.
“This was my kind of game. I love playing in the Premier League. You can make tough tackles. I never complain about it, if both players are going at it 100%, you can hit each other but as long as it is fair then I don’t mind.”
Heitinga, though, must sit out Thursday’s visit of Benfica as he is ineligible for European competition until the New Year.
“It’s frustrating to watch the Europa League games, particularly what happened against Benfica the other week,” he said. “We were missing a lot of players.”
John Heitinga believes the spirit remains strong among the Everton squad despite their winless run being extended at the weekend.
David Moyes’s side let slip a half-time lead when they were held 1-1 at Goodison by Aston Villa on Saturday.
It halted a run of three successive defeats but means Everton have gone six games without a victory, a sequence that includes three successive home draws.
But Heitinga is convinced the squad’s unshakeable faith in each other has not been altered by the indifferent form.
“The last few games were bad for us and we didn’t get the results we wanted, especially the Tottenham defeat in the Carling Cup as that was our quickest route to silverware,” he said.
“You could see in the opening minutes of the game against Villa that we were maybe a little nervous to go forward, but then we got a grip of the game and played quite well in the second part of the first half.
“The team spirit hasn’t been affected. It was good against Villa. We all want to play well for the team and for the fans.
“But it’s not good that we are dropping points at home. We do have a lot of players missing and we hope that there’ll be a few coming back for next week.”
Diniyar Bilyaletdinov put Everton ahead on the stroke of half-time, only for John Carew to equalise for the visitors less than a minute into the second half.
Bilyaletdinov was then sent off in the closing moments for a foul on Stiliyan Petrov, with Villa also reduced to 10 men shortly afterwards when Carlos Cuellar was dismissed for a second bookable offence.
And Heitinga added: “It was a tough game, a typical Premier League game with lots of confrontations. We’re sad because we didn’t win and I think we needed it.
“We should have won. We conceded straight after the break, and that was not what we needed. It’s important that we played with a good spirit and it’s important we keep on going.”
Heitinga produced one of his most effective displays since arriving from Atletico Madrid on transfer deadline day in September.
The Dutchman partnered Jack Rodwell in a defensive midfield role having played at centre-back and right-back in recent weeks.
And he said: “I enjoyed playing in midfield. I spoke with the coach on Friday and he said I’d be playing there and what was expected, and I feel as though I did well.
“I thought that the way me and Jack played together helped us get a bit of control on the game in the first half.
“This was my kind of game. I love playing in the Premier League. You can make tough tackles. I never complain about it, if both players are going at it 100%, you can hit each other but as long as it is fair then I don’t mind.”
Heitinga, though, must sit out Thursday’s visit of Benfica as he is ineligible for European competition until the New Year.
“It’s frustrating to watch the Europa League games, particularly what happened against Benfica the other week,” he said. “We were missing a lot of players.”
I'll hold my hands-up and say the boy done good on Saturday. I had him down as a RB, and couldn't see him fitting in a DM or CB role.
However I was wrong, he really did add bite to our midfield on Saturday, so hopefully thats where he will continue to fill in... as Neill looks comfortable in the RB slot at the moment.
However I was wrong, he really did add bite to our midfield on Saturday, so hopefully thats where he will continue to fill in... as Neill looks comfortable in the RB slot at the moment.
ToxtethBlue
Player Valuation: £50m
I was a bit dissapointed when I saw him playing in midfield before the game but he he did well and it was a promising performance. We all know he's a tenacious player with a good heart but I am more interested in his passing ability, at times, he picks out some long range passes that Xabi Alonso and Paul Scholes would be proud of.
But alot his passes come from dead ball situations or when he had no pressure on him at all, like when he's playing centre back. If he can drop into deeper positions (when he plays in midfield) and create space for himself then we might have someone who can fill the roll Rodwell's playing at the moment.
That's all I'm interested in to be honest, take away Rodwell and you take away alot of composure from our midfield. Having an out and out defensive midfielder (a ball winner) aswell as Cahill and Fellaini would be a bit of a waste for me, as the balance wouldn't be right. If Heitinga can offer us defensive qualities aswell as the passing ability and vision then where onto a winner.
But alot his passes come from dead ball situations or when he had no pressure on him at all, like when he's playing centre back. If he can drop into deeper positions (when he plays in midfield) and create space for himself then we might have someone who can fill the roll Rodwell's playing at the moment.
That's all I'm interested in to be honest, take away Rodwell and you take away alot of composure from our midfield. Having an out and out defensive midfielder (a ball winner) aswell as Cahill and Fellaini would be a bit of a waste for me, as the balance wouldn't be right. If Heitinga can offer us defensive qualities aswell as the passing ability and vision then where onto a winner.
Legend.
AdamTheGreatOneB
Player Valuation: £15m
EDIT: Ignore this.
SuitsBlueX2
Player Valuation: £8m
Very impressed with JH on saturday, stuck a few telling tackles in and that has been coming for some time. Great to finally see one of ours get in the trenches and throw his weight around a bit. Lets not forget Villa are not a small side and have a bit of pace too, so catching them and hurting them legitimately took some doing. Heskey is a loser for swinging elbows though, referee's were all over Ferguson for half that offence.
And for a bit of cross thread praise, well in Lucas Neill for slinging a few 'agricultural' challenges in himself, gives the whole side a lift when it is not just one player getting stuck in at the business end of the battle. (See also the Cahill scissor challenge that got a yellow, and the Petrov scissor challenge that got Warnock booked. Pleb of a ref to be honest!)
And for a bit of cross thread praise, well in Lucas Neill for slinging a few 'agricultural' challenges in himself, gives the whole side a lift when it is not just one player getting stuck in at the business end of the battle. (See also the Cahill scissor challenge that got a yellow, and the Petrov scissor challenge that got Warnock booked. Pleb of a ref to be honest!)
He had the best pass completion ratio on Saturday according to my stats - 85% - thats pretty good!
Tezzy Tez
Player Valuation: £225k
Moyes definately likes versatile players which was probably the main reason he went for Heitinga.
He said when he brought Neill in that he'd fill the gap in the squad that Neville being injured left.
Only now is it apparant that he meant he'd go into the back four and allow Heitinga to fill that gap jointly with him (Full back and Midfielder) than just have Neill be a like for like replacement.
I still don't think he's a long term defensive midfielder though, and playing Rodwell and Heitinga will do for now as a conservative formation in light of injuries but it's just a modern day version of the Carsley-Neville partnership. Too negative and unbalanced a midfield to really control games and once more midfielders are fit again we shouldn't be looking to deploy that partnership even in big games.
When everyone is fit we'll have a really good squad with different options and players so we could choose from Neville, Rodwell and Heitinga for DM, Neill, Neville, Heitinga and Hibbert for RB and Cahill, Fellaini, Pienaar and Billy for AM. A squad with all kinds of different options.
It's a squad game but for me personally Heitinga would be my right back in an ideal Everton XI.
He said when he brought Neill in that he'd fill the gap in the squad that Neville being injured left.
Only now is it apparant that he meant he'd go into the back four and allow Heitinga to fill that gap jointly with him (Full back and Midfielder) than just have Neill be a like for like replacement.
I still don't think he's a long term defensive midfielder though, and playing Rodwell and Heitinga will do for now as a conservative formation in light of injuries but it's just a modern day version of the Carsley-Neville partnership. Too negative and unbalanced a midfield to really control games and once more midfielders are fit again we shouldn't be looking to deploy that partnership even in big games.
When everyone is fit we'll have a really good squad with different options and players so we could choose from Neville, Rodwell and Heitinga for DM, Neill, Neville, Heitinga and Hibbert for RB and Cahill, Fellaini, Pienaar and Billy for AM. A squad with all kinds of different options.
It's a squad game but for me personally Heitinga would be my right back in an ideal Everton XI.
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Ossie's Nostril
Player Valuation: £25k
He's playing well, another good signing by Moysey
C
Carey88
Guest
Agreed, I think he's gonna be great for us. Nice to see he's adaptable too
You know i wouldnt be surprised if Arteta went back out to the wing!
del78
Player Valuation: £750k
An Arteta on the wing is better than no Arteta but he has it all as a central midfielder, head and shoulder ahead of anyone else in the squad( and the premiership bar a few). It would be a crime to stick him out on the wing again after seen what he can do in the middle.
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