Quality still lacking when Everton play the top sides
FROM the first whistle it looked like Everton were facing a long night against Chelsea.
To give the home players their due, and the boos at the final whistle seemed harsh, the fact that they managed to force the visitors into wasting time at the end was to their credit.
A draw certainly never felt out of the question, although long range efforts from Manuel Fernandes, enjoying his best game since returning to Goodison, were really the only threat that the we posed against a side that could, theoretically, still finish the season as champions.
No one really expects the men from Stamford Bridge to pip Manchester United for the title, but they will run them closer than anyone else, which is a mark of what Everton were up against.
Avram Grant's squad, for all their reported rifts and problems, is simply packed with top class players.
And ultimately, the managers can do all the coaching and the tinkering with formations that they please, but ultimately it always comes down to the individuals that they deploy on the pitch.
Everton have let themselves down in a number of games recently, struggling against the likes of Fulham and Birmingham City, and they really could have shown more in those encounters.
However, it is tough to fault them for their application and effort against the men from West London.
They came up short in terms of quality - not surprising given the respective cost of the two squads - but they clearly gave everything they had in search of an equaliser.
There were jeers when Steven Pienaar was replaced in the second half, but the fact that Phil Neville was shunted out to the left wing was indication enough that the change was made due to the fact that the South African has been struggling for fitness.
Games like this, against one of the top sides in Europe, manage to simultaneously highlight how far away
Everton are from really challenging from top honours and also how well they are doing to come even close given the comparative paucity of their resources.
Unfortunately for us, we are now good enough that the top sides take us seriously, and that seems to make the sort of upset that Wigan picked up in midweek all the less likely.
Hopefully the fact that this game was played on a Thursday might give us enough time to get a few key players back in time for the potential European decider with Aston Villa next week.
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