Blackburn Rovers 1, Everton 0: Fans' fury says it all

Those Blues who made the short trip up the M6 did so hoping to see this campaign take off. But, instead, they left disgusted, furious and ended up booing their team off. Significantly, there were no complaints from the manager.

"The fans were entitled to their boos because we didn't play well," a visibly upset David Moyes conceded. "I don't know what effect that will have on the players but it was deserved."

Quite right. Had referee Martin Atkinson allowed the game to continue until the moment you started reading this account, it is highly unlikely that an Everton side bereft of ideas, imagination, shape and balance would have fashioned a goal.

From harbouring dreams of bettering last year's exploits and planning new escapades, suddenly the reality is depressingly different; blank midweeks beckon, revenue has been lost and a pot that appeared to be winnable will end up in someone else's grateful hands.

How galling. Right now it feels as if a smack in the solar plexus has taken the wind out of every Evertonian's sails and there is a danger that grim prospect of being adrift in the Premier League and out of Europe by next week will become a reality.

If, as is likely, any scouts from Liverpool and Standard Liege watched Everton at Ewood Park, they will have left rubbing their hands with glee, sensing plenty of areas on the pitch to exploit. Brace yourselves, as it could turn out to be a long year.

Even though the goal which ensured Everton are still seeking their first clean sheet of the season did not come from an individual mistake, it was still enough to leave Moyes deeply unsatisfied.

Martin Olsson was afforded too much time and space to run at Everton's defence and, after swopping passes with Robbie Fowler, he skipped past Phil Neville, shrugged off Phil Jagielka and tucked his shot past the helpless Tim Howard.

Given the way the game was evolving, Blackburn looked the most likely to score the next goal and Everton had Howard to thank for beating away a cross-cum-shot from Keith Treacy, who was given too much space to gallop down the right after being set free by another ball from the impressive Fowler.

It was quickly becoming evident that a long, hard night beckoned for Everton, and that was due to them being completely overrun in midfield - neither Segundo Castillo or Marouane Fellaini will remember their first Carling Cup experience with any fondness.

As they have only played a handful of games for their new club, do not speak much English yet and are adjusting to a new culture, it would be wrong to make a judgement on what they can contribute to this side.

What we can say, however, is that their first few weeks on the pitch for Everton have been less than glorious. Both men look bewildered by the speed and intensity at which the game is played here.

Fellaini, for one, looks a shadow of the man who was the driving force behind Standard Liege's attempts to derail Liverpool in the Champions League and it is alarming to see a man of his size beaten so often in the air.

With his team booed off by the travelling support at the interval - little wonder as they had been wretched - it was no surprise that Moyes ended Castillo and Fellaini's input to the contest, replacing them with Ayegbeni Yakubu and Tim Cahill.

Though it would take a brave man to try and pre-empt who Moyes will send out into the heat of the Merseyside derby, one would not be shocked if Fellaini and Castillo watch the action unfold from the sidelines to begin with.

That game, more than any other, cannot be played with passengers in the starting line-up but, regrettably, that is what these two men appear to be at the minute. In fairness, though, it would be hugely unfair to blame either for Everton's current ills.

We have said it before and, sadly, we must say it again that too many individuals have dipped below the standards expected of them. Twelve months ago they would have blown the opposition they faced here out of the water.

Cahill and Yakubu's introduction may have increased the tempo at which Everton were playing, but the pressure was not the kind of which you envisaged Blackburn's defence buckling - too much harum scarum; not enough composure.

Blackburn, on the other hand, always looked threatening on the counter and had this not been Fowler's first outing since December, then there is every chance he would have made a bad night even worse.

Mind you, saying that a former nemesis never added his name to the scoresheet is hardly cause for celebration, is it? But, fingers crossed, Everton have got the badness out of their system and this weekend's clash against Fowler's old club can galvanise this squad.

Patience is starting to wear thin and the ramifications of two more defeats do not bear thinking about. Time, then, for the real Everton to reveal themselves.

Man of the match: Jack Rodwell

Bright and busy throughout, whipped in two nice crosses in the first half and showed good energy. Once again, though, there were not enough contenders.

BLACKBURN ROVERS (4-4-2): Robinson (Brown 12); Simpson, Ooijer, Khizanishvili, Olsson; Villanueva (Santa Cruz 72), Tugay, Warnock, Treacy (Pedersen 75); Fowler, Derbyshire.

EVERTON (4-5-1): Howard; Neville, Yobo, Jagielka, Lescott; Osman, Castillo (Cahill 46), Rodwell, Fellaini (Yakubu 46), Vaughan (Baxter 83); Saha.

Bookings: Neville (66), Vaughan (70)

Referee: Martin Atkinson (West Yorkshire)

Goals: Olsson (10)

Bookings: Warnock (40), Villanueva (61)

Attendance: 14,366