Recently in Columnists Category

EVERTON fell into a trap during a really disappointing afternoon at Anfield and it was so frustrating to watch.

When you've got an extra man like the Blues had in the second half there is always the temptation to play the easy pass.

Yes, we kept the ball well but too often it went square and we weren't able to really hurt Liverpool. We never got in behind them.

THERE'S a simple answer to the problem of John Terry's unrestrained libido - take Leighton Baines to South Africa instead of Wayne Bridge.

He's a better player, he's in better form and - unless this weekend's 'revelations' tell us differently - he's never shared a shandy with John Terry in the Goodison players' lounge.

Of course that doesn't solve the captaincy issue - which for me is a more complex problem altogether.

EVERTON have got the best chance they've had in a long time of getting a result at Anfield tomorrow.

Their form has been good but make no mistake they will have to reach the same levels as in the games against Arsenal and Manchester City if they want to end their poor record on the other side of Stanley Park. It's no use looking to Liverpool's poor form as an indicator of how the game will go. Saturday will be totally different.

A lot will depend on how Everton's new boys react to the atmosphere and the challenge.

I AM fortunate enough to occasionally work for BSkyB on their Champions League, international, La Liga and Football First coverage..

On Wednesday, however, I was given the opportunity to be part of a full dress rehearsal for their inaugural 3D presentation.

I turned up at Goodison Park somewhat sceptical. I am a confirmed technophobe and always the last buy into the latest techno- logical advance, so I expected a gimmicky offering.

THIS current Everton squad is far too young to remember Hugh Johns. But if they ask their dads, they might find out they had a little more in common than they'd think.

Because the Midlands' Motson was the man 'on the other side'.

While Kenneth Wolstenholme was uttering the most famous commentary in English football history, poor old Hughie's: "Here's Hurst, he might make it four. He has! He has!" has been completely forgotten.

Evertonians will know how he felt.

CLUBS who sample the intoxicating aroma of a Wembley Cup final have a habit of going back for more.

Arsenal graced four finals in five years at the turn of the millennium, Newcastle and Sheffield Wednesday made unexpected back to back visits in the 90s while the previous decade the atmospheric old stadium almost became a second home for the Toffees.

Everton savoured their Wembley experience in May.

But it was a different Everton defending that Cup tradition in January.

IT was another fantastic day to be an Evertonian last Saturday watching Everton, as I had hoped, start the game brilliantly and totally overwhelm an expensively assembled Manchester City team.

David Moyes was very brave to speak honestly and openly about his feelings over the Joleon Lescott affair.

If Manchester City had won much would have been made by the post-match media and the manager ran the risk of looking churlish.

WHAT a fantastic win over Man City.

I haven't seen an Everton crowd as bouyant as that after a game for a long, long time.

The result was fully deserved and all the better that it came against a club that has spent fortunes on supposed quality players.

IT was clear David Moyes had his players fired up to take on Manchester City on Saturday. The way City conducted their pursuit of Joleon Lescott back in the summer still rankles at Goodison.

It certainly gave the game extra spice and there's no doubt what happened gave our players some added motivation.

I know the manager slammed City in his programme notes, but the players had a go back at the big-spenders in the best possible way by taking the three points with our best performance of the season.

The players went out there and delivered for the manager.

EVERTONIANS are cussedly different - some would say downright bloody awkward. Because while most football supporters celebrate goals, salute star players and roar their approval at victories, Blues fans are quirkier.

Sure, they love their triumphs, but the greatest roars are reserved for the unconventional.

Goodison folklore is littered with idiosyncratic cameos, moments you won't find in any history books, but incidents still spoken of with dewy-eyed pride years later.