Results tagged “Everton” from Everton Banter - Join the debate with EFC fans, staff writers and club legends
EVERTON were today waiting for a decision from Tiago after they agreed a 12-month loan deal with Juventus for the Portugal international.
Tiago has failed to sparkle at the Stadio Delli' Alpi and Juventus manager Claudio Ranieri is eager to move him on but the former Chelsea midfielder is deliberating over whether he wants to play in the Premier League again.
The Blues have thrashed out an arrangement with their Italian counterparts which gives them the opportunity to turn the loan into a permanent transfer next year but, with the ball now firmly in Tiago's court, there is nothing more they can do but wait for his answer.
EVERTON went close to getting the victory from their opening game of the season on Saturday against Blackburn Rovers which would have tempered the turbulent summer that has caused a great deal of pessimism among the club's supporters.
They were even closer to getting a point until denied by a controversial late strike that most of those at Goodison Park believed was offside, but very often when things are not well sod's law dictates that such pivotal moments go against you.
How often have we heard the cliché along the lines of when you are down you never get the rub of the green?
As it stands Evertonians must be hoping that the club are not in for a season of struggle and that the team do not become overly-reliant on enjoying more than their fair share of luck in the months ahead.
However there is no doubt that as September 1 rapidly approaches with little inbound movement, the chances increase that the campaign ahead will be challenging to say the least.
THE draw for the UEFA Cup, due tomorrow, should be an event that Evertonians await with a great deal of excitement.
It's become a tradition now, clearing your diary for the hour of the draw, sitting with the Easyjet website loaded on your computer and your bank details to hand, then ringing around to all and sundry asking something along the lines of "Who on earth are Metalist Kharkiv?"
After Saturday's disjointed display at Goodison though, and the club's continued struggles to bring in any players whatsoever, Blues will have their radios tuned into FiveLive or their web browsers pointed at the UEFA website more in fear than anything else.
Everton only scraped past Kharkiv last time, remember, and now they've has lost two key men from that tie, in the shape of Andy Johnson and James McFadden, and replaced neither. There's no two ways about it - as things stand this is a far weaker Everton team at the moment than the one that travelled out to the Ukraine 12 months ago.
Whether that will still be the case when the first European game takes place on September 18 is the 20 million Euro question.
FORMER Everton defender Alan Stubbs's knee injury has forced him to hang up his boots.
Stubbs, a passionate Evertonian who fulfilled his lifetime's ambition of playing for the club over two spells left Goodison Park for a second time during the January transfer window to join Derby County.
Kirkby-born Stubbs, who turns 37 next month, limped off in the Rams' opening-day defeat to Doncaster Rovers with a recurrence of a problem in his right knee.
He underwent an operation to tidy up the same knee at the end of last season and further surgery to repair the latest damage would keep him out for between six and nine months.
Derby chairman of football Adam Pearson, pictured below, described the situation as a "great shame" and saluted the professionalism of Stubbs whose contract was due to expire next summer.
REAL MADRID are preparing to rival Everton for the signature of Real Zaragoza's Diego Milito.
The Argentina international striker has been a target of Goodison manager David Moyes throughout summer as he seeks to bolster his strikeforce.
Everton were alerted to his availability following Zaragoza's surprise relegation from La Liga at the end of last season.
However, reports in Spain are suggesting Madrid manager Bernd Schuster is now contemplating a move for the player.
Zaragoza, who turned down an offer from Napoli for Milito earlier this summer, have slapped a £16million price tag on the player, although it is thought Madrid are confident a £12m offer could prove successful.
LIFTING the Milk Cup and seeing so many youngsters being handed their chance at first team level has Everton's Academy going into the new season in buoyant mood.
Neil Dewsnip's under-18s side begin the new FA Premier Academy League season at Arsenal on August 23 with the first home match at Finch Farm against MK Dons on Saturday, August 30.
Victory for the under-15s in the prestigious Northern Ireland Milk Cup earlier this month with a 3-2 triumph over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final thanks to a hat-trick from Hallam Hope provides further evidence of the club's ability to produce talented youngsters at all levels.
But it is the promotion of the likes of Jack Rodwell and Jose Baxter to David Moyes's first team is the proof that the Academy continues to be doing its job.
OLYMPIC medallist Victor Anichebe thinks Everton's youngsters will reap the long-term benefit of their early first team involvement.
Both 17-year-old Jack Rodwell and Jose Baxter, 16, featured in the opening day defeat to Blackburn Rovers - with a further five teenagers included on the bench.
For most of the youngsters, their elevation to the senior squad is due to the crisis of numbers manager David Moyes faces - and something he is working to put right by closing in on his first summer signings this week.
But with seven substitutes now able to be named for Premier League games, a number of novices are certain to again be named for the first Premier League away game of the season at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
YOU don't have to be a member of Everton's squad or work within Goodison Park to have been affected by this summer of frustration.
With no new faces having yet come in and a lengthy injury list, it is not hard to imagine that David Moyes has been pulling his hair out and he now faces a hectic fortnight before the transfer window closes to bring in suitable reinforcements.
There is no room for standing still in football, though, and at the minute, Everton are giving everyone the perception that is exactly what they have done. Surely pre-season was the time to be making signings so that they could have bedded in by now?
In fairness to the manager, he is someone who sticks to his principles and wants to take his time over the players that he buys; apart from getting as much knowledge as he can about the footballing ability of his targets, he wants character references too.
EVERTON confirmed today that negotiations were still ongoing with Portuguese midfielder Tiago.
But the Blues have ruled out a deal for Fulham midfielder Jimmy Bullard.
Reports today claimed that Juventus midfielder Tiago had snubbed a move to Goodison, and that Bullard was on the verge of arriving for £4m.
But both stories have been rubbished.
The Blues are still locked in talks with Tiago's representatives and are hopeful of completing a 12-month loan deal with a view to a permanent move.
But there is no interest in bringing Bullard north again.
A club spokesman has confirmed, meanwhile, that Sir Philip Carter is back on the board of directors.
SO a 3-2 defeat to home to Blackburn Rovers on the opening day of the season. Disaster. At least that's how it appears and how it's been generally reported.
But if ever a bad result can have a favourable outcome then that should be it.
Because events at Goodison Park on Saturday only go to prove David Moyes's point.
The Everton manager would have obviously been delighted if his team had hung on to their lead and closed out for victory.
We would probably have all been sat here today praising Moyes for building such a tight unit, instilling that great fighting spirit that enables them to overcome the odds time and again.
PHIL JAGIELKA reckons midfield partner Jack Rodwell's baptism of fire will accelerate his growth into an Everton first team regular.
The 17-year-old was thrust into the fray for his first senior start in the 3-2 defeat to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, after previously having less than 20 minutes of first team experience under his belt.
Rodwell's inclusion was symptomatic of Everton's chronic player shortage at the start of the season as manager David Moyes only had 10 senior outfield players to choose from.
The situation will only be eased for Saturday's trip to West Bromwich Albion if James Vaughan recovers from a foot injury and Moyes's efforts to sigh new players finally comes to fruition in the next few days. But circumstances could see Rodwell resuming his midfield partnership with Jagielka - who himself has had to abandon his central defensive duties to make up for the midfield shortage.
MIKEL ARTETA today defiantly promised that Everton's players will do everything to lift the gloom surrounding Goodison Park.
Blues supporters are already fearing the worst after Saturday's 3-2 opening defeat to Blackburn and given there has still been no investment in the playing staff this summer.
Arteta has called for the strong characters in Everton's dressing room to lead the recovery this week and believes reinforcements will arrive before Saturday's trip to West Brom.
"The only people who can give things a lift at the minute are the players who are here," said Arteta. "The fans have been terrific and tried to stay behind the team. We have just got to get on with things because nobody is going to feel sorry for us.
PHIL JAGIELKA believes Everton have only themselves to blame for making a losing start to the Premier League campaign.
The Goodison outfit frittered away a 2-1 lead at home to Blackburn Rovers before going down to an injury-time goal on Saturday.
With no new arrivals so far at the club this transfer window, manager David Moyes was forced to select a makeshift side.
But Jagielka, who played in central midfield, admits Everton should not have surrendered their winning position, particularly having fought back from going behind early on.
"We weren't really worried going into the game, given everything that's been happening," he said.
THE campaign for supporters to start bringing their boots to Goodison might want to revise the terms of their crusade.
After all, hard hats would be the more appropriate attire for anyone associated with Everton right now.
A pre-season of inaction in the transfer market, indifferent performances on the field and continued uncertainty off it led to a tangible sense of trepidation heading into the new campaign.
Even before a ball was kicked, David Moyes was expressing concerns over a missed opportunity to build on last season's success and fretting over the size of his threadbare squad.
Early evidence suggests such fears have not been misplaced.
The manner of Saturday's opening-day defeat against Blackburn Rovers served only to strengthen the sense of despair and, more worryingly, resignation that has seeped through the Everton fanbase during the past three months.
AS a mate of mine quipped after Saturday's result, I preferred the pre-season - even though we weren't signing players, we weren't dropping points at home either.
I've tried to stay positive about the comings and goings - or more accurately, the goings - at Goodison over the summer.
So much ink has been spilled over our inactivity and our bumbling from one PR disappointment to the next that I just shut my eyes and hoped everything would be ok.
One game into the season and it's painfully obvious that this isn't something that will just sort itself out if left alone. We need new faces and we need them quickly.
We were woeful in the first half.
Blackburn played through us, around us and over us with minimal resistance. It came as no surprise when we went behind and our guests were so far on top that it was actually embarrassing to go in level at half-time.
DAVID MOYES admits it will be "quite a while" before Everton are ready to realistically challenge in the Premier League this season.
And the Goodison manager concedes he doesn't know if it will be possible to bring in the "six or seven" players he now believes are required before the transfer window closes in a fortnight.
Everton began their campaign with only 10 fit senior professionals as they slumped to a 3-2 home defeat at home to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Moyes has so far failed in his attempts to bring new recruits to the club, despite being linked to a string of big names during the summer.
With a clutch of first-team regulars either recovering for injury or still striving for match fitness, the Everton manager was forced to hand 17-year-old Jack Rodwell a full debut and name a substitutes' bench without a first-team outfield start between them.
ON the eve of the new football season, chief feature writer Paddy Shennan takes a less-than-serious look at what the 2008/2009 campaign may bring.
Saturday Aug 16
THE natives are restless . . . and, despite the predictable hype and hysteria, a bit bored.
Hours after the new Premier League season kicks off, a new group is launched called We Want Our Football Back.
Made up of thousands of fed-up fans, it will campaign for lower ticket prices, more kicks offs at 3pm on a Saturday and a series of measures aimed at reducing the strangehold of the Premier League's top four clubs.
They will also call for an investigation into the ownership of football clubs and Sky's influence on the game - and for the microphones of many media pundits, including BBC Five Live's Alan Green, to be switched off.
EVERTON goalkeeper Tim Howard has called for a return to the siege mentality which characterised Everton's unlikely charge to fourth three years ago.
The Blues have been rocked by a series of off-field crises this summer.
New stadium plans have been cast into doubt, the chief executive has quit and departing players have not been replaced.
But Howard insists the fans and players can pull together at Goodison Park tomorrow and give the club some vital breathing space by beating Blackburn.
"Pulling together is part of the club mentality here," he rapped. "It's my third season and it seems as if that's always been the mentality. It's almost better when our backs are against the wall. We kind of invite that.
VICTOR ANICHEBE has handed David Moyes an injury scare - as Everton ramped up their efforts to bring Tiago to Goodison.
Anichebe is currently on international duty with Nigeria at the Olympics, with his country due to face fellow Africans Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals on Sunday.
The striker came off the bench during the group game against Japan to score the decisive second goal that ultimately earned Nigeria qualification to the last eight.
But Anichebe has revealed to having played through the pain barrier after suffering a knee injury during his country's training camp, news that is likely to alarm Moyes.
EVERTON have made a last ditch bid to hijack Newcastle's move for former Chelsea midfielder Tiago, after their hopes of landing Vagner Love were dashed.
The Portugal playmaker, 27, who made 52 appearances for Chelsea in 2004/05, has been made available by Juventus and looked to be heading for Newcastle until the deal hit a hitch yesterday.
Sources in Turin claim the final decision is down to the player, but Atletico Madrid and Fenerbahce have now also been alerted and Tiago is believed to prefer a move to Spain.
Newcastle thought they had landed the midfielder yesterday in a loan move that could become permanent next summer for an £8million fee.
LET'S buck the trend for a moment at least and talk about something other than Everton's emaciated looking squad.
Every season there is some new initiative for referees to follow, be it the clamping down on challenges from behind or a greater focus on punishing two-footed tackles, and it invariably causes mayhem early on as confused officials try to apply the letter of the law to players who are unsure of the new boundaries.
The FA have outdone themselves this time though with their 'Respect Agenda'. Honestly, they might as well have just called it the 'Oh Please Play Nice' agenda. It's all very well everyone regarding the half-hearted Community Shield as a successful pilot for the new world order, but just wait until the Premier League starts on Saturday and see if the players will bite their tongues and respectfully address all queries through their captain when there are 40,000 fans screaming for blood.
You only have to listen to interviews with players, like John Terry for instance, to hear what they think of the initiative, despite giving it their backing.
AT THIS time of the year when fans are normally talking about new players and discussing their hopes for the campaign to come, the focus has been on the situation regarding manager David Moyes.
Although it looks as though he will be staying on, the fact there is a still a question mark and nothing has been resolved is indicative of the uncertainty and concerns surrounding Goodison Park.
Suggestions about a new contract for Moyes were first put into the public domain weeks before the end of last season and the fact that he has yet to put pen to paper sends out a clear message that something we don't know about is not quite right.
That something clearly relates in some way to money and the finances that are and, more importantly, will be made available to the manager now and in the future.
EVERTON are hoping James Vaughan can recover from a foot injury to face Blackburn Rovers - and avoid being left with just 11 senior players.
Vaughan has escaped suspension for the opening game of the Premier League season at Goodison Park following his sending-off against Chicago Fire in last month's friendly.
But the striker is fighting to be fit enough to add to David Moyes's options up front - with Yakubu currently the only forward available to him.
The Everton manager is still working on landing targets Vagner Love and Alan Smith to boost his foward line, but he is still to announce his first signing of the summer.
MIKEL ARTETA has ordered Everton to stop feeling sorry for themselves and focus on Saturday's "massive game" against Blackburn.
A number of Everton players have spoken out this summer of the need to boost their depleted squad numbers, but with the big kick-off just three days away, the prospect of new faces seems remote.
But Arteta is unconcerned and has urged his team-mates to pull together and secure an opening day victory at Goodison Park on Saturday.
"I think we need to stop talking about the new signings," said Arteta.
"The manager, the chairman, whatever it is they have to do they are going to do it for the best of the club.
LIKE all Evertonians I've been frustrated to some extent about the delay over new signings but you can guarantee that David Moyes has not been twiddling his thumbs this summer.
David knows his targets that's for sure. He liked the look of Andrei Arshavin last season and although his success with Russia at the European Championship finals seems to have put him out of Everton's price range, Moyes has also identified players like Portugal's Joao Moutinho.
Like all managers he has to work within a budget and if the club in possession of the player gets stubborn over the asking price then things can get long-winded and drawn out like the Gareth Barry saga across the park.
David knows that he needs some new bodies on board, especially in midfield following the departures of Lee Carsley and loan duo Thomas Gravesen and Manuel Fernandes but they've got to be of a certain calibre.
VICTOR ANICHEBE could make a surprise return to the Everton bench for Saturday's opening Premier League game with Blackburn Rovers.
The striker is set to take part in Nigeria's final group game of the Olympic football tournament against USA in Beijing today - but defeat could see him flown back in time for the weekend.
Anichebe would not be in any shape to take a place in the starting line-up despite David Moyes's current shortage of options up front.
But the possibility of him boosting numbers from the substitutes' bench is being explored as Yakubu is the only Everton forward guaranteed to be involved for the visit of Paul Ince's side.
DAVID MOYES today challenged Mikel Arteta to recapture the form that made him Everton's talisman and provide the spark to light up the new campaign.
Having been tormented by injury last season, the Blues' influential midfielder has made steady progress during his side's friendly fixtures in the past four weeks and saved his best performance for last in Saturday's 1-1 draw against PSV Eindhoven.
Arteta followed up his goal in the 2-1 win over Colorado Rapids by slotting the penalty which secured parity against the Dutch champions but the most significant factor from Moyes' point of view was the Spaniard lasting 90 minutes.
EVERTON'S threadbare squad has suffered another crushing injury blow with the Blues today confirming Steven Pienaar has broken a toe.
Peinaar sustained the injury during Saturday's friendly victory over PSV and will now be sidelined for the opening six weeks of the season.
The news comes just four days before the Premier League opener against Blackburn. And with Tony Hibbert and Tim Cahill injured, Victor Anichebe at the Olympic Games and James Vaughan likely to be suspended, the Blues are now TEN players down on the squad which ended last season in fifth place.
Lee Carsley, Andrew Johnson, Thomas Gravesen, Manuel Fernandes and Stefan Wessels have all left the club during the summer, with the Blues still struggling to bring in any new faces.
STEVEN PIENAAR will miss the start of Everton's season with a suspected broken foot which could see him sidelined for up to six weeks.
The South African hobbled out of Everton's friendly with Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven on Saturday midway through the second half.
The news comes as another blow to manager David Moyes whose options in midfield have already been limited by Tim Cahill's injury and the close season departures of Lee Carsley plus on-loan duo Manuel Fernandes and Thomas Gravesen.
Moyes has yet to sign any new players this summer and last night Everton officials denied that Brazilian striker Vagner Love had already arrived at Goodison Park for a medical. However the club remain hopeful of concluding a deal for the Brazilian striker.
STEVE ROUND believes Everton are well equipped to cement their place in the Premier League's top six and he will be even more confident once new faces are added.
The Blues' assistant manager was satisfied with his side's performance as they finished their pre-season campaign with a 1-1 draw against PSV Eindhoven.
Mikel Arteta's late penalty put the gloss on his own display and Round is confident that once players are found to complement the Spaniard, Everton will move up a few gears.