Our Disgraceful FA

I wanted to write this post just so Everton fans all around the world understand how much of a disgrace and an embarrassment the English Football Association are.

Firstly, it has been announced today the Merseyside Derby at Wembley in the FA Cup Semi Final will kick off at 12:30pm. Both Everton and Liverpool fans now need to travel all the way down to Wembley at such early hours in the morning. The FA have taken absolutely no consideration of the fans of both clubs and how they will travel there! I know a lot of Everton fans that had already booked their train and coach tickets for the game before the announcement today and now they will need to be charged in order to get a refund because of this stupid decision!

Secondly, on the 2 occasions that Everton have already played at the new Wembley, the fans were only allocated just under 30,000 tickets. This goes for both sets of fans. Considering that the stadium is a 90,000 capacity stadium, this again is a joke! The fans should be first priority for tickets so why do they only receive 60,000 seats? I can understand the Wembley season ticket holders taking a few thousand seats but where are the rest? This time around, both Everton and Liverpool fans have been given 32,000 tickets. A slight improvement but again there are a number of tickets missing.

Also, this has nothing to do with the Wembley decisions from the FA. But, just in general, the referees and linesman have been a disgrace to football in recent seasons. And I'm sure, every set of fans in the Premier League will agree with me when I say this.

This article isn't about the fact that it is against Everton or Liverpool. Football fans all around the country should take a stand against the FA.

Everton v West Brom

Everton face West Brom this Saturday at Goodison Park. Following on from our fantastic win over Sunderland on Tuesday night, hopefully the blues can continue their good run of form this weekend. If the blues can overcome the Baggies tomorrow, and Liverpool lose to Newcastle, we could go above them in the league.

David Moyes has today told the press that we will most likely be without, Drenthe, Coleman and Rodwell for the game. But, the form from the Blues in the past few games has been very impressive and hopefully we can show it again tomorrow.

Also, just to add, the FA have today announced that the Semi Final fixture at Wembley against Liverpool will be played at 12:30pm! An absolutely disgraceful decision! How do they expect fans to get all the way down to London of 12:30! Boat clubs should protest against this decision!

Everton Confirm Nike Deal

Everton have officially confirmed today that the club have signed a 3 year deal with sports giants Nike. The company will produce Everton's kit, training gear and a Nike combat range. The Blues will leave their current manufacturer Le Coq Sportif and will join Nike at the end of this season. Everton will join the likes of Barcelona in current Nike deals and our kits will most likely be sold in Nike stores all over the world.

Robert Elstone had this to say about the deal;

“Following all the speculation of the past few months, we are delighted to confirm that Everton is about to kick-off a new, three-year partnership with the world's leading sportswear brand.

“We're all excited by the prospect of working with Nike's design, marketing and retailing teams and look forward to seeing some impressive, original kits and products, as well as being on hand to take advantage of new retail opportunities that we'll be working with Kitbag to drive forward.

“Nike has an impeccable reputation and we are confident that our supporters will be excited by the new partnership, with all of us looking forward to seeing our new home shirt this summer.”

Sunderland v Everton

Everton travel to Sunderland tomorrow night in the FA Cup Quarter Final replay. The winner will take on Liverpool in the Semi Final at Wembley. The original fixture ended in a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park last week. The Blues go into the game following a fantastic win at the Liberty Stadium against Swansea. The home team also won their fixture at the weekend against QPR with a 3-1 win.

David Moyes has told the press that he has a few injury worries including Royston Drenthe, who was left out of the squad that travelled to Swansea at the weekend. He will receive a late fitness test to find out if he can be included in the team or not. Steven Pienaar is once again cup tied for the FA Cup fixture.

The People's Blog are travelling to Sunderland and we will try to post the starting 11 as well as a few updates as much as we can on our Twitter and Facebook accounts! COYB!!

Swansea 0-2 Everton

Everton travelled to South Wales today to face Swansea at the Liberty Stadium. After a fantastic performance, the Blues won the game 2-0. David Moyes made 3 changes to the side that were defeated in midweek by Arsenal. Fellaini and Heitinga started the game on the bench as they were replaced by Tony Hibbert and Darron Gibson who returned from injury to face the Swans. Whereas Drenthe didnt even travel with the team due to a rumoured injury he picked up against Arsenal.

The beginning of the first half werent the best but the Blues soon began to get in their stride and began to dominant the game. Despite not having too many chances, Everton's possesion in the Swansea half was much better than the hosts'. Jagielka was forced into making a few life saving challenges in the Everton box. But, other than a small number of shots from Swansea, the first half consisted of no big opportunities from either side. The closest Everton come to a goal in the first half was Jelavic header that went a few yards wide.

Everton starting the second half just as they ended the first. The Blues were on the front foot right from the off and the first real chance to taking the lead was a Darron Gibson shot from around 30 yards out which was brilliantly saved by Swansea keeper Vorm followed by a Jelavic acrobat rebound that went just wide. But, not long later, an Everton free kick right on the edge of the box was converted brilliantly by Leighton Baines into the top corner. Another class finish by Baines to become our top goalscorer. Just a few minutes later, Everton broke again and after some good play, Pienaar got the ball on his right foot but his shot curled just wide of the goal. The Blues were playing brilliantly and when Pienaar and Jelavic broke again, the Croatian recived the ball from Pienaar but his effort went just wide. But, it werent long before we had another chance and this time it was Fellaini who made the chance with a great run and he found Jelavic just a few yard out who tapped the ball home to make it 2-0. We then continued to press and when Strac was brought on for Jelavic, he had a great opportunity when Pienaar found him but Vorm was there to rescue Swansea again. Strac then had another effort saved by Vorm but we couldnt make it 3-0. Swansea never threatened at all in the second half and so the Blues ended the game as just the 3rd team to win at the Liberty Stadium.

My man of the match today was Steven Pienaar. The South African was quality today especially in the second half.

Match ratings;
Howard; 6 Didn't have much to do today
Baines; 8 Played brilliantly down the left and got a goal to top it off
Hibbert; 7 Brilliant defending again today by him
Jagielka; 8 Werent happy that Heitinga was dropped, but Jags played brilliantly
Distin; 7 Another class performance from the Frenchman
Pienaar; 10 The South African was absolutely brilliant!
Osman; 7 Werent in the game as much as the other midfielders but still played well
Gibson; 8 Good return from injuryfor him. Played well
Neville; 7 Surprised to see him involved today instead of Felli, but solid performance from Neville
Cahill; 7 Didnt play a lot of the second half but he was alright from what he did play
Jelavic; 9 Missed a good opportunity, but his all round performance was good and he got himslelf a goal
Fellaini; 9 When he come on, he was absolutely class as usual

Bring on Sunderland!!!

Free Coach Travel To Sunderland

Everton Football Club have made a fantastic gesture for the fans travelling to Sunderland next Tuesday night by offering them free coach travel to the Stadium of Light. The club have released a statement explaining how they understand the difficulties for fans travelling up North next week and so anyone that buys a ticket for the game is entitled to free official coach travel from the club.

Chief Executive Robert Elstone said: “We appreciate it is not always easy to get up and down the country for midweek fixtures, so we have tried to help out by organising coaches for fans planning to attend the game. We understand not everyone will be in a position to travel from Goodison but we want as many Evertonians as possible in the Stadium of Light to support David and the team, so hopefully many of our travelling supporters will be able to take advantage of this gesture.”

A fantastic gesture from the club!

Everton v Arsenal Team News

Everton face Arsenal tomorrow night at Goodison Park in a 8pm kick off. In a pre match press conference today, David Moyes told the media that he doesnt expect midfield trio Darron Gibson, Jack Rodwell and Seamus Coleman to make the game due to injury. Gibson has been out for a few weeks now and is expected to make a return against Swansea on Saturday but will not face Arsenal tomorrow. Whereas Rodwell and Coleman have picked up knocks in the last fixtures against Liverpool and Sunderland. Other than these absencees, Moyes has almost a full side to pick from including the return of Pienaar who missed out on Saturday due to being cup tied.

Everton Reserves 1-1 Wolves Reserves

Everton Reserves drew 1-1 with Wolves at Finch Farm today to extend their unbeaten run. The line up included Ireland International Shane Duffy, Apostolos Vellios, Jose Baxter and Connor McAleny. The Blue's are now eight games without defeat having not lost since November 2011.Ross Barkley was not included in the squad for the game.

Everton took the lead on 34 minutes after Vellios' effort was parried away by Wolves Keeper McCarey straight to the feet of Jon Lundstram who slotted the ball home to put the Blues one up.

But, just after the hour, Wolves equalised despite Everton making a bright start to the second half. A good tackle from Browning resulted in a loose ball falling straight to Kempton who scored the last goal of the game.

Heitinga; Future Captain?

A large number of Everton fans on twitter recently have been talking about the recent performances of John Heitinga. The Dutch international has been on spectacular form this year and personally, I believe he could be our player of the season. After a poor start to his Everton career in 2010, Heitinga has improved dramatically and some fans are calling for the captaincy to be given to him. His all round play has been brilliant this season and so I could see him doing a good job as the captain. Even the way he speaks after games is a confidence boost for fans so it must be having an effect on the players as well.

I spoke to a few Evertonians at the match on Saturday and they were criticising Phil Neville as captain and were confident that Johnny could do a better job. Its not Phil's ability to talk to the players that they were unhappy about. Its the fact that his play on the pitch isn't confident and doesn't have the spark that is needed from a captain. For example; there was a moment in the game when the ball dropped to Neville and all he had to do was play it out to the wing were Baines was waiting for it, but instead he decided to play the ball back towards goalkeeper Tim Howard. This negative play seemed to disappoint fans especially from the captain!

But, what do you think? Do you believe Heitinga could do a better job?

Sunderland Time Changed

Everton's FA Cup Quarter Final Replay against Sunderland on the 27th March was oringinally planned to kick off at 7:45pm. But, due to television rights, the game will now kick off at 8pm.

The Blue's drew 1-1 in the originally fixture after Sunderland took the lead with Bardsley, followed by a Tim Cahill equaliser. Despite dominating the game, the Blues couldnt take the lead and so the game finished 1-1.

Tickets for the fixture start at £20 for Adults and £10 for Over 65's and Under 16's. 

Liverpool in the Semi Finals

If Everton are to beat Sunderland in the FA Cup Quarter Final replay on the 27th March, the Blues will face Merseyside rivals Liverpool at Wembley. The draw for the Semi's took place today at 6pm and Everton were drawn against Liverpool. The other fixture drawn was Chelsea v Spurs/Bolton.

Everton need to overcome Sunderland first though at the Stadium of Light. The ticket information for this fixture is available to view on the Everton official site.

Everton 1-1 Sunderland

Everton have drawn 1-1 against Sunderland in the FA Cup Quarter Final today at Goodison Park.

Sunderland started as the brighter side in the first half and it looked as though Everton hadn't recovered from the Merseyside Derby loss on tuesday. And after a few good attacks and a long spell of pressure, they took the lead in the 11th minute from after a 25 yard shot from Bardsley flew past the Everton defence and found the bottom corner of Tim Howard's goal. Sunderland remained the better team until around the 20 minute mark when the Blues finally began to wake up. And in the 23rd minute, a cross by Baines was headed on by Jelavic to find the head of Tim Cahill who slotted the ball past Mignolet. Everton finally started to put Sunderland under a bit of pressure and almost took the lead when Drenthe's 25 yard free kick hit the top of the bar. Also, we weren't just playing against Sunderland, we had to compete with a poor poor referee. A blatant Penalty against Drenthe weren't given and in the second half there was multiple appeals that were just waved away. Not to mention the yellow cards handed out to the Everton players for basically doing nothing wrong. But, the half ended 1-1.

Everton come out in the second half the much better side. The Blues dominated the game throughout the half and Sunderland couldn't get close to the Everton box. But, we couldn't turn possession into attempts on goal. We almost took the lead when John Heitinga had his header brilliantly saved and Jelavic's rebound blocked by the Sunderland keeper. But, it wasn't to be. And so, the Blues need to travel up north to the Stadium Of Light to get the win which will take us to Wembley.

My man of the match today has to be Tim Cahill. He looked sharp today and got himself a goal. His passing was much better than what it has been recently and you could see how made up he was when he equalised for ye Blues.

Moyes Has No Regrets

David Moyes has told the media today that he has no regrets over his descision to field a weakened side against Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby. Everton went into the game on a 9 game unbeaten run and the confidence in the side as well as off the pitch was at a high. But, when the team was revealed an hour before the game, there was a feeling of shock and anger from the thousands of Everton fans watching the game live on Sky. For some reason that is still not apparent, Moyes chose to make six changes to the side that beat Tottenham in the earlier weekend. Why he did this I dont know. We knew he would make the excuse that he was resting the players for tomorrow, but Liverpool have a quarter final on Sunday and they didnt make such a stupid decision. And so, we went on to lose the game 3-0.

Today, Moyes still defends his decision to drop six starting 11 regulars despite losing such an important game 3-0. Hopefully, he will put them players back in the starting 11 tomorrow and we book our trip to wembley.

COYB!!!

Focus turns to Saturday

After an unbelievably bad performance on Tuesday, most Everton fans have turned their attention to the FA Cup Quarter Final against Sunderland. I couldn't write a match report of the game on Tuesday because I was so annoyed and just gutted! The only comment I have of the game is that Moyes let everyone down that night, from the 2000 Everton fans in the ground to the thousands watching a home.

Anyway, I've just about forgot about the other night now. Hopefully, on Saturday, we can book our place at Wembley for the semi final. But, it's not going to be easy. Sunderland are playing some good football right now with new manger Martin O'Neil so they wont be no push overs. With just Darron Gibson and Steven Pienaar out of the fixture, we have nearly a full squad to choose from. I just hope Moyes doesn't make the same mistake as he did the other day and mess around with a winning team!

Moyes' record against Sunderland is very impressive with 14 games played, 10 wins and 4 draws.

We're on the march......

Early Team News v Liverpool

Everton take on Liverpool at Anfield tomorrow night at 8pm.

The Blues have no new injury problems and still just Darron Gibson remains out. Steven Pienaar returns to the squad after he missed out on the Spurs game due to the South African being ineligible to play against his current club. But, other than Gibson, Everton have a full squad to choose from going into the famous Merseyside Derby.

My starting 11;

Howard
Hibbert
Baines
Distin
Heitinga
Drenthe
Pienaar
Osman
Fellaini
Cahill
Jelavic

COYB!!

Everton 1-0 Tottenham

Nikica Jelavic scored the only goal at Goodison today to earn the Blues a 1-0 win against Tottenham. The lineup raised a few eyebrows from the Evertonians as Denis was left out but Croatian International Nikica Jelavic filled in and showed why he was so popular at Rangers.

The blues were the better side in the first half right from the off and Seamus Coleman was the first to attempt a shot on goal on his return to the squad that went just wide of goal. Fellaini was next to come close with a half volley from a tight angle that was saved by the leg of Brad Friedel. But it was our new signing on his home debut Jelavic that broke the deadlock with a class volleyed finish into the bottom corner of the Park End goal.

In the second half, Tottenham really come at the Blues looking for an equaliser with Everton having just the one good chance when Leon Osman latched onto a Coleman pass but seen his shot saved by Friedel. Tottenham come close on a few occasions and ha a goal disallowed for offside. And when ex Everton man Louis Saha entered the action, he almost levelled the game with a shot from close range that struck the post. But, the Blues hung on and the game ended 1-0.

We are now only 2 points behind Liverpool and could see ourselves above them in the league if we win on Tuesday in the Merseyside Derby.

My man of the match for today has to be our new man Nikica Jelavic after an outstanding performance but I can't fault anyone today.

COYB!!!

Everton v Spurs

Everton face Tottenham Hostpur on Saturday at Goodison Park. The game kicks off at 17:30 and will be shown live on EPSN and we will be looking for revenge after the 2-0 defeat at White Hart Lane in January. The blues have this week welcomed the return of players such as Leon Osman, Seamus Coleman, Jack Rodwell and Phil Jagielka. Everton have been on good form recently without a loss in the last 8 games but I think there should be a few changes to the starting 11. Firstly, I don't think Phil Neville should be playing in midfield and the return of Leon Osman should see him replace the captain. Also, Nikica Jelavic looked sharp when he come on as a sub last week at QPR and so maybe Moyes should think about giving him a start with the Strac. As for the defence, I believe our defence is stronger right now without Phil Jagielka and if he returns into the starting 11, it could unsettle the team and effect our performances. Lastly, we will be without Steven Pienaar at the weekend due to him being on loan from Tottenham and we will still be without Darron Gibson.

My starting 11 would be; Howard, Hibbert, Distin, Heitinga, Drenthe, Cahill, Fellaini, Osman, Strac, Jelavic.

Nike Deal

According to a number websites including the official Radio City twitter account, it is understood that Everton have signed a 3 year deal with Nike. The massive sports manufacturer will make Everton kit for the next 3 seasons. The rumours have been circulating for weeks now over the Internet with the most recent rumour coming from a picture a Nike shirt with Chang advertised on the front. But the picture turned out to be a kit from another team sponsored by Chang. I've always admired Nike and the kits they make for the likes of Barcelona, United and Arsenal and it adds a bit of class to our club. The kit will most probably be sold in the thousands of Nike Stores located all over the world as well.

The deal will probably be confirmed by Everton very shortly.

Injury Boosts for Blues

Everton have been boosted this week by a number of players returning from injury. The likes of Osman, Rodwell, Coleman and Jagielka all featured in Everton's reserve game against Liverpool yesterday. Their return is just in time for a busy month for the Blues as we enter a hectic period including, Spurs, Liverpool, Sunderland, Arsenal and Swansea. With the Blues unbeaten in the past 8 games, we face Tottenham on Saturday without on loan Steven Pienaar and Darron Gibson. And then, it's of across the park to face Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby.

Also, Everton are pleased with the progress of Ross Barkley they have announced. The young lad hasn't seen much first team football this season after making a bright start.

Mini Derby 0-0

Everton Reserves faced Liverpool Reserves today at Goodison Park in the mini derby. Phil Jagielka was back in the squad and played along side Shane Duffy who was more than happy to play along side the England International and expressed so on his twitter account. The game finished 0-0 and featured such faces as Osman, Rodwell and Silva.

The Blues first team face Liverpool a week today at 8pm at Anfield.

QPR 1-1 EVERTON

The Blues travelled down south today and earned ourselves a point at Loftus Road. A really bright start from Everton seen Tim Cahill hit the bar and an all round good start. And on 35 minutes, Royston Drenthe hit a superb strike from 30 yards to find the bottom corner of the QPR goal. But, our celebrations were short lived as Bobby Zamora equalised with a header from class range after a free kick. Also, an unbelievable miss from Buzsacky which saw him hit the post from only a few yards out.

The second half was really poor from Everton's point of view. QPR dominated the game after the break and should of scored on a few occasions. Fellaini was played brilliant though and continues to show everyone why he's so highly rated from Everton. But, overall, a bad second half performance from the Blues especially Baines, who looked knackered after playing in midweek for Holland. What I don't understand is why Moyes took off our most attacking player in Drenthe and left on Neville who once again played really poor.

But, a point away from home for the Blues and hopefully we'll recover for the big game against Spurs next week.

Sunderland Fans Sell Out

Sunderland have today sold out all of their allocation at Goodison Park for the FA Cup Quarter Final on the 17th March. The blues take on the black cats for a chance of a semi final game at Wembley Stadium. It could be Everton's third visit to the New Wembley Stadium after getting to the FA Cup Final in 2009. Tickets for the game are already selling fast for Everton fans as well and so I would advise any fans to get theirs as soon as possible.

The game will be shown live on ITV1 on the 17th March at 12:45pm.

COYB!!!!!

Early Team News v QPR

Nikica Jelavic is back in the Everton squad for tomorrows trip down south to play QPR. The Croatian international played 45 minutes of their defeat against Sweden in midweek and is in contention to play tomorrow. He is most likely to start on the bench as Denis has been in good form recently.

Also, Moyes is to access the fitness of Leon Osman and Jack Rodwell as they return from injury. Hopefully, they'll be back in the squad at least for tomorrow.

And lastly, just incase you haven't seen it, this is Everton's 2012/13 season ticket handout with an absolutely genius quote;

Jelavic Back

Nikica Jelavic returned from injury last night to play in Croatia's 3-1 defeat to Sweden. The ex Rangers man has only featured once for the blues in our 1-1 draw with Wigan after sustaining a training injury in the following days. Hopefully, he'll be back for the game on Saturday against QPR.

Also, if you didnt watch it, both Leighton Baines and Johnny Heitinga featured in the England v Holland game at Wembley Stadium. The two Everton defenders put a good shift in and Baines got an assist for Gary Cahill's goal. The game ended 3-2 to Holland. Once the match had finished, Johnny Heitinga tweeted that he enjoyed playing at Wembley and hopes he'll be back there with Everton. What a legend!