Premier League Match 23 - Southampton 2 Everton 1

Nathan Redmond When He Gets Credited With the 2nd Goal

The next three home games are Everton, Crystal Palace and Cardiff. In my opinion we need seven points out of the nine and today’s game on paper, is the most difficult. In the 80s and 90s, Everton were a team that we never ever got a result against but we’ve done ok in more recent times especially at home.  They of course recently had the big cash injection from a Super-rich owner and this affected us when Ronald Koeman left us two and a half years ago.  Despite all the cash, they really haven’t improved that much. They have a decent squad on paper and they really should be challenging the top six but something really doesn’t quite work. The money spent is sure to put pressure on the manager Marco Silva at some point as these super rich owners tend to demand super quick results.

They do have Gylfi Sigurdsson and he will score today because he always fucking does against us. I think he would find a way to score even if he was substitute and didn’t get on. He, like Olivier Giroud is just one of those players where are you fucking know it’s going to happen at some point. The rest of their attacking players don’t actually scare me that much with Richarlison playing as a central striker these days which doesn’t really suit him. He is playing there because Cenk Tosun is crap and Theo Wolcott has not really done anything apart from predictably, get injured. Lucas Digne at left back seems to be a decent player, finally replacing Leighton Baines. Currently residing in the ‘where are they now’ file is Morgan Schneiderlin who might be injured or he might not be. They don’t rate him very much which is a real shame as he was a great player a few years ago when he played in red and white stripes. Another cautionary tale but one with a large bank balance.

Team selection today holds few surprises. It looks like it’s 5-3-2 instead of 5-2-3 with Armstrong left out and JWP taking his place alongside the returning Hojbjerg and Romeu. Targett and Valery once again are the full-backs and Danny Ings returns in place of Shane Long fter he pick up a knock against Derby. Shane is on the bench and the other striker on there is Sam Gallagher, preferred to the available again Charlie Austin who has probably spent his two weeks off on the beer and kebabs.

The opening sees Everton have most of the ball but they’re not doing anything with it as our pressing game stops them making any yardage.  The first real chance comes on 15 minutes when we were in a corner which JWP whips in from the left and it’s met by Ings with a flick header but Shorty Pickford gets down well and uses the bounce of the ball to push it away. There has to be some advantages of being a stumpy little midget in goal.

Quite out of character with the rest of their play, Everton produce a great one touch move with Sigurdsson (who hasn’t scored yet) finding Bernard and his excellent touch is hit goalwards by Lookman but we have a new hero in our defence and Bednarek has covered across and throws himself in the way.

Bednarek is next seen in a creative role as Gomes presents him with the ball on the edge of our own penalty area and he strolls forward before chipping a ball over the defence and Ings smashes it first time but Pickford again shows the agility, which comes with being a short arse and parries it away.

Everton are still having most of the possession but when we get it, we break forward quickly as some quick passing in midfield sees Hojbjerg put Redmond through and he runs on, slips the ball past the dwarf but it hits the outside of the post and goes out for a goal kick.

When Everton try and play out, it always breaks down when Michael Keane gets the ball under any sort of pressure from the forwards.  He just panics and either wellies it or passes it out of play like he meant to. We nick it again in their half and the ball breaks to Ings who runs diagonally straight towards the goal, bundling past three players before Gomes gets a toe in and smacks it onto his own post. The rebound falls to Coleman who just smashes it anywhere, narrowly missing crashing the ball into his stumpy little goalkeeper and into his own net.

Just before half-time, Matt Targett manages to injure himself and is replaced with Cedric. Half-time and as luck would have it, when I’m on my way out to the concourse, I see my Everton supporting mate who basically tells me that Everton are fucking shit and there is only one team going to win this. I hope he’s right.

Everton actually start the second-half okay with Digne getting down the left wing and putting over across which Sigurdsson (who hasn’t scored yet) heads goalwards for McCarthy to make a fairly comfortable save.  Our next attack is a good one as Cedric’s chip forward is headed out by Zouma but not very far and JWP accelerates away with the ball. With no tackle in coming and Digne backing off, JWP takes aim and smashes the ball past the short one from 20 yards. Brilliant hit. Get in!!!

A few minutes later, Everton managed to score the own goal they always seem to contribute when they come down here as Redmond runs at them again causing panic and Digne caps a great few minutes by winning the tackle and poking it past the angry dwarf from 25 yards, all the way along the ground. Maybe if he’d been taller, he might have reached it but who cares, 2-0.

Another break when we managed to nick the ball high up and we win a corner. Over it comes from JWP and there is there, unmarked is Stephens, 6 yards out. He thumps the header downwards and 6 inches the wrong side of the post. Bollocks.

There is a great chance to wrap it all up with Romeu again breaking well from midfield and via Armstrong and JWP the ball arrives with Shane Long on the volley. I am not confident. Needless to say he doesn’t hit it properly and it bobbles into the ground, allowing Lofty to pull off a ‘one for the cameras’ save. All this happened whilst Kurt Zouma was lying on the ground pretending to be injured.

Nothing is ever easy is it? We could’ve had a third goal to put it to bed but no. There is some head tennis in our box and Zouma has a swing and it gets blocked but breaks for Sigurdsson to pass it into the net (he has scored now). What a fucking surprise.

Four minutes are signalled by the fourth official and Saints go into game management mode with Armstrong and Hojbjerg trying to keep the ball in the corner. There are clearly two hands in Armstrong’s back and he goes over but the referee seems to be pissed off with our tactics so we give the free-kick the wrong way and lets Everton attack again. Ah, this is the way it’s going to be is it? Shane Long gets injured with a clash of heads and the referee totally ignores him because Everton are attacking and he doesn’t want to stop it. Fucking wanker.  Eventually does stop it after we’ve cleared the ball but the game goes on and on and on. We are on the ninth minute of added time when Everton win a corner. Bednarek heads out and finally the fucking twat blows his whistle.

Yaaaaaaaaassssssss! Thank fuck for that. How can there be four minutes extra signalled and then you play nine? That means that the initial four minutes was four minutes of time wasting so we had to play another five. Absolutely fucking ridiculous. It really would’ve been too much to bear if Everton grabbed an equaliser. We totally deserved to win a game from the first whistle to the last and in the context of the season, it is an absolutely huge win. As the final whistle goes I can see Bednarek busting out some impromptu celebration “I’ve just won the World Cup” moves, Hojbjerg the same, Vestergaard the same and we haven’t even got to the main man yet. A quick handshake with Marco Overrated Silva and Ralph is on the pitch again giving it the big one. What a man!

It’s quite ridiculous. He’s dispensed with some deadwood and by trusting the youth, has freshened up the squad without signing a single player. Players are now playing to a much higher level than before he arrived and we look more committed, more organised and we have academy players all over the match day 18. The promotion of these academy players has created genuine competition for places. Isn’t it notable that Cedric has been playing a lot better recently since he has not been an automatic choice? He knows that he is behind Valery in the pecking order now for right back so he has to play well in every game wherever he ends up on the pitch, in order to have a chance of becoming a regular again. Lemina is now behind JWP, Hojbjerg and Romeu for a central midfield spot so he cannot afford to have any of those performances where he looks like he just can’t be bothered. Competition for places and knowing that if you play well, you’ll be rewarded.  A recipe for making players play better? Who knew?

Again today there wasn’t anyone who had a bad game. A few mistakes here and there but the overall level that everyone is playing at is very high. A few standouts… JWP is almost making himself undroppable which is not something you could ever have said before and the back three have turned into a proper unit that is hard to breach - I mean, we will forgive them the Sigurdsson goal as we could build a brick wall across the entire fucking goal and he’d still find a way to score against us.

Up the league we go with the next three games being Crystal Palace, Burnley and Cardiff we have a chance to put some real distance between us and the bottom three. And the last three managers we may have been worried about complacency but I don’t think we’re going to get any of that. With a 10 day break before the next game it could be a time to bring a player in or for more deadwood to leave.

It is also plenty of time for Bertrand, Lemina and Targett to get fit again. The good thing is is that none of those players will be sure of starting the next game. So, a breather for 10 days before we play Crystal Palace at home. I reckon Ralph might give them a couple of hours off in those 10 days but you can be sure that we will be putting in a performance when the Eagles come to town.