Can you switch Baines and Pienaar to the right so they come up against Shaw. He has been superb for us and kept Hazard quiet for most of the match on Wednesday.
When he's played in his best position (Behind the striker) he has torn teams apart, on the wing though he is largely ineffective. I think Pochettino will get the best out of Lallana & Ramirez.
It hasn't helped that he was played out of position at times by Adkins but his quality is there for all to see. If you give him space in the middle of the park he will be very very dangerous.
Good job you tied that lad down to a long term deal, as I know that the world & his wife where looking at him. He'll probably be facing big Anichebe tonight.
The most impressive thing about Shaw is nothing fazes him. He is going to be England's first choice LB once Cole and Baines are past it. He got thrown in the deep end, when we were struggling in the Premier League and he has been fantastic. He is very strong for his size and his age, so does not get bullied off the ball and is starting to be very effective going forward as well.
A mate of mine is a scout, he mentioned him to me a while back & said he thought he was going to be special. Not seen the lad myself, so looking forward to seeing him tonight.
That's fair enough, but apart from the media, what facts do you know about our club? It's like me saying Slagging Bill Kenwright off for selling Wayne Rooney. I know little about your club off the pitch apart from when they broke a 14 year olds heart (even that was on the pitch)... Still hate Adrian Heath now. Ps. Love your ID/name thingy
Why is it a shocking decision. Unless you have sat down with our chairman and our previous manager, you won't know all the facts. Your only info will be taken from media sources who are trying to sell papers, advertising space or get you to watch their show. You'll be quoting Paul Merson and Le Tiss next.
I know enough to have an opinion mate, I thought Adkins looked highly likely to fall on his sword early season (which would have been harsh anyway, but it happens regularly with promoted sides), but I was impressed with how he'd appeared to turn it round. The result at Chelsea showed that he'd instilled heart & belief in to his side, as many would have folded at 2-0. I didn't have you amongst the sides I thought would go down & that in itself should be the goal for any promoted side in their first season. p.s. Kenwright is a tosser, so you'd be right to call him
I don't have to sit down with anyone to know the simple facts. The league tables & stats are there for all to see, the media has **** all to do with having an informed opinion on a football issue, so don't be so dismissive.
I'm surprised how confident some here seem to be. I understand you're at home but we are the second hardest team to beat in the league this season and no team has put more than 2 past us this year. I'm nervous ahead of it like because it could be a bit of a slip up and we really need the three points to keep on the hunt for fourth and stay away from our less than loveable neighbours. Hoping Mirallas gets some game time tonight, he's been injured for a while and he's a top class player. If not our XI will be... ---------------------------Howard---------------------- -----Coleman-----Jagielka----Distin-----Baines------ ------------------Neville-------Osman----------------- ---------Anichebe-------Fellaini-------Pienaar-------- ------------------------Jelavic-------------------------- The problems we've had with that team is that Anichebe seems to spend more time alongside Jelavic than e right hand side which means often Coleman is left to do everything on his own but hopefully Anichebe is a bit more disciplined tonight. The biggest danger is from Baines and Pienaar, probably the most lethal partnership down the left in the league. Fellaini is an obvious danger too. Osman some times can produce a bit of magic but on the other hand he can become anonymous in matches.
The only thing I'm confident on is that Saints will give you a good match. All 3 results are possible but I'm thinking a 1-1 draw or a 2-1 Everton win. In a way the pressure is off the players a bit because we will be 3 points off the relegation zone even if we lose tonight and all the media attention will be on Pochettino and the crowd.
Guys let's keep this on topic, there are lots of other threads for discussing the rights and wrongs of the Adkins dismissal. Couple of tit-bits for you, Forren says he's not playing tonight, I guess because he's not fit (the Norwegian league finished in November), and this quote from an Everton fan in response to Sky reporter asking why on earth he's going all the way to Southampton on a Monday night in this weather made me laugh: "That's down to you lot, isn't it? It should be on a Saturday afternoon"
That's brilliant. Flipping Sky. For what it's worth, I think Everton should win on paper, but I've got a good feeling for some reason. Think we will be really up for it tonight
Tragically I'm at a parents evening tonight so will miss most of the first half. Question is will I be able to resist hitting the fast forward on Sky + when I get back?
Cheers lamballana, we got here eventually! Just in our hotel piling some ale in then heading for a Chinese before the match. I agree with whoever said that the draw was a likely result but I worry about the crowd's reaction to us perhaps going behind. Always confident though, too hard to call :-/ Welcoming the new gaffer is important, let's give NC the benefit of the doubt, get behind the team and manager and rouse our team to a massive win. One thing my brother said to me that made sense was that Cortese had zero sentiments for anybody and in a ruthless way this could prove yet again to be a good thing. We'll see. Let's the good times roll
Jay Rod and Steve Davis swapped for Gaston and Rickie tonight. So.... Boruc; Clyne, Yoshida, Hooiveld, Shaw; Cork, Schneiderlin; Puncheon, Gaston, Guly; Lambert. Martin on bench. Then on Tuesday off to Malta until Saturday.
It's impossible, the urge to hit fast forwards when the ball goes dead is too much temptation for any man
