No press conference this lunchtime so I guess Jol is waiting for a fitness test on Berba, possibly Bairdinho also. If they are both okay, I reckon the only selection choice is whether to play Hugo or Kaca on the left. I'd go for - ..............Schwarzer........... ..Riether..Hughes..Hangeland..Riise.. ..........Diarra....Baird... ....Duff.......Ruiz......Kaca... ............Berbatov...... With Dejagah coming on in the second half for Damien. If Berba is not fit, I'd go for Petric to replace him in preference to Hugo and if Chrissy Baird is out, Kara (to be subbed when he tires by Sidwell) rather than Richardson. My rationale in leaving Hugo and Richardson out, is that they've had a decent innings and not delivered so it's time to give the others a chance.
I'd have no problem with that but Jol seems to really like Hugo. He has mentioned on several occasions as to how important a player he is, so really cannot see him being dropped, even though I agree he should be.
Jol stated in an interview this week that he sees both Ruiz and Berba as playing off the striker. That makes me think that we're going to see Petric/Hugo up front with Berba behind and maybe Ruiz out on the left.
In his weekly internal interview Jol has had a wee go at Schwarzer (for the goals against Southampton and Reading) and sung the praises of Bryan (and Petric). The good news is that Chrissy Baird is fit and by the sound of it, Berbatov as well. Here is the full interview by Sarah Brookes on video - http://www.fulhamfc.com/news/2012/november/02/manager-video
MOTD's Martin Fisher on BBC live text Come off it, if we win they'll be saying how Everton were rubbish/robbed, and if we lose they'll be saying how Everton are brilliant! They might mention that Berbatov was on the pitch, and that'll be the extent of our 'analysis'!
Schwarzer, Riether, Hughes, Hangeland, Riise, Duff, Diarra, Baird, Kacaniklic, Ruiz, Berbatov Thankfully, C58 was spot on. Is this currently our best XI? I think it might be. Lister isn't even on the bench, which is surprising but (Moves Like) Dejagah is.
Not the best first 45 minutes. Everton been well on top, but as we all know, we are a second half team!
Deary me, outplayed for the second half (understatement), Everton swamped us. Still, nice to be on the positive end of a late goal for once!
Please Martin lets not hear and read that you are after every c/f that plays football. Jan 2 quality defenders required.
I would rather have 1 quality midfielder (a quality defender would be a plus too). Time and again we surrendered the ball in midfield. We were physically bullied all over the pitch and gave up possession far too easily.
No panic buttons being pressed here, that was Everton's best performance this season and we were incredibly below par, so escaping with a point is a positive result. I think January might be the time to cash in on Brede and look for a replacement (Douglas) I've got no gripes with our full backs but Aaron and Brede have not been anywhere near their best this season. Strikers aren't needed and would most likely take up a significant chunk of our transfer budget.
Man United might argue about Everton's best performance of the season, Bandit. You're right about the defence though - it's nice not to be worrying about full backs. If only Brede and Aaron could regain their old form, or a new partnership emerge, we'll be well set. I'm not sure about a new signing though. It could have the effect of blocking Dan Burn's progress. It all depends on how quickly Jol thinks he can come through. If Jol still has confidence in Rodallega, then we don't need a new striker, as you say.
What a beauty of a pass from Riether for the equaliser. He was quite outstanding throughout the game. Other than that, the phrases which come to mind are 'The Great Escape' or 'You Lucky People'. Everton came with a game plan and we did nothing to disrupt them. As Surlyc says we let them bully us in the middle, and also gave them a free reign to get crosses in (exactly as Jol said they would) yet we made little attempt to stop them, especially down their right side. Moyes also clearly told them to sit on our backs when Schwartzer had the ball, forcing him to kick and I'm afraid his ditribution was again terrible (I stopped counting but at best 1 in 4 of his 'punts' gave our players any chance). That said, but for Schwarzer's saves we would have been long gone before Riether and Sidwell's little gem. Credit to Jol for the substitutions, they all made some difference and Dejagah was a revelation. Probably best to leave it at that and be grateful for the point.
With the CB conundrum (love that word), Hughes is 33 so he won't be around much longer. Even if Burn can come into the squad now, we'll still need another if Brede leaves, as it doesn't look like Senderos will be about any time soon.
I'm only going on what their captain Phil Neville posted on Twitter earlier. He called it their best performance. I'm not sure many FFC fans or even Jol himself would be willing to replace Hangeland with Burn mid-way through a PL season. He's shown with Frei and Kaca that he's willing to give youth a chance, but not a prolonged run in the first team just yet.
