Agree with this but Fernandes also gave the ball away really dangerously a couple of times. I think the difference is that he is trying to be more proactive and so it increases the risk
I did t see that for some reason Maybe the general meh of our performance had got to me? Still think he’s going to be good for us anyway
Loved Lallana’s control from that lofted clearance to our back line it was over his shoulder he was moving and he just stopped it on his toe
Highlights: It is worth mentioning the great cross from Charlie and great header from THB for our goal and rarely seen 6 such good pens with no dodgy ones and the Macca save (I’m sure I e never seen Macca save one before)
Some (very tired) thoughts on last night. I got tickets to this one as I've never been to Goodison and realised this would probably be the last ever time. Got to Liverpool easily enough and was able to use one of those parking apps where you rent someone's driveway less than a 2 minute walk to the ground. The game itself was genuinely one of the most boring games I've watched. Both teams simply aren't very good. Granted this was a Saints B team vs an Everton one but there was very little quality. I was impressed that Everton sold out their tickets but this was one of the worst atmospheres, felt worse than a pre season friendly. Some seriously ****ing odd behaviour in the crowd. 4 x Skates thought it would be a brilliant idea to wear their Pompey shirts and bring their Pompey flag and sit right on the corner as close to us as possible. Now these weren't Everton fans who were showing a top in the really odd fashion which seems to be creeping in, but a fully grown bloke and 3 women (either wife or sister, but being Pompey fans probably both) Obviously this didn't go down well with the majority of our lot but some of the behaviour and responses from our fans was unbelievably embarrassing. A bloke in his late 30s was having a ****ing full tantrum, red in the face, screaming and being a massive cock which resulted in him trying to fight the stewards surrounded by his teenage cronies. If anyone knows him please pass on from me that he's an unbelievable pussy because his bottle went when the bigger stewards turned up. He should genuinely be mortified by his behaviour but I very much doubt he will. Our away "fans" in general are starting to irk me a bit. Constant ****ing singing about libraries. Well St Mary’s isn't much better at times and last night our atmosphere was pretty poor. It's really boring for the same nonsense to be sung everywhere. Some really poor stand our players from last night were BBD (looked league one standard) and unfortunately Armstrong. A game to forget for both of them. Lucky to go through really, nothing in it, and a really could have gone either way. Due to some genius putting road works all the bloody way home didn't get in until 0330. Mega. Oh well in to that hat for the next round. Spurs away please football gods.
After years of watching the likes of Sulemana keep checking back rather than run directly at the opponent, it makes me appreciate just how fearless and confident Dibling is in his own ability. He really does remind me of a young Jack Grealish (and not because of the socks/shin pads either!) Martin is keen to minimise the pressure and expectation on him but it's really hard to not expect something good from him whenever he has the ball. I haven't been this excited about an academy player since Gareth Bale. The next test for him is when teams start doubling up on him but in theory, this should create space for someone else to exploit.
He`s like Grealish because his close control is so good his torso is over the ball when he runs - It`s difficult to get the ball off him without drawing a foul.
Good effort mate making the trek for that bollocks. Was noticeable through the TV just how quiet the ground was and thought our fans were poor too. Our away support has steadily been getting worse for a while now noise wise. Don't understand why these people go.
Update. Police were called to Everton’s training ground after a passerby witnessed 5 of their players playing football with a hedgehog. On arrival the police decided not to take any further action because the hedgehog was 3-0 up.
Can tell you've not been to an away game recently lol. I'd say about 50-60% of the crowd aged 16-55 are on the packet. I actually think it's part of the problem. People too busy chewing their faces and clucking for a line to actually engage in the match.
Standing around trying to remember who was Aston Villa’s top scorer in the 2002 season for some football trivia sounds better than actually watching Saints anyway
The positives for me were Fernandes, Lallana, Dibling (again), THB and Macca. I know Fernandes lost the ball a few times but he made an instant impact with his energy and desire to move the ball forward or sideways into central (shooting) positions just outside the Everton box. THB was improved from other games this season and Macca made some great saves. Negatives are the lack of pace in our midfield and back line. Once a player gets past them we struggle to get back and challenge, unless the opponent takes a bad touch. Also when we are playing out, it’s frustrating to watch a player NOT reposition himself when the pass to him gets shutdown. It happened a couple times last night and, iirc, an Everton player shut off the route to Aribo and instead of moving 5 yards to his left to reopen an opportunity for a pass he stayed where he was. They need to get tuition in geometry.
