Everton at Home

[Steve_I]

disappointing in that we managed to nick a lead with 10 or so to go and then lost that lead but I think a pouint from everton is by no means a disaster.

Midway through first half, general comments where I was were along the lines of "I'd take 0-0 at the half"... until the last couple mins of that half of course when suddenly folk were saying "could do with it not being half time " as we suddenly looked a good threat. Second half felt less worrying and we started that well I feel. a few 'ifs' to debate but as a game 1-1 was a fair outcome imo. Just that losing the lead bit that gnaws at ones soul.


Certainly the best looking Prem team performance from opponents this season thus far I think.

[augie]

g88ner you indicated on sid's thread (which you naturally shut down ) that he should have kept the moaning to this thread as there was already plenty of it on here.......am I the only one who thinks that the moaning about today's game was rather muted ? From my own perspective I certainly didn't moan as much as usual mainly cos I recognised that today we faced a very good team led by a very good manager and even though I did expect us to win, a draw isn't the worst result and was as much as we deserved. What did surprise me though was how much they controlled the game - I expect a physical challenge but did not expect them to retain possession as well as they did even though Martinez is a football purist and the fact that they controlled most of the game should send alarm bells to a team about to face citeeh and the chavs

[g88ner]

g88ner you indicated on sid's thread (which you naturally shut down ) that he should have kept the moaning to this thread as there was already plenty of it on here.......am I the only one who thinks that the moaning about today's game was rather muted ? From my own perspective I certainly didn't moan as much as usual mainly cos I recognised that today we faced a very good team led by a very good manager and even though I did expect us to win, a draw isn't the worst result and was as much as we deserved. What did surprise me though was how much they controlled the game - I expect a physical challenge but did not expect them to retain possession as well as they did even though Martinez is a football purist and the fact that they controlled most of the game should send alarm bells to a team about to face citeeh and the chavs

hey, nothing wrong with moaning - there's certainly stuff to moan about! just not in a new thread.

And yes, it's been rather muted. Certainly compared to the United match.

[augie]

Disappointing.

For some reason we seem inhibited in the bigger games, and it's obviously a blow not to take 3pts here with chavs and citeh up next. Feels like a missed opportunity.

Giroud was quiet (but had little service) and Ramsey & Cazorla were poor. In fact Santi just hasn't looked himself all season... hopefully his form picks up with more games under his belt.

Frustrated but Everton played well and deserved a point. Could do with a decent result vs. chavs and/or citeh to get the momentum going again, as I fear 3 poor results in a row (in the league) could really dent belief in the players... and cause meltdown on here as you get the feeling many fans are just waiting to get their claws into the team again

But yet some get indignant when some of us question the ability of this team to clinch the deal/win trophies - it's time like this when the lack of bottle really shines through and that is most frustrating To me we play like a team that hasn't been down this road before and doesn't know how to react and that would be fair enough if we hadn't got as much experience in the team who really should know better

[Ryanswannell]

Was slightly disappointed to hear we conceded within the last 10 minutes, but a draw is by no means a disaster at all. We have still increased our lead (albeit by a little amount), I'm just a little disheartened that we didn't capitalize on the weekends results

[Midz]

Very disappointed with the result.

[g88ner]

Disappointing.

For some reason we seem inhibited in the bigger games, and it's obviously a blow not to take 3pts here with chavs and citeh up next. Feels like a missed opportunity.

Giroud was quiet (but had little service) and Ramsey & Cazorla were poor. In fact Santi just hasn't looked himself all season... hopefully his form picks up with more games under his belt.

Frustrated but Everton played well and deserved a point. Could do with a decent result vs. chavs and/or citeh to get the momentum going again, as I fear 3 poor results in a row (in the league) could really dent belief in the players... and cause meltdown on here as you get the feeling many fans are just waiting to get their claws into the team again

But yet some get indignant when some of us question the ability of this team to clinch the deal/win trophies - it's time like this when the lack of bottle really shines through and that is most frustrating To me we play like a team that hasn't been down this road before and doesn't know how to react and that would be fair enough if we hadn't got as much experience in the team who really should know better

I think we're making strides forward compared to where we were 2 years ago. 2013 has been a year of progress compared to the shit piles of 2012 and 2011.

We're far more consistent than in previous years and I don't think that gets the credit it deserves.

It's true that we're struggling to beat the top sides, but I guess that's the next step for this team. Overcome that hurdle and we can progress further. I think we'll need a world class striker tough. I like Giroud, but he's too one dimensional to be a consistent match winner.

I do think tactics are an issue, but I don't agree that we can't win anything again with Wenger. We were bloody superb under Wenger a decade ago, and I don't think out tactics were that great then either! - what we had was a team of experienced, talented footballers who knew what they needed to do. This team is slowly getting there... top class striker would drive this team forward. That's the pity about losing RVP

[kite]

re falcao i thought hollandes tax thing was going to hit footballers hard. i dont think falcao is at monaco longterm. ultimately he will move to a top Club once he has enough benjamins

Will hit most clubs but afair Monaco still don't have to pay taxes. And don't forget they have a sugar daddy. Paris have to pay 75% but they don't care. They just pay more because they don't care about money and I guess Monaco would do the same.

[Swifty]

I thought we were ok in this game. I think most underestimate how well Everton is travelling and they had the game in their hands for most of the first half. I thought we did well to assert our authority later. Giroud's late shot was a cracker with 2 inches the difference between a famous match winner and oblivion. Also, Ozil's goal - the everton player clipped Giroud as he was about to shoot and would have been a pen had we not scored. (Seriously think a lot of fans are unfair on Giroud!).
Noticed comments re Santi's form - clearly he's gone from playmaker and fulcrum to bit part player - people tend to rise to the expectations placed on them and the reverse also applies.

[spid]

Thought Everton were fantastic today. Arsenal were as well. Both teams went for it, balls out. They were the best team I've seen us play, apart from Dortmund.

It really is there for us. We have a serious squad of mainly interchangeable players. The back five are flying. Our midfield is the key. We have eight/nine top players for five positions. I dont think Ramsey is as good as his form suggests but he wont let us down. Would like more from Carzola.

Jack cant be happy by seeing Barkley playing so well today. Thats Jacks england spot.

Another striker is the key. We'd have the league won by Christmas if we had Suarez. I'd rather die than resign Van Prick, so who do we get?

Wenger needs to get this right before he signs a new contract.

[Theoperator]

Think we all are disappointed after the match, which we so nearly won

For me there were a lot of positives, it was fairly obvious that they went for us and would tire,

We managed to nullify them during this time though despite this strong push in the first half.

BFG and Kos again were excellent, Ozil was more prominent, all 3 subs at once was surprising for me but I think paid off, Though Arteta played well, and also most of the team have has some sort of rest in the last couple of matches.

What I just cant get though is a few people just waiting to swoop on a player for one bad position Gibbs is very young for a full back, his positioning will come, I am sure. he attacks well, has good pace and has really come on well this season and for me put in a solid performance. Jenks, I still think has a future, but again needs more time. It wasnt just Giroud with an air shot, Flamoni could easily have scored in the last minute but did the same...

Just cos he is a Barca loanee dosnt make the scorer any less good- Seems to have been a canny loan signing by Martinez. would we say the same about Rambo or Wilshire when loaned? He hit the ball like a rocket, Gibbs should have had the confidence to attack him,
But will our moaning at Gibbs give him that confidence?
Will our expecting a collapse at any time give the team confidence?
Will expecting us to capitulate to The Chavs and Citeh give our team confidence?
Will slagging the player of the year last year (Santi) who has just come back from injury give him confidence?
Will our continual request for a "better" striker" give Giroud confidence (I know we do need some reasonable back up there of course)?
Sure not all is 100% rosy, but some of us seem to see no roses at all
EVERY year I start off hoping, to fuck we can win the league,AND believing we can as well (for a few matches at least ...) nothing in this match honestly stopped that belief. I would be rather surprised if Everton didnt finish in the top 4 this season, The 4th spot is up for grabs, cant see Manure Scum or the Dippers getting it over Everton, who fully disserve it, they surely show that stability and not throwing money around for the sake of it, combined with a super acadamy/youth culture is a good start to success.. Course theres plenty of matches to come but at the moment they are up there.

[wibble]

[quote="northbank123]he created something almost out of nothing. he he almost bailed us out. and you don't know if Ozil didn't shout 'mine' or 'leave it.[/quote]

Had ozil shouted either of those things it would've been a free kick to everton[/size][/quote]

When you're playing football for hours every day I imagine players use another term as second nature.

At my old club (and other teams in the league) everybody shouted "Jacks it" or "Jacks" when they wanted somebody to dummy it or let it run, don't know if this is a real 'thing' or just a weird thing we did [/quote]

That could get confusing if shouting for Wilshere to leave the ball!

[dPmunky]

Martinez is a football purist and the fact that they controlled most of the game should send alarm bells to a team about to face citeeh and the chavs

do you think they controlled the game? to me it looked as if our boys were instructed to let them have it and come at us. every time they were in possesion i saw us let them handle it, unlike most of the rest of our performances where we press and almost like dogs, attack them in packs, my 2 cents anyway

i'll take the point but just feel we missed an opportunity to really stand out.

[DB10GOONER]

Disappointed to let in a late sucker punch equaliser but have to say Everton were very good. Away from home second game running after giving everything to beat the filth last week? Have to hand it to them they deserved a draw.

But we have to learn to win these games. One nil with a few minutes left? Champions and anyone even looking at being champions grind out that last 10 minutes and get the win. We don't/can't do that often enough.

Thought Everton were very good first half but some of that was down to us showing them way too much respect (like we did with the filth at old shatford). Gibbs was poor for their goal. That's the second or third time he has been in that position and either froze or turned his back. Get out and throw yourself at it you fucking mong, put your body on the line! In general I really don't rate Gibbs beyond average. We need better at LB.

Thought Arteta was a bit scruffy too. I've been one of his biggest fans in the DM role but he wasn't great yesterday, maybe down to playing against his old club.

Thought Mert and Kos were great to withstand the pressure in the first half. And Giroud worked his socks off. He linked up well and held up the ball and laid it off well but ultimately he had very poor service from our midfield. Great effort for a late near-winner too. But let's be honest he is not a top top quality striker. We still need one.

Ramsey and Santi were rubbish for large parts of it. Ramsey seemed to be slipping back into his form of the last two years, knowing what he wants to do with the ball but losing concentration and then underhitting or miskicking it. Hopefully it was just a bad day at the office for him.

I said on here two years ago that I'd love Martinez to replace Arsene as manager and only a couple of people agreed. I still stand by that. He is an intelligent pragmatic manager that plays the right way but also makes the right decisions and understands tactics.

[Theoperator]

Martinez is not coming



Good point about the killer instinct- its not quite there yet- its the same with the goals, we should have shut down Saints Cardiff MArseille very early, but the second goals took far to long to come.