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Robbery at the lane

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James Parkin
James Parkin

My match report from the Tottenham Hotspur FC vs Everton FC which took place on 9th Febuary 2014. Looking at Everton's performance and analysing the key decisions in the game.

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Robbery at the Lane? Apparently there have been reports of a robbery in the North London area as Tottenham stole all three points from the mighty blues this afternoon? So just how did this miscarriage of justice actually happen? Given that football is a game of opinion I thought Id throw mine into the mix to give my verdict on what happened today. Being positive theres not too many times in the 20 years that I have been supporting Everton where after a defeat I am still happy with the way we played. The effort the boys put in especially in the first half deserved better and more out of the game. Brief look at the Game itself Leon (the player that the fans love to hate for reasons I will never know but thats another issue) played well in the hole behind Stevie Naismith, Mirrallas looked threatening coming in from the right and Barry and McCarthy controlled the middle of the park. It was only the final ball and some of the play in and around the box which lacked that lethal cutting edge which let us down. But all in all things looked positive and we should have been ahead going in at the break. In the second half Tottenham did have more influence over the play and subsequently meant Everton didnt dominate the game as much as we did in the first half. Still the blues created numerous openings and got ourselves into threatening positions just lacking the composure and quality in the final third. So where did it all go wrong? Robertos Substitutions and Squad Choice One of Robertos best attributes this season has been his substitutions, the timing and positivity of his subs has been a breath of fresh air until today. I like many fans was shouting at the TV for the whole 6ft 8 inch centre forward but as revealed by Roberto after the game wasnt fit enough to be risked. Which asks the question why was Lacina in the squad for the game or is the thought If he is fit enough for the bench he is fit enough for the game not relevant anymore. Also a Penny for Vellioss thoughts right now? Back to todays substitutions Barkley for Pienaar really didnt work. Ross seems to be trying too hard at the moment meaning he seems to be restricting his natural flair and guile. The substitution seemed to disrupt the team and the flow in which we played in the first half. I personally would have tried Deulofeu or McGeady for Pienaar to try to open up the pitch further and stretch the play and take advantage of the joy we seemed to get down both flanks. Lack of Options Up front
One of the main factors for not winning the game today was the lack of quality up front, a lack of a focal point which in the end did cost us badly. At times we worked the ball into encouraging positions only to look up and have no real options up front. This isnt having a pop at Naismith I think he gives us a viable option up front he works hard and does try to turn defenders only he doesnt seem to have the presence to really bother premier league defences. If we look at our other major attacking option today Kevin Mirrallas whereas I did think Kev was a threat but at times his decision making was poor. Normally I like to encourage attackers to be greedy and selfish especially in front of goal. Today though there was times when he had the opportunity to play someone else in a point personified in the first half when he should have slid Naismith in. Defensive Naivety for the goal Now some may say it wasnt a free kick but the fact was that it was given the question is did we react well enough to the threat? Even though Spurs took the free kick quickly I was of the opinion you still needed to take the free kick quickly or not from where the foul was committed? Secondly its basic stuff but surely someone should have stood on the ball to make sure they couldnt take it quickly. Finally the last defensive moan but I know we were caught cold but as a defender you should face up to the ball and face the ball when defending. This may have put someone in a position to cut out the ball and prevent the goal. This maybe harsh and you do need to give it to Spurs the ball and the finish was very good. The Penalty I think we can all say that it was a penalty but in these incidents I like to look at why the referee decided not to give it. The only main reason I can think of is the direction of the way the ball moves when Capoue makes the tackle. From the referees position he couldnt be 100% certain that Capoue didnt infact get a touch on the ball. The direction that Capoue came into the challenge does match the direction in which the ball moves, making it look as so Capoue had been successful in the challenge. I believe if the ball moved straight instead of sideways then he would have given the penalty. The direction the ball takes has put doubt in his mind and if youre not 100% certain you cant give it. This being said as an Everton fan it was definitely a penalty and Clattenburg has robbed us again. All in all given the current lack of strikers I think we played very well and Evertonians should feel positive but against the better teams we desperately need a focal point and a presence up front.

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Robbery at the lane

  • 1. Robbery at the Lane? Apparently there have been reports of a robbery in the North London area as Tottenham stole all three points from the mighty blues this afternoon? So just how did this miscarriage of justice actually happen? Given that football is a game of opinion I thought Id throw mine into the mix to give my verdict on what happened today. Being positive theres not too many times in the 20 years that I have been supporting Everton where after a defeat I am still happy with the way we played. The effort the boys put in especially in the first half deserved better and more out of the game. Brief look at the Game itself Leon (the player that the fans love to hate for reasons I will never know but thats another issue) played well in the hole behind Stevie Naismith, Mirrallas looked threatening coming in from the right and Barry and McCarthy controlled the middle of the park. It was only the final ball and some of the play in and around the box which lacked that lethal cutting edge which let us down. But all in all things looked positive and we should have been ahead going in at the break. In the second half Tottenham did have more influence over the play and subsequently meant Everton didnt dominate the game as much as we did in the first half. Still the blues created numerous openings and got ourselves into threatening positions just lacking the composure and quality in the final third. So where did it all go wrong? Robertos Substitutions and Squad Choice One of Robertos best attributes this season has been his substitutions, the timing and positivity of his subs has been a breath of fresh air until today. I like many fans was shouting at the TV for the whole 6ft 8 inch centre forward but as revealed by Roberto after the game wasnt fit enough to be risked. Which asks the question why was Lacina in the squad for the game or is the thought If he is fit enough for the bench he is fit enough for the game not relevant anymore. Also a Penny for Vellioss thoughts right now? Back to todays substitutions Barkley for Pienaar really didnt work. Ross seems to be trying too hard at the moment meaning he seems to be restricting his natural flair and guile. The substitution seemed to disrupt the team and the flow in which we played in the first half. I personally would have tried Deulofeu or McGeady for Pienaar to try to open up the pitch further and stretch the play and take advantage of the joy we seemed to get down both flanks. Lack of Options Up front
  • 2. One of the main factors for not winning the game today was the lack of quality up front, a lack of a focal point which in the end did cost us badly. At times we worked the ball into encouraging positions only to look up and have no real options up front. This isnt having a pop at Naismith I think he gives us a viable option up front he works hard and does try to turn defenders only he doesnt seem to have the presence to really bother premier league defences. If we look at our other major attacking option today Kevin Mirrallas whereas I did think Kev was a threat but at times his decision making was poor. Normally I like to encourage attackers to be greedy and selfish especially in front of goal. Today though there was times when he had the opportunity to play someone else in a point personified in the first half when he should have slid Naismith in. Defensive Naivety for the goal Now some may say it wasnt a free kick but the fact was that it was given the question is did we react well enough to the threat? Even though Spurs took the free kick quickly I was of the opinion you still needed to take the free kick quickly or not from where the foul was committed? Secondly its basic stuff but surely someone should have stood on the ball to make sure they couldnt take it quickly. Finally the last defensive moan but I know we were caught cold but as a defender you should face up to the ball and face the ball when defending. This may have put someone in a position to cut out the ball and prevent the goal. This maybe harsh and you do need to give it to Spurs the ball and the finish was very good. The Penalty I think we can all say that it was a penalty but in these incidents I like to look at why the referee decided not to give it. The only main reason I can think of is the direction of the way the ball moves when Capoue makes the tackle. From the referees position he couldnt be 100% certain that Capoue didnt infact get a touch on the ball. The direction that Capoue came into the challenge does match the direction in which the ball moves, making it look as so Capoue had been successful in the challenge. I believe if the ball moved straight instead of sideways then he would have given the penalty. The direction the ball takes has put doubt in his mind and if youre not 100% certain you cant give it. This being said as an Everton fan it was definitely a penalty and Clattenburg has robbed us again. All in all given the current lack of strikers I think we played very well and Evertonians should feel positive but against the better teams we desperately need a focal point and a presence up front.