Lee Carsley: Everton FC need to develop a Plan BBlues need to find another way of breaking the opposition down
The Premier League is even stronger this year and we’ve already seen that after the initial change in style under the new manager last term, teams now very much know what to expect when they’re facing the Blues.
We’ve done well so far in Europe where we’re still something of a surprise package for the teams that we’ve played but so far we’ve only won one of our Sunday games after a Europa League fixture (at Burnley) and sometimes things have been a bit flat after we’ve done well in midweek.
Our players enjoy taking part in the European matches and quite rightly they’re looking forward to playing in every game but they need to be a bit more effective in some of these domestic matches.
The way Sunderland have been performing of late, conceding a lot of goals I thought there was potential to go and get a victory up there but in the end it was a decent point after going behind.
There’s a lot of camaraderie in Gus Poyet’s side and while we’ve got a good record on that ground it suddenly becomes a tricky place to go to when they score first and and their big crowd starts to get behind them.
Unique style of Barry will be difficult to replaceThe most disappointing things to come out of the game at Sunderland were the injuries.
Gareth Barry is going to be a big miss for the Blues because of the way he protects our defence by operating in front of the back four.
James McCarthy has got a lot of praise for his performances this season, and rightly so, but it’s very much been a partnership between himself and Barry and if you look at how they both play, their differing skills complement each other and we’ve always looked a weaker side when one of them has not been playing.
What this situation does do is present Darron Gibson with the chance to stake his claim for a regular first team place again.
He’s quite different to both Barry and McCarthy in that he’s more of a goal threat and possesses a fantastic shot.
Under the previous regime he was playing most weeks but he obviously got a nasty injury himself a year ago.
Gibson was playing good football before he was sidelined and all he needs now is a run of games to get himself up and running again.
Having played in that position myself I know how difficult it can be to come in every now and then and try and make an impact. But if you’ve got possession of the shirt then it’s easier to find your rhythm.
Moyes can get back to basics with reign in SpainGoing to Real Sociedad in the Spanish League represents a fresh start for my old boss David Moyes.
I said last week how Steve McClaren went to Europe to reinvent himself after what happened to him with the England job and while David’s situation is not as extreme as that, there has been a bit of a shadow hanging over him after his time at Manchester United.
However, given the wobbly start United have made under Louis van Gaal this season despite all the money they’ve spent, that shadow has probably got significantly smaller as people realise just what a tough rebuilding job that is at Old Trafford.
This new role will give David the chance to show how good his coaching skills are.
He was always a very good coach at Everton but he very much managed the club too while he was here.
There was so much going on at United though that maybe the coaching had to take a back seat.
The lads in the Sociedad squad will enjoy his sessions. He’s very organised and expects high standards from his players.
He wants them to be committed at all times and he expects them to listen to what he’s saying.
He makes sure his squads take pride in their work and that will go down well there as Spanish players are very structured.
Hindsight a wonderful thing for JeffersHindsight is a wonderful thing and after returning to Everton to do some coaching, Francis Jeffers has admitted he’d have probably been better off staying with the Blues at the start of his career.
Most players end up regretting leaving Goodison but back when Franny joined Arsenal, Everton were in quite a different financial position than they are now.
He came back on loan when I was there and was always great around the training ground and at heart he’s always been an Evertonian.
