Everton 1-0 Stoke - Review First of all it was good to be back at Goodison Park ahead of the game at home to Stoke City. Being away from the old lady for that long makes you aesthetically appreciate the little things you miss; the fella next to you who offers you a Worthers Original every week or seeing the pensioner sat next to your brother return from the preseason camps in Tanzania with a story to tell.
But we aren’t here to discuss what we’ve missed; Everton are back, and first up was Stoke.
Stoke have developed since Tony Pulis brought them up in 2008 from a dirty, snide horrible ball playing team to a side that can knock the ball quite well across he park. Stoke always offer a threat with tall strikers and pacy wingers.
Stoke posed little threat on the day and had very little possession looked like a side that would have welcomed a draw although Everton didn’t threaten much besides the when Wayne Rooney leapt like a salmon and powered a header home in front of the Park End faithful. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was in an unfamiliar right wing back roll which before kick off a number of fans were unsure if he could perform there. For me, I felt he played well, got back and defended and of course came forward and whipped the cross in for Rooney’s goal before in the second half moving further forward to accommodate Cuco Martina, whose debut I felt was mixed.
This is because Martina at one point seemed the only player who would put a cross in, most of which looked threatening. However defensively, I felt he was error prone and blamed Michael Keane for a mistake he made which allowed a chance for Bojan.
Times in the first half we bossed possession yet I felt some players never had a touch till 25 minutes in. Davy Klaassen for one I feel will come good, however I thought he struggled to get involved in the game before being replaced by Tom Davies.
In contrast, Idrissa Gana Gueye, along with new boys Jordan Pickford and Michael Keane, played exceptionally well, the latter two being solid throughout. Pickford was forced into an unbelievable save at the last to deny Shaquiri whilst Gueye (My Man of the Match) does what he usually does; He is an engine in that midfield, doesn’t stop chasing down the ball if he doesn’t have it, can pick out a pass, and loves a tackle.
Special mention for Kurt Zouma who for Stoke was solid throughout and seemed to frustratingly stop every over the top ball to Sandro and DCL.
Back to Everton, we look forward to Hajduk Split at home on Thursday. Will Sigurdsson sign in time? Probably not and with Gareth Barry’s imminent arrival to West Brom we are down a midfielder. The fully fit Muhamed Besic has a point to prove to stake his claim for Barry’s place whilst James McCarthy, wherever he is, also offers competition for a holding midfielder spot.
So what do we know about our opposition on Thursday?
All due respect very little. Having knocked out Levski Sofia of Bulgaria out of the last round, Hajduk Split are a side that finished 3rd in the Croatian league and having looked on their Wikipedia page, one player's name was familiar; Marko Futacs; a player as a boy I had on my Match Attacks, after a spell in the English Premier league with Portsmouth. The Hungarian striker finds himself playing in Croatia after brief stints in Turkey and his homeland.
Nonetheless, what we know about Hajduk Split is irrelevant, they are a side very well respected in their league and Everton will be the most notable side they have faced in Europe since Inter Milan several years ago, with the away leg a sell out and Split taking 2000 fans on Thursday.
Aaron Milne