Teams in
What didn't come as too much of a surprise was the way that, despite all of the possession Everton had, we just couldn't finish them off. It's no secret that goal scoring has been our biggest problem this season, but it really was thrown into stark focus on Saturday as
And it's no coincidence that our recent run of poor results has coincided with James Beattie's alarming dip in form. When things were going well, Beattie was the focal point of the side. Even when he didn't score he would set them up for others and generally make life hard for opposition defenders. But he seems to have reverted back to the form he was showing when he first signed, and so have the team.
He did actually score on Saturday, knocking in the rebound after Maik Taylor could only parry Leon Osman's long shot, but the linesman ruled it offside. But, at the risk of sounding all a bit Mourinho, was it actually offside?
He was definitely in an offside position as the shot was struck, but he wasn't interfering with play as the ball was not going anywhere near him. So, when the ball was pushed back out by the ‘keeper, it must have been in that magic ‘second phase' of play. As the ball was now was moving away from the goal and was last touched by an opposition player, he couldn't be offside. 1-0 Everton! Gerrin there!
But such rules only apply to that shower across the park so 0-0 it was.
And don't you just wish we could return to the days when the offside rule could be explained down the pub with two pint glasses and a packet of ready salted?!
Basically, the only things worth noting about the game are as follows:
Leon Osman hit a mad volley from 25 yards out and Maik Taylor did well to push it over.
Andy van der Meyde was back in the side. At times his foot was like a pitching wedge but at other times it was more like a door wedge!
Gary Naysmith had a diving header that
Cahill got injured and was replaced by Kilbane at half time.
It turns out that Cahill badly jarred his knee and that could well have been his last game of the season...what do you mean it'll be his last ever in an Everton shirt?! You cynics!
Nicky Butt nearly headed a belter of an own goal.
Maik Taylor also saved a shot from David Weir after he connected with a
McFadden corner at the far post.
The team was booed off at the end, which was probably a little harsh. Granted, it wasn't very good, but it didn't really warrant any booing!
They'd better beat