Our recent run of tough games has really held us back from moving up the league table. Like the start of the season, we can blame our poor form on the fact we’ve been playing against the ‘big’ teams in the league. However, we must now take the next few games as they come and try to start picking up points like we were in December.
The way we played in the first half against Spurs on Saturday made the eventual 4-0 loss all the more frustrating. We looked as if we were holding our own and despite being 1-0 going into the break, there were positives we could take from the performance. However, conceding the second goal so soon into the second half, almost identical to the reverse game at Goodison in September, really knocked us for six. From this point onwards, Spurs just showed their class and dominated the game, proving too good for us as they scored two more before the final whistle.
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One positive we can take from the game is that new signing Cenk Tosun looked bright and created a couple of half chances. It’s very difficult to judge a new player off the back of such a poor team performance, but he did look sharp and hopefully on home soil he’ll be able to utilise his abilities to help create or maybe even score a couple for himself.
On another positive note, this week has been a week of good business for Everton. We’ve made another big name signing by bringing Theo Walcott to the club from Arsenal for £20m. I have voiced my concerns regarding the effects that the signing of Walcott will have on other players in the team such as Lookman and Vlasic, however, I am fully behind Walcott and I hope that he will be able to get into some good form and become a solid first team player for us.
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It’s been noted that the fact Walcott has taken the number 11, previously worn by Kevin Mirallas who has just been loaned out to Olympiakos, may signify the end of Mirallas’ Everton career. As he is seemingly happy being back in Greece, it may well make sense for Mirallas to move on permanently at the end of his loan spell. Another departure that may make sense at the end of the season would be Aaron Lennon. Despite my recent support of Lennon, if Bolasie and Walcott prove themselves to be consistent starters and with Lookman and Vlasic looking to come through, Lennon’s chances may decrease and as his contract is due to run out at the end of the season, it may be better for him to find a new club.
One final positive before we get onto tomorrow’s game, is the fact we have finally established a transfer target for our troublesome left back position. We are apparently linked with a loan move for Bayern Munich’s Juan Bernat. Now, if we’re looking at a fairly high profile signing then I would prefer to get them on a permanent deal rather than a loan, however, if a loan is all we can agree on right now, it might be for the best just to see us out until end of the season when we should have both Baines and Coleman back and we can make a decision on the future of both positions.
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With West Brom having won only three games all season, we should be confident going into this game that we can get three points, especially as we’re playing at home. However, they have drawn ten out of 23 games this season, with three of those coming against Arsenal, Liverpool and ourselves. With this in mind, we shouldn’t be playing on the back foot, we shouldn’t absorb pressure like we’ve been doing recently and I certainly don’t think we should be playing the “boring football” that Big Sam has suggested. We need to attack from kick off and try to break down their defence in order to tire them and with some luck score two or three goals.
With the addition of Walcott, we’ll have an injection of pace, something we didn’t really have in the reverse fixture. Hopefully this and the attacking prowess of Tosun will surprise Albion and allow us to run rings around them.
Onto the team! Despite being battered 4-0, I think we should keep the same back line. We really haven’t got much squad depth in these positions and constantly changing the line up at the back isn’t going to help us make it any more solid. The only change we could really make is bring in Williams for either Jagielka or Holgate. However, I don’t really see how this will improve the team as Williams is getting slower every time he plays and he is a liability when it comes to giving away dangerous free kicks or penalties.
The biggest change for this week’s team should come in midfield. With the arrival of Walcott, it’s clear that there’s going to be a major switch around and the first of these changes should be bringing Rooney into a deeper roll next to Gueye. I don’t think we can risk dropping Rooney as he brings a lot to the team when we’re going forward, as well as how he drops back to help defend. He is a reliable all-rounder who’s experience will be key to getting our form back on track. With this said, the number 10 position will be free for Sigurdsson to slip back into. I think Sigurdsson has played well out wide, considering this is not his preferred position, but I believe he is much more productive as a playmaker and his vision and distribution will be much better when he’s playing back in his favourite position.
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Finally, Bolasie can swap over to the left as we have played him here before and he is good at cutting in with the individual skill he has, and Walcott can take his place on the right wing. With two pacey wingers, we can hopefully get more attacks going in this game and get the ball further up the pitch without having to hoof it from defence. In doing this, our two wingers will be able to get more crosses into the box and allow my preferred striker in Cenk Tosun to get some shots and headers in and rattle their defence.
My Starting XI:
Credit: Lineup11
I think with the recent form of both teams, it could be a cagey affair despite The Baggies getting the most recent of their three wins last week at Brighton. They will be going into the game with some confidence so we’ll have to knock them back and prevent them from getting forward. A clean sheet is vital in order for Pickford to pick up some confidence to go with the quality saves he’s making even in the games we’re losing. We should be going for the win and I’d like it to be by a decent margin.
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