Part one: Arteta’s return to Goodison Park – Preview

Mikel Arteta’s return to Goodison Park this week will be of tremendous significance to the way in which David Moyes’ team are perceived.

To honour that as an Evertonian, I will write a two-part series specifically concerning the Arsenal game. This, the first, will take the form of a preview of Wednesday’s game – there’ll be details of the second later.

Before I get stuck in, let me give you  a bit of background. Mikel Arteta used to be my favourite Everton player – one that marked a clear departure from the doldrums of Scot Gemmill and Mark Pembridge-era football at Goodison Park.

His ball retention and dead-ball ability, along with the occasional wonder goal and most importantly, his tendency to make the opposition look foolish and often inferior, rendered him a unique weapon in Everton’s previously weak artillery.

But do not let me fool you the same way, I must inform you, you have already been fooled. Arteta’s departure from Goodison was not the widely-reported hammer blow that seems to have been taken as read.

Detrimental influence

In terms of his influence, well waning wouldn’t do it justice; if not non-existent then probably detrimental given his latter years (yes years!) were defined by a chronic inability to clear the first man.

Hand on heart, I was happy to see him go, and certainly for that price. In terms of his destination, I genuinely feared that the big stage would show him up.

Gladly, that has not been the case and I have no problem admitting that.

But as far as I’m concerned, the lynchpin to Everton’s creative dimension was always Steven Pienaar and if not him then Leon Osman.

Arteta was originally brilliant but ultimately lazy, wasteful, weak, frustrating and unreliable, and for a cynic such as this one, the cracked paint that taints a pretty picture has tainted it forever, and no amount of former glory will ever restore it.

On the subject of how the crowd should greet him, I would lend support to Ian Marshall’s call for Arteta to be given a terrific reception. I certainly hope that is the case. All the hours spent cursing his rubbish corners were, on balance, ultimately worth the screamer against Liverpool, the unbelievable 93rd minute equaliser against Manchester United and the early years when he really was fantastic.

Tremendous form

Best not to dwell on the past though so let’s shift swiftly to the present. Arsenal come to Goodison in outstanding form: five consecutive league victories, eighteen goals scored, just four conceded. To make matters worse, even if Everton manage to take the lead, Wenger’s men will remain confident having come from behind to win the last four games.

As an Arsenal sympathiser, not only have I been impressed with them, I have been delighted. On a personal level, I was really disappointed to witness Andrey Arshavin’s poor form and subsequent loan departure – he was my favourite player in the world once.

Also, Arsenal’s failure to get the fourth against AC Milan was sad to see – it was so nearly the sort of YouTube classic performance that could have single-handedly eradicated their reputation as bottlers.

The ‘one man team’ tag is a slightly false one too. Imagine Liverpool without Gerrard, Manchester United without Rooney, City without Silva.

If Arsenal are a ‘one man team’, then so are all the rest, or are Van Persie and co simply their respective teams’ best players and most consistent match-winners?

And besides, isn’t Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain already (easily) one of the best players in the Premier League?

Fantastic opportunity

Wednesday’s game couldn’t be more important. If Arsenal win, they present themselves with a fantastic opportunity, one almost unimaginable during the miserable start to the season. Win would leave Chelsea with the enviable task of requiring victory away at Manchester City to avoid being left six points behind in fifth place.

Not to mention that three points would demand a home victory against Stoke of Spurs to prevent a side whose superiority seemed not only suggested but established letting slip a 12-point gap and third place.

If the will-he-won’t-he-yes-he-obviously-will Harry Redknapp-saga effect continues and Tottenham let Arsenal overtake them, that would represent a phenomenal accomplishment for the Gunners, given they were widely tip to finish fifth whilst Spurs were touted as title candidates.

For Everton, the message couldn’t be simpler: beat Arsenal and cultivate the uniquely Evertonian momentum that just might get us through against an in-form Swansea next week and most crucially, a buoyant Sunderland in the FA Cup quarter-final replay.

All pretensions at objectivity aside, we’ve got a fantastic chance. Arsenal have been brilliant as an attacking force but despite their decent defensive record of late, they have allowed plenty of chances. And now we have Jelavic.

Duncan Ferguson

Rangers are one of my numerous second teams ever since the days of Duncan Ferguson, and to a much, much lesser extent, Ian Durrant.

That is to say I knew what we were getting when we signed the Croatian and I was delighted. Day by day since his arrival, I have suggested to my dad that we have a great player and goalscorer in our midst and Jelavic is really starting to back that up.

I’d really like to see Leon Osman played inside to match the sort of role that Arteta will play for Arsenal. Not in any way a tactic to combat the Spaniard, merely because I believe the best assets to Osman’s game (article coming soon) can be utilised this way.

A night match at Goodison against one of the top four is just about as perfect an opportunity as you could be presented with to transform what has been a miserable week for David Moyes and his men into the sort of spirit-lifting spectacle that defines his reign at Goodison.

Optimism is certainly possible: Pienaar owes us one after the derby, Baines should take it up a notch as a consequence, but more so than anything, what will have me on the edge of my seat is the new man up front.

So you two on the left, Osman and dare I tempt the most curious of fates to include Royston Drenthe, my advice is simple: just give him a decent chance.

Part two will be a reaction to the game and Arteta’s performance in particular. You can expect it early on Thursday.

By Chris Smith

Premier League predictions

After previewing the next set of Premier League fixtures, the weekend can’t come fast enough for me. There are some fantastic games in store as newly-crowned Carling Cup champions Liverpool welcome Arsenal to Anfield with confidence in both camps.  Add to the bill Manchester United’s  inevitably fascinating match-up with Spurs, and a Tyne-Wear derby at St. James’ Park (take that Ashley!) in between, we have a couple of cracking Match of the Days on our hands.

My score last week was a respectable seven out of 20 – my best so far, which is quite misleading really , because obviously that sounds rubbish – it’s not even half. But keep in mind that 20 out of 20 would represent a flawlessly perfect ability to predict that would justify the most lavish and rampant gambling that I would only end up going over board and losing everything. 10 is my aim, and so seven is fine. Those that wish to, feel to comment or email your own predictions or thoughts to cdsmith1@hotmail.co.uk or via @cdsmith789 on Twitter, I think I might do some sort of article in the future along the lines of statistical analysis and bullshit. Remember, one point for a correct result, two for a correct score.

Last week’s score: 7

Saturday March 3, 2012

Liverpool 2-1 Arsenal 12:45
Liverpool deserved their Carling Cup success last week not only if you look at the balance of play during the game, but also if you take into account Kenny Dalglish’s selections and the players application throughout the competition. Most clubs tend to suffer some sort of hangover from a game like that, but I don’t see Liverpool as one of those sides – the semi-final victory against City was followed up with FA cup success over United, for example. After Arsenal’s thrilling comeback against Spurs, I expect atypically confident showing in parts but I anticipate Suarez will find a lot of space in behind, so 2-1 Liverpool for me.

Blackburn 2 – 1 Aston Villa 15:00

Darren Bent’s injury and Robbie Keane’s exit will hit Villa hard because otherwise they are pretty poor. Admittedly, they seem to perform better away from home, though Steve Kean must have pinpointed this game as a chance for victory after facing three of the top six in the last four. Yakubu needs to regain his excellent form from before his suspension in order for Rovers to stay up. Given the large-scale protest from Blackburn supporters planned for the build-up to this game, I was almost tempted to go for a draw considering the negative effect these protests have often had on results but Kean, despite his horrendous managerial record, has proven that he can get the players to respond.

Man City 4 – 0 Bolton 15:00

So predictable has an Etihad game become that even a novice such as myself has correctly predicted the scoreline of both of their last two home fixtures. The fact that Bolton were so comprehensively beaten by the worst Chelsea side in nearly a decade at its lowest ebb for probably longer affirmed my belief that Owen Coyle’s men will be relegated. David Silva’s excellent contribution to Spain’s 5-0 thrashing of Venezuela confirmed that he is regaining top form and with Aguero playing his best football for City, the title race is about to get fascinating. 4-0 is a bit of a risk, but sod being cautious, I’m on a roll!

QPR 0 – 1 Everton 15:00

As an Evertonian, I am delighted that Djibril Cisse is still suspended following his ridiculous debut red card. With Cisse’s Liverpool past…well you know how football works, don’t you? I expect QPR to perform a lot better than they did during last week’s derby defeat to Fulham. In truth, they couldn’t do much worse. For once, they need to keep their discipline to give themselves a chance. Everton will really miss Landon Donovan whose record of six assists in nine games speaks for itself. The only comparable player to the American at Goodison is Leon Osman and if, as expected, he returns to the team, I anticipate that Steven Pienaar’s presence will unburden him of the early-season pressure he felt as a result of the South African’s sale along withMikel Arteta.

Stoke 2- 1 Norwich City 15:00

I really enjoyed watching Norwich against Manchester United, particularly Grant Holt who has been in form for nearly three seasons now. Despite this, I think calls this week for an England cap were not only premature but stupid. Maybe he could have given us a bit more up front in that famous Hungary hammering of 1953, but in 2012? Come on. And I say that as a big Holt fan. I must confess my Stoke appreciation of the last few years has dwindled of late. I find them quite boring at the moment but I predict a good, attacking side like Norwich will get a decent performance out of them and they will just do enough.

West Brom 2- 1 Chelsea 15:00

In terms of an honest, interesting critique, Roy Hodgson is probably the best manager for post-match interviews. His calm and rational reactions give great insight into the way he manages to get the best out of his players. For instance, the way in which he politely condemned his players’ costly defensive lapses at home earns him the two sensational performances and victories they have had against Wolves and Sunderland. I think the game will be much like when Chelsea played Everton who had hit a similar if less spectacular run of form. West Brom to dominate, Odemwingie to score.

Wigan 0 – 2 Swansea 15:00

Wigan cannot defend and I expect them to get absolutely turned over any time soon. They are so bad that for me their presence in the Premier League serves only to offer hope to the most disconsolate of Blackburn and Bolton supporters. They will be picked off as soon as they play someone who can exploit space and individual errors, and though Swansea have only nine points from a possible 39 away from home, they can certainly do that. Although I have sympathies for Roberto Martinez who seems like a nice sort of fella if also a tactically naive manager, his best player this season has been the DW Stadium pitch so they are doomed, doomed, doomed as I see it. Swansea to play confidently and win.

Sunday March 4, 2012.

Newcastle 3- 2 Sunderland 12:00

Martin O’Neill’s side have lost momentum at  just the wrong time. A positive result against West Brom and the Black Cats would have lost only three games in 16; more pertinently however, they now come into an away derby having lost back-to-back games for the first time since the start of December. Newcastle aren’t exactly flying having let a two-goal lead slip against Wolves and shipped five the game before that. I expect a great game because both sides are as good as they have each been in years but Newcastle’s really watchable strikeforce tips it for me.Plenty of spirit and plenty of goals.

Fulham 2-1 Wolves 14: 05 (what the hell sort of kick-off time is that?)

Wolves deserve great credit for their fightback at Newcastle and if the second-half performance can serve as a minor reference for Terry Connor’s job application, then signs are encouraging. Fulham had a great win at QPR and I was personally pleased to see Martin Jol stick it to Mark Hughes whose walkout on the club I interpreted as a confession that he needs money to succeed as a manager. Clint Dempsey will be buoyed  by sealing a fantastic away victory for the United States over Italy and he will be a big factor. Wolves will battle  until the final whistle but Fulham are a compact, efficient side particularly at Craven Cottage, so a home win for me.

Tottenham 2 – 2 Manchester United 16:10 (What’s wrong with good old 16:00?)

Matches between the top five have yielded an average of 4.9 (call it 5) goals per game. Each one of these games has been so spectacularly gripping that all defensive analysis has been rendered not so much pointless but annoying. For a fleeting, ridiculous moment during last weekend’s North London derby, I honestly thought ‘Spurs can definitely get back to 4-4 here’ and within ten seconds, it was 5-2 and I’d seen another great goal. United were fortunate against Ajax and fortunate against Norwich and though De Gea has made some sensational saves of late, if you were going to base a title prediction on the goalkeepers alone, I doubt United would steal a solitary vote from City. On balance, the mass of talent on display means you have to go for goals especially considering both out of form defences. Defeat would be disastrous for either side so a draw could be on the cards on Sunday.

By Chris Smith

Premier League predictions

In this week’s set of predictions, I have gone for some bold/ stupid ones. This comes in spite of the fact my top score is something like six. Included in there are two 2-3 predictions which are deemed to serve an interesting purpose. If I am in any way correct, you, the reader, are bound to think ‘ah this chap must know a thing or two’, you come back again, I’m happy, you’re happy, everyone’s happy (to an extent). And if I am wrong, well, who gives a shit?

Last week’s score: 5

Saturday February 25, 2012

Chelsea 2 – 1 Bolton Wanderers 15:00
A lot has been written about Villas-Boas this week and rightly so. The players are either under-performing or past it but without meaning to get too personal Andre, it is precisely your personality that is the problem for me. Dropping Ashley Cole for Jose Bosingwa? He deserves what he gets for that. In terms of Bolton, I was delighted to see Ryo Miyaichi start and score against Millwall. Hopefully, he replaces the rubbish Martin Petrov in the starting line-up. If so, Bolton could have another Jack Wilshere situation on their hands. Whether or not that happens, I am going make a bold prediction here, Torres to score in a Chelsea win.

Newcastle 2-1 Wolves 15:00
Wolves’ search for a new manager has rapidly become a farce but good luck to Terry Connor. It would be easy to condemn Steve Morgan and the rest of the board, but to be honest, Wolves have been average at best for far too long and the embarrassment at home to West Brom was about ten final straws at once. I expect a spirited performance from them but Newcastle are a really strong side at home. The more Cisse and Ba play together, the more goals, the more confidence, more goals etc etc, so a Newcastle win for me.

QPR 3-2 Fulham 15:00
This seems like a bit of a wild prediction but there is method in my madness. There are lots of interesting details to stoke up the intensity of the game. Mark Hughes walked out on Fulham last year, Bobby Zamora in January, and of course the fact it is a very local derby. QPR desperately need the points given their predicament and although 3-2 is a bit of a risky prediction, these games have to happen some time don’t they?

West Brom 1-2 Sunderland 15:00
I expected Sunderland to ease past Arsenal in the FA Cup and they did. Consequently, I expect that momentum to spur them on at the Hawthorns where a thoroughly capable West Brom side strangely continue to struggle. It has all been said about Martin O’Neill so I think it best to concentrate on James McClean who looks a fantastic player. I think Sunderland are playing well enough to control the game which will frustrate West Brom and their supporters. I expect Sunderland’s efficient attacking to secure a late win.

Wigan 1- 2 Aston Villa 15:00
To be blunt, I think this will be a fairly dire game from two boring sides but for me, Villa’s attacking potency coupled with Wigan’s defensive inadequacies will be the difference. Villa have some really good players, and to a lesser extent so do Wigan, but both sides lack the consistency required to climb the table. Poor game, Keane or Bent to win it.

Manchester City 3-0 Blackburn 17:30
My first thought was ‘easy win for City’, my second ‘ah but Blackburn did win at Old Trafford’, my third ‘no you were right, easy win for City’. So easy win for City then. I could explain my reasons but is there any point?

Arsena 2-3 Tottenham 13:30 
Historically, I love Arsenal. Furthermore, I have grown accustomed to hating various Spurs teams over the years. Though I wouldn’t claim my Arsenal sympathies have gone full circle, my Spurs dissent certainly has. Though Man City play the slightly better football, Spurs do it more often and for longer periods. If you take this team as a reference for Redknapp’s England manager’s application then I cannot wait. Arsenal on the other hand are back to the same old sorry mixture of woeful defending, unfortunate injuries and an all-too evident crisis of confidence. They will fight here but Spurs will fight back stronger.

Norwich 0-2 Manchester United 13:30
To allow my Spurs praise to spill over for a second, I rate them on a similarly plane to Manchester United these days which is why I have gone for 2-0, the scoreline when Spurs visited Carrow Road. Rio Ferdinand’s return will be welcome for a defence that looked awful against Ajax. Norwich may just catch United napping by coming out of the traps but I would expect Ferguson’s men to be prepared for that despite playing on Thursday. Enough quality in United’s attack to secure a good win.

Stoke City 2-0 Swansea 15:00
A lot was made of Tony Pulis’ selection in mid-week but one thing that is for sure, whoever plays will come out fighting in a winnable home game. Swansea’s win at West Brom was courageous but unrepresentative of a much more abject away form. On their day, they can match anyone but it seems their day comes all too seldom away from home. Stoke are a great side at times and surely Pulis has prepared things perfectly for a great home performance.

Carling Cup Final

Cardiff City 1-2 Liverpool 16:00
It is difficult to tip Liverpool to win a final as an Evertonian, especially as I really rate Cardiff, but I imagine Craig Bellamy will start, and an attack that boasts him, Luis Suarez, and Steven Gerrard is hard to ignore. All three have tremendous talent but far more importantly on the day, the sort of clinical efficiency which is crucial in converting chances into cup-winning goals. Cardiff will create and the dead ball ability of Peter Whittingham will give them chances in any game but Liverpool will have the quality and the nerve to triumph. (Bastards)