It is now time to switch to a new Money AM football blog as the world cup is now over and we all look to the future.....World cup 2010 is over, Bravo Espana, and Forlan, once again and bring on the new season !.....I never expected the last thread to be such a success...thanks all.... so this new one might go on for years without the need to edit the title...we shall see...

Your having a laugh Joe ... BBC news 6pm Friday and opening headlines they were already bigging up England's chances after an 'easy' draw.

Had easy draws in 2010 and 2014 and a better team but still cocked it up. Even at the Euro's you only won one game and that was in the 90th minute.

Media will big you up just as they always do , might have been better off getting thumped by Germany and Brazil in the recent friendlies then no one would have expected too much.

I do think you'll beat Panama.

I'll let the team know Dil

Time for us to have the last laugh this time round

I reckon that Belgium will put 6 past Panama in their first game at least....now without counting our chickens before they're hatched : we might struggle to get as many goals as them before the final game with them....as one team Belgium or England could end up just needing a draw in the final game to top the group....now with all due respect to Tunisia and Panama : we are going to have to beat them and beat them well...no taking the foot off the gas until the final whistle for both games.....having to beat our Belgian cousins in the last group game would be tough....if not it's perhaps Poland followed by Germany if success follows in the knockout rounds....first place and then perhaps Colombia followed by Brazil !......either way is difficult.....England as a team are improving and Gareth Southgate has strength in depth in this squad.....yes : I'd say that the team can make it to a quarter final at the very least....and who knows...perhaps dare I say it...might even make the semis....

Man City are unstoppable in the premiership......Champions final for them as well ?.....PSG are in great form as well.....

Season so far is a disaster. Not sure they can turn it around.

Season so far is a disaster. Not sure they can turn it around.

Liverpool vs Everton
Lyndon Lloyd Friday 8 December 2017 70 Comments [Jump to last]
MATCH PREVIEW
f there's a prevailing mood these days among Evertonians when it comes to the Anfield derby, it's surely one of resignation. The agonising over the ever-lengthening time since Everton's last win there, the hand-wringing over the crippling psychology that has built up over this fixture, and the desperation to beat Liverpool on their own patch for the first time in 18 years seems to have been replaced by a detached numbness that won't be dispelled until a Blues side finally does win this particular fixture.

What will be will be.

There was a realism about Everton's prospects against the Premier League's most in-form attack from new manager Sam Allardyce as well as he gears up for his first taste of the Merseyside derby.

He takes across Stanley Park a team that was, until very recently in a tailspin, seemingly headed for a relegation battle but which has now win three games on the bounce with three clean sheets and can now start looking upwards again rather than over their shoulders.

They will certainly be in a better frame of mind coming into this game than they would have been a fortnight ago but they will have their work cut out to earn a fourth successive shut-out against what is a depressingly dynamic and pacy forward line.

Allardyce's comments during his pre-match press conference certainly suggested that he is under no illusions about the strength of the opposition, a team that has scored 15 goals in its last three outings and has yet to lose on home soil in any competition this season.

The 63-year-old arrived at Everton with a reputation for successfully exploiting team's weaknesses — Jurgen Klopp's reds are notoriously suspect at the back, for example — and Evertonians will be hoping he can extend the good record he established playing at Anfield with his previous clubs but Allardyce admits the preparation will start by focusing on nullifying Liverpool's strengths first.

“It's a [Liverpool] that, I have to admit, is probably in the best form it's been in since Jurgen arrived and with one of the best strike forces available in the Premier League,” he said.

“That's certainly something we'll have to master before we can think about can we get in the right areas to try and get an opportunity to score a goal, not waste the possession that we get and not let the occasion over-awe us.

“That is the most important thing — to deliver a performance that is tactically right to block off the areas that Liverpool try and work in and then how good we're going to be when we're in possession.

“I think we all know that probably won't have as much possession as Liverpool on Sunday but we have make sure we do use [what possession we get] correctly and in the right manner.

“If and when we get a chance, we need to score. We need to be very clinical in our finishing when it comes along and that will hopefully get us a good performance and a result.

“The whole occasion is a test for the players that we have. The players need to rise to the occasion. It's a one-off and however Liverpool are playing at the moment, it is a derby match and anything can happen.

“All I can ask of the players is they play their best game. It still might not be good enough against this Liverpool [but you have to] go in with a positive frame of mind and really know what your strengths are, play to your capabilities and try to get a result.”

Allardyce indicated in the presser that the players who remained on Merseyside while the younger members of the squad salvaged some pride in Cyprus with a tremendous performance against Limassol will form the bulk of the starting XI on Sunday.

The manager also confirmed that in addition to Michael Keane, who returned from injury to make a cameo off the bench in last weekend's win over Huddersfield, Phil Jagielka could be fit again. Leighton Baines is still ruled out, however, placing a significant burden on whomever is selected in the left-back or left-wing-back role — most likely Cuco Martina.

“Some of those players who played last night will almost certainly be on the subs' bench,” Allardyce said when asked if some of the standout performers last night will have played their way into contention to face Liverpool.

“They have impressed me which is something I want to see. I don't want to see people sulking and thinking, why am I here. I want to see people be professional and that's exactly what all the players did last night.”

That professionalism and commitment is the minimum of what will be demanded from Blues supporters on Sunday. Regardless of the result, they will be looking for further signs of progress while Allardcye is still in the process of assessing what he has inherited from Ronald Koeman as he looks ahead to the January transfer window and the return to action of the long-term injured.

Can the top flight's noted “spoiler” banish the mental block that Everton have had around facing the enemy from across the Park and spring a surprise? It might not be as big a deal as getting a statue made of him should he achieve it as was quipped during his press conference but it would certainly earn him a place in modern Toffees folklore.

Kick-off: 2:15pm, Sunday, 10th December, 2017
Referee: Craig Pawson
Last Time: Liverpool 3 - 1 Everton

Predicted Line-up: Pickford, Kenny, Jagielka, Williams, Martina, Gueye, Davies, Rooney, Lennon, Sigurdsson, Calvert-Lewin



Reader Comments (70)


Lenny Kingman
2 Posted 08/12/2017 at 18:12:23 The only certainty is that Everton wont win.


Derek Knox
5 Posted 08/12/2017 at 18:27:38 Good preview Lyndon, I do actually hope the weather doesn't stop this game going ahead. Principally because we have started to build a momentum, which incidentally runs in tandem with confidence, and although Liverpool are the team of the moment, I just want to get this game out of the way.
Getting back to the projected team, it terrifies me when I see Martina's name on the team sheet, let alone on his shirt. I make no secret of my dislike for him in an Everton shirt, another Koeman cock up, he is totally inept as a defender, it's like employing an accountant that's useless at Arithmetic. He is probably a decent chap away from football, nothing personal against him, he's just awful for Everton in my opinion.

Mike Hughes
19 Posted 08/12/2017 at 19:06:43 Gerry#6
Nice to see a bit of positivity on here after the last week or so. 1-3 it is then!
Jamie#7

The distance to travel for football fans is irrelevant.
All depends on whether it is the right or wrong kind of snow.
The wrong kind (to use the technical UK term) means that everything grinds to a halt. No trains or cars. Power cuts. National emergency declared. The army are on the streets. Food coupons issued. Curfews. News interviews with pensioners. Third World countries sending aid etc.

Other countries have tornadoes and earthquakes and volcanoes but they are nothing compared to the wrong kind of UK snow.
If it is white it is the wrong kind.
Then, God help us all.

Lawrence Green
22 Posted 08/12/2017 at 19:21:23 I'd be a wee bit fed up if I was a Manchester City supporter "Liverpool the team of the moment"? They are scoring goals that's true but they've also been turned over a couple of times too at Wembley by Spurs and at the Etihad by Manchester City. OK they are pretty good at Anfield and haven't lost there in the Premier League since Sam Allardyce's Crystal Palace side took 3 points home with them at the back end of last season.
They have enough admirers in the media and elsewhere without Evertonians feeling they have to pump up their already inflated egos. Sky deemed fit to have a day of Liverpool Football Club today, hardly the action of an organisation that has no favourites is it?

Everton may well leave Anfield with their tails firmly between their legs on Sunday but in no way should the Everton team or the Everton supporters be entering that ground with a defeatist attitude.

Everton are not Tranmere Rovers or any similar club going to the home of the detestables hoping to keep the score down, we are a Premier League club who should be looking to earn three points from a tricky fixture - admittedly that does seem unlikely given our teams dreadful away form in 2017, But, our bad league run away from Goodison has to end somewhere and where else would be better to do that, than on our old stomping ground? COYB

Rick Tarleton
23 Posted 08/12/2017 at 19:34:35 Loved today's joke on Facebook. Weather warning: heavy snow expected on Merseyside. Liverpool fans must consult flight timetables and railway timetables. Everton fans wear a big coat.
I'm worried, they are scoring goals for fun and despite our recent run, our defence does not look rock solid in any way.

Well it didn't turn out too bad after all. Interesting how managers see penalties with different lenses. Klopp - it wasn't a penalty. Maureen - it was a penalty. Both are wrong.

LOL! ! Noel Gallagher pundit. Well done blue boys!

I bet on Man U...have to say....ManCity are incredible....champions for sure ...perhaps euro champs as well...PSG...might be challengers....

Bet on Man U - are you mad????

As for your CL call - that's wrong as well - GUARANTEED

Rumour, yet to be confirmed, is that M U want Rooney back in January. Prepared to offer Lukaku and Maureen, plus cash, in exchange. Everton sources comment that both are worthless and M U must try harder.

Pep's teams - Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City - have very good players who work hard/effectively but they are vulnerable to the counter attack. To reduce the risk they will prevent the opposition from breaking by any means, fair or foul. This is where the referee can influence the game; giving free kicks but not yellows makes the tactic effective - the initial job is done and the players can continue. Knowing you can stop the opposition's main threat - the break - also allows more players to be pushed forward. Oliver was accommodating; obvious examples being Jesus and Sterling when Martial was breaking - no attempt to play the ball. Have a look at the difference when the referee won't put up with it. On another note, Oliver also missed dives by Jesus and Walker. Hopefully the ref is on the case when Manchester City face Spurs.

Not the best idea expecting negative pole - Lukaku - to attract negative pole (the ball), mind Rooney was also more miss than hit regarding controlling a long ball and holding on to it. Ibra (not match fit) and Fellaini (injured) are much better for that job. Lukaku is more about through balls, which is why Pogba is a big miss for him in particular.

ManC look unstoppable....have to say.....Real-PSG......ouch....

Just thawed out after Saturday freeze. Chels looked a bit jaded.

Burnley.

Well done

I thank you CD 😀

https://streamable.com/wvlss

Yes well done Burnley - shows what you can do with a good manager/team spirit

And well done to my lot for bouncing back so well

Even we stuck 5 past Huddersfield away last game of the season last year so don't get too carried away.

3rd in the league, knock out stages of the CL, and qtr finals of the league cup

Every right to get carried away