It was an all too familiar story against Watford last weekend. Whilst dominating possession, the blues failed to create many clear-cut chances, with the Hornets then scoring with the first attempt on goal. Then, after finally drawing level through a superb Ross Barkley effort, the Everton defence inexplicability disintegrated, with numerous players in a blue shirt committing the cardinal sin of diving in. Credit Odion Ighalo for his composure, but it was truly shocking defending from an Everton point of view. Perhaps Tim Howard was slightly unsighted, but his belated attempts to save a shot that wasn’t really in the corner also left a lot to be desired.
It was left to an unlikely hero, in the form of Arouna Kone, to spare Everton’s blushes and prevent an ‘upset’. The Ivorian finished smartly from a tight angle after Romelu Lukaku held off his man well.
All in all though, it was a poor showing. Everton huffed and puffed but there seemed to be little intent to put Watford on the back foot from the outset, and they seemed to find some urgency once they went behind. Instead, far too many players seemed content just to pass it around with very little movement off the ball. It was simply not good enough. There are clearly deficiencies within the squad that need to be addressed with new players, but lessons appear to have not been learned from the experiences of last season.
That doesn’t bode well, as the blues travel to the south coast to face Southampton in the early kick off on Saturday…
The Opposition – Southampton
Ronald Koeman has received plenty of plaudits for his time at St. Marys, and rightly so. He walked into the dressing room just as many of the squad that Mauricio Pochettino had guided to an 8th placed finish were walking in the opposite direction. His knowledge of, in particular the Dutch market, meant that the funds from the sales of Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw and Dejan Lovern were invested wisely. His recruitment and utilisation of the players that remained meant that, far from a relegation battle as many tipped them for, they qualified for the Europa League, finishing 7th. As we know better than anyone, the excitement of European competition can derail a domestic
season. It will be interesting to see how Southampton cope with the extra games and the Thursday-Sunday routine.
This summer has been not been quite as frantic as the last for the Saints, but they’ve still been pretty busy. Out has finally gone Morgan Schneiderlin, as well as Nathaniel Clyne, whilst they have brought in Jordy Clasie, Maarten Stekelenburg, Cédric Soares, Steven Caulker and Oriol Romeu.
Their squad has plenty of quality, creativity and goals. Defensively is perhaps were they stood out last season though, and it remains to be seen whether the departures of Schneiderlin and Clyne have disrupted their rear-guard.
An opening day 2-2 draw away at Newcastle represents a solid if not spectacular start for Southampton, and they’ll undoubtedly be looking to get 3 points against us before the effects of their Europa League campaign kick in over the next couple of months. They face Danish side Midtjylland in a two legged play-off next week.
Team news
Leighton Baines will play no part after picking up an injury in training last week, and looks set for a lengthy spell out if surgery is required on his ankle.
Kevin Mirallas appears to be ok despite being on the end of a horrendous tackle from Valon Behrami last weekend.
Aiden McGeady, Muhammed Besic and Gerard Deulofeu are also back in training.
Pienaar, Gibson and Hibbert are all still out.
What the managers say
Roberto Martinez: “Historically it’s a really tough visit for us and it’s not just the last two games that I’ve
been involved in, I think it’s only been two wins in 22 years.”
“I think it’s a tough, tough trip down the south. We are embracing that challenge; we need to be as good as we can because the opposition itself is a good one.”
“I do see a Southampton side that hasn’t changed in the way that they play. They play to score goals, they’re very attacking minded and they are a really good side to watch.”
“They’ve got a few extra competitive games under their belt but in the same way I believe we are ready to go there and compete.”
Ronald Koeman: “We know the qualities of Everton. We know how they like to play. I think it will
be an attractive, open game because they like to play offensive football.”
“Maybe they did not have the best result last weekend [a 2-2 draw against Watford] at home to start the season, but they are strong with good individual qualities in the team and it’s a difficult one.”
Previous Meetings
The last two trips to St. Marys have been pretty nightmarish affairs from an Everton point of view. Two own goals from Antolin Alcaraz and Seamus Coleman consigned the blues to a 2-0 defeat in 2014.
Last season, another own-goal, this from via Romelu Lukaku, set the blues on the way to a 3-0 defeat in a pretty woeful display.
Everton did however record a 1-0 victory over the Saints at Goodison in their latest meeting, courtesy of a scrappy Phil Jagielka goal.
Since the Saints return to the top flight in 2012, it’s definitely a fixture that has favoured the home side. In the six games played, 5 of them have seen home wins, with a 0-0 draw at St. Marys in 2013 the only exception, in what was Mauricio Pochettino’s first game as Southampton manager.
This fixture marks the start of a pretty intimidating run of games, with Chelsea, Man City and Spurs to come in the following weeks, and Man Utd and Liverpool not too far away either. The fixture computer has not been kind, which was why it was so important to get 3 points last week. We didn’t, and it adds extra pressure to get a positive result at St. Marys.
That said, should we manage to grab a victory at one of our bogey grounds, it would put us back on track. I think most Evertonians would take 4 points from Watford and Southampton, so there’s an opportunity to make up for last weekend’s disappointment.
Obviously, that’s easier said than done. We’ll need be a lot better with and without the ball, as Southampton will undoubtedly have a lot more possession than Watford did. Perhaps a change in system could be beneficial. A 4-3-3 shape which drops Barkley back into a deeper position and allows two out and out wide players to give us the width we’ve sorely lacked.
Whatever the line-up on Saturday, it’s a tough task that faces them. See it through though, and potentially bring 3 points back to Merseyside, and it’ll go some way to lifting the gloom that surrounds the club at the moment.
Expected Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Howard; Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Oviedo; McCarthy, Barry; Mirallas, Barkley, Cleverley; Lukaku
