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Portal [link="http://www.eurofootball.com"]"EuroFootball.com"[/link] - the section "Fans' Thoughts"! Before the most important, interesting, and highly anticipated matches, we speak to fans who are passionate about the clubs entering the competition.
Forum member Trojan, who supports Liverpool's Everton team, talks about the Merseyside derby, injuries and losses, the transfer market and rumors, the current team's situation, and the results achieved.
Liverpool - Everton
Every Merseyside derby stirs up a lot of emotions for football news followers and attracts a lot of interest. It is the longest-running derby in England, dating back to 1962 when Liverpool rose to the top football division. It has never been predictable and still isn't.
The last encounter between the teams at Goodison Park stadium ended with a comfortable 2-0 win for the home team thanks to goals from Mikel Arteta and Tim Cahill. Today, the derby will take place at Liverpool's fortress, where the atmosphere during the match is simply intense. Let's also remember that this will be the first home match for Liverpool led by the new team manager and club legend Kenny Dalglish.
This derby has been a long time coming - both teams will be without their symbols: Gerrard for the Reds and Cahill for the Blues. Predicting the outcome of derbies is almost impossible, so I won't even try. I'll just wish Everton a victory and good English football.
Injuries and Losses
Without going into detail, I'll mention that center-back Phil Jagielka is injured. His return is planned in the near future, but unfortunately, Phil is unlikely to appear on the green turf during the derby. Of course, this loss will probably not cause major problems for David Moyes - Johnny Heitinga, who performed well in the recent match against Tottenham, is ready to take his place in the starting eleven.
Meanwhile, Tim Cahill went to Qatar to represent the Kangaroos in the Asian football championship. This is a significant loss - Tim is the most prolific scorer for the Toffees this season and he always plays in the derby with double (or maybe even triple) passion.
Transfer Market
With the start of the transfer window, as always, rumors started circulating about player sales and purchases, so I'll try to briefly summarize everything.
Yakubu went on loan to Leicester City until the end of the season with an option for the Foxes to buy him. I consider this a positive decision by the club management, as despite showing signs of recovery, Yakubu seemed to have fallen back into a deep winter slumber.
Pienaar is constantly linked with clubs both domestically and abroad. His contract expires this summer, and there doesn't seem to be much desire to extend it. Especially Tottenham and Chelsea are rumored to be interested in Pienaar. The South African will either leave in winter for a fee or in summer for free. It's a painful loss, but what can you do when the guy is strapped for cash.
The press mentions players that the Toffees are interested in: Monaco forward Mbokani, Manchester United players Brown and Owen, Burnley full-back Eagles, and even Sheikh-funded Shaun Wright-Phillips. However, these names should not be sensationalized - for now, they are just rumors.
First Half of the Season
The season started traditionally for the Toffees - three points in the first six matches and a place in the lower half of the table.
Soon, there was some improvement, and we even started thinking about securing places in European competitions. However, everything ended as quickly as it began - ten matches and only one three-point win. The drought of victories ended in the latest match against Tottenham players.
Currently, we are in twelfth place in the league. Second in terms of the number of drawn games, seventh in the graph of conceded goals, but sharing 15-17 places in terms of scored goals. This, in my opinion, is Everton's biggest problem. With Louis Saha's injuries, Yakubu's slumber and excess weight, and Beckford's missed opportunities, we scored very rarely, although the defense worked quite satisfactorily.
Signs of recovery from Saha, correct management decisions (the loan of Yakubu, the search for a new striker), Everton's traditional form improvement in the second half of the season allows us to hope for better results not only in the Premier League but also in a deep run (or maybe even victory) in the FA Cup.
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