Everton FC - The View From My Seat
The Positives Wearing Royal Blue
Moving on from the matches and the league table what about some MASSIVE positives I see before me at our fantastic club, John Stones, Ross Barkley, Gerard Deulofeu, Tyias Browning and Brendan Galloway.
In my playing days albeit at no level whatsoever I was a centre half and until you've played that position competitively I don't think you can really appreciate the true arts of defending. John Stones for me is the best centre half in Europe for his age and length of experience. He's 21 and has played only (At time of this blog) 52 Premier League matches. To be at the level he's at already really is unbelievable. He makes defending look so easy in some games it's embarrassing for the opposition strikers. Diego Costa has troubled legally or illegally most centre halves in the premier league over the last 12+ months and John Stones neatly put him in his pocket as the referee blew the whistle for kick off and then kindly returned him back to his owner, Jose at the final whistle. He was immense that day in particular. It's of no surprise to me that people are likening him to Rio Ferdinand. Defending in style whilst also becoming the base for most attacks. It's fantastic to watch and all involved in keeping him at Everton deserve a massive pat on the back! Just to finish, how calm cool and collected was this young man during the entire summer transfer fiasco? Berahino threatening to quit West Brom and other players in the past kicking up a fuss, Stones was quietly going about his business showing class both on and off the pitch. I do hope we keep him to take over the captaincy from Jags when the time comes.
"We've got a diamond called Ross Barkley" We certainly have haven't we Blues! This lad is a midfield monster. With maturity I believe Ross could play anywhere in central midfield, infront of the back 4, sticking in the middle or behind the striker. His physicality, strength, pace, power, technique and ability is at the level where he really could do what he wants on a football pitch. At 21 years old I've not seen a player of that age have the confidence and ability to stand with the ball hold out his arm to shield and fend off any player applying pressure then put his head up and wait until he's ready to pass the ball. Someone name me another Englishman at that age or even any age really that does this. It's almost as if he's toying with the opposition at times, like a boxer when they lean in and use their body to push the other back just to show they've got more strength and power than the other. His quick feet and dribbling ability is also great, sometimes like a wide player in the middle of the park, only instead of running at their opposing full back he runs directly at the heart of the opposing defence. It's great to have such a talent born and bread a Blue! At the risk of sounding as though I have Barkley tinted glasses on, he does still have a way to go before he's the finished diamond, currently rough around the edges in regards to decision making. Knowing when to dribble and when to pass along with which pass to choose are still areas which can improve, an improvement I've already seen during the opening 10 games.
Coleman and Baines, arguably the most potent attacking threats within our ranks despite being "defenders". I'd say the best full back pairing in the country and at times we've been without both this season! This however is where the phrase "every cloud has a silver lining" is relevant. Losing the pair meant we were introduced to just how good Tyias Browning and Brendan Galloway really are. The youngsters have been brilliant. Galloway has shown a couple of times he does posses the credentials to be an attacking wing back however I'd say that's the one area they can't fill the void Coleman and Baines leave, the attacking threat. In large probably because they are actually both centre halves! They both see themselves in the middle moving forward in their careers, all the more impressive that they've faced some of the best attacking forwards and wingers in the league this season and have not let themselves down at all against anyone in front of them.
So far that's 4 young Englishmen we've discussed and they say there's a lack of young English talent. Moving away from our home grown talent onto our young Spanish match winner. Big statement to make without any facts to back it up but what I've seen each time Geri plays, he has all the makings of a match winning talent. Lightening quick, can dribble and once his final delivery improves with maturity and better decision making he will be the real deal. As with all these youngsters I think it's only a matter of time before they get better and better. At 19-21 in any walk of life were you making all the right choices and decisions? No, me either and it's the same with football. As you gain experience you pick things up and learn and become better at making decisions. All the ingredients are there with these players mentioned, we need to support them, expect mistakes and reap the rewards once they do develop, I hope we keep hold of these valuable assets.
I have picked out these guys as I've been extremely impressed with them in parts during the opening months of the season. Their lack of experience on the big stage is why I've focused on them as opposed to Romelu Lukaku, easy to forget Rom is only 22 but has played a lot more matches than the others.
I can do a piece on Rom separately if people want my views on him, let me know as always any feedback or questions are more than welcome!
Thanks again for reading, let me know what your highlights are of the season so far....?
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Great article!
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