Everton FC news and views: Live – Liverpool Echo

Did you know that Everton have not played a game on March 26 since 1994?

Now that is probably due to FIFA and its international calendar, but still.

Anyway, they were the good old days, weren’t they? Mike Walker in charge, less than 24,000 inside Goodison, and Steve Sedgley scoring for Spurs in a 1-0 win which left the Blues 17th in the table.

Snods played that day.

Team was: Southall, Jackson, Watson, Snodin, Hinchcliffe, Stuart, Horne, Ebbrell, Limpar, Rideout (Angell), Cottee.

Spurs had Walker’s son, Ian, in goal that day, and Ronny Rosenthal up front. And won.

Mike Walker Everton FC Manager 1994  

Interesting(ish) quotes from Phil Jagielka, on the criticisms levelled at both Roberto Martinez and Ross Barkley this season.

On Barkley: “This season has been difficult: he’s been playing in a team that’s starved him of the ball more than in the previous season.

“Has he turned the corner? I don’t think he ever was that bad enough that he’s gone off the tracks. It’s just people expect massive things from Ross. Obviously we still love having him around, he’s a massive threat. It’s never been to the point that he’s needed a massive arm around his shoulder. Everyone at the club, we all needed a hug at times with the way results have gone.”

On Martinez and whether the criticism has been over the top: “Yes, definitely. You can go from hero to zero pretty quick. The Liverpool manager [Brendan Rodgers] was under pressure at one point and then put a fantastic run together. Roberto was a breath of fresh air last year but unfortunately things haven’t worked out this season and there are groans and moans on the terraces. People want instant success.’’

Ross Barkley, Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka train at the Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine,ahead of the game against Dynamo Kiev  

And finally, we get to the REAL reason why Jagielka likes Hodgson. And why he doesn’t like Fabio Capello.

“With meetings, with times, training sessions, sometimes there can be too many rules. If he (Capello) wanted no one to have ketchup there was no ketchup. Roy allows us ketchup if we want!”

No idea what this picture is, but it was the only one that came up on our system when I searched ‘tomato sauce’. Apt.

Darren Taylor, also known as Professor Splash, dives from eight meters high into a 30 centimeters shallow pool of tomato sauce during a promotion at Darling Harbour in Sydney, Australia  

Bit more from that Jagielka interview, this time on why Roy Hodgson is such a good manager. Stop sniggering at the back.

“There’s many things. His coaching ability and experience speaks for itself. When you get 24 people called up, they turn up and you’ve got to try and keep them all happy, hungry and those people wanting to play. It’s a skill.

“Sometimes we’ve had managers in the past who’ve ruled like a headmaster, maybe been a little bit too strict but with Roy, he’s a very likeable person, a good man?manager. He’ll come and speak to you. It makes a life a lot easier. You know where you stand rather than having to second-guess things.

“If you’ve got a problem, he’s very approachable and he’s got a variety of people around him who’ve either played for England not so long ago [like Gary Neville] or done a lot of coaching [Ray Lewington and Dave Watson], so it makes the whole experience a lot easier when you’re coming away.

“He’s been kind to me by playing me! When you meet up, he’s desperate to speak to everyone. You see him in the corridor, you think you’ll be there for a couple of minutes and half an hour’s passed and he’s chatted away.

“That’s just the way he is. You wouldn’t have it any other way. You can sometimes feel that awkwardness between player and manager and player and coaches. I don’t know of anyone who feels that way with Roy and his staff.”

England manager Roy Hodgson (center) with Glen Johnson and Phil Jagielka during a training session at the Estadio Mineirao, Belo Horizonte, Brazil  

He’ll get a bit of stick for this, I’m sure (it’s the way with England), but Phil Jagielka is quoted in the nationals this morning as saying England will be going to the European Championships in France next year with one aim – to win it.

“I’m sure when we qualify – are expected to qualify – we need to have a good tournament in France to back him if Roy (Hodgson) is going to stay on,” Jagielka said.

“The boys are desperate to do that. We owe the fans a strong showing. They work all year round to get that time off and went to Brazil to watch us play. So, yes, we do feel bad but nobody went to Brazil to lose.

“I wouldn’t even say we underperformed massively. We would love to make a proud nation even prouder and that is all we can do now in qualifying for France, and then performing well in France.

“We’ve dropped down the rankings [to 17th]. It is something we discuss. We want to play well, win games and get as far as we can. Is the quarter-finals good enough? We will be looking, and should be looking, to go and win the tournament.’’

England’s Phil Jagielka scores his teams opening goal during the UEFA Euro 2016 match at Wembley Stadium, London  

In case you missed this yesterday, Aaron Lennon tells Phil Kirkbride there have been no talks about turning his Everton loan deal into a permanent one.

“We’ve not looked or spoke about it,” he said.

“All I am looking at is the next game and playing as well as I can and trying to help the team to win.

“As I say, we’ve not looked at it long-term, I am just here to try and help the team win and taking each game as it comes.

“I try and just work as hard as I can in each game and help the team win.”

What do we think, Blues? Would it be a deal worth doing? What would you suggest is a fair price for the player?

Click here to read the full article

Everton’s Aaron Lennon (left) celebrates scoring his sides second goal of the game against Queens Park Rangers with Leon Osman during the Barclays Premier League match at Loftus Road, London. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Sunday March 22, 2015. See PA story SOCCER QPR. Photo credit should read: Nigel French/PA Wire. RESTRICTIONS: Editorial use only. Maximum 45 images during a match. No video emulation or promotion as ‘live’. No use in games, competitions, merchandise, betting or single club/player services. No use with unofficial audio, video, data, fixtures or club/league logos.  

Hopefully just a precaution, this one, but Darron Gibson has left the Republic of Ireland camp ahead of their Euro 2016 qualifier.

The midfielder has returned to Everton for treatment on a “persistent groin injury”.

As I say, hopefully just precautionary. If anyone could do without another injury, it’s Gibson.

Everton FC training at Finch Farm. Pictured Darron Gibson. Photo by Colin Lane  

Width, and wingers, have been a dominant topic where Everton are concerned this season.

And so, accordingly, Phil Kirkbride has been busy compiling five potential summer transfer targets for Roberto Martinez, who may enable him to widen his side’s play.

READ HERE

Spoiler: contains this man.

Gerard Deulofeu 5.6/10  

Good morning all. We’re over the ‘hump day’, I’m told. Well, we’ve still got the ‘hump weekend’ of international football to negotiate, I’m afraid. It just isn’t the same without the all-singing, all-dancing megalomania of the Premier League, is it?

Nonetheless, we will endeavour to bring you as much Everton news, opinion and feature as we possibly can. I’m on the job until 3pm, as they say, and to celebrate that fact, here is a picture of a Blues legend drinking champagne from the bottle.

Everton hero Johnny Morrissey celebrates by drinking champagne after his goal beat Leeds in the FA Cup semi-final in 1968