Mar 072015
 
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The ECHO’s liveblog is the only place for all the latest news, views rumours and more about Everton FC – produced by us and gathered from around the world

Joe Rimmer and the team will be with you today from 7am to ensure constant coverage of all things Blue, including news, great photos, nostalgia, live interviews and much more.

Alex Rea will then join the fun from 3pm to take you all the way through to 11pm to ensure you are always updated on all the breaking news from Goodison.

There will be polls, stats and live webchats with our brand new EFC reporter Phil Kirkbride each week, plus the inside line from Finch Farm as we bring you every press conference and interview.

We want you to get involved too – tell us your thoughts on what’s happening at Goodison by tweeting Joe @joerimmer88 or Alex @AlexReaSport. You can also tweet our EFC Twitter page @LivEchoEFC with all your thoughts on the days events.

Stick with the ECHO for the best EFC coverage around

LOAN WATCH
Conor Grant hopes to emulate Everton legends Duncan Ferguson and Kevin Sheedy at Fir Park

Asked about his set-piece ability the teenager said: “I hope I can bring that quality to the team. It was a great cross and a better header from Louis Laing.

“It was good he was on the end of it as it gave us a bit of momentum and after they equalised we showed great character to go on and get the win.

“When I was in the youth team at Everton my coaches were Kevin and big Duncan.

“You don’t get many better crossers of the ball than Sheedy and Ferguson could get on the end of them in training – not a bad combo!

“Duncan was a hero for me as a kid so to have him around was superb.”

Everton U21s Conor Grant  

More from that Seamus Coleman interview:

  • Have the Europa League matches been a distraction to Everton’s domestic ambitions this season?

SC: Not at all. To be playing on Thursday nights at Goodison against top teams like Wolfsburg has been a great learning experience for the Everton lads who have not played in European football before.

This will be a fantastic experience for us if we can get into the Champions League, and we can get that prize by winning this tournament this season.

  • You must have ambitions to play in the Champions League, so do you see the Europa League as a quick route to that competition?

SC: You skip all the qualifying stages for the Champions League if we can win the Europa League this season, so why would you not try and win this competition?

Every player wants to play in the Champions League and if we can achieve that by winning the Europa League, it would be a great achievement for everyone.

We’ve taken every tournament we have entered seriously, but from the start the manager has picked strong teams in the Europa League and I think we have been very impressive in Europe.

Seamus Coleman celebrates with team mates after scoring the second goal for Everton Seamus Coleman celebrates with team mates after scoring the second goal for Everton  

Seamus Coleman thinking positive despite Everton drop in form

Seamus Coleman has been speaking to ESPN at an event to promote the EA Sports FIFA 2015 game and here’s a couple of snippets of what he had to say:

  • Can you explain how an Everton team that were so competitive in the Premier League last season have failed to replicate that form this time around?

“I can’t work it out,” he said.

“Teams now come to Goodison Park and show us that respect. Maybe they sit back and come for a draw and try to catch us on the counter-attack.

“It is something we have struggled to deal with this season, but we know we are capable of a lot better.

“It is about us putting it right. Goodison is full every week and, as a fan, we appreciate they are not happy.

“We hope they stick with us and we can turn it around.”

  • Are you at all concerned about being dragged into a relegation scrap?

“We are thinking positive here at this club,” he added.

“That has been drilled into us by the manager and we are not looking at the teams behind us.

“We are looking and moving up the table and we want to have a real go in the Europa League.”

Everton’s Seamus Coleman during the Barclays Premier League match at the Emirates -Tony Marshall/PA Wire  

Ossie: Confidence IS high

Ossie also insists confidence in the group remains high heading into the final 10 Premier League games of the season as the Toffees look to climb the table.
 
“It was a difficult couple of months,” he added.

“It’s not great being out injured for any player, I’m especially bad when I’m out injured and it’s even harder when things aren’t going well on the pitch for the team.

“But we’re in it as a team. We’re in it together whether you’re injured, or if you’re playing every week.

“We’ve got 10 tough games now before the end of the season, but 10 games we’re very confident of getting results from.”

Everton FC train at Finch Farm ahead of their Europa League Match tomorrow against BSC Young Boys from Switzerland. Leon Osman  

Today’s Liverpool ECHO

Here’s a look at the stories in today’s copy of the Liverpool ECHO.

 

Leon Osman has declared himself fit and raring to go again after completing 90 minutes for Everton Under-21s on Thursday evening.

“It’s important for me to get as many minutes as I can on the pitch,” he told evertontv.

“The games came quick and close together, but I’m just trying to get myself out there as much as I can.

“It was a good game to play in, it was competitive and it was a great game to win.

“It was difficult circumstances because the pitch wasn’t the best and the wind didn’t help either, but it was very competitive and sometimes they’re the best games to win.

“It was good to get more minutes under my belt, I’m trying to get that last little bit of sharpness and hopefully then I can show that on the pitch for the first team.

“I’m hoping to put myself in contention for Thursday. It was another step tonight – to show I can play 90 minutes and in a game as competitive as that where we all needed to be on our toes.”

Everton's star man on a poor night, Leon Osman Everton’s star man on a poor night, Leon Osman  

Good Morning

Ladies and gentlemen, trust you’re all well?

First up, let me welcome you to the Everton FC LIVE blog.

This is the place for all the latest news, views and rumour from Goodison Park and we’ll be here right through the day.

Quiet weekend for the Blues with no game until Thursday’s first leg tie with Dynamo Kiev in the Europa League.

But there is still plenty for us to get our teeth into.

We’ll start with our Blues reporter Phil Kirkbride and his EXCLUSIVE chat with Everton No.2 Graeme Jones.

He is adamant the players have the stomach for the fight that will ease worries of relegation.

Jones said: “100%. I have never had any doubt about that. We never make any excuses for the players but they have just played five games in 13 days.

“So, when you are Seamus Coleman and you are running 11-12km and 1,500m of that is high intensity and you’re doing that every two days, it’s demanding.

“It could have an effect on your performance, maybe a little, and we need to take that into consideration. We are competing on two fronts and with the Premier League situation now, we need to get the balance right.”

Everton FC assistant boss Graeme Jones insists Blues have stomach for the fight 

Everton manager Roberto Martinez (right) with assistant manager Graeme Jones Everton manager Roberto Martinez (right) with assistant manager Graeme Jones  

Why is this happening? Find out more about the shortage of baby Everton kit.

 Posted by at 9:08 am

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