It's also never easy. I dont care who you play, to keep a goaless draw over 90 min.... after travelling 1000 miles... never easy!
Well, that was the suck. I think Landon was at fault on that first goal, wasn't he? Still, I would have left him in. His service from the right, and his threat with speed, would have been more effective than Arteta out there, I think. This is what happens when you play "prevent defense" for 90 minutes. Poor game plan and poor execution.
I think it made sense to pulld Donovan. He's played a lot of minutes of late and was not very effective. :|
Portugal are ranked 10th because of the of the coefficient based on the last 5 years so that doesn't mean much as they had a poor 2005-06 year. The fact that Hull plays in the BPL does not make them a better team because of their geographic location since the league they play in are currently ranked #1. This year alone Portugal's league is ranked 5th right after Germany. As far as the club's poor form...they hit a slump and that happens. It does not mean Everton should be able to simply "take it" to Sporting based on quality. Sporting are a quality side and along with Benfica and Porto, a reason why Portugal's league is as high as it is in UEFA's rankings. Truth is, Everton really hasn't done much of anything to boost BPL coefficient, thats for sure. That has been done primarily by the Big Four. Now, would you like to continue this argument or simply move on?
You can try and explain it anyway you like, but the fact is they've sucked this year in a far worse league than the Premiership. Meanwhile, Everton are the most in form team in the EPL. It was a terrible gameplan and a terrible loss.
No, I think Donovan did a good job tracking back. He stopped in line with Neville and Yobo, but Jags and Baines were another yard back in line, so what Donovan thought was offsides on his mark was actually just on. Really Jags should have pushed up with Baines when Yobo and Neville came out. I was also kinda bummed Howard didn't stay honest to his near post. As far as the game, I think early on they should have pushed Peinaar out wide and put donovan up top with Saha to put more pressure on the Sporting back line. Unlike Cahill, Peinar Arteta and Osman all sit further back really isolating Saha. I think Donovan's pace and ability make a little space and spread the ball around would have suited Everton if he was sitting just behind Saha.
Sure, but Everton aren't the reason why the BPL is so much better than Portugal's league...are you serious? Form only lasts for a certain period unless you are a top four club, which Everton is not.
The cards have been stacked against the non-top 4 EPL sides even making it in the CL. No Portuguese side would've been close the last several years. To reiterate, Sporting sucks this year. Everton should be ashamed of the way they played.
Oh, and Senderos is not much of a loan signing, is he? Continually getting hurt and, I don't know, doesn't seem that good to me. Do they have him until the end of the season or longer?
I swear he was trying to backheel that and it hit his other leg, looked sick in the end though going around Howard, well done to Sporting, were the better side tonight for sure.
Forget the CL, English teams have not done well in the UEFA Cup for a while. The quality of the PL drops big time after the top 4 as far as Europe is concerned.
Don't even try to convince these cats that a team that was in this very tournaments CHAMPIONSHIP, five years ago, would be any match for Everton fc. I mean honestly it's not like Everton would ever be as low as 10th place in their league would they. Today's match was an anomaly, totally due to Sendeross being out there... it was his fault despite the fact that he wasnt on the field for ALL the goals.
Yeah, as if 5 years ago has any relevance to Sporting Lisbon's suckiness THIS YEAR, which both you and Cris seem eager to ignore or casually excuse.
Yes, but what you guys fail to regard is that, although they have been terrible this season, it is not because they don't have the players. A team with the likes of Veloso, Moutinho, Liedson, etc. don't perform well simply because of psychological/motivational matters. You guys caught them on a day when they felt like playing, and thus the 3-0 result.
Dude, I will totally admit that Sporting have had a poor season in their league, so has Hamburg and Wolfsburg in the BL, but that does not mean they are not quality sides. Heck, Liverpool has sucked by their very own standards...does that mean they suck? Juventus' form has certainly dipped...does that make them a lesser side? Ever heard of a slump? Are you new to this or what? Everton v Sporting was never going to be a single sided match and if you believed that, simply because you watched the last few Everton matches since LD came aboard, then that is your own mistake.
When it's over the course of most of a season it is not just a "slump." Everton let themselves be dominated and Sporting was happy to oblige. Not that I need to explain my credentials, but my guess is I've been watching Everton longer than you have Chelsea.
If you ever thought Everton vs Sporting was going to be a single sided match favoring Everton, then I don't care for how long you have been watching them, it leads me to the belief that you know little about the sport based. Just my humble opinion, if I may.