João Pedro Pereira Silva to Everton

Joao Pedro Pereira Silva or Joao Silva for short, seems to have made a move to Everton. Silva is a Portuguese footballer from Portuguese Second Division team Desportivo Aves. The promising striker made his professional debut earlier this season, and immediately became one of the top scorers in the Second Division. The transfer fee is reported to be £500,000, not bad for a really promising forward. I can't say for sure, because I can't find any footage of Silva, but he seems to be a very good signing for the club.

Everton Updates

Alright, so I've all but given hope on Everton making it to Europe. We need Liverpool to lose their next two matches while we win ours. Seems highly unlikely, especially because Liverpool plays a woeful Hull City on May 9th.

So I'm going to stop talking about it and instead start talking about how our club can finish strong and look forward to contending for the title next season! It's been quite a while since we've had a team that was strong enough to have these types of expectations, but as long as our team stays somewhat intact, I think this is possible. I will talk about what went right, what went wrong, as well as changes we need to make to the club after the season ends (World Cup coverage too).

For now, these are a couple of things that have happened that i missed the last couple of days.

- Looks like The Toffees have put a £20 million dollar price tag on Steven Pienaar. Contract negotiations have also stalled. I like the price tag, so we don't lose him, but my biggest fear of all is that he doesn't sign, he plays for us next season and then leaves on a free transfer. Hopefully the club sorts this out, but I would rather him sign or leave (so we get the transfer money), no in between.

- David Moyes has been linked to Manchester United, which makes me nervous. Even though he said there is no way the news is true, it would be a HUGE blow to Everton. He has made some spectacular signings as well as getting Everton to play and contend for the top half of the Prem League.

- The Toffees have become favorites to sign Paul Scharner from Wigan. I don't know if I would like this signing. He is a good player from a mediocre team, but he plays a position where we have a lot of talent.

- Both Mikel Arteta and Victor Anichebe are trying to get last minute call-ups to their respective World-Cup squads. Mikel Arteta has been paying excellent football but is trying to make an already stacked midfield on the Spanish National Team. Victor Anichebe on the other hand is most likely trying for a backup role on the Nigerian National Team, where there have been some injuries (Yakubu will most likely make the roster). Other current players on Everton that will most likely be included on their national squads are: Tim Cahill (Australia), Phillippe Senderos (Switzerland), Tim Howard (USA), Yakubu (Nigeria), Luois Saha (France), Steven Pienaar (South Africa), John Heitinga (Holland), and Joseph Yobo (Nigeria).

Everton 2 - 1 Fulham Highlights

Here are the highlights to the Everton - Fulham game:

Even though we pulled out a victory, Liverpool crushing Burnley pretty much dashes any remaining hope for European football. We now have to hope for Liverpool losing their last two matches while Everton wins their last two matches. Highly unlikely, but still possible.

Injury time penalty wins it for Everton!

Everton 2 - 1 Fulham

After Chris Smalling deflected a Victor Anichebe header into his own net in the 50th minute, Everton brought an all out attack. Nothing seemed to work out as the Toffees seemed be out of contention for Europe with a draw. But an injury time penalty on Tim Cahill by Chris Baird seemed to bring black the fading dream of Europe for Everton. Mikel Arteta converted the penalty and Everton is still in contention for 7th place and the last spot for the Europa League.

Everton 0 - 1 Fulham

Fulham score after a terrible mistake by Leighton Baines. Baines tried to back pass without looking to Howard and was caught by Erik Nevland, who put it in the back of the net. Other than that, there were no major chances on goal for either side. Everton seemed to control possession by a slight margin. Arteta was also injured but looks like he will return after the half

Everton - Fulham Preview

This is it. The home stretch. Only three more matches left in the season (Home against Fulham, at Stoke City, and home against Portsmouth). Portsmouth has officially been denied a chance to go to the Europa League (making it to the FA Cup finals), so the 7th place team in the Premier League will be allowed to go instead. Everton is currently in 8th place. The Toffees have not lost a home league game since November, but merely avoiding a loss will not be enough. A win is compulsory for the Toffees if 7th place is in their minds.

Fulham are playing for pride only at this point. They are not in contention for a European spot and are not close to the relegation battle. Fulham played midweek in the Europa League against Hamburg to a scoreless draw. Fulham's top scorer, Bobby Zamora, is also injured after aggravating his Achilles injury. This game is also Tim Cahill's 200th start for Everton. All these factors seem to make this game perfect for an Everton victory, but the Toffees can not become overconfident. Mark Schwarzer has been phenomenal at goal recently and could make goals difficult to come by for the Toffees. Everton also have a history of not winning the games they are supposed to.

In the end, I think Everton win this game 3-1. Fulham have had trouble to score, and losing Zamoro will not help. Everton has had a pretty good goal scoring run, and that should be the difference. I don't see Everton losing or drawing this important of a game at home.

Everton's Squad:

John Heitinga's hairline fracture on his ankle will definitely keep him against Fulham and most likely for the rest of the season.

Likely Starters: Howard, Jagielka, Hibbert, Distin, Baines, Bilyaletdinov, Neville, Cahill, Arteta, Pienaar, Saha

Bench players that could see minutes: Rodwell, Yakubu, Yobo, Senderos

Fulham's Squad: Schwarzer, Pantsil, Smalling, Hughes, Shorey, Duff, Murphy, Etuhu, Dempsey, Gera, Okaka

Fellaini accused of attacking woman

Bad news for Marouane Fellaini and Everton. Fellaini is accused of attacking a woman in a London nightclub. He has not been arrested, but Scotland Yard is supposedly looking into the matter.

We're going to have to wait this one out for now to find the details and repercussions (if any). But if this is true, what are you doing Fellaini? Not only did you attack a woman, your doing it with a bad ankle. For those of you familiar with American Football, this is the same path Ben Roethlisberger took, and it isn't looking pretty for him now (suspensions, media ridicule, intense scrutiny on personal life). Hopefully, Fellaini gets his head back on and starts making better decisions.