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.

Steven Pienaar seems to want his future resolved sooner rather than later, according to this article by skysports.com. Pienaar wants to know where he will be next year before the World Cup begins. This is a great thing for Everton because most likely we will either sign an extension with him or sell him, instead of letting him go for free after next season.

Pienaar plays the attacking midfielder role perfectly for Everton, but I am not so sure he would fit in with every club. At this time, we know that Tottenham along with Man U. and Liverpool are interested in him(maybe some other foreign clubs too).

The two big question marks next season are Jack Rodwell and Pienaar, and although I would like both of them to stay, I would rather keep Rodwell. David Moyes seems hell-bent on keeping everyone so we may be able to sign Pienaar, but I am not too worried, as long as we get a good price for him.

Hopefully, this problem sees a solution soon so we don't have another last minute scramble to find a replacement player (like the Joleon Lescott incident).

Arteta Sorry for Eye Poking Incident, Kind Of

Interesting article by Guardian.co.uk. Supposedly, Mikel Arteta knew Morten Gamst Pedersen might make some hasty tackles. That combined with the fact that Arteta has had quite a bit of injury problems recently (groin tear recently and knee ligament damage for most of last season) resulted in his angry eye poking reaction.

“I probably shouldn't have reacted like I did but there have been a few times – not just in this match – when he's made bad tackles," said the Spaniard. "I don't mind it when they're fair or tough, I accept it with no problem. But with him it's different and he knows that – I told him after it as well.”

Arteta did apologize, even though he made it seem that Pedersen had it coming.

"But I made a mistake, I shouldn't have reacted and I apologise for it. I probably got more upset because I was out for so long and don't want a stupid challenge like that injuring me again."

I don’t mind that Arteta keeps tabs on players that could hurt him or tackle aggressively, but he really needs to keep his cool. Everton can’t afford to lose him, especially with the impact he has had while playing. David Moyes has talked to him, and I doubt that Arteta will react like that again. He is usually level headed and that reaction seemed to be an anomaly.

Liverpool’s win over West Ham puts them five points ahead of us and really gives us no room for error. There are only three matches left in the season and we may need some outside help for Europe to be possible at this point.

Cahill, Yakubu propel Everton

Everton 3 - 2 Blackburn

Cahill’s 90^th minute strike keeps Everton in the hunt for Europe. Everton dominated possession all match, but Tim Howard and the defense struggled immensely on set pieces. The scoring started early, with a converted penalty in the 4^th minute, after Mikel Arteta was clearly fouled in the box by Ryan Nelson. From there on Everton dominated most of the half, but never created any good opportunities to go up two. In the 20^th minute, Arteta lucked out by only picking up a yellow card after poking Morten Pedersen in the eye. Blackburn slowly started picking up their attack after this incident. Most of their chances were created during set pieces, where Everton’s fullbacks and Tim Howard looked lost. Everton were lucky to go into the half unscathed.

The second half began with some more pressure by Blackburn, and they finally equalized with a phenomenal strike by Steven Nzonzi. The Toffees attack started to seem feeble, and Moyes made two changes, the second one being Yakubu for Tony Hibbert. This move proved to be the difference. Within 20 seconds of coming in, Yakubu found the back of the net. This was done after a long throw by Baines was headed toward Yakubu by Victor Anichebe. Yakubu headed the ball in with a defender falling into him. Two minutes later, on a counter-attack by Blackburn, Jason Roberts powered a strong shot following a through ball to equalize again. This match started to look tantalizingly similar to the last two matches played by Everton. Cahill had something to say about a draw though. Cahill, on a recent scoring tear, tapped in a short cross after Yakubu made some astonishing moves on the left side of the box to bring out the goalie. This 90^th minute goal kept the dream of Europe alive and puts the Toffees within striking distance of Aston Villa and Liverpool.

The addition of Arteta and Yakubu made an immense difference in the play of Everton. Arteta held possession for Everton (63% for Everton compared to 37% for Blackburn) and changed the dynamic of the game for Everton. Yakubu created goal chances, something Everton lacked in the first half. Cahill also continued his goal scoring streak by putting another one in the net after scoring two against Villa. This victory was essential in Everton’s hopes to get to Europe and shows how important Arteta is to the team. As long as our team stay healthy, we should have quite a good chance to finish at least in the top 7 and hopefully make it to the Europa League (given Portsmouth is still denied).

Next week Everton plays Fulham at Goodison Park. If Everton wants any chance of making it to Europe, a victory would be very wise.

Everton Finally Win a Game Late!

Everton 3 - 2 Blackburn

Everton finally held on to win with a very late goal by Cahill. Yakubu was essential for the last two goals for Everton.

Full recap and analysis coming later today!

Everton 1 - 0 Blackburn at Half Time

Arteta had a penalty awarded in the 4th minute and Everton went up 1-0 early. Everton clearly dominated the game but had quite a few defensive problems especially on set pieces. Arteta also lucked out by receiving only a yellow card trying to poke Morten Pedersen's eye out.

Tim Howard Taking Responsibility

If you have ever watched an Everton match, you know how fiery Tim Howard is. Any time an opposing team is even near the box and he makes a save (or even a shanked shot for that matter), Howard starts shouting like a madman to his teammates. If you haven't had the opportunity to see this scene, just picture Didier Drogba after he loses a match, or Wayne Rooney when his feet touch anything that resembles a pitch, or Bobby Knight after any referee's call against him, or Hal McRae after a stupid ass question, or Mike Gundy after he reads a newspaper, or Dennis Green after thinking someone was who he thought they were, or Jim Mora any day of his life. If you don't know at least one of these references and you call yourself a sports fan, then god have mercy on your soul. Here's the best montage I could find with a lot of these angry people clips - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF7aCF8WFbA

It always seems like Howard is berating his teammates for not trying hard enough or making too many mistakes. Even when Howard himself makes mistakes, it seems that he is shouting at the top of his lungs at someone else. I always thought he did this because he didn't take responsibility for goals against him.

Today I realized, he did this in order to provide leadership, and because he's just a plain crazy dude on the pitch.

"I feel disappointed for everyone," Howard said in reference to the Aston Villa match. "I feel from my standards I need to keep those balls out. I got tied up on the bounce and it's just taken a nick off our player. I'm disappointed but you have to hold your hands up."

He took responsibility for the own goal by Phil Jagielka! I've watched the goal a couple of times, and I know Howard couldn't have kept that ball out. It was just an unlucky deflection by Jagielka. But we now know that Howard doesnt hide behind anything for any ball that finds the net. The reason why he's barking orders at someone or other is because he is just plain crazy.

Either that or he really is an ass and just puts on a front to make it seem like he's nice in the media. I like to think he is crazy.

More Late Defensive Woes for Everton

Aston Villa 2 - 2 Everton

Everton continued its disappointing three game stretch of draws, the last two of which it blew leads late. This time, it was against an Aston Villa side that equalized in injury time by an own goal from Phil Jagielka. After beating Manchester City 2-0 away on March 24^th, Everton seemed within striking distance of the top 7 and a Europa League berth (given that Portsmouth is refused a berth). The Toffees are currently in 8^th in the Premier League, 4 points behind Aston Villa and 5 points behind Liverpool (Villa have a game in hand). While the Aston Villa-Everton match started off with equal opportunities for both sides, Tim Howard had to be called to action with a couple of quick reflex saves. Tim Cahill scored his 8^th goal of the season in the 23^rd minute with, what else, a header following a corner. Agbonlahor equalized for Villa in the 72^nd minute just to be outdone by Tim Cahill two minutes later with another free header following a corner. Everton lost the lead again in injury time with a Jagielka own goal. Ashley Young crossed into the box from left-center and Jagielka, trying to head the ball out, deflected the ball into his own net.

This was another disappointing result for the Toffees. Though I can’t be too disappointed in coming away with a point from Villa Park, I feel we deserved more. It seems we have reverted back to the ways of mental and defensive mistakes that had struck earlier in the season. The main problem seemed to be tiredness and a lack of possession towards the end of the game. While I won’t completely pin the blame on Jagielka for heading the ball into our net, I will blame the lack of pressure given by our midfielders and forwards to players crossing in balls towards the end of the game. This occurred during both goals but was more important in the second, due to the fact that Young got free vision to place his cross right in front of goal. The first goal was a good play by Agbonlahor, but I couldn’t help realize that our defenders were all out of place during his header. I remember these same problems during the beginning of the season where The Toffees would play excellent soccer for 75 minutes and collapse for 15 minutes in the middle of the second half and give up a flurry of goals. The main reason behind these collapses earlier in the season was a chemistry problem between the defenders because of all the injuries we had. The last couple of drawn games seem to stem more from a void in midfield, particularly the loss of Arteta and Fellaini. While Pienaar, Osman, and Cahill are all playing great, they all are attacking midfielders who create offensively in order to score. Heitinga was playing well in the defensive midfielders role until his injury. Rodwell played great, but he did not do what we seriously needed. He couldn’t keep possession on Everton’s side and slow down the game after going ahead. Instead we lost possession after forcing attack. Arteta would take his time to find the right opportunity to attack and until then would keep possession. This is what we are lacking late in games and we might have even held on to a victory if not for the Heitinga injury. Someone really needed to step up to be the pivot in the midfield. None of the midfielders took on this responsibility and Everton ended up with only a point. Arteta should be coming back from injury soon, but until then Moyes needs to find a player that is willing to control a game like Arteta has done in the past. If that doesn’t happen soon, Europa League qualification will slowly slip from our grasps.