1 week Ago By [email protected] (Michael Ball)
I was pleased to see Nathan Patterson get his opportunity for Everton and it reminded me of when I had to play full-back on my unfamilar side – also against Arsenal – although he seemed to take to it easier than I did! I think everyone would have thought that Ashley Young would have been the natural replacement at left-back if Vitalii Mykolenko was ruled out. It was a brave choice from David Moyes . Nathan has been crying out for an opportunity, and he’s had bad luck with injuries.
People might think that it’s an easy swap for a full-back, going over to the opposite side and some players can adapt to it very quickly. But for me as a natural left-sided player, the only position I never played on the pitch all the way through from being in the youth team to becoming a professional, was right-back. David Moyes targeting up to two transfers in key Everton area as three big calls needed I want Everton to be more like Liverpool - incident against Arsenal summed it up Then, unfortunately, I had to try and mark a certain Marc Overmars.
Look, I’m so left-sided, it was difficult. I was trying to find my passes but Overmars was tricky and fast. If I went tight, he’d try and spin me but if I let him loose, he had time to bring the ball down and run at me.
He made my life really difficult. But Nathan, against a tough team who like to use the width of the pitch, handled himself well. I thought he got his distances, in terms of his starting position, pretty correct.
On the occasions that Arsenal switched the ball out, in the majority of times, Nathan was in a good position to effect the play and that would have given him confidence, putting in a decent performance on the opposite side of the pitch, playing against a top team. He’s one of those full-backs who likes to get forward and the type of player that Moyes would like to get into his side for next season. If he’s playing inside midfielders, instead of out-and-out wingers, it gives him the licence to use the width and get up the pitch like Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman did in Moyes’ first spell in charge of Everton .
Between now and the end of the season, it’s up to him to show that he’s got the quality and try and express himself with a run of games. That’s what he hasn’t had since he came to the football club – consistency – and an opportunity to play back-to-back games of a prolonged period of time to demonstrate what he can bring to the table. Goodbye Goodison Park - Souvenir edition Everton are soon set to say goodbye to Goodison Park as the Toffees play out their final few matches in their iconic home before moving to their incredible new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.
And to celebrate this historic and poignant event, the ECHO has produced this stunning special souvenir edition that no fan can afford to be without as they bid farewell to their iconic and beloved home. We have delved into the ECHO archives to unearth fascinating stories from the famous ground's past, including how it came to be built in 1892 and where its world-famous name came from. Relive some of the most epic games to have graced the Grand Old Lady, including first-hand accounts of those involved in perhaps Goodison's greatest night - the European Cup Winners' Cup semi-final win over Bayern Munich in the unforgettable year of 1985.
And then there are the legends - from Dean to Hickson, Sharp to Ferguson, Kendall to Moyes, we celebrate the Goodison icons who will live forever in the hearts and minds of Evertonians everywhere long after the ground is gone. There are also some rare treats with a glorious collection of photographs from the archives, featuring stunning Goodison views and behind-the-scenes footage of what makes the Grand Old Lady truly trick. Buy now and have it delivered directly to your door.
Alternatively you can purchase in most supermarkets, high street retailers and independent newsagents on Merseyside from April 2, 2025. Will he now get another chance at the City Ground? We’ve got a tough game coming up against Nottingham Forest, who are flying. That shows where we want to be as a club, and that you can upset the apple cart by playing a certain style of football, and believing in your system.
They’re sitting in third place in the table and are still in the FA Cup. That’s where we want to aspire to and seeing Forest up there is great for us as it shows it’s possible. I think everyone was laughing at them when they bought 21 players in a single transfer window, wondering ‘how’s this going to work?’ Like us, they have been punished last season for a PSR breach, but now they’re reaping the benefits of their recruitment.
Nuno Espirito Santo – who could be up there for Manager of the Year – was linked to Everton before they appointed Rafael Benitez , is doing really well. I don’t think we’re going to be bringing in over 20 new players this summer, but with so many of the current squad out of contract, there’s going to be a lot of work and we could be in a similar situation, when it comes to shaping things to what Moyes needs. Forest have found a style of play that suits them and they’re very good on the counter-attack with fast, direct players.
They have got that rhythm and know-how in the final third. They know what they’re going to do with the ball in those positions, and they aren’t second guessing. At the moment, when we get into similar positions, we’re sort of making it up as we go along, whereas Forest of got a pattern of play.
Credit to them, they’ve stuck with it and are winning games without having lots of possession because of the quality they’ve got. That’s something that we, as Evertonians, will probably want to become. We might not be bossing possession because of the type of players we have, but we want to be more effective in those key areas.
We’ve got to believe we can do it in the next couple of years. The club will want to believe and so will Moyes, who has taken Everton into Europe in the past..
