The Premier League returns this weekend, ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Goodison Park, I spoke to Read Everton’s editor, Paddy Boyland.
Paddy gives us his thoughts on the game as we prepare for the clash. He goes on to give his opinions on Stones, Mourinho and more. Here is what Paddy had to say.
Who is going to cause Chelsea the most problems at the weekend?
Ross Barkley and former Chelsea man Romelu Lukaku have started the season in good form, and they’ll carry most of our goal threat. At times, we lack a creative influence in the middle of the park, yet the squad looks strong in wide areas. Lennon, Mirallas and Deulofeu will all play a part- the latter being a considerable weapon off the bench due to his somewhat raw combination of pace and skill.
Elsewhere, Steven Naismith has an impressive scoring record against the so-called “big teams” and will provide nuisance value, if nothing else, while Leighton Baines’ injury means that most of the attacking thrust from full-back will come from Seamus Coleman.
The main talking point of the game is clearly going to be John Stones, what’s the general feeling amongst Everton fans about the situation?
The first thing to say is that Stones is a wonderful talent, and I can fully see why Chelsea targeted him- he’s graceful on the ball, quick along the ground and tackles well; attributes that suggest to me that he’ll go to the very top of the game- yet there’s a feeling on Merseyside that Mourinho’s men went about it the wrong way, made their interest all too public and unsettled the lad unnecessarily. Is that good for his own development/state of mind? I’m not so sure.
We don’t know what went on behind closed doors, but Mourinho’s comments (“smaller club” etc.) lacked a bit of class and suggested that he thought Chelsea could just brow-beat Everton into selling a prized asset. I’m sure there’s a touch of bias about all of this, but that’s not how business should be conducted in football- I’m hoping the club will be reluctant to engage in transfer negotiations with Chelsea again.
I think it’s fair to say there’ll be a bit of a needle in Saturday’s match. Evertonians feel aggrieved at the way in which Chelsea went about their pursuit of Stones, and this will no doubt manifest itself in the stands. My belief is that this could well play into Everton’s hands, as a raucous Goodison is a very difficult place to visit.
How has he reacted to the saga?
On the pitch he seems to have handled it all very well- certainly we haven’t seen a visible drop in his performance levels. Off the pitch, however, the speculation certainly has affected him. He’s a 21-year-old kid still learning the game, and the incessant talk is bound to have gone to his head.
I was very shocked when he handed in a transfer request. It seemed somewhat out of character, and if you’d told me at the start of the window that he’d hand in a transfer request then I’d have had a right laugh.
Thankfully, the window is closed now, and Stones will be able to concentrate on his football!
Everton will have some new faces on show, who are they and what can they bring to Everton?
Good question! Some of the lads that Everton brought in towards the end the window are real unknown quantities- players even we know very little about, in truth.
Ramiro Funes Mori, a current Argentine international centre-back and Copa Libertadores winner, has an outside chance of featuring at left-back if Bryan Oviedo and Brendan Galloway fail to shake off knocks, while Gerard Deulofeu is another relatively new face likely to play a part. The Spain U21 captain is a very exciting addition- I’d even go as far to say his potential is on a par with that of Barkley.
You’ll know more about Deadline day signing Aaron Lennon. Most Evertonians are happy to see him back after an impressive loan spell during the second half of last season, even if we felt a playmaker was more of a priority. He’ll provide width, pace and work-rate in abundance- all of which will be crucial to Everton’s hopes of getting a positive result come Saturday.
Last season, the game at Goodison was eventful. What are your memories of that match?
Great game for the neutral, but as you can imagine, I didn’t enjoy one minute of it. The scoreline was a bit harsh on Everton, given the number of saves Courtois had to make, however, it must be said that Chelsea deserved the win and sent a real message to their title challengers that day.
I remember coming away from that game thinking two things; one, we’d just been beaten by the Champions-elect, and two, Everton’s defensive woes would derail their season. And so it proved.
Chelsea hasn’t started well, do you think this is the best time to play us?
Maybe, although Mourinho’s brand of pragmatic, results-based football always seems to get the better of Martinez’s slightly naive style of play. I’m praying that won’t the case this weekend, and given the form of both sides, I’d expect it to be a lot closer this time around.
Chelsea hasn’t started the season well and has issues to iron out both at the heart of their defence and in the Fabregas-Matic midfield axis, yet I’m in no doubt as to their quality. The likes of Pedro and Hazard are world-class players bound to cause us real problems while Diego Costa bullied Phil Jagielka in last season’s 6-3 game. I also think that Terry and Ivanovic may well exploit our weakness from crosses, so that’s another thing to keep an eye on at Goodison.
Can we get your score and goal scorers predictions for the game?
I’ll sit on the fence and go for an entertaining score draw (1-1 or 2-2), with Mirallas netting for Everton and Pedro or Ivanovic replying for Chelsea.
