Mixed feelings at Everton

The past few weeks have been pretty turbulent for Everton, although the positives by far outweigh the negatives. The impressive run of results, which included the win over Chelsea among others, saw the Toffees climb to ninth place in the Premiership standings, while David Moyes’ side also defeated Sporting in the Europa League. Nevertheless, they ended up conceding the cheap late goal in that match, while the biggest negative highlight of this period is the ankle injury to Marouane Fellaini that will sideline him for the rest of the season. Don’t let me get started on that tackle by Sotiris Kyrgiakos.

Since the team were plagued by injuries for so long, we have forgotten how well Everton play when David Moyes can choose from nearly fully fit squad but the past few weeks have reminded us of what that is like. The wins over City, Sunderland, Wigan and Chelsea would have weighed even more if we had taken our chances and beaten the sorry Liverpool but the good thing is the players have responded well to the defeat by beating Chelsea and then Sporting as well. Let’s just hope the late goal conceded against the Portuguese won’t cost us the place in the next stage of Europa League.

As far as team selection is concerned, everybody was delighted to see Mikel Arteta back in action and even though he is still far from the desired form, the sole presence of the Spaniard in the side makes things a whole lot easier. Jack Rodwell is also back and should be fully fit in no time, while Phil Jagielka and Tony Hibbert are also closing in on their return. However, the ankle injury to Marouane Fellaini couldn’t have come at a worse time. The Belgian was on top of his game for quite a while and was clearly the key part in our midfield in the absence of Arteta but he became the victim of Kyrgiakos’ blatant challenge and will now miss next six months of action.

If there is a coach that can get the most of the cards he is dealt, it’s definitely David Moyes and that is what makes him one of the best managers in the Premiership. I have absolutely no doubt he will find a way to make the most out of the players he’s got, especially now that Arteta is back into action. If I was an online betting expert, I would put my money on Everton keeping the rich vein of form despite the recent developments.