CHAMPIONSHIP TITLE OR BUST - SURVIVING THE EVERTON EXODUS

Saturday 27th October, 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP - FULL CLASSIFIED CHECK - MATCHDAY 14
Millwall went down to 9 men in their volatile 2-0 defeat at home to West Bromwich Albion. And Wigan Athletic also dropped points, being held 2-2 at the DW Stadium by Huddersfield Town. So our lead at the top of the table is now extended to 5 points. Shrewsbury’s Nathan Delfouneso and Hull City’s Rubin Akotie and Andreas Cornelius all registered a brace each in The Tigers’ 5-2 victory at The Greenhous Meadow. Ryan Fraser also scored two in AFC Bournemouth’s 3-2 home win against Sheffield Wednesday.
 
Friday 2nd November, 2018

TOFFEE NEWS IN BRIEF...
After 4 goals in 5 matches from Julian Brandt in October, he deservedly picks up the Player of the Month award for the second time this season. Nicola Murru is third in the voting. Yours truly is named Manager of the Month.
Our win against Watford proved to be the last straw for The Hornets’ board of directors. They have sacked Kenny Jackett as manager and are now looking for his replacement. Meanwhile, my immediate predecessor here at Everton, Nikola Jurcevic, has been appointed to the West Bromwich Albion hot seat, to fill the gap left by the sacking of Paul Scholes.

 
Saturday 3rd November, 2018
ROTHERHAM UNITED vs EVERTON
SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
New York Stadium, Rotherham. Att: 12,053.

View attachment 145095 vs View attachment 145094

Pre-Match Odds
Rotherham: 3-1 Draw: 2-1 Everton: 4-5 (fav)​
With a home match against West Brom coming on Tuesday, I decide to bring Douglas in at right back to give Calum Chambers a rest. Oscar Lewicki will continue at the base of the midfield but will likely sit out the next match.
A wet weekend in Rotherham:

2’ - Jamie Allen’s free-kick from the right wing is headed narrowly wide by White with Boyko rooted to the spot. Fans in some sections of the ground thought it was in.

3’ - Rotherham come close again when Marley Watkins picks up the ball one the left of midfield and then cuts inside Douglas and Lewicki before letting fly from the edge of the area with a shot that whistles just over the bar.

4’ - Cassirini’s long range pass from centre field to the left enables Watkins to get in behind Douglas on the corner of the penalty area. He checks infield and crosses right footed into the 6 yard box at the far post, where Buckley arrives to side foot at goal. Denys Boyko blocks it and Douglas manages to throw himself in front of the ball before Clarke-Harris can gobble up the rebound.

8’ - From a Rotherham clearance, Lewicki turns the ball forward to Ryan Ledson just outside the D and his root footed shot on the turn is well saved by Declan Rudd.

22’ - Lelan’s sliding tackle on Andone just outside the Rotherham area allows Ledson to pick the ball up 25 yards out. With three defenders in front of him, he looks for Nicola Muru on the left hand side and the Everton left back puts a high cross into the edge of the 6 yard box, Ryan LEDSON leaps high to head the Championship leaders 1-0 up.

30’ - Tom Cleverley plays a forward pass from midfield and Andone takes possession with his back to goal. Roberts makes himself available to the left for a quick one-two, the return pass putting Andone in on goal via the left hand channel, but Rudd saves Florin Andone’s low angled drive.

32’ - Zeki Fryers latches onto Allen’s pass to send over a deep cross from the left wing and Clarke-Harris sneaks in behind the Everton back four to control it on his chest and shot low, but Boyko blocks it with his left leg and Veljkovic stabs the ball behind for a corner. Shaquille Coulthirst gets up well between two defenders to head just over at the near post.

45’ - Douglas and Ledson combine on the right from a throw-in to tee up Tom Cleverley for a low drive from the edge of the area. Rudd gets down to his left hand post to push the ball wide for a corner.

HT - On the strength of chances created, I think we’re actually a bit fortunate to be leading at half-time and could easily have found ourselves behind. But Denys Boyko has done well in goal and despite over-playing at times, we have created several chances of our own. Our attacking players are struggling to make an impact on the game, though, so I try to encourage them during the break.

46’ - Buckley plays the ball from inside his own half to find Shaquille Coulthirst on the right for Rotherham. He steps around Veljkovic and crosses to the middle of the penalty area where Jonson CLARKE-HARRIS heads for goal and beats Jamaal Lascelles to the rebound off the right hand post to level the scores. 1-1.

48’ - Jamie Allen receives the ball from White’s right wing throw, turns Veljkovic and crosses into the 6 yard box for Clarke-Harris. Lascelles manages to block but the ball rebounds to Watkins whose own shot hits Clarke-Harris and bounces to Will Buckley - the former Brighton midfielder shooting left footed from just right of the penalty area, sending the ball just over the top left corner.

49’ - Cleverley picks out Roberts on the left wing and from his cross, Andone’s glancing header goes wide of the right hand post.

56’ - Clarke-Harris races away from Douglas on the left wing and sends an angled cross into the Everton penalty area. Lewicki gets his head in the way but Allen runs onto the ball and picks out Will BUCKLEY, unmarked to the right of the penalty spot, whose low drive beats Boyko on its way into the bottom left hand corner. 2-1 to the home side.

85’ - Murru’s corner from the left is flicked on by Veljkovic and the substitute Jason McCarthy jumps highest at a crowded back post to head over from point blank range. It must have been easier to score!

88’ - Patrick Bamford, on for Florin Andone, gets the ball into the Rotherham net with a header, only to be ruled offside from the lofted forward pass from Douglas.

90’+1 - Allen blocks an attempted cross by Roberts from the left and Cleverley rolls the ball to Bamford on the edge of the area. He half-rolls Halford and lays the ball off to Arnaud Lusamba to the right. Zeki Fryers steps in to make the challenge and trips the Frenchman, and the referee points to the penalty spot. He considers Fryers to have ‘denied a goalscoring opportunity’ and produces a red card for the former Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur defender. Rotherham are down to 10 men…

90’+2 - …Patrick BAMFORD places the ball on the penalty spot and rolls it down the middle of the goal as Declan Rudd dives to his left, to equalise for Everton with his 7th goal of the campaign. 2-2.

We were both lucky to get the point and unlucky not to win - it was a game that could have gone either way and did, actually, during the course of it. Rotherham threatened several times before they took control of the match but I always felt that we were well enough in the game that we might score at any time. In the end, it’s a point away from home and we have another match coming up quickly, so time to regroup and get ready for the next one.
 
Saturday 3rd November, 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP - FULL CLASSIFIED CHECK - MATCHDAY 15
Ben Mohamed scored the only goal at St. Andrews to maintain Wigan Athletic’s pursuit of Everton at the top of the Championship table, reducing the gap to 3 points after we were held to our 2-2 draw at Rotherham. Britt Assombalonga scored Reading’s third goal in their 3-2 win at Blackburn Rovers to move his side into 3rd place. Millwall’s 2-1 defeat at Huddersfield Town drops them to 5th. Two goals from Adam Reach puts an end to Bradford’s run of 6 matches without a win as they triumph 3-0 at Vicarage Road, dumping Watford to the bottom of the table. Alex Iwobi’s 66th minute goal proved to be the winner in Sunderland’s 2-1 home win over AFC Bournemouth.
 
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Tuesday 6th November, 2018
EVERTON vs WEST BROMWICH ALBION
SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
Goodison Park, Liverpool. Att: 35,253.

View attachment 145071 vs View attachment 145070

Pre-Match Odds
Everton: 4-5 (fav) Draw: 2-1 West Brom: 3-1​

Chambers rotates back into the right back slot and Jason McCarthy comes in for Veljkovic at centre-back. Lorenzo Reyes swaps with Lewicki in midfield and Jack Colback also starts, replacing the rested Ryan Ledson. Our penalty hero from the Rotherham match is now promoted from the bench to the starting line-up once again, with Florin Andone dropping to the bench. Leighton Baines makes a welcome return to the matchday squad, among the substitutes today. Still no place for the £16 million man, Cauley Woodrow.
No goalsy, No Scholesy:

13’ - Lorenzo Reyes pops up from within a crowded 6 yard box to meet Colback’s left wing corner and head it against the crossbar. Grant Ward clears into touch before McCarthy can turn the rebound back towards goal.

21’ - Cleverley’s throughball into the inside right channel enables Brandt to tee up Bamford and his shot flashes wide of the far post.

25’ - Cleverley and Colback work the ball through the midfield and Bamford receives the ball outside the area with his back to goal. He feeds Brandt to the right of the D, and the young German winger initially loses the ball to Kgosi Ntlhe and even appears to foul him in his attempt to win it back. Neither the referee nor linesman react and Julian BRANDT is free to fire Everton into a controversial lead. 1-0.

26’ - West Brom are almost level immediately when Ntlhe’s cross from the left wing bounces back to Chris Brunt, but his ferocious effort soars wide of the far post.

28’ - Calum Chambers beats Brunt on the right wing and crosses to the middle of the penalty area where Bamford heads just over.

31’ - Intricate footwork from Cleverley creates an opening for Patrick Bamford but the Ireland striker pulls his shot wide of the right hand post.

HT - We were playing an Attacking style of football from the 15th minute, because the Scouting Report on West Brom said that’s when they would be at their most vulnerable. We created plenty of chances but they’re still in the match at 1-0. Murru is struggling slightly at left back and Patrick Roberts hasn’t really got into the game, yet.

47’ - Calum Chambers sneaks in behind the West Brom defenders to advance to the right hand byline and then has to head the ball back into the middle when it is cleared straight back to him. Bamford climbs above two defenders but can’t keep it down.

53’ - Cleverley plays Chambers in again, close to the right wing corner flag. Roberts loses the aerial challenge at the back post and the ball drops to Jack Colback on the edge of the area. His shot looks destined for the top left corner but drifts just wide.

71’ - George Thorn lofts the ball out to Ntlhe in space on the left wing. Jason McCarthy goes to close him down but Ntlhe slips the ball to Nikica JELAVIC on the left corner of the 6 yard box to fire into the far side of the goal. 1-1.

73’ - Cleverley volleys the ball out to the overlapping Chambers and he crosses from the byline to Florin Andone inside the 6 yard box. His shot is brilliantly saved by Martinez and goalkeeper manages to gather the ball in before Roberts can convert the rebound.

75’ - With Boateng on for Colback and Lusamba on for Roberts, Everton press West Brom back into their own third of the pitch and probe for a way to goal. A high clearance is intercepted by Reyes and redirected out to Murru, level with the edge of the penalty area on the left wing. He crosses high to the back post and Brandt gets above Ntlhe to head narrowly over the crossbar.

90’ - With time ticking away, Everton get a free-kick 25 yards out, to the right of the D. Julian Brandt’s shot finds a way under the defensive wall and has Martinez diving to the foot of his left hand post to make the save.

We pay the price for some wayward finishing in a match where we had 15 shots but only got 4 of them on target. Patrick Roberts’ recent performances have not scaled the heights of earlier in the season and our attacking play has suffered as a result. Julian Brandt continues to be our leading goalscorer and Calum Chambers is emerging as a major attacking threat on the right wing, overlapping from full back, but we need to become more resolute through the middle of the pitch.
 
Tuesday 6th November, 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP - FULL CLASSIFIED CHECK - MATCHDAY 16
3rd placed Millwall do us a favour by thrashing Wigan Athletic 4-1 at The New Den to enable us to extend our lead at the top of the table to 4 points, despite our 1-1 draw with West Brom. Danish striker Simon Makienok scored two of the goals for the Lions. Leeds United’s Northern Ireland international Kyle Lafferty strikes a hat-trick to inspire his team’s 3-0 victory at Bristol City and move them into 4th place. German striker Phillip Hoffmann nets two for Brentford in their 2-0 away win over Derby County, at Pride Park. Watford’s 1-0 defeat at Bolton Wanderers is their 6th consecutive defeat. Craig Bellamy is in temporary charge for The Hornets while they search for a new manager.
 
Saturday 10th November, 2018
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN vs EVERTON
SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
The John Smith’s Stadium, Huddersfield. Att: 18,794.

View attachment 145054 vs View attachment 145053

Pre-Match Odds
Huddersfield: 7-4 Draw: 11-5 Everton: 5-4 (fav)​

Skipper Milos Veljkovic returns to the centre of defence and Oscar Lewicki comes back in for Reyes in midfield. Ryan Ledson also returns, with Colback stepping down. Florin Andone comes back into the side in place of Bamford. Callum Slattery is named among the substitutes, having returned from recent injury.

Terrifying terrirers:

5’ - Davidson almost gets lucky with a left wing cross that Boyko has to push over the bar to prevent it dropping in at the far post.

19’ - Hogg dwells in possession, just inside the Everton half, and Tom Cleverley closes him down and steals the ball, before playing a long pass into the inside right channel. Florin Andone wins the foot race with Lynch and just has the goalkeeper to beat as he enters the penalty area from right of centre. Blazevic comes out to narrow the angle and it works, because Andone’s shot is wide of the far post. Everton should be 1-0 up.

24’ - Smith retrieves a partially cleared corner for Huddersfield and finds Bunn in the centre, 30 yards out with a crowd of players ahead of him. He chips the ball over to the left hand side and Pudil remains onside to shoot first time, sending his left foot effort just wide of the far post.

30’ - With Huddersfield pressed back, Cleverley, Lewicki and Ledson work the ball from right to left across the front of the penalty area, to play Murru in down the left side. He takes on Smith and pulls the ball back to Roberts who turns onto his left foot and forces Blazevic to push the shot over the bar. Then Cleverley and Ledson combine through the middle to create an opening for Andone but he rushes his shot from the edge of the area and Blazevic saves comfortably.

31’ - Chambers manages to stay onside to receive a low angled pass from Cleverley, playing him in behind the home side’s left back. He crosses to the near post and Andone gets his head to it, but Blazevic tips the ball over.

32’ - Cleverley’s cross from the left is headed down by a defender and returned with interest by Ryan Ledson but Blazevic makes a smart save, diving to his left.

39’ - Brandt is denied by a last ditch block by Joel Lynch as he attempts an angled shot from the right, after Cleverley’s pass got him in behind the left back Davidson.

HT - The Huddersfield goalkeeper Goran Blazevic is keeping us out on his own, so far, but Florin Andone’s low matching rating reflects upon the quality of chances he has missed. The Scouting Report suggested that The Terriers tire during the last 30 minutes of matches, so I will keep my powder dry for now and introduce Bamford around the hour mark. Their left back, Jason Davidson, is among three players who are already looking very tired and with Brandt and Chambers combining down that wing, we should get some joy during the second half.

54’ - Nicola Murru draws a foul just outside the Huddersfield penalty area, left of centre, for which Erik Friberg is shown the yellow card. Murru takes the kick himself but hits the shot narrowly over.

66’ - A left wing corner from Murru is controlled at the near post by Milos Veljkovic. His shot is blocked and rebounds back to Oscar Lewicki who gets hold of his right foot shot, fizzing towards the top left corner, but Goran Blazevic pulls off an outstanding save to beat the ball away to safety.

70’ - Ryan Ledson’s corner from the right is cleared but Cleverley directs the ball back to him from midfield. Lesson controls the ball and jumps over the sliding tackle by Davidson before standing up a cross into the middle where Julian BRANDT heads his 12th goal of the season from 7 yards. 0-1.

74’ - Lewicki feeds Cleverley on the arch of the D and he shoots narrowly over from within a crowd of players.

75’ - Schneuwly centres for Harry Bunn, 25 yards out, and with Chambers closing him down there is a gap on the Huddersfield left wing which Dejan LAZAREVIC exploits to the fullest, with a side foot shot that beats Boyko at the near post. 1-1.

76’ - I withdraw Roberts from the left wing, re-position Brandt to that side as an Inside Forward_Attack and bring on Arnaud Lusamba on the right wing. And within a minute, we are back in front. Nicola Murru fires in a low corner from the right hand side and, darting into a pocket of space 10 yards from goal, Arnaud LUSAMBA restores Everton’s lead with his first touch of the ball, shooting low through the crowd, Hiwula getting a foot to the ball at the near post but unable to prevent it going in. 1-2.

77’ - Schneuwly advances to midway inside the Everton half, on the right wing touchline, and then lays the ball back to Tommy Smith who sees Boyko off his line and launches it from fully 40 yards, but the Ukrainian goalkeeper manages to flip the ball over the crossbar.

79’ - Friberg floats in a free-kick from the left wing and Lynch climbs highest but his header goes over the frame of the goal.

87’ - Chambers pulls the ball back to Cleverley from the right wing and the former Manchester United and Aston Villa midfielder sends an angled cross into the area where Patrick Bamford’s header loops over the bar at the far post.

88’ - Oscar Lewicki feeds the ball into a crowded Huddersfield penalty area. Veljkovic controls it close to the penalty spot, turns Kelvin Wilson and shoots just over the bar with Blazevic beaten.

We had 20 shots, 8 of them on target, but we ended the match on defensive lockdown mode, fighting to protect a narrow one goal lead. We are not as energetic or emphatic in our attacking play as we were earlier in the season but we can grind out results. Tom Cleverley was the Man of the Match. Ryan Ledson and Nicola Murru also shone in this away win.
 
Saturday 10th November, 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP - FULL CLASSIFIED CHECK - MATCHDAY 17
Wigan Athletic, who are our next opponents at Goodison Park, lose further ground in the Championship race by going down 1-0 at home to Fulham. Millwall go 2nd with a 2-0 win at Birmingham City, so we’re now 5 points clear at the top. Neighbours Brentford and Reading draw 1-1 at Lionel Road, leaving them 7th and 6th in the table respectively. Rob Hall impressed for Sheffield Wednesday again, his two goals making the difference in his side’s 3-2 victory at Sunderland. Watford’s misery continues. They were 3-0 down inside 35 minutes at home to Derby County, but they managed to pull two goals back by half-time. But they couldn’t muster an equaliser and have now racked up an unenviable 12 defeats in their last 14 matches.
 
Friday 23rd November, 2018

TOFFEE NEWS IN BRIEF...
Kevin-Prince Boateng is the latest diva to demand answers as to why I rarely pick him to start matches. I used Tom Cleverley’s excellent recent form as my excuse and told the Prince that he’s going to have to wait and be ready to perform when called upon if he wants to nudge himself ahead in the first team pecking order. Then I had to explain to Cauley Woodrow that he’s going to have to learn how to hit a barn door if he’s going to have an Everton future. It was a more heated discussion with him but we agreed that his goalscoring rate will need to improve. Aaron Lennon was the next one through the door, but I told him that Julian Brandt is keeping him out of the side and he was okay with that. Florin Andone, at least, has confirmed that he’s no longer concerned about his lack of football, having been more involved recently.
Martin Bjork, the head of the consortium looking to buy Everton Football Club from our current chairman Bill Kenwright, has told the European Football Post that he will be looking to appoint Brendan Rodgers as Everton manager if the deal goes ahead. This is exactly what happened to me at Southampton. Andre Vilas Boas was the manager named by the in-coming chairman but Rodgers got the job in the end, after I was sacked with the team sitting 5th in the Premier League. I’ll just have to keep my fingers crossed that this consortium does not succeed, or once they complete the takeover they realise that we’re on track for promotion and need to not rock the boat!
Patrick Bamford scores for the Republic of Ireland in their 3-0 win over Russia and follows that up a few days later with a hat-trick against Bosnia & Herzegovina in a 4-3 win for the Irish. But Callum Slattery is put out of action once again, for at least 6 weeks, with strained knee ligaments. He is an excellent young prospect but he is proving to be severely injury prone and misses more matches than he actually plays. Oscar Lewicki also picked up a knock in Sweden’s match against France, but his damaged heels only expected to keep him out for 12 days. Several other players return from international duty in a tired state, so I am going to be forced to make changes for our next match at home to 3rd placed Wigan Athletic. At least we will then have 7 days’ rest before we travel to 2nd placed Millwall.
 
Saturday 24th November, 2018
EVERTON vs WIGAN ATHLETIC
SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
Goodison Park, Liverpool. Att: 38,800.

View attachment 145030 vs View attachment 145029

Pre-Match Odds
Everton: 1-3 (fav) Draw: 3-1 Wigan: 7-1​
The back four remains fully fit and unchanged, and is bolstered by the gradual return to full fitness of Leighton Baines to once again take a place on the bench. Lewicki’s injury means a return to the starting line-up for Lorenzo Reyes. Patrick Roberts needs a rest so I decide to gamble on Aaron Lennon’s fitness on the right wing, with Julian Brandt switching to the left as an Inside Forward_Attack. I’m annoyed at not being able to capitalise on Patrick Bamford’s excellent showing for the Republic of Ireland. Fatigue forces me to leave him out in favour of the fully fit Florin Andone, with Cauley Woodrow taking a place on the bench.

Wiggy, wiggy, wiggy, wiggy, wiggy...

4’ - Tom Cleverley rolls the ball back to Reyes on the advanced edge of the centre circle and the Chilean lofts a high pass into the path of Florin Andone in the inside left channel. He allows the ball to drop and strikes from 9 yards, beating the keeper only to see the ball bounce back off the left hand post before the Wigan defenders scrape it clear.

8’ - Ryan Ledson takes a pass from Andone inside the centre circle and plays the ball out to the left wing for Julian Brandt to give a neat demonstration of the Inside Forward_Attack role. He goes outside the full back Byrne, before cutting infield halfway along the left hand edge of the penalty area onto his right foot. He glides away from Byrne and past Taylor and shoots for the far corner, pulling a smart reaction save from Milinkovic Savic.

12’ - Golbourne’s left wing corner is headed away by Reyes but McCann strikes a left footed volley that flashes wide of the left hand post.

13’ - Fast wing play down the right hand side by Aaron Lennon wins us a corner. It is initially headed away but Lennon nods it down to Cleverley about 25 yards out. He pushes it to Murru on the left hand base of the D and with a crowd of players between him and the ball, Nicola MURRU takes a touch and bends a right footed shot around the group to beat the keeper to his left. 1-0.

24’ - Emyr Huws takes the ball in midfield for Wigan and spreads it out to the right wing for Sean Scannell. The former Bournemouth man goes past Murru and stands a cross up to the back post where Ben MOHAMED arrives to head home from close range. 1-1.

25’ - Everton are straight back on the front foot with Murru continuing his eventful start to the game with a low cross from the left that Andone controls with his back to goal, a few yards left of the penalty spot, with two defenders behind him. He manages to turn and get a shot away but it hits Milinkovic Savic and Huws clears.

28’ - Chambers takes a throw-in from the right and Brandt fizzes a low cross into the 6 yard box. Veljkovic goes down under the challenge of Byrne as he attempts to apply the finish, but Florin ANDONE side foots the ball into the top right hand corner from 7 yards to restore Everton’s lead. 2-1.

29’ - Everton get the ball into the Wigan net again, with a sweeping diagonal move from left to right that ends with Aaron Lennon crossing for Julian Brandt to head home but the flag was up against Brandt.

35’ - Cleverley’s pass from centre field finds Andone 30 yards out, to the right of the D. He clips a diagonal pass over the back four for Julian Brandt to run onto. He shifts the ball onto his right foot and shoots but the keeper pushes it wide. Veljkovic attack the near post to connect with Murru’s corner but his effort loops over the goal and out on the far side.

37’ - Chambers, Cleverley and Ledson complete a neat square of passes by finding Aaron Lennon in a pocket of space, just off the right hand angle of the 6 yard box with the defender who challenged Chambers keeping Lennon onside, but his low drive is saved.

45’ - Reyes hits a crossfield ball to pick out Nicola Murru on the left and he advances upon Byrne before crossing to the centre where Andone gets infront of Botia to get a left side footed shot at goal but Milinkovic Savic makes the save.

HT - The half-time scoreline of 2-1 is a fair reflection of the match so far, but there’s no reason why we can’t extend that lead and cement the three points in the second half. Despite their low match ratings compared to the rest of the team, Lennon and Brandt have both provided a constant threat on either wing and Lennon in particular is demonstrating his pace and ability to find the space for crossing. Andone is also looking lively upfront. The two centre backs have struggled a bit, so far, so I’m going to try and exploit Wigan’s tendency to concede goals during the 46-60 minutes period by putting my team on attack immediately from the restart.

51’ - Brandt puts the ball into the Wigan net again, from close range at the left hand post, but Lennon was offside when crossing from the right wing.

55’ - Ledson sprays the ball out to the right wing and a dummy from Lennon allows Chambers to get away from two defenders and send a cross over from the byline. Andone leaps high between two defenders but heads the ball wide of the right hand post.

64’ - Calum Chamgers sends in a low cross to the far post and Brandt’s attempt to convert is blocked by Scannell with the ball squirting out towards the byline. Andone retrieves it and turns it back to Brandt whose snapshot hits the side-netting.

70’ - Andone is put through in the inside left channel, until Byrne brings him down at the expense of a free-kick. As Murru crosses the ball into the area, Steven Taylor pushed Aaron Lennon and the referee Keith Hill awards a penalty to Everton. Taylor, who already has a yellow card, is lucky not to see red and substitute Lusamba, who is on for Julian Brandt, places the ball on the spot. With Milinkovic Savic trying to make himself look big on the goal, Arnaud LUSAMBA places his shot high into the top right corner to extend the home side’s lead. 3-1.

80’ - Cleverley takes a corner from the left wing which Jamaal Lascelles wins at the back post, getting above Taylor to head back across goal. Botia got enough on the ball to prevent Veljkovic from shooting but Aaron LENNON was on hand to drive a low left footed shot past Milinkovic Savic. 4-1.

86’+ - We finish the game by switching to the Take a Breather tactic, where the players make one and two touch passes to whichever teammate is in space with no particular intention of attacking. Wigan do manage one last attempt on goal with an Adam Le Fondre header going wide at the near post from a left wing free-kick, but we see out a comfortable 4-1 win.

Despite Wigan’s recent loss of form, to win by this scoreline against the team in 3rd place is not bad at all and this is one of our best performances of the season so far. I gambled on Aaron Lennon’s fitness and he repaid me with a goal, an assist and plenty of enterprising attacking play that posed a constant threat to the opposition and I’m delighted to see him come through 90 minutes unscathed. Nicola Murru, Florin Andone and Calum Chambers were all excellent. Botia (4.7) and Taylor’s (5.7) ratings as the centre backs for Wigan show just what a hard time we gave them.
 
Saturday 24th November, 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP - FULL CLASSIFIED CHECK - MATCHDAY 18
Next week’s opponents Millwall remain 5 points behind us by winning 1-0 at Craven Cottage against Fulham. Wigan’s defeat at Goodison Park sees them drop from 3rd to 8th with Derby County moving up the table after their 3-0 victory at home to Rotherham United. Two goals from Britt Assombalonga give Reading a 2-0 win at home to bottom club Watford. Brentford won by the odd goal in five at Shrewsbury Town, leaving them 5th.
 
Friday 30th November, 2018

TOFFEE NEWS IN BRIEF...
Jack Colback complains about his lack of first team football. His timing couldn’t be better because Tom Cleverley and Ryan Ledson both picked up yellow cards against Wigan that results in suspensions for the upcoming match against Millwall, so I tell Colback that he’ll be getting his chance straight away. I also take time to speak to Aaron Lennon to congratulate him on his Man of the Match display against Wigan. If he keeps that up, I’m going to have to consider a switch to 4-2-3-1 to accommodate Lennon, Brandt and Roberts in the same team. Roberts prefers the No.10 role.
Cauley Woodrow scores twice for Everton U21s in their 3-1 win against Birmingham U21s. Jason McCarthy gets the other. Arnold Lusamba and Ali Coote both feature in the match, too, as they maintain or regain their match fitness.
Phil Jagielka has announced his intention to retire at the end of the season. His is 36 years old and is yet to feature at the centre of our defence this season, with Lascelles, Veljkovic and McCarthy rotated their way through every game so far. His contract is due to end in the summer, anyway, so the writing was on the wall for him that he wasn’t going to be offered a new one. He is certainly past playing in the Premier League so now is the time for him to call it a day.
Nicola Murru, Aaron Lennon and Florin Andone all make the Team of the Week after their impressive displays against Wigan Athletic. And Murru makes it 4 out of 4 for Everton by picking up the Player of the Month award, and Ryan Ledson’s 2nd Young Player of the Month gong makes it 3 out of 4 for us in that category.
 
Saturday 1st December, 2018
MILLWALL vs EVERTON
SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
The New Den, London. Att: 18,584.

View attachment 145007 vs View attachment 145006

Pre-Match Odds
Millwall: 3-1 Draw: 2-1 Everton: 4-5 (fav)​
I have named an unchanged back four once again and Reyes retains his place at the base of the midfield. Jack Colback and Kevin-Prince Boateng come into the central midfield roles for the suspended pair of Ledson and Cleverley. Aaron Lennon retains his place on the right wing and Brandt remains in the Inside Forward_Attack role on the left, leaving Roberts to sit on the bench, again. Florin Andone’s impressive performance last time out means that he gets the nod ahead of Patrick Bamford, despite the Irish striker’s return to full fitness. With Ledson, Cleverley and Callum Slattery all missing through suspension or injury and the less than fully fit Colback and Boateng coming in, we will be doing very well to get a win here today.

We've gone to the Isle of Dogs:

3’ - Williams and Barber complete a triangle of passes by finding Vedad Ibisevic on the edge of the penalty area, to the left of the D. He shoots across goal and narrowly wide of the right hand post.

10’ - Andone advances from centre to right until he can progress no further, then from 45 yards out he switches the play to the left wing where Brandt nods the ball down to Murru on the touchline. The full back runs at Cummings and crosses high from the byline to the near post, where Florin Andone is arriving to apply the finishing touch. Millwall skipper Tony CRAIG tries to intervene but only succeeds in deflecting the ball past his goalkeeper Bachmann. Everton take the lead with an own goal. 0-1.

14’ - Murru makes an intercepting challenge in the left back position but the ball pops loose and Onomah’s first time diagonal pass picks out Ibisevic on the edge of the D. With his back to goal, he pushes the ball to Bowery on the left and despite being closed down by Veljkovic and Chambers, he unleashes a left foot effort that sails just over the bar.

20’ - A 45 yard lofted pass by Lorenzo Reyes, from midfield to the left wing, finds Nicola Murru in his familiar attacking left back stance. As Cummings closes him down, he switches the ball to his right foot and sends a high cross to the back post and Florin Andone jumps with Bachmann to get his head to the ball, somehow diverting it over the top rather than into the net when it looked easier to score.

32’ - Colback spreads the play to the right hand side where Calum Chambers is offering support from right back. He advances and skips over the challenge from Onyedinma to attack the byline and send over a high cross that almost deceives Bachmann and has to be pushed over for a corner.

39’ - Everton pay the price for not converting their chances when M’Bengue leads a Millwall counter attack by switching the ball from left to right where three of his teammates are advancing unmarked. A side foot volley pass from Cummings releases Bowery into the inside right channel to continue Millwall’s forward progression. He draws defenders toward him before clipping the ball to the left side of the penalty area for Fred ONYEDINMA to take a touch and place his shot past Boyko to equalise for the home side. 1-1.

40’ - Everton go straight on the attack when Murru plays the ball down the left hand side and Brandt pulls it back to the edge of the penalty area for Jack Colback to let fly, narrowly wide of the left hand post.

44’ - Reyes intercepts a cleared corner to send the ball back out to the left wing for Colback. He passes the ball infield to Kevin-Prince Boateng who then slips it to Nicola Murru inside the D. He turns past Tony Craig, onto his left foot, and draws a smart save from Bachmann, diving to his right.

HT - It’s a fairly even match, so 1-1 is a fair half-time score, although we did have chances early on that could have left us in a much stronger position. Beateng is pulling the strings as the Attacking Playmaker_Attack in the centre of midfield and Andone has made a nuisance of himself for the Millwall defence. Lennon is struggling to deliver the same kind of impact that he had on the Wigan match from the right wing, but I will persevere with him for now.

49’ - A first time half volley by Lorenzo Reyes sends the ball out to the left wing for Nicola Murru and he outpaces Cummings to get to the byline and cross low to the near post, where Julian Brandt takes control, shifts the ball to his right foot to evade both Nelson and Onomah, and shoots from about 8 yards but Bachmann parries it and Cummings slides in to concede the corner.

62’ - Williams tries his luck from 40 yards with a first time effort from Bowery’s pass, but the ball flies wide to the right.

64’ - Jamaal Lascelles picks out Chambers on the right hand side and he crosses high to the 6 yard box where Kevin-Prince Boateng gets his header on target but Bachmann makes an excellent save to keep the scores level.

65’ - The corner is cleared and Barber moves the ball infield from the right to Williams, just inside the Everton half, as space opens up on the far side for Onyedinma to latch onto the pass and make a diagonal run into the box, going past Lascelles to get down the left side of the 6 yard box before squaring to the far post for Jordan BOWERY to tap home from close range. We have been caught on the counter attack again. 2-1.

71’ - From the advanced edge of the centre circle, Andone switches the play to the right where Julian Brandt controls the ball and then holds it up while Everton players get forward. With two defenders jockeying him, Brandt edges to a wider position before crossing high into the penalty area. Boateng climbs highest among five players to flick it on to the far post where the unmarked substitute Patrick ROBERTS fires left footed into the bottom right corner, beyond the despairing dive of Bachmann. 2-2.

81’ - Patrick Bamford, who is on for Andone, lays the ball back to Reyes in midfield and he spreads the play to the right wing. Calum Chambers controls it and pulls it back to the D for Boateng to let fly with a ferocious effort that soars over the crossbar.

88’ - Leighton Baines takes a throw close to the left wing corner flag and Roberts pulls the ball back from the byline to the D where Calum Chambers shoots on the half volley, forcing Bachmann to flip the ball over the crossbar.

I tell the players that they should have won that match and get a positive response from all of them. But secretly I am very pleased with a point from our away trip to the 2nd placed team in the Championship, given the changes that we had to make to our midfield and the lack of fitness that affected several players coming into the match. Kevin-Prince Boateng was the deserved Man of the Match. He pulled the strings from midfield and came close to scoring himself on at least two occasions. Jack Colback also did well and it was good to see Patrick Roberts making a goalscoring return.
 
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Saturday 1st December, 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP - FULL CLASSIFIED CHECK - MATCHDAY 19
Our draw with Millwall means that we remain 5 points clear at the top of the Championship table. Reading are now 3rd, despite dropping points in a 1-1 draw at Rotherham United. QPR’s 3-2 home win over AFC Bournemouth moves them into 4th place, with the winner coming from the Hungarian Daniel Tozser. Sunderland recorded the biggest win of the day with their 3-0 success at Hull City. Bojan scored the third goal. Troy Deeney’s goal gave Watford their first win for two months, at home to Shrewsbury Town who they now climb over and exchange places with at the bottom of the table. Ross McCormack notched an equaliser for West Bromwich Albion before they went on to win 2-1 at home to Derby County.
 
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Friday 7th December, 2018

TOFFEE NEWS IN BRIEF...
Our fine form at the top of the Championship does have one draw back, that comes into focus now as speculation starts to mount regarding the January transfer window. Premier League sides Crystal Palace and Stoke City are both being linked with our defensive midfielder Lorenzo Reyes, while Reading manager Darko Milanic wants our Romanian striker Florin Andone. I would be willing to entertain offers for both players and I wouldn’t necessarily have to replace them because our squad is large enough to accommodate the loss. They have both made contributions to our successful campaign so far, but neither has set the world alight and I don’t think Andone is good enough for the Premier League, anyway. Alan Pardew is also showing an interest in taking Leighton Baines to Selhurst Park. He wanted to leave in the summer and with his contract up at the end of the season, and he having missed the last two months through injury, I would be prepared to let him go if I can get a decent replacement to understudy for Nicola Murru.
Ghanian international Kevin-Prince Boateng is named in the Championship Team of the Week. After that impressive display against Millwall, I am toying with the idea of switching back to the 4-4-1-1 formation with him in the Shadow Striker role for our next match against Fulham, for which 4-4-2 has been recommended.
View attachment 144992 View attachment 144990
During the pre-match press conference for the upcoming match against Fulham, I am questioned about the amount of pressure now building on the Fulham manager Alan Irvine, who is a former Everton player and Assistant Manager. His Fulham side are currently in 17th place in the Championship table, having won only 2 of their last 11 matches. They have only scored 18 goals so far this season, which is the 3rd lowest in the division. A defeat for Irvine on his return to Goodison Park could see him become the latest managerial casualty of the Championship season.​
Federico Marchetti, our back-up goalkeeper, has followed suit with Phil Jagielka and set his retirement date for the end of the season. Like Jagielka, he is getting on in years and has not featured in the first time at all during this campaign so he will wait for his contract to expire in the summer before taking his leave of the club.
 
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Saturday 8th December, 2018
EVERTON vs FULHAM
SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
Goodison Park, Liverpool. Att: 37,904.

View attachment 144985 vs View attachment 144984

Pre-Match Odds
Everton: 1-2 (fav) Draw: 13-5 Fulham: 9-2​

Several players have now returned from suspension or injury so I have more players available than I have had for a long time, but I decide to try Boateng in the Shadow Striker role again in our 4-2-3-1 system against Fulham’s anticipated version of the same formation which has two defensive midfielders and one in the M(C) position. Douglas and Leighton Baines come in at the full back positions, with Chambers rested and Murru suspended for accumulated yellow cards. Tom Cleverley returns from his own suspension with Jack Colback dropping to the bench.

Cottaging, you say? And I have to put what where?

3’ - Kevin-Prince Boateng gets his head to a Patrick Roberts near post free-kick from the left to head at goal, but Marten Stekelenburg catches the ball.

8’ - Stekelenburg has to push the ball over the bar from Leighton Baines’ right footed cross-shot from the left touchline, to prevent what would have been a fluke goal.

9’ - Baines throws the ball into the left side of the penalty area to the feet of Patrick Roberts. He turns away from Richards to pull the ball back to Tom Cleverley whose angled drive towards the far corner requires a smart save from Stekelenburg, low to his left.

14’ - From 45 yards out on the right hand touchline, Baines sends over a free-kick which is headed out by Korey Smith. Milos Veljkovic strikes the ball on the volley from 25 yards out, dead centre, and stings the palms of Stekelenburg with the well-hit shot, the ball dropping to the left of the 6 yard box for Boateng to shoot but Stekelenburg completes an excellent double save by diving low to his right to block the rebound, with Richards hacking the ball away before Boateng can reach it again.

22’ - Veljkovic wins the ball in the centre circle to prevent a Fulham counter attack and Reyes plays the loose ball out to Roberts on the left wing, just inside the Fulham half. Roberts moves infield and switches it out to Julian Brandt on the right wing, and the Leverkusen loanee takes on two defenders before lifting a high cross to the far post for Roberts to head at goal from a tight angle, but he can’t keep it on target.

42’ - Dembele holds the ball up in the middle and chips a pass out to the left hand side for Kavanagh who pulls it back from the byline for Williams to shoot from an angle, but Boyko makes the catch at the near post.

HT - We dominated the opening quarter of the match and for the following 20 minutes, sent it plenty of crosses that were well defended by Fulham, often from very deep positions on top of their own goal line. We look as though we’re going to find a breakthrough any minute, but the match remains goalless at the break. I have switched instructions to whip crosses and told Boyko to roll the ball out to the full backs (which I thought I already had set-up for this formation but didn’t). Bamford has been subdued so far and we have Cauley Woodrow on the bench, ready to face his former club.

49’ - Tom Cleverley goes down heavily under a challenge from the American Emerson Hyndman and has to be stretchered off. Ryan Ledson comes on to replace him.

57’ - Williams angles a 25 yard pass to the right wing for Kavanagh who plays it back into the middle for Emerson Hyndman to smash a 25 yard volley towards the far corner but Denys Boyko makes an outstanding save, getting both hands behind the ball and firmly parrying it away to the right for Douglas to clear.

87’ - Baines wins the ball in the left back position and passes back to Veljkovic who in turn plays it back to Boyko. The goalkeeper’s kick is volleyed back at goal by Nick Powell from 25 yards but Boyko is able to spare his own blushes by diving swiftly to his right to make a flying catch. I would not have been amused to concede a late goal like that!

90’ - With everybody pressed into the Fulham penalty area, the ball pops out to Lorenzo Reyes, 25 yards out in the centre. He plays a short pass to the left for Patrick Roberts to turn infield and shoot right footed but Stekelenburg saves at the near post.

90’+2 - Douglas takes throw on the right and Roberts pulls it back to Aaron Lennon on the corner of the area, and he immediately centres. Brandt’s volley is charged down by Richards and the ball comes out to the edge of the area where Lorenzo Reyes strikes towards to the top right corner, but once again Stekelenburg is equal to it and makes an impressive save.

90’+3 - Lennon combines with the overlapping Douglas down the right wing and the Brazilian full back sends over a high cross that is dropping towards Patrick Roberts, a few yards out, but Marten Stekelenburg rises and plucks the ball out of the sky to deny the opportunity and ensure the match ends goalless.

Douglas is awarded the Man of the Match for the constant threat that he posed down the right flank, but I’m surprised that Marten Stekelenburg only scores a 6.8 - he was the difference today, making several impressive saves to keep us at bay. I also have to be grateful to my own keeper for a terrific stop to deny Hyndman from distance. We played well and carried a constant threat. Today, though, we couldn’t find the way through.
 
Saturday 8th December, 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP - FULL CLASSIFIED CHECK - MATCHDAY 20
View attachment 144977
(I accidentally deleted the screenshot of the league table, having already progressed further in the game itself)​
Millwall’s 3-1 defeat at Bradford City, despite their hosts going down to 10 men, means that our point against Fulham nudges us 6 points clear at the top of the table. QPR, under new manager Tim Sherwood who left Birmingham City to take up the Loftus Road job, played on Friday night and won 1-0 at Brighton & Hove Albion to move into 3rd place. The Romanian left back Alexandru Vlad scored the winner. Sean Scannell and Adam Le Fondre were both on target for Wigan Athletic at Bolton Wanderers to leave the Latics in 4th place. Logic Remy scored twice to make it back-to-back wins for Watford who climb another place in the table to 22nd, in their bid to get out of the relegation zone - their 3-1 defeat of Bristol City leaving them bottom of the table and costing Stuart Pearce his job at Ashton Gate.
 
Friday 14th December, 2018

TOFFEE NEWS IN BRIEF…
The draw for the 3rd Round of the FA Cup provides us with a home tie against fellow Championship side Bolton Wanderers. It presents a strange situation where we will play them three times in 6 matches, because they are our league opponents on 22nd and 29th December, that happening to be the round of matches that gets the quick reverse fixture treatment. The FA Cup match is scheduled for 5th January. They are currently 18th in the Championship, so we will go into these matches as favourites.
Douglas is named in the Championship Team of the Week. I am lucky to have two excellent right backs at the club, but Calum Chambers is definitely my preferred choice with Douglas providing back-up. When he comes into the team, he consistently does very well so I’m happy to rest Chambers now and again.
I have accepted bids worth £6.25 million from Lyon, Mainz and Malmo for Florin Andone. The Romanian striker came into my office again, questioning his lack of first team football so I told him that I was prepared to let him go if we received the right offer. Well, his agent must have been hiding under the desk because no sooner did we conclude that conversation than I was inundated with bids from clubs all over Europe. I negotiated them all up to make sure that we more than covered the £5.75 million that we paid for him in the summer (the club brought him in just before I was appointed to the manager’s job), which meant that Fiorentina withdrew their interest and I had to reject a non-negotiable bid from Celta Vigo. I’m having some difficulty finding room in the first team for Cauley Woodrow and Sam Gallagher, so cashing in on Andone now will alleviate that situation but I will need to get a tune out of them.
 
Saturday 15th December, 2018
BIRMINGHAM CITY vs EVERTON
SKY BET CHAMPIONSHIP
St. Andrews, Birmingham. Att: 18,319.

View attachment 144963 vs View attachment 144962

Pre-Match Odds
Birmingham: 4-1 Draw: 5-2 Everton: 4-7 (fav)​

We beat Birmingham 3-0 earlier in the season, playing the 4-4-1-1 formation but Tim Sherwood has left for QPR since then and Chris Ramsay plays a different system. We’re expecting them to line-up with two DMs and an AM(C) so to get through that congested central defence I’m going to put Boateng in the Shadow Striker role and have a deeper lying four man midfield to hopefully mitigate the effectiveness of their No.10. Douglas retains the right back slot after his Man of the Match display against Fulham. Nicola Murru returns from suspension to play at left back. Ryan Ledson returns to the starting line-up in place of the injured Tom Cleverley. With Florin Andone in discussion with his potential new club, Cauley Woodrow makes the bench again.
Your ego is writing cheques that your body can't cash:

16 secs - Patrick Bamford tucks the ball away into bottom left corner of the Birmingham goal, but the flag is up to indicate that he was offside from Boateng’s long range looped pass. No goal. 0-0.

5’ - Ledson and Bamford combine of the left side of the penalty area to present a shooting opportunity to Patrick Roberts, but his left foot effort flashes wide of the near post from an angled position on the left.

13’ - Roberts lays the ball back to Ledson from the left wing and the midfielder plays a high ball into the run of Kevin-Prince Boateng inside the penalty area. He pulls the ball back across goal but behind both Bamford and Brandt so Jonathan Grounds is able to clear the ball upfield. Veljkovic misses the header and allows Koby Arthur to race onto the loose ball and advance upon the Everton goal with Lascelles and Veljkovic trying to catch him. Arthur surges to the right side of the goal and when he reaches the byline, he pulls the ball across to the far post for Jim O’BRIEN to side foot the home side into the lead. 1-0.

17’ - Douglas has the ball down by the right wing corner flag but is blocked off from crossing the ball by Grounds. He pulls the ball pack to the edge of the area for where Reyes and Ledson combine to feed Bamford inside the D, with his back to goal. With three defenders at his back and Boateng making a run to draw one of them away, Patrick BAMFORD turns onto his left foot and progresses into the inside left channel to place his shot past Ostbo at the near post. 1-1.

21’ - Brandt receives the ball on the right wing, just inside his own half and he advances over the halfway line with four Birmingham players in close attendance. He lays the ball off to Kevin-Prince Boateng in the middle and the Ghanaian hits an angled crossfield ball to Roberts on the left wing, who knocks the ball out his feet, races to the byline and sends a high cross to the far post where Julian BRANDT arrives at pace to head home from 3 yards. 1-2.

24’ - Grounds, Gleeson and O’Brien work the ball from the left through the midfield and into the inside left channel for Arthur to attack the Everton defence. Arthur misjudges O’Brien’s pass but the ball hits the heel of Jamaal Lascelles and falls back into the striker’s path, allowing Koby ARTHUR to shoot right footed. Boyko gets something on it but the ball deflects into the net for an equaliser. 2-2.

31’ - Reyes picks out Douglas on the right wing and the Brazilian centres to the penalty spot. Basham’s challenge on Boateng forces the ball out towards the D where Ryan Ledson runs onto it and strikes right footed to fiz a shot narrowly wide of the right hand post.

39’ - Paul Caddis volleys clear a right wing corner from Douglas but Roberts controls the ball just outside the area and lays it off to Veljkovic and his left foot shot flies over the crossbar.

43’ - Milos Veljkovic goes close again with a near post header from another Douglas corner on the right hand side.

44’ - Murru finds Roberts with a short pass, and from just outside the left corner of the penalty area, Roberts angles a cross into the middle where Bamford wins the header against Michael Morrison but it flies over the bar.

HT - A game of two halves, already - in that our attacking half of the team is playing very well but the defensive half has shot us in the foot. Twice. And since we’re a football team, shooting ourselves in the feet is not a strategically desirable option! Veljkovic and Lascelles have both made goal-gifting mistakes, but other than that we are in total control of the match. We are pulling Birmingham all over the shop with our attacking play and they are vulnerable to our crosses and our habit of gobbling up clearances to quickly work another opportunity from another angle.

51’ - From 15 yards inside the Birmingham half, Boateng turns the ball out to the left for Roberts who sets off on a run down the wing before crossing to the penalty spot where Boateng arrives to volley at goal, forcing Ostbo into parrying the shot wide of the left hand post.

60’ - A one-two with Ledson enables Boateng to slip a short through ball past the defender to release Patrick Bamford into the area but his shot from the left corner of the 6 yard box is pushed behind by Ostbo, as Everton continue to rack up the corner count.

66’ - Ryan Ledson chips the ball out to the right for Julian Brandt and he crosses from the byline to the far post. Roberts beats Caddis in the air, but Ostbo makes the save.

74’ - Ledson intercepts a partially cleared corner and lays the ball off to Lascelles who frees substitute Calum Chambers on the right hand side of the penalty area, but his shot is wide of the near post.

75’ - Oscar Lewicki wins an aerial challenge to allow Ledson to advance into the Birmingham half and play a short pass to Boateng, who advances on the Birmingham area and shoots from 20 yards, curling his effort around the frame of the goal to the right.

76’ - Nicola Murru gets in on goal on the left by making a late run to connect with a Patrick Roberts free-kick from midfield, but his shot is saved by Ostbo at the near post.

82’ - Ledson spreads the ball to the right wing for Chambers and he crosses to the middle where Boateng heads for goal, but Ostbo is equal to it.

How did we not win that match? We absolutely battered Birmingham from beginning to end. Both of their goals were due to errors by our centre backs but we dominated possession and were constantly creating chances and hitting shots on target, but we just couldn’t find the net during the last two thirds of the match. It’s another frustrating draw from a match that we controlled.
 
Saturday 15th December, 2018
CHAMPIONSHIP - FULL CLASSIFIED CHECK - MATCHDAY 21
Millwall have dropped points at home in a 1-1 draw with Bolton Wanderers but Wigan Athletic make up ground on us with their 1-0 victory over Shrewsbury Town, thanks to a winner from Adam Le Fondre. Reading’s 1-0 win at Huddersfield Town allows them to get a little closer to us, too, with Britt Assombalonga on target for them again. Bristol City’s David Faupala scored a hat-trick to give his side a 3-2 away win at Rotherham United. Watford’s improved form continues with a 3-1 victory over AFC Bournemouth at Vicarage Road, where Etienne Capoue got the goalscoring underway after just 4 minutes. Fulham’s 4-1 win sees this season’s early Championship leaders Bradford City slip down to 15th place.
 
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