We have seen Harry Arter left out of the side to start for a couple of games now. The fact that Harry has not been able to train fully is no doubt partly responsible for his selection issues, but having seen how motivated he was against Crystal Palace when he did get on, it seems common sense to pick a player who is offering passion and a desire to make a difference to the team.
The partnership he has had with Surman is well documented, but perhaps it is time for something different. Jack Wilshere has already said that he like to play the deeper midfield role and we have seen Andrew Surman fall away a bit from his usual high standards. So many of the fans have been calling for Surman to be rested. What I am concerned with is why Surman has started to fall short of making the passes we know him for and when is it time for him to take a breather? Eddie does not seem to want to drop his vice captain, and if Andrew is looking the best player in training then there has to be something that is being lost when he gets on the pitch in the league game.
It's not just Surman though that is under performing. You could pick any number of players whose from has dipped. It is a problem for Eddie as he will now need to make changes, but how many and in what positions? The central midfield area had been almost untouchable until Arter had a couple of games out. Now there is reason to give Arter or Gosling some more playing time and it was apparent in the last match that Josh King was making a big effort to keep his place - hopefully a few more players will show that energy in the next couple of games.
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| Harry Arter is likely to be welcomed back to the starting line up at Goodison. |
It's not just Surman though that is under performing. You could pick any number of players whose from has dipped. It is a problem for Eddie as he will now need to make changes, but how many and in what positions? The central midfield area had been almost untouchable until Arter had a couple of games out. Now there is reason to give Arter or Gosling some more playing time and it was apparent in the last match that Josh King was making a big effort to keep his place - hopefully a few more players will show that energy in the next couple of games.
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| Andrew Surman is still trying t hit top form. |
The Afobe/King partnership is something that I believe Howe should persist with for a few games to see what they can do together. They were not helped massively against Crystal Palace in the first half, and if they can get up and at Everton we could see that King and Afobe are not as shot-shy as they have looked in recent games. It also makes Callum Wilson more ambitious to fight for his place back and we want to see players with that hunger again.
Contract News
I'm chuffed for the wee man Ryan Fraser who has signed a new 3.5 year extension to his contract taking him to 2020 at AFCB.
Breaking News - Callum Wilson is out for the season with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, reports the BBC.
Breaking News - Callum Wilson is out for the season with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament, reports the BBC.
I cannot see Bournemouth having a great deal of possession considering how well Davies and now Schneiderlin have been playing for Everton in recent weeks. We shall see though.
ReplyDeleteIt would seem Mousset will get his chance with Wilson out. Good/lucky his loan deal did not happen.
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