Rival Lines: "Ancelotti was not going to turn us into world-beaters overnight," says RBM

Rival Lines

Match Preview: Everton v AFCB

Blogger Interview: Royal Blue Mersey
twitter: @chandler98_

For the final Rival Lines of the season, I was contacted by Matthew Chandler of the Royal Blue Mersey website. Everton have stabilise din mid-table but perhaps they expect better now that they have a highly acclaimed manager. While Eddie Howe has faced Ancelotti before in a friendly match against Real Madrid, to be hie Everton is rather a must on Sunday.

CC: What have Everton fans felt about Ancelotti since his arrival?

RBM: Almost unanimous support for him, I'd say. We were so tepid and mentally fragile under Marco Silva that we realise Ancelotti was not going to turn us into world-beaters overnight, and the squad is still a poor squad, but he's made us harder to beat and more resilient. Fans just want this slog of a season out of the way so we can start looking forward to what will hopefully be a better campaign next year.

Advertisement

Coastal Garden Buildings

CC: Theo Walcott did Bournemouth and some other teams a big favour with his last few minutes goal against Aston Villa. Is he really good enough though for the Everton fans?

RBM: Hard to say. Walcott works hard but his end product just often isn't there, not to mention he's 31 now so is unlikely to drastically improve from here. He probably shouldn't be starting for us next season but there are other players who need getting rid of more urgently this summer. I'd be content with him staying as a squad player.

CC: Where do Everton need to strengthen to finish higher next season?

RBM: In central midfield, above all else, because we haven't really had one this season. It's just been one big gaping void in our team for much of it. Gylfi Sigurdsson is finished and can't run, Tom Davies probably just isn't good enough unfortunately, Jean-Philippe Gbamin was supposed to replace the excellent Idrissa Gueye following his PSG move but has been injured since August, Fabian Delph has been a disaster, and André Gomes will take time to get going after that horrific injury. In fact, for some of the season, our best midfielder has looked like being Mason Holgate, who has also probably been our best central defender. So an overhaul is needed there.

I'd also be after probably two wingers, a right-back to be Seamus Coleman's long-term successor, and a new goalkeeper, because Jordan Pickford is totally unreliable.

Advertisement

Eddie Had a Dream -now just 9.99!

CC: What is happening about the new ground for Everton?

RBM: It was projected to be finished by 2023, but it remains to be seen how much that will be held up by coronavirus. The plans along Liverpool's waterfront all look spectacular and have been carried out with constant consultation with supporters, which has been heartening. Though, the stadium architect Dan Meis left the project last month which, having built up a strong rapport with fans, was disappointing. I'm sure that won't have a disastrous effect on the entire project, though.

CC: Who has been Everton's player of the season in your view?

RBM: Richarlison. Took a while to get going but has been consistently one of Everton's best players for much of the season. Closely followed by Holgate, who only broke into the team in late October but has probably been Everton's most-improved player.

CC: Everton really got up for the Liverpool derby in June, but do you feel that Everton have got after other teams as well since the restart?

RBM: Probably not, but I think it's a combination of a sub-par squad and tired legs, to be honest. Like I alluded to before, it's hard to win games when your midfield is basically bypassed. You need legs to press so aggressively game after game; Everton don't have that. Plus, the necessary evil of playing multiple games each week since the restart hasn't helped the side, either.

Advertisement

CC: Everton are unbeaten at home this calendar year. So, is it a good time to play Bournemouth at Goodison on the last day of the season, knowing we need a win to have any chance to stay up?

RBM: I have to say I'm fairly confident about beating Bournemouth. Not only because Bournemouth are in such a predicament, but because we're unbeaten at Goodison since Ancelotti's arrival and have been pretty good at seeing off the non-top 6 sides under him, certainly at home. The issue will be whether Bournemouth are simply more motivated because they must win, and there's not much riding on this game for Everton besides pride. We saw against fellow strugglers Aston Villa last week at Goodison how Everton struggled to match their intensity there. They must learn from that game and be stronger here.

CC: Which Bournemouth player do you most fear about spoiling the last day of the season for Everton?

RBM: I like Callum Wilson and Josh King and both have struck against Everton before, so even if they're obvious choices as strikers, I'd go with them. But Everton do have a knack of conceding to forwards who barely score, so maybe Dominic Solanke should be the one to worry us.

CC: What is your score prediction for the game?

RBM: 3-1 Everton (sorry!). I just think Bournemouth will have to go for it and can see Everton picking them off, not least because Bournemouth's defence has leaked so many goals this season. It's not nice to relegate teams, but I would suggest that it won't be this game that really sent Bournemouth down over the course of this season. Eddie Howe was my initial choice to replace Silva before Ancelotti became available, though, and I'm sure you'll bounce back under him.

CC: Some great views from Matthew on Everton and Bournemouth's predicament. I don't know what will happen on Sunday, but the omens are not good when you look at Everton's home record. But if we need a positive feeling we need to go back to last September when Bournemouth last played Everton. A 3-1 win away might not be possible, but Bournemouth have to try and beat their away form duck in 2020 and it might not be too late for them if they can do it in this game. To read more of Matthew's Everton thoughts, visit Royal Blue Mersey where you will also see Cherry Chimes answer some questions ahead of the game on opposition view.

Previous post on Cherry Chimes - AFCB still have everything to play for

Player profile: Royal Blue Everton reports on Christian Atsu

While I had seen a few goals that Christian Atsu had scored during the Africa Cup of Nations for Ghana,Atsu has not been a name that I knew much about. Having felt that he was going to sign for the Cherries from a number of sources, I thought it would be of interest to see if we could find out a little bit more about his strengths and weaknesses and a few days ago I managed to catch up with Kenneth Jarvi who writes Royal Blue Everton. He kindly agreed to answer a few questions about the young Ghanaian.

WhoScored.com has been checking out Christian Atsu's stats.

CC: When Christian Atsu came to Everton did you expect high things of him having come from Chelsea?

RBE: I had watched Atsu play well at the World Cup before we signed him on loan and thought he was an exciting young player. I thought he could have a great impact as Gerard Deulofeu did for us the season before, and hoped at that stage we'd have a purchase option as we're crying out for wingers.

CC: He has scored some spectacular goals for Ghana so do you think he got a fair run of it at Everton and would you have liked to have kept him for longer?

RBE: He absolutely did not get a fair run, however his injuries and the African Cup Of Nations came at really inconvenient times for Everton so it was hard to give him opportunities before February. He has brilliant potential but I'd ideally like to have a permanent transfer, which wasn't an option with Atsu. I wish he was played more as he could of done well, he's an extremely exciting player and the exact player we need.

CC: What would you say is the weakest part of his game where he needs to improve?

RBE:  The weakest part of his game is pretty much the same as any young winger. Inconsistent and poor decision making. When I've watched him for Ghana however, his strengths far outweigh his weaknesses. We didn't see the real him at Everton I feel. The type of player who could win you one match and go missing the next.

CC: Do you think he could still do well in the Premier League?

RBE: Absolutely, I think he has potential Champions League quality and will hopefully show that for Bournemouth. I think his short time in the Premier League will serve him well for a full season. 

He only showed glimpses at Everton. The Atsu of Ghana is brilliant! Hope he plays well for you.He started and played poorly (nothing coming off) when we lost 5-2 to Kiev as well in our most important match of the season, so I think things like that stick in some fans' memories.
CC: I imagine Christian is most at home on the right wing but was he tried in different positions at Everton and did he ever tackle back and help out his full back much?

RBE: I'd say he puts in an average shift which is similar to most wingers, as in he'll fulfil his defensive duties but won't go above and beyond. I never felt he left his full back isolated.

CC: Is his best asset simply pace or is there more to his game than that?

RBE: A lot more too his game. He has good ball control and a fantastic shot. I think he'll get Bournemouth fans on the edge of your seat. I was really annoyed at Martinez for not giving him more opportunities but Martinez was all over the place his highlighted by the fact Osman was played ahead of Mirallas, let alone Atsu. I think he's a great signing for you.

CC: Aaron Lennon (who English fans know well) was signed in January by Everton and pretty much kept Christian out of the team, but are they similar in ability or is Lennon much better in your opinion? 

RBE: Lennon is experienced now and think Martinez could trust him. Also there will be an option to buy him so there was the long term vision in playing him. Lennon is better than Atsu now but Atsu has the potential to be a lot better. He was in good form and had a huge work rate, I saw a better Aaron Lennon at Everton than I'd ever seen as Spurs. He was played ahead of Mirallas, Atsu and Pienaar.

CC: We saw a great goal celebration with his teammates in the Africa Cup of Nations but do you think he bonded well with the Everton squad?

RBE: Can't compare with Everton as we didn't have anything to celebrate! That being said, Atsu never kicked up a fuss about playing time and was happily seen in photos at our end of season awards. Seems a good player in the dressing room. I think it's a real shame it didn't work out for us, I think our loss will be your gain.

CC: I was pleased to hear some of those replies from Ken as I had heard that Christian Atsu had not been considered a success by many Everton fans. While he might have wished he had done better at Goodison there is no doubting his talent when you see him playing in a Ghanaian shirt. Hopefully Christian settles quickly and perhaps brings the best out in one of our other African signings - Tokelo Rantie. If Eddie Howe can get the best out of Christian it sounds like he could be a player to really bring the Premier League alive!

Make sure you have a closer look at  Royal Blue Everton who has some match reports of Everton's European adventures last season. We have a lot of new Premier League Blogs to check out next season. Thanks again Ken for some great feedback of Christian Atsu.

Premier Talk looks at Watford's problems over their managerial movements - visit Premier Talk to see who their new signing is as well.