This could an historic week, not just for Everton, but maybe for one of their young players. The Blues only had 13 senior outfield players available at Crystal Palace, so it might be an opportunity to get some youngsters on the pitch against Manchester United.
It reminds me of when I broke through to the first team as a 17-year-old and the manager had to look to the youngsters whether it was myself, Danny Cadamarteri or Richard Dunne. You never know, one of them might surprise David Moyes and join the senior side for next season’
Those boys will be excited that they’re on the bench. Franny Jeffers was once in that position against Manchester United at Old Trafford when he was 16 and he got his opportunity.
Things can change very quickly in football. One minute, you could be one of these Under-18s players, in the first team to play at the new Everton Stadium, then the next, you might be playing against Manchester United at Goodison Park!
There are only six more games to go at the Grand Old Lady now and we’re counting them down. The ground felt a bit subdued earlier in the season, but we seem to have our Goodison back now so let’s make each one memorable.
Manchester United are having a season of struggle and we’ve gone above them in the table. They always seem to get results against us though so we owe them one.
They’ve still got world-class players who can hurt you but we’ve got to show that same commitment and desire we’ve been displaying under Moyes. We started well against them at Old Trafford but once they got their first goal we dipped and they ran away with the game, forcing the issue and catching us on the counter attack.
United can hurt you but given how much they’ve spent and the expectation levels, the pressure is all on them because of where they are in the table. Can we keep that pressure up?
We’re now closer to a European place than we are to the relegation zone, which is brilliant to talk about and we can start looking at the table and wondering which teams we might catch, rather than looking over our shoulders. The form is fantastic but the challenge ahead is still hugely important.
