Everton make deadline swoop for Anthony Gardner

Feb 1 2008 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

EVERTON last night swooped to sign Tottenham Hotspur defender Anthony Gardner on loan until the end of the season.

David Moyes made the move hours before the transfer window closed after allowing Alan Stubbs to join Derby County on a free transfer earlier in the day.

Anderson de Silva also departed Goodison, joining Championship club Barnsley in a permanent deal after a couple of loan spells at Oakwell.

Gardner will provide extra competition to Joleon Lescott, Phil Jagielka and Joseph Yobo at centre-back.

The 26-year-old has fallen out of favour at White Hart Lane under new manager Juande Ramos, and has not made added to his six appearances this season since the Spaniard took over from Martin Jol at the end of October.

Gardner has played 143 times for Tottenham since arriving for £1m from Port Vale in January 2000 and has scored three goals, the last of which came against Everton in their 3-1 win in the capital back in August.

Gardner will no doubt relish the chance to kickstart his career after failing to build on the promise of his earlier years that led to an England cap in the friendly in Sweden in March 2004.

Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta believes the lack of pressure to finish fourth can be Everton’s key weapon in the race for Champions League qualification.

The Goodison outfit maintained their grip on fourth place despite behind held to a home goalless draw by Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday night.

While Liverpool continue to slump down the table under the weight of expectation and off-field uncertainty, Everton have prospered with a run of just two defeats in their last 14 top-flight games.

And talismanic schemer Arteta reckons David Moyes’s side are making the most of their surprise element with just Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea above them in the table.

“I don’t think the players feel under any pressure to finish fourth,” said the Spaniard. “At the start of the season, there weren’t a lot of people saying our aim this season would be to finish in the top four.

“But we’re in that position now, and we want to hold on to that if we can. We know it is going to be difficult.

“You always keep asking yourself the question ‘can we finish in fourth now?’. We want to keep asking that question until the end of the season.

“We’ve asked ourselves that question three years ago, and we managed to do it then. So why not now?”

Arteta was part of the squad that beat Liverpool to fourth place in 2005 to earn a crack at Champions League qualification.

Everton have to play all of their main rivals between now and the end of the season. They entertain both Portsmouth and Aston Villa and must travel to Anfield and Manchester City .

They also visit Blackburn Rovers tomorrow and Arteta said: “We know that anything

can happen in football. But it all depends on us and what we do.

“It’s going to be really difficult and tight because there are so many teams involved in that fight for fourth.

“But I think we have the quality in our squad. It’s in our own hands, and we know that if we keep playing the way we are doing and getting the results, we’ll put the other teams under pressure.

“There’s still a long way to go, but we know we have put ourselves in a really good position now.”

Everton missed the chance to open up a four-point gap on their rivals when they were unable to pick a way through Tottenham’s defence.

But despite frustration on the evening, Arteta said: “We knew how difficult it was going to be. Tottenham are a very good team and well organised, and we needed a little something to change the game.

“We had a few chances but couldn’t take them. It’s a shame, but we have a point and, looking at the other results, we’re still in fourth place so everything is still positive for us.”

Moyes’s squad will be boosted for the visit of Reading a week tomorrow by the return of Steven Pienaar after South Africa were eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations yesterday.