Teamwork is key to Everton’s Euro push

Apr 10 2007 by Mark Lawrenson, Liverpool Daily Post

EVERTON had a great start to this season and they’re looking good for a great finish. But there’s a key difference to the ending of the campaign compared to the beginning.

Early on, they were relying too heavily on certain individuals to play well and carry them through. Andrew Johnson made a dream start and immediately starting repaying his record transfer outlay by banging in the goals.

And even when he soon hit a bit of a sticky patch, Tim Cahill took over with a series of vital strikes that kept Everton’s points tally ticking over.

All very well, and happy days.

But as soon as Cahill was injured for a while it pressed home the point that Everton needed to become one team rather than a one-man team.

They seem to have achieved that now.

David Moyes can rely on virtually all of his squad at the moment. They’re all looking at it and on their game at just the right time.

The manager wanted his players to take more responsibility and you only have to look at Friday’s win over Fulham to see how much they are relishing their personal contributions.

Lee Carsley and Alan Stubbs turned up as unlikely goal heroes, then James Vaughan and Victor Anichebe sealed the win.How many Premiership clubs can throw two 18-year-olds into the fray in such vital games and rely on them to come up with the goods?

That’s when you know your side is on to a good thing, when the superstars like Johnson and Arteta can take a back seat and some of the more unsung heroes can step up and do the business.

Vaughan was able to achieve that again at Bolton yesterday and even though it’s a shame that he picked up an injury, Everton seem able to handle the loss of individual players perfectly well now.

They have only lost one in 11 and Vaughan’s injury shouldn’t spoil the fact that yesterday’s point is a very good one.

Bolton had just got two very good wins on the bounce and it’s an awful place to go to try to get something.

Okay, Everton might have dominated and had enough pressure to have got all three points, one has to be seen as satisfactory because it keeps the unbeaten run and points tally ticking over.

You really can’t see them being in better shape to break their habit of finishing seasons badly. But even if they do and they don’t eventually get the tally they need to qualify for Europe it still has to go down as a good season.

Look at it this way. With five games to go they are three points ahead of Tottenham with a massive goal difference – and how much money have Spurs spent on players? Moyes might not have had the squad strength a lot of Premiership managers have but he’s certainly making the best of it.

And long may that continue.

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