THERE must be an Evertonian with a hedonistic streak working at UEFA if the group stage draw is anything to go by.

First of all, Everton managed to avoid getting drawn in a group of death like Bolton’s. Obviously no-one will be taking any continental opponents for granted following the almighty scare that Metalist Kharkiv gave them over two legs, but still there were a lot of more formidable names in the various pots than the four that were eventually picked.

The initial draw was positive and then that all remained was to see which were the home and away games, as everyone tried to get their heads around exactly how this ludicrously structured competition works.

The hardy souls who braved the wilds of the Ukraine would not have been deterred by trips to Russia or Greece, but everyone has to admit that Germany and Holland were the plum destinations. Cheap flights abound and there are clearly lots of routes possible to either destination. It’s just a shame that AZ Alkmaar’s ground has such a small capacity, as tickets are going to be at an utter premium.

Nurnberg is a different matter though as the snappily-named easyCredit-Stadion holds just under 47,000 fans. The mind boggles at the prospect of how many Evertonians will be making the trip to Germany for that tie.

It’s often said that the UEFA Cup can become a distraction, but this is exactly the sort of diversion that our fans have been longing for. Supporters of other clubs may have become blasé about these European jaunts, but there is a generation of Blues now, brought up on their parents’ tales of Rotterdam et al, who are desperate for stories of their own but have been limited to pre-season tours and the all-too-brief excursions of the David Moyes era.

They certainly deserve more opportunities to watch the Blues on foreign soil, and for that reason alone – regardless of whether we stand any chance whatsoever of actually winning the competition – they will be grateful to James McFadden and Victor Anichebe for the goals that have made this mouth-watering draw possible.

Absence means Yakubu must grab his chance

IT WAS great to see Andy Johnson finally get on the scoresheet this season, when he scored what for a long time looked like the equaliser at St James’ Park.

Less thrilling though was the news that he now needs ankle surgery and looks set to miss at least another month. That must come as some relief to Liverpool, with the memory still relatively fresh of the chasing he gave them and the two goals he scored in the 3-0 defeat at Goodison last season.

Johnson’s absence will obviously means that Aiyegbeni Yakubu is more likely to start games, and hopefully the Nigerian will want to seize the opportunity to cement his place as first choice striker. For £11million or so a player should really be so good that he’s almost an automatic choice. The ex-Boro striker though looks anything but, and could have had few complaints when he was left on the bench for all but the final moments of the Newcastle game.

Granted, battling for high balls and chasing lost causes has never been his forte, and we wasted our money if that’s what we expect him to do. We will see the best of him when we are holding onto the ball in midfield and there’s a chance of him being played in behind the defence, when he can utilise his power and his finishing ability.