THE Everton players have reputedly canceled their Christmas party after a poor start to the season – but you would forgive them if a few glasses were raised on Saturday night.
In a week when arguments over festive fun reached boiling point in some quarters of the Premier League, it was player power of a different kind which gave David Moyes’ men their finest result of the campaign.
When you are nursing yourself back to full health the last sight one would wish to come up against is a wounded Chelsea, but the Goodison Park outfit displayed a battle-hardened spirit, the kind which can only be forged from times of adversity, the likes of which the club have been subjected, to claim a richly deserved point.
Too, there was some fortune, long overdue in a period when Moyes’ brave troops have gone into combat low on numbers and ammunition, often with little hope of achieving victory.
And in many respects this is why a point at Stamford Bridge against the Premier League leaders should be celebrated like a triumph.
To do so is not to concede a drop in standards or aspirations, but is to acknowledge circumstance has dealt the club a harsh blow this season and the rare moments of relief should be savored and built upon.
For this in essence is what Saturday’s thrilling draw with Chelsea signifies; a watershed moment in their revival; first there was slog in Athens, then the pulsating fightback against Spurs and now we have the battle of Stamford Bridge.
Of course the point did nothing to improve the position of the Goodison Park side, who still languish in 15th, but it gives greater credence to the school of thought which says Everton’s dark days are behind them.
Yet coming into this match very few of the even the most ardent Evertonians would have foreseen scoring three goals at the home of Chelsea, equaling the number registered in the club’s record win at Stamford Bridge in 1913, especially in light of yet more selection concerns.
Not even the knowledge Everton have achieved parity in their last two league visits would have inspired many to dream of points once more and given Chelsea’s run of two defeats and a draw in their last three matches, thoughts of a heavy defeat as the result of a backlash were not far from people’s thinking.
Holding court with the nation’s media after the match, Moyes candidly revealed his own pre-match worries over containing Chelsea with the players at his disposal. Even the most experienced of centre back pairings fear the threat of Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka, never mind one so untested as Lucas Neill and Johnny Heitinga.
