Reading Match Report

Banana skins eh...Where the fucking hell do you start with that? A completely disjointed, lifeless, passion-lite Everton team were unceremoniously dumped out of last 16 of the cup by a competent Reading side at home. For a club that in recent years could be famed for numerous embarrassing cup upsets, this one seems to have topped them all due to the timing. Some say it would have been a lot easier for Evertonians to have watched their team go out on penalties against Chelsea, patted them on their backs and said ''oh well lads, the players they have, the money they have...what can you do?''. Reading at home in the last 16 of the cup though, what more can you ask for?

The chance to steel their professional purpose in a campaign which had lost its way months ago and focus on an entirely achievable route to Wembley, seemed not only logical but an absolute necessity due to various burnt bridges crashing fully into murky waters between the club and its fans.




Before the game our injury worries seemed somehow manageable against lower league opposition, how wrong can one be? Apart from a reasonable opening 10 minute spell, the complete lack of physical presence in midfield was consistantly exploited in the abscence of Marouanne Fellaini, which some kind soul decided to remind us on the drive home last night is out for the rest of the season. Cahill was sorely missed up front too, with numerous misplaced headers and shots either being missed or unfathomably saved by reserve keepers. Saha made it, I think? Yep, im sure it was him. Jermaine Beckford didnt, he left things late and got caught in traffic on the M62. After recently beginning to prove people wrong on the pitch, last nights Zingari-esque waltz to the changies 3 minutes before kick off will have sharpened his detractors knives somewhat for his off pitch demeanour. The chuffing great tit.



Moyes decision to play Saha on his own up front from the off against a championship side, you could say was forced upon him by Beckfords unprofessionalism, it sort of becomes a moot point though when you leave another player on the bench who is a striker, is fully fit and according to a section of our support playing against his own standard of player. Bilyaletdinov, possibly at fault for the goal with a weak defensive header and non existant sweeping up of the scraps didnt have his best night. That too felt questionable, he's a luxury player who clearly doesnt excel in the physical side of things and his inclusion from the off against a combative Championship side looked a vulnerable one.



Credit were it is due, Reading were competant throughout, well drilled and had clearly done their homework on Everton and deserved fully to get through to play the victors of tonights clash between Villa and City. I wonder whether their fans may be licking their chops and fervently booking mondays off so they can toast a return/first visit to Wembley? Fuck off Everton.

Where do Moyes and his players go from here? Despite feeling like this season is finished in March, survival in the league would be a start. 5 points off the bottom three and probably 6 off a highly competitive European place, two absolutely key players missing for prolonged periods and Matt Mills winner single handely taking the wind out of every Evertonian sail. It's gonna take something big to convince people to continue parting with their hard earned for such heartbreaking returns.

Maybe it's time to completely rip it up and start again, whether that is from the very top down or not who knows. Everton are a big club with a proud history. We seem to be stuck somehow in a no mans land of forward progress. With money restraints and honest to goodness coaching competing with each other to have the finger pointed at them. We lack a freshness, maybe get to the summer, hopefully in this league. Then rebuild the squad and re-determine our goals.

If 2009's final was as good as its going to get then maybe it was better to have not drank the failure elxir from that particular chalice in the first place. Sickening...