Everton finally lose!

The unbeaten run has ended care of a ronaldo penalty shot. I guess it is only fitting that the player whom Phil Nev tackled to inspire the team to our turning point would put us a away with a fearless penalty shot.

We didn't really show a lot in this game and after a run of three draws in a row twice at liverpool and once to Arsenal, this was a lot to ask of a small squad. Now we lose 1-0 to Man U and then back to Goodison with Liverpool.

Ronaldo was playing well, hitting the post with a toe poke and Tevez was shifty. Their movement is much better than any other team in the league and they drew us out well. Arteta's penalty was weak and reminded me of Peinaar's last year. A tough way to lose. We always battle well, but legs have to be getting tired with most players in the squad playing 90 minutes a game. It will be great if we get the two players in from Rennes, but they have shown an unwillingness to actually get the players to us so I don't know how that will go. Here's to another tough one this week v the Pool!

SirVal comes clean

So everything that we all knew has been confirmed by a released player. SirVal (not so shockingly) claims that we have no plays, that Lewis can't managed his bench and that EC did nothing wrong. Surprise, not. But judging from what he said about Andre, that is surprising. I would hope players coming here get correct feedback from the owner, but I would like to hear Andre's side. Val played ok at a few points this year, but was still throwing up crazy shots, like the rest of the team, because we don't run enough plays. How is this possible at this level?

If this is the case, I am surprised that AL (Andre) has taken such as stance on Eric and backed his terrible coach. The talent is definitely on this team but we need better coaching to move us forward. AL seems to be at every event, so he is probably at practise as well. He is smart enough to know if they are running any kinds of sets and so are the basketball fans. At this level of sports, there isn't a lot to choose between the best and worst teams. The only key variable that can determine a season is coaching.

I am dissappointed in the organization that this has happened now and hopefully this doesn't stop free agents from coming here. Maybe McGriff and people like that saw the lack of coaching and decided they needed more. The fans need more for sure and I hope that SirVal is exagerrating, but I am afraid he is probably not.

Rafa benitez and other bitter managers

I am getting tired of Rafa's comments. All we hear is how teams play negatively. Everton's roster was put together for about $26 million pounds, much less than Liverpool who paid around that much for Torres, 7 plus for Riera, 6 for Pennant and it goes on. We are having to rely on our academy and buys from lower levels which means technically less skilled players with more heart than their hired guns. To players like Torres, kissing a club badge is like kissing a stack of cash, because that is all he cares about.

Rafa, it is your job to outcoach Moyes and the team's job to outwork them. If you can't figure out a way to get through the Blue wall, then maybe it is time to go. Same for you Arsene if you start whining (which he didn't). You won't hear Ferguson crying about it because he understands that the lower teams have to scrap for their points. Instead we build a team on honest players and get the most out of them. So stop your crying and get back to the drawing board. God that bugs me. You would never hear an NFL coach whine about stuff like that.

Rainmen take over first

OK, so we won. I am excited. But we were up by 25 on one of the best teams in the league and we allowed it to dwindle to 4 pts before putting it away. Lewis has made some weird decisions this year, but this was the topper. It is understandable that a team will go on runs. How do you change the momentum? Take a timeout, run a different play, make a sub or watch the lead dwindle to 11 pts before doing anything? You got it, it's the Sub from the stupid Subway commercial. IE.. it is so blatantly obvious that you need to do something that you don't do it.

Lewis is a good guy in public. We hear more and more about what goes on behind closed doors and I watch his decisions and I wonder why? Why leave Jimmy, shooting less than 50% at the time from the line in the game when they were fouling? Why not get the ball to Dandridge, who was spotless from the line until late in the fourth? Why not run the clock down and kill the game?

All questions I can't answer. it becomes apparent that he has his favorites and although he has now added in some plays, he is not that basketball astute. I know it is easy to criticise, but there are times as a coach you have to do something. This isn't fair play leagues where you have to give players crunch time minutes. You need to notch the wins and get to playoffs. He needed to call a timeout and everyone in the crowd, including Darrell Dexter agreed. Go coalition, lol.. !

Now for the positives, and there were many. What an amazing third quarter running a 10 point lead to 25 at one point. We defended doggedly and got some steals and forced bad shots. It was awesome to behold as a fan. We need to continue to bury teams when they are down.

Dandridge had what I felt was his best game so far. He shot under control, he came off screens and he got to the rim a couple times, drawing fouls. He got a few boards and looked very good overall, ending up with 23 pts and a couple boards. When he gets to the hoop and pulls up, he has a very good shot. He only took one crazy shot. Also, they assigned him to guard Ferguson "moneyball" and he kept him relatively quiet.

Strick continues to develop as a great low post option. He scored some points, riled the other team and had some wicked assists. His foulshooting is terrible but amusing. Hilarity when he is on the floor. I may have to make a binocular sign for next game!

Sanders was a beast. 30 points on 10-13 shooting, putting them in foul trouble in a dominant third period. 16 boards, a few swipes at people's heads and brought some fire to the team. He is a great player and I regret saying he had no heart last year.. but he does. How could they let him go.

Bailey had another solid game and I would love to see more of him. He is a utility guy that bangs inside, goes for boards and gets some blocks. With Rob, Strick, Silverhorn playing well, it ate up some minutes. Brian's return was key but I don't like the lack of running back, especially on the home court, make some effort, but a good return overall with 22 and 6. Overall the foulshooting seemed better and the three point percentage was way up from 26 to 38% owing to getting wide open looks which I do have to credit Lewis for as the team is running some new plays and getting the ball to where people can have a look at the hoop. It seems Dandridge is out of the funk and hopefully he stays there. Still love to see more Ramey and Cordell wasn't getting much run tonight after a good game on the weekend.

Premier Rodney Mayes added some great hustle off the bench and it was good to see Coach Strick working with Tyrone and getting him inside. new guy Bennett added some spark and he could be a valuable addition slashing and driving and dishing. Looks like another good pickup.

Now the scary.. They lit us up for threes in the end making it extremely uncomfortable for the team and the fans. Lewis needs to keep us with big leads to keep the fans from losing their minds. He had no plan to stop the threes and CP had a great idea to foul their players and make them hit the 1 and 1 but they were shooting from the line really well.

Taunting
Our favorite guy today was number 33, Scary Carey who started doing some yapping during the game which got us into it.. We were so in his head. Not a bad player, but he should have been going against Strick all night. That was a fun matchup. also we gave him the gears for being very tired after running the court three times and then getting subbed. Hilarious and he was even looking over afterwards when he got a couple points... Scoreboard...

Strick is going to be trouble if he has to pop on on the screen and rolls, his guy scored a few long range Js. That is going to need coaching work. Ferguson "mOneyball " got great abuse due to his angry face, his one week in the NBA comment, his teammates wearing his shirt (lol), taunting them for how hard it was to play in front of 2000 instead of 50 in manchester, the lack of him playing any crunchtime minutes and the fact that one of our worst defenders was guarding him. I am glad we didn't pick up Mitchell with his diving antics. Number 7 drew our ire for throwing the ball hard off Bailey for which he got Teed up for. That was a terrible call. Chris was on him for not living like a Christian and not acting as Jesus wanted him too.. We will have to talk to that guy. BDPhil was on Salsheider for walking like someone from Deliverance..that one took a while Phil?? And of course, the coach took some abuse for always standing. CP was wondering when the goon squad was coming in and we all enjoyed the full line change. Sadly it changed the game to them for a while.

Note: I am not convinced on the stats because new guy Bennett had five points I am sure.

Highlights: Dandridge alley oop from Jimmy
Jimmy with a massive block
Strick's googles
EC's chain
Lewis finally calling timeout after a 14 pt run..
New guy bennett splitting the defence with crazy dribbles
Lastly, the huge putback dunk by Sanders.. that was awesome.. How did they let him go??

Last word: Consistency will be key in our next game. Dandridge continuing to hit the easy J's and stretching the defence, Silverhorn's contribution, and defensive intensity.. Keep it going Rainmen.

Blues Draw Old Foe

I have to say that overall I thought Liverpool dominated the second half, but never in a threatening way. I thought on the balance of play that we created as many good chances if not more than Liverpool. Two Cahill headers brought out excellent saves from Reina, Anichebe went close and then Osman had a decent chance as well plus the goal. Liverpool had the Torres breakaway, the Gerrard goal, Reira's close shave as well as the strike that Howard saved. I am extremely happy with the overall workrate but really we gave the ball away too easily to be effective. Great job by Moyes, but when will we see the youngsters really play?

The future of the Rainmen!

Ok, after having read just about everything on the Crook story, I am happy that there is something much deeper than just words with the coach that have brought us to the place we are at. One thing I dislike about this is the constant referencing of how they would discipline a child. This is a 27 year old man and should be treated as such. I want to reiterate that if for the long term stability of the club, they needed to do this, that is fine, but we need to find that voice for the Rainmen. All of the players are talented, but we need that rim-rocking, crowd raising player. Where is that going to come from?

One thing that did get fired up is the message board! Wow, Section 23 was rocking from the afternoon through the late evening. At least people are still excited about the club which is great. But the Rainmen need to find their "new" identity quickly. Hopefully Strickland can help with the grit and points downlow. I would love to see a starting 5 of SirVal, Twyman, Bailey, Sanders and Jeanty. That gives us good depth/ size downlow and then some amazing three point threats coming off the bench with Ramey and Dandridge. When Brian is healthy, he can slot in for Cordell. I hope that the players will step up their games now and push to see who can take the title of team leader. I honestly hope it is Bailey when Brian is out.

Crookshank Canned!

I am shocked. There are no words to describe the sinking feeling one gets. This is like when Brady got taken out.. a literal stomach punch. I am not debating that Eric was out of line, but wow, professional players say this all the time and get a slap on the wrist. Where is the player's union on this one? I am seriously debating getting a refund on my season tickets.