Football as it used to be: Stoke v Bolton and Blackburn v Everton in the Premier League

Just when I thought the crap weather we have been experiencing recently had gone away for another year, back comes the wind, rain and snow.
I'm sure the storm clouds have been gathering in the North Sea somewhere, sniggering as we struggled to de-ice our cars and slide along pavements, knowing that as soon as things clear up they will scuttle over and do it all over again like a schoolyard bully.
Anyway apart from a whinge about the weather (in true Brit style) the main aim of today's ramblings is to point out how grim it can be for a fan to trudge to the match on a cold, wet and windy weeknight. Especially when the fare on offer is Stoke v Bolton. If ever a football match evokes images of flat caps and baggy trousers it's this old school encounter. And despite this match-up being in the shiny, modern, money-making machine that is the Premier League, don't expect any slick, free-flowing, commercially marketable football.
Long-ball, fouls, free kicks and bawling supporters will dominate proceedings as Stoke look to make it as unpleasant as possible for their opponents, something Bolton have been doing for the past six years. It's a game I would quite happily watch from the comfort of my armchair.
Now I don't blame Stoke for being aggressive and making the Britannia Stadium a tough place to go, the intimidating atmosphere can be a great leveller. Plus I'm sure Bolton will point out how successful they have been in the Premier League in recent years. But more often than not that style of play results in a turgid, scrappy excuse of a football match, with 100% commitment but very little skill.
Expect more of the same up at Ewood (where I inexplicably bought a ticket, I clearly didn't think that through -what have I let myself in for??!!) where Sam Allardyce has employed his Bolton tactics in order to toughen his Blackburn side up and drag themselves out of the relegation zone. Everton meanwhile, with a casualty list long enough to stretch the length of the Mersey, will, as much as I hate to say it, probably employ similar tactics, . Shorn of our most creative players the best we can do is match Blackburn in the commitment stakes and hope a little bit of quality or a moment of inspiration from the likes of Cahill or Pienaar cans see us through. Personally I am not holding out much hope and with a FA Cup quarter-final on the horizon, I have a bad feeling Rovers could nick this one, just as they did on the opening day of the season.

Predictions:
Stoke 1-0 Bolton
Blackburn 1-0 Everton

and plenty of yellow cards...........

Flashback: Blackburn 1 Everton 2 March 10 1999

Everton travel to Ewood Park on Wednesday, nearly exactly 10 years since they made the same trip but in very different circumstances.
A quick look back at that game made me realise how bad things got for Evertonians in the 90s:

We went into the game just two points above the relegation zone with our opponents, managed by former Blue Brian Kidd, just two worse off. This was a true relegation six-pointer.
Walter Smith's first season in charge will be remembered for it's lack of goals, especially at home, and looking back it is no suprise when you look at the players we had. The team that night contained seven (yes seven) defenders. For those interested they were: John O'Kane, Richard Dunne, David Weir, David Unsworth, Craig Short, Marco Materazzi and Michael Ball.
We fell behind early on when a Jason Wilcox cross was bundled home by Ashley Ward, doom time for the Toffees.
But the Blues showed a spirit sadly lacking during most of that season and fought their way back into the game. A corner wasn't properly cleared and Weir managed to cross to the far post for Bakayoko to nod home a precious equaliser.
20 minutes into the second half, having soaked up some Rovers pressure, Don Hutcihison chested the ball down and played a perfectly weighted through ball to Bakayoko who raced onto it and clamly sidefooted the ball past John Filan into the far corner. With seven defenders on the field we should have held on comfortably, but in true Everton style we were made to bite our nails right through five agonsing minutes of stoppage before the final whistle brought relief to the Everton masses. Bakayoko was the hero and a three crucial points were making their way back to Goodison.
We still had work to do that season though, and by the end of the campaign a certain Mr Kevin Campbell and a fresh faced youngster called Franny Jeffers were the new darlings of the Gwladys Street and Bakayoko found himself on the bench.
The Ivorian, who was ace on Champ Man, got everyone excited when he signed for the Blues the previous October. Even more so when he nearly scored within seconds of his debut against Liverpool. But the stocky striker flattered to decieve and spent most of his sole year at the Blues wandering round the pitch like a lost child. It was no suprise when he was flogged off back to France in the summer.
He will, however, always be remembered for his contribution in this game, which proved so crucial in our battle to stay in the Premier League.

That's It I'm off

One of my highlights of the footballing weekend was the sight of Giovanni throwing his toys out of the pram in in classic sulky foreign footballer style

We haven’t been treated to the sight of such acts of petulance for a while so I thought I would look back at some of the foreign players who pioneered the art of sulkiness:

Eric Cantona
Who else to start with but ‘Le Grand Erique’. When he wasn’t strutting around with his collar up and stamping on opponents he was kung-fu kicking fans in the stand (though I admit I did find that quite funny). Love him or hate him, he was one of the Premier League’s most entertaining foreign imports.

Paolo Di Canio
Our Paolo just couldn’t control that fiery Latin temperament of his and often found himself in trouble with the football authorities. No more so than when he pushed over referee Paul Alcock when playing for Sheffield Wednesday in 1999 (though again I also found that quite funny).

Alex Nyarko
This buffoon cost Everton nearly £4.5 million in the summer of 2000 and was tipped to be the next Patrick Vieira. But the only similarity with the Arsenal midfielder was that he had two legs. After six months of dreadful performances things came to a head at Highbury when, in the middle of a particularly appalling display, an Everton fan invaded the pitch offering to swap shirts with him. Nyarko was so shocked he proceeded to storm off the pitch and refused to play for the club ever again. He did though, two years later when the club couldn’t flog him anywhere else.

Read the rest of my guest blog over at Dangerhere