Match preview: EFC v WHUFC 5th March 2016

It is not often when Everton prove me wrong that it is met with joy! Usually because I am little miss positive where my beloved blues are concerned but on this occasion I was dubious with our normal form for playing relegation destined teams. But thankfully on this occasion it was not to be, although we did gift them one goal but I won't go on about that! 

I saw many of our fans felt we didn't play particularly well on Tuesday night but as Martinez said Aston Villa had a lot of fight. As they normally do when they play Everton! Teams at that end of the table will play with a different type of passion and one that thankfully our 'confidence' was able to overcome. You do have to wonder how games like that change the way we play, a goal from a corner, never one of our strongest points. It does always make me wonder why we get so pumped up about winning a corner when we usually don't do anything with it! And then an assist from man of the match Mirallas, his first according to BBC Sport in 454 days. Could it be the effect of the positive news we have had at the club, or just that as many have said Aston Villa were particularly poor? I am not sure we are giving the boys the credit they then deserve if we were to go with the latter. There is no question that the third of our goal scorers was acting any differently in this game than any other this season with his 17th Premier League goal of the term! 

So a needed win under our belts and we are back to it once more on Saturday but this time back home. After a game that saw us take our away record to eight successive games without defeat we return home where the form isn't quite so good with 50% of the games in the last eight being defeats. One of those granted was against top of the table Leicester but of the others they came from West Brom (13th), Swansea (16th) and Stoke before that who sit above us at the seventh place. Interestingly though our upcoming competitor seems to have the opposite results in terms of home and away with their away record lacking very much in comparison to that of their home one. 

The home record is so points rich they have not lost since August and have only seen two defeats at home this entire season compared to our six defeats at home. Like us it's the draws that seem to be the source of pain for a West Ham side sat in sixth place currently in the Premier League table, with a total of ten draws compared to our eleven, albeit more evenly split across their home and away games 50/50.  They have not won on the road since the 12th of January when they beat Bournemouth 3-1. Drawing one and losing two of the three games they have played away since. 

Could it be a good season to play West Ham at home then? Or could we both play to our usual downfall and end up with a draw. I think that's where my money would be going if I was a betting girl! Sadly I am not otherwise my prediction of Man City winning on Sunday could have been even more of a bonus than just them lot being beat! 

Match preview: AVFC V EFC 1st March 2016

What a lovely feeling when the rest of the Premier League is playing and we get some respite for a weekend. I am not sure if it's the players or the fans who will be more grateful of the rest but I think it will probably be the fans! Although I do wonder what some of the usually moaning fans will be finding to moan about! I am sure they will find something. Not only have we got a nice break from being on tenterhooks all weekend until the final whistle blows but we have dodged the Derby bullet! What an absolute win! Feels like a three pointer! 

Joking aside I really can't say I ever enjoy the Derby game. Funnily enough last season I was awarded a ticket in the People's Club lounge for the Derby game for a project I had undertaken at work. At the time it did feel slightly more like a punishment than a reward especially as the four of us who had received the reward were two blues and two reds! We actually had a really good day and thank god it was a draw so nobody had any bragging rights for the journey home. Don't get me wrong I would have happily taken a Derby at Wembley, but sadly that wasn't to be so I will take no Derby at all as the alternative. 

Looking at our upcoming fixtures I am actually slightly nervous about our next game! I always think we look upon the bottom part of the table and being such a nice side gift teams either a point or most of the time three. Take last season for example. We drew with relegated Hull City FC 1-1 in December then just under a month later we go to the KC stadium and get beat 2-0! It's like we felt the one point just wasn't enough to help them so we gave them three more. 

Of the other 14 defeats we encountered last season three of them came from teams teetering on the edge of relegation, you could say our three points saved them, well obviously it didn't but we can think it did. Aston Villa and Sunderland were both three points from the drop zone at the end of the season and both beat us successively in May 2015. Sunderland's local rivals Newcastle also snuck three points from the blues in December 2014 and ended up four points off a visit to the Championship. 

We saw it the season before with an out of form Sunderland who turned up to Goodison Park on a particularly dreary Boxing Day and managed to walk away with a gift wrapped three points bows and all! With Aston Villa's current form the fixture on St David's Day does not fill me with any positivity. I am sure most of my usual readers will know I am normally the positive Evertonian but it feels a little bit like history repeating itself. 

As I write this however, there has been some particularly positive news for the blues with the takeover by Farhad Moshiri. Maybe this could put some positivity into the team after the long break and we don't gift a team three points who are definitely in need! 

EFC v SCFC January 2016

I would say we underestimated Swansea today but I am not sure you can underestimate another penalty decision that went against us. There is no coincidence in the fact that our goalkeeper has conceded more than any other in this league and it's Romelu I feel so sorry for, how must it feel to bang in goal after goal and see the opposition go and bang one in at the other end of the pitch? 

After my water breaking incident the day after an emphatic Welsh Cup Final I was advised to try and stay away from live matches which has sort of put me off taking my usual level of interest when I'm not able to see it in real life. However, today the hubby was home so I decided to tune in. I am not convinced in my fragile state that it was one of my best ideas but they do say something about once Everton has touched you....

So my verdict on the game? I am not sure I am with the majority of fans I have seen on Twitter who wish to see the back of Mr Martinez. So maybe I am being a big girl but I would be sad to see the back of him. He has brought us amazing players like Romelu and Gerard, who was outstanding today, team members I do not think would have come to Goodison Park if Mr Moyes was still at the helm. Let's not also forget about the fact we are in a semi-final of a cup I've felt so disappointed over many seasons that we never seem to be able to do anything with. Maybe the pressure of the cup game on Wednesday was more on our minds than a league game against a team we were all expecting to beat. But sadly the Welsh side needed and wanted the three points more. I am always frustrated when we play Swansea, although this was our first defeat against the side I have walked away from Goodison Park feeling defeated against the Swans on more than one occasion after nil nil draws that felt so unjust. I bet a lot of people felt like that today. 

We must not forget today that we lost the fire and threat of a Mo Besic who has felt like he has torn up that midfield area, only 48 hours after my favourite Scot was sold to Norwich who I personally feel would have helped in that situation. Closely followed by Mirallas having to come off due to injury. I am not sure how many cards that left Roberto to use when we really needed it. Is it not a compliment to the team that he had the confidence in the team that we would beat a side we have never been beaten by? Everyone saw how much improved the ever lambasted Tim Howard had turned his game around in the City game, who would have envisaged him giving away a penalty today? 

Am I being naive? Maybe I am but I just don't think we should do what other clubs do and shoot a bullet in Roberto's direction. Yes we need a new goalkeeper and as I've heard many an Evertonian say why does he keep playing him. But anyone that knows anything about Howard, especially those who have read his book will know he is not going to take Bob dropping him lying down. He is still our first team goalkeeper and I can't imagine him going to that dug out spot without a fight, he has given us a lot of good service which many an Evertonian needs to keep in mind. 

But what do we do from here? With no Besic and Mirallas Wednesday's game is going to be a bit more of a challenge. With our away fans behind the team do I think we can seal the deal? I really hope so. I know I wasn't at the game today but I know how passionate we get as fans and you can feel it in the air when things aren't going well. It can't be an easy task to remain positive and calm with thousands of Evertonians breathing down your neck. We saw our Ross Barkley playing at his best when we got behind him, you could see the mistakes creeping back in for the first half but after the fans started to sing at the Gwaldys Street end you could see his crossing improved which then led to what I was expecting to see was a fine goal scoring opportunity. 

I do feel rather like I have done nothing but defend my beloved Everton in this piece, but why wouldn't I? I was so disappointed to see us stoop to United fan behaviour booing the team at half time like the Old Trafford tourists did yesterday at full time. I am sure we are as frustrated as they are with our current performance but I am a firm believer that we are called supporters because we are there to show support. That does not come from booing our team. Rant over. 

Chester FC v Kidderminster programme piece

Other than being a blogger, a mum and having a full time job I also enjoy contributing to a couple of social media pages. One such page is the Non-League News, on both Facebook and Twitter. On a Saturday (now I am getting a little bit too pregnant to be at the football) I will get involved in doing the match updates keeping all of our fellow Non-League fans informed on the games across the National leagues as the goals happen. What I am finding other than being the only girl in a team of boys, is that it's not so easy being a Chester fan right now. I am sure that every time I am on the goal updates I do jinx Chester somehow as we never seem to win but I think they may well be because we don't seem to be winning very much. Gone are the days when we could sit back happy in the knowledge that we will do well week in week out, we are facing a much tougher situation. 

It used to be relatively easy to be a Chester fan when we were beating our non-league competitors in the lower leagues. But I now await a smart remark from a Wrexham fan as I am sure we all do at work or on social media. It's a terrible thing to admit but I know I am not alone in this, that when we got beat in the FA cup qualifiers the first thing I did was check what Wrexham had done. What a sigh of relief when they had also been beat, work would be bearable on Monday! Obviously I always have in my armour that we did win the Derby and they can't argue that one but we will play them again and I am not wholly convinced I will have the upper hand on that one any more. 

I saw an article this week from Jim Green that said we shouldn't sniff at a mid table position but unfortunately I do. We are much better than that and in this league where teams that look like front runners, Forest Green for example can go four games on the bounce without a win anything is possible. I think we need a bit more belief in ourselves again. We rode on the crest of a wave in the Eco-stik days, let's get back to those confident ways and start aiming for those top spots once again. 

Everton Vs Manchester United 17th October 2015: Match Preview

I normally love a good match at Goodison Park against United, but sadly as I am enjoying a night away tonight there is no such chance of it tomorrow! One of my favourite games against the red half of Manchester was only a few seasons ago. In fact the first game of the 2012/13 season when we won the game 1-0. Little did we know at the end of the season the same team would swipe our then manager away from under our nose. I always joked at the time that Fergie let us win that one so the blow would be a little less painful. Although I am quite glad we got the fresh start I think in hindsight that the club needed, with the introduction of Roberto. 

Since then whilst under Spanish Bob we have still beat the side. So maybe my Fergie idea was wrong after all! Especially when we did it home and away in the following season (2013/14). Sadly no away win the season after but a thrilling 3-0 win at home (2014/15) which I thoroughly enjoyed! I fell quite lucky that day as my father-in-law couldn't get to the game, so I had his season ticket in the Upper Gwladys and what a view to watch that game from! It was unbelievable. I recall being on the bus chatting with some fellow Evertonians on the way to the game and I was a little sceptical of the result that day but thankfully not everyone had my view. As always I did surprise the other blues on the blues with my many facts to which one blue said to my husband "she should be on the telly her, she knows more than us". It wasn't long after that I decided to start my blog! So I thank those men on the bus that day! 

Anyway back to the game, so my husband is of the opinion it has been too long that we have been without a home defeat from the Manchester side, but I am optimistic as ever. I think we may have become a problem for them, a thorn in their side. I will admit their performance this season and good signings such as Mr Martial are all positive factors in their favour but look at our boys right now. We have potentially got Stones and Coleman coming back from injury, rested and ready to show what they have got as they always do against sides like United. Ross, back from England duties, buzzing from a man of the match game followed by a goal. The same can be said for Jags, coming back as the first in squad Everton player to be captain of our country, his confidence is never in doubt but we all know how it feels after you have a good day at work. Rom back after being kept on the bench with his home nation, so hopefully well rested and as always will be up for a game against a top table side. And then Mr Naismith, hopefully not too down beat about Scotland's exit from the qualifiers, will be looking to take some of his energy from those games out on another side in front of our home crowd. It would be nice to see him do what he did against Mourinho's team but I don't think Van Gaal will quite underestimate us the way Jose did, sadly! 

Chester FC programme Forest Green Rovers September 2015

Well what a game that was against Macclesfield last Saturday. What looked set to be doom and gloom for the travelling Cestrians dramatically turned out to be a wonderful away day. It has been a little while since I was able to get to an away game with Chester, but I have some fantastic memories of last minute winners away from home. 

The first and one of my absolute favourite away days has to be the cold, dreary Wednesday night back in October 2010. A packed, warm bar was followed by a very cold but goal-filled match at Witton Albion. Once again it looking quite bleak for the travelling Blue army after Neil Young's men squandered a two-goal lead, but a last gasp goal from captain fantastic George Horan made sure the trip home was an enjoyable one. It was also that memorable night that created the fans chant for Mr Horan. I am sure we have all heard that one! 

The next came in the same season on a very chilly afternoon kick on New Years Day with the trip to Prescot Cables. Again it was another very warm welcome from the club we were visiting. One very noticeable thing about that league, I felt, were the receptions we were given. They always felt warm and friendly. I digress. What was looking to be a wasted New Year's trip ended up in jubilation after a late, late goal from Stuart Jones. I remember the crowd pushing me so far forward I was hanging over the barrier of the 'hut' we were all huddled in. I nearly touched Stu as he ran past celebrating. A very (un)attractive photo of that scene ended up in the season review book at the end of the season! 

Lastly, not an away game, but certainly worth a mention was the last minute equaliser from Matty McGinn that saw us win the league in front of a 5,000 plus crowd at home on the 9th of April 2012. That strike has rightly gone down in Chester folklore. I am not one for keeping the fans' nerves on a knife-edge, but I do love a last minute victory! 

Chester FC programme Wrexham Derby Oct 2015

So this morning Facebook reminded me of a Chester FC result we witnessed four whole years ago against a rival I have spoken about before the dreaded Chorley! The picture was of the Sky Sports vidiprinter on a TV in the Blues Bar showing Chester 3 Chorley 0. Probably a night we shouldn't have headed into the Blues Bar after the game with it being a midweek fixture, but how can you say no after watching us hammer Chorley under the floodlights followed by a beverage! It was a brilliant win against a side we had developed quite a hatred for - reasons for which need no explanation! 

Talking of rivalries I can't believe it's been 12 months since we last played long standing rivals Wrexham at home. Only 11 days off a year saw the game which, with much delight, we famously beat the old foe. And after what had been a poor start by us. After only two minutes the away fans were celebrating following the goal from Hudson and their jubilation continued into half time. It looked grim for us home fans with little in the way of chances falling our way until on 74 minutes Hobson brought the game level. Chester looked like the side most likely to clinch victory but Rooney saw a free-kick hit the post and Hobson had a goal disallowed for offside. It wasn't until Mr Heneghan's goal in the dying minutes of added time that the comeback was finally sealed. Cue pandemonium. Not only the most amazing time to score in a game but an absolutely fantastic goal that will go down in Chester FC Derby folklore.

Let's hope this time of year is lucky for us Cestrians when we face our fierce rival as we do so today.