[SHEP_HTAFC]

EVERTON v HUDDERSFIELD TOWN......SAT 1st SEPT.....K.O 15:00

CURRENT FORM

This is Town's 4th league game of the season, and our 5th overall. Our record so far is not good. Not good at all.
One good half of football v Chelsea is really the highlight of our season.
In total, our 4 games so far have yielded just 4 shots on target. 1 per game. Difficult to get much more versus Chelsea or Man City...but Cardiff and Stoke?
We have to show more attacking intent. Keeping the ball for large periods by passing sideways and back just plays into the oppositions' hands more often than not. A new style of play is needed sooner rather than later.

Fixtures played
Town 0-3 Chelsea
Man City 6-1 Town
Town 0-0 Cardiff
Stoke City 2-0 Town - League cup


Everton's start is much better, although not the points return they maybe should have. A late equaliser for Wolves and a 2-0 lead slipped away at Bornmuff could have given them all 9 points in the league.
However they have had 2 players sent off in their 3 league games this season. Let's hope for another one on Saturday.
They are still unbeaten after dispatching Rotherham at home in the League Cup mid week. They made 8 changes from their last league game, so expect a similar number of changes when they play us.

Fixtures played
Wolves 2-2 Everton
Everton 2-1 Southampton
Bornmuff 2-2 Everton
Everton 3-1 Rotherham - League cup



GAME DETAILS

Town will be without Jonathon Hogg, who was stupidly sent off v Cardiff last week.
There are also injury concerns for Ben Hamer and Ramadan Sobhi.
Danny Williams and Elias Kachunga are both back from long term injuries and played midweek.
And there were debuts for Erik Durm and Juninho Bacuna.
Town will be wearing the red and black away kit.....





Everton's starting line up v Bournmouth last week was:-

GK: Jordan Pickford

LB: Leighton Bains
CB: Michael Keane
CB: Mason Holgate
RB: Seamus Coleman

CM: Tom Davies
CM: Idrissa Gueye

LM: Richarlison
AM: Gylfi Sigurdsson
RM: Theo Walcott

FW: Cenk Tosun

Everton will be without Richarlison and Michael Keane for this one. Richarlison, called up by Brazil this week, was sent off v Bornmuff for a head butt. He is their top scorer with 3 goals already this season.
Keane has a hairline fracture of the skull after a clash with teammate Idrissa Gueye. Due to safety protocols, he won't be able to play for 3 weeks at least.
There are also doubts for Yerry Mina, James McCarthy, Morgan Schneiderlin, and Andre Gomes.



OUR OPPONENTS

(Unashamedly nicked from Lord Snooty's excellent thread from last season)
A brief history of Everton: founded in 1878 by a church congregation in the Everton area of Liverpool, becoming known as Everton FC the following year so as non church goers could join in. They were founder members of the Football League in 1888 and won their first title in 1891. They beat Newcastle 1-0 in the 1906 Cup Final to lift the FA Cup for the first time and secured their second league title in 1915 before the league was suspended for the first world war.
Their third league title came in 1928 as they finished two points above runners up Huddersfield Town. The main reason for this success was their prolific striker Dixie Dean, who scored 60 goals in the season, a FL record that still stands today. They went down a couple of years later, but bounced straight back, won the FA cup again, recorded their 4th league title and then their 5th in the season prior to the 2nd world war.
They were relegated in 1951 but came back up again in 1954 from which time they have been in the top flight continuously, a record only bettered by Arsenal. Two more league titles came in the 1960s and an FA Cup triumph, 3-2 against Sheffield Wednesday.
Not much followed for a few years then bang!....They were up and running again in the 1980s under Howard Kendall. They won the FA Cup in 1984, beating Watford 2-0 in the final. Then followed that up with their only European success, the Cup Winners Cup, beating Rapid Vienna 3-1 in the final. They also won another league title in the same season and even came close to winning a treble but lost to Man Utd in the Cup Final. The next season they finished runners up to Liverpool, but did win the league again in 1986/87.
That was their last league title and all they have won since was the 1995 FA Cup when a Paul Rideout goal was enough to beat Man Utd in the final.




4th LEAGUE GAME OF THE SEASON

We have never played Everton in the 4th game of a league season before. However there have been some outstanding results in our 4th league game over the years.
1930/31 season our 4th league game was v Man Utd at Old Trafford. Town won 6-0 that day with a hat trick each for Gerry Kelly and Alex Jackson.
Also who can forget the 1999/2000 season...thumping Crystal Palace 7-1. Goals from Chris Beech, a hat trick from Clyde Wijnhard, Kenny Irons, and two from soon to be sold Marcus Stewart.
Of course last year, after our great start with 2 wins and a draw, our 4th league game was at West Ham, where we lost 2-0.

Overall, our 4th league game in our history has been quite productive....W37, D32 and L28. Even in the top flight it is still a good record....W13, D10 and L9.
Due to war years and one season ending before the 4th game (1939-40 only 3 league games were played before the War), this will be Town's 98th, and our 33rd in the top flight.
Overall, including the 2 years spent in non league football at the start of our existence, this will be Town's 100th 4th league game of the season.



TRAVEL PLANS

Anyone hoping to travel to Goodison Park by train will be affected by strike action this weekend on Northern services, meaning TransPennine Express services are expected to be much busier.
There will be no direct trains between Huddersfield and Liverpool and the Club advises supporters to consider alternative methods of transport.



QUOTES/PREDICTIONS

Added here later........

[Lord Snooty]

Tres bon, theo. A bit lacking in Jam Butty history though, I thought.

[jjamez]

The only thing worse than towns form and goal scoring record is englands batting...

[SHEP_HTAFC]

Tres bon, theo. A bit lacking in Jam Butty history though, I thought.            

theo? theo?
I know he's a jam butty expert but that's not my forte really.

[Amelia Chaffinch]

Snoots, if you're getting Alzheimer's, you're off in a home.

[Lord Snooty]

Tres bon, theo. A bit lacking in Jam Butty history though, I thought.            

theo?  theo?
I know he's a jam butty expert but that's not my forte really.

Sorry Shep old love. I had it in my mind that theo was doing this one.

---

Snoots, if you're getting Alzheimer's, you're off in a home.

---

Start again.....

Nice one, Shep. Glad there's none of that jam butty nonsense in this article.

[theo_luddite]

Tres bon, theo. A bit lacking in Jam Butty history though, I thought.            

Aye Snoots, 'appen 'cause SHEP wrote this one not me.
Still, here's a photo of the last remaining mine shaft to keep you happy.


Just down the road from Anfield.

That's boss that is SHEP. I'll be looking forward to a few bevvies with me cousin and her hubby pre-match, ey, ey? Both from our part of Yorkshire, both support Everton. Haven't a scooby doo why and I still won't have come Sunday morning. They've followed them all over Europe, mainly because unlike us they've never bothered with playing anyone below what is now the Prima Donna League since the dark ages. So they've no idea what Hartlepool on a wet weekend (or Tuesday) in November or a Christmas/New Year derby match against Carlisle or Torquay looks like, though they were in Bornmuff last weekend so they do alright on the priority ticket side too. They just don't know what they've missed. 'er hubby pretends to support Halifax Town as well, well maybe once a year, when Everton aren't playing, like on a Bank Holiday Monday.

I reckon I'll have more pre-match pints in a pub full of Everton fans than Pickford has saves to make. Would have put it on the prediction league page but Snoots won't be there to buy them for me so I won't be able to prove it.
Calm down, calm down.

When's our next so called easy game, ey, ey?

[Lord Snooty]

Wagz should sit the players down, stick on the DVD of the 3-0 win at Crystal Palace just to remind them how we play. No standing off. Get in their blooming faces.

[St Charles Owl]

Wagz should sit the players down, stick on the DVD of the 3-0 win at Crystal Palace just to remind them how we play. No standing off. Get in their blooming faces.

Don't you think your style of play and tactics this season are coming directly from Wagner?? Maybe he is the one who needs to sit down and watch that video?? He could invite Benitez along and they could watch it together!!!

[WakeyTerrier]

Theo, you will only need one pint to top the amounts of shots we're going to have on target this weekend.

As I said elsewhere, I expect nothing this weekend so anything other than a drubbing will be a bonus