Tag: Everton

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LEIGHTON BAINES ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT AFTER 13 YEARS AT GOODISON PARK.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MARCH 1: Leighton Baines of Everton during the Premier League match between Everton FC and Manchester United at Goodison Park on March 1, 2020 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Tony McArdle/Everton FC via Getty Images)

Leighton Baines has confirmed his retirement from football after 13 years at Everton.

The 35-year-old full-back made 420 appearances for Everton, captaining the side and scoring 39 goals after joining the club from Wigan in 2007.

Baines, who was also capped 30 times by England and appeared at the 2014 World Cup, announced his decision announced following the club’s 3-1 defeat by Bournemouth on the final day of the Premier League season.

He was offered a one-year contract extension by the Toffees, but has only played 17 times in the last two seasons as Lucas Digne took over as first-choice left-back.

“I am incredibly proud to have represented Everton for the past 13 years and my decision to retire has been a difficult one to make,” Baines wrote in a statement.

“After speaking to my family, I feel now is the right time to end my playing career but I do so with many great memories at this proud football club.

“As someone from the city, Everton means so much to me and it has been an honour to be part of the Club for so long.

“I would like to thank everyone who has supported me during my time at Everton, especially the fans who have been fantastic with me from the moment I signed.”

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EVERTON SWEATING ON DEFENSIVE INJURIES AHEAD VILLA CLASH

Everton are sweating over the fitness of their major defenders with Mason Holgate bring the fresh victim after the defender missed training again today.


The Blues have been without the 23-year-old defender for the past two matches because of a shin injury picked up at Spurs over a week ago.
Holgate, who has become Everton’s first-choice centre-back since Carlo Ancelotti came to the club, has been sidelined for the games with Southampton and Wolves – and remains a major doubt for Thursday’s visit of relegation threatened Aston Villa.


Carlo Ancelotti will provide an update on Holgate’s chances of facing Villa, when he holds a virtual press conference on Wednesday afternoon. 
The Blues boss will also give greater clarity on the fitness of Andre Gomes who was ruled out of the Wolves game after picking up a knock on his ankle.


Yerry Mina was forced off after just 31 minutes of Sunday’s game at Molineux with an unspecified muscle injury and it remains to be seen if he will be fit for the Villa clash or given the time to fully heal and not rushed back.


Following the Wolves game, Ancelotti said: “Yerry had a muscular problem.
“Unfortunately, when you only have two days to recover, the player doesn’t recover properly and to have an injury like this can happen.

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EVERTON’S SEAMUS COLEMAN BLAMES TEAM MATES FOR WOLVES HEAVY DEFEAT

Everton ace defender, Seamus Coleman has torn into Everton’s players after their defeat to Wolves.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side slipped to a humiliating 3-0 reversal at Molineux on Sunday in a performance devoid of any genuine positives for the visitors.

It marked the Blues’ third winless result in the space of six days, following a loss to Tottenham and a 1-1 home draw with Southampton earlier this week.

And Everton captain Coleman admits that standards clearly slipped in his team’s latest setback, which leaves them 11th in the Premier League table.

He said: “We need to ask serious questions of ourselves.

“We can all play badly, misplace passes and crosses, but the attitude and desire weren’t there and we got beat by the better team.

“We need to have a good, hard look at ourselves. Maybe we’re not where we think we are. As individuals and as a club, we need to be expecting better.

“That won’t be good enough for this manager and it’s certainly not good enough for this football club.”

Ancelotti backed up the Republic of Ireland defender’s scatching criticism of his teammates by insisting that they fell far below the standards he expects.

“It was a really frustrating day and performance,” said the Everton manager.

“There are some excuses but I don’t want to have excuses; the performance was not acceptable. The spirit of the team was unacceptable.

“I spoke to the players and we have to prepare and work differently and have a different attitude.”

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EVERTON 1-1 SOUTHAMPTON: DANNY INGS SCORES AGAIN TO KEEP THE GOLDEN BOOT CHASE ALIVE.

With less than three weeks to go the race for the Premier League Golden Boot is gathering steam after Danny Ings was on target again on Thursday.

Ings’ 19th league goal of the season put Southampton ahead in their eventual 1-1 draw at Everton, with the striker now just three behind Leicester’s Jamie Vardy in the overall standings.

It now appears to be a four-way battle for the Golden Boot, with Ings one behind Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and level with Mohamed Salah – the duo who shared the award last season with Sadio Mane when scoring 22 goals apiece.

Vardy’s two-goal lead over Aubameyang makes him the favourite to pick up the Golden Boot, with matches at Bournemouth and home to Sheffield United to come.

The 33-year-old recently received a silver fox from Leicester after reaching 100 Premier League goals, while he is two goals away from matching his tally of 24 in the 2015-16 title-winning campaign.

However, his rate has somewhat slowed in the second half of the season, having initially reached 17 goals in the first 18 matches.

Ings meanwhile is comfortably enjoying his most prolific season in the top-tier – his previous best of 11 coming at Burnley in 2014-15, while a year prior he scored 21 league goals for the Clarets in the Championship.

Both Vardy and Ings will be aiming to become just the third English striker to win the Golden Boot since the turn of the century.

Kevin Phillips won the award for his impressive tally of 30 goals in 1999-2000 for Sunderland, while Tottenham’s Harry Kane was the top scorer in 2015-16 (25 goals) and 2016-17 (29).

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EVERTON CAST DOUBT ON LEICESTER TOP FOUR HOPES WITH WIN OVER FOXES.

Leicester City’s top-four hopes suffered a setback following a 2-1 loss to Everton in the Premier League today.

The Foxes saw their winless run since English football’s restart from the coronavirus pandemic stretched to four games.

Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson’s penalty gave Everton the perfect start at Goodison Park.

The Toffees are yet to lose at home under Carlo Ancelotti and they held on in the second half for a vital three points for their own ambitions of European football next season.

Kelechi Iheanacho’s fortunate goal as the ball ricocheted in off his face reduced Leicester’s arrears and they pressed hard for an equaliser in the closing stages.

Michael Keane’s clearance off the line spared Jordan Pickford’s blushes after another huge error from the England number one.

However, defeat means Leicester could drop to fourth should Chelsea win at West Ham later on Wednesday and the Foxes are now just three points clear of Manchester United and Wolves in the battle for a place in the Champions League next season.

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MORGAN SCHNEIDERLIN LEAVES EVERTON FOR NICE.

Everton announced on Tuesday that the France midfielder had completed a move to Ligue 1 side Nice.

No terms of the deal were announced.

Schneiderlin, 30, made 88 appearances across four seasons for the Toffees since a £20 million transfer from Manchester United in 2017.

Prior to joining United in 2015, Schneiderlin spent seven seasons at Southampton, playing with Saints in League One, the Championship and the Premier League.

The native of Obernai returns to Ligue 1 for the first time since 2008 when he was a member of Strasbourg.

Internationally, Schneiderlin has been capped 14 times by Les Bleus.

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RICHARLISON GETS HOT RESPONSE OVER TOLL ON LIVERPOOL STAR

Everton ace Richarlison has been warned that he made Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk “mad” after his recent comments regarding his Merseyside rival. The Toffees forward claimed Van Dijk is not the best defender in the world and considers him to be inferior to Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos as well as Paris Saint-Germain duo Thiago Silva and Marquinhos.

The two stars are set to collide on Sunday in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park and the Brazil international is confident ahead of this crucial encounter as he is one of the few players who have successfully dribbled past the 2019 Ballon d’Or runner-up.

Richarlison recently said: “People talk a lot about him, yes he is a great defender but I’ve already dribbled past him.

“He was chosen as one of the top three in the world as he had an excellent season. But yes, for me there are better defenders.

Thiago Silva, Marquinhos and Sergio Ramos are better defenders “

Former Liverpool full-back Jose Enrique caught wind of Richarlison’s controversial statement and took to Instagram to issue a response.

Enrique advised the Brazilian to “speak after the game” and warned him he may have angered Van Dijk ahead of the Merseyside derby.

The Spaniard posted: “Richarlison an advice for next time. Speak after the game mate now you got vvd mad. Let’s see what happens. Come on reds!!”

Van Dijk is considered as one of the best defenders in the world as he was instrumental in Liverpool’s Champions League triumph last year.

The Netherlands international was also among the Reds’ standout performers this season, which has led them to the top of the Premier League table with a whopping 22 points separating them from second-placed Manchester City.

The Merseysiders have been dominating the competition this term with 27 wins and only one loss in 29 Premier League matches.

Liverpool were hoping to seal the title at Goodison Park but City’s victory over Arsenal means they need another two wins to finally bring back the trophy to Anfield after 30 years.

Therefore, if Klopp’s men beat Everton in the weekend then a victory over Crystal Palace a few days later will guarantee them the title.

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AHEAD MERSEYSIDE DERBY: RICHARLISON CLAIMS THERE ARE BETTER DEFENDERS THAN VAN DIJK.

Everton striker Richarlison has kickstarted the war of words between the Toffees and Liverpool ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby.

The Brazilian striker believes there are three defenders in world football who are currently superior to the Reds’ Virgil van Dijk.

It’s a bold statement, especially given the fact that the Dutchman was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year last season and finished second in the 2019 Ballon d’Or rankings.

However, Richarlison still isn’t convinced and says he believes there are three defenders still active in the game who are better than Van Dijk.

We get the feeling there’s a little bit – sorry, enormous amount – of bias here from Everton’s talisman.

“People talk a lot about him [Van Dijk], yes he is a great defender but I’ve already dribbled past him,” Richarlison said in an interview with an English media outfit.

“He was chosen as one of the top three in the world as he had an excellent season. But yes, for me there are better defenders.”

When asked to name the three defenders he believed to be superior to Van Dijk, Richarlison replied: “Thiago Silva, Marquinhos and Sergio Ramos.”

Two international teammates and a defender who is seen as public enemy number one in the eyes of Liverpool fans? We see what you’re doing, Richarlison.

The debate between Ramos and Van Dijk has been prominent for some time now and to be fair to the Everton man, siding with the Spaniard is fair game.

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OGC NICE AGREE £2M FOR EVERTON MIDFIELDER

According to her official media outlet, Ligue 1 side OGC Nice have agreed a £1.8 million plus bonuses fee with Everton for the signature of midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin ahead of the summer transfer window.

The Frenchman is set to undergo a medical next week and finally leave Goodison Park after struggling to impress in recent campaigns

Schneiderlin joined Everton from Manchester United in January 2017 for an initial £20 million rising to £24 million on a four-and-a-half-year contract, reuniting with ex-Toffees boss Ronald Koeman, whom he played for at Southampton.

The 30-year-old has played 73 Premier League games for Everton, appearing in 13 others across all competitions and scoring once.

While he struggled on Merseyside, Schneiderlin was a top player for Southampton, playing 261 games for them across the League One, Championship and Premier League, emerging as their Player of the Season in 2012-13 – their first season back in the top-flight.

Injuries and lack of form have prevented the France international from living up to expectations at Everton, and he will hope to recover his form back home with Nice.

The Toffees are taking a huge loss if the reports are true, but selling him for a fee is better than losing him for free next season, with only a year left on his current contract.