As mentioned in my other pre-season round-up yesterday, there are once again very few games to bring to your attention today. Stoke played their final warm up match at the Potteries against Spanish side Real Valladolid, while over on Merseyside, Everton made their final preparations with a match against Spaniards Malaga…
Beginning at the Britannia Stadium, a game ending in a 2-2 stalemate was the end result of Stoke’s last pre-season folly. Lining up in a 4-4-2 formation, one wouldn’t find it too hard to imagine the same side starting Against Burnley next saturday. The men in question were Sorensen, Shotton, Faye, Shawcross, Higginbotham, Lawrence, Whelan, Whitehead, Etherington, Beattie & Kitson.
It took only 2 minutes for Stoke to get off the scoresheet with Abdoulaye Faye powering home a Ryan Shawcross flick-on from a corner kick – only going to show that both of these defenders could be choice bargain picks with their ability to get in on the offensive action when set plays crop up. Thirty minutes later Dean Whitehead was felled in the box, and Dave Kitson stepped up to put away the resulting penalty. Kitson has had a resurgence this pre-season, and after a season certainly worth forgetting he could very well press a claim for a starting spot now. Vallodolid responded in the 2nd half with two well worked goals and Pulis made a round of changes with the likes of Fuller and Delap still very much in the running for a starting spot, but unable to make a difference to the scoreline once brought on.
I see two major points are to be taken from this match. Firstly, that with Dave Kitson having taken the penalty tonight it only goes to show what a minefield that situation will be in the Stoke team. With no set penalty taker, and more of a ‘he who wants it, gets it’ routine, it leaves nothing but a cavalcade of choice with any of Lawrence, Beattie, Fuller, Higginbotham and now Kitson ready to step up – and heck, he hasn’t taken one yet, but Dean Whitehead also used to take the spot kicks up at Sunderland; Stoke are truly spoilt for choice here. The second point is my personal pre-emptive prediction of a bargain defender. Youngster Ryan Shotton has got considerable praise and game time this pre-season, and Tony Pulis has said if he impresses then there is no reason why he shouldn’t start in the Premier League. As of yet not added to games like Fantasy Premier League, Shotton could very likely turn out a £4.0m bargain if he cements a spot and those over at FPL towers introduce him to the game.
On the blue side of Liverpool, David Moyes’ men ran out eventual 2-1 victors against the aforementioned Malaga side. The usual faces of Everton got starts, with Jo recently picking up a knock Louis Saha started at the front of the now familiar 4-5-1 formation, Fellaini played once more despite recent fears an illness could disrupt his preparations for the season, but most interestingly Moyes opted for a pairing of Joleon Lescott & Phil Neville at centre-back. I see two ways to read into this, Moyes has given a start to Lescott to only solidify his stance that he is at Goodison to stay. But with Neville in an unfamiliar role we could also interpret that the manager is experimenting with the options available to him were Lescott to move to Man City. It certainly leaves food for thought for us fantasy managers, and goes to show Everton surely need another defender whether Lescott leaves or not.
Following some good chances at the start, the first goal of the game didn’t take too long to come, Louis Saha capitalised on Malaga keeper Munua’s inability to hold onto Tim Cahill’s rasping header, and prodded home to rebound giving Everton the lead. In the match, Pienaar and Fellaini were the main men to catch the eye of those at Goodison. The big Belgian provided some fine set up play in the offensive quarters, and the diminutive South African even went on the provide an assist for the next goal, setting up Leon Osman to make the match 2-0 early on into the game. Old Newcastle ‘favourite’ Albert Luque finished off the scoring with a perfect free kick from just outside of the box, leaving Tim Howard glued to the spot. Now Everton must look ahead to a first Premier League fixture at home to Arsenal, hopefully building on the confidence gained from this victory.
We have our last truly bumper day of pre-season games tomorrow with 8 Premier League sides playing their final pre-season matches, the football season is getting so close now.