Everton Irish and Opposition Irish

[Crosby87]

Thought Coleman was fantastic today for the Toffees.
Here's to hoping this thread has a long and successful lifespan! :D

[Charlie Darwin]

It's started well!

[tricky_colour]

Yes I watched the end of the match when McCarthy came on, he had a steady start as Everton defended their
lead, no heroics required really. Coleman didn't put a foot wrong in defence and created really problems
when he ventured down the left, a bit too hot to handle. Darren Gibson is due to come back from injury
soon, and as they have also signed Gareth Barry competition for a midfield spot looks pretty fierce.

[Crosby87]

Gibson: Me can nail regular spot if me stay healthy.
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11671/8945678/darron-gibson-hopes-for-regular-everton-place-after-recovering-from-injury

[Grafter]

Gibson: Me can nail regular spot if me stay healthy.
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11671/8945678/darron-gibson-hopes-for-regular-everton-place-after-recovering-from-injury

Me think he has work cut out:)

[Crosby87]

Would anyone grab McCarthy at 30-1 to score vs Newcastle? I love prop bets. Why not?
Also Seamus likes Roberto:
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/football/341610/James-McCarthy-is-sweet-on-Everton-s-Euro-bid

[DeLorean]

I only saw the second half of the game last night but McCarthy was the best I've seen him for a while. I have today's repeat recorded so I'll watch the first half to see how he did when Everton played their best stuff.

Coleman was outstanding again, absolutely bullied Gouffran for the most part bar one time when Gouffran got inside him with a nice bit of skill.

High praise for both amongst the Everton support here- (http://www.toffeetalk.com/index.php?/topic/25611-man-of-the-match-v-newcastle/)


Gibson wasn't even in the squad - did he pick up another knock since playing in the League Cup?

[jbyrne]

high praise from the BBC analysis of last nights game here...

Full-backs pour forward for Everton
There were other Everton players helping to feed Lukaku too.

Mirallas was also playing off him, but more as a winger - on the right in the first half and the left in the second. It was his cross that led to Lukaku's first goal.

And it was from the wide areas that they kept on driving forwards. Martinez sent his full-backs Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman charging on.

Baines deservedly gets the headlines because of his ability from set-pieces but Coleman deserves more credit for his hard work in attack and defence down the other flank.

Individually, there are better right-backs than him but, as a pair, Everton have the best two in the Premier League. He and Baines complement each other and their industry and attitude suits their team.

[paul_oshea]

I didnt see the whole game but what i did see ****ed me off about mccarthy he did exactly what we needed him to do against sweden and austria but he never stepped up to the plate, yesterday he was like a man possessed at times. I've not been impressed with his irish performances in general, I'm begining to wonder if his heart is really in it, because he has put in some very good performances in the premiership, yet I can't recall anyone in a green shirt at anywhere near the same level. He has been neat and tidy but thats about it.

[DannyInvincible]

I'm begining to wonder if his heart is really in it

If his heart isn't in it, why would he bother showing up? I think the tactics Trap employed made all our midfield players look anaemic. We'll see how he plays under new instructions.

[DeLorean]

Yeah I think you're jumping the gun a bit there Paul. His performance has to be put in some kind of perspective. He's still pretty new to the international setup, certainly in a playing sense. He was our motm away to the Faroes, granted they were poor opposition but it was a high pressure game a few days after the Germany rout, and another accomplished performance in Stockholm. His interviews have been impressive also with TOD trying to lead him into giving out about Trap, but he always went over and above merely defending the manager - not really a sign of a guy whose heart isn't in it.

Everton were completely dominant against Newcastle, it was a high tempo game and he had decent options every time he received possession. Being neat and tidy in this kind of scenario is always going to be more fruitful, in a creative sense, than in a game where nobody is really looking to receive possession. He did have a couple strong looking tackles which I haven't really seen from him at either club or international level, long may it continue.

[Charlie Darwin]

high praise from the BBC analysis of last nights game here...

Full-backs pour forward for Everton
There were other Everton players helping to feed Lukaku too.

Mirallas was also playing off him, but more as a winger - on the right in the first half and the left in the second. It was his cross that led to Lukaku's first goal.

And it was from the wide areas that they kept on driving forwards. Martinez sent his full-backs Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman charging on.

Baines deservedly gets the headlines because of his ability from set-pieces but Coleman deserves more credit for his hard work in attack and defence down the other flank.

Individually, there are better right-backs than him but, as a pair, Everton have the best two in the Premier League. He and Baines complement each other and their industry and attitude suits their team.
Who, though? I'm racking my brains thinking of an example in the Premier League but there aren't any names coming to mind. Anybody can look back on my posts in the Coleman thread and see how reticent I've been to praise him, but there's no right back in the league who you could say really stands out. I'd say Zabaleta is the best overall, but he's more dependability than individual talent. Kyle Walker? Ivanovic? Rafael was taken apart tonight in Donetsk. There's no proper standout player in the Lahm mould. Coleman is as good as any of them. If there was a better player, a top team would have bought him.

[tricky_colour]

Coleman is up to 19th in the stats rankings, Arsenal hold the top 3 spots, Everton have 4 in the top 20, Man U only have 1 player in the top 40, Rooney at 31st.

[Charlie Darwin]

Aren't those rankings based on statistics, tricky?

[tricky_colour]

Not sure, I think they might be pulling the names out of a hat.

[Crosby87]

Hee Hee. In some dank basement somewhere, with little light. And now at two we have....oooh, Frank Lampard. Damn it Jerry, you dropped the hat again.

[Crosby87]

Macca leading MOTM voting with a whopping 6 votes at press time.
http://www.toffeetalk.com/index.php?/topic/25629-man-of-the-match-at-man-city/

[DeLorean]

http://pogmogoal.com/wp-content/uploads/peter-farrell-everton-21.jpg

“He’s English on the outside, but, pure Irish on the inside.” The elderly woman in the ‘Western’ pub in Liverpool was referring to her grandson, Wayne Rooney. Most are Toffees in this part of Merseyside and Aiden McGeady’s arrival at Goodison Park to bolster the green contingent is a reminder that traditionally Everton were the Irish club in the city. The common football phrase “Taxi for” even owes its origins to a former Irish manager.

Patricia Fitzsimons sat at a small table in the Western Approaches pub near Scotty Road in Liverpool with economist David McWilliams. She took him through a journey of the Irish names in the area, names that were reflected in the footballing giants in the city, like Murphy, Carragher and McManamen. Wayne Rooney’s family boasts Irish connections on both sides stretching back four generations.

The area around Scotland Road close to the city’s docks, as McWilliams writes in his book The Pope’s Children, became a home for the Liverpool Irish. In the late 19th Century, they consistently voted an Irish Home Rule MP into the House of Commons.

The influx of emigrants following the Famine means Liverpool boasts the oldest Irish community in Britain. Despite the popularity in more modern times of their red rivals on this side of the Irish Sea, the Everton area in particular became a district populated by these migrants, the majority of whom were Roman Catholic.

The two football teams in the city were never really divided along religious lines. The original Everton, from whom Liverpool FC sprouted, were formed as St Domingo’s from the Methodist Church, but the blue side of the city became noted for attracting Irish support.


“During the 1950s and 60s the Toffees gained a reputation as the ‘Catholic club’ as a result of popular Irish players such as Tommy Eglington, Peter Farrell and Jimmy O’Neill as well as manager Johnny Carey”


It was Ronnie Whelan’s arrival at Anfield, along with other Irish internationals like Steve Heighway and Mark Lawrenson, that coincided with a phenomenally successful period for Everton’s rivals from across Stanley Park. Liverpool became the dominant force in English football and a heavyweight in Europe. More Irish flocked to the club as the sons of those emigrants like Ray Houghton and John Aldridge became stars in an all-conquering Reds team, and subsequently in the history-making Republic side that made its bow on the world stage.

Jack Charlton became synonymous with exploiting the ‘granny rule’ by significantly tapping into that resource of the Irish diaspora in Britain.

http://pogmogoal.com/wp-content/uploads/kevin-sheedy-everton-cup-winners-cup-400x299.jpg

Another key-member of Big Jack’s pioneering Boys in Green was the son of a Clare man, Kevin Sheedy. He’s considered by many as the best left-footer in Everton’s history, playing 223 games and scoring 62 goals for the club from 1982-1988. In fact Sheedy initially signed for Liverpool from Hereford United and made 5 appearances for the Anfield club, scoring twice.

Sheedy was then at the centre of a transfer tribunal in August 1982 that valued the player at £100,000 and he was sold to Everton. The midfielder appeared 46 times for Ireland forever etching his name in the history books for his equalising strike against England on June 12, 1990 in Cagliari, the Republic’s first ever goal at a World Cup finals. Sheedy was also on the scoresheet in the famous penalty-shoot-out victory over Romania, bravely stepping up to fire Ireland’s first spot-kick emphatically to the net.

Sheedy was a two-time league winner with Everton, also winning the European Cup Winners Cup, scoring in the final, and the FA Cup.
The now 54-year-old recently won his battle with bowel cancer, and is a coach at the Everton academy. In February 2013 he was inducted into the Republic of Ireland Hall of Fame.

Goodison Park has been home to many Irish players through the years. Billy Lacey played for both Liverpool and Everton. Martin O’Neill’s goalkeeping coach Seamus McDonagh, and Ireland’s first international manager Mick Meegan also lined out, while in more recent times players such as Terry Phelan, Lee Carsley, Kevin Kilbane, and Richard Dunne have appeared for the Toffees.

The legendary Jackie Carey was a former player who managed the club from 1958-61. Despite leading them to fifth place in the league, their highest post-war position, rumours on Merseyside suggested that the recently-resigned Sheffield Wednesday manager Harry Catterick was being lined up as Carey’s replacement.

“During a London taxi drive with director John Moores, Carey requested clarification on his future and Moores infamously told the former Irish captain he was being replaced. The phrase ‘Taxi for (insert name),” now part of football parlance, is believed to have derived from this episode.



http://pogmogoal.com/wp-content/uploads/Ireland-team-19491-400x282.jpg

In September 1949 Goodison Park was the setting for one of Ireland’s most famous victories. A 2-0 win marked a first ever defeat for England on home-soil by a foreign side. A Con Martin penalty and a second half goal from Peter Farrell, scoring on his club home ground, sealed the triumph.

As a side-note, Dixie Dean, the most prolific goalscorer in English football history, reversed the trend of players crossing the Irish sea, with a famous cameo in Sligo, still talked about to this day. Dean played 11 times for Rovers in 1939. His presence inspired the Bit O’Red to their first FAI Cup final, and his ten goals fired them to runners-up spot in the league.

Aiden McGeady’s move to Goodison Park means he joins a growing Irish contingent that includes Seamus Coleman, James McCarthy, Darron Gibson, and Shane Duffy, (now on loan at Yeovil).

With Roberto Martinez’s side in real contention for a Champions League spot, Everton are becoming a focus for Irish fans, and no doubt the management.

The feel-good factor around the Irish national team following Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane’s appointments has been maintained by the form of Coleman and McCarthy. There is real hope that Ireland can claim a spot at Euro 2016 despite not even knowing the qualifying opponents yet.

It was a goal at a major tournament from a former Anfield star that stuck in the mind of an aspiring young Evertonian with Irish roots.The Celtic-supporting Wayne Rooney, whose son Kai owns an Irish replica kit, recalls watching Ray Houghton’s winner against Italy with his family.

“I have always remembered that goal. It was my first World Cup moment. Never forget it.”

Now a new band of Irish Evertonians are aiming to inspire the next generation by creating new memories, both at Goodison Park and potentially in France at the European Championship in two years time.

PÓG MO GOAL (http://pogmogoal.com/republic-of-ireland/taxi-for-mcgeady-evertons-irish-story/17161/)

[Bungle]

Great to see so many Irish lads at Everton. Big fan of both clubs on Merseyside so hopefully a few Irish lads break through at Liverpool as well.

Still feel that there isn't much truth in the myth that Everton are the Irish club. I found most Scousers to be divided by family not religion and both red and blue were on the whole more disposed to Celtic than Rangers. Most scousers are of Irish catholic descent and while their Irish heritage has been dilluted over the years, most would happily cheer for Ireland (or most countries!!) against England.

My son is a big Liverpool fan from growing up there and I think this article which he showed me sums it all up for me.
http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2013/10/get-yer-scouse-in-order/

[tricky_colour]

current player of the season total.
http://www.toffeetalk.com/index.php?/topic/25836-man-of-the-match-v-norwich/
Ross Barkley...131
James McCarthy...104
Tim Howard...98
Seamus Coleman...98
Gareth Barry...80
Romelu Lukaku...58
Leighton Baines...57

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

I wonder how much money they will end up getting for Ross Barkley? 30 mil? 40 mil? 50 mil?

He will probably expect 100 grand a week in wages and then whoever buys him will do a Seth Johnson and offer him 200 grand a week.

[paul_oshea]

“He’s English on the outside, but, pure Irish on the inside.” The elderly woman in the ‘Western’ pub in Liverpool was referring to her grandson, Wayne Rooney. Most are Toffees in this part of Merseyside and Aiden McGeady’s arrival at Goodison Park to bolster the green contingent is a reminder that traditionally Everton were the Irish club in the city. The common football phrase “Taxi for” even owes its origins to a former Irish manager.

I stopped reading after this as i couldnt believe its authenticity after speaking with a work colleague "In that area, are all my friends, and they are all red".

Wasn't sheedy a reserve for livepool for a good few years?

[geysir]

I stopped reading after this as i couldnt believe its authenticity after speaking with a work colleague "In that area, are all my friends, and they are all red".
Wasn't sheedy a reserve for livepool for a good few years?
Rooney grew up in a mainly Everton supporting area, Croxteth.

[TheOneWhoKnocks]

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/english-soccer/question-of-religion-as-basis-for-support-still-contentious-1.1655070

Emmet Malone must read this forum.

[Bungle]

I can only go on personal experience of living in Liverpool and I generally found Everton and Liverpool fans fairly equally disposed towards Ireland or Celtic. I was there when we played England in 1990 and most were desperate for us to win.

I do know that the early chairmen/directors at Liverpool were very much of a Tory/Orange persuasion. However, in a working class city that is predominantly Irish/Catholic, it wouldn't make sense to play this card. Most of the great local heroes that played for Liverpool were Catholic/Liverpool Irish from Lawlor, Callaghan, Melia, Tommy Smith and Roger Hunt in the 60s to Steve McMahon and Aldo in the 80s through to Fowler, Carragher, McManamaman, Gerrard in the 90s and Flanagan and Kelly today. Alot of those lads were probably Everton fans growing up but that might have more to do with Everton are slightly more supported in the city than Liverpool, rather than religion.

[Crosby87]

Anyone ever been to Pogue Mahones on Seel St in Pool? Is it still there?

[paul_oshea]

Rooney grew up in a mainly Everton supporting area, Croxteth.

"Croxy was maily catholic but its near half red"

Rooneys neighbours in Gilmoss are all red.

[geysir]

"Croxy was maily catholic but its near half red"

Rooneys neighbours in Gilmoss are all red.
From "all red" to "near half red" in a day, that was a fast downsizing.
I'll wait another day and maybe you'll come back with another 60% reduction :eek:
Never badmouth an Irish granny.

[Stuttgart88]

I was in Liverpool for work in May.

There's a pretty fancy downtown shopping area there now called Liverpool One.

Everton has a club shop there. They've called it Everton Two, so the address is Everton Two, Liverpool One…!

I thought it was funny anyway.

[SkStu]

"Croxy was maily catholic but its near half red"

Rooneys neighbours in Gilmoss are all red.

I think Native American is the PC term, Paul.

[paul_oshea]

From "all red" to "near half red" in a day, that was a fast downsizing.
I'll wait another day and maybe you'll come back with another 60% reduction :eek:
Never badmouth an Irish granny.

For one who prides himself on having a greater insight than us minnions when it comes to quotes I find this quite funny.

I quote that all his friends in that area are Red, and that croxy is about half and half. I never said that all his friends were all the people in Croxy :)

Anyway his point was that although croxy is mainly catholic and of irish background, it doesn't mean they are all Everton supporters.

[geysir]

For one who prides himself on having a greater insight than us minnions when it comes to quotes I find this quite funny.

I quote that all his friends in that area are Red, and that croxy is about half and half. I never said that all his friends were all the people in Croxy :)

Anyway his point was that although croxy is mainly catholic and of irish background, it doesn't mean they are all Everton supporters.
You took an Irish granny to task when you wrote
"I stopped reading after this as i couldnt believe its authenticity after speaking with a work colleague "In that area, are all my friends, and they are all red".
What most people would understand, was that you were referring to the area mentioned by Granny Rooney and Granny Rooney was talking through her hat.
Then you backslide a bit more and falsely imply that i'm too stupid to read what you wrote, which is actually a bigger crime than dissing an Irish granny :)
You get mixed up or just carried away on an irrelevant tangent, when you write
"Rooneys neighbours in Gilmoss are all red."
Gilmoss is on the edge of Croxteth , it's not in Croxteth nor is it part of the area referred to by Granny Rooney.
So, it's quite feasible that what Granny Rooney says is close enough to the truth, that around 'Armpit Lane' and their local pub The Western, it's mostly blue.

[paul_oshea]

Firstly geysir I never dissed Rooneys Granny or any other Irish Granny:D

Secondly I didnt backslide in anyway, shape or form, I said my colleagues friends from Croxteth were all red, at no point like you suggest earlier that i went from all red to full red for the people of croxy. You misread or misunderstood what I said. There is no backsliding.

Lastly, The Lobster would be the local to stonebridge lane, where the rooneys live/lived/resided. That interview might have been conducted in The Western for astehtic reasons or for McWililams own comforts :D

"What would he know anyway unless he was from there. If he want's to come and meet me in the Elm before a match, I'll introduce him to the lads I go the match with, who for the most part were born and bred in Gillmoss and Croxteth, and are all die hard reds, a mix of catholic and protestant. He is full of ****e, tell him to get his money out, and I'll take it off him over the matter. " :D from my work colleague he is deadly serious about meeting you, he is a soulful life contrarian.

[tetsujin1979]

Firstly geysir I never dissed Rooneys Granny or any other Irish Granny:D

Secondly I didnt backslide in anyway, shape or form, I said my colleagues friends from Croxteth were all red, at no point like you suggest earlier that i went from all red to full red for the people of croxy. You misread or misunderstood what I said. There is no backsliding.

Lastly, The Lobster would be the local to stonebridge lane, where the rooneys live/lived/resided. That interview might have been conducted in The Western for astehtic reasons or for McWililams own comforts :D

"What would he know anyway unless he was from there. If he want's to come and meet me in the Elm before a match, I'll introduce him to the lads I go the match with, who for the most part were born and bred in Gillmoss and Croxteth, and are all die hard reds, a mix of catholic and protestant. He is full of ****e, tell him to get his money out, and I'll take it off him over the matter. " :D from my work colleague he is deadly serious about meeting you, he is a soulful life contrarian.
Is a chilled out entertainer in his spare time?

[geysir]

Firstly geysir I never dissed Rooneys Granny or any other Irish Granny:D

Secondly I didnt backslide in anyway, shape or form, I said my colleagues friends from Croxteth were all red, at no point like you suggest earlier that i went from all red to full red for the people of croxy. You misread or misunderstood what I said. There is no backsliding.

Lastly, The Lobster would be the local to stonebridge lane, where the rooneys live/lived/resided. That interview might have been conducted in The Western for astehtic reasons or for McWililams own comforts

"What would he know anyway unless he was from there. If he want's to come and meet me in the Elm before a match, I'll introduce him to the lads I go the match with, who for the most part were born and bred in Gillmoss and Croxteth, and are all die hard reds, a mix of catholic and protestant. He is full of ****e, tell him to get his money out, and I'll take it off him over the matter. " :D from my work colleague he is deadly serious about meeting you, he is a soulful life contrarian.

Along with the backsliding, expressing a somewhat feigned familiarity with Croxteth and deferring blame to your colleagues, since your first utterance attempting to ridicule Granny Rooney's account... now we come to read another piece of misdirection from you about the Western pub, --> the location of an interview with Granny Rooney where she stated something to the effect 'that around here we're all Everton supporters'. It's well known, as in the public domain, banner headlines and all that, that the Western is/was the local for the Rooneys and when Rooney returns to the 'hood', that's where he goes to meet his old mates. Strange that you .... or your (real or imaginary) know-all-pure-reds didn't know that. In all certainty (as you falsely suggested), it was not a location selected by McWilliams.
I seriously hope that you are more diplomatic and respectful, not prone to flippancy, whenever you meet and converse with an Irish granny in England :)

[paul_oshea]

Local as in where they drink or local to where they live, stop putting words in my mouth geysir :D The lobster is closer to stonebridge lane and would be the "local" around there.

Anyway back to the original point Croxteth, as I said based on my colleagues experience is mixed red and blue. You dont need to construct loads of sentences to try and help your argument, if its right, a one liner is enough.

So you should meet him and put your money where your mouth is :D

[SkStu]

I can't believe you told on Geysir and I can't believe you have such truculent friends.

[BonnieShels]

I can't believe you told on Geysir and I can't believe you have such truculent friends.

Can Scousers be truculent?

Argumentative and hostile perhaps...

[DeLorean]

Possibly we can catch most of our players on matchday just by watching 2 games and our derby is between Everton and Hull

Really forcing it with Meyler's position but... (http://thescore.thejournal.ie/ireland-entire-team-everton-hull-outfield-1269478-Jan2014/?utm_source=facebook_short)

[paul_oshea]

Can Scousers be truculent?

Argumentative and hostile perhaps...

Definitely abrupt can be thrownin there too.

[third policeman]

Came across this on Youtube. It's a film showing the community in the St Andrew's Gardens area celebrating the opening of the Catholic Cathedral in Liverpool in 1967. Gives an insight into how homogeneous Irish Catholic working-class neighborhoods were up to this time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaBZ-7-Xg8k

My guess is that this area which is close to the Catholic Cathedral would have been an almost 100% Everton supporting community then. After the dispersal of the inner-city population to places like Croxteth and Kirkby footballing affiliations would have become increasingly less influenced by religion or ethnic ancestry. Scotland Rd / Vauxhall is propbably the only remaining Irish Catholic enclave left in the city and it remains overwhelmingly Everton supporting. Likewise in areas like Dingle and Everton where there are still active Orange Lodges there would be very few Everton supporters.

It's only really in these areas that there is any lingering connection between religious and footballing dentities.

[Stuttgart88]

Anyone remember the 80s TV movie / drama "No Surrender"? Was it Phil Redmond or Alan Bleasdale (Blackstuff)?

Two local groups of old bigoted gits, one catholic, one protestant, booked the same dance hall for their annual function.

I'd say Liverpool is unrecognisable from those days.

[geysir]

Now that it's established fact that Paul is talking thro' his hole and his lack of respect to an Irish granny was as misplaced as his personal knowledge/experience about Croxteth and the Rooney's local pub - the Western.
I hope this thread can move on, unfettered by the misplaced clouds of negativity, suspicion and misdirection about the few morsels of merseyside history Granny Rooney recounted in her interview with David McWilliams.

If by some twist of fate (not too far fetched) Wayne had declared for Ireland, just think how your perceptions might well be different towards him.

[paul_oshea]

I take it you won't meet him then geysir?! :P

[geysir]

I take it you won't meet him then geysir?! :P
Him, your imaginary friend who claims he knows better than Grandma Rooney and Rooney family where their local pub is?!?

[paul_oshea]

I pm'd you my imaginary friends details :D

Everton were very poor in the 2nd half, very ordinary with little or no attacking threat. They missed Barkley and they will really miss him and Coleman now. I think this is where their bid for 4th spot will tail off. Mccarthy should have cut out the cross for West Broms goal and he was very average last night, only remember hearing his name mentioned 4 or 5 times. Coleman didn't really get much of a chance to roam forward, perhaps feeling the effects of a great start, this injury could help rejuvenate him. McGeady came on did his usual few tricks and then when he had a chance to do something of note he messed it up, notably the pass through for lukaku and the cross from the left hand side.

[DeLorean]

McCarthy put himself in a position that would normally cut out the cross, but it went cleanly through his legs. Just unlucky really as Morisson hardly spotted the gap!

[paul_oshea]

Maybe, but the commentators commented saying the same. It may be over critical, but he looked half hearted, as a defender 9/10 times nothing will come from it, but you still expect hte defender to make that tackle to ensure nothing happens. He didn't over-commit and got caught for it, probably thinking it was a tight angle and nothing would come from it, but if he was a defender we would say he has to do better and should be 100% committed and concentrated. So for that, I feel he could and should have done better.

[DeLorean]

I agree he looked half hearted but he thought he had the angle cut off, which he had but it went through his legs. The commentator said that he should have done better, but that was before he saw the replay when he said... "oh it actually goes through his legs", or something to that effect.

[paul_oshea]

Its not just about cutting the angle off though, its cutting the supply line. He should have stopped it at source, a corner may have resulted but thats what you expect him to do, the winger shouldn't be getting the ball into the box.