Everton-The Quest for Success

First of all I do apologise for my lack of updates, as I stated previously it has been difficult as I am still on holiday. Anyway, on with the career:

Here we are. The December rollercoaster begins. Of the 18 points available, I would take 10. That would represent a strong month. A Capital One Cup semi-final would top it all off.

Manchester United 1-1 Everton
Not bad, not bad at all. Two Manchester trips, two fine draws that were a crossbar’s width away from a win. We were so determined defensively, Tim Howard pulling off a world-class stop to deny Nemanja Vidic and Leighton Baines made a block on the line. Then Steven Naismith was through on goal, before being hacked down by Vidic. Penalty. Leighton Baines converted and we led. We took our lead into the half-time break, and my message was ‘don’t do anything stupid early on, get to about 60mins still 1-0 up and we will go from there’. We got to 55mins before Danny Welbeck headed home. Baines then hit the bar with a free-kick, but I would have taken a draw, so I was very happy.
Key Performer-Tim Howard was dominant in goal against his former club, with his stunning save from Vidic the pick of the bunch.



Arsenal 0-0 Everton
Arsenal haven’t pulled up many trees this season, so I had mixed feelings about this one. Our first 0-0 of the season, but neither side deserved to win in all honesty.
Key Performer-Tim Howard again, with a few smart saves and a deserved clean sheet, because he was unfortunate not to have achieved that feat in the previous game.



Everton 1-0 Fulham
That’s more like it. After a winless run of three (a lot when you are challenging at the top), I would have taken a scrappy 1-0 win. Baines again delivered when it mattered, with William Kvist’s sending off making it slightly easier.
Key Performer-Leighton Baines, who, as I said, delivered when it mattered. A fine finish, and he has really got a knack for scoring at the moment.



Everton 2-1 Chelsea (Capital One Cup quarter final)
Fantastic is the only way to describe it. Against a near-full strength Chelsea side, we dominated. Baines again opened the scoring, but a howler from Joel in goal from Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s free-kick within a minute of half time put us back under pressure, only for Seamus Coleman to regain our lead. We held on to secure our second win against the Blues this season. Take that Mourinho! A semi-final against Cardiff stands between us and a Wembley date, whilst in the other semi United take on Arsenal.
Key Performer-Leighton Baines with another goal and assist. As he hits his peak, we can all be very excited.



Swansea 1-1 Everton
Once again one of the highlights of our season is followed by a bitterly disappointing result. We would have hoped to have started brightly after our fantastic midweek result, but an early goal from Michu promised a tough game. We pressed for the equaliser, and it eventually arrived when Steven Naismith took advantage of a shocking Leon Britton backpass to fire into the bottom corner. However, we didn’t do enough to win the game, and a team that only registers one shot on target are more than likely to have been very lucky if they win. We need to start turning these draws into wins.
Key Performer-Steven Naismith. He has been handed the opportunity to show how he can do as a lone striker, and in this game he didn’t disappoint. He was switched on to take advantage of a mistake.



Everton 2-0 Sunderland
No slip-ups this time, an efficient Boxing Day performance. We were dealt with a blow when Ross Barkley had to be withdrawn through injury, though thankfully he will be fine. We had to be patent but first Romelu Lukaku scored, then in stoppage time substitute Aaron Cresswell scored a thumping volley to secure the win.
Key Performer-Seamus Coleman. His form has dipped recently, but he bounced back with style today. He set up Lukaku’s goal with a fine pass, and I expect more from him.



Everton 1-1 Southampton
I will give you one chance to guess who won man of the match in this game. Darron Gibson. The man who I sold in the Summer for £7.5million came back to haunt me. Once again we didn’t do enough to win the game. Coleman gave us the lead, only for Gibson to equalise with 25 minutes to go.
Key Performer-Will Hughes is my choice for this one. It is interesting because I had to rest Ross Barkley for this one, so Hughes played in the position behind the striker, and he thrived on picking up on Lukaku’s knockdowns. He is already a favourite with the fans, so performances like this really excite me.



So 10 points this month out of 18, exactly what I said I wanted. A slight dampener is that Kevin Mirallas, Éder Álvares Balanta, Arouna Kone and Gerard Deulofeu have all complained about the lack of game time. Gerard asked for his loan to be terminated, and I obliged. I have told Éder and Arouna to expect more matches, whilst after a heated conversation I have accepted Mirallas’ transfer request and immediately placed him in the reserves. We are third in the league, I can’t have negative influences affecting our positive season. Straight away Arsenal came in with bids of £10million, £12million, £13.5million and £15million, but I tried to hold out for £17.5million. They didn’t accept. Maybe a bit silly of me, but my motto is ‘I get what I want’. He will sit and rot in my reserves. Next up a crucial January.

This month proved to be the turning point of our season. On the back of a turbulent December, I was hoping that this month would provide us with a relief. That was until I saw the fixture list: a Capital One Cup semi-final double-header, a Merseyside derby, a possibility of two FA Cup rounds and numerous other banana skin-esque games. On top of that, I have four or five players expecting game time in a period when I need my best players out and at the top of their game. I have Kevin Mirallas to somehow get rid of, with any interest having evaporated recently. I was just hoping we would come through this with our league position relatively intact.

Stoke 0-0 Everton
Not a great start. We are now the draw specialists of the division. Another mediocre performance against the side that recorded the first loss of our season. We just cannot break down Stoke. 180+minutes against the Potters and no goals. Still, better than a defeat I guess.
Key Performer-Ross Barkley. A few key passes and was our most creative player.



Charlton 0-1 Everton (FA Cup third round)
Another cup run may be on the cards after this comfortable result. Whilst it took a little longer for my weakened side to break the lowly Championship side down, I had every faith that we would do so. Romelu Lukaku’s late strike was enough to see us through to the fourth round, where a tie at home to Carlisle awaits.
Key Performer-Phil Jagielka was strong at the back, leading his two younger centre-back partners. In a potentially tricky tie, he led well, which is what he is paid to do.



At this point I decided to address the lack of strength in depth in the striking options. I made an offer for Alvaro Morata which included around £14million (divided into numerous add-ons) and Kevin Mirallas. The offer was accepted and Morata accepted a wage of around £50,000 a week. Deal done, right? Wrong. Mirallas and Real Madrid couldn’t agree on wages, yearly wage rise among other little details and the deal collapsed. Cheers Kevin.

So this is it. Capital One Cup semi-final first leg at Goodison Park in front of a capacity crowd. Fans young and old sit in nervous anticipation. Whilst Cardiff would have been the ‘pick’ of the fans when it came to the draw, the prospect of facing Manchester United or Arsenal in the final at Wembley was too daunting for some. But I was up for anything. We are here on merit; our outstanding performances that have brought together the community are the reason we are in this position. My young squad will thrive on this type of game. The atmosphere will be electric. Here we go!

Everton 3-1 Cardiff (Capital One Cup semi-final first leg)
Wow. Oh my f***ing gosh. We were fantastic. We dominated from start to finish. The atmosphere won us the game. They sung, we replied. 2-0 up inside five minutes. Seamus Coleman played a stunning 40-yard pass that caught out David Marshall, Leighton Baines bust a gut to head the ball back to Will Hughes, who grabbed his first Everton goal when it mattered most. Then Coleman’s fine run to the goalline culminated to a pull-back to Ross Barkley, who fired into the roof of the net. Unbelievable. Unfortunately, Mats Moller Daelli headed in a Magnus Wolff Eikrim cross to half the deficit ten minutes into the second half. Did this mean a tight end to a very open game? Not on Coleman’s watch. He was sent through by Ross Barkley to fire past the stranded Marshall. Game over. Tie nearly over. A repeat of this and a ticket to Wembley is ours. I’m over the moon. Arsenal won 2-0 in their first leg. Is an Everton/Arsenal final on the cards?
Key Performer-Seamus Coleman. A goal, an assist and the assist of an assist (if that makes sense) represented a fine performance in one of our most crucial games yet.



Everton 3-2 Norwich
We used the momentum gained from midweek in this game to overcome a tricky Norwich side. They just would not die down. Ross Barkley gave us the lead, only for Jonny Howson scored an absolute screamer. James McCarthy got his first Everton goal and Romelu Lukaku gave us a two goal deficit, only for Ricky Van Wolfswinkel to pull another goal back. But we held on and recorded another good win. Unbeaten so far this month as well, with no defeat since THAT game against Stoke.
Key Performer-Romelu Lukaku. After a difficult start to his Everton career, he has come on leaps and bounds and is now very much on my summer transfer shortlist. Another fine goal, which will be so important as we approach the run-in.



West Brom 0-2 Everton
A very efficient performance. Not our best attacking display, nor was it our best defensive performance. But a win is a win. Three points on board. Romelu Lukaku (again) gave us the lead and Leighton Baines doubled our lead inside the first fifteen minutes. There were nervy moments, but we stood tall to secure a comfortable but hard-earned win.
Key Performer-Romelu Lukaku again. A goal and an assist against his former club. No room for sentiment however, as he showed his understandable delight with his goal and overall performance. More of the same please sir.



A quick update on Morata. A deal equating to almost £25million was accepted, as was the contract. But the agent fees and loyalty bonus were too much. Deal off, again.

And that leads us nicely onto our Capital One Cup semi-final second leg. 3-1 up from the first leg, we knew a repeated performance would be enough. The lads were pumped up, the Everton contingent in the away end were loud and proud. Could we deliver?

Cardiff 1-0 Everton (2-3 on aggregate, Capital One Cup semi-final second leg)
No, not really. BUT I DON’T CARE. WEMBLEY, BABY, WEMBLEEEEYYYYY. WE ARE THE FAMOUS TOFFEES AND WE’RE GOING TO WEMBLEY!!! In our minds it seemed like we were already there, so in a way we are lucky. But our devastating first leg is what won it for us. Wilfred Zaha’s goal gave Cardiff the opportunity to level the tie, but Aron Gunnarson extinguished any of those chances with a second yellow card. We were still made to fight for our place in the final, which was good as it acted as a wake-up call. So a final against ArsenMANCHESTER UNITED??? A 4-0 win in the second leg at Old Trafford paired us up. Fellani vs his former club. Moyes vs his. Wayne Rooney vs his. Tim Howard vs his. Moyes vs Moore. Reds Devils vs Toffees. Sunday, 2nd May 2014. Bring it on.
Key Performer-Tim Howard made a few good saves to keep us ahead, so he deserves a final against his old club.



BREAKING NEWS: As if this week couldn’t get any better, Alvaro Morata has signed! Unfortunately, I’ve had to loan him back for the rest of the season, but otherwise Real Madrid wouldn’t budge. The initial fee is just £4.9million, but it will potentially rise to around £25million. They also have a £40million buy-back price, but I think this really shows where we are at as a club. Massive, MASSIVE signing!

Everton 2-0 Carlisle (FA Cup fourth round)
A comfortable win against the League One side. Goals from Jesse Lingard and Arouna Kone won us this game. Our opponents in the next round are Newcastle United.
Key Performer-Tony Hibbert. My captain for the day rolled back the years to put in a fantastic performance. Two assists capped a wonderful day for the veteran fullback.



So to finish the month of we have a Merseyside derby to look forward to. The bragging rights are firmly in our hands thanks to a Leighton Baines brace earlier on in the season. But with the Anfield crowd taking the term ‘12th man’ to the max, this will be a whole different type of game.

Liverpool 1-2 Everton
Unbelievable. The sort of game that is never forgotten by fans and players alike. 1-0 down away from home thanks to Victor Moses’ goal, we have to go all-out attack. Romelu Lukaku equalised with an exquisite finish. But then our fantastic disciplinary record is torn in two, as Seamus Coleman is dismissed for a second bookable offence. Game over. Surely I have to go on the defensive? No, not me. Our kit providers are Nike. Risk Everything. With that ringing in my ears, I ignore my assistant’s warning that we are stretched defensively. ‘Go for it’ I say, ‘You will be a legend if you do and it pays off’. SO, in the 88th minute, Éder Álvarez Balanta thumps the ball home from a corner! YES! YES! YES! WE’VE DONE IT! Anfield drops into a silence, the sort of which has never been experienced before by Liverpool fans. We hold on to a historic victory and a delightful double over the scum.
Key Performer- Éder Álvarez Balanta is the standout contender. An assist and a goal in a Merseyside derby at the tender age of 20. Not bad. The 88th minute in a Merseyside derby is not a bad place to grab your first goal for a club.



So at the end of a huge month, we have recorded six wins, one draw and one loss. A very good record. Romelu Lukaku and Éder Álvarez Balanta came second and third respectively in the Young Player of the Month allocate, whilst I came second in the Manager of the Month award. Next up in February, six games, four of which are against London opponents, before we can start thinking about our big cup final…

Congrats on the final! Very good season so far

So February is here. It doesn’t get any easier though, and we must not get distracted by the small matter of a cup final next month.

Everton 0-0 Aston Villa
These results will cost us, I’m telling you. Too many pathetic draws. We have lost one league game all season, yet we are 4th in the league. Just one of those games though I guess. We just couldn’t break them down.
Key Performer-Will Hughes was our best player on the day, though there weren’t many to choose from. Some neat passes and clever runs from the youngster. He has really improved from the start of the season.



Tottenham 0-1 Everton
A good win here. Romelu Lukaku won us the game with a good header, but there wasn’t much else to report. But wins against these sorts of teams are the ones that will make the difference. They will have to, because we just can’t finish off other teams.
Key Performer-Seamus Coleman gets this one, following a good performance topped by a fine cross that Lukaku simply had to make contact with.



Everton 2-1 Crystal Palace
We avenged Palace’s late equaliser earlier on in the season with this result. A bizarre game, but it’s three points. First, Ross Barkley gave us the lead and then Mile Jedinak scored a calamitous own goal. But another own goal followed, thanks to Romelu Lukaku. We also lost both Gareth Barry and Will Hughes through injury, which was a concern, but the win is what matters.
Key Performer-Ross Barkley is finally back, it appears. His form has decreased recently, which has been very worrying, but a good performance, capped by a goal, made me feel confident that he is returning to top form.



Everton 1-0 Newcastle (FA Cup fifth round)
Another game, another win. This time it was Lacina Traore who was the scorer with a fine penalty. Again, not much else to say. Our opponents in the next round? Manchester United. The date? A week after the cup final. One team will be looking to avenge their defeat in the final. Let’s hope it’s not us…
Key Performer-Kevin Mirallas. Yes he is still at the club. Following the withdrawal of his transfer request, I placed him straight back into the starting eleven, and he impressed. He has forced himself back into consideration. You see what a little bit of ‘private training’ can do?



Chelsea 0-0 Everton
Whilst our third meeting with Mourinho’s men this season didn’t go as well as the other two did, it was still a fine performance and result. Chelsea had 21 shots but could not break down our determined defence. A draw at Stamford Bridge? I’ll take that.
Key Performer-Sylvian Distin was strong in the air and on the ground, controlling the defence with Phil Jagielka and kept the tricky Eden Hazard under wraps. The man who started the season as a backup option has really forced himself into my reckoning and is now a mainstay in my side.



Everton 2-0 West Ham
A fantastic result considering the circumstances. We had to make changes to keep players fit for the cup final, which is now only four days away. Yet the makeshift team did the damage, with goals from Stanislav Manolev and Steven Naismith winning us the game.
Key Performer-Stanislav Manolev. A fantastic free-kick capped a fine performance from the Bulgarian. Has Seamus Coleman got competition for the right wing-back role at Wembley on Sunday?



That’s a wrap then. February is over, an unbeaten month again. Éder Álvarez Balanta came first in the Young Player of the Month award, whilst I came third in the Manager of the Month. Next up? Just a little Cup final. The nerves are starting to kick in now, I really don’t want to lose this one, I would genuinely feel heartbroken. I may do a special article just for that game.

Thank you so much for beating the RS! Also, great season, and can you please show us that league table? Or are you waiting for the end of the season?

Haha well I am planning on doing a big final report as we hit the final month of the season, showing you remaining fixtures and league standings, so you will have to remain patient until then I'm afraid All I will say is that we're in with a genuine chance of winning the league, but it is VERY tight, the tightest the league has ever been in my opinion

It’s here. The biggest game in Everton’s recent history. Six gruelling matches have passed and now we are within touching distance of the Capital One Cup. But I knew long ago that we would face United at a crucial point in our season; it had to happen. Both sides have had their fair share of scares during their respective cup runs. So many questions need answering: can Moyes continue Sir Alex’s trend of winning trophies? Has Marouane Fellani got what it takes to be a regular at Manchester United? Can Joel Moore do what his predecessor, David Moyes, never did and deliver silverware? Will it be third time lucky at Wembley for Everton (following defeats against Chelsea and Liverpool)?
Capital One Cup round Everton Manchester United
Second Round Peterborough 1-3 Everton NOT ENTERED YET
Third Round Everton 1-0 Aston Villa Manchester United 1-0 Swansea
Fourth Round Everton 1-1 vs Southampton Sunderland 0-1 Manchester United
(won 8-7 on penalties)
Quarter-Final Everton 2-1 Chelsea Bournemouth 1-3 Manchester United
Semi-Final First Leg Everton 3-1 Cardiff Arsenal 2-0 Manchester United
Semi-Final Second Leg Cardiff 1(2)-0(3)Everton Manchester United 4-0 Arsenal
Final Everton ?-? Manchester United

There are so many links between the two clubs, from the obvious ones such as David Moyes, to the less obvious ones, like Michael Keane and Jesse Lingard. Will any of the former players make themselves heroes or villains against their old sides?

Everton Manchester United
Tim Howard David Moyes
Michael Keane Steve Round (assistant manager)
Jesse Lingard Marouane Fellani
Phil Neville
Wayne Rooney



So the big day is here. My crucial team selection is made. With Gareth Barry only fit enough for the bench, I am left thinking who should replace James McCarthy in central midfield as he fills the ‘Barry role’. I reluctantly decide that, with Leon Osman also missing, Ross Barkley should fill that role. I am reminded how important determination is, and for that reason alone Steven Naismith is put straight into the hole. Other than that the selection was easy. The teams are as follows:




The programme photo shoots are done, pre-match interviews completed, the mascots for both teams have been chosen, tickets have sold out, the special edition shirts with cup final embroidery are ironed and hung up, the merchandise sales are in full flow as fans seemingly compete to look as tacky as they can, the stands are filling up as the club anthems are played, the warm ups are started and finished swiftly, the motivational speeches from iconic figures played via YouTube (Al Pacino’s in Any Given Sunday is a personal favourite), motivational songs (such as Lose Yourself, 300 Violin Orchestra and We Will Rock You) are now known off by heart by the players, and my emotional speech about ‘doing it for friends, family and doubters’ brings tears to everyone’s eyes (hopefully!) This is it now. All of this will mean very little if the players aren’t up for it. There are 22 men stood silently in the tunnel. The call from the referee is made and the long walk towards the hallowed turf begins. The two teams are greeted with a deafening sound as the two sets of fans compete to be the loudest. It’s at this point where it really hits home how much this means to the fans. The pre-match handshakes are quick and half-hearted as the players prepare themselves for one of the biggest matches in their careers. From now on my powers are limited, the fans’ noise can only do so much; it’s down to the players to perform on the biggest stage in world football. The referee dares to start the game: this is it. It begins.

I will not spoil the result for you, but instead will run through a brief description as to how the match went.

The first few seconds are explosive. United kick off and immediately press. ‘Please don’t concede early’ I pray. A poor pass from Juan Mata gifts the ball to Will Hughes on the edge of the box and our first touch is welcomed with a rousing cheer. He couldn’t quite release Naismith but no worry; no early goal conceded. Van Persie has a shot blocked and Juan Mata’s poor effort should have turned into a cross for Antonio Valencia, but he was a split-second late and could only put the ball into the side-netting, with the goal gaping. A massive let-off inside the first ten minutes, and it’s all United at the moment. We take our time to stifle their attack and we decide to try and control the game, rather than going all-out. And with that comes our first chance. Will Hughes, such a determined and passionate individual, sends Steven Naismith through. From this comes an anxious wait as he sprints toward goal, loads the barrel and pulls the trigger! But guess who gets back to block? Thanks Marouane. He immediately puts the ball into touch. Within seconds he is booked for a foul. That’s interesting; maybe we can take advantage of that…

We don’t need to. Juan Mata is sent down the line, but his torrid afternoon continues as a poor clearance is cleared by Phil Jagielka, and his header arrives to the feet of Steven Naismith, who gathers his thoughts twenty yards from our goal, but the red mist arrives and Fellani hacks him down and we all know what follows. Howard Webb remains calm and dismisses him for a second bookable offence. Game on. United down to ten men at Wembley inside 20 minutes. To make it even better it’s the former Toffee. ‘Cheerio! Cheerio! Cheerio!’ is heard coming from one half of Wembley, the other half drops into a stunned silence. But still I tell the lads to play at the same tempo. Nothing has changed yet.

The next piece of action come is the 40th minute. Some good passing from our defensive and midfield six culminates in a shocking pass from Sylvian Distin, who gave the ball straight to Alexander Büttner, whose attempted through ball was cleared by Distin to Will Hughes. The blonde-haired midfield maestro sent a majestic through ball to Romelu Lukaku. This is the one! Go on son! AAARGHHHH! Straight at De Gea! Rafael heads behind for a corner! Lukaku looks stunned, and rightly so: he has to score that! The corner is taken quickly in front of the Manchester United fans. Baines sends it hard and low to JAGIELKA!! HE HITS THE POST!!!!!! The rebound his played back out to Baines, but his second cross is plucked out of the air by De Gea. Those of the Red contingent can breathe again, we are desperately unlucky!!!

The final piece of first-half action comes from Juan Mata, who flashes a shot over the bar. Half-time. A very good half from us. We composed ourselves after a shaky start and slowly but surely seized control. I think we are in the driving seat against the ten men. Our front two are really struggling though, and that may need addressing.

United make two changes: Nani and Michael Carrick on for Antonio Valencia and Tom Cleverley. Second half begins, but Seamus Coleman picks up a knock. I take a BIG risk and keep him on. Nani also gets injured, but he cannot play on. He spent two minutes on the pitch before being replaced by Danny Welbeck. That’s all of United’s changes, maybe another sign this might be our day? Soon after we create another chance, Seamus Coleman’s throw-in was only cleared to Ross Barkley, who finds NAISMITH!! WHAT A SAVE BY DE GEA!!! STUNNING SAVE! Naismith received the ball fifteen yard from goal, but his rasping goal-bound piledriver is parried over the bar by the Spaniard. It’s coming, surely? The corner is only partially cleared to Coleman!!!! Another fine stop, but this time it’s held by De Gea. We are dominating now!!!!

In a rip-roaring five minutes Danny Welbeck is denied by a block, Seamus Coleman fired just over and Leighton Baines is denied by a fine block from Rafael. I then withdraw the disappointing Lukaku and replace him with Steven Piennar, who drops into central midfield and allows Ross Barkley to return to his attacking midfield role. Steven Naismith then moves into the lone striker role, in an attempt to add something different.

With twelve minutes of normal time remaining, we survive a MAJOR scare! Danny Welbeck’s cross falls to ROBIN VAN PERSIE!! DISTIN BLOCKS! VAN PERSIE AGAIN!!! JAGIELKA BLOCKS AND DISTIN CLEARS OFF THE LINE!!!

Phew!! Do NOT concede now! Unfortunately we lose Barkley to injury, and he is replaced by Gareth Barry. James McCarthy steps into the central midfield position and Steven Piennar takes Ross’ place in the attacking midfield position. Immediately Mata sends a speculative shot well over and extra time arrives. I say ‘come on lads! Half an hour to go! You’ve got this, just keep going!’

Unfortunately there is no action in the first half of extra time. Fifteen minutes. This is all it comes down to. I bring Coleman off, as he is still carrying that knock, and he is replaced by John Stones. ‘Please don’t mess up’, I think to myself.

NO! NO, NO, NO!!! JOHN STONES NO! HE HEADS INTO HIS OWN NET! BUT HAS HE??? NO! HE DOESN’T, IT DOESN’T COUNT!!!!!!!!! A push from Robin Van Persie is spotted and the own-goal is ruled out. We survive our biggest scare yet!!!

No further action. Yep, you guessed it. The inevitable happens. A penalty shoot-out. The final will be decided from the penalty spot. The coin toss is done. We will take second with the goal in front of the United fans being chosen. A disadvantage? I don’t know. One key fact in our favour that springs to mind is that we have a 100% penalty conversion rate this season, including a perfect shoot-out against Southampton earlier on in the competition. I sort my takers out, and Phil Jagielka, my captain, will take the potentially-decisive fifth spot-kick.


First penalty, Juan Mata to take it. A slow run-up, BUT IT’S SAVED BY HOWARD!!! STRAIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE, A SHOCKING PENALTY, AND NOW WE HAVE THE CHANCE TO GO AHEAD!



Leighton Baines first up for us, a quick run-up, and he SCORES! Right into the bottom corner! 1-0!

Next it’s Michael Carrick, and confidently he sends Howard the wrong way, 1-1…

Steven Naismith for us, a speedy run up and he SCORES……just! Into the bottom corner, a few inches away from De Gea’s dive! 2-1 to us now!

Robin Van Persie is up next, and he repeats Naismith’s penalty, into the opposite corner, with Howard so close to saving it! 2-2

My third taker is John Stones. No pressure youngster, you’re only taking a penalty in a cup final in front of 90,000 fans. He composes himself, and SCORES!! Into the bottom right-hand corner, just out of De Gea’s reach! Carbon copy of Naismith’s penalty! 3-2!

Phil Jones now for United. He runs up, but Tim Howard takes a step to his right before he shoots. Jones shoots that way, but it is JUST out of the American’s reach! 3-3 now

Gareth Barry is next, against his parent club’s fierce rivals. He is still injured, so can barely run. He jogs up INCREDIBLY slowly, close to a walk, but sends De Gea the wrong way! 4-3 to me now! One more penalty each now, Alex Büttner for United and Jagielka for us. I can almost feel that trophy, the nerves are incredible!

So Büttner is up next. He must score or we win. He steps up, albeit looking unconfident, before firing the ball into the right-hand side of the goal. It wasn’t a brilliant penalty, but Howard somehow didn’t reach it despite going the right way. So United have done their bit. They have done all they can to keep up with our free-scoring side during this shoot-out following a shocking Mata penalty at the start. But now it is down to us. The shootout has panned out as I expected, in a roundabout way. I knew the fifth penalty would have meaning, and that it would play a vital part in deciding the winner of the tournament. In line with his responsibilities, skipper Phil Jagielka now has to accept all of the pressure from the fans, board, coaching staff and, most importantly, his team-mates. He can be a hero or a villain. This one kick could give him hero status at Everton, or it could spell the end for the centre-back.

His long walk to the penalty spot was slow and thoughtful. He reached the area and was met by the deadly eyes of David De Gea, who could also become a club legend in the next thirty seconds. He placed the ball down and went through his motions, possibly thinking about which types of penalties had been successful or unsuccessful in the week’s training. This was it. The buzz in the local area, the media focus going into this game, the passionate interviews and speeches, all of it. The meaning and worth of all of this could be decided by the next touch of the ball. For the first time since it opened its gates earlier in the day, Wembley fell silent. Silent prayers were made by all. Jagielka took his strides backwards, assessed his options for one final time, ran up to the ball, hit it with his right foot, AND SSSSSCCCCCOOOOORRRRREEEEEDDDDD!!!!!!!!!! GGGGGOOOOOAAAAALLLLL!!!!! GGOOAALL GGOOAALL GGOOAALL!!!!!! HE’S DONE IT!!!!! PHIL JAGIELKA WINS THE CAPITAL ONE CUP FOR EVERTON!!!!!!! ASTONISHING, INCREDIBLE, AWESOME, FANTASTIC, BRILLIANT!!!!! Ross Barkley falls to his knees in tears, tears of happiness! Tim Howard turns and jumps to the Everton fans behind him! Jagielka races towards the corner flag, chased by the rest of the squad, substitutes included! My coaching staff and I race onto the pitch, embracing one another! Somehow my physio finds himself celebrating in the far corner with the team! Unbelievable! The Everton end of Wembley jumps and chants as one, as the United end empties in seconds! Their side stand hands on hips on halfway! Needless to say this is the best moment in my managerial career!



After things have calmed down, and the United players have received runners-up medals, our players begin their climb up the famous Wembley steps. Donning scarfs, hats and special shirts, we receive our medals and the real prize: this little beauty.



As Jagielka and the injured Leon Osman lift the Capital One Cup, our fans erupt in noise once again. We return to the hallowed turf and complete a lap of honour. Still it hasn’t sunk in! All post-match activities are completed and we venture home. Best day of my career.
Key Performer- Not really surprising, but my choice is Phil Jagielka. In Robin Van Persie, United have the league’s top scorer, but my England international defender marked him out of the game. He capped a determined, fierce performance with the match-winning penalty. He stood up and took charge when it mattered. A true captain’s performance from a true Everton legend.