Everton v Fulham - Match Preview
last updated Friday 27th September 2002, 9:21 AM
After the off-field wrangling pre-season, Jean Tigana's Fulham have made a confident start to the campaign, no doubt boosted by their success in the Intertoto Cup.
Of their first 6 Premiership games they have won 3 drawn 2 and lost just 1. The biggest change for The Cottagers so far this season is in front of goal. They have scored twice as many goals as Man Utd and are second only to Arsenal in terms of their goals per shots ratio
The form of midfielders Junichi Inamoto, new acqusition this season, and Sylvain Legwinski has been the major plus point for the Cottagers.
With only one defeat so far, and three clean sheets in as many games, Fulham will go into this game with confidence, especially after their last away performance against Sunderland, who they beat 3-0.
When the teams met here in March last season, the game was David Moyes' first game in charge, and his side responded with a quickfire start. David Unsworth scored after just 32 seconds, and Duncan Ferguson increased the lead 13 minutes later. Despite a red card for Thomas Gravesen and a goal for Steed Malbranque, Everton's defensive tactics allowed them to hold on for a win.
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| |
Everton |
Fulham |
Div
Avg |
| Games Played |
7 |
6 |
7 |
| Goals |
9 |
12 |
8 |
| Ave Goals Per Game |
1.29 |
2.00 |
1.44 |
| Shots (excluding blocked shots) |
86 |
69 |
73 |
| Ave Shots Per Game |
12 |
12 |
10 |
| % Shots On Target |
43% |
43% |
42% |
| % Goals To Shots |
10% |
17% |
11% |
| Short Passes |
1746 |
1419 |
1786 |
| Long Passes |
874 |
710 |
797 |
| Total Passes |
2620 |
2129 |
2583 |
| Ave Passes Per Game |
374 |
355 |
369 |
| % Overall Pass Completion |
70% |
74% |
73% |
| Total Crosses |
187 |
129 |
155 |
| Ave Crosses Per Game |
27 |
22 |
22 |
| Completion |
22% |
33% |
26% |
| Goals Conceded |
11 |
6 |
8 |
| Ave Goals Conceded Per Game |
1.6 |
100 |
1.14 |
| Tackles |
200 |
163 |
180 |
| Ave Tackles Per Game |
29 |
27 |
26 |
| Tackles Won % |
72% |
79% |
72% |
| Blocks, Clearances & Interceptions |
263 |
191 |
269 |
| Ave Blocks, etc., Per Game |
38 |
32 |
38 |
| Fouls |
118 |
73 |
96 |
| Ave Fouls Per Game |
17 |
12 |
14 |
| Yellow Cards |
8 |
11 |
12 |
| Red Cards |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| stats
from opta |
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 David Moyes recently noted that the main difference between managing Preston North End and Everton is the increasted media interest: "I think the Barclaycard Premiership managers are more in a goldfish bowl because the coverage is more extensive and with Everton being one of the biggest clubs in the country it is even more exaggerated."
While he has had a promising start to his career at Everton, Moyes knows that as soon as things turn bad, he will be under the same kinds of pressure as his predecessor Walter Smith. The Toffees' recent form has been inconsistent, and they need to improve that if he is to avoid the wrong kind of media attention.
Everton have lost three of their last four games, and while those defeats have come in away games, while their home form has not been too impressive, with only one win in three games. There has not been pressure on Moyes so far, but they need to be getting points from encounters with teams like Manchester City, Southampton and Aston Villa if they are going to finish in the top half.
This time around, Moyes is in need of another three points. His honeymoon period started with that game, but a defeat on Saturday would definitely bring it to an end. Then the "goldfish bowl" effect would seem even more exaggerated.
Source: 4thegame.com
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Matchday Referee:
Steve Dunn, Bristol.
 Steve Dunn has now turned full-time professional referee after previously listing his occupation as 'self-employed retailer'. The West Country boy began refereeing in his spare time for the Bristol, Country and Western leagues in 1978.
After joining the Football league's list of referees in 1992, Dunn progressed quickly, gaining promotion to the Premier League in 1995 and FIFA in 1996.
Career highlights so far have been a 1992 FA Cup semi-final and a 1999 Worthington Cup semi-final. But 2001 was Dunn's biggest year, as he took charge of some key World Cup qualifying matches, not to mention the small matter of the FA Cup final between Liverpool and Arsenal.
Source:4thegame.com
(Ed. Mr Dunn is a bit of a stranger to the Fulham squad as he has only reffed one Fulham game in the last 5 years. His moment of association with Fulham was last year in the 5th round of the F.A. Cup when we beat Walsall 2-1 away. Mr Dunn booked 3 Walsall players and our Rufus.)
2001/
2002
stats
|
Mr. Dunn's score sheet |
Average Premiership Referee score sheet |
|
Total |
Match
Avg |
Total |
Match
Avg |
| Games |
19 |
|
16 |
|
| Fouls |
561 |
29.53 |
472 |
29.81 |
| Penalties |
3 |
0.16 |
3 |
0.19 |
| Yellow cards |
55 |
2.89 |
49 |
3.07 |
| Red Cards |
3 |
0.16 |
3 |
0.19 |
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| MATCH BETTING ODDS
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After the fun and excitement of the clashes with Spurs and Chelsea, The Cottagers travel up to Merseyside to meet David Moyes' Toffees. Over the past few seasons, with Preston and then Everton, Moyes has been able to cope with Fulham quite easily. With Preston he brought our Championship year unbeaten run to an end at Craven Cottage. His tactics of man to man marking and aggressive pressing were a sight to see, Our backline was so well marked that the Keeper had no one to pass the ball out to. Then Everton's 10 men 2-1 victory last year was mind boggling particularly with that first minute goal.
Despite the David Moyes factor The Toffees
are not doing so well this season and all the stats point to Fulham. Of course that is if they are awake when the ref blows the whistle!
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