Everton will play their final group game of the Europa League against BATE Borisov at Goodison Park tonight. Everton boss David Moyes took the unusual step of naming his starting line-up the day before the game.
Young side
When the Scot did name the starting line-up, there was a mixed reaction because the team is full of youngsters. In recent times Moyes has had to use youngsters out of necessity but with qualification assured already the Scot decided to rest most of his leg wary first team squad.
With all the injuries at Goodison Park this season you can’t really blame him for wanting to rest his remaining fit first teamers.
Criticism
Managers have received lots of criticism for changing their sides in the Europa League. Fulham have made it through to the knockout stages despite fielding so called weakened sides for most of their group games. Fulham boss Roy Hodgson should receive great credit for the job he has done at Fulham. The veteran coach only has a small squad at his disposal and doesn’t have major resources to work with. He prioritised and judged that the Premier League was more important than the Europa League.
He is probably right in some respects but in some ways it makes wanting to finish in the European spots pointless. Fulham as a club will never progress if they don’t take the Europa League seriously. Fulham finished seventh last season but I doubt they will finish as high this season with far greater competition at the top end of the Premier League.
Fulham should be making the most of their opportunity to play in Europe, as they hardly European competition regulars. The likes of Tottenham, Manchester City and Aston Villa are all looking for top six finishes, so Fulham could be in for a far lower finish this season.
Does the trick
The changes have worked for Fulham and Roy Hodgson because he is such a good coach. He has known who to play when and knew who he didn’t need to rest. Fulham have come along way under Hodgson and can now look forward to a place in the last 32 next year. I think the wily Hodgson may well consider playing his strongest team now that the Cottagers are in the knockout stages.
Chance for youngsters
Although this tactic has came under criticism from certain sections of football, it’s actually gave lots of younger players the chance to play first team football. This experience will help the player’s development and can only be good for them. One player in the Fulham team that has impressed me with his performances is young defender Chris Smalling.
The 20 year-old defender signed from non-league Maidstone has yet to make a Premier League appearance this season but has made four appearances in the Europa League. Fulham are strong in the centre of their defence but I’m short the youngster will get his Premier League chance before the end of the season.
Everton youngsters
Everton academy players Jake Bidwell, Adam Forshaw and Shane Duffy will all make their first starts for the first team. In Forshaw and Bidwell it will be their debuts, but Duffy came on as a substitute in Everton’s 1-0 victory at AEK Athens in the last Europa League game. Reserve team striker Kieran Agard will also making his first start, after a few fleeting substitute appearances.
I doubt any of these youngsters will be complaining about their manager undermining the competition by selecting them. Everton have a good record of producing first team players with the likes of Tony Hibbert and the returning Leon Osman coming through the youth ranks at the club and becoming regular first team starters. David Moyes must be hoping some these youngsters can follow the example of Osman, Hibbert and young Jack Rodwell in making it into the first team.
Intelligent
Roy Hodgson and David Moyes are both intelligent men and know the strengths of their teams. They are also clever enough to know when to take calculated risks, like that of Moyes tonight with his team selection. He could just discover some things about the youngsters on display that could shape their futures. Andthat’s not a bad thing in my humble opinion.
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