Michael Ball tackles the big issues at Hill Dickinson Stadium following Everton's 1-0 win at Manchester United
When it came to the big talking point from Everton's magnificent win at Manchester United, I think the referee was very quick to react with Idrissa Gueye's sending off.
They were both as bad as each other. Michael Keane's shove was quite aggressive, but it seemed like a case of ‘get on with it, get on with the game.’ Idrissa’s reaction seems to be more instinct, but it seems something over nothing for me and if the referee had displayed a bit more common sense, nobody would have batted an eyelid.
I’ve seen the laws of the game, but they seem very subjective to me. Yes, he’s hit him in the face, but it’s not like he was trying to knock him out.
You don’t want to see that kind of incident on a football pitch, of course you don’t. However, I think he could have just taken 10 or 15 seconds to speak to the players before he made a decision and it could have spoiled the game.
I really liked David Moyes’ interview after the game and I’m more in his camp over what he said about it all, but whether he’d have said the same if we’d lost, who knows?
I’ve been a player myself and if there were cameras in the changing rooms at half-time and full-time or at training grounds, a lot worse happens there, each and every day. A lot of truth, emotions and anger comes out in those moments.
Idrissa crossed a line but what I liked about it was that he apologised straight away. I’ve been there as a player and I’ve done it to my manager when I was substituted and I lost it.
I’ve done it in training, my team-mates have done it, I was part of an Everton team when Richard Gough and Don Hutchison had an incident at Goodison Park against Coventry City, but it was nipped in the bud so quickly, I can’t really remember anything about that incident. After the game it was spoken about, but it wasn’t really spoken about on the pitch.
Afterwards, those two went out for a meal and were friends again and I’d expect something similar with Gueye and Keane who have been a couple of our best performers so far this season and were just showing that they want the best for their team.
It's like traffic lights and like a boxer, while you're ok on green or amber, you can't go to red bu it happened to me in my first Old Firm game. I was pumped up and full of passion and although we felt we were doing well and on top of, but the scoreline said differently as we found ourselves 2-0 down to a fantastic Celtic team with the likes of Henrik Larsson and John Hartson and when you’re chasing a game it always seems to be a defender that comes off.
I didn’t want to be that one as I was the new boy and I wanted to put a marker down and help my team get back into the game. Dick Advocaat wanted to make an attacking substitution and I could see my number coming up and said: ‘No, I want to stay on.’I wasn’t too happy with coming off the pitch and I told the manager so and he told me too. We had a bit of a disagreement which is not nice to see – because with both Gueye and myself, you must remember that you are role models to children – but it was easily forgotten about.The next day we had what ended up being quite a funny meeting as there was a Dutch manager, a new Scouse boy in myself, Rangers legend John Greig and chairman David Murray to shake hands and move on. While the manager didn’t like me disrespecting him, like David Moyes has said, he understood my passion that I wanted to help get my team back into the game.We had a laugh and a joke about it because I couldn’t understand his Dutch and he couldn’t understand my Scouse accent and as new arrivals to Glasgow, both of us were struggling with John Greig’s Scottish accent! It was funny because none of us could really grasp what the others were trying to say but I was back in the team the following week.
I thought it was an absolutely fantastic win for Everton and a great occasion for the travelling fans who received a lot of plaudits on Sky Sports and social media for their support at Old Trafford because there hasn’t been many moments like this for them to enjoy over the years. I was made up for the fans who on a cold night went out to support the boys, helping them to a positive result.
There have been previous occasions where we’ve gone away to big teams where we have shown our quality and character but haven’t come away with maximum points. You’ve got to give credit to David Moyes for the way that Everton started as they were on the front foot and had a go.United seemed shocked that we weren’t there for the taking by sitting back like we’ve done there for many years, allowing them to control the game. We were popping the question and that’s what you like to see.I’ve experienced it both sides as a player, being on a defensively minded team or at Rangers and PSV where you had to be a forward-thinking team but when teams just sit against you it’s inevitable that you will get an opportunity at some point. When you break through, the floodgates will open and you’ll start dominating as the opponents’ heads go down.I’ve questioned the character of these players, their passion and attitude, urging them to just have a go, but they did that all over the pitch at Old Trafford with what was a terrific team performance. Having started so brightly but then not gone in front, you started to question whether it was going to be one of those nights again.Our captain Seamus Coleman went off the field after just 10 minutes and our heads could have dropped, thinking: ‘Our game plan has gone already,’ and then barely a couple of minutes later there was the incident with Gueye and Keane that produced the sending off.By this stage, you’re almost thinking: ‘What’s the point?’ but our players found the attitude to keep going and I’ve got to give them credit for that, especially Keane.He’s had people questioning him about his mentality while he’s been at the football club when things have gone wrong but what went on probably spurred him on a bit more and he remained focused. He knew it was going to be a talking point at the end of the game, so it felt like he was determined to put in a top performance.That togetherness from the Everton players is going to serve them well over the rest of the season. When things go against you, can you find a solution? The players did that by showing grit and determination, but also some quality and football intelligence. Jack Grealish used that to win free-kicks to help alleviate the pressure while there were also nice little touches from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall throughout the game, maintaining his composure in tight areas and not panicking.
Grealish showed his work-rate and determination. While it was quiet and not the kind of game to play to his strengths and he had to do a lot of work in my old job of left wing-back but he didn’t moan about it and just got on with it, even though you could see it took a lot out of him.
He showed his football intelligence, being in the right place at the right time and when he had an opportunity to put his foot on the ball, he was composed and able to calm everything down. It’s probably not the way he’d like to play but he sacrificed himself for the team because he knew we needed all 10 players to be on point and he did that in front of the England manager.
They’d shown glimpses against top teams already this season but haven’t had the rewards with missed opportunities at Manchester City and Liverpool. To finally get over the line will hopefully give them confidence now to have a go against anyone and everyone in the Premier League, which is very tight, so they need to make it count.
We’re now going to be without Gueye for three matches and then later next month, he and Iliman Ndiaye are set to go away with Senegal for the Africa Cup of Nations. So, that’s going to be a key factor over the rest of the season, can the other squad members step up so we can win games without certain key players?
Events like Magic Weekend at Hill Dickinson Stadium can help Everton improve on the pitch
We’ve already got the five games at the European Championships coming to Hill Dickinson Stadium after having already had the rugby league Test Match, it’s been announced that the Super League Magic Weekend is coming. It’s fantastic for the city but for Everton it means more revenue coming their way.
We want to be climbing up that league where Everton should be. We’re a fantastic, big club but we’ve been going through a difficult time.
It feels like the tide is turning and the extra income from the stadium is one of the reasons we built it. Hopefully that starts to bring better players on the pitch and winning football games because of opportunities like this.
It hasn’t been a slow start at our new home and both the players and David Moyes have done well going into the different surroundings plus the fans have been fantastic. But these commercial opportunities show that it’s all going in the right direction, on and off the pitch, and fingers crossed we can keep doing that.