Everton 2 West Ham 2

We went to the game expecting an easy Everton win; after all the Hammers are proping up the league and their manager Avram Grant is expected to be sacked at any time. However things are not especially rosy at Everton these days. During the week Steven Piennar had moved on to Spurs and Yakubu was loaned to Leicester. Nevertheless the betting people had Everton has firm favourites for the three points.
The game itself was not high on quality and West Ham proved to be a tough nut to crack. In fact they probably deserved to win - the scoring pattern was 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 2-2. Everon's final equaliser came with only seconds remaining.
Marouane Fellaini was Everton's best player; the worry is that, like Piennar, he will be tempted to take the money and play for a more successful team. Nobody played especially badly but the strikers, Beckford and Anichebe, were unable to control the ball and set up chances.
It is hard to see what the remainder of the season will bring for Everton; it may well be that there will be a struggle against relegation. One thing is for sure, the club must stick with the manager; Moyes has brought success and stability, without him Everton will face a difficult future. Next Saturday Everton face the big spenders Chelsea in the 4th round of the FA cup; they will need to do better than yesterday if they are to progress further.

The view from the Bullens Road stand as Everton warm up.