HAD it not been for an injury at just the wrong time, Lucas Neill could have become an Everton player 12 years ago. During my last spell in charge of the club, I remember following the fortunes of a young, combative Australian who played for Millwall and I was very interested in bringing him to Goodison Park. When it came around to doing a deal for him, though, there was an issue over his fitness and I ended up turning my attentions elsewhere, deciding to pursue a couple of other options instead. Now, though, circumstances have dictated that David Moyes needs to move for him and Neill will prove to be a decent addition to the squad, particularly at right-back, where we have been short of cover. It is a move that will be beneficial to both parties, as Everton need extra bodies in following Phil Neville’s injury and he needs to play with the World Cup looming next summer. Losing Neville is a huge blow and you only have to listen to the comments from Phil Jagielka, and from a few others, to see the respect Neville has got through his leadership qualities. He’ll be missed. Now, though, Jack Rodwell has a massive chance to really establish himself as a permanent fixture in the middle and it was great to see him take on responsibility when Neville went off at Craven Cottage. He is very confident young lad, talented and the more he plays, the better he will become; the standard he is playing to at the moment is superb. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of the team; you can’t keep on dropping points at Fulham and Burnley. You’ve just got to pick up points off the teams you are better than. There is no getting away from the fact we have had a bad start, so we need to change things when Blackburn arrive on Sunday. They will be dangerous and the game is unlikely to be pretty but a home win is imperative. Manchester City fans are the only loser in Emmanuel Adebayor fracas EMMANUEL ADEBAYOR is facing up to a three-match ban following his antics last weekend but why should a club and supporters be hurt for the actions of one man? When we used to fine players during my days as a manager, it hurt them but nowadays you would have to take a huge amount to punish them. So that’s what the authorities should do – Adebayor should have had a massive amount of money taken off him and it should have been given to charity I thought his goal ‘celebration’ was outrageous – to incite fans is a disgrace; he ran 100 yards, so he had time to think about his actions and it looked premeditated. It is such a shame, as he has been playing so well. It’s not as if he has broken someone’s leg with bad tackle, as a manager you have to accept a ban in those circumstances. But there is something not quite right about Mark Hughes to be without his leading striker and City’s supporters to be without their striking talisman in their biggest game of the season just because Adebayor wanted to indulge himself.
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