As part of our guest contributor slots we have an article from Mark Ellis who runs the a blog about Evertons Golden Era, which is a specialist blog dedicated to the mighty Everton.  Have a read of his article below and make sure you give him a follow on twitter @MarkTheBlue

Lukaku Brings Joy To Perplexing Week by @Markthablue

Up until the 81st minute I thought I’d be writing about an all to familiar story this season; dominating possession and getting scant reward with more points dropped. Then up stepped the rarest of sights at Goodison; the lesser spotted goalscorer.

What a difference Lukaku makes. He hasn’t played well for a while but his introduction to proceedings in the 59th minute could not have been more welcoming. The big man offers much more to our play than goals; he adds a focal point to our attacks. Such an important dimension to our play. His overall impact and all important winner has highlighted to me the importance of trying to sign Romelu Lukaku in the summer.

This would be a signing of intent and while Lukaku has been frustrating on more than one occasion this season, the benefits of having a player of his quality far outweigh the negatives. If we are to continue our rise to the top, it’s crucial to have players of his caliber.

West Ham had stifled Everton all afternoon, with Alladyce setting up his team to defend and frustrate. This could be no more perfectly demonstrated than with the following image of the build up to Lukaku’s winner with West Ham defending with all 11 players back in their penalty box [the image below also beautifully demonstrates Martinez’s determination to attack till the last; with both full backs, Baines and Coleman in the 18 yard box]. Thankfully this particular London bus was parked in the wrong space.

The game took on an all to familiar pattern; tonnes of possession but no goals to show for it. West Ham offered only fleeting attacking moments, whilst Everton’s build up play was slow and predictable. The  game saw a welcome start for Gerard Deulofeu and the young Spaniard showed glimpses of promise with a few mesmerizing runs and strikes on goal.

I am fully in the belief that he will become a key player for us between now and the end of the season. This guy can win games on his own and with the squad now entering a crucial period with the FA Cup and race for Europe, I truly think players like Duelofeu will relish the challenge and grow in prominence.

The control of the game was once again there. However we simply have to be more ruthless to gain the reward our domination of games deserves. We have the foundations of an excellent side with the promise of James McCarthy highlighted once more. The young Irish international has bags of energy coupled with an impressive turn of speed and there are elements of his play which totally remind me of Paul Bracewell. I believe McCarthy can reach that level of class and he has been a hugely impressive addition to our squad.

Path to Success

It never used to be the case that we’d dominate matches, in less than a season the whole mentality has changed. We have had to watch some frustrating performances but the path we are on with Roberto is leading us to a successful future.

I am king of knee jerk reactions and maybe I should stop writing when emotions are high. Yet once my thoughts are gathered, the overriding feeling this season has been one of promise and genuine hope for the future.

Everton’s deserved winner was a beauty and gave Leighton Baines his reward for some enterprising play. It was the marauding left back’s pinpoint low cross that allowed Lukaku to sweep the ball home and bring huge relief to an anxious Goodison crowd. What a difference a goalscorer makes! The Gwladys street erupted. There remains no better sight in football than an Everton goal at the Gwladys Street.

A welcome 3 points and a win to provides us with hope. I’m not going to say CL is a possibility – one week after I discarded it in my last post – but I’ll be happy to revisit that judgement if we start going on a winning run. With winnable games coming up we have the chance to build momentum with no better place to signal our intent than at the Emirates this weekend.

I’ve written about the cup and before I bore people with the same rhetoric, I will just say a win at the Emirates is all this season needs to catch fire. It is a huge game which me must get through to avoid our season petering out. With the return of top scorer Romelu Lukaku, and with the extra attacking option of Kevin Mirallas, one thing is for sure; we will be going to Arsenal to win!

Now onto things slightly more confusing

As a rampant Tweeter and being generally obsessed with talking about all things Everton, I would like to highlight my anger at what has happened to the now former Director of Communications of Everton, Alan Myers.

From what I could see he was doing a superb job. A guy I had the pleasure of ‘talking’ to on Twitter, Alan’s passion and love for the club was evident in every 140 word tweet.

Since starting the job he has been the epitome of the new regime at Goodison; positive and infectious from day one. Alan interacted daily with fans, arranged fantastic events such as the Tea Party which allowed Evertonian’s the chance to meet Roberto Martinez and others connected to the club.

It’s clear Alan Myers has left the club for reasons he cannot talk about. However, as we make giant strides on the pitch with a new exciting Everton, I feel we have scored a huge own goal here. I hope the truth comes out about what has happened to Alan Myers. Something doesn’t add up here. It isn’t right and hasn’t felt right since it happened.

People don’t just leave there “dream job” for nothing and more tellingly – to go to work for Venkys!

Rant over.

Europe

I believe this season holds an FA Cup win. Arsenal will fancy they can beat us but I feel there is an air of fate around us this season. If we can make this happen, the future holds rich promise.

It seems some fans don’t want the Europa League but id love it. In the absence of Champions League, I want European football back at Goodison Park. Special nights and even more memorable away days. Who wouldn’t want trips to to the likes of Nuremberg away again?

These are lifelong memories and something every fan should want.

The Europa League has also become more attractive with the winners qualifying for the following seasons Champions League!

We have everything to play for and with the squad nearing full fitness, we simply have to go for it now.  A 6th FA Cup win and European football next season is something we can all call progress. Small steps on the path to greatness.

We have in Roberto Martinez a manager determined to live up to our motto. A manager who deserves to be rewarded with a trophy in his maiden season.

Martinez sets us up to win every game and, if we come close to achieving the managers vision, who knows where we will finish? This season still has many twists and turns to come.

Let’s hope the finale involves Phil Jagielka climbing the Wembley steps to lift the FA Cup and in turn announcing our arrival as a major force!

Sin Miedo

Mark Ellis

 

You can read Mark’s excellent blog here: http://evertonviral.com/lukaku-brings-joy-perplexing-week/