EVERTON'S WIN

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 105, 6 May 1933, Page 20

EVERTON'S WIN

ENGLISH CUP FINAL

Apropos of the win of Everton, wh» defeated Manchester City by 3 goals to nil in the English Cup final, at Wembley, recently, the following .by "Arbiter," in the "Daily Mail," of March 20, is of interest:— "An all: Lancashire Cup Eiial— Everton versus Manchester City. It is the fourth time in the history-of .the event that the finalists have cdnie from the heart of the game, as the : countvhas always claimed to.be, and curiously: enough Manchester City will have figured in three of these duels. "The City were successful in capturing the cup at the first of these attempts, beating Bolton Wanderers in 1904. Seven years ago they met the Wanderers again and were vanquished^. .'"-.'.■ "Everton have never been to Wemb« ley, but this will be their fifth final. They, too, have only once been, successful. This was when they defeated New* castle United by a goal to nil in 1906. Their other final years were in 1893, 1897, and 1907. • "Of the men to play at Wembley on April 29 I imagine that the feelings of Johnson, the Everton inside left, will bo strangely mixed. Seven years ago ha was on the City side. Now he will b« against them. A MISTAKEN IDEA. "Seven years is a long time in the lif» of a footballer, and when Johnson was transferred to Everton it was believed that his powers had begun to decline. Everton officials have often laughed at that mistaken idea. Today, whatever his age may be, Johnson is still regarded as an indispensable member of the side. . . . . "Since his transfer to Everton, Johnson has continued to live in Manchester, travelling to and from Goqdison Park each day for training, but he is a hundred per cent. Everton man. "The only other Manchester Cityplayers who figured n the final of 192(J are MeMullan and Cowan. Then MvMullan was a half-back, and perhaps the best of his time; now he is an inside forward of wonderful craft and subtlety. As one watched him at Huddersfiefd, the new idea that only the player in the early twenties can make a success of the game seemed outrageously wrong. "MeMullan scored a glorious goal, and in beating two opponents only an experienced player could have controlled so expertly the awkwardly- bouncing ball. It was good to see the affection with which he was held by. his colleagues. If it had been possible I believe they would have shouldered him round the ground as their hero after ha had scored. FALSE POSITIONS. "Finding the winner of the Lincolnshire Handicap seems to one who knows little about racing as if it must be easy as compared with deciding who will win these cup-ties. I believe that Derby County had found a method of defenco which would strangle any attack, but so quickly did the City move and so precisely did they place the ball that the opposing backs were drawn into falsa positions. '' Then we turn to Everton, the team I thought would win so comfortably, and who scraped through only by the skin of their teeth. My preconceived ideas of what would happen were apparently hopelessly wrong. Yet how can the form of the sides in the Leagua bo reconciled with their play at Wolverhampton? "Manchester City frankly astonished me. I did not think they were, anything like such a good team as they showed themselves to be at Huddersfield, and taking into account the proved strength of the opposition, the performance against Derby County was one o£ great merit. THE RIGHT TYPE. "Different views may be formed during the next six weeks, but ono must think that the City have a great ■chance of capturing the cup. They are a sida who play what we know as cup football, a game that has no frills but is effectively direct and purposeful. They have goal-getting forwards, all of them, and.half-backs who are both strong dofensivety and constructively. It may be that the half-backs make the team. The one doubt concerns the backs. Both Cann and Dale blundered grievously against Derby County, and the side wera lucky not to suffer. 1' We complain of the outrageous happenings in the competition, but once more two teams capable of doing justice to football's great day at Wemb« ley have survived and there is th* promise of as good a final as we hav# had for many years."