SHOW NO MERSEY
EVERTONIANS, according to the words of the Goodison Park song ‘It’s a Grand Old Team’, know their history. And in the Merseyside derby it makes painful reading.
No victories in 17 meetings going back to October 2010 and none at Anfield since September 1999 when Kevin Campbell scored the winner.
That has prompted Toffees new boy Lucas Digne to demand an end to that miserable run and for the team to write a new chapter in the history books tomorrow.
“We know the story about Everton and the story about the derby,” said the French defender.
“The stats can change. Maybe you lose for one year, two years or three years and then in the fourth, you win and that stat is finished.
“Football is like this and we need to change. The past is the past. We need to create a new era and we want to win.
“I think we can change things and we have the mentality to win.”
Digne’s positivity is refreshing for Everton, who signed him for £18million from Barcelona in the summer because he is a winner.
The former Paris Saint-germain left-back has more silverware than the Antiques Roadshow with two Ligue 1 winners’ medals, one French Cup, one La Liga and two Copas del Rey.
Everton believe the 25-year-old can give them a winning mentality and that he and their other big-name summer signings do not carry the mental baggage of losing, which handicapped previous Everton sides.
Digne (right) relishes the big occasion and won two Rome derbies with
Roma during a loan spell there three seasons ago.
“The biggest derby I have played in is Romalazio,” said Digne, who has earned a recall to the
France squad at Everton after missing their World Cup triumph.
“It’s a hot derby. I remember 15,000 fans came to our hotel and it was crazy with all the flares. Now I hope to play in the biggest one this weekend.
“Liverpool are playing well in this moment. But we have played well since the beginning of the season. During a game, everything is possible.
“If we do well and go with a good mentality, we can beat anybody.”
Digne, who has quietly replaced stalwart Leighton Baines at left-back to become a key player for Everton, was a team-mate of Mo Salah at the Stadio Olimpico and is relaxed about facing him at Anfield tomorrow.
“I know Mohamed Salah because I played one year with him in Rome,” said the multilingual Digne in fluent English. “He’s a very good guy and a very good player. I’m a defender, but it’s down to the team to stop him.
“We work together and it’s not down to one player or two players.
“We need to work together. If we do that, we can win.” ■■EVERTON and their official charity, Everton in the Community, have launched a fundraising campaign to build a permanent mental health facility called The People’s Place beside Goodison Park. It will provide a service to anyone, regardless of age, gender, football team or location, and promote positive mental health. More at www.peoplesplace.net Man City 13 Liverpool 13 Tottenham 13 Chelsea 13 Arsenal 13 Everton 13 Man Utd 13 Bournemouth 13 Watford 13 Leicester 13 Wolves 14 Brighton 13 Newcastle 13 West Ham 13 Cardiff 14 Huddersfield 13 Crystal Palace 13 Burnley 13 Southampton 13 Fulham 13
F11 2 0 40 10 3 0 26 10 0 3 23 8 4 1 28 8 3 2 28 6 4 3 20 6 3 4 20 6 2 5 22 6 2 5 17 5 3 5 18 4 4 6 13 4 3 6 14 3 3 7 11 3 3 7 14 3 2 9 13 2 4 7 8 2 3 8 8 2 3 8 13 1 5 7 10 2 2 9 14 5 5 11 11 16 15 21 18 17 17 17 19 16 22 27 22 17 27 24 33 35 33 30 28 27 22 21 20 20 18 16 15 12 12 11 10 9 9 8 8