Michael Ball

FORMER BLUES DEFENDER TACKLES THE TALKING POINTS

- 

VERTON should use the Hill Dickinson Stadium fanbase to our advantage. Every visiting team will want to quieten them, but we're the ones who are quieting them down with our passive, slow play.

We make football look very difficult with so many passes in our defensive third and don't get up the pitch unless it goes back to Jordan Pickford and he kicks it long. We're not getting many positive outcomes from that, so why do it?

Let the game settle and open up before you do that because you're playing against fresh legs and they're ready to press. That's what makes the fans nervous.

As soon as we scored that goal, the place was absolutely rocking and we nearly got a second. The stadium is crying out for it and both the players and David Moyes need to take responsibility by playing on the front foot rather than being negative.

We're getting a lot of joy away from home, but that's being defensive-minded and we've been a defensive-minded team for far too long. We've got to press and show numbers in the box, getting crosses and bodies into the opposition box.

If we want to be dreaming about getting into Europe, these are the things we need to start doing to give us the edge.

There's been a lot of talk on social media about the atmosphere, but when we play and press, like at Goodison Park, that gets the crowd on their feet. When we're putting pressure on the opposition and the Evertonians are all together, the atmosphere at Goodison and at Hill Dickinson Stadium is there to see and hear.