Coleman leads from front to make case for change of position
Blackpool 2 Everton
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Your support makes all the difference.In the current climate where cash is king, Seamus Coleman is a refreshing alternative to those who suggest you can only buy your way to success. Picking up bargain buys, polishing the gems and unearthing them at the top was the norm years ago. In Coleman, it appears there's a throwback to those days. Everton signed him for just £100,000 last year.
Judging by his latest eye-catching performance, it appears money well spent. Everton manager David Moyes, with a growing injury list, stumbled upon converting the 22-year-old forward earlier this season.
And, just as Gareth Bale was pushed forward in an emergency by Tottenham, Coleman has already done enough to suggest this could be a permanent spot.
"You never know, it might just turn out to be his position," Moyes said. "It's happened in football before. People switch positions and then find out they do that job better. We just don't have anybody to do the job on the right flank at the moment.
"Hopefully when or if he moves back to right-back, he'll have gained a lot of experience. We were struggling there at the start of the season so we thought we'd give him a go there. He's really good going forward and he showed that again here."
Blackpool had been warned about Coleman. In fact, they should have known all about him following his loan spell with the Tangerines at the end of last season.
But not even doing their homework on him was enough to prevent the catalyst for Everton's comeback from doing damage throughout.
After Neal Eardley's early free-kick was cancelled out by Tim Cahill's header, Coleman tore Stephen Crainey apart as the hosts were forced to double-up on him. Once David Vaughan scrambled home after the break, the visitors responded immediately with the Irishman's solo strike – and even then refused to celebrate in front of his old crowd.
For Blackpool manager Ian Holloway, though, it was all about earning another key point in their survival bid: "I had trouble in the summer with players asking 'How much am I going to get? How much am I going to get? How much am I going to get?'"
"I don't think people will now be asking us that question. They will be saying, 'Please can I play for you'. That's what I think the difference will be as they won't think we are going down. They will want to play our type of football."
Match facts
Man of the match Coleman Match rating 7/10
Possession Blackpool 40% Everton 60%
Shots on target Blackpool 9 Everton 14
Referee A Marriner (West Midlands) Att 16,094
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