Is Diniyar Bilyaletdinov Everton’s answer to Andrey Arshavin?
Football FanCast columnist Mike Booth wonders if Diniyar Bilyaletdinov is Everton’s answer to Andrey Arshavin.
The first few months of the 2009/10 season have been hit and miss for Everton. Brilliant form throughout September saw them score 12 goals in four matches, in three different competitions without reply. However, after a brief success against BATE Borisov in Minsk at the start of October, the rest of the month saw Everton go without a win and suffer three morale crushing defeats in six days at the hands of Benfica, Bolton and Spurs in the process. Nevertheless, other than well known prolific goalscorer Louis Saha, it has been the form of a player who was relatively unknown before joining Everton that has caught the eyes of the Everton fans this season.
Diniyar Bilyaletdinov signed for Everton from Lokomotiv Moscow for a fee of £10m and was immediately likened to 1980s Everton hero Kevin Sheedy by David Moyes. This was a huge complement to a player who English fans will have rarely seen in action and the comment has given the Everton fans huge expectations. And these expectations haven’t been let down. Bilyaletdinov’s skill, pace and crossing ability has given Everton a new dimension of the left side of midfield, with much of the previous attacking play having to be done by fullback Leighton Baines and hardworking Steven Pienaar there last season. He made an instant impact during his debut against AEK Athens in the Europa League in September, playing a part in three of Everton’s four goals. Since then he has settled into the club providing assists in the games against Hull City and BATE Borisov, before scoring his first goal for the club in a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves. During this game he was behind most of Everton’s good attacking play, and it was clear to see that, like Arshavin, Bilyaletdinov can play a key role behind the striker and is sure to chip in with his fair share of goals. Having had no summer break, Bilyaletdinov will need time to get into the full pace of the English game, similar to Andrey Arshavin who joined Arsenal last January. He scored his second Everton goal against Aston Villa, before being sent off for a rash challenge in which he intended to get the ball. However, this will do little to tarnish the early promise that he has shown and Everton fans can expect big things from him. Despite his slight appearance, he is willing to take responsibility by making tackles and supporting the defence. Could these added attributes make him a more useful player than Arshavin? Only time will tell and at the age of 24 he has plenty of time to prove his worth in the Premier League.
After making his first team debut for Lokomotiv Moscow in 2004, Bilyaletdinov became a first team regular helping his team with the Russian Premier League and was named as the league’s young player of the year. This form got him recognised as he made his first appearance for Russia at the age of 20. By 2007 he was made captain of Lokomotiv and was selected for Russia’s European Championship squad in 2008, playing in all of their matches as they reached the semi finals.
Russian players seem to possess great skill and technical ability. Yuri Zhirkov, Roman Pavlyuchenko and of course Andrey Arshavin have had their skill and ability noticed by top Premier League teams and the Russian national team is growing stronger each year. So, for Everton to have a player like Bilyaletdinov in their squad is useful if they want to be pushing for another place in Europe next season. Moyes has been renowned for turning lower league players into consistent Premier League performers, but if they are to challenge for a place in the top four, then more regular international players like Bilyaletdinov will need to be brought on board if they are to make that most colossal of steps towards domestic and European success.
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