Liverpool v Everton: Leighton Baines needs no assistance to overcome Fabio Capello's World Cup snub
His company in the league table of assists says it all about how Leighton Baines has graduated from League One football with Wigan to admiring glances from a Bavarian superpower.
City slicker: Leighton Baines (2nd R) celebrates with Tim Cahill (R) and team mates after scoring the second goal for Everton against Manchester City Photo: ACTION IMAGES
By Graham Chase 11:59PM GMT 15 Jan 2011
The Everton left-back has already set up seven Premier League goals this season, the same number as Wayne Rooney and Cesc Fabregas, four more than the nearest defender, Ashley Cole, and five more than Patrice Evra, ahead of Sunday’s Merseyside derby.
Playing behind the soon-to-be-departed Steven Pienaar, who cuts in from the left flank, Baines, 26, has thrived on the responsibility of providing Everton’s width and his crossing and set pieces are said to have earned interest from Bayern Munich.
His two league goals — as accurate a free-kick as you will ever see in a 1-1 draw at Tottenham and a curling right-footed shot in a 2-1 victory at Manchester City - only serve to underline his growing reputation.
More Kaka than Kirkby then, but it was not enough to secure him a place in Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad after being called into the initial 30-man party.
A suggestion that he missed out on South Africa due to homesickness, which he puts down to a comment about wanting to see his family after 3-1 friendly win over Mexico before returning to England’s training camp, has been one theory put forward for Capello choosing Stephen Warnock over him although he remains sure that the Italian based the decision on form.
“I spoke to one guy after the game and towards the end of the interview, I said I wanted to shoot off and see my family who were there, because I was going back to camp the next day," Baines said.
“So he asked me about that, and all I said was I wanted to spend a bit of time with them and the hardest part of being a player is spending time away from them. I’d say it again.
“It’s no different for me than any other player. It’s natural people miss their family but it’s what you accept as part and parcel of what you do, not a problem.
“It was jumped on and thrown out of proportion and taken out of context. I never ever said anything about being homesick.
“I was in the car with the missus and kids (when the call came from the Football Association). It was a 10 second phone-call and it takes a while to get over it. On the day there were whispers I wouldn’t be in it so it’s not that big a surprise.
“It wasn’t like I was a shock omission. I wasn’t expecting to be in. I took the call while driving to Toys R Us to buy a trampoline. I pulled up five minutes later and took stock.”
Rebounding has not proved a problem for the Liverpool-born defender but Sunday afternoon’s Merseyside derby takes place in unusual circumstances, with Everton and Liverpool closer to the relegation zone than the Champions League spots.
Too young to remember Kenny Dalglish’s first stint in charge of Liverpool — he was six when the Scot left Anfield in 1991 — Baines is sure that the power-shift from Merseyside to Manchester will not be a permanent one.
“The onus is definitely going to be more on Liverpool to come and get a result, given the fact they haven’t been able to get results recently,” he said. “It is a massive game for both clubs who have both underachieved so far this season. They are both looking to turn around.
“Liverpool and Everton both want to be up there like the Manchester sides but the reality is we’re not. The league table doesn’t lie, the onus is on the players and staff to turn it round. We have to look at ourselves and start climbing the table.”qtdz
Telegraph.co.uk
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