There’s no fear here at Everton FC says Landon Donovan ahead of Chelsea clash

Feb 8 2012 by Greg O'Keeffe, Liverpool Echo

LANDON DONOVAN insists Everton can compete with any team in the Premier League and can prove it once again on Saturday against Chelsea.

The Toffees’ form has been unpredictable so far this season, highlighted when they beat leaders Manchester City but then struggled to draw with bottom club Wigan on Saturday.

Donovan, 29, is halfway through his short-term loan deal from LA Galaxy, and says the squad feel that they are as good as the sides at the top.

“Since the day I got here there has always been the belief this team can compete with any team in the Premier League,” said the United States forward, who is in his second spell with the Blues after an initial move from Major League Soccer two years ago.

“When I was here last time we beat Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and should have drawn at Tottenham – so there is no fear in this club.

“We have a lot of respect for Chelsea, they are one of the best teams in the world, but we feel at Goodison we have a chance and we are going to go for it.

“They’ve come off an interesting result against Manchester United (losing a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 on Sunday) so it will be an interesting game to see how they respond to that.

“We feel good in how we’re playing, we like how we’re playing right now and our form has been pretty good so it makes for a really good match-up.”

Even in the short time since his arrival in late December, Donovan has seen an improvement in performances which has helped redress some of the difficulties the club faced earlier in the season.

“In the early part, when things don’t go your way, it’s tough. You kind of live and die by the results sometimes,” he said.

“In the last couple of weeks we’ve played a lot better and we’ve got some really important results, which has been good for everyone.”

Donovan had originally been set to take part in the Anfield derby during his second loan spell, until the fixture scheduled for February 25 had to be postponed when Liverpool reached the Carling Cup final.

Everton yesterday said a possible, although unconfirmed, new date for the clash would be either Tuesday, March 20, or March 21, both of which fall after Donovan will have returned to Los Angeles.