And then there was one. After five rounds of matches in the Premier League, 19 clubs have lost at least once. Only Everton remain unbeaten. Yet, typically for a team that plays all of their games in the shadows of their mighty neighbours across Stanley Park, it is quite fitting that they are far from the leagues major storyline coming off another action-packed weekend. Want to read or talk about another Jose Mourinho press conference? You cant miss it. Reflections on the thumping Manchester United took in the derby? On the lips of everyone on Monday morning in England. Paolo Di Canios sacking? On all the back pages of Mondays newspapers. Everton? As usual, only on the minds of the blue side of Merseyside. Saturdays 3-2 win at West Ham is certainly a performance that will stick in the memories of many Evertonians for some time. It was, of course, highlighted by two fantastic pieces of individual skill from Leighton Baines, scorer of two direct free kicks from the same spot, passed a bamboozled Jussi Jaaskelainen, but the performance away from the result showed many encouraging signs of development. One of the early themes from this seasons Premier League has been new managers bringing new ideas to their new teams and this is certainly the case with Roberto Martinez at Everton. Although David Moyes did a great job during his time on Merseyside there was some frustration growing, certainly among regular visitors to Goodison Park, about his style of play last season. The hiring of Martinez certainly didnt come on the back of needing to please those fans, but it certainly wont hurt. The Spaniard wants Everton to pass more and improve their overall technical quality, while not compromising some of their old traits and at Upton Park on Saturday all of that shone through. Character Five games in and it is already very clear that Evertons ability to outwork teams has remained. During last weekends victory against Chelsea they had to spend long stretches of the match without the ball and that is what Martinez recognized, saying: "Technically we can improve but we showed attributes of a winning team, desire, work ethic, keeping to our responsibilities." Moyes worked very hard to instill that into Everton and with many of his core players still there it is clear none of these strengths have disappeared. They relied on them against Chelsea and during some difficult spells against West Ham on Saturday. Distribution from the back West Ham are not a side who are comfortable in pressing too high up the field. They like to maintain their shape, let opponents play it out and then use their midfield to press to close down and block outlets. This style suits Everton and it allowed Tim Howard time to play the ball out to his centre backs in their own third, much more than the corresponding game last season: (photo: fourfourtwo.com - Click For Larger Image) In Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin, Everton have two centre-backs that are strong in the air, have decent pace and, importantly, can feel comfortable receiving the ball while positioning far apart to cover wide areas when their full backs go forward (as the graph below shows). (photo: fourfourtwo.com - Click For Larger Image) In last seasons match at Upton Park, between the two sides, Jagielka played right back with John Heitinga playing centre back. On Saturday, Evertons two centre backs attempted more than 50 passes (59 to 113) than a year ago and completed enough passes to make a difference to their overall style (97 to 51). (photo: fourfourtwo.com - Click For Larger Image) Masters of Midfield "He is very clever with his positioning, he is quite unique with his role in the British market, you always get the role played really well by foreign players, but he is unique in the way he plays. He will be a perfect influence for the likes of Ross Barkley, James McCarthy. It was an impressive master class of the position." Martinez certainly didnt hold back in his praise of Gareth Barry following his debut for Everton last week against Chelsea. Barry clearly has his limitations but what he gives Martinez is tactical discipline. No other player available to him can do what Barry does (Darron Gibson needs to improve his passing and discipline). The Englishman is better deeper where he can read the game, without needing any pace, and cause vital turnovers. He is also comfortable coming deep in between the centre backs to begin attacks, giving his fellow central midfielders, Leon Osman and Ross Barkley in this case, opportunities to join the attack and create triangles in wide areas with the full backs and wingers. (photo: fourfourtwo.com - Click For Larger Image) Barry has often shown good vision against teams that play down to his tempo, such as West Ham. On Saturday, Barkley benefited from Barrys calmness on the ball, as the two linked up more than any other players on the pitch. (photo: fourfourtwo.com - Click For Larger Image) At half-time, with his team down 1-0 and struggling to keep the ball to his liking, Martinez made two changes inserting Romelu Lukaku in a straight swap for Nikica Jelavic up top and James McCarthy in midfield for Steven Naismith, who had played out wide. This gave us our first glimpse of the midfield trident of Barry-Osman-McCarthy but it lasted just five minutes before Osman limped off injured. For those five minutes all three worked well, treasuring the ball and feeding the lively, energetic duo of Mirallas and Barkley who played as wide forwards just deeper than Lukaku in a 4-3-2-1 shape. Osman was replaced by Bryan Oviedo, a left sided winger, and the impressive Barkley was moved centrally again, playing just ahead of McCarthy and Barry. It proved to be a pivotal move. The Premier League was already into its second season the day Ross Barkley was born. On Sunday Dec. 5 1993, Everton sat in 11th place following a 1-0 win over Southampton the day before their newest fan came into the world less than five miles from Goodison Park. Less than 20 years on, Barkley turned a Premier League game on its head on Saturday. Baines got the headlines for two brilliant free kicks but both were won by Barkleys penetration, intelligence and skill, getting in between the lines and forcing James Collins, and then Mark Noble, to retreat behind him and chop him down while dribbling towards goal. (photo: fourfourtwo.com - Click For Larger Image) Many young English players have been touted to be stars of the future but many come up full of energy, pace and skill but with little understanding of the game. Barkley is different. He is a rare young English player who desires space and can keep the ball in small confines while waiting to find an outlet. It was little wonder English manager Roy Hodgson was in the stands at this game. Barkley is still very young and raw but he is the closest thing to Steven Gerrard that English football has produced in a decade. Barkley, who spent time with Gerrard while on England duty earlier this month, received some great advice from the Liverpool skipper: "He [Gerrard] told me Im from Liverpool, a local lad playing for the team I support, and there is nothing better. Hes done that throughout his career. He said playing is the main thing, going to another team and not playing would be no good for my development." If Barkley stays fit and in Evertons team he will be with England in Brazil next summer. On the opening day of the season at Norwich he scored Evertons first goal of the season, playing as most attacking member of a midfield three. Marouane Fellaini played deeper that day almost like Martinez was preparing for his exit. Barkley stepped into the big Belgians position from last season with ease and instantly became the face of Martinezs evolution. He no longer needed a big target man to win long balls and play off a central striker, instead choosing a better technical player who will benefit playing alongside a pair of midfielders he used with the money received from the Fellaini sale to Manchester United. Martinez found his own big Belgian on deadline day when Lukaku joined on loan. The style the manager is preaching is easy on the eyes for football fans but in order for it to be successful he needs a goal-scorer. Patience with Jelavic seems to be running out and now he has a replacement who offers much more of a threat to opponents it is clear the jigsaw pieces are coming together for the Spaniard. The Ever-lution is on. Just dont expect to hear about it from too many people. Nike NFL Jerseys China . - A lot of scenarios ran through Terrell Suggs head when the Baltimore linebacker prepared to face the Pittsburgh Steelers. Wholesale NFL Jerseys China . Cruz set the tone with a two-run homer in the first inning, and Baltimore scored eight times in the eighth to pull away for a 12-3 victory in Game 1. The major league leader with 40 homers during the regular season, Cruz added an RBI single to his early blast off Max Scherzer. https://www.chinajerseysnfl.us/. "First, I would like to offer my deepest and sincerest apologies for any harm I have inflicted on University of Missouri defensive lineman, Michael Sam," the statement read. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . - Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Jason Babin is now a free agent. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Free Shipping . Terms of the contract were not disclosed by the club. Clemons spent his first five NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins, who selected him in the fifth round of the 2009 draft out of Clemson.CARSON, Calif. -- A year after Landon Donovan returned to soccer, he realized he had lost his passion for the sport again. This time, the best player in American history decided to walk away for good. The 32-year-old Donovan announced Thursday he will retire from professional soccer at the end of the MLS season, wrapping up the most prolific career in the leagues history with one last run at a championship with the LA Galaxy. "I think for the last few years, I havent had the same passion that I had previously in my career," Donovan said at the Galaxys stadium. "To some extent, I had felt obligated to keep playing. ... Its time to enjoy the rest of the season, and there would be no better way than to go out as a champion, so thats what I want to do." Donovan is the top goal-scorer in MLS history and the top scorer in U.S. national team history, excelling as a forward and a midfielder. He was even named the most valuable player of his 14th MLS All-Star game on Wednesday night in Portland, scoring a goal in the All-Stars 2-1 win over Bayern Munich, only to make his stunning retirement announcement the next day. "All I could think is that if everyone only knew," Donovan said with a grin. Donovan, a five-time MLS champion with the Galaxy and the San Jose Earthquakes, made his retirement announcement on the same stage where he agreed to a multiyear contract extension with the Galaxy just a year ago, pronouncing himself revitalized after an extended sabbatical. He took several months off following the Galaxys second straight MLS Cup title alongside now-retired David Beckham in December 2012. Donovan travelled extensively during his time off, and he plans to see even more of the world after his career ends this fall. "It gets me excited thinking about it," Donovan said. "For 16 years, almost every decision Ive made, every hour of every day, has revolved around, How is this going to prepare me for tomorrows training session or tomorrows game? Just having the freedom to do whatever you want is exciting, and Im looking forward to that." Donovan has been a key component of MLS impressive growth during his 14 years in the top North American league. After he struggled for playing time at Bayer Leverkusen as a teenager, he chose to pursue a pro career in his native California instead of Europe, adding a marquee attraction to the then-struggling league. "There is no doubt that Major League Soccer would not be what it is today without Landon Donovan," MLS Commissioner Don Garber said. "His decision to join MLS in 2001 was a statement to the entire soccer community, at the most crucial time in our history, that MLS could be a league of choice for the best American players. Landon is to MLS what Michael Jordan was to the NBA, Wayne Gretzky was to the NHL and Tiger Woods was to the PGA Tour: a player whose sporting accomplishments and popularity transformed their respectivve leagues and set a new standard for how the game would be played.dddddddddddd" Donovan said his decision wasnt spurred by his omission from his fourth U.S. World Cup team this summer. He was surprised and disappointed by coach Jurgen Klinsmanns decision, feeling he had done enough in training camp to warrant inclusion. "I certainly wasnt going to allow one persons poor choice this summer to affect a decision like this," Donovan said. Donovan is the career U.S. leader with 57 international goals over 156 appearances, and he has scored five World Cup goals, including his famed stoppage-time goal against Algeria four years ago to send the Americans to the second round. He watched the American team in Brazil from afar as a television commentator. "Quite simply the best player ever to wear the USMNT jersey," U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati posted on his Twitter account. Donovan has no concrete plans for his long-term future in soccer, but he is eager to work with young players in the Galaxys academy training program. "Landons legacy is secure with the Galaxy," said Galaxy President Chris Klein, Donovans former teammate and roommate. "So to be able to celebrate that for the rest of the year in terms of how he goes out will be great. When he decides what it is that he wants to do and where he wants to put his heart and energy next, well be there to talk about that." Donovan has played for the Galaxy since 2005, also going on loan to Everton and Bayern Munich during the Galaxys off-season. Donovan struggled early in his pro career in Europe, but was popular during his two stints with Everton. "Congratulations on a great career to (at)landondonovan as he announces hell retire later this year. Part of EFC fabric," Everton tweeted from its official account. Donovan has four goals and seven assists in 17 games for the Galaxy this season as a midfielder and a forward. He passed Jeff Cunningham for the career MLS goals record shortly after Klinsmann excluded him from the World Cup team. His absence creates another hole for the LA club, which couldnt manage a third straight MLS title last season in its first year since Beckhams departure. But Donovans retirement opens up a designated player spot for the Galaxy alongside leading scorer Robbie Keane and U.S. national team defender Omar Gonzalez. After a lifetime spent in practices and games, Donovan sees his departure as another step in his personal evolution into whatever person he decides to be outside soccer. His decision to leave the Bundesliga for MLS as an unhappy teenager was unpopular, and Donovan knows many fans wont understand his early retirement. "Sometimes theres a sense of obligation in peoples lives, the sense that you have to do something," Donovan said. "Ive never lived that way. I have to live the life I want to live, and thats an important thing to go by." ' ' '