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Ronald Koeman returns to St Marys Stadium for the first time when Everton travel to Southampton for Sundays Premier League meeting live on Sky Sports. The Dutchman raised eyebrows when he swapped sixth-placed Southampton for the 11th-placed Toffees in the summer, signing a three-year contract at Goodison Park after two years on the south coast.Everton sit five points ahead of Southampton after the first three months of the new campaign, but did Koeman make the right call? We weigh up the cases for and against with an expert verdict from Matt Le Tissier… FORKoeman cited Evertons ambition as the main factor behind his decision, and while summer spending did not come close to the mooted £100m figure, there was evidence of new owner Farhad Moshiris intentions with the £28m signing of Yannick Bolasie from Crystal Palace. Everton manager Ronald Koeman greets Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola That deal, by way of contrast, was worth nearly twice as much as Southamptons club-record move for Sofiane Boufal, and it highlighted the difference in financial firepower that convinced Koeman to swap the south coast for Merseyside.Everton were frustrated in their efforts to sign Moussa Sissoko and Lucas Perez, among others, but Koeman is expected to receive more backing from Moshiri in January. Indeed, he has already expressed an interest in Manchester Uniteds Wayne Rooney and Memphis Depay - targets that would have been out of reach at his former club. Its not just about signings, either. From Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana to Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama, Koeman was powerless to stop a string of key players from departing St Marys during his time at Southampton.It was far from ideal, and while Everton did lose John Stones to Manchester City this summer, the £50m deal suited both parties, and their success in resisting Chelseas efforts to sign Romelu Lukaku was the kind of strong statement Koeman had been craving. The Belgian is one of the Premier Leagues finest strikers. Southampton simply dont have anyone like him. Romelu Lukaku has impressed under Ronald Koeman this season Koeman also has plenty of room for improvement in his new environment. The upshot of guiding Southampton to a sixth-placed finish last season was that it would have been a massive task to continue their progression. But while there were suspicions that the Saints had hit their ceiling, there was real scope for improvement at Everton.Its not been a straightforward start and performances have been mixed, but the Toffees are level on points with sixth-placed Manchester United, five ahead of Southampton and well within reach of the European places. Sky Sports Black Friday sale Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price! AGAINSTEverton boast more spending power than Southampton, but Koeman has left behind a club who had mastered the transfer market. The Saints ability to effectively replace key players with cheaper alternatives allowed them to defy the odds season after season, with Oriol Romeus recent emergence the latest success story. Ronald Koeman guided Southampton to a sixth-placed finish last season Everton hope the appointment of former Leicester recruitment guru Steve Walsh as their director of football will help them establish the same kind of system, but its not guaranteed, and Everton missed out on a number of targets during the summer. It could take time to make things work, whereas at Southampton the building blocks were already in place.The same logic can be applied to the argument that Everton have more room to improve. Koeman may have struggled to match last years sixth-placed finish at Southampton, but he had nurtured stability there. At Everton, on the other hand, he inherited a team in disarray after Roberto Martinezs tenure. Theres money to spend, but its still a challenging rebuilding job. Everton 1-1 Swansea There is also an argument that Koeman might have been better off building on his impressive work at Southampton and waiting for a bigger offer. Everton are a prestigious club with a proud history, of course, but the move was seen as a sideways step in many quarters. Could another year at St Marys have opened other doors?Koeman has made no secret of his ambition to manage his former club Barcelona, but starting over at another middling Premier League club might not be seen as the best way to go about building his CV. By leaving Southampton, Koeman also missed an opportunity to have another crack at the Europa League.MATT LE TISSIERS VERDICTI said at the time that I was surprised that he almost made a backwards step. I think its going to be tougher for him at Everton than he thought. No disrespect to Everton but I thought he could have got a bigger move given the great work he did at Southampton. Le Tiss predicts... Find out what Le Tiss is tipping up at 40/1 for Monaco v Tottenham here. Having said that, I think it would be too early for him to regret moving. Theres still plenty of time for the investment, assuming it is there. You can understand why he went, with there being more money for him to attract players. I think its going to be tougher for him at Everton than he thought. Matt Le Tissier on Ronald Koeman Id expect them to invest in January and the summer as I think he wanted to assess his squad first. If he doesnt spend big then I think that might be a sign that he has been sold down the river a bit.Its been a decent start but hes come across plenty of bumps in the road.HAVE YOUR SAY Also See: Koeman: Everton start was flat WATCH: Premier League goals Mavericks Jerseys China . The third-ranked Ivanovic, who won the event in 2008 and 10, served five aces and broke Wickmayer, also a former winner in 2009, five times. "The result looked easier than it really was," Ivanovic said. Cheap Mavericks Jerseys . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. http://www.custommavericksjersey.com/ . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. Custom Mavericks Jerseys . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. Custom Mavericks Jersey China . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. OKLAHOMA CITY -- After four straight blowout victories, the Los Angeles Clippers learned they can handle business in a close game.Blake Griffin scored 25 points, and the Clippers beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 110-108 on Friday night to improve the leagues top record and the best start in franchise history to 8-1.Oklahoma Citys Russell Westbrook missed what would have been a game-winning 3-pointer in the closing seconds.The Clippers had won their previous four games by an average of 24.5 points, so coach Doc Rivers wasnt sure how his team would handle a game with a tight finish. Los Angeles focused on slowing Westbrook, who burned them for 35 points in Oklahoma Citys 85-83 win in Los Angeles earlier in the month that gave the Clippers their only loss so far.Even though Andre Roberson and Domantas Sabonis found their shooting strokes as the Thunder made 16 of 28 3-pointers, the Clippers stuck to their defensive game plan.This is one of those games you can lose your trust in, Rivers said. Roberson was making 3s, Sabonis was making 3s, and were telling our guys to stay and clog the paint. And theyre looking at me like, `Why? We did it, and it worked out for us.Jamal Crawford scored 19 points and Chris Paul added 17 points and 10 assists for the Clippers.Westbrook had 29 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists, but he made just 9 of 25 shots. Victor Oladipo scored 18 points, Enes Kanter had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Roberson added 13 points and nine rebounds for Oklahoma City (6-3).The game was tied at 50 at halftime. The Clippers went on an 8-1 run early in the third quarter, highlighted by a spinning layup and 3-pointer by J.J. Redick, to go up 65-56. Griffin had 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting in the period to help the Clippers take an 82-74 lead in the fourth.I think our offense, spacing-wise, was really good, Griffin said.dddddddddddd We attacked more, got out in transition, got some rebounds. Defensive stops led to some easy buckets.Westbrook tied the game at 102 with a 3-pointer with just over 2 minutes remaining, but the Clippers responded with a dunk by DeAndre Jordan and a 3-pointer by Crawford.The Thunder rallied again, but Westbrooks 28-footer was just off in the final seconds.Yeah, I probably should have drove it, but it was all right, Westbrook said.---TIP-INSClippers: Committed just five turnovers in each half. ... Jordan had 12 points and 13 rebounds. ... Jordan was called for a technical foul early in the third quarter.Thunder: Held the Clippers to 22.7 percent shooting in the first quarter to take a 24-16 lead. ... Oladipo scored 11 points in the first quarter. ... Westbrook was called for a technical after he disagreed with a foul call early in the third period. ... Roberson set a new career high with three 3-point goals. ... Sabonis made 4 of 5 3-pointers.HAPPY HOMECOMINGGriffin, an Oklahoma City native, has been booed in the past because hes been a thorn in the Thunders side. Now, with Kevin Durant gone, the fans have dreams of landing him in free agency. They showered Griffin with cheers during pregame introductions, which surprised him.A little bit, but its always nice to come back home, he said.QUOTABLEPaul, on how he guarded Westbrook: I did a lot differently tonight guarding Russ, he said. I didnt. It was Luc Mbah a Moute. That was the difference. I only guarded him a few times tonight.UP NEXTThe Clippers play at the Minnesota Timberwolves.The Thunder host the Orlando Magic and former teammate Serge Ibaka.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAP. ' ' '