Colm Kavanagh asks...
Who'll score the goals?
Radz not the answer!
Who'll we be relying on to drag us further up the table or away from another season of woe at the bottom? Who'll score the goals?
The way we've been playing in recent weeks would suggest we might have a novel return to the days when we had goals being scored throughout the side. How many goals have been scored in recent weeks by left backs bursting through the back line of the opposition? Pistone almost doubled his Everton goalscoring record on Saturday when bursting past a static Chelsea defence. What's he been eatin' for his brekkie then, eh?! The recent visible improvement in performances by players like Pistone and Unsworth speaks volumes for a shift in emphasis on how we play our football.
I still think that we're nowhere near as strong as we will need to be up front if we're to enjoy a better season. I like Tomasz Radzinski a lot — he makes some very good runs — but there's a touch of the Tony Cottee about him in that he is guilty of missing some rather easy chances. Something we can ill afford at times. I can't see Tomasz being at Everton for the long haul either so perhaps it might be in our best interests to 'invite' offers for the player.
I'm sure that once, the dust has settled on this season, there'll be one or two clubs with eyes on next seasons European Chumpions League, in need of fresh legs upfront. Actually, sod all this... cut straight to the chase: My favourite from days of old, Roberto di Keanio is definitely on the way out of Dirty Leeds United plc and I shall cringe if he joins the Kevin Keegan bandwagon at Manchester City.
Apart from being mucked about with being shunted from club to club over the past 18 months, it's patently obvious that he needs a fresh start. Leaving a talent like Keane on the bench is not what I would deem good management, Mr O'Leary. You can see it in the lad's face.
Christ, I laugh when I think back to the time I suggested we swap Nick Barmby for Keane (then at Wolves!) But he is exactly that kind of player, versatile, and capable of adding something to the team, which we've not had since Barmby quit for Liverpool.
We've a midfield not exactly renowned for its free flowing creativity. Keane's versatility in the past has seen him play across the middle as well as the more familiar role up front. Flog Radzinski for £4M - £5M and add another £3M - £4M to secure the services of a player now possibly surplus to requirement at Elland Road? Plod along with the same old same old axis of Ferguson and Campbell? I think not.
I still reckon Keane to be the type of player who'd excite a hard-to-please Goodison Park. The type of player to put bums on seats but also the type of player, still incredibly young for the number of seasons already under his belt, who would score goals regularly. I don't know what his goals-per-game ratio is but I'd say it's pretty near to one goal every second game.
Over the past couple of seasons we've always seen one big name player incoming (timed with a dip in season ticket sales?!). For once — just for once — can it please be a player with a future in the game instead of the Paul Gascoigne's of this world?