When will we actually realise our potential???
A comment on Walter Smith's ever-changing squad

21 February 2002

I have followed Everton now since I was around about 5 or 6 years old.  Admittedly I didn't know a lot about football when I picked them as my team; I just knew that at the time they were a team at the top of the league (I was born in 1979 by the way) and they wore blue, my favourite colour at the time.  

We won two league championships if I am recalling correctly — it's kind of hard to remember anything from that age.  In fact, it's kind of hard to remember anything before I was about 10, but you know — two league championships, a couple of FA cup finals against Liverpool, a superb 4-4 draw in the quarter finals against Liverpool and apart from that, I don't really remember much else about Everton.  Poor for a supporter, I know, but I know a fair bit about the team since around about the 1993-94 season.

As an Everton fan, I haven't had anything good to shout about since that 4-4 draw with Liverpool... OK, the FA Cup win over Man Utd in 1995 was superb, especially as it was over Man Utd, but what else????  I shall tell you: Nothing, absolutely nothing.  Since the appointment of Walter Smith, nothing good has happened to the Everton team or its fans.

Walter Smith is now on his third team at Everton in what is only his fourth season. Let me re-iterate that: 3rd team — name me one other club in the premiership that has had such a big turnaround of players as Everton.  

I have a squad photo on my desk at work from the first year that dear Walter was in charge of the team.  Only three team members from that squad photo remain: Danny Cadamarteri (on his way out), Duncan Ferguson (left and returned) and Alec Cleland (hardly a first team player).  I know that Walter has been pressurised into selling some players, but to let a whole midfield go in one season was a ridiculous move.  Not that he's brilliant now but letting Don Hutchinson leave just as he was coming good, Nicky Barmby too and also John Collins (now playing sublime football with Fulham) all go at once was almost earth-shattering for us Everton fans.  A team that was being built ripped apart in one summer.

But we've moved on.  He's made some good signings: Weir, Xavier (Why oh why did we let him go — especially to Liverpool?), Campbell, Gazza, Stubbs, Naysmith, Radzinski — when he eventually gets his shooting boots on, Watson, Alexandersson, Blomqvist, Linderoth, Carsley, Ginola... these are all good players; why aren't we performing?

I put it to you that Walter Smith is tactically inept.  Who uses a defender up front instead of some of the regular reserve strikers?  If I was Joe-Max Moore, that would have been the last straw; I would have been out of Everton like a shot.  How demeaning is that as a striker?  Why does Walter persist in playing David Unsworth — brilliant as a youngster, but never shown his full potential, although perhaps worth having on the bench.  What is it that Mark Pembridge and Scot Gemmill do for Walter that gets them persistently picked in the first eleven, or even on the substitutes bench?  These players are not good enough for Everton Football Club!!!

Why do we not use a standard 4-4-2 formation?  We now have three out-and-out wingers in Ginola, Blomqvist and Alexandersson...  all of whom can put a decent cross in the box that either Duncan Ferguson or Kevin Campbell should be getting their heads on.  If I was manager of Everton — and I'm sure I could do a better job of team selection and player motivation than Walter — I see nothing wrong with the following team:

1. Steve Simonsen 
2. Steve Watson 
3. Gary Naysmith 
4. Thomas Gravesen 
5. David Weir 
6. Alan Stubbs 
7. Niclas Alexandersson 
8. Lee Carsley 
9. Duncan Ferguson 
10. Kevin Campbell 
11. Jesper Blomqvist
      
12. David Ginola 
13. Paul Gerrard 
14. Paul Gascoigne 
15. Tomasz Radzinski 
16. David Unsworth

The above first eleven, with any of the above substitutes swapping in, is a class line-up.  It should be mid-table at least.  Why on earth are we not?  And I've left out new signing Tobias Linderoth from the midfield or even a place on the bench; that, plus some talented youngsters coming through such as Nick Chadwick, Tony Hibbert, Peter Clark, Kevin McLeod, Stephen Schumacher, Wayne Rooney etc...  What is Walter doing wrong ???

"Injuries" I hear you cry.  Well, yes we've had huge crippling injury lists... but that is the time when youngsters should be blooded, not the time for inept tactics and players playing out of position.  How many games could Nick Chadwick have played up front now after putting on some great displays in the reserves?  He could have been a hit, but, we'll never know because, just like the treatment of Danny Cadamarteri, Walter doesn't want to know!!! Age and experience is his policy.  Has it worked?  Blatantly NO!

Finally, one last rant about his transfer policy.  How long has Bobby Zamora been out-performing his league?  Well, I would say about two seasons now.  He has shown total class in playing for Brighton, got a superb scoring record second only to Jermaine Defoe, and yet we still won't stump up the cash to sign him.  It just so happened that when Walter went to check out Zamora the guy was knackered!!  He asked Peter Taylor for a rest, which he was duly given, and then came back to demolish Reading (who are currently the best side in Division Two, by the way - and that's not just because I'm from Reading).  

I would have loved Everton to sign Zamora one season ago; he would have been another one for the future, if not now.  Also, rumours about Clinton Morrison... well I would like to see one of these rumours come true to assist our ageing and worsening strike force, but will it happen?  Probably not.  What good ever happens to Everton?

I've come the end of my rant.  I will still support us (with or without dear Walter) even if we do go down, which I highly doubt, because I think we can turn it around this season — at least so we don't get relegated anyway — but it'll be a close call.  Going to see Everton play at the Madjeski is not really a mouth-watering prospect...

Stephen Stobie

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