Could not bar to watch
A different(?) view from alt.sport.scccer.everton

10 March 2002

I've not posted much if at all here over the last week.  Why?  Various reasons all combined, but the biggest one no doubt has been the sheer dismay I've been feeling all week about the way the team has been performing.

I've been hurting all week.  Leeds was a kick in the teeth.  50 mins against 10 men who had just been knocked out of Europe and on as bad a run as we were, who were in disarray, and (penalty claims aside) we never looked like scoring.  West Ham; on hearing the result, I didn't even feel like reading the match reports, but from what I have picked up, it sounds like a truly awful performance (yet again).  And now today's debacle: 3-0 down at half time...

I can't remember if I've ever stopped watching an EFC game at half time, yet here I sit with the tv downstairs, with my White Stripes CD drowning out whatever bit of commentary might filter up to me.  I honestly didn't give two shits about this game after West Ham because our survival in the Premiership became the only thing I cared about. However, as I sat down just before the game began, I couldn't help but get a bit excited... it's the FA Cup quarter-finals, after all!

Well, a bright start with some decent passing, and a couple of glimpses of potential chances, lifted me a little but a half an hour in, Boro were in control and we yet again didn't have a shot on target.  All optimism had faded, and I was thinking 'same old Everton, we'll never score'.  

About 10 mins later, we are three down!  Now, yes the defending was crap — 3 lousy tap-ins! — but right now it doesn't seem to matter if we go one-down or three-down, we'll still lose.  We can't score, plain and simple.  We never even look like scoring.  We never even have shots on target.  If we continue like this, we WILL go down: FACT!

Now, I've been a supporter of his the whole time, but Walter Smith has had his chance.  He's lost it.  He may not be solely to blame for our plight, but the fact is, he's lost the players.  They cannot carry out, whatever it is he wants them to do.  The performances have generally been getting more and more sterile since Christmas.  We've had a couple of false dawns which have kept us interested, but my cup is now overflowing with rancid coffee — and I can definitely smell it.

Everton fans have been more or less split in two camps over Water Smith.  Half back him; the other half want his insides sprayed liberally over the kop on a match day.  I think I now fit into a newer category.  Someone who respects WS and thinks he can do a decent job as a manager... but just not for us.  When a team gets into a rut like we have, you just can't pull out of it without some significant change.  The team have no confidence going forward.  

I believe even with a much needed new striker it may not be enough to repair the damage that has been done.  We need fresh ideas on the pitch and Walter will NOT be able to provide them.  Yes, he's been unlucky with injuries — very unlucky —  but he's also brought some of this run on himself.  

• Why, if he's so disappointed with the way we are playing, does he keep playing the same players, in the same way, if they keep disappointing him? 
    
• Why can't he make tactical changes when they might actually have enough time to make a difference (Gravesen, Ginola with only 10 mins to go against Leeds?  Persisting with 5-3-2 until half time today?)
    
• REFUSING to play Gravesen from the start, despite his complete public apology and the fact he's one of the few players showing a bit of fight and life in his performances at the moment.  
    
• Not giving Chadwick any opportunity of any kind (even from the bench) despite our crippling striker crisis and the fact Nick is banging them in for the reserves.  

Walter, if it ain't broke don't try to fix it... but if it's not doing anything — no matter how many times you turn the key — stop turning the key and open the bonnet and try and figure out what the fuck is wrong.  Do something different!!!

We have to start scoring, and I can't see it happening under the current management.  I truly feel that, if we fail to beat Fulham next week, we will go down.  We couldn't buy a win the way we are playing at the moment, and we are supposed to win at least 3 more before seasons end?  We'd struggle to beat Leicester right now — one of the games everyone is banking our survival chances on.  Same with Bolton.  If we dropped points in even one of those games, we'd more than likely be fucked.

The fact is that I've not suddenly 'seen the light' and think WS was never right and could never be right.  Nothing would be please me more if WS led us to winning every single game until the end of the season.  However, that to me seems about as unlikely as WS leading us to 3 more victories before the end of the season. 

I think if WS stays, we will only stay up if 3 other teams are even worse than us.  I think a new manager — and I'd almost (almost, I said) take anyone at the moment — would give us a fresh lift and injection needed to keep us up.  All I care about is EFC and, if the only way we can survive is to sack WS, then I would have no problem in doing it. 

I honestly feel he's done the best he can in fairly difficult circumstances, but sometimes your best isn't good enough.  The players currently can't play under Walter.  They have no confidence in themselves.  A new manager could give them that lift IMO, cause we actually have some decent players (yes, hard to believe at the moment) and I think if we brought in someone now, we could stay up easily.

Match must be over now, it would be a bit funny if after writing all this and posting it, we had come back, but somehow I think I'm safe.

The rumour mongers, suggest (in preferred order) Jones, Moyes, and Megson are being lined up.  I'd definitely take either of the first two, and right now; I'd even take Megson.  EFC survival is all I care about.  I don't care what we have to do or who we have to piss on to achieve that survival.

Not sure how I'll feel next week so I may return to my disillusioned posting exile.  If so, take care I'll see some of you at the wake next week! ;-)

Phil O'Shea
alt.sport.soccer.everton

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