Fans Comment
A R Ismael Mia

Killing us for their sport
13 July 2004

Kenwright: 2005% ???

“…As flies to wanton boys are we to the Gods, they kill us for their sport…”

Shakespeare might have been talking about the torture Everton fans are going through at present, as the very limbs of the club are pulled apart in full public view — reduced to nothing more than a Coronation Street farce.

The daily soap opera being spun in the media is far away from the close season we all had expected.  Last year was a milestone in terms of the history of the club — our 125th year playing at the highest level in the land, last year held such expectation with the emergence of Moyes as the manager of the season previous, with a hard working and spirited squad and the continued development of the uber-boy.  We all know what happened, particularly in the last month.

And yet, there is always hope in preseason, the time to galvanize and regroup.  Far from it, Everton appear fragmented and shell-shocked, the manager, the present squad members and soon to be previous players weave webs of despair each passing day as we all watch on in horror at the lack of incoming transfer activity, and the impending departure of Radzinski, Gravesen and ultimately Rooney.

I can curse Radzinski’s disloyalty, I can laugh at Gravesen’s agent, I can worry over Rooney, I can raise an eyebrow over the Thai-beer deal [too small?].  I can wonder at Charlton/Birmingham’s budget, I can semi-approve Birch, I can cringe at the size of our squad.  However, I cannot abide by the day-by-day gutting of the club’s morale, the growing fan resentment and the punishment of all the above combined.

I am disgusted at the way in which I look at next season, that I accept Everton will not be relegated because there are three other teams not as good.  What has happened?  Everton is a ship that not only has let in too much water, but far from tipping up and sinking Titanic style, it appears to be lilting endlessly towards shallow water, in a semi paralyzed state – always on the verge of sinking but never quite giving us all a clean break.  Sink damn you – sink and be done with it, go down, go down deeper still – maybe at the bottom of the ocean we will be forced to come back up for air – to be reborn.

The madness has to stop.  I want everyone at Everton FC to look at the future, can anyone tell me what there is to look forward to?  Can anyone reassure me that next season won’t be a total farce?  Can ANYONE give me one reason why I should feel encouraged?  [Good God, man — pull yourself together!]

Take a good look at the way Everton conducts its business.  I have said it on many occasions that the entire infrastructure of the club appears to be run like a Victorian coal mine, which was fine 20 years ago – or if you are a Victorian era coal mine – not a Premiership club, not a Premiership club with our legacy.  I refuse to believe that a major cash injection will help the club, from either some crazy angel investor – or indeed the sale of uber-boy.  I just have no faith in the way the Club is running its business, and I have no faith in what the Board will do with the cash gain.  I cannot fathom why, if the uber-boy is to go, why he has not already gone?  If it is a choice between the club’s financial survival or more of the same lilting spasms – then the uber-boy must go, and go soon.  Club before personality.  Give Moyes the time to restructure, with the resources.  We need a leader, we need to hear that there is someone that is in control.

I don’t care about Radzinski, I don’t care about Gravesen, I don’t care about Rooney’s agent led rebellion.  Ferguson be damned, in fact all the players be damned, if you don’t want to play for the manager, or if you don’t want to give the manager the means to do his job, damn you.  I care about Everton FC, and I am fuming at the way the club is seen, at the way the club deals with the media, how the club markets itself, how the club is running itself aground – continually.

If you care about the club, you cannot let this continue.  The most important asset the club has is its manager [... until he gets the sack!].  In Moyes and Irvine – NOT Rooney and Radzinski, Everton have the chance to completely overhaul how the club is structured, because it is this that is the root of all our woes.  The club is not functioning, the club is not acting or performing like a well oiled machine, but a clapped out diesel Datsun.  If we lose Moyes, Everton will sink without a trace.

Birch, if you are reading this, then do what we all know you were hired to do.  Strip the club down, remove the apathy, the old and the weary, cast away the trappings of our legacy that have pushed the club to the edge of nothing.  I do not agree that Everton requires a slow approach to change, all of you that fear change have let the club stagnate, refusing to see that Everton’s strength has always been in its ability to adapt, to originate and to lead by example.  Everton left Anfield – Liverpool FC came out of Everton, Everton pioneered two tiered stadiums, Everton introduced goal nets, Everton were the first team from Europe to tour America, Everton has always moved on – always taken the future by the horns and forced everyone else to follow suit.  What now?  What of all the grey suits haunting our boardroom?  Where is our future?

The Greek national side won the European Cup through guts and guile, planning and pride.  Everton has the best young manager in the Premiership with every conceivable FIFA coaching/managing qualification – this, if you happen to look into it, is no little thing, in fact it is something that most managers lack, Moyes has the qualifications and the experience – he has proved it, remember? [Has he really?  Last season he proved precisely nothing, overseeing the lowest points total ever accrued at Goodison... but of course , it wasn't his fault, was it?]  

Everyone, the fans, the players and the board must rally behind him 2005% [Please note: Anyone else writing a number larger than 100% in this context will not get their stories published in future] - we must haul ourselves out of this abyss, we must stand up and hold the players and the owners up to the same high standard that we apply to ourselves as supporters, that Evertonians are not manufactured, but born.  And so I say to the boardroom, the owners, the shareholders and the current players: life is not simple, it is not all black and white, but it is blue and white – you are either with us or against us.  [Now you are starting to sound like George Dubya!]  Stop messing with the club, stop making decisions too little, too late, too weak, too lazy, too down right pathetic.  Get on board with the manager – or get out.

A R Ismael Mia

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