Fans Comment
Andrew Fairfoull

Humiliation
11 May 2005

I have broken off from the Arsenal - Everton game this evening to write this article.  I should say that I have been following the Blues for nearly fifty years and would consider myself a loyal and committed supporter.

I would like to make a number of observations about the present performance which for the majority of fans would seem controversial but need to be said before the end of the present season before we start glamourizing about the future of Everton Football Club.

Today's performance against Arsenal was one of the worst performances by any so-called Premiership side I have ever witnessed!  In fact to watch Everton today you would find it difficult to believe that they are fourth, yes fourth in the English Premiership this season!  I am expecting the usual excuses about no Tim Cahill, a very small squad, it's been a long season etc., but this performance is simply not good enough for a Premiership side in fourth position and it does not bode well for the future whoever David chooses to buy in the summer.

This performance rates as the worst Everton performance I have witnessed for a considerable length of time, and even worse the press tomorrow will have a field day, talking Everton down and saying perhaps relegation again next season.  Seriously you can never take your foot off the gas at any stage of the Premiership, ever.  Quite frankly on the basis of this performance Everton will never progress in any competition.

You can foresee the true, loyal Evertonian reactions the next day:
"David Moyes has done wonders with a small squad with no stars;"
"It's the end of the season and they are tired playing an awesome Arsenal side on top form."
"It doesn't matter we have qualified for the champions league anyway."

Unfortunately for Everton, this result matters hugely and quite frankly this team were not prepared for an Arsenal side that could be beaten if the opposing side bothered to challenge them, how about the Man Utd result?  Everton were an absolute disgrace and David Moyes should be ashamed of himself as an up-and-coming manager; this was embarrassing and humiliating and in the Premiership there are no excuses. Forget the Champions League and Everton's false lofty position... With this level of play Everton will end up in the relegation zone once more.

I will never know what Moyes's and the players' attitude was to this fixture, but I did hear the stupid phrase "go out and enjoy yourself".  The Premiership is all about getting results, look at Chelsea against United.  I listened to David Moyes saying that he thought he had won the "other premiership" by finishing above Liverpool, Bolton etc.... David, the future starts here.  If you do not defeat Arsenal in the next 12 months you will Stay in the "other Premiership" for the rest of your career at Everton and there are no excuses.

This game was a must win at all costs and Everton failed at every level, I'm sorry to disappoint committed Evertonians but on this performance Everton are destined for the "other Premiership" for the foreseeable future.

Finally, for me this was the most important game of the season really after Champions' League qualification, and Everton didn't produce the goods. The following qualities are required by a quality side: dedication, strong tackling, commitment, player intuition... Everton were destroyed by an Arsenal side that found Everton wanting in every department. it does not look good for the future and always remember THERE ARE NO EXCUSES.

Andrew Fairfoull

Well, I hope you feel a bit better now, Andrew, after getting all that off your chest. But you really need to get a sense of proportion.  This was NOT a "must-win" game.  Saturday against Newcastle was a must-win game, and Moyes's boys won it.  After that massive climax, I'm sure the last thing they really wanted was a trip to the smoke and a very on-form Arsenal. 

There are no excuses, but there are plenty of reasons why your no-doubt heart-felt reactions to this relatively meaningless defeat are well over the top.  Moyes, and all footballers know that it's one game at a time.  The result of this game applies only to this game: nothing else.  And even Moyes can do nothing to change the result now, so you and all other Evertonians are going to have to come to terms with it.  It's a fact; it's in the record book.  Move On! — Editor

Reader Responses:

It was interesting to read Andrew Fairfoull’s rant and on the whole I disagreed with both his and the editor's response. It was not a must-win game, however it was a game where we should have emphasised our ability to at least cling on to the coat tales of the top three teams from the league. Only the current Everton team could leave you at the end of the game wondering what on earth all the good feeling was about previously.

I did have a giggle to myself this morning about how I would compare the current Everton side. You see there used to be this bloke I knew around the Liverpool area. He was the nastiest bad bastard you could ever wish to meet and he came from a pretty notorious family with it. Then all of a sudden he found God. Right out of the blue (pardon the pun) he suddenly became a really nice bloke and started to help old girls across the street and all that and started to really make peoples lives better by being part of it. You really didn’t know how to take him and often wondered if you were more uncomfortable when he was being nice rather than when he was up to his infamous tricks. You just felt that at some point, you would be left with a bad taste in your mouth if you actually took the step of starting to trust the bloke. Although people never fully trusted him, you just felt that you had to give him a chance as he couldn’t possibly put on a God-like performance such as he showed, for as long he was without being genuine, or could he?!?! The cynics used to just stand and tut and roll their eyes, firmly stating that the trusting bunch would end up getting their fingers burnt at some point. And as it happened it turned out that the cynics were in fact right and that he did eventually creep back to his old ways and returned to being an integral part of the families operations.

Now I watched (from behind the couch) that performance last night and thought of exactly the same situation. You see after going to the game a cynic on Saturday I actually came away, thinking that I would take the leap of faith and start to trust the current Everton side to make my life all that much better and that they really did want to make a difference in mine, and every other Evertonian’s lives, and become better people. I was duly beaten over the head and robbed of that trust within 90 minutes of Wednesday night, after Everton finally dropped the illusion and went back to their notorious ways. Only this current Everton side could have allowed you to exit such a glorious season with such a bad taste in your mouth. True, a large number of Blue-blood observers will have watched and just shrugged their shoulders and merely just looked again at the league table this morning to re-assure themselves that this current team will not return to their bad tendencies. I however, have trudged back into the cynic’s camp to be met by those same wagging fingers and rolling eyes and quotes of ‘I told you so’. I for one, would now prefer to believe that the gospel according to Moyes and his preaching’s on how to get to the Promised Land will only stick with a small number of the current crop of apostles and that he should now clear the decks while he has the chance to bring in stronger, younger role models into which he will be able to instill his ways. I believe that only the likes of Cahill, Yobo, Arteta and Martyn (agree that he is not young but is clearly one of the converted) should be the ones who go on to spread the word of Moyes into next season and that the faith of the others is not strong enough to be preaching his word.

I felt so sorry for Moyes last night, he is clearly a man of honour and a complete perfectionist and his face at the end spoke a thousand words. It showed that he had clearly been let down by those same players that he had placed so much faith into throughout the season. You just wonder whether the match last night changed any perception that he had built up about certain individuals across the course of the season and whether or not that will now be reflected in the well publicised talks relating to who gets to return next season amongst the players out of contract. I’m sorry, it doesn’t wash that it was objective achieved and it was an early start to the holidays, if that had been the case, the sold out away section would have been empty. The professional outfit of Arsenal had also achieved as much as they could in the League of finishing no better or worse than runners up, yet felt that they should at least give their best for their paying public, Everton players clearly did not.

Personally I think Moyes will have learnt a lot by the displays of certain individuals last night and I would hope that he takes the view (which I’m sure he has anyway) that he needs to start next season with a new bunch of close followers whilst retaining the services of the few who have clearly been converted to his ways.

Hear endeth the lesson

Big Baz

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