Fans Comment
Jamie Rowland

The Future is Brighter! Stay Positive
5 August 2005

Firstly, lets start with the apparent negatives and attempt to turn them into positives: Taking the negatives that we see from the board such as:

• The Villarreal ticketing fiasco
• Uprooting long standing season ticket holders to make way for corporate facilities;
• Transfer market – Performance of Moyes and the board.

Have Moyes and the Board done a bad job in pre-season?

My own personal opinion: No, they haven’t. In fact this year is the best performance that we have seen for a long time from the Boardroom and I think that we, as Evertonians have gone over the top with the few negatives that have occurred.

They did get it wrong with the Villarreal tickets but then they have more or less admitted their failing and changed the system.

In terms of making people move seats, they did give those who where ‘troubled’ the first option on other available seats. Is it that bad, at the end of the moaning and complaining the extra corporate facility will bring in a lot of extra revenue to support the club’s long-term future – and for me, that is what it is all about – the long-term future.

In the last decade, the Board have looked at and needed a lot of short-term fixes to keep our heads above water. Now, with the financial and business plan up and running, the club is looking more secure, despite its large but decreasing debt. If we forget about the long-term mortgage deal that skims the top off season-ticket sales, the overdraft and loans are steadily decreasing, with the sale of Rooney sorting part of them out.

Going on to the players and performances of the management team: they excelled last season, wiping the smug smiles from most critics faces and destroying some column-writers' credibility in the process of finishing 4th. However, despite this extraordinary climb to the showcase that is the Champions league, Moyes has managed, disappointingly, to come under the microscope from his very own fans.

Negative responses have been flying around with even the hint of sacking a versatile manager that keeps his head when all around lose theirs (sorry for the plagiarism, Mr Kipling). His dealings within the transfer market have not been great, considering that we finished so high…but even now, Ladbrokes are giving us 28/1 odds to be relegated and LFC (5th place team) 200/1, showing that external confidence in us is very limited.

We are still a struggling club with a small squad and budget. Last year saw an Everton side that was full of passion, loyalty, high spirit and hard work. All major contributing factors in the blistering performances and results that were witnessed by all. Moyes cannot afford to rock a boat, carrying a band of brothers, whilst it is very steady. So that rules the big earners out – Parker, Emre and Forrsell, high wages only make others jealous, leading to in-fighting. The trouble causers such as Bellamy are also not welcome – hence one of the reasons that we have done much better without Rooney – who wanted big money, loved himself and caused chaos wherever he went – no thanks…

My point here is that our transfer dealings are not all that bad. We haven’t signed a superstar but then, realistically, were we ever going to? We are still regarded as a mid- to lower-end team, encapsulated in some sort of protective ‘bubble’ and that makes it hard to attract a top player without having to give them massive wages. Moyes obviously knows this and I take my hat off to him for digging his heals in over players wage demands that are quite frankly outrageous e.g. Parker £55k a week?!? Instead Moyes has looked, as promised, for players that would ‘fit’ into the current side. They were never going to be world-beaters but instead would be those who give 100% and have a generally good talent and passion for the game. He was/is looking for versatility, hard work and loyalty – you can buy that with excessive amounts of money but it is hard to find in the bargain basement.

Looking at the transfer market in this light, there are hardly any players that really fit the bill, so Moyes has done well. Can we question any of his summer signings so far?

Moving on to the Board’s performance (relating to the team) – that isn’t bad either. They have now allowed Moyes to spend:

• Davies (£4M)
• Krøldrup (£5M)
• Arteta (~£2.2M)
• Neville (£3.5M)
• Ruddy (£500k)

That totals a whopping £15.2M. We could have signed a superstar for that! But what use is one good player when we only have a squad of 18-19?

When was the last time the Board released £10M, let alone £15M, for players? For this, I give credit to Keith Wyness – he is the first CEO we have had that has managed to convince the Board that investment on the field = investment off the field.

The future is looking a lot brighter for Everton and hopefully a top-10 finish (perhaps Uefa Cup place) will restore the integrity and pride that has for so long been missing at the club. This is one of a few years that, whilst in pre-season, I have had a good feeling about the team and hold them in high esteem with the confidence of knowing that they will once again give it their all for the club and fans…

It is time to be positive, not negative, get behind the team and raise the roof. Players can only give 100% if they know that they have the backing of the people around them – us, the fans! So let's forget the petty faults and failings and sing our hearts out for the lads. I pride myself (in footballing terms) on being a member of a set of fans that are amongst the most loyal in the country. (But jeez, can we moan!!)

I, for one, am looking forward at the upcoming games and wondering ‘how far will we finish from the top’, not ‘how high up from the bottom’.

So, to every Everton fan who has a naturally negative spin on everything – this is your chance to ‘hop onboard the SUCCESS EXPRESS’ – We WILL finish high this year! If you can't stay positive, then stay put - negativity has reigned at Goodison for too long and its not welcome anymore.

Jamie  Rowland

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