Fans Comment
Steve 

These boots are made for walking
22 December 2005

The so-called football game witnessed at Goodison on Saturday was jaw droppingly bad. The clinical finishing from the sheep lovers was something we have forgotten at Goodison, but I for one would hate to have to watch their brand of 'football' every week. Still, without wanting to sound patronising, it's all their supporters know under Allardyce and on the face of it is successful (top six, Uefa, CC).

For us it is different. Without sounding like someone's Grandpa, I am old enough to remember some great Everton Team's, playing some great football. Not all of them were trophy winners, but you at least got the feeling anything was possible and in the mid 80's it actually was; up until the European ban. Post the latter it's been pretty turgid most of the time and we've sailed too close to the relegation winds too often.

Equally often, we've been told 'never again'. This used to apply to the Chairman's/manager's/ players'/ fans' (delete as applicable) summary of a whole season's performances. Under the current regime, it's now trotted out after every (increasingly heavy) defeat. It's the same old excuses and apologies we've heard for years, with 'tomorrow' always being promised as a 'new dawn'.

Well sorry Mr Kenwright, Mr Moyes et al: you've been rumbled. I have been a regular at Goodison for 25 years and I cannot ever remember seeing Goodison Park empty with so much time left on the clock and so quickly.

Why now? My view is that Evertonians are finally starting to vote with their feet and if that doesn't wake Kenwright and Wyness up, then they really are even thicker than they appear.

Mail contributors have cited many reasons for the team's abysmal performances against West Ham and then Bolton; the accumulation of all of which I believe have led to the mass walkout we saw on Saturday. The sheer frustration of regularly seeing so many areas of the team and tactics so plainly wrong, was finally too much to bear.

For me the most damning is the lack of a Plan B. It was clear by the time Bolton scored that our tactics were not working (not helped by weak refereeing); with hopeful balls lobbed up to Bolton defenders who couldn't believe their luck. All around me, fans screaming to keep the ball on the floor, but no. Outfought and, in the second half, outplayed by a bunch of average players. Just like ours, but well drilled, playing to their strengths and exploiting our weaknesses with increasing ease. Plan B? Not likely, shuffle the deck chairs and carry on as before, seemed to be the nearest we had to an alternative strategy.

Which takes me on to the debate around David Weir. Sorry Moyes, but if you have seen defending like that in the Park on Sunday, then why have you put up with it for even one game, let alone the last few? David Weir is slow and we all know it. With the amount of games he's played recently against pacy forwards, he is now also knackered. Put the two together and it's a recipe for disaster; which is exactly what we got against West Ham and then Bolton. Don't blame Weir, blame Moyes for not having the guts to rest him. How the hell will Weir cope with 4 games in 8 days? One way or the other Krøldrup needs to play.

Any reader of this missive may find it bizarre to write this next bit... when we went 3-0 down on Saturday, I think this would have been a great time to 'blood' Kroldrup. At this stage what did we have to lose (or win)? All Moyes did was feed the belief that Krøldrup is a wrong un and frustrate said Dane into the bargain.

Rest Weir until Yobo goes off to the African Nations Cup. Give Krøldrup some experience, and have a hopefully refreshed Weir back in January to partner him. Yobo has covered for Weir for the last month at least (all too often out of position at critical points in the game as a result) and if Moyes isn't careful Krøldrup will be doing the same with no experience of the Premiership to boot. I don't buy all this stuff about him being a £5M white elephant. He played for Udinese, who 'did an Everton' last season, he scores goals and I refuse to believe we bought him 'blind'.

As for the rest of them, stop making promises you clearly can't keep. Do your talking on the pitch, or face the fact that the ground will continue to empty long before the final whistle and all you'll be left with is the echo of departing feet.

Steve 

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