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Derek  Wadeson

4-0 to the Everton
13/02/06

Some days you are proud to be a blue, Saturday was certainly one of those. After the disappointment of Wednesday and what seemingly felt like a capitulation like several others that went before it this season, you entered Goodison Park if not fearing the worst but unsure of what lay before us all. OK it was Chelsea on Wednesday that took us to pieces and they played like the Champions elect they are, but how many people had a betting double on a reversal of fortunes just three days later.

Lots has been said over the weekend of who/what was to blame for the sending off of our rookie keeper Iain Turner. Certainly wearing Richard Wright’s lucky gloves did not help him. But, one thing is for certain that decision alongside an earlier disallowed goal and McFadden’s hitting of the crossbar got the Goodison roar going. This along with several other baffling decisions from referee Walton and his road-crew lead it to one of the most frenzied school of science atmospheres of this or any other season.

It also brings me back to a point I have made in an earlier article about those who question David Moyes transfer dealings. He has signed four goalkeepers in his time in the EFC hot-seat and we can now see the wisdom of his foresight. Ok, he never planned it this way, but for every question raised about his lack of activity at the other end of the pitch, one has to be grateful that he can spot a good stopper. Well three out four isn’t bad! And it was a bit tongue-in-cheek

Which brings me back to our friend referee Philip Walton, with a baying home crowd chanting we want five after he and his (un)able assistants have disallowed three goals and sent off our goalkeeper after only 10 minutes (they certainly could not be described as homers). TV scrutiny I think proved we can safely say that we would have been lucky to get all three, but the first one was a perfectly good goal chalked off and the sending off harsh in the extreme.

If ever a game called for instant on-screen action replays for a fourth official to view this one was it. For the sending off Bellamy was standing in a offside position but deemed to be in-active, leading to Alan Stubbs being hesitant in playing the ball, Turner handled the ball outside of his area that much cannot be argued but at the time he had Stubbs between him and the running-in Emerton, meaning he was not the last man and the decision should have been yellow and not red.

Every blue inside the ground played their part in producing one of the gutsier Everton performances and Moysies tirade to the ref with his big ears impression at half time would have been worth the entrance money alone. The ending of the game with him pulling players away from the referee and sending them towards the crowd to absorb the well earned applause should also be noted, with whatever he/they/we got wrong at the start of the season he has since the start of new year transformed the place once again. You can be harsh and you can be critical of his managerial talents, but you certainly cannot question the man’s commitment and overall contribution into bringing Everton Football Club into the 21st century with at least a chance of a sniff of success unlike some of the whimpers that have gone on before him in the last fifteen or so years.

The players who have faced many brick-bats this season can be proud of the blood they sweated in the cause, and I just hope Big Dunc was in the crowd and he noted that before the season is out he owes us at least one big final hurrah with the punch line being a winning goal or two and not the nearest opponent.

And finally to my love of the radio phone-ins, just who were those people who tried to tell Barry Horne that Phil Neville was the biggest waste of space in a blue shirt ever. What planet are they living on or as Barry pointed out were they kopites trying to create mischief. So now we have a chance to rest some of those weary bones before the sighting of the new-improved magpies shortly, a game that could pan-out the rest of our season.
Derek  Wadeson


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