ToffeeWeb Viewpoint
Thoughts from the Editor

A dissenting voice
12 October 2005

A terse condemnation of Nick Armitage's recent article came to us via the Feedback page from Everton fan John Prior.  John has since taken the time to respond in more detail, explaining why he reacted so strongly to what Nick had written.  Here is his response in full (although I did have to change it in a couple of places to make it read right):

My problem with the piece by Nick Armitage is that it is full of sweeping statements, half truths and a lot of if's.  Surely textbook rantings of someone prone to knee-jerk. And it is becoming a tiresome theme.

I have a problem with the piece, and I have a problem with you featuring it.

I understand that to have a journalistic angle on your site you must be pro- or anti- everything, to keep interest and debate.  In the forums the growth of an anti-Moyes rhetoric has been noted. Whilst obviously some will agree, and accept your stance, some will disagree, and accept your stance... Well I'm going to be bloody minded and say Change the Record! You have vilified anyone from upstairs who dares show his head above the trenches: BK, Wyness, Moyes.

I believe the squad on paper is better now than at any other time under Moyes.

I personally thought last season would be a write-off given the age of the squad, and the obvious need to rebuild and gel.  I have been bitterly disappointed with the way things have gone this season, but I still believe it is a case of getting the squad fit, searching for more jigsaw pieces (in January or the summer), and getting back on track next season.

This is a bombastic piece that fails to take into account any human or personal issues;

• The disappointment of everything they had played for last season disappearing has shattered confidence.
• Tim Cahill obviously does need a rest.
• New players are still finding their feet on and off the field.
• Injuries.

He states we only had one half decent game against Bucharest???

Has he been watching Everton this season??

I beg to differ. 

• Until the calamity by Yobo we matched Man Utd; in the first half we had them on the ropes for 20 minutes.
• The first Villarreal game was closer than the different types of football being played suggested, and only clinical finishing was the difference.
• The second Villarreal game was a good contest in which we looked more and more like doing it the longer it went on, and....you know what happened with Collina.
• As for most of the league games, the results could have gone either way but we lacked that creative edge, which players who were out injured can bring back to the side.

This article leaves absolutely no room to take the long view.

Your original email said I offered nothing in return to my criticism of the piece.  Like most people calling for a taxi for Moyes, he doesn't offer a viable alternative, because that's when the anti-Moyes argument, at this present time, falls apart.

Another problem I have is the majority of opposing views I or other people have put to you is often met, by you declaring them incapable of accepting growing opinion, when most of the time I fail to see evidence of this growing opinion, and more and more of your 'journalistic rhetoric'.  Other times the replies can be petty.

Time and again I read the papers or browse the net, and I see news relating to Everton, and I can usually predict which ones you'll feature and your stance.

You continually back up your sweeping statements on the front page with the note 'as reflected in our mailbag'...  It doesn't take a smartarse to see that you have complete control of the mailbag, and they are not conclusively a barometer of opinion.

To me, sometimes it seems you print opposing views only if they are badly put across or they give you an obvious angle to attack.

I may sometimes have an aggressive way of putting things across, I try not make anything personal.  But I feel strongly about the above.

I am not DELUSIONAL of the highest order, I know merely because of the way football is Moyes's position is not rock solid, but I strongly believe in the long run, it would be a massive mistake.

Your refusal to contemplate that it could even possibly be a blip, leaves you open to accusations of narrow-mindedness.

What I don't understand is how quickly the anti-Moyes brigade (including you lot) bang on about how crap and lucky we were last season, to the point now that last season has been written off as a disappointment.  Was I the only one paying attention?  Last season was not a disappointment.  But all I hear is how we've been crap for the best part of a year.

I hope this gives you an idea of why I replied to the article, although on reflection it was a bit strong and churlish, and probably written too soon after reading the article.

Thanks for your time.

John Prior

Stepping back for a moment from some of the detailed issues you raise and looking at the bigger picture, I begin to understand the concern you voiced only when I see you label this piece as "anti-Moyes" — and you extend that label to pretty much everyone at ToffeeWeb.  I really think your polarizations are unfair in this regard; we are publishing material that is strongly pro-Moyes, that is anti-Moyes, and that covers the spectrum in-between.  Personally, as I have stated in the mailbag, I like Moyes and still want to see him succeed, so to label us as being anti-Moyes is a bit ridiculous.

On the one hand, calling for Moyes to be sacked, and on the other, anticipating the possibility that he may be sacked, are two things that may sound similar but they really are very different.  Nick was essentially anticipating the likelihood that David Moyes will be sacked, if (okay, there's one IF)... if the blip continues.  You may find that very difficult to contemplate, but I have to believe that a fair number of people would now consider it a possibility, no matter how opposed they would be to it. 

Let's look now at some of your comments that are directed more at this website and its editorial stance:

1. Our treatment of opposing views.  We try to be very tolerant of opposing views, as long as they are reasonably well expressed, and as long as the authors don't slam other Evertonians just because they think differently.  But I can see that being accommodating of opposing views can be annoying for those who hold one view strongly and don't want to be exposed to a different view.
2. Petty responses.  We have a choice whether and how to respond to each letter.  We've cut down on the responses because they can be annoying, so that's a fair point. 
3. Choice of News links.  We do take a fairly limiting view of what is worthy of a link.  It needs above all to be informative and relevant.  The current trend of uplifting articles from players who are not performing, promising us they will perform next time just doesn't cut it, I'm afraid.  But if you see something we've missed that you think we should cover, please drop us a line.
4. Control of our mailbag.  We vet the mailbag to prevent abuse, which is a very common internet problem, and to maintain our own high editorial standard for the website.  But we try to publish most mail we receive, with little consideration of what viewpoint it provides... which is why it can be viewed as an indicator of the feelings of our readers — always acknowledging that they do not all think alike.  But you'll just have to trust us when we tell you we do not manipulate the mailbag.
5. You print opposing views only if they are badly put across or they give you an obvious angle to attack.  Very rarely someone writes in who is pretty much off their rocker, and we may publish it more for fun than for anything else.  Things that are badly put across, we try to fix before publishing, irrespective of their viewpoint.  We respond to ones that seem to need a response, but that is a judgment thing.  A lot of correspondents have become regulars and I think they know what to expect — some even encourage a response.
6. A blip.  Yes, it's a personal opinion that this is well beyond a blip.  Perhaps we should do a vote on that one?
7. Last season.  We finished 4th and that was brilliant.  But our form since 28 December 2004 has been dreadful, and that fact is inescapable.  Much of the football we have been playing is simply awful.  We have been badly caught out. 

I still cannot accept that you would object to us publishing such an article; publishing articulate opinions from Evertonians has become a part of our mission and we have no intention of changing that. 

Michael Kenrick

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