ToffeeWeb MailBag |
|
 ToffeeWeb Letters from
November 2005 |
|
|
Realism Firstly, despite recent heavy defeats, current form (see statistics 365.com last 8 games) puts us in a respectable 11th position. Secondly, we have a fine away record, top-six material; an improvement in home form, much easier to achieve, should see us rise to a respectable position. Thirdly, too many of us see the past with rose tinted spectacles. We are now in the 60th post-war season. Everton have failed to finish in the top 10 in 33 of those years and might make it 34 this season. Face it, we are not the perennial high achievers we like to believe and your younger contributors longing for the golden past are being misled. Fourthly, in reviewing David Moyes's performance, please remember last season's 4th place has been bettered only 4 times in the 35 years since the 1970 Championship. In fact, our only consistent post war period of success of any length ie more than 5 consecutive years was in the sixties when we were bankrolled by the Abramovich of his day... Sir John Moores. Finally, surely anybody who has watched the Blues for any reasonable
length of time cannot believe that this is the worst team or that these
are the worst players ever to represent us? Another poor performance Here's to a Hungry New Year Realising the correct attitude to instill in the players is important for a manager. Last season, David Moyes repeatedly directed the team to focus on survival even though the point-total clearly showed that we were better. Same case with Wigan now: a simple achievable goal — anything better brings out the players' hunger for winning and you see passion. When the game gets tough, the rallying cry goes out: fight! This season of lofty expectations saw the staff, players and everyone lose focus; the key should be strengthening and this takes time with new players. The focus was on the work to get there and not on the result. Wrong focus. (Wenger once said: "Let's have an unbeaten season," they lost the plot and came second in the league. The next season, the goal was achieved with a workman-like attitude and hunger from the players.) I still believe mid-table can be achieved if we take away the stress
in players and bring out the hunger. With the right focus and the right
rallying cry, we can get another 30 points. Let the New Year turn the
poodles of peace (love that description, btw) into a pack of starving
hungry ferocious poodles that never back off. What a genius! I don`t keep records but I`ve just checked back on the figures the Mailbag stattos supply and I make Moyes`s League record over 2005:- P38 W12 D4 L22 F33 A59 P40. Now if that qualifies him as a genius, my dick`s a kipper — particularly when you realise that it was at a net cost of some £22 million! So as we await all the crap about turning corners, new starts, etc
etc... do try and keep a sense of proportion, Richard. That way it won`t
seem so bad when we`re back in the doldrums next bloody week! How to say it What an absolutely dire second half! In a game where we should have been carving into our atrocious goal difference against the ONLY side in the premiership with a leakier defence than ours, it took 92 minutes to get a solitary goal, completely against the run of play. On this showing, Moyes still doesn't have a clue — even against the weakest opposition the Premiership has to offer. We need to start praying and hard that Portsmouth, who also won
today, don't get back to winning ways as our goal difference could
easily provide the push over the abyss into the Championship. Eighteen
games to go and we have still only averaged 1 point per game, that's 38
points if we stick to that form... will it be enough? Now watch us go! Signings As well as the doubts on the tactical ability of Moyes, it is compounded by having the wrong players. Couple this with Moyes not even picking them to play, like Krøldrup and Ferrari when they have been available. Our problems stem from the manager's transfer dealings which reflect
on his lack of knowledge of players and that he takes an age to make a
decision. Anyone else thought.... My other worry is that, even given a few quid, the ginger misery will waste it on defensive no-marks, cripples or strikers that couldn't score in a brothel. Happy new year to all Blues and the ToffeeWeb team, hope it brings
more cheer than the last twelve months as a blue. Injury Problems?? Also what is the matter with Carsley? With every other injured player
we are given updates on their progress, but I haven't heard anyone
breath a word about Carsley. Has he suffered yet another setback? Here comes more crap! So the word among the press lads is that Moyes would never attract a
major signing — even if he was given the money! Here comes more crap! Are we down hearted... The Window will be a pain We are in a real relegation battle with very little money to spend and a squad that would struggle in the local Sunday league. I bet the agents will be beating down Moyes's door first thing tomorrow. He had his chance and fucked up; that's the truth of the matter. Everton Football Club will be like a leper colony to any half-decent player. We let all the quality that was available in the summer slip through our fingers and ended up with what we have got now: SHITE. None of us would be bothered with the Transfer Window if Moyes had done his job properly. We could easily have signed the likes of. Bent, Camera, Konchesky, Malbranque, Barton, Taylor, Niemi. We could have kept Stubbs instead of Weir, and kept Steve Watson instead of Buying Neville. The whole package would of cost less than Moyes spent on all his Summer signings and we would have had pace and quality all over the park. All of those players were available at one time or another during the summer and we didn't end up with any of them. Makes me want to cry when I look at what we did get for our dosh. Nice one Davey. So forget all about the Miracles our Davey will work in January with what's left of our cashflow and expect some Chris Sutton types to pop up along the way. As long as a player is slow and getting on a bit he will fit the bill for Moyes all day long. Fuck Me Its Hard Being A Bluenose. Time to act One of our biggest mistakes in the transfer window was the signing of Neville; he never was a midfield player and we didn't need yet another left-back... or is he a right-back? Truth is he's a utility player and we've already got too many of those; added to that, his ball distribution is woeful. Worryingly, teams now expect to beat us comfortably hence the inclusion of Cisse in the Liverpool starting eleven —hardly a master stroke from Benitez. The opposition are sitting back allowing us to get forward in the full knowledge that if we concede possession they can hit us on the break given the serious lack of pace in the squad. Irvine's comments suggest we haven't yet decided on who those targets are. I do have some sympathy for Moyes in that the squad numbers needed to be increased but we desperately needed the addition of two quality signings, one up-front and one in the middle. Words of advice to Alan Irvine: if we don't invest immediately in the
transfer window the next two games may be the only ones we win between
now and the end of the season. What Moyes needs now is support from the
Board the patience of the fans will hold I believe, but only if the
Board are prepared to show some commitment. Nothing but the best Where I am in total agreement with you is that Bullshit Billy and his lapdog Buster need to get as far away from Goodison Park — NOW! How can you judge Moyes when he has not been given the tools to do his job? Because of the inability of the Board to get any funds in place to back the manager, we are only going to be able to sign players that no other sides want. Apart from the top four sides who seemingly can pay whatever wages they want, we can't compete with Middlesbrough, Newcastle, Birmingham, Spurs or even Wigan - please, Gav, don't interpret that as me accepting that but that is the reality. And because of the age of the squad that Moyes inherited he hasn't even been able to wheel and deal. He's had to replace a squad of 25 players for little over £30M — I'm sorry but it can't be done. Gav, maybe you would like José Mourinho £30M? At the risk of repeating myself, do you think he really wanted to buy Valente, Neville, Van de Meyde? Do you not think he would much rather have bought Parker, Sissoko, Emre and a whole host of others? Of course he would, but once other sides express an interest then we have no chance — and until BSB lets go of his trainset we will continue to have no chance. Maybe fans will point to the signing of Richard Wright and say Moyes can't be trusted with money but have many goalkeepers have Man Utd bought unsuccessfully to replace Rudolf? Liverpool have probably spent more on goalkeepers in the last 4 years than Moyes has spent on a squad of 25! All this doesn't mean that Moyes is immune from criticism - I would much rather the Neville money had been spent on two or three lower-league players - but I do believe that until we rid ourselves of the cancer that is Kenwright, then Moyes deserves a chance. ps Gav, please don't compare me to Kenwright; also, as long as my car
gets me to Wigan and back each day and I can take me and my mates to the
aways without worrying about some twat nicking it or defacing it then it
will do for me! I know it's old and past its sell-by date which is why
my kids don't go anywhere near it and that's why I bought a nice new
people carrier for my wife - glad we cleared that one up ! Beattie's Boobs Striker Hold fast Like all of you, I am severely devastated by our current form; over the years, I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly as far as Everton goes. With Modern IT technology, its easier for us to express our views. I'd hoped that we were starting to contend for top six again, but I am realistic enough to know that "the precious Rooney money" was never going to be enough. For all of you who would slag of Moyes, you have to know what your talking about. I'll quote Arséne Wenger: "£5M is a small signing". All I have seen so far this season is a crippling injury list, not enough money to sign the striker we truly need (whilst on that subject, many would sign nobody's that we cannot create the chances for). Unless you're blind you are seeing now that a fit James Beattie was worth the money for EFC. We are a Club in Crisis, because Moyes has raised the bar (after years of nothing); yet, because we are below it many want to see him sacked. So, before I hear "sack Moyes", "you're not fit to wear the shirt" cries, the boos, take a good hard look at yourselves. This is a team in transition; give them the time to adjust and perform. We have been crippled by injuries and partly by some shite referees. In fairness of players themselves have been under-performing both individually and collectively. I do believe we'll pull out of this; there is enough quality in the team. Please just get behind them, because for sure in this modern media age, no one else will give them confidence. We have no god-given right to be in the Prem, and we have been in
lower leagues before. All I can promise is my 100% support. I hope you
can too. Accepting second best? To Jeremy, why is it that so many people are happy to sit back and be satisfied with second best? Read the club emblem: Nil Satis Nisi Optimum. Jeremy, you still drive a heap of a car you had ten years ago, like Billy Liar "being a blue" is a plus point to some (don't know why anymore) your private plate doesn't detract from the car being old and past its sell-by date mate. Billy Liar was never on my Christmas Card list but his latest musings on the Liverpool anthem have parked him firmly in the Agent Johnson camp - closet red; no blue on this planet would show any sympathy for that tune with all the gloating memories of hatred-filled rednoses singing it — the same twats that hurl objects at our throw-in takers (any intervention FA? - think not) and can't even complete a minute of silence. Billy is again sitting back clinging onto his boyhood dream whilst it fades into obscurity week by week; he simply isn't the answer — he is the malaise. Thanks to Tony Marsh and Ken's additions about Billy Liar's verbose garbage, chaps; I'm not surprised by any of it. The club needs new blood, new ideas, passion to see it as a business to create the wealth to buy Premiership-quality players. Successful businesses breed success; money makes money; a die-hard fan can show passion... but, without the ability to walk the walk, it's just lip-service, ladies and gentlemen. And that's the trouble at Goodison; we wait for the next episode of Billy Liar's bullshit to appease the latest catastrophe. The biggest clubs in the world are run as profit-making enterprises — not as private hobbies. Whilst nothing changes at the top don't expect any changes on the
pitch. Managers` Records Like you, Ed, I can`t define `losing the plot` but certainly a number of Everton managers have departed at around the four-year, 170-game mark, viz :- Bingham P172 W64 D55 L53 F229 A214And for the record, currently: Moyes P163 W61 D34 L68 F198 A235By my reckoning, that puts Moyes marginally ahead of Smith but behind all the others on games lost, at least. The `goals for` column is interesting as it tends to bear out the widely held view that the Moyes brand of football leaves much to be desired. Cue for Richard Dodd! (or
Rob Fox) Yobo? Weir? Where`s the prayer mat? I was intrigued by the statement from David Hall that although
Everton had already lost to no less than four of their relegation
rivals, he was backing them to stay up! I would have thought that a
statto like him would have seen, as I do, that those defeats were the
most damaging of all. Perhaps, he`s thrown all his usual depressing
logic out of the window and is just hoping for a turnaround in all the
return matches! Where`s that bloody prayer mat, mother? Where Everton Go Wrong I hope my lads are part of Everton's future and I hope they will experience the kind of joy that I have had supporting the Toffees. For me, Bill Kenwright is not looking after the long-term strategy of the club. I think he is too conscious of being popular with the short-termists who will always gamble on the next opportunity. I know hindsight is 20:20 but what if we had resisted the urge to rebuild the squad in one summer? What if we had put some money aside to build the deposit for a decent stadium on Goodison Road or elsewhere? Would we be worse off? I think its unlikely. The saga of Duncan Ferguson is a true example of this. Duncan is repeatedly used as the last throw of the dice. As an Evertonian, I find this against everything we were brought up to believe. I love Duncan. Just like most Evertonians, he personifies the passion and the quality we want in all our players. Unfortunately he has been a disaster for Everton since he has clearly never been part of a long-term team strategy involving wide men who can cross the ball until Arteta arrived — just in time for Duncan to give it all up. It's not Duncan's fault that Unsy was clearly instructed to pump the ball up to him down the middle. What I would like to see from Everton is a long-term plan, well
communicated. This has to involve a new ground plan, a team investment
plan and an adherence to core values in terms of scientific playing
style. All I see at the moment is an unbalanced squad which was unable
to gel in time, put together in haste using the club's inheritance. Such
opportunities to lay firm foundations come rarely. I fear we have wasted
the chance for my lads to see silverware at Goodison before they are in
their twenties. I hope they remain true to the faith. Points for Progress We all know the players are low on confidence but ranting and raving won't help anybody at the club. We need to get behind the players for a change and then see if there is a difference in their performance. Looking back at the derby, after we scored the goal, the crowd got behind the players and we saw a major change in their style of play, they became more adventurous and tried to make passes we didn't see earlier in the game. Even though it was only for the last 5 minutes, it was a DIFFERENCE. I am also worried for the team but there has to be a sense of realism about the trouble we're in. There are three teams worse than us for sure, Portsmouth, Birmingham and Sunderland. West Brom have such erratic form it's hard to catergorise them. When (not if) we get the three points at Sunderland, it will increase the players' morale and they can progress from there. I know our squad may not be brimming with quality but it can certainly take on the likes of Charlton and get all 3 points or at least a point. (I never understand all the fuss about Charlton being a good team; in one word, they're NOT!) Whatever amount of points we take out of those games will clearly give the players a boost however small it may be. So please let's just take everything one step at a time and stop
fretting over if we'll be playing in the Championship next season. There
are still games after Christmas! Every team will drop points (except
Chelsea) at some point, and so if we come through this period relatively
unharmed and pick up a few points then I will see it as an improvement
from a team with no confidence. Just relax a bit more and maybe you'll
see the team approach their matches with a better mentality. Moyes a Good Everton Manager? Mr. MacDonald, Gary Rimmer, Liverpool (30/12/05) What a difference Dangerous Times Summary of post-derby Owen That Song That song symbolises everything that I despise about our friends across the park. It is my experience (yes I know some people will say I'm bitter) that many Reds use their allegiance to prove that, since they are Reds, they are therefore superior to us. After all, this is the crap that the TV fed to them during the sixties and they have continued it to this day. Our "friends across the park" are suppose to represent the "typical scouser" and they use it to treat us as second-class citizens. It is a well known fact that Kopites have a sense of humour and everyone loves them because of their team. We are treated as that other team from Liverpool who are not as good as they are. Kopites are never wrong about anything and never do anything wrong! If something happens then it is not their fault, but someone else's. I'm sorry for ranting on like this, but I could not stand by and let the Chairman of our Club come out and make a comment like that without some sort of reply. I admit that I may not be typical of my fellow Blues, but I'm sure that there are a lot out there who will feel the same way. So Bill, if you want to sing along to that song, I'm sure there'll be a welcome for you across the Park! Just don't expect us to follow suit! One last thing, just to let you know, I have actually sung that song twice in my life, the first time I was rather drunk at a friend's 21st birthday party and, as per usual the DJ put that song on and everyone sang along. (Apparently, it's the song that everyone wants to hear at the end of the night! So that's why I remember it being the cause of a fight breaking out at a local football do back in 1985). The second time was in 1989 at the derby game which took place after Hillsborough, when along with every other blue in the ground we showed our respect to the people who had died that terrible day. ps: Today I got an e-mail from an old work colleague of mine, a
kopite, who I've not heard from in months. He actually asked another old
work colleague for my e-mail details so that he could just gloat about
last night's result! Kopites, don't you just love them! Please Bill, you didn't say that...Did you?
Please don't tell me it's true that he said that about one of the worst records ever. That tune is up the 'Wind beneath my wings' type of shite. Bill... WHY? Just keep shut. Moyes going nowhere In making it clear to Mr Marsh that Mr Moyes is staying then he must have no fears of relegation and expects us soon to move up the table. However, this "Moyes going nowhere", even from the horses mouth, means little to me as I have been an observer of footy for many a year and have come to realise that words are just words. Come mid-February, if we are not up the table and indeed still in as much mire as we are now, then it will become Twitchy Bum time in the boardroom and at that point I would rule nothing out. I really hope it doesn't come to that as I am a believer in continuity. But "Moyes going nowhere" - just words; beware... UP THE BLUES Strikers When the transfer window opened, I was sure we would sign Ashton and maybe Camara on loan. The Summer came and no new strikers... what is the problem? After the Aston Villa game, our strikers have 6 goals. Ashton has 18 since his transfer, Camara has 7 for Wigan. Joe Royle (what of our connection???) sold Bent (9 goals) and Kuqi [free] (6 goals). Kenwright also has connections with Doug Ellis: Vassel went for £2M and has 5 goals. Campbell has 4 goals since he left, compared to Beattie's 5. Rooney and Radzinski have 39 goals since they left. Mr Brian McBride, on loan to Everton but not signed by us, has a staggering 18 goals for Fulham in 40 games — when was the last time anyone scored 18 goals in a season for us? Why did we not get a couple of strikers for the Champions League. Can
ToffeeWeb or David Moyes answer that for me? Its just that simple Let's all stop over-analyzing and admit it; Moysey dropped the ball in the last window because everyone knew we needed a striker. We didn't get one and voila, no goals and no points. It's simple, shell out BIG for Andy Johnson, loan someone of a
similar calibre or we are nearing the end. It's nearly January and now
we CAN buy a goal. Please do. Pleeeeeeeease... Beattie has more potential I thought Moyes would recover that situation by signing a striker in summer but of course he didn't. Beattie is scoring a few goals now but if we want more goals from him we need a speedy striker who will just play off Beattie, receiving and giving the ball. That is why he isn't able to show his full potential. Anyhow at the moment will someone please tell Beattie he doesn't
always have to blast every shot he hits. The chance against Liverpool
when he was on the back post is a good example of his problem. Instead
of just toe punching the ball past Reina he goes and thumps the ball
into the stand! The coaches should see that problem and help him correct
it. Changes required There have been suggestions that there might possibly be the option
of a swap deal involving Earnshaw and Bent; the guy is very quick, would
complement Beattie and has got to be worth a try. Defensively we are a
shambles: Weir simply gets increasingly ridiculous with each passing
game. Let's hope Per Krøldrup can regain his fitness/confidence as he
certaintly has the potential to be a great defender. With Yobo off to
the African Nations soon, we will be in one hell of a mess. No way out of third gear Almost three months ago, I wrote to say that the only league we should be interested in this season was the competition to escape relegation between ourselves,the three Midlands clubs, Sunderland, Portsmouth and Fulham. Nothing has changed except that Sunderland and Brum are making it ever more likely that there will be only one vacancy in the final drop zone. Thank God! Not withstanding the fact that we have already lost to no less than FOUR teams in this group, I continue to believe that we shall do just enough to be safe. Re-assured by Tony Marsh`s insider knowledge that we are stuck with Moyes for the duration, I shall, tomorrow, place a sizeable bet on Everton to finish 17th (with a saver on 16th) and await the last day of the season. As I have done on several occasions in recent history, I shall then join in the celebration as yet another useless manager and his bunch of mercenary tossers soak up the praise for a job well done on the customary `lap of honour`. Yes, Ian, that`s Everton today and for the foreseeable future, I`m
afraid, so don`t go getting above your station folks. Just get down the
bookies in the morning! I accept! Confidence & Concentration The fact is there are a lot of teams who aren't any better than us. I also noticed a couple of wins would put us mid-table and I think it all comes down to confidence. At the moment you can see the fear in some of the players and these nerves lead to mistakes. I've also noticed we concede quite a few goals immediately after the second half begins. We've actually conceded 10 of our 30 goals against us in the 45-60 minute part of the game. Is this a concentration lapse or are we just slow to get going - ie, 12 months. Surely this is a part of our game the coaching staff should be working on. (That is, if they still work on coaching). Any road up, getting on the players backs definitely WON'T help. Pull
together, lads, through thick and thin. We're Evertonians; we're used to
it. Derby Day Nutters I can entirely sympathise with Alan as it seems that the derby game served to bring out further hidden depths of abuse and paranoia from this guy. But my point is - how far does one individual have to go before the stadium officials feel it appropriate to eject him from the ground in order to protect the majority from his appalling rants? There seems to be an increasing trend among some Evertonians towards
this type of extreme expression of their feelings and I have to agree
with Alan that, irrespective of the standard of football on offer, it is
this type of behaviour from fellow 'fans' that is most likely to lead to
my family's season tickets not being renewed in future. The stewards
have to single out individuals such as this and deal with them
appropriately before they get the chance to ruin the club for everyone
else. One positive from Derby Liverpool, honestly, were rattled when we scored that goal. The crowd were behind our players and I just wished the half hadn't ended there. I actually was hoping Moyes just left them on the pitch so as he couldn't seed any doubt into their minds because whatever he says at half time in the past few weeks has obviously had a detrimental effect on the players!(6 goals in the past two games have come in the second half). Anyway if the players can take that positive out of the game and allow the themselves to see that, if they play like they did to get that goal, they can win games. I thought someone needed to sound positive on this mailbag comment
page as it was getting dangerously close to becoming an "end of the
world" comments page. Thanks. The In Laws I was thinking about buying a small radio and listening to the game whilst in the restaurant. Without having to be told that this was a stupid idea, I decided to concentrate on family matters and tried to put all thoughts of the game out of my head. This was surpisingly easy but by the time I got home I thought I'll watch the highlights and see what happpened. What did happen was not unexpected. I have three questions to ask my
fellow blues. Name a current Everton player with true grit, one with
genuine pace and one who can hit the back of the net easily. I can't
think of anybody, can you? We need one for each of these categories or
we are doomed I fear. Let's hope 2006 is better than 2005. Cheers! Third time lucky? Although many fans won't like to admit it, he is in the type of striker who we have been trying to sign (Keane/Johnson/Bellamy) and as none of those boys would touch us with a long shitty stick we really could do with him (if he could pass a Forsell and not a Krøldrup medical). I know it didn't work last time, but Jeffers isn't the only case when
Moyes has fallen out with a young talented scouse striker, and this time
he wouldn't have Ratsinski blocking his progress. And if he could
re-discover a goal scoring touch maybe we could stop switching off every
time the opposition scored. Spot on, Rick! I say Rick for manager. He certainly knows more than Moyes! Dead Man Walking Derby Seating It was bad enough to see the team fall apart, but myself and my Dad were surrounded by Kopites in the Lower Bullens. Things did get a little over-heated and there were some people kicking off and winding Evertonians up, with a few chucked out. How did they get tickets, and why let them in in the first place?!
Whenever I have bought tickets over the phone I always get told if I am
an away supporter in the home end, I won't be let in! Where have all the young men gone? The Goal Stats Liverpool have a good team, their midfield closed down our individuals so effectively and they supported both attack and defence. To hear fans talking of the Ferguson mentality is pathetic, courage is not the answer. Bravery and thuggery will not win us matches, we need ability, and tactics and when the manager starts publicly calling his two best players "stupid" you know he's lost the plot and the dressing room. Good managers keep things in house. Ian Bonnar is totally correct, the whole set up needs a real overhaul
otherwise we will join Sheffield Wednesday and Notts Forest as clubs
with only a past. Kenwright needs to go, the manager needs to be sacked
and there needs to be a new mentality. Panic Moyes throughout his managerial career has failed to deliver the
goods at the final hurdle and has won nothing in his managerial career,
which begs the question: Was he the right man for the job in the first
place? If you think finishing fourth is an achievement, let me remind
you that we still remain trophyless and skint with a squad not fit to be
in the Prem. Get used to the fact that the useless gobshite is going
nowhere but replacing him with another useless gobshite is not the
answer. Completely atrocious Michael, I dont agree with a lot of your 'defensive' comments but you
were spot on in one reply I've just read, "Moyes is going nowhere so
that's that one settled". Thats the truth. When all is said and done,
who would replace him anyway. Dark times to be a blue at the moment and
I'm afraid the future looks even bleaker. Sickening. Kenwright/Moyes What a way to run a football club. Is there anything we the fans can
do to persuade BK to realise that unless Moyes goes we are off to Crewe,
Burnley et al next season? I for one very much doubt it... we are doomed
folks and soon EFC will be the next Sheffield Wednesday or Notts Forest.
One man (BK) controls the future of EFC: what a nightmare scenario... Please post (as you never seem to post a
article w Last season raised the bar along with hopes and dreams, the team that finally made me believe the good times were coming back - the ones only my dad and granddad could tell me about! I should have seen it from January, but I took refuge in our league position; now I see the truth. After continually being on the end of several shockers, the truth is dawning on me. I've read several great articles on ToffeeWeb about how Moyes has lost the plot; I, like many ‘young’ blues, refused to believe... but now I'm starting to see, and it saddens me. We have a manager with no nouse on tactics, slow to bring subs, poor buying in the transfer market - his only quality is motivating poor players! I can't believe the merry go around of this club. One season we look good, the next downright awful. Every penny I earn goes towards the club. It's not much but a season ticket and away games cost a lot of money! It hurts me that my dad, a life-long blue cannot afford to go to the European games he so craved last season. He works flat out on tuppence in comparison to our so-called players - yet even if they don’t play some take away in a week more than he earns in a year! I'm too young to remember the good old days - only one FA Cup to show for my dedication. I've been everywhere for several years, enduring the torture of Smith as well as the high’s of last season, yet I find it hard to believe just how we’ve come to where we are. Just 10 years ago '95 the only light of a dull era... how in such a short space of time did we fall so rapidly. From five years old at the start of the Premiership, all I can remember is doom and gloom. I can't see what went so drastically wrong for us to begin what my dad calls our hibernation. Let's have a Happy New Year and here’s to a successful FA Cup
campaign! Pressure on players If, at the back of a player's mind, he feels the team cannot improve
and go forward with the present manager, how does this affect their
individual and collective performance? Has this scenario anything to do
with our current plight? And while on the subject of Moyes, what about
Steve Coppell as his replacement? From Liverpool; plenty of experience
with smaller clubs, and currently enjoying a 25-match unbeaten run with
Reading at the top of the Championship. Dunc! He'd do it for pittence to start with (so we could afford to pay Moyes off), no fuka would argue with him, and you can't question his passion for the club! Anyone object? I simply can't take any more Then a 'fan' behind me says it's time to "kill the murderers". After the fifth pronouncement I ask him to stop. "Are you a red or a blue?" he asks. After wondering whether being a "blue" means I can I inform the police who caution him. At the end of the 'game' - by a bizarre fluke - we have both decided to move (two rows away from each other) elsewhere in the ground and he asks the Police to do something about "the freak" who is "following him around". Do I really want to be associated with this kind of individual and
pay £400+ for the privilege? No thanks. Derby games have become evil,
sordid & nasty. I welcome competition & rivalry. This is sheer
unadultered stupidity and I want no part of it. The Offical Club Website I am an Everton FC shareholder and season ticket holder. Whilst I have had to endure the recent embarrasment of several drubbings, I refuse to accept the front page news that our website carried tonight after our heartless result against our neighbours. I am Furious (note the capital F underlined and in bold) that you or your web designer or some absolute idiot has carried the headline of: Brian Hughes, Bootle (29/12/05) Are you trying to get us into trouble or what? And what the hell were you doing over there anyway? At least you'll give the famous Complaints Department something to think about... And if Per should happen depart during the upcoming window of opportunity, I fear that might just push you over the edge... Worst ever! It's ridiculous that anyone can defend Moyes, especially when saying its the players fault! Well, no shit, Sherlock!... Who signed them?... Who motivates them?.... and who gets paid to organise them? They are poor players that Moyes has paid a fortune for. I, along with a couple of others on this site, have seen the writing on the wall from before the season started.... if you don't have pace you have no chance, and from back to front we have the slowest team in the Premiership. That's bad enough, but just having got home from the derby, we don't even have any hard, nasty players to get stuck in anymore. Moyes is a total disaster; he's a bad PE teacher who got very very lucky and now we are paying the price. I actually used to think he was a man of honour and may do the right thing and resign, but his Walter Smith like post-match comments are clearly indicating that he won't go until he and his staff get the multi-million pound pay-offs he think he deserves. He's made us a laughing stock; we're an embarrassment, he's a loser
and he will take us down. Depressed!!! We finished above them last season, so haven't we got the right to expect to be up there with them this season? Did they spend any more than us in the transfer market? I don't think so. Did they buy better quality players? On paper, you would not say so. It hurts to say it but, when it comes down to tactics and getting the best from the players you have got Benitez is miles ahead of Moyes Peter Crouch, for god's sake! I think that is why I am more depressed. They have gone from strength
to strength; we have got shittier and shittier, and now face a
relegation scrap. I have put a pizza in the gas oven, I thinkI'll go and
stick my head in there with it!!! Players OK, he hasn't had the best start to his Everton career but I'd say he's improving every game, his aerial ability is much better than I thought and his commitment is unquestionable. Fair comment he's missed a few; every striker does. The difference is Beattie doesn't get half the opportunities handed to him that other strikers do ! Our problems lie directly down the middle. We need a proven Premiership centre-half with pace, a quality hard bastard in midfield that can split a defence, and a greyhound with some skill upfront. We have tons of cover for the wide positions if we can get them all fit and fighting for places. I hope to God we can turnover Sunderland and Charlton to take some of the pressure off. I think every Evertonian knows now is crunch time! Are we going to change the manager? Are we going to act in the transfer market? Are we going to start picking up points? If we can scrap our way up that table a bit, things will turn. Notice how all the deflections and decisions go against you when your down there, and the reverse is true when your riding high? Moyes is top of the bill for debate at the minute and rightly so, but Kenwright deserves much more stick for the shite he comes out with! We live in hope, as usual! Same game? This is the third home game on the run were I am clearly misreading
what I see. I think I will join the armchair crew because the Blues
clearly look better on the box, or maybe squeeze in on the dug-out; at
least I will feel I am getting value for money. THEY never got out of
first gear; they never needed to, it must have been the easiest derby
they have ever been involved in. Back from the game ... As I sat and watched the game, I couldn't help but remember last season's derby and it saddened me to see how much they have progressed and how much we have regressed. As things stand we are not only flirting with relegation but seem to have a crush on it. I can only hope the manager can see all of the things we the fans can see; I am sure he can and is well aware of our present frailties. That leaves the transfer window to try to operate in and rectify, even on a loan basis, the area of the team I have been going on about all season, namely the midfield plus an additional striker. Sad tonight but willing to be cheered up with six points from the next two games. See you Sat -- UP THE BLUES State the bloody obvious Weir - Too slow and was embarrased by Cisse. Need a new centre back to partner Yobo. Kroldrup might be the answer if he can adjust to the English game. Valente - Sorry, the jury have made their decision. You have no passion, you hit the ball from too deep and you are poor tactically. Maybe your game suits the continent but not the Premiership. Moyes made a real error buying this fella. I suggest putting Ferrari there until we can find a decent replacement. Neville - You are just too expensive for me to declare you a flop, so you can fight out the right back berth with Hibbo. You are a poor man's Sissoko (Winner of 5 oscars). In midfield, Arteta is coming back into the middle. Davies is going wide right and going to do as he is told and stay there! Cahill is dropped unless we play a five-man midfield. Gravesen would be my number one target as a short-term stop-gap until we can find a younger model. I was a big Gravesen fan and did notice that we would always lose when he was out of the team. Van der Meyde comes back onto the left and has Killa on the ready as his replacement. Yeah and state the bloody obvious: we need a fast striker to partner Beattie or play as a lone striker. The spine of the team is Yobo, Arteta, Davies (he will come good),
VDM and Beattie (so will he!). Any other fans suggestion then answers on
a postcard to David Moyes at EFC. What genius? The same man who supervised us out of TWO European competitions and the Carling Cup at the entry stages; who blew all the Rooney dough on exactly the same sort of crap he inherited from his equally incompetent predecesor; who has totally failed to encourage, any kind of youth policy. It is that David Moyes he is talking about or have I been getting confused with some dopleganger who just happens to have the same ginger hair? Please Mr Marks don`t insult our intelligence — or are you really Mr
Ross? POST OF THE DAY: Staying put David Moyes is not getting sacked — end of story. I asked Bill what happens when we lose at Sunderland on Saturday. Bill said that he stays; he has been voted Manager of the Year twice and no one wanted him sacked last season. I said twelve months is a long time in football and we have been shite for that long. Bill says "No one complained when I gave him a longer contract last year, did they?" After Bill departed, we all agreed Moyes is obvioulsy going nowhere... so I guess we are well and truely fucked. After Liverpool scored the second tonight, Duncan Ferguson jumped up, stormed out, kicking doors and chairs, and then when outside, started kicking his own car. He had a bust-up with Moyes when he found out he wasn't even a sub; I suppose you can't blame him. Every one I spoke to at the game wanted Big Dunc to play some part... but what do we know? Anyway, boys of TW: you were right all along regarding the Moyes is staying issue; I think one of the main reasons we won't sack him is that we can't afford to. To sack Moyes now would cost around £3M and that is our entire transfer fund for January. So that's it in a nutshell. Moyes will stay and there is nothing anyone can do about it — not even Bill Kenwright. Championship here we come. Ashamed to be a blue Despite one reporter on here mentioning that it was a spirited performance - we were absolutely outclassed! They rubbed it in not by scoring more goals but by taking their foot off the pedal and showing some compassion. Where were the tackles? Where was the effort? The pace? The courage, the guile? I am of the honest opinion that we will go down unless Moyes goes.
His reported response on the radio on the way home was that he was proud
of the team's performance? Go now... Shit or Bust on the Moyes Rollercoaster?
Looking at the fixtures for January and February, these games will determine whether EFC stays up or not (Portsmouth in particular). The question we must ask ourselves is if we have the right person at the helm to take this gamble with. Prior to the West Ham, Bolton and Villa games I said that my support for Moyes was already wavering. I'm afraid we have to face facts and admit that Moyes has squandered the best possible chance for this club to progress in a long time, although not a lot of us wanted to admit it. He's also frittered away a lot of money on players where the other clubs would appear to have 'had us over' - Davies, Wright, Krøldrup, McFadden and Neville for that matter. We honestly don't look like scoring goals or troubling sides and that is most alarming. It would seem blindingly obvious that getting a striker, creativity and pace in any shape or form is critical. However, with the whole of the summer to do it, I don't hold my breath for January. Why on earth didn't we express an interest in the likes of Camara or D Bent??? These are questions that constantly trouble me. Unless we get somebody in with some genuine charisma, pulling power and dynamism — and quick — then I’m afraid it’s going to be tears before bedtime. We undoubtedly have better personnel than we have had for a long time but there is no team or viable attacking threat. Is it not the manager’s responsibility to make sure we have this? You can talk till the cows come home about the fact we played some attractive football and some positives could be drawn from the game but at this moment in time all that matters is 3 points and moving away from the trap door. I don't regard this as a knee-jerk reaction but an avoidable acceptance of the facts before us. We have to accept that last season was an over-achievement which we should have cashed in on big time. I also have to accept that, despite my admiration for Moyes’s passion and attention to detail, there is not a lot else in the locker. I only hope the Board can face the facts as readily as I can... else the long list of painful embarrassments will just roll on into 2006. All the best for New Year to all of you — and especially the poor
buggers who have season tickets! Why play Simon Davies centre-mid? The time has come... People keep asking who is there that will do a better job? Well, in my opinion, it is more like who is going to do a worse job? Nobody is the answer. Dave Bassett and Howard Wilkinson are looking good at the moment. It is no longer a knee-jerk reaction. We are 17th and have the second worst goal difference in the league, with the fewest goals for. We have acheived 7 out of a possible 27 at home in the league and yet Moyes is still there. It beggars belief! He has admitted himself that he cannot explain why are are so shite,
which, again, hardly instills confidence. We need someone who can
identify the problems and can suggest ways to rectify them. Moyes
doesn't seem able to do either right now and we can't let it go on. We
have nothing to lose by letting him go and I would swim Mersey to see
the likes of Royle, Reid, Ranieri or Warnock on the touchline at The
Stadium of Light on Saturday. Sports Physcology worth a go Personally, I believe Moyes is unable to do that. His character just isn't moulded that way. (If anything he would be better at scaring the players than encouraging them!) This doesn't make him a bad manager... I just feel he needs help in that department. Which is why I suggest he gets in a Sports Pyschologist to aid this team. This method of 'treatment' has helped players already in other sports
who need to raise their morale. Now would be a better time than ever to
get in a person who would take time to listen to the players fears and
help them overcome them. This method has been tried and tested so why
doesn't Moyes give it a shot? He could need it now more than ever! Let's face the facts For a long time now, we simply havn't been good enough. Last year was a fluke, let's not kid ouselves. We are in this state because if mis-management, from the very top to the bottom. All we hear from Blue Bill is that he has the best interest of the club at heart, but does he? No-one can argue that he his not a true blue but that does not mean he knows what is right for Everton. Everything he tries just goes horribly wrong: Kings Dock; new signings — I mean first-choice, not third or fourth; Investment; need I go on? We need to attract investment soon before it's to late. If we get relegated then it will take us years to recover. It's because of that I feel we have to get rid of David Moyes now. He has taken this club as far has he can and at the moment he is taking us to the Championship. We are a massive club but so are Leeds and Sheff Wed, not forgetting Notts Forest. At the grand old age of 44, I am to become the father of twin boys in
two weeks. I only wish that I am able to take them to see a great
Everton Football team like my Dad did with me. At the moment they may
become hornets rather than TOFFEES!! Blind Faith Moyes had a good chance to push on to the next level with a fair amount of money and he failed — failed badly. Valente is a perfect example of a panic buy to please the fans. I tell you this; Valente does not want to play and tackle hard for Everton Football Club. He will take the money but back away from the likes of Gerrard 20 yards from goal cos he does not care if that ball goes flying in or goes out after a crunching tackle. It's now important that we open our eyes and start from the beginning again and that means a new manager, a new Chairman, and new investmant. Please Mr Kenwright don't get me wrong. You are a true blue and that is not in doubt... but let's move on; you could still be part of a promising future, like us as fans of our beloved club. Let's all be adults and address this situation now, boys. No more
blindness and no more Valente's. Players that want to play, And fresh
ideas from fresh men at the helm. This is Everton Football Club; it's
hurting and we deserve more. PLEASE LISTEN!!!!! If Moyes has any conscience... Everton have a reputation to keep up and this includes staying in the Premiership, a task way beyond our current manager and most of the current players. Clean sweep is the only answer. Bring in a new manager with some Premiership experience. Anyone will do, they can't do any worse than Moyes. Add a few half decent signings in the transfer window & we may stand a chance of staying up. If nothing changes in the next few weeks, we will lose our fight against relegation & end up mid-table in the Championship next season. MAYBE IF WE ALL SHOUT TOGETHER, SOMEONE AT EVERTON FC WILL HEAR US. Then again, maybe not. They've never listened to the true voice of
the 'People's Club', have they? So near... yet so far Two things that really annoyed me tonight were a) Valente looking at the linesman instead of going for the ball for their first goal - typical European nancy-boy crap! and b) that moron Poll sending off Arteta at the end, any slim chance we had of beating Sunderland is surely gone now as two of our best players will miss the game!! Nonetheless, if we play more like that against the crap teams and we might actually get a point or, dare I say it, sneak a win..... ps: Have you noticed that every single game without fail Beattie
misses an absolute sitter? At least he occasionally converts his other
chance of the match, although too rarely... Moyes out? Frankly I am mystified by the last few results but I am quite certain that sacking Moyes now will do very little to improve the situation. I can't think of a single coach of note who is available - unless you fancy Sir Bobby Robson in charge!! Perhaps it's time to get off Moyes's back and look at the players. Maybe they need shaking up and maybe... just maybe... Everton should break the habit of a lifetime and try one or two of its own younger players from the reserves. Splashing the cash on more overseas players who don't like the cold probably won't do the trick. Dark days indeed... but I remember the 1970s and they were almost permanently dark after the Championship success, apart from the odd cup run and a couple of false dawns in the old First Division. Player for player, Everton are no better or worse than all of the
teams in the Premiership bar the 'big four'. What they are lacking above
else is a bit of luck! Substitution anyone? I'll tell you what happened: we lost the 202nd merseyside derby and never ever looked like winning. Yes we had a goal dissalowed but it didn't matter. Liverpool were well and truly all over us, and what's this new thing that Moyes has come up with? Is he happy loosing 3-1? Well, it looks like it when you're 3-1 down, the first thing you should do is start to change things around... but no, not our 'Moyesiah'; he decides that one change will do. So, not only were our beloved Everton playing with 10 men but also being ran ragged because Benitez does what any other manager does: use his substitutes. So we've got 10 men with one set of fresh legs; Liverpool have 11 men and 3 fresh sets of legs. David Moyes was happy loosing 3-1 and wasn't bothered about winning. There are two ways of going about changing things: 1) keep Moyes in the hot seat and watch us playing Wolves and Millwall next year; OR 2) bring in a manger like Peter Reid to instill some pride in our team. Give me No 2 anyday! A prayer for Moyes However, one word of wisdom: Keep your calm all you desperate blue
hearts, read Patrick Mark's brilliant piece, and realise that in Moyes
we do have the best manager we in our desperate state ever could be
dreaming of. He will most certainly be picked up by one of the other big
clubs if we are to give him the boot. Just remember Alex Ferguson's
first years at the helm for United... We can do it I reckon we should start with Big Dunc for an hour and let him tear into their back four. These are his type of games and he always gets up for them. We can't rely on Hamster McFadden or Mrs Doubtfire to do any damage they are both shite. At least Dunc will give us some Passion and aggresion — which is a lot more than the other two will give. We must keep Osman well away from this one: he looks and plays like an Under-15s schoolboy — and has as much impact as one. Get Wier back in for Krøldrup; he will get destroyed if he plays. And let's try to get Cahill further up the pitch where he can do some damage — he has been getting deeper than the Titanic recently. If we can get our legendery Wednesday-night powder-keg atmosphere going then we can beat any one at Goodison — especially some Nancyboy Spaniards. I know we are shite and Moyes is a dead loss but we can still pull it off if we all stick together. Let's give the red twats the same treatment Man Utd got at our place last season. It's our only hope. Come on Blues — you owe us one! Re: ''The Rich List'' & Billy Bullshit Gary - and anyone else starting to suspect our esteemed chairman is in fact what's known as a "deadshit and serial liar" - this site has been stating the facts on Billy Liar since I started visiting here. Something like three or four years now. As erudite, honest and intelligent supporters of the club {with the exception of Rob Fox anyway}, I can safely say that I have never detected an anti-Kenwright agenda on here. That has frustrated the hell out of me, because the site is read by so many Evertonians... if militant it really could be a vehicle for change. But Lyndon, Michael and Colm have tried to let the facts speak for themselves, and then let the fans make up their own minds. In that sense they are journalists of integrity rather than supporters running a website. Journalism is where you state the facts as best you can and let people make up their own mind. No influence, no coloured overtones, just the facts. Make up your own mind after you've heard the facts. And we have. Most Evertonians think Kenwright is great. Fuck the facts, "he bleeds blue blood" and "he's one of us". I've personally given up on trying to change anyone's mind regarding Kenwrong, and {as you may have recently read here!} contributing anything material to help prop up his regime. I wrote this here FOUR weeks ago - it would have been valid {except for the league placing} FOUR YEARS ago. And sadly I suspect, it may be valid {except for the league placing} in another FOUR YEARS: "This site was pointing out last year the problems with the club. But almost nobody wanted to hear it - why? Because sitting in fourth matters more than endemic failings within the club. Evertonians like to pretend they're different...but sadly we {as a collective} are not. When we start getting tonked again - and endemic failings at the club mean we almost certainly will - the letters will start rolling in again..."The worst thing about Billy Bullshit is that the facts DO speak for themselves. Without inventing a single thing, the list of lies and scandals he's responsible for would have Panorama going for years. And that's only the shit we KNOW about! He's a megalomaniac, and this club is destined to go nowhere under his control. For the simple reason that it's run by Bill to keep Bill in charge. Not for the benefit of Evertonians, or even to be a commercial success. It's run so Bill can remain the Fat Controller for as long as he wants to be. And when you wrap your head around that, you might be able to understand where and why Everton FC is in the position it's in today. I'll just misuse a famous quotation for my own ends in closing - William Kenwright, aka Billy Bullshit, Billy Liar, Kenwrong... "Once a liar, always a liar". The Rich List I was just wondering why we have a chairman with a much small "pot of gold" at the head of our club. Surely Mr Gregg, would be a more astute and kowledagble buisnessman to have at the helm of the club. His wealth would serve as evidence to that argument. He is obviously the more successful entrepeneur and maybe his qualities are of better quality than Kenwright's? With Gregg's financial know-how wouldn't he be the better choice as
chairman of a club which is still in drastic need of a leader that can
take the club forward off the pitch? Just a thought. Smoke and mirrors The single most important thing from now until the end of the season without any shadow of a doubt is Premiership survival and nothing else, be that with or without the useless ginger tosser Moyes. A new ground for dwindling support in the Championship is not the answer. Apologies to the ToffeeWeb staff as they post links pertinent to the
club but we (the supporters) should focus on the truth and that is we
(the club) are in deep shit with little sign of salvation.
* If things are not going well, it is perfectly acceptable to give up after 60 minutes. Joking apart, I am praying we discover the heart for a fight in time
for the match tonight, and I will be cheering them on even if we are 4-0
down again, as long as we are trying for a change. Children's Aspirations "Dad," he said, "When I grow up, can I have a Lamborghini?" No, I couldn't explain it either!... Now you KNOW they're getting desperate...
Unacceptable It seems to me that 4-0 reverses are accepted at Everton nowadays. It's a joke. This team is a joke and the manager is the biggst joke of the lot. I'm going tonight, but only because I've paid for a season ticket. If the club offered a refund, I'd take it. In my opinion we are heading for the Championship. My optomism has gone because it doesn't even come close to being matched on the pitch. All DM ever does is say "we looked comfortable until they scored the first goal" etc etc.
Don't confuse me with not supporting the cause; support is more than
papering over cracks, it's about critizing crap. This club is crap and
is being run monstrously badly. This pathetic rebuttal of all that's
wrong will get us absolutely nowhere. Everton are hopeless Moyes has us on the verge of relegation and many Evertonians are happy to let Moyes do this! So what we finished 4th last season, we finished 17th before that. Moyes has lost his player's confidence and he has lost the dressing room; it is now a habit to get beaten and then to blame the referees instead of looking at our own mistakes and lack of creativity, boring football and terrible defending. The fans blme the Board for not spending but Moyes has lashed out millions and changed the team a lot but it has not worked. The only thing left to change is... Moyes himself. Moyes should have been sacked after the Man City game at the beginning of the season. Why should Robbie Keane want to sign for us in January, why would anyone for that matter? We are a good squad with no belief, confidence, fight and desire which is run by a poor manager with no ideas about changing game plans or defending. Get Moyes out Kenwright and do something right for once. Sign a
foreign manager like Scolari or Ranieri, a manager that makes teams play
football or maybe with the players we have got maybe make Joe Royle
manager again. Today we will lose 5-0 and Crouch will score 3. Gutted. Four major reasons why Moyes has to go — now!
1 – Results 2 - Tactics 3 – Transfers 4 – Style of play I’m so depressed and down being an Evertonian at the minute it's not
true. I just hope Kenwright gets shot of Davey as soon as possible and
get some one in who can give us a bit of pride again … before we are
playing in the Championship. Pace Scott re pace PACE? I was there to witness what happened against Villa, and was amazed how slow we are in almost every area of the park. Yobo (Our fastest player) was covering for both Krøldrup and Hibbert on numerous occasions, simply because they didn't have the legs to keep up. We generally go forward like a team of pensioners, and get beaten to 50/50 balls far too many times because of lack of pace. This was topped off in the last 5 minutes for me when McFadden was in space on the left and spent the whole time looking over each shoulder like a kid being chased by a bully, only to be easily caught and tackled when he had a 7-8 yard head start on the pursuing player. If you are going to manage in the Premier League, you need pace; we simply don't have it. Personally, I would have loved to see Craig Bellamy at Goodison, but for some reason he chose to play in front of 16,000 every week at Blackburn! For all the players Moyes bought in the summer, not one is above average in the speed department and it's showing in every single game. I also think goals are easier to get when you stretch teams, and that's what fast players do by either making intelligent runs to receive a pass, hitting the byline and cutting back, or by running at defenses and forcing them to commit or back off. We do none of these things nearly enough! Set pieces aside, it might be easier for us to put the ball in the net if there were not always five or six players standing infront of it! See ya all at the derby, I'm off to start praying !!! Transfer Fund - True or False? However, given the gloating at the recent AGM by Msrs Kenwright, Wyness et. al over the Club finances for 2004/5 and the apparent status of the Club in the 'top twenty richest Clubs' - where has the money gone? If Moyes is right on this one and I don't doubt him, it is his ability as the Manager of Everton that I seriously doubt. It is clear that the Board do not care when, not if, we go down to a certain relegation. At this stage of the season, we have lost five at home, suffered three 4-0 defeats along the way, beaten at home in the Carling Cup, dumped out of the Champions League at the first shout, likewise the Uefa Cup, including a 5-1 defeat away, and scored the princely total of nine league goals. The incompetence at Board/Team management levels is tangible. Bill Kenwright, if you are a die-hard Blue as you claim to be:
Peter Williams, Liverpool (27/12/05) The Emporer hath No Clothes... Derby ghost town A number of season-ticket holders I know are refusing point blank to go to the derby match, the reasons given are as follows:
Gavin Ramejkis, Upholland (27/12/05) If it was the 1980s, I might understand... but this 2005! Haven't we moved on a little from that age of idiotic barbarity, when the violence among the fans really did have an effect on attendances? — Michael Embarrassed The lethargy in the summer and the manager's presence on the golf course on the last day of the transfer window has come to fruition. Never have I been so embarrassed to be an Evertonian. Arsenal, Fenerbahçe, WBA, Bolton, West Ham, now Villa have taken the wind out of my sails. I have a one-year-old son. Can you believe I am contemplating NOT passing on the tradition of supporting the blues to him - at this moment it would be like giving him depression the majority of weekends, spoiling his Chrsistmases to come and giving his future school friends every oportunity to take the piss. I am seriously contemplating allowing my lad to choose his team. I want him to be happy - his Dad, apart from the mid 80s - has had many more downs than ups. However, I can't honestly remember feeling as down about the club as a whole as I do now. I am contemplating jacking it in, never renewing my season ticket again and sending back that pathetic Xmas card we got from the club telling them to stick it. Fed up with rhetoric from the players saying the next game can be the 'spark', 'turning point', 'it was just a blip', 'we have not become a bad team overnight'... That last one, about not becoming a bad team overnight is quite true. We have become a bad team since Boxing Day 2004 - yes exactly 1 year ago. This has been a miserable year and I am afraid Moyes and Irvine have been found out for what they are - classroom coaches. They have all the badges but none has the vison and judgement to be at the helm of one of the best-supported clubs in the land. They need help: the chairman has no balls to sack them and I fear it will all be too little too late. The real fans knew that the lack of quality bought in in the summer would lead to our downfall. We are not stupid and now we see our worst nightmare unfolding before our very eyes. Avoiding defeat in the derby would only mask our dreadful cracks. Talk of a new ground is an absolute load of bollocks as was the Fortress Sports Fund. The depressing thing is that there do not appear to be many alternatives — no-one is knocking on the door trying to stuff cash into B lue Bill's pockets. Sadly we have missed out on our strongest ever marketing position that has been and gone last summer... Joe Royle's team was never as bad as this. Moyes states that we have achieved, we have progressed and fourth was a massive achievement last season. However, fourth for me is only access to the 'semis'... no prize until you have actually won through to the Champions League proper. Fact is, Moyes has won fuck all and deserves no more loyalty than
afforded to Smith, Royle and Walker. Big Joe gave us the FA Cup which
was an actual honour bestowed on us - no medals were given out last
summer. So, in my view we are going backwards not forwards. A manager
should be judged by his results..... Our Special Fighting Spirit; Where's it gone?
Even though I was very young at the time, I distinctly remember the Everton teams of the 90's never letting their heads drop and always fighting on. I knew I could always rely on that from my Everton. I'm sure other teams were jealous of our skill of "never say never". Now I'm having major doubts over our team. There is quality in the team to propel us up the table quickly but I question the players' determination to acheive that feat. During the West Ham game, I saw none whatsoever; however, it returned in the Bolton game (we were unlucky) but it was lost again against Villa. Moyes, please stop questioning the desicions that go against us! They're in the past! The preparation of the next match is of much more importance. Just apologise for the performance and let the dust settle. It's all well and good of you and the players coming out to say we'll do better next time. One day there may not be a next time. Sort it now Moyes. Get the fighting spirit back that sets us a step
above every other club. I believe that flame of determination is deep
within the team. It just needs to be rekindled. I know you're the man to
do it, Moyes. Goals against However, I would just like to discover if at all possible, just how
many goals we have conceded since Mr Gravesen left last January — not
that I think he would return, those arguments open another can of worms,
but I think our for and against columns since that time have been
nothing short of awful, can anyone confirm?? Response To David C article However, my personal opinion & support has at its basis nothing to do with Moyes, Chairman, players and pie sellers at Everton. At the moment the way I feel they can all chew on my root, the shower of useless crap. Yet I will continue my express support as Everton to me, means much more than Kenwright, Moyes and his cronies, it means everyone sat around and with me in Goodison Park. Our Blue brothers and sisters. THEY are all that matter to me and I am proud to be amongst THEM, whatever shite is performing on the grass. I am Everton for them and nothing else, and very proud as well, whether it be Premiership or Conference. Put simply you have no choice (remember the saying "You are born and
not manufactured"). It's always to be, forever and ever. It's what makes
us so very different to many knobheads who (ahem) "support" Manure,
Chelski, Arse, and the Shite etc. Keep the faith not in Kenright and Co,
but in your blue brothers and sisters. The Big Embarassment 05' Part 5 I understand fully what you mean Michael when you talk about good
footy and scoring goals as seperate things. The fact is we need to score
goals, goals are what make football. Moyes's biggest failure was being
unable to get any striker in the summer which to me is still shocking.
Whoever is manager in January should look to get a couple of strikers
in, young 'unheard ofs' would be better than nothing. By the way, told
ya Krøldrup had no chance! It's so fuckin depressin... where me Bud! The Worst Is Yet To Come Act now, Kenwright!! Why do we always seem to get wacked? You just know when we concede,
that's it: game over! That is all the signs of a Championship team!
Moyes has wasted the whole pot of the Rooney money on a squad that
generally performs worse than the one he had last season and now we need
that money more than ever. Time for drastic meassures, Bungling Bill!!! If that's good, what's bad? Heart of the problem We have no bite in the the middle of the park. Leon Osmon is the
epitomy of this: we might as well be starting the game with 10 men as
this kid looks as though he is terrified of making a challenge. We
simply do not have a leader, Neville? do me a favour! Come back Thomas
Gravesen all is forgiven. Spineless But it`s the `guts`factor that gets to me — or rather the lack of it — as game after game the team simply rolls over once they go behind. For that you can blame no-one but the manager. Whatever the injustices doled out by referees, the ability to get on with the job is something that must be instilled in players in every aspect of their coaching. Last year that was a `given` as much of the success the team enjoyed was brought about by virtue of fighting spirit rather than inate ability. So where has it all gone wrong? I think Moyes began to believe all
the ridiculous plaudits heaped on him by the so-called experts and
orchestrated by an impressionable chairman. In short, he moved outside
his box and signed the sort of players who he considered would bring a
new dimension to the team. The fact that many of these were serially
injury prone should have alerted him to the dangers of employing them
but he failed to see the signs that heart was not their main attribute.
As a result, the successful Allardyce clone became just another Mike
Walker who just took on a mission too far. Forget his signings... On a personal note, lying awake from 3 am pondering (yet again) what
went wrong is not good for anyones health. Go now for the sake of the
club..... And my health! It will happen If David Moyes remains manager of Everton Football Club, he will
surpass all his previous unparalleled records by getting this once great
club of ours relegated, and with it into a football wilderness from
which it will never fully recover. Be warned, the future's shite, if the
future remains orange (or ginger). Moyes's Soft Centre Relegation?? No Worries Mate.. However, it'll not be due to Moyes performing the great escape: it's because there are three other teams that are more shite than everton at this point. Sunderland, Birmingham & Portsmouth are now playing footy worthy of relegation to the Championships. Next season, it's another story though; Moyes (or whoever's in charge
then) will have to start anew. If nothing's changed by then, well...
relegation dogfight 1.01 here we go again... Enough is enough Where do you stand? Welcome to Championship! Oh for the love of God 'Oh here it is a miserable Christmas'Like I said after the West Brom game, the first goal was a disgrace but what about the other three? We were stuffed good and proper yet again by a mediocre side. How many nails can you put in a coffin? Davie Moyes must realise his time has been and gone; he fucked up before the end of last season with the greatest opportunity to take the club forward in over 20 years with shite buys and re-signed shite and his own side yet again have shown what a pathetic bunch of talentless twats they really are. Leave, please, Davie — and give someone else a chance whilst we still have a chance. How many people do you honestly think will cough up £500 next season
to watch that shite in the Championship? Back from the game... After the first five minutes I thought we were going well and the Blue voices were making all the noise; with a little more of the clinical finishing we could have been two up. Then Mr Riley takes a HAND in proceedings and all the old frailties return, a goal down and its as if the whole team with the exception of Davies take an almighty dip in form. I thought the injustice might spur them to greater heights but the reverse happened and the sulks set in. Who is at fault in all this? I don't know but an injection of self-belief wouldn't go amiss before Wednesday. I think the manager needs to tell the players that they are good players but playing badly. He also needs to tell them that they have got an obligation to the Club and its fans to put in a good proffesional shift no matter where he plays them as I think some of them turn off when asked to play away from their preferd position — and with our paper-thin squad thats suicidal. The derby on Wednesday looms... surely the players have grasped how much it means to us fans and will respond in the right manner? Moyes in or out? — that depends on his employers.Ties in nicely, doesn't it? See you Wednesday. UP THE BLUES Ken , Buckley (26/12/05) Season to be Jolly Ouch! But, if Dolly Parton were to write a 'Song for Everton', she'd call
it T A C T I C S. Once upon a time Now we have spent a few bob on a few supposedly better players and
we've started to try and play 4-4-2, to suit these new players. But
these players don't seem to be able to play for Everton in this system.
So let's get back to where we were, playing a system that suited
Everton. Sod these big-money men; we want honest players. If we lose, at
least it was not for want of trying. The way things are now, opponents
want to claim all 3 points and boost their goals-for stats. Hurry up and
get it sorted, Moyes — or we are going down. Save the season now please We need Kenwright to stand up and not play the nice guy again with another manager like he did with Walter Smith. This is our club too, Kenwright; if you've not got the balls to sack someone, then you're not fit either to be at our great club. Change needs to happen now in order for someone to at least get some GOOD signings in for January, not the poor ones that we might get under the current set-up. I know everyone says we've no money to spend, then that's fine... just flog the crap we bought over the past 12 months; we must be able to get something for them. I keep heaingr people saying "Give Moyes time!" How much time??? Are we gonna still be saying it in the Championship next year? ACT NOW PLEASE BEFORE ITS TOO LATE!!!! New Poll? My biggest worry now is, IF we beat Liverpool on Wednesday, there
will be people on this site saying Moyes is back amongst the elite! Get
Rid NOW! Mr Moyes, it's all over; you have been found
out Not nearly good enough IMWT? Heart and soul Yet another unbelievable 'clear sighted' refereeing BLUNDER cost us the first goal, why do we capitulate in the manner we do? A stinker of a decision doesn't excuse the subsequent three goals gifted. Against West Brom, Bolton, Villa... stomach for the fight was sadly missing from the pampered and well-paid pansies that ran out to represent us. Arteta can pass, pick a cross, and make a chance; same with Osman. I'm not convinced with Davies; Cahill I cannot recognise. Where is the steel? Where is the player that will put a challenge in to 'quieten' the opposition danger man? In contrast, Arteta gets hit, then hit, then hit again.... Where is the physical menace every team needs? Gravesen and Carsley can both put a challenge in, but they are sadly missing now. Currently, the Everton midfield cannot stamp their authority on a game; they are far too lightweight to battle, and it shows. So we are looking at three 0-4 defeats in seven games, I'm disgusted by the players, I'm disgusted the manager wont change things earlier (I know, it's easy with hindsight). I am just disgusted. This isn't nil satis nisi optimum' but it will get us relegated. It's one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made but I won't be renewing my season ticket. It has taken heart and soul to make this decision - it's a shame some of the players don't go through the same heartache fans like me do when we see a shambles dressed as Everton put on displays like what we have witnessed recently. It is all about heart and soul, on the pitch, in the dugout, in the boardroom, in the stands. I like moyes, I love Everton, but I cannot continue to get kicked in the teeth like this. From, a very unhappy Everton fan. Humilation... AGAIN! Again, let's hope there are three worse teams than us. I know we will
fight in the derby (please) but what's the odds on Sunderland beating us
just afterwards? I reckon they are pretty high. Deary, deary me... Well... 4-5-1 and a re-signing of Stubbs here we come... Bah Humbug! Board Must Act Now Who else to go... There are several players that are just turning up for pay cheques and showing NO passion or ability (yes Michael no passion - if you disagree, tell me your evidence to the contrary). Kenwright also needs to go because he is just as bad — no — worse than Johnson. At least Johnson had some money and did not pretend to be a Blue. The final person who needs to go is ...you Michael. Either you are
taking the Mick or you are unable to see the absolute sporting tragedy
that is Everton FC unfolding before your eyes. How on earth can this be
described as a rough patch with any sincerity? We are on the way down if
this slump is not halted and I cannot see a way out of it. If you can't
describe accurately what you see then give up writing your ascerbic
asides... because we are crying in despair over what we are currently
seeing. Who do we want? Kenwright has a lot to answer for: firstly, incredible loyalty to the
useless Walter Smith, and agin to Moyes. Both managers have't got what
it takes to manage a Premiership Club, and it shows. Who else would pay
£3.5 million for Davies!! And with shite like Naysmith ready again soon,
we ALL have plenty to worry about. Time to go, Moyes Told Ya Sack him tonight don't let it get any worse. It's a nightmare. If Moyes had any Proffesional pride he would fall on his sword right now. I can't take any more and I am giving up: that's how bad things are. Moyes is a gobshite; the players can't stand him, and niether can I. ps Dont take your kids to the derby — it will haunt them forever. For those at the back... ps: Rob Fox, tell us Moyes is the right man for the job, in one
million words or less. 'Moyes must go!' Moyes is Gone It's all so wrong Yes, Everton are no quitters as well. But they should raise their hands and admit that they have sucked big-time. For starters, the midfield is so lightweight that it is embarassing. Osman, Davies and Arteta are skilled players who can't hold on to the ball. You can't get away with all of them on the same team. This team cries out for Gravesen and Carsley. I think in the absence of our favourite baldies, Li Tie should be able to do a better job. Next up, the front two of Beattie and McFadden are so terrible at putting away chances that I wonder if a blind man (or Marcus Bent) can do better. We need a striker ASAP. The whole team has not found its identity at all. Last season's team was a team of 'hard-men' who played to their strengths (pushing aside opponents and winning 1-0). This year's edition is more skilful but not THAT skilful. The team seems to have an obsession with cutting through the centre and lacks width. They fail to do simple things well such as putting in a winnable ball from dead-ball situations. So a 4-4-2 with this bunch of choirboys is an accident waiting to happen. I advocate a 4-5-1 with McFadden sitting out for a ball-winning midfielder like the Brazilian chap Anderson Silva. With lots of luck, we can survive and progress from this miserable
low. But the lesson is loud and clear: Play to your strengths. Just Desserts In to the Future Do not stop this great site Acumen anyone please? We have Billy Liar holding onto his train set for dear life with no desire to give it up to anyone with more business acumen and verve his carefully appointed yes men in tow, at least one of whom is lining his own pockets on the club's time. We have the mystical "genius" (sic) of David Moyes unable and unwilling to admit errors with failing footballing acumen - Marcus Bent wanted for £1.5M; his response: no way and not at that price. Does Marcus have some dodgy polaroids of Davie? Does Davie think that the money raised from an under-performing, seemingly uninterested forward would provide capital for a replacement? Does he not realise £1.5M is three times what he cost in the first place? Please let this all be a horrible dream, let me wake up and find we
are still in Europe, in the top six and consistently beating sides for
fun by more than one goal margin. Then again, memories of an Everton
side that played like that are fading fast and it would take a serious
Vodka session to remove these sorts of nightmares. Hohoho... cont. Let`s face it he and many of our top players have had a horrible year with injuries which has made Moysey`s job a nightmare but I am positive we shall go into the New Year at least three points over par. So COYB and let`s put all the backbiting behind us! Come 5pm next
Saturday, it`ll be HOHOHO all round! Not So Happy New Year I am afraid I have had enough - this team is bad enough to take us
down and I am afraid David Moyes must take the blame. He is clueless,
lacking any grain of imagination and should be sacked immmediately. How
long do we have to go on listening to the drivel spoken week after week
by this conman? Cheers Icing on the Xmas cake ''We have little money to spend'' 'but at least we can say we went in for them' Yeah, great! Happy Christmas!! Transfer Kitty Money Saver As we don't have much spare cash in the transfer kitty (who let the cat out of the bag?) we should have enough money to buy some performance enhancing drugs off Abel Xavier (he's an ex-player and may even give us a discount) because, if ever a squad of players needed to enhance their performance, it's ours. We could get away with it if we all keep schtum. Happy Blue Christmas to all at ToffeeWeb. Missing Per We were surprised that he moved to England but all our papers said his agent could not get money he wanted in Italy. But the fee was reported here as POTENTIALLY up to £5M pounds, depending on club and International appearances and a portion has to come back to club in Copenhagen of each payment made. A Danish journalist recently asked your manager why Per was not playing and he said it was due to the continued excellence of your other defenders but he would get his chance in January. Now news is he has done a deal in Italy and will move back there. I tell you although I am biased that you have been missing a good
player. Best of luck for rest of season. For Peter Rotherham With apologies to Greg Lake... The Moyes Baiters The Moyes Baiters have not got a clue and they are a sick symptom of
the modern game. If Moyes did leave, you could put Jesus in charge, I
swear within a year or two they would have some gripe, with something or
another. Let's just be glad that the wife's not getting it. Then again,
maybe thats the problem????? Fans comment: Steve I stayed until the death on Saturday as I always do, but I was
tempted to go once the penalty was awarded. The players should be
ashamed of themselves but I don't want to hear that they are, I want to
see it. I AM SO SICK OF THE BULLSHIT we are fed. At least ToffeeWeb is
shit free, if the team was as good as the website then.... All the best
to one and all. Contract Extensions I'd like to think negotiations are well underway with his representative's, considering the time it takes to sort players contracts these days. Hopefully we won't be foolish enough to allow his contract to run down to 12 months, and watch a top-class 26-year-old defender leave for peanuts. On a different note and as it's the festive season and all, I'd like to propose we welcome senor Benitez (spit) to Goodison on the 28th with some nice Spanish signage. Those old sheets will come in handy and look great with the words MIERDA ROJA on them, which means hello and welcome in Spanish. Merry Christmas to all my fellow Bluenoses, and especially to all at ToffeeWeb. Thanks for all the hard work you guys do. See ya at Villa COYB!!! Accepting Mediocrity Over the last 20 years (not to mention the previous 110 years), our budget on transfers, salaries, staffing levels etc are way above theirs. If you went in to the EFC shop and they had shirts ranging from £5 to £50 surely you would expect more from the £50 one? That's why we expect more. Our history, our heritage — not to mention the fans' culture — demand it. I would never expect anyone who regards themselves as a member of the EFC family to stop attending the match. I would expect them to let the people who we are paying £20-, £30-, £40-grand a week know that what they are serving up is not good enough. At least David Moyes has stopped saying EFC fans are used to being at the bottom or strugling. We never were and the people who took us too close to the bottom got sacked. Me, I have always kept the faith in EFC; it's just now and then you have to let employees know thier standards aren't good enough. By the way thanks for all the hard work you guys do runing the site.
Happy xmas. 3 years of crap football Do we really want to pay to go and see a team that may score a goal
from a free kick or corner? Please stop accepting mediocrity. Krøldrup going...?? It's got a big spread of players in and out of all Premiership clubs, with Kroldrup listed as a £4M target to go back to Italy! Anyone heard anything 'bout this? Or is it a bag of arse..... New columnist He also says Moyes knows we need a striker and is doing his best to rectify it. He has just had all summer to sign a quality striker, when we were able to offer them European football, but somehow he fucked up. What type of sriker can we get now, only offering them a relegation scrap? I look forward to reading more of your contributions, Daniel. It will
be interesting to hear the younger generation's view on Everton. also
all the best to everyone at ToffeeWeb — and let's hope that Daniel's
prediction of a better second half of the season comes true. Daniel McKeown I have to take issue however with the opinion offered that in five years time we will be regularly in the top four and challenging for trophies. Time will tell! Re.The Anorak New ground......my arse Festive Female Ramblings I’ve always worked on the theory that if employees do what you tell them to, then that’s OK; that’s why they get paid - it's nice to have friends at work but there are plenty of friends elsewhere so why worry? Moyes employs people that he likes, that people like, whocan be friends…. DAVID, I THINK YOU CAN DO IT, BUT FORGET ABOUT IT!!! This is where mine and Moysies world’s collide: The only way I can get through a game from my seat in the Upper Bullens is to convince myself that Kilbane is just a plastic bag, blowing in the wind; sometimes he blows in the right direction but mostly not. Weir? I like him, if I had children I’d take them round his house no probs, but if he can’t stop running mindlessly and dangerously into midfield to run over an easy tackle and put us in trouble I’m going to turn to the dangers of over eating! So, are we (me and Moysie) bad managers? Obviously I would vote No for me and (despite my IMWT belief) yes for Moyes. My team might be a bit of a bastard to the rest of the workforce and when it comes to playing a team game, believe me, they are seriously shite. But, and here endeth the lesson, Davey, my team stick to the job, end of. My team is not pretty or indeed kind, but we win. David, you put your team on the pitch and they do not. For the first 20 minutes they do your thing, but after that they do their own thing and they just aren’t smart enough to work out the bit where playing equals winning. David, sort it out. I know you can — and so do Neville, Arteta, Martyn, Cahill, Andy VDM et al. DON’T LET THEM (OR US) DOWN!!!! ps: If you can get us sorted without getting rid of your nice,
friendly guys then I will happily fire my assistants ass! January bargain bucket Now onto my mini rant - I know you guys only post links to our beloved tabloid wanker's latest efforts to sell garbage but for Christ's sake... Shittu from QPR? I would not be surprised if it was true as he is a Moyes type purchase; defensive and shite, when we need creative and attacking and more importantly capable of scoring. Even his name is reminiscent of Moyes's style of team if you pardon the pun; god, he must have had such a happy childhood with that name. I worried we didn't have a pot to piss in thanks to Billy Liar and Wyness or should that be Keith Lapdog Enterprises Inc whose motto appears to be "screw the fans and line his own pockets" and it seems (by his own admission to the AGM) to be a lot closer to the truth, as I worried. The club is falling to pieces; at least in the past when we were shite we had occasional glimpses of hope... this is Samaritans territory now. I just hope that other teams currently playing as shite as we are don't go on a recovery run and help us out. Fingers crossed that we manage to turn over David O'Dreary's lot and
then fight out a Man U style draw against Liverpool. I am holding on but
I think this roller coaster is going to get mighty uncomfortable from
now until the end of the season. An anorak responds Of course, we have no means of knowing how much of the fees was paid
up front and how much is `on the drip` but if, as would seem sensible,
Wyness is trying to balance the transfer budget, then the £3M trailed as
what`s left in the kitty seems just about right. Whether the £25M spent
so far will prove sound investment is, of course, an entirely different
question! Have faith — keep behind the blues! Having come 4th, many of our supporters have understandably increased expectations of the Blues, but we still have much of the same squad as last year. Added to this is the fact that we are seen by ‘lesser’ teams such as WBA as a scalp due to the over-achievement last year. We are not a top-seven team yet (though we have flattered to deceive)! Moyes did brilliantly getting us to 7th three seasons back and last season was unbelievable; however, the cracks are surfacing now. We are weak at both left and right back, and the midfield has sorely missed Tommy Gravesen since he left last January. Should we bring him back? I would take him back but there’s no way we can afford him (sky-high wages in Spain). I can’t believe I am saying this, but it is highly likely that Lee Carsley will make a massive difference when he returns, allowing Cahill in particular to make more incisive forward runs and worry less about defensive frailties behind him. I’d even contemplate having Cahill, Carsley and Neville as the three centre midfielders — perhaps we need to show the league a touch of Dogs of War again? Regarding Krøldrup, I was at the Udinese friendly and the guy looked class, very comfortable on the ball. In fact he reminds me of Richard Gough. Moyes must give him a chance, Weir has been below-par. Krøldrup and Yobo could be a class act together, they can’t do worse than letting in four against WBA and Bolton respectively. Moyes can drag us out of this mire. The players haven’t been up to par and they are sorely missing some consistency. But let’s keep behind them; getting rid of Moyes will only hurt us in the long run — we need stability. And the man has moved us forward — who would’ve thought we could come 4th let alone in the top 10?! We’ve got bags of talent in the squad on an individual level;
hopefully they will gel very soon. I’m optimistic. Beattie and McFadden
are coming good, and the goals will come for them both. COYB!!!! Howard, are you havin' a laugh? It certainly makes me wonder how a man who won two2 league titles can say something so stupid which insults the intelligence of every supporter who has the misfortune to watch Kilbane every week. Perhaps Howard just fluked those trophies 20 years ago in the same way that David Moyes clearly fluked that 4th place last season. Also, Moyes is now reportedly interested in signing Danny Shittu from
QPR. With a name like that he should fit right in amongst the current
Everton squad! Only £3M to spend Why I don't wish it was Christmas every day
I'm not going to pick over the 'bad signings' because I don't think we've seen enough of them to really make a judgment. But even if you allow for the 'bad luck' of injuries, there's still a lot of room for culpability. A few times this campaign he's referred to 'the winning habit' (usually in the context of us being out of it) and the phenomenon doubtless exists. In another way he's talking about confidence or self-belief - but right now I'm not convinced Moyes takes enough responsibility for the part he plays in how much of this is around. For me the true hallmark of a really good manager is how they can paper over the cracks in confidence that happen when defeat kicks in. A good manager/leader patches the lads up and sends them back out there, brave again. I think Moyes's rational, cool-headed approach has a lot to commend it, but I also think that we could do with a bit more Braveheart and a bit less Miss Jean Brodie. Of course I don't know what goes on behind closed doors, (I guess most Premiership dressing rooms are a lot more gutless than ten years ago), maybe Moyes does bollock people and it gets him nowhere, or maybe he realises today's players don't have the cahones to take it and respond properly. For me though, the absence of this facet of leadership is also painfully apparent on the pitch and partly explains our recent cave-ins. We're now back to the bad old days of teams rubbing their hands together when they see us as their next fixture. So let's hope SOMEONE at Bellfield is getting ready to play a big part for us over festive season, otherwise we'll be caving-in again and using our little grotto to hand out the Christmas goodies once more. ps: Until this season, I never though I'd say it, but thank god for a
lad who must have always been at the back in his christmas play - Phil
Neville. Killer stat To me, the killer stat on both our managers since July 98 is their total inability to spend the Club`s limited resourses wisely. The combined figure in transfer outgoings alone must be in the region of £80 million and many of the signings smack of `agent sell-ons.` Better not to talk of those ex-Everton employees who had shares in a certain agency but I`m sure you get my drift! Sad to say, I think Tom Brown was right when he said that given the club`s long term record of mediocrity we should expect nothing to improve, but for Crissake that is totally defeatist and the Board should be DEMANDING better value for money than we`ve seen from all the crap that Smith and Moyes have signed during their tenure. Come on somebody, do something! Expatriate Blues Since that time, I have lived overseas, mainly in the Middle East. I am lucky enough to have a good TV system (Super Sport from South Africa) which features nearly every Premiership game either live or recorded. I have stayed up until Midnight (KO time) expecting Everton to perform. Sadly for me, and every other Everton supporter I have met over here, they never fullfill our expectations. The last and only good performance I have witnessed over the last few years was the Aston Villa game away. That day Villa were just crap and made Everton look good; howeveer, there were great performances from Arteta & Cahill. Let's not kid ourselves Everton have not had a decent all-round side since 1987. I thought there was hope with Joe Royle but the Board failed him. I thought Smith could achieve but the Board also failed him. I looked at David Moyes's face on Saturday after the Bolton game. His expression told a thousand tales and mirrored what every loyal and distant fan must be feeling about this current team. It is awful and it is time for some emergency action before Everton are relegated this season. David Moyes seems to be bereft of ideas to halt the slide not just in league position but in performance standards. He cannot escape the responsibility: these are his players. He and his coaching staff are responsible for the team plans and tactics. However, it is like anything else: he needs the tools to do the job. Apart from Arteta, Cahill and Yobo, no other player is good enough to rate a place in any Everton team prior to 1987. Perhaps relegation would be kind to this Everton team. At least then
we may be able to rise again with a team worthy of our long suffering
support. What we need Tim Cahill I believe is more of a forward than midfielder and we also have James Vaughan coming through. The reason we are not scoring isn't because we're missing loads of chances — it's because were not creating chances. That is a midfield problem. Imagine the current Everton team with Reid and Bracewell in the middle. Niether were particularly creative but they were leaders. They could tackle and overpower opposition midfields and supply the creative players. Arteta is more of a winger and Cahill a striker, and anyone else
tried in centre-midfield this season has been out of position. So I
would get two powerful central midfielders in January. Then sack Moyes,
bring Hoddle in and watch us attack. Slient Nights We are going through yet another season of crisis at Everton yet the powers that be don't feel the need to explain to us supporters what the fuck is going on. Let's have Dave Moyes on Sky Sports or the local radio or this website and let him tell us in his own dynamic way what he is doing spending millions on players we never see. Millions on players who are crocked and millions on players no other club would take on a free. The Koldrup saga is bad enough but the Simon Davies signing is the most strange of them all. Martin Jol had Moyes's kecks off on this one and us fans have to live with it. Jol wanted to offload Davies to finance the Jenas deal. Davies had been injured most of the season and Spurs where looking around two million for him. Gobshite Moyes paid 3.5 Million for him with no other club at all in the running. WHY? I asked a mate of mine in London who is a Spurs fan how they rated Davies down there: Average to poor was the answer. I for one will never knock Simon Davies or any other player Moyes signs or re-signs. It's not their fault. The man who signs and plays the players is to blame. Moyes has got a cheek to critisize the defenders after the Bolton game — he signed them he played them; it's his fault. Any way, let's see what Santa brings us in the new year I hear Dean Windass is going for £6M — let's buy him! To everyone concerned at ToffeWeb, all the best for the New Year and keep up the good work. We need you more than ever. ps: Merry Xmas Kev Sparke. The 'sense of perspective' we really need.
But I don't think you can claim to be doing that Michael, by suggesting that it's all about two bad results. It's not. For instance, my perspective is three years long and in public goes back to last January when the dire quality of many of our players had become obvious. I hoped we wouldn't qualify for Europe (yet) because we would embarrass ourselves with these players. And I said so then to much objection. Let me widen the perspective into another sport. When Graham Gooch captained England he only wanted 'good trainers' - people who would get up early and run round the pitch then practise fielding for hours - like him. Exit Gower etc. Result? Hard working, honest, well-beaten tea of forgotten names. Moyesey, don't become a Gooch. No team can thrive on 'fantastic team spirit' but poor quality for
any length of time. If the management doesn't value quality but values
'good trainers' THEY don't have the required perspective - they will
miss the point (and they are doing). Of course you need to work hard for
each other, but if your first touch is embarrassing, your passing
dreadful - come on let's have a real sense of perspective - you don't
belong at Everton. It will be up to us again Evertonians are a passionate lot, whether watching a great Everton display (cast yer mind backs, if you can), gutsy hard-working performances or a 4-0, 5-1 thrashing. We love and we hate the club at different times. Every time we have been in the shite it's us, the fans, who help pull the players out; we see effort and commitment and we are right behind them, and this is what's going to be required again There won't be a "Kevin Brock back-pass"; it will be up to us to get behind the lads, no matter what happens. I've hated this season, especially the bollocks that has come out of the club but we are in the mire and like 94 and 98 WE will have to pull out all the stops Should it have to be like this??? NO... but we haven't a choice as no leadership is being shown anywhere in the club. In ten years time every player on the current books will be gone, Moyes will have left and maybe even Blue Bill BUT we will be here and so will EFC. We've put up with some crap but it won't change for sometime yet, if it bloody ever does, but when we get behind the team the sound and spirit is like no other. Whether we like it or not we have an enormous part to play this season. The players etc might be playing like wankers but we ain't letting them take us down. I don't think the fans get anywhere near enough praise from anyone in the club and how many times this season have you heard "we've really let the fans down and need to sort this out" only for us to get pissed on a few days later. We all have different views but 1 view is certain and always will be,
we are EFC till the end. IMWT - pass; EFC for life - no doubts! Up the
Blues and Evertonians everywhere. Spot the link... Simlarities?! If I wanted to be even more unfair on Moyes's antics in the transfer market, I could go on to mention.. Patrizzio Pascucci (harsh) ... Ibrahim Said... Li Wei Feng (harsh) and to some extent Li Tie! Here's hoping a certain 'Anderson Silva' comes good... if only at
least for Moyes's sake! The 'R' word I heard Bill Kenwright around the time of the AGM saying 'we were chipping our way to the top' - top of what? - the Championship? We are sleepwalking towards relegation with promises of 'jam tomorrow' - which never arrives. David Moyes is a disaster in the transfer market as his total mis-management of Per Krøldrup and £5M of Club funds associated with the purchase of Krøldrup illustrates. These funds could have been spent on the much needed strike force, not sat on the bench, or in the treatment room. Something Tomasz Radinski said when he left, words to the effect that
David Moyes 'cannot make his mind up' - his dithering and failure to
land a quality striker to play alongside Beattie, amongst a host of
other mind-boggling decisions this season, is costing this Club our
Premiership status. Bill Kenwright cannot avoid this issue much longer -
Moyes must go to save Everton. Width? Summer madness Will, at any point, anyone be making a statement to explain the farcical transfer policy at Everton football club last summer and to define what improvements have been made to ensure this doesn't happen again in January? For starters, we need to sack Stevie Wonder as our European scout and
be prepared to spend a little more to get the right player in. If Moyes
has to lose a bit of face to get a good goalscorer then so be it.
However much it may hurt, he needs to show that lessons have been
learned, for all our sakes... Why the surprise? I`m no statistician but I bet Moyes didn`t touch this so called `gold standard` even in his purple patch up to Christmas last year! Lads, this is Everton we`re talking about - don`t have delusions of grandeur just because we `qualified for Europe` last season. We do that about every 15 years or so and then revert to the perpetual strugglers we have been almost throughout my 33 years as a fan. Expect nothing apart from Premier League survival and you`ll never be disappointed - it usually gets quite exciting around Easter time! And don`t keep saying `sack the manager` - it just heralds the arrival of yet another `no-mark` who gets us all excited for about a fortnight! Just keep shelling out the money and keep your traps shut - that`s
what we do, you know, us Evertonians. The 'Dogs of War' compared to the Poodles
playing One paragraph sums up Everton's problems when he was manager; it also sums up the problems now: Passion, Grit, Pride the will to WIN! Could you ever see one of Joe's sides losing seven-nil? Methinks not — I would have him back in a shot if Moyes can't turn this round soon. Thank you all at ToffeeWeb for giving us such a great platform to air
our views. A very Happy Christmas and a Healthy and Wealthy New Year to
one and all. Hail the idiots Apart from the inept board and shite team, what the fuck is there to talk about? From a personal point of view, I have been anti-Moyes since the end of 03-04 and last Saturday just tipped me over the edge. I cannot understand how people can say that we played good football because I thought it was mind-blowingly shite. Good football is when the ball is moved around the park at a decent pace using the width of the pitch with accurate passing and occasionally getting behind defences to the by-line, hence enabling quality crosses to be provided and therefore creating what are called, in the trade, "chances". During this season I think I have detected about half a dozen of these. We are a poor side with a centre midfielder playing right wing and a right-sided player playing centre midfield; absolutely no pace, a poor defence and a manager who is out of his depth. I am sure we will have another mini-run of games when we will collect
a few points but then another another debacle is always just around the
corner. Please go, David. I don't blame Moyes for getting us into Europe, it was a great achievement. What I am saying is that the pressure is more intense on him than it was Smith because now the fans expect to be in the top half of the table. When you talk about progress the club hasn't made any progress because Moyes made some monumental errors in the transfer market. Yippee, we got into Europe, but what did the club actually gain in terms of progress? We got no money and the club was made to be the laughing stock of Europe. So, take away the novelty of finishing 4th and playing two European teams, has the club made any progress under Moyes? Not really, so now it's time for another manager to come in and blow another £30 million for us to be in the same position in another five years. My big concern is the fact that we are being blinded by the fact
Moyes took us into Europe, and before we know it we will be scratching
our heads in the Championship. Lunacy I think I remember after that game someone from Merseyside Police
saying that such a kick-off time for hostile games will never happen
again, so what’s changed their mind? Over the past few years the derby
games have become very hostile and having this one kick off at such and
idiotic time, when people will be drinking all day, is only asking for
trouble. I would have thought that Sky, the two clubs and the police
(who have the final say on kick off times) would have had more sense. I Just cant take it anymore! Never have I dreaded going to the game so much. I am embarrassed just thinking what might happen. This season has finished me off. I remember at the summer break thinking, great I can't wait for the season to begin, the big summer signings, Champions League, the big names coming to Goodison — who knows, Barcelona, Real, Juventus — and of course, challenging up there with Chelsea. The season hasn’t started for me; I just want it to end. One step forward and six steps back. I’m not sure about Moyes anymore. His tactics and team choice never inspire me. We look so slow, one-paced, tired and lacking of all imagination. Why is it when defending a corner every player is back in the box? Bent is so poor and no sign of Krøldrup. These are the questions I ask myself every week. (Answers on a postcard...) The transfer window is a big part of what will happen with the rest
of our season, The season starts in January... or does it end? Happy New
Year, Everton, and let's hope Santa Moyes delivers some much needed
presents and cheer! Bolton, Krøldrup, etc. I've been checking up on Krøldrup through various websites. He's played for Denmark on over a dozen occasions — and, remember, they took England apart earlier in the season. His record for Udinese was good, he even contributed the odd goal. He's tall (over 6'3") and on one site Jan Molby describes him as "an excellent footballing defender". The whole saga mystifies me. Weir's done his best, but he's not up to it any longer. Why the heck was he bought if it's just to warm the bench? The only vague explanation I can give is that he's perhaps too
similar to Yobo in style and Moyes wants a centre-half of the old type
who attacks the ball, like Terry or Campbell, hence his preference for
Weir. But you're still left with the question, why, if he isn't what
Moyes wanted or thought we needed, was he bought at all? £5 million is a
massive outlay for a club in Everton's financial situation and you'd
think that Moyes and his team would have researched and checked this
player out thoroughly before buying him. Sounds promising Obviously, we have had problems with scoring goals this season so why
doesn't Vaughan get a chance because he is fit again now and from what
we have seen looks decent. Victor Anichebe looks decent as well and he
has been training with the first team all season, so it wouldn't hurt to
give him a go either. There's nothing better than seeing home-grown
talent coming through. Man City are doing it nowadays and look better
for it. They have a lot of promisimg young talent in their team: Joey
Barton, B Wright-Phillips, Lee Croft, Ireland, etc. Fickleness...... I really cannot see the benefits of sacking Moyes. New man, new ideas - maybe. We thought Mike Walker would stop the rot; we thought Walter Smith would stop the rot - they didn't have the first clue what was wrong let alone how to fix it. There's no guarantee anyone else would be able to either. Moyes has a five-year plan, I would hold off on the lynch mob yet. Let's face facts here: Moyes admitted Richard Wright's days here were numbered and he was gone ASAP. Then Martyn gets injured and we have to pick a keeper who is scared of footballs making contact with him who has been (effectively) been called unfit to do his job by his manager quite recently. Personally, I think this was a bad idea but a real professional would have taken that criticism and proved Moyes wrong - guess what, he didn't. This was an opportunity for Moyes to give Iain Turner a go but he erred on the side of caution and unfortunately it backfired AFTER the United game when we were all quite impressed with Wright and celebrating our continued revival. As for Weir, I agree he should be dumped. However, Krøldrup is untested and not match-fit and Ferrari is injured. Had Krøldrup not been injured earlier in the season, I imagine Weir would be a distant memory as we sat comfortably in the top half of the table. I'm confident that Moyes will drop Weir as soon as he feels he has someone to replace him with Let's face it, we were unlucky. Would Martyn have been as incompetent as Wright had he been fit? No. Would we have been so toothless in terms of guile, creativity and pace had Van der Meyde been fit? I sincerely doubt it. Would the West Ham game have turned out differently had McFadden not limped off? Given his form of late, don't doubt it for one second. Yes, we need a pacy striker, even if McFadden continues this run of form, and a creative midfielder so Arteta and Van der Meyde don't have to do all the work, but not at the risk of bankrupting the club. We cannot compete in the transfer market, so buying these players will be difficult and we will have to look at young, untried players or find a bunch of Tim Cahills. Had we taken four points instead of none we would be on the road to
recovery and prasing 'the Moyesiah' but instead we're calling for his
head. Neither is right; we need to find a happy medium - give Moyes to
the end of the season and judge him then. In case you haven't noticed,
we're only eight points outside the top ten. A striker, a midfielder and
a few wins over Christmas and all the calls to sack the manager will be
but a distant memory.... The End Game Joe Yobo is leaving for the Africans Cup soon and Krøldrup (you would think) will have to play. Is it not unfair on him to come in with absolutely no premiership experience? DM's decision. Also Davy Weir (who had a great season last time) has made a few mistakes (like all players do, remember) and would DM not have been kind to give him a rest? The transfer window will soon be open (although DM's record in it doesn't hold out much hope for us) but it will be make or break for the club. If we don't get the right players in we'll all be sent to Coventry. On the bright side, we can then finally get shot of the deadwood on
the pitch and in the boardroom and rebuild with players who at least
have the heart to play for the club. Sorry to jump on the bandwagon but... As Evertonians, where do we draw the line? Under Moyes we've had our worst-ever Premierhip defeats(home and away: Arsenal and Bolton), our worst-ever points total, and worst-ever defeat in European competition. He's setting records for all the wrong reasons. It would be too simplistic to say he got lucky with two good half seasons, but as we all know our record this calender year is horriffic. He's proven he's no genius in the transfer market and his approach is not exactly appealing to potential new players. Do we really want to hand this guy the rest of the Rooney money or would we be better getting a fresh face in? Moysee, Thanks mate. Nothing personal, but you've got 'til New Year
for me; if there's no improvement, I wish you well in your future
elsewhere... Watershed ? Certainly, 14 wins in the last 45 games points to a long-term decline rather than a team which is progressing. The writing was on the wall throughout much of last season, as the chronic shortage of goals was masked by the team's ability to protect a slender lead and ultimately win most of those games in which we were fortunate enough to take the lead. However, my two main criticisms of Moyes (and which may ultimately bring about his downfall) are his inability to correct the lack of goals in the side in the summer and his recent purchases in the transfer market. In the pre-season games this year, we struggled to score goals against the most mediocre opposition and were soundly thrashed in Turkey. The alarm bells should have been ringing then. Instead, we signed Simon Davies who was injury prone at Spurs and was never a regular scorer anyway. This, coupled with the fact we ended up paying way over the odds for his services, was a bad error of judgement. The Pistone debacle was the icing on the cake, going back cap in hand for the only player capable of getting injured in the warm-up prior to a game stinks of desperation. I can't believe there was not a half-decent young British left-back available for a reasonable price. I'm still undecided on Beattie, clearly he never did himself any favours getting out of condition the way he did when he was injured, but I would cast doubts on any forward being able to score regularly in this Everton side with the midfield or wide players creating so few chances. There are still massive question marks over ALL areas of the team: at right-back where Hibbert is still unable to cross or pass a ball effectively; the left-back spot; the centre-half spot, where Krøldrup should have been introduced long ago; the midfield, where there is an abundance of the same type of player — light, skillful, but cannot tackle effectively — and consequently we were muscled out by a physical Bolton side. Finally, I believe Moyes saw the signing of Beattie as the answer to the side's lack of firepower, without having the guile or insight as a manager to look at other areas of the team that would ultimately supply the ammunition. Whilst I admire his honesty in his post-match press conferences, he is slowly painting himself into a corner, this is now HIS team, his tactics, his transfer policy, the problems that existed 12 months ago are still with us. God forbid, the ugliness that is Bolton... but compare the relevent transfer budgets in the close season and ask yourself who spent the most wisely ? I hope I am ultimately proved wrong, but I don't see a saviour arriving in January to suddenly improve our goals return; the answers I fear, lie much deeper than that. Ultimately, I don't believe Moyes will 'muddle' on like Walter Smith did, waiting for the axe to inevitably fall, but the display on Saturday will eat away at him like a cancer. It would not suprise me if he decides to walk away at some stage rather than settle for the inconsistencies that he is currently witnessing. Time will tell. Nil Promptu Nisi Mediocris; Of the current squad, only Joseph Yobo, Mikal Arteta and Tim Cahill are likely to develop into players of real contributing value – stars if you like. The rest are extras and walk-ons. We had a real chance to invest in some world class players in the summer: the cash was available and there was the draw of European football. But instead of buying two players of genuine quality we opted for a whole posse of fresh mediocrity. Davies, Beattie, Neville, Valente, & Co: none has that spark of the special that singles out star players from the dross. I wonder if David Moyes prefers mediocrities because they are easier to deal with and he may have insecurities about his own ability that makes him baulk at handling big stars. Perhaps Moyes can make this very average team play above themselves,
turn this season around, pull us clear of the bottom group and have a
decent run in the FA Cup. But any club that consistently aims at
mediocrity the way Everton does will almost always hit the target – as
Everton has. Per Krøldrup Contributors of this mailbag Rant over! Accountability The team sent out on Saturday is David Moyes's team, but we lack pace and movement; it is DM who needs to accept responsibility before blaming the defence for the debacle. When is he going to accept that the job is beyond him? Moyes "We weren't deserving of a 4-0 defeat, that is for sure. But if you want to defend the way we defended the three goals in the second half that is what happens"Wouldn't it be common sense to drop one of your defenders —ie, David Weir — as punishment for poor displays and bring in your most expensive summer signing, central defender Per Krøldrup to change things around? This is what any other manager in their right mind would do if he had Danish International quality at his disposal on the bench. I think Moyes has completely lost it if he doesn't change it for the
Villa game. If it doesn't happen, he is contradicting himself in a way. Davey Weir Knee Jerk This just isn't good enough, we need a team and manager that can provide a bit of concistency. I fully expected a break in our form but I did not expect it to come against West Ham and Bolton at home. If we can draw at United then we have done the hard work and need to make sure we push up the table. Had we of won those two home games then we would be sitting in 11th now and banging on the door for Europe. They might only be two games but I think they were two of the most important games of the season because they were the two games that would have changed the outlook of the whole team. When you look at the stats which compare Moyes against Smith then it is clear his five year plan will not work. As soon as the players feel that they can't make Europe then we will be in real trouble because the passion will just go out of their game (it already has in some quaters). David Moyes shot himself in the foot taking us into Europe and now he
will have to face up to the consequences. Sorrow and Anger I've always been a big Moyes fan - his inheritance was terrible and
the side performed wonders last season and in his first year. The last
few months have been very hard and we're told we've turned a number of
corners but we're still looking down rather than up. The injury record
is awful and big signings have under-performed (or not at all in
Krøldrup's bizarre case) but I don't think many of us can sit through
more of these defeats with out turning a chorus of boos into a serious
questioning how and why we got here. In doing this the finger of blame
will point to the manager and we may easily end up repeating the mistake
Agent Johnson made when Joe Royle was at the helm. Middle Finger Up! Next to useless Poor Krøldrup Has Got No Chance! As far fetched as that is, the logic is right. Whereas on the other
hand a tight defence and clean sheet on Saturday would not have resulted
in 3 points (no embarrasment though). Goals is what we need, not some
highly rated defender with an amount of expectation on his shoulders
which makes me cringe. Santa and Kroldrup As nobody has seen him on a football field, Moyes could find anyone from the streets, place him on the bench, misleading everyone into thinking he was a Danish international, whilst using the alleged money spent any way he fancied. (Has anyone seen Moyes in a new car recently?) What other explanation could there be for spending 5 Million on a player and never playing him? Not even Chelsea would do that (admittedly they would be likely to loan him to a “lesser” team, but at least then would could see how good he was). Perhaps someone should place a “Krøldrup stop here” sign on the
Goodison pitch. But, unfortunately, I fear, as with Santa, when his true
identity is revealed it will be a disappointment. If he is fully fit, now is the time to find out if he's any good. Weir's turn to step down to the bench is long overdue. Lyndon Well off the `gold standard` Sort it out PLEASE! Under Moyes we are living in hope! And the fact is we are in no better position than we were under Smith! The whole club needs to be changed. The only good thing this club has is the fans! We are in a bigger mess than people realise. Moyes is not the answer for Everton FC; he's not ambitious enough or clever enough! When were the fans last excited by the prospect of a big signing coming to Goodison? This team is slowly knocking football out of me and when I think of this mess I can't help but go on ToffeeWeb and read more letters — it's my way of getting it out of my system. Something has got to be done and I can only wish that I was the man
to change things but sadly I just have to sit and watch like all the
other blues!! All the best to everyone at ToffeeWeb. Two-game perspective - To argue that the fans are getting carried away by asking for Moyes's head after two "shocking losses" is ignoring the facts upon which your argument is based i.e. results and in particular the adjective you are using to describe them. - By the same logic, arguing that McFadden has now played two games without a goal and so has balanced out the positives with his two goals previously, should he not therefore be given another chance as opposed to the inference in your responses? If we are judging only upon two games then we must give everyone more time, but both you and I know that it is a lot longer than that; hence the concern. I must say however that your stance against the doom mongers is appreciated and gives fans like myself encouragement. I do agree that we are playing with passion and that we are playing a much more fluid style than many would care to admit and certainly better than under the Smith years. Come on you Blues and Merry Christmas to All; the season can change
in the blink of an eye - another half to go and let's stay positive! Time to stop pretending I won't shirk from namimg names : Weir - Hibbert - Kilbane - McFadden - Osman - Bent - Davies - Wright. Plus if they ever get fit - Naysmith - Pistone - Carsley . I omit Ferguson out of respect for retirement age. Not one of the above players would even get on the bench at Bolton or Middlesbrough or West Ham. If I'm wrong, it will be shown when we sell any one of them to a Premiership outfit. In truth these players are Coca Cola players at best, so I pray they don't come in useful next year on this basis! It's time to recognise that these are all David Moyes's players (by purchase or contract extension) and they aren't up to the task. Never mind talking them up this week or down next week - they aren't good enough any week. And as for captaincy? Alan Stubbs, a limited player, fought to his limits and demanded others to. David Weir drifts around letting Yobo do the hard work and waits for instructions from Phil Neville - Moyes doesn't even pretend to talk to his 'captain'. We get performances every week from Yobo, Arteta, Martyn, and Neville and some weeks frome Beattie, Cahill, Valente and VDM but the rest are passengers. A couple of scraped 1-0 results won't change anything - we are outclassed most weeks except sometimes on effort. All out effort can achieve results occasionally, but sub-standard players can't match Premiership quality on an ongoing basis. So David Moyes and the powers that be at Everton, do your one key job - face reality. Dispense with these failures or move on and let somebody else do it. You are tolerating performances that no other Premiership club would. Remember, we have got seven or eight good players - we're not Portsmouth! On the sidelines, where are Krøldrup and Ferrari? Any young players? A second striker? And to fans who say ‘it was great last year, it's not much different
this year, what's happened?' the answer is - look at the videos and you
might see a certain Tommy Gravesen creating almost all our goals. Then
look at the statistics when he was here (Uefa form) and since he's gone
(relegation form). Our player manager to be? Or coming next year with
Man Utd and Wayne Rooney to remind us of past hopes! Tactical suicide
Gerry W, London (18/12/05) Fearing the worst Interesting quote "David identified the player at the end of the season as a defensive addition he would like to add to the squad," Kenwright revealed shortly after the Dane's arrival.If this is the case, what has happend to change this view? Tomot (18/12/05) Er... That view hasn't changed, has it? He's been added to the squad, as promised. He now appears on the bench as a sub for every game, which is more than you can say for some other members of David's squad. (Li Tie, anyone?) He hasn't been utilised; that's the problem. Nobody knows why (with the possible exception of David Moyes). — Michael Krøldrup He cannotbe a muppet if he has played that many times in Serie A and
for the Danes. I'm Afraid We finished 4th last season the a goal difference of -1, and our top scorer was a midfieder. So it doesn't take Stephen Hawking to work out none of our current strikers score goals. Moyes spent nearly £20M in the summer... On What? - No Strikers! As we all know the signs were there last season, how many games have we won since Tommy left in Jan - not many. We concede 4 against Brom & Bolton, and crash out of 3 cup competitions at the first stage before September is over. Wait for the Millwall game!! Where has Moyes taken us and where are we going - 9 goals from 17 games??? To think the crowd used to get on Cottee's back (the last Everton player to score 20 goals in a season), and how many years ago was that? This team has gone to the dogs: Smith... Moyes... where will it all end? — Playing Sheff Wed, Coventry and Grimsby no doubt. Am I really the only blues fan who is dreading the derby on the 28th? Fed Up January Sales Pistone and Naysmith are useless and unavailable anyway so two left-backs down. Is Carsley ever going to recover to play this season? — a potential fifth player down (although this is a weak supposition) but still four players down. Add to that Gravesen's midfield holding role, which was never replaced, equals five or six. David Weir is fast becoming a liability when faced with several matches one after the other and is simply criminal to make team captain as his silence is far from golden: equals six or seven. Given the upcoming World Cup in the summer, African Nations in January, and the almost certainty EFC don.t have a pot to piss in thanks to Billy Liar and Mr Wyness and their lack of finding new funding beyond screwing the last drop out of current attending supporters, I dread to think how the club could find and attract six or seven players. Everyone would love to see top class players arrive but that would be way beyond the club's current financial ability. Even lower targets such as Dean Ashton from Norwich, Sidwell from Reading, Jagielka or Tonge from Sheffield Utd may be beyond our reach. Who could the club sell to fund buying new desperately needed replacements? Cahill or Yobo or Arteta as relative quality but leaves the club in deeper shit than when it started. Charlton wanted Bent, they suddenly realised they had the decent one already, you would be lucky to give most of the players away on nominal transfer fees. Answers anyone... please! Everyone knows what should be done Arteta has done okay on the right but his position is centre-midfield, while we continue to see a full-back (Neville) struggle in midfield. Every player is unsure of their job; confidence in the manager is low. The result: mistakes and a 4-0 home thrashing. Moyes hasn't got one strength either. Besides his awful tactics, he obviously can't motivate the team; he can only sign crocks or players we don't need that no-one else wants. As soon as we chase a player another team wants, I know we won't get him. SO WHY DO WE KEEP THINKING THINGS WILL BE SORTED OUT IN JANUARY??? Deluded Blues should realise that owning up to the fact that this
manager is a disaster does not make you a disloyal fan — it means you
want things changed for the good of the club. And I repeat what I've
said before, the debate shouldn't be whether or not to sack Moyes but
who the hell we can appoint to get us out of the mess we are in. And
believe me, besides the fact that there are more humiliating defeats on
the way, there is relegation. And Bill (I'll extend your contract)
Kenwright should have nothing to do with the next appointment. You
should be able to 'Impeach' a chairman like him. Annus horribilis What a year 2005 has been for Evertonians! And that`s only the League results. The depressing exits from two European competitions and the Carling Cup are now mostly overlooked as the focus falls on Premiership survival. The Rooney money pissed up the wall on nonentities — mostly injury
junkies — whilst the most obvious need is ignored, tactics which seem to
baffle the players as much as they annoy the fans... I won`t go on.
Enough to say that the stats above are probably just good enough to
indicate we shall cling to top tier status — but only just. Do you know,
I`m getting pissed off with being an Evertonian... but what can you do? Statistics The REAL reason we are in this position is the lack of a frontman who can score and put the ball where Beattie wants it (eg, McFadden in the West Ham game), then we are in a position to score first & early and win games. Not easy to find, that's the problem; look at Owen yesterday - you pay top whack and you win games. I'm off to watch Thierry Henry, Robben etc - how much money spent
there then? Let's hope David Moyes has a striker lined up or I fear a
long hard winter. Retro Football (without the perms) Moyes is the Naughties version of Gordon Lee IMHO. A decent, honest bloke who loves the club. He picked the club up when he joined and got the best out of an average bunch. Rooney became the new Duncan McKenzie and provided a bit of pace and flair (Dunc had more flair than pace though!) in a well-organised team of hard workers. I don’t blame Moyes for selling Rooney (we had to otherwise we would have gone into administration) but I don’t think he would have played him week-in week-out, as just like Lee, he has a seemingly natural suspicion of flair players. The team Moyes has created is the most one-dimensional team not only in the history of Everton (and I include the Smith and Royle teams), but also in the current Premier League. Can he honestly say that any of his midfielders or strikers can consistently dribble past a player, provide an incisive through ball, speed past defenders with pace, or hold on to the ball for more than 30 seconds and allow other players to make runs? He puts alot of emphasis (and indeed relies heavily) on his defensive organisation but can Moyes say his defence looks like a cohesive unit? Admittedly he has been unlucky with injuries this year but, considering he takes every training session, they still look awful unless someone is constantly covering the hole in front of them. I hate 4-5-1 but I’m not surprised Moyes has to play it. Neither Wright nor Weir has any confidence in each other, and it affects the rest of the team, but consider this:
A plank of wood with a nail in it, UK (18/12/05) Wondering... Pity good news pieces aren't collateral in the league; if they were, Robs efforts alone would have us 11 points clear with a game in hand. How about calling it as it is Rob, instead of how you would like it to be? Frusrated, angry - Birthday Celebrations. Having had a season ticket during the Walter Smith years, I honestly
think the performance was as bad as that. No pace in the team, no power,
no height and most damming of all no leaders on the pitch. McFadden Laugh or Cry? The game last night was surreal. The possession (68%) and corner stats (10 to 0) were revealing. But they shouldn't be surprising - this is how Bolton play, and we 'out-Boltoned' them at the start of the season. Trying to rationalise (and not gloss over other deficiencies): Other than the four goals, they had two efforts on-target, two off-target. But, as others have pointed out, we didn't really work their 'keeper 'til the 88th minute, and with a few more efforts after that. The final ball was dire - and Arteta / Davies's corners often failed to clear the first Bolton defender. So whilst luck seems to be kicking us in the nuts as often as helping us these days, I do think our biggest problem is our overall style of play. Add to that we are practically halfway through the season, averaging a point a game (and only after a recent good run), throw into the mix that confidence is shot to pieces, and it doesn't auger well for the next few games and beyond. I don't subscribe to the 'spending spree' that some anticipate - I really don't think we have the cash, and I fear Billy will be thinking of maybe budgeting for the unthinkable. Hopefully we will draft another striker in - though I've got no idea who is available / affordable / would come who could do the job. And I think Owen would struggle to score in that team at the moment. Finally, wherever you are, Merry Christmas all (those of us far from
our families at this time can take some crumb of solace we're also far
from piss-taking reds). I'm frustrated, annoyed, depressed...and
stumped. ...cut to now, two home defeats to beatable teams, including a 4-0 battering. What the hell happened to the performance of last Sunday? But what is most difficult is that actually, there's not a whole hell of a lot you can do to that team. Krøldrup for Weir maybe, but then we're losing Yobo in January for the African Nations. Waiting for Van der Meyde to be fit. Apart from that the outfield team today was pretty much our first choice. On a basic level, I can kind of understand the problem. We are so poor up front (lowest scorers in Europe, as mentioned on Sky last weekend) that as soon as a goal goes in the heads go down, because they know we're never going to score more than one. But I'm stumped as to how you really solve it - considering our current position we're a far less attractive proposition for anyone to sign in January, so we'll likely get mediocrity at best. Are we counting on just getting incredibly lucky with a lower-league striker like Nugent? I'm stumped as to identifying whose fault? The Board - who for all the criticism stumped up a bunch of cash to improve on a 4th placed finish last year? The manager - who seems to be able to coax great performances followed by abysmal ones? Or the players, who are actually a more talented bunch overall than I've seen for a while, but can't seem to deliver. ...and I think that's probably the scariest thing. I can't think of a
solution. My first choice XI would be much the same as Moyes, we're not
going to get the top quality striker we need, and I can't work out where
we can make a practical big step improvement. For WS read DM I wasn't a Smith fan by any stretch of the imagination but I still can't see what Moyes has done to be held in such high regard when in actual fact we are in no better a position than four years ago. I just don't get it. For Middlesborough read Millwall, a defeat there
will surely spell the end. Moyesie's fault, my arse! It is easy to jump on the bandwagon when things are going well, but in reality it is not easy being a Blue. Players are under-performing but support the team all you can and in the end we will be fine. I would personally say that we employ players like Hibbert, Davies, Kilbane, Bent and Beattie who are pushing for a place in The Worst Everton Team of All-Time". God bless the transfer window! Please, David, sign Melchiott from
birmingham — he is class, and also Keane and Ashton, if funds allow. Only 3 more defeats..... To say I am worried... In this, my last post for this year, I wish the editorial staff and
all fellow sufferers for the cause a Merry Christmas and a stupendously
succesful New Year. All the ingredients of a relegation team
We played well in bits today and controlled the game against an average Bolton team but we lost 4 - 0 and never even looked like scoring. We never created a chance and we were at home! That is a sign of deep trouble! Something has got to be done in January but could we really trust
moyes with another £20M... I DONT THINK SO!! Moyes: be a brave man and
walk, for the sake of EVERTON FC!!! Back from the game ... Kilbane was our only available left-sided midfielder; whatever your view on him, he does know the position, which should have merited his inclusion and left the manager with the problem of who to leave out between Arteta, Davies, Cahill or Neville. This assumes he wanted to play 4-4-2. I understand most Blues hate the 4-5-1 formation but, with the current group of players, it may be our best tactic as I think the centre of midfield is our achilles heel at present; the said formation gives us the chance to disguise that and to grind out much needed results — not pretty on the eye, I agree. Today we had most of the play as I am sure the stats will show but in reallity we tested their keeper on very few occasions no matter what adjustments the manager made to the system — and I counted many. "Buy a striker in the window" will be a popular cry... but I fear if it is possible it will be more Trundle than Shevchenko. Also, many a cry will be heard for the manager's head but really in the current state of the club we would be unable to furnish a top-class manager with top-class funds to enable him to be effective. Therefore, it may be better to let Moyes learn his trade at the top level with us until such time as we get substantial investment or he proves himself. I think he will make a good manager... EVENTUALLY! — have we all got the patience? Next up: Villa... and who knows! All the best for Christmas and New
Year, lads. UP THE BLUES Wrong Tactics Secondly, regardless of blame to individual players, I'd like to lay blame to tactics. If you don't play the right way against Bolton you will be lucky to get a draw. To win against that lot you need quick players who can hit the byline and cut it back for oncoming strikers or midfielders to strike. Why the hell did we continue to try and swing "shite" balls in on one of the best aerial defenses around? Either have the skill to split their defense, pepper their keeper with shots, or look for the cut-back. We did none of these today. Michael, I think it was you that did'nt believe my comments about our big dane. Mate believe me that's what I've heard, I aint saying it's fact but from a very reliable source, and I feel it my duty to pass this info on. However, a fellow blue today informed me that Krøldrup was the leading scoring defender in Serie A last year so something ain't adding up. I'd like to know what the statto's have on this guy. I hear he nailed 12 goals last year, "IF" that's a fact then he's no muppet... so why aren't we playing him? Yet again, Weir cost us big time; can Krøldrup be any worse for God's sake? I'm sorry to upset all you Moyes lovers out there but I personally can't take the yo-yo shit that he delivers. Give us a manager who can make us a strong mid-table side and then build from there ! Moyes out for me ! Tactics???? This left Valente with two jobs to do and left us vulnerable on the break as he chased back down his wing. This also meant all of our 'attacking' was down one side of the pitch and was subsequently predictable and easy to defend against. I realised that this would be the case after around three minutes. However, the tactical genius of Moyes failed to notice this until Bolton had slotted in a fourth goal. Is that the kind of leadership we require at this desparate time?! Moyes's tactics are so wonky that it actually wouldn't surprise me if it was his plan to play with no left side and just pray to God that we fluke a goal and don't concede. Moyes never has a Plan B and the negativity of the tactics is excruciating. It was obvious to everyone that it wasn't working but it didn't change and that IS the manager's fault. It is true that we had around 80% of the possession in the first hour but that does NOT mean we played well. It means that Bolton sat back and were content to defend. If we would have played well then our first meaningful shot would have happened after 88 seconds, not 88 minutes —which is how it transpired today. I remember being told by Moyes that the West Brom game was a one-off, never to be repeated. My understanding of the term 'one-off' is that the event happens only once. Well, er, Davie, remember Man City, Arsenal, Fenerbahçe, Bucharest and now even Bolton to add to that West Brom one-off. People are quick to state how Walter Smith was a terrible manager, but I don't seem to remember many games in which we were so tactically bankrupt that we were destroyed and embarrassed during his reign in the manner we currently are witnessing. The problem is in the tactics. The tactics are down to the manager. I
honestly believe we have a decent collection of players (minus Bent,
Kilbane, Ferguson, Davies) who want to play for the club, but they are
being led by a one-trick pony who is dragging us further and further
down and the club needs some new positivity injected into it asap. Poodles of Peace Could easily have been Wimbledon from 10 years back. Fill the team with eight big 'uns and have two fairly skilful players in their case Diouf and Stelios. They sensed the ref was weak right from the off and took advantage of it. They also closed down every Everton player with the ball which then relies on individual skill and unfortunately McFadden is our only player who can go past a man. They looked very fit and well drilled and every one of their players looked physically stronger than each one of ours. There is a saying that you have to win the battle before you can start to play - we didn't win any battles. The £8M wasted on Neville and Davies would have been much better spent on a DOG like Faye, Etuhu, Diop, although I suppose that's what we were hoping Sissoko would be. Not great footballers, Carsley proved last season that you don't have to be, but bloody effective. I know I have a go at Neville but like Wednesday night again I thought he was garbage. He can't tackle - he was very lucky to get away with a couple of the challenges he put in today where he wrapped his legs around the Bolton players. He tries to assume the mantle of a midfield general but he can't pass either. At least Carsley knows his limitations, and just does simple passes. We used to be the Dogs of War but looking at our midfield today we are more like the poodles of peace ! One thought on Krøldrup - I, a few weeks ago, mischeivously reckoned that his absence was due to the fact that we had probably only paid £1M upfront for him and the rest of the fee will be based upon appearances - with each passing week where he doesn't even get a look in from the subs bench, this theory doesn't sound too far fetching. I don't go with the theory that he is crap - the fairly knowledgable
Italian bloke on Talksport (Gabrielle Marcotti?) said that he was one of
his signings of the season!! I'm sure we bought him with the intention
of playing him but then he got injured and by the time he got fit we
were out of Europe and skint! We'll see... Wonderful?
Your views on Rooney epitomise everything I despise about football. They are narrow minded, parochial, hate-obsessed and delusional. You and your ilk offer nothing constructive — just another interminable whinge after fucking whinge. Tony, take a holiday son… go on a cruise or something; but, a word of advice. If the ship hits an iceberg and you find yourself in a life boat; have the good sense to keep your gob shut… or you might end up having a long swim ahead of you (Or with luck be the first course when the supplies run out). PS. We were out-thought and out-fought today… but played some decent
football until the break… Oh for a Tony Cottee like runner/poacher up
front! This is Moyes's team now I am worried A new manager would perhaps gee up the players because they certainly
lack the urgency and passion to play for Everton (the great team of the
eighties did have steady heads but boy did they play with pace and
passion). Another discouraging performance We lack pace in almost every area; our goalkeeper is a bag of nerves and spreads this to the defence and our midfield, the admirable Phil Neville excepted, is generally far too inconsistent and lacks the ability to open up even the simplest defence. Up front we are toothless; whilst we have the occasional positive, the negatives are the things that could ultimately send us down and with less than ten goals and a bundle conceded, we are up againt it. What amazes me is the IMWT supporters who refuse to note any weakness in our Davey. Well here are a few they might want to consider:
I initially wanted a new computer for Christmas but a new manager
would be even better to save me the haassle I will get from the RS if we
do go down. Do you see what I see?? To say we were playing well up until they scored their 2nd is ridiculous and it certainly wasn't the same game I was watching. I watched Everton lump the ball up the pitch for 60 minutes and watched every ball be headed clear by Bolton's two no-nonsense (limited) centre-halves. We had no invention, no movement, and no idea how to counter a very defensive and disciplined Bolton side. And don't even get me started on the Manager. Now I'm not a knee-jerk reaction type of person, but it's already been pointed out in previous letters that you don't need to be Einstein to work out that Bolton will be tough, dirty and defensive. So we were presented with an Everton side today who didn't look up for a fight and had it all tactically wrong. The buck here stops with the manager and his staff. Have we ever had a run of results in 12 months where we have had so many heavy beatings? Anyways, I could go on all night as there is so much to say. This needs changing and it needs changing now, I'm sick of being humiliated. Oh, and one final point: Was the ref scared of 'Big' Sams reaction if
he would have sent Davies off? As quite clearly there was some
underlying reason why he didn't walk after 20 minutes. WHY?
I think that says it all... COME ON DAVID; you're the boss: sort it
before it's too late to be saved. The Big Embarassment 05' Part 4 After the West Brom disgrace, I stated that this Everton side, which Moyes has assembled, is all too easily capable of being beaten by 3 or 4 goals in nearly every game. If we go behind first, the heads drop and the lock comes off the floodgates. This is totally proven by today's game. Although I wasn't there today, I listened to it and once we got that goal disallowed and then they went up the other end and scored, I just knew there was worse to come. I expected it, and this is completly unacceptable. On another point, in reply to Mr McPherson's letter about my 'gang raped by Rooney and EFC' letter, yes it is an extreme compararison and crass, but it was just the first thing that came to my head when trying to represent how it seems all parties took some advantage of the Rooney transfer and left us, the fans, bitter and the real losers. There is nothing shameful about what I said, but I have lost the will to talk about this now as the pressing matter is a 4-0 defeat at home against Bolton. So Villa on Boxing Day is were we are going to go from here, but will it be a hard-earned 1-0 win or just the next 4-0 drubbing? 2005 is not over yet and I have genuine fears of Embarassment Part 5 on the 28th, I hope to god not because I think that would be the final straw for everybody. Keep ya heads up and sink some pints until then, after all what the
fuck can we do about it?! To Colin Tunstall & His Ilk "...When we start getting tonked again - and endemic failings at the club mean we almost certainly will - the letters will start rolling in again..." Now we can call for change in safety - Moyes, Kenwright, anyone else
responsible for our most recent disgrace - don't let the door hit your
arse on the way out. Stupid goals Everton's manner of play and footballing nouse has been deplorable in every game regardless of the result. There is not one game you can point to and say that was good
football. No fight
Re:Enough is enough!! 38 pts from 35 games...REST MY CASE! Ashamed and bitter The West Ham game, a little clue: if David Weir played his heart out against Man Utd at Old Trafford, does it take a genius to realise a player on the wrong side of 30 and getting slower by the week cannot perform miracles every few days and should be rested? Is the fabled Per Koughdrop really that shite that he would be worse than a tired ageing centre-half and only be fit to warm the bench for ten games? Come January, Joe Yobo will be missing for 5 weeks playing in the African Nations Cup; will Per actually feature then? And if so, why not give him experience now rather than drop him in it with a new partner? What tactical genius does it take to decide this relatively common sense requirement? David Weir has now made two major errors on the bounce which have led to opposition goals, surely a reason to drop and rest him? The tactical suicide of bringing on Marcus Bent to replace an injured James McFadden when 4-4-2 was working against West Ham to become 4-5-1 (pardon the vitriol but with his uselessness that night actually meant 4-4-1 and down to ten men) completely changed and eventually lost us the game. Why not try Arteta, our most talented midfielder on to replace McFadden and maybe push Osman onto the shoulder of Beattie to retain an attacking formation? Why switch to a defensive and negative formation at home 1-0 up and admittedly very quickly 1-1? Mr Moyes's failure to buy a striker, when it was painfully apparent with the last three months of last season's games to play, has hit Everton hard ever since; our goal scoring has been atrocious and virtually non-existent; our ability to make any impact in the last third of the pitch is diabolical. Now onto the Bolton game. Any manager of any team who had ever seen Bolton play for the last few years will tell you they hit hard and push the rules of the game as far as they can to bully, harrass and intimidate opposing teams. They are not the most technical of sides but this tactic has seen them turn from a yo-yo promotion side to perrenial Premiership occupants. Do Mr Moyes or any of his coaching staff not acknowledge the need to adapt your team and tactics to combat their opponents? For several months Mr Moyes laboured with his 4-5-1, a few key midfielders were missing though; Gravesen who left and was not replaced and Carsley whose holding role has been juggled but often to Phil Neville who has been played all over the midfield and defence often in the same game making this holding role pointless. The ground emptied tonight at 3-0 which instantly became 4-0 and could easily have carried on to double figures. Mr Moyes has no technical genius; no response to going a goal down or to counter-attack. And to have a £5M player sat on the bench with an ineffective centre-half losing the game... His substitutions appear way too late to change a game and even his body language on the touchline appears resigned to the negative manner his team and his players are playing. If anyone would care to debate and defend any of the aforementioned,
feel free as I am at my wits end at what is on display week-in, week-out
- the Man Utd away game the exception. Proud Defensive Record Enough is Enough!! No motivation, no passion, no hope, no invention....it's painful
being a blue and now it is time for David Moyes to finally cut his
allegiances with EFC. The end of the road I've tried to support David Moyes as much as I can, especially after last season. OK, we know that we over-achieved, but we thought that at least we might consolidate in mid-table at worst. No chance of that; with the odd exception, this season has been appalling. Can Moyes not see that David Weir is well past his sell-by date. For crying out loud, we have an international £5M defender on the bench who hasn't played yet! The decision not to buy a striker has had and could have so many ramifications to be untrue. And please don't get me started on Marcus Bent! The man has absolutely nothing and clearly can't wait to get away - so why does he ever get any time on the pitch? So Bill, please take off your Moyes-tinted spectacles and realise
that enough is enough, he has to go - not at the end of the season when
we've fallen through the floor, but now, while we can still save it.
Thanks for all the good things you've done David, but you ain't big
enough for Everton. You are the weakest link - goodbye! Krøldrup post II Anyway, bringing back the Krøldrup thing again... do you reckon he can't speak English and that's why he's being held back... as he's having lessons?! And Moyes is worried about commincation problems? Long shot, but you never know! Bye bye Davey Moyes We just had a lucky phase this time last year with Gravesen being supreme. Now there's a back four totally inferior to Bolton's, a mid-field inferior to Wast Ham's. We've had new extortionate contracts for Cahill etc, Yobo passing to Man Utd all the time, Weir's not a captain, no-one tackles or closes down. Goodness knows who the next manager should be, he needs both to be an
ideas guy (not hard to improve) and a motivator of these rich pooftas.
Moyes must go!!! DISGRACE Fuck Off! Echo How deeply embarrassing was it to hear Alan Pardew say that West Ham came to Goodison and gave us a 'footballing lesson'? Incidentally, anyone castigating a fellow fan at the game for cheering his side on vociferously should be equally embarrassed of themselves. Merry Christmas To the ashamed fan I watched United in pre-season playing Peterborough away. I had to
stand in the terrace with those fat drunk bald Mancs singing
anti-scouser songs. Then I had to endure the reality of my cover being
blown when my mates little girl shouted "YOU SUPPORT EVERTON" at the top
of her voice. I thankfully got away with just a few anti-scouser chants
directed at me and my health intact. It takes balls to do what you did
and you should take pride in the fact that you went that far to watch
the blues! Re: Merchandise for 2004. I always thought that Everton FC marketing was a disaster anyway. Always failing to find the right thing to sell and poor quality of goods. They have never been good at trying to get the right things at the shop. They probably never thought about Rooney merchandise in the first place. I have bought a Davie Moyes shirt for Tony Marsh for Christmas. I
think Moyes will stay if we sell items with his name on them. Who's Arsed Anymore This past year has been the most soul destroying 12 months ever known. Humiliated from January right through to December and already out of Europe next season. How much more pain must we suffer before we wake up? David Moyes is a hard-working pro who believes in what he does... but that's about it. Moyes has been found out big time. Last season he suprised every one with 4-5-1 and with the help of Tommy Gravesen it worked for a while. Once he got sussed he was fucked — and still is. We don't have one player in the entire squad that an opposing manager really has to worry about — someone who is a genuine threat. And that's the problem with Moyes's style. He thinks grafting alone is enough — it's not! It's getting that bad to watch, I don't look forward to going to the games any more. I am dreading the derby and don't even bother arguing with reds any more... what's the point? No one can defend the shite we churn out. I know Bill Kenwright won't sack Moyes and he will be our manager for ever and that just about sums Everton up at the moment: No leadership on or off the park and too much loyalty being shown to people who don't deserve it. At least fans like Kev Sparke and Harry Meek think it's wonderful. Maybe we are not relegation fodder this season but I expected a lot more for my money this time around; Davey has failed to deliver. Can I have a refund? No Nugent is good Nugent I hear a lot of people baying for Mr Moyes to buy Mr Nugent as alledgedly he will solve all our striking woes (not sure if that is a view held on this site). However, signing this man on the strength that he is a true blue would be yet another mistake. Yes, he may have scored some goals in the Championship, but after tonight's "effort", we are better off without him. The words 'barn door' and 'five paces' spring to mind. I don't profess to know who would inspire our timid attack but you
may as well put me up front as an Everton fan as him, and I'm shite!
£10k a week would do me just nice :/ Duncan, Rooney, Steve Lyth, Colm, spin and
counter The distinction here is that Rooney was NOT made to feel unwanted, neither by the board, the fans or the manager. When Everton Football Club offered him the best and highest deal in their history (was it £50k per week?) Rooney decided to procrastinate for a further few months. If you honestly believe that jetting Everton representatives out to see Rooney during the Euros in attempt to get him to make his bloody mind up was all some charade and spin making effort to disguise their ugly hidden agenda then you really do need to take a reality check or go back to watching the X-files. Furthermore, to hone in on an omission from a merchandising catalogue as support to your argument is really clutching at straws. Let's get one thing straight here – I’m no blind follower of the regime or the Liverpool Echo sports pages - the Board can and should come in for criticism for their antics and seeming complete lack of any business sense. The biggest fuck up being getting shafted on the terms and amount of the Rooney fee. I have never had cause to cross swords with you before but I now
understand why you have come in for previous criticism. It would appear
that you are so wrapped up in your own brand of spin, deep paranoia and
all knowing arrogance that it is YOU who fails to see the wood from the
trees. To accuse us of not being able to differentiate emotion from
plain fact is an insult to one’s intelligence levels. I proffered some
facts to you regarding Duncan’s departure but on one hand you dismiss
them as trivia sprinkled into emotional argument or on the other choose
to ignore them altogether. Let me have your address at Toffee Towers so
I can send you an X-files box set – no hard feelings lad, Christmas n’
all ;o) Dear Michael Old Trafford — Theatre of Hate Firstly, I think it took real balls to sit in the Stretford End in the first place. Secondly, why give the United Nations of Hate a custom built Scouse punchbag for Xmas? They'd love nothing more than to notch a Scouser on to their list, you would only have been escorted from the ground anyway, thus missing your beloved Toffeemen that you have so loyally travelled to the Theatre of Hate to see. Once a blue always a blue, you've earnt the right to say that. What do the rest of us who didn't go to Old Trafford do? Go into exile? You should be proud not ashamed? I've been to Old Trafford before and it is not nice at all; even for England games. The only time I've seen Man U fans brave enough to celebrate in Glwadys Street they've been ejected or thumped by numerous Evertonians, with a few of them left in tatters. The Stretford End is far bigger than Glwadys Street, and in light of the anti-Scouse attack that took place at a party in Manchester over the summer, you did well to keep quiet. Chin up and get yourself back to Goodison Park ASAP. You've as much right as anyone else. And a massive pat on the back to all the Blues who did us proud on Sunday. Keep the Faith; Nil Satis Nisi Optimum Time to reflect No Plan B when you lose your forward early in the game: 'It's easy; replace him with a.... oh yes a forward. Then I know, I will swap him over to the right of midfield because he is shit (I forgot how shit he is).' I look around on the bench and remember the best right-sided player Everton have had for ages is sitting there and I could really have just put him on in the first place. Then I have a flash of inspiration: 'I know, I will put on Arteta and take off my right-back, let's go for it!' 'Christ I forgot Kilbane was still on the pitch... get the big man on and move Osman to the left and my central midfielder, Neville, is now at right-back. Easy; we will get right back into this! Oh, I suppose Mikel will have to play deep to allow me to unleash Si'. As it turned out Neville was perhaps at fault for the winner but can you blame him, does he actually know which position he will be playing in for the next 15 mins of the game? Complaints, anyone? BTW, I can't believe any Blue actually buys the Echo, but each to
their own. Rooney? Well it's happened so let's move on. Kenwright OUT My vote - send him to Iraq, one-way, passport stamped Never to Return. Time will show he led a great club in the doldrums further into the doldrums. "Theatre Imnpresario", bollocks more like professional bullshit artist and wideboy supreme, no more, no less. A rich con artist, I wouldn't buy a second-hand brush off him, let alone a car — or for that matter any line of bullshit regarding new transfers, stadium, investment, plans for the future... Once a liar, always a liar... Kenwright OUT. Rooney Departure. Kenwright OUT! Disgust I am refering to the idiots fuelled by beer and other substances at the WBA and ManU games, I was sick to my stomach at some of the remarks aimed at WBA fans and the threats leveled at our own supporters when challenging these excususes for human beings. The ManU game was no different. OK slag off an opponent if you must or sing songs to opposing fans... but for god's sake leave race, colour and creed out of the equation. I for one will not travel away again as these morons are starting to
scare me and I do not want to be associated with them — not only as part
of Everton Football Club but also as a member of the human race. Get him in Tired players?? In response to colms question Re Duncan Couple of things here Colm mate, one, you do not know whether I
welcomed Duncan back. Two, I cannot believe you posed the question in
the first place, it was well documented that Duncan did not want to
leave the club ( unlike the Rooney saga )and it was well documented he
wanted to come back.I for one was over the moon when he came back home.
Hats, Scarves, and Two Smoking Scousers However, neither of us could prevent a reflex dance of joy when we
scored – to the obvious fury of our hosts. This was a while back as you
can tell. I was certain we were both doomed when another Evertonian in a
similar position a few yards away broke into a loud solo chorus of, “I’M
GONNA GET MY FUCKIN’ HEAD IN!” Fortunately all round the moment of humor
broke the tension, our predators laughed and we survived. Clutching at Straws Krøldrup The reports that we are likely to bring Stubbsy back seem to confirm this for me, and if buying Krøldrup was a mistake, whoever authorised it should own up and for once be honest with us fans! That would be a first eh! Mr Muldoon However, to draw the parallell bewteen Rooney's transfer and a 'gang rape' is not just wholly inappropriate but crass in the extreme. I am extremely disappointed that the Rooney situation turned out as it did. It was a turning point for many Evertonians, confirming in truth, what most of us already knew, that Everton are no longer a top club. Great and illustrious history, yes... but no history will be made going forward. And yes, many dirty hands were involved. But let's keep this in proportion...'gang rape'? That's poor analysis. On that basis... I was frankly surprised it got through and was
posted for all to see. I hate the manipulators, not the manipulated. Seeing as Kenwright seems to be able to pull the wool over the eyes over thousands of Evertonians, of all ages, races, genders and intelligence levels, I don't think it was too difficult to manipulate an eighteen year old from Croxteth whose claim to fame is kicking a ball. Waynes never going to go on Mastermind is he? Why hate Rooney, who at least wears his heart in his sleeve, when Kenwright is continually exonerated for constant and deliberate lies "...to the fans he loves." {Dominic King}??? I'm over it, but rather like the despondent blue of Wavertree, I will never forgive the board for their role. And why should Wayne Rooney give a shit about Evertonians - it's Evertonians spitting on his family and spraypainting his house afterall... David C PS - Michael, how about reissuing the articles that prove the boards
collusion - I seem to remember 10 million pounds borrowed against
Rooney, and it being paid back some six days after his sale? Duncan Ferguson v Rooney Departure Although I don't like Kenwright, I believe he pulled the stops out financially to try and get him to stay. May I add that this offer was on the table way before the European Championships and Shrek's dithering until the final day of the transfer window further supports his rightful condemnation. Like I say, it was the manner in which he and his entourage allowed matters to be conducted rather than the sale itself. If he’d gone in June, I would have no axe to grind and Everton Football Club could have got on with the business of team rebuilding and selling shirts to kids without his name adorning them. Duncan Ferguson never wanted to leave Everton Football Club and was informed by Walter Smith passing down the players tunnel on the night of the Newcastle game that Peter Johnson had agreed the final details of his sale. A heated row then broke out where Dunc angrily accused Smith of selling him behind his back. I am also informed that Dunc's Father then went into the Winslow afterwards to inform certain folk what had happened so the TRUTH be known. Although Dunc never had the ability of Rooney and unfortunately never
lived up to his legend status, the respect he reciprocated to the fans
for the support during his porridge in Barlinnie shows what real men are
made of. It’s probably still why his name rings around the place even
though his effectiveness has dwindled away. When Dunc returned, we
welcomed him back to his family like a lost son and put our concerns
about his fitness to one side. Like him or hate him, Dunc is blue right
through like a stick of rock: be careful where you draw your
comparisons. I am gobsmacked that you believe the Club tried their very best to keep Rooney at Everton. Why was Rooney forced to switch agents, something the Club approved of? Why didn't the Club offer Rooney an improved contract when that became a possibility? Comparisons were made back then, as Leeds United unveiled a star of their own, James Milner. Milner, due to his age, signed a similar initial contract but his club tied him down to a lengthier deal once that became a possibility. Everton didn't. And then, the rest, as they say, became history... - Colm Well on the afternoon of the Wednesday I decided I’d drive the 200 miles to Goodison and watch what I hoped would be a goal fest, after all last time I watched Everton play the Hammers I saw a six nil goal thriller... So I left London at 5pm and shacked it up the M1, M6 and got to the
car park at ten to eight, I ran to get my ticket from the main stand and
got a ticket with NO restrictive posts in the way - by this time it was
five past eight but I thought id get some chips and curry from the
chippy opposite first so by the time I walked up the stairs to my seat
Beatie had scored! I thought maybe things were on the up but when I sat
down I realised that contrary to the ticket girl I was in fact sat
behind an obstructive pillar! So in effect I had a 200 miler for some
damn fine curry chips and some fine views of an ageing pillar. Gang-Raped By Rooney, EFC And Every other
Fucker Basically, the way I now see it is..... England was very negative towards Rooney playing for Everton. That excuse for a manager Erikkson probably had a hand in it, as well as all the flash twats already at England like Ferdinand, Beckham etc. Stretford, say no more. Rooney DID sell his soul to go to a 'bigger' club, and was turned by third parties. EFC knew this and decided to cash in with all kinds of dodgy goings on which they have tried to cover up, but they are by no means an innocent party. At the end of all this, getting raped is us, the fans. So here we now are, our once hero IS a twat and deserves all the shit he gets. If you don't agree with it you are a pussy because if the day came where Everton were playing Man Utd on the last day of the season and if we lost we'd go down and it was the 90th minute and Utd got a penalty to kill us do not kid yourelf that Rooney would not be fighting to take the pen, because I know he would. How it is now, Rooney would love to score a goal that really fucked
us up, even relegated us. Some of us can see this; others can't and I
for one will continue to hate Rooney because I can't help it. Krøldrup Has anyone noticed his expressions sat on the bench? It never changes
at all.. not one bit.. just a constant gormless look. £5M well spent,
Davey! Depressed "I know! let's leave our best player on the bench, and then bring on a striker and play him right midfield when our 2nd striker gets injured. This isolates our main striker, and still leaves our best player on the bench - you know, the one who has been playing right midfield." Genius, Genius, Genius! What's the betting he makes changes to the team Saturday — maybe leave Beattie on the bench as well, then we may be able to challenge Chelsea as having the most expensive bench. I know this letter is full of moans but I do want Moyes to succeed,
it's just that I'm losing my faith. It feels like one step forward...
two steps back. God we need to win on Saturday... Last night, I was sickened by some of the stick Davey Weir was
getting. This has began since Per Krøldrup has come to the club, so some
fans don't see how commanding Davey Weir is in the air. He's never been
fast but makes up with his tackling and his power in the air. Maybe he
should be dropped and then those fans who criticise Davey would find out
how much we'd miss him. Why do we always boo Gary Speed? It wasnt his fault he left — it was Kendall's. As I remember, Speed made it clear he wanted to stay at the club but was forced out! He was a great player for Everton who always scored goals even at Anfield. He was sold to Newcastle — it's not like he went to Man Utd, like Rooney! Reasons for not booing him: 1) He refused to play another game for Wales because he didn't want to break Southall's 'most apps' record as he said it would be disrespectful to a true football legend. 2) He has been quoted today saying "I love playing against Everton, especially at Goodison Park - I supported them as a kid and it is a fantastic stadium. "They beat us last season and at the start of this campaign, so it
would be nice to get one over on them. However, we know it will be a
difficult game." Does that sound like a player who wanted to leave for
more money? I don't think so! He is a good pro; the only 'greedy
bastards' were the EFC Board of Directors! The Future Far too often, Everton players cough up possession to easily which only serves to keep the back four overworked. The WBA, Man Utd and West Ham games were prime examples and only a lot of luck got a point at Man Utd. The whole squad needs a shake-up. The recent points they have gained have protected Moyes for now but the next four weeks are critical. Signings of fully fit, speedy ,skilful players are crucial to get
Everton out of the danger zone. Last night was a mix of bad coaching and
captaincy. The Board of Directors have to act soon. With this team and
this typical performance, I think even Millwall are licking their lips. Point taken Mike or in this case none I'd put down our disastrous early season to a combination of injuries and bad luck, but after watching last night's debacle, I've lost patience with David Moyes's team selection and tactics. Arteta's exclusion was particularly inexplicable; why did our best
player not start? However, my main annoyance is the inexplicable
preference for David Weir over Per Krøldrup. David's been an excellent
club servant and was justifiably rewarded by DM with a short contract,
but surely he should be regarded only as a useful stopgap for when Yobo,
Krøldrup or Ferrari are unfit, and I'm sorry to say he's been a totally
ineffective captain. Rooney I know exactly what Mr Newell means about the upsetting nature of
those few days in August 2004. And however you gloss it, it WAS Rooney's
decision to leave. I can't see how he will ever be forgiven by a
significant section of Everton fans. ''No Complaints" But even in that defeat do we really have to twist our manager's
words to the most negative aspect possible. David Moyes' "no complaints"
comment was an acknowledgment that we were beaten by a better team. Far
better to have an honest assessment rather than a "we were unlucky" or
"the referee is to blame" - may as well bring in Graeme Souness for
something like that. Weir, when will the penny drop. Also, Yobo is doing a lot more covering than he should be. What we
need is a proven centre back replacement for Weir so he can have rests
in between games. In January, I think Moyes should spend about £5m on
such a player from the Italian league ( they have the best defenders )
and he should be an international, Weir can then be given a good rest. No Leader!! Whilst James Beattie went someway towards answering Pat Murray`s criticism of him with a great goal last night,I do think that the Everton management and players constantly set themselves up for ridicule with the endless stream of boastful rubbish which is now the style of the Post and Echo coverage. The so called `Dominic King` influence has seen a once sceptical/negative view of the club being replaced with coverage bordering on sycophancy, with people from Kenwright down being encouraged to offer quotes which make most of us squirm. Moyes with his irrational excuses - `they must have been tired after their exertions on Sunday` - Beattie's bragging and McFaddon`s endless claims to have `turned the corner` leave most of us cold, knowing as we do that they will inevitably be followed by a reversion to type with yet another crap performance like last night. Please can`t somebody in the club`s press office put an end to this
garbage or failing that, the Editor of P&E insist that the coverage of
all three Merseyside clubs is independent and objective! Now or never The man is 35 years old, he's played 3 games in ten days and we have another in two days time. If we don't see Krøldrup on Saturday, Moyes obviously doesn't rate him. If that's the case he's wasted £5 million of our precious transfer funds. I'm interested to know what my fellow blues think should happen if a manager wastes that kind of money. Oh, and why the hell was our best player sat on the bench???
unbelieveable! Professional Athletes? Captaincy Keane on crocks Central Myth However, for some reason they appear to escape any criticism.... why? Davies barring three or four balls in 5 months, is a passenger; Neville kicks people, cannot pass a ball, and is continually applauded for his anonymous performances; the "he must be good he tries dead hard" cliche is now wearing thin. Put Neville at right-back, and let Davies go in the window (do you actually think we would get any takers?). And please bring the Dane in at centre-back, otherwise take it from me.... we could go close to relagation. ps: can people stop getting excited about Robbie Keane... after all
we'll end up with a First Fivision striker in January (you're not
falling for that are you?) Why oh Why Answers on a postcard please! I hate to hear it, but that performance
was worthy of the boo's that greeted the final whistle. Shrek What he did and the manner of it was akin to stabbing a member of your own family in the back. Yes, players can and do move on but the manner in which he allowed the transfer to be conducted was unforgivable. Bollocks to this “too young to realise” excuse too - If you are old enough to buy a pint in your local then you should be adult enough to conduct yourself with a modicum of respect for the wider community that has nurtured you, and the supporters to which you proclaim your allegiance. His uncle came onto Radio Merseyside when he left the club stating he had "outgrown Everton Football Club" - a further twist of the knife. As the old man says with venom: “Ball, Young, Vernon - who the hell does he think he is – outgrown EVERTON FOOTBALL CLUB!!! Let's get one thing right here: the bastard sold out good style – not only Everton Football Club but the City of Liverpool - he will reap the whirlwind. Call me vindictive, bitter or whatever you want but I no longer have
any interest in England games and the 2006 World Cup is strictly off my
agenda if the twat is playing. Occasionally I have tuned into a live Man
Utd game on telly to hope the aforementioned whirlwind will come along
sooner rather than later – and I mean the career ending variety. Goodison Morgue The sooner we get down to a hard core at this club the better. I was
proud of our fans and the team at Old Trafford on Sunday; being told
tonight to fuck off into the Park End where I belong sums Goodison up
for me. My lad was with me tonight and he was disgusted at the attitude
of some who call themselves Evertonians. He wants to go in the Park End
next year, but even the Park End was quiet tonight. I live for the aways
where the Hard Core exist. Shame on us all tonight; West Ham never
normally win at Goodison Park. Back from the game ... The substitution was made and I believe not only confused many of us fans but the players also. Bent before Arteta seemed a nonsense... and so it proved, as the game just stumbled on from there. What was taking Hibbert off and moving Neville to get Arteta on all about? What was the chopping and changing of positions all about? Especially Osman who must have played about five different roles — not conducive to coherent play methinks. A bad night at the office, yes; some poor displays from the players, yes; but I conclude that the Manager played no small part in the disruption of service post-Faddy. Saturday will give all concerned another chance to thrill us fans and I am sure it will be a different display. See you Sat.--- UP THE BLUES After-Match Comments Moyes was honest enough about West Ham deserving to win the game, but I expect more from my manager than a simple description; I expect at least a recognition of the frustration and annoyance that supporters are feeling. There is no real reason why West Ham should be `better in all departments`, given that we have been more succesful and invested more than they have in the last 3 years. Surely to admit thus so plainly is akin to admitting your lack of progress as a coach? And before I am attacked; I am talking about the style of play & it`s progression over a number of years - something which all true Evertonians have felt lacking. On to Saturday - a win would be great but still somewhat hollow
following tonight. And a defeat? Well the knives would be out again....
who really knows which way it will go? Losers Utter Crap! Reply to Tony Marsh Rooney You only have to see his goal celebrations against us. No respect for
us or the Club. By the way, what the fuck is going on with the tele?
Fat-arsed Colleen having a programme about her lifestyle shown. And no I
didn,t watch it!!! I saw it being advertised on Sky. 'Different and Special' I am 24 years of age. My dad took me to my first match in the 1984-85 season when I was just 2 years old! I have seen us be successful and I actually went the Bayern Munich game. However, being as young as I was, my memories of those early days are restricted to a single time when I remember my dad hanging me over the side of the wall to the players tunnel when the players were coming off at half time (must have been about '85). I remember seeing Andy Gray look me straight in the eye, wink and give me the 'thumbs up'! My point is, I can only ever remember Everton being poor, both in terms of quality and in a financial sense. Yet, like all Evertonians the world over, I KNOW that we are special and different. Here are just 10 reasons why;
Lee Spargo, Merseyside (14/12/05) Re: Tony Marsh There's one bit in Tony's e.mail that made me laugh so hard my sides hurt! Allow me to recount "..It's not sour grapes; I just hate every thing he stands for and wish him no good fortune what so ever..." Fuck lad, I'd hate to see you WITH a case of sour grapes. All best to all Blues for the Xmas period, no matter where they might
be...and in Tony's case, that might be a very dark place indeed. He Loves Man Utd Second Division side Beattie a prat! He would do well to observe the old adage `let your boots do the talking` and focus on starting to repay the ludicrous fee and wages his modest talents managed to solicit from Everton FC. In the meantime, he should concentrate on honing the basic skill of
slotting the ball home from 6 yards out — something he has found
difficult to master so far. Tonight`s game with West Ham would be a good
time to start! Not So Keane Gullible or what? I do not seek to paint Rooney as an innocent victim but only to
assert that the whole story of his transfer has not yet been writ. Until
that day — and we may have to wait a very long time — Marsh and his ilk
would do well to channel their mindless aggression into positive support
for the team rather than pouring scorn on talented opponents. Mike Owen Above all there was the World Cup of 1970; to the England team Everton the Champions contributed four players: Ball, Labone, Newton and Wright. This competition, played in the heat and altitude of Mexico, essentially finished the career of Brian Labone; Keith Newton came back and was injured and lost form; and Alan Ball totally failed to regain the form of the previous season. Alan Ball never gave anything other than his best. His style was all action, he covered the field, every blade of grass. Mexico was not the place for Alan Ball; his style was too demanding for the conditions. The result was a lack-lustre season in 1970-71 and his sale to Arsenal in 1971-2. The famed midfield of Ball, Kendall and Harvey failed to function and the problem was that the energy of Ball wasn't quite right, I said there were two problems: the other was the strange signing of an excellent midfielder from Nottingham Forest, Henry Newton. In modern terms, his fee would have been in eight figures, yet he was not used to rest Ball. In fact, in those days when the concept of the squad was unknown and only one substitute was allowed, his signing disrupted the psyche of the squad. He played most of the time at left back, a position which was not suited to his style. Catterick ought to have rested Ball, he needed a rest. A totemic
midfielder who provided the energy, he was exhausted. The result of
these errors cost Everton the nucleus of their great team of 1969-70 and
their place at the forefront of English football. It took fifteen years
for Everton to recover... and then Heysel deprived them again. Special? Q. Are Evertonians Special? *with apologies to Scotland! NO QUESTION! You only have to listen to ex-players talking to realise how special
our club is and how diferent we are. I can honestly say there is only
one set of supporters that even come close to us and they are Manchester
City (they have to be admired), I hope this puts the matter to bed and I
would challenge any "Redshite" to disagree. Fuck Rooney When he left us not only did he destroy the hopes and dreams of every Evertonian [we thought he was one of us] he destroyed part of our souls. How could the ugly little Bastard beytray his roots so easily without explaination? Leaving in the way he did was bad enough but going to them WANKERS in Manchester and listening to them slagging off scousers every week is a hanging offence in my book. Let the little prick rot in his crumbling Empire. If any one still thinks he is one of us take a look at his twisted little kipper the last two times we have played Man Utd. I hope he never raises a trophy of any description above his ugly head and that includes our England. It's not sour grapes; I just hate every thing he stands for and wish him no good fortune what so ever. Rooney is a Leper in his own city and that's the price he has to pay. If Rooney or any of his supporters think he can shit on Everton and this city then one day come strolling down Church Street shopping with his bird then they are dreaming. Wayne Rooney is not an Evertonian any more — he is not even a scouser. He is an honourary Manc and he is proud of it. Once a blue forever a Shithouse The selling of Rooney You may cast your minds back to the day that Rooney signed his first professional contract. He was only 17 at the time and therefore was only allowed to sign a 3-year deal, but we were told in no uncertain terms that, as soon as he was 18 (24th Oct 2003), this would be extended to a 5 year deal. Did this happen ? Well the first knowledge I had of them trying to extend Rooney's contract was during Euro 2004 - a full 8 months later. And probably a full 3 months after Rooney had told them he wished to leave (despite Mr Kenwright insisting he had a great relationship with Mr Stretford and believed him when he said that Rooney would be staying !) Now whether Rooney would have gone anyway then at least he would still have had 4 yrs left on a contract and we wouldn't have had to sell him at a cut price which could have been even less if, as Man Utd planned, we'd have had to sell him the following January with only 18 months left on his contract. If reports are true and Joseph Yobo only has 18 months left on his contract then:
Jez Clein, Childwall (13/12/05) I was wondering if someone would pick up on that! But there are many, many fans who simply don't want to know. "Rooney asked for a transfer!" — a smart piece of manipulation by EFC, very late in the game, guarantees that most Evertonians will forever more view Rooney as a Shrek-headed traitor. Ah well... — Michael I will always follow Everton! However, somewhere around ´74 or ´75 things weren´t that great at Everton anymore. I abandoned them and began to follow Southampton (of all teams!) That lasted for about two weeks and then I started to follow Everton again and I knew that it would last for the rest of my life. I don´t know what it is about Everton that I find so special, but I hope to find out on the 28th of December when I will visit Goodison Park for the first time in my life! I´m looking forward to it very much. To avoid disappointment, I try to get used to the thought that Everton will lose 0-3. A better result than that will be a bonus! Evertonians everywhere; Let´s continue to support our team and may
you all have a very nice Christmas! Toffees' turnaround. Rick Tarleton I'm no lover of this Board but to blame them for Rooney leaving is just stupid. He wanted to go and had an agent praying for the moment for him to give the word. Yes, I am bitter at the way he left and how he conducted himself. It took him a long time to thank this club for what they did for him. He wasn't the brightest kid in the playground and his head was easily
turned in other directions by the ones looking after him. I thought he
could have got us somewhere but he chose not to. His decision, not
Kenwright or the Board. They had to get what they could. Different from any other Now fast forward three years: I can't go a day without wanting to
know if Moyesie farted... the Manchester game last year sealed my
fate... I am a evertonian... you could call me whatever... but my love
for this rag-tag mob is real and, for better or worse, I now feel for
life... Better than being bitter I am writing to link Wayne Rooney's actions after the Utd. equaliser with the recent Toffeeweb column concerning the ironies of Shrek's position. A number of the points from that article came through yesterday; eg, that once he was carrying our team and all our expectations and now he carries theirs (this was especially noticeable in the game where, once he was effectively shackled in the second half by Neville, they carried little threat). More interesting was Rooney's reaction to their equaliser. Instead of joining his teammates in celebration, he made a bee line for the Blues supporters (even Martin Tyler commented on it). Apparently, he spent a goodly time baiting the supporters before moving away. He also did this at Goodison earlier in the season. Although not bright enough to perceive the irony of his situation at a concsious level, I reckon old Shrek has realised the grass ain't much greener on the Old Trafford pitch. I'm not saying he regrets moving, but I do believe his rabid antics are part of a self-justification of a move which promised much silverware and has delivered bugger all to date. I know there's a bit of amateur psychology in the above, but the ToffeeWeb article did get me thinking about this. An increasing number of Evertonians have "moved on" and I for one feel better for it, but he doesn't seem able to do the same. Then again, he could just be an obnoxious git. Yobo On a more positive note, good (not great) result on Sunday. I have
always been behind Moyes (apart from the hour immediately after
Bucharest (a) and West Brom) and am glad to see patience paying off. I
previously wanted Roy Keane but now I'm not sure he's nescessary. Thank you, Nick Finally about the whole Keane saga, I just don't get it! What can the
now 34-year-old Keane do that the 31-year-old Carsley or the 29-year-old
Neville can't? Really, what can he do to add to the team in order to
justify his enourmous weekly wage? In short, midfield is fine at the
moment, Mr Moyes; one quality striker, please... and quick! Thanks, but no thanks, to Keano & Grav And what about those ego-weak members of our squad, over whom question marks still remain? Will Keane help Kilbane use the ball better? Will he improve Wright's catching? I think his icy stare is only likely to worsen these guys' confidence, which would be doubly a shame given the vast improvement in Killer, Wright and Valente (did I see some passion?) at the weekend. Keane just doesn't go about inspiring his teammates in the correst
manner. Gravesen was much better at this, though I agree with your
correspondent who thinks we should save the cash that would go on him
(given the option, obviously) and invest instead in a striker, or young
squad players. £2M for Gravesen, plus wages? We could get Richardson
from Utd for that. Welcome point and performance On another note, let's not forget this site is for ALL views and
opinions and I firmly stand by Colm's excellent postings. Let's not all
be blinkered by last season; Bill Kenwright and his lapdog Kieth Wyness
still have a lot of unanswered questions and cock ups to explain but we
are stuck with them. Moving on up!! I won’t mention Wayne Rooney’s badge kissing antics as no doubt
certain members of ToffeeWeb and some of the Mailbag contributors will
say Bill Kenwright made him do it as it earned the club £2.50. Evertonians Are Different? Yes - its true I've had a few pints writing this but I honestly believe us Evertonians are one of a kind. No matter how badly run our club is and how expensive the whole experience is, you're born an Evertonian like it or not. I'm so glad I chose the path of the blues following my old man rather than the red shite like my eldest brother. Being from Cheshire, we're hardly scouse but the blue half of the
family is a hell of a lot more passionate than the red side. I just hope
Moyes can replicate the glory 80s I can remember as a child. I just wish
I was good enough to play for the blues and dedicate a whole career to
them. Ho ho ho Even though we're still near the bottom, we're definitely a different side from the Smith/Kendall last-chance days. Moyes is a genius, and I don't care what anyone says against him. He is our future and we should stick with him. IMWT.... From the money grabbing bastards that football is today, Evertonians
can stand proud in that we stand for what football is all about. I love
our club and no-one else can understand what we're all about. The magic
of it all - the stuff my Dad tells me about Dixie Dean owning a pub in
Chester and talking about the good old days - just wish I was there!!!!!
Just as I'm proud to be British in Yankeeland, I'm equally proud of
spreading the gospel of a club which is different from any other. Composure Please! (again!) I have to say, prior to the game, a point would have been well accepted but, having seen the chances squandered, I'm left with a slightly empty feeling of what could have been. I rattled on in my last letter about composure. Is it wrong to expect
players to possess some at the highest level or is it the case that you
have to pay big bucks to have it? If the latter is true then the need
for a finisher who doesn't shit themselves in a one-on-one is top of the
agenda. I seriously hope that all available resources are diverted to
this end and we forget about signing Roy Keane. A kicker on high wages
with a propensity to get sent off is the last thing we need. Ken's post-match analysis The highlight for me was seeing Valente play left back like I haven't seen from a blue in that position for many seasons. The low-light was Bent, who when he came on, just didn't seem very bothered. Another strong performance is called for on Wednesday night and my
wish is to see us score THREE goals to go with a clean sheet. See you
then... UP THE BLUES! Cause for Optimism Outstanding Support for Colm Kenwright: under your tenure we have progressed not a jot. Don't tell us all how much you have spent because that is only Rooney and Grav money. You think Everton is your toy (Joe Walsh had your number years ago). Colm - carry on mate. Ignore the pseudo-blue. He knows nothing but
how to say one thing with a smile and then something else happens. Krøldrup and Li Tie We have got prem class players going out, all signed / re-signed by
the mighty Moyes... why shouldn't we get a result? Sad Sight For Sore Eyes! You label my latest piece as being bitter and twisted nonsense – please enlighten me, where am I being ”bitter and twisted”? Dispatching my Man U supporting spouse into the kitchen as we rode into our own Theatre of 'Mares a few year’s back? Or making an observation about the local media openly ignoring the revelation at the AGM that Mr Wyness has carte blanche to target potential investors for his private interests? Seriously Bill, if it’s the latter and you find it distasteful of me to highlight this situation then fine – we’ll not agree. Surely with our financial predicament we can ill-afford such possible conflicts of interest. “I have no time for all the behind the scenes stuff and never have had. It has never mattered to me who sits in the front office whether it was Dick Searle, John Moores, Alan Waterworth, Philip Carter, Bill Kenwright or Keith Wyness. It's a thankless job at the best of times but these days it's even worse thanks to silly people like Colm Kavanagh.” Bloody hell, Bill – care to explain that one with more detail! “Whenever I read Colm Kavanagh's words, I always get the impression he's more impressed with his own verbosity and odd obsession at moaning about everything at Everton. He seems to get nastier and nastier.” Sorry to douse your flames here Bill but I am not “more impressed with my own verbiosity and odd obsession”, as you label it. I am a shopkeeper, Evertonian, shareholder, gobshite …..whatever you want to call me, fine. My obsession, as has been the case all my life is Everton FC. Sir, may I ask – have you ever felt uncomfortable with the way Everton FC has gradually fallen away from those halcyon days of the 1960s, when this beloved Club of ours truly did belong at the top? What about the disastrous financial mismanagement in an era when the game has been flush with money – is that not worth of commentary? “Unfortunately for Colm he seems to have fallen for his own publicity, as though penning a few words for a fans website gives him some sort of standing. Well sorry Colm but you're just not that important. I find your words mostly sad and bitter and altogether too predictable. It seems you can't wait for something to go wrong even when things are going okay.” Bill, if I may can I get one thing clear: writing for ToffeeWeb is a labour of love. There is no agenda. This most certainly is not a vehicle to gain “standing”. I might pen a piece on my lunch break, tea break or on that luxury of luxuries – a night off work! You label me sad and bitter – fair enough, your call. I’ll ask you to read one or two of my recent articles Bill
(penance!), comments on the state of the game in general and if you can
still label me bitter then I fear you’ve lost all connection with the
reality of the modern day game. Shady deals permeate the game (witness
the welter of money wagered this week alone on Harry Redknapp returning
to Portsmouth). The game is littered with individuals who have more than
one finger in the money pie. Some scream “conflict of interest”. The
apathy of others flicks over to the next page, to see who’s fit for the
next game and a token quote from the manager. Whatever floats your boat,
Bill. Regards, The Dutchman told us! Yet another triumph for the much vaunted Goodison medical, methinks. The Rooney millions have been blown on career arse-warmers like Beattie, Krøldrup, Valente and Van der Meyde — to say nothing of Pistone, Naysmith and Ferrari whose salaries alone have cost millions for a nil contribution. No wonder we`ve struggled this season! Grandpa played for the Blues Fantasy Manager The players: Not pretty but may get a 1-0. What the bench will look like is out of my league and my system pre-supposes that the real manager has read my mind and practised the said formation. Whatever happens I will be cheering the Blues and hoping for things to get better on player fitness to enable us to qualify for European competition once again. Anyone who saw United v Benfica will know we have not got much to beat. See you Sunday... UP THE BLUES! Simon Davies? The players look confident at the moment and should be on Sunday as
they are playing a very deflated side. Sale of Rooney I can't believe the Moyes Out Brigade. But they are bluenoses and
entitled to their opinions. Three new players in January and we can
start again. I still think we have a chance to challenge again in two
seasons time. Phil Neville Just another point, How many times was Phil Neville injured for Man
Utd?? I dont know the true answer but I can tell you that it was hardly
ever!!! Thats a good pro, when he does get a knock, he recovers well.
Well worth the money Moyes paid for him, I'd say. Shitzer The Echo Re: Phil Neville But hey, opinions, great aren't they? However, rather than a personal attack on Phil, my point was more as to question the wisdom of paying £4M and giving such a big contract to someone who is getting on in years - Will he be a liability in two or three years time? Despite our best season in years we have only been able to make a £100k profit; therefore, whether we like it or not, we are going to have to continue to be a selling club. Surely taking a chance on spending the £4M on two or three Tim Cahill's and selling them for £5M or £6M two years later is our only hope. ps: May I just add that the letter written by Despondent Blue
of Wavertree was so absolutely spot on - it could quite easily have been
written by myself other than the fact that I haven't yet fallen out with
my father. Rooney made us proud to be blues again. 4th place last year
in a three-horse league was satisfying but you knew it would never last.
Yes, I still go to the game but it isn't the same. It never will be. Old Wounds Make no mistake, Wayne Rooney`s sale saved Everton from the meltdown
situation brought on by years of boardroom incompetence and I, for one,
will never call the lad`s loyalty to question. One day the truth will
out, you`ll see. Sad Sight This time he's having a go at Keith Wyness again. Now I don't know Keith Wyness from Adam and I don't particularly want to meet him or anyone else in the office. I still watch football because that's what I like doing in my spare time. I have no time for all the behind the scenes stuff and never have had. It has never mattered to me who sits in the front office whether it was Dick Searle, John Moores, Alan Waterworth, Philip Carter, Bill Kenwright or Keith Wyness. It's a thankless job at the best of times but these days it's even worse thanks to silly people like Colm Kavanagh. Every time something doesn't go the way HE thinks it ought to he starts throwing all kinds of mud. This time it's because Manchester Utd have been knocked out of Europe and he can't wait to tell everyone how glad he is we won't get any money out of it! I could begin to understand it if he was glad because of football rivalry but not this. That must be a sad, bitter world between his ears. Then he has a go at Wyness because of a business deal or other which seems to be in the man's contract! The really sick thing though is that poor old Colm usually just can't wait for any opportunity to throw his bile over everyone and everything. He says Wyness's expression was 'priceless' because somebody asked him a question about it at the AGM. That's only the lad's view of it though and given his other childish attacks I'll take it with a pinch of salt. Maybe Wyness just thought the question wasn't important or something else. Whenever I read Colm Kavanagh's words I always get the impression he's more impressed with his own verbosity and odd obsession at moaning about everything at Everton. He seems to get nastier and nastier. Unfortunately for Colm he seems to have fallen for his own publicity, as though penning a few words for a fans website gives him some sort of standing. Well sorry Colm but you're just not that important. I find your words mostly sad and bitter and altogether too predictable. It seems you can't wait for something to go wrong even when things are going okay. I've seen fans come and go lad and the good ones never had your distorted view of the world. They support a football club because they love the sport. Though I daresay you can fool yourself you're doing what you do 'for the good of the fans.' Sorry again, I just think you're self indulgent and self important to the point where you're even fooling yourself. Football existed well before you or anyone else came along and it will exist long after you're gone. I hope you learn the lesson before it's too late. Bill Appleton. Jez: Phil Neville The Day The Football Died Believe it or not, I was a mad Premier League fan only two seasons ago {and for some 15 years before that}. I'd watch all and every match available, even though they were on at bizarre times {I was in Oz then}. I'd surf the web for snippets of info, peruse the fan sites, argue on the chatboards, mail the club with suggestions, criticism, praise {the last very rarely it must be said}. The emergence of Wayne Rooney - a Scouse Maradonna, who was blue as the rest of us - made my heart sing with pride. Indeed, it was watching his famous winner against the Arsenal that healed a family rift. I actually hadn't spoken to my {fellow Blue} Dad in about five months when Rooney curled in that outrageous 30-yarder. The joy of that moment was tempered that I wasn't sharing it with my Dad - I was back home within three days. I knew that with Rooney, we were on the threshold of a return to the glory days. Not just fourth, or "hardworking, difficult to beat, commitment, energy, effort" but genuine glory. Swaggering football, headlined by a lad who was born to play for us, born to exhibit his talent in front of the greatest fans in the world. And then they sold him. I was shattered, absolutely shattered. The pain I felt was immense, absolutely awful. I won't embarrass myself by saying it was like losing a family member - but it hurt a lot more than a football leaving a club fucking ought to, I'll tell you that. It peaked with his CL debut, which you may recall, featured three sensational goals. The scary thing was not where he went - irrelevant - but how very little of his greatness we'd had to experience. Since that horrible CL debut, the pain has dissipated. To be replaced with total apathy. I don't watch games anymore, and I don't surf websites. This is the only one I come to, and only because the mailbag gives me a good laugh. Fourth last year? Yawn. Fourteenth this year? Yawn. I just can't summon the energy to give a shit, and I doubt I ever will again. The Club broke my heart when they sold the Boy. I'd be absolutely crackers to trust it to such callous bastards ever again. I'd be interested to hear any other Blues who've had a similar
epiphany. Maybe when Billy Bullshit goes I'll be able to get excited
again - but in all honesty I don't think so. Anyone who has ever found
his bird in bed with his best mate can see where I'm coming from -
you're never going to trust either of them too much ever again. Rob Fox... Jez Clein: Don't shoot the messenger Like I said, I don't know if Rooney was pushed or jumped, so I'm not in a position to judge whether the club are at fault for this or not. I did suggest that the club would be in dire straits without the Rooney money. Make of that what you will. As for Parker, Kuyt et al, I agree the website was a factor in raising expectations, but breaking a wage structure for a player is a risky move as it affects every other negotiation. Of course Parker is a better long term bet than Neville, I did acknowledge that in the article, but spending money you haven't really got is always risky. A lot can happen to a player - injuries, loss of form to affect his future effectiveness and sell on fee - bit like budgeting for CL and getting knocked out. Sorry I made you shout at your computer, Jez, hope you've made your
peace with it now. Wyness Imagine a cross between a golf driving range, a bowling alley and a
five-a-side centre. This is not a joke, I've seen the presentation. This
guy thinks this will save us. We're doomed! The jiggling bits A reply to Rob Fox's 'Partners in Crime'
1 Rob stated that the arrival of Keith Wyness stabilised things - I would say that it was more likely the £20M Rooney fee, the reduction in the 1st team playing squad and the 4th place — finish all achieved without any input from Mr Wyness — that contributed to this 'stabilising'. Let's not kid ourselves: any of these three things not taking place would have greatly increased the chances of Everton going to administration. 2 - Rob states that, other than Rooney and Gravesen, David Moyes has not had to sell any players he didn't want to. Two rather big exceptions! However, I have hardly seen any of the big teams knocking down the Goodison doors wanting to take any of our other players off our hands - Yobo and Cahill may soon test that theory; time will tell. 3 Rob states that many blues felt the Board should have 'pushed the boat out'. Did we? As I stated in a previous Toffeeweb article soon after Davies signed, it was Mr Wyness who was falsely raising the expectations of the Everton fans by saying that we were close to signing Parker, Huth, Cuducini et al. And how many Everton fans had even heard of Dirk Kuyt when Everton came out with the statement that we'd bid £10M for him?! 4 Finally, Rob warns of the dangers of paying an extra £5k/week
unnecessarily. Now I don't know if he was referring to Scott Parker's
wage demands or not but can I sign off with this final point - 29-yr-old
Phil Neville cost £4M and was given a 5-yr contract on about £2M per
year. In two years time he will have very little sell-on value and at
the end of his 5 years will have cost us £14M! Whereas 25-year-old (?)
Scott Parker would have cost £6M + £3M/yr in wages. In 3 years time he
would be in his prime and may be worth £10M (not unreasonable as Chelsea
paid £12M for him two years ago). Therefore the total cost to Everton
would be £5M over 3 years. Now here's the clincher, Scott Parker would
have been one of the 1st names on my teamsheet whereas if every player
was fit would Phil Neville be in your team? Because he wouldn't be in
mine !! Nice work if you can get it! The real reason Richard Wright isn't performing
"2. Shakespeare and Co, 37 rue de la Bucherie, Paris, France Robert Bresnan (07/12/05)
Tits! When Beattie flicks the ball past Todd, the incident is shown in slow motion and the whole of Beattie's front jiggles! My wife even pointed out he looked like an old Dad playing in an over-35's beer league. Man breasts just shouldn't be on a professional footballer, especially a striker who needs speed and sharpness! Strachan has said Beattie is a top player when he is super fit; and I do actually remember him looking about 20 lbs lighter when he had that great year or so... so why the fuck can't our management, coaches, nutritionist or he himself, get it sorted? On the same topic, Martyn and Van der Meyde look overweight too. It's not ideal for a goalie but for a fast winger it's just not on. It's not that difficult to get in shape if you're an athlete, a month or two and you should be lean and strong. These players are displaying a lack of professionalism and
self-discipline; but the club should get a grip.. .fine them... shame
them... this is basic stuff but I'm convinced it's hindering our
performances. Youth Policy My Great Uncle George Back from the game ... But we need a BIG player: a Gerrard, Rooney, Lampard... A General in midfield who could catapult us to becoming a consistent force that can knock on the door of European competition with some regularity. We do have some quality players but they need harnessing by that midfield General. With the right signings we can fulfill fans' expectations and provide matchday enjoyment. Man Utd next up — without Tim and Mikel, a daunting prospect, this is where a manager earns his corn but ultimately the players need to show! We are as good as most but it's the next step all us fans are looking and longing for... ps: Get behind Wrighty, lads; he needs us! Expectations realised In real terms what has Moyes achieved? We now have greater strength
and depth and a younger squad of players with greater technical ability.
What we now need is someone who can get hold of the ball in midfield and
make things happen. Tommy Gravesen would be perfect together with Robbie
Keane up front, and a top-six position would be assured. If we continue
to keep faith in Moyes then all things are possible. Wretched We've scored two goals! Another solid display from Arteta again as well as Faddie (who looked sharp today) and Beats (who ran his socks off). I was so pleased that we had a 2-goal cushion today. I thought that we might get another and make it 3 but Blackburn still looked dangerous even with 10 men. I waited..... and waited..... and waited..... and waited.... for our £5 million man to get a game. To my surprise he didn't come on! What is the fuck is going on? He brought on Ferguson and good old Kilbane. Why does he not put him on? Fair enough, put Ferguson on to change the play and get another goal, but this to me was the perfect opportunity for Krøldrup to play. I am completely baffled. Poor old Richard Wright, the lad just has no confidence. He gets his opportunity and when it arrives he must be thinking, just have a solid second half and make no blunders. What does he do, makes 2 complete gaffs of crosses. Unfortunately, Mr Wright that's why you don't play week-in, week-out. More of the same next week lads. Up the Toffees! BBC Football Site I have also noticed that whenever Everton don't sign a player to whom they have been linked, it is front page news with the word 'Snubs' no matter what the reason. The exit against Villarreal, not to mention Bucharest, was also top of their agenda. A Man Utd colleague informed me that Alex Ferguson once said that the BBC were "all Liverpool supporters with Liverpool supporters badges" and I'm starting to get the idea... I don't even need to watch MOTD this evening to know today's game
will get scant coverage. I have already boycotted listening to 5 Live
because of that knob-sack Green and may have to extend this policy to
the website. Well done David After being very much on the back foot in the opening exchanges it was marvellous to see that Moyes was perceptive enough to change the formation before we went behind. Well done, David. I think every member of the team was up for it and, although Dickie W put our hearts in our mouths as soon as he appeared, he settled down to pay a full part in our clean-sheet performance. That's 13 points out of the last 18 safely in the bag; let's all hope
it's a sign of things to come! The end is Nigh! A black swan was seen to circle Ewood Park three times... A she wolf gave birth to a litter of two-headed pups in Lower Breck Road… The ghost of Ted Sagar was seen cavorting with Satan on the 10A bus… Doomed… doomed I tells yeah… Repent, sinners.... Moyes must go! (Thought I’d get this in before Tony Marsh did!) Crucial Games & Honest Guys Without Cahill and possibly Arteta, I fear the worst; they both clearly play to win and will be a big loss. Now if our Blues do get a result without them then Moyes and the gang will be well on the way to winning us back over after the disastrous start - good luck lads! One final point - with Souness & O`Leary both apparently facing the
sack after poor starts to the season (but still better than ours), isn`t
it at least welcome to have a manager who doesn`t fill the air with
excuses and seems like a decent honest person? That trait has been a key
element in Moyes` survival and is one which the other two lack; no
coincidence that their own have turned upon them. No, not that Keane! Reservations with Keane This summer he re-signed Big Dunc, who, cult hero or not, epitomizes the over-aged liability we could not/cannot afford. This is followed up by the signing of a 31-year-old left back on a three-year contract, and now, perhaps, Keane, at 34, for God-knows how long. I think it's a bad move and it feels too much like history repeating.
And he won't be able to play until January? Why not sign a player for
the future in January instead? If he's signing on in a player-coach role
then that might be different; otherwise, I'm a far bigger fan of Martin
Jol's approach to squad building, and non-interest in Keane. I'm not too Keane Both players were long past their best and did nothing but take their extortionate wages every week and shuffle their creaking bodies along to the treatment room. So imagine my horror and despair when I hear that Everton are firm favourites with the bookies to sign Roy Keane. A player whose game involves getting the ball and passing it 5 yards, yell at someone if that pass doesn't find its target, go and kick someone, get sent off and then throw a strop at any of the coaching staff if they dare to question his behaviour. If a box to box midfielder who can score goals (Roy Keane 7 years ago) is the sort of player that David Moyes wants, why can't he sign a young player in that mould such as Joey Barton of Man City, Sean Davis of Aston Villa or Matty Taylor of Portsmouth. All of them young, skillful and hungry for success. Would those boys not be better than bringing in an over-the-hill whining bastard who is looking for one last hurrah? Alex Ferguson is no fool and when he can see that a player is past his best or not pulling his weight he takes action and gets rid. Why should we put up with these types of shortcomings when the top clubs won't, after all we want to be a top club don't we? No doubt that Keane was a great midfielder about 5 or 6 years ago but
know surely his time has passed. He is now slow, injury-prone and far
too outspoken. If our club commits itself to signing this man on high
wages just so he can live out his final footballing years on easy
street, then I for one will be very disappointed (yet again) by the
Everton board and manager's transfer dealings. Keane Roy Keane - God Help me! Signing Keane will take the absolute biscuit. We are a team that is struggling to crate chances, how will playing Keane improve on this? Keane’s only ever contribution to a football side is to stand in the center circle giving 5-yd passes and then shouting at everybody. He will offer nothing in attack and is now too slow to offer anything in defense, opponents can simply just go past him. I do not care for his type of bullying leadership qualities; in the end it will just go in one ear and out the other of anyone caught up in one of his rants. Why do English fans love this type of player? A player with limited skill but lots of passion and endeavor. I can never understand it, even at the grass roots kids are not allowed to express themselves freely, they are not allowed to try a skill without incurring the wrath of the coaches and parents who only want to keep things simple, have lots of effort and have the attitude that winning is everything. Hence we produce lots of players like Keane and very few players like Rooney, Gasgoine, Waddle, Hoddle, Barnes, Beardsley. Brazil, a country where the absolute opposite is true, a Wayne Rooney is produced EVERY year. That is why they have won 5 World Cups against England's single victory. Moyes should be signing a great technical player (from abroad) to compliment our current best technical players in Arteta, Van der Meyde and Yobo (no British players obviously). It is a backward step and leads me to the conclusion that we are not heading in the right direction under Moyes. For me Moyes has to go. I will never watch Everton while Roy Keane is wearing our shirt. Done deal Cloud cuckoos One rule for him......... I am more concerned that without Cahill we will lose the bite that he
offers in midfield, especially against Blackburn (thugs R us) Rovers.
We're all doomed! Yo-Yo Effect I just wonder about the so called progress made under DM which show erratic league positions i.e 7th,17th,4th and now 15th. There is obviously a problem here and I am sure it has a lot to do with him on occasions "losing" the dressing room (as the line goes) as well as other factors like having absolutely no tactical nous. Surely most successful clubs build steadily (Chelsea excluded) over a few years and the graph is normally an upward one where as ours is like a cardiac patient's. Now I don't know this for definite but I am sure there is another disaster awaiting and then manager and players will have another fall-out. After a few games, it will be sorted out and then we'll win another game etc,... Surely we can't go on like that? Roy Keane Pointless to call for change following a victory. This site was pointing out last year the problems with the club. But almost nobody wanted to hear it - why? Because sitting in fourth matters more than endemic fasilings within the club. Evertonians like to pretend they're different...but sadly we {as a collective} are not. When we start getting tonked again - and endemic failings at the club
mean we almost certainly will - the letters will start rolling in again. Couple of points... Secondly, I thought James McFadden had his best game in an Everton shirt on Sunday. I still have my doubts about him, but credit where credit's due, he did well for us in an attacker's position that I don't recall him ever filling before. He now has 8 games to play in which to impress, although we MUST strengthen in that position, regardless of how he does. Finally, it seems apparent to me that James Beattie is central to our game play this season, and so his continued fitness and form is a priority. Our results without him have been shocking, just like the West Brom game when he was invisible. We need him fit and firing on all cylinders, because our other strikers don't have the same quality. I feel sorry for Bent, who I think could score 15 goals a season in a 4-4-2 with decent supply, but Fergie's movement isn't enough, and he doesn't offer enough of a goal threat. That leaves McFadden, who is now on borrowed time, although that may be harsh as he has never had a run as a striker. Vaughan is also injured and untried at this level. I don't know if you'll agree, but these are just my points... Papering over the cracks With every scrambled win we get, Moyes and his blind faithfull get a stay of execution. The game against Newcastle could have easily gone the other way and what then? We still played kick and rush football with plenty of dodgey defending. The difference was that this week the ref was with us. And that's what I have said previously. With Moyes and his tactics we are continually relying on luck to win games and not a genuine game plan. West Brom was a disaster and the Newcastle result showed us what we can really do... or did it? The referees played a big part in both of those games. One decision a game is all it takes to make or break us and still some of our fans can't see it. Beattie is getting rave reviews in the press from Moyes. What for? A striker's job is to put the ball in the back of the net. Link up play and chasing back are great attributes to have but putting sitters away comes first. We need to get a grip of our selves and realise that we can't go on like this all season. We had a lifetime's good luck last year and can't rely on referees to decide the outcome of games every week. As for this ridiculous Krøldrup situation, why can't Davey Moyes talk about the Danish Lord Lucan as much as he does about Beattie or Richard Wright? It's starting to become like an episode of the X-Files and the whole situation is very strange. Although I have my doubts about Moyes and his funny little ways, I
will still be at Blackburn at the weekend. You know what they say:
there's a Sucker born every minute and may be I am just a sucker like
the rest off you. See you at Ewood boys. |
