VIEW FROM THE BLUE

Further Weakened We Plough On

Ever since he refused the improved contract offer that has been on the table at Goodison since last summer, Steven Pienaar's departure has felt more or less inevitable, but it doesn't diminish my personal sadness at seeing him finally go this week.

Besides the obvious pride at having a South African international in the Everton team ? for three years before I left in 1985 the young Pienaar and myself lived in the same city, Johannesburg ? there was also the satisfaction in knowing that a talented player had resurrected a stalling career with the Blues and that we had provided him the platform to do that.

But it's what it says about the Everton's current position in the game that is most disappointing ? once again, we've seen a top player, the reigning player of the season, leave the club for one that was inferior to us a couple of seasons back (at least in terms of league position) or one that we regarded as peers in our under-achievement in the Premier League era.

It's hard to blame the player at all, really. He clearly felt that having been highlighted as the team's most valuable player in 2009/10 he deserved a contract of equal value to that of Mikel Arteta who, of course, became the club's highest-paid player in August with a contract believed to be worth £75,000 a week. While possibly a financial decision on the Club's part, it was also a reflection of the difference in the perceived value of the two players to David Moyes's side... however misguided that perception may now look with the benefit of half a season as a lens through which to view the two players' form so far.

At 28 and approaching the peak of his career, Pienaar also wants Champions League football and though Everton have come close to breaking into the exclusive club in recent seasons, the current campaign has demonstrated all too painfully that it will remain elusive for the foreseeable future. With all three of the teams that were in the running for services ? Tottenham, Chelsea and Inter Milan ? able to fulfil that dream for him immediately, the career choice is a "no-brainer" and the only decision that remained was to move now or at the end of the season and that was dictated, it seems, by Chelsea's attempt to beat Spurs to the punch this month, a move that forced Harry Redknapp to move up his plans to snag his man.

Had Everton made the kind of start to the campaign that most of us were expecting and capitalised on one of the most open title and European races for years, Pienaar's decision would have been a lot harder and with loyalty, a first-choice place in the side, and a settled life in the northwest all coming into play, he may well have elected to take the reputed £65,000 a week and commit his future to Goodison. Of course, with the dog's breakfast we made of the first half of the campaign, we'll never know.

Even accepting that there may have been a little greed to accompany the ambition on Pienaar's part, I genuinely wish him well and thank him for his ceaseless effort and commitment on the pitch for the Blue jersey, not to mention that wonderful goal at the Emirates last year. A more cynical view would put his continued effort this season down to the "shop window" effect, but I honestly believe he's the kind of player who always gives 100% iyt it remains to be seen if that will be enough at White Hart Lane.

Evertonians are divided over just how much we'll miss Pienaar, with his critics pointing to the fact that his solitary assist this season came in the League Cup defeat at Brentford, a statistic that defies belief when you consider just how integral he was to the team's attacking unit. Handicapped on the right by Phil Neville's lack of attacking ability, the Blues have been over-reliant on the Pienaar-Baines axis ever since it flourished into such an effective partnership so "Schillo's" departure will leave a void that will be hard to fill.

We got a glimpse at Anfield last Sunday of just how much Pienaar will be missed as the link-up man in midfield and as someone who is often tenacious at tracking back. His goals return may have been highly disappointing and his final ball exposed to be lacking by the afore-mentioned assists statistic but the amount of possession that goes through him and his importance as someone who can think quickly and set up attacks is harder to quantify.

I sincerely hope that it is Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and not Leon Osman who is tasked with filling Pienaar's shoes in left midfield. As faithful and useful a servant as Osman has been, it's clear to these eyes that Bily, an established Russian international with enough natural ability and a sufficiently rich pedigree to move Moyes to spend £9m on him, is the more talented player.

He certainly weighs in with more goals ? seven in his debut season ? and has a left foot that can be a fertile source of chances and he has shown in his last two outings, the FA Cup tie at Scunthorpe and his substitute's appearance against Liverpool, that he is ready to try and earn the right to call that left-sided slot his own.

Of course, fans have their reservations given what has appeared in the past to be lack of effort on his part and the weaknesses in the defensive side of his game, but he certainly deserves an extended run in the side to prove his worth... and with the big Premier League prize places probably beyond Everton this season, what does Moyes have to lose?

I also fervently hope that some effort is made to replace the loss of Pienaar's quality this month, even if it's not specifically in that left-midfield berth, but I've seen enough transfer windows end in disappointment not to be holding my breath on that one. It may well be that we'll be looking to the Bilys, the Gueyes and the Osmans of the squad to step up and carry us through... though for how long and to where, who knows?

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