Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

That was then; this is now

Sometimes, when backs are against the wall, above-average people are called upon to carry out extraordinary tasks. Such was the case during the first part of last season, when Timmy Cahill was asked to step up from attacking midfielder to frontman in the absence of a recognized striker, through an all too familiar injury list. He, as always, rose to the occasion. He is the model Everton player. However...

That was then; this is now.

Your logic was to carry on where you left off when Saha was injured. Saha stepped up when the injury was cleared up, leaving Cahill behind him for support.

Backs are not against the wall to the same degree this season. Two new attacking options have been added in the form of Vellios and Stracqualursi, along with an attacking midfielder in Drenthe. Neither striker nor midfielder have been in the starting line-up this season. Nor Bily or Barkley.

Another bench warmer, Heitinga has been overlooked in favour of Distin, whose commitment cannot be faulted though the same cannot be said of his mobility. Would Rodwell have had a starting berth had Arteta not jumped ship at the eleventh hour? I think not.

It seems to me that your major dilemma is to reconcile your Glaswegian fix-and-mend philosophy, which has served you well, instilled since childhood, though it is not always the appropriate philosophy in a changing set of circumstances. Not to say a changing world. I myself grew up in Toxteth in a similar set of circumstances. I know of which I speak...

That was then; this is now.

Before you arrived 10 years ago, from what was a golden opportunity to move up from player to manager, directly after a role of bit player in the club you supported since childhood, which in itself was a dream, the offer from Bill Kenwright must have been beyond your dreams before you left Scotland.

All you had was an inner compass instilled in you, to do the right thing by the right people who trusted you, to live your and their dreams. That compass has never wavered. As a result you have been honored many times by your contemporaries in the form of awards. You are rightly the recipient of respect and admiration from all who compete with or work alongside of you. Loyalty is a commendable quality... until it becomes your liability.

You have immersed yourself in the game to such a degree that an overview is almost impossible. Wood from the trees and all that... The only continuity in the last five or six years, since you moulded the squad to your own vision, has been terrible starts. Whatever the reasons, the facts are the facts.

As each season goes by, to outsiders it's taken as a given, which is why regardless of late rallies the final positions speak for themselves. The brief forays into Europe only confirm this pattern of disappointment.

You're an intelligent man and your commitment is also taken as a given by all and sundry. So how to halt this inexplicable situation?

The same instinct that drove you to choose the players you've signed, should guide you to trust those same players to understand that loyalty to EFC overrides any individual loyalty that must be sacrificed for the progress of the whole.

Personal egos from the likes of Saha, whose tweets recently, told of his bitter disappointment ? a nightmare, no less ? at being left out of the starting line up after he overcame the latest of his long long injury list going back to his Man Utd days... which was in fact the reason he became available in the first place!

He should be informed in no uncertain terms, that his personal reality that his playing days are numbered, by nature, is not EFC's dilemma, and that he is a cog in a machine, his past glories are not relevant for the next match.

If ALL the players are not prepared to sacrifice the individual for the good of the whole, then thanks for the memories, but adios. Firstly, if Fellaini is still not ready to commit, listen to offers around £15 million. That buys a lot. Remind him that he too, is a cog.

In musicians parlance, give the players you have, their heads. Let them play in the positions you signed them from. Take a chance. A Fucking big one.

Back line from the left: Baines, Jagielka, Heitinga, Coleman.

Midfield; Baxter, Rodwell, Bilyaletdinov, Drenthe.

Up front: Vellios, Stracqualursi/Gueye.

Now you have a strong bench with bite, a Plan B: Distin, Hibbert, Neville, Osman, Cahill, Fellaini, Saha, McFadden!?

On a perplexing note to wind this up; I can't believe that you've re-signed McFadden. Do you realize how this seems to your detractors? You sold him on with good reason. Like Yakubu and Johnson and Beattie, and...

NEW exiting blood is what's needed. Transfusions are only necessary in an emergency. Please don't go back. If it didn't work then, it wont work now.

All that WAS then; this IS now.

Best Regards
Kevan

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