Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

Dire Straits

This season we have been dire, no two ways about it. From transfer funding, to poor performances to calls of boardroom liars, is there a light at the end of this tunnel? Let?s hope so. But for the now is it doing any of us any good to be calling for boardroom takeovers, protesting and being openly critical of the management of the team, more specifically David Moyes and his tactics? If this article lure?s you into a paradox of ?is he being positive or negative?? I apologise but that is where I am with Everton at the moment.

First of all, David Moyes. Now we all may be critical of his tactics, as I am one of those people who has often moaned at the 4-5-1 system and the constant last-ten-minute substitutions which are usually negative and add nothing to the feeling that we have to win the game. But, on the other hand, I do think a lot of Evertonians forget that David Moyes has done a hell of a lot for our club. He has saved us from relegation and took us to European conquests, cup finals etc. But at the moment something is not quite right. The Cahill tactic is obviously not working as he is not freely scoring as he used to. No midfield talent of Arteta or Pienaar providing us with creativity going forward.

My point with David Moyes is that, although he seems like he doesn?t have a clue at the moment, we forget that he brought these players in and formed a system which worked for a hell of a long time. Okay, at the moment we have sold alot of players, players have hit injury and age has caught up with some players and I agree that it is maybe time for a re-think in formation, tactics and even players but I don?t think people calling for Moyes to leave is the right answer. Look at how many managers we went through to get to a decent young manager like Moyes. I am now 26 years old and I can remember the days of Mike Walker, Joe Royle, Walter Smith and Howard Kendall and I can honestly say I don?t think Everton getting shut of Moyes and trying to find another stable manager at the moment is in the best interests of the club.

Instead of moaning and getting on Moyes?s back maybe we should try are best to remain positive. Again, I can understand fans? frustration at the rubbish football and the lack of goals but I do think everyone of us thinks either ourselves or another manager could do a better job, which isn?t the case. Who is going to be able to come in and manage our club if we got rid of Moyes and play the football which we all want to see? Mourinho? Alex Ferguson? We are living in a bit of a dream world here. We all seem to moan about tactics and Moyes not playing ?the kids? but we don?t see these players in training every day. Maybe we should trust Moyes a bit more. I saw one article which read something along the lines of ?Is Moyes doing a Rooney with Barkley?? and I thought, ?what trying to ease him into the team, trying to give him an opportunity to learn from the first team players, or worst comes to worst, maybe lining him up for a massive money move to another club?. Which at the moment, Rodwell, Barkley, £15-20 million+ I would take in a heartbeat. Just to go out and buy 3 or 4 players which will do a job for Everton.

In terms of performances, this is where a major reform of players, tactics and formation does definitely need to happen. I recall the old saying of ?if I know what he is going to play then so does every Premier League manager?. But what can he seriously do about this? We don?t have any wingers so 4-4-2 is out of the question. We don?t have wing backs really so any sort of 4-3-3 or even 5-3-2 is pointless and it?s not like we have Arteta and Pienaar nowadays so any sort of 4-4-2 midfield would have to consist of Fellaini, Rodwell/Gibson, Osman, all of whom are not attacking or creative enough to provide the forwards with assists. I honestly think the best thing Everton can do instead of us all moaning is give Moyes our full support and let?s see what happens over the summer. We need to sell to buy to let's sell somebody who is going to get us a lot of money and start again. I personally think Rooney being sold years ago was one of the best things to happen to Everton because it allowed us to go out and buy whom we needed to be a challenging team.

Now in terms of the whole boardroom fiasco, again I don?t think this is exactly helping the club. Remember how awful Liverpool?s performances were when the Hicks and Gillette saga was going on. I know it shouldn't filter down from the board room to the pitch but we forget that these people just kicking a ball around every week are human beings. We all know Kenwright has no money, we know that so why do we constantly go on about it? What really is the point? Again we seem to be living in a dreamland where we think we should have definitely been sold? Why should we have definitely been sold? Because of our history, you think some oil billionaire is going to care about our history? Let?s be honest, we are just another football club, albeit a good one compared to the hundreds below us but in terms of everything else we are mediocre. Stadium poor (and no a new stadium is not the answer ? Darlington, Coventry, Leicester ? it doesn?t guarantee anything), debt, etc.

I think many of you would rather we went in administration because we spent the £10 million we gained from Arteta. I personally, would rather the club stayed afloat and paid the banks what we owed them, which is most probably what has happened. Again, you people forget that Everton is a business and if you don?t pay what you owe people, you will go bust. So tell me what is the point in this constant battle going backwards and forwards of Everton fan?s asking ?where has the money gone?? 99.9% of us, me included, do not understand business to understand where the money has gone even if it was written out penny for penny in front of me. We forget that everything has to be paid for, everything. From the paint they use to make the goalposts nice and white, to the guy who paints them. I can?t understand the constant board room battering we think is acceptable because we can?t afford to go out and buy a player for a fortune. We have never been able to do this anyway. Unless we sell a talent.

I understand people?s arguments about how the board has never dipped their hand in their pockets to buy players but again with the state of the world?s finances, especially in Europe can you really blame them? Everyone should maybe take pride in the fact we have a board which keeps the club running in a stable condition because even if we were taken over, it could be a lot worse. Being taken over doesn?t guarantee anything. Again I?m certain a lot of you would rather see 6 months of apparent success than another 100 years of being a top flight club. Look at the takeovers in recent years which haven?t worked out, Liverpool, Blackburn and Portsmouth. Everyone seems to celebrate when the club is taken over without thinking of the actual implications of a takeover in a financially unstable climate. I would love Everton to be taken over but I understand why Bill Kenwright always hits us with the same answer... ?I?m looking for the correct buyer?. Too right he should because let?s see how many of us are dancing through the streets 6 months after we are bought out and we are told, ?darn, we have no money?. Blackburn style.

I love Everton, I support Everton and as I said earlier this article might seem stuck in a paradox between positivity and negativity. But at the moment that?s where I feel Everton are. We are stuck in a rut and we are struggling to get out. But really, is blaming anyone we can point the finger at helping us whatsoever? What if Moyes quit tomorrow and the board sold the club to someone dodgy whom we would then take to the streets to protest about. To be honest, I know which scenario I would rather see, and it certainly isn?t the latter.

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