Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

If only the season had started in January

By Peter   Laing  ::  18/02/2012   26 Comments (»Last) "If only the season had started in January...." ? it is a familiar lament for Blues fans; one that can regularly be heard on the terraces of Goodison Park come the end of the Premier League campaign.

When David Moyes gets his side into a rhythm, they are a formidable unit and a match for any team in the top flight. But more often than not, poor starts to the season undermine Everton's progress and leave fans rueing their team's sluggish start to the campaign when May arrives.

David Moyes has recently admitted Everton were so poor in the first half of the season that he would not have paid to watch them. ?I don?t think we were offering enough to the public or playing well enough," Moyes told the Times.

"The crowds were down - I?d not have come to watch because what I was giving the supporters wasn?t enough.

?I needed to find another solution but that has to come with an understanding of who we?re playing, what tactics we have to use.

"So I had to do it for that reason and in the main we have found a way of winning. I knew that in the summer but I was unable to do so. I said it was going to be a real tough year for us, and it is still.?

This piece is not intended to deflate the spirit, recently acquired morale and winning mentality that appears now to be coursing through the Club but to try to find the answers as to why our season seems to receive a kick started once the January sales are over. There is no doubt that the shrewd transfer business conducted by Moyes with the acquisition of Pienaar on loan, the signing of Jelavic, the brief cameo from Donovan, and the unlikely cult status that Big Denis has become with his exemplary attitude and leading of the forward line has provided the spring board and impetus for new found confidence.

It?s not just David Moyes but also the likes of Phil Neville and Tim Cahill who have assessed our recent upturn in fortunes and quite rightly reflected that we are now back to the Everton of old. The January transfer window coupled with the wins over Manchester City and Chelsea and the prospect of a decent FA Cup run has undoubtedly lifted the manager?s and player?s spirits but also serves to cast the spotlight on the schism of the annual poor start to the season which seems to dog Everton on a perennial basis.

Without wanting to open up the whole lack of investment debate further would it be safe to assume that rather than the promise of a pre-season training camp or trip to the USA that it would be more prudent to aim to hit the ground running in early August with David Moyes provided with a plan and the backing of the board during the early pre-season preparations. I'm hoping that this season ends with a silver lining but hope that come May we are not once again discussing what might have been and ruing the apparent lack of luxury of what a whole season of stability may have brought with it.

For any prospective investor or buyer surely what appears to be Everton?s present Achilles heel is that David Moyes is being hampered by a lack of support when he needs it most to ready the Club for the challenges of a new campaign and it takes a Herculaneum effort on the part of the Manager to steady the ship and provide the man-management skills he undoubtedly possesses to turn in a run of form post Christmas that would equate to European Champions league qualification if replicated over an entire season.

The next Blue Union protest is planned for the forthcoming evening kick off against Spurs, it will be interesting to gauge the opinion of supporters in respect of their aims given the new found hope and optimism that is very much welcome around Goodison Park. My analysis of the situation is that their objectives remain the same, support the manager, support the team and oppose stagnation.

The dark days of autumn and winter are hopefully behind us and the prospect of entering the spring with renewed determination of finishing on a high is palpable. David Moyes ? and we as long suffering fans ? deserve the chance to taste success; the message to the custodians remains the same: nil satis nisi optimum.

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