Season 2021-22 Opinion Talking Points Blue Blue Christmas by Danny O’Neill | 24/12/2021 37 Comments [Jump to last] This time of year is always a very Blue Christmas for me. One of my favourite seasonal tunes is listening to Jim Reeves belt that one out, with a glass of port. The Christmas Tree in our house is always decorated with blue and white lights and matching blue, white and silver attire. Blue-dolph, our decorative Reindeer, stands next to it with his Everton Christmas bauble hanging off his antler. As always, it's been yet another eventful year following Everton. Empty grounds at the start, but football gave us something to look forward to and talk about. It did me anyway. There's been great discussion and debate on this fabulous website as always. The near-miss of Europe and Ancelotti walking out; there's never a dull moment with Everton is there? And I wouldn't have it any other way. Well apart from a trophy or two and our 10th league title, which I'm just going to have to wait a little bit longer for. It won't be far away. The drama of the summer. Hours spent with the dogs on those early summer mornings, fretting about who our next manager would be and fearing the inevitable as the rumours broke. I think they listened to me; they seemed concerned. They looked concerned. Then they went to fetch squirrels. Early-season optimism, a typically Everton October and November, then mutiny in the stands through to the encouragement of Stamford Bridge last week. It's been a privilege watching Everton, be that at Goodison under the lights or being part of the fanatical away following so far this season. Personally, it's been a challenging year that has put much of life in perspective for me. My wife is in good health and my son will be home in time for Wembley in May so we can go and watch us win a Trophy and qualify for Europe. European tour next season. No real point to this to be honest. I guess I really just wanted to wish everyone of you a great Christmas and prosperous New Year. I enjoy the discussion, debate and even the occasional locking of horns that we engage in on here and would like to once again thank Lyndon and Michael for the hard work they put into facilitating it as a forum for us. It doesn't just happen. Take care all and enjoy time with your families. See you in the New Year. If you're at Brighton home and Norwich away give me a shout. Return to Talking Points index : Add your Comments » Reader Comments (37) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Jerome Shields 1 Posted 24/12/2021 at 17:16:00 Merry Xmas to you and your family, Danny. You are right with hindsight, the end of last season, Oct/ Nov where typical Everton. You could not make it up Carlo Ancelotti and Rafa Benitez no less struggled to get Everton off their collective asses. Bill is our 'Brother' ( thankfully we are not his darling's) and the protests were not against him. We are all Blood Brothers, Suffering Brothers. I think he wears ear plugs personally. So we head into another year of optimism, heightened by in Dec, a 'sure relegation battle', lambs to the slaughter selection that was better than a normal selection, the possiblity of more lambs to the Slaughter, a Manager facing the Sack, a Everton Board lynching, a scapegoated DOF, and a January transfer window of residue funds left over from the Summer, injury recovery with the relability of a Photocopier( from personnel experience). An a mooning face Moshiri. He was made for a Santa outfit. Sure I am optimic, they will all be training hard over Xmas and highly motivated, with new competition, with Benitez doing the morning dog walk round Finch Farm before breakfast, sorting out MANAGER plans for a 8. 00am start at Everton. Why? Because Benitez has managed to press the reset button and have got enough batteries. More games due to a backlog making thoughts of Summer holudays in March a no no. It is going be different run in till the end of the season. Ho Ho Ho. Brent Stephens 2 Posted 24/12/2021 at 17:35:43 Seasons greetings to you and yours, Danny. And all on ToffeeWeb.Disappointed that yet again I didn't get a xmas card from Lyndon and Michael! (Well done with the site, yet again this year, fellas). Andy Crooks 3 Posted 24/12/2021 at 17:51:22 Good post, Danny. It was a pleasure to meet you at the Bramley. Top man, top blue. Peter Mills 4 Posted 24/12/2021 at 19:12:20 Danny, to echo Andy's comment, it was good to meet you at Bramley Moore. We didn't talk much about football but you gave me an insight into some much more complex and difficult things. Thank you.Very best wishes to you and your family. Santosh Benjamin 5 Posted 25/12/2021 at 03:35:13 Wishing the ToffeeWeb team and all the followers on here a very Happy Christmas. Lovely post, Danny. It has been another rollercoaster year for all of us even away from the club. The club itself has seen some real high and lows over the last year. The victory at Anfield stands out as one of my highlights of the last year. The lows definitely outweigh the highs with the late season meltdown to miss out on Europe, Ancelloti's unexpected exit, FFP restrictions and the recent run of poor form to name a few. But that's what makes us true supporters of our great club. Lets hope for a some fullbacks, midfield strength and some attacking options in January. Take care and stay safe everyone. COYB! Christine Foster 6 Posted 25/12/2021 at 03:55:44 Highs and lows Danny, great post, great perspectives, the high for me was James and the winner at Anal field, the lows, well pretty much everything else! Losing Ancelotti was disappointing, gaining Benitez was equally so. Great to see BMD filled and work begun, wonderful to see our away support despite of everything.Reading the Echo on players who got on the wrong side of Benitez is a sort of mixed blessing, doesn't seem to matter how good you are, just if your face fits, so I expect more to join Digne out of the door..for better or worse..Jeez it's Christmas day in the workhouse, gruel for breakfast, then greatest Everton moment of 2020.. not plural..Merry Christmas Danny, and to everyone in the US, UK, rest of the planet, oh and third rock from the sun.. Paul Ferry 7 Posted 25/12/2021 at 07:11:48 Happy Xmas to each and every poster and reader and for all of us may 2022 be better than 2021.Special Yule wishes to Lyndon and Michael who together have helped each one of us in deal with these kopite Dogleash COVID times.And let me end with warmest wishes and greetings to Darren Hind, Rob Halligan, Pete Mills, Mike Gaynes, Jamie, Eugene, John Daly, and last but not least our own European scout and 'luvvy' Sam Hoare. Stephen Brown 8 Posted 25/12/2021 at 08:34:44 Happy Christmas to all ToffeeWeb followers. Thanks to Lyndon and Michael for the continued hard work on making this site! 6 points by January 2nd please 🙠Dennis Stevens 9 Posted 25/12/2021 at 09:22:01 Happy Chrimbo Blues! Take care of yourselves. Tony Abrahams 10 Posted 25/12/2021 at 10:24:47 Merry Christmas Danny, have a nice drink, but put the champagne on ice, mate!Lyndon and Michael, hope you have a great day, just as I wish the same for everyone else on ToffeeWeb, and hopefully soon we will all have something worth celebrating🤞Different posts, different opinions, I hope Jerome is right, because I do feel our club needs stability, but the worrying thing for me, highlighted by Christine, is that certain papers seem to be a lot more pro Benitez than others, which suggests to me that things are still not perfect behind the scenes, so I await confirmation of David Weir's arrival, to see if our manager has received more power? Dave Williams 11 Posted 25/12/2021 at 13:43:53 Best wishes to everyone on here and let's hope for a better New Year.Keep posting, Danny – I love the intimate discussions with your dogs – I'm sure (not) that they'd love my two!Thanks go to Lyndon and Michael and all posters who make this site the best. Hoping we soon have a team to go with it! Gerry Quinn 12 Posted 25/12/2021 at 14:47:11 Seasons greetings to all ToffeeWebbers from bonnie Scotland – hope all of your sweet blue dreams come true no matter what... Paul Tran 13 Posted 25/12/2021 at 15:08:22 Merry Christmas Danny and everyone on here.The thing to remember is that we're a mid-table team, so we will be terrible, average, pretty good in snatches in equal measure.It won't change till we move to the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, when I think Moshiri will sell, hopefully to someone who knows how to run a business of this size. Paul Tran 14 Posted 25/12/2021 at 15:14:58 And whatever your views on Benitez, I'm sure that if I can see Ancelotti departing, our financial situation and Benitez arriving as a sign of limited ambition, I'm pretty sure that our leading players and their agents can as well.That will be the main reason for any departures, rather than 'Big Bad Benitez'. Jay Harris 15 Posted 25/12/2021 at 15:29:41 Nice post, Danny, and can I also add my best wishes to all fellow Blues and ToffeeWebbers with a special mention to Michael and Lyndon for continuing to provide the best site on the planet. I am hoping for a much better 2022 from every perspective – getting this damn pandemic over and done with, harmony in the world?, and hopefully a cup for the Blues.Stay safe and be healthy, have one for me, best wishes to all. Sam Barrett 16 Posted 25/12/2021 at 16:09:24 Made my spine tingle that Danny!Nearly as good as one of George's 3o'clock kick off posts.Happy Xmas all Dale Rose 17 Posted 25/12/2021 at 16:23:20 Nice Post. Best to all Evertonians everywhere. A huge thank you to Michael and Lyndon, for their great work on this site. It means a great deal to many people who contribute to it. Don Alexander 18 Posted 25/12/2021 at 16:30:44 Best wishes Danny, and to every other Toffee! Andy Finigan 19 Posted 25/12/2021 at 17:09:13 Firstly thanks to Lyndon and Michael for all the work they must surely put in keeping this great sight going. It is the first thing I read usually even lying in bed when I wake up. Then of course Danny is the last of the threads at eightish in the morning and this latest headline thread along with his others is normally well worth the read and I am sure others feel the same. If I could choose some one to be on our board which I hope does happen there are many candidates on this wonderful sight I would vote for along with yourself. All I can say is we never get bored being Evertonians I don't know if that is a good or bad thing but when we finally win something it will feel even better. Jack Convery 20 Posted 25/12/2021 at 17:23:43 Great post. All the best to all Toffee Webbers and thanks to Lyndon and the team for a brilliant website for Blues everywhere. COYBs. Paul Birmingham 21 Posted 25/12/2021 at 18:06:39 All The Best to all TWrs and thanks Danny for the positive outlook and perspective, in your posts.Every days a good day and let's make the best of it.Everton, is a way of life and in the DNA, as is TW.All take care and have a Ball! 2022, will be the start of the Everton transition, and fighting back as a club and progressing on the park.ðŸºðŸ‘ðŸ€ðŸ™ðŸŽ…ðŸ½ðŸŽ„🤫 Clive Rogers 22 Posted 25/12/2021 at 18:06:50 On Christine's mention of James, looked up his stats and he has played 2 games for Al-Rayyan since September. Stephen Vincent 23 Posted 25/12/2021 at 20:35:36 Cheers Danny, echo every sentiment. All the very best to Blues everywhere.Will be getting my new knee, at long last, on 8th Jan and have to isolate for 10 days beforehand. So providing it isn't called off my last game for a few weeks will be Newcastle on 30th.Take care all. Mike Gaynes 24 Posted 25/12/2021 at 20:49:09 All the best to you and yours, Danny. If Pete and Andy say you're a top bloke, I'll take their word, but I was pretty sure of that already. Look forward to meeting you in the New Year. (Along with two special longtime Scotland friends I haven't yet met in person, Paul and Gerry. Peace and good health, gentlemen.)And for the next Bramley-Moore get-together (which I will NOT miss), I'd suggest the theme be Meet The Founders. Let's bring Michael and Lyndon together. After two decades, I don't think they've ever met. Tony Abrahams 25 Posted 25/12/2021 at 21:29:16 Just had a lovely Christmas Day interrupted by my partner's father who completely lost it in the end🤣😂ðŸ‘. It was definitely my little one liners but even I was shocked by how easy he wore himself down in the end!!We are different fucking people, and that's what I hope drew him nuts in the endðŸ‘Everton isn't a name, Everton is absolutely everything to some of us, so I just wish winding up our chairman was as easy as South America!!! Tony Abrahams 26 Posted 25/12/2021 at 21:58:16 I was singing “calling out around the world “ tand thats what must've done it! Bill Griffiths 27 Posted 25/12/2021 at 21:59:24 Hi Stephen, best of luck with your knee op and also the coming year If I get there early enough on Thursday I'll call in The Oak for a drink with you before the game.Best wishes to all other ToffeeWebbers wherever you are in the world.Derek, Brian, Jim and Stephen, look forward to meeting up again after games in the New Year and hopefully to a few others joining us.Best wishes for 2022 to all fellow Blues. Derek Thomas 28 Posted 25/12/2021 at 22:46:58 As its boxing day here now let me with everybody a belated Happy Christmas.Weather wise it was a bit of a washout, literally, in SE Queensland, but everybody, in this house anyway, adapted and enjoyed themselves.Boxing Day dawns, hot, cloudy and steamy and who knows what it and the coming year will hold.All we can do is take it one day and game at a time...and hope for a late winner. Stephen Vincent 29 Posted 25/12/2021 at 22:54:35 Thanks Bill, I'll be there covid permitting. Paul Birmingham 30 Posted 26/12/2021 at 00:23:34 Well in Stephen, and all the best for your knee, operation, and for all Evertonians, in 01/2022.“ Whats Our Name?â€Everton. Brian Wilkinson 31 Posted 26/12/2021 at 02:20:02 Good one that Danny, I remember meeting you for the first time, like the pied piper you managed to arrange a band aid esque singing party to follow you in the Crown, bubbles everywhere, but all in friendly banter.Good to meet up with Bill, Steve, Derek, Jim and the other guys name has gone completely out of my head who had a chat, but could not make it to the Crown, apologies, where we met at the hmmm cough cough trinity statue.By the time we made it to the Crown, I think you were on your third glass of wine, anyway the guys have all chipped in and bought you a map ha ha.Anyway we did eventually all get to meet up, you're a decent bloke as are the others who have had met up and have to say the meet-ups either at the oak before games, or a quick few back in town later are always nice.Special mention to David Pearl, who I managed to meet at our last visit to the oak.I am looking forward to whenever there is another ToffeeWeb meet up, where I can put some more faces to names, looking forward to meeting a lot of you.Anyway will finish by saying thanks for the post Danny, a very good read, and also to Mike and Lyndon for a great site and all the hard work you both put in.Stay safe fellow Evertonians, until we meet again.Up the Toffees. Danny O’Neill 32 Posted 26/12/2021 at 07:49:23 Thank you all for the kind responses.Stephen, I hope the knee op goes to plan. Best wishes.See some of you in the New Year.The Champagne is on ice and I'm telling me ma! Derek Moore 33 Posted 26/12/2021 at 08:34:18 Plot twist : Lyndon and Michael meet, realize that one of them reversed into the others car in an Asda years ago and left without exchanging details.They fight, ToffeeWeb splits back into two separate sites, and four months later we all have to double post wildly as we celebrate an FA Cup win.Unlikely? Stranger things have happened than us winning something you know!My proposed alternative future aside, happy festive period to all the ToffeeWebers worldwide. Ian Hollingworth 34 Posted 26/12/2021 at 09:05:10 Merry Christmas to all I hope you all had a great day.COYB Dave Abrahams 35 Posted 26/12/2021 at 10:00:25 A really nice post Danny, you always come across to me as an open and honest man Danny and I never look for more than that in a man it's more than enough, I hope to meet you in the near future, best of luck on your many travels, a lot of them to see The Blues. Brian Wilkinson 36 Posted 26/12/2021 at 10:25:47 I think the name has just come to me, Neil Copeland, sorry Neil. Brendan McLaughlin 37 Posted 26/12/2021 at 22:56:36 Missed this, Danny, before I did my self-(aka, wife-)imposed Christmas sabbatical from TW. Lovely post Danny. Someone once said of my late mother... "Even if you only meet her for 5 minutes, you go away feeling that little bit better."Your posts remind me of her... thanks! 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