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Okay, I know it was nearly 40 years since the European ban, and who knows what would have happened with that great 80s team had they been allowed to participate in the European Cup? I'm convinced we would have won it, and probably gone on to greater things which could have been the catalyst for success for years to follow.
All cruelly snatched away from us, through absolutely no fault of our own.
Carlo Ancelotti rolls on!
A gentle chip down the middle straight into the goalkeeper's hands. It was a great penalty by Ederson, the city goalkeeper as well.
Reminded of a penalty at Goodison this season, but you expect better than that in a Champions League quarter-final, and by a class player like Silva, did he think the goalie would move?
At least Maddison's had a bit of power, Silva's was like hitting the ball at the goalkeeper in a warm-up.
Just class…
By deducting points from your members, you have put the shits up everyone else.
RIP Premier League, and I hope you go the same way as Italy.
Sorry, just ranting…
Will that mean the number of English "Big Clubs" in next season's Champions League is reduced to 3? – I bloody hope so!! Liverpool will hopefully fail tomorrow too.
Taxi for Mr Masters after tomorrow night's games!
Who'd bet against Carlo winning this (yet) again?
I just beat you to it because, despite being 60+, I suspect I'm still quicker than most of Everton's forwards (at least the ones Dyche picks every week).
Go and win it again!!
I can't see West Ham overturning a two-goal deficit against Bayer Leverkusen. As for Liverpool, well we all know how spawny they can be, but let's hope Atalanta can finish the job tomorrow.
He was paid a million a month, bought some crap players and fucked off at the drop of a hat.
His football was shite and he also slagged us off after he left.
Ian and Darren will be furious.
I think Moshiri gave up the dream when Ancelotti left... I think a few of us did.
Moshiri hasn't invested anything since the last roll of dice spending in summer 2020. Possibly because Usmanov turned off the tap, possibly because it finally dawned on him just how poor the squad was and that it would take more than £500m (without sales proceeds to reinvest) to get us near the Top 4.
Possibly because we'd already hit the limits under Premier League rules and had to start selling not spending. Possibly all of that together.
Ancelotti is a magnificent manager, it's just a shame our owners were not in his league.
Ancelotti's record speaks for itself and he knows what it takes to build successful teams. He probably saw what was coming and got an offer from Real Madrid.
The perfect storm.
Is it on the Saturday or the Sunday now??
I expect it was more that we unwisely coaxed Ancelotti to Everton with the promise of funds and ambition. On arrival, he discovers what a mess we are, does what he can with a badly assembled squad, a couple of familiar faces in Allan and Rodriguez and other new players like Doucoure who he'd never even heard of.
It soon becomes apparent a club with Top 4 pretensions are barely Top 10 standard and the money has run out for improvements. Hence he reverted to something like Dycheball once opponents cottoned on to the fact that Rodriguez still had a lovely left foot but was a defensive liability.
"As soon as Madrid came calling he was off"
Actually he "was off" even before Real Madrid came calling. It was in the contract he signed with Everton that he could jump ship if Real Madrid came calling.
Although I think it was Carlo who actually called Real Madrid.
So what was the point of possibly the most decorated manager staying for, managing a club with no money was not something he was prepared to consider having probably being promised the earth when he signed.
But I remember reading some of the posts when he was here criticizing his style of football, a serial winner, a manager who had us 2nd in the league on Boxing day and yet some of our fans were giving him stick. Strange how some of them fans were urging us to stick with Lampard and Allardyce and now saying the same thing about Dyche. Ancelotti has won the Champions league 4 times the most of any manager and after the penalty shoot out victory last night who is to say he wont make it a 5th.
I don't know how much the burglary at his house when his daughter was at home changed things, and then finding out there was no money in the kitty for the coming transfer window made him walk away. He certainly liked his bike rides in and around Crosby, it was also rumoured that his Son Davide was about to buy a house in Woolton, so until the burglary everything seemed fine.
But so Everton to see someone that special being lied to by Usmanov and Moshiri which probably sealed our fate of continuing with a World class manager in charge. Again so Everton we went from the class of Ancelotti and appointed a man who should never ever have been anywhere near the managers job.
Moyes to leave West Ham in the summer and Tuchel to move on from Bayern.
I don't profess to have any knowledge and tend to stay away from rumours, but interesting thoughts.
Pre Koeman, Martinez never really got his hands on Moshiri's money. Post Koeman and Big Sam, Silva wasn't given the players he needed. Benitez had no money to spend, Lampard had the Dele transfer but no other major disaster signings and Dyche has being living on scraps.
If sometime down the road it transpires that Moyes ended up back with us as DOF with Baines as manager, I could live with that.
If we stay up, Dyche will be recognised as having achieved that in extremely difficult circumstances.
If we go down, Dyche will be recognised as having secured promotion twice from the Championship on a very low budget.
The real issue is investment (or not) in the playing squad. And the sad fact is that we will sell and be unable to reinvest more than maybe 50% of the proceeds in the playing squad, even if we stay up.
Whatever happens I expect we're sort of where Brighton were under Chris Hughton - and are looking (through more patient player development) to get ourselves where Brighton now are under DeZerbi.
There's no short cut though, through just switching managers. A switch to Moyes will not generate material change unless it is accompanied by players of the quality of Saha, Yakubu, Pienaar, Cahill, Fellaini, Arteta etc etc. He will certainly have nothing like the quality of Bowen, Kudus and Paqueta to work with.
Right now, we need this manager to motivate the players he has and get the results we need.
I hope those players are hurting as much as we have been since Monday night and come out to show some courage for those 37,000 who will be there again. They owe us big time.
Ancelotti called Real Madrid to enquire about a player not the manager position - I assume a loan as he knew by then the squad investment he had been promised was a lie. It was Real Madrid who then raised the potential of moving with him.
We paid Ancelotti a big salary to steer us within one game of Europe. We then paid the catastrophic Benitez and Lampard to steer us to the brink of relegation. Ancelotti has gone on to win La Liga and the Champions League (and may do so again this season), Benitez was sacked by Celta Vigo in his first season. Lampard remains unemployed.
But the mistake was in hiring Ancelotti.
Although it is hard to top David @ 33 who says he wouldn't swap Ancelotti with David Moyes!
Twelve years without a trophy and he got clapped out of Goodison; just think about that for a moment and then try and get your hands on one of the little videos that is doing the rounds on wattsapp, that Paul The Esk, has made.
Ancelotti has proved he has been a great manager always managing clubs with money to spare, sacked by Chelsea, ironically at Goodison on the last day of the season, been around a lot and won honours with different clubs, unfortunately we were skint and he did nothing here except lose more money for Everton, although he did very well himself of course as did his son for helping him out ( lol). He came he saw then did one.
Not immediate, but one of the opening scenes of Howard's Way shows black-and-white footage of the 1966 team bringing the FA Cup home.
You and I were there in 1984. It is special. An experience I'll never forget.
If you flipped things around and the last 15 games were the first 15 games of the season and the first 17 games were the last 17 games, then Dyche would not be in danger.
Our first 17 games in terms of points won and performances were infinitely better than the last 15. Even when we were losing games, take Fulham early in the season, we were creating loads of chances. That's not happening now.
The manager has to turn things around in the next 6 games, I am hoping he does as you simply can't have a scenario where at the end of the season you have played 21 games and won 1 and the manager survives.
Dave #53,
I was thinking of Carlo's victories in the past few seasons as Madrid's manager rather than the victory in an empty stadium across the Park. He is Mr Pragmatic; however, in saying that, his second half of his only full season with us was a disappointment.
He didn't win last night by playing front football, his team rode their luck.
Tony #52,
I know you are not a fan of Moyes, however, when he walked out the door, he left us in a better place than he found us. Remember Walter Smith's final game against Boro?remember where we were in the League, on the verge of relegation? He certainly left us in a better place than we find ourselves today.
Baines, maybe I am hoping for a miracle here, might be our Pep!
I'm 35. I would have preferred Moyes that December. He gave me the only Everton I've ever really been proud of supporting, barring a season under Martinez which I loved, but which had enough warning signs of what was to come: Sunderland (H) on Boxing Day 2013, the collapse against Crystal Palace, etc.
Ancelotti brought James Rodriguez, the kind of player we'd never have dreamed of signing. He brought eyes to the club. He also spent a lot of money on players (nothing like Koeman, I'll grant you).
Everyone acts like his season was a success, that we flirted with European football. The truth was, we collapsed in the second half, and finished 10th. Yeah, sure. Great fucking success. Nil Satis.
He brought James, whose wages were outrageous, and who cared about the club so little that he didn't even know who and when we were playing, instead pissing about on a plane.
Older fans saw us when the club wasn't a fucking tragedy (or comedy, if you're not a fan), was capable of winning trophies, and wasn't an embarrassing basket-case. I don't blame you for wanting better than Moyes, and wanting a winner. My generation are happy to settle for not being embarrassed.
Dave, I just think of you as chronologically challenged. Does that feel any better?
Given what Silva has achieved in his almost three year spell at Fulham, your case is made. Unfortunately, the supporting staff that he had at Everton let him down.
We have been the worst run club in the League for such a long time at this stage. That cannot start to change until Moshiri moves on.
With Benitez in his arm-bands with the over-65s splash club.
Many rate Gana and Gomes as our best central midfielders. Both are now bit part players. Both were here under Marco Silva five years ago. Despite a small fortune spent on central midfielders since then we are worse in that area than ever.
With no money left to strengthen picking up a couple of out of contract journeyman on low salaries will be the only option. That will not come anywhere near to making the team competitive in the Premier League. Of course that will no longer be a concern if we are relegated.
Maybe better to pass the money to me first and I'll assess the credentials of this guy first before handing the money over.
Thanks, that was something for me to think about, but after reviewing that situation I think I'd be better going to a tattooist and getting “Dickhead†tattooed on my forehead.
The players should be able to motivate themselves!
I remember Alan Ball when managing Man City and, after a heavy home defeat, the reporter asking him "Who will lift the players now?"
Ball, quick as a flash, replied "Who will lift the manager?"
Tony 52, Good post and I totally agree!
It is still a joy to read some comments here though.
I wish you would have told me sooner, I've bought 25% shares in his new company making them. Brent told me this time next year we'll be millionaires!
Better than getting "forehead" tattooed on... no, even you wouldn't go that far.
Moyes rather than Carlo, Jesus wept.
And to those claiming that Carlo called Real Madrid asking if they were still looking for a manager. Think about it for a moment. Would he really need to call to find that out?
I have heard a different account of that alleged "call" and could those of you who know so much point me to an unequivocal and reliable source for your version of events: that Carlo rang to ask if the job was available?
Do you honestly think Carlo succeeded here? Nobody in the world thinks that Moyes is a better manager than him. But Moyes would have been a better fit in that period, and for the club, than Carlo was.
Carlo dumped us, and then sued us. James and Allan were heavy financial outlays that did not pay off, other than some lovely goals which James scored before his inevitable injury problems.
Paul (75) Yes, Tony is in my will and I think he is trying to push the date forward, there is a couple of £M involved after all, that's what Tony thinks anyway!
The letter M in Roman numerals is thousand, so really you've only got a couple of thousand quid. I'm sure he won't mind that though! 😄😄
I can't believe it's 10 years since we took well over 10k fans to Lille, with some reports estimating it could have been double that.
Left Liverpool on the coach at some ridiculous time in the early hours.
And they got caught up in the overhanded Police response to football supporters having a day out!!
I'm watching West Ham, but my mind is on time, with that old adage of it only taking a second, making me bite my nails.
Unlucky West Ham though, ran Leverkusen all the way. Don't know what the semi-draw is, but Atalanta v Bayer Leverkusen would be a good final.
I know what you are trying to say Paul, hence my first sentence, but I wouldn't swap my memory of Rotterdam, for anything.
I never got to go to university, Paul, and if that kid, hadn't missed that sitter, in the second leg at Goodison, then we wouldn't have those beautiful memories forever!
You know what I'm thinking now, and those bastards call us the bitter ones🤮
We all have our opinions, in hindsight I think Carlo was mostly influenced by the wages offered at Everton, he's not a fool he always looked ahead, look at his contract, he had a way out even before he got here and he would have known what he was getting to coming to Everton just by looking at the previous few seasons of Everton's performances.
Look forward to seeing you soon John and we'll have a bit of banter together and drink a glass with a nod to our hero Iwobi, sorry your hero, I only had one hero at Everton and he's long gone: Dave Hickson and I was young and foolish then!
Knew Dave Hickson in his senior playing days and was then well past his prime.
Took a few heavy hits from him on a few occasions as a youngster and was hard as nails even in his fifties and was still a fit guy.
Wish we had players with a heart as big as his and we wouldn't be in such a shitty mess.
Great guy with the kids coaching Junior teams on Rossmore road mud heaps in Ellesmere Port many many years ago.
Was Everton through and through.
Great attitude, great player who would put his head to anything.
Bravery at it's finest and would die for the cause in a blue shirt unlike the imposters who today writhe and wriggle at the slightest touch.
I was sick when he signed for Villa, then Huddersfield but overjoyed when he came back ‘ home'.
As you say he gave everything for the Blues including blood a few times, certainly wish he could play, like he did in his prime, for these last six games he'd definitely get the crowd up for those games with his never say die spirit.
An absolute beaut Dave the only idol I ever had for Everton although I realised the value of many more players. Dave wasn't the best but I loved his robust style and whole heartedness—— Everton through and through.
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1 Posted 16/04/2024 at 21:20:44
PSG must surely fancy their chances of progressing now.