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Small Is Beautiful

Rafael Benitez has given every Evertonian the chance to bamboozle thick Kopites by repeating the words of the seventeenth century Dutch philosopher, Spinoza: the task is neither to laugh nor to cry but to understand. Contrary to the media furore we are neither amused by Benitez's 'small clubs' remarks nor upset. We do understand it though. And our understanding makes us considerably bigger and better than the ignorant Iberian can ever be.

Benitez's comment was designed to belittle two things:

a) the importance of sport as competition.

b) the importance of Everton as Liverpool's local rivals.

The importance of belittling sport as competition flows from the nature of the premier league. The premier league itself is relatively unimportant. It is merely a dungheap on which the 'great' teams can stand to show themselves off to the rest of the G14 European 'big' clubs.

Competition in this league is of little importance because, in itself, it does not hold the key to undreamed of wealth. The only important competition is between those big enough to be able to step into the G14. There are only four teams that can enter this club. The real 'competition' is between these four teams. Big equals G14. Small equals everyone else.

Benitez values wealth more than he does the essence of football - sporting competition. That's why he said what he said. And that is why what he said is an indictment not just of him and LFC but of modern football itself.

The importance of belittling Everton as Liverpool's local rivals is that we are not part of the G14. Local rivalry is unimportant. We are only as important to Benitez as Portsmouth or Bolton. No more, no less. The derby is no longer a derby; it's just another game against a small club.

Tradition? It doesn't buy you an automatic Champions League place (even if you haven't actually qualified). Bragging rights? How many top player's wages will they pay? Local pride? Benitez plays Steven Gerrard because he's a top-ranking player, not because he's from round here.

Sadly not a few Kopites echo this Sky-shaped view of football. The drama and excitement of local rivalry is derided. Instead, after we beat them, they comment "that's your cup final". It isn't. Our cup finals are at Wembley (and we won't even try to get back into one until it is re-opened). We have won five of them, which is more than most clubs.

But we also like to beat local rivals because that is part of the fabric of the game, part of the spirit of the game, part of what makes it exciting to watch. It is part of a spirit that Benitez and his revenue-stream driven cohorts are doing their best to exorcise completely from football.

There is an icy logic to Benitez's comments if what you want is a game dominated by the footballing equivalent of the top multinational corporations. A handful of big clubs - big purely in the financial sense - play each other again and again and again. No real competition. No fear of dropping out of the big league. No danger of anything upsetting the profit margins and TV rights' cash bonanzas.

In "Moving the Goalposts" (1997) Ed Horton wrote: "The European Cup was one of the greatest and most prestigious football competitions in existence. It owed that prestige to the fairness and simplicity of its format, not to the money that it could potentially produce. Every country, regardless of its size, had one participant who had to be the national champions. The cup format allowed no second chances for clubs who made mistakes. It was a classic competition. But these very characteristics which made it great were the characteristics with which the richest clubs could not be comfortable … So the structure of the competition was changed so that clubs from richer, more successful countries were seeded beyond the knock out stages. You could not let these clubs be knocked out just because they lost. In 1996-97 Manchester United contrived to reach the semi-final, despite losing five matches on the way, which would have been impossible when it was a real cup."

We've taken four points from our clashes with Liverpool this season. That makes us the better side this season from a sporting, competitive point of view. If it had been the European cup we would have knocked them out, 3-0 on aggregate. But despite winning one and drawing the other Liverpool are the 'big club'. Competition, winning, losing, drawing the actual games - none of that matters. Are you big (rich) or small (not rich)?

That is what Benitez really meant. And it shows how far he has travelled, along with many others, from the principles that should shape football. After all, if he wants to consider what being small really means he should reflect on his own wretched playing career. According to one profile it was: "As a footballer, he played in the lower categories of Real Madrid from the 73/74 season up until the 80/81 season. In 1981 he signed up for AD Parla, where he played in 3rd and 2nd Division B in the 81/82, 82/83, 83/84 and 84/85 seasons. He ended his footballer carrier in Linares CF, playing in 2nd Division B in the 85/86 season."

The 'lower categories' means B teams by the way. Linares CF anyone? Small? But do we use that as a stick to beat him with? No, we prefer the two results this season as a big enough baton.

As for Benitez's managerial career, his reputation was built at Valencia. They may now belong to the G14, but prior to winning their first title for thirty years under Benitez in 2001 their history was less than illustrious. One reference to them points out: "In the 1983-84 and 1984-85 season, the club was heavily in debt under the presidency of Vicente Tormo. The club finally hit rock bottom when it was relegated at near the end of the 1985-86 season, and riven with internal problems such as unpaid player and staff wages, as well as poor team spirit. The club was relegated for the first time after 55 years in Spanish top-flight football." (Wikipedia)

Wow, 55 years. Seventy years less than our top flight record. But we are just so small. There's no real comparison because eventually money saved Valencia and they became 'big'. Then, and only then, was Benitez (building on a regime established by Ranieri as it happens) able to "work his magic".

All of this explains why we understand Benitez's comments. And we are sickened by where he and others like him are taking football. We are also sickened by Benitez's attempts to wrap his 'big' talk in the flag of tradition.

Responding to the verbal onslaught that followed his cheap insult Benitez said: "It's easy for me to explain what I've said. I've read lots of comments from Bill Shankly over the years where he's made comments which compared Liverpool as a club to other teams. I've done it on this occasion."

"As Shanks might have said"? I don't think so.

As the song says, I hate Bill Shankly. The man's long dead and I still sing of my hatred for him with gusto.

I sing it despite the fact that Bill Shankly was a regular visitor to Goodison (and Bellefield) after the ill tempered consortium of misfits who run our former stadium told him he was no longer welcome at the club he rescued from second division obscurity.

Indeed Shankly was a guest of honour at Goodison at a derby in 1980 when William Ralph Dean died. After that tragic event Shankly commented: "Bill's goalscoring was the greatest thing under the sun. He belongs in the company of the truly great - like Beethoven, Rembrandt and Shakespeare."

So how on earth can I hate Bill Shankly? After all, such generosity of spirit suggests that the ex-miner wasn't really that bad. And that's the point. He wasn't, and hating him was partly an expression of respect. He respected us, which is why he tried taunt us at every opportunity. We respected him, which is why we singled him out in one of our most famous songs.

We cared about his plans to outwit us on the field and out talk our manager off it. We cared about the fact that he regarded us as the team he had to beat. It was his way of paying us a compliment. We were the team to beat if he was to lift his team from our shadow.

We also respected the fact that he cared about us enough to want to do everything he could to try and put us off our game. That's why our 'hatred' had no more real malice than Brian Labone's, when he made his famous remark about one Evertonian being worth twenty Liverpudlians. It is not genuine hatred of the sort that leads to insane acts of violence. It is hatred as rivalry.

And all is fair in love and rivalry. After all, I still tell my children that the Mersey really is royal blue. I explain to them that my promise to hang the kopites, one by one, is not the extreme act of calculated cruelty that they accused me of (and they are both Evertonians), just a funny way of saying that Kopites are following the wrong path.

All of this means I could live with Shankly's jibes against us for the simple reason that they were the jibes of a rival, borne of an understanding of how great, how deep and how important (in footballing terms) that rivalry was.

Shankly's comments about two teams in Liverpool and about drawing his curtains if Everton were playing at the bottom of his garden came from a man who tendered his resignation as manager of Liverpool because when we signed Howard Kendall the player he thought the game was up and the future was Blue. They were also made by a man who ended his days in our camp, as an unpaid adviser to Kendall the manager, whatever he'd said before - and whatever the statue and gates say at their place.

Do Benitez's remarks compare in any way to any of that legacy of rivalry? Of course not. They are merely proof that these days money talks - invariably out of its arse. Mark Hoskisson (06/02/07)

Small Club Jibe

Can I remind Mr Rafael Benitez that there are only 3 clubs in the History of English football that have won more than Everton. He was probably appeasing to their fans because his team played shite. David. (05/02/07)

Good Derby Result

I think Moyesy got his team right. Great game and really good defending by Stubbs. We have took 4 points from both derby's. come on you blue boys let's climb the table !! Natasha. (05/02/07)

ESSCA Flag At Bournemouth

ESSCA had a flag at the recent Bournemouth game, we did the unthinkable - we forgot to pick it up at the end of the match and left it at the back of the stand !! After ringing Bournemouth they tell us the flag has not been handed in - so we can only assume some Evertonian picked it up.

Could you publicize the loss of our flag through Bluekipper? Thanks... Forever Everton. Eddie Harbour. (05/02/07)

Contact: Eddie.Harbour@ntlworld.com ESSCA Everton Supporters South Coast Area. Tel: 02392 425 455 or 07810 87 39 37. ESSCA. 10 Topaz Grove, Waterlooville, Hants, PO7 8ST.

Post Derby Comments

I can't believe I've just heard the RS manager call Everton a small club. I'm apoplectic - its an affront to our great club and merseyside football in general. I think this is something we need a public apology for - how about Bluekipper asking Wyness to make a formal complaint? Rory OConnor. (05/02/07)

Benitez Comments

With regards to the comments made by the Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez on Sky TV following Saturday’s Merseyside derby game – namely, referring to Everton F.C as a “small club”. If I may point out a few salient points to Mr Benitez:

1) If one judges the “size” of a thing solely on monetary terms, then perhaps Everton FC are “smaller” than Liverpool FC. However, in terms of the rankings of the Deloitte Football Money League, Everton were still ranked as the 18th “largest” club in the entire world. Following Mr Benitez’s own line of logic therefore, Liverpool are a “smaller” club than both Chelsea and Manchester United and “worth” only £6.7m more than Arsenal. Would he agree?

2) If one judges the “size” of a thing solely in terms of prizes won, then Liverpool are clearly the “largest” club in England… with Everton in fourth place. Can we then safely say then that every club in England that has ever existed is “smaller” than Everton, with the exception of Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal?

3) If one is to use league performance as a measure of what is “small” and “large”, then it may distress Mr Benitez to note that as of the end of the 2005 / 2006, Everton have accumulated more top-flight points in our history than any other club in the country. (I would refer him to the excellent table at: http://www.rsssf.com/tablese/engalltime.html for further clarification.) In addition, we have also contested more seasons in the top flight of English football than any other; not bad for a “small club”.

No doubt at this point in the dialogue, Mr Benitez may be tempted to accuse me of “living in the past” – a charge commonly levelled at Evertonians by people aligning themselves to Liverpool FC. To this I would ask him if he would prefer to look at the honours statistics from the start of the Premier League onwards and no others? (This is commonly acknowledged after all as the start of “the modern era of the game”.) He could then compare his club’s haul of honours since the 1992/93 season to every other club’s – and we could see who is “larger” than whom using THAT scale. It would make amusing reading to Manchester United fans, I am sure.

In truth though, this would appear to be the logic that Mr Benitez himself is using and is of a sort for which I myself have no use. I do not measure the “size” of my club with a bank statement, nor how much merchandising we can sell, nor by how we can boast and brag to the fans of other clubs with regards to our achievements in the past.

If he knew anything of this fine city, he would know the following. I measure the “size” of my club with my heart. I measure the “size” of my club in the pride and joy it brings me when it plays well. I measure the “size” of my club in the love that I feel for it when we win, the gloom it brings me when we lose and the ever-present sense that there is NOTHING I would rather be than an Evertonian.

Mr Benitez can decide whether these are “small” feelings or not. I just don’t insult the history, players and fans of another club if they think differently, that’s all. Yours, M. Jones. (05/02/07)

No Ambition, No Determination, No Effort, Why ?

Please could you pass on my congratulations to David Moyes on a job well done, well at least in the eyes of many of my Liverpool supporting colleagues, not only has he managed to weaken an already paper thin squad by releasing David Weir and selling Simon Davies but he has presided over the loss of one of our brightest young prospects in Mark Hughes and managed to secure one of the most pointless signings in the history of Everton Football Club, namely Manuel Fernandes.

Apparently you offered Mark a new deal but he turned it down, and I quote the manager of Northampton Town “because he wanted to play first team football”, this boy is better than Weir and Stubbs and showed as much in the games he played for us, I thought that the bad old days of us selling our young talent ended, with the exception of Rooney, when Walter Smith and Archie “Bully Boy” Knox were kicked out but no, it appears this policy is still in full effect.

As for Fernandes, the deal would’ve seemed fantastic were it not for the fact that we cannot sign him in the summer due to the fact he is 50% owned by Kia Joorabchian’s somewhat mysterious company, to bring in a player who may well turn out to be fantastic and then not be able to keep him is ridiculous, it stinks of the acknowledgment that mistakes were made in selling and releasing Weir and Davies, it seems to me to be a desperate attempt to deflect criticism from the public in regards to our transfer policies (if we even have one) and is absolutely pointless in every regard.

It is important that you realise that I am not one of the “Moyes Out Brigade”, rather, I am someone who thanks him for what he has done for our club but it must be acknowledged that he is less than impressive in the transfer market, I would put his success rate at less than 50%, players such as Richard Wright, Kevin Kilbane, Simon Davies, James Beattie, Andy Van Der Meyde and who could forget the wonderful Per Kroldrup have not done anything for his reputation, he is well known as Dithering Dave round here and it’s a tag that is well suited, why have we not even pressed the issue on David Nugent and Joey Barton ? Why did we back away when Man City said that Barton wasn’t available? Unless the player himself told you he wasn’t interested then it is unacceptable but perhaps if he did tell you to leave it alone then is it an indication of our reputation within the game? Did Manchester United back away from Rooney? Did they give us any choice in the matter whatsoever?

I hate the fact that consortiums are queuing up to buy out our hideous cousins across the park when it appears no one would touch us with a barge pole, we need someone to move this club forward and sadly it does not appear those people are yourself and our esteemed Chairman, Mr Kenwright, I hope that your future plans for our club include some sort of Director of Football who can take away the responsibility of signing players from Moyes, maybe then he can concentrate on having us play some attractive football for once? Yours, disappointedly. Andrew Boyer. (05/02/07)

How did you get on mate?

Don't forget boys, after our victory this week-end, when you see those Pinkees walking around with their shirts on but never been to a match in their life, ask them the question "How did you get on mate?"

Depending on their reply you have 2 possible retorts:

Blue: How did you get on mate?
Pinkee: We lost.
Blue: Yeah I know.

Blue: How did you get on mate?
Pinkee: Don't know.
Blue: You lost. AGAIN!

Don't miss this opportunity. Gwladys. (03/02/07)

Fernandes

What do you think about starting Manuel Fernandez against liverpool on Saturday? I know he hasn't played any football for about 4 weeks but we're not really blessed with an abundance of midfielder's and maybe starting with him isn't such a bad idea. I'm also a bit disappointed that Moyesy didn't go out and sign a striker to cover AJ while he is out but like always the board failed to back him. Kevin H. (01/02/07)

The Derby

Oh the pessimism! Has anyone read the jury in the Echo? We are going to get hammered! Slaughtered! heaviest defeat ever! What a load of shite! Even last season on the back of three 4 0 defeats to rubbish like West Brom, Villa and Bolton and ending up with nine men, they only managed 3 1. Liverpool are playing too well, against who exactly? Chelsea? Even Paul Walsh stated it was the worse performance by a Chelsea team he had seen under Mourinho, never mind missing several top players including the immense John Terry. Watford and West Ham? Sorry but both these clubs have no confidence whatsoever at the moment, having said that, even West Ham with half their first choice team missing gave them plenty of nervous moments. One defeat in seven, wow, isn't that the same as Everton?

Gerrard, Sissoko and co will run the midfield, what like at Goodison in September? Alonso supremely more gifted than Arteta, what have you been on? Look at the table, we have only lost one more game than they have. If we had of beat City, Wigan, Reading and Boro we would have been three points behind. Okay it is what ifs but frankly we are much better than these sides and we should have beaten them at home.

Saturday's result will depend on who he has fit and the formation he plays. If Hibbert and Johnson are genuinely fit and in the case of Johnson, Moyes is not attempting to be like his old mucker down the East Lancs and using any old psychology, then we have every chance of a victory. Avoid going behind early on and it is anyones. Personally I would go with Stubbs instead of Joey alongside Lescott with Hibbert and Valente the fullbacks. Five man midfield, throwing Fernandes in from the start in place of Leon. Cahill just off Andy or Victor. Come on you blues!!!
Wonderful memories of past wins, loved the celebrations of AJ's third goal. Wonderful site. Best Wishes BlueOz. (01/02/07)

LACK OF TRANSFER ACTIVITY

WHY THE FUCK CAN VILLA, NEWCASTLE AND EVEN FULHAM ATTRACT PLAYERS TO THEIR SHITE CLUB AND WE CAN'T? DO WE TRY TO SIGN PLAYERS OR JUST NAME DROP TO LET US LOYAL FANS THINK WE ARE INTERESTED IN MOVING ON?? ONE PISSED OFF BLUE. ELLESMERE PORT. (01/02/07)

I Got It Wrong

I am he first to hold my hands up when i am wrong! we got fernandes "whats the point" 31/01/07, "on loan" no other cunt though!!!! i read on your site the ginger one thinks we will be fine, i actually believe he said "hope" oh my god! anyway he tried bless him, not hard enough if you ask me! Anyway dreading the derby fingers crossed and eyes closed! matt (lower Gwladys season ticket holder) (01/02/07)

Transfer Deadline Day

Thought I would just like to add a couple of points since my last correspondence on 17th January.

First of all, not a good game, but a vital win at Wigan under the present circumstances, I though Paul Jewell was bit cheeky with his "should have been 0-0 comments", shit I could go on about games like that for the past 25 years, that we have lost !!

As a matter of fact, I have been fortunate to have been out of the country for the past week getting some well earned sun on my bones, good timing as I have not missed a game due to our F.A. cup exit, ahem.

I indicated previously that we may lose one or two players during January, SImon Davies not a big surprise, ( I would like to know the un-disclosed sum we received though hmm ! ) but I think to sell Mark Hughes late last night, a good lad, captain of our reserves no doubt, tells me that Mr Moyes does not fancy him, he must be hopeful that our returning players can fill a gap if required, I only hope with our wafer thin squad he does not end up with egg on his face.

I do believe that January is not the ideal time to bring players in, unless you are in deep shit like West Ham, Charlton etc, and indeed is a good time to move players on for a little more money than they are worth, but in view of the fact that we only brought one player in, is a little surprising and a lot of supporters are saying this, maybe we have settled for mid-table mediocrity with the bigger monies due next season from SKY.

I would like to think that this is not the case, we know the standard of the Premiership outside of the top three, Man Utd, Chelski and Arsenal, ( the shite are not there yet, but let them think they are ) and I still believe that we can finish in the top six, if we can avoid any slip ups against some of the poorer sides, but we do need to move forward and try to consolidate for next season, when I think we will need to change the manager.

I cannot leave my latest comments without mentioning the Derby, it is funny really to listen to the redshite fans ( not supporters, as we know that they do not go, look in the pubs when they have a home game !! ) telling us we are going to get turned over in revenge for their defeat at Goodison, well they are possibly right looking at their current form, but remember they went into the two games against Arsenal with a cocky attitude and got their arses spanked, so if we keep our heads and stand up to them, you never know !! Keep the faith, come on you Blues. The Busy Fool. (01/02/07)

Good-bye Yozzer!

Just a brief comment on the sad departure of young Mark Hughes to Northampton. Mark appeared to be a good prospect, his attitude was spot on according to Andy Holden, and he was a good Evertonian. My immediate reaction is that we have made a big mistake along the lines of McGann and Barton and I hope our manager has an immediate replacement lined up as we are now 2 centre backs down during the transfer window. In fact the logic of allowing Mark to leave is stupefying when we fail to land Bougherra from Sheffield Wednesday leaving just 3 centre backs for the run-in! With utility man Simon Davies also leaving and no signs of the cavalry coming in to help us to a European place (other than Fernandez who has made it clear he only wants to be a short term deal) or perhaps the powers that be don’t want us to qualify for a EUFA cup place and we fans are missing the bigger picture! Dazed and confused of Ormskirk. (01/02/07)

Andy Cole on loan?

While i am looking at the blue websites, I am listening to Sky sports news, we have lost Mark Hughes sold to Northampton, and we are after Andy Cole on loan whats going on with this club? we are the paupers of the Premier league, and after the Derby I hope not the laughing stock. Norman. (31/01/07)

Real World

Maybe the messages posted for 31st, deadline day, were sent well before the background to the Bugger and Manny deals was ‘outed’ but the reasons for Bugger going to Charlton had nothing to do with cash, his own explanation was there for all to see, and the Manny deal is actually to do with R tape, yes probably for the first time, but reportedly true, as the player has been training with us all week. I know Pompey had him but they probably had more time and had less focus on the deal to sort out the ‘ownership’ problems first.

Apologies if you wised up after sending in your email but if not you need to get off this ‘Moyes and Kenwright f**k everything up’ mentality. God knows EFC give us plenty of ‘real’ things to moan about and ‘piss up’ and ‘brewery’ should be incorporated in the motto but we can’t blame them for absolutely everything just because we’re pissed off. Steve (Pissed off but unfortunately living in the real world) (31/01/07)

RANT - following Smudger entry

Why is everyone so desperate to bag Alan Smith. If he's failed to make the grade at Man. United -he's not good enough for us. We need to be looking at players who are of genuine top-six quality or at least have big potential and time on their side. Smithy has consistently struggled to score more than ten goals a season in the Premiership. Tenacity and a half-decent spring isn't enough at the top level!

We don't need to sign a striker anyway. Boot out Beatts - for a fee for once - and give the kids a chance. The main focus should be finding a replacement for the hap-hazard Joey Yobo. He might be faster than brown stuff off a shovel, but his positional sense, reading of the game and heading are shocking. You need consistency in the middle at the back and that's something he has never had.

A creative midfielder would be nice too - if Moyesy plans to play 4-5-1 long-term - someone to play the creative Tommy G role between Nev or Cars (sitting) and Tim Cahill (supporting the lone striker) is needed.

We've got to face some facts - 4-5-1 is how we play best. And if you're still in the reserves in your mid-twenties you aren't nearly good enough! Matt. (31/01/07)

Non Transfer News

Once again the annual transfer circus is about to come to an end.And what have Everton FC done ? fuck all.What amazes me is that we bluenoses still believe the lies,shite and rhetoric that come from the disrespectful cunts that run our club.They release little pieces of mis information to the local red shite press and media hoping to pacify us and keep us quite. EFC have now officially the smallest squad in the premiership,and whats happening? I'll tell you what absolutely fuck all, we cant even manage to tie up loan deals, are these EFC twats answerable to anyone, they will churn out the same bullshit telling us no one was available, my Fucking Arse. I am totally convinced Everton FC don't give a flying fuck about its fans,the lack of ambition in this club is fucking incredible. Leoblue. Park ender. (31/01/07)

Short sighted !

I cannot believe Everton FC have done it again , unless there is a massive transfer influx in the next 12 hrs , highly unlikely ! Is the Everton board and David Moyes so short sighted that they think we can achieve UEFA cup qualification by reducing the squad size ? The squad was already small , smaller than most other Premier league teams , then we sell Weir and Davies, lose Mcfadden to injury, not to mention AJ . All around us teams are strengthening there squads to push for Europe in a season when the final financial rewards are bigger than ever and each individual higher place could be worth millions . Why are we shooting ourselves in the foot by weakening our squad than get involved in a transfer wrangle with a player who apparently is not going to sign for us permanently and anyway would cost around 12 million which is why Pompey never signed him and lose out to Charlton for a promising young defender . Nugent at Preston wants to play for us , why have we not signed him before he improves enough for a whole host of clubs to throw money at them .

We are in such a fantastic position in the league considering how we have played in some of those games in the first half of the season , now is the time to boost the squad , get some quality in , Nugent , Nolan etc and we might just reap the rewards in May , if Mr Kenwright and co realised it might be worth speculating to accumulate. No doubt we`ll be hit with the same old mantra , the right players are not available and they are all to much money , yet everyone else seems to be finding available players . Also mid table obscurity is not what Everton Football Club should be about. Nil Satis Nisi Optimum ! I guess we`ll all forget about the transfer window if we turn over the RS at Analfield , lets all pray ! COYBB ! All the best top site. Chris Thorpe ( St.Neots ) (31/01/07)

Transfers

Moyesy quoted November time we are a bit thin on the ground with a small squad we will have to look at bringing players in in the window . he sold kilbane at the start of the season then lets weir and simple go .two strikers are injured that leaves us thinner on the ground ,I cant understand why he cant bring someone in there's been over 80 transfers so far in the window , we loan one that got red tape And also the Algerian chose charlton , so as normal we sit and wait Until Wednesday night and see if he can get someone in ,if not the possibility of us dropping places with a reduced squad and cost half a mill a place and miss out on any slim chance we have of getting into Europe the five mill you got for simple and killer would probably get nugent ,even mido would do the job for 3 mill. John. Halifax. (31/01/07)

Where Are The Signings?

Once again dithering Davie has managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory ! Just when the fans think that a signing, or two, will help us push on to a European place our mighty management team have managed to balls it up again. A player has chosen to go to a side in the bottom three in the Premiership rather than come to Everton who are seventh. The mind boggles. I really do not understand it. Apart from playing him out of position and probably offering him two bob, 10p in new money, I cannot see any problem. This must also make Lee Carsley, and possibly Phil Neville, feel very safe knowing that Moyes is looking for a defensive midfielder ! For pitys sake we do not want another defensive midfielder. We desperately need somebody creative in the midfield. All we have at the moment is Mikky Arteta and with the total lack of ambition shown by Everton Football Club how much longer will he be prepared to stay ? It surely must be time to get some money out and try to show the other teams that we do mean business. Yes, there are only two days to go before the transfer window closes and we haven`t signed a soul. Please do not let us have a repeat of a couple of seasons ago when Moyes went and squandered what little money we had on three complete wasters. I have not joined the "Moyes Out" brigade yet but my patience is wearing very thin. A getting more and more frustrated Blue. John. (30/01/07)