Things Can Only Get Better

As the song goes, 'Things can only get better' for Biffa. Everton's record signing realises that he has not set the world on fire since his January move from Southampton. He is targeting next season for the fans to see the best of him. Head down Biffa, hard work, and it will come good.

Biffa says: " There’s nobody more disappointed with the start of my Everton career than myself. I’m a big self-critic and I know that there are better times to come. I’m fit now, but obviously with injuries and suspensions it hasn’t been the start with Everton that I would have wanted, but there’s nothing I can do about that now. With the lack of matches between now and the end of the season and for the fact I haven’t played many games since I signed, it’s probably going to be next season before the fans see me at my best. It’s disappointing and it kills me to say it, but it’s a sensible thing to say. I’m looking to get a good pre-season behind me, stay injury free and I’m sure I’ll be flying.

I am looking forward to the next game and helping the team achieve what we want to achieve. If I’m involved in some way at Fulham, that will be fantastic. I am just here and ready to do my best whenever I’m called upon - and I will do it for the fans, my team-mates and for the club. Even though we’ve qualified for the UEFA Cup, the feeling around the camp is one of ‘we haven’t finished yet. We know what everybody wants and the players want it. The manager wants it more than anyone. We will keep going and try to get the results to make sure we get into the Champions League. We won’t be satisfied until we have got what we want. We know our goal and it hasn’t changed since I arrived in January." (29/04/05)

Ring-Rusty

Biffa was getting a bit of unfair stick on Saturday from certain fans. But David Moyes is confident that everything will come good for James.

Moyesy says:"I think James was just a bit ring-rusty, nothing else. He should have scored the one good chance he had and I'm sure if he had more games and more sharpness he would have done.
We have asked him to come back quickly to help us out and that should be taken into consideration. He's only trained for three or four days after his injury but we needed him against Birmingham.

He had to come straight back in because the likes of Duncan Ferguson and Marcus Bent worked extremely hard against United in midweek and we needed to change things around. James has had a great goalscoring record throughout his career and I'm sure he will have one at Everton as well. He knows he was brought here to add something extra to the team and that he hasn't played as much as he would have liked for various reasons. But he is in good physical condition now and I expect him to contribute a lot before the end of the season." (25/04/05)

Boost For Biffa

Good news that Biffa is back in full training. He may not be ready for the Utd game, but should be available for the Birmingham game the following Saturday.

Bazza says "Beattie will be stepping up his rehabilitation over the weekend. We are hoping he will be ready to do some training next week, although he remains a doubt for the Wednesday game."(15/04/05)

Devastated

Biffa's gutted, Moyesy's gutted, were gutted. It looks like Biffa's injury will keep him out this season, and his next competitive game will be in the Champions League Qualifiers in the Summer. Are you 'avin that. Keep believing.

Biffa says: "I was training, I was fit and I was ready to Hawthorns but instead he was forced to remain on Merseyside and face the be involved at some stage last Sunday and I got an injury during Friday’s training session. It is pretty devastating for myself because I haven’t played that many games and all I want to do is play football. But for one reason or another since I have been here it has just not been able to happen.

I have to wait and see because the first week is always the most important one with an injury. I am just assessing it every day to see how it goes and if settles down pretty quickly then hopefully I will be back sooner rather than later. I am sure I will turn it around and I am sure that the lads will hold on to fourth spot. I just want to get fit and help them do that." (07/04/05)

Stop Start Stop

Biffa Beattie's stop start Everton career has come to a halt before it's started. Biffa could be out for up to a month after injuring his knee in training.

Moyesy says: "James tweaked his medial ligaments in training and it looks as If he is going to be out for three weeks. He suffered a fall which we thought had led just to bruising in his knee but he did some shooting work and he felt it from that. We had it scanned and is shows a slight medial tear. It is a blow because we brought him in to help us out and we have had very limited use of his service.” (03/04/05)

Raring To Go

Still smarting from the stick he got for letting down the fans and his team mates after being sent off against Chelsea, Biffa aims to make up for it by scoring a few goals in the last few games of the season.

Biffa says: "I was devastated when that happened, really devastated. It was disappointing for a number of reasons, and yeah, there are a lot of regrets over the incident. I'm raring to go, desperate to play. I got some stick from the lads for that incident - you could say I was the butt of the jokes. But there was a serious side to it. There is still so much to play for here at Everton. We are in fourth still and if we win our games no one will catch us. I just want to get in there and repay the fans, the gaffer and the players. They haven't seen anything of me yet - nothing at all, and I think I owe them all." (02/04/05)

Biffa's European Dream

Biffa Beattie's hope of a European journey when he was with Southampton consisted of the lads jolly to Benidorm at the end of the season. Now the star striker is with one of England's Premier football clubs, he hopes have risen a bit. Biffa was frustrated as a monk in a brothel, whilst he had to sit on the side lines for six weeks, after his foolish sending off against Chelski. Now the front men is targeting Champions League football for the Blues. Well Biffa, now it would be a belting time to repay some of that £6m, Moyesy forked out on you. C'mon son, you can do it.

Biffa says: "I hadn't played for six weeks. I'm not the best watcher of football games, especially when you could be involved. I was in the dressing room before every game and when the lads were getting ready to go out it was gutting really. It's been very frustrating, but hopefully now I've got my fitness back I can get into the team and we can hold on to fourth spot. With the attitude and commitment of the lads and with the talent that's in the dressing room I'm sure that we can do it.

The one thing I've got to look at is my own performance and if I'm playing well and scoring goals then that's the best thing I can do. The main job for me and the rest of the lads is to get fourth spot for Everton Football Club and if we can get in the Champions League it would be amazing." (28/03/05)

Targeting England

Once James Beattie has captured the front line spot at Everton, he is then targeting his squad place back in the England set up. It should be good news for the Blues, as to get in Sexy Sven's plans he will have to do the biz for the Blues.

Biffa says: "I hadn’t thought about it to be honest and I didn’t even realise the game was taking place at Old Trafford until the other day. But I was in Manchester earlier in the week and saw the England team bus and that’s what made it click. I suppose you’re always looking to get in the squad, but I haven’t played for six weeks, though I feel I can recapture the form of last season and two seasons ago and hopefully get back in. I think I have got plenty to offer but it is at the discretion of the manager and it is down to me, I’ve just got to try and play well for Everton and see what happens." (24/03/05)

You Owe The Boys

Moyesy is leaving everyone dangling with his choice of who starts up front for Everton on Sunday. Biffa Beattie is back for the Blues after his three game suspension, and Moyesy is saying he owes it to his team mates to throw a performance in if selected, after his stupid sending off against Chelski.

Moyesy says: "James will certainly be in among my plans this weekend. It's great to have him back and we will need him for the run-in and I am sure he will knuckle down and hopefully get us some important goals between now and the end of the season. I don't think he owes the club anything but maybe he owes his team-mates but these things happen in football and you have to be stronger for it. Hopefully James will be. He has to realise that Everton are a big football club with expectations and we expect high standards on and off the pitch. I think he knows this is a club that takes things seriously. We are on the move forward and he is a big acquisition for us so he has to be responsible on and off the field." (18/03/05)

Biffa's Back

Moyesy has a nice selection poser ahead of Sunday's Derby at Analfield. Serial loony, Biffa Beattie is back in contention, and Moyesy has no qualms in starting him, in what is sure to be a pressure cooker of an atmosphere. Along with Benty, Moyesy will have to decide who gets the lone striker role, as Moyesy will surely keep his 4-5-1 formation, which has served him so well this season.

Moyesy says: "He has done a lot of training and I am sure he will be ready to play both physically and mentally. He came to Everton to make a name for himself. He came here because we are a big club with big ambitions. He has an opportunity to help us in the remaining nine games of the season. But he has had a stop-start season and, as I have said before, he is here for the long term." (15/03/05)

Beat Up

Nice one James. It is not a good start to his Everton career. After being sent off against Chelsea resulting in a three match ban, James now finds himself in the news for all the wrong reasons. He was involved in a brawl outside a night club in Birmingham on Saturday night. Not the best place to go considering the Toffeemen had just stuffed the Villa.

With his girlfriend and some chums celebrating Everton's win and his birthday on Sunday, he allegedly had a go at a fella who insulted his girlfriend. Bouncers had to step in and sort it all out.

James get yer head down and come off the bench to score the winner against the shite.

An Everton spokesman says:"James was enjoying a night out with his girlfriend and a group of friends when he was the victim of an unprovoked assault. He was shaken but not badly injured. He did speak to the police but will not be pressing charges."(01/03/05)

Missed You

Moyesy has admitted that Beatts' goalscoring presence was missed against Man ure in the Cup. The striker was sent off the week previous after an altercation on Chelski's William Gallas. As a present for Beatts, Moyesy is putting him through the pre season schedule, that has served his team mates so well this season. Me thinks he won't be putting his noggin around so easily again, or if he does, try and be a bit more discreet. See Dunc for details.

Moyesy says: We just couldn’t get any penetration up front and that’s where we missed James Beattie. He has got that penetration and he is always liable to get us a goal.

James is doing a lot of work right now. He is training harder than he has trained probably all season. He is doing two and sometimes three sessions a day to improve his fitness. We are trying to get him closer to the level we want from him. It is very similar to the work we put the rest of the squad through during pre-season in Austria and America. We won't stop that regime until the start of next week and then he can begin to focus on training and getting ready for the end of his suspension." (22/02/05)

Never a Head-Butt!

Biffa Beattie says: "For a start I can tell you that it wasn't an intentional head butt" following his 8th minute sending off against league leaders Chelsea yesterday.

Well James it certainly looked like one or maybe two to the rest of us but the definition of a head butt depends where you come from! Yes, Gallas was obstructing, Yes, trample all over him (you'll only get booked) but don't assualt and get sent off, there's only Beatt's & Moyesy who are condoning the red card today.

Beattie now misses the FA Cup game against Man U next week, away at Villa & home to Backburn and returns against the shite on March 20th. Over a month off on full pay, plenty of time to bin his Viz Biffa Bacon video's and when he returns let's hope it's pay back time. (13/02/05)

Goals Will Flow

James Beattie believes this is just the start of his goal scoring exploits for Everton. Beatts who opened his account against Sunderland in the Cup, then followed it up with the opener against his old club Southampton, believes the goals will flow. Crack on Beatts, one this weekend against Chelski would not go amiss either.

Beatts says: I think that if the chances keep coming then the goals will definitely follow. As long as I’m there to have the chance to score then that’s alright. If I wasn’t getting in the position to score it’s obviously going to be different. But it was absolutely fantastic to get my Premiership account open for Everton. It came pretty quick in the game. Faddy took a long throw and Tim came into the box and had a good header saved. It sat up right in front of me and I just smashed it into the net.

I suppose the script was written for where it was going to happen. Obviously I’ve hit the post twice before and this time I hit the bar and it went in so it was the right side of the woodwork this time. It was nice to score my first goal obviously. I don’t want to see Southampton to go down, but I was there to do a job and that’s what I did." (08/02/05)

Mine, All Mine

Like any decent forward, James Beattie is claiming the goal which helped Everton cruise through to the fifth round of the FA Cup. Beattie's shot took a deflection of Sunderland's Danny Collins, to put Everton two up. After watching strikes off his come off the woodwork in past weeks, Beatts was determined not to have this one taken away from him.

Beatts says: "I am going to claim it. It was going on target though I think the ‘keeper thought he might have had it covered. It’s a nice way to start, though I could have done with it screaming in the top corner. But it’s gone in and I think it’s my goal." (31/01/05)

Upbeat

James and the Giant Peach are not too concerned about the lack of goals at the start of his Everton career.

James says:"I don't think I have produced anything to get excited about just yet but when I get my fitness right and start playing properly, I'm sure I will do well and start scoring goals."

Moyesy says: "He is unfortunate to have hit the post in the last two games. At Middlesbrough he could have won the three points for us and against Charlton he could have secured us a point. It is going to take a while for James to reach his peak fitness and form. If I had more players I would have been able to ease him more gently." (26/01/05)

Premiership Debut

Beatts made his Premiership debut for Everton today in the 1-1 draw at Boro and was unlucky not to score, when a second half effort hit the foot of the post. He kept his record of being booked in every game for Everton though. He worked hard and looked knackered near the end, when he was substituted.

Moyesy says: “James did really well again and I thought he got better as the game went on. His touch wasn’t there early on but the longer it went on the stronger and more powerful he began to look and it will have done him the world of good. We’ve given him a really hard week in training. Had Leon Osman not been injured in training I may not even have started James today.” (16/01/05)

The Lads Got It

Everton's goal scoring legend of yesteryear, and bluekipper.com's best mate, is confident James Beattie will be a scoring legend of the future with the Blues. Graeme Sharp believes that Everton's new signing Beatts has all the attributes to make it big at Goodison.

Sharpy says: "I’m pleased with his signing. It was important that David Moyes brought new faces in during the January transfer window. James Beattie’s come in as a record signing and only time will tell what type of an impression he makes. He’s a target man, he had a good goal scoring record at Southampton and he was in the England squad so he’s got a lot of things going for him.

I sincerely hope that he can go on and be a massive success at Everton and if we can get James to regularly score 15 or 20 goals a season we’ll be nearer the top of the League than the bottom. We haven’t had a proven goal scorer for a long time and that’s what we need. We’ve got a proven Premiership goal scorer in James Beattie and hopefully he can come into the team, pull on the Blue shirt and continue that and hopefully he can get back in the England squad.

He’s probably quicker than me! Everybody knows that Everton are renowned for centre-forwards - target men. Before me there was Bob Latchford, Joe Royle and then there’s Andy Gray. He’ll have been made well aware of the past tradition of strikers at Everton but as I said, if he can reproduce his Southampton form and score goals I sincerely hope that he can go on and be as successful as myself and the other players I mentioned." (14/01/05)

Debut Boy

Beatts started his Everton career playing up front as a lone striker against Plymouth. Moyesy was happy with him.

Moyesy says: “I thought he did well and I was pleased with his contribution. I told him before the game that we would give him about an hour. He’s not played many games recently and you could tell that. He needs to be a bit sharper and a bit fitter for the way we want him to be. He understands that fully. He had one good chance and he linked up well for the opening goal so it was a good start for him.” (09/01/05)

A Message From The People's Club New Number 8

Dear Evertonians,

Firstly I'd like to thank you all for the way you have welcomed me since arriving at the club earlier this week. It was a whirlwind few days leading up to the transfer but I knew after meeting with the manager and Mr Kenwright that I had made the right decision to join Everton and I am sure that I'm going to enjoy my time at Goodison Park.

Everton is one of the big clubs in English football with a rich tradition and is known as having some of the best football supporters in the Premiership. I had only signed for a matter of hours when I was taken out onto the pitch prior to the Portsmouth game and the noise was absolutely unbelievable.

Honestly, I didn't expect that sort of reception and I have to admit that standing there in tunnel waiting I felt a bit nervous but in the end it was tremendous. I was standing there waiting when the announcer said: 'Here he comes' and my heart-rate went from about 60 to 180! It is now up to me to repay you for that support by scoring goals.

I understand the responsibility of playing for a team as big as Everton and I know that if I work hard then I'm sure everything will work out fine.

Thursday was my first training session with the rest of the lads and it was great to get involved. I just want to get out there on the pitch now to hopefully experience some of the tremendous spirit that was there for all to see on Tuesday night.

The Gaffer is still yet to name his team for this weekend's game against Plymouth but hopefully I will be involved at some point so I can really get my Everton career going. It will be a tough game on the South Coast but one I'm sure we are capable of winning and hopefully we can come back on Saturday night looking forward to Sunday's fourth round draw.

Once again, many thanks for all the kind messages of support and I look forward to meeting many of you in the coming months and years! All the best, James Beattie. (08/01/05)

Become One Of The Greats

Everton's new record signing James Beattie is learning quick about the history of Everton's striking greats. Beatts follows the Deans, Lawton's, Royle's, Angell's and Sharp's of this world, and he has been quick to realise what he has to live up to.

Moyesy thinks Beatts is Sharpy and Andy Gray rolled into one. Fuck me, if that's the case six million big ones seems a snip. Over to you Beatts.

Beatts on His Striking Role says: "I understand the responsibility of being an Everton centre-forward. There have been a lot of tremendous ones over the years so I know what I have to live up to. I know the quality of centre-forwards who have been here in the past and know what is expected of me. But I know I can bring something to this team.

Moyesy says: "This club has had a string of great centre-forwards and James for me is a mix of Graeme Sharp and Andy Gray all in one. If he can be that - and everybody knows how good they were for this club - then we will have a great player. I believe he can be that sort of player. He can operate on his own up front and he can play in a partnership. He is hard working and good in the air, and the goals he has scored in recent years shows he is among the very best.

We hope he can be a new talisman here. We have signed him for the right reasons. He is a big step for us in trying to catch the really big clubs we find ourselves rubbing shoulders with at the moment." (06/01/05)

Ready For Action

Everton's new number 8 and record signing is James Beattie. Beats signed a four-and-a-half-year contract today. The 26-year-old will watch his new team tonight. He will be unveiled to the fans tonight and at a press conference tomorrow.

James says: “I’m absolutely delighted with the move. The chairman and the manager said how much they wanted me and wanted me to be a part of an Everton team that’s doing really well. I was impressed with what they had to say. The direction of the club and where David Moyes wants to go with the Chairman’s backing and obviously the position that we’re in at the minute has made the decision very easy.”

Moyesy says: “We are really pleased we have got him. We have kept up-to date with his developments and we feel pleased he felt Everton is the right choice for him. His record stands up with all the strikers in the Premier League. He will be a good centre-forward for us here and his goals will hopefully be important.” (04/01/05)