I Do Miss You All

James McFadden faced his old team mates yesterday as his Birmingham side held the Blues to a 1-1 draw at St. Andrews. He took time out to catch up with his old mates at Everton and admitted even though he believed he made the right decision in leaving Goodison it was undoubtedly a wrench to do so.

Faddy says: "I had a great time at Everton even though I didn't play as much as I would have liked. My whole time there was fantastic. There is a great atmosphere about the club and I had no complaints, apart from not being in the team on a Saturday.

I looked forward to training every day and I settled in quite quickly and was really comfortable there. They are a great side with some very good players who can pass the ball around but when the going gets tough they can roll their sleeves up as well. It was a bit of a wrench to leave but I had to do it and I think I've made the right decision." (13/04/08)

£6m Faddy Joins Birmingham

Faddy has completed his move to Birmingham. He played 79 times for Everton scoring 18 times. Moyesy is happy with the deal, although a tadge sorry to see him leave. Everton could make £6m on the deal depending on add on clauses.

Moyesy says: "James wants to play football and I admire him for that. He wants to play regular, but he has played quite regular for us this season and we weren't in a rush to let him go. But there has been a contract there for him for the last two or three months and he didn't really take that up, so when we got the right offer we thought it would be best for him.

I wish him well. He is a great boy and he was good in the dressing room as well and I hope he does well down there. I do expect him to do well because he is a talented boy with a lot going for him. We have had some good times with him here and we are disappointed to lose him. He is worth the money because he is a young, Scottish international who has done really well and who is still improving." (18/01/08)

Goal Dedicated To Phil O’Donnell

Faddy dedicated the goal he scored against Middlesbrough to the memory of his former teammate, Motherwell captain Phil O’Donnell. Phil collapsed during the Scottish Premier League game between Motherwell and Dundee United on Saturday and later died in hospital. After scoring, Jimmy Mac pointed to the black armband he was wearing dedicating his goal to Phil. Both sets of players were wearing as a mark of respect for the Motherwell Skipper.

Faddy says: “I had a feeling I was going to get a goal today and that if I did I was going to dedicate it to him. In the end it was the right thing to do because I have not been able to see any of his family. I have passed on my regards to them but I felt that this was the way I wanted to pay my respects to him. I will see them all as soon as possible. My wife is friendly with his niece and me with his nephews. I shed a tear when I came off towards the end. It was such an emotional occasion with a silence that turned into an applause before the game.

It has been so shocking. It is difficult to get your head around the fact that he is dead and you can't imagine what his family are going through. He was a great player and one of the nice guys of football. It is a tragedy what has happened to him. He had lots of energy and regularly scored goals from midfield. I was a Celtic fan growing up and it was great when he signed. You knew you'd get goals from him. Every game he played in he would be committed and try his hardest all the time. He was such a nice guy.” (02/01/08)

No To Celtic

Everton have knocked back Celtic's approach for Faddy. But if James doesn't start getting games he may have to consider his options.

Bully Beef Wyness says: "It is absolute nonsense to suggest that James McFadden will be joining Celtic on loan. The fact is Celtic made a request to us on Saturday and it was immediately rejected out of hand. We are in the Carling Cup semi-finals, the last 32 of the UEFA Cup and still have the FA Cup to come. We also have Premiership commitments, so we need all our top players around."

Faddy says: "I'd love to play in the Premiership but if it's not going to happen, or if a chance to go back to Scotland came in and I felt it was the right thing for me, then I would do it. The club have made it clear they want to offer me a contract and I have not gone down that road yet because I want to try to get into the team before I start talking about contracts." (24/12/07)

Cheeky

Derby Manager Billy Davies has some nice things to say about Faddy.

Billy says: “It was clear in those early days at Motherwell that both James and Stephen Pearson had something special. I remember those cold Tuesday and Thursday nights on the AstroTurf when I first saw James training. He was cheeky and confident.

“He had a great belief in his own ability. He had a bit of swagger about him and he also had a sweet left foot. He had a long pony tail at the time and I kept threatening to cut it off but he said I wouldn't dare. That was James - cheeky with a touch of arrogance all top players have but he was a great lad to have around a club.”

"James can play in a number of positions - striker, wide or going forward from midfield areas. James has gone on and done good things for Everton and Scotland and I am delighted for him.

“There's a great saying - you do not find the player, you let the player find you. That was the case with James. He's still young and so he will get better.” (27/10/07)

Mature McFadden

After another goal for Scotland, Jimmy Mac is in a rich vein of form leading up to Derby day. Moyesy puts it down to more maturity.

Moyesy says: "We're getting bits of the best out of Faddy just now. There's a bit of him which infuriates you, but there's certainly bits of him that get you out of your seat and at the moment I think he's got an eye for goal. He is happy to take on the opportunities like he did against France for Scotland, and even in the game before against Lithuania. Not only that, he's scored a couple of different goals, like the header at the back post then a tap-in against Sheffield Wednesday.

When he gets opportunities like that now you think 'he'll probably score here', so that's good. He's showing more maturity with his decision-making on the field, so I think he's doing better this year. It's coming on, which we always thought it would do with age and experience." (14/10/07)

Honour

Faddy has been honoured for his wonder strike against the French that sealed an historic victory in Paris for the Scots a few weeks ago. A three metre square image of the goal is now sitting proudly in the Scottish Football Museum, and Faddy is thrilled, honest he is !!

Faddy says: "It’s an honour and a privilege. It’s nice to be up in Hampden – I’m sure I will appreciate it when I am older." (11/10/07)

Pivotal Result

Faddy thinks that the win over Metalist Kharkiv will give the club a big boost.

Jimmy says: “Hopefully we will look back at this fantastic result as the pivotal moment of the season. A win like this can give us the belief to go on from here. It looked as if we were going to do what we usually do - roll over and die. But we have fought back and got the win. We deserved it because of our spirit and determination. Now we can push on as we are riding high in the league." (08/10/07)

Brace For Faddy

Jimmy Mac left his juggling balls in the changing rooms against Sheffield Wednesday and concentrated on his goalscoring instead of his usual circus act. His two goals has given Moyesy a headache of who to play next game.

Moyesy says: "You can certainly see he’s got confidence, and I’ve been saying all along that people read into things an awful lot about who my strikers are going to be - but he’s right up there with the others. He’s competing with the others and scored two goals - which is great." (27/09/07)

Big Part To Play

Moyesy is assuring Jimmy Mac that he has a big future at the Blues, and the best bits are to come. Whilst Jimmy is banging them in for fun at International level, his chances have been limited at the Blues, but Moyesy is now seeing a new maturity in the young Scot, as well as a new found confidence.

Moyesy says: "I still think the best is to come from James McFadden but I would say that of all players. He got an important goal for us against Blackburn but the one thing that has let Faddy down is that he was able to take part in most of the pre-season training but he wasn't able to play in many games because his injury wasn't ready. What he has needed is games and so playing on his own up front against France will have done his fitness and match practice the world of good. but it will also have done his confidence the world of good with the goal he scored.

I think his consistency levels will need to improve, but he has improved and I see a maturity to him as a person and in his play. He is really getting himself back now and finding his feet after his injury. It was a brilliant night for James and Scotland. All we can hope for now is that we can turn it into qualification because it has been a struggle in Scottish football. In James McFadden I think we have got a great player and his goal the other night was a glimpse of what he is capable of." (16/09/07)

Unpredictable

David Moyes that Macca's unpredictability will make him have a big part to play this season.

Moyesy says: "He has got an unpredictability about him and he popped up with an important goal for us. He can do that. We want James to play a big part in what we do. We brought him here when he was a young lad and we want him to be a big part of the squad. I think he’s found it tough because he hasn’t played a lot of football. He’s had a metatarsal injury. In fact, he’s only played two 45 minute games in the whole of pre- season. But he had to play the 90 minutes today because of other injuries.

I think he was actually tired from his midweek performance for Scotland but I think the 45 there and the 90 here will put him back on the road to full fitness. It was a good finish. He knows what I’m after and he will get better and sharper because I think he has got a little bit more fitness to go. He will get better as the weeks go on." (27/08/07)

Positive Steps

Faddy took part in the match that wasn't a match against . So that was a positive step on his road to full fitness.

Mick Rathbone says: “He was unlucky in that he could still do all the conditioning work in pre-season but not much of the fun football work. But he’s training flat-out now and he took part in a practice match. Sometimes it’s harder for the player when he’s partially fit. James has been doing all the running and stuff like that but he’s had to miss out on the good bits in the afternoon when the players do play some football. But looking at it positively it helped him to get fit.” (26/07/07)

LA Fitness For Faddy

Faddy is a week away from full training, and he will still fly off with the Blues on their American jolly to carry on his fitness campaign. Roving medical Man Basil Rathbone said as he packed his sombrero and sun cream, that Faddy will not touch a ball till next week in the States, bet its a beach ball you lucky sods, oh the life of a footy player.

Basil says: "James broke his foot in March and then he recovered and played towards the end of the season. But he changed his boots and had some discomfort in the bottom of his foot. We are keeping him away from the contact work at the moment and being careful with him.

The scans are very reassuring and we will hopefully ease him back into training over the next couple of weeks. He is training with me and has done all the conditioning and fitness work. I would hope by the time we get him to LA he will be joining in with the rest of the players." (18/07/07)

Faddy On The Mend

Jimmy Mac is not far away from full training according to Everton physio Basil Rathbone. The Scots forward who aggravated his old injury at the end of the season is away on his jollies with the rest of the squad in Italy. The Forward is doing some light ball work with Basil, who has his own injury worries to contend with. The Physio went arse over tit whilst jogging in the sand dunes when the squad were up in St. Andrews, Scotland but the old war horse is battling on.

Everton Physio Basil Rathbone says: "James is doing okay and he's not had any symptoms. You know what these stress fractures are like, they can be problematic, but it's so far, so good. He's doing all the conditional work with the rest of the players and he's doing some ball work with me. He will have another x-ray on Monday and hopefully that will be fine and he can carry on with the rest of the players.

I was demonstrating a sand-dunes run up at St Andrew's and I jumped what I thought was going to be a few feet down but it turned about to be about ten feet and I landed awkwardly and felt a tearing sensation in my back. It's going to be okay though...and anyway it's not about me it's about the players!" (10/07/07)

Faddy Marries His Sweetheart

Jimmy Mac got hitched to Gill, his bird from Scotland. Everton player's at the ceremony included James Beattie and Alan Stubbs. Ex-Everton skipper Davie Weir was also at the knees up. Jimmy, wore a black kilt and a green cravat. Happy days. (13/06/07)

Goal Of The Season

Thanks to over 8000 votes from Evertonians, Faddy has won the Sky Sports Goal of The Season. Blue Kipper alerted Evertonians via this site and our message board and Evertonians voted. When we first announced it Jimmy Mac had just 7% of the vote and was second bottom, but in just 4 days he captured 25% of the vote to win, pushing the runaway leader Robin Van Persie into second place. (08/06/07)

Jamie Last Season           Full Squad 2007/2008