Heartbeat Of The Team

When Moyesy arrived Ossie was injured and sent out on loan to Carlisle and Derby, but the manager now knows his worth.

Moyesy says: “Ossie has been so consistent. He does all the jobs, plays anywhere, he is someone who I think is one of the boys at Everton who I would rely on. I expect him to do what he does because of the standards he sets. I don’t think he has ever had many bad games for Everton He is terrific. He has great feet and ability to score goals himself.

He created the goal here. He has had to change a little bit with Fellaini coming in. He can play wide if we need him to, he can play up front. I can honestly say in the six years I’ve been here I’ve never thought we were moving on from Ossie. He is a real club man.” (04/11/08)

No Op Yet For Ossie

Basil Rathbone was quick to dismiss reports that Ossie had gone under the knife already and he is happy at the way the midfielder's knee is settling down. Media reports had suggested that Ossie was on the operating table today, but Basil has said Ossie will only face surgery if it is 100% necessary.

Basil says: "Contrary to reports, Leon Osman has not had an operation. In actual fact the knee has settled down a bit over the last few weeks and so we’re monitoring the situation closely." (07/10/08)

Knee Op For Ossie

Leon is meeting with the Everton medical staff to decide if his niggling knee problem is best served by an operation or intensive physio to strengthen the knee. If he has to go under the knife, they hope to do it during the International break so that Ossie doesn't miss too many games.

Ossie says: "I hope I don't need an operation, as I haven't missed a game lately. But we'll have a look today and tomorrow and see what happens. If I need surgery, so be it. But, if I don't, I'll carry on with the rehab work to keep my knee as strong as possible." (06/10/08)

We Are Better Away From Home

Ossie is confident Everton can get through to the group stages in the UEFA Cup this season by beating Liege on Thursday, as he thinks Everton are more suited to the away leg.

Ossie says: “We’re better suited for playing away from home as proved in the Premier League this season. We’re not going there to keel over, we’re going there to get the positive result we need to get through. I’m sure our fans will go out there and make as much noise as they can.

It’s only half-time. It’s definitely not over by any stretch of the imagination. Liege will be pretty pleased with the result they got in the first leg but as everyone will know we’ve been better away from home so far this season so we’re still confident. We knew it would be tough but we also knew we’d be able to score goals against them. Liege are a good team and it was a good test. Nobody wanted to concede two goals in the first leg at home but we scored two of our own and will look to take the positives from that game and will be raring to go in the away leg.”

Surgery On Hold

Moyesy has put Leon's knee surgery on hold, at least till the International break in a few weeks time. Leon took a knock in the home defeat against Pompey a few weeks ago, but came through unscathed against Liege and Hull in the last week. With Moyesy's midfield attacking options limited with Peanuts still on the treatment table, it looks like Ossie will have to battle through for a few more weeks, before he goes under the knife. Ouch !! (23/09/08)

Our Great Character Shone Through

Ossie reckons Everton's comeback against Hull finally showed them in a true light and hopes this will see Everton finally show the form they are capable of.

Ossie says: "We knew it wouldn't be easy to go to Hull and get a result. It was difficult and they got the crowd behind them early on. They got up and running and scored two goals but, yet again, we are disappointed at the way we conceded them.

But we showed a lot of character to get back into it as we did and in the end, we deserved the point. We possibly could have won it. When you come back from 2-0 down, it is a great feeling - sometimes it's as if you have won the match.

We feel like we started to gel in the last half an hour. We feel really positive and now we have got to carry this momentum forward into the next couple of games, which are really important for us. We are a positive unit.

We may have been conceding goals of late but we concede them as a team. There is no individual blame. It could have been a bad start to a big week but we clawed our way back, showed great character and we need to take this attitude forward." (22/09/08)

Forget The Transfer Speculation

Leon is urging all his Everton team mates to concentrate on the game on Saturday and let the management sort out the transfer stuff.

Ossie says: "We cannot let it affect us. We have got a job to do on the pitch no matter who is brought in, or who is not brought in. We have to go about our jobs correctly during the week and get the result on the Saturday.

It has been hanging over the club but we try and distance ourselves from it. If you are looking at the development of the club and thinking of winning things you have got to bring in new players and improve year on year for it to work." (22/08/08)

Confidence Is There

Leon was happy to score the winner at Colorado Rapids and thinks this will breed more confidence in the players.

Ossie Says: “It was a relief to get the winner. I had a chance about 20 minutes beforehand which I missed. It was nice to get another chance and put it away, and that it was a winner was great for us. Every win and every goal you score breeds confidence throughout the team. We’re a confident bunch of lads anyway. We can only go out there and perform, as we have done tonight, and we’re all pleased about it.” (04/08/08)

Stiff 45 Minutes

Ossie was happy to get some time on the pitch in Chicago.

Ossie says: “I’m a bit stiff to be honest, it was my first 45 minutes of the season. But I felt quite sharp and I felt I was up to the pace of the game and the more football I get now the better. We’re not going to be able to do it for 90 minutes over here in this heat, especially with them being half-way through their season, but we’re finding our feet and there were passages of play that were really good.” (01/08/08)

Aim To Win A Trophy

The mood in the camp in Switzerland is buoyant and Ossie says the team are focused on winning something this season.

Leon says: "The aim at this moment in time is the same as it is every year, and that’s to win something. I’ve been at Everton Football Club for over half my life now and it would be fantastic to win something with the first team. We really thought we could do something last year and I was convinced that we’d win the Carling Cup, even after the first leg defeat against Chelsea in the semi-final. But it just wasn’t to be and the same goes for the UEFA Cup.

"When Mikel scored against Fiorentina at Goodison to bring the tie level on aggregate I couldn’t see any other outcome than an Everton victory. We were playing brilliantly and the atmosphere was incredible. I thought it was all set up for a memorable night. It was soul destroying but we’ve had a taste now and we’re looking forward to doing even better this time around. Obviously you need a bit of luck with the draw in cup competitions at times but I feel that we’re capable, on our day, of giving any team a run for their money.

"The players are as desperate for success as the manager and the fans. Anyone at Goodison on the night of the Fiorentina match will never forget the atmosphere and you can only imagine what it would have been like had we won the tie. That’s the type of thing that spurs us on and, in this game, success can breed success. The club is moving forward and the time is right for success."

"I was a regular in the reserve team that won the league a few years back, as was Tony Hibbert, and the feeling of satisfaction at the end of a season when you’ve got a winners’ medal in your hand was tremendous." (09/07/08)

Lets Go One Better

Everton midfielder Leon Osman has highlighted Champions League Qualification as the Blues top priority for next season. The Blues netted only £400k from their UEFA Cup run which was ten games long last season. Compare that to a Champions League side who failed at the Group stages, they would have netted a whopping £5m plus, for their six game run. I just want a trophy however, that would be nice, a nice shiny trophy, and I will even polish it for free.

Leon says: "If we didn’t think we could push into the top four there wouldn’t be any point in us playing. Everyone wants to get better and improve themselves and we’re no different. We finished fifth last season, and the only way to aim is higher . . . and fourth place is higher.” (24/06/08)