Looking ahead

Well that was a long old break eh?! Been busy with other things so the blog's had to take a break but started to wonder tonight about what the summer might hold for the blues.

Traditionally transfer windows have been a time to dread but since the phenomenal business that we did during January I must say that i've become much less twitchy about the next few months.

First up I think it's more or less certain that we are going to lose one of our 'big' players this summer. This article in the Telegraph paints a very vivid picture of why that's the case. So who to go? A lot of the talk suggests it might be Fellaini but I think we'll get another year out of the big Belgian, sadly I fear that it will be Leighton Baines that bids farewell to us this summer. Now firmly established as the heir to Ashley Cole's spot for England and as a consistent Premier League performer for several years he's a safe bet for any Champion's League side in need of an attacking left-back. What's more, the conspiracy theorist in me can't help but think his absence since our season effectively ended at Wembley isn't just a coincidence. Perhaps that's over dramatic but nonetheless, with rumours of interest from Bayern and Manchester Utd, I think he'd be coveted and we all know that an auction is the best way to get a top price.

As amazing as Leighton has been for us over the last few years if we've got to sell anyone i'd rather it was a defender. We know that Moyes can spot a defender, we know that Distin can play there and we also know we have two highly rated young left-backs coming through. Players like Baines don't grow on trees but if his sale could fund the purchase of a cheap, steady replacement and allow us to re-sign Pienaar and another creative midfielder or striker it would make up for the loss in my opinion. Baines has been our best attacking outlet for a long time but there are drawbacks to having your best attacker playing full back - it's an obvious defensive weakness for opponents to exploit, it's predictable and it also leads to a lot of crosses which I think (and i dont have the stats to back this up) isn't the most effective way to score goals. Any well drilled defensive unit can set up to deal with them quite easily.

I wouldn't even begin to speculate on who might come in with what's left over from our big sale. Well, i mean obviously Pienaar has got to be a good bet (hopefully we had some sort of first option/cheap buy-back clause when we sold him) but that aside anyone coming in is likely to come from left field. I still think we'll be in the market for a back-up for Jelavic as Straq will probably go back to Argentina and even if Pienaar does return we'll probably want to sign another wide, creative midfielder (possibly on loan). Oh and of course, a steady eddy left back who doesn't mind getting forward a bit.

One comment I would make about our targets is that more than ever a player's success in the Premier League seems to be dependent on their ability to fit into the system that a team plays. Just look at the players in the promoted teams this year - players like Hoolahan, Bennett, Allen and Brittan have been very effective despite playing most of their careers in a lower league. Brittan in particular is amazing in that he has played for Swansea in every division, for a player that has played that low a level to still be one of the most effective midfielders in the Premier League indicates to me that times are changing. Teams and systems trump individual brilliance more than for a long time and therefore finding the right type of player is more important than who the actual individual is. I would love to see Moyes scouring Europe and Championship for a very specific type of player - we all saw the effect Donovan had so let's look for the best copy we can find. Bit of pace, good tactical awareness and good movement. 15's for these rather than Donovan's 18's (in Football Manager speak).

So that's what I see happening. We'll see how it pans out but as ever I wouldn't have thought we'll see much action until about midday on the 31st August!

A corner turned?

It's been a strange week for Evertonians. After umpteen transfer windows spent praying not to lose players rather than looking to sign them and a lacklustre season on the pitch this week came out of nowhere. And it was good. No scrub that, it felt BLOODY BRILLIANT. For the first time in ages it feels to me like we might be at the start of a road back to the good old days.

Darron Gibson celebrates his first goal at the old lady

It's a long road of course and if I know Everton we'll get beat by Wigan tomorrow, but let's live for a second in the moment of Tuesday night and savour it. It's been a long long time and us blues deserve it.

The day started well with the signing of Nikica Jelavic looking a formality and rumours abound of several other deals in the offing. It took a slightly unexpected turn when the news of Louis Saha's departure to Spurs became known but despite coming out of left field for most it seemed to feel like the right move. As talented and lethal as he is on his day, this season Louis's days have become less and less frequent, in fact he probably hasn't really shown what he's capable of once. In any case, if there was a sense of loss for Saha it quickly dried up when rumours surfaced that we might see Steven Pienaar coming back as part of the deal.

So we came to 8 o'clock and attention turned from SSN to the match. What a cracking performance it was. The type of grafting, stoic performace that we had started to take for granted a couple of years back but which has been missing all season. Despite our lack of possession I thought we looked like a side with some self-belief again. We looked dangerous on the break and a lung-busting shift from the big Argentine Stracqualursi, full of confidence after his FA Cup goal last week, pressurised the City defence and allowed our attacking midfielders to get forward. Goodison was rocking, like only it can for a game under lights and with an hour gone it looked like City were starting to run out of ideas. I said to my mate on 60 mins that I fancied us to nick a goal now and within 2 minutes my premonition came true when a quick break from Drenthe, lead to a cross from Bainesey to Donovan who having miscontrolled had the presence of mind to lay the ball back to the onrushing Gibson who rifled a tradmark drive into the top corner of Gwladys Street goal. Pandemonium.

At the final whistle David Moyes was punching the air and smiling like a kid at Christmas. It was a fantastic sight! It brought home to me how long it is since we've seen that from him and boy have I missed it. For all his faults I've got love for that guy.

So to the cherry on top. The return of Steven Pienaar on a six-month loan which might turn into something more permanent further down the line. The finishing touch to my most satisfying day as an Evertonian in a long while. We have never replaced the movement that Pienaar gave us in his first spell and to my mind, movement is the absolute key to scoring goals in the premier league. I see no reason why Pienaar wouldn't be able to slot straight back in. He's hungry after barely getting a kick in the past year and we all now how well he worked with Baines and Cahill last time. We could have some delicious attacking midfield options choosing three from Pienaar, Cahill, Osman, Drenthe and Donovan in a 4-2-3-1.

Oh I can feel it. Optimism and excitement. And i don't think i'm the only one. I saw it in David Moyes' eyes during his post-match interview. As a team i've always felt we mirrored our manager. I think Moyes is a character who can get depressed and negative, he can be aprehensive and when that happens it comes through in his team. At times this season we have looked straight out terrified - to attack, of making mistakes, of daring to try something and it not coming off. But when Moyesey is buzzing I see a different team, one full of effort, verve and self-belief. That Everton dicked on Newcastle to qualify for the Champions League. It dominated the shite over two legs when they were actually a good side. And it took United and Chelsea to pieces within a matter of weeks in 2010.

I know this is all a bit much off of one performance, but what I also know is that we can beat anyone when we're on our bipolar highs. I feel now that we might finally be starting out on the road back to those days. We're a long way off of cup finals and Europa league nights but we had to start somewhere and if this is that first step, then I want to get the fuck on board.

Come on you blue boys!!!!

A brick is laid....

Everton signed a player today. Yep, you read it right. Everton signed a player. And not a 17 year old, a real one who can play tomorrow and everything.

He may not be the centre-forward we are all yearning for but the arrival of Darron Gibson today from Manchester United for a knockdown fee of £500k that may rise to £2 million is a start at least.

As i said in my post from a couple of weeks back, David Moyes has to start rebuilding the Everton team and doing so with players a few years short of their peak, who have been written off elsewhere. Gibson fits this bill perfectly. I just hope we can get a couple more in to join him, even if this means letting some deadwood go.

Of course, the chances are Gibson isn't going to be the new Arteta overnight but it feels to me like the first step back in the right direction. The first brick in Moyes' big rebuild. I hope it continues but this is Everton so someone will probably come and piss on our new wall by the time Monday comes.

A long road back

I'm not normally one to knee jerk but tonights 2-1 defeat at home to Bolton Wanderers summed up all of Everton's current problems. It brings to the end a run of four games unbeaten. On the face of it, a positive run but one that anyone who has had the dubious pleasure of watching the games knows has been achieved in the most pragmatic and unnattractive style imaginable.

 I LOVE this guy but should he have been sold?

Injuries to three key players did us no favours whatsoever tonight but even before then there wasn't a lot to suggest that we were going to improve on our recent performances. In fact, I can only think of the Aston Villa game this season where we have looked a genuinely good team.....that was the 4th game of the season.

That we have been able to play so poorly yet still pick up enough points to have a chance of making a Europa League place says a lot about the mental strength of our team, our preparation and also about Moyes' match craft. But to my mind our squad is now back to a similar level (in comparison to the rest of the league) to the one that Moyes inherited in 2002 and as a result he's adopting the same, grinding approach that characterised his early years in charge. In those days most Evertonians were happy to take the points however they came, but after the highs of the 2007-2010 era this feels like a mighty big fall from grace.

Football punditry: The good, the bad and the ugly.

The role of the football pundit is a weird one. Clearly most of the viewers or listeners are tuning in primarily to watch the game. Yet you only have to look at twitter during a live game or listen to a lounge full of viewers to know that the co-commentators and pundits can make a massive difference to people's enjoyment of the game.

No doubt who you prefer to listen to depends on your taste. Are you looking for someone who will hype up the excitement? Someone who will add some real insight to the action taking place? Someone with a soothing voice?

For me the best pound-for-pound pundit working on tv/radio is Pat Nevin. When he's co-commentating he's adds insight as well as describing the action in a way that's easy on my ears, when he's in the studio he'll nearly always highlight something interesting from the game and on magazine programmes he's able to be both interesting and do the amusing banter the genre requires. I'd like to think these observations aren't coloured by the fact I know he's got some Everton in his heart.

Coming up on the rails is new boy, the freshly retired Gary Neville. He's contributed more to my enjoyment of Sky games in the last four months than Jamie Redknapp has in the last three years. Aside from Neville (and Redknapp) Sky have some other half decent analysts - Graeme Souness can be interesting when he's not being partisan and Ray Wilkins has a lot to add despite the far too regular shouts of 'my word'! At least he's stealing from a broadcasting legend I suppose!

Where things go really downhill are on our main two terrestrial channels. Somewhere along the line the producers on these channels must have decided that anything too complex will cause the masses to turn-off. The worst two in my book are Jim Beglin and Alan Hanson. I can only assume they must have made a pact to provide shit punditry during retirement over a half-time cuppa in the Anfield bootroom at some point in 1983. If they did, they've stuck to their word.

The Goodison time machine

The January transfer window is fast approaching and it appears that David Moyes is trying to reprise an Everton squad of yesteryear. Not content with just picking up James McFadden on a free transfer, Moyes has agreed a deal for Landon Donovan to return for a two month loan spell. Rumours are now gathering that he might complete the set by striking a deal to loan back Steven Pienaar for Spurs for the rest of the season.

It would be an interesting move. One that most of the football world would probably find a bit beffuddling. But I think most Evertonians would probably welcome the South African back. For all the bitterness around him leaving for the money (and Champions League), I think people realise the key part he played in the football we played during his previous spell and appreciate that all the more having put up with the last few months of dirge.

For me, the biggest thing we've been missing this season is attacking movement and that's something that Pienaar has in bundles. Couple this with the pace of Donovan and the directness of Drenthe and we might just get to see some interesting football again soon. 

It IS a step backwards. You shouldn't go back. It probably won't be the same.
But right now, it might just be for the best.

When is fair play unfair?

Empty seats at the Reebok

There has been a lot of talk over the last few years about the growing predictability of the premier league. A pattern that began in the mid-late 90s seems to have accelerated in recent years, with the gap between the top teams and the rest of the premier league becoming wider and wider.


The forthcoming UEFA fairplay regulations are intended to redress some of the imbalance, limiting clubs spending to a proportion of their turnover. Theoretically, this would prevent rich owners coming into smaller clubs and spending hundreds of millions on new players without a sustainable business to fund it. However, it's a plan with flaws. Clubs will find loopholes, such as signing massive sponsorship deals to increase turnover. This is supposedly limited as part of the plan but as yet Manchester City do not seem to have been called to account for their incredibly fishy sounding stadium naming deal with Etihad. With the regulations pegged to turnover, it also means they essentially protect the status quo even more so than currently. The rules benefit huge clubs like Manchester United and Bayern Munich who have already invested in massive stadia and set up huge merchandising operations around the world. Smaller/medium-sized clubs who have challenged at the top of European football after investment from rich owners such as Villareal would be less likely to repeat their feats.