Everton let lead slip, jeopardising 4th place challenge

I was not alone in sharing a head-in-hands moment when the Everton team sheet was released at Fratton Park this afternoon. Without the talismanic Tim Cahill, the match against resurgent opponents Portsmouth became even more difficult. However, it was to be the other Tim in the Everton team that would grab all the headlines from a Toffee's perspective.

David Moyes' men could not have asked for a better start, with Leighton Baines topping off a fine week by scoring his first goal for Everton within the first four minutes. And the free kick, in all essence, was superb. I am sure I am not the only Evertonian that has been frustrated over the past few seasons as Arteta, Pienaar, Osman and even Jagielka have stepped up and took substandard free kicks, with the former Wigan man watching on. Baines proved on various occasions for his previous employers that he is a free kick specialist, and he provided more evidence today.

However, Everton seemed to score the goal a bit too early, and soon, they took their foot off the pedal and handed the impetus to the South Coast side. As Evertonian urgency started to dwindle, and Pompey stature started to grow, all could sense an insuing goal for the home side. Everton failed to clear a dubious corner, and when the ball was looped back into Johnson at the back post, he provided Crouch with an easy header from five yards.

The man to blame for Everton shipping a goal was not Joleon Lescott, who was completely bullied all afternoon by Crouch, but rather American goalkeeper Tim Howard. Tim's reluctance to clear his six yard box and tell his defenders to push out cost him again today, as they dropped too deep. As the ball was flighted towards the freakishly tall Crouch, Howard remained on his line, and was a sitting duck to whatever the former Liverpool man could conjure. Even if Tim would have came for it and Crouch would have beaten him and put the ball in the net, the referee would no doubt give the away side a free kick, as it seems to be protocol in the modern game. Andy Gray vs. Watford anyone?

And so, the game was poised at 1-1 and with Moyes saying before the game he wanted a win, it was hard to see such ambition reflected on the pitch. In reality, Everton only managed to create one other chance, when Jo found himself unmarked from the edge of the penalty area at the end of the first half. Displaying an intense lack of confidence, the Brazilian took his shot early, and could only manage to skew his effort wide of the target. Half time.

In the second half, like the first, it was the Merseysiders who started the better, enjoying long spells of possession. However, despite finding themselves with a large number of free kicks and corners, Everton failed to take advantage. Set pieces are a massive part of Everton's game since the loss of Arteta, but the tall, powerful backline of Portsmouth proved too physical for the Toffees.

And this lack of physicality was again punished, when Peter Crouch leaped above both Joleon Lescott and Marouane Fellaini to put the relegation contenders 2-1 up. However, surely Howard must expect the lanky figure of Crouch is going to win most things in the air, and so should not allow his six yard box to be so crowded. It is true the American goalkeeper was impeded on his way off his line by Kanu and so it would be hard to completely blame him for the Portsmouth winner, but he did not exactly fill me with confidence.

As others have levelled criticism at the Everton goalkeeper for the David Wheater and Ryan Shawcross goals at Goodison lately, I have bit my tongue, and did not think he was culpable in the Wheater case especially. However, he was semi-culpable for the Ryan Shawcross header in the Stoke game, and indiviual errors are slowly sneaking into his game.

After going a goal behind, Everton failed to create any clear-cut opportunities, and it took Moyes until the 85th minut to decide it was time to bring startlet Dan Gosling on. There seemed to be a lack of urgency from both manager and team at Fratton Park today. The final whistle ended a miserable affair for the travelling Everton faithful.

The defeat in reality, may extinguish our faint hopes of fourth, but we must still fight until the very last game because you never know what can happen in football. However, only people of extreme ignorance would entertain the thought that the match was one of our easier games in the run-in, as it was one of our hardest. A resurgent Portsmouth, scrapping for every inch on their way to Premier League survival, at a notoriously difficult place to play does not sound like the easiest job in the world. Couple this with the absence of our three most effective forward thinking players- Cahill, Arteta and Yakubu- and it is easy to see how uphill a task the match was.

Maybe it was one step too far for Everton, who have been on an incredible run as of late, as they toppled in a game that very few expected them to be defeated in. The return of Tim Cahill should stabilise the team as we will once again have a figure in midfield who is able to put his foot on the ball and retain possession easier, but as highlighted in the Stoke match, there are still signs of naivity in Mr. Moyes' management approach.

This, is not a problem, as he is a young ambitious manager working with little resources, and so we will excuse him the odd mistake on a road paved with the flags of experience. The man at the helm is learning just as much as some of the young players on the pitch, and with the return of our key players next season, and hopefully one or two signings, Everton will be a major threat to any team once again. At the moment, given we have reached "the business end of the season", it is all about scrapping and picking up points, and we have been doing that well recently. Next, Everton host Wigan at Goodison Park and hopefully a win can reignite our league ambitions, but Evertonians need to remember it has been a fantastic response from a depleted squad, that was getting booed off with sub-standard results at the start of the season.

If we are unable to overtake niether Arsenal nor Villa, I for one will be blaming this on the start of the season, not results like the one today.

Fellaini: Perfect Scapegoat?

Most Evertonians did not know how to react upon waking up on the 1st of September with a new record signing; a signing most will admit to having no prior knowledge of. The man was Belgian International Marouane Fellaini, and the price was fifteen million pounds in installments. The 21-year-old had put in two fantastic shifts against Everton's rivals Liverpool in Standard Liege's Champions League qualifier, and it was this Moyes admitted, that was the final persuasion needed to sign him.

And so, with a great price tag, comes great expectation. However, it was fair to say he looked largely off-colour in his first few games for his new club, showing lethargic touches and a lack of pace on a regular basis. His debut ended in a 3-2 win over Stoke, but his contribution was not the most impressive. He followed this with a series of average performances, and fans in the terraces started to wonder why he was worth so much.

This general wondering around Goodison lasted up until half time in the Manchester United game. In the second half, Fellaini came out and battered and bullied the United defenders all over the pitch, and he was completely unplayable. His rewards came early into the second half when he leaped like a salmon above the usually-dominant Nemanja Vidic to power his header into the far corner, sending Goodison into raptures. For a series of games after this, not only had he changed public opinion of himself, he had arguably changed Everton's season.

He followed this game up with a last-minute winner at the Reebok stadium, which again, sent the Everton faithful delirious, and also sent Fellaini's approval rating through the roof. All of a sudden, he was a cult hero. Those who had something negative to say about Fellaini found themselves in the minority, and no more was the importance of Fellaini visible than when he picked up a yellow card against Hull, resulting in his suspension from both derby matches at Anfield. Cue a chorus of boos from the Goodison crowd, aimed at the referee.

Then, he missed the two games against Liverpool through suspension, when Rodwell came in and did a superb job, and then suffered from a back injury, slowly playing his way back to fitness. After a series of performances that were below par by Fellaini's standards, some fickle Evertonians turned on him, questioning his price tag yet again.

Fellaini has answered his critics, in-turn, scoring an equaliser in the FA Cup quarter-final against Middlesborough, before sealing the game against Stoke with a beautifully-taken goal. So with two goals in his last two games, and six goals in his twenty-six appearances for the Toffees, why are so many Evertonians set against him?

There are those who say he is too lazy, and does not have the pace nor the energy to make a large impact on the Everton team. And there are those who say he was a panic buy, and does not have a true position. And finally, there is the criticism that Moyes should not have spent all of his budget on such a gamble, especially when he does not fit into the team.

It may be a cliché at this point, but it must be remembered that Marouane is still only twenty-one years of age, and is a young boy in a foreign country. His age may be just a number, but to make it relative, Fellaini is seven months older than James Vaughan and five months older than Victor Anichebe. The Belgian is also nearly eight years the junior of Tim Cahill, but it is easy to forget this due to the large physical frame he possesses. His tender age suggests that he will make major improvements in the future, especially in terms of the unnecessary fouls he often commits, and his positional awareness.

Furthermore, we must remember Fellaini was given a baptism of fire, and thrown into a team that had just lost 2-3 and 0-3 to Blackburn and Portsmouth respectively in their first two home games. He made his debut alongside players who were not in-form themselves, and was judged by a different ruler because of it. There may even have been complacency on Fellaini's part, thinking he would be the star player in the Everton team after completing the club's record transfer. If this was the case, he was widely awoken when he found himself alongside Yakubu, Jagielka and Arteta in the starting eleven.

It may also have taken Moyes a while to work out exactly what Fellaini's position is, and that is if he has even worked it out to this point. It could be he is still hedging his bets with where to play Marouane, because he does not seem capable yet of playing the holding midfield role, or the box-to-box midfielder role. However, it must be remembered that Tim Cahill could not operate in a 4-4-2 formation in his early Everton career, and has only recently proved his capabilities in that position against Middlesborough. Also, Mikel Arteta did not enjoy the most assured of games when playing in that centre midfield berth until he returned there earlier this season. As these two startlets for Everton have developed their talents in the Premier League, their abilities and their bodies have started to grow so-much-so that they can now operate in that position. The same could happen to Fellaini.

Another point to be made is that just because a player costs fifteen million pounds does not mean he is any better than the other players in the team, who cost considerably less. An example would be the comparison between the twenty-six-million-pound Wayne Rooney, and the twelve-million-pound Cristiano Ronaldo. It is not necessary to continue such an analysis, as the World Player of the Year is clearly the more important player for the Champions. I feel this applies with the Fellaini situation. Due to his lofty price tag, Evertonians are expecting Marouane to be a key player in the team, when in reality, he is just another piece in a carefully-constructed jigsaw.

The fans are putting different standards on Fellaini than any other player in the team, when in reality, he is not as wasteful in possession as Steven Pienaar, nor is he as lazy as Anichebe. Some of his hold-up play is absolutely sublime and he has already scored six goals in his first season in England. He is definitely an uncut diamond, and a diamond that will certainly shape itself into a much brighter talent, but he definitely needs to be given the time. Now that he dons the royal blue jersey, there is no positive effect in berating such a young player, and putting such pressure on him, especially since Moyes told the fans not to expect too much too soon.

Spending such an amount on a player who has not had a cataclysmic impact on the team is just a sign of the times. Evertonians want to compete with the very best teams in football, but do not want to spend anywhere near the amount, and it seems to be a confusion of ideals. With City spending thirty-two million pounds on Robinho and Tottenham spending sixteen million pounds on David Bentley, maybe it is time that the fingers pointed away from the player on the pitch, towards the executives in the Main Stand.

Everton earn a hard-fought victory, but naivity still an issue

On the eve of the 7th anniversary of the Moyes regime at Everton, the Scot still showed signs of a naïve approach, as did his team, even though they saw off Stoke. Goals from Jo, Lescott and Fellaini were enough to secure the three points for the Goodison side, despite a spirited second half fightback from Stoke.

Everton were terrific in the first half, and on-loan Brazilian striker Jo opened the scoring in the 18th minute when Fellaini's through ball found him in space. Jo showed a Braziliahttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn-like first touch to set himself, before powering the ball underneath Thomas Sorenson. Moments of magic from the Brazilian have been too sporadic to warrant a move in the summer, but he certainly has shown his potential since joining from Manchester City. It was to be a typical afternoon for him, as he showed flashes of brilliance at times, but he seemed to be totally anonymous in the second half, and his lack of pace and an aerial presence still remain a concern.

Soon after, Everton had doubled their lead when Joleon Lescott reacted quickest to Sorenson's save from a Cahill header, to place the ball beyond the helpless Stoke goalkeeper. Rather surpisingly, his strike today was only his 4th of the season in the royal blue jersey, despite such a prolific record in the last campaign. Being 2-0 up after twenty-five minutes, the Evertonians could not have asked for a better start to the match, the victory being almost guaranteed before half time.

The half-time whistle could not have come at a worse time for Everton, with them enjoying long spells of possession, and exposing the Stoke defence countless times. In reality, it could have been three of four at half-time, but due to a lack of clinical finishing, Stoke still had a glimour of hope as they sat in their dressing room, And given that Stoke had come from two goals down against Aston Villa recently, and against the Toffees themselves earlier in the season, Moyes' decision to take Cahill off seemed to be hasty at the time, and proved the manager's naivity.

The Everton chief has since come out and labelled the switch as a precaution, as Cahill had a slight calf strain and Moyes did not want to take unnecessary risks. However, another five or ten minutes would not have been too damaging to the Australian, but Moyes persisted with Frenchman Louis Saha. Despite deploying a strong replacement for Cahill, Everton after half-time had no-one who could put their foot on the ball in midfield and hence they lost their shape and discipline.

However, it was not the loss of shape that cost Everton the goal, as they found themselves conceding a rare goal from a set-piece. Moyes naïve decision to play Joseph Yobo was punished on a corner as he lost his man, Ryan Shawcross, who rose unmarked to perfectly place his header into the corner of the Gwladys Street net. Jagielka is half the player at right back, Yobo is half the centre back that Jagielka is, and Joleon Lescott does not play half as well with the Nigerian next to him. It seems rather naïve to put Yobo back in the team and weaken the team threefold, especially when there is a Danish International right back in Lars Jacobsen sitting on the bench. If Jacobsen cannot get into the team now, the question of whether Moyes wanted to even sign him in the first instance remains.

After the goal, the Goodison crowd grew ever-more frustrated with a sub-standard Everton side, and Stoke began to develop a number of opportunities. The Everton players showed their naivity and inability to kill a game, playing long balls up to Jo and failing to retain possession for a noticeable amount of time. It is this naivity that has proved costly in games in the not-too-distant past, such as Aston Villa and Arsenal at Goodison this season, where the players were looking for another goal when they did not need to, and were punished at the other end of the pitch.

Stoke's lack of quality in the final third meant they were unable to find that elusive second goal. And such is football, that the fifteen million pound man, Marouane Fellaini, sporting a new look, went up the other end and scored. The first touch to bring the ball under control was absolutely exquisite, and the finish needed the help of a deflection to take it beyond the Stoke goalkeeper and into the Park End goal- game over.

The match was never going to be a walk in the park, even if it did look that way at one point, and it is results that are important as this stage in the campaign. However, if this match taught Evertonians anything, it was that their manager is still learning after seven years with the club, and the players too need to eliminate such naivity from their play. It is this naivity that still separates Everton from top four clubs, as such clubs find it much easier to kill games off when they take the lead, whereas Everton have a lot to learn before reaching such a level. But the squad and the manager are still young, and provided they continue to develop their talents together, there is still hope of Everton moving one or two more rungs up the ladder.

C.Rimmer (15/03/09)

Onwards Evertonians...

Football really is a game of two halves, and that was no more prevalent than in today's FA Cup tie between Everton and Middlesborough. Booed and jeered off the pitch at half-time, inspired a rather lethargic Everton side to a famous win and into the semi-final of the FA Cup at Wembley, to which they were subsequently roared back into the dressing room by the Everton faithful.

First half, there is no denying it, Everton were poor. We have been poor since losing Arteta against Newcastle, but that was the icing on the sub-standard cake. Defensively, we didn't look too bad, but we posed nothing in attack and had no-one who could put their foot on the ball in midfield. Anyone who thinks Jack Rodwell is fast on his way to becoming a world class player needs their heads testing, as he has put in two completely anonymous shifts against Blackburn and Middesborough today. He is a pormising youngster, but that's all he is...a promising youngster.

Middlesborough got the fruits of their labour just before half-time, when Wheater headed into Tim Howard's hands, but the ball had crossed the line. The players walked off at half time to a chorus of boos from the sell-out Goodison crowd, and rightly so. Yet, I sat there in a pensive state at half-time, gazing at the Everton 0 - 1 Middlesborough scoreline, luminously lit on the scoreboard above the Park End, and for once as an Evertonian, I believed. And I believed against insurmountable odds, with an injury-ravaged squad, and players playing out-of-position, and some not being fully fit, for some reason, I knew Everton were going to come out second half with eleven rockets up eleven backsides, but more importantly, eleven points to prove.

In one of Everton's biggest games of the season to date, it was not Moyes who pulled the masterstroke, but it was Assistant Coach Steve Round, who advised Moyes to bring Louis Saha on, and drop Cahill into the Centre-Midfield berth. And it was the latter which turned the game. As opposed to the first half, we had someone in midfield who was going some way in replacing Mikel Arteta, as Cahill was willing to put his foot on the ball and look for a pass, and was showing himself for the Centre backs at all times. He kept the ball moving and kept Everton flowing. There are those who doubt whether Cahill can operate well in a 4-4-2 formation, but that point, just like the Rodwell one, was undoubtedly disproved today.

Despite Everton's much-needed improvement after half-time, it was a mistake and a goal from nowhere that levelled the match. Brad Jones steamed off his Middlesborough goal-line, only to arrive nowhere near the ball, and Fellaini was waiting to nod over the 'keeper, and into the empty net. If I was alone in believing at half-time, I certainly wasn't now. The volume was cranked to the max after the equaliser, and the Old Lady was rocked to it's 100 year old foundations as the Evertonians belted out choruses of “We're on the march with Moyesie's army” and “We Shall Not be Moved”. Captain Phil Neville ran to the Gwladys Street pumping his fists and rallying his troops, proving he really is a true Gwladiator.

It was the Evertonian's which provided the twelfth man, and Everton soon found themselves ahead, as Steven Pienaar flicked a ball into in-form Louis Saha's line-of-fire, who subsequently powered his header past the again-stranded Brad Jones. Saha steamed off towards the Park End and, almost as if it were scripted, the volume level was now snapped off, if it were at it's max on the equaliser. The Evertonians poured their hearts onto the pitch.

Leighton Baines came close to sealing the trip to Wembley with his free kick soon after, only to see his effort rattle the crossbar. Again, Brad Jones was stranded. But Everton defended like lions from that point onwards, and despite Downing making one or two troubling runs, and despite the Evertonian attitude of “something has to go wrong”, we looked reasonably comfortable. And all of that without Arteta!

Praise must be heaped onto the fans also, who played their part in making it a memorable day at Goodison, despite the worryingly-low temperatures. The end of the match was simply magic, thousands of Evertonians in unison singing “If Y'Know Ya History” and “Forever Everton” as they made their way out of the ground was simply spine-tingling.

So what now? Thousands of Evertonians will get their faces painted in the royal blue and white, thousands will get their flags and badges out of the loft, thousands will be getting their cotton and needles out to make a banner, and we will play the best team in the world, Manchester United, on the greatest football arena of them all.

Of course we have to believe we can do it, we done them 14 years ago with a much lesser team, when no-one thought it possible, and we could do it again. There is an optimistic stance to be taken on this, Manchester United's quarter final in the Champions League (if they get there), will take place the week of the semi-final, so some players may be rested and Sir Alex Ferguson may have one eye on that. Also, we have played them twice this year, and the first time, when we were bang-out-of-form, we managed a one-all draw with the champions, and it could have so easily been an Everton win. The other optimistic point to be made is that if we do make it past the seemingly immovable object that is Manchester United, await a team who are nowhere near the quality of the Champions of Europe.

However, in a results-driven industry, it's easy to lose sight of how far we come. It was around 7 years ago we played Middlesborough in an FA Cup Quarter Final, and we dumped out unceremoniously on the wrong end of a 3-0 scoreline, thus losing Walter Smith his job. Since that day, we haven't spent astronomical amounts of money like some other teams, but we have been developing slowly. We have also lost our top goal-scorer and our most creative player this season, in Yakubu and Arteta, and are half the team without them.

I am just proud to call myself an Evertonian, as we have, time-after-time, defied the odds, and a trip to Wembley is the shining jewel in the industriously-crafted crown of the Moyes Regime, and no less than it merits. I will be there at Wembley, with my face-painted with the royal blue and white, with my banner draping gloriously in the greatest football arena in the world, singing every word and checking every decibel, win or lose. You may call me small time, maybe, but if you want to know if I am bothered by this, absolutely not.

C.Rimmer
(08\03\09)

Class of '09

I went to West Brom away, Bolton away and Hull away near the start of the season, and I'll watch Everton anywhere, but there is something about a Merseyside derby I just cannot overcome to be able to watch it. On Monday evening, as most Blues were out 'celebrating' what felt like a victory against bitter rivals Liverpool, I was tucked into bed with my iPod in, not wanting to know anything of the proceedings. I woke up however, at around half 11, and the following half an hour felt like eternity, I was tossing and turning, trying to get back to sleep, but all I could think about was the School of Science, Golden Vision and that glorious team of 1985, in general, the rich tradition that seems to bring 35,000 Evertonians to Goodison week-in week-out despite a poor record in terms of modern history. And I jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs, I just had to know the score...

The draw in itself, represents to most Evertonians, a victory, as financially, Liverpool for the past 20 years have been the Goliath to our David. However, for those who remember the days of the School of Science and the Championship-winning teams of the 80's, it seems that nothing will do but a win against a far-superior team in terms of finance.

Maybe the reason I cannot bring myself to watch the derby, or the reason I watch it in total fear and trepidation, is that the negative tactics Moyes seems to employ seem to betray an ambition that is deep-rooted at the heart of our football club. Despite not holding much financial clout in today's market, every Evertonian demands a level of success for our club, which admittedly, may not be the same definition of success that is demanded at Anfield or Old Trafford, but it is still far higher than what our bank account should allow. This high-reaching ambition is born out of the rich history that started with St. Domingo Vale, and the desire that every Evertonian seems to share, to see the club at the mantle of English football once again.

Moyes went to Anfield hoping for a draw, which I see no problem with. They have a better squad on paper, according to most, and have invested much more money into their recent squad to suggest that we are definitely underdogs in any game against them. I was extremely annoyed at the beginning of the season when Moyes played for a draw against Liverpool at Goodison, as I felt it stunk of fear of the opposition, and attempting to contain the opposition, as opposed to a pose goal threat ourselves. I feel that it is this that may hold us back in the years to come. Moyes' fear of the so-called Sky Four at home, seems to handicap our players and I believe that if Moyes told them to go at the opposition, we would see the fruits of this ambition.

Some may argue against me when I say that I think Everton's first team is closer than what most people think to the first teams of the top four. Our squad is far inferior, considering we have about 13 fit senior players at the moment to choose from, one of which is alcoholic, mid-life crisis Andy Van Der Meyde. But our actual first team, when all fully fit, to me, does not seem to contain any obvious weak links and I think we are fairly sturdy all over the park, with battlers and born-winners in each position.

Not only does this lack of ambition deprive us of equal opportunity against Liverpool, but also against the other Sky Four. This is backed up by the games against Manchester United and Chelsea this season at Goodison Park, games in which we came away with a 1 - 1 draw, and a 0 - 0 draw respectively.

In the first half against Manchester United, we backed off and tried to contain the opposition threat, so-much-so infact, that Darren Fletcher, their holding midfield player, was able to roam into our box unchallenged to slot past a helpless Tim Howard. The players out on the pitch had been given the gameplan of Moyes to not concede the first goal, but our defence, being far from watertight at the time, couldn't help itself. For the rest of the first half, we created next to nothing and seemed to have run out of ideas, and this pattern continued into the first 10 minutes of the second half, until, that is, what has become quite a famous tackle by Phil Neville on Cristiano Ronaldo, ignited the passionate furnace of Goodison and drove the team on. From then on they played with belief, and a shaky backline from the Champions ensured that Fellaini was able to equalise around the 60 minute mark. It was in these precise moments that the true ambition of the Evertonians was prevalent, the Everton fans sensed blood, and therefore were roaring the Everton players to attack the current Champions of Europe, which they duly did. And they simply could not handle us, Ferdinand slipping up and allowing Yak in, who could only hit the post in his attempts to breach the Manchester United defence for a second time. Maybe it was the noise and passion around Goodison, or maybe it was the desire and ambition of the players, whatever it was, it was fair to say that Manchester United were content with the draw at the end of the game. We could have taken all 3 points provided Yak would have scored his opportunity, but the positive is we did not look like losing. It is true that the best form of attack is defence, not only is it harder for the opposition to score, but probability states that you yourself may win the match. This held true in the Chelsea game also.

Moyes was hoping for a draw against a team who had won every away game they had players this season. The game started like most encounters between Chelsea and Everton in recent times; boring and contained. Both teams struggle at times to create natural width, and for this, the games often become contained, congested battles in the middle of the park, and this match was no different. However, that was until John Terry was sent off in the first half for an awful tackle on Leon Osman, the Everton fans again sensed blood and it was them who roared the team on attack the now vulnerable Chelsea. Moyes, on the sideline, knew that not going for the win would have only created pressure and brought criticism from the Everton faithful. And so, from the end of the first half, until the end of the match, Everton relentlessly attacked Chelsea, only to see a Steven Pienaar goal on the 80th minute chalked off (and rightly so, I should add). But the fact of the matter is, we went at Chelsea, the second best team in Europe, and they could hardly get it out of their half, let alone pose a threat themselves. On our day, due to the character of the players, we are hard to play against for any opposition.

I was involved in a discussion recently about Manchester City, and what they were going to do with all these millions they suddenly find at their disposal; the answer, I constantly say, lies in the ambition of the manager and the team. There is no denying the ambition of the owners, nor some of the players, yet I find myself emphasising the word 'some'. The dressing room at Eastlands is said to be completely fragmented, with rules for Robinho, and rules for the rest. I do not doubt how far players like Richards, Ireland and Dunne want to take that club, but I constantly find myself coming back to the Robinho issue, an issue centred around quite possibly the biggest diva in world football. It was obvious from day one, that he was only signing for Manchester City for two reasons; they offered him a fat paycheck, and he had his heart set on leaving Real and could not turn to face a sea of screaming fans at the Bernabeu provided he did not leave. For this, Manchester City do not seem to worry me as an Evertonian, because here at Goodison, I feel the fans, along with all of the dressing room, and the Chairman, share an undying ambition. However, I believe there is still a question mark over the ambition of David Moyes. When he first came to Everton, he would attack any teams when they came to Goodison, as seen by the 1-0 wins over Mancheser United and Liverpool, along with the 3-0 win over Liverpool. Maybe it is that as Everton have increasing success, Moyes feels more pressure, and with that, there is a growing sense of fear of defeat within him.

From my point of view, it is obvious who the main threats are, but I suppose it comes down to ambition when it is all said and done. Provided Manchester United meet Spurs in the Carling Cup final, I would imagine that Europe this year will be extended to the top six, an elite group that we find ourselves comfortably within at the minute. So we can stay where we are, get Europe and it'll all be gravy. But, being a blue-blooded Evertonian, I cannot help but wonder what Harry Catterick would make of the plan beset before him, I feel he would object. A club with a tradition as rich as ours should be aiming higher than that, as high as possible in fact, in spite of the relative poverty we seem to be plagued with. So for me, the main threats are Aston Villa, and Arsenal.

And reading back the last sentence I have typed, I cannot help but notice, with a nostalgic tear in my eye, that football still manages to throw up surprises. In a league where it seems everything is about bank accounts these days, the three teams battling it out for 4th, 5th and 6th have not spent astronomical amounts of money, whereas low-lying teams such as Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City seem to have bottomless bags of money and resources.

However, with all that being said, I think only someone of ignorance would suggest that Everton can survive without external investment, we need to have some money for Moyes to work with. Our squad is at least 5 players short, and 5 good players at that, and it will be Moyes' job, as it always is, to strengthen properly in the summer to ensure a healthy squad for the forthcoming season. The one glaring occurrence regarding Everton and transfers lately seems to be that none of our key players want to leave, Arteta, Cahill and Lescott have all been approached in the past, yet they plough on with the same commitment and dedication to Everton, not even stopping for a second to bask in the glory of their individual merit and achievement, and with this fact in mind, even if we do not have the resources that some clubs may have at their disposal, we will always finish higher up than what our checkbook merits and permits.

It became apparent to me last night, whilst watching the Tottenham game, just how weak a squad they have these days, in relation to their squad of 3 years ago. And the reason is that, in stark contrast to Everton, when a club came in for one of their key players, they jumped ship faster than a bullet from a smoking gun, shall we say; players such as Keane, Berbatov and Carrick. These players have never been replaced, and although they may have, in my opinion, one of the best managers in the world at the helm, I cannot see them being a threat for the next two years at least. And it is out of other team's errors, that you realise your own team's strengths, and our strengths lie in the commitment of our players, who always seem to pulling together, along with Moyes and Kenwright, in the same direction.

The below-par start to the season that we suffered I do not think can be attributed to the players, who gave it their all. I think it comes down to bad management, not just from a football perspective, but from a business perspective also, in that we found ourselves deliberating an incredible amount over players, meaning that we ended up signing players in a hurry, and giving them baptisms of fire. I understand Moyes stalling over Joao Moutinho, in doing so, trying to reduce the price of the player, but could he not snap up Jacobsen, Saha and Nash early on in the summer?

In summary, I think the School of Science that once pleased so many inside Goodison, has been on it's summer holidays for a long time, but that is not to say that the cleaners are not still maintaining it, nor that the teachers are not in the meeting rooms, organising the timetables for next year. I think now, new classes have been added to the curriculum, classes of character and undying commitment in the face of incredible adversity, classes of teamwork and friendship, classes of individual and collective ambition, and classes of gratitude and love towards the fans. Classes that may have been extra-curricular activites in the days of Harvey, Kendall and Ball, Sharpe, Sheedy and Gray, but now seem to be a necessary fixture on every student's calendar if we are to constantly pass our assignments and avoid the detentions and disciplinary problems that our colleagues may find themselves faced with. The School of Science is ready to be opened again under Principal David Moyes, and we will see what new students enrol for the new academic year, and what they can achieve beyond that.

“The story that is Everton from the days of Dixie Dean,
the story we will carry on for the glory of our team.”