kerpow
22 Aug 2002, 03:55 PM
This is the best article about Everton I've read for some time and sums up what most Evertonians are feeling right now. It's from the When Skies are Grey web site.
Do you care about Everton anymore? That is - do you really care? Do you still get that knot in your stomach on the way to the match? Do you feel like your heart's racing out of your chest when Liverpool dare to invade Everton's half of the pitch?
How about this season's new recruits? Did you swoon over the two Chinese lads (do they have names yet?), what about Richard Wright or whoever else they signed - can you even remember?
Or is it just Wayne Rooney? How many people felt like leaving the second he got substituted against Spurs? As someone said: 'After he went off it was just last year's team'. Exactly.
The Smith years (and especially his last eighteen months) have been well documented but, while his defenders clung on with talk of budgets and tied hands, perhaps his biggest legacy was allowed to go unnoticed: The club 'lost' people.
Since when did Evertonians perforate discussions on their clubs with shrugs and disinterestedness?
This is why Moyes has landed himself with two jobs - one is obviously to get the club back to some semblance of its former self. The second is to restore the love for the club that some supporters have, if not lost, at least let slip a bit of late.
It may seem a bit cynical to suggest that, because of the underwhelming nature of the transfer market that Everton are forced to operate in, Kenwright's constant tub-thumping about The Boy King was/is a ploy to sell more tickets, but, hey, that's how it looks.
Take Rooney out of the equation and what have you got? A few players on one year/loan weird deals and a goalkeeper who, quite frankly, doesn't work properly. Everton have two keepers on the staff that are more than capable of allowing points to squirm through their cack hands - did we need to spend cash on another?
There are two main factors that can restore the faith of those supporters disenfranchised by the last two years: Rooney and Moyes. But it's unfair on Rooney - although reports suggest he's up to it, and he looked promising against Spurs.
Moyes, however, is more than up to the task. Even if his tenure proves to be less than glorious on the pitch, he seems to have the knack of saying the right things and his words carry resonance - he is convincing.
Moyes combines the hard work ethic of the old school (Robson, Ferguson) with the media skills and general quotability of Joe Royle. Some Evertonians may have lost the faith a bit but, in Moyes, the club have signed someone to treasure: A man who talks sense, urges caution with realism, but, just occasionally, hints at potential greatness.
Even if some of his signings don't work out - and in Wright's case recent history suggests that he won't be troubling the England squad for some time, it seems that the manager is eager to learn with his players. If he makes a mistake can you really see him repeating it?
It seems Everton have a manager they can trust. Who could ask for more?
Do you care about Everton anymore? That is - do you really care? Do you still get that knot in your stomach on the way to the match? Do you feel like your heart's racing out of your chest when Liverpool dare to invade Everton's half of the pitch?
How about this season's new recruits? Did you swoon over the two Chinese lads (do they have names yet?), what about Richard Wright or whoever else they signed - can you even remember?
Or is it just Wayne Rooney? How many people felt like leaving the second he got substituted against Spurs? As someone said: 'After he went off it was just last year's team'. Exactly.
The Smith years (and especially his last eighteen months) have been well documented but, while his defenders clung on with talk of budgets and tied hands, perhaps his biggest legacy was allowed to go unnoticed: The club 'lost' people.
Since when did Evertonians perforate discussions on their clubs with shrugs and disinterestedness?
This is why Moyes has landed himself with two jobs - one is obviously to get the club back to some semblance of its former self. The second is to restore the love for the club that some supporters have, if not lost, at least let slip a bit of late.
It may seem a bit cynical to suggest that, because of the underwhelming nature of the transfer market that Everton are forced to operate in, Kenwright's constant tub-thumping about The Boy King was/is a ploy to sell more tickets, but, hey, that's how it looks.
Take Rooney out of the equation and what have you got? A few players on one year/loan weird deals and a goalkeeper who, quite frankly, doesn't work properly. Everton have two keepers on the staff that are more than capable of allowing points to squirm through their cack hands - did we need to spend cash on another?
There are two main factors that can restore the faith of those supporters disenfranchised by the last two years: Rooney and Moyes. But it's unfair on Rooney - although reports suggest he's up to it, and he looked promising against Spurs.
Moyes, however, is more than up to the task. Even if his tenure proves to be less than glorious on the pitch, he seems to have the knack of saying the right things and his words carry resonance - he is convincing.
Moyes combines the hard work ethic of the old school (Robson, Ferguson) with the media skills and general quotability of Joe Royle. Some Evertonians may have lost the faith a bit but, in Moyes, the club have signed someone to treasure: A man who talks sense, urges caution with realism, but, just occasionally, hints at potential greatness.
Even if some of his signings don't work out - and in Wright's case recent history suggests that he won't be troubling the England squad for some time, it seems that the manager is eager to learn with his players. If he makes a mistake can you really see him repeating it?
It seems Everton have a manager they can trust. Who could ask for more?