FANS COMMENT

We're a Man Yoo feeder Club

One of the plaintive cries of the plainly hard done by �big four� (yes they do exist) is that their squads are so large they should be allowed to have a reserve team in the lower leagues. Of course, they dress this up as being �for the good of the National Game� as it will allow their jewel studded football aristocrats a competitive outlet during squad rotation and bring on younger talent, thus giving them an even greater chance of reaping the Champions (sic) League reward, in financial terms the most lucrative of prizes.

Past advocates of this possible lower-league team system have been Wenger, Benitez, and �Moanrinio�. Sir Alex Ferguson has not commented upon this as yet, but why should he � seemingly, he�s got Everton in his back pocket to fulfil some of the functions of a feeder club.

Why do I say this? � well, we gave the �not for sale for �50 million' Rooney away on the most ridiculous of terms and conditions which would inevitably leave us wide open to charges of corruption and match-fixing should our success on the field deny Manchester United winning a trophy at any time. We clearly acquiesced to Manchester United�s demands re team selection of Tim Howard. If he was an Everton player, if he was fit, he should have played; if he was a Manchester United player on loan they had the right to call the loan in. (The whole loan system stinks to high heaven and should be scrapped immediately).

Everton Football Club have clearly been in contravention of the same law governing outside influences affecting team selection as West Ham have been. We seem to have a very close working relationship with Manchester United re the transfer of their cast-offs and players not required anymore � the manner of our defeat last week raised my eyebrows as well as my blood pressure.

I�m not so sure there was any collusion to lose the game � and that�s the point� I�m not so sure � I should be absolutely certain that there was no intrigue. I�ve watched the game again and again and have reached the conclusion that Turner made some fine saves, even after the dropped ball cock-up. If there was an order from above saying something like: �Boys, today is not going to be your day � we�ve been made an offer we can�t refuse� Well, Turner and Neville could have made it look a whole lot less suspicious.

Nah, I don�t buy into the conspiracy � besides surely we�d have gained more cash through improved league position and European football than any Rooney money windfall? � a windfall that some on these pages have argued we�re not getting anyway due to the Neville/Howard deals.

However, I am absolutely disgusted with the state of the game, which � beyond the cash-soaked cartel occupying the Champions League positions � is becoming less competitive by the hour. How did it come to this? � a club with the traditions and history of Everton Football Club are now seemingly content to play a bit part in aiding and abetting Manchester United go marching on, on, on! It is against the spirit of the game, is anti-competitive � it's just plain wrong.

For those who doubt this: imagine if it was Liverpool who had loaned us a goalie and who had demanded we not play him against them in a Derby game; even though we'd signed him � there would have been riots in the streets!

Responses:

Some feeder club — we've sold one player to them in 26 years. Doesn't do much for an article's credibility to misuse a term in such a way. Nor does the 'Yoo' part frankly.
Alex May

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