Flashback to transfer deadline day in August 2003. I had just finished my final shift in a dark and dingy medical records library for the summer and my mind was becoming increasingly possessed by thoughts about returning to university the following week. I clambered up the stairs and into the light of day, took my mobile phone from my jacket pocket and waited eagerly as the signal bars appeared to show full strength. Inevitably, a flurry of texts ensued and before I looked at them I remember thinking that I needed something to cheer me up.
I was slightly concerned by the amount of texts that had come through from the overpriced Everton alerts I had signed up to a month earlier (the brightly coloured advert lured me in when I was trying to alleviate some summer boredom by passing an hour on Teletext). Nevertheless, I put my monetary worries briefly to one side as I my anxiety to know who we had signed and sold after a pre-season that had featured little in the way of transfer activity grew.
The first text I opened informed me that we had sold Mark Pembridge to Fulham for £500,000. I was never Pembridge?s biggest fan, but always appreciated his Trojan-like displays and professional attitude in a pretty poor Everton midfield. However, there was no denying that half a million quid for a player approaching his 35th year on Earth represented excellent business. At the time, I felt like the information was worth the 25p the text had cost me.
Next up was the news that Francis Jeffers had returned to Everton on a season-long loan from Arsenal. The big-eared ?fox in the box? had been prolific for Everton in his partnership with ?super? Kevin Campbell, but he deserted us for the bright lights of London where his career had failed to flourish. Part of me was glad that we were signing a promising player, but his departure had left a bitter taste in my mouth, one that lingered longer than I would have liked and while I may have been willing to suspend my hatred towards him on a temporary basis, I could not forget the circumstances in which he had left, no matter how hard I tried. Let?s just say I was glad no money had changed hands when re-acquiring his services.
I was glad to read in the following text that Moyes had identified the left side of midfield as an area in which we were lacking, even more so since Pembridge?s departure. However, I was not so happy to read that the void would be filled by Kevin Kilbane for the sum of £1million. Whether or not I grew to accept and appreciate Kilbane?s role in the team is irrelevant because for the purposes of this article, I simply wish to illustrate how uninspired I was by this particular piece of business.
Similarly, I was won over by the consistency of Nigel Martyn?s goalkeeping displays for Everton, but when I read that we had signed him on deadline day, I think it is safe to say I was not fighting back urges to punch the air. I realised it was a shrewd signing and had no worries about whether or not he would perform well for us. It?s just difficult for a young man to get excited about a 36 year-old goalkeeper that had been ousted from the Leeds first team by a keeper (Paul Robinson) that had failed to fully convince me with his displays.
I needed something to lift my mood. On review, we had completed some pretty good deals without much money changing hands, but I wanted to hear about something we could consider to be a major coup. This came in the form of a final text stating that we had signed 20 year-old striker, James McFadden from Motherwell for £1.25million- a player touted as ?The Scottish Rooney.? I had watched some of his games for Scotland in which he had impressed. He played with no fear, appeared to have a lot of technical ability, an eye for goal and well as a winning mentality. The rats tail attached to the back of his head was a slight concern, but one I was willing to overlook. I simply put it down to that well-known Scottish flair.
McFadden began the 2003/04 season on the bench and in the reserves for Everton, but in his first few outings, he impressed and it soon became apparent that the fans demanded more sightings of the Scot. He came off the bench away at Middlesbrough when we were losing and immediately attempted to go past players, taking the game to the opposition. This was a sure fire way to get the Everton fans onside. In his reserve displays in which he partnered Nick Chadwick, I remember Andy Holden commenting on how there was an anticipation that something would happen whenever he got the ball.
I witnessed McFadden?s first start for the Everton first team against Stockport in the League Cup and he turned in a winning performance. He played on the left wing and showed quick feet and great trickery to beat the full-back almost every time he was in possession of the ball. Moreover, it was clear that he also possessed a sweet left foot and an ability to cross accurately or shoot from long range. I thought he was an exciting player and was eager to see more.
It is worth mentioning that even in these early days when McFadden was generating a lot of anticipation amongst the Goodison faithful, the cracks and flaws were evident. When faced with McFadden, the opposition?s player had no idea what he was going to do and was often beaten by the Scot?s ability to drop a shoulder or mesmerise with quick feet. However, it was also clear that McFadden did not have the raw pace to get away from his marker and when combined with the his tendency to hold on to the ball for too long, this meant that the defender was often presented with a second opportunity to tackle him. Unfortunately for McFadden when most Premier League defenders are given a second opportunity, they duly oblige.
McFadden?s hot streak continued into September 2003, mainly because he was handed his first Premier League start against Peter Reid?s Leeds side. Incidentally, that Leeds side turned in the worst performance I have seen at Goodison this century, save for Sunderland this season perhaps. Roque Junior?s performance for Leeds was equally as diabolical as Paul McShane?s for Sunderland the other week. I don?t know whether it was because his marker that day was a comically bad Gary Kelly or because he was brimming with confidence, but McFadden was brilliant again. I left Goodison that day and phoned a fellow Evertonian in Australia just to eulogise about our new dynamic forward. I remember telling him how McFadden reminded me of Damien Duff in his prime as he went for the full back?s throat at every opportunity and delivered a series of dangerous crosses.
Did McFadden peak too soon or were we lulled into thinking he was a world beater because he faced such poor opposition in his first few games? The fact is that he was never able to turn in these types of performances on a regular basis. He will be remembered fondly for spectacular goals against Fulham, Charlton and Manchester United, but I think a lot of Evertonians have become apathetic towards the player because they accept him as someone who was ultimately ?nearly man? for the club. I fall into this category of apathetic Evertonian- I?m not overjoyed that we sold him, but I was certainly not praying that we would go out of our way to keep him.
He certainly did not warrant the amount of abuse he got from the Everton home crowd, especially the gay jibes that were rife for a brief period thanks to an internet rumour and I am sure his return with Birmingham will be greeted with a round of applause. Credit again must go to Moyes for selling at the right time for a massively inflated fee of £6million for a forward who scored 18 goals in 137 appearances for Everton- great business!
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* Everton deducted 8 pts; †Forest deducted 4 pts for PSR breachView full table
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