Hail The Water Carriers

By Jon Livesey :  18/01/2008 :  Comments (15) :

To what extent do the media and fans have to refer to a select group of Everton players as ?unsung heroes? before their coverage constitutes singing and strips those players of that very tag?

It can be quite irritating when friends and fellow football fans frequently tell me that Cahill is our best player. I must have a conditioned response to this false declaration by now. I tell them that although Cahill is undoubtedly an important player for us, they should direct their attention to Arteta or Pienaar, who in footballing terms are far superior to the influential Australian. They have been struck by what I like to call ?headlines and highlights? syndrome. They watch the extended highlights and goals from Everton?s game on television and read the headlines in Sunday?s redtops, which are usually accompanied by a giant photograph of Cahill doing his best duck and weave at the corner flag and jump to the wrong conclusion- that the Australian is our best player. I like Cahill a lot and appreciate everything he brings to the team, but in some games, especially those in which he doesn?t score, he can be anonymous.

History tells us that Everton and their fans have an affinity with the unsung heroes of the game. Although Ray Wilson won the World Cup with England in 1966, he was often referred to as an unsung hero. Our 1995 FA Cup winning team featured more than one candidate for the same title, but most notably included Joe Parkinson and Barry Horne ? two dogs of war and archetypal unsung heroes.

This season, the Everton fans alone have done enough singing about Lee Carsley and Leon Osman to ensure the players know their contributions haven?t gone unnoticed. And this seems to have rubbed off in most quarters of the media. Both locally and nationally, column inches have been filled with journalists waxing lyrical about the effect these two players in particular have had on the team. Most recently, David Moyes?s claim that Osman should be handed an opportunity at international level was followed up by reports in the national press that Fabio Capello had been alerted to the player?s talents and would be watching him between now and the end of the season.

Lee Carsley has been nothing short of brilliant this season. Without him in the team, the likes of Arteta, Pienaar, Osman and Cahill would not have been able to flourish in the way they have. He is a player whose contribution becomes so much more apparent when he doesn?t play. Neville and Jagielka have played in the same holding role this season, but then we have looked like a side capable of leaking goals. When Carsley plays we look very solid. The difference is that simple, but its sheer magnitude should not be overlooked.

I suspect Everton fans? bedroom walls (especially those of the female variety) are not lined with posters of the bald, Brummie that is our midfield enforcer. Furthermore, sightings of replica shirts with his name on the back on match days are scarce. He is a player devoid of glamour and fails to excite young fans, but he does have a surprising trick or two up his sleeve. When he played for Blackburn and was their captain, he was also their main free-kick and penalty taker. He managed to score from free-kicks at a decent rate and has never missed a penalty in a competitive match, so why isn?t he our penalty taker? Does his lack of glamour make him any worse suited to being penalty taker than our stars? The only penalty he has taken for Everton was in a shootout in a cup game and he dispatched it with aplomb. Moreover, it was the deciding penalty, which suggests he is the right kind of character to be our regular penalty taker. He?s experienced and isn?t phased by any challenge or situation. But if he missed two penalties in one game like Andy Johnson did, would the fans be as quick to forgive him? Perhaps not and for no good reason either.

A year ago I would have said that I liked Osman and admitted that for all of his limitations, he is still a very good and important player for Everton. I would have also said that as an England fan, I did not think Osman possessed the potential to play on the international stage. But now my opinion has changed somewhat. Certain players are better suited to playing in a team full of gifted players and others tend to shine in a struggling outfit. The case of Robbie Savage can be applied to the latter, but it would seem that the former is true of Osman.

There have never been any doubts about Osman?s technical ability, vision, football intelligence or attitude. His limitations are directly linked to something that he does not have the power to change- his body. He is very small and lightweight and lacks pace, which means that we have seen him inevitably out-muscled by Papa Boupa Diop or any other man mountain he has faced in the Premier League. But with protection in front and behind from Cahill and Carsley respectively, Osman has looked brilliant. A player in the mold of Deco, Joe Cole or Steed Malbranque. In the right system, I now believe there is a chance Osman would be effective at any level, including international.

Earlier today, Phil Neville said that the first half of the season is all about building confidence and playing good football, which we have achieved, but after Christmas it?s all about results. This applies even more so in January when we are without three of our star players due to the African Cup of Nations. It?s time for the unsung heroes to come to the fore and grind out results. The 1-0 victory against Manchester City last week took me back to a couple of seasons ago when we had far more unsung heroes in the team and those types of marginal wins were more common- nail biting, heart skipping stuff and generally not good for my health or hairline.

When we have a full squad, our team has the right balance of flair players, headline grabbers and unsung heroes, but right now we?re a little short and will require the likes of Carsley, Osman, Neville, Hibbert and even Jagielka to be on top of their games. I?m confident they will be and if they meet my expectations, they will deserve more than their share of the plaudits.

Neville and Hibbert are notable unsung heroes, but this season have not been as impressive as Carsley and Osman. However, in recent games, Jagielka has shown signs that he is ready to move happily into that category with some no-nonsense and sturdy displays at centre-back.

So-called unsung heroes, I salute you. Now please, carry on providing us with reasons to sing about how unsung you are.

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