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A-Star to AJ and Baines

A big ?well-in? to both Andrew Johnson and Leighton Baines for being behind the A-Star ?street encouragement? programme for ?kidz?. It?s good to know that there are even more players in the EFC dressing room who ?give one?.

And I wonder whether this extra dimension to a player?s personality - i.e. a conscience - is what Moyes means when he always asserts that he?s looking for more than just football talent when signing a player.

They must also be the ?right type? of bloke to fit into Moyes? EFC mould, it seems, and it?s clear that there are now quite a few of them at Goodison.

Cars, we know, is a massively down-to-earth bloke who is unstinting in his charitable efforts - and I gather we don?t know the half of it. Phil Neville is another player in the same mould (him and Paul Scholes have always been doing ?things on the side? in the right way since they were kids together at Man Utd).

Cahill, who knows his roots are as modest as they come, is another who ?puts something back?, albeit chiefly for projects back in Oz, the homeland which he says he is committed to and has stressed will be where he returns to after he?s punched his last corner flag.

McFadden, too, is another current Toffee with an added dimension to his personality and I don?t just mean pointing to a black armband in memory of his late team-mate Phil O?Donnell.

And now clearly, in the shape of AJ and Baines, there?s another couple of grounded lads.

I must say I?m not that surprised about AJ because I always put a lot of store by Simon Jordan?s words when the transfer took place between us and Palace. He seemed very keen to stress AJ?s ?honour? in all things; which is in direct contrast to Jordan?s - love him or loathe him - unforked tongue when asked about those he isn?t too keen on.

I always suspected, then, that AJ was an all-round good guy but I have to say that the Baines involvement in A-Star is a very welcome sign (good job that he left the goal celebrations to AJ, though!).

The Fat Kid?s departure pretty much eroded what faith I had in modern footballers and for the last four years I?ve been as cynical and jaundiced as they come about the prima-donnas we see before us.

However, whilst I?ll never return to the days when they were all heroes and icons adorning a Pannini stickers album page, a degree of warmth towards them is slowly (very) creeping back into my ice-cold veins.

I suppose that when Moyes talks about team-building and blend he?s not just talking about on-field formations and I?m glad we have a gaffer who likes to sound out his charges beyond checking the Opta stats.

In that respect, then, I wonder what we are to make of the Fernandes saga (a player reputed to have had a surly gob even before he came) and Moyes?s total silence on the subject since the summer pantomime.

Anyway, that?s a negative. Only plus marks today. So, hats off to AJ and Baines... the more off-field ?do gooders? we have at EFC the better in my opinion.

ps: See Joey Barton?s before the beak today, eh?

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