The Mail Bag
Everton's Forwards
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Used to be that the revered Everton number 9 position had a skilful, great in the air, target man that could be counted on to strike fear in the hearts of opponents. The names used to roll off your tongue ? Dean, Lawton, Vernon, Royle, Latchford, Sharp, even Big Dunc to a degree.
So what happened? Since the days of Kevin Campbell who granted had one good season for us, we had had to endure a string of not good enough forwards - Beattie, Johnson, Vaughan, Yakubu, Saha and Anichebe who seem to either spend the match rolling around the ground trying to get a penalty or are injured.
For such "once great" team with history this truly is pathetic.
Ajay Timothy, Posted 09/12/2008 at 11:38:28
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Apart from Meattie (and Saha), every forward you have mentioned has managed to get us into Europe.
Pointless post.
Yakubu is a prime example of this, I know he?s a goalscorer and if you give him chances he?ll score, but his lack of effort and half hearted performances mean that is you don?t deed him his overall contribution to the game is extremely limited, because he doesn?t put the opposition defenders under pressure (doesn?t jump off the floor to challenge in the air, falls over when an opponent comes near him and doesn?t close down opponents).
I understand exactly what Ajay?s on about, was I the only one who felt embarassed in that Wigan game of the lack of fight and passion shown by some of our players? If our team showed the desire and heart of our teams of the past we could be such a better team!
In Yakubu and Saha we have two top class centre forwards. They are complete strikers and I have no doubts they’ll pay a big part for us over the next few years.
Yakubu is the best centre forward we’ve had in a long long time, far better than Duncan Ferguson who shouldn’t even be listed with the likes of Dean, Sharpe, Latchford etc.
Big Dunc was a hero in his first spell but I?d rather bet on the Yak banging one in given the chance. Let?s not forget he doesn?t have the awesome midfield some of our greater strikers have had in the past.
Andrew - My title initially was Everton's Number 9s but then changed it to Everton's Forwards because they are all disappointing compared to past history. I should have changed it in the body of the letter also. My mistake.
The class sides of the 60s 70s 80s had players who really could open up the play. We just do not have that now, so we rely on percentage balls, and running our bollocks off; this as we witness will only get you so far, it won't win you titles and you would be damned lucky to get a cup from that as well.
So either we find some money from somewhere ? not the bank because I don?t think we can ? or some rich sugar-daddy, who is willing to dip his hand in his pocket, or we will continue to get served up with what we get now. Then one of two things will happen: either Moyes will get fed up because he can't progress the club, or he will be sacked because eventually the luck will run out.
So give the guys a break, yes they take a shit load of money home, but by-and-large they make the best of what service they get, which in some instances is simply fuck all.
For instance when the ball goes up to him in the air he should make the effort to jump up and try to win it and he shouldn?t go down so easily as sometimes he does that when he has the much better option of staying on his feet and getting a shot on goal away. He should be putting more effort in to earn his wages at the end of the day!
He seems to be one of those players that when he?s not scoring goals he offers very little else to the team and due to his casual approach he often loses possession cheaply when we are on the attack and makes not effort to win the ball back when he loses it.
As Connor says, players are different and usually the headless chickens don't do as well in front of goal.
Give me a proven goalscorer every time rather than a "Runner".
He'll score past them, he'll score past you;
Who needs Rooney when we've got Yakubu! ... in 9 months anyway. Haha!
As for Rooney, yeah I can imagine he would have become a icon for Everton as he is a great player, but I?m personally not fussed after seeing his personality. Selfish immature little bitch that he is.
Benjani or Vassell from Man City could be half-decent stop-gaps.
In general our strikers have to be more than just good finishers because they rarely get a chance laid on for them. In this respect I felt a bit sorry for Victor on sunday because it was obvious he was not going to get a clear cut chance.
Try comparing our midfield to teams of years ago and I'm sure you will end up with far more derogatory comments about our current squad than we have seen on this thread.
Ferguson Is the legend for me, all the stories that surround him ? getting broke into, the Everton tattoo, not to mention terrorising Liverpool, Manchster United at home, Duncan wore the shirt with pride unlike the crock of shit we have here now.
A legend is made up of more than just football reasons and Ferguson was a very, very good player when fit. For me, Everton haven?t not been the same since he left he was worthy of the armband unlike Phil Neville. I suppose its how you look at it.
David, Who are suggesting doesn’t wear the shirt with pride?
Ditto Yakubu and Saha, not so James Vaughan... we can talk of results and performances, what we really want is connections, players who mirror our hopes and dreams, who we think truly represent "us". Some players have it, some don?t, nothing to do with their on field displays...
Goals and performances are what your looking for in a striker, it should’t matter how they play. They are the players that win you games at the end of the day.
Maybe if Saha and Yakubu punch a few defenders they’d be more appreaciated, just a thought.
Why do Saha, Yakubu, Neville, Fellaini etc not wear the shirt with pride? I don’t get that at all to be honest.
What’s the big difference between them and Duncan Ferguson?
Arteta ? I know we are never going to be a passing team with like 500 passes every game. That is not the style of Everton for the last 20 or 30 years. I know that Phil Neville is more interested in compairing us to Matalan United for crying out loud. People like Stubbs are one of us, Ferguson wasn?t but he became one of us much like Sharpy.
In the last twenty to thirty years: 2008-20 = 1988-10 = 1978 so between 1978-1988 We won the league twice, the FA cup the cup winners cup a couple of final appearances 4 charity shields couple of cup finals couple seconds up there challenging, all without passing.
Well maybe a few need reminding of our history I think and if they don?t preform be removed ala David Moyes who has produced 7 of the last I?d say 15 years of drivel.
Must agree with Connor though... I hope Dave?s fine.
If so, that would mean our Dixie was the very first football player EVER to wear No 9, and the No 9 was first used by Everton Football Club.
We can?t go to Kirkby like this!
The first No 9 ever was also the greatest ever!
Beattie indeed was shite and he only has himself to blame for that
Yak scores goals regardless of how lazy he might be.
Johnson is a good player and was harshly treated by Everton.
Vic and Saha need to given a chance.
Everyone fuckin? loves the big man, simple as that.
Vaughan is made out of glass and sand ? so we are yet to see the best of him I reckon.
I'm not the best at English but it doesn?t concern me as a MathematicIan. I could've used a spell check but who cares? Most people can tell what a word is as long as the first and last letter are correct. It amuses me greatly when people get all touchy about internet postings which aren?t at A level standards of English.
[Editor's Note: We care. This, along with all your postings has been edited to improve on your atrocious spelling and grammar. We maintain high standards and one of those is that people post in English if they want their comments to appear. Think of it as playing your part in our great motto: Nil Satis Nisi Optimum. Or in maths terms, it's like making a mistake in an equation, formula, derivation or proof. You don't do that all the time.... do you? ? MK]
This guy made as many goals (especially for Roy Vernon) as he scored himself and his football ability was phenomenal. The Golden Vision was just that... a vision of perfection. He did have a weakness however in that he was never really able to match his home performances ?away? and this led to his disaffection with Harry Catterick who dropped him in favour of Big Joe. This in turn led to Harry being assaulted by fans at Blackpool after a defeat there by Alan Ball. (Yeah I mean that... it was HIM who tore us apart, I was there!) Shortly after we signed the little genius and so perhaps we have something else, indirectly, to thank Alex for!
Alex Young, despite his inability to match his away form with his home displays was nevertheless a genius too.
I was at Blackpool on the day that Catterick was "assaulted"... in fact I was about 3 feet from him when he stumbled on the kerb next to where the team bus was parked. Afterwards, I was astonished to hear that this was interpreted as an "assault". People claimed he was assaulted but all I saw was him being, at worst, jostled. No-one struck him, no-one threw anything but insults.
It was only the crowd that surrounded him and other officials from the club, as well as the policemen who were escorting him, who caused him to lose his footing as he walked by the steps of the bus.
I?m sick of people saying he was "attacked" "battered", "assaulted"... I was right there. It didn?t happen. It was January 1966 and (I think) Joe Royle's debut and we deservedly lost 2-0. Ball was signed the following Summer, after the World Cup.
You?re right about Alex Young,though.
You may well be right. I was at the game but I didn’t actually see the incident. All I remember was the hullabaloo afterwards and the accusations made. I do recall some press photographs of the incident which did suggest a little more than ’jostling’ but then the camera does not necessarily always tell the truth.
Whatever the truth, the fact is most Evertonians were pretty gutted at Catterick dropping Alex that day which, although he did play again and in fact he did have a short but very successful partnership with Bally, it probably marked the beginning of the end of Alex’s career at Everton.
Interestingly, Young actually played more games over the next two seasons, 73, scoring only 17 goals, than he did in the previous two seasons prior to the 1965-66 season we have been discussing when he played a total of 59 games with 20 goals.
In 1965-66 he played 36 games with 9 goals. Although he was never a prolific scorer he did, as you say, make plenty of goals for the likes of Vernon and was the best player I?ve seen.
All the great old timers in the No 9 shirt had their plus features as well as their minus ones. Bob Latchford was a great goal scorer but like the Yak, didn?t exert himself that much.
Regrettably, whilst those of you much younger than I rave at the exploits of Dixie Dean, I rarely hear mention of the late great Tommy Lawton. Have a look at his goalscoring record, I think some of you might find it surprising.
Another great favourite of mine was Davey Hickson who was discovered playing, I believe,for Ellesmere Port. For me he was the bravest No 9 who ever wore the famous Royal Blue shirt and was a good goal scorer if no Dean or Lawton.
Personally I am of the opinion that all the great No 9s were great though not all for the same reason. Mostly because they got us a lot of goals but, as with the Golden Vision, because they were a joy to watch.
The Yak I feel can go down as worthy to be ranked with those famous names. Depends on how much longer he will remain with us.
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1 Posted 09/12/2008 at 15:27:07
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