The Mail Bag
A magnificent midfield
Comments (14)
By now we've all had time to reflect and gloat over yesterday's game. But what really stood out for me was not just Fellaini's towering performance, but the midfield as a whole.
I felt transported back in time to a sunny autumn day in 1985 when, led by the truly magnificent quartet of Steven, Bracewell, Reid and Sheedy, we demolished media darlings Man Utd to the tune of five-nil. A performance that was as near to perfection as a team can get.
And yesterday, 25 years later, 25 long years of appreciating that, more than anywhere else on the pitch, a team's midfield dictates whether they succeed of fail, and acknowledging why Everton have failed for 25 years, a midfield quartet transported me back to that sunny afternoon and made me feel almost young again.
"Balance" is what you need, balance is what we had. For pace read Donovan, for sweet left foot and goal threat read Bily; for vision and flair read Pienaar, for power and "thou shalt not pass" read Fellaini. Balance is what counts. After 25 years of waiting for a midfield quartet to make me happy, I got my wish yesterday evening.
What mysterious force actually made this happen? Simple really: quality players playing in their best positions. Flair, pace and a passion for the shirt.
To Everton FC — thankyou for making this 47 year old happy for one afternoon. I know it was only one game, just 3 points. I know it could and probably will all be different next week. But to see an Everton midfield as good as the class of 1985 is not something I was expecting as I walked to the ground yesterday.
Nil satis Nisi Optimum.
Max Levy, Posted 17/01/2010 at 18:17:45
Comments
Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer
more special, was the headed goal from Sheedy, he did not score many of them, but it just added to a great result and performance.
Sky sports are reporting that Landon Donavan could be open to a longer stay at Goodison. Seems he is enjoying it!
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12874_5868844,00.html
With the way he has started this can only be good news and what he has to say seem to signal how positive the team are at the moment.
This is Man City we played, not Man. Utd, who honestly did not have much going for them in the middle of the park.
Cahill continues to play like a souped-up Championship player.
Once Arteta returns, there will hopefully be some improvement but we’re still a long way away from that dream midfield.
I agree with the idea oftrying Billy on the right. Some guys are left footed and some are LEFT FOOTED. Billy is LEFT FOOTED, which can swing against you sometimes. I think it’s certainly worth a try. The risk is that you lose width and then have to play even more through the middle. But the idea of Billy cutting inside after a Coleman dummy run and bending one in the far corner is worth waiting for. There’s a tendency to bend them the wrong way at moment.
There’s only one midifeld in the country that I’d consider swapping ours for. That’s Arsenal’s, and we’ve just done them on their own turf. When Arteta’s back, and settled in, this is easily Everton’s best midfield for over 2 decades, and possibly longer...
And can we just say another thing about Phil Neville. Some have overlooked the importance he has played in our resurgence. He is the skipper and he plays like one. His commitment, direction and flexibility are fantastic and fundamental to the committed way that we play.
Magnificent.
A week after we won at Anfield. Over 25 years ago now, but never to be forgotten with Ron Atkinson in his long leather coat taking a right load of abuse from the Main Stand as his team were played off the park.
Saturday was not quite that good, but getting there.
I think that Save the World was recorded very late in the year, late November or even early December, but who knows! :) That week I recall it was just after the IRA bombing the Tory Conference in Brighton where Norman ’on your bike’ Tebbit literally saw the ground beneath him disappear and ended up falling a few floors before coming to a stop.
The jokes that event spawned ..... and with no apologies whatsoever to Mr Tebbit:
"Why can't Norman Tebbit be on Jackanory?" (Kids — ask your dad...)
Answer: "Because he goes through the stories too fast!"
I’ll get my coat!
Add Your Comments
In order to post a comment to the MailBag, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.
Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and MailBag submissions across the site.
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
1 Posted 18/01/2010 at 01:10:40
Report abuse
I remember the 5-0 game, and the fact that I was wearing a bright red sweater on (gift from the girl I was going with at the time) and getting some weird looks walking through Stanley Park! 25 years on I’d wear a toga or go bollocko to the game if it gave us the points.