The Mail Bag
Leon Osman: Future Everton Legend!!!!
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We see Radcliffe, Sharp, Horne, Kendall et al around the club regularly and read pieces in papers, websites, all over the place from these ex-players & managers, and they are known as legends to us all. Well, I predict that in 10 years Osman will be one of the players writing about us, speaking at dinners and looking after us at Goodison. Why? because he is a modern day Everton legend.
Legend is used all too frequently in the modern game, I know, and if you compared him against Ball, Steven, Southall, then no, he is not... but we all seem to think Cahill is a Legend, Jagielka and Arteta too ? well, what about Osman? 210 senior starts and netting 34 goals in that time is a very good record for someone who came through the youth system at a time when teams except United didn't use their young players very much.
He will start on Sunday, I'm sure of that ? especially reading Rounds quotes on the OS... and he will give his all because Everton is his club, he's a blue and always will be and that shows through to fans like myself who don't look for the negatives but look for the truth. He's a good footballer with great awareness and skill and best of all he's a true blue. All hail King Ossie, modern day legend.
Andrew Fair, Posted 27/08/2010 at 13:31:48
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IMO Osman always has and always will be a liability, doesn't do anything for me... Legend, my arse ? and an insult to the likes of Alan Ball, Alex Young and so on. When they were about, Osman wouldn't be allowed in the same city, never mind team. Sorry Andrew but I'd rather play with 10 men than Osman, fucking shite, end of!
A good pro is what Ossie's been and nothing more.
So aren't you one of the people who thinks fan sites like this have little to no impact on management thinking inside Goodison Park? I mean where else would you get the impression that Osman is "unsung", and feel the need to come out with this guff:
"I think sometimes he doesn't quite get the credit he deserves because he hasn't got the flashness of one or two of the others in some of his play. But he does the work, he's got great quality and I was really pleased with him tonight."" ? Steve Round.
There are many valid reason why he's "unsung". We all know them ad nauseam, unfortunately. It's wonderful that he does all this great work on the training ground but for Everton, on the field of play (the only place it matters) he wavers between "ineffective" and "totally bloody useless".
Now, can I say "End of." and close this silly thread?
With the fact being that Osman is not very good.
You knew it would get a reaction. Stop being so precious.
Legend? You're having a laugh!
A Great Servant ? is exactly what it says, only time, effort and genuinely showing you have Heart and are here to make a difference week-in, week-out, not just drawing a salary. For me, Osman, Hibbert etc. A Great Servant is still a massive honor and incredibly hard to earn.
A Legend ? All of the above, plus a rare natural talent and preferable some form of success i.e. a cup, a title, or hopefully international status.
Plus, only time will tell, are we still talking about you within the walls of ToffeeWeb Towers in ten years time? Tomasz Radzinski used to be my favorite player, but I have not heard his name within these walls for sometime and nor do I wish to under any of the above.
Osman ? Ten years and we will see.
In the mean time he is a great squad player.
Cahill, Arteta and Jags are very good club pros. Osman is a step below that - he's a good club pro. Nothing more, but nothing less. I'd give my rigth arm to be a good club pro at a club like Everton. Osman deserves a lot more respect that he often gets for his contribution and uncomplaining committment to the club.
That said, I think any reasonable definition of 'legend' has to mean more than just playing a lot of games and coming through the youth team. You need to be a standout player in your side. Hell you can be close to a legend without even being at the club very long as long as you're successful enough.
Osman wouldn't even make most people's first 11 and wouldn't have for some time (though as an aside I do remember the days many years ago when people would bemoan how Moyes never gave the lad a chance because he was supposedly too lightweight). So it seems pretty ludicrous to suggest he's legend. If Osman is a legend then someone like David Weir must be too!
I do agree though that he'll probably be showing people round the club and hosting dinners as a 'legend' in a few years, but that's only because of the taudry way that clubs try to market such events these days!
I really did think the article was a wind-up when I first read it!
I would love to be proved wrong, Come on Osman - be a legend !!!!
Osman is a decent professional, but no more than that.
Legend? No.
The way I look at it, he came through from a kid to hopefully retire at Everton. How many players actually do that these days? He could have left for a bigger pay packet, or even not too long ago for a regular team football.
So he may not be one of the all-time greats or he may not win us trophies single-handed. But in my eyes he will always play for the shirt, play where he is told and not complain. If he spends his whole career doing that here then yes he should be seen as a legend x amount of years down the line.
Latchford and McKenzie are Everton legends to me and we never won anything, but they defined an era for me as a young Blue.
It is a daft assertion that Leon is a legend at the club and I expect he would think exactly the same too. He does however not deserve the slagging that he often gets particularly, when he is played out of position by the manager. He is a good professional who has served the club well.
Being called a legend is rather subjective as it is generally awarded to players retrospectively a number of years after they have finished. I think Cahill and Arteta may well go on to be considered legends by the youngsters who watch the Blues today when they are moaning about Everton sides of the future.
Also, not your fault as you are too young to have seen anything approaching a great Everton side... but Osman isn't up to that standard.
Having seen him giving everything for the Blues, either side of years when we had great sides, I really feel sorry for him.
As Ed says above, re the Latch, you don't have to have won something to be an Everton legend; depends on the era and the fans' personal viewpoints.
Some of those goals have been last minute matchwinners too.
If only Pienaar could score at that rate........
What? Not even in the bit where he says "..because he is a modern day Everton legend" ?
The word legend has a few possible meanings. Dictionary.com offers nine! Two of which are:
1.a nonhistorical or unverifiable story handed down by tradition from earlier times and popularly accepted as historical.
7.a person who is the center of such stories: She became a legend in her own lifetime.
There are many stories about Osman, some verifiable, some a little more myth-like as Ciáran notes. But certaintly he is the centre of a number of stories on Toffeeweb; namely he's legendary for being shit / alright but not great. legendary for having a number of debates about his relative shitness stared on the internet. I concur Andrew, he is a legend! But for differing reasons...
Yes Andrew he puts effort in, but he earns approx £20k a week for fuck's sake. He just isn't a premiership standard player, tahts why he impressed whilst on loan at Carlise.
He is no legend, nor is he" fucking shite" or"totally bloody useless". And I like him.
I can see where you are coming from in a way but Leon should not be played on the wing at all and should also be around 5th choice centre midfielder, he is a decent squad player but nothing else.
Great Servant - yes, legend - no, (well not yet anyway).
To call him crap is just disrespectful.
My answer to your question is an emphatic yes, mabe not as a starter, but definitely a contributing member of the squad.
That said, let's hope he makes way on Sunday and Moyes finally goes with the suggestion you came up with long before it became everyone else's idea
Anyway, forget all them, he's chosen to stay; so... loyal? yes... Legend? Er, no. Just an average squad player for me.
However, I respect your right to think this and admire your courage for posting this on TW !
At the risk of being called an arse kisser, I also think that the TW Editorial team should be applauded for the way that they allow views to be expressed on here even if they vehemently oppose them.
No arguements, he gives his all and loves the club, it's just that we want better than 8th / 5th and feel we are not faraway from achieving this with a right sided pacey attacker.
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So Christopher, you don't rate Dave Hickson, Joe Royle or Howard Kendall among Legend status then?
The term 'legend' is banded about far too freely, and as a body of fans we give out the term 'legend' far too easily. We should be more demanding and our legends should be the best of their generation before we consider them Everton legends, i.e. comparing them to other generations of Everton players.
We haven't had a legend since Neville Southall/Dave Watson in my opinion. We had flashes in the pan like big Dunc and Cottee, but surely to be a legend you have to be one of the all-time Everton greats?
Osman is struggling to hold his place in the starting line-up, let alone be considered a legend. He doesn't deserve to start as Rodwell now should command a place.
He is being carried on favouritism. There have been some really stupid threads recently ? what's going on!
I rate those players highly. I was being sarcastic to highlight the long way Leon falls short of the contributor's claim, I'm afraid.
A legend, in the proper dictionary sense, must be dead.
As other's have said a good servant, nothing more.
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1 Posted 27/08/2010 at 14:21:52
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