The Mail Bag
Why Everton?
Comments (27)
As a youngster I was proud of our motto and believed the intent behind it. The club did, in my honest opinion, strive to be the best, win trophy?s and play good, entertaining football. After the success in the 60?s cam a difficult 70?s and then a successful 80?s Its fair to say we have had our ups and downs.
The last 20 years have been quite abysmal for the club, its fair to say that with the start of the Premier league we missed the boat completely and failed to have the foresight to realise that a different way of thinking commercially was needed. Not only that we failed to invest in the team and the team management but sadly and most importantly, failed to see that football at a senior level was changing to.
We lost our way on the field and off the field for a multitude of reasons, but frankly a dissection of those reasons is about as useful as expecting a large transfer kitty anytime soon.
The chickens came home to roost in Walter Smith's reign and to his credit David Moyes has put in a work ethic and made use of limited resources to allow us to compete where before we would fail hopelessly. That has been a major benefit without a shadow of doubt. There have been many ( including myself) who have believed that he has reached the top of his ability with
Everton and that if we are to progress further and challenge not on a ?Punching above our weight? basis but on a consistent quality base ( re- Arsenal) we need to change and fresh blood would be needed.
Its not that I believe he is a poor manager, far from it. He has undoubtedly been the main reason we are still in the Premier League. However treading water whilst we sit in hope of a financial miracle will never work, Moyes will either tire of the lack of funds or tire of the promises.
Everyone expects Moyes to join a ?bigger club? a statement damming in itself. But as long as the bailing out continues, the less hope we have of regaining a lost status and there is more chance that Moyes will go. Under the present regime and board management of the club that would be an unmitigated disaster for the immediate future of the club.
At the moment, David Moyes is possibly the clubs greatest asset in terms of finding a suitor. Take that away and we would have a rudderless ship without a captain that is holes below the waterline. So he has to stay. At least for now or until the club has a stronger financial base to work on, albeit from an investor or buyer.
The problem is that no one knows what actually is on offer for what price, its hard to see improvement in what we have in the short term both on and off the pitch. We are over the barrel not just financially but from the options available to us.
Despite the comments from Harris saying that we are not in a fire sale situation, the problem we soon will be as we are running out of time and money. Our debts may be amongst the lowest in the league but then so are our assets and income from non match day activities. The changing face of football and the commercial realities have left us praying for Arab money or a international sports organisation deal akin to the one the RS have secured.
People who are Sports Brand marketing professionals and have a track record in the successful commercial management & promotion of global sports operations. That?s probably were the next level of ownership is likely to be for the club that will enable us to compete on a consistent basis, but the questions from any likely purchaser will be: What?s required to turn the good ship Everton FC around and are there better opportunities in the second tier clubs, the best of the rest who could step up, that are worth investing in? Why Everton?
Christine Foster, Posted 08/11/2010 at 03:40:35
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
Is Mr Moyes the right man to take Everton forward? I cannot really answer that question until the board backs him with funds to bring in the players that he requires. I don't see Everton ever shopping at Harrods, but a few trips to the Co-op once in a while would put us in a challenging position.
I do blame Mr Moyes for not selling Saha, Peinaar and Arteta (we cant afford to pay any player £75k/week) when we had the chance and freshen the squad, we are suffering from those errors now; no transfer budget in the summer and probably none in January.We are stagnant right from the board through to the fans. Our club motto should now be "Mediocrity, I suppose will do". If someone could translate that into Latin for me.
Saying that, I thought Bill's position would be untenable after Kirkby. He'll never let the club go, not even if we get relegated. He'd be telling us what a great job he's done now that we're in with a shout for the league.
Pre-season some nutters were prediciting a League win or at the very least the Champions League spot, this is down to the squad we have, which is now Moyes's. He has done wonders but lacks two things: 1) That extra something special that Mourinho and Ferguson seem to have; and 2) Money.
We know that we need a striker and a right winger and there are some dense fans out there so it is ridiculous to suggest that Moyes does not see this too. it's just that there is no-one in our budget that we can get there. Even an ageing American from a tinpot league is too expensive for us now. Championship teams are outspending us, that in itself is pathetic and embarrassing.
Nos volo mediocris est satis
We suppose mediocrity is enough
Sorry, got a little carried away.
Don't you know it's my and other fans fault that we are where we are because we haven't ranted in a while?
Great if you're that type of personality but...I just can't.
(which is why my forehead, neck and nose look like they were involved in the opening battle in Saving Private Ryan)
I do lose the plot sometimes but I have become a calmer person and try to not rage as much anymore.
(It's the fans' fault our progress is poor.)
Sorry, Tony, "Gash" fails to get a mention in Caesar's Gallic Wars or the letters of Pliny.
As for "...Everyone expects Moyes to join a ?bigger club...? let?s list potential bigger clubs than Everton Moyes could join:
1. Arsenal
2. Chelsea
3. Manchester City
4. Manchester United
5. Tottenham Hotspur
6. Aston Villa
7. Newcastle United
8. Glasgow Celtic
9. Glasgow Rangers
10. Scotland
The only Clubs I could see Moyes joining would be possibly 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10. At Villa and Newcastle, Moyes would not last with his style of play, Allardyce didn?t last at Newcastle because he is a 4-5-1 merchant. Moyes is a very similar manager in achievement and stature to Big Sam. When Moyes has been given Money ? ie Fellaini, Hetinga, Bily, Yak ? his record is woeful. For a £45 miillon outlay, Everton?s return from these has been abysmal. People who think Moyes will be the next Manchester United manager amuse me.
The kicker for me was when we couldnt even afford to get Bellamy on loan. Our finances are absolutely dire and I'm guessing that as DK was, thankfully, rejected Earl and Green are tightening the purse strings.
I do believe it is only Moyes's love for the club and players that is keeping him going but I don't think it will take much for him to crack.
We have an enourmous problem just around the corner, which I mentioned a couple of years ago, when the cash first started to really dry up. We now have several of our better players reaching an age where their value will start to decline very soon, if it hasn't already. People like Cahill, Arteta, Howard, Hibbert, Osman are reaching the big 30 or just past it. On top of that there's Neville, Saha and Distin who are already worth very little in the transfer market.
These players will all need to be replaced in the next couple of years, but we now don't have the cash to bring in a Fellaini, Yakubu or even a Jagielka (talking cash value, not ability) by the looks of it.
The fact that a good proportion of our assets are losing value and that we have nothing to bring in new assets in their place is a very worrying fact. The only possible way that we can work this situation is to sell our older assets and to buy new assets for the same price, or cheaper which are going to increase in value. The other option would be to cash in a Rooney, Lescott, Rodwell, Jagielka every season and bring in 2 or 3 promising players in their place... hoping that a decent proportion make it.
On the whole, Moyes has done quite well at this, but to 'achieve' (we can debate that another time) the league positions that he has, he has had a sprinkling of big money signings to supplement the wheeler-dealing. That appears to have gone, so at some point, we're going to peak and start to decline.... that may have already happened.
In short, IMHO we're fucked, with or without Moyes, without investment of an absolute, bare minimum of £10M per season for the foreseeable. And that's to continue treading water.
"Nos volo mediocris est satis"
Hmm, can't follow that one at all. Certainly not classical Latin ! 'Nos' is nominative first person plural, whereas 'volo' is the first person singular form of the verb. I would suggest:
'Nobis Mediocritas Satis' ? no need for the verb, sticking to the conventional form of a motto (indeed as in 'Nil Satis Nisi Optimum') rather than a saying.
Explicit pars prima....
On the other hand that saying has the sense of 'anything worthwhile is worth waiting for', which might not be very welcome to those of us on the back nine...........
For me, just two players are a concern: Bily and Heitinga, but in their defence, we haven't played them in their best position. This obviously is the Manager's choice. Fair enough, he needs to sort it, either sell them both or maximise their ability at centre back and off the striker role for each of them.
As for replacements, our youth set up is pretty good. The eye for talent in Coleman and Duffy is working well and the production line for Rodwell, Baxter and Barkley isn't too bad either. Which backs up what Christine is saying when she states the club is in good order and well set for developing talent.
The club is a bargain for any serious investor, the potential is there to see, the only stumbling block is what seems to be a clinging to power at all costs by Bill. I hope that's not true but it's hard to think otherwise.
Very good article, Christine.
That is certainly one way of looking at it or you could say the club could be on the verge of some very tasty increase in finances.
1) The sale of Bellefield could well be approved before the end of this month as the new plans have been submitted and there is a big chance it will get the all clear.
2) The shirt sponsorship deal with Chang expires at the end of this season and, given that Aston Villa recently agreed a £20 million deal for 3 years, it is not too much to expect Everton's deal to at least double.
3) The new retail and corporate development planned for Goodison. This will surely increase turnover and if it is approved could be in place for next season.
If the club are savvy and make the right move, it is not beyond the realm to suggest we could have an extra £5-10 million a year to play with.
Moyes has succeeded in giving us a team that in comparison with the immediate previous management, has succeeded in keeping us in the Premier League, taking us to a Cup Final (not winning it) and challenging for Europe on a regular basis. It's not a bad record if you're a Bolton fan or a Wolves fan, but you're comparing us to Charlton, which in my mind is an absolute disgrace. Amazed you even said that.
That we should be looking to improve is the point, as Richard P (15) points out; our side will need replacing in the next year or two and right now we are already 4 players short of a decent team, dependent upon loan deals on a season-by-season basis. A hell of a way to run a club.
Moyes will have to do it all over again, that's a big ask but if it's only to stay where we are, is that the sum total of our ambition? To survive?
To progress to where we are challenging for the league and CL on a consistent basis, we need investment and we need improvement in players, in team management and how the club is run.
That's the task facing any new owner, the resurrection and rebuilding of a (once) great club.
The worrying thing is he says (on another post) he is losing his faith in the club, so God knows where we're going to finish this season.
On a more serious note, I am very concerned that the purse strings have well and truly been closed since the DK shambles and that does not bode well for any of us.
BK will not be going anytime soon unless someone comes along that can unravel the quagmire that is the terms of buying Bill and buddies out.
So I guess the optimists will continue to swim the shark infested waters, the realists will continue to tread water and the pessimists will sink below the surface.
Happy days at EFC.
We'll see how things pan out but there are a lot of ifs on both sides of the coin. I appreciate some optimism to balance out my pessimism tho!
As for Dave listing Yakubu, Heitinga and Fellaini as proof that Moyes fails with big money signings, I think is laughable.
Yak is our only 20-goal-a-season striker who is just about getting back from a potentially career-threatening injury, Fellaini was widely regarded as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League last season before he was hacked down by that dirty red, and Heitinga is one of the best two Dutch centre-backs if we believe Bert van Marwijk, who did manage to get his team to the World Cup Final..... I'm baffled by their inclusion in your argument.
You could of course look to Beattie, Krøldrup, AJ and I can't argue with Bily's inclusion for now.
Go to Newcastle or Villa over us, or Rangers for that matter? I could see him go to Celtic or the Scotland job, as he supports Celtic and Scotland. Why the hell would he choose Newcastle over us I would never know?
And comparing him with Allardyce is embarassing for Moyes too, other than the 4-5-1 and a defensive approach they're nothing alike. Moyes doesn't get the credit he deserves with the footballing aspect, we have all seen Everton play great arsenal-esque football, just not enough which he has to improve on!
I have never seen an Allardyce team play good football
And Fellaini and Heitinga were great signings, Yak wasn't too bad and would have been an excellent signing if he hadn't got injured.
AJ was a good signing because we sold him for a £2M profit.
As Richard says, Krøoldup and Beattie as well as Bily at the moment (hopefully he can get better).
I'm not gonna bother listing his good signings.
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 08/11/2010 at 09:13:23
Report abuse
We have all asked that one on here on numerous occassions.