Fans Comment
Alan Thomson

Where was it going?
31 March 2006

It was in the almost real world. What I thought had started out as an administrative oversight was looking more like a shoddy managerial decision. It was taking stock of life, the universe and all that which started me wondering; when did I become lost to Moyes?

I'm not one for jingles and jingoism but his People's Club comment was, to me, preferable to Howard's, 'we want to be like the Scavengers across the park'. He'd never actually won anything but seemed well respected within the game as a rising star and at eight grand a week, the price was right. It seemed like he wanted to play more attacking football and maybe the players were up for it after Wally's tactical genius but that seemed to stop after the 6-2 defeat at Newcastle.

The next year brought a 7th position before the players, being safe from relegation, gave it away at the end of the following season. During all of this, he had cut out some of the older players who had had great careers but unfortunately, not while with Everton and several Scandanavians with similar problems. You could forgive him the Rooney transfer as it appeared to be engineered from above and not to allow Gravesen, with a year left on his contract, to move to Real Madrid would have been heartless. The nagging doubt was that the Board had not given him the money for him to put together HIS team and for this he had to be given the benefit of the doubt.

EUREKA! We all knew that at the begining of this season he had spent £20M-£25M and not long after, it was looking nothing short of a disaster. That was the point of my disenchantment.

Then, just as perversely, I wondered what if he didn't get that sort of money? After all hadn't the Bear & Stearns (love that name) debt been reduced from £42M to £28M out of season ticket sales in three years — despite paying almost £3M pa interest. The operating overdraft of £6M was under control and the Sky TV advance of £10M (please yourselves on that one) had for some reason been repaid. All this and £100k profit.

So how did he manage it? The 'What If' section. Krøldrup — £1.5M upfront, we read on ToffeeWeb; Ferrari — £500k for one season's loan; Arteta — £1.8M after the loan fee; Neville — £1M plus the £3M outstanding from the Rooney transfer; Van der Meyde — £1.6M re-negotiated because of injury to £1M down; Davies — £2M down. I won't include Valente as it was a buy forced on Everton through injury and could be argued as covered by Bent's sale.

Financial genius, fourth placed prize money, speculation or pure fantasy? We may never know because most of what comes out of Goodison can't be taken at face value. Maybe if we played more attractive football Moyes could win me back.

Anyway, the more I gaze out of this window the more I realize how much it needs cleaning; back to the grind.
Alan Thomson


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