The Nick Armitage Column
Columnist: Nick Armitage

Butterflies
22 March 2006

Duncan Ferguson: Derby swansong?

It’s Wednesday and for me the butterflies have already started.  On Friday, I won’t be able to finish my dinner and on Saturday morning I’ll be as snappy as an OAP’s Yorkshire Terrier.

Three things terrify me; exams, surgery and Anfield derbies.  I can’t stand them; but unlike most sane people who will switch off their mobiles and travel to the other end of the country when they are on, I’m going to be in a boozer full of reds.  This boozer will be full of real Liverpool fans, the ones who are so loyal, they wear their shirts the day after they’ve watched Liverpool lose on the telly – that’s commitment for you.

Like the last few derbies at the tin-mine, I haven’t tried to get a ticket and — despite what most Liverpool fans will tell you — you can get hold of tickets for Anfield if you really want to go.  Over the last decade, the atmosphere has deteriorated at derbies; it’s a shame.  I can safely say that it wasn’t peace, love and understanding like the Echo might have you believe, but we did at least tolerate the opposition and so did they.  I don’t know what the rank atmosphere is due to now; some reckon it began when Liverpool started losing on a regular basis while others will tell you that it’s down to cocaine snorting Stella fuelled Lacoste and Rockport wearers who’d pick a fight with their own Grandmother.  Whatever the cause, it isn’t nice.

The last derby was a shocker for us, I even agreed with some of the comedy genius of Chris Bascombe’s match report, we were that bad.  The 1-3 scoreline could have been far worse.  Even if Beattie’s other goal had counted, I reckon they simply would have increased their goal tally further.  From kick-off to final whistle, it was men against boys.  We were dead and buried back then and I was very worried about Moyes and the rest of the season.

Going into this game, we are playing as well as anytime under Moyes.  We are not just sneaking 1-0 wins now, we are battering teams — and it’s the first time in a long time that we’ve done that.  Arteta is looking like one of the best midfielders in the league.  How many times have you heard fans bemoaning the loss of Gravesen in recent weeks?  That’s how good Arteta is.

Osman’s feet are now keeping pace with his brain and Cahill and Neville are both back to their narky best.  Stubbs has been phenomenal, and perhaps shown that principles in football are sometimes best left elsewhere.  Beattie is now the player Moyes wanted when he signed him and even McFadden is surprising us all and getting in on the act, the lad had a cracking game last week.

Right through the team we have players right at the top of their game... except for Wright and Weir.  Weir had a nightmare at the last derby and I will be disappointed, Walter Smith style, if Weir starts and Yobo sits on the bench.  Too many doubts and indecisions have crept into Weir’s game and his confidence has evaporated — you just can’t get away with that combination when you are a slow as he is.  Wright should have saved Villa’s goal last week; in the end it didn’t matter but every Evertonian knows that man is a flapping, error-prone liability who couldn’t catch a beach-ball in slow motion.  Hopefully Stubbs, Hibbert and Neville can keep the red hordes far enough away from Wright and Weir because we all know in truth Moyes will pick them.

On our bench we have a couple of very effective subs: Andy Van der Meyde must have sat through the last half hour of the Villa game thinking how on earth Kilbane got on before him.  I want Kilbane to play in that derby as much as I want Steven Gerrard to play — despite what Ronnie Goodlass told us on Radio Merseyside, Kilbane was very poor against a well-beaten Villa.  If we can’t wait to see Van der Meyde play, imagine how he feels.  He’s not fit very often so when he is he’s got to get on the pitch.

And then there’s the other one who has a tendency to miss lots of games.  The big man has had seven games to think about how naughty he has been.  He’s had seven games to think this is his last game against the team he loves scoring against and his last opportunity to smell the fear of Sami Hypia.  I bet he’s churning the Bellefield turf up as I write this...  Ferguson hasn’t been half as effective as he was last season and maybe the injuries really have got the better of him but he’s had a bit of a rest and seeing him silence the Kop just one more time would be a fitting end to his roller-coaster Everton career.

So who’s gonna win? Throw that formbook out of the window and flip a coin — at least this time around it’s worth getting the coin out of your pocket.  This one really can go either way.

Nick Armitage

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