The Mail Bag
Spurs Finally Ready?
Comments (12)
It makes me laugh because Martin Jol says Spurs are finally ready to make a challenge for a Top 4 place. It's only taken him three seasons and a whopping £77 million in transfers to get them ready to attempt a challenge for that mystical Top 4 spot. Maybe someone should mention to him that it only took David Moyes three seasons and just £20 million in transfers to not only make a challenge but to actually crack that Top 4 spot.
Moyes cracked the Top 4 with Marcus Bent as his main striker!! You can spend millions in the transfer market but what you really need to get that Top 4 finish is a genius for a manager.
Dutch Schaffaer, Posted 27/07/2007 at 22:52:11
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Nick Harrison
2 Posted 28/07/2007 at 02:11:33
2 Posted 28/07/2007 at 02:11:33
What constitutes a genius? All I know is that if Davie Moyes had Jose’s budget then we’d be champions.
Saiful Azhar, Malaysia
3 Posted 28/07/2007 at 06:31:56
3 Posted 28/07/2007 at 06:31:56
This is my first posting after supporting Everton for the past 24 years. Actually, to say DM is genius maybe too overstated, but he is one of the Managers who can bring improvement to our Everton team. Yes, he also at fault to some of his wrong decisions for the past 5 years he is in charge, but to me, mistakes makes you wiser. Therefore, we the current squad and with the addition of Smith, Baines and Manny perhaps, we are surely will be looking for the top 4 at the end of the season.
Gavin Ramejkis
4 Posted 28/07/2007 at 07:02:12
4 Posted 28/07/2007 at 07:02:12
Dutch the fourth place was a case on being in the right place at the right time, DM played a 4-5-1 which for the early part of the season ground out tiny victories and made us hard to beat, coupled with the luck of teams like the RS having a very bad season and voila we crawled over the finish line in fourth, just look what the European sides did to that team at the first hurdle. Moyes is no genius, that season he was lucky with one trick and no plan b, his genius at not securing a striker then fucked us over for a European campaign to match any of his cup runs; short and humiliating.
Ray
5 Posted 28/07/2007 at 08:17:36
5 Posted 28/07/2007 at 08:17:36
Yes and look what happened the season directly afterwards?? It took until November 5th to score our first open play goal at Goodison and by Christmas we had lost 4-0 to West Brom, 4-0 at home to Bolton and 4-0 to Villa.. 5-1 to Bucharest.. and that was despite spending a fair few bob during the summer of 2005, all of which produced no striker which we all knew we craved.. David Moyes and Evertons board did not plan to finish 4th , they had plans in August 2004 to be safe from relegation by April..Moyes got lucky with the formation of 4-5-1 and Marcus Bent suprised everyone in the loan striker role, after that the cracks appeared because we never seemed to want to build on that good season..We are in a good position now and next season making progress would be finishing 5th but I wouldnt say no to 6th again..
George
6 Posted 28/07/2007 at 11:28:44
6 Posted 28/07/2007 at 11:28:44
Yes, Gavin and Ray you could say we should have bought another striker during the close season 2005/06 (hindsight is a wonderful thing), but if we had who is to say we would have ever been able to purchase Johnson. Just like with every budgeted acquisition there’s always an oppurtunity cost.
And how can Gavin come to the conclusion that Moyes’ failure to secure a striker "fucked us over for a European campaign...". It is this kind of quick fix assumption that leads us into FM territory. Who knows what impact a new striker would have had on our brief European excursions because the fact is we didn’t sign one!
I am no Moyes apologist, give credit where credit is due. It’s funny how people have short and or selective memories, do you now remember how bad things were in the close season of 2003/4 (the Rooney saga/Trevor Birch’s seeming abandonment of the EFC sinking ship/off the back of a horrific season/reported schisms in the changing rooms), I genuinely thought we would be lucky to escape relegation. But where did we finish...4th, yes we may have been a one trick pony that were increasingly found out towards the end of the season but aleast it worked for the most part and didn’t desert us like Liverpool (barring one second half in Instanbul)
You make valid compliants about our shortcomings, but please remember to put it in the context of the time-then not now! If you have concerns about what you have seen in this previous season or others which have not been addressed and as such could have a detrimental effect on this forthcoming season, then fair enough. But don’t gripe about a tactic that proved to be an overwhelming success for us (at the time) and a fruitless european foray which failings have been dissected many times before in its aftermath.
Anyway, rant over and back to Jol, to be frank personally I think he smacks of Kevin Keeganess- underwhelming results for the amount of (financial) resources put in. He’ll soon be found out.
Moyes is no genius, but which footballing manager really is, each has their own strengths and weakeness- just like with players. But he is a darn sight better than a lot of managers currently in employment or otherwise. At least he’s showing signs of learning from his mistakes and I guess thats all we can really ask for, until that managerial genius comes along-but it could be a long wait.
And how can Gavin come to the conclusion that Moyes’ failure to secure a striker "fucked us over for a European campaign...". It is this kind of quick fix assumption that leads us into FM territory. Who knows what impact a new striker would have had on our brief European excursions because the fact is we didn’t sign one!
I am no Moyes apologist, give credit where credit is due. It’s funny how people have short and or selective memories, do you now remember how bad things were in the close season of 2003/4 (the Rooney saga/Trevor Birch’s seeming abandonment of the EFC sinking ship/off the back of a horrific season/reported schisms in the changing rooms), I genuinely thought we would be lucky to escape relegation. But where did we finish...4th, yes we may have been a one trick pony that were increasingly found out towards the end of the season but aleast it worked for the most part and didn’t desert us like Liverpool (barring one second half in Instanbul)
You make valid compliants about our shortcomings, but please remember to put it in the context of the time-then not now! If you have concerns about what you have seen in this previous season or others which have not been addressed and as such could have a detrimental effect on this forthcoming season, then fair enough. But don’t gripe about a tactic that proved to be an overwhelming success for us (at the time) and a fruitless european foray which failings have been dissected many times before in its aftermath.
Anyway, rant over and back to Jol, to be frank personally I think he smacks of Kevin Keeganess- underwhelming results for the amount of (financial) resources put in. He’ll soon be found out.
Moyes is no genius, but which footballing manager really is, each has their own strengths and weakeness- just like with players. But he is a darn sight better than a lot of managers currently in employment or otherwise. At least he’s showing signs of learning from his mistakes and I guess thats all we can really ask for, until that managerial genius comes along-but it could be a long wait.
Gavin Ramejkis
7 Posted 28/07/2007 at 13:37:31
7 Posted 28/07/2007 at 13:37:31
George a simple answer to the why we should have bought a striker, the team needed a striker in the January transfer window and the very low goals scored tally between January and the end of the season proved that, simple mathematics if you score more goals than the opposition you win games, not a hindsight told you so George simple fact, its all down in historical fact now.
Brian
8 Posted 28/07/2007 at 13:56:58
8 Posted 28/07/2007 at 13:56:58
Jesus.....when we finish 17th we’re just plain shite. When we finish 4th we’re just in the right place at the right time.
What the fuck does this club have to do to put a smile on SOME faces?
What the fuck does this club have to do to put a smile on SOME faces?
Stuart Beresford-Kelly
9 Posted 28/07/2007 at 14:16:11
9 Posted 28/07/2007 at 14:16:11
Brian
If we won the league, UEFA Cup and the FA Cup this year people would still be saying "But why didn’t we win the League Cup!? Moyes out bla bla bla".
If we won the league, UEFA Cup and the FA Cup this year people would still be saying "But why didn’t we win the League Cup!? Moyes out bla bla bla".
Gavin Ramejkis
10 Posted 28/07/2007 at 17:37:16
10 Posted 28/07/2007 at 17:37:16
Brian and Stuart I have posted on here plenty of times before I’d be more than happy if after five years in charge Everton won a cup, have we even made a quarter final in any?
Aidan Wade
11 Posted 28/07/2007 at 18:07:18
11 Posted 28/07/2007 at 18:07:18
Whatever about Moyes transfer mistakes, and there have been some, look at the quality of players he inherited, and look at the squad he has put together since at fairly modest outlay. I think Everton have gained more than they’ve lost by Moyes stubbornness in the face of a very risky transfer market. With the exception of the youngfella (Warren something?) who went off to glamorous Manchester we have kept our good players season on season, and cautiously improved in a two steps forward, one back fashion.
In the end, there’s no better manager available to manage Everton, and people who want him replaced are living in a dreamland. I’ve grown up supporting Everton in the 90’s and to me the change is remarkable. We’ve gone from fighting relegation season after season, to winning European qualification two out of the last three. Further, I value European qualification on the back of a 38 game league season a lot more than a lucky streak of cup victories culminating in defeat to one of the top four, and qualification as runner-up.I hope this will be the season that we demonstrate that Everton are back from the depths to stay.
Moyes can be slow to adapt to the situations sometimes, but he’s young, he’s improving and I’m fully behind him.
In conclusion:
He’s got red hair, we don’t care.
Oh yeah, the original topic.
In terms of first 11’s, there’s not much between ourselves and Spurs despite the disparity in budget. If Jol doesn’t find his way into the top 4 (though he might), Spurs may suddenly find themselves in a difficult financial position.
In the end, there’s no better manager available to manage Everton, and people who want him replaced are living in a dreamland. I’ve grown up supporting Everton in the 90’s and to me the change is remarkable. We’ve gone from fighting relegation season after season, to winning European qualification two out of the last three. Further, I value European qualification on the back of a 38 game league season a lot more than a lucky streak of cup victories culminating in defeat to one of the top four, and qualification as runner-up.I hope this will be the season that we demonstrate that Everton are back from the depths to stay.
Moyes can be slow to adapt to the situations sometimes, but he’s young, he’s improving and I’m fully behind him.
In conclusion:
He’s got red hair, we don’t care.
Oh yeah, the original topic.
In terms of first 11’s, there’s not much between ourselves and Spurs despite the disparity in budget. If Jol doesn’t find his way into the top 4 (though he might), Spurs may suddenly find themselves in a difficult financial position.
tony ainscough
12 Posted 29/07/2007 at 06:33:33
12 Posted 29/07/2007 at 06:33:33
Martin Jol finishes fifth 2 seasons running and the board put there money where there mouth is now he is under pressure to deliver more, that is how a club should be run its all a little to cosy and safe at the moment for moyes as long as he keeps finishing in the top half of the table the board will be happy and it seems quite a few fans as well
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1 Posted 28/07/2007 at 01:30:01