ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

Team Spirit

I've watched the Bolton game 3 times already, and did anyone else notice how excited the players were with the win? Once the whistle blew, Howard went and bear-hugged Lescott and Yobo. The players looked ecstatic. It was similar after the winner was scored.

Moyes has seemed to have built such a close-knit unit; players that are willing to die for each other on the field. Many have said that the Premier League is becoming a much closer competition with all the teams getting significant TV money. Don't underestimate how much this 'team spirit' will help us when the going gets tough this season.

Without talent, team spirit can only get you so far. However, Moyes has now been able to add some talent without affecting the team harmony and the benefits are all to see. Maybe the "Manny-gate" saga is a blessing in disguise. I for one believe so.

No one should take OUR blue shirt for granted...
Nick Veitch, Brisbane, Australia Posted 03/09/2007 at 13:20:32

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Comments

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Connor Rohrer
1 Posted 03/09/2007 at 16:22:16

You are right team spirit is very important. Look at Spurs. Arguing at half time and full time because they lost to sunderland.

That why Moyes likes he squads small. Everyone in it together and no groups. Bringing back people like Stubbs and Gravesen is as good off the pitch as it is on. They are characters and they contribute to the team spirit and banter of the team. Carsley is supposed to be the funny one which is also good to see.

The foreign players and the british players mix also ehich can sometimes be a problem. Ive seen Stubbs and Arteta going out for a meal on lark lane in aigburth aswell as Cahill, Fernandes, Johnson and Beattie in manchester. So its great stuff to see.

Chris Lawlor
2 Posted 03/09/2007 at 16:28:11

I agree 100% Nick. Our team spirit is second to none and its a credit to Moyes that he has instilled this in all his signings. I love seeing our boys celebrating on the pitch but to see them celebrate as a unit makes it all the better. We have a special ambiance in our squad, and I bet there are a few big spenders in our league who envy the team spirit cultivated at Goodison.

Ben Howard
3 Posted 03/09/2007 at 16:41:31

As much as I support the team, watching them on tv can be a horrendous experience more often than not. This was less painful than most I agree Nick and there were some major positives to take from the game. However, to watch the game 3 times is bordering on madness!! Ha ha!

I agree that the team spirit is evident, even when things aren’t going our way which is even more important and Moyes is responsible for that too.

COYB!!!

Thommo Gibbons
4 Posted 03/09/2007 at 16:49:54

Nick; ever considered that this team spirit may have infected and improved Fernandes as well? How would you feel if your potential employer, who had already let you go 3 months before, had you hanging around at work for 7-10 days without confirming if he was taking you back on or not. Do you feel Yakubu also was affected by the team spirit?

Keith Harrison
5 Posted 03/09/2007 at 17:44:16

Team spirit is extremely important, and I would suggest has been enhanced with Tommy’s returned.

There is a problem on the horizon, however. Togetherness is a lot easier in a smaller group, and as our squad grows to the stage where Hibbo was not in it on Saturday, and two drop out when Tim and Vaughny return, Moyesie will find it more difficult to keep the spirit alive among our increased squad.

Is this why AvDM does not bust a gut for the cause - because he feels on the outside?? Nuno, Hibbo and one of Turner or Ruddy must also feel out of it, and this is where Davy will earn his corn keeping the Esprit Du Corps we currently enjoy.

Dave Roberts
6 Posted 03/09/2007 at 19:12:37

Keith,

If your view is correct, we can expect Liverpool’s squad to implode any moment then?

I hope so!

Dave OBrien
7 Posted 03/09/2007 at 19:49:49

Thommo Gibbons - Team spirit isn’t the answer to everything. Two examples spring to mind, the most recent is Henry and the emerging stories about how he ruled the younger players - probably in the Showers with Wenger. Then there was Cantona, who never seemed entrenched in the Utd togetherness. For every Cantona though there is a Stan Collymore or a Manny Fernandes. Personally I would have rather have taken the chance at some disruption and signed Manny. I don’t think he fitted in with the ’team player’ ethic but we would have been better with him.

rob burke
8 Posted 03/09/2007 at 22:59:40

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Damian Waite
9 Posted 03/09/2007 at 22:57:15

Sorry Dave I totally disagree.
Signing a player who causes disruption is not good for the team, it is not good for morale and it is not good for results.
Manny was a gifted player, but he was not a team player.
You mention Cantona, but he was a seasoned pro, was surrounded by top international players and a one off, He was also inspirational to the younger Unt players, Beckham et al . Manny is talented but he is no Cantona, I don’t see him taking the time out to help the younger players develop. I may be wrong, but I doubt it.

A team must be greater than the sum of it’s parts.
Team spirit is the key, when you don’t have the luxury of millions of pounds.

Stuie Mann
10 Posted 04/09/2007 at 00:06:01

Apparently Duncan and Tommy G were the most disruptive influences on the team a few years back. Always disagreeing with Moyes and his methods. Both were advised to be booted out to get a better team spirit by some sports physcology company EFC employed.

Thommo
11 Posted 04/09/2007 at 08:27:55

Dave O’Brien; I didn’t say teamwork was the be all and end all. If anything, I was intimating something away from that, I mean, you don’t stop introducing new players in an effort to improve the team because it may interfere with your current squad’s camaraderie. Team spirit is important but not at the expense of professionalism. What was that old adage; 40% are happy, 40% are productive but only 20% are happy and productive. COY 20%!