ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

Missing the boat on AJ

Guys and girls, somethink has been nagging away at me for a while now (not my wife!).

It is AJ! I really think he is never going to get any better than he is now and to be honest I think he has lost something from his days at Palace ? or maybe he never really had it and the prem is a bit too much?

Don't get me wrong, i really love his attitude and effort, but I really do not think he is good enough in our next phase of breaking that top 4 and winning trophies.

He seems to have lost pace and the ability to go past defenders and in an ideal world we could keep him as a sqaud player if finances were flush. But my point/question is, should we be cashing in on him before he gets older, less effective and noticable to other teams, so we can get a decent price, maybe make a profit and then bolster the positions we need, winger, midfielders??

I just think another two season could go by and he could get worse or at best stand still but his value will definately drop, should we cash in now before we miss the boat on him???
Mark Griffiths, Chester Posted 26/01/2008 at 09:26:51

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Brian Waring
1 Posted 26/01/2008 at 15:35:15

Mark, the reason why AJ is not doing the bizz, is down to Moyes. If you are going to play him as the lone striker, you play to his strength, that being his pace. You don’t continue to play long balls up, and then expect him to win it in the air. He is always chasing long balls down the flanks, like a winger. If you play him right down the middle and put balls through for him to use his pace, I bet you he would be 100% more effective. I feel sorry for AJ, because it’s the role that Moyes has him playing, that is the problem.

Jon Macca
2 Posted 26/01/2008 at 16:15:16

AJ is just a slighlty better player than Radzinski and works harder. Overall he is a combo of Marcus Bent and Radzinski. He is nothing special at all and is NOT a natural finisher like what some people believe. So I agree with you, Mark.

Tom Campbell
3 Posted 26/01/2008 at 16:19:11

We should try do a swap deal for Jermaine Defoe.

Paul OHanlon
4 Posted 26/01/2008 at 16:05:50

Brian I agree what you’re saying to a point in that hoofing balls down the flanks for AJ to chase isn’t the best way to play him, but the bottom line is he’s not a natural goalscorer.

I think we’d all agree his main weapon is his pace, but at home when teams sit deep his pace is nullified. After that he doesn’t have much else to offer for me. He’s too weak to hold up the ball and doesn’t have the best first touch anyway, he’s useless from crosses due partly to his lack of height but mainly because he’s just not that good at heading. So apart from away games where his pace can be utilised to full affect...I don’t think he’ll ever really ’do the bizz’ for us.

If West Ham or anyone else with more money than sense offered £10m+ I’d snap their hands off.

Brian Waring
5 Posted 26/01/2008 at 17:25:10

Jon, Paul, are you saying that AJ has been an £8.6m flop then ?

Gavin Ramejkis
6 Posted 26/01/2008 at 17:35:34

How quickly people forget the way we played when AJ first signed; exactly to his strengths with the ball slid to his feet putting him running towards the last defender with just them and the keeper to beat, how else would we have had so many stonewall penalties not given?

Think about when Yak first signed and we were lumping the ball at him in Dunc fashion and many were saying fat waste of money that wouldn’t jump for the ball when it isn’t his strength.

Play the ball to AJs feet through the middle and not in the corner and he will show his ability just as Yak will do but admittedly with much more power to bowl defenders out of his way. You can’t say AJ is a flop but could say the way he is being played is.

Tony Williams
7 Posted 26/01/2008 at 17:34:31

Brian I agree with you about AJ to a point, in that I also feel sorry for him chasing after the long punts upfield, however, to lay the blame solely at Moyes’s feet is a bit much, I would also allocate blame to the back 4 or 5 if you include Howard with their useless punts.

He will score goals and it is frustrating that when we had the purple patch, when we were passing the ball well, he was having an operation, as he would have revelled in that patch.

I can could on one hand the number of times this year he has been sent through with a decent pass, and he has scored with two of them.

Patty Beesley
8 Posted 26/01/2008 at 17:40:19

AJ was fine until eveyone started accusing him of diving .. it sapped at his confidence and he has never been the same since.

Mark Griffiths
9 Posted 26/01/2008 at 17:31:38

Brian, I know what you are saying about him being played out of postion and long balls etc, but it is something else I have noticed about him ? he does not have the burst of pace and ability to beat players. I just do not think he offers enough qaulity to be part of a team trying to move forward and we will only lose money if we wait a while to sell him.

Karl Masters
10 Posted 26/01/2008 at 17:43:05

A pretty silly posting this one. ’ AJ is not a natural goalscorer’ say some. So how come he rammed in nearly 30 at Palace one season and another 18 ( Know it included a lot of penalties, but it was also in a poor relegated team ) the in the Prem the year after?

Answers are that he played in a team that played to his strengths and also he had an injury free run. He’s ahd a lot of bad luck with injuries in the last 12 months not to mention the diving bollocks.

Give him a break, support him and he’ll do the business, especially when we play to his strengths a bit more.

Brian Waring
11 Posted 26/01/2008 at 17:43:01

I can see where your coming from Mark. But, if we sold him, we lose the most important thing you need up front in any side, pace. We couldn’t get a player in the same mould ( like a Defoe ) because they would have the same problem as AJ. Would young Vaughny be up to the job, if he was given a regular starting place?

Paul Trafford
12 Posted 26/01/2008 at 17:50:26

Another post written by someone who clearly does not go to the match (Home and away) Get off his back, considering how many times AJ has started due to Injury / Yakubu being first choice at the mo, and considering (as already pointed out) we do not play to his strengths... He is doing fantastic...

Why do we look for faults, we having a great season... Have finaly gained the respect of many other clubs due to Moyes hard work.... All is good, enjoy it for gods sake instead of whining on...Get behind the boys, 4th place is ours...COYB!!!!

Karl Masters
13 Posted 26/01/2008 at 17:55:35

Upon reflection, I’m gonna go further and say that you have lost the plot Mark.

This season at least 2 of the goals he scored involved searing pace v Sunderland and West Ham and 2 more were clinical finishing at Newcastle and Alkmaar. You seem to forget that he has hardly stated any games injury free this season.

I think that you are confusing Moyes’ quote of needing something extra with selling any players we have got... throwing the baby out with the bath water. Of course, we need a few more, but there are one or two needing replacement more than AJ. Sell AJ and we’ll be left with Yak ( who has to go to ACN every 2 seasons ) and Vic & Vaughany who are both great prospects, but not yet the finished article. Who are you proposing to bring in?

Mark Griffiths
14 Posted 26/01/2008 at 18:00:51

Paul,

Firstly, I do go to the match when I can but due to work and family commitments I cannot go all the time, but what I do not see in the flesh I watch mostly on tv.

Secondly, I do not think any post is pointless, even a certain Mr Marsh?s are there for a reason, debate, varying viewpoints, ideas ? no matter how different they may be or opposite to your own opnions ? it is all to stimulate debate!

Thirdly, my point/question as I stated was that if we want to move forward and build for the future and try and crack that top 4, then we need to way things up and take risks and if that means doing good business on a player, but I am sorry for me does not look good enough to play a regular part in our improving future.

As I said, it is just a thought and if we did sell him and got £10m from the barcodes or west ham, we would have decent funds to improve other areas of the team that do need strengthening.

Michael Kenrick
15 Posted 26/01/2008 at 18:12:07

Mark, your gracious response to that disgusting comment from Paul Trafford is commendable. I am not so gracious: I am getting really, really sick and tired of these snide comments that convey a total lack of respect to other contributors ? yes, Paul I’m refering to this kind of shite: "Another post written by someone who clearly does not go to the match" ? PACK IT IN!

Guy Hastings
16 Posted 26/01/2008 at 18:52:43

Paul Trafford?s comment is hardly ?disgusting?, Michael. If anything your response is a tad on the hysterical side. Compared to the rants from the likes of Marsh and co, accusations of Moyes? ?cowardice? etc that appear on your site, I?d say Paul?s observation is positively milquetoast. As for AJ, I hope this isn?t the first indication of scapegoating after some of the ?shite (your word, I believe) that?s been thrown in the direction of Tony Hibbert over the past few weeks. We can?t all be Maldini, Cruyff or Dean. Or HR Mencken. for that matter.

Ron Joynson
17 Posted 26/01/2008 at 19:16:16

I would love to see the following midfield play against Spurs next week.
Carsley in his usual deep defensive position. In front of him reading from right to left :- Johnson Fernandes Osman Arteta , leaving Vaughan up front. If Cahill had been available, he would play in Osman?s place.

This would free AJ to utilize his pace from the right pushing forward. Remember his goals and assists invariably come from this flank (Wigan, Bolton assist for Yak etc) Vaughan would be best for dealing with the high or long punts forward much better than is current with Cahill and forward support would additionally come from Osman Cahill whichever of them plays.

This would put us over until the three
Africans return to the fold

Michael Kenrick
18 Posted 26/01/2008 at 19:16:28

Well, it goes without saying that I disagree with you, Guy, and I?ll tell you why. A number of people preface their contributions with these kinds of derisory insults:

"It?s obvious you don?t go to the game..."
"Don?t you know anything about football...???"
"You sound like a Newcastle fan..."
"Why don?t you go and support Liverpool.."
"If you?re so smart, why don?t you become the manager... "

All chidish and insulting, with no place on this website. Milquetoast perhaps, but directly insulting to fellow contributors who read those responses.

On the other hand, I have no problem reading criticsim of our players, our manager, or any other aspect of the club, because I sincerely believe that is how we will improve. And I really don?t have much of a problem describing certain infamous actions of Moyes as 'cowardice'. It?s a strong term, but it it?s an appropriate antonym to the courage and bravery some fans believe was needed on Wednesday to overcome the massive obstacle Chelsea presented (or to win last season?s game v Spurs at home).

"Paying them to much respect"... "Rabbit in the headlights"... "cowardice" ... all the same surely?

I?m quite comfortable calling that cowardice. That is, of course, if you believe they could be overcome. Strange, then (is it not?), that it?s the so-called "negative" posters who believe that and were sorely disappointed on the night ? whereas it was the self-proclaimed "positive, supportive" fans who didn?t expect to win because Chelsea were better / stronger / more expensively assembled / have more money (ad nauseam) and those fans were thus able to take deafeat comfortably in their stride, only to take offence at such robust descriptions in the post-match analysis.

So it all comes down to the perspective with which one approaches such games: winnable? Then go out and do everything you can to win it! Don't be a coward! Or shrink back in awe at the greatness of Chelsea, fanny around hoofballing it to a midget striker and look to score from a set-piece.

Richard Grisdale
19 Posted 26/01/2008 at 21:01:28

Johnson isnt good enough if we want to break the top four, simple as that. He was good enough when we were tryin for UFEA cup, but everton have moved on since then...

Ste Lewis
20 Posted 26/01/2008 at 21:04:00

Johnson has helped us get to this ’next level’, I thought his performance away to AZ was the best striking performance of any forward in a blue shirt this season. If you think he cant hold the ball up and bring others into play, watch that game.

Rich Grisdale
21 Posted 26/01/2008 at 21:46:18

Ste Lewis, I agree that he has helped us get to this level, i.e fighting for fourth place. But to get us into the ?top 4? I'm afraid he isn't good enough. I agree he played well in AZ, did very well linking play. But what defines a top player, a player we need to get 4th and stay there, is consistency... And that's where he fails... for me he isn't consistant enough.

Someone mentioned that AJ reminds them of Radzinski, and I defo agree with that. Works hard, always 100% from him but for us to bridge that gap for me he isn't up to it.

Mark Pendleton
22 Posted 26/01/2008 at 22:19:13

Ron, AJ played on the right side of midfield for England and we were all complaining at how unfair it was that when he got his international chance he was being played out of position and hence couldn’t shine. When he was fit and playing regularly he gave us the pace we needed and was scoring goals. We really are too quick to complain. At Wigan he got us a great goal, chasing, harrassing to cause an error. Against Chelsea they are one of the best teams around so the fact he didn’t score is not great slight - he did bring a good save from Cech (saving the same as i believe Howard would from Cole if better positioned).

James McGlone
23 Posted 26/01/2008 at 22:50:05

The problem this season with AJ is that events have conspired against him. He’s had a few early-season injuries to contend with, then, when he gets back - The Yak is on fire, and then when Yakubu’s place is free, Arteta was suspended, Ozzie was injured and Pienaar was in Africa so AJ can’t get the service he needs. There are many more games to come this season, and I have faith that Johnson will play a key part.

Jonathan Wiggins
24 Posted 26/01/2008 at 21:59:59

So... what's the best way to utilise Andrew Johnson?

I presume that if Moyes had his full squad fit and available he would seek to play the 4-5-1 style that reaped such dividends between Oct-Dec 07. This means Yakubu / Anichebe as the only recognised hold the ball up / stick your arse out / link up the play front men with the five behind especially Cahill trying to support, with Vaughan as the attacking variable.

Now, I've sensed we struggle with a style that is a varient from this. Inevitably, over 38 games we require different personel who inevitably do things differently, have different strengths and who require the team to play in a different way. So, to accommodate the undoubted strengths of Johnson, what's the plan?

For what it's worth, I feel so much happier if I see him run into space toward our opponents' corner flag stretching our play and splitting their centre half from full back. However, if he's our 1 in 4-5-1, there's no blue shirt in the box. Does this mean we need to devise a midfield that can adapt to 4-4-2 yet still protect the back 4? Questions, questions with no easy answers BUT ...... we're 4th .... testament to Moyes squeezing the most out of the squad. It's just Johnson seems a decent lad, very team-orientated and hard-working... I just hope we find a solution to the problem.

Roy Coyne
25 Posted 26/01/2008 at 23:33:14

I think AJ is a little short of confidence at the moment and, although he puts the effort in, he is just falling a little short of his own high standards. Also, now that the general quality of the squad is improving, the gap between our star players and the rest is getting smaller and, instead of seeing the improvement, some fans tend to think the top players' standards have lowered.

John Andrews
26 Posted 27/01/2008 at 00:45:13

I find some of the above posts amazing. What the hell do you expect from Johnson?
As previously explained he managed to score over forty goals in two seasons with a poor Palace side.
He spends the first 45 minutes chasing every ball, every lost cause. He comes out for the second half and is expected to do the same bloody thing again. As soon as we realise that he needs the ball played to his FEET then the better we will become.
Anybody who thinks we should sell Johnson is clearly in need of therapy.

Paul McCann
27 Posted 27/01/2008 at 00:43:42

At the momnet we’re playing AJ up front on his own, in the absence of Yakubu. It is therefore not suprising that he struggles against the top sides [Chelsea]. He is a very good player who needs a bit more support than a willing Cahill can provide at this level.

When the boys return from the AFCoN the starting team should be [injuries permitting], in my opinion, Howard, Baines, Yobo, Lescott, Neville, Piennar, Fernandes, Carsley, Arteta, AJ and Yakubu [except against Arse away].

Michael, I agree with your comments about Spurs at home, where I think everybody at Goodison felt that Moyes had been a coward [I know I did, as did most around me in the Gwladys Street]. However, I think your comparison with the recent Chelsea game is incorrect. I think that if we had opened up over the two legs we could have been destroyed. Opinions, I know, and we’ll probably have to agree to differ.

Karl Masters
28 Posted 27/01/2008 at 11:13:47

John Andrews & James McGlone:

Thanks for some common sense relating to facts and not just a perception ( as Michael puts it ) that AJ has lost some of his pace, which was the argument of the Mark who kicked all this off.

Mark, you are entitled to an opinion, but how do you know AJ has lost his pace? Have you been timing his sprinting at Finch Farm? Of course not. And before Michael chimes in and says that I don’t know either, I don’t. But, what I can do is look at facts and I see 3 goals this season where AJ’s pace has got him goals ( Sunderland, Wigan, West Ham ) and the other comment about clinical finishing looks a bit suspect when you see his goals at Newcastle and Alkmaar.

If you look at those goals you see that 4 were scored away from Goodison and that perhaps highlights that we have a problem breaking teams down at Goodison. We’ve won 9 home games this season, but 12 away games have brought victories. This is a fact, not a ’perception’. Logic then might dictate that we analyse how we play at home and who we use tactically, rather than blaming one player for something that is the Team’s problem,

Ron Leith
29 Posted 27/01/2008 at 12:27:19

Incredible. AJ has gone from hero to zero. What is going on? He has not played as many games as last season firstly because of an ankle injury and because we have Yakubu. I believe Rooney did not score for a long time this year at Man Utd. It appears that we will have to buy a new very expensive striker every transfer window to satisfy some fans. Then at the same time buy a new midfield player and a new centre back and a new right back a new goalkeeper etc etc.

Mark Griffiths
30 Posted 27/01/2008 at 14:04:47

Wow! I really have stoked the fires on this topic.

My post was not meant to be a damning verdict on AJ but more as a musing as to where we go from now with certain players in the grand scheme of things, moving forward.

I am not saying we should defo sell him and that he is crap and a waste of space, i just think that despite his injuries and chances of first team football due to the form of the Yak and formation we play, he does not seem to be a top quality forward which WE NEED if we are to progress to the level we all want.

Now, we do not have bucket loads of cash to do this, so coupled with the fact the Yak is on fire and we have potential in Victor and Vaughn, lets say we did sell him and got 10m and improved other areas of the team (midfield) that made the difference on nights like Wednesday against Chelsea.

Anyway, this is all good stuff, everyone has an opinion and that is football, nobody is right or wrong, and only Moyes will know what his plans are!

Jason Broome
31 Posted 27/01/2008 at 15:14:07

It is so sad. You know when a striker is poor when so many peole make excuses for him.

Quite simply he is NOT the saviour of Goodison. He has consistently failed at International level, has no command of the box, fails to read & unlock defences (regardless of service!), has a poor first touch, is lightweight... blah, blah, blah!

He isn?t built for our requirements, & for what he offers us his wages are too high!

A moving train must keep going forward & I wouldn?t be sad to see him go (for a profit).

Paul OHanlon
32 Posted 27/01/2008 at 17:15:08

Mark Griffiths, you shouldn’t have to explain yourself for posting this article. You’re asking a valid question about a player who other clubs are apparently interested in and may move for in the summer.

It’s a debate I’ve heard brought up the pub after the match a few times (NB Paul Trafford, these people DO go the game) and not just this season. If some people think he can be a 20 goal a season man for us then fair enough, my personal opinion is that he can’t.

I’m not an AJ hater, I posted an article on here back in October saying that maybe the reason he’d struggled in 2007 was because he’d been carrying an ankle injury and that once he was back to full fitness we’d finally see the player we all hoped he’d be when he first signed.

Jack Calvert
33 Posted 29/01/2008 at 12:54:15

I just wanted to say lay of AJ for his supposed "lack of goals." Yes we don't often play to his strengths but it is worth noting that AJ has scored twice in his last 3 league starts and that only the last 2 (Wigan and Man City) have been played without the AFCON players (In the PL that is).

AJ wasn't playing regularly as a central striker before the players left and as we picked up injuries and suspensions (Osman, Cahill and Arteta), that left him being used wide on the right, such as the 1st leg vs Chelsea, Man U and the Oldham game to cover for a lot of missing players. When everyone was available he was often benched but did come on to score vs Sunderland and West Ham. Yes he had a torrid time at the start of the season, especially with the penalties vs Larrissa but he bounced back and kept trying and never gave up. Yes, the drought ended with a 2-inch tap-in but, as with all strikers, all they need is one.

I reccomend many people go to the PL website and look at the top scorers list. AJ has 5 league goals this season. Only one England regular has more (Rooney with 6) and above those 2 is only Dave Kitson with 8 and Marcus Bent with 7 I think. So if AJ hits a couple or indeed a hattrick tomorrow night he will be the top scoring Englishman in the league. Not bad consideriing AJ has missed many league games through his injury and not being played due to the form of the Yak and Cahill. Whereas Kitson and M.Bent have played almost every game, Rooney hasn't missed that many and the likes of Defoe, Bent, Owen and Crouch have all been anonomous this season.

The beauty about this Everton side is that everybody gives 100% (well almost everybody!) and there are goals all over the team. Cahill, Lescott, Osman, the Yak, AJ have all been regular goalscorers this season. There probably is more to come from Arteta, Piennar, Fernandes as well as Vaughan and Anichebe. The system suits the players and the players like the system. Everybody scores and creates goals. How often have we heard that the forwards run wide leaves space in the box for the attacking midfielders? We do not need to rely on one man to score 30 goals this season as we have 4 or 5 players capable of reaching double figures ? and how many teams (outside the Sky 4) can boast that?