ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

It's as good as it gets

I am 49 years old so I remember being there when we won the League in 1970, and I remember when we dominated English football in the Mid eighties. Going into the 84-85 season I recall us being one of maybe ten teams that could have won the league. Although we won the FA Cup in 1984, it was still a very pleasant surprise when we emerged as such a brilliant team in 1984-85.

However, as they say, that was then and this is now. The Sky and CL money has destabilised football to such an extent that we know with more or less absolute certainty that the "Big 4 " (dont you just hate that expression?) will always be the Big 4 and it's just a case of which order they will finish in.

Unfortunately, as the rich get richer, they pull further awayfrom the rest. Go in any so called Sports Shop and the Big 4 products always predominate. With vastly bigger turnover the Big 4 are able to attract the better players and so it goes on.

Consider last night and look at the benches. They had Schevchenko and the other multi millionaires. We had the 16-year-old Jack Rodwell, the past it Gravesen and the never will be, Anichebe.

So , I don't get too upset about last night as I reluctantly accept the fact that Chelsea just have much better players than we do. What does upset me, though is that the end of this season, as we fall away Grand National style on the last bit of the run-in, is that it all has very similar echoes to a few seasons ago when we lost that match to Man Utd, finished 7th and missed out on Europe, having been up there all season.

Let's hope that Super Sven and my new favourite team, Man City, pull out all the stops to impress their owner tomorrow as I really cannot see us getting too many more points over the rest of the season.
Jonathan Tasker, London Posted 18/04/2008 at 08:17:45

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Richard Harris
1 Posted 18/04/2008 at 15:10:08

However dominant the current top 4 may be, we should still be trying to take the lead rather than not concede and then hope for a lucky break. Why can Wigan get a late equaliser at Stamford Bridge with the way past it Heskey scoring and yet we can hardly manage a shot on target at home. I half hope that Villa and Portsmouth win on Saturday to wake the players and manager out of their current stupor and make them realise that the season isn’t over yet......

Clive Lewis
2 Posted 18/04/2008 at 08:57:11

Well we have no money to spend and teams like Man City, Spurs, Newcastle, Villa are going to be buying over the summer. Is it only a mtter of time until we reach that mid-table mediocrasy the also rans in the league. No more Uefa Cup and no chance of really winning anything.

Isn't it time that the chairman realises that it is time for hime to be replaced with someone with more finances to take us forward? If the rumour is true about Kenwright not seeking anyone to buy him out then all we can look forward to is this for the future.

I am under the impression that the present chairman believes that if we have a new stadium this will bring in the finances to take us forward. Well how long is that going to take? The only way forward is for someone with major finances to take us on.

Luke Price
3 Posted 18/04/2008 at 11:10:10

Reading through some articles with reagards to last night's game with Chelsea. Granted we were outplayed by a team who are far superior to us. They have great squad depth which is something we severly lack. Hence us bringing on Tommy Gravesen, a free signing who appears to be running with led weights attached to his boots and Chelsea bringing on a £20 million left midfielder in Malouda!!!!

I think the cooments that Moyes has taken us as far as he can are futile. We are on a a bad run and you can't deny that, but only 4 weeks ago everyone was blwoing smoke up his rear when we were fighting Liverpool and still in the Uefa Cup. The game against Fiorentina knocked the stuffing out of us and we appear to have run out of steam.

I do believe though if Moyes had received some of the £400 million spent by Chelsea since Abramovich came (say £50 million), then we would be pushing the big four much harder and right until the end of the season.

With big players like Arteta and Cahill missing we really do look inept going forward and lack and ideas in and around the 18 yard box if and when we reach it. There were a handful of players who had a go tonight. Pienaar, Lescott and Fernandes all tried to play football and take the game to Chelsea and although Neville is shite with the ball he got stuck in last night which is more than can be said to the majority who ran around as if the summer holidays had already arrived!!!!!

Realistically we are not going to be able to challenge the top four with the likes of Tony 'ten touch' Hibbert. That guy truly winds me up. How can a professional footballer not be able to control a football or pass 5 yards!?!? Surely that is just basic stuff. Granted he is a good tackler but that is all and you need much more than that at this level.

The wheels have come off slightly but we now need to pick ourselves up and take maximum points from Newcastle and Aston Villa to secure fifth spot. Let's get behind the lads and get off Moyes back and hopefully he can shove a rocket up the players' rear ends and we are back in Europe again.

Scott Carsley
4 Posted 18/04/2008 at 17:03:22

I'd sell Arteta in a heartbeat, no joke. He has laboured all season long, been out of form so much... fuck, he doesn't deserve a place on the team sheet along with Neville, Hibbs and Co. Come on people get real... you talk and talk and talk... now it?s no longer time to talk, its time for action, and removing that white hair fat fuck out of his office, along with Wyness.

All mouth no action... until this changes expect fuck all... apart from relegation fight's time and again.

You know I wished we had gone down to the Championship a couple years ago... Those two fat fucks wouldn't be here right now, and no doubt we?d have money... ironic that both Wigan and Birmingham have more money than us.

Jason Lam
5 Posted 18/04/2008 at 18:30:45

I agree that it really is gonna be a good as it gets. You want to break the monopoly? We need another Chelsea. Huge unlimited investment with players and manager who is not afraid to throw the cat amongst the pigeons, piss off the Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger, and the FA. We are here to WIN the premiership by all means necessary and we will not stop until we do so coz we have the finance, players and manager to complete against and break the status quo. The Gods smiled on us when we got 4th a few years ago, we did not take the chance in a lifetime to make it happen. Yet this season we had another opportunity gifted to us, but we were not prepared again. Wait for another blip from Liverpool? So are Spurs, Pompey, Man City, Villa. I felt we really had a superb opportunity to make 4th this year, make or break for EFC, or we’ll eventually spiral into the abyss that is the also-rans for the Premier League. I’m usually the half-full person especially when it comes to the Toffees but this is reality right at the door.