COLUMNIST KEN BUCKLEY
From my seat: FA Cup Final
Comments (14) : First port of call was ?The Punchbowl?, pub, Barnsley bitter £1.62 and they do first class pub food (you want to see the size of the fish).
The team was picked after a few arguments and the result sent to our manager; he ignored us and picked his own team. Bedecked in the Blue of Everton we attracted the attention of other footy fans who seemed to represent every team in the midlands and all wished us luck and said they would be cheering for us, all commented on how we had one of the best managers in the league, Davey seems to be getting a lot of these comments from fans of all teams.
On the walk back to the rooms, we spotted another pub with a Singer Guitarist performing, we soon had him strumming along with the Everton songs and as his last number we had the joint bouncing to Hi Ho Silver Lining ? we were that confident.
Saturday morning, Full English devoured, Sainsbury?s raided for provisions and beer, a walk to the station and the Wembley-bound train boarded. Much singing accompanied by the aforesaid hand clappers; as we reached stations en route, Chelsea fans avoided our carriage but other Evertonians joined us and the noise level went up.
Wembley was reached and we made our way to the stadium steps at the end of Wembley way. It was a mass of Everton Blue and White belting out all the songs and you could be forgiven for thinking you had stumbled across a beer festival. One of the most popular belted out was where a singing leader shouts out the names of the great team of the eighties, you know the one, it starts with Sharpy and goes back through the team to Big Nev. and finishes with the chorus of 'Evertern'.
We then had a panic when it was confirmed one of the younger element, who had been to the ?offy? for a box of ?Stella? had managed to lose his precious ticket. He shot off in search of a cash-point, withdrew his life savings and found a tout. £180 lighter, he then found he had been sold a juniors ticket, his brother who does look younger than him, swapped and got in but the little devil phoned his brother and told him he had been caught in a check and slung out which caused the older brother great anxiety until he was informed of the wind-up. Must have been the dearest and nerve racking box of ?Stella? ever.
We got to our seats, where a complimentary flag was waiting for all fans and, with thousands already in, we gave the lads great encouragement during the warm-up exercises. We had pre-match entertainment. A gospel choir for ?Abide with Me? and a full brass band to accompany ?God Save the Queen? and it was great credit to our fans and club that none of it was needlessly shouted over.
The roars reached crescendo point as we kicked off and before you could say, "What?s the formation?" we were one up. Fellaini found Saha and his trusty left foot left Cech helpless.
Now from this wonderful start, something went wrong; we seemed not to know whether to stick or twist we never really pushed on or sat back but instead went from the assured build-up and confidence of last week at Fulham to a team of strangers, giving the ball away needlessly and, worse still, ignoring Malouda who was hugging the left touchline and ?on? for any diagonal ball. Both Chelsea and our fans noticed this but unfortunately Osman and Hibbert didn?t and got caught out of position time after time, Hibbert having to take a ?yellow? to recover the position. From this card poor old Tony was like a rabbit in headlights and it wasn?t really a surprise when Malouda got the telling cross in for Drogba to power home. Still 1-1 at the break and all to play for and the change made, Jacobsen for Hibbert surprised no-one.
It was once again Chelsea looking the most likely as they kept the ball better than us and we helped this by opting for unforced errors, we were just not looking ourselves and indeed not doing ourselves justice, so many seemed off form or the occasion just too much ? I didn?t know which.
The manager tinkered with positional changes for Cahill and Fellaini but to no avail. We did put odd moments of play together and from a Pienaar cross, Saha headed over, how we needed that to go in. The manager swapped Saha for Vaughan and then Osman for Gosling. The fact Chelsea were able to swap Essien for Ballack somehow reinforced the gap between haves and have-nots and when Lampard crashed home the winner, it wasn?t unexpected... and if it wasn?t for the crossbar and some wayward finishing it could have been five.
Those assembled never stopped singing and cheering the lads on right to the final whistle and then no mass exodus for us Blues, unlike the Mancs at the semi. We stayed to cheer them as they received their medals and again as they made their way to our end to salute us. From the look on their faces you got the sense they just knew that they had not performed as they can and knew they had let us down at the vital stage but all assembled let them know they were still much loved.
The walk back to the station was subdued, many theories put forward for our display but in the end all seemed agreed Chelsea were better on the day and that often sums up cup finals ? ?Who performs on the day? wins.
The Chelsea fans seemed unmoved by their win and were just like it was any other game, whereas ? if that scoreline had been reversed ? the biggest party on earth would have taken place. Overall I thought only Pienaar and Neville showed anything like true form and you just can?t understand why after all the preparation and planning last week. Nagging away in many mind was the thought that if all had been ?at it? Chelsea could have now been licking their wounds and I would have been in no fit state to write this.
The night was rather flat, another excellent pub meal and a few pints as we contemplated what could have been and maybe should have been. We did have a moment to lighten the gloom when one of the gang said 'One of the Everton players was crying at the end' we asked who it was, he replied I couldn't see from where I was sitting'. It took some working out, that one...
The big positive our club can take from this is that the manager has built a platform that sees us as ?Best of the rest? and cup finalists; the next step now lies with Chairman and Board to work 24/7 to find that investment to allow the manager to build further and get to a point where our bench is comparable with the benches of the top 4 because today I thought our bench severely hampered the manager's options, and with three key players not available it could be argued that did for us, that is just not NSNO.
So it was back up the M6 this morning, Blue bedecked cars passed each other with barely a toot such was that dull empty feeling everyone gets after a loss in the FA Cup Final.
I look forward to next season, determined to ignore all rumours until the back page of Post and Echo show someone waving a shirt. I wish the manager a speedy and successful resolvement of his wish list and may he get the quality in the positions he must have identified. I hope for a successful pre-season and a team ready to hit the ground running and have a good go at being one better then the ?Best of the rest' and another crack at the cup.
Have a great summer Toffeewebbers. See you soon.
UP THE BLUES
Reader Comments
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It was a gallant performance, with the team giving it all in tropical heat, but in the end we have to hold up our hands and say the better team won. Not better by much...given the difference in finances etc...but still just enough. I can’t fault Davey at all. Starting with Saha obviously paid dividends, and his half-time RB change made obvious sense, as did the fresh legs of Vaughny.
Bottom line was that without ’Our Tater’ as our playmaker and a classic hold-up striker like the Yak, we just came up short, and in that heat our spirit was simply diluted by superior ball play by Chelski.
Yes, we needed to push up more and link up more closely. Ossy and Tiny Tim grafted hard but lacked that sparkle. The one time Pip let Lampard have a look at goal - bugger! Given the phantom third goal, we can’t have too many complaints. The team have performed beyond the call of duty this year, given our poor start and our injuries, and I refuse to join the knockers.
However, I am not blind enough to see that if we are to bridge that oh so obvious gap to the Sky 4, then changes are needed. As I said last summer, we are crying out for a midfield playmaker to give us the supply we need to make us more of an effective attacking team. Mikel and Peanuts can’t do it themselves and I still think Felliani isn’t there yet. God knows where the money will come to get that type of additiion, but then again that isn’t a new problem either.
So, let’s praise the lads for taking us all beyond your expectations this year, and let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater in the days to come by over-analysing the clear message from the cup final.
Yet, let’s not kid ourselves that without a real attacking midfiield addition, coupled with a return from injury from some of our stars, next year will see us struggle to maintain our dubious ’best of the rest’ tag, let alone challenge the Sky 4 (I do fear the RS will have genuine hopes of the league next time - though I’ll be damned if I’ll place the bet - more fool me!)
Davey has raised the bar yet again - we must support him, but we need funds from somewhere, spent wisely (and not on a last day panic buy) to ensure that we continue to progress, rather than see this as the apex we never achieve again.
Toffeeweb posters - stay positive, but let’s be vocal in our desire to make next season even better. COYBs
Last season, when we lost to Fiorentina, I thought perhaps it was just a step to far for us and again this season the cup final maybe a step to far but, after all the disappointments, we are still up there giving the Sky 4 something to think about. If we can keep Davey Moyes and Bill can find a few more shillings under the sofa who knows what next season will bring.
A top four finish, another crack at the Cup, European glory, and stretching the imagination we might even get a bit more favorable reporting from the media? Then again a favourable media might be stretching it a bit too far. Onward and upwards. Thanks Ken and thanks Blue Boys, enjoy your holidays and roll on September. COYB
Apart from that, i had an absolutely fantastic day. We completey ran the show both outside and inside the ground in terms of atmosphere and i have never been prouder to be a blue. Our fans were extremely gracious in defeat and we deservedly held our heads high.
With a decent right side, there’ll be plenty more days like this and with the result we all dream of.
COYB.
Unfortunately for us, Osman had his one good game in 20 the previous week at Fulham.
Cant wait for next season especially if the board get their finger out.
The last time we played Chelsea we performed better. Having Castillo in centre mid was the difference for me. I’d of played him instead of Osman and started with Lars.
It wasn’t to be this year but we are getting better and closer each season - can’t wait for next one! COYB!
Just got to say I am so proud of the boys but just have that overriding feeling of what could've been if we had of had a full squad to pick from.
The other thing that hurts is that we lost to Chelsea, a team in my opinion that represents everything that is bad about football at the moment. This isn't jealousy or bitterness because we lost ? I've felt this way about them ever since they brought the league title. There right up there with Liverpool, everything about them is horrid, from the team to the fans, there is not one thing to like about them.
A victory for Everton on Saturday would've been a victory for football; instead, we had to sit and watch as unbothered fans and players who had admitted that this was way down on their list of wants this season, walked away with something that would've meant the world to us.
I just want next season to start up again so we can go on and win something and hope that Chelsea do a Newcastle!! By the way, I don't want to jump on the Blame Hibbert bandwagon but he really was awful... I'm the captain of a Sunday League team and I wouldn't accept that type of defending from my right back so god only knows what happened to this Premier League right back! Sign up Lars, Moysey!!
WD to DM and the lads for a great season. Yes the end was a disappointment, but let’s not forget what we were up against... a club that EXPECTS to get at least as far as a CL semi each season, and one which ought AGAIN to have been in the final of that competition last week, and would have been but for some refereeing errors.
We have four teams above us in the PL again, three of whom, if not all four, are amongst the very strongest in Europe.
So, when we bemoan our difficulties in overcoming the Sky4, rather than cavil and slaughter our players, we should remember the Sky4 are not just the strongest in the Prem, but among the strongest club sides in the whole damn freakin’ world.
I sometimes have to remind myself how far we’ve come these last 6 or 7 years. We’re the best of the rest which, in the absence of some more muscle, is as good as we cold hope for. I’m all for pushing-on, and we will, but I am a realist also.
COYBB
Never a truer word spoken Ken. I couldn?t quite believe how quiet the Chelsea supporters were both before and after the game. The Evertonians danced and sang throughout and Wembley would have witnessed incredible scenes had we won. We needed a bit of luck on the day and after overcoming both 1st and 2nd in the Prem on the way to the final, we had the misfortune to face 3rd with a full strength & rested squad to chose from. Add to that the injuries to our 3 best players, temperatures of 120 degrees and the boys had a mountain to climb.
Really proud of the team, devestated at the result but looking forward to Moyes finding 2/3 more gems who will make the difference.
As you said Ken, it could easily have been five. However, It was one more step along the road to where we need to be. Quality early door signings and keeping our own players, will give us an immediate lift. Thanks for the reports Ken. Keep up the good work.
My friends also need some luck, they are just about to sit some important exams so that they can hopefully get into medical school, they are all very nervous as you can imagine. I wanted to send to send them a good luck card, or message, but was horrified to see how much money the greeting card companies try and charge. I don’t mind paying for things, but the prices were over the top in some shops. I looked for an alternative, and found a really cool good luck ecard site that I adore. There are so many cards to choose from so I have not become bored, and they always seem to be updating the site which is cool. There are quite a few sites out there, so it might be worth taking a browse around yourself, but I found this site really helpful.
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1 Posted 01/06/2009 at 00:45:40
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Can’t argue with any of this. Hibbert and Osman would be bit players in any other top ten Premiership team ... we need cover there and a quality midfield playmaker to cover Arteta. Yakubu, Saha, Cahill, Vaughan and Anichebe give enough options up front ... it’s CREATIVITY that could have changed the Cup Final but only Pienaar looked like being able to a. control the ball b. think of something useful to do with it and most importantly ... c. DO IT!!
Cheers
top season ... and some excellent posts by Mr K Buckley