The Mail Bag
The Cautionary Tale
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I've just finished reading this piece in today's guardian, highlighting the plight of Charlton Athletic who, barring a miracle, are League One bound. Not so long ago they were poster boys for clubs of limited means (like ourselves).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2009/mar/18/charlton-athletic-relegation-championship-football
For me, it's a salient reminder that ambition must be tempered by extreme care and caution. Some people have accused Moyes of lacking the former at times, be thankful then that he has made judicious use of the latter.
Aidan Wade, Posted 19/03/2009 at 02:13:19
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[Ed Note: Hmmm... what is a "vicarious financial status"? Oh. I geddit... "precarious financial status" ? had me for a mo...]
This was not The Valley. This was not Charlton friggin Athletic. This was Everton. This was a British institution. Never mind your cautionary tales, let's have some blue blooded pride please. Jesus.
Had we signed Ian Dowie instead.. doesn’t bare thinking about!!
Peter may have been referring to our financial affairs being the responsibility of someone else (eg Philip Green, et al.)
Just consider how often we have skirted with relegation since 1990, including one almost totally disastrous season under David Moyes. Just consider how the demographics of the top league have changed since the Premier League started. Just consider that we found our new manager in the 2nd division & think how many premier league teams do that.
History is one thing. It’s OK to remember the past, even rejoice in it, but you can’t live there. The Premier league os hugely competitive and totally unforgiving. Time was (mid ’80’s) when I looked forward to the start of a season with confidence. Now I do it with trepidation & wonder how the hell we are going to stay where we are, nevermind climb any higher.
As some have rightly pointed out, other teams with history & pedigree have fallen through the league. Forest have 2 European cups to their name. Leeds have been in half a dozen Euro finals and were imperious for over a decade.
It is acknowledged throughout football, and indeed the upper echelons of the business world, just how well Everton seems to have navigated itself under Kenwright. The club may have financial constraints compared to others, but it has been a relative haven of stability and we have assembled a good, strng, young & valuable squad. Last time I checked Moyes didn’t pay for that out of his own pocket. And he (Moyes) whilst perhaps bemoaning what he could do with more money,gas consistently praised Kenwright for what he has done in providing a stable platform and funds whenever possible.
Seems it’s easier for outsiders to appreciate such things (I know many that do). What’s happened at Charlton, Leeds, Forest & others is a salutary reminder of what can happen if a club makes the wrong call with money or manager. We have no god-given right to be at the top table. We are almost there again due to a lot of dedication, and not only by the manager.
Be grateful for what we have and be careful what you wish for.
So these clubs are not a true comparison to Everton FC, I admit that financially we are not where we would want to be, but as a Football Club we still have a lot more going for us than many others.
Everton FC has far more in common with Arsenal, Man U and Liverpool than any other major club in England, i.e. the supporters expect, even when it's not possible, for us to be competing at the highest level of the game.
Did Liverpool fans accept that they were just a second division side in the 1950s? Did Arsenal fans accept that their fate of the early 70s to mid 80s was sealed as also rans? When Man U fans watched on as the League Title constantly made its way to Merseyside, did they just give up and say "We cannot compete"?
No ? they did not... and neither should Evertonians, regardless of what seem to be insurmountable odds. That is why these 4 clubs have had so much success. If we start to believe that we are unable to compete at the top level then we may as well pack it in and go play golf.
Like it or not, we are based in a provinicial city ? and now looking to move to hicksville on the outskirts of that ? and in the meantime and right at the moment we are literally within a stone's throw of a real Worldwide recognised powerhouse.
The current top 4 are the current top 4 largely through a mixture of right-place-right-time when the TV money arrived and good management.
Charlton (Forest, Wednesday, Leeds etc) were not relegated because the clubs management or fans got together and decided they weren’t good enough for the PL! Some bad luck and some bad decisions at the wrong time cost them everything. "Attitude" is not always sufficient.
And it’s true, you can’t compare Everton with Athletic. I last went to the Valley around 2001, I think it was the first day of the season, if memory serves Ferguson scored from a penalty but I don’t recall who the other scorer was that day. Only a stones throw from the station which we found very convenient, but have not been back since.
I live in Leeds and naturally have a lot of Leeds fans for friends. I watched their boom and bust era with interest and can tell you first hand that there was plenty of pride in Leeds even as they slid down the leagues. I?m afraid pride don?t count for shit in those situations.
We can?t really affect this side of it as it is down to the club?s financial management. As much as we try to on occasion, how often can we actually say that the fans have influenced the club?s spending policy?
Leeds over-extended themselves gambling hugely on CL, football which they missed out on two seasons in a row after reaching the semi finals. For me, this is the real crux of the issue. There are only 4 CL spots to be had and, let?s face it, without CL football a club will never be successful. The revenue is not DESIRED it is REQUIRED to consistently compete at the top. If you speculate (ie spend the money on the players required to compete) but you don?t achieve the CL spot (and get through the group stage), then you find yourselves in massive debt. A la Leeds.
I thought this was a fair point from Aiden. Of course Charlton have never been and will probably never be half the club that Everton are, but attitude smacks of the "we?re too big to go down" assumption, which in my book are famous last words. Nobody is too big to go down.
We complain about BK not finding enough money and maybe there?s some validity in that argument, but at the same time we should be glad that we don?t have another Peter "I have a dream" Risdale, who threw buckets of borrowed money at the club, mortgaging them up to the hilt to achieve the holy grail that is permanent residence in the top 4 and CL. The problem was he didn?t factor in the worst-case scenario.
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1 Posted 19/03/2009 at 14:28:49
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