ToffeeWeb - Season 2008-09

The Mail Bag

Stay Positive

Many posters on this site think our season is over and losing Jags will end any hopes of beating Chelsea in the final. This is just not true. We were in this same place after an uninventive performance against Newcastle and a season ending injury to Arteta and our season actually managed to get even better!

The truth is we will go on and beat Sunderland next week and all the teams we have to face (including Chelsea) for the rest of the season and Joe Yobo will re-establish himself as a rock at the back. This is not being over-optimistic ? this is acknowledging the talent we still have in our squad and the fact Tim Cahill is still fit for the final push!

We will finish fifth and win the cup and we will do it for Jags, Mikky and... (maybe not the Yak). Have faith, stay positive and there will be a silver lining at the end of May. Don't let one result get you down. COYB.
Ian Tod, Liverpool/Merseyside Posted 26/04/2009 at 08:53:37

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Gareth Humphreys
1 Posted 26/04/2009 at 14:46:00

If there was one position we could handle an injury to it was centre back.

Anywhere else and we truly are knackered.

Best Striker, Best Midfielder and Best Defender gone ? what price Howard picking up a knock before the final?

Lynn Thorne
2 Posted 26/04/2009 at 14:46:04

Well said ? us Evertonians are nothing if not resilient. I feel that once the players are over the shock of Jagielka's injury they will want to win the cup for all the injured players. We are at our best when our backs are against the wall.

I bet if any of the top 4 lost the spine of their team (as mentioned in another thread) before a major game, we wouldn?t hear the end of it. When we lift the cup, will any one else know or care about the teams we?ve had to beat and the adversity in getting there?

Harry Reynalds
3 Posted 26/04/2009 at 14:46:45

I think for once I?m going to overlook my usual pessimism and agree with you.

When Arteta got injured, I thought "that's it ? our seasons over, we're not gonna win another game"... All credit to the lads, they pulled together and proved me wrong.

I think we will cope without Jags ? have we already forgotten the Chelsea game, Lescott and Yobo were solid that game and we should take heart at that. At the beginning of the season, when they were playing together they were awful, and I never wanted to see them in the same defence again, but last Wednesday's performance changed that.

We'll be alright; we are Everton. COYB

Fergal O'Regan
4 Posted 26/04/2009 at 14:54:06

There are four games for Yobo to get going, although I thought he marshalled Drogba well the last Wednesday night. The bigger, rougher centre forward, Yobo will handle no problem eg. Drogba, Mido, Beattie, Carew etc, but with Torres, Owen and Rooney he seems to crack...

Moyes's head must be wrecked, what does he do with Saha? Wrap him up in cotton wool and save him, or risk him and hope he finds some form before the final. Whatever he does, we cannot afford another injury, and we all know Saha with injuries...

Martin Cutler
5 Posted 26/04/2009 at 15:35:11

I will admit that my initial reaction when hearing about Jags was "Oh shit"! However, given the evidence right in front of our eyes last Wednesday with Yobo we should be fine defensively.

I would like to say that, if we do win the final, then if Moyes is not Manager of the Year then I?ll be shocked. To think he?s got this injury-plagued team this far (and not just any old injuries.... that?s three major season-ending injuries, plus others, plus Saha who?s permanently crocked it seems), this season, especially after such a bad start, is nothing short of frigging amazing. COYB!

Ste Moorcroft
6 Posted 26/04/2009 at 15:41:28

"Maybe not the Yak" ???

"Have faith, stay positive................" you say and then write something like that. Are you one of the lazy Yak brigade? Shame on you!!

If you think we haven?t missed him this season then you really mustn?t go the match. Let?s win the Cup for everyone and stop this berating of our players.

Alan Rodgers
7 Posted 26/04/2009 at 18:14:49

Yeh why leave out the Yak? He?s our best front man by a mile and badly missed. The squad mentality will see us through. Did you see Arteta?s interview before the semi? He was itching to get out there... I bet he kicked every ball.

Ian Tod
8 Posted 26/04/2009 at 18:55:20

There is no doubting Yakubu is a great finisher but he is very very lazy and if he wants my full respect he will have to improve his work-rate dramatically. I?d rather have Vaughan or Saha anyday, but I wish him a full recovery.

Ryan Holroyd
9 Posted 26/04/2009 at 19:08:02

You?d rarther have Saha or Vaughan than Yakubu?!!! Hahahaha.

Not sure what you want from your forwards, but I want mine to score goals ? not run around a lot and not score.

I?m sure Yakubu will be most unhappy he doesn?t have your full respect, Ian.

Yakubu has scored more goals in one season than Vaughan or Saha will score in their entire Everton careers.

Ian Tod
10 Posted 26/04/2009 at 19:38:21

Ryan, you?d rather have Yakubu than Vaughan or Saha? hahaha. Not sure what you want from your forwards, but I want mine to run around a lot, score and create chances for other players not wait to have the ball passed to him so he can try to put the ball in the net.

And yes I?m sure Yakubu will be most unhappy he doesn?t have my full respect. You seem to forget that Saha is a proven 20-plus goal a season striker as well.

Nick Harding
11 Posted 26/04/2009 at 22:59:27

Ian, it’s all very well to say Saha is a proven 20-plus goal striker, but i have yet to see him score 20 goals in a season whilst wearing a blue shirt. Reputations with past clubs are nothing until I see him bang in 20 for Everton. Yakubu on the other hand has proven that he can do exactly that, even though he went to the african cup of nations with Nigeria mid-season.

Whilst I don’t doubt Saha’s quality when fit and in form, his age and tendency to spend long spells on the treatment table ensure that he is (when not injured) going to be a good quality squad player for us at most, not the goal machine that Yakubu is.

Similarly Vaughan suffers from the same problem as Saha in that he has more time off injured than he does on the pitch. If he can get over that he certainly has the potential to be a great everton centre forward in the future.

Having a striker that works hard is always a good thing but having one which puts the ball in the net is much better. Games are won by scoring goals not giving defenders a hard time. Personally I would rather see Yakubu do nothing all game then pop up in the 87th minute and smash in the winner for a 1-0 win, rather than see Saha or Vaughan work their bollocks off for 90 minutes, hustling and bustling centre-halves in a 0-0 draw.

A striker create chances for other players? What’s the midfield for then? If Yakubu puts them away and the midfielders such as Arteta, Cahill and Fellaini are creating goals for him and bagging close to double figures themselves as well then what’s the problem?

Yakubu comes in for a record fee and seems to get consistantly slated for not doing anything apart from score lots of goals. When the object of the entire sport is to win by scoring lots of goals. Think back, when has Everton last had a player that hit the onion bag as frequently as Yakubu. I think it was Beardsley in the early 90’s. Now if being the clubs best goalscorer for nearly two decades doesn’t earn your full respect I don’t know what will.

Martin Berry
12 Posted 27/04/2009 at 03:58:17

To lose your best defender, midfielder and striker, not for 6 weeks but for 6 months + is heartbreaking not only for the players, but it must show how resilient and tough our team, and Manager must be. Imagine the "top 4" with their key players out and it would be cited for every problem. It would be nothing more than David Moyes deserves to win the Cup and have a slice of luck in the proceeds.

I still think we will give Chelsea some problems, and I somehow feel that we will play a 5-man midfield with Tim as the striker to keep things tight, then when all square, he will unleash Vaughan on tired legs to win the game.

With fans like ours at Wembley pushing the team along how can we fail? "I have a dream..." Keep the faith, the future is blue, and it's not Chelsea's, it's Everton's...

Neil Pickering
13 Posted 27/04/2009 at 08:16:05

I am gutted about Jags, he?s been our best player this season, but I am optimistic about our chances against Chelsea. I would have played Yobo anyway, as I think he is the best equipped of all our centre backs to take care of Drogba. Now this decision has already been made for Moyes! Get well soon Jags. COYB

Peter Dancer
14 Posted 27/04/2009 at 09:08:32

Excuse me if this is a really obvious question but I was just wondering, now that the players are at least guaranteed a runners up medal... Is it only the players who play in the final that get a medal, or the whole squad? It just strikes me as a shame that some of our injured players would miss out on one after they have given so much to the team.

Tim Wardrop
15 Posted 27/04/2009 at 09:45:37

Losing Jags is not the end of the world: Yobo is just as good and his partnership with Lescott has been superb whenever they’ve played together.

Re: this side argument about the strikers, Yakubu is definitely the best. Am I the only Everton fan who is unconvinced by Vaughany? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him look like the goalscoring super-hero people think he will become.

Keith Glazzard
16 Posted 27/04/2009 at 15:57:16

I think a big question on Moyes’ mind must be the line-ups for the last league games. As we get closer to the final any injury will be serious, but players can’t be mothballed - have to play to be ready.

So starts for Gosling (fabulous goal btw) and Rodwell, possibly at the back, to come? Andy van der Shandy involved? Baxter? Could be interesting.

tom bowers
17 Posted 29/04/2009 at 11:20:57

It’s hard to say how the last 4 games will go.Sure Everton want 5th. place but deep down the players don’t want to get hurt before the cup final and after what happened to Jags some of them may just be a little less committed to the league games.Sunderland on Sunday will be a big test as they need it more than the Blues. I believe Moyes should give a start to some of the benchwarmers as you know they will play for places and not hold back as was evident against City by some regulars. I would rest Joleon and Bainsey for sure.