The Annual Lack of 7Ps
Comments (17) : Prior Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance
I was taught this one by a chirpy sales director many moons ago and I think it sums up Everton's annual summer debacle.
There's been a lot of knee-jerking this week. Let's face it, Saturday didn't tell us anything we didn't honestly know. Kenwright and Moyes will not be leaving, we are woefully short of craft, muscle and pace and yes, things are better now than they were before Moyes, but don't say that too loud as some of us used to get criticised on this site for talking about 'ancient history'.
Let's get off our moral high horse and talk about what we can deal with.
Other clubs have more money than us, will spend more than us and apparently make themselves more attractive than us. That's life. People came on this site a few years ago, aghast that nasty little Crystal Palace were holding up our right to buy Johnson. After all, we were the big club then, weren't we? So don't complain now!
Moyes big strength in the transfer market is in buying championship players, bringing out the best in them and selling them at a profit. If Lescott wants to go and we give him no tangible reason to stay, sell him, take the profit, act like grown ups, play to your strengths and buy someone else.
If we haven't got money to buy players, we are effectivelly a selling club. So if he wanted to go, why didn't we sell him sooner and give us more time to replace and prepare?
How come we start seasons so badly? We always look leggy, punch drunk and clueless. We always play poor sides pre-season and seem to get left behind in the blocks. Strange, given Moyes' focus on fitness.
Why does Moyes lose the plot every summer? He sounds like someone off Watchdog: 'Nasty City ruined our preparation' Absolute bollocks. It's called man-management and motivation. Sounds like every summer, Moyes is so frustrated at our lack of progress that he has to sound off on someone or something.
If Lescott is causing a problem, leave him at home, sell him and move on.
If this issue is causing morale problems after 7 years in charge, there something wrong at the club. As we make progress, more clubs will be after our better players. We have to do something to keep them, they'll never be as loyal as us.
How come last year we couldn't afford £3.5M for a pacy, battling nuisance (Hunt), but could afford £15M for a slow, ponderous, ever-suspended nuisance (Fellaini). How come we let same player go to mighty Hull?
I still think Moyes has done a good job. I still think we could finish in the top 5. I am concerned about the stench of staleness and complacency around the club. The attitude seems to be that we don't need to spend any money, we don't need to invest or find investment, because whatever happens, Davey will sort it all out. The fans will keep turning up because it's not as bad as the Smith era.
If you were an ambitious young footballer, where would you want to go: the clubs who find investment and are building for the future, or the club who keep finihing fifth yet talk of buying bosmans and free transfers, the club who don't buy players till after the season starts because we can't afford to pay them?
We won't get a new manager and chairman. Kenwright wouldn't be able to get anyone else to manage the club under him and Moyes will never get a better job than the one he has.
We desperately need a new attitude. One that makes this great club attractive to the better players, one that means we're actually ready at the start of each season.
There's a lot to like at Everton at the moment, despite Saturday. But when any business improves, the shareholders/ fans have a right to expect that business to keep going forwards, otherwise at some point we will get overtaken. Or, the few class players we have will wake up, smell the coffee and move on, like perhaps Lescott has/will?
I don't think we're a laughing stock, but we are looking like the cuddly, non-threatening Labrador that everyone likes to stroke and smile at, but no-one wants to take home!
Let's hope the last-minute buys/loans will settle in quickly and come good, for our sanity's sake!
Reader Comments
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Does this mean I’ve been sent out into the world unprepared? I wonder if I can get a couple on loan or for free!
Pay - doesn’t loadsamoney comes first? Would Lescott have considered MCFC if they didn’t say, oh by the way, we’ll double your pay.
Probably need more money. Where would you like the money to come from? Oh yes, ’investment’ -
Perhaps being owned in the middle east?
Perchance a pornographer? (Blue movies?)
’People’s Club’ with a fan buy-out? Phenomenal.
Probably none of these are going to happen, and who, for example, would welcome any of them except a Barca-style socio ownership system which can never happen.
Investment at any price? Know any drug barons, anyone?
Actually, re your last suggestion, Curtis Warren should be out soo- nah, last I heard, he was a Red.
If we had the influx of a few hundered million form a Middle East billionaire, the media would be placing us as having a chance of the title.
We know when we get in position to win the title we do not bottle it and have the history and presence to go all the way.
I also feel the competing clubs waste so much money on transfer; careful husbandry, buying youth, building their confidecne and getting back out jags, Yak and Arteta will provide a big big difference ... let's see!
However, what really pisses me off is that the minute the chips are down a large percentage of bitter twisted Everton fans start getting at Kenwright and Moyes. I remember 4 yrs ago when a large percentage of readers on this site were calling for Moyes’s head but last year he could do nothing wrong — so get off his back.
Let me start with Moyes... we have finished 6th, 5th, 5th in the last 3 seasons plus out 4th finish a few seasons ago and he has done that with fuck all resources. He is going to Man Utd in the future but get over it — appreciate the man whilst we have him. The way he is standing up to the Man City scum and the arrogant twat that is Mark Hughes should be commended. Added to that, I am proud he is dealing with Lescott the way he is.
As for Kenwright — yes he hasn’t got a bottomless pit of money but I do believe he cares. Look at Portsmouth — they came, they spent and now they are in financial shit and will go down this year. I don’t want that again for my club —- I remember Peter Johnson.
Just have some faith and pride in that we are trying to do things in the right way. Personally, I don’t want to become a Man City with no morals — let's remember out motto. Yes, I know things could be better, but let's not sell out soul.
Let's say we get the Argie on loan and the Russian winger. Huth also, we would not need to sell to get these. Lescott then has a decision to make, come the end of the transfer window and he is still an Everton player and he is 27 what is he going to do? He has to play his bollox off for us as there is a World Cup coming up and he will be 31 for the next.
These rich little fuckers have everything they ever wanted but the one thing that they cannot stomach would being left off the plane that heads for the World Cup. We will get a great year out of him I think. Even keep him until January and have the defence settled before letting him go at a good profit. The English team is very strong and a great manager is picking form players.
Moyes is also sending a great message to the rest of the team in the way he has handled this and I think we will be the better team for it when the dust settles. Lescott should be ashamed of himself — a professional footballer being paid good money under contract owes his club. End of story. I admire Moyes for the stand he has taken over this.
This indicates that the best way is to buy players young but sell them when they reach their late 20s whilst they still have a transfer value if an offer comes in. The profits should be ploughed back into signing cheap younger players and wages for the established stars so that we do not lose anyone we want to keep.
Wenger has been doing this for years. Their wage bill is the third highest in the league. Moyes should follow suit (and to some extent he does). Sell Lescott, bring in a couple of younger replacements — one of them will be as good as he is. In a year or two, Lescott will be worth far less than he is now. We are short of cash. Sell now.
a) He’s doing what he believes to be the best thing for the club by holding out — whether thats to show a signal we are not a selling club, get the best price for Lescott should we sell, send a message to the players etc etc
b) He’s also doing whats best for David Moyes. His end game as we all know is the Man Utd job and I think its his way of demonstrataing to them that he can do a "Fergie" and keep clubs from the door if they are after the club's best player.
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1 Posted 19/08/2009 at 15:29:49
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The obvious condescension was apparent in the way he patted us on the head like a compliant child awaiting a reward of sweets. Just shows you were we are.