Season 2011-12 Fan Articles
FAN-tastic
By Sandra Williams :: 17/04/2012
9 Comments (ğLast)
It?s been 3 days since that debacle down at Wembley and I keep replaying it in my mind, day and night, until quite frankly I?m becoming more and more unhinged. I have a recurring, and completely illogical, feeling that the FA will find out that one of the Liverpool players was ineligible to play in the semi or that King Kenny was videoed passing a packed brown envelope to Howard Webb after the game. Then we are awarded our place in the Final. But it won?t happen and in a way it wouldn?t really help. For the simple reason that we had too many players that didn?t turn up at one of the most important games in our history. We were the architects of our own downfall. And by ?we? I mean the players and management.
Because quite frankly, the only people who didn?t let the side down were you and me?? the fans. If Wembley victories were dependent on how the fans behaved then we would already have one collective FA Cup winners? medal with another on its way next month. It just isn?t fair but then what in life is?
For those of us ?lucky? to be inside Wembley we did everything we could to support/lift/encourage the team bar actually running onto the pitch and getting stuck in ourselves. We?d already had hideously early journeys down from Merseyside before the ?dawn chorus? had even started tuning up. Most of us probably hadn?t slept properly all week let alone on Friday night. Most of us probably haven?t slept much since.
It?s bad enough losing a game we really could have won but to our local rivals it is just unforgiveable.
But the really galling after-effect of the match is the way we have to listen to the same old pathetic excuses being wheeled out from players and management. As if we should be grateful that we at least got to another semi. That they are devastated and feel sorry for the fans. That they appreciate the support we give them. How they thought it was finally ?our time?. Etc etc etc ad nauseum.
AND how ?we? all now need to crack on with the remaining games and just aim to finish above ?that shower?. Starting with an away game against Man U next Sunday?! Who are you kidding?!
I?m usually a glass half-full person but right now my glass is cracked and leaking badly. And a huge black cloud is still hovering over my head. It?s a good job I live on my own!
As for the excuses/reasons/platitudes we keep hearing from the players etc, well they just leave me cold. My memory of the match will hopefully fade with time but the memories of last Saturday which will remain with me are:
The hundreds of Blues at Lime Street lining up at 6am waiting to board our trains for a date with destiny??
The thousands and thousands of us Blues fans singing outside and inside the stadium willing our team on to deliver our own form of justice??
The two little lads outside Wembley Central, dressed all in blue and white, running up and down the payment waving a huge Everton flag and singing Blues songs??AFTER we?d lost.
The feeling we all shared together as we waited for the train to take us home??no words were needed.
And finally inside Wembley Central station before the charter train arrived, the young Evertonian lad who was shouting back at a bunch of smug koppites. They?d obviously said something which only smug koppites can say. The young Blues fan was shouting ?I don?t care, I don?t care!? His voice crackled with emotion and you just knew he did care... too much. And that?s why we?re Blues. And that?s why it hurts.
Reader Comments (9)
Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer
2 Posted 17/04/2012 at 20:47:57
I have read the same schtick from two players now " we did well to get there" which is utter drivel
Tamworth
Fulham
Blackpool
Sunderland
Giants of the game right there
3 Posted 17/04/2012 at 22:31:55
One Evertonian is worth 100 kopites.
Everton don't deserve their fans and the players can shove their after-match "apologies" up their hairy ......
4 Posted 17/04/2012 at 22:44:30
Well they say every cloud has a silver linning, so I guess your glass could soon be overflowing!! We can but dream Sandra. At least they cant take them away from us.
5 Posted 17/04/2012 at 23:19:11
I saw so many good times in the 80's I felt I was part of a Blessed generation of Blues.
That performance was shameless ( excuse the pun)
Get Martinez in with Big Joe Royle alongside. Joe will tell him when he can throw caution to the wind and when he cant. Saturday we could have wiped the floor with Liverpool with a modicum of belief.
6 Posted 18/04/2012 at 06:58:38
7 Posted 18/04/2012 at 06:54:54
I am not being pessimistic and I have seen relegation, dejection, optimism, elation and sometimes delight, especially in the 60s and 80s but we now have on contract an ageing squad of drones with absolutely no real star.
The present young fans make legends of frankly mediocre players who are not fit to lace the boots of the REAL legends of the club. I watched Wigan against Man Utd and Arsenal playing decent football and not resorting to hoofball. They worked like trojans and got their just desserts.
I mention them because I used to play against then when they were non-league... they are a rugby town with small gates but they have unearthed some real players over the years. They have had to sell them on to be able to survive but we have three times as many supporters and we consistently get into the top half of the division... so Why are we so poor???
I will NOT just lamely believe all the talk of no money etc etc. Our wage bill is far less than when we had the Yak, Arteta, Beckford etc. We use the loan system negatively in the main by loaning out a dozen players and bringing in one or two just to appease our long suffering fans.
It's not losing to Liverpool in the semi-final that has brought this on, I have been looking at the squad in general and the lack of youngsters coming through... My God, McFadden was not wanted at Brum so why is he using up bench room being paid whatever he gets for doing nowt!?!
I have read articles about Drenthe and his lack of stability BEFORE he joined us... he was voted the Young Player of the Dutch Under-21 side a few years ago but he has upset managers everywhere he has been since.
If we do not replace Hibbert, Neville, Osman, Cahill and Distin soon, we will flounder next season....we do not seem to have any youngsters worth a bench place and Rodwell is still struggling with injuries.
DM has taken us as far as he can and he MUST be getting very frustrated by the financial restraints he is working with. At least he has kept us in the Premier League by workrate and effort.
Our game plan for seasons has been to stifle better teams and scramble points wherever we can. We are (with very few exceptions) one of the worst teams to watch in the league.
8 Posted 22/04/2012 at 21:06:27
I took my 8-year-old son and I've never seen anyone as excited in my life. I thought he'll be asleep as soon as the coach leaves but he never, he stayed awake all day. He only said to me yesterday, "I wouldn't swap being a Blue for nothing, Dad."
I was nearly crying... poor kid doesn't know what I've let him in for.
Even today at 4 - 2 down, he said, "Dad, we'll get something here..." I said, "Yeah, sure, son." The innocence of youth, hey.
9 Posted 25/04/2012 at 17:27:25
Add Your Comments
In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.
Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.
1 Posted 17/04/2012 at 20:41:40
Least said about the match the better but about an hour or so after it when back in the pub,it was like it was before the game.
Me and other Blues had a "fuck it" attitude,started singing and dancing again.Anyone would have thought we had won.
We done our club proud,Moyes and the players didn't.