Season 2011-12
The Mail Bag
How not to succeed in business without really trying
56 Comments: OK, so we lost the game in Philly. The boys are getting back to fitness. It's just a runout. No problem. Eighteen thousand and change filled the stadium to capacity, with two to three thousand Evertonians in attendance.
I noted a group from Boston, MA; seven or eight hours away by road. A group of youngsters, maybe fifty strong, decked out in the pink strip behind the goal. Ex-pat scousers like me, some American fans all dressed in blue, just looking for an excuse to get behind the team.
Now I am lucky; I get to go back to England quite often to attend the match. For others, this is one of the few times the team has been on one of these trips to the East Coast. Note To Someone at the Club... where there is a large concentration of the population ? Not like Denver and Columbus.... tiny by comparison.
So there's a bunch of blues at the game, for whom this is a real special occasion. What does the club do... let's bring the team bus in the back door like this is Rupert Murdoch meeting at Number 10. Public relations... who needs that? We don't need any more stinking money.
Are we going to recognise the fans in any organised fashion? No, let's bugger off the pitch at the end of the game, leaving Seamus Coleman and one or two others making a fist of at least attempting a bit of fan interaction, while the big names scarpared.
If it's just about training and the club could give a toss about its US fanbase, do me a favor and stop covering it.
I am a bluenose through and through, but this was in my opinion a case where the club took its own fans completely for granted. I have a sneaking suspicion that this extended to tonight's opposition also!
Paul McGinty, Posted 21/07/2011 at 05:54:49
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Things are not much different in England with the fans seeming to be the least appreciated part of most football clubs. Not all but most players now seem to fit the stereo type well, greedy, arrogant and the do you no who i am types with the fact they are heroes and role models to thousands of kids meaning Jack shit to most of them. Lets put it this way the days when footballers were young men in the community who were easily approachable are over, now bodieguards and security are in attendance when they sign shirts at the club shop.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
The next line is an even bigger farce.
We won't get fooled again....
For the Kiwi's bring on the Tui advert, all others...Yeah right.
We really can?t get shot of these arseholes quickly enough.
Can I ask; where the new shirts and other forms of merchandise readily available for purchase at the ground, or did they also miss this opportunity, a la Australia last pre-season?
Fair play to the few who did attempt to show appreciation to the fans, the others should be ashamed of themselves.
If, as somebody stated, the officials had something to do with this, as players, they should have ignored it and still paid homage, as Seamus did.
Tossers!
Jags, Baines and Cahill did a signing session in a Philly bar / there was an open training session in Philly the other day too... I think the players at EFC are a lot better than most at fan interaction on the whole... if anything i felt this is an isolated incident.
Elstone quoted that the Australia trip cost the club £1m, did they bother their arse trying to recoup any of that through marketing and merchandising? Bloody doubt it, any other company would have given these clowns their comics a long time ago and literally hoofed them from the place.
I would like to think that the club would take note, but knowing the lack of communication, between the hierarchy, at Goodison and the true fans, like yourself, I won't hold my breath.
I am sure you will keep the faith, and all the best for the future. COYB.
It had about 20 items in total and the demand was huge but extremely dissappointing. It looked like a car boot sale and I have seen better product on stalls in Great Homer street..
(by the way, nice to 'see' you again!)
Can you imagine how long these clowns would last if they where working for another sports team?
I seriously cannot understand how some people are in the line of work that they are in sometimes.
Give me and a few of my blue mates the responsibility of this work and I can guarantee that within in year the clubs marketing will be a gazzilion times better.
Just talking amongst ourselves over a pint we come up with more, and better, idea?s that the club has done for years.
It makes me so unbelievably frustrated that there are so many Evertonians out there who have a more of an idea on how to do things like this ahead of the ones who are actually in charge of doing it.
AAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mind you, I absolutely loved the Aussie tour anyway. I will remember it forever, but it wouldn't be hard to get the squad to walk the perimeter and give a bit of a clap would it?
Some t'webbers here would tell you Bk and co are doing a fine job, and that there's very little anyone else could be doing to take the club forward.
I find it sickening, that many aspects of the way our club is run - is bordering criminally negligable. Yet others (an ever decreasing number) seem to believe "better the devil you know".
Forget the RS or any other club. We our are own worst enemy.
Players the same after the match ? my article on Salt Lake criticised them for not at least walking towards the fans who had travelled miles to see them.
Security? My arse. Hopefully one of them (Neville, I hope) will read this and CORRECT it.... then again, this is Everton.
Pre-season game or not, that is the gulf between the two teams at the momen
It was real hot and a training game, but we really struggled to get any width to our game. When Coleman moved from full back to right mid, things improved a bit.
No idea why Fellaini wasn't playing. He and Victor were wandering around before the game and has to be said he Felli signed some autographs. He also nearly tackled the 4-man army band to prevent the subs colliding with them before the game.
The goal we conceded was bloody awful. Loads of chances to clear... Keystone Cops defendings... sliced, mishit clearances... we conceded with a back four of Neville, Distin, Jags and Baines with Rodwell and Hetinga holding... that made it worse. I am using tiredness as the alibi as the Kopites await.
DC United will not roll over so I hope fitness has improved and the boys come out ready, or it's going to be a depressing Saturday night.
By the way, Screech isn't even walking all that well yet. He has a pretty stiff leg and walks with a bit of a limp still. I would bet Boxing Day for him.
Good atmosphere at a nice new football-only arena south of Philly in a real poor area.
Of course we didnt sell any merchandise, it's in the contract with Kitbag that we can sell at two shops. What a great way of alienating fans across the world!
I was in a JJB the other day, now there is a Man City stand, to go with the big four and the old firm. Another stand with a mixture of Spurs, Villa, West Ham and Reading. Yes Reading! Unbelievable, meanwhile fans who cannot get to Liverpool are forced to buy online with extortionate postage charges.
To make matters worse the defense, like it did last season, looked capable at any time of conceding a sloppy goal. Distin was a joke Jags was barely any better. The goal was a disgrace and calamity defending at its best.
Talk on here of breaking into the top 4 is deluded!!! We will be lucky to stay up with that kind of defending.
Hopefully they will be fitter for the next game against lowly DC United.
I remember the players lunch when I was younger; I went most years so did most of my family. Mr David Moyes put a stop to that he thought it was not the best preparation for important matches. Spending an hour a month with fans taking pictures on top of his and the players vigorous schedule appears was too much for them to handle. I think Moyes just did not want to mix with "The Great Unwashed"
This removal or service is not exactly fan friendly and is missed in the Everton community. It was only something like £15 a head for the meal which was without the players but then you would go upstairs for an hour for pictures with the team. I feel like digging my pictures out with Barmby and Xavier for a burning session.
#26
If Fellaini went to Chelsea he would get found out. I know if I had a choice of two in the middle; Essien, Lampard & Mikel would get the nod over the over-rated Fellaini, every time, he reminds me of Jeffers except Jeffers played better for us. Hopefully we will rip someone off like we did to Arsenal.
Yet again we are missing a great opportunity to increase our profile over here. See ya in DC!
Personally, it doesn't bother me; but its stupid to miss the opportunity to solidify fan loyalty.
A 2-minute lap or a center-circle wave is not that hard to organize, is it?
It is a fitness thing not a PR exercise.
If the club think there are 2000 Evertonians in Chester, Pennsylvania, then they must be crazy as well as stupid.
If its just a fitness thing then they shouldn't worry too much about getting embarrassed and losing to an MLS team. Heitinga lost his cool because Philly were taking the piss playing keep away at the end and he dived in.
If its just training, play behind closed doors.
Possibly the best/worst comment in the history of this site.
Surely a joke, if so, funny, if not, definitely bordering on the insane.
Good humorous comment after all pal. Nice one.
http://www.royalbluemersey.com/2011/7/21/2287019/an-everton-experience?
And we can see that the lads were fantastic with the fans when they had time. I'm sure after the game they will have on a busy tour like this get on the train and off to DC.
Even in the 80's we did not build on our on field success. And what about when we had Chinese in our pocket?
Whenever Everton travel in the UK or anywhere, we must use it to promote the club. I feel for those fans over in the USA a little acknowledgement would have gone along way, spreading the word will lead to profits. The People's Club only applies to some.
Who won? So what.
Those who've posted regarding EFC in the USA? You're so right.
All us soccer fans here know about which teams are best (Barcelona, ManU, etc). Yet, no European team has aggressively pursued the American market.
Most peculiar, given EFC is the only team' given US players a chance over the years. We know that too..
"Passion like that is at its best when it is reciprocated, which brings me to my favorite part about the experience of watching Everton train. After the short session, most of the players came over to chat with us and sign various bits of memorabilia, which I suppose is expected of professionals in this situation. It was clear, however, that the players weren?t just going through the motions. There was a look of genuine enjoyment about them, especially when they saw the supporters from back home. Phil Neville got a huge kick out of the ?show us your stepover? banner. Being a part of such a close fan-player interaction was a massive thrill. Cahill has been talking a lot recently about team spirit and I?m starting to believe him."
The squad needs a boost more than the fans with the team crying out for pace and a goal scorer. We face a uncertain season were imo we could push around the top 6 if on top form but it could easily go the other way and we end up close to a host of other teams fighting for any position from 8th to 16th
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO5_gGKQOmA&feature=player_embedded
Stars my arse...Humbled!!
I also see the players arrive at Goodison on a match day and Tim Cahill in particular signs every single authograph request.
When I got asked why Howard was not playing, I seriously had no response. Losing against a no-name team is one thing, but showing such an attitude is quite another. Shite...
DC lost again in midweek so surely we can score a goal or two?
I'm one who doesn't connect our pre-season with coming out slowly. If we were getting blown out week after week for the first 8 weeks of the season? Then yes?
Except that doesn't happen. We lose close games, draw a lot, and win few at the beginning of the season.
The top teams do what Moyes does. They simply have better players. Can't see any way we switch Moyes with Ferguson and the results of the 2 teams come out different.
ManU have a stronger roster and would be shooting for #1. EFC would be looking for anything to get into the big money. Moyes or Ferguson either way.
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1 Posted 21/07/2011 at 07:29:43
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Didn't get to see the game, but would like to know why Fellaini didn't play and how did Jan Mucha look in goal? Have been waiting for him to get a chance.