The area that stood out in Saturday’s performance was the uncertainty of the passion of the players and this was evident with Fellaini’s substitution by Darron Gibson. The string of boos around the ground were more from people being upset that this player had this attitude problem, and for a player who was being bracketed as a world class player at the start of the season, had just turned his back on the fans.
I have to say that I am not one to boo players who wear the Everton shirt, even if they are not trying, just because I simply want the team to do well. The reason for this is due to the fact that there are enough supporters cursing the team that I don’t like. The game Saturday reminded me of the game on the first day of the season against Arsenal when we were defeated 6-1. The negative chants towards Lescott that day were mirrored this time towards Fellaini.
The reason for me writing this short account is that we simply thrive on passionate players. They may not have to have the overall quality of a world-class player; we loved the fact that Denis Stracqualursi worked so hard even though he wasn’t good enough to play in the Premier League. The one thing we appreciated about him was that he tried so hard and it was like he knew himself that he wasn’t good enough. The game against Manchester City at home last year demonstrated how tough he was and he would’ve done anything to make Everton win on that day against any opponent we faced. El Traca will always be remembered for one thing: that he gave a 110% all for Everton and I can honestly say I have never seen anybody work so hard for Everton than him, but I’m sure people may disagree with that comment.
Through the 1990s and early 2000s, it has to be mentioned that Everton struggled and could have easily ended up like Coventry City and Nottingham Forest. We had the odd season when we would do well like finishing in the top 10 when Joe Royle organised a good side with the likes of Kanchelskis, Ebrell, Speed and Ferguson. But in this overall time we did struggle and in this dark tunnel we were looking for help and something to cling onto. The man who took this vacant role was Duncan Ferguson and he was the man that would run through a brick wall for Everton just to give some satisfaction to our supporters.
The fans across the park simply laugh at us when we call ‘Big Dunc’ a legend and trying to explain to them is like trying to tell Bill Kenwright that the club needs money to progress. They always say to me, "Owen, Fowler, Gerrard, Rush" etc. are legends but the reply I always give them is that they do not understand. Duncan Ferguson was the player that made us as supporters believe again and he used to grab games (and players) by the scruff of the neck and have a go at teams, mainly causing panic to most defences. This is why we loved and still love Duncan Ferguson. We had one player who simply understood the fans’ concerns and he knew that it was his opportunity to make things better.
We as supporters now expect this from our players. Even though the team now has better quality than our famous relegation sides, we still like the player who will run through walls for the team. We have Jagielka who reminds me of Dave Watson but have we got a striker that would do that? Not for me. Our players need to learn how to fight and not sulk like Fellaini did on Saturday — and we as a club will not accept that even if he is very good. For we are supporters that have passion we expect passion back from the players and we didn’t get that on Saturday. Roll on Manchester City.
James Williams (Twitter)
Reader Comments (9)
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2 Posted 11/03/2013 at 14:21:30
3 Posted 11/03/2013 at 14:31:30
4 Posted 11/03/2013 at 14:36:38
6 Posted 11/03/2013 at 19:45:19
Lack of Moral Fibre....aka Guts.
If Moyes walked tomorrow ( and take Neville with you please ) who would be player manager.
Q) Who would grab the team by the scruff of the neck.
A) Nobody...and thats the trouble.
7 Posted 11/03/2013 at 20:40:54
8 Posted 12/03/2013 at 01:27:28
We need to replace Osman in the middle – he is too lightweight and slow. He never grabs a game by the scruff of the neck; this is where we lose games, in midfield and he has a poor shot. He is a decent back-up player though. Neville has to go and Heitinga needs to go and Duffy should be given a chance in the last few games of the season.
9 Posted 12/03/2013 at 05:27:59
10 Posted 12/03/2013 at 08:25:18
I'm not so sure about the "whole of team" LMF but something is very wrong within the framework. I point to the Board because shit like this usually starts from the top. OK, talking amateur soccer admittedly, but any club I have taken over the coaching spot I have known I was there becuase something was being done wrong. My view, you need to match the board, the coach (manager) and the players. The manager has to be able to politely tell the board to fuck off and let him do his job. I'm sure there's an EPL version for this.
Currently, the whole thing is fucked up and this is showing in the players' performances. This is where a really good chairman would step in and work some magic (same as any company)
a number of posts mention the Straq. FFS a good manager/coaching team will be ablbe to blend the Straq like players with the star (ego full) players. This is what Fergie has done for donkeys years (love him or hate him).
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1 Posted 11/03/2013 at 14:01:57