In Praise of the Midget Gems

Regardless the physique and toughness of opponents, Timmy get stuck in. He would never allow himself to be bullied off the ball.

IÂ’d never think of Cahill has a short arse, that said, I guess like Gary Speed, he had the ability to out jump players who were easily over 6ft tall.

Seen as though his only real skill was popping up with a goal now and again, he kind of went missing for the entirety of 2011 when he failed to hit the net all year. He also did a pretty good impression of the invisible man during his last season at the club. He was utter pish, scored about twice and got sent off in the last game. That was the sum total of his Â’last hurrahÂ’.

IÂ’ve got nothing against Cahill...he was a good (sometimes very good) player for us...but itÂ’s unfair to lay that MIA charge against the other two, whilst conveniently overlooking the fact Cahill didnÂ’t constantly fire on all cylinders himself.

I donÂ’t think we should consider him for next season, he gets a right good kick-in every game, I remember the united away game, four or five of their lot hammered him and that was that. We were strolling in that game, Baines misses the penalty and when they go 2-1 we hammered them and De Gea saved them.

Pivotal game that one, Stones got injured and bit of belief was lost.

Osman is another that always wants the ball and even when having a bad day, never shys away from having responsibility. The only problem with Ossie was that he lacked in stature and it was emphasised when he faced the likes of Obi Mikel, Gerrard et al. He just wasnÂ’t top drawer but that shouldnÂ’t detract from what he has given Everton over the years. Contrary to popular belief, he can shoot from distance (remember Larissa?) and he was like a leaping salmon at times when going for a header (Scoring the winner against City few years ago)

Cahill was, well Tim Cahill really. Loved having him in the side, he gave everything for the blue shirt and whilst others have correctly pointed out his limitations, he maximised what he did have.

What all 3 have in common is that they gave/are still giving everything for the club and for that alone I am grateful. True Pienaar shouldnÂ’t have gone to Spurs but he soon realised that the grass was not greener and returned.

Good post Fran, happy memories from all three players

I would argue that, right now, we need exactly the opposite. A player whose primary attributes are great technical ability, vision and the ability to play a defence splitting pass. Cahill possessed none of those things. Workrate and determination are always admirable, but thatÂ’s not what weÂ’re lacking when weÂ’re struggling to make the breakthrough against stubborn defences. Stracqualarsi also had desire, determination and would defo have offered to carry Frodo Baggins up a big fuck off mountain, but those qualities (commendable as they are) donÂ’t translate into a top class link man/chance creator. All the top teams have tricky, technically gifted, almost sneaky players performing that role for a reason. They often make the difference in tight games, against defensively well drilled opposition, wheras a more blunt instrument can be rendered about as much use as a cock on a chocolate mouse if it comes up against some brick shithouse simply willing to stand toe to toe.

Ward probably thought it stood for My Wheels.

Pienaar was also a good buy as well as Â’Â’buyingÂ’Â’ many freekicks but has not done well on his return to the Blues.

Osman has good feet and a really good brain but for the most part lacks in the areas that the team needed to get most from him in the middle of the park. Speed and tackling is not part of his game and it was hard to figure out what position was best for him if any.

Personally I think his time, like PienaarÂ’s has come and gone, as neither have the consistency to be starters in future Everton teams... but, then again, RM has his own weird ideas.

ItÂ’s a pity we are getting into nostalgia so soon after Moyes, but it has been the worst season in at least the last five years. I think we should add Arteta to the list above as he was another great player in a team that never managed to lift a trophy.

LetÂ’s hope Martinez turns things round and we are talking as fondly about McCarthy et al in ten years time, though hopefully with at least a cup final win to look back on.

We do need a "Mata" or an "Erikson", a man who can get on the ball, with good vision and the ability to open-up defences.

Ossie only really lacked a bit of beef to withstand the bigger units out there, and a bit more power in the shot. Although I have slated him at times for being knackered( he may well have been playing with an injury), the team functions much better with him in a central role, putting his clever little passes through, opening things up on the edge of the box, and scoring lovely goals like the one at West Ham.

He seems very popular with his colleagues too, keeping team spirit buoyant – much needed this season!

Naismith does a very similar job to Cahill behind the striker so I donÂ’t understand why everyone says we miss him so much. Naismith had a good run in the side earlier in the season, did okay, then incurred the wrath of the ToffeeWeb Â’faithfulÂ’ (as everyone does) when he started to look like a dead horse being flogged.

Pienaar was written off early in the season, so IÂ’m glad to see people now recognising the movement, intelligence and craft that he brings to the side going forward. Osman has always been worth his place in the squad, but has sometimes struggles physically, and has been a player who should only really play 60-70 mins most times for a while now. Some of his criticism comes from his managers not realising this.

I agree with the posts about our next most important signing. I hope itÂ’s going to be a midfield general, who can distribute killing passes, hit the ball well and if poss, run the midfield and take a game by the scruff of the neck. A Bobby Collins mark 2 would do nicely.

Incidentally we had a top fullback for a short time in Kenny Sansom who was about 5-ft 4-in but he was still a very fine fullback.

It always riles me that Duncan McKenzie was preferred to Ring in EvertonÂ’s Hall of Fame and I know it is all about opinions but there was no comparison. Tommy Ring was pure class, McKenzie turned it on now and again.

Having played at a decent level myself I always loved players who could do things I could not. That is why I liked that early 60s side, it was filled with flair.

CatterickÂ’s best signing would have been Kay if only he hadnÂ’t been banned as he really injected steel into the midfield and could pick a pass too.

Mate, go search "Tim Cahill" and "Everton" in YouTube. Suggestion: leave the goal at Stamford Bridge 'til last.

What would you like me to say? That he was extraordinary and one of the greatest players to ever don the royal blue of Everton? That would be pure, unadulterated, hyperbole bordering on total hippo-bollocks. He was good at what he did: ghosting late into the box to grab his fair share of goals and putting himself about a bit. I'm not knocking that contribution, but neither am I about to cum in my pants over it.

When I said this current team needs a more skilful, technical, playmaker performing in the number 10 role....rather than a simple Cahill clone....I meant we're currently crying out for someone who can open up defences with a bit of trickery, an incisive pass or through ball. Cahill, for all his endeavour and fight, didn't possess those attributes. I mean... come on...if I wanted to have a dig at the guy, I could've just said he wouldn't be a very good fit for a team that likes to retain possession because his passing was almost as shite as Superman's dad's in the Man Of Steel when he was swept away by a half-arsed hurricane and his adopted demi-god son just stood by and watched like a slack jawed meff with his dick stuck in a mousetrap.

I don't need to go search for Cahill's goals on YouTube. I watched them all live at the time and some of them were very important goals in fairly big games, so are consequently burned into my brain. I liked Tim Cahill as a player, but that doesn't mean I have to look back through a haze of nostalgia and hoist him up onto a pedestal his actual ability and performances don't merit.

Cahill was just a more polished, better version of Naismith but not a great link-up player, and I think Osman would've have done a better job in a creative sense.

This is a good article by Fran, but I can't believe he's left Arteta out of his list of 'Midget Gems'. Arteta was probably the most creative, gifted and influential midfielder of the Moyes era and is the kind of player we are crying out for at the moment.

Really we need to go out and spend 20 mill on two players to replace Osman and Pienaar, but Martinez won't. He'll go out and buy Tom Cleverley plus another useless winger on loan then spend the season moaning why his two 35 year old creative midfielders aren't fit enough to play 90 mins of every game.