Same old, same old at Goodison Park? Everton focus

With no incomings or major outgoings, no sign of a takeover and no new stadium what exactly can Everton expect from this season other than what they achieved last year? LFW set about finding out.

Overview

The last time QPR were in the Premiership Joe Royle’s ‘Dogs of War’ had just lifted the FA Cup by beating Man Utd at Wembley. But before that, and for some time afterwards, they were a club that flirted with the relegation zone all too frequently. Having won league titles during the 1980s Everton found themselves on the slide in the 1990s as the likes of Howard Kendall (in a second and third spell) and Mike Walker failed to live up to the club’s glorious past.

They stayed up in 1994 by two points courtesy of a suspect 3-2 home win against Wimbledon on the final day – Everton were 2-0 down in that game and the Wimbledon keeper Hans Segars was later accused of throwing it. Kendall was replaced by Royle and their fortunes improved but when Kendall then returned in 1997 the club stayed up on the final day of the season on goal difference only from Bolton Wanderers. His replacement, Rangers legend Walter Smith, could only achieve bottom half finishes during his three years in charge.

There were a few Premiership clubs around this time who had been in the top division for a long time, regularly threatening to drop out but always somehow finding a way to stay in. In 1996 we were the victims of Southampton and Coventry’s ability to pull results out of the hat right at the business end of the season when we were relegated instead of them having been reasonably secure in the top flight for a number of seasons before then. But as the money has poured into the English game, and the Premiership in particular, these clubs have found their luck running out. Coventry haven’t been there for more than ten years now and are my tip for the Championship chop this season, Southampton should make the top six this year but again that’s in the division below and they’ve been in the third tier more recently than the top.

Everton looked like being one of those Southampton/Coventry type clubs that would bob around the bottom of the top division until they strayed too close to the bottom three once too often and found themselves hunting for the maps to Barnsley. They haven’t gone that way largely because they appointed David Moyes, promising young Preston boss at the time, as their manager to replace Walter Smith in 2002 when they were again in trouble at the wrong end of the table.

Moyes was a risk, not much of a player in his day and only a promotion from the Second Division at Preston on his CV to that point. But they could hardly go back for Howard Kendall for a fourth time could they? Moyes has remarkably had Everton in the Champions League, the FA Cup Final and the UEFA Cup in almost a decade in charge but the future now seems far from certain for the club.

The Premiership continues to become more and more money orientated. Man City, a club perennially below Everton in the league ladder, have moved onto another level thanks to their cash influx while Spurs with Harry Redknapp in charge have also improved. Meanwhile the regular qualifiers for the Champions League are collecting all of the riches that come with that every season.

Everton made the Champions League qualifying round in 2005 but haven’t been back since, and another top four finish for them these days would be almost unthinkable. Likeable owner Bill Kenwright continues to appeal for a Sheikh of some sorts to come and buy into his club without success and a quest to move Everton out of the Goodison Park ground which has been their home since 1892 has fallen flat. Despite being one of the finest examples of a traditional, old, English football stadium and holding more than 40,000 at full capacity it lacks the hospitality facilities of Old Trafford and the Emirates and therefore Everton, like Liverpool, are losing monetary ground on their rivals with every passing home match. They had intended to build a 55,000 seater stadium at Kirkby but found the path blocked by planning laws.

As things stand, with Moyes in charge and some superb players like Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta and Phil Jagielka in the team, Everton are a safe bet for the top half of the table every year even allowing for their propensity to start each season so dreadfully – no wins from their first six matches last season. But what of the medium to long term? Will Moyes go on to be offered one of the really big jobs elsewhere – he’s often tipped as a successor to Alex Ferguson – and if he does then can any replacement perform as well on Everton’s resources? If Moyes stays, can he continue to perform as he has done on the transfer funds available while rivals spend ever increasing amounts on players? Tim Cahill was a famously cheap buy from Millwall but the likes of him, Arteta and Jagielka will all need replacing, some sooner than others, and as we found out to our cost in the 1990s there’s only so long you can go on selling quality players and trying to replace them on a tight budget or with youth players.

In the short term, for this season, expect more of the same from the Toffees who start the season with an identical team to the one that finished the last.

Interview

A quiet summer transfer wise, what are the expectations of Everton fans for the coming season?

Frankly, we’re baffled! We don’t really know what to expect. We have our best squad in almost twenty years but last season they only performed for the second half of the season. Results were awful in the first half even though team play was great up to the final third. Then everybody went AWOL. Our top scorers were Louis Saha and Jermaine Beckford, both with ten – that tells you almost everything.

Everton have tended to start slowly in recent seasons. Is this a worry again this season? What do you put it down to? Give us some straws to clutch at for Saturday!

Yes, it is a worry. Nobody knows why, not even David Moyes and he’s about as astute as they come. Not even the experienced players could raise or change their game when it was most needed. We now have five key players in their thirties, so if you have some fast, young, skilful players that is probably your best bet when one-on-one. If you get the first goal, that is likely to give us problems due to our lack of creativity where it matters. If Taarabt can produce some of his vaunted close control then he could give Sylvain Distin a torrid time in a straight race over four or five metres.

What do Everton fans expect from their club in general? It's well documented that Goodison Park doesn't generate the income of places like the Emirates, you don't have the Champions League cash and Kenwright isn't in the same league as some other owners - what is the best the club can hope for over the coming years?

Main hopes lie with our academy, which produces very good young players. David Moyes is key in everything – if he left we would be in deep trouble. If the young players come through as hoped we could maintain our top third position, even get into a Champions League spot. In coming years, who knows? If we could answer that one we’d be worth billions not millions! Fans expectations remain high (sometimes unrealistically so) given the miracles achieved by Moyesy on a tight budget. If we get off to a good start we might just frighten a few people, but then inevitable injuries would likely take their toll.

What is the Everton squad lacking? What realistic signings would you like to see the club chasing?

At the moment the defence and defensive midfield are very good. Our problem is up front, where we couldn’t hit a cow’s arse with a banjo, plus a lack of incisiveness from attacking midfield. We would like our club to be chasing every available world class striker and attacking midfielder. Unfortunately we don’t have that kind of money and aren’t going to get it. So we have to go with whatever magic Moyesy can conjure. He’s bound to run out of potion sooner or later though.

Just how good is David Moyes? Do you expect him to leave in the short or medium term? Would he be irreplaceable?

Most of us think he’s brilliant, even irreplaceable. But there’s a tiny noisy minority who hate him, the kind of never-satisfied dolts you get at every club. The fact is Moyesy probably saved us from relegation and maybe many years out of the top tier. It could still happen if he left. Playing disasters apart, he’s unlikely to leave in the short term. Beyond that it’s impossible to say because there are too many factors in play.

Who is the star man? And who is an unsung hero or up and coming young talent we may not have heard about? Star man is Marouane Fellaini, who is world class on his day. This is why he suffers some terrible injuries, coupled with his own naiveté in getting drawn into a kicking contest. Leighton Baines runs him a very close second, sheer class, brilliant attacker. Mikky Arteta runs third but he had a wretched season last year and may not be able to pick himself up again. Unsung hero? We’ve got loads! Phil Neville, Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin, Tony Hibbert, Seamus Coleman. Ross Barkley looks like one for the future, very physical, tough and determined, but still with a lot to prove.

Is Jack Rodwell really as good as people make out?

Undoubtedly, yes. Trouble is he got a bad injury just as he was establishing himself. Last season he looked apprehensive on too many occasions and many fans thought he should have shown more in attack. Many thought he took the easy option with cross field passes instead of incisive through balls – he wasn’t on his own in that regard, though. He said himself this is a big season for him. We’ll see how determined he is to finally realise his promise. If he does, he could become the English Franz Beckenbauer. If not, well, c’est la vie. It’s up to him.

What are your impressions of QPR, both our chances this season and our club in general?

Difficult to say with you just being promoted. Off field, the impression isn’t too good for obvious reasons. For all their money, we don’t envy you the trauma and mess your owners have caused. We have our own problems in that regard, but nothing on the QPR scale. Nevertheless you have gained promotion, so whoever calls the supporting financial shots must be doing something right. The gate price hikes are a scandal, though, and well nigh unforgivable. Despite his fractious reputation Warnock seems to have delivered when required, as he did in all his other managerships. His problem appears to be an inability to keep it up. He may have a temperament problem, and I’m being kind there! As for your chances this season, much will depend on how scared your players are. Blackpool showed it can work very well.......and fail very badly. You will do well to survive, but to flourish you will need a new stadium. You can’t possibly compete long term in a stadium that holds only 18,000. We find it difficult enough with a 40,000 capacity. Anyway, good luck this season. Just not at our expense.

Thanks to Michael at Blue Kipper for taking time out to give us an Everton insight this week. Visit the Blue Kipper site by clicking the link above.

Manager

The David Moyes story has been told often enough in recent times for everybody to be familiar with it by now. A Glasgow born footballer who played more than 100 times for Preston, Dunfermline and Shrewsbury and more than 50 at Cambridge and Bristol City after starting his career with Celtic – but somebody who realised early on that he didn't have the ability to make it to the very top of the game as a player and so set about trying to do so as a coach. He picked up his first coaching badges aged just 22 and was a student of all the manager he played under during his career.

At Preston he started as a player in 1993 and worked his way through the club set up as a player coach, before finally getting a chance to manage the team midway through 1997/98 as it stared relegation to the bottom division in the face under his predecessor Gary Peters. The transformation in Preston from the moment they appointed Moyes was remarkable. Their ramshackle ground was redeveloped on all four sides and after surviving in 1998 they reached the play offs but lost and then won promotion automatically 12 months later. They then reached the First Division play offs in their first year at that level and although Moyes left for Everton a year later he left behind a revitalised club that has since twice came close to winning promotion to the Premiership only to lose in the play offs and was the Championship's longest serving member until they were relegated at the end of last season.

At Everton Moyes has turned a club that had become perpetual relegation strugglers into one that expects comfortable midtable finishes and regularly troubles the European spots despite a more limited budget than many of its rivals. He has been named the LMA Manager of the Year on three separate occasions, voted for by his peers.

The more interesting question though is what happens next? Everton's quest for a new stadium that would provide the income they need to compete with the top sides on a more level playing field looks further away than ever. Another stagnant summer in the transfer market has left them short in all the same areas they were last season. How long can Moyes' ambitions be satisfied in such circumstances? He has long been touted as the eventual successor to Alex Ferguson at Man Utd although Jose Mourinho seems to be the favourite for that one these days. I've long thought it would be better to be the man who replaces the man who replaced Ferguson as there will inevitably be a decline when he leaves.

Aston Villa seemed to think they had a chance of prizing Moyes away from Goodison this summer to replace Gerard Houllier. Unsurprisingly, given the similarities in resources and playing squad between the two clubs, that interest was swatted away. But if, as seems likely, Phil Jagielka joins the likes of Wayne Rooney and Joleon Lescott who Moyes gave a big break to only to be rewarded by them going to perceived bigger clubs once established then will his feet start to itch? And if they do, who on earth do Everton get to replace him?

Scout Report

Everton are notoriously slow starters and failed to win any of their first six league matches last season. That followed a quiet summer in the transfer market where Jermaine Beckford's free transfer arrival from Leeds was the top arrival. This summer has been even worse with not a single arrival or departure to report as yet and that means we can say with some certainty where Everton's strengths and weaknesses will lie.

The main problem, again, will be scoring enough goals. The top scorers last season, Louis Saha and Beckford, managed a measly ten each. One of their main attacking threats is midfielder Tim Cahill who was below his usual par with nine last season but continues to pose an unfathomable threat in the opposition penalty box. Every team in the league knows all about him, and yet he still seems to be able to drift into space and score goals, particularly with his head, at will.

Strangely there's a story going around that Beckford may now be off to big spending Leicester after just one year – he rather foolishly rebelled against Moyes in public when substituted at Wolves last year, although that's probably got nothing to do with it. Moyes has so far been turning to young Nigerian striker Victor Anichebe in the Toffees' pre-season games – he has the physical stature to be an absolute monster but is a bit like Ishmael Miller in the sense that he can't seem to marry up that build and potential with ball control, positional sense, awareness, finishing etc. It would be odd if he played the majority of pre-season games and then didn't start against us but I can't see Everton deviating too far from their favoured 4-5-1 set up with Cahill playing off Saha.

Everton are dangerous from set pieces, with Cahill the chief threat, but also attack wide areas in teams much more than is now fashionable among other Premiership teams. They're almost like an old fashioned side with the way they bomb down the flanks – think Andy Sinton and Andy Impey – and for those who doubt the importance of full backs to a team observe the impact Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman have on proceedings this season. Baines still plays as an orthodox full back but Coleman, who started there, is now more often than not pushed forward into a wide midfield role. Fortunately for us the latter is a big injury doubt for this weekend because with QPR clearly weak in their own full back position, and taught a few lessons by Martin Petrov last week, we need all the help we can get in the channels.

Another concern, having watched Shaun Derry and Alejandro Faurlin become so over-awed and over-powered by Nigel Reo Coker and Fabrice Muamba on Saturday, is the presense of several far better and more powerful central midfielders in the Everton line up. Mikel Arteta endured an injury hit season last term and struggled for form when he was fit – the Spaniard is a doubt again for this fixture but would still be a better player than Reo Coker if you tied his legs together. Marouane Fellaini has all the stature of Muamba and a good deal more ability and Jack Rodwell is tipped as the next big thing, and a potential Man Utd target, if he can keep his mind on his football and off taking pictures of his knob and sending it round the local brasses for long enough. There are doubts about whether he's as good as everybody makes out, but he's plenty good enough to take care of the likes of us. Throw in Leon Osman and the uncompromising Johnny Heitinga and we look pretty anaemic in comparison.

Lacking money to spend, Everton must be looking to bring more like Osman, Rodwell and Coleman through their own academy. Sadly they probably have to resign themselves to any big hits then immediately being snapped up by others as Rooney was but for now, big things seem to be expected of Ross Barkley. His physical stature may be a problem though – built like a tank already at the age of 17 he may be finding progress through the junior ranks against more slight opponents easy because of his power, in the same way Kevin Gallen once did at QPR. Stepping up will be a big challenge for him.

Tweet - @loftforwords

Links >>> Official Website >>> Travel Guide >>> Blue Kipper unofficial site >>> Toffee Web unofficial site

What to read next: