I never geared up for this weekend. Little hope to see Everton win and be in the FA Cup Final. This is considering how bad United are compared to the many glorious seasons over the past few decades.
Then, before I went for my appointment, they scored. Everton players just doesn't seem to be close to making it a game. Some put in effort, but mostly fragmented during the first half.
I missed the second half, but came back in time to see the celebrations by the United fans, including the worst commentators at Fox, talking up a game they might have played but have no insights on.
The defeat was expected, and hope for a new manager had been the highlight for the last few games of the season. The thing is, nobody knows, since no one inside Everton will talk about it, and everyone outside Everton is just yelling their voice off.
It's silly to think that Moshiri has no clue and allow Kenwright to dictate his decisions. It is also naive to think that Moshiri will act on impetus like the fans. Whichever way he decides, it will be based upon his plan when he first bought into the club, revealing Kenwright's last struggles to dictate the club's future.
A new manager is preferred to be installed over the next week to give the new man time to assess the damage, ship out deadwood and wantaways, bring in reinforcements and whip some discipline into the frail minds of the current squad. Fitness too. But judging by the names being touted, Moyes seem the only man to take over right away, the worst of the many mentioned.
Should Moshiri not act immediately, what I fear, like many others, would be a complete loss of the dressing room. Most expensive option perhaps as the new man might find himself having to sell players that could otherwise be salvaged if discipline is put in place early. Yet, it would be a tough decision since few are available to come right away.
Koeman might be available given his team having little to fight for. Bielsa, sure, but his linking to us must surely be more of a rumor to begin with. Pellegrini, Wenger, LVG, AVB, Flores and De Boer are in the tail end of their fight for some glory. Klinsmann, Mourinho, Mancini, NO. Simeone and Emery are dreamland mentions. Other possibilities like Howe and Dyche will be risky plays, though it's not like we're in a much better position given our payroll and recent acquisitions.
Then there is the question of the caretaker while we wait for the new appointment. Most want the entire backroom gone, which I don't disagree, but I don't recall us having players on their way to coaching badges. One crazy idea I had when Bielsa was mentioned, appoint him and make it part of the deal that he train Gareth Barry for the future. Osman and Hibbert might disagree but Barry's impact on the field has been more renowned.
So, with all these questions floating around, is there an end in sight? Yes, firing Martinez is the first step, with the chaos in the backroom ensuing to create some noise until a new man is installed. And after that, things will look brighter, unless the new manager is an egghead like Martinez. Sure, it isn't 2001, but after Moyes' steadying era and the expenditure that has happened since, bottom half is not acceptable anymore. Moshiri should surely feel the same with his millions at stake.
Showing posts with label Everton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Everton. Show all posts
Saturday, April 23, 2016
Saturday, March 19, 2016
My Mosh dream of Everton
Dear Mr Moshiri,
Firstly, can I call you Mosh? It sounds too cosy because I hate to be foreign to anyone I meet. Sure, I'm a recluse, but I'm not antisocial. Anyway, I digress, and I should perhaps start with my dream.
Like any fan, especially one who has been supporting the club for so decades (and no I'm not that old), I dream of my team winning the UCL, perhaps quintuple or six-tuple, or whatever insane number of cups a team can win in a year. A team of such stature who plays in quality stadium with an academy that churns out players that can challenge the best in Europe if not the world. Well, that is the dream of a fan.
It is this dream that sharply contrasts, if not contradicts, reality. At the risk of unsettling people, (e.g. manager and players, however much I doubt nor want it), the downtrend has gone on far too long.
First, our finances, being kept in the dark for so long, and despite your investment, shed little light towards where we're going. While we need to keep grandeur plans secret from being foiled by our opponents, this is a club that has been rudderless for at least 2 seasons now, after many more years limping along as clubs embraced the golden era of TV revenue.
To my knowledge, we don't own Goodison Park, nor Finch Farm. Yet we're building a stadium at Finch and tinkering with upgrading Goodison or move to an eternal new home. I'm for the new stadium idea by the way, and appreciate the community service we're doing by upgrading Finch.
But we need a plan, a plan that puts us on the map and not tenants that can be kicked out if we don't pay rent, not especially when TV revenues are through the roof. A plan where we know how much goes into the stadium and how much we can put into our team. Hopefully, when we have that plan, we can think about what we can do to improve our commercial value. (If you check, it is abysmal for a team that ranks top 10 for a good part of the past decade) Yes, run this team like a well run company, one that has good community links and works, but also efficient in the financial aspects.
Second, our team, to be exact, our manager. I'm going on a limp here and say, we're likely to score 60 and concede 55, perhaps ranking around 14th with 47 points. I will avoid talking about statistics (unless you requests for it) even though that's my day job and just say, that is abysmal. We've been top 10 for most years under Moyes and we're at least 5 positions off Martinez' best year 2 years in a row and still falling. While I don't want Moyes back, he scored less than 50 points just once, in his sophomore slump year in 2004. Sure, I can ignore the standings sometimes, but surely, being that close to relegation must be a concern. I can't imagine paying millions to buy 49.9% of a club that is trending downwards in the league.
I believe we need an overhaul on the playing side of things. Many of Martinez' fans will say, he bought well, attacked well, but success (as prescribed by the media and the business world) is a numbers game. Where we rank and how many titles we win matter.
We need to win titles to mark how far we've come, yes, but that should not be done by sacrificing our league performance. Money wise, losing 5 positions (assuming 9th to my predicted 14th) means 6 millions pounds. The FA Cup, from the mighty Google search, is about 2 million. And if I can be frank, a big IF we win. So there you have it, bad business sense in opting for cup over league.
I don't have many names to throw up, and if some optimistic fans are correct, you might already have your target. Sadly, I work with numbers which prevents me from being overly optimistic, however positive I truly am. Hence I'll throw 3 names to highlight the caliber of managers that we should be looking at that is worthy of your investment. Diego Simeone, Unai Emery and Thomas Tuchel. There are some local coaches you can go after, but someone could knock them due to their less than stellar performance with a club (e.g. Enrique Flores, Ronald Koeman). Older heads (e.g. Wenger, LVG, Hiidink) can help but personally, I think the next manager should be one that can lead your team for many years to come (at least a decade) so that you can set your mind on better things, like a new stadium or generating more marketing revenue. Ideally with a fiery passion for football and success.
Last but not least, the youth academy. This is listed last because it is the least of our problems. We have a good youth setup, and if history to go by, our scouting network is pretty good also. That should be enhanced by nailing down similar tenant issues like Finch Farm and having a great coach as our next manager. My dream setup would be one that both improves our youngsters on the field and off the field, like education to improve their lives regardless of their football career (e.g. Ajax, Santos from what I've read). Sure, I want us to have produce a player of Messi's level, but that is a lottery. Still, a good academy will produce good players and personality around the club, and score more social points with the global community.
That's my wishlist. I understand that it is your money and I hope my wishlist provides can generate ideas with great ROI for the club. I am currently not putting much effort into watching the mess under Martinez outside of the FA Cup (e.g. I switched off after West Ham scored their first in our 3-2 loss to them). You may find me more related to trending #EFC #FireMartinez than anything else.
The team needs you, an element of change, metaphorically and literally, since the board have not improved our financial odds even through this golden era of TV revenue. We survived, sure, but financially, we're not improved much beyond our stabilization years. I hope you're not another false dawn but I don't believe we need you to "give all you have". You saw a project, hopefully a long term one, one that I hope will bring glory days to the blue half of Merseyside.
Firstly, can I call you Mosh? It sounds too cosy because I hate to be foreign to anyone I meet. Sure, I'm a recluse, but I'm not antisocial. Anyway, I digress, and I should perhaps start with my dream.
Like any fan, especially one who has been supporting the club for so decades (and no I'm not that old), I dream of my team winning the UCL, perhaps quintuple or six-tuple, or whatever insane number of cups a team can win in a year. A team of such stature who plays in quality stadium with an academy that churns out players that can challenge the best in Europe if not the world. Well, that is the dream of a fan.
It is this dream that sharply contrasts, if not contradicts, reality. At the risk of unsettling people, (e.g. manager and players, however much I doubt nor want it), the downtrend has gone on far too long.
First, our finances, being kept in the dark for so long, and despite your investment, shed little light towards where we're going. While we need to keep grandeur plans secret from being foiled by our opponents, this is a club that has been rudderless for at least 2 seasons now, after many more years limping along as clubs embraced the golden era of TV revenue.
To my knowledge, we don't own Goodison Park, nor Finch Farm. Yet we're building a stadium at Finch and tinkering with upgrading Goodison or move to an eternal new home. I'm for the new stadium idea by the way, and appreciate the community service we're doing by upgrading Finch.
But we need a plan, a plan that puts us on the map and not tenants that can be kicked out if we don't pay rent, not especially when TV revenues are through the roof. A plan where we know how much goes into the stadium and how much we can put into our team. Hopefully, when we have that plan, we can think about what we can do to improve our commercial value. (If you check, it is abysmal for a team that ranks top 10 for a good part of the past decade) Yes, run this team like a well run company, one that has good community links and works, but also efficient in the financial aspects.
Second, our team, to be exact, our manager. I'm going on a limp here and say, we're likely to score 60 and concede 55, perhaps ranking around 14th with 47 points. I will avoid talking about statistics (unless you requests for it) even though that's my day job and just say, that is abysmal. We've been top 10 for most years under Moyes and we're at least 5 positions off Martinez' best year 2 years in a row and still falling. While I don't want Moyes back, he scored less than 50 points just once, in his sophomore slump year in 2004. Sure, I can ignore the standings sometimes, but surely, being that close to relegation must be a concern. I can't imagine paying millions to buy 49.9% of a club that is trending downwards in the league.
I believe we need an overhaul on the playing side of things. Many of Martinez' fans will say, he bought well, attacked well, but success (as prescribed by the media and the business world) is a numbers game. Where we rank and how many titles we win matter.
We need to win titles to mark how far we've come, yes, but that should not be done by sacrificing our league performance. Money wise, losing 5 positions (assuming 9th to my predicted 14th) means 6 millions pounds. The FA Cup, from the mighty Google search, is about 2 million. And if I can be frank, a big IF we win. So there you have it, bad business sense in opting for cup over league.
I don't have many names to throw up, and if some optimistic fans are correct, you might already have your target. Sadly, I work with numbers which prevents me from being overly optimistic, however positive I truly am. Hence I'll throw 3 names to highlight the caliber of managers that we should be looking at that is worthy of your investment. Diego Simeone, Unai Emery and Thomas Tuchel. There are some local coaches you can go after, but someone could knock them due to their less than stellar performance with a club (e.g. Enrique Flores, Ronald Koeman). Older heads (e.g. Wenger, LVG, Hiidink) can help but personally, I think the next manager should be one that can lead your team for many years to come (at least a decade) so that you can set your mind on better things, like a new stadium or generating more marketing revenue. Ideally with a fiery passion for football and success.
Last but not least, the youth academy. This is listed last because it is the least of our problems. We have a good youth setup, and if history to go by, our scouting network is pretty good also. That should be enhanced by nailing down similar tenant issues like Finch Farm and having a great coach as our next manager. My dream setup would be one that both improves our youngsters on the field and off the field, like education to improve their lives regardless of their football career (e.g. Ajax, Santos from what I've read). Sure, I want us to have produce a player of Messi's level, but that is a lottery. Still, a good academy will produce good players and personality around the club, and score more social points with the global community.
That's my wishlist. I understand that it is your money and I hope my wishlist provides can generate ideas with great ROI for the club. I am currently not putting much effort into watching the mess under Martinez outside of the FA Cup (e.g. I switched off after West Ham scored their first in our 3-2 loss to them). You may find me more related to trending #EFC #FireMartinez than anything else.
The team needs you, an element of change, metaphorically and literally, since the board have not improved our financial odds even through this golden era of TV revenue. We survived, sure, but financially, we're not improved much beyond our stabilization years. I hope you're not another false dawn but I don't believe we need you to "give all you have". You saw a project, hopefully a long term one, one that I hope will bring glory days to the blue half of Merseyside.
In that, if you actually read all this to the end, thank you and good luck.
Dennis
Saturday, January 02, 2016
Haters and Apologists (Everton)
I find this very interesting due to the topics I've been related to recently.
First Everton.
As of this writing, I do not know the result of the Spurs game yet, so might have more anger to give after that, but it does not change much of my view on the state of affairs at the club.
First Everton.
As of this writing, I do not know the result of the Spurs game yet, so might have more anger to give after that, but it does not change much of my view on the state of affairs at the club.
- Apologists' most common theme
- We're a small club
- BK has done well in preventing us from bankruptcy
- RM needs time for his tactics to gel and get better players than the crap we have
- Players (particularly Howard) is letting the team down
- We only need the right money so get lost John Moore
- Haters' (not that they hate anyone or anything) common theme
- We have increased TV money, so we should be able to compete
- Where's the money BK?
- RM outspent Moyes already and keeps playing the same failing gameplan and players
- Players might be crap but the boss doesn't drop them
- Any change is better than what it is now
Generally, the true answer is neither, a good mix of the two but not veering into each pole. Yet, irrespective of the attackers or defenders, the screamers seemed to miss the point.
- Fact is we did better than expected during the hard schedule and poorer in the easy schedule
- We are insanely good in short bursts of linkup play
- We defend well for good parts of the game, evident since we're not losing every game by 10-5
- Some players are off form, but for unknown reasons, RM still plays them
- RM has not outgrown his naivety from year 1, which shows a lack in caliber for the position Everton was in when he took over
- Up until recently, RM has not taken responsibility of the failures, which recently changed because he admitted liability in an interview
That last point is good progress in some ways. You want your leader to know how to lead, including owning up to mistakes. We no longer live in feudal times where the leader is always right.
Yet, circumstance is pretty dire. Lose to Spurs and we might be in a death spiral. If Moore refuses to move forward and drive other interested parties forward, we might be seen as a collapsing star. Add that to debts and not owning our own stadium or training ground and we could become a homeless team should we stop winning.
Still, it is merely a winning streak away from being righted. A few wins and things are forgotten?
No, as the haters and apologists fail to come to terms with the middle ground.
To stabilize, we need to win.
To improve, we need to win beautifully.
To attract advertising and investment, we need to win titles.
To win games, we need to defend well.
To win games beautifully, we need to attack well.
To win titles, we need to be good at both attacking and defending.
It might all seem that simple, but everyone who is arguing are always arguing over one aspect of the game rather than the big picture. They would say they are looking at the big picture, but here's the key that is always missed. TIMING!
The great disappointment that is now is due to the failed run that should have placed us in Top 4. I actually foresaw the banana slip early when RM repeated what I said in how important the last 12 games is. Yes, seeing the timing is sometimes easier than just executing!
Now, the tricky part is, while all seemed lost, all is not lost, yet. Win the next 5 and things can go on as is again. Of course, people will be saying "Are you crazy? You can't even beat Bournemouth." As of today, Leicester couldn't too, so minor slipups can be forgiven if we can get back on track quickly. Well, let's make it simpler. It's the Carling Cup or nothing.
The lack of proper player rotation. The disarray of the defence during tight games. The lack of ideas when opposition parks the bus. All these can be corrected with fans forgiving you if you shell out a decent run over the next few games and a Cup in return.
But can you do it? RM, can you ignore the haters and not hide behind the apologists (which you absorbed blame for the first time, commnedable, but rather late) and make changes? Or are you just too stubborn to learn how to get out of the vicious cycle that you created?
I love Everton, since I was 10, in a country that doesn't even allow you to like Everton (Try having people sing YNWA despite the national anthem). Now don't screw up the club I love. Show it in the next 5 games that you have the necessary tools to make things right. If you fail, I don't blame you if you can at least put things in place for the next manager to take over. And that might jolly well start with a defensive assistant coach, get some other wins and get us through the Moore's takeover!
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