Saturday 23 July 2011

6. Everton FC.


The fans of Goodison Park next on my radar. Everton FC.

The Toffees ended their season 7th in the Premier League continuing there 'almost there but not quite established' club in respects to concreting a European place each season. They are a club who seem to be bypassing controversial take overs and manager swap shops but are fans happy with this somewhat 'same-old' story?

The transfer market has just seen 2 players leave Goodison - Hope Akpan to Crawley Town (no I haven;t heard of him either) and James Vaughan to Norwich City for £2.5M. They are one team who have not really been linked with many players and a lack of funds may be the root of this problem, although one player who has been linked to the merseyside club is Charles N'Zogbia.


Again the power of twitter helped me to find out the view of some Everton fans:


@stockporttoffee -  'i predict a top 6 finish and a good cup run'

Someone with a lot to say was @stockporttoffee who was confident that Everton can maintain their top 7 status but did say it 'depends on injuries'. He highlighted the importance of the current squad and certain players to their chances for next season - one player he gave special mention to is Fellaini advising 'if he keeps fit this season it could see the blues sneak into the top 6.'

He went on to highlight players he feels Moyes will be looking to to hit top form; Arteta, who 'only did in flashes last season'; Jack Rodwell who had a 'quiet 2010/2011'; and Jermaine Beckford will be 'looking to improve on 1st season total of 10 goals'

@stockporttoffee 'Key players: Baines, Fellaini, Jagielka and Arteta.'

'A lot is made of Everton's lack of spending,but the key is they usually keep there best players with only Lescott and pienaar being notable 1st teamers that have left in recent years.' i think this is shown through the tight squad they have at Goodison with not much movement of players they have a good team cohesion and spirit.

@stockporttoffee finally picked out a few 'players to watch' for next season which i think is most interesting for non-everton fans. 1. 'Leon Osman now 30 but in the form of his life and England is not impossible.' - ok so we all know about Osman but he is on top form 2. Ross Barkley. who at only 17 is an 'exciting prospect' who suffered a double leg break setting him back somewhat, and is thought to be 'one to watch' 3. Gueye French U21 International - talented striker/winger expected to make more appearances this season.'

@EFCKingy - ' should be top 6 minimum'


young prospect Ross Barkley - one to watch

@EFCKingy also highlighted the prospect of the young player Ross Barkley describing him as the 'only bright spot' and interestingly added 'according to Tim Cahill is the best young talent he has ever seen.' and he has been there to see Wayne Rooney come through the ranks!

The hot topic surrounding Everton seems to be 'keep the team fit and we'll have a good season' - another player @EFCKingy mentioned who spends more time on the physio table than the pitch it Louis Saha which he believes means Everton end up with a season a striker light, and not enough to cover this. So, on the talk of transfers believes they realistically need another striker - especially with 'Anichebe who is shocking'.

He did however highlight the problem, with many fan's plan of new players to bring in 'no money to improve the team.' he then continued with 'Fans are furious with Bill KenWright as club has been for sale for 11 years and Kenwright doesnt want to let go' so all is not backing the owner.

@AndyBensonEFC - '5th place spot could be on the table'
Due to the relatively small squad and backing of less experienced young players @AndyBensonEFC adivsed that only 'with a minimal amount of injuries and a lot of effort' his 5th place prediction could come true. I think Everton need some extra medical staff the way all the Everton fans are predicting multiple injuries to multiple players! 

 
@everton1878fc - ' I am quietly optimistic about our season'
 
Considering Everton do not have much of a budget regarding transfers and dont seem to ever partake in much activity @everton1878fc had plenty to say on the subject; starting with the prospect that Moyes 'will have to sell to buy' mentioning the Championship favourites Leicester City 'are said to have tabled £4M bid of Yakubu which we would be silly not to accept' - that with the £2.5M from James Vaughan could give them the funds to buy a decent striker/winger which most fans seem to think is needed.

 'It is pivotal though, that we keep certain members of our side.' as all fans know, the importance of 'big players' staying is key to the next season and Everton are no different. 'There have been rumours of Marouane Fellaini, Jack Rodwell and Leighton Baines moving away from Goodison.' which obviously is not what the fans want to see but @everton1878fc highlighted that each could fetch £20m plus - big money for Everton.
@everton1878fc concluded with expectations and thoughts on the current squad 'We have a very good (if slightly thin) squad. Over the last few years we have been savaged by injuries, something which surely cannot happen again. A good start is also vital - last year we did not win a game until October and hence we were always playing catch-up' - again the mention of injuries which has definitely plagued the Everton team over recent seasons.

@everton1878fc - 'I am genuinely excited by our team. '

'It is hard to pick the starting eleven - something which we have not been able to say for a while. Marouane Fellaini is a world-class player and a partnership with Mikel Arteta in centre midfield is mouth-watering.' i dont think any football fan would say no to that midfield!

After taking in all the thoughts of the Everton fans i think 2 things stood out to me; Everton need to keep injuries to a minimum and they have top young prospects pushing through the squad notably Ross Barkley - a player i am really excited to see more of! Another thing i have noted is how similar thinking the Toffees seem to be compared to other fans - most had similar predicitons and similar thoughts on the club and transfers - stability within the fans not just the club itself! I am going to give a prediction of a 7th place finish for the Everton boys.


Thank you to the Everton fans who gave me their views for this - i barely had to chase people around asking for views they were very obliging 1st time round - much appreciated.

@beckytLCFC 'fans view blog quest'

1 comment:

  1. Hi there, I'm @everton1878fc off Twitter, I like the idea of this blog, you were welcome to my input.
    Could you follow my blog please?

    http://efcstickytoffee.blogspot.com/

    cheers :)

    ReplyDelete