07-09 Team

[Bluebonic]

Tell yer what though, imagine if Moshiri had arrived at that point and allowed Moyes to spend the kind money we've seen spent latterly to further improve that side. Makes you think.

Every time he had a few bob he wasted it (Beattie et al), he performed at his best when he was swapping players for car stereo's and betamax video recorders!

 

[Saint Domingo]

I've actually believed for a long time that team underperformed. I believe that team was so good that had SAF been in charge of them they would have been top 4 easy. Moyes used to bottle it once we met the rich clubs..

But man for man they were good enough to take on anyone in the Prem.. if only Moyes believed it too.. and if only he didnt mess up every striker we had!

In fairness Moyes probably coaxed the best form of their careers out of Bent Jelavic and Yakubu. Beattie was a huge dud and I honestly don't think Johnson was ever that great. Saha was a strange one, could look quality or utterly useless.

 

[RhylBlue]

The 07/08 team in particular was probably only a couple of players short of challenging for the league. Anyone remember that 9-match unbeaten run between January and March where we looked unstoppable? Think we lost to Fiorentina in the EL around that time then we ran out of steam and finished 5th in the league.

 

[Eggsyblueskin]

Every time he had a few bob he wasted it (Beattie et al), he performed at his best when he was swapping players for car stereo's and betamax video recorders!

No, he never had the money required to buy a top class striker, Beatie was a knock down price as he was already looking suspect. Yakubu was the best but for some weird reason he lost interest after 2 seasons at every club he went to and was already poor before his injury. Imagine a Lukaku quality striker in that team. Potential title winners.

 

[toffeeblue9]

We weren't far away from being a really good team

We lacked a right hand side, both full back and right mid and we could have done with a dynamic centre mid to partner Arteta.

But other than that, Jags and Lescott were a great pairing. Baines and Pienaar were at their peak together. Cahill and Arteta were obviously good and Yak in 07/08 was excellent.

The cup final defeat, loss of Lescott and subsequent poor re-investment of the proceeds was a watershed

 

[Cork Evertonian]

I crave the Arteta Pienaar Cahill axis in their peak.

I think we could have won the cup final had Jags not been injured too.

We were damn well unlucky to have both Jags and Arteta injured for that final.I think we had a few other injuries as well?Then you had that plastic nothing club Chelsea and their expensively assembled band of mercenaries.But winning that FA Cup after beating our neighbours United and Chelsea on the way would have been boss.That team and David Moyes deserved to have a trophy on their record but you don't always get what you deserve in life sadly.

 

[4737carlin]

Moyes would have done better with the £150m this summer.

Maybe but I always thought his cheap buys were some of his best, Inc Nigel Martyn and of course Coleman, spending a 150m budget isnt something I would say he woujld be great at, thats why at the time he was good for us and those negative transfer windows

 

[abelard]

*sighs, wistfully*

 

[Azzurri]

Baines/Pienaar was arguably the best left side in premier league history. Fans of other clubs would laugh at that because they’d think Irwin/Giggs, Cole/Pires etc., but I believe it’s true. They’re certainly in the top 3.

Arteta was a great player, Jagielka was one of the very best in the league during this period, Lescott partnered him perfectly, Cahill was Cahill, Yakubu was a slotting machine until the injury. Ah. I’m making myself sad.


Still didn’t win a tap mind you, and bottled every derby. Everton, that.

 

[degsy]

It didn't seem to attract much praise at the time but have the subsequent years and the harsh reality of the premier league given you a greater appreciation of the 07-09 team and what they accomplished (relative to premier league Everton not historical Everton)?

They're never spoken of as fondly as the 95/96 vintage (even ignoring their trophy win) or even the 04/05, 13/14 teams. I'd argue however that they were probably our best prem side for quality of football, consistency, and individual player ability.

Jagielka is arguably still our best CB now even after countless efforts to replace him, a decade ago prior to a cruciate ligament injury you could argue whether he was even the best CB in the team! When you see some of the defenders playing for us now, and dare I say at the RS too, you can see what an absolute quality pair Jags and Lescott were back then. Ditto for Baines.

Lavish sums have been splashed on McCarthy Gueye Schneiderlin Klaasen Siggurdson, we've also seen Cleverley Barkley Besic in our central midfield too. Can anyone honestly say that any of these players during their time at Everton can even hold a candle to Arteta Pienaar or Cahill?

Whilst we watch 150 million being spent and we line up with Niasse and Calvert Lewin up front, remember a peak Yakubu and Cahill up top with Johnson, and young injury free Anichebe and Vaughan on the bench?

When you add in solid pros like Neville Carsley Yobo Hibbert and Osman plus Fellaini (ok I never liked him but he's still in every United and Belgium squad) you begin to see that what was derided as a squad of 'hard working servants' actually contained far more quality than the one assembled now and could probably toy with any Everton team created by Martinez of Koeman since.

Perhaps that is why they qualified for Europe 3 years in a row, saw off Liverpool over 2 legs, and reached a cup final.

Has your opinion of that team, the individual players, Moyes, changed over time after watching what has come after them?

No my opinions haven't changed much, Moyes assembled them, fair play to him. Had crucial Injuries, not much he could do about that...all he needed to do was take the hand brake off and let them play a tad more, not gung ho keegan more, just a change in emphasis, but he didn't, so he can 'koff.
Martinez; All he needed was the tweak that Moyes didn't...but no he went all in and threw the Moyes baby out with the bath water, so he can 'koff too.

I thought Koeman would be the Goldilocks Option - Not too much Moyes and not too much Martinez. He's become the Anti - Goldilocks Option, aka, Too much Koeman, not enough anything else...so he can 'koff as well

That team now under a decent manager would be ripping it up good style.

 

[BornBlue76]

In fairness Moyes probably coaxed the best form of their careers out of Bent Jelavic and Yakubu. Beattie was a huge dud and I honestly don't think Johnson was ever that great. Saha was a strange one, could look quality or utterly useless.

Agree with Bent but absolutely disagree with Jelavic and Yakubu. Jelavic started like a house in fire then seemed to lose confidence. Yakubu was brilliant before he joined and was a machine when he joined. Again was an example of a predatory striker who was an unbelievable finisher gradually told he was lazy cos he didn't want to chase lost causes to the corner flag... recall him coming in, scoring while changing the game and then dropped next game. It's almost seemed personal to Moyes.

 

[Zatara]

It didn't seem to attract much praise at the time but have the subsequent years and the harsh reality of the premier league given you a greater appreciation of the 07-09 team and what they accomplished (relative to premier league Everton not historical Everton)?

They're never spoken of as fondly as the 95/96 vintage (even ignoring their trophy win) or even the 04/05, 13/14 teams. I'd argue however that they were probably our best prem side for quality of football, consistency, and individual player ability.

Jagielka is arguably still our best CB now even after countless efforts to replace him, a decade ago prior to a cruciate ligament injury you could argue whether he was even the best CB in the team! When you see some of the defenders playing for us now, and dare I say at the RS too, you can see what an absolute quality pair Jags and Lescott were back then. Ditto for Baines.

Lavish sums have been splashed on McCarthy Gueye Schneiderlin Klaasen Siggurdson, we've also seen Cleverley Barkley Besic in our central midfield too. Can anyone honestly say that any of these players during their time at Everton can even hold a candle to Arteta Pienaar or Cahill?

Whilst we watch 150 million being spent and we line up with Niasse and Calvert Lewin up front, remember a peak Yakubu and Cahill up top with Johnson, and young injury free Anichebe and Vaughan on the bench?

When you add in solid pros like Neville Carsley Yobo Hibbert and Osman plus Fellaini (ok I never liked him but he's still in every United and Belgium squad) you begin to see that what was derided as a squad of 'hard working servants' actually contained far more quality than the one assembled now and could probably toy with any Everton team created by Martinez of Koeman since.

Perhaps that is why they qualified for Europe 3 years in a row, saw off Liverpool over 2 legs, and reached a cup final.

Has your opinion of that team, the individual players, Moyes, changed over time after watching what has come after them?

I preferred us the season we finished 6th under Royle playing kanchelskis.

 

[Papa Shango]

Bunch of losers.

Played some nice football but still losers.

 

[BillLovesRoo]

We would have probably won the cup if Chelsea hadn't been robbed of their place in champions league final by a shocking performance from the referee in that semi final.

I swear it must be part of the refereeing oath to screw over Everton, directly or indirectly.

One of the best chelsea sides in htere history, you just know if the RS had got to the final they would of played Burton Albion, we had a tough run to the final aswell that year

 

[BillLovesRoo]

Question is, how many of them would get into our team now, i would probably say Pickford instead of Howard & Coleman instead of Neville and a few of the kids we have now are better than the kids we had around that time.
JAgs and Lescott for 18 months were as good as any partnership in the league