Homepage Article Whatever people say I am, I am not

[GrandOldTeam]

@catcherintherye's latest article is now online;

Whatever People say I am, I am not - Grand Old Team

It’s difficult to think of a season that has been as unanticipated as the one Everton are heading into. Much of that centre’s around the manager, who represented an uninspiring choice having failed in China in his previous role and has a history of ridiculous previous comments about the club...

www.grandoldteam.com

 

[Death]

I'll...catch.. this one later

 

[PSB1]

In my view, a lot had happened with Ancelotti before he left. It was - to me - far too smoothly choreographed. I believe he got the news about cash shortage and then later made the comment, "I am not a magician" and the die was cast. Maybe it helps Evertonians to label him as a rat.

Sorry, but I'm not going to invest the amount of time it would take to read the whole article.

 

[bluelife]

?

I am fully behind Benitez now!

 

[Brett Angell Delight]

but you would have to be a very odd individual to have any respect for him on a personal level

Rude.

 

[catcherintherye]

In my view, a lot had happened with Ancelotti before he left. It was - to me - far too smoothly choreographed. I believe he got the news about cash shortage and then later made the comment, "I am not a magician" and the die was cast. Maybe it helps Evertonians to label him as a rat.

Sorry, but I'm not going to invest the amount of time it would take to read the whole article.

I don't blame you!

And the way Ancelotti left was very odd really. I still don't think we had much time to mourn that. It felt like we lost 5-0 and he left all on top of one another.

 

[ForeverBlue92]

Good stuff mate!

 

[Number_25]

Superb article.

 

[davek]

I tell you what - every single person connected to this club, be they players, managers, owners or fans, need to acquire a humbleness that's been absent from Everton since Moshiri came in.

I think if I were watching on from another club I'd be repulsed at the stunts that a classic English football club like Everton have been getting up to in half a decade of waste and profligacy and claims of imminent success. In fact, if I were a fan of another club I'd be cock-a-hoop at a club that's tried to be the new rich kids on the block and ended up as sad and humiliated parvenus falling flat on its face looking down the back of the couch again for cash to spend because they'd been spectacularly mis-governed.

It's time we rediscovered our identity as a hard working organisation that makes every opponent earn the right to take a single point off us...and every club need to pay top dollar for one of ours if they want one for themselves and we need to play hardball with them when they want too much for one of theirs.

That's not to say we cant achieve, just that we need to close the door on the tone and strategy of the first failed five years of the Moshiri period.

Asceticism, prudence and honest hard work. That's what we should be looking to. Players who dont want to be here can GTF out now because we have no need for them. And fans need to ditch the dreams of spending our way to success. That ship has sailed and sunk.

 

[catcherintherye]

Superb article.

Thank you!

 

[catcherintherye]

I tell you what - every single person connected to this club, be they players, managers, owners or fans, need to acquire a humbleness that's been absent from Everton since Moshiri came in.

I think if I were watching on from another club I'd be repulsed at the stunts that a classic English football club like Everton have been getting up to in half a decade of waste and profligacy and claims of imminent success. In fact, if I were a fan of another club I'd be cock-a-hoop at a club that's tried to be the new rich kids on the block and ended up as sad and humiliated parvenus falling flat on its face looking down the back of the couch again for cash to spend because they'd been spectacularly mis-governed.

It's time we rediscovered our identity as a hard working organisation that makes every opponent earn the right to take a single point off us...and every club need to pay top dollar for one of ours if they want one for themselves and we need to play hardball with them when they want too much for one of theirs.

That's not to say we cant achieve, just that we need to close the door on the tone and strategy of the first failed five years of the Moshiri period.

Asceticism, prudence and honest hard work. That's what we should be looking to. Players who dont want to be here can GTF out now because we have no need for them. And fans need to ditch the dreams of spending our way to success. That ship has sailed and sunk.

Yes all very good points. I think there's a lot in it too, that Moshiri tried to fundamentally alter what had worked before as opposed to looking to build on what was good. In completely breaking what went before, in simple terms, he doesn't have enough money to rebuild it back better. That;s the reality. I doubt anyone does, especially not with financial regulations.

It says a lot to me, that Moyes and Martinez were given serious consideration. Two managers who 5 years ago would have been deemed just not good enough. I think each of them understood different aspects of the club (I'm not saying all aspects). I still think Moshiri would have been better building upon some of the positives, and using the liquidity to develop them further, as opposed to doing a very poor imitation of Chelsea.

What we might be seeing under Benitez (and I kind of hope we are) is some of the better aspects of what occurred under Smith, with hopefully not the drawbacks. Smith is probably judged harshly with hindsight, but with very little money, and a lack of trust in him from the board, he actually spotted and signed a number of solid, decent players for a pittance really. Our issue was, we were constantly selling players so could never get any consistency.

However if you would have got a combination of Steve Watson, Stubbs, Weir, Xavier, Gough, Materazzi, Ball, Hutchison, Dacourt, Gravesen, Carsley, Barmby (who I know he didn't sign but he rejuvinated), Campbell, Radzinski and Jeffers and actually kept most of them together, I think we could have been a top 6 team. There also lads like Gemmill, Pembridge, Unsworth, Linderoth etc who weren't world beaters, but were signed for low fees and never let us down. They were Alex Iwobi's but signed for next to nothing. Our issue was, we had to keep moving players on every summer so could never gel a squad.

I am seeing similar with Benitez. I've been critical of him in the article in as much as he is a fairly charmless man in all honesty. So was Moyes though. But I can't knock the signings of Gray and Townsend. They seem like good buys to me for an absolute pittance.

 

[blulouie]

Great read again @catcherintherye
Ancelotti....

Not a lot shocks me in the crazy world of top flight football but the way he left actually did.
It was if the club were too stunned to actually make a propper statement about the departure , and as you point out the fans left grasping at straws looking for any sort of explaination.
His lad literally took the keys to his newly refurbished house in Woolton a day or so earlier , of course when a club as mighty as Madrid comes calling its pretty hard to turn down .
The last 4 games there was a noticable change in Ancelotti's demeanour , I was hoping it was he just had to accept the season was over ( hence telling James to go sort his injury and get fit for the Copa ) it just looked he was resigned to it then it would be go have a break , recharge then strengthen for this season.
There are other factors like the violent break in at his house that obviously shook his family.
Either way it was the biggest setback we have had since Moshiri took control ,from having a world reknowned manager bringing quality players in it was just a matter of time before we where up there challenging.
The difference from then to now is stark , its left a fanbase bereft of hope for the coming season although some are putting a brave face on it.

Everton that.

( i hate that saying )

 

[catcherintherye]

Great read again @catcherintherye
Ancelotti....

Not a lot shocks me in the crazy world of top flight football but the way he left actually did.
It was if the club were too stunned to actually make a propper statement about the departure , and as you point out the fans left grasping at straws looking for any sort of explaination.
His lad literally took the keys to his newly refurbished house in Woolton a day or so earlier , of course when a club as mighty as Madrid comes calling its pretty hard to turn down .
The last 4 games there was a noticable change in Ancelotti's demeanour , I was hoping it was he just had to accept the season was over ( hence telling James to go sort his injury and get fit for the Copa ) it just looked he was resigned to it then it would be go have a break , recharge then strengthen for this season.
There are other factors like the violent break in at his house that obviously shook his family.
Either way it was the biggest setback we have had since Moshiri took control ,from having a world reknowned manager bringing quality players in it was just a matter of time before we where up there challenging.
The difference from then to now is stark , its left a fanbase bereft of hope for the coming season although some are putting a brave face on it.

Everton that.

( i hate that saying )

Thanks mate. And yes I think we were reeling. It looks like the board, not just the fans went "all in" on Ancelotti and that was a big mistake really.

 

[Paul Rideout]

@catcherintherye's latest article is now online;

Whatever People say I am, I am not - Grand Old Team

It’s difficult to think of a season that has been as unanticipated as the one Everton are heading into. Much of that centre’s around the manager, who represented an uninspiring choice having failed in China in his previous role and has a history of ridiculous previous comments about the club...

www.grandoldteam.com

Without looking at it, is this when people Calle Iwobi a footballer?

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

Good read, and thank you!