It is now time to switch to a new Money AM football blog as the world cup is now over and we all look to the future.....World cup 2010 is over, Bravo Espana, and Forlan, once again and bring on the new season !.....I never expected the last thread to be such a success...thanks all.... so this new one might go on for years without the need to edit the title...we shall see...

lol mate you just cheered me up no end.

From My Seat: QPR (H)
By Ken Buckley :: 04/01/2014


Comments (1) jump to end
A goodly number of us assembled at our meeting place and the room of nonsense soon was abuzz with the possibilities of the day and indeed the possible outcome of the transfer window. Hot off the press was that Baines was not in the squad due to negotiations regarding atransfer to Man United. This was to be Jelavic's last game in a Blue shirt and we would get Dos Santos. Well, I told you it was the room of nonsense.

The teams were received via the cyber-space gateway which set off more permutations of comings and goings in January and after eleven years of Moyes putting out weakened teams in the cup, the same seemed the same today. Not many saw this as a foregone conclusion yet by 5.00pm we had trounced them and the cult following that Martinez is enjoying got larger.

The walk up to the ground was about as lively as the weather which could best be described as overcast and dank. It’s strange on cup days how the buzz of a Premier League match is replaced by a sort of suck-it-and-see attitude considering the team changes. After entering the ground an announcement was made informing all of a 10-minute delay due to excessive queuing at the Bullens Road/Park End ticket office as once again on a cup day the ticketing operation was not as smooth as might be expected of a multi-million pound business.

Still the resident record player operator put on all the cup songs of the past yet I noted the Manfred Man song that we replaced the word Quinn with Ev-er-ton was missing. Still its cup day so let’s get at it. The teams duly arrived and our Ref was Howard (I’m the greatest) Webb accompanied by the assistants and today we had a Judy Lino who seemed better than the bloke who only seemed to raise a flag when the great one told him.

Off we went attacking the Park End and right away the Martinez way was in action no matter the personnel on show and but for a weak effort to connect with a cross as the goal beckoned was to be our only scare of a half which was going to consist of us probing and passing in search of the opening that we could profit from. We had varying degrees of success but never that ball that produces a goal, some a bit over-hit, some a bit under-hit. All over the pitch we seeing good performances and none better than the young Stones at centre back.

The half though was being built around Barry and McCarthy who were instrumental in repelling what was building up toward our goal and the catalyst for all the forward moves which in turn let every member of the team put down a marker. Barkley was quality one minute then ordinary the next but could never be ignored which was a source of trouble for the visitors who incidentally had many players of premier and international experience within their ranks. Wherever you looked we had players playing well but just that final finish was missing. It was mostly all one way but the crowd were getting a little restless at our inability to score yet with the patient build up throughout the team it just seemed a matter of time.

Around the half hour mark Barkley surged and hit a shot that the Brazil international keeper could not hold and the quicksilver Osman was first to react but put his stretched effort over the bar. We were not to be denied though as on 35mins the excellent Oviedo roared forward down the left and a peach of a ball fed Barkley who took it on and curled a pearler home leaving the keeper stranded. We needed that goal and the reaction of the crowd whilst celebrating seemed to somehow know it was ‘Game over’ but let’s have a goal spree anyway. The ball was sprayed about front back and sides as the Blues built and probed and it was no surprise just before the break when our play was rewarded a second time and everyone was delighted for Jelavic as he got a break in mid-field from a mistake by a QPR player and strode on and despatched a 20yarder beyond the keeper. Cue raucous celebrations and delight by players and fans alike as the Croat broke a very unwanted statistic. Just a minute of added time and the break was reached to the satisfaction of all of a Blue persuasion.

H/T time and mostly the chat was light-hearted with many believing it could have been five!

Second half, no changes from our manager and two goals to the good we set about the opposition again and this half followed a similar pattern to the first with us spraying the ball about in what is now known as the Martinez way which is great to see, but every now and again a slight slip whilst passing across goal brings the ‘Watch it’ roar from the assembled. Otherwise this was a very one-sided half and many were wrestling with the notion of ‘Are we that good’ or is the second team in the championship ‘That bad’. Whatever the reason we played some great stuff and from keeper who was keeping his first clean sheet to Jelavic up front getting his first goals since, what is it, March 2013? Every member played a part.

Coleman had a couple of raspers saved; one was a brilliant save from the keeper. Barkley had surges and blasts, mostly off target, it has to be said, but a constant threat. Oviedo was playing the left touchline in great fashion with excellent defending and productive runs and dangerous crosses. This lad can play. It was his slalom of a run that set up the second for Jelavic who was left just a couple of yards out and free to accept the great pass from the Costa Rican and tap home. (He wellied really). ‘Jela’ was the word on the lips as two goals in a game was thought by many to never be seen again.

Just about ten minutes later the Oviedo machine was at it again as he powered his way into the box and eventually the keeper brought him down and even Howard Webb agreed with the faithful that it was a penalty. ‘Jela’ – ‘Jela’ - ‘Jela’ was the cry. No team-mate made any effort to take the ball so the stage was set for a Jelavic hat trick.

He placed the ball with precision and on the whistle he sashayed to the ball and dinked a slow motion shot that beat the keeper but sadly not the bar and the groans could be heard in Kirkby. Could he challenge Lukaku for a starting berth on this form or will he be moved on? January sounds exciting as long as you believe nothing till something happens. I think he deserved to take the ball home today but it was not to be.

It was easy-peasy now but fair play the Blues did not shut up shop and none roared forward with purpose more than Coleman and near the 80min mark Barkley had another devastating run with swerve and power and played the marauding Coleman in down the right and in keeping with his present form he smashed it across the keeper and tested the net fastenings. Much celebrating took place as the scoreboard clicked over to read 4-0 and that score line was a surprise to no-one. That was goal number 6 from our right back.

He was then subbed and Hibbert made his return and on his first touch the roar of ‘SHOOOT’ was prominent. That brought more smiles to faces. With little more than 5mins to go the excellent Barry made way for Heitinga and Barkley left the field to a great ovation as Mirallas took over.

No one was pushing themselves now as we kept ball as the clock ticked down. Such was our dominance today the faithful idn’t even bother with the ‘Ole’s .

Final whistle and we all filed out satisfied and made our way to destinations various. Many stopped off at the Fat Van and chippies and queue’s had formed. Someone asked what a Fat Van was, Mike I think, well it’s a large mobile caravan that cooks all the processed trans-fat meats and cholesterol laden multitudinous calorie carriers that our health police say will ensure an early grave to participants. The warnings seem unheeded.

M.O.tM. Many great performances that no matter who you pick would be hard to argue with but for me the Barry – McCarthy axis dictated the play from front to back which allowed all the others to strut their stuff. Our keeper didn’t have a save to make all match- wow

Back to the room of nonsense and no heavy tactical discussions needed. Just a Brown/Bitter and a laugh did me. I took Dick Fearons advice of a brown bitter is also called a ‘communist’ so I ordered with confidence. However our lady bar person loudly requested I go away in jerky movements!
Back again next Saturday for the visit of Norwich. Will not be as easy as today but we can’t afford another slip up at home.

See you there to ‘roar em on’!

UP THE BLUES.




Reader Comments

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Mike Gaynes
981 Posted 04/01/2014 at 23:45:28

Thanks, Ken! Having been abandoned by the TV gods today, we all envied your eyewitness position.
The Everton radio guys kept commenting on how quiet Goodison was today. Did you have the same reaction?

SAM ALLARDYCE??????????????????? Do West Ham have money to chuck away??.

Thought they lost 5-0 today.

If Everton keep up this form to end of season, top 4 or 5 reckon Roberto Martinez will zip up that table. United paying Moyes those sort of wages may regret it. Allardyce misprint sureley :O)

Moyes..........................humbug.

Useless display today.

GF - Oh Dear, looks like you and your pals could be in negative equity with your box at Old Trafford :O) Got to blame Fergie, without Rooney and Van Persie your team are a bag of shite. As you can imagine myself and fellow Evertonians owe him a huge debt of gratitude as it's becoming more evident that Martinez is by far the better manager than "The Chosen One" LOL!!

Hey Chris we didnt go today, not covered for cup matches.

I am told Martinez would have been Fergies first choice if he had been born Scotish........straight up.

Defence looks a shambles, looks worse on TV than when you are there.

That young idiot fabio as to be sold, how many times as he done that.

Midfield not covering defence.

In short we have lost more confidence than the England cricket team so that is saying a lot, blah blah blah blah humbug.

Solskjaer is on over £4 million at Cardiff.

Yeah and I bet half of that includes his redundancy money up front I expect -):

Back to the weekends most outstanding game... featuring quite naturally "you know who" http://www.itv.com/sport/football/article/2014-01-04/fa-third-round-highlights-southampton-4-3-burnley/

Man United are doing so well at the moment they are apparently going to lend £15 million signing Zaha to Cardiff , I love Moyes :)

Another 10 Saha's maybe, and then they might stand a chance of staying up -):

2 Norweigans signing tomorrow ... the other 8 you suggested by Friday Stan :-)

"Norway playmaker Eikrem, sold by Molde to Heerenveen during the summer, has been compared in the Dutch media to former Tottenham and current Real Madrid star Luka Modric.

His Norwegian team-mate Daehil, 18, is being talked of back home as a potential footballing superstar in the making.

Solskjaer believes Cardiff’s midfield give the ball away too easily and views Eikrem and Daehli as ideal men to retain possession and also provide the cutting edge which has been missing for most of the season."

Well, he certainly talks a good game, Norwegians as superstars?... What ever next -):

Sam Volkes signs an extension at the Fortress today until 2016-17... Now that is good news.

Walcott out for six months and will miss England's disastrous World Cup tournament in Brazil.

Great news, In that it lets the door open for Danny "Super" Ings... And about time too!

HNY to all - is it the thing to shorten?

Good luck to OGS and the 2 ex-MU youngsters, and if Zaha goes on loan then 20legend seems a good shout as tutor.

Cheers,
KidA

Eusebio, One if not the best players that I have ever seen and a fitting tribute here, worth a view of his skills and a read http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25611762

Everton are ready for Champions League football...
by Michael Kenrick | 06/01/2014 Comments (213) jump to end
Moyes brainwashed fans into thinking 8th was good enough

This rather lavish spread in the much-maligned Daily Mail reminds us that, during Roberto Martinez's unveiling as the new Everton manager, chairman Bill Kenwright revealed the Spaniard had promised to deliver Champions League football to Goodison Park. It's fair to say the comment raised a few eyebrows. How could Everton compete with the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool on a shoestring budget? With virtually the same players Moyes left behind?
It has now become apparent to at least one journalist, Elliot Bretland, that Everton fans were brainwashed by David Moyes during his 11-year spell in charge of the club:

Every year the Scot - unable to sign players worthy of the top four due to the club's tight purse strings - convinced observers that he was pulling off miracle after miracle by guiding the Toffees to sixth, seventh or eighth in the table and that the club was punching above its weight.
Moyes created the illusion that it was impossible for Everton to challenge those with more financial clout - through a lack of belief in his own players and pessimism during interviews. There was a glass ceiling and Moyes' hands were tied — he was doing the best he could. or so he claimed. But Martinez has proved that's not the case at all.

Read the full article.

[Thanks to Ray Roche, who kindly flagged a link to this article on another thread. — The Editor]

Quotes or other material sourced from Daily Mail

Reader Comments
Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer


Patrick Murphy
488 Posted 06/01/2014 at 11:09:04 Thanks to Ray Roche for that link to an intelligent and decent article reflecting the altered mindset at Goodison Park – I assume the author is a Blue.
Phil Bellis
497 Posted 06/01/2014 at 11:46:27 Cheers for that link, Ray
It's not just most of us on here, then, who see the difference in management style, application, quality, skill, mindset and attitude
This exemplifies it for me...
"'The Champions League is the challenge that comes with the title of being Everton manager. I feel you need to have that dream."

Robert Elliott
506 Posted 06/01/2014 at 12:13:17 A well written article, primarily about Martinez, but with some pertinent points about the Moyes era as well.
The difference I see between Moyes and Martinez is how ready Roberto is to mention the history of our great club, not as something to shy away from, but as something to aspire to. Is it any coincidence that Moyes never had anything to do with Kendall whilst he was here, yet Martinez invited him to Finch Farm the first chance he got?

My feelings towards Moyes now are incredibly mixed. His manner of departure and subsequent comments, as well as his clumsy pursuit of Fellaini and Baines have soured a lot of what he did whilst he was here.

Lets be honest, as Evertonians we believe there is something just a little bit more special about this club. We idolise people like Alan Ball, Duncan Ferguson and Tim Cahill, who not only get it whilst they are here but also long after they've left, and we tend to have a low opinion of those who regard their time at Goodison as a stepping stone in their careers and nothing more. Lineker appears to fit into that category and I now suspect Moyes does as well.

James Hughes
510 Posted 06/01/2014 at 12:38:34 For me, nothing better typifies a Bluenose than this site: Erudition, wit, put downs, sartorial language and musical education — we my friends have no equal.
My dad and sister are reds but I prefer football; Goodison felt like HOME first time I went there, the other place left me feeling like I needed a wash.

So, from a child of the Latchford/Thomas era, I want the luxury of being able to dream to see good football — just like I did when I was a season ticket holder (well occasional good football).

Lastly, having lived 'down sarf' for 30 years, I was almost sacked when we won the league in '85 for going back to work a day late...

I WANT TO CELEBRATE THAT MUCH AGAIN

Craig Walker
514 Posted 06/01/2014 at 13:21:20 I got laughed at by some RS colleagues when I said that I wanted Martinez as manager on FB straight after the cup exit calamity.
When he went, RS fans were saying "that's all our dreams now. United will be shite and so will Everton".

Some of us were saying since the semi-final debacle that a manager who played the ball on the ground and didn't adopt this knife to a gunfight mentality would do a lot better than Moyes.

He's already playing down expectations for this transfer window just like he used to do with us.

Our achievements count for nothing this season though because we're abusing the loan system. Despite us having no money and being up there with the top teams, we are doing it by frauding the system.

Will anyone ever give us any credit?

Colin Glassar
515 Posted 06/01/2014 at 13:27:03 I can't add anything to that Craig. These are, essentially, OFM players but with a totally different mindset. They've been set free from the shackles that ginger and his cohorts had them in and Roberto is reaping the benefits. Now the miserable sod is using the same arguments at his 'bigger club' and the Mancs are hating it. I'm loving every bit of it.
Darryl Ritchie
537 Posted 06/01/2014 at 15:45:19 Perhaps the masses are starting to clue in, but, to Evertonians this is really old news!
Chris Williamson
538 Posted 06/01/2014 at 15:41:05 Nail, head.
Danny Broderick
539 Posted 06/01/2014 at 15:46:53 How refreshing! A lot of very true points in there.
Liam Reilly
540 Posted 06/01/2014 at 15:42:48 Cracking article and nice to see a journalist do thier homework for once.
Still flying under the radar as far as Sky (or graveyard for ex RS players) is concerned. Let's hope that continues into 2014.

Alan Ross
541 Posted 06/01/2014 at 15:49:23 Been dreaming since attending my first home game in '58 with a fair few coming true in the first 30 years and only very few since. Only this season have those dreams been reignited with any expectations of coming true. Long may that feeling continue.
Simon Hermansen
542 Posted 06/01/2014 at 15:52:01 A sports journalist that actually sees things for what they are rather that peddling the tired old cliches. (And a Mail journo to boot!)
I believe this is just another string to Roberto's plan to create and maintain a positive mindset inside and (also importantly) outside the club i.e. get the media and pundits saying this stuff – because once one or two start saying it others follow – and it all just adds to the ever expanding mass of belief he is building around our great club

Michael Kenrick
543 Posted 06/01/2014 at 15:57:17 I'm still dumbstruck that I can read an article on Everton — in the Daily Mail of all places — and feel I agree 100% with every single word. Fantastic stuff.
Simon Smith
546 Posted 06/01/2014 at 15:51:19 I was saying in the pub on Saturday after the cup game how good it is to wake up on matchday and no longer be worried about who we are playing that day and be able to look forward to the up-coming games.
Who knew that 'ol whiskey nose would do us such a good deed by picking DM to be the next captain of a sinking ship? Can only hope he goes down without a trace

Mike Hughes
549 Posted 06/01/2014 at 15:57:17 What a great read. I've just picked myself off the floor given it was the Daily Mail though if it had appeared in the Daily Mirror I'd have needed a defibrillator as well. They're as rs red as The Echo (and I'm talking football not politics).
Out walking our Dixie yesterday and I said to another Evertonian dog-walker that it feels like 1983 again. He agreed.

I particularly liked the line:

"There's a genuine feeling that Everton, not could, but will do something special under the Spaniard's stewardship."