Well that's the season over for another year ..thank goodness and the Blues have hit the dizzy heights of 15th in the league, well done lads! I know that it has been a long and hard season for the players but what about the fans! They have suffered long and hard not just this season but for many a season gone by.
We started off the season with Walter Smith then after a string of bad results and one really stinking FA Cup performance at Boro, the Chairman had no choice left but to sack Walter.
Walter has since came out and said the injury crisis that the club had at the time was easing and he believed that he could have steered the club to safety. Walter was interviewed on Sky Sports and said, "We spent a fair bit of money while we were there, the problem was we had to recoup it." This seems to be an on going problem at Everton as Walter's Replacement was another Scot, Preston North End Manager David Moyes.
Walter was not the only one to leave Everton during this troubled season. Abel Xavier, Danny Cadamateri and Paul Gascoigne all left the club to go on to pastures new.
The Everton fans say, "Everton are a big club". Wrong Everton used to be a big club ! No more!! They are what's known in the game as a "sleeping giant" just waiting to be awakened, and we are getting the right team in place of that I am sure! David Moyes is one of the best young managers around just ask anyone. Manchester United were reported to be interested in making him the right hand man to Sir Alex with a possible view to grooming him as his successor and they were not the only ones looking!
I believe that in time David will bring success to Everton Football Club but it will not be an overnight achivement, this sleeping giant may need a few alarm calls to stir it and wake it up properly until
then we must be patient and treat it with the care and love it needs, just as we have always done in the past.
Now that the season is over and Everton lost a seven goal thriller against Arsenal, a bit of a downer really scoring 3 goals v the Champions at Highbury and still end up on the losing side! At least a bit of encouragement that the back of the net can actually be found against a top class side.
No sooner had the final whistle blown on the last day of the season then the first arrivals to David Moyes new backroom team have came through the Goodison Park door. It is no surprise that the first part of the "new look" Everton are Alan Irvine (new assistant Manager) and Jimmy Lumsden(new coach). Alan is an ex Everton player who had 80 appearances with the Blues before going on to play with Crystal Palace, Dundee United and Blackburn.
I welcome Alan back "home" and wish him all the best in his new job with the People's club! Jimmy was in charge of the Celtic youth team were David Moyes played and starred before moving up to the first team. Jimmy has been with David at Preston and now moves to Goodison Park with him. I wish Jimmy all the best in his new job and hopefully through time the new backroom team will bring success to this club...it's overdue!
The first casualties to be shown the Goodison Park exit door are no real surprise either. Alec Cleland and David Ginola are the first two players to be shown the door as the boss tries to get his squad ready for the new arrivals and the new season challenges that lie ahead. I feel that with Cleland maybe the former boss seen the best of him at Rangers where at Everton he was hardly seen. With David he was maybe a couple of years too late to be an Everton great, which is a shame because he really is a class act and the only thing you could say in his defense was at least in his debut v Arsenal he showed glimpses of the old Ginola magic and we were the better side and only lost to a fluke!
The one that did come as a shock to me was the departure of Jesper Blomqvist. I thought that Jesper had something to offer the Blues! I wish him all the best for the future, wherever it may be.
Another departure from Goodison is Matt McKay who has been forced to retire due to an ankle injury; this is a real shame as the lad is only 21! We can only wish Matt all the very best for the future whatever it may hold for him.
On the subject of youngsters, the Everton youth team took a hammering at home,4-1 from Aston Villa, this despite superblue kid Wayne Rooney
giving the Blues the lead.
Plans for the pre-season games have already gone to Press and they are as follows.
The Blues Tour 2002/2003
Shrewsbury at Gay Meadow Sat.July 20th 3 pm k/o
Scottish Club in Scotland Tues. 23rd July 7.45 pm
Aberdeen at Pittodrie Sat.27th July 3 pm k/o
Hibernian at Easter Road Mon. 29th July 7.45 k/o
Chester City at Deva Stadium Wed. 31st July 7.45 k/o
Wrexham at Racecourse Ground Tues 6th Aug 7.30 k/o
David Unsworth Testimonial at Goodison 10 Aug.v Athletic Bilbao
No doubt that James, Andrew and Tommy will be at every game before the team bus even leaves Merseyside!
As the World Cup draws nearer it is nice to see that at least one of our players, Tomasz Radzinski, scoring twice against Switzerland in a 3-1 win, it is a pity that you don't have any Scottish relations!
The only thing I will say about the South Korea match is that both David Weir and Scott Gemmill did play.
Before I sign-off for my pre-season break I must pay tribute to the fans of both Real Madrid and Bayer Leverkusen and the players for providing this city with a great atmosphere before and after the Champions League Final, it was truly a great occasion and one that I will always remember as long as I live. The goal from Mr. Zidane that won the Cup was fitting of the occasion and I am just glad to say that I was one of the lucky ones who had a ticket!
Being able to say I saw these guys strut their stuff is something that I can tell not only my workmates and family but also my daughter, who slept through the whole city center experience!
Before I go I would like to pay tribute to a team of guys that won a trophy on the 15th of May1985…the Cup was the Cup Winners Cup and the team was Everton. Sitting at Hampden on Wednesday made me think what might have been if the team had not been banned the Following season from entering the European Cup...who knows!
For the record the team on that great night was as follows.
Southall, Stevens, Ratcliffe, Mountfield, VanDenHauwe, Steven, Reid, Bracewell, Sheedy, Gray and Sharp
The score 3-1 scorers Andy Gray 58 mins, Trevor Steven 72
mins Kevin Sheedy 85 mins and for the record Hans Krankl scored for Rapid in 84 mins. We salute you still to this day and we hope that one day the good times will return to the people's club on Liverpool!
All the best to you all for the summer and best of luck to all the Blues involved in the World Cup.
Have a great pre-season here's to a better season next year under David Moyes but no matter what, "Once an Evertonian always an Evertonian!”.
Let's celebrate next season with our 100 years in the top
flight with a big push from all at Goodison to get the club a top ten place and maybe, just maybe we can give our all and make the Worthington Cup a Priority next season...well it's a start !