When I was a lad, every so often I would skive off school. It wasn’t a chronic problem, for the most part my parents ignored it and my teachers didn’t seem to notice. All except one teacher – he taught English and French, had the features of a hawk and a crew cut to match. He would always sniff the air before he made a withering comment about my previous day’s absence. Sometimes I was actually legitimately absent; he still didn’t care. Once a schoolmate broke into his desk and uncovered a trove of little notes written about us. The note about me said that I was “naively aimiable”.
When Duncan Ferguson was sold to Newcastle I stayed at home, heartbroken. The next day I trudged to school, wincing as he swept into the classroom – expecting a lashing from his cruel tongue. Except nothing happened. Even he understood.
News crept through this week of the third coming of Duncan Ferguson and lots of us were overjoyed. The Big Yin, who doesn’t have his coaching badges yet, is going to help Alan Irvine out with our youth teams at the Everton Academy. He could be perfect as a coach, eventually. His personality, coupled with his obvious love for our club, could work well with our young impressionable kids.
Duncan Ferguson is an Everton legend. Not like Neville Southall, Dixie Dean, Alan Ball or Alex Young, but no blue in the Premier League era has been worshiped like this totemic Scot. He was a fitting hero for the mid 90′s Everton – a team shorn of glamour that brushed cheeks with relegation. Who are the smug older Evertonians to tell us that he isn’t a legend? They were spoilt with their stars – and Duncan was our hero: skilled, injury prone, violent; the birdman of Barlinnie prison, a big game player and purveyor of skyscraping headers.
The joyous reaction to Duncan’s return is an obvious one. We were starved of summer signings, we’ve just lost three league games on the bounce, and financially we haven’t got a pot to piss in. We’re scratching around for good news. What I’m more confused by is the reaction to the signing of James McFadden on a free transfer. My initial thoughts were negative too, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I think he will be a good addition.
The first problem that people have with McFadden is that he is a “crock”, and that his cruciate injury has destroyed him as a player. But pace was never integral to McFadden’s game, and he has already played 45 minutes for the reserves and done well enough in training for Moyes to sign him. Many felt that selling McFadden to Birmingham in the first place was a good move because he was so infuriatingly inconsistent, what we have now is a more mature player who, at 28, is only hitting his peak years and will also bring added maturity that was perhaps missing in his previous stint at Goodison Park.
The second issue that is brought up is that he was on a free transfer. The lack of a price tag, the fact that he was shuffling around in the free transfer darkness looking for a for club, surely meant that he was worthless and useless. No one else wanted him, so why did we – utter mugs that we are – swoop for him? Well as it turns out, other clubs were in for him too – Wolves were in talks to sign him and Celtic were interested too. In fact, Birmingam City wanted to keep McFadden but couldn’t reach an agreement. So as it turns out, Moyes isn’t signing a player no one else wants, he is signing a player who was being tracked by other clubs and is still only 28.
The third gripe with the signing of McFadden is that it is “a step backwards”. Why are we buying him, when we have Barkley, Drenthe, Vellios et al champing at the bit? Is this crippled Scot going to be fast tracked to the first team? All these moans baffle me. Moyes has given no indication that he is going to go straight into our first XI, I suspect he’s been brought in to bolster our shallow squad. Whereas teams like Man City have an ocean of options, we have a paddling pool. Signing a proven Premier League talent like McFadden is surely a sensible move.
My fridge is currently looking a little bare, a couple of bricks of cheese, a few yoghurts, some milk. Why would adding some eggs to my fridge ever be considered a backward step?
The thing that gets me about all the McFadden moaning is people seem to be missing the bigger picture.
We are scratching around for free transfers in mid-October because the club has been mismanaged for the last 10 or so years.
One man is ultimately responsible for that. The sooner the sheep stop clapping whenever his fat F**king face appears on the big screen, and makes Goodison a really nasty place for him, NOTHING will change.
your attitude regarding Mc fadden is disgraceful, if David Moyes feels he can get something out of him then I’m happy, the lad always gave his all,and has undisputed talent and rather than hinder the kids coming through he can alleviate the pressure on them with his vast experience and that can only be good
Well said Ed.
Some fans are so negative I just don’t know why they actually bother. They don’t support anyone or anything at the club.
great comments and i like you want to know why moyes is not playing velios, drenthe and barkley, why has he also brought in a centre forward denis stracqualuasi if he does not play him, will mcfadden be sitting on the bench while moyes persevers with saha and cahill up front, it’s a system that as not scored any goals for a long time, we need two reconised strikers up front with cahil playing in the midfield
Last time I saw McFadden play was for Birmingham against us at Goodison. He played centre forward and played very well. He put himself about a bit. I’m not sure if that was becasue he had improved as a player, or if raised his game because he thought he had something to prove. Admittedly, that was before his cruciate injury. The point I’m making is that if fit, he will be an asset. If he gets to play, then 100% of Evertonians should be behind him. McFadden himself has said that he knows he would not have been able to come back if the club was not scraping the barrel. So c’mon, at least give the lad a chance.
Dixie …. You’re just so right! You get me every time thank you x
When are the moyes/kenwright bashers going too get a life we have NO
money and why not take a chance on faddy it cost us nothin and we are
short of numbers! I just wish them who keep slaging the club off would go and join the rest of mindless dickheads across the park!!!!!! !!!!!
Kenwright/Moyes Bashers appear to be totally divorced from world events. Have you noticed theres a global economic crisis with more and more people on the dole and wages getting frozen and businesses going tits up. Football clubs are billionaires playthings and aside from Shitteh and Chelsea every other buyout has ranged from awful to dissappointing. As for Mcfadden, he always had ability and if he can come in for nothing and do the job as he occasionally did on his last stay that’ll do for me. We’re skint, and we know we are.