Bio: An Evertonian for as long as I can remember, I grew up on Cambridge Road ten minutes from Goodison Park. I have happy but sketchy memories of watching the great Everton teams of the 80′s. Sadily, I then suffered as a matchgoer through the highs and lows of the 90s rarely missing a game as a Junior Evertonian. Sadly four children later I can’t afford get to many games anymore. However, my passion for the club remains the same which is why I was a founder member of Evertonians for Change.
1. Why Everton?
My immediate family were all staunch Kopites but I never felt any affinity to Liverpool. The club meant nothing to me and I did not feel an affinity with the fans or the players. I was drawn to Everton watching the likes of Neville Southall on Television and can’t recall “deciding” to become an Evertonian, I just felt like that is who and what I was. It sounds corny, but it really was a case of born not manufactured for me.
2. I remember standing among a glum chain gang of fans at Kirkdale train station in the late 90′s, we’d just been beaten at Goodison, the rain was pissing on us, and some cheeky Liverpool fans were laughing and mooning us from the top of the stairs. That was the lowest I felt as an Everton fan. What is your all time high/low as a fan?
The highs have been few and far between but any match goer through the 90′s will point to the same two instances. The game against Wimbledon in 1994 that kept us up and the 1995 Cup final. For me the feeling was more of being emotionally drained and relieved against Wimbledon although the memory is a treasured. However, it isn’t even the cup final itself that I would pick. Queuing up outside the ground through the night is my best experience as an Everton fan. Huddled in a sleeping bag in a queue that went round the ground and beyond is my favourite memory as an Evertonian. The camaraderie and friendliness that night is something I will never forget.
3. What player from the past would you sign for our current team?
A player we have never really come close to replacing. Andrei Kanchelskis. The ultimate flying winger and arguably the single most effective player I have seen in an Everton shirt. We need a player who can win games single handedly and Andrei did that.
4. Who is your favourite Everton player of all time?
Without question or hesitation Neville Southall. Easily the best keeper of all time in my opinion and for a long period the best goalkeeper in the World. Unbeatable for long spells and despite us having a number of genuinely top class keepers since, no one ever comes close to being as complete a keeper as he was. It’s a tragedy that he never got to show that on the World Stage.
5. Whats your take on our motto Nil Satis Nisi Optimum?
It’s a motto many of us have forgotten for the sake of of realism and our own sanity but it is one that I strongly believe we should cling to. Evertonians are used to, and proud of our ability to show spirit and punch above our weight but we should be looking for more than that. We should be looking at getting back to what we were, one of the best teams in Europe and one of the biggest names in the game.
6. For a club that produces such great players, are we giving youth a chance or is Moyes sheltering our youngsters too much?
Finch Farm is a great facility and we have a great record of producing and encouraging promising youth players right up to the point of first team level. The problem is Moyes is a conservative man, he is no risk taker and I do get the feeling that we would sometimes get more out of our young players if we gave them more of a chance. Particularly considering our small squad size. Moyes knows a talent when he sees it, I have no doubt about that but I often worry that he doesn’t know what to do with it.
7. The press often peddles rumours about bids for Everton players like Rodwell, Jagielka, and Baines. What are your thoughts on selling some of our bigger names and what did you think when Arteta left?
I am a realist, I understand that in our financial position (regardless of the blames assigned to Moyes and/or the board) we need to sell players if great offers come in. However, I would hope that we can tie our top players to long term contracts and only sell them for ridiculous sums of money as we did in the the Lescott deal. I don’t like it but I understand it although I don’t want to accept the reality of it.
Arteta leaving made me feel like I had been kicked in the stomach. I don’t think anyone expected it be it fans, club or Arteta himself and I felt empty. Arteta is a Moyes success story but even so it came as a huge surprise when Arsenal came in for him. I suppose you could say ten million was a good price considering his age but I think we are missing him terribly and his departure feels like an end of an era.
8. What are your thoughts on a sharing a stadium with Liverpool?
I don’t like the idea and can see us getting screwed over. I also think it’s a logistical and planning minefield and can’t see it happening. I have yet to see a pro argument for it yet that isn’t simply a sign of desperation to get us any stadium we can afford. If someone is willing to come along and convince me I am always willing to listen. Much prefer the idea of a Football Quarter with both teams rebuilding on current sites.
9. Where do you think the majority of Evertonians lie, with “Moyes Out”, “In Moyes We Trust” or somewhere in the middle?
I think the times are changing and whereas a “Moyes Out” idea would have been unthinkable only a few seasons ago those voices are growing. I think the majority are now in the middle. I was a fanatical Moyes supporter but he is becoming increasingly frustrating. Undoubtedly he has been a Godsend to this club but it is hard to see how the club progresses while he remains in charge under current constraints. Of course, it’s also hard to see us improving with A.N Other and it will be a shame if he ends up leaving on bad terms before he gets the money and chance he deserves to achieves success.
10. Is money necessary to compete at the highest level, and if so – should Bill Kenwright step aside?
It’s essential to have money in the modern game although I don’t think absolute megabucks are required to be successful. The fact is team spirit and youth players can only get you so far, to reach that next level you have to invest in the team and in the stadium. Bill Kenwright should step aside, something he insists he wants to do. He hasn’t got the business acumen or the financial muscle to take us forward although we need to address the problems across the board as the man seems to have a total lack of support from them.
11. Where do you see Everton in ten years time?
If things remain the same we will be floating perilously close to those depressing years of the nineties were we flirted with relegation. We are on a knife edge. On the one hand our future looks bleak but then with investment we could be in a new stadium and we really are not far away from being a force on the pitch again. It’s a time of change. Hopefully that change will be for the better.
