Poll requests invited; must be Everton-related.

If you have an idea for a poll, send me an e-mail and remember to include the full question and each of your recommended answer options.

I'll consider all submissions and the best will be uploaded to the site, together with the contributor's name.

Ebay Watch - 17th July 2004

The latest in an irregular series. Items that catch the eye on Ebay are listed. Remember to check out feedback and resolve any queries with the vendor[s] prior to bidding.

It's 21.20 now, most of the bidding for these items will end within the next 15 hours.

[a] EVERTON FOOTBALL SHIRT (VERY RARE)

[b] Signed pennant from 1992

[c] FA Cup Final Ticket Stub 1995 v Man Utd

[d] Everton golf ball marker

[e] Would you like to gatecrash the next EGM?

[f] 1945/6 EVERTON v BARNSLEY

[g] 1933 F A CUP FINAL EVERTON v MANCHESTER CITY

[h] 1966 F.A.CUP FINAL EVERTON v SHEFFIELD WEDS

[i] Dixie Dean and others original autographs

[j] The Everton Edition Card Dice Game

[k] v Watford FA cup DVD.

Until the next Ebay watch, bid carefully and good luck.

It's getting clearer now and it's all very murky.

Never mind comparing Rooney with Pele or Maradona, is Gregg the new Peter Johnson?

It looks like Saturday's press will feature much of the fall-outs between Gregg and Birch, with Kenwright apparently siding with Birch.

It should be remembered that Gregg never attended a home match last season.

On the field we beat the Zeleznik 1:0, Campbell scoring early in the 1st half.

The news is right, he's gone, we're left...

Remember the good old 1980's,
When things were so uncomplicated,
I wish I could go back there again,
And everything could be the same.
ELO - ticket to the Moon.
 
One thing's for certain, we can't stand still, furthermore those who are currently charged with 'ownership,' need to proceed with haste.

The following will have played some part in Birch's departure:

[1] Disagreement[s] with the Board and/or Moyes over [i] transfer funds and [ii] the nature and timing of the required investment[s] into the club.

[2] The proposed groundshare, in light of the firm resistance of, amongst others, Rick Parry.

Sh/t happens and you can rightly, in part, blame the blame culture. However, there is no time for dithering, moaning and whinging, there is no hiding place for the weak.

Besides seeking to appoint a replacement for Birch, the Chairman and Board need to undertake some other, contemporaneous actions. The following are politely suggested:

[1] Cough up some cash and do so NOW. Moyes will have identified the areas that need surgery i.e. those positions deemed most in need of attention. If any of the club's owners are not prepared to aid Moyes and support 'their business' in this way, then they should follow Birch right now. It would be the professional, brave and honest thing to do. Never mind the matter of football shares, such shares don't really mean a thing ***

[2] An open and honest EGM must be organised, pronto.

[3] The matter of Rooney needs resolution. A deadline should be introduced into the £50k per week offer. 5 working days is enough. Give Proactive until next Friday to cut the crap and either unconditionally accept and have the lad sign, or reject the offer. Should they reject, the club should put him up for sale immediately, for cash, not for promises, not for players in exchange, for hard and ready cash, to the highest bidder.

[4] Groundshare?! Tell the RS that we want to call the whole thing off too and cast the idea into the earth. If 'they' can stand to lose the chance, we most certainly can. There will be other options ahead. The future of the club is NOT dependent upon sharing with the RS. The issue of our stadium can wait a while, matters relating to ownership and crucially, to players, are far more pressing. Why mull over the plans for your new kitchen extension whilst all of your curtains are on fire? 

This is Everton, this is no fr/gg/n joke.  

Sadly, this diagnosis and much of the rapidly constructed suggestion list will be familiar reading to many, not just the followers of our great and proud club.
 
------------------------------------------------
*** My young lad 'owns' as much of Everton as anybody else in the world ever has done or ever will do. Every moment of joy that he has felt is his dividend, with every tear of despair he pays his dues. It is people such as he who are the true stakeholders. We belong to Everton and Everton belongs to us. Idealistic? Perhaps. Those at the 'business end' have GOT TO appreciate that they are not involved in some kind of Fantasy Football game. Their burden of responsibility is far, far greater than many of the board seem to know.

Oh lordy!

Probably in response to today's much publicised, very firm NO from the RS re: a stadium share.

"Guess it's 'prognosis negative' then hey Doc?"

More later...

Everton, Liverpool and a loan star state?

The Tangled Web, by Stan Lee.
 
The matter of a joint stadium is in the news again today. The official RS site has a story about the groundshare notion today. Parry is still not having any of it, apparently. There is much opinion, posturing and spin.
 
We shall not be moved.

Quote from the Council's website:
 
"Stanley Park is arguably the most architecturally significant of the city’s great Victorian parks. Landscaped by Edward Kemp, who had assisted Paxton at Chatsworth and Birkenhead, the park features a grand terrace punctuated by imposing shelters with expansive bedding  schemes once highlighted by fountains. The 45ha park opened in 1870 and contains the Gladstone Conservatory (Grade II) by Mackenzie & Moncur (1899), who had also constructed the Palm House in Sefton Park." 
 
Que sera, sera.
 
This RS rebuttal is clearly going to upset many in Liverpool City Council, not in the least, the forward-thinking and business-like David Henshaw and Mike Storey. Based upon the little that I know of Listings [in relation to Planning Permission] 'LFC for Stanley Park' is by no means a nailed-on venture. The 'Listing' may, in itself, prove to be sufficient grounds for a rejection. Considering the above statements, from those in the mix and the 'Listing' information, the treatment of the Planning Application for Stanley Park will will be fascinating.  

Talking about re'butt'als.
 
Nicky Butt has failed to attract sufficient interest and so a loan deal is becoming likely. This may allows us in. However, reading statements such as the one on the BBC site spell little but danger and blues can be forgiven for not exactly being keen, even though he is a very good player. The telling part comes at the end of the article: 
 
"If you leave Manchester United you are taking a step down. I am trying not to think about it just now ..."
 
Get a grip lad. Other clubs' money is just as good as that of Man U and other fans are just as passionate, for their players, as the believers in 'one love' are.
 
Nah. 

Transfer speculation and the new Barcelona?

Netto trolley dash.
 
Current transfer speculation in the national press links us with a small but interesting group. Unfortunately, in every case, we’re not alone in our interest. 
 
Butt was expected to join Newcastle last week but the asking price was deemed to steep. With him likely to cost around £3m, his acquisition would therefore negate the incoming fees of any two from Grav, Rad and Linderoth. £3m, before we bet our shirt and lost it, we’d have took a Butt type in a heartbeat for that kind of money. Now, the thought of such a sum probably just causes palpitations at board level. 
 
Atletico Madrid appear to be having problems with Grav over his wage demands. Grav’s agent will likely seek a salary in excess of £1m p.a. for him. 
 
The difference in class between Everton and some of their peers is exemplified very well by our handling of the Rad affair. Even though he went public with his crass comments re: Moyes and Rooney, it was dealt with calmly and in private. Fulham have twice now [£900,000, then  £1.3m], bid unacceptably low sums for him. Each time, rather than fly into a media-assisted rage [a la Birmingham] Everton have chosen the calm and professional approach. We have simply suggested that Fulham raise their valuation. It is generally thought, by most of the national journos, that we are seeking [a fair and reasonable] £1.75m for Rad by the way. 
  
Everton are reportedly among a number of clubs hoping to sign one of Greece’s finest. Dellas is on our radar screen. He is possibly being considered as a replacement for Weir. Unfortunately, Spurs are in for him too, so best not to hold our breath. 
 
Villa are our main competitors for Millwall’s Cahill. 
  
And then again, we may just get nobody.

Mersey upbeat - the new Barcelona?
 
On a lighter note, this article is very pleasing, especially when the knowledge and experience of the authors is considered. Does this mean that the RS will be the new Espanyol?  

Odds 'n' sods.

Robbie Savage yesterday promised to stay with Birmingham. Yesterday's bid was not revised and so any deal was dashed. Fine. We've paid crap prices far too often in our recent history. Good luck to Birmingham, I'll be watching for their next forays into the transfer market with some interest. Their rather keen on the old 'downpayment with the balance subject to...' model themselves, I recall. Another midfield deal shall no doubt shortly appear in Moyes' sights, probably that of Koumas.

An old alleged link was immediately reactivated by the Savage news. That of Man U's Butt. Can't see it, both his wages and fee would be far too steep, surely? The prospect of Man U driftwood is worrying. Having played 'at the top,' there are often justifiable concerns about such players' attitudes and commitment thereafter. Just look at what a couple of veritable rabbit feet Yorke and Cole were for Blackburn! I'd much rather have Speed back.

The following trio of items have been abstracted from a recent trawl of Sky Sports news:

Everton's reserves tonight won 3-1 away at Connah's Quay.

The Marseille coach has admitted three of his players may soon be moving to the Premiership. Mathieu Flamini is heading for either us or Charlton.

Bolton have abandoned interest in one-time Everton candidate Hemdani, after failing to agree personal terms [wage demands]. They were expected to sign the midfielder this week after an agreement with Marseille.

I noticed from the official training camp photo here that Stubbs[?] has acquired the 'Post positioning, by Edgar Davids' video.

This article was gratifying reading. I don't think Wato ever got near to full fitness last season. He will need to become the player that he was in 02/03 in order to have any chance of a contract extension.

Interest in Cahill is ongoing, his agent having been denied the required fee by Palace.

Quiet on the Rad front.

My young lad has said that he doesn't want the usual 'Rooney' on his new Everton shirt! The red-tops have much to answer for.

If you weren't lucky enough to be there, and even if you were, this little number on ebay may be of interest to you. It's not me who's selling it by the way, please check the feedback and resolve any queries with the vendor prior to bidding.

And finally folks, this had us all laughing.

Savage offer and the art of being noble.

Laughing boy

Steve Bruce, the man with the battle-weary proboscis, that has the potential to feature in a 'before advert' for these these people, has 'laughed off' our initial bid.

From Kojak to Kurt Cobain?

Savage is probably being seen as a suitable replacement for Grav. The main details are: £2.5m, with £1m of it in the form of an immediate payment, the remainder being paid by 2008 This would be with the proviso that we are in still in the Premier League in 2008. Funny huh? For a 29 year old player, of average ability for the Premiership, with itchy feet and 1 year to go on his contract, the offer doesn't even make me smile. Perhaps you've got to 'be there' to fully grasp the reasons for Birmingham's humour.

Methinks they protesteth too much.

Rather than simply and gracefully rejecting our offer, they have said far too much and have allowed their emotions freedom to gallop. This is 'professional football' isn't it? They even managed to weave talk of Rooney into the statements; perhaps yet more member[s] of the Grand Proactive Lodge at work?

Unlike most of our players/board members, Moyes is not one for faffing around. If this is 'at or near' to his valuation, based upon his fair and reasonable assessment of Savage's true worth and our ability to pay, then so be it. If Birmingham are to truly establish themselves as a major Premiership force, they'll have to acclimatise. For example, they could do with some practice on how to say 'no' more calmly and in fewer words. In the interim, they may just have to live with the fact that one of their key midfielders loves our far, far bigger club.

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A selection of feedback:
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13/7/04

I frequent a site that pulls up news articles about my club Birmingham. I am not sure why it has shown your feelings as a link but I followed it and with nothing better to do I decided to correct your errors. You have my permission to print it and burn it if that’s what you feel like.

Savage has two years left on his contract, we have a one year option after this year.

For the last 12 months Moyes has been making noises about wanting to sign Savage, upsetting the club and player without ever putting in a formal offer until today.

Savage has been wanting a new contract and kicking up a fuss about getting one. We have offered him exactly what he wanted and partly because of Everton’s interest he is now messing about. So to clear the situation Bruce challenged you to put up or shut up, hence your offer.

Whatever you feel about how much he is worth we do not need the money nor do we need to reduce the wage bill and with two years left on his contract we can set whatever price we like. However, I feel sure we would accept the £2.75m you are supposed to have offered if Bruce decides he has had enough of him and he is happy to let him go if there were not so many strings attached to the deal.

Your offer in all fairness is derisory. Not the total amount but the fact you want to take four years to pay and only if you remain in the prem, which in your current state is hardly a certainty. Would you be happy to sell Rooney to say Man U and not get the bulk of the money for four years and then only if they had won the Champions league at least once, I think not.

I accept Bruce’s reaction may be unusual and could possibly be construed as over the top but in his defence he is an honest plain speaking man and you have been messing about as I said for 12 months unsettling one of the main reasons we have done as well as we have.

Why should we behave more calmly when Moyes is upsetting our club? If anything Moyes should learn to act with more dignity and decorum whist pursuing possible transfer targets. As Bruce said it was Everton who made all of this public not us.

Good luck for the new season.
Steve

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13/7/04

maybe you have a bigger stadium and fan base i agree but it is a stale club

I must say savage is average at best

Angela Maycock

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Thanks people.

The 'missing' 6,000: Fickle? Skint? or Sick of being taken for granted?

Further to yesterday's final post, the one that presented info. relating to the dip in season ticket sales, the natural follow-on is to consider the question of 'Why?' Some have said that it is due to the poor finishing position and the effect that this has had upon 'the fickle.' This will undoubtedly account for some, however that will not feature at the head of my concluding paragraph. So let's try another. 'The cost increase' [the rise in prices has easily outstripped inflation this year] has also been suggested, as being a major reason for the drop in interest. From what people have told me, this is a stronger case than the first; current/anticipated cash-flow problems are definitely having some effect. However, I still don't feel that the majority of those who are planning to stay away can be categorised as primarily belonging to one or both of the above two categories. Judging by the conversations I have had with those around me in the ground last season and others, in pubs, via e-mails and over the 'phone since, there perhaps exists a yet higher truth, or, if you will, an even deeper malaise.

So what is left? It appears very likely that some of those who are voting with their absent backsides are doing so on a good old-fashioned point of principle. The 5:1 final day abomination was the clearest example of an unacceptable attitude that, viral-like, took hold of many of last year's squad. In 03/04, from where I sat, home and away, I witnessed things that are going to take me longer than this long summer of frustration and disenchantment to forgive. With the exception of Moyes, Rooney and the players that Moyes had acquired, the squad simply took the mickey.

In conclusion, with the exception of the innocent listed above, it was that treacherous fraud, that persistent direspect for the fans, for the club, for the manager and [strangest of all] for themselves, that did it for me. What's our motto again?

Now, please read the content of this link - spot on

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Feedback received at 17.40 on 12/7/04

All true after travelling to Bolton and Blackburn last season and mercifully missing the city game I’ll get my news on the web in future mind you I say that now but it will take allot to get me to part with that much money again

Regards
Tom Acker
Season ticket holder for 25 years
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Current season ticket sales figures for the 04/05 campaign

It is no secret that sales were expected to be down, in comparison with last season and some will already know that this has in fact been the case. Figures are beginning to emerge. Today's Sunday Mail [hard copy] reports the following stats:

Current sales 20,000
Last year's sales 28,000

Whether this is a true like-for-like comparison is not certain and the figures may not stand up to the most enthusiastic scrutineer. However, this is how they were reported in print, today. And the creators of the official site appear to agree.

However, it should be noted that Everton anticipate eventual sales of around 22,000

Footnote: 03/04 was perhaps a pleasant blip. This may be appreciated from the following list of sales per season. The figures are taken from the official link [above]. The list could do with being longer. Whilst appreciating that relative ticket pricing and ground capacity has varied significantly, I'd be interested to see a list of all sales, since the year dot. This is perhaps another example of the ubiquitous policy to not acknowledge that life existed prior to the Premiership.

Season Ticket Sales
93/94: 7,199

94/95: 10,261

95/96: 22,064 [This step change followed the May, 1995 FA Cup win. For any non-Evertonians who have 'interloped' onto this blog, that was the Final when we beat Manchester United, 1:0]

96/97: 24,603

97/98: 22,283

98/99: 23,505

99/00: 22,049

00/01: 21,403

01/02: 20,533

02/03: 24,000

03/04: 28,000

04/05: 22,000 [estimated]

Footballers' Agents eat their young...

Show and tell

Good, bad and ugly red-top links are provided.

As Jack Palance said to Alan Ladd [in Shane], "Prove it!"

So we are to believe that an 18 year old lad, with I suspect, an average Comprehensive School education and a run-of-the-mill qualifications tally, has asked to see confidential information about his employer's finances. Yeah right.

Little boy blue

Prima facie this looks like a straightforward, if highly offensive, attempt at 'due diligence' or similar, with Rooney perhaps, at best, an unfairly maligned puppet.

Sod the spin, facts must be considered. We have managed to sustain payments, on each and every due date, of [allowing for inflation] a similar magnitude to the £50k per week, to both Campbell and Ferguson for many a lean year. Crucially, this has been managed without either of the pair being of a 'high profile' nationally, never mind continentally or globally.

Blue sky thinking

We should be under no illusions here, Rooney, if handled correctly, both on and off the pitch [something that Moyes and Birch most definitely are capable of], will not 'cost' us anything near the costs equating to his '£50,000 a week.' It may even be possible for Everton to employ him at a profit! For starters, consider the money to be earned from Everton shirts in East Asia and the additional appearances on Sky TV. Yes, ironically, Sky would be compelled to cough up more greenbacks [to unfashionable, non P5 crony, Everton] for the right to show him to the Great Unwashed. The Horny-handed Sons and Daughters of Toil will no doubt be clamouring to watch him on Live TV games nearly every weekend, whilst stuffing their orifice[s] with Pringles and gargling Bud. The merchandising potential and the marketing opportunities for 'Everton's brand' [a horrible phrase but it must be used here, at this time] are enormous.

Rattus Norvegicus

Consider a rat trapped in a cage. Each and every 'bar' will be methodically pulled and prodded, whilst it tries to discover a weakness.


Everton have been deemed to be very, very naughty indeed

The ridiculous headlines and articles that have appeared of late convince me that the red-top scum are boiling over with anger at the fact that Everton discovered him and he is a player that is contracted to Everton. Consequently, Everton are being portrayed as having an infuriating, downright bloody-minded temerity. Yet all they want is for things to stay as they are and have kindly offered a generous contract by way of reward and statement of intent. The red-tops have the masterplan, so we can only guess at what the hell's coming next.

Fight club

It can be reasonably concluded, that Everton are about to have a bloody, bare-knuckle, bar room brawl, with beelzebub and his minions ... my money's still on the boys from the banks of the Royal Blue Mersey.