Everton - 1 Manchester City - 0, Goodison Park: 12.01.08

It's hard to support a team from a distance. To follow Everton from North Wales was expensive but to do it from Cardiff, well it's almost impossible, especially when I have to work pretty much every weekend. My working commitments mean my only hope is for Everton to be drawn away to Cardiff or Swansea in one of the domestic cups. It's therefore been a while since I could consider myself a regular at Goodison Park. I'm embarrassed to admit it but it's going back to a time when Manchester City's Richard Dunne and Michael Ball were young players wearing the royal blue of Everton. It wasn't the best game to make my return. Missing key players, endless long balls and a distinct lack of goal mouth action made it a drab affair but come the final whistle I was glad of the three points.

As always it was a good day out. Although I made a rookie error by enjoying a few pre game pints with my mates (including my first pint of Chang) Those familiar with the Upper Bullens Stand will know once everyone has sat down for the game there's no chance of getting out for a pee. This left me aching for the half time whistle for a toilet break. The thing I was most pleased about the first half was not Joleon Lescott's goal but the fact I hadn't pissed myself. Once the whistle came I painfully made my way to the gents only to find it (as always) over populated. When you're there unsuccessfully trying to position yourself next to the trough it's hard not to feel like the runt of the litter. There's something extremely unsettling about having a stranger lean against you as you're both urinating, it takes a level of concentration I don't really possess. I have to dig deep. While I'm in the loo I miss the half time entertainment. A fan randomly picked from the crowd has the chance to win a £30,000 Audi, if he can hit the cross bar with a football from a good distance. And he does it to the delight of the masses! When asked by the announcer "What do you think about your new Audi?" the man replies with the trademark scouse wit "It'll do for now". The second half was pretty bad, I don't think there was a single shot on goal for Everton. I think the highlight was Joe Hart falling over when he took a goal kick...or was that the first half? It was pretty bad. There was a fantastic roar from the crowd when the final whistle came and a overall sense of relief.

We'd parked up near Anfield and as we walked back towards the car we passed a small child no older than four sat alone outside a terraced house sandwiched by two boarded up houses. As each Evertonian passed him he pointed at them and said in his squeaky scouse accent "Everton stink you know, Everton stink!" He repeated this as each of us walked past. We imagined that his father was probably waiting behind the door ready to punch anyone who dared to say anything back to his nipper. Initially we all chuckled but we soon came to the conclusion that it was probably not the best way to introduce your young child to football. Lesson one, abuse strangers in numbers. In twenty years the little fucker will probably be throwing patio chairs at rival fans and policemen during the World Cup.

2007, a Review.

With our first year of blogging in the bag I thought it would be a good time to review the best and worst of 2007. Now obviously I haven’t heard every song, watched every film and seen every football game this year so this is only a reflection of my own experiences and views of 2007. Feel free to add your own faves on the comments page. Here we go, my very own Oscars!

Best Film – This Is England:

Director Shane Meadows follows the modern British classic Dead Man’s Shoes with another winner. This Is England follows a gang of skinheads in 80s England and Meadows does a great job in capturing the feeling of the period. It switches from heartwarming and funny to vile and menacing a few times during the film making it quite an experience to watch. Top performances from young Thomas Turgoose and Joseph ‘Eli Dingle’ Gilgun as well as a great show from Stephen Graham for making the viewer feel sorry for such a disgusting character.

Honourable mentions: Hot Fuzz, Knocked Up, The Simpson Movie.

Worst Film – Magicians:

As a massive fan of Peep Show this film was painful to watch. All concerned look uncomfortable and the script is awful. The comedic talents of David Mitchell, Robert Webb, Jessica Hynes, Peter Capaldi and particularly Steve Edge are wasted. Some of his dialogue made me want to stop watching the film. Truly shit.

Honourable mentions – Pirates of the Caribbean 3.

Best Album – The White Stripes - Icky Thump:

It’s always been a pleasure to pick up one of their albums and Icky Thump was no different. I really didn’t know what to make of it after my first listen but it grew on me in a big way. It’s great to see a band use both bagpipes and mariachi trumpets of the same album!

Honourable mentions – The World Is Yours: Ian Brown, Hey Venus!: Super Furry Animals, Neon Bible: Arcade Fire.

Best Song – Sister Rose – Ian Brown:

Apparently this only got to number 87 in the UK charts which to my reckoning must have sold about twelve copies. Despite this poor chart placement it’s my favourite tune of 2007. Like the best solo stuff he’s produced it’s heavy on the strings giving it a film score like quality. I find it extremely exhilarating.

Best Television Programme – Heroes.

Yes I know it resembles a soap and at times the acting is as wooden as a mighty oak tree but I’ve found it really addictive viewing. I didn’t like it to begin with but I eventually went back to it and loved it second time round. I’ve even switched to watching American TV just so I can see the second series early.

Honourable Mentions – Gavin and Stacey, Lost, Charlie Brookers Screenwipe, Flight of the Conchords.

Worst Television Programme – X Factor:

My God I hate Sharon Osbourne. What a repulsive little troll she is.

Honourable Mentions – Tittytittybangbang, Kate Brand Show.

Best Comedian – Frankie Boyle:

This Glaswegian has been a regular on the numerous television panel shows this year and has for me raised the bar on what I expect from these sort of programmes. His stand up pulls no punches and he doesn’t shy away from any topic, something I like in my comedians. I’m sure he’ll be big in 2008. Here’s some quotes:

“So the Spice Girls are coming back? The only reason I’d want to see Geri Halliwell draped in a Union Jack again would be after she’d been killed in battle”

“What were Al Qaeda thinking when they attacked Glasgow Airport? Let’s bring a Holy War to Glasgow? We’re 400 years ahead of you lads, you haven’t even got yourselves a football team yet”

Honourable mentions: Stewart Lee, Andre Vincent, Ricky Gervais.

Best Wales Game – Wales 5 – Slovakia 2.

For a brief moment there was so much hope.

Worst Wales Game – Cyprus 3 – Wales 1.

And back down to Earth.

Best Everton Game – Everton 7 – Sunderland 1.

Scary thing was we could have scored more.

Worst Everton Game – Everton 1 – Liverpool 2.

It’s all water under the bridge now and I’m totally over it but I’ve got to say referee Mark Clattenburg should have committed Harakiri after this game.


Doubt I'll get another chance to blog before Christmas now so I take this opportunity to say Merry Christmas to all who have taken the time to read any of our rambles.

Everton March On

Just a quick post following Everton's second win in Group A of the UEFA Cup. It was generally a comfortable game for them with another strong finish to put them at the top of the table. It should be enough to progress to the knock out stage which is a mouth watering prospect when you consider all the Champions League drop outs plop into the mix. A lot of Everton's success so far in the competition has come from Moyes bringing on Victor Anichebe as a one match wrecking machine late on in the game. The way he took his goal tonight was a brilliant display of power, speed and deadly finishing. I felt a bit for FC Nurnburg midfielder Jawhar Mnari who was made to look like a weakling when Anichebe bumped him aside before calmly slotted the ball past the keeper. And best of all he's only 19!

I didn't know much about FC Nurnberg going into the match tonight. I was amused to hear the name of their stadium is The Easy Credit Stadion and the fact their shirt sponsor read Mister*Lady only complimented my ridicule. I wasn't expecting to recognised any of their players but then I was alarmed to see one name on the team-sheet I knew... Marek "Scourge of the Welsh" Mintal. This swine has scored four goals in two games for Slovakia against Wales and part of me was anticipating him to be a goal scorer tonight. Luckily he was kept under control tonight but I reckon I haven't seen the last of him. All in all plenty to be pleased about if you're an Everton fan.

RANDOM MOAN - Ian Wright is currently appearing in adverts for Wii, Asda, Kelloggs and Ladbrokes. Every time it went to an ad break tonight his face popped up trying to convince me to buy something. Throw in those bad memories of him flapping his arms in those Chicken Tonite adverts in the 90s and you can safely say this man has no integrity. Maybe he can sense his punditry work is coming to an end so he's making as much money as possible. He is after all the worst football pundit ever. To say he is impartial would be an understatement. When England lose he just sits there slumped in his chair mumbling one word answers like a moody child. And the way he says "we" instead of "England" really annoys me, he's meant to be a journalist. I don't know why the BBC just doesn't let him dress up as a Beefeater and have done with it.

Henn-mania

Welsh talent has featured quite prominently in collecting football awards over the last few days. Jason Koumas deservedly picked up the ‘Championship Player of the Year Award’ at the ‘Football League Awards’ in London on Sunday. Close to winning that gong for himself, Gareth Bale had to settle for the award for the ‘Football League Young Player of the Year’. Cardiff City’s Chris Gunter was deemed the ‘Championship Apprentice of the Year’, an award Lewin Nyatanga won last season. I’m sure it won’t do his growing confidence any harm. His team mate Joe Ledley received the ‘Goal of the Year’ award for one he scored back in August against Barnsley. Not a bad haul overall and with Ryan Giggs playing his 700th game for Manchester United last weekend it was generally a good week of achievements for Welsh football.

The story that captured both my attention and imagination this weekend was that of goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey. If you haven’t heard of him yet you might do soon if his record continues. Wolves stopper Hennessey is in the middle of a successful loan period at Stockport County. Since January he’s kept nine clean sheets totalling at 810 minutes of football helping Stockport to nine wins in a row. This record breaking run has lifted them from 15th place to 6th in League Two catapulting them into a promotion race and has earned him the ‘League Two Player of the Month Award’ for February. Obviously Hennessey can’t take all the credit for this run but you’d have to admit it looks favourably on him that the run coincided with his arrival at the club. What makes his achievement even more incredible is that these nine games are the only professional matches he’s ever played. After six clean sheets Hennessey revealed in an interview that the Stockport fans had affectionately started singing ‘Wales Number One’ during matches. After nine games without conceding you could suggest those fans were closer to the mark with a chant which originally may have been sung in jest. He’s already broken into the Under 19 and Under 21 squads, I read somewhere on the net this weekend that he apparently scored a 40 yard free kick against Turkey Under 19s. A writer in Western Mail this week said he’s already savouring the prospect of him and Lewis Price battling it out for the Welsh No 1 jersey. So at 6ft4 Wayne Hennessey could be destined to be the biggest thing to come out of Beaumaris since…well...ever.

As an Everton supporter I have come to learn not to get too carried away when a player shows signs of early promise. In the late nineties when Everton were annually involved in relegation dogfights they were forced to rush the development of their younger talent. Michael Ball, Francis Jeffers, Michael Branch, Danny Cadamarteri and Jon O’Connor, all thrown in at the deep end, had initial success when bursting onto the scene and naturally at times of trouble it was hoped these players would be Everton’s ticket back to the big time. Strikers Branch and Cadamarteri both seemed prolific at first but along with O’Connor they moved on then slowly slipping down the football leagues going from club to club. Believers of their own hype, Ball and Jeffers earned big moves away from Everton but the pair never really fulfilled their early potential. Therefore I try to approach any talk of the next big thing with caution. I do however appreciate it’s difficult not to rush things when resources are thin. Wales have been pushing their youngsters through the ranks for years. You can see it in the current Welsh squad, many of our players are eligible for the under 21s and some could even play for the under 19s. But in fairness if they’re good enough and are better than what else is on offer they should play no matter the age. If things continue to go well for Wayne Hennessey he may get his chance at full international level earlier than expected.

Good luck against Barnet on Saturday Wayne. I’m sure I’ll have jinxed everything for him now.

Good Luck Simon!

So after weeks of transfer speculation Simon Davies has finally left Everton this week and made a move to Fulham for an undisclosed fee. The promise of first team football and an opportunity to work with Chris Coleman was clearly too attractive a proposition for Davies to turn down. For followers of Welsh International football it’s good to see him move to another Premiership team and not drop a division the way Carl Fletcher, Robert Earnshaw and Jason Koumas all did when first team action wasn’t available to them. It’s a good move for him, especially for his flagging confidence. After one and a half seasons at Everton it must feel nice to be wanted again.

As a Welsh Evertonian it’s always great to see a fellow countryman grace the pitch at Goodison Park. From Kevin Ratcliffe to Neville Southall to Barry Horne to Gary Speed to John Oster to Mark Hughes to Mark Pembridge we’ve always had a Welshman in the first team since I’ve supported Everton. I imagined Simon Davies would have followed in this tradition and upon his arrival at Everton in mid 2005 there seemed to be no obvious reason why he wouldn’t establish himself a regular. He had been frequently linked with Everton for some time before his move and along with Sean Davis, Simon Davies had become an elusive transfer target for David Moyes. The amount of time the club had spent tracking his progress and availability suggested Moyes saw Davies as a vital part of the team he was putting together so when negotiations were complete I genuinely hoped and expected great things.

It just didn’t happen…

Injuries would probably be the main contributing factor. He did have his fair share of them during his spell at Everton, as he did at Spurs. It seemed to be more psychological than physical with Simon Davies. Like most players who face a crisis in confidence it’s a slow process. With every poor performance the belief is increasingly sapped away. The mistakes become a regular part of the player’s game. The more passes that go astray, the more ideas that don’t come off, the more shots that go off target. Then the crowd can begin to single you out. I spoke to an Everton season ticket holder before Christmas and he informed me that Davies had become a target for abuse by some of the fans. Every time a game would not be going Everton’s way a section of fans would proceed to vent their anger at him. It’s hard to hear that when it’s a player you really wanted to succeed.

This isn’t to say he never played well for Everton. We perhaps brought him in to add a bit of flair and pace to the team but as his first season turned out he had to do a bit of the ugly stuff as well which to be fair he has never avoided whenever I’ve seen him play for Wales. But anyway he’s gone now, leaving many Everton fans wondering why exactly David Moyes pursued him for so long only to sell him after eighteen months. Was he quite simply not the player Moyes thought he was? Who knows?

So all the best at Fulham Simon, hope you regain the form that got you noticed in the first place and start doing the business for Wales again (and please don’t do the usual thing when a player moves on and score a blinder from 40 yards the first time you return to your old club!)