Everton 2017-18 Post-mortem: Eight(h) is Enough
- Thread starter OCST
- Start date
I was so very sad to see this thread bumped, because it meant that I had to think about this utter waste of a season more than I already had.
OCST summed it up beautifully. The midfield was a mess and everyone (apart from Walcott and Tosun, thank the transfer gods) was so slow and plodding that it was painful to watch. I had my gripes with the Martinez era, but at least those teams made me feel something (occasionally ecstasy, mostly frustration, but at least something). The reign of Big Sam has been one giant shrug, and I stopped posting here because I couldn't even be bothered to be pissed.
As an Everton fan I say this every year, but this offseason will be crucial. Find a manager, wish Rooney a safe flight to the District, bring in suitable replacements at LB and midfield, and let the chips fall where they may. If Mino Raiola's involvement with the team is to be believed, then it could be another Fall where there's optimism around the club. And honestly, that's all I want. I'm realistic enough to know that crashing the top 6 party will require everything to go right PLUS at least one other entrenched team to backslide, but make me care for fuck's sake.
I became a fan of this team during the Moyes era when they were objectively shit, but I honestly believed that they made the best of what they had. That's what Everton was to me - a hardscrabble bunch of second-class citizens in their own city who gave it their best. Their style of play turned an American rando like myself, who's never even been to Liverpool, into a fan. I found beauty in the struggle, in the desire to punch above one's own weight and every once in a blue moon nip one of the entrenched powers at the top of the table. It's been a long time since I've felt that thrill (the false dawn of Martinez' first season notwithstanding). The collection of talent guaranteed to remain next season is far and away better than any of Moyes' teams: give them a leader who can instill an identity into this squad other than "play not to lose." There's no reason that this team can't be fun again - mediocre teams are fun all the damn time. Please just give me a reason to watch and occasionally keep next year's SOSH thread alive.
OCST summed it up beautifully. The midfield was a mess and everyone (apart from Walcott and Tosun, thank the transfer gods) was so slow and plodding that it was painful to watch. I had my gripes with the Martinez era, but at least those teams made me feel something (occasionally ecstasy, mostly frustration, but at least something). The reign of Big Sam has been one giant shrug, and I stopped posting here because I couldn't even be bothered to be pissed.
As an Everton fan I say this every year, but this offseason will be crucial. Find a manager, wish Rooney a safe flight to the District, bring in suitable replacements at LB and midfield, and let the chips fall where they may. If Mino Raiola's involvement with the team is to be believed, then it could be another Fall where there's optimism around the club. And honestly, that's all I want. I'm realistic enough to know that crashing the top 6 party will require everything to go right PLUS at least one other entrenched team to backslide, but make me care for fuck's sake.
I became a fan of this team during the Moyes era when they were objectively shit, but I honestly believed that they made the best of what they had. That's what Everton was to me - a hardscrabble bunch of second-class citizens in their own city who gave it their best. Their style of play turned an American rando like myself, who's never even been to Liverpool, into a fan. I found beauty in the struggle, in the desire to punch above one's own weight and every once in a blue moon nip one of the entrenched powers at the top of the table. It's been a long time since I've felt that thrill (the false dawn of Martinez' first season notwithstanding). The collection of talent guaranteed to remain next season is far and away better than any of Moyes' teams: give them a leader who can instill an identity into this squad other than "play not to lose." There's no reason that this team can't be fun again - mediocre teams are fun all the damn time. Please just give me a reason to watch and occasionally keep next year's SOSH thread alive.
This, this, this.
Everton hit my sweet spot, as a little brother. Very much like the Sox IMO - a history of glory, hard times recently, fiercely proud fan base, old, claustrophobic park that can be a cauldron, ambitious enough to see the promised land even if it still seems out of reach. I came for American idol Tim Howard, who was the only one I knew, but stayed for the likes of Baines, Coleman, Arteta, Cahill, and Piennar.
Next year.
Yes, with the caveat that they are like the pre-2004 Sox. I peruse some of the Everton fan websites/forums somewhat frequently and many of the comments remind me so much of Red Sox fans pre-2004 it's both depressing and amusing (with "the Red Side" playing the role of the Yankees, naturally; as a fan of both Everton and the Red Sox the Sox-Liverpool connections always pissed me off).
Americans choosing English soccer clubs always fascinated me because, unlike for American sports where so much depends on where you grew up or who your parents rooted for, for the most part you basically get to pick any team you want so who you choose says a lot about you, I think. For me, I knew absolutely nothing about Everton when I first started following them (honestly can't remember if I even knew Howard was the goalie) other than that they weren't one of the perennial Champions League teams (which I had no interest in rooting for because I wanted a team where making the top-4 would feel like a legitimate accomplishment instead of par-for-the-course) and also that they were never really in danger of relegation.
It was only after I started following that I came to understand and love the history, the fans, even the shitty-ass stadium. I did a tour of Goodison last year when vacationing in England and our tour guide was a little old lady who literally lived across the street from the stadium, had season tickets in the nosebleeds, and spent as much time on the tour complaining about the current team and the stadium as she did praising their histories, which pretty much encapsulates the Everton spirit to me. I mean, the team's motto says it all - now if only they could find a manager who feels the same way!
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/may/16/sam-allardyce-sacked-everton-manager
He gone.
Sam has been told that he is surplus to requirements.
The search focuses first on Marco Silva, ex-of Watford, who canned him after a miserable slide mid-season (1 win in 11 games), amid rumors of tampering by Everton that still need to be sorted out re: Silva's compensation from Watford.
The shine is off Silva somewhat because of the bad run of form that cost him his job. Before that he had Watford playing entertaining football, with a handful of decent pieces.
I'm not convinced that he's the guy- Paolo Fonseca of Shaktar Donetsk is another rumored candidate and would be my favorite. Fonseca turned down West Ham, who took Moyes behind the barn today also.
As importantly for Everton, director of football Steve Walsh was let go and replaced with Marcel Brands, who has done very well stocking PSV Eindhoven with young talent.
http://www.evertonfc.com/news/2018/05/16/brands-becomes-everton-new-director-of-football
Higher up in the leadership suite, CEO Robert Elstone goes to run his first love, the rugby Super League, and is replaced by Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale, who has done well in leadership positions, including as head of the U21/Academy programs, and has deep Everton roots.
http://www.evertonfc.com/news/2018/05/15/club-news
One of the minority shareholders is going to sell his share to Farhad Moshiri, which will make him 50%+ shareholder and cement his control of the club, not that this is in doubt at the moment.
This is all good.
He gone.
Sam has been told that he is surplus to requirements.
The search focuses first on Marco Silva, ex-of Watford, who canned him after a miserable slide mid-season (1 win in 11 games), amid rumors of tampering by Everton that still need to be sorted out re: Silva's compensation from Watford.
The shine is off Silva somewhat because of the bad run of form that cost him his job. Before that he had Watford playing entertaining football, with a handful of decent pieces.
I'm not convinced that he's the guy- Paolo Fonseca of Shaktar Donetsk is another rumored candidate and would be my favorite. Fonseca turned down West Ham, who took Moyes behind the barn today also.
As importantly for Everton, director of football Steve Walsh was let go and replaced with Marcel Brands, who has done very well stocking PSV Eindhoven with young talent.
http://www.evertonfc.com/news/2018/05/16/brands-becomes-everton-new-director-of-football
Higher up in the leadership suite, CEO Robert Elstone goes to run his first love, the rugby Super League, and is replaced by Professor Denise Barrett-Baxendale, who has done well in leadership positions, including as head of the U21/Academy programs, and has deep Everton roots.
http://www.evertonfc.com/news/2018/05/15/club-news
One of the minority shareholders is going to sell his share to Farhad Moshiri, which will make him 50%+ shareholder and cement his control of the club, not that this is in doubt at the moment.
This is all good.
A good friend of mine is a PSV diehard, runs in his family. He swears by Brands, but has been resigned to losing him to the EPL. A while back Chelsea were rumored to be in touch with Brands, but it never amounted to anything.
Yes, Brands has a tremendous eye for young talent, but his real skill is establishing a philosophy and getting everyone in the club pulling in the same direction. The scouts knew what the coaches needed, the youth coaches knew exactly what the first team needed...everyone’s work fits into a bigger scheme.
Oh, and Brands also has a strong relationship with Mino Raiola. PSV currently has 3 Raiola clients, most notably Hirving Lozano. Now that could be a nice addition to this Everton squad...
The Walsh thing is odd to me. I place a lot of blame on the poor season on Rooney. I can’t imagine Walsh wanted him in the first place and after that his hands were tied. Maybe it was a mutual departure. If I were say Watford, I’d look to bring Walsh in and give him the keys to the operation. Watford is trending down, imo, and Walsh could turn things around possibly.
Maybe it’s unfair to blame Walsh on the ground that he may not have had a free hand. I tend to disagree. The overall poor quality of the acquisitions last year has to ultimately be on him, even if Rooney was forced on him. The important thing going forward, I think, is that he’s not the guy you would want to right the ship. Brands is the man for the job, for the reasons 67 mentions. Moshiri is well-intentioned but green. He caused or permitted a situation where each of he, Walsh and Koeman bought their own favorite #10 but nobody bothered to get a striker or LB. Bringing inBrands enables a fresh start and lets Moshiri hand the checkbook over to someone with a track record of building a team to play a certain way.
Everton are a hollow team, with many key players on the downside- even Sigurdsson, the linchpin, is probably close to the beginning of his decline. Jags, Baines, Walcott, Coleman, Bolasie, that’s an old crew. There are good young players but they’re raw. Who is in their prime? Tosun, and Pickford is probably just beginning to be. Not many. They desperately need players at the sweet spot intersection of athleticism and experience. Brands is better suited to building a team to address that lack.
Everton are a hollow team, with many key players on the downside- even Sigurdsson, the linchpin, is probably close to the beginning of his decline. Jags, Baines, Walcott, Coleman, Bolasie, that’s an old crew. There are good young players but they’re raw. Who is in their prime? Tosun, and Pickford is probably just beginning to be. Not many. They desperately need players at the sweet spot intersection of athleticism and experience. Brands is better suited to building a team to address that lack.