An incident that appears to have been a long time in coming appears to be almost upon us..well not "us" specifically, it's more "them," with "them" being Everton. Their defeat in the Premiership to West Ham and now their latest defeat to Middlesborough will have catastrophic effects on their mental state, but even more so on what remains of their season.
Presently they, Everton, are balanced precariously just above the relegation zone but another defeat could topple them into oblivion. For three seasons now they have managed to stave off the drop, but will it be third time unlucky for Walter Smith and his men?
If they'll forgive the expression, Everton have been "mid-table fodder" for a long time now. Smith is one of the game's most respected managers, admired for his calmness and understanding of the game as well as his honesty and reluctance to speak out against other teams. Having said that, if the worst happened (from a blue point of view) and they were relegated to the Nationwide, would Smith survive?
There have already been calls from the so-called "Everton faithful" for him to be sacked, but he has kept his job, and rightly so. When players and a team are doing well, win convincingly and hold a good place in the table with good prospects for the future, the team is praised. When they're not playing so well and are languishing at the base of the table, it is the manager who is at fault. Does anyone else see flaws within this concept? A manager can only do so much. He can motivate his team, select the most appropriate squad, make substitutions and influence the outcome by his descisions, but he cannot play the game for his players.
This afternoon's game against Middlesborough in the FA Cup demonstrated, without a doubt, that although a good enough team selection can be made by the manager, if the players underperform then it is always the Gaffer that gets the blame. I cannot have been the only one who heard some of the visitors singing for Smith's head? The three goals conceeded by Everton we as a result of the defence's communications with eachother, or rather the lack of them. The 3-5-2 formation chosen by Smith seemed to dissapate into 0-5-2 just before 'Boro scored their first. Everton had barely begun to get the defensive formation back in check when a second easy goal was conceeded, and moments later came the third.
As a Liverpool supporter I suppose I should be happy that they got beaten and kicked out of the FA Cup, but to be perfectly honest, on the inside it is actually paining me to see them performing so badly. I know that this sounds as daft as anything, but if we couldn't win the FA Cup then I wanted Everton to, just to keep it on Merseyside! Goodness knows I am probably going to get accused of being a "Closet Blue" and whatever else, but Everton being this near to total disarray is very worrying for me.
Like I have already said, they are hanging on to Premiership football by a very frayed thread. One more defeat could cost them dear. They, like us, have been around for so long and the Merseyside Derby games are considered some of the highlights of the football calendar. Scousers are renound for their footballing knowledge and incredible passion and for me, to lose Everton from the fixture list next season would be something akin to chopping off an arm or a leg.
I know that the general consensus is that of the "Bitter Blues" being..well..bitter I guess! But can you blame them? When they look back into the past and see that although they came first, we went on to become the more successful? And now they face the prospect of relegation to the First Division I am beginning to be almost maternal in my feelings towards them. I really don't want to see them go down!
Heck! If it was up to me I'd lend them Litmanen, Carragher, Riise, Spud, Smicer...fuck it! I'd even lend them Stevie G if it meant they stayed up at the end of the day! The only way I can explain it is that I don't see them as Everton, I see them as Scousers and so they belong in top flight footie simply because of the immense passion that the fans bring to the game. (Yes I've heard of Tranmere..get them up too!) Liverpool and Everton are two of the rapidly decreasing number of clubs that still respect the fans and realise that the club needs the fans..the people..and not just their money. (And I mention no names here..*coughs*..ManU FC-PLC)
Perhaps I'm ranting on about nothing. Perhaps you think I've gone to the so-called "Dark Side." (No, not ManU.) Or maybe, just maybe I've struck a chord inside some of you, (here's hoping!) and you, like me, realise that everton going down isn't a cause for major celebration. Supposing you see it like I do, and see Everton as Liverpool's sibling...they annoy the fuck out of you in every conceivable way, but you still love them and you'd miss them like hell if they weren't there.
Well if, come the eleventh or twelfth of May, Everton are in the bottom three of the table, then I suggest you say your goodbyes because that's the last time you'll see them for a year. Ok, so maybe we'll draw them in the Cup, but is that honestly what you want? Can you look me in the (metaphorical) eyes and tell me that you wouldn't miss the atmosphere in The Albert, The Park, Sam Dodd's or wherever on the Derby days? Can you swear blind to me that you wouldn't take a look at the new fixture list and feel a sense of remorse, even a sense of loss, at not seeing "Everton" written there?
No doubt there will be a few out there thinking "This girl is nuts..what IS she on about? Of course I won't bloody miss them!" And I guess that they will be the same fans who proclaim themselves to be "as red as blood". If so, then I suggest that you take a look at your veins sometime...there's blue ones too you know.
