Thu 6 Apr 06
Toffee Fortunes
Despite finding themselves among the Top 20 Richest Clubs (perhaps a fleeting position thanks to the Rooney sale and last year’s Europe qualification?), who knows what Everton will come up with for the rest of the season and beyond. They could finish 7th this season, or, more likely, more or less remain where they are, or, even, find themselves finishing in 13th or 14th spot. Moyes had a least a few busts from his acquisitions from last summer — Digger Davies hasn’t panned out, and Per Kroldrup was a huge waste of money. Big Dunc’s career is winding down fast, and Marcus Bent has left for The Valley without being replaced; surely (surely) another striker or two will be arriving this summer. Moyes has been very hit-and-miss with his acquisitions (but, I suppose, so are most managers) - he can find the Tim Cahills and the Mikel Artetas, but to what end? A season or two of development and a taste of success?
The Rumour Mill over at ToffeeWeb.com contains tales of Joseph Yobo possibly heading off to Arsenal and Tim Cahill going to Manchester United this summer. There was also the much-denied rumour that Mikel Arteta was missing from the Merseyside Derby not because of a back injury but because a move to Liverpool was in the works. But’s he’s said that he’d never go red (yeah, yeah, we’ve all seen Wayne Rooney in his Born To Be Blue shirt). Add in Thomas Gravesen’s departure for Real Madrid, and you come up with some pretty heavy damage done to the Everton roster by the good old G-14. Hopefully, the rumours are just rumours.
Hasn’t Stelios Gianakopoulas said recently that he wants to move to a bigger club like Liverpool? A sad realization that he can’t win the silverware where he is? Is this the lot of the Evertons and Boltons of the EPL and other top leagues, merely to be farm teams for the G-14?!
But there is some market logic, even in the oligopoly-esque superclub reality of Europe. The big clubs end up paying big money to the ‘farm teams’ in order to acquire those players; likely much more money than they’re probably worth. This gives the middle clubs funds to go out and acquire and develop more players. Could there come a day when the big guys just spend too much money in their acquisitions and leave their ‘middle’ competition in the ascendancy? Could the out-of-sight spending contribute to some eventual balancing of the situation? That would be sweet, but we won’t hold our breath, will we?
Yeah, I’m talking bout you too Chelsea! [I’m a Hearts fan too, mind — I don’t mind big eastern-European money when it is invested in a noble cause like busting up The Old Firm!]
8-)
Mike Campbell
