Maple Lions

Following up on Paul’s post, The Guardian are reporting that AJ is moving to Goodison.

Everton last night won the race to sign Andrew Johnson from Crystal Palace for a club record £8.5m, with the England striker agreeing to move to Goodison Park in preference to either Wigan Athletic or Bolton Wanderers.

But, but, but…

The fee represents a huge proportion of Moyes’ summer transfer budget and may frustrate his attempts to sign a high-profile centre-half.

Sign the Goal Scorer! ~ 2005/06 could have been so different for Everton had they managed even just a few more goals.  While I will not count my chickens here before I see Andrew Johnson in a blue Chang jersey, I’m am guardedly hopeful that Moyes has finally pulled the trigger on a proven striker.  But who knows what last minute wrangling will happen from Bolton and Wigan.

The 25-year-old will meet with Moyes again today but his preference - first expressed last summer following Palace’s relegation from the Premiership - had always been to move to Goodison Park, despite the fact that his other suitors were offering a more attractive financial package.

That would have seen his weekly salary rise from £24,000 to over £40,000, yet he has instead opted to fall within Everton’s own stricter wage structure, most likely on a par with his future strike partner James Beattie, at around £30,000 a week. After 85 goals in 160 appearances at the Selhurst Park club, he is expected to be unveiled as the most expensive player in the Merseysiders’ history next week.

The Guardian article indicates that AJ’s friendship with James Beattie is part of his interest in Everton.  While we’re not sure at this point what the final story really is, I think I’ll allow myself a Woo-hoo! anyway.

Mike C.

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Rooney:

He’s traveling to Germany but only with the prospect of a further scan on June 14. As noted by one of our regular contributors, this is proving to be a tricky dilemma both medically and politically.  So count him out of the group stages for now.

Johnson:

Andy’s definitely on his way back to the Premiership.  Wigan and Bolton are both ready to pony up £8.5M for his services. I would hope that he tends towards Wigan:  Paul Jewell is getting it right at the JJB, whereas Big Sam has been failing in the clutch of late while on the road.  And I still hope that Andy gets a call-up for Germany in light of Rooney’s condition.  I will not hop onto the inexplicable bandwagon for the Merseyside Lurch.

Update: Now the Toffees have joined the bidding war for Johnson. I still stand by my observation above.

Paul Canniff

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Along with the World Cup, there will, of course, be lots of transfers (both rumoured and actual) to talk about during the summer months. Things are already hopping at the Rumour Mill over at ToffeeWeb.com. Joseph Yobo going, no staying, no going. Diego Forlan to Goodison? Joleone Lescott from Wolves and Cameron Jerome from Cardiff City? Tim Howard as the New Nigel? Zoltan Gera from relegated West Brom. AJ is sort of always looming out there. Recent rumours included the Mancs swooping for Tim Cahill (say it ain’t so) and Moyes going after Spurs target Lomano Lua Lua.

Ah yes, a rich vein of blogging ore. If the rumours can be any indication of what will eventually happen, it at least appears that Moyes has firepower on his mind.

Mikel Arteta rightfully received Everton’s Player of the Year, as well as Players’ Player of the Year Awards this week. Congrats, Mikel! Well-deserved.

Mike C.

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Since there’s not much to write about with respect to their Prem progress, I guess I’ll write about their financial situation. Everton FC were the most profitable club in England last season.

Chelsea were one of only four clubs to be in the red - and Roman Abramovich’s losses were a staggering £140million in 2004-05 according to a Financial Times survey.

Everton outstripped Manchester United, Arsenal and neighbours Liverpool with profits of £23.5million but the encouraging news for the Premier League is that, excluding Chelsea, the other 17 clubs who have published figures made a combined £75million profit compared to a £27million loss in 2003-04.

Unfortunately, it’s almost all due to the Rooney sale.

(Wyness) said: “We would have to sell a Wayne Rooney every year for five years to consistently beat the big clubs in a table such as this.

In hopefully unrelated news, Everton has signed 17-year old striker Scott Spencer from Oldham Athletic. Spencer has been hailed as [gulp] “the new Rooney“. Surely, they wouldn’t sell him off after a year or two ~ ‘once a Blue, always a Blue’, right?

With young strikers like Spencer, James Vaughan and Victor Anichebe to work with, the Toffees may just put a few more into the back of the net next season. As a former Preston player and gaffer, Moyesie has been sniffing around young striker David Nugent, so who knows if we’ll see him on Merseyside one day. After ‘04-’05, you would have thought Moyes would understand that the club needs some firepower; if he doesn’t figure it out after this season, he ain’t never figuring it out.

Mike C

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I don’t know the result of today’s Spurs-Everton match, as I’m taping it tonight, but I’ll say that the absence of Mikel “Our Tater” Arteta bodes not well. And, if it’s true that he’ll be out for the remainder of the year, then I think Everton will be lucky to finish 14th. Another late season whimper is in full bloom.

Odd thing, the “Own Goal”. I tend to think of them as being rather silly. Sure, sometimes someone makes a real bonehead play and might send it straight in. But most times it comes down to deflections while you are trying to defend. I foget the game, but there was a recent play where a keeper went for a shot, it deflected off the woodwork back against his head and into the net … Own Goal! Bloody hell. Give the goal to the shooter or the last offensive player that touched the ball and be done with it. Everton’s Leon Osman just had two of his goals rescored as Own Goals by the goals committee. An ice hockey bias, on my part, to be sure.

Goal Assists seem to be a bigger deal in the MLS, perhaps due to the ice hockey influence. I’m surprised a bigger deal isn’t made of it in English football. I’d like to know who is setting up the goals and it helps track who is doing what in midfield.

Mike Campbell

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ASSEcast (as in alt.sports.soccer.everton) podcast is for ‘Evertonians who think Outside the Box’.

Not for the easily offended, or kopites, or people who think Peter Crouch should go to Germany, and especially not for easily offended kopites who think Peter Crouch should go to Germany. (via Wasteland Drifter)

Mike Campbell

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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

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It is all but official that Chelsea will play against the MLS All-Stars on July 29 at the new Chicago Fire stadium in Bridgeview, Illinois. And sources inform the folks at Chelsea in America that Everton are also planning a US summer tour that may include Columbus and Dallas as venues.

They hint that Toronto may be a stop on the Blues’ tour in recognition of next year’s debut of the the MLS franchise there. That would neatly fill the vacuum left by the collapse of the Champions World match series in the US and Canada. I had the pleasure of attending the Liverpool v. Porto fixture in Toronto two years ago. While it did not match the experience of actually being at Anfield, it and the other series matches were perhaps the closest many fans got to witnessing firsthand top-flight football.

If you pick up any gossip on these fronts, by all means post it here first and as a courtesy pass it on to Chelsea in America.

Paul Canniff

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Today BBC Sportsweek interviewed Man U chief exec David Gill. Other guests were Rick Parry of Liverpool and Keith Wyness of Everton.

Listen for yourself, of course, but let me venture two observations from the interviews:

1. G14 needs UEFA much more than they care to admit: UEFA adds vital legitimacy to what Gill concedes would otherwise be just a footie cash cow.
2. It is vastly easier to become a Freemason than a member of G14, Keith Wyness’ aside notwithstanding. As a Freemason with Grand Chapter rank, I can vouch for the former. At least there are consistent rules and processes for entering the Craft.

Paul Canniff

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Well, it was another hard-fought Merseyside derby today, with ref Phil Dowd handing out 12 cards, including a second yellow for Stephen Gerrard and a red to Everton’s Andy van der Meyde for dangerous play. A disappointing day for Everton, playing up a man for almost an hour, but they never got anything going. The day started with disappointment (and a growing sense of doom) for me when I heard Mikel Arteta would not play due to injury.

Everton would have been happy with the first half, but then Phil Neville opened the scoring for Liverpool in first half injury time. Defending a corner at the near post, Neville started moving out to challenge but then moved back toward goal to follow the flight of the ball, trying to prevent it going past the front of goal. Unfortunately for Everton, his header went right in the net.

Everton started the second half with more weak defending - Gary Naysmith playing way too wide and allowing Luis Garcia lots of space; keeper Richard Wright came out to challenge when he should have stayed home and Garcia lobbed it in.

Tim Cahill made it interesting with his patented late-arrival header in the 61st minute, but Everton couldn’t find anything else.

Weak defending featured in Liverpool’s third goal, with Tony Hibbert giving Harry Kewell lots of space and time to blast another one by Wright.

The sad fact is that an Arteta-less Everton side look like they’re playing a man down already.

Crouch had, I think, a bit of a touch on one of Liverpool’s goals, but he didn’t look very special out there today. When he had any possession, he looked awful. Putting aside some James Beattie bias, I think I’d be taking Dean Ashton to Germany over Crouchie.

Mike Campbell

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