Hello to you all. An American here, more specifically a Tennessean, who is going all in for Everton.
Two quick things - my uncle is from Liverpool who spent many a Saturday at the Grand Old Lady, so liking Everton seemed a naturally fit for me, a Yank who is growing more and more obsessed with Euro club futbol. And, as fate would have it, my undying passion is Tennessee Vols college football, and the similarities between the Vols and Everton are frankly too lengthy to enumerate. I will say the most glaring shared trait is talent-deficit; the Vols have no recruiting base to compete with Florida and Alabama (not that yall care) and Everton is obviously hamstrung by finances as compared to teams owned by oil moguls and Russian mobsters.
Which leads to my thoughts on my brief and inexperienced career of being a Toffee - it has seemed painfully clear to me that while we are a scrappy and determined team at times, especially in the back, we simply do not have the elite and creative play up front to keep up with the top table teams. Now this is obviously the most basic observation an Everton fan could make - but bear with me, I'll learn quickly.
So now questions: (1) I see a lot of Moyes hate, and that is simply always a byproduct of struggling. Would a more aggressive manager be able to make this team more competitive (say top 5 in the table), or does our current squad lack the playmakers to make this happen? (2) Is an ownership change to the crazy-spending foreign companies the only thing that can make this a top-table club, as obviously the support, history and class are in place?
Frankly, living here, I am sick to death of Americans suddenly loving United (who are the New York Yankees of the EPL and the easiest team to bandwagon) and City (who are the Dallas Mavericks of the EPL - spend, spend, spend).
Thanks guys, and perhaps I'll make it across the pond one day.
Two quick things - my uncle is from Liverpool who spent many a Saturday at the Grand Old Lady, so liking Everton seemed a naturally fit for me, a Yank who is growing more and more obsessed with Euro club futbol. And, as fate would have it, my undying passion is Tennessee Vols college football, and the similarities between the Vols and Everton are frankly too lengthy to enumerate. I will say the most glaring shared trait is talent-deficit; the Vols have no recruiting base to compete with Florida and Alabama (not that yall care) and Everton is obviously hamstrung by finances as compared to teams owned by oil moguls and Russian mobsters.
Which leads to my thoughts on my brief and inexperienced career of being a Toffee - it has seemed painfully clear to me that while we are a scrappy and determined team at times, especially in the back, we simply do not have the elite and creative play up front to keep up with the top table teams. Now this is obviously the most basic observation an Everton fan could make - but bear with me, I'll learn quickly.
So now questions: (1) I see a lot of Moyes hate, and that is simply always a byproduct of struggling. Would a more aggressive manager be able to make this team more competitive (say top 5 in the table), or does our current squad lack the playmakers to make this happen? (2) Is an ownership change to the crazy-spending foreign companies the only thing that can make this a top-table club, as obviously the support, history and class are in place?
Frankly, living here, I am sick to death of Americans suddenly loving United (who are the New York Yankees of the EPL and the easiest team to bandwagon) and City (who are the Dallas Mavericks of the EPL - spend, spend, spend).
Thanks guys, and perhaps I'll make it across the pond one day.
Clever..
