A Trophy or Atrophy?

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Artetafan said:
You know, for all I like to think as myself as realistic and well informed and I know that there's no chance, deep down I still honestly believe we will. I just can't help it.
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It's all this hype about "bringing back the good old days" with the new jersey, it makes us get our hopes up.
 

"Financial fair play" is the biggest load of bollocks UEFA have ever come out with.

I still don't see the problem with the introduction of a salary cap and/or profit sharing.
 
ODM said:
I think this is a bit doom&gloom as we had a good cup run just the odd year ago, saying we will never win anything with the status of the national cups and the Europa League is, to me, pessimistic to say the least.
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Which the club never used as a springboard. Instead it led to a defender leaving to fund any transfers last minute.

2 seasons later, we go out early doors in the cups who are then won by clubs who have spent more than us (to their detriment or not) and finishing top half of the table with no Europe.

The team peaked with the current board and structure in 09...it hasn't moved on from there so to me it needs a massive change in how the club works to win anything.

Arsenal have a better squad and club set up...not won anything in 6 years. Are we expected to win something by spending less and having an Infirior squad compared to that?
 
kenada_blue said:
Arsenal have a better squad and club set up...not won anything in 6 years. Are we expected to win something by spending less and having an Infirior squad compared to that?
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Arsenal have, by any reasonable standard, underperformed over that period, though. They've reached finals, they've led the league going late into the season and just not been able to take their chances. I wouldn't use that as a standard.

Birmingham, Spurs and Portsmouth have all won trophies with teams that we finished above. And not just us but Fulham, Boro, Villa, Cardiff, Stoke, Tranmere ect ect have reached finals recently. The idea that winning a cup is miles beyond us because of our poor performances in cups over only two years (coming after a final and a semi final in the two years previous). No, I'm not having that. This squad can win a trophy. It probably won't but it can.
 

Hibbert&Ernie said:
It has long been argued that Moyes' tenure at Everton will not be considered a success without that piece of silverwear to crown a moment of glory. Whilst others point to a fourth placed finish and a breathless sojourn in the Champions League qualifiers as a pinnacle. What is really the driving desire behind such discussion and what relevance does it bare to the actual state of Everton Football club and Football in general?
The only facts on offer are the comparisons that can be made throughout the same time and under the same circumstances.
Currently there is a growing media scrum applying pressure to Arsene Wenger as Arsenal have not won a trophy for five years. Before his arrival Arsenal had been a good side but in decline as the George Graham assembled side either aged, retired or sought pastures new. Which leads to the most recent example. Birmingham City (new owners last summer) somehow beat Arsenal in the League Cup final this past season and will be playing Europa League football from the Championship next term as they were relegated from the Premier League, and have subsequently lost their manager to arch rivals Aston Villa. They are now bracing themselves for an almost complete squad overhaul as the vultures swoop for bargains, the bosmans walk, some retire and others have contractual stipulations allowing them to leave should they be relegated for comparative low fees.
Isolated incident? Possibly, they are certainly the first Championship side to take part in the new fangled Europa League, though I do recall Ipswich playing in the Uefa cup under George Burley some years ago.
Another blot in the ointment? Well, Portsmouth had a succession of new owners, and managed to win the FA Cup, that they were relegated and couldn't afford to pay for their European competition licence/insurance meant that they would have been playing in Europe from the comfort of the English leagues second division ('First division' or 'Championship' way back then all of two years ago).
I wonder if a solitary trophy can soothe the consciences of the Birmingham City supports and Portsmouth supporters respectively in light of their luster and then subsequent relegations.
'But these are small clubs', I hear you reply, (obviously apart from Arsenal) could there be a side in a similar turmoil that has a similar footing in English Football history to Evertons History? Well, Chelsea are nouveau riche and skew the picture temporarily, but for all their successes they still havn't bullied their way to the top European Honour. Which brings me nicely to our affable neighbours.
Their fifth top European Honour success was 2005, and they bang on about it still, and rolled that win into an FA cup win in 06. Since then having spent grotesque amounts, they still havn't reached the ambrosia of the much sought Championship they crave, two consortiums of new owners, two seasons running out of the top European competition, three managers in ten months, two which were hounded out by players and fans alike.
The pressure of expectation can drag a support down, the demand by a support for a moment of glory can not just drag a club down, it can sink it.
Ask a Forrest, or Leeds or Derby fan which league they would like to be playing in starting this coming August, and that extends to Sheff Wed, and West ham too.
Financial fair play is about to be rolled out, meaning a club can only spend what it generates. This is an effort by Uefa to level the playing field, but will it work or will the established bigger businesses still be able to financially outmuscle the moderately financially sized like has always been the way?
One thing for sure is that stability in the top flight is the crux of competition at a level with the rest of the best in the English League. That is just common sense, and I am quite happy with the situation currently where the future of my club will not be put at risk for an exceptionally short term gain, especially as the consequences for a mere stutter let alone a full fall can be so dire to a club, especially one that is run on such a shoestring. Hopefully the shoestring rule will apply to a few other sides very soon and then we can see just how badly Everton is purportedly ran as a business.
There are some fun times a lot closer than the horizon, and the atrophy I have spoken about might not apply to just a club or two, it could see an intense rebalance of the established elites.
To finish with a line, I'll borrow from Dylan "The times they are a changin"
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Stands and applauds!
 
Persoanly i think the fair play sniz, will make football more competitive, the gulf between the PL clubs and PL and European Clubs will lesson. I think in a way it will bring football back to its traditional level of developing young talent/players and regulateing wages. I think it will give better run clubs like ours a more compeitive edge then their is presently, we may also see it more difficult for players to move between clubs.
 
Winning a trophy will mean winning a cup and will therefore will require a reasonable amount of luck in avoiding :-

1. As many of the bigger clubs as possible and
2. A c*ck up against someone like Reading

Winning the Premier League. Ahhhh, that would be good !

Actually, one thing that people don't seem to have considered with the new financial rules is that any new owners know they won't be able to spend a fortune on a team to buy success but, if there are investors out there who truly love the game, then they might consider buying a club below the "Big Four" with a view to increasing the turnover ( new stadium, bigger crowds, drum up more commercial activity etc ) which would then allow them to invest more money in the team leading to greater success.

Everton might fit that scenario .... I live in hope !
 

Melvin is a state of mind, often absurd and obsessed with character assassination. There is only one person on here implying I am some previous racist. It is somewhat out of order.
 
Hibbert&Ernie said:
Melvin is a state of mind, often absurd and obsessed with character assassination. There is only one person on here implying I am some previous racist. It is somewhat out of order.
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Report the posts to the mods mate, hit the triangolar button with an exclamtion mark offending at the bottom of the post - they go straight to the mods as an alert.
 

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