Hayee
Player Valuation: £40m
Dear David,
You may wonder why I'm writing this now, and didn't during the pre season/summer. I took time out to reflect on the happenings and to work out exactly what I wanted to say.
Firstly, I must thank you for your 11 years of service to Everton; you gave us hope during the dark days; you took on a very aged team who were dangling perilously close to the trap door into the first division (before it was called the Championship), before you came we had Steve Watson playing as a lone/supporting striker (when Radz was fit), you came along and reinstated my beloved Duncan Ferguson as captain, you knew how much the club meant to him and entrusted him with his armband once more. You coined the phrase "The People's Club" which endeared you to fans instantaneously. You kept us up that first season, then the second season, "Magnificent Seventh" - the dizzy heights of the top half of the table which we hadn't seen for far too long. You signed the likes of Nigel Martyn, Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta and Phil Neville, stalwarts of the club; and more recently (yet still long ago) you brought us Leighton Baines, Steven Pienaar, Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin, Tim Howard; infact, the vast majority of the current first team squad; and bar some dubious signings (Kroldrup, Bilyaletdinov) and some trouble makers (Van Der Meyde and Drenthe) you got it pretty spot on. You led us to Wembley (twice) in 2009 for the first time in 14 years and again in 2012; although we didn't win, we enjoyed getting that far in the FA Cup, we loved our big days out to the capital! You led us to the Champions League (albeit for the briefest spell, but CL nonetheless) you led us into Europe and gave the fans a taste of European football once more; you cemented our place as an established top half team. My only (and it's a big one) irk was your refusal to offer Duncan Ferguson a new contract in 2006, I'm sorry but I will never forgive you that! Anyway, I digress.
Rewind to last season.
Us Evertonians had resigned ourselves to you leaving with the stalling over a new contract, yet we still backed you. Even when you took the Manchester United job we supported you; we were there in our thousands for your last home game at Goodison; we gave you a heroes reception. We were all emotionally moved by this, I know you were too. It was the end of an era; we wished you well and we knew that you would receive a heroes welcome upon your return with your new club; you'd been fantastic for Everton Football Club and none of us begrudged you a crack at arguably the biggest job in football. The majority of us would rather you have stayed, but that was not our call. We worshiped you, like hero worshiped you. You were the Moyesiah, we sang your name, "He's got red hair but we don't care", we treated you very very well, unlike many fickle football fans, as you are now finding out the hard way.
So as I was saying, even after you left, we wished you well and held you in the highest regard; that was, until, you tarnished our name and tried to bite the hand that fed you so fruitfully for 11 years. You had a sly dig in the papers about finally having the team to win at Anfield. Remind me how that one went? You poached Fellaini from us and tried your best to take Leighton Baines too; offering a pathetic amount for the pair of them, then ended up paying more than that sum just for Marouane. You insinuated that Baines' career would falter if he were to stay at Everton, yet you fought tooth and nail to keep him with us when you were our manager. Evertonians don't take kindly to these things; we are not fickle but we are deathly passionate and will fight with our last breaths for our club. I appreciate you don't "get it" like we do, like Duncan does, like Kenwright does, but you showed us absolutely no respect. It felt similar to losing an uncle, one who has been there for years and has tried his best to see you smile, an ever present at family gatherings, then suddenly he breaks up with your aunty and basically tells you to get stuffed and that he's better, and his new mrs is all that matters.
This is why, David Moyes, you will receive a hostile reception upon your return to the Grand Old Lady; it's not that we didn't care because we did, more than you probably realised, it's the way you've treated us since you departed. I would wish you all the best but after the way you've treated Everton and Evertonians, I'd be lying.
Adios David.
You may wonder why I'm writing this now, and didn't during the pre season/summer. I took time out to reflect on the happenings and to work out exactly what I wanted to say.
Firstly, I must thank you for your 11 years of service to Everton; you gave us hope during the dark days; you took on a very aged team who were dangling perilously close to the trap door into the first division (before it was called the Championship), before you came we had Steve Watson playing as a lone/supporting striker (when Radz was fit), you came along and reinstated my beloved Duncan Ferguson as captain, you knew how much the club meant to him and entrusted him with his armband once more. You coined the phrase "The People's Club" which endeared you to fans instantaneously. You kept us up that first season, then the second season, "Magnificent Seventh" - the dizzy heights of the top half of the table which we hadn't seen for far too long. You signed the likes of Nigel Martyn, Tim Cahill, Mikel Arteta and Phil Neville, stalwarts of the club; and more recently (yet still long ago) you brought us Leighton Baines, Steven Pienaar, Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin, Tim Howard; infact, the vast majority of the current first team squad; and bar some dubious signings (Kroldrup, Bilyaletdinov) and some trouble makers (Van Der Meyde and Drenthe) you got it pretty spot on. You led us to Wembley (twice) in 2009 for the first time in 14 years and again in 2012; although we didn't win, we enjoyed getting that far in the FA Cup, we loved our big days out to the capital! You led us to the Champions League (albeit for the briefest spell, but CL nonetheless) you led us into Europe and gave the fans a taste of European football once more; you cemented our place as an established top half team. My only (and it's a big one) irk was your refusal to offer Duncan Ferguson a new contract in 2006, I'm sorry but I will never forgive you that! Anyway, I digress.
Rewind to last season.
Us Evertonians had resigned ourselves to you leaving with the stalling over a new contract, yet we still backed you. Even when you took the Manchester United job we supported you; we were there in our thousands for your last home game at Goodison; we gave you a heroes reception. We were all emotionally moved by this, I know you were too. It was the end of an era; we wished you well and we knew that you would receive a heroes welcome upon your return with your new club; you'd been fantastic for Everton Football Club and none of us begrudged you a crack at arguably the biggest job in football. The majority of us would rather you have stayed, but that was not our call. We worshiped you, like hero worshiped you. You were the Moyesiah, we sang your name, "He's got red hair but we don't care", we treated you very very well, unlike many fickle football fans, as you are now finding out the hard way.
So as I was saying, even after you left, we wished you well and held you in the highest regard; that was, until, you tarnished our name and tried to bite the hand that fed you so fruitfully for 11 years. You had a sly dig in the papers about finally having the team to win at Anfield. Remind me how that one went? You poached Fellaini from us and tried your best to take Leighton Baines too; offering a pathetic amount for the pair of them, then ended up paying more than that sum just for Marouane. You insinuated that Baines' career would falter if he were to stay at Everton, yet you fought tooth and nail to keep him with us when you were our manager. Evertonians don't take kindly to these things; we are not fickle but we are deathly passionate and will fight with our last breaths for our club. I appreciate you don't "get it" like we do, like Duncan does, like Kenwright does, but you showed us absolutely no respect. It felt similar to losing an uncle, one who has been there for years and has tried his best to see you smile, an ever present at family gatherings, then suddenly he breaks up with your aunty and basically tells you to get stuffed and that he's better, and his new mrs is all that matters.
This is why, David Moyes, you will receive a hostile reception upon your return to the Grand Old Lady; it's not that we didn't care because we did, more than you probably realised, it's the way you've treated us since you departed. I would wish you all the best but after the way you've treated Everton and Evertonians, I'd be lying.
Adios David.
