Over the course of the season, GrandOldTeam will be asking opposition fans for their views ahead of encounters against Everton.
This week of course Everton will travel to the Hawthorns to face newly promoted West Bromwich Albion. The first of several West Brom fans to have answered a series of our questions is Ishaan;
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1) Not a bad performance against Arsenal, especially defensively. What are your expectations for this season? (Where do you think you will finish in the league?)[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Obviously, anything above 18th would be a massive achievement for us. With a couple more signings [Valero, Zhi and then a centre back and striker], I feel 17th is a realistic expectation - I'd be extremely disappointed if we didn't finish above the other two promoted teams, and there is at least one other team in this league worse than us.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2) Has your clubs summer activities lived up to your expectations?[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So far it has. We've signed an England international goalkeeper [Carson], the Dutch U21 captain [Zuiverloon] and a left back/midfielder who has got international and Champions' League experience [Cech]. On top of this, it looks like we've signed Valero who looks a quality player. Like I've said, we need a couple more players, but that should come in the next week and a half.[/FONT]
3) Who do you think is your most important player(s)?
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Scott Carson and Ishmael Miller. Both are talented young players, and one will be needed for keeping the ball out of our net, the other to put the ball in the other net. Kim Do-Heon and Valero could be crucial to create the opportunities, and Robert Koren is the driving force behind our team.
[/FONT]4) Your worst player(s)?[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Based on our last performance, Hoefkens. Also, don't expect much from Pele or Shelton Martis who are only squad players.[/FONT]
5) A club record fee of £4.75m for Borja Valero? Whats your opinion? Is he worth it? He's not going to play against us is he!?[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
It sounds like a great coup for us, with people who have seen him play saying he's very underrated and an exciting player. And yes, I'd back him to make his début against you. I've heard he's a similar player to Arteta.[/FONT]
6) Are there any exciting young prospects that we wouldn't know about?
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Leon Barnett seems to be progressing into a solid centre-back, and I'm assuming you know about Ishmael Miller/James Morrison. Gianni Zuiverloon may make his début against you, and he's certainly an exciting prospect.[/FONT]
7) Do you have any chants that require an explanation?
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] I suppose you might not understand it when we sing "The Lord's My Shephard", but I'm not sure what the explanation is for it.
[/FONT]8) £40 a ticket? Thats a bit steep isnt it?[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It is steep, but the main reason for the high pricing is that we have a20record number of season ticket sales this season, and the chairman expects the majority of "real" fans to already have season tickets. Obviously, some people who can't get to all the matches will be penalized, but finding the perfect system is hard.[/FONT]
9) What do you think of Evertons summer activities? [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] I have to admit, I'm quite disappointed with them. At the end of last season, I thought you were amongst the clubs who could push for the Champions' League this season [even moreso than last], but you don't appear to have strengthened much at all.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT] 10) Where do you think Everton will finish in the league?[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]As it stands, I'd expect you to come behind the "Big 4", Villa and Spurs. I do hope you strengthen however, in which case you'd be anywhere from 4th-6th.[/FONT]
12) Which Everton player(s) do you fear the most?[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Arteta and Yakubu out of the players playing on Saturday. Tim Cahill would have been a big threat.[/FONT]
13) Finally, What do you think the score will be? If you are feeling brave, name the scorers![FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Fingers crossed it'll be 2-1 to the baggies. Valero and Miller for us, Yakubu for yourselves.
Good luck for the season ahead and boing boing![/FONT]
This week of course Everton will travel to the Hawthorns to face newly promoted West Bromwich Albion. The first of several West Brom fans to have answered a series of our questions is Ishaan;
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]1) Not a bad performance against Arsenal, especially defensively. What are your expectations for this season? (Where do you think you will finish in the league?)[/FONT] [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Obviously, anything above 18th would be a massive achievement for us. With a couple more signings [Valero, Zhi and then a centre back and striker], I feel 17th is a realistic expectation - I'd be extremely disappointed if we didn't finish above the other two promoted teams, and there is at least one other team in this league worse than us.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]2) Has your clubs summer activities lived up to your expectations?[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]So far it has. We've signed an England international goalkeeper [Carson], the Dutch U21 captain [Zuiverloon] and a left back/midfielder who has got international and Champions' League experience [Cech]. On top of this, it looks like we've signed Valero who looks a quality player. Like I've said, we need a couple more players, but that should come in the next week and a half.[/FONT]
3) Who do you think is your most important player(s)?
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Scott Carson and Ishmael Miller. Both are talented young players, and one will be needed for keeping the ball out of our net, the other to put the ball in the other net. Kim Do-Heon and Valero could be crucial to create the opportunities, and Robert Koren is the driving force behind our team.
[/FONT]4) Your worst player(s)?[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Based on our last performance, Hoefkens. Also, don't expect much from Pele or Shelton Martis who are only squad players.[/FONT]
5) A club record fee of £4.75m for Borja Valero? Whats your opinion? Is he worth it? He's not going to play against us is he!?[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
It sounds like a great coup for us, with people who have seen him play saying he's very underrated and an exciting player. And yes, I'd back him to make his début against you. I've heard he's a similar player to Arteta.[/FONT]
6) Are there any exciting young prospects that we wouldn't know about?
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Leon Barnett seems to be progressing into a solid centre-back, and I'm assuming you know about Ishmael Miller/James Morrison. Gianni Zuiverloon may make his début against you, and he's certainly an exciting prospect.[/FONT]
7) Do you have any chants that require an explanation?
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] I suppose you might not understand it when we sing "The Lord's My Shephard", but I'm not sure what the explanation is for it.
[/FONT]8) £40 a ticket? Thats a bit steep isnt it?[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]It is steep, but the main reason for the high pricing is that we have a20record number of season ticket sales this season, and the chairman expects the majority of "real" fans to already have season tickets. Obviously, some people who can't get to all the matches will be penalized, but finding the perfect system is hard.[/FONT]
9) What do you think of Evertons summer activities? [FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] I have to admit, I'm quite disappointed with them. At the end of last season, I thought you were amongst the clubs who could push for the Champions' League this season [even moreso than last], but you don't appear to have strengthened much at all.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT] 10) Where do you think Everton will finish in the league?[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]As it stands, I'd expect you to come behind the "Big 4", Villa and Spurs. I do hope you strengthen however, in which case you'd be anywhere from 4th-6th.[/FONT]
12) Which Everton player(s) do you fear the most?[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Arteta and Yakubu out of the players playing on Saturday. Tim Cahill would have been a big threat.[/FONT]
13) Finally, What do you think the score will be? If you are feeling brave, name the scorers![FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]
[/FONT][FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Fingers crossed it'll be 2-1 to the baggies. Valero and Miller for us, Yakubu for yourselves.
Good luck for the season ahead and boing boing![/FONT]
