Fellaini talk could push Evertonians to breaking point
Browsing some of the Everton fan sites on the internet, you can easily see how adamant Evertonians are that they are still fans of a big club. In terms of honours, history and support, this is undoubtedly true. However, money now dictates the beautiful game and with chairman Kenwright tipping the sofa every summer, it is easy for outsiders to treat Everton with the same respect as Bolton, Wigan and Hull. Even the most optimistic of blues have been pushed to breaking point lately, with Fellaini Snr’s comments regarding his son’s future.
“The big clubs see that he is doing well. So he is very closely followed by Chelsea,” his father said, before adding, “I hope that I will see him work at a big club. Marouane belongs at a really top club and he will only get better.”
With Lescott leaving in the summer to “further his career” and constant speculation over young Jack Rodwell’s future, this truly is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Foreign footballers, rightly or wrongly, are not expected to learn about the history of the club they represent which renders Everton’s illustrious tradition obsolete. If Everton are to hang on to their star players, they need investment.
There was a time when fans trawled the internet for rumours on who would be coming to Goodison, not who would be leaving. However, this January has already seen speculation regarding the futures of Saha, Pienaar, Rodwell, Neill and Fellaini. It seems Evertonians are saying the Hail Marys so their players stay, as opposed to the usual hopes of Manuel Fernandes coming around the mountain to revive his Goodison career.
A year ago, things would have been different. The only thing to divide the fans more than Belgian powerhouse Fellaini in recent times was Kirkby, so many would have been filling their cars up with petrol to drop the 22-year-old off at the Bridge themselves. However, having been reverted back to his natural position in the last few months, Fellaini has flourished and has swayed popular opinion. The timing of the comments of Fellaini Snr could not have been worse, given that many fans believe his son to be the man to build the Everton team of the future around.
Furthermore, many Evertonians would have dismissed these comments last year, believing that their players are cut from a different cloth to the modern-day mercenaries that are so often talked about; after all, Fellaini celebrates very passionately and kisses the badge, doesn’t he? Evertonians do not need to be reminded of a centre-half who played for Everton, celebrated with passion and said he would play for the Merseyside club for the rest of his career given the chance, only to leave in the summer having handed in a transfer request and alienated himself from the rest of the squad.
Would Fellaini leave? Probably. His father is clearly an important figure in his life and his comments will no doubt have an important impact on the holding midfielder. It seems that blues all across the land will now be biting their nails because of their star players leaving, as opposed to scouring the web for news of any incoming players, and hoping that the players whose futures are in doubt show more loyalty than that showed by Everton’s last departure.
Written By Craig Rimmer
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Ridiculous. I know your job as a low paid and low level journalist is based on stoking peoples opinions and causing people to be outraged, but this is too far. Spouting stupid comments like this shows either that your desperate for any opinion on your so far dwindling career, or a basic knowledge of the history of football. Im guessing its a mixture. Everton, Wigan, Bolton. What stands out from that sentence?? 9 league titles. Who won them all?? Everton. Chelsea, Tottenham, Man City, a combined 7, still not near everton. I think even outsiders know were not in the same bracket, and you know it too. If you talk about the history of English football, It has and always will be Man Utd, Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool. Maybe Villa too. Stick to this site, its where you belong.
Well said, dguin.
awful, awful piece.
However, money now dictates the beautiful game and with chairman Kenwright tipping the sofa every summer, it is easy for outsiders to treat Everton with the same respect as Bolton, Wigan and Hull.
Same as Wigan and Hull, have you been taking your pills lad?
Craig “amateur sports journalist” Rimmer.
So a quote from the News of The World is apparently gospel these days is it?
Anyone who thinks Everton aren’t a big club are sadly misinformed. And frankly won’t be reading any of your rubbish again. Its all speculative rubbish.
Dgun and Tim said it right. Even if we did sell anyone, theres plenty of other players around to get in replacement.
If they’re stupid enough to want away let them go the way of Lescott.
ok fair enough, i suppose you are entitled to your own opinion but at least get your facts right.
You say that foreign footballers are not expected to learn about the hisory of the clubs they play for. Well that may be true for some clubs but you couldnt be further from the truth in regards to everton.In fact fellaini said himself in an interview on everton tv that he was made to learn all about everton’s illustrious history.
at least get your facts right mate, you clearly have done no research for this article. very lazy jounalism
Craig you,ve been reading too many of Tony Cascerino,s articles who,s TC
which newspaper did you use to work for
picking on EFC to further your career is very stupid I don,t know whats worse being a stupid person or a stupid journalist
Worst article ever!! get a job your good at.
Of course, in terms of league titles, history, support etc. we’re a big club. However, look at how the media view Everton. I’m a season ticket holder and an away day regular, I’m not having a sly jibe at the team I’ve spent my life loving just for a bit of poxy sports journalism.
A lot of you are living in denial; a denial that I was living in last summer until Lescott wanted to leave.
Look at some of the ignorance, even in the last few weeks:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/29122009/58/premier-league-steven-pienaar-david-vaughan-clinch-win-everton.html
BBC’s Post Match Interview with Moyes after the Arsenal game. The interviewer says “Such composure, such coolness under pressure from one so young” when talking about Steven Pienaar. Now every football fan worth their salt knows Pienaar’s no spring chicken.
Football Manager 2010.
“English Premiership Leading Clubs:
Man Utd
Liverpool
Chelsea
Arsenal
Man City
Tottenham”
Man City? With their 2 league titles and nothing for 33 years?
I have a lot of mates who support other clubs and they often pidgeon-hole us with the likes of Hull, Stoke etc. Extremely disrespectful, I know, but something that just happens.
Look at how the media portray it. The term “Big Four” was coined about eight years ago by some pundit and it’s now become some gospel thing. Something which is now accepted as pretty much fact. It’s a gimmick.
This article is clearly above you if you can’t grasp that. I am not calling us a small club, I’m merely addressing the media’s view of us; a view which, unfortunately, foreign players and the like tend to subscribe to also.
Hands up craig you win your post is above us all Lol just don,t post it on toffee web they will skin you alive keep it hidden away on here
i dont give 2 @#~ if you are a season ticket holder and an away day regular. you say it as if that gives your opinion more importance than evryone else posting here. To say the article is above us all just proves how weak your argument is.
as if football manager 2010 and your mates decide which are the big teams. how old are you, 10?
we all know what dictates and defines a big club and it is much more than money. perhaps you are just too naive to realise it….
To be fair Craig, I think the sentiment of your article is correct and I think a lot of the abuse you are getting is for the slightly superior tone used at times. However one criticism I have is that your article appears to condone the SKY 4 as being an accepted “Big 4″ and disregarding any other club with a prestigious History but little recent success. This frustrates myself and most Blues fans no end – 9 League Championships say we ARE a big club, no matter what most media sources will tell us in trying to pander to the football fans who do not remember the Pre-Sky/Premier league days.
Ridiculous article. Not just in terms of honours are Everton superior, but they probably have the best away support in the Prem. I don’t support Everton but I like them more than Liverpool or United because they are genuine.
Ahem, the term Big 4 was coined about 40 years ago in reference 2…Arsenal, Aston Villa, Everton & Liverpool.
If ya know ya history n all that my young friend. Call ya self an Evertonian?
Again, a lot of you are missing the point lads…unfortunately.
I am not saying Everton are a small club, of course I am not. Can you not see, however, why to an outsider/foreigner it may seem that way?
This is why it is pushing Evertonians to breaking point; the club, because of the media and the lack of funding, is no longer getting treated with the respect it deserves.
In fact, thinking about it, your angered comments prove my point that you are very frustrated with how outsiders view the club.
Craig Rimmer..i think your problem is(and its an unusual one for a journalist) that you are not very good at writing what you mean, you just aren’t articulate. If you had written something along the lines of how you dont think everton get the respect they deserve from some media outlets and how some people dont see us as a big club anymore, then some of us evertonians would have been more sympathetic and understnading to your article. Instead though you wrote this rubbish piece, which doesnt even stir debate. you just keep writing about how us evertonians are at breaking point and saying hail marys praying that players dont leave. well i for one have more confidence in my team and you should too…..dont give up the day job Rimmer!
Summed up above, you arent explaining yourself. If you believe that people see us along with the likes of hull, then your mates, like yourself evidently, know nothing about football. Fair enough if we were relegation strugglers, or say it in the 90’s, but after the season were we were in an FA cup final, and finishing in the top 6 for 4 of the last 5 years, how can you justify it? Everyone knows were a big club, and i think probably less than 1 percent of the country would put us alongside wigan, bolton and hull. Get some new friends who have actually watched football, and a new job. As someone said, call ya’self an evertonian?? We dont need people like you at the match… sort it out
I’m a Liverpool fan who likes to have a dig at Everton whenever the opportunity arises, but as far as i’m concerned, the measure of a big club is fans and history. Everton certainly have both.
Money is a short term luxury, mid term at most. Look at the state of our club. Two fat jokers come in and splash the cash on Torres and Mascherano for 50 mill. This summer they throw Rafa a 5 year deal, break even in the transfer market, the stadium stalls and were struggling to get 4th.
Fans and history are what makes clubs ‘big’, and the 3 clubs you mention have neither. Have either of them even totalled 10 years in the top flight, as opposed to Everton’s 100 years? Not to mention their complete lack of trophies. When i think of Everton I think Dixie Dean and Alan Ball, in the same respects of Dalglish/Rush at Liverpool and Charlton/Cantona at United. When I think of Wigan, Hull and Bolton, I think Scharner, Bernard Mendy and Gudjohnson. Even now i think of Everton players Arteta and Saha, who are both classes above the pick of the players at the three clubs mentioned.
As I say, I love having a dig at Everton, and your article did make me chuckle a bit. But I had to comment, because this is slack slack journalism. Shocking in fact. I see you also play the whole “season ticket holder and away day goer” card too. It’s irrelevant. My dad is housebound and he knows as much about football as anyone, he’d laugh his head off if he read this article.
If you’ve got any hope of making a decent career out of journalism, stop quoting football manager and stop writing such ridiculous articles.