Every One Of Us…..

………should realise how lucky us United fans have been to see the
greatest manager ever to walk the planet, manage the club we all
follow, Manchester United..

United did the double last year !! Champions of England and Champions of Europe but
no one seems to have celebrated it or even recognised the fact they did it.
Probably because we have had to put up with the precocious antics of Ronaldo, then
listen to the idiot Sepp Blatter declare all players are becoming slaves, albeit on
£100,000 per week !! Then we had Euro 2008 followed by The Beijing Olympics and
voila, here we are, another season is in full flow.

I hear a lot of people putting Sir Fergie down, pushing aside his records and all he
has achieved with United. I think it’s an Englsh thing. They gave Capello 28
minutes into his first game with England before booing them !! They love failure
for some reason they even court it. They expect to fail, then they fail, then they
get bitter because they failed. In the same vein, they wont recognise anything
Fergie does until he is long gone !!

This is sad, a great shame. The simple truth is, no matter who believes it, Sir
Alex Chapman Ferguson CBE, is the greatest football coach/manager to ever walk this
planet it’s as simple as that and there is no argument possible to even contest it!

In statistical terms, Ferguson’s career is, quite simply, incredible and would be so
even if it were fiction. The end of last season brought him a tenth English league
championship in 21 seasons as United’s manager. No other manager in English history
even comes close: Bob Paisley won six with Liverpool, Matt Busby five with United
and Herbert Chapman four with Arsenal and Huddersfield in the 1930s. If we look
outside England, Rinus Michels won five league championships (4 with Ajax and one
with Barcelona) whilst Fabio Capello won seven (4 at AC Milan, 2 at Real Madrid and
another at Roma; another two at Juventus were taken off him because he CHEATED !!!
Only in Scotland is Ferguson’s achievement matched: Jock Stein, his friend and
mentor, led Celtic to 11 Scottish titles. All due respect to Scotland and their FA,
but it’s not quite as competitive up there so I personally thing Fergies
achievements are a lot better.

In all, United have won 702 (58%) of the 1210 league games played under Ferguson to
the end of May 2008. That surpasses even the record of Matt Busby: 576 (50%) wins
out of 1141 games. And Ferguson’s teams lost only 18% of their competitive games,
compared with 26% under Busby. Since the inception of the Premier League,
Ferguson’s record has been even more remarkable, beyond belief in fact.

In the 16 years of the Premiership, United have totalled 155 more league points
than Arsenal, their nearest challengers, 221 more than Chelsea and 244 more than
Liverpool. That’s nearly 10 points a season better than Arsenal on average,nearly
14 points better than Chelsea and more than 16 points better than Liverpool -
astonishing margins. In the process, United also played the more attractive
football consistently, averaging 1.97 goals per game (compared with 1.69 for
Arsenal, 1.58 for Chelsea, and 1.6 for Liverpool) and defended better (conceding
0.87 goals per game compared with 0.88, 0.98 and 0.98 respectively for their main
rivals).

If all that were not enough, Ferguson has also brought United two European Cups, a
European Cup-Winners Cup, five FA Cups (a record for a manager) and two League
Cups, 20 major trophies in all. Against that, Michels won a total of 14, Paisley
13, Capello 9, Busby 7 and Chapman 6. But there’s more. Before joining United in
1986, Ferguson led Aberdeen to 3 league championships, 4 FA Cups, one League Cup
and a European Cup-Winners Cup in Scotland.

There’s also the matter of two European Super Cups (one with each club) and an
Intercontinental Cup (United became, so far, the only English winners of that
trophy). That’s 32 major trophies overall, ahead even of Stein’s 29 in Scotland
(and as I said achieved in a much tougher competitive environment). Along the way,
there have been three English League and FA Cup doubles (the first to do it twice
and then three times), and one League and European Cup double. Above all, in 1999
Ferguson led United to the treble of League championship, FA Cup and European Cup,
the single greatest achievement by any club in English football history and
something unmatched in Europe’s main leagues (England, Italy, Spain, Germany and
France).

You could not make it up. However much partisanship might colour our perceptions of
the relative merits of the great managers, indisputably Ferguson stands pre-eminent
in the history of English and European football.

Yet statistics do not give us the full substance of the man. It is all too easy to
forget, that Ferguson took over something of an empty shell in 1986, a club
living on fading memories of the Busby era, as much about tabloid notoriety as
football achievement.

With a ferocity that many found difficult to live with, he removed the drinking
culture that he found, got rid of some outstanding players who had lost their
way, confined the media to the fringes of the club’s business, resurrected the
club’s youth development system, built a professional training and coaching
system still unsurpassed in England, and demanded and got (as the price of
being at the club) a unity of purpose and clarity of focus that turned talented
players into winners.

Perhaps his greatest achievement has been that he has managed to blend the demands
of a more tactical and defensive modern game with the attacking verve and
individual swagger established by Busby as the United way of playing, a way that
made a provincial club the best supported team in the world.

It was a challenge that defeated previous United managers (including even Busby in
his late years) but Ferguson’s teams have managed to provide plenty of scope for
individual expression within the framework of team organization.

Thus, players like Cantona, Giggs, Rooney, Ronaldo, Scholes, Sharpe, Yorke, Cole,
Beckham, Anderson and others have developed into artists who could stretch the
imagination of those lucky enough to watch them while they still played winning
football.

These skills have been paraded through four successful United teams built by
Ferguson.

If the first (1990-2) was something of a transitional side, the other three -
1993-4, 1999-2001 and 2006-8 – have all been great ones.

The treble in 1999 must rank that side as the greatest of them, indeed as the
greatest in English club history, not only for the magnitude of the success but also
for the flair and style with which it was done. It exemplified what all Ferguson’s
teams are about – skill and flair embedded in a high level of organization and a
ferocious team spirit.

All this makes Fergie something more than a successful coach and places him in the
ranks of those great managers who can ‘build a club’, as the saying goes, men like
Michels, Stein, Shankly, Clough, Nicholson, Wenger.

In this company, Busby stands supreme: we cannot begin to imagine what it took to
turn a bankrupt, provincial club without a stadium into one renowned throughout the
world, to change the idea of football in favour of youth and flair, to drag English
football into Europe, to resurrect the club after the Munich air crash (by
contrast, Torino have never recovered fully after losing their great team in a 1949
air crash) and to win the European Cup just a decade after Munich.

Yet Ferguson, too, belongs here, adapting the Busby legacy to new realities and
taking the club to new heights.

It is only in his relations with the media that Fergie can be considered less than
successful. If it is true he has had to deal with a more unscrupulous and
contemptible press than any that Busby, Shankly or Stein faced, it is also true that
his constant conflicts with them have done neither himself nor his club any
favours. It has encouraged a sustained campaign against the club by the London media
so that United’s enormous contribution to the community and to Unicef and other
charities gets a Chinese-government type media blackout !!! It has also led to a
media caricature of Fergie with little basis in reality but with a life of its own.

The ranting bully terrorizing his players does not square with their fierce loyalty
to him or with their unshakeable will to win games from seemingly hopeless pos-
itions or with the flair and joy they so often bring to their play.

Nor does it square with the esteem in which he is held throughout football, or with
the appreciation by other managers of the support and generosity he accords them or,
for that matter, with the help and friendship he has extended to individual journ-
alists facing crises in their lives.

The wealth and fame he has achieved in football, and the political and business
circles to which he has access as a result, have not altered his friendships, most
of which go back to his youth, or his focus on family ties or his social values.
Perhaps that is a truer reflection of the nature of the beast than the media
picture……

AND MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, ONCE HE’S RETIRED AND
NO LONGER THREATENS THEM THEY WILL
FINALLY GIVE HIM HIS FULL DUE !!!

More Manchester United News And Views On Carly’s Manchester United Blog

Everton FC: The Heart of Liverpool.

The site of Everton's new stadium?

Though Everton’s season on the pitch looks to be shaping up nicely after a shaky start, there still hang some serious clouds on the horizon with regards to the clubs future. The ‘new stadium’ debate is one that has been rumbling along with our club for some time but has really gained some momentum in recent years, with the Kirkby proposal seemingly being the chosen option for the Everton officials.

There is no doubt that Everton do need an improved stadium if they are to continue to progress as a club, to allow for larger crowds and thus greater profit to match their on field ambitions. However, I have serious reservations about the Club moving it’s stadium outside the city limits, as Kirkby would be. I’m sure that those inside the club, those with the power to make decisions, feel that in their heart too, and I think they have perhaps abandoned that hope too easily.

Of course, the obvious problem with a new stadium within the city itself is that there are very few, if any, areas for development within the city that are large enough to allow a football stadium and all that comes with it, to be built. A few years ago, we explored the Kings Dock area and even got as far as having a vote amongst season ticket holders as to whether to leave Goodison and go ahead with the move. However, eventually that prospect fell flat and so we were forced to look elsewhere.

The really grinding thing though, is that there is a location that would be perfect for a new stadium. It’s about a minute from Goodison Park and has plenty of space available for development. I’m talking of course, about Stanley Park. And this was an option that was explored, and a couple of years ago, the club approached the Liverpool council with regards the possibility of using the land to build their new home. The council though, said that it was land that was indispensable as a public park, and would not consent to have it bought up for ‘private’ use.

A few years later though, and Liverpool FC, now also deciding that they need a new stadium, also approach the council about the possibility of a Stanley Park stadium. And surprise, surprise, in February 2003 they were granted permission. The plans are now in the pipeline, and the stadium was due to be completed ready of an August 2012 opening before the economic decline halted its progress.

The fact remains though that the Council has gone back on it’s decision to keep Stanley Park for public use, and given Liverpool permission to build a stadium where Everton were denied. This is downright favouritism towards the ‘more successful’ of the city’s two largest clubs, and to my mind, is downright wrong.

For one thing, Everton are the oldest club in Liverpool. Founded in 1878, fourteen years before Liverpool, we were also the original tenants of Anfield stadium, using it from it’s construction in 1884 until 1892, when we left due to a rent dispute and moved to Goodison Park. The owner of Anfield then founded a new club simply to have some use for his stadium, and thus Liverpool FC was formed.

So Everton FC were the first football team in Liverpool, and we remain the People’s Club of the city, as David Moyes memorably christened us when he took the manager’s job. But he had a point when he said that the man on the streets of Liverpool supports Everton. The people who actually live in the heart of the city are usually Everton supporters, with Liverpool’s support often coming (quite famously) from further afield and even abroad. This trend, of the people of Liverpool supporting Everton is probably due in part to the fact that Everton were established before Liverpool. The local people already had their team, and we all know how allegiances are passed down bloodlines, thus the ancestral people of Liverpool, support Everton.

It seems even more ridiculous then, that the prime location for a new stadium in the centre of Liverpool was given not to Everton, the People’s Club, but to Liverpool. If we move to Kirkby and Liverpool move to Stanley Park, match days in Liverpool could have the bizarre occurrence of Everton fans leaving the city to go to their stadium, while Liverpool fans flood in to the city from around the country to their stadium. Surely it would make more sense for Everton to remain in the city, as both history and the majority of supporters’ location suggests is logical.

Of course, this option seems closed to us now. Liverpool have been given Stanley Park, and so we must accept that, unfair as it may be, we cannot use that space (don’t even mention sharing). I still think though, that we belong in the city. Everton are, as I have discussed, the city’s founding club. We are the People’s club, and so why should the people of the city have to leave it to watch their team play at ‘home’?

Now comes the point in my article where I must consider the plausible options for remaining in the city, and this is unfortunately where I hit a bit of a hurdle. I can’t pretend that there are many, because there aren’t. The club has looked long and hard, but space for a development of this nature is hard to come by in such a busy city.

It is this which will prompt some to call for a shared stadium between Liverpool (despite my annoyance), and in a sense, it is a sensible call. Financially it would make sense and both clubs would have a prime location for ‘their’ stadium. But would it really be ‘their’ stadium? I think not, I think that with a shared stadium, each club would lose a big part of their identity. Goodison Park is a historic old ground, full of grace and character. Of course we will lose it when we move, but we will retain it’s qualities, and we establish a new ground that feels like home, that is our spiritual place. Likewise, Liverpool have their Kop end, and that is something else that could not be shared. How could a stand be ‘the new Kop’ one week and then be full of Toffee’s the next? It would simply destroy any chance we have of transferring our atmosphere from our current grounds, and that is something that should not be sacrificed.

So if sharing is not an option (and it isn’t), and there is no room for new development within the city, surely moving away is our only option. That is certainly what the club seems to have concluded with their Kirkby proposals, but I hesitate to agree. I think that there is a great location within the city that could house a stadium. In fact, I know it could house a stadium, because it already does.

I’m talking of course, about the area enclosed within Goodison Road, Bullens Road and Gwladys Street, where Goodison Park currently resides. Because what we need is a better stadium. It doesn’t have to be completely new, and we don’t have to move. Goodison Park has the central city location that we so desire, and it also has rather good foundations for a stadium. I fail to see then, why we are not seriously looking in to the possibility of updating and improving Goodison Park.

The club say that they have explored this possibility, but I don’t know to what extent they have done so. I have a sneaky suspicion that what most puts them off the redevelopment of Goodison is that it would mean we miss out on a lot of financial help for the improvement of our Stadia. Moving to a new ground would allow Naming Rights to be purchased, as well as the development of some sort of ‘complex’ adjacent to the stadium, which would help fund the build – at Kirkby, it’s a Tesco’s.

Now of course, that’s a handy financial boost. But I for one don’t like all this commercially named stadium bollocks. The Ricoh Arena for christ’s sake?! Ricoh make photocopiers!!! And why does a football ground need to be surrounded by a supermarket or ‘luxury apartments’ or a fitness complex? It doesn’t. That just detracts from the majesty and purity of a football stadium. It is a place where only one thing matters. Everything should be geared towards the football, and what happens on the pitch. They shouldn’t be trying to sell you shit on the way in. This is football dammit!!!

So I would be glad of missing out on those particular annoyances if we were to stay at Goodison and redevelop. Obviously that creates financial problems, but really, we’re in no state to build a stadium even with naming rights and a fancy complex at the moment anyway. We’re broke, and need someone to buy us and invest pretty heavily (but sensibly, none of this ‘Kaka for 100m’ rubbish) and so if we have an investor, why not just spend a bit more on redeveloping Goodison. After all, we won’t have to build from scratch anyway, as I said, it has good stadium foundations!

The only other major obstacle I can see to this plan, is that the redevelopment of Goodsion may make the ground uninhabitable while the work is being completed, and so it may leave us with nowhere to play. I am not much of a builder (understatement of the century), and so I don’t really know the logistics of it all, but perhaps the redevelopment could be done in stages, with simply a reduced capacity while the work is done, or (‘lo and behold) we could share Anfield for a season or two. God I actually shuddered as I typed that.

My point is though, that I don’t see any major, major problems with the prospect of redeveloping Goodison, and the fact that it would keep us in the city, and let us remain at our beloved Goodison Park, are enormous plus points in its favour. If anyone else can shed any light on other stumbling blocks that I may have missed, please do so, but at the moment, I see it as an entirely plausible (and favourable) option.

At the end of the day, I think it would simply be a tragedy if Everton were to leave Liverpool itself. While Liverpool, have more history in their trophy cabinet, it is we who have more history in the city. We have been here longer, it is where we belong, and it is where our fans live and work. The heartbeat of the club and it’s fans are in tandem, from the heart of Liverpool itself. I think it is absolutely sickening the way we have been treated by Liverpool council, but I think the club should do absolutely everything in its power to prevent us leaving the city. Taking Everton out of Liverpool would be like ripping my heart out of my chest. It just shouldn’t be done.

By Adam Howard.
If you enjoyed this, please visit me at…

More Important: The Cup or the League?

With things heating up rapidly in the battle for the three major trophies in England, the Premier League, FA Cup, and Carling Cup, I began thinking which cup do fans cherish most and what is the most important to them?  For the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, winning the League has become their focus as they battle amongst themselves year in and year out for this title.  Yet at the same time, they are able to succeed in FA Cup and Carling Cup consistently also, despite not putting out their best XI every time.  So for the top clubs in England, most would agree that the League for the most part is more important in determining how successful they were in any given season.  But what about the lower Premier League teams and teams in lower leagues?

When the FA Cup last season came down to a Portsmouth 1-0 Cardiff City result, it shocked England to see two teams who by no means are powerhouses, to be in the biggest club tournament in the best club football country on the planet. It would be hard to argue that a Portsmouth fan would’ve given up their great Cup run for a League finish a couple of spots higher. Furthermore, I’d be interested to see if Cardiff fans would’ve relinquished their trip to Wembley in the FA Cup Final for say-a spot in the Championship Playoff Final.  So to clubs like this, is the FA Cup as important as the league or is it something that really has been pushed to the background?  The debate will surely go on, but for me I’m sure excited for this weekends FA Cup matches.  I don’t know if I can say the same for the bigger clubs in the Premier League.

The Cup tournament that often gets tossed completely out of the discussion is the sometimes compelling, usually boring tournament that is the Carling Cup.  With Manchester United and Tottenham to meet at Wembley on the 1st of March, it will be interesting to see if United play their best players all over the pitch like they would in a Champion’s League Final. The Carling Cup is by far the least cherished of the three, but at the same time, when clubs like Burnley give every ounce of effort in their body for a chance to be in the Carling Cup Final like they did this past week versus Spurs, it really puts a different perspective on the Carling Cup.

When a smaller team gets drawn against a Premier League powerhouse in either the Carling or FA Cups, that match day instantly becomes the match of the year for the smaller team while at the same moment the fixture becomes sort of an annoyance for the bigger club. 

With the press and many of the Premier League fans now all agreeing and arguing that the FA Cup and especially the Carling Cup don’t mean as much as they once did, I’m trying to say it’s all a matter of perspective.  Fans of the English top flight, such as myself, are treated to the best club football in the world each and every Saturday, while fans of the 72 clubs in The Football League (The Championship, League 1, League 2) are not experiencing this sort of quality entertainment and high level of play on a weekly basis.  When they are fortunate enough to come up against the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool it means EVERYTHING to them, even if they know they are likely to lose.

Domestic Cup Football is something that I will agree can be somewhat dull and lacking of the excitement of the Premier League at times.  Other times, it can be enticing and exciting, leaving you on the edge of your seat.  But to anyone who wants to argue that these Cup competitions have no meaning and are more of a nuisance than a great spectical, I’m telling you to ask a Portsmouth fan if that FA Cup meant anything to him, ask a Burnley player how bad he wanted to knock Tottenham out of the Carling Cup, or ask a Derby County fan how he would’ve felt if they would’ve came back and beaten Manchester United at Old Trafford in spectacular style. 

The Carling and FA Cups may not mean the world to the bigger clubs in England, but to so many they mean everything and they work all season for one chance to shock the world.  That’s what makes Domestic Cup Football great and the next time you see Coventry City and Torquay United in an FA Cup match on TV and pass it up, think about how much it would mean to those players for one moment in the spotlight…

By RJ Sepich

Harry Gregg – Reluctant Hero

Last year was the 50th anniversary of Munich and we are fast approaching 51 years now.  I remember one moment from the TV broadcasts that were shown last year and it has stuck in my mind since that day.  I was browsing the TV channels and saw a program called ‘The Pride of Britain’. I thought it sounded interesting and settled back to watch it. All the acts of bravery by so many people was impressive as they one by one came up to collect their awards. They had all been ‘heroes’ over the past 12 months and to be honest the program is quite superficial and they use the word ‘hero’ a bit too liberally for my liking. I didn’t pay that much attention until the very end when I heard the name Harry Gregg. Harry who ? I hear many people ask. I’ll tell you Harry who, right here right now !!

Harry Gregg has always been a reluctant hero.

He always insists he would like to be remembered as the man who was once described as the best goal keeper in the world and not as some sort of ‘John Wayne’. After I watched the BBC Documentary “One Life: Harry Gregg Returns To Munich” – his wishes are likely to remain unfulfilled.

This was, without doubt, a portrait of a hero. To be honest John Wayne doesn’t come into it, he merely acted the part in mythical fantasies on film.

In this TV program we had Harry Gregg – the cast-iron, copper bottomed, unimpeachable, straight-down-the-line genuine article, who did it in real life – HARRY GREGG, HERO !

There was lots written back in February about the Munich air disaster, it was, after all, 50 years since that tragic day this year. I also watched the brilliant Nation On Film program featuring Sir Bobby watching for the first time rare footage of the Babes in colour. But none of these things matched Harry’s program for raw, emotional power. Harry, who is still a big man, was followed by the camera as he returned to places associated with the crash. It began with him walking down the run way that, submerged with slush, had been the last thing many of his friends had seen on 6th February 1958.

Just watching him on the tarmac, head bowed, dabbing his face with a handkerchief, had the tears flowing down my face … and they didn’t stop for the next 40 minutes.

What was so good about the programme was that stuff we have heard a thousand times sounded so fresh, so moving, so immediate coming from Harry’s own
testimony. Liam Whelan’s last words “if this is death, I’m ready”; Duncan Edwards asking from his hospital bed what time kick off was on Saturday; Gregg himself refusing to run from the scene as instructed by a member of the flight crew and instead heading back into the wreckage, yelling “there’s people alive in here”: with a master story-teller’s timing, he gave it all an immediacy that was astonishing.

He had – as he admitted – told the story many times to those anxious to write his part in history. So, for him, the journey was not so much about laying ghosts as ensuring the memories he had imparted were correct. There has been so much hysteria and so much romance written about the crash said Harry – he just wanted to know he was right in his version of things.

The camera did not shirk from presenting him with the consequences of such memory. It took him everywhere, from the Belgrade pitch where the Babes’ last game was played; “wouldn’t it be great to be able to run out there once more ?” he said, surveying the pitch, to the Munich airport terminal where the plane stopped to refuel, now abandoned and empty.

“Because of what happened when we left this building, Manchester United changed from a football club into an institution,” he said, as acute a summary of the part the accident’s mythology has played in United history as you will ever hear.

He went from the crash site, to the hospital, to the hotel where he and Bill Foulkes stayed that night. “Oh yes, this is the place all right, I remember that lift”. At times, it was too much for him, and he had to ask for a spot of privacy to compose himself away from the lens’ unstinting gaze.

“Do me a favour,” he said, as he entered the terminal building. “Forget the camera for a moment or two, just let me walk for a bit.” Tough it may have been, but you sensed he was glad to return, to meet people who had actually been there that night, the rescuers, the doctors, the farmer who came running over his field to help. There can’t be many of them left.

The most striking part of the film, though, was saved until the end. In Belgrade, Gregg went to the home of the Lukic family. Vera Lukic, the wife of the Yugoslav attaché in London, he had met before. He had not realised until much later that she was pregnant when he had dragged her and her baby from the shattered fuselage. With the camera in attendance, he was introduced for the first time to her son, Zoran, the unborn third member of the Lukic family whose life he had saved, now a 50-year-old man.

Gregg just sat on the family sofa, lost in thought, trying to get his head round the idea that a split-second decision not to run but to go back into the plane had been responsible for giving this man 50 years of life. “I don’t know what to say,” he said.

He didn’t need to. Harry Gregg long ago proved that actions speak louder than words!

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“Rafa Is Cracking Up” As Manchester United Hit The Top

‘Rafa’s cracking up,’ rang out around Old Trafford last Wednesday night, it was not a concerned cry from Manchester United supporters, they were merely laughing at Rafa and his recent antics in trying to upset Sir Alex Ferguson, the ‘King Of The Mind Games’.

Benitez’s outbursts are more an act of mental disintegration and as Gideon Haigh pointed out, this is a unique talent of the England cricket team that they were able to inflict mental disintegration on themselves rather than their opponents. Many believe Benitez did the same thing when he produced his piece of paper last Friday week, seeing it as an act of appeasement on a par with Neville Chamberlain.

Nobody knows anything and they know even less when dealing with Alex Ferguson. Last week a Sky reporter admitted that he hadn’t wanted to ask Alex Ferguson his views on the latest revelations in the Patrice Evra case having already asked him about Ronaldo’s move to Real Madrid. You get out while you’re ahead was the general tone of his report, suggesting that while enjoying an audience with Alex Ferguson you don’t want to do anything that would upset him so it was one tricky question per turn. Nobody ever feels that way in a Rafael Benitez press conference. They ask him anything they like and feel comfortable diong so. With Sir Alex they tread very carefully indeed!

At a time when Liverpool and Chelsea should be enjoying ‘relative safety’ from United after their trip to Japan, they find themselves both behind them as the New Year celebrations are left behind and the run-in to the season is about to begin.

Chelsea and Liverpool could have been 16 points clear of United on their return from the World Club Cup but they blew it big time. Since Japan United have won five straight league games and have not conceded a goal for ten straight matches either, equalling Chelsea’s record.

The fact that United again scored a very late winner yesterday against Bolton doesn’t mean they are the luckiest team in the world either as most opposition fans seem to think. Why do you think Chelsea and Manchester United do this so often and with consistency? It’s because neither team will give up for one single second during a game and they will fight until the final whistle. This is why the two supposed ‘luckiest’ teams score so many late winners.

Against Bolton yesterday United had a hat full of chances any one of which could have gone in. It just so happens that it was a late effort from Dimitar Berbatov that won the game for them.

Now, instead of still being well clear of United after the Japan adventure, both Chelsea and Liverpool find themselves chasing them again and if you ask me, it will be a futile chase once again. To beat United you obviously must score and for the last 900+ minutes of football, no one has managed to figure out how to do this.

The writing is on the wall……….Click Here For More Manchester United News From Carly

An Evertonian Tactical Analysis: 4-4-2 vs. 4-5-1

Hello everyone, hope you’re all well. My blog this week will be a tactical examination of perhaps the two most popular formations in the Premier League, with a particular focus on how they are utilised by Everton FC. Most people woulds say that the classic 4-4-2 formation is a more attacking formation than the traditionally more reserved 4-5-1, but I intend to show that in fact, if combined with the right combination of players, 4-5-1 allows the team a lot more attacking freedom and could therefore be considered the more adventurous of the two.

To begin with then, let’s have a look at the two formations in their most basic form:

On the Left: 4-4-2; On the Right: 4-5-1.

Traditionally the 4-4-2 formation is considered the more attacking largely because it simply employs more strikers. And this would be an astute observation if the formation was utilised in that simple sense. But the thing is that today the game of football is so fluid and so fast that in fact, the 4-5-1 formation usually does not resemble the above diagram at all. It is this flexibility that is the key to the formation, and as long as you have players disciplined enough to play to a system, it can be very effective.

Looking at the 4-4-2 formation though, you can see that there really isn’t a great deal of flexibility to it. The two strikers are your most potent weapons, the midfield are there to provide for them and protect the defence, and that’s about it. It doesn’t give particular freedom to wingers, because their absence would leave the central midfielders and defence heavily exposed. One way to tinker with it would be to push one of the central midfielders forward to play ‘in the hole’ but that usually means that the other would have to drop back to protect the defence in what is known as the diamond formation.

The key to utilising the 4-4-2 to it’s full potential lies, basically, with having a truly top class strike partnership. While the midfield can get forward and help out, they do not have a hugely free role and are contained within quite a rigid structure because if they are caught out of position there is no cover for the defence. That means that the strikers will get good service from relatively deep, but from there must capitalise on it for themselves.

That led to the development of the traditional ‘little and large’ strike partnerships that became very popular as 4-4-2 became the most popular formation and are still fairly popular today, with Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe at Portsmouth until recently being a good example. This means that the ball can be played up to the target man who can hold the ball up or flick it on to his strike partner. The other option is for the ball to be played over the top for the smaller, speedier striker who can then either go for goal or put the ball into the box for the target man to attack.

Up to a point this can work very well, especially against the ‘old school English’ sort of defenders. For much of the nineties the Premier League was home to many of these sort of centre halves, big, strong and good in the tackle, they lacked any real pace and relied on reasonable positional awareness to keep the quicker strikers in check. Against these defenders the 4-4-2 was effective in that the target man could challenge the big defenders in the air and if he won the ball, the speedy striker who was playing off him was often away, as the defenders had been drawn in to the original aerial battle.

However, the game in this decade is evolving. It has become a much bigger business and so the majority of players are becoming more complete athletes. When Tony Adams was at the top of his game he was an alcoholic, and thus his body was not in ideal condition physically. Yet he was one of the best defenders of his time, and could handle most players. Now though, footballers are honed athletes, at the peak of fitness and physically and mentally prepared for every demand the game will throw at them.

With this development defenders have gotten faster and more versatile. No longer are they just big strong guys who can make a good tackle and bully the little strikers around. Because that just wouldn’t work anymore. Now defenders can be just as fast and agile as the strikers, and the strikers are just as strong and committed as the defenders. And with this development, the effectiveness of the 4-4-2 formation has waned. Now that there are fewer physical differences between defenders and attackers, there is less room to exploit them.

So managers have more and more been forced to turn to a new formation, to try and find new ways to threaten the opposition goal, and the solution it seems, has been the 4-5-1 formation. And the manager who has arguably utilised it most effectively is David Moyes at Everton. But it is not the basic old 4-5-1 formation that we saw above. Indeed, in trying to create a diagram with which to demonstrate it to you, I couldn’t come up with one defining way to represent it, simply because the midfield is so undefined. Instead then, I’ve got a few diagrams for you.

Just a few examples of the ways in which 4-5-1 can be utilised.

As you can see in these diagrams, this 4-5-1 formation allows almost endless fluidity through the midfield. Using Everton’s probable line up against Liverpool on Monday, you can see that the flexibility of the midfield is key to Everton’s chances. Victor Anichebe will likely fill a lone target man role, but by no means will he be isolated. The diagram on the left should demonstrate how we will line up when Liverpool have the ball. We are a tireless side and the four players across the middle of the park, when not in possession will revert to this holding line to keep Liverpool’s midfield at bay.

Phil Neville acts as a sort of safety net should the wall in front of him be breached and then there is the four defenders to get through. If we keep our discipline and work rate, it is a very stubborn defensive formation, and the effectiveness of it is demonstrated by the fact that we have not conceded a goal in our last six games.

It is impressive then, how easily such a solid formation can be transformed into an attacking one. You see in the middle diagram how Tim Cahill has pushed up to be playing off the shoulder of Anichebe, almost as a second striker. Expect Cahill to push forward into this role as soon as we have the ball, and as the arrows indicate, the other midfield players (bar Neville) will also have license to push forward too. In a way this middle formation will create something resembling the traditional 4-4-2, with Cahill forming something of a partnership with Anichebe. However, it is much more difficult to deal with, because rather than being deployed as an out and out striker, Cahill is free to pop up wherever he pleases and so it will be difficult for the opposition to track him. Should he be marked by defenders or midfielders? That sort of confusion is what Cahill makes a living off.

In the third diagram, the one on the right, you can see how the wingers Osman and Pienaar have pushed right forward too. The diagram shows Arteta having retreated to next to Neville but in reality he is not really so withdrawn. Instead he will simply be sitting a touch deeper, perhaps midway inside the opponents half and acting as a sort of lynch-pin for the attack. The wingers give him options on either side, as do the forward runs of the full backs, while Cahill can also drop off a little to provide a link in to Anichebe. This is the sort of formation that Everton will adopt when holding controlled and extended possession as they probe against a resilient defence.

And while there is still only Victor Anichebe deployed as a recognised striker, the fact is that in this formation there is a real goal threat presented by Cahill, Arteta, Pienaar and Osman as well. Compare this to the traditional 4-4-2 where only the two strikers pose a real goal threat and you can see just why the 4-5-1 allows a greater attacking threat. This can be demonstrated quite effectively by the comparative diagrams below.

Red arrows represent balls playable to potential goalscorers.

This diagram then (in all it’s pixelated glory) is meant to be a visual illustrator of the greater goal-scoring threat provided by the 4-5-1 formation compared to the 4-4-2. The red arrows are intended to represent the passes playable to players who are free to score goals in each formation. In the 4-4-2 (on the left) you can see that the only players with enough attacking license to get goals are the front two, and so the service to them is often very direct and predictable, which make it easier to defend against.

On the right hand side though, all you can see is a mass of red arrows. What that means then, is that there are simply a lot of options when playing the 4-5-1. The striker Anichebe, is of course a goal threat, as is Cahill who in his elevated position is playing off Anichebe and so can hover in and around the edge of the box, a constant menace to defenders. But the you also have Osman and Pienaar on either flank who can get wide and get balls played into the box. You might think that would take them out of the goalscoring stakes, but in fact when the ball is on one wing, the other can then tuck in and attack the back post, and Osman particularly is great at popping up at the back post, and Pienaar has notched a few from that position too.

Finally the last real threat on goal comes from Arteta. Although he is the deepest lying of the ‘attacking midfielders’ he can often be found sitting on the edge of the opposition box and so is able to pounce on any balls half cleared (not to mention blasting in free-kicks from a reasonable distance!) with his good long range shooting. In this sense then, you really start to get the impression that the 4-5-1 is a much more effective attacking formation for Everton to play.

I hesitate to say that it is the better formation in general though, because I believe that in the end it comes down to the players involved, and thus formation is relative. We played 4-4-2 earlier in the season, when Louis Saha and Yakubu were fit, but it never really worked for us. The two strikers, though both very good forwards, were not compatible when combined in this formation. They didn;t have enough variation between them, both prefer the ball into feet, to turn and attack the defenders. If the 4-4-2 is to work, you need a good, balanced strike partnership, as Crouch and Defoe demonstrated at Portsmouth.

It was perhaps a blessing in disguise then when Louis Saha did get injured again. Although we then lost Yakubu and Anichebe as well and found ourselves without a recognised striker, it has at least forced us to revert to the 4-5-1 formation. I think that before this season, even David Moyes may not have fully appreciated the value of this formation. I think before now he simply played 4-5-1 because that is what suited our squad. We had a wealth of good midfielders but weren’t exactly blessed in the striking department. However, with the upturn in form since we reverted back to the 4-51, Moyes will surely have realised that it is the key to our good performances.

He has shown this awareness too by bringing Mikel Arteta back into the centre of midfield. When we were playing 4-4-2 he was played wide, with Fellaini and Cahill as the more combative central partnership, and this was OK, because his delivery into the two strikers from wide is second to none. However, with a more cultured and less direct approach demanded by the 4-5-1 formation, Arteta is the perfect player to fill the central role. He is the type of player who can anchor attacks, who the ball can come back to time and time again. He will spread the ball wide, and if there are no further options can always happily have it back, because he is so comfortable in possession.

Moyes then has demonstrated the point I have been making. He has recognised that in the end, the players at your disposal are key to the formation that you play, as demonstrated by Arteta’s new role. This tactical awareness is one of the things that makes Moyes such a great manager. Aside from being a great motivator and therefore getting the most effort out of the players, he knows how to achieve the same thing tactically, how to shuffle his pack to get maximum performance from the players at his disposal.

In these upcoming weeks Everton have a run of very tough fixtures. Two away games at Liverpool this week are followed by a home clash with Arsenal and then a trip to Old Trafford to face the Champions. This run of fixtures will provide a huge test for the squad and really test Moyes’ side. However, I have every confidence that we will cause a couple of upsets in there somewhere, largely down to the commitment of the players and the effectiveness of their work as a unit, thanks to the 4-5-1 formation.

In devising a system that makes us both incredibly solid and tough to break down and rather potent in attack with the possibility of goals coming from throughout the midfield, Moyes has created a beautifully balanced team that functions very well as a unit. In the games against the ‘big four’, those teams packed with such talent that the clubs operating in the ‘real world’ can’t afford, it is important to make sure that every player on the pitch is making an impact. I think Moyes has achieved this, and therefore I think we have a real chance of beating the ‘big four’ teams in our upcoming matches.

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If Kaka Leaves… What Milan Should Do?

Here I am sitting and remembering back to the day when I thought Kaka was worth 100  million dollars. Now I’m reading an article online saying Milan ACCEPTED a $100 million bid.  I now feel taken back. Even though I am a HUGE AC Milan fan, it would be stupid not to sell him . So its not if Kaka leaves but what do  we do with the money he leaves us.   Unfortuaely for us, we aren’t a non-profit club like Real Madrid and Barcelona where they dish out the money they recieve for players, but thats no reason why  we can’t spend it on players to replace him. 3-4 good key players for us will make up for Kaka’s absence.

By the end of the summer, some player movements are for sure,Tevez,Benzema,Diego, Agger , C.Ronaldo and possibly Fabregas. Now as tempting as all those players are , there is no way , we could aquire most of those players. Plus I’d rather we waste it on 38 year olds than have a disgrace to the game like Ronaldo come. Plus I doubt Milan need all those players. So I’ll take a look at some possible transfers and how much they would be worth.

1.Fabregas: GUSP!! Arsenal fans may be horrified at the thought but Fabregas did say he fancys Milan and wouldn’t mind playing for them one day , so don’t get to comfortable. But if I’m honest with myself at the current time his a pipedream but yet close enough to be real. If he came , one of our key midfielders will have to be dropped and the most intelligent move would be dropping Seedorf to the bench. Gattuso ,Pirlo and Flamini always rotate , depending on the ciruminstances, and Fabregas knows Flamini’s style and Flamini, Fabregas so they could use that to their advantage. The new Patrick Viera could be on the red and black side of milan unlike the original Patrick Viera. A hefty price tag of around 60 million could scare competors off and do Milan really need to spend most of their savings on only one player?

2.Tevez: He wants to leave, Man U want him to leave, Sir Alex wants him to leave, so I think his gonna end up moving and the sooner the better. Where better to ply his trade than at one of the world biggest clubs, AC Milan. With him there, he could influence Milan to play  a much more attacking line up , instead of a 4-3-2-1 , we could have a 4-3-1-2, with ronaldinho behind Tevez. Imagine that!! A brazlian helping an argentinian score goals!! Even better is that he shouldnt be a expensive shot and could come quite easily for around 12 million.

 3.Diego;this boys destined for bigger and better things than Wender and even though his on the verge of Juventus , wouldn’t it be a great coop if we signed him from right under their nose.Ever since I first watched him on TV versing Real Madrid and the way he breezed past them and smashed in two goals, I’ve been speechless.This was a player from  a crapper league, so why was he causing Madrid so many problems. Since then I’ve rated him higher than most people I know.In Germany they love him and his been asked before for a DNA test incase he carries Zicos bloodline. He would make it look  and feel like Kaka never left and at 23 he isn’t even anywhere near his peak yet. I would love to see him playing alongside my heros, Gattuso,Nesta,Pato and Pirlo . He would be the most sensible buy as we don’t have to change anything but the player. Should be able to get him just under 10million.

4. Benzema: The french prodigy to henry.His form at Lyon has been amazing and some of his shots breathtaking. His the apinicle for those who wanna become the best young striker. He always trys all match and will chase down a defender for the ball. I’ve seen him do it many times. The reason Lyon have won so many titles on the trot is because they produce player like Benzema.I’ve never seen such a young player go to the international stage and look so comfortable there. It doesn’t even faze him. If we buy Benzema we can play a 4-3-1-2 formation with ronaldinho feeding Benzema and pato goals galore. In fact this buy is a must. Benzema would compliment Pato as Ducky can play as a layoff striker as well as playing as a pure striker. Benzema will eat up every ball and you know from him you’ll get everything.  A must buy but we might have to wait till the summer to get him for around about 35-42 million.

5. Agger: The danish footballer from Liverpool.Seems to be a very decent and at Milan we can’t choose to be picky on 24 year olds which actually want to come here. He has been at Liverpool for some time and has gone to win a few titles with them.  He is actually a wildcard out of this lot, as his not guarrenteed to be a success like the others.But he could easily come into the defence of Milan and knock out Favalli which would make me much more happy knowing a 38 yr old is finally going, going and should be gone. Even if he isn’t that good, when Nesta comes in, no one will even notice when he makes a mistake. Should get him for about 7 million.

6.Ronaldo:Yes , his currently the best in the world, yes his the best in europe, yes his even better than Kaka and Ronaldinho , but do Milan really need him. Probaly but do I personally want him? I think he would be a very bad acquasion as he brings too much attention to Milan for the wrong reasons. Saying his the 1st,2nd and 3rd best in the world. Plus Inzaghi is the last player on our list to dive so why add another one when we are so close to getting rid of one. Don’t get me wrong Milan would probaly kill for him to signed up I hate him so much I’m not going to discuss anymore.

7.Diego Capel: The left-winger with the wild temperment and even wilder hair has burst onto the Spainish scene in what feels like no time at all. Despite having made his league debut at 16, he has cemented his place at Sevilla.His too good for Sevilla and like Sergio Ramos should be moving on soon. If he came to Milan he might have to move back to left back position before he could break into the midfield but the midfield is aging so he could be in it sooner than expected. He should be a buy for the future, where he may not get games straight away but slowly and surly within two or three years he’ll be in the first team and is probaly a must buy for a ageing midfield and defence.Should be able to steal him for about 17 million but then again, if tottenham,barcelona,madrid,valencia,chelsea,man u, inter all join in the bidding for him like expected, he might not be worth the money.

8.Akinfeev: The young russian keeper only came into our attention thanks to the euro and his got fantastic positioning and relfexes. His also got winning expirence with three Russian league titles.His better than any other keeper we have so his a must buy now as at only 22 years old his price will only rise. We should be able to pinch him for about 13 million.

 9.Srna: Probaly the best right wing back in the world but with the 3-5-2 formation in decline he has had to reinvent himself ,opperating in many different roles for club and country. At Shakhtar his right back for Croatia his right midfielder. His crossing and freekicks kill teams and while Flamini is testing his skills out Srna could easily pressure him and give him competion and also with Gattuso out Srna could sneak into the line up very easily , sure we’d tell the difference but he would still be a very vaiblable member of the team. A must buy while Gattuso is out. I’d say considering his from Shakhtar we could get him under 10 million.

Also people forget we, dont need to buy a new striker or attacking midfielder as we could easily take back the new Zidane from loan. Gourcuff, in France he is feared by opposition week in and week out so let Italy feel his wrath.Play him behind Pato next to Ronaldinho, who knows , with oppurtunity comes responsibility and he could be even better than Kaka.He would be the perfect fall out for Pato , as “Ducky” likes to play deep forward, he is also known for playing back some balls to running on players who then slam it in the net. So why can’t Gourcuff be doing that?

Hope you enjoyed my article. I wonder what your guys thoughts are?

Azzmilan

Perfect Return for Torres

This article Im going to write as the view of a Liverpool fan. Here it goes.

Liverpool have played a good season so far, particularly in the absence of Fernando Torres.

With Torres in the line-up, the second half of the campaign could be a great one, with his presence being key to expectations.Especially with Man U coming so strong , as the season has progressed.

The fans will certainly be optimistic of our trophy ambitions with such a world class striker in the ranks – and he can be the difference in Monday’s derby.

The Blues will not have forgotten his impact at Goodison last autumn, and their defence will be anxious to curb his obvious threat.

Torres excites, Torres will provide any defence with headaches and, most importantly, Torres scores goals.

No other striker of the current squad at Anfield offers those attributes in such a high profile manner.

His absence has fuelled concerns over just who would provide the goals. Keane has fitfully, so has Kuyt, while Babel and Ngog have hardly taken the place by storm.

With the Spaniard spearheading the Reds hope of derby victory is certainly increased, but Steven Gerrard could have a great influence on the outcome, too.

He will be looking to thread those incisive balls into Torres’ path and make the most of the striker’s ability to lose his marker – as he did when scoring his double at Goodison.

With United breathing down their necks, the Reds will be out to take a stranglehold early on.

Everton won’t commit themselves too much to attack, but will be desperate to get something out of the game to maintain their top five ambitions.

They are strong at the back and have ability in midfield, with the likes of Arteta. But Fellaini’s absence is a major blow, while they are struggling in attack. But they will make it tough for us and we can ill afford more slip-ups at Anfield.

 Would I rather have league points or a cup win. Points are vital, but we will be out to win both.

Azzmilan

Manchester City offer GBP 100m for Milan’s Kaka

Will Kaka make the world-record transfer from Milan to Man City?

When Manchester City were taken over on the first of September by the Emirate based Abu Dhabi group, it sent a shockwave through the Premier League and many believed that it would lead to the men of Eastlands becoming a powerhouse in England in a relatively short period of time.  Within 24 hours of the takeover, Man City had landed coveted Real Madrid youngster Robinho in a British record transfer.  Even though they were unable to steal to be Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov, there was no doubt that City had made a statement and it would be the first of many.

The day the summer transfer period ended, the rumours began about who City would go after in January, but with the struggling economy along with the fact that City weren’t currently playing in the Champion’s League, many questioned whether their newly found wealth would be able to lure big name players to Eastlands.  The likes of Buffon, Senna, Santa Cruz, Kaka, and even the great Ronaldo were all mentioned as possible January pickups for City, but few rumours seemed to have much steam until today.

Reports from several of the papers in England have City offering Milan an ASTOUNDING GBP 100m for their best player and former FIFA Player of the Year Kaka.  The Brazilian is indeed commonly acknowledged as biggest impact player currently playing in Serie A, but it seems like this deal may be too good to pass up.  Everyone knows how hard it is to depart with a guy like Kaka who seems almost irreplaceable, but with the reported amount City are offering it would almost seem stupid to not take the deal.

I may be wrong, but everyone knows one player doesn’t make a team and Milan could directly reinvest the cash right back into the club, which isn’t exactly lighting Italy or the UEFA Cup on fire this year.  Milan could bring at least three solid, well-known stars into the San Siro and strengthen their squad so they could maybe compete with the likes of Inter and Juventes this year in Italy.  It would allow the extremely talented teenager Pato to step into a bigger role and Milan could maybe bring in a veteran striker to help refine the Brazilian progidy.

Milan needs to think towards the future, as Inter appear to have Serie A pretty locked up currently and this deal could be exactly what they need to build a European heavyweight.  It may have negative side effects early, but if they could get into the Champion’s League next year, their newly rebuffed squad would have to be one of the favorites.  But like I said before, maybe I’m way off on this one from Milan’s point of view.

Now before I get to Manchester City and how this deal could affect them, I’d like to put the significance of this deal into perspective.  If the rumoured price is correct, it would more than DOUBLE the currently all-time record which was for Zidane in 2001 payed by Real Madrid.  It’s hard to believe it’s been so long since the transfer record was broken, but with City’s new owners, most would be shocked if they didn’t beat that number several times in the upcoming months. 

So once the shock would run off and Kaka would arrive at Eastlands, it leads to ask how will he affect the Eastlands outfit who look to be in a possible relegation battle?  He would inject a sense of creativity and loads of skill into the club which already has Robinho injected similar tools and City’s attacking midfield would look almost unstoppable to any club in the Premier League.  Kaka is a leader and despite the price-tag of 100million always following him around it would appear that he could be able to make the transition smoothly and have an immediate impact for City.

It can be extremely tough to predict how any given player will respond to the new surroundings in a new country, but Kaka appears ready to step into England.  His presence at Eastlands would likely bring in more big names as City look to pull a Chelsea and buy their title.  Money is power no matter where you are and with the possibility of playing of the best league in the world, along with one of the best players, stars from all over Europe may find themselves lured to Manchester City much to the dismay of the red side of Manchester. 

With this deal still pending all of this is just speculation and banter, but that’s what’s great about football, isn’t it?  Kaka coming to England would make the Premier League better and would bring more competition into a league which at times lacks parity.  I feel Milan would be stupid not to take the money and make good use of it as they look to rebuild a team which can compete in Europe’s biggest club tournament on a annual basis.  The deal really wouldn’t be a bad piece of business for the Citizens either as they have no lack of funds and are looking to build a club to compete next year at the top of the Premier League table…

So what are your thoughts? Would you take the deal if you were Milan? Do you think Milan will take this ridiculous amount of money? How would Kaka adapt to the English game and could he help City become the next Chelsea?

All of these questions will be answered in the upcoming days, months, and even years and the saga adds more fuel to the fire that is the English Transfer System…

By RJ Sepich

Everton vs. Liverpool: A rivalry explained.

Liverpool's Dirk Kuyt tries to kill Everton's Phil Neville.

With the draw for the FA Cup 4th Round pitching my club Everton against our greatest rivals Liverpool and therefore meaning that we will face them twice in a week, I decided that it might be wise to try and explain just why there is such a passionate rivalry between the two clubs. Most clubs have close rivals, some get on but most don’t. However, it is often hard for people to understand the rivalries of other clubs from the outside. There is something innately instinctive about such rivalries.

Obviously that means that my explanation of ‘our’ rivalry may be hard to define of course, and naturally, telling it so much from one side will mean that you will get only one side of the story. I will try to be fair and unbiased though, and I hope it sheds some light on this particularly fiery aspect of fandom. I for one find the obsessions and habits of football fans quite interesting, to be so committed to something over which we have so little control makes little sense, but that’s football for you.

One last qualification before we get going properly too. I am only 19 years old, and so the greater part of the rivalry between the clubs developed before my time. I know some parts of it, but in many ways, what follows will be an explanation of the modern rivalry between Everton and Liverpool. So without further ado, let’s begin.

The obvious starting point of the competitive spirit between the two clubs comes from their close proximity. It is natural that when two teams compete so against each other and in such intimate locations that a competitive rivalry will develop. The fans will know each other, loyalties will divide friends and even families and so the bragging rights hold a lot of sway in such a tight-knit community. However, rivalries like this can often be friendly. Yes they are competitive, but when it comes down to it, they get along, and will stick together should an ‘outsider’ emerge.

This is no longer the case between Everton and Liverpool. While I hear it may have been the case to begin with, relations between fans are now very much strained. For me, as far as I’m aware, this more hateful rivalry began to develop in the mid 80’s.  The two clubs had dominated English football for the whole of the 80’s leading up to the 84/85 season. Liverpool had admittedly been more successful than us, but we were in the ascendancy and won the title that season. Naturally with both clubs so strong there was an extra edge to the rivalry, but that was set to increase as events unfolded on May 29th 1985.

In what has become known as the Heysel Stadium Disaster thirty nine people were killed after rioting between Liverpool and Juventus fans in Italy at the European Cup Final. There had been a heated atmosphere between the two sets of fans all through the lead up to the game on the day, and this was fuelled as the two sets of fans began to throw missiles at each other. Tensions were building and eventually a section of the Liverpool fans charged across the chicken-wire fence and ‘no-mans land’ to bodily attack their Italian counterparts.

Evidently that was more than the Italians had bargained for, and they retreated in the only direction they could; in the direction of the corner flag. As the congestion built up and people began to be crushed, some began climbing the concrete stadium wall to get out and relieve the pressure, but the wall then collapsed, killing 39 people and injuring about six hundred more. After this tragic event, and due to the mindless violence of the Liverpool fans that caused it, English clubs were banned indefinitely from European competition.

Aside from the tragic consequences that occurred directly from the disaster itself, the Heysel disaster also had a large impact on English football as a whole, and Everton in particular. The prospect of a lack of European competition for English clubs meant that many of the best players at the top English clubs were no longer content to play in England. They, understandably, wanted to compete at the highest level, and so there was something of an exodus to European teams who were still allowed to compete in UEFA tournaments.

This obviously affected a large number of teams, but in particular, Everton were hit hard. We had just won the league title and finally looked to have overtaken Liverpool as the best side in England and even in Europe. Liverpool had dominated European Competition for the last few years, and Everton, having finally overcome their rivals, looked set to take over their crown. But of course, with no European competition to challenge for, the majority of the clubs best players, and their manager Howard Kendell, left the club, and we fell from grace rapidly in the years that followed.

So in a way, Everton were denied what looked set to be a great era for them, when they would have dominated Europe in the way that Liverpool had done for so long. It was Liverpool’s fans in their violent actions in Italy that cost Everton this chance at glory. It is a fall from grace from which we have never quite recovered too, which was also aided by another key moment in our modern history.

Sir John Moores was a great British businessman who built the Littlewoods business empire and made his family one of the richest in Britain. He was also though, a devout Evertonian and had a couple of stints as chairman of his beloved club, investing some of his fortune in the club along the way. However, as he grew older and fell ill, he withdrew from the business world and left the managing of his business empire to his family.

Unfortunately, David Moores committed the greatest sin in football. Raised in a family of Evertonians he switched allegiances to, of all clubs, our great rivals Liverpool, and selling his share in Everton, ploughed a great deal of money into the club on the red half of Merseyside. This left Everton in a financially vulnerable position (which we retain to this day) while Liverpool were quite rich. Obviously money is not everything in football, but it just so happened that this occurred at a time of crossroads in English football – namely, the induction of the Premier League.

This was the point at which football as a business really took off, and started along the path to becoming the money making machine it is today. It was when the game and the clubs within it became much richer, but also, as is often the way, the clubs who were already in a better financial position tended to profit more from the sudden influx of cash. Thus the likes of Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers and now Liverpool who were financially secure were setup ready to become big players in this brand new and exciting league, and thus profited early from the money that came in.

That left Everton fans with a very bitter taste in our mouths. Obviously David Moores had every right to do what he did with his money, but having been benefactors of our club for such a long time, and being the nephew of John Moores, our long time chairmen and devout Evertonian, we felt that his loyalties should lie with us. If that had have been the case, it would have been us benefiting from his riches, and us taking advantage of the economic boom that football experienced as the Premier League era began.

Essentially what that means is that Everton were again denied a shot at greatness by their rivals, who profited in their place this time. And in many ways, this is the basis of the rivalry. Everton worked incredibly hard to build up a great team in the 80’s, playing football produced from ‘The School of Science’ and eventually rising to challenge Liverpool, only to see them undo our hard work before it had really paid off. Then again, we were denied the chance to profit hugely from the Premier League boom, and instead Liverpool have ridden the gravy train to their recent success.

This probably sounds like we are bitter that they have been more successful than us, but i don not think that’s the case. I think it is more that we feel we have had a bit of rough luck over the years, whereas they have had a lot of good fortune. But more than that, the two clubs also stand for the differing backgrounds of the fans of both clubs, and this is what makes they rivalry so passionate. Obviously here I will make some generalisations, and I ask your forgiveness, but it is impossible not to when discussing a club’s fan base.

When David Moyes was appointed as Everton’s manager eight years ago, he made an immediate impression in his first press conference, when he declared that Everton were The People’s Club of Liverpool. He said that the man on the street in Liverpool supports Everton, and he hit the nail on the head, and gave the club a new nickname in the process. It is true though, that by and large, the working classes of Liverpool support Everton.

Liverpool have a famously foreign fan base, with their supporters often coming from not just outside of Liverpool but also outside of England itself. On the other hand, the majority of those who are regulars at Goodison Park have grown up in the mazey streets around the grand old ground, or in the surrounding City and it’s suburbs. In a way, this difference is key to showing the difference between the two sides. Everton’s fans are hard working and long suffering, while Liverpool’s tend to be more elite, prawn-sandwich eating corporate types, to make use of popular stereotypes. Or course, not all of them are, but far more than one would expect, and that is key.

This difference in class (to the extent that British society retains it’s class system) is symptomatic of the resentment between the two sets of fans. The upper classes traditionally regard those below them with scorn and feel superior, while the lower classes resent the wealth and arrogance of those above them, especially as they work so hard themselves simply to survive. As you can see, these societal relations are almost exactly those reflected in the fortunes and relationship between Everton and Liverpool. Everton are very much characteristic of the downtrodden but resilient underdog, while Liverpool appear very much as the swanning, haughty aristocrat, and this is bound to bring tension.

Everton feel that we are deserving of the sort of fame, wealth and prestige that Liverpool seem t be attributed the world over. Founder members of the football league and the Premier League and the first English club to clock up 100 seasons in the top flight of English football. We have had some success too, but when looking at football on Merseyside, a neutral will always regard Liverpool as the ‘bigger’ club, due to their bigger honours list. But were it not for Liverpool and the various incidents discussed above, it might be we who were the ‘bigger’ club. Our fans, long suffering as we struggled to re-build deserve success and recognition. We have suffered for it and it will be all the greater when it comes.

This rivalry will rear it’s head again next week when Everton face Liverpool at Anfield twice in a week, in FA Cup and Premier League matches. The recent games between the two sides have furthered the angst between the two clubs, with Liverpool having dominated in the results department, but having been incredibly fortunate with various refereeing decisions and other key happenings. Penalties awarded against us, red cards given to us and not them have been regarded as typical of the blatant bias that English football seems to have to all those clubs in the ‘big four’.

Such favouritism to the ‘big boys’ naturally riles us Evertonians as we see ourselves very much as their equal on history and passion and feel that we should be treated as such. Therefore, one may expect the upcoming derby games to be heated and passionate affairs, as they always are. So for the neutral watching these games, when you watch them or see the result, remember, there is more than the result riding in this game. More than a place in the FA Cup 5th round or three Premier League points. This match is representative of a societal struggle, the clash between the working class and the upper class.

People argue that there are no more class divides in English society, but that is simply not the case. They are certainly less distinct and the middle class has swollen considerably, but there is certainly still a divide there. The clearest representation of this divide is football, which is so often representative of the society to which it belongs. When the class divides truly have been demolished and all are equal, there will be no more rivalries. Everton and Liverpool will co-exist peacefully and be treated fairly and equally, and the derby matches will simply be the culmination of a friendly local competitive spirit.

The upcoming matches will not be that though. The rivalry between our clubs, and the divide between the fans, is still as ferocious and passionate as it has ever been. The matches will reflect that, and for once wouldn’t it be nice if the underdogs truly overcame their more celebrated rivalries. If you have ever felt that oppression, the lack of recognition or simply the patronising arrogance of those who believed themselves your betters, lend Everton your support against Liverpool. We are the People’s Club, and we represent the People. Everton’s success is symbolic of the people’s success, and we have waited for it for too long.

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