Koeman and the Walking Dead (aka Everton FC)

TIRED of waiting for the new season of the Walking Dead? Take a trip to Goodison Park instead for your fix of gruesome zombie action.

Because Ronald Koeman’s shapeless Everton team resemble a herd of the show’s brainless, lifeless monsters shuffling around slowly in one big mass.

Only they’re a lot less dangerous, wandering around aimlessly and getting in each other’s way, mostly in the centre of the pitch until they’re stopped dead in their tracks by a quicker, craftier foe.

Okay, okay I’m joking but it does feel a little like that sometimes watching this team of too-many-tens play with no width, no pace and seemingly no idea how to win a game.

Twenty-three times they actually managed an attack ending in a shot against Burnley, but only four of them were on target.

That’s 17 of those now this season, with only Swansea and Crystal Palace managing less.

But it isn’t much better at the other end either. Zombie FC have gone behind first in eight of their last nine games, and allowed Burnley 24 unhindered passes before Jeff Hendrick scored the winner.

Perhaps the worst thing about it all is that by all accounts this understandably rather frustrating approach is making zombies of those watching it too, sucking the life out of a once vibrant stadium.

“Like being at a funeral” as one wag put it. Before anyone gets too excited though, it’s unlikely to spell the end of Koeman just yet.

And to be fair, bad as Everton have been (and they have been very, very bad at times), sacking your manager this early in the season isn’t usually a good idea.

After all, it hasn’t exactly worked for Crystal Palace, has it?

Koeman does have some mitigating circumstances. He has a lot of new players to try and fit into a team, and no experienced target man to play off.

But this is his team. He’s bought almost everyone in it, and they are all players he agreed were needed. Despite the obvious holes, for the money spent, fans are right to expect better.

Much better in fact, because Everton’s whole recruitment policy this summer revolved around bringing in those three No 10s and it was never obvious how they could all be shoehorned into the same side.

But it could get worse before it gets better. Koeman’s worst run in English football came just last season when his side won just once in 11 games, and we're not quite in that territory yet.

At Southampton the season before, he went on a similar run, his side winning only once in ten games.

On both occasions he turned it around and achieved a respectable finish, and he has never had a squad with this much talent in it to work with since he came to England.

Pickford, Keane, Gueye and Sigurdsson have not suddenly become bad players overnight. Youngsters like Davies and Calvert-Lewin have not suddenly been found out.

They are just struggling because their confidence is shot, and while that will not be easily repaired, it should also not be impossible to fix.

Koeman will almost certainly get the time to try, and of all the managers Everton shortlisted to replace Roberto Martinez, he still looks like the right choice. Frank de Boer anyone?

Whether he is capable of taking this team where it wants to go though, is another thing entirely.

Koeman has never gone more than nine games unbeaten in league football in this country, and virtually everything he has tried this season has failed.

He’s tried calling out his players. He’s tried defending them. He’s tried more formations than you can count on the fingers of one hand. He hasn’t found the answer yet, and time is running out.

Unsung heroes, featuring Farhad Moshiri, Steve Parish, David Unsworth & Seamus Coleman #efc

FARHAD MOSHIRI once described the north west of England as the new Hollywood of football.

But for all the star names arriving at his own little part of it on the banks of the royal blue Mersey, there are those that glimmer away from the limelight, but no less brightly.

Which is why today’s news about Seamus Coleman got me thinking about all the other unsung heroes to help make clubs like Everton special.

Many scoffed when David Moyes christened the Toffees the People’s Club. Lately though, it really has seemed that way.

Whether it’s the players sleeping rough at Goodison to help the homeless or the teachers and coaches working wonders with the 120 special needs kids at the Everton Free School, or any of the people who do such good work for club’s much-lauded Community scheme, it’s been hard to escape recently.

Not so long ago Crystal Palace revamped their Foundation, which aims to help disadvantaged local kids away from crime or deprivation, and find a better path in life.

This is what their chairman Steve Parish told the media who attended the relaunch, which showcased some of the great work they’ve done to transform lives.

Parish said: “It’s incredible how, when you put a football club badge on someone or something it engages kids.

“Everton have a school they have part-funded and since they have got involved the school has had better engagement from the kids and remarkably better engagement from the parents.

“Players and clubs are such a focal point for communities. You only have to see the Primary Stars videos.

“There is one bit about a kid who loves football but has been a bit of a bad lad in his time, so to engage him in education, every time he scores a goal in a game he does not get credited with it until he has solved a maths question. It’s clever stuff they are doing.”

We hadn’t asked him about Everton. He brought the club up himself as an example for Palace to follow.

He didn’t stop there either. His dream is seeing a Palace team full of local boys who have come through the Academy, maybe even been helped by his Foundation. Guess who he used as an example to follow? Yep, Everton.

Ronald Koeman certainly gave plenty of young players a chance last season, and Parish said: “Any manager who has got half a brain will know nothing excites the fans more than a local kid. Look at Everton with Tom Davies – what a player he looks.”

Sam Allardyce was sitting next to him at the time, and didn’t seem quite as sure. A few weeks later he was gone.

Some fear those youngsters may find opportunities harder to come by this season when Farhad Moshiri’s spending spree finally comes to an end. Not David Unsworth though. Speaking at the launch of the Checkatrade Trophy recently, he insisted it would just force them to improve.

“It will raise the bar,” he said. “And that’s great. It’s a challenge for the young players to be better than they already are. They know now they’ve got to be even better.”

Even Sir Geoff Hurst, who was doing a round of interviews this week to promote grassroots heroes in football, spent time talking about Everton.

He said: “I’m aware of the good things they do in the community. Not enough is done to publicise what clubs like Everton do. I’ve heard about some of the work they do, and it’s admirable.”

But maybe Norman Whiteside, interviewed for a recent article by foreign media, put it best. He said: “Everton are firmly involved with salt of the earth type of people. They care and they don’t let anyone get too big for their boots. They’ve started a free school and they help disadvantaged people, but I hear stories which never get any publicity. Once a month, they take any former Everton players who are in care homes to the beach and buy them fish and chips and an ice cream."

So well done to Seamus Coleman for getting 23 cyclists from Sligo to their £60,000 fundraising target for Everton in the Community's homeless project, 'Home Is Where The Heart Is'.

And well done to all those people at Everton who go under the radar but help to make the club what it is. Your contribution counts.

ends

Moshiri and Everton. A blog

By Paul Brown

It’s hard to find anyone with a bad word to say about Farhad Moshiri. He’s a man of few words himself, certainly, and has been described as “a doer, not a talker” by more than one person familiar with him.

His interview with Jim White and his comments at the club’s most positive AGM in years gave the biggest public insight into the man, and basically confirmed much of what has already been written about him. But if he really does achieve his ambitions at Everton he will transform not just the landscape on Merseyside but in the Premier League as well.

Moshiri wants a new stadium, and as he told the chairman of the Everton Shareholders’ Association a few months ago, he wants it to be iconic and atmospheric, with the fans as close to the pitch as possible. Everyone who has spoken to him about it seems to have complete faith he can deliver that too.

But he wants more than that. Moshiri wants to turn Everton into a top-four club that is regularly playing Champions League football. That might sound wildly ambitious considering Everton have only ever qualified for Europe’s top club competition once, and failed to make it to the group stage. But it’s music to the ears of success-starved fans.

I remember speaking to one agent in the summer who had noticed the difference in approach straight away. “There has been a major change at the club. It is clear. Everton are competing in the market for players previously out of their reach financially. There is an attractive project there. There is ambition.”

That was confirmed by a friend of Moshiri’s I spoke to at Wembley on Sunday who insists the Iranian is “the best investor in the history of the Premier League” (quite a claim) and is willing to bet that his vision, experience and investment will take Everton into the top four in the next few years. He has also innovative, exciting plans for the Academy and clearly hopes to transform the club’s commercial operation as well. All that will take time, which suggests he’s in it for the long haul. How long exactly is anyone’s guess. I’ve heard talk of a five-year plan, though not from Moshiri himself. But I’ve also heard he has a Plan B if things go wrong, and that he may not see Everton as a lifetime investment. I guess we’ll see.

For now he seems happy with the status quo at Everton. It isn’t just his PR people who insist he has no plans to buy out the other major shareholders at the club just yet, though he has that option is available to him. Maybe he’s waiting on the new stadium, maybe for something else.

One thing that comes up again and again when you speak to people about him is the fact that “Moshiri means business”. So does the fact he’s “a football man”, something several journalists who know much more about him than I do repeatedly bring up. What does that mean in practice? It means that unlike many rich investors in the sport who are just milking a trophy asset, he has a real love of the game and a good knowledge of players, teams and tactics. Ask him for an informed opinion about the merits of 3-4-3 over 4-3-3 and you’ll get one, seems to be the consensus.

Another thing that keeps coming up is Moshiri’s relationship with his long-time business partner Alisher Usmanov, with the recent USM investment into the club setting tongues wagging. That deal has been described by one person with extensive knowledge of such agreements as “slightly curious”, though the Premier League currently have no problem with it as a related party transaction. It has to be said Moshiri and Usmanov still share interests in several companies and also still share the same PR firm. But whenever I ask those who speak for him whether Usmanov wants to join his mate at Goodison, the answer is always an emphatic “No”. The last time I asked I was told such suggestions were “a scam.” Some reply, well they would say that. But they could just as easily have said “no comment”.

Speaking in 2007 just after he first bought into Arsenal, Usmanov gave an interesting insight into the pair, saying: “We studied a proposal from a UK banker to invest in Tottenham and Mr Moshiri was in talks with Liverpool. They are a great team with a great manager but there was something that stopped me. I always used to say to Farhad, 'You are a Man Utd fan, I love Arsenal so why are we going for a third club? Why not be a shareholder in a club we really love?'"

Well, Usmanov still loves Arsenal and insists his investment is one he wants to hold on to for future generations of his family, despite his lack of influence there. That doesn’t mean one of his companies won’t cut another sponsorship deal with Everton. But he could just as easily decide to sponsor another club instead, and the chances of him actually upping sticks and joining Moshiri at Goodison appear slim. I’m not sure Moshiri needs him anyway.

ends

by Paul Brown

“ONCE a Blue, always a Blue” seems like a long time ago. But with Wayne Rooney’s future at Manchester United looking more uncertain than ever, a return to Everton has never looked more likely.

So could it, and should it happen? Despite becoming Manchester United’s all-time record goalscorer, Rooney has been slowly, and some might say deftly, eased out at Old Trafford. He hasn’t started a Premier League game since December 17 and is clearly no longer the 11^th name on the teamsheet, let alone the first.

The fact he has offers to make a fortune in China is well documented, and it shouldn’t surprise anyone to hear that his agent is over there talking to interested parties. But the argument for choosing Everton instead is a simple one – his family wouldn’t have to leave their home, and he could enjoy a swansong at the club he’s always claimed has a special place in his heart.

Rooney could make more money in China. A lot more. But could he be tempted by the chance to end his career at his first club, where he would still be playing Premier League football, still be relevant? Maybe.

Would United let him go to a Premier League rival? Probably. Jose Mourinho sold Juan Mata to United when he was Chelsea boss after all, and allowed Petr Cech to join Arsenal. It’s unlikely he would stand in Rooney’s way – especially after selling Everton Morgan Schneiderlin.

But in many ways, selling Rooney to Everton doesn’t make a lot of sense to United. They would be strengthening a rival, and would miss out on the huge transfer fee they would get if they sold him to China. Whether sentiment comes into it or not, they would also look pretty foolish if Rooney ends up scoring a goal against them that costs United in a cup competition, or even, shock, horror, in the race for a Champions League place.

Clearly there is interest too, or Ronald Koeman would not have said back in October: “If there is a possibility that Rooney is an option for Everton, I am very pleased.”

But what would Everton be buying? One of the greatest goalscorers in English football history, granted. But also a player who has scored just three Premier League goals in the last 12 months. A player who is barely getting a kick for the sixth best team in the division. Everton are only seven points behind United as it is. Would signing another one of their fringe players really help them close that gap?

Under Koeman, Everton play a high-intensity pressing game. How would Rooney, who is going to be 32 this year, cope with that? And where would he play? Could you really have Rooney and Ross Barkley in the same team, or would they occupy each other’s space too much and get in each other’s way?

There’s an argument that having Rooney around would help make Barkley a better player. It’s a good argument too. But Rooney would not go to Everton just to help teach their young players how to play football. He’d want to play every week, to be a key part of the team. For my money Rooney is still a No 10. It’s still his best position. But Everton don’t really play with one, and it’s hard to see how Rooney and Barkley work together in the same team. The danger would be that Barkley, who thrives when he is given as much freedom to roam as possible, would be held back by Rooney and defer to him too much.

Rooney might well be a good influence on the young players at Everton. He’s an experienced pro who has done everything in the game, and a strong voice in the dressing room. But that could work the other way too. It could mean people like Barkley, Tom Davies and Ademola Lookman expecting too much from him, expecting him to be the main man every week. At the end of Thierry Henry’s time at Arsenal, it was clear his team-mates were doing just that, and it wasn’t working any more. Once he left, Arsenal actually became a better team because all of their rising stars were suddenly able to play with more freedom. They came out of their shells.

Signing the England captain and the country’s all-time top scorer would undoubtedly make headlines for Everton. Commercially, it makes a lot of sense in terms of shirt sales, profile and exposure. But Rooney is on a basic wage of £230,000 at Old Trafford. He would likely have to accept closer to half that at Goodison Park. That is some hometown discount. And would it be worth it? Could that money be spent more wisely elsewhere? Shouldn’t Everton be thinking about the future, about investing in players either hitting their peak now or just about to do so, rather than ones who are clearly past their best?

Good luck to Rooney if he chooses relevance, ambition and romance over the lure of the riches on offer in China. But forgive me if I can’t get too excited about it.