MANCHESTER UNITED PREVIEW

Calling this fixture against arguably the leagues most poisonous away following should really be relatively straightforward. Current league champions, law of averages and not winning at Goodison for 3 visits, a team bristling with talent in every position being wounded after getting mauled by their most hated rivals 6-1 at home (if only they'd obsess and hate you back eh Pewlers?). Surely nothing other than an away win will be served up here after our lacklustre start to the season? In the words of the Atlantic spanning arch pervert Lloyd Grossman: Lets Look At The Evidence...


 


After going through years and years of home and away spankings to these scouse baiting planks, then managing to achieve a few good results against them, certainly in the last 5 years or so. Its almost at the point now where the feeling of beating or getting a relatively decent result against the best team in the country for the last twenty years has been diluted to the point of 'not arsed'. By rights they should sweep aside tomorrow with minimum fuss. They dont like playing us here though.

     

One of the greatest footballing talents of his generation and far and away their best player, Wayne Rooney, the lad who carried the hopes and dreams of every Evertonian on the planet in his palm not so long back. Who not only went onto wipe his gibbon like arse with said palm, but proceeded to then spell out the words ''HA! HA! HA! HA! LITTLE EVERTON'' on the side of Goodison in his pungent, brown, Croxteth faeces, sometimes get rested against us for his own good according to his manager. I'm going to stick my neck on the line here but the only people it benefits are us. He feeds on hatred that fat legged baldy biff, and hopefully much to his chagrin, there just doesn't seem to be much out there for him to feed on any more. He wont be rested tomorrow, you can bet your life on that, anything other than a win for them would be seen as a mini disaster with City's Petro-Dollars sweeping everybody aside.



One player Evertonians will be happy not to have to face is Ashley Young, he who achieved similar grades to Ashley Cole at 'Cunt School', why would you call your kid Ashley by the way? Boy or Girl, you're basically guaranteeing them being a whingeing little shitbag for all their days. He loves playing against us anyway and the thought of him tying knots in Tony Hibberts Huyton swingers tomorrow is enough to give you nightmares.

There was evidence on Wednesday night against a weakened but still impressive Chelsea team, that we may be starting to find that familiar groove we usually discover about mid November. It would be reet nice if we played in a similar vein as wednesday from the off for tomorrows ludicrous 12 noon kick off. Christ knows what Moyes will decide to put out, but should everybody be available apart from the suspended Drenthe, it would be nice to see something adventurous and different. A role for Bilyaletdinov behind Saha? I know, i know, dont be so fucking stupid. A similar performance to wednesday night for him personally or even a repeat of his rasping manc muting thunderbolt from two years ago would be warmly greeted by suffering Evertonians thats for sure. How about:

***************Howard****************
Hibbert*****Heitinga******Distin*****Baines

Osman*****Rodwell*****Fellaini*****Barkley

********Bilyaletdinov********************
*****************Saha*****************

Its like a broken record this, but we are not expected to beat these tomorrow by anybody and we've had the square root of fuck all to cheer about this season so far. So can we try and start here please? Dour conservatism not only doesnt work for us but seems to sap all the energy from the stands which in games like these can sway them into your favour. Get the team selection right, get a decent referee, get the crowd going early on and who the fuck knows.

Up those glorious Toffeemen.

CHELSEA CARLING CUP MATCH REPORT

So probably our best chance of silverware this season and the likely European football that comes with it, has gone begging yet again. In a cup competition which has evaded us since our inception and one that represents a catalogue of failures since David Moyes has been in charge, left all that braved last night soul searching as to how in the name of Rod Belfitt we didnt manage to get past a weakened Chelsea team after they went down to 10 men.

Its difficult to know exactly how to judge last nights performance as there was flashes of brilliance from the likes of Fellaini and Drenthe, (mad that innit?....two players linked with Chelsea in the past play out their skin against them?), then signs of complete inept clownery from a want-away goalkeeper who thinks he should be getting a chance and yet more bemused indecisive decision making from our much loved manager.



The game itself bizarrely had almost everything, missed penalties, goalkeeping howlers, tidal wave attacks, library like quietness, gifted goals, last few minute goals, missed winners and red cards galore. In fact overall it could be argued that Everton were the more deserved winners(narcissistic entitlement?) So walking away from it you felt cheated by something. I think i speak for everyone here where i say unequivocally: FUCK OFF MUCHA and FUCK OFF MOYES. David Moyes nonsensical decision to stick with a player who almost single handedly put us out of the last round with his clown like goalkeeping has to make you laugh. Straight after the game in question he went out and recruited Marcus Hahnemann, certainly more proven than this wacky twat. So what was his decision to give him the nod last night motivated by? Loyalty? He wants offski's doesn't he? We were playing against a top 3 side in the country you daft ginger bullet.

   

I remember watching Mucha in the South Africa World Cup and thinking: ''hmmmm 'wacky get', not Everton him...''. He honestly makes Stefan Wessells look like the second coming of Lev Yashin this tit and i genuinely hope he never gets anywhere near an Everton shirt again. Monumentally fucking up the way he did, and thats what it was, easily as bad as Taibi for United, that goatee'd meff for Villa against Brum that time and the spurs one that was disallowed v United(details!), put us under pressure to chase a game which up until that point looked far more likely to go our way. Just fuck the fuck off.



The majority of the players stuck to their task diligently, with decent performances all over the pitch, Sylvain Distin had one of his 'very good' performances, Baines was incisive, Saha a menace(honest!), Rodwell was solid and uncompromising, Bily gave you hope but faded slightly and the introduction of either Coleman (who annoyingly replaced Rodwell instead of the Russian) or Barkley seemed to be most likely, but this is Moyes and the carling cup. Anyway, it almost paid off when we equalised on 83 minutes after lots of pressure. Ill skip the fact we should have already been 1-1 when 'Mr.Reliable' fluffed his lines.



The lad who lifted the sodding roof off the Shed End or wherever we sit at Stamford Bridge earlier in the year when he laser guided his free kick in the final minutes of an FA Cup tie came up short, somehow he managed to fluff the rebounds too, not our night. This was confirmed when Denis Stracqualursi spurned a glorious free header created by the ever dangerous Drenthe in the final moments. The poor twat has had about 25 minutes of first team football so far and a whole manner of fat ale house beauts in the stand find it hilarious trying to 'out banter' each other for the supposed delight of their fellow supporters sat around them, how 'no wonder Leicester fucked you off' and 'Kinell Denis lad, Prsecot Cables are too good for you', great cunting site lads! I mean, he's raw as fuck, just like Velios is, but bringing him on when they did made Chelsea think, made us more direct and he contributed once or twice to almost helping us nick the win. Dont let this get in the way of your match-day zany footer banter quest though. You utter fucking cretins.



All that was left then was for Drenthe with almost pre pubescent over enthusiasm to inevitably get sent off in extra time and for Chelsea to exert there better quality upon us with both teams tiring. Oh and for Jan Mucha to take centre stage again to hopefully bring the curtain down on his memorable Everton career. Thanks for the memories Jan..

A nice two hour work out then to welcome the champions early on Saturday.

FUCK OFF EVERTON.

CHELSEA PREVIEW / Glen Campbell at the Philharmonic review

Being a bit of a jack of all music tastes and a facist of none, too young to remember his heyday  and certainly not a superfan, i still absolutely bit the hand off a mate when they offered me a freebie(of sorts) for Glen Campbell's farewell tour gig which was stopping over at the always brilliant Liverpool Philharmonic venue on Tuesday the 25th of October 20011.

 

The tickets were snapped up for this gig ages beforehand by his legions of enthusiastic fans and i felt genuinely lucky and a little guilty to be able to have got one, a really good one at that. ''Just offer him ten quid for it or something, he wont take it...'' was my advice. I hate these situations so with trepidation i ventured: ''Mike, can i give you some money for this brief mate, i really appreciate it...'', ''Nahhhh, fuck off mate...im just pleased someone else will see it.'' came the reply.  ''Righto, im getting you a few bevvies at the interval and afterwards then...'', ''SOUND''. For those who arent aware, the great man's recent diagnosis of Alzheimers has began to affect his musical efficiency somewhat and that ability between songs to whimsically fill the gaps with a showbiz anecdote or two.



With these concerns almost tangible within the auditorium at the start and a talking point for almost everybody around you, it was heart-warming then to see three of his offspring (his daughter is a reet corker by the way) guiding him straight into it and putting him and us at ease with a sensational rendition of 'Gentle On My Mind'. It was all there, the guitar AND the voice, this is where he is most comfortable.

All the classics were in there to enjoy, Galveston, Witchita Linesman, Rhinestone...mixed together with an engrossing Duelling Banjos with the aforementioned daughter and the odd tear jerking moment of honesty: ''Liverpool, Im really happy to be here, you know what? Im happy to be anywhere...'' made for a truly memorable night.

Good luck Glen.


And so on to tonights ''entertainment'', Everton v Chelsea lite in the Carling Cup. Let's face it their first team were in most parts on a different planet a couple of weeks ago at the bridge. Tonight though, putting out names such as Oriel Romeu, Ryan Bertrand and Josh McEachran might just give us (the manager) the impetus to get past these rich fucking twats and book our place in the next round. Wouldn't that be nice? And would it bring the hordes of fair weather moaners back now were getting to the business end of the competition? Probably not.

  

It represents a great opportunity to progress, we may have got them at a perfect moment after their comedy weekend hate-fest at QPR. But having the likes of John Terry Ashley 'The Cunt' Cole and Dider Drogba unavailable could upset things sufficiently for us impress ourselves upon them(ha!) whilst at home. To put it simply, Moyes needs to go for it. Velios and Saha partnering each other and Drenthe on the right would be nice too. It's inexcusable if he exercises caution against a gang of kids, a team who are ''expected'' to beat you, all whilst being at home in the least valued cup competition. No excuses tonight. Well, none until El Nino grabs a brace and suddenly the venomous Kopites like him again a bit.

Above all else, it represents a brilliant opportunity to get a chippy tea on a school night and walk towards one of your favourite places in the world stuffing your fat fucking kipper and dreaming of Wembley. What more do you want?


''So come on, come on, Get down to Goodison Park...


WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!''

Fulham Match Report

On a day of pivotal results around the division, could this rare and precious away win at Craven Cottage be a pivotal moment in Everton's season? With the manager ringing some of the changes supporters have been craving during the last few weeks lethargic horror shows, the day started in a blistering fashion. Royston Drenthe with all his quirky pent up pocket sized energy on show, quite literally snotted one in from 25 yards out giving the Fulham keeper no chance after just 3 minutes. Phew!



Its fucking smashing when you slot early in a game. It relieves the pressure from the players and fans shoulders alike and everyone can then concentrate on what they are there for in the first place, a bit of sexy football and some one song support. As is always the case though, especially with the blues, no matter who we are playing, you cant help but feeling we've scored too early. Immediately after the goal though and almost exclusively up until half time, Everton surprisingly looked the most likely to score with Velios and Rodwell both wasting decent opportunities to double their lead.



Out of the changes that were made, Velios in particular looked pretty raw and every inch a youthful hundred grand signing up top on his own. But in he came and his performance was one of honesty and a willingness to put a shift in. It was maybe a trigger to a moment later in the game involving another Everton striker which had significant consequences on the day for both sides. Fulham in the meantime were starting to push and probe Everton all over the pitch in the second half and were able to bring on a centre forward priced at £10 million, which according to his shirt was named 'Bryan'. On 70 miuntes, belying his mundane moniker and with one of his first touches, he exquisitely lobbed a twitchy camouflaged seagull ala Davor Suker in his Real Madrid pomp. Some say he didn't mean it, I say: fuck off Everton another beautiful first goal gifted to some tit for their club who will probably never score again. 


On the game went and more and more pressure was put on the visitors goal, surely it was only a matter of time before Moyes and his layabouts imploded and gifted their hosts a satisfying last gasp home win? But....when, in the 89th minute you sit in row Zed and the ball hits your head, that's Zamora...absolutely fucking throwing the game away for his team, the freaky looking Blood or Crip, he should play with an upside down bandanna on, the beautiful gozzy bastard. It wasn't as bad as Torres, but it was fucking funny. A relieved Tim Howard webbed the ball upfield and a benched Cahill and Saha combined mercilessly to snatch a win from the jaws of defeat. Not content with rubbing Tamara and Tarquins snouts in the mud, Jack Rodwell managed to find a freshly laid Cow shite to slam their kippers into. Get in you beautiful blue bellends.



Seasons can turn around on misses/goals/games like these. Unless you have wounded league title holders to face at home next.

Keep the faith.

Fulham Preview

Everton face the enthusiasm sapping task of going down to Craven Cottage on Sunday pretty much needing anything other than a fourth beating on the bounce. A place where we have struggled bizarrely, since lovely little Fulham arrived back on the scene all those years ago on the potent wave a rich Egyptians fart. One win, a draw and a shed load of dips away at arguably the most vociferously accommodating venue in the Premier league in about 10 years is quite frankly, shite. Thank god their record at our gaff is even worse.

   

Things going in Everton's favour are the fact they played in Krakow on Thursday night and arguably got beat as a result of a dubious sending off and may be a bit knackered. Rankles a bit dunnit? Things going against us are the fact that Everton's manager seems at the very pit of one of his big moany, ginger sulks and the fact that on the field we don't look good enough to beat eleven Cotswold Legbars, never mind eleven finely tuned premier league athletes.



People are pointing at the signing a clubless(not a typo) James McFadden as sure fire sign of Moyes's financial frustrations or even more outlandishly a sort of covert bat signal to Everton fans or dare i say it, The Blue Union, that ''this is what ive got to work with these days lads, shit innit?...''. Balls to that. Were just very, very thin on the ground for attacking options, Moyes knows what he's all about, he knows what the clubs all about and it gives us an extra body at a tough time. Not one to get the pulse racing, but thems the breaks. Desperate? Yes. Embaressing? No.



Team selection is going to be big in this game and you have to ask yourself just how long Moyes can carry on sticking to a formula that this season, just hasn't worked. The fans are crying out for a bit of positivity from the beginning of games and a break from the norm. Is Moyes purposely trying to get on peoples tagues or is he just really, really stubborn and genuinely confident that the current tactics and team selection will come good?  Fans are far more accepting going under having a go, than they are playing conservatively and getting beat. Its getting to the stage where something has to give. Which is it gonna be? It would be genuinely thrilling to see two up front, with Velios partnering Saha and the likes of Royston Drenthe or even ickle Woss Barkley given the nod from the start. Things feel stale in other areas of the pitch too and maybe some of Moyes's shoe in regulars need their feathers ruffling a bit to stir us out of this slump.

  

Turning all the negativity on its head, maybe this is exactly the type of game we need just now. It's always a scrappy affair down there and there have been numerous fondly remembered squabbles with their various cast off's, failures and rejects they've employed over the years. Moyes and the team have to look at the perilous fixture situation for what it is and do what they do best, maybe the only thing they can do. Grind out results when their backs are against the wall. Get stuck right into these, mix it up a bit and three points could well be ours, you just dont know until you try.

Do it Dave.

''The gold road's sure a long road, winds on through the hills for fifteen days, the pack on my back is aching, the straps seem to cut me like a knife...''


Up the Toff's.

CHELSEA MATCH REPORT

Chelsea all too predictably managed to deliver the expected shagging that most Evertonians had seen coming late on Saturday. The previous good results we had gleaned from this fixture were swept aside in the most clinical and abrupt manner as the hosts ran out 3-1 winners, with the Velios late goal giving the scoreline an undeserved respectable outlook.

We started the game brightly enough, with some early incisive passing and direct play, but as is far too familiar with the team of late, after all the endeavour they employ in the build up, eventually they just look completely flaccid when the ball arrives in the attacking areas of the pitch. Much will always be said about Saha's work rate, but in terms of the job we had to do on Saturday evening, his game was probably our best option for trying to compete in the midfield with the extra man and trying to nick something up top. It just doesn't work any more though. Chipping away at the first team squad each window and selling off all our prized nuggets without any calculated reinvestment is starting to make these hopeful performances and tactical plans less and less likely.

It was on the half hour mark Everton conceded the first. Juan Mata was pretty special throughout the entire game, showing a range of passing and jinking runs Evertonians can only dream of these days, he sent Cole racing away for the opener with an exquisite pass behind our defence and if arch Cunt Ashley Cole meant his deft half volley of a cross to the incoming Daniel Sturridge then he's maybe less of a Cunt than i thought. I reckon he was trying to lob Tim Howard myself though, so he'll remain a Cunt for the foreseeable im afraid. Sorry ''Ash''.

The real killer blow came on the stroke of half time, it wouldn't of been outside the realms of possibility for Everton to have gone on to a battling point away from home if they went in at half time just one down, as it was though, John Terry managed to rise above 3 Everton players and Tim Howard flapping in mid air like an overly anxious Seabird to nod home a Frank Lampard free kick, on closer inspection though it seems a completely unarsed Marouanne Fellaini gave him a friendly bunk up to finish the job. That was game over right there. Or maybe the impetus Evertons management needed to completely change tack and try something else? 

Whichever way you look at it, they came out deflated and doing exactly the same after the break what had failed them in the first. It was Ramires sliding in the 3rd and a possible rout on the cards that sprung the Everton manager into making his first changes to his system after an hour. Drenthe came on for an under par Coleman first and struggled against the athleticism of Chelsea's midfield. It was Moyes 3rd sub, significantly now Evertons top scorer, that managed to combine with the pocket dynamite Dutchman to give the scoreline a respectable look on 80 minutes. A change forcing a change in the way we play, change! Evertonians for Change! Change.

Propping up the form table and maybe luckily not taking up our annual position propping up the actual league table at this stage is starting to worry some, and rightly so. We need to start putting points on the board and our three upcoming league games look decidedly ropey. Away to Fulham were we have only won once since they returned from obscurity and been battered most other times, home to league champions United, then away to an unbeaten and whisper it quietly an attacking Newcastle United team. Where are the points coming from? Or more pointedly, the goals to win games? Me neither.

There's only so many cogs you can remove from an old, reliable and dependant Clock and its system without replacing them with newer, shiner more hard-wearing ones and not expecting the poor fucker to finally give up the ghost. I just hope the Clock-maker and his supplier have the instructions and/or the dough for the replacements, the clock is ticking, just.

Chelsea Preview

Saturdays late fixture at Stamford Bridge couldn't have come at a worse time for Everton. Coming off the back of a (don't laugh) hard fought loss at City, then the robbery against our capitalist cousins from over yonder, then an international break where various journalist wet themselves live on air over Wayne Rooneys 'mental state'. It feels like we may be in for bit of a post international break shagging. Chelsea have swept aside their two previous league opponents and scored 9 goals in the process, one more than we've managed so far this season. Hold on to your friggin Bobble hats.



Putting all the ingrained negativity to one side though (for a minute), the scene of probably last seasons highlight, a fucking penalty shoot out win against a team out of form, has had a habit of seeing us grind out decent results and we haven't been beaten down there in the league for about 5 years, even more agonising is that we've not been beaten by the helmets since that balmy day out in London in May 2009, in that time we've played them 6 times. Would you swap six 5-0 reverses for that win in 2009, i know i would.


Just like the City run we were on at Eastleand's though, i get a feeling it ay be the time for the law of footballing averages to rear its ugly kipper and give us yet another early season slap in ours. We looked at the run of league games we had coming up in September and October and thought: ''hmmmm...3 or even 6 points would be more than achievable there'' but as it stands were staring down the barrel of the two most difficult fixtures out the four with frig all in the bank, literally and metaphorically. Depressing stuff.

How does Moyes go down there and plan for this one? The positives about the derby are thin on the ground, but the fact that before the sending off we were competing for everything, knocking it about a bit and that Louis Saha looked pretty sharp, these have to be the hopes that we cling to before this fixture. Hopefully with all eyes being on  Jack Rodwell, he may also be able to use this fixture as a stage to shine. As ever, were capable and it'd be nice just to see them put a shift in and get rewarded for it.



Kudos to all the supporters who blindly venture down for games like these too. Not only the absolutely scandalous ticket pricing Chelsea arrogantly employ and have done for years, but the 17:30 kick off too. No ta. Still, plenty of time to watch Liverpools FA Cup final, sink loads of ale and get involved in some Capital high jinx. Enjoy.



Speaking of the loveables, we've all been treated to yet another chapter in their best-selling 'Self Awareness and Pomposity Bible' this week, when Ian Ayre playfully suggested teams should start negotiating their own Television rights. It has been roundly lambasted by just about every single chairman or chief executive in the premier league so far, which is nice. But the example of Bolton being used by the shameless capitalist lizard, in some ways is bringing the deal, the agreement that all the teams currently have and the game as a whole into disrepute. The timing of it is plain for all to see. You bare faced hypocritical cretins.



"The socialism I believe in is everybody working for the same goal and everybody having a share in the rewards. That's how I see football, that's how I see life." - BILL SHANKLY 

George Harrison: Living In The Material World - REVIEW

Arriving in the familiar, homely environment that FACT cinema in Liverpool inadvertently provides, i took my seat not long after leaving work at 5pm. Just enough time then to lash the car in my favourite mingebag parking space, walk down, meet the missus, let the guy scan the eTicket on my phone (iPhone progress!) and grab a large popcorn(Salted) to stave off the post work hunger pangs.

 

Whether you're a massive Beatles fan, a George Harrison fan or even just a stark raving annoying, sing it from the rooftops of the Liver Building proud parochial scouser, three and a half hours is a long time to sit in front of a Cinema screen. This lovely, spiritual jaunt through the mind and work of everybody's second favourite Beatle, or 'the quiet/thoughtful/hindu one' delete as applicable, makes it pass almost unnoticed.

     

Directed by Martin Scorsese and co-produced by Georges wife Olivia, they somehow manage to avoid the usual beyond saturated Beatles footage by initially telling the familiar story of George and the bands early days. The use of Georges son Dhani reading letters and postcards sent home to Georges Mum lend a ghostly insight into what was going through the gentle but incisive mind of his father as their fame and fortune mushroomed almost reluctantly into that of some sort of living deity.

Some of the photographs and film footage which Scorsese gained access to from Georges family vault is a real visual treat. It goes on to tell the tale of his life after the band. The usual fare for Rock and Rollers is in there; drugs, women, insecurities, religion, salvation. The difference with this for me though when comparing it to other 'Rockumentaries' is that it feels absolutely expertly interwoven with some very funny, emotional, insightful talking head interviews from all the great and good that George seemed to seamlessly attract from all parts of the entertainment industry. Monty Pythons, F1 Drivers, fellow superstar musicians, even a manic Phil Spector makes an appearance. They're all in there. He meant an awful lot, to a lot of influential people.

           

The films flow from beginning to end mirrors that of Georges contrasting psyche, the quick witted scouse gadabout musician who liked the girls, the parties and all the trappings it brought and that of a mystic transcendental spiritual lad hailing from Wavertree who is effectively one of the last centuries and western worlds ''alternative'' forefathers, something incidentally which made his henna painted toes curl. He's basically just an extremely talented lad who managed to live his life exactly how he wanted. He was a Musician, film-maker, philanthropist, gardener and more. His quest eventually was for peace of mind and spirit and i reckon he got it with interest.



Make sure you catch this one then, you will not regret it, you will be rewarded witha wild eyed Phil Spector, Ringo making you like him again, Tom Petty's superb recounting from the Travelling Wilbury's to harrowing accounts of attempted murder from Olivia Harrison which due to Georges peaceful outlook on life leave you genuinely chilled. Finally, Its hard not to get a bit nostalgic and proud when watching such embellished footage of how four fella's from round the corner from where you were born yourself, pretty much changed they world for the better for a bit. But they did, he did and everyone should strive to be a bit more like George I reckon.

Hare Krishna 

LIVERPOOL MATCH REPORT

During what felt a bit like an opening day of the season, such was the equatorial heat piercing through Waltons streets on Saturday, a heady mixture of abject fury and disconsolate resignation familiarly swept is way through the Goodison stands in yet another Merseyside Derby were a result again went against Everton, solely because of a more than questionable refereeing decision. We were doing pretty well too.

There is not much point in talking about any team performance or any of our players individual performances in any great detail, because that ship sailed the moment Martin Atkinson deemed Jack Rodwell's near perfect challenge on 22 minutes to be worthy of a straight red card. The game ended then. I will say this, Liverpool still had a football game to win and they ultimately went about it in the right manner. There has been occasions in the past were Everton have found themselves a man up early in a game away from home in a derby and not managed to capitalise, the main difference here though is that particular sending off was absolutely nailed on and deserved, so stretching the (non)similarities a little bit further, the ref in that game then went on to book 7 of our players as well as sending one off, you know just to even things up. Why does this happen?

In about 15 years of attending derby matches home and away, I physically cannot recall one major decision going against them in the cauldron like atmosphere of our local derbies, not one, nada, niente. Ah well, i thought, wipe the spittle from my frothing lips, ive got a bit of a head like a sieve anyway for footy trivia i could be wrong like, ill ask the frigger beside me who is a regular of nigh on 40 years and who's memory for anything Everton, foreign movie based or music related basically borders on ''Aspergers Nerd'', just out of interest like, whether he can recall any, at all, going against Liverpool and honestly effecting the result of a game....no, not one. Something wrong there. Why does this always happen?

 

Martin Atkinson hasn't refereed an Everton game since he blew up early against United for us about a year ago, a contentious issue for which David Moyes and Steve Round were both fined heavily. Moyes meekly raised this point pre and post Saturday. It didn't make one blind bit of difference. It could be argued that Moyes should be banging the Ferguson, Wenger and Dalglish cry arse advantage seeking drum a lot louder than he does. I certainly expected a much harsher statement than his ''ruined the game'' offering afterwards. I don't think it matters really though and i think deep down Moyes knows that, if you aint in the club you aint in the club. 

There is something inherently dark and wrong with the refereeing officials in this country though where two of them now, fully paid up professional referee's on about eighty odd grand a fucking year, are highly likely never to take charge of an Everton game again. How is this allowed to happen? It sends out completely the wrong signals to not only the clubs, but their followers too. The self righteous indignation shown by our opponents not only in general, but even on Saturday after they'd been gifted the match (HANDBALL!! CORNER!!!) might be something to learn if we want to change this. Do we want that though? Lets face it, the media coverage its still getting is about missile throwing from Everton fans, the decision has all but been forgot about in larger circles. There is a pattern here. They also love to harp on about refs being against them and that they are corrupt to the point of wanting United to win the league every year, if it wasnt for them pesky refs eh?

   

Some supporters seem to want us to be more like them, get nastier and do it their way. I'm not sure how that will work out for us. We're just not in that club. Were not soft touches or plucky losers, there is still a Corinthian-ism about the way we go about things on and off the pitch, it stands for something, not a lot like, it wont win you trophies. But its something to hang on to in these ever more sickeningly obsequious and shallow footballing times.

Chin up players and fans alike then. We all move on together. Lets accept our fate and keep on keeping on. Its the only thing we know.

Oh and we've signed a 15 year old for 2 million quid apparently, George Green (Bing Images brought up this ), we beat off interest from 20 other clubs for his signature, go us. Think he'll be fit for Chelsea and United? It looks like we need the little brat.