Nil Satis Nisi Optimum used to mean something…

The last time I wrote a blog for NSNO I put my neck on the line somewhat and stood up for Moyes saying that I believed he was currently the best man for the job, says Simon Magner.

In true fashion, the next game away against Arsenal saw Moyes make some altogether bizarre substitutions which not even the tinker man Claudio Ranieri could get his head around. In this blog, I plan to be far more reserved (maybe)!

Yesterday has to be one of the most down I have felt after an Everton defeat for a long time. In recent years, especially during our European renaissance (2006-2010) defeats have been few and far between. They’ve never been easy to take, but during that period you knew that we may get beat one week, but chances are we will go on a winning streak over the next couple of weeks and put things right. Over the past 12 months however, I have become increasingly despondent towards Everton. My love for attending Goodison on a wet and windy Wednesday evening in January has never wavered, however the defeats haven’t hurt as much, I’ve become kind of numb to what we are seeing on the pitch as if sub-consciously I’m telling myself that this isn’t the true Everton Football Club that I am watching. Even the wins haven’t been celebrated enigmatically, and looking around Goodison last night, I struggled to remember the last time to roof was lifted off the Grand Old Lady. The last time I remember Evertonians going really wild was Chelsea away last year in the FA Cup. It’s not just me then who feels this way!

I got home angry, bitter and dejected. I pity my brother and my friend who shared the car journey home with me as I vented my spleen about the poor performances on the pitch from some of our senior players. Phil Neville and Louis Saha’s ears must have been burning as they apologised on twitter for their poor form, the dire performance last night and promised to get things back on track. Its not just Neville and Saha who should front for last night and recent months. The usually dependable Hibbert was back to his worst last night. Jagielka looked like he had caught a severe case of the Joseph Yobo’s before being substituted for an injury (one he picked up as a direct result to a mistake he made allowing the world class (?!) David Ngog to get in behind him and through on goal. Thank God for Sylvain Distin).

A friend of mine messaged me last night to tell me he didn’t rate the new Argie lad. To be fair, I can see where he’s coming from. “La Traca” doesn’t really look like he has the ability to live up to his nick name “The Firecracker”, more like “The Jacob’s Cream Crackered” after last night. But as I replied to my mate, I refused to criticise Denis on last night’s performance, because at least he put the effort in. Despite not wining a single header or posing an attacking threat against one of if not the poorest defence in the league, he worked his socks off. He put 110% into his performance. It’s not his fault that he isn’t good enough to cut it in the Prem. It was more than some of his more “senior” team-mates put in.

After I sent that message, I took myself off to bed and began thinking about last night’s performance more and more.

I woke up this morning and the anger and bitterness towards our underperforming players had waned. Sure I’m still angry at the manner of our defeat, but is it really the players fault? Phil Neville has been lambasted from pillar to post more so than usual in recent weeks. Phil has always been a limited player, whose positive attributes ensured his first team status, until this year where it’s been obvious that he is more and more a liability in midfield. He is 34 and when we have had options in midfield has been warming the bench. Tim Cahill is two years younger and is very much in the same boat as Neville this season, the only difference being that we have not had options in the team to come in and do a job better than Cahill, therefore he has made almost 20 appearances for us so far this season. Louis Saha is another player the wrong side of 30 who, like the two previously mentioned is struggling severely with a lack of form and is extremely low in confidence. Saha has suffered severely in his career, most notably at United with injuries and again, like Tim Cahill would probably have similar roles from the bench as “impact players” if we had the options in the squad, and this is the problem.

Moyes has said recently ideally the older players would have been gradually phased out by younger better players coming into the Club over the past couple of years. Unfortunately as we all know, the manager has been severely hamstrung by the inability of the board to financially back him and to allow him the chance to improve the squad. The players he has at his disposal unfortunately aren’t good enough to be playing full matches week in week out in the top division in the world, and that’s not their fault. The Manager picked a formation last night that supporters (myself included) have been crying out for what seems to be years. Last night proved that it doesn’t matter if its 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 or even 4-6-0. If we haven’t got the players good enough to do the job, then we are going to struggle. Last nights result and the consistently poor performances that we have had to witness this season so far (last night was our 6^th home defeat so far) are a direct result of the manager not being able to build and strengthen an already weakened beyond recognition Everton team, and things aren’t going to get better. Evertonians have been assured, once by Bill Kenwright and later by Robert Elstone that Moyes would have money to spend in January. The extent of that money is unknown, and even Moyes has hinted more recently that he probably won’t have the kind of finances needed to save our season. He could be being cagey and playing his cards close to his chest, but as usual I fear he is being bluntly honest. Evertonians shouldn’t get their hopes up. If any business is done (not including outgoings) I can only see the potential for another loan coming into the Club, nothing more.

If we don’t make a permanent signing this month, when the window opens again in May, it will be 3 years since the last time Everton Football Club signed a senior first team player on a full time contract. At the risk of repeating myself over and over, this is not good enough for one of the oldest and biggest institutions of English Football. My message is simple, if the Board of Directors is unable or incapable of supporting the manager, as custodians of this Football Club it is their obligation to step down and allow someone to come in who is capable, now before it is too late. People can’t hide behind the “be careful what you wish for” excuse any longer. When talking about takeovers you always get the failed ones as perfect reasons why, the multiple Pompey ones, Birmingham’s, Liverpool’s first time etc. Its my opinion however that our situation right now is just as worse as any of the previously mentioned, Everton’s only saving grace is the support and that is a fact. If the support continues to drop, if attendances continue to fall our already perilous situation will nose dive and plummet even further. Something has to give, and that is the board.

The Blue Union are holding a strategy meeting on Wednesday January 25^th at the Casa on Hope Street in Liverpool City Centre. Don’t come to support The Blue Union, come to save the Club. We’re not here to tell you what we are going to do; we want to hear from you what you want us to do. We have to act now before it’s too late. Nil Satis Nisi Optimum used to mean something to Everton FC, it still can…