DID anyone else think last Sunday’s derby would be the last one with David Moyes in charge of Everton?
The thought never crossed my mind, to be perfectly honest. Not before, during or after the game. It was all about Jamie Carragher playing his last Merseyside derby for Liverpool FC.
And he did well, Jamie. As always. One hundred per cent, as always. Nothing more, nothing less – fully committed to the shirt and the cause. I will miss that intensity and feeling of assurance, especially for the big games.
LFC is an institution irrespective of the names of the people representing it, but every institution also needs a symbol that represents its values in every way; and that is what Jamie Carragher is, whether he is wearing the shirt or not. There still are two games left for him to play, but in many ways this game felt like Carra’s last stand: leading the troops into the battlefield one last time.
Therefore it was particularly disappointing how boring it turned out to be. There was something excruciatingly flat and dull about the whole game, and although Steven Gerrard looked like he wanted to win it for his mate it never really took off. Everton came very well prepared, and Liverpool couldn’t break them down.
Maybe it was the lack of colourful tackles that created the rather subdued on-pitch atmosphere. Apart from a couple of Gerrard tackles there were not many situations that could potentially ignite the spark and set things off. Strangely, our boys seemed more aggressive and up for it against Newcastle than against Everton.
We never really found our rhythm and never got on the front foot, although the quality of the opposition has to be added to the equation. The neighbours once again proved why they are so difficult to beat, and even though we had our chances to get the goal we very lucky to not concede when the otherwise excellent Michael Oliver wrongly ruled out a perfectly good goal from Sylvain Distin.
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Whilst speaking of Everton and taking the last couple of days into account, I feel it’s appropriate to put down a few words about David Moyes. He has built a solid Everton team over the years, and with proper financial backing in January I actually think he could have had them challenging for 4th this season. They looked strong during the first half of the season – much stronger than they usually do as the old year turns new – and there was a sense of now or never for them regarding getting into the Champions League.
He must have had his fair share of quiet frustration over the last few years; constantly seen as the overachiever, seemingly without even a picture of a pot to piss in, and without any realistic chances of getting into Europe’s top tournament. Season after season has been all about squeezing everything that can be squeezed, about showing a level of pragmatism that would make even Alex Ferguson blush, and about turning every stone searching for a hidden gem.
And then he wins the lottery. How about that.
A whole new world opens up for him; the word ‘budget’ suddenly gets an entirely different meaning. He has landed one of the biggest jobs in world football, and for his sake I hope he comes well prepared. Being hard to beat will not be enough anymore (ask Roy Hodgson), and without Fergie in the dugout going to Old Trafford suddenly becomes significantly less scary.
The psychological edge – the fear factor – is gone, and even though Manchester United will still be Manchester United he has a long way to go before creating a similar aura of invincibility.
Until next time, Moyesy…
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Moyes knew he was going since last summer. Man Utd had tapped him up earlier on. Why else did he not sign a contract. They didn’t spend one day talking to Moyes after Fungus stepped down and then offer him the job.