Request from Everton programme

[Everton Programme]

Hello all,

Hope you're well.

Thanks very much for your answers.

There is just one more question that we need to incorporate into a different feature for our website entitled, '10 Questions'.

I can use the answers previously given, but the question I will take out will be the final one about your feelings for the club.

I will be replacing it with this:

What were your thoughts regarding the transfer of Joleon Lescott?

Regards

 

[Matty]

Hello all,

Hope you're well.

Thanks very much for your answers.

There is just one more question that we need to incorporate into a different feature for our website entitled, '10 Questions'.

I can use the answers previously given, but the question I will take out will be the final one about your feelings for the club.

I will be replacing it with this:

What were your thoughts regarding the transfer of Joleon Lescott?

Regards

Ok, here you go, with the question replaced.

Name: Matthew West
Age: 32
Location: Reddish, Stockport
Number of years supporting Manchester City: see answer to "age".

What do you make of Manchester City's season so far?

Hit and miss. We've only lost twice, and we're in the Carling Cup Semi Final, so there are definite positives to be taken. However we've simply not won enough league games, and the dropped points have come against some of the divisions poorer sides, so that's disappointing. I think we're quite lucky that most sides have been struggling this season.

What did you think about Mark Hughes' departure? Was it too soon?

I think he needed to go. I was never a fan of Hughes' appointment, and it wasn't solely down to his association with a certain club just outside Manchester. He'd never won anything as a manager, and I didn't see what he would bring to City that would make us a Champion's League club. Defensively we looked suspect and Hughes didn't seem to have any answer to it

What are your first impressions of Robert Mancini?
Four wins and three clean sheets mean initial impressions are favourable, the real test will come when we start to drop points as, inevitably, we will. With all due respect to Sunderland, Wolves, Middlesbrough and Blackburn they aren't exactly the best sides in England and I'd have been looking to beat all of them, when we play some of the bigger sides we'll see what Mancini has to offer.

Who has been the star player so far this season?
Craig Bellamy has been our best player, something I'm not sure I ever thought I'd say. I really didn't want him last January when we were linked to him and I'm not afraid to say he's proved me very, very wrong. Shay Given and Carlos Tevez deserve a mention too as bth have been playing well.

Which summer signing has settled in best?
That's got to be Tevez. He's been playing very well of late, you can't argue with 8 goals in his last 8 games (at time of writing). In all fairness though, Tevez hasn't had a lot to compete with here as the other summer signings of Santa Cruz, Lescott, Toure, Adebayor and Barry have been occasionally good but mainly below par.

Which Manchester City player has the most to prove over the rest of the season?
Narrowing this down to just one player is difficult, there are several that have been underperforming and need to show us what they've got to offer. Ireland has taken a step backwards, as has Richards. All the Summer signings bar Tevez need to show why they were worth the money. But, if I had to chose just one player, I'd have to go for Robinho. £32.5m is a lot of money for anyone, let alone a player who drifts in and out of games and doesn't seem to be interested. He's been injured but the fact still remains it's January now and he still hasn't scored this season.

You won here towards the end of last season. How do you think the game will go this time around?
I think it'll end in a draw. Pre-season I'd have taken a point at Goodison but you've been in poor form this season and we've dropped points in games we should have been winning (Hull, Burnley, Birmingham, Wigan and Fulham to name just 5) so we really need to be taking the three points.

What were your thoughts regarding the transfer of Joleon Lescott
The Lescott saga has had an adverse effect on Evertonian/Mancunian relations, David Moyes certainly didn't make any friends in Manchester with his attitude and media comments this summer. I'm not sure City did a whole lot wrong, we saw a player we wanted, and we made two private bids for the player. It was Moyes who decided he didn't like this and then made our interest public knowledge via the media, everything that happened after this was predicated by that initial over-reaction. Trying to look at this from a neutral standpoint I can see it's difficult when you don't want to lose a player and a potential suitor doesn't take no for an answer. Looking back on the Lescott transfer I think both parties will probably be in agreement that City most certainly overspent, he hasn't exactly been impressive for us, although that might be down to Hughes' defensive naivety, and he's now injured. If I were an Evertonian I'd be quite happy with what you got for him, you were never going to get that kind of money from anyone else.

Who is the Everton player you fear most?
Tim Cahill is your best player, and always a goal threat, but Everton are more of a team than a collection of individuals. I wouldn't say one player should be feared, Everton are a classic example of the whole being more than the sum of the parts. Birmingham would be a lower rent example of such a team.

What's the best thing about supporting Manchester City?
I guess the answer to this one would be a complex one. Growing up in Manchester, and being born 12 months after our last trophy success, it's always been a vocation supporting City, you simply don't support us and expect success (well, not until now potentially). I suppose the best thing is the feeling of being part of something, I don't know what being a United fan feels like but I get the impression it's a fairly hollow feeling. Yes, there are seemingly annual trophies, but there's no sense of togetherness, of belonging. There aren't many clubs that can claim to have been through the trials and tribulations that City have over the last three decades, those difficulties have given City fans a sense of commaraderie, league games against Macclesfield Town and Wycombe Wanderers when you're used to playing United and Arsenal will tend to do that to you. Being a City fan is like being part of a family.

 

[Gwladiator]

Odd that a lot of you seemed to have picked Cahill, in my opinion our worst player so far this season.

 

[Prestwich_Blue]

Revised answers:

Name: Colin Savage
Age: 54
Location: Prestwich, Manchester
Number of years supporting Manchester City: 40+

What do you make of Manchester City's season so far?
Looking good overall. Carling Cup semi-final and a game in hand off 4th place. The only downer is that if we'd even won 2 of the 3 games we drew at home and were comfortably winning then we'd be up in 4th and well in the mix for the top spot.

What did you think about Mark Hughes' departure? Was it too soon?
Initially I thought it was but I suspect there's more to it than we've been told.

What are your first impressions of Robert Mancini?
I wasn't keen when I heard the news but he seems to have done what Hughes failed to do and sort out the defence, while leaving us the ability to go forward to devastating effect.

Who has been the star player so far this season?
Craig Bellamy. Who'd have thought it?

Which summer signing has settled in best?
Carlos Tevez.

Which Manchester City player has the most to prove over the rest of the season?
Tempted to say Joleon Lescott but wouldn't give you the satisfaction! Has to be Robinho; he has phenomenal talent (as you witnessed last season) but needs to produce it consistently?

You won here towards the end of last season. How do you think the game will go this time around?
Last season showed us at our best after an inconsistent season. We're actually better now than we were then so would expect much the same.

What were your thoughts on the transfer of Joleon Lescott?
At the time I thought he was a good addition but that we paid far too much. I also thought Moyes played it badly and made himself look a bit foolish. We played by the rules and did things properly. He didn't get off to a good start and was only just starting to look the part when he got injured but how much of that was down to Hughes' seeming inability to organise the defence is difficult to say.

Who is the Everton player you fear most?
Tim Cahill. Always seems to score against us.

What's the best thing about supporting Manchester City?
Where do I start? At the moment it's the thrill of being one of the most high-profile clubs in the world after years as the "Comedy Club". But the main thing is we're fans who have never lost our sense of humour, even when we've been on our uppers.

 

[Matty]

Odd that a lot of you seemed to have picked Cahill, in my opinion our worst player so far this season.

It probably indicates that we don't actually pay a great deal of attention to Everton or, for that matter, most other Premiership sides. Given the same set of questions from West Ham or Fulham and we'd most likely all pick a player with a reputation rather than a form player. It's also probably an indicator of the lack of decent attacking options Everton have, the "player to fear" in most sides is their goalscorer, your strike force seems constantly injured so we can't really pick Yakubu (is he at the ACON or didn't Nigeria pick him?), Saha or Vaughan, and we know Jo's shite (and can't play anyway).

 

[Bluemoonbaldboy]

to answer the additional question
What were your thoughts regarding the transfer of Joleon Lescott?
I thought Moyes handling of the whole thing made it worse we hadn't gone public then Moyes decided to thus unsettling his own player. A couple of friends who are toffees sort of agree with that but they also said after Moyes went public perhaps Hughes shouldn't have as well...

 

[Gwladiator]

Odd that a lot of you seemed to have picked Cahill, in my opinion our worst player so far this season.

It probably indicates that we don't actually pay a great deal of attention to Everton or, for that matter, most other Premiership sides. Given the same set of questions from West Ham or Fulham and we'd most likely all pick a player with a reputation rather than a form player. It's also probably an indicator of the lack of decent attacking options Everton have, the "player to fear" in most sides is their goalscorer, your strike force seems constantly injured so we can't really pick Yakubu (is he at the ACON or didn't Nigeria pick him?), Saha or Vaughan, and we know Jo's shite (and can't play anyway).

Yakubu is at ACON with Nigeria.

Saha would be the most likely choice, 12 goals so far this season.

 

[Matty]

Revised answers:

Name: Colin Savage
Age: 54
Location: Prestwich, Manchester
Number of years supporting Manchester City: 40+

What do you make of Manchester City's season so far?
Looking good overall. Carling Cup semi-final and a game in hand off 4th place. The only downer is that if we'd even won 2 of the 3 games we drew at home and were comfortably winning then we'd be up in 4th and well in the mix for the top spot.

What did you think about Mark Hughes' departure? Was it too soon?
Initially I thought it was but I suspect there's more to it than we've been told.

What are your first impressions of Robert Mancini?
I wasn't keen when I heard the news but he seems to have done what Hughes failed to do and sort out the defence, while leaving us the ability to go forward to devastating effect.

Who has been the star player so far this season?
Craig Bellamy. Who'd have thought it?

Which summer signing has settled in best?
Carlos Tevez.

Which Manchester City player has the most to prove over the rest of the season?
Tempted to say Joleon Lescott but wouldn't give you the satisfaction! Has to be Robinho; he has phenomenal talent (as you witnessed last season) but needs to produce it consistently?

You won here towards the end of last season. How do you think the game will go this time around?
Last season showed us at our best after an inconsistent season. We're actually better now than we were then so would expect much the same.

What were your thoughts on the transfer of Joleon Lescott?
At the time I thought he was a good addition but that we paid far too much. I also thought Moyes played it badly and made himself look a bit foolish. We played by the rules and did things properly. He didn't get off to a good start and was only just starting to look the part when he got injured but how much of that was down to Hughes' seeming inability to organise the defence is difficult to say.

Who is the Everton player you fear most?
Tim Cahill. Always seems to score against us.

What's the best thing about supporting Manchester City?
Where do I start? At the moment it's the thrill of being one of the most high-profile clubs in the world after years as the "Comedy Club". But the main thing is we're fans who have never lost our sense of humour, even when we've been on our uppers.

Not updated enough, we're now in 4th place, didn't your son tell you?!!

 

[Matty]

It probably indicates that we don't actually pay a great deal of attention to Everton or, for that matter, most other Premiership sides. Given the same set of questions from West Ham or Fulham and we'd most likely all pick a player with a reputation rather than a form player. It's also probably an indicator of the lack of decent attacking options Everton have, the "player to fear" in most sides is their goalscorer, your strike force seems constantly injured so we can't really pick Yakubu (is he at the ACON or didn't Nigeria pick him?), Saha or Vaughan, and we know Jo's shite (and can't play anyway).

Yakubu is at ACON with Nigeria.

Saha would be the most likely choice, 12 goals so far this season.

You'd better be hoping there isn't a strong breeze, he'll pull a hair folicle and be out for a month.

In hindsight perhaps Pienaar would have been a better selection, he seems to be having a good season thus far.

 

[Gwladiator]

Yakubu is at ACON with Nigeria.

Saha would be the most likely choice, 12 goals so far this season.

You'd better be hoping there isn't a strong breeze, he'll pull a hair folicle and be out for a month.

In hindsight perhaps Pienaar would have been a better selection, he seems to be having a good season thus far.

Very true, there is a great expectation on him to fill the creative void left by Arteta and he's doing a good job so far.