Unity now key to moving forward

Aug 24 2007 by Mark O'Brien, Liverpool Daily Post

Aerial shot of Goodison Park, Everton FC's ground _320

WELL, the votes are all in now, so we can now enjoy a bit of a break from the campaigning of the club and those opposed to the proposed move to Kirkby.

The temptation is to talk here of the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ camps, as if there are clearly delineated factions involved.

In truth though, it’s one huge mass of Evertonians who all want the best for their club in the long run.

In an ideal world, once the result is announced we would see everyone accept the will of the majority and get behind whatever decision is reached.

If it’s a no, for instance, the fans must accept that the move to Kirkby wasn’t the right one, and the council, for their part, must honour their commitment to helping Everton find a viable alternative.

If it’s a yes, what we don’t want is for Evertonians, concerned that the move will erode our traditional fanbase, stop going themselves.

If they do then the whole thing becomes some kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.

There will continue to be future generations of Evertonians as long as the present ones buy into whatever the result is and continue to take their kids to the match, regardless of whether the stadium remains at Goodison or goes to the Loop, Kirkby or somewhere else altogether.

Three points tomorrow for Everton would see them almost quarter of the way to safety before the end of August. Blackburn are a good side though and their visit revives memories of last season’s horrendous exit from the FA Cup when Mark Hughes’ men outwitted the Blues by employing the dastardly tactic of kicking the ball really, really hard.

Thankfully the Toffees got their revenge a month later in a game that marked Manuel Fernandes’ first appearance as a loan signing.

Exactly when he’s going to make his first as a permanent acquisition though is anyone’s guess.

Negotiations to bring Terry Waite to the UK were quicker than these to bring the Portuguese schemer over.

On the subject of signings, Davis Moyes was linked for some time with Benni McCarthy, one of Rovers’ danger men.

The free-scoring South African must represent one of the best buys of recent years, at a fraction of the cost of Aiyegbeni Yakubu or even Andy Johnson.

Now Moyes has a bit of a history of being failing to land players who go on to do badly elsewhere, but in McCarthy’s case it’s safe to say that we certainly missed a trick.