29 Jan 2016 20:07:53
Not sure what's up with me but I just can't seem to get enthusiastic about this weekend.
Like most (if not all) on this site I was chosen to support Everton and they have been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember.
My earliest clear recollection is of the mid to late 70's when with a shade more luck we could have started to dominate the old first division.
Then the bad, dark days of the early 80's before we became the leading force in English football and, had it not been for that lot across the park being idiots in Heysel, in all probability become a major force in Europe too.
Throughout all of these times, the highs and the many lows, I've stuck with and passionately defended the club I was born to follow and support.
Add to those days the near relegation misses of the 90's tempered with fleeting glory of the FA cup in 95 I've religiously followed, defended and supported my club through thick and thin.
From the bad old days when you were considered a hooligan and thug if you followed football to the nouveaux riche of the modern tv money era when it suddenly became uber trendy to follow football, my faith has never wavered and I've rightly or wrongly had as much passion for my club as I've had for my own family (you just show it in different ways)
I've got the ticket stubs, the programmes, the photos, scars (drunken shenanigans pre season tours) and the tattoos to prove it.
But now, and its come completely out of the blue (no pun intended) I suddenly find my faith being tested.
Over the years I've witnessed great managers and teams, mediocre managers and teams, poor managers and teams and a combination of all combined and always stuck by my club.
But now, when I should be old enough to know better and have the common sense to rise above it all I find my faith being tested.
After all the expectations of the start of the season, some great results and free flowing football to the lows of our more recent performances and to some extent luck, to our mid week cup tie, which for me, was probably the straw that broke the camels back.
They say being an Evertonian is like a marriage and right now, if it was possible, I'd be asking for a divorce.
I really don't know how much more I can take of this season. We offer so much and should have delivered so much more but, for some reason the love of my life has let me down, large.
Normally on the eve of the first involvement in the FA Cup I'm like a virgin on prom night, full of excitement and expectations and hoping it won't hurt too much, but this year it's just not the same.
And for all of these emotions my blame lies with one person, Roberto Martinez.
I don't know what the answer is, maybe ask him to do Jeremy Kyle or Judge Rinder with me but somehow I have to get this Walter Mitty character out of my life to get my faith back. Oh Saint Domingo, please help me.
{Ed025's Note - loved that gene..thanks for sharing mate..
29 Jan 2016 22:07:29
Great post that. You'll bounce back. Keep the faith Blue.
29 Jan 2016 22:20:32
Cheers Ed025, sorry to air my frustrations in public but I am so, so disillusioned at the moment.
Everton are my team and always will be but it's so difficult to keep the faith with this present regieme.
{Ed025's Note - its getting to all of us gene, but we have to ride it out mate because the team need us now more than ever mate..forget about the phenomenal one his days are numbered..
29 Jan 2016 22:42:48
Thanks Ed025 and Tedster, have either of you considered a sideline with the Samaritans?
My wife has hidden her ladyshave recently then blamed me for her lady bits looking like a hipster.
29 Jan 2016 22:55:02
Thing is Ed his days are not numbered. The guy is on a different planet or smoking rastafarian woodbines (as we used to say) . Supported this Team for 55 years man and boy. Lived all over the World, in the early days we relied on reuters for news then digital then computers. I say all this because I have been there and done that with this team. Personally I was a pretty crap footballer (amateur) but followed the Shankley/ Moyes approach, hence I played for all the sides I trialed for. This fella currently is losing his hair, mine is currently turning black.
{Ed025's Note - there is only so much fans will take DM, the club do read forums like this and know the natives are restless, when seats start being empty and fans protest they have to take notice, its a business after all mate..
30 Jan 2016 00:15:49
Good post mate, one that really hits home. Although I was (only! ) born in the mid 70's, I have had some crazy ups and downs as a blue. Seen some great players wearing our shirt as well as some absolute sh!te stealing a living on the back of our good name. My 18th birthday fell on that fateful day when Hans Segers kept us in the league, one emotional day that was!
I've given up going the game in the last month as the magic of match day has simply disappeared. I've found myself sitting in the stands wishing that I was anywhere but Goodison, never have I felt like that in any other era and I was there when Walker was in charge. The blame, for me, lies with the manager and his reluctance and stubbornness to alter things. I hope upon hope that his days are numbered, as ed points out, as he is quickly stealing my love of football and Everton FC. Pray for a take over or the current board to see sense before he drags us back into them dark days of relegation fights. Take away two of our better players and we will struggle.