Ahead of a multifaceted campaign, Tottenham’s Tom Huddlestone recently urged Spurs not to follow Everton’s example of a side breaking into the Premier League’s top four for the first time.
Thus, with Tottenham ready to embark on a Champions League venture, and Huddlestone’s words lingering, my mind wandered off to my club – yep, the last club to break the so called ‘big four monopoly’ – and our apparently precautionary example. So let me offer the chilling tale, the forlorn fable, the eerie parable (yeah, yeah, you get the idea) of our Champions League campaign.
Indeed, whilst Huddlestone’s ‘don’t do an Everton’ warning left me feeling a little defensive (‘oh aye, you cheeky little tyke, don’t go using my club as a base point for avoidance’, etcetera), the season following our fourth place finish was, admittedly, not a particularly successful one.
In 2004/05, and having finished 17th the previous year, messiah Moyes led us to an impressive fourth place finish and thus the pleasure of Champions League football. Just getting there is clearly a great achievement; the modern game being so markedly against anyone breaking the status quo, with everything seemingly supporting the increasing disjuncture and structural discrepancy of the Premier League. On such a scant budget, Moyes’ achievements were admirable, but without the opportunity for vast squad strengthening the next season was always going to be tough…
The 2005/06 season saw Everton knocked-out of Champions League at the qualifying stage (before the group stages and ‘tournament proper’), dumped of the UEFA Cup in September, and struggling at the wrong end of the table for the first half of the season. Luckily a strong second half to the season proved sufficient, and we eventually finished in mid-table.
The draw for both the European tournaments proved particularly difficult and unfortunate. Villarreal, the Champions League opponents, beat us 2-1 at Goodison, but the tie was still ‘on’ for the return leg in Spain. Now I don’t like to wield out the old ‘we were robbed’ excuse but…we were f**kin ROBBED! Having conceded in the first-half, Mikel Arteta thrust us back into contention on 70 minutes. The game was poised, the atmosphere tense. Cue big Duncan Ferguson heading in a dramatic late equaliser… cue the officials wrongly disallowing the goal. Diego Forlan then went and confounded the misery with a 90th minute goal.
Villarreal eventually made it to the Semi-finals.
So, having missed out on the chance of progression with Europe’s elite, and the much needed revenue, we accepted UEFA Cup with a sigh and a tricky tie against Romanian outfit Dinamo Bucharest. Less said about that the better; a reasonable start during the away leg was followed by a swift and crushing capitulation (1-1 at half-time, 5-1 at the final whistle, shhhhhhhh).
Thus the European tour was over by September, our league form was poor and we were left a desolate, hollow shell for much of the year. Fortunately Moyes turned things around that season and has subsequently taken us on a number of other European adventures.
Indeed, since then we’ve again been on the periphery of Champions League football; finishing fifth on two occasions (yup, as a certain other club has done). So, following last seasons exploits, it’s at last time for another club just outside the usual conglomeration to embark on a Champions League campaign.
Now, obviously I only really care how Everton get on, and I don’t want to pretend to be overly chummy towards Tottenham – like some sort of sniveling sycophant attempting to curry favour – but I do hope they do well. They deserve to be there, it will hopefully shake things up a bit and perhaps go someway in dismantling the ‘big four’ categorization.
My tale of Champions League misfortune is not supposed to dampen any spirits – it’s clearly a different case entirely – but was rather just a bit of Huddlestone engendered reminiscing. Nonetheless, it does throw up the old adage involving chickens, counting and hatching, blah, blah, blah.
A lot will, of course, depend on who pops up in qualifying (Martin Jol’s Ajax seems inevitable), but how confident are you ahead of the Champions League campaign (particularly in conjunction with emulating a strong league finish)? Will Spurs ‘do an Everton’??
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Tuesday’s Totty
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Well first up I think we’re a better side than Everton were back then. secondly we dont even know who we’re playing just yet? Thirdly we’re not certain of who’ll be playing for us, so its a pointless argument just yet. That aside to draw comparisons with Everton may be good for newspapers without a real story, but for real fans, its a pointless debate right now, as there are no comparisons to be made!
Good article mate. I remember Evertons trials well that season, I too was wishing them well for the same reasons above, as a Spurs supporter also hoping that someone could break the monopoly as this offered hope for us all so I really do understand the sentiments
Typical Spurs fan, ‘we’re a better side than Everton were back then’ and they say us Geordie’s are arrogant!!! You’re no better than they were back then because you’ve not done anything different, it’s taken you 18 season to get into the top 4 of the PL & all of a sudden, your a big team.. get over yourselves will ya… Yes there’s more money in the PL nowadays, so saying that, I think the Everton side who failed so miserably back then did it without spending 100’s of millions on players, so if anything, there side was better then yours is now!!!
Don’t forget, the Toon did it 2 seasons after being promoted into the PL & have since done it 4 times, so once you get past the qualifiers, if you get past them, then you can say your team is better than the Everton team that failed & not until then you arrogant moron!!!
Tuesdays Totty number one looks a bit rough !!!
Do many of the girls in Liverpool look like that
By the way, why do Geordies feel they have to make comments on Spurs fans, you guys really have a chip on your shoulders when it comes to us, by the way looking to beating you home and away this season.
Back to the article i think all Spurs fans are well aware of the pit falls and we know our rivals are chomping at the bit for us to fall at the first herdle. It is goinmg to be a very tough test, loose this tie and i think our whole season will collapse, same as Everton’s. ?
Ha. Thankfully not, Catcher.
Everton never made the CL group stages because they had the utter misfortune of drawing that seasons’ CL semi-finalists, Villareal, in the 3rd round qualifiers. That, combined with a referee in Collina who came out of retirement for one game – the 2nd leg in Spain, made several controversial decisions, then immediately retired again after the match. Now don’t get me wrong, Everton didn’t play well enough, but the hard luck tale and circumstances are rather extreme.
As for Everton in 2004/2005 ‘not being as good as Spurs were in 2009/2010’, well… Everton were never out of the top 3, from September to December 2004, and then never out of the top 4 from December 2004 right up until the end of the season. Unlike Spurs, who were in and out of the top 4 and 5 this past season, Everton were consistently in the top 4 all season long. They deserved to be in the CL 3rd round qualifiers.
Everton’s getting to the Champs league was pretty impressive given the squad we had at the time. And precisely because of the squad we had and diddly squat to strengthen it we couldn’t sustain the challenge and fell away badly. It’s a tall order. Not sure ‘arry has braced his squad for the multiple stresses and strains of domestic and Europe competition especially with restrictions on squad size and composition. We shall see, but wish Spurs well in their attempts to break the strangle hold of Manure and Chelski.
I’d dearly love to say typical Toon berk, but most of them I know are informed and passionate. Of course Spurs current squad are better equipped than Everton’s was back then. Everton s achievement was in fact far greater than ours because of it. But the money sunk into our clubs playing staff, has given us a far deeper squad than the Toffees had, with more cover in most areas. So before you start labelling Spurs fans as arrogant try using a little thought before spouting your anti spurs diatribe. As for your comparisons to Newcastle, you gave the country many moments of excitement and pleasure during those times, and probably had the whole country behind you, more so than Leeds whose run was far better in every way, but like Leeds you blew it for a myriad of reasons, many who’ll befall us if we go all out to sustain a run and take our eye off the PL.
everton dont play football, they play powerball, lots of hard work, and touches of skill, tottenham play stylish entertaining attacking football, we played you 2 times off the pitch last season, we dominated you, if you dont believe me, watch the matches.
To whatever spurs fan suggesting there is no comparison between them and Everton now.. What nonsense. Everton had major injuries the season just gone and still finished respectively. I think if they keep a fairly fit squad this season they will surprise everyone.
You expect spurs to do well with what is a steady cash-flow compared to Everton. If Moyes had spent what tottenham have under his reign I think Everton would be leaving Spurs for dust.