The title of pound-for-pound champion is a peculiar thing. There is no belt or
crown awarded to the holder, no tangible financial benefit. There are no
bragging rights, either, considering all the experts in the world could
never produce a standard formula for measuring who would come out on top if
every boxer on the planet was shrunk or inflated to the same size and weight
and then judged purely on ability.
Yet the designation of the pound-for-pound champion is taken seriously enough
by The Ring, the respected boxing magazine, for there to be a permanent list
in existence. The most recent, published on January 14, had Floyd Mayweather
Jr, the welterweight conqueror of Ricky Hatton, at No 1, unsurprisingly
considering his record of 39 undefeated contests and six world crowns at
five weights.
Joe Calzaghe, Britain’s own super-middleweight, is fifth, his record of 44
unbeaten contests the most impressive of any boxer in the top ten. It could
be argued that he deserved to be higher, which is perhaps the beauty of the
pound-for-pound rankings. Because they are unquantifiable, all are subject
to opinion. Nobody is right, nobody is wrong, but welcome to the debate
nonetheless.
In reality, Mayweather would get his clock cleaned by Wladimir Klitschko, a
heavyweight champion, because of his 100lb weight, 10.6inch height and
12.6inch reach advantage, but that is only an accident of birth. The Ring’s
pound-for-pound table is there to give an idea of who would be best were
boxing handicapped, like horse racing. There is no equivalent of this in
football, but if there were the Mayweather position could well go to
Everton.
Is there a better run, better managed, better value-for-money team in the
Barclays Premier League? Is there a group of players giving more bang per
buck, a team who could correlate their financial outlay and status with
recent success and claim to be offering a superior return? Everton have not
won anything of late, but who, beyond the elite four, has?
If David Moyes, the manager, can inspire a victory over Chelsea at Goodison
Park this evening, the club will advance on Wembley for the first time since
1995, and that alone would be a huge achievement in the modern climate.
Since 2000-01, when the Champions League expanded to include 32 teams and
threw a VIP cordon across each leading European league, only nine teams from
outside the elite quartet of Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and
Liverpool have reached the final of a domestic cup tournament (six in the
League Cup, three in the FA Cup) and only two, Middlesbrough and Blackburn
Rovers, have been victorious, both against teams outside the highest
echelon.
These days it is a sad fact that achievement levels require adjustment. Just
reaching a final is success, for it is generally presumed that if a big club
are there and care to win, they will.
The same is true of league position. The days when Norwich City could sustain
a place in the top three all season, as happened in 1992-93 when they went
second in August, top in September and more or less remained there until
dropping to third in February, where they finished, have gone.
Everton may have won nothing for more than 12 years, but to judge them on an
absence of domestic or European trophies is akin to claiming that a failure
to take on bouts in the heavyweight division is a mark against Mayweather.
There are other means of assessing Everton’s progress and while it would be
preposterous to attempt a definitive measurement, the present league
position of fourth (above Liverpool by two points, although there is the
matter of a game in hand) and final positions of fourth, eleventh and sixth
since the 2004-05 season, represent sustained success at their level.
It could be argued that Arsenal’s resources when compared with those of United
and Chelsea make the accomplishments under Arsène Wenger the best
pound-for-pound return, and maybe that was once true. Certainly in the years
immediately after his arrival in 1996, Wenger pulled off a small footballing
miracle, rejuvenating an ageing defence and importing players such as
Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit, who were turned into world-beaters by his
methods.
Yet Wenger began with certain advantages, too, not least the presence of the
brilliant Dennis Bergkamp, who was by then accustomed to English football,
having played a first season at Highbury under Bruce Rioch. Arsenal’s status
was another plus; they had a name and a reputation beyond these shores and
were located in England’s capital city. The club were always going to find
it easier to attract leading players from abroad than the majority of rivals
located in the provincial North.
Indeed, within five years of Wenger’s appointment, only financial restrictions
held him back. His team were established as title contenders and regulars in
the Champions League and since 2006 have played at a 60,000-capacity stadium
that has cemented Arsenal’s place as London’s premier club, however many
millions Roman Abramovich throws at Chelsea. The Emirates Stadium is a place
where good players want to appear, making Arsenal one of the most attractive
propositions in club football with financial clout that will continue
improving.
So while there was a time when Arsenal may have laid claim to the
pound-for-pound title, right now the club perform precisely as they should.
With a vast stadium, an outstanding manager, an established team and a
sustained record of success, Arsenal should expect to be pushing United all
the way, and are.
Everton enjoyed finite success, too, unfortunately at around the same time as
other 1980s relics, including Bronski Beat, Five Star and Swing Out Sister,
and much as for Jimmy Somerville, any kudos that may have accrued from the
golden years between 1984 and 1987 has long since faded. Indeed, even at the
apex of achievement, Everton did not enjoy the cachet of Arsenal or United,
given a position as the second team on Merseyside and the third in the North
West. Just as Manchester City’s last league title win was overshadowed by
United’s triumph in the European Cup in 1968, so Everton’s hopes of European
domination were brought to an end by the ban on English clubs that followed
the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985.
In the period when Everton won the FA Cup, the Cup Winners’ Cup and two league
titles, Liverpool reached two European Cup finals, winning one. Even when
Everton were at their strongest, then, if there was a straight fight for a
player in the transfer market they would have found it hard to see off
Liverpool. And if that was the case 20 years ago, it is doubly true now.
Circumstances dictate that Moyes operates in the most volatile arena of all,
the second tier of transfer opportunities, a place in which prices are
relatively high but a return cannot be guaranteed. Pay £26.5 million for
Fernando Torres, as Liverpool did, and the buyer knows what he is getting:
one of the most consistent goalscorers in La Liga with a serious record in
domestic and international football. That is not the case when Moyes spends
£1.5 million on Tim Cahill from Millwall or £2 million on Mikel Arteta from
Real Sociedad. Even some of his top-end signings such as Joleon Lescott, at
£5 million from Wolverhampton Wanderers, or the hefty £11.25 million
invested in bringing Yakubu Ayegbeni from Middlesbrough, qualify as huge
gambles for a club with reduced resources.
As Kevin Keegan is surely about to discover at Newcastle United, it is hard
for an ambitious club to make headway given the many disparities in the
modern game. Between fourth and fifth place hides a glass ceiling. There was
a time when a club of Everton’s standing might hope to hang on to a player
such as Wayne Rooney long enough for him to make a difference; in the modern
climate he was sold to Manchester United after two seasons at the age of 18.
From Tranmere Rovers, maybe, the haste would be understandable, but Everton?
All the advantages are with the establishment now. In 2005, when Everton
made it into the Champions League, the coefficient rankings ensured a
difficult tie with Villarreal, of Spain, who went on to reach the last four.
The much-vaunted reforms of Michel Platini, the Uefa president, do fresh
contenders from the leading leagues few favours, either, consigning them to
play off against each other and making it even harder for an inexperienced
club to gain entry to the competition. By keeping the coefficient system in
place, however, Platini has further cemented the grip of the elite. No
wonder the biggest of Uefa’s regulars did not complain about his proposals
for long.
This evening, Everton will play Chelsea, a club who have the jump on them in
every field imaginable, from geographical to financial. If Chelsea truly
desire a place in the Carling Cup final it will be hard to stop them and
another year will pass without a trophy at Goodison. That is the way it is
these days. Some may say that Everton have failed, but in essence they have
been let down by the system. Pound for pound, Moyes could have the best team
in the country and it is to football’s shame that a fat lot of good it may
do him.
For all the plaudits about what Bill has done for the club - and I was one to shake his hand on Goodison Road when he got in - the man is determined to keep control of the club, even when the possibility of outside sources coming in to take the burden have been put forward to him or sourced by his team. Bill refused their terms because he still wanted overall control of the trainset. What investor is willing to pump 20/30/40 million into a club that came within a whisker (or a Rooney transfer) of Barclay's bank calling in the administrators - and concede control?
The answer is none. That's why he's still in charge. I think if you talk to the majority of fans who actually go the game, the old 'Blue Bill' routine of harling back to "riding the ground on the handlebars of a bike and watching the match from the boys pen" are a slap in the face. There are 40,000 there every week who don't feel the need to throw out soundbites of how much they love the club. They just get on with it. We tend to leave all the dressing up in outfits and chest beating for the cameras to the people over the other side of the park.
The one big question is Kirkby, and as an Evertonian first - as he himself puts it - there should have been one answer from Bill. NO. Never.
Nothing but the best will do. Keep Everton in Our City.
Dave Lennon, New York,
Everton will ALWAYS be in the shadow of Liverpool...ALWAYS..Have you seen Liverpools new 71,000 seater stadium?...its looks Awesome and it will tower over Goodison.
Kerry, London, UK
Mr. Samuel,
I couldnt agree more with this. As an Arsenal Supporter, I truly respect the job that David Moyes has done with the Toffees. I think they will be in the Champions League next year ahead of the red half of Liverpool. They're a scrappy side. To be honest, it wont be long before they win some sort of domestic cup or maybe even the UEFA Cup this year. They are the club with the best chance of toppling the "Big Four".
Peter Sandre, Baldwin, New York, United States
Well put Martin. Also agreed by-and-large with your assessment of the match - although the atmosphere was excellent throughout and the fans were pretty forgiving of the players for coming up short.
Did you write this in part to wind Tony Evans up?
Toffee Dan
Daniel Miller, Southport, Wiltshire
Brilliant article. Everton represent football the way we loved it : an old-fashioned stadium, massively loyal supporters ( 60% of season ticket holders live within a 3 mile radius of the ground and English players ( 8 out of the 12 who played Wigan were British - you'd struggle to find a couple of Arsenal players who speak English, nevermind are English !)
Kelvin, bromborough,
Great article, definately agree on the Everton points and that from a london born gunner (I say london born as I always get comments from chelsea boys, funny in itself)
jay, cardiff,
a breath of fresh air,excellent article, putting everton in perspective..true evertonians know the difficulties faced in the past , but with a little luck the team will show that "the blues"
northern variety that is are a team worth noting..
jim lawless, dorchester,
Re:Daniel towett minneapolis USA,
as a season ticket holder based in liverpool i must have missed something.... - "does anyone remember a few years ago when they almost fired David Moyes? Didn't everton fans hurl insults at this man when things were not all rosy? amazing how they heap praise on him now"
Since the start of Moyes tenure i can't ever recollect Davey ever being threatened with the sack by the board, as we live in a country where freedom of speech is allowed perhaps you may have picked up on a number of frustrated toffee's on this or other forums thoughts on his tactical prowess etc and they may have called into question his credentials but i can assure you that the vast majority of evertonians have always backed Davey. Maybe from the hotbed of football in minneapolis the story is different and everyone over there was, a season or two ago, scrambling for Davey's dismissal but somehow i doubt it? stick to discussing MLS/NHL/NFL/NBA and leave proper sport to us brits
sean long, liverpool, UK
Spot on; a really good and truthful read which, as you say, shames football as it is presently formulated.
Tony Waring, Frogmore, Devon
Until there is a cap on the amount of money a club can spend on transfers in one season the status quo will continue evermore until another bored billionaire buys himself a plaything.
jimmy french, liverpool, uk
Excellent article...every word is true about the Everton side of today who deserve to win the 2nd leg...
Santosh Benjamin, Manipal, India
does anyone remember a few years ago when they almost fired David Moyes? Didn't everton fans hurl insults at this man when things were not all rosy? amazing how they heap praise on him now. Good work mr.Moyes.
Daniel towett, minneapolis, MN/USA
As a Toffee it's great to read such a spot-on article but the long term future still depresses me ... the system will stay the same and even if one of the Big Four were to fall from grace (Liverpool?) what "moral" satisfaction would there be in taking their place ... and becoming part of the system that most real football fans detest anyway?
Bren, widnes,
Well done Martin. Moyes has done an excellent job, as have Everton FC as awhole. Surely the emotion/essence in any cup is the slaying of a bigger scalp- Good luck tonight Everton.
I am a Liverpool supporter.
Tony
A E Willis, London, UK
Sorry but if you look at wenger's record he has spent on average 2 million net a year since he arrived - Genius
Norman Hill, wakefield,
"it will be hard to stop [Chelsea] and another year will pass without a trophy at Goodison"
If Everton lose tonight, they still have a chance of winning UEFA Cup.
Pablo, Montevideo, Uruguay
Huge appreciation and thanks Martin - from a long standing, ever hopeful Evertonian. As others have said, it is so refreshing to see an article about someone other than the 'big teams', but it is also about time someone gave recognition to just exactly what David Moyes has managed to accomplish. In the light of not winning anything, even a minority of our own fans have lacked faith but as it stands right now, even if we go out of the Carling cup tonight, I think he has achieved nothing less than a miracle.
Julie Naybour, Liverpool (living in Chicago), USA
I admit I was thinking everton even before finishing the first paragraph. but I think you're being hard on arsenal (and I say that as a united fan). up til the first half of this season, you'd probably have had to pick spurs, though (who, like everton, used to be part of a big five that didn't include chelsea). any manager who spent money on andy johnson can't get more than a half-hearted pat on the back.
if you're going to talk about good management and running a club as it should be run - until the ridiculous takeover burdened united with a ton of debt - bear in mind that united was debt-free and the reason they could afford players was because more people came to see them play. which seems entirely fair. at chelsea, it's merely a matter of buying success by throwing money at the club - and they would have been under water if abramovich hadn't bailed them out. united is still a well-run club except for the debt and the debt and new owner have not bought success. not at all.
jem, london, uk
I admit I was thinking everton even before finishing the first paragraph. but I think you're being hard on arsenal (and I say that as a united fan). up til the first half of this season, you'd probably have had to pick spurs, though (who, like everton, used to be part of a big five that didn't include chelsea). any manager who spent money on andy johnson can't get more than a half-hearted pat on the back.
if you're going to talk about good management and running a club as it should be run - until the ridiculous takeover burdened united with a ton of debt - bear in mind that united was debt-free and the reason they could afford players was because more people came to see them play. which seems entirely fair. at chelsea, it's merely a matter of buying success by throwing money at the club - and they would have been under water if abramovich hadn't bailed them out. united is still a well-run club except for the debt and the debt and new owner have not bought success. not at all.
jem, london, uk
a great article and maybe you can take it one step further. In our domestic cups there is a seeding system that allows the little fish a chance to have cup run rather than being fed to the lions from day one, but all the lions start at the same time (or are CL teams still excused from 1st round?). Why can't the CL simply draw all teams out of a hat and ride with that. It should be a cup competition with all the excitement of cup upsets etc etc. Then teams that have successful domestic seasons could have a chance to get through into the latter stages! Champions League? They're having a laugh!! It is even named incorrectly...Liverpool haven't won the title for something like 20 years but keep getting extra funds from CL which just makes the gap get bigger and bigger. I am proud to be a blue and I like many Evertonians am still bitter concerning our expulsion from Europe in the 80's and the subsequent dismantling of our team and future aspirations for domestic and European success!!!
Neal D Farley, Kirkby and Bucharest, England and Romania
"and since 2006 have played at a 60,000-capacity stadium that has cemented Arsenal’s place as London’s premier club, however many millions Roman Abramovich throws at Chelsea"
What is the basis of Martin's above comments based upon ? Facts. Since 2006 Arsenal have failed to win a trophy. In that time Chelsea have lifted 2 PL titles, a League Cup & an FA Cup! (take this comparison back to 2005 & the trophy count climbs to 5-1 in Chelsea's favour). For good measure Chelsea have also have finished above Arsenal in the PL for the past THREE seasons!? Do journalists no longer study their facts?
Kevin , London ,
nice article, its good to hear someone speak of the premiership without a distinct bias toward the "money 4"
thanks and good luck to everton this evening
Ken right, widnes,
Enough sarcasm. There's definitely something special about Everton. Sorry.
David Walker, Ponteland, U.K.
there is no doubt that blue bill loves the club and he has done some good!there is no doubt that we have problems at the club behind closed doors, but which clubs dont?brilliant article that hits the nail on the head!well done and come on you blue boys tonight!!
danny atherton, wirral, england
Great article. Nothing more to say than that. Good work Martin.
Bentley, London,
Another fantastic article by the big man. An interesting argument that certainly hits the right note with me, and I'm a Hammers fan. I fully agree that Everton without a shadow of doubt have proven what a class side they are and have been under Moyes. His passion and enthusiasm really reverberates throughout the team. It's good to define success in a different way other "how much money have you got"
D.Perry Eltham, London
Dan PErry, Eltham, London
The sign of a good sports writer is to see the wider picture where others repeat the obvious. Well done, big Martin, you hit the net with this one. Everton were once one of the 'big five' who were hoping to start a super league with others in Europe in the eighties; then Heysel changed their fortune forever. As they say, 'There, but for the grace of God,,, (goes Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool).'
Dave C, London, Middlesex
Thanks Martin a bit of recognition but to be honest its not all rosy in the garden. Moyes' ability to spot bargins, Cahill, Yobo, etc. is the cornerstone of our return on our investments. The club itself though Kenwright, and the increasingly unpopular CEO, Wyness is another matter.
All in all Kenwright is an amatuer that allows his CEO to sell off every available asset to try and 'hold' the clubs debt in time for his next salary appraisal. The problem is we now have nothing left to sell, we don't own our training ground and Goodison is in the hands of an off-shoot company. The customer relations are as bad as there were in the 80's.
We've been lucky that we've got a manager who can, in the main, sucessfully wheel and deal for players that fit his criteria. Some of this has been forced on him by the boards inability to raise any significant funds and a refusal (to their credit) to spend beyond their means - Its a bit like Villa used to be with Doug Ellis.
Ravo Stanley, Liverpool,
I'm a Gooner but can't argue with the suggestion of Everton - have admired their club and they have a cracking manager - about time someone wrote about something other than the usual four - even fans of those teams get bored with it after a while.
I do, however, take point with your casual mention of Swing Out Sister. I was fourteen when "Breakout" was a hit and really fancied the lead singer.
Other than that, another great article Martin.
J.Wilkes, Gloucester,
Hurray! I love Everton, every year I hope and pray that we will win something but even though we don't, we still have the best team in the world. COME ON YOU TOFFEES!!!
Jaine, Sydney, Australia
A great article, and as an Evertonian, one I find hard to disagree with on any point. Danny - keep up from your distant base. A new ground for next to nothing? The planning application would suggest Everton need to find £80M now, and it's going up month on month.
The credit for the current success goes to Moyes and the players. The board, however, have much to answer for.
David Thompson, Crosby, UK
Pound for pound?
Everton can only deal in pennies,
Every little helps,
Phil, Liverpool, UK
Finally some respect from the press thank you. Bill Kenwright got the same welcome the red fans are giving their new owners and he is a scouser,red fans take note ?
I remember going back home to Liverpool and went to goodison to see them play sunderland and watched Mr Kenwright stand outside the ground before the game and just stand there and shake hands and chat with anyone who approached him."Sir you made a great impression on me that day"
We seem to have a wonderful organisation in place now at the club to build on,and a new ground for next to nothing out of pocket to the club is ours to blow, lets not ,lets run with it and not look back. EVERTON EVERTON EVERTON SOUNDS GREAT.
Danny Ward, Atlanta GA, USA