Perfect send-off for Lee Carsley, Mr Consistent
SAYING goodbye to Lee Carsley feels like it marks the end of an era. His Everton career has run pretty much alongside David Moyes's and as the team have developed so has the Irish midfielder.
From being initially regarded as something of a journeyman midfielder he grew into the 'anchor' role in the five-man midfield and established himself as one of the most consistent performers in a team that has qualified for Europe two seasons running.
It's easy to understand the attraction of the two-year deal he's being offered at St Andrews though, and likewise Everton's reticence to match Birmingham's offer. So it's been an amicable and grown-up parting of the ways, which is nice to see in a game where players, clubs and agents increasingly create ugly situations to get the outcomes they desire.
Alex McLeish is getting a terrific player; one Everton could struggle to replace. Presumably Moyes is in the market for a younger player who is more mobile and offers more in terms of using the ball. If, from all of the scores of continental midfielders he is being linked with, he manages to unearth one who has all that and can still match Carsley's defensive capabilities then we can look forward to watching a cracker.
It's easy to overlook how effective Carsley has been, but you can bet that the likes of Joseph Yobo and Joleon Lescott appreciate the amount of protection they have had from him. The players we are being linked with all look very exciting, and presumably they constitute the 'next level' that we are aiming for. You just have to hope though that they adapt to English football immediately and they are as willing to muck in with the type of work-rate and the team ethic that is expected of them at Everton.
The other danger is that some players view anyone but the top four as merely stepping stones to something bigger. It was disappointing, for instance, to see Lasanna Diarra speculating about his future immediately after FA Cup final when he only seems to have been at Portsmouth for 10 minutes.
That just seems to be the way of the world though when you are dealing with the better players who are fully aware of their own worth.
The Everton manager certainly knows his as well, and by all accounts Bill Kenwright agrees with him and a deal could be done soon to keep him at Goodison for another five years. That always seemed the most likely outcome but still almost every Evertonian will be relieved when Moyes puts pen to paper.
For one it will mean that we keep hold of one of the top managers in the country, and secondly it confirms that he likes the look of the board's plans for the club's future. He must have been promised a decent amount of money for transfers; exactly where it is going to come from though is anyone's guess.
Big guns await
THE speculation about the futures of Roberto Mancini and Frank Lampard are the biggest stories coming out of Italy as the dust settles on the final week of Serie A, but for Everton a more interesting point to note is the almost unheard of news that AC Milan never qualified for the Champions League.
That means they will contest next season's UEFA Cup, and despite their present problems they are surely going to be the team to beat. Presumably though, the Rossoneri will already be nervous themselves at the prospect of facing the Toffees, who still owe them one for a defeat in the same competition in 1975.
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"the Rossoneri will already be nervous themselves at the prospect of facing the Toffees"
Made my day, that.