Dominic King: No neutrals in this season of good will

While there was no negotiating with the FA over the paltry allocation Everton received for the FA Cup final, chairman Bill Kenwright has managed to bump up the numbers of Blues who will get to Wembley today after writing to his counterparts in the division.

Kenwright has been inundated with e-mails and phone calls ever since Phil Jagielka's penalty hit the back of Ben Foster's net in the semi-final and has tried to find ways to facilitate requests as best he could.

It was only after a phone call from Portsmouth's chief executive Peter Storrie, however, that he struck upon the idea of contacting those clubs who had been given tickets and might not require them.

"Peter, who is a good friend of mine, rang me up and said 'I know how you must be going through' as he had the same problems last year when Portsmouth played Cardiff," Kenwright explained. "He said I could have his two tickets.

"So I then sent a round robin letter to all Premier League clubs pleading for seats and the amount of replies I received was fantastic; there was a special one from (Tottenham's) Daniel Levy, who wanted his four tickets to go to supporters who really deserved it.

"The clubs in the North West all responded and though they couldn't give us any, they assured me that their tickets had gone to the right people. Eventually I probably got back about an extra two dozen - probably a bit more - to be distributed to our fans."

Would the same thing have happened if the letter had been penned by somebody at Chelsea? Draw your own conclusions. Safe to say, though, that there is a will among the neutrals who will be watching this afternoon to see Everton lift the Cup.

Another thing that we can safely assume - even after Kenwright's efforts - is that there will be more than the official number of 25,109 inside Wembley rooting for Everton; having waited 14 years for the chance of this type of day out, few will stay at home.

From the moment ball three was paired alongside ball 28 shortly before 4pm on January 4 - the date and time Everton and Liverpool were paired together - there has been a feeling that this Cup campaign could turn out to be extra special for the Blues.

Mind you, there is a suspicion that David Moyes has been thinking in such a way for many months, probably from the moment that Standard Liege wrecked their UEFA Cup dreams last October.

This column told the story of how in the press conference that followed the morning after defeat in Belgium, Moyes quietly and calmly delivered the words: "Who knows? Maybe this could be our year in the FA Cup?"

It took a great leap of faith to believe him straight away, as Everton's early campaign had lurched from one misery to another; a drubbing in the Merseyside derby had been sandwiched by exits from Europe and the Carling Cup.

One of Moyes' qualities, however, is the ability to keep his head when things are going askew; for example, in the winter of 2005, after a start to the season that beggared belief, he had a meeting with Kenwright and told him how many points would be on the board come the middle of the following March - his prediction turned out to be spot on.

If something similar happens today, there is no guessing when the celebrations will stop but if feelings are anything to go by, prepare to party again like it's 1995 because there is a genuine belief in the camp that they are heading towards a defining moment.

This squad has played too well and been too consistent not to get some form of reward; all we can do now is await the outcome; editorial demands require more than 650 to fill this space but, today, two would have been more than enough.
Win it.

Snub for Baines just caps bizarre selection

JUST when you think you have an idea of how the England manager works, along comes a selection that catches everyone by surprise.

Gary Neville's inclusion in the squad for the World Cup qualifiers with Kazakhstan and Andorra was neither anticipated nor expected and it is puzzling that a man who has struggled with injury this season gets in ahead of somebody with a clean bill of health.

Younger brother Phil has been outstanding for Everton this year and is arguably playing better than at any time when he was selected to represent his country by either Sven Goran Eriksson or Steve McLaren.

But the Blues' skipper not figuring in Fabio Capello's list was not the biggest shock - that belonged to the omission of Leighton Baines, whom the Italian saw sparkle at Stamford Bridge last month.

Baines went head-to-head in that match with Ashley Cole and comprehensively won the battle, earning rave reviews from Moyes afterwards.

Should he do something similar again today at Wembley, Capello's decision will look even more folly.
England's loss, however, is Everton's gain.

Both Baines and Neville will be key to whatever the club hope to achieve next season and summer relaxing won't do them any harm at all.

Name change a small price to pay for Wembley

THE lengths that some fans have gone to in order to get Wembley tickets know no bounds - just ask Carla Drew. Or, more accurately, just ask Carla Juice 107.6FM Drew.

Carla, a 28-year-old civil servant, won a competition run by said radio station for two tickets to today's game but only after she agreed to change her name, hand over a football signed by the cast of Friends and a beloved memory box.

Carla said: "I'm over the moon, I can't believe I've won. I've been trying to get tickets since the semi-final. I'd had no joy even though I'd tried every avenue I could think off."