Talking To The Enemy

[jamiemaher85]

This weeks instalement has been conducted with Dave Knapper from http://www.whydelilah.co.uk

 

 

1) How has your season met your pre-season expectations?

 

At the start of the season, an abundance of so-called experts said that Stoke would “do a Derby” in spectacular fashion. I think the only people who believed the Potters would put up more of a fight than the rams, was the folk of Stoke-on-Trent.

We all know that a Tony Pulis side is hard to break down and will very rarely get a total pasting (our 5-0 defeat at Manchester United aside) and the fans that have seen his Stoke side over the years know how resilient they usually are.

Some of the scalps we have claimed including Villa and Arsenal, and the fact that Liverpool have failed to beat us on two separate occasions does show how well drilled and solid we are. Yes there has been some terrible showings along the way, but the Premier League experience is a new thing to a few of our players.

I never thought we’d “do a Derby” and we find ourselves with a chance of survival with just over two months left of the season. Something only the people in the Potteries would have bought into at the start of the season.

 

2) If you where to go down this season how easy do you think it would be to make an instant return, and if you stay up how easy do you think it will be to maintain Premiership status?

 

I don’t think you can easily answer those kind of questions any more. Because the gulf between the Premier League and Championship is growing every year, less and less teams are yo-yoing between the leagues like they once did. You only have to look at Chartlon and Southampton for teams who didn’t make it back and now look years off another Premier push.

Many fans of relegated teams expect an immediate return but the stats show that it doesn’t happen all too often anymore. Look at West Brom, Bryan Robson kept hold of his side yet they didn’t go straight back up and had to bide their time.

But if we keep our side together there should be no reason for us to be at least challenging. We have Premier League quality players in Sorensen, Abdoulaye Faye, Beattie and Etherington, and with a core like that I would expect us to be in the mix if we were to go down.

If we stay up, and it remains a very big if, then I think we should emulate the likes of Bolton who have taken a firm grip of their Premier League position by strengthening year on year.

Tony Pulis is good at convincing players to come to Stoke and if he keeps us up, I’d expect the chairman, Peter Coates to back the boss and get some more decent players in.

Stoke-on-Trent is a football city and with Port Vale floundering, the Potters are getting more fans by the week. If we stay up, the sky is the limit. If Pompey had two England internationals up front at the start of the season, then we shouldn’t do ourselves a disservice. Once you have stayed up you can build.

 

 

3) James Beattie can best be described as a fat mess during his time at Everton. He has been a clear hit with you so far. What do you think about him and do you believe that his goals could be enough to keep you up?

 

 

I think calling him a ‘fat mess’ is quite disrespectful to a player who still finished as Everton’s top scorer in his first full season at the club. Because it was a lot of money for Everton at the time, he obviously had a lot to live up to and didn’t manage it.

By dropping a division to get his confidence back shows that he is anything but a ‘fat mess’.

He has been fantastic for us. His overall work rate, enthusiasm, skill, and ability has left many of us dancing in the terraces. We just need to come up with a decent song for him!

Five goals in seven so far and it was his cross that set up Ryan Shawcross to kickstart our comeback against Villa.

If he keeps scoring and creates a partnership with either Mama Sidibe or Ricardo Fuller, then yes, I think the man ‘Beats’ could keep us up. They’re even talking about an England call up in these parts!

 

4) Who has been your best performer this year?

 

 

There are a few going for that title. But without boring you by talking about all them, I’ll say Abdoulaye Faye. We got him for just over £2 million from Newcastle United to further confirm the fact that Kevin Keegan does not know what a defender is.

Faye never stops working, he is fearless and throws himself into every tackle and challenge. His performances have lead to him being given the captaincy and respected by fans and players. His team mates are always quick to say it only takes one look from Abdoulaye to let them know they are doing something wrong. He has become an idol among fans who see him as the embodiment of our fight, spirit and pride this season.

 

5) Who has been your weakest performer this year?

 

Weakest. Well that would be Dave Kitson. Signed him for £5.5 million and he didn’t get one goal. His body language annoyed fans who just didn’t think he was up for it.

It seems he was put in a position that didn’t suit his game, and just this morning he went back to Reading on loan. Few tears have been shed among the Potters faithful.

But it’s massive shame we couldn’t get the best out of him.

 

6) What do you think about Everton's season so far?

 

As usual Everton continue to defy everyone. David Moyes must be one of the most underrated bosses there is. Quietly going about his business, unlike the bloke at the other side of Stanley Park, and with all the injuries he has had to endure, he still keeps you rocking along.

When you came to the Brit you were somewhat ripe for the taking and ask any Stoke fan, and that’s a game we feel we should have got something from.

Everton have a good mix of players who have gelled and an FA Cup win would be fantastic for your patient fans.

 

7) Predictions for the game?

 

I’m sitting on the fence. 1-1. After our comeback at Villa and the way we disposed of Bolton, the team are in a buoyant mood. And with an away end packed with 3,000 Stokies roaring them on, I hope we can get a point.

[Guest efctaxi]

Have to agree with the guy about Beattie .

[Bill]

Nice one again Jamie, and thanks to the only one who replied Dave Knapper, he at least saved all your time and hard work ending up fruitless.

[jamiemaher85]

For anyone that is interested, Dave Knapper, who completed our Talking To The Enemy section conducted an interview himself for Sentinal. Your's truley answered a few of the questions.

 

 

 

In the hotseat this week are Jamie Maher (JM), a 23-year-old freelance filmmaker and moderator for ToffeeTalk, Lisa Thomas (LT), a 17-year-old sales advisor from Widnes, and David Boyle (DB), a 34-year-old Evertonian currently working in Nigeria.

 

Why Delilah's Dave Knapper (DK) asked the questions.

 

DK: Everton are within touching distance of fifth spot and are in the FA Cup semi-finals, is this how you saw the season panning out?

 

JM: At the end of last season season I would have said yes. The confidence around the club was at the highest point it has been since the eighties. However things really stagnated over the summer, lack of funds and Moyes’ biding his time over a new contract detracted from the good work we had put in the previous year. This all added to the very poor start of to the season that we had, I am as surprised as anyone that we have raised our game so much since such a poor summer and poor start. Many other teams would have crumbled with the constant injury problems that we have had throughout the year.

 

LT: I think it's going a lot better then expected, after the Tottenham game when we lost all our strikers to injury with such a small squad, already myself and many fans expected the worst. I personally can't wait to see my team play at Wembley, which will be a first for myself.

 

DB: Yes and No. I always look for a good cup run and the FA Cup has not been that way for us in the last few seasons. The UEFA Cup exit was a massive blow to me, but the league position is where I figured we would be. So, overall, not that bad.

 

DK: And come the end of the campaign, what do you think will have happened?

 

JM: Honestly, I think that we will finish sixth in the league, qualify for Europe and lose to Manchester United in the semi-final of the FA Cup. Overall I think that would be a good season for us, I just wish we had more success in Europe. Maybe next year!

 

LT: I think we will be back in Europe and the gap between ourselves and fifth will be smaller then it originally is. I think out of Arsenal and Aston Villa we have the easier run in, however we have our eyes on the cup.

 

DB: Aston Villa will be caught, Man United will win convincingly points wise and Everton should hold sixth. I would like to think we could move further up, but injuries have been disastrous for us this season... and not likely to improve with Arteta out.

 

DK: So who’s been your star man this season?

 

JM: Phil Jagielka has been our most consistent player throughout this year. His solid and calm performances have saved us many games and many points. Mikel Arteta has had some fantastic games for us around Christmas time but it took him a long time for him to get going this year so it would not be fair to consider him our star man. Timmy Cahill and Phil Neville also get honourable mentions.

 

LT: Phil Jagielka has been outstanding as usual, but I will go with Tim Cahill, due to the fact for most of the season he has had to play up front by himself, he sets a great example to the rest of the team and will throw himself into anything for the club.

 

DB: Jagielka for me, head and shoulders the best defender outside the big four. He had Torres in his pocket for three derby matches and not many can state that.

 

DK: And who has been a disappointment?

 

JM:A few players have not lived up to the levels they set for themselves last season but I would not say anyone has been hugely disappointing. Before his injury which ruled him out for the season Yakubu looked unfit and lazy, arguably we started to play better once he had been ruled out. Also Lescott took a long time to get his head into the game. He was our star last season but let himself down in the first three months of this season. Thankfully he has now started to turn in performances similar to last year.

 

LT: Leon Osman, however I think this more due to our small squad, he has been moved out to the right wing and he clearly isn't a winger so goes missing a lot during games.

 

DB: Anichebe and Yakubu.

 

DK: A flop at Manchester City, but two goals so far for Everton, how has Jo looked?

 

JM: The first game he played he had a real touch of class and we saw a player that City had not seen in six months at the club. However, since then he has struggled to get into games and has rarely looking like a genuine threat. It is important to note that in his second game that Arteta was taken off injured, so the chances created for him have been limited, so it's not fair to aim too much criticism at him just yet. I think the jury is still out.

 

LT: In the Bolton game he was fantastic, he looked a breath of fresh air, but after losing Arteta to injury, we have lacked a lot of creativity, so therefore hasn't been provided with much.

 

DB: He has looked okay. It is a cliche, but confidence is everything and he needed it. With Everton he can gain some of it back as he will always be in with a chance of a start as we have such a small squad.

 

DK: Speaking of strikers, a former Toffee, James Beattie, will return to Goodison Park on Saturday, what do you make of him, and what kind of reception should he expect?

 

JM: He performed well in short spells, but his career at Everton can’t really be considered a success, especially his last season with us where he would regularly miss sitters. Andy Johnson’s arrival at the club forced Beattie out of the squad and he struggled to return, especially as he clearly put a lot of weight on towards the end of his time with us.

 

I think he’ll get a good reception on his return. He certainly will not have any hostility aimed towards him. Personally I think he’ll have something to prove and I can see him scoring.

 

LT: James was a great professional, very much liked by the fans and we have all looked out for him at Sheffield United and now at Stoke.

 

He will get a great reception, as already stated, he loved the club and the fans, his only issue was the manager. He has also declared he won't celebrate if he scores, I'm sure he will get another round of applause if he keeps to his promise.

 

DB: I like JB and wish him well. He is a good pro and a nice guy. He didn't get the service he needed at Everton due to a style of play and it is no surprise he has scored elsewhere. Good luck to him.

 

DK: On to Saturday’s game, what are you expecting from Stoke? And what do you think the score will be?

 

JM: I have been impressed with Stoke this year, especially considering how poorly many had predicted they would do in the Premier League. I think that Stoke will be hard to break down, and with the loss of much of our strike force and the creativity that Arteta affords us I think that we could struggle. I think it will be a scrappy 1-1 draw, with Beattie scoring for you.

 

LT: I think Stoke will surprise us, I'm not to sure about our team, but I think our fans have been taken away by the prospect of Wembley a little too much, so this game has come around quite quick. Stoke don't have the best of records away from home, but showed what they could do at Villa and we have been poor of late. I think this could be our toughest test since Arteta has been out.

 

DB: A cagey start, scrappy in midfield and Stoke out to bully rather than play. Everton will get into the game and come out with a 1-0 win late in the game.

 

DK: Finally, looking at the table, which three teams do you think will be relegated?

 

JM: West Brom are a given to be honest. For the other two I think that you could go down along with Boro. However, I would like Newcastle to go down instead of you.

 

LT: West Brom, Bolton and Newcastle

 

DB: So tight, but West Brom and Boro, but the third, I really, really have no idea. I would love to see Newcastle go down as they are the most disillusioned fans ever. For some reason they think they are a big team. Stadium size doesn't mean that.