What a difference a week makes in football.

A week ago, both Everton and Liverpool knew that a win could send them top. Tonight, phone-ins and letter pages speak louder than bombs in suggesting time could be running out for messrs Benitez and Moyes.

An overstatement perhaps. Though it is difficult to argue that recent events, performances and decisions have caused more fans than usual to question the job security of our favourite David Gest and Groundskeeper Willie / V visitor* look-alikes.

At this point it might be worth me offering a personal stance on the debate before we delve deeper. Having been called an uttertwat, bitter bluenose whinger and genius  based on earlier articles, I do not write this with an ulterior motive. I am a Moyes fan, and though I find Benitez’s inane excuses and complaints laughable, do admire him as a coach and believe most of the criticism to be rather unfair. Apart from of his beard.

Anyway, on with the show.

I do not feel particularly sorry for these two, they come into the job knowing exactly what to expect. Especially on the veritable hotbed of football banter / knowledge that is Merseyside and its associated opportunities for fans to voice their opinion. Both managers have pulled off masterstrokes early on in their career, what with the People’s Club quote and some trophy they won in Constantinople, but it could also be said that both have been a little lucky to stay in a job at times and have never entirely convinced people.

Liverpool at least haven’t been losing games. By all accounts it could have been worse down at Portsmouth, and while the Porto result wasn’t great, a point there is a positive. Expectations are such though, that a niller at home to Birmingham is not acceptable, particularly when you leave arguable your best striker on the bench. That overhead showed his class and it’s not something we’ll have to deal with anytime soon, but squad rotation for the sake of it seems silly when four points are dropped.

Everton have, it has to be said, been a little unlucky in terms of injuries, with Cahill, Arteta, Gravesen, Howard and Vaughan all missing at present. The United game was a strange one, surely at least a couple of these players could have made a difference. As for Metalist, that one match reminded me why I love being an Evertonian so much. The months of expectancy, the late kick off, the atmosphere, the missed penalties… I left with a smile on my face and that says something. As for Villa, bad decisions and a lack of bite meant the Blues were jeered off, some might say let’s put it down to experience and move on.

The title of this article doesn’t mean I apologise for being an uttertwat. It actually refers to our striker situation, by that I mean Andy Johnson, James Beattie and Yakubu. In a way, I’m sorry for each, just for different reasons.

I’m never sure if you should feel sorry for a footballer. Gazza’s tears, horrific injuries, News of the World exposes aside, how can one truly feel sympathy for a grown man paid thousands to live out our dreams? Especially when a small portion of that wage is actually funded by ourselves. Maybe I’m being over-sensitive, it is certainly difficult to feel bad for someone who as an earlier article (one that didn’t actually get too much criticism) described the spectacle of seeing the expensive cars and washbags first hand.

But the fact remains that to fail or make a mistake at the highest level in front of watching thousands must be hard to take sometimes. I’m sure they get used to it from an early age, the growing pressure and exposure being the catalyst for an inflated ego or thickened skin. I hope they do anyway – I know I wouldn’t be able to cope with the guilt or disappointment the three aforementioned might be feeling now.

Like I said, maybe it doesn’t matter to them. It is unlikely that many players can feel as much love and despair as us fans for a club they are merely an employee of at the end of the day, yes there are some exceptions, but nowadays the shirt-kissing and signing on fees suggest a coolness or disassociation from getting too involved, what with the risk of future lucrative pay days or transfer requests. I firmly believe that these three do care to some extent – which is why I worry for their emotional health and well being at present.

Johnson in particular looks a player short on confidence, an attribute much needed as a professional I would presume. His body language and current scoring record do not make good viewing, and certainly neither did his penalties in the UEFA cup. Alright so he’s not our first or second choice penalty taker and I missed a couple for Barton Rovers Under 14s so kind of know how hard it is, but even so, in such an important game, surely only Everton could have had such a laughable experience. The second awarding of a penalty caused many around me in the Gwladys Street to roll their eyes and say “not him”, indeed star performer Baines looked keen to have a go, but Captain Neville made sure AJ stepped up and the rest is history. The question is then, would Johnson want our sympathy? And how long can his goalless streak continue before fans question his place in the team?

Which leads us to Beattie. Yes I know he’s no longer an Everton player but look how well he has started the season, seven goals for Sheffield United. One Sunday paper suggested he was reminding McClaren of his prowess, and pleading not to be overlooked. This is the player who only scored a couple for us last season, was given many chances by the manager and just never took them. I certainly felt sorry for him, as he ran around huffing and puffing across the turf like an ungainly deer. But the whole being paid a lot to do little did negate my anguish somewhat. I sincerely hope James is top scorer this season, he is a fellow Lancastrian after all, but I feel he will always have a little regret that it didn’t work out. Only time will tell if we do too.

As for Yakubu, the way he worked for a move to Everton means he will certainly have few fans or sympathisers. One esteemed writer said his performance in the European match suggested he’d had a bereavement in the family. I’m all for timing runs and preserving energies but when it makes you look lazy and simply not arsed it becomes a problem. I hope we don’t end up sorry we paid so much.

Maybe all three will come good and I’ll be labelled and berated again. But at least I won’t be sorry.

Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite