Source: Liverpool_Echo
David Prentice: Everton FC could do with an FA Cup silver lining
IT was a legitimate query from an ardent Evertonian. Why does Hodgson get so much stick when no-one says a word about Moyes?[LNB]Now you ought to be aware that my interrogator does like a moan.[LNB]But with Liverpool currently three points and five league places ahead of their neighbours, in a supposedly slack season, his moans were not misplaced.[LNB]I delivered a two-word reply.[LNB] Expectation and imagination.[LNB]First imagination. Such has been the quality of Everton's passing and possession this season, it's easy to imagine a second half of the season revival. The Blues don't appear to be too far away from garnering the results their performances deserve.[LNB]Liverpool, however, veer wildly from the sublime (Chelsea at Anfield) to the ridiculous (Wigan and Stoke City away).[LNB]Then there's the expectations.[LNB]Liverpool fans have become conditioned to expect silverware, whether those expectations are realistic or not.[LNB]It might be 20 years since the league title last landed at Anfield. But in that time the Reds have still celebrated three FA Cups, three League Cups, a UEFA cup and perhaps the greatest Champions League triumph of modern times.[LNB]After 15 years with barely one sniff of a trophy (two if you count the Carling Cup semi-final of 2008) Evertonians are not.[LNB]And it's why this weekend's FA Cup draw is so important to the Toffees.[LNB]Joe Royle, the last manager to bring silverware to Goodison Park, joked this week: 'I was negotiating a new contract with Peter Johnson when he told me 'Anyone can win a Cup. It's only six matches'!'[LNB]Tongue in cheek, perhaps - although with PJ you could never be sure - but he had a point.
