Source: Liverpool_Echo
Leon Osman desperate to end trophy drought - Everton FC latest
IT WAS the proud moment in the spotlight which Evertonians had craved for 14 long years.[LNB]Everton's dramatic FA Cup run last season had it all. Two fraught stalemates against Liverpool before a last-minute victory at Goodison, then a heart-stopping semi-final triumph over Manchester United.[LNB]Then that sunny day in May arrived, when all that effort and passion was set to hang on 90 minutes against a Chelsea side ravenous for any silverware.[LNB]Despite taking the lead through a Louis Saha strike within 26 seconds, there was to be no fairytale.[LNB]In the energy-sapping temperatures Everton's hopes wilted. At the end, the anguish was shared evenly on the faces of players and supporters.[LNB]They had come so close.[LNB]And once again supporters were deflated by this season's FA Cup exit, albeit in a less acute way.[LNB]The Blues have built to a head of steam. The players believe they are ready to win something. The fans believe they are ready to win something. Even the commentators have started to tip them...[LNB]Yet still the wait goes on. It is a frustration which particularly eats at Leon Osman, at 28 a relative veteran of David Moyes' current squad.[LNB]'We came so close last season in the FA Cup final and it was a good three or four months before I got over the fact that we didn't come away with the trophy,' he says.[LNB]'It's really a big aim for the whole squad really. We've got a good squad together, we've finished sixth, fifth and fifth in the league.[LNB]'Everyone knows that the aims is to get back up there and we feel as a group of players that we should be there or thereabouts.[LNB]'I don't want to finish my career with nothing to show for it. I want to win a medal, not just for myself but for the club. The club deserves to be back winning things in the big time. A club this size deserves that.'[LNB]Despite the irritation of another barren year in terms of silverware, Osman has enjoyed a fine season.[LNB]Often deployed in his favoured central position he has responded with some magnificent performances, in particular his offering in the 3-1 victory over Manchester United at Goodison.[LNB]'I'm enjoying it. For someone with the attributes I've got, I'm probably best in the middle,' he says. 'I'll give you the best I can possibly give you on the right, but I'm most comfortable in the middle.[LNB]'I just enjoy being on the pitch to be honest. I'd play left-back or in goal if they asked me.[LNB]I've played up front in the past, left, right, holding midfield, man marker.
