ACCORDING to boffins with too much time on their hands, the saddest day of this year was officially calculated as January 22. Something to do with dark mornings, Christmas debts and distant holidays. Evertonians, however, beg to differ. For a start, January 22 happens to be the birthday of their club’s greatest ever player, which is surely a reason to celebrate. And there are other reasons for believing that some time in July is the day most Blues get the blues – notably the angst-ridden calls which deluge the Old Hall Street branch of the Samaritans (i.e. my desk phone). It’s been like that for years. Every year, even when the sun does decide to shine, a vocal number of Blues fans are engulfed by the darkest of depressions at exactly this time of year. And they seek reassurance from the ECHO. The questions rarely change. “Where’s the money gone?” “Why no signings?” “Is Andy van der Meyde still there?” Last season I even had a “We’re a club in crisis!” before the Blues proceeded to romp back into Europe, reach a cup semi-final and enjoy the best UEFA Cup run in the club’s history. The wails reached such a crescendo last July that I even appealed on these pages for the phone-in moaners to stop whingeing, wise up and be patient. And happily the Toffees’ performances proceeded to make such advice look sensible. The nay-sayers have been at it again this week. But this time I’m more sympathetic. Goodison is not as settled a ship as a side which has just finished fifth should be. For a start, four players have gone, one a hugely influential figure whose contribution I fear will become increasingly apparent as the season progresses. And as of last night there were still no signs that Everton can even afford a replacement, let alone land one. Then there are key figures recovering from surgery, the unfortunate delay to a kit launch, a pre-season fixture postponed because there weren’t enough bodies to fulfil it, and a transfer policy which appears to be dictated by Hazel Blears. The biggest concern, however, is that David Moyes has still not put pen to paper on a new contract. And even more worrying is the lack of dialogue about that delay. | 
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