Kev's Still Super - The Pro Campbell Camp

By Chris Kirwan
August 19 2002

Does Kevin Campbell deserve the criticism that has been levelled at him by certain sections of the Goodison crowd recently? I don't think that he does....

Since Walter Smith offered Kevin Campbell a new contract he has failed to find the back of the net with the same ease as when he first arrived at Goodison. This has led to accusations of Campbell being a mercenary who is merely interested in lining his own pockets with Everton’s gold.

Last season Kevin Campbell by his own admission had a poor season; his goals return was simply not good enough. This run of bad form happened to coincide with the aforementioned new contract. But to label him as a man more interested in money than success on the pitch is unfair, there are plenty of other players on inflated salaries who are not producing the goods at Goodison. Messer’s Ferguson, Alexandersson, and Pistone are only three of many who are paid vast sums, but all too rarely perform to their potential. Yet it is Campbell who bares the brunt of the abuse, and is cited as prime example of modern day footballers having it all too easy.

Last season Kevin Campbell suffered all sorts of injury problems, yet he played on for the Blues through the pain barrier. We often saw a Kevin Campbell who was clearly unfit, trying hard to steal a goal. In a season where the Blues seemed cursed by injury Campbell was one of the few first team members who grinned and bared it, and did himself a disservice by doing so. Whereas others watched from the stands and preserved their reputations Campbell played when clearly carrying to much weight, and without enough training under his belt. As a result his touch wasn’t good enough, and he lost the anticipation that is all-important to every striker.

Campbell also suffered at the hands of the Walter Smith tactical master-class. What does a striker short of fitness and carrying a back injury need? A midfield with as much creative talent as your average boy band, and long balls flung forward, with the injured striker expected to win and hold up the ball from a 6 foot 2 centre back. And then when encouraged by the crowd to charge down the ‘keeper when he’d received a back-pass he would be lambasted by the very same people when caught offside by another thump forward when returning. Hardly conditions in which he was going to prosper.

So to this season, and the hope that the Blues’ front line would be back in better working order. While Ferguson was unfit to start yet again (but this time they’ve hopefully got to the root of all his injury problems, have you heard that before?!), Campbell has come back looking a lot more lean and is visibly sharper. The new tight kit doesn’t embarrass him like it would have last year.

Against Tottenham there were more than a few shouts against Campbell, yet I felt he didn’t have too bad a game. If Moyes is to persist with the ambitious 4-3-3 then he needs a man who can hold the ball up, and Campbell made a valiant effort to do so on the opening day of the season. Despite being pitched against two excellent centre backs in Richards and Gardner he won a fair share of the ball and introduced the midfield into attack. Of course he failed to do what strikers are ultimately measured by and score a goal, but what was encouraging was that he was willing to back himself; when Gravesen fed the ball into the box in the first half he had a go himself rather than leaving it to Naysmith who was approaching on his left. And don’t forget it was him who fed Radzinski in to level matters.

Everton need a big season from Campbell if we are to do well, and it isn’t through lack of effort that he will fail. Campbell is a far more reliable bet than Dunc to lead the attack, and in Rooney and Radzinski he has the men to create chances. He is also still the Everton player I would prefer to see presented with a one-on-one, being far more dependable than Ferguson or Radzinski. All I ask is for his doubters to not judge him on last year’s efforts.