The feel Goodison factor: Steven Pienaar ready to go back where he belongs

Supreme being: Steven Pienaar scores against Man U

Steven Pienaar’s frustrating 18 months at Tottenham Hotspur will end this week as South Africa’s iconic midfielder returns to Everton for a fee in the region of £5m (R60m).

While top players like Eleazar Rodgers change hands for a maximum of  a mere £550,000 (R7m) in the land of his birth, Goodison Park’s notoriously thrifty supremo Bill Kenwright is prepared to break the bank for Schilla, the Westbury wizard whose return to Everton on loan from Spurs revived the Toffees’ season last January.

With the side languishing in 12^th position before the loan danger’s arrival, Pienaar’s four goals and club-best six assists saw David Moyes’ side finish in seventh position – four points clear of neighbours Liverpool – and Moyes himself accepts: “Stevie just fits with Everton. My job is to get Pienaar back, I’ve been working at that for some time now. I know he’d like to be here.”

According to my sources, after an uncertain summer both clubs believe Pienaar will be playing for Everton when they kick-off the new Premier League season against Manchester United – who landed for their South African tour yesterday – at Goodison Park on August 20.

It was Pienaar’s £3m (R36m) cut-price move from Everton to Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham in January 2011 which led to my fall-out with South Africa’s “superagent” Rob Moore.

At the time, I said on SuperSport’s Thursday Night Live with Robert Marawa that it was a poor move. Moore called me from Barcelona and insisted I apologise for that statement but anybody could have told him Harry had enough midfielders on board in North London, with transformed Welsh full-back Gareth Bale having just made Pienaar’s left-of-midfield channel his own.

Now 30, Pienaar said at the time he was going to Spurs for Champions League football. Sadly, Tottenham fell just short of the top four in 2011 and were forced out when Chelsea won the trophy this year. And he made few friends among the notoriously fickle Spurs fans when he tweeted “well done Chelsea” after their rivals’ shock penalty shoot-out win over Bayern Munich that clinched the final European berth.

Pienaar’s contract was coming to an end at Goodison and with compatriot Bongani Khumalo also bound for Spurs at the time, it may have looked an attractive option. Less than two years later, Khumalo finds himself shipped out to Greek outfit PAOK Thessaloniki and Pienaar is “not needed” by new Spurs boss Andre Villas Boas.

The South African pair are not alone in leaving White Hart Lane – England midfielder Jermaine Jenas, French veteran William Gallas, England striker Jermain Defoe and Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes are among a long list of not-so-Hotspurs with “for sale” written across their foreheads.

Croatian Luca Modric, set to be sold to Real Madrid before the transfer window closes, may open up a space in midfield, but with Bale, Rafa van der Vaart, Scott Parker and Aaron Lennon staying put as the new boys Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jan Vertonghen were unveiled last week, there is apparently no room for Pienaar despite his form for Everton last season.

The Bafana Bafana captain – who may yet the armband taken from him by new coach Gordon Igesund – was not included in the 25-strong picture of the Spurs squad in their new kit last week.

The Pienaar effect:

Before Pienaar’s return, Everton were 14^th in the Premier League.

After his arrival they were transformed in to the third-best side in the league.

Everton won 43% of their games with Pienaar, 37.5% without him.

Without Pienaar, Everton scored just 24 in 24 games. With him, they scored 26 in 14.

Pienaar played just 14 times for Everton but ended the season with the most assists, six.

In his half-season, Pienaar created 32 chances, third best among Everton players.

He also led the way in passes, pass accuracy and through balls.

For more of Pienaar’s incredible stats:

http://www.eplindex.com/14856/everton-steven-pienaar-vital-dispensable-opta-stats.html

My previous blogs concerning Steve Pienaar, Everton, Spurs and Rob Moore (note his comments):

 http://www.neal-collins.blogspot.com/2011/11/when-moore-is-less-re-appointed-bafana.html

http://www.neal-collins.blogspot.com/2012/02/curious-tale-of-steven-pienaars-year-at.htmlSteven Pienaar’s frustrating 18 months at Tottenham Hotspur will end this week as South Africa’s iconic midfielder returns to Everton for a fee in the region of £5m (R60m).

While top players like Eleazar Rodgers change hands for a maximum of  a mere £550,000 (R7m) in the land of his birth, Goodison Park’s notoriously thrifty supremo Bill Kenwright is prepared to break the bank for Schilla, the Westbury wizard whose return to Everton on loan from Spurs revived the Toffees’ season last January.

With the side languishing in 12^th position before the loan danger’s arrival, Pienaar’s four goals and club-best six assists saw David Moyes’ side finish in seventh position – four points clear of neighbours Liverpool – and Moyes himself accepts: “Stevie just fits with Everton. My job is to get Pienaar back, I’ve been working at that for some time now. I know he’d like to be here.”

According to my sources, after an uncertain summer both clubs believe Pienaar will be playing for Everton when they kick-off the new Premier League season against Manchester United – who landed for their South African tour yesterday – at Goodison Park on August 20.

It was Pienaar’s £3m (R36m) cut-price move from Everton to Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham in January 2011 which led to my fall-out with South Africa’s “superagent” Rob Moore.

At the time, I said on SuperSport’s Thursday Night Live with Robert Marawa that it was a poor move. Moore called me from Barcelona and insisted I apologise for that statement but anybody could have told him Harry had enough midfielders on board in North London, with transformed Welsh full-back Gareth Bale having just made Pienaar’s left-of-midfield channel his own.

Now 30, Pienaar said at the time he was going to Spurs for Champions League football. Sadly, Tottenham fell just short of the top four in 2011 and were forced out when Chelsea won the trophy this year. And he made few friends among the notoriously fickle Spurs fans when he tweeted “well done Chelsea” after their rivals’ shock penalty shoot-out win over Bayern Munich that clinched the final European berth.

Pienaar’s contract was coming to an end at Goodison and with compatriot Bongani Khumalo also bound for Spurs at the time, it may have looked an attractive option. Less than two years later, Khumalo finds himself shipped out to Greek outfit PAOK Thessaloniki and Pienaar is “not needed” by new Spurs boss Andre Villas Boas.

The South African pair are not alone in leaving White Hart Lane – England midfielder Jermaine Jenas, French veteran William Gallas, England striker Jermain Defoe and Brazilian goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes are among a long list of not-so-Hotspurs with “for sale” written across their foreheads.

Croatian Luca Modric, set to be sold to Real Madrid before the transfer window closes, may open up a space in midfield, but with Bale, Rafa van der Vaart, Scott Parker and Aaron Lennon staying put as the new boys Gylfi Sigurdsson and Jan Vertonghen were unveiled last week, there is apparently no room for Pienaar despite his form for Everton last season.

The Bafana Bafana captain – who may yet the armband taken from him by new coach Gordon Igesund – was not included in the 25-strong picture of the Spurs squad in their new kit last week.

The Pienaar effect:

Before Pienaar’s return, Everton were 14^th in the Premier League.

After his arrival they were transformed in to the third-best side in the league.

Everton won 43% of their games with Pienaar, 37.5% without him.

Without Pienaar, Everton scored just 24 in 24 games. With him, they scored 26 in 14.

Pienaar played just 14 times for Everton but ended the season with the most assists, six.

In his half-season, Pienaar created 32 chances, third best among Everton players.

He also led the way in passes, pass accuracy and through balls.

For more of Pienaar’s incredible stats:

http://www.eplindex.com/14856/everton-steven-pienaar-vital-dispensable-opta-stats.html

My previous blogs concerning Steve Pienaar, Everton, Spurs and Rob Moore (note his comments):

 http://www.neal-collins.blogspot.com/2011/11/when-moore-is-less-re-appointed-bafana.html

http://www.neal-collins.blogspot.com/2012/02/curious-tale-of-steven-pienaars-year-at.html

The curious tale of Steven Pienaar's year at Spurs: why Moore isn't always merrier

THE Steven Pienaar story is a curious one, and close to my heart. When confirmation dropped that South Africa’s only current world-class player had gone on loan back to his old stomping ground at Goodison Park, I leapt in the air.

The deal to move “Schilla” from Spurs to Everton for the rest of the season was officially confirmed at 11.47pm South African time, nearly 10pm at the FA’s headquarters in London.

His excited twittering since backs up all that we felt about the lad from Westbury’s troubled time in North London, where he found himself in a Spurs squad with his path to glory blocked by a certain Gareth Bale.

And there he was, as the transfer window slowly shut, watching that Welsh wizard Bale thump home two more goals in a record-breaking season against Wigan. Where was South Africa’s international captain? Where he’s been all season – on the bench.

Apparently before kick-off, boss Harry Redknapp had insisted Pienaar had to be part of the squad, despite frantic negotiations with Everton chairman Bill Kenwright. He said he needed the 29-year-old in case of injury.

But what few people knew when the match kicked off was that Harry wanted Everton’s former Manchester United striker Louis Saha at White Hart Lane. And as a consequence, Kenwright had a little leverage in his bid to get Pienaar back to the club where he was the supporters’ player of the year in 2009.

When QPR’s new boss Mark Hughes made an approach a fortnight ago, Redknapp assured us: “I have no intention of selling Pienaar. Why should I? I wouldn't want to let him go. He is a good player. I don't need to weaken the squad. He could play a part in the run-in."

After a day in court defending himself over tax evasion charges and a welcome 3-0 triumph over Wigan, ‘Arry proved to be less determined as the midnight deadline loomed.

Thank God. A major mistake may just have been rectified. Expect a permanent deal at the end of the season - with little mention of the cut-price R30m Spurs paid for their man.

A year ago, when it became clear Pienaar was being set up for that cut-price move – he refused to sign a new contract despite repeated urging from David Moyes – I said on SuperSport that his agent David Moore was stupid to move him from Goodison, where he had made a name for himself.

I said it was like Paul Stretford demanding a move from Manchester United for Wayne Rooney, which he had done, but had rapidly rethought his strategy.

As an automatic pick at Everton, what was the point of going to Spurs, where Bale had just begun to emerge with that now-legendary Champions League hat-trick at the San Siro? Moore called me on the mobile from Barcelona, screaming at me, telling me I knew nothing.

He said he had nothing to do with Pienaar’s move, that Schilla himself was eager to go, because he wanted Champions League football and a club with more ambition.

When I quoted him, Moore insisted I send an apology to Kenwright. I did. I still have the email.

But ultimately, with Pienaar back at Everton after a late-night exchange between Redknapp and Kenwright on Wednesday night, I guess we all know now that Pienaar’s move to Spurs was all wrong.

I’ll say now what I said a year ago: sometimes a player just belongs. He doesn’t need to move in his late 20s. Moore can deny it all he want, but anyone who’s been in football long enough knows the agents are the ones behind the risky, big-money moves late in a career.

Without a move, where does the last big pay-day come from if, like Moore, your players are declining with the speed of Benni McCarthy, who was at West Ham at the time?

It looked okay at first. Pienaar cracked the starting line-up. But after a run of games, injury struck. The close season saw both Pienaar and compatriot Bongani Khumalo come over for the Vodacom Challenge with Spurs. But that was as good as it got. And if you examine www.twitter.com/therealstevenpi you’ll find Pienaar's been “sick” and “in bed” three times since Christmas this year. He blames flu and tonsilitis as the stress of being unable to break in to Tottenham’s high-flying starting eleven began to tell.

A few brief cameos – including 10 minutes against Everton - are all he’s managed in the Premier League. And a couple of starts in Tottenham’s disastrous Europa League journey.

But the minute confirmation of his return to Everton emerged, his old pal Phil Neville was telling the BBC: “There’s nobody else I’d rather we signed.”
On the Everton FC facebook page, a simple message atop hundreds of happy messagers: "Welcome home Steven Pienaar."

These are Stevie’s tweets since: “Soon up the road to Liverpool. Familiar journey! Looking forward.

“And looking forward to running rings around @fizzer19 (Neville) in training again. “Very thankful that Spurs management allowed me to go on loan and I’m very happy it could be to Everton, a club close to my heart.

“Manager needs to make choices, I understand. But I love playing and just can’t sit so much on the bench. It was killing my spirit.

“Mixed emotions to leave Spurs. Disappointed I couldn’t get in a playing groove on a regular basis and show the fans the real me.

“Happy days. We just beat the clock on Transfer Deadline Day. Holding thumbs.”

Aren’t we all Stevie? South Africa needs you playing again. And the same could be said for compatriot Bongani Khumalo, back at Spurs after his disastrous loan spell at Championship club Reading.

Sometimes agents don’t know best.

Now what happened to QPR wanting Katlego “Killer” Mphela?

See also: http://www.neal-collins.blogspot.com/2011/11/when-moore-is-less-re-appointed-bafana.html