Happy For Everton

It was nice to see Tommy has words of conratulations for Everton qualifing for the Champion's League. We should not forget Tommy's important contributions in the early part of the season before he went to Madrid in January.

Tommy says: "What I experienced at Everton I will never forget. I had a really good relationship with everyone there. When the transfer came up there were arguments and [David Moyes] made it clear he wanted me to stay, but they accepted that a chance like this comes once in a lifetime. The manager was reasonably fair to me and I played with open cards; it was quite gentlemanly."

"The Everton fans are a special breed who have a really strong relationship with the club. That's why I prefer to play for one club in each country, because there's so much rivalry. I think it's more appropriate to move away from the country entirely, so you're not in their faces. Everton fans are amazing, they used to roar my name. For a foreign player, that's special. We went to Anderlecht once, you should have seen how many travelled. I'm so happy that they qualified for the Champions League." (15/05/05)

Thanks To You All

Tommy Grav has put on record his thanks to all the supporters, playing staff and officials, after his move to Real Madrid was secured yesterday.

Rumours have been circulating that Moyesy sent bald club physio Basil Rathbone over to Madrid, to try and fool the Spanish giants into believing it was Tommy. Interpol are now investigating after Everton received £2.5m, and Madrid got a forty something top physio. Madrid as we know eventually got their man. Basil we here is now on his way back from Spain, under a police guard.

Tommy says: "I loved my time at Everton and would like to place on record my thanks to all the supporters, players, officials and coaching staff of the club. Leaving was a difficult decision. But the opportunity to join Real Madrid,which is one of the world's great football clubs, comes only once in a lifetime and was not one I could decline. I genuinely wish Everton every success for the remainder of the season." (15/01/05)

Moyesy Didn't Want Tommy To Go

Moyesy says: “We didn’t want to lose him. But we had a right to turn around and say: ‘You’re not going.’ But we’ve taken 3.5m euros (approx £2.5m - The same price we paid for him) plus a 20% sell on fee and a buy-back clause for him, plus one or two odds and ends to go on top of that deal. So, with six months of his contract to go, with a player who wants to leave, it was the best deal we could get out of the situation.

Football clubs always keep going. Players, managers, chairmen all come and go. You never want to lose good players. I said that in the summertime and I’m saying that now. But the situation is there and we will strive to continue to make progress. I wish him good luck. I’m sure we’ll be bumping into him again somewhere along the line. He’s gone. Well, he’s gone providing that he completes his medical successfully. He was in this morning to say bye to everyone. It wasn’t something that we wanted to happen, that’s for sure. But I think when the interest from Real Madrid started to gather a little bit of momentum, I spoke with him about it and he told me that he wanted to go. So that was it.

There was a great hope of keeping him because of how well the team have done this season and the progress we’re making. But I think when Real Madrid came in there wasn’t any chance of keeping him. It’s not an easy time because we wanted to keep him, but we knew the situation. Tommy wanted to play in Europe and in the main, it looked as though it would be with Everton. But how often do Real Madrid come knocking for any player? There was a lot made of it when David Beckham and Michael Owen went, why should Tommy Gravesen not feel the same way about moving to Real Madrid? - and he does. It’s a great opportunity for him.

Tommy would have been the first one to say that the team have done really well this season. But it’s not just been him. The team have been the thing which have really counted. It’s not been about any individual and Tommy would have backed that up. We’ve made more than several enquiries, but there are very few players available at this time of the season. Clubs don’t want to sell their players, so I’ll be surprised if we do replace Thomas. But we are looking and we need it for numbers, if nothing else. But there’s not a player the press have mentioned that we haven’t talked about or tried to get!” (14/01/05)

Gone, But Never Forgotten

Its official, that Tommy is no longer an Everton player. Big Keith Everton's CEO, said the Blues fought long and hard to keep the Danish midfielder. The fee is not being disclosed by the Blues, but bluekipper.com believe it to be £2.5m. Tommy goes with our best wishes after giving five years to the fight, and after becoming a firm favourite with the fans.

Moyesy is now currently scouring the divisions for a combative, creative, but especially bald midfielder, after Harry Hill said it was like losing an arm. Aswell as Everton's midfield suffering, they had loads of Right Said Fred look alike gigs to do.

On a happier note Tommy will be back at Goodison as early as next season, when the Blues entertain Real Madrid in a Champions League match. COYB.

Big Keith says: "No-one at Everton wanted to lose Thomas Gravesen, we did everything we could to keep him. Once it became clear that Thomas had his heart set on a move to Real Madrid we fought hard for the best possible deal for Everton Football Club. To that end I believe we have been successful.

Grav's Agent Johnny Shithead says: "I can confirm that Real Madrid and Everton have agreed terms for the transfer of Thomas Gravesen. The player and myself will be travelling to meet the officials of Madrid in order to discuss his potential move during the course of the next 24 hours. No further comment from either Thomas or myself will be made with regard to this matter until such time as we have a definitive position." (14/01/05)

Best Form of His Career

Tommy Grav says he is playing well, but not his career best form. We at bluekipper.com think he is playing by far the best of his Everton career. Lets hope he continues this and the team get into Europe.

Tommy says: "Everybody has dreams and we have dreams as well, but we are also realistic as well. We're taking one game at a time. Against City we made sure that we couldn't go down, we're on 40 points, so every thing that comes now is a bonus. We can play on with no nerves, so it's all good. We have constantly said this season that we want to change people's perceptions of Everton. We want them to start thinking about us positively. We know what we are doing here and we know that this has been the best start to the season we've had for many years. We want to keep that going.

I don't think I'm in the best form of my career. When you're playing in a team that are winning matches, it improves your own game. I feel as if I'm playing well at the moment and I think that's down to the work we do here. We're feeling very fit. We had a good pre-season and are still feeling the benefits of that at the moment. Throughout the week we work hard and put in a lot of hard graft in training, so it must come from that." (28/12/04)

We Wanted Derby Win More

Tommy was happy with the fans, who he thinks helped him win his first derby game since he joined Everton.

Tommy says: "We've been waiting for this for five years now and today has really shown that the team has gone far in that time. It makes it all the more sweet. For Liverpool, it must have been tough to play this game after a difficult match on Wednesday night, but they were looking to close the gap on us in the League. There was a lot at stake for both teams though. We are still trying to prove everybody wrong. We want to keep up in the top half of the table for as long as we possibly can.”

"They are really behind the team, because we are all in it together. I wasn't looking to get the crowd involved. They are involved here at Everton all the time and in every game.” (12/12/04)

Moyesy's Confident

Moyesy is confident that man of the moment Tommy Grav will be at the Blues for years to come. Grav who can start talking to other clubs come January, has been excelling in a Blue shirt this season, but Moyesy must be getting the right signals from our resident mad man, that his future lies at Goodison.

Moyesy says: "Thomas and me speak regularly. And I'm quietly confident he'll stay. He's played tremendously well. He's more responsible, more responsive to everything which is said to him. He's maturing a lot and we're pleased. We've got him and he's playing well for us." (11/12/04)

The Right Stuff

Tommy Grav reckons Everton have the right mix, to maintain their fantastic start to the season. Isn't it funny, but we are three weeks off 2005, and we are still talking about starts. Third we are on merit, so lets all start believing that we might avoid the drop this season. I am beginning to !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tommy says: "There are some world class players in our team. Talent always shines through in the end. It would be wrong for me to say the team hasn't got any stars and our success is all about team spirit. We have a lot of really good players. But the character is in the team right now too, and it showed against Bolton with us coming from behind twice before Leon got the winner. We believe in our strength and in our team.

We don't get too nervous anymore because we believe in our strength. With Duncan and Marcus up front we have two terrific goalscorers and with Leon and Tim from midfield and Cars with his free-kicks, we have a strong team going forward. And defence tells its own story because we have the second best record in the league. We seem to have found the right way of playing. But it is also about preparation and talent." (06/12/04)

Lovin' Every Minute

He may be stark raving mad, but we love him, and Tommy is also loving his time now at Everton more than ever. Whilst there is still some uncertainty about Tommy's future hanging around, it is good to hear on the positive side, that he is happy at Goodison. If things continue in the same vein, mad man Tommy will be around for some time to come. Europe Tom, come there with us, you'll enjoy it more.

Mad Man Tommy says: "On the pitch, it's the best time I've had since I've been here, but we were actually top a few seasons ago and that was a great feeling. That said we don't get carried away. We know what our team is about. We know what to do. The next game for us is the Bolton game and that's the most important. That's how we're approaching the games - and it seems to be working for us. We're building on things and it's making us better at the things we do."

Contract talks are not important at the moment. The important thing is that we challenge for the things we are committed too. The players are committed to the cause here at the moment and I think that the contracts will be no problem if things are running like they are at the moment. I don't think any of the players talk about the things that are happening off the field here. The manager and other people take care of that. The players comment on the games they've played and their situation. We're aware that it's important to keep focused on the job we're doing." (02/12/04)

Will He, Or Won't He

If the vibes coming out of Goodison are correct, it seems that Tommy Grav is willing to put pen to paper on a new deal to stay with the Blues. The stumbling block though seems to be agents. These are snake like creatures that unfortunately are employed by the players to look after them. Tommy's is an ex Man Ure footballer called John Sivebaek and he has left the dangling threat over the new deal. We think it is down to seeing what position Everton are in come January, before any deal is done.

Ex Man Ure Player Sivebaek says: "If it is a big club, then yes he would go, but he likes the Premier League. He wants to stay in England, but we need to look at all our options and decide what he wants to do. As I have said, there are a few interested clubs. The manager knows what Thomas is up to. We'll decide what to do in one or two months." (01/12/04)

Wayne Who !!!

Tommy Grav is happy all the Wayne Rooney circus is behind Everton, and he believes the club are a better outfit for it. Last season whatever Everton did on the pitch, and some of it wasn't good, the newspapers would have been full of stories wondering when he would leave, which is no good for any team.

Instead Grav puts Everton's form down to being a cornered animal. Yes honestly, aswell as being one of Europe's top midfield talents, Grav also believes he is Eric Cantona, in the absurd quotes department.

The Grav says: "I don't think it is so much because Rooney left. I think every man has pride and, of course, that is no different here. Everyone was saying we were no good and you don't belong in the league and that makes you want to prove them wrong - that is in every man's nature. So I don't know if it is because Wayne left, all I know is that when you corner a guy he will do anything he can to get out of that. I think all the guys at Everton at the moment are now showing that a cornered person is stronger than a free one." (30/11/04)

Tommy's Raring To Go

Fears that Tommy Grav's injury against Fulham last Saturday would have ruled him out this weekend, have been allayed by head coach, and part time super sleuth Basil Rathbone. Resident lunatic Tommy will be fit as a fiddle for the away clash at the Skunks on Sunday.

Basil says: "Tommy jarred his knee when he went in for a tackle with the goalkeeper. He just felt it a little bit and as a precaution we took him off straight away. He’s recovered pretty well and he has resumed training." (25/11/04)

Grav Staying ?

Ex shite centre half, and now BBC Soccer pundit Mark 'the gay blade' Lawrenson, is insisting that Everton midfielder Tommy Grav will be at Everton next season. The Grav whose dream is of playing European football, will hopefully be living his dream out with the Blues according to Lawro.

The soccer pundit made his comments in a break from rehearsals, were he is playing one of the ugly sisters in Bognor's Christmas panto, alongside other camp comic Joe Pasquale.

Lawro The Gay Blade says: "Of course the question now is what will happen over Gravesen's contract in the summer, when it is due to expire. I am hopeful it will have been sorted out by then, because if Everton spend wisely in January and bring in some quality players, Gravesen should be excited by that and want to be a part of what is happening at Everton.

There's no doubt he wanted to leave last summer after Euro 2004, but Everton's fortunes now are a world away from what they were then. Considering that European football is also a real possibility should Everton maintain their current form, he has to ask himself where would he go with better prospects than there currently are at Goodison Park?" (16/11/04)

Happy At Everton

Tommy says: "When you are winning games and when you are having success it affects everybody around the place from the fans and the players and I am enjoying it as well, that is obvious. I haven't scored a lot of goals in my career but the manager has put faith in me and he has said that he wants more goals from everybody at the club.He has given me a role that takes me forward more in the game and at the moment it seems to work.

But we are not getting carried away, we are taking one game at a time and trying to build on that and it is looking good for us right now. We have a lot of tough games coming up in December and January and we really need to be up for them and that is more important now than thinking about March, April and May." (15/11/04)

And We Don't Care

With the media expecting another defeat after loosing the last two games, it was a welcome 3 points against Birmingham.

Tommy says: "We don't care what the public think. We know what we can do and we believe strongly in the team. All Evertonians know what this team is capable of. All the guys here are working hard and trying to create something. It was difficult circumstances with our pre-season and all the rumours, but we all stuck together and tried to make the best of it.

It's always a very hard place to come to and Birmingham put up a resilient fight. It was a hard fight but we had a couple of chances and played some decent football in the second half." (14/11/04)

Talks

Tommy's reps have had positive talks with Everton with a view to extend his contract for a further 3 years. The Grav has been brilliant this season and at the moment is rated as the top midfielder in the Premiership.

Hail The Bald One

Marcus Bent is urging his Everton team mate Tommy Grav, not to leave Everton. The Grav who has made no secret of the fact that he craves European footy, is out of contract next Summer. I can't see a problem, The Blues are third, playing the best footy for ages, and it will be with us that he can play his European footy. Nuff said.

Benty says: "Thomas always produces great passes because he is a world-class player. In training he does things that make your jaw drop. You find yourself thinking about things he has done for a couple of days. "He is a big part of our team and it would be a big loss if he was to go. But we are not even in January yet, so we don't have to talk about that." (25/10/04)

One To Watch

Tommy comes up against Thomas Helveg, a Danish team-mate, on Saturday. The Norwich man has warned his team-mates they will have to keep a close eye on Grav. Helveg must be made up with his decision to join Norwich in the Summer, ahead of the Blues. Obviously so he could further his career. Quality.

Helveg says: "He is a very important player for Everton. He is also very important to the Danish national team. We have to stick close to him.

He is a brilliant footballer. If you give him the time and space he will do whatever he wants. We need to watch him and make sure he does not get that space. He is one of the main players for Everton." (21/10/04)

Destination Europe

After another tremendous performance from Tommy Grav against Southampton, David Moyes is keen to point out he wants him to stay at Goodison for at least the next two years. We need to qualify for Europe for David’s wish to come true. But one thing is certain Grav will not be going this January.

Moyesy explained: "I don’t think for one minute that anything will happen in January, because we have no intention to letting him go. Thomas has said he wants to play in Europe, so at this moment we are not a bad shout. He looked like he was the most likely to craft an opening out there and that’s great because he had two draining games with Denmark in the build up to this match.

He knows what he wants and hopefully that will be staying at Everton for a few years because we want to keep him." (18/10/04)

50 Caps

Tommy had a great game in Denmark's 2-0 win in Albania yesterday. It was his 50th cap. Congratulations Tommy! (10/09/04)

Denmark Only

Tommy Grav who will win, if selected his 50th cap for Denmark this weekend, refused to answer any questions about his alleged bust up with Marcus Bent. He would only answer questions regarding Denmark, at his country's press conference. He said on the way out after decking three photographers, four journalists and a hotel steward, that he very rarely lose's the plot.

Tommy says: "If you want to talk about the national team, we can talk, anything else I have nothing to say.

I hope that I have four or five years left. I'm really satisfied playing for the national team. The better players you play with, the better you play yourself." (06/10/04)

European Union

With Tommy making no bones about it, that he craves European football, he may still see it with the Blues. Moyesy has apparently sat down with the Danish midfielder, and maybe just maybe if we can qualify for the UEFA Cup, through a cup, or maybe even the league, Tommy may just stay around to compete in it with us. All he wants from the continent, is to feel the sun on his back, and the wind in his hair.

Moyesy says: "Tommy wants to play in Europe so we know what we have got to do. We will try and present him with that opportunity. I've had a few conversations with him and we both know where we stand." (25/09/04)

Player of The Month

Tommy Grav has won Everton's OPTA Player of The Month, for August. Tommy who starred in the lads away victory at Palace, then performed admirably at home against the Baggies, was the run away winner. He is also lying fifth in the Premiership OPTA chart with his battling midfield displays. He reward for the month, is one thousand three hundred and forty eight, Everton shirts with Rooney printed on the back. He is also entered into the season long draw for the top prize of a weekend break in Copenhagen. (02/09/04)

One Of The Best

After Grav's match winning display on Saturday, Moyesy is reiterating the fact that he is going nowhere. With Grav's old club Hamburg, still hanging around like a bad smell, Moyesy is adamant that Grav's future lies with the Blues.

Moyesy says: "We haven't got enough players to let any more go. He's probably one of the top midfield players in Europe. He's important to us, why should I let him go? I don't have many players - if you were standing here as the Everton manager you would keep him. If any clubs think they can get him, once they come on to the manager they'll think differently - and I'll be the one who matters." (23/08/04)

Character

Man of the match, and two goal hero, from Saturdays away win at Palace, Tommy Grav does not want the Blues to be the comeback kings as we were two seasons ago. He is delighted however with the character that his team mates showed in winning on the road, for the first time in 2004. Stay around Tom, as the song goes 'Things will only get better'.

The Grav says: "If I remember right two years ago, when we finished seventh, we were tagged the comeback kings, not that we want to be known as that this season. But the character we showed then is where we want to be and as a team we are pleased that we managed to play some decent football against Palace.

Personally I am delighted that it went my way but more so with the fact that we got three points in the second game of the season and an away win. It is always nice to score goals. I am not known for scoring a lot of goals but I got the penalty and the second one I will remember." (23/08/04)

Bad Atmosphere

The Grav who has seen his much wanted move to Hamburg break down, has revealed what we all know, that all is not well inside Goodison. With Everton holding out for £3m, and the German outfit only prepared to pay £2.5m, Gravesen has let fire about his disappointment about the atmosphere at Everton. Don't knock him, he is only telling the truth.

The Grav says: "I see no reason to keep quiet any more. Everyone who is closely involved at Everton can see that something is wrong. The manager is also unsatisfied and a stressed man. The situation at Everton is extremely tricky right now. There is some unrest in the direction of the club and that affects the atmosphere in the club." (19/08/04)

Penalty

It looks like Tommy will be our pen taker this season, if he's still here. He has put the last two away with ease.

Moyesy says:" "He's a terrific penalty taker, but we've got other people who are good penalty takers. I've always fancied Tommy on penalties, and he fancies himself. He would have been on them last season but we had Unsy who was good and Duncan who was good. We have no doubt how good Thomas is, which is why I want him at the football club."(10/08/04)

Staying, but

Tommy Grav will be staying at Everton only if the club can convince him that they are making progress.

David Moyes says:"I have spoken to Thomas about the situation and he told me that he wants to see Everton are making progress.But he also said that if we do that he would have no hesitation in staying. It means the ball is in our court and we need to make him think that Everton can compete again." (28/07/04)

Meeting

Tommy and the boss will have a chance of a chat over the next few days about his future.

Moyesy says:"Thomas has said to me he wanted to talk about his contract after he returned to Everton from Euro 2004. There seems though to have been an awful lot of people who wanted to talk about the situation beforehand.But when we get away we'll will have a chance to chat and see exactly where he is."(23/07/04)

Staying

Tommy is likely to be staying for at least one more season and that talk of a move to Celtic is nonsense.

His agent says: " I've not heard anything from Celtic. I think he'll stay at Everton one more year. Thomas is coming back from holiday in the next few days so we'll go and see what's going on in the near future. It depends on the team and some other things but I can't really say at the moment. He's very happy at Everton and he would be happy to stay for one more year. But he has to go on with his career - he's been there for five years and wants to see what he can do next." (19/07/04)

Hamburg Interest

Tommy's agent is getting on everyone's nerves, he is now stating Tommy will defo be leaving and Hamburg could be the destination.

John Sivebaek says: "Currently we have no intention to extend his spell and I believe that Thomas would very much like to play for Hamburg again. This club will always have a chance to sign him."(08/07/04)

Tommy Wants To Stay

Tommy has told his agent to piss off, (see somethin' fishy) and stop touting him around clubs, as he wants to stay at Everton. There are conditions to this request, and they are that the Blues sign some quality in the close season. Also he wants the lads to stop taking the piss out of his baldy barnet, so this could be a major stumbling block. Good news though, lets hope the board take heed. (03/07/04)

No Madrid Contact

With all the rumour and counter rumour regarding The Duke, it is going unnoticed by a lot of us that The Grav is being touted around some of Europe's clubs. Love him or loathe him, on his day, Grav is quality, and quality we can do without losing in our current predicament. Anyway Grav's agent (don't you just fuckin' hate agents) John Sivebaek, has had to come out and deny that Atletico Madrid, have not enquired about Tommy.He has also denied that he has done a deal with Pantene shampoo, who were interested in taking The Grav on to sponsor their product.

Grav's agent John Sivebaek says: "I've not spoken to anybody at Atletico Madrid." (30/06/04)

Tommy Out of Euro 04

Tommy played 90 mins for Denmark in the 3-0 defeat against The Czech Republic in Euro 04. Tommy had a decent game, but got frustrated near the end and was booked for booting Heinz. (27/06/04)

Tommy is confident of victory in tomorrow's game against The Czech Republic.

Tommy says: "The Czech team are favourites, they have a strong team and a good attacking side and we have to match them. But I don't think you can pinpoint where it will be won and lost. I am up against some of the world's best midfielder's in the Premiership every week so I'm use to it. But it will be a real challenge for our team. It is all about goals." (26/06/04)

Thomas Gravesen Last Season