EX-EVERTON ace Royston Drenthe spent less than a year at Goodison Park but still has a lot of memories.
Drenthe joined the Toffees on loan from Real Madrid in 2011 and enjoyed a warm reception that made him feel “like a God”.
The 36-year-old, who has yet to officially retire, loved his brief stint with the Merseysiders despite his turbulent relationship with then manager David Moyes.
The winger felt Moyes was “taking the p**s” out of him but now understands the Scotsman was right “on the whole” and praised his work at West Ham.
Drenthe exclusively told Ladbrokes Fanzone: “I loved my time at Everton; I can honestly say it was amazing there.
“I think what I loved most was the people; it’s this massive city with two huge football clubs, and I was honoured to represent one of them, as it was always a dream of mine to play in the Premier League.
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“It’s as close as I’ve felt to being in Feyenoord, too, and I put that down to the people. Liverpool was a great home for me… it’s a shame that things didn’t quite go well enough for me on the pitch, because I could have easily seen myself playing for that club for a couple of years.
“A lot has been made in the past of my time at the club, and the kind of character I was when I joined, and people know all about my relationship with David Moyes – especially while I was a player at Goodison Park.
“I think back now with a completely different mindset, though; as a 36-year-old, I can understand and appreciate the job he was doing, and how I thought back when I was 25 perhaps wasn’t always right.
“Back then, I was firmly of the belief that Moyes was simply out to prove to the other players that he could get under my skin. We’d argue and I’d just think, ‘What the f**k? Is he taking the p**s?’.
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“And while there are certain occasions where I can say I still feel I was in the right, on the whole I’d say he was. Ultimately, he wanted to get the best out of me as a player, he wanted to help me, I just couldn’t see that at the time. But people change, and I can look back now a lot older and wiser, and I can understand why he did what he did with me.
“I really like him as a manager, too. I think that when he’s given the right club, with the right amount of time, he can do great things. We saw it at Everton and we’re seeing it again, now, at West Ham.
“Despite the club being in a difficult position earlier on in the season, he seems to have steered them away from relegation and they’re in a really strong position in Europe. Sometimes certain moves just don’t work out for you, and I think ultimately that was the case at Manchester United.
“When you take over a club like that, the expectation is on you straight from the offset; you don’t have time to settle in, or to get things wrong. And, as I said, I feel like Moyes is the kind of person who needs that time, to implement his own ideas.”
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Drenthe also addressed rumours involving him holding hot tub parties at Everton’s training ground.
The former Netherlands international admits he did bring friends and family to Finch Farm to hang out in the jacuzzi but insists it was “nothing too crazy”.
Drenthe said: “Yes, I’ve seen what my former teammates have said about me in the past, notably Tim Howard talking about the time I invited friends to the training ground hot tub in the middle of the night.
“First of all, I’ll say – this is something which often happens – the real story ended up being blown up massively and turned into something which wasn’t true.
“Yes, I went to Finch Farm in the early hours, but only ever with friends and family who were coming over to see me; I didn’t see anything wrong with it at all!
“I came to Everton as a 24-year-old, in a new environment, and honestly I felt like a God at the time of my move. So whenever my friends or family came to visit me in England, of course I was going to take them with me!
“It wasn’t as crazy as it’s been made out in the past, you know, sometimes I would take a couple of family members, sometimes it would be a group of friends, but nothing too crazy. It wasn’t affecting any of my teammates; no one was there at the time, I just wanted to bring people over.
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“Does it bother me when my former teammates tell these stories? No. I don’t have a problem with any of my Everton teammates, or with what Tim said last year.
“He’s right; it happened, and I’ve explained why I did it… I’d happily go for a drink with him today if he asked – or any of my other teammates; I only have good things to say about them.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
