The Mail Bag
Everton ? The Slow Pass Masters
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It has been said enough times now about how our beloved Everton are a team no neutral fan would want to watch. We don't pass too well most of the time, the exaustive "hoof ball" comments etc. The fact is we are a very slow moving team. I am not talking about pace, but about movement and passing. This too has been mentioned many times, but the one thing that winds me up about our boys more than most is a common reason for the slow passing. Actually you can split it into two reasons:
1) Every time the defence and most of midfield receive the ball, they feel the need to take a touch before laying off an easy pass elsewhere. It frustrates the hell out of me. They can't be so uncomfortable with the ball that under no pressure they need to stop the ball rolling before they can move it on. You watch next time, it happens constantly throughout a game.
2) Switching play: Believe it or not, we do actually switch play from one wing to another. The difference between us and other teams is that we will always take about 5 minutes to do it. There are no 30- or 40-yard one-pass switches to a man on the other wing, no not us. We will pass short between 3 or 4 players to get to the same spot, at which point the player "in loads of space" now has very little space... I guess this is the point where a "hoof" is the only option.
Fantasic stuff. Sky don't need to replay our swithces from wing to wing in slow motion because they already are: Short pass... trap ball... short pass... trap ball... short pass... trap ball (nearly there now)... short pass... trap ball (Oh no, someone's marking him now, best get rid of it).... HOOF!!!!
Tell me, am I wrong?
Gareth Mercer, Posted 18/11/2008 at 08:57:03
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In their defence, however, how often have you watched their team-mates refuse to make runs into a position to receive a pass? Too often they just stand there, refusing to take responsibility to make a run to create space.
And as for Arteta?s new-found insistence on running into the middle of the park and waving his arms around looking for a pass... most creative player or not, he?s been given a role to do and he should stick to it. Stay wide, receive the ball, pass it or cross it. Time and again recently he comes in-field and gives us no "out" ball on the wing. A number of the players remonstrated with him on Sunday and he still kept coming in-field.
David Foster, you need to wake up and....well just waking up will do (that ’wake up and smell the coffee’ line - did you used to be in Howard’s Way?)
You have the first part right - "We do not pass the ball very well because, to be brutally honest, most of our players are not good enough".
The second part however makes you sound about 10 (sorry if you are!) and I have no idea what your ’point’ actually is (nb: "It helps to have a point" - Steve Martin to John Candy, Trains, Planes & Automobiles).
You sound like you’re saying ’it’s not fair’.
Fact: Our present manager bought our present players.
If they’re shite and can’t pass a ball 5 yards - his fault.
Fact: Arsenal shouldn’t be lumped in with Chelsea and Utd. Why? Because it infers they’ve all spent the same amount of money, or have access to the same amounts - NOT true.
Fact: Villareal
Fact: Liege.
My suggestion would be for Moyes to start a few youngsters (Vaughan, Rodwell, Baxter) at Wigan as they will do the running and thrive on the chance. If he sticks with what he's currently playing then we will continue to get more of the same.
One minute we are this ?hoofball? ? now we are slow passes across the midfield.
I think cross field passes are very very dangerous and should only be used when certain to make it. A very easy pass to cut out
As for no neutral wants to watch us ? which neutral wants to watch anyone but Man United, Arsenal, Chelsea or a Harry Redknapp team??!!??
And it?s not confined to the wings either. Our midfield is so static that play just gridlocks. In fact the one bit of football I remember from Boro is when Arteta found Neville haring down the wing, first-time cross, Saha diving header just wide. Some pace in our play, and we nearly score.
As Gareth says, movement is the key. Our play won?t speed up until our players do.
But I've been saying this ever since the Pompey match so this is the last effort. If Baines does not get a run then he may as well leave in January. He is a good player when used properly. Lescott does not have the pace to be a wing full back, he is a defender pure and simple... he cannot do a Clichy or a Cole or a Bridge etc because he gets caught out for pace when he is trying to get back.
Actually Neville is a better crosser from the right than anyone else at present. Lescott should only go up for set pieces.
Howard
Neville
Yobo
Jagielka
Lescott b(at centre back and on form)
Yakubu.
You could argue against all of them but let's be generous. That leaves us with the entire creative area of our team who are short of being top Premier League players. David Moyes has built this team and has spent a fair amount of money but too many players are well out of form. For a lot of last season we were good collectively. That we are mostly poor this season must be down to the coach.
Just a quick point on Lescott, his body shape seems all wrong when he is receiving the ball. More often than not, his body shape is ?closed? instead of ?open? so he will pass the ball back to Jags/Yobo more often than not. His poor first touch doesn?t help him much either.
I believe that our players are like for like with Arsenals. Think about it... Yobo/Toure, Lescott/Jagielka/Gallas, Baines/Clichy, Yakubu/Adebyor, Saha/Van Persie, Arteta/Fabregas Howard/Almunia, Pienaar/Nasri, Fellaini/Castillo/Eboue, etc?
Our system of play provides no creative freedom, no pace, no width, and no trust in natural ability and restricts instinctive movement taught by better tactically minded managers with traditional systems tried and tested.
Instead we have adopted the plucky under-dog mentality which has turned the accumulation of Premiership class into a modern day Wimbledon.
Think back to 2005. Our 4th placed finish created a blueprint which now sees top 4 quality players trying to emulate the achievements of a relegation battling, dogs of war 2005 team!
We are one-dimensional and no matter how far we climb in this league the players are still underachieving.
I think this article is spot on and the sad truth is a new ground, Billionaire or additional players are not the missing link here.
Like Obama, our manager needs the desire for change. Can mini-me justify why we signed him or is he going to fail to complete Moyes? I guess time will tell.
The players are simply crap on the ball. Look back at the Liege away game. We’re spending ages passing the ball in our own half just to simply to have players and ball facing the opponent’s goal! Taking about 3-4 players each taking 3-4 touches! The opponents are stranded in the own half and pissing themselves at our embarassment.
Or take for example the game of snooker, it’s not just talking each shot separately, every shot you make you’re already lining up the next shot, the next couple of shots should be in the back of the mind all the time. Unfortunately, our players (as a unit) only have the ability to concentrate on doing one thing: trap the ball, find a player, pass it. What happen to the days of passing in triangles (3 players as a unit) at Everton? Players should be constantly moving and anticipating the play/movement of the ball. Which is not possible with poor players unfortunately.
Under our system they lack vision, creativity, and the collective consciousness to make use of the entire pitch to pass and move.
The result is a slow, clumsy and disorganized game whereby the left hand is often unable to comprehend what the right is doing. Further I believe that by playing our system most of them have either forgotten how to play the beautiful way, or don?t see it as a priority.
Throughout the club all of Arsenals players play with flair, even the defenders. Take a look at our youngsters and you will see what I am talking about.
We have become the Frank Bruno of Premier League football. Moyes needs to step up!
Why does he always raise both arms before he takes a set piece? It can hardly be an indication of where he is going to deliver the ball as lately his corsses etc have been really poor.
Is he just having a good stretch??
Sunday's match was the best I?ve seen this season and we were unlucky to lose; it?s not great, it?s not pretty but it?s getting better.
Sammy was the master of this tactic and Mikel has much to learn as he still, very occasionally, sticks the odd one in the net.
I?m pretty sure that under Hoddle at Wolves that Lescott was a ball playing central defender and showed those qualities when he first signed for the team but now hoofs the ball aimlessly down field along with the rest of the defenders. The same goes for Yobo. He probably didn?t punt the ball 50-60 yards on a regular basis up field in his pre-Everton days.
You don?t need money to play good football... you need the will, intention and the coaching. It?s not just the "Big Four" that play the ball on the deck most teams do with varying degrees of success.
In one of the hardest leagues to get out of, the Coca Cola WBA destroyed the opposition and played some of the best football in the country. Arsenal won the league and went unbeaten for over a season. Spurs finished 5th two season?s running playing good football and won the League Cup last year.
We CAN play good football usually only for maybe 20 or 30 minutes in any given match but they just don?t seem to have the necessary encouragement or conviction to play attractive, expansive football. To be fair our STYLE of play has been relatively successful with 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th place finishes under Moyes and he has restored some credibility after the disastrous 90s.
I just think that if the players worked more on passing, technique and possession on the training ground then that would translate to improved performances on the pitch, greater confidence on the ball and football that can really entertain and please the crowd.
It’ll be a timing thing. He raises his arms right before he makes a move to take it. That way, our players can make their preprepared set piece moves at the right time - players are generally only free in the area for about a second before a defender picks them up again, so Arteta can’t just wait for somebody to be free and then pick them out.
At least, that’s the theory.
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1 Posted 18/11/2008 at 14:51:12
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Saw positive signs on Sunday with Fellaini ? first time in ages (prob since Tommy G in his good half season) that a player has consistently played 10-20 yard balls forward to feet. His whole body shape looks right when he passes and he seems to have that bit of extra time. In a passing team like Arsenal or Man Utd, I think he would look good... Unfortunately you can't have great passing moves with 1 player ? we won't see the best of him until we get other players who are as comfortable on the ball. Only exception I think is Stevie P who looks on a similar wavelength and provides so much more tempo and penetrative intent at the moment than Arteta or Osman.