The Mail Bag
Time to be bold
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Whatever one thinks of the shambles of the summer or of the bumper contract of David Moyes the fact is we're stuck with what we've got. So how do we turn things round? Time to be bold, I think.
Firstly in defence; Jagielka,Yobo and Lescott can't play in the same team. Lescott is a confidence player whose confidence has gone. At his best, though, he is our only defender who possesses any footballing ability, i.e. passing ability. So how to get his confidence back? Make him captain. Captains don't necessarily have to shout and bawl. Lead by example and let Phil Neville do the shouting.
Bring Valente back at left back and keep Jagielka on the bench as good cover. In midfield there's not room for Castillo and Fellaini so let Fellaini show what he's worth and keep Castillo as good cover. Give Arteta a completely free role ? to swap flanks or play through the middle. Play Osman and Cahill behind Saha and Yakubu.
Outlaw the back pass to Howard for him to hoof out of play. Have the confidence to play the ball out of defence to feet. Finally, use our subs to make sure we always play at a high tempo.
Tony Mowbray called us a "pragmatic team." Is that really how we want to be described?
Andy Crooks, Posted 25/09/2008 at 22:22:12
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Lescott captain? A captain has to be a leader, and also has to be consistently 7 or 8 out of 10. Certainly at the moment, Lescott is neither. Let him get his game back without giving him the extra burden of captaincy.
Valente left back? This would be a backward step. He is now past his best, too injury prone, and we need to give Baines a run if Moyes is not going to play Lescott at left back. Baines would be my first choice left back at the moment, and I would let him and Lescott fight it out for this position for the rest of the season.
Jagielka on the bench? - he is our best centre half and should be on the teamsheet ahead of Yobo and Lescott any day of the week. Playing those 2 together would be suicide - they just don?t communicate and don?t know when to just get shut. They need someone like Jagielka alongside them for their positional sense alone.
Finally, I agree with Lyndon as regards centre mid - Fellaini and Castillo have both got potential, no need for one or the other. If they can find their game, play them both. If one or the other is struggling, drop Cahill back.
The only thing I agree with is Yak and Saha up front.
Jagielka-Yobo-Lescott
Neville-Fellaini-Arteta-Cahill-Baines
Yakubu-Saha
I suspect this would actually mean 5-1-2-2 the way we are playing. So let?s be even bolder and play Osman & Castillo over Baines & Neville. We couldn?t let in any more than we have so far.
Thinking about it, this might just be silly. Not bold.
Castillo has to play mate, If we?re ever going to ditch hoofball, we have to keep faith with Midfield players who will make themselves available for a pass out of defence. None of the others - including the darling Arteta - do this nearly enough.
As Lyndon pointed out, we have too many players who leave defenders with very little option but to put their foot through it
We can all see The Jag and Pip aren't blessed with passing ability, why can't our midfield see that?
Moyes doesn?t do BOLD
As much as football is a simple game it is also a complex, human based dynamic system. The fix to a frail defence is not always better defenders (although that would clearly help to some degree), it is re-enforcing and structuring the midfield correctly.
The two stupid goal we conceded against SL were partly as a result of allowing the opposition to bypass our midfield and expose the defence who were in an attack formation.
Barry;s 3-5-2 suggestion is not entirely wide of the mark although I would be concerned that the Lescott and Baines and Pip and Jags would get themselves in an awful mess when defending.
Its no good trying to create this kind of formation by simply shoving defenders or strikers into midfield, they just get in the way of the real defenders and strikers. Cahill and Carsley were both able to understand the role of playing in midfield but with and attacking or defensive role.
I can?t help thinking however that meddling with formations before the derby and SL 2nd leg could result in a ?McClaren".
I have a bad feeling about the next 5 days. Dumped out of two cups and slapped by the RS. Still at least there?s a euromillions rollover tonight.
Hey presto.
Mistimes tackles, hoofs the ball, dodgy positioning, turns his back on opposing players in front of goal..
I have never been impressed with him.... one bit.
If so, I can’t believe it! Between them they’ve been responsible for half the goals we’ve given away this year. Added to the fact that positioning and communication is hardly their strong point, this would be suicice, especially with 2 such important games coming up...
Neville, Yobo, Jags, Lescott,
Artetta, Cahill, Fellaini, Osman,
Saha, Yakubu
It’s not about formations (or even possession), it’s about quality on the ball and workrate off it.
He?s a bit shit really, I?ve no doubt he is commited and no nonsense but he is at fault for more goals than most fans realise and his passing & control of the ball is no better than an 11yr old girl, with the exception being, he can kick it a lot further. Which he does EVERY TIME HE GETS THE BALL.
I have posted on another thread yesterday talking about Leon Osman and the same basic message applies to Jagielka. Squad player at best.
Regardless of who plays tomorrow, I cannot see it having much of an impact if Gerrard plays well. Fellaini has had a slow start but he has only played three games and in Wednesday's non-existent formation that Moyes chose, I'm not surprised he didn't look anything; even when he and Castillo went off the football didnt improve, we just hoofed it forward a little bit faster.
I look at our other options from midfield and I can only really see Cahill being a danger, Osman has never had a good derby match as long as I can remember and seems to get swallowed up in the 100-mile-an-hour pace of it. How fit will Arteta be after having this virus? Personally I think he is totally wasted playing out wide anyway.
There will be little point in playing high balls in the air tomorrow as their defence will gobble up anything that is a loose ball. I just cannot see where our inspiration is going to come from, I really can't... if we take the lead early on maybe that will give the players a lift, maybe it will just delay the obvious while we await more defensive catastrophe. If we go behind early on likewise we could just lose all heart so quickly and be on the end of a humiliation.
Let's put it this way, worse sides than Liverpool have demolished Everton in the past. I hope I'm wrong but I am just not feeling very positive at the moment.
Lescott should go nowhere near that left-back spot. That should belong to Baines. If he performs badly then drop him for a while and bring in Valente. We only need another plan if it becomes clear Baines is not going to cut it at this level. However, I personally don’t think that will happen.
Gary is right when he says our best period last year came before Jagielka even made an appearance in the defense, due to the injury to Baines. Sure, he put in some cracking performances when he had to step up, and it’s reassuring that we’ve got someone of that quality on the bench, but for me he shouldn’t be in the first eleven.
COYB!
I?m with you Richard ? at least a point for Blues!
On the thread you started you’ve said the days of 4-5-1 "..are long gone ". Which is it?
Either way, I am confident of a cheering display tomorrow.
We keep hearing Pienaar will be back soon etc etc. but in the meantime, I think we need a wide player as an outlet. Wait for it ? that players is ....... Leighton Baines ..... good passer/crosser of the ball, high energy and would allow overlapping with Lescott while doubling up on defensive cover. Not very big so not much use in the air but would that really matter out on the left wing.
It would also force the Yak back into the middle where he's far more effective instead of wandering out to the wings to get a pass. So I would start with Arteta Cahill Felliani Castillo and Baines as our MF with Saha and Ossie as subs to come on second half sometime.
Every ball that came into the box either had Jag’s head or toe on it... every time... Last ditch tackles that got the ball. Some people here have very short memories.
The current defensive issues are not just down to Jags.. The whole defence is shaky and I include Yobo, Lescott and Howard in that... Neville actually has been good at right back..
I like Baines. He is a good footballer. I agree that he should be given a run in the side to prove himself, but Lescott last season was very good in that role. He has had a bad start to the season and Moyes as the manager has a decision to make...
Personally I would give Lescott some time on the bench to get his hunger back. He’d also be a great asset to have to bring on...
With regards to midfield for the derby, I don’t know if moyes will go for 4 or 5. It depends how adventurous he is feeling.
At the moment, with our defence being not the best, I’m gonna bet on 5 in the middle. He will bring on Saha though if we need a goal in the second half.
For me anyway to start it should be:
-------------------- Howard-----------------
Nev ------ Yobo ------ Jags -----Baines
-------------------- Castillo -----------------
Arteta ----------- Felliani -------- Osman
-------------------- Cahill --------------------
--------------------- Yakubu ----------------
"Every ball that came into the box either had Jag?s head or toe on it... every time..."
I assume that means every time apart from the first five months of the season, seeing as he didn’t make his defensive debut until January?
We?re just missing a Piennar or an Obinna type player. Both missing for very different reasons but hopefully that will be soon rectified and when it does, and when Castani and Fellatio (oops) get bed in then we?ll be off again.
I also expect us to do a reverse of last January and actually BUY a few players (even if its just Hunt) and as a result I expect us to have a reverse of last season and finish stronger than we started.
I also expect us to batter them today. No idea why, I just really feel good about it....
COME ON YOU BLUE BOYS. LET'S HAVE IT!!!!
Jamie, and I think his previous musings confirm it, is a man of limited intellegence,but what he said went way beyond a pre-derby wind up.He has demonstrated a lack of loyalty to his country and now he has demonstrated a total lack of respect for his city.
I am reluctant to say it but Everton's barren years owe a lot to the supporters of Liverpool football club.Alan Stubbs has demonstrated more guts than Jamie will ever have.
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Editorial Team
1 Posted 25/09/2008 at 23:35:36
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I think Yobo is equally a good passer of the ball as Lescott when he has options (which isn?t very often) and for the majority of last season, those two and Jagielka proved without doubt that they not only can play in the team but should ? and I say that as someone who doesn?t think Lescott makes the best attacking left back.
In midfield, I?ve been more impressed with Castillo than Fellaini but if we?re being bold, they should both play to get bedded in as soon as possible (although, perhaps not this weekend!).
I actually think there is some merit to bringing Valente back in ? he?s a better defender than Baines and better going forward down the left than Lescott, but does he have stamina to play week-in, week-out?
My overall feeling is that if Saha stays fit we have an awesome strike duo but in true Everton fashion, we?re waiting on a player and that?s Pienaar. (If it?s not him, we?re waiting on Cahill, and if it?s not Cahill we?re waiting on Arteta... always a fit player away from being a consistently good team.) But until he?s fit, we have to make the best of what we have, as you say.