Here, here! Sadly, for this to happen though, we would need width from both flanks and that requires wingers!

Not sure why you say this as our "football" gets better every season and Moyes, generally, improves it just as much as our new, better players allows. I saw plenty of good football from Everton last season, even in the face of our ridiculous injury problems. That said it’s a little disingenuous to have a pop at a team that spent much of last season making the best of a bad lot and still got to the FA Cup Final, knocking two "big 4" and a "big 6" team out along the way.

If the quality midfielders etc that Moyes wants are brought in, then expect to see yet another leap forward in Everton’s football.

There’s nothing wrong with mixing styles either, especially when you have to "make do" with players that CL don’t want, or players that slip under the radar of CL clubs.

Here’s my real problem with the article. It’s the EXPECTATION. We haven’t returned to the 80s. Uefa hasn’t suddenly decided to spread the CL gold around the leagues and City, Spurs, Villa et al are all still capable of outspending us several times over.

So, whilst I WANT Everton to win the league AND the FA Cup AND the Uefa Cup AND the League Cup, I don’t EXPECT it. We’re not wealthy enough to have the right to expect Moyes and his team to win things. I personally think we have a very good team, and with Fellaini, Saha and Jo having the benefit of a Moyes pre-season behind them, I think Everton are capable of winning any and even ALL of the cups.

But let’s be fair here. With the CL cartel getting richer and richer, and the familiar rivals spending more and more (Newcastle go but then City and even Sunderland, it seems, replace them as clubs who make our transfer budget look like the dinner bill) and yet so many fans seem to EXPECT Everton to win trophies and finish in the top 4. It just isn’t logical.

I think we’re capable of finishing in the top three, which financially is what Everton need to progress, far more than a new stadium in Kirkby. 3rd place guarantees a place in the group stages of the CL. In other words it guarantees money in the bank, enough to get that extra special player or two that move our squad from the 5th best in the land to the 3rd or 2nd or even 1st.

Moyes can do it, but it should be with hope, rather than unfair expectation that we cheer them on their way.

John Carter. I, like you, have seen an improvement; I, like you, pay a lot of money on tickets, flights, jerseys etc etc. Therefore, asking for a better standard of football isn't a crime is it? As I've stated in my post, West Brom on paper have a far less superior team to ours, hence their relegation. But their stardard of football is excellent. Just to throw another team into the mix, Swansea played a great brand of football last season and their wage bill is far less than ours. I'm not having a pop; remember, football is meant to be an entertainment industry.

Well, you can’t have everything, can you. Moyes’s 4-5-1 that got us into the CL was hardly stylish, but worked.

Two wingers, James? Baines will do me for one. Has anyone else ever thought that as about 9/10 footballers are right footed, we’ve got one of the best left footers there are? Right-footed crossers should be ten a penny.

But for style, a touch of class — we’ve got it. A Brazilian, a Belgian and — when he’s on his feet again — a Spaniard. MoJo and Mikel can tear this league apart. Rodwell, Gosling and the likes of Baxter can only improve in their company.

We are getting better.

Every season, Moyes has adjusted to work excellently with what he has had available. His first buy was a centre-half, then a goalkeeper (which didn’t quite work out but how many managers have bought good young goalkeepers?) — building a foundation of a team.

After this, he started to buy inexpensive players which were never going to set the world alight but he knew what he was getting (Kilbane, Marcus Bent, etc) whilst at the same time buying some younger talent who he thought could deliver in the Premier League (Cahill & Arteta). It was at this time he made, arguably, his greatest signing, and corrected his miscalculation on Richard Wright, by signing Nigel Martyn for FA.

From here he started to build a better footballing team (Johnson, Jags, Pienaar, Baines, Fernandes) and the signs that we are getting there but still with a fair bit to go. He has done this at the same time as drastically reducing the average age of the team and getting rid of deadwood. Last season saw three good footballers arrive in Fellaini, Saha, and Jo — all of whom have their best EFC performances still to come despite two of them providing the goal and assist in our first final since '95.

Moyes has made mistakes but those that don't make mistakes don't do anything and I wouldn’t want anyone else in charge of our team.

The good football is coming but it is still some way away. Unfortunately, our manager is too busy working out how to win games, finish 5th, and get to cup finals on smaller budgets than Villa, Spurs, City, Portsmouth, Newcastle and Sunderland.

Next season will be another development with, in my opinion, less success than last. I do feel, however, that it will be another move forward in the whole scheme things (building a better squad, developing the youth, improve the foundation etc).

Do fancy us for a good European run though and perhaps another final...

Keith Glazzard

Well said.

Also has anyone considered there’s a potential for a very good 4-3-3, Dutch style. Jo is a tricky left footed player. Like Henry (who was a winger when he signed for Arsenal), he may do most of his damage coming in from the wing. Pienaar plays well in a free role and probably better on the right.

So you stick Yak or Saha through the middle, put Jo behind to his left, and Pienaar behind to his right (this may finally get Pienaar to the 10 + goals his skill warrants). Behind them you have Neville or Rodwell or Peterlin (whoever holding the fort a la Makelele / Essien with Arteta and Fellaini / Cahill / Osman) whoever pulling the strings and bombing on from the centre... I await the thouasands of replies telling me why I’m not a football manager :) but it seems workable to me. The quality of the DM is key.

Okay, I must be missing something here. I must be watching a different football team. Yes, we have improved, but can you put your hand on heart and say we play an attractive style of play? Why are we always last on Match of the Day? How many times have you seen Everton put any team to the sword? I'm just saying that after 7 years I would like to see football — and less of the hoofball!!

People will probably slate me for this but in my opinion we were so much more exciting to watch when we had Fernandes in the team. He added flair to our midfield and him and Arteta in the middle with Cahill would have been a classy central midfield with Pienaar on one flank and the addition of another wide man. Signing Fellaini has proved efficient but he doesn’t make us exciting to watch.

Ideally I would like to see Fellaini develop into a holding midfielder so that we can accomodate playing a creative player such as Arteta in the middle without the need of a Neville type player aswell as Fellaini. I do agree though that we need a pacy winger or two and have done for a while so it’s about time Moyes did something about it so we’re not forced to watch Osman struggle when it comes to playing the big teams.

Sod "style". If we grind out a 1-0 win against Arsenal, I’ll be bloody ecstatic, a win’s enough for me, ta.

I’ve never for the life of me understood the whimsical mentalists who rhapsodise over the neat passing game played by your Swindons and your West Broms. Those sides were both crap, wake up!

COYB

I dont think anybody would agree that our style of football is frequently pleasing on the eye. However, I think it is down to the manager playing to our strengths as a unit, rather than deliberately trying to play unattractive football.

If you watch the home game against Wigan last season, you wil see one of the most eye catching performances by our club for a long time. But playing that same open style against tougher opposition would not be so wise.

In terms of tactical set up before the game, I think Moyes gets it right more often than not. But we do still have to question his ability to change the set up when the game evolves. That said, its not like he has many ’game changing’ players sat on the bench.

Stylish football is only effective when demonstrated by world class players. I still find Arsenal the most aesthetically pleasing football team to watch in terms of flow, but ultimately it accounts for nothing unless the ball ends up in the onion bag.

I am sure we all would enjoy watching a more free flowing Everton, and I am hoping Fellaini can be the major contributor in making that happen this season. Fingers crossed.

I’ll take us just winning the games.

Look at how successful Liverpool have been. They spend 89 minutes of the game boring the opposition to death and one minute scoring a goal.

At the end of the day, who’s going to look back into the history books and think, "Didn’t they play pretty football?"

I disagree that it’s a lack of flair that’s making us last on Match of the Day. We’re just an unfashionable club. We play in an old stadium where the press box is uncomfortable and shabby. We don’t have hundreds of millions of pounds to spend on so called superstars that interest the press. Signing Championship fullbacks and Swedish Under-21 players is hardly backpage headline stuff.

The press don’t like the fact that we dare to disrupt the status quo and gatecrash the glamour party at the top of the league when we haven’t spent a lot of money. In other words they don’t think we deserve it. Look at how we’re not even mentioned this season as contenders for a top 4 but Villa are and Spurs are.

Most fans around the country were rooting for us at Wembley but the press were very relieved that Chelsea won. Also look at the way the press are urging Lescott to leave to "better himself" at a big club. City - a big club! Add to that the fact that Moyes treats the press with utter contempt (see the press conference after he binned Anichebe) and you can see why we’re not well liked.

We could play the most attractive football and we’d still be shown in a 2-minute summary at the end of MotD which would basically show the goals and Fellaini elbowing someone even though he’d have had someone kicking him all game. But I say fuck ’em. Success will taste all the more sweeter when it’s done the Everton way.

The style of play a team plays is 99% down to the manager and Moyes will always play a pragmatic rather than attractive brand of football so don't get your hopes up. If you think finishing 5th is a great achievement then you cannot really argue with the philosophy. If you think finishing 5th is much the same as finishing 10th then I think you will probably be much more open to losing a few more games because you are playing a more open brand of football.

In the past I always thought the belief in playing a good brand of football is what made Everton FC (and West Ham I suppose) stand out from the rest...

Just to reiterate what Alan Clarke said about us not being mentioned as contenders for the top 4. The bookie spot on Talksport this morning extended the ’Big 4’ to a ’Big 5’ — were we included? No, No, No, the ’Big 5’ now included Man Shitty!!! Bloody bastards!!!

The season before last, we played excellent football at times and we had a long Uefa Cup campaign, reached the semi finals of the Carling Cup and finished 5th in the Premier League, so it can be done. Obviously injuries haven’t helped last time round, most notbaly Arteta, who was just starting to hit form as were Everton in terms of style of play.

Priorities, and as some have already mentioned. Let's start winning things before we start winning things in style!

Grind out a Carling Cup on penalties then hammer someone in the FA Cup.

I'd be happy/ecstatic with just the Carling Cup though.

I would gladly sit through 38 drab 1-0 wins next season and another 6/10 in the cups.

It’s all well and good waxing lyrical about "free-flowing attractive football" but to my mind there is only one team in the Premier League that do this, Arsenal... and what have they won the last few years? It’s great being able to play pretty but if you don’t get results you don’t get the prizes.

People may have "loved" watching the Baggies but look where that attractive footy got them. We simply do not have the calibre of players in the team to play like Arsenal and a gritty 1-0 win (think the Fergie header against ManUre under the floodlights) can be just as satisfying as a 7-1 stroll against a Sunderland type team.

Minimum entertainment but maximum points would do me for a few seasons, win everything then get the money for the better "flair" players and go on from there but we will not win anything trying to play fancy, we play to our strengths and at the moment that is usually one of the ugliest things around with a sprinkle of goodness every now and again.

Sean, I totally agree with you mate. I long for the day when we play the ball on the deck and move it about with some style. As you say, West Brom did this every week and with a better squad would have faired a lot better last season.

We pay good money to watch these hugely paid players perform and that's what they should do, perform to the best of their abilities and that includes passing and moving with style and elegance. We are getting there but there are at least 10 games a season where I’m bored to bits by our mundane game play.

Here’s to some ball playing signings and the magical Spaniard making us beautiful again.

Chris: "that's what they should do, perform to the best of their abilities and that includes passing and moving with style and elegance."

If only mate, however look at our team. The only "passers" are Arteta, Fellaini, possibly Pienaar (who is frustrating) and the new kid Rodwell (confident on the ball and looks for the pass). All the others scare me when they are in position, as if there is any hint of pressure most of them shunt it upfield.

I also long for the day for great footy but with the team we have we simply won’t get it, especially against the better teams and also the more defensive teams.

Tony. As I said, West Brom managed to play an attractive brand with far less quality of player!! Our team is full of internationals, they shouldn’t panic when the ball is at their feet, they train every day so they can perfect their art... Now why can’t we string more than 5 passes together?

Ahh Sean, that’s the $64,000 question.

Why can’t professional footballers seemingly pass to their own players?

I wish I could know the answer to that question and be able to do something about it so I can can get the same wages as Moyes.

A little off topic
From Opta. Everton conceded the highest proportion of goals from set-plays 38% –

Surprising

Sean, you have a virtuous aspiration for this team... I salute it.

Oh aye, and the person who mentioned our improved style with Fernandes playing through the middle has a supporter here as well.