The Mail Bag
We Aren't So Bad After All
Comments (23)
Quite interesting results over the weekend. Stoke went to White Hart Lane and got a win. Aston Villa were held to a draw at Wolves. Both Spurs and Villa fielded a full strength team. Yet Spurs lost, and Villa only managed a draw.
Everton, on the other hand, with a team decimated by injuries, gets draws with Stoke and Wolves, and Toffeewebbers cry 'doom & gloom' for Everton.... and that 'Moyes must be replaced'. Let's face it, there aren't any 'easy' teams and 'easy' victories anymore in the Premier League. I think Moyes is doing a great job with what he has. Let's not go over-board just yet.
Yes, losing to Benfica by 5-0 is bad, but let's remember that Moyes had 10 first-team players out with injury. Let's see how Rafa, or Ferguson, or Hughes deals with such a crisis. Let's wait till Everton have their key players back in action before we start passing judgements like 'sack Moyes'.
For now, I think we should be grateful that we have a manager and a set of players who are doing just fine, despite the many setbacks they're facing.
TL Sebastian, Posted 25/10/2009 at 01:37:11
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0-5 is a terrible result
But it is just that - a terrible result.
But it is just that - a terrible result.
I think 5-0 in the Europa was also a terrible result. But fortunately our earlier wins means that in the grand scheme of things, it’s not the end of the world. We still have a great chance of qualification.
The point that TL is making, is that two teams we drew against in the league (Stoke & Wolves), have just picked up points against teams that are our direct competitors. And the other point being made, is that injuries is the mitigating factor behind the poor run of results. I completely agree with what he is saying. Considering our terrible luck with injuries, I am not too upset to be mid table and still in a strong position in Europe. At least we have a decent platform to build on when our better players are back on the pitch again. Its been a bad start to the season, there is no doubt of that. But can it all be blamed on the managers tactics or ability? I do not think so.
The point that TL is making, is that two teams we drew against in the league (Stoke & Wolves), have just picked up points against teams that are our direct competitors. And the other point being made, is that injuries is the mitigating factor behind the poor run of results. I completely agree with what he is saying. Considering our terrible luck with injuries, I am not too upset to be mid table and still in a strong position in Europe. At least we have a decent platform to build on when our better players are back on the pitch again. Its been a bad start to the season, there is no doubt of that. But can it all be blamed on the managers tactics or ability? I do not think so.
I’ll reserve judgement until after we have played all of the Sky Four, Man City, Aston Villa and Tottenham. At this stage the challengers for fourth have the capability to beat a Sky Four team eg A Villa over Chelea, Man City over Chelsea.
Somehow I struggle to see how our tactics employed will enable us to win against these teams.
Somehow I struggle to see how our tactics employed will enable us to win against these teams.
Correction, that should be Man City over Arsenal.
If we were in fifth challenging for the fourth spot I would say we were doing fine.
Right now, I would say that, considering the injuries we are coping.
4 points behind Liverpool with a game in hand, 3 points of the third relegation spot, Hull, with 2 games in hand, and the potential to rise up to 7th if our games in hand work to our advantage.
So not fine, but it is retrievable.
Right now, I would say that, considering the injuries we are coping.
4 points behind Liverpool with a game in hand, 3 points of the third relegation spot, Hull, with 2 games in hand, and the potential to rise up to 7th if our games in hand work to our advantage.
So not fine, but it is retrievable.
Seeing thousands of fans leaving the stadium ten minutes into the second half having spent hundreds of hard earned pounds to get there is not doing just fine mate its a disgrace.
Why do we need to look at other teams results to justify how shit we are playing? I am not crying "doom and gloom" but I am certainly worried by our recent performances and our inability to be prepared for the seasons start. Moyes looks stale as well as the players. I think this everything will be fine mentality couldn’t be further from the truth.
Andrew, do you honestly not think that things will get better when we get Pienaar, Arteta, Jagielka, Yakubu, Anichebe, Baines, Neville, Yobo etc. fully fit?
I can’t believe how negative people are on this website. It’s become a joke on matchday, all the crap that’s written on here. People posting about who we should get as our new manager. NO other manager has been able to break the top four. When Liverpool are without their best two players they’re ordinary. We’ve coped for the last six months without our best three players in each area of the pitch. Now we have our captain and our best creative winger out. We have the ability to beat teams and rise up the table but we can’t do it when our players are injured. And that, my friends, IS NOT the manager’s fault.
Nicholas,
Getting the formation wrong most weeks, persisting with Osman & Neville, making last minute rushed signings, being battered twice after only a handful of games, playing ultra defensive at home to the likes of Wolves and Stoke etc etc
Surely some claims criticising Moyes are justified to some degree?! I don’t dislike Moyes, infact I’d even say he’s done a good job on the whole - but he definately has his faults!
Getting the formation wrong most weeks, persisting with Osman & Neville, making last minute rushed signings, being battered twice after only a handful of games, playing ultra defensive at home to the likes of Wolves and Stoke etc etc
Surely some claims criticising Moyes are justified to some degree?! I don’t dislike Moyes, infact I’d even say he’s done a good job on the whole - but he definately has his faults!
Nicholas, Moyes has done superb for us that is a FACT and I feel sorry for him with the terrible injury list, but against Stoke and Wolves we still had a first eleven full of internationals that cost far more than both those teams first eleven,infact our bench cost more than Wolves first eleven and the football and tactics played was dire and that IS the managers fault, as was his refusal to do something about Gosling getting raped when he should have moved Hibbert over and put the new Rio in defence and move Cahill to his rightfull posistion.
As for the matchday joke I never heard any on Thursday just anger mate and that result has been coming for a while.
The injuries are killing us and things will turn around, but lets be honest Moyes has not been playing well either.
As for the matchday joke I never heard any on Thursday just anger mate and that result has been coming for a while.
The injuries are killing us and things will turn around, but lets be honest Moyes has not been playing well either.
Somone else lost therefore it’s ok for us to have bad results?
Ridiculous assertion.
Ridiculous assertion.
By the way we didn’t have anything near 10 ’first team’ players absent.
4 at most.
4 at most.
God, and here’s me thinking we we’re shite! Reading your post TL, has just put it into perspective for me, that those defeats by Burnley and Fulham, along with those negative draws at home with Stoke and Wolves, and the thrashings by Asenal and Benfica apart, everything is ok.
Ciaran
Arteta
Jags
Pienar
Neville
Yobo
Baines
six first choice players plus...
Osman -I know before anyone says it.
Anichebe - (Not first choice but got a few goals in our last Euro trips)
Vaughan last time I looked a regular on the bench if not the treatment room.
On top of this Hibbo at centre back and two inexperienced full backs.
5 nil was poor but no-one can say it wasn’t expected.
’4 at most’ ...ridiculous assertion. Learn to count.
Arteta
Jags
Pienar
Neville
Yobo
Baines
six first choice players plus...
Osman -I know before anyone says it.
Anichebe - (Not first choice but got a few goals in our last Euro trips)
Vaughan last time I looked a regular on the bench if not the treatment room.
On top of this Hibbo at centre back and two inexperienced full backs.
5 nil was poor but no-one can say it wasn’t expected.
’4 at most’ ...ridiculous assertion. Learn to count.
Dave, thats the reason why BK and Moyes will always be imune from criticism, when we have fans like you, who say " 5 nil was poor but no - one can say it wasn’t expected "
Going off topic slightly, I watched the Benfica game on ESPN and thought the commentator say something along the lines that if we make progress in the competition, at a later stage the likes of Heitinga will be eligible to play--- is that correct?
One thing will be certain today, it will be a horrible game, and the best we can hope for is an undeserved 0-0. In the circumstances, a great result. Aaarrghh!!!
One thing will be certain today, it will be a horrible game, and the best we can hope for is an undeserved 0-0. In the circumstances, a great result. Aaarrghh!!!
Dave Usher,
Hiow many players do you have in your first eleven...because Neville and Yobo aren’t in my first eleven...
I’d love to know who you’d ditch for these two players..
So, by my reckoning....there’s 4 first teamers out...
P.S I can count. Can you?
Hiow many players do you have in your first eleven...because Neville and Yobo aren’t in my first eleven...
I’d love to know who you’d ditch for these two players..
So, by my reckoning....there’s 4 first teamers out...
P.S I can count. Can you?
Following TL’s logic, I’m looking forward to witnessing a resounding victory at White Hart Lane on Tuesday evening!
’The best we can hope for is an undeserved 0-0 draw today’ ???????????
And people are calling Moyes negative! Have a look at yourself, John.
And the ’counting debate’???? Is there anything such as a first choice eleven these days? With injuries, 3 matches in 5 days, it’s a squad game and you would use Yobo and Neville as first choices in some away games, against certain formations etc. I’d probably define a first choice player as one that you would expect to start more than 25/30 games a season out of around 50 games and be on the bench for most of the others. No doubt Ciaran will have something to say about that one...... ;)
We have
And people are calling Moyes negative! Have a look at yourself, John.
And the ’counting debate’???? Is there anything such as a first choice eleven these days? With injuries, 3 matches in 5 days, it’s a squad game and you would use Yobo and Neville as first choices in some away games, against certain formations etc. I’d probably define a first choice player as one that you would expect to start more than 25/30 games a season out of around 50 games and be on the bench for most of the others. No doubt Ciaran will have something to say about that one...... ;)
We have
For what its worth TL i agree with you
Karl I condsider our first eleven as our best eleven...And for me that doesn’t change..whatever the given situation..
The best players in the best positions.
The orginial point before we got to counting was that 10 of our ’first team’ were out..as some kind of justification for the basic mistakes on Thursday..I simply don’t accept this justification or the numbers...
You may have Neville in your preferential first team at times..That’s your prerogative...I however, wouldn’t have him near it unless there was no other choice...and I don’t think anybody in their right mind would have Yobo in before either Jags or Distin...But again, it’s all about opinions..
The best players in the best positions.
The orginial point before we got to counting was that 10 of our ’first team’ were out..as some kind of justification for the basic mistakes on Thursday..I simply don’t accept this justification or the numbers...
You may have Neville in your preferential first team at times..That’s your prerogative...I however, wouldn’t have him near it unless there was no other choice...and I don’t think anybody in their right mind would have Yobo in before either Jags or Distin...But again, it’s all about opinions..
Fook the game. lets blame Moyes, that gobshite puts a right back at left back, that says it all. Soft bastard can’t even put the right players in the right places. sack Moyes
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Playing crap football and losing 5-0... that's F I V E - N I L ... is definitely not "just fine".
Un-freakin-believable!