The Mail Bag
Look on the bright side....
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After a couple of miserable draws, shipping eight goals in two games, and some fresh injuries to some of our only remaining senior players... it just gets worse and worse! God only knows what our line up against Tottenham will look like, but I strongly expect we will be on the receiving end of a pasting.
Watching the game today, a strange feeling of calm washed over me I had to just shrug my shoulders. In spite of the defeat, I was left feeling optimistic.
Reasons for my optimism, in spite of miserable defeat:
1) We are missing our brightest and best and still managing to compete in the Prem;
2) The injury crisis is giving us a chance to give some of the youngsters some experience, Gosling, Rodwell, and Coleman are all getting some valuable experience (and hopefully learning some harsh lessons); 3) The crisis is also letting us get some players, like Neill and Bily up to speed, and allowing a good run in the side for Jo, who has to find some form soon... (which mad Arab paid £18 million for him?).
The squad’s versatility and effort can’t be faulted, and my only wish is that Kenwright and the rest of the Board would dig as deep as the players are right now and sign a midfielder who can give us a bit more depth and help improve the quality of the football on offer for the fans who continue to show their support week-in and week-out.
This, I know, is pie in the sky. We will continue to rely on makeshift wingers and centre-backs, or youngsters when plan A fails. David Moyes and the rest of the squad have an unenviable task and it looks like us fans will have to endure more of this dross before things start to get better. Pretty it isn’t... but they continue to have my full support.That which doesn’t kill us, can only make us stronger.
Patrick Browne, Posted 25/10/2009 at 13:32:26
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Moyes needs to figure out: WHY ALL OUR FUCKING PLAYERS ARE FUCKING INJURED!!!
I understand that we have several quality players out but it drives me mad that none of our highly paid, Premier League quality midfield stars can put their foot on the ball and exert some semblance of control over a game. We weren’t facing title contenders here. But it was back to good old hit and hope, or pray that Saha can do it all on his own.
Another one that we could, and should, have won.
Liverpool lost four consecutive games and all week there’s been speculation about Rafa Benitez’s job.
Spurs (a) could well be the 3rd game on the trot and with Aston Villa and Benfica after that, Moyes could be in trouble.
How many games on the trot does Moyes have to lose before the press start questioning his position?
We certainly were not dominated by any means today. Although the result stings, I did actually enjoy watching this match today. I really had the feeling we could score on each attack. Saha's goal was delightful, I haven't screamed like that for a while. Maybe the link I was watching was edited to only show the good bits!
Distin starting to struggle; like Heitinga in the middle as he brings the ball forward and looks to pass, Neill was the best RB performance of the season... he distributed excellently... pity he didn’t clear their last goal.
I’m afraid Gosling didn’t cope... I was calling for Baxter to replace him for 10 minutes when he messed up what should have been a tap-in third for two totally unmarked players! From then 'til the Bolton's 3rd, my head was in my hands in shock a la Cahill every time he misses a sitter...
A draw probably would have been a fair result.
But sacking a manager because more than 50% of his first team is out injured? Seems a little harsh don’t you think?
Every prick and his dog knew that after another farce of a summer, we were gonna be exposed if we had injuries to key players. I feel sorry for these kids being blooded at such a hard time... we’ll ruin Rodwell at this rate.
Moyes and Billy Bullshit out....
14th or 15th in the league; out of the Carling Cup on Tuesday; out of the TFA Cup early; we may qualify from the Europa League group... but we won't make it much further.
Too many injuries too early in season — it's fucked us over and that's it.
Roll on next season...
Howard
Neville Yobo Jagielka Baines
Pienaar Rodwell Arteta Bilyaletdinov
Saha Yakubu
That is a strong line up... To suggest that we are under performing for any more significant reason than we are missing at least 6 of our best players is frankly laughable.
Cheers
I’m considering giving up on this season to start over next one. We are lucky as there are still 3 teams worse than us, so don’t think we will go down, it’s just going to be unpleasant. I miss Mikel more than ever.
I’d also say that it isn’t based on the last two games but all games except one or two. Everton are a club in crisis and our influential players are end of November or further away so there is no natural end to the crisis in the near future.
Given the quality of football that we are playing, relegation isn’t out of the question by any means. I believe that they did fairly well today though and the last thing a club in hopefully temporary crisis needs is to sack its manager.
Fulham, Burnley, Stoke, Wolves and now Bolton. 2 pts from a possible 15 against poor sides is a joke. We only just managed to turn Wigan and Pompey over as well, and these sides are not even considered as our close rivals for the 5th spot. God help us when we actually meet a good side.
There was a big moment in the game where maybe Dan Gosling should of scored but he is a young boy and he will learn.
"And that’s not the reason we lost. We didn’t defend properly and we didn’t do the things that stop you losing games. Because of that we have ended up losing it. They have been told - you don’t play like that and play for Everton.
"So it is up to them (the players) to sort it out now. I will help them and coach them and work with them - but at the end of the day they are the ones who cross the white line and they need to roll their sleeves up. I’ll protect them, I’ll protect their performances. But if they don’t do basic things like head the ball and defend set-pieces, which they practice and work on - then it is themselves they need to look at."
The manager was also not happy that his side found themselves having to chase the game as a result of two goals conceded in the opening 25 minutes.
He added: "We didn’t start brightly enough. I thought at times we played quite well as the game went on. It was pretty and nice to watch. But Bolton won the game with a more simple style of football so maybe we should think about getting the ball in the box and doing something similar."
I make him 100% correct. I know he doesn’t always get it right but i still believe he is the right man for everton if given proper funds.
Remind me....who puts Jo on the pitch? or Cahill on the right wing? or Hibbert in left back?
What would David Attenborough do...
We have the same number of points after 9 games as last season by the way.
He is fucking clueless. My season ticket is up for grabs for any moron mad enough to say thay want to watch this shite.
Nope...I’d suggest that any of those players are good enough to play in an Everton 11. However I can’t agree that playing them ALL in the same Everton side at the same time results in a ’strong side’. It surely doesn’t.
Put say Fellaini and Distin in the side I suggested and you’d still have something like a strong side but I reckon there’s a world of difference between the side I listed and the one that played today.
Assuming you could clone the common members of the two sides (Howard,Rodwell and Saha) I’m pretty confident that the team I listed would play todays line-up off the park.
Try this link
http://www.scribd.com/doc/21530963/Everton-Mortgage-October-2009
Of course, the injury crisis is the prime reason for all this but we messed up in the Summer transfer window — again. The tendency to let in silly goals is a major concern and we lack creativity. It is also taking the Yak a while to get back to match fitness. A bad sign.
We must be realistic and accept that Arteta, Jags, Neville and the Yak may be past their past their best because of these injuries. As someone says — blooding kids is usually a good idea but we’re scarcely a quarter of the way through the season and Rodwell has played too much football and been on the wrong side in two really heavy defeats. Learning the very hard way.
I too had a "calm" period today but I think its down to the fact that I’ve suddenly realised that we are not going to win anything or even qualify for Europe this season, and therefore my normal stressful week-ends and Thursday nights are a thing of the past.
Whilst I’m absolutely sure we will climb the table when we get the injured players back it will be far too late for us to do anything other than safeguard our Premier League status. The next 3-4 weeks with the likes of Spurs (x2), AV, Man U, Benfica, Liverpool will be too much for us without the likes of Jags, Arteta, Neville and no doubt others and we will be nestled around 12-15th place.
The real issue will be whether a 2010-11 season without European football will mean a 2010-11 season without the likes of Arteta, Pienaar, Yakubu, Rodwell etc etc.
I would just like to say we can turn this around but hopefully our main players will be back for the next 6 very tough league games:
Villa (H), West Ham (A), Man Utd (A), Liverpool (H), Spurs (H) and Chelsea (A)...
I would be happy for 10 points out of that little lot.
Villa - on last three Everton games our defence will be shredded by their pace - 0 points
West Ham - on one of todays matches worth watching turning a 0-2 to Arsenal to a deserved draw shows how you keep playing til the fat lady sings - lucky to get 1 point
Man Utd - not a hope at the theatre of weet dreams - 0 points
RS - again after today watch how ladyboy’s pace takes a poor defence apart - 0 points
Spurs - a bogey team for us no matter how well we play - lucky to get 1 point
Chelski - too much pace a footballing ability as DM NEVER ATTACKS A TOP 4 SIDE despite the Wigan game v Chelski which showed it can be done - 0 points
We will be lucky to come from those games with 2 points. Donning my tin hat, but from what I’ve seen so far this season, especially last few weeks a reasonable guess.
Wow, another mortgage...I wonder how much it’s for and what the it’s actually raised on...as the companies house form doesn’t state this..
Also - I wonder what it’s for....certaintly not for players...
Kirkby?
What things do I talk about..that they do?
Is this another example of someone putting 2 and 2 together and coming up with 6?
I don’t even recall mentioning Keioc..or any of their policies...
You will of course enlighten me...
Now I think we have come a long way since the Mike Walker/Peter Johnson days so talk of being relegated is laughable at this stage of the season.
I agree it’s frustrating at the moment, we couldn’t even enjoy the RS poor run of form for too long.
I’m sure when a few of the quality players get fit we will have another November night to remember when our season turns for the better and who knows maybe we might win the FA Cup this season and finish in the top 6 and we will all be back here in May backslapping each other!!
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1 Posted 25/10/2009 at 16:24:46
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They got whooped 6-1 by Utd and we got whooped 6-1 by Arsenal. Their owner supposedly wanted to sell the club but couldn’t ever agree terms and oddly enough our owner wants to sell the club but can’t ever agree terms.