The Mail Bag
Young uns!
Comments (13)
With the inguries and fatiuge we are suffering why did Moyes not utilies some of the fring players last night and give the likes of Cahill, Felli and Howerd a rest?
Agard up front with Yak, Baxter down the right, Akpan on the bench and Nash in goal?
But no — all the lads 90mins again!! — Then this morning I read Moyes saying Cahill is heading for burn out!?!? Then why play him!?!?
I am starting to lose paticence with Moyes tactics and decision making!
Si Harwood, Posted 28/10/2009 at 06:15:44
Comments
Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer
The truth is he’s not a midfielder and without having any ball players around him ie, Arteta and Pienaar, he is totally exposed.
The boy plays well enough for Australia there and he has done well on occasion there for Everton. Although, there is no argument that he thrives more in an advanced role. It’s plain to see that he’s knackered.
We haven’t got the squad depth to compete on 4 fronts and last night was a good time to prioritise. For me, it was always a call between the Carling cup and the Europa league and even with the lesson in Lisbon, we should still qualify from the group.
Moyes should have played the younger lads last night. At least they would have provided some energy and refreshed the others for Saturday.
It is Moyes’s style to play his strongest team at almost all times. That in itself is a problem. It could be argued that our relative success in recent seasons has been hewn from consistency & togetherness as much as anything else. But there are limits to any strategy.
I fail to see the point of having good young players in the first team squad if you always decide not to use them unless it’s a very last resort. As has been mentioned by others, we have a number of young guys with potential & that potential stands more chance of being realised if they get the manager’s approval & play games.
It could even be argued that a fresh and eager young player, provided he has the essential talent, is more useful on some occasions than a tired older player and particularly one played out of position.
I don’t think one can overstate the blow to us in losing an excellent settled defence, especially one marshalled by Lescott & Jags. It’s been the backbone of all we’ve done under Moyes and it’s gone, for now. It used to be news if we conceded just 1 goal, clean sheets were everywhere. Now it’s dragging the whole team down.
I still rank our first team as capable of beating almost anybody. But, with so many missing, Moyes’s strategy of moving players around is probably creating as many problems as it solves.
Frustration levels are at max. Justified? Probably. I think we’re all going to have to acknowledge that we risk being fucked over until we get the heart of the team back. Moyes is a conservative manager, sometimes to our detriment, so that day can’t come soon enough.
It’s not all his fault, that would be ridiculous. But this season could collapse into ashes very quickly if we don’t get a foothold soon. Saturday against Villa would do just fine, but I have a horrible feeling a rot is setting in, albeit temporarily.
I’m sorry but fuck the Carling Cup. Give Howard, Cahill, Saha, Distin, etc a break and bring in the kids. We were always going to lose last night so at least give the kids a chance and give the remaining first-teamers a rest. Nash could have had a go in the side and Baxter and Wallace have shown enough promise to be given a proper run-out.
As for Cahill, the reason he is not playing too good is because he is not a bloody winger.
As for the injuries, yes it has been dreadful but last night that team consisted of our two best forwards, our costliest player ever, and highest paid player ever... In fact, minus having to play Cahill out wide, it was a strong team and yet we still hear over-the-top excuses. Our team last night had more first choice players in it than Spurs; apart from Gosling, all those players on show would be getting close to being first choice players depending on form.
The problem is Moyes has bought far too many workhorses who can play in different defensive positions and when our two flair players get injured we are fucked.
When Fellaini's not in the side, we miss him, although he's not perfect and isn’t pleasing on the eye, in my opinion, he's quite effective.
I sometimes wonder have people actually ever played the game, if someone blamed you for there poor performance, you would be furious. If Cahill is playing bad, blame HIM — or his manager for playing him out of position.
Personally, if he's not scoring goals, there isn’t much to his game. So he's either one of two extremes; to be appreciated, we have to play to his strengths which without any creative players isn’t posible.
Rob, tell me... what's Felliani best position?
What I also cannot understand is why Moyes persists in playing Jo away from home? I think he’s scored once away from home and that was against Hull reserves. I do not understand why Agard was not given a chance to gain some experience? How many chances has Jo been given in away games? He’s not even an Everton player!
Am I right in thinking that is were Fellaini was bought for, defensive midfield, and my point is this: if you look at how small our midfield is, then I feel his presence is missed when he doesn’t play.
I do admit he is a strange prospect but I tend to like him. Don't forget he is only young and when he is on his game fully fit, after a run of games I think he has done well. Remenber Man U and Man City last year. He plays wherever hes asked and does some jobs better than others.
However it is typical Moyes an I'm not a hater, more in the middle. But it always seems to be square pegs in round holes.
I agree with you about Cahill's best position but we can't have it every way, we have people wanting 4-4-2 at home and rightly so, so were does Tim fit in?
I think I understand what you're getting at; however, I was pointing out that Felli should take no blame for other players' poor performances.
It is quite remarkable though how Felli splits opinion on here. As I say to my match-going friends who are equally split, let's agree to disagree.
Add Your Comments
In order to post a comment to the MailBag, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.
Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and MailBag submissions across the site.
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
-sm.jpg)
1 Posted 28/10/2009 at 15:39:25
Report abuse
I’m waiting for Ken's "From my seat" report. He normally scores players as sympathetically as he can, but he is going to have his work cut out to give the Tiger any marks at all this time.
If we are ever going to get the benefit of Cahill's predatory instincts again, Moyes needs to save him from this nightmare. Cahill should be packed to a tropical paradise for 3-4 weeks with the instructions to come back firing on all cylinders, it was so sad to see this proud Evertonian get the absolute run around last night.