The Mail Bag
Mr Nice Guys
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Following the turgid offering displayed against Birmingham and the general apathy that has gone before against team's such as Wolves, Bolton, Fulham, Stoke, Burnley, Hull et al what has struck me is the lack of fight, appetite for a scrap and commitment within the ranks.
There may be mitigating factors such as the tone being set by the summer of discontent, Lescott saga, opening day mauling and ongoing injury crisis, however what I fail to accept is the soft underbelly approach that is currently being offered. We seem to be consistently out-muscled, out-fought and lacking in terms of both confidence and the ability to get involved in a scrap.
Fellaini may have his disciplinary problems due to petulance and his awkward and ungainly approach, Cahill will chase and badger for every ball, and both Lucas Neill and John Heittinga seem to have previous, yet there does not appear to be anyone currently on the books who the opposition would consider to be physically intimidating. The sight of Lee Bowyer and Barry Ferguson being given cart blanche in the middle of the Park at Goodison had me reeling.
Previous contributors have been lambasted regarding their predictions of a relegation dog-fight... but facts are facts: we are nearly half-way through the season and perilously close to the trap-door. It's time for the players and management to stand up and be counted. My major worry is that we don't appear to have a Barry Horne, Joe Parkinson or Lee Carsley in the ranks and, unless we can get Phil Neville fit anytime soon, the coming months are going to be a struggle.
David Moyes has been roundly criticised on these pages for his lack of creativity, width and buying versatile players to cope with the demand of a paper-thin squad. Add to this the lack of an ugly ball-winner and we are left with a team of Mr Nice Guys and a home ground that is no longer feared by the opposition but seen as a place where points are to be had.
Peter Laing, Posted 21/12/2009 at 13:13:13
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By the way, aren’t you overlooking why he left us in the first place?
We have never really replaced The Cars. And we won’t this season. My only hope for that role is Heitinga. He has the skills and attitude, but that sort of trust with those around him takes a long campaign to achieve.
The only other hope is that we can play a passing game (as Arsenal are doing again and winning games) to beat other teams. Saha and Bily can convert, maybe the Yak, even Vaughan.
But the others aren’t lying down. At present almost anyone in this league can get a result from anyone. So who will our Dogs of War be when called upon?
Maybe we could splash a bit of Old Mother Hubbard in January.
Ball-winners like Neville and Carsley are an important part of any team, but not the reason we are not winning games. The reason is just simply, no goals from half-chances and not enough from good chances, and where are the goals when there isn't even a chance... other teams score them ffs.
Cahill's not scoring frequently, Pienaar’s shots are a joke, Yak looks completely out of it. That leaves Saha to win games for us, and now teams know that he is most dangerous around the edge of the box, he's being closed down.
Not enough goalscorers, full stop.
Saying that, I think we’ll improve at some point and finish around mid-table; probably lower half. But, most importantly, safe.
Regarding Tim Cahill, I have never seen a player fade as badly as he has in the last 12 months — he’s a shadow of his former self and, whilst he still has a semblance of a reputation to cash in on, it may be worth considering getting rid for what we can get. It pains me to say that, as I am a huge fan when he has his head right, but he’s simply a liability at the moment.
We have improved dramatically since we let Lee Carsley go. Our football improved big time because we had two centre midfielders willing to take the ball and with Arteta and Neville we kept more clean sheets than we did with Carsley in the side the season before.
There was no doubting he did a good job for us during a certain period of our development under Moyes, but Everton needed to move on, certainly if we had any ambition in terms of progressing.
Phil Neville, who’s far from the long-term answer, did Carsley’s job and actually looked for the ball and was willing to take it. Arteta showed underrated defensive qualities and his ability in terms of retaining and passing the ball was there for everyone to see.
We need these players back, especially Arteta. We dominated the Birmingham game for long periods, I’m more worried about our lack of creativity, to be honest.
We need Mikel Arteta back, not Lee Carsley.
Arteta was the most fouled player in the PL exactly for the reason you state — his ability to hold the ball. Not a bad form of defence. I can only dream about the day he links up with the maturing Fellaini, the blossoming Pienaar, the rampaging Baines — and, for me, the newly discovered Coleman — with Rodwell hanging about to plug the gaps. A fully fit Arteta and Saha in a good team is too much to hope for.
I haven’t forgotten Cahill, Osman and Hibbert. They are important parts of the evolution, and to answer my own question, may well be the Dogs of War to take us through this. They would lay down their lives for the cause. And if we do need another Cars — for the moment — after his performances in Europe I would nominate Tony Hibbert, yes, in midfield... where his skills (and I do mean that) could be put to their best use. I loved his performance against BATE. Put him amongst those runaround Championship players of Burnley, Stoke, Sunderland and the like, and they wouldn’t know what hit them (within the laws of the game of course — and Hibbo is, I would guess, incapable of a ’professional foul’).
I don’t think a Carsley type player is the answer. A new manager, however, would make a great Xmas present.
Why didn’t he wheel and deal like other mangers and get players of the ilk of Barry Ferguson (£1M) or Damien Duff (£4M)? Proven players who will go straight in and do a job, even if it is only short term.
I know it is hindsight but Moyes never takes any risks and we have paid for it big time, with this season slowly becoming a complete write off. To leave the Lescott deal until the last week was a mistake as well, I would sooner have had £2 million less with more time to spend the money.
We have never been ready for this season since the first day against Arsenal.
Having said all that, we have improved in the last couple of games just with the final ball lacking. I do believe Donovan will shake things up and add something new to the team. I also believe that we have the quality to start climbing up the table.... but also acknowledge that the team’s at the bottom (which we are) suffer from a lack in confidence. I think that playing half decent football is the way forward to get us out of this mess: I just hope that the players have the balls to continue to do it!
As for us, I’d like to turn back the clock and grind out six 1-0 wins — we’ve done it before with less talented players.
FFS, this season has been an absoute embarrassment to watch. Fellaini is a joke, end of; he cannot run, cannot tackle, how ffs can he be a defensive midfielder!!!!
Jo is Bambi on Ice, he is clueless, and shows why that twat Hughes got the boot.
Hibbert is just a joke, nothing else to say.
Cahill is????? someone please tell me.
Yak is way of being fit.
Not one of the youngsters (I do not include Coleman or Rodwell) show any kind of promise as demonstrated in the one dimensional one-way match against Bate.
I gave the example of the RS — one defeat last season and 2nd in the Prem — look at them now; they look like a bag of shite with the same players (minus Alonso) as last season.
It's just to counteract the unbelievable negativity on this site, if you’d wondered on to this site by accident you’d think that Everton was perennial relagation fodder, and every player was a donkey. Most of you seem to forget that this is a good team inside trying to get out
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1 Posted 21/12/2009 at 13:08:39
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We keep hearing Neville is close to a come back but they have been saying that for 6 weeks and now Rodwell is out for 4 weeks and Heitinga will have to continue at centre half as Yobo, Distin and Jagielka probably won't play the whole of January. Carsley knows the club he is respected by the fans and will cost fuck all.
Lee Carsley! EFC is sending you an SOS call.