The Mail Bag
Striker light
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Today's game brought home to me one of the key deficiencies under David Moyes's reign. I watched as attack after attack faded due to poor final balls and/or poor finishing. The same was true in the City and Arsenal games who should have both been beaten out of sight.
When the side did so well last year, it was on the back of a consistent team that knew exactly where to play the ball for each other.
In my opinion, the constant changing of the front men Saha, Vaughan, Cahill , Yakubu, Jo and previously Anichebe, Andy Johnson, James Beattie, McFadden, Marcus Bent etc etc means the team cannot settle into a pattern of play where they know where to expect to hit the frontman.
I believe it also causes confusion on whether to play it short or long or to give balls to chase or play it to feet to be held up. This is especially apparent when teams like Birmingham put the player in possession under so much pressure forcing unnecessary errors.
It looks to me like Saha may be the latest to follow Jo out of the door looking at his body language today, which may explain our rumoured interest in Huntelaar and Beckford. However, until we get a settled forward line (OK I know it's usually one) I can't see us scoring the goals some of our build-up play deserves.
Jay Harris, Posted 23/01/2010 at 22:25:18
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I’ll ask you this: how many times in the last 4 years have you seen our strikers going 1-v-1 agaist the opposite team's keeper? How many clear-cut chances have they missed?
Not many, Jay. We have quality strikers, it's just that the chances are not quality; we need pace and guile... sadly this costs big money which we don’t have.
If there is one thing Moyes needs to do, it is prepare a future where Everton have two strikers from the start. Yesterday against Brum, 2-0 down at half-time, and who comes on? A midfielder!!! The manager’s mindset needs to change to react much quicker when going behind like Saturday.
If we had a settled strike force the rest of the players would get to know where and how they like the ball played.
I think you would agree that, in recent games and the second half yesterday, our build up play was very good but, apart from the goal, our final passing was not on the button.
As Nick said, we need the Yak back and settled in to a decent run in the team.
If we can find the right striker I think we could really take off. Problem we have with all the players you’venamed Jay is they all fit the bill but all have a deficiency which holds them, and us, back.
Saha - best we’ve got but cant be relied on due to injury fears
Vaughan - shit off a stick but couldnt hit a barn door, also injury prone
Cahill - fantastic fighter, questionable footballer
Yak - knows exactly where the goal is but doesnt do enough for the rest of the team
Anichebe - powerful but about as good as Micah Richards in front of goal
Jo - (I know he;s gone but for sake of argument...) SO lightweight but had real touch, probably a confidence player.
So - if you could get a morph Vaughan with Yak, Anichebe with Jo, Saha with Cahill you’d probably have the perfect player to play up front in a 4-5-1 Moyes formation.
The real shame is we’ve had two players on our books that would fitted in with A N Other to give a great front line selection:
Rooney - dont need to explain. Shame he turned out to be a ****.
Jeffers - pace and knew where the goal was, could’ve been great. Shame he turned out to be a ****.
Put either of those up front with a decent "big man" who can bully the defence, hold up the ball, lay it off etc etc and we’re in business.
So - we’ve had all the ingredients there, its just they’re mixed up amongst all the players or playing on other clubs fields.
God, what a pointless comment that all was!
Have a good week folks - roll on Wednesday!
COYB!
How Tim’s stroke of genius when boxed in by the touchline, tightly marked by two defenders with a third closing in, Tim bamboozled them with brilliant footwork then delivered an inch perfect 30-yarder to set up Pienaar one-on-one with their keeper.
Now, can anyone remind me of a single occasion when Osman, Bily et al did the same.
Leon Osman I believe. Scorer of as good a goal as the PL produces.
We could have played two wingers, two inside forwards and a centre forward against B/ham yesterday. They would have beaten us 30 nil.
We should be dictating the play, of course, but from a strong midfield built on a sound defence. The idea that having more strikers wins more games would be fine if we were playings against dustbins. Unfortunately, the opposition tend to run around (in packs) and, as they say, cut off the supply.
Coleman should have been the sub for Donovan yesterday. Baines opened them down the left for our goal, and Seamus, from defensive midfield, could have done the same. But we’ll never know.
Cahill for his lack of ability always had goals... now, without the goals, he has what? My solution is playing Pienaar in Cahill's role, that’s where Pienaar is at his best, running at people, creating space for the long striker, playing killer balls week-in, week-out.
But then we need a left-sided player, my vote goes for Adam Johnson: young, English, full of pace and tricks. Pace creates problems because managers tend to stick two players on the pacier players then gaps appear. We have no pace and we haven't had any since Andrei!!! Imagine Andrei in our team right now??
On the rarer than rocking horse shit occasions someone bothers their arse to stay near the halfway line, they are alone and, if they do get the ball, they have at least two players and the keeper left to beat. I’d love to see Everton learn to surge forward en masse and counter-attack just for a change.
Remember AJ down the wing? How can you blame him for leaving. There’s only one player on the planet that can lead the line on his own and he plays #9 for Spain.
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1 Posted 24/01/2010 at 15:37:01
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