By 1968, I was properly into it and I cried when Jeff Astle RIP scored that goal for West Brom against us in the FA Cup Final. I loved those amber and blue kits. In those days, there were quaint customs such as, in the FA Cup, when there was a colour clash, it was the home team that changed their kit!
1970: we won the league and I had a superb colour signed photo of the Championship winning team; it had been autographed by John Hurst ? I cannot remember how or why but it just was. I had been to my first match at Goodison a few years earlier and we beat Nottingham Forest 1-0; the great Joe Royle scored the goal. There was a neat synchroncity to this as they had beaten us 1-0 on the day I was born, at the City Ground.
1984-85 and 1986-87: the fantastic Howard Kendall years, culminating in him walking away after we were not allowed into Europe... And they wonder why we hate Liverpool FC!
Colin Harvey tried but failed, followed by the awful Mike Walker, appointed it seemed solely on the back of one performance where Norwich slaughtered us at Goodison Park; Joe Royle's Dogs of War; and then the lame duck that was Walter Smith. He left after a tame surrender at 'Boro in the FA Cup.
Fast forward to Walter Smith finally going. I remember wanting one of two up and coming managers to get the Everton job. Moyes was one and the other (promise not to laugh?) was Gary Megson. It took Moyes thirty seconds to work his magic in the first match v Fulham at Goodison.
Since then, he has alternated between feast and famine. Yes, I was lucky enough to experience lots of glory days, the last being when we watched us beat Man Utd at Wembley in 1995 when Neville Southall saved us and Paul Rideout got the winner, a great way to finish a career that never quite fulfilled his early potential.
Now, I appreciate that football has changed. When Kendall won the League for the first time, it was a glorious surprise. Yes, we won the FA Cup in 1984 but which of us honestly thought we were going to be that good the following season? How good was that team? It included Paul Bracewell, my favourite Everton player ever.
I know that these days only probably a handful of teams can win the league, but I am sorry to say I have had enough of Moyes. Those mad, piercing blue eyes... he strikes me as someone who will not change his ways even when he is wrong. Why do we often start so badly? Why do our players always get injured? Why is he so conservative in his substitutions? Why are we so crap away from home?
This season, he has left us bereft of any attacking options. Knee-jerk reaction it may be... but I am just hoping that over the next 13 or so games we can stay in to touch with the bottom group of teams so that when we bring in the 2011 equivalent of Duncan Ferguson in January ? hopefully they can save us. What a dreadful state of affairs.
Moyes has to go as we cannot continue to reward him for such incompetence. It is his fault and only his fault that we are this bad. Without strikers, you are nothing. You will recall him saying only recently that he felt that this was his strongest squad. I think most of us realised after two games that this was a squad with no strikers worthy of the name.
So, who to bring in? My choice, as previously stated, would be Roberto Di Matteo. I saw his MK Dons play several times. They played nice football, he looks good, is very presentable and I really think he is going to be a great manager and we should snap him up if we can. I'm not so arrogant to think he would walk out of WBA. His record as a manger in League games is Played 113, Won 59 (52%), Drawn 26, Lost 25. That's very good for a new manager in difficult jobs.
Er , that's it. I have said my piece. I'm sorry, David Moyes, but your number is up.
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
On the next manager, who I would like to see at the start of next season? I would go for Martin Jol but like you I have also had this belief that Di Matteo could be a very good manager and this is something I have thought about since midway through last season.
Also, an ex-Moyes apologist, the reason my views have changed come down to the man's "safety-first above all else" approach and complete lack of imagination.
I agree also with everyone who points to the difference between the pre-Moyes period and today. That difference is reflected in the fans' hopes and aspirations, things that were non-existent in those dark and gloomy years.
My current dissolution with Moyes stems from those very hopes that he stirred in our breasts. He gave us a taste of what is possible but now that seems his ability is limited by my previously mentioned failings.
At the same time I will not call for his head or make suggestions about alternative managers. I suppose that is because of fear that those dark years could return.
Moyes safety first approach has always garnered enough points to keep us clear of relegation and I expect this season will be the same.
I am more and more critical of him and his methods because this season in particular he seems to be treading water while managers with less quality in their squads are going hell for leather.
Surely he must be kidding when only recently he recognised how bad we are at right midfield and this a year after the Donovan experiment and I do not rate Landon as anything other than competent.
Moyes sticks rigidly to a system designed to produce low-scoring games. He deploys a lone striker plus at the slightest hint of danger every man races to get goal side of the ball. Far too often that mad rush toward our own penalty area leads to long balls from defence to no-one in particular.
He has surrounded himself with assistants, all ex-defenders who I would guess had never scored a dozen goals between them in their entire playing career. How in hell's name can they advise a striker on how to score. Despite all that Moyes complains/whinges about our lack of goals.
To illustrate my point about his lack of imagination I point to SAFs substitutions against Bolton. Manure were losing when they brought on three attack minded substitutes, one of whom replaced a defensive midfielder. That changed flow of the game and produced an equaliser and almost won the game. In the same situation, our Davy would have replaced our lone striker with another lone striker and that would be the sum total of his imagination.
To sum up, I say that Moyes is a good but over cautious ? and until or unless he breaks that mould, he will never be a great ? manager.
But where are they? Anyone know?
In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.
» Log in now
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 Talking Points submissions across the site.
About these ads
Get rid of these ads and support ToffeeWeb
Bet on Everton and get a deposit bonus with bet365 at TheFreeBetGuide.com
* Everton deducted 8 pts; † Forest deducted 4 pts for PSR breachView full table
We use cookies to enhance your experience on ToffeeWeb and to enable certain features. By using the website you are consenting to our use of cookies in accordance with our cookie policy.