In the Arsenal game, Davey himself brought on not one but two extra strikers. The trouble was that, Davey being Davey, he dithered over long before breaking his ingrained defensive mould. Nonetheless, and although it was only for the last few minutes.... but what an exciting riveting few minutes they turned out to be. Cahill scored another inspirational goal; Beckford, Saha and Rodwell went close, the Arsenal keeper made a couple of world class saves, the crowd roared into life and there was more goalmouth action in that 10 minutes than in the previous 80.
The Gunners may have been trying to sit on their two-goal cushion but they were very fortunate to end up with 3 points.
Later that same day, we saw an at home league-leading Chelsea torn apart by a Sunderland that threw caution to the winds with a two-, sometimes three-pronged attack. The 0-3 score line flattered Chelsea.
In the Potteries, relegation fodder Stoke ripped into a Liverpool side that didn?t know if it was Arfa or Marfa. They could not cope against Stoke's three, sometimes four strikers.
We have already rued our own performance against Bolton's two-man "bash through or crash" strikeforce. Blackpool continue to provide value for money with exhilarating attacking football. United and West Brom are others that shun the lone-striker syndrome. What amazes me is that City, with its vast riches and huge squad of top class players, stick to the lone striker rule.
Evertonians will be wondering if our Davey learned anything from that last few minutes against Arsenal but I doubt it. I expect him to revert to type with just the one striker against Sunderland... Perhaps if the chips are down and defeat looms he might just might throw on an extra striker.
Some Webbers are on record as saying that a lone striker is really an attacking ploy. IMHO that is pure unadulterated bullshit. It is and always has been the kind of negative defensive boring crap only employed by managers with the imagination of a fruit fly.
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I would play a more attacking side against virtually every other team except Man Utd and the Gunners. We definitely should attack much more against lesser opposition, especially at home. We desperately need to WIN our home games and not just get draws.
The difference? A striker in form, Arteta, a pulsating attacking force, quick ball from front to back, central, wide, pass , move, it had the lot. Why is our build up now so slow and predictable?
Long ball from Jags, long ball into touch from Distin a sideways pass from Mikel, and a foot on the ball from Pienaar.
It can be fixed on the training ground by the coaching staff. Spot-on article: attack with intent, agrression and pace. It has to be a mindset thing and not a case of lack of talent to implement.
Before I cop criticism about this, notice that the Yak is always perched on the left touchline, even when he is the solo striker, and Anichebe always was useful down the flank. Beckford has the speed. Playing a power game would involve a change of tactics too big for Moyes, but we can dare to dream... A line up for this tactic could be:
HowardNeville, Jagielka, Distin, Baines Arteta, Fellani, RodwellAnichebe/Beckford, Yakubu/Bily Saha/YakMore akin to our current style is Arsenal. One of the focal points of a 4-5-1, is the fact the midfielders have got to be willing to shoot from distance and have to be a goal threat. Apart from Cahill, I just don't see enough from the others this season.
I watched the victory over Man Utd from last season on DVD. It looks like we have two very different teams. In that game, we didn't hold the ball too long, we broke with pace and weren't afraid to shoot or have a go; if the players saw an opportunity they backed their gut instinct. It seems these days we are afraid to back that instinct.
Always looking for the perfect pass, it slows down our movement. It may be more pleasing on the eye with most of the game being played on the turf, but there is little reward for that work in keeping the ball.As others have pointed out, the result on Sunday was Arsenal 2 - 1 Arsenal Wannabees. But the real Arsenal took shots from the edge of the box, played with speed and backed their instinct. Bilyaletdinov is a player who can do this, but just doesn't have the consistency or confidence at the moment.A more trigger-happy line-up:HowardColeman, Heitinga, Jagielka, BainesFellani, RodwellBily, Cahill, PienaarA striker who can score????On a different note, let's get Ray Wilkins... who cares if we need to let go of Moyes or Round for him? I think he has a great mind for football and would be great for this club, as coach or manager. There, I feel a lot better now, hope that made some sort of sense!
I think 4-5-1 is a good fromation if used correctly, but it requires having an excellent striker up front: we don't. It did work with AJ but not with Yakubu.
I think we still miss Fernandes ? the only play capable of getting the ball to our strikers. With the exception of Fabregas, Arsenal aren't that good. We made a mess of it missing 2 sitters and conceding a stupid goal.
We dont score enough from midfield or create enough for our striker to compensate for the fact that only Cahill can score from midfield.
Yesterday, with the goal at his mercy, Pienaar shot nice and straight for an easy save for the keeper to make. Arteta's efforts this season (bar the derby) have been pathetic. Until these two start scoring goals ? which their wages and reputation would have us believe they are capable of ? we'll struggle.
At my ripe old age, I believe you could go a long way as a manager by sitting down with an individual and telling him why you brought him to this club, and how damn good you think he is.
Does Bily feel he has made a mistake? Does Heitinga feel the same? If so, is that their fault, or should the management team accept responsibility?
Moyes should spend a heck of a lot of time telling these players why he wanted them in the first place, and just what this club could achieve with players like themselves to make things happen.
What has made me feel so disappointed on behalf of foreign imports into the Premier League is the way that some of them have just been ignored or "sent to Coventry" by their managers; for example, the way Gullit treated Lee at Newcastle (yes, I know, a foreign coach FFS!!!).
Bily looks lost, and Heitinga looks as if he were somewhere else. Is that their fault, or are their lives that boring at the club, they just want to move on and forget this period of their careers?
Cue newspaper headlines after departure: "Moyes never spoke to me, I never felt I belonged." (Bily); "I was never played in my true position and the trainer just ignored me", (Heitinga).
Foreign players need to feel welcomed, and I believe it takes time to build up not only the team spirit, but the confidence and belief in (and of) the manager.
I admit, I haven't the slightest idea if what I have indicated is in any way relevant or instrumental in our team's play so far, but perhaps Moyes could do with injecting a bit more Holloway, Pulis, Coyle, oh and yes that foreign geezer, Wenger or whatever his name is, to raise spirits and really make players feel 10 feet tall!!!
Considering the effort Pienaar puts in every week, I'm not at all surprised he has assumed the club would eventually see sense and give him the same kind of deal as MA at least. I'd be inclined to stick Arteta out on the right until he pulls his socks up, then we could accommodate Fellaini and Rodwell in the centre and have a quality player in every position across the midfield instead of having a makeweight on the right every week.
If nothing else Arteta would realise he is not untouchable and do whatever is necessary in order to redress his performances.
Notice how refreshing it is to see Coleman moved into a RM role and use his pace to get round the back of a defence, the overlapping Baines bursting into the box. That is where it all ends, we never play through balls because there is no forward fast enough to catch it, so we play sideways passes, eventually filter it out to the wings for a cross to be put in for Cahill.
The likes of Liverpool, poor as they are, have a fast forward in Torres so the through ball from Gerrard is a vital weapon for them.Look at the pace all through the Arsenal team.
I don't think Arteta played a pass forward on Sunday, I can't remember a pass being played through a defence all season, which is why we end up with the hoof from the back 4 or a pass back to Howard.
Everton's best team, possibly ever, the 84-86 team was not over-endowed with pace, Ratcliffe, Steven, Stevens, Heath then Lineker apart, but the pitches then were so heavy that pace was not the major attribute for a team ? skill, commitment and strength were. Sheedy, Reid, Bracewell, Van den Hauwe all had at least two of these assets.
The pitches now are perfect all the year round, skill, commitment and strength has to be allied to the vital ingredient, pace. Man Utd, although unbeaten, look a shadow of previous teams, because of the missing Valencia and Rooney ? no pace, Hernandez, though a rocket, is still learning to adjust to the PL.
Why does Moyes always play 4-4-1-1. Just as the Yak was getting back to form and started to score, he sticks him back on the bench for Saha. I think both are good enough to be in the team and we have to sacrifice a midfielder.
Bottom line is we are not scoring enough goals. I would start with the following against the Black Cats:
Howard Neville, Distin, Jags / Baines Arteta, Rodwell, Cahill, Pienaar Saha, Yak
Fellaini can break forward as well, and him and Rodders could both get into the box when were on the attack, with Saha/Gueye bursting down the left, Big Vic galloping down the right, Yak holding up play, Baines and Coleman streaming forward as well...Anyway, I just think it's a more attack-minded line-up, and they wouldn't be pushed about either.But let's face it, Moyes would never be that brave, so it's all hyperthetical really.
When you look at our midfielders, only Cahill can contribute anything like that. Arterta and Pienaar get 5 or 6 at best and, whilst Coleman and Rodwell will certainly improve, they're unlikely to be scoring regularly at the moment. Add to that our misfiring strike force and you've got a team that's seriously lacking in genuine goal threat.Personally, I would play Beckford up front with either Saha or Yakubu as he will provide the pace and movement we are lacking. I would move Cahill into central midfield with Arteta: we would still have his aerial threat from set pieces and he certainly couldn't do a worse job at breaking up the play than Heitinga is at the moment. When Fellaini is back and Rodwell is fully fit I'm not sure, but for now my team would be:HowardNeville, Jags, Distin, BainesColeman, Arteta, Cahill, PienaarBeckford, Yak/SahaSorry if that comes out a bit long winded ? never really posted here before.
Arteta needs to rewind two seasons, he was stuck out on the wing with minimal influence on the game, was moved to CM and became a top player that deserved to be considered for the world's best midfield ? Spain; his whole game has disintegrated, power, pace, commitment, skill...
The only thing that worries me is that on these pages we spot where players should be operating before the manager does: Arteta, Fellaini, Coleman, Baines etc. Scary stuff... but the next big change Mr Moyes needs to make is the keeper; Howard is not filling me with confidence, especially when crosses come in or when through-balls are played.
If no go on Cahill, then play Gueye, with Pienaar CM.
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* Everton deducted 8 pts; †Forest deducted 4 pts for PSR breachView full table
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